For Goethe to have discerned connections between the arousal of human cognition and appreciation of elementary geometrical notions, suggests his familiarity with disciplines outside the strictly literary realm.
Goethe is among the figures of modern enlightenment who represent the phrase renaissance man in all its truth and glory -- an epithet which mindless use has since cliched.
The extent of Goethe's involvement with the sciences has even led critics to suggest an interference with his literary pursuits; he should have written more poetry instead is a complaint often heard.
Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main, the first child of a lawyer Johann Caspar Goethe, and Katherine Elisabeth Textor, daughter of a mayor of Frankfurt.
Goethe had a comfortable childhood and he was greatly influenced by his mother, who encouraged his literary aspirations.
Goethe was released from day-to-day governmental duties to concentrate on writer, although he was still general supervisor for arts and sciences, and director of the court theatres (1791-1817).
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