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030 [sic]

ICHTUNG und Wahrheit furnishes desirable reading for German classes, because it represents some of Goethe’s most finished prose, and because of its interest as valuable autobiographical information. Three books of this work are recommended by the Commission of New England Colleges to be used in preparation for entrance on advanced requirements in German.

HAT “Torquato Tasso,” one of Goethe’s most important and characteristic works, has not hitherto been more generally read in American institutions of learning is doubtless due mainly to the fact that no satisfactory edition of the play was procurable. Professor Thomas has endeavored to make an edition befitting the present status of Goethe scholarship. The text is based upon a careful examination of all the extant sources of information. An ample Introduction describes the genesis of the drama, traces out its relation to its author’s life, and discusses its ethical import. The notes are written not for the beginner in German who needs instruction upon the rudimentary facts of the language, but for students who are presumed to have acquired at least a budding interest in the higher aspects of German literature.