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.
Ich empfinde fast ein Grauen, Daß ich, Plato, für und für Bin gesessen über dir; Es ist Zeit hinaus zu schauen, Und sich bey den frischen Quellen In dem Grünen zu ergehn, Wo die schönen Blumen stehn, Und die Fischer Netze stellen. Wozu dienet das Studieren? Als zu lauter Ungemach? Unterdessen läuft der Bach Unsers Lebens, uns zu führen, Ehe wir es inne werden, Auf sein leztes Ende hin, Dann kömmt ohne Geist und Sinn Dieses alles in die Erden. Hola, Junge geh und frage, Wo der beßte Trunk mag seyn, Nimm den Krug, und fülle Wein. Alles Trauren, Leid und Klage Wie wir Menschen täglich haben, Eh' der Strom uns fortgerafft, Will ich in den süßen Saft Den die Traube gibt, vergraben. Kaufe gleichfalls auch Melonen, Und vergiß des Zuckers nicht; Schaue nur daß nichts gebricht. Jener mag die Heller schonen, Der bey seinem Gold und Schätzen Tolle sich zu kränken pflegt, Und nicht satt zu Bette legt: Ich will, weil ich kann, mich letzen. Bitte meine guten Brüder Auf Musik und auf ein Glas: Kein Ding schickt sich, dünkt mich, baß, Als ein Trunk und gute Lieder. Laß' ich schon nicht viel zu erben, Ey so hab ich edlen Wein, Will mit andern lustig seyn, Wann ich gleich allein muß sterben.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Martin Opitz (1597 - 1639) [author's text not yet checked 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 Friedrich Hinrichs (1820 - 1892), "Aus einem Trinkliede", op. 5 (Sechs Gedichte für Bass-Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1864 [ bass and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Maria (Friedrich Ernst) von Weber (1786 - 1826), "Gelahrtheit", op. 64 no. 4 (1818) [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-21
Line count: 40
Word count: 213
I am almost seized by horror that I, Plato, constantly have been poring over you; it’s high time to leave the study and to stroll across the country, there, where restful waters spring, where the lovely flowers grow, and where fishers' nets are lying. What are all the studies good for but for mere adversity? In the meantime does the brook of the life that we are leading reach its final destination, ere we are aware of it? Then, devoid of sense and mind, all is laid to rest and buried. Hey, young man, go and inquire where they offer the best drink; take the jug, fill it with wine! All laments and grief and mourning under which we daily labour ere the tide sweeps us away, I shall bury in the juice which, so sweet, the grapes bestow on us. Go and likewise buy some melons and the sugar keep in mind; and make sure that nothing lacks. He who may save up the Hellers, who with all his gold and treasures ever mortifies the flesh, never sated goes to bed: I will have a feast and get it. Glad to welcome you, my brothers, to a glass and to some songs: methinks nothing’s better than cheerful songs and cheerful drinking. Even if I leave you little, I have got some noble wine and will be merry with my brothers although I have to die alone.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Gelahrtheit" = "Learnedness"
Translator's note for Stanza 4, Line 4 - Heller / Häller: a medieval coin valued at half a Pfennig
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann.  Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Martin Opitz (1597 - 1639)
This text was added to the website: 2015-10-13
Line count: 40
Word count: 237