Friedrich Schiller published Das Lied von der Glocke, The Song of the Bell, in 1799. Generations of German pupils learned it by heart. Until about 1950 it was a fixed part of the Gymnasium curriculum. The first stanza describes the preparations for casting a bell: Von der Stirne heiß / Rinnen muß der Schweiß, / Soll das Werk den Meister loben, / Doch der Segen kommt von oben. The sweat must run hot from the brow if the work is to praise the master. But the blessing comes from above.