Be quiet! | Roaring and rushing wheel of time

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by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Stehe still!

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE HEB ITA NOR NYN RUS SPA

Sausendes, brausendes Rad der Zeit,
Messer du der Ewigkeit;
Leuchtende Sphären im weiten All,
Die ihr umringt den Weltenball;
Urewige Schöpfung, halte doch ein,
Genug des Werdens, laß mich sein!

Halte an dich, zeugende Kraft,
Urgedanke, der ewig schafft!
Hemmet den Atem, stillet den Drang,
Schweiget nur eine Sekunde lang!
Schwellende Pulse, fesselt den Schlag;
Ende, des Wollens ew'ger Tag!
Daß in selig süßem Vergessen
Ich mög alle Wonnen ermessen!

Wenn Aug' in Auge wonnig trinken,
Seele ganz in Seele versinken;
Wesen in Wesen sich wiederfindet,
Und alles Hoffens Ende sich kündet,
Die Lippe verstummt in staunendem Schweigen,
Keinen Wunsch mehr will das Innre zeugen:
Erkennt der Mensch des Ew'gen Spur,
Und löst dein Rätsel, heil'ge Natur!

Text Authorship:

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902) [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 Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883), "Stehe still!", WWV 91 no. 2 (1857), published 1862 [ female voice and piano or orchestra ], from Wesendonck-Lieder, no. 2, Mainz, Schott, also set in French (Français) [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in French (Français), a translation by Victor Wilder (1835 - 1892) ; composed by Richard Wagner.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Resta tranquil!", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Be quiet!", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Reste tranquille !", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
HEB Hebrew (עברית) [singable] (Hamutal Atariah) , "הסו!", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Arrestati!", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Arrigo Enrico Boito) , "Fermati!"
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Stå stille!", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NYN Norwegian (Nynorsk) (Are Frode Søholt) , "Stå stille!", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
RUS Russian (Русский) (Elena Danilova) , "Остановись", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Susana Martin Dudoignon) , "¡Detente!", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 22
Word count: 117

Be quiet!

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Roaring and rushing wheel of time,
You are the measurer of Eternity;
Shining spheres in the wide universe,
You who surround the world globe,
Eternal creation, halt!
Enough development, let me be!

Cease, generative powers,
The primal thoughts which you are ever creating!
Slow your breathing, still your urge
Silently, only for a second long!
Swelling pulses, fetter your beating,
End, o eternal day of willing!
That in blessed, sweet forgetfulness,
I may measure all my bliss!

When one eye another drinks in bliss,
And one soul into another sinks,
One nature in another finds itself again,
And when each hope's fulfillment is finished,
When the lips are mute in astounded silence,
And no wish more does the heart invent,
Then man recognizes the sign of Eternity,
And solves your riddle, holy Nature!

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 (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 22
Word count: 133