The Gay Science
Original German
(„la gaya scienza“).
Die „Morgenröthe“ ist ein jasagendes Buch, tief, aber hell und gütig. Dasselbe gilt noch einmal und im höchsten Grade von der gaya scienza: fast in jedem Satz derselben halten sich Tiefsinn und Muthwillen zärtlich an der Hand. Ein Vers, welcher die Dankbarkeit für den wunderbarsten Monat Januar ausdrückt, den ich erlebt habe – das ganze Buch ist sein Geschenk – verräth zur Genüge, aus welcher Tiefe heraus hier die „Wissenschaft“ fröhlich geworden ist:
Der du mit dem FlammenspeereMeiner Seele Eis zertheilt,Daß sie brausend nun zum MeereIhrer höchsten Hoffnung eilt:Heller stets und stets gesunder,Frei im liebevollsten Muß –Also preist sie deine Wunder,Schönster Januarius! –
Was hier „höchste Hoffnung“ heißt, wer kann darüber im Zweifel sein, der als Schluß des vierten Buchs die diamantene Schönheit der ersten Worte des Zarathustra aufglänzen sieht? – Oder der die granitnen Sätze am Ende des dritten Buchs liest, mit denen sich ein Schicksal für alle Zeiten zum ersten Male in Formeln faßt? Die Lieder des Prinzen Vogelfrei, zum besten Theil in Sicilien gedichtet, erinnern ganz ausdrücklich an den provençalischen Begriff der „gaya scienza“, an jene Einheit von Sänger, Ritter und Freigeist, mit der sich jene wunderbare Frühcultur der Provençalen gegen alle zweideutigen Culturen abhebt; das allerletzte Gedicht zumal, „an den Mistral“, ein ausgelassenes Tanzlied, in dem, mit Verlaub! über die Moral hinweggetanzt wird, ist ein vollkommner Provençalismus. –
Musean translation
A complete machine-assisted Musean translation directly from the German of the 1908 Insel edition, including its concluding poem. This early edition's readings and omissions are retained, not replaced with later critical restorations.
(“la gaya scienza”).
“Dawn” is a Yes-saying book, deep but bright and kind. The same holds again, and in the highest degree, for the gaya scienza: in almost every sentence, profundity and impishness tenderly hold hands. A poem expressing gratitude for the most wonderful January I have ever lived through—the whole book is its gift—betrays clearly enough the depths out of which “science” here became joyful:
You who with your spear of flameSplit the ice within my soul,So now, roaring, to the seaOf its highest hope it speeds:Ever brighter, ever healthier,Free in the most loving compulsion—So it praises your wonders,Januarius, loveliest of all!—
What “highest hope” means here—who could doubt it after seeing the diamond beauty of Zarathustra’s first words flash out at the close of the fourth book?—Or after reading the granite sentences at the end of the third book, in which a destiny for all time first formulates itself? The Songs of Prince Outlaw, written for the most part in Sicily, recall quite explicitly the Provençal conception of the “gaya scienza,” that unity of singer, knight, and free spirit by which the wondrous early culture of the Provençals stands apart from all equivocal cultures; the very last poem in particular, “To the Mistral,” an exuberant dance song in which, if you please, one dances right over morality, is pure Provençalism.—
Plain English translation
A complete machine-assisted Plain English translation made independently and directly from the same German edition, including its concluding poem. This is the 1908 text, not a modern critical edition.
(“la gaya scienza”).
“Dawn” is a yes-saying book, deep but bright and kind. The same is true again, and to the highest degree, of gaya scienza: in almost every sentence, depth of thought and mischief tenderly hold hands. A poem expresses my gratitude for the most wonderful January I have ever experienced—the whole book is its gift. It reveals well enough the depths from which “science” here became joyful:
You whose spear of flameSplits the ice within my soul,So now it rushes roaring to the seaOf its highest hope:Ever brighter, ever healthier,Free in the most loving necessity—So it praises your wonders,Most beautiful Januarius!—
Who could doubt what “highest hope” means here after seeing the diamond beauty of Zarathustra’s first words flash out at the end of the fourth book?—Or after reading the granite sentences at the end of the third book, where for the first time a destiny takes shape in formulas for all time? The Songs of Prince Free-as-a-Bird, mostly written in Sicily, quite explicitly recall the Provençal idea of the “gaya scienza”: that unity of singer, knight, and free spirit that sets the Provençals’ wonderful early culture apart from all ambiguous cultures. The very last poem in particular, “To the Mistral,” an exuberant dance song in which, if you please, the dance goes right over morality, is perfectly Provençal.—
About this section
The Gay Science is part of Ecce Homo by Friedrich Nietzsche. This page sets the German original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 10 of 17 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
Open the work page for the full contents, every edition, and the download links, or go back to Explore to browse other complete works in the European tradition. The reader keeps your place when you are signed in and lets you compare the original with each translation, one edition at a time.