Chapter 3

He was fond of wine (S. 3, N. 2) and drank daily his two or three bottles. Lest this statement should convey a false impression, I hasten to recall to the reader’s recollection the very different habits of our fathers in respect to drinking. It was no unusual thing to be called “a three-bottle-man” in those days in England, when the three bottles were of port or Burgundy; and Goethe, a Rhinelander, accustomed from boyhood to wine, drank a wine which his English contemporaries would have called water. The amount he drank never did more than exhilarate him, and never made him unfit for work or for society. Over his wine, then, he sat some hours; no such thing as dessert was seen upon his table in those days; not even the customary coffee after dinner. His mode of living was extremely simple; and even when persons of very moderate circumstances burned wax, two poor tallow candles were all that could be seen in his rooms. In the evening he often went to the theatre, and there his customary glass of punch was brought (S. 4, N. 4, +man+) at six o’clock (App. § 9). If (S. 27, N. 7) not at the theatre, he received friends at home. Between eight and nine a frugal supper was laid, but he never took anything except a little salad or preserves. By ten o’clock he was usually in bed.—G. H. LEWES, “LIFE OF GOETHE.”

Lest — impression = In order that (+Damit+) this observation may (Present Subj. of +mögen+; read App. §§ 33 and 34) not make a false impression.—For the position of the verbs see App. § 18.

to — drinking = to remind the reader of (+an+) the very different (+ganz andern+) habits of our fathers in respect of drinking.—To transl. ‘drinking’ form a noun of the infinitive of the verb ‘to drink’, and use it with the def. art., according to S. 3, N. 2, and S. 11, N. 7.

no — thing, +nichts Ungewöhnliches+; in those days, +damals+, which place with ‘in England’ after ‘was’.

‘when’, here +wo+. Notice that: =The relative conjunction ‘+wo+’ is often used in reference to time as a translation of ‘when’ in the sense of ‘at= (=in= or =during=) =which time’=; as—+Es geschah zu einer Zeit, ~wo~+ (+zu+ or +in welcher+) +Sie abwesend waren+, it happened at a time when you were absent. =It is also used relatively, in reference to place, instead of a relative pronoun preceded by a preposition=; as—+Kennst du das Land, ~wo~ (in welchem) die Zitronen blühen?+ (Goethe) Know you the land where (in which) the citrons bloom? +Dies ist das Haus, wo (in dem) er wohnt+, this is the house where (in which) he lives.

a — wine, +als Rheinländer von Jugend auf an Wein gewöhnt+.

The — him = What he drank had never any (= an) other effect than (+als+) to exhilarate him; to exhilarate, +angenehm an´regen+.

So he sat for hours (+stundenlang+) over his (+beim+) wine.

+Lebensweise+, f.

+Leute+; of = in.

wax = wax candles.

two — rooms = one saw in his rooms only two poor (+dürftig+) tallow candles.

+dahin+.

+bei sich zu Hause+.

to lay a frugal supper, +ein einfaches Abendessen auftragen+; to lay the table (the cloth), +den Tisch decken+.

Say ‘but he (himself) took (+essen+ or +genießen+, S. 3, N. 8.) only a little salad or preserves’.

+Um+.

Section 132.

THE PROGRESS IN THE ART OF PRINTING.

(Conclusion of a speech delivered at the Caxton Celebration, June 30, 1877, in London.)

I now call attention, in a few words, to the progress of this art. I hold up a volume in my (S. 43, N. 9) hand, to which I beg everyone to direct his eye, because I think it may be called the climax and consummation of this art. This volume is bound, as you see, and stamped with the arms of the University of Oxford. It is a Bible bound in a manner that commends itself to the reader—I believe in every sense an excellent piece of workmanship, containing more than one thousand pages. Well, you will say: “That is very commonplace, why bring it before us?” I do so in order to tell you that this book sixteen hours ago did not exist—it was not bound, it was not folded, it was not printed. Since the clock struck twelve last night at the University Press in Oxford, the people (+man+) there have printed and sent us this book. They (+man+) have sent several copies to be distributed here in the midst of your festival. That shows what can be done, and that is what has been done, and it shows the state to which this great art is now happily arrived. If I began with a humiliating confession as to the small share we could claim in contributing to the early history of printing, we may leave off, ladies and gentlemen, in a better spirit, because I think that such a performance as this is one that will be admitted to be a credit in any portion of the world. Now I will trouble you no longer, but (S. 6, N. 10) will ask you to drink with me to the memory of this most distinguished name: “To the memory of William Caxton, the (S. 53, N. 9) first English printer, and a native of this our beloved country.”—THE RIGHT HON. W. E. GLADSTONE.

+Die Fortschritte in der Buchdruckerkunst.+ =The noun ‘progress’ is generally rendered by the corresponding plural form in German.=

+Schluß einer am 30. Juni 1877 bei Gelegenheit der Caxtonfeier in London gehaltenen Rede. ~William Caxton~, der erste Buchdrucker Englands, wurde im Jahre 1412 zu Weald m Kent geboren, wohnte aber später als Bürger und Kaufmann in London, woselbst er auch im Jahre 1492 starb.+

to call a person’s attention to a thing, +einen auf etwas aufmerksam machen+. Begin with the adv. ‘now’, and supply the personal object ‘+Sie+’.

in a = with; of = in.

= which I beg you all to look at (+betrachten+, v. tr.).

it — art = we may (+dürfen+) consider (+an´sehen+) it the climax and consummation (+als die höchste Stufe der Vollendung+) of (= in) this art.

Say ‘As you see, this volume (here +Einband+) is stamped with the arms’, etc.

bound — reader = the binding of which must commend (App. § 18) itself at once (+sich von selbst+) to the reader.

Here insert ‘it is’; sense = respect, +Beziehung+, f.; piece of workmanship = ‘work of art’, which render by forming a comp. n. according to S. 36, N. 7, A.

=’One’ or ‘a’ before ‘hundred’ and ‘thousand’ is, as a rule, not translated in German.=

Say ‘But (which place after the copula ‘will’) you will perhaps say’.

+etwas ganz Gewöhnliches, wozu es uns noch zeigen?+

=The English ‘so’ in connection with a transitive verb is generally to be rendered by ‘+es+’. If we want to emphasize the object, however, we use either of the demonstrative pronouns ‘+das+’ or ‘+dies+’, and place it at the head of the clause=; as—Do you think so? +Glauben Sie ~es~?+ No, I do not, +Nein, ~das~ glaube ich nicht+.

+sagen+ or +mit´teilen+.

Say ‘it was neither bound, nor ... nor ...’

Render ‘at the’ by the gen. of the def. art.; and place the clause ‘at — Oxford’ after ‘clock’. Last night, +vergangene Nacht+.

‘=Copy=’ in the signification of ‘specimen’ is rendered by +=Exemplar=+, n.; pl. +e+ (= +e+); +=Kopie=+, f., is the written copy of any book, document or MS.

Say ‘in order to distribute them here during this festival’.

and — arrived = and it shows the high degree (+Stufe+, f.) of (+der+) perfection which this great art has reached now-a-days (+heutzutage+) (App. § 17).

If — printing = If I began with the humiliating confession that we in respect to (+auf+) our contribution to the (+zur+) early (+früheren+) history of the art of printing can claim (+beanspruchen dürfen+, which comes last) only a small (+gering+) share.

may = can; leave off = conclude; spirit = mood, +Stimmung+, f.; performance, +Leistung+, f.

is — world, +überall in der Welt mit Ehren anerkannt werden wird+.

‘=To ask=’ in the signification of ‘asking a question’ is rendered by +=fragen=+ or +=eine Frage stellen=+, but in that of ‘=to request=’ by +=bitten=+.

to — name = to empty your glasses with me to the (+zum+) memory (+Andenken+) of (+an+) this most (+höchst+) distinguished name; (‘your glasses to empty’ must be placed at the end.)

+Zum Gedächtnis.+

Use the Anglo-Saxon genitive here.

native = son.

country = fatherland.

Section 133.

ROBERT DICK, THE BAKER, GEOLOGIST, AND BOTANIST.

Not long ago, Sir Roderick Murchinson discovered at Thurso, in the far north of Scotland, a profound geologist, in the person of a baker there, named Robert Dick. When (S. 4, N. 2) Sir Roderick called upon him at the bakehouse in which (S. 131, N. 4) he baked and earned his bread, Robert Dick delineated to him by means of flour upon a board, the geographical features and geological phenomena of his native country, pointing out its imperfections in the existing maps, which he had ascertained by travelling over the country in his leisure hours. On further inquiry, Sir Roderick ascertained that the humble individual before him was not only a capital baker and geologist, but also a first-rate botanist. “I found,” said the Director-General of the Geographical Society, “to my great humiliation, that this baker knew infinitely more of (S. 40, N. 9) botanical science, ay, ten times more, than I did; and that there were (S. 82, N. 7) only some twenty or thirty specimens of flowers which he had not collected. Some he had obtained as presents, some (= others) he had purchased, but the greater portion had been accumulated by his industry, in his native county of Caithness; and the specimens were all arranged in the most beautiful order, with their scientific names affixed.”—S. SMILES, “SELF-HELP.”

+gründlich.+

+dortig+, which use attributively before the noun ‘baker’; named, +namens+.

+in+.

+entwerfen+, insep. comp. str. v.

+mittels eines mit Mehl bestreuten Brettes.+

+Umrisse.+

Say ‘whereby he pointed out the imperfections’. To point out a thing, +auf etwas verweisen+, insep. comp. str. v.

Use the gen. of the def. art.

which — hours = of which (+wovon+) he had convinced himself on (+auf+) his travels through the country in his leisure hours (+Mußestunden+).

+Nach weiterer Prüfung.+

ascertained = learnt, +erfuhr+, from +erfahren+.

humble = modest; individual = man.

first-rate = considerable, +bedeutend+.

Here follow the words ‘of — science’ after which transl. the adv. ‘infinitely’, which is followed by ‘ay (+ja+) ten times more’ and the verb ‘knew’.

specimens of flowers, +Blumenarten+.

To obtain a thing as present, +etwas geschenkt erhalten+.

accumulated = collected. Where, and in what order, must the verbs be placed? Which voice must you use?—native, +heimisch+.

+Exemplar+, n.; pl. +e+.

+zusam´menstellen+, sep. comp. w. v.

and the scientific names everywhere (+überall+) affixed (+hinzu´fügen+), sep. comp. w. v.

Section 134.

THE GOSPEL OF WORK.