And thine was every breath I drew.
The freshest, richest hues of Spring
Enhaloed thy lovely face,--
And tenderest thoughts for me!--my hope!
But, undeserved, ye Powers of Grace!
But, ah! too soon, with morning's dawn,
The hour of parting cramps my heart;
Then, in thy kisses, O what bliss!
And in thine eye, what poignant smart!
I went; thou stood'st and downward gazed,
Gazed after me with tearful eyes;
Yet, to be loved, what blessedness,
And, oh! to love, ye Gods, what bliss!
CHAPTER V
FRANKFORT--_GOeTZ VON BERLICHINGEN_
AUGUST, 1771--DECEMBER, 1771
Goethe returned to Frankfort at the end of August, 1771, and, with the
exception of two memorable intervals, he remained there till November,
1775, when he left it, never again to make it his permanent home. This
period of four years and two months is in creative productiveness
unparalleled in his own career, and is probably without a parallel in
literary history. During these years he produced _Goetz von
Berlichingen_ and _Werther_, both of which works, whatever their
merits or demerits, are at least landmarks, not only in the history of
German, but of European literature.
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