Wednesday, December 3:
R. did not have a good night; this time it was Thenardier-type manifestations which disturbed him. Our conversation is now very often taken up with the presence and occupation of our young friend, and when R. finds him with me, and we then discuss what a young man of fire and intelligence should do in these times, R. expatiates on the theme of science, the physical truths “against which there is nothing to be said, but which also have nothing to say to us,” and points in the direction of ideality. He says he does not deny that these things are excellent as a method, but what really matters is the soul. He speaks in a warm and lively manner and undoubtedly makes an impression on our young friend. Memories over coffee of the chorus master Fischer; very touching. In the evening finished the first part of Don Quixote, the idyll with the grazing oxen, the strange conversation between Don Quixote and the canon. Delight in it still, admiration of all its various features, as, for example, the conversation between Sancho and his wife, the power of D. Q.’s idealism over Sancho - Sancho believes in all his fantasies, whereas he sees through the deceptions of everybody else; he is aided in this by his covetousness. Extraordinary interweaving of spiritual motives.