Ode to Joy by Friedrich Schiller (translation)
Ode to Joy
by Friedrich Schiller
translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Joy, bright spark of divinity,
Daughter of Elysium,
lit by the fire You inspire,
we enter Your immaculate home!
Here we’re bound by strong enchantments;
nevermore may custom divide;
every man becomes a brother
where Your gentle wings abide.
Whoever has achieved the prize
of abiding friendship, warm and free,
whoever has a loving wife,
join us in this Jubilee!
All who have at least one friend,
join us in our song of praise!
But he who never helped a friend
must leave in tears this song we raise.
Every creature drinks of joy
flowing from kind nature's breasts;
just and unjust, each requires,
all alike, to taste her gifts.
Earth bestows vines’ wine and kisses,
and when we face a friend’s sad end,
though the worms must have their feast,
still the gentle Cherubs attend.
Joy commands the tensioned mainspring
of the clockwork universe;
Joy, oh Joy!, the wheel revolves
through the arcs our lives rehearse.
She coaxes buds from newborn flowers,
suns from distances supreme,
she rotates spheres through vast expanses
the human eye cannot discern.
True friends stay true unto the end
and even the worm must do its duty;
as the Cherub stands before God,
the heavens revolve in glorious beauty.
Then gladly, like those heavenly spheres
which He placed in the firmament,
brothers, you must run your race
like a hero bent on conquest.
From the Truth’s emblazoned mirror,
the searcher sees Her reflected smile,
and for all those who are girded in honor,
She continues to the last mile.
High on Faith's tall, sunlit mountains
Oh, see how fair Her banner flies!
Through the breach of opened coffins,
see how the Angels’ choirs rise!
Gods can never be requited,
suffice it, in their image, to be.
Grief has never won a battle,
so persevere with gaiety.
Hate and vengeance die forgotten,
but Love can woo a mortal foe;
though tender teardrops cannot touch him,
kindnesses may bring him low.
Rescue from the tyrant's fetters,
mercy to the villain mean,
hope for all in their dying hours,
pardon at the guillotine!
All the dead shall live in heaven!
Brothers, drink and all agree:
every sin shall be forgiven
and hell forever cease to be.
Amen!
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