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第一章THE Poems composed by Goethe under this title are five in number, of which three are here given. The other two are entirely personal in their allusions, and not of general interest. One of them is a Requiem on the Prince de Ligne, who died in 1814, and whom Goethe calls "the happiest man of the century," and the other was composed in honour of the 70th birthday of his friend Zelter the composer, when Goethe was himself more than 79 (1828).
The following sweet aria introduced in the latter is, however, worth giving:--THE flowers so carefully rear'd,In a garland for him I oft twin'd:
How sweet have they ever appear'd,When wreath'd for a friend dear and kind.
Then incense sweet ascended,Then new-horn blossoms rose, With gentle zephyrs blendedIn tones of soft repose.
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