I am having a difficult time understanding the meaning of the following passage. Specifically, I do not understand the 'als zu + Infinitiv' construction at the end.
Zum Schäkespears Tag [1771] von Goethe
Dieses Leben, meine Herren, ist für unsre Seele viel zu kurz, Zeuge, dass jeder Mensch, der geringste wie der höchste, der unfähigste wie der würdigste, eher alles müd wird, als zu leben.
The construction is bolded at the end.
My translation:
This life, gentlemen, is much too short for our soul. Witness that every human, the merest like the highest, the least capable like the most worthy, becomes rather weary of everything (too much to live).
Question:
Do I have the correct sense or meaning in my translation? If not please advise on the meaning.
I would appreciate an explanation of this construction and would like to know whether it is still used or if it is veraltet and/or literary.
eher x als zu y
can mean "first x then y" but it can also mean "rather x than y"/"x instead of y". – Toscho May 12 '14 at 16:51