Legacy - J.W. Goethe

Here are two translation. The one in the middle is much closer to the German original (right)

What is, cannot reduce to naught!
Th' Eternal lives and breathes in aught -
In what exists, find happiness.
Existence thrives for ay; law measures
And safeguards all the living treasures
With which the Cosmos decked its dress.

Truth had already long been found,
By which great souls were linked and bound;
Let's grasp this age-old truth by force!
Thanks to that Sage do mortals owe
Who bade earth round the sun to go,
And showed earth's sisters all their course.

Turn inward now this very minute,
You'll find the center resting in it,
Which no good man doubts wilfully.
All rules, you'll see, are present here:
A conscience self-reliant, clear
Sheds life on your morality.

Your senses then you'll have to trust,
They'll let you see what's true and just,
Should reason keep your mind awake.
Observe with sparkling eyes and blithely,
And tread with confidence and lithely
The earth that's rich in field and brake.

Enjoy your boons in moderation,
Let reason have predomination,
Where life delights alive to be.
The past will then be firm and steady,
The future takes on life already -
The moment be eternity.

And when at last success awaits you
And this high feeling penetrates you
That fruitful things alone are true -
You'll test the common motive forces
And find they take their natural courses.
The smallest group is best for you.

Since earliest times, in solitude,
To tasks of love that they deemed good
Wise men and poets were inspired;
So you'll reach favor's fairest goals:
Anticipating noble souls
Is work most ardently desired.

The truth has long ago been found,
Has always united nobel spirits;
This ancient truth, get hold of it!
Give thanks, earth-being, to the sage,
Who pointed her to orbit the sun,
And bade the sibling its course.

Immediately now turn inward,
The center you find right inside there,
No noble soul would doubt that.
You will not miss a single rule,
Because autonomous conscience,
Is sun to your moral-day.

Now you have to trust the senses,
they will not fail you with error,
As long as reason keep you awake.
With a fresh gaze perceive joyfully,
and stroll with confidence and lithe,
Across meadows of rich-edowered world.

Blessings and plenty savour in moderation,
Common sense should always be present,
Where life enjoys being-alive.
Then the past is steady,
The future alive already,
The moment is eternity.

And when, at long last, you have succeeded,
And you are permeated by the notion:
What is fertile, alone is true –
You examine what generally prevails,
It will abide by its own connections,
Go and join the smallest crowd.

And as it was since ancient time, in stillness,
A work of love according to own will
The philosopher, the poet did create,
You too will attain the fairest grace:
To pre-feel for nobel souls
Is most-desirable vocation.

Kein Wesen kann zu nichts zerfallen!
Das Ewge regt sich fort in allen,
Am Sein erhalte dich beglückt!
Das Sein ist ewig: denn Gesetze
Bewahren die lebendgen Schätze,
Aus welchen sich das All geschmückt.
Das Wahre war schon längst gefunden,
Hat edle Geisterschaft verbunden;
Das alte Wahre, faß es an!
Verdank es, Erdensohn, dem Weisen,
Der ihr, die Sonne zu umkreisen,
Und dem Geschwister wies die Bahn,

Sofort nun wende dich nach innen:
Das Zentrum findest du da drinnen,
Woran kein Edler zweifeln mag.
Wirst keine Regel da vermissen:
Denn das selbständige Gewissen
Ist Sonne deinem Sittentag.

Den Sinnen hast du dann zu trauen,
Kein Falsches lassen sie dich schauen,
Wenn dein Verstand dich wach erhält.
Mit frischem Blick bemerke freudig
Und wandle sicher wie geschmeidig,
Durch Auen reichbegabter Welt.

Genieße mäßig Füll und Segen;
Vernunft sei überall zugegen,
Wo Leben sich des Lebens freut.
Dann ist Vergangenheit beständig,
Das Künftige voraus lebendige
Der Augenblick ist Ewigkeit.

Und war es endlich dir gelungen,
Und bist du vom Gefühl durchdrungen:
Was fruchtbar ist, allein ist wahr –
Du prüfst das allgemeine Walten,
Es wird nach seiner Weise schalten,
Geselle dich zur kleinsten Schar.

Und wie von alters her, im stillen,
Ein Liebewerk nach eignem Willen
Der Philosoph, der Dichter schuf,
So wirst du schönste Gunst erzielen:
Denn edlen Seelen vorzufühlen
Ist wünschenswertester Beruf.