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NOTES.

FIRST PERIOD.

P. 1, No. 1. Martin Luther celebrates in these vigorous verses the charm and power of music and song. They are given as a kind of poetical prelude to the collection of Songs : Lob und Preis der lieblichen Frau Musica, issued by the Saxon Capellmeister, H. Johann Walter, at Wittemberg, in 1538. The first general title of the Poem is Vorrede auf alle gute Gesangbücher, which designation still holds good; for we hardly know of any other verses which might, with equal propriety, be described as a preface to all good books of songs.' The second special title of the Poem is Frau Musica, which title we have also adopted here.

The author introduces the art of music-the quaint designation Frau Musica would hardly admit of an adequate English rendering--as speaking in the first person, and proclaiming the magic power possessed by her, and the beneficial influence sho exercises on man.

Für-werten, of all joys upon earth none can be more exquisite. The contraction mei'm, in the third line, for meinem, was formerly frequently used in poetry.

Hie, the abbreviated and now rather obsolete form of hier, is to be rendered in this line by there, and Muth is to be taken in the old general sense of Gemüth, mind; corresponding some. what to the English 'mood.'

Gesellen gut is a poetical inversion for gute Gesellen. We do not think it too far-fetched to assume that the idea expressed in the lines Hic-gut has suggested to Seume the verse:

Wo man finget, laß dich ruhig nieder,
Ohne Furcht was man im Lande glaubt.
Wo man singet wird kein Mensch beraubt,
Bösewichter haben keine Lieder-

which has become so very popular as a quotation in the garbled but convenient form of

Wo man singt, da laß dich ruhig nieder,
Boje Menschen haben keine Lierer.

Was-anleit, everything else which oppresses (us). Anleit is the obsolete form for anliegt.

Auch frei, and everybody may be at his ease about this. The adjective fret, which was formerly also used with the genitive, denotes here unburdened,' unoppressed."

Bag is an old comparative form denoting better.-tenn for als after comparatives occurs chiefly in poetry.

Und verhindert viel böjer Mört, prevents many a foul murder. The verb verbintern was formerly also used with the genitive case, and the plural form Mötte was sometimes employed instead of Morte.

P. 2, No.--Gewehret hat. . . nicht fiel. The negative adverb is sometimes pleonastically used after wehren in the sense of 'to prevent,' and after other similar expressions.

Das hat Eliseus bekannt, &c. 'But now bring me a minstrel (said the prophet Elisha). And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.' (2 Kings iii. 15.) The author alludes here to the fact stated in this verse, that the prophet was inspired by the strains of music to utter his divine prophecies.

Ist ter voll, is full of them. Der is here the abbreviated form

for terer.

Der Musicen ein' Meisterin, excelling in music. The author uses here the Latin form musice, music,' with the weak termination n, in accordance with the former usage of declining feminine nouns also in the singular number.

Tem singt und springt sie, to his honour she sings and flutters.
Den (ehrt), Him, i.e. God.

P. 3, No. II. Ein' feste Burg, &c. This most celebrated of all German sacred songs may be considered as the religious national hymn of Protestant Germany. Luther composed this hymn in order to inspire the adherents of the Gospel with courage in the struggle against their enemies, and to comfort them with the assurance, based on unshakable faith, that their just cause will finally be crowned with victory. It also expresses a martyr's readiness to sacrifice every worldly good for spiritual welfare. The composition is, in part, a free paraphrase of the first verses (2-6) of Psalm xlvi., and of

some verses in other Psalms. It was first published in the Wittemberger Gesangbuch of 1529, of which, however, no copy is to be found. The text (of which we have given the usually adopted modern High German version) has been preserved in the Form und Ordnung Gaystlicher Gesang und Psalmen, published at Augsburg in the above-mentioned year.

P. 4, No. Wie sauer er sich stellt, however grim he may be. Das Wort, &c., i.e. the word of God. Stahn (M.H.G. stân) is the now obsolete form for stehen. Dazu, for it; therefore. Er-Plan, He (i.e. God), sides with us on the field of battle. Nehmen sie, if they take.

Laß fahren dahin, let it be gone. Sie haben's kein Gewinn, it will be no gain for them. Reich, in the next line, denotes

kingdom.

P. 4, No. III.

There are several passages in Ovid which

bear some resemblance to the Latin saying: Perstet amicitiæ, &c., more particularly the following:

Illud amicitiæ quondam venerabile numen
Prostat.

(Ex Ponto II. 3, 19.)

That saying originally formed the title of the present poem, which is pervaded by a spirit of most tender feeling and humane sentiment. It is to be met with under various titles, and for convenience sake we have adopted the simple one of Freundschaft, which seemed to us the most suitable, retaining, however, the original title as a motto.

Der-eigen, nothing is so peculiar to man. Soll-Band, is about to form an union. Mit Herzen, is here the dative singular, say: with his heart.

P. 5, No. Uns befragen, consult each other. Sehn auf, listen to. So-hat, which has befallen us.

Der

Was-verhehlt, how can that joy benefit us, which is hidden by solitude? Der es von Herzen sagt, who disburthens himself. muß, &c., he must consume himself, who grieves in silence. For the rather crude expression, sich auffreffen, we should now use sich verzehren.

The idea contained in this strophe has been happily expressed by Tiedge in the following lines, which are frequently used as a quotation by Germans:

Getheilte Freud' ist doppelt Frende,
Getheilter Schmerz ist halber Schmerz.

(Urania, Gesang IV. V. 223, &c.)

Herzlich, heartily: with all his heart. Bundsgesellen, (for Bundes, genossen), ally.

Wie gebührt, for wie sich gebührt, as they should be. Die--berührt, who are never bent upon dissembling and trifling.

P. 6, No. IV. Bor-grimmiglich, first winter made us grimly feel his fury. Der ganzen Welt Revier, all the regions of the world. The term hart refers here to the state of torpor into which all nature is thrown by the hardness of the frost.

For heraußerbricht we should now use herausbricht, breaks forth. The mention of Favonius in the celebration of Spring is a somewhat classical reminiscence. The Romans used to reckon the beginning of Spring from the seventh day of February, when Favonius-the gentle west wind'--began to blow. Cf. the Horatian:

Solvitur acris hiems grata vice veris et Favoni.

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P. 7, No. The forms Saate and Grafe are here used for the sake of the rhythm. Machen sich heraus, come out; bud

forth.

The Adverb inniglich, in the first line of the last strophe but one, refers to freuet sich in the subsequent line.

This poem was first published in 1624.

P. 7, No. V. Hat-Preis, is the highest treasure; zu begrüßen, to be called. Mir ist wohl, I feel comforted.

P. 8, No.-Steht alleine, consists merely.

Eins geschieden, it is the same thing being present and being separated. A similar sentiment has been expressed by Goethe in his "Egmont" in the beautiful saying: Die Menschen sind nicht nur zusammen, wenn sie beisammen sind; auch der Entfernte, der Abge. schiedne lebt uns.

Hält, holds fast.

Zwei Treue (for Getreue), two faithful hearts. Und-drein, and she is of accord with me.

P. 9, No. VI. I have given this poem in the modern version, in which it is generally current, but I have not been able to compare it with the original, which is contained in the poet's Fröliche Neue Teutsche Lieder, published in 1599.

Sehr-fährt, happy is he (lit. very well fares) on this earth.
Sich eignen, stands here for sich aneignen, to acquire.

P. 9, No. VII. Herzchen mein Schäßchen, my darling, my sweetheart. Kein'n (for Keinen)-nicht. The use of a double negative instead of a simple one, which is not foreign to English poetry, is of rather frequent occurrence in the older German poems.

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P. 10, No.

Lieberl, lovers, is used in the South German dialect for Liebende. For stahn see Note to the last strophe of No. II. Gluth may here be rendered by flame. Weiß in the next line is employed in the sense of fennt; or rather, the phrase stands here for von der Niemand nichts weiß.

Hier is in this line to be rendered by there.

Und schreiben die Nacht, and would write the whole night. Sie schreiben, &c., they could not finish (writing) the story of love.

P. 10, No. VIII. This poem, which has a playful but somewhat didactic stamp about it, occurs in the Philosophische Ehezuchtbüchlein by the great humorist J. Fischart. # This quaint work is, in the main, founded on Plutarch's Marriage Precepts' in his Moralia, and was first published in 1578. Our text has been taken, with some slight alterations to suit the usages of modern German, from the Second Edition, printed at Strasburg in 1591. #1545-15-89 12 1 The word Hausschneck, house-snail, is one of the numerous expressions which have been coined by Fischart. Han is the M. H. G. contraction from haben.

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hängen.

Und-renken, and heaven knows, how long, not think of home. Werben was formerly used like the present erwerben for 'to acquire by working;' to be active.

Bienkorb is here used for Bienenkorb. The masculine form Immenfönig was used by Fischart and his contemporary Rollenhagen, for Immenkönigin, which is the poetical and familiar term for Bienenkönigin.

Schal for Schale, in the last strophe on P. 11, here shell.

P. 11, No. IX. Wer-träget, he whose senses remain unmoved. Weil-träget, because those who are endowed with their senses are always moved (by the charm of music).

Sie refers here to Lust. The expression Gifer is here employed in the signification of 3orn, anger, wrath. P. 12, No. X. Mit Schmelz, with enamel. "The designation Schmelz (ep. the late Latin 'smaltum,' and the French 'email') is used with reference to the glossy and brilliant colours of fresh flowers." (From my notes to Schiller's Wilhelm Tell.' Clarendon Press Series).

Seiner Rechten, of his (i.e. spring's) right hand; or simply: of his hand.

P. 13, No.-Gültner is now used in poetry only for goldner. Der Henker, say: the destroyer.

Gesicht, here: vision.

The import of this poem is, that whilst all nature awakens

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