Matthias Claudius Quotes

Amor no conoce ningún freno; para él no existen puertas ni cerrojos ni poder que limite sus antojos. Amor no conoce principio ni fin. Agitó siempre sus alas al viento y así lo hará hasta el fin de los tiempos.

True love knows no constrains, no locks or bars. Past every obstacle it makes its way. It spreads its wings to soar toward the stars, No earthly power will make it stop or stay.

How silent lies the world Within fair twilight furled, Bringing such sweet relief! A quiet room resembling, Where, without fear or trembling, You sleep away day's grief.

Amor no conoce principio ni fin. Agitó siempre sus alas al viento y así lo hará hasta el fin de los tiempos. Matthias Claudius (1740-1815)

L'amore non conosce ostacoli; né porta né serratura A passare sempre riuscirá. L'amore non ha principio, batte le ali per sua natura e per sempre le batterà. Matthias Claudius (1740-1815)

True love knows no constraints, no locks or bars. Past every obstacle it makes its way. It spreads its wings to soar toward the stars, No earthly power will make it stop or stay.

Das Mädchen: Vorüber! Ach, vorüber! Geh, wilder Knochenmann! Ich bin noch jung! Geh, lieber, Und rühre mich nicht an. Der Tod: Gieb deine Hand, du schön und zart Gebild! Bin Freund, und komme nicht, zu strafen. Sei gutes Muths! ich bin nicht wild, Sollst sanft in meinen Armen schlafen! The Maiden: Pass me by! Oh, pass me by! Go, fierce man of bones! I am still young! Go, rather, and do not come to me. Death: Give me your hand, you beautiful and tender form! I am a friend, and come not to punish. Be of good cheer! I am not fierce, Softly shall you sleep in my arms!

La Jeune Fille: Va-t'en, ah, va-t'en! Disparais, odieux squelette! Je suis encore jeune, disparais! Et ne me touche pas! » La Mort: Donne-moi la main, douce et belle créature! Je suis ton amie, tu n'as rien à craindre. Laisse-toi faire! N'aie pas peur Viens sagement dormir dans mes bras

Die Wahrheit richtet sich nicht nach uns, sondern wir müssen uns nach ihr richten.

Seht ihr den Mond dort stehen? Er ist nur halb zu sehen, Und ist doch rund und schön! So sind wohl manche Sachen, Die wir getrost belachen, Weil unsre Augen sie nicht sehn.

Do you see there stands the moon?- It is but half in view, And yet is round and beautiful! So too are many things We lightly laugh to scorn, Because our eyes fail to see.

I remember moments in which the enlargement of my horizon of thought and of faith became strongly sensible to me, in the quiet of my reading, in my own room. A certain essay in the "Wandsbecker Bote" of Matthias Claudius ends thus: "And is he not also the God of the Japanese?" Foolish as it may appear, it had never struck me before that the God whom I had been taught to worship was the God of any peoples outside the limits of Judaism and Christendom. The suggestion shocked me at first, but, later on, gave me much satisfaction. Another such moment I recall when, having carefully read "Paradise Lost" to the very end, I saw presented before me the picture of an eternal evil, of Satan and his ministers subjugated indeed by God, but not conquered, and able to maintain against Him an opposition as eternal as his goodness. This appeared to me impossible, and I threw away, once and forever, the thought of the terrible hell which till then had always formed part of my belief. In its place, I cherished the persuasion that the victory of goodness must consist in making everything good, and that Satan himself could have no shield strong enough to resist permanently the divine power of the divine spirit. This was a great emancipation for me, and I soon welcomed with joy every evidence in literature which tended to show that religion has never been confined to the experience of a particular race or nation, but has shown itself at all times, and under every variety of form, as a seeking for the divine and a reverence for the things unseen. So much for study!