INHIGEO Anniversaries: Goethe’s Essay on Granite 240 years ago

INHIGEO Anniversaries

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832): Essay on granite 1785

The untitled essay on granite by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), is among his most memorable brief essays. In a handful of paragraphs it moves from the enduring fascination with the granite monuments of Egypt, to a succinct recounting of what was known about granite by the late eighteenth century and concludes with a caution about the pitfalls awaiting those who would take up the study of granite.

Read the post by Ernst Hamm (Canada) here.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1779, etching (1881) by William Unger after a painting by Georg Oswald May, 1779. Wellcomecollection.org

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