Post photo: Enjoying coffee | © Pixabay
Today's reading of budget speeches by the Heilbronn municipal council factions inevitably makes me think of a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe think, which purely coincidentally is also a topic in an eighth grade class.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The old warlock did
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1798
Go away for once!
And now his spirits should
Also live according to my will.
His words and works
I notice and the custom,
And with strength of mind
I do miracles too.
Walle! walle
Some routes,
That, for the purpose,
Water flows
And with a rich, full gush
To the bath pour out.
And now come, you old broom!
Take the bad rags;
You have been a servant for a long time:
Now fulfill my will!
stand on two legs,
Above be a head,
Hurry now and go
With the water pot!
Walle! walle
Some routes,
That, for the purpose,
Water flows
And with a rich, full gush
To the bath pour out.
Behold, he runs down to the shore,
Verily! is already at the river,
And again in a flash
Is he here with a quick pour.
For the second time already!
How the pool swells!
Like each bowl
Fully filled with water!
Stand! stand!
Because we have
of your gifts
Fully measured! —
Oh, I notice it! Woe! woe!
I forgot the word!
Oh, the word what at the end
He becomes what he has been.
Oh, he runs and delivers nimbly!
If only you were the old broom!
Always new castings
He brings in quickly,
Oh! and a hundred rivers
Pounce on me.
No, not any longer
I can leave it alone;
Wants to catch him.
This is treachery!
Oh! Now I'm getting more and more worried!
What an expression! what looks!
Oh, you spawn of hell!
Should the whole house drown?
I see over every threshold
But streams of water are already running.
A wicked broom,
Who doesn't want to hear!
stick that you have been,
Stand still again!
Want it at the end
Don't leave it at all?
wants to grab you,
Wants to hold you
And the old wood nimble
Split with the sharp hatchet.
Look, here he comes slowly again!
How I just throw myself at you,
Soon, O goblin, you will lie down;
The smooth sharpness hits with a crash.
Verily! well met!
Behold, he is in two!
And now I can hope
And I breathe freely!
Woe! woe!
Both parts
Stand in a hurry
Already as servants
Completely ready to go!
Help me, oh! you high powers!
And they run! Wet and wetter.
It happens in the hall and on the steps.
What terrible waters!
Lord and master! hear me call! —
Oh, here comes the master!
Lord, the need is great!
Those I called, the spirits
I won't get rid of it now.
"In the corner,
Broom! Broom!
Been there.
Because as ghosts
Call each other only for this purpose,
First come forward, the old master.”
At the beginning of July 1797, Goethe wrote this ballad, which is still one of his most popular works today and is probably better for most people than a cartoon called “Fantasia”. Walt Disney Studios from 1940 is known.
As fitting as it is apt. The land of poets and thinkers offers a rich treasure trove.