"In
the past, I assure you, there blossomed still
Quite a cheering manifestation
Of pious belief, and warmth of heart;
Now all is doubt and negation.
dt
text .
•
note.
•
•
15
"The
idea1 we cherished within our souls
Will be slain by this rational, chilly,
External freedom of thought and act—
'Twas as pure as the dream of a lily.
dt
text .
•
x
16
"And
our poetry, languishing even now,
The future will blatantly smother.
The Moorish king of Freiligrath
Will perish like many another.
dt
text .
•
x
17
"Our
grandsons will eat and drink, no fear,
But not in contemplative quiet;
The idyllic in art will be swept from the boards,
For a romping, spectacular riot.
dt
text .
•
x
18
"I
would break the seals of the Book of Fate,
Could you hold your tongue; and, peeping
In my magic glass, you might even behold
What the future has in its keeping.
dt
text .
•
x
19
"The
secret that never a mortal yet
Has wrung from my lips I'd show you—
The future awaiting your Fatherland;
But you could not be silent: I know you!"
dt
text .
•
x
20
"O
goddess! to learn what time has in store
For my country," I cried in a flutter,
"Would give me the greatest conceivable joy.
Not a word would I ever utter.
dt
text .
21
To
assure you your secret is safe with me
I shall not shrink from using
The dreadest of oaths. Say, how shall I swear?
The form shall be of your choosing.
dt
text .
•
x
22
The
goddess replied that the form of oath
Whose binding power would most please her,
Was the one which Abraham employed
When he sent forth Eliezer.
dt
text .
•
x
23
"Lift
up my tunic and place your hand
Upon my thigh below it,
And swear that those secrets you neither will tell
As a man, nor write as a poet."
dt
text .
24
'Twas
a solemn moment. The breath of the Past
Seemed to fan me and hover o'er me,
While, obeying the order, I made my vow
As the patriarchs did before me.
dt
text .
25
I
lifted the tunic and laid my hand
On the goddess's thigh, in token
That the silence I promised in pen and in speech
Would remain till death unbroken.
