Page:The reflections of Lichtenberg.djvu/11

 APART from the fact that he was the author of a certain classical experiment in electricity, Lichtenberg’s name is probably unfamiliar to most Englishmen; unless perhaps the quotations from him in Schopenhauer have made him a passing acquaintance. Yet his writings reveal a personality at bottom so sympathetic and original that it seems a pity their reputation should remain confined to his own country. In preparing the present translation, for which of course I am ultimately responsible, I ought to say, and I say it with gratitude, that I have had the privilege of very valuable advice from Mr. Bailey Saunders, who has done so much to make Schopenhauer known to us; and his assistance has materially added to whatever there may be of accuracy and finish in the rendering. This circumstance, if it is not presuming too much to say so, will serve to give the following pages a pleasant connection with the previous volumes of the series. George Christopher Lichtenberg was the son of a village pastor. He was born in 1742, near Darmstadt