Class 1 to Class 4
Der Sonne liebes Licht
Es hellet* mir den Tag
Der Seele Geistesmacht
Sie gibt den Gliedern Kraft
Im Sonnen-Lichtes-Glanz
Verehre ich, o Gott
Die Menschenkraft die Du
In meine Seele mir
So gütig hast gepflanzt
Dass ich kann arbeitsam
Und lernbegierig sein
Von Dir stammt Licht und Kraft
Zu Dir ström’ Lieb und Dank
Rudolf Steiner
The sun with loving light
Makes bright* for me each day
The soul with spirit power
Gives strength unto my limbs
In sunlight shining clear
I reverence, oh God
The strength of humankind
Which thou so graciously
Hast planted in my soul
That I with all my might
May love to work and learn
From thee come light and strength
To thee rise love and thanks
Translation Roland Everett
Several English translations of the First Morning Verse exist. Roland Everett’s version is generally regarded as the most faithful to the original while preserving its poetic character.
The First Morning Verse was given by Rudolf Steiner in September 1919 for the younger classes of the newly founded Waldorf School. Spoken together every morning as meditative poetry, it centered the children in both world-perception and self-awareness.
But, rather than explaining these concepts intellectually, the verse speaks in images. Beginning with the visible sun whose loving light brightens the day, it then turns inwards to the invisible strength that enables us to sense, move, work, enjoy, learn and grow. Finally, it ends in gratitude for these gifts.
The lines are not intended as something to be analysed. Like all great poetry, they work through rhythm, repetition and imagery, and their deeper meaning may unfold much later in life.
And the verse speaks openly of God because Steiner’s method of education rests upon a spiritual view of the human being. It is the context in which the Morning Verse was written and explains its language and imagery.
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A Note on the Translation
The second line begins with the unusual German expression Es hellet mir den Tag, faithfully translated as Makes bright for me each day.
Some English schools replace this with Brightens for me each day, which sounds more natural to our ears.
Curiously, Steiner’s original wording is itself unusual. The verb hellen does not belong to standard German usage, and many German-speaking pupils (including myself) noticed its peculiarity. As a child, I often wished he had chosen erhellet, the equivalent of “brightens”.
For that reason, I can understand translators who go with the more familiar expression “brightens”. At the same time, I appreciate Steiner’s willingness to shape language in unusual ways when expressing spiritual realities, something found throughout his poetry and especially in the Calendar of the Soul.
Preserving the Original Text
Over the years, some schools have suggested replacing “God” in the Morning Verse with other terms which they regard as more suitable. But a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and God by any other name is still the primary and supreme consciousness of the universe.
Removing the word God is not the right approach, and I advise against it. For why should someone’s negative experience with religious dogma (unfortunately all too common) interfere with a spiritual education that places divine love and human freedom at its core and links the historic concept of God with nothing but goodness?
We must understand that the Morning Verse is not simply a beautiful piece of poetry. It expresses Steiner’s understanding of the relationship between the human being, the world and the divine, and there are no overtones of patriarchal fundamentalism when he speaks of God.
Removing God from these poems affects the interconnection of Spirit, World and Self. On top of that, every change we have seen destroyed their poetic flow.
One need not agree with Steiner’s worldview in order to recognise the importance of presenting his words faithfully. Parents and teachers are best served by knowing the spiritual foundation upon which Waldorf education was built.
In my experience, this openness encourages understanding far more readily than attempting to alter or conceal the verse’s origins. Speaking the verse in its original and authentic form is therefore the most honest approach.
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