Goethe poem (for Amalie to read)

[v russo]

Well Amalie here it is (sorry I took so long)I have finally found it:

Goethe
'Testament' (1829)

No being can be annihilated!
In all things life's perpetuated,
Hold on to being and feel blessed!
It is eternal; lawful measure
Preserves the ever-living treasure
In which the universe is dressed.

The true is fond and known for ever
And joins all noble minds together,
The ancient truth percieve and hold!
To the sage give thanks now, earthling,
Who ordered round the sun earth's circling
And orbits to the planets told.

At once in to yourself now enter
And there within you find the centre
Undoubted by the noble mind.
In there you'll find all regulated:
In conscience free and activated
The sun of moral life you find.

Then trust your senses for your vision,
Preventing falsity's misprison
By commonsense kept on the mark.
With insight fresh observing blithely
Then wander certainly and lithely
About this world's endowered park.

Let moderations joys sustain you
And reason's presence entertain you
Where life is life's felicity.
The past's forever re-created,
The future here anticipated,
The moment is eternity.


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v russo

[Peter]

Well I certainly enjoyed reading that philosophical poem even if it was for Amalie's eyes only! Thanks.

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'Man know thyself'

[Chaszz]

Thank you, v, that was a pleasure to read. One could imagine a Beethoven setting it. I think the translator deserves much credit also, for retaining the spirit of the original as well as the rhythm and rhyming in English.

[Amalie]

Originally posted by v russo:
Well Amalie here it is (sorry I took so long)I have finally found it:

Goethe
'Testament' (1829)

No being can be annihilated!
In all things life's perpetuated,
Hold on to being and feel blessed!
It is eternal; lawful measure
Preserves the ever-living treasure
In which the universe is dressed.

The true is fond and known for ever
And joins all noble minds together,
The ancient truth percieve and hold!
To the sage give thanks now, earthling,
Who ordered round the sun earth's circling
And orbits to the planets told.

At once in to yourself now enter
And there within you find the centre
Undoubted by the noble mind.
In there you'll find all regulated:
In conscience free and activated
The sun of moral life you find.

Then trust your senses for your vision,
Preventing falsity's misprison
By commonsense kept on the mark.
With insight fresh observing blithely
Then wander certainly and lithely
About this world's endowered park.

Let moderations joys sustain you
And reason's presence entertain you
Where life is life's felicity.
The past's forever re-created,
The future here anticipated,
The moment is eternity.

Many thanks to v.russo,
This is a fantastic poem, and I agree with Chaszz that it could well be taken as Beethoven's own testament.
I was reading Goethe's letters, and one of them from 1812 started, 'I met Beethoven yesterday', what an incredible line, one genius meeting another!.

I love the first line of this poem, it really struck me, 'no being can be annihilated'. Wasn't it Einstein that said, 'energy couldn't be destroyed, only transfered'?

Thankyou v. russo






[This message has been edited by Amalie (edited February 28, 2004).]

[Steppenwolf]

Originally posted by Amalie:

I was reading Goethe's letters, and one of them from 1812 started, 'I met Beethoven yesterday', what an incredible line, one genius meeting another!.

There is a great story about their meeting. They took a walk together through the streets of Vienna, when a group of noblemen and aristocrats were comming along the road in the opposite direction. The usual custom was for 'commoners' to stand aside to let noblemen pass. But Beethoven refused, and obstinately walked straight ahead through the middle of their group. When Goethe asked why he had that, Beethoven replied, "Oh, there are thousands of them ... but only one of us!".