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The first collection Erbauliches und Beschauliches (vol. vi.) consists of poems which were published between the years 1822 and 1837 in different periodicals.  They appeared in collected form as a separate work in 1837.[152] The material is drawn from Arabic and Persian sources, only one poem, “Die Schlange im Korbe,” p. 80, being from the Sanskrit of Bhartrhari (Nitis. 85).[153]

With the Arabic sources, the Quran, the chrestomathies of de Sacy and Kosegarten, and others, we are not here concerned.  Among the Persian sources the one most frequently used is the Gulistan, from which are taken, to give but a few instances, “Sadi an den Fuerstendiener,” p. 57 (Gul. i. distich 3), “Mitgefuehl,” p. 52 (Gul. i. 10, Mathnavi), “Kein Mensch zu Haus,” p. 52 (Gul. vii. 19, dist. 6, Platts, p. 139), “Gewahrter Anstand,” p. 55 (Gul. iv. Math. 5, Platts, p. 96), as well as many of the proverbs and maxims, pp. 102-108.  The poem “Die Kerze und die Flasche,” p. 82, is a result of the poet’s studies in connection with his translation of the Haft Qulzum, a fragment of Amir Sahi[154] being combined with a passage cited from Asadi.[155] “Eine Kriegsregel aus Mirchond,” p. 73, is a paraphrase of a mathnavi from Mirchvand’s Raudat-ussafa.[156] In “Gottesdienst,” p. 52, the first two lines are from Amir Xusrau (Red. p. 229); the remaining lines were added by Rueckert.  The fables given on pp. 87-96 as from Jami are taken from the eighth chapter or “garden” of that poet’s Baharistan; they keep rather closely to the originals, only in “Die Rettung des Fuchses” the excessive naturalism of the Persian is toned down.[157] One of these fables, however, “Falke und Nachtigall,” p. 89, is not from Jami, but from the Machsan-ul-asrar of Nidami ([Arabic] ed.  Nathan.  Bland, London, 1844, p. 114; translated by Hammer in Red. p. 107).

Some of the poems in this collection are actual translations from Persian literature.  Thus “Ein Spruch des Hafis,” p. 59, is a fine rendering of qit’ah 583 in the form of the original.[158] Then a part of the introduction to Nidami’s Iskandar Namah is given on p. 65.  The translation begins at the fortieth couplet:[159]

     [Arabic]

     “Who has such boldness that from fear of Thee he open his mouth
     save in submission to Thee?”

This is well rendered: 

    Wer hat die Kraft, in deiner Furcht Erbebung,
    Vor dir zu denken andres als Ergebung?

As will be noticed, Rueckert here has not attempted to reproduce the mutaqarib, as Platen has done in his version of the first eight couplets (see p. 36).

Some of the translations in this collection were not made directly from the Persian, but from the versions of Hammer.  Thus “Naturbetrachtung eines persischen Dichters,” p. 62, is a free rendering of Hammer’s version of the invocation prefixed to Attar’s Mantiq-ut tair (Red. p. 141 seq.) and Rueckert breaks off at the same point as Hammer.[160] So also the extract from the Iyar-i-Danis of Abu’l Fadl (p. 68) is a paraphrase of the version in Red. p. 397.