LT → German, French → Rainer Maria Rilke → Daraus, daß Einer dich einmal gewollt hat... → English

Rainer Maria Rilke - Daraus, daß Einer dich einmal gewollt hat... (English translation)

German

Daraus, daß Einer dich einmal gewollt hat...

 
Daraus, daß Einer dich einmal gewollt hat,
Weiß ich, daß wir dich wollen dürfen.
Wenn wir auch alle Tiefen verwürfen:
Wenn ein Gebirge Gold hat
Und keiner mehr es ergraben mag,
Trägt es einmal der Fluß zutag,
Der in die Stille der Steine greift,
Der vollen.
 
Auch wenn wir nicht wollen:
Gott reift.
 
Submitted by tanyas2882 on Sat, 27/12/2014 - 18:09
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English translation

Because One once willed you...

Versions: #1#2
Because One once willed you,
I know that we, too, are allowed to want you.
Even when we reject every deepness:
When a mountain holds gold,
And no one wants to dig it out anymore,
It's brought to light in the end by the river
That reaches into the stones' stillness,
The full-laden.
 
Even if we don't want:
God ripens.
 
Submitted by fulicasenia on Thu, 17/03/2016 - 05:58
Last edited by fulicasenia on Fri, 18/03/2016 - 09:05
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More translations of "Daraus, daß Einer ..."
Englishfulicasenia
5
English sandring
Russian tanyas2882
Russian sandring
Turkish celalkabadayi
Rainer Maria Rilke: Top 3
1.Herbsttag
2.Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen
3.Die Welt die monden ist (Vergiss, vergiss)
Idioms from "Daraus, daß Einer ..."
1.dig it?
See also
German → English:  All Translations
Comments
sandring    Thu, 17/03/2016 - 06:42

I'd translate the second line something like this: "I know we might as well want you" Regular smile And I'm not sure about that "willed you" thing. Looks a bit quaint to me Regular smile

fulicasenia    Thu, 17/03/2016 - 07:21

Thanks for your suggestions Regular smile

Since it's by Rilke I'd just as soon let it sound a bit quaint. "Gott hat es gewollt": "God willed it" or "God wanted it?"

I can see how you might get "might as well" from "dürfen auch," but to me it sounds too much like "heck, we might as well." I didn't just use "we may want" because it could also be interpreted as "it's possible that we want."

sandring    Thu, 17/03/2016 - 07:51

But dürfen and may have one common meaning - permission. And there's a contrast of past and present. I get the meaning as "If somebody wanted you in the past why can't we do it at present or in future?" There's possibility and permission in one. Do you think it's possible to say "We may as well want you" to skip that colloquial reference. And "God willed it" sounds right to me but "God willed you" looks like God gave you the will to do something. I'm not very good at German but I like your translation otherwise I would have never butted in. Good luck Regular smile

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