DOCSLIB.ORG

In NA Von Barnhelm Soldiers Fortune

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
In NA Von Barnhelm Soldiers Fortune [ IN N A V ON BARNHELM SOLDIER ’S FORTU NE BY G OTTHOLD EPHRAIM LESSING TRANSLATED BY D TT HELLE PH . O O R , PRO FESSOR OF THE GERMA A D N LAN GU GE AN LITERATU RE, WASHI NGTON U NIV ERSITY, ST. LOU IS YORK HENRY HOLT AND mu L D GENEVIEVE , A Y WATSON T OKEN from Saxony? Landlord. A sin? The Lord forbidl that w ould be a PREFAC E Although M inna van Bamhelm ranks undis putedly as the most perfect comedy in the r r German language, it has he etofo e failed to receive from translators into English the rever ential consideration to which as a great classic i n i Th re n rk s ri t is duly e t tled . e p se t wo t ves t i ea s r e r ns i n owards the d l of a pe f ct t a lat o . N o time or labor has been spared to reproduce with the utmost accuracy the spirit as well as the l r e ri ina s r s n i ette of th o g l, by c upulou atte t on b nd nin no s a e oth to style a to mea g. At t g of the work has it been forgotten that the play was couched by its author in the German dic ti n th i een en r nor on th r o of e e ght th c tu y ; , e othe n i r r n n ha d, has ts su p isi g esse tial modemness b r r r i n is e a e . The ans a n in ee d g d d t l t o , accord gly, has endeavored to combine with complete piety text the fullest ossible regard for the in e i E i i in er r t gr ty of ngl sh diom oth wo ds, to mitigate extreme linguistic fidelity before the superior claim of practical and artistic consid er i n be sai i n at o s . ’It may d w thout u due self complacency that the occasional deviations from absolute literalness are in no case brought V PREFAC E ’ about by mi sapprehension of Lessing s ow n lan guage . The translator has derived much benefit fron ri es n and as i t n va ous sourc of cou sel s s a ce . Th r the s en s in one his ass wo k of tud t of cl es, i] r s essi e ears ffere numer s seve al ucc v y , o d ou help ful suggestions for which he wishes to expres his sincere thanks to past and present member of German 1 1 at Washington U niversity For loyal assistance in the sifting of a great mas of material he is greatly indebted to Miss N esta T m s s all his anks re l M . ho p on. Mo t of th a du Pr to his colleague ofessor Gam ett G . Sedgew ic] for invaluable service rendered by a keen] : critical examination of the entire translati0 1 and for the resultant improvement both in re spect of accuracy and of fluency . '1'r E O o HELL R . Washington U niversity, March, 1 91 7. INTRODUC TION and sw eeping power as beneficial as they were f r unlooked o . Yet the peculiar significance of Lessing in that new era ofa ffluence will be more suitably in r s dicated th ough another ymbol . His prime function may be likened to the work of the mint : Lessing is the receiver of the golden treasures transmitted by the past and he it 1 8 that passes n all not n i h has them o to future , but u t l e made h m r his ow n i and ar n t e t uly , l quefied h de ed them ni e r s h in e n again by u qu p oce ses of t e t llect, a d put on the new product the unmistakable stamp whi ch confers worth and credit in the modern world . G o E rai essin rn an ar 22 tthold ph m L g, bo J u y , 1 2 in th n 7 9 , e small Saxonian tow of Kamenz, “ came of ministerial stoc and w as hims elf in f r dest ed or the minist y, largely on account of the extraordinary mental faculties which he r n in r displayed almost f om infa cy . His dust y and acquisitive zeal were served by an ln tellect as bright as steel and an infallible mem r . rse i e G did n o y Of cou , l ttl otthold ot escape the priggishness natural in a true en r di th m r x ont o e. e a e a e si en f p g At tu g of , wh in for a r rai he w as not n en pos g po t t, co t t r n i to nu se an ope fol o in his lap ; he must, r in on i bi me r m besides, ecl e a p le of g volu s f o INTR ODUC TION h a rn i r r res ma in ken h t e p te al l b a y, p u bly to of is bookish leanings . He w as twelve years of age when receivedas n i r n th m ‘ a be efic a y i to e fa ous Farstenschule, D name for St. A ra issen. rin th fiv d f , at Me u g e e years of residence there he distinguished him self so greatly both by ability andby application to the routine of the classroom and to self culture that the headmaster not ineptly com pared him to a horse that required double ra i n Th e t o s. e curriculum of thos days w as hardly calculated to satisfy the needs of a mind so ’ r n rs i it s n L sin ale t a d ve at le . But w a you g es g s good fortune to find at this formative peri od of life a wise guide and counsellor in one of hi s r Th si es teachers, Professo Klimm. e occa on do ’ not permit an inspection bf Lessing s earliest s i in n ma ma i s a s r e m tud es . Lat a d the t c b o b d ost hi of s time and interest . N or have w e time to pass in review the first ’ products of the earnest young student s scientific r ffi and poetical endeavo . Su ce it to say with re ar the rmer a his ri in s e in g d to fo th t w t g v ced, as ni hin h as a whole, an to s g familiarity with t e “ ’ 1 T ere w ere t ree suc rince s sc ools in Sa on so h h h p h x y, called because they w ere founded by Duke Maurice of Saxony : 1 4 mm o n Meissen and Pforta, opened in 5 3, and Gri a, pe ed in 1 550. INTRODUC TION “ me a si a e la i n se a s and t p hy c l sp cut o s of tho d y , that they show also to a marked degree the wonderful expository power and the command of r sim e and r i e a clea , m, fo c bl style which eventually made of him the most formidable opponent of every false pretense andof any half r i in un er the fla s i n h t uth sa l g d g of c e ce . As to is b innin s in the s ri i r r n eg g t ctly l te a y field, you g Lessing w as especially prolific in dramatic sc s i his r i hemes, de p te utte gnorance of the theatre and his extremely slight acquaintance wi i h th life tself. However, t e schooldays saw but one of the proj ected plays completed : 1 D der Die w hr Fr amon, O a e eundschaft. ’ Th e events of the seven years w ar shortened ’ Gotthold s term of preparation for the univer A r e i erin L in sity . fte d l v g a at valedictory r n th a ema i s h add ess, O e M th t c of t e Barba ’’ ri n r h r a s, and after unde going t e g eater agony of a retort m German verse by a fellow graduate “ On the Mathematical Attainments of (mi r e dicta! nse s L ssin r abil ) I ct , e g w as g ad ted n 0 1 4 h i ua , Ju e 3 , 7 6, in t e e ghteenth year n a er he m ri l L i Soo ft that at cu ated at e psic, which city w as at that time the nearest German 1 Damon or True Frien s i .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • LESSING Philosophical and Theological Writings
    Cambridge University Press 0521538475 - Philosophical and Theological Writings Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Frontmatter More information CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY LESSING Philosophical and Theological Writings © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521538475 - Philosophical and Theological Writings Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Frontmatter More information CAMBRIDGE TEXTS IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY Series editors KARL AMERIKS Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame DESMOND M. CLARKE Professor of Philosophy, University College Cork The main objective of Cambridge Textsin the History of Philosophy is to expand the range, variety and quality of texts in the history of philosophy which are available in English. The series includes texts by familiar names (such as Descartes and Kant) and also by less well-known authors. Wherever possible, texts are published in complete and unabridged form, and translations are specially commissioned for the series. Each volume contains a critical introduction together with a guide to further reading and any necessary glossaries and textual apparatus. The volumes are designed for student use at undergraduate and postgraduate level and will be of interest not only to students of philosophy but also to a wider audience of readers in the history of science, the history of theology and the history of ideas. For a list of titles published in the series, please see end of book. © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521538475
    [Show full text]
  • Educators of the Theatre
    Evelyn Deutsch-Schreiner: The Educators of the Theatre. Dramaturgy between Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment . The development of the dramaturge parallels the European Enlightenment of the 18th century and reflects the goals of the Enlightenment itself: the start of a new individualism, the capacity and courage to think for oneself, resisting tradition, convention and authority as sources of wisdom and knowledge. A better, happier, "new" human being was the objective, a person able to decide for himself. However, the intellects of the Enlightenment were not only philosophers; they sought to influence realpolitik as well, hoping to emancipate the bourgeoisie from feudal absolutism. The theatre became the medium of dissemination for their views, a medium for the education of the bourgeoisie. Plays from England and France – George Lillo's The London Merchant (1731) and Denis Diderot's Le Père de Famille (1756) – became examples. The new genre of "domestic tragedy", or drame bourgeois, spoke to middle-class sensibilities, making non-nobles the subject of tragedies. In Germany, the theatre found itself at the centre of Enlightenment discourse: According to Johann Christoph Gottsched, theatre was to be a "secular pulpit"; for Gotthold Ephraim Lessing it was a "school of humanity, of feeling and the moral world". From the onset of the Enlightenment theatre was tasked with an educational responsibility in order that people might learn civic virtue. Public theatre was to instruct, to edify, and to better its audience. The new, dramaturgical vocation was not only a product of the Enlightenment but was also intended to propagate its ideas. Lessing advocated dramaturges' working directly with theatre companies rather than in isolation.
    [Show full text]
  • 5. Lessing and Misogyny: Die Matrone Von Ephesus1
    On the Literature and Thought of the N German Classical Era: Collected Essays ISBET HUGH BARR NISBET On the Literature and Thought of German Classical Era This volume provides a valuable contributi on to our knowledge of eighteenth- and nine- teenth-century intellectual life inside and outside Germany. Prof. Karl S. Guthke, Harvard University This elegant collec� on of essays ranges across eighteenth and nineteenth-century thought, covering philosophy, science, literature and religion in the ‘Age of Goethe.’ A recognised authority in the fi eld, Nisbet grapples with the major voices of the Enlightenment and gives pride of place to the fi gures of Lessing, Herder, Goethe and Schiller. The book ranges widely in its compass of thought and intellectual discourse, dealing incisively with themes including the philosophical implica� ons of literature and the rela� onship between religion, science and poli� cs. The result is an accomplished refl ec� on On the Literature and Thought on German thought, but also on its rebirth, as Nisbet argues for the relevance of these Enlightenment thinkers for the readers of today. of the German Classical Era The fi rst half of this collec� on focuses predominantly on eighteenth-century thought, where names like Lessing, Goethe and Herder, but also Locke and Voltaire, feature. The second has a wider chronological scope, discussing authors such as Winckelmann and Schiller, Collected Essays while branching out from discussions of religion, philosophy and literature to explore the sciences. Issues of biology, early environmentalism, and natural history also form part of this volume. The collec� on concludes with an examina� on of changing a� tudes towards HUGH BARR NISBET art in the a� ermath of the ‘Age of Goethe.’ The essays in this volume are brought together in this collec� on to present Nisbet’s widely- acclaimed perspec� ves on this fascina� ng period of German thought.
    [Show full text]
  • G. E. Lessing: Poetic Constellations Between the Visual and the Verbal , Vol
    Beate I. Allert G. E. Lessing: Poetic Constellations between the Visual and the Verbal , vol. 15 Contents 2018, 426 pages, paperback, € 44,80 [D] Preface ISBN 978-3-939381-97-6 Introduction: Who is G. E. Lessing and What is this Book How to articulate ideas so that they become visually effective? How About? to turn readers into spectators? How to perform texts on stage so that the audience is drawn into the illusion? How to promote PART I: catharsis? In this monograph Beate I. Allert interprets Lessing’s works Seeing and Images—Theoretical Concerns as poetic experiments between the verbal and the visual. Words Chapter 1: Lessing: Ekphrasis and the Art of Understatement and Images are interpreted neither as mere juxtapositions, nor as fluid transformations from one mode of representation to anoth- Chapter 2: Diderot and Lessing: Minimalism and Sketches er but in terms of their intricate dynamics. Lessing evokes poignant Chapter 3: Fables as Visual Texts but Brevity Matters moments and his works illustrate a variety of effects through rhetor- ical features, arrested movements, silences, cutting devices, and Chapter 4: Lessing’s Laokoon and Paralipomena framed images. Lessing aims to evoke compassion to make people Chapter 5: Drama Theory: Lessing’s Hamburg Dramaturgy think about what they see. The book consists of three parts: First, as fermenta cognitionis Lessing’s approach to Ekphrasis and implied difficulties, his approach to fables, his preference for sketches over paintings, and his Laokoon PART II: and the Paralipomena which suggest a new genre of “musikalische Experiments and Staging Poignant Moments Bilder“ while interlacing spatial and temporal dimensions.
    [Show full text]
  • Download the Study Guide for Nathan the Wise
    Study Guide Nathan the Wise BILLY GUNN AND MATT HILL Brigham Young University College of Fine Arts and Communications Department of Theatre and Media Arts September 22–October 9, 2004 Pardoe Theatre Study Guide Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1729 January 22: Lessing born in Kamenz, Saxony. Biography 1741 June: enters St. Afra, Princes’ School, Meissen. 1746 Autumn: Enters University of Leipzig; student of theology. orn January 22, 1729, 1748 The Young Scholar (Der junge Gelehrte) B Gotthold Ephraim 1749 The Jews (Die Juden) Lessing was the third child of 1751 December: To University of Wittenberg. a Lutheran pastor in Kamenz, 1752 Awarded Master’s degree in April; returns to Saxony. After completing Berlin in November. studies at St. Afra’s school in 1753 Friendship with Moses Mendelssohn. 1755 Miss Sara Sampson Meissen, Lessing was ready 1756 May-August: beginning of a European tour, for the University of Leipzig interrupted by outbreak of Seven Years’ War. at the age of sixteen. During Returns to Leipzig. his years at Leipzig, the young 1758 Returns to Berlin. Lessing became infatuated 1759 Philotas (tragedy in one act) with the local theatre 1760–65 In Breslau; military secretary. Studies classics, theology, and philosophy. community, and although he 1766 Laokoon; Lessing in Berlin. never completed his initial 1767 Minna von Barnhelm; first performance, course in theology, Lessing’s Hamburg, September 30. Lessing named critic writings, both dramatic and for a new National Theater in Hamburg. philosophical, were forever 1767–68 Hamburg Dramaturgy (Hamburgische influenced by religion. Dramaturgie) 1770 May: Librarian in Wolfenbütte. 1772 Emilia Galotti, a tragedy 1776 October: Marries Eva König.
    [Show full text]