In this life one cannot see the brightest light

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Johannes Scheffler (1624 - 1677), as Angelus Silesius

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Das überlichte Licht schaut man in...

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Chosen for Diff

Das überlichte Licht schaut man in diesem Leben
Nicht besser, als wann man in's Dunkle sich begeben.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Angelus Silesius und Saint-Martin. Auszüge., Berlin, in Commission bei Veit & Comp., 1834, p. 79.

Text Authorship:

by Johannes Scheffler (1624 - 1677), as Angelus Silesius, "Göttliche Beschauung", appears in Cherubinischen Wandersmann, first published 1657 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Rudi Spring (1962 - 2025), "Das überlichte Licht", op. 64 no. 3 (1995) [ five-part mixed chorus (s-mez-a-t-bar), flute (+ bass drum), viola, tenor-hammered dulcimer (+ claves), natural horn and contrabass-tuba ], from Chor-Fantasie, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2013-11-09
Line count: 2
Word count: 17

In this life one cannot see the...

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Chosen for Diff

In this life one cannot see the brightest light
Better than by betaking oneself into darkness.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Johannes Scheffler (1624 - 1677), as Angelus Silesius, "Göttliche Beschauung", appears in Cherubinischen Wandersmann, first published 1657
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-12-12
Line count: 2
Word count: 16