Libris

last updated: 10 December 2008

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johann wolfgang von goethe

Roman Elegies and The Diary

‘Sickness is the true proof of health, they say.’

This is the first complete translation into English of both Goethe’s erotic masterpieces. The narrative poem The Diary has been called the most moral erotic poem ever written, because its morality is in inverse proportion to its eroticism. The Roman Elegies combine Goethe’s excitement at discovering the sensuousness of antique Roman with what the poet W.H.Auden maintained was his first uninhibited experience of physical love.

‘Excellent renderings, fluent and faithful’ – The Times Literary Supplement

‘A handsome volume, by an excellent translator and an enlightened commentator’ – Guardian

This edition was republished by OUP World’s Classics in 1997.

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Other books by this author and published by Libris:

• Selected Poetry