The author describes Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's development as a historian. He depicts the shaping of Goethe's historical consciousness, initially influenced by the historical environment of Frankfurt and his social and familial surroundings, and later by the influences of historically minded individuals he encountered, who shaped the historical perspective of the time, such as Herder, Hamann, Lessing, and Kant. Goethe's historical consciousness is reflected in his dramas and also in his studies of nature, where change and development are central concepts that also define his historical viewpoint. This is a reprint of the original edition from 1907.