Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Thought for Today


This is by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in relaxed and unbuttoned mood.

Ob der Koran von Ewigkeit sei?
Darnach frag ich nicht!
Ob der Koran geschaffen sei?
Das weiß ich nicht!
Daß er das Buch der Bücher sei,
Glaub ich aus Mosleminenpflicht.

Daß aber der Wein von Ewigkeit sei,
Daran zweifl' ich nicht;
Oder daß er vor den Engeln geschaffen sei,
Ist vielleicht auch kein Gedicht.
Der Trinkende, wie es auch immer sei,
Blickt Gott frischer ins Angesicht.

It might be translated thus.

Comes the Koran from the Eternal?
That I do not ask!
Was the Koran composed?
That I do not know!
That it is the Book of Books,
I believe as Muslim duty.
 
But that wine comes from Eternity,
That I do not doubt;
Or that it was created for the angels
Perhaps is no myth.
The drinker, as it always may be,
Looks God afresh in the face.

A nice conceit!
More likely drink reveals the realities of the drinker, as maybe God sees them.
In vino veritas.

1 comment:

Dr Grumble said...

Es klingt gut.

But the translation has none of the charm of the German original.