1. 65. The dative ihr, which, according to an idiomatic nsage in German, is here employed instead of the possessive pron., may be ex- pressed in £. by ' of hers,' to be placed after the equivalent of Nerve.
In aocordance with the mies of German grammar, the form Nerv (Lat. nervus) is masculine, whilst Nerve is feminine.
1. 66, Noch malet, etc., i. e. her fancy adds ahne of üie to everything it depicts.
1. 67. Im Schlafe wacht, etc. In consequence of the great shock which Recha had experienced, she was.thrown into a State of ' som- nambnlism,' of which Daya describes the manifestations, here and in the subsequent speech, without being able to account for the psychological phenomenon. She therefore describes Recha as being now less than a mere bmte, when plnnged into an nnconscious sleep, and now supe- rior even to an angel, when prophetically revealing occurrences which are not present to her senses.
1. 68. Bald weniger als, etc. Cp. the proverbial saying: ^ Orfpiov 4 %€6s (Aristotle, Eth. N. 7. i).
1. 70. The simple exdamation, "Was sind wir Menschen, emphati- cally expresses the ntter helplessness of mortal beings, whe are so easily overpowered by the terror of a great calamity.
1. 74, etc. The conj. indem is here nsed as an adv. of time in the sense of während dessen, ' meanwhile.* 220 NATHAN DER WEISE, [11. 7'6-ioo.
Sich breolieBy or simply breohen» of the eye, denotes * to grow dim.* 1. 76. Dem Beines, etc., from which the support of the arm was with- drawn. — The possessive prononn seines instead of des is probably used to denote that the arm is the usual snpport of the head.
1. 79. Ihre ganae Seele, etc. Lessing gives here a rational expla^ nation of the phenomena of ' dairvoyance/ or 'animal magnetism,' which, when genuine, are based on what has been sdentifically called ' expectant attention.* In this State persona hear and see what they intensely cxpect to hear and see; and Recha's thonghts having con- stantly been concentrated on Nathan, the fact of her being aware of his presence was nothing eise but the effect of that 'concentrated attention ^.* 1. 83. The pron. mir, which is here an ethical dative expresses emphatically how deeply Nathan feels the benefit of the rescne of Recha.
1. 88. Durch ein, etc. This Statement is here made in order to point ont in a more striking manner the miracolons nature of the Saltan's clemency. As a matter of fact, Saladin freqnently showed himself mercihil to his enemies, whether Templars or lay-warriors.
1. 90. Daya designates the sparing of the Templar's life by Saladin as an ' miexpected gain/ l. 91. Frisch does not mean here, as all the translations have it, •afresh,'bufboldly.»
1. 94. Seme editions have here the now obsolete form, vors erste. Nathan intimates, that whatever they may have given to the Templar ' in the first instance,* he woold receive still more from his hands.
1. 98, etc. The position of the genitive between the attribnte (alle) and the term which it qualiües (Kundschaft) is, in German, permissible in poetry only.
The Word Kundschaft, formerly nsed in the sense of KenntnisB, was more frequently foUowed by von than employed with the genitive.
1. 100. Mit vorgespreiztem, etc., i. e. his cloak spread out before him. The term vorgespreizt is of Lessing's coinage.
* As far as I am aware it has not yet been pointed out, that to Lessing is due the credit of having given the first psyehologieal explanation— in 1779 at a time when mesmerism was in vogue — of the manifestations of animal magnetism. The subject was fully investigated and reported upon only five years later by the French Commission, and in cur own days the subject of * Expectant Attention ' has again been fully elucidated by several men of science, more especially by Dr. Carpenter in his ' Mental Physiology * (pp. a8a and 608, etc.).
1. 104. Mit eins (eines), in populär language, * all at once '; ' sud- denly,' etc.
1. 105. lUnpor sie tragend, 'bearing her aloft'; 'upholding her/ 1. 109. Naohher die, etc., i.e. doring the first days after the oc- carrence.
1. HO. Untern »nnter den. The contraction of any prep. with an article in the plural number is of very rare occorrence.
1. 1 1 1. There is no exact eqoivalent in English for the expressive term der Auferstandene, i. e. * He who has risen (from the dead),' unless we accept the woxds * the uprisen * in that signification. The contro- versy about the site of * the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ' will be known to most readers of the present drama. Cp. the sirtic\ejigrusa/em in Smith's * Dictionary of the Bible.'
1. 113. The verb entbieten, lit. *to bid'; 'tosend word,* or 'acom- mand,* -etc., is here used, without being foUowed by the dative case, in the rare signification of * to offer,* ' to make offers.* 1. 114. The expression Kreatur (Lat. creaturä) is sometimes applied in Gennan, like its English equivalent, to women, either in a good or bad sense.
L 116. The verb ausweinen, lit. 'to weep ont,* may be nsed in Gennan poetiy transitively like the English * to weep.'
1. 120. Jemand antreten is sometimes employed in Gennan poetry for * to Step Qp to any one,* * to approach, or accost any one.'
1. 135. Daya, who likes to boast of her Christian birth, and espedally to remind Nathan of that circmnstance, now proceeds a Step further. First she only spoke of des Auferstandenen Grab (1. iii), and now, speaking more distinctly on her own behalf and on that of theTemplar, she makes nse of the expression; unsers Auferstanden Grab.
1. 126. Bleiben is often used in German to express an uncertainty as to the whereabouts of a person, or as ' to what has become of any- 1. 1 27. The verb überdenken, * to consider '; • to meditate* (cp. the E. •to bethink oneself *), is generally used with a direct object only.
1. 132. The inteij. traun, whidi is a contraction of the M.H.G. in trüwen (triuwen) = in Treuen, i.e. in'Wahrheit (fürwahr) corresponds exactly to the E. * in truth *; * forsooth,' and may often be rendered by such expressions as *indeed*; * truly*; *surely.* 1. 133. Contemporary poets would perhaps here give the preference to the expression sich streiten for sich zanken, ' to contend against •ach other.'
222 NATHAN DER WEISE. [U. 134-159.
1. 134. The anthor made nse here of a form kno¥m in Greekgrammar by the name of ' Chiasmus *; Ihe terms referring to Hera and Kopf being reversed, and Menschenliass applying to the latter and Sohwer- mut to the former.
1- 135» etc. According to Lessing*s deBnition of a Schwärmer, he is a man in whom there is an interchange between the fnnctions of the head and the heart; now the former must act the part of the latter, and now the latter must exercise the fnnctions of the former.
The term Sohwärmer has, in its comprehensive signification, no Single equivalent in English. Here it is nsed to denote a peison par- taking of the qualities of a ' dreamer,* ' enthnsiast,' or visumary, The verb sohwärmeii (1. 140) is still more difficnlt to Iranslate, and can only be expressed by phrases like * to be plnnged/ or 'to indnlge in reverie/ etc.
1. 141. Ist doch auch, etc., ' it remains visionary still *; 'it is still indulging in reverie.* Note here the idiomatic nse of the p.p. in German. Cp. Ileiszt das geladen? (Wilhelm Teil, 1. 357.)
1. 144. Und keines irdischen, i.e. and not bom of any mortal being. Dieser Zusatz, Düntzer remarks, ist ganz in der Weise griechischer und römischer Dichter, 1. 146. The epithet klein, when applied to the heart or sonl of children, is used as an endearing expression in the sense of jung.
1. 147. Eft sei, etc. The conjunctive is here nsed, becanse the Speaker qnotes indirectly the opinion of another person.
1. 148. The aux. verb war is to be snpplied after verhüllt. Cp. 1. 239, n. The verb sei in 1. 147 refers both to geschwebt and to hervorgetreten.
1. 152. The existence and direct interference of ' guardian angels,' and the possibility of their assuming momentarily corporeal form, is not ' only taught by the Old and the New Testament but also by the Koran, so that it may be truly said that the belief is common to Jews and Christians as well as to Mussulmans.
1. 156. Launig is here used in the sense of 'moody,* in which signifi- cation, according to Grimm, the form launisch is now more usual.
1. 158. The sanctimonions phrase Hienieden etc., is here used by the Speaker rather ironically.
Wallen is employed in poetry for • to walk *; * to dwell.* The expression Bittersohaft treiben was coined by Lessing on the analogy of nmnerous other phrases in which the verb treiben is üsed in the sense of * to carry on '; ' to practise/ 1. 161. The hypothetical clause Macht dann, etc., precedes here, as is often the case in German, the prindpal clause, viz. So wirst du 1. 163, etc., A somewhat similar sentiment has been expressed by Lessing in his ' Minna von Bamhelm,* where he makes Tellheim say (p. 121, 1. 14, etc.), 'that he rejoiced in discovering some fault in the character of Minna, for if she were faultless, she would be 'ein Engel den ich mit Schaudern verehren miisztey den ich nicht liehen könntet Cp. my Note on the above passage, and the epigram of Lessing qnoted there.
1. 166. According to the explanation given in the Note to 1. 135, the coined ezpression; Die Engelschwärmerin might perhaps be rendered by * dieamer of angels,* or simply * visionary.* 1. 167. The epithet sohlimm does not denote here ' provoking,' 'sly,* 'evil,' 'discerning,' as it is rendered in four different translations, but it approaches the meaning of * arch,* given by Dr. Wood, or rather that of ' wicked' (*naughty* in familiär speech), osed in the sense of light blame.
Zweiter Auftritt.
Zweiter Auftritt.
1. 169, etc. Recha believed that she had heard in her exalted State the voice of her father (cf. 1. 73, etc.), and now, on actually beholding him, she exclaims in her joyful surprise, that ' after all it is his very seif.»
L 171. The question, "Wo bleibt Ihr P denotes here rather, ' Why do you still tarry here? ' (Cp. U. 6a, ia6, ».); or, * Why stay here? * 1. 178, etc. Ihr musBtet über, etc. The deep Impression which her exposure to the flames has made upon Recha, and the consequent agita- tion of her mind, which still continues, are pathetically described in the snbsequent lines.
1. 189. It is an andent poetical notion to call the water ' treacherous.' When in a State of calm it seems to invite man to confide in it, and then it frequently causes his destruction. Schiller*s expression auf ungetreuen Wellen (Der Ring des Polykrates) will be known to most readers of this drama.
1. 191. Fittich, less correctly Fittig, is a more dignified expression than PlügeL 1* 193» etc. The Templars wore white linen cloaks. Cp. 1. 100, n.
l. 195. Durolis Feuer trüg', etc., i.e.| God beckoned to herguardian 224 NATHAN DER WEISE, [U. 198-229; angel, that he shonld visibly carry her throngh the flames, wbich were dloTvn away (verweht) by his wings*.
1. 198. "War* es werth, etc., i. e. Recha would be worthy of it, to see an angel &ce to face.
1. 2CX3. "Wem sohxneichelt, etc. The present version of this remark, which Lessing gratefiilly acknowledges to have been suggested to him by Ramler, expresses that Recha considered herseif the Image of her 'father.'
1. 203. G-ewaliren is here nsed in the sense of * to produce.* I. 212. Der biblische Ausdruck 'von aller Ewigkeit,' sa.ys Düntzer, ist als besonders wirksam gewählt.
II. 217-224. Onr familiarity with the wonders with which we are everywhere surrounded makes them appear to us qnite conmion-place. The fact is in itself the greatest wonder, which wonder is at the same time miiversally spread. Otherwise no thinking man would, child-like, call new and extraordinary events * wonders.'
1. 224. Velf eigen has here the meaningof 'to heed *; * to foUow...after.'
L 225. The attribute ohnedem schon überspanntes shonld here be tnmed — as is often the case with expanded epithets — by a relative clause, viz. 'which is already sufficiently overstrained/ to be placed after Him. For the form ohnedem, cp. 1. 12 15, n.
Him is often nsed in poetry instead of G-ehim.
1. 226. Some commentators censure the leamed expression Subtili- t&ten ' subtleties/ in the mouth of Daya. We think, however, that she may well have caught np the expression in her intercourse with a philosopher like Nathan.
1. 227. Zersprengen might here be rendered by ' shatter.'
1. 228. Wunders nicht genug. Thepartitive genitive, so freqnently nsed in O.H.G. and M.H.G., is still often employed with the adverb genug, and sometimes also with viel, mehr, etc.
1. 229, etc. In accordance with a nsage sanctioned by German grammar, to omit for brevity's sake the anx. verbs haben and sein in dependent clanses (cp. 1. 148, ».), the former is omitted in the present ^ That the above Interpretation is the right one may be seen from the iirst sketch, where the above passage runs: Gott war es, der einen siehtbaren Engel herahschichte^ dessen weitze Fittiche die Flammen verwehen, dessen starker Arm mich durch das Feuer tragen muszle. Strange to say, most translationi foliow here that of W. Taylor, who applies the participle ver- weht to Recha, and rendert it by * overihadowed.'
Speech, in seyeral instances, viz. after gerettet ^ gehört^ verschont, verlangt y gehofft, For the form retten müssen, cp. 'Minna von Bamhelm' 1. 335. Lessing frequently omits the inllectional termination of adjectives terminating in -em; as here ledern for ledernen.
The Templars did not wear *leathem,* bnt white *linen' girdles (as Symbols of chastily), in which they carried their dagger. In ac- cordance with the regnlations of the order, they were allowed to offer as ransom their girdle and their dagger only^ 1. 337. Sohliessen is here nsed in the sense of'to prove'; 'toargae'^. Recha asserts that Nathan's remarks are an argnment in her favonr.
1. 351. Da-her, as it is many years (since). The express. viele Bwonzig for an ' indefinitely long time/ is a provincialism cnrrent in Silesia and in the Lausitz, the native district of Lessing.
1. 358. The more incredible thing would, of conrse, be the appari- tion of an angel. — Unglaubllohers by syncope for Unglaublicheres. Similar contracted forms are often nsed by Lessing in this drama.
1. 360. The nonn Geschwister, which is now generally nsed in the plaral only, was formerly employed also in the singular — even by Goethe — as a nenter Substantive, it being a collective nonn.
It is an historical fact that Saladin was deeply attached to all bis kindred. When Govemor of Egypt (1168) he sent for bis father and brothers to share with him bis glory and wealth, and he liked to compare himself in this and other respects to the Patriarch Joseph. Cp. Marinas * Hist. de Saladin,' i. p. 163, etc.
1. 364, etc. Ein verlorner, i. e. lost for ever.
It being an immntable law of nature that the like cause prodnces a like effect, the Speaker asks whetber that law no longer obtains.
L 366. When stecken is nsed intransitively it generally denotes, both primarily and figüratively, ' to be (secretly) hidden in a place.* 1. 367, etc. AccordJng to Nathan's fonner assertion (1. 337, etc.)» the rescne of Recha by a man who owed bis own life to a wondrons * In his brief * Notes * to Nathan Lessing quotes: Die gefangenen TempeU herren durßenför ihre Loshaufung nichts geben als * cingulum * und * cuteU lum* Dolch und Gürtel, Marinas *Histoire de Saladin/ i. p. 331. (In the edition nsed by Leasing this passage seeras to occur on p. 349.)
' Viehoff says, that he knew of no parallel passage where sehlieszen is timilarly used; but Sanders quotes a passage from Kant» where the verb is employed in the same signification. Lessing uses the expression sohliesBen timilarly in Laokoon zvi, and elsewhere.
event, wonld in itself be a miracle, althongh not so in the eyes of ' wise* Da3ra, who thinks that 'her' sapematüral, or Cliristian 'miracles' only reqnire, or, as the Speaker conects himself (by omitting the termination -en of bedürfen and substitating for it verdienen), ' deserve belief.* 1. 370, etc. Nathan asserts that he only retnms the mockery of Daya, who rejects his ' natnnd ' wonder, and then he repeats again his former assertion, that the rescne of Recha remains, even after his own interpretation, a wonder. And this wonder, he continues, was only possible to Hirn, who likes to gnide by the most slender threads the firmest resolves and the most onbridled designs of kings, who are His sport, if not His scom K I. 275, etc. The repetition of the words Mein Vater! is here cer> tainly resorted to in order to make the exclamation more emphatic, and not merely for metrical pnrposes.
II. 279-83. So vielmehr, etc. 'curved this way rather than that.* sich sohlängeln, * are winding.* Bug, here ' corve.'
1. 284. Nathan evidently speaks hexe in the conscions pride of a son of the East, which was, in those days, in a higher State of civilization than Western Europe in general. Thns Lessing says in the second ' Fragment * of his Preface: Juden und Musseimänner waren damals die einzigen Gelehrten, The expression eines wilden, etc., should, there- fore, be rendered ofan European harbarian and not ' of a wild European.'
In the expression wondersüoht^ges Volk, 'ye wonder-loving people,* the word Volk is nsed with a shade of good-hnmoured irony. The hnmorons tenour is also kept np in the next line, where Nathan asks, why they wonld insist npon tronbling an angel.
I. 291. Daya thinks that man mnst feel himself nearer to God, when believing that he was saved throngh the direct agency of an angel.
II. 293-296. The parable here nsed to illnstrate the foUy of vain- glorions pride has an oriental stamp, but is probably, as Düntzer also surmises, Lessing*s own invention.
For the form silbern instead of silbernen, cp. 1. ^Zh* ^' The interj. Fah, somewhat corresponding to the £. ' pooh/ is here nsed to express the absurdity of such aspiring pride. 1. 300. Ist Unsinn, etc. This assertion has been varionsly interpreted.
^ The above is one of the instances where it seemed to me desirable to give a füll paraphrase of the original text. This expedient seemed here the more necessary, because I have ventured to deviate entirely from all former commentators and translators, who refer the clause: — sein SpieU wenn nicht sein Spott to Entschlüsse and Entwürfe, whilst, in my opinion, it applies to Könige, In my opinion it simply means, that Daya's Statement 'of feeling so much nearer to God * mnst either be considered as ' nonsense/ because such a thing is quite impossible, or even as blasphemy, becanse it lowers the lofty conception we have of the Godhead.
11. 308-311. The Jewish Chnrch not recognizing any special 'fSte- da3rs' devoted to angels, it mnst be assnmed that Nathan addresses his remarks, in particnlar, to Daya; describing in a general way the varions tribntes of acknowledgment which can be paid, for any benefit received, to snpematnral agendes, snch as angels, patron-saints, etc. The line Könnt am Tage, etc., refers to the latter only.
Bntzuokmig (1. 309) denotes ecstcLsy.
1.312, etc. Näcliater, here neighbour. The fellow-creatnres of a de- Yotee benefit by his alms, whilst he himself enjoys the inner satisfaction which devotional effnsions and practices always afiford to the human heart.
11. 318-24. Daya consistently contianes her argnment, wishing to prove that the Templar was actually an angel in human form, by the circumstance that he required no assistance whatever. The belief in the apparition of angels seems to haye been very common in those days, to judge from two passages in Marin, which have also been noted down by Lessing in his Collectanea, The term vergnügsam (1. 323), which expresses more emphatically the inner contentment than genügsam, is here employed to indicate the utter absence of all extemal wants on the part of the Templar.
1. 328. The clause Das — nicht, corresponds here somewhat to the EngUsh, * well, not exactly that.'
1. 329. Schadet, by syncope, for schadet.
1. 331. Er — nicht may here be rendered briefly by 'surely not.* 1. 332. Meine Stirn, etc. This assertion shows the feverish excite- ment of Recha.
1. 334. Since the times of the Crusades the members of the Western uationalities, such as the French, English, and Germans, used to be designated in the East, and also by Western historians^ by the name of * Frank * {Franko Franke); in Persian and Turkish * fereng,' * ferendsch.'
1. 335, etc. The Templars originally led a life of hard work and great privations. Des Hungerns, etc., * unaccastomed to fasting,' etc.
1. 339. The notion of contempt in *hired friends* is here expressively denoted by the term besolden (from late Lat. soldus)^ * to give pay to (soldiers, hirelings).* 1. 340. Zusprach is here used in the sense of ' comfort,* or ' conso- lation.' The form Zuspruch is now more currently used, and some editions have adopted this reading; but Lessing himself wrote Zusprach.
1. 343. By the phrase genug es war, etc. Nathan wishes to point 02 238 NATHAN DER WEISE. DU 345-385.
oat the nobleness of the Templar's character, for whom it sufficed that a hnman life was at stake.
^' 345* "^fts is here nsed, in general, for 'the being*; hence ihm (1. 346) as the rather nnnsnal dative of that pronoim.
l- 355* ^s ^^ Arznei, etc. Nathan, thinking that he has now cnred Recha of her harren reverie, snddenly changes his tone and gives her comforting assnrances abont the Templar^.
1. 358. Nathan endeavonrs, of conrse, only to allay the anziety of Recha, by this Optimist assertion.
1. 360. Wie viel andächtig, etc., i.e. pions raptnre is easier than good actions, becanse the latter reqnire more active energy than the former; hence the most indolent man will often giye himself over to pions reverie, merely in order not to be obliged to * act well.* 1. 369. The formal similarity of the last syllable of the Persian 'mnsnl- män* (It. 'mnsnlmdno,' Fr. 'mnsnlman') to the German Mann has cansed the spelling Muselmann and the pl. form Muselmänner, Mir die, say * my.* Mir is here an ethical dative. Cp. 1. 83, n.
1. 371. Sohachgesell is a coined expression for 'chess companion'; * chess partner.'
1. 372. The neuter das is often tised, in questions and exclamations, in general and elliptically for * that person,* or * that man is.'
That Nathan did not recognise the Dervish on acconnt of his somp- taons garments will be seen fnrther on.
Dritter' Auftritt.
1. 376. Die Augen au&eiszen (lit. to tear open) is an emphatic populär expression for ' to open wide one*s eyes.* 1. 377. Bist du es. nicht, in English briefly, *or not' L 378. Derwisch, Dervish, i.e. a poor Mahommedan monk, leading an austere life. The Persian form is * darvesh,' meaning originally * one begging from door to door ' (dar «door), and then ' a poor and religions mendicant '; ' one poor in spirit.' 1. 381. So has here the meaning of 'I mean'; 'that is to say.* 1. 385. The celebrated and often qnoted saying: Kein Mensch musa müssen denotes properly, 'that no man is obliged to snbmit to extemal compulsion.' W. Taylor (of Norwich) was the first to render musz müssen by 'needs must,' and he was foUowed by nearlyall other * The clause Es — G«//, is generally put down as a reminiscence of the well-known phrase ' come cordial, not poison* (Romeo and Juliet, Act y. sc.a), bat it strikes me that the similarity is merely extemaU translaton. Müsste might be lendered in this line, somewhat freely, ' shonld be obliged to snbmit,' and in the next by ' mnst.'
1. 386. Snpply the demonstr. pron. das, before warum.
1. 388. Düntzer sa3rs: ' Nathan schwört, nach der Sitte der Juden, bei seinem Gotte* This wonld, however, be in contradiction with the fim- damental creed of Nathan, that there is only one God for all. It is, therefore, more likely that, if Liessing intended to convey some particular notion by the ezpression nnserni, it was that he considered God com- mon both to himself and the Mahommedan.
1. 390. Snpply Ihr before fragt. The Omission of the personal prononn, sanctioned in poetry and colloqnial speech, is of freqnent occurrence in this drama.
1. 392. The nse of the expression Kerl, ' fellow*; 'creatnre/ has here a cynical tonch about it, which is qnite in keeping with the sturdy character of the Dervish, who is something of a cynic.
• 395. Bas auch, etc., i.e. which also demands respect.
1. 398. Nathan, not believing in the practical capacity of the Dervish, and being, as a *wise* man, of an abstemions character, mentions a post which would, with him, leqnire no special skill.
1. 400, etc. Kellner, here *butler.* The form worden for ge- worden (1. 403) has be«n similarly used by Herder, Goethe, and Schiller.
DuP — bei ihmP Nathan knew already from Daya (1. 373) of the appointment of the Dervish, but it seems that he wished to hear from the latter the details of a fact which so greatly snrprised him.
1. 403, etc. ' La tendresse de Saladin ponr son pere ^tait si grande, qn*il vonlnt se demettre en sa faveur dn Viziriat, mais Ayonb refnsa cette dignit6 et se chargea de Tadministration des Finances' (Marin, Hist. de Saladin, Tome I. 164).
1. 405. The honsehold of Saladin having been an extensive one, on acconnt of his generous, not to say prodigal habits, Nathan thinks that the treasnre of snch a honsehold cannot be smalL 1. 406. Ist von is here equivalent to gehört sn.
1. 408. Mit Stumpf und Stiel vertilgen is an idiomatic phrase for * to extirpate entirely '; ' to destroy root and branch.'
Stumpf und Stiel (lit. stnmp and stalk) is one of the many allitera- tive expressions still current in Germany. Lessing wrote originally Strumpf, which was formerlynsed in the same signification as Stumpf.
1. 411. Er ist's auch, etc., 'he is one (i.e. 'a beggar') already, as much as anyone can be.'
Trots, used as a prep. with the dative case, is sometimes employed to denote an eqnality or snperiority acquired by imitating or emnlating anyone, as:— -Er läuft trota einem Pferde» 'he rons as fast as any horse.* I. 417. The exdamation getroffen is here ased elliptically for 'yon have hit it.* II. 418-23. The traism expressed in these lines is safBciently piain. ' It is bad enongh, if princes play the part of birds of prey and consider the people their booty, but it is ten times worse iif this lelation is reversed ^.* The Philanthropie Nathan does not acknowledge the trath of this maxim, but the Dervish retorts that Nathan ' may well talk as he does/ (Ihr habt gut reden), because he has not had the ezperience which he himself as treasnrer has had.
1.432. The ezclamation Kommt an! is used both as a pngilistic term (tome on I) and as a challenge in reasoning, denoting approximately: * well, then,' or • let us see.* 1. 425. "Wuchern is here nsed in the figorative sense of ' to bring advantage*; *to be profitable.' Cp. 1. 1029, n, 1. 430. Nathan thinks that Saladin wonld consnme his whole wealth, 30 that his capital would soon consist of nothing but imaginary interest.
1. 431. Der Freundschaft den Scheidebrief schreiben denotes fig. * to consider the bond of friendship broken,* or ' to consider the tie of friendship dissolved.* The phrase is derived from the biblical usage of writing ' a letter, or bill of divorce * on the di^solution of the bonds of matrimony.
L 436. Oflhe EASse bei Jemand haben, ' to have at disposal anyone's ehest,' or * purse.'
1. 437. Supply dpn Kopf after Ihr schüttelt.
1. 438. DuP warum nicht DuP i.e. the Dervish personally would find Nathan's purse open to him, and would be welcome to all which the latter ' commands.'
1. 44T. The Persian word Defterdar, lit. * registrar '; 'book-keeper,' is used with the Turks for * Minister of Finance '; here simply * treasurer.'
L 442. Nathan. being embarrassed how to express his want ofcon- fidence in the Dervish as treasurer of prodigal Saladin, uses incoherently the prons. Der — dem — i. e. Ma/ man — /<? tAü one.
L 450. Iieioht, i.e. free from care.
1. 451. The Dervish is represented by Lessing, as will be seen further on (cp. 1. 1489, etc.), as a follower of Zoroaster, and by his * teachers' he alludes to the Parsees or.Ghebers. The ezpressions leicht und barfüsa ^ Lessing remarks, in the first skctch of his drama, that the Arabs attri- buted the above taying to Aristotle.
seem to point to the Gymnosophists (lit. naked sages), who, scantily dressed, led a solitary and contemplatiye life, bnt formed qnite a different sect from the Parsees.
1. 452. Dir ähnlich g'nug (by syncope for genug), i.e. to carry ont that intention wonld be just like him.
The Dervish is represented by Lessing as an inyeterate chess-player, as will be seen farther on (Act ii. Sc. 2 and 9).
1. 454. That the Dervish beloaged to the mendicant class of his order has been pointed ont before.
1. 456, etc. The inteij. Htii is here nsed snbstantively to denote ' in no time.* The tmism, that the contented beggar is rieh whilst the covetons rieh are poor, seems to be a direct reminiscence of Lessing*s, from a conceit of Ausonins (Kpigr. 1 34, 1 ) inserted among the Latm ' Collection of Riddles * by HoUonius and Setzer (16 15), which was translated by Lessing, and the Solution of which conclndes with the words: ' The miser is in need of everything, whilst the contented man is the riebest on earth.'
1. 458. Das nun, etc., not exactly that.
1. 471. Snpply thnn after nicht. The self-contradictory form an» müd mild (called in Rhetoric Oxymoron) is chosen to denote the nn- gracions manner in which Al-Hafi*s predecessor nsed to practise charity.
1. 473, etc. Saladin gave withont any alloy of nngracions meanness, and in a calm mood, his bounties to Al-Hafi, expecting him to dis- tribnte them in a like spirit, and so not to resemble stopped-np pipes, which send forth tnrbid and spnrting the waters which they have received pure and calm.
1. 478. The Word Gimpel, denoting both a bnll-finch,* and (fig.) a ' simpleton,' is here nsed with a double meaning. Geck is here em- ployed in the sense of ' fool *; ' conceited person/ and Geckerei (1. 480) in that of * foolery' or * foUy.'
The reminiscence of Ovid's well-known line: * Fistula duice canü, volucrem dum decipit auceps! is here obvions.
1. 480. Ei was, here simply ' what' 1. 481. The expression Bei Hunderttausenden may here be ren- dered literally by the corresponding 'by hnndred thousands.* (Cp. Grimmas Wörterbuch, Vol. i. Col. 1354.)
Saladin was most generous to the indigent, partly from his natural disposition, and partly as a strict foUower of his creed, which com- mands charity; on the other band he, in an oriental £%shion, tyran- nically exacted contributions both from a nnmber of his wealthier sub- jects and from his foes.
23^ if ÄTHAN DER WEISE. [11.482-519.
1. 48a. The fonr different verbs ezpress here two notioiis in general, viz. the impoverishment (ansmergBln) and the tortnring of men.
1. 483. Büueln is heie the dative of the old form Binsel i. e. (single) 'individual.* 1* 4^5» etc. Cp. Matth. y. 45, ' For he maketh the snn to rise/ etc. Saladin had dbtributed dnring his lifetime all his fortnne among the poor, and in order to carry out his Instructions, when on the point of death, to give alms both to the indigent Mussulmans and Christians, it was found necessaiy to seil his jewels and other yaluables. Lessing has a note on Saladin's poverty in his ColUctanea. Cp. Marin's ' Hist. de Saladin,' ii. 395, etc.
1. 495. The interj. he f is used in German to ezpress that an answer is expected to a question. Cp. the Fr. ' hö,' or ' ^.* 1. 496. Mache, etc. The verb machen is also used in the sense of ' to make haste,' ' to see to it,* or ' to make an efifort, that any intention or plan is carried out* (From my Notes to ' Minna von Bamhelm.')
The expression wieder in the next line seems to indicate that the Dervish had already before led a contemplative life in the desert 1. 497. Nathan is of opinion that, if we do not look for any good side in a cause, and do not esteem it for the sake of that good side, we must finally become misanthropic, i.e. unleam among men to be a man.
1. 50a. Daaz er, etc. The conditional expresses in similar exdama- tions a wish, viz. ' Oh, that he would,* or ' I wish he would hear me.* 1. 504. Vermuthlich is here synonymous with wahraoheinlich, and is employed elliptically for: Er ist wahrscheinlioh.
Vierter Auftritt.
I. 508. Nathan assumes here, as often in his conversations with Daya and the Dervish, a rather ironical and familiär tone, and simply asks, when a 'he,* i.e. a man, does not show himself. He then acknowledges that he knows to whom Daya alludes, and admonishes her, and indi» rectly Recha, not to concentrate their thoughts on one being only, even if it were an angel->as if he alone existed in the world.
1* 513* Nathan again taunts Daya about her belief that Recha*8 rescuer was an angel, and with astonishment asks, whether he actnally eats the dates, and as a mere Templar, i.e. as a human being. ■ 1-515. Dicht Terschränkt^xi must be rendered here by 'dosely growing.* 1. 516, etc. Unverruckt, 'fixedly*; *with a fixed gaze.' The verb angehen is here used in the sense of antreten. Cp. 1. 120, n, 1. 519, etc. Oder — schlagt, or 'tums sideways.* The verb sich schlagen, when referring to a movement in a certain direction, denotes 'to tum.* 1. 520^ etc. Lessing, who himself pald great attention to extemal decoram and a dignified personal appearance, has pnrposely bestowed this qnality npon Nathan, in oider to refnte the formerly common prejndice that die Jews are addicted to slovenly habits.
1. 524. Absein was formerly not nnfrequently osed for Abwesenheit. ' 1. 528. Eaota. is here an ethical dative. The following brief decla- ration of Daya emphatically characterizes the prejadice of the Templar against Jews and the ruggedness of his cliaracter.
Fünfter Auftritt.
The Order of the Templars (Tempelherren) was fotmded in 11 18, by a few French knights, originally with the object of protecting the French pilgrims resorting to the Holy Sepnlchre. They derived their name from the drcnmstance that their first settled place of residence was in Jerusalem, near the spot where the Temple of Solomon was snpposed to have stood, and they were bonnd by the vows of * chastity, poverty, and obedience.' In course of time the order assumed an entirely militant character, and after it had acquired considerable possessions and wealth, it degenerated, and was finally dissolved by the Council of Vienne in 131a. Cp. the Notes to 11. 195 and 235.