The secret | Where does a flower bloom that never wilts?

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by Ignaz Heinrich Freiherr von Wessenberg (1774 - 1860)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Das Geheimnis

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: DUT ENG FRE

Wo blüht das Blümchen, das nie verblüht?
Wo strahlt das Sternlein, das ewig glüht?
Dein Mund, o Muse! dein heil'ger Mund
Tu' mir das Blümchen und Sternlein kund.

"Verkünden kann es dir nicht mein Mund,
Macht es dein Innerstes dir nicht kund!
Im Innersten glühet und blüht es zart,
Wohl jedem, der es getreu bewahrt!"

Confirmed with Ignaz Heinrich Freiherr von Wessenberg, Neue Gedichte, Constanz: M. Wallis, 1826, page 321.

Text Authorship:

by Ignaz Heinrich Freiherr von Wessenberg (1774 - 1860), "Das Geheimniß", subtitle: "Liebe und Wahrheit", appears in Neue Gedichte, Constanz: M. Wallis, first published 1826 [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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Das Geheimnis", WoO. 145 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Het geheim", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The secret", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le secret", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Pilar Lirio , Melanie Trumbull

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 55

The secret

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 Where does a flower bloom that never wilts?
 Where does a star shine that glows eternally?
 Your lips, my Muse! your sacred lips
 give tidings of this flower and this star.
 
 "My lips can proclaim nothing
 that your innermost feelings do not already declare!
 [This star and this flower] will glow and bloom tenderly in
 the soul of anyone who preserves them faithfully!"

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 Ignaz Heinrich Freiherr von Wessenberg (1774 - 1860), "Das Geheimniß", subtitle: "Liebe und Wahrheit", appears in Neue Gedichte, Constanz: M. Wallis, first published 1826
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 64