Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 357 How can I not meet Goethe when I come to Weimar? (Part 059)

However, when it comes to literature, Goethe was also interested in things related to the mysterious East.

"Sir, I think I have found the right person this time. Misha is a rare expert in the Petersburg court, and he must have something he hasn't told me yet."

Well, when Maria sells out her teammates, she is always very thorough.

"Your Highness, although I say so, in front of Mr. Goethe, I am nothing more than a firefly compared to the moonlight."

When Solovyov said this, Goethe smiled and said, "But I have no affinity with astronomy. Mr. Gauss is more familiar with the movement of celestial bodies. On the contrary, I prefer to study natural sciences other than mathematics."

Goethe did have this hobby, and he also preferred people with a wide range of knowledge.

"Then you prefer things that can be touched, so that you can fully perceive them. Rather than celestial bodies moving in the starry sky, it's just the universe. Sorry, if I mention this, it will affect my personal thinking and consciousness."

Actually, Solovyov himself was not very good at describing abstract philosophical ideas; he preferred to get his hands dirty.

"Then, young man, you should be very pragmatic in doing things."

However, Solovyov heard that Goethe was opposed to the more popular optical theory, and in the early 19th century, it was inevitable that there would be a certain degree of deviation due to problems with his knowledge.

Gauss winked at Solovyov, but the man did not understand what he meant because it was the first time he met Gauss.

Fortunately, Goethe himself was well-versed in both arts and sciences, so the atmosphere of the topic was relatively relaxed.

Maria was a little confused. It wasn't that she became stupid after giving birth, but that she couldn't keep up with the pace.

Goethe usually praised her highly, especially in the areas of literature and art. However, when it came to science, she had relatively little knowledge in this area.

Most of these princesses who were raised in the palace received an education that had little to do with natural sciences.

Louisa's interest in philosophy, history and geography was considered unusual. As for her being led astray by her lover and becoming interested in machinery and ancient zoology, that was another matter.

Of course, Goethe inadvertently mentioned a problem.

"Have you studied anatomy?"

"Ah, although I have killed people on the battlefield, I have also participated in some medical research, and even..."

When Solovyov said this, he thought of the fact that he could not tell anyone about the fact that he delivered Louisa, and he could not tell anyone about the fact that he delivered his stepmother and "took out" his younger brother.

So he changed his words and said, "But anatomy is not my specialty. In terms of medicine, I have only done some research on disinfection and herbal medicine. Of course, herbal medicine is based on botany."

"That's true, but animals and plants should all have 'original organisms'."

Actually, this seems like a simple understanding of evolution. Solovyov heard something new from Goethe.

"It is true that there is such an idea. After all, plants of the same family always have similar structures."

"So, where does this origin come from? Research on embryos. Although there are some taboos in anatomy sometimes, this is also an era of science, and we need to do research from time to time."

What Solovyov heard from Goethe was probably that similar structures can be found among animals, mainly through the dissection of various dead fetuses.

Of course, Goethe's wording was still very reserved, considering Maria in the couch.

What's more, German is a rigorous and verbose language. Although it is not suitable for military orders and always causes trouble, in scientific research, sometimes it is useful to piece together a bunch of words, at least it can provide clear definitions.

And this kind of understanding will continue to make the theory of evolution popular in the future, after all, we already have a simple understanding of it.

"It's a pity that I'm a soldier and rarely have this kind of free time. Most of the time, I have to be in the army. Besides, I'm not an artilleryman or an engineer, so I can't have this kind of free time."

"You can do it as a hobby, Colonel, and you are so young."

"Yeah, I'm only 24 years old, and I still have a long life ahead of me."

"Young man, it's unlikely that you've always been in the military."

There are still quite a lot of Russian aristocrats who retired in their thirties.

But Solovyov thought about what he had done and realized that he might not have this opportunity again before he was fifty years old. Now he was only one step away from becoming a general.

Of course, the topic discussed here by Goethe quickly shifted from science back to literature and customs.

Especially for the mysterious East, many European aristocrats are still interested in it.

Solovyov also produced some relatively new results, but the "dialogues" of Shandong Confucius were always very brief, unlike those of Greek philosophers, which were often long and voluminous.

After listening to several articles of "Confucius said", Goethe also discovered this problem.

"Apparently, Chinese philosophers are always so brief when they speak. Why is that?"

"It may have something to do with the medium of the text, sir."

"If I remember correctly, papermaking came from China, and the same is true for printing, from what I understand."

"Before the emergence of paper, Chinese writing media, including bronze vessels and bamboo slips, obviously had to use concise words and not take up too much content. The chronological history books handed down from generation to generation also have this problem. The early texts were concise, and later notes needed to be added. This is also a kind of learning."

"Then there should also be inscriptions, such as those that the Austrian envoys saw when they went to Persia, and those unrecognizable Egyptian characters."

"But there are also parchments and papyrus. There are still such books today. But the history we see is generally not officially revised. It is always based on the records of scholars themselves, so there are inevitably some deviations. At the same time, there are indeed always some long discussions on the technology of ancient philosophers on papyrus, and future scribes may have to cover these contents."

The profession of copyist, which appeared in Egypt four thousand years ago, still existed in Europe in the 19th century. When Goethe was writing, he needed secretaries and copyists to help him complete some of the content as he grew older. At least the poet did not need to be busy with documents and reflect his thoughts, and he always needed someone to help him.

"Ah, it looks like you have some research to do."

"Yes, after all, there are always people who do this."

This practice may even be reflected in scientific instruments in the future. Some original content will be overwritten, and important documents will be covered by useless account books. This has happened before.

When Goethe heard this, he probably understood why "Dialogues of Confucius" was so brief and why fables usually use short words.

"This is really interesting. If you didn't have a mission to carry out, I think I should let you stay in Weimar for a while longer."

Goethe was interested in learning something about the East. He was a poet, a science enthusiast and a third-rate researcher, thirsting for knowledge. He even read the Koran and had great respect for the beliefs popular in the Middle East. He actually knew the hadith.

What's more, this is a language that is relatively poorly understood in Europe. Although there have been Chinese believers who have arrived in France, such people are extremely rare.

Solovyov was more worried that if Goethe learned Chinese and could recognize the characters, it would cause a joke.

Confucius from Shandong really liked to use force. For example, when Qi and Lu were forming an alliance, he really cut the people of Lai into pieces. Even King Jing of Qi brought Yan Zi with him that time.

If this is done, the Analects will really become a piece of nonsense, but Goethe is now more interested in the content translated by Solovyov, and he thinks that what Confucius said makes a lot of sense.

As for Mencius, the only book among the Four Books that contains a large number of fables, Goethe nodded after listening to several passages translated by Solovyov.

Especially when the Chu people learned Qi language, it was obvious that Solovyov had a purpose when he spoke.

Maria also had a scribe who wrote down what Solovyov said in French.

"This article is quite interesting. Nowadays, Europeans are communicating in French, but we should not forget our own language."

After hearing Goethe's evaluation, Maria remembered that when she was in St. Petersburg, some Russian nobles, even authentic Russians, might not speak Russian very well. They were not as good as her grandmother and sister-in-law, who married to Russia and taught themselves.

Even my mother, after living in Russia for a long time, still speaks with the accent of her hometown in Württemberg.

However, since she was already in Weimar, she obviously couldn't keep silent about this matter. But if someone wrote it down, it would be convenient to bind it into a book later.

Maria still has some thoughts about Solovyov. It would be better if he could come to Weimar more often.

Unfortunately, the war in Europe is still going on and peace is a luxury.

Goethe did not make any comments on the current situation. Although he was a patriot, he also had to take into account the actual situation of the German princes. Saxe-Weimar was a small country dependent on the big princes. Although the title was not low, many things had to be dependent on Prussia.

Of course, Goethe also had a fan. Although Napoleon himself had never met Goethe in person, he always admired him and even wanted to find a suitable opportunity to meet this literary giant.

But Napoleon was really... If we discuss it, although Goethe was very interested in natural sciences, mathematics, which Napoleon was best at, was not within his scope of study.

At the same time, Napoleon himself was more interested in Goethe's works, especially "Werther", and the other plays were those story transformations from the classical era.

And while Solovyov was sitting here, he was actually able to discuss some philosophical issues.

This was an advantage. Goethe had visited St. Petersburg, but unfortunately it was during the time when Paul was assassinated, so he soon returned to Weimar.

If he visits Russia now, he will be warmly welcomed by Alexander and make many young friends.

"I think you can go to Petersburg again when the time is right. After all, your main work is done there."

"If you are willing to visit my humble home, I will also share some of the contents of the manuscript with you, and it will also facilitate cultural exchange and dissemination."

"Now the East doesn't seem as mysterious as it was in Marco Polo's time. We should know more about it, such as the visit of Macartney's mission."

"But although the British are allies, I have to say that in diplomatic occasions, we must respect the diplomatic etiquette of the country we are visiting. Macartney must have knelt there, but his publications do not say so. In order to avoid this problem, our delegation has always made contacts at the government level rather than at the monarch level. This can avoid conflicts in diplomatic etiquette, and negotiations between the two sides can be conducted on an equal footing."

However, Golovkin's visit had already caused trouble in Uliastai, but because the journey to Siberia was too far, the news had not yet been reported back.

"That can only be said to be a kind of arrogance of the British in diplomatic occasions. This is not good. We must respect customs, especially since the great emperor of China also ruled a vast country, not these European countries."

"Yes, the great emperor of China ruled over a territory larger than the European continent. He is indeed a great country."

I can't go on. After all, the British always do things that break the rules of diplomatic occasions. This is the arrogance of a maritime colonial country. It seems there is nothing wrong with calling them "British barbarians".

Obviously, this is not a lactation salon, and the topic quickly changed.

Only Macartney was mentioned, and his mission did fail because of his unrealistic demands.

The same logic also applies to Golovkin. The Pole, Czartoryski, obviously did not understand the mentality of the Qing emperor. Even if Golovkin knew the rules and did as the Qing officials asked, he still could not complete the task.

Jiaqing was not Qianlong, so he could relax a little on etiquette requirements other than core issues for foreign envoys who did not know the rules in some areas.

Otherwise, little Si Dangdong wouldn't have knelt on one knee and recited in front of Emperor Qianlong. Well, it can be said that Qianlong was more tolerant of children, but the envoy still had to kneel.

Therefore, if European countries sent an envoy, they would always learn from the Dutch and Portuguese and observe etiquette when meeting the Qing emperor.

As for the previous dynasty? Using the sword of the previous dynasty to behead officials of the current dynasty, this is indeed something that no one has ever seen.

The Russian delegation did encounter this situation once and it almost caused a diplomatic incident.

(End of this chapter)