Page:The Works of J. W. von Goethe, Volume 13.djvu/13

Preface to the Third Edition Since the last edition of this work was published, many volumes have appeared which it was necessary for me to go through, and from which I have gathered numerous fresh details of interest, though nothing that alters the main outhnes of my narrative. Among the new works there have been two regular biographies. The one by M. Mezieres, entitled " W. Goethe, Ses oeuvres expliquees par sa vie" (2 vols. Paris, 1872-3), is a barefaced reproduction of my work, with httle added except the writer's own re- marks, and an occasional extract from some French book. Yet while thus appropriating my labours, M. M^zi^res abstains from even the slightest indica- tion of his indebtedness. When he borrows a passage from a French writer he is careful to avow it ; he borrows my whole book, and ignores it. The only time he refers to me, is in a note on the Weimar theatricals. Nay, so careful is he to avoid acknowl- edgment, that having in one place to put forward a somewhat different view of the Frau von Stein from that which he finds in my pages, he attributes the opinion he combats to Carlyle, who has never printed a hne on the subject. Yet it is on the strength of such performances that M. Mezieres presents himself as a candidate for a seat in the French Academy — and is admitted. Very different is the other biography, "Goethe's Leben und Schriften, von Karl Gödeke" (1 vol. 1874), a compact compilation by one thoroughly conversant with the original sources. The Priory, August, 1875.