English poem
Faust
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)
If feeling prompt not, if it doth not flow Fresh from the spirit's depths, with strong control Swaying to rapture every listener's soul, Idle your toil; the chase you may forego! Brood o'er your task! Together glue, Cook from another's feast your own ragout, Still prosecute your paltry game, And fan your ash-heaps into flame! 'Thus children's wonder you'll excite, And apes', if such your appetite; But that which issues from the heart alone, Will bend tile hearts of others to your own.