Silently giving them birth, either the first or the last!
Yes, and rejoice in the present day! For love that is holy
Seeketh the noblest of fruits,—that where the thoughts are the same,
Where the opinions agree,—that the pair may, in rapt contemplation,
Lovingly blend into one,—find the more excellent world.
1797. ——-
PROVERBS.
——-
'TIS easier far a wreath to bind,
Than a good owner fort to find.
——-
I KILL'D a thousand flies overnight,
Yet was waken'd by one, as soon as twas light.
——-
To the mother I give;
For the daughter I live.
——-
A BREACH is every day,
By many a mortal storm'd;
Let them fall in the gaps as they may,
Yet a heap of dead is ne'er form'd.
——-
WHAT harm has thy poor mirror done, alas?
Look not so ugly, prythee, in the glass!
1815.* ——- TAME XENIA.
THE Epigrams bearing the title of XENIA were written by Goethe and Schiller together, having been first occasioned by some violent attacks made on them by some insignificant writers. They are extremely numerous, but scarcely any of them could be translated into English. Those here given are merely presented as a specimen.