Page:The Works of J. W. von Goethe, Volume 12.djvu/184

170 necessity of the case, be put out of its place, or spoiled, and something unseemly is sure to arise here and there. Be that as it may, the whole will have a grand style, and you will be pleased with your work."

And thus he carried out the great image which he had within his soul, just to the point where it was not quite suitable, and where he was obliged, in the detail, to mutilate or to overcrowd it.

On the other hand, the wing of the Carità cannot be too highly prized; for here the artist's hands were free, and he could follow the bent of his own mind without constraint. If the convent were finished, there would, perhaps, be no work of architecture more perfect throughout the present world.

How he thought and how he worked become more and more clear to me, the more I read his works, and reflect how he treated the ancients; for he says few words, but they are all important. The fourth book, which illustrates the antique temples, is a good introduction to a judicious examination of ancient remains.

7.

Yesterday evening I saw the "Electra " of Crébillon, that is to say a translation, at the Theatre St. Crisostomo. I cannot say how absurd the piece appeared to me, and how terribly it tired me out.

The actors are generally good, and know how to put off the public with single passages.

Orestes alone has three narratives poetically set off in one scene. Electra, a pretty little woman, of the middle size and stature, with almost French vivacity, and with a good deportment, delivered the verses beautifully, only she acted the part madly from beginning to end, which, alas! it requires. However, I have again learned something. The Italian iambic, which is invariably of eleven syllables, is very inconvenient for declamation, because the last syllable is