Seht da den Menschen! Aus dem Franzoesischen: Ecce homo

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...satisfied. Since it is beyond doubt that we have not fulfilled this highest law, because we all languish, and the Author of that justice Gerechtigkeit could not let us suffer and lack unjustly, it follows that the misuse Mißbrauch of our glorious privileges Vorrechte must have placed us in the sad necessity Nothwendigkeit of presenting only one manifestation, which is the opposite of the one expected from us. Instead of being witnesses of glory Ruhm and truth Wahrheit, we can now only be witnesses of shame Schmach and lies.

It follows further that, since all humanity Menschheit now shares this punishment, just as it would have shared the rewards, and every individual had to bear a particular sign of this degradation Erniedrigung, just as he would have borne a particular sign of power in the triumphal procession—each according to his own gift—it follows, I say, that every individual from this great family would have to bear a particular sign of that lack and deprivation, to which

Vocabulary: Justice, Privileges, Necessity, Glory, Truth, Shame, Humanity, Degradation

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highest justice has subjected us all here below. This is so that at the sight of this sign—which is so different from the one we should have worn—one could call out to us with mockery Spott and scorn Hohn: Behold the man! original: "seht da den Menschen!" Reference to the Latin "Ecce Homo," the words spoken by Pontius Pilate when presenting Jesus Christ to the crowd. Here, Saint-Martin uses the phrase to highlight the tragic contrast between man's original divine nature and his current fallen state. This title, which now mocks us so much, fills us with disgrace and shame. Instead of the glory that would have radiated around us if our name had kept its true character, it reveals the bitter fruits that sin Sünde has sown within us.

Now one only needs to cast a glance at the condition of man here below to judge to what extent this strict justice is exercised. Who among us does not pay this toll of degradation in one way or another? Where has our strength, our reputation, our power, and our knowledge Erkenntniß gone? What other testimonies do our faculties have to show now but poverty Dürftigkeit, injustice, frailty Gebrechlichkeit, and darkness Finsterniß? Is

Vocabulary: Justice, Mockery, Scorn, Sin, Knowledge, Poverty, Frailty, Darkness