IN saying something of Goethe in this connexion, we are fully aware that we can add nothing new or important to the picture of that great personality. On the other hand, we believe that even in the lightest utterances of genius something of its essence is to be discovered. If we reconstruct for ourselves Goethe's opinion of China mosaic-wise from remarks scattered over his whole life, we find that even here the ripeness of his development reveals itself, that he had a deeper insight into the nature of the East-although he had no occasion to emphasize it-than the whole century which preceded him, and that he may therefore fitly form the conclusion of this enquiry.