[Footnote 2: In 1792, on the occasion of his being offered the honour
of _Rathsherr_ (town-councillor) in Frankfort, he wrote to his mother
that "it was an honour, not only in the eyes of Europe, but of the
whole world, to have been a citizen of Frankfort." (Goethe to his
mother, December 24th, 1792). So, in 1824, he told Bettina von Arnim
that, had he had the choice of his birthplace, he would have chosen
Frankfort. As we shall see, Goethe did not always speak so favourably
of Frankfort.]
[Footnote 3:
Die Abgeschiednen betracht' ich gern,
Stuend' ihr Verdienst auch noch so fern;
Doch mit den edlen lebendigen Neuen
Mag ich wetteifernd mich lieber freuen.]
[Footnote 4: In his later years Goethe preferred life in a small town.
"Zwar ist es meiner Natur gemaess, an einem kleinen Orte zu leben."
(Goethe to Zelter, December 16th, 1804.)]
If Goethe was fortunate in the place of his birth, was he equally
fortunate in its date (1749)? He has himself given the most explicit
of answers to the question. In a remarkable paper, written at the age
of forty-six, he has described the conditions under which he and his
contemporaries produced their works in the different departments of
literature.
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