Sunday, November 26:
R.'s night somewhat restless. But at breakfast he is cheerful, jokes (I cannot remember with what instigation) about my love for Frau v. Stein and Frau v. Kalb, and when I set out to defend the former, observing that one cannot blame her for not liking the Venezianische Epigramme, for example, R. replies: "Goethe had had quite enough of a relationship in which the woman gave nothing and yet wanted to be the one and only. How calmly he judged things, when he realized that all the charm of this relationship was provided by him, one can see from the letter about coffee."
After various comings and goings we stroll to Saint Mark's Square, where Passini is awaiting us in order to show us the restored Madonna dei Frari in the Doge's Palace. R., like me, is pleased by it, and he says the flag adds something fanatical to the picture. But when we are shown other things, he becomes annoyed, and at home jokingly accuses me of a preference for the visual arts. At lunch he tells me Gob.'s views on Cyrus's significance and death, says that in this history he finds Gob. even more interesting than the Persians themselves. In the evening he plays whist with my father and Loldi, while I entertain a little violinist whom R., in order to get rid of him at Lavena's, invited to come along in the evening! This leads to many jokes! I forget in what connection R. quoted the line, "We've made him rich; 'tis now expected that we amuse his idle hours." He shows it to me in Faust in our room and agrees with me when I say that it expresses Schopenhauer's view on life, "Either misery or boredom."