by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
LEOPOLD, DUKE OF BRUNSWICK.
[Written on the occasion of the death, by drowning,
of the Prince.]
THOU wert forcibly seized by the hoary lord of the river,--
Holding thee, ever he shares with thee his streaming domain,
Calmly sleepest thou near his urn as it silently trickles,
Till thou to action art roused, waked by the swift-rolling flood.
Kindly be to the people, as when thou still wert a mortal,
Perfecting that as a god, which thou didst fail in, as man.
1785.
Last updated May 02, 2015