[Harmonia Dragon]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German pronunciation: [ˈjoːhan ˈvɔlfɡaŋ fɔn ˈɡøːtə] ( listen), 28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German writer, artist, and politician. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles, prose and verse dramas, memoirs, an autobiography, literary and aesthetic criticism, treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour, and four novels. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, and over 10,000 letters written by him are extant, as are nearly 3,000 drawings.


"Divan":

"Jesus felt pure and calmly thought
Only the One God;
Who made himself to be a god
Offends his holy will.
And thus the right(ness) has to shine
What Mahomet also achieved;
Only by the term of the One
He mastered the whole world"

"Jesus f|hlte rein und dachte
Nur den Einen Gott im Stillen;
Wer ihn selbst zum Gotte machte
Krdnkte seinen heil'gen Willen.
Und so mu_ das Rechte scheinen
Was auch Mahomet gelungen;
Nur durch den Begriff des Einen
Hat er alle Welt bezwungen."
(WA I, 6, 288 ff)






Song for Mohammed
Language: English


Behold this rocky spring,
bright with joy
like a twinkling star;
above the clouds
its youth was nourished
by good spirits
among the cliffs in the bushes.

Fresh as a youth
it dances out of the cloud
down to the marble rocks,
cheering again
to the sky.

Along mountainous paths
it chases after colorful pebbles,
and with the step of a young leader
its companion-springs journey
with it onward.

Below in the valley
flowers appear from its footprints,
and the meadow
derives life from its breath.

But no shaded valley can stop it,
no flower,
clasping its knees
and imploring it with loving eyes:
toward the Plains it presses its course,
twisting like a snake.

Brooks nuzzle up
sociably. Now it treads
into the Plain, resplendent with silver,
and the Plain grows silver too,
and the rivers of the Plain
and the brooks of the mountains
cheer and shout: "Brother!
Brother, take your brothers with,
take them with you to your ancient father,
to the eternal ocean,
whose outstretched arms
await us,
who, ah! has opened them in vain
to embrace his yearning children;
for the bleak wasteland's
greedy sand devours us; the sun above
sucks up all our blood; a hill
clogs us into a pool! Brother,
take your brothers from this Plain,
take your brothers from the mountains,
take them with you to your ancient father!

Come all of you! -
and now [the spring] swells
more grandly: an entire race
lifts the prince up high!
And in rolling triumph
it gives names to the lands and cities
that grow in its path.

Irresistibly it rushes onward,
leaving a wake of flaming-tipped towers
and houses of marble - creations
of its bounty.

Like Atlas it bears cedar houses
upon its giant's shoulders;
over its head, the wind noisily
blows a thousand flags
as testimony of its glory.

And so it brings its brothers,
its treasures, its children,
effervescent with joy,
to the waiting parent's bosom.

Mahomets Gesang
Language: German


Seht den Felsenquell,
Freudehell,
Wie ein Sternenblick;
Über Wolken
Nährten seine Jugend
Gute Geister
Zwischen Klippen im Gebüsch.

Jünglingfrisch
Tanzt er aus der Wolke
Auf die Marmorfelsen nieder,
Jauchzet wieder
Nach dem Himmel.

Durch die Gipfelgänge
Jagt er bunten Kieseln nach,
Und mit frühem Führertritt
Reißt er seine Bruderquellen
Mit sich fort.

Drunten werden in dem Tal
Unter seinem Fußtritt Blumen,
Und die Wiese
Lebt von seinem Hauch.

Doch ihn hält kein Schattental,
Keine Blumen,
Die ihm seine Knie umschlingen,
Ihm mit Liebesaugen schmeicheln:
Nach der Ebne dringt sein Lauf,
Schlangenwandelnd.

Bäche schmiegen
Sich gesellig an. Nun tritt er
In die Ebne silberprangend,
Und die Ebne prangt mit ihm,
Und die Flüsse von der Ebne
Und die Bäche von den Bergen
Jauchzen ihm und rufen: Bruder!
Bruder, nimm die Brüder mit,
Mit zu deinem alten [ Vater,
Zu dem ewgen Ozean,
Der mit ausgespannten Armen
Unser wartet,
Die sich, ach! vergebens öffnen,
Seine Sehnenden zu fassen;
Denn uns frißt in öder Wüste
Gierger Sand, die Sonne droben
Saugt an unserm Blut, ein Hügel
Hemmet uns zum Teiche! Bruder,
Nimm die Brüder von der Ebne,
Nimm die Brüder von den Bergen
Mit, zu deinem Vater mit!

Kommt ihr alle! -
Und nun schwillt er
Herrlicher: ein ganz Geschlechte
Trägt den Fürsten hoch empor!
Und im rollenden Triumphe
Gibt er Ländern Namen, Städte
Werden unter seinem Fuß.

Unaufhaltsam rauscht er weiter,
Läßt der Türme Flammengipfel,
Marmorhäuser, eine Schöpfung
Seiner Fülle, hinter sich.

Zedernhäuser trägt der Atlas
Auf den Riesenschultern; sausend
Wehen über seinem Haupte
Tausend Flaggen durch die Lüfte,
Zeugen seiner Herrlichkeit.

Und so trägt er seine Brüder,
Seine Schätze, seine Kinder
Dem erwartenden Erzeuger
Freudebrausend an das Herz.]


Goethe is fascinated by Saadi's metaphor of the "fly in love" flying into the light where it dies as the image for the Sufi. See here especially the poem of the "Divan" about the butterfly flying into the light "Blissful yearning / Selige Sehnsucht" whose earlier titles were "Sacrifice of the self / Selbstopfer" and "Perfection / Vollendung". In the chapter about Rumi, Goethe acknowledges the invocation of Allah and the blessing of it: "Already the so-called mahometan rosary [prayer-beeds] by which the name Allah is glorified with ninety-nine qualities is such a praise litany. Affirming and negating qualities indicate the inconceivable Being [Wesen]; the worshipper is amazed, submits and calms down." (WA I, 7, 59)

As a young man Goethe wanted to study oriental studies - but his father finally wanted him to study law; he always admired the first travellers to Arabia (Michaelis, Niebuhr), he was fascinated by it and read everything they published about their trips. In 1814/15 at the time of his "Divan" Goethe trained himself with the professors for oriental studies Paulus, Lorsbach and Kosegarten (Jena) in reading and writing Arabic. After looking at his Arabic manuscripts and having known about the Qur'an, Goethe felt a great yearning to learn Arabic. He copied short Arabic Du'as by himself and wrote: "In no other language spirit, word and letter are embodied in such a primal way." (Letter to Schlosser, 23.1.1815, WA IV, 25, 165)

At the age of 70 Goethe writes (Notes and Essays to the Divan, WA I, 17, 153) that he intends "to celebrate respectfully that night when the Prophet was given the Koran completely from above" He also wrote: "No one may wonder about the great efficiency of the Book. That is why it has been declared as uncreated by real admirers" and added to it: "This book will eternally remain highly efficacious/effective" (WA I, 7, 35/36)

Still today we have the handwritten manuscripts of his first intensive Qur'an-studies of 1771/1772 and the later ones in the Goethe and Schiller-Archive in Weimar. Goethe read the German translation of Qur'an by J. v. Hammer (possibly as well from the more prosaic English translation of G. Sale) out loud in front of members of the Duke's family in Weimar and their guests. Being witnesses Schiller and his wife reported about the reading. (Schiller's letter to Knebel, 22.2.1815) Goethe always felt the shortcomings of all the translations (Latin, English, German and French) and was constantly looking for new translations. In his "Divan" Goethe says:

"Whether the Koran is of eternity?
I don't question that!...
That it is the book of books
I believe out of the muslim's duty."

"Ob der Koran von Ewigkeit sei?
Darnach frag' ich nicht ! ...
Da_ er das Buch der B|cher sei
Glaub' ich aus Mosleminen-
Pflicht"
(WA I, 6, 203)

http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_t...ml?TextId=6507
http://www.themodernreligion.com/con...ert_goethe.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe

[Martyn*]

Goethe was simply attempting to make Mohammedan culture accessible to Germans. Goethe already held an interest previously in Oriental studies, especially with regards to Persian literature. Goethe was an inter-culturalist rather than a religious believer.