The Rudolf Steiner Archive

On Natural Science, General Natural Science II

[Introduction to the readings, Volume 12, pp. 173-176:]

The most important part of this volume is Goethe's work on meteorology. The contents of this meteorological section are as follows:

1. The essay: Wolkengestalt (5-13), which is based on Luke Howard's “On the Modifications of Clouds. London 1803.” When Goethe wrote these notes, he was only familiar with a review of Howard's work contained in Gilbert's Annals of 1815, which was brought to his attention by the Grand Duke. (See p. 6 of the text.) The essay was written in the fall of 1817. The first draft is dated: Jena, December 13, 1817. It was first printed in the third issue of the first volume of “Zur Naturwissenschaft” (On Natural Science). This work is followed in the same issue by the text of our volume, pp. 13-41. The following, pp. 42-45,3, is in the fourth issue of the first volume, pp. 45-58,10 in the first issue of the second volume of “Zur Naturwissenschaft.” Only 5-13,15 of this part of the text is available in manuscript form in the archive. 13,16-34,3 is the cloud diary mentioned in the day and year notebooks (vol. 36, p. 155), which was created during the trip to Karlsbad in 1820.

2. The treatise: On the Cause of Barometer Fluctuations. It is found in the second notebook of the second volume, “On Natural Science,” and contains a preliminary communication on the hypothesis, particularly important for Goethe's scientific view, that the cause of barometric fluctuations is not cosmic but telluric, and is to be sought in the fact that the earth changes its gravitational pull, thus attracting the atmosphere more or less at different times. As can be seen from the empirical notes recorded on p. 62 ff. and from note 69,13-19, this essay was written between June and December 1822. The daily and annual notebooks (vol. 36, p. 212) also show that the hypothesis cited became established in Goethe's mind during that year.

3. The detailed presentation of Goethe's thoughts on meteorological phenomena in systematic development under the title: Versuch einer Witterungslehre (Attempt at a Theory of Weather). This treatise first appeared in the “Posthumous Works.” It is available in manuscript form, partly written by Eckermann and partly by Goethe's secretary John. Goethe himself carefully corrected most of it. The treatise was probably written in 1825. On February 10 of that year, the diary contains the entry: “Essay on meteorology rewritten.” On the following days, until the 17th, the continuation of this work is recorded. Individual parts were probably revisited and reworked later. The introduction, for example (pp. 74-77), which is available in Eckermann's handwriting with Goethe's corrections, appears to have been dictated by Goethe on January 8, 1826. The diary entry reads: “In the evening, Dr. Eckermann; dictated the introduction to meteorology to him.” This transcript and the print in the “Posthumous Works” served as the basis for our text.

These already printed parts of the volume are followed by 4. the as yet unprinted essays: Karlsbad (110-114), On the Generation of Wind (115), Cloud Movements (116-117), Concentric Cloud Spheres (118-119), Meteorology (120), Observations to Date and Wishes for the Future (121-122), Meteorological Observation Sites (123-124). The dates of their creation are attached to the first three. The last three are so closely related to the content of the “Attempt at a Meteorological Theory” that one can conclude that they were written at the same time. The last essay relates to Goethe's meteorological works in the same way as the methodological sketches at the end of the seventh and tenth volumes relate to his morphological and geological works. It is a methodological justification of Goethe's approach.

The meteorological sections are followed by “Natural Science Details”: Observations on a Collection of Diseased Ivory, On the Requirements for Natural History Illustrations in General and Osteological Illustrations in Particular, Johann Kunckel, Jena Museums and Observatory. These essays cannot be classified under any of the usual natural science subjects. The reflections on “Ivory” and “Johann Kunckel” are therefore also included in the “Posthumous Works” in the special chapter “Natural Science Details” (vol. 60). The content of the other two essays required the same treatment. The remaining essays in the “Natural Science Details” section of the “Posthumous Works” belong in earlier volumes based on their content and can also be found in the corresponding places in this edition. The treatise on “pathological ivory” was written in March 1798 (cf. diary), while the essay on “Kunckel” was, as the diary reveals, conceived on August 15 and 16, 1822, during a visit to Fikentscher in Redwitz, and written between September 22 and 27 of the same year. The remarks on “Jenaische Museen und Sternwarte” (Jena Museums and Observatory) were written in February 1814, as can be seen from the notes in the “Lesarten” (Readings). The text concludes with a number of sketches that follow on from the content of earlier volumes but were only found after they had been printed.

The “Paralipomena” begins with the “Instruction” used by Goethe as a basis for his meteorological observations. He developed this with the help of the Jena meteorologists in 1817 and improved it in 1820. He wanted the observations to be made at individual locations in accordance with this instruction. (See p. 123). The remaining parts of the Paralipomena consist of details relating to the field of meteorology that could not be integrated into the systematic whole of the text. The twelfth volume concludes the second, larger half of the natural science section, the collection of writings on morphology, geology, and natural science in general. For this reason, on the instructions of the editors, a register covering volumes 6-12 is included with this volume.

The editor of the volume is Rudolf Steiner; Bernhard Suphan is involved as editor.

[Selected texts in the readings:]

[p. 234] Goethe sent the following to precede the first issue of the second volume: “On Natural Science in General.” It does not belong to the scientific content of the issues, but refers to their external structure. Therefore, it appears here as a “paralipomenon.”

[Preliminary remark on the following text by Goethe: WA II 12, 234-235; LA 18, 285-286]

[p. 238] Note. In 1813, a pictorial representation appeared in the “Allgemeine geographische Ephemeriden” (General Geographical Ephemerides), vol. 41 (pp. 1-8) of April 8, edited by F. J. Bertuch: “Höhen der alten und neuen Welt bildlich verglichen” (A pictorial comparison of the heights of the Old and New Worlds) with a preliminary remark by Bertuch and an explanatory letter from Goethe to Bertuch dated April 8, 1813. A separate print was also published. The originals for the pictorial tableau are available at the Goethe National Museum. Goethe was inspired to create it by reading Alexander von Humboldt's work dedicated to him: “Ideas for a Geography of Plants.” A letter from Goethe to A. von Humboldt dated February 8, 1813 (cf. Goethe's correspondence with the Humboldt brothers, p. 248 f.) reveals that Goethe originally also had plans to create a world language map. However, this was never realized. The elevation map is colored. Goethe describes it in the above-mentioned letter as follows:

[Preliminary remark on the following text by Goethe: WA II 12, 238-240; LA 111, 159-161]

[p. 240] We refrain from reproducing the tableau, which Goethe also describes in his letter to Bertuch dated April 7, 1813 (Goethe Jahrbuch IV, 219) as merely a “cheerful recapitulation” of Humboldt's ideas; it cannot be said to have any scientific significance. In later years, Goethe made a copy of it and glued paper-cut and painted cloud shapes onto it, so that a specific height above sea level is assigned to the corresponding cloud shape. Stratus is found from sea level to 1200 toises, cumulus from 1200-2200 toises; cirrus from 2200-3500 toises; a raining nimbus 450-1000 toises.

[Postscript to the preceding text by Goethe: WA II 12, 238-240; LA I 11, 159-161]