I

“Überzeugung”

Als wie der Tag die Menschen hell umscheinet
Und mit dem Lichte, das den Hühn entspringet,
Die dämmernden Erscheinungen vereinet,
Ist Wissen, welches tief der Geistigkeit gelinget.

—By Friedrich Hölderlin

II

The A.V. Club is doing a “Random Rules” segment with Berkeley Breathed. Forget the content, it's about the photo, which is the bastard lovechild of Kevin Kline and Stan Lee. I know you see it ...

One might note in the translation that Hamburger changes it from abab to abba in his rhyme scheme, but there is otherwise a pretty decent faithfulness here to the original, though it's worth noting that Hölderlin's verse-endings are all verbs; none of Hamburger's are. What the two have in common, though, is a slightly convoluted syntax, or at least a not-so-straight-forward way of arranging relative clauses.

Hölderlin's rhythm is deliberate and practiced and mannered. His first two verses basically split down the middle. The third has polysyllabic words and no breaks, so you must read it to the end in its entirety, where you experience a pause, followed by “Ihr Wissen,” a pause, and then the longer portion of the final verse. He leads you how he wishes to to his final thoughts, and not without a little irony one successfully traverses the peaks and valleys of Hölderlin's phrases to arrive at the word “to succeed,” which proudly but not pompously ties things together.

It turns out that the Hammer Museum is free on Thursdays, and it's on the corner where I'll be. The botanical garden is also free ... and open until 5p.m.

I just have to stay awake (not enough sleep, you see). I think Peet's will help me keep my eyes open.

The Onion A.V. Club has a list of songs that make the A.V. Club cry—I know many of the artists. I know I do not know most of the songs, and I cannot positively identify any song on the list.

III

“Conviction”

Like the bright day that shines on humankind
And with a light of heavenly origin
All things obscure and various gathers in,
Is knowledge, deeply granted to the mind.

—Translated by Michael Hamburger