Tuesday, November 25:
Once more talked with R. about the Indians. The idea in Scandinavian mythology of a new world to follow the downfall of the gods is maybe a stray offshoot of the Indian religion. The governing of all actions by rites, this is true religion, and what distinguishes human from animal existence. The natural tendency of Germans toward corporate bodies, which restrict individual freedom. Came back once again to the acknowledgment that the human spirit needs barriers, a formula.
Arrival of my bust, which delights R.; he places it above his writing desk and sings, “Nothing is so dear to me as the room in which I bide, for now I have only fair neighbor standing by my side.”
In the evening we go to the amateur concert, Egmont Overture and R.’s overture, the one from his birthday; it makes him laugh to remember that on its first performance it was included in the same program with just this Egmont Overture, which pleased his mother even better.
In the evening we read the play Die Familie Posa by Herr von Meyern!!