Poetry and Truth – Goethe's Autobiography

Author: (German) Goethe Li Xianju
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Goethe wrote many autobiographical works, but none are as famous as Poetry and Truth. Few believe that an "autobiography" is "true," and Goethe did not either. Yet he wanted to make the greatest effort, with the utmost sincerity, to depict the fundamental truths that shaped his life. Seeking truth yet unable to attain it—what should one do? He simply stated that he was writing "truth" with the tone of poetry and the use of imagination. That's why the book is titled Poetry and Truth—"truth" is his pursuit, and the expression is "poetry." This book is Goethe's work from his later years. When he took up his pen to approach that "fundamental truth," he was already an elderly man in his sixties. He wrote it over more than twenty years and completed it six months before his death. It was published the year after his death. This book pioneered the modern sense of a truly "autobiographical" path. Merely for this reason, it holds an irreplaceable position and value in the history of world literature. With the mature and meticulous insight of a man in his sixties, Goethe described that "fundamental truth" objectively and calmly, composedly and steadily. With the genius of a "great literary master," he wielded his mighty pen to leave us this great masterpiece. This book pioneered the modern sense of a truly "autobiographical" path, and for this very reason, it holds an irreplaceable position and value in the history of world literature. This book may not be "fundamental truth," and the proportion of "poetry" may be greater than that of "truth," but this does not hinder young people from taking it as a guide to life and savoring it carefully. This book is suitable for successful individuals in all fields; "quasi-famous" people who are striving but have not yet achieved fame; young people in the midst of growth; elderly people over sixty with profound life experience; and literary-minded individuals who harbor some "dreams." "Trees can grow tall, but they can never reach the sky," as Goethe said in his Autobiography. Only the elderly, after enduring the "purging" of growing into towering trees, can fully realize this fate of "never reaching the sky." Therefore, this Autobiography possesses the "greatness" of a king and the "wisdom" of a Zen master. It is full, tranquil, serene, yet insightful. Like a heavy ear of rice, no longer held high as in youth, but humbly bowed, head down toward the silent and profound earth.