An Age of Expectation

"The twentieth century will perhaps discover that Goethe knew in advance what it would one day achieve for itself, and even what it is still striving for. The places in his works where this is expressed will be pointed out. The periods of time separating the generations that follow one another will expand more and more. But what does a century more or less do for the relationship of humanity as it continues to develop to Homer or Shakespeare? Their power to penetrate souls increases more and more. With them, Goethe will one day accompany humanity as a star in its own right."