To forestall one criticism to which the following short commentary would
seem to lay itself open, I wish to state that the plan of making the notes
partly in English and partly in German has been formed after considerable
reflection. Stifter's use of language is so peculiar and original in
places, that the nearest approach to the force of an expression is often
made in German, as [29], [41], [46], [47], etc. A mere translation in such
places would be misleading without a full explanation of the idiomatic
bearing of the word or phrase in question. On the other hand, the pregnant
meaning of words like [15], [72], [75], etc., it has been thought, would
best be suggested in English for the sake of simplicity, and further
elucidation left to the teacher.