Mensch, verspotte nicht den Teufel, Kurz ist ja die Lebensbahn, Und die ewige Verdammnis Ist kein bloßer Pöbelwahn. Mensch, bezahle deine Schulden, Lang ist ja die Lebensbahn, Und du mußt noch manchmal borgen, Wie du es so oft getan.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Buch der Lieder von Heinrich Heine, Berlin, A. Warschauers Verlag, 1827, page 102. Note: it is number 38 in this edition, but 36 in later editions.
Text Authorship:
- by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 36 [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 Ina Bottelier (b. 1943), "Mensch", 1987, published 1989 [ soprano, piano (or harpsichord), and contrabass (or cello) ], from Gedanken zu Die Heimkehr, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803 - 1883), "Mensch, verspotte nicht den Teufel", published 1851, from Die Heimkehr : 88 Gedichte aus H. Heine's Reisebildern, no. 36 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Alfred Heller.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in English, a translation by Emma Lazarus (1849 - 1887) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881 ; composed by Constantin Silvestri.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Homme, ne te moque pas du diable", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-02-22
Line count: 8
Word count: 39
Mortal, sneer not at the devil; Life's a short and narrow way, And perdition everlasting Is no error of the day. Mortal, pay thy debts precisely, Life's a long and weary way; And to-morrow thou must borrow, As thou borrow'dst yesterday.
Text Authorship:
- by Emma Lazarus (1849 - 1887), appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 36
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Constantin Silvestri (1913 - 1969), "Mortal, sneer not at the devil", op. 1 no. 2, published c1944 [ high voice and piano ], from Cycle of eight songs to poems by Heinrich Heine, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-04-18
Line count: 8
Word count: 41