Considered by many scholars of German history to be the most influential German writer in history, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is better known in academic circles than in popular culture. While most people might not know the writer, they are familiar with Faust, Goethe’s epic poem in two parts.
The position he holds in the development of German literature and thought is like that which Shakespeare has in the English-speaking countries. — Robert Milch
Revising Never Ends, Nor Should It…
Do not use this site as a study guide. The Existential Primer is a “living” academic project, unlike a static text. This primer is only a shallow introduction to the thinkers profiled. The incomplete nature of this website might result in misunderstanding the profiled individuals. These pages are revised often because scholarship is never ending. Consult any citations included because within them is where you will find the experts. Read their works!
NOTE: Citations are not in MLA or APA format to prevent “borrowing” from The Existential Primer. Full lists of citations appear at the end of each page. Present tense is used when referencing a published work, while past tense is favored on these pages because the major figures are… dead. Inline citations take the form (Author p. page) with no year. A title is included if there might be confusion as to the work. Quoted long passages appear indented with the <blockquote> tag and cited in the format:
— Work; Author, p. Page
|1749 August 28||Born in Franfurt-am-Main, Germany.|
|1765||Sent to study law at Leipzig. Begins writing poetry.|
|1771||Obtains his law degree in Strasbourg, having left Leipzip after an extended illness.|
|1772||Writes the drama Gotz von Berlichingen.|
|1774||Publishes the short novel The Sorrows of Young Werther.|
|1775||Joins the court of Duke Karl August of Weimar.|
|1786||Resigns from the Weimar court to travel for two years in Italy.|
|1789||His son is born to his mistress.|
|1792||Accompanies the Duke during a military campaign against France.|
|1806||Marries his mistress.|
|1808||Publishes Faust, Part One.|
|1832||Completes Faust, Part Two.|
|1832 March 22||Dies.|
Like Shakespeare, Goethe began with familiar stories and expanded them, making them his own. In his more than 140 volumes, readers can easily locate familiar characters, themes, and stories. The epic poem Faust is no exception. The basic story of Faust is possibly a retelling of a story found in the New Testament, Acts 8:5-24. Acts recounts the story of Simon Magus, a sorcerer who envies the apostles' powers. His jealousy leads to an offer of money for power:
Philip went to the city of Samaria and told the poeple there about Christ. Crowds listened intently to what he had to say because of the miracles he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed, so there was much joy in that city.
A man named Simon had formerly been a sorcerer there for many years; he was a very influential, proud man because of the amazing things he could do -- in fact, the Samaritan people often spoke of him as the Messiah. But now they believed Philip's message that Jesus was the Messiah, and his words concerning the Kingdom of God; and many men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself believed and was baptized and began following Philip wherever he went, and was amazed by the miracles he did.
When the apostles back in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God's message, they sent down Peter and John. As soon as they arrived, they began praying for these new Christians to receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet he had not come upon any of them. For they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw this -- that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles placed their hands upon people's heads -- he offered money to buy this power.
"Let me have this power, too," he exclaimed, "so that when I lay my hands on people, they will r