has obtained possession of the soul, he discovers by his works, even
without intending it, the very slightest shades of his manner of
thinking and acting.

The residence in country towns has always appeared to me very irksome.
The understanding of the men is narrowed, the heart of the women frozen
there; people live so much in each other's presence that one is opprest
by one's equals; it is no longer this distant opinion, the reverberation
of which animates you from afar like the report of glory; it is a minute
inspection of all the actions of your life, an observation of every
detail, which prevents the general character from being comprehended;
and the more you have of independence and elevation of mind, the less
able you are to breathe amidst so many little impediments.

This painful constraint did not exist at Weimar; it was rather a large
palace than a little town; a select circle of society, which made its
interest consist in the discussion of all the novelties of art and
science: women, the amiable scholars of some superior men, were
constantly speaking of the new literary works, as of the most important
public events. They enjoyed the whole universe by reading and study;
they freed themselves by the enlargement of the mind from the restraint
of circumstances; they forgot the private anecdotes of each individual,
in habitually reflecting together on those great questions which
influence the destiny common to all alike. And in this society there
were none of those provincial wonders, who so easily mistake contempt
for grace, and affectation for elegance.

[Footnote A: From "Germany."]