The  guest,  who  had  seen  but  little  of  the  quiet  joys  of
domestic  life  and  was  now  received  on  the  footing  of
an  adopted  brother,  felt  very  happy.  His  intercourse
with  Korner  gave  him  the  very  kind  of  intellectual
stimulus  that  he  most  needed.  Korner  was  at  this
time  the  more  solid  character  of  the  two.  He  had
seen  more  of  the  world,    While  capable  of  warm  affec-


66  The  Boon  of  Friendship

ion  and  strong  enthusiasm,  he  had  adopted  a  profes-
ion  which  inevitably  gave  to  his  thoughts  a  practical
lent.  Besides  this  he  had  taken  up  the  study  of  Kant
fith  great  earnestness  and  was  thereby  more  than  ever
isposed  to  see  all  questions  in  the  white  light  of  pure
eason.  He  was  thus  the  very  man  to  pour  a  cool
Mephistophelean  spray  upon  Schiller's  emotional  fer-
ors.  One  can  easily  imagine  the  general  drift  of  the
hilosophical  discussions  that  took  place  during  the
sngthening  evenings  of  September,  1785,  when  we
nd  Schiller  expressing  himself  to  the  absent  Huber  in
uch  language  as  this:

The  boyhood  of  our  minds  is  now  over,  I  imagine,  and  like-
dse  the  honeymoon  of  our  friendship.  Let  our  hearts  now
leave  to  each  other  in  manly  affection,  gush  httle  and  feel
luch  ;  plan  little  and  act  the  more  fruitfully.  Enthusiasm  and
leals  have  sunk  incredibly  in  my  estimation.  As  a  rule  we
lake  the  mistake  of  estimating  the  future  from  a  momentary
:eling  of  enhanced  power,  and  painting  things  in  the  color  of
ur  transient  exaltation  of  feeling.  I  praise  enthusiasm,  and  love
le  divine  ethereal  power  of  kindling  to  a  great  resolution.  It
ertains  to  the  better  man,  but  it  is  not  all  of  him.
