in 1805 hölderlin was delivered into the clinic at tübingen run by dr ferdinand authenrieth, inventor of a mask for the prevention of screaming in the mentally ill. the following year he was discharged as incurable and given three years to live, but was taken in by the carpenter ernst zimmer (a cultured man, who had read his "hyperion") and given a room in his house, which had been a tower in the old city wall, with a view across the neckar river and meadows. zimmer and his family cared for hölderlin until his death, 36 years later. wilhelm waiblinger, a young poet and admirer, left a poignant account of hölderlin's day-to-day life during these long, empty years. as time went on he became a kind of minor tourist attraction and was visited by curious travellers and autograph-hunters. often he would spontaneously write short verses for such visitors, pure in versification but almost empty of affect, although a few of these (such as the famous "die linien des lebens", which he wrote out for his carer Zimmer on a piece of wood) have a piercing beauty and have been set to music by many composers.



die linien des lebens sind verschieden
wie wege sind, und wie der berge grenzen.
was hier wir sind, kann dort ein gott ergänzen
mit harmonien und ewigem lohn und frieden.