hould have had reason to be. I feel, however,
very calm about it, for I value Wolf infinitely when he works and acts,
but I have never known him to be sympathetic, especially as regards the
affairs of the present, and herein he is a true German. Moreover, he
knows entirely too much to permit himself to be instructed further and
not to discover the gaps in the knowledge of others. He has his own
mode of thought; how should he recognize the merits of the views of
others? And the great endowments which he possesses are the very ones
which are adapted to rouse and to maintain the spirit of contradiction
and of rejection.

As to myself, a layman, I have been very greatly indebted to Niebuhr's
first volume, and I hope that the second will increase my gratitude
toward him. I am very curious about his development of the _lex
agraria_. We have heard of it from the time of our youth without gaining
any clear conception of it. How pleasant it is to listen to a learned
and original man on such a theme, especially in these days, when the
summons comes for a more free and unprejudiced consideration of the law
of states and nations, as well as of all the relations of civil law. It
becomes obvious what an advantage it is to know little, and to have
forgotten very much of that little. I never love to mingle in the
wrangles of the day, but I cannot forego the delight of quietly snapping
my fingers at them. I trust that the small leaf inclosed may win a smile
from you.

I beg you to give my best regards to your wife, and convey my kindest
greetings to the Koerners. When the young man [28] again has anything
ready, I beg that it may be sent me at once. This time I should be most
happy to receive a rather large article for January 30, the birthday of
the duchess. A thousand fare-you-wells!

* * * * *

GOETHE TO WILHELM VON HUMBOLDT

Weimar, February 8, 1813.

With sincere thanks I recognize the fact that you have been able so
quickly and so perfectly to fulfil your friendly promise. Your
beautiful sketch has given me an entirely new impulse to studies of all
sorts. It is no longer possible for me to collect materials; but when
they are brought to me in so concentrated a form, it becomes a source of
very real pleasure for me speedily to fill the gaps in my knowledge and
to discover a thousand relations to what information I already possess.

As soon as I can spend a few quiet weeks at Jena in March, I