Chapter I: Part 1

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Transcriber’s Notes

This e-text is based on the printed version of ‘Goethe and Schiller’s
Xenions,’ from 1915. Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation have
been retained, but punctuation and typographical errors have been
corrected.

The footnotes in the preface (pp. 1-22) have been placed below their
respective paragraphs. They have been assigned alphabetical symbols
([A]-[C]). Endnotes, which have been placed at the end of the main
text, have been arranged by using consecutive numbers ([1]-[23]).

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GOETHE AND SCHILLER’S
XENIONS

GOETHE AND SCHILLER’S
XENIONS

SELECTED AND TRANSLATED

BY

PAUL CARUS

SECOND EDITION

CHICAGO LONDON

THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO.
1915

COPYRIGHT BY

THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING COMPANY
1915

Motto:

“Warum willst du dich von uns allen
Und unserer Meinung entfernen?”
Ich schreibe nicht euch zu gefallen;
Ihr sollt was lernen. -- Goethe.

“Why keepest thou aloof? Why lonely
Art from our views thou turning?”
I do not write to please you only,
You must be learning!

Table of Contents.

PAGE

~The History and Poetical Form of the Xenions~ 1
The History of the Xenions 3
The Elegiac Distich 13

~Introductory~ 23
Our Purpose 25
Our Method 26
The Distich 27
Boisterous 28
Our Common Fate 29
The Last Martyr 30

~Soul and World~ 31
Our Own 33
Harmony 34
The Key 35
Worth and Value 36
Nature and Reason 37
Oneness 38
Various Destinies 39
The Immutable 40
The Law of Nature 41
Zeus to Heracles 42
Folly and Insanity 43
Motives and Action 44
Baal Priests 45
Salvation 46
Human Life 47
Immortality 48
Indestructible 49
God, World, and Man 50

~Critical and Literary~ 51
The Poet Addresses his Muse 53
To Incompetent Reviewers 54
Wolf’s Homer 55
Intellectual Aristocracy 56
Bad Times 57

Mutual Admiration Society 58
Dilettante 59
To One Author 60
To Another Author 61
Wanted 62
Artifice 63
A Discussion 64

~Satirical and Personal~ 65
The Great Moment 67
To Some Critics 68
The Vinculum 69
Present Generation 70
To Those in Authority 71
Questionable Investigation 72
The Spirit and the Letter 73
The Sense of a Committee 74
Taste in a Watering Place 75
Sample of Modern Criticism 76
Nicolai’s Book on the Source of the Danube 77
The Collector 78
Crudity 79
Nicolai’s Motto 80
A Publisher 81
In Comparison with Socrates 82
To Certain Moralists 83
Martyrs 84
The Brothers Stolberg 85
The Connoisseur 86
Sentimentalists 87
The Prophet 88
The Half-Bird 89
Partisan Spirit 90

~The Philosophers in Hades~ 91
The Poet Speaks 93
Aristotle 94
Urgent 95
Descartes 96
My Answer 97
Spinoza 98
Berkeley 99
Leibniz 100
Kant 101
David Hume 102
Fichte 103
Reinhold 104
My Answer 105
K. C. F. Schmidt, the Moral Philosopher 106
My Answer 107
Philosophy 108

~Philosophical Problems~ 109
For Sale 111
A Flaw 112
Empiricists 113
Theoreticians 114
Last Refuge 115
Natural Science and Transcendental Philosophy 116
The Same 117
Kant and his Interpreters 118
Teleology 119
The Problem of Natural Law 120
Puffendorf’s Reply 121
A Moral Problem 122
The Kantian’s Decision 123
Human Knowledge 124
Systems 126

~Science and Art~ 127
Genius a Gift 129
Truth and Form 130
Creation 131
Different Applications 132
The Sublime 133
Fiction and Truth 134
The Poet and the Naturalist 135
Trust in Scientific Truth 136
Wisdom and Prudence 138

~Wisdom, Morality and Religion~ 139
The Highest 141
Piety and Natural Science 142
Misrepresented 143
Philosopher and Bigot 144
Theological Hedonists 145
Friend and Enemy 146
Distinction 147
Perfection 148
Goodness and Greatness 149
The One Thing Needed 150
Our Duty 151
Difference in Oneness 152
Repetition 153
Utility 154
Harm 155
Discipline 156
Comfort 157
Analytical Truth-Seekers 158
Depreciated Coin 159
Ritual 160
Mystics 161
Light and Color 162
Not Irreligious 163
Our Father 164

~Notes~ 165

THE HISTORY AND POETICAL
FORM OF THE XENIONS.

The History of the Xenions.

The appearance of the Xenions, a collection of satirical epigrams in the _Musen-Almanach_ of 1797, is a memorable event in the literature of Germany. With the end of the eighteenth century a new era had commenced. The idea of evolution, first clearly pronounced by Caspar Friedrich Wolff in his theory of epigenesis,[A] pointed out new aims of investigation in the realm of natural sciences; Kant’s _Critique of Pure Reason_ propounded new problems in philosophy; and Beethoven conceived his grand sonatas, which reflected the spirit of an all-comprehensive aspiration in the soul-stirring notes of music. New ideals, religious, moral, and social, had dawned upon mankind, and the two great apostles of this movement in the domain of poetry were Goethe and Schiller.

[A] His _Theoria Generationis_ appeared in 1759.

It is well known what good friends Goethe and Schiller were. After the two great poets had become personally acquainted they inspired, criticised, and corrected each other. Their common ideal became the firm basis of their mutual friendship, and the chief monument of their alliance is the collection of satirical distichs known as the Xenions.

Great though Schiller and Goethe were, they did not find sufficient support among those who should have been their first followers and disciples. The men of literary callings, who should be the priests of the holiest interests of humanity, were too envious fully to recognize and acknowledge the merit of these two great poet-thinkers. Moreover, the men of letters were chiefly enamoured of their own traditional methods of literary production and could not appreciate the purity, the grandeur, and the holiness of the new taste. They misunderstood the progressive spirit of the time, and to their puny minds the rise of the new era appeared as a mere disturbance of their traditional habits. They looked upon the twin giants of the world of thought as usurpers, who from personal vanity and ambition tyrannized over all others, and whose impositions had either to be resisted, or silenced by shrugs.

On the one side, the orthodox and narrow-minded pietists considered Goethe and Schiller irreligious and un-Christian, and accused them of paganism. On the other side we find the two great poets opposed by such men as the shallow Nicolai, a man of good common sense but without any genius, a man who preached that stale kind of rationalism which consisted in both the suppression of all higher aspiration and the denial of spirituality in any sense. He railed at Goethe and Schiller as well as at Kant, Fichte, and other great minds of his time who went beyond his depth and were incomprehensible to him. The pious are characterized in the Xenions as enthusiasts and sentimentalists (_Schwärmer_) while the prosaic rationalists are called by the German student term “philistines” which denotes common-place people, and the pedantic Nicolai figures as the “arch-philistine.”

Nicolai was a rich and influential publisher in Berlin; he was an author himself, and a very prolific one too, but his writings are superficial and barren. On several occasions he criticised Goethe severely, and our great poets asserted that in fighting superstition he attacked poetry, and in attempting to suppress the belief in _spirits_ he also tried to abolish _spirit_. So Goethe makes him say in the _Walpurgisnacht_:

“Ich sag’s Euch _Geistern_ in’s Gesicht,
Den _Geistes_-Despotismus leid ich nicht;
Mein Geist kann ihn nicht exerciren.”

[I tell you, spirits, to your face,
I give to spirit-despotism no place;
My spirit cannot practise it at all.]

_Tr. by Bayard Taylor._

The irritation of the literary dwarfs showed itself in malevolent reviews of Schiller’s literary enterprise, _Die Horen_.

Schiller wrote to Goethe June 15, 1795:

“I have thought for some time that it would be well to open a critical arena in _Die Horen_. Yet we should not give away our rights by formally inviting the public and the authors. The public would certainly be represented by the most miserable voices, and the authors, as we know from experience, would become very importunate. My proposition is that we make the attack ourselves. In case the authors wish to defend themselves in _Die Horen_, they must submit to our conditions. And my advice is, not to begin with propositions, but to begin with deeds. There is no harm if we are denounced as ill-bred.”

Several letters were exchanged on this subject, and Goethe wrote in a letter of December 23, 1795, to Schiller:

“We must cultivate the idea of making epigrams upon all journals; one distich for each magazine, in the manner of Martial’s _Xenia_; and we must publish a collection of them in the _Musen-Almanach_ of next year. Enclosed are some Xenions as a specimen.”

Schiller answered at once, December 23, 1795:

“The idea of the Xenions is splendid and must be carried out.... What a wealth of material is offered by the Stolbergs, by Racknitz, Ramdohr, the metaphysical world with its _Me’s_ and _Not-Me’s_, friend Nicolai, our sworn enemy, the Leipsic taste-mongers, Thümmel, with Göschen as his horsegroom, and others.”

Thus the two poets decided to wage a destructive war against their common enemies, and to come down upon them in a literary thunderstorm. The poets planned a “poetical deviltry,” as they called it, and named their satirical poetry “Xenions.”

The word Xenion originally meant a gift presented by a host to a stranger who enjoys his hospitality. The Roman poet Martial called his book of satirical epigrams _Xenia_; and, as Goethe and Schiller intended to make similar epigrammatical thrusts at Nicolai and other offenders, they adopted Martial’s expression and called their verses Xenions.[B] They agreed to publish all their Xenions together, and to regard them as their common property.

[B] We prefer the Saxon form of the plural (_Xenions_) to the Latin
form (_Xenia_), which is appropriate only as a name of Latin poetry.

The first Xenions were very aggressive, but by and by they became more general and lost their personal character. There are among them many which are lofty and full of deep thought. It happened now and then that the authors of the Xenions hit the wrong man; but this, although to be regretted, was more excusable than the abuse with which their adversaries retorted.

The Xenions raised a storm of indignation, as was to be expected, and Anti-Xenions were written by many of those who had been attacked. But while the tenor of the Xenions is lofty in spite of their personal character, and while we feel the high aims of Goethe and Schiller in their attempts to purify literature, the Anti-Xenions are _wholly_ personal. They are rude, malicious and mean. They insinuate that the Xenions were prompted by vile motives; that Goethe and Schiller wanted more praise and flattery; that they were envious of the laurels of others and wanted to be the sole usurpers of Mount Parnassus. Schiller was called Kant’s ape, and Goethe was reproached with his family relations.

The history of the Xenions is their justification. The Anti-Xenions are, in themselves alone, a wholesale condemnation of the opposition made to Goethe and Schiller.

Goethe wrote to Schiller concerning the reception which the Xenions found, on December 5, 1796:

“It is real fun to observe what has been offensive to this kind of people, and also what they think has been offensive to us. How trivial, empty, and mean they consider the life of others, and how they direct their arrows against the outside of the works! How little do they know that a man who takes life seriously lives in an impregnable castle!”

Goethe and Schiller had wielded a vigorous and two-edged weapon in the Xenions. They had severely chastised their antagonists for incompetency; but now it devolved upon themselves to prove the right of their censorship, and they were conscious of this duty. Goethe wrote, November 15, 1806:

“After the bold venture of the Xenions, we must confine our labors strictly to great and worthy works of art. We must shame our adversaries by transmuting our Protean nature henceforth into noble and good forms.”

Events proved that both Goethe and Schiller were not only willing but able to fulfil these intentions. Their antagonists have disappeared. Some of them would now be entirely forgotten had not the two poets immortalized them in the Xenions.

Some Xenions are of mere transitory importance, especially such as contain allusions and criticisms that are lost to those who are not thoroughly versed in the history of the times, while others are gems of permanent value, reflecting in a few words flashes of the deepest wisdom, and they ought to be better known among English-speaking people. We have therefore extracted and translated those which we deem worthy of preservation for all time.

Goethe and Schiller’s distichs, we are sorry to add, are not always very elegant, and sometimes lack in smoothness and correctness. The first half of their pentameters is often very weak, and many of the second parts are extremely awkward, as for instance in the distich on page 163, where we read:

....“Und warum
kei′ne?” Aus Re′ligion′.

This excited the anger of Voss, the translator of Homer in the original meter of dactylic hexameters. Voss ridiculed Goethe and Schiller for their bad versification in a distich, which he intentionally made even worse than the worst of theirs, using the words with a wrong accentuation:

“In′ Weimar und′ in Jena′
macht man′ Hexa′meter wie′ der;
A′ber die Pen′tameter′
sind′ doch noch ex′cellenter′!”

[In′ Weimar and′ in Jena′
they make′ hexame′ters such as′ this;
But′ the Pen′tameters′
are′ even more′ excellent′.]

In spite of some awkwardness and lack of elegance in diction, the Xenions became very popular in Germany on account of the profound ideas embodied in many of them. The shortcomings of their form have been forgotten on account of their intrinsic value, and there is perhaps no poetry quoted more frequently than these pithy aphorisms. They have become household words in Germany and deserve a place of honor in the literature of the world.

The Elegiac Distich.

The form of the Xenions is, like their Roman prototype, the elegiac distich.

The elegiac distich has rarely, if ever, been used in English poetry, although there is much classical beauty in its rhythm. It consists of alternate dactylic hexameters and pentameters which in ancient Greece were recited to the accompaniment of the flute, and went by the name of “elegies,” the etymology of which has nothing to do (as has been assumed) with lamentations, but probably means flute-songs.

A meter in Greek prosody is comparable to the musical bar, while a foot is a rhythmic figure. Some meters, such as the iambic (◡–◡–) and trochaic (–◡–◡), consist of two feet, but the dactylic meters(–◡◡) consist of one foot only.[C] Accordingly a trochaic trimeter consists of three meters or six feet; while six dactyls, the last one of which is always catalectic, are called a dactylic hexameter. Catalectic means “ending” or “terminating,” signifying that every line is mutilated at the end. A catalectic meter lacks the last syllable, which, musically considered, is to be regarded as a pause so as to make a musical halt between the lines. According to another rule, the last syllable is always indifferent, i. e., it may be either long or short (̲◡).

[C] The name “dactyl” or “finger” (Greek δάκτυλος) indicates that,
like a finger, it consists of one long and two short members.

The dactylic (or, as it is also called, the heroic) hexameter is too long to be read in one breathing, so it is divided into two, sometimes into three parts, and the division is called a _caesura_, i. e., a cut or incision. This division of the line is irregular and we do not hesitate to say that to its irregularity the hexameter owes a peculiar charm, for it breaks the monotony of the dactylic rhythm.

The new start after the caesura will never be dactylic (–◡◡) like the beginning of the line; it may be anapaestic (◡◡–) or iambic (◡–); but not dactylic. The break should occur either after an arsis (–) or after a trochee (–◡) so as to change the character of the latter part of the hexameter from a descending into an ascending meter. The former, the descending meter which begins with a long syllable, is halting and possesses an attitude of holding back, of dignity, of assertion, while the descending meter rushes forward from a short syllable to a long one; it is progressive, it rises. The latter indicates struggle while the former shows strength and the calmness of victory.

Every caesura has its own name in Greek and the most common caesura cuts the verse in the third meter between the arsis, the long accented syllable, and the thesis, i. e., the two short syllables or the one long unaccented syllable. Since in prosody two short syllables are equivalent to one long syllable, they are regarded as half a meter, and so this caesura is called penthemimeres πενθημιμερὴς which means the one after the fifth half-meter. It runs thus:

–◡◡-◡◡–||◡◡–◡◡–◡◡–◡

There is another caesura after the seventh half-meter. It is called in Greek hephthemimeres (ἑφθημιμερὴς) and runs thus:

–◡◡–◡◡–◡◡–||◡◡–◡◡–◡

Caesuras after the third and after the ninth half-meter are rarely used; they occur sometimes in Latin but the latter is regarded as inadmissible in Greek.

Almost as common as the penthemimeres is the caesura between the two short syllables in the third meter; and because it cuts off from the meter a trochee (thus –◡||◡) it is called κατὰ τρίτον τροχαῖον, i. e., the caesura “after the third trochee.” It runs thus:

–◡◡–◡◡–◡||◡–◡◡–◡◡–◡

Caesuras after the second trochee are rare and after the fourth are strictly forbidden in Greek metrics.

Finally we must mention the caesura after the end of the fourth measure, which is not uncommon in bucolic poetry, picturing the peaceful life of the ancient Greek cowboys, so different from the cowboys of the American Wild West, and it has therefore received the name, “bucolic caesura.” It is rare in heroic poems; nevertheless it occurs sometimes and its occasional appearance is effective, for the combination of one dactyl with one trochee (–◡◡–◡) gives a euphonious ring to the verse.

The heroic hexameter is best known to the English-reading public from Longfellow’s _Evangeline_. It has not been a favorite with them mainly because of the awkwardness with which it has been handled and the boldness with which short syllables are frequently used to serve as long syllables. We may say that at present the German language has proved itself most apt in reproducing this classical measure, in which, however, the long syllable (_arsis_) is to be replaced by a decidedly accented syllable, while the place of a short syllable (_thesis_) is taken by an unaccented syllable. This makes it possible that the same word may, according to position, in one place serve as a short, in another as a long, syllable, while the prosody of the classical languages is more severe. There a syllable is either long or short, and a short syllable can only become long through subsequent consonants, which is called “length through position.”

We have to recognize the fact that Teutonic languages are qualitative while the classic languages are quantitative. This means that in the former the accent of the word is predominant and wrong accents render a word positively unintelligible, while in the latter the word-accent is of less account. It is of little consequence in English whether we pronounce “ĕgg” or “aigg,” but it makes a decided difference whether we say “in′fidel” or “infi′del.” In modern French however, we may pronounce with propriety either “_la mai′son_” or “_la maison′_”. And this character of the Teutonic languages which renders quality of accent so prominent in speech is the reason why they tend to brevity, for they contract words more and more until, as is the case in English, most of their forms are reduced to monosyllables. Thus the Gothic word _habededian_ is contracted in Middle German into _habete_, (viz., _haben_--_tat_ = “I did have”), in modern German into _hatte_, and in English into “had.” The Teutonic languages neglect the unimportant and unaccented portions of the word, and wherever they can be disposed of drop them entirely or fuse them into the main syllable.

Another reason why the hexameter is not liked in English is on account of the length of the verse. If the reader has first to search for the caesura, for the place where he can take breath, he feels discouraged at the long line that stretches before him like a road through the desert, and for this reason we deem it an improvement to print dactylic verses so as to begin a new line with the caesura. It renders the reading of the line easier in the measure, as the break in the verse is thus most easily taken in by the eye.

* * * * *

Since we have been discussing metrical details at some length, we may be permitted to add a few comments on the iambic trimeter which in English is really nothing else but what is commonly known as blank verse. This verse is very generally misunderstood and we have nowhere seen it properly explained in English books on prosody.

The blank verse is the most common and best adapted form for dignified speech in both the dialogue and the monologue of the drama. We quote as a typical verse the first line of Hamlet’s soliloquy:

“To be or not to be, that is the question.”

The meter is a catalectic iambic trimeter and there is only one rule of importance, viz., that at the beginning and after caesuras an iambus ◡– can be replaced by a trochee metric: –◡. A scheme of the meter runs thus:

◡–◡–|◡–◡–|◡–◡||

Or in musical script thus:

[Music]

The last long syllable, sometimes even the whole last foot, is omitted or, more correctly, is replaced by a pause. We may write it thus:

[Music]

This latter case, originally merely allowable, has become very frequent in English, because the English language is rich in monosyllables so as to make it sometimes difficult to end the verse with an unaccented (i. e., a short) syllable, but this custom has produced the impression that the verse consists of five iambi, and among people but little versed in the rules of classical poetry who forget that an iambic meter consists of two feet, has given rise to the error that blank verse is an iambic pentameter. Strange to say this mistake is now perpetuated in almost all our text-books.

* * * * *

After this digression on the iambic trimeter we shall make, in conclusion, a few comments on the dactylic pentameter.

The pentameter, i. e., “a five-measure,” is so called because it consists of twice two and a half dactylic meters thus:

–◡◡–◡◡–

In reality the pentameter is a repetition of a penthemimeres.

Two short syllables may always be replaced in elegiac distichs by one long syllable, with the exception of the fifth meter of the hexameter and the latter half of the pentameter. The schedule of a distich, accordingly, is thus:

— — — — — —
–◡◡–◡◡–◡◡–◡◡–◡◡–◡◡–◡

— —
–◡◡–◡◡–||–◡◡–◡◡–

Considering the fact that the measures of Greek prosody are comparable to musical bars in which time and not accent is the decisive element, we readily understand that the name “pentameter” is a misnomer, for the pentameter consists as much as the hexameter of six full dactylic bars, only that there is a pause of one-half meter after each two and a half meters. Expressed in musical characters, the distich reads as follows:

[Music]

INTRODUCTORY.

Our Purpose.

These gay verses, revering the good,
will annoy the philistine,

Ridicule bigots, and smite
hypocrites, as they deserve.

Vorsatz

Den Philister verdriesse,
den Schwärmer necke, den Heuchler

Quäle der fröhliche Vers,
der nur das Gute verehrt.

Our Method.

Wherefore in verse are we speaking?
We trust that the verse is impressive.

When we were talking in prose,
never ye listened to us.

Das Mittel.

Warum sagst du uns das in Versen?
Die Verse sind wirksam,

Spricht man in Prosa zu euch,
Stopft ihr die Ohren euch zu.

The Distich.

In the hexameter rises
the jet of a wonderful fountain,

Which in a graceful descent
back as pentameter falls.

Das Distichon.

Im Hexameter steigt
des Springquells flüssige Säule,

Im Pentameter drauf
fällt sie melodisch herab.

Boisterous.

Times have I witnessed run mad,
and never let slip the occasion,

Following fashion’s command,
madly in madness to join.

Uebermüthig.

Tolle Zeiten hab’ ich erlebt
und hab’ nicht ermangelt,

Selbst auch thöricht zu sein,
Wie es die Zeit mir gebot.

Our Common Fate.

O, how we struggle and hate!
Inclinations, opinions divide us.

Yet in the meantime thy locks
turn into silver like mine.

Das gemeinsame Schicksal.

Siehe, wir hassen, wir streiten,
es trennet uns Neigung und Meinung;

Aber es bleichet indes
dir sich die Locke, wie mir.

The Last Martyr.

That you may roast me like Huss,[1]
it is possible; but it is certain,

After me cometh the swan
who will my mission complete.

Der letzte Märtyrer.

Auch mich bratet ihr noch
als Huss vielleicht, aber wahrhaftig!

Lange bleibet der Schwan,
der es vollendet, nicht aus.

SOUL AND WORLD.

Our Own.

Common possessions are thoughts,
while your sentiment only is private.

Shall He your property be,
feel Him--the God whom you think.

Das eigne Ideal.

Allen gehört, was du denkst,
dein eigen ist nur, was du fühlest,

Soll er dein Eigenthum sein,
fühle den Gott, den du denkst.

Harmony.

Reason, what is it? The voice of the whole;
and thy heart is thy selfhood.

Happy thou art, if for aye
reason will dwell in thy heart.

Schöne Individualität.

Stimme des Ganzen ist deine Vernunft,
dein Herz bist du selber:

Wohl dir, wenn die Vernunft
immer im Herzen dir wohnt.

The Key.

If, friend, thyself thou wilt fathom,
observe how thy fellows are acting.

If thou thy fellows wilt know,
search in thine own heart of hearts.

Der Schlüssel.

Willst du dich selber erkennen,
so sieh, wie die Andern es treiben.

Willst du die Andern verstehn,
blick in dein eigenes Herz.

Worth and Value.

Dost thou _possess_ things, impart them to me,
and I’ll pay thee their value.

But, friend, if something thou _art_,
let us our souls interchange!

Das Werthe und Würdige.

Hast du etwas, so gib es her
und ich zahle, was recht ist,

Bist du etwas, o dann
tauschen die Seelen wir aus.

Nature and Reason.

Reason may build above nature,
but findeth there emptiness only,

Genius will nature increase,
nature, however, it adds.

Der Genius.

Ueber Natur hinaus baut die Vernunft
doch nur in das Leere,

Du nur, Genius, mehrst
in der Natur die Natur.

Oneness.

Beauty is always but one,
though the beautiful changes and varies,

And ’tis the change of the one,
which thus the beautiful forms.

Schönheit.

Schönheit ist ewig nur Eine,
doch mannichfach wechselt das Schöne,

Dass es wechselt, das macht
eben das Eine nur schön.

Various Destinies.

Millions of folks are kept busy
the race of mankind propagating,

But in the minds of a few,
only, humanity grows.

Die verschiedene Bestimmung.

Millionen sorgen dafür,
dass die Gattung bestehe,

Aber durch Wenige nur
pflanzet die Menschheit sich fort.

The Immutable.

Time, unimpeded, is hastening on.
Why? It seeketh the constant.

He who is faithful will bind
time with eternity’s ties.

Das Unwandelbare.

“Unaufhaltsam enteilet die Zeit.”
Sie sucht das Beständ’ge.

Sei getreu, und du legst
ewige Fesseln ihr an.

The Law of Nature.

Thus it was always, my friend;
it will be so forever, that weakness

Claims in its favor the rule,
yet it is strength that succeeds.

Das Naturgesetz.

So war’s immer, mein Freund,
und so wird’s bleiben. Die Ohnmacht

Hat die Regel für sich,
aber die Kraft den Erfolg.

Zeus to Heracles.

Thou hast divinity, son,
not acquired by drinking my nectar;

But thy divinity has
conquered the nectar for thee.

Zeus zu Herkules.

Nicht aus meinem Nektar
hast du dir Gottheit getrunken;

Deine Götterkraft war’s,
die dir den Nektar errang.

Folly and Insanity.

Wit, if it awkwardly misses the point,
is regarded as silly,

But when a genius slips,
madly in fury he raves.

Aberwitz und Wahnwitz.

Ueberspringt sich der Witz,
so lachen wir über den Thoren,

Gleitet der Genius aus,
ist er dem Rasenden gleich.

Motives and Action.

“God only seeth the heart!”
Since the heart can be seen by God only,

Friend, let us also behold
something that is not amiss.

Inneres und Aeusseres.

“Gott nur siehet das Herz.”
Drum eben, weil Gott nur das Herz sieht,

Sorge, dass wir doch auch
etwas Erträgliches sehn.

Baal Priests.

Liberty sacred and holy,
man’s noble endeavor for progress,

Never couldst thou for thy cause
worse representatives find.

Baalspfaffen.

Heilige Freiheit! Erhabener Trieb
der Menschen zum Bessern!

Wahrlich, du konntest dich nicht
schlechter mit Priestern versehn!

Salvation.

Two are the roads out of life,
which to all lie equally open:
To the ideal the one
leadeth, the other to death.

Venture to make thine escape
on the former while time still may grant it,
Ere on the latter thou art
doomed to destruction and death.

Die idealische Freiheit.

Aus dem Leben heraus
sind der Wege zwei dir geöffnet:
Zum Ideale führt
einer, der andre zum Tod.

Siehe, dass du bei Zeit
noch frei auf dem ersten entspringest,
Ehe die Parze mit Zwang
dich auf dem andern entführt.

Human Life.

When we are starting in life,
an eternity opens before us.

Yet e’en the wise at its close
narrowly limited end.

Menschliches Wirken.

An dem Eingang der Bahn
liegt die Unendlichkeit offen,

Doch mit dem engesten Kreis
höret der Weiseste auf.

Immortality.

Art thou afraid, friend, of death,
and for life everlasting art yearning?

Live as a part of the whole!
When thou art gone it remains.

Unsterblichkeit.

Vor dem Tode erschrickst du?
Du wünschest, unsterblich zu leben?

Leb’ im Ganzen! Wenn du
lange dahin bist, es bleibt.

Indestructible.

Float down-stream to the ocean,
O ice-floe! And if as an ice-floe

Reachest thou not the great main,
surely thou’lt find it as drops.

Unsterblich.

Schwimme, du mächtige Scholle, nur hin!
und kommst du als Scholle

Nicht hinunter, du kommst
doch wohl als Tropfen ins Meer.

God, World, and Man.

Is it a secret abysmal,
what God, what the world, and what man is?

No! But the truth is not liked:
therefore the secret remains.

Gott, Welt und Mensch.

Ist’s denn so grosses Geheimniss,
was Gott und der Mensch und die Welt sei?

Nein! Doch Niemand hört’s
gerne; da bleibt es geheim.

CRITICAL AND LITERARY.

The Poet Addresses His Muse.

How I could live without thee,
I conceive not. But horror o’ertakes me,

Seeing these thousands and more
who without thee can exist.

An die Muse.

Was ich ohne dich wäre,
ich weiss es nicht; aber mir grauet,

Seh’ ich, was ohne dich
Hundert’ und Tausende sind.

To Incompetent Reviewers.

Difficult ’tis to achieve;
to find fault, though, is easy, O critics!

Shrink not, when finding a flaw,
excellence freely to praise.

Die Unberufenen.

Tadeln ist leicht, erschaffen so schwer;
ihr Tadler des Schwachen,

Habt ihr das Treffliche denn
auch zu belohnen ein Herz?

Wolf’s Homer.

Seven Greek cities have boasted
of being the birthplace of Homer.

Since he is torn by the Wolf,[2]
ev’ry one taketh her piece.

Der Wolfische Homer.

Sieben Städte zankten sich drum,
ihn geboren zu haben,

Nun da der Wolf ihn zerriss,
nehme sich jede ihr Stück.

Intellectual Aristocracy.

Easily wins an enthusiast
disciples by stirring the masses.
Thinkers of solidest stamp
find but a scanty support.

Pictures that miracles work
are invariably daubs without value,
Products of genuine art
suit not the taste of the mob.

Geistige Aristokratie.

Schüler macht sich der Schwärmer
genug und rühret die Menge,
Wenn der vernünftige Mann
einzelne Liebende zählt.

Wunderthätige Bilder
sind meist nur schlechte Gemälde:
Werke des Geists und der Kunst
sind für den Pöbel nicht da.

Bad Times.

Language philosophers spoil,
so is logic distorted by poets;

Sound common sense in this way
badly is crippled for life.

Böse Zeiten.

Philosophen verderben die Sprache,
Poeten die Logik,

Und mit dem Menschenverstand
kommt man durch’s Leben nicht mehr.

Mutual Admiration Society.

Be not so dainty, dear sirs.
Are ye anxious to heap on each other

Honor and praise, ye should rail
one at the other with vim.

Auf zwei Sudler, die einander loben.

Nicht so, nicht so, ihr Herrn.
Wollt ihr einander zu Ehren

Bringen, muss vor der Welt
Einer den Andern verschrei’n.

Dilettante.

If thou succeed with a verse
in a language worked out and consummate,

Shaping thy thought and thy rhyme,
think’st thou a poet thou art.

Dilettant.

Weil ein Vers dir gelingt
in einer gebildeten Sprache,

Die für dich dichtet und denkt,
glaubst du schon Dichter zu sein.

To One Author.

Tell me the things that you know,
and I’ll be glad to receive it.

But if you will give yourself,
spare me, my friend, if you please.[3]

An ⁕.

Theile mir mit, was du weisst,
ich werd’ es dankbar empfangen,

Aber du gibst mir dich selbst,
damit verschone mich, Freund.

To Another Author.

Please do not try to teach facts,
for we care not a straw for the subject.

All we do care for are facts
as they are treated by _you_.[4]

An ⁕⁕.

Du willst Wahres mich lehren?
Bemühe dich nicht, nicht die Sache

Will ich durch dich, ich will
dich durch die Sache nur sehn.

Wanted.

Wanted, a servant who writeth
a legible hand, and who also

Fairly can spell, but he must
leave the _belles lettres_ alone.

Sachen so gesucht werden.

Einen Bedienten wünscht man zu haben,
der leserlich schreibet

Und orthographisch, jedoch
nichts in _belles lettres_ gethan.

Artifice.

Do you desire the applause
of the worldly as well as the pious,

Picture licentiousness, but
picture the Devil besides.[5]

Der Kunstgriff.

Wollt ihr zugleich den Kindern der Welt
und den Frommen gefallen?

Malet die Wollust -- nur
malet den Teufel dazu.

A Discussion.

One, we can hear, speaks after the other,
but no one gives answer.

Several monologues are,
certainly, not a debate.[6]

Das philosophische Gespräch.

Einer, das höret man wohl,
spricht nach dem Andern, doch Keiner

Mit dem Andern; wer nennt
zwei Monologen Gespräch?

SATIRICAL AND PERSONAL.

The Great Moment.

This our century, freely I grant,
has begot a great epoch;

But the great moment, alas!
findeth a very small race.

Der Zeitpunkt.

Eine grosse Epoche
hat das Jahrhundert geboren,

Aber der grosse Moment
findet ein kleines Geschlecht.

To Some Critics.

Wretches! Speak wretched of me,
but oblige me by truthfully adding:

Earnest is he. For the rest,
wretches, speak wretched of me.

An die Herren H. J. K.

Lumpen! redet lumpig von mir,
doch saget: es war ihm

Ernst! und redet sodann,
Lumpen, ihr lumpig von mir.

The Vinculum.

How has nature united
in man the sublime and the vulgar?

Vanity did she ensconce
right in the middle of both.

Das Verbindungsmittel.

Wie verfährt die Natur,
um Hohes und Niedres im Menschen

Zu verbinden? Sie stellt
Eitelkeit zwischen hinein.

Present Generation.

Has it been always as now?
O how strange is to-day’s generation!

Youthful is only old age,
old, alas! only is youth.

Jetzige Generation.

War es immer wie jetzt?
Ich kann das Geschlecht nicht begreifen.

Nur das Alter ist jung,
Ach! und die Jugend ist alt.

To Those in Authority.

Don’t be disturbed by the barking;
remain in your places. The barkers

Eagerly wish for your seats,
there to be barked at themselves.[7]

An die Oberen.

Immer bellt man auf euch!
bleibt sitzen! es wünschen die Beller

Jene Plätze, wo man
ruhig das Bellen vernimmt.

Questionable Investigation.

Gentlemen, boldly dissect,
for dissection is very instructive.

Woe, none the less, to the frog
who has to offer his leg.

Kritische Studien.

Schneidet, schneidet, ihr Herrn,
durch Schneiden lernet der Schüler,

Aber wehe dem Frosch,
der euch den Schenkel muss leihn!

The Spirit and the Letter.

Truly, you may for a time
still deceive with your valueless counters,

But in the end, my dear sirs,
debts must be paid in good coin.

Der Geist und der Buchstabe.

Lange kann man mit Marken,
mit Rechenpfennigen zählen,

Endlich, es hilft nichts, ihr Herrn,
muss man den Beutel doch ziehn.

The Sense of a Committee.

Ev’ry one singly considered,
is sensible, doubtless, and clever;

But in a body the whole
number of them is a dunce.

Gelehrte Gesellschaft.

Jeder, siehst du ihn einzeln,
ist leidlich klug und verständig,

Sind sie _in corpore_,
gleich wird ein Dummkopf daraus.

Taste in a Watering Place.

This is a singular country;
the springs here have taste and the rivers;

Taste, though, is not to be found
in the inhabitants’ minds.

Gesundbrunnen zu ⁕⁕⁕.

Seltsames Land! Hier haben
die Flüsse Geschmack und die Quellen,

Bei den Bewohnern allein
hab’ ich noch keinen verspürt.

Sample of Modern Criticism.

You, among poets, alone possess worth,
for to imitate nature,

Nevermore would you object
platitudes freely to use.

Probe moderner Kritik.

Du nur bist mir der würdige Dichter!
Es kommt dir auf eine

Platitüde nicht an,
nur um natürlich zu sein.

Nicolai’s Book on the Source of the Danube.[8]

Nothing he likes that is great;
for that reason the shallow inquirer

Traces, great Danube, thy course
till thou art shallow and flat.

Nikolai’s Buch über die Quellen der Donau.

Nichts kann er leiden was gross ist
und mächtig, drum, herrliche Donau,

Spürt dir der Häscher so lang
nach, bis er seicht dich ertappt.

The Collector.

Always he fought against form,
and he knows it. He, during his lifetime,

Gathered with trouble and pain
formless material in heaps.

Formalphilosophie.

Allen Formen macht er den Krieg,
er weiss wohl, zeitlebens

Hat er mit Müh’ und Noth
Stoff nur zusammengeschleppt.

Crudity.

Can you not touch it with hands,
then, O blind one, you think it chimeric!

And, ’tis a pity, your hands
sully whatever they touch.

Das grobe Organ.

Was du mit Händen nicht greifst,
das scheint dir Blindem ein Unding,

Und betastest du was,
gleich ist das Ding auch beschmutzt.

Nicolai’s Motto.

Truth I am preaching. ’Tis truth;
and nothing but truth--understand me.

My truth, of course! For I know
none to exist but my own.

Das Motto.

Wahrheit sag’ ich euch, Wahrheit
und immer Wahrheit, versteht sich:

Meine Wahrheit; denn sonst
ist mir auch keine bekannt.

A Publisher.

Look at this press which I own.
The machine when it printeth is thinking.

Here I present you a book
which as a sample may serve.

Verleger von P⁕⁕ Schriften.

Eine Maschine besitz’ ich,
die selber denkt, wie sie drucket,

Obengenanntes Werk
zeig’ ich zur Probe hier vor.

In Comparison with Socrates.

Pythia dubbed him a sage,
when of ignorance boldly he boasted.

Friend, how much wiser art thou!
What he pretended, thou art.

Sokrates.

Weil er unwissend sich rühmte,
nannt’ ihn Apollo den Weisen.

Freund, wie viel weiser bist du;
was er blos rühmte, du bist’s.

To Certain Moralists.

’Tis a great pity, dear sirs,
to espouse the right cause you are anxious,

But you are void of good sense:
reason and judgment are gone.

An die Herren N. O. P.

Euch bedaur’ ich am meisten,
ihr wähltet gern das Gute,

Aber euch hat die Natur
gänzlich das Urtheil versagt.

Martyrs.

Nail to the cross the fanatic
as soon as he reacheth the thirties!

For when he knoweth the world,
surely the dupe will turn rogue.

Guter Rathschlag.

Jeglichen Schwärmer schlagt mir ans Kreuz
im dreissigsten Jahre;

Kennt er nur einmal die Welt,
wird der Betrogne der Schelm.

The Brothers Stolberg.[9]

Since you reviled the Olympian gods,
Apollo has thrown you

Down from Parnassus. You now
enter the heavenly realm.

Der Ersatz.

Als du die griechischen Götter geschmäht,
da warf dich Apollo

Von dem Parnasse; dafür
gehst du ins Himmelreich ein.

The Connoisseur.

Vases of classical art!
O how easily live I without them!

But a Majolica pot
maketh me happy and rich.[10]

Der Kenner.

Alte Vasen und Urnen!
Das Zeug wohl könnt’ ich entbehren;

Doch ein Majolica-Topf
machte mich glücklich und reich.

Sentimentalists.

Never thought I very highly
of people that are sentimental.[11]

When an occasion arrives,
grossly their meanness appears.

H. S.

Auf das empfindsame Volk
hab’ ich nie was gehalten, es werden,

Kommt die Gelegenheit nur,
schlechte Gesellen daraus.

The Prophet.

Pity ’tis, when thou wast born,
that Nature created but one man!

Stuff for a gentleman is,
and for a scoundrel, in thee.[12]

Der Prophet.

Schade, dass die Natur
nur Einen Menschen aus dir schuf,

Denn zum würdigen Mann
war und zum Schelmen der Stoff.

The Half-Bird.

Vainly the ostrich endeavors to fly:
he but awkwardly saileth

When he is moving his feet
over the issueless sand.[13]

Der Halbvogel.

Fliegen möchte der Strauss,
allein er rudert vergeblich,

Ungeschickt rühret der Fuss
immer den leidigen Sand.

Partisan Spirit.

Where there are parties, the people
are siding with zeal on each issue.

Years must elapse before both
join in the middle their hands.

Parteigeist.

Wo Parteien entstehn,
hält Jeder sich hüben und drüben,

Viele Jahre vergehn,
eh’ sie die Mitte vereint.

THE PHILOSOPHERS IN HADES.

The Poet Speaks.

Good that I meet you together,
my friends; the thing that is needful

Made me descend to this place.
Here I can question you all.

Philosophen.

Gut, dass ich euch, ihr Herren,
_in pleno_ beisammen hier finde,

Denn das Eine, was noth,
treibt mich herunter zu euch.

Aristotle.

Question right out, my dear sir,
for we read philosophical journals,

We keep instructed in Hell,[14]
whatsoe’er happens on earth.

Aristoteles.

Gleich zur Sache, mein Freund.
Wir halten die Jenaer Zeitung

Hier in der Hölle und sind
längst schon von Allem belehrt.

Urgent.

Gentlemen, listen! I’ll stay here
until you propose me a statement

That’s universally true,
one that we all can accept.

Dringend.

Desto besser! So gebt mir,
ich geh’ euch nicht eher vom Leibe,

Einen allgiltigen Satz,
und der auch allgemein gilt.

Descartes.

_Cogito ergo sum._
I am thinking and therefore existing.

If but the former is true,
there’s of the latter no doubt.

Descartes.

_Cogito ergo sum._
Ich denke und mithin, so bin ich,

Ist das Eine nur wahr,
ist es das Andre gewiss.

My Answer.

If I am thinking, I am.
Very well! But who’s all the time thinking?

Often I was, I confess,
when I thought nothing at all.

Ich.

Denk ich, so bin ich! Wohl!
Doch wer wird immer auch denken?

Oft schon war ich, und hab’
wirklich an gar nichts gedacht!

Spinoza.

Things do exist, sir, and therefore
a thing of all things is existing;

And in the thing of all things
swim we just such as we are.

Spinoza.

Weil es Dinge doch gibt,
so gibt es ein Ding aller Dinge,

In dem Ding aller Ding’
schwimmen wir, wie wir so sind.

Berkeley.

True is the opposite, let me declare.
Besides me there is nothing.

Everything else, you must know,
is but a bubble in me.

Berkeley.

Just das Gegentheil sprech’ ich.
Es gibt kein Ding als mich selber!

Alles andre, in mir
steigt es als Blase nur auf.

Leibniz.

Two things exist, I admit,
the world and the soul; of which neither

Knows of the other; yet both
indicate oneness at last.

Leibniz.

Zweierlei Dinge lass ich passiren,
die Welt und die Seele,

Keins weiss vom andern und doch
deuten sie beide auf Eins.

Kant.

Naught do I know of the thing,
and naught of the soul know I either.

Both to me merely appear;
but by no means are they sham.

Kant.

Von dem Ding weiss ich nichts,
und weiss auch nichts von der Seele,

Beide erscheinen mir nur,
aber sie sind doch kein Schein.

David Hume.

Do not converse with those people,
for Kant has thrown all in confusion.

Me you must ask; for I am,
still here in Hell,[14] like myself.

David Hume.

Rede nicht mit dem Volk,
der Kant hat sie alle verwirret,

Mich frag’, ich bin mir selbst
auch in der Hölle noch gleich.

Fichte.

_I_ am _I_, and I posit myself;
but in case I should posit

Self as not posited,--well,
then the not-I is produced.

Fichte.

Ich bin ich, und setze mich selbst,
und setz’ ich mich selber

Als nicht gesetzt, nun gut!
setz’ ich ein Nicht-Ich dazu.

Reinhold.[15]

Surely conception there is;
it proves that a concept existeth

And a conceiver, no doubt;
which altogether make three.

Reinhold.

Vorstellung wenigstens ist;
ein Vorgestelltes ist also,

Ein Vorstellendes auch,
macht, mit der Vorstellung, drei!

My Answer.

These propositions, O sages,
possess but small value; they’re trifling.

Make me some statement that helps,
and let it be to the point.

Ich.

Damit lock’ ich, ihr Herrn,
noch keinen Hund aus dem Ofen,

Einen erklecklichen Satz
will ich, und der auch was setzt.

K. Ch. F. Schmidt, the Moral Philosopher.

In theoretical regions,
no more can be found by inquirers.

But still the practical word
holdeth: “Thou canst, for thou shalt.”

K. Ch. F. Schmidt.

Auf theoretischem Feld
ist weiter nichts mehr zu finden,

Aber der praktische Satz
gilt doch: Du kannst, denn du sollst!

My Answer.

Well, I expected it so;
for whene’er you have nothing to answer,

People like you will at last
still to our conscience appeal.

Ich.

Dacht’ ich’s doch! Wissen sie nichts
Vernünftiges mehr zu erwidern,

Schieben sie’s einem geschwind
in das Gewissen hinein.

Philosophy.

Which will survive of the many
philosophies? Surely I know not!

Always philosophy though,
truly I hope, will remain.

Die Philosophien.

Welche wohl bleibt von allen
den Philosophien? Ich weiss nicht,

Aber die Philosophie,
hoff’ ich, soll immer bestehn.

PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS.

For Sale.

Since Metaphysics of late
without heirs to her fathers is gathered,

Here at the auctioneer’s are
“things in themselves” to be sold.

Auction.

Da die Metaphysik
vor kurzem unbeerbt abging,

Werden die “Dinge an sich”
morgen _sub hasta_ verkauft.

A Flaw.

Let but an error be hid
in the stone of foundation. The builder

Buildeth with confidence on.
Never the error is found.[16]

Die Möglichkeit.

Liegt der Irrthum nur erst,
wie ein Grundstein, unten im Boden,

Immer baut man darauf,
nimmermehr kömmt er an Tag.

Empiricists.

On the securest of paths
you have started, and no one denies it.

But on the straightest of roads
blindly you grope in the dark.

Empiriker.

Dass ihr den sichersten Pfad gewählt,
wer möchte das läugnen?

Aber ihr tappet nur blind
auf dem gebahntesten Pfad.

Theoreticians.

You are obedient to rules;
your conclusions would doubtless be valid,

Were but your premises true,
major, and minor as well.

Theoretiker.

Ihr verfahrt nach Gesetzen,
auch würdet ihr’s sicherlich treffen,

Wäre der Obersatz nur,
wäre der Untersatz wahr!

Last Refuge.

Oh! how disdainful you speak
and how proud, of the specialist’s blindness!

But in emergencies, he
comes to the rescue alone.

Letzte Zuflucht.

Vornehm schaut ihr im Glück
auf den blinden Empiriker nieder,

Aber, seid ihr in Noth,
ist er der delphische Gott.

Natural Science and Transcendental[17] Philosophy.

Enemies shall ye remain!
As yet premature is your alliance.

Though you may separate now,
truth will be found by your search.

Naturforscher und Transcendental-Philosophen.

Feindschaft sei zwischen euch,
noch kommt das Bündniss zu frühe,

Wenn ihr im Suchen euch trennt,
wird erst die Wahrheit erkannt.

The Same.

Both have to travel their ways,
and the one should not know of the other.

Each one must wander on straight,
yet in the end they will meet.

An die voreiligen Verbindungsstifter.

Jeder wandle für sich,
und wisse nichts von dem Andern,

Wandeln nur Beide gerad’,
finden sich Beide gewiss.

Kant and His Interpreters.

One man of wealth gives a living
to armies of indigent people;

Kings that are building provide
teamsters with plenty of work.

Kant und seine Ausleger.

Wie doch ein einziger Reicher
so viele Bettler in Nahrung

Setzt! Wenn die Könige bau’n,
haben die Kärrner zu thun.

Teleology.

Worship, O man, the Creator,
who, when he created the cork-tree,

Kindly suggested the art
how we might bottle our wine.

Der Teleolog.

Welche Verehrung verdient
der Weltenschöpfer, der gnädig,

Als er den Korkbaum schuf,
gleich auch die Stöpsel erfand.

The Problem of Natural Law.[18]

Years upon years I’ve been using
my nose for the purpose of smelling.

Now I must question myself:
Have I a right to its use?

Rechtsfrage.

Jahre lang schon bedien’ ich
mich meiner Nase zum Riechen,

Hab’ ich denn wirklich an sie
auch ein erweisliches Recht?

Puffendorf’s Reply.

Well! ’Tis a critical case!
But possession is strong in your favor.[19]

Since you’re possessed of a nose,
use it in future, I say.

Puffendorf.

Ein bedenklicher Fall!
Doch die Erste Possession scheint

Für dich zu sprechen, und so
brauche sie immerhin fort.

A Moral Problem.

Willingly serve I my friends;
but, ’tis pity, I do it with pleasure.

And I am really vexed
that there’s no virtue in me![20]

Gewissensscrupel.

Gerne dien’ ich den Freunden,
doch thu’ ich es leider mit Neigung,

Und so wurmt es mir oft,
dass ich nicht tugendhaft bin.

The Kantian’s Decision.

Better advice I can’t give you
than that thou must try to despise friends.

Then what your duty demands,
you will perform with disgust.[20]

Decisum.

Da ist kein anderer Rath,
du musst suchen, sie zu verachten,

Und mit Abscheu alsdann
thun, wie die Pflicht dir gebeut.

Human Knowledge.[21]

When thou decipher’st in nature
the writing which thou hast inscribed there,
When its phenomena thou
castest in groups for thine eye,

When thou hast covered its infinite fields
with thy measuring tape-lines,
Dost thou imagine, thy mind
really graspeth the All?

Thus the astronomer paints
on the heavens his star-constellations
Merely his bearings to find
easily in their domain.

Suns that at measureless distances roam,
oh how closely together
Have they been joined in the swan
and in the horns of the bull!

But can the heavens be thus understood
in their mystical cycles,
When their projections appear
on planispherical charts?

Menschliches Wissen.

Weil du liesest in ihr,
was du selber in sie geschrieben,
Weil du in Gruppen für’s Aug’
ihre Erscheinungen reihst,

Deine Schnüre gezogen
auf ihrem unendlichen Felde,
Wähnst du, es fasse dein Geist
ahnend die grosse Natur.

So beschreibt mit Figuren
der Astronome den Himmel,
Dass in dem ewigen Raum
leichter sich finde der Blick,

Knüpft entlegene Sonnen,
durch Siriusfernen geschieden,
Aneinander im Schwan
und in den Hörnern des Stiers.

Aber versteht er darum
der Sphären mystische Tänze,
Weil ihm das Sternengewölb
sein Planiglobium zeigt?

Systems.

Splendidly did you construct
your sublime philosophical systems!

Heavens! how shall we eject
errors that live in such style.

Die Systeme.

Prächtig habt ihr gebaut.
Du lieber Himmel! Wie treibt man,

Nun er so königlich erst
wohnet, den Irrthum heraus!

SCIENCE AND ART.

Genius a Gift.

Born is the poet ’tis said;
and we add, the philosopher also.

For it is certain that truth
has to be formed to be seen.

Wissenschaftliches Genie.

Wird der Poet nur geboren?
Der Philosoph wird’s nicht minder.

Alle Wahrheit zuletzt
wird nur gebildet, geschaut.

Truth and Form.

Truth will be mighty although
an inferior hand should defend it,

But in the empire of art
form and its contents are one.

Mittheilung.

Aus der schlechtesten Hand
kann Wahrheit mächtig noch wirken,

Bei der Schönheit allein
macht das Gefäss den Gehalt.

Creation.

Good from the good, I declare
that each sensible man can evolve it;
But a true genius, indeed,
good from the bad can produce.

Mere imitations are forms reproduced,
but a genius createth;
What is to others well formed,
is but material to him.

Der Nachahmer.

Gutes aus Gutem, das kann
jedweder Verständige bilden;
Aber der Genius ruft
Gutes aus Schlechtem hervor.

An Gebildetem nur
darfst du, Nachahmer, dich üben;
Selbst Gebildetes ist
Stoff nur dem bildenden Geist.

Different Applications.

Science to one is the Goddess,
majestic and lofty,--to others

She is the cow that supplies
butter to put on his bread.

Wissenschaft.

Einem ist sie die hohe,
die himmlische Göttin, dem Andern

Eine tüchtige Kuh,
die ihn mit Butter versorgt.

The Sublime.

Boldly astronomers claim
that their science is truly sublimest;

Aye; but sublimity, sirs,
nowhere existeth in space.

An die Astronomen.

Euer Gegenstand ist
der erhabenste freilich im Raume;

Aber, Freunde, im Raum
wohnt das Erhabene nicht.

Fiction and Truth.

“What is the purpose of poetry’s art?”
By and by I shall tell you.

First of reality, friend,
tell me the purpose and use.

Poet, Erdichtung und Wahrheit.

Wozu nützt denn die ganze Erdichtung?[22]
Ich will es dir sagen,

Leser, sagst du mir erst,
wozu die Wirklichkeit nützt.

The Poet and the Naturalist.

Both of us search for the truth;
thou in nature, I here in the inner
Heart of myself. And the truth
each one thus findeth at last.

Is but clearsighted thine eye,
it will meet in the world the Creator.
And is but healthy my heart,
clearly ’twill mirror the world.

Die Uebereinstimmung.

Wahrheit suchen wir beide;
du aussen im Leben, ich innen
In dem Herzen, und so
findet sie jeder gewiss.

Ist das Auge gesund,
so begegnet es aussen dem Schöpfer,
Ist es das Herz, dann gewiss
spiegelt es innen die Welt.

Trust in Scientific Truth.

Sail, O thou sailor courageous!
Ne’er mind that the wit will deride thee,
And that thy boatswain will drop
wearied of work at the helm.

Sail, O sail on for the West:
There the land must emerge from the ocean,
As thy prophetical mind
clearly perceiveth e’en now.

Trust to the God who thee leadeth,
and cross the mysterious ocean.
Did not the land there exist,
now it would rise from the deep.

Truly with Genius Nature
has made an eternal alliance,
What is by Genius foretold,
Nature unfailing fulfils.

Kolumbus.

Steure, muthiger Segler!
Es mag der Witz dich verhöhnen
Und der Schiffer am Steu’r
senken die lässige Hand.

Immer, immer nach West!
Dort muss die Küste sich zeigen,
Liegt sie doch deutlich und liegt
schimmernd vor deinem Verstand.

Traue dem leitenden Gott
und folge dem schweigenden Weltmeer!
Wär’ sie noch nicht, sie stieg’
jetzt aus den Fluthen empor.

Mit dem Genius steht
die Natur in ewigem Bunde;
Was der eine verspricht,
leistet die andre gewiss.

Wisdom and Prudence.