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TO A QUONDAM FOLLOWER OF GOETHE by HEINRICH HEINE

First Line: HAST THOU, THEN, SUPERIOR RISEN
Last Line: AT EACH LUNEBURG TEA-PARTY!
Subject(s): GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON (1749-1832);

HAST thou then, superior risen
To the chilly dream of glory
Which great Weimar's poet hoary
Wove around thee, like a prison?

Are thy old friends bores now voted? --
Clara, Gretchen, -- names familiar, --
Serlo's chaste maid, and Ottilia
In the "Wahlverwandschaft" noted?

Thou'rt with Germany enchanted,
Art become a Mignon-hater,
And thou seek'st for freedom greater
Than Philina ever granted.

Like a Luneburgomaster,
Thou dost battle for the nation,
Holding up to execration
Kings, as causing all disaster.

And I hear with pleasure hearty,
What a pitch thy praises grow to,
And how thou'rt a Mirabeau, too,
At each Luneburg tea-party!



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