When on extended pinion sweeps amain
The lordly eagle o'er the pine-crowned height.
And when, still striving towards its home, the crane
O'er moor and ocean wings its onward flight.
But the most complete expression of Goethe's attitude, not only in the period of Werther and the first part of Faust, but generally, is contained in the Monologue, which was probably written not earlier than the spring of 1788:
Spirit sublime! Thou gav'st me, gav'st me all
For which I prayed. Not vainly hast thou turn'd
To me thy countenance in flaming fire;
Thou gav'st me glorious Nature for my realm,