Friedrich Schiller

“ Mourn for our friend, Our common parent, yet be not dismayed! 'Tis not alone his lands that I inherit,— His heart—his spirit have devolved on me; And my young arm shall execute the task For which his hoary age remained your debtor. Give me your hands, ye venerable fathers! Thine, Melchthal, too! Nay, do not hesitate, Nor from me turn distrustfully away. Accept my plighted vow—my knightly oath! FURST. Give him your hands, my friends! A heart like his That sees and owns its error claims our trust. MELCHTHAL. You ever held the peasantry in scorn; What surety have we that you mean us fair? ”

“ GESSLER. Open a way there—quick! Why this delay? Thy life is forfeited; I might despatch thee, And see I graciously repose thy fate Upon the skill of thine own practised hand. No cause has he to say his doom is harsh, Who's made the master of his destiny. Thou boastest of thy steady eye. 'Tis well! Now is a fitting time to show thy skill. The mark is worthy, and the prize is great. To hit the bull's-eye in the target; that Can many another do as well as thou; But he, methinks, is master of his craft Who can at all times on his skill rely, Nor lets his heart disturb or eye or hand. ”

“ Oh! potent is the spell that binds to home! No, no, the cold, false world is not for thee. At the proud court, with thy true heart thou wilt Forever feel a stranger among strangers. The world asks virtues of far other stamp Than thou hast learned within these simple vales. But go—go thither; barter thy free soul, Take land in fief, become a prince's vassal, Where thou might'st be lord paramount, and prince Of all thine own unburdened heritage! O, Uly, Uly, stay among thy people! Go not to Altdorf. Oh, abandon not The sacred cause of thy wronged native land! I am the last of all my race. ”

“ Now, Gessler, balance thine account with Heaven!
Thou must away from earth,—thy sand is run.
Quiet and harmless was the life I led,
My bow was bent on forest game alone;
No thoughts of murder rested on my soul.
But thou hast scared me from my dream of peace;
The milk of human kindness thou hast turn'd
To rankling poison in my breast; and made
Appalling deeds familiar to my soul.
He who could make his own child's head his mark,
Can speed his arrow to his foeman's heart.
My boys, poor innocents, my loyal wife,
Must be protected, tyrant, from thy rage! ”

“ This reproach from thee! Whom do I seek On Austria's side, my own beloved, but thee? BERTHA. Think you to find me in the traitor's ranks? Now, as I live, I'd rather give my hand To Gessler's self, all despot though he be, Than to the Switzer who forgets his birth, And stoops to be the minion of a tyrant. RUDENZ. Oh heaven, what must I hear! BERTHA. Say! what can lie Nearer the good man's heart than friends and kindred? What dearer duty to a noble soul Than to protect weak, suffering innocence, And vindicate the rights of the oppressed? ”

“ TELL.
Stream, lake, and sea, all to the king belong.
WALT.
Who is this king, of whom they're so afraid?
TELL.
He is the man who fosters and protects them.
WALT.
Have they not courage to protect themselves?
TELL.
The neighbour there dare not his neighbour trust.
WALT.
I should want breathing room in such a land.
I'd rather dwell beneath the avalanches.
TELL.
'Tis better, child, to have these glacier peaks
Behind one's back, than evil-minded men!
[They are about to pass on.]
WALT.
See, father, see the cap on yonder pole!
TELL.
What is the cap to us? Come, let's begone. ”

“ And gallantly have we fulfilled the oath, Which we at Rootli swore, confederates! FURST. The work is but begun. We must be firm. For, be assured, the king will make all speed, To avenge his viceroy's death, and reinstate, By force of arms, the tyrant we've expelled. MELCHTHAL. Why, let him come, with all his armaments! The foe within has fled before our arms; We'll give him welcome warmly from without! RUODI. The passes to the country are but few; And these we'll boldly cover with our bodies. BAUMGARTEN. We are bound by an indissoluble league, And all his armies shall not make us quail. ”

“ KUONI. Oh, tell us all! You've time enough, before The boat can be unfastened from its moorings. BAUMGARTEN. When I was in the forest, felling timber, My wife came running out in mortal fear: "The seneschal," she said, "was in my house, Had ordered her to get a bath prepared, And thereupon had taken unseemly freedoms, From which she rid herself and flew to me." Armed as I was I sought him, and my axe Has given his bath a bloody benediction. WERNI. And you did well; no man can blame the deed. KUONI. The tyrant! Now he has his just reward! We men of Unterwald have owed it long. ”

“ RUDENZ. 'Tis vain for us to strive against the king. The world pertains to him:—shall we alone, In mad, presumptuous obstinacy strive To break that mighty chain of lands, which he Hath drawn around us with his giant grasp. His are the markets, his the courts; his too The highways; nay, the very carrier's horse, That traffics on the Gotthardt, pays him toll. By his dominions, as within a net, We are enclosed, and girded round about. —And will the empire shield us? Say, can it Protect itself 'gainst Austria's growing power? To God, and not to emperors, must we look! ”

“ The vow I made Amid the hellish torments of that moment I hold a sacred debt, and I will pay it. Thou art my lord, my emperor's delegate, Yet would the emperor not have stretched his power So far as thou. He sent thee to these Cantons To deal forth law, stern law, for he is angered; But not to wanton with unbridled will In every cruelty, with fiendlike joy: There is a God to punish and avenge. Come forth, thou bringer once of bitter pangs, My precious jewel now, my chiefest treasure; A mark I'll set thee, which the cry of grief Could never penetrate, but thou shalt pierce it. ”

“ Austria will try, forsooth, to force on us A yoke we are determined not to bear! Oh, learn to feel from what a race thou'rt sprung! Cast not, for tinsel trash and idle show, The precious jewel of thy worth away. To be the chieftain of a freeborn race, Bound to thee only by their unbought love, Ready to stand—to fight—to die with thee, Be that thy pride, be that thy noblest boast! Knit to thy heart the ties of kindred—home— Cling to the land, the dear land of thy sires, Grapple to that with thy whole heart and soul! ”

“ GESSLER. Or thou must shoot, or with thee dies the boy. TELL. Shall I become the murderer of my child! You have no children, sir—you do not know The tender throbbings of a father's heart. GESSLER. How now, Tell, so discreet upon a sudden I had been told thou wert a visionary,— A wanderer from the paths of common men. Thou lovest the marvellous. So have I now Culled out for thee a task of special daring. Another man might pause and hesitate; Thou dashest at it, heart and soul, at once. BERTHA. Oh, do not jest, my lord, with these poor souls! ”

“ STAUFFACHER. My heart's so full, and has so much to tell you. TELL. Words will not make a heart that's heavy light. STAUFFACHER. Yet words may possibly conduct to deeds. TELL. All we can do is to endure in silence. STAUFFACHER. But shall we bear what is not to be borne? TELL. Impetuous rulers have the shortest reigns. When the fierce south wind rises from his chasms, Men cover up their fires, the ships in haste Make for the harbor, and the mighty spirit Sweeps o'er the earth, and leaves no trace behind. Let every man live quietly at home; Peace to the peaceful rarely is denied. ”

“ STAUFFACHER. Thou hast faith in human kindness, wife; but war Spares not the tender infant in its cradle. GERTRUDE. There is a friend to innocence in heaven Look forward, Werner—not behind you, now! STAUFFACHER. We men may perish bravely, sword in hand; But oh, what fate, my Gertrude, may be thine? GERTRUDE. None are so weak, but one last choice is left. A spring from yonder bridge, and I am free! STAUFFACHER (embracing her) . Well may he fight for hearth and home that clasps A heart so rare as thine against his own! ”

“ That blaze on every mountain-top around?
RUODI.
Come all, fall to—come, men and women, all!
Destroy the scaffold! Burst the arches! Down,
Down with the walls, let not a stone remain!
MASON.
Come, comrades, come! We built it, and we know
How best to hurl it down.
ALL.
Come! Down with it!
[They fall upon the building on every side.]
FURST.
The floodgate's burst. They're not to be restrained.
[Enter Melchthal and Baumgarten.]
MELCH.
What! Stands the fortress still, when Sarnen lies
In ashes, and the Rossberg's in our hands?
FURST.
You, Melchthal, here? D'ye bring us liberty? ”

“ Art so wise?
Wilt thou see clearer than thy noble sires,
Who battled for fair freedom's priceless gem,
With life, and fortune, and heroic arm?
Sail down the lake to Lucerne, there inquire,
How Austria's thraldom weighs the Cantons down.
Soon she will come to count our sheep, our cattle,
To portion out the Alps, e'en to their peaks,
And in our own free woods to hinder us
From striking down the eagle or the stag;
To set her tolls on every bridge and gate,
Impoverish us, to swell her lust of sway,
And drain our dearest blood to feed her wars. ”

“ WALTER. The master herdsman, father! He tells us there's a charm upon the trees, And if a man shall injure them, the hand That struck the blow will grow from out the grave. TELL. There is a charm about them, that's the truth. Dost see those glaciers yonder, those white horns, That seem to melt away into the sky? WALTER. They are the peaks that thunder so at night, And send the avalanches down upon us. TELL. They are; and Altdorf long ago had been Submerged beneath these avalanches' weight, Did not the forest there above the town Stand like a bulwark to arrest their fall. ”

“ The servants tell about the risks you run,
Whene'er we part, my trembling heart forebodes,
That you will ne'er come back to me again.
I see you on the frozen mountain steeps,
Missing, perchance, your leap from crag to crag.
I see the chamois, with a wild rebound,
Drag you down with him o'er the precipice.
I see the avalanche close o'er your head,
The treacherous ice give way, and you sink down
Intombed alive within its hideous gulf.
Ah! in a hundred varying forms does death
Pursue the Alpine huntsman on his course. ”

“ WERNI.
His life's at stake. Have pity on him, man!
KUONI.
He is a father: has a wife and children.
[Repeated peals of thunder.]
RUODI.
What! and have I not, then, a life to lose,
A wife and child at home as well as he?
See how the breakers foam, and toss, and whirl,
And the lake eddies up from all its depths!
Right gladly would I save the worthy man,
But 'tis impossible, as you must see.
BAUM. (still kneeling) .
Then must I fall into the tyrant's hands. ”

“ STAUFFACHER. The nobles' wrongs are not so great as ours. The torrent that lays waste the lower grounds Hath not ascended to the uplands yet. But let them see the country once in arms They'll not refuse to lend a helping hand. FURST. Were there an umpire 'twixt ourselves and Austria, Justice and law might then decide our quarrel. But our oppressor is our emperor, too, And judge supreme. 'Tis God must help us, then, And our own arm! Be yours the task to rouse The men of Schwytz; I'll rally friends in Uri. But whom are we to send to Unterwald? ”

“ Without us, sir, what would the nobles be? Our order is more ancient, too, than yours! RUDENZ. I honor it, and with my sword will shield it! MELCHTHAL. The arm, my lord, that tames the stubborn earth, And makes its bosom blossom with increase, Can also shield a man's defenceless breast. RUDENZ. Then you shall shield my breast and I will yours; Thus each be strengthened by the others' aid! Yet wherefore talk we while our native land Is still to alien tyranny a prey? First let us sweep the foeman from the soil, Then reconcile our difference in peace! ”

“ STAUFFACHER. Has Tell done this? MELCHTHAL. Villain, thou knowest 'tis false! LEUTHOLD. He has not made obeisance to the cap. FURST. And shall for this to prison? Come, my friend, Take my security, and let him go. FRIESSHARDT. Keep your security for yourself—you'll need it. We only do our duty. Hence with him. MELCHTHAL (to the country people) . This is too bad—shall we stand by, and see them. Drag him away before our very eyes? SACRISTAN. We are the strongest. Don't endure it, friends. Our countrymen will back us to a man. FRIESSHARDT. Who dares resist the governor's commands? ”

“ At this oppressive and heart-wearying yoke.
For there, across the lake, the Landenberg
Wields the same iron rule as Gessler here—
No fishing-boat comes over to our side,
But brings the tidings of some new encroachment,
Some fresh outrage, more grievous than the last.
Then it were well, that some of you—true men—
Men sound at heart, should secretly devise,
How best to shake this hateful thraldom off.
Full sure I am that God would not desert you,
But lend His favour to the righteous cause.
Has thou no friend in Uri, one to whom
Thou frankly may'st unbosom all thy thoughts? ”

“ KUONI.
'Twill rain ere long; my sheep browse eagerly,
And Watcher there is scraping up the earth.
WERNI.
The fish are leaping, and the water-hen
Keeps diving up and down. A storm is brewing.
KUONI (to his boy) .
Look, Seppi, if the beasts be all in sight.
SEPPI.
There goes brown Liesel, I can hear her bells.
KUONI.
Then all are safe; she ever ranges farthest.
RUODI.
You've a fine chime of bells there, master herdsman.
WERNI.
And likely cattle, too. Are they your own?
KUONI.
I'm not so rich. They are the noble lord's
Of Attinghaus, and told off to my care. ”

“ A word, one little easy word, might buy Instant deliverance from such dire oppression, And win the good-will of the emperor. Woe unto those who seal the people's eyes, And make them adverse to their country's good; The men who, for their own vile, selfish ends, Are seeking to prevent the Forest States From swearing fealty to Austria's house, As all the countries round about have done. It fits their humor well, to take their seats Amid the nobles on the Herrenbank; 10 They'll have the Caesar for their lord, forsooth, That is to say, they'll have no lord at all. ”

“ Over mountain, dale and river,
At the dawning of the day.
As the eagle, on wild pinion,
Is the king in realms of air,
So the hunter claims dominion
Over crag and forest lair.
Far as ever bow can carry,
Thro' the trackless airy space,
All he sees he makes his quarry,
Soaring bird and beast of chase.
WILL. (runs forward) .
My string has snapped! Oh, father, mend it, do!
TELL.
Not I; a true-born archer helps himself.
[Boys retire.]
HEDW.
The boys begin to use the bow betimes.
TELL.
'Tis early practice only makes the master.
HEDW.
Ah! Would to heaven they never learned the art! ”

“ TELL.
The brave man thinks upon himself the last.
Put trust in God, and help him in his need!
RUODI.
Safe in the port, 'tis easy to advise.
There is the boat, and there the lake! Try you!
TELL.
The lake may pity, but the Viceroy never.
Come, risk it, man!
SHEPHERD and HUNTSMAN.
O save him! save him! save him!
RUODI.
Though 'twere my brother, or my darling child,
I would not go. 'Tis Simon and Jude's day,
The lake is up, and calling for its victim.
TELL.
Nought's to be done with idle talking here.
Each moment's precious; the man must be help'd,
Say, boatman, will you venture? ”

“ At a hundred yards He'll shoot an apple for you off the tree. GESSLER. Is that boy thine, Tell? TELL. Yes, my gracious lord. GESSLER. Hast any more of them? TELL. Two boys, my lord. GESSLER. And, of the two, which dost thou love the most? TELL. Sir, both the boys are dear to me alike. GESSLER. Then, Tell, since at a hundred yards thou canst Bring down the apple from the tree, thou shalt Approve thy skill before me. Take thy bow— Thou hast it there at hand—and make thee ready To shoot an apple from the stripling's head! ”