Seht, da kommt er schleppend wieder! Und nun kann ich hoffen, Wehe! wehe! Эги Beide Teile Stehn in Eile Schon als Knechte Völlig fertig in die Höhe! Helft mir, ach! ihr hohen Mächte! 70 75 80 Und sie laufen! Naß und nässer Wird's im Saal und auf den Stufen; Herr und Meister! hör mich rufen! Ach, da kommt der Meister! Herr, die Not ist groß! „In die Ecke, RI Besen! Besen! Seid's gewesen. Denn als Geister Ruft euch nur, zu seinem Zwecke, Erst hervor der alte Meister." 85 90 95 VI. Westöstlicher Divan WHILE the German people were struggling to break the fetters in which Napoleon had kept them for years, Goethe had fled' to the Orient, according to his own words, and the poetic treasures found on this imaginary journey he spreads before us in the collection Westöstlicher Divan. The theme which sounds in various melodies through all of these wonderful poems is best described by Goethe in a letter to Zelter of May 11, 1820: Unbedingtes Ergeben in den unergründlichen Willen Gottes, heiterer Ueberblick des beweglichen, immer kreis- und spiralartig wiederkehrenden Erdetreibens, Liebe, Neigung zwischen zwei Welten schwebend, alles Reale geläutert, sich symbolisch auflösend. Of these motives only the principal two: the poet's religious meditation and his love to Suleika have been considered in the following selections. According to the first of the poems, the introductory Hegire, the poet undertakes his poetic journey to the Orient for the purpose: Dort im Reinen und im Rechten Und sich nicht den Kopf zerbrachen. What we notice here is to a certain extent a revival and partial execution of the old plan of the Geheimnisse, dating back to the time of his most intimate friendship with Herder. As he intended to represent in the Geheimnisse the identity of humanity and Christianity by introducing the representatives of various nations, times and religions, so he seeks in the Divan for the primitive state of humanity and its unity with the divine in the Orient. Again the religious element of his nature breaks forth in some of the most remarkable lyrics of the Divan. Thus in the poem Höheres und Höchstes, which treats of the life hereafter, he leaves the sensual world and is looking for Paradise, where he would love to gather together his friends: Und so möcht ich alle Freunde, Jung und alt, in Eins versammeln, The mystic depth and fervor of Goethe's religious thinking is revealed best in the verses Talismane and especially in the poem Selige Sehnsucht, in which he shows death to be a necessary and integral part of life. The most popular of the Divan-poems are, however, those of the book Suleika. It is a well known fact that most of these songs owe their origin to Goethe's devoted friendship and admiration for Marianne Willemer, one of the most cultured women who grace the poet's later life. So great was her poetic talent that Goethe did not hesitate to incorporate into his collection several of her songs as his own. Two of the most exquisite, Nos. 7 and 9, are here given. 1. Hegire Flight Nord und West und Süd zersplittern, fly Flüchte du, im reinen Osten Dort im Reinen und im Rechten In des Ursprungs Tiefen dringen, Und sich nicht den Kopf zerbrachen. Wo sie Väter hoch verehrten, Jeden fremden Dienst verwehrten; fett Will mich unter Hirten mischen Bösen Felsweg auf und nieder |