the wisest of modern readers has said
that the most important character-
istic of the real critic -- the man who
penetrates the secret of a work of
art -- is the ability to admire greatly;
and there is but a short step between
admiration and love. And as if to
emphasise the value of a quality so
rare among critics, the same wise
reader, who was also the greatest
writer of modern times, says also
that "where keen perception unites
with good will and love, it gets at
the heart of man and the world;
nay, it may hope to reach the high-
est goal of all." To get at the heart
of that knowledge, life, and beauty
which are stored in books is surely
one way of reaching the highest
goal.

That goal, in Goethe's thought,
was the complete development of

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v?