Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Four

Professor Olin gave Philip a lesson every day.He made a book list, stipulating which works Philip should read, in preparation for the final study of the great work "Faust".At the same time, Professor Olin ingeniously taught Philip a German translation of Shakespeare's plays, which he had read in middle school.Goethe was at the height of his fame in Germany at that time.Despite Goethe's rather arrogant attitude towards patriotism, he was accepted by the Germans as a national poet.Since the outbreak of the war in 1870, he seems to have become one of the most shining representatives of national unity.The impulsive people, hearing the rumble of artillery shelling Gravelo, seemed to be indulging in the frenzy of May Eve.However, the hallmark of a great writer is that different people can draw different inspirations from his works.Professor Olin, who hated the Prussians, admired Goethe, because only his solemn and solemn works provided a sanctuary for the sane man against the barbaric attacks of his contemporaries.In Heidelberg lately the name of a dramatist has been frequently mentioned, and when one of his plays was staged in the theater last winter, the followers cheered and the decent people booed.More than once at the long table in the Professor's wife's house Philip heard people discussing the matter; The tone overwhelmed all objections.This play is purely playing the piano, and the obscene language is unbearable.He forced himself to sit and wait for the play to be over, unable to tell whether he was bored or more disgusted.If the dramas in the future become like this, it would be better for the police to intervene as soon as possible and close all the theaters.Professor Olin is not a strict and rigid teacher. When he watched the farce in the Royal Theater, he heard the gags of the immoral people on the stage, and he laughed like all the audience.But in the above-mentioned play, there was nothing but nonsense.With a strong gesture, he squeezed his nose and whistled through his teeth.That drama is really the ruin of the family, the ruin of morality, the collapse of Germany.

"Abor, Adolf, the professor's wife said from the other end of the table, "Don't get excited! " He raised his fist at her.His personality could not be more docile, and he never dared to act rashly without consulting his wife. "No, Helen, listen to me," he cried, "I'd rather have my daughters die at my feet than have them listen to the blah blah blah blah blah blah blah." The play was A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. Professor Olin put Ibsen and Richard Wagner together, but when he talked about the latter, he was not angry, he just laughed carelessly.Wagner is a connoisseur who pretends to be a connoisseur, but he pretends so well that there is something comical about him, and it is enough to make people feel intoxicated.

"Verruckter kerl!" he said. He had seen Lohengrin, and it was a passable opera, a bit dull, but not too bad.But "Siegfried", when Professor Olin mentioned this opera, he leaned his head on it and laughed loudly.From the beginning to the end of the opera, there is not a single pleasant melody.You may wish to imagine this: the playwright Richard Wagner himself was sitting in the box, and seeing all the audience watching the opera in a serious manner, he couldn't help laughing, and finally his stomach hurt from laughing.This was the greatest deception of the nineteenth century.Professor Olin raised his glass of beer to his lips, threw his head back, and drank it down.Then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and said:

"Young man, I can tell you that Wagner will be completely forgotten before the nineteenth century. Wagner! I would trade all his works for an opera by Donizetti."