Tame Xenia.

A poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

God gave to mortals birth,

In his own image too;
Then came Himself to earth,

A mortal kind and true.

1821.*
-
Barbarians oft endeavour

Gods for themselves to make
But they're more hideous ever

Than dragon or than snake.

1821.*
-
What shall I teach thee, the very first thing?
Fain would I learn o'er my shadow to spring!

1827.*
-
"What is science, rightly known?
'Tis the strength of life alone.
Life canst thou engender never,
Life must be life's parent ever.

1827.*
-
It matters not, I ween,

Where worms our friends consume,
Beneath the turf so green,

Or 'neath a marble tomb.
Remember, ye who live,

Though frowns the fleeting day,
That to your friends ye give

What never will decay.

1827.*