Page:The Works of J. W. von Goethe, Volume 12.djvu/151

Rh happy notion; for, if the alternatives which are involved in the question are kept duly apart, one may go on debating for centuries. The academicians have gallantly availed themselves of the occasion, and have produced all sorts of things in prose and verse, some very good.

Then there is the liveliest public. The audience cry Bravo, and clap their hands, and laugh. What a thing it is to stand thus before one's nation, and amuse them in person! We must set down our best productions in black and white. Every one squats down with them in a corner, and scribbles at them as he can.

It may be imagined, that, even on this occasion, Palladio would be continually appealed to, whether the discourse was in favour of invention or imitation. At the end, which is always the right place for a joke, one of the speakers hit on a happy thought, and said that the others had already taken Palladio away from him; so that he, for his part, would praise Franceschini, the great silk manufacturer. He then began to show the advantages which this enterprising man, and, through him, the city of Vicenza, had derived from imitating the Lyonnese and Florentine stuffs, and thence came to the conclusion that imitation stands far above invention. This was done with so much humour, that uninterrupted laughter was excited. Generally those who spoke in favour of imitation obtained the most applause; for they said nothing but what was adapted to the thoughts and capacities of the multitude. Once the public, by a violent clapping of hands, gave its hearty approval to a most clumsy sophism, when it had not felt many good, nay, excellent things that had been said in honour of invention. I am very glad I have witnessed this scene; for it is highly gratifying to see Palladio, after the lapse of so long a time, still honoured by his fellow citizens as their polar star and model.