ein Mitmensch. Hence we may render the idea, all men are my fellow-creatures, but not all of them are my equals, by Alle Menschen sind meine Mitmenschen, aber nicht alle sind meines gleichen. 337. nennen, to name, to call, is an irr. act. verb; ich nenne, ich nannte, ich habe genannt. 338. zieht sie einher, she moves along, from the sep. irr. comp. verb, einherziehen, to move along; einher generally denotes a strutting, a walking with dignity, in a proud manner; and ziehen is to move, sec. 61. die Welle, pl. en, fem. a wave, a billow; Woge, fem. is a great wave. Das Meer schlägt Wellen, the sea rises in waves. 339. Den stolzen Namen weiht der Schrecken, terror consecrates the proud name. The distinct accusative of the article masculine makes such inversions familiar even in prose, and the government of the verb being before, throws the nominative behind the verb. Weihen, reg. act. verb, to consecrate, to dedicate, to devote. um sich, round about her see sections 36, 234, 276. Speien, irr. neut. verb, to vomit, to spit; ich speie, ich spie, ich habe gespien. Blut speien, to spit blood. der Schritt, es, e, pl. die Schritte, masc. the step, pace, stride. Schritt halten, to keep pace; Schritt für Schritt, step by step. 340. trägt, carries, from tragen, irr. act. verb, to carry, to bear, to support; ich trage, du trägst, er trägt; ich trug; ich habe getragen. This verb is of great importance; it serves to form many idiomatic expressions, as auf den Händen tragen, to be uncommonly fond of, to shew the kindest attention to a person. In the sense of bearing, putting up with, Ramler says, addressing our Saviour:"Zu deiner Ehre will ich alle Plagen, Schmach und Verfolgung, ohne Murren tragen." To thy glory I will bear all ills, disgrace, and persecution, without grumbling. die last, pl. en, fem. the load, the burthen, the charge. Ein Schiff von hundert und funfzig Lasten, a ship of three hundred tons burthen. Eine Last zur See ist Vier tausend Pfund schwer oder zwei Englische Tonnen, a last of shipped goods is four thousand pounds weight, or two English tons. der Untergang, es, e, masc. ruin, destruction, fall; der Weltuntergang, the destruction of the world; der Sonnenuntergang, sunset. 341. die Mitte, fem. the middle; in der Mitte, in the midst; in ihrer Mitte, in the midst of her, meaning the fleet, die Flotte, which is fem. ruhen, reg. neut. verb, to rest, from die Ruhe, sec. 329. 342. gegenüber, prep. governs the dative, over against, opposite. 343. glücksel'ge is a contraction for glückselige, the fem. of the adj. glückselig, blessed, blissful, happy. It denotes the highest degree of moral happiness, whilst glücklich, lucky, fortunate, denotes only worldly happiness. die Insel, pl. Inseln (from the Latin, insula,) fem. the island. Navigators and poets generally prefer the German word Eiland, which is pronounced exactly like the English island; it is of the neuter gender, and has two plurals, die Eilande; or die Eiländer; the same as Land, sec. 145. 344. die Herrscherin, fem. the mistress, the female sovereign; der Herrscher, s, masc. the ruler, the sovereign. We have already observed that the syllable in added to a noun expressive of a dignity, rank, or profession, converts it into the appellation of a female holding such a rank, or of the wife of a man of such a dignity or profession Der König, the king; die Königin, the queen. 345. Diese Gallionenheere: the poet calls them " Galleon armies" because the Spanish Armada was equipped with the immense sums which Philip drew from Peru and Mexico, and which were transmitted in Spanish men-ofwar called Galleons. 346. das Volk, es, e, pl. die Völker, neut. a people, a nation. das Fussvolk, infantry; das Schiffsvolk, a ship's crew. But Volk often denotes the multitude, in contrast with the upper classes of a nation. Hence we say die Volkssprache, the popular language. Luther calls the tumultuous city, mentioned in the prophet Isaiah, xxii. 2, ein Stadt voll Volks. We have the word Nation, fem. which denotes a people living under the same laws and government; but as it is of foreign origin it is now little used; and instead of Nationalität, fem. nationality, and national, adj., the words Volkthum, neut. and Volkthümlich, adj. have been introduced within the present century. 347. das Kleinod, es, e, pl. die Kleinode, neut. a jewel, an ornament made of, or set with, precious stones. But here it means the prize, as in 1 Corinthians, ix. 24. H 348. gezwungen, forced, is the part. past of zwingen, irr. act. to force; ich zwinge, ich zwang, ich habe gezwungen; hast du nicht erdacht, hast thou not contrived; from erdenken, irr. comp. verb, to obtain by thinking, to invent, to imagine, to contrive: ich erdenke, ich erdachte, ich habe erdacht. 349. das grosse Blatt, literally, the great leaf; but as ein Blatt Papier is a sheet of paper, the poet uses it for Magna Charta. 350. Der Segel Obermacht, the superiority of sails, a poetical expression for naval superiority. 351. der Würger, masc. properly the strangler, poetically the warrior. erstritten, part. past of the irr. comp. erstreiten, to obtain by fighting; ich erstreite, ich erstritt, ich habe erstritten, erröthen, reg. comp. to blush, to turn red. hinblicken, a sep. comp. to look; ich blicke hin, ich blickte hin, ich habe hingeblickt. Schauen, verb act. and neut. to show, and to look. 352. Schlagen, irr. to beat; ich schlage, ich schlug, ich habe geschlagen. 353. der Almächt'ge a contraction for der Almächtige, the Almighty; herabsehn, to look down. 354. Löwenflaggen, lions' flags: the poet gives this name to the Spanish flag, on account of the lions which are in the Spanish arms. vergehen, and untergehen, to perish the former insep. ich vergehe, ich verging, ich bin vergangen. ein Felsendamm, a strong dike of rocks. 355. zusammenstürzen is a sep. comp. verb, made of stürzen, to fall, to tumble, and zusammen, together, which here denotes a sudden shaking and tumbling of the parts of a whole, and coming down with violence. 356. die Tirannenwehre, fem. the defence against tyrants. 357. verschwinden, irr. insep. comp. to vanish, to disappear; ich verschwinde, ich verschwand, ich bin verschwunden. 358. blies, impf. of blasen, irr. to blow; ich blase, ich blies, ich habe geblasen. These two last lines allude to the medal by which Queen Elizabeth commemorated the victory over the Spanish Armada. It represents a fleet perishing in a storm, with the modest motto: " Afflavit Deus et dissipati sunt.” 359. We turn once more to Goethe for our lesson, and take his Harper, a Song introduced into his " Wilhelm Meister," for the vehicle of our remarks. DER HARFNER. Was hör'ich draussen vor dem Thor, Der König sprach's, der Page lief, Gegrüsset seid ihr hohe Herrn, Welch reicher Himmel! Stern bei Stern! Im Saal voll Pracht und Herrlichkeit Der Sänger drückt' die Augen ein Die goldne Kette gieb mir nicht, Die Kette gieb den Rittern Der Feinde Lanzen splittern. Gieb sie dem Kanzler, den du hast, Ich singe wie der Vogel singt Das Lied, das ans der Kehle dringt Er setzt'es an, er trank es aus. O Trank der süssen Labe! O dreimal hochbeglücktes Haus Ergeht's euch wohl so denkt an mich, Für diesen Trank euch danke. THE HARPER. What do I hear resounding without the gate upon the bridge? Let the song resound in the hall to our ear! The king spoke it, the page ran off; the boy returned, and the king called out, Bring in the old man hither. Hail to you, noble sirs! Hail to you, handsome ladies! What a rich heaven! Star by star; who can tell their names? In this hall, full of pomp and splendour, I'll close my eyes: this is no time for enjoying this delightful surprise. The singer shut his eyes, and made the full-toned chords vibrate. The knight looked undaunted up; the fair one into her lap. The king, who was pleased with the song, ordered a gold chain to be brought as a reward for his music. The golden chain give not to me; give the chain to the knights, before whose bold looks the lances of the enemies fly in splinters: give it to thy chancellor, and let him bear the golden load along with his other burdens. I sing as the bird sings, which dwells among the boughs; the song that swells from the throat is a reward that richly recompenses. Yet if I dared to ask, I would beg this: let them bring me a draught of the best wine in a clean goblet. He set it to his lips, he drank it up: O draught of sweetest savour! O thrice-blessed house where such a cup is but a small gift! If you fare well, think of me, and thank the Almighty as warmly as I thank you for this cup. 360. Der Harfer, Harfener, or Harfner, sub. pl. die Harfner, the harper; and in the fem. die Harferin, or Harfnerin. But we have also for the male harper, der Harfenspieler and der Harfenschläger, and for the female, if she be an itinerant harper, das Harfenmädchen. Der Harfenist is of foreign origin, and ought not to be employed. 361. draussen, adv. of place, without, on the outside, particularly with reference to one's dwelling in the house. er ist nicht in dem Zimmer, er ist draussen, he is not in the room, he is without. 362. vor dem Thor, before the gate, without the gate. das Thore es, e, pl. die Thore, neut. the gate. We say, vor dem Thore, when there is no locomotion, and vor das Thor, when there is. Wir wollen ein wenig vor das Thor fahren, we will drive a little out of the gate. But der Thor, pl. die Thoren, masc. a fool, an extravagant person. It is sometimes synonymous with Narr, masc. a fool who wants understanding. 363. der Gesang, es, e, pl. die Gesänge, (masc. like all substantives in ang,) the song, the singing. das Gesangbuch, neut. the book containing the hymns sung at church. |