ng of him in after years, he said, "Who can
thank sufficiently a great poet? He is the most precious jewel of the
nation" (kostbarste Kleinod einer Nation), which is much like Carlyle's
remark on the great poet. "The appearance of such a man (Goethe) at any
given era, is in my opinion the greatest thing that can happen in it. A
man who has the soul to think and be the moral guide of his own nation
and of the whole world." Goethe and Beethoven were on friendly terms and
saw a good deal of one another during this summer. The acquaintance must
have made a powerful impression on Beethoven. Goethe, the senior by many
years, whose transcendent intellect had won him a world-wide reputation,
was no doubt the cynosure of all eyes. Toeplitz was full of notabilities.
Thayer gives a long list of prominent persons, from royalty down, who
sojourned there this summer. It must have been a very agreeable
experience to the younger genius, whose fame had not yet penetrated much
beyond Germany, this friendship. Had he possessed a tithe of the worldly
wisdom of the elder man, and had regulated his conduct in accordance
with the prejudices of the other, the friendship might have continued.
Much as he desired this, it does not seem to have occurred to him to
even try to make a good impression. Utterly lacking in self-control, he
remained the same headstrong impulsive creature, while in Goethe's
company, that he had always been. Whether or not the story is true of
his meeting the Imperial family while with Goethe and disdaining even to
answer their salutations, walking on and compelling the party to divide
so as to give him the middle of the walk, while Goethe stood aside
bowing low with uncovered head,--it is nevertheless more than probable
that Beethoven showed his scorn for conventionality in numerous ways,
thereby calling down on himself Goethe's disapproval. Born courtier that
he was, it must have been mortifying in the extreme to him to be with
Beethoven and witness his rudeness and contempt for appearances.

So far as known, Goethe never had anything more to do with him after
this summer. On leaving Toeplitz he writes to Zelter, Director of the
Berlin Singakademie, mentioning Beethoven casually or as an
afterthought, and alludes to him as an "entirely untamed (_ungebaendigt_)
person." From this time on, he seems to have excluded him from his
thoughts. Beethoven's music was frequently performed at Goethe's house
at Weimar. We read in "Eck