Bodleian quatrain nr. 145
Bodenstedt 1881 - V.32
O Seele, kannst Du den Leiden des Körpers entschweben,
So wirst Du den Flug zum Himmel erheben,
Wirst in den Höhen des Lichtes thronen
Nach der Schmach, in der Welt des Staubes zu wohnen.
Cowell 1858 - 7
Oh heart, wert thou pure from the body's dust,
Thou shouldst soar naked spirit above the sky;
Highest heaven is thy native seat, - for shame, for shame,
That thou shouldst stoop to dwell in a city of clay!
Garner 1898 - 147
Would that my soul might leave its earthen home,
And wing its flight through heaven's mighty dome!
What shame, what shame to feel itself confined
Within a tenement of basest loam!
Grolleau 1902 - 145
Ô âme, si tu peux te nettoyer de la poussière de ton corps,
Esprit nu, tu planeras dans le ciel.
L'empyrée sera ton séjour, mais que ce soit ta honte
Si tu y viens étant encore un habitant de la terre.
Heron-Allen 1898 - 145
O soul! if thou canst purify thyself from the dust of the body,
thou, naked spirit, canst soar in the heavens,
the Empyrean is thy sphere,—let it be thy shame,
that thou comest and art a dweller within the confines of earth.
De Marthold 1910 - 145
Si l'âme nettoyait la poussière du corps,
Esprit nu, dans le ciel tu planerais alors;
Ce serait ton séjour mais, venant de la terre,
Tu garderais en toi la honte et le remords.
McCarthy 1889 - 459
HEART, MY HEART, IF YOU FREE
YOURSELF FROM EARTHLY CARES, YOU
WILL BECOME PURE SOUL AND SCALE
THE SKIES. THEN WHAT A SHAME
AND SORROW TO HAVE DWELT ON
EARTH!
Nicolas 1867 - 394
Ô mon coeur! si tu t'affranchis des chagrins inhérents à la matière, tu deviendras une âme dans toute sa pureté; tu monteras aux cieux, ta résidence sera Ie firmament. Oh! que tu dois souffrir de honte d'être venu habiter la terre!
Payne 1898 - 759
O heart, if clean from the body's lust thou be,
A spirit in Heaven, unbodied, must thou be;
The empyrean's thy country and shame on thee
That the native become of this realm of dust thou be!
Von der Porten 1927 - 145
Wirst du, o Seele, dich vom Staub des Leibs befrein,
Kannst du als reiner Geist in Himmelshöhen sein,
Am Throne Gottes kannst du weilen: Schande dir,
Gehst du mit deinem Leib zum Staub der Erde ein.
Roe 1906 - 140
This spirit, freed from mortal bonds, could soar
Back through the realms of space to Heaven's door;
Its proper home lies o'er the azure sky,
And shame it was to touch this earthly shore.
Von Schack 1878 - 10
O mein Herz! wenn von des schweren Leibes Last du dich befreist,
Dich empor zum Himmel schwingen wirst du, ein verklärter Geist;
Dann nur mit Beschämung droben, von des Lebens Leid genesen,
Denkst du, daß du ein Bewohner dieser Erde je gewesen.
Talbot 1908 - 145
O Soul! if thou this dust aside canst fling,
And soar through space upon unfetter'd wing,
Infinity thy sphere - count it thy shame
That to this earth contented thou dost cling.
Thompson 1906 - 546
O, Soul ! if from the body's dust set free
You soar a sprite in Heaven's infinity,
Which is your mansion, shame upon you, then,
That you come dwelHng on this earth to be.
Tirtha 1941 - VII.149
Shake off, O heart! this mildew with a sweep,
And soar above the stars in single leap;
You hail from Highest High, and what a shame
You long to dwell upon this filthy heap!
Whinfield 1883 - 436
O soul! could you but doff this flesh and bone,
You'd soar a sprite about the heavenly throne;
Had you no shame to leave your starry home,
And dwell an alien on this earthly zone?
- GRAVES 1968 - 47
- HERON-ALLEN 1899 - 44
- SAIDI 1991 - 148
- WHINFIELD 1882 - 218