Behold man | Yes! I know where I come from!

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by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Ja! Ich weiß, woher ich stamme!

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Ja! Ich weiß, woher ich stamme!
Ungesättigt gleich der Flamme
glühe und verzehr' ich mich.
Licht wird alles, was ich fasse,
Kohle alles, was ich lasse:
Flamme bin ich sicherlich!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900) [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 Hans Fleischer (1896 - 1981), "Ecce homo", op. 109 (6 Lieder für mittlere Stimme und Klavier) no. 3 (1938) [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867 - 1942), "Ecce homo!", published 1901 [ voice and piano ], from Dichtungen von Friedrich Nietzsche, no. 3, Stockholm, Lundquist [sung text not yet checked]
by Richard Trunk (1879 - 1968), "Ecce homo", op. 40 (Sechs Lieder) no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Erich Zeisl (1905 - 1959), "Ja, ich weiss woher ich stamme (Ecce homo)", 1931 [ baritone and piano ], unpublished [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Behold man", copyright ©

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 6
Word count: 30

Behold man

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Yes! I know where I come from!
As insatiable as a flame,
I smoulder and consume myself.
Everything I seize turns into light,
Everything I let go turns into coal:
Surely I am a flame!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 6
Word count: 35