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

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 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Ja! Ich weiß, woher ich stamme!

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Chosen for Diff

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!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• R. Trunk

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by Erich Zeisl (1905 - 1959), "Ja, ich weiss woher ich stamme (Ecce homo)", 1931 [ baritone and piano ], unpublished [sung text not yet checked]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)

Chosen for Diff

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.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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