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Various authors and 'Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden'
A very familiar hymn in English-speaking countries is Thomas Rawson Taylor's "I'm but a stranger here" written in 1834. It was published in 1836 in his Memoirs and Select Remains, and headed "Heaven is my home. Air--'Robin Adair.'" In America it is usually sung to Arthur S. Sullivan's "Saint's Rest." The hymn so closely resembles Gerhardt's lines in "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden"218218Cf. p. 74. that the parallels are given below:
| 1. | I'm but a stranger here; | Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden | 1 |
| Earth is a desert drear, | |||
| Heaven is my home. | Was ist mein ganzes Wesen | 9 | |
| Danger and sorrow stand | Als Müh und Not gewesen | 11 | |
| Round me on every hand, | |||
| Heaven is my fatherland, | Da ist mein Vaterland | 4 | |
| Heaven is my home. | |||
| 1412. | What though the tempests rage, | Mich hat auf meinen Wegen | 17 |
| Short is my pilgrimage, | Manch harter Sturm erschreckt; | 18 | |
| Heaven is my home. | Blitz, Donner, Wind und Regen | 19 | |
| And time's wild wintry blast | Hat mir manch Angst erweckt; | 20 | |
| Soon will be overpast, | So will ich swar nun treiben | 57 | |
| I shall reach home at last | Mein Leben durch die Welt | 58 | |
| Doch denk ich nicht zu bleiben | 59 | ||
| Heaven is my home. | In diesem fremden Zelt. | 60 | |
| 3. | There at my Savior's side, | Mein Heimat ist dort droben, | 65 |
| I shall be glorified, | Da aller Engel Schaar | 66 | |
| Den groszen Herrscher loben | 67 | ||
| Heaven is my home, | Die frommen heilgen Seelen | 41 | |
| Die giengen fort und fort | 42 | ||
| There with the good and blest | Da will ich immer wohnen, | 105 | |
| Those I loved most and best, | Bei denen, die mit Kronen | 107 | |
| I shall forever rest; | Du ausgeschmücket hast | 108 | |
| Da will ich . . . | 109 | ||
| Heaven is my home. | In meinern Erbteil ruhn. | 112 | |
| 4. | Therefore I'll murmur not, | Hab ich doch müszen leiden | 23 |
| Und tragen mit Geduld, | 24 | ||
| Whate'er my earthly lot, | Es musz ja durchgedrungen | 53 | |
| Es musz gelitten sein; | 54 | ||
| Heaven is my home. | So will ich zwar nun treiben | 57 | |
| Mein Leben durch die Welt. | 58 | ||
| For I shall surely stand | |||
| There at my Lord's right hand;-- | Cf. lines 105-112, above, quoted opp. stanza 3. | ||
| Heaven is my fatherland, | |||
| Heaven is my home. | |||
Other similarities to "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden" are:
(a) "The Pilgrim," by Sarah H. Palfrey, in the Schaff-Gilman Lib. Rel. Poetry.
| A Pilgrim am I on my way To seek and find the Holy Land . . . |
This poem would perhaps bear but slight resemblance to Gerhardt's were it not for the final stanza where the element of joy is introduced:
| While Joy shall spring With me through heaven's straight door. |
These lines are certainly suggestive of Gerhardt's words in his stanza XIII:
| Du aber, meine Freude . . . du zeuchst mich . . . Ins Haus der ewgen Wonne. |
(b) "The Pilgrim's song," by H. F. Lyte, in his Poems chiefly Religious, 1833 and 1845,
142| Stanza 1. | My rest is in heaven; my rest is not here; Then why should I murmur when trials are near? Be hushed, my dark spirit! the worst that can come But shortens thy journey, and hastens thee home. |
| 2. | It is not for me to be seeking my bliss And building my hopes in a region like this: I look for a city which hands have not piled; I pant for a country by sin undefiled. . . . |
| 4. | Afflictions may damp me, they cannot destroy; One glimpse of thy love turns them all into joy: . . . |
| 5. | Let doubt then, and danger, my progress oppose; They only make heaven more sweet at the close. . . . |
| 6. | A scrip on my back, and a staff in my hand, I march on in haste through an enemy's land: The road may be rough, but it cannot be long; And I'll smooth it with hope and I'll cheer it with song. |
Although Lyte based his hymn on Hebrews IV, 9, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God," he treats in his concluding stanza the additional theme of hope and cheer which, as has been seen,219219Cf. p. 22. was a constant and favorite topic with Gerhardt. Since this chapter of Hebrews has no direct reference to this theme we have good reason to assume that from the striking similarity of language of the two hymns Lyte was influenced by Gerhardt's "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden." Especially in stanza VII is the likeness most noticeable:
| So will ich zwar nun treiben Mein Leben durch die Welt, Doch denk ich nicht zu bleiben In diesem fremden Zelt. (Cf. Lyte stanza 6.) Ich wandre meine Straszen, Die zu der Heimat führt, (Cf. Lyte stanza 1.) Da mich ohn alle Maszen Mein Vater trösten wird. (Cf. Lyte stanza 5.) |
(c) "In exile here we wander," by W. Cooke. [Septuagesima.] This hymn appeared in the Hymnary, 1872, under the signature "A. C. C." (i. e., "A Canon of Chester"), and is definitely known to have been suggested to Canon Cooke by Gerhardt's hymn. In Thring's Collection, 1882, stanza III, lines 4-8 is altered to:
| And we shall rise in that great day In bodies like to Thine And with Thy saints in bright array, (Cf. lines 65, 66.) Shall in Thy glory shine. (Cf. line 104.) |
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