Welt-Klugheit/Worldly Wisdom

Welt-Klugheit

Bleib nicht auf ebnem Feld!

Steig nicht zu hoch hinaus!

Am schönsten sieht die Welt

Von halber Höhe aus.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

The speaker is stating a lesson, about viewpoint of seeing the world. It is one of those typical ideas of seeing the world at different angles/viewpoints/lenses, whatever pleonasm one decides to use when giving such advice. It is all the same. Our species knows what to do, but we never seem to follow through as a whole. Some try, some succeed, some suffer, some die. For what? This poem speaks so much to me. Even with the pleonastic sayings. It is telling me to live. Do my own thing, do what makes me happy. Do not be a slave to time or society. See the present for yourself, do not get wrapped up in the future or future endeavors. Be wrapped up in what you see now. Nothing more, nothing less. LIVE!

Worldly Wisdom

Do not stay in the field!

Nor climb out of sight

The best view of the world

Is from medium height.

-Friedrich Nietzsche translated by Walter Kaufmann

I fear that staying in the field is like that of the "Field of Dreams" or the "Elysian Fields" in Greek mythology. It is the spot were everything is always good and grand and no harm can come of it. The field is suppose to be perfect. Happiness but one can still get cut but a piece of grass or bitten by a snake. When that tends to happen people look for a tree to climb up or a mountain to escape the wrong doing. None of this should be an option. The medium height is from your own eyes. View it. Live it. Love it.

An die Tugendsamen/To the Virtuous

An die Tugendsamen

Unseren Tugenden auch soll'n leicht die Füsse sich heben,

Gleich den Versen Homers müssen sie kommen

                                                  und gehn!

–Friedrich Nietzsche

The speaker in this poem seems to be questioning the rules of good writing. Stating that writings should just come and go, like that of the verse of Homer. It could be forgettable and unforgettable all at once. That words come and go to us. You will never have the perfect word choice and when you do then it is graved in. Some of these verses will have panache, some won't. I think the key factor that I am walking away from with this is to just continue writing, challenging and living because in the end it will all come and go.

To the Virtuous

Why should our virtues be grave? We like ours

nimble-footed:      

Even like Homer's verse, they have to come and go!

–Friedrich Nietzsche translated by Walter Kaufmann

I would first like to explain why "and go" is italicized. I copied the text from how Kaufmann translated those words. The font had it italicized. Kaufmann also had a foot note to go along with the "and go!". Kaufmann used an example stating "our virtues should occasionally leave us in peace". 

I feel that I understand more of the poets voice in this english translation. I feel that the speaker is stating that nothing can truly be so virtuous that it is graved into stone. That there should always be room to grown and change, like that of a nimbled-foot, it may change slightly but goes by unnoticed. The speaker used Homer as an example because the way language has evolved throughout the centuries of the teachings of Homer. We presently may think we have deciphered Homer to accuracy but there will be changes.

It is slightly what I am doing overall in this blog. I am trying to understand Nietzsche from the few years of studying the German language I have. Although I tend to understand him easier with the Kaufmann translation. I still lose a little bit of what Nietzsche is saying with the the translation. It has "come and go". 

Zwiegespräch/Dialogue

Zwiegespräch

A. War ich krank? Bin ich genesen?

Und wer ist mein Arzt gewesen?

Wie vergass ich alles das!

B. Jetzt erst glaub' ich dich genesen:

Denn gesund ist, wer vergass.

–Friedrich Nietzsche 

I am going to discuss this prose in a completely different manner than what I have with the other poems that thus far. I am aplomb that poetry is not only historic and not only from the speakers mindset.  understand this German to the fullest. Zwiegespräch translate into conversation. There is person A and person B in this poem. Normally I would reflect upon the time this poem was written but at this moment I am not going to do that. This poem to me is full of emotion.

I want to the paint the picture without translating word for word and then I will post Kaufmann's translation with no further analysis. This post none will be needed. 

I invision two people sitting in an empty living room or kitchen nook. They have both of a cup of coffee in a generic white coffee cup. My vision is a black and white image. One person is elderly and looks like they have lived a lot of life. The other is youthful, still full of life. The elder is the parent to this child. The resemblance is significant. Both the child and the parent seem wearisome. Then sitting on the table is the generic manilla folder, it is a file folder that has doctor visit bills and prescriptions and diagnostics. 

The elderly parent is looking through the folder. They don't seem to understand what is going on. This person as alzheimer disease. Today is a good day in this battle. In this dialogue the parent is asking questions. Then they start to forget again and they slip back into the state of forgetfulness.

This forgetfulness shows that they will never have to face the eternal recurrence because they will never be punished to remember.

Dialogue

A. Was I ill? Have I got well?

Who was my doctor? Can you tell?

Oh, my memory is rotten!

B. Only now you're truly well.

Those are well who have forgotten.

-Friedrich Nietzsche translated by Walter Kaufmann