Task of genius | So do I roll, without pause

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by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Genialisch treiben

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE ITA

So wälz ich ohne Unterlaß,
Wie Sankt Diogenes, mein Faß.
Bald ist es Ernst, bald ist es Spaß;
Bald ist es Lieb, bald ist es Haß;
Bald ist es dies, bald ist es das;
Es ist ein Nichts, und ist ein Was.
So wälz ich ohne Unterlaß,
Wie Sankt Diogenes, mein Faß.

Text Authorship:

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Genialisch treiben", appears in Goethe's Werke. Vollständige Ausgabe, letzter Hand, Band III, in 5. Epigrammatisch [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Genialisch treiben" [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903), "Genialisch treiben", published 1891 [ voice and piano ], from Goethe-Lieder, no. 21, Mainz, Schott [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Tasca de geni", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Task of genius", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Occupation de génie", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Geniale darsi da fare", copyright © 2012, (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: 8
Word count: 52

Task of genius

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 So do I roll, without pause,
 like Saint Diogenes, my barrel.
 Now in earnest, now in jest;
 now in love, now in hate;
 now it is this, now it is that -
 it is a Nothing, and it is a Something.
 So do I roll, without pause,
 like Saint Diogenes, my barrel.

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 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Genialisch treiben", appears in Goethe's Werke. Vollständige Ausgabe, letzter Hand, Band III, in 5. Epigrammatisch
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 52