Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin

The Rhine - 4

I think of the demi-gods,*
And I must acknowledge
The dear ones whose lives
Often inspire my longing spirit.
But a person like you, Rousseau,
Whose soul proved unconquerable
And firmly steadfast, of certain
Purpose, using the sweet gift
Of listening to speak the speech
Of the purest, like the wine-god,
Foolishly, without restraint,
In a sacred manner, understood
By good people but justly striking blind
The thoughtless ones, the defiling menials,
What do I call this stranger?

Like a mother, earth’s sons are all-loving,
So these fortunate ones accept
Everything without effort.
A mortal man is surprised and fearful
When thinking of heaven
And the joyful burden
He’s placed on his shoulders:
Often it seems best to him to stay
Almost entirely forgotten at Lake Biel,**
In the fresh green and shade
Of the woods where the sun's rays
Don’t burn, and like beginners
Learn from the nightingales,
Unbothered by knowing few notes.

And then how splendid to waken
From blessed sleep and rise
In the cool woods, and head off
Towards the milder light
Of evening. When he who built
The mountains and designed
The course of rivers, after he guided
With smiles the busy breathless
Life of men, like breezes
Upon sails, when he too rests,
Reconciled to his pupil and bride,
The builder, the god of the day,
Leans down to our earth.

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* Demi-gods traditionally are mortals with a divine parent, but Hölderlin often uses the term to indicate a human with extraordinary powers.

** Lake Biel (French: Lac de Bienne; German: Bielersee) is a lake in western Switzerland. In 1765 Rousseau stayed on St Peter's' Island in the lake and afterwards wrote that he had never been happier.

Lake Biel, St Thomas Island. Photo: madeinbern.com