Commentary

None of Gerhardt's poetry has so well lent itself to English words as this hymn of praise for God's goodness and of contemplation of the joys in the next world, and the translators have without exception reproduced most successfully the exquisite feeling for nature which Gerhardt manifests, whether he be singing of forest and brook, or of flowers and fields. Only Miss Winkworth and Dr. Alexander of the four or five prominent translators omit stanza XIV, and they do so apparently on the ground that it contains a complexity of figures. Dr. Massie whose version except for the last stanza has more truly poetic lines than any other offers this paraphrase:

So well have all the translators succeeded that it would be perhaps merely a matter of individual taste as to which of the many excellent lines are deserving of highest praise. Of stanza III Dr. Massie's verses are both more literal and harmonious than the others. Gerhardt sings:

Dr. Massie interprets:

Miss Winkworth:

Dr. Kelly:

Dr. Alexander:

This last version is marred by the accent's falling on the unstressed syllable of "toward" in line 2. Several of our American hymnals contain the cento of four stanzas from Miss Winkworth's version (Gerhardt stanzas VIII-XI incl.) whose ring gives the freshness appropriate in an outdoor hymn of Spring and Summer.