National glory is a deceptive seducer. At first, it entices and uplifts; once it reaches a certain height, it constricts the mind with an iron band. The one ensnared sees nothing in the fog but their own reflection, no longer capable of perceiving any foreign new impressions. May heaven protect us from such national glory. National and universal, cosmopolitan thinking unfolds in Herder in a remarkable interplay. Of great importance is his translation work, which began in early youth and continued until the late Weimar period. Engaging with the literatures of various nations seemed to him more meaningful than studying political and military history. For in the latter, we rarely see more of a people than how they were governed and killed; in the former, we learn how they thought, what they desired, and what they wanted.