Before the Law
beforeVor thedem lawGesetz standssteht aein doorkeeperTürhüter. toZu thisdiesem doorkeeperTürhüter comeskommt aein manMann from thevom countryLande andund asksbittet forum entryEintritt intoin thedas lawGesetz. butAber theder doorkeeperTürhüter sayssagt, thatdaß heer himihm nowjetzt theden entryEintritt notnicht grantgewähren cankönne. theDer manMann reflectsüberlegt andund asksfragt thendann, whetherob heer thenalso laterspäter willwerde entereintreten be alloweddürfen. it„Es isist possiblemöglich,“ sayssagt theder doorkeeperTürhüter, now„jetzt howeveraber notnicht.“
Before the law stands a doorkeeper. To this doorkeeper comes a man from the country and asks for entry into the law. But the doorkeeper says that he cannot grant him entry now. The man reflects and then asks whether he will be allowed to enter later. “It is possible,” says the doorkeeper, “but not now.”
sinceDa thedas gateTor to thezum lawGesetz openoffen standssteht aswie alwaysimmer andund theder doorkeeperTürhüter asidebeiseite stepstritt, bendsbückt downsich theder manMann, in orderum throughdurch thedas gateTor intoin thedas interiorInnere tozu seesehen. whenAls theder doorkeeperTürhüter thatdas noticesmerkt, laughslacht heer andund sayssagt: if„Wenn ites youdich soso temptslockt, tryversuche ites thendoch despitetrotz mymeines prohibitionVerbotes to go inhineinzugehen. noteMerke howeveraber: IIch ambin powerfulmächtig. andUnd Iich ambin onlynur theder lowestunterste doorkeeperTürhüter. fromVon hallSaal tozu hallSaal standstehen howeveraber doorkeepersTürhüter, eacheiner more powerfulmächtiger thanals theder otherandere. evenSchon theden sightAnblick of thedes thirdDritten cankann notnicht eveneinmal Iich anymoremehr bearertragen.“
Since the gate to the law stands open as always and the doorkeeper steps aside, the man bends down to see through the gate into the interior. When the doorkeeper notices this, he laughs and says: “If it tempts you so, just try to go in despite my prohibition. But note: I am powerful. And I am only the lowest doorkeeper. From hall to hall stand doorkeepers, each more powerful than the last. Even I cannot bear the sight of the third one.”
suchSolche difficultiesSchwierigkeiten hashat theder manMann from thevom countryLande notnicht expectederwartet; thedas lawGesetz shouldsoll surelydoch to everyonejedem andund alwaysimmer accessiblezugänglich besein, thinksdenkt heer, butaber asals heer nowjetzt theden doorkeeperTürhüter inin hisseinem fur coatPelzmantel more closelygenauer looks atansieht, hisseine biggroße pointed noseSpitznase, theden longlangen, thindünnen, blackschwarzen Tartartartarischen beardBart, decidesentschließt heer himselfsich after alldoch ratherlieber tozu waitwarten, untilbis heer thedie permissionErlaubnis forzum entryEintritt receivesbekommt. theDer doorkeeperTürhüter givesgibt himihm aeinen stoolSchemel andund letsläßt himihn to the sideseitwärts ofvon theder doorTür himselfsich sit downniedersetzen. thereDort sitssitzt heer daysTage andund yearsJahre.
Such difficulties the man from the country has not expected; the law, he thinks, is surely supposed to be accessible to everyone and at all times — but as he now looks more closely at the doorkeeper in his fur coat, at his big pointed nose, the long, thin, black Tartar beard, he decides he would rather wait until he receives permission to enter. The doorkeeper gives him a stool and lets him sit down at the side of the door. There he sits for days and years.
heEr makesmacht manyviele attemptsVersuche admittedeingelassen tozu bewerden andund weariesermüdet theden doorkeeperTürhüter withdurch hisseine pleasBitten. theDer doorkeeperTürhüter conductsstellt oftenöfters littlekleine interrogationsVerhöre withmit himihm (conducts)an, questionsfragt himihn aboutüber hisseine homelandHeimat (questions)aus andund aboutnach muchvielem elseandern, theyes aresind howeveraber indifferentteilnahmslose questionsFragen, aswie themsie greatgroße lordsHerren askstellen, andund at thezum endSchlusse sayssagt heer to himihm alwaysimmer againwieder, thatdaß heer himihn yetnoch notnicht admiteinlassen cankönne. theDer manMann, whoder himselfsich forfür hisseine journeyReise withmit muchvielem equippedausgerüstet hashat, usesverwendet everythingalles, andund besei ites evernoch soso valuablewertvoll, in orderum theden doorkeeperTürhüter tozu bribebestechen. this oneDieser takesnimmt indeedzwar everythingalles (accepts)an, butaber sayssagt while doing sodabei: I„Ich takenehme ites onlynur (accept)an, so thatdamit youdu notnicht believeglaubst, somethingetwas neglectedversäumt tozu havehaben.“
He makes many attempts to be admitted and wearies the doorkeeper with his pleas. The doorkeeper often holds little interrogations with him, questions him about his homeland and about much else, but they are indifferent questions, such as great lords ask, and at the end he tells him again and again that he cannot admit him yet. The man, who has equipped himself with many things for his journey, uses everything, however valuable, to bribe the doorkeeper. He accepts it all, but says as he does: “I accept it only so that you do not believe you have neglected anything.”
duringWährend theder manyvielen yearsJahre observesbeobachtet theder manMann theden doorkeeperTürhüter almostfast uninterruptedlyununterbrochen. heEr forgetsvergißt thedie otherandern doorkeepersTürhüter andund thisdieser first oneerste seemsscheint to himihm thedas onlyeinzige obstacleHindernis tofür theden entryEintritt intoin thedas lawGesetz. heEr cursesverflucht theden unluckyunglücklichen chanceZufall, inin theden firstersten yearsJahren recklesslyrücksichtslos andund loudlylaut, laterspäter whenals heer oldalt growswird, grumblesbrummt heer onlynur merelynoch tovor himselfsich (mutters)hin. heEr becomeswird childishkindisch andund sinceda heer inin thedem years-longjahrelangen studyStudium of thedes doorkeeperTürhüters evenauch thedie fleasFlöhe inin hisseinem fur collarPelzkragen come to knowerkannt hashat, asksbittet heer evenauch thedie fleasFlöhe himihm tozu helphelfen andund theden doorkeeperTürhüter to change his mindumzustimmen. finallySchließlich growswird hissein eyesightAugenlicht weakschwach andund heer knowsweiß notnicht, whetherob ites aroundum himihn reallywirklich darkerdunkler growswird oroder whetherob himihn onlynur hisseine eyesAugen deceivetäuschen. indeedWohl howeveraber perceiveserkennt heer nowjetzt in theim darknessDunkel aeinen radianceGlanz, whichder inextinguishablyunverlöschlich out ofaus theder doorTüre of thedes lawGesetzes breaksbricht.
During the many years the man observes the doorkeeper almost without interruption. He forgets the other doorkeepers, and this first one seems to him the only obstacle to entry into the law. He curses the unlucky chance — in the first years recklessly and aloud; later, as he grows old, he only grumbles to himself. He grows childish, and since in his years-long study of the doorkeeper he has come to know even the fleas in his fur collar, he asks even the fleas to help him and to change the doorkeeper’s mind. Finally his eyesight grows weak, and he does not know whether it is really growing darker around him or whether his eyes are only deceiving him. But now, in the darkness, he perceives a radiance that breaks inextinguishably from the door of the law.
nowNun liveslebt heer notnicht muchmehr longerlange. beforeVor hisseinem deathTode gathersammeln themselvessich inin hisseinem headKopfe allalle experiencesErfahrungen of theder wholeganzen timeZeit intozu oneeiner questionFrage, whichdie heer so farbisher toan theden doorkeeperTürhüter yetnoch notnicht putgestellt hashat. heEr beckonswinkt to himihm (beckons)zu, sinceda heer hisseinen stiffeningerstarrenden bodyKörper notnicht anymoremehr raise upaufrichten cankann. theDer doorkeeperTürhüter mustmuß himselfsich deeplytief tozu himihm bend downhinunterneigen, fordenn theder difference in heightGrößenunterschied hashat itselfsich greatlysehr tozu the disadvantageungunsten of thedes manMannes changedverändert. what„Was wantwillst youdu thendenn nowjetzt stillnoch to knowwissen?“ asksfragt theder doorkeeperTürhüter, you„du arebist insatiableunersättlich.“ all„Alle strivestreben surelydoch towardnach thedem lawGesetz,“ sayssagt theder manMann, how„wieso comeskommt ites, thatdaß inin theden manyvielen yearsJahren nobodyniemand exceptaußer memir admittanceEinlaß demandedverlangt hashat?“ theDer doorkeeperTürhüter realizeserkennt, thatdaß theder manMann alreadyschon atan hisseinem endEnde isist andund, in orderum hissein fadingvergehendes hearingGehör stillnoch tozu reacherreichen, roarsbrüllt heer at himihn (roars)an: here„Hier couldkonnte nobodyniemand elsesonst admittanceEinlaß receiveerhalten, fordenn thisdieser entranceEingang waswar onlynur forfür youdich meantbestimmt. IIch gogehe nowjetzt andund closeschließe itihn.“
Now he does not have long to live. Before his death, all the experiences of the whole time gather in his head into one question he has not yet put to the doorkeeper. He beckons to him, since he can no longer raise his stiffening body. The doorkeeper has to bend down deep to him, for the difference in height has changed greatly to the man’s disadvantage. “What do you still want to know now?” asks the doorkeeper; “you are insatiable.” “Everyone strives toward the law,” says the man; “how is it that in all these years no one but me has demanded admittance?” The doorkeeper realizes that the man is already at his end and, to reach his fading hearing, roars at him: “No one else could receive admittance here, for this entrance was meant only for you. I am going now, and I am closing it.”
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