The peacock and the buffalo : the poetry of Nietzsche

389 Pages·2010·0.679 MB·English

by  Luchte, James

The Peacock
and the Buffalo
For Tamara
The Peacock
and the Buffalo
The Poetry of Nietzsche
Translated by James Luchte
Continuum International Publishing Group
The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane
11 York Road Suite 704
London SE17NX New York, NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
© James Luchte, 2010
Originally published as Nietzsche: Gedichte, Reclam, Stuttgart, 1986
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permis-
sion in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: HB: 978-1-4411-1860-8
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Typeset by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire
Printed and bound in Great Britain by The MPG Books Group
contents
acknowledgements 21
translator’s note 22
preface to the fi rst edition 24
preface to the second edition 34
Poems of Youth (1858–1868)
A mirror is life 45
Birthday 45
I stand naked on a cliff 47
Oh, sweet forest peace 47
What lives, must pass 51
Gentle evening bells 51
Homecoming 53
You, birds in the sky 55
Tell me, dear friend 57
Saaleck 59
Without a home 61
The sweet dreams fl ee 63
Man is not God’s worthy image 67
Lonely, through the dark blue 69
Let me join you 71
Now and formerly 73
Remembrance 79
Once more, before I go 81
5
contents
Lyrics(1869–1888)
To Melancholy 87
After a nightly thunderstorm 91
On the glacier 93
Autumn 97
Loneliness 101
The wanderer 103
To friendship 105
Campo santo di Staglieno 107
The little brig, called ‘The Little Angel’ 107
A girl’s melody 111
‘Pia, caritatevole, amorosissima’ 115
On high mountains 115
Oh man, take care! 123
To Hafi s 125
Music of the South 125
I stand on a bridge 127
Three broken pieces 129
Sayings(1869–1888)
Undaunted, I stood in Basel 133
Amongst friends 133
Pine and lightning 137
Tree in autumn 137
Amongst enemies 139
‘The wanderer and his shadow’ 139
‘Human, all too human’ 141
He who once promised much 143
6
contents
An example of ‘joyful wisdom’ 143
‘The joyful wisdom’ 145
Attention: Poison! 145
Wisdom regarding the right company 145
From the barrel of Diogenes 147
The rules of life 147
Desperate 147
The word 149
The hermit speaks 151
All eternal brooks 153
Resolution 153
The rascal 153
The seven wives’ speeches 155
The New Testament 155
Once, I believe, in the year of the holy one 157
The spectacle of the dressing gown 157
For Spinoza 157
For Darwin’s disciples 159
Hail to you, brave cart pushers 159
Arthur Schopenhauer 159
To Richard Wagner 161
Wagner, the apostle of chastity 161
‘Wit, Tricks and Revenge’ (1882)
Invitation 167
My happiness 167
Undaunted 167
Dialogue 169
For the virtuous 169
7
contents
Worldly cleverness 169
Vademecum-Vadetecum 169
Near the third skin 171
My roses 171
The contemptible 173
The word speaker speaks 173
For a bright friend 173
For the dancers 173
The brave one 175
Rust 175
Upwards 175
The speech of the powerful 175
Narrow souls 175
The unwilling seducer 177
Consideration 177
Against arrogance 177
Man and woman 177
Interpretation 179
Pessimistic medical advice 179
Request 181
My cruelty 181
The wanderer 181
Consolation for beginners 183
Egoism of stars 183
The next one 183
Disguised holiness 185
The involuntary 185
The lonely one 187
Seneca et hoc genus omne 187
8
contents
Ice 187
Youthful writing 189
Caution 189
The pious one speaks 189
In the summer 191
Without envy 191
Heraklitismus 193
Ground rules for snobs 193
Encouragement 193
The founder 195
Forever 195
Verdict of the weary 195
Decline 195
Against the law 197
The wise one speaks 197
To lose one’s head 197
Best wishes 199
To write with one’s feet 199
Human, all too human: a book 199
For my readers 201
The realistic painter 201
The poet’s vanity 201
Chosen enjoyment 203
The crooked nose 203
The pen scribbles 203
Higher men 205
The skeptic speaks 205
Ecce homo 207
Morality of stars 207
9