The Banker

Götz: Banker

Kruspe does not have a drawing of the banker.

In the text passed on by Schröer, this scene portrays a banker: »Der Tod zum Banquier« / »Der Banquier«. In Götz' and Pohle's texts, however, he is a merchant: »Der Todt zum Kaufmann« / »Der Kaufmann«. In the index over Götz' watercolours he is is simply called Kaufmann«, while the other merchant by the ships is called: »Kauffmann z. Schiffe«.

The two merchant's have split the dialogue from Lübeck's "new" text between them, so this merchant gets six of the eight lines from the merchant in Lübeck's dialogue.

Der Tod zum Banquier:
Denk' an den Bankerot, den Adam längst gemacht,
Der setzet dich in Schuld, und hat mich hergebracht.
Ich fordre meinen Theil an der erworbnen Beute,
Nur meine Firma gilt, du wechselst sie noch heute.

Death to the Banker:
Think of the bankruptcy that Adam made long ago,(1)
It puts you in debt and has brought me here.
I demand my share of the acquired booty,
Only my company is valid, you will change it this very today.

Der Banquier:
Der letzte Mahner kommt, mich trotzig angerennt,
Doch bin ich nicht fallit, hier ist mein Testament:
Den Geist vermach ich Gott, das Gut den rechten Erben,
Dem Grabe meine Schuld, den Leib dem Tod im Sterben.

The Banker
The last admonisher comes, running at me defiantly,
Nonetheless I am not broke, here is my last will:
I bequeath my spirit to God, my property to the rightful heirs,
my debt to the grave, and in dying: my body to Death.

Besides calling the banker "Kauffmann", Götz' and Pohle's texts have another slight variant. Death doesn't call the merchant »der erworbnen Beute« ("the acquired booty"), but »der errungnen Beute«: the captured/won booty.

Footnotes: (1)

See the page about Adam, Eve and the Original Sin.