Happiness | As long as you pursue happiness

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Glück

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG ENG FRE

Solang du nach dem Glücke jagst,
Bist du nicht reif zum Glücklichsein
Und wäre alles Liebste dein.

Solang du um Verlornes klagst
Und Ziele hast und rastlos bist,
Weißt du noch nicht, was Friede ist.

Erst wenn du jedem Wunsch entsagst,
Nicht Ziel mehr, noch Begehren kennst,
Das Glück nicht mehr mit Namen nennst,

Dann reicht dir des Geschehens Flut
Nicht mehr ans Herz, und deine Seele ruht.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

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Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 164.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Glück", written 1907 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-05-06
Line count: 11
Word count: 70

Happiness

NOTE: the footnotes have been removed from this text; return to general view

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

As long as you pursue happiness,
You are not ready to be happy
Even if all the most dear things were yours.

As long as you complain about that which is lost
And have goals and are restless,
You do not yet know what peace is.

Only when you have renounced every wish,
When you no longer know either goal or desire,
No longer call happiness by name,

Then the floodwaters of the events of life
No longer rise to your heart, and your soul rests.

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Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Glück", written 1907
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This text was added to the website: 2018-06-19
Line count: 11
Word count: 87