Do tell me, Godfather Drosselmeier, is it really true that you invented the mousetrap?” “How can you ask such a silly question?” the mother cried. Bu… - E. T. A. Hoffmann

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Do tell me, Godfather Drosselmeier, is it really true that you invented the mousetrap?” “How can you ask such a silly question?” the mother cried. But the godfather smiled inscrutably and he murmured: “Am I not enough of a skillful clockmaker and not even enough to invent mousetraps?

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About E. T. A. Hoffmann

Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann (24 January 1776 – 25 June 1822), better known by his pen name E. T. A. Hoffmann, was a German Romantic author of fantasy and horror, a jurist, composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist. He is the subject and hero of Jacques Offenbach's opera The Tales of Hoffmann, a fictionalized account.

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Also Known As

Native Name: Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann
Alternative Names: Ernst Theodor Wilhelm. Hoffman Ernst Theodor Amedeus Hoffmann Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffman E.T.A. Hoffmann Ernst Theodor Hoffmann Amadeus Hoffman Amadeus Hoffmann E. T. Hoffmann ernst theodor amadeus hoffmann e. th. a. hoffmann Ernst Theodore Wilhelm Hoffmann Ernst T. A. Hoffmann Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann
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Additional quotes by E. T. A. Hoffmann

It may even be that, as you look more closely, to recognize the hidden seed which, born of a secret union, grows into a luxuriant plant and spreads forth into a thousand tendrils, until a single blossom, swelling to maturity, absorbs all the life-sap and kills the seed itself. [...] I came to feel that what we call simply dream and imagination might represent the secret thread that runs through our lives and links its varied facets; and that the man who thinks that, because he has perceived this, he has acquired the power to break the thread and challenge that mysterious force which rules us, is to be given up as lost.

Произведите непокорного композитора в капельмейстера или музыкального директора, стихотворца — в придворного поэта, художника — в придворного портретиста, ваятеля — в придворного скульптора, и скоро в стране вашей переведутся все бесполезные фантасты, останутся лишь полезные бюргеры отличного воспитания и добрых нравов!

He was wearing a purple cloak over his shoulders in a strange, foreign fashion, his arms folded inside it. His face was deathly pale, but as his great black eyes stared at me, a dagger seemed to pierce my heart. A feeling of horror ran through me, and quickly turning my face away, I summoned all my strength and continued speaking. But as though compelled by some magic force, I could not help looking over towards him again and again. He still stood there, impassive and motionless, his ghostly eyes fixed upon me. Something resembling bitter scorn and hatred lay on his high, furrowed brow and his drawn lips. The whole figure had a horrible, frightening air about it. It was... it was the mysterious painter from the Holy Linden.

Cruel, icy fingers clutched at my heart. A fearful sweat on my forehead; my phrases stuck in my throat, and my speech became more and more incoherent. But the terrible stranger still leant silently against the pillar, his glassy eyes set unwaveringly on me.

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