the very first time by the way, in any language--to restore Goethe's cycle to
his early conception. Since I have been unwilling to intrude with learned
notes, I must apologize for Goethe's many classical allusions, which were as
familiar to his own readership as are, in our publications today, the dense
references to media celebrities. Modern editors of what they call the
"Roman Elegies" bring abundant annotation, and often detail Goethe's own
emendations. What I bring here is merely translated from his manuscript in
the Goethe-Schiller Archive in Weimar.