The Peacock and the Buffalo For Tamara The Peacock and the Buffalo The Poetry of Nietzsche Translated by James Luchte Continuum International Publishing Group The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane 11 York Road Suite 704 London SE17NX New York, NY 10038 www.continuumbooks.com © James Luchte, 2010 Originally published as Nietzsche: Gedichte, Reclam, Stuttgart, 1986 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permis- sion in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: HB: 978-1-4411-1860-8 Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Typeset by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire Printed and bound in Great Britain by The MPG Books Group contents acknowledgements 21 translator’s note 22 preface to the fi rst edition 24 preface to the second edition 34 Poems of Youth (1858–1868) A mirror is life 45 Birthday 45 I stand naked on a cliff 47 Oh, sweet forest peace 47 What lives, must pass 51 Gentle evening bells 51 Homecoming 53 You, birds in the sky 55 Tell me, dear friend 57 Saaleck 59 Without a home 61 The sweet dreams fl ee 63 Man is not God’s worthy image 67 Lonely, through the dark blue 69 Let me join you 71 Now and formerly 73 Remembrance 79 Once more, before I go 81 5 contents Lyrics(1869–1888) To Melancholy 87 After a nightly thunderstorm 91 On the glacier 93 Autumn 97 Loneliness 101 The wanderer 103 To friendship 105 Campo santo di Staglieno 107 The little brig, called ‘The Little Angel’ 107 A girl’s melody 111 ‘Pia, caritatevole, amorosissima’ 115 On high mountains 115 Oh man, take care! 123 To Hafi s 125 Music of the South 125 I stand on a bridge 127 Three broken pieces 129 Sayings(1869–1888) Undaunted, I stood in Basel 133 Amongst friends 133 Pine and lightning 137 Tree in autumn 137 Amongst enemies 139 ‘The wanderer and his shadow’ 139 ‘Human, all too human’ 141 He who once promised much 143 6 contents An example of ‘joyful wisdom’ 143 ‘The joyful wisdom’ 145 Attention: Poison! 145 Wisdom regarding the right company 145 From the barrel of Diogenes 147 The rules of life 147 Desperate 147 The word 149 The hermit speaks 151 All eternal brooks 153 Resolution 153 The rascal 153 The seven wives’ speeches 155 The New Testament 155 Once, I believe, in the year of the holy one 157 The spectacle of the dressing gown 157 For Spinoza 157 For Darwin’s disciples 159 Hail to you, brave cart pushers 159 Arthur Schopenhauer 159 To Richard Wagner 161 Wagner, the apostle of chastity 161 ‘Wit, Tricks and Revenge’ (1882) Invitation 167 My happiness 167 Undaunted 167 Dialogue 169 For the virtuous 169 7 contents Worldly cleverness 169 Vademecum-Vadetecum 169 Near the third skin 171 My roses 171 The contemptible 173 The word speaker speaks 173 For a bright friend 173 For the dancers 173 The brave one 175 Rust 175 Upwards 175 The speech of the powerful 175 Narrow souls 175 The unwilling seducer 177 Consideration 177 Against arrogance 177 Man and woman 177 Interpretation 179 Pessimistic medical advice 179 Request 181 My cruelty 181 The wanderer 181 Consolation for beginners 183 Egoism of stars 183 The next one 183 Disguised holiness 185 The involuntary 185 The lonely one 187 Seneca et hoc genus omne 187 8 contents Ice 187 Youthful writing 189 Caution 189 The pious one speaks 189 In the summer 191 Without envy 191 Heraklitismus 193 Ground rules for snobs 193 Encouragement 193 The founder 195 Forever 195 Verdict of the weary 195 Decline 195 Against the law 197 The wise one speaks 197 To lose one’s head 197 Best wishes 199 To write with one’s feet 199 Human, all too human: a book 199 For my readers 201 The realistic painter 201 The poet’s vanity 201 Chosen enjoyment 203 The crooked nose 203 The pen scribbles 203 Higher men 205 The skeptic speaks 205 Ecce homo 207 Morality of stars 207 9