If  tljis  passage  was  not  added,  or  at  least  re-written,  be-
tween 1797  and  i8p8,  —  as  is  possible,  — it  is  interesting  as
ore  of  the  first  evid,ei;!.i;es,  of  Goethe's  interest  in  Color,  an
interest  which  finally  developed  into  a  passion,  and  quite
deceived  him  in  regard  to  the  importance  of  his  observations.
His  Farhenlehre  (Science  of  Colors)  was  commenced  in  1790
and  completed  in  1805,  the  year  of  Schiller's  death,  although
it  was  not  published  for  four  or  five  years  afterwards.  Either,
therefore,  the  allusions  to  color  in  this  early  scene  harmo-
nized with  the  author's  later  views,  or  they  were  afterwards
chapged  for  the  sake  of  harmony.
39.     All  for  the  dance  the  shepherd  dressed.
There  is  a  reference  to  this  song  of  the  shepherds  in  Wil-
/lelm  Meister  (Apprenticeship),  where  Philine  says  :  "  '  Old
man,  dost,  thou  know  the  melody  :  "  All  for  the  dance  the
shepherd  dressed  "  ? '  '  Oh,  yes,'  he  replied, '  if  you  will  sing
and  represent  the  song,  I  shall  not  fail  in  my  part.'  Philine
arose  and  stood  in  readiness.  The  old  man  struck  up  the
melody,  and  she  sang  a  song  which  we  cannot  communicate
to  our  readers,  because  they  perhaps  might  find  it  absurd
or  even  improper."  This  portion  of  Wilhelm  Meister  was
published  in  1795,  which  is  another  evidence  of  the  early
origin  of  the  scene.  The  graceful  measure  of  the  song,
which  nevertheless  expresses  the  roughest  realism  of  Ger-
man peasant-life,  can  only  be  approximately  given  in  another
language.
This  episode,  also,  is  suggested  by  Goethe's  earliest  mem-
ovies  of  the  various  popular  festivals,  in  Frajikfurt.    In  Wahr-


244  FAUST.
