Text: Lu Wenbin 丨 Anchor: Guo Jie
/ Part 01
"Are literati really light on each other?"
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There has always been a saying that literati are light on each other, so the mutual criticism between literati has long been taken for granted. In fact, this is completely a bias. The literati mentioned here highlight nothing more than a trade relationship, like the competition of interests between businesses, and mutual jealousy and mutual denigration seem to be commonplace. However, this does not mean that there is no friendship between literati, but this friendship is more likely to become a talk on paper because of the convenience of the industry, and the gap seems to be more eye-catching than a good story, so the historical impression of the literati is so easily formed.
However, even if the literati appear in the process of communication, it does not mean that there is any particularity, and what it shows is only the inherent weakness of friendship itself. It turns out that how deep a friendship can be, how fragile it can be. Perhaps this is precisely the situation that has led to a general lack of faith in friendship, and even a phrase that Aristotle has passed down to this day as a consolation: "Dear friend, there is no friend in this world!" ”
As to whether Aristotle really said this, I have no way of verifying, and even if he did, it still needs to be examined in context. I think that what Aristotle is trying to deny must not be the existence of friends, but the kind of expectations that people have for friends in secular concepts. Otherwise, he would not have had to deal with fraternity in the book Nicomachean Ethics.
In fact, any friendship that is easily broken cannot easily deny the existence of friendship, but only confirms from the opposite side that friendship is by no means a low-hanging fruit. It requires us to create, to apply sincere emotions and wisdom. Of course, perfect friendship does not exist, and imperfect friendship reflects the authenticity of people. Only by looking at the connotation of friendship from this standpoint can we constructively understand the epoch-making interaction between goethe and Schiller, two literary giants.
It has to be said that given the far-reaching influence of the rapid movement in the history of German literature, it is already difficult to separate Goethe and Schiller. But when comparing them, it is often inevitable that people will habitually have to distinguish between them. The problem, however, is that all comparisons are nothing more than a snobbish trade-off for the sake of worship and dislike. Thus, when we think that Goethe's literary achievements are higher than Schiller's, then the latter is bound to suffer some kind of unjust contempt. vice versa.
We often chant the slogan of "friendship first, competition second" in the sports world, but in the literary world, we forget the friendship and only think of the game. The literary world has never been an arena, and it does not need to rely on objective numbers to determine victory or defeat. It is a world of subjectivity, and literature itself can only progress through dialogue and cooperation. The friendship between Goethe and Schiller, no matter how flawed, after all, has promoted the progress of literature in Germany and even the world, and this is the most important thing and the most important thing for us. To distinguish between the two is to distinguish between priority and inferiority, or to fight for the unfairness of one of the parties' situation in this relationship, is to disrespect and damage to their rare friendship.
In fact, at that time, some people also did this with great fanfare, for example, the famous playwright Kotzeb once vigorously promoted Schiller, intending to form a public opinion situation in which Schiller was higher than Goethe. However, this divisive approach has not shaken their friendship in the end, which also shows that the relationship between Goethe and Schiller is obviously unusual. However, similar practices are still common today, and some people still write articles or books condemning Goethe's use and suppression of Schiller. Regardless of whether these criticisms are biased or not, at least they are not constructive for their friendship, and they seriously ignore Goethe and Schiller's respective understanding and affirmation of this friendship.
丨 Statues of Goethe and Schiller
/ Part 02
"They contribute the true face of friendship"
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In any case, I prefer to believe in The Relationship between Lüdiger Safransky in Goethe and Schiller: A Friendship Between Two Literary Masters, because it allows me to see an interaction of mutual appreciation, mutual attraction, and mutual need, which is what I identify with the true friendship.
Speaking of which, Goethe and Schiller's social beginnings are not synchronized at all. The former was 10 years older than the latter, and when they first met at the Carr High School in Württemberg, Goethe was already a household name for his work on Guerz von Berlisingen and The Troubles of Young Werther; he came as an invited guest. At this moment, Schiller was just an ordinary college student in the academy waiting to receive the award and the certificate of completion, and he was only qualified to look up at the genius in front of him silently with awe. To borrow the words of a classmate of Schiller's to describe this genius: "At that time it was almost possible to say that Goethe was our God. ”
So, first of all, Schiller needed to know and contact Goethe. Nine years later, through the special arrangement of his girlfriend Salot, Schiller finally saw Goethe again at the latter's home. Charlotte's godmother, Madame Stein, was Goethe's spiritual companion for many years, so Charlotte became acquainted with Goethe from an early age.
Goethe, who appeared in front of Schiller for the first time in a private setting, appeared polite and reserved, which made Schiller, who had already become famous for his two plays "The Robber" and "Conspiracy and Love", feel quite unhappy. To this, he left the following text:
I doubt the two of us can actually come together. Many of the things that I am still interested in, and which I still hope and demand, have passed away from him; he has surpassed me so much (in terms of age, mainly in terms of life experience and self-development), and it is difficult for us to meet on the way forward; his whole being has been different from my conditions from the beginning, his world is not mine, and our ideas are obviously fundamentally different. Of course, from such an encounter can not yet make an accurate and profound judgment. Time will tell what will happen next.
However, Goethe did not turn a blind eye to Schiller, and then he recommended Schiller, who was keen on historical research, to teach at the University of Jena. But when Schiller learned that the teaching position was unpaid and that he needed to pay back a master's degree to get on the job, Schiller's anger at Goethe could not be contained, and he wrote to his friend Keller: "I really think he is an unusually selfish person." He has the talent to attract you and keep you firmly under his influence. ...... But he is just like a god and does not disclose himself... You can't let such a person appear next to you... I saw him as a proud, old-fashioned girl, and it was pleasant to have a child with her and make her look down in front of the world. ”
Generally speaking, the dissatisfaction generated in the interaction of friends is either due to misunderstanding or jealousy. For Schiller, his friendship with Goethe was still in its infancy and needed further in-depth and understanding. Moreover, the two of them already have diametrically opposed temperaments and temperaments. Goethe loved nature, was interesting, emotional, and good at induction; Schiller was passionate about ideas, focused, good at speculation, and good at reasoning.
/ Part 03
"German literature needs their friendship"
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But we soon see that as the two men interacted and cooperated more and more frequently, Goethe's inner world began to show its extraordinary charm to Schiller, so that the latter had this exclamation: "God has given me a wise and attentive friend!" Eventually, all misunderstandings and jealousy vanished, giving way to heartfelt admiration and love, and prompting Schiller to confide in his letter to Goethe: "I am so strong... Feel that there is no freedom in the face of excellence, only love. It should be recognized that this simple love in friendship stems from the deep understanding of each other's hearts on both sides. As a result, their very different personalities are no longer an obstacle to communication, but rather become a complement to each other, which is more of a rich and creative.
Goethe was quite aware of this, and in his letter to Schiller he reviewed and evaluated the friendship between the two:
We are two people of different natures, and it is quite advantageous to meet and meet, and it brings certain benefits to both sides, and I expect this relationship to continue as always. If I have acted for you as the representative of certain objects, then you have brought me back to myself from a careful observation of external things and their interconnections, you have taught me to gaze more impartially at the complex and diverse inner world of man, you have rejuvenated me, you have once again waved my pen that has been almost shelved, and you have become a poet again.
It can be seen that Goethe cherished and appreciated their friendship. It should be said that this depends entirely on his humility and on his wise understanding of friendship itself:
If we are always careful, always seeing only one side of our friends who are in perfect harmony with ourselves, and not paying attention to other aspects, we always think that this friendship will be stronger and more lasting. Usually this is a mistake that is easy to make when we are young, and it is difficult to get rid of it even in old age, we always demand that friends should be another self, should form a whole with us, and for a while we thought that this was the real friendship, but this friendship could not last.
It is certain that without Goethe's tolerance and humility, Schiller would have been difficult to become his friend. He could have needed Schiller, and perhaps Schiller could have needed him, but that would have been a great loss to German and world literature. Their friendship is no longer purely a private relationship between two people, but has been sublimated into a great cause, urging them to inspire and inspire each other, create one immortal masterpiece after another, and jointly undertake the mission of leading and promoting the cultural trend of the motherland.
After Schiller's untimely death, the mournful Goethe wrote in a letter to Zelt: "I thought it was myself that I had lost, but now I am losing a friend who has had me for half my life." However, for Goethe, this does not mean the end of the friendship, he still has to continue his understanding of this friendship. Although Goethe, who had always been wary of illness and death, did not attend Schiller's funeral as usual, he treasured Schiller's skull for a long time in his study.
Schiller continued to live in Goethe's memories, he continued to recognize and understand this friend, and schiller in the depths of the years was becoming more and more magnificent in Goethe's mind, so that the image became clearer:
Schiller looks... Absolutely possessing his own noble nature: he sat at the tea table as tall as he sat in the chamber of the Principality. Nothing could restrain him, to limit him, nothing could hinder the flight of his thoughts; he never hid the extraordinary views in his heart, always expressed them openly, without any apprehension or apprehension. This is an open-minded, upright man, and everyone should be like this! Those of us, on the other hand, always feel the limitations, and are overwhelmed by concerns that we cannot release some of the noble potentials that we may possess in our nature. We are all slaves to our surroundings.
2022． 04． 05 Weihai Sea Banquet
【Topic of this issue】:What is the friendship you yearn for? Feel free to leave a message in the comments section.
Mr. Lu Wenbin's original literary interpretation
About the author of this article
Lu Wenbin, writer, scholar and translator, Doctor of Literature of Peking University, Professor of the Department of Chinese of Beijing Language and Culture University, Doctoral Supervisor, Distinguished Professor of Ludong University. He has published novels such as "Silence in the Deep Sea", "Flowing Fireflies", "Tianxiang", "Hello, Professor", "Crystal", essays "Reading Love", "Who Hurt Our Love", "Betrayed Life", "When Education Meets Movies", etc. He is the author of "Women and Evil", "Lost Boy", "Animal Hero", "Angela's Ashes" and so on.
About the host of this article
Guo Jie is a professor in the Department of Variety Show Hosting, School of Broadcast Hosting Arts, Communication University of China, and is currently studying for a doctorate. Engaged in the research of broadcast hosting business, he has published many papers.
He once served as the host of "Voice of China" "Shenzhou Night Flight" of the Central People's Radio and "I Love Invention" on the science and education channel of CCTV.
He has been invited by radio and television stations, colleges and universities, the State Administration of Radio and Television, the Ministry of Education and other units across the country to teach courses such as broadcast hosting, leading cadre eloquence, language arts, and classic recitation.
Audio Production: Shangguan Wenlu Sound Studio - Haoze