Preface to the Second Edition
I have taken advantage of the publication of a Second Edition of my translation of the Poems of Goethe (originally published in 1853), to add to the Collection a version of the much admired classical Poem of Hermann and Dorothea, which was previously omitted by me in consequence of its length. Its universal popularity, however, and the fact that it exhibits the versatility of Goethe's talents to a greater extent than, perhaps, any other of his poetical works, seem to call for its admission into the present volume.
On the other hand I have not thought it necessary to include the sketch of Goethe's Life that accompanied the First Edition. At the time of its publication, comparatively little was known in this country of the incidents of his career, and my sketch was avowedly written as a temporary stop-gap, as it were, pending the production of some work really deserving the tittle of a life of Goethe. Not to mention other contributions to the literature of the subject, Mr. Lewis's important volumes give the English reader all the information he is likely to require respecting Goethe's career, and my short memoir appeared to be no longer required.
I need scarcely add that I have availed myself of this opportunity to make whatever improvements have suggested themselves to me in my original version of these Poems.
E. A. B.
London, 1874.
CONTENTS.
Original Dedication
Original Preface
Preface to the Second Edition
List of the principal Works of Goethe
Author's Dedication
SONGS
Sound, sweet Song, from some far Land
To the kind Reader
The New Amadis
When the Fox dies, his Skin counts
The Heathrose
Blindman's Buff
Christel
The Coy One
The Convert
Preservation
The Muses' Son
Found
Like and Like
Reciprocal Invitation to the Dance
Self-Deceit
Declaration of War
Lover in all Shapes
The Goldsmith's Apprentice
Answers in a Game of Questions
Different Emotions on the same Spot
Who'll buy Gods of love?
The Misanthrope
Different Threats
Maiden Wishes
Motives
True Enjoyment
The Farewell
The Beautiful Night.
Happiness and Vision
Living Remembrance
The Bliss of Absence
To Luna
The Wedding Night
Mischievous Joy
Apparent Death
November Song
To the Chosen One
First Loss
After Sensations
Proximity of the Beloved One
Presence
To the Distant One
By the River
Farewell
The Exchange
Welcome and Farewell
New Love, New Life
To Belinda
May Song
With a painted Ribbon
With a golden Necklace
On the Lake
From the Mountain
Flower-Salute
In Summer
May Song
Premature Spring
Autumn Feelings
Restless Love
The Shepherd's Lament
Comfort in Tears
Night Song
Longing
To Mignon
The Mountain Castle
The Spirit's Salute
To a Golden Heart that he wore round his neck
The Bliss of Sorrow
The Wanderer's Night-song
The Same
The Hunter's Even-Song
To the Moon
To Lina
Ever and Everywhere
Petition
To his Coy One
Night Thoughts
To Lida
Proximity
Reciprocal
Rollicking Hans
The Freebooter
Joy and Sorrow
March
April
May
June
Next Year's Spring
At Midnight Hour
To the rising full Moon
The Bridegroom
Such, such is he who pleaseth me
Sicilian Song
Swiss Song
Finnish Song
Gipsy Song
The Destruction of Magdeburg
FAMILIAR SONGS.
On the New Year
Anniversary Song
The Spring Oracle
The Happy Couple
Song of Fellowship
Constancy in Change
Table Song
Wont and Done
General Confession
Coptic Song
Another
Vanitas! vanitatum vanitas!
Fortune of War
Open Table
The Reckoning
Ergo Bibamus!
Epiphanias
BALLADS.
Mignon
The Minstrel
Ballad of the banished and returning Count
The Violet
The Faithless Boy
The Erl-King
Johanna Sebus
The Fisherman
The King of Thule
The Beauteous Flower..
Sir Curt's Wedding Journey
Wedding Song
The Treasure-digger
The Rat-catcher
The Spinner
Before a Court of Justice
The Page and the Miller's Daughter
The Youth and the Millstream
The Maid of the Mill's Treachery
The Maid of the Mill's Repentance
The Traveller and the Farm-Maiden
Effects at a distance
The Walking Bell
Faithful Eckart
The Dance of Death
The Pupil in Magic
The Bride of Corinth
The God and the Bayadere
The Pariah
I. The Pariah's Prayer.
II. Legend
III. The Pariah's Thanks
Death—lament of the noble Wife of Asan Aga
CANTATAS.
Idyll
Rinaldo
The First Walpurgis-Night
ODES.
Three Odes to my Friend
Mahomet's Song
Spirit Song over the Waters
My Goddess
Winter Journey over the Hartz Mountains
To Father Kronos. Written in a Post-chaise
The Wanderer's Storm Song
The Sea-Voyage
The Eagle and Dove
Prometheus
Ganymede
The Boundaries of Humanity
The Godlike
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS.
The German Parnassus.
Lily's Menagerie
To Charlotte
Love's Distresses
The Musagetes
Morning Lament
The Visit
The Magic Net
The Goblet
To the Grasshopper. After Anacreon
From the Sorrows of Young Werther
Trilogy of Passion :─
I. To Werther
II. Elegy
III. Atonement
The Remembrance of the Good
When I was still a youthful Wight
For Ever
From an Album of 1604
Lines on seeing Schiller's Skull
Royal Prayer
Human Feelings
On the Divan
Hans Sachs' Poetical Mission
SONNETS.
The Friendly Meeting
In a Word
The Maiden Speaks
Growth
Food in Travel
Departure
The Loving One Writes.
The Loving One once more
She Cannot End
Nemesis
The Christmas Box
The Warning
The Epochs
The Doubters and the Lovers
Charade
EPIGRAMS.
To Originals
The Soldier's Consolation
Genial Impulse
Neither this nor that
The way to behave
The best
As broad as it's long
The Rule of Life
The same, expanded
Calm at Sea
The Prosperous Voyage
Courage
My only Property
Admonition
Old Age
Epitaph
Rules for Monarchs
Paulo post futuri
The Fool's Epilogue
PARABLES.
Joy
Explanation of an antique Gem
Cat-Pie
Legend
Authors
The Critic
The Dilettante and the Critic
The Wrangler
The Yelpers
The Stork's Vocation
Celebrity
Playing at Priests
Songs
Poetry
A Parable
Should e'er the loveless day remain
A Plan the Muses entertained
The Death of the Fly
By the River
The Fox and Crane
The Fox and Huntsman
The Frogs
The Wedding
Burial
Threatening Signs
The Buyers
The Mountain Village
Symbols
Three Palinodias :—
I. The Smoke that from thine Altar blows.
II. Conflict of Wit and Beauty
III. Rain and Rainbow.
Valediction
The Country Schoolmaster
The Legend of the Horseshoe
A Symbol
ART.
The Drops of Nectar
The Wanderer
I Love as a Landscape Painter
GOD, SOUL, AND WORLD.
Rhymed Distichs
Prooemion
The Metamorphosis of Plants
PROVERBS TAME XENIA
RELIGION AND CHURCH.
Thoughts on Jesus Christ's descent into Hell
ANTIQUES.
Leopold, Duke of Brunswick
To the Husbandman
Anacreon's Grave
The Brethren
Measure of Time
Warning
Solitude
The Chosen Cliff
The Consecrated Spot
The Instructors
The Unequal Marriage.
Excuse
Sakontala
The Muse's Mirror
Phoebus and Hermes
The New Amor
The Garlands
The Swiss Alps
Distichs
VENETIAN EPIGRAMS.
ELEGIES.
Roman Elegies
Alexis and Dora
Hermann and Dorothea
WEST-EASTERN DIVAN.
I. Minstrel's Book :—
Talismans
The Four Favours
Discord
Song and Structure
II. Book of Hafis :—
The Unlimited
To Hafis
III. Book of Love :—
The Types
One Pair More
Love's Torments
IV. Book of Contemplation :—
Five Things
For Woman
Firdusi
Suleika
V. Book of Gloom :—
It is a Fault
VI. Book of Proverbs
VII. Book of Timur :—
The Winter and Timur
To Suleika
VIII. Book of Suleika :—
Suleika's Love
Hatem
Suleika
Love for Love
Hatem
The Loving One speaks
The Loving One again
These tufted Branches fair
Suleika
The Sublime Type
Suleika
The Reunion
Suleika
In thousand forms
IX. The Convivial Book :—
Can the Koran from Eternity be?
Ye've often for our Drunkenness
X. Book of Parables :—
From Heaven there fell upon the foaming wave
Bulbul's Song
In the Koran with strange delight.
All kinds of Men.
It is good
XI. Book of the Parsees :—
The Bequest of the ancient Persian faith
XII. Book of Paradise:
The Privileged Men
The favoured Beasts
The Seven Sleepers
SONGS FROM VARIOUS PLAYS, ETC.
From Faust :—
Dedication
Prologue in Heaven
Chorus of Angels
Chorus of Spirits
Margaret at her Spinning Wheel
Garden Scene
Margaret's Song
From Faust─Part II.:—
Ariel's Song and Chorus of Spirits
Scene the last From Iphigenia in Tauris :—
Song of the Fates
From Gotz von Berlichingen :—
Liebetraut's Song
From Egmont :—
Clara and Brackenburg's Song
Clara's Song
From Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship :—
Who never eat with tears his bread
Who gives himself to Solitude
My Grief no Mortals know
Sing no more in mournful tones
Epilogue to Schiller's Song of the Bell
L'ENVOI
LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS OF GOETHE, WITH THE DATES OF THEIR COMPOSITION.
I. DRAMATIC WORKS.
TITLE AND DESCRIPTION. DATE,
The Lover's Whim, Pastoral Drama……………… 1767─8
The Accomplices, Comedy……………………… 1769
Satyros, or the Deified Satyr, Drama………….. 1774
Plundersweilern Fair, Puppet-show…………….. 1774
Prometheus, Dramatic fragment………………… 1773
Faust. Part I. Tragedy………………………. 1773─1806
Part II. Tragedy completed in………….. 1831 Elpenor, a Fragment, Tragedy…………………. 1781─3 Iphigenia auf Tauris, Classical drama…………. 1786─7 Torquato Tasso, Classical drama………………. 1787─9 The Natural Daughter, Tragedy………………… 1799─1803 Gotz von Berlichingen, Prose drama……………. 1773 Egmont, Tragedy…………………………….. 1775─87 Clavigo, Tragedy……………………………. 1774 Stella, Tragedy…………………………….. 1774 The Brother and Sister, Prose drama…………… 1776 The Wager, Comedy…………………………… 1812 The Gross-Cophta, Comedy…………………….. 1789 The Burgher-General, Comedy………………….. 1793 The Rebels, Political drama………………….. 1793 The Triumph of Sensibility, Dramatic whim……… 1777 The Birds, after Aristophanes, Comedy…………. 1780 Erwin and Elmire, Melodrama………………….. 1775─88 Claudine von Villa Bella, Melodrama…………… 1775─88 Jery and Bately, Melodrama…………………… 1779 Lila, Melodrama…………………………….. 1777─8 The Fisher-Girl, Melodrama…………………… 1782 Sport. Cunning, and Revenge, Opera Buffa………. 1785 What we're bringing, Prelude…………………. 1802 Pandora, Drama……………………………… 1807─8
In addition to the above, there are nearly 20 minor dramatic pieces.
II. PROSE WORKS.
TITLE DATE,
ROMANCES AND NOVELS:—
Sorrows of Werther……………………….. 1774
The Elective Affinities…………………… 1809
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship…………… 1777─96
Wilhelm Meister's Wanderings………………. 1807─29
Conversations of German Emigrants………….. 1793─5
Notes on Winckelmann………………………… 1805
Life of Philip Hackert………………………. 1810-11
Life of Benvenuto Cellini (Translation)……….. 1796─1803
Autobiography………………………………. 1811─31
Letters from Switzerland…………………….. 1775─1808
Tour in Italy………………………………. 1786-1817
French Campaign…………………………….. 1792─1822
Annals…………………………………….. 1819-25
Art and Antiquity…………………………… 1815─28
Theory of Colours…………………………… 1790-1810
In addition to the above, Goethe produced an almost endless number of translations, criticisms, essays, &c.
III. POETICAL WORKS.
Other than those embraced in the plan of the present volume.
TITLE DATE,
Masonic Songs (7)…………………………… 1815─30
Poems on Pictures (21)………………………. 1819, &c.
Invectives (44)…………………………….. 1802─24
Political poems (54)………………………… 1814, &c.
Masques (14)……………………………….. 1776-1818
Poems in the name of the citizens of Carlsbad (7). 1810─12
Poems on Individuals, &c. (209)………………. 1778─1831
Chinese-German Poems (14)……………………. 1827
Prophecies of Bakis (33)…………………….. 1798
The Four Seasons (99)……………………….. 1796
Epistles (3)……………………………….. 1794
Achilleis—Canto I………………………….. 1798─9
Reineke Fuchs………………………………. 1793
Theatrical Prologues and Epilogues (12, including
the Epilogue to the Song of the Bell, given in
this volume)…………………………….. 1782─1821