1. 532. Der folgt mir, etc. lit. that one does not follow me from sheer ennui, i.e. for the sake of mere pastime.
1. 533, etc. The * brothers' (^fratres) or *Lay-brothers* were a kind of monastic servants. They were bound by certain vows, but were not in holy Orders, whilst those who were properly consecrated as priests were called * Fathers * {patres). A slight parallel to the present passage has been pointed out in Goethe*s ' Goetz von Berlichingen/ Act i Sc. 2.
1. 534. loh kann, etc., I presume, I may.
1. 535* Zu dienen = zu Befehl, at your serviee.
1. 536. Wer nur selbst, etc. Similar Optative exclamations, occnr- ring in the third person, must generally be rendered into English by the first person, as here: If I only had anything myself.
Was Stands here for etwas.
1. 540, etc. The Lay-brother uses the submissive mode of address — which has not yet quite died out in Germany — ^by employing the title Herr instead of a personal pronoun. The clause dem Herrn...nachgesohiokt may, therefore, be rendered by * sent after your honour.* The expression Herr may be similarly translated throughout the fol- lowing scene.
1. 542. Supply mir between aber and nachgeschickt.
L 544. Ein kleines, etc., i. e. a piain, or frugal pilgrim's meal 234 NATHAN DER WEISE. [H. S50-585.
The pilgrims and indigent travellers used generally to meet in the convents with hospitable treatment.
1* 550. The assertion * that the free enjoyment of dates clogs the spieen and canses melancholy blood* is perhaps fonnded, as Dr. Boxherger con- jectares,on thefoUowingpassageinBaomgarten's 'Allgem. Welt-Historie* (iv. p. 81), which work was well known to Lessing: Ausländer müssen indessen von düser Frucht {der Dattel) sehr mäszig essen, sonst kann Sie - zuweilen das Geblüt dergestalt erhitzen, dasz Geschwüre davon entste- hen, etc.
^- 555» etc. Erkunden is the older form for erkundigen. The idio- matic phrase Einem auf den Zahn fühlen, which is derived from the dental Operation of tonching a tooth, in order to find out whether it is ansonnd, is nsed in German for < to sonnd anyone*; ' to feel the pulse of anyone.' — The Lay-brother was sent afler the Templar to find out his character, i.e. 'to draw him ont' 1. 561, etc. The exciamation dasz doch is elliptical and corresponds somewhat to the English, oh that!
A parallel passage to the saying that 'simplicity is always right, after all ' may be found in the lines of Schiller's "Worte des Olaubens: Und was kein Verstand der Verständigen sieht. Das übet in Einfalt ein kindlich Gemüth.
1. 567. The more nsnal form is now neugierig.
1. 568. Cp. on the Patriarch of Jerusalem the first note to Act iv, Sc. 2.
1. 570. Since the middle of the twelfth Century there was an octagonal blood-red cross on the white linen cloaks of the Templars, as a symbol of their readiness to die for the cause of religion.
^' 573- l^be clause Setz' ich hinzu is here and also in 1. 576 a hypothetical one i. e. if I add. Cp. 1. 161, n, The fortress of Tebnin was north of Ptolemals, on the way to the sea-port town Sidon or Saide in Asiatic Turkey. The stronghold was taken by the Emirs of Saladin during his march on Jerusalem in 1187, but the incident here mentioned does not seem to have a historical basis. A truce was broken by the Templars on another occasion.
1. 577. Selbzwanzigster gefangen, being himself the twentieth cap- tive, i. e. he was taken prisoner with nineteen other knights. The pron. selb placed before ordinal numbers (and also before ander) denotes, that a person is included among a certain number. Cp. the same usage in Greek.
1. 583. "Ex, etc., you alone. The pron. of the third person sing, was formerly employed as the polite mode of addressing persons of superior rank.
1. 585. Jemand schärfer ins Auge fassen, 'to look more intently at anyone.'
1. 593. A.Tifbelialten is here nsed synonymonsly with aufbewahren.
1. 594, etc. The Templar is not, as has been interpreted, ashamed of his deed — ^which, after all, seems to preoccnpy bis mind — bnt in bis contempt of tbe Jewish race, be looks Tipon it with disdain; and he also considers as nndignified his temporary occnpation, presumably to sustain his life, of accompanying pilgrims to monnt Sinai.
The Site of Motint Sinai proper is generally IdentiBed with tbe sontbem sommit of the mass of monntains sitnated in Arabia Petraea, between the Gnlf of Snez and the Akabah, and conseqnently at a great distance from Jerusalem. The Templar must, therefore, have been absent for a long time from tbat city. Cp. 1. 123: Aber lange, etc.
The present nsage reqnires the def. art. before the names of monntains.
1. 596. The Lay-brother comforts the Templar with the assurance tbat the mighty things for which he has been preserved are sure yet to come.
1. 602, etc. 80 • •. wohl has here the meaning of 'perchance.* 1. 607. In the clause!Bt hätte...gern bestellt the present is used for the future conditional and denotes, ' he would fain have sent (by your band).* 1. 611. Supply sein after wohl.
L 616. The promise of a crown (of glory) for a good deed is, of course, a biblical reminiscence.
1. 617. The celebrated repetition of the words: Sagt der Patriarch has been put in the mouth of the Lay-brother to denote tbat he was well aware of the impropriety, not to say wrong, of the Patriarch's demand, and tbat he wishes to throw off all responsibility^.
1. 619. Denn diese Krone, etc. This line contains the climax of the Patriarch's assurance, viz. nobody is more worthy of it, because, as he says, hardly anyone eise was ' more competent for it than your honour.* 1. 621. Er sei, etc., i.e. tbe Templar was at liberty to look about and examine the place. Sieh besehen is here used for sich umsehen.
1. 634. Zu schirmen. Here again, as is often the case in German, the aux. yerb of tense (in this place sei) is to be supplied. Cp. 1. 229, n.
1. 628. The 'warriors of the Lord* are, of course, the Crusaders.
1. 630. Nähern, here exacf, 1. 632. King Philip Augustus IT. of France had arrived in the Holy Land in April, 1191, and Richard Coeur de Lion in June of the same ^ A somewhat similar passage occnrs in the author's * Minna von Barn- heim' (Act iii. Sc. 2), where Just delivers a message from Teilheim to Franziska, mentioning repeatedly that it was not he himself, but his master, who addressed to her a request.
236 NATHAN DER WEISE. [11. 639-671.
year. After the captnre of Ptolemais (^ccho, or St. Jean d'Acre) on July la of that year, King Philip retnraed to France in consequence of his dissensions with Richard, and the latter concluded a tmce with Saladin for the Space of a little more than three years. The reason why Lessing mentioned King Philip II here, and not King Richard, is probably because the latter is represented as a friend of Saladin, who wonld consequently not consent to any act of treachery.
Cp. on the historical element in the drama, Üie Critical Iniroductum.
1. 639. "Wie stark is here nsed in the sense of ' with what force.* 1. 641. Es völlig wieder, etc., it(i.e. the war) shonld again begin in real eamest.
1. 646. Some editions have here the nnnsnal form Waifenstillestand.
1. 647. Brav may here be rendered by its literal equivalent bravely, or by *nobly,' * laudably,' etc. Cp. 1. 573, Notes, 1. 650. Will mich, etc., i. e. wants to employ me.
1. 654. loh müsse mich, etc. The Templar asserts that he cannot engage in any nndertaking against Saladiu, because he is still his prisoner.
1. 660. Zwar might here be rendered by * thongh,* or * but* 1.661. Hiemäohst hat ausgegattert, <has ftirther (or *besides') fonnd out *; viz. besides the military infonnation above-mentioned he also ' spied out,' etc.
Gattern, derived from Gatter, 'grating,* ^laitict^ denotes 'to lurk,* ' to spy *; hence ausgattem, 'to find out by spying*; as if through the bars of a grate. The M.H.G. form was g&teren, and it would almost seem that the German gattem is allied to £. ' to gather (from).* Wie die Veste, etc. The inddent that Saladin's father stayed with the ' larger treasure ' (cp. 1. 403, etc.) in a fortress on the well- known mountain ränge of Lebanon, was invented by Lessing for the sake of dramatic expediency.
1. 663. The famiUar expression stecken is here used for verborgen sind. Cp. 1. a66, if.
1. 669. The Lay-brotherhesitates to give expression tohis odious com- mission, and therefore he asks the Templar ' whether he gnesses * what 18 expected of him.
1. 671. Jemand (em) den Garaus machen is an idiomatic expression for 'to put an end to any one *; * to make away with any one.'
The origin of the above phrase is said to be the circumstance, that in the I5th Century the last hours of night and day used to be chimed by the famous Nürnberg clock, which Struck the hours of sunrise and snnset; to that Garaus (compounded of gar aus) denoted the * total end.* Garaus was also nsed to denote the ' last ' cnp a man drank at a banqnet. In accordance with the rnles of Grammar, Oaraus, not being originally a Substantive, shonld be nenter, and it has also been nsed by some in tbat gender; bnt usage has sanctioned its employment as a mascnline nonn.
1. 673. The Maronites are a Christian and yery martial tribe of Syria, inhabiting the slopes of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. They derived their name from John Maro (of the eighth centnry), so called from bis monastery of St. Maro on the river Orontes. They remained Mono- thelites, tili, in the twelfth centnry, they nnited themselves to the Roman Chnrch.
1. 675. Stück is here synonymons with Streioh.
1. 676. Hätt auch su, etc., i e. The Templar asks, whether besides the other Services which the Patriarch expected of him ' he had also selected him to be that gallant man.* 1. 683. The Lay-brother again throws oflf, here and fnrther on, all responsibility for bis commission, which the Patriarch endeavonred to embellish with bis casnistic snbtleties.
1. 698. Und da, etc., and as it is mmonred.
1. 699. Begnaden is the older form for the now more nsnal begna- digen.
I. 70 T. Einlenohten is here nsed synon3rmonsly with eTsoheinen.
II. 704-710. The Templar considers it natural that the extemal features of a man should correspond with bis inner sentiments, and if he bears any outward resemblance to Saladin*s brother, it is meet that he should also entertain brotherly feelings towards him.
1. 711. Galle is used in German, as its eqnivalent in several other lan- guages, for Zorn, Aerger, etc.
Seolister Auftritt.
1. 716. Doch musz ich, etc., * still I mnst take my chance.'
The expression sein Packet wagen is originally French — (where there occur several idiomatic phrases in connection with the word * paquet *) — ^viz. risquer son paquet, which is used to denote that a person embarks on an enterprise, or undertakes a message, with doubtful success.
1. 718, etc. The adv. wohl has here the force of affirming the question, viz. can any one assert that the proverb lies? etc.
The saying quoted here as an adage has not been found in any coUection of German Proverbs.
238 NATHAN DER WEISE. [11.737-762.
1. 736. The Arabic form Sina is sometimes nsed in German instead of * China.' Cp. the word Apfelsine.
1. 741. The prejndice against tiie Jews is here, and fhrther on, expressed by the Templar in all its cmde harshness.
1. 747. Daya, having been convinced by Nathan of the propriety of bestowing some material reward on the Templar, now dilates on the wealth and the benevolent disposition of the former. The Templar, however, seems to donbt this Statement, hence his ironical interjection: Bi, indeed I 1. 748. "Wie schnell, etc., i.e. how qnickly the moment of enthnsiasm in which Nathan was ready, according to Daya, to bestow mnnificent gifts on the Templar, had passed away.
1. 750. Es sich bei Jemand gefallen lassen, ' to consent to stay with any one.* In the following lines Daya comes out with her own proud conscionsness as a Christian.
1. 753. This line is rendered by Dr. Reich, who follows the Version of William Taylor, by Nor was it <fer my cradle said or sung, The idiomatic phrase. Es ward mir nicht vor der Wiege ge- sungen, or more usually: es ward (war) mir nicht an der Wiege gesungen, denotes that a person has been rednced to a State which could not have been anticipated from his early expectations, and may generally be rendered by some such phrase as: It was never expected that I, etc.
The German phrase may owe its origin to the fact that the cradle- songs of the nurses often contain predictions of the fntnre happiness of the babes, or to the prophetic songs of the fairies in populär tradition, or to those of the Parcae in mythology.
1. 757. Knecht Stands for Kriegsknecht, or Beitersknedht, * soldier ' or * trooper,' and Ehgemahl, per syncope, for EhegemahL I. 758. The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who had midertaken the third Crusade in conjunction with the kings of England and France, lost his life in June 11 90, as is generally assumed, in attempting to cross the river Kalikadnus, or Seleph in Cilicia.
II. 758-762. The Templar— being tired of the probably more than twice-told tale — repeats the same to her in his angry mood ^, The verb ersaufen (1. 761) is here used with a shade of contempt instead of ertrinken.
^ Here again Lessing has, in some degree at least, repeated himself. When Werner^ the bellicose Sergeant of Major Ton Tellheim, i$ ready to Lessing knew, of conrse, that the above incident could not be recon- , ciled — as regards time — with the time of action of the drama, but in all probability he pnrposely chose a well-known historical event, in oider to bring out the often-told tale of the gaimlons Daya the more strildngly.
1. 771, etc. Ihr seid Sohnld. The present is here used for the future to denote the certainty of the fact.
1. 776, etc. Vom Halse lassen is an idiomatic ezpression for Vto keep at a distance.'
1. 778. The Suabians are generally known as rather ' blunt ' and 'boorish* in their conduct, and the Templar wishes to palliate with this fact his own bearish and nnvamished behavionr. His assertion, * that the maiden's image has long been efiaced from his soul/ etc. wonld tend to prove the contiary of this Statement.
1. 78a, etc. Daya*s readiness to betray the secret of Recha*s origin is cnt Short by the sndden departure of the Templar.
1. 786. According to Grimm the appellation der deutsche Bär, to denote the blnntness of the German character, dates from the times when the ancient Germans lived in their rüde State in forests, and thus formed a striking contrast to the more civilised nations, whose man- ners had been refined by their contact with the Romans.
1. 787. Her comparison of the Templar to an *animal' is kept np in this line by the severely offended Daya« ZWEITES AUFZUG.
Erster Auftritt.
The sister of Saladin here mentioned was called Sittalscham, or Sillah-Alscham. Cp. on Saladin and his family the Introdtution.
1. 788. Saladin was pre-occupied, and Sittah asks him *where his thonghts were.'
1. 789. The adv. doch has here the force of an affirmative, and the whole clause denotes approximately ' I should think,' or ' I thought I did.'
Für mich. Sittah asserts, rather modestly, that she was an in- different chess-player, and although her brother played inattentively, he might therefore be said to play sufficiently well for her; but he was so absent that he hardly played well enough even for her. That Sittah relate to Just (probably for the hundredth time) the * affair at the Katzen* häuser,* the latter asks ironically: * Soll ick dir die erzählen f* Cp.
* Minna von Barnhelm,' p. 23, 1. 24, etc. and Notes.
240 NATHAN DER WEISE. [11.791-821.
was, in fact, no indifferent chess-player wUl be seen from Al-Hafi's asserdon forther on. Cp. 1. 1457» etc.
1. 791. The more cuirent diess-term is now ungedeokt, for 'nn- covered.* So zieh loh in die Gabel (obsol. for 80 gebe ich die Gabel), * then I fork.' In die Gabel stehen, ' to fork,* denotes to make a move which attacks (forks) two ' pieces ' with a ' pawn * K 1. 794, etc. Klemme denotes here 'perplexity '; ' strait*; and Bnsze, 'fine*; *loss/ 1. 799. The phrase die Beohnnng ohne den "Wirth machen corresponds exactlj to the English * to reckon withont one*s host/ 1. 800. Was gilt's, etc. ' snrely, you did not expect this.* Cp. 11. 56, II 79, notes.
Tlie constmction employed here by Lessing is very nnnsnal. In his ' Emilia Galotti * (Act ii. Sc. 7) he nses in a similar phrase the present participle (vermnthend) instead of the infinitive.
1. 805. A Dinar is an Arabic gold coin of the approximate yalne of eight Shillings. The small silver coin Naserin (Naserinohen is simply the diminutive form), worth abont one farthing, derives its name from the Chalif Naser or Nasr.
The snm of one thonsand Dinars formed the stake; henoe the nse of the possessive pron. meine, which denotes that Sittah was snre to win that sum.
1. 811. Mit Dir, i.e. when she played *with hintL* 1. 816. The advs. gar wohl denote here the possibility of the action, viz. * it may after all be.* 1. 820. Sittah wishes to know, whether Saladin will adhere to his last move (1. 799, etc.), and therefore asks * whether it shall remain as it is?* 1. 8ai. Absohach (now more nsnally Absngsschach') is the English ' discovered check/ viz. a move which nncovers a hostile piece against the king *.
^ I am indebted for the explanation of the technical Chess expressions occurring in this scene to the distinguished Chess-player, Dr. Zukertort. The explanations and translations usually given are more or less wrong; thus one translator only — Dr. Reich — seeras to have had a correct notion of the aboye phrase.
^ Not a Single translator or commentator gives the right translation or Interpretation of the word Abachach. The Dictionaries also give wrong explanations, and Sanders alone qnotes from Bilgaer*s and Lasa's 'Handbuch des Schachspiels,' a passage which explains the terra fiilly and accnrately.
1. 832. Zugleioli mit niederwirft, ' assaults at the same time.' The mention of the ' Qaeea ' is haue an anachronism, that piece having only been introdaced in chess abont 1525. Before that it was called * Vezier/ and was the weakest of all the pieces.
1. 826. The expression das thut mir nichts denotes, as ils eqnivalent in French, that does not matter; that makes no difference to me.
1. 828, etc. When Saladin made war on Saleh, the yonng son of Sultan Nnreddin, and captnred a nnmber of places, the sister of the defeated prince appeared (11 75) in the camp of the conqneror, implor- ing him for the retura of a fortress. The reqnest was not only at once granted, but Saladin loaded the princess with presents and treated her with the greatest politeness (Marinas ' Hist de Saladin/ I. 295). Ten years later the same expedient was resorted to by the Sultan Massud, who requested Saladin through his mother and a daughter of Nureddin to retum to him the towns of Mesopotamia. This time the request was denied; but Saladin nevertheless treated the princesses with the highest marks of distinction and respect (Ibid. p. 378). Saladin also gave proofs of more than gracious politeness to the two queens of Jerusalem: Sybilla, wife of King Guy de Lusignan, and Maria, wife of Prince Balian II, although the latter had, with the special sanction of the Patriarch Heradius, broken his faith to the Sultan (Ibid. II. 62, etc.). The remark of Sittah: Wie höflich man mit Königinnen verfahren rnusB, etc., wonld, therefore, seem to be an allusion to the above facts.
1. 831. Ich — mehr, i.e. I give her up as lost; I renounce her.
1. 833. The chess term matt, derived from the Arabic mät {mdta\ * he (i.e. the king) is dead,' ought properly to be written mat.
1. 835. The term gleichviel, denotes here that * it is all the same * to Sittah to whatever expedient Saladin has recourse,proYided he will only try to play carefolly and remove the check. He is, however, so absent that he does not heed her remark, but giyes up the game as lost.
1. 839. In accordance with the tenets of the Mahommedan creed 'carved* Images are strictly forbidden, and the bhessmen of the Mahommedans are draughtsmen either distinguished by inscriptions or ' painted.' The mention of the Iman (more correctly ' Imam,' i.e. the *■ priest * with the Mahommedans) is therefore hardly necessary, because Saladin would, as a strict Mussulman, neyer have played with carved chessmen. Lessing wished, however, to represent him as an enlightened Mussulman, and makes him complain of having used '■ uncarved chess- men,* as if he had been pla3ring wi^h the Imam himself.
1. 842. The saying Verlust will Vorwand, * loss wants excuse,' is an old German adage.
1. 849. Lessing evidently intended here a play on the word serstreut, R 24% NATHAN DER WEISS. [11. 851-875.
which can, however, hardlj be lendered into Knglish. The cUitse hatte dich aerstreuet means here, 'what has made yon absent (in mind)? ' bnt it might also be nsed in the sense of ' what has amused (or 'diverted') yon?' Sittah takes the qiiesti<n half leproachfnlly in the latter sense, by telling her brother ' that it was not his distiacti(Hi which diverted her.' Cp. Fiench tenns ' distraction ' and ' distraiie * with the German Zentreunng and serstreuen.
1. 851. (Herig is heie used in the sense of eifirig, eagerly.
1. 853. The idiomatic phrase es geht los denotes in general, that some action or occnrrenoe is beginning, or is soon going to b^in. Here it refers to the war, which * is going to break ont again.' Cp. 1. 641, n.
The. elUptical ezclamation IXxa su corresponds somewhat to the English: on with it Snpply das Sohwert after gesogen.
It shonld be remembered that Saladin was by natnre peaoe-loving.
L 854. Stillestand (on accoont of the rhythm for Stillstand) is in several instances used by Lessing for 'Waffenstillstand.
1. 857. The assertion that a nnion was contemplated between Sittah and a brother of King Richard has no historical fonndation, bat is here probably mentioned in oider to bring ont with greater force the plan (allnded to in 1. 859, etc.)> of marrying Melek el Adel, the brother of Saladin, to a sister of Richard*s, which plan was actnally negotiated between the two monarchs.
1. 858. "Wenn Du Deinen Bichard, etc. Saladin and Richaid entertained a veiy high admiration for each other.
1. 859. The sister of Richard here allnded to was Joan, the widow of King William of Sidly, whom she had accompanied during his ez- pedition to the East 1. 864. Faul is here nsed in the sense of saumselig; langsam.
1. 865. After Saladin had given his consent to the projected marriage between his brother and the sister of Richard, the latter declared that she declined marrying a Mnssnlman, and that in fact she conld not do so without the special consent of the Pope. The priests also violently protested against the nnion.
U. 866-72. Sittah thinks that the Christians pride themselves on the name of Christian only, and not on the fact of being men; and the humane element, which 'seasons their creed* (designated by her as 'superstition*), and which still dates from their fonnder — whom the Mahommedans also revere — is cherished by them, not because it is humane, but because Christ has preached and practised it.
1. 875, etc. The exclamation Doch was Tugend, ' but what of virtue? ' is here, of course, ironically meant, as is clearly shown by the foUowing lines: for, Sittah continues: the Christians do not care about propogating tbe 'Tirtne' of Christ, bnt only for spreading his 'name/ so that the name of Christian shall indirectly stigmatize and destroy — or ' swallow np ' — ^all those good men who do not bear that designation.
II. 884-86. Lessing nses in this passage pnrposely the biblical ex- pression Mann and Männin, in order to remind ns, that primitively the Creator implanted the same feelings in the hearts of man and woman — as regards their relation of hnsband and wife — and that the mntnal affection is not restricted to Christians alone. Cp. the yerses in Gen. 2. 23: Afan wird sie Männin knszen, daruniy dasz sie vom Mann genommen ist. Darum wird ein Mann seinen Vater, etc.
11. 889-91. Saladin gives here an accnrate description of the order of the Templars, more especially as their character was devcloped in the conrse of time. The warlike and secular elements predominated with them more and more, and the religious, or rather monkish cha- racter, freqnently served as a cloak only to palliate their actions. The distinction drawn here between Christianity and many of its foUowers fnlly tallies with the Yiews of Lessing.
1. 892. The first conditions were, that Saladin should cede to his brother Palestine, together with other territories, and that Richard*s sister shonld receive as a dowry Acca, which was then in the hands of the Christians. — ^Acca, or Acco, is the well-known city on the Syrian coast, also known nnder the name of Ptolemais, which played so important a part doring the Crusades.
1. 897. Und ob vielleicht, etc., viz. in order to try whether some stroke, carried ont in haste, wonld sncceed, the Templars scarcely awaited the expiration of the tmce. Cp. 1. 573, etc. Cp. for albern, 1. 235, n.
1. 903. "Was irrte, etc., what eise could trouble you? The verb irren is here nsed transitively in the sense of stören, verwirren.
1. 907. Xhr unterliegt, etc. The present tense is here again nsed for the future, viz., he is snre to succumb yet to his cares. Cp. 1. 771, ».
1. 908, etc. Saladin states at iirst in general * that his father cannot get throngh his difficnlties, and that there is a hitch (es klemmt sich, cp. 1. 794) everywhere,' and on Sittah*s qnestion; where is there a hitch, etc.? he gives her distinct Information as to their father's wants. 6aladin*s father was long dead before the action of the present drama is snpposed to have taken place, which fact was, of course, well known to Lessing.
1. 910. Lessing has here evidently pnt in the month of Saladin his own sentiments about the ' wietched and accursed money.* 1. 913. Ist Niemand, etc., supply the p.p. gegangen.
244 NATHAN LER WEISE. [U.9i5~98x Zweiter Auftritt.
1. 915. It seems that Saladin*s order (1. 836) had been carried out, and that the Dervish is of opinion that he had been snmmoned, because the tribute expected by Saladin from £gypt had arrived.
1. 917. The adv. fein is often nsed in Gennan to denotea high degree, in the sense of 'very'; * pretty/ etc.
l. 921. Das ist, etc., i.e. that is zeceiving less than nothing instead of receiving something (Was Stands here for Etwas).
1. 935. Sittah never claimed — as will be seen fiiither on — the ' winnings ' from her brother; Al-Hafi, therefore, asks her why he shonld gmdge her her good fortnne — as she never accepts the amount won.
1. 926. G-0nnt*8 euch, etc., naxnely, she shonld acceptthe 'winnings' and not grudge them to herseif.
1* 930» etc. Nun ja, etc. This remark of Al-Hafi is a more distinct allusion to the fact, that Sittah never received the money she had won from her brother, and seeing that he began to betray the secret, she nnceremonionsly pnts to him the question: Bist Du toll P Sittah then endeavonrs to get rid of Al-Hafi from fear that he will fuUy betray the secret.
1. 935- Da steht ja. etc. Cp. 1. 831: 'Wozu sie nehmen P G-ilt nicht, i.e. the position of the Queen connts no more, is ' can- celled.* 1. 941. Ja so, oh yes. Al-Hafi thinks, if the Sultan really wishes to lose, that is quite a different thing.
Spiel wie Oewinnst, like play, like pay, i.e. the game was as illusory as was the prize. Sittah had not actually won the game and she will, in fact, not receive any payment.
1. 95a. Ich spiele, etc., I will no longer play a part in this farce.
1. 958. Bescheiden seems here to be used in the sense of ' discreet.* 1. 959. Sittah had nothing ' to deprecate,' sich verbitten, from Saladin, and we must assume that he reproaches her with 'wishing rather to deprecate anything from a stranger, instead of confiding it to him.'
1. 964. etc. Iiass eine, etc. do not let a trifle touch yon nearer, etc.
1. 970. Häufig is here used in the primary sense of ' abundant* 1. 976. Auswerfen - aussetzen, to set apart; to make an allowance.
1. 982, etc. The above incident of Sittah's liberal support of her brother*s household has probably been suggested to Lessing by the foU lowing fact: Saladin had ordered alms to be given, on his death, to the poor Christians as well as to the Mussnlmans, but as he had given away neariy all he possessed daring his life-time, it was foimd necessary to seil his jewels and fnrnitnre in order to carry out his directions, and Sittah, who had been commissioned with the task of distributing the alms, added a portion of her own property in order to increase the bonnty to be distributed. Cp. Marin*s ' Histoire de Saladin/ II. 396.
1. 988. Der Bruder armP yiz. the brother of such a sister poor?
1. 990. Saladin^s motto was: ' one garment, one horse, and one God/ Lessing has a note on these subjects in his ColUctattea to the present drama.
1. 99a. Saladin means, that he could chide Al-Hafi, because he had recourse to Sittah's treasnres.
1. 995. Nun sohlägst Du, etc. namely by the mention of their father s cares, she all at once checked his joyfulness.
1. 998. In ihm, etc. i.e. when their father is in want, all of them feel that want.
1. 1002. Abbrechen denotes ' to cartail,' and einsiehen 'toretrench/ 1. 1005. Machen is here used in the sense of * to amonnt to.* 1. IC07. Und meinem Gott, etc. i.e. He can obtain no abatement from his dnties towards God, for He is already ' fuUy content ' (g'nügt...genug) with little.
1. 1012, etc. The death by 'impaling' was both more cruel and more ignominious than that by ' strangling.* DrosBeln Stands here for erdrosseln.
1. IG 15. Saladin simply deposed his treasurers when they were gnilty of frand, therefore Al-Hafi asserts, that he might well haye ventured on ' embezzlement.* 1. loao, etc. The idiomatic naotical phrase: auf dem Trocknen sein, for *■ to be without any resonrce/ corresponds to the English: to be at a low ebb; to be in low water (or ' stranded ').
1. loaa. The exclamatory phrase das fehlt noch is nsed elliptically, denoting ' that this one misfortnne, i.e. the failure of Sittah's resources, was still lacking, to complete his wretchedness.' Cp. the Fr. il ne man- querait plus quc cela, and see Goethe's ' Egmont/ p. 10, 1. 24, n, 1. 1023. The expression aufhehmen, in the sense of ' to borrow money on secnrity/ is generally foUowed by a noun, such as Gheld, Capital, etc.
Versprich (in 1. 1034) is used elliptically, i.e. make high promises; promise high interest.
1. ioa6. Möchte, etc. i.e. that would be like demanding back what he had bestowed upon them.
1. ioa9. Wie gut^ etc. viz. how their xn^oney grows by usury. Cp.
246 NATHAN DER WEISE. [fl. 1032-1086.
1. 1033. Al*Hafi is Startled, becanse he well knows to wbom Sittah allndes, and after the explanation given to him by Nathan (1. 429, etc.> he does not wish to see his friend impoverished by constant loans. The shrewd Dervish feigns, therefore, not to nnderstand Saladm*s sister, and evades — somewhat awkwardly — her direct demand.
1. 1035. When the verb denken is employed impeisonally, in the sense of sioli erinnern, it is more freqnently nsed with the dative, i.e. mir denkt.
1. 1037. ^^ ™^y ^ ^^t Lessing wished to indicate by the expression sein the daim of the ancient Hebrews * to have a God of their own.' but it is not qnite impossible that the prononn has been inserted for metrical purposes, and the more so as the Mahommedans ac- knowledged the existence of ane God only for al/ hnman beings, and Sittah was, besides, aware of the enlightened character of Nathan.
1. 1048. Al-Hafi purposely states that the people ' used to call him once the Wise/ and incidentally he adds, *also the Rieh/ by which he wishes to intimate that these designations were things of the past.
1. 1050. Snpply davon after erschallt.
1. 1054, etc. Jmd. angehen, signifies: to approach any one with a reqnest; to apply to any one (for money, etc.). The question und was, etc. is elliptical and denotes: what am I to do with him?
1. 1062, etc. The phrase zu leben wissen, denotes Ho have manners.' Cp. the Fr. savoir vivre, That Nathan knew how * to play chess * was, of conrse, no trifling merit in the eyes of the Dervish.
1. 1067. Und gibt vielleicht, etc. and vies in giving, even with Saladin. (Cp. 1. 411, ».) In the next line Al-Hafi allndes to Nathan*s pmdence in practising charity, in contradistinction to the thonghtless distribntion of alms by Saladin; at the same time he forgets his part and praises Nathan against his own will. Cp. 1. 484, etc.
1. 1069. Sonder Ansehen is here nsed in the sense of sonder Bücksicht, withont respect (to persons), i.e. indiscriminately to the members of all religions.
1. 1078, etc. Jedes Iiohn, etc. i.e. Nathan, who is so jealous and envious of the giving of alms by others, would rather that every * May God reward you for it * (or * may God bless you for it *)> nttered in the whole World in acknowledgment of some benefit, should be addressed to him alone.
1. 1082, etc. Gesetz refers here, of conrse, to the Biblical ' law.
L 1086, etc. The idiomatic phrase Mit Jemand über den, or übern FnsB (or über die Hand) gespannt sein, denoting ' to be on bad terms (or 'on a bad footing*) with anyone/ belongs properly to pugilistic terminology. We also say simply, Mit Jemand gespannt sein.
Britter Auftritt.
1. 1103, etc. These lines aie based on the traditional tales, cnrrent in the Orient, of the graves of David, Solomon, etc., and Lessing had here probably in view — as Boxberger conjectnres — a passage in Baumgar- ten's * Welthistorie,' iv. 106, in which it is related that Solomon placed an immense treasnre in the grave of his father. Money was taken from it at yarious times, bnt the royal cof&n, being ingeniously hidden in the ground, conld not be reached. The mention of the * seals * probably refers to this circumstance.
1. IUI, etc. According to Saladin*s opinion fools only wonld canse their treasnres to be bnried with them instead of leaving them to others; bnt Sittah goes still farther and calls those who would deprive their snrvivors of their acquired wealth, * knaves.'
1. II 15. Mammon (derived from the Hebrew) Stands here for 'hidden treasnres.' There seems to be a covert sneer in the term handeln, ' to trade,' employed here by Saladin with reference to the Jewish merchant.
1. II 16. The German Sanmthier, which is here nsed coUectively, corresponds exactly to the English 'beast of bürden.' — Saum denotes the * load' of any animal. Cp. my Nbie to Schiller^s * Wilhelm Teil,' Treiben is here nsed in the sense of ' to move.*