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Excerpt from the Odyssey by Homer:
There was a large fire burning on the hearth, and one could smell from far the fragrant reek of burning cedar and sandal wood. As for herself, she was busy at her loom, shooting her golden shuttle through the warp and singing beautifully. Round her cave there was a thick wood of alder, poplar, and sweet smelling cypress trees, wherein all kinds of great birds had built their nests- owls, hawks, and chattering sea-crows that occupy their business in the waters. A vine loaded with grapes was trained and grew luxuriantly about the mouth of the cave; there were also four running rills of water in channels cut pretty close together, and turned hither and thither so as to irrigate the beds of violets and luscious herbage over which they flowed. Even a god could not help being charmed with such a lovely spot, so Mercury stood still and looked at it; but when he had admired it sufficiently he went inside the cave.
Calypso knew him at once- for the gods all know each other, no matter how far they live from one another- but Ulysses was not within; he was on the sea-shore as usual, looking out upon the barren ocean with tears in his eyes, groaning and breaking his heart for sorrow. Calypso gave Mercury a seat and said: "Why have you come to see me, Mercury- honoured, and ever welcome- for you do not visit me often? Say what you want; I will do it for be you at once if I can, and if it can be done at all; but come inside, and let me set refreshment before you.
As she spoke she drew a table loaded with ambrosia beside him and mixed him some red nectar, so Mercury ate and drank till he had had enough, and then said:
"We are speaking god and goddess to one another, one another, and you ask me why I have come here, and I will tell you truly as you would have me do. Jove sent me; it was no doing of mine; who could possibly want to come all this way over the sea where there are no cities full of people to offer me sacrifices or choice hecatombs? Nevertheless I had to come, for none of us other gods can cross Jove, nor transgress his orders. He says that you have here the most ill-starred of alf those who fought nine years before the city of King Priam and sailed home in the tenth year after having sacked it. On their way home they sinned against Minerva, who raised both wind and waves against them, so that all his brave companions perished, and he alone was carried hither by wind and tide. Jove says that you are to let this by man go at once, for it is decreed that he shall not perish here, far from his own people, but shall return to his house and country and see his friends again."
Calypso trembled with rage when she heard this, "You gods," she exclaimed, to be ashamed of yourselves. You are always jealous and hate seeing a goddess take a fancy to a mortal man, and live with him in open matrimony. So when rosy-fingered Dawn made love to Orion, you precious gods were all of you furious till Diana went and killed him in Ortygia. So again when Ceres fell in love with Iasion, and yielded to him in a thrice ploughed fallow field, Jove came to hear of it before so long and killed Iasion with his thunder-bolts. And now you are angry with me too because I have a man here. I found the poor creature sitting all alone astride of a keel, for Jove had struck his ship with lightning and sunk it in mid ocean, so that all his crew were drowned, while he himself was driven by wind and waves on to my island. I got fond of him and cherished him, and had set my heart on making him immortal, so that he should never grow old all his days; still I cannot cross Jove, nor bring his counsels to nothing; therefor
e, if he insists upon it, let the man go beyond the seas again; but I cannot send him anywhere myself for I have neither ships nor men who can take him. Nevertheless I will readily give him such advice, in all good faith, as will be likely to bring him safely to his own country."
"Then send him away," said Mercury, "or Jove will be angry with you and punish you"'
On this he took his leave, and Calypso went out to look for Ulysses, for she had heard Jove's message. She found him sitting upon the beach with his eyes ever filled with tears, and dying of sheer home-sickness; for he had got tired of Calypso, and though he was forced to sleep with her in the cave by night, it was she, not he, that would have it so. As for the day time, he spent it on the rocks and on the sea-shore, weeping, crying aloud for his despair, and always looking out upon the sea.
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2. |
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Excerpt from chapter 12 of the Odyssey:
"I had hardly finished telling everything to the men before we reached the island of the two Sirens, for the wind had been very favourable. Then all of a sudden it fell dead calm; there was not a breath of wind nor a ripple upon the water, so the men furled the sails and stowed them; then taking to their oars they whitened the water with the foam they raised in rowing. Meanwhile I look a large wheel of wax and cut it up small with my sword. Then I kneaded the wax in my strong hands till it became soft, which it soon did between the kneading and the rays of the sun-god son of Hyperion. Then I stopped the ears of all my men, and they bound me hands and feet to the mast as I stood upright on the crosspiece; but they went on rowing themselves. When we had got within earshot of the land, and the ship was going at a good rate, the Sirens saw that we were getting in shore and began with their singing.
"'Come here,' they sang, 'renowned Ulysses, honour to the Achaean name, and listen to our two voices. No one ever sailed past us without staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song- and he who listens will go on his way not only charmed, but wiser, for we know all the ills that the gods laid upon the Argives and Trojans before Troy, and can tell you everything that is going to happen over the whole world.'
"They sang these words most musically, and as I longed to hear them further I made by frowning to my men that they should set me free; but they quickened their stroke, and Eurylochus and Perimedes bound me with still stronger bonds till we had got out of hearing of the Sirens' voices. Then my men took the wax from their ears and unbound me.
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3. |
Nausikaa
03:08
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"..."O divine queen,I come here as a suppliant to you.
Are you a goddess or a mortal being?
If you're one of the gods who hold wide heaven,
then I think you most resemble Artemis,
daughter of great Zeus, in your loveliness,
your stature, and your shape. If you're human,
one of those mortals living on the earth,
your father and noble mother are thrice-blest,
and thrice-blest your brothers, too. In their hearts
they must glow with pleasure for you always,
when they see a child like you moving up
into the dance. But the happiest heart,
more so than all the rest, belongs to him
who with his wedding gifts will lead you home.
These eyes of mine have never gazed upon
anyone like you—either man or woman.
As I observe you, I'm gripped with wonder..."
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4. |
Dark waters-Ophelia
05:28
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Im Haar ein Nest von jungen Wasserratten,
Und die beringten Hände auf der Flut
Wie Flossen, also treibt sie durch den Schatten
Des großen Urwalds, der im Wasser ruht.
Die letzte Sonne, die im Dunkel irrt,
Versenkt sich tief in ihres Hirnes Schrein.
Warum sie starb? Warum sie so allein
Im Wasser treibt, das Farn und Kraut verwirrt?
Im dichten Röhricht steht der Wind. Er scheucht
Wie eine Hand die Fledermäuse auf.
Mit dunklem Fittich, von dem Wasser feucht
Stehn sie wie Rauch im dunklen Wasserlauf,
Wie Nachtgewölk. Ein langer, weißer Aal
Schlüpft über ihre Brust. Ein Glühwurm scheint
Auf ihrer Stirn. Und eine Weide weint
Das Laub auf sie und ihre stumme Qual.
Gedicht: Georg Heym – Ophelia II
Ophelia II (1910)
Korn. Saaten. Und des Mittags roter Schweiß.
Der Felder gelbe Winde schlafen still.
Sie kommt, ein Vogel, der entschlafen will.
Der Schwäne Fittich überdacht sie weiß.
Die blauen Lider schatten sanft herab.
Und bei der Sensen blanken Melodien
Träumt sie von eines Kusses Karmoisin
Den ewigen Traum in ihrem ewigen Grab.
Vorbei, vorbei. Wo an das Ufer dröhnt
Der Schall der Städte. Wo durch Dämme zwingt
Der weiße Strom. Der Widerhall erklingt
Mit weitem Echo. Wo herunter tönt
Hall voller Straßen. Glocken und Geläut.
Maschinenkreischen. Kampf. Wo westlich droht
In blinde Scheiben dumpfes Abendrot,
In dem ein Kran mit Riesenarmen dräut,
Mit schwarzer Stirn, ein mächtiger Tyrann,
Ein Moloch, drum die schwarzen Knechte knien.
Last schwerer Brücken, die darüber ziehn
Wie Ketten auf dem Strom, und harter Bann.
Unsichtbar schwimmt sie in der Flut Geleit.
Doch wo sie treibt, jagt weit den Menschenschwarm
Mit großem Fittich auf ein dunkler Harm,
Der schattet über beide Ufer breit.
Vorbei, vorbei. Da sich dem Dunkel weiht
Der westlich hohe Tag des Sommers spät,
Wo in dem Dunkelgrün der Wiesen steht
Des fernen Abends zarte Müdigkeit.
Der Strom trägt weit sie fort, die untertaucht,
Durch manchen Winters trauervollen Port.
Die Zeit hinab. Durch Ewigkeiten fort,
32 Davon der Horizont wie Feuer raucht.
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5. |
Werthers walk
04:52
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Es hat sich vor meiner Seele wie ein Vorhang weggezogen, und der Schauplatz des unendlichen Lebens verwandelt sich vor mir in den Abgrund des ewig offenen Grabes. Kannst du sagen: Das ist! da alles vorübergeht? da alles mit der Wetterschnelle vorüberrollt, so selten die ganze Kraft seines Daseins ausdauert, ach, in den Strom fortgerissen, untergetaucht und an Felsen zerschmettert wird? Da ist kein Augenblick, der nicht dich verzehrte und die Deinigen um dich her, kein Augenblick, da du nicht ein Zerstörer bist, sein mußt; der harmloseste Spaziergang kostet tausend armen Würmchen das Leben, es zerrüttet ein Fußtritt die mühseligen Gebäude der Ameisen und stampft eine kleine Welt in ein schmähliches Grab. Ha! nicht die große, seltne Not der Welt, diese Fluten, die eure Dörfer wegspülen, diese Erdbeben, die eure Städte verschlingen, rühren mich; mir untergräbt das Herz die verzehrende Kraft, die in dem All der Natur verborgen liegt; die nichts gebildet hat, das nicht seinen Nachbar, nicht sich selbst zerstörte. Und so taumle ich beängstigt. Himmel und Erde und ihre webenden Kräfte um mich her: ich sehe nichts als ein ewig verschlingendes, ewig wiederkäuendes Ungeheuer.
[Goethe: Die Leiden des jungen Werther. Deutsche Literatur von Lessing bis Kafka, S. 24783
(vgl. Goethe-HA Bd. 6, S. 53)
http://www.digitale-bibliothek.de/band1.htm ]
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, from "the sorrows of young Werther":
It is as if a curtain had been drawn from before my eyes, and, instead of prospects of eternal life, the abyss of an ever open grave yawned before me. Can we say of anything that it exists when all passes away, when time, with the speed of a storm, carries all things onward,—and our transitory existence, hurried along by the torrent, is either swallowed up by the waves or dashed against the rocks? There is not a moment but preys upon you,—and upon all around you, not a moment in which you do not yourself become a destroyer. The most innocent walk deprives of life thousands of poor insects: one step destroys the fabric of the industrious ant, and converts a little world into chaos. No: it is not the great and rare calamities of the world, the floods which sweep away whole villages, the earthquakes which swallow up our towns, that affect me. My heart is wasted by the thought of that destructive power which lies concealed in every part of universal nature. Nature has formed nothing that does not consume itself, and every object near it: so that, surrounded by earth and air, and all the active powers, I wander on my way with aching heart; and the universe is to me a fearful monster, for ever devouring its own offspring.
Pasted from <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2527/2527-h/2527-h.htm>
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6. |
Dante astray
04:22
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A Dark Wood The Dark Wood of Error
Dante astray in the Dusky Wood
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Image Gallery
1 When I had journeyed half of our life's way,
2 I found myself within a shadowed forest,
3 for I had lost the path that does not stray.
4 Ah, it is hard to speak of what it was,
5 that savage forest, dense and difficult,
6 which even in recall renews my fear:
7 so bitter death is hardly more severe!
8 But to retell the good discovered there,
9 I'll also tell the other things I saw.
10 I cannot clearly say how I had entered
11 the wood; I was so full of sleep just at
12 the point where I abandoned the true path.
13 But when I'd reached the bottom of a hill
14 it rose along the boundary of the valley
15 that had harassed my heart with so much fear
16 I looked on high and saw its shoulders clothed
17 already by the rays of that same planet
18 which serves to lead men straight along all roads.
19 At this my fear was somewhat quieted;
20 for through the night of sorrow I had spent,
21 the lake within my heart felt terror present.
22 And just as he who, with exhausted breath,
23 having escaped from sea to shore, turns back
24 to watch the dangerous waters he has quit,
25 so did my spirit, still a fugitive,
26 turn back to look intently at the pass
27 that never has let any man survive.
28 I let my tired body rest awhile.
29 Moving again, I tried the lonely slope
30 my firm foot always was the one below.
31 And almost where the hillside starts to rise
32 look there!-a leopard, very quick and lithe,
33 a leopard covered with a spotted hide.
34 He did not disappear from sight, but stayed;
35 indeed, he so impeded my ascent
36 that I had often to turn back again.
37 The time was the beginning of the morning;
38 the sun was rising now in fellowship
39 with the same stars that had escorted it
40 when Divine Love first moved those things of beauty;
41 so that the hour and the gentle season
42 gave me good cause for hopefulness on seeing
43 that beast before me with his speckled skin;
44 but hope was hardly able to prevent
45 the fear I felt when I beheld a lion.
46 His head held high and ravenous with hunger
47 even the air around him seemed to shudder
48 this lion seemed to make his way against me.
49 And then a she-wolf showed herself; she seemed
50 to carry every craving in her leanness;
51 she had already brought despair to many.
52 The very sight of her so weighted me
53 with fearfulness that I abandoned hope
54 of ever climbing up that mountain slope.
55 Even as he who glories while he gains
56 will, when the time has come to tally loss,
57 lament with every thought and turn despondent,
58 so was I when I faced that restless beast
59 which, even as she stalked me, step by step
60 had thrust me back to where the sun is speechless.
61 While I retreated down to lower ground,
62 before my eyes there suddenly appeared
63 one who seemed faint because of the long silence
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7. |
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" Actus Quartus. Scena Prima.
Thunder. Enter the three Witches.
1 Thrice the brinded Cat hath mew'd
2 Thrice, and once the Hedge-Pigge whin'd
3 Harpier cries, 'tis time, 'tis time
1 Round about the Caldron go: In the poysond Entrailes throw Toad, that vnder cold stone, Dayes and Nights, ha's thirty one: Sweltred Venom sleeping got, Boyle thou first i'th' charmed pot
All. Double, double, toile and trouble; Fire burne, and Cauldron bubble
2 Fillet of a Fenny Snake, In the Cauldron boyle and bake: Eye of Newt, and Toe of Frogge, Wooll of Bat, and Tongue of Dogge: Adders Forke, and Blinde-wormes Sting, Lizards legge, and Howlets wing: For a Charme of powrefull trouble, Like a Hell-broth, boyle and bubble
All. Double, double, toyle and trouble, Fire burne, and Cauldron bubble ..."
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Wolfgang Schweizer Laucherthal, Germany
I am an abstract acrylic painter and metalsmith. In 2009 I started composing with Ableton Live
software.
Impressum: www.wolfgangschweizer.com#!impressum/ot6em
Datenschutzerklaerung: www.wolfgangschweizer.com#!datenschutzerklaerung/wh898
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