# Aus dem Leben eines Heiligen · From the Life of a Saint

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems: The Other Part

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/aus-dem-leben-eines-heiligen. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/aus-dem-leben-eines-heiligen.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Er kannte Ängste, deren Eingang schon  
He knew dreads whose very entrance
> Genitive relative pronoun deren: deren is the genitive relative pronoun, 'whose, of which', agreeing with the plural antecedent Ängste, 'dreads, fears'. German marks possession in a relative clause with dessen for masculine or neuter singular and deren for feminine singular and all plurals.

**2** wie Sterben war und nicht zu überstehen.  
was already like dying, and not to be survived.
> sein zu plus infinitive, passive sense: zu überstehen is the infinitive of überstehen, 'to get through, to survive', with zu. After sein, war, this sein zu construction carries a passive, modal meaning: 'was not to be survived'. überstehen is inseparable, so über- never splits off.

**3** Sein Herz erlernte, langsam durchzugehen;  
His heart learned, slowly, to pass all the way through;
> zu wedged inside a separable verb: durchgehen, 'to go through', is a separable-prefix verb. In a zu-infinitive, zu is wedged between prefix and stem: durch-zu-gehen. erlernen means 'to learn thoroughly, to master'.

**4** er zog es groß wie einen Sohn.  
he reared it up like a son.
> Separable verb for raising a child: großziehen, literally 'to pull big', is the ordinary verb for raising a child or animal. It is separable, so the prefix groß stands apart from the past tense zog, from ziehen, 'to pull'.


**5** Und namenlose Nöte kannte er,  
And nameless straits he knew,
> Plural noun for dire hardship: die Not, plural Nöte, means 'distress, hardship, dire need'. namenlos means 'nameless', and idiomatically 'unspeakable, immense'. namenlose Nöte are torments too vast to be named.

**6** finster und ohne Morgen wie Verschläge;  
dark and without morning, like boarded-up stalls;
> Plural noun for boarded stalls: der Verschlag is a rough, boarded-off enclosure, a partitioned cubbyhole, crate, or windowless stall. The plural Verschläge names a row of such dark boxes, matching finster und ohne Morgen, 'dark and without morning'.

**7** und seine Seele gab er folgsam her,  
and his soul he gave up obediently,
> Separable verb hergeben: hergeben means 'to give up, to hand over'. It is separable: the prefix her drops to the clause end, leaving gab, past of geben, in second position, gab er ... her. folgsam means 'obedient, biddable'.

**8** da sie erwachsen war, auf daß sie läge  
now that she was grown, so that she might lie
> Archaic conjunction of purpose: auf daß is an archaic conjunction of purpose meaning 'so that, in order that'; modern German would use damit. It governs läge, the past subjunctive of liegen, 'to lie'. sie refers to die Seele, 'the soul', grammatically feminine.


**9** bei ihrem Bräutigam und Herrn; und blieb  
beside her bridegroom and lord; and he stayed
> bei always takes the dative: bei, 'beside, with', always takes the dative: ihrem Bräutigam und Herrn is dative masculine. der Bräutigam means 'bridegroom'. The final -n on Herrn is the weak-noun dative ending of der Herr, 'lord'.

**10** allein zurück an einem solchen Orte,  
behind, alone, in such a place,
> Separable verb split by enjambment: blieb, which ended the previous line, belongs to zurückbleiben, 'to remain behind', whose prefix zurück opens this line. an einem solchen Orte is dative, 'in such a place'; the -e on Orte is an older dative ending, now usually dropped.

**11** wo das Alleinsein alles übertrieb,  
where the being-alone outdid all measure,
> Infinitive turned into a noun: allein sein, 'to be alone', becomes the neuter noun das Alleinsein, 'the being-alone, the solitude'. übertrieb is the past of übertreiben, 'to exaggerate, to carry to excess'; here the solitude is the subject of that verb.

**12** und wohnte weit und wollte niemals Worte.  
and dwelt far off and never wanted words.
> Verb for settled dwelling: wohnen means 'to dwell, to live somewhere', stronger than merely staying. wohnte weit means 'dwelt far off'. wollte niemals Worte means 'never wanted words', from wollen, 'to want', and das Wort, 'word'.


**13** Aber dafür, nach Zeit und Zeit, erfuhr  
But in return, after time on time, he came to know
> erfahren for coming to know: dafür here means 'in return, in exchange for that'. nach Zeit und Zeit means 'after time and time again', that is, after a very long while. erfuhr is the past of erfahren, which means both 'to learn' and 'to come to experience'.

**14** er auch das Glück, sich in die eignen Hände,  
the happiness, too, of laying himself into his own hands,
> Infinitive parts scattered across lines: The infinitive completing das Glück is sich ... zu legen, 'to lay oneself', with its parts spread over three lines. sich in die eignen Hände is accusative, showing motion into, 'into his own hands'. eignen is the poetic short form of eigenen, 'own'.

**15** damit er eine Zärtlichkeit empfände,  
so that he might feel a tenderness,
> damit sends the verb to the end: damit introduces a purpose clause, 'so that, in order that', and sends its verb, empfände, to the end. empfände is the past subjunctive of empfinden, 'to feel, to sense', expressing a wished-for aim. Zärtlichkeit means 'tenderness'.

**16** zu legen wie die ganze Kreatur.  
to lay, as every living creature does.
> Collective noun for all living things: Kreatur means 'creature', but with die ganze, 'the whole', it names all living things together. zu legen completes the infinitive begun two lines earlier: to lay himself in his own hands, as die ganze Kreatur, 'the whole of creation', does.

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Source text: public domain (Rainer Maria Rilke, died 1926; Neue Gedichte published 1907 and 1908), from Wikisource. English translation and notes: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC. Narration: synthesized for this edition.