Religion
What God would outwardly alone control
Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1853) · From God, Soul, and World
Religion
WHAT God would outwardly alone control,
And on his finger whirl the mighty Whole?
He loves the inner world to move, to view
Nature in Him, Himself in Nature too,
So that what in Him works, and is, and lives,
The measure of His strength, His spirit gives.
Cite this poem
MLA
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “What God would outwardly alone control.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/263/.
Chicago
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “What God would outwardly alone control.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/263/.
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