Knebel reflects on troubled times and concludes that he thinks he will be spared from the wild hoards for a while. He notes that he usually only reads serious history now, before turning to the politics of Jena and Bavaria. Knebel then turns to an engraved imprint of some strange manuscripts which appeared in the MBI (No. 44) as a supplement to the display of E. Hocquart titled, ‘L’art de juger du caractère des hommes sur les écriture’. Amongst these strange writings were manuscripts by Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Elizabeth I of England. A copy of the work mentioned, along with reproductions of the “strange” manuscripts may be found here: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k58163641

Knebel sends Goethe a copy of de Staël’s Réflexions sur le suicide and notes that he has received from Duchess Luise a copy of M.H. Lichtenstein’s Travel in South Africa. He goes on to mention a variety of literary figures and pieces including: Voltaire, the Marquise Du Deffand, Ariosto’s Orlando furioso and the Pentateuch. He concludes by offering news of their friends.

Knebel begins by saying that he regrets Goethe’s discomfort, and encourages him to continue to think positively about Lukrez. He adds that Lucretius was a reformer whose teaching is not as dangerous as is often believed, noting that Voltaire considered the places of the complete dissolution of man after death to be the most effective in Lucretius’ De rerum natura. He concludes by discussing mutual friends, and the expectation of an imminent earthquake following the flood of the Saale.

Schiller begins by speaking of the baptism of his daughter, Karoline, before turning to Goethe’s adaptation of Voltaire’s Mahomet. He notes that of the French pieces, Mahomet is the best suited for a German translation, and that whilst he believes in the project he is hesitant to attempt the same with other French pieces due to their content and the formal difficulties that arise.

Schlegel thanks Goethe for sending him sonnets by Guarini which he says remind him of Petrarch. He adds that he is reading de Parny’s La guerre desieux anciens et modernes in comparison with Voltaire’s La Pucelle d’Orleans. He goes on to discuss literary and theatrical works.

Gries presents Goethe with a volume of his translation of Calderón and asks for his opinion on it. He then goes on to discuss printed tragedies, arguing that Eifersucht, das größte Scheusal could be considered a prototype of all modern tragedies of fate. He concludes by discussing the frequent editing of works undertaken by older poets, making reference to Voltaire’s Mariamne and Zaire, Calderón’s Mariamne, and Shakespeare’s Othello.