Internalism and Laws of Form 285
stem*—from cotyledons, to stem leaves, to sepals, petals, pistils and stamens, and
fruit.
The common epitome of Goethe's system—all is leaf—should not be taken
literally as the actual reduction of all serial diversity to the actual form of a stem
leaf. Such a reading would contravene the Platonic character of archetypes in
formalist theory. The "leaf" represents an abstract generating principle, from which
stem leaves depart least in actual expression. Goethe writes: "We ought to have a
general term with which to designate this diversely metamorphosed organ and with
which to compare all manifestations of its form. ... We might equally well say that
a stamen is a contracted petal, as that a petal is a stamen in a state of expansion; or
that a sepal is a contracted stem leaf approaching a certain stage of refinement, as
that a stem leaf is a sepal expanded by the influx of cruder saps" (1790, No. 120).
Goethe expressed the epitome of his system in measured tone within his essay
(1790, No. 119): "The organs of the vegetating and flowering plant, though
seemingly dissimilar, all originate from a single organ, namely, the leaf." In
private, he became more effusive: "[I have traced] the manifold specific
phenomena in the magnificent garden of the universe back to one simple general
principle" (1831 essay, in Mueller and Engard, 1952, p. 168). To friends, as to the
philosopher J. G. Herder, he could become positively effusive (dare I say florid):
"The archetypal plant as I see it will be the most wonderful creation in the whole
world, and nature herself will envy me for it. With this model and the key to it, one
will be able to invent plants..., which, even if they do not actually exist,
nevertheless might exist, and which are not merely picturesque or poetic visions
and illusions, but have inner truth and logic. The same law will permit itself to be
applied to everything that is living" (letter of 1787, quoted in Mueller and Engard,
1952, p. 14).
Goethe dissects and compares, trying to find the leaf-like basis of apparently
diversified and disparate structures. The anastomosed sepals, forming the calyx at
the base of a flower, must be leaves that fail to separate when a cutoff of nutriment
stops expansion of the stem: "If the flowering were retarded by the infiltration of
superfluous nutriment, the leaves would be separated and would assume their
original shape. Thus, in the calyx, nature forms
- Goethe's theory encompasses only the lateral and terminal organs, not the
supporting roots and stems. Goethe was often castigated for this omission, unfairly I
think. (A theory for all appended parts cannot be dismissed as a mean thing, even if the
framework remains unaddressed.) Goethe became quite sensitive to such criticism, and
defended his failure to consider roots by heaping disdain upon such lowly parts: "My
critics have taken me to task for not considering the root in my treatment of plant
metamorphosis ... I was not concerned with it at all, for what had I to do with an organ
which takes the form of strings, ropes, bulbs, and knots, and manifests itself in such
unsatisfying alternation, an organ where endless varieties make their appearance and
where none advance. And it is advance solely that could attract me, hold me, and sweep
me along on my course. Let everyone to his own way. Let him, if he can, look back upon
forty years of accomplishment, such as the Good Genius has granted me" (from unedited
paragraph written in 1824, quoted in Mueller and Engard, 1952).