German composition

Section 74 The Beauty of the Eye. I.

Look⁠1 how beautiful the human eye is, excelling⁠2 in beauty the eye of every creature! The eyes of many of the lower animals are doubtless very beautiful. All⁠3 of us must have admired the bold, fierce, bright eye of the eagle; the large, gentle, brown eye of the ox; the treacherous green eye of the cat, waxing⁠4 and waning⁠5 like the moon, as⁠6 the sun shines upon it (S. 4, N. 5) or⁠7 deserts it; the pert eye of the sparrow; the sly eye of the fox; the peering⁠8 little bead⁠9 of black enamel in⁠10 the mouse’s head; the⁠11 gem-like eye which⁠12 redeems the toad from ugliness; and the intelligent, affectionate expression, which⁠13 looks out from the human-like eye of the horse and dog. There⁠14 are these and the eyes of many other animals full of beauty; but⁠15 there is a glory which excelleth in the eye of man.

Notes

1 Use the 2nd pers. sing.

2 Say ‘and how it excelleth in (an) beauty the eye of every other creature!’ The words ‘in beauty’ should be placed before the verb.

3 All of us, wir alle; all of them, sie alle; all of you, ihr (or Sie) alle. Render the words ‘must have’ by ‘have certainly’. The p. p. should be placed after ‘eagle’.

4 sich vergrößern.

5 sich verkleinern.

6 as = according as, je nachdem.

7 or deserts it = or not.

8 forschend.

9 Perlenauge.

10 im Mauseköpfchen.

11 das einem Edelsteine gleichende Auge.

12 Say ‘which lets us forget the ugliness of the toad’.

13 which — the = in the.

14 There are these... full = These... are full. Full of, voller.

15 im Auge des Menschen jedoch liegt eine alles übertreffende Pracht.