Ein Schauspiel.

Wherever the conversation of noble minds turns,
I follow gladly, for it is easy for me to follow.
I like to listen to the dispute of the wise,
When the orator's lip plays with grace
Around the forces that move the human breast
So kindly and so terribly.
I listen gladly when the princely desire for fame,
The substance of expanded possession,
Becomes the subject of the thinker, and when subtle prudence,
Delicately developed by a wise man,
Instructs us instead of deceiving us.

And then after this serious conversation,
Our ear and our inner sense
Rest quite pleasantly upon the poet's rhymes,
Which instill the latest and loveliest feelings
Into our soul with sweet tones.
Your lofty spirit encompasses a wide realm;
I prefer to stay on the island
Of poetry, in laurel groves.