Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Aug. 28, 1749 - Mar. 22, 1832

 

The Teachers

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

What time Diogenes, unmoved and still,
Lay in his tub, and bask'd him in the sun --
What time Calanus clomb, with lightsome step
And smiling cheek, up to his fiery tomb --
What rare examples there for Philip's son
To curb his overmastering lust of sway,
But that the Lord of the majestic world
Was all too great for lessons even like these!

M.

Source:

Poems And Ballads Of Goethe
Copyright 1859
Translator:
William Edmondstoune Aytoun, D.C.L. ("A.")
and Theodore Martin ("M.")
Delisser & Procter
508 Broadway, New York