The Sorrows of Young Werther (58) by J.W. von Goethe

 The Sorrows of Young Werther (58) by J.W. von Goethe

Werther returned home, took the candle from his servant, and retired
to his room alone. He talked for some time with great earnestness to
himself, wept aloud, walked in a state of great excitement through his
chamber; till at length, without undressing, he threw himself on the
bed, where he was found by his servant at eleven o’clock, when the
latter ventured to enter the room, and take off his boots. Werther did
not prevent him, but forbade him to come in the morning till he should
ring.

On Monday morning, the 21st of December, he wrote to Charlotte the
following letter, which was found, sealed, on his bureau after his
death, and was given to her. I shall insert it in fragments; as it
appears, from several circumstances, to have been written in that
manner.

“It is all over, Charlotte: I am resolved to die! I make this
declaration deliberately and coolly, without any romantic passion, on
this morning of the day when I am to see you for the last time. At the
moment you read these lines, O best of women, the cold grave will hold
the inanimate remains of that restless and unhappy being who, in the
last moments of his existence, knew no pleasure so great as that of
conversing with you! I have passed a dreadful night or rather, let me
say, a propitious one; for it has given me resolution, it has fixed my
purpose. I am resolved to die. When I tore myself from you yesterday,
my senses were in tumult and disorder; my heart was oppressed, hope and
pleasure had fled from me for ever, and a petrifying cold had seized
my wretched being. I could scarcely reach my room. I threw myself on
my knees; and Heaven, for the last time, granted me the consolation of
shedding tears. A thousand ideas, a thousand schemes, arose within my
soul; till at length one last, fixed, final thought took possession of
my heart. It was to die. I lay down to rest; and in the morning, in the
quiet hour of awakening, the same determination was upon me. To die! It
is not despair: it is conviction that I have filled up the measure of
my sufferings, that I have reached my appointed term, and must sacrifice
myself for thee. Yes, Charlotte, why should I not avow it? One of us
three must die: it shall be Werther. O beloved Charlotte! this heart,
excited by rage and fury, has often conceived the horrid idea of
murdering your husband–you–myself! The lot is cast at length. And in
the bright, quiet evenings of summer, when you sometimes wander toward
the mountains, let your thoughts then turn to me: recollect how often
you have watched me coming to meet you from the valley; then bend your
eyes upon the churchyard which contains my grave, and, by the light of
the setting sun, mark how the evening breeze waves the tall grass
which grows above my tomb. I was calm when I began this letter, but the
recollection of these scenes makes me weep like a child.”

The Sorrows of Young Werther (Die Leiden des jungen Werther) by J.W. von Goethe. Translated by R.D. Boylan.
To be continued

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