The divine comedy — Page 5
What is this comes o'er thee then?
Was ist das, was dich da überkommt?
Why, why dost thou hang back? why in thy breast
Warum, warum zögerst du? warum hegst du in deiner Brust
Harbour vile fear? why hast not courage there
feige Furcht? warum hast du dort keinen Mut
And noble daring? Since three maids so blest
Und edlen Wagemut? Da drei so selige Jungfrauen
Thy safety plan, e'en in the court of heaven;
Deine Sicherheit planen, sogar im Hofe des Himmels;
And so much certain good my words forebode."
Und so viel sicheres Gutes meine Worte verheißen."
As florets, by the frosty air of night
Wie Blümchen, von der frostigen Nachtluft
Bent down and clos'd, when day has blanch'd their leaves,
Gebeugt und geschlossen, wenn der Tag ihre Blätter gebleicht hat,
Rise all unfolded on their spiry stems;
Sich alle entfaltet auf ihren schlanken Stängeln erheben;
So was my fainting vigour new restor'd,
So wurde meine schwindende Kraft neu belebt,
And to my heart such kindly courage ran,
Und solch freundlicher Mut strömte in mein Herz,
That I as one undaunted soon replied:
Dass ich als ein Unerschrockener bald erwiderte:
"O full of pity she, who undertook
"O voller Mitgefühl ist sie, die meine
My succour! and thou kind who didst perform
Rettung unternahm! Und du Gütiger, der du so bald
So soon her true behest! With such desire
Ihren wahren Befehl erfülltest! Mit solchem Verlangen
Thou hast dispos'd me to renew my voyage,
Hast du mich bewogen, meine Reise neu aufzunehmen,
That my first purpose fully is resum'd.
Sodass mein erster Vorsatz vollständig wieder aufgenommen ist.
Lead on: one only will is in us both.
Führe voran: nur ein einziger Wille ist in uns beiden.
Thou art my guide, my master thou, and lord."
Du bist mein Führer, mein Meister und Herr."
So spake I; and when he had onward mov'd,
So sprach ich; und als er vorwärtsgegangen war,
I enter'd on the deep and woody way.
Betrat ich den tiefen und waldigen Weg.
Vocabulary
- Was
- What; interrogative or relative pronoun
- ist
- Is; third-person singular present of 'sein'
- das
- The; neuter definite article or demonstrative pronoun
- was
- What; used as relative or interrogative pronoun
- dich
- You; accusative singular second-person pronoun
- da
- There; adverb indicating place or time
- überkommt
- Overcomes; seizes or comes over someone suddenly
- Warum
- Why; interrogative adverb asking for a reason
- warum
- Why; interrogative adverb asking for a reason
- zögerst
- You hesitate; second-person singular of 'zögern'
- du
- You; informal second-person singular pronoun
- hegst
- You harbor; second-person singular of 'hegen'
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or state
- deiner
- Your; genitive/dative feminine possessive pronoun
- Brust
- Breast; chest or heart as seat of emotions
- feige
- Cowardly; lacking bravery or courage
- Furcht
- Fear; strong feeling of dread or anxiety
- hast
- Have; second-person singular present of 'haben'
- dort
- There; adverb indicating a specific location
- keinen
- No; masculine accusative negative article
- Mut
- Courage; bravery or boldness of spirit
- Und
- And; coordinating conjunction linking clauses
- edlen
- Noble; adjective describing dignified or virtuous quality
- Wagemut
- Daring; bold courage to take risks
- Da
- Since/there; causal or locative connective word
- drei
- Three; cardinal number
- so
- So; adverb indicating manner or degree
- selige
- Blessed; holy or blissfully happy women
- Jungfrauen
- Virgins/maidens; holy or pure young women
- Deine
- Your; nominative feminine possessive pronoun
- Sicherheit
- Safety; state of being secure or certain
- planen
- Plan; to devise or arrange something in advance
- sogar
- Even; adverb emphasizing something unexpected
- im
- In the; contraction of 'in dem'
- Hofe
- Court; dative of 'Hof', courtyard or royal court
- des
- Of the; genitive masculine/neuter definite article
- Himmels
- Heaven's; genitive of 'Himmel', sky or heaven
- viel
- Much/many; adverb or adjective of quantity
- sicheres
- Secure/certain; adjective describing guaranteed good outcome
- Gutes
- Good things; nominalized adjective meaning beneficial things
- meine
- My; nominative feminine possessive pronoun
- Worte
- Words; plural of 'Wort', spoken expressions
- verheißen
- Promise; to foretell or pledge something good
- Wie
- Like/how; conjunction or adverb of comparison
- Blümchen
- Little flower; diminutive of 'Blume'
- von
- From/of; preposition indicating origin or belonging
- der
- The; definite article, feminine or genitive form
- frostigen
- Frosty; adjective describing cold, icy conditions
- Nachtluft
- Night air; cool air present during nighttime
- Gebeugt
- Bent/bowed; past participle of 'beugen', stooped down
- und
- And; coordinating conjunction
- geschlossen
- Closed; past participle of 'schließen', shut tight
- wenn
- When/if; subordinating conjunction of time or condition
- Tag
- Day; period of daylight or a 24-hour cycle
- ihre
- Its/their; third-person possessive pronoun
- Blätter
- Leaves; plural of 'Blatt', leaf of a plant
- gebleicht
- Bleached; past participle of 'bleichen', whitened
- hat
- Has; third-person singular present of 'haben'
- Sich
- Themselves/itself; reflexive pronoun
- alle
- All; indefinite pronoun referring to every one
- entfaltet
- Unfold; to open or spread out fully
- auf
- On/upon; preposition indicating surface or direction
- ihren
- Their; accusative possessive pronoun, third person plural
- schlanken
- Slender; adjective describing slim, graceful stems
- Stängeln
- Stalks; dative plural of 'Stängel', plant stems
- erheben
- Rise/lift; to raise oneself or stand upright
- So
- So/thus; adverb indicating result or comparison
- wurde
- Became; past tense of 'werden', auxiliary or main verb
- schwindende
- Fading; participle of 'schwinden', diminishing strength
- Kraft
- Strength; power or physical/mental energy
- neu
- New/anew; adjective or adverb meaning refreshed
- belebt
- Revived; past participle of 'beleben', brought to life
- solch
- Such; demonstrative adjective indicating this kind
- freundlicher
- Friendlier; comparative of 'freundlich', kindly flowing
- strömte
- Streamed; past tense of 'strömen', flowed strongly
- mein
- My; first-person possessive pronoun
- Herz
- Heart; organ or center of emotion
- Dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause
- ich
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- als
- As/when; conjunction of comparison or time
- ein
- A/an; indefinite article, masculine or neuter
- Unerschrockener
- Fearless one; noun from adjective 'unerschrocken', intrepid person
- bald
- Soon; adverb indicating in a short time
- erwiderte
- Replied; past tense of 'erwidern', responded to someone
- O
- Oh; exclamation expressing emotion or invocation
- voller
- Full of; adjective indicating abundance of something
- Mitgefühl
- Compassion; feeling of empathy and sympathy for others
- sie
- She/they; third-person pronoun, singular or plural
- die
- The; feminine or plural definite article
- Rettung
- Rescue; act of saving someone from danger
- unternahm
- Undertook; past tense of 'unternehmen', took on task
- Gütiger
- Gracious one; nominalized adjective meaning benevolent person
- Ihren
- Her/your; accusative formal possessive pronoun
- wahren
- True; adjective in inflected form, genuine or real
- Befehl
- Command; an authoritative order or instruction
- erfülltest
- You fulfilled; past tense of 'erfüllen', carried out
- Mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- solchem
- Such; dative form of demonstrative adjective 'solch'
- Verlangen
- Desire; strong longing or craving for something
- Hast
- Have; second-person singular present of 'haben'
- mich
- Me; first-person singular accusative pronoun
- bewogen
- Moved/persuaded; past participle of 'bewegen', motivated someone
- Reise
- Journey; a trip or voyage to a destination
- aufzunehmen
- To undertake/take up; infinitive of 'aufnehmen'
- Sodass
- So that; conjunction indicating result or consequence
- erster
- First; ordinal adjective indicating initial position
- Vorsatz
- Intention; a firm plan or resolution to act
- vollständig
- Completely; adverb meaning entirely or fully
- wieder
- Again; adverb indicating repetition or return
- aufgenommen
- Resumed/taken up; past participle of 'aufnehmen'
- Führe
- Lead; imperative of 'führen', command to guide
- voran
- Ahead; adverb indicating forward movement or progress
- nur
- Only/just; adverb restricting or limiting a statement
- einziger
- Sole/only; adjective meaning one and nothing else
- Wille
- Will; determined intention or power of volition
- uns
- Us; first-person plural accusative/dative pronoun
- beiden
- Both; referring to two people together
- Du
- You; informal second-person singular subject pronoun
- bist
- Are; second-person singular present of 'sein'
- Führer
- Leader/guide; one who leads or directs others
- Meister
- Master; expert, teacher, or one with authority
- Herr
- Lord/master; title of respect or authority
- sprach
- Spoke; past tense of 'sprechen', said or uttered
- er
- He; third-person singular masculine subject pronoun
- vorwärtsgegangen
- Gone forward; past participle of 'vorwärtsgehen', moved ahead
- war
- Was; past tense of 'sein', third-person singular
- Betrat
- Entered; past tense of 'betreten', stepped into place
- den
- The; accusative masculine definite article
- tiefen
- Deep; adjective describing profound or dense depth
- waldigen
- Wooded; adjective describing a forested or wooded area
- Weg
- Path/way; a road, route, or course taken
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