I realize that this is a lit. question, so I posted it in the arts section, but it’s also a factual question, so I post it here too where I would think there is more traffic.
A friend is looking for a quote from Goethe’s Faust about dotting i’s. Anyone know what she 's talking about?–I’ve been reading his famous quotes and have found nothing–(and I’m not about to read the whole piece just to find it).
Part II in the laboratory at 6995.
Homunculus: Meanwhile I shall explore the world a bit
and so perhaps discover how to dot the i’s.
Then your great purpose will have been achieved,
and the rewards your striving merits:
gold, honor, fame a long and healthy life,
and maybe knowledge too and virtue.
Farewell!
In the original German:
so literally it’s ‘I may discover the dot on the i’ in the original. (as far as I know the metaphor of ‘crossing ts and dotting is’ is nor used in German).
Thank you all. I knew this place would get that one solved in less time than I spent trying myself.
In German, “das Tüpfchen auf dem i” is a metaphor for the last little bit that makes a thing perfect, like the icing on the cake.