Рихард Вагнер - The Rhinegold & The Valkyrie. The Ring of the Niblung, part 1

From such greed
Was Fricka then free
Herself when the castle she craved?

I was forced to ponder some means
To keep my husband faithful,
True to me when his fancy
Tempted him far from his home.
Halls high and stately,
Decked to delight thee,
Were to constrain thee
To peaceful repose.
But thou hadst the work designed
Intent on war alone;
It was to add
More to thy might still,
To stir up to tumult still fiercer
That built were the towering walls

Wouldst thou, O Wife!
In the castle confine me,
To me, the god, must be granted,
Faithful at home,
The right to wage war
And conquer the world from without.
Ranging and changing
All men love:
That sport at least thou must leave me.

Cold, hard-hearted,
Merciless man!
For the idle baubles,
Empire and sway,
Thou stakest in insolent scorn
Love and a woman's worth!

When I went wooing, to win thee
I staked ungrudging,
Gladly one of my eyes:
What folly now then to scold!
Women I honour
Beyond thy desire!
I will not abandon
Frei, the fair:
Such never was my intent.

Then succour her now:
Defenceless, in fear,
Hither she hastens for help!

Help me, sister!
Shield me, o brother!
From yonder mountain
Menaces Fasolt:
He comes to bear me off captive.

Let him come!
Sawest thou Loge?

To this tricky deceiver
O why wilt thou trust?
He always snares thee anew,
Though from his snares thou hast suffered.

I ask for no aid
Where simple truth suffices;
But to turn the spite
Of foes to profit,
Craft and cunning alone
Can teach, as by Loge employed.
He whose advice I obeyed
Has promised ransom for Freia:
On him my faith I have fixed.

And art left in the lurch.
The giants come.
Lo! hither they stride:
Where lingers now thine ally?

Where tarry ye, my brothers,
When help ye should bring me,
Weak and bartered away by my kin?
O help me, Donner!
Hither! Hither!
Rescue Freia, my Froh!

Now the knaves who plotted and tricked thee
Abandon thee in thy need.

Soft sleep
Sealed thine eyes
While we, both sleepless,
Built the castle walls:
Working hard
Wearied not,
Heaping, heaving
Heavy stones.
Tower steep,
Door and gate
Keep and guard
Thy goodly castle halls.

There stands
What we builded,
Shining fair
Beneath the sun.
Enter in
And pay the price!

Name, Workers, your wage.
What payment will appease you?

We made the terms
That seemed to us meet.
Hast thou forgot so soon?
Freia, the fair one,
Holda, the free one—
The bargain is
We bear her away.

Ye must be mad
To moot such a thing!
Ask some other wage;
Freia I will not grant.

What is this? Ha!
Wouldest deceive?—
Go back on thy bond?
What thy spear wards
Are they but sport,
All the runes of solemn bargain?

O trusty brother!
Fool, dost now see the trick?

Son of light,
Light, unstable,
Hearken! Have a care!
In treaties keep thou troth!
What thou art
Thou art only by treaties,
For, built on bonds,
There are bounds to thy might.
Though cunning thou,
More clever than we:
Though we once freemen,
Are pledged to peace,
Cursèd be all thy wisdom;—
Peaceful promises perish!—
Wilt thou not open,
Honest and frank
Stand fast by a bargain once fixed.
A stupid giant
Tells thee this:
O wise one, take it from him!

How sly to judge us serious
When plainly we were but jesting!
The beautiful Goddess
Light and bright—
For churls what charm could she have?

Jeerest thou?
Ha! how unjust!
Ye who by beauty rule,
Proud and radiant race!
How foolish, striving
For towers of stone,
Woman's love to pledge—
Price of walls and of halls!
We dolts, despising ease,
Sweating with toil-hardened hands,
Have worked, that a woman
With gentle delight
In our midst might sojourn
And ye call the pact a jest?

Cease thy childish chatter;
No gain look we to get.
Freia's charms
Mean little;
But it means much,
If from the Gods we remove her.
Golden apples
Ripen within her garden;
She alone
Grows the apples and tends them.
The goodly fruit
Gives to her kinsfolk,
Who eat thereof,
Youth everlasting.
Sick and pale,
Their beauty would perish,
Old and weak,
Wasting away,
Were not Freia among them.

From their midst, therefore, Freia must forth!

Loge lingers long!

We wait for thy word!

Ask some other wage!

No other: Freia alone!

Thou there, follow us!

Help! Help from the harsh ones!

To me, Freia!

Back, overbold one!
Froh shields the fair one!

Fasolt and Fafner,
Have ye not felt
With what weight my hammer falls?

What means thy threat?

What wouldst thou here?
No strife we desire;
We want but our due reward.

Oft I've doled out
Giants their due:
Come, your reward is here
Waiting, full measure and more!

Hold, thou fierce one!
Nothing by force!
All bonds and treaties
My spear protects;
Spare then thy hammer's haft!

Woe's me! Woe's me!
Wotan forsakes me!

Can such be thy thought,
Merciless man?