Invictus
(...)
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.
~William Ernest Henley

http://web.mst.edu/~alpha06/invictus.html

Ich bin draufgekommen, dass das ganze doch nicht von DuBois stammt sondern von William Ernest Henley; was mich bei der Übersetzung von "How charged with punishment the scroll" aber noch immer nicht weiter bringt...

It matters not how strait the gate,
how charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
—William Ernest Henley
http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/953.html

Was kümmert's, daß der Himmel fern
und daß von Straf' mein Buch erzähl',
ICH bin der Herr von meinem Stern,
ICH bin der Meister meiner Seel'!
—Übers. Walter A. Aue
http://myweb.dal.ca/waue/Trans/Henley-Invictu...
( related discussion: How charged with punishments the scroll )

Es interessiert nicht, wie eng das Tor des Glücks,
Wie beladen mit Strafen die Gesetzesstele,
Ich bin der Meister meines Geschicks:
Ich bin der Führer meiner Seele.
—Übers. Lucky26 (Biblioforums-Nutzer)
http://www.biblioforum.de/forum/read.php?2,519,519


Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
(Gehet ein durch die enge Pforte. Denn die Pforte ist weit, und der Weg ist breit, der zur Verdammnis abführt; und ihrer sind viele, die darauf wandeln.
Und die Pforte ist eng, und der Weg ist schmal, der zum Leben führt; und wenige sind ihrer, die ihn finden.)
Matt. 7:14 (KJV & Luther 1545) (cf. Luke 13:24)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=...
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=M...;

I think it's actually 'punishments.' There was one previous thread asking about the same line, but it didn't get very far.

strait = narrow, strict
charged with = laden with, full of, infused with; (also perhaps:) ordered, commanded to carry out

So in a prose paraphrase: It doesn't matter how narrow the gate may be, or how full of punishments the scroll may be.

Since the first line is an obvious allusion to the Bible, it's likely that the scroll symbolizes the Law, the scriptural threat of punishment for sin. However, a scroll could also just be some kind of prophecy, the fate of any person. Or maybe just a long list, a never-ending succession of bad luck (which may have reflected Henley's painful, unhappy life at the time).

The two translations I found on the internet, one metrical and one not very, are both fairly close, but they still leave something to be desired. I tried my hand at it myself, but I'm not very pleased with the result so far.

Egal, wie eng die Pforte sei,
ob Strafen vorgeschrieben stehn,
Herr meines Schicksals bin ich: frei,
und meiner Seele Kapitän.

I realize that last rhyme is an off-rhyme, and the meter in the 3rd line is not ideal, and so on. I'm not even sure all the grammar works. *sigh* In such a constrained form, it's harder than it looks.

Here are some other bits I considered.

Egal, wie schmal der Lebensweg
egal, ob Strafe vor mir droht
ich, meiner Seele Lotse treu
und meiner Seele Führer kühn
ich führe meine Seele stet

die Strafe, die Not, die Qual, die Drangsal, das Leiden, das Leid
die Tafel, die Schriftrolle, die Schrift, das Gesetz

Maybe that will at least spur a German speaker or two to do better. I've seen some good poetry here in the past. Just don't mess up the meter and rhyme (any more than I already have)! (-;


Anyway, hope that helps somewhat. (-:

One more thought: Some internet sources (e.g., Wikipedia) give the impression that this poem, usually called 'Invictus,' is known mainly through Patrick McVeigh's last statement before his death sentence was carried out. I doubt that's true.

It actually used to be a very popular poem that schoolchildren learned for recitation, in the era when teachers still required children to memorize poetry. Those schoolchildren of bygone years may be either long dead or in their 80s or 90s now, but the poem can still be found in popular anthologies.

http://myweb.dal.ca/waue/Trans/Henley-Invictu...
sehr freie, poetische übersetzung