Geschichte des Agathon, a novel written by C. M. Wieland between 1761 and 1767, and published in 1766-7. It bears as motto the lines
Quid virtus et quid sapientia possit,from Horace, Epistolae, Bk. 1, Ep. 2 (‘He has furnished us with a useful example of what virtue and wisdom can achieve’). The novel is set in ancient Greece, a token of the rising interest in Greek antiquity among men of culture and breeding. Nevertheless, Wieland, in his preface (Vorbericht, 1766), indicates Agathon's identity with himself, and suggests that the events and some of the other characters are drawn from life. It has been suggested that Sophie Gutermann (see La Roche, Sophie von) was the original of Psyche, and Wieland's mentor Graf Stadion (1691-1768) that of Hippias.
Utile proposuit nobis exemplum.
Agathon, whose name symbolizes his innate goodness, is a young Greek of good parentage, and is reared in a temple. The priestess casts an eye upon him, but he is drawn to Psyche, a young devotee. Psyche is banished, and Agathon returns to his father at Athens. He is appointed to political office, but, after a time, is dismissed and banished. These preliminaries are revealed as the story progresses. The novel actually begins with the banished Agathon meeting Psyche again, only to be separated from her once more. Taken by pirates, he is sold at Smyrna to the sophist Hippias, who sustains a philosophy of hedonistic self-interest. Hippias seeks in vain to convert Agathon from idealism to self-interest, but he brings about an acquaintance with Danae, a hetaera, whom Agathon comes to love; however, on learning her trade, he renounces her and leaves for Syracuse. After a further unsuccessful venture into politics he retires into private life. He goes to Tarento, where he admires the wise rule of Archytas; he discovers that Psyche is his sister, and encounters Danae, now ennobled and become altruistic through her love for Agathon. Agathon, abandoning vague idealism, contents himself with a limited sphere of useful activity, and adopts a philosophy which emphasizes the spirit without disregarding the senses.
The Geschichte des Agathon, told in smooth, lucid prose, is an early and competent example of the Bildungsroman, in which the hero learns ultimate wisdom through errors. It enjoyed a considerable reputation in the 18th c. and was termed by Lessing ‘der erste und einzige Roman für den denkenden Kopf von klassischem Geschmacke’ (Hamburgische Dramaturgie, 69. Stück).
