Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche. 40 in 45 Bänden in 2 Abteilungen

Translations play a significant role in Goethe's literary work. His knowledge of world literature was crucial for the development of his own aesthetic positions. Goethe's translations from foreign languages, as well as his adaptations of German-language stage texts, are independent literary genres. Volume 11 gathers all those texts in which the translation is so significant that it carries equal weight to Goethe's own poetic texts. The famous autobiography of the Italian Renaissance sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini has been translated multiple times. His tumultuous life story has remained fascinating over the centuries. Cellini's life account and the work on the translation were a decisive step for Goethe on his path to his own autobiography. Voltaire and his great contemporaries also had a lasting influence on Goethe. In Diderot's dialogue novel "Le Neveu de Rameau," Goethe saw an exemplary demonstration of an author's ability to cope with a life crisis through creativity.