HEATH'S GERMAN SERIES.

GoETHE's Torquato Tasso

Edited for tue Use of Students

BY

CALVIN THOMAS,
Professor of Gbrmanic Languacks and Litbkaturbs in UNlVBRlTY OF MICHIGAN.

BOSTON:
D. C.

HEATH & COMPANY.

1889.

Copyright,

1888,

By D.

C.

Heath & Company.

7^^

PREFACE.
In preparing this edition of Goethe's ^affo, I have addressed myself ralher to the Student of literalure, ihe Student of Goethe, than to the Student of the German language in and for itself. The book is not intended for beginners in German, but for such readers as have already become familir wilh the every-day facts of the language. The grammatical and lexical notes are therefore few in number, and deal only with what is peculiarorexceptional. Translations are also given but sparingly, it being the editor's opinion that much help of that sort is baneful. Usually, where it has seemed necessary to give assistance with regard to the meaning of a passage, I have preferred to do so by means of a paraphrase, leaving to the Student the valuable exercise of working out for himself a correct

and felicitous But while

translation.
in

the grammatical and lexical notes the utmost brevity has been essayed, the historical and liierary commentary will be fou'nd rather copious than scanty. The greater works of Goethe are, as is well-known, closely
related to his
life,

and

bis 2^affo

is

particularly so.

To

understand and enjoy it, one must be in a position to read between the lines, and to sympathize, intellectually at least, with the moods and the experiences that gave it birth. Hence the somewhat extended Introduction. Voir venir ks c/ioses, to see the thing Coming, is, wherever it is
practicable, the best method of literary study. If any are disposed to think that I have said more than enough upon the relation of the play to its author's personal experiences, I will only quote in self-defence the opinion of the

lamcnted Wilhelm Scherer, that in matters of this kind we cannot go too far (2(uff^c ber Goctbc, p. 126).

IV

PREFACE.

While the Introduction deals amply with the genesis and the psychological Import of the play, the Notes aim to throw as much light as possible upon the poet's mode of procedure. Particularly I have sought to illustrate fully bis manner of dealing with the materials offered him in his Italian authorities. Hence the numerous quotations from Serassi and others. The Student should be admonished that the point of these notes is not to settle the comparatively idle question, wheiher the poet has in any case " foltransfigured
artistic

lowed history," but rather to show how, in general, he has history by choosing, rejecting, amplifying, moulding, and embellishing his materials to suit his ovvn
purpose.

For an account of the principles upon which the text has been edited, the reader is respectfully referred to Appendix II. Of the many books that have aided me more er less in my work, a list of the more important will be found in Appendix I. Among the commentators I probably owe most to the veteran Dntzer, whose researches will always be indispensable to the editor of Goethe, even if his Next to that of Dntzer, opinions occasionally are not so. the commentaries of Strehlke and of Kern have been most All particular indebtedness to these er serviceable to me. to other writers I aim to acknowledge wherever it occurs. For Information given or assistance renderd me in connection with my work, my thanks are due to Dr. liemhard Suphan, Director of the Goethe-Archives at Weimar, and to Professors Karl Weinhold of Breslau, and E. I,. Wnltcr
of the University of Michigan.
C

ALVIN THOMAS.

Ann

Aki;(k.

Aumist

;:S,

lS.

INTRODUCTION.

I.

General Character of Goethe's Torquato Tasso.

In Eckermann's " Conversations with Goethe," under date
of

May
"The

6,

1827,

we read

as follows

conversation

tumed upon

^affo,
to

and the question

the drama.
life

arose,

what idea Goethe had sought

*

embooy in
I

Idea/ Said Goethe,

I

could hardly
life,

teil.

had the

of

Tasso, and

had

my own

and putting together these two

I

Singular figures with their peculiarities,

obtained

my Tasso.
for

To

him, by way of prosaic contrast,

I also

opposed Antonio,

whom

had modeis.
in

As

for the rest, the general Situa-

tion* was the same

tnily say of

Weimar

as in Ferrara;

and

can

my delineation, that
"

it is

bone of my boneandflesh

of my flesh'

These words

contain, indeed,

no information

that could

not have been obtained from othcr sources, and

we cannot

even be sure that Goethe ever used the exact expressions

here ascribed to him.
Nevertheless,
if

we may assume

only

* The exact language of Eckertnann is,

at this point

w3){e iveitcren fiof, Sebenft

unb Siebcdoer^ltnine waren brigen in SBeimar

n>ie in

ferrara."

VI.

INTRODUCTION.

that

Eckermann

reports correctly the general sense of the

still

langiiage

employed by Goethe, the passage quoted

remains highly interesting, and

may

very properly serve as a

for

starting-point for the following mtroductory study;

we

are here told in clear terms and on the highest authority

how

the play of 2^afjo, in

its

most general aspects, ought

to be regarded.

In the

first

place,

it

will

be noticed, the poet cautions us

against supposing that the

work was written

;

in the interest

of

some

abstract ethical doctrine

he declares that he could

This does not

hardly

teil

what

his " idea" was.

mean

that

the play

is

entirely

devoid of ethical significance, but only

it

that the didactic or philosophical element in

is

incidental,

and

is

not the center about which and for the sake of which

the whole was built up.

The

poet's admonition being duly

will still be,

bome

in

mind, the ethical Import of the drama

within limits, a proper object of interest.

In the second place, we are given to understand that

play,

this

made by a blending
in

of things

Ilalian

with

things
to
its

German, Stands
author's
life.

a peculiarly intimate relalion

The manner

of this blending and the nature

of this relation it will be the main purpose of the following

pages to trace out

first,

howcvcr, one

or Iwo general

remarks

will
life

be

in

place.

Goethe's

3:aflg^rests

broadly
called in
historical
anotli<
r

upon the

of the actual Tasso, and so

historical

may be
w

some sense a
,],.f liiv;

drama.

Innumerable
in mmi-

,r..

tnride use of

by Goeth-

and

INTRODUCTION.

VU

and even the most

often be traced

trifling

touches in his portraiture can

back

to hints

found

in his reading./

Never-

theless, the facts of history are treated

free

by him with a very

hand, and are everywhere adapted to his

is

own

purposes.
little

Attention

paid to what

is

calied local color, but

or

no

effort is

made

to depict the characlers of the

Duke of
action

Ferrara and his courtiers as they actually were.

is

The

based mainly upon veritable occurrences, but the chronol-

ogy and the causal connection of these occurrences were

for the

most part quite

different in fact
is

from what they are

in the play.

Goethe's catastrophe

based upon what he

himself very well

knew

to

be a highly dubious myth.

The

scene
tury
;

is

laid in Italy in the latter part of the sixteenth Cen-

but the characters really belong to no particular land

particular epoch. actually

and no Goethe

They
Qt
is
it

are not even of

Weimar
is

as

knew

it.

indeed true, and

reflects
its

of the^

very essence of the play, that

periences,

author's inner ex-;

and

to

some cxtent

also the circumstances

and

even the personages by which he was surrounded during

his earlier years at

Weimar

but

we must not understand

" reflection" in this case to imply faithful reproduction as in a mirror.

Ferrara
that
is

is

not

Weimar
is

in disguise,

nor

is

Tasso
still

Goethe
less is

to say,

Tasso

not wholly Goethe, and

he the whole of Goethe.

A
:

similar Statement

would

hold also for the other characters

that
is

there
is
**

is

not one of them

a portrait from

life,

and

there
to

also not

one of them
in

that does not

owe more or

less

modeis"

Weimar.


VIU

INTRODUCTION.
us not to

The same poet who admonishes

error of supposing that he

constme

his

work

too abstractly, elsewhere cautions us against the opposite

had copied the characters and the

found them.

circumstances of real life as he

In short, our drama
is

something more than a sum-total of

the two sets of ingredients

Italian

and German,

historical

and personal
into
its

which the author represents as having entered

poet's art has

com Position. The

his materials,

done

its

proper

work upon
is

and what comes out of the crucible

something quite different from that which we can see

it.

going into

Starting from certain recorded experiences

of Tasso, to which he found a singular parallel in his

career, the poet has succeeded in lifting his portrait

own

above

the region of what

sient,

is

personal, or local, or
it

trivial,

or tran-

and has made

; j

a work of permanent and universal

its

interest

a work, which for the nobility of

its

dialogue and

the
in

charm of

literary

workmanship,

is

second to nothing

German dramatic

literature.

IL

Goethe AT Weimar,

1775-1786.

The Poet versus the

Man
It

of Affairs.

November, 1775, that Goethe, in response to an invitation from the young Duke Karl August, whose
was
in

acquaintance he had
a Short
Visit to the

made

the previous year, went to pay

court at Weimar.

The

short visit de-

INTRODUCTION.
veloped into a long one, and
finally led to his

IX

appointment as

member

of the ducal Council.

Thus was

the

young lawyer-

poet, himself one of the people,

suddenly converted into

the servant of a prince, and introduced to the precarious

condilions of court

life.

At the time of his

call to

Weimar, Goethe was in

his twenty-

seventhyear, and was living at Frankfurt, engaged nominally

in the practice of the profession

for

which he had pre-

pared himself by the regulr course of academic study.

But he had no liking

practice was distasteful

for

his vocation; the

routine of
for

to him,

and he longed

an

ampler

life

than that of a Frankfurt lawyer.

attractive to

him were

his literary pursuits.

Much more The drama of

SBcrt^er, pub-

^, completed

in 1773,

and the romance of

lished in the following year, had given

him sudden celebrity

as a

man

of genius

had made him, in short, what he has

German
poetry.
far

ever since remained, the foremost figure in

His mind, however, was

future should be,
directions.
living in

from settled as to what his

and he
the one

feit

himself pulled in two different

On

band he had tasted the delight of

an imaginary world of his own, the creative instinct

his brain

was strong within him, and

ary projects.
activity

was teeming with liter-

But on the other band a career of practical

attraction for him.

had a strong

His

literary

work

had been hitherto more a wayside diversion than the recognized end of his existence.
at that

The

career of a " genius "

was

time a rather precarious thing, and such a career had

X
never
filled

INTRODUCTION.
the Imagination of Goethe.

He was ambitious,
calls

but not so
his

much

for distinction as for self-improvement

in

dominant impulse being what he

one of his

early letters a " ?tisus nac^ ijorirrt," or a desire to

make the

most

of himself. j'But

would

it

be making the most of him/

seif to lead the life of a poetic

dreamer absorbed continually

inthe thingsof the imagination?

in contact

Would not

life

of action
\

with practica!

men and their concerns be

left his

better

?J

We know
the

that questions of this kind were running through

of

mind

Goethe before he

Frankfurt home.*

The

genius of poetry and the genius of affairs were already

arguing their cases before hkn.

In the

Germany

of a

hundred years ago, the only means

Citizen class could
life

by which an ambitious youth of the

to impress himself

hope

upon the public

of his generation,

was through the influence he might exert upon a sovereign

prince whose favor he should succeed in gaining.

Thus

Goethe may well have accepted the Weimar

invitation with
visit.

a feeling that important issues might turn upon his

Arrived in

Weimar, he was cordially received by the

majority of the court circle, and soon

ite.

became a

social favor-

With the Duke,

in particular,

he speedily acquired a
at this time

footing of intiraate friendship.

Karl August was

Of Moser' *atriotlf<t>e ^{antafien Goethe writet, Dec. 8, 1774, " I carry them around with me, and whenever or whcrever I open the book, I am quite delighted, and a hundrcd kinds of wishes, hopes and projects unfold in my mind ". ^tx iungc 9of t^e.
III., 57.
Kielitz,
I.
,

Comparc
a
ff. (

also, for C'roethc'f early

day-dfam of

political activity, Schdil*

l.)

For

fuller descripiioo of autboriti*

wfcrred to lee Appendix

INTRODUCTION.
in his

3tl

nineteenth year, and had but lately taken the reins o

into his

govemment
Darmstadt.
of

own hands, and married him

a

a wife in

the person of Luise, daughter of the Landgrave of Hessen-

He was

man of

finer

mould than the average

German

princes in his day.

Without ignoble orrepellent

his mother,

traits of

any kind, he had inherited from

now

the dowager Duchess Amalia, an interest in the a menitie^

of
for
life,

and had

in

him withal, as the event proved, a capacity

niler of his people.

becoming an lmirable

At the

time

now spoken

of,

however, he was a somewhat head-

strong youth, whose strongest bent was to enjoy himself

with his friends, and that without too

traditional proprieties of court
life.

much regard

for the
at

For Goethe he

once

conceived an enthusiastic regard.

Poet and prince became

boon companions, and certain do

not, nffpr
nl],

of their wild exploits

(whiclv,^^

;ppm tn hnvp

hopn vPry ^jM) wcrC SUCh

as to disturb the minds of the more sedate portion of the

court circle.

sort of party of Opposition to the

new favorite

began

to take shape. It

was intimated

to the

young Duchess
influence

Luise that Dr. Goethe was acquiring too

much

over her husband, and that this influence was bad.

These

murmurings of the discontented were aggravated by the

incident of Herder's appointment.

Not long

after his arrival in

Weimar, being asked with

General Super-

regr.rd lo filling the then vacant position of

intendent* at Weimar, Goethe proposed the

Cbcr^ofprebtger, Dberconftflorial

name

of his

tenbcnt," was the somewhat ponderoiis

title

unb irAcnratft unb (cneraUSuperiiu that Herder rcceivcd.

Xll

INTRODUCTION.

friend Herder.

This Suggestion was good

in itself,

and

inet

the approval of the Duke, but several influential people at

Court were strongly opposed to
it.

Goethe, however, took

in carrying his

up the matter energetically and succeeded

point.

He was conscious
well

of having used his influence in a

good cause, since he

Herder,

knew

the ability and the value of

who was even

but
also

at that time a

man

of

mark

in Ger-

man

letters.
;

Thus Goethe's small triumph gave him

it

pleasure

had the

effect, for

a time at least, to
critics.

sharpen the eyes and the tongues of his hostile

Thus was the

poet, early in his " novitiate " at

in person,
life.

Weimar,
with

made acquainted
of

though on a small

scale,

the shady side of court

spirit

He had seen soniething of the

of

jealousy

and intrigue and

the

conflicting
in

currents of prejudice

and

self-interest.

He

sawhimself

some measure an object of suspicion_and Opposition,

motives misjudged, and his character not understood.

his

The

Tasso

Situation

began carly

to prepare itself.

As

early as Februar)-, 1776, Karl August began to think

it

of reorganizing his Privy Council, and of giving a seat in

to his visitor

from Frankfurt.

This plan he made known

to his

first

minister,

von Fritsch,

whom

he desired

to retain

in the position of highest responsibility.

But Fritsch would

not hear to such an arrangement

totally unsuitcd to

he urged that Goethe was

grave responsibilities, and he declared that

the Council with such a man.

he would not

sit in

The Duke

defended his project as best he could, dwelling upon Goethe's

INTRODUCTION.
merits, his

Xlll

fame
in

as a

man

of genius, the desirableness of

Finally, not being able to carry

retaining

him

Weimar.

his point himself,

he asked for and obtained the intercession

in reconciling the

of his mother,
minister, in

who succeeded
and

obdurate

some measure

at least, to her son's project.

in June, 1776,

Fritsch did not resign,

Goethe took
title

his

seat in the reorganized Council, with the

Scgation^rat^.

of cbcimcr

This sudden elevation of so dubious a

character, a youth supposed to be

his habits,

more or

less

unsteady in

known

to

be Ignorant of public

affairs,

and con-

nected by

tiesof friendship with divers eccentric "geniuses,"

critical

was naturally looked on by the

circle as

portion of the court

an act of wild
the

folly

on the part of the Duke.

in a trying position,

Thus

new

official

found himself

and entered upon

have
to

his duties fully conscious that

he would

walk

in slippery places.

But

his criiics

had mis-

taken him.

The

poet-minister had no lack of earnestncss

in his composition,

and purposed

to take his

new adminisonce a

trative duties very seriously.

The

opportunity of his earlier

at
faithful

day-drcams lay before him.

He became

attendant upon the sessions of the Council, applied himself with great assiduity to the routine detailsof business, and
did his best to influenae the
tions of the duty of a ruler.

Duke toward high

ideal concep-

This zealous devotion to hard

work continued
department

for several years, during

which nearly every

in the public affairs of the

dukedom came to feel

his influence.

He was

first

charged with the supervision of

"

XIV

INTRODUCTION.

certain mining Operations at

Ilmenau

then with the superLater

intendence of public buildings, parks and highways.

he had much to do with the revenue of the

in 1779

little State,

and

was given control of

its

military System.

" Goethe,"

writes Merck,

who had been spending'a week

is

with his friend

in September, 1779, "

everything and directs everything,

and every one

is

satisfied with him,

because he serves many

and
the

injures no one.

Who

can

resist the unselfishness of

man
its

This

life

of hard work had for Goethe both

its

brighter

and

darker aspects.

On

the one band he had the

pleasure of seeing his hostile critics gradually silenced

and, for the most part, converted into
finding himself

warm

friends

of

more and more

trusted

by Karl August,
into the liketoo, that the

and

of seeing the latter

grow more and more

ness of a prince after his

discipline to

own
own

heart.

He

feit,

which he was subjecting himself was salutary

in its influence

upon
life,

his

character

he was becoming

acquainted with

and growing

in self-knowledge as well

as in the knowledge of men.

He had

found

in

work, in

the Performance of definite daily tasks that required

and

permitted no exercise of the imagination,* a needed anchor

for his intellectual being,

and a wholesome corrective to

the vague unrest of his earlier days.

"The

pressure of

iQflebuc:^, %cb. 1, 177 : Die ricflcommffU>n werb' Uf gut ixrf e^cn, eil i4 beim cfd)ft ar feine Imagination l)abc, ar nic^t ^croorbringen win, nur bot, xoai ha ift, rc4>t lennen unb orbentlid^ ^aben loilL*

INTRODUCTION.

XV

work," so he writes inhis diary in January, 1779, "is a fine

thing for the soul, which plays the more freely and enjoys
life

when

the brden

is lifted.

Nothing

is

more wretched
But, as an offset

than the comfortable

to all this, there
ing.

man

without work."
in the

was much

new

life

that

was depresswere not

His relations with

his fellow-councillors

always of the smoothest, and Fritsch in particular, whose

character he had learned to distrust, gave bim endless

annoyance.

There were times when the prosaic routine of

business seemed anything but

his quick-acting

"good

for the soul."

With
he was

mind and

his dislike of logo machy ,

often irritated by the long-winded debates of the Council.

It is

a bit of autobiography that Goethe puts into the

of

mouth

Egmont

in the

words

" Even on
able to
talk

my

cushioned chair
in

it

used to become intoler-

me when

solemn assembly the princes would

over in repeated discussions what was easy to be

decided, while the

beams

of the roof were crushing

me

to
I

death between the dismal walls of a council-room.

Then

would hasten away assoon as

"*

possible,

and

quick on my

horse with a deep-drawn breath, and away out into the fields

where we belong

No

wonder, therefore, that the poet-councillor had his

occasional

moods when he doubted whether

tiot

the play was

worth the candle and whether he was

*
fficrfc, VII., 7g.

missing his
to the

The

referenccs to Goethe'

Works are always

Hetnpel

Edition.

XVI

INTRODUCTION.
;

vocation

for at heart
feel very

he was

still

loyal to poetr}%

and so

he could but

keenly at times that he was starving

his poetic faculty.

He

longed for leisure and for privacy,

for opportunity to hold converse with the beings of his

Imagination undisturbed by the exactions of office or of

Society.

With Goethe seclusion from the world was an

condition
of

indispensable

successful

poetic

activity.

Among
SBertl^er

great

modern poets he was pre-eminently depend-

ent upon the

mood

of the day

and the hour.

all

In writing

he shut himself up, denied

access to the outside

a State of mental

World, and

worked

for four

weeks

in

abstraction which he himself likens to the condition of a

somnambulist.*

But in

Weimar

there was

little

opportun-

ity for this species of poetic "

somnambulism," and the

propensity had to be repressed, out of respect to his

Position.

And
in

yet the poet in

I

him could not always be

kept down.

"When

suppose," so he writes to Frau

I

von Stein,

September, 1780, "that

am

sitting

on my mare

nag and riding out

beneath

my

routine beat, suddenly the

me

will

assume a majestic form and an unconqucr-

able mettle, and take wings to herseif and run

away with
:

me." t

Again he writes

in his diar)', in April,

1 780

"

gain

daily in insight
like a bird that

and

in aptitude for active life in

but

I feel

has got entangled

t

a snare,

have wings,

but cannot use them."

* Srrte XXtl.. 13t.

f SchSII-rieUts, I..

p.

Zc%tk^

ii<^

INTRODUCTION.
Being thus situated,
it

XVII

was but natural

that Goethe,

during his earlier years at Weimar, should often have bis

thoughts drawn to certain types of character that he saw

more or
with

less completely

embodied
;

in himself

and

in

those

whom he came
of
Aflfairs.

in contact

the Poet, the Prince and the

it

Man

With

his strong ethical bent, too,

was

natural that he should look

upon these types

;

as related to

an ideal of human perfection

that he should

ponder upon

the characteristic excellencies, defects and perils of each

should try to see

how and where

the one might learn from

the other and should in general endeavor to work out for

himself an ideal of their mutual relationships.

But that ingredient of the ^torquato ^affo which relatcs

it

most intimately to

its

author's

life,

and

of

which he was

doubtless thinking
of his

when he characterized
This

the play as

bone

bone and

flesh of his flesh, is

is at

connected with

bad

(Sh)i0=2Bciblic^c."

any rate true as regards the

;

original conception of the play

of the

somewhat
it.

less so, perhaps,

work as we actually have

III.

Charlotte von Stein.

Shortly after his arrival in Weimar, Goethe
to Charlotte, Baroness

was introduced
picture, exhibit-

von

Stein, in

whose

ed

to

him by an acquaintance, he had a few months bcfore

XVIU

INTRODUCTION.

acquired a deep sentimental interest.*

Frau von Stein

was

the

first

high-born lady with

;

whom

Goethe became

intimately acquainted

bis former "friends" of the gentler

Lili

sex (Gretchen, Kthchen, Friederike, Lotte,

rest)

and the

had

all

been of the

Citizen class, socially his equals,

intellectually far

below him.

But here he found a

woman
had

who

was socially above him,

who knew much

seemed ready
it

that he

yet to learn,

who was capable

of entering fully into all his

to help

best thoughts, and who, withal,

him

with sympathy and counsel.

So

was that almost from

the beginning he feit himself strongly attracted to this

friend,

new
him

and

after the

lapse of a few

weeks we

find

visiting her almost daily.

And

not only visiting her, but

writing to her of
in his

all

that was

happeningto him or going on

mind.

Early in January, 1776, begins the long series

first

of missives which were

given to the world in 1848

under the name of "Goethe's Letters to Frau von Stein," a

collection comprising, according to the enthusiastic estimate

of Erich Schmidt, " the

most beautiful
^'^^s

love-letters that

ever flowed from the pen of man."t

is

correspondence

our most

important source of Information conceming

* The dubious but

after bcing

oft

'

v of
.

the three sleeplcM nights paated

shown Frau Zimmermann, quoted in

t

!iouctte,is

bf Goethe tobe found ina letUrof the phyiidaa

."

:z, I-, 8.

(S^aratterifttten, p. 30S. Grimm, p. ajs, call theaeletter " oneof themoatbeaati. and tnuching monuments to be found in all literature." Such deacftpdooa art In any case applicable o ily to a |x)rtion of the letters. Very many of them a
ful

bly rubbish.

INTRODUCTION.
Goethe's
first

decade

in

Weimar.

It reflects

almost from

day

to

day the whole rnge of

his interests,

from sausages
to Spinoza's

and asparagus and the court gossip of the hour

philosophy and the high questions of poetr)' and science.

The

!taffo is

not to be fully understood without

some

knowledge of Goethe's friendship for this " golden lady " at

Weimar.
Frau von Stein was seven years older than Goethe, was
the mother of several children, and at the time of her
first

acquaintance with the poet can hardly have attracted him

by any physical charms.

She had never been

illness.

beautiful,

and

was now care-worn and faded from

equerrv of the court, was a
herseif,

Her husband,

man

of coarser fiber than

and her marriage,

if

not of the kind usually called

of companionship.

unhappy, brought her but

little

These
in

things, together with a natural tinge of

melancholy

her

temperament, had led her

to

withdraw as much as possible

from the gayeties of court

as of one who, though

life.

Such an

attitude of mind,

still

young, had seen through and

outgrown the vanities of the world, appealed strongly to

the sober side of Goethe's character,
in

and

led

him

to see

her a higher type of

womanhood than he had

hitherto

imagined.

She became
and

his preceptress in the philosophy

of resignation

self-control.

But

this

philosophy was to be mastered only after endless

not always prepared to rest content with
tlie

trouble.

He was

those indications of atTection which

Baroness deemed

XX

INTRODUCTION. sometimes he trans-

compatible with her duty as a wife

gressed the proper bounds, and then there wre on her part
reproofs and warnings and temporary banishment from her

presence, to be followed on his part by contrition and fair

promises for the future until he was taken back into her
favor.

Thus

the

intimacy

grew, subjected

indeed to
of

occasional strains, apd productive

now and then

letters glorify

"remarkable scene," but gradually becoming for Goethe

the central fact of his existence.

His

her in

terms of the most rapturous endearment as the great

benefactress of his soul.

She

"golden
she

lady," his " soother,"

clarified his

"dear angel," his and " comf orter." It is

is

his

who has

mind, banished the old restless

vagaries, and " infused composure into his hot blood."*

She becomes the focus

of all his best thoughts about

women
in his

and

traits of

her character begin to

show themselves

imaginative conceptions.

Under
interest

the
in

same

tutelage, too,

he begins to acquire a new

what may be called decorum.

call

He who

at

Frankfurt had delighted to

himself the

**

bear," and to

indulge the oddities of "genius,"

now

learns to look in a
social

somewhat

different spirit

upon the refinements of

his

intercourse.

The poet who had made

now

own Egmont
do
that very

speak contemptuously of " modelling one's gait after the

cautious cadences of a court,"
learns to

See the verse in a Icttcr of AiM-il

m, m(\,

.ScliU-Fielilt, I., j.

INTRODUCnON.
thing himself.
lose

XXI

The
of
its

old watch-word of " nature " begins to

somewhat

charm

not to follow the impulses of

the natural

man, but

to hold these impulses continually in

subjection to a self-imposed law of fitness

becomes

for hira,

ander the new

light,

the true rule of conduct.

In the dia-

logue between Tasso and the Princess on this subject,

we

see plainly that the author of the play Stands on the side
of the

woman.
to
to

Of the other women who were known

Weimar, and whose characters are supposed
ed more or
little

Goethe
have

at

aflfect-

less the portraits of

thetwoladies in ourdrama,
little will

needs to be

said,

and that
is

be more

in place

farther on.
that of Frau

Their influenae

uncertain and superficial;

is vital.

von Stein

is

beyond doubt and

IV.

The Prose Tasso

the entry

of

780-1 781.

In Goethe's diary under date of March 30, 1780, we find

glc!Iicf>e

Grfinbung affo"

words
first

which seem

to indicate that

on that day the poet

conceived the

idea of making a
*

drama upon

the story of Tasso. *

few

German

writers have indalged in groundless and unnecessary speculations con-

ceming the beginnings of laff 0, and the books are often loose and inaccurate in their Statements. There is no cvidence whatcver that Goethe evcr had in mind the plan of
a Tasso-drama previous to the date given in the text.
ntolieniffhe JHcifc, under date of

He

does indeed say in hi

two acts of Taflo had becn " written ten years ago." Schrer, pagc 125, admits that he cannot reprcss all dnubt as to the acciiracy of this Statement; but nevertheless, taking this remark ol

March

30, 1787, that the first

Goethe together with what we

find in Sl'il^elm Weiftet (see

below

in the text),

which

XXll

INTRODUCnON.
later

months

he began the work of composition, and in the

autumn
written

of 1780 and the spring of 1781 two acts were

in

down

rhythmical prose.

The conversion

of these

two acts into iambics, and the completion of the whole,

followed several years
later.

From
the

his Frankfurt days

Goethe had been more or

less

familir with the Italian poet

f

Torquato Tasso, author of

amous romantic epic " Jerusalem Delivered."

He

teils

US in 2)ic^tung unb 3Saf)r^eit that Tasso was a favorite poet

of his father,
" Jerusalem

and

that

he himself

in his

boyhood read the

translation.

Delivered " in
lasting

Kopp's German

How deep

and

an Impression was made upon his

mind by the poem,

or at least

by portions of
first

it,

can be seen
of 2Bilf)cIm

from the seventh chapter of the

book

shows that
1777.

in 1777 the figure of

is

Tasso was vividly in Gocthe's mind

"
is

taking these two

known
to us

data together, he, Schrer,

inclined to date the beginnings of Jaffo back as far as

" The

original concept of 1777-1780," he remarks,

not

bie

But very ceruinly there oon 1777-1780 fcnncn toir m<bt. never was any such concept. For these years we have Goethe's diary and his letten to Frau von Stein, which give us minute information from d4y to day of all that was going on in his thoughts. Had he been musing on a TasscMlrama during this period,
urfprnglicfie ^afinng

we shouldhearof

it

previous to the spring of 1780.

Furtherroore

the letter from

luly States that the two prose acts had been wriiitn tcn years before. but we know from the indisputable evidence of Gocthe's diary, that the xoriting upon Jaffo was begun Octobcr 14 1780. What we have in the letter from Italy is only a rough caiw>''.'<- i'--" did less Statement, which Goethe, in ediiing his materials for the .th Grimm, p. 17, mc; not take the trouble to verify and correct. ::om Cfltnont, ^auft and Wciftcr, as a poetjc project which was bi

" first thoughts of the ptcce " may Frankfurt. Again, p. 307, he conjectures that the au octbC* fiilftffteit Selten.* For theae date back to Goethe's "earliest times guesses there is no foundation wh.itever. What Grimm offcrs as such is only ooie

evidence, that Goethe was familir with Tasso's life as early as 1774. See the text above, familir with it much earlier than that.
1

But he was

p. 22, Schrer, p. 123, ff,

and (Soct^je.^a^rbu^, VII., 1-75,

INTRODUCTION.
2)Jciftcr,

XXIII

which

is

largely autobiography,

and was written

in 1777.

Wilhelm here speaks of the story of Tancred

and Clorinda, declaring that he had often wept copiously

over that part of the poem, and especially over the episode

where Tancred drives

the enchanted wood,

his

sword

into the mysterious tree in

forth,

and then, as the blood gushes

is

hears a voice saying that here too he

wounding Clorinda,

and

that he

is

destined by fate to injure the object of his

translation

affection.*

To Kopp's German
life,

was prefixed a

Sketch of Tasso's

and

this, it is

natural to suppose,

Goethe must have read more than once.

of information used

Of other sources
little

by him

previous to 1780

can be
6i

Said with certainty.f

The most- important biography

was the work

Tasso extant

at that time

of the poet's friend

Giovanni Batista Manso, which was published in

162 1.

That Goethe ever read Manso's book he nowhere expressly

teils US,

but the supposition

is

is

highly probable.

Kopp's

account

based upon Manso, and the substance of the

Story here presented to Goethe's Imagination

was

as

oU ows

Torquato Tasso,
his early

bom

at Sorrento in 1544, entered in

manhood
in love

the service of Alphonso IL,

Duke

of

Ferrara,

by whom he was highly favored.

with a lady

At Ferrara
to

Tasso

feil

named Leonora,

whom

he

Jerusalem Dclirered, XIII. 41, ff. The sentimental Ccben be3 Torquato iaffo, published in Jacobi's /ris, in 1774, by W. Heinse, wa doubtless een by Goethe, and may have stimulated his tnterett in the iiibject. But Heinse' s sickish Performance has left upon our drama no Uaces
that are discoverablc

by the

editor.

XXIV

INTRODUCTION.

addressed poetic homage.

There were three

ladies of this

name

at court, but the probable object of Tasso's affection

sister of

was the Princess Leonora,

all

Alphonso.

For a time

went well with the poet, but shortly before the complework he confided the secret of
his love to

tion of his great

a supposed friend,
court.

who was

a nobleman of high Station at

This friend did not properly respect the secret;

for this

Tasso took him

to task

one day

in the ducal palace,

and, not receiving a satisfactory explanation, Struck

him

in

the face.

A duel resulted,

but the nobleman treacherously

informed his three brothers of the place of the meeting, that

they might come to his aid.
his skill with the sword, held his

Tasso, however, such was

own

against

all

four of his

assailants until the unequal quarrel

was interrupted.
in

Hereorder

upon the four brothers were banished, and Tasso,

that he might be out of the reach of vindictive enemies,

was by the Duke's order confined

to his

room.

But Tasso

interpreted this is a punishment inflicted upon him by Al-

phonso

for his
far

presumption
;

in
this

daring to love a lady

who

was so

above him

on

account he

feil

into great

despondency and mental perturbation, which

in the partial

finally resulted

derangement of

his mind.

His conduct behe had repeatedly

favor,

came
fled

wild

and unaccountable, and

after

from Ferrara, and been taken back into

he was

at last shut up by the

Duke

in the hospital

of Santa Anna,
<^^

an asylum

for lunatics.*
indebted to Schrer,
all eflbct* to

* For this epitome the editor

is

procure Kopp*

translation having provcd unavailing.

INTROl)l^iiv..s,.

XXV

In this history the poet-courtier at

that he could use in his
it

Weimar saw much

;

own way
The

for a

drama

nevertheless

may be doubted

if

we have

here, as Schrer thinks, the

germ

of Goethe's affo.

story as just given contains

no incident that could be used as a dramatic catastrophe of

the kind that

Goethe required.

Such an incident he found,

however,

in

an anecdote that became current not long after

Manso's " Life of Tasso " appeared.

that,

The story got abroad

being one day at court with Alphonso and his two

sisters,

Tasso was asked a question by the princess Leositting

nora,

who was

near him.

In leaning over to rcply,

he found an opportunity presented that was too tempting

for his discretion,

and he gave her a

kiss.

Whereupon

the

duke ordered him

arrested, saying impressively, for the

:

benefit of those present

" Behold the melancholy con-

dition of a

man

so great,

who has

thus far lost his wits."

Here was

the needed catastrophe of a Tasso-tragedy

a peculiar tragedy, in which the

German

poet,

whose works

The

theory that this incident of the klss was an emential part of Goethe's itU*

mfre, in the original conception of Taffo, requircs, of course, that he should have been familir with the story previf)us to 17S0. And this is at any rate jxjssible, thotigh hard
to prove

by extemal

cvilence.
ils

The
into

story appcars in a private lettcr of the historian

volume 10 of the Venice quarto t-dition of Tasso** works. It is also found in oiher places where it might have fallen under (ioethe's eye. Serassi (whose "Life of Tasso" will be spokcn of further on) quotes the tale from Muratori only to discredit and refute it. (See page 260 of Sera-vd's work, and the foot-note in which he traces the story back as far as 1625). Scrassi's book was pubUshed in 17S5, and first camc into Goethe's hands while he was in Italy. If, therefore it could be shown that he got his first knowledge of the kiss incident from Seraisi, it would foUow that the peculiar catastrophe of our drama was an afterthought, and not a part of the original idea. But this highly -mprobab!-.
'?^

Muratori, which found

way

XXVI

INTRODUCTION.
possibilities.

were alvvays " confessions," saw rieh

The

dramatic theme that had suddenly presented

Imagination was, we

itself to his

may

suppose, something like this:

poet-somnambulist at court, befriended by a prince,

in love with a

and

high-bom lady whom he can not hope

to

possess

whose favor he can

retain only through continual

;

renunciation and self-command

this poet involved

by

his

love in difficulties with a powerful courtier, and, in the

trouble growing out of this quarrel, frgetting himself in a

moment
his

of passion, overstepping the bounds of propriety,

his affection "

and thus " injuring the object of

and ruining
his

own

fortunes.

That Goethe was pleased with

and styled
it

new

literary project,

in

his

diary

glc!lic^c

(Srfinbung,"

is

not surprising.

Here was a theme

that

would lend
it

itself

admirably to his pecuHar poetic method

to his heart's content.
It

would allow him to "confess"

to

would enable him

do what he had before done

in 2ert^cr^

namely, to Sublimate the personal experiences of the recent

past in a work of
art,

and thus put those experiences behind

in his career.

him and

set

up a new milestone

In

adrama
affairs

of Tasso,

Goethe the man could

settle his

account with

Goethe the " somnambulist," with Goethe the man of

and Goethe the Piatonic
lover, just as in

crthcr the same man

had

settled his account with the world-weary sentimenialist.

In Short the analogies between his

own position and

that of

Tasso were many and

words of Karl Goedeke

striking.
:

To

quote the admirable

INTRODUCTION.
"

XXVU
of princes,

He too had
men

enjoyed the favor of

women and

while

of affairs,

who had even

Icss of culiure

than

Antonio, thought that they could overlook him and push

him

aside.

the poet and the

He had himself feit the inner conrtict between man of the world and along witba strenuous
;

practical ambition impeUing

him

to

keep

at

work and swerve

feit

neither to the right nor to the

left,

he had

the joy of

hand of the world He knew of the petty tricks, intrigues and pitdestroys. falls underlying the outward polish of court life, and of the
that inward happiness which the rde

smiling manners.

deep dissonances of character that hide themselves under He had seen how people may warmly
nothing for the poet personally

admire the Performances of a poet while caring little or and also, how enthusiastic
;

regard for the

man might

coexist with complete indifference

to his poetic creations.

Like Tasso, he was acquainted with

that unrest of soul which, in spite of the blessings close at

hand, dreamily longs for others that are far away

and then,

when

the hour of Separation approaches,

is

reluctant to

to leave the place of its happiness. to be deeply conscious of one's

He knew what it was own worth while mentally

exaggerating the excellencies of others.

to the unsteady fire of a heart

He was no stranger

Word a confession

of love, in
;

which perceives in a friendly an unusual turn of phrase a

itself to

a far-reaching design

which makes out of unrest pain, and

agonies of self-torment.

out of pain a mortal anguish that stormily o'erleaps

repent aftervvards
in

He

was

acquainted with the changing perturbations of a poet's

heart, acquainted with the imperious fornis of court life

and

familir with their conflicts."*

From Gocdeke's
volumes,

introduction to Xoflo.
vol.

See the Cotta edition of Goethe's works

thirty-stx

VI

p. 86.

XXVIU

INTRODUCtiON.
striking analogies
it

Along with these

will

be proper to

mention an incident which has been thought by some to

have helped the Imagination of Goethe

conception of ^afjo.
J.

in

his

original

M. R. Lenz, born in

1750, had been

one of Goethe's student-friends

at Strassburg.

He

pos-

sessed poetic gifts of a really high order, but was intemperate

in his habits

and eccentric

in

manner, and

finally

became

insane.

Shortly after Goethe's settlement in Weimar, Lenz

appeared on the scene and claimed consideration as an old

friend.

This consideration was

for a

time accorded him,

his clownishness

was tolerated, and Frau von Stein even

give her lessons in English.

employed him

to

But in

November, 1776, he committed an indiscretion which made

it

necessary to get rid of him.

;

What his
it

offence was

is

not

known

Goethe's diary refers to

that
it

as an " asininity."

Hermann Grimm supposes

hibition of tenderness

was some insulting exat court.

toward one of the ladies

his
:

In that case Goethe had under

own

eyes a dramatic

motive which may be stated thus

ing a footing in

An

eccentric poet hav-

good

society,

is

betrayed by his

own lack

of

self-command into taking

liberties with a lady

upon whom

he has no claims, and thus involves himself

fortune.

in tragic mis-

That
!I:affo is

this

occurence influenced the

first

conception of
is

only a conjecture

a conjecture
as

that

scouted by

Dntzer as absurd, but,

on the other band, deemed probable

by such very competent writers

Grimm and

Erich

INTRODUCTION.
Schmidt.

XXIX

The

supposition

is

quite in accord with

what we
of

know

of Goethe's poetic methods, and the chief

it

dement

improbability in

is

the long lapse of time between the

first

Lenz incident and the

be the case as
'"
it

conception of our drama.

But

may

with regard to this matteiyiere are

at

any rate^good reasons lor believing that the catastrophe

of the play as

we have

it

was a part of the

original plan,

was
\

in fact />4^part that especially attracted

Goethe's fancy.*
far

He who

as Piatonic

loverhad occasionally gone too

i

and

been pardoned, was pleased to

similar lover

magine the tragedy of a

far

who should go too

to

under circumstances

where pardon would be out of the question and the transgressor

would have

bear the tragic consequences of

it is

his

own

act.

At the same time

proper to remark

that,

howin
it

ever prominent this aspect of the theme

the poet's

may have been

as

mind

originally, the

drama of Xaffo
by

we know

has a

much

greater poetic value and a

much deeper meanor taken as the

ing than such a motive, taken

itself,

central idea of the piece, could ever have yieldedT^,

In Goethe's diary, under date oi October 14, 1780,

find the record
:

we

"

Began writing upon ^affo."

scene
is

By Novem-

ber loth the

first

finished,
first

and on the i5th of the

Frau von Stein,

same month he-sends the

Cf. Goethe's lettcrof Oct.
lo, 1780, to

act to

Frau von Stein

a Icttcr written four days

p. 3 16
ff.

before the work upon Xa\\o was bcgun.

Also Erich Schmidt, Gljarafteriftifcit,

and (Irimm,

For Diintzcr's view, see (Jrlutcruiliicn, p. 7. The idea that the I^nz incident bleudcd with Goethe's first thoughtsof Xaffo aeems tohavc been first sugcested by O, F. Gruppe.
p.

307-308.

.^-'

XXX
requesting her to
let

INTRODUCTION.

no one see

il,

and announcing that the

reports

second act

is

already begun.

November 26 he

progress to bis friend, and at the same time complains that

he does not receive sufBcient encouragement from her.

On
me

the last day of the year he writes to her

"

My

^affo
at

excites
in

my

compassion

it

lies

upon my desk and looks

shall I

such a kindly way.

it

But how

be able to com-

plete

when

must bake up

all

my wheat amongst
poet writes

ammunition-bread." *

From this

time on for several weeks

25, 1781, the

no progress
to her
:

is

made.

On March

" I shall hardly think of Xaffo to-day.

But observe
the
will

how

love looks out for your poet.

Some months ago

next scene was impossible for me, but

flow from

how

easily

it

my

heart now."

That

is

to say, there

had been

in the relations of the pair a

temporary strain which had

now
" I

disappeared.

On

the igth of April he writes to her,

have been working upon ^affo, and since you are

all

disposed to take to yourself

already written so

that 2^af}o says,

I

have

much

to

you to-day that

can write
writes

nothing more and nothing better."

that his

The next day he

rate

work upon ^af)

I

is

worship of her,t and on April

23

"

What
;

have written
it is

is at

any

good as an appeal
and
in its

to you

whether
I

good

as a dramatic scene

connection,
* 9(ber

do not know."

For a few days longer the

roie tDiQ ic^ jureicl^en, ic^

mug au(!^ aOe meine SBei|en unter ba< <Kommi4brob

difficulty of

baden."

The metaphor alludes tu the

am

working out poetic conceptions amid

Scholl Fielitz,
I.,

the exactions of routine business.

t

3c^ Ijabe gleich

lafjo fc^reibenb

bici^

anflebetet.*

350^

INTROnUCTIOV.

WXl
to a

work progresses spasmodically, and then comes

plete standstill, to be
clime,
tic art

com-

resumed seven years

later in

another

when the

poet's

mind and

his conceptions of

drama-

had undergone a great transformation.

V.

Goethe

in Italy.

The completion of Tasso.

Xa^o can
lost confi-

The
dence

cause that led to this Stagnation of the

only be conjectured.
in his project
?

Was
It is

it

that

Goethe had
that Karl

known

August had

an unfavorable opinion of the subjcct, and advised him to

drop

it.*

Was

it

that interest

waned

after

he had worked

out that part of the theme which immediately interested

him, the expression of his personal affection for his friend
?

Was

it

that he

was

baffled

by dramatic

difficulties,

or was

it,

finally, that leisure

and the propitious mood could so

All these causes
is

sel-

dom be brought to coincide ?

their influenae, but the

may have had

last.

most important

probably the

For the dissonance

in the poet's life

had not disappeared

but had rather grown worse with the lapse of time.

learned,
it is

He had
somewhat

true, to take the routine of business

less seriously,

but

still

he could find but

also

little

time for poetic

in

musings.

He

had

become

interested

certain

branches of natural science, but the very lack of leisure to

follow up these studies only intensified the sense of being
* Goethe's Sriefwcd^fel mit
Sugufl

Jtarl

I,

tu and

134.

XXXll

INTRODUCTION.

" entangled in a snare."

His

life

was one

of
;

ceaseless
it

introspection and of anxious self-questionings

life

was a

that he afterward referred to as a " terrible disease." *

all this

From
drama

he hoped that Italy would deliver him, and

the hope was not disappointed.

is

The
its

tragic pathos of our

expressly connected by

author himself with the

pain of his departure from the land of Mignon's longings.

From hisyouth
cherished

a visit to Italy had been one of Goethe's

dreams.

In

1775

he had looked

longingly

southward from the summit of the Swiss Alps.

this experience

In 1779

had repeated itself, and he had turned back

to the

North

as before, this time not without an expressed

to see
in

hope that he might not die without being permitted

the " promised land." f

By

the end of his

first

decade

Weimar
demand

the desire to visit Italy had

of his poetic nature, a
resisted.

become an imperios
that could

demand

and would
in

no longer be

We
3,

can accordingly understand,

some measure
morning
of

at least, the feeling with

which

in the early

September

1786, the poet stole out of Karls-

bad, where he had been taking the waters, and concealing

his Intention

from his

friends, took his

way over

the Alps.

In these days of easy travelling and of phlegmatic travellers

it is

a pleasure to follow Goethe in his Italian journey,

to read the letters that he writes, to

watch the inner trans-

erte,
t

XXIV.,

114.

Letter to Frau von Stein, Nov. 13, 1779.

II.,

Cf. also Erich Schmidt: 6(^nften

0oet^ej0cfcUf(^Qft, S5anb

p X.

ff.

IVTRODUCTION.
formation of which the letters
teil,

XXXUI

and

to

witness the

almost gruesome seriousness with which this

man

of the

North
for his

sets about appropriating all that Italy

can offer him

beginning
17, 1786),

own

intellectual

life.

Almost

at the very

of his travels he writes(from Verona,

September

" It lies in
is

my

nature readilyand joyfully to reverence what

great and beautiful, and the opportunity of developing

this capacity

day by day and hour by hour by means

most
blissfiil

of such glorious objec*s. occasions the

feelings."

of

all

But
he

it

was

in

Rome, where he
to

arrived

November

that

first

began

be fuUy conscious of the beneficent

experiences.

influence of the

new

Writing from

Rome
bosom

to

his friend Knebel, he speaks of his

abode as the

**

of
:

Abraham,"* and
"
I

in

another letter expresses himself thus

am now
I

living in a State of clearness

and composure
.
.
.

such as

had not enjoyed

if I

for a long time.

It

seems to

me

at least, as

had never judged the things of the world

I

so rightly as here.
in the blessed

anticipate pleasure for

my

whole

life

consequences."t
:

little later,

January

4,

1787, he writes

"

am cured

of a terrible mental agitation

to the

and disease, and am restored

enjoyment of
antiquities."

life

and

the enjoyment of poetry, history

and

The
this

influences that were chiefly instrumental in working

inspiriting sense

change were, aside from the new and

Gocthc's SKriefroec^fel mit Jlnebrl,
t erfc,
I .,

p. 75.

XXIV., 4.

XXXIV

INTRODUCTION.

of freedom, ancient art

and Raphael. *

The change

itself

was a

clarification of the poet's

mind with regard

in

to art,

and also with regard

to his

own vocation
for

the world.
that

The new happiness became

June

him Nature's token

she had intended him for a poet.

20,

" Here now," he writes,

1787,

having returned to

Rome

after a

few

months' absence, "I have already looked again

lent

at excel-

works of
definite."
is

art,

and

my

thoughts become clearer and

later

more

few weeks

he records the fact

for him,"

that "art
is

becoming second nature

and that he
a year

" almost a different

man from what he had been

in

before."

Thus much
Italy.

of

Goethe's education

the

school of
in

Side by side with

reflecting
it,

this education,

and

some

measure

went

his poetic

employments.

The

autumn

of

1786 he devoted to the conversion of his

Op^tgenie into iambics, a troublesome task, which caused

him, in despatching the

1787, to speak of
it

new work

to

Weimar, January

10,

as a 3d)mcr3cn^tinb."

He had

already

decided to perform the same Operation upon his

to complete the piece.

^Jaffo,

and

But the

difficulties of the

theme
16,

rose vividly before him, and

we

find him,

on February

1787, indulging in the doubt " whether he would not do

better to write an Op^igenic in 2)elp^i rather than stniggle

with the crotchets of Xaffo."

Cf. Grimm,
p.

"And

yet," he adds,

"I

283

IT..

and Erich Schmidt, @(l^nften ber eoct^e^OefcOfc^aft, IL.

INTRODUCTION.
have already put too much of myself into
it

XXXV
to give
it

up

now."

little later,

when

setting out for Naples, he re-

cords his intention to take none of his poetic projects with

him except Za^o, and adds, under date of February

"

What

is

already written

must deslroy

it

has lain too

long, and neither the characters, nor the plan, nor the
tone, have any kinship ^^ith
letter of

my

present purpose."

In a

March

16,

he comments upon the cool reception

his Op^igcnie
*'

that

had becn given

by the friends

in

Weimar

who had expected something

thing
transcribing

wilder " from him, and de-

clares that this shall not deter

(i. e.,

him from doing the same

iambics)
it

it

in

with Za^o.
fire,

"

should prefer," he writes, " to throw

will

into the

but
is

abide by

my

determination, and since the thing

will

not

to

be helped, we

make

a curiosity out of

it."

few days

later

he took boat for

Sicily,

and while

prostrate from seasickness devoted his oppressive leisure

to thinking out the plan of ^Taffo.

In speaking of this
:

voyage he says, under date of March 30

"

The

first

two

acts of affo, written in poetical pfose, were all the papers

I

had taken with me.

These two

acts,

about like the

present ones as regards plan and course of action, had

been written ten years before, and had about them acertain
flabbiness

and nebulosity, which presently disappeared

accordance with

when,

in

my new
to

ideas, I brought the

form into greater prominence and introduced meter."

Thus

far,

and

for

some time

come, nothing but plan-

XXXVl
ning.

INTRODUCTION.
In midsummer, 1787, the poet records a resolution

to begin

Xa^o

in earnest after
i,

New-Year's
find

nevertheless,
to

as late as February

1788,

we
:

him writing

Herder

as

if

nothing were yet done

is

"IlTaffo
I

must be rewritten

what there
nor throw

cannot be used.
away."

can neither end thus

of

all

On

the
is

first

March following we
and a few

hear that the plan of ^affo

days
later,

at last complete,
'

that he

is

" reading Serassi's

Life of Tasso,' in

Order to saturate his mind with the

11 that poet."

spirit

and character of

This elaborate and learned work, the parent of most of

the later biographies of Tasso appeared at
It is written

Rome

in 1785.
detail,

with

much

care and with great fullness of

and

is

dedicated to Maria Beatrice of Este, Archduchess of

Serassi quite discredits (along with

Austria.

many

other

opinions and Statements of Manso) the whole story of the

loves of Tasso

and Leonora.

Here, of course, Goethe

could not

make

use of the learned Abate's conclusions.

in

On

the other

band he found

him a variety of informa;

tion that he could use very advantageously

facts regard-

ing Tasso's earlier experiences at Ferrara, his adversaries

at court,

his relations with

Alphonso and the two

prin-

cesses, the circumstances attendant

of his poem,

upon the completion

of Goethe's

and so

forth.

The indebtedness

Xa^o

to Serassi for small points in the portraiture is very

frequently discernible.

During the remaining weeks of

his sojourn

in

It i'v

In

'

INTRDUCnON.
the spring of
Jaffo.
1

XXXVll
his

788,

Goethe made some progress with

life,

Respecting this period of his

in the
3taliciiifd)e
Steife:

he wrote

after-

wards

"The

chief part of

my

stay in Florence I passed in its beautiful parks,

and there

worked
to

at those

passages (of Xoffo) which even

now

recall

me

vividly that time

is

and those

feelings.

To

this cir-

cumstance

to

be ascribed that fullness of detail which

characterizes portions of the piece,

tation of
it

and makcs the represen-

on the stage almost impossible.

As

with Ovid

in respect to place, so I

could compare myself with Tasso

in

respect

to

my

fortunes.
is

The

painful emotion of a

passionate soul which

drawn on

irresistibly to

an irrevo-

cable banishment, permeates the entire drama."*

In the latter part of June, 1788, the poet was again in

Weimar, to endure as best he might

apres le hal foltre.

triste

Icndcmain

The ensuing weeks were indeed

still

sombre enough.
versalion, fll of
interest or

His heart was

in Italy,

and

his con-

what he had seen there, either failed to

friends.
It

sometimes actually offended his

was as

if

they and Weimar no longer sufficed him.

teil,"

"

can

not and must not

he writes, September
departure from

3,

1788,

"how
pain-

much
ful
it

suffered at
to

my

Rome, how

was

me
511.
is in

to leave that
it

beautiful

country."

In

ffierfe

XXIV,

Dntzerwill have

that Gocthc's recollection herc deceives

him, and that there

the S^afjo no rcgrct it Icaving Italy, biit only the pain occa;

sioned by the rupture of the poet's relations with Frau von Stein but this is a matter on which the authority of Goethe is better than that of Diintzcr. In matters of chronology Goeihe's memory was very falhble, but in a question of this kind he could hardly have erred.

XXXVIU
Short, the traveller

INTRODUCTION.

had

in

f act

returned

home

" another
lack-

man "
again,

his acquaintances found

him distraught and

would not take

ing in cordiality.

The
as
if

old
to

life

itself

up
an

and

finally,

complete and round

it

off

epoch

in his existence,

and mark

as indeed a thing of

the past,

came

his

estrangement from his most intimate

friend.

and hitherto most indispensable

The

history of this estrangement need not be given in deIt is

tail here.

a pure

myth that Goethe went

to Italy be-

cause of straitened relations with Frau von Stein.

the beginning to the end of his absence his letters

From
show

nothing but the wrmest affection for her, and both ex-

pected upon
tinue.

his return that the old

intimacy would conthe

But

this

was not

to be.

The woman was much

she asked him to

same, the

man had changed. When

now plead
In
in

visit

her he could
going.

foul weather as an excuse for not

Also, renunciation
for him.

love

had
1788,

lost

some

of its

charms

midsummer,

began

his "con-

science marriage " with Christiane Vulpius, a step which

naturally offended Frau von Stein.

From

that time on the

correspondence flows but sparingly between them.

I,

June

1789,

we

find

him writing her a formal

lecture

upon her

petulance and unreasonableness, and denying her right to

criticise his

conduct with regard to the

**

poor creature "

this letter

whom

he had taken into his house.

*'

Over
"

Frau

von Stein wrote an expressive

and thus terminated a

relationship which had lasted fourteen years,

had been

of

INTRODUCTION.
the very deepest import in the lives of both, but

XXXI

had been

also, look at

it

as one

will,

unnatural and unwholesome from

the beginning.
It
is

a fact not without significance that the Xaffo was

finally

completed during the weeks immediately preceding

this friend-

and those immediately following the ruplure of

ship.

From

letters of

the

ix)et

we know
some

that

he was
7
is

working on the play

in

August, 1788.

September
friends, but

he
not

describes the plan of the

able to give

drama

to

them a singU completed scene.

In the autumn
it

of this year the piece

is

makes some

further progress, but

not

tili

January, 1789, that he

takes
first

up the work

in

earnest.

February 15 he reads the

to Karl

scene to Knebel,

and on the iQth writes

August that "^affo grows

will,

slowly like an orange tree," and

he hopes,

like

the

orange

tree, "

bear fragrant

fruit."

March 20 he remarks
y^'^ps.

_Frau Herder that^he object of the

l^he
'*

is

tg g jthihjt

disproportion between talent and

life."

April 6 he

writes Karl August that he has yet three scenes to finish.

May

9 he reads the play aloud, save three scenes, the pur-

port of which he explains.

to find the leisure

May
7,

20 he goes to Belvedere
for completing
is

and seclusion necessary

the

piece.

Returning June

he writes that "Xaf|0

almost finished."
ever, he
until

The

very last part of the drama, howit

found exceedingly perplexing, and

of July

was not

the end
finally

that
Jaffo

the

long and toilsome task

first

was

ended.

was

printed

in

1790,

Xl

INTRODCTION.

being a part of
tion of Goethe's

volume

six

of

the

eight-volume

edi-

works then publishing by Goeschen of

Leipzig.

Import of the Drama.

The
found

manuscript of the original prose

jiaffo

has not been

lost.

in the

Goethe archives, and

is

presumably

We
The
have

have thus no means of knowing the precise relation of

the
first

concept to the completed play as we have

this point
is, it

it.

language of Goethe himself upon

will

been observed, very contradictory. from the

February
est (since
letters of
i,

[Compare the extracts

February 21 and March 30, 1787, and

1788.]

The

subject would be of minor inter-

we can

at best only

guess at the contents of the

prose

2^af)o)

but for the fact that on the strength of the ex-

pressions used by Goethe, a very able

German
who

writer has

been led

to

conclusions which seem

to the present editor

quite erroneous.
the's

Hermann

Hettner,

discusses Goe-

dramas
ad)t3cl)nten

at length in

his admirable !i?itevatur9c(d)id)tc

be

^al)r^unbert^,* finds a painful dissonance

between the
will

first

two and the

last

three acts of Xaffo.

He
to

have

it

that

Goethe

originally intended the

drama

"glorify the inalienable rights of genius and of culture as

opposed tothe arrogance of well-bred narrow-mindedness."

That

is

to say,

Tasso was

to

be held up to admiration as

* i ritter Zf)e\l, britte Suc^, jtoeitc ?lbH)eilunfl, p. 77, ft

INTRODUCnON.

xH

the representative of what Goethe himself thought praise-

worthy
last

in the poetic

temperament, and was to triumph at ly

Ac-

over Antonio, conceived as a polished Philistine.

is

cording to Hettner, this

itself in

the theme that actually presents

the

first

two

acts,

which are substantially ideniical/

with the prose acts.

VVith the third act, however, a

new'

drama hcgins
final

a drama calculated with

Tasso begins

reference to the

triumph of Antonio and the humiliation of Tasso.

this point

From

to appear as a weakling in

need of

discipline, while the character of

Antonio becomes

more and more admirable.

Goethe's
is

The abovc-quoied sentence in

i,

letter of

February

1788, "I cannot

end thus,"
:

accordingly interpreted by Hettner to

I

mean

cannot,

as

had intended, allow Tasso

to triumph.

Surely

we should be somewhat
make one

reluctant to accept a

theory that would

of Goethe's most carefully

elaborated works a rather clumsy patchwork devoid of organic unity.

is

Fortunately, therefore, this view of Hettner's

necessary.

not at

all

We

have seen gpod reason for befor

lieving thatUlie

theme was

Goethe from the outset a

guilt,"

TrgTc one.

The hero was

final

to

have his "tragic

it.

and

was

to

meet with

disaster because of

This was
is

the theme from the outset,

consistently developed from
first

and
first

is

the

theme which

to last.'^Neither in the
for our unit

two acts nor elsewhere

is

Tasso held up

qualified admiration, nor

is

anything said from which

can naturally be infcrred that the end of the action

will

Xlii

INTRODUCTION.
and
set the seal of

exhibit his triumph

Goethe's absolute

approval upon him.

On

the contrary, from the

moment

when we

first

hear of him we hear continually of the pe-

culiar characteristic

which becomes

his tragic guilt, that is

to say, his "

iself

somnambuHsm,"
his

his proneness to yield himto the feeling

up so completely to

dreams or

which

for the time being has possession of him, that he loses

touch with the actualities of

things as they arey
strue
it,

life,

and hence does not see

of the drama, as

The Import

we

con^

'

can best be brought to view by means of a short

analysis.
.

.-,>^-A

*^'^-^.a^^^
f

Z.-^is

'

^^'

-^--

-^ v

In the

first

scene, as soon as the conversation

it is

brought

round to Tasso,

precisely the characteristic just

men-

tioned that forms the subject of discussion.

We

hear of

him

as one

whose
is

" eye scarcely lingers

on

this earth,"

as one
ideals.

who

absorbed continually in his own dreamy

In the next scene Alphonso continues the strain;

he* blames the poet for avoiding society,

and dwells upon

the importance of introducing him to "life," that his character

may be strengthened and

his

mind

freed from foolish

trait

vagaries.

Already we begin to suspect that a

solicitude in a

which
like

can excite such

sober-minded friend
serious matter.

Alphonso must be a somewhat

third scene

In the

Tasso himself appears and

this suspicion is

confirmed.

He

presents his

poem and

receives the thanks

his friends

of his patron,

and the appreciative language of

throws him into a fever of excitement.

The bestowal

of

INTRODUCTION.
the laurel crown agitates

xli

him beyond expression

it

"bums
wreath

bis locks," bis " knees fail bim," be will bave tbe

transported to tbe clouds, to serve tbere as tbe goal of bis

effort

forever.

And wben

tbe Princess bespeaks more

composure on

bis part, be loses bimself in a fantastic rev-

ery and dreams of Elysium.

This excessive sensibiHty,

tbis violent oscillation

between

extremes of emotional excitement, impresses

us,

and

is

meant

to impress us, as a weakness.

VVe bave a feeling

of cbaracter
;

tbat tbis pect needs

to learn

more steadiness

needs
as

self-command and manly independence.

not
all all

And
is

Tasso

is

admirable, so

is

Antonio

in tbe next

scene not

tbe reverse of admirable.

is

Tbere

no Sug-

gestion tbat be
discomfiture.

meant

for our disapproval or for final

On

tbe contrary, be appears as a genlleman

like to

wbom
man

one would

know.

He

is

tbe trusted agent of

ladies, a

bis prince, tbe wisbed-for

companion of tbe two

witbal,

of tbougbt

and experience, and,

unamiable only
in

sometbing of

a poet.

He
first

is

respect of bis balf-ex-

pressed disdain for dreamers like Tasso.

In tbe

scene of tbe second

act,

Tasso describes

to

tbe Princess the agitation into wbicb be bas been tbrown

by the vvords and tbe manner of Antonio.

to reassure bim brings

Her endeavor

tbem

to reminiscences of tbe past,

nd Tasso

is

led to express tbe fll measure of bis venera-

tion^or her and of bis anxiety to please her.

She gives

binrcredit for bis good intentions, but reminds him of bis

Xliv

INTRODUCTION.

besetting weakness, and urges him to

pecially to

make

friends, eslast

make

a friend of Antonio.

At the

she
will

inti-

mates to him

in covert

language that his homage

not

be unwelcome to her provided he can be content to

" renounce."

After a delirious soliloquy upon his newoffers his

fomid happiness, Tasso

friendship to Antonio
of the gift.

y^
'y^

and demands instantaneous acceptance

An-

<>^onio, as

^ man o

the world not a ccustom ed tQ__make his

yC^.
^

friends so suddenly, holds back, and an altercation ensues,

in

^^

which Tasso

finally loses his self-control,

and draws
For
this

his
is,

^v^ A/sword

withiL the precincts of the palace.

he

^y^

after a kindly hearing,

merely confined to his room by Al-

phonso

but the light penalty plunges him into the depths

of despair and humiliation.

In the quarrel scene, so carefully

is

itdrawn,

we

scarcely
is

know whom
offset

to reproach.

Antonio's want of delicacy

by Tasso's want

of tact.

At the most we can only

say with Alphonso, that " when two

clever
is to

men

quarrel, the

most

blame."

The
trouble

third act presents

no new theme, but a continuation

of the tragedy
is

of the old cne.

The hero

involved in

a trouble that has

been brought about directly

by his own lack of self-command, but indirectly by his

quixotic attempt to

take the friendship of Antonio by

storm in deference to the wishes of the Princess.

feel sure,

We

however, after the conversation between Antonio

is

and the Duke, that the entanglement

not serious. and

INTRODUCTION.
that
all

xlv

can easily be made right again.

Accordingly, w

naturally expect
of

some

action looking toward a restoratioiv

harmony, and

this is

what we have.

In the third act

Tasso does not appear, but bis f riends discuss the Situation

and

plot for bis welfare.

We

become acquainted with the

If

confiicting plans of Antonio

is

and the Countess.

is

Antonio

here more amiable,

it is

not that he
is

new

character,

but only that his better nature anxious to

now dominant.

He

is

make amends
way

for the

unworthy part he played

difficulty

in the quarrel.

At the end of the act the whole

to

seems

in a fair

be

settled,

no matter whether AnBut

tonio's plan or that of the

Countess be carried out.

now
~

the tragic weakness of Tasso again interposes to

mar

his fortunes.

Brooding by himself over his calamity, he

its

exaggerates

importance.
of

When

the Couniess

comes

to

him upon her errand

-

peacemaker, he gives vent to un-

reasoning

bitterness

against Antonio,

and

talks

in

an

a\*absurdly petulant strain about the Duke's n^t Consulting

r*

him with regard

that he

to affairs of State.

When

sne proposes
Suggestion

go with her

to Florence,

he sees

in the

only a conspiracy to get rid of him.

This suspicion then

takes complete possession of him, and he enters upon a

course of dissimulation as the best mcans of outwitting

his

imagined enemies.

He

constrains Antonio to ask a

leave of absence for him, that he

may

desert Ferrara for

good under pretext

of going to

Rome

to take the advice of

friends with regard to his

poem.

Xlvi

INTRDUCTION.

In the last act Alphonso reluctantly consents to this

journey, and Tasso disingenuously returns thanks, pre-

tending to be anxious

solely for

the

perfection

of

his

poem.

In a short soliloquy he endeavors to fortify himbut the arrival of the Princess

self for further dissembling,

dissipates his strength, so that

he can

feel

nothing but the

pain of the approaching Separation.

In wild excitement

he imagines himself leaving Rome, disappointed and despairing,

sister

and going

as a

homeless wanderer to

visit

his

Cornelia at Sorrento.

When
to

the Princess remon-

strates with
his friends,

him

for thus

seeming

spurn the kindness of

he catches eagerly
if it

at this expression of her to

sympathy, and as

he were being driven away, pleads

only as the Duke's hired servant.
fateful

be retained, were

In

complete despair, the Princess speaks the

3ci)

words

mu

bid) laffcn,

unb

oerlaffcn fann

2)icin

^crj

bic^ iiidit."

Ilereupon a new frenzy takes possession of the excitable

poet, and after a crescendo of passionate protestations, he
forgets entirely the injunction of renunciation

and gives

her a lover's embrace.

This indiscretion of Tasso

is

the tragic catastrophe of

the p iecey/l\^e naturalTy^expect irfd"b^TlIo wed by grave

consequences of some kind.

torical Tasso,

As

a matter of fact, the hisoflfence,

though for a different

was imprisAnna, where

to

oned

for seven years in the hospital of Santa

he sullered many indignities.

What use was Goethe

INTRODUCnON.

xlv

make
he to

of this subsequent history?

let bis

What

construciion was

reader or spectator put upon this singular de-

nouementf

What was
is

to

be the meaning of the drama?

The

probability

that these questions

had not

at the beto

ginning occasioned

much

difficulty.

Tasso was
it

commit a

grave offence and to suffer the penalty for

bis fortunes.

in the ruin of

His tragedy was to consist

to be a tragedy
to

in

his punish-

ment.
at

It

was

somewhat

like that of

Lenz

Weimar.

But

Goethe, musing upon his theme in

Italy, after his

conceptions of art had grown clearer and

that a

broader,
this sort

it

became apparent
;

naked conclusion of

would not do

that

such a drama wouid satisfy

no one unless perhaps the Lord High Chamberlain of a

provincial court.
feels,

For he must have

feit

as every reader
it

that Tasso's transgression, however

may appear
nature,

before the tribunal of court eliquette,

when taken before

the broader tribunal of art and of

human

can

hardly be

made

to

appear tragic.

That an enamored poet

who has
tent of

lately received

unequivocal tokens of affection

from the lady of his

love, should forget himself to the ex-

embracing

her, is very
for

human.

It is

impossible to

think of

him as doomed

such an offence to death, or

dungeon, or any other appalling disaster. The prince who

could decree such a thing would need to be a monster of
tyranny
It
;

but Goethe's Alphonso

this kind,

is

no monster.
that were in

was thoughts of
of

we imagine,
**
:

the

mind

Goethe when he wrote

cannot end thus."

xlviii

INTRODUCTION.
it

He
in

saw that

was necessary to transfigure the catastrophe

it

some way,

so as to give

a more natural and a more

to

poetic significance.

But how

do

this

We

have

evi-

dence that the problem proved very perplexing, but

/
it

at last

was solved.

"

The

essential thing in all tragic situa-

tions," says Goethe, in ^unft unb ^(tert()uni, "is Separation,

for

which we need neither poison nor dagger, neither pike

;

nor sword
tion,

departure from a familir and beloved Situais

through more or less of compulsion,

a Variation of

X the

same theme."

In accordance with this conception, he

decided to make no reference to the subsequent history of

Tasso, to
let it

appear simply that the offending poet had

forfeited his position at court

^

and must now sever

his re-

lations with

Alphonso and the Princess, and soto allow the

tragic pathos of the piece to center in the pain of Tasso's

enforced departure from

"beloved Situation."^ This

pain then became for Goethe, in some measure at least, a

poetic Symbol of the pain he himself had
feit

in leaving

and

in the rupture of his relations with Charlotte

von

But

this
?

was not

all.

How

should

this

Separation be

conceived
sations?

As

a pure calamity, utterly witiiout compenthat should Icave the poet crushed
in his afilic-

As an event

and desolate and without support of any kind

tion
?

This again would be highly absurd, and would have

at

been

any rate quite impossible

for the

Goethe of 1789.

himself had been for years " entangled in a snare" at

INTRODUCTION.

xUx and resolving to

live

Weimar, and

in

breaking away from

it

for bis art alone,

had found mental freedom and a happi-

ness such as he had not before

known

how then should

also en-

he imagine that a similar experience would be an unmixed

disaster for bis hero
?
1

For Tasso

at Ferrara

is

tahgled in a snare.
false one.

In

many ways

bis position there is a

Demands

are

made upon bim

with whicb be

cannot comply save at tbe expense of bis poetic instinct

His veneration

for tbe

Duke, bis passion for tbe Princess^

are botb so extravagant as to

approacb tbe morbid.

Tbe

atinosphere of thc court

himself and

is

such as to keep bim atwar witb

make bim

tbe victim of hypochondriac fancies.

be-

He

is

even tormented by tbe crotcbet that be migbt

a successful slatesman or a great soldier.

come

All tbese

things interfere witb that serenity of

mind which tbe poet

needs.
that
it

And

so

we cannot

altogether repress tbe feeling

would be better

for bim, at tbe cost of

this

wbatever
live

sufiering, to

break away from

entanglement and

for his poetic talent only.

Even tbe pain be may look on

wbat be

as a boon, since
gift

it

is

precisely tbe nature of bis peculiar

suflFers,

to be able to give utterance to

and so

transmute his personal gri ef into Insting forms of beauty.

Goethe often
what he had

refers to bis writings as tbe expression of

**

suffered,

My

works,"

he writes to tbe

Countess Stolberg, "are but tbe recorded joys and sorrows

of

my

lifo."

*'

Happiness and unhappiness become song,"

motto to tbe
first

he sings

in the

division of his lyrics.

His

INTRODUCTION.

early
ther,

romance had dealt with the

sufferings of

young Werpresents

and upon resuming

^auft, in 1797, the

poem

itself to his

mind

as his " sorrow." *

To
'

quote the vvords

of

Schrer:t "Goethe loved large and genuine pain, and

longed for the

in times of depression

comfort of sorrow

and of

tears.' "

This idiosyncrasy of the German poet

^tatienifc^c Steife,
teils

appears strikingly in a passage of the

where, in describing his departure from Rome, he

us

how
in

his

mind was haunted

for days

by certain verses of

Ovid, in which the

Roman
and

exile recalls his

own
|

last night

Rome.

"

My

sufferings,"
this

writes

Goethe,

"blended

themselves with

his,

inward process occupied

me

many a day and night on

writing

my

journey.

But

avoided
of

down

a line for fear that the delicate

I scarcely

aroma

my
But

pain might disappear.

thing lest
presently
the World
it

wanted to look

at any-

disturb

myself in this sweet sorrow.

to

came home

me how
at
it

beautiful the aspect of

I

is, if

we only look
follows

with interested eyes.

activity,

nerved myself to a freer poetic

took up ^affo,

and"

here
are

the

passage

already

quoted

on

page xxxvii.^^

We

now
is

prepare d to understand the

-

difficult

final '

'

scene of our drama. /Tasso at

first

suppos&s iTTat what has

a deliberately

appened

only the consummation of

planned conspiracy against him.

He

gives vent to his

^ 5Kcin aeib ertnt ber unbdannten Stenge.

p.

12$

cf.

also p. X30.

: fflerfe,

XXIV.,

511.

INTRODUCTION.
feelings in wild

H and when

denunciations of

ever)'body,

Antonio gently remonstrates with him, he retorts that he

does not wish to hear a sensible word, er to be disturbed in
the " stolid happiness " of his misery.

Antonio shall permit him to go away.

fuses to

He demands that When Antonio reman who

abandon him

in his distress,

he begins to see that

he has to do not with an enemy, but with a

would be his friend.

grief for
feited."

Then rage gives

lost, for

place to uncontrolled

what he has

**what he has himself forrecall

Antonio endeavors to

him

to a recollec-

tion of

what he

is,

and bids him compare himself with

admonished
at the right time," the

oihers.

Then

at last, "

poet perceives that, though no example in history be able

to comfort him,

though "everything be gone," there

the gift of song.

still

remain

tears and

In this thought he

grows calmer.

Taking the band of Antonio, he likens

him

to the steadfast rock, himself to the tossing wave.

Then

the simile changes; he

is

no longer the tossing wave,

but the mariner whose boat has gone to pieccs in the

storm, and who, at the
last,

clambers up on the rock upon

which he seemed

likely to

be wrecked.

Thus

the

outcome

of the

drama

is

not of a depressing

character, but quite the reverse.

Tasso has saved from the

all,

wreck of his fortunes what

is,

after

his best possession,

and has

also

found a friend
tried

a friend in the person of the

verymanwhom he had

towinby storm

in the ill-fated

scene that had been the beginning of his troubles.

Manly

lii

INTRODUCTION.

friendship and a purified faith in his

own

poetic endowj

ment are not

so

poor a compensation for what he has

$romet(;eug has as
its-

lost.

So, too, Goethe's

essential

theme

the self-sufficiency of the hero who,

when

the very gods

his

have turned against him,

dignity as creative
of ^affo
poet.

falls

back proudly upon

own

artist.

This consolatory conclusioh

was a

necessity, since the author

was himself a

Any

other ending would have seemed to say that

the poet's characteristic

the sensitive

endowments

the

quick fancy,

mind and

heart, the brooding imagination

are there only to be held in check in the interest of calm

philosophy and worldly wisdom.

all

For Goethe,

in spite of

his

composure, such a thought as that would have been

repellent
feeling

enough
that

at

any period of

his

life.
:

His normal
"
I

was

which once led him to write

thank the

gods that they have given

me

the gift of concentrating in

in

echoingsongwhat takes place

In what has
just

my

soul."t

been

said,

we

doubtless have the reapublish

it

sons that led the author of

fpicl,

2^af]o to

as a 3rf>au-

rather than as a Trauerspiel or a ^J'rabie.

But

it

is
it

interesting to note in this connection that he refers to

in a letter of April 17, 1789, as a ^JraQbie.J
Cf. e<^ercr:
t
.

^ufj^e ber oet^e,

p. 250.

To Frau von Stein, in April, 1781. To Klein, (3oet^e3o^rbu(^, VIII.,

Scholl- Fielitz I., 352.

278.

INTRODUCTION.

VII.

The Characters of
It

Tasso.

The
(hat

Dra'matic Merits,

LaNGUAGE and RhYTHM of THE PlECE.

was Said above,
in effect,

the

characters

of

^affo are neither faithful historical portraits, nor copies of

personages known to Goethe.

creations which

They

are in general

new

owe

their

names and

their tnilieu to history,

some

of their traits to Goethe's personal Observation, but

the real essence of their being to bis poetic Imagination.

The

Portrait of the hero himself

owes more to history

Thus,

than does that of any of the other personages.

Tasso's suspicious temper, his proneness to fancy himself

slighted, his

<"

tendency to hypochondria, his carelessness

with respect to money, his extreme solicitude about his

poem, his troubles with the

critics

and with the physicians

in

all this

and more Goethe found

one or the other of

his authoriiies.

Of Antonio
in the in

little

is

historical but his

at
is

name.

There

is

Goethe archives

Weimar a manuscript of
callcd Giambatista Pigna.

Xaffo,

which the character

This

manuscript has been corrected by Goethe's band, the

name Pigna
place.*

crased,

and Antonio Montecatino put

in its
first

Pigna was Alphonso's secretary during the

at Ferrara

decade of Tasso's residence

(1565-15 7 5).

He

was highly esteemed, according to Serassi, as orator, phi* Tor this information the cditor
is

indebted to private advices from Dr. Bernhard

at

Suphan, Director o

tlie

Goethe-Archives

Weimar.

liv

INTRODUCTION.

losopher, and poet, and

became Tasso's

poetic rival.

In

1575 he died and was succeeded by Montecatino,

who was
Monteca-

no poet, but a philosopher.

tino are very meagre.

Serassi's notices of

He

speaks of him as a

man

of

great learning and talent, who, however, became jealous

of Tasso, and in time the head of a sort of conspiracy *
against him.

Tasso himself, as appears from some of

his

extant letters, regarded Montecatino as one of his most

malignant enemies.
two, however,

Of an

actual quarrel

between the
any more

we hear nothing

in the authorities,

than of Montecatino's diplomatic mission or

craft.

skill in state-

His Services

to the

house of Ferrara seem to have

in

been of a much more equivocal character than appears

Goethe's drama.
at court,

At

least

he did not long remain

in favor

and Muratori expressly charges him with having

Serassi

betrayed the house of Este to Clement Vni.f

relates that in 1587, Montecatino, at that time out of favor,

dedicated one of his published works to Tasso, whereupon

the latter politely

acknowledged the

courtesy,

and

ad-

dressed some consolatory reflections to his former enemy.

Whether
of

this

account
is

may have
open
to

affected the conclusion

Goethe's ^affo

conjecture.

Serassi

ad-

duces the incident as evidence of the extreme placability

of Tasso's disposition.

was
"

believed
Una

The actual quarrel by Manso to have been

of Tasso, which
the

beginning
oftbe

specie di congiura," p. 230.

Senssi evidenjr beliered

in the reality

coiirt cabal against

Tasso.

t Black, L, 237.

INTRODUCTION.

Iv

of the poet's misfortunes, was not with Montecatino, but

with a
**

man whom he
honor.

describes in one of his letters as an

in rank,

infamous wretch," inferior to himself

and devoid was

is

of

common
;

Who
it

this

false friend

not

known

Serassi thinks

was one Maddalb, a member of

~^

tiie.caJbiiLagaist

Tasso:

But

if

Goethe's Antonio
still

owes

little

to his historical

namesake,

less

does he owe demonstrably to any actual

j

personages

at

Weimar,

VaftoUS

Tndividualsi

notably

^^ritsch-and Herder, have been thought

to

by

different writers
this

have fumished some of his characteristics, but

all

very uncertain.

The

fact is that

Antonio

is

a natural and

necessary pendant to Tasso.

poet, the other the
his wits about him.

One is cool-headed man

Neither
is

the dreamy, excitable

of affairs,
;

who keeps

Goethe both contain " bone

of his

bone and

flesh of his flesh."

One

Stands for the

rights of the inflammable heart, the other for those of the

calculating intellect.

It

is

the

same dualism that nins

thfough so
ple in

many

of Goethe's works, meeting us for exam-

Goetz and Weisungen, Clavigo and Carlos, Faust

and Mephistopheles, Orestes and Pylades, Egmont and

Orange.
it

And

right here the fact

is

worth noticing, because

has a biographical significance, that while in the earlier

intellect is a

works the representative of the calculating

villain er a devil, in

the later ones he

is

meant

to be ad-

mired.

Of the two women

in the play, the Princess

owes most

Ivi

INTRODUCTION.

to history.

Leonora of Este,
and spent her

sister of

Alphonso IL, was

at Ferrara.

born

in 1537,

life

unmarried

Se-

rassi describes her as possessing admirable gifts of

body

and mind, as fond

of the society of scholars,

and as having

been particularly gracious to Tasso out

his genius

of admiration for

and learning.

He

also speaks of her shy

and

reserved disposition, her reluctance to appear in society,

her extreme piety, and her general reputation for saintly

goodness.*

These

traits

blended well with certain charStein,

acterislics of Charlotte

von

whom we

recognize in

Leonora's magic influenae over Tasso, her melancholy, her

philosophy of resignation, the inertnessof her character,

her fendency towards querulousness and pessimistic

cisms of
life.

criti-

Leonora
Scandiano,

Sanvitale,
first

wife

of

Giulio

Tiene, Count of

came

to Ferrara, according to Serassi, in

is

the winter of 1576, that

to say, the year

foUowing the

completion

of

Tasso's great poem.

In the pages of

Serassi she appears as a

woman
lofty

of great beauty, of noble

and elegant manners, and

in letters

mind
is

also as well versed

and science.f

She

the second of Manso's

three Leonoras, the third being, according to Serassi, a

myth. True

it is,

at

any

rate, that

Tasso joined wiih others

at court in singing her praises, as

he had long been singing

the praises of the Princess.

Both ladies are celebrated by

ba
Pp. 130, 150, and passim. "Giovinetta bellissima, d'alto animo, e di leggiadre e gentUissiine t P. 215. niere, ed oltre a ci assai versata negli studj delle buone lettere e delle actenze."

INTRODUCTION.

Iv
teil

name
of

in

extant verses of his, while other verses

simply
is

"Leonora."

So
;

that the

ambiguous honiage

in

measure

historical

but whether this

homage was

the ex-

pression of emotions more tender than the exigencies

of poetic gallantry required,
is still

a moot-question, with

the probabilities, since Serassi 's time, rather against the

tradition.

The matter

is

one that does not concern us

Leonora, one
of
his

here.

Goethe 's

Countess
is

most

charming creations,
a

a natural pendant to the Princess

woman

of " lighter being," but equally

qualities.

endowed with

good womanly
history,

She owes nothing discemible to

to

and her indebtedness

is

any actual women of

Goethe's acquaintance
it is

so intangible, so uncertain, that

hardiy worth while to hazard even a guess with regard

to

it.

No

less

Ihan ten different individuals have been

mentioned by various writers as having contributed more

or less to her portrait.*

Of Alphonso
of Ferarra,

little

need be

said.

He

owes nothing but

here and there a

bit of
little

costume to the actual Alphonso IL

and

that is discemible with certainty to

Karl August of Weimar.

The

best formula for

il

him would

be that he

is

Goethe's idea of a duke comme

faut.

From

the nature of the case, such a drama as !Xaffo

It

could not be highly successful as a stage play.

put upon the stage at

was

Weimar
p. 69,

as early as 1808,

and with

The list can be found

:

in

Kern,

who remarks

that his enumeration does not

pretend to be cxhaustive.

Countess are

Most commonly mentioned as Originals of Goethe's Corona Schrter, the Countess von Werthern, and Frau von Branconi.

Iviii

INTRODUCl'ION.
it it

success, but
in

never has become a populr favorite, although

is

our day

often played,
it,

and eminent modern

actors
in the
is

have had a liking for

role of Tasso.*

and have won distinction

The common

criticism of the piece

is,

that

it

lacks action, and this criticism

according to

all

ordinary Standards, valid, although

Kern makes an
is

inge-

nious and readable attempt to show that S^affo

not so

much

deficient in action as the conventional conception

is

of action

false
is

and inadequate.

Be

this as

it

may, what
is

action there

(excepting, perhaps, the quarrel scene),

of a kind somewhat out of the rnge of universal

interest.

human

The

dialogue, too, turns largely

;

upon questions

of character, of culture

and the issues

of culture, whatever

may

be their intrinsic importance, are not exciting when

debated on the stage.

But the most important reason for

is

the dramatic inefficiency of the play

the one assigned

by Goethe
which the

himself, namely, the minuteness of detail with

portraits are elaborated.

The

stage requires

striking effects,

heavy masses of color and sharp contrasts;

in 2^affo all

is

done with a small brush and

it is

in delicate

shades.

Thus

a dramatic study for the reader rather

It interests

than an acting play for the theatre.

icism of
life.

us as

crit-

Heard from

the stage under the

critic,
it

most favorlyric

able circumstances, says one

rather than a dramatic effect.

produces a

The

literary

form of ^affo

is

in

keeping with the atmos-

* Cf. Grans, pp. i8, 19.

INTRODUCTION.
phere of courtly refinement that pervades the piece.

lix

The

language

is

everywhere chaste and elegant.

Provincial-

isms and colloquialisms are avoided.

In his earlier works

Goethe drew largely upon the terse and rugged idioms of

the

common

people and of every-day

life.

^ was

re-

volt not less against the unities

rules,

and the other conventional

than against the conventional language of the older

In

drama.

^a^o

there is

no trace of

this revolt,

no

ten-

dency to Shakespearize.

The unities

are strictly observed

;

the characters are few, and of exalted Station

simple,

the plot

is

and

is

skilfully

developed in substantial harmony

with the approved rules of the French classic drama.

for the older conventional

And

diction in

alexandrines has
in iambics.

been substituted a new conventional diction

Of

this diction

Hermann Grimm speaks

its

thus:

*'2^af{o

gives US Goethe's language in

bics taught Schiller to

perfection.

These iam-

make

iambics, and furnished Schle-

gel with the language in

which he made Shakespeare a

is

German

poet."

But here, as often, Grimm's Statement

too strong.

It is to

be observed, in the

first place,

that as

good iambics
portions of

as Schiller ever wrote are to be found in

Garlo^, which

Xon

appeared
is

in

1787.

Furto

thermore, Schlegel himself,

who

said

by Grimm

have learned the

opinion
:

versifier's art

from Goethe, delivers

this

" Goethe's

unrhymed iambics,
with
all

particularly in the

S^^igcnie and

2^af)o,

their perfect elegance of

expression and their most agreeable melody, can not pass

Ix

INTRODUCTION.

for a

model of what

this species of verse should

be when

applied to dramatic composition.

They
periods

are not conver-

^
["/y

sational (bialogifdE))

enough

especially

do theynfaclc what
trail their

in painting is called heurte.

The

slow

length along in melodious billowy motion through too

many

lines." *

It is

not to be denied that from the point of view of

is

dramatic requirements there

criticism.

much
is

force in Schlegers
to

The rhythm
differing

of Xaffo

smooth and regulr

the point of monotony.

type, or

Pentameters of exactly the same

from one another only by the presence

er

absence

of

the eleventh syllable at the end, follow

each other in almost unrelieved succession.

too, consists uniformly of

Each

foot,

an unaccented followed by an

accented syllable

very rarely, indeed, does the position

of the stress vary, and feet of three syllables scarcely occur

at
all.

In short, the " irregularities," the boldness, the

versatiHty of Shakespeare's rhythm, are almost totally want-

ing in that of Goethe.

There are indeed

in the play sonie

twenty-five abnormal verses, nearly a score of

them

alex-

andrines, the remainder imperfect verses of three or four

feet
;

but one can not imagine such lines as Gloster's

" In the deep bosom of the ocean buried,"

or Macbeth's
"

What

will the line Stretch

out to the crack of

doom?"
is

as

occurring

in

Torquato

2^affo.

There

all

perfect

A.

W.

Schlegers Smmtli<^e Scrfe, VII., 66.

INTRODUCTION.
regularity,

Ixi

and

this

regularity, while

it

may

not be

dis-

pleasing to the reader, and

may even seem

charm

to constitute a
is,

good part of the

Characteristic

of the piece,

from

a dramatic point of view, a sourceof weakness rather than

of strength.

Corquato Caffo.
in SdjaufpicL

perfonen.
Sllp^one, ber B^Jcltc, ^ergog on
f^f^rora.

Sconore on (Sftc, c^mefler beS ^cqogS. Seonore (Sanitalc, rfin on canbiano. 2:orquato Xaffo. Slntonio SWontcco tino, tQ0t8|cfrctr.
3)er d^auplafe
ifl

auf S3cIriguQrbo, einem eufift^Ioffe.

(Erftcr 2luf3ug
rflrr S^wftritt.
(Slartenplo^, mit

^crinrn brr
9)c4)tcn

tpiWn T^cr

qtiitxi.

Soni on

b<r

6cene lur

Strato lur Cinfen Vrio.

I^rinirffin. Sconorf.

f^rinjrffiit.

2)u

fic^ft

mic^ lrf^clnb an, Glconore,

Unb
2a^
2)u

fichft birf) felbcr

an unb

lc^clft toicbcr.
tiff en

haft

bu ? Safe c5 eine grcunbin

fc^cinft 6cben!li(f), boc^

bu

[rf^cinft

Dcrgnt.

fieonorr.

3a, meine

5"i^ftin/ "tit Tsergniujen fe^' ic^

Un^
Unb
23ir

beibe [jkx fo lnblicfj auc-c\efcfmcft.

2ir fc^cincn rec^t beglcftc cbferinncn,

finb aurf) iuie bie lcflic^en befcbftigt.

ivinben 5lrn;;c.

tiefer, bunt on 53Iumen,

8c^n)illt

immer

mef)r

unb mebr

in

meiner anb;

lo

^u

^aft mit ^t^erm

frf^

Sinn unb

grijfeerm S'^cx^iw

2)en garten

laufen Sorbeer bir getDf;lt.

^rinjeffin.
2)ie 3^<^i9^^ ^^^ ^^) "^

eban!en

flocbt,

8ie

ijahcn

gleicf)

ein irbig .vjaupt gefunbcn,

5c^ fe^c

fic

Sirgilcn ban!bar auf.

(Sie
trclnit bie

kernte SSirgiU.)

Torquato

^iQJjo.

fieonote.

brcf' xd)
3Jleifter

meinen bollen froren ^ranj

Subtoig auf bie ^of>e 6tirne
(Sie Irnjt SHrioftcnS ^crrnc.)

2)em
(Sr,

bellen c^erge nie erblf>en, l^abe

leid^ Don

bem neuen gr^ling

feinen 3^eil.

iprinjeffin.
3Jlein SBruber
ift

gefllig,

ba

3n

biefen 2^agen fcf)on auf '^

er un 2anb gebrad^t

20

2ir fnnen unfer fein unb ftunbenlang

Un
3c^

in bie golbne 3it ber ^ic^ter trumen.

liebe 33elriguarbo,

benn

id^ l^abe

ier mand^en

Unb

biefeg

Xag ber Sugenb frol^ burc^lebt, neue rn unb biefe onne

ef^l mir jener ^tit
gurtf.

SBringt ba

Seonorr.

Sa

e umgibt

un

eine neue 2elt

^er <Bd)aiUn
Sirb fd;on

biefer

erfreulidfi.

immer grnen Sume Sc^on erquidft im

bie

toieber

2)a S^aufd^en biefer Srunnen.

Sc^tanfenb biegen
i^^^^^-

3m
Wxt

SJiorgcminbe

fid^)

jungen

ie SBlumen bon bcn

\i)xtn

33eeten fcfjauen

xmi
35

^inberaugen freunblic^ an.

2)er rtner bedft getroft ba 9l5inter^au3

<Bd)on ber Zitronen unb

2)er blaue

Drangen

ah,

immel

ruljet

ber ung,
ber (Schnee

Unb an bem

^orijonte
fic^

lf't

2)er fernen 33erge

in leifen 2)uft.

fJrinjcffin.
(So hjre

mir ber 3rl)ling

fcljr

tiHlommen,

Senn

er nic^t

meine greunbin mir entfhrte.

1.

3luf3ug.

1.

uftritt
r
e.

(grinnre mtc^ in biefcn gelben

tunben,

Srftin, nic^t h>ic balb

ic^ fcfjeibcn foll.

fJrinjeffin.

SBa bu

berlaf[cn magft, ba finbcft

bu
45

3n jener
G
3t^

groen Stabt cboppclt tuieber.

SeoBore.
ruft bic ^flic^t, e ruft bic

^khc mic^
biefe 3al?r

3u bem ema^I,
brinfl'

ber mi( fo lang' CHtbe^rt.

ihm feinen o^n, ber

greube.

6o
Unb

fdjnctt flcladfen, fcbnc fid^ au^gebilbet,

teile feine terlic^e
ift

rofe

glorenj unb ^errlid, boc^ ber 2ert

aufc^ebuften

SSon allen feinen

Sleidjt

Schden

an gerrara'^

(rbelfteine nicbt.

Xa^

2?ol! l^at jene

8tabt jur 8tabt gemad^t,

feine drften grofe.

Jerrara tcarb burd)

5i

fJrinjeffin.
3)^e^r burcl) bie guten 5}ienfcben, bic fi(^ ^ier

2)urc^

3"f^

trafen

unb ^um lcf berbanbcn.

geonorr.
e^r
in
leicht jerftreut

ber

S^if^'^ll

^^^^

ci^

fammclt.

ebler 5)jenfcl>

jiel^t

eble 3)ienfd;en

an
6o

Unb

h)ei fie feft ju l>alten, tuie i^r t^ut.

Um beincn
emter

33ruber unb

um

bid)

Derbinben

fic^, bie

euer hjrbig finb,

Unb

i^r feib eurer

fiel)

groen 35ter

hjert.

ier 5nbcte

frc^ ba^ fcl^ne Sid^t

3)cr 2iffenfc^)aft, bc freien

^cnfcn an,

65

Sit noc^ bie ^Barbarei mit fcljmerer

2)mm'rung

Torquato Xa\]o,
2)ie 2ert umFjer berBarg.

Tt\x

ang aU ^inb
.

er 9Zame ercule bon

c^on
iij)^oI^t

(Efte fc^on,

on @fte

bott tn'g

D^r.
70

gerrara Waxh mit 9tom unb mit glorenj

SSon meinem 3Sater Diel ge^riefen
!

Cft
ic^

^ah^

id^

mic^ J^ingefe^nt

nun

bin

ba.

ier tarb ^etrarc^ ktpirtet, Her gepflegt,

Unb

S(rioft

fanb feine 3Jtuftcr

(;ier.

Stauen nennt

feinen groen ^Harnen,

nicbt f(;inen

75

^en
Unb

biefe^

au^
gibft

0aft genannt.

c^

ift
:

tiorteilbaft

ben eniug

43eh)irten

bu

\i)m ein aftgefc^en!,

I$t er bir ein fd;nere jurc!.

2)ie Sttte, bie ein guter 9Jienfc^ hztxat,

80

3ft eingeieif^t

nac^ ^unbert ^afjren Hingt

feine %\)at

ein SDrt unb

bem

(Sn!el iieber.

fJrinaeffin.

^em
@ar

6n!el, lenn er Icb^jaft f^It tie bu

oft beneib'
id(> bidf^

utn^biefe lcf.

fieonorr.
3)a bu,
iie trenig

anbre,

ftill

unb

rein

8$

enie^cft.

2)rngt mid; boc^ ba^ otte er3

ic^

ogleic^ ju fagen U)a^

lebhaft ff)(e

SDu fMft

cvS

beffcr, fbift c^ tief

unb

fcf>icigft.

35id; blenbet nic^^t ber

3d)cin be^ 5(ugenblidi,

9

2)er 2i beftidjt bic^ nid)t, bie Sdnneic^elci

(2d)miegt

fic^

Dergcbcn^S fnftlid;

an bcin Cbr

geft bleibt bein

3inn unb
ftet^S ift

ridtig bcin (3cfd;mac!,

2)ein Urteil g'rab,

bcin 3Intcil groj

3lm rofecn, ba^ bu

tic bicb fclbft crfcnnft.

; ;

1.

5Iuf}Ufl.

1.

?luftritt.

fJrinjeffin.
3!)u fotttcft bicfer f)cfftcn

Schmeichelei
leiten.

95

SRic^t

ba^ ctpanb vertrauter grcunbfcf)aft

Seonorr.
2)ic 5^rcunbfc{>aft
ift

gerecht, fie

!ann

allein

^en Unb
2lucf)

ganjen

Umfang

beine^

5^sert"g

erfennen.

la^ mic6 ber Jelegen^eit,

ihren 2^eil
fie boci),

bem lud
loo
boc^,

an beiner 33ilbung geben

2)u ^aft

unb

bift'^

am Gnbe
efjrt

Unb
^ox

bid;

mit beiner Scfn^efter

bie Sclt

allen groen

5^auen eurer

^cxi.

tJrinjfjftn.
!D^icf)

!ann ba, Sconorc, tocnig rhren,

xd)

Senn
Unb
2)ie

bcbenfe nne

man
blieb

tenig

ift,

S
fc^ulbig.

\va^

man

ift

ba^

man anbem

^enntnig alter Sprachen unb be Seften,

25?a^

un

bie 5>ortrelt lic^, ban!' ic^ ber 5Jiutter

^od) Wax an Siffenfcbaft, an recbtem Sinn

3f)r feine beiber 2:c^ter

jemaU
iljr

g(eicf>

iio

Unb

foH

fid;

eine ja mit

bergleicfjen.
SHecfjt.

So

I;at

Sucretia getiji ba.

icb bir

Stucfi,

fann

Derficbern, Ijab' xd) nie

S3efi^ bcttac(>tet, \va^
'

%U
Wxx
^afi

3iang unb

aU

bie 9?atur, h?a

micf

mir ba lc!

toerlic^.

"5

3d} freue

hjenn !tuge 3}?nner fpredfien,

id; berftef;ten

fann

tie fie

t<2

meinen.

G^ 6^

fei ein Urteil ber einen

'^ann
bie D^ebe,

2)er alten 3eit

fei

unb

feiner ^f^aten Sert

bon einer 5lUffenfd)aft

lao

^ie, burd; Grfa(;rung

iuciter ausgebreitet,

^em

5)ienfc^en nu^t,

inbcm

fie il^n erljebt

Xorquoto Xafjo.
2Bol^m
fid^

ba efprc^ ber bleu

lenft,

gc^ folge gern, benn mir

3ci^ f)re

h)irb leicht gu folgen.

gern

bem
unb

treit ber klugen gu,

125

2Benn

um

bie Grfte, bie be 5iJienfc^en

Sruft

freunblid^

fo frdjterlid^ beh)egen,

Tlxt rajic bte ^cbnerli^^e fpielt

ern, tenn

bie frftlic^e 33egier be

9lu^mS,
130

S)eg ausgebreiteten 33efi^eS, (Stoff

2)em Genfer

toirb,

unb iuenn

bie feine ^lug^eit^

enttidtelt,

SSon einem ugen 5D^anne jart

tatt un ju hintergehen unS belehrt.

S
e
tt

T r.

Unb bann
d{vii)t

nad^ biefer emften UnterFjaltung

unfer DF)r unb unfer innrer

6inn

35

ar
3!)er

freunblid^ auf beS ^ic^terS 9?eimen au,

un

bie legten lieblirf)|ten

ef^Ie
fl^t.

TOt

^olben

^nen

in bie

eele

^ein

^ot^er eift

umfat

ein ireiteS 9leic^,

Sci^ f^alte

mic^

am

liebften

auf ber

^n\d

2) er ^oefie in Sorbeert^ainen auf.

Vrtnjeffin.

3n

biefem fd>nen Sanbe,

l)at

man

mir

SSerfic^ern trotten, id;f't bor

3)ie g^yrte

anbern ^Bumen

gem.

Unb
fuc^t

irenn ber 2Rufcn gleit^

ar
SIlS

toiele finb, fo

man

unter if^ncn

MS

ic^ feltner eine greunbin unb cf^ielin^

man bem

SDid)ter gern

begegnen mag^

2)er

uns 5U meibcn,
er ieUeic^t

ja ju fliehen fd>cint,

@th)aS 5u

fucf^en fd^eint,

baS

n^ir ni(f>t

fcmtcn
50

Unb

am Gnbe

fclbft nic^t femtt.

::

1.

ufU0.

1.

auftritt

Xa

U)r' e^

bcnn ganj

artig, tDcnn er utt

3ur guten Stimbe trfe, fcfineU entjcft Un^ fr ben 3rfa^ erfennte, ben er lang*
SBergeben in bcr loeitcn Selt gefacht.

Seonorr.
3cf|

mufi mir beinen Srferj gefallen laffen,

trifft micf> j^tuar,

^S$
tief.

Gr

boc^

trifft er

mic^ nid^t

5c^ c^rc jeben ^iann unb

fein 3Scrbienft,

Unb

\d}

bin gegen Xaffo nur gerecht,

iueilt

ein 5(uge

auf bicfcr Grbe faum

ein Dhr 2a

toerninnnt ben

Gindang
unb
fein

ber ^^^atUL;
gibt,

i6o

bie C3efd>id>te reic^^t,

ba^ cben

ein 33ufen nimmt e^

gleich

tiig auf

^a^
Unb
~Dft

h)eit 3<?rftreute

fammelt

GJemt,

fein

efbl belebt ba^ Unbelebte.^

abelt er \va^

un^ gemein

erfcbien,

165

Unb bad

fefd>^tc iuirb toor

ibm ju
jie^t

nichts.

3n

bicfem eignen

3flw'&<^rfreife

ianbelt

2)er tunberbarc SO'Jann,

unb

un^ an
>7o

W\t i^m ju iranbeln, teil an ibm ^u nehmen Gr fd)eint fid; un^ ju nal>n,unb bleibt un fem; Gr fc^eint un^ an^ufefin, unb eifter mgen
2(n unfrer teile feltfam i^m erfc^einen.

^rinjeffin.

^u
^er

^aft ben ^icfiter fein

in

unb

jart gcfd^ilbert,
fc^iebt.

ben $Weid)en

ffjer

trume
feft

SlUein mir fc^cint and) ibn ba^ Sirid^c

75

eialtfam anjujietjn unb

2)ie fd)ncn ieber, bie

5U f^alten.

an unfern Sumen

2ir

\)'\n

unb

iieber angeheftet finben.

10

2:orquato
^te, golbnen S^feln
Vin>

Sioffo.

gleid^, ein

neu efperien
fte

buftenb Bilben, erfennft bu

nic^t alle

i8o

gr

^olbe grd^te einer taEjren 2iebe ?

fi

e.

3ci^ freue midi) ber

fd^nen Sltter and),

ieift berfjerrlic^t er

Wxt mannigfalt'cem
in
einzig 33i(b in

aen feinen

Steinten.

S3alb

l^ebt er e in lidf^ter

lorie

185

3um

Sternenhimmel auf, beugt fid^ berel^renb 2ie ngel iiber 2ol!en bor bem Silbe
fcf^leid^t

SDann

er iljm burc^

ftille

gluren nad^,
19

Unb

jebe

Slume
fiel)

tinbet er

jum ^ranj.

Entfernt

bie SSereljrte, l^eiligt er

il^r

S)en ^fab, ben leif

SSerftedft

fc^ner

gu^

httxat

im

33ufc^e, gleich ber 9^ac^tigall,

gllt er au einem liebelranfen

9Kit feiner

Sufen klagen 2oljllaut ain unb Suft

ein

reijenb eib, bie fel'ge

SdBmermut

in jebeg D^r unb jebcg er mug nac^

loc!t

95

^rinacffin.

Unb

iuenn er feinen egenftanb benennt^

gibt er ilim

ben 9?amen Seonore.

1/

Seonorc.
ift

bein 9^ame

lt>ie

e meiner

ift.

Sc^ n^)m' e bel trenn'^ ein anbrer tare. Wxd) freut e bag er fein efljl fr bic^

soo

3n

biefem ^o))^clfinn Verbergen !ann.

Sdf) bin aufrieben baf^ er

meiner aud;

S3ei biefe

Oiamens l^olbem illang gebeuft.

bon
einer Siebe,

ier

ift

bie '^xac^i nid)t

*>S

^ie

fid^

be cgenftanb bemeiftern tiU,

1.

-?(Hf'^un.

1.

^?lnt

tritt.

11

StucMdUicj^cnb ihn bcfiljcn, cifcrfd^ticj

^cu

3lnblicf

jcbcm anbcrn tcbrcu md;tc.

SBenn

er in fcligcr 53ctracf)tung fic^

bcfduifti^t,

W\t bcincm crt

5ln

mag

er auc^

aio

meinem
allen

leichtern Sl^efen fid; erfreun.

Un %n^

liebt er nic^t,

berjeil^' bafe ic^

e fage!

2S

Spbren
9iamen

trgt er

Wa^

er liebt

Sluf einen

nieber, ben tir ft^ren,

Unb

fein G5ef()l teilt er

jii

3)en 33tann

lieben,

un^ mit luir fc^eineu unb tuir lieben nur

;

3)Ut il;m ba ^ijd;fte h)a n>ir lieben fnnen.

fJrinjfffl.
2)u
l^aft bid; febr in biefc SlUffenfc^aft

55erticft,

Glconore, fagft mir ^ingc,

berl;ren

ie mir bcinabc nur bad Cl;r

220

Unb

in bic

Seele !aum noc^ berge^n.

^tonott,

^u?
Sas
2)od;

Sdnilerin

be^S

^Uato! nidjt

bev3reifen,

bir ein 'JJeuling liorjufdiUHi^en tvagt?

G^5 m[ite fein baji id; gu fc^r mid; irrte;

irr' id;

aud; nid;t ganj,

id; lci^

hjol^l.

225
;!'
''

2)ie Siebe jeigt in biefer bolben (SdBule

8ic^

nid>t,

Une

fonft,

aU

ein i}erU)l;nte^
fid^

^inb

"^r

ift

bcr Jngling, ber mit ^sfvd;cn

dicit

^krnuibltc, ber im

ber Gtter

i^
'

Unb Stimme
5son einer

bat.

Qx

tobt nid>t freell^aft

l;in

230

!i3vuft ,^ur

anbein

unb

l^er

bcftet fic^

(5c^)nl;eit

9iid>t gleid)
Ti'\d)i

mit ffjeju Srrtum

unb cftalt feft, unb

bf.ct

fdnullcn ^Uuifd; mit Gtel unb 3>evbvu[i.

12

Torquato Sajfu.

^a

fommt mein 33ruber

fidj)

afe

un

nic^t erraten

235

SD^in

tieber

ba efprdj Qelenft

SBir trrben feinen dj^^^S S^ tragen l^aben, 2ie unfre ^leibung feinen pott erfuhr.

Xie vorigen, 3IIpI)on9.

3d5>

f"^^ ^ffo, ben

Unb treff' i^n ^ier fogar bei eurf> nic^t an, ^nnt i^r bon i^m mir feine BfJad^rid^t geben?
^rinjcffiit.

id^

nirgenb^ finbc,
240

Sd^

fal^

i^n geftem hjenig, l^eute nid^t.

'

ift

ein alter geiler,

ba^

er met^r

!Die einfamfeit

aU

bie G5efeII|d;aft fuc^t.

SSerjei^' \d) if>m, ienn er

ben bunten
lieber frei

Stoarm

245

3)er 5)Ienfd;cn

flicf;t,

unb

im Stien

Mit

feinem eift
id^

fid;

untcrf^alten

mag
fdj^liefeen.

(So !ann

bod;

nid^>t

loben, bafe er felbft

en
3rr'

rei toermeibet ben bie 3rcunbe

fieonore.
id^

mid^ nic^t, fo

tirft

bu balb,

'S^x^i,

250

^en Xabel
Unb
Q'm

in ein frol;e

2ob
;

bcrli^anbeln.
er ^iclt ein

Sd^ fa^' i^n ^eut' Don fern

eine !tafel, fcbrieb
fldjtig

Sud^

unb ging unb

fd>ricb,

Sort,

ba^o er

mir geftem fagtc.

1.

?Iiifuifl.

2.

?luftritt

13
255

Strien mir

fein

er!
bie

offcnbet anjufnben.

@r

forgt nur cine 3ge 5U tocrbeffem.

Um beincr ulb,

i^m

fo iel gcto^rt^

in iDrbig Dpfcr

cnblic^ barjubringen.

fotl

h?iII!ommcn

fein,

hjenn

er e* bringt,

Unb

loegcj^rccj^cn fein auf lange 3cit.

teil

260

So 0

fe^r ic^

an

feiner Slrbeit neunte,

fe^r in manrfjem
freut

Sinn ba^

grofee 2erf

'flid)

unb freuen muft, fo fef^r erme(;rt Sic^ auc^ iule^t bie Ungebulb in mir.
265

r fann nirf)t enben, !ann n\6)t fertig toerben^ Qx nbert ftet^, rurft langfam hjeiter toor,
Stellt titicbcr
ftill,

er ^interget^t bie

Hoffnung

UnhjiQig

fielet

man

ben

enu^

entfernt

3n

fpte ^ixt, ben

man

fo nal^' geglaubt.

fJrinifffi. 3(^ lobe bie 33ef(^ciben^eit, bie Sorge, 9Bomit er Schritt Dor Schritt jum 3^^^^ ^^t.
9?ur burd> bie unft ber "iDJujen fc^liefeen
[x)

270

So
Unb
Gr

toiele

$Reime

fcft

in

Gin^ jufammen
^tricb,

feine

Seele ^cgt nur biefcn

G" foH fid) fein ebid)t

h)ill nic^t "iD?rd>cn

^um anjen rnben:

unb jule^t
benn e^
bie S^xt

275

ber ^trc^en l^ufen,

2)ie reijenb unterhalten

2ic lofe 2orte nur berflingenb tufc^en.

Sag

if^n,

mein 33ruber

ift

S3on einem guten 3Ber!e nic^t ba

^ag
ergeffcn.

2S0

Unb

h)cnn bie 5^ad}n)clt mit genieen foH,

So

mufe be^ nftlerS ^itielt

fid

14

2:orquato Taff.

2a| un gufammen,
Senn
tc^

liebe Sd^lpcfter, iirfen!

2ie tvxx 5u beiber 3Sortetl oft getfjan.

gu eifrig bin, fo linbre bu
geliitb', fo \v\U \d) treiben.

285

Unb
2ir

bift

bu gu

U>^***

fef)en

bann auf einmal in

il)n

bieeic^t

2lm

Siel, io tir
foll

lang'geionfc^t 5U fe^n.
fott bie

2)ann

ba 33aterlanb, eg

2elt 290

rftaunen, toeld^ ein 2er! boHenbet torben.

3^^ nel^me meinen Xeil be 9tul;m baon,

Unb
in

er n^irb in

ba Seben eingefhrt.

ebler 5!Jlenfdj

!ann einenr engen greife

SSaterlanb

9^ic^t feine

SBilbung ban!en.

Unb

SSelt

mu

auf in trirfen.

iRu^m unb 2^abel

^i)n

295

3Jlu6 er ertragen lernen.

Sid^ unb anbre

^u fennen.

SBirb er gejtoungen

recl)t

Siegt nid^t bie infamfeit me^r fc^meic^elnb ein.

h)

i 1 1

ber ^^inb

e b a r

ber greunb nit^t

f c^onen

ann
g^lt

ht ber gngling ftreitenb feine Grfte,

300

h)a er

ift,

unb

f^lt fic^

balb ein 3)iann.

Sconore.

0
a^

irirft

bu, ^err, fr ibn nod; atlc tl}\m,

il;n

Sie bu bil)er fd^on biel fr

gct^an.

bilbet ein ^Talent fic^ in ber tille,

B\d) ein Gbaraftcr in bcm Strom ber 2BeIt,

305

bag

er fein

emt

tvie feine .^lunft

!

2(n beinen Sebrcn bilbe

bafe er nid;t

2)ie 3)^enfd;en lnger meibe,

ba^

fein 2(rgh)ol^n

6ic^ nic^t julc^t in gurcbt unb

i^afe

ertoanble

Tie

2}ienfd;en frdUct nur locr

iocr
fic

fic

nidjt fennt,

3o

Unb

mbd

irivb fic balb ocifcnnen.

1.

?lnf',un.

2.

?luftritt.

15

^a^S

ift

fein

Ja/

uni^ fo iiHvb uad>

unb nad^

Qin
(So

frei
ift

Jemt ertorren unb

cfefjcit.

er oft

2eit
i^-^egt

mebr

um meine unft aU e-S ibm jiemtc

beforcjt

gegen

toicie
\i(i)ix,

315

er ein ^iijjtraun, bie, \d) lci$ e^

9fid;t feine

gcinbe finb.

^Begegnet ja,
23ebicntcr
c^ebt,

^ai
3Iu*^

fic^ ein 53rief Dcrirrt, bafe ein

feinem ^ienft in einen

anbem

^aft ein ^sapier au^ feinen $^nben fommt^

Gileid; fiebt er 2(bfid;t [K[)i ^iserrterci

320

Unb lde,
2a^ xm^,

bie fein

Sc^idfal untergrbt.

tJrinjfffin.
geliebter 33rubcr,
fid; felbft

md)i Dergeffen,

^ojon
Unb

ber 3)tenfcb nid^t fc^eiben !ann.

325

toenn ein grcunb, ber mit un^ tanbeln fote,

id; einen

gu^

befdibigte, \mx lvben

25oc^ lieber langfam gel)n

unb unfrc anb

3(?m gern unb

toiClig leii;en.

53effer

\t>x%

SBenn

W'xx

ihn beilen (nntcn,. lieber glcic^

3(uf treuen '^Rat be ^Irjte^ eine

3>erfud>ten,

^ur

330

bann mit bem

GJel;eilten fro^

^en
^od}
2)ie

neuen

eg

be^ fvifc^en Seben^ gingen.

baf^ id> nie

l^off \d),

meine Sieben,

Scbulb be rauben
\va^i \d)

Slrjte^ auf mid; labe.

3d> tbue

!ann,

um

id;erf)eit

335

Unb 3traun
3c^ geb' i^m
Gntfdnebne

feinem 53ufen einjuprgen.

oft in

egenn^art

toon Dielen

3<^^^>'"

meiner unft.

ik'flagt

Gr

fid) bei

mir, fo laff id;'^ unterfucfuMi,

tt^at,

2Bie

ic^

e^

aU

er fein

3"ni"cr neulieb

34o

;;

IG

Torquato Xafjo.
rbrod^en glaubte.
Sfet fic^ nid^tg entbecfcn^

60

geig' \d) \\)m gelaffen,

wk

icf)' fef^e

Hub ba man aEe ben mu^,

Seil er'g berbient,

fo b' ic^,

an %a\\o

bie

ebulb
345

Unb

if)r,

irf)

toeig e, fte^t

mir

iitlig bei.

3<^ ^^^' ^"c^ """ fluf ^ Sanb gebrarf)t unb ge^c eut' abenb nad^ ber tabt jurcf. 3f;r Werbet
2(uf einen Slugenblic! Slntonio fef)en
;

Gr fommt Don dlom

3Siel

unb'l^olt mid} ah,

Gntfcf)If)e

Sir l^abcn
35
;

au^jurebcn, ab5utf)un.

inb nun

ju faffen, 33riefe biel ju fc^reiben

midj) jur

Da^ alle ntigt

6tabt

jurcf.

^rinjeffin.
rlaub[t bu un^, ba^ Wix bic^ ^inbegleiten ?

bleibt nur in 33eIriguarbo,

gel^t

jufammen
355

hinber nac^ Gonfanboli

eniefet

^er

fc^nen 2^age ganj nac^ freier 2uft.

fJrinjeffin.
!3)u

fannft nid^t bei un bleiben ? bie GJefcbftc

^ier
f

^f^ic^t

gut

aU

in ber <Stabt toerrirfiten ?

fieonorr.

^u
2)er

fFjrft

un^

glei(^

2lntomo

F>inn?eg,

un

yn

9iom

fo inel erjfjlen
91
1

foHtc?

360

Mn
;

0.

(Sg ge^t nic^t an, i^r 5linber

9Jiit

bod; i*

fommc

i^m

fo

balb

aU

mglid;

ift

jurd
il;r

^ann
Tlxx

foH er euc^ erjblen, unb

foHt

\\)n

belo^^nen Reifen, ber fo biel

3n meinem

^ienft auf' neue

fic^

bemht.

365

1.

9Iiif^ufl.

3.

"fluftritt.

17

Unb ^abcn tir un n?iebcr auec^cfproc^cn, 0 mag bcr Sc^tarm bann fommcn, ba^

cd luftig

5n

unfern G5rten toerbc, ba^

aucfc

mir,

2ie biHig, eine Sc^n^cit in

2i>cnn
id) fic fudu',

bcm

^l^lcn,

gern begegnen mag.

37o

r.

2ir toen freunbli(^ bur^l bie Jinger fc^cn.

dagegen

toifet

i^r bafc ic^ fc^onen !ann.

tP r

f f i II

(nac* ber

6cw

aeU^rt).

c^on lange
2luf einmal

fei;' ic^

2^affo

!ommen.

2ongfam
ge^t
tpeilt

S3eh)egt er feine 8d;ritte, fte^t bi^toeilen

ftitt,

toic unentfc^loffen^

375

2)ann

njieber fc^neUer
iiebcr.

auf und lod, unb

8c^on

Strt ihn, tpenn

er benft
il^n

unb

bic^tet^

3n

feinen 2:rumen nidit

unb lat

n^anbeln.

gf onorr.
5^ein, er ^at

un

gefet^n, er

fommt

!}ier^cr.

dritter ^^uflritt.
itit

Oorigcn.

Zaffo.
Pergament
geheftet).

Zaff
Unb
jaubre

(mit einn.u<!^c in

3c^ !omme langfam

bir ein 2erf gu bringen,

380

nocfj ed bir

ju berreid^en.
bleibt e untoollenbet,

3d; njei^ ju tuo^l, noc^

2enn

e aud; gleich geenbigt fc^einen mchte.

! ;

18

Torquato Xn ff 0.
SlHein, tar tc^ Beforgt e

unboHfommen
mid;.nun
ho) ni^t gern

ir l;m3ugeben, ^ie neue (Sorge

fo bejiingt
:

25

mdjV

ic^

u
Unb

ngftlid), md^t' id^ nic^t

iuie

unban!bar
:

fc^einen.

ber 5Renfd^ nur \aQ^n !ann

i*^ '^^" ^^)

2)aJ3

^reunbe feiner
\d)

f(f)onenb fid; erfreun

:

80

!ann

aud^ nur fagen

S^imm

e^ ^in

39

(Gr bergibt bcn Sanb.)

S)u Berrafd^eft mic^ mit beiner G5aBe

Unb

mad^ift

mir biefen fdnen ^Tag jum geft.

enblid^

0
Unb
Unb

'i)alV ic^'

benn in meinen nbcn

nenn' e^ in gctiffem inne mein

infd;t' ic^ fc^on,

Sang

bu mdbteft
ift

bid; entfc^liefeen

395

enblidfi

fagen

ier! e

genug.

Xttffo.

SBenn

if)r

jufrieben feib, fo ift^3 ottfommcn

^enn

eud) gebort e^ ^u in jebem

Sinn.
Dcrtcnbct,

SBetraditet' id;
(Bai) \d) bie

bcn Jlei^, bcn

id^

3"9^ meiner geber

fagen
:

an,
ift

400

<Bo fount'
3)oc^ fc^'

id; ic^

2)iefc^S

2cr!

mein.

n^er an, tua^ bicfcr ^id>tung

gibt,

cn

inncrn 2l'crt unb ibre 5R>rbc

id; io^l,
ic^)

rfenn'

ijah'

c^ nur i^on cndj,

SBenn
(So
3JJit

bie 3^atur bcr ^ic(^tung ^olbe

abc

405

3lu xc\d)cx 2Bitt!r frcunblid; mir gcfc^cntt,

l;atte

mid; ba^ eigcnfinn'gc lcf

i^on fid> geflogen
;

grimmiger ciimlt
^og bie

Unb

fcl>i3ue 5l'elt

bcn 33Iid

bc^J

.Unabcn
4>o

!Diit i^rer

ganjcn 5"Ke

bcrrlicb an,

trbte balb ben iugenblid;cn

6inn

;;

1.

3lufjufl.

3.

?liiftritt.

19

3)er

teucm Gltcm unDcrbicntc

fic^

9iot.

Erffnete bic Sippe

ju fingen,
x[)x

flo6 ein traurig Sieb toon

\d) begleitete

^erab,

Unb
2)u

mit leifen 2ijnen

3)iutter

4iS

3!)e ;JI>ater

Sc^merjen unb ber

Qual.

U)ar[t allein, ber

au bem engen eben

3u

einer fc^nen Jrei^eit micf er^ob

2)er jebe

Sorge mir bom Raupte nal;m,

gab, bafe meine Seele
fi(^

3Jiir Jreiljeit

420

3u mutigem
Unb
Jueld^en

ej'ang entfalten tonnte

^rei^ nun auc^ mein 2Ber!

i^n,

erl^lt,

dn) banf \^

bcnn euc^ gehrt c

ju.

3um
Unb

jtocitenmal erbicnft bu jebe^ 2ob,

el;rft

befc^eiben bic^

unb un^

5ugleid^.

425

a:offo.

!5nnf

ic^

fagcn

toie ic^ lebljaft fl^le

):}abQ,

2)afi ic^ toon eud;

nur

2)er t^ateulofe Jngling

35ic ^irf)tung

nal;m
?
er bie

\va^

\d)

bringe

er

\vo^
430

au

fic^ felbft

2)e rafcfien ^riege^

^ie

!luge Leitung

\:}at

erfonnen?

3)ie 5lunft ber 5affen, bie ein jcber

elb

Sin bem bcfd^iebnen ^age Irftig ^eigt, ^e gelb^crrn 5llugbeit unb ber $Hitter ^ut, Unb h)ie fic^ 2ift unb 2ad;fam!cit betmpft,

aft bu mir

nid)t,

fluger, tapfrer grft,

43S

^a^
ein

alle eingeflt,

aU

ireft

bu

3Kein eniu^, ber eine greube fnbe

^dI;c, unerreid;<bar

bobc 2efen

^urd; einen Sterblichen ju offenbaren?

!!

; ;

20

Torquato Xa\\o,
^rinjcffin.
eniege nun beg Serfg b a un erfreut
tKlti^ond.
erfreue bid^ be SeifaEg jebe^ uten
1

440

eottorc.
SDeg attgemeinen SRu^m erfreue bid^

-^

2offo.
Jlir ift

an biefem Slugenblirf genug.

ic^,

Sin euc^ nur bac^t'

h?enn

ic^

fann unb

fd^rieb

dnd) 5u gefatten Wax mein

l^c^fter

Sunfc^,

445

uc^ ju ergoen h)ar mein

j

le^ter ^tt.
fielet,

2Ber

nid()t bie

Selt in feinen greunben

'SBerbient nid^t bafe bie 2Belt

on i^m
ift

erfahre.

ier

ift

mein SSaterlanb,
fid^

\)kx

ber ^reig,

3n bem
ier

meine Seele gern

id)

berireilt.

450

ier.^orc^'
f^ridjjt

auf,

f)ier ac^t' \6)

jcben 3in!.

Grfafjrung, SBiffenfc^aft, efdjmarf

fef>' ic^

3a, 2Belt unb ^a^Wt

3^ur
euc^ t^nlic^

bor mir

ftet^n.

S)ie 3Jlenge mad)i ben ^nftler irr'

lr>er
ift,

unb

fd;eu

berfte^t

unb

fl^lt,

455

9^ur ber aein foU richten unb belof^nen

Unb

ftellen h)ir

benn Selt unb

3'?adf>lelt

or,

jicmt eg n\)t nur

m^ig ju empfangen.
460

^ag fcf)ne 3ei4>e"/ ^^^ ^<^" 2)id;tcr el;rt, ^ag felbft ber elb, ber feiner ftct bcbarf, S^m o^ne 3^eib um'g aupt gchjunbcn fic^t,
Grblid'
ic^ l^ier

auf beinc 2l(?n^errn Stirne.

kernte SirgilS beutenb.)

(3Iuf bie

^ai

ii ber

^u^a,

\)at*i ein

eniud

; ;!:

1.

Slufjug.

3.

5luftritt.

21

0cflocf)tcn

imb gebrad^t ?
2'otcn ?

(Sg

^cicjt fic^ f^icr

Un^
SBa ^oc^

n\d)t umfonft.
cl^rct i^r bie

9>irgilcn ^r' ic^ fagcn

465

^attin bic
fie

i^ren

2o^n unb grcube ba

IcBten

Unb

tcnn i^r un^ bdunbert unb toere^rt,

it;r

So

gebt aud; bcn Scbcnbigen

2:eil.

3}icin

^armorbilb

ift

fc^on befrnjt genug

47

^cr grne S^^^Q

gcl;rt

bem 2iha\
;

an.

(?llp^on rotnft fetner 4efter

fte

eufte Sicail unb nhert

fi<^

^affo.

nimmt ben ranj oon ber Cr tritt jurtf.)

Seonorr.

toeigerft bic^

(Sic(> toelt^e

anb bcn ranj^

^en

fc^ncn unertoelflicben, bir bietet

Xoffo.

lafet

mic^ jgern

e^'

id^

boc^ nic^t ein,

foll.

SBie

ic^

na(^ biefer Stunbe leben

475

3n bem
2)er bic^
f) r

enufe be^

(^errlirf^cn

Sefi^e^,

im
i

erften Slugenblic! erfc^recft.

f f f
t

n (tnbem

ftc

bcn Rranj in bie ^5^e

^lt).

^u

gonncft mir bie feltnc greube, Xaffo,

h)ie ic^ ben!e.

^ir o^ne 2ort 5U fagen

2ffo.
X'k
fd)ne Saft
id;

au beinen tcuem nben

480

Empfang'

Inieenb auf mein fcf)h)ac^e au^)t.

(Cr Iniet nieber, bic ^rinjefftn fe^t i^m ben Aranj auf.)

fieonorc

(applaubicrenb).

Qi

lebe ber

jum erftcnmal

33efrn5te

2ie jieret ben befd;cibncn 5Jiann ber ^ranj

(Xafjo pe^t auf.)

! ;

22

Torquato Xoffo.

ift

ein 3SorbiIb

nur on jener ^rone,

bid) gieren foK.

S)ie auf

bem ^apitol

485

^tinjcffin.
3!)ort

toerben lautre
leifer

Stimmen

bid^

Segrgen
Ijjier.

Wit

Si^^e lo^nt bie greunbfd^aft

2affo.

nel)mt

if)n

h?eg ijon
!

9^e^mt

if)n

^inmeg mir

meinem au^te toieber, @r fengt mir meine Socfen,

6onne, ber 5U
mir
I;ei6

llnb tie ein 6tra^I ber

490

a au^t

trfe, brennt er

bie

^raft

2)e enfeng an^ ber tirne.

gieberf^i^e
!

Seiegt mein Slut.

SSerjei^t

(^^

ift

ju biel

Seonore.

fcb^et biefer e 9JJanng, her

S'">^'^Q t)ielmef)r ba^3

aupt
495

in ben l^eien 9iegionen

2)e^ 9lu^m 5u tranbeln ^at, unb f^It bie 6timc.

Xoffo.

^
J

Sdf) bin nid^t it>ert bie

^^lung ju empfinben,
n?c()en folT.

2)ie

nur

um elbenftirnen

(D
/\

^ebt i^n auf, i^r tter,

unb

berflrt

Sf>n 5h)ifc^en SBoIfen, bajj er

l)od)

unb

I;ber

500

Unb

unerreid^bar fc^tcbe

bafe

mein Seben
fei

^a) biefem Q^d

ein eJuig

2anbeIn

Ser

frf; eriuirbt, lernt

frb ben

Ifjobcn

Sert

3)er l;lben GJter bicfc^ ebcn fc^^en

Ser

frl) geniest,

entbehrt in feinem 2eben

50s

1.

uf.^ug.

3.

^liijii

iiu

23

W\t Unb

2iIIcn nic^t n?a er einmal bcfafe

mx

bcfi^t, bcr

inu^ gcrftct

fein.

Xoffo.

Unb

h?er fic^ ruften toill,

mu6
je^t

eine raft

3m
2I(^

33ufcn fllen, bie il;m nie Derfagt.

!

fie

crfacjt

mir ibcn

Jm

lcf

5o

SBerlfet fic mic^^ bic anflebornc itraft,

2)ie ftanbf^aft mic^

bem
at

Unglcf,
bie

ftolj

bem Uurcd;t

Secgncn
^

IcI^rtc.

Jrcubc mir,

at bad Gntjcfcn

bicfc^ Slucjenblid^
5

Xai

'^Uxt in meinen GJlicbem aufvjclf't?

Anice.
^o(S) einmal

Qi \\nUn meine
8icbft bu,

S'rftin, mic^ fleOeugt

;

Uor bir

Grl;rc meine 23itte

nimm

i^n

luecj

^a^,

U)ie

au einem fc^nen raum erwacht,

3c^ ein erquicfte neue^ eben fMe.

Drinjeffin.
2Benn bu befdjeiben ruhig ba^
25a^ bir
bic

3:alent,

ttcr gaben, tragen fannft,

6o

lern' auc^ bicfe 3^^c^9^ tragen, bie

W'xx bir

2)a^ 8d;nftc finb iwa

geben fnnen.
berl;rt,

Scm einmal

irbig
fie

fic

bad ipau^t

5^5

^em
6o
Sic

fd;lcben

auf etig

um

bie 3tirne.

jQffO.
lafjt

mid; bcnn bcfd)mt Don l;innen gcl;n

tiefen .nain erbergcn,

Sa^t mid} mein Jld im

ic^ fonft
iuitt ic^

meine cbmcrjen bort tocrbarg.

cinfam luanbeln, bort erinnert
an'v$

^ort

53

cin Sluge mic^

unbcrbiente liid.

Unb

jcigt

mir ungcfl^r ein flarer 33runnen

3n

feinem reinen 8picgel einen

^knn,

; !

24

Torquato Saffo.
3)er irunberbar befranst

im

2ieberfci5>em
gtotfc^en geifert

e immel^

^trifd^en
:

Sumen,

535

S'^ac^benfenb xu^t

fo fc^eint e mir, ic^ fe^e

lijfium auf biefer ^auberflc^e

ebilbet.
(Stitt

beben!' ic^ mi4)

unb

frage,

2Ser

mag

ber Slbgefd^iebne fein?

er gngling
540

2(ug ber Vergangnen Seit ?

(5o fcf)n befrnjt?

2er fagt mir feinen ^f^amen? ein SSerbienft?

^d) iarte lang' unb benfe

^me

boc^

in anbrer unb nod^

einer, fic^ gu ifjm

3n

freunblid)em ef^rc^e ^u gefetten

D D

f^' ic^ bie eroen, bie

^oeten

543

er
Sie

alten ^^it

um

biefen

QueH

berfammelt,

f^' ic^ ^ier fie

fie

immer
feft

unjertrennlic^,

im 2^U\x

berbunben n?aren!

0 binbet ber 5Ragnet burd^ feine 5lraft a (Sifen mit bem Gifen feft jufammen,
2ie gleic^c (Streben elb unb irf)ter binbet.

5So

omer berga^

fid^ felbft, fein

ganje^ 2chcn

2Bar ber 33etrac^tung

jieicr

3)Unncr

Ijeilig^

Unb

Sllejanber in l^fium

ilt ben Sld^itl

unb ben omer ju

fie,

fud^en.

555

D
I
'

bag

ic^

gegenwrtig trc,

ie grten eelen, nun

bercint gu fe^^cn

Seonote.
rn)ad()'
!

Grlr>a(f;c

Sag un^ md;t empfinben,

ijerfennft.

ag

bu ba cgemprt'ge gan^

2QffO.

ift

bie

egennjart bie
id;

micf)
id;

er^^t

S^o

Slbnjefenb fc^ein'

nur,

bin entjdt!

1.

ufjug.

4.

'auftritt

25

f^rinjeff in.

3(^ fveue mtcf>, Wenn bu mit eiftem rcbcjl, 2)a^ bu fo menfc^Iicf) fpridift, unb ^r* ci gem.
(Sin ^age
tritt )u

bem

drften unb ri4)tet Uiic etraaft aul.)

II

Ip

1)0

9*

ift

gefommcn
!

Slntonio

rc(^t jur
if;n

S3ring

^cr

2)a !ommt

guten tunbc.
er fc^on
!

^s

9>ic

Vorigen. VntONio.

2iIIfommcn

ber bu

un

^ugleic^ bic^ felbft

Unb

gute S3otfcI;aft bringft.

f^rtnsfffiB.

8 ei un gegrt!
Antonio.
5laum
toag' ic^ e ^u fagcn,
tclcf>

3>crgngcn

3n

eurer cgcntart mid} neu belebt.

ic^

S8or euren Slugen finb'

ae

luieber,

S7o

Sag
STiit

ic^ fo

lang' entbel^rt.
\d}

^l^r fc^eint aufrieben

ic^ toottbrac^t

bem

ioa

getban, ta

Unb

fo bin id) belol^nt fr jebe

orge,

gr mand)en balb mit Ungebulb burd^Jarrten, Salb abfid^ttooll Derlornen Stag. 2ir l^ahin
3l\xn \va^ \\x tnfdjen,

575

unb

!ein Streit

ift

mc^r.

Seonorr.
2lurf) xd)

begrbe

bid), tt?enn id) fdjon

id;

^u

!ommft nur eben, ba

reifen

jmc. muj.

;:

26

2!orquatoXaffo.

Antonio.
amit mein @Ic!
D^immj't
nidBt

ganj bollfommen

tt)erbe,

bu mir

glcic^

ben fc^nen

2^eil ^integ.

5S0

2offo.
Slud^ meinen

ru^

3d^

F)offe

mid) ber 9^^c

/

2)e bielerfal^rnen 5Ranne aud; ju freun.

Antonio.

tirft micf) ia^rl?aft finben,

ienn bu

je

2lu3 beiner Selt in meine f(f)auen magft.

3enn bu mir

gleich in

Briefen fc^on gemelbet,

c^3

585

2a bu gct^an unb

ivie

bir

ergangen

So

^ab'

irf)

bod^ nocf) mancf)C auszufragen,

^urc^

teldie 2J^ittel

ba^ efdjft gelang.

STuf jenem tunberbaren 33obcn

\mU

ber (Schritt
59

200^1 abgemeffen
2ln beinen eignen

fein,

ienn er jule^t
bic^

^Wtd

fhren

fott.

Ser feinet erren

33ortei( rein beben!t,

frfjteren

er

l;at

in

diom gar einen

Staub
595

2)enn diom triH alle^ nei^men, geben nichts

Unb fommt man \)\n um ctwa^ ^u erhalten, Gr^lt man nid;ty, man bringe benn toa ^in, Unb gldlicf>, toenn man ba nod^ \vai erhlt.
Antonio.

ift

nicbt

mein Setragen, meine

Kur.ft,

2)urc^ bic

ic^

beinen Sillen, crr, tooHbrad^t.

"iNatifan

2)enn hjeldjer ^luge fnb' im

g^ic^t feinen ^Reifter ?

600

isieleS traf

jufammcn,

3)a^

\d)

ju unfcrm 3]orteiI nu^en !onnte.

2)ic^ el^rt

rcgor unb grt unb fegnet

bic^.

1.

?luf'^ii0.

4.

?lnftritt.

27

25 er rci, bcr torbigftc,

bem

eine

ronc

^al aupt

bclaftct, bcnft bcr 3^'it "* Jv^^^w^^^"/

^S

^a
^er

er in feinen ^ilrm bid) fc^lofe.

2)er ^}}iann

2)inncr unterfc^eibet, fennt unb rl^mt

!

2)i(^ (?oc^

Um beinettoiflcn

tl;at er biel.

3c^ freue

feiner uten ^iciiuing mic^,

ofem

fie reblicf> ift.

Ted)

tpcifet

bu woljl,

6io

SBom isatifan

l^crab fiebt

man

bie ^ieid?e

<^d)on !Iein cnug ju feinen

cfrfmeige benn bie grften

g^en liegen, unb bie 5)?enf(^cn.

eftebc nur \vai bir

am

meiften half.

Vntoitto.

ut hjenn bu trift ber ^o^e inn be ^apft. r fiebt ba^ illeine !Iein, ba^ rofee grog. Tamit er einer SBelt gebiete, gibt Qx feinen 5iad)barn gern unb freunblic^ nac^.
!

615

Ta^
Seig

Gtreifc^KU 2anb, ba^ er bir berldt,

er, tuie

beine greunbfc^aft, iol^l ^u fc^^en.

020

Stalien foH ru^ig fein, er hjiU

3n

feiner 9il;e

grcunbe

fel;en,

5?ei feinen

renken

l;alten,

ba^

gn^be bie Tla^t

625

^er

($(>riftenbeit, bie er geh?altig lenft,

^ie drfen ba,

bie i^e^er bort crtUge.

Vrinjeffln.
SPSeife

man

bte 93?nner, bie er mel>r al^

fiel)

anbre

Segnftigt, bie

ibm

Vertraulich

na^n ?

Antonio.
^VLX bcr erfal^rne 3J^ann befi^t fein Dl;r,
S)er t^tige

fem utraun,

feine

unft.

28

Torquato Xaffo.
@r, ber Don Sugenb auf bem 6taat gebient,
S3e^errfd;t x\)n je^t

630

unb

W'xxlt

auf jene fe/

2)ie er t>or S^^i^^ alg

cfanbter fd^on

efef^en unb gefannt unb oft gelenft.

liegt bie 2Belt fo tlax

bor feinem

33Iicf,

2ll irie ber SSorteil feinet eignen

Staate.

635
il^n

SBenn man

il;n

^anbeln

fief^t,

fo lobt

man

Unb

freut fic^, h)enn bie ^^\t entbecft tca^ er

3m
g

StiEen lang
ift

bereitet

unb

bollbrad^t.

fein fc^n'rer Slnblic! in ber SSelt,

2(I einen drften fefjn, ber !Iug regieret

640

2)ag

5leic^ 5u fe^n, to jeber ftolj ge^ord^t,

2Bo

jeber fid^

nur

felbft

5U bienen glaubt,
tirb.

Seil il)m ba

'3it<i)t^

nur befohlen

tonovt,
2ie
feljnlid^ trnfd^t' ic^

jene Selt einmal

^^6)t

na\) ju fel^n

^o(^

h)ol)l

um

mitjunjirfen ?

645

^enn blog befd)aun toirb @ iore tod) rerf)t artig,

Senn
in

eonore nie.

meine greunbin,
h)ir

ba^ gro^e (B)kl

auc^ juhjeilcn

ie garten ipnbe mi[d;en fnnten

^\d)t?
650

Seonore
2)u
h)illft

(ju aip^ons).

mic^ reijcn, e^ gelingt bir nic^t.

3d^ bin bir

bicl

bon anbern !tagcn

fi

fd;ulbig.

r r.

'?fl\in

gut, fo bleib' \d} Ijcut in bcincr

Sdiulb!

SSer^eil;'

unb

ftre

meine gragen
(3u antonio.)

nic^t.

at

er fr bie S^epoten biel

get^an?

1.

ufjug.

4.

uftritt

29

ttntsnio.
^\d)t ircnigcr noc^

me^r

aU

billig ifl.

^55

(Ein 2)id;tii3er, bcr fr bic

8cincn

nic^t

3u

forgen tocig, tirb on

bcm

3>ol!c fclbft

etabclt.

Sti unb mfeig

511

h?ci6 GJrcgor

^en
3Jiit

Scinigeu

nu^cn,

bic

bem 3taat
unb
erfllt

2(1^ tarfre 3}inncr bicncn,

660

iner orge

^ttjci

berhjanbte ^flic^ten.

Zoffo.
erfreut bie 2iffcnf(^aft, erfreut bic unft

Sic^ feine Sd>u^e^ axidj? unb

eifert er

^en
er
Gr

groen grftcn alter 3citen nad; ?

Antonio.
e^rt bie iffenf(f>aft fofern fie nu^t,
Iel;rt

665

3^cn taat regieren, SBlfer !ennen

fc^^t bie iiunft, fofern

fie jiert, fein

SRom

Sert^ealidit,

unb ^alaft unb Xem^el

3u
3n

2unberh)erfen biefer rbe mac^t.

feiner 9i{;e barf nidjt

aa gelten foH, mufe

toirlen

m^ig fein unb muft

670
bicnen.

Il|>lion0.

Unb
9^oc^

glaubft bu, bafe toir ba efc^fte balb

fie

SSoHenben fnncn? ba
l;ie

nic^t ^ulc^t

unb ba

un<g

^inbemiffe ftreuen ?

Antonio.
3d) mfite fe^r mic^ irren, tocnn nic^t
gleich

675

2)urd) bcincn ^iamcn^^ug, burc^ hjenig S3riefe

2luf

immer

biefer

^\m\i gehoben Jre.

A
(2o lob'
id; bicfe

Mn

Xagc meine

i^cbcn

211 eine ^eit be Gilde

unb eiwinn.

30
rieitert
fel^' \<S)

Torquato

2:af[o.

meine renje,
fieser.

h)eig

680

Sie fr

bie

^funft

Df^ne (S^irertfd^Iag

aft bu'^

cjeleiftet,

eine 33rger!rone

ir

n)ol;I t)crbient.

foden

unfre grauen

Som

erften (Sid)enlaub
fie

am

fcf)nften 5Dtorgen

efIod)ten bir

um

bie

6tirne legen.

685

Snbeffen ^at mic^ ^affo aud^ bereid^crt

l^at

S^nifalem fr un

erobert,

Unb
Gin
33iit

fo bie

neue t;riftenbcit befd^mt,

690

ieit entferntet, 'i)od) gcftccfte^ 3^^^^

frohem

3}tut

unb ftrengem
bu
il^n

g-lei^ erreid;t.

gr

feine 3Ji^e fie^ft

gefrnt.

Antonio.

^u

lfeft

mir

ein S^tfel.

^Wd

Sefrnjte
\d)

rblidt'

id)

mit 3Sern)unbrung ba

iam.

2enn bu mein lcf bor beinen Slugen

(2o lnfd^t'
3Jiit

fie^ft,

id),

bag bu mein bcfd;mt emt

33Iic!e

695

thm

biefem

fc^auen fnnteft.

Antonio,
Tlxx toar e3 lang' bc!annt, ba im S3cIof;nen
2lI^f)on3

unmig

ift,

unb bu

erfl;rft,

2a

jeber

bon bcn Seinen fc^on

gJrinjcffin.

crfu^ir.

SBenn bu

erft fief^ft

\va^ er gclciftet hat,

700

h)irft

bu un
l;ier

geredet

unb mjjig

finben.

2ir finb nur

bie erften fticn 3<^"9f"

2)c 53eifaII, bcn bie 2i'clt il;m md;t Ucvfagt,

Unb bcn

il^m jebnfac^ fnft'ge ^aljx^

gnnen.

1.

3lufju.

4.

auftritt.

31

fl

0. ^hjife.

Gr

ift

burc^ cuc^ fc6on feinet

^ul^m^

7oS

2Ber brftc jlcifeln,

'^oc^
fai3C

wo

\\}x

greifen fnnt?

mir, hjcr brurftc bicfcn

ranj

Stuf Slrioftcu

etimc?
Seonorr.
Tiefe .v>anb.

Antonio.
Unb
31U
fic
\\:}r\

hat tofilgcttjan

Gr

giert

ibn

fcfti^n,

ber Sorbecr felbft nic^t jicrcn ttjrbc.

710

2ie bie 5^atur bic innig reiche S3ruft

5Rit einem grnen bunten bleibe becft,

So

t^Qt er atle^S,

Wa^ ben

5}Jenf(^en

nur

G^rtrbig, lieben^trbig machen !ann,

5n'^ blknbc Gictranb ber gabel

3ufriebenl;eit, Grfal^rung

ein.

7S

Unb

eifteefraft,

unb ^erftanb efc^macf unb reiner inn

geiftig fcheinen fic

gr' tim^re G3ute,

^n

feinen Siebern

unb

Verfnlic^ bo(

Sie

unter 33Itenbumen au^Jjurubn,

720

'^ebccft

Dom 3c^nee

ber leichtgetragnen 93Iten,

Um{vn,^t lum Diofen, lininberlic^ umgaufelt

i>om

lofen ^'^auberfpicl ber Slmorctten.

c->.yjwcx

^er Cue be^5 Ueberfluffe raufd;t barneben Unb lfU un^ bunte 2unberfifcbc fe^n.
'^on feltencm eflgcl
ift

725

bie uft,

^on
^ie

fremben gerben 2Bief' unb 55ufc^ erfHt

6c{;al((^eit laufest
\)or\

im rnen ^alb
einer golbnen

uerftecft,

2)ie ci^l)cit l^t

S^oc
73

3>on 3cit ju 3eit erhabne 3piclie timen,

Snbe'g auf njol^lgeftinunter
!iiaute tilb

32

Torquato
^er SBaljnfmn l)\n unb l;er Unb bocf> im fcf)nften %alt
3er neben biefen

Xa\\o.

ju trfjicn ^<S)nt,
fic^

m^ig

blt.

Mann
mid^

ficf)

tragen barf,
735

SBerbient fr feine lBn^eit fc^on ben ^ranj.

SSergebt, trenn ic^
feift begeiftert f^le,

2Bie ein SSerjdfter ireber

dlod) trag ic^
f

^dt

noc^ Ort,

age

trol^l

bebenfen fann

enn

alle biefe ^icf)ter, biefe

feftlid^e

drnge,
740

2)a feltne

etranb ber 6rf)nen

felbft in

SSerfe^t mic^

au^ mir

frembe^ 2anb.

g^rinjcffin.

2er

(Sin SSerbienft fo h?of)I ^u fd[)Q^en irei^,

2)er tirb ba anbre nic^t toer!ennen.

2)u

oUft un

bereinft in ^affo'^ Siebern geigen,

Sa

tir gefllt

unb ira^ nur bu

erfennft.

745

omm
2)ann

mit, Slntonio
ic^ fef^r

manrfje l^ab'

id^

nod^,

SBorauf

begierig bin, gu fragen.

foUft

bu

bi

gum Untergang

ber

Sonne

3)en grauen angel^ren.

(Dem

^omm

2cbt tobl

drften folgt ntonio, ben ^Camen loflo.)

JrDcitcr

3luf5uc5,

mvtktv Unftritt.
@aal.
PrinieiHn. Xaffo.
XttffO.
Unfic^cr folgen meine <Bd)uiU bir,

75P

Jrftin,

unb G5cban!cn o^ne 3)Ja6

Unb Drbnung regen fic^ in meiner Seele. W\x fcf^cint bie Ginfamteit ju iinnfen, mic^
efllig anjulifpcln
:

!omm,
33Iic!

id) lfe

^ie neu erregten 3^cifel beiner

33ruft.

755

Xod) ierf

ic^

einen

auf

bic^,

bernimmt

2)^ein {)orrf>enb JC^r ein 2.\>ort

ton beiner Sippe,

60
Unb

ivirb ein
alle

neuer 2ac^

um
ec^

mic^ ^erum,

33aube fallen \)on mir lo^.

Ijat

^d) tiH bir gern geftelm,

ber ^iann,

760

2)er unertuartet ju un^i trat, nid;t fanft

2lu^ einem fd>nen 2:raum mid; aufgeh?edt

Sein 23efen,

feine 2orte

^aben mid>
ic^

80
21U

hjunberbar getroffen, ba^

je

mel;r

mic^ boppclt fhle, mit mir felbft

765

2luf' neu' in ftrcitcnber 5>ernjirrung bin.

fJrlnjflfin.

Gg ift unmglid^ ba^ ein alter grcunb, ^cr lang' entfernt ein frembe geben fl^rte.

; :

jt

rq

2: a

f f

o.

gm

SlugenHid^ ba er un

tt)icberfief;t,

irf) toiebcr gleid^ irie ef)mal finben foll.

(Sr ift in

77

feinem 3nnern nid^U bernbert

tenig

Safe

un mit i^m nur

fic^ bie

Xage
l^in

leben,
iieber,

(So ftimmen

Saiten

unb

S3i glcflid^ eine fcf)ne

Harmonie
Sirb er bann

Stuf g neue

fie

berbinbet.

775

2Cu^

nf)er fennen, tva>

;

bu

biefe 3^^^

eleiftet ^aft

fo ftellt er

bidfi

getrig

^cm

^ici^ter

an

bie eite,

ben er je^t

2llg einen 9iiefen bir entgegenfteHt.

Xttffo.
Sld^

meine grftin, 2(rioften o6

l^at

780

2(u feinem SJiunbe

mic^ me^r ergot,

^roftlid^
triffen,

2ll bafe e mid) beleibigt ^tte.

3ft eg fr un, ben

^ann
ftillcn

gerbmt ju

^er

al ein grof^e^ Rufter bor un ftcbt.

Wxv

fnncn un im

^crjcn fagen

785

Grreid^ft

bu einen

^Tcil

bon feinem 2crt,

mir

33Icibt bir ein ^'eil and) feinet 9hil)nb5 geJin^.

9^ein, tvag

ba ^erj im

ticfften

[ulDcgte,

Sal mir nod;

jc^t bie ganje

Seele fUt,
790

G
^ie

iaren bie cftalten jaifiniSJelt,

ficf>

lebenbig, raftIo, ungeheuer.

cinjig fingen 9}?ann
if^rcn

Um
^en
ie

Ginen groen,
brel;t

emeffcn
i(;r

unb

2auf

l^oenbet,

bcr ^albgott bor^ufcbreiben iagt.

23egierig l^ordH' id; auf,

fic^H'rn i'ortc

iHTuabm mit 2uft

795

bc^ erfahrnen -IJiannc^

ic^ f^ordhtc,

Tod)

ad)

je

me^r
mir

mehr unb mct^r

5>erfan!

id) l>or

fclbft, id) frd;tctc,

2.

ufjug.

1.

'auftritt.

35

S5>ic

Gd)o an bcn gclfen ju tocrfd^trinbcn,

ein 9Jid>t^S mid> ju verlieren.

Gin Sieber^att,

8oo

iprin^rffin.

Unb

fd;ienft

nod) furj

toor^tcr fo

rein ju fl^Icn,

Sic clb unb ^id;tcr fr einanbcr leben,

Sie clb unb ^ic^^tcr

fid;

einanbcr fuc^en

Unb

feiner je bcn

anbcrn neiben foll?

3h)ar

l;errlic^ ift bie Uebeett?crtc Z\:)(it,

^S

^Doc^ fd}n ift' aud;% bcr 2l;aten ftrffte Stte

^urc^ tvrb'e Sieber auf bic ^Zac^loelt bringen. 33cgni3e bicb, amS einem einen taatc,
3)er bid> bcfd^^t,

2ic toon

bem tilben Sauf ber bem Ufer, ru^i jujufcben.

SBclt,

8io

XaWo,
Unb
2ie
fal;' id;

bier mit

Staunen nuti
\d) ^er,

jucrft,

l^crrlid)

man

bcn tapfcrn ^iann belol;nt?

2tU unerfabrner ilnabc !am

3n

einem Slugenblid, ba %c\i auf Jcft

815

gerrara ju bem 3)iittclvunft ber G(;rc

3u madHMx fdncn. ^en tueiten ^Ua^,

tveldjer 5(nbli(f tpar'

auf bem in if?rem lanjc

fid;

eianbte ^a^fcrfeit

geigen foUte,

Umfd>lfi ein 5lrei, ivie i^n bie (^onne nic^t

Sobalb 5um jmeitenmal befc^Kinen

ivirb.

820

G#

fajjen I;ier

gebrngt bic

fc^i)nften

grauen,

GJcbrngt bic erftcn ^3Kinner unfrcr 3cit.

Grftaunt burd;licf bcr ilid bie eble ^Dicngc

5IK-in rief:

(Sie alle

\:}at

ba Ssaterlanb,
825

^a-i Gine, fdunale, mcerumgebne anb,

^^icrl^er gcfcbidt.
^"f^'^'""^*^'" bilbcn
fic

^a*i

^errlid;fte crid>t, ba^3

ber Gl;ve,

36
SScrbienft
ef)ft

Torquato SaHo.
unb 3:ugenb
fie

je entfdt^icbcn i^at.

bu

einzeln burdf),
fidj)

bu
gu

finbeft feinen,

2)cr feinet 9?ac^>bam

f^mmen

braurf)e
;

830

Unb bann

erffneten bie SdBranfen

fid^

SDa ftampften ^ferbe, glnzten elm' unb <B6)\Vo^, 2)a brngten

fid^ bie

^nap^en, ba erang
835

2:rompetenfd^aII, unb Sanken frac^ten fplittemb,

betroffen tnten clm' unb d^ilbe, <2taub,

2(uf einen 2(ugenbli(!, umfllte trirbelnb

2)e Sieger^ 6f)re, be^ 93eftegten iSd;maci^.

D
3n

(a^ mid^ einen 3Sorhang bor ba ganjc,

5DZir allu l^elle Sd^aufpiet jielfjen,

bag
840

biefem fc^nen Slugenblidfe mir

SD^ein

Untpert nid^t ju ^eftig ff^Ibar h)crbe.

^rinjeffin.
SBenn jener
eble ^rei, toenn jene 2:^aten

3u 3Kf>' unb 60 fonnt' ic^,

^er 2)ulbung
2)ie gcftC/ ^^^

(Streben

bamal^

bid^

entflammten,

junger greunb, ^u gleicher 3eit

ftiHe

2e^re bir betrf^ren.

bie bunbcrt

845

^" rbmft,

3"<^"
'^^aljx

^ix bamaU
2(m
ftillen

priefcn

unb mir

mandf>c^3

"^a^lfcx gepriefen Ijiaben, fa^' ic^ nid^t.

Crt, trcbin !aum unterbrochen

\\d)

25er le^te 2\>ieber^aII ber greube

SSerliercn fonntc, mujjt' ic^

850

manche Sd[nner3en

Unb manchen
3)^it breiten

traurigen Ciebanfen leiben.

ba<5 53ilb

glgeln fcbloebte mir

t)or

2)cg ^obe

ben 2(ugen,

becfte

mir
855
lic^

2)ie 3tuefic^t in bie

immer neue

Selt.

!Rur nad} unb

3)iic^, toic

nadf> entfernt' e^ ficb,

unb

burc^ einen Jlor, bie bunten garben

2.

ufjug.

1.

uftritt

37

2)e 2eben, bla boc^ angenehm, erblirfen.

5c^ fa^ Icbcnb'gc gnnen lieber fanft

fic^

regen.

3um

erftenmal trat

id),

noc^ unterft^t

86o

3Son meinen grauen, au

bem rantenjimmer,

3)a !am Sucrctia

erbei unb

toII

froren Sebcn^

f(;rtc bic^

an

2)u

toarft ber erfte, bet

i(;rer anb. im neuen fieben

Tlix neu unb unbcfannt entgegen trat.

865

2)a

^offt' ic^ toicl fr bid;

unb mid>
nic^^t

auc^ ^at

Un^

bxi [)'Kx\}ix bie

Hoffnung

betrogen.

Joffo.

Unb id), bcr ic^ ^e^ brngcnben

5?etcgt, burc^

betubt tton

bcm GJen?imme(
toiel

Giemhl^, bon fo

lanj
870

eblenbet, unb \)on mancber ^eibenfcbaft

ftiffe

GJnge be^ l^alaft

2(n bcincr Sc^ircftcr Seite fcfjnjeigenb ging,

^ann

in

ba^

3^"^"^*^^ ^^^^^z ^^^^

^" ""^ balb,

3ruf beine

grau'n gelernt,

erf (^ieneft
!

3)^ir

2Belc^ ein

Moment

hjar bicfer

ergib

875

Sie ben 33c3auberten ^on %ui^^ unb Sal^n ^er ottl;eit 92l?e Icid;t unb loiig t^eilt

So

toar aucf) ic^

Don

aller ^N^antafie,

^'on jcbcr 3udit, Don jebcm faifcben triebe

9JUt (Sinem 53Iid in beincn 53licf
gc(;eilt.

880

SBenn unerfa{;ren bie S3cgierbe fi(^ ^ad) taufcnb G5cgcnftnbcn fonft berlor,
Xrat
ic^

bcfd^mt ^ucrft in mic^ jurd,

Unb

lernte
fudit

So
3n

man

nun ba^ 2Bnfc^cnn?erte fennen. in bcm ioeitcn Sanb be 5)Zcer^

*ipcrlc, bie

885

SScrgcbcn^ eine
ftiUen

bcrborgcn
rul^t.

Sd;alcu cingc)d)lofjcn

! !

38

V q

11

2a

f f

0.

g^rlnjcffin.

G fingen fc^ne ^dttn bamal an, Unb ^tV un n\d)t ber ^erjocj ton Urbino
^ie d^toefter
ireggef^rt,

un tren ^^^te

890

3m
en

fc^nen, ungetrbten ldf t>erfd)n?unben.

leiber je^t bermiffen tir ju fef^r

^od^

froren ei[t, bie 33ruft oll ^Jiut unb eben,

S)en reid^en 2i^ ber lieben^trrb'gen grau.

2:offo.

Sd^

tt)ei

e nur 5U

h)ol)I, feit

jenem ^age,

895

fie i)on

Irinnen fc^ieb, bermoc^te bir

2)ie reine

greube niemanb ^u erfe^n.

!

2ie oft jerri^ e meine 33ruft

Sie

oft

^(agf
2Id^
!

\d)

bem

ftitten
Ijat

ain mein 2eib

benn

um

bid^

rief ic^

au,

bie c^irefter

nur

900

a lud,

ba

9fted)t,

ber 5:euern icl ju fein?

fie fic^

3ft benn fein ^erj mef^r hjert, baJ3

5Bertrauen brfte, fein
5DfJef)r gleirf)

\\^m

emt bem
3ft eift

il;ren

gcftimmt?

unb 2Bi^ berlofc^cn?

fie

Unb
2)a

h?ar bie Qine grau, fo trefflic^

905

2(ud5> loar,
badjjt'

benn alle^ ?
idji

grftin

bevjeit^'

manchmal an m\6)
r\\d}t

felbft

unb

tonfc^te,

^ir

etta fein ju fnnen.

Senig nur,
910

^oc^ ^twa^,
2ie

mit Sorten, mit ber 3:^t

9nfd?t' ic^' ju fein,

fid;
ev3

im geben

bir gu jcigcn,

mein ^erj im (StiUen bir gcireibt.

gelang mir
nid;t,

Tod)

unb nur ju

oft

'X\)at \d)

im Irrtum,

iiHi^ bic^

fdimcrjcn mufetc,

Scleibigte ben 53iann,

ben bu bcfdni^tcft,

SSertoirrte un!lug, tva

bu Bjcu

iuotcft,

91S

Xlnb

fl;lte fo
ic^

mid;

ftct^S

im 3(ugeublid,

2enn

mid; na^cn iuoUte, fern unb ferner.

2.

iifjug.

1.

uftrltt.

39

fJrinjeffia.
5c^ Babc, ^affo, betncn SBiUen nie

^erfannt,unb h)ei$
cfc^ftig
bift.

iic

bu

bir fclbft ju ft^abcn

SInftatt

ba$ meine Sc^meftcr

9*0

Wxt jebem,

tie er fei, [elbft

ju leben toei^,
toielen

(So fannft bu

nad^

3abren !aum

3n

einen

greunb

bic^ finben.

2affi.
2;able mic^
S)o(^ fage mir ^emac^, too
ift

ber 3)?ann,

^ie grau, mit ber

i(^ U)ie

mit bir

9S

3lu3 freiem SBufen hjagen barf ^u reben?

|)rinjeffin.
2)u foteft meinem 33ruber
bid; t)ertraun.

@r ift mein grft 2)oc^ glaube n\6t, bafe mir er Jrei^eit iilbcr 2rieb ben 53ufen blffe. ^cr ^enfc^ ift nicbt geboren frei ju fein, Hub fr ben Gblcn ift fein fcfjner lcf,
1

930

Sll

einem grftcn, ben er

fo
ift

ehrt, 5U bienen.
ic^

Unb ^en
Unb

er

mein crr, unb

empfinbc

ganjen

Umfang

biefe groen 29ort.

S^un muft
tt)un

icf;

fcf^cigcn lernen

ienn er fpric^t,
aiid)

935

ienn er gebietet,

mgen

SSerftanb

unb erj ibm lebbaft

h?iberfprecben.

^rinjeffin.
a^S
ift

ber

JaH
tinr

bei

meinem S3ruber

nie.

^^^
940

Unb nun, ba

3(ntonio lincber I;aben,

3ft bir ein neuer uger greunb geh^i^.

40

5orq ua

Soff

0.

/
Sd^
2Bte
l^offt'

^offo.

e el^malg, je^t bergireifl' id^ faft.

lehrreich)

hjre mir fein Univan, n^Iid^

ein
^d)
2)oc^

'^at in taufenb
h)oI;I

gen

befiel,
fefjit.

mag

f)aUn ae tter
bie

fagen, alle tt)a mir

fic^

berfammelt

945

ef d^enfe

feiner Siege barjubringen

lie ra^ien ftnb leiber ausgeblieben,

Unb h)em
oc^ l^t

aben
i)iel

biefer

oIben

fef)Ien,

2)er fann ^tar

fid^

befi^en, bietet geben,

nie

an feinem Sufen ru^n. ^rittieffln.

95

oc^ l^t

^u
Unb
^at

fic^ i^m bertraun, unb ba ift t>iel. mu^t bon Ginem ^D^lann nid)t ae^ forbern,

biefer leiftet

\va^ er bir

t)erf))rid^t.

er fid) erft fr beinen

greunb errt,

So
3f?r

forgt er fclbft fr bic^,

Wo bu

bir fe^lft.

955

^^^ fc^meic^le mir jTie^ fc^ne 2Berf in ^urjem ^u bobringen.

toerbunben fein
!

mgt

9^ur miberfte^e nicbt tvie bu e^ ^flegft

(Bo f^aben
SDie fein
tv'xx

Senoren lang'

befeffen,
leicht

unb

jierlid; ift,
;

mit ber c^

960

ic^ leben l^t

2ie
fie

aud^ biefer ^aft bu nie,

c h)nfcf)tc, n^er treten hJoUcn.

2:offo.

3d^

I;abe bir gebordf^t, fonft

htf

id;

mic^

3Son i^r entfernt anftatt

niid) ibr

^u naben.

0
3Kit

Iiebcnnrbig

fie

crfcbeinen !ann,

9^5

^d} lci^ nicbt

\\)x

iuic

c-g ift,

!onnt' id^ nur feiten

fie

ganj offen

fein,

unb tcnn

auc^

; ;

2.

ufjufl.

1.

auftritt.

41

Xit

2(5ftc^t ^ai,

bcn grcunbcn to^Ijut^un,

6) f^lt

man

Slbfid^t

unb man

i[t

berftimmt.

ftinjeffi.
2luf biefcm

cgc

toerbcn h)ir to^l nie

S7o

ejettfc^aft finbcn, Staflo! tiefer

SSerleitct

?fab
mc^r
ftrcbt,

ung burd; einfamc^

G)cbf(^,

!Durc^ ftiQc !I^Icr fortjuhjanbcrn,

Unb
!J)ic

mc(;r tocrnjl^nt

fic^

ba cmt, unb

olbnc 3cit, bic ibm on aujjcn mangelt^

975

Sn

feinem

Snncm

h)icbcr ^crjuftcUcn,

So

tcnig bcr 55crfu(f) cliuiicn tuiU.

Jaffa.

Irclc^c 2ort f^Jric^t

meine Jrftiu
i[t fie

an^i

!I^ie

golbne ^cit ii>o^in

fid;

geflogen?

3la^ ber

jebe^ ^erj bergcbcn^ fe^nt

fic^

980

Da auf ber freien Grbe 3)?enfcf)en

2ie froF^e crbcn

im enufe

berbreitctcn

Xa

ein uralter
ipirten

^em

93aum auf bunter 2Biefc unb ber irtin Sd;atten Qob,

bic garten 3**^i<^

Gin jngere^ Gcbfc^

^5

Um
20

fel)nfu4)tboIIe fiiebe traulich fd>Iang

!Iar

unb

fti

auf immer reinem

bie ^f^rtDl)^ fanft

8anbc
umfing
99

2)er toeic^e

glug

2Bo in bem GJrafc

Unfc^blic^

bic gefc^eucbtc (Sd;lange

fic^ toerlor,

ber !id)nc i^ann

beftraft entflog

SBom tapfern Jngling balb

S5>o jcber i^ogel in bcr freien uft

Unb

jebc 3:ier, burd; Serg'

3}Zcnfd;en fprac^
:

unb ^^ler
ift

fc^toeifenb,

3um

Grlaubt

toa gefat.

! :

42

Torquato Xajfo.
^rinseffin.
9Jletn greuTib, bie golbne 3eit
ift

hjo^l borbci

995

SlKein bic uteri bringen

fie

gurdf

Unb

foH

ic^ bir

gefielen tie ic^ ben!e

ie golbne

geit, tomit ber icf)ter

un
fie

3u

fd^meid;eln pflegt, bie fc^ne S^'ii,

fd5)eint

lar,

60
Unb

eg mir, fo ienig

aU

fie ift

^ooo

tt)ar fie je, fo

fie

Wax

fie

nur

gctoi^,

2ie

un^ immer
ben

tieber terbcn !ann.

5^oc^ treffen fid^ beriranbte ^ergen

an
mein greunb,
fic^

Unb

teilen

cnu^
:

ber fd}ncn 2K>elt

firf),

9^ur in

bem

SBal^lfprud^ nbcrt
(Erlaubt
ift

1005

in

einzig 2ort

toa^

jiemt.

2affo.

iDcnn au' guten, eblen 2)ienfdien nur

beftellt entfc^iebe,

6in allgemein erid)t

2a

fid)

benn gicmt

anftatt

ba^

jcber glaubt,
ift

G^

fei

aud; fd;idUc^ trag jm nt^lid}

loio

2ir

fef^n ja,

bem eialtigen, bem

unb

5^lugen

tel^t alleg tol)l,

er erlaubt fid^

aUeg.

^tinjcffin.
SBillft

bu genau

crfal^ren n?a fid 3iemt,

frage nur bei eblen grauen an.

il^ncn
ift

^enn

am

mciftcn bran gelegen,

^flT

^a^

aUeg

n)ol)l fic^

jieme trag gcfdncbt.

2)ie 8d;idlidifeit

umgibt mit einer DJiaucr

2)ag ^arte

leid;t t)erle^lid^e G5efd;led^t.

2o

(3ittlid;!cit regiert, regieren fie,

Unb to bie Jrcd^bcit l)errfd>t, ba fmb fie nid>tg. Unb ioirft bu bic GJcfd>lcd;ter bcibc fragen mad) grei^eit ftrebt ber 3)^ann, ba eib nad^

WH^
eitte.

; ;

2.

?luf>ug.

1.

^Jl II f

tritt.

43

Joffo.

^u

ncnncft

nm unbnbig,

xo[},

geful^o^?

fJrinjeffln.

^x^t ba^
5f?r lagt

5rilcin ihr ftrcbt

nac^ fernen

tem^
025

llnb euer Streben

e>,

mu^

cjetpaltfam fein.
j;u

fr bic Gtrigfcit

banbeln,

Senn

h?ir ein einjicj naf; befcbrnfte^S

Wut

2(uf biefer

Grbc nur befi^en mchten,

Unb

itnfd>en, bafj e^

un

beftnbiij bleibe.
ficber,

25>ir finb

Don feinem ^lnnerberjen

fo

030

^a wd}
Sltlein lu

iarm
ift

fit^

einmal un ergab.
il;r

^ic Sd^nbgit
e^ren

toergnglicb, bie

bo^l

fc()cint.

2Ba bruj
\vcl%

bleibt,
reijt, ift tot.

Ta^
3u
er

reijt nid;t

me^r, unb

md)t

SBenn' 93inner gbe, bie ein

toeiblic^

^erj

035

fd)l^en U>^ten, bie erfennen mchten,

Selc^ einen bolbcn 8c^al) on 2:reu'

unb Siebe

33ufen einer

grau

bcJDal;ren !ann
einzig fdjner

Senn ba GJebd;tni6

<2tunben
1040
ift,

3n euren 6eelen enn euer ^lid,

Un

lebhaft bleiben troHte

ber fonft bur(^brint3enb

2tuc^ burc^ ben 8d)leier bringen fnntc, bcn

2(Iter ober ^ranffjeit bedirft
33efil^,

2enn bor

ber ruliig mac{)en

fott,

^ad) fremben tern ^u^ md}t

lftern machte

045

^ann

titdr'

un^

\vol}l ein

fd)ner

^ag

crfc^ienen,

2ir feierten

bann unfre golbnc

3cit.

Xoffo.

^u

fai^ft

mir 5Borte,

bie in

meiner 33ruft
regen.

alb

fchon entfd;lafne

Sorgen md>tig

44

Torquato

2;a

ff 0.

^rittjcffin.

2a mein[t

hn, ^affo ?

3^ebe frei mit mir.

1050

XttffO.

Dft ab'

^rt' id^ fd^on,

unb

biefe

2^age Joieber
nid^t

id^' gef)rt, ja

l^tf
:

idfj'g

Demommen,

(So m^t'ic^'l benfen

9^ad^ beiner

eble gr[ten ftreben

2)a frd^ten

anb! 2a ix)ir iir unb md^ten

ift

ertoarten muffen,
fd;ier berjtoeifeln.

1055

SSerlaffen toirft bu ung, e

natrlidf)
ic^ nid^t.

od^

iie toir'^

tragen hJoEen, ioeig

^rinjcffin.

%x

biefen Slugenblidf
ic^

f eib

unbeforgt

gaft md^t

fagen

unbeforgt fr immer.

ier bin

id^

gern unb gerne

mag

id^

bleiben
lodfte
;

1060

^o)

hjei^ ic^ fein ^Serf^ltnig,

ba mic^

Unb

ienn

\l)v

mic^ bcnn ja beF)aIten

hjollt,

la^t e mir burd; Gintrac^t fe^n,

unb

fcbafft

(^ud) felbft ein gldlic^ 2eben,

mir burd^

euc^.

Xoffo.

Icl^re

mid^ bag 3)Zglid^e ju tbun

bir alle

1065

0en?ibmet finb

meine ^age.
banfen
fid^

2enn
3J?ein

bid; ju greifen, bir ju

er^ entfaltet, bann empfinb'

id^ erft

^a^ Xai

reinfte

lud,

ba^3 DJtenfc^cn fhlen

fnncn
1070

gttlic^fte erfubr id^

fid^ bie

nur in

bir.

unterfc^eiben

Grbengtter

5?or anbern 3}?enfdben, h)ie ba ^obc Sdncffal

35om
Sic^

9f?at

unb illen

felbft

bcr flgften 'DJinncr

unterfcf)cibct.
U)ir

SSiele laffcn fic,

2Senn

getoaltfam 2Bpg' auf Soge fc^n,

1075

2.

3luf}ug.

1.

'21

UT tritt.

45

2tc leidste

cUcn, unbcmcrft

toorbcr

2)or i^rcn Jjjcn raufc^cn, ^ren nic^t

bcr und umfauf't unb nicbcrtrirft^ S>emc^men unfcr ^Ic^cn !aum, unb laffcn, 2ie toir bcfd;rn!tcn armen Slinbem thun, 3)tit Seufjem unb cfc^rci bic uft uni fuen.

Ten Sturm,

loSo

jDu ^aft mic^

oft,

o ttlic^e, gcbulbct,
trocfnctc bein 33licf

Unb

n?ie bic

Sonne,

I)en "Hau ton meinen Siugenlibern ah,

Vt'initUin.

ift

fe^r

bitticj,

bafe bie

grauen
;

bir

oSs

3luf'd freunblicbfte bccjcgnen

cd erF^errlic^t

2)ein Sieb auf manche 2Beifc bad cfd;le(^t.

3art ober

tapfer,

t^aft

bu

ftctd etujjt

Sie

liebendiert

unb

ebel orjuftellcn

Unb

tcnn Slrmibe I^affendtert erfc^cint,

090

S5erf^nt i^r ^ici^

unb

i(?re

Siebe balb.

2:offo.
933ad aud^ in

meinem Siebe

tieberflingt,

^6) bin nur Giner, Giner alled fcbulbig

Gd

fd^lcbt fein geiftig

unbeftimmted ^^ilb
'OQS

33or meiner Stirne, bad ber Seele balb

Sic^ berglnjenb
3)iit

naf^te, balb entzge.

\d)

meinen Slugcn ^ah^

ed cfe^n,

ad
2Bad

Urbilb jebcr ^ucjenb, jeber Sd;ne;

id;

nad? i^m gebilbet, bad iirb bleiben

2:ancrebend elbenliebe ju G^Iorinben,

noo

Grminiend

ftitte

nidjt bemcr!tc

^reue,

Sopl^ronien 0roj5^>eit unb Dlinbend iRot,

Gd
^6)

finb nid;t Sd^attcn, bie ber 9BaI;n erzeugte,

ireife ed, fie

fmb

eh?ig,

benn

fie finb.

46

2:orquQto

2;afjo.

Su
21I

bleiben

unb im titten

forljulirfen,

ba

(5Jef)eimni einer eblen Siebe,

em
Unb

l^olben Sieb befd)eiben

anvertraut?

iptinjcffitt.
foH
\) bir

noc^ einen SSorjug fagen,

fid) bie[e

2)en uni)ermer!t

Sieb erfd^leirfjt?
h)ir l^ren ju,

i"o

lodt

un nad^, unb nac^,

2Bir

Ifjren

unb

h)ir

glauben ^u berfte^n,
iir nid;t tabeln,

2Bag

h)ir berftef^n,

ba^ fnnen

Unb

fo

gewinnt un^ biefe Sieb ^ule^t.

2eld^ einen

immel
3}tad[)t

jfneft

bu bor mir,

"15

Jrftin!

mid^ biefer lanj nid;t blinb.

ein eh)ig

So

fei;* x) unt)erI)offt

lud

Sluf golbnen StraE^Ien l^errlic^ nieberfteigen.

iprinjefftn.
3^id;t weiter, 2:afjo
!

SSiele 2:inge

fmb',

jTie Iir mit cftig!eit ergreifen focn:

"20

Xo) anbre tonnen nur burd; 2JI^igung

Unb

burc^ ntbe^ren unfcr eigen trerben.

fagt
\\)x

60

man,

fei bie
ift.

2^ugenb,

fei bie

Siebe,

Xk

bertoanbt

Ta^5 bebentc tuo^U

Jaffa
2Bagft bu' umbcrjuf el;n ?

(aQcin).

3ft bir*g erlaubt bie 3(ugcn auf juf dalagen ?

125

Tu

bift allein

SSerna^men

bief e

ulen hja^

fie

fprac^ ?

2.

ufjug.
^i^!'^

2.

?luftritt.

47

Unb
!J)ie

^aft

bu 3^"9<^"'

ftummcn

3*>'"3^"

3^e^ f)d;)'tcn lcf^s ju frditcn?

(r^ erbebt

Sonne

fic^

be neuen 2eben^tage^,
fic^ n\6}i tocrgleirf^t.

i^o

!rer mit bcn toorigen

crnieber fteigcnb ^cbt bie G5ttin fdmctt

!Den Sterblichen l^inauf.
Gntbccft
fic^

Selcb neuer lrci

tel(^e^ ^ieic^

meinem 2(uge,
tirb ber ^eifec

2ie

f ftlid;

2unfd) belohnt

iS

3d> trumte mic^ bem

l^c^iftcn

Unb
!3)er

e f e

^ (^lcf

ift

lde na^, ber aUc 2rume.

[\d)

53linbgeborne benfe
^i>i<^

ba

i(bt,

jDie 5fl^&<^n

ci^

^i

erfc^ieinet

ihm
Sinn.
mir
1140

jDer neue

Xag,

ift'

ihm

ein neuer

SBoH 3Jiut unb Slbnung, freubetrunfen fcbmanfenb

23etrct' ic^ biefe

a^n.

Tu

gibft

bicl,

Xu

ibft, lie

Grb' unb .soimmel un^ efc^enfe

^it boHen nbcn bermig rei(^en, Hub forberft tieber, tci^ on mir ju f orbern 9Jur eine folc^^e &ahc bid> bered)tii3t.
5c^
foll

>MS

entbehren, fo mxd) m\i\c^ jeigen,

Unb

fo tocrbienen,
je,

ba^ bu mir
fie

toertrauft.

25>ag t^at ic^

ba^

mid) tublen tonnte?

2Ba foH icb tf)un, um ihrer trcrt ju fein? Sie fonntc bir toertraun, unb baburc^ bift bu'5.
3a, grftin, beinen orten, beinen
53licfen

"so

Sei ehjig meine Seele ganj gett?eil;t 3a, forbre Wa^ bu iift, benn id? bin bein Sie fenbe mid), 3)J^' unb efabr unb 9lu^m 5n fernen 2anben aufjufuc^en, reiche

^^SS

3m
Sie

ftiHen
hjcilje

ain

bie olbne Seier mir,

mic^ ber 9hi^' unb ihrem ^rei:

bilbenb
fll fie

3^r

bin

id>,

mid; bcfi^en

!;

48
5D^ein

Torquato Xa ff 0.
0:5 bett?a^rte jeben <B)a^ fr 6tc.
ein taufcnbfad;e Serfjeug
brdft' ic^

ir6o

l^tt'

mir

@in Ott gegnnt, !aum

!J)ie

bann genug

unauf^red)licf)e ^erel^rung au.

!3)e 5!Kalerg

^infel unb be^ 3)ic^ter Si^jje,

3)ie f^efte, bie je

bon frhem onig

9^ein, fnftig foll
^tifc^en 2Jienfd(>en

1165

en^rt
S^id^t

i^ar, infd^t' \d) mir.

5n)ifcf)en

^affo

33umen,

^v^

(Sid^ einfam, fd^tad^

unb trbgefinnt
ift

berlieren

ift

nid^t meljr acin, er

mit ^ir.
1170

bag

bie ebelfte ber 2::F)aten fic^

ier fid^tbar Dor mic^ fteUte, ring umgeben

SSon gr^Iic^er efa^r
!

grf)

brnge ju
ic^

Unb
ie

n^agte gern ba Seben, ba

3Son i^ren

nben

):)ab^

nun

forberte

beften ^Renfc^en mir 5U

greunben auf,
bottbringen.

"75

Unmglicbeg mit einer ebeln (Sd^ar

^ad)

il;rcm 2in!

unb SBien gu

Soreiliger,
'^\d)t

tarum berbarg bein

^imb
bic^ tcrt

ba^ hjag bu cmpfanbft, bi bu

Unb

h?erter i^r gu

g^en legen
^^siel

fonntcft?

"So

^a
2)oc^

hjar bein ^^orfa^, \ax bein

fei

uger unfc^.
ift

e audf>

fd^oner

e, rein

Unb

unberbient ein folc^ cfd;en! empfangen,

2(U l^alb unb l)alb ju Jf^ncn, bag man lo^l ^ ^abe forbern brfen. S3Iide freubig ^ ift fo gro, fo trcit, hja^ bor bir liegt Unb f?offnungoIIe Suo*-'"^ ^^^^ ^i^ ioiebcr

i'^^s

8d;leac,
(Sie ftrebt

3n

unbefannte, lide ^u^unft ^in

53ruft
!

aiJittcrung be (3lixdi,

33egnft'ge biefe ^ftanjc boc^ einmal

"90

gen immel, taufenb Steige bringen

;; !

2.

3luf^iig.

3.

^iluftritt.

49

2Iu^

i(;r

bcrt)or, entfalten

ficf 511

iMten.
1

ba^

fie

grud)t,
liebe

bafe fie

Jreubc bringe

jDag eine
Slu

anb ben golbnen Sdimucf

"95

il^ren frifc^en, reichen tieften breche

Srlttrr auftritt
Soffo. Vntonip.

loffo.
(Sei

mir triHfornmen, ben

crblicfe
!

ic^

gleid^fam jc^t

Sunt crftcnmal

Schner tarb

Mein 5)iann mir angefnbiijt.

2)ic^ !enn' \d)

Sei toidfornmen
flanjen ih>crt,

nun unb beincn

^ir

biet' \d) oijnc

l^offe,

^c^cxn erj unb ig^anb

nidit bcrtd;m^ft.

1200

Unb

ba^ auc^ bu mic^

9lntonto.
freigebig
bieteft

bu mir [d>nc &ahcn,

\d)

Unb

i^ren Sert erfenn'

Wie

i) fotl

2)rum lai mic^

Siegern eb' id>

fie eri3reife.

Steife id; bod; nidit, ob id) bir aud>

bagegen

"05

in GMeid;c^ geben tann.

3^

md;te gern

^\d)i bereilt unb nid^t unbanfbar fd^einen

2ci\]

mid) fr beibe flug unb forgfam fein.

Xoffo.
SBer knrb
bic illug^eit

tabcin?

Jeber Schritt
1210

Xe^ gebend
2Bo
Jir

jcigt, tpie fel;r fie ntig fei

ift'^,

2)oc^ fd;ncr

ienn un^ bie <3eele fagt,

ber feinen 3>orfidit nid^t bebrfen.

Antonio.
3)arber frage jeber fein Gemt,
2Bcil er ben gel;ler felbft ju h^cn
\)ai.

50

r q

ua

Xa

0.

2ttffo.

ofei^^!

3d)

f)abe

meine ^>fUd;t getfjan

1215

^er
ab'

grftin Sort, bie un^5 ju greunben hJnfd^t,

idj)

i)ere^rt

unb mic^

bir orgcfteHt.

9fl(!^alten burft' ic^ nid)t, SIntonio; boc^ gctt)iJ5,

3ubrmgen
3)ie

toitt td^ nid)t.

mag bcnn

fein,

gcit unb 33e!anntfc^aft F)eigen btc^ bielleic^t

1220

abe timer

forbern, bie bu jc^t

0
^er

falt Betfeite lel^nft

unb

faft i)erfci[)m^ft.

Antonio,
2R^i;.]e iirb ftere !alt
fid^

genannt
1225

S5on 3Jienfd^en, bie

SBeil
fie

irarm bor anbern glauben,

bie

i^e fliegcnb berfEt.

XttffO.

^u

tabelft h)a xd) table, h)a id; meibe.

id;

2(uc^ id^ bcrftcl^e ioI;I, fo jung

bin,

2)er eftig!eit bie S)auer ijorujicl^n.

^[ntonto.
6e]^r
h)eilici()
1

SIeibe ftet auf bicfcm innc.

Xaffo.
Du
bift bcred;tigt

mir ^u raten, mid^

fielet

230

3u

tarncn, benn e^

rfal^rung bir
<Scitc.

21I lang' erprobte

grcunbin an bcr

2)od; glaube nur, e I^orc^t ein ftiHcg erj

2(uf jebe

^age^, jeber 8tunbe Sarnung,

ingcl;eim

Unb

bt

fic^

an jcbem Ghitcn,

235

^a^
G^3

bcine trcngc neu ju Icbren glaubt.

Antonio*
ift

irobl angcncl}m,

fid;

mit

fid felbft

23efd;ft'gen, tcnn c^

nur

fo n^lic^ ivrc.

2.

ufjug.

3.

Huftritt.

51

Snhjcnbig lernt fein ^cnfc^ fein ^nncrftc^

Grfennen

benn

er mifet nac^

eignem

ISfla^

1240

8ic^ balb ^u

!Iein

unb

Iciber oft ju grofe.

2)er 3Jienfd^ erfennt

fic^

nur im ^enfc^en, nur

fei.

2)aS 2eben lehret jebem tvai er

Xoffo.
Tili 33eifall unb 3Sere^rung ^r'
ic^ bi(^.

Antonio.

Unb

bennod) bentft bu n)o^( bei biefen Sorten

anber^,

"45

anj etma^

aU

id)

fagen

ttjitt.

Joffo.
Stuf biefe Seife rden h?ir nidit nf>er.
(So
ift

md;t !lug, e^

ift

nic^t toof^l etl^an,

SSorf^lic^ einen

^enfdicn ju berfennen,
fei.

Gr
3c^

fei

and)

iocr er

2)er grftin 9Sort

SBeburft' e^

!aum,

leicht \:)ah^ xd} bic^

h)itlft

crfannt
fc^affft.

ioeife bafe

bu ba utc

unb
bu

2)ein eigen Scfndfal l^t bic^ unbcforgt

2In 5(nbre bentft bu,

3(nbem

ftcl^ft

bei,

Unb Unb
Sin

auf be gebend

leicht behjegter

2Bogc
entgegen?

255

SBlcibt bir ein ftete iperj.

So

fet;' ic^ bic^.

\va^ Wx'
ic^

icb,

ging'

id; bir nicbt

Suc^t'

begierig nid^t aud; einen Xeil

bem

toerfd^loff'nen

6c^a^, bcn bu bema^rft?

ioenn bu bid^ ffncft
;

3d>
5c^

tcig, e^ reut bicb nid;tt,

1260

icij,

bu

Bift

mein ^reunb, Jocnn bu mid; tennft

Unb

cine foId>en

greunb
nidit.

beburft' ic^ lange.

5c^ fcbmc mid; ber Uncrfa^rcnf^eit

Unb meiner 3ugcnb

3!)er

Still ru^et noc^

^an);^t.

3"^""!^ golbne SBolle mir um'

1265

52

2;orquQ

to

'i:a jfo.

D nimm mid^, ebler Ttann, an beinc Sruft Unh n)eif)e mic^, ben 9^afd;en, Unerfal^rnen,
3um
migen ebrauc^ be gebend
ein.

Antonio.

3n inem

SlugenBIidfe forbcrft bu,

bie ^cit gei^rt.

SBag JDo^Ibebc^tig nur

1270

Sn inem
SBa
Sd^
5Dic^
bitt'

^lugenblidf gen^^rt bie Siebe,

3}J^e
e

!aum
nicf)t

in langer 3^i^ erreicf)t.

bir, ic^

bon

barf e^ fobern.
auf,

ruf

ic^ in

ber

Xugenb 3^amen
9^1

SDie gute SJlenfc^en gu berbinben eifert.

1275

Unb

foE

ic^ bir

noc^ einen

amen nennen?

S)ie grftin ^offt'g,

Sie

iiE'g

Eleonore,
1280

(Sie \m\l micf) gu bir fbrcn, bid; gu mir.

la^ un^ i^rem 2Sunf.cf) entgegen gcl;n

bie

a^ un erbunben Dor
SSereint fr fie
D^od^ einmal
!

ttin treten,

3f)r unfern icnft, bie gan^e (Seele bieten,

ier
unb

ba Srbigfte 5U
ift

t(?un.
!

meine anb

(Sd^Iag* ein

2rritt nid)t jurdf,

lt>ei(jre^i^ nicbt lnger,

bie Sl'oHuft,

ebler 5!}^ann,

unb gnne mir

285

5Die fdinfte guter 9Jienfd>en, fid;

bem

33ef)ern
!

SSertrauenb ofjne 9idbalt l^injugebcn

Antonio,
2)u ge^ft mit boHen (Segeln
2)u
2)ie
bift get(;nt
!

Scheint c bo<^,

ju fiegcn, berall
290

2cge

breit, bie ^sf orten iveit ju finben.

3c^ gnne jebcn

2l'crt

unb jebc^ lcf

nur ^u
feljr,

^ir gern

allein id> fcl^e

ivcit

2Bir \ic^n 5U

noc^ toon einanbcr ah.

: ;

2.

ufjug.

3.

auftritt

63

IttffO.
(S^ fei

an Sauren, an geprftem 2crt

ic^

2ln frohem 3JJut unb Sitlen tocid^'

!?cinem.

SS

ttntonio.
3)cr SBittc 3)cr ^iut
lcft bic
ftcttt fic^

3:^atcn md;t ^crbci

bie

3Bcgc frjer or.

ift,

2er angelangt

am

3icl

tvirb gefrnt,

Unb
^oc^

oft entbel;rt ein 2i>rb'ger eine ilronc.

gibt e leichte ilrnje,

rnjc
fic

gibt ed
[\ii>

i3a>

SBon fc^r bcrfc^icbner ^rt;

(ffen

Dft im S^ajierengcl^n bequem

erreid;en.

Joffo.
2a
eine G5ott^eit biefem frei geto^rt
ftreng' toerfagt, ein folc^e^ G5ut

Unb jenem

(^rreic^t nic^t jcber n)ie er luitt

unb mag.
0.

130S

n
d^reib' e

tt 1

bem lc! bor anbern ttcm

gern, benn feine 2a^l
ift

in,

60

f;r' ic^'

blinb.

Saffo.
%\x) bie GJcrcd^tigfeit trgt eine

Sinbc

Unb

fd^lie^t bie

2(ugen jcbem lenbtoer! ju.

Antonio,
5)a GJldf ergebe
(gr bid}t' x[)m
billig ber 33eglc!te

1310

^unbert i^ugen fr' ^crbienft

Unb
Gr

finge 2at;l unb ftrcngc orgfalt an,

9^cnn' e^ SJiincrba, nenn' e^ hjie er W'x,

^alte gnbige Cjcfdienf fr 2of?n,

iJuftligen

^u^

fr hjo^lerbienten Sc^mucf.

13 5

; : !

54

2:orquQto2;ano.
Xaffo.

^u Braud^ft

nic^t beutlid^er ^u fein.

ift

genug

gr'^ gange Seben

bic^.
!

fennte fo

id) meine ^rftin aud)

3Serfc^icnbe nic^t

ie Pfeile beiner ^ugen,

3)u
ric^teft fie

ergebend na)

em

unerh)el!Iid;en,

S^^^W bem orange, auf meinem ^-^aupt.

beiner

'^-

(2 ei erft fo grofe,

mir

if^n nid;t

ya bcnciben

2)ann

barfft

bu mir
^eilig

biedeid^t

il)n ftrcitig

mad^en.
1325

Sd^ ad)V \^n

Sornac^
3?on

unb ba

E)d)fte

ut

3)od; jeige mir ben 5Rann, ber ba6 erreic^t^

id) ftrebe, geige

mir ben Reiben, nur erg^lten

fidf)

bem mir

bie cfd)id)ten
ftetl'

2)en Xid)ter

mir bor, ber

omeren,
1330

SSirgilcn fid) ergleidEjen barf, ja, hja^j

9^od) mel^r gcfagt

ift,

geige

mir ben 93iann,

SDer breifad) biefen

2obn

Derbiente, ben

^ie

fd;ne 5lrone breifad; mefjr al^ mic^

:

SBefc^mte

bann

follft

bu mic^ fnieenb fe^n

335

SSor jener ottf^eit, bie mic^ fo begabte

^\(i)i efjer ftnb' id; auf, hl% fie bie

3icvbc

SSon meinem ^^an\>i auf fein l;inber brdte.

9[ntonio.
S3i bal^in bleibft

bu

freilie i^rcr trcrt.

2QffO.
3J2an h)ge mic^, ba^ tpiH
Slttein S>erad;tung
\;)ab' id)

\d) w'xdjt

bcrmciben
34o

nid>t Dcrbient.

Tk

rone, ber mein

Jrft m\d) iprbig adjtete,

fr mid) gcimmbcn^

Xit meiner grftin anb

6ott feiner mir begieifcln noc^ begrinfen

2.

ufjufl.

3.

2luftritt

65

fditonio.

GS

jicmt bcr f^o^c 'Xon, bie rafc^ie (^lut

9iid)t bir ju mir,

nod^ tir an bicfcm Crte.

345

Joffo.
23a^ bu
bir
(?icr

erlaubft,

ba jicmt
on
^icr

aurf

mir.

Unb
at

ift

bic Sa^r^eit to^l

verbannt ?

3ft im ^alaft bcr freie eift geferfcrt?

^icr ein cblcr ^!Dienfc^
l;ier ift

nur

^rudju bulben?
erft
ft(f>

iiid; bnft,

bie

Roheit

an i^rcm ^Ia,

350

3)cr ^Becle o^cit!

^er rofecn
(Sic barf '^

bicfcr

^arf fie Grbe nic^t crfrcun ?

bcr Di^c

unb

fcU'^.

ir nahen un^ bcm

!am
;

grften
i355

3^urc^ 2(bel nur, bcr und bon 3Stcm

Sarum
92ic^t

nid^t burd)'d GJemt,

bad

bie 9iatur

jcbcm rof} crlic^,

Jic fic

nidU jcbcm

^ie

$Wci^e groer 5l(;n^crm geben fonntc.

fotitc ^icr fid; ngftlid;
fid;

9^ur lcin^cit
3)er Dicib, bcr

fllen,
geigt

ju feiner

3d)aubc

2ic feiner Spinne fd^mu^iged eicbe

2ln bicfen 5)iarmortpnbcn i}a\U\\ foK.

'360

9(ntonio.
3)u
jcigft

mir

felbft

mein dUdji

bid; ju

bcrfd;m^n

2)er bereilte 5lnabe will be^ "iDiannd

33ertraun unb Jreunbfd^aft mit Ocivalt crtro^cn?

Unfittlic^
h)ic

bu bift,bltftbu

bic^

gut?

1365

2offo.
5Bicl lieber

njaS i^r cuc^ unfittlic^ nennt,

Sil h)ad \)

mir uncbcl nennen mfetc.

9lntonio.
2)u
bift

nod^ jung genug, baf^ gute ^nd)t

2)ic^ cine beffern

2Begd belehren !ann.

2:orquato2:af|o.
2offo. |cn mic^

^xd)t jung genug, bor

ju neigen,

1370

Unb Xro^

mit ^ro^ ju bnb'gen, alt genug.

tKntonio.
2Bo Si^^enfpiel unb aitenf^iel
3ie^ft bu
entfc^eiben,

aU

elb unb ieger io^l babon.

2:ttffo.

ieriregen tv'dx\ e, meine gauft ju rl^men,

SDenn

fie

^at

nicf)t

get^an

boc^

id;

bertrau' i^r.

i37S

9lntonio,

trauft auf dfionung, bie bid^

nur ju fe^r

gm

frechen Saufe beine

lud

bergog.

2offo.
ISDafe id^

erirad^fen bin, ba

flj)!'

id^

nun.

3Jiit bir

am

menigften

l^tt' id^

gclDnfd^t
:

Xa^

iagef|)iel ber SBaffen ^u berfuc^en

1380

Sracin bu fd)reft lut auf lut, e !od^t

3)ag inn're Wlaxt, bie fd^mcr5lid;e Segier

ISDer 9ftadf)e ficbet

fdE)umenb in ber 33ruft.

bic^

Sift bu ber

Tlann ber bu
hjenig hjer,

r^mft, fo

ftc^'

mir.

Antonio.
2)u
tpcifet fo

aU

too

bu

bift.

1385

Xttffo.

ein Heiligtum
2)

F^ei^t

un bcn 6d;inH)f ertragen.

Ort,

lfterft,

bu

enttweif^eft biefcn

9Zic^t id), ber ic^ 9]crtraun, ^.^erelirung, Siebe,

2)a fd;nfte Dpfcr,'bir entgegen trug.

!Dein cift berunreint bicfc ^^Jarabie^,

>39o

Unb

beine SB orte bicfen reinen

aal,

S'^ic^t

meinet ^er^en fd^toeenbe Cicf^I,

brauf't, bcn Heinften glecfcn nic^t ju leiben.

Xa^

2.

Slufjug.

3.

uftiitt.

57

9(ntonio.
2cl(^
[)of)x GJcift

in einer engen S3ruft

Xoffo.
icr
\\i

noc^

9laum bcm 53ufcn uft ju

macl;cn.

39S

Antonio.
(53

mad;t ba 3SoI!

fic^

and) mit Sorten 2uft.

toffo.
S3ift

bu

ein

Gbclmann

hjie ic^, fo jcig* ed.

fCntonto. Sd^ bin ed

tool^l,

bod; Jci^ ic^ U> ic^ bin.

loffo.

itomm mit l^erab, h?o unfre 2affen gelten.

Antonio.
2ie bu nic^t forbern foUtcft, folg'
ic^ nic^t.

1400

JttffO.
2)cr geig^cit
ift

folc^

inberni liHfornmcn.

9lntonto.
35er geige bro^t nur.

Wo

er fic^icr ift.

3)?it

greuben !ann

ic^

biefcm Bd)ui^ entfagen.

9(ntonio.
SBergib bir nur,

bem Drt

evgibft

bu

nid;tg.

2offo.
SSerjeil^e

mir ber Drt,

bafe id) ed litt.

mos

(Cr nie^t bcn Iegen.)

^kl} ober folge, njcnn

iJie ic^ bit^ ^affe, bic^

id) nid;t

auf eioig,

erac^ten fo

58

V q

ua

Xa

j i

0.

yiertcr auftritt
SlIpbond.
(t)ie

Sortgen.

gn

treld^em Streit

tieff' ic^ curf)

uneriartet?

Antonio,

finbeft mid^, o grft, gelaffen fte^n

3Sor einem ben bie 2ut ergriffen ^at.

M^c

2QffO.
3ci^ bete birf)

aU

eine ott^eit an,

2)a^ bu mit (Einem Slic! mid) tarnenb bnbigft.

rjl)!', Slntonio

^affo, fag' mir an,

firf)

2ie
SSie

l)ai

ber 3^ift

in

mein

iJau^S

gebrungen?

\)at er

eud; ergriffen, bon ber '"^aijn

M^s

2)er 6itten, ber efe^e finge 3)Jnner

3m

^^aumel n^eggeriffen?

gc^ erftaune.

2)u fennft un^ beibe

nic^t, ic^ glaub' e^ tuc^I.

fittlic^,

ier bicfer 5Rann, berhmt aU$ fing unb

^^at xo\)

unb

(;mifc^, tic ein unerzogner,

1420

Uncblcr

^Jienfd), fid)

gegen mic^ botragen.

mid; lcg

3ntraulid; nabt'

id) il;m, er fticfe

33e(;arrli4> licbenb

brang

id^

mid> ju ibm,

Unb
33i-5

bitter,

immer

bitt'rer ruht' er nicbt,

14:55

er

ben reinften iJrppfen ilMut in mir

liHinbelte.
3>er5eit;'
!

3u ac
2II0 einen

^u

^aft

mi*

bicr

SBtenben getroffen.
id;

2)iefcr

^at aUe 3cbulb, ipenn

(Bx Ijat bie

mid> fcbulbig machte.

lut getualtfam angefadU,

2)ic mic^ ergriff

unb mic^ unb i^n

uerlc^tc.

M30

!!

2.

Hufgug.

4.

iiftritt.

59

Antonio.

S^n

ri bcr ^o^c 3)icfterf*n)uni3 ^intcg

2^u ^aft,

Surft, 5ucrft mic^ angcrcbct,

:

^aft mic^ Qcfragt

c^ fei

mir nun erlaubt,

9iac^ biefem rafcf>en ^Jiebncr auc^ gu fprcc^cn.

2offo.

ja, ergf^r, ergl?!'

ton

2l'crt gu

2ort

43$

Unb

fannft bu jcbc 8ilbc, jcbc

TOcnc

35or bicfcn Sliditcr ftcUcn, h?afl' c nur

Seleibifle bid; fclbft

gum
!

gUH'itcnmalc,

Unb

gcuQC Unbcr bid?

dagegen

toiH

3c^ feinen au4> unb feinen ^sulf(^lag leugnen.

1440

9(ntonto.
Senn bu noc^ mc^x gu reben ^aft, fo fpric^ So nid;t, fo fd^ieig' unb unterbrich mic^ mdbt.

Cb

icf>,

mein

ivrft,

ob biefer

t^ei^e

Aopf
fei,

2)en treit guerft begonnen ? toer e

SDer Unredit (?at?
ift

eine tveitc Jy^age,

1445

3^ie iool;l gurberft nod; auf fid; berut^t.

Joffo.
2Bie ba^S?

W\6

bnft, ba

ift

bie crftc JVrage,

^Jcr inm un^ bcibcn 9?cdU unb Unrecht ^at.

Antonio.
^Jiid;t

gang, iie fic^'^ ber unbegrengte

6inn

ebenfcn mag.

Slntonio

9lntonio.
nbigfter,

M50

3c^

et;re

beinen S^inf, boc^ Ia& i^n fcbh?eigen

: ;

60
ab'
2)u
3ciE>
\fi)

2:orquQto Xaijo.
cjef^rod^en,

mag

er teiter rebcn

tirft entfd^eiben.

2llfo fag' \d)

rerfjten,

nur
if)n

fann mit i^m nid^t

!amx

tveber

3Ser!(agen, noc^ mic^ felbft berteib'gen, nod^

1455

3f)m

jc^t

genug gu

tifjun
ift

mid; anerbieten.

2)enn, iie er fte^t,

er fein freier 2J^ann.

@g
(Sr

ialtet ber tl^m ein fd^n^er

e[e^,

^ag

beine

nabe

\)'d)\Un>

linbcrn iirb.
1460

Ifjat

mir

l^ier gebrllt,

hat mic^ geforbert

nadfte cf)iert.

3Sor bir berbarg er

!aum ba
id;

llnb tratft bu, err, nic^t ^jiifd^en

ung

(verein,

<So ftnbe je^t aud;

SRitfc^ulbig

aU

^flicbtergeffen,
Slicf.

unb befd;mt bor beinem

%lp^OnS
2)u
l^aft nid;t

(ulaffo).

iro^I getFjan.

Saffo.
Wid)
3a, c^
ift iial;r, \d)

^\>x\d)t,

err^

1465

Jiein eigen ^er^, gett>i^ aud; beinc^S frei.

broI;te, forbcrte,

^d) 50g.

Stdcin, \mc tdifd; feine

3""^
feine ift

Wii

n)oI)Igeil;Iten

Sorten mid;

bcrleUt,

25>ie fd)arf

unb

fcbnell fein

^ahn ba

M7o

3}iir in ba^3 ilut geflt, iine er

IJ^ur mcf^r

unb mebr

er(;i^t

!^u
D
!

ba^ Jicber
benfft
c^3

nidt

elaffen, !alt, bat er m\d) au^gebalten,

STuf'^
^i)c(ifte

micb getrieben.
nid>t,unb

bu

fennft,

jTu fennft

i(;n

ioirft ifin

nicmal^^ fennen!
;

M75

^d) trug

if;m

ioarm

bic fcbnfte

greunbfdmft an
bie Jfec

Gr

toavf

mir mein: &aiKn bor

meine 3cele
beiner

Unb

f?tte

nicbt geglbt,

loar

fie

nabe^ beine^ ^ienfted

2.

ufjufl.

4.

?liiftritt.

61
>48o

Sluf ehjig untcrt.

^^ah' ic^ bc

0cfc^c5

Unb

bicfc

Crt

bcrgcfjcn, fo crjci^.
id^

2(uf feinem 33ben barf

nicbrig fein,

Grniebricjung auf feinem 33obcn bulben.

2enn
2)ir

biefe^ erj, c^ fei aucf\

Wo

c^

luill,

fe{;It

unb

fxd),

bann

ftrafe,

bann

Derftofec,

485

Unb

lafe

mic^ nie bcin Slugc toiebcrfc^n.

tlntonto.
2ic
Ieic^>t

ber Jngling fc^irerc Saften trgt,

Unb 'i^djUx tic ben Biauh om leibc fdmttelt! Qi h)re ju berlunbem, trenn bie 3wbcrfraft ^er ^icf)tung nid>t kfannter tore, bic
W\t bem Unmglid^en
fo

M90

gern ihr Spiel

fo,

3u

treiben liebt.

Dh

bu auc^

mein

^rft,

)h alle beine Wiener biefe

2^at

(So unbebcutenb balten,

jn?'eifl' i(^ faft.

2)ie 3)iajeftt verbreitet ihren

Sc^u^

M9S

2(uf jcben, ber

fid)

ibr tie einer 0ottt;eit

Unb
S93ie

iljrer

unterlegten 2Bof;nung nat^t.

2(ltar^, be^f^mt

an bem gu^c be^

8id; auf ber 8d>tcIIe jcbe Seibenfcbaft.

2)a blinft fein

3 dauert,

ba fat

fein

bro^enb

393ort,

2)a forbcrt

felbft !iH'(eib'gung feine ^)iadH\

bleibt

ba^

tveite J-elb ein offner

diaxun

Jr rimm unb
2)ort

UnDerfl;nli4>feit genug.

iirb" fein Jyeiger

brobn, fein 93iann n?irb

3.^ter

fliel)n.

icr biefe 93iauern ^aben beine

505

2luf 8id>er^eit gegrnbet, i^rer 2^rbe

(2in

Heiligtum
fd^Jeren

befeftigt, biefe 3tul)e

W\i

Strafen

ernft

unb fing erhalten

ben 6d)ulbigen.

SSerbannung, erfer,

2ob

ergriff

62

r q

11

Xa

f f

0.

2)a hjar fein STnfel^n ber ^erfon, e

l^telt

15^0

^ie SRilbe

nidbt

ben 2(rm be^

^^Icc^tg jurd!;

Unb

fclbft

bcr grebler fl^lte

Voir

fic^ cfc^^recft.

'^un fe^en

nad^ langem fd)nem ^yrieben

3n ba
SBeftrafe

ebiet ber bitten roBe 23ut

h)ieber!e^ren.
ier

3m Xaumel
!

err, entf^eibe,
^sflid^t
if^n

S^S

benn

!ann in feiner

33efd)rn!tcn renjen iranbeln, frfi^et

5Zidf)t

ba efe^ unb feinet grften ^raft?

SRel^r

aU

i^r beibe fagt

unb fagcn fnnt,

l^ren.

S^t unpartcfd; ba cmt mic^

15-0

3^r

httet fdiner eure

id^ bie
l^ier

Sf^]{\d)t

Qci\)an,

$Kenn
2)enn

Urteil nid;t ju fprerf^en F^tte.

finb dlcd)t

unb Unrecht na^

t>ern)anbt.

2enn

bic^ Slntonio beleibigt l)at,

(So ^at er bir auf irgenb eine Seife

5-5

enu

ju l(;un, iie

bu e^ forbern
hj^Itct mic^

iirft.

3Jlir h?r' e^ lieb,

il;r

jum

2lutrag.

Snbeffcn, bein 2>ergel;en mac^>t,

2)ic^

^affo,

jum befangnen.
ba G5efc^
!

2lUe

i^i bir l?ergebc

60

linbr' ic^

um

beinetmidcn.

1530

3Serla& un, ^affo

V>U\h auf beinern 3iJ"nicr,

felbft allein betuad^t.

3Son bir unb mit bir

Sttffo.
3ft bie,
Jrft, bein vid;terlic^cr

8pru^ ?

9lntonio.
Gr!enncjl bu bee 2>atev^^ ^Diilbc nid^t?

Xa\\0
Kit bir ^ab'
ic^

(}U ntonio).

borerft nic^td

me^r ju rcben.

535

2.

?luf}U0.

4.

uftrltt.

63

(3u Siphon.)

Jrft, c^ bergibt bcin cniftc-g

'Jlxd^

^'xmn
ic^

bcr cfanflcnfdmft.

ort G^ fei
fc^tocicn.

2)u

l^ltft

c SRcc^t.

2)cin ^cilig 3ort bcrc^rcnb,

ei6'

mein innre erj im 2iefften

G ift mir neu, (o neu, bafe ic^ faft bi(^ Unb mid) unb biefen fc^uen Crt ni(^t fennc.
^od)
biefen fenn' id)

54o

Wohl

0ef;or4>en h?i

ic^,

Cb

ic^ gleich hier

nod) mand^e fagcn fijnnte,

33iir

Unb

fagcn fote.

toerftummt bic Sippe.

SBar' ein ^erbrec^cn?

aBeniften cd fc^eint,

545

3c^ bin

aU

ein ^Bcrbrccber angcfe^n.

a\x) fagt, \d) bin

Unb, hjad mein ^erj

oefangen.

^u

nimmft

e^3 bijf^er,

2:affo,

aU

ic^ felbft.

Jttffo.
Tlxx bleibt e unbegreiflich tric e
ift

3h)ar unbegreiflich
3ci^

nid)t, ic^ bin fein ilinb

"5So

meine

faft, xd)

m^V

a^ beulen lnnen.

2luf einmal iinft mic^ eine Alarbeit an,

^oc^ augenblidlic^
^d)
\)xt

f einliefet

ficb' iincber ju,

nur mein
t>icl

Urteil, beuge mid;.

^a^

finb ju

toergebne 2orte fd;on

gel;orc^en,
ioo

SS5

et^ne

bid;

Don nun an ^u

Cl}nmd;t'ger! bu Dergaf^eft
2)er ijtter

bu

ftanbft;

8aal fdnen

bir

auf

gleic^>er

Grbe,

5?un bertltigt
GJel^ord^e gern,

bic^ ber i()e

Ja.
s^o

benn e geziemt bcm ^annc,

33cfc^>tocrlicbe

%ud)
ier

toidig

ba

ju tbun.

nimm ben
ic^

!^egen

crft,

ben bu mir gabft,

granfreic^ folgte

21U

bem arbinal nac^

64

Torquato

Sta

ff 0.

Sd^ f^rt' t^n nid^t mit dtu^m, bod^ nid^t mit Sd^anbc,
2(ud^ ^eute nid^t.

er ^offnung^botlen abe
tief

1565

ntu^r'

icf)

mic^ mit

gerhrtem ^erjen.

2Bie

ic^

ju bir gefinnt bin f^Ift bu

nidfit.

ef)ord;en

ift

mein So unb

nid^t

511

benfen

Unb
3^ie

leiber eine^ j^jerrlidfiern

efc^en!^
1570

SSerleugnung forbevt bag e[d)idf bon mir.

^rone

f leibet

ben efangnen nic^t

bie Sierbe,

3d^ neF)me

felbft

on meinem au^t
gegnnt mir
fd;nfte

ie fr

bie iigfeit

fc^ien.

gn
Unb

frl^ iar

mir ba

&id

berliel^en,

iirb,

aU

'i)tV \d) fein

mid^ berf;oben,

575

3Jiir

nur ^u balb geraubt.

felbft,

2)u nimmft bir

Unb

h)a !ein ott

Wa^ feiner nefjmen fonnte, gum jireitenmale gibt.

15S0

Sir SJienfd^en ierben h)unberbar geprft

2ir !i3nnten'^ nid;t ertragen, ^tt' un nid;t

2)en l^olben Seic^tfmn bie ^f^atur berlic^n.

^Tiit

unfd;^baren G5tcrn lehret un

3Serfd;lenberifd; bie 9iot gctaffcn fpicicn:

2Bir ffnen

iitlig

unfre nbc, bag

5^5

UnticberbringlidS) xn\^ ein G5ut entfdIpfc.

2Hit biefcm ^ufj bereint

fid;

eine 3:r)rne,
!

Unb

icif)t bid;

ber ^lergngli^^fcit

G5

ift

Griaubt, ba

I;oIbe ^^i^-'"

unfrcr Sdlc^c.

2er tcintc

nidfit,

trenn ba Unftcrblid^c
1590

SSor ber 3crftrung felbft nidt fic^Kr ift?

efcHe

bic^ ju biefcm 2^cgcn, ber

3)ic^ leiber nid;t ertarb,

um

il^n

gefc^ilungen.

2. ufijiifl.

6.

auftritt

65

9lu^c, h)ic auf

bcm 8arg

bcr 2^a^fcm, auf

2)cm GJrabe meinet lcf^ unb meiner Hoffnung ier leg' ic^ beibc toiivj bir ^u ^jen

S9S

^cnn lcr ift to^l gctraff nct, tocnn bu jrnft ? Unb ler gefchmrft, o err, bcn bu Der!cnnft?
efancjcn
(Vttf

gel;' \d),

n?artc bc Gericht.

be< ^flrflen fBint ^rbt ein

^ge

brn ^cgni mit bcn Jtranje auf

tocg.)

unb trgt i^n

fnfter auftritt.
fllpbon. tintonfo.
91

0.

20 fd^lvrmt bcr ilnabe bin ?

5Kalt er
fid;

^it h?clc^n Jtben

fein G5ef(f)i(!?

feinen 2ert

unb

i6oo

S3efd;rn!t

unb unerfal;ren

f^lt bie

Jugenb

ic^ fr ein einzig auertl;Ite^ Sefen,

Unb aUc^ ber alle fic^ erlaubt. Gr fhle fid) gcftraft, unb ftrafen
2)em Snglin
h)ol;ltbun,

^eifit

ba ber 3)iann un^ banfe.

605

6r

ift

gcftraft, ic^ frdjtc,

91

nur ju
n1
0.

toiel.

2enn bu gelinb mit

il^m erfa^ren magft,

S'^^^^^i^ hjiebcr,

0
Unb

gib,

S"i^ft/

^^^ ^i"^

unfern 3^i[t entfc^cibc bann ba d^hjert.

SBenn e^

bic

5Keinung forbert,
l^aft

mag

e fein.

1610

2)oc^ frnc^, tpie

bu feinen ^oxn gereijt?

66

2:orqiiato "XQJfo.

9lntonio.
3d^ igte faum ^u fagen,
trie' gefd^ab.

211^ 3)ienfc^en l?ab' id) i^n toieeic^t gefrnft, 21I

beimann

\)ah^ x6) \i)n nxd)t beleibigt

ift

Unb
^ein

feinen Sippen

im grten ^orne

1615

fittenlofeg SBort entfloFjn.

Bo
9J2ir

fd^ien

euer treit, unb

\y)a> irf)

gleich gebad[)t,

S3e!rftigt beine 9icbe

mir

rxod)

mebr.

Senn 2Jinner

[xd)

entjmeien, ^lt

man

billig

3)en ^lgften fr ben c^ulbigen.

u
^dt:

foUteft

1620

Wxt
ier

il;m nid^t

grnen

i^n 5U leiten ftnbe

ift

3)ir beffer an.

ift

^od) immer

fein i^a, ber euc^ gu ftreiten 5ir>nge.

ic^

60

lang' mir triebe bleibt, fo lange Jpnfc^'

3n meinem au^
^ie 9^u^e
2enore Sanbitale

ihn gu genieen.
;

(Stefle
leicht.

1625

iieber l;er

bu fannft e
i(}n crft

mag

^lit ^arter Sippe ju bcfnft'gen

2)ann
2)ie
3Jiit

tritt

5U ii;m, gib ifjm in

fudum meinem 9?amen

630

boUe
cbeln

grei^jeit h?ieber

unb gciinnuc

ivabrcn 2Borten fein ^scrtraun.

fobalb bu

SBerridfite ba^S,

immer

tannft;

u
Unb

tirft

aU

?^reunb unb Spter mit if^m fprec^cn.

3^orf) ef?' tir fd;eiben, UntI id>

triebe U>iffen,
tuitlft.

bir

ift nid;t^5

unmbglid?, tcnn bu

_.

2ir bleiben lieber eine (Btunbe lnger,

Unb

laffen bann bie ^'^rauen fanft l>oKcnbcn, 2a bu begannft unb fchvcn W'xx jurd,
;

F^aben fic

bon biefem

rafc^)cn (Sinbru(!

2.

ufjiig.

5.

uftrltt
frf^cint,

67
1640

25ie le^tc

Spur

bcrtilgt.

G^
crft

3tntonio,
!

2!u iiUft nic^t au^ bcr Hebung fommcn

^u

aft (Sin G5efd>ft !aum

e^rft bu jurcf unb
3ci^ ^offe,

ocnbct nun
bir qU'\6) ein neue.

fc^iaffft

ba6 au(^

bicfc^ bir elint.

Antonio.
3t^ bin befc^mt unb
2ie in

i" bcinen Slorten,

645

bem

flarftcn

Spiegel meine (^ulb

einem cblen

ar

leidet

pe^orcbt

man

enm,

2)er berjcugt, inbem er

m\i

gebietet.

dritter 3luf3M,
(Bvft^v

auftritt
(aQein).

^rlttJCffin

20

bleibt

Eleonore?

Srf^merjlid^er

Setegt mir jeben Slugenblidf bie orge

1650
gefd^al^,
ift.

^ag tieffte ^er^. ^aum tpei^ h?a Raum tei^ id^ irer bon beiben fcf)ulbig
icf)

bag

fie

!me

Wd)V

\d) bodj) nic^t

gern

2)en 33ruber

nid^t, Slntonio nic^t f^red^en,

e(>' ic^

@^'

icf)

gefaxter bin,
fte^t,

bernommen,

1655

2Bie aUe

unb h)a eg terben fann.

'^mexitv auftritt,
9)rin)effin.

eonor(.

^rinjcffitt.

2a

bringft bu, Seonore ?

Sag' nur an
2l*a gefc^a^?

SBie fte^t'g

um

unfre greunbe ?

Seonorc.
9J?e^r al toir hjiffen Ijah^ ic^ nic^t erfahren.

ie trafen
2II0 ^abe

F^art

5ufammen,
fie
:

2^affo jog,

660

2)ein 33ruber trennte

allein c^ fcbeint,

^affo biefen treit begonnen.

;!

3.

9uf}ug.

2.

auftritt
fpri(t

69

SCntonio ge^t frei untrer

unb

W\t feinem grften

2;affo bleibt

bagcgen
^S

SBcrbannt in feinem 3in^^"cr unb allein.

eiife l)ai ibn

3(ntomo

gereift,

2)en o(^gcftimmtcn !alt unb frcmb bclcibigt.

Seonorr.
3c^ glaub' c
felbft.

^enn
trat,

eine 2ol!e ftanb,

feine

8d^on a\i

er ju

i^m

um

tim.

^Jrinjcffi.
^i), ba^ h)ir boc^

bem

reinen

ftiUcn 3Bin!

"670

25 e^ ^erjen^ nacbjuge^n fo

fel^r

erlernen

GJanj

leifc fprid;t ein

leife,

ott in unfrer Sruft,

anj

ganj crnebmlic^, jcigt un^ an,

ift

2a^ ju

ergreifen

unb h)a^ ^u

flie^n.

2(ntonio erfc^ien mir ^eute fr^

SBiel fd;roffcr woii) al^ je, in fi(^ gezogner.

675

6^

tarntc mid; mein eift, al^ neben

il^n

^\(i)

2a))o

ftelltc.

6icl;

ba

2(euferc

nur
fic^ atte^

23on beiben an, ba 2lngefidt, ben 2\\,

2)en

33lic!,

ben

2;ritt

Qi

mieberftrebt

16S0

ic fnnen

etig feine Siebe ied;feln.

bie
:

^od) berrcbete

Hoffnung mic^,

ie leinerin fic finb vernnftig beibe, inb ebcl, unterrid;tet, beine (}reunbe

Unb
3c^

telc^ ein

53anb

ift

fic^rcr
;

aU
gab

ber G5uten?
fic^

168c

trieb

ben Sngling an

er

ganj

2Bie fd)n, tpie hjarm ergab er panj

fic^

mir

^tt' ic^ gleich 2lntonio gcfproc^en!

;

3c^ jauberte

e Ujar nur furje ^ixt

70
Sd^ fc^eute mic^,

2^orquatoi;affo.
gleid^

mit ben erften Sorten,

1690

Unb

bringenb ifjm ben gngling ^u em^fe(;Ien

SBerliefe

auf 6itte mic^ unb fli4)!eit,

fidf>

Sluf ben ebrauc^ ber 2elt, ber

(Selbft girifc^en Jeinbe legt
;

fo glatt

befrd)tetc

bem geprften 3J?anne biefe Jjbe ^ugenb mc^)t. d^ ift gefc^el^n 3)a Uebel ftanb mir fern, nun ift e^ ba.
SSon

1695

er

rafc^en

gib mir einen

3fiat

2a

ift

ju

t^un?

fitonoxt.
ie
f (^h)er gu raten fei,

ba

f ^jlft

bu

felbft

5Racb bem, h)a

bu gefagt.

ift

nid;t ^ier

1700

in ^i^erftnbni^

jiifc^eu leicfjgeftimmten;

a
^
3)ie

fteen SBorte, \a
leicht

im

D^otfatt ftetten

2Baffen

unb

g(c!tidi Jieber ^er.

i^ipei 3)inner finb'g, ic^ l)ah' e

lang gefllt,
1705

barum geinbe
iren
fte

finb, teil bie latur

9^id;t

@inen 3}iann au^ i^nen beiben formte.

^u i^rem 35orteil !(ug,
fic^

Unb

0 mrben fie aU Jreunbe ^ann ftnbcn fie fr Ginen

Wit ^a6)t unb lcf unb
(So (jofff
2)er
ic^ felbft,

erbinbcn

3J?ann unb gingen,

1710

2uft burd^' geben ^in,

nun

fc^' \d) Woljl,

umfonft.

3^i^ ^^^
:

I^cute, fei er

iie er fei,

3ft beizulegen
5^ic^t fr bie

boc^ ba^3

ficf;crt

un^
7 5

gu^unft, fr ben 3}^orgen nic^t.

bcften, bd;t' xd},
I;ier
;

60

ir'

am

Xaffo reifte
\cnbcn

2luf eine 3cit bon

er fnnte ja
fic^
;

5^ad> 9lom, auc^ nad) glorenj

2^rf' ic^ in ienig Soc^en il;n

bort

unb fnnte
iirfen.

2luf fein GJcmt

aU

eine

greunbin

3.

^liif^ig.

2.

auftritt.

71
7>

2)u torbeft ^ier inbcffcn bcn 3(ntonio,

2)er un fo frcmb Qemorbcn, bir auf'-^ Jcuc

Unb

bcineu Jrcunbcn nt^cr bringen

fo

ctt^rte ba^,

ma

i^t

unmgli^

fc^cint,

2)ic gute 3cit iccic^t, bic ielc^ gibt.

f^rlnaeffin.

^u

tift bic^ in dJcnufe, o

Jrcunbin, fe^en,
biflig

1725

3(^ fo cntbcl^rcn; Reifet

ba

fein?

Sconorr.
Gntbet^rcn
iirft

bu

nicfit,

al^ trad bu bo(^

3n

bicfcm

gae

nic^t genieen fnntcft.

^rinieffiii.

60

rul^i fo ic^ einen

fi

Jrcunb tocrbanncn?
e

r r.

6rl;altcn, bcn

bu nur gum Schein bcrbannft.

^Jrinieffin.

730

3Kcin ruber iirb

il;n nic^t

mit SBillen laffcn.

r
r.

SBcnn

er c^ fic^t njie iir, fo gibt er nac^.

Vrinjcffi.

ift

fo fc^icr^

im grcunbc

fic^

Derbammen.

Stonorr.

Unb

bennod)

rctteft

bu bcn grcunb in

bir.

Vrlnaeffin.
Sc^ gebe
nic^t

mein 3a, ba^ e

gcfd^e^e.

>73S

Seonorr.

toarte noc^ ein gr^red

Uebel ab.

72

Slorquato Saffo.
^rinaefftn.
2)u iJeimgft xmd}, unb iei^t nic^t oB bu n^ejl.

Seonore.
Sir ierben Salb entbedfen, hjer
fid^i

irrt.

^tinaeffiiu

Unb

foH e fein, fo frage mid^ nid^t lnger.

Seonore.
SBer
ft(!^

entfc^Iiegen !ann, befiegt ben d^merg.

1740

^rinjeffitt.
(Sntfc^Ioffen bin id^ nid^t, allein e fei,

SBenn

er fic^ nic^t auf lange

^dt

entfernt

745

Unb
2)a6

lafe

un^ fr

ifjn

forgen, eonore,

er nid^t

TlarxQ

Wa

fnftig leibe,

afe i^m ber ^erjog

feinen Unterhalt

Slud^ in ber gerne iiHig rcid;en laffe.

prid^ mit Slntonio, bcnn er vermag

'

Sei meinem Srubcr

3^ic^t

t)iel

unb

h?irb

ben (Streit
hjottcn.

unferm greunb unb un^ gcben!en

S
e

r f

ein 2ort on

bir,

^rin^cffm, glte me^r.

175

^rinjeffin.
3d^ fann, bu
h)eit e^,

meine grcunbin, nic^t

2ie'^ meine c^njcfter

Don Urbino !ann,

gr mi^ unb
^d} lebe gern

fr bie ^Reinen hja erbitten.

fo ftille

bor mic^

l;in,

Unb nc^me bon bcm

2ag
er

33rubcr banlbar an,

\v'\U,

i7SS

mir immer geben !ann unb

fonft

3c^ ^abe

barber manchen 3>ornjurf

;

!iir felbft

gemad;t

nun

l^ab' ic^

bertunbcn.

3.

ufjug.

2.

uftritt
oft
fie,

73

G^
3)u

fc^alt m\d) eine

bift

greunbin

barum
'76o
bift

uneigenn^ig, fagtc
fcbn
:

3)a^
Dafe

ift rccf>t

acin fo fe^r

bu',

bu auc^ ba S3ebrfni beiner Jreunbe

cm^jfinbcn fannft.

9^icf)t rccft

3^
ba^

^^ff'

^^ 9^^"/

Unb mu^ bcnn eben

biefcn 35orn)urf tragen.

ic^

Um

bcfto mef^r erfreut e mid),

'76$

'iRun in ber 3:hat

bcm jTCunbe n^en lann

G^ fat mir meiner ^iutter Grbfc^aft ya, Unb gerne toiH ic^ fr i^n forgen E^elfen.

Seonorr.

Unb

id^,
ic^

S^rftin, finbe mic^

im 5^^^^/
'77o

^a^
Gr
ift

aii greunbin an) mic^ geigen !ann.

;

!cin guter SBirt

to e#

ihm

fef^It,

SQSerb' ic^ il;m fc^on gefrfjidt ju Reifen toiffen.

Vrinjeffin.

^0 nimm
5(^
fcl^'

ifjn

h)eg, unb, foH ic^ i^n entbehren,

fei er bir

SBor aen anbern

gegnnt
"775

eg \Db{, fo h?irb eg bcffer fein.

2D?u6

ic^

benn n?ieber biefcn Sdjmerj

aU

gut

Unb

^cilfam greifen?
;

^a^
bin

hjar

mein

G5ef(^icf

33on 3ugenb auf

dlx Ijalb
ift

xd)

nun bran

gctoE^nt.

ber 35erluft bcg fc^inften lc!^,

fid)cr jl^lten.

SBcnn

h?ir

auf bcn 33cfi^ nic^t

'780

Seonore.
3ci^ ^offe, bid} fo fc^n

bu e erbienfk

lcflid^ ju fe^n.

Vrinjcffin.
Gleonore!

Ser

ift

benn

glcf lic^ ?

^Keinen

lcflid^?

33ruber i\oax

; ;

74

Torquato Xajfo.
W6d)V
id^ fo

nennen, benn fein gro^c ^erj

Strgt fein efdf^^c^ ^^^

Slllein \va^ er berbient,

immer

gleicf)em

Mut

1785

ba irarb

ifjm nie.

Sft meine c^tefter Don Urbino gldlid^ ?

2)a fd^ne 2eib, ba eble gro^e erj!

ie Bringt bem jungem 2Ranne

leine Itinber

r a^kt
oc^
2)ie

fie,

unb l^t

fie' nid^t entgelten,

1790

feine

greube

h)o{)nt in i()rem

au.

2a ^alf benn unfrer

^onnt'er

3Jlutter i^re ^lugl^eit?

if^r

^enntnig jeber ^rt,

fie

groer

inn?
ift fie

bor bem fremben gi^rtum fd)^en?

tot;
fte

Man
ie
3JJit

naF)m un t)on i^r h)eg: nun

795

lie^

un ^inbern

nic^t

ben ^roft, bafe

fei.

i^rem ott berffjnt geftorben

r c.
fel^lt

blidfe nid)t

nad^ bem, tva^ jebem

33etrad;te, \va^ nod^

einem jeben bleibt

2a

bleibt nid^t bir,

^rin^effm?

^rinaeflin.
2a mir bleibt?
ebulb, Eleonore
5on 3u9eni>
S3ei geft
!

1800

Ucben fonnt'

id^i

bie

SBenn greunbc, njenn efc^tiftcr, fl"f. unb Spiel gefeig fic^ erfreuten,

ielt ^ranfljeit mid) auf

meinem 3in^"^cr
Ginc Wax,

f^ft
-

Unb
^d)

in efcHfc^aft

mand;er Seiben mufet'

1805

frl; cntbcljrcn lernen.

2a

in bcr Ginfam!cit mirfi

fdum

crg^tc,

!Die (^reubc bc

efang^

id;

unterhielt

Mid) mit mir

fclbft, id) iiegtc

Sd^merjunb Se^nfud^t
1810
felbft

Unb

jeben 2unfd> mit leifcn 2;i?ncn ein.

2)a hjurbe Seiben oft (^enu^ unb

3.

ufnug.

2.

?luftrltt.

75

2)a traurige
'^\d)t lang'

G5cff>l jur

armome.
fein ftreng

wax mir

bic^ lue! gegnnt, auc^ biefeJ

:

3^a^m mir bcr

Slrjt binhjcg
;

ebot
Sis

iejmi(^ toerftummcn

leben foQt'
ic^

i(^, leiben,

2)en cinj'gen Keinen 2:roft JoUt'

entbehren.

Sc

r.

Diele

greunbe fanbcn
bift

fi4>

^u bir,

Unb nun

bu gefunb,

bift

leben^fro^.

f)riti|fffiii.

Sd; bin gcfunb, ba

3Ki(^ gl(!Iid; macbt.

l^cifet, ic^

bin nicbt fran!

Unb manche grcunbe

bab'

id>,

bcrcn 2:reue
einen

2luc^

l;att' ic^

Jreunb

i8ao

l*eonof e.
X\x
\)a\t \\)n no(S).

<Jrlneffin.

Unb

lerb' il;n balb bcrliercn.

^cr

2tugcnbli(f,

ba

ic^ jucrft

ihn

fal},

2ar bielbcbcutcnb.
5>on mancben Seiben
;

5laum

crl^olt' ic^

mic^
825

Sc^mcrj unb 5lranfbeit traren

fti bcfcbeibcn blidt' id)

i^aum

crft gctic^cn

3n'^ geben

ticber, freute mic^

be^ 3^ag^

Unb

bcr Giefdniftcr tincber, fog bcbcrjt

!Dcr ffeen Hoffnung rcinftcn

^(i) toagt' e

^klfam

ein.

bormrt^ in ba 2cbcn

tweiter

830

inein ju

fcl)n,

unb

freunblicbe Ojcftalten

^Begegneten mir au^ bcr Acrnc.

Xa,
il;rcr

Gleonore, ftcte mir bcn ^^ngling

2)ie Sdjtcfter or
;

er

!am an
ba

anb,
1835

Unb,

bajj id; bir' geftebe,

ergriff

3^n mein emt unb

tirb it;n eiuig l^alten.

76

Torquato Xaffo.
Seonore.

meine grftin, la^ btd/ nid^t gereuen

i[t

3)a ble gu er!ennen

2)er

etinft,

nimmer nn^

entriffen irerben fann.

3u

frd^ten

ift

ba d^ne, ba grtrefflic^c,
bie fo ^errlid^ n^t,

1840

Sie eine

glamme,
fie
fie
!

lange

auf beinern erbe brennt,

bir

<Bd lang'

bon

einer gadfel Ieud5>tet,

h)cr

SBie ^olb

toer

mag,

fann

fie

ba entbel^ren?
1S45

Unb

frijjt fie

ungeF)tet
fie

um
!

fic^ f^er,

Sie elenb fann

mac^^en

Sag mid^ nun.

beffer

3d; bin gefcf)h?ig unb berbrge

2(ud^ felbft bor bir, tt)ie.fd^h)ac^ id^ bin

unb

franf.

fitonore.
ie ^ranf^eit be emteg
lfct fid^
leic^t'ften auf.

3n plagen unb

33er_traun

am

1850

^rinjeffin.
2enn ba SBertraucn
Sc^
2(d^
^o.h'
l^eilt,

fo l^cil' \d)

balb

e^ rein

unb
!

Ijah^

e ganj 5U bir.
\d)

meine J^^eunbin

S^vax

bin entfdjjloffcn

(Sr fd^eibe

nur

Slllein icb fF^Ie fcbon

25en langen augcbef;ntcn Sd^mcrj bcr 2^age, toenn

855

Sd; nun entbehren foH, loa mic^ erfreute. 3)ie (Sonne Fjcbt bon meinen Slugcnlibern
S^iidjt

mcf)r fein fdiijn ocrflrtc^S ^traumbilb auf;

2)ie offnung, ihn 5U fcben

fHt

nic^tt

mebr
1860

2)en faum ernjacbtcn

Gicift

mit frober Se^nfud^t;

3J?ein erftcr 33lid lf>inab in unfrc

Grten
ber Sd^attcn.

6uc^t i^n bergebeng

in

bem 3^au

!;

3.

Slufjug.

2.

Huf

tritt.

77

2Bie fd^n befricbigt fllte

fic^

bcr 2Buti{(^

Wit

iF)m

;^u feilt

an

jcbctti

bcitcrn Slbcnb!
23crlan{jcn,

2ic mehrte

fic^

im UiHiian ba^
fid>

865

id^ mc^r ^u fcnncn, mc^r

ju bcrftc^n
fid) fcftncr

Uttb tglich [timmtc ba^ cint

3u immer
2elc^ eine

reinem ^'^armonieen auf.

2)mmning
"^xadjt,

fat

nun

toor

mir ein!
1870

cr Sonne
C3Ian,;\reid>e

ba

frhlid^c

WcfM
tief

2)e^ ^of)en ^acj^S, ber taufenbfadtcn 2Sclt

cgenluart

ift

ob*

unb

3m

92ebet eingebt, ber mxd) utngibt.

tnir jcber

onft War

^ag

ein ganjc

2cbcn
berftummtc,
875

ie 8orge

fc^toieg, bic 2(F?nung fclbft

Unb

glcflicf^

eingefdnfft, trug

un^ bcr Strom

2luf leidsten

Seden

o(?nc 9lubcr ^in

9hin berfflt in trber CJegentvart

2)er 3"^""ft Sd>rec!en
12

f^eimlic^)
r

tneinc 33ruft.

r.

S)ie

3wf""ft ibt bir bcinc grcunbc tpieber

bringt bir neue Jreube, neue

1880

Unb
2a

ld.

f^rinjcffiit.
ic^ bcfi^c,

mag

ic^

gern betua^ren

^er

ec^ifet unterblt, bod) nu^t er !aum.

3Tiit jugenblic^>er

Sebnfuc^U

griff ich nie

^Begierig in ben 2oto^)f frcmber elt,

885

gr mein bebrfenb unerfabren

.C-^erj

3uftlig einen egenftanb ju bafd^en.

3^n mu^t'
3c^ mufjt'

ic^ c(;ren,

barum
e^5

liebt' ic^ xljn

il?n lieben, Jueil

mit if?m mein Scbcn

nie gekannt.

3um

2cha\ Warb,
id;

\v\c \d)
:

1890

rft fagt'

mir

entferne bic^

on i^m

78
^d)
tid)

Torquato Za\\o,
unb
h)i(^

unb

tarn

nur immer n^er,

(So lieblid^ angelocft, fo ^art beftraft

(Sin reinem, it>al)re

ut

toerfcfjminbet mir,

Unb meiner

(Se^nfud^t fcfebt ein bfer eift

895

tatt greub' unb lc! t)ern)anbte (Sc^merjen unter.

conorc.
2enn
einer

greunbin 2ort

nic^it

trften fann,

80

tirb bie ftitte

^raft ber fd^nen 2elt,

unt)ermer!t erquicfen.

^er guten

^t'xi bid^

^rinjcfftn.
So^r
ift fie

fd;n, bie

Seit

Jn

i^rer SBeitc
^)er.

1900

33eh)egt fid; fo iel

2lc^,

ute l)m unb

ba^ e immer nur

\\d)

um

einen (3d;ritt

S3on un

gu entfernen fcbeint,

Unb

unfre bange Sel^nfudt burd) ba 2ebcn

Sluc^ Sd^ritt bor (5d)ritt bi^ nadj

bem rabe

lodtl

1905

0 80
^ ^

feiten

ift

ba^

bie ^Dienfcben finben,

Sa^'ifjnen bod) beftimmt getoefcn fd;ien,

feiten,

ba

fie

ba^

erl)alten, h?ag

2luc^ einmal bie begldte

reijjt fid5>

anb

ergriff!

^^^

^^^

^i^f^

f^^ ""^ ergabt

1910

2ir laffen lo^ Yoa^ Wix begierig faxten.

flibt

ein

lud,

allein iinr !cnnen'^ nicbt

Sir fennen'^ to^I, unb nnffen^o nid>t 5U fcb^en.

Prlttrr 3tftrltt.
l^

r e (aDetn).

2ie jammert mid> ba^? cble, fd^ne er^

SBeld traurig 2oi^, ba^S

21^,

fie

berliert

unb

ilirer

^obeit fdHt

1915

benfft

bu ju getinnen ?

3.

ufiug.

3.

auftritt.

79

3ft'# bcnn fo ntig

5}?ad^ft

bafe er fic^ entfernt?

bu

e^5

ntig,

um

allein fr bic^

^a^
jj^ie

^crj iinb bie Talente ju befi^en^

einer anbern
teilft,

bu bi^^er mit
bu
nicht

920

Unb
SBift

ungleid) teilft?
reicf^

Sft' reblic^ fo ju banbeln?

2i>a^ feblt bir nod>?

0Jnut3?

ema|)l unb <Zohn unb GJter, 9lang unb Schnheit,

2)a^ baft bu ac^, unb bu
iittft

noc^ ibn
il^n

3u

biefem allen baben?

ift

Siebft
ilin

bu

925

3a^

e^ fonft,

iuarum bu

nic^t

me^r

Gntbebren magft?
2ic reijenb
ift'^,

^u

barfft e^ bir eftel^n.

930

in feinem fd>nen eiftc

l

8id) felber 5U befpiegcin

9iicbt

2l'irb ein

Wlcf

bop^elt grc^ unb ^errlicb, tuenn fein Sieb

n)ie

Un^
2)u

auf ^immeletuolfen trgt unb f^cbt?

2)ann

bift

bu

erft

beneiben^i^rt

^u

bift,

l^aft

ba^

nid>t

aein

Wai

Inele

kmnfd>en
fjaft

hjeiH, c fennt auc^ jeber,

Wa^ bu
fiefit

^id) nennt bein ^saterlanb unb

^a^i
3ft
ift

auf

bic^^

935

ber
r

l;d;fte 03ivfel

jebe^ C^Md^.

2au
l>atte

a benn

allein ber "Diame,

f oll

ber

^Npn allen jarten l'ippen Hingen

Unb
S^o

nur

^^>ctrard> allein

ba$

dlcd)t
>9-io
fid^

2)ie unbetannte
ift

8d>ne
2ie

ju Vergttern?

ein 'JJiann, ber

meinem Jreunbe
il;n bie

5>ergleid;en barf ?

2elt beref>rt,

<So mirb bie ^JadMoelt i^n ijerebrenb nennen.

2Bie
l;errlid ift'^,

im Gilanje
!

biefe

geben
94S
!

St^n an ber 6eite l^aben

3^er 3w^unft
fid)

fo

mit ihm

mit leidstem 3d}ritte nal;n

^^^it,

Sllebann ueimag bie

2luf bid^,

baS

5llter nid;t

unb

nid^t ber freche 9luf,

: :

80
5Der

Torquato XaUo.

^n

unb

l^er

be^ 33eifair SBoge treibt

ift,

2)a ta bergnglid^

beipafjrt fein Sieb

1950

5Du

bift nod{) f(f)n, nodf) glcflic^,

n)cnn fc^on lange

3)er ^reig ber

inge
"i^ahcn,

bidf^

^^^ fortgeriffen.
if^r

mu^t i^n

unb

nimmft bu nid^tS

^enn
Sie

i^re 9^eigung gu

bem

leerten

^anne
1955

Sft i^ren anbern Seibenfc^aften gleid^.

leud^ten,
it>ie

ber

ftitte (Scf)ein

be6

^onb
;
,

2)em Sanbrer
(Sie

f^rlic^ auf

bem

^>fab ju 5^ac^t

lnnen

nic^it

unb gieen
ienn
fie

feine uft
iirb fid; freuen,

j
'

^od) Sebengfreub' uml;er. Sie

SS^enn
fie i(jn fern,

fie i(;n gtcflic^ lei^,

i960

Sie

fie

geno^, ienn
ic^ iill

\^n tglic^ fa^.

nicf;t

Unb

bann,

mit meinem greunbe

SSon i^r unb bicfem ofe mid^ verbannen

3c^ fomme

tieber,
!

(So fo e^ fein

ier fommt
ob
h)ir i(;n

unb

id)

bring' i^n tineber.

ber raul;e greunb

1965

Sir toHen

fel^n,

sl^mcn fnnen.

yitrtrr auftritt.
fieonorc.
!

?(ittoii<o.

C.
:

^u Tu
20

bringft

un
au^>

5lricg ftatt grieben

fdunnt c^ bod^,

tommft
bie

einem Sger, einer Bd)U\d}t,

eJoalt regiert, hie gauft cntfc^ei^ct,

Unb
2)ie

nid>t

Uon 3{om,

\vo feieilid^c 5!lugl;eit

970

nbe fegnenb ^ebt, unb eine 2.i}eU 3u i(;ren g^cn fifbt, bie gern geI;or(^t.
91

0.

3c^>

mu^

bcn 2abel^ fc^ne greunbin, bulben.

3.

ufiug.

4.

auftritt.

81

2)od^ bie (intfc^ulb'ung liegt nidit toeit baon.

ift

gcf^rlic^),

tucnn

man

aHju lang'
Gi lauert

975

Oid) !lug unb mjjig geigen muji.

^cr Unb

bfe

cniu
I;abcn.

bir

an bcr Seite,
bon 3eit 5U 3cit
980

W'i gctoaltfam auc^

Gin Opfer

cibcr l;ab' ic^' bie^mal

2(uf meiner i^reunbe Soften if^m gebracht.

Seonorr.

^u

baft

um
unb

frembe 3}icnf(bcn
bic^

bic^ fo lang'

S3cnil>t

nac^ ihrem

3inn
ttie

gerichtet
fiebft,

5iun, ba bu bcinc Jieunbe iieber

58cr!cnnft bu
fic

unb

rccbtcft
91

mit Jremben.

n i 0.
198s

2)a

liegt, geliebte

Jreunbin, bie cfal^r!

fid>

Wdi fremben ^Jknfcben nimmt man

2)a mer!t

jufannncn,

man

auf,

ba

fud^t
fie

man

feinen ^tocd

3n

i()rer

unft, bamit

nu^en foen

2((Iein bei

greunben

lfjt

'^an

xu\)t in xijxix Siebe,

man man

frei ftc^

ge^n,
1990

erlaubt
Juirft

Sid; eine Saune, ungc3l;mtcr

2)ie Seibenfd^aft,

unb

fo

Derlc^cn iinr
jrtften lieben.

2(m

erften bie, bie toir

am

tonott,

5n

biefer rubigcn 33etracbtung finb' icb bid;

Sc^on ganj, mein

teurer Jrcunb, mit

Jreuben

tvieber.

995

Antonio.
3a, mid^
crbricfjt

unb

ic^

be!cnn' e gern
tocrior.

Tag

id)

mic^ ^eut fo obne !Diag

Slttein geftet^e,
3Jiit l^eiger

n?enu ein tuadrer 'iMiann

toon faurer 2(rbeit

Stirn

fommt.

82

SorquQto Xalfo.
Unb
\pt

am

2l6enb in erfel^nten chatten

2000

3u

neuer Mnl)t au^jurufjen benft,

finbet

Unb
^ud)

bann

t)on

einem 5!Jt6iggnger
fott er nic^t

3)en (Bd)atUn breit befeffen,

etttja^ 5D^enfcf)lic^
ft

in

bem Sufen fllen?

ton Ott.
ift,

Senn

er rec^t menfcf)lic^
cjern

fo iirb er

aud^

2005

3)en Schatten

mit einem 3JJanne

teilen,

2)er ')m bie 9?u()e

f(3, bie Slrbeit

lei^t

Durd^ ein efprd), burd; ^olbe

3^er

^ne

mad^t.
gibt,

Saum

ift breit,

mein greunb, ber rfjatten

Unb

leiner brandet ben

anbem

ju berbrngen.

2010

Antonio.
2ir toITen un, leonore,
Wlxt einem leid^ni^
l)\n
nid^jt

unb

tieber fpielen.

far biele Dinge finb in biefer 2Belt,

ie man bem anbem gnnt unb gerne

3eboc^ ed
ift

teilt

ein

Bdja^, ben

man

allein

2015

^em
3)Jit

od;t)erbienten gerne gijnncn

mag,

Gin anbrer, ben

man

mit bem c^fterbienten

teilen

gutem SBillen niemal?

fragft

nnrb

Unb ^er

bu mid^
ift

rxad) biefen beiben <Brf)^cn

Sorbeer

unb

bie

unft ber grauen.

2020

Seonorr.
at
jener ilran^

um

unfer^S

^nglingv
^'^it^^^ft

,s>auvt

3)en ernften ^iann beleibigt ?

^"

gr

feine 2Rl;e, feine fd)one 2)id)tung,

S3efcbcibncrn Solin bod) fclbft nid^t

fmben tonnen.
ift,

2)enn ein ^serbienft bae

au^eriibiidij

2025

Ta^

in ben Sftcn fd^mebt, in

2:ncWur,

3.

ufjug.

4.

?luf tritt.

83

3n
G^
SJ^it

leidsten 33i(bcni
iivb

unfern cift umgaufclt,

fcf^ijnen

beim au6) mit einem

Silbe,

einem ^olbcn 3cicf>cn nur beloI;nt

tuenn er felbft bie Grbe

Unb

S3erbrt ber ^d^fte

faum berl;rt, Sohn \i)m faum ba^ aupt.

^ft

203

Gin unfrud;tbarer 3^^fi9

2)a ber

^^^ Gefc^enf,
^ei^ung

2>cre{;rer unfruchtbare

S^^m

flerne bringt,
fic^

bamit

fic

einer

8cbulb
>3S

2(uf'^ leid^t'fte

entlabe.

Tu

mijjcjnnft

3)em

3^ilb be ^irt^rcr^

ben golbnen cbein

;

llm'g fable aupt tobl ftocriid)

unb

etoi^,

^er

Sorbeerlranj

ift,

Wo

er

Tir

erfcbeint,

Gin ^if^cn mcl^r be 2eibcn al^ be lcf^.

9lntonto.
SiH ettua midj bein liebenlrb'ger !Diunb
2040

^ie

Gitelleit ber

elt toeradncn
S
c

lebren ?

r.

Gin jebe 0ut nacb feinem 2ert ju fcb^cn,

33rau4>'
id; bid) nid;t

ju Ict^ren.

5lber boc^,

G
(2o

fd>cint,

Den ^it ^u
anbre,

fel;r iine

^dt bebarf ber 5i>eife, bafe man ibm bie Gter,

^cicje.

2045

Tie

er befiljt,

im

redeten fcid>te

^u,

eblcr 5)iann,

bu Unrft an

ein ^'l>intom

ison Gunft unb G^re feinen Slnfprucb mad)en.

T)er Xicnft, mit
3Jiit

bem bu beinem Jrften

lebenbi,

bid^,

bcm bu

bciue grcunbc bir terbinbeft,

ift

2050

3ft tirfcnb,

unb

fo

mu^

T)er Sol^n axld^ Mnxllid)

unb
bir,

lebenbiij fein.

2)ein Sorbecr

ift

bao

frftlid^e iscrtraun,

Ta-g auf ben 3cbultern

aU

liebe 2aft,

84

2:

orq ua

2:a ff

0.

c^3 e(>uft unb leicht getragen xu\)t ^ein dinl}m ba^3 allgemeine 3wtraun.
;

ift

2055

Qlntonio.

Unb

i)on ber G5unft ber

grauen

fagft

bu nid^tg

Xk
2Bie

imUft bu mir boc^ nid^t entbehrlich) fd}ilbem?

t.

man

nimmt. SDenn bu entbebr[t

fie nid^t,

Unb

leidster irre fie bir ^u entbeljren,

2060

2ll fie e

jenem guten

^ann nidit

ift.

SDenn

fag', gelng' e einer

grau, trenn

fie

'^aii) il)rer 2lrt fr bic^

3Jlit bir fid^

^u forgen backte,

gu befd^ft'gen unternhme?

S3ei_bir

ift

atte

Drbnung,

(Sidf>cr]^eit

2065
forgft^

Xu u

forgft fr ic^, tie

()aft

bu fr anbre

trag

man

bir geben md^te.

'^^ncx

Sefc^ftigt un in unferm eignen gadjie.

3^m
3u
5Jiit

fel)(t'

fcfiaffcn eine

an taufcnb ^Icinigfcitcn, bie grau fid; gern bcmbt.

2070

2)a^5 fc^infte Scinenjeug, ein fciben^leib

etn)a Stiderci, ba<o trgt er gern.

Gr

ficht fid)

gern gc)?u^t, ielmclir, er !ann

i\ned;t bc3ci4nct,
fott

Uncblen 3toff, bor nur ben

3F)m
fein

2In feinem 2cib nidbt bulbcn, atte

2075

unb gut unb fd>n unb

ebcl ftebn.

Unb

bcnnodfi bat er !cin G)efd>id, ba^S

ac^

(Bxd) anjufdiaffen, trenn er cg bcfi^^t,

id^ 5u crbalten

immer

feblt

e^5

ibm

%n
Gin

G3elb,

an 3orgfam!cit.
balb
cinc^3 bort.

^Vilb l^t er

ba

20S0

3 lud,

Gx

fcbrct nie

ison einer Steife tvicbcr, bafj ibm nidU

Gin ^ritteil

feiner

3adcn

feblc.

Salb

3.

ufjug.

4.

auftritt.

85

33cftic^It ibn bcr S3cbicnte.

Bo,
S^^r

3(ntonio,

Qat man

fr x^n ba^ ganjc

ju forgcn.

085

tCntonio.

Unb

biefc

Sorge mad}t i^n

lieb

unb

lieber.

bem man feine ^Jingel 3ur ^ugcnb rechnet, bem fo fc^n vergnnt i\i, Anaben n o(^ al^ 3^ann fu fpiclen. ber 1^ feiner l^olben <Bd)\Dddft rhmen barf
GJlcfferger Jngling,

^n

2090

2)u mfeteft mir

crjcil^cn, f(^nc

Jreunbin,

3enn

i(f>

aud> hier ein njenig bitter trbe.

nid>t alle<^, fagft nid;t h>a^ er tagt,
er !lger
ift

2)u fagft

Unb ba
Gr rhmt
3)ie

aU

iie

man
!

benft.

fid) jteier
l?in

Jylammen
n?ieber

fnpft

unb

lf't

*o95

knoten

unb

unb gewinnt
3ft'3

mt
3u

folrf)en fnften folc^c iperjcn!

glauben ?

r.

0ut

eelbft ba betoeif't ja fc^on,

ift,

^a^
Unb

e^5

nur greunbfdiaft
U">ir

ira^ uu^ belebt.

tucnn

benn auch

i^ieb'

um

^icbe taufc^ten,

2100

Selo^nten

tir ba^^ fdii?ne .s^erj nid;t billig,

fid) fclbft toergifet

^a^

ganj

unb l^ingegebcn

3m

^olbcn 2:raum fr feine Jreunbe lebt ?

fl
11

0.

55ernj^nt i^n nur unb

immer mehr unb mehr,

2105
euc^

Safet feine Selbftigleit fr 2iebe gelten,

S3cleibigt alle
5JJit treuer

greunbe, bie

fid>

3ecle mibmcn, gebt bem Stollen

greiJiHigen 2:ribut, ^crftret ganj

2)en fd^nen rei^ gef elligen iertraunS

86

Storqitato Xojfo.

Seonore.

Wxx fmb

nid^t fo ^arteiifd^ trie

bu

glaubft,

21 lo

(Srma^nen unfern greunb in manrfjen gHen

Sir U)nf(^en
ifin

gu bitben, ba^ er mef)r

Sic^

felbft geniee,

me^r

fid^

ju genieen

2)en anbern geben fnne.

2Ba an ibm

3u

tabeln

ift,

ba

bleibt

un

nid^t Verborgen.

21 15

5lntonio.
2)od^ lobt i^r i)iele

mag

^u tabeln h)re.
fo leicht gu

3d^ fenn'

iljn

lang', er
ficf)

ift

fennen,

Unb

ift

5u

ftol^

ju verbergen.

S3alb

SSerfinft er in fic^ felbft,

aU

h)re gan^
fic^

Xk
Sn

2elt in feinem Sufen, er

feiner Selt genug,

ganj

2120

unb

alle ringg

Umf^er berfd;iinbct i^m.

Gr

IJ3t

e gebn,
in fic^

fi^t'g faHen, \tiV> Fiintreg

unb rubt

2^25

2(uf einmal, tie ein unbcmerftcr

gunfe
au

SDie ^Tcine jnbct, fei e grcube, eib,

3orn ober rie,

_3)ann
hjill

l^eftig bricbt er

er alles f ffen, alle l^alten,

2)ann

fotl gcfcl;c^n,

\va^ er

fid;

beulen

mag
2130

3n
3n
Qx

einem 5lugenblicfe

foCt entftelfin,

2a S^bre lang
SSa
5Rl^e

bereitet tvcrbcn foKte,

fein,

einem 2lugenblic! gehoben

faum

in 5l?^cn lfcn !nntc.

\)on fidi,

forbert

ba Unmglid>e

2)amit er e bon anbern forbern brfe.

2)ie legten

Guben

aller

Tinge
;

ttnll

2135

ein

G5eift

jufammenfaffen

ba^J gelingt

aum Gincm
Unb
er
ift

unter 5)iillionen ^lenfc^en,

:

md}t ber ?3iaun

er fllt ^ule^t.

Um

m(t)t gebeffcrt, in fic^ felbft jurd.

3. ?liifjiig.

4.

9luftrltt

87

Seonorr.
6r
fc^abct

anbcm

m(f>t, er fd>abct fid^.

3140

ttntonio.

Unb

bod^ erle^t er anbrc nur ju fc^r.

itannft bu e leugnen,
!irer 2eibenfc(>aft, bie

ba^ im 2tugcnWi(f
grftin fclbft,
^u lftem toagt ?

i^n bc^enb ergreift,

2(uf

Gr auf ben Surften, auf bic wen c^ fei, ju frfml;n,

augenblicflic^

145

^\vax

nur

allein genug,
:

^er

2lugenblic!

!ommt

iincber

er bc^cnfc^t

80
3c^

toenig feinen 3)iunb aii feine ^ruft.

gronore.
follte

bcnfen, \c\\n er
3-'it

fic^ toon l^ier

Stuf eine furse

entfernte, feHt'
fein.

iol;!

fr

il?n

unb anbre mi^ixd)

9[

tt i

0.

S3ieIIcicbt, bielleic^t

auc^ nicbt.
;

^oc^ eben
ic^ n>ill

je^t

3ft nic^t baran ju bcnfcn

benn

2)en gebier nicbt auf meine Sdniltern laben

^5 fnnte fcbcinen,

ba^

ic^ il;n bertreibe,

2155

Unb id^ toertreib' il;n nicbt. Um meinethjiHen ann er an unfcrm pfe rubig bleiben Unb luenn er firf^ mit mir berfbnen n^iH, Unb tuenn er meinen '^lat befolgen !ann,

n^erben h)ir ganj leiblich leben !nnen.

ai6o

!Run

Fioffft

bu

fclbft

auf ein

emt

,m h)ir!en,

3)ag bir

toor

^urjcm noc^

toerloren fd;ien.

Antonio,
2ir
]f)offen

immer, unb in allen 2)ingen

Sft bcffer

l^offen

aU

berjmeifcln.

uTcnn

88

Torquato

Staffo.

2er !ann ba 9}^glid^e bered^nen?

Sft unferm grften iDert.

r Qx mufe un
toir
e.

2165
bleiben.

Unb

bilben irir
ift

bann and) umfonft an i^m,

ben
r

0
0

er nid^t ber eing'ge,

fi

bulben.

o^ne Seibenfd^aft,
ic^ bic^ mdfit.

fo

un^artefd^
l)a\t bic^

laubf

Du
n
1

fd^neU befe^rt.

2170

91

0.

3)a$
3)afe,

Sllter

mu

bodf

^'ina\ SSorjug l^aben,

nicbt entgel^t,

toenn eg aud^
fid^

bem S^^^tum

bod^

auf ber tette faffen !ann.

!3Du tarft,

mic^ beinern greunbe ju erf^nen,

3uerft bemfjt.
%^vl' trag

3^un bitf i^ e bon

biefer

bir.
fic^ finbe,

2175

bu fannft, ba^

Wlann
fei.

Unb
3d^

alle^ h)ieber balb in

gef^e felbft

leic^cm
ic^
ift,

gu ifjm, fobalb

nur

Son bir erfahre, bag er rut)ig

obalb bu glaubft bag meine egentoart

2180
t^uft,

Xa^

Uebel

nid^jt

bermebrt.
;

Xo(i)

Wa^ bu
ic^

!J)a tf)u' in bicfcr (Stunbe

benn e ge^t

2ll^F)on ^cut' abenb nod; jurc!,

unb

SBerb' i^n begleiten.

2eb' inbeffen tuo^l.

fnfter ^ftritt.
Seonorr
gr bie^mal,
lieber
(audn).

grcunb, fmb

tuir nicbt cinS

2185

3)^nn Vorteil unb ber beine geben beut'

^\d}t ipanb in anb.

^6) nc

bicfc 3cit

Unb

fuc^e 2;affo 5U getinnen.

c^ncll

I)

^l

f 5

g.

mvntv
2
S3ift

Jlnftritt

Zimmer.
f f

(aQein).

bu au einem "Xxaum
hid)

ertac^t,

unb
uft

ffat

^er
^ai
(Sin

fdinc 3:rug auf einmal bic^ crlaffcn?

2190

an einem liaQ ber

l^chften

Schlaf gebnbit, ^lt unb ngftet nun

frftcrcn gcffcin bcine

Wxt

Seele?

3^/

^u
^ic

\vad}]t

unb trumft.

um

bein

Stunben ^in, aupt mit Slumenfrn^en fpielten?

finb bic

2Bo

29S

^ic 2aQC,

Jo bein eift mit freier 8el;nfu(^t

c Unb
2)u

$immel^5 au^^efpannte^ 33lau burAbrang?

bcnnorf; lebft
f^lft
bicf;

bu

noc^>,

unb

f^lft bid; an,

an, unb

hjeifet nid;t

ob bu

lebft.

3ft' meine Sd;ulb,

ijt'^

eine anbern (Bc^ulb,

l;ier

2200

afe

id;

mid; nun

aU

fd^ulbig
ic^

befinbe?

^^ah' \d) tocrbrodien, bafe

leiben foH ?

3ft nid)t mein ganjer gel^ler ein 5>erbienft ?

^d) fa^
2)er

i(;n

an,

unb iarb om guten

25}illen,

SSom ^offnung^SliHi^n be ^erjcn

fei

bereilt

2205

ein 5JJenfc^, ber menfdjlit^ 5(nfe^n trgt.

lo,

3c^ ging mit offnen STrmen auf i^n

Unb

fhlte 3d,ilo6

unb

9{iegcl, feine Sruft.

l>att' id^

bod; fo !lug mir augebad;t,

h)ollte,

Sie

ic^

ben Wlann em^jfangen

ber

2210

! !

90

2"

r q

11

3: a

U 0.
h)ar
!

33on alten Seiten mir

t)erbciftig

*^^ V

STEdn h)a immer

bir begegnet fei,

e

0 l^alte

bid;
f

an b
mir,

r eii^f^eit feft

^^ haU
er
6ie

ie gefe^n!
^^u

Sie ftanb bor mir!

(Sie f^rad^
33Iic!,

id^ fjabe fie

bernommcn
f>oIbcr

2215

bcr

^on, ber 2Borte

Sinn,

finb auf eioig mein, e^ raubt fie mdjt

Xk
llnb

Seit,
f)ob

ba^ Sc^ncffal,

nodf)

ba

h^ilbc

ld

mein eift

firf)

ba ^u fd^ncK empor,
2220

Unb lieg id) aH^^u rafd; in meinem 33ufen Ter gla^nme 2uft, bie mic^ nun felbft berj^cl^rt,

So

!ann mid^'^

nic^^t

gereun, unb Unire felbft

be^3

Stuf etoig ba efd)id

gebend ^in.
folgte frof^

3d) toibmete mid)

if^r,

unb

em

2in!e, ber mid; in' 33erberben rief.

2225

^ fei! So l)ab' id) mid^ bod) ioert gezeigt ^e !ftlid;en 3Sertraun^, ba mid; crquidt, gn biefer Stunbe felbft erquidt, bie mir
2)ie fd^^hjarje ^'forte langer ^rauer^eit

feialtfam ffnet.

'^a,

nun

ift'-g

gethan

2230

ge^t bie

Sonne mir
;

bcr fdbnftcn G>unft

Sluf einmal unter

feinen bolben 33Iicf

Gntjie^ct mir ber 3"rft/ unb l jjt m\d)

Stuf bftrem, fd;malem

Her
--.o

^fab

erloren ftebn.

2)a^

F^fjlicbe

^ioeibcutige cflgel,

3)a^

leibige GJefoIg' ber alten 5iad>t,

6^

fd^iovmt berbor unb fdnuirrt mir

\d)

um

ba^3 .C'^aupt.

SBo^in, h)obin bcloeg'

meinen Sd;ntt,
2240

S)em Gfel ju entflicF^n, ber m\d) umfauf't, 2)em Slbgrunb 5U entgel^n, ber or mir liegt?

4.

ufjufl.

2.

uftritt

91

Swriter auftritt
ttonort. Zoffp.
coiiorr.

2a^
Sie

ift

begegnet?
birf^,

SieBcr 2affo, ^at

^cin Gif er
ift'-g

bein 5(rgh)o^n fo getrieben?

gefd^chn?

2iUr ae ftebn bcftrjt.

llnb beinc Sanftmut, bein gefllig 2efen,

^ein fd^neUcr iBlicf, bein richtiger 35erftanb^ Wit bcm bu jcbem gibft \vai '\[}m gebort,
^cin
G5Icid)mut, bcr ertrgt, toa^ ju ertragen

45

SDer Gble balb, ber Gitle feiten lernt,

^le finge

iperrfc^aft ber

3""3' ""^

flippt

2250

3)Unn treuer grcunb, faft ganj erlenn'

a-offo.

id^ bi(^.

Unb

n)enn ba^3 allc

nun

tocrloren

trre?

293enn einen Jvrcunb, ben bu einft reic^ geglaubt,

Stuf einmal
2Bol)l ^aft

bu

aU

einen 33ettler fnbeft?

bin nic^t

bu

rec^^t, id>

mebr

ic^ felbft,

Unb bin' boc^ no6) fo gut aU Ujie \d)'i War, Q^ fc^cint ein 9?tfcl, unb bocb ift e^3 !ein^. ^er ftiHe 3)ionb, ber bid; bei '3iacbt erfreut, 2)ein 2luge, bein emt mit feinem Bdftin Untiberftcblic^ lodt, er fdiUu'bt am ^age
Gin unbcbcutenb
blaffc i\>iJlfd;cn ^in.

2255

2260

3c^ bin Dom lanj be Xage^ berfc^ienen,

3^r

fennet mic^,

id;

Icnne mic^ nid;t me^r.

Seonorr.
SBa bu mir
faqft,

mein Jreunb,

bcrftcl^' ic^ ni(^t,

Sie bu e fagft.

Grllre bic^ mit mir.

92

2;ovquQ

to

Xaijo.

^at
id^

bie Seleibic^unc; be fc^roffen

fo ge!rn!t,

SJ^anng

2265

bag bu

bid^ felbft

unb un

So
$5 dB

gang berfennen magft ?

3Sertraue mir.

2:off0.
bin nid^t ber 33eleibic^te, bu
fieFjft

9Jlidt)

ja beftraft, icil ic^ beleibiflt l)aU,

vieler Sorte lf t
fcfineU,

2)ie

knoten
leidet

ba 6c^irert,
bin nefanc^en.

2270

^u tei^t io^l !aum erf(f)ridf nid^t, j^arte ?vreunbin ^u triff ben greunb in einem Werfer an.
ft

@ar

unb

alldn

id^

SJlid^ 5rf)tiet

ber g^rft

iie

einen (Sd^ler.

i*^
2275

3d^ tiE mit i{;m

nic^t redeten,

!ann e^

nid^t.

S
S)u
fd^eineft

r e.
ift

me^r

aU

bii

betoeflt.

Toffo.
ltft bu mid^ fr fo fd;iac^, fr fo ein ^inb,

2)a6

foI4> ein

}^aU m\d) qU\d) zerrtten !nne?

ift

\va^ (5efd)cbn

!rnft mic^ nidU fo

tief,

Slllein

ba !rn!t

m\(i) ioa'S e

mir bebeutet.

22S0

a6 meine
eto^ren

5teiber,
l

meine ?vci"be nur

ift

grei unb offen

ha^ gelb.

fieonorr.
2)u ^ft gar mandfien 5d;
l}aht fclbft m'xd)
flfd>lid; in 3scrbadBt,

bcrjeugen lnncn.

Unb

auc^ ^Tntonio feinbet bid> nid>t an,

2ie bu e njt?nft.

^er

beutige 3>erbru6

2285

2:ttf(o.

^cn

laff'

idf)

ganj bei Seite, ncbme nur

Stntonio ioie er toar unb ioie er bleibt.

SSerbriefelic^ fiel

mir

ftet^ bie fteife

lug^eit,

4.

ufjug.

2.

?luftritt.

93

Unb bag

er

immer nur bcn

5Rciftcr fpielt.

**9o

2tnftatt 5u forfd)cn, ob bc-5

9?i(^t fd;on fr pc

rer cift

uf fluten Spuren manblc,

beffcr

^elcJ^rt er

birf)

on mandem, ba^ bu

Unb

tiefer fblteft,

unb toernimmt

!ein S^Bort

Xai

bu

it^m faflft,

unb

hjirb bic^ ftetd toerfennen.

2295

5erfannt ^u fein, erfannt toon einem Stollen,

3)er Id)elnb bid; ju berfeinen glaubt!

**^^-***

3c^ bin

fo alt no(^ nic^t

unb

nic^^t

fo !lug,

^ai

\d}

nur bulbenb geflenldcbeln foHtc.

fic^ nicbt

5rl> ober fpat, e^ fonntc

balten,

*3Po

2Bir mujjten bredien

fpater tor' cd nur

(Sincn

Um

befto fcblimmer trorben.

id;

crm

Grfenn'

nur, bcn errn

ber mic^> ernhrt,

2)em
^rei

folg' id> gern, fonft n)ill ic^ feinen 3Jiciftcr.

till id>

fein

im 35enfen unb im ^id>ten

230S

3m
Qx

anbeln

fcbrnlt bie

elt genug un^

n
rf

ein.

2
fpric^t

mit Sichtung

oft

genug on

bir.

Joffo.
Jiit

6d)onung,
glatt

n)illft

bu fagen,
;

fein

unb

llug.

Unb ba

verbriefet mid; eben

benn

er meife

unb

fo bebingt ju fpred)cn, bafe

310

8ein ^oh

erft red;t

ju ^^abel n?irb, unb bafe

^\d)i^ me{;r,

nicf^t^ tiefer bic^ berieft,

aU 2ob

2(u^ feinem

^unbe.

Seonorr.
9J2d^teft bu,

mein greunb^
23

SSernommen ^aben,

hjie er fonft toon bir

Unb bem Talente

fprac^,

ba

bir toor toielen

94

2^

r q

ua

2: a

0.

Xk

gtige 9^atur tjerlie^.

bift

@r

f^lt gchjig

2)ag ta bu

unb

^aft,

unb fc^^t

e^ aud^.

Saffo.
glaube mir, ein
felb[ti[cf)eg

emt
h)of)(

^ann
in
2)a

nidjt ber

Qual

be engen 9Zeib entfliegen.

fold^er

9)knn
felbft,

ber^eifjt

bem anbern
;

2320

SSermgen, taub unb Qljxt

i^aft

benn

er ben!t,
iritlft,

bu

ba^ ^aft bu ienn bu

Senn bu ^oc^ ba

be^arrft, ienn bic^

it>a^ bie

ba &ld begnftigt.
2325

9^atur aein berlei^t,

Sag

jeglicher

Semfjung, jebem treben

bleibt, ta ieber

tet^ unerreichbar

olb,
r^*^'*^ "

^06) ec^toert, noc^

^lugl)cit, noc^ 33ebarrlid^!eit

i)er5eil?n.

rjiingen !ann, ba birb er nie

r gnnt e mir? r, ber mit ftcifcm Sinn ^ie unft ber SJiufen 511 ertrotzen glaubt ? 2)er, lcnn er bie @eban!en mancl)cr Tid)ter
Sufammenrei^)t,
fiel)

2330

felbft ein 3^iditer fc()cint?

2Beit el^er gnnt er mir bc grftcn unft,

2)ie er boc^ gern auf fic^ bcfd;rnten md;tc,
2II0

ba Xalent, ba jene i^immlifcl^en

berJaif'ten
fi

2335

2)em armen, bem

Jngling gaben.

r r.

fbeft

bu

fo flar, h)ie ic^ e^ fcl;e

Tu

irrft bid;

ber i^n

fo

ift

er nic^t.

2offo.

Unb

irr' x6)

mid; an il^m,

fo irr' ic^

gern
2340

3d> bcnl'

il;n

mir

aU

meinen rgftcn gcinb,

toenn
ic^

Unb

itr' untrftlicb,

mir i^n nun

elinber bcnfcn mjjte.

2^l)ridU ift',
;

3n

allen

Sxden

billig fein

e l^ei^t

4.

ufjufl.

2.

auftritt.

95

!J)cnn gegen

ein eigen elbft jcrftren. 8inb bie ^enf(^en ung fo billig? ^^Zein, o nein

^345
"^

^cr Wkn]6) bcbarf in feinem engen SBefcn ^er boppcltcn (Sm^finbung, Sieb' unb a6Sebarf
er nirf>t bcr 9Zac^t

-^ ^^"

aU

toie

be^

^ag?

2)e Sc^Iafen h)ic bc Sac^end?

5^cin, ic^

muj
2350

S5on nun an biefen 3Kann ald cgenftanb 55on meinem tiefften

a6

behalten

m(f)td
f

5lann mir bie

fiuft entreien,

fc^limm unb

(glimmet

SBon i^m ^u ben!en.

fironore.
2iQft bu, teurer ^reunb^

S5on beinern
2Bie bu

3inn

nic^t laffen,

fel^' xd)

!aum
23SS

am

ofe lnger bleiben

gilt

hjiQft.

^u
SBie

toei^t

mie iel er

unb

gelten

muj.

Zoffo.
fel;r ic^

lngft,

fc^one greunbin, ^ier

cbon

berflffig bin, baiS toei^ ic^ h?o^!.

fieonorr.
2)a^
bift

bu

nid)t, ba^S fannft

bu nimmer ierben
2360

^u
3!)ie

toei^t bielmc^r iuic gern ber ("^rft mit bir,

;

Sie gern bie ^^rftin mit bir lebt

Sc^tcfter \)on Urbino,
febr

unb fommt
fie faft

!ommt

80
Unb

um

bein'ts
alle

aU

ber cfdniftcr JoiUcn.

ie beulen

gut unb glcid; toon bir,

365

ieglid;e ertraut bir unbebingt.

loffo.

Seonore, h^eld^ 33ertraun

er \)on

ift

ba ?

at
Gin

[einem Staate

je ein

ort,

ernfte^ 2^ort mit

mir gcfprcd;en?
er fogar

^am

Crin eigner

gaH, U^orber

! !

96

Torquato Xa\\o.

3n
5!JJit

meiner egentoart mit feiner

cl^tt>efter,

2370

anbern

fid; beriet,

mid; fragt' er nie.

:

a ^ie^ eo immer nur Slntonio !ommt Man mug SlntDnio f cbreiben gragt Slntonio
!

e.

SDu flagft anftatt ju banfen.

SBenn

er bic

3n

unbebingter ^rei^eit laffen mag,

el^rt

2375

60
@r

er bid^, toie er bid^ e^ren fann.

2:affo.
lfet

mid^ ru^n,

teil er

mic^

unn^

glaubt.

Seonore.
2)u
bift nid^t

unn^, eben

ieil

bu

ru^ft.

lange

f^egft

bu fc^on 3Serbrug unb 6orgc,

2380

2ie ein geliebte^ ^inb, an beincr 33ruft.

Sd^ ^ab' e
2Bie
id;

oft bcbad)t,

unb mag' bebenfen

el

litT,

auf bicfem fc^inen Soben,

bid) ju ijerpflanjen fd)ien,

SBolfjin

ba^ lud

ebeif^ft

bu

nid)t.

6|)rec^' id; e^

au ?

^Taffo

3ftat' ic^

bir'g?
!

foHteft bic^ entfernen

2385

2offo.
23erfc^one
9^eic^' i^^m
nidfjt

ben Traufen, lieber

2lrjt

ba

Dh'^
3c^

bitter fei.

Dh
man,
unb

3JiitteI,

benfe widjt baran,

er gcncfen fnne,

2)a berlege
fei;'

hjofjl,

!tugc, gute grcunbin

ift

eg aOe^ fclbft, e^

Dorbei

2390

3d) fann il^m Wo^l

tocrseifjcn, er nicbt

mir

Unb Unb
Gr
3d^

fein bcbarf er
ift

Iciber

meiner
idf^

nid;t.

!(ug,

leibcr bin

nidit.

iirft

5U

meinem Scfmben, unb

id;

fann,
239s

mag

nid;t gegentirfcn.

3}Zcinc

grcunbc,

4.

?lufgu8.

2.

Huftritt.
anber an,

97

eie

laflen' ge^n, fie fct^en'd

Sie hjibcrftrebcn faum, unb foHtcu tmpfcn.

SDu laubft,
id)

fo l^inmcvj;
!

xd) fllaub'

i^ fclbft

2400

(2o lebt bcnn tro^l

^d)

h?erb' auc^

Jbr

f cib

on mir gcf dncbcn

bad ertragen.

tcrb' aud) mir,

33on eud^ ju fd^cibcn, raft unb Wlni crlie^n

ef0iiorc.
2lud^ in bcr lycrne jeigt
fic^

aUc

reiner,

5Ba^

in bcr G5cgcnh)art

un^ nur
n?clc^cn

criirrt.

SSietIcid luirft
^icf^ berall

bu crfcnnen

n?clcbe Siebe

umgab, unb

eft
toie

M05

^ie Xreue tuabrer grcunbe

^at,

unb

2)ie h)citc Sclt bie ^c^ftcn nid)t crfejt.

Joffe.

^a
^ie

hjcrbcn h?ir erfahren

STl'elt

5lenn'

xd^

boc^

toon

Sugcnb

auf, linc

[\c fo Icid;t

Un^
Sie

{^ilflo,

einfam

lfet

unb ibrcn

25.^cg

2410
gc^t.

6onn' unb !Konb unb anbre tter

Stonore.
3Semimmft bu mic^, mein grcunb,
fo follft

bu nie

^ie traurige Grfabrung

Sott
ic^ bir

Uncberf)olen.

raten, fo begibft

bu

bic^

Grft nad? S^oren^,

unb
^d)

eine j^rcunbin toirb

2415

ar

freunblid) fr bid} forgcn.

felbft.

8 ei

gctroft,

^d) bin e^

reife,

ben Gemahl

^ie nd;ften 2:age

bort ju finbcn, !ann

3^ic^t freubiger fr it?n

unb mic^
bu

bereiten,

211^ h)enn ic^ bic^ in unfre 5Jiittc bringe.

2420

5cb fage

bir {ein Sort,

h^eifjt

e^ felbft,
ioirft,

2Belc^ einem Ji^ft^'n bu bid; na^en

Unb

n^elc^e 3}inner biefe fc^ne

6tabt

3n
SDu

i]E>rem

33ufen

l^egt,

unb

hjelc^e fjrau^n.

fciE)tDeigft?

iebenf e too^I!
2:ttffo.

entfrf^Iiec bid^.

2425

ar

reigenb

tft,

tt)a

bu mir
ben

fa.qft, fo

ganj
nl^re

2)em Sunfd^
Slttein e
ift

^tnj^,
:

ic^

im Stillen
balb.

gu neu

\d) bitte bid^,

2ai m\d)
gd^

bebenfen,

\d) befdfiliege

Seonorc.
ge^>e

mit ber

frf)nften

Hoffnung teg

2430

unb un unb and) fr biefe^ aug. Sebenfe nur, unb irenn bu rec^t bebenfft,
bic^

gr

toirft

bu

fd^tDerlid^

tiWa^ Seffre^ benfen.

2ttffO.

!Rod^ ctn, geliebte greunbin

fage mir,

2ie

ift

bie grftin

gegen mic^ gefinnt ?

25>a fagte fte?

2ar

fie

erzrnt auf mic^?

2435

ie

\}at

mic^ fe^r getabclt?

Siebe frei.

ficonorc.
2)a
fic bid^

!ennt, \)at

fie bic^ leic^^t

entfc^ulbigt.

XaWo.
ab*
\d) Bei i^r

erloren?

Sc^meic^Ic

nidfit.

eonorf.
2)er grauen unft iirb nic^t fo
Icicbt erfc^crjt.

jQffO.
SBirb
fie

mic^ gern entlaffen, hjenn

id)

gef^c?

Seonorr.
SBenn eS ^u beinern 2o^l
gereicht, gehjife.

Serb'

id^

be grften

nabc

nic^t verlieren?

4.

ufjug.

2.

uftrltt

99

Seonorr.

Sn

fetner

rogmut

fannft bu fielet ru^n.

JttffO.
llnb laffcn
hJtr bie
;

grftin ganj allem?

445

3)u gebft ^inmcg

unb toenn
icf>

td^

ipenig bin,

So

h)ci^ ic^ boc^ bafe

ihr etiua^

mar.

r e.

ar
Unb
2)u

frcunblicf)e cfcfd^aft Iciftct

\v'\x i(?n

un
glc!li(^ hjiffen.

Gin ferner grcunb, n^enn

e^ gelingt, ic^ fc^c bic^ begldt,

n?irft toon ^ier nicf>t

450

unjufriebcn ge^n.
auf.

Xtx g-rft bcfal;!'^, 2rntonio fudU bic^ Gr tabelt felbft an fic^ bie 53itter!eit,
SBomit
er bid; berieft.

3^

^i** ^^^^

Sflimm i^n gelafjen auf fo tic er !ommt.

*45S

Xoffo.
3(^ barf in jebem Sinne
toor

ibm

fte^n.

Seonorr.

Unb
dlod)

fdE>enfe
el;'

mir bcr immel,

lieber

greunb,

bu

fdunt^cft bir ba^S 3(ug' ju ffnen

3)a6 niemanb
SSerfolgt

bid; im ganjen 3Saterlanbe unb ^a^t, unb l^eimlid) brdt unb

necf t

2460

^u
3n

irrft geti^,

unb

iie

bu

fonft jur

greube

SSon

bicfem

anbem bid>teft, leiber bid;teft bu ga ein fcltene^ eioebe,

2llle^5

^\(i) felbft ju !rn!en.

h?ia ic^ t{;un

Um
2eb'

e^ entjici ju reiben, bafi

bu

frei

2465

3)en fd^nen Teg be^ 2eben^ tanbcln mcgeft.

hJol;l
!

3^

^?offe

balb ein gldlid) SSJort.

! !

100

Torquato

jtaffo.

3^af{0

(aQein).

gd^

fott

erfennen bag mid^ ntcmanb l^a^t,

alle 2i[t

2)a6 niemanb mic^ verfolgt, bag

Unb

atte l^eimlid^e etoebe fid;

2470

Slllein in

meinem ^o^fe
fott id^ bafe ic^

f^innt unb irebt

S8e!ennen

Unrcd)t

E^abe,

Unb manrf)em

Unrecht t^ue, ber e^ md>t

!

Um

mid^ berbient

Unb ba

in einer

tunbc,
2475

S)a bor

bem

2Ingefid^t ber Sonne llav

3Jlein t)oIIe 9tedBt, tie tbre ^dfe, liegt.

Sd^

fott

e tief em^finben

tic

ber g^rft

Wit

offner Sruft

mir
bte

feine

unft get^rt,
erteilt,

2Rit reid^em

Wa^

abcn mir
fic^

3m
Unb

Slugenblide, ha er, fd;h)ad; genug,

2480

Son meinen geinben

feine

ba Sluge trben

anb

getoi^ aud^ feffeln l^t

Dag
aj3

er betrogen
fie

ift

!ann

er nidht fc^en,
id) nid)t

33etrger finb fann

jcigen

Unb nur bamit

2)a6
80II
fie

er rufjig fic^ betrge,

2485

gcmcf)Iid; il;n betrgen fnnen,

ic^

mid;

ftille

galten, h)cic^en gar

Unb

iver gibt

mir ben dlai? 9Bcr bringt

Scnore Sanbitale,

fo !Iug

9}?it treuer, lieber

SKeinung auf mic^ ein?

2490

enore

f clbft,

3^ie 5arte

Jrcunbin!

a,

bid; !cnn' id^

nun!

iarum

traut' ic^ i^rcr i)3pc je?

8ie

ttar nid^>t reblic^,

hjcnn

fic nodf^

fo jc^r

2)iir il)re

unft, mir i^re 3rtlid)!cit

3Kit f^en

Sorten

geigte!

^l^iein, fie

tuar

2495

4.

ufjug.
crj

3.

uftrltt
hjenbct
fic^

101

Unb W\t

bleibt ein liftig

fie

leifen flugen iritten

na) bcr unft.

fclbft

Sic oft hah'

2(ud) ber fie
g)iic^

icb
!

mid> triHig

betrogen,

nur

Unb
unb

bocb

im runbe ^at

bic Gitclteit betrogen,

o^l!
fclbft.

S>

3cl?

fannte
ift fie

fie,

fd>meid)elte
ic^

mir
mir,

8o

gegen anbre, fagt'

ift'

Tocf> gegen bic^

3'^un
f el^'

offne treue

^J einung.
nur ju fpt
^5PS

icb' h)obl,

unb

fe^' ed
fie

3c^ mar begnftigt, unb

fc^miegte fic^

6o

j^art

an ben Scgldten.
toic
ftc

3^un

id> falle,

6ie tenbet mir ben SRdcn

ba lud.

%xn fommt
8ie

aU

ein'SBerfjeug meinet f^einbc,

fd^leic^t f^eran

unb

jifcfjt

mit glatter 3""9C,

S'o

2)ie fleine Sdjlange, 5auberifd>e ^Tne.

SOSie lieblich fcbien fie
!

2ieblicber ol je

Sie

Jrol^l

tbat toon ber 2iebc jebed 2ort

2)oc^ !onnte mir bie S(^meid>elei nic^t lange

^en

falfd^cn
il;r

3inn verbergen
fie

an ber Stime
^S^S
f"^^' ^^ leicht,
fu(^t

c^ien

ba^ (Gegenteil gu !lar gefcbricben

fpracb.

9Son allem, toai

5^

Senn man ben

SQJeg ju

meinem crjen

Unb

e^ nidit ^erjlic^ meint.

3^
3^^ neuc

f^^ l)imt>eg?

oH

na(^ Slorenj,

f obalb

\^ immer !ann ?
?

Unb tDarum
^ort
3iar

nac^ S^orcnj

^^ ^ol)\.
;

2520

^crrfdit bcr 3)Jcbiccer

au^

nid;t in offner (vcinbfd^aft

ftille ^ftcib

mit gerrara,

2)0(^ ^lt bei

2)ie ebelften

mit falter

anb
s^S

emtcr au einanber.
bort on jenen cblen grften

m^fang'

id)

102

Torquato Xa^o,
rl^abne ^ix^tn t^rcr unft,
tte id^

etrig ertarten brfte, trbe balb

5Der fling meine ^Treu' imb an!bar!eit
3Serbcf)ttg

mad^en

Ieid;t

gelng' e^ if^m.
tie i^r trottt

3a,
3d^

id^ tritt teg, attein nid^t

titt IfjintDeg,

2530

unb

treiter al i^r ben!t.

F)lt midfi r)icr jurdf

Sa
id;

fott id^

^ier?

2er

berftanb ein jebe^S 2ort fo gut,

id^

2)a6

Senoren

t)on

ben Sippen

lodtte

Son 3iI6' 5U Silbe nur

erf^afc^t' ic^'^S

!aum,

Unb
3a,

iuei^
ja,

nun gan^

tie bie

^rin^cffin ben!t
nic^t
xd)

2535

auc^ bag

ift traf)r, tjerjtcifle

ie

it)irb

mid^ gern entlaffen trenn

ge^e,
!

SDa e 5u meinem 3o]^I gereicht."

(Sie eine 2eibenfc^aft

ff^ltc

im ^erjen,
richtete
!

bie

mein 2o^(

2540

Unb

mid^ ju

runbe

irittfommner

rgriffe mic^ ber 2:ob,

2)ie !alt
'flxxn

aU
bon

biefe
fid)

anb,
(^t

unb

ftarr mid;

Jd gc^e!
!

(?te bic^,

unb lag

bid; feinen (5d;ein

SSon greunbfc^aft ober te tufdien

3'^iemanb

2545

betrgt

bid^

nun, trenn

bu

bic^ nic^t betrgft.

^levtev

Slwftritt*

Vntonio. Zaffo.

icr bin

id^,

^affo, bir ein

Antonio. prt
2offo.

ju fagen,

SBenn bu mxd) ru^ig

l)xax

magft unb fannft.

^a

anbeln,

treibt bu, bleibt

mir unterfagt
255

(So jiemt

mir

iroI;l

5U irartcn

unb ju brcn.

4.

ufjug.

4.

auftritt

103

Antonio.
Sc^
treffe bic^ gclaffcn, h)ic id> trnfc^tc,

Unb

fprec^c cvn ju bir

icl>

au^

freier ruft.

Subrberft lf

in bc grften

Dramen

2)a f(^n)ac^c 33anb, ba^ bic^ ju feffcln festen.

Xttffo.
SSS

2)ic

WxUlx mac^t rnirf; frei, mic fie mi(^ banb neljm' e an unb forbrc !cin eri(^>t. 3(^
tl

B
:

0.

2)ann fag'

ic^ bir

on mir

3^

^^^^

^^<t>

3)Ut 2i5ortcn, fd>eint c,

211^
irf>,

tief

unb mehr {jetrnh,

2560

ton mand^er ^cibenf*aft belegt,

empfanb.
Stein fein fc^iimpfli* SBort

e^

(elbft

5ft meinen Sippen unbebaut cntflol^cn

3u

rd;en
hjirft

t^aft

bu nidit

aU

Gbclmann,

Unb
2aS
2ia

aU

mcn^d) 2>ergebung nid>t crfagen.

Joff.
F^rtcr treffe
ic^

5lrnfung ober Schimpf,

;

mdt unterfud^en

jene bringt

2565

3n'^

tiefe
'iPfeil

^Mrf, unb

biefer ri^t bie ^^ant.

!el;rt
;

^cr ^er

be^ Sc^iimpf^

auf ben "iiann ^urd,

ju bcrtunben glaubt

bic 3)ieinung anbrer

SBefricbigt leidet

ba^ tobigefbrte 3d^iert

^od)
3e^t

ein ge!rn!te^ er.\ erholt fi* fd>iiH'r.

2570

Antonio.
ift'^

an mir

baf^ id> bir

bringcub

fav3C

3:ritt nid>t

jurd, erflle meinen 2l'unfd\

2)w

2unfc^ be Surften, ber micb S" bir fenbct.

loffo.
3c^ fenne meine ^flicbt unb gebe nacb.

jei toerjiebn, fo

fern e

mbglub

ift

2575

;: ;

104
1)k
2)ici^tcr

SCorquato Za\\o,
fagen un on einem ^eer,

2)er eine SSunbe, bie er felbft gefcl;Iagen^

^\xx6) freunblid^e 33er^rung

{geilen

!onnte.

e^
^d)

\)at

be^ 3Jienfc^en

^unge

biefe

^raft
2580

h)itt

i^r nicf)t gelfjffig njiberfte^n.

Antonio.
3ci^

banfe

bir,

unb

tnfd^e

baj bu

miti)

Unb meinen
ann
ic^ bir

2illen, bir gu bienen, gleidfi

SSertrauIic^ prfen mgeft.

age
3^^

mir,

m^lx)

fein ?

^^^9' ^^ ^i^-

2offo.
2)u
bieteft

an ia

id^

nur n^nfc^en fonnte.

;

'

2585

2)u brac^teft mir

bie greifjeit iieber

nun

SSerfd^affe mir, id) bitte,

ben ebraud^.

Antonio.
2ag fannft bu meinen ? ag'
3:offo.
eg beutlid^ an.

2)u

hjei^t, geenbet l^ab' xd)

mein Gebiegt
iore.

fe^It noc^

toiel,

ba c bocnbet

590

eut

berreicf)t' ic^ e

bcm

S'"^ftcn, I;offte

3wglcid; i(;m eine Sitte borjutragen.

ar

toiele

meiner greunbe
;

finb' icb je^t

3n
3n 3u

$Rom berfammclt

einzeln
if^rc
;

hahox

fie

Wxx

ber mand;e tcen

5}iciiumg

2595

23ricfcn fd;on erffnet

Dielet ijah' xd)

53enu^cn fnncn, mand^c^ fd^int mir ncc^

berlegen
;

unb Derfdjiebne teilen

gern fcrnbern, Jr>cnn
c^3

3)?d)t' id) nicbt

man

mid^
2600

!Kic^t mcl;r,

aU

gcfcbcbn

ift,

berzeugt.

2)a^ ae

iirb burc^ Briefe nic^t get(;an

;:

4.

aufjufl.

4.

uftrltt

105

!Dtc GJegenirart lf't biefc

noten balb.

bac^t' id) t)cut' ben Jrftcn fclbft ju bitten:

n\d}i :}laum
;

Qd) fanb

nun barf

id

c nic^t

magen,
2605

Unb

l^offe

bicfen

Urlaub nun burd;

(Intonio.

bicb.

Tlxx

fdficint nid^t rtlicf^

ba^ bu

bic^ cntfcmft

gn bcm

5}Jomcnt, ba bcin toocnbct ^^crf

cm
ein

"drften

unb bcr grftin

bid) cm^)ficf^It.

2ag bcr GJunft ift iic ein 2ag bcr Grntc Jian mu gefd^ftig fein fobalb fic reift.
Gntfcrnft bu bic^, fo mirft bu nic^td gewinnen,
SBiellcic^t toerlicren

2610

h?a bu fcbon gcn^annft.

eine mcbt'ge

2)ie

cgenmart

ift

Gttin

Sern' i^ren Ginflufe fennen, bleibe ^ier

2offo.

3u f r d^ t e n \:}ah' ic^ QUt^ l}ai er gegen mid^

Unb
n)a^
id;

nid)t^

3npbon
gcjeigt

ift

ebcl,

261

fic^ grofj

f f

c,

tm

ic^

feinem i^er^en

Slttein toerbanfen, feine

Ginabc mir
ic^ l>on

rfc^leicbcn

nidUd hjiU

i^m empfangen,
2620

a
0
Unb
@r

i^n gereuen fnnte baft cr' gab.

Antonio.
forbre nid^t on il^m bajj er bic^ jc^t
;

Gntlaffen foK
ic^

er Ujirb e^

ungern

tl^un,

befrd^te faft er t^ut c nid^t.

2ttffo.
tirb e gern,

mcnn

red>t gebeten h)irb,

Unb bu ermagft
^oc^

c^ mo^l, fobalb bu Ujift.

262s

9lntoiito.

hjelc^e

rnbe,

fag' mir, leg' id^ toor?

106

Torquato Za]]o.
Xttffo.

2a^ mein ebid^t au jcber Stange fprec^en 2a ic^ geiDoUt ift lblich, h)enn ba^ ^\d
Slud^

meinen Grften unerreid;6ar

blieb.

Sin gleig unb SJll^e ^at e nic^t gefehlt.

2)er SDer
l^eitre
ftitte

2630

Sanbel mand^er fc^nen XaQt,

fo

dlanm

mancher

tiefen 5Rci^te

SSar

einzig biefem frol;en Sieb geteif)t.

l^offt' id;

33efc^eiben

jenen groen SReiftern

;

2)er SSortoelt mid^ gu nal>en

!^n gefinnt,

2635

3u

eblen ^l)aten unfern g^itgenoffen

2lu einem langen Sd;laf ju rufen, bann

53ielleic^t

mit einem eblen ^riften^eere

efal>r unb 9f?u^m be Ijeil'gen ^riegg 5U teilen.

Unb
(So

foH mein Sieb bie beften 5DZnner teden,

2640

mu^

e3 aur^ ber beften irbig fein.

2ll^l)onfen bin id; fc^ulbig tita \d) tbat

^un

mc^t'

ic^ \i}m

and} bie S^oEenbung banfen.

9ntonio.
Unb
^hcn biefer grft
ift l)ier,

mit anbern,
2645

2)ie bid; fo gut al i)imer leiten fnnen.

SSoHenbe

l; i

r bcin 2Scr!, ^icr

eile

ift

ber ^Ma,

Unb um

gu W'xxUn

bann nac^ 9?om.

Zoffo.
Sllpbon bat mid; juerft begeiftert, tuirb

elig ber le^te fein ber

xnid) belel;rt,

Unb

beinen dlat, ben

dUt

ber !lugen ^JDinncr,

fd)^'
ic()

2650

2)ie unfer

of Derfammelt,
nid;t

l^od.

3l?r foHt entfcbeiben, tvcnn mid) ja ju

2)ie

9lom

greunbe

Dofmmen berzeugen.

!!

4.

ufjufl.

4.

uftrltC
onjaga f}at bcm ic^ erft

107

2)oc^ biefe

mu^

ic^

fc^n.

Wlxx ein Gericht erfammclt,

655

Wid)

ftcHen mufe,

3^

^^"" ^^ ^^"*" crtDarten.

glaminio bc'

5iobiIi, Slngclio

S5a 33arga, 2(ntoniano,unb Spcron

3)u
iirft fic

fcnncn.

2cI(^c iamcn fmb'^

fic

8pcrom

SScrtraun unb

Sorge flgen

^ugleic^

2660

3n meinen

@eift, ber gern fic^ untcrtDirft.

Antonio.

^u
Unb

bcnfft

nur

birf,

unb

bcnfft bcn grftcn nic^t.

3c^ fage

bir, er hjirb bic^ nic^t

tbxxt,

entladen

tcnn er'5

entlt er bid^ nid?t

gem.
665
^ier

^u

imtift ja nic^t tocilaugcn, iavJ er bir

9^ic^t

gern getf^ren mag.

Unb

foK

ic^

SScrmitteln, \vai xd) fclbft nic^t loben

!ann?

a:affo.
SSerfagft

bu mir ben

erften 2^ienft, hjenn id^

2)ie angebotne

greunbf c^aft prfen tiH ?

Antonio.
3)ie hja^re ^^eunbfcbaft 5cigt fic^

im 3>erfagen
bie fiiebe

2670

3ur

rechten

^c, unb e getobrt

locnn

@ar oft ein fcbblid; G3ut, ^e Jorbcnibcn mct;r aU

2)u
frfjcincft
;^u

fie

bcn

SiUcn

fein GJlcf bebenft.

mir in biefcm 2(ugenblic!

J^r gut

l;altcn \va^

bu

eifrig tvnfdieft,

2675

Unb

iift

im

3(ugenblicf tra

bu

bcgc{;rft.

SDurc^ .^eftigfcit erfe^t ber ^rrenbe,

2a ibm an
(S^ forbert
2)ie

5^^abrbcit

unb an i^rftcn
fo Uicl idi

fe^lt.

meine

'l>f^id:t,

fann
2680

aft ju mfe'gen, bie

bic^ bel treibt.

!!

108

Torquato Xa\\o.
Xoffo.
c^on lange
te
fenn'

\^

biefe 2:^rannei

2)er greunbfd^aft, bie bon allen ^\^ranneicn

unertrglidjifte

mir

fdfieint.

^u

benfft

9Zur anberg unb bu glaubft behjegcn

(B6)on red^t ^u benfen.

ern

erfenn' id^

an

2685

2)u

toiEft
id^

mein SBo^l

allein Verlange nid^t

2)a6

auf beinern SBeg e finben foU.

Qlntonio.

Unb
2Jiit

foll id^ bir fogleid^

mit faltem S3Iut,

boKer, flarer Ueberjeugung fdfjaben?

^offo.
58on biefer Sorge
titt ic^ bid^

befrein

2690

jDu

l^ltft
l^aft

mid^ nic^t mit biefen orten ab,

frei erflrt,

2)u

mic^

unb

biefe 2^brc
flj^rt.

8te()t mir

nun

offen, bie

^um grften

Sdf) laffe bir bie 2al?l.

^u
ift
!

ober

ic^

$Der grft gel^t fort.

ier
frf)nctl

!ein 21ugenblidf

2695
gc^ft,

3u 60

^arren.

2B^Ie

Senn bu md}t

gel^' xd) felbft,

unb

ioerb' e h)ie e toiH.

tHntonto.

2a^ mid^ nur

U)enig 3^'^^ ^'^^ ^^^ erlangen,

Unb ^nx

toarte

nur be Jr^ii^n ^lce^r ab

I

l^eute nic^t

Saffo.
'Jicin, biefe

8tunbc
fann

nodf,

2700

2Benn' mglirf

ift

G^3

brennen mir bie 8ol^Icn

;

5(uf biefem 5)?arnu^rbobcn

cl;er

!D^ein eift ni4>t $)hihc finben, bi^ ber

Staub

2)ed freien SBcg mic^ ilenbeu umgibt.

: ! ;

4.

ufjug.
2)u TicMt/

4.

3luftrltt

109
2705

3c^

bitte bi(^

toie ungcfc^icft

3n Su

bicfcm

Sliicjcnblicf ic^ fei,

rcben
ic^

ficbft

mit meinem
\d} ba^S

erm

toie

fann

tocrbergen

2710

5)a6

mir

fclbft in

bicfcm Slugcnblicf,

Wx feine 5Jiac^t ber 2elt gebieten fann.

fJur j^effeln

fmb

e^ bie mic^ baltcn lnnen

Sllp^on^

ift

fein 3:vrann, er fprac^ micb frei.

ic^

2Bie gern gc^orc^t'

feinen 2orten fonft!

eut' fann

ic^ nic^t

ge^orc^en.

^cui^ nur
fic^

Sagt mic^

in greil^eit, bafe

mein eift

fmbe I
7 5

^d) Uijxz balb 5U meiner ^fli(^t jurcf.

Vntonto.
X\x mac^ft mic^
jn^eifclbaft.
ftccft

2a

fott

x^ t^un ?

3c^ merfe too^l, e^

ber

^r^uwi

an.

a:affo.

6ott

ic^ btr

glauben, benfft bu gut fr mtc^,

h?a^ bu fannft.
ic^ toerlicre

tuirfe \vai \d} tpnfc^c,

!Der grft entlt mic^ bann, unb

S^ic^t feine

2720

nabe,
ic^ bir

feine ilfe nic^t.

u?itt

'^ai banf
2)o(^
I^egft

unb

bir'^ g'm crbanfcn.

bu einen alten \ od im 53ufen, SBift bu bon bicfcm .s>fc miu^ Derbannen,

SiUft bu auf etig mein cfd^icf tocrfc{;rcn,

2725

Wd)
0

hilflos in bie U?cite 2elt toertreiben,

bleib'

auf beinem

6inn unb
fltttonio.

tiberfte^

2eil ic^ bir bo(^,

^affo, fcbaben

fott,

So

WljV

\d)

benn ben 2Beg ben bu

crmFiIft.
fid) irrt

2)cr 3(ugang

mag
!

cntfcbcibcn hjcr

2730

^u

toiaft I^inicg

3c^ fag' e bir

^uljor

110

Torquato Xafjo.

icnbeft biefem

aufe faum ben ?Rndm,

6d^merj,
birf,

(So iirb bctn ^erj jurcE Verlangen, n)trb

2)em igenftnn

bic^ orirt^S treiben

SSerlrirrung, ^rbftnu barr't in

9?om auf

2735

Unb bu
Xod)

ijerfebleft f;icr

unb bort ben ^W^d,

fag' \d) bie ni(f)t mcf>r

ir>a

um

bir ju raten

gd; fage nur UorauC^

balb gefdne^t,

Unb

labe bid; and] fcfion im orau^ ein,

5Diir in

bem

fcblimmften

gaUe

gu ertraun.

2740

3c^ f^red^e nun ben grften,

irie

bu'^ forberft.

3*OffO

(ancin).

3a,

gel^e

nur, unb

gef^e fic^^er h)eg,

2)a bu micb berrebeft h?a bu

^d) lerne mic^
tjerfteen,

hjiUft.
bi[t

bcnn bu

in groer

93icifter,

unb

ic^ faffe leitet.

2745

0 5ir>ingt ba^ cben un^ ^u fd;einen, \a, 3u fein h)ie jene, bie iir inbn unb ftolji
SBerac^tten fonnten.

eutlid) fcb'

idi

nun
2750

3)ie ganje 5lunft be f^i)fifd>en en?ebe^5

^^id;

n?itt
h?i[I

3(ntonio t>on Rinnen treiben,

nid;t fcbeinen baf^ er micf> In^rtreibt.

Unb
Gr

fpielt

ben Scbonenben, ben klugen, bafe

5)^an nur red^t !ranf unb ungefcfjidt micb finbe,

33efteffet ficb

jum ^sormunb,
ben
er

bafi er mic^

3um
2)ie

^inb

erniebrige,

jum

bietbt
er
53ltc!.

2755

3^ic^t jiingen fonntc.

60

umnebelt

Stirn bee jvrften unb ber Jrftin

! ;

4.

ufgug.

5.

uftrltt
:

111

3J?an foll micf halten, meint er

(Sin fcfn 5?crbienft

f}aU bo(^

mir

bic 9Uitur gcfrf>cn!t

^od)

leiber fabc fic

mit manrf^en 3(^njc^en

760

!j)ie I^o^e

abe

h)ieber fcblimm begleitet,

^xi ungebunbncm

Stolj, mit bertriebner

Gmpfinblicbtcit unb eignem bftcrm 8inn.

Qi fei nicfjt anber, einmal Ifabt nun ^en Gincn g)?ann ba Scbidfal fo gebilbet; "lun muffe man ifm nehmen h?ie er fei,
3^n bulben, tragen unb tjiclleic^t an ibm, 3Qai greube bringen !ann, am guten 2:a0C

765

U uncrn?artctcn etinjt genicfeen, 5m brigen, h?ie er geboren fei,

21

770

60

muffe

man

il^n

leben, fterben laffen.

r!enn'

xd)

noc^ ^llpbonfen feften

8inn?

35er geinben tro^t unb greunbe treulid) fcbjt,

Gr!enn'

xd)

ihn \vk er

nun mir begegnet ?

mein Unglrf nun
nur gegen mxd)
anbre
feft

3a

tobl erfenn' xd) ganj

ift

775

2)a<

mein

Sc^icffal, bafe

Sid^ jeglicber

toeriinbert, ber fr ficbcr bleibt,

ficl>

Unb

treu

unb

leicht

ernbert

Xurc^ einen aud;,

SQat
xxxd)t

in einem Slugenblic!.

bie Slnfunft biefc^

5Rann

allein

2780

^?ein ganj 0efd)icf jcrftrt in Giner Stunbe?

^xd)t biefer ba^ ebube meinet
05lcf<g

3?on feinem

ticfflen

runb

axx^

umgeftrjt?

mu^
tie

xd)

ba

erfal^ren, mufe ic^'^ beut!

lfjt
fic^

3a,

ficl>

ac^ ju mir brngte,

;

2785

3}iicl)

ae^ nun

tie jeber

mid^ an

3u

reificn ftrebte, jeber

ftfet

mic^ ju faffen,

mic^ ae^

meg unb

meibet mid^.

; !

112

Torquato Soffo.

Unb ba taxnm ? Unb

^te
(Sociale

iriegt

benn

er

allem
2790

meinet 2Bert unb

atter Siebe,

S)ie tc^ fo rcid^Iic^ fonft befeffen,

auf?
2(ud^ bu!

ga,

atteg

frieret

mid^ nun.

STuc^ bu!
bidf

eliebte grflin, bu ent5iebft

mir

gn

biefen trben

tunben

l)at fie

mir
2795

ein

einzig Qt\6)in x^xtv

id^'g

unft gefanbt.
5U bere^ren
tte

ab'

um

fie

berbient?
fie

2)em

fo natrlid} trar
id^ if^re

u arme
!

erj,

SSerna^m

timme,

burd^ybrang

in unauf^rec^Iid^e
rblidft' id^ fie,

eflf)! bie S3ruft

ba iDarb ba ^eHe
trb'
;

gic^t

2800

S)e^

^ag mir
fid^

untiberfteF)lid^ 50g

3^r 5luge
r^ielt

mic^, i^r

5Runb mid^ an, mein ^nic

\) aufrerf)t

!aum, unb aEer ^raft

mid; ju Italien,

S)e eifti beburft'

SSor i^re

gge

nidfit

3U fallen

!aum
arer inn,

2805

SSermodftt' id^ biefen

^Taumel ^u jerftreun.
!

ier l)alU

feft,

mein ^erj

Tu
!

a6

l)kx bic^ nic^t

umnebeln
idj)

'^a, and)

!J)arf id^ e

fagen? unb
aud^ ie

glaub' e
e^5

ie !aum
2810 ganj,

3dE) glaub' e to^l

Sludf)

unb md)t'
!

mir toerfdneigcn.
fic
!

ie

(rntfd;ulbige
:

Slllein berbirg bir' nic^t

auc^ ie

aud) ic

D
0
Sa,

biefen

ort, an bem

td^ ^teifeln foHtc,

lang ein auc^ t>on Glauben in mir

biefe

lebt,

ort, cg grbt

fic^)

toie ein c^^Iufe

2815

2)cg d)idfal nod) jule^t

am

e^rnen $Hanbc

5)er Dollgcfdjricbnen Cualentafcl ein.

^f^un

fmb

erft

meine geinbc

ftar!,

nun

bin

ic^

2luf chjig einer jeben ilraft beraubt.

4.

ufjug.
tcnn

5.

uftrltt
i

113

SBic

foll ic^ ftrcitcn

gegenber
bulbcnb ^arrcn

28

3m

eerc fte^t?

2ic

foII i(^

2cnn 2enn

Sic
nicht

bic

anb mir
33lic!

nicbt

bon ferne reicht?

ibr

bcm glef^enben begegnet?

aSas

2)u ^aft' getragt ju benten, ^aft' gefprod^en,

Unb Unb
3Jiit

e
eF)c

ift

n)a^r, e^' bu e frchten fonnteft

nun ^Scrjmeiflung

bcine

Sinnen
an,

e^rnen Alanen au^einanber rei^t,

bittre Schief fal
:

3a, !lage nur ba

Unb

tpieberf^ole

nur

au(^ 6ie

aud^

@U

; !

: !

fnfter 21uf5ug.
iBvfttv ^Ittftyitt,

orten.
filpJtoni.

Antonio.

9ltttonto.
3(uf beinen Sin! ging
id;

ba jhjeitemal
l^cr.

2830

3u
Scf)

^af[o

F)in, id^

fomme Don i^m

3inn

^ah^ tf?m ^ugerebet, ja gebrungen

nicf)t

Slein er gebt bon feinem

ab,

Unb

bittet fel^nlicb,

ba| bu ibn

nac^i 3flom

2luf eine lurjc 3cit entlaffen mi^geft.

2S35

Ifil^ond.

%d} bin

toerbriefelicb,

bag

id^ bir'g gcftc^e,

id)

Unb
21I

lieber fag' ic^ bir

ba^

c bin,

ba^

id)

ben SScrbru^ berberg' iinb mebrc.

;

r r

liH berreifen

gut

id; balt'

ibn nicbt.
;

imil f>inieg, er tritt nacb

9U>m

fei

2840

f^ur

ba^ mir

<2cipio

onjaga

nicbt,

^er
2)a^

!(uge 3)iebici, ibn nid enticnbc

\:)at

Italien fo grcjj gemacbt,

ftreitet,

2)a6 jeber S^acbbar mit bem anbern

2)ie SBeffem ^u befi^cn, ju bcnu^en.

2845
'^x\i,

Gin 5clbf)err ebne

.sjeer

fd^int mir ein

[\d)

2)er bie Talente nicbt

um

berfammclt
nic^t

Unb

tocr ber 2)icbtfunft

(Stimme

tocmimmt,

5.

Sliifjug.

1.

auftritt.

115

5ft ein 33arbar, er

fei aucfc

hjcr er fei.

efunben hab'

ic^

bicfen

unb

getr^lt,
ftolj,

850

3c^ bin auf ihn ol^ meinen Wiener

Unb ba

id)

fd^on fr ibn fo icl getban,

ic^ i(;n nid^t

So

mc^t'

ebne 5iot

toerliercn.

Antonio.
3c^ bin berlegcn, benn
5or bir bie 3d)ulb l>on
2lud;
idf

trage bo(^
f^eut'

bem tra*
ju

gefc^a^

855

mi

ic^

meinen

3el;ler

gern gcftcbn,
tocr^eil^n

bleibet beiner

nabc

^od) tuenn bu glauben

<Bo
tr>rb' ic^

fnnteft,

bau

iti;

lucvi

2)a^ 3J?glid)e getban ibn ^u erfij^nen, ganj untrftlic^

fein.

fpric^

2860

5)Ut bolbem 3BIid mic^ an, bamit

^Tiic^ faffen

id^ ioieber

!ann, mir

felbft

crtraucn mag.
n
d.

91

p (

Slntonio, nein,

ba

fei

nur immer ru^ig,

865

3c^

fd^reib' e bir

auf feine Seife ^u

3c^ fcnnc nur 5U gut bcn Sinn bed ^anne,

Unb

tcig

nur aClju

Irot^I tra^ ic^

getban,

2Bie fcbr

ic^ if^n gcfd;ont,

\m
an

fe^r ic^ ganj

i{^n

SSergeffcn baft id) cigentlid)

3u

forbern

f)tte.

lieber inclc^
fid;

fann
2870

25cr

^cnfd; jum errn

mad^en, feinen Sinn

3eit.

SBejtoinget

faum

bie S^ot

unb lange

Antonio.
2enn anbrc
biele
billig,

um

bcn einen tbun,

eine luieber

ift'

aud)

bau bcr

Sic^

fleiig frage, ioa

ben anbern n^t.

2875

2er feinen cift

fo bicl gebilbet Ijat,

116

Sorauat

Xaffo.

2er jebc Siffenfd^aft ufammengeigt,

Unb

jcbe enntni, bie

ift,

un

511

ergreifen

Erlaubt
9^icf)t

follte

ber

fid^

ju be^ierrfd^en

bo^pelt fd^ulbig fein?

Unb

benft er

brau?

2Bir follen eben nid^t in 3^uF)e bleiben

leid^ h?irb un, ipenn toir 5U genieen benfen,

2880

3ur Uebung 3ur Uebung

unfrer ^^a^ferfeit ein geinb,

ber ebulb ein greunb gegeben.

Antonio.
ie
erfte ^frid;t

beg 3Jienfd)en, S^eif unb ^ran!

2885

3u

n^(en, ha ibn bie 3^atur fo eng'

S^id^t n)ie

ba

2:ier befc^rnft, erfllt er bie?

Unb
3Son

lfet er nicbt

bielmefjr fid) Jie ein 5^inb

aEem rcijen, tr>a bem aumen f dimeic^elt ? SBann mifd^it er SBaff er unter feinen 2i}ein ?
eirrje, f^e (SadBen, ftar! etrnfe,
2890

in

um

ba anbre

frf;Iingt er ^aftig ein,

Unb bann beagt

ein

er feinen trben

6inn,

feurig 33Iut, fein aju ^eftig 23efen,

fd)ilt

Unb

auf bie 3^atur unb ba cfc^irf.

\d)

Sie bitter unb tie t^ricbt l}ah'

i^n

2895

^id)t oft mit feinem Slr^te redeten fe^n

3um

ad5)cn faft, U)r' irgenb

(d5erlid[>
)i>laQt.

SS5a einen 5)ienfdicn qult

'^d) fhle bicfc^

unb anbre

Uebcl/' fagt er bnglicb

:

Unb

boll 3Scrbru6

3a rbmt
G5ut
!

ihr eure

^m\i ?

2900

cbafft mir cncfungl"

(So meibet ba^ unb ba^.

^a fann

toerfe^t ber 2Irjt,

\6) nicbt."

(So nehmet biefcn !J:ran!.

Slbfchculid, er

0
bie

nein

ber f(fcmec!t

emprt mir

^atur."

5.

iifjug.

1.

auftritt.

117
290S

6o 60

ttnnh bcnn

ff er.

^d} bin fo tuaffcrfc^cu ali ein cbi^ncr."

ift

cu(^

nicf^t

ju ^clfeit.
ftct^S

er? DZimmcrme^r Unb toarum?"

ff

2)a Ucbcl

ioirb )\d)

mit Ucbcin Raufen,

Unb, lcnn c cud;

ni(^|t

tten tann, nur

eu(^ qudlen.

Unb me^r
Sofr

mit icbcm

2ag

S(^n
no(^
er[t,

me^r

29o

feib i(^r ein Slr^t?

Jbr
ba^

fennt mein Uebel;

fic

'y^ljx feiltet

au(^ bic

3)2ittcl

teimen,

5Iu(^ fc^mact^aft matten,

i(^ nic^t

^er Seiben

Io4 pi fein, recbt [eiben mffc."

^u
^u^

lc^elft felbft

unb boc^

ift

e^ ehji^,

a9S

^aft ed tDot;(

aud feinem ^^unb gehrt?

3c^ ^ab* c

oft gefrrt

unb

oft entfc^ulbigt.

llntonio.
(So
ift

gen?i6, ein

ungem^igt 2ebcn,

2ie

e-^

un-g fc^ioere, toilbc

5)tacf^t

un^ sulc^t

am

freuen

trume gibt, 2agc trumen.

fic^

2920

2a^

ift

fein 2Irgtt?o^n

anber^ aii ein 2;raum ?

o^in
^er ^er

er tritt

glaubt er t)on Jeinben

Umgeben,
il;n

ein ^Talent fann niemanb

niemanb
bitter
il^n

fe(?n,

nic^t neibet,

beneiben,

if;n nic^t ^afet

\:)at

unb

i^n toerfolgt.

29*5

er oft

mit klagen

bi(^ belftigt:

rbrocbne Sc^lffer, aufgefangne Sriefe,

Unb
Unb

ift unb Xolc^

Sa

atte^ toor

i^m

fc^toebt

XvL ^aft e^ unterfurf^en

{^aft

laffen, unterfud;t,

bu hja gefunben?

aum
il^n

ben Schein.
if)n fic^er,

2930

!Der 3cf)u^ ^on feinem grften macbt

3)er S3ufen feinet Jreunbc fann

laben^

!!

118

jlorquato 2;ano.

Unb

h)ittft

bu einem fold^en

3f?uf)'

unb ldf,
i

SiEft bu on iE;m toljl greube b

r berf^rec^en ?

(^tteft redf)t,

Slntonio, tenn in if^m

SSorteil fud^en tpollte
SSorteil, bafe ic^ nic^t

2935

3c^ meinen ndjften

3h)ar

ift

c fc^on

mein

en

3^u^en 9'rab unb unbebingt ertvarte.

3l\d)i atte bienet

un^ auf
iill,

gleiche 2eife

2er iele^ braudjen

gebraurfje jebe

2940

3n feiner 2(rt, fo ift er iot;I bebient. a ^aben un bie ^iebici Q^l^^rt,

2)a^ l^aben ung
bie

^^fte

felbft geh)iefen.

^it

ielc^er 9?ac^fic^t, tt)eld)er frftlicben

biefe 9Jinner

ebulb unb angmut trugen

2945

Wlan^

gro^ Stalent, ba^

il^rer

reidjen

nabe

3l\)t 5u bebrf en f c^ien

unb boc^ beburfte

9tntonio.
2er
toeife

eg nic^t, mein grft ? be Sebeng

5K^e
2950

Sel^rt

un^ aKein be^ Seben ter fc^^cn.

\)at er

jung

5U bietet fc^on erreicht,

er geniejjen fnnte.

21U ba^ gengfam

D
@r

fnt' er erft erwerben, h)a^

i^m nun
ioirb

3Jlit

offnen

nben angeboten

ftrengte feine Grfte mnnlich) an,

fi^lte fid;

Unb
(Sin

bon Sdjritt ju Scbritt begngt.

I?at f(f)on

-955

armer Gbelmann

ba ^kl
ienn
i\}n

SBon feinem bcften S^iunfd;

erreid;t,

in

ebler grft ju feinem ofgcnoffen

(Srtl^len W'i,
2}?it

unb ibn ber

cntjiel^t.

2)vftig!cit

milber

anb

(3c^cn!t er

i^m noc^

2960

SBertraun unb unft unb

\m an

feine (Seite

5.

^tuf'^ug.

1.

xHiirtritt.

119

5Bor

anbcm

i^n ergeben, fci'

im Mricg,

8ei'^ in GJcfcfcftcu ober

im cfprc^
2965

0, bc^t' ic^, tonnte bcr bcf(^cibnc ^Unn Sein lcf mit fticr ^anfbartcit crc^rcn.

Unb Xafjo

l;at

^u

acm

bicfcm nod}
:

2)a^ f4>nftc Wlcf bed Snfllin

(Sein 5>atcrlanb erfcnnt

bafe i^n fc^on

l;offt.

unb auf ihn

D
(5r

glaube mir, fein launifd^

'iDlifebel^aen

$Rul?t

auf

bem

breiten ^olfter feine

lud.

*97o

(ommt,

entlafe ibn "bic|, gib

i^m 3^^/

3n 9{om unb in 'Jicapel, tt)o er tinll, ^a aufjufud^cn, h)a er ^ier toennifet, Unb U)a er l^ier nur licberfinbcn !ann.
%\p\ion9,
SiH
er jurcf erft nad>

gcrrara ge^n?

975

tlntonto.

Gr

tn)d;t in SBelriguarbo ^u tocrteilcn.

^Jitigfte,

2)a

\va^ er jur Steife biaucbt,

SBitt er burc^ einen

Jreunb

fic^

fcnben laffen.

3(^ bin' aufrieben. 3Jiit il^rer greunbin

2erb'
id; toor ii;nen

'iDIeinc

Sd^irefter ge^t

gleich jurd,

unb

rcitenb

2980

3)u

flgft

aufe fein. uny balb, icnn bu fr il;n gcforgt.

nod)
j^u

3)em ^aftcan
2)a^
er l;ier

befiehl

ba^

3Ztigc,

auf

bem

3d;loffe bleiben !ann

lang' er iui, fo lang', bi feine ^reunbe

tir

*9*S

3l?m ba epd gefcnbet, bi

ihm
9lom
eb' tpo^l
1

2)ie ^kiefc fd;iden, bic ic^ il)m nac^

3u

geben SBiUen bin.

Gr !mmt.

120

Torquato Xajio.

^Iplfoni. Saffo.

2
^ie nabe,
bie
rfcf)einet Fjeute

tt

f f

(mit Surd^altungX

bu mir

fo oft beit)tefen,

mir im i)oEen

2id?t.

2990

^u
5Du

\)a\t berjiefjen, tt)a in

beiner

^^c

Sd^ unbebad)t unb frcbel^aft beging

Ijaft

ben 2iberfad;er mir berf^nt,

erlauben

Xn

\v\U\t

ba^

id^ eine

3^it
Ujittft

3]on beiner (Seite mid^ entferne,

995

Tlix beine unft groj^mtig borbcFjalten.

^(S) fd^eibe

nun mit bttigem

mid;
foff bie

33ertraun,

Unb

^offe

ftitt,

Keine grift

3Son allem feilen \va^ m\6) jc^t beemmt.

^ fott mein eift auf'g neue fid) erf^eben, Unb auf bem 2ege, ben id) frol) unb tii\)n,
urcl) beinen 53tid ermuntert,
erft betrat,

3000

^\6) beiner unft auf neue torbig mad^en.

3d^ tnfcbe bir ^u bcincr

Steife lrf,
gef)cilt

Unb Ung

fjoffe,

ba^ bu

frofj

unb ganj

300S

tieber

!ommen

tirft.

!Du bringft un bann

2)en bo|3peItcn eiinft fr jebe Stunbe,

^ie bu un6 nun

3c^ gebe

cntjiebft,

bcrgngt jurcf.

33riefe bir

an meine cutc,
30*0

2ln greunbe bir nad; S'^om unb trnfcbc fcbr,

S)a6 bu

bic^ 5u

ben JJeinen berall

tt>ic id)

Sutraulid) (galten mgeft,

2II0

bic^

mein,

obgleich entfernt, gcJi^ betrachte.

5.

Slufaug

2.

3luftritt.

121

JttffO.

3^u Ser^ufft, o grft, mit nahen ben,

Ter

ficf)

unn^rbifl fhlt,

unb

felbft

ju banfen

3015

3n

biefem Slugenblicfe ni(^t ermag.

2(n[tatt be 2^anfd erffn' ic^-eine 33ittc

2lm meiften
3d; habe

liegt

mir mein 0ebi(^>t

am

Serjcn.
3o>

iel

getban unb feine

;

3}?l;c

Unb

feinen glei^ Q<:\p(ixt

aflein cd bleibt

3u

Diel

mir nod^

^urcf.

5^

mchte bort,

25}o nocf) ber G3eift ber Qxo\^cn

^inner

fd^h?ebt,

Unb

linrffam

fd)ti>ebt,

bort md;t' i^^ in bie 3(^ulc

;

2(uf 'd neue micf; begeben

irbiger

Erfreute beinel SeifaHd

fic^

mein Sieb.

30*5

ib bie 33Itter

mir

^urcf, bie \df

toeife.

3e^t nur befc^mt in beinen nben

Tu
Sag

it>irft

mir

nid>t

an biefem 3:age nehmen,

303?

2>a bu mir
jtifd^en

faum an biefem 2aQ gebracht. bic^ unb ^tuifdjen bein cbic^t

;

Wl\6)

aU

Ssermittler treten

^te bic^

2)urc^ ftrengen gleij bie Iieblid;e 5iatur

3u

frnfen, bie in beinen ^Heimen lebt,

f^re nid;t

Unb

auf

^at Don aen Seiten

ebanfen
t>icler

2)ie taufenbfltigcn

3035
fic^

SSerfd^icbner !Dicnfdien, bie

im ^chax

Unb

in ber 3J?cinung tribcrfpred^en, fa^t

fic^ nic^t

2)er 2)id;ter flug in Gin,unb f^cut

ar Unb

3}ian((Km ju mi^faen, bafe er J^anc^cm

befto

me^r

gefallen mge.

Xod)
unb ba

3040

3cf> fage nid>t, bafe

bu

nid^t

l^ic

SBefc^eiben beine geile brauchen foHteft,

! :

122

Slorqiiat Xafjo.

SBerfpred^e bir sugteid), in furjcr

(Sr^ltft

^dt
3045

bu abgefd)riebcn bein

Giebid^t.

bleibt
id^

bon beincr anb in meinen nben,

feiner erft mit

2)amit

meinen (Srf^treftem
Sringft bu e
hjir

Wid)

xzd)i erfreuen

m^e.

SSolIfommner bann gurcf,

n^erben

un
305

S)e ^b^eren enuffe freun, nnb bid^

S3ei

mand^er teile nur

aU

greunbe toarnen.

2offo.
^iS^ h?ieberf)oIe

nur befd)mt

bie S3itte

a mi4)

bie Slbfc^rift eilig Ijahcnl

anj

$Ru^t mein G5emt auf biefem 3Ser!e nun,

^un mu6

e Serben ta e toerben fann.

3^
60

billige

ben ^rieb ber

Vxd) befeelt

3055

^od), guter
foUteft

2:affo, irenn e mglich torc,

erft eine furje ^^^it
bid[)

bu

SDer freien 2Belt geniejjen,

jerftreuen,

ein

SBlut burc^ eine

^ur

berbcffern.

3)ir

@eir^)rte

bann

bie fcbne

armonie

3060

2)er l^erpefteHten 8inne, tr>a^ bu

nun

gm

trben ifer nur bergeben

fucbft.

2aifo.
ID^ein grft, fo frf)eint e
;

bodf), ic^

bin gefunb

Senn

ic^

mid; meinem glei^ ergeben fann,

30^5

Unb
2)u

fo

mad)t tieber mic^ mein Jlei^ gefunb.

mic^ lang' gefebn, mir
ift

l^aft

nid^t io^l

3n

freier Ueppigfeit.

W\x

l$t bie 9lu^'

2lm minb'ften 9?ube. Xie emt ift nid^t SSon ber Dktur beftimmt, ic^ f^l' e leiber.

5.

ufjug.

2.

uftrttt
fto^^

123
307<>

2luf hjcit^cm

Clement bcr 'agc

3n'g

toeite

^ccr

ber 3fitcn Mnjufc^toimmen.

T\^
fhret alleg, toa
2:ief in bi4> felbft.

1 |i

Mn

0.

bu fmnft unb
liegt

trcibjt,

um

un^J

berum
3075

ar mancher
Unb
3(^
reijenb

Slbgrunb, ben ba ^cbidfal grub:

ift

2)oc^ ^icr in unferm ipcr^cn

ift

ber

tiefftc,

fi(^

^inab ju ftrjen.

bitte bic^, entreie bi(^ bir felbft

2)cr 3)Zenfd> gctinnt, toa bcr ^oet crlicrt.

i:affo.

5(^ ^altc biefen Trang toergeben auf, 2)er 2:ag unb 5Zarf)t in meinem 33ufen med)fclt.

3080

Senn

irf)

nicbt

fmnen ober
!ein

bicbten fofl,

ift

ba geben mir

2eben mcf^r.

SBerbiete

bu bem 6eibenmurm ju fpinnen,

2Benn

er fic^ fc^on

bem 2obc n^er

enth)ic!elt er

f^)innt.

Xa^

fftlic^c

0en)eb'

30S5
ah,

2luo feinem ^""crften, unb

SBi^ er in feinen

Uifjt nicbt

Sarg

fic^

eingefcbloffen.

geb' ein guter GJott un*3

au^

bereinft

!3)a^ (3c(Mc!)al

be^ beneibcnemerten SBurm,

3090

5m
Unb

neuen Sonnentbai bie ^lc^d rafc^

frcubig 5U entfalten!

,f>re

m\)

^u

gibft fo toiclen bo^^jelten

;

C^knug

3)e^ 2cben^

lern', ic^ bitte bic^,

Den 2Bert be gebend tennen, ba^ bu no(^

Unb
3e 3e

jel^nfac^ rcic^ bcfi^eft.

2ebc

it)o^l

309S

eber

bu px un^

jurcfe febrft,
fein.

fd;oner iirft

bu un^ ioitlfommen

! !

124

Storqiiato Xa\\o.

3:ttffO

(allein).

(So ^Ite

feft,

mein ^erg,
e
ift

fo toar e red^t

(S trirb bir

fcf)tt)er,

ba er[temal,
magft unb fannft.
nic^t fein
;

2)a6 bu

bidfi

fo berfteEen

3100

^rteft io^I,

ba mar

emt,

2)a h?aren feine Sorte

2(I flnge
gib

nicf)t

mir

fd;ien,

nur 2lntonio Stimme

ad)t
!

ioieber.
fo fort
feft

nur

2)u

toirft fie

nun

SSon allen eiten Frren,

geft,

nur

3105

Um
2)er

einen Slugenblic!

ift'^

nod; 5U t^un.

SBer fpt im Seben

l^at

fid^

berfteHen lernt,
^rlicf;!eit

ben c^ein ber

torau.

U)irb fd;on gei^n,

nur be

bid^

mit i^nen.

(^a) einer ^aufe.)

S)u triumpl^ierft 5U fr^, bort !ommt

fie l^cr

3"o

ie

f)oIbe

grftin !ommt

D
in

hjelc^ efl;I

(Sie tritt l^erein; e lf't in

meinem Sufen
Sc^merjen auf.

S>erbru^ unb Slrgtolfm

fic^

Mitritt ^ufivHh
9>r{n)effin.

laffo.
tit

ecn ba Cnbc be uftritt

Ufbrigen.

jptinjeffin.
2)u bcn!ft un ju bcriaffcn, ober
bicibfl

SSielmeF^r in 33eIrii3uarbo noc^ junicf,

3"

Unb
3d;

nnft bid; bann \)cn un^ entfernen,

If^offe,

%a^o?

nur auf eine !ur5e 3^it.

$Du ge^ftnad^ dlom?

!!

6.

ufjug.

4.

auftritt.

125

XW.
3rfi richte

meinen Seg

3uerft baF^in, unb neFjmcn meine greunbc

TOc^ Qti auf, h)ie ic^ e ^^offen barf, 0 leg' ic^ ba mit 8orgfalt unb ebulb aSielleidjt bie le^te anb an mein ebic^t.
3c^ finbe
bicle

^Jnner bort toerfammelt,

%xt
fic^

^ie

ID^eiftcr aller

nennen brfen.

Unb

fprid^t in jener crften

6tabt ber Seit

Stein ju un?

3 25

%c^t

jeber ^Nla^, nid;t jeber

SOBic Diele

3n

ernfter ^J^ajeftt
ic^

Xaufcnb ftumme el;rer tpinfen und freunblic^ an

b a nic^t mein G5ebi(^t, fo fann
Seiber, ad), fc^on f^r xd),

SBoHenb'

3(^' nie boenben.

33o

TOr

toirb ju feinem Unternel^men lcf

irf)

SBernbern icrb'

e, toollenben nie.
\voi}\, bie

3d; f^P,

xd)

f^r e

ro^e ilunft,
GJeift

2)ie jeben nhrt, bie

ben gefunben
mic^ ju

tr!t unb

erquicft, h)irb
fie

runbe

richten,

3*35

SBertrciben h?irb

mic^.

3^-^ i^^ fort

^ad)

3fiapel titt ic^

balb

f^rinjeffin.
^arfft bu c toagcn?
'^od}
x\i

ber ftrengc S3ann nic^t aufgehoben,

2)er bic^ jugleic^ mit beinern 2>ater traf.

XaWo.
2)u toarneft
recl)t, xd) \)ah'

ed fcl;on bebat^t.

3Mo

Serlleibct ne^' ic^ l?in,

ben armen 9bcf

jiel;' id>

e^

^ilger ober Sc^ferd

an.

gel; frfjleid^.e burc^ bie

Stabt,

wo

bie

S3eh)egung

2) er 2;aufenbe ben einen leicht erbirgt.

126
3cf; eile

Torquato Saffo.
nad)

bem

Ufer, finbe bort

iittig

3^45

leid^ einen ^alfjn mit

3Jlit

guten Seuten,

33auern, bie

gum ^arfte famen, nun

Seute t>on (Sorrent

3laii)

aufe
id^

feieren,

2)enn

mu

nad) Sorrent F^inber eilen.

3150

SDort to^net meine 6rf)iefter, bie mit mir

ie Sc^merjengfreube meiner Gltern

ivar.

3m

d^iffe bin xd) ftiH,

unb

trete

bann

2(ud; fd^toeigenb

an ba^ Sanb,

\d) gel^e fac^t

en $fab
So
tol^nt

fjinauf,

unb an bem 2(;ore

3^^S^
"^^^ ^^

frag'
I

xci)

dornelia ?

0"

3^55

Cornelia eriale?

greunblicf) beutet
bie Strafee, fie

Wix
2)ic

eine

Spinnerin

Sejeic^net mir ba au.

So

fteig' id^ teiter.

^inber laufen neben^)er unb fdjauen

irilbe

2)a^

aar, ben bftern g-rembling an.

xd)

3160

0
2)ie

fomm'

an

bie c^lee.

Offen

fte^t

X^re

fc^on, fo tret' xd) in

ba aug

iprinjcffin.
SBIidf'

auf,
bie

2^affo, h?enn

c^3

moglicf)

ift,
I

6r!enne

efa^r, in ber bu
;

fd^iebft

3cf) f(f>one bic^

benn

fonft iorb' xd) bir

fagcn

3' 65

3ft' ebel, fo ^u reben, ioie bu fprid)ft ? Sft'^ ebel, nur allein

211^ frnfteft

an

fid;

ju bcnfcn,

bu ber grcunbe crjen nid^t?

3170

5ft'^ bir Verborgen lie mein 23rubcr bentt ?

2Bie bcibe 6d[)h?cftern bid;

,^u

fcb^en n?if)en?

aft bu c^ nid^t empfunbcn unb crtannt?

Oft aUcg benn in hjcnig 3Iugenblidcn

SSernbcrt?

!taf}o

2cnn bu

fdu'ibcu iLnUjt,
nic^t jurcf,

lafe

und d^merj unb orge

(Zaffo nenbct
fl<!^

weg.)

!!

6.

ufjufl.

4.

auftritt

127
3*75

2ic trftlic^

ift

c,

einem ^^eunbc, bcr

2luf eine furje 3<^it crreifen toiU,

Gin

ficin efrf^enf ju geben, fei e

nur

in neuer ^^antel, ober

eine ifaffe
toirfjl

^ir fann man

xx'idM

me^r geben, benn bu

befi^cft.

Untiig ae^ toeg, toad bu

2)ie ^silgermufcbel

38o

unb ben

f^^farjen ittcl,

2)en langen 8tab ert^lft bu bir unb gc^ft

greimiig arm ba^in unb nimmft un toeg,

2Ba^ bu mit und

allein genieen tonnteft.

loffo.

hjift

bu mid>

n\d)t

ganj unb gar

toer[tofecn

38s

(fee 2Bort, o fc^ner, teurer ^J'roft

SBertritt

mid;

9iimm

tu beinen
l;ier,

Sc^u^ mic^ auf

tift

39o

fia^ mid; in ^elriguarbo

erfe^c

W\d) nad^ Gonfanboli, hjobin bu

G^

^at bcr grft fo tnand;c^ fcbne (Bd)\oi,

tnand;cn (harten, bcr bad

flCinje

Gietoartet tirb,

unb

i^r betretet

3^^^ !aum
il^r

3^n Gincn
3a,
h}(}(ct

2'ag, bicHeic^t nur Gine Stunbe.

ben entfcrntftcn au, ben

3n ganzen ^^ibrcn nid;t bcfuc^en ge^t, Unb bcr uict(cid;t jc^t ol)ne Sorge liegt,
ort
fcf)idt

395

mid; ^in
bcine

^ort

lfet

mid; euer fein

33umc vflcgcn! ^ie Gitroncn 3m crbft mit S3rcttern unb mit 3^<^0<^^" beden, Unb mit bcrbunb'nem JHol^re ioo^l bcrioal^ren
2Bic tiH
id;

3200

follen fcf)ne

33lumcn in ben 33ectcn

2)ie breiten SSurjeln fd^Iagcn; rein

unb

^ierlic^

80II jeber GJang unb jcbc 5ledd)cn

fein.

Unb

lafet

mir auc^

bie

8orge be ^alafted 1

128
Sd^
ttll

Torquato

Staffo.

gur redeten 3eit bie genfter ffnen,

3205

SDag geuc^tigfeit nii^t ben emlben jd)abe;

te f(^n mit 6tuccatur

2iE
id^

tierjiertcn

2nbe
glnzen
3210

mit einem

Iei(f)ten

2ebcl fubern
reinlirf)
\\d}

a^ @

foE ba ftrid^ blanf unb

foll fein (Stein, fein

^k^tl

berrdfen;

foU fein

ra au

einer 3li^e feimen

^rinacffin.
3d^ finbe feinen dit in meinem 33ufen,

Unb

finbe feinen ^^roft fr bic^

unb

ung.
<
3215

SJlein Sluge blicft uml^er,

ob nid;t ein ott

Un
in

ilfe reichen mchte ? mchte mir

(^eilfam

^raut

entbedfen, einen

Xranf,

2)er beinern (Sinne ^rieben brd^ite, grieben un.

3)a treufte 3Bort, ba \)on bcr Sippe

fliegt,

2)a fd^nfte eilungmittel

irirft nid;t mel^r.

3d^

mug

bicf)

laffen,

unb berlaffcn fann

3220

3Jlein

crj

bic^

m)i.

2offo.

3^r Otter,
2)ie mit bir fpridjit

ift

Tie' bod^,

unb bcincr
eble ^crj

fid;

erbarmt ?

Unb

fonnteft

bu ba

crfenncn?

2ar'^ mglid), ba in i^rer 0ei3ennart

2)cr .Kleinmut bic^ ergriff
5iein, nein, b

unb

bic^

bc^mang ?
bin c an).

3225

bift'-

unb nun

\d}

fal^re fort

unb lag mid; jcbcn

2:roft

2tu^ beinern -Diunbc ^ren!

Gntjicl^

deinen dlai
:

mir nid)t!

fpricb

ioa foH

ic^

t^un?
3230

25amit bcin SBrubcr mir bergeben fnne,

^amit bu

felbft

mir gern vergeben mijgeft.

'; ;

5.

ufjug.

4.

uftrltt

129

^amit i^r tiebcr 5U bcn urcn mic^ mit grcubcn jagten mget ? 609' mir an
^Jrinjeffin.

&ax
2)u

tcnig ift' tra h?ir toon bir Verlangen

toicl

llnb bcnnoc^ fc^eint e attju

toft bid; fclbft

^u fein.

3^35

un

frcunblic^ bcrlaffcn.

2ir motten

nicfitd toon bir,

tua bu nic^t

bift,

SBenn bu nur

erft bir

mit bir

felbft cfHfl.

^u

mac^ft un^ greube, trenn bu Jreubc ^afl^

fic flic^ft

Unb bu betrbft und nur, tocnn bu Unb tenn bu un^ and) ungcbulbig
(So
ift

3^4

macbft,

e nur, bafe h)ir bir Reifen mchten

!

Unb,
^ie,

Icibcr

febn, bafe ni(^t ju Reifen

ift,

2enn bu

nirft felbft

bcd greunbed

anb

crgrcifft,

fel^nlic^

augeredt, bic^ nic^t erreicht.

3*45

Xaffo.

^u
Gin

bift

e felbft, h?ie

bu jum crftenmal,

t^eil'gcr

Gngel, mir entgegen !amft

^lic! be 6terbli(cn,

ierjei^'

bem trben

2cnn

er auf Slugenblicfe bic^ berfannt.

!

Gr

!ennt bic^ ticber

GJanj erffnet

fic^

3^50

2)ie Seele,

nur

tid) eluig ju t>ercbren,

3rtlicf>!eit

Q^
eie
3ft

fut

fic^

ganj ba erj on
bor mir.

3*55

ift'^, fie ftcl^t

e'

Selcb ein ef^l

nacf> bir jiel^t?

^ermirrung, toad mic^

Sft'SRaferei?
2)er

3ft' ein erl)^ter einn,

23at?r^eit fajt?
allein

erft bic l^d^fte, rcinfte

ift

3a, e

ba^ efM, ba mic^ Grbe

glcfli^i

2luf bicfer

macben !ann,

Xai

m\d) allein fo elenb toerben lieg,

ic^

Scnn

i^m

toiberftanb

unb aui bem ^crjcn

3260

130

Torquato Xa\\o,
Q^ bannen
ebac^t'
3)?it
icf)

troHte.

^iefe Seibenfdf'^
ftritt

gu befmpfen,

unb

(tritt

meinem

tiefften (Sein, ^erftrte fred^

Tldn

eignet elbft,

bem bu

fo

gang ge^rft

3265

^rinjcffin.
SBenn
id) Vid),

^affo, lnger ^ren

fott^

60

mige

bie

lut, bie mid^

erfc^recft.

Saffo.
Sefc^rnft ber 9?anb be 33erf)er einen 3ein,
2)er fc^umenb iaEt
9}?it
5[Rit

unb braufenb

berfc^toillt?

jebem 2ort

er(?l)eft

bu mein ldf,
geller.

jebem Sorte glnzt bein 2luge

3270

3d) f^Ie mic^ im ^nnerften ernbert, Sd;

grei
ff>le

mid^ bon atter 9Zot entloben,

lie ein

ott, unb aUeg ban!'

id) bir

Unfglidje etoalt, bie mic^

ntflieget beinen Sippen
;

beF;errfd>t,

ja,

bu macbft
geboret

3275

Wild) ganj bir eigen.

3lid)t^S

mc^r

S5on meinem ganzen ^d} mir fnftig an.

G^ trbt mein 2(uge fic^ in G3Icf unb Siebt, Q^ \d)Wanh mein Sinn. Wxd) f^lt ber ^u^ nid^t
Unh)iberftcl)Iid)
jiel^ft

mc^r.
3280

bu mid) ^u

bir,
ju.

Unb

unauff^altfam bringt mein erj bir

2)u ^aft mid; ganj auf etig

bir gelonnen,

0 nimm
(Cr

benn

aiid)

mein ganje^
arme unb
brcft

253e[cn ^in
fic

fllt iljr in bie

fep on

ft(^.)

^rinjcffin
(i^n Don
iidf

ftofeenb

unb ^inrocg

eilenb).

inh)eg

tonovt
(bie fi(^ fd^on eine ffieile

im Orunbe fc^en

laffen, ^erbei eilenb).

2Baift gefcteben? 2:af|o!

(Bie Qekt ber ^rinitefrm nac^.)

2a^o\

!! ; !

5.

ufjug.

5.

uftrltt

131

Joffe
(taiBcfiriff i^nen u fol^cs).

DOtt!
(ber Pd^ f<%on eine 3eitlanfl mit ntonio genhert).

Qx fommt bon 6inncn,

^alt i^n

feji.

3*85
()

f ittftrr auftritt
<affo. Vntonfo.

Antonio.

ftnbc jc^t, fo lic bu

immer

^aubft,
bift,

^a

bu on gcinben ring^ umgeben

Gin geinb

bei bir, h?ic trb' er triumpl^iercn

Unglcflic^er, norf)

faum

erhol' ic^ mic^

,

2i>cnn ganj

Wai

Unertartetc^ begegnet,

3290

Senn unfer
^Ul)t unfer

33Iic!

trag Ungel^eure

fielet,

G5eift

auf eine eile

ftiU,

2Bir l}abm nid;t toomit hjir ba dergleichen.

Joffo
(na4 einer langen $au[e).

SSoaenbe nur bein 3lmt,

ic^ fcl;',

bu

bift'3

3a, bu

berbienft

ba

fr[tlic^e 3Scrtraun

3^95

SSoUcnbe nur bein 2lmt unb martre micb,

Ta

mir ber (Btab gcbrorfjen

!

ift,

nod^ langfam nur,

3u Xobc
3)a6
id)

3^*^^*^

A^^V
*

flJ" ?^fcile

ben iber^afen grimmig

fl;le,

3:ermic^3crflcifc^t!

3300
;

jTu

bift ein

teurem SBerfjeug be$ ^t^ranncn

<Sei ^erfermciftcr, fei ber 3)Jarter{nccbt,

Sie
3a,

Ujo^l, n?ie eigen ftel;t bir bcibe

((Bcflcn bie

an

Scenc.)

gel;c

nur, 2;t;ranu

Xu

lonnteft bic^

!!

!; !

:!

132

2:orqiioto Za\\o.

^x)t bi gule^t berfteHen

triumpfjtere

3305

S)u ^aft ben flauen

iof^l gefettet, ^aft

S^n

lof^l

gef^art gu au^gebac^ten

Dualen

ef^' nur, ic^ f^affe bid), ic^ f^Ie gon^

en
ie

Slbfd^eu,
frebelf^aft

ben bie Uebermad;t erregt,

unb ungered)t

ergreift.

33^0

(3Jac^ einer ^paufe.)

0 0 0
Wdt

fe^' ic^

mid^

SSerftogen

unb berbannt

am Gnbe benn berbannt, aU Settier ^ier

^at

man

mid; befrnjt,

um

mid; gefc^mcft

211^ Dpfertier or

ben 2(Uar ju ff^ren

noc^

lodte

man mir

am

legten

^agc

33^5

5Rein einzig Eigentum, mir mein ebic^t

glatten

orten

ah,

unb

^ielt e feft!

nun in euren nbcn, 2)a mid) an jebem Drt empfohlen Ifitte 2)a mir noc^ blieb Dom unger mid; ju retten
3Jlein einzig
ift

ut

3320

Se^t

fei)'

ic^ iol)l

toarum

id; feiern foll.

bift

6^

ift

SSerfc^mrung, unb bu

ba aupt.

jDamit mein Sieb nur nid;t t)oll!ommner iuerbc,

^a^
2)afj

nur mein DJame

fic^ nid;t

mel;r verbreite,
j^-j

meine S^eiber taufenb 4nd;en finbcn,

IDag

man am nbe
fll id;

meiner gar

l>ergcffe,

^rum ^rum

mic^

gum

^Jifeiggang geUH>bnen,

foll id)

mic^ unb meine inne fduMicn.

terte g^eunbfdjaft, teure orglid>!eit

5lbfct)eulid; bad>t' ic^ bie

5>erftorung mir,

333

Eie unfid;tbar

unb

raftlo^ micb
ift

umfpann,

Slllcin abfc^culic^er

e geworben.
fo
,:\art,

Unb

bu, irene

bie

bu mic^

bimmlifc^ angclodt,

id) fcbc

nun
fo fpt

X'xd} auf

euunal

(i>ott,

iuarum

!;

;! ;

6.

ufjufi.

5.

^Jluftiitt.

133

Slllem h)ir fclbft betrgen un^ fo gern,

Unb

eieren bie '^ertorfnen, bie

une

cljrcn.

2)ie 5Jicn[(^en fcnncn fic^ cinanbcr nic^t

9?ur bie alccrenfnaen fennen

fid),

^ic 20
200

eng'

an

eine 53an! ge[d)miebct feueren

3J4o

feiner tvai ju

forbcm
\^ai, bie

Ifai

unb

feiner

2Ba ju verlieren

fennen

fid)

jeber fic^ fr einen

Sdielmen

gibt,

Unb
Xod)

feine^gleicf^en audi) fr
n?ir
fic

8 (Reimen
anbem

nimmt.
334S

berfennen nur bie

hjieber

^flic^>,

3)amit

und toerfcnnen foen.

2ie lang' berberfte mir bcin ^eilig Silb

2)ie 53ul)Icnn, bie fleine nfte treibt.
2)ie

^la^U
\:}ai

ft

3lrmiben
SReijen

Gntblfet

on aen

3a, bu

fefy' xd}

nun
bift'

335

55on bir

a^nungdoll mein Sieb gefungen

Unb
2ie

bie t}erfcfmi^tc fleine 93iittlerin

tief

emiebrigt

fe^' ic^ fic t>or

mir

3(f) bore

nun

bie Icifcn dritte raufdien,

3c^ fcnne nun ben

ilreid,
!

um

ben

fic fc^lic^.

335S

Qud)

alle fcnn' id)

(Sei

mir bad genug

Unb

Ujcnn ba^ GIcnb alled mir geraubt.

prcif id;'^ bod;
;

So
3c^

bie 2al;r^eit Ic(;rt cd mic^.

f[iitoiiio.
F>re,

^affo, bic^ mit Staunen an.

tcife, iie

So

fc^r \d)

Icidt

bcin raf^cr cift

fd)ioanft.

3360

5.^on einer

Wrcn^c ju bcr anbem

SBcfinne bid;!

(sjcbicte bicfcr tB}ut!

^u

lftcrft,

bu erlaubft

bir

ort auf ort,

ift,

^ad

bcincn Sdimcrjcn ^u bcr,^cibcn

3)0(^ bad

bu

fclbft bir nie oer5ci^cn fannft.

33^5

134

Torquato Salto.
2affo.

fprid^

mir

nx^t

mit fanftcr 2i^^e ju,

Saft mi4> fein !luge SBort

uon

bir

erne^men

aft mir ba
9J?id} er[t

bumpfe ldE, bamit id; md;t befinne, bann on innen fomme.

337o

3d^ f^le mir ba inncrfte G5ebein

Serfd^mettert,

unb

ic^ leb'

um

e^ ju fllen.
micf)

^er^ieiflung faftt mtt aller

3ut

an,

Unb

in ber llenqual, bie mid) bernid^tet,

Sirb Sft'rung nur ein leifer d^merjenglaut.

3ci^ iill f)inn)eg!

unb h?enn bu
laft

reblid; bift,

3375

^eig' e

mir unb

mic^ gleic^ bon Rinnen!

Slntonio.
3d^ trerbe
bid^ in biefer 9Rot

ni^U laffcn

Unb

an Raffung ganj gebricht, (So foH mir'^ an ebulb geiift nid;t fehlen.
hjenn e bir

2offo.

0
3c^

muft

ic^

mic^ bir bcnn gefangen geben?

fo
ift

33S0

3d; gebe mic^, unb

e get^an

n^iberftefie nic^^t, fo ift

laft

mir
mir
!

iPol;I

fcl;' id;

Unb
ic

eg

bann mid^

fd^merjlid) n)icber()oIcn,
id?

2ie fd;n e n?ar, U>a^

gcl}n (;inlcg

felbft erfcbcrjtc.

ott

bort

jDcu taub, bcr Don bcn Sagen

^ie
ie

Sf^eiter

fmb borau
!

fic^ crl;cbt
fte,

fd;on

33^5

3^ort fal;ren
id; nicbt

^ort

gcF^n fie (;in

^am

aucb ba^er?

finb ^imoeg, fic finb crsrnt

auf mxd),

D D

ffet' id^

nur nod; einmal

feine

anb l

339

baft id)

nur nod; Slbfdncb ncbmcn fnnte,

:

9iur einmal nod; gu fagcn

bev^;;cil)t
ift

9Zur no4> ju l^ren

(c^, bir

toerjie^n

! !

6.

ufjug.

5.

uftrltt

135

2(IIcin xd) ^r' cg ni(ft, ic^ ^r' c nie

3395

3c^

tt)iU

ja

gchn

Sia^t mid>
!

nur

5lbfd>icb net^men,

92ur 2lbfd;icb ne(;mcn

&<:bt, o cbt

mir nur

2(uf einen Slugenblicf bie egennjart

3ur(f

2>icC[ci(^t .cncf' ic^ trieber.

9iein,

3cf; bin toerfto^en, bin

5Kirf) felbft
3l\(i}t

verbannt,

\d)

habt

berbannt,

iif njerbe biefe

Stimme

34oo

mcbr crncbmen, biefem

begegnen

5Wicbt mcl;r

lirfc nic^t^

2a6
2)u

eine

Antonio. ^anne Stimme bic^

r\\d)t

erinnern,

2)er neben bir

bift fo

o^ne

-Dli^runfl fte^t

elenb nic^t, ali n)ie bu glaubft.

bic^
!

y>S

Grmanne

2)u

ibft ^u toiel bir nad^.

XWo.
Unb
bin
\d)

benn

fo elenb

n?ie

i(f

fc^einc?

93in ic^ fo fd;n?a(^, mie ic^ bor bir mi(^ jeige?

Sft ae benn Dcrioren ?

S^^at

ber Sc^merj,

2(U

fd;tterte ber 53oben,

ba ebube
t>erh?anbelt

34o

3n

einen graufen

aufen Schutt

Sft fein Talent me()r brifi, taufenbfltig

3)iid;

ju ^crftreun, ju unterfttjcn ?

3ft atte 5lraft erlofc^en, bie fi^ fonft

3n meinem
anj
S^ein, e
ift

^^ufen regte?

S3in ic^ nid^t,

34is

nidit geioorben?
aCfe

ba

unb

ic^

bin nic^t

3c^ bin mir

fclbft entnjanbt, fie ift e

mir!

Antonio.

Unb

hjenn bu ganj bid) ^u verlieren

!

fc^jeinft,

S3ergleic^e bic^

Gr!enne toa^ bu

bift

3420

XorquQto Xaffo.
Xoffo.
3a, bu
ilft
crinnerft mic^ ^ur redeten

^dt

me^r?

beim

fein ^eifpiel ber efdjic^Ue

Stellt

\\d) fein

ebler ^iJJann

mir bor

bie Slugen^

2)er

me^r
id)

gelitten, al ic^

jemals

litt,

jDamit

mid^ mit ifjm erglei^enb fafje?

ift

52ein, alle

halj'm

3425

3^ur eine^ bleibt

^ie %i)xm hat un

bie 9^atur berlieljen,

3)en 6c^rei be^ Sdimerjcng, tenn ber 5Jlann ^ulc^t

nici{)t

mel>r trgt

Unb mir nod^ ber

50^elobie

atte^

ie

(ie^

im Sc^mer^ mir

unb 9Ubc,

3430

^ie

tieffte

glle meiner 9tDt ^u flogen

Unb

h)enn ber 5)knfc^ in feiner

Dual berftummt,
bei ber

&ah

mir

ein ott, gu fagen toie id^ leibe. unb nimmt i^n

^anb.)

(SHntonio tritt ju il^m

ebler 5Jcann

SDu

fteljeft feft

unb

ftiH,

3ci^ fd^eine

nur

bie fturmbeipegte SeHc.

3435

2lllein

bebenf unb bcrl)ebe nid;t

!

2)id) beiner 5lraft

X'k

mcl)tigc ^^^atur,

2)ie biefen gelfen grnbete, l^at aud^

2)er 2elle bie SBetreglic^fcit gegeben.

ie

fenbet ibren
f (f)h)anft

8turm,
f dt>tillt

bie

SeHc

fliegt

3440

Unb

unb

unb beugt ficf) fc^umcnb ber.

3n

biefer

Soge
[idj,

fpiegelte fo fd^n

^ie (5onne

e^ rul;tcn bie G5c[tirnc

fid;

2(n biefer S3ruft, bie ^rtlic^

2Serfd[>hJunben
ift

bctcgtc.

ber GJlan^, entfloljn bie $Wube.

nicbt

3445

3c^ fenne mid; in ber efabr

mcbr,

Unb fcbme
^erbrocben

mic^ nidit melr

ift

c ju bcfcnncn.
fracbt
reifet

ba^ Steuer, unb c

allen Seiten.

2)a

Sdjjiff

an

Serftenb

6.

ufjuQ.

5.

auftritt.

137
34So

^cr
3c^

93obcn unter meinen ^feen auf!

faffe bic^

mit beibcn 5(nncn an

fid^

So ammert
2Im 5cU<^n

bcr Srfiiffcr enbli(^ noc^

er (c^citcm folltc.

fcft,

an bem

NOTES.
[The action of the play occupies part of a spring day about the year
1575.
villa

The scene

is

laid at Belriguardo Cf

likc/w) L

e.

Fair-view, a

on the river Po, a few miles from Ferranu

Here, according to

Serassi, Vita tUl Tasso^ p. 204 (as to Serassi, see above, Introduction,
p. xxxvi),

Alphonso

II.

was

in

the habit of retiring n^ith his

city.

more

favorcd courtiers to escape the heat of the

The same

authority

describes Belriguardo as a palace truly regal, with apartments of pro>

digious size, and with most beautiful gardens abounding in fruit-trecs
of every sort, watcrcd by ingenious conduits

from the

river,

and

shaded by

lofty poplars.]

ACT
Rennen, (f^m.)

I.

The Greeks

first

applied the

name

'Zpiirfs

{masc.)

to a Square block or pillar

surmounted by a head of the god Hermes,

then extended the application of the term so that a Square post or

block terminating in any head or bust was called a Hermes.

X.

C^lconore.

Goethe

uses, according to the exigencies of the meter,

the three forms Eleonore, Leonore,

and Lenore; the

first

two of

either lady indifferently, the third of the Countess only.

4.
5.

ht'^tXdWi^, pensive.

^rfltn.

In the

common

usage the

title

grfl belongs to an

actual ruler, ^rflin to his wife, ^rinj, ^rinjelfin to the other

diate

imme-

membcrs

of his family.

The

rule has, however, its exceptions.

Leonore of Este, as
jcjfin
;

sister of the reigning

is

duke,

is

properly a ^rilt

but in the play she

often addressed by the

more august
189

title

grftin.

140
II.

NOTES.
mit pl^crm (Sinn unb gr^erm ^er^en,
is

-with

loftiermind and

larger heart ; because the laurel

emblematic.

In twining a laurel

wreath, the symbol of poetic excellence, the Princess must have been
thinking, so her
14.
glett^,

companion assumes,
;

ot grave

and

lofty matters.

straightway
. . .

so in ig and often.

15-17.

SSirgtlcn

3Kcifler fiubig.

The two

ladies choose their

poets in accordance with their

cess, as possessing the

own

respective characters.

The

Prin-

deeper and more thoughtful nature, decorates

b.

the bust of the serious and stately Vergil (born in 70 the Acneid, and greatest of the

c, author of

Roman

epic poets); the Countess, on

the other band, a

woman

of

more blithesome temperament, crowns

the lighter and gayer Ariosto (born in 1474, author of the famous

romantic epic Orlando Furioso, and the third

Italian poets).
It is

in

order of the four great

hardly necessary to suppose with Strehlke, that

is

the Princess's coronation of Vergil

for Tasso,
is

an adumbration of her rcgard

who regarded Vergil

original

as his master and his model.

fubtig
had

the

German
*'

of Lodovico,

Ariosfo's

baptismal name.

SWeificr is

employed perhaps

in conscious imitation of the Italian

maestrOy an

expert," particularly an expert in song.

But

SJiei^cr

long been good

18.
IQit

German

in the

same

sense.

S^erje^ pleasantries.

XciL

The present tendency

In Goethe the word

is

to use Icil as masculine

when

means "portion

of a specified whole," as neuter

is,

when

it

means

"share."

without regard to this distinction,

Cf.

prevailingly, but not uniformly, masculine.

Andresen,

p. 43,

and

Lehmann,
23-

p. 352.

^ie goJ^Wf 3fit bcr tMs^itX.

Descriptions of a golden age,

conceived as a long past era of universal happincss and innocence,

are to be found in various ancient poets.
is

Here, however, the Speaker

thinking rather of the idyllic

life

of the shepherds and shepherdlife

esses depicted by Theocritus and Vergil, a

fied

then but lately revivi-

by the Aminta of Tasso, a pastoral drama which was written

NOTES.
in

141

1573,

and mct with great success.

The Amtnta
in detail.

contains

famous Chorus beginning,

fold
979,

bdla et dtl oro^ in which thc mani-

charms of the golden age are described

ff-

See note on

35 36-

berfl

...!, removes.

**

In uppcr Italy the orange and

lernen trces are planted along the south sidc of a high white wall,

and
tile

are protected in winter by

means

of a board structure roofed with

and surrounded with straw."

38-39.

Dntzer.
7,

In the 3talifnif(^c cifr, under date of April

1787,

Goethe

dwells with enthusiasm upon the fine effect produced by the haze
(Duft) resting upon distant objects.
tions

Under date

of

May

7,

he men

among other charms

of thc spring landscape in Italy ,,blf

X^f,

njoburd) bic cbirgc mit

Qufgelfl

^immcl unb

^Ittt glcidjfam in Gin Clement

wrben."

48.

So^n.

This son of the Countess

is

is

an invcntion of Goethe

the purpose of which

not hard to undcrstand.

That her future

conduct with regard to Tasso

may

not be subject to any vulgr mis-

construction, the poet takes pains to represent her as a devoted wife

and mother.
51-53dispute.
JlOJ^

Cf. 1922,

ff.

ber

crt

nidjt.

The
:

exact sense

matter of

Strchlke inlcrprcts, in effect

Many

are the good

men

of

Florence, but their combined worth does not equal that of the comparatively few illustrious

names

of Ferrara.

This rathcr forccs the

is

meaning of onfgc^uftcn
untrue, though
interprets
:

Sc^^jen.
it

The statement

also absurdly

we might construe

as a polite exaggeration.

Dntzer

The

material treasures of Florence cannot corapare with

the productions of Ferrarese genius;

which conveys the senselest

is

implication that the greatness of Florence

treasures.

due solely to

its

material

We shall
:

do best to

rest

on the poet's general meaning,

which

is this

That

f or

the aristocratic Countess the

more numerous

attractions (be they of

what kind they may) of the great and splendid

little city

but democratic Florence are less alluring than the

of Ferrara,

142

NOTES.
illustrious

made

by

its

dukes and by the men of genius ihey have

drawn about them.

57-

Sum

l(f, fortunately.

63-

eurer rofecn SSatcr.

The house
its

of Este

was one

of the oldest

of Italian princely houses,

lineage being traceable back into the

its

tenth Century, but

its

greatness and

pre-eminence

in

connection with
of

the revival of learning are here exaggerated.

The prominence

Ferrara as a center of art and letters began with the princes mentioned by
68.

name

below.

crcuIC0 Ott 6fle.

I.

There had been two dukes of

this

name

Hercules

reigned from 147 1 to 1505, and was the patron and friend

of Ariosto and other eminent

diate predecessor of

men

of letters.

Hercules H., the immeto 1559,

Alphonso IL, reigned from 1534

and
letters.

and

was
to

also distinguished as a patron of art

It is

doubtless

him
69.

that the text refers.

^|)|J0lit

bOn

(gfle.

Brother of Hercules H., a cardinal, and

letters.

famed

for his

patronage of

"Gran

favoreggiatore de'lette-

rati," says Serassi.

Born

in 1509; died in 1572.

in

73.

$etrar$.

The second

order of the four great Italian classiin

cal poets,

"the inaugurator of the Renaissance

1304, died in
1374.

Italy" (.Symonds).

Born

in

According to Symonds, Petrarch was

entertained at Ferrara between 1347 and 1350.

74.

9lrio^.
I.

Ariosto was befriended both by Hercules

I.

and by

Alphonso

(reigned from 1505 to 1534), the latter of

to the

whom

gave him

employment as envoy
" modeis "

Pope and as provincial govemor.

The

whom

he

is

represented as finding at Ferrara werc doubt-

less the poets

Cieco and Boiardo.

Boiardo was a minister of Herhis great

cules

I.,

for

whose amusement he wrote

pocm, the Orlando

Jttamorato.
86.

bo^.

verb put

first

in its

sentcnce for rhctorical reasons

usually followed by bO(^.

g'

See Whitncy's German Grammar,

43^

NOTES.
93-94*
fitii

. .

U;;

erfennfl.

The thought

is,

that the Princess has a

deep interest
100.
loi.

in,

and a sure

instinct for recognizing, great

II.

concems.

i^ren.

See Appendix

unD

bifl*

am (fnbe loi(,

loa.

Sl^tDeflrr.

Lucretia o Este,

x/*// a/t^ all tkysdf. bom in 1535, and thus

a year

and a

half older than

Leonora, was in fact like her sister famed for

scholarly attainments.
108.

jRuttcr.

The twoprincesses were

the childrenof Hercules II.

of Este

and Ren^e, daughter of Louis XII. of France.

Of Rence
and her

Serassi says, that " by virtue of her guodness, her talent

scholarly attainments she

of princesses,

would have been one of the most

all

illustrious

had she not obscured

her glor}' by unhappily going

over to the error of Calvin."

Ile add* that she took the utmost care

with the education of her daughters, having them instruaed during

their tender years in " litcrature (le

buone

lettere), poetry,

music, and

every other noble dbcipline which could become a high and royal
lady."

In conscquence of her apostasy

Ren^e was

in I554 scnt

back

to France,

and her two daughters placed

in a convent,

where they

received a "most religious education."

XX3-115.

P. 129.
is:
I

^ab'

il^

nie

btrlir^.

The mcaning

have ncver

regarded as a
of

title to

distirution (9Jang) or as

a mcritorious acquisition

my own my ability
of

(^cfttj), that

which was a gift of nature at

to learn), or that
life

which was incidental to

my birth (namely, my fortunate

This use

circumstances in
^Beftt^ is

(namely,

my

scholarly attainments).

analogous to Goethe 's occasional use of befi^^n in the

(

sense of to have
orte's

with the subaudition to treasure) as the result of

personal

effort.

Cf the well-known
.

lines in {^auft
^aff,

SBa bu ererbt oon beinen

Qtem

>

Crwirb c8

um

c8 ju bcfi^cn.

S
(the artist is addressing his

Also the
picture,

line

from
is

ilnf^Icr'S

rbcmoUcn

which

about to pass into the hands of a rieh customer)

tlnb er befl^t bid^ vxS^i, er ^at bid> nur.

144

NOTES.
this subtle distinction (which
is

According to

no part of the ordinary

a
^e[li}

meaning

of

befl^jetl,

even in Goethe), a thing

is

only

when

it is

connected with strenuous exertion er selfdenial on the part of the

possessor.
126.

Otherwise

it is

mere ^ahe,
are the passions.

Um

bie rftC.

The "forces"meant
is

By

the orator's " playing about these forces "

for his subject.

meant

his taking

them

There

is

probably an allusion, as Dntzer suggests,

to the public controversies of the day.

See note to 1044,

ff.

129 133. Goethe seems to have been thinking here of some particular

work er works, perhaps

of Machiavelli's Principe^ the

most

important

political treatise of the

Renaissance period, and one, too,

whose character corresponds very

well with the language of the text.

Dntzer, however, sees an allusion to the discussions in Plato.

137-

legten,

highest
it

or deepest.
as a

Cf.

mein

Ictjtcr

^XO^d

in

446.

But Schaefer regards

lative.

mere strengthener

of the following Super-

140.

am

licbflcn, Superlative of

gem.

^wfel

there

is

no

isle

of poesy in mythology. "

The metaphor

indicates the preference of the

in contrast

Countess for the small, definitely-bounded domain of poetry,

with the 'wide realm
'

of

her companion's intellectual intcrests."

Strehlke.
143.
l)at

derftC^crn tOOUcn.

There

is

no definable difierence between

oerfidjcrt.

man mir

erfid)cm njoUeu

and ^at man mir

144. 3K^rtc.
dess.

The myrtle was sacred

to Aphrodite, the love-god-

160.

C^inflang ber 91atur.

An

allusion, doubtless, to the ancient

doctrine of the music of the sphcres.

What foUows

is

an amplification

of the central thought, that Tasso lives apart in an ideal world of his

own.

He

is

a wrapt listcncr to far-off hannonies

not audible to

common

mortals.

The

subject of his musings

living, organic

is

the process of the

World conceived as a
relation in

whole.
life into

Accordingly he sees

what appears unrelated, puts

what seems

lifeless,

NOTES.
and takes
of things a large ideal

145
oftcn quite out of

view which

is

accord with convcntional estimates.

as one

For

this

conccption o the Poet

who

finds

harmony

in the world's cbaotic discord,

compare the

Prelude
17a.

to (^aufl, 138-147.

feltfam

as

if

an adjective with Griflrr^ strngt pkantams.

his poetic

Goethe often applies the term @fifl to the creatures of

Imagination.
179-

Cf. the phrase mit 0^fi|lcnt rcbflt, in 56a.

(9olDnrn 9(rpfrln

O^^ptrten.

An

allusion to the

Greek

myth

of the Hesperides, or daughters of the

West, who dwelt in a

garden on the borders of Oceanus, at the place of the sunset, and

guarded the golden apples which were given by Barth to Hera

occasion of her marriage to Zeus.
185 191.

at the

"Now
is

he extols his beloved to the douds, and

hb

atti-

tude toward her

one of unmixed, reverent admiration

(like that of

the hovering angels in picturcs of the

ecstatic strains, he brings

Madonna);

again, in Icss

hb

ideal

down from

the clouds

and feigns

himself pursuing her through quiet fields."

192.
IBcrflflft

im

Sttfl^e, hidden in the copse,

\\\

allusion to the

am-

biguous, impersonal character of Tasso's homage.

197-8.
It is

not to be understood that the Princess really has any

is

doubt as to which of them

Tasso's Leonora.
coldly.

In 961

ff.

she chides

Tasso for treating the Countess so

217t)Q8 I^I^nt.
ff.

The power
of

of genius.

Strehlke.
to the " school " of

226.

The conception

Love here imputed

Plato
is

is

diicult to identify in Plato's writings.

The

subject of love

dealt with at length in the

in the

Symposium and the Phaedrus, and touched

upon

Laws and

the Republic.

Some have thought

One
who

that

Goethe

here refers to the Symposium^ in which one of the Speakers, Pausanias,

sets forth his theory of

two Loves.

of them, the eider Eros, is

the child of the heavenly Aphrodite,

sensuality
;

is

motherless and free from

the other

is

the child of Aphrodite Pandemos,

is

who

is

the

daughter of Zeus and Dione, and

a wanton goddess.

Similar in

146

NOTES.
is

purport

the following passage from the

Laws,Yin., 837

"

For the
fruit of

one

is

a lover of the body, and hungers after beauty like

satisfy himself without
;

some

autumn, and would fain

character of the beloved

any reference to the

the other holds the desire of the

body

to

be

a secondary matter

and desiring the soul of the other

in a

becom-

ing manner, regards the satisfaction oi the bodily love as wantonness

he

wishes to live chastely with the chaste object of his affection."

(Jowett).

The

probability
all,

is,

however, that Goethe was not thinking

of Plato's writings at
nic love."

but of the traditional conception of " Piato-

He

simply personifies this conception and identifies the

result with the

sible

Eros of the Psyche myth, who

lover.
;

is

in fact as far as pos-

from being a " Piatonic "

8l!^nl^cit unil cfittlt
Io0Cf|irO(f)en^ excused.

232.
260.

hendiadys for

^Sd)ut)cit bcr cfialt.

Tasso was a pensioner of the Duke,

who

thus had claims upon him, although there had been from the

beginning of his Service (January, 1572) a distinct understanding that he was to have no regulr duties, but might " devote himself
to his studies 273.
fc jl VX

in

peace

and

to the completion of his

poem

" (Serassi, p, 164).

Gin, into one

rm

unity

; fcft,

the opposite of " loose^

or " incoherent."
276.

2Rrd)Cn ber Rrd^en.

The Speaker means poem

to contrast
is,

Tasso

with his predecessors, notably Ariosto, whose

cession of very loosely connected stories.
278.
9lttr
;

in fact, a suc-

with

tiifd)cn.

*'

Such disconnected

tales rnercly dis-

appoint as their music dies away upon the ear."

279-280.
ti

id

llie

'^i\\

3Ma
i.

time

is

not the Standard of

measurcmcnt for a good work,

e.,

the artist

must take

his time
not,

and work according

like the artisan,
in a

to his

mood and
Goethe's

his inspiration.

He can

be required to turn out a definite quantum of work

CflaoiflO

given amount of time.

SScrtl)cr of

was the work of a

life-

week,
time.

a month, Xaffo of a few years, and J$QU|l of a

NOTES.
293.
Cf. Schiller in the Prologue to anfnflf in
:

147

3m
301.
ritt

nflcn Prcift oerengcrt

fic^

bcr ginn.

anann.

(Sr fl)It ftd)

ein

3){ann,

and

rr ffl^It ftd)

einen

SWonn, are both authorized by the usage of good German writers.

The

accusative

is

the

morc common construction.

p. 261
:

316-323.

Says Serassi,

**

But the Duke either did not know

of or did not believe in the intrigues

and the wretched plots which

Tasso was compelled

at this court to

bear with from his cnemies and

from those who were jcalous of

his fame.

But surely,

if

the opening

and intercepting of

his letters, the corrupting of his servants, the

forcing of a door to his Chamber, the

making of a

false

key to the
treacher-

cabinet where he kcpt his

more precious documcnts, and the

of suspicion against his

ous excitement
f riends

in his

mind

most intimate

"

if

these things are not persecutions, I should hardly

know

what would deserve the name."

324.

A man 's

conduct Springs naturally and inevitably from his

charactcr, which thus

becomes
it."

his fate.

He
it,

cannot act otherwise

if

than in accordance with

On

the other band,

his character

bc

so and so, and he does act in accordance with

woe

niust bctidc him.

This

is

the underlying
JSQie
i(f|

dilemma of most modern tragedy.

Duke's appcars
to

340.

ed tl^Ot. This investigalion of the

be an invention of Goethe.
355-

6onfantlolt.

A
I

country residence of the dukes of Ferrara,

city.

situated

on the Po, eighteen miles from the

"

(Serassi, p. 232.)

368 370.

That

too (as well as Tasso)

fair ladies in

may

be,

if I

so choose,

an object of intercst to
380.
It

cool gardens."

was

in the spring of 1575,

according to Serassi, that Tasso

"at

last

had the

satisfaction of seeing his

it

poem completed."

He

had then bcen working upon

406.
412.
aiiUfr, grace.

twelve years.

^er tcurrn

9lat.

Bernardo Tasso, father of Torquato, and

^" '53' ^^

himself a poet of some distinction, was born in 1493.

148

NOTES.
to the Prince of Salemo,

became secretary

and

in

1539 he married

Portia Rossi, a wealthy and amiable Neapolitan lady, with

lived happily several years in a beautif ul

whom
In
1

he
547

home

at Sorrento.

a political revolution broke out in Naples, in consequence of which

the Prince of Salerno with his adherents

was outlawed, and

their

property confiscated.

Bernardo,

now reduced

to poverty, shared the to Italy,

exile of his patron until 1554,

when he returned

and by

per-

mission of the Pope settled in Rome.

Here he hoped
in

to be joined

by

his wife

and children, who had remained

Naples exposed to the

malignity of his enemies ; but the brothers of Portia would neither

allow her to quit Naples nor pay her her dowry.

cession that Bernardo could obtain from them,

The utmost

con-

was that Torquato

poverty,
in

should join him at Rome, and that the mother,

illness,

now broken by

and sorrow, should, with her daughter Cornelia, be placed

This plan was carried out
in

convent.

1554.

In 1556 the mother

died, poisoned, as her

husband suspected, by her own brothers.

Serassi teils US, p. 69, that Torquato did
of his mother's

414

ein traurig icb.

in fact write

some boyish verses upon the occasion

death.
417.

^U
bil

tuorfl QCtn.

Goethe avoids the more correct but harsh

locution

tQrft'8 (Schaefer).

As a matter

f fact, the youth of

II. his first

Tasso was not especially unhappy, nor was Alphonso

patron.

He came
Here he

to Ferrara in 1565, as the protege of Alphonso's

brother, the Cardinal Louis of Este, with

F'rance.

whom,

in

1570, he

went to

lost the favor of the Cardinal,

and being reduced

to indigence, sought

and obtained, through the mediation of the two

princesses,

employmcnt with the Duke on the terms bcfore mentioned

For
this

(note to 260).

kindness in his time of need, Tasso did,

in fact,

as Goethe represents, cherish toward Alphonso a deep and lasting

gratitude.

See

I, 4,

in the

JcmsaUm
.

Delivcred ; also Serassi,

p. 164.

429 430. ^ie flUe gcitung

of the studious attention

ihriegel.

Serassi, p. 184-5, spcak

his

which Tasso, in writing

poem, gave

to the

NOTES.
art of war,

U9

and of the assistancc he rcccivcd from thc Duke, who was

a practical soldier and had seen campaigns that were " neither few

nor unimportant."

435 439-

{8 tortfi tt

offcnbomi.
in the

Thia languagc

ia

not to bc

regarded as f ulsome adulation

poet
;

tone of a sixtecnth Century court

feel eztravagantly.

it

a part of Tasso's character to

444

tornn, for the (with a past tense)

more usual

a\9.

447 448.

ci allen \5(^riftcn,

bie ctroa meljr

om

Innerei! Jeben

fntl)altfn, bcnft

man

5und)fl ni(^t

on ba

fenie t>ubllfuin,

fonbem an

bcflimmtc

*|Jcrjonfn,

oon bcnen

man
it

oerflanben fein m(^te."

Julian
Strehlke

Schmidt
460.

Ginlcitimg ju ^crbcr'6 3bcen, p. xxvii.

feiner.

Dntzer refers

confidently to IDic^ter

with cqual confidencc, to 3fit^fn.

479.

Serassi describes the Princess Leonora as

**

schiva e riserbata,**

shy and reserved.

485.
that

In

594

it

was decreed by the Pope and the Roman Senate

at the Capitol.

Tasso should be crowned

The

poet went to
in health

Rome

to celebrate his triumph, but he

was now broken

and the

ccremony had to be postponed.

He

died April 25, 1595, without

having received the proffered honor.

494-496.

"The

laurel-wreath.'the

emblem

of the world's
its

supreme

approval, should inspire calmness and confidence in

Protect
512.

wcarer and

him against envious detractors."

^ie
fiantllboft

Unrecht.
\vc

Of Tasso's steadfa^tncss
hear nothing
in

mcet-

ing

misfortune and injustice

the

authorities.

On

the contrary, Serassi expressly imputes to

him

"little firmness

"

(poco fermezza).
553Jtoeier

3Rnner

Achilles and Odysseus.

.
. .

554-555-

Unil fllefOnlJer

fachen.

Alexander the Great belicved

himself the dcscendant of the Ilomeric Achilles, whose reputed

tomb

he visited upon
that the
first

hb

Asiatic expedition.

The poet

therefore feigns
is

thought of the hero Alexander upon reaching Elysium

150
to find his heroic ancestor
talized this ancestor.

NOTES.
;

his next, to find the poet

who had immor-

562.

mit ciflcrn

rciicfl.

See note to 172.

is

567.

gute 3ot|(^aft.

Antonio's diplomatic expedition

p. liv.
is

an inven-

tion of Goethe.

See Introduction,

589.

tOiU.

The English

equivalent

mus^.

Respecting the verse,

see note to 859.

596SUtttt

Bringe iicnn toaS

:

l^in.

The

subjunctive with benn

implies a negative condition

603.

unless one takes something thither.

to 15S5.

OrCQOr.

Gregory XIII., who was Pope from 1572

Without much respect to history Goethe converts him into an

sovereign of the church.

ideal

His name was Ugo Buoncompagno, and he

was born
606. 615-

in 1502.

Serassi, p. 170,

mentions a

visit of

Alphonso

to

Rome
is is

in 1573.

ber l^O^C Sinn. This magnanimlty of Gregory XIII.

anything

but historical.

Says Ranke

"

Pope Gregory XIII., who

frequently

described as good-natured to excess, had yet asserted hi^ ecclesiastical as well as his secular rights with

extreme

rigor,

and

in

doing this

he regarded no man's interest or feelings.

He

spared neither the

Emperor nor

the

King

of Spain

and to his niore immediate neighbors

he showed as

little
.

deference.
. .

With Venice he was involved

in dis-

putes intenninable,

with Tuscany and Naples aflairs were not more

peaceably arranged, nor did Ferrara find greater favor."

other hand,
it

On

the

is

true that the great

aim and end of Grcgory's

Italian

policy, the policy

which

finally

brought the States of the Church

almost to the verge of anarchy, was to obtain the means for pushing
his designs against the

Turks

in the

East and the Protestants

in the

West.
630-633.
654.

Buoncompagno's Services as envoy are

historical.

92epoten.

The Pope 's nepotism was

when a
third,

a question of the day in

his

the sixtecnth Century.

Gregory XIII. raiscd two of

nephews

to

the cardinalate; but

encouraged by their promotion

NOTES.
came
to court with

151

hopc of

like fortune,

hc was rcfused an audience

and commancled

to quit

Rome

within two da}- (Ranke).

665-669. Gregory XIII. gave enormous

sums

oC

money

for the

foundation and improvement of Jesuit Colleges.

He was

also

builder of churches and the reformer of the calendar.

672.
C^rfd)ftc.

An
is

archaism, used metrigratia for

(9ff(^ft.

In

general, the license

not

uncommon

in

Goethe (he
ba

uses, for example,

ba crQufcf)e, ba emt^e, bo
this case
is

(^cf(fticfc,

(J^fff),

but in Xaffo

unique.
in allusion

68a.

8r0rrfrone;

to the dvic crown, corona civica^

lifc

which the Romans bcstowcd on the soldier who saved the

of a

Roman
685.
it

Citizen in battle.
0)efIod)tfll,

with

fte,

though

ite

position
is

seems

to require that
critics as

be taken with 5*^^"^".

The scntence

quoted by

an

example of incorrect arrangement.

688.
(ie|(^mt.

See Lehmann,

p. 45.

Pope Gregory XIII. endeavored vainly

to rouse

the western nations to a

new

Crusade, and Tasso

was not without

Cf. 2636
ff.

hope that
note.

his

poem might

further this pious cause.

and

709-741.

That Antonio here apparently

its

falls

out of his r61e, and

beconies a poct, ein S?cqucftcr, finds

the historical basis of the character

explanation in the fact that

originally not Montccatino,
liii,

was

but Pigna,

who was a poet. See

The

Introd., p.

and footnote.

The lines
which

liken Ariosto's poetry to a wonderful landscape, the fcaturcs of

are described.

details of the description cannot all

be identificd

with details

in the

Orlando Furioso ; they are rather a free invention

is

of Goethe, the purpose of which

to characterize \\i^ general effect of

Ariosto's

poem with

its

atmosphere of romantic supernaturalism,

call for Wie.
iljrcr JPruft,

710.

9113,

The approved modern usage wouid

7"-

bic innig rei^c rttf!

=
it

bcii

imicin 9icid)tiim

716 723.

The

noblest qualities of mind do not appear in his songs

is

as Spiritual forces merely, but

as

if

they were present in the form

152

NOTES.
per-

of personal beings, fonning a part of the poet's strnge world

sonal beings that have put aside

rest, as
it

all their austerity,

and are taking a

were, under flowering trees, wheretheyare subject (like

every one eise in the poem) to the wanton witchery of the amorettes
{amorctia, Italian diminutive of amor).

718.

gfr' tOQ^rc

Oute.

Kern would read

fr'8 SBa^re, utc.

724.

^cr Oucfl

tlC0 UcBcrfluffcS.

The phrase sounds

though we

as

if

Goethe

had

in

mind some
is

particular, as yet unidentified, mythical stream.

in Ariosto, find in the first
:

There

no Spring of Plenty
of

book a Spring
mit i-cid)Uc^em

Love and a Spring

Ourll

of Hate.
ein

Dntzer says

'2)cr

Sriiiif lalicube

Reifet

CucU
?

bc UcbcrfluffcS."
^^

But

this is

unsatisfactory.

Why

should one say

the spring o

plenty "
732.

when he means
SBa||nftnn.

" a plentiful spring "

In the twenty-third canto of the Orlando Furioso

the hero becomes mad, hence the

9ia|enbc 9iOlanb).

name

"P'urioso" (in German,'J)cr

of exploits in this State

He

performs a multitude
is

of frenzy, until finally his wit

brought back by an angel from

heaven.
734bicfcn.

See Appendix

II.

ACT
765.
I)0|)|)Clt,

II.
(cf.

possessed of a double nature

OiA)
!

Faust's

3^^^

eclcn
tions,
i.

Uiol)iicn,
e.

in meiner 53rnft),

drawn

in

two

diflerent direc-

distracted.

770.
773-

ft^ finlirn, be/ouud, or, shaw himsclf.

So
eilt

fltmmen

tDifllfTr ^^''

cords will attuiu thcmselves

re-

sponsivcly to eack othcr.

784.

grOCd

SJRuflf r.
is

The generous
historical.

feeling for his great rival

here ascribed to Tasse

In 1577

Horatio Ariosto, a
f

nephcw
saluting

of Lodovico, addressed to Tasso

some

rather

ulsomc verses,

him as the " Lord

of the

Tuscan Pamassus."

Tasso rcplied.

with dignity, that that place belonged to Ariosto, and could no more

NOTES.
be wrested from him than his club from Hercules.
deny," he admits, "that the crown

153

"I

will

not
(I

'sempcr

florentis

Homeri*

speak of your Ferraresc Homer) has often made

serenas
'
;

mc

*noctes vigilau-e

not from the desire to strip

to acquire

It

of its leaves or flowers, but

from a strong desire

similar to his,

one of

my

own, which,

if

not equal or

might be such as would long preserve

its

verdure in the

Winter of death.
(Serassi, p. 243-4.)

Such has becn the object

of

my

long vigils/' etc

792.

rinjig, uniquely^
C^d)0.
left of
fti^

i.

c.

supremely.
love of Narcissus until there

79g.

Echo pined away for

her but her voice.

was

nothing
803.

finotlDct.

A common
fiiib

pleonasm.

Goethe even writes

in

one instance:

ir

unjcre i'cbjcit br

eiiianbcr tucc^fet

geitig

und

fo Diel jdiiilMg
first

gcroovbrn" (Andresen, p. 190).

8ZI-841.

Tasso

arrivcd in Fcrrara at the end of ctober, 1565,

for the approaching

and found the court busy with preparations

marriage of Alphonso with Barbara of Austria, daughter of the

peror Ferdinand
I.

Em-

The dukes

of Ferrara

had long been lovers of

pageantry, and since on this occasion Alphonso was to

wed a

"quecn,**
2,

a fete of unheard-of splendor was given.

the cnsuing festivitics occupied a week.
detail,

The bride arrived Dec.

Serassi describes

and
in

them

dwelling upon their unparallelcd magnificence and enumerating

a number of distinguished persons

features of the celebration

who were
part.

present.

One
in

of the

was a grand medieval tournament,

P. 125
ff.

which.

a hundred Ferrarese gentlemen took

844.

iungcr ilrcunl).
;

Leonora was,

in fact,

seven or cight years

older than Tasso

but compare note to 1599.

festivities

846-867.

The wedding
new

above alluded to were interrupted

by the death of Pius IV.

election of a

Cardinal Louis went to

Rome
It

to aid in the

pontiff, leaving

Tasso

at Ferrara.

was al

this

timc, according to Serassi, that the

ating himself into the favor of

new-comer "succeeded

in ingrati-

Madama

Lucrczia, and through her

154:

NOTES.

into that of her sister

disposition,

Madama

Leonora, who, owing to accidental

entire festival."

in-

had not shown herseif during the

Alexandrine.

P. 128.

859.

An

There are nearly a score

in the play, viz.,

589, 982, 1218, 1341, 1350,

1426, 1489,1509, 1855, 1994, 2389, 2540,

2658, 2706, 2777, 3198, 3217.

862.
876.
frol^en cbcn.

See Appendix

II.

lRouf(^

Unb

aStt^tt.

Hendiadys for

$Rau[c^ beS 2Bal)n0, or

traljiifinuiger 9ioufd),

mad

hitoxkation.

Construe with bejaubcrtcn,

bic ^\\:^t bcr

not with

l)eiU.

The"correct" order would be: 23ie

leicht

ottl)cit bcn

Oon $Raufc^ unb SSa^n bcjaubertcn

conception, says Strehlke,
is

unb miig

^cilt."

The underlying

the ancient one, that the

proximity of the gods exercises a healing influence.

889-890. Lucretia of Este was married in 1570 to Francesco Maria
della Rovere, heir apparent to the

duchy of Urbino.
sajrs

895-911.

"After the departure of the Princess of Urbino,"

Serassi, p. 149,

"Tasso began

to court with

more

assiduity the favor

of

Madama
914.

Leonora, for whom, as was said before, he had alrcady

servit).'*

formed a strong attachment (avea gi4 contratta particolare

bcn SRantt/ referring probably to no one

in particular;

but

Dntzer understands Antonio.

917-

fern

unD

ferner.

See note to 1179.

920-921.

Qlnflatt

ba

hJei

an

elliptical idiomatic construction,

equivalcnt to: 5InftQtt

UJcr er aud)
fcl,

"^oSi^

bii,

uuc

CO mciiic v2d)JUfftcr luciO,

mit

jcbcin^

gu leben

ttJtcfl.

For conveniencc, translate

onftatt bo

by whereas.
923-

3
to

einen SfrennH bid) finden.

tolike.

Sid)

fiitben

in (with acc.)

means,
925.

come

Quite different

is

the

fid)

finbcn of 770.

verse of four feet; so 1903. 1948, 2056, 2S03, 3093, 3413.

935938.

9lun, here in the unusual sense of accordin^:;ly,

bei

meinem

lBrul)er.

The mcanlng

is

that

Alphonso nevcr

comniands that which hcart or understanding repudiates.

940.
geblil/ asiurcd.

NOTES.
945-947OUeblifif.
It
is

155

^Olft

Ittbftt

hard to say what

myth

(if

any) suggcsted the figure.

Strehlke thinks of the wcdding

of Peleus

and Thetis,
;

to

which

all

the gods

came bringing

gifts,

only

Eris being uninvited

of
all

or of Pandora, whose being was the Joint

is

work
gifts

the gods.

Dntzer, on the other hand,

reminded of the

brought by the muses, and by cur modern

their favorites.

fairies, to

the cradles of

956-

3t mt

DcrbunlJcn fein.

This wish of the Princess becomes,

as Strehlke remarks, the source of the dramatic entanglement.

979-994-

The general sentiment

lovely

of this description, and in part the

details, are imitated

from a chorus in Tasso's Aminta.

I

This choros

begins:

"O

Golden Age

Not because

the land thcn flowed

with milk and honey, or the serpent was innoxiotis, or the sky always
bright
;

but because

Honor had not

is

yet been invented to cross nature*s

(s'ei piace, ei lice)."

law, that what pleases

permitted

Thcn foUow
of un-

some Verses which describe the Golden Age as a paradise

checked voluptuousness.
1001-02.

Compare

the sentiment of Schiller in bis poem,

3)te

SBortc bc Batjn
,rQ<
ifl

ni(^t

brausen, ba fu(^t e bcr Z^or,

eioifl

1006.

ift

in bir, bu bringft e

^eroor."

C^rlanbt

ijl,

toad

flC^

jicmt.

Shortly aftcr Tasso's Aminta

rival,

was publishcd, appeared

its

most famous

the Pastor Fido of

Guarini, which containcd a chorus parodying the one in the Aminta^

and opposing

to Tasso's

Golden Age

of

amorous
it

license a
if
it

Golden
bc
i)er-

Age

of propriety, of

which the law was, Let

please,

mitted (piaccia, se
1014.
ifl

lice).
:

Cf. Goethe's well-known saying

1)er

Umgang mit grauen

ba eicmcnt guter ittfii."

1022.

With

the characterization of the two sexe^ in this and the

in

foUowing Verses compare the language of Schiller

^^raucu

rbe

ber

156

NOTES.
GJicrig greift er in bie '^tvne,

^Rimmer

toirb fein

^erj

geftit,

3taftIo burd^ enticg'ne

Sterne

Sagt

er feine

Xraume Silb."

Slber aufrieben mit ftiQerem SRu^me

Src^cn
Silber

bie

grauen be 3lugcnbli(f 93lume.*

mit fanft berrebcnber Sitte

gl^ren bie grauen ben Scepter ber Sitte."

1029.

bleibe.

See Appendix

II.

1044 45.

Kern understands

the

meaning

to be

If

you men could

Claims upon

be content with a woman's friendship, and renounce

her person.
is

all

But

this is erroneous.
It

The theme

of the Princess here

man 's

fickleness in love.

seems

likely that the

whole disquisition
relates, p. 144*
**

may have been suggested

that Tasso, in the year
1

to

Goethe by Serassi, who

569,

made a public defense of fif ty

Of these

conclusioni

amorose," or theses pertaining to love.

first

theses the twenty-

ran thus
la

**
:

L'uomo
woman).

in sua natura

ama

piu intensamente e stabil-

mente che

donna" (man

naturally loves

more

intensely and

more

steadfastly than

This " conclusion," Serassi says, was ably

Bertolaja Cavaletti.

attacked by the
1053-54-

Lady Orsina

(?J>lc

i^rflen flreben na(^ Deiner ^anli,

Manso

(wrongiy)

supposes one of Tasso's extant sonnets to have been occasioncd by a

solicitude of this kind.

1063.
laffcn

mir.

Tresent usage would

infinitive

call for inid).

The

dative with
in to

and an

was formcrly not uncommon, and came

in imitation of the
II.
Ooit.

German, says Sanders,

1070.
1072.
Qtt(id){le.

French idiom.

See Appendix

or gives the same sense as the more usual

KrmitlC. Tasso's Armida
is

1090.

a sorceress of surpassing beaoty,

who

uses her arts on the side of the Saracens.

She

spirits

away the
in

hero Kinaldo and keeps him for somc time as her lover

an en-

chanted garden

in the

Canary

Isles.

When

he

is at

last

rescued by

NOTES.

157

two knights and restored to the army, Annida vows vcngeance upon
her recent lover, invokes the powcrs of cvil in her aid, and offers her
throne and person to any knight
that she
is

who

will slay Rinaldo.

It is

here

"hateful."
. .
.

izoo.

Xanrredend

C^tllorttilie.

Tancred, next to Rinaldo the

is

mightiest of the Christian warriors,

Clorinda,
finally
kills

depicted as in love with

side.

an amazon who
in battle,

fights

on the Saracen

The

pair
is,

meet

and Tancred, not knowing who

his advcrsary

the object of his affection.

(frminiritd
falls into
.

Cf. Introduction, p. xxiii.

iioi.

'

Srriie.

Erminia, daughter of the king of

Aniioch,

the hands of Tancred

treats her as a

upon the ovcrthrow

of her

father's city.

Tancred

queen and so wins her love,

in battle

which, however, remains undcclared.

As Tancred engages
city,

with a Saracen bcfore the walls of the

Erminia puts on armor

and goes out

II02.

to care for him.

8o|i^ronien8 (Bro^rit unti CUttDcnd 92ot.

The king

of

Jerusalem causes an image of the Virgin to bc stolen from a Christian

temple and placed

riously disappears.

in

a mosque, whence, during the night,

il

myste-

The

king, in a rage, Orders a general slaughter

of the Christians.

Sophronia, a beautiful Christian maiden, in order

to save her people confesses to the theft

and

fters herseif for death,

whereupon her lover Olindo denies her assertion and takes the deed
upon himself.

The

pair contend for the privilcge of dying,

when

Clorinda intercedes with the king, and both are saved.

thinks that Sophronia
is

Serassi
vagueness

mainly a portrait of
intimates with

the,

Princess Leonora.

Z109-11Z4.

The Princess

intentional
it

that she likes the

poem because she

finds in

much

that she can

take to herseif.
1161.

Hence Tasso's

jubilant reply.

toufetlDfoi^ca 9Bcrf)CUg.

In explanation of the expression

commentators quote from the

Iliad, B. 4S9,

where the poet says that

if

he could not name over the multitude of the Greeks, not even

he

had ten tongucs and

ton niouths.

158
X165.

NOTES.

bom

frhen ^Oni.

The

story

was

told of the poet Pindar,

his lips

that in his infancy a

swarm

of bees settled

upon

and fed him

with honey, thus foreshadowing his future greatness.

1172.

brnge ju
tOtXi

from jubringen.

1179-80.

Unb

ttJCrtfr,

With

his increasing
at

fame he
Says

would be more and

viore

worrhy to lay himself

her feet.

Lehmann, p. 235:

" Instead of the

cumbrous locution immer me^r unb

likes to say, especi-

me^r bange, or immer bnger unb bnger, Goethe

ally in poetry,

bang unb bnger." Cf.

II.

fern

unb

ferner in 917.

1189.

See Appendix

1270.
1297. 1310.

)o^Ibcl)tt(^tig = Iangfam unb abgemcffen (Sanders).

frjcr, ioo Short.

^a lud

S9C0llftC, let the fortunate

man

as a matter of

course extol fortune.

But the English "let" hardly translates the

imperatives in this passage.
6cf(^mtP.
"
It

irony of the
1332-34-

German
bClt
.
.

seems best

to

understand

the

clause as concessive.

Show me

man

thrice as

worthy as myself,

though he were thrice as much abashed by the crown."

13381349.
frcilil^,

of course (sarcastic).

nur

with bnlben.

1365. Unfittli^^ tactless or quixotic.

1372.
arts
i^lpenf^licl Ittl

Soitcnf^lifl.

In satirical allusion to

the

by which Tasso had won his crowii.

broufl
.
. .

1393-

nij^t }U IciDcn.

With

^tx\, S3rufl, cfl)I, etc.,

In-

branfen
finitive,

means
it

to be violcntly agitated.

Here, with the following

refolt against the thought

may be
ergib

translated, rises

in

of

enduring.
1404.
J)ir

nur

ni(^t0.

An

obscure
is

line,

which
first

is

variously interi)retcd.
in the sense of

Strehlke says Ocrgcbcn

(ocrjciljen)
;

used the

time

pardon

the second, in the sense of

com

promise

(',U

na^C
in

treten).

This

is

hardly plausible.
:

Dntzer parafl(^

phrases the line

an indirect Statement thus

" Xafjo gebe

attc

NOTES.
noc^,

159

bem Crtc

ttjollc

er nidjt nadjflcbcn."

This

Is

itself

not quitc

clear

and seems

in

any casc to ignore the difference

in the

mode

the two verbs.

in the sense of

It is certainly

best to understand Dcrgrbcu both times

in bis dictionary).

do despitt

to,

compromise (so Sanders,

The

imperative would then be ironical, and the meaning this:

(Oh,
(its

certainly)

compromise

thyself^

thou doit not comf>romise tfu place

dignity cannot be impaired by the like of thee).

interpretation, as pointed out

An
ftc^

objcction to this

by Kern,

is

that

Dcrgcbm, in this he would

sense,

is

accompanied by an object.

To meet

this objcction

resort to the dubious expedient o taking the final nic^td with both

verbs.
thysel/,

The sense would then

be, without irony

Do

not compromiu

thou dost not compromise the plait.

1438-

Selribtgf bid|

felbfi.

As

the

only offence, according to

Tasse, came originally from Antonio's conduct, so in recounting the

history of the aifair he will simply repeat this offence.

A second time
in statu.

become
1446.

thiiie

own
fi(^

insulter.

auf

beruht.

%\\\ \\^ bringen,

means

to

remain

3)ic '^xa^^i, bic ?lngclcnfnt)ftt bleibt auf fi(^

berufen

= The

question,

the affair, remains right whcre

14491459for).

it is.

Unbfrcnjte Sinn, laxvless mind.

i^l^flcnd, at the

utmost

(i.

e. at

the utmost that can be hoped

1462.

trotfl, the preterite indicative

as the equivalent of a perfect

conditional.

So

in 1479.
cf.

14901532-

bcfonnter,
^^Vi bir

fr^cr in 1297.
l)tr

unb mit

bettiai^t,

i.

e.

without guards and

without Society.
1563-

ortinol.

See note to 417.

1576.
1581-

verse of three feet; so 1536 and 3300.

ei(^trinn,

buoyamy of mind.

Cf. XidjtUlig Ullb So^r^eit, IV.

(citf, XXIII, 7): 53cjonbcr8 aber

tommt

il)m

(bcm
ifi."

3)Jcnf(^en) bcr

Scidjtfmn ju lfc, bcr il)m unjcrftrlit^ crUe^cn

160

NOTES.
ttttbc.

1599-

Semler remarks
is

"If he (Tasso) has the maturity

for such a poem, his character

ness,

undeveloped to the point of childish-

and

his conduct appears so

much

the

more
he

painful.
is

To

judge

by

his behavior in the play,

and by the

fact that

repeatedly called

*boy,'

we have

to think of
is

him

as very young, say not

talent
is

much over
all

twenty." But Tasso

man whose
(cf.

developed out of

pro-

portion to his character

304-5),

and

this

immaturity of character

we

naturally connect with the idea of youthfulness.

A man

like

Antonio might speak of a

of his actual years.
his hero as thirty
Still

man

like

Tasso as a "boy"without thinking

that

we cannot suppose

Goethe thought of

one years old

finished.

the age Tasso had actually reached

when

his

poem was
9Jlcinun9

1610.
1616.

bie ffentliche 2J?einung, /^//V opinion.

ftttenlofed/

spoken from the Standpoint of the code of honor,

insulting.

ACT
1669.
ij^tlt.

III.

See Appendix IL

1704-10.
character
is

It

was a

favorite theory of

Goethe that sharp contrast

in

the best foundation of friendship.

Thus he

writes of

Schlosser, SBcrfe
myself, and
it

XXI,

51:

"He

was

in a sense the very opposite of

was perhaps

this very fact that

gave

rise to a

perma-

nent friendship between us."

Serfc

Again, of his

own

relation to Spinoza,

XXII, 168

*
:

For the

rest let

me

not

fail to

recognizc here also

that the most intimate unions spring from contrasts."

1734.

in \\X,

ift t/iysel/,

i.

e.

by overcoming thyself and consenting

to his departure.

1751-52.

This

is

ih

harmony with

Serassi,

who

represents the
(See, for ex-

Princess Lucretia as the one that procurcs the favors.

ample, pp. 136 and

X758.
^ttb*

163).

regard to

my own

t^ ubCttOUnllfn ; i. e. I havc concjucrcd niy scnijucs wiin charactr, have ceased to reproach myself.

NOTES.
1767.

161

SRnttfr C^rbf^oft.

Serassi, p. 222, quotes

from a

Icttcr of

Tasso, written in 1576, in which he says that thc Princess Lconora

has promised him more assistance, her resources having been
creased by her mother's legacy.
1771SSirt.
in-

The

letters o

Tasso indicate that he was

embarraisment.
is

in fact

recklcss
1786.

manager and often

bad
taartt

in pecuniary

il^m nie.

Thc

allusion

to Alphonso's dis-

appointed hopes of prcfcrmcnt at the hands of Pope and Kmperor.

He was
1787.

at

one time a candidate for the crown of Poland (Dntzer).

SReine @d)tsrfler.

See note to 889.

The Duchess of Urbino

After five years of child

was
less

fiftecn years oldcr

than her husband.

wedlock she separated from him, and rctumed to her brother's

court at Fcrrara.

Of

the Separation Serassi says

" Thc Duchess per-

ceived that, allhough she was esteemed by her husband for the sublime
qualities that

adorned her, she was

still

not acceptable to him bccause

children.'*

of the disparity of their ages,

and bccause she could not have

See note to 108.

1795
1814.

man na^m und

One
of the

bon i^r mcg.

to

pocms

which Manso attaches special import*

is

ancc, as proving Tasso's affection for the Princess Leopora,

sonnet, addressed to her in

566,

and occasioned by the

fact that her

physician had forbidden her to sing.

1857-58. ^te

Sonne

^e6t

auf.

Theconception

is

that the

form

Seen in a dream rests lightly upon the eyelids and disappears as these

open to the morning sun.

The Speaker scems

to forgct that Tasso's

temporary absence need not affect her lir^ams of him.

1925. 1952.
Cicbfl

bU

i^n.

See note to 48.

rei0.
Ccin

Equivalent to rcilauf, th circling course.

.

2039.

3^i4)Cn

(BI(fd.

With

reference to Goethe's concf.

ception of the poet as a serer, see Introduction p. xlix;

teijcnb eib in 195.

also fein

ao6i.

|tid)t.

"ilii^i

foUowing al8 after a comparative

is

common
t

pleonasm

in classical

German.

(58 ging bcffer, al8

tt)ir

n i(^

boC^tcn

162
(Goethe)

NOTES.
2ir muffen ba SBcr! in biefcn
i

Xaqtn todttx
usage,

forbcrn, Qt8 e

in 3ol)rcn n
lete, is

d^ t

gefd^at) (Schiller).

The

now

practically obso-

commonly, though with doubtful correctness, described as a

Cf. Andresen, p. 196.

Gallicism.

2071-76.

The language
is

of Serassi with regard to the matters here

:

touched upon
larly

as follows (p. 507)

"

He

appeared, moreover, singu-

modest

in all his

bearing and especially in his dress, seeing that

stuff without

he always preferred a black suit of piain

or embroidery
ruffles
. . .

any trimmings

His

linen, too, he

liked to have simple, without

or lace, though he was fond of having large quantities of linen,

just as

and of the whitest,

splendid, yet neat

he wished to have

all

his vestments,

if

not

and becoming."
liccr,
ftii^

2086. 2095.

lieb

Unb

See note to 1179.

jtoeicr

r r^mt
in

glommen.

Serassi,
this very

p.

235, quotes

some Verses

which the poet Guarini makes

Charge against

Tasso, the ladies concerned being, however, the Countess of Scandiano and Lucretia Bendidio.

The
si
;

verses are

"Di due flamme

(Chi
'1

vanta, e stringe e spezza

e con quest' arti piega

Pi volle un nodo
crederebbe

!)

a suo favore

dei."

(He

boasts of two flames, and ties and unties a knot

arts

many

times,

and with these

to his favor.)

(who would believe

it 1)

seeks to incline the gods

2135-36.

^ie

Icj^tcn

Gnbtn

fofffn,

A somewhat

vague phrase,
in the

which no two of the German commentators understand

way.

same

The mcaning sccms

to be this

Tasso

/i'a/s to cotulusions,

By

an instantaneous process he brings together in his mind what are or

ordinary

men

the outcrmost links in a long chain of rcasoning and

draws an oracular inference, the prcmises of which do not appear,

but which none the less he requires other people to acccpt on pain of
his displeasure.
(the

Antonio declarcs that

intellectual gifts),

it is

only one

man in

a million
at

man

of

supreme

whose conclusions, arrived

NOTES.
in this

163

way, havc any value

it is

and Tasso, he thinks,

is

no such person.

For US

natural to think, in connection with this "millionth man,"

o Goethe hlmself.
2144.

auf

bell Sfurften

ju fr^mljen.

thc immcdiatc cause

was

of

Tasso's imprisonmcnt was, accorcling to Serassi, the fact that one day
^

^579 being dissatisfied with the treatment he

receiving, he

broke out into violent maledictions against the house of Este

2x56.
(p. 232).

Duke and

the whole

Um
in

mcincltillen, as

far as

/am
II.

concemed,

2177.

@Uid)em.

See Appendix

ACT
2191-

IV.

an.

See Appendix IL
bo(^, cf.

2209.
2235.

For the use of

note to linc 86.

jtoeibeutige (Beflttgel.

The commentators

see here an alluof

sion to the

Greek myth which made Night the mother

Dreams,
But the

Death, the Fates, the Furies, and other ominous beings.

noun eflgel and the verb umlaufen are awkward

beings.

if

used of such
it

As

to jmcibcutigc Strehlke says, obscurely, that

;

alludcs to
it

the form of these creatures

Dntzer, with equal obscurity, that

has

reference to their similarity to horrid birds (njflcu Sgein).

faufen Dntzer
birds.
is,

By um*
Goethe
jnjel
:

strangely enough, reminded of the Stymphalian

all

More probable than

this is the supposition that

was thinking merely of the

ill-boding birds of night

and used

beutig in the sense of ominous.

blieb it)m nid)t8 brig qI9 auf

Cf. Freytag, !Dle %I)ncn, II., 71

tro() ju fi^en

8
0e

bem

unb
jctn

bie finfleren

banfen ioeg^ufd)eiid)cn,
2331-32.

ield)e
. . .

mie {^Icbcrnuiufe

um

^aupt

fd)n)irrten.

gcnn

er

jufttmmenreiljt.
ff.

In allusion to Antonio'

rhapsody about Ariosto, 709

2402.

%udi,
aSBell^

See Appendix

II.
;

2422.

einem drften

Francesco

I.,

Grand Duke

of Tuscany,
I.,

who

reigned from 1564 to 1574 as lieutenant of his father Cosimo

164

NOTES.
to 1587

and from 1574

on his own account.

it is

Francesco was not a

great er illustrious ruler, and so

possible that Goethe

was

think-

ing rather of
2460.
"

Cosimo

himself.

One

of the finest examples of anticlimax that I

know

of

."

Kern.
2521.

ber 3)2eDiceer neue ^auS.

The name
;

of Medici

was
it

at this

time by no means nevv in Italian history

on the contrary

had been

famous for two

centuries.

But the great representatives of the

family in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries had borne no princely

title.

It

was not

until 1567

that Cosimo, a descendant of another

branch of the house than that which had produced Cosimo the Eider
(1389-1464),

and Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492) became Grand

his title confirmed

Duke

of

Tuscany and had

by patent of Pope

Pius V.
2522-24.
Serassi states, p. 207, that there

was a coldness between

to the unfavorable imfirst

the houses of Este

and Medici, due primarily

pression produced in Ferrara by Alphonso's

wife,

who was

Lucretia of Medici;
precedence.
2564.

and secondarily to certain old disputes about

^rnlung, a wounding of the feelings,

25712576.

3f^t

tfl'

on mir,

cf.

1283-4.

S|iecr.

Telephus, son of Heracles and Auge, was wounded

to prevent the

by Achilles while trying

Troad.

Greeks from landing

in the

Being told by an oracle that he could be cured only by the

that caused the

same agency

wound, he went to the Greck camp and

Achilles.

was healed by scrapings from the spear of

2593-2605.
f ul

Tasso's troubles with his critics form a long and pain-

episode in Serassi's narrative.

The

cssential facts

thosc

made

use of by Goethe

may

be given here connectedly.

By

the ycar

1575 Tasso had become dissatisfied with his position at Ferrara and

had decided

to seek service elsewhere.

First,

however, he wished to

dischargc his obligations to the house of Este by Publishing his poem.

NOTES.
But now
turn
;

165
docility" playcd

his excessive

"modestyand

him an

evil

he dccided to submit his worlc to the judgment of certain

learned

men

in

Rome, whose good

offices

were to be procured for him

by his old university f riend Scipio Gonzaga, an ecclesiastic connected

with the house of MedicL
sent to Gonzaga,

Early in 1575. accordingly, his

discussing
it

pocm was
Thcre

who began

with his friends.

were

in

all

some eightecn

different

men

consulted, bot the most

prominent among these were Angeli da Barga, author of a Latin

poem, the Syrias ; Flaminio de' Nobili, a theologian, philosopher and

Hellenist; Silvio Antoniano, a rhetorician, famed for the elegance of
his style,

and Sperone Speroni, a distinguished man of

in the

letters.

These
com-

men found much

poem
letter,

to object to,

and

thcir strictures,

municated to Tasso by
iety.

gave htm

infinite

annoyance and anz-

They condemned

in

many

cases the very features of the

work

upon which he had most

this "

set his heart.

At

last

he resolved to end
critics in

agony of correspondence," and to confront his

person

at

Rome.

He

went to

Rome
in

in

November,

1575,

and remaincd thcre

to

several weeks.

While

Rome, he was introduced by Gonzaga

Cardinal Ferdinand of Medici, later Grand

Duke

of Tuscany,

who

made

overtures to him with regard to entering the Service of the

house of Medici.

Late

in

December he

left

Rome and

returned to

Ferrara to resume the

critical

correspondence with his " friends," the

correspondence which at

last

brought him near to distraction and was

mental malady.
S$(d)fel

one of the chief causes of

2631.

his later

SSantieU in the sense of @ang, not in that of

(Strehlke).

2633.
2636sing, is

froren

fiicl).

See Appendix

II.

Unfern,

So

in all the editions.

Dntzer thinks the

acc.

uscd as being more vivid

(anfcf)aulid)cr)

than the plur.;

Schaefer regards 3citgcno[|en as a dat. plur.; but er ruft Blir QU

einem @d)lQf
tirely so.

is

hardly good

German

usage, though er ruft mir

is

en-

Kern, without authority, prints unfcrc.

This

is

perhaps

: ;

"

166

N0TE3.

the best Solution of the

difficulty.

With regard

to the ulterior purI., 5,

pose here ascribed to Tasso, see ihQ Jerusalem Delivered

runs thus
in

which

Wiffen's translation (the person addressed

is

the

"mag-

nanimous Alphonso " of the preceding stanza)

" Well would
it

be

(if

in

harmonious peace

The

Christian Powers should e'er again unite,

steed and ship their ravished spoils to seize,

With

And for his theft

That they

the savage

Turk

requite),

to thee should yield, in wisdom's right,

if it

The
Of

rule

by land, or
;

have more charms,

let
it

the high seas

meanwhile,

delight

To

hear our verse ring with divine alarms

Rival of Godfrey, hear, and hearing, grasp thine arms.

That Tasso himself dreamed

of acquiring a soldier's laureis in a

tradition.
nid)t gebieten fami.

new Crusade
2708. 2715. 2817.

is at least

an ancient

2)o|
It is

id)

mir

felBfl.

Supply

here that Tasso dissembles,

Cf. 2744.
to be an invention of

Oualctttafel.

The metaphor seems

is

Goethe.
fate

The conception

that a man's troubles are engraved by

upon a brazen

tablet (" brazen " as suggestive of

permanence or

changelessness).

ACT
2830.
tiad
JtOfitetnttl.

V.
to imagine the second visit.
is

We have
ff.
:

2841-42.

Cf. note to 2593

Medicis

a French form.

2884-2914.
rate,
it

Serassi, p. 50S

" In eating he

was exceedingly tempe-

appearing to him that no time was worse wasted than that

. . .

spent at table ... In drinking he was less moderate

and he was

fond of sweet and pungent wines.

tions,

Preserved

fruits, pastry, confec-

and sweetmeats of every kind he liked beyond measure, and

in his salad.

he even used sugar

So, too, he abhorred every kind of

food or drink that was

in the least disagreeable,

and even

in his

ill-

NOTES.

167

ness would take no mediane that was not pleasant to the taste."

Elsewhere Serassi quotes from a

physician had lately forbidden

lettcr of

Tasso, written

when

his

him the use

of wine.

He

complains of

the restriction and says that a

good physician should know how to

make

his prescription acceptable to the patient.

2921-30.

Serassi regards Tasso's suspidons as well grounded.

ff.

See note

to 316

2943. felbfi.

Kern thinks the word to imply

that the Speaker

thinks more highly of the Medicis and their

(cf.

wisdom than of the popes

But

610,

where Alphonso seems to suspect Gregory's honesty).

it

we might understand

thus

Even the Popes, whom we naturally

expect to be intolerant of moral weakness, have taught us the lesson

of indulgence to erratic genius.

2979-80. aWf ine Sifttoefler gc^t

)Urutf.

This
to

is

contrary to the
that, in con-

arrangement made before (354

sequence of
all

ff.)

We

have

imagine

that has happened, the

two ladies have dccided to go

back

at once to the city.

2990.

im
ff.

Donetl

fiidjt.

See Appendix

II.
life

3055
in

In the

Summer

of 1577, morbidly fancying that his

was

danger from a general conspiracy against him, Tasso fied secretly

After spending

from Ferrara, leaving his manuscripts behind him.

some time with

his sister at Sorrento,

he petitioned through a friend

to be taken back into favor.

To

this

Alphonso consented on the

condition that Tasso regard himself as a sick

man and
went

allow himself

to be purged of his melancholy by the physicians.

Tasso consented,
well.

returned,

was kindly received, and

and he

for a time all

But soon

his troubles returned

this

fled again.

Of the events leading to

of 1578, he gives an
(Serassi, p. 269,
is to

second
in

flight,

which occurred

in the

summer

account

a long letter to the

Duke
;

of Urbino.

quotes only a portion of the document

Tasso's Works, IX., 186
ff.,

the fll text

II.,

be found in

also in Black,

383

ff.)

In this letter
im[X)r-

Tasso asserts that the Duke of Ferrara, though repeatedly

168
tuned,

NOTES.
would not surrender
to

him the manuscript

of his

poem, but

kept counselling

rest, relaxation

and physic, thus seeking to beguile

his

him

into a life of indolence

and luxury, to the detriment of

fame

as a poet.
his
life,

In the same letter he also says, respecting this period of

that he "voluntarily aggravated his

malady by excessive
This he did, not-

intemperance, which brought him near to death.

withstanding that he abhorred intemperance, in order to gain the

favor of the Duke, and also in order to accustom himself to despise
health and pleasure, since he recollected that

some

of the best philois

sophers had been of the opinion that vigorous health

to virtue because
it

dangerous

assists the

body

to tyrannize over the

is

mind."
it

3072-76.

Excessive preoccupation with one's seif

alluring, but
is

leads to the abyss.

This, as Schaefer appositely Tcmarks,

the

theme
307g

of Goethe's Sert^cr.
ff.

Cf. note to 324.

3090.
life

im neuen

8onncntl^oI.
It is

natural

enough metaphor

for the

beyond the grave.

not necessary to think with Dntzer of

the biblical " Valley of Jehoshaphat."

3137gaiift,
I.,

9la))eU for dltapd, after analogy of the Italian Napoli; so in

2982.

3138.

bcr ftrenge Sann.

See note

to 412.

Manso

says Torquato

was included
3141
ff.

in the edict, but this is

first flight

denied by Serassi.

In his

from Ferrara Tasso wandered southDreading pursuit

to the borders o

ward

in

a penniless and abject condition.

cities

he
the

avoided

and highways, and so came

kingdom of Naples, where he changed

whose hut he had found a
his

clothes with a shepherd, in

night's lodging.

In this disguise he

made

way

to Sorrento

and to the house of

in

his sister,

whom

he had not

Seen since their parting

childhood twenty-three years before.

sister is described with
;

The

meeting of the brother and

romantic details by
but the details in

Manso,

whom

Serassi, p. 254, quotes at length

his

Goethe are mostly

own

invention.

NOTES.
3151.

169

Simfrjfnfreube.
^ilgcrmufj^fl
.
.

See note to 41a.

.

3181-82.

ftittel

Stob.

" Pilgrims in the

Middle Ages were known by a peculiar garb and various badges; the

hood and capc, the

crowned
hat,

staff

and scrip and watcr-bottle, and the low-

turned up in front and fastened with strings, l>eing

while the palm specially
shell,

common
lloly

to

all,

marked a

pilgrim from the

bell,

Land; a

one from Compostella; a bottle or

one

from Canterbury, and so on."

3282 85.
3297-

Encyclopaedia Britannica.
p. xlvi ff.

See Introduction,

^0 mir

ber Stai ^thtod^tn tR,

in allusion to the old

custom

of brcaking the judge's white staff over the hcad of a criminal

to death.

doomed

Cf. i^auft,

I.,

4590.

3313 M-

gefdjmdt

OW

C{lftrticr.

in sacrificing,

the Greeks

adorned the head of the victim with garlands.

3321-32.
3349-

See note to 3055

ff.

Arminen.

See note to 1090.

ffillf.

3368. bad tlumpfe

In the very act of nursing his

own

mis-

ery by the
satisfaction

fll

indulgence of his bitterness, Tasso finds a stolid

Cf. 2352,

which he docs not wish to have disturbed.

also Introduction, pp. xlix

and

1.

34ax

ff.
li

With rcgard
and
lii.

to the conclusion of the

drama see Introduc-

tion, pp.

APPENDIX
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
The following
ture bearing
list

I.

aims,

first,

to catalogue the

more valuable

Ittera-

upon Goethe's Xaffo, and, secondly,

to furnish fll

bibliographical data

conceming the numcrous works that arc rcferred

to in the prcceding pages by the author's relating to Goethe, or to

name

alone.

Of works

German

literature in general, only those are

mentioned which seem to the editor to contam particularly valuable

matter with regard to Xaffo.

Andresen.

Sprotebroui^
@uOao

unl)
6.

2prQi^rid)tigffit

im Xcutfj^cn.
&tbv. ^ennin'

^Non Slavi
gcr, 1887.

2(nre|en.

SufL

^eilbrouu

Beaulieu-Marconnay.
9nintfler
coniiQt).

9lnna
$on

moUo, PoH Ugufl unb

(iaxi (^reiijerm

bcr

don

Sritfi^.
:

oon 9cauUeu>3){ar'

lkimar

i^Iau, 1874.
historical

Black.

Life

of Torquato Tasso, with an

and
:

critical

account of his writings.

iSio, 2 vols.

By John

Black.

Edinburgh

Murray,

Dntzer.
Eckardt.

oct5e'0
:

2offo, cilSutcrt bon ^elnrlc^ 2)n^cr.

3. 3(ufl.

Vcip^ig

StBartig, 18S2.

lorlefungen ber oet^c' Xorquolo toffo, oorgetrogcn

iL>on l'ubnjig

In bcrSiula bcr 53crucr=Jpod)f(^ulc.

gifd)cr, 1852.

Gdarbt.

cm:

Eckermann.
l'cbcii.

efpri^e
35on 3ol)aim

mit
^^Jctcr

(S^otif^t

In ben Ic^jtcn 3a^ren jcinc

6. ?lufl.
:

(Scfcrmaiin.

Tlit eiitlcitiing

itnb

cmerfungcii

oii .^. XiHjer.

cipjig

23ro(fl)QU?, .1885,
,71

SBnbc.

172

APPENDIX

I.

Eysell.

Ucbct
et)ica.

Ooct^c'S Torquato Joffo.

gUnteln
:

5lbl)anMung on S)r.

. 5. Goethe.

iBfenbal)!, 1849.
iJct BcDcutcnlJflett

Sricfc oct^c'S uttb

a. 9Jt.:

^ii^ter feinet Seit

t)on ^crbcr.

an

eriJer.

herausgegeben on . 2)nt3er unb . @.

2Jfeibingcr, 1858.

^ran!furt

Sricftue^fcl

bc

Orofe^crjo

arl

^lugufl

mit

@octe.

SBeimar: J?anbc=3nbuftne=(Iomptoir, 18G3,

IBrieftoei^fcI atoifc^cn

2 33nbc.

oet^c unH

ftncbcl.

^eipgig

53io(fl)aus,

1851.

2oc6c^er.
roBl)cr;iogin

oct^eS
@opl)ie

SSerfc,

^eraugegebcn
III.
:

im

5luftrage
S3b.

ber I:

bon

<Bad)\nu

21btt)cilung,
S3i3l)(au,

(Soct^e'S 2;ogebd)er, 1775-1787.

Sffieimar

1887.

SBerfe.

9Zac^
:

bcn

t>or5gIid)ftcn

CueUen

reibierte

SluSgabe.

erlin

uftoo cmpel (1868-1879), 36 Xeilc.

Goethe-Jahrbuch.
Q.

erau8gegebeu

on

SubttJig eiger.

i^ranffurt

TL:

mttm

unb ?oening, 1880-1887.

Grans.

Ucbcr
:

oct^c' Sorquoto Xoffo. eine (S^aracrfiubie mit

S3on
^cinric^

Slnbeutungen fr bic S3^ncnauffl)rung.

?eip5tg
25?ebel,

ran.

1882.
35orIejungen gehalten an bcr nigl. Uniocrfitot

Grimm. oct^e.
ju S3erlin.

2. 5lutX

5>on

^ermann rimm.
Xorquoto
Joffo.

Scrlin

^ertj, 1880.

Hasper.

Ucber

OoctJ^c'

25on

2)r.

Jasper.

3Jil)n)aufen (a dateless ^^rogranln^').

Hettner.

itcraturgefi^ii^tc be 18. ^Q^r^unliert.

raunjd)n)ctg
:

9?on

^ermann

Lettner.

2>icnjcg

unb 8ol)n, 1879-1881.

Jacobi.
X\).

Joffo un eonore, ober mcldjcn Stoff ^atte oct^c?

3acobi.
(?iteratur*^iftorii(^c8 XQfd)cnbuc^, ^crauegcgcbcn
i'cip^ig, 1848.)

on
on

SR. ^ru^^.

Kern.

@oct|e'3
2>ou

Slorquoto 2offo.
^^vani^ iinii.

citrage gur rflrung

:

be

XrauiQS.

33crlin

Stridcr, 1884.

Kieser.

Uebcr
:

oet^e' Xaf\o,

5>on

Tr. 23.

icfcr.

eonbcr,

^Qujcn

(&pd, 1868 (Programm).

APPENDIX
Lehmann.
Lewitz.

I.

173
5?on ug.

oet^e'
33erliu
:

S|irQd)e

unb t^r ei|l.

O.

l'.

i'cljmann.

Xcutjd)c 5>crlag=2lnflQlt, 1852.

Ucbcr
:

Ooft^e'
Unjcr, 1839.

lorquoto

Xttffo.

2?on

^ranj

l'cwlt}.

Knigsberg

Manso.

La Vita

di

Torquato Tasso,
Roma,
1634.

scritta di

Giambatista

Manso, Marchcsc

di Villa.

Paludan-Mller.
Ilcnsyn
til

Studier

over Goethe's Dramaer

med

sairligt

deres Personskildring.
1884.
ein

Af Johannes raludan-Mller.

Kjbenhavn : Schous,
Schaefer.

Torquato

Zaffo,

8d)aujpicl

on

octljc.

3d)uU
Stuttg.:

Qu^gabc mit '31nmcifungcn on

Cotta, 1873.

'^rof.

Xv. 3. X. Schaefer.

Scherer.

0e|(^id|tc Dft
:

J)f utfi^f n

fiitcrotiir.

Con

Sil^elm Scheret.

crlin

2i>cimann'id)c ^^iid)l)aHblung, 1886.

Schmidt, Erich.

Sd)riften

lier
:

(0ocl^cs@c(f flf^oft, herausgegeben

iriefe (Soettje'e

oon Giid) v5d)mibt.

35b. 2

XQgebd)er unb

au

3tplicn an

^xan on 3tein unb Berber.

S3ou Crid) @(^mibt.

SBeimar, 1886.
crlin
;

e^oratlcriflilcn.

ffieibmann'jc^c

33ud)t)aubUinfl, 18S6.

Scholl.

@oet^e

in

Oauptjgcn
crlin
:

\tint9 gebend

unD SBirfenS.

Son

bolp^ d)a.
Scholl- Fielitz.

^er<j, 1882.

oct^e'0

riefe an gfrou Don Stein,

^erausge

geben on %toipti Sd)i3U.

bcitet

3"fite, ueroUftnbigtc ?lnflage, bear

i^rcinffurt 0. Tl.:

oon SBil^cIm

(Viclit?-

9ltten unb JJoentng,

1883-1885, 2 53nbc.

Schrer.

(9oet^e'0 SBerfe, neunter X^eil.

3.
@d)rcr.
S3erlin

^-cransgegebcn on ^rof.

Xx. ^.

unb

Stuttgart:

2.

(gpcmann.

(iirfd)ner*6 Xcutjdjc ^JJationalUtcratur, 33b. 90.)

Semler.
^i\x

tQ0 Zf^tma
.^-au
:

licr

(9octc'|d)cn ^oefie un:)

Xorquoto XafTo.
@emler.

unb @d)ulc bargclcgt

on

Xr.

(i^riftian

cipjig

SBaitig, 1879.

Serassi.

La Vita di

Torquato Tasso,

scritta dall*

Abate Pieran-

174
tonio Serassi e dal

APPENDIX

I.

medesimo dedicata

all'

Altezza Reale di Maria

Beatrice d'Este, Archiduchessa d'Austria, etc.

arni,

Roma:

Pagli-

mdcclxxxv.

Strehlke.

C^gmont S^l^icnic 2affo.

begleitet

herausgegeben unb mit

trel]I!c

SKnmerfungen

on

S)r.

gr.

(Xeil

of the

Hempel
Vilmar.

Edition; see above under Goethe).

SSon
51.

Uebcr oct|c' ^affo.

9iiga

g. S. i^ilmor.

^ranffurt

a. Tl.:

el)ben unb ^inimer, 1869.

in (Boctl^c'

Wehrlin.^ tnfl^rung
SBe^rlin.
:

Torquato 2affo.

3Son ebuarb

2)eubner, 1884.

Wittich.

3u

octic' ajoffo.

S>on 2)r.

SSittid).

Gaffel,

1886

("Programm).

APPENDIX
THE TEXT.
ExcEPT
in the

II.

matter of orthography, this edition of Xaffo has

been edited

in

accordancc with the fundamental principle adopted by

the editors of the

the ?Iu9flQbc

new Weimar

edition* of Goethe, namely, to follow

is

Ic^jtcr

^anb, unless there

us, in

a strong reason for dcviating

final per-

from

it.

That edition gives

theory at Icast, Goethe 's

sonal re Vision of his

own works, and so has a prima facie

authority

greater than that of any othcr print.

At the same time no one can long

concern himself

critically

with the text of Goethe without becoming

^aitb was rather carelessly printed.
It is

aware that the ?lu?gabc

Ic^jtcr

not always consistent with

itself , its

obvious misprints are disagreeably

numerous, and
to justify.

its

new readings

are not always easy to understand or

like

Under these circumstances anything

lc|}tcr

an absolutely

undeviating reprint of the ^ngabe

^anb

is

out of the qucstion.

For

this

reason the editor of this edition has been less reluctant

than he might otherwise have been to adopt the reformed Prussian

orthography.
that

If

we had a

true, authentic text of

Goethe 's works, one

had been actually rather than nominally revised by his own band,

NoTK.

On some accounts
new Weimar

should have prcferred to wait for the appearance of

3:affo in the

edition,

and then merely

But
it

to reprint the text

and

text-

ual

comment

there offered to the public.

was somewhat uncertain when the

volume might appcar.

Furthcrmore, Professor Weinhold, the editor of the forth-

coming
rial

tflffo,

informs

me

that the archivcs at

Weimar

contain no manuscript matetext.

that will have any bearing of consequence

I

upon the

Such being the

situau

tion,

have thought

it

best not to delay the appearance of this edition, but to coUate

the text myself from the extant prints.

C. T.
176

176

APPENDIX

II.

an edition in which we could always be sure that the printed characters represented the poet's deliberate Intention,

and not the

result of
if

accident, or indifference, or the caprice of his coadjutors

we had

such a

text,

it

would be the clear duty of any

editorial

epigonus to pre-

sent that text and no other.

As
is

the case Stands, however,

in

we have no
at-

such

text,

and hence one who

sympathy with any promising

tempt to rationalize irrational orthography the more readily reconciles

himself to the slight changes necessary to bring the spelling of the
SluSgoBe le^tcr

^anb

into conformity with the

new Prussian

rules.

In the matter of punctuation our text follows the SluSgabc legtet

Qnb, which

is

characterized by a freer use of the period and a less

free use of the

comma

than

is

found

in the prevailing

usage of to-day.
fll

This

will

account for numerous apparently uncalled-for

frol)eu

stops

within the line, and also for ollcn

^ranj instead of

otlcn, froren

Mxani, and @c^r

el)r
Ieid)t

leidet jerftrcut

bcr B"fflit tra er fammclt, instead of

er

;5er[lrcut

bcr

3"f^^^ ^^S

fammclt

The Omission

of

the

comma

in

such cases commends

itself to

the editor's judgment

quite apart from authority.

On

the other hand,

we have followed the

where our un-

?iu?gabe Ic^tcr

anb

in certain other classes of cases

trammeled judgment would have favored the

print
lj't,

later usage.

Thus we
our

auf\% gibt, instead of

lft,

auf*, gicbt.

In the following pages

we aim

in the first place to tabulate

own

deviations from the ?[iigabc Ic^tcr ^ailb (excepting the orlhographical

changes just alluded

to),

and, secondly,tomention

all

variantread-

ings of any interest or importance found in the earlier prints, and to

indicate the treatment of these variants
tions.

by the best of the

later edi*

The

editions selected for collation

and the symbols by which

they are designated are as follows:

A, the Princeps of 1790

ocjc^cn, 1790).
b, the first

(octl)c' (^riften, <Sc(^fler

anb.

Jcipjtg

Cotta edition (oct^c'd 2Bcrfe. cdjflcr S3anb. Tbingen

Gotta, 1807).

APPENDIX
c,

II.

177

the sccond Cotta edition

(oct^c'

SBcrfe.

Siebenter

anb.

tuttg. luXb.: Cotta, 181C).

D, the 8vo 3(ugabe

gabe
Ictjter

Ictjter

^anb

(@oct!)e' SBerfe.

^^oUftonbioe
:

Aus-

^anb.

9icuiiter 33anb.

tuttg. u. Xb.

dotta, lh28).
poetijc^e

c, the large

8vo edition of 1836, in two volumes (Ooctbc'

Snbcn.
Crfter

iinb profaijd)e 2erle in jtel

onb.

tuttg. u.

2b.
f,

(Sotta, 1836).

the edition of 1840, in forty volumes (@oet^e' jmmtUc^e SJerfe In

oiergig Buben.

Dreizehntes 8anb.

@tuttg. u. Xflb., 1840).

g, the edition of 1851, in thirty

brcifeig

volumes (Woctbf* fmmttidje SBerfe in

tultg. u. Xb., 1851).
in thirty-six
:

iibcn.

3>^lfter 93aub.

h, the

8vo Cotta edition of 1S66-S2,

@cd)flcr 93onb.

volumes (oet^e'9

SBcrfc.
i,

tuttg.

Cotta, 18G6).
^ladi

Strehlkc's

edition

(oct^'*

SBcrfc.

bcn

Oor5gIic!)flen
;

CiicUcn reoibicrte 91uegabe.

dateless).
j.

Siebenter X^eiU

erlin

^empel,

Kurz's edition (Ooet^e' SBerfe.

in
,VT)lf

herausgegeben oon ^einric^ urj

2)ritter

33nbcn, mit 40 Sta^lflic^en

Sanb.

tuttg.:

pc(, dateless).
k, Dntzer's edition ((9oetl)e*8 iScrfe.
3ttuflrirt

on

erflen beutft^en

nplern.
?eipj.
1,

.<pcrau(*flfbcr

C^ Tanger,

^"'f'tf'^ S^anb.

Stuttg. u.

3)cut|d)c tNcrlag^anHalt,
((Soetlje'S SBcrfe.

no date

[1883-84]).

Schrer's edition

92ennter Xbe.
:

^erongegeben

ou

"^rof.

Xv. . 3.

S(f)rcr. SBcrl. u. Stuttg.

Spcniann, no date).

m,

Geiger's edition

(oet!)c'8

SScrfe.
:

^crouSgcnfbeu Oon l'ubmig

Ocigcr.

Vierter anb.

^Berlin

Orote, 1883).

n, Schaefer's edition (Torquato

%a^o.

Gin Sdjanfpiel Oon

(?octl)c.

ed)u(auiiabc mit "lnmcrfungcn oon ^^rof. Xr. 3. 2. d)aefcr.

etuttg.: Cotta, 1873).

62. 80.

euer,

cDefghiklm;

eurer,

Ab

n.

Statte,

Ab ce fghijklmn;

Sttc, .

178
loo.

APPENDIX
il)ren,

II.

235.
266.

cDefghijlmn; feinen, Abk. Abcefghijimn; tat, Dk. rucft, Abcdefghijlmn; rcft, k.

\a%
hJirfen,
gulet^t,

283.

309.

AbcDefghijkmn; n)irfn, found in Abghijklmn; missing

1.

in

cDef.

The

meter requires
345. 379.
389.
ttjiig,

it.

^ier^cr,

A b c D efg h k n AbcDefghjkln;
i j 1

billig,

m.
i

^ic^er,

m.

erfreun,

Defijln;
;

erfreuen,

446.

ergiDljen, f g k ergeben, Goethe probably wrote ergoen.

Abc ghkm. AbcDehijlmn.

j.

Schrer says that

486.
622.

lautre,

triebe,

Defghiklmn; lautere, A b c AbcDefhijklmn; j^rieben, g.

640.
654.

S^iepoten,

661.

665.
707.

cDei Jim; regiert, Abfghkn. cDefghijklm; D^^ipoten, A]b. iner, Abcghi jklmn; einer. De f. nn^t, AbcDef gijklmn n^t, h.
regieret,
;

brucf te,

734. 743.
805.

AbcDf brcf tc, e g h k m n. m n tief cm, A b c k. tiefen, D e f g h 2)cr, Abcefghijklmn; D has the misprint
i j 1 ;

i 1

Ser.

liebeSmerte,

AbcDefhijklmn;
AbcDefhjl;

g has the misprint liebend'

lerte.

832 and 835.

thinks .^elm'
862.
froren,

etm,
is

^^elm',

gikmn.

Strehlke

required for grammar's sake.

Gttling,

Abcefghjklmn; froije, May 2S, 1825 3cl) fonn mic^

:

Di.

Goethe wrote
fl

to
c

bcr iJtffion !

U (^

icf)

nn

6 nid^t entfd)Iagen,

fie

ifl

fo in

mein SScfen oenuebt, ba

fie

n)o nid)t fr red)t borf)

is

mir gem Qd)tcn mu."

The

frobc

of

thus a correction in the supposed interest of

is

grammar;
in

but, since the principle

by no means consistenlly carried out

the 2lugabc le^ter ^anb,

we have preferrcd

to

print the

form

which Goethe preferred to ose.

APPENDIX
93a.

II.

179
the misprint einen.

einnn^ ^erg',

bcDefghijkImn; Ahas
i j 1 ;

993
loag.

D erg, Abccfghkmn. k m. bleibe, c D c f g n bliebe, A b h

1
; i

liebe

would seem to

be the better reading.

1030.
t)on,

1070.

gttlid)fte,

AbcDehiklmn; t)or, AbcDefghjl;

fgj.
ttlid)Oe,

ikmn.

We

have

kept the reading of the early editions, though g5ttli(^n< ^^cs not

go naturally with @lfi(L

1095.
::o7.

1128.
1160.

Abcefghijklmn; D has the misprint AbcDefgjl; ebcln, hikmn. ftummen, Defgh iklmn; jiumnie, A bcj. @ie, AbcDefhjl; fie, gkn; fic, im.
i}or,

Don.

eblen,

Capitalized for

especial emphasis

so also in a few other places which will not

be further noticed.
1169. 1176.
1)ir,

ebeln,

AbcDefhijl; bir, gkmn. AbDef hijklmn; eblen, cg.

Cf.

1107.

is

incon-

sistent in its treatment

of the case-forms

of

ebel.

We

have

preferred to keep the inconsistencies rather than to correct in

the
interest

of uniformity.

The

variants will not be further

noticed.
1189.

We

print

the

line as

inAbcDefhijlmn; gk
Insertion of "

have ^),

jd)n)cUc ruj^."

The unauthorized

O " is defended by
is

Dntzer as a

roetrical necessity.

But the pause takes the time of

the only "
ir-

the initial unaccented syllable, and though this

regularity " of the kind in the play, there
rect
it.

is

no occasion to

cor-

11931

S^CUbc, c
f Obern,

273.

1277.

te,

Defgh ij Imn; greuben, Abk. A b D m orbern, c e f g h k n. AbcDefhjl; fie, gkmn; fie,

j
1 ;

i.

1315.
1

3"iUtgen,

509.

1550.

AbcDefhjln; 3wf'9f "/ g k m. @d)ulbinen, AbcDefghjlmn. (^ulb'gcn, k. !ctn, Abf ghi k mn ein, c De.
i

180
1669.

APPENDIX
it)in,

II.

cDeilm;

uilS,

Abfghjkn.
is

Either reading can be

defended, but the argument

therefore followed D.
1723.
i^t,

conclusive forneither;

we have

AbcD

1 ;

je^t, e f

ghj k

m n.
bcDefghijklmn;
is

1744.

2)a ermd)t 3KangeIettt)a tnftig,

TtanQtl, A.

2)a
for

er nid^t cttoa fnftig

There

no apparent reason

the change in
1761.
jo

b.

An

accident probably.
(jn print bu6)
;

jo fe^r bift bu'S,

bcDefghijklmn

bu

bift'

fc^r,

A.

Here the change was obviously

to avoid the caco-

phony
1821.

bift'8 fo.

^reunb; found in

Ab
;

dropped by mistake
found
in

in c,

which mistake

continues through
1840.
j^rtreffd)C,

Def

gh

m n.
33ortrefflid)c.

2iog.

gejeigen,

AbcDefghijklmn; only g has Abcfghjklmn; gcfeUige, Dei.

im
leieren,

Cf.

note on

frol)en, 862.

2177.

in @{eid)cm, e;
g(eid)cn, n.

Abcfghij k m;

in glcid)cin, 1)1;

im

Schrer thinks that in

is

gleid)eni

sounds "

less

forced."

The

point

too fine for this editor, but as

we

obviously
Ic^ter

have to do with an intentional correction of the 3u9gabe

.^anb,

we have followed

the reading of 1) as corrected in

nac^,

e.

2igi.
,,

an,

bcDefgh jkm;

Ailn.

Strehlke thinks an only a

perpetuated misprint."
^Qtt',

2209.

Abcfghijkln;

l)tt',

Dem.

The sense

requires

t)att'.

2234.

2300.
2311.

2357.

2402.

bDefghijklmn; jc^mnlcii, Ac. AbcDefgijkl; fpt, h mn. ju, cDefgj k; gum, Abhilmn. ^ngft, bcDefghijklmn; long', A. It is hard andi, cDefghijlm; adf, Abkn.
fc^malem,
\paif
is

to say which

reading

the better, since either can

l)e

defended.

With adf
just

the Speaker

must bc understood as ignoring what Tasso has

his

been saying, and urging a new reason for

going away.

Sc^

APPENDIX
would be a mild expostulation over
despondency.

11.

IM
and

his excessive bitterness

Dntzcr rejects audi on the ground that

its Posiis

tion in thc sentence

valid.

would be
I.,

false;

but the objection

it)r,

not

Cf.

1$

au

fl

64S.

%ud) bamald

ein iungrr

Tlamx;

aisu 2142, 'di bie (Sultur, bte aUe ^tlt htUdt, etc.

2462.
2512.
ihc

Icibcr,
2ic\)e,

c I> e

Abcefghijklmn; I) has the obvious misprint lieber. m Jippc, A b f g h k n. It is doubtful, whether

1

l'iebe

of c

was an intentional
gu,

corrt tion

2533.

jo,

Defghlm;
cDel;

Abcijk

2633.

froren,

frommen,

Abfghijkmn.
;

Dntzcr

calls

frol)en ein arger 2;ru(ffe^ler."

2763.

eignem bf^erm,
Uiib
el)e

D e fg h

k1

2826.

nun crjmeiflung,

eignem bfiem, A b c j m n. cDefghijklmn; Unb

et)'

nun

bie i^erinjeiflnng,

2868.

ti)n,

A b. bcDefghiklmn;
i'id)!,

i^m, Aj.
in DoUcuU'idjt,

2990.

im boUen

Defghilm;
j
;

A bcj

kn.

3014. 3219.
3254.

inaben, b c
f(^ne, c

D efg
i

nobe,
;

Abh

m n.
i

De fg

^enoirrung, c
me^r,
bie,

k m De m
j
1

jc^nfte,

Serirrung,

A b h n. A bfgh

n.

3276.
3342-

cDefghijlmn; mir, Abk. Afghijknj flf, bcDelm.

The Knd.

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