Page talk:Novalis Schriften - Volume 2.djvu/126

krankheitsfähig

This means roughly capable of illness. In this case able to induce a disorder captures the sense of mental disorder, as well as the idea that a stimulus induces something. The following sentence invokes once more Novalis's use of the Brunonian model of medicine, which assumes disorders are brought on by too much or too little of a stimulus or excitation.

selbsttätig

The adjective's semantic field is as follows automatic, independent, self-acting. A closely related word, "Selbsttätigkeit" includes a bit more breadth including spontaneity and self-action. Spontaneity seems to go against the methodical approach of this section, so the meaning of self-action seemed closest fit. Since it is focused looking, directed self-action or self-directed seemed most apt.

Darsteller,Darstellung

This word seems hard to translate. The dominant meaning of "Darsteller" is actor or performer.

In Novalis's fragment, the model of "Darsteller" culminates in Goethe, who was not an actor, but a writer." In 1800s Germany there was also a series on writers that was called Dichter and Darsteller. Different volumes had authors like Goethe and Tolstoy. So, in Novalis's time, "Darsteller" could also imply a writer.

Heading back toward Novalis's time by referencing an 1800s dictionary, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm's Deutsches Wörterbuch defines "Darsteller" as "der etwas anschaulich macht in schrift oder bild; meist von einem schauspieler ("one who makes something clear in writing or images; mostly from an actor"). This meaning includes writing, images and acting

The noun "Darstellung" doesn't clarify these. Its meaning accommodates all these roles (e.g., portray, depiction, present, demonstration, description, statement). To cover one who works as an actor, writer or image maker, artist seemed the best choice.

Fragment 26

This one is in smaller font as it is an fragment by Friedrich Schlegel.