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 BOHN'S STANDARD LIBRARY. 
 
 GOETHE'S FAUST 
 
 m TWO PARTS.
 
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 \u(Xfl ^t^^l^ 
 
 
 
 GOETHE'S FAUST 
 
 IN TWO PARTS. 
 
 TRANSLATED HT 
 
 ANNA SWAN WICK, 
 
 TSANSLATOB OF ÄSCHYLUS, ETC. 
 
 LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS, YORK STREET, 
 
 CO VENT GARDEN. 
 
 1883.
 
 LOKDON : 
 PBINTED BY WIIXIAM CLOWES AKD SONS, LIMITED, 
 
 STAUTOBD BTaSZI AND CUABISG CB03S.
 
 TRANSLATOE'S PREFACE. 
 
 Having been invited by my publisher to complete my version of 
 * Faust,' by translating the second part, I willingly applied myself 
 to the task, and at the same time availed myself of the opportunity 
 thus afforded to revise my translation of the first part, which was 
 published more than a quarter of a century ago. 
 
 No one can be more fully sensible of the shortcomings of a 
 translation than the translator ; nevertheless I cannot subscribe to 
 the opinion which has recently found several powerful advocates, 
 namely, " that verse translations of good poetry are a mistake," and 
 consequently that prose is the most appropriate medium for its 
 reproduction. 
 
 Mr. Hayward informs us, in his recent volume on Goethe,* that 
 " there are now more than forty English translations of ' Faust ' in 
 verse, many by persons of taste, cultivation, and accomplishment ; 
 but the highest praise that can be justly claimed for the best is, 
 that they approximate to the original in parts. The cause of such 
 a succession of failures may be found in the nature of the task." 
 Mr. Lewes, with reference to the inadequacy of metrical translation, 
 says, " A translation may be good as a translation, but it cannot be 
 an adequate reproduction of the original. It may be a good )>oeiii, 
 it may be a good imitation of another jioem, it may be better than 
 the original, but it cannot be an adequate reproduction, it cannot be 
 the same thing in another language, producing the same effect on 
 the mind. And the cause lies deep in the nature of poetry." 
 
 This is perfectly true, and were the original accessible to all, 
 translation would, of course, be superfluous, "i'he choice lies, 
 however, not between the original and a translation, but bctwcc;n 
 
 * Foreign classics for English readers.
 
 VI TRANSLATORS PREFACE. 
 
 prose and verse, as the most suitable medium for tl.e reproduction 
 of poetry. Those who inveigh against poetical translation speak of 
 " the sacred and mysterious union of thought and verse, twin-born 
 and immortally wedded from the moment of their birth." The 
 natural relation thus recognised as existing between thought and 
 verse in original composition, does not, it appears to me, cease when 
 the poetic thought, instead of springing from the depths of the 
 creative spirit, is derived from a foreign source ; and as the seed, if 
 it take root, and spring forth anew, must produce a flower, "like to 
 the mother plant in semblance," so the poetic thought can only 
 find adequate expression in tones which harmonize with the music 
 of the original verse. 
 
 A poet, in describing the pleasure attending the exeixise of the 
 creative faculty, exclaims, " Oh ! to create within the soul is bliss !" 
 A faint echo of this emotion accompanies the endeavour to body 
 ibrth the conceptions of the inspired master and, under such cir- 
 cumstances, the metrical form suggests itself spontaneously, as in 
 original composition. 
 
 That the task of poetical translation is not eutirelj' futile is proved 
 by many noteworthy examples ; Mr. Lewes himself, in speaking of 
 the translation of bhakespeare by Tieck and A. W. Schlegel, afte" 
 alluding to its shortcomings, adds : " It is nevertheless a translation 
 which, on the whole, has perhaps no rival in literature, and has 
 served to make Shakespeare as familiar to the Germans as to us." 
 Can we imagine that the same effect would have been produced by 
 the most perfect translation in prose ? 
 
 At the present time when, in consequence of the growing interest 
 in scientific pursuits, and from other causes, less time than heretofore 
 is devoted to the studj' of the ancient classics, and when, from the 
 wide diffusion of education, a taste for literature is awakened in 
 many individuals, to whom all languages, except their own, are a 
 sealed book, the question as to the true ideal to be aimed at in 
 translation becomes a very important one. 
 
 That we already possess some poetical translations which rank 
 as master-works is universally recognised, and I cannot but think 
 that, instead of inveighing against metrical translation as a mistake, 
 it would be advisable to encourage the hope that eventually every 
 great work of genius, of every age and every clime, may be 
 made accessible to the English reader in a translation which shal5
 
 TKANSLATOE S PREFACE. VU 
 
 approximate to the original, as nearly as possible, in form %n 
 well as in spirit. 
 
 This is the ideal at which I have aimed in my translation of 
 * Faust.' I am, however, deeply sensible how far I have fallen 
 short of its realisation. 
 
 My introduction is based upon Kuno Fischer's interesting work, 
 entitled ' Goethe's Faust, üeber die Entstehung und Composition 
 des Gedichts,' to which I must refer for a fuller exposition of the 
 topics therein discussed. The sketch of the poet's life which I have 
 introduced, as illustrating his great master-j^^vork, is compiled from 
 the ' Autobiography ' (Dichtung und Wahrheit), Bohn's edition ; 
 Lewes's ' Life of Goethe,' ' Goethe, Vorlesungen von Herman Grimm,' 
 and ' Goethe,' by Mr. Hayward. 
 
 The explanatory annotations at the end of the volume are for the 
 most part abridged from the ' Erläuterungen zu Goethe's Faust, 
 zweiter Theil,' appended to the edition of the poem published by 
 Moriz Carriere in 1869. I am also indebted for some suggestions 
 to Diintzer's ' Würdigung des Goethe'schen Faust,' and to Hermann 
 Kiintzel's work, 'Der zweite Theil des Goethe'schen Faust, neu und 
 vollständig erklärt.' 
 
 I beg to express my acknowledgments to Mr. Theodore Martin 
 for placing at my disposal his " selections from the second part of 
 Faust," to which I am indebted for several valuable suggestions. I 
 have also to thank Mr. Kegan Paul for his kindness in looking over 
 my manuscript. 
 
 I am acquainted with four translations of the second piart of 
 'Faust,' all of which I have occasionally consulted; they are, an 
 anonymous translation, published by William PickerJncc in 1842, 
 and those of Leopold F. Bernays, Dr. Anster, and Mr. Bayard 
 Taylor.
 
 INTKODÜCTION. 
 
 Goethe's ' Faust ' has been likened by Kuno Fischer to Dante's poem 
 of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise ; sprung, as he says, from the 
 innermost genius of the Italian people, this poem, transcending its 
 national limits, may be regarded as the poetical reflex of the middle 
 ages. Goethe's ' Faust ' bears a similar relation to the genius of the 
 German people ; giving complete expression to their innermost 
 characteristics, it has become their ' Divina Commedia.' 
 
 Genuine poetical material, he adds, is not artificially produced ; 
 it obeys the laws of living organisms, is transmitted from generation 
 to generation, and bears the impress of each succeeding age ; thus 
 the Faust-legend had lived in the spirit of the German people for 
 tvpo hundred years before its adoption by Goethe ; a slight sketch of 
 its history may throw light uj^on his poem in which it has found its 
 latest development.. 
 
 The Faust-legend was a continuation of the Magus-legend, which 
 arose in ancient times from the deification of the powers of nature ; 
 in accordance with this conception, philosophers, who penetrated 
 more deeply than ordinary mortals into the mysteries of nature, 
 were believed to be endowed with supernatural powers, and were 
 regarded with veneration, as wonder-workers, or magi. 
 
 With the advent of Christianity, the divinities of the ancient 
 world were transformed into demons, and became associated in the 
 popular imagination with Satan ; hence, under its influence, magic 
 became invested with a diabolical character, and was reprobated ag 
 a league with the powers of evil ; at the same time the church, being 
 more potent than hell, could, it was supposed, offer an infliUible 
 antidote to its machinations. This power was forfeited at the He- 
 formation, when the Pope, in accordance with the Protestantism of 
 the age, was regarded as Antichrist; the church, divested of its 
 sacred character, could no longer offer a refuge to the votary of
 
 X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 magic, and hence, the hond-slave of Satan, at tie expiration of the 
 a]ipointed term, inevitably became his prey ; thus, iu the 16th 
 century a profouudly tragical character was impressed upon the 
 mediajval legend, which was also modified by the Renaissance. 
 After a sleep of nearly a thousand years the spirit of Greece revived 
 with the discovery of the ancient classics, and combined with the 
 Reformation to create iu the popular mind a strong revulsion from 
 many of the characteristic fi>;ures of the mediseval world ; to such 
 an age, what could be an object of more intense desire than to gaze 
 upon the matchless forms of classical antiquity ? Magic, in league 
 with the Renaissance, fulfilled this wish ; thus Faust, the magician 
 of the period, in the presence of Charles V., summons from Hades 
 Alexander the Great and Roxana ; he allows his students at Erfurt 
 to gaze upon the heroes of the ' Iliad ' and the ' Odyssey,' and at last — 
 the greatest of his achievements — he conjures the Grecian Helena to 
 the upper world ; the magic of beauty conquers the magician ; over- 
 powered by love, he marries the shadow of the Grecian heroine; this 
 marriage with a heathen was regarded by the superstitious feeling 
 of the age as the most heinous crime, and its perpetrator was con- 
 signed remorselessly to hell. 
 
 The marriage with Helena forms the fundamental theme of the 
 second part of ' Faust' ; Goethe, in treating this element of the 
 ancient legend, has modified it in accordance with the genius of an 
 age enlightened by "Winckelmann and inaugurated bj' Lessing. In 
 his symbolical treatment of the subject, Helena typifies the perfect 
 realization of ideal beauty, and, in accordance with this conception, 
 Faust's union with her is represented not as leading to the abyss 
 of hell, but as an upward step in the path of spiritual regeneration. 
 
 In the 16th century the Magus-legend became associated with 
 Faust, who may be considered first as an historical, and then as a 
 legendary personage, and finally as the hero of German jxipuiar 
 literature. Magic, notwithstanding its supposed diabolical character, 
 being held in high esteem in the 16th century, its votaries formed a 
 numerous class, embracing men of every variety of culture, from 
 students like Agrippa and Paracelsus, down to the mountebank 
 and quack. One of these individuals, in whose person the features 
 of popular magic were strikingly exhibited, left behind him an 
 enduring name which became associated with ^he mediajval Magus- 
 legend,
 
 INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 This individual was John Faust, the tovvLsman and contemporary 
 of Melancthon ; from 1516 to 1525 he resided with his friend the 
 abbot of Maulbronn, where the Faust-kitchen and Faust-tower still 
 exist ; he subsequently appeared at Wittenberg, where he was 
 earnestly exhorted by Melancthon on account of his magical arts ; 
 escaping thence by flight, from impending imprisonment, he 
 wandered through the world, and finally ended his life in a village 
 of Würtemberg. While residing in Wittenberg he boasted that the 
 defeat of the imperial army in Italy was the result of his magical 
 arts ; the devil was said to have accompanied him in the form of a 
 black hound. 
 
 To guard against misconception, it may be remarked that John 
 Faust, the hero of the Magus-legend, has nothing in common witli 
 Jolm Fust, the printer of Mainz, with whom, without any historical 
 justification, he became subsequently identified. 
 
 During the latter half of the 16th century a variety of magical 
 incidents gathered round the person of the popular favourite ; who 
 thus became transformed from an historical to a legendary per- 
 sonage. Among many examples, the following may be selected as 
 having special interest with reference to Goethe's ' Faust.' In a 
 work published by Lercheimer, a disciple of Melancthon, in 1585, 
 he relates that, at the court of Heidelberg, a wandering and un- 
 named magician had wrought a notable miracle ; he had caused 
 vines to spring from the table, and had commanded the guests 
 severally to apply their knives to the stalk of a grape-cluster, but 
 not to cut till he should give the order ; he then left the room ; on 
 his return each guest held under his knife, not a grape-cluster, but 
 his own nose. A year later this story is related of Faust, without 
 any indication of place. Subsequently it is amplified, and is trans- 
 ferred to a festival at Erfurt. The guests regret that Faust, who is 
 then at Prague, is not among them ; he suddenly appears, trans- 
 ported by magic, is joyfully welcomed and liberally entertained; 
 wisliing in turn to treat the company, he causes holes to be bored 
 in the table, from which flows the noblest wine. In one of the 
 oldest Faust-books, it is related that Faust had ridden out of tlie 
 cellar on a wine-cask, which, till then, nobody had been able to 
 move ; this incident was localized in Auerbach's cellar at Leipzig, 
 where the picture of Faust's exit upon the wine-cask, bearing the 
 (late 1525, still exists. These various incidents assign&d by tradition
 
 xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to different localities, Heidelberg, Erfurt, Leipzig, Goethe combinea 
 into one scene, where however it is not Faust, but Mephistopheles 
 who plays the part of conjuror. The oldest Faust-book, of which 
 many versions were subsequently published, appeared in Frankfort, 
 1587 ; it contains the crude materials of Goethe's * Faust ;' and is 
 impressed with the various features of the mediseval legend ; the 
 diabolic and the tragic, the grand and the burlesque. 
 
 The hero, a peasant's son, comes as a student to Wittenberg, where 
 he surpasses all his companions ; he yearns for forbidden knowledge, 
 buries himself in magical books, and places the Scriptures behind the 
 door ; he dislikes the title of theologian and styles himself doctor 
 of medicine, astrologer, and mathematician. Notwithstanding its 
 horror of magic, the pious popular book betrays also genuine admi- 
 ration for the intellectual ardour of the bible-contemning youth: 
 " He took to himself eagle's wings, and wished to explore all 
 grounds in heaven and upon earth." Then follows his compact with 
 the devil : " In that hour," says the old Faust-book, the godless man 
 fell away from God, and this fall was nothing more than his own 
 pride, despair, and temerity ; it was with him as with the giants of 
 whom the poets relate that they piled mountain upon mountain, and 
 wished to make war against God." This allusion to the Titans, in 
 the earliest Faust-book, offers another example of the influence 
 exercised by the Eenaissance over the intellectual life of the period. 
 After residing eight years at Wittenberg, Faust, accompanied by 
 Mephistopheles, makes the great torn, in the course of which they 
 appear in Rome and Constantinople. At a students' banquet at 
 Wittenberg he invokes the Grecian Helena, whom he marries, and 
 who bears him a son. As the end approaches he is seized with 
 remorse, and is overwhelmed with agony at the prospect of his 
 inevitable doom. Mephistopheles, meanwhile, certain of his prey, 
 derides his horror-stricken victim. Faust passes the last day of his 
 life with his friends in a village near Wittenberg, where, amid the 
 raging of the elements, his final doom is consummated. With his 
 death Helena and her son disappear from the scene. 
 
 In the year 1590 the German Faust-book was translated into 
 English, and almost immediately afterwards appeared the " Tragical 
 History of Dr. Faustus," by Marlowe, who, in accordance with the 
 genius of the age, has simply dramatised the popular legend, the 
 tragical element of which is brought out with wonderful power in the
 
 IKTEOLUCTION. XIH 
 
 closing scene. At a somewhat later date another version of the story- 
 was introduced upon the Spanish stage by Calderon de la Barca. 
 
 At this period the German theatre was dominated by a degenerate 
 classical taste ; French plays were preferred to those of native 
 growth, and hence 'Faust,' though produced upon the German 
 stage, did not hold its ground, but was degraded to a puppet-show 
 play, the sight of which, in his childhood, so powerfully affected the 
 imagination of Goethe. The ages, it has been truly said, are 
 mirrored in their legends. A new age has now arrived, an age of 
 spiritual new-birth ; it looks with the eyes of Lessing into the 
 Faust-legend, and a change passes over the features of the magician. 
 That great critic opposed the prevailing taste for the artificial pro- 
 ductions of the French school, and referred his countrymen to the 
 grand works of original genius, more especially to the plays of 
 Shakespeare. He called their attention also to the native dramas, 
 which had been banished from the stage, and declared, with re- 
 ference to the ' Faust ' drama, " it has many scenes which only a 
 Shakespearian genius could have conceived." 
 
 Lessing not only indicated ' Faust ' as a grand subject for dra- 
 matic treatment, he himself laid his hand to the work, which, 
 however, he never completed; one scene of his drama alone 
 remains. From the testimony of two of his friends, Blankenburg 
 and Engel, we obtain, however, important information as to the 
 main idea embodied in Lessing's ' Faust.' 
 
 In an ancient dome, at midnight, the devil had assembled the 
 spirits of hell to a carnival, at which each relates his individual 
 achievements ; one declares : " I have done nothing ; I have only 
 conceived a thought more devilish than the deeds of the others ; I will 
 rob God of his favourite, a youth devoted to the pursuit of truth, 
 and for its sake renouncing every other passion." Satan exults in 
 anticipation over the accomplishment of his design. Then a voice 
 proclaims from on high : — " Ye shall not prevail ! " 
 
 These words indicate a new epoch in the development of the 
 Faust-legend, which adapts itself, as formerly to the genius of the 
 16th, so now to that of the 18th century. The contempt for 
 antiquated and worn-out forms, the craving for originality, the 
 passionate thirst for higher knowledge, which characterised the new 
 epoch, found their counterpart in the hero of the popular legend : " IIo 
 took to himself eagle's wings, and wished to explore all grounds in
 
 XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 heaven and upon earth." How Lessing would have carried out his 
 concejition can never be known ; so far, however, is certain ; Faust is 
 to be saved ! The triumpl^ of hell over such a spirit is only apparent ; 
 a mind thirsting for truth is no prey for Satan. In order to bring 
 the magician of the popular legend into harmony with the spirit of 
 the age, the great magician of German literature must appear, to 
 whom it was given to fashion men after his image. When Lessing 
 directed attention to Faust, Goethe was in his tenth year ; a decade 
 later, and the time approaches when the conception of Faust will 
 begin to take possession of his soul. 
 
 It has been remarked by Mr. Lewes, " that all Goethe's works are 
 biographical ; are parts of his life, and expressions of the various ex- 
 jxjriences he underwent, and the various stages of culture he passed 
 through."* This is eminently true of ' Faust/ and hence it may be 
 desirable for its elucidation, to give a brief sketch of the poet's life. 
 
 The trite aphorism that " the child is the father of the man " has 
 never perhaps had a more striking illustration than in Goethe; 
 and as in Faust, we have an idealized portrait of the great poet, a 
 cursory allusion to a few characteristics of his childhood may form 
 a fitting prelude to the consideration of the poem. 
 
 Many of the most striking and apparently opposite tendencies of 
 Goethe's nature, subsequently impersonated in the creations of his 
 genius, manifested themselves almost in his infancy. Thus his 
 innate love of the beautiful and disgust at its opposite, displayed 
 itself in his third year, when he was moved to -tears by the sight of 
 an ugly child. He tells us how, when a boy, he flew past the meat 
 stalls in perfect horror, while it was his special delight to promenade 
 on the great bridge over the Maine, where the beautiful river above 
 and below the bridge attracted his eye, and the gilt weather-cock on 
 the bridge-cross glittered in the sunshine. 
 
 To the student of Faust, who remembers the magnificent descrip- 
 tion of the sunset, in the first part, it is interesting to read of the 
 boy's experience in the so-called garden-room, commanding a plea- 
 sant prospect over an almost immeasurable extent of neighbours' 
 gardens. " There," he says, " I commonly learned my lessons, and 
 watched the thunderstorms, and could never look my fill at the 
 setting sun, which went down directly opposite my window." 
 
 * Sea also Goethe's Autobiography (^Dichtung und Wahrhcii), vol. v 
 p. 24-0. (Bohn's ed.)
 
 INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 His dramatic proclivities, together with his marvellous creative 
 faculty, also manifested themselves in early childhood. Never to be 
 forgotten was the last Christmas gift of his grandmother, a puppet 
 theatre, "whereby an imagined world of enchantment was opened to 
 the four-year-old child ; " he himself tells us how " the marionette 
 fable of Faust, murmured with many voices in his soul." We also 
 learn from his autobiography how, when weary of the original drama 
 to which the puppets had been specially adapted, other pieces were 
 attempted with changed dresses and decorations ; and how, when 
 he and his companions had out-grown the puppets, his fancy and 
 technical skill were exercised in making arrangements for the plays 
 and tragedies in which they were themselves the performers. His 
 precocious power of story-telling was also exercised for the delight of 
 his companions, and the specimen which he gives of these boyish 
 productions, in ' The New Paris,' exhibits the same blending of the 
 real and the ideal which characterised his mature creations, and 
 shows us how, " in accordance with the instincts of his nature, he 
 learned to work up his visions and conceits into artistic forms." 
 
 In his sixth year his peace of mind was deeply disturbed by 
 tidings of the Lisbon earthquake ; God the Creator and Preserver of 
 heaven and earth, in thus consigning the just and the unjust to the 
 same destruction, had not manifested Himself, by any means, in a 
 fatherly character. In vain the young mind strove to resist these 
 impressions ; he began to settle into a serious disbelief in the benig- 
 nity of Providence. Gradually his doubts subsided ; he listened in 
 the family circle to discussions respecting the different religious secfs, 
 all of whom were animated by the same purpose of approaching the 
 Deity, especially through Christ, more closely than seemed possible 
 under the forms of the established religion. He came to the thouglit 
 that he also might immediately approach the great God of Nature, 
 whose earlier manifestations of wrath had been long forgotten in 
 beauty of the world. The boy could ascribe no form to tlie Deity ; 
 he therefore sought him in his works, and resolved, in the good Old 
 Testament fashion, to build him an altar. Natural productions 
 were set forth as images of the world, over which a flame was to 
 burn, typifying the aspirations of man's heart towards his Maker. 
 Ores and other natural productions were arranged on a music-stand, 
 in the form of a four-sided pyramid; a fumigating ])astiile was 
 [ilaced on the apex; the sun glittered above the rooi's, a burning
 
 XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 glass was applied, and thus was the worship consuTrmated by a 
 priest of seven years old, alone in his chamber." We see here, in 
 embryo, as it were, in the child's mind, the curious dualism which 
 characterised the poet, and which found its most typical expression 
 in his great master- work, ' Faust.' The reasoning, doubting, deny- 
 ing intellect finds there impersonation, as well as the heaven- 
 aspiring soul. The tendency to symbolic mysticism moreover, 
 which has found such beautiful expression in the concluding scene 
 of the second part of ' Faust,' thus manifested itself in the worship 
 of the seven-year-old child. 
 
 Faust's passionate thirst for knowledge, which sought gratification 
 in all directions, and strove to unveil the hidden mysteries of nature, 
 had also its prototype in the juvenile Goethe. For an account of 
 the various modes in which he sought to gratify, what he has him- 
 self styled, his voracious appetite for knowledge, the reader is referred 
 to the earlier pages of his autobiography. One example of this 
 many-sided curiosity must suffice : an armed loadstone, sewed up 
 in scarlet cloth, was, he tells us, destined one day to experience the 
 efi"ects of his spirit of investigation. The secret attractive force 
 exercised by the instrument excited his wonder and admiration ; 
 desiring to arrive at some revelation of the mystery, he tore away 
 the external covering ; " the parts were scattered, and I lost," he 
 says, " the wondrous phenomenon at the same time with the 
 apparatus." 
 
 His susceptibility to the tender passion, which formed so striking 
 a characteristic of his nature, and which so powerfully influenced 
 his subsequent career, manifested itself even in his boyhood. He 
 tells us how, before his fifteenth year, he experienced for the first 
 time the joys and sorrows of love. The story of his intercourse 
 with Gretchen, whose name he has immortalised in * Faust,' is 
 circumstantially related in his autobiography ; the mental anguish, 
 together with the physical prostration which followed the destruc- 
 tion of his romance, bear witness to the intensity of his feelings ; I 
 have no doubt that here, as in many subsequent episodes of his life, 
 he has embodied some passages of his own experience in ' Faust,' 
 where situations and images appear which remind us of his inter- 
 course with Gretchen. 
 
 Thus he tells us how her form, from the moment in which he first 
 beheld her, followed him in every path : as he could find no pretext
 
 INTRODUCTION. XVll 
 
 to see her at home, he went to church for love of her, and there 
 gazed his fill. " When the congregation left the church," he adds, 
 " I did not venture to accost her, much less to accompany her, and 
 was perfectly delighted if she seemed to have returned my greeting 
 with a nod." Surely we have here the germ of the scene in which 
 Gretchen, on leaving the cathedral, is unceremoniously accosted by 
 Faust. Moreover when, at length, Goethe visits Gretchen's home, 
 she sits at the window spinning ; and the relation which subsequently 
 sprang up between them — the maiden anxious to learn, and the 
 youth inclined to teach — suggests what appears to him the most 
 beautiful union between two human beings, when the maiden looks 
 up to her lover as the creator of her spiritual existence ; which is 
 precisely Gretchen's attitude towards Faust. 
 
 " At length the arrow, with its barbed hooks, was torn out of his 
 heart, and the question then was how the inward sanative power of 
 youth could be brought to his aid." He fled to the woods, and in 
 the remotest depth of the forest sought out a solemn spot, where 
 the noblest oaks and beeches formed a large, noble, shaded space. 
 Here he gradually experienced the healing ministrations of nature ; 
 and when the undefined feelings awakened by his sacred grove could 
 no longer satisfy him, he found relief in his artistic proclivities, and 
 copied from nature the various objects by which he was surrounded. 
 
 The wonderful susceptibility to the influences of nature, revealed 
 in this experience of boyhood, formed one of the most striking 
 characteristics of the man, and has also found expression in his great 
 master-work. After the heart-rending emotions experienced by Faust 
 in the prison-scene with Gretchen, at the end of the first part, he 
 reappears in the oi>ening scene of the second part with his lacerated 
 spirits healed and harmonised by the soothing influences of nature, 
 typified by Ariel and his elfin choir; and in the artistic realization 
 of ideal beauty, he finds a worthy object for his renovated powers. 
 
 Having thus followed our poet through his childhood and boyhood, 
 and having noticed some characteristics and expeiienccs in their 
 relation to ' Faust,' we must now follow him to Leipzig, whither 
 he repaired at the age of sixteen, to enter upon his college life. 
 
 At that time the influence of a degenerate Fi-ench taste, against 
 which Lessing had already ujjlifted his powerful voice, completely 
 dominated the social and intellectual life of Leipzig. Gottsched, 
 the ixidantic upholder of French culture, characterised by Goetlia 
 
 c
 
 XVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fts a respectable old graiulfother, held a prominent position at tlie 
 university ; wliile the monotonous system of routine which there 
 ])revailed is described by Herman Grimm, as a continuous vegeta- 
 tion liedged round by reverence. 
 
 It is not surprising that Goethe's earliest literary productions 
 should bear the stamp of his uncongenial environment; his poetical 
 career vf&s inaugurated by a series of songs, in the prevailing French 
 style, comjiosed for music, and by the composition of his earliest 
 extant drama, ' Die Laune des Verliebten ' (translated under the 
 title of ' The Wayward Lover '). This drama was founded upon his 
 relation with Anna Kathrina Schönkopf, the attractive daughter of 
 his host and hostess, whose affections, according to his own account, 
 he won and afterwards forfeited by his own foolish jealousy and 
 caprice, A second drama, * Die IMitschuldigen ' (' 'J'he Fellow- 
 Culprits '), was also sketched at this period ; the experiences em- 
 bodied in these two pieces furnish, however, no elements for ' Faust ;' 
 the (eature of his Leipzig residence which has there stamped itself 
 with the greatest prominence is the dissatisfaction awakened by the 
 college lectures on philosophy, logic, and jurisprudence. 
 
 " At first," he tells us, " I attended my lectures assiduously and 
 faithfully; but the philosophy would by no means enlighten me. 
 ]n the logic, it seemed strange to me that I had so to tear asunder, 
 isolate, and, as it were, destroy those operations of the mind which 
 I had perfomied with the greatest ease from my youth upwards, 
 and this in order to see into the right use of them. Of the world, 
 and of God, I thought I knew about as much as the Professor him- 
 self. ... It was soon quite as bad with the law lectures ; for I 
 already knew just as much as the Professor thought good to com- 
 municate to us. My stubborn industry in writing down the lectures 
 at first, was paralysed by degrees, for I found it excessively tedious 
 to pen down once more that which I had repeated often enough to 
 retain it for ever in my memory." We have here the experience 
 which subsequently embodied itself in the celebrated scene between 
 Mephistopheles and the Student. 
 
 To this period must also be referred some elements in the por- 
 traiture of Faust himself. Goethe has informed us how, in preparino; 
 for his first communion, his religious aspirations had been paralysed 
 by the dry, spiritless routine to which he was subjected. " I re- 
 ceived absolution," he says, " and withdrew neither warm nor cold ;
 
 INTKODUCTION. xix 
 
 and the next day accompanied my parents to the Table of the Lord." 
 He then describes the powerful impression produced upon his iniagi- 
 jiation by the text, tLat one who unworthily partakes of the Sacra- 
 ment, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself. Every fearful 
 thing which he had read in the histories of the middle ages, and 
 even in the Bible itself, about the judgments of God, formed itself 
 into the most frightful combinations, and produced a painful hypo- 
 chondriacal condition which accompanied him to Leipzig. There, 
 however, he became ashamed of his doubts, and at last, he says, 
 " I completely left behind me this strange anguish of conscience, 
 together with church and altar." " And thus, by degrees, the epoch 
 approached when all authority was to vanish from before me, and I 
 was to become suspicious — nay, to despair even, of the greatest and 
 best individuals whom I had known or imagined." This fragment 
 of his great confession finds an echo in some passages of ' Faust.' 
 
 We must not bid farewell to his Leipzig experiences without 
 adverting to his art studies, which he there carried on with zeal and 
 enthusiasm. He became the pupil of Oeser, the director of the 
 Drawing Academy, who taught him that " the Ideal of Beauty is 
 simplicity and repose." He studied the writings of Winckelmann 
 and the 'Laocoon' of Lessing. Alluding to the distinction there 
 pointed out between plastic and speaking art (^Bildende und Redende 
 Kunsi^jhe says: "All the consequences of this splendid thought 
 were illumined to us as by a lightning flash." There was awakened 
 within him an intense desire to visit the picture-gallery at Dresden ; 
 thither he repaired, and on entering tlie sanctuary, his astonish- 
 ment surpassed every expectation he had formed. He had like- 
 wise the opportunity at Leipzig of examining many valuable art 
 collections; "and so the university," he says, "where I neglected 
 the ends both of my family and myself, was to ground me in that 
 in which I afterwards found the greatest satisfaction of my life." 
 
 Owing to a variety of causes his health gave way, and one sum- 
 mer night (17G8) he awoke with a violent haemorrhage. Medical 
 assistance was called in ; for many days he wavered between life 
 and death, "and even the joy of convalescence was embittered by 
 the disoovery of a tumour wliich formed in the left side of his neck, 
 and which troubled him for a considerable time." Thus with 
 shattered health he left Leipzig in Scjitember 17GS, and returucil to 
 his native city. Among the remembrances which he carried with 
 
 c 2
 
 XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 him from Leipzig, that of Aiierbach's cellar, w't.h its celobratcti 
 Faust-picturc, must not be forgotten. 
 
 The domestic circumstances attending his return, his father's 
 coldness, and impatience at the slowness of his recovery, together 
 with the devoted affection of his sister, are mentioned in the auto- 
 biograjihy. Of more interest, however, as bearing u])ou ' Faust,' 
 was his intimacy with Susanna Katharina von Klettenberg, the 
 central ßgure among his mother's pious friends, a woman in whom 
 religious enthusiasm and high culture were associated with distin- 
 guished rank and charm of demeanour, and from whose letters and 
 conversations arose " the confessions of a beautiful soul," which 
 appeared in' Wilhelm Meister.' The religious mysticism to which he 
 w:is thus introduced was closely allied to alchemy, to the study of 
 which he was at this time led to devote himself. The family 
 physician, who belonged to the Pious Separatists, was addicted to 
 alchemy, and hinted at the possession of an universal medicine of 
 magical virtue, which was only to be administered in cases of 
 extreme danger. To excite belief in the possibility of such a remedy, 
 he recommended to his patients certain chemico-alchemical liooks, 
 intimating that an acquaintance with the hidden resources of nature 
 was necessary in order to produce this valuable panacea. Fräulein 
 von Klettenberg had listened to these enticing words. She had 
 secretly studied Welling's 'Opus Mago-Cabalisticum,' and small 
 excitement, the poet tells us, was needed to inoculate him also with 
 this disease. The works of Theophrastus, Paracelsus, and Basilius 
 Valeutinus, together with those of Helmont, Starkey, and other 
 alchemists were studied, and thus were spent the evenings of a long 
 winter, during which he was compelled to keep his chamber. A 
 crisis in his malady having arisen, the mysterious remedy, a 
 crystallised salt dissolved in water, was administered, and from 
 that moment the disease took a favourable turn. His faith in the 
 physician was thus enhanced, and he was stimulated to renewed 
 industry in his alchemic investigations. In his little attic he 
 provided himself with glasses, retorts, and other necessary apparatus, 
 where the strange ingredients of the macrocosm and microcosm 
 were handled in a mysterious manner, and where he busied himself 
 especially in preparing the so-called Liquor Silicum. Thus without 
 reference to the compoi^ition of ' Faust,' he familiarised himself with 
 the arts and th? nomenclature employed by the mediajval necro-
 
 IXTRODUCTIOH. XX! 
 
 mancers, whose writings, he tells us, could trace their pedigree in 
 a direct line up to the Neo-Platonic philosophy. In the light o( 
 that philosophy nature was regarded not as the object of methodical 
 study, but as a mystery, as a volume closed to earthly senses, for 
 the interpretatiou of which a key was required as mysterious as the 
 volume itself; he who could unveil these mysterious powers and 
 make tbem available was a master over the spirits, a magician. 
 This magic was an object of belief in the middle ages, and finds 
 expression in the words of Faust : — 
 
 Unlock'd the spirit world doth He ; 
 Thy sense is shut, thy heart is dead ! 
 Up, scholar, lave, with courage high. 
 Thine earthly breast in the morning-red ! 
 
 Goethe tells us that while studying the works of the alchemists 
 he was particularly pleased with " the ' Aurea Catena Ilomeri,' in 
 which nature, though perhaps in fantastical fashion, is represented 
 in a beautiful combination." This conception of the universe could 
 not find more adequate expression than in the words of Faust, when 
 in one of the magical cabalistic books he contemplates the sign of 
 the universe : — 
 
 How all things live and work, and, ever blending. 
 Weave one vast whole from being's ample range I 
 How powers celestial, rising and descending. 
 Their golden buckets ceaseless interchange ! 
 Their flight on rapture-breathing pinions winging, 
 From heaven to earth their genial influence bringing, 
 Through the wide sphere their chimes melodious ringing. 
 
 The religious mysticism to which Goethe was introduced by 
 Fräulein von Kletteuberg has, like magic, its root in the Neo-Platonic 
 philosophy. Nowhere could the divine life, operative in external 
 nature, be grasped so immediately as in the depths of the human 
 soul ; here also is chemistry needed to purify the gold of the spirit 
 from the dross of lower desires and passions. 
 
 Both forms of theosophy sought to discover the soul's way to 
 God ; magic, through external nature ; mysticism, through the 
 human soul ; the first course was pursued by Paracelsus, the second 
 by Jacob Biihm ; this magic and this mysticism find expression in
 
 XXll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the beginning and the end of 'Faust.' In the opening scene the 
 magician, after standing enraptured before the vision of the universe, 
 excli^ims iu despair : — 
 
 A wonilrous show ! but ah ! a show alone ! 
 Where shall I grasp thee, infinite nature, where? 
 
 The Mystical Chorus at the end of the poem solves the riddle ; iu 
 the divine love, symbolically represented in the Mater Gloriosa, he 
 contemplates the unveiled secret of the universe ; 
 
 All of mere transient date 
 As symbol showeth ; 
 Here the inadequate 
 To fulness groweth ; 
 Here the ineffable 
 Wrought is in love ; 
 The ever-womanly 
 Draws us above. 
 
 The period was now approaching when the genius of the great 
 poet was to reach its full development. As his health and youthful 
 spirits were restored, he gladly acceded to his father's intention of 
 sending him to Strasburg, there to prosecute his studies, and even- 
 tually to take his degree. 
 
 He arrived there April 2nd, 1770, and on alighting from the 
 diligence repaired immediately to the minster. " Many thousands 
 since then have ascended to the platform of the tower, and read 
 Goethe's name, which is there inscribed, and like him have gazed 
 from the summit upon the beautiful region in which he was about 
 to take up his abode." 
 
 Deeply significant was the brief period of his sojourn in Strasburg ; 
 the French language, to which he had addicted himself from his 
 youth, was abandoned, and he turned with earnestness to his mother 
 tongue ; his multifarious studies, scientific, literary, mystical, and 
 cabalistic, were pursued with incredible ardour ; the development of 
 his own originality awakened his sympathy with whatever was 
 original and characteristic in every department of human effort ; at 
 no period of his life could he have been more susce2:)tible to the 
 influence of Herder, who arrived in Strasburg in the winter of 1770. 
 Goethe was then one-and-twenty years of age ; there was a ferment
 
 INTRODUCTION. XX 111 
 
 within him ; he needed a master ; one who should help him to tiud 
 out his true life-career. In approaching Herder he, for the first 
 time, came in contact with a really great man, to whom he could 
 look up as his superior in culture and attainment. 
 
 Herder's mind has been compared to a mirror, in whose depths 
 was reflected the entire history of humanity. Under his influence 
 Goethe recognised that poetry is a gift to the world and to nations, 
 not the private inheritance of a few refined and cultivated men. A 
 new world was thus opened to him ; the poetry of the East, the 
 Old Testament, national songs, Homer, Ossian, Shakespeare; the 
 full power of the great English dramatist especially was now 
 experienced by him for the first time. " The first page," to quote 
 a lecture delivered by him at this period, "made me his for life; 
 and when I had perused an entire play, I stood like one born blind, 
 to whom sight, by some miraculous power, had been restored in a 
 moment." His own creative energies were stirring within him. 
 " Two subjects," he says, " had rooted themselves within me, and 
 were, little by little, moulding themselves into poetic form. These 
 were Götz von Berlichingen and Faust. The biography of the 
 former had seized my inmost heart. The figure of a rude, well- 
 meaning self-helper, in a wild anarchical time, awakened my deepest 
 sympathy. The significant pu])pet-show fable of the latter resounded 
 and vibrated many-toned within me. I, too, had wandered into 
 every department of knowledge, and had early enough been led to 
 see its vanity. Eeal life, too, I had tried ttnder various aspects, and 
 had always returned more unsatisfied and troubled." Here, if 
 anywhere, as Mr. Lewes says, we have the key to Faust. " Three 
 forms rise up from out the many influences of Strasburg into 
 distinct and memorable importance : Frederika, Herder, the Ca- 
 thedral. An exquisite woman, a noble thinker, and a splendid 
 monument, led him into the regions of Passion, Poetry, and Art."* 
 
 For the charming Sesenheim Idyl, the reader is referred to the 
 pages of the avitobiography ; the portrait of Frcderika there sketched 
 with such masterful and loving care, is declared by Herman Grimm 
 to be, not a transcript from nature, but rather the portrait of an 
 ideal being, suggested to the poet's imagination by the remembertxi 
 image of his beloved one. Who, in such a case, can separaiu 
 
 * Lewes's ' Life of Goethe.'
 
 XXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 poctr}' and truth? Sufiice it to say that tender feeling and glowing 
 passion breathe through the verses which she insjiired, which have 
 been collected into a volume entitled ' The Little Sesenheim Song- 
 book.' We must not linger amid the groves and gardens of 
 Sesenheim, or follow through its varied episodes the growth and 
 development of their natural affection, but pass at once to the 
 concluding scene. As the time approached for his departure from 
 Strasburg, they both felt tliat their romance was drawing to a close, 
 Amid the pressure of engagements which occupied the last days of 
 his sojourn there, "I could not," he says, "fail to see Frederika once 
 more. Those were painful days, the memory of which has not 
 remained with me." He went to bid her farewell. " When I held 
 out my hand to her from my horse," he says, " the tears were in her 
 eyes, and I felt sad at heart." On his return to Frankfort he wrote 
 to her ; " Frederika's answer to the letter in which I had bidden 
 her adieu," so we read in the autobiography, " tore my heart. I 
 now, for the first time, became aware of her bereavement, and saw 
 no possibility of alleviating it. She was completely present to me ; 
 I felt that she was wanting to me ; and, what was worst of all, I 
 could not forgive myself for my own misfortune. Gretchen had 
 been taken away from me ; Aennchen had left me ; now, for the 
 first time, I was guilty. I had wounded the most beautiful heart to 
 its very depths ; and the period of a gloomy repentance, with the 
 absence of a refreshing love, to which I had grown accustomed, Avas 
 most agonising, nay, unsupportable." I quote this j^assage because 
 it appears to me to have a direct relation to the Gretchen episode in 
 Faust. On the 17th of March, 1832, five days before his death, 
 Goethe addressed a letter to Wilhelm von Humboldt, in which he 
 says, " More than sixty years ago the conception of ' Faust ' lay 
 clearly before my youthful mind." We are thus carried back to 
 the year 1772, when he had just returned ftom Strasburg to Frank- 
 fort. He tells us, in his autobiography, that he had contracted a 
 practice from which he could not deviate his whole life through, of 
 converting everything that gladdened or troubled, or otherwise 
 occupied him, into a poem ; hence, all his poems are only fragments 
 of a great confession. We have seen how the images of Gretchen 
 and Frederika at this period haunted his imagination, and we can, 
 I think, trace the influence of both in the heroine of Faust. The 
 name, and some of the situations, may have been suggested by
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXV 
 
 his earlier experience, while the image of Frederika, the remorse 
 awakened by his desertion of her, together with the vivid realisation 
 of her grief, which brought her to the brink of the grave, would 
 stimulate his imagination, and embodj' themselves in that wonderful 
 creation, which, in association with Faust, takes rank among the 
 undying masterworks of genius. Antigone, Iphigenia, Ophelia 
 Imogen, must, in regard to inner life-power, yield the iit-eference to 
 Gretchen. Though English readers may not feel disposed to sub- 
 scribe to this opinion of Herman Grimm, we must all acknowledgo 
 that the anguish of bereavement has nowhere found more pathetic 
 expression than in Gretchen's song at her spinning-wheel. The terri- 
 ble scene in tbe cathedral, with which the first published fragment 
 concludes, reminds us of the profound impression produced upon his 
 mind by the contemplation of the minster. He studied it so long 
 and so afiectionately that the structure of the venerable pile became 
 clear to him, not only as a whole, but also in the individual parts. 
 In spirit he saw four higher spires ascending above the volutes of 
 the tower, with a higher one in the centre, where the clumsy cross 
 now stands. To the astonished question of the official, placed over 
 the public edifices : " Who had told him so ?" he replied, " The tower 
 itself;" and added, " I have observed it so long and so attentively 
 and have shown it so much affection, that it at last resolved to 
 make me this open confession." " It has not misinformed you," 
 replied the official ; " we still have among our archives the original 
 sketches, which say the same thing, and which I can show you." 
 We can well understand, after reading the above, how, in connection 
 with his studies for Götz von Berlichingen and Faust the minster 
 could, as he tells us, stand as a back-ground to such poetical 
 conceptions. 
 
 It is "impossible to think of Faust without at the same time 
 calling up the image of Mephistopheles, and it is interesting to 
 consider the sources from which Goethe drew this wonderiul 
 conception. 
 
 Like most of the creations of his genius, it doubtless embodies 
 one side of his own nature ; and thus, in Faust and Mepliistopheles, 
 we have the crowning example of that dualism in the poet's mind 
 which has found expression also in Antonio and Tasso, in Edward 
 and the Captain, and in Jarno and Wilhelm. Nevertheless, wo 
 must look abroad for various distinctive features which characteriso
 
 XXVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Rlephistophelos, and most commentators, following the poet's own 
 sug!j;cstiun, have regarded Johann Heinrich Merck as the genu of the 
 character. There is, however, probability in the hypothesis of 
 H. Grimm, that Herder has also supplied some elements for this 
 memorable figure ; and if so, we have here another exaraple of the 
 manner in which Goethe occasionally, in his poetic creations, fused 
 two distinct individualities into one. 
 
 The supercilious tone which Herder invariably assumed towards 
 Goethe, together with his bitter, biting, contradictory humour, which 
 he was at no trouble to control, aroused a feeling of discontent in 
 Goethe, which was continually at strife with the reverence awakened 
 by his vast knowledge, which opened to the younger poet wide views 
 of things of which he had never before dreamed. Herder, we are tokl, 
 poured forth his ideas with the richest prodigality ; no one, how- 
 ever, who received his precious gifts was spared the sarcastic 
 bitterness Avith which they were accompanied. Goethe moreover 
 recognised in Herder, for the first time, the terrible power of cold, 
 unsparing criticism. These and other characteristics of Herder may 
 liave supplied some elements for the conception of Mephistopheles, 
 to whom Goethe may also have transferred some of the sharp, 
 sarcastic features which distinguished Merck, with whom he became 
 acquainted after his departure from Strasburg. Nevertheless, highly 
 as that remarkable man was prized by Goethe, he was not, accord- 
 ing to Grimm, sulBciently significant to have furnished material for 
 a figure which looked down upon everything from so great a height 
 as did Mephistopheles. I must not pursue the subject, but refer 
 the reader to the pages of H. Grimm, where it is discussed at 
 greater length. 
 
 On returning to Frankfort, after parting from Frederika, Goethe 
 was possessed by a feeling of spiritual unrest; the walls of his 
 chamber imprisoned him ; he wandered under the open sky, in the 
 valleys, on the heights, in the fields, and in the woods ; among his 
 friends he got the name of " the wanderer" ; during his rambles he 
 composed and sang strange hymns and dithyrambs ; one of these, 
 * The Wanderer's Storm-Song,' chanted aloud amid the raging of 
 the elements, gives exjDression to these feelings, and inaugurates the 
 advent of his " Sturm und Drang " period. In November 1771 he 
 dramatised the history of Gottfried von Berlichingen with the " iron 
 hand," the predatory Burgrave of the sixteenth century. The
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXYII 
 
 Spirit of revolt against authority and tradition, which at this period 
 characterised alike Goethe and his age, found its prototype in the 
 turbulent baron, whose figure so powerfully impressed the poet's 
 imagination. 
 
 In the spring of 1772 he repaired to Wetzlar, and during the 
 summer of that year he lived through the experience which subse- 
 quently found expression in the ' Sorrows of Werther,' a prose poem, 
 the composition of which forms a crisis in his artistic development. 
 The stormy impulses were quelled, the wanderer was transformed 
 into the creative artist, who henceforth entered into the full posses- 
 sion of his genius. The three years which intervened between his 
 departure from Wetzlar, November 11, 1772, and his arrival at 
 Weimar, November 7, 1775, are the most productive period of his 
 life. ' Werther ' was written in the beginning of the year 1774. 
 "Through this composition I had," he says, "more than through 
 any other, saved myself out of a stormy element ; I felt myself as 
 after a general confession, again joyous and free and prepared for a 
 new life." " The surest foundation of my independence I found in 
 my creative activity ; lor several years it had never failed me ; at 
 that time, let a subject be proposed, I was at once prepared and 
 ready." " This indwelling poetical faculty belonged to me as my 
 own, and in thought I made it the basis of my own existence." 
 This self-dependence, based upon creative power, transformed itself 
 into an image, in which Goethe personified and contemplated himself: 
 Prometheus, the man-creating Titan. Such a poet may well be 
 styled the Magician of German poetry, he who could say of himself, 
 I possess a panacea, which is ever at my service, the art, namely, of 
 transmuting reality into poetry. 
 
 The hour has now arrived when he is to fashion the magician of 
 the popular legend after his own image. This Prometheus-Goethe 
 is Faust. 
 
 " Here I sit and shape 
 Men in my image, 
 A race like myself! " 
 
 We obtain an interesting glimpse of Goethe at this period, during 
 Abrief sojourn at Cologne, whither he was accompanied by liis 
 most congenial friend, Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi. They revelled in 
 the interchange of thought. At night Goethe souglit his friend; 
 they stood together at the window ; the moonligLt trembled on
 
 XXVIU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the waters of the Rhine, and Goethe recited the ballads which 
 he had then composed, one of which is for ever associated with 
 Gretcheu — 
 
 " There was a king in Tlmle." 
 
 Even Goethe's personal appearance at that time was invested 
 with magical power. In a letter from Heinse to Gleim, written at 
 this period, we read : " Goethe was with us ; a beautiful youth of 
 five-aud-twenty, full of genius from crown to toe, a heart full of 
 feeling, a spirit full of fire with eagle's wings." Are we not literally 
 reminded of the old Faust-book, and its description of the youthful 
 magician of Wittemberg : " He took to himself eagle's wings, and 
 wished to explore all grounds in heaven and upon earth"? 
 
 It was during this period of creative activity that'' I aust ' was 
 produced, in its earliest form. What Goethe juiblished as a " Frag- 
 ment " in 1790, was most probably completed, for the most part, in 
 1774. On the occasion of Jacobi's visit to Frankfort, early in the 
 year 1775, Goethe communicated to him the scenes of his ' Faust '; 
 and when, sixteen years later, Jacobi had read the Fragment, he 
 wrote to Goethe : " I already knew almost all." It is therefore 
 certain that, in the beginning of the year 1775, the oldest poem, in 
 its essential parts, was complete. Some scenes were added in the 
 course of the year 1775, as we learn from his letters to the Countess 
 Augusta Stolberg, the sister of his friends. 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1774, Goethe had been captivated 
 by Anna Elizabeth Schönemann, celebrated in his jjoems as Lili. 
 She was the daughter of a rich banker in Frankfort, and only 
 sixteen years of age. The alliance was not accej^table to either 
 family; obstacles intervened which seemed to render marriage 
 impossible, and to free himself from an embarrassing situation 
 he had accepted the invitation of the Counts Stolberg to accom- 
 pany them on their Swiss tour. Signs of the mental unrest 
 consequent upon his relations with Lili appear in his correspon- 
 dence with the Countess Stolberg. On March 6 he writes to her: 
 " I have drawn, composed a scene ; O, if I did not now write 
 dramas, there would be an end of me." On September 17, at 
 night, he writes from Offenbach : " The day passed tolerably. 
 When I arose, it was well with me. I composed a scene of my 
 'Faust.' I felt somewhat like a rat which has s'Villowed poison ; it
 
 INTEODUCTION. XXIX 
 
 runs into every hole, drinks all moisture, swallows everything 
 eatable that comes in its way, while within it burns with inex- 
 tinguishable fire." We are here reminded of the song in Auerbach's 
 cellar : — 
 
 '' The cook strewed poison for the rat." 
 
 Who would have suspected that in Altmayer's satirical allusion 
 to Siebel — " He sees in the swollen rat his own sorry image," — 
 Goethe had parodied his own troubled state of mind ? It may be 
 inferred that the composition of the Auerbach scene falls in Sep- 
 tember 1775, and has left its trace in the letter to the Countess 
 Stolberg. 
 
 The " Sturm und Drang " period is lived through ; we stand on 
 the threshold of a new life-epoch of the poet, generally known as 
 his classical period. On November 7, 1775, in his twenty-sixth 
 year, he repaired to Weimar, where he was received most graciously 
 by the principal personages of the Court. 
 
 Kavl August, the reigning Duke, " eight years younger than 
 Goethe, attached himself to him as to a btother ;" his wife, Louise, 
 the reigning Duchess, a truly noble woman, also gave him her friend- 
 ship, and he was a special favourite with the mother- duchess, Anna 
 Amalia, " who is described by contemporaries as combining a 
 masculine strength of understanding, with feminine gentleness and 
 amiability." " On June 11, 1776, the Duke named him Privy- 
 legation-councillor. In January, 1779, he was charged with 
 the War Commission ; in September 1779, he was named Privy 
 Councillor; in April, 1781, he was ennobled by Imperial diploma; 
 and in June, 1782, he undertook provisionally the Presidency of 
 the Chamber.''* The practical duties attending these various offices, 
 the distractions of society, together with the arrangement and direc- 
 tion of the private theatricals, which formed a prominent feature of 
 Weimar Court life at that period, left him little leisure for pro- 
 secuting his literary labours. 
 
 The manuscript of 'Faust' had been brought with him to 
 
 Weimar, and this poem was one of the first that he read in the 
 
 presence of the Court. What form the ' Helena ' had then assumed, 
 
 we do not know ; it is, however, certain that in 1780 he read it 
 
 before the Duchess Amalia, and a second time before the Princess of 
 
 Gotha. 
 
 • Quoted froin Mr. }l;iy\varJ's ' Guetlie.'
 
 XXX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The conception and composition of other works which belong to 
 the classical period banished 'Faust' to the background. We 
 know also, from many jiassages in his correspondence, with what 
 intense regret he felt himself obliged, during the early years of hi« 
 residence at Weimar, to subordinate his literary proclivities to the 
 duties and cares of oÜlcial life. In 1779 he was occupied with his 
 ' Iphigenia,' which was first written in prose. In writing to the 
 Duke he says : " I let people say what they will, and then I retire 
 into my old fortress of Poetry, and work at my ' Iphigenia.' By 
 this I am made sensible that I have been treating this heavenly 
 gift somewhat cavalierly, and there is still time and need for me to 
 become more economical, if ever I am to bring forth anything. " 
 
 Tasso was begun in 1780, and on the last day of the same year 
 he wrote to Frau von Stein : " My ' Tasso ' moves my pity ; it lies 
 upon my desk and looks upon me with friendly glance ; but what 
 can 1 do? I must bake all my wheat into ammunition bread." 
 And again : "0 thou sweet Poetry ! . . . I withdraw the water as 
 much as possible from these fountains and cascades, and direct it to 
 wheels and irrigation ; but before I am aware, an evil genius draws 
 the tap and all gushes and bubbles." 
 
 In spite of these occasional outbreaks, the record of his multi- 
 farious labours during the first six years of his Weimar residence 
 shows " with what Spartan self-mastery he held his Pegasus fast 
 bound in his stall." Various branches of science meanwhile — miner- 
 alogy, astrology, and botany — in connection with his official activity, 
 were pursued with passionate ardour. " How legible the book of 
 Nature becomes to me," he writes, " I cannot express ; my long 
 lessons in spelling have helped me, and now my quiet joy is inex- 
 pressible." Poetry, however, was his master-passion ; he longed for 
 leisure, and to be relieved in some measure from the pressure of 
 ofiicial duties, and accordingly, in 1783, we see him occupied with 
 preparations for his jjrojected visit to Italy. Various reasons have 
 been assigned for his sudden departure from Weimar ; besides his 
 yearning, natural to a poet, to visit Italy, the land of song, it has 
 been pointed out by Herman Grimm that the natural course of 
 events rendered a temporary absence from the scene of his labours 
 desirable. 
 
 Goethe had entered upon his duties as prime mmister, and at the 
 same time as educator of a young and inexperienced prince ; as tha
 
 INTKODUCTION, XXXI 
 
 development of the latter proceeded, however, the Duke, from year 
 to year, became more independent, and gradually took the reins 
 into his own hands. Goethe's position was thus changed ; since, 
 while still burdened with the details of office, the decision of all 
 questions rested with the Duke. Accordinglj'-, with wise fore- 
 tliought, he adapted his life to these altered circumstances ; after 
 ten years of manifold activity he dejjarted for Rome, and after an 
 absence of nearly two years he returned, under changed conditions, 
 to begin a new existence at Weimar. 
 
 The words addressed by Plutus to the boy-charioteer in the 
 second part of ' Faust ' give exi^ression to the sentiments with which 
 Goethe may have looked forward to his departure for Rome, and 
 consequent emancipation from ofBcial cares. 
 
 Now from the burden that oppressed thee here 
 Thou'rt frank and free ; away to thine own sphere I 
 Here is it not ; distorted, wild, grotesque. 
 Surrounds us here a motley arabesque. 
 There fly, where on thy genius thou canst wait. 
 Lord of thyself; where charm the good, the fair; 
 Where clear thy vision in the clear calm air ; 
 To solitude — there thine own world create ! 
 
 Four great poetical problems accompanied the poet to Italy ; the 
 versification of * Iphigenia,' and the completion of ' Faust,' ' Egmont,' 
 and ' Tasso.' During his first Roman residence, from October 28, 
 1786, till February 21, 1787, the first of these problems was solved. 
 After his return from Sicily he wrote, on August 11, 1787, to 
 Herder : " ' Egmont ' is completed, and may be dispatched at the 
 end of this month. 'Tasso' comes alter the new year; 'Faust' 
 upon his mantle shall, as courier, announce my arrival ! " 
 
 Tl'.ese two poems, however, did not advance. A quarter of a year 
 later he wrote : " There still lie before me two such heavy stones as 
 ' Faust ' and ' Tasso.' " 
 
 Goethe poetized his own experiences. He experienced nothing 
 that could influence these works. " If they are to progress " 
 (' Faust ' and ' Tasso '), we read in a letter written on January 1, 
 1788, " I must, in the course of this year, fall in love with a 
 princess, in order to complete 'Tasso,' and I must surrender myself 
 to the devil, in order to complete 'Faust,' however little inclination
 
 XXXll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I feel tor cither.'* At lensitli, it would seem, life comes into'Fanst. ' 
 We find in the diary of Lis Italian journey, March 1, 1788, a very 
 reninrkable coniVssion with reference to that poem. 
 
 " This has been a prolific week, which in the retrospect appears 
 to me like a month. In the first place the i)Ian of ' Faust' was 
 made, and I hope that this operation has succeeded. Naturall}'' it 
 is another thing to write out the piece now, or fifteen years ago ; 
 I think, however, that it will lose nothing, especially as I imagine 
 that I have now recovered the threads. Also in regard to the tone 
 of the whole I am consoled ; I have already composed a new scene, 
 and if I were to smoke the pajDer nobody would be able to distin- 
 guish it from the older portion. The old manuscript, as I see it 
 before me, gives me much to think of ; it is so yellow with time 
 that it looks like the fragment of an ancient Codex ; and as I then, 
 through reflection and imagination, had to transplant myself into 
 an earlier world, so I must now transplant myself to a period of my 
 own bygone experience." 
 
 " This memorandum of Goethe," says Kuno Fischer, " I consider 
 most important, as throwing light upon the history of the origin 
 and development of ' Faust.' " 
 
 So completely was the poet estranged from the most genial of his 
 youthful works, that the period of its production seemed to him 
 like his own bygone existence ; he had lost the threads, and 
 imagines that he has recovered them. In one of the most beautiful 
 localities of Eorae, the garden of the Villa Borghese, Goethe com- 
 posed a scene of Faust. No one, from the locality, would divine 
 the scene: it was the Witches' Kitchen. "I imagine," Fischer, 
 says, " that a second scene must also be referred to the period 
 of his Italian sojourn ; namely, Faust's monologue in wood and 
 cavern ; in one passage it refers to the Witches' Kitchen, it har- 
 monizes with the plan of the first poem, while both in form and 
 contents it is the fruit of a later period. This monologue, highly 
 important for the critical examination of the work, could not have 
 been produced before his sojourn in Italy. 
 
 On June 18, 1788, Goethe returned from his Italian journey 
 to Weimar. The letter which he addressed from Rome to Karl 
 August plainly reveals the new position which it was his in- 
 tention henceforth to occupy in connection with the W^eimar 
 Court. " ily relation to affairs," he says, " sprang out of my
 
 JNTliODUCTION. XXxiÜ 
 
 personal relation to you ; now let a new relation, after so many- 
 years, spring from the former. I can truly say, that in the solitude 
 of these eighteen months I have found my own self again. But as 
 what ? As an artist ! " 
 
 The wise Duke answered this appeal nobly. The poet re- 
 mained the adviser of his prince, but was relieved from the more 
 onerous duties of office. The direction of the mines, and of all 
 scientific and artistic institutions, he retained ; among them that 
 of the theatre.* 
 
 On his return to Weimar, ' Fiiust ' and ' Tasso * remained still 
 unfinished. In the July of the following year ' Tasso ' was com- 
 pleted. The termination of ' Faust ' was not to be thought of. 
 Accordingly, in the seventh volume of the collected edition of his 
 works, this poem appeared as ' A Fragment ' (Easter, 1790). Here 
 closes the first period in the history of the composition of ' Faust ' 
 (1770-1790). 
 
 This fragment consists of the following parts : 1. It opens with 
 Faust's first monologue, the scene with the Earth-spirit, the con- 
 versation with the famulus. Then follows a wide gap. i!. It 
 re-commences abruptly, in the midst of the second conversation 
 between Faust and Mephistopheles, with the words of Faust : — 
 
 " The scope of all my powers henceforth be this, 
 To bare my breast to every pang, — to know 
 In my heart's core all human weal and woe ;" 
 
 the short monologue of Mephistopheles : — 
 
 " Mortal ! the loftiest attributes of men, 
 Reason and knowledge, only thus contemn ;" 
 
 the conversation with the scholar, the preparation for the journey, 
 the Auerbach scene, and the Witches' Kitchen succeed. 3. Then 
 follows the Gretchen tragedy, with the exclusion of the Valentine 
 scene ; the fragment ends with Gretchen's words in the cathedral : 
 " Neighbour, your smelling-bottle." 
 
 The essential parts were already composed in the beginning of 
 the year 1775 ; then followed, in the course of the same year, the 
 
 * Quoted from Mr. Lewes's ' Life of Goethe.'
 
 XXXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Auerbach scene, thirteen years later the Witchea' Kitchen, and 
 " the monologue in wood and cavern," which was introduced into 
 the Gretchen tragedy in a position which required subsequently to 
 be changed. 
 
 If we compare the fragment with the later poem which lies 
 belbre us as the first part, we there find : 1. The dedication, the 
 prologue in the theatre, the prologue in heaven ; 2. All the scenes 
 which fill up the wide ensuing gap ; namely, Faust's second mono- 
 logue, the Easter-song, the scene before the gate, the third monologue 
 in Faust's study : — 
 
 *' Behind me now lie field and plain," 
 
 the conjuration and first appearance of Mephistopheles, the two 
 conversations between Faust and Mephistopheles, down to the 
 passage quoted above ; 3. The completion of the Gretchen tragedy, 
 which forms the conclusion of the first part, the Walpurgis-night, 
 the return, the prison scene. Among these scenes, some partly 
 sketched, some more or less carried out and requiring revision, 
 remained in manuscript. We now approach a crisis in the develop- 
 ment of Goethe's ' Faust ' similar to that which marked the popular 
 legend through the influence of Lessing. During a series of years 
 Goethe had endeavoured to continue his youthful poem, and to 
 bring it to a completion. He had wished to transport himself back 
 into its elements, and for a moment imagined that he had suc- 
 ceeded. It was a self-deception. The poem lived no longer in the 
 poet, and it could not be artificially re-quickened ; what separated 
 the two periods was the gulf of years — the difference between 
 Goethe the youth and Goethe in the summit of manly age. 
 
 The original poem was the most powerful and fiery outflow of the 
 " Sturm und Drang " jieriod, an epoch from which Goethe had become 
 more and more estranged as he advanced in life. This estrangement 
 rose to repugnance, even to aversion, when the tremendous flood 
 subsequently broke forth a second time with Schiller. In order to 
 quicken 'Faust' anew there was only one method, namely, a funda- 
 mental reconstruction of the plan, which, without imitation, should 
 return to the path indicated by Lessing. The impulse thereto came, 
 however, not from Goethe himself, so strong at that time was his 
 repulsion from this poem. He was, moreover, completely engrossed 
 by ether objects — official duties, scientific studies, poetical hbours.
 
 INTRODUCTION". IXXV 
 
 He undertook the direction of the Court Theatre, accompanietl the 
 Duke on his campaign in France ; during the siege of Mainz he lived 
 in his botanical, optical, and anatomical observations. After his 
 ' Eoman Elegies ' follow his epic poems, ' Reineke Fuchs,' ' Hermann 
 and Dorothea,' 'Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahre. He conceived the 
 plan of a great epic, ' William Tell,' which was to be the fruits of his 
 third Swiss journey in the year 1797. In the middle of this year 
 falls the epoch of ' Faust's ' resurrection, the turning-point which has 
 made this poem the German 'Divina Commedia.' The first reminder 
 of the forsaken ' Faust ' came from the poet who had commenced his 
 career as the most powerful leader of that " Sturm und Drang " 
 period, upon which Goethe already looked down, as upon a " Dunst- 
 und Nebelweg" (a fog and vapour-way). To the poet of 'I[ihi- 
 genia ' and ' Tasso,' Schiller's youthful works, dramas like the 
 ' Robbers ' and Fiesco,' must have appeared as a relapse into that 
 spiritual ferment which in the course of his development he had 
 outlived and subdued. In the estrangement which he felt from 
 his own ' Faust,' some of the same motives were operative, which 
 formed the gulf between himself and Schiller. This gulf was 
 eventually bridged over, and a relation of the rarest and purest 
 kind was established between the two poets, a league of personal 
 friendship, reciprocal encouragement, and combined productivity. 
 They were the last ten years oi Schiller's life. With a fulness of 
 noble and grateful remembrance Goethe, in the epilogue to 'TIjc 
 Bell,' has celebrated this period, and the memory of his exalted 
 friend. 
 
 This was the poet who reminded Goethe of his ' Faust,' and wlio 
 with his counsel was present at the resurrection and transformation 
 of the poem. Soon after their first personal intercourse, Schiller, in 
 a letter written in November, 1794, touches upon this subject : — 
 "With true longing would I read the fragments of your Faust 
 which are still unprinted, for I confess to you that which I have 
 read of this piece appears to me like the Torso of Hercules. There 
 reign in these scenes a power and a fulness of genius which unmis- 
 takeably reveal the master, and I would follow as far as poss-ible 
 the great and bold nature which breathes therein." We arc re- 
 minded of what Lessing had formerly felt respecting the old German 
 Faust-drama : — " There are scenes therein which only a Shake- 
 sjiearian genius could have conccivod." So Schiller now foLJa
 
 XXXVl INTSODUCTTON. 
 
 ri'specting Iroetbe's * Faust.' And liow does Goethe reply ? On 
 December 2, 1794, he writes: — "Of 'Faust' at present 1 can 
 communicate nothing ; I do not venture to untie the packet which 
 Contains it. I could not transcribe without remodelling it, and 
 tliereto I feel within me no courage. Can anything prevail with 
 me at some future time to undertake the work, it is your sym- 
 ]iathy." In the August of the following year he promises " some- 
 thing from 'Faust'" for the December number of the ' Horen,' 
 and Sc'tiiller repeats his entreaty August 17, 1795. This some- 
 thing remained unprinted. Goethe cannot yet bring himself to 
 approach this subject. "It is with me in this matter," he says, 
 "as with a powder which has precipitated itself from a solvent; so 
 long as you shake, it seems once more to unite ; as soon as I am left 
 to myself, it subsides gradually to the bottom." 
 
 At length there comes a disposition favourable to ' Faust,' it is 
 awakened amid the poetical efforts wherein the two friends worked 
 in rivalry for the 'Musenalmanach.' "Our ballad-study, wrote 
 (ioethe, June I'l, 1797, "has again brought me upon this ' Dunst- 
 und Nebelweg.' The plan itself," such are his words, " is only an 
 idea. I have now undertaken this idea and its realization, and 
 am tolerably in harmony with myself respecting it." He desires 
 now the counsel of his friend. Schiller, in a sleepless night, may 
 think the matter over and communicate to him the demands which 
 he should make upon ' Faust' as a whole. " Relate and interpret to 
 me, like a true prophet, my own dream." Schiller writes in reply : 
 " I will endeavour to recover your threads, and if this docs not 
 succeed, I will realize to myself as if I had accidentally found tlie 
 fragments of ' Faust,' and were required to carry them out." " Because 
 the fable passes and must pass into the formless, it will be necessary 
 to jiass from the object to the idea. In short, the demands ujwu 
 ' Faust ' are at the same time philosophical and poetical, and you may 
 tm-n as you will, the nature of the subject will impose upon you a 
 philosophical treatment." Schiller rightly adds to these words: 
 " In this I do not certainly say to you anything new." The philo- 
 sophical reconstruction was already in progress. During the days 
 of this interchange cf ideas with Schiller, Goethe composed the 
 prologue in heaven, the dedication, the prologue in the theatre, 
 and also the intermezzo of ' Oberon and Titania's Marriage.' The 
 prologue in heaven embodies the fundamental idea which underlies
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXXVU 
 
 the new Faust-poem ; this new poem had now to be combined with 
 the already-published fragment, while the latter had tobe expanded 
 and brought into harmony with the later portion of the work. At 
 this time his interest in art was again reawakened, and he wrote 
 his admirable Essay on the Laocoon. On the 1st of July, 1797, he 
 wrote to Schiller that he had made some progress with the revision 
 of ' Faust,' but that " architecture had exorcised these airy phantoms." 
 In the same month he made his third tour in Switzerland, where he 
 collected material for an epic on William Tell, to which he felt 
 more strongly drawn than to ' Faust.' The project of the epic 
 was, however, abandoned ; " he handed it over to Schiller tor his 
 drama on that subject, giving him, at the same time, his idea of 
 the character of Tell, and the studies of localities." 
 
 In the spring of 1798, Schiller again recalled his attention to 
 ' Faust ;' it was resumed in 1800, and early in the following year the 
 long-meditated task was completed. 
 
 The concluding scenes of the second part were probably composed 
 at the same time. These scenes may be characterised as the gosjifl 
 of man's redemption through noble work ; they carry out the funda- 
 mental idea underlying the prologue in heaven, namely, the final 
 deliverance of Faust from the power of Mephistopheles. The first 
 part as it now lies before us appeared in Easter, 1808. Here ends 
 the second period in the development of Faust (1700-1808). 
 
 After Schiller's death Goethe appeared to have abandoned the 
 prosecution and completion of the poem. How profoundly he was 
 affected by that event is seen from his correspondence : " The half 
 of my existence is gone from me," he wrote to Zelter. " My diary," 
 he says, "is a blank at this period ; the white pages intimate tlie 
 blank in my existence. In those days I took no interest in any- 
 thing." * 
 
 On the resumption of his literary activity, other works occupied 
 his attention ; it will be sufficient to mention ' The Natural 
 Daughter,' 'The Wander-year,' 'The Elective Affinities,' 'The 
 Autobiography,' 'ITie West-Oestliche Divan.' 
 
 Half a century had elapsed since the original conception of the 
 poem, when in July 1824 Goethe applied himself to its continua- 
 tion and completion. In the centre of the second part stands tlia 
 
 • Quoted from Lewes's ' Life of Goethe.'
 
 XXXVlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ' Helena.' Tliis poem was commenced at an early period of the poet's 
 life, some scenes having been read by him to the Duchess Amalia 
 ill 1780 ; it was resumed in the summer of the year 1800, during 
 A residence at Jena, and -was so far carried forward that he could 
 read a succession of scenes to Schiller. For a quarter of a century 
 the poem was laid aside, and then in the first months of tLc year 
 182G, imder the impression produced by the Greek Liberation War, 
 was suddenly brought to a conclusion. It was published the follow- 
 ing year, under the title : ' Helena, Classical-romantic Phantasma- 
 goria, Interlude to Faust.' The last act had been already composed ; 
 when Sulpiz Boisseree, during the August of 1815, in constant 
 intercourse with Goethe, inquired respecting the termination of 
 ' Faust,' the poet answered : " I say it not, I dare not say it, but it 
 is already finished, and in very good and grand style, out of the 
 l>est period." A year after the publication of the ' Helena ' a second 
 fragment appeared, containing the opening scene of the second part, 
 and a considerable portion of the first act. Early in the year 1831 
 lie could announce to his friends that the first and second acts were 
 completed. The work had been interrupted by the sorrow of bereave- 
 ment ; the death of the Duke, " whom he affectionately styled, his 
 brother in arms," July 14, 1828, was followed by that of his only 
 son, who, October 30, 1830, died in Kome. This blow nearly 
 cost him his life. A violent hajmorrhage in the lungs was the 
 result. One problem still remained, the completion of the fourth 
 act of ' Faust.' In the deepest retirement of his garden-house he 
 applied himself to the task, and on July 20, 1831, the great work 
 was finally achieved. 
 
 If from the history of ' Faust ' we turn to its contents, we shall 
 find that it consists of two poems, each of which, though welded to- 
 gether by the genius of the poet, bears the impress of its own indi- 
 viduality. In Faust's monologue in the vaulted chamber we recog- 
 nize the features of the mediajval magician ; soon, however, an 
 element unknown to the popular legend blends with the familiar 
 tvpe. This new element characterised the German "Sturm und 
 Drang " period, whose motto was (Urnatur gegen Unnatur), the 
 natural against the unnatural ; faith in Nature had gone forth like a 
 new gospel proclaimed by the fiery genius of Rousseau. Faust on'^e 
 more reflects the genius of the age, and, in his passionate revolt 
 against empty book-learning, worn-out creeds, and rotten formulas.
 
 INTRODUCTION. XXXIX 
 
 j'carns for more direct communion with Nature. He opens the 
 mysterious volume of Nostradamus, and gazes with sympathetic 
 admiration upon the harmonious working of celestial powers revealed 
 to his spiritual gaze. His rapture, however, endures but for a mo- 
 ment ; contemplation alone cannot satisfy the craving of his soul : — 
 
 "Where shall I grasp thee, infinite Nature, where?" 
 
 Ho sees the sign of the Earth-spirit, and exclaims :— 
 
 " Eai th-spirit, thou to me art nigher, 
 E'en now my strength is rising higher, 
 E'en now I glow as with new wine ; 
 Courage I feel, abroad the world to dare. 
 The woe of earth, the bl'ss of earth to bear, 
 To mingle with the lightning's glare, 
 And mid the crashing shipwreck not despair." 
 
 \'Ath passionate eagerness he invokes the Earth-spirit; the genius 
 
 of nature and of humanity ; his invocation is no cabalistic formula ; 
 
 it is the resistless power of the human will, possessed by a vehement 
 
 desire, which presSes onto its fulfilment. The spirit responds to his 
 
 appeal and reveals himself in sucli fulness of fiery splendour that, 
 
 for the moment, Faust shrinks back appalled. In the consciousness 
 
 fil inherent power, however, he quickly mans himself, and stands 
 
 (ace to face with the spirit : — 
 
 ■ 
 «'Shall I yield, thing of flame, to thee? 
 
 Faust, and thine equal, I am he." 
 
 He yearns to live the life of the Earth-spirit, to come under the 
 sway of mighty passions, to heap upon his bosom the bliss and woe 
 of humanity. The egotist, however, who would plunge into the sea 
 of life, in order to quench his individual thirst, does not seize the 
 world, but is seized by it, is carried away by the current, and cast 
 helpless to the ground. Blinded by self-will he becomes possessed 
 by that demoniacal arrogance which bids defiance to the everlasting 
 laws ; the necessary issue of this conflict is tragic fate ; this arro- 
 gance and this fate are the Hybris and the Nemesis of the ancients. 
 This fate Faust is to experience till, shattered in his inmost being, 
 he exclai^iis : " Would 1 bad ne'er been born ! " This was the fun-
 
 xl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 damental tVieme of the first Faust-tragedy, which did not exclude 
 the idea of the heru's final restoration. Of the Earth-s{)irit we find 
 no trace in the later poem ; though appearing only in the opening 
 scone of the original poem, it was evidently intended by the jnet 
 that he should play a more important part ; this is manifest from 
 Faust's monologue in the wood ; the exalted spirit there invoked is 
 the Earth-spirit ; he had bestowed upon Faust everything for which 
 he had implored, had satisfied the very wish which, on his first ap- 
 pearance, he had refused. The Mcphistopheles of the earlier poen 
 is, moreover, no devil in the diabolical sense, such as is introduced 
 in the prologue in heaven ; he is a demon given as a companion to 
 Faust by the Earth-spirit, whose commission he fulfils : this sub- 
 ordinate character of Mcphistopheles appears also in the scene to- 
 wards the conclusion of the first part, where Faust is hastening frum 
 the Brocken to deliver Gretchen. He may be regarded as the imper- 
 sonation of that selfish egoism which sneers, in utter unbelief, at 
 the higher aspirations of the human soul. 
 
 If we now turn to the prologue in heaven, with which, in the 
 middle of the year 1797, Goethe began the recomposition of his 
 work, we shall find in the words addressed by t^je Lord to Mcphis- 
 topheles the fundamental theme of the new poem. 
 
 " Divert 
 This mortal spirit from his primal source ; 
 Him canst thou seize, thy power exert. 
 And lead him on thy downward course, 
 Then stand abash'd, when thou perforce must own, 
 A good man, in the direful grasp of ill, 
 His consciousness of right retaineth still." 
 
 This theme, of everlasting interest, the probation, fall, and ulti- 
 mate restoration of the struggling human soul, pervades the poem, 
 underlying its varied and complicated elements. The insatiable 
 thirst for knowledge had formed a characteristic feature of the 
 mediajval Faust, the celestial voice, in Lessing's prologue, proclaim- 
 ing to the devils, " Ye shall not prevail," had stamped the thirst for 
 truth as a divine, not a diabolical impulse : in the woi ds above 
 quoted, Goethe recognizes conscience as one of the deepest instincts 
 of the human soul ; the inward compass pointing to the True and 
 Right, which, notwithstanding its aberrations, can never be ulti-
 
 INTEODUCTION. xH 
 
 niatelj div»-rted from the pole. The varied energies, intellectual and 
 moral, which are the birthright of humanity, can, however, only 
 have free scope amid the manifold trials and temptations of this 
 world; this thought necessitates the introduction of the tempter. 
 Here Goethe returns to the popular tradition ; Mephistopheles is in- 
 troduced as Satan, who is permitted by the Lord of Heaven to 
 endeavour to divert the spirit of Faust frtm its original source, and 
 to lead it on the downward way. 
 
 Faust, baffled in his attempt to solve the problem of the universe, 
 curses in his despair the lofty aspirations of his higher nature ; he 
 yields to the tempter and, in the vain desire to still the craving of 
 his soul, plunges into the depths of sensual gratification. He is per- 
 manently lost, however, only on one condition ; namely, the subju- 
 gation of the higher to the lower elements of his being, the per- 
 maneut triumph of self-indulgence over aspiration and effort. Hence 
 in Goethe's poem Faust's ultimate doom appears uncertain to the 
 last, and not, as in the popular tradition, predetermined at the expi- 
 ration of a given term. With regard to signing the coriipact with a 
 dro]) of blood Goethe is careful sharply to define the ditlcrence be- 
 tween the popular tradition and his own poem. Here the compact 
 is not fearful but absurd ; its object being Faust's inmost nature, if 
 he loses the wager he has lost himself, and all is over ; it is ridiculous 
 to promise with signature and seal that something shall happen 
 which has already come to pass. When at the close of life he 
 appears verbally to have lost the wager, he has in reality won it. 
 His satisfaction consists, not in the gratification of his lower appe- 
 tites, but in a nature elevated through the exercise of its noblest 
 powers. He finds happiness in redeeming from the elements an 
 extended region which, through his exertion, is transformed into a 
 sphere for human activity and well-being. 
 
 He has found his true vocation in labouring for humanity, and in 
 imagination contemplates with joy the harvest which he has sown, 
 and which others will reap. 
 
 Mr. Lewes also recognizes " that the solution of the Faust problem 
 is embodied in his dying speech : the toiling soul, after trying in 
 various directions of individual effort and indiuidual gratification, 
 and finding therein no peace, is finally conducted to the recognition 
 of the vital truth that man lives for man, and that only in as far as 
 he is working for humanity, can his efforts bring iiermanent happi-
 
 xlii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ness " Such a consummation is no triumph for the devil. Faust 
 has won innnortiility, and is borne aloft by angels with the trium- 
 phant song : — 
 
 " Saved is this noble soul from ill, 
 Our spirit-peer. Who ever 
 Strives forward with unswerving will, 
 Him can we aye deliver ; 
 And if with him celestial love 
 Hath taken part, — to meet him 
 Come down the angels from above; 
 With cordial hail they greet him."
 
 THE INTEEMEZZO. 
 
 IPase 150.] 
 
 As without some tey this scene is utterly incomprehensible to the 
 English reader, a brief notice of some of the allusions it contains is 
 here subjoined ; they are dwelt upon at greater length in Düntzer's 
 work. 
 
 It may be regarded as a kind of satirical jeu d'esprit, and consists 
 of a series of epigrams, directed against a variety of false tendencies 
 in art, literature, religion, philosophy, and political life. 
 
 The introductory stanzas are founded upon the Midsummer 
 Night's Dream, and Wieland's Oberen. To celebrate the recon- 
 ciliation of the fairy king and queen a grotesque assemblage of 
 figures appears upon the stage. Common-place musicians, and 
 poetasters, having no conception that every poem must be an 
 organic whole, are satirised as the bagpipe, the embryo spirit and 
 the little pair. Then follows a series of epigrams, having reference 
 to the plastic arts, and directed against that false pietism and 
 affected purity which would take a narrow and one-sided view of 
 artistical creations. Nicolai, the sworn enemy of ghosts and Jesuits, 
 is introduced as the inquisitive traveller, and Stolberg, who severely 
 criticised Schiller's poem, " The Gods of Greece," is alluded to in 
 the couplet headed " Orthodox." 
 
 Hennings, the editor of two literary journals, entitled the Musaget, 
 and the Genius of the Age, had attacked the Xenien, a series of 
 epigrams, published jointly by Goethe and Schiller ; Goethe, in 
 retaliation, makes him confess his own unfitness to be a leader of 
 the Muses, and his readiness to assign a place on the German 
 Parnassus to any one who was willing to bow to his authoritv.
 
 xliv THE INTERMEZZO. 
 
 Nicolai a;:jain appears as the inquisitive traveller, and Lavater la 
 said to be alluded to as the crane. The metaphj^sical philoso|>hers 
 are next the objects of the iK)et's satire ; allusion is made to the 
 bitter hostility manifested by the contending schools, the charac- 
 teristics of which are so well known that it is needless to dwell 
 uix)n them here. The philosophers are succeeded by the politicians ; 
 " the knowing ones," who, in the midst of political revolutions, 
 manage to keep in with the ruling party, are contrasted with those 
 uufortimate individuals who are unable to accommodate themselves 
 to the new order of things. In revolutionary times also, parvenus 
 are raised to positions of eminence, while worthless notabilities, 
 deprived of their hereditary splendour, are unable to maintain their 
 former dignified position. " The massive ones " typify the men of 
 the revolution, the leaders of the people, who, heedless of intervening 
 obstacles, march straight on to their destined goal. Puck and Ariel, 
 who had introduced the shadowy procession, again make their 
 appearance, and the fairy pageant vanishes into air. 
 
 What relation this fantastic assemblage bears to Faust is not 
 immediately obvious, unless, indeed, as Diintzer suggests, the poet 
 meant to shadow forth the various distractions with which 
 Mephistopheles endeavours to dissipate the mind of Faust, who had 
 turned with disgust from the witch-society of the Brocken. 
 
 N.B. — Ft)' Annotations to the Secoxd Part of " Faust," see 
 page -110,
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 Dim forms, ye hover near, a shadowy train, 
 
 As erst upon my troubled sight ye stole. 
 
 Say, shall I strive to hold you once again ? 
 
 Still for the fond illusion yearns my soul ? 
 
 Ye press around ! Come then, resume your i-^ign, 5 
 
 As upwards from the vapoury mist ye roll ; 
 
 Within my breast youth's throbbing pulses bound, 
 
 Fann'd by the magic air that breathes your march around , 
 
 Shades fondly loved appear, your train attending. 
 
 And visions fair of many a blissful day ; 1 
 
 First-love and friendship their fond accents blending, 
 
 Like to some ancient, half expiring lay ; 
 
 SoiTOw revives, her wail of anguish sending 
 
 Back o'er life's devious labyrinthine way, 
 
 The dear ones naming who, in life's fair morn, 15 
 
 By Fate beguiled, from my embrace were torn. 
 
 They hearken not unto my later song. 
 
 The souls to whom my earlier lays I sang ; 
 
 Dispersed for ever is the friendly throng. 
 
 Mute are the voices that responsive rang. 20 
 
 My song resoundeth stranger crowds among, 
 
 E'en their applause is to my heart a pang ; 
 
 And those who heard me once with joyful heart, 
 
 If yet they live, now wander far apart. 
 
 A strange unwonted yearning doth my soul, 25 
 
 To yon calm solemn spirit-land, upraise ; 
 
 In faltering cadence now my numbers roll, 
 
 As when, on harp yEolian, Zcphyi* plays ; 
 
 My pulses thrill, tears flow witlumt control, 
 
 A tender mood my steadfast heart o'ersways ; 30 
 
 What I possess as from afar I see ; . 
 
 Those I have lost become realities to me.
 
 PROLOGUE FOK THE THEATRE. 
 
 Manager. Dkamai'ic Poet. Mehkyman. 
 
 MANAGER. 
 
 Ye twain, whom I so oft have found 
 
 Trne friends in trouble and distress, 
 
 Say, in our scheme on German ground, 35 
 
 What prospect have we of success ? 
 
 Fain woukl I please the public, win their thanks ; 
 
 Because they live and let live, as is meet. 
 
 The posts are now erected and the planks, 
 
 And all look forward to a festal treat. 40 
 
 Their places taken, they, with eyebrows rais'd, 
 
 Sit patiently, and fain would be amaz'd. 
 
 I know the art to hit the public taste, 
 
 Yet so perplex'd I ne'er have been before ; 
 
 'Tis true, they're not accustom'd to the best, 45 
 
 But then they read immensely, that's the bore. 
 
 How make our entertainment striking, new, 
 
 And yet significant and pleasing too? 
 
 For to be plain, I love to see the throng, 
 
 As to our booth the living tide progresses ; 50 
 
 As wave on wave successive rolls along. 
 
 And through heaven's narrow portal forceful presses ; 
 
 Still in broad daylight, ere the clock strikes four. 
 
 With blows their way towards the box they take ; 
 
 And, as for bread in famine, at the baker's door, 55 
 
 For tickets are content their necks to break. 
 
 Such various minds the bard alone can sway. 
 
 My friend, oh work this miracle to-day ! 
 
 POET. 
 
 Oh speak not of the motley multitude. 
 
 At whose aspect the spirit wings its flight ; 60 
 
 Shut out the noisy crowd, whose vortex rude 
 
 Still draws us downward with resistless might. 
 
 Lead to some nook, where silence loves to brood, 
 
 Where only for the bard blooms pure delight,
 
 PEOLOGUE. 3 
 
 Where love and friendship, gracious heavenly pair, 65 
 
 Our hearts true bliss create, and tend with fostering care. 
 
 What there up-welleth deep within the breast. 
 
 What there the timid lip shap'd forth in sound, 
 
 A failure now, now haply well expressed. 
 
 In the wild tumult of the hour is drown'd ; 70 
 
 Oft doth the perfect form then first invest 
 
 The poet's thought, when years have sped their round ; 
 
 What dazzles satisfies the present hour. 
 
 The genuine lives, of coming years the dower. 
 
 JIERRYMAN. 
 
 This cant about posterity I hate ; 75 
 
 About posterity were I to prate. 
 
 Who then the living would amuse ? For they 
 
 Will have diversion, ay, and 'tis their due. 
 
 A sprightly fellow's presence at your i^lay, 
 
 Methinks, should always go for something too ; 80 
 
 Whose genial wit the audience still inspires. 
 
 Is not embittered by its changeful mood ; 
 
 A wider circle he desires. 
 
 To move with greater power, the multitude. 
 
 To work, then ! Prove a master in your art ! 85 
 
 Let phantasy with all her choral train. 
 
 Sense, reason, feeling, passion, bear their part, 
 
 But mark ! let folly also mingle in the strain ! 
 
 MANAGER. 
 
 And, chief, let incidents enough arise! 
 
 A show they want, they come to feast their eyes. 90 
 
 When stirring scenes before them arc display'd. 
 
 At which the gaping crowd may wondering gaze, 
 
 Your reputation is already made. 
 
 The man you are all love to praise. 
 
 The masses you alone through masses can subdue, 95 
 
 Each then selects in time what suits his bent. 
 
 Bring much, you somewhat bring to not a few, 
 
 And from the house goes every one content. 
 
 You give a piece, in pieces give it, friend ! 
 
 »Such a rag(jut, success must needs attend ; 100 
 
 'Tis easy to serve up, aa easy to invent. 
 
 E 2
 
 4 FAUST. 
 
 A finisli'd whole what boots it to present ! 
 'Twill be in pieces by the public rent. 
 
 POET. 
 
 How mean such handicraft as this you cannot feel I 
 How it revolts the genuine artist's mind ! 105 
 
 The sorry trash in which these coxcombs deal, 
 Is here approved on principle, I find. 
 
 MANAGER. 
 
 Such a reproof disturbs me not a whit ! 
 
 Who on efficient work is bent, 
 
 Must choose the fittest instrument. 110 
 
 Consider ! 'tis soft wood you have to split ; 
 
 Think too for whom you write, I pray ! 
 
 One comes to while an hour away ; 
 
 One from the festive board, a sated guest ; 
 
 Others, more dreaded than the rest, 115 
 
 From journal-reading hurry to the play. 
 
 As to a masquerade, with absent minds, they press, 
 
 Sheer curiosity their footsteps winging ; 
 
 Ladies display their persons and their dress. 
 
 Actors unpaid their service bringing. 120 
 
 What dreams begiiile you on your poet's height ? 
 
 What puts a full house in a merry mood ? 
 
 More closely view your patrons of the night ! 
 
 The half are cold, the other half are nide. 
 
 One, the play over, craves a game of cards ; 125 
 
 Another a wild night in wanton joy would spend. 
 
 Poor fool, the muses' fair regards 
 
 AVhy court for such a paltry end ? 
 
 I tell you, give them more, still more, 'tis all I ask. 
 
 Thus you will ne'er stray widely from the goal ; 130 
 
 Your audience seek to mystify, cajole ; — 
 
 To satisfy them — that's a harder task. 
 
 What ails thee ? art enraptured or distressed ? 
 
 POET. 
 
 Depart ! elsewhere another servant choose ! 
 
 What ! shall the bard his godlike power abuse ? 135 
 
 Man's loftiest right, kind nature's high bequest. 
 
 For your mean purpose basely sport away ?
 
 PEOLOGUE. 5 
 
 Whence comes his mastery o'er the human breast, 
 
 Whence o'er the elements his sway, 
 
 But from the harmony that, gushing from his soul, 140 
 
 Draws back into his heart the wondrous whole ? 
 
 When round her spindle, with unceasing drone, 
 
 Nature still whirls th' iinending thread of life ; 
 
 When Being's jarring crowds, together thrown, 
 
 Mingle in harsh inextricable strife; 145 
 
 Who deals their course unvaried till it falls, 
 
 In rhythmic flow to music's measur'd tone ? 
 
 Each solitary note whose genius calls. 
 
 To swell the mighty choir in unison ? 
 
 Who in the raging storm sees passion lour, 150 
 
 Or flush of earnest thought in evening's glow, 
 
 Who, in the springtide, every fairest flower 
 
 Along the loved one's path would strow ? 
 
 From green and common leaves whose hand doth twine, 
 
 The wreath of glory, won in every field ? 155 
 
 Makes sure Olympos, blends the powers divine ? — 
 
 Man's mighty spirit, in the bard reveal'd 1 
 
 MERRYMAN. 
 
 Come then, employ your lofty inspiration, 
 
 And carry on the poet's avocation, 
 
 Just as we carry on a love affair. 160 
 
 Two meet by chance, are pleased, they linger there. 
 
 Insensibly are link'd, they scarce know how ; 
 
 Fortune seems now propitious, adverse now. 
 
 Then come alternate rapture and despair ; 
 
 And 'tis a true romance ere one's aware. 165 
 
 Just such a drama let us now compose. 
 
 Plunge boldly into life — its depths disclose I 
 
 Each lives it, not to many is it known, 
 
 'Twill interest wheresoever seiz'd and shown ; 
 
 Bright pictures, but obscure their meaning ; 1 70 
 
 A ray of truth through error gleb-ming, 
 
 Thus you the best elixir brew. 
 
 To charm mankind, and edify them too. 
 
 Then youth's fair Ijlossoms crowd to view your play, 
 
 And wait as on an oracle ; while they, 175 
 
 The tender souls, who love tlie melting mood.
 
 6 FAUST. 
 
 Suck from your work their melancTioly food ; 
 
 Now this one, and now that, you deeply stir, 
 
 Each sees the working of his heart laid bare ; 
 
 Their tears, their laughter, you command with easf i80 
 
 The lofty still they honour, the illusive love, 
 
 Your finish'd gentlemen you ne'er can please ; 
 
 A growing mind alone will grateful prove. 
 
 POET. 
 
 Then give me back youth's golden prime, 
 
 When my own spirit too was growing, 185 
 
 When from my heart th' unbidden rhyme 
 
 Gush'd forth, a fount for ever flowing ; 
 
 Then shadowy mist the world conceal'd. 
 
 And eveiy bud sweet promise made, 
 
 Of wonders yet to be reveal'd, 190 
 
 As through the vales, with blooms inlaid, 
 
 Culling a thousand flowers I stray'd. 
 
 Naught had I, jet a rich profusion ; 
 
 The thirst for truth, joy in each fond illusion. 
 
 Give me unquell'd those impulses to prove ; — 195 
 
 Eapture so deep, its ecstasy was pain. 
 
 The power of hate, the energy of love. 
 
 Give me, oh give me back my youth again ! 
 
 MERRYMAN. 
 
 Youth, my good friend, you certainly require 
 
 When foes in battle round you press, 200 
 
 When a fair maid, her heart on fire, 
 
 Hangs on your neck vnth fond caress, 
 
 When from afar, the victor's crown, 
 
 Allures you in the race to run ; 
 
 Or when in revelry you dro^wn 20^ 
 
 Y'^our sense, the whirling dance being done. 
 
 But the familiar chords among 
 
 Boldly to sweep, with graceful cunning, 
 
 W^hile to its goal, the vefse along 
 
 Its winding path is sweetly running ; 210 
 
 This task is yours, old gentlemen, to-day ; 
 
 Nor are you therefore in less reverence held ; 
 
 Age does not make us childish, as folk say. 
 
 It finds us genuine children e'en in eld.
 
 PROLOGUE. 7 
 
 MANAGER. 
 
 A truce to words, mere empty sound, 215 
 
 Let deeds at length appear, my friends ! 
 
 While idle compliments you round, 
 
 You might achieve some useful ends. 
 
 "Why talk of the poetic vein ? 
 
 Who hesitates will never know it ; 220 
 
 If bards ye are, as ye maintain. 
 
 Now let your inspiration show it. 
 
 To you is known what we require, 
 
 Strong drink to sip is our desire ; 
 
 Come, brew me such withoxit delay ! 225 
 
 To-morrow sees undone, what happens not to-day ; 
 
 Still forward press, nor ever tire ! 
 
 The possible, with steadfast trust, 
 
 Resolve should by the forelock grasp ; 
 
 Then she will ne'er let go her clasp, 230 
 
 And labours on, because she must. 
 
 On German boards, you're well aware, 
 
 The taste of each may have full sway ; 
 
 Therefore in bringing out your play, 
 
 Nor scenes nor mechanism spare ! 235 
 
 Heaven's lamps employ, the greatest and the least. 
 
 Be lavish of the stellar lights, 
 
 Water, and fire, and rocky heights. 
 
 Spare not at all, nor birds nor beast. 
 
 Thus let creation's ample sphere 240 
 
 Forthwith in this our narrow booth appear, 
 
 And with considerate speed, through fancy's spell, 
 
 Journey from heaven, thence through the world, to hell !
 
 PROLOGUE IN HEAVEN". 
 
 The Lord. The Heavenly Hosts. Afterivards 
 
 Mephistopheles. 
 
 The three Archangels come forward. 
 
 RAPHAEL. 
 
 Still qtiiring as in ancient time 
 
 With brother spheres in rival song, 
 
 The sun with thnnder-march sublime 
 
 Moves his predestin'd course along. 
 
 Angels are strength en'd by his sight, 5 
 
 Though fathom him no angel may ; 
 
 Eesplendent are the orbs of light, 
 
 As on creation's primal day. 
 
 GABRIEL. 
 
 And lightly spins earth's gorgeous sphere, 
 
 Swifter than thought its rapid flight ; 10 
 
 Alternates Eden-brightness clear, 
 
 With solemn, dread-inspiring night ; 
 
 The foaming waves, with murmurs hoarse. 
 
 Against the rocks' deep base are hurl'd ; 
 
 And in the sphere's eternal course 15 
 
 Are rocks and ocean swiftly whirl'd. 
 
 MICHAEL. 
 
 And rival tempests rush amain 
 
 From sea to land, from land to sea. 
 
 And raging form a wondrous chain 
 
 Of deep mysterious agency ; 20 
 
 Full in the thunder's fierce career, 
 
 Flaming the swift destructions play ; 
 
 But, Lord, thy messengers revere 
 
 The mild procession of thy day. 
 
 THE THREE. 
 
 Angels are strengthened by thy sight, 25 
 
 Though fathom thee no angel may ; 
 
 Thy works still shine with splendour bright. 
 
 As on creation's primal day.
 
 PROLOGUE. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Since thon, Lord, approachest us once more, 
 
 And liow it fares with ns, to ask art fain, 30 
 
 Since then hast kindly welcom'd me of yore, 
 
 Tlion see'st me also now among thy train. 
 
 Excuse me, fine harangues I cannot make, 
 
 Though all the circle look on me with scorn ; 
 
 My pathos soon thy laughter would awake, 35 
 
 Hadst thou the laughing mood not long forsworn. 
 
 Of suns and worlds I nothing have to say, 
 
 I see alone mankind's self-torturing pains. 
 
 The little world-gold still the self-same stamp retains, 
 
 And is as wondrous now as on the primal day. 40 
 
 Better he might have fared, poor wight, 
 
 Hadst thou not given him a gleam of heavenly light ; 
 
 Reason he names it, and doth so 
 
 Use it, than brutes more brutish still to grow. 
 
 With deference to your grace, he seems to me 45 
 
 Like any like long-legged grasshopper to be. 
 
 Which ever flies, and flying springs. 
 
 And in the grass its ancient ditty sings. 
 
 Would he but always in the grass repose ! 
 
 In every heap of dung he thrusts his nose. 50 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 Hast thou naught else to say ? Is blame 
 
 In coming here, as ever, thy sole aim ? 
 
 Does nothing on the earth to thee seem right ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 No, Lord ! I find things there in miserable plight. 
 Men's wretchedness in sooth I so deplore, 55 
 
 Not even I would plague the sorry creatures more. 
 
 THE LOUD. 
 
 Know'st thou my servant, Faust? 
 
 MEI'HISTOI'HELES. 
 
 The doctor ? 
 
 THE LOP.D. 
 
 Ki"ht.
 
 10 FAUST. 
 
 MEI'HISTOPHELES. 
 
 He serves thee in strange fashion, as I think. 
 
 Poor fool ! Not earthly is his food or drink. 
 
 An inward impulse hurries him afar, 60 
 
 Himself half conscious of his frenzied mood ; 
 
 From heaven claimeth he its brightest star. 
 
 And from the earth craves every highest good, 
 
 And all that's near, and all that's far. 
 
 Fails to allay the tumult in his blood. 65 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 Though now he serves me with imperfect sight, 
 I will ere long conduct him to the light. 
 The gard'ner knoweth, when the green appears, 
 That flowers and fruit will crown the coming years. 
 
 MEPHISTOPIIELES. 
 
 What wilt thou wager ? Him thou yet shall lose, 70 
 
 If leave to me thou wilt but give, 
 Gently to lead him as I choose ! 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 So long as he on earth doth live, 
 
 So long 'tis not forbidden thee. 
 
 Man still must err, while he doth strive. 75 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I thank you ; for not willingly 
 
 I traffic with the dead, and still aver 
 
 That youth's plump blooming chaek I very much prefer. 
 
 I'm not at home to corpses ; 'tis my way. 
 
 Like cats with captive mice to toy anO play. 80 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 Enongh ! 'tis granted thee ! Divert 
 
 This mortal spirit from his primal source ; 
 
 Him, canst thou seize, thy power exert 
 
 And lead him on thy downward course, 
 
 Then stand abash'd, when thou perforce must own, 85 
 
 A good man, in the direful grasp of ill. 
 
 His consciousness of right retaineth still.
 
 PROLOGUE. 11 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 Agreed ! — the wager will be quickly won. 
 
 For my success no fears I entertain ; 
 
 And if my end I finally should gain, dO 
 
 Excuse my triumphing with all my soul. 
 
 Dust he shall eat, ay, and with relish take, 
 
 As did my cousin, the renowned snake. 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 Here too thou'rt free to act without control ; 
 
 I ne'er have cherished hate for such as thee. 95 
 
 Of all the spirits who deny, 
 
 The scoffer is least wearisome to me. 
 
 Ever too prone is man activity to shirk. 
 
 In unconditioned rest he fain would live ; 
 
 Hence this companion piirposely I give, 100 
 
 "Who stirs, excites, and must, as devil, work. 
 
 But ye, the genuine sons of heaven, rejoice ! 
 
 In the full living beauty still rejoice ! 
 
 May that which works and lives, the ever-growing, 
 
 In bonds of love enfold you, mercy-fraught, 105 
 
 And Seeming's changeful forms, around you flowing. 
 
 Do ye arrest, in ever-during thought, ! 
 
 (Heaven closes, the Archangels disperse.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (olone). 
 
 The ancient one I like sometimes to see. 
 
 And not to break with him am always civil j 
 
 'Tis courteous in so great a lord as he, 110 
 
 Tc speak so kindly even to the devil.
 
 TEE FIRST PAßT 
 
 THE TEAGEDY OF FAUST.
 
 DEAMATIS PEESONiE. 
 
 Characters in the Prologue for the Theatre, 
 The Manager. 
 'I' HE Dramatic Poet. 
 Merryman. 
 
 Characters in the Prologue in Heaven, 
 The Lord. 
 
 EaPHAI'L 1 
 
 (tab KIEL > Tlie Heavenly Host. 
 
 Michael ) 
 
 Mephistopheles. 
 
 Characters in the Tragedy. 
 Fai'st. 
 
 ^Iephistofheles. 
 Wagner, a Student. 
 Margaret. 
 
 Martha, Margaret's Neighbour. 
 Valentine, Margaret's Brother, 
 Old Peasant. 
 A Student. 
 
 Elizabeth, an Acquaintance of Margaret's. 
 Fkosch \ 
 
 Brander I Queg^ iij Auerbach's Wine Cellar. 
 
 SlEBEL I 
 
 Altmayee j 
 
 Witches, old and young ; Wizards, Will-o'-the-wisp, Witch Pedlar 
 Protnphantasmist. Servibilis, Monkeys, Spirits, Journeymen 
 Country-folk, Citizens, Beggar, Old Fortune-teller, Shepherd, 
 Soldier, Students, &c. 
 
 In the Intermezzo. 
 Oberon. I Ariel. 
 
 TlTANIA, PlCK, &C. &C.
 
 ( 15 ) 
 
 Nicjht. 
 
 Ä high vaulted narrow Gothic chamber. 
 
 Faust, i-estless, seated at his desk. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I have, alas ! Philosophy, 
 
 Medicine, Jurisprudence too. 
 
 And to my cost Theology, 
 
 With ardent labour, studied through. 
 
 And here I stand, with all my lore, 5 
 
 Poor fool, no wiser than before. 
 
 Magister, doctor styled, indeed, 
 
 Already these ten years I lead. 
 
 Up, down, across, and to and fro, 
 
 My pupils by the nose, — and learn, 10 
 
 That we in truth can nothing know ! 
 
 This in my heart like fire doth burn. 
 
 'Tis true, I've more cunning than all your dull tribe, 
 
 Magister and doctor, priest, parson, and scribe ; 
 
 Scruple or doubt comes not to enthrall me, 15 
 
 Neither can devil nor hell now appal me — 
 
 Hence also my heart must all pleasure forego! 
 
 I may not pretend, aught rightly to know, 
 
 I may not pretend, through teaching, to find 
 
 A means to improve or convert mankind. 20 
 
 Then I have iieither goods nor treasure. 
 
 No worldly honour, rank, or pleasure -, 
 
 No dog in such fashion would longer live 1 
 
 Therefore myself to magic I give, 
 
 In hope, through spirit-voice and might, 25 
 
 Secrets now veiled to bring to light. 
 
 That I no more, with aching brow, 
 
 Need speak of what I nothing kuoiv ; 
 
 That I tlie force niay recognise 
 
 That Ijinds creation's inmost energies ; 30 
 
 Her vital i)o\vers, her emljryo seeds survey. 
 
 And fling the trade in empty words away.
 
 16 FAUST. 
 
 full-orb'd moon, did but tliy rays 
 
 Their last upon mine anguish gaze ! 
 
 Beside this desk, at dead of night, 35 
 
 Oft have I watched to liail thy light : 
 
 Then, pensive friend ! o'er book and scroll, 
 
 With soothing power, thy radiance stole ! 
 
 In thy dear light, ah, might I climb, 
 
 Freely, some mountain height sublime, 40 
 
 Eouud mountain caves Avith spirits ride, 
 
 In thy mild haze o'er meadows glide. 
 
 And, purged from knowledge-fumes, renew 
 
 My spirit, in thy healing dew ! 
 
 AVoe's me ! still prison'd in the gloom 45 
 
 Of this abhorr'd and musty room, 
 
 Where heaven's dear light itself doth pass, 
 
 But dimly throiigh the painted glass ! 
 
 Hemmed in by volumes thick with dust, 
 
 A prey to worms and mouldering rust, 50 
 
 And to the high vault's topmost bound. 
 
 With smoky paper compass'd round ; 
 
 With boxes round thee piled, and glass. 
 
 And many a tiseless instrument. 
 
 With old ancestral lumber blent — 55 
 
 This is thy world ! a world ! alas ! 
 
 And dost thou ask why heaves thy heart, 
 
 With tighten'd pressure in thy breast ? 
 
 Why the dull ache will not depart. 
 
 By which thy life-pulse is oppress'd ? 60 
 
 Instead of nature's living sphere, 
 
 Created for mankind of old, 
 
 Brute skeletons surround thee here, 
 
 And dead men's bones in smoke and mould. 
 
 Up ! Forth into the distant land ! 65 
 
 Is not this book of mystery 
 
 By Nostradamus' proper hand, 
 
 An all-suflficient guide ? Thou'lt see 
 
 The courses of the stars unroll'd ; 
 
 When nature doth her thoiights unfold 70 
 
 To thee, thy soul shall rise, and seek 
 
 Communion high with her to hold.
 
 FAUST. 17 
 
 As spirit doth with spirit speak ! 
 
 Vain by dull poring to divine 
 
 The meaning of each hallow'd sign, 75 
 
 Spirits ! I feel you hov'ring near ; 
 
 Make answer, if my voice ye hear ! 
 
 (fie ope7is the hook and perceives the sign of the 
 Macrocosmos.^ 
 
 Ah ! at this spectacle through eveiy sense, 
 
 What sudden ecstasy of joy is flowing ! 
 
 I feel new rapture, hallow'd and intense, 80 
 
 Through every nerve and vein with ardour glowing. 
 
 Was it a god who character'd this scroll. 
 
 Which doth the inward tumult still, 
 
 The troubled heart with rapture fill, 
 
 And by a mystic impulse, to my soul, 85 
 
 Unveils the working of the Avondrous whole ? 
 
 Am I a God ? What light intense ! 
 
 In these pure symbols do I see. 
 
 Nature exert her vital energy. 
 
 Now of the wise man's words I learn the sense ; 90 
 
 " Unlock'd the spirit-world doth lie : 
 
 Thy sense is shut, thy heart is dead ! 
 
 Up scholar, lave, with courage high. 
 
 Thine earthly breast in the morning-red !" 
 
 (^He contemplates the sign.) 
 
 How all things live and work, and ever blending. 95 
 
 Weave one vast whole from Being's ample range ! 
 How powers celestial, rising and descending, 
 Their golden buckets ceaseless interchange ! 
 Their flight on rapture-breathing pinions winging, 
 From heaven to earth their genial influence bringing. 100 
 Through the wide sphere their chimes melodious ringing ' 
 
 A wondrous show ! but ah ! a show alone ! 
 Where shall I grasp thee, infinite natiire, where? 
 Ye breasts, ye fountains of all life, whereon 
 Hang heaven and earth, from which the withered heart 
 For solace yeanis, ye still impart lOG 
 
 C
 
 18 FAUST. 
 
 Your sweet and fostering tides — where are ye — where ? 
 Ye gush, and must I languish in despair ? 
 
 (JSe tiaiis over the leaves of the hooJc impatiently, and 
 perceives the sign of the Earth-spirit.^ 
 
 How all unlike the influence of this sign ! 
 
 Earth-spirit, thou to me art nigher, 110 
 
 E'en now my strength is rising higher. 
 
 E'en now I glow as with new wine ; 
 
 Courage I feel, abroad the world to dare, 
 
 The woe of earth, the hliss of earth to bear, 
 
 To mingle with the lightnings' glare, 115 
 
 And mid the crashing shipwreck not despair. 
 
 Clouds gather over me — 
 The moon conceals her light — 
 The lamp is quench'd — 
 
 Vapours are rising — Quiv'ring round my head 120 
 
 Flash the red beams — Do^oti from the vaulted roof 
 A shuddering horror floats, 
 And seizes me ! 
 
 I feel it, spirit, prayer-compell'd, 'tis thou 
 Art hovering near ! 125 
 
 Unveil thyself ! 
 
 Ha ! How my heart is riven now ! 
 Each sense, with eager palpitation. 
 Is strain'd to catch some new sensation ! 
 I feel my heart surrender'd unto thee ! 1 30 
 
 Thou must ! Thou must ! Though life should be the fee ! 
 (He seizes the hooJc, and pronounces mysteriously the sign 
 of the spirit. A ruddy flame flashes upf ; the spirit 
 appears in the flame.) 
 
 SPIRIT. 
 
 Who calls me ? 
 
 FAUST (turning aside.^ 
 Dreadful shape ! 
 
 SPIRIT. 
 
 With might, 
 Thou hast compell'd me to appear, 
 Long hast been sucking at my sphere. 
 And now —
 
 FAUST. 19 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Woe's me! I cannot bear thy sight. 135 
 
 SPIRIT. 
 
 To know me thou did'st breathe thy prayer. 
 
 My voice to hear, to gaze upon my brow ; 
 
 Me doth thy strong entreaty bow — 
 
 Lo ! I am here ! — What pitiful despair 
 
 Grasps thee, the demigod ! Where's now the soul's deep 
 
 cry ? 140 
 
 Where is the breast, which in its depths a world con- 
 
 ceiv'd, 
 And bore and cherish'd ; which, with ecstasy. 
 To rank itself with us, the spirits, heav'd ? 
 Where art thou, Faust ? whose voice I heard resound, 
 Who towards me press'd with energy profound? 145 
 
 Art thou he ? Thou, — whom thus my breath can blight 
 Whose inmost being with affright 
 Trembles, a crush'd and writhing worm ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Shall I yield, thing of flame, to thee ? 
 
 Faust, and thine equal, I am he ! 150 
 
 SPIRIT. 
 
 In the currents of life, in action's storm, 
 
 I float and I wave 
 
 With billowy motion ! 
 
 Birth and the grave, 
 
 A limitless ocean, 155 
 
 A constant weaving 
 
 With change still rife, 
 
 A restless heaving, 
 
 A glowing life — 
 Thus time's whirring loom unceasing I ply, IGO 
 And weave the life-garment of deity. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou, restless spirit, dost from end to end 
 O'ersweep the world ; how near I feel to thee ! 
 
 SPIRIT. 
 
 Thou'rt like the spirit, thou dost comprehend. 
 Not me! {Vanishes.) 165 
 
 c 2
 
 20 FAUST. 
 
 FAUSI {deeply moved). 
 Not theo? 
 Whom then ? 
 I, God's own image ! 
 And not rank with th 36 ' {A hiock.) 
 
 Oh death ! I know it — 'tis my famulus — 170 
 
 My fairest fortune now escapes ! 
 
 That all these visionary shapes 
 
 A soulless groveller should banish thus ! 
 
 (Wagner in Ms dressing-gown and night-cap, a lamp in 
 his hand. Faust turns round reluctantly.) 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 Pardon ! I heard you here declaim ; 
 
 A Grecian tragedy you doubtless read ? 175 
 
 Improvement in this art is now my aim, 
 
 For now-a-days it much avails. Indeed 
 
 An actor, oft I've heard it said at least, 
 
 Maj- give instruction even to a priest. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Ay, if your priest should be an actor too, 180 
 
 As not improbably may come to pass, 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 When in his study pent the whole year through, 
 
 Man views the world, as through an optic glass. 
 
 On a chance holiday, and scarcely then. 
 
 How by persuasion can he govern men ? 185 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 If feeling prompt not, if it doth not flow 
 
 Fresh from the spirit's depths, with strong control 
 
 Swaying to rapture every listener's soul. 
 
 Idle your toil ; the chase you may forego ! 
 
 Brood o'er your task ! Together glue, 190 
 
 Cook from another's feast your own ragout, 
 
 Still prosecute your paltry game, 
 
 And fan j^our ash-heaps into flame ! 
 
 Thus children's wonder you'll excite, 
 
 And apes', if such your appetite : 195 
 
 But that which issues from the heart alone, 
 
 Will bend the hearts of others to your own.
 
 PAUST. 21 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 The speaker in delivery will find 
 SiKcess alone ; I still am far behind. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 A worthy object still pursue ! 200 
 
 Be not a hollow tinkling fuol ! 
 
 Sound understanding, judgment true, 
 
 Find utterance without art or rule ; 
 
 And when with earnestness you speak, 
 
 Then is it needful cunning words to seek ? 205 
 
 Your fine harangues, so polish'd in their kind, 
 
 Wherein the shreds of human thought ye twist. 
 
 Are unrefreshing as the empty wind. 
 
 Whistling through wither'd leaves and autumn mist ! 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 Oh Heavens ! art is long and life is short ! 21 C 
 
 Still as I prosecute with earnest zeal 
 
 The critic's toil, I'm haunted by this thought, 
 
 And vague misgivings o'er my spirit steal. 
 
 The very means how hardly are they won, 
 
 By which we to the fountains rise ! 215 
 
 And, haply, ere one half the course is run, 
 
 Check'd in his progress, the poor devil dies. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Parchment, is that the sacred fount whence roll 
 Waters, he thirsteth not who once hath quaffed ? 
 Oh, if it gush not from thine inmost soul, 220 
 
 Thou hast not won the life-restoring draught. 
 
 WAGNER, 
 
 Your pardon ! 'tis delightful to transport 
 
 Oneself into the spirit of the past. 
 
 To see in times before us how a wise man thought. 
 
 And what a glorious height wo have achieved at last. 225 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Ay truly ! even to the loftiest star ! 
 To us, my friend, the ages that are pass'd 
 A book with seven seals, close-fasten'd, aro ; 
 And what the spirit of the times men call.
 
 22 FAUST. 
 
 Is merely their own spirit after all, 230 
 
 Wherein, distorted oft, the times are glass'd. 
 
 Then truly, 'tis a sight to grieve the soul ! • 
 
 At the first glance we fly it in dismay ; 
 
 A very lumber-room, a rubhish-hole ; 
 
 At best a sort of mock-heroic play, 235 
 
 With saws pragmatical, and maxims sage, 
 
 To suit the puppets and their mimic stage. 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 But then the world and man, his heart and brain ? 
 Touching these things all men would something know. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Ay ! what 'mong men as knowledge doth obtain ! 240 
 
 Who on the child its true name dares bestow? 
 
 The few who somewhat of these things have known. 
 
 Who their full hearts unguardedly reveal'd. 
 
 Nor thoughts, nor feelings, from the mob conceal'd. 
 
 Have died on crosses, or in flames been thrown. — 245 
 
 Excuse me, friend, far now the night is spent, 
 
 For this time we must say adieu. 
 
 WAGNEK. 
 
 Still to watch on I had been well content, 
 
 Thus to converse so learnedly with you. 
 
 But as to-mon-ow will be Easter-day, 250 
 
 Some further questions grant, I pray ; 
 
 With diligence to study still I fondly cling ; 
 
 Already I know much, but would know everything. {Exit.') 
 
 FAUST {alone). 
 
 How he alone is ne'er bereft of hope. 
 
 Who clings to tasteless trash with zeal untir'd 255 
 
 Who doth, with greedy hand, for treasure grope, 
 
 And finding earth-worms, is with joy inspir'd ! 
 
 And dare a voice of merely human birth. 
 
 E'en here, where shapes immortal throng'd, intrude ? 
 
 Yet ah ! thou poorest of the sons of earth, 260 
 
 For once, I e'en to thee feel gratitude. 
 
 Despair the power of sense did well-nigh blast,
 
 FAUST. 23 
 
 Aud thou dielst save ine ere I sank dismay'd ; 
 
 So giant-like the vision seem'd, so vast, 
 
 I felt myself shrink dwarf 'd as I survey'd ! 265 
 
 I, God's ovm image, from this toil of clay 
 
 Already freed, with eager joy who hail'd 
 
 The mirror of eternal truth unveil'd. 
 
 Mid light eifulgent and celestial day : — 
 
 I, more than cherub, whose unfetter'd soul 270 
 
 With penetrative glance aspir'd to flow 
 
 Through nature's veins, and, still creating, know 
 
 The life of gods, — how am I punish'd now ! 
 
 One thunder- word hath hurl'd me from the goal ! 
 
 Spirit ! I dai-e not lift me to thy sphere. 275 
 
 What though my power compell'd thee to appear. 
 
 My art was powerless to detain thee here. 
 
 In that great moment, rapture-fraught, 
 
 I felt myself so small, so great ; 
 
 Fiercely didst thrust me from the realm of thought 
 
 Back on humanity's uncertain fate ! 281 
 
 Who'll teach me now ? What ought I to forego ? 
 
 Ought I that impulse to obey ? 
 
 Alas ! our every deed, as well as every woe, 
 
 Impedes the tenor of life's onward way ! 285 
 
 E'en to the noblest by the soul conceiv'd, 
 
 Some feelings cling of baser quality ; 
 
 And when the goods of this world are achiev'd, 
 
 Each nobler aim is term'd a cheat, a lie. 
 
 Our aspirations, our soul's genuine life, 290 
 
 Grow torpid in the din of earthly strife. 
 
 Though youthful phantasy, while hope inspires, 
 
 Stretch o'er the infinite her wing sublime, 
 
 A narrow compass limits her desires. 
 
 When wrcck'd our fortunes in the gulf of time. 205 
 
 In the deep heart of man care builds her nest. 
 
 O'er secret woes she broodeth there. 
 
 Sleepless she rocks herself and scai'cth joy aud rest ; 
 
 Still is she Avont some new disguise to wear, 
 
 She may as lumse and coni't, as wife and child a)t])Cir, 
 
 As dagger, poison, fire and flood; 301
 
 24 FAUST. 
 
 Imagined evils chill thy blood, 
 
 And what thou ne'er shall lose, o'er that dost shed 
 the tear. 
 
 I am not like the gods ! Feel it I mtist ; 
 I'm like the earth-worm, wi-ithing in the dust, 305 
 Which, as on dust it feeds, its native fare, 
 Crushed 'neath the passer's tread, lies buried there. 
 
 Is it not dust, wherewith this lofty wall. 
 
 With hundred shelves, confines me round, 
 
 Eubbish, in thousand shapes, may I not call 310 
 
 What in this moth -world doth my being bound? 
 
 Here, what doth fail me, shall I find ? 
 
 Read in a thousand tomes that, everywhere, 
 
 Self-torture is the lot of human-kind. 
 
 With but one mortal happy, here and there? 315 
 
 Thou hollow skull, that grin, what should it say, 
 
 But that thy brain, like mine, of old perplexed. 
 
 Still yearning for the truth, hath sought the light of day. 
 
 And in the twilight wander'd, sorely vexed ? 
 
 Ye instruments, forsooth, ye mock at me, — 320 
 
 With wheel, and cog, and ring, and cylinder ; 
 
 To nature's portals ye should be the key ; 
 
 Cimning your wards, and yet the bolts ye fail to stir. 
 
 Inscrutable in broadest light. 
 
 To be unveil'd by force she doth refuse, 325 
 
 What she reveals not to thy mental sight, 
 
 Thou wilt not wi'cst from her with levers and with screws. 
 
 Old useless furnitures, yet stand ye here. 
 
 Because my sire ye served, now dead and gone. 
 
 Old scroll, the smoke of years dost wear, 330 
 
 So long as o'er this desk the sorry lamp hath shone. 
 
 Better my little means have squandered quite away. 
 
 Than burden'd by that little here to sweat and groan ! 
 
 Wouldst thou possess thy heritage, essay, 
 
 By use to render it thine own ! 335 
 
 What we employ not, but impedes our way, 
 
 That which the hour creates, that can it use alone ! 
 
 But wherefore to yon spot is riveted my gaze ? 
 Is yonder flasket there a magnet to my sight ?
 
 FAUST. 25 
 
 Whence this mild radiance that around me plays, 340 
 As when, 'mid forest gloom, reigneth the moon's soft 
 light? 
 
 Hail, precious phial ! Thee, with reverent awe, 
 
 Down from thine old receptacle I draw ! 
 
 Science in thee I hail and human art. 
 
 Essence of deadliest powers, refin'd and sure, 345 
 
 Of soothing anodynes abstraction pure, 
 
 Now in thy master's need thy grace impart ! 
 
 I gaze on thee, my pain is lull'd to rest ; 
 
 I grasp thee, calm'd the tumult in my breast ; 
 
 The flood-tide of my spirit ebbs away ; 350 
 
 Onward I'm summon'd o'er a boundless main, 
 
 Calm at my feet expands the glassy plain, 
 
 To shores unknown allures a brighter day. 
 
 Lo, where a car of fire, on airy pinion. 
 
 Comes floating towards me ! I'm prepar'd to fly 355 
 
 By a new track through ether's wide dominion. 
 
 To distant spheres of pure activity. 
 
 This life intense, this godlike ecstasy — 
 
 Worm that thou art such rapture canst thou earn ? 
 
 Only resolve with courage stern and high, 360 
 
 Thy visage from the radiant sun to turn ; 
 
 Dare with determin'd will to burst the portals 
 
 Past which in terror others fain would steal ! 
 
 Now is the time, through deeds, to show that mortals 
 
 The calm sublimity of gods can feel ; 365 
 
 To shudder not at yonder dark abyss, 
 
 Where phantasy creates her own self-torturing brood, 
 
 Right onward to the yawning gulf to press, 
 
 Around whose narrow jaws rolleth hell's fiery flood ; 
 
 With glad resolve to take the fatal leap, 370 
 
 Though danger threaten thee, to sink in endless sleep 1 
 
 Pure crystal goblet, forth I draw thee now, 
 
 Fi'om out thine antiquated case, where thou 
 
 Forgotten hast reposed for many a year ! 
 
 Oft at my father's revels thou didst shine, 375 
 
 To glad the earnest guests was thine. 
 
 As each to other passed the generous cheef. 
 
 The gorgeous bredo of figures, quaintly wi'ought,
 
 26 FAUST. 
 
 Which he who quaflTd must first in rhj^me expound, 
 
 Then drain the goblet at one draught profound, 380 
 
 Hath nights of boyliood to fond memory brought. 
 
 I to my neighbour shall not reach thee now. 
 
 Nor on thy rich device shall I my cunning show. 
 
 Here is a juice, makes drunk without delay ; • 
 
 Its dark bro^ni flood thy crystal round doth fill ; 385 
 
 Let this last draught, the product of my skill. 
 
 My o^vn free choice, be quaif'd with resolute will, 
 
 A solemn festive greeting, to the coming day ! 
 
 (^He places the goblet to his mouth.) 
 (The ringing of hells, and choral voices.) 
 
 CJiorus of Angels. 
 Christ is arisen ! 
 
 Mortal, all hail to thee, 390 
 
 Thou whom mortality, 
 Earth's sad reality, 
 Held as in prison. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What hum melodious, what clear silvery chime, 
 
 Thus draws the goblet from my lips away? 395 
 
 Ye deep-ton'd bells, do ye with voice sublime, 
 
 Announce the solemn dawn of Easter-day ? 
 
 Sweet choir ! are ye the hymn of comfort singing, 
 
 Which once around the darkness of the grave, 
 
 From seraph-voices, in glad triumph ringing, 400 
 
 Of a new covenant assurance gave ? 
 
 CHORUS OF WOMEN. 
 
 We, his true-hearted. 
 
 With spices and myi'rh, 
 
 Embalmed the departed. 
 
 And swathed him with caro ; 405 
 
 Here we conveyed Him, 
 
 Our IMaster, so dear ; 
 
 Alas ! W^here we laid Him, 
 
 The Christ is not here. 
 
 CHORUS OF ANGELS. 
 
 Christ is arisen ! 410 
 
 Perfect through earthly ruth,
 
 FAUST. 27 
 
 Eadiant with love and truth, 
 He to eternal youth 
 Soars from earth's prison . 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Wherefore, ye tones celestial, sweet and strong, 415 
 
 Come ye a dweller in the dust to seek ? 
 
 Ring out your chimes believing crowds among, 
 
 The message well I hear, my faith alone is weak ; 
 
 From faith her darling, miracle, hath sprung. 
 
 Aloft to yonder spheres I dare not soar, 420 
 
 Whence sound the tidings of great joy ; 
 
 And yet, with this sweet strain familiar when a boy, 
 
 Back it recalleth me to life once more. 
 
 Then would celestial love, with holy kiss, 
 
 Come o'er me in the Sabbath's stilly hour, 425 
 
 While, fraught with solemn meaning and mysterious 
 
 power, 
 Chim'd the deep-sounding bell, and prayer was bliss ; 
 A yearning impulse, undefin'd yet dear. 
 Drove me to wander on through wood and field ; 
 With heaving breast and majuy a burning tear, 430 
 
 I felt with holy joy a world reveal'd. 
 Gay sports and festive hours proclaimed with joyous 
 
 pealing. 
 This Easter hymn in days of old ; 
 And fond remembrance now, doth mo, with childlike 
 
 feeling. 
 Back from the last, the solemn step, withhold. 435 
 
 still sound on, thou sweet celestial strain ! 
 The tear-drop flows, — Earth, I am thine again ! 
 
 CHORUS OF DISCIPLES. 
 
 He whom we mourned as dead. 
 
 Living and glorious. 
 
 From the dark grave hath fled, 440 
 
 O'er death victorious ; 
 
 Almost creative bliss 
 
 Waits on his growing powei'S ; 
 
 Ah ! Him on earth avc miss ; 
 
 SoiTOw and grief are ours. 445 
 
 Yearning he left his own,
 
 28 FAUST. 
 
 Mid sore annoy ; 
 
 Ah ! we must needs bemoan, 
 
 Master, thy joy ! 
 
 CHORUS OF ANGELS. 
 
 Christ is arisen, 450 
 
 Redeem'd from decay. 
 
 The bonds which imprison 
 
 Your souls, rend away ! 
 
 Praising the Lord with zeal, 
 
 By deeds that love reveal, 455 
 
 Like brethren true and leal 
 
 Sharing the daily meal, 
 
 To all that sorrow feel 
 
 Whisp'ring of heaven's weal, 
 
 Still is the master near, 460 
 
 Still is he here ! 
 
 Before the Gate. 
 Promenaders of all sorts pass out. 
 
 ARTISANS. 
 
 Why choose ye that direction, pray ? 
 
 OTHERS. 
 
 To the hunting-lodge we're on our way. 
 
 THE FIRST. 
 
 We towards the mill are strolling on. 
 
 A MECHANIC. 
 
 A walk to Wasserhof were best. 465 
 
 A SECOND. 
 
 The road is not a pleasant one. 
 
 THE OTHERS. 
 
 W^hat will you do ? 
 
 A THIRD. 
 
 I'll join the rest. 
 
 A FOURTH. 
 
 Let's up to Burghof, there you'll find good cheer. 
 The prettiest maidens and the best of beer, 
 And brawls of a prime sort.
 
 FAUST. 29 
 
 A FIFTH. 
 
 You scapegrace ! How ; 470 
 Your skin still itching for a row ? 
 Thither I will not go, I loathe the place. 
 
 SERVANT GIRL. 
 
 No, no ! I to the town my steps retrace. 
 
 ANOTHER. 
 
 Near yonder poplars he is sure to be. 
 
 THE FIRST. 
 
 And if he is. what matters it to me ! 475 
 
 With you he'll walk, he'll dance with none but you, 
 And with your pleasures what have I to do ? 
 
 THE SECOND, 
 
 Today he will not be alone, he said 
 
 His friend would be with him, the curly-head. 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 Why how those buxom girls step on ! 480 
 
 Come, brother, we will follow them anon. 
 Strong beer, a damsel smartly dress'd. 
 Stinging tobacco, — these I love the best. 
 
 burgher's DAUGHTER. 
 
 Look at those handsome fellows there ! 
 
 'Tis really shameful, I declare, 485 
 
 The very best society they shun, 
 
 After those servant-girls forsooth, to i*un. 
 
 SECOND STUDENT {tO the first). 
 
 Not quite so fast ! for in our rear. 
 
 Two girls, well-dress'd, are drawing near ; 
 
 Not far from us the one doth dwell, 490 
 
 And sooth to say, I like her well. 
 
 They walk demurely, yet you'll see. 
 
 That they will let us join them presently. 
 
 THE FIRST. 
 
 Not I ! restraints of all kinds I detest. 
 
 Quick ! let us catch the wild-game ere it flies, 495 
 
 The hand on Saturday the mop that plies, 
 
 Will on the Sunday fondle you the best.
 
 30 FAUST. 
 
 BURGHER. 
 
 No, this new Burgomaster, I like him not ; each hour 
 He grows more arrogant, now that he's raised to power ; 
 And for the to'svn, what doth he do for it ? 500 
 
 Are not things worse from day to day ? 
 To more restraints wo must submit ; 
 And taxes more than ever pay. 
 
 Beggar (sings). 
 Kind gentlemen and ladies fair, 
 So rosy-cheek'd and trimly dress'd, 505 
 
 Be pleas'd to listen to my prayer, 
 Relieve and pity the distress'd. 
 Let me not vainly sing my lay ! 
 His heart's most glad whose hand is free. 
 Now when all men keep holiday, 510 
 
 Should be a harvest-day to me. 
 
 ANOTHER BURGHER. 
 
 1 know naught better on a holiday. 
 
 Than chatting about war and war's alarms, 
 
 When folk in Turkey are all up in arms, 
 
 Fighting their deadly battles far away, 615 
 
 We at the window stand, our glasses drain. 
 
 And watch adown the stream the painted vessels glide. 
 
 Then, blessing peace and peaceful times, again 
 
 Homeward we turn our steps at eventide. 
 
 THIRD BURGHER. 
 
 Ay, neighbour ! So let matters stand for me ! 520 
 
 There they may scatter one another's brains. 
 And wild confusion round them see — 
 So here at home in quiet all remains ! 
 
 OLD WOMAN (to the BURGHERS' DAUGHTERS). 
 
 Heyday ! How smart ! The fresh young blood ! 
 Who would not fall in love with you ? 525 
 
 Not quite so proud ! 'Tis well and good ! 
 And what you wish, that I could help you to. 
 
 burgher's DAUGHTER. 
 
 Come, Agatha ! I care not to be seen 
 Walking in public with these witches. True,
 
 FAUST. 31 
 
 My future lover, last St. Andrew's E'en, 530 
 
 In flesh and blood she brought before my view. 
 
 ANOTHER. 
 
 And mine she show'd me also in the glass, 
 
 A soldier's figure, with companions bold : 
 
 I look around, I seek him as I pass, 
 
 In vain, his form I nowhere can behold. 535 
 
 SOLDIERS. 
 
 Fortress with turrets 
 
 Eising in air, 
 
 Damsel disdainful, 
 
 Haughty and fair. 
 
 These be my prey ! 540 
 
 Bold is the venture, 
 
 Costly the pay ! 
 
 Hark how the trumpet 
 
 Thither doth call us. 
 
 Where either pleasure 545 
 
 Or death may befall us. 
 
 Hail to the tumult ! 
 
 Life's in the field ! 
 
 Damsel and fortress 
 
 To us must yield. 650 
 
 Bold is the venture, 
 
 Costly the pay ! 
 
 Gaily the soldier 
 
 Marches awa3\ 
 
 Faust and Wagner. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Loosed from their fetters are streams and rills 555 
 
 Through the gracious spring-tide's all-quickening glow ; 
 
 Hope's Ijudding joy in the vale doth blow ; 
 
 Old Winter back to the savage hills 
 
 Withdraweth his force, decrepid now. 
 
 Thence only impotent icy grains 660 
 
 Scatters he as he wings his flight, 
 
 Striping with sleet the verdant plains; 
 
 But the sun endurcth no trace of white ;
 
 32 . FAUST. 
 
 Everywhere growth and movement are rife, 
 
 All tilings investing with hues of life ; 565 
 
 Though flowers are lacking, varied of dye, 
 
 Their colours the motley throng supply. 
 
 Turn thee around, and from this height, 
 
 Back to the town direct thy sight. 
 
 Forth from the hollow, gloomy gate, 570 
 
 Stream forth the masses, in bright array. 
 
 Gladly seek they the sun to-day ; 
 
 The Resurrection they celebrate : 
 
 For they themselves have risen, with joy, 
 
 From tenement sordid, from cheerless room, 675 
 
 From bonds of toil, from care and annoy. 
 
 From gable and roof's o'er-hanging gloom. 
 
 From crowded alley and narrow street, 
 
 And from the churches' awe-breathing night, 
 
 All now have issiied into the light. 580 
 
 But look ! how spreadeth on nimble feet 
 
 Through garden and field the joyous throng, 
 
 How o'er the river's ample sheet. 
 
 Many a gay wherry glides along ; 
 
 And see, deep sinking in the tide, 585 
 
 Pushes the last boat now away. 
 
 E'en from yon far hill's path-worn side, 
 
 Flash the bright hues of garments gay. 
 
 Hark ! Sounds of village mirth arise ; 
 
 This is the people's paradise. 590 
 
 Both great and small send up a cheer ; 
 
 Here am I man, I feel it here. 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 Sir Doctor, in a walk with you 
 
 There's honour and instruction too ; 
 
 Yet here alone I care not to resort, 695 
 
 Because I coarseness hate of every sort. 
 
 This fiddling, shouting, skittling, I detest ; 
 
 I hate the tumult of the vulgar throng ; 
 
 They roar as by the evil one possess'd. 
 
 And call it pleasure, call it song. 600
 
 FAUST. 33 
 
 PEASANTS (under the linden-tree'). 
 Dance and song. 
 The shepherd for the dance was dress'd, 
 With ribbon, wreath, and coloured vest, 
 A gallant show displaying. 
 And round about the linden-tree, 
 They footed it right merrily. 605 
 
 Juchhe ! Juchhe ! 
 
 Juchheisa ! Heisa ! He ! 
 So fiddle-bow was braying. 
 
 Our swain amidst the circle press'd, 
 
 He push'd a maiden trimly dress'd, 610 
 
 And jogg'd her with his elbow ; 
 
 The buxom damsel turn'd her head, 
 
 " Now that's a stupid trick !" she said, 
 
 Juchhe ! Juchhe ! 
 
 Juchheisa! Heisa! He I 615 
 
 Don't be so rude, good fellow ! 
 
 Swift in the circle they advance. 
 
 They dance to right, to left they dance, 
 
 The skirts abroad are swinging. 
 
 And they grow red, and they grow Avarm, 620 
 
 Elbow on hip, they arm in arm, 
 
 Juchhe ! Juchhe ! 
 
 Juchheisa ! Heisa ! He ! 
 Eest, talking now or singing. 
 
 Don't make so free ! How many a maid 625 
 
 Has been betroth'd and then betray'd ; 
 
 And has repented after ! 
 
 Yet still he flatter'd her aside, 
 
 And from the linden, far and wide. 
 
 Juchhe ! Juchhe ! 630 
 
 Juchheisa ! Heisa ! He I 
 Sound fiddle-bow and laughter. 
 
 OLD PEASANT. 
 
 Doctor, 'tis really kind of you, 
 
 To condescend to come this way, 
 
 A highly learned man like you, 635 
 
 To join our mirthful throng to-day.
 
 34 FAUST. 
 
 Our fairest cup I offer you, 
 
 Which we with sparkling drink have crown'd» 
 
 And pledging you. I pray aloud, 
 
 That every drop within its round, 640 
 
 While it j'our present thirst allays, 
 
 May swell the number of your days 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I take the cup you kindly reach, 
 Thanks and prosperity to each ! 
 
 {The crowd gather round in a circle.) 
 
 OLD PEASANT. 
 
 Ay, truly ! 'tis well done, that you 645 
 
 Our festive meeting thus attend ; 
 
 You, who in evil days of yore, 
 
 So often show'd yourself our friend I 
 
 Full many a one stands living here, 
 
 Who from the fever's deadly blast, 65U 
 
 Your father rescu'd, when his skill 
 
 The fatal sickness stay'd at last. 
 
 A young man then, each house you sought. 
 
 Where reign'd the mortal pestilence. 
 
 Corpse after corpse was carried forth, 655 
 
 But still unscath'd you issued thence. 
 
 Sore then your trials and severe ; 
 
 The Heljier yonder aids the helper here. 
 
 ALL. 
 
 Heaven bless the trusty friend, and long 
 
 To help the poor his life prolong ! 660 
 
 FAÜST. 
 
 To Him above in homage bend. 
 
 Who prompts the helper and Who help doth send. 
 
 (He proceeds with Wagner.) 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 With what emotions must your heart o'erflow, 
 
 Eeceiving thus the reverence of the crowd ! 
 
 Great man ! How happy, who like you doth know 665 
 
 Such use for gifts by heaven bestow'd ! 
 
 You to the son the father shows ; 
 
 They press around, inquire, advance,
 
 FAUST. 35 
 
 Hnsli'd is the fiddle, check'd the dance. 
 
 Still where you pass they stand in rows, 670 
 
 And each aloft his bonnet throws, 
 
 They fall upon their knees, almost 
 
 As when there passeth by the Host. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 A few steps further, up to yonder stone ! 
 
 Here rest we frora our walk. In times long past, 675 
 
 Absorb'd in thought, here oft I sat alone. 
 
 And disciplin'd myself with prayer and fast. 
 
 Then rich in hope, with faith sincere, 
 
 With sighs, and hands in anguish press'd, 
 
 The end of that sore plague, with many a tear, 680 
 
 From heaven's dread Lord, I sought to wrest. 
 
 These praises have to me a scornful tone. 
 
 Oh, could'st thou in my inner being read, 
 
 How little either sire or son. 
 
 Of such renown deserve the meed ! 685 
 
 My sire, of good repute, and sombre mood, 
 
 O'er nature's powers and every mystic zone, 
 
 With honest zeal, but methods of his own, 
 
 With toil fantastic loved to brood ; 
 
 His time in dark alchemic cell, 690 
 
 With brother adepts he would spend, 
 
 And there antagonists compel. 
 
 Through numberless receipts to blend. 
 
 A ruddy lion there, a suitor bold. 
 
 In tepid bath was with the lily wed. 6 it 5 
 
 Thence both, while open flames around them roll'd. 
 
 Were tortur'd to another bridal bed. 
 
 AVas then the youthful queen descried 
 
 AVith many a hue, to crown the task ; — 
 
 This was our medicine ; the patients died, 700 
 
 " Who wei'e restored ? " none cared to ask. 
 
 W^ith our infernal mixture thus, ere long. 
 
 These hills and peaceful vales among. 
 
 Wo rag'd more fiercely tlian the pest ; 
 
 Myself the deadly poison did to thousands give ; 7ti5 
 
 They pined away, I yet innst live. 
 
 To hear the reckless murderers blest. 
 
 D 2
 
 36 FAUST. 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 Why let this thought your soul o'ercast? 
 
 Can man do more than with nice skill, 
 
 With firm and conscientious will, 710 
 
 Practise the art transmitted from the past? 
 
 If duly you revere your sire in youth. 
 
 His lore you gladly will receive ; 
 
 In manhood, if you spread the bounds of tnith, 
 
 Then may your son a higher goal achieve. 715 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 blest, whom still the hope inspires, 
 
 To lift himself from error's turbid flood ! 
 
 What a man knows not, he to use requires, 
 
 And what he knows, he cannot use for good. 
 
 But let not moody thoughts their shadow throw 720 
 
 O'er the calm beauty of this -hour serene ! 
 
 In the rich sunset see how brightly glow 
 
 Yon cottage homes, girt round with verdant green ! 
 
 Slow sinks the orb, the day is now no more ; 
 
 Yonder he hastens to diffuse new life. 725 
 
 Oh for a pinion from the earth to soar, 
 
 And after, ever after him to strive ! 
 
 Then should I see the world below, 
 
 Bathed in the deathless evening -beams, 
 
 The vales reposing, every height a-glow, 730 
 
 The silver brooklets meeting golden streams. 
 
 The savage mountain, with its cavern'd side. 
 
 Bars not my godlike progress. Lo, the ocean, 
 
 Its warm bays heaving with a tranquil motion, 
 
 To my rapt vision opes its ample tide ! 735 
 
 But now at length the god appears to sink ; 
 
 A new-born impulse wings my flight. 
 
 Onward I press, his quenchless light to drink, 
 
 The day before me, and behind the night. 
 
 The pathless waves beneath, and over me the skies. 740 
 
 Fair dream, it vanish'd with the parting day ! 
 
 Alas ! that when on spirit-wing we rise, 
 
 No wing material lifts our mortal clay. 
 
 But 'tis our inborn impulse, deep and strong, 
 
 Upwards and onwards still to urge our flight, 745
 
 FAUST. 37 
 
 "WTien far above us pours its thrilling song 
 
 The sky-lark, lost in azure light, 
 
 When on extended wing amain 
 
 O'er pine-croTVTi'd height the eagle soars, 
 
 And over moor and lake, the crane 750 
 
 Still striveth towards its native shores. 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 t 
 
 To strange conceits oft I myself must owti, 
 
 But impulse such as this I ne'er have known : 
 
 Nor woods, nor fields, can long our thoughts engage, 
 
 Their wings I envy not the feather'd kind ; 755 
 
 Far otherwise the pleasures of the mind. 
 
 Bear tis from book to book, from page to page ! 
 
 Then winter nights grow cheerful ; keen delight 
 
 Warms every limb ; and ah ! when we unroll 
 
 Some old and precious parchment, at the sight 760 
 
 All heaven itself descends upon the soul. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Your heart by one sole impulse is possess'd ; 
 
 Unconscious of the other still remain ! 
 
 Two souls, alas ! are lodg'd within my breast, 
 
 Which stuggle there for undivided reign : 765 
 
 One to the world, with obstinate desire. 
 
 And closely-cleaving organs, still adheres ; 
 
 Above the mist, the other doth aspire. 
 
 With sacred vehemence, to purer spheres. 
 
 Oh, are there spirits in the air, 770 
 
 Who float ''twixt heaven and earth dominion wielding, 
 
 Stoop hither from your golden atmosphere, 
 
 Lead me to scenes, new life and fuller yielding I 
 
 A magic mantle did I but possess. 
 
 Abroad to waft me as on viewless wings, 775 
 
 I'd prize it far beyond the costliest dress. 
 
 Nor would I change it for the robe of kings. 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 Call not the spirits who on mischief wait ! 
 
 Their troop familiar, streaming tlirougli the air. 
 
 From every quarter threaten man's estate, 780 
 
 And danger in a thousand forms prepare !
 
 38 FAUST. 
 
 I^hey drive impetuous from the frozen north, 
 
 ^Vith fangs sharp-piercing, and keen arroAV'y tongues ; 
 
 From the ungenial east they issue forth, ' 
 
 And prey, with parching breath, upon your lungs ; 785 
 
 IL'wafted on the desert's flaming wing, 
 
 lliey from the south heap fire upon the brain, 
 
 Kefreshment from the west at first they bring, 
 
 Anon to drown thyself and field and plain. 
 
 In wait for mischief, they are prompt to hear ; 790 
 
 With guileful purpose our behests obey ; 
 
 Like ministers of grace they oft appear, 
 
 And lisp like angels, to betray. 
 
 But let us hence ! Grey eve doth all things blend. 
 
 The air grows chill, the mists descend ! 795 
 
 'Tis in the evening first our home we prize — 
 
 Why stand you thus, and gaze with wondering eyes ^ 
 
 What in the gloom thus moves you ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Yon black hound 
 See'st thou, through com and stubble scampering round? 
 
 WAGNEK. 
 
 I've mark'd him long, naught strange in him I see ! 800 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Note him ! What takest thou the brute to be ? 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 But for a poodle, whom his instinct serves 
 His master's track to find once more. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Dost mark how round us, with wide spiral curves, 
 
 He wheels, each circle closer than before ? 805 
 
 And, if I err not, he appears to me 
 
 A fiery whirlpool in his track to leave. 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 Naught but a poodle black of hue I see ; 
 'Tis some illusion doth your sight deceive, 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Methinks a magic coil our feet around, 810 
 
 He for a future snare doth lightly spread.
 
 FAUST. 39 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 Arouud US as in doubt I see liim shyly bound, 
 Since he two strangers seeth in his master's stead. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The circle narrows, he's already near ! 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 A dog dost see, no spectre have we here ; 815 
 
 He growls, doubts, lays him on his belly too, 
 And wags his tail — as dogs are wont to do. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Come hither, Sirrah ! join our company ! 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 A very poodle, he appears to be ! 
 
 Thou standest still, for thee he'll wait ; 820 
 
 Thou speak'st to him, he fawns upon thee straight ; 
 
 Aught 3^ou may lose, again he'll bring. 
 
 And for your stick will into water spring. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou'rt right indeed ; no traces now I see 
 
 Whatever of a spirit's agency. 825 
 
 'Tis training — nothing more. 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 A dog well taught 
 E'en by the wisest of us may be sought. 
 Ay, to your favour he's entitled too. 
 Apt scholar of the students, 'tis his due ! 
 
 (They enter the gate of the town.) 
 
 Study. 
 Faust, {anterincj with the poodle). 
 Behind me now lie field and plain, 830 
 
 As night her veil doth o'er them draw, 
 Our bettor soul resumes her reign 
 With feelingH of foreboding awe. 
 Lull'd is each stormy deed to rest, 
 And tranquilliz'd each wild desire ; 835 
 
 Pure charity dotli warm the Itreast, 
 And love to God the soul inspire.
 
 40 FAUST. 
 
 Peace, poodle, peace ! Scamper not thus ; obey me 1 
 
 Why at the thresliolcl snuffest thou so? 
 
 Behind tlie stove now quietly lay thee, 840 
 
 My softest cushion to thee I'll throw. 
 
 As thou, without, didst please and amuse me, 
 
 Kunning and frisking about on the hill, 
 
 Neither shelter will I refuse thee ; 
 
 A welcome guest, if thou'lt be still. 845 
 
 Ah ! when within our narrow room, 
 
 The friendly lamp again doth glow, 
 
 An inward light dispels the gloom 
 
 In hearts that strive themselves to know, 
 
 Eeason begins again to speak, 850 
 
 Again the bloom of hope returns. 
 
 The streams of life we fain would seek, 
 
 Ah, for life's source our spirit yeams. 
 
 Cease, poodle, cease ! with the tone that arises, 
 
 Hallow'd and peaceful, my soul within, 855 
 
 Accords not thy growl, thy bestial din. 
 
 We find it not strange, that man despises 
 
 What he conceives not; 
 
 The good and the fair he misprizes ; 
 
 What lies beyond him he doth contemn ; 860 
 
 Snarleth the poodle at it, like men ? 
 
 But ah ! E'en now I feel, howe'er I yearn for rest. 
 
 Contentment welleth up no longer in my breast. 
 
 Yet wherefore must the stream, alas, so soon be dry. 
 
 That we once more athirst should lie ? 865 
 
 This sad experience oft I've approv'd ! 
 
 The want admitteth of compensation ; 
 
 We learn to prize what from sense is remov'd, 
 
 Our spirits yearn for revelation, 
 
 Which nowhere bumeth with beauty blent, 870 
 
 More pure than in the New Testament. 
 To the ancient text an impulse strong 
 Moves me the volume to explore, 
 And to translate its sacred lore. 
 
 Into the tones beloved of the German tongue. 875 
 
 (fie opens a volume, and applies himself to it.^
 
 FAUST. 41 
 
 'Tis writ, " In the beginning was the "Word ! " 
 
 I pause, perplex'd ! Who now will help afforc!, ? 
 
 I cannot the mere Word so highly prize ; 
 
 I must translate it otherwise, 
 
 If by the spirit guided as I read. 880 
 
 " In the beginning was the Sense ! " Take heed, 
 
 The import of this primal sentence weigh, 
 
 Lest thy too hasty pen be led astray ! 
 
 Is force creative then of Sense the dower ? 
 
 " In the beginning was the Power ! " 885 
 
 Thus should it stand : yet, while the line I trace, 
 
 A something warns me, once more to efface. 
 
 The spirit aids ! from anxious scruples freed, 
 
 I write, " In the beginning was the Deed ! " 
 
 Am I with thee my room to share, 890 
 
 Poodle, thy barking now forbear, 
 
 Forbear thy howling ! 
 
 Comrade so noisy, ever growling, 
 
 I cannot suffer here to dwell. 
 
 One or the other, mark me well, 895 
 
 Forthwith must leave the cell. 
 
 I'm loath the guest-right to withhold; 
 
 The door's ajar, the passage clear ; 
 
 But what must now mine eyes behold ! 
 
 Are nature's laws suspended here ? 900 
 
 Real is it, or a phantom show ? 
 
 In length and breadth how doth my poodle grow ! 
 
 He lifts himself with threat'ning mien. 
 
 In likeness of a dog no longer seen ! 
 
 What spectre have I harbour'd thus I 905 
 
 Huge as a hippopotamus. 
 
 With fiery eye, terrific tooth ! 
 
 Ah ! now I know thee, sure enough ! 
 
 For such a base, half-hellish brood. 
 
 The key of Solomon is good. 910 
 
 SPIRITS (without). 
 Captur'd there within is one ! 
 Stay without and follow none ! 
 Like a f(jx in iron snare, 
 Hell's old lynx is tj^uakiug there,
 
 42 FAUST. 
 
 But take liccd ! 315 
 
 Hover round, above, below, 
 
 To and fro, 
 Then from durance is he freed I 
 Can ye aid him, spirits all, 
 
 Leave him not in mortal thrall ! 920 
 
 Many a time and oft hath he 
 Served us, when at liberty. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The monster to confront, at first. 
 The spell of Four must be rehears'd ; 
 
 Salamander shall kindle, 925 
 
 Writhe nymph of the wave, 
 In air sylph shall dwindle, 
 And Kobold shall slave. 
 
 Who doth ignore 
 
 The primal Four, 93C 
 
 Nor knows aright 
 
 Their use and might. 
 
 O'er spirits will he 
 
 Ne'er master be ! 
 
 Vanish in the fiery glow, 9'6l 
 
 Salamander ! 
 
 Eushingly together flow, 
 
 Undine ! 
 
 Shimmer in the meteor's gleam, 
 
 Sylphide ! 940 
 
 Hither bring thine homely aid, 
 
 Inciibus ! Incubus ! 
 
 Step forth ! I do adjure thee thus ! 
 
 None of the Four 
 
 Lurks in the beast : 945 
 
 He grins at me, untroubled as before ; 
 
 I have not hurt him in the least. 
 
 A spell of fear 
 
 Thou now shalt hear. 
 
 Art thou, comrade fell, 950 
 
 Fugitive from Hell ? 
 See then this sign.
 
 FAUST. 43 
 
 Before which incline 
 
 The murky troops of Hell ! 
 
 With bristling hair now doth the creature swell. 955 
 
 Canst thou, reprobate, 
 
 Eead the uncreate, 
 
 Unspeakable, diifused 
 
 Throiighout the heavenly sphere, 
 
 Shamefully abused, 9G0 
 
 Transpierced with nail and spear ! 
 
 Behind the stove, tam'd by my spells, 
 
 Like an elephant he swells ; 
 
 Wholly now he fills the room. 
 
 He into mist will melt away. 965 
 
 Ascend not to the ceiling ! Come, 
 
 Thyself at the master's feet now lay ! 
 
 Thou seest that mine is no idle threat. 
 
 With holy fire I will scorch thee yet ! 
 
 Wait not the might 970 
 
 That lies in the triple-glowing light ! 
 
 Wait not the might 
 
 Of all my arts in fullest measure ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 (J.S the mist sinhs, comes forward from heJiind the 
 stove, in the dress of a travelling scholar.) 
 Why all this uproar ? What's the master's pleasure ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 This then the kernel of the brute ! 975 
 
 A travelling scholar ? - Why I needs must smile. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Your learned reverence humbly I salute ! 
 You've made me swelter in a pretty style. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thy name ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The question trifling seems from one. 
 Who it appears the Word doth rate so low ; 980 
 
 Who, undeluded by mere outward show. 
 To Being's depths would penetrate alone.
 
 44 FAUST. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 With gentlemen like you indeed 
 
 The inward essence from the name we rcaa, 
 
 As all too plainly it doth appear, 985 
 
 "When Beelzebub, Destroyer, Liar, meets the ear. 
 
 "Who then art thou ! 
 
 MEPIIISTOPHELES. 
 
 Part of that power which still 
 Produceth good, whilst ever scheming ill. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 "What hidden mystery in this riddle lies ? 
 
 MEPIIISTOPHELES. 
 
 The spirit I, which evermore denies ! 990 
 
 And justly ; for whate'er to light is brought 
 
 Deserves again to be reduced to naught ; 
 
 Then better 'twere that naught should be. 
 
 Thus all the elements which ye 
 
 Destruction, Sin, or briefly, Evil, name, 995 
 
 As my peculiar element I claim. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou nam'st thyself a part, and yet a whole I see. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The modest truth I speak to thee. 
 
 Though folly's microcosm, man, it seems, 
 
 Himself to be a perfect whole esteems, 1000 
 
 Part of the part am I, which at the first was all. 
 
 A part of darkness, which gave birth to light. 
 
 Proud light, who now his mother would enthrall, 
 
 Contesting space and ancient rank with night. 
 
 Yet he succeedeth not, for struggle as he will, 1005 
 
 To forms material he adhereth still ; 
 
 From them he streameth, them he maketh fair, 
 
 And still the progress of his beams they check ; 
 
 And so, I trust, when comes the final wreck, 
 
 Light will, ere long, the doom of matter share. 1010 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thy worthy avocation now I guess !
 
 FAUST. 45 
 
 Wholesale annihilation won't prevail, 
 So thou'rt beginning on a smaller scale. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 And, to say truth, as yet with small success. 
 
 Oppos'd to nothingness, the world, 1015 
 
 This clumsy mass, subsisteth still ; 
 
 Not yet is it to ruin hurl'd, 
 
 Despite the efforts of my will. 
 
 Tempests and earthquakes, fire and flood, I've tried ; 
 
 Yet land and ocean still unchang'd abide ! 1020 
 
 And then of humankind and beasts, the accursed brood, — 
 
 Neither o'er them can I extend my sway. 
 
 What countless m;yTiads have I swept away ! 
 
 Yet ever circulates the fresh young blood. 
 
 It is enough to drive me to despair ! 1025 
 
 As in the earth, in water, and in air. 
 
 In moisture and in drought, in heat and cold, 
 
 Thousands of germs their energies unfold ! 
 
 If fire I had not for myself retain'd, 
 
 No sphere whatever had for me remain'd. 1030 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 So thou with thy cold devil's fist, 
 
 Still clench'd in malice impotent, 
 
 Dost the creative power resist, 
 
 The active, the beneficent ! 
 
 Henceforth some other task essay, 1035 
 
 Of Chaos thou the wondrous son ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 We will consider what you say. 
 And talk about it more anon ! 
 For this time have I leave to go? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Why thou shouldst ask, I cannot see. 1040 
 
 Since one another now we know. 
 At thy good pleasure, visit me. 
 Here is the window, here the door, 
 The chimney, too, may serve thy need. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I must confess, my steppirg o'er 1045
 
 46 FAUST. 
 
 Thy threshold a slight hindrance doth impede ; 
 The wizard- foot doth me retain. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The pentagram thy peace doth mar? 
 
 To me, thou son of hell, explain, 
 
 How earnest thou in, if this thine exit bar? 1050 
 
 Could such a spii'it aught ensnare ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Observe it well, it is not drawn \\dth care, 
 One of the angles, that which points without, 
 Is, as thou seest, not quite closed. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Chance hath the matter happily dispos'd ! 105£ 
 
 So thou my captive art ? No doubt ! 
 By accident thou thus art caught ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 In sprang the dog, indeed, observing naught ; 
 
 Things now assume another shape, 
 
 The devil's in the house and can't escape. 1060 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Why through the window not withdraw? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 For ghosts and for the devil 'tis a law, 
 
 Where they stole in, there they must forth. We're free 
 
 The first to choose ; as to the second, slaves are we. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 E'en hell hath its peculiar laws, I see ! 10^5 
 
 I'm glad of that ! a pact may then be made, 
 The which, you gentlemen, will surely keep? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Whate'er therein is promised thou shalt reap, 
 
 No tittle shall remain unpaid. 
 
 But such arrangements time require; 1070 
 
 We'll speak of them when next we meet ; 
 
 Most earnestly I now entreat, 
 
 This once permission to retire.
 
 FAUST. 47 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Another moment prithee here remain, 
 
 Me with some happy word to pleasure. 1075 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Now let me go ! ere long I'll come again, 
 Then thou may'st question at thy leisure. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 To capture thee was not my will. 
 
 Thyself hast freely entered in the snare : 
 
 Let him who holds the devil, hold him still ! 1080 
 
 A second time so soon he will not catch him there. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 If it so please thee, I'm at thy command ; 
 
 Only on this condition, understand ; 
 
 That worthily thy leisure to beguile, 
 
 I here may exercise my arts awhile, 1085 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou'rt free to do so ! Gladly I'll attend ; 
 But be thine art a pleasant one ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 My friend, 
 This hour enjoyment more intense, 
 Shall captivate each ravish'd sense, 
 
 Than thou could'st compass in the bound 1090 
 
 Of the whole year's unvarying round ; 
 And what the dainty spirits sing, 
 The lovely images they bring, 
 Are no fantastic sorcery. 
 
 Kich odours shall regale your smell, 1095 
 
 On choicest sweets your palate dwell, 
 Your feelings thrill with ecstasy. 
 No preparation do we need. 
 Here we together are. Proceed 
 
 SPIRITS. 
 
 Hence overshadowing gloom 1100 
 
 Vanish from sight ! 
 
 O'er us thine azure dome. 
 
 Bend, beauteous light I
 
 48 FAUST. 
 
 Dark clouds that o'er us spread, 
 
 Melt ill thin air ! 1105 
 
 Stars, your soft radiance shed, 
 
 Tender and fair. 
 
 Girt with celestial might, 
 
 AVinging their airy flight, 
 
 Spirits are thronging. 1110 
 
 Follows their forms of light 
 
 Infinite longing ! 
 
 Flutter their vestures bright 
 
 O'er field and grove ! 
 
 Where in their leafy bower 1115 
 
 Lovers the livelong hour 
 
 Vow deathless love. 
 
 Soft bloometh bud and bower ! 
 
 Bloometh the grove ! 
 
 Grapes from the spreading vine 1120 
 
 Crown the full measure ; 
 
 Fountains of foaming wine 
 
 Gush from the pressure. 
 
 Still where the currents wind, 
 
 Gems brightly gleam. 1125 
 
 Leaving the hills behind 
 
 On rolls the stream ; 
 
 Kow into ample seas, 
 
 Spreadeth the flood ; 
 
 Laving the sunny leas, 1130 
 
 Mantled with wood. 
 
 Eapture the feather'd throrg, 
 
 Gaily careering, 
 
 Sip as they float along ; 
 
 Sunw^ard they're steering ; 1135 
 
 On towards the isles of light 
 
 Winging their way, 
 
 That on the waters bright 
 
 Dancingly play. 
 
 Hark to the choral strain, 114C 
 
 Joyfully ringing ! 
 
 While on the grassy plain 
 
 Dancers are springing ; 
 
 Climbing the steep hill's side.
 
 FAUST. 49 
 
 Skimming the glassy tide, 1145 
 
 "Wander they there ; 
 
 Others on pinions wide 
 
 Wing the bhie air; 
 
 On towards tlie living stream, 
 
 Towards yonder stars that gleam, 1150 
 
 Far, far away ; 
 
 Seeking their tender beam 
 
 Wing they their way. 
 
 SIEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Well done, my dainty spirits ! now he slumbers ; 
 
 Ye have entranc'd him fairly with yoi;r numbers ; 1155 
 
 This minstrelsy of yours I must repay. — 
 
 Thou art not yet the man to hold the devil fast ! — 
 
 With fairest shapes your sjiells around him cast, 
 
 And plunge him in a sea of dreams ! 
 
 But that this charm be rent, the threshold passed, 1160 
 
 Tooth of rat the way must clear. 
 
 I need not conjure long it seems, 
 
 One rustles hitherward, and soon my voice will hear. 
 
 The master of the rats and mice. 
 
 Of flies and frogs, of bugs and lice, 1165 
 
 Commands thy presence ; without fear 
 
 Come forth and gnaw the threshold here, 
 
 Where he with oil has smear'd it. — Thou 
 
 Com'st hopping forth already ! Now 
 
 To work ! The point that holds me bound 1170 
 
 Is in the outer angle found. 
 
 Another bite — so — now 'tis done — 
 
 Now, Faustus, till we meet again, dream on. 
 
 FAUST {aivaking). 
 Am I once more deluded ! must I deem 
 This troop of thronging spirits all ideal ? 1175 
 
 The devil's presence, was it nothing real ? 
 The poodle's disappearance but a dream ? 
 
 Sludii. 
 Faust. Mephistopheles. 
 
 FAUST, 
 
 A knock ? Come in ! Who now would break my rest? 
 
 B
 
 50 FAUST. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 'Tis I ! 
 
 Comc in ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 MErHISTOPHELKS. 
 
 Thrice be the words express'd. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Then I repeat Come in ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 'Tis weU, 1180 
 
 I hope that we shall soon agree ! 
 For now your fancies to expel, 
 Here, as a youth of high degree, 
 I come in gold-lac'd scarlet vest. 
 
 And stiff-silk mantle richly dress'd, 1185 
 
 A cock's gay feather for a plume, 
 A long and pointed rapier, too ; 
 And briefly I would counsel you 
 To don at once the same costume. 
 
 And, free from trammels, speed away, 1190 
 
 That what life is you may essay, 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 In every garb I needs must feel oppress'd, 
 
 My heart to earth's low cares a prey. 
 
 Too old the trifler's part to play. 
 
 Too young to live by no desire possess'd. 1195 
 
 "What can the world to me aflbrd ? 
 
 E enounce ! renounce ! is still the word; 
 
 This is the everlasting song 
 
 In every ear that ceaseless rings. 
 
 And which, alas, oiu- whole life long, 1 200 
 
 Hoarsely each passing moment sings. 
 
 But to new horror I awake each mom. 
 
 And I could weep hot tears, to see the sun 
 
 Dawn on another day, whose round forlorn 
 
 Accomplishes no wish of mine — not one. 1205 
 
 "Which still, with froward captiousness, impairs 
 
 E'en the presentiment of every joy, 
 
 While low realities and paltiy cares
 
 FAUST. 51 
 
 The spirit's fond imaginings destroy. 
 
 And must I then, wh'a.'s. falls the veil of night, 1210 
 
 Stretch'd on my pallet langiiish in despair ; 
 
 Appalling dreams my soul affright ; 
 
 No rest vouchsafed me even there. 
 
 The god, who throned within my breast resides, 
 
 Deep in my soul can stir the springs; 1215 
 
 With sovereign sway my energies he guides, 
 
 He cannot move external things ; 
 
 And so existence is to me a weight, 
 
 Death fondly I desire, and life I hate. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 And yet, methinks, by most 'twill be confess'd 1220 
 
 That Death is never quite a welcome guest. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Happy the man around whose brow he binds 
 
 The bloodstain'd wreath in conquest's dazzling hour ; 
 
 Or whom, excited by the dance, he finds 
 
 Dissolv'd in bliss, in love's delicioiis bower ! 1 225 
 
 that before the lofty spirit's might, 
 
 Enraptured, I had rendered up my soul ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Yet did a certain man refrain one night, 
 Of its brown juice to drain the crystal bowl. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 To play the spy diverts you then ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I own, 1230 
 
 Though not omniscient, much to me is known. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 If o'er my soul the tone familiar, stealing, 
 
 Drew me from harrowing thought's bewild'ring maze. 
 
 Touching the ling'ring chords of childlike feeling. 
 
 With the sweet harmonies of happier days : 1 235 
 
 So curse I all, around the soul that windeth 
 
 Its magic and alluring spell. 
 
 And Avith delusive flattery biudeth 
 
 Its victim to this dreary cell 1 
 
 B 2
 
 52 FAUST. 
 
 Curs'd before all things be the high opinion, 1'2-iO 
 
 WhercAvith the spirit girds itself around ! 
 
 Of shows delusive curs'd he the dominion, 
 
 Within whose mocking sphere our sense is bound I 
 
 Accurs'd of dreams the treacherous wiles, 
 
 The cheat of glory, deathless fame ! 1 245 
 
 Accurs'd what each as property beguiles. 
 
 Wife, child, slave, plough, whate'er its name ! 
 
 Accurs'd be mammon, when with treasure 
 
 He doth to daring deeds incite : 
 
 Or when to steep the soul in pleasure, 1250 
 
 He spreads the couch of soft delight ! 
 
 Curs'd be the grape's balsamic juice ! 
 
 Accurs'd love's dream, of joys the first 1 
 
 Accurs'd be hope ! accurs'd be faith ! 
 
 And more than all, be patience curs'd ! 1255 
 
 CHORUS OF SPIRITS (invisible). 
 Woe ! woe ! 
 Thou hast destroy'd 
 The beautiful world 
 With violent blow ; 
 
 'Tis shiver'd ! 'tis shatter'd ! 1260 
 
 The fragments abroad by a demigod scatter'd ! 
 Now we sweep 
 
 The wi-ecks into nothingness I 
 Fondly we weep 
 
 The beauty that's gone ! 1265 
 
 Thou, 'mongst the sons of earth. 
 Lofty and mighty one, 
 Build it once more ! 
 
 In thine own bosom the lost world restore ! 
 Now with unclouded sense 1270 
 
 Enter a new career ; 
 Songs shall salute thine ear. 
 Ne'er heard before ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 My little ones these spirits be. 
 
 Hark ! with shrewd intelligence, ] 275 
 
 How they recommend to thee 
 
 Action, and the joys of sense I
 
 FAUST. 63 
 
 In tlie busy world to dwell, 
 
 Fain they would allure thee hence : 
 
 For within this lonely cell, 1280 
 
 Stagnate sap of life and sense. 
 
 Forbear to trifle longer with thy grief, 
 
 Which, vulture-like, consumes thee in this den. 
 
 The worst society is some relief, 
 
 Making thee feel thyself a man with men. 1285 
 
 Nathless it is not meant, I trow, 
 
 To thrust thee 'mid the vulgar throng. 
 
 I to the upper ranks do not belong ; 
 
 Yet if, by me companion'd, thou 
 
 Thy steps through life forthwith wilt take, 1290 
 
 Upon the spot myself I'll make 
 
 Thy comrade ; — 
 
 Should it suit thy need, 
 
 I am thy servant, am thy slave indeed I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 And how must I thy services repay ? 1295 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Thereto thou lengthen'd respite hast I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 No f no ! 
 
 The devil is an egotist I know : 
 
 And, for Heaven's sake, 'tis not his way 
 
 Kindness to any one to show. 
 
 Let the condition plainly be exprest ; 1300 
 
 Such a domestic is a dangerous guest. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I'll pledge myself to be thy servant here. 
 
 Still at thy back alert and prompt to be ; 
 
 But when together yonder wo appear, 
 
 Then shalt thou do the same for me. 1305 
 
 FAUST, 
 
 But small concern I feel for yonder world ; 
 Hast thou this system into ruin hurl'd, 
 Aufjthor m;iy arise tlic void to fill. 
 This earth the fountain whence my pleasures flow,
 
 54 FAUST. 
 
 This sun doth daily shine upon my woe, 1310 
 
 And if this world I must forego, 
 
 Let happen then, — what can and will. 
 
 [ to this theme will close mine ears, 
 
 If men hereafter hate and love, 
 
 And if there be in yonder spheres 1315 
 
 A depth below or height above. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 In this mood thou mayst venture it. But mate 
 
 The compact, and at once I'll undertake 
 
 To charm thee with mine arts. I'll give thee more 
 
 Than mortal eye hath e'er beheld betöre. 1320 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What, sorry Devil, hast thou to bestow ? 
 
 Was ever mortal spirit, in its high endeavour, 
 
 Fathom'd by Being such as thou ? 
 
 Yet food thou hast which satisfieth never, 
 
 Hast ruddy gold, that still doth flow 1325 
 
 Like restless quicksilver away, 
 
 A game thou hast, at which none win who play, 
 
 A girl who would, with amorous eyen, 
 
 E'en from my breast, a neighbour snare. 
 
 Lofty ambition's joy divine, 1330 
 
 That, meteor-like, dissolves in air. 
 
 Show me the fruit that, ere 'tis pluck'd, doth rot. 
 
 And trees, whose verdure daily buds anew. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Such a commission scares me not, 
 
 I can provide such treasures, it is true ; 1335 
 
 But, my good friend, a season will come round, 
 
 When on what's good we may regale in peace. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 If e'er upon my couch, stretched at my ease, I'm found. 
 
 Then may my life that instant cease ; 
 
 Me canst thou cheat with glozing wile 
 
 Till self-reproach away I cast ? — 1340 
 
 Me with joy's lure canst thou beguile ? — 
 
 Let that day be for me the last 1 
 
 Be this our wager !
 
 PAUST. 65 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Settled ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Sure and fast ! 
 When to the moment I shall say, 1345 
 
 " Linger awhile, so fair thou art ! " 
 Then mayst thou fetter me straightway, 
 Then to the abyss will I depart ; 
 Then may the solemn death-bell sound, 
 Then from thy service thou art free, 1350 
 
 The index then may cease its round, 
 And time be never more for me ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I shall remember : pause, ere 'tis too late 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thereto a perfect right hast thou. 
 
 My strength I do not rashly overrate. 1355 
 
 Slave am I here, at any rate, 
 
 If thine, or whose, it matters not, I trow. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 At thine inaugural feast I will this day 
 
 Attend, my duties to commence. — 
 
 But one thing ! — Accidents may happen, hence 1360 
 
 A line or two in writing grant, I pray. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 A writing. Pedant ! dost demand from me ? 
 
 Man, and man's plighted word, are these unknown to thee? 
 
 Is't not enough, that by the word I gave. 
 
 My doom for evermore is cast? 1365 
 
 Doth not the world in all its currents rave. 
 
 And must a promise hold me fast ? 
 
 Yet fixed is this delusion in our heart ; 
 
 Who, of his own free will, thoi'cfrom would part ? 
 
 How blest within whose breast truth rcigneth pure ! 1370 
 
 No sacrifice will he repent when made ! 
 
 A formal deed, with seal and signature, 
 
 A spectre this from which all shrink afraid. 
 
 The word its life resigneth in the pen,
 
 66 FAUST. 
 
 Leather and wax usurp the mastery then. 1375 
 
 Spirit of evil ! what dust thou require ? 
 Brass, marble, parchment, paper, dost desire ? 
 8hall I with chisel, j^en, or graver write ? 
 Thy choice is free ; to me 'tis all the same. 
 
 MEPHISTOPIIELES. 
 
 Wherefore thy passion so excite, 1380 
 
 And thus thine eloquence inflame ? 
 
 A scrap is for our compact good. 
 
 Thou under-signest merely with a drop of Llood. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 If this will satisfy thy mind. 
 
 Thy whim I'll gratify, howe'er absurd. 1385 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Blood is a juice of very special kind. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Be not afraid that I shall break my word ! 
 
 The scope of all my energy 
 
 Is in exact accordance with my vow. 
 
 Vainly I have aspired too high ; 1390 
 
 I'm on a level but with such as thou; 
 
 Me the great spirit scorn'd, defied ; 
 
 Nature from me herself doth hide ; 
 
 Eent is the web of thought ; my mind 
 
 Doth knowledge loathe of every kind. 1395 
 
 In depths of sensual pleasure drown'd, 
 
 Let us our fiery passions still ! 
 
 Enwrapp'd in magic's veil profound, 
 
 Let wondrous charms our senses thrill I 
 
 Plunge we in time's tempestuous flow, 1400 
 
 Stem we the rolling surge of chance ! 
 
 There may alternate weal and woe, 
 
 Success and failure, as they can, 
 
 Mingle and shift in changeful dance! 
 
 Excitement is the sj^here for man. 1405 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Nor goal, nor measure is prescrib'd to yon. 
 If you desire to taste of every thing,
 
 FAUST. 67 
 
 To snatijli at joy while on the wing, 
 
 ]May your career amuse and profit too I 
 
 Only fall to and don't be over coy ! 1410 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Hearken ! The end I aim at is not joy ; 
 
 I crave excitement, agonizing bliss, 
 
 Enamotir'd hatred, quickening vexation. 
 
 Purg'd from the love of knowledge, my vocation, 
 
 The scope of all my powers henceforth be this, 1415 
 
 To bare my breast to every pang, — to know 
 
 In my heart's core all human weal and woe, 
 
 To grasp in thought the lofty and the deep. 
 
 Men's various fortunes on my breast to heap, 
 
 And thus to theirs dilate my individual mind, 1 420 
 
 And share at length with them the shipwreck of mankind. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Oh, credit me, who still as ages roll. 
 
 Have chew'd this bitter fare from year to year, 
 
 No mortal, from the cradle to the bier. 
 
 Digests the ancient leaven ! Know, this Whole 1425 
 
 Doth for the Deity alone subsist ! 
 
 He in eternal brightness doth exist. 
 
 Us unto darkness he hath brought, and here 
 
 Where day and night alternate, is your sphere. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 But 'tis my will ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Well spoken, I admit ! 1430 
 
 But one thing puzzles me, my friend ; 
 Time's short, art long; methinks 'twere fit 
 That you to friendly counsel should attend. 
 A poet choose as your ally ! 
 
 Let him thought's wide dominion sweep, 1435 
 
 Each good and noble quality, 
 Upon your honoured brow to heap; 
 The lion's magnanimity, 
 The flectiicss of the hind. 
 
 The f'ujry blood of Italy, 1440 
 
 The Northcn 'a stedfast mind I
 
 58 FAUST. 
 
 Let him to yoTi the mystery show- 
 To blend liigh aims and cunning low; 
 Aud while youth's passions are aflame 
 To fall in love by rule and plan ! 1445 
 
 I fain would meet with such a man ; 
 Would him Sir Microcosmus name. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What then am I, if I aspire in vain 
 The crown of our humanity to gain, 
 Towards which my every sense doth strain? 1450 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Thou'rt after all — just what thou art. 
 Put on thy head a wig with countless locks, 
 Raise to a cubit's height thy learned socks, 
 Still thou remainest ever, what thou art. 
 
 FAüST. 
 
 I feel it, I have heap'd upon my brain 1455 
 
 The gather'd treasure of man's thought in vain ; 
 
 And when at length from studious toil I rest, 
 
 No power, new-born, springs up within my breast ; 
 
 A hair's breadth is not added to my height, 
 
 I am no nearer to the infinite. 1460 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Good sir, these things you view indeed. 
 
 Just as by other men they're view'd ; 
 
 We must more cleverly proceed. 
 
 Before life's joys our grasp elude. 
 
 The devil ! thou hast hands and feet, 1 465 
 
 And head and heart are also thine ; 
 
 What I enjoy with relish sweet. 
 
 Is it on that account less mine? 
 
 If for six stallions I can pay. 
 
 Do I not own their strength and speed . 1470 
 
 A proper man I dash away. 
 
 As their two dozen legs were mine indeed. 
 
 Up then, from idle pondering free. 
 
 And forth into the world with me ! 
 
 I tell you what ; — your speciilative churl 1475 
 
 Is like a beast which some ill spirit leads,
 
 FAUST. 69 
 
 On barren -wilderness, in ceaseless whirl, 
 While all around lie fair and verdant meads. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 But how shall we begin ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 We will go hence with speed, 
 A place of torment this indeed ! 1480 
 
 A pi*ecious life, thyself to bore. 
 And some few youngsters evermore ! 
 Leave it to neighbour Paunch ; — withdraw, 
 Why wilt thou plague thyself with thrashing straw ? 
 The very best that thou dost know 1485 
 
 Thou dar'st not to the striplings show. 
 One in the passage now doth wait I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I'm in no mood to see him now. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Poor lad ! He must be tired, I trow ; 
 
 He must not go disconsolate. 1490 
 
 Hand me thy cap and gown ; the mask 
 
 Is for my purpose quite first rate. 
 
 (Re changes Ids dress.) . 
 Now leave it to my wit ! I ask 
 But quarter of an hour ; meanwhile equip, 
 And make all ready for our pleasant trip ! 1495 
 
 (Exit Faust.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (in Faust's long gown). 
 Mortal ! the loftiest attributes of men, 
 Reason and Knowledge, only thus contemn, 
 Still let the Prince of lies, without control, 
 With shows, and mocking charms delude thy soul, 
 I have thee unconditionally then ! — 1500 
 
 Fate hath endow'd him with an ardent mind, 
 Which unrestrain'd still presses on for ever. 
 And whose precipitate endeavour 
 Earth's joys o'erleaping, leaveth them behind. 
 Him will I drag through life's wild waste, 1505
 
 GO FAUST. 
 
 Through sccBes of vapid diilness, Avhere at last 
 
 Bewilder'd, he shall falter, and stick fast ; 
 
 And, still to mock his greed}' liaste, 
 
 Viands and drink shall float his craving lips beyond — 
 
 Vainly he'll seek refreshment, anguish-tost, 1510 
 
 And were he not the devil's by his bond, 
 
 Yet must his soul infallibly be lost ! 
 
 A Student enters. 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 But recently I've quitted home, 
 
 Full of devotion am I come 
 
 A man to know and hear, whose name 1515 
 
 With reverence is known to fame. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Your courtesy much flatters me ! 
 
 A man like other men you see ; 
 
 Pray have you yet applied elsewhere ? 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 I would entreat your friendly care ! i520 
 
 I've youthful blood and courage high ; 
 
 Of gold I bring a fair supply ; 
 
 To let me go my mother was not fain ; 
 
 But here I longed tme knowledge to attain, 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 You've hit ujDon the veiy place. 1525 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 And yet my steps I would retrace. 
 
 These walls, this melancholy room, 
 
 0'er}X)wer me with a sense of gloom ; 
 
 The space is narrow, nothing green, 
 
 No friendly tree is to be seen : 1530 
 
 And in these halls, with benches lined, 
 
 Sight, hearing fail, fails too my mind. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 It all depends on habit. Thus at first 
 
 The infant tak^-v? not kindly to the breast, 
 
 But before long, its eager thii'st 1535
 
 FAUST. 61 
 
 Is fain to slake with, hearty zest : 
 
 Thus at the breasts of wisdom day by day 
 
 With keener relish you'll your thirst allay. 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 Upon her neck I fain would hang with joy ; 
 
 To reach it, say, what means must I employ' 1540 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 Explain, ere further time we lose, 
 What special faculty you choose ? 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 Profoundly learned I would grow, 
 
 What heaven contains would comprehend, 
 
 O'er earth's wide realm my gaze extend, 1545 
 
 Nature and science I desire to know. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 You are upon the proper track, I find, 
 Take heed, let nothing dissipate your mind. 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 My heart and soul are in the chase ! 
 
 Though to be sure I fain would seize, 1550 
 
 On pleasant summer holidays, 
 
 A little liberty and careless ease. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Use well your time, so rapidly it flies ; 
 
 Method will teach you time to win ; 
 
 Hence, my young fi'iend, I would advise, 1555 
 
 With college logic to begin ! 
 
 Then will your mind be so well braced, 
 
 In Spanish boots so tightly laced. 
 
 That on 'twill circumspectly creep, 
 
 Thought's beaten track securely keep, 1560 
 
 Nor will it, ignis-fatuus like. 
 
 Into the path of error strike. 
 
 Then many a day they'll teach you how 
 
 The mind's spontaneous acts, till now 
 
 Ah eating and as drinking free, 1565 
 
 Kequiro a process ; — one ! two ! three I
 
 62 FAUST. 
 
 In tnith tlie subtle web of thought 
 
 Js like the weaver's fabric wrought: 
 
 One treadle moves a thousand lines, 
 
 Swift dart the shuttles to and fro, 1570 
 
 Unseen the threads tog-ether flow, 
 
 A thousand knots one stroke combinis. 
 
 Then forward steps your sage to show, 
 
 And prove to you, it must be so ; 
 
 The first being so, and so the second, 1575 
 
 The third and fourth deduc'd we see ; 
 
 And if there were no first and second, 
 
 Nor third nor fourth would ever Jdb. 
 
 This, scholars of all countries prize, — 
 
 Yet 'mong themselves no weavers rise, 1580 
 
 He who would know and treat of aught alive, 
 
 Seeks first the living spirit thence to drive : 
 
 Then are the lifeless fragments in his hand. 
 
 There only fails, alas ! the spirit-band. 
 
 This process, chemists name, in learned thesis, 1585 
 
 Mocking themselves. Naturae encheiresis. 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 Your words I cannot fully comprehend. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 In a short time you will improve, my friend, 
 When of scholastic foiTas you learn the use ; 
 And how by method all things to reduce. 1590 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 So doth all this my brain confound, 
 
 As if a mill-wheel there were turning round. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 And next, before aught else you leam, 
 
 Y'^ou must with zeal to metaphysics turn ! 
 
 There see that you profoundly comprehend, 1595 
 
 What doth tlie limit of man's brain transcend ; 
 
 For that which is or is not in the head 
 
 A sounding phrase will serve you in good stead. - 
 
 But before all strive this half year
 
 PAUST, 63 
 
 From one fix'd order ne'er to swerve ! 1600 
 
 Five lectures daily you must hear ; 
 
 The hour still punctually observe ! 
 
 Yourself with studious zeal prepare, 
 
 And closely in your manual look, 
 
 Hereby may you be quite aware 1605 
 
 That all he utters standeth in the book ; 
 
 Yet write away without cessation. 
 
 As at the Holy Ghost's dictation ! 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 This, Sir, a second time you need not say I 
 
 Your counsel I aj)precig^te quite ; 1610 
 
 What we possess in black and white, 
 
 We can in peace and comfort bear away. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 A faculty I pray you name. 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 For jurisprudence some distaste I own. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 To me this branch of science is well known, 1G15 
 
 And hence I cannot your repugnance blame. 
 
 Customs and laws in every place. 
 
 Like a disease, an heir-loom dread, 
 
 Still trail their curse from race to race, 
 
 And furtively abroad they spread. , 1620 
 
 To nonsense, reason's self they turn ; 
 
 Beneficence becomes a pest ; 
 
 ^Voe unto thee, that thou'rt a grandson born ! 
 
 As for the law bom with us, unexpressed ; — 
 
 That law, alas, none careth to discern. 1625 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 You deepen my dislike. The youth 
 AVhom you instruct, is blest in sooth. 
 To try theology I feel inclined. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I would not lead you willingly astray. 
 
 But as regards this science, you will find, 1630 
 
 bo hard it is to shun the en'ing way.
 
 64 FAUST. 
 
 And so nnicli hiildrn ]i(iisiin lirs therein, 
 
 Which sciirce can you discern from medicine. 
 
 Here too it is tlie host, to listen but to one, 
 
 And by the master's words to swear alone. 1633 
 
 To sum up all — To words hold fast ! 
 
 Then the safe gate securely pass'd, 
 
 You'll reach the fane of certainty at last. 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 But then some meaning must the words convey. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Eight ! But o'er-anxious thought, you'll find of no avail , 
 
 For there precisely where ideas fail, 1641 
 
 A word comes opportunely into play. 
 
 Most admirable weapons words are found, 
 
 On words a system we securely ground, 
 
 In words we can conveniently believe, 1645 
 
 Nor of a single jot can we a word bereave. 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 Your pardon for my importunity ; 
 
 Yet once more must I trouble you : 
 
 On medicine, I'll thank you to supply 
 
 A pregnant utterance or two ! 1650 
 
 Three years ! how brief the appointed tide ! 
 
 The field, heaven knows, is all too wide ! 
 
 If but a friendly hint be thrown, 
 
 Tis easier then to feel one's way. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (aside). 
 I'm weary of the dry pedantic tone, 1655 
 
 And must again the genuine devil play. 
 
 (Aloud.) 
 Of medicine the spirit's caught with ease, 
 The great and little world you study through. 
 That things may then their course pursue, 
 As heaven may please. 1660 
 
 In vain abroad you range through science' ample space, 
 Each man learns only that which learn he can ; 
 \\ ho knows the moment to embrace, 
 He is your proper man.
 
 FAUST. 65 
 
 In person you are tolerably made, 1665 
 
 Nor in assurance will you be deficient : 
 
 Self-confidence acquire, be not afraid, 
 
 Otbers will then esteem you a proficient. 
 
 Learn chiefly with the sex to deal ! 
 
 Their thousand ahs and ohs, 1670 
 
 These the sage doctor knows, 
 
 He only from one point can heal. 
 
 Assume a decent tone of courteous ease, 
 
 You have them then to humour as you please. 
 
 First a diploma must belief infuse, 1675 
 
 That you in your profession take the lead : 
 
 You then at once those easy freedoms use 
 
 For which another many a year must plead ; 
 
 Learn how to feel with nice address 
 
 The dainty wi-ist ; — and how to press, 1680 
 
 With ardent furtive glance, the slender waist, 
 
 To feel how tightly it is laced. 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 There is some sense in that ! one sees the how and why. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Grey is, young friend, all theory : 
 
 And green of life the golden tree. 1685 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 I swear it seemeth like a dream to me. 
 
 May I some future time repeat my visit, 
 
 To hear on what your wisdom grounds your views ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Command my humble service when you choose. 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 Ere I retire, one boon I must solicit : 1690 
 
 Here is my album, do not. Sir, deny 
 This token of your favour ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Willingly ! 
 (flie writes and returns the houh.) 
 
 V
 
 66 FAUST. 
 
 STUDENT (reads). 
 Eritis sicut Deus, scientes bonum et malum. 
 (fle reverenthj closes the book and retires.) 
 
 MEPniSTOPHELES. 
 
 Let but this ancient proverb be yonr rule, 
 
 My cousin follow still, the wily snake, 1695 
 
 And with your likeness to the gods, poor fool. 
 
 Ere long be sure your poor sick heart will quake ! 
 
 FAUST {enters). 
 "Whither away ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 'Tis thine our course to steer. 
 The little world, and then the great we'll view. 
 "With what delight, what profit too, 1700 
 
 Thou'lt revel through thy gay career ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Despite my length of beard I need 
 
 The easy manners that insure success ; 
 
 Th' attempt I fear can ne'er succeed ; 
 
 To mingle in the world I want address ; 1705 
 
 I still have an embarrass'd air, and then 
 
 I feel myself so small with other men. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Time, my good friend, will all that's needful give ; 
 Be only self-possessed, and thou hast learn'd to live. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 But how are we to start, I praj^ ? 
 
 Steeds, servants, carriage, where are they? I 710 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 "We've but to spread this mantle vnde, 
 
 'Twill serve whereon through air to ride. 
 
 No heavy baggage need you take, 
 
 "When we our bold excursion make, 1715 
 
 A little gas, which I will soon prepare. 
 
 Lifts us from earth ; aloft through air, 
 
 Light laden, we shall swiftly steer ; — 
 
 I wish you joy of your new life-career.
 
 FAUST. 67 
 
 Auerbachs Cellar in Leipzig. 
 
 (a drinking PARTY.) * 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 No drinking ? Naught a laugh to raise ? 1720 
 
 None of your gloomy looks, I pray ! 
 You, who so bright were wont to blaze, 
 Are dull as wetted straw to-day. 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 'Tis all your fault ; your part you do not bear, 
 
 No beastliness, no folly. 1725 
 
 FROSCH 
 
 {pours a glass of ivine over his head). 
 
 There, 
 You have them both ! 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 You double beast ! 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 'Tis what you ask'd me for, at least ! 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 Whoever quarrels, turn him out ! 
 
 With open throat drink, roar, and shout. 
 
 Hollo! Hollo! Ho! 1730 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Zounds, fellow, cease your deaf 'ning cheers ! 
 Bring cotton-wool ! He splits my ears. 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 'Tis when the roof rings back the tone, 
 
 Then first the full power of the bass is known. 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 Right ! out with him who takes ofifence 1 1735 
 
 A tara lara la ! 
 
 ALTJIAYER. 
 
 A tara lara la ! 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 Our throats are tuned. Come lot's commence. 
 
 F 2
 
 GS FAUST. 
 
 (Sings.) 
 The holy Roman empire novr, 
 How holds it still together ? 1740 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 All Ugly song ! a song political ! 
 
 A song offensive ! Thank God^ every morn 
 
 To rule the Eoman empire^ that you were not born ! 
 
 I bless my stars at least that mine is not 
 
 Either a kaiser's or a chancellor's lot. 1 745 
 
 Yet 'mong ourselves should one still lord it o'er the rest ; 
 
 That we elect a pope I now suggest. 
 
 Ye know, what quality ensures 
 
 A man's success, his rise secures. 
 
 FROSCH (sings). 
 Bear, lady nightingale above, 1750 
 
 Ten thousand greetings to my love. 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 Ko greetings to a sweetheart ! No love-songs shall 
 there be ! 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 Love-greetings and love-kisses ! Thou shalt not hinder 
 me! 
 
 (Sings.) 
 
 Undo the bolt ! in stilly night, 
 
 Undo the bolt ! thy love's awake ! 1755 
 
 Shut to the bolt ! with morning light — 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 Ay, sing away, sing on, her praises sound ; — the snake ! 
 
 My turn to laugh will come some day. 
 
 Me hath she jilted once, you the same trick she'll play. 
 
 Some gnome her lover be ! where cross-roads meet, 1760 
 
 AVith her to play the fool ; or old he-goat. 
 
 From Blocksberg coming in swift gallop, bleat 
 
 A good night to her, from his haiiy throat ! 
 
 A proper lad of genuine flesh and blood, 
 
 Is for the damsel far too good ; 1765 
 
 The greeting she shall have from me, 
 
 To smash her window-panes will be !
 
 FAUST. 69 
 
 BRANDER (striking on the table). 
 Silence ! Attend ! to me give ear ! 
 Confess, sirs, I know liow to live : 
 
 Some love-sick folk are sitting here ! 1770 
 
 Hence, 'tis but fit, their hearts to cheer. 
 That I a good-night strain to them shonld give. 
 Hark ! of the newest fashion is my song ! 
 Strike boldly in the chorus, clear and strong I 
 
 (iZe sings.) 
 Once in a cellar lived a rat, 1775 
 
 He feasted there on butter. 
 Until his paunch became as fat 
 As that of Doctor Luther, 
 The cook laid poison for the guest, 
 Then was his heart with pangs oppress'd, 1780 
 As if his frame love wasted. 
 
 CHORUS (shouting). 
 As if his frame love wasted. 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 He ran around, he ran abroad, 
 
 Of every puddle drinking. 
 
 The house with rage he scratch'd and gnaw'd. 
 
 In vain, — he fast was sinking ; 1786 
 
 Full many an anguish'd bound he gave, 
 
 Nothing the hapless brute could save. 
 
 As if his frame love wasted. 
 
 CHORl^S. 
 
 As if his frame love wasted. 1790 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 By torture driven, in open day. 
 
 The kitchen he invaded, 
 
 Convulsed upon the hearth ho lay, 
 
 With anguish sorely jaded ; 
 
 The poisoner laugh'd, Ha ! ha! quoth she, 1795 
 
 His life is ebbing fast, I see, 
 
 As if his frame love wasted.
 
 70 FAUST. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 As if bis frame love wasted. 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 How the dull Loors exulting shout 1 
 
 Poison for the poor rats to strew 1800 
 
 A fine exploit it is no doubt. 
 
 BRANDER, 
 
 They, as it seems, stand well with you ! 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Old bald-pate ! with the paunch profound ! 
 
 The rat's mishap hath tamed his nature ; 
 
 Eor he his counterpart hath found 1805 
 
 Depicted in the swollen creature. 
 
 Faust and Mephistopheles 
 mephist0phele3. 
 I now must introduce to you 
 Before aught else, this jovial crew. 
 To show how lightly life may glide away; 
 With the folk here each day's a holiday. 1810 
 
 With little wit and much content. 
 Each on his own small round intent. 
 Like sportive kitten with its tail ; 
 While no sick-headache they bewail. 
 
 And while their host will credit give, 1815 
 
 Joyous and free from care they live. 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 * 
 
 They're off a journey, that is clear, — 
 
 They look so strange ; they've scarce been here 
 
 An hour. 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 You're right ! Leipzig's the place for me ! 
 'Tis quite a little Paris ; people there 1820 
 
 Acquire a certain easy finish'd air, 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 What take you now these travellers to be ?
 
 FAUST. 71 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 Let me alone ! O'er a full glass you'll see, 
 
 As easily I'll worm their secret out, 
 
 As draw an infant's tooth. I've not a doubt 1825 
 
 That my two gentlemen are nobly born, 
 
 They look dissatisfied and full of scorn. 
 
 BEANDER. 
 
 They are but mountebanks, I'll lay a bet ! 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Most like. 
 
 FROSCH, 
 
 Mark me, I'll screw it from them yet ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (to FaUST). 
 
 These fellows would not scent the devil out, 1830 
 
 E'en though he had them by the very throat ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Good-morrow, gentlemen ! 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 Thanks for your fair salute. 
 (^Aside, glancing at Mephistopheles.) 
 How ! goes the fellow on a halting foot ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Is it permitted here with you to sit ? 
 
 Then though good wine is not forthcoming here, 1835 
 
 Good company at least our hearts will cheer. 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 A dainty gentleman, no doubt of it. 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 You're doubtless recently from Eippach ? Pray, 
 Did you with Master Hans there chance to sup ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 To-day we pass'd him, but we did not stop ! 1840 
 
 When last we met him he had much to say 
 Touching his cousins, and to each ho sent 
 Full many a greeting and kind compliment. 
 
 (^With an inclination toicards Frosch).
 
 72 FAUST. 
 
 ALTMAYER (aside to Frosch"). 
 You have it there ! 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 Faith ! he's a knowing one ! 
 
 FROSCH, 
 
 Have patience ! I will show him np anon 1 1845 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 Unless I err, as we drew near 
 We heard some practis'd voices pealing. 
 A song must admirably here 
 Re-echo from this vaulted ceiling ! 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 That you're an amateur one plainly sees ! 1850 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Oh no, though strong the love, I cannot boast much skill. 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Give us a song ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 As many as you will. 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 But be it a brand new one, if you please ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 But recently returned from Spain are we, 
 
 The pleasant land of wine and minstrelsy. 1855 
 
 {Sings.) 
 A king there was once reigning, 
 Who had a goodly flea — 
 
 FROSOH. 
 
 Hark ! did you rightly catch the words ? a flea I 
 An odd sort of a guest he needs must be. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (^slngs). 
 
 A king there was once reigning, 1860 
 
 Who had a goodly flea. 
 
 Him loved he -wdthout feigning, 
 
 As liis own son were he !
 
 FAUST. 73 
 
 His tailor then he summon'd. 
 
 The tailor to him goes : 1865 
 
 Now measure me the youngster 
 
 For jerkin and for hose ! 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 Take proper heed, the tailor strictly charge, 
 
 The nicest measurement to take, 
 
 And as he loves his head, to make 1870 
 
 The hose quite smooth and not too large ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 In satin and in velvet, 
 
 Behold the younker dressed; 
 
 Bedizen'd o'er with ribbons, 
 
 A cross upon his breast. 1875 
 
 Prime minister they made him, 
 
 He wore a star of state ; 
 
 And all his poor relations 
 
 Were courtiers, rich and great. 
 
 The gentlemen and ladies 18 SO 
 
 At court were sore distressed ; 
 
 The queen and all her maidens 
 
 AVere bitten by the pest. 
 
 And yet they dared not scratch them. 
 
 Or chase the fleas away. 1885 
 
 If we are bit, we catch them, 
 
 And crack without delay. 
 
 CHORUS (shouting^. 
 If we are bit, &c. 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 Bravo f That's the song for me 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 Such be the fate of every flea ! 1890 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 With clever finger catch and kill. 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Hurrah fur wine and freedom still !
 
 74 FAUST. 
 
 MEPIIISTOPHELES. 
 
 Were but 3'onr wine a trifle better, friend, 
 A. glass to freedom I would gladly drain. 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 Tou'd better not repeat those words again I 1895 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I am afraid tbe landlord to offend ; 
 
 Else freely would I treat each worthy guest 
 
 From our own cellar to the veiy best. 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 Out with it then ! Your doings I'll defend. 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 Give a good glass, and straight we'll praise you, one and 
 all. 1900 
 
 Only let not your samples be too small ; 
 For if my judgment you desire, 
 Certes, an ample mouthful I require. 
 
 ALTiiAYER (aside). 
 I guess, they're from the Ehenish land. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Fetch me a gimlet here ! 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 Say, what therewith to bore ? 1905 
 You cannot have the wine-casks at the door ? 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Our landlord's tool-basket behind doth yonder stand. 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (takes the gimlet). 
 ( To Frosch.) 
 Now only say ! what liquor will you take ? 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 How mean you that ? have you of every sort ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Each may his own selection make. 1910 
 
 ALTMAYER (to FrOSCH). 
 
 Ha ! Ha ! You lick your lips already at the thought.
 
 PAUST. 75 
 
 FEOSCH, 
 
 Good, if I liave my choice, the Ehenish I propose ; 
 For still the fairest gifts the fatherland bestows. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 (boring a hole in the edge of the table opposite to where 
 Frosch is sitting). 
 
 Get me a little was — and make some stoppers — quick! 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Why, this is nothing but a juggler's trick ! 1915 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES {to BrANDER). 
 
 And you ? 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 Champagne's the wine for me ; 
 Eight brisk, and sparkling let it be ! 
 
 (MEPHISTOPHELES bores, one of the party has in the 
 meantime prepared the wax-stoppers and stopped 
 the holes.) 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 What foreign is one always can't decline, 
 
 What's good is often scatter'd far apart. 
 
 The French your genuine German hates with all his heart, 
 
 Yet has a relish for their wine. 1921 
 
 SIEBEL 
 
 (as MEPHISTOPHELES approaches him). 
 
 I like not acid wine, I must allow, 
 Give me a glass of genuine sweet ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (bores). 
 Tokay 
 Shall, if you wish it, flow without delay. 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Come ! look me in the face ! no fooling now! 1925 
 
 You are but making fun of us, I trow. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 All ! ah ! that would indeed )»<» making free
 
 76 FAUST. 
 
 "With such clistingnislied guests. Come, no delay ; 
 What liquor can I serve you with, I pray ? 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Only be quick, it matters not to me. 1930 
 
 {After the liulcs are all hored and stopped) 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES {with Strange gestures). 
 Grapes the vine-stock bears, 
 Horns the buck-goat wears ! 
 "Wine is sap, the vine is wood. 
 The wooden board yields wine as good. 
 With a deeper glance and true 1935 
 
 The mysteries of nature view ! 
 Have faith and here's a miracle ! 
 Your stojDpers draw and drink your fill ! 
 
 ALL 
 
 (as they draw the stoppers and the ivine chosen by each 
 runs into Ms glass). 
 
 Oh beauteous spring, which flows so fair ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Spill not a single drop, of this beware 1 1940 
 
 (They drink repeatedly.) 
 
 ALL (sing). 
 Happy as cannibals are we, 
 Or as five hundred swine. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 They're in their glory, mark their elevation ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Let's hence, nor here our stay prolong. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Attend, of brutishness ere long 1945 
 
 You'll see a glorious revelation. 
 
 SIEBEL 
 
 (drinks carelessly ; the wine is spilt upon the ground, and 
 turns to flame). 
 
 Help ! fire ! help ! Hell is burning !
 
 FAUST. 77 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 (addressing the flames). 
 
 Stop, 
 Kind element, be still, I say ! 
 
 (To the Company.) 
 Of purgatorial fire as yet 'tis but a drop. 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 What means the knave ! For this you'll dearly pay ! 
 Us, it appears, you do not know. 1950 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 Si;ch tiicks a second time he'd better show ! 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Methinks 'twere well we pack'd him quietly away. 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 What, sir ! with us your hocus-pocus play ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Silence, old wine-cask ! 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 How ! add insult, too ! 1955 
 
 Vile broomstick ! 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 Hold ! or blows shall rain on you ! 
 
 ALTMAYER 
 
 (draws a stopper out of the table ; fire springs out 
 
 against Mm). 
 I burn ! I bum ! 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 'Tis sorcery, I vow ! 
 Strike home ! The fellow is fair game, I trow ! 
 
 (Tliey draio their hiives and attack Mepiiistopheles.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (with solemn gestures). 
 Visionary scenes appear ' 
 Words delusive cheat the ear ! 1960 
 
 Be ye there, and be ye here ! 
 
 (They stand amazed and gaxe on each other.)
 
 78 FATLST. 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Where am I ? What a beauteous land I 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 Vineyards ! unless my sight deceives ? 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 And clust'ring grapes too, close at hand ! 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 And underneath the spreading leaves, 1965 
 
 What stems there he ! What grapes I see ! 
 
 (fle seizes Siebel hy the nose. The others recip'ocally 
 do the same, and raise their Jcnives.') 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (oS ühove). 
 
 Delusion, from their eyes the bandage take ! 
 Xote how the devil loves a jest to break ! 
 
 (He disappears with Faust ; the fellows draw hack from 
 one another.^ 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 What was it ? 
 
 ALTMATER. 
 
 How? 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 Was that your nose ? 
 
 BRANDER (to SiEBEL), 
 
 And look, my hand doth thine enclose ! 1970 
 
 ALT3IAYER. 
 
 I felt a shock, it went through every limb ! 
 A chair ! I'm fainting ! All things swim ! 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 Say what has happened, what's it all about ? 
 
 SIEBEL. 
 
 Where is the fellow ? Could I scent him out, 
 
 His body from his soul I'd soon divide ' 1975 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 With my own eyes, upon a cask astride, 
 
 Forth through the cellar-door I saw him ride — ■ — 
 
 Heavy as lead my feet are gro^^'ing.
 
 FAUST. 79 
 
 (^Turning to the table.) 
 Would that the wine again were flowing 1 
 
 SIEBEL 
 
 'Twas all delusion, cheat and lie. 198G 
 
 FROSCH. 
 
 'Twas wine I drank, most certainly. 
 
 BRANDER. 
 
 What of the grapes too, — where are they ? 
 
 ALTMAYER. 
 
 Who now will miracles gainsay ? 
 
 Witches' Kitchen. 
 Ä large caldron hangs over the fire on a low hearth ; 
 various figures appear in the vapour rising from 
 it. A female Monkey sits beside the caldron to 
 sMm it, and watch that it does not boil over. The 
 MALE Monkey with the young ones is seated 
 near, warming himself. The walls and ceiling 
 are adorned with the strangest articles of witch- 
 furniture. 
 
 Faust, Mephistopheles. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 This senseless, juggling witchcraft I detest ! 
 
 Dost promise that in this foul nest 1985 
 
 Of madness, I shall be restored ? 
 
 Miist I seek counsel from an ancient dame ? 
 
 And can she, by these rites abhorred, 
 
 Take thirty winters from my frame ? 
 
 Woe's me, if thou naught better canst suggest I 1990 
 
 Hope has already fled my breast. 
 
 Has neither nature nor a noble mind 
 
 A balsam yet devis'd of any kind ? 
 
 mephistopheles. 
 I\Iy friend, you now speak sensibly. In truth, 
 Nature a method giveth to renew thy youth : 1995 
 
 But in another book the lesson's writ ; — 
 It forms a curious chapter, I admit.
 
 80 FAUST. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I fain would know it. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Good ! A remedy 
 Without physician, gold, or sorcery : 
 
 Away forthwith, and to the fields repair, 200C 
 
 Begin to delve, to cultivate the ground. 
 Thy senses and thyself confine 
 Within the very narrowest round, 
 Support thyself upon the simplest fare, 
 Live like a very brute the brutes among, 2005 
 
 Is either esteem it robbery 
 The acre thou dost reap, thyself to dung 
 This the best method, credit me, 
 Again at eighty to grow hale and young. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I am not used to it, nor can myself degrade 2010 
 
 So far, as in my hand to take the spade. 
 For this mean life my spirit soars too high. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Then must we to the witch apply I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Will none but this old beldame do ? 
 
 Canst not thyself the potion brew ? 2015 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 A pretty play our leisure to beguile ! 
 
 A thousand bridges I could build meanwhile. 
 
 Not science only and consummate art. 
 
 Patience must also bear her part. 
 
 A quiet spirit worketh whole years long; 2020 
 
 Time only makes the subtle ferment strong. 
 
 And all things that belong thereto, 
 
 Are wondrous and exceeding rare ! 
 
 The devil taught her, it is true ; 
 
 But yet the draught the devil can't prepare. 2025 
 
 (^Perceiving the beasts.) 
 Look yonder, what a dainty pair ! 
 Here is the maid ! the knave is there 1
 
 FAUST. 81 
 
 (To the beasts.) 
 It seems your dame is not at home ? 
 
 THE MONKEYS. 
 
 Gone to carouse, 
 
 Out of the house, 2030 
 
 Thro' the chimney and away ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 How long is it her wont to roam ? 
 
 THE MONKEYS. 
 
 While we can warm our paws she'll stay. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES {to FaUST'). 
 
 What think you of the charming creatures ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I loathe alike their form and featiires ! 2035 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Nay, such discourse, he it confessed, 
 
 Is just the thing that pleases me the best. 
 
 ; (To the Monkeys.) 
 
 j Tell me, ye whelps, accursed crew ! 
 What stir ve in the broth about ? 
 
 MONKEYS. 
 
 Coarse beggar's gruel here we stew. 20-JO 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Of customers you'll have a rout. 
 
 THE HE-MONKEY 
 
 (approaching and fawning on Mephistopheles). 
 
 Quick ! quick ! throw the dice, 
 
 Make me rich in a trice, 
 
 Oh give me the prize ! 
 
 Alas, for myself! 2045 
 
 Had I plenty of pelf, 
 
 I then should be wise.
 
 82 VAUST 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 How blest the ape would think himself, if he 
 Could only put into the lottery ! 
 
 {In the meantime the young Monkeys have been playing with a 
 large globe, which they roll fonvar els.) 
 
 THE HE-IMOXKEY. 
 
 The world behold ; 2050 
 
 Unceasingly roll'd, 
 
 It riseth and falleth ever ; 
 
 It ringeth like glass ! 
 
 How brittle, alas ! 
 
 'Tis hollow, and resteth never. 2055 
 
 How bright the sphere, 
 
 Still brighter here ! 
 
 Kow living am I ! 
 
 Dear son, beware ! 
 
 Nor venture there ! 2060 
 
 Thou too must die ! 
 
 It is of clay ; 
 
 'Twill crumble away; 
 
 There fragments lie. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Of what \ise is the sieve ? 2065 
 
 THE HE-MONKEY (talcing it doicn). 
 Tlie sieve would show. 
 If thou wert a thief or no ? 
 
 (iJe runs to the She-Monkey', and makes her look 
 through if. 
 Look through the sieve ! 
 Dost know him the thief, 
 And dar'st thou not call him so? 2070 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES {approaching theßre). 
 And then this pot ? 
 
 THE MONKEY'S. 
 
 The half-witted sot ! 
 He knows not the pot ! 
 He knows not the kettle I
 
 FAUST. 83 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Unmannerly beast ! 2075 
 
 Be civil at least ! 
 
 THE HE-MONKEY. 
 
 Take the wliisk and sit down in the settle ! 
 
 (ife makes Mephistopheles sit dotcu.) 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 (Who all this time has been standing before a looJcing-glass, 
 now approaching, and now retiring from it.) 
 
 What do I see ? what form, whose charms transcend 
 
 The loveliness of earth, is mirror'd here ! 
 
 O Love, to waft me to her sphere, 2080 
 
 To me the swiftest of thy pinions lend ! 
 
 Alas ! If I remain not rooted to this place, 
 
 If to approach more near I'm fondly liir'd, 
 
 Her image fades, in veiling mist ohsciir'd ! — 
 
 Model of beauty both in form and face ! 2085 
 
 Is't possible ? Hath woman charms so rare ? 
 
 Is this recumbent form, supremely fair, 
 
 The very essence of all heavenly grace ? 
 
 Can aught so exquisite on earth be found ? 
 
 JIEPHISTOPHET.ES. 
 
 The six days' labour of a god, my friend, 2090 
 
 Who doth himself cry bravo, at the end, 
 
 By something clever doubtless should be crown'd. 
 
 For this time gaze your fill, and when you please 
 
 Just such a prize for you I can provide ; 
 
 How blest is he to whom kind fate decrees, 2095 
 
 To take her to his home, a lovely bride ! 
 
 (Faust continues to gaze into the mirror. Mephistopheles 
 
 stretching himself on the settle and playing with the ichisk, 
 
 continues to speak.) 
 Here ait I, like a king upon liis throne ; 
 My sceptre this ; — the crown I want alone. 
 
 o 2
 
 84 FAUST. 
 
 TUE MONKEYS 
 
 (icho have hitherto been making all sorts of strange gestures^ 
 bring Mei'Histoi'HELES a croivn, icith loud cries). 
 
 Oh, 1 le so good, 
 
 "VVitli sweat and with Wood 2100 
 
 The crown to lime ! 
 I They handle the crown awkwardly and break it in two pieces, 
 loith which they skijy about.) 
 
 'Twas fate's decree ! 
 
 We speak and see ! 
 
 We hear and rhyme. 
 
 FAUST (before tlie mirror). 
 Woe's me ! well-nigh distraught I feel ! 2105 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 {pointing to the beasts). 
 And even my own head almost begins to reel. 
 
 THE MONKEYS. 
 
 If good luck attend, 
 
 If fitly things blend, 
 
 Our jargon with thought 
 
 And with reason is fraught ! 2110 
 
 FAUST {as above). 
 A flame is kindled in my breast ! 
 Let us begone ! nor linger here ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 {in tlie same position). 
 It now at least must be confessed, 
 That poets sometimes are sincere, 
 
 {^The caldron which the She-Monkey has neglected 
 begins to boil over ; a great flame arises, which 
 streams up the chimney. The Witch comes down 
 the chimney loith horrible cries.) 
 
 THE WITCH. 
 
 Ough ! ough ! ough ! ough ! 2115 
 
 Accursed brute ! accursed sow ! 
 Thou dost neglect the pot, for shame 1 
 Accursed brute to scorch the dame !
 
 FAUST. 85 
 
 (^Perceiving Faust and Mephistopheles.) 
 
 Whom liave we here ? 
 
 Who's sneaking here ? 2120 
 
 Whence are ye come ? 
 
 With what desire? 
 
 The plague of fire 
 
 Your hones consume ! 
 (She dips the shimming-ladle into the caldron and 
 throws flames at Faust, Mephistopheles,, and 
 the Monkeys. The Monkeys whimper.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 (twirling the lohish lohich he holds in his hand, and 
 striking among the glasses and pots). 
 
 Dash! Smash! 2125 
 
 There lies the glass ! 
 
 There lies the slime I 
 
 'Tis but a jest ; 
 
 I but keep time, 
 
 Thou hellish pest, 2130 
 
 To thine own chime ! 
 (While the Witch steps back in rage and astonishment.) 
 Dost know me ! Skeleton ! Vile scarecrow, thou ! 
 Thy lord and master dost thou know ? 
 What holds me, that I deal not now 
 
 Thee and thine apes a stunning blow? 2135 
 
 No more respect to my red vest dost pay? 
 Does my cock's feather no allegiance claim ? 
 Have I my visage masked to-day ? 
 Must I be forced myself to name ? 
 
 THE WITCH. 
 
 Master, forgive this rude salute ! 2140 
 
 But I perceive no cloven foot. 
 
 And your two ravens, where are they? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 This once I must admit your plea ; — 
 
 For truly I must own that wv> 
 
 Each other have not seen for many a day. 2145 
 
 The culture, too, that shapes tlie world, at last
 
 8n FAUST. 
 
 Hath e'en tlie devil in its sphere embraced ; 
 
 The northern phantom from the scene hath pass'd., 
 
 'I\iil, talons, horns, are nowhere to be traced ! 
 
 As for the foot, with which I can't dispense, 2150 
 
 'T would injure me in company, and hence, 
 
 Like many a youthful cavalier. 
 
 False calves I now have worn for many a year. 
 
 THE WITCH {dancing). 
 I am beside myself with joy. 
 To see once more the gallant Satan here ! 2155 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Woman, no more that name employ ! 
 
 THE WITCH. 
 
 But why ? what mischief hath it done ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 To fable it too long hath appertained ; 
 
 But people from the change have nothing won. 
 
 Eid of the evil one, the evil has remained. 2160 
 
 Lord Baron call thou me, so is the matter good ; 
 
 Of other cavaliers the mien I wear. 
 
 Dost make no question of my gentle blood ; 
 
 See here, this is the scutcheon that I bear ! 
 
 {He makes an unseemlij gesture.') 
 
 THE WITCH 
 
 (laughing immoderately). 
 Ha! Ha! Just like yoiirself! You are, I ween, 2165 
 The same mad wag that you have ever been ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES {tO FaUST). 
 
 My friend, leam this to understand, I pray ! 
 To deal with witches this is still the way, 
 
 THE WITCH. 
 
 Now tell me, gentlemen, what you desire ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Of your known juice a goblet we require. 2170 
 
 But for the very oldest let me ask ; 
 Double its strength with years doth grow.
 
 FAUST. 87 
 
 TUE WITCir. 
 
 Most willingly ! And hero I have a flask, 
 
 From which I've sipp'd myself ere now ; 
 
 What's more, it doth no longer stink; 2175 
 
 To you a glass I joyfully will give. 
 
 (Aside.) 
 If uuprepar'd, however, this man drink, 
 He hath not, as you know, an hour to live. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 He's my good friend, with whom 'twill prosper well ; 
 I grudge him not the choicest of thy store. 2180 
 
 Now draw thy circle, speak thy spell. 
 And straight a bumper for him pour ! 
 
 The Witch, ivith extraordinary gestures, describes a 
 circle, and places strange things tvithin it. The 
 glasses meanwhile begin to ring, the caldron to 
 sound, and to make music. Lastly, she brings a 
 great booh ; places the Monkeys in the circle to 
 serve her as a desk, and to hold the torches. She 
 beckons Faust to app-oach.) 
 
 FAUST {to MePHISTOPHELES). 
 
 Tell me, to what doth all this tend? 
 
 Wehere will these frantic gestures end? 
 
 This loathsome cheat, this senseless stuff 2185 
 
 I've known and hated long enough. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Mere mummery, a laugh to raise ! 
 Pray don't be so fastidious! She 
 But as a leech, her hocus-pocus plays, 
 That well with you her potion may agree. 2190 
 
 (He compels Faust to enter the circle.) 
 (The Witch, loith great emphasis, begins to declai)n 
 from the book.) 
 
 This must thou ken : 
 Of one make ten. 
 Pass two, and then
 
 88 FAUST 
 
 Make square the three, 
 
 So rich thou'lt be. 2195 
 
 Drop out the four ! 
 
 From five and six, 
 
 Thus says the witch, 
 
 Make seven and eight. 
 
 So all is straight ! 2200 
 
 And nine is one, 
 
 And ten is none, 
 
 This is the witch's one-time-one \ 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The hag doth as in fever rave. 
 
 MKPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 To these Avill follow many a stave. 2205 
 
 I know it well, so rings the book throughout ; 
 
 Much time I've lost in puzzling o'er its pages, 
 
 For downright paradox, no doubt, 
 
 A mystery remains alike to fools and sages. 
 
 Ancient the art and modern too, my friend. 2210 
 
 'Tis still the fashion as it used to be. 
 
 Error instead of truth abroad to send 
 
 By means of three and one, and one and three. 
 
 'Tis ever taught and babbled in the schools. 
 
 Who'd take the trouble to dispute with fools? 2215 
 
 When words men hear, in sooth, they usually believe. 
 
 That there must needs therein be something to conceive. 
 
 THE WITCH (continues). 
 The loftj' power 
 Of wisdom's dower. 
 
 From all the world conceal'd I 2220 
 
 Who thinketh not. 
 To him I wot. 
 Unsought it is reveal'd. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What nonsense doth the hag propound ? 
 
 My brain it doth well-nigh confound. 2225 
 
 A hundred thousand fools or more, 
 
 Methinks I hear in chorus roar.
 
 FAUST. 89 
 
 MEPHISTOPHEf.ES. 
 
 incomparable Sibyl cease, I pray ! 
 
 Hand us thy liquor without more delay. 
 
 And to the very brim the goblet crown ! 2230 
 
 My friend he is, and need not be afraid ; 
 
 Besides, he is a man of many a grade, 
 
 Who hath drunk deep already. 
 
 (The Witch, with many ceremonies, pours the liquor into 
 
 a cup ; as Faust lifts it to his mouth, a light flame 
 
 arises.) 
 
 MEPillSTOPHELES. 
 
 Gulp it down ! 
 No hesitation ! It will prove 
 A cordial, and your heart inspire ! 2235 
 
 What ! with the devil hand and glove, 
 And yet shrink back afraid of fire ? 
 {The Witch dissolves the circle. Faust steps out.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Now forth at once ! thou dar'st not rest. 
 
 WITCH. 
 
 And much, sir, may the liquor profit you ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (to the WiTCH). 
 
 And if to pleasure thee I aught can do, 2240 
 
 Pray on Walpurgis mention thy request. 
 
 WITCH. 
 
 Here is a song, sung o'er sometimes, you'll see. 
 That 'twill a singular efiect produce. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES Qo FaUSt). 
 
 Come, quick, and let thyself be led by me ; 
 
 Thou must perspire, in order that the juice 2245 
 
 Thy frame may penetrate through every part. 
 
 Thy noble idleness I'll teach thee then to prize. 
 
 And soon with ecstasy thou'lt recognise 
 
 How Cupid stirs and gambols in thy heart. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Let me but gaze one moment in the glass 1 2250 
 
 Too Ion ely was that female form !
 
 90 FAUST. 
 
 MErillSTOPIIELES. 
 
 Nay ! nay I 
 A model which all women shall surpass, 
 In flesh and blood ere long thou shalt survey. ■ 
 
 (Aside.) 
 As works the draught, thou presently shalt greet 
 A Helen in each woman thou dost meet. 2255 
 
 A Street. 
 Faust (Margaret passing by). 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Fair lady, may I thus make free 
 To offer you my arm and company? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I am no lady, am not fair, 
 
 Can without escort home repair. 
 
 (She disengages Jierself and exit.) 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 By heaven ! This girl is fair indeed ! 2260 
 
 Kg form like hers can I recall. 
 
 Virtue she hath, and modest heed, 
 
 Is piquant too, and sharp withal. 
 
 Her cheek's soft light, her rosy lips, 
 
 No length of time will e'er eclipse ! 2265 
 
 Her downward glance in passing by, 
 
 Deep in my heart is stamp'd for aye ; 
 
 How curt and sharp her answer too, 
 
 My ravish'd heart to rapture grew ! 
 
 (Mephistopheles enters). 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 This girl must win for me ! Dost hear ? 2270 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Which? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 She who but now passed.
 
 FAUST. 91 
 
 JIEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 What! She? 
 She from confession cometh here, 
 From every sin absolved and free; 
 I crept near the confessor's chair. 
 
 All innocence her virgin sonl, 2275 
 
 For next to nothing went she there ; 
 O'er such as she I've no control ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 She's past fourteen. 
 
 MEPHISTOPIIELES. 
 
 You really talk 
 Like any gay Lothario, 
 
 AVho every floweret from its stalk 2280 
 
 Would pluck, and deems nor grace, nor truth, 
 Secure against his arts, forsooth ! 
 This ne'er the less won't always do. 
 
 Sir Moralizer, prithee, pause ; 
 
 Nor plague me with your tiresome laws ! 2285 
 
 To cut the matter shoi't, my friend, 
 
 She must this very night be mine, — 
 
 And if to help me you decline. 
 
 Midnight shall see our compact end. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 What may occur just bear in mind ! 2290 
 
 A fortnight's space, at least, I need, 
 A fit occasion but to find. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 \Vith but seven hours I could succeed ; 
 
 Nor should I want the devil's wile. 
 
 So young a creature to beguile. 2295 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 Like any Frenchman now you speak, 
 But do not fret, I pray ; why seek 
 To hurry to enjoyment straight? 
 The pleasure is not half so great.
 
 92 FAUST. 
 
 As when at first, aroimd, above, 2300 
 
 With all the fooleries of love, 
 
 The puppet you can knead and moiild 
 
 As in Italian story oft is told. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 No such incentives do I need. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 But now, without offence or jest ! 2305 
 
 You cannot quickly, I protest. 
 
 In \^änning this sweet child succeed. 
 
 By storm we cannot take the fort, 
 
 To stratagem we must resort. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Conduct me to her place of rest ! 2310 
 
 Some token of the angel bring ! 
 A kerchief from her snowy breast, 
 A garter bring me, — any thing ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 That I my anxious zeal may prove, 
 
 Your pangs to sooth and aid your love, 2315 
 
 A single moment will we not delay, 
 
 Will lead you to her room this very day. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 And shall I see her ? — Have her ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Xo 1 
 
 She to a neighbour's house will go ; 
 
 But in her atmosphere alone, 2320 
 
 The tedious hours meanwhile you may employ, 
 
 In blissful dreams of future joy. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Can we go now ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 'Tis yet too soon. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Some present for my love procure ! (Exit.)
 
 FAUST. ^o 
 
 JIEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Presents so soon ! 'tis well ! success is sure ! 2325 
 
 I know full many a secret store 
 
 Of treasure, buried long before, 
 
 I must a little look them o'er. {Exit.) 
 
 Evening. A small and neat Boom. 
 
 MARGARET 
 
 (braiding and binding up her hair). 
 I would give sometbing now to know, 
 Who yonder gentleman could be ! 2330 
 
 He had a gallant air, I trow, 
 And doubtless was of high degree : 
 That written on his brow was seen — 
 Nor else would he so bold have been. (Exit.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Come in ! tread softly ! be discreet ! 2335 
 
 FAUST (after a pause.) 
 Bescone and leave me, I entreat ! 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES (looliing vound). 
 
 Not every maiden is so neat. (^Exit.) 
 
 FAUST (gazing round). 
 Welcome sweet twilight gloom which reigns, 
 Through this dim place of hallow'd rest ! 
 Fond yearning love, inspire my breast, 2340 
 
 Feeding on hope's sweet dew thy blissful pains ! 
 What stillness here environs me ! 
 Content and order brood around. 
 What fulness in this poverty ! 
 
 In this small cell what bliss profound ! 2345 
 
 (He throws himself on the leather arm-chair beside the bed.) 
 Receive me thou, who hast in thine embrace, 
 W^elcom'd in joy and grief, the ages flown ! 
 IIow oft the children of a by-gone race, 
 Have cluster'd round this patriarchal throne I 
 Haply she, also, whom I hold so dear, 2350
 
 94 FAUST. 
 
 For Christinas gift, witli grateful joy posscss'd, 
 
 Hath with the full rouud cheek of childhood, here, 
 
 Her graiulsire's wither'd hand devoutly press'd. 
 
 Maiden ! I feel thy spirit haunt the place. 
 
 Breathing of order and aljounding grace. 2355 
 
 As Avith a mother's voice it prompteth thee. 
 
 The pure white cover o'er the board to spread, 
 
 To strew the crisping sand beneath thy tread. 
 
 Dear hand ! so godlike in its ministry ! 
 
 The hut becomes a paradise throxigh thee ! 2360 
 
 And here — • (üe raises the hed-curtain.) 
 
 How thrills my pulse wdth strange delight ! 
 
 Here could I linger hours untold ; 
 
 Thou, Nature, didst in vision bright. 
 
 The embryo angel here unfold. 2365 
 
 Here lay the child, her bosom warm 
 
 With life ; while steeped in slumber's dew. 
 
 To perfect grace, her godlike form, 
 
 With pure and hallow'd weavings grew ! 
 
 And thou ! ah here what seekest thou? 2370 
 
 How quails mine inmost being now ! 
 
 What wouldst thou here ? what makes thy heart so sore ? 
 Unhappy Faust ! I know thee now no more. 
 
 Do I a magic atmosphere inhale ? 
 
 Erewhile, my passion would not brook delay ! 2375 
 
 Now in a pure love-dream I melt away. 
 
 Are we the sport of every passing gale ? 
 
 Should she return and enter now. 
 
 How wouldst thou rue thy guilty flame ! 
 
 I'roud vaunter — thou wouldst hide thy brow, — 2380 
 
 And at her feet sink down with shame. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Quick ! quick ! below I see her there 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Away ! I will return no more !
 
 FAUST. 95 
 
 ÜEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Here is a casket, with, a store 
 
 Of jewels, which I got elsewhere. 2385 
 
 Just lay it in the press ; make haste ! 
 
 I swear to you, 'twill turn her brain ; 
 
 Therein some trifles I have placed, 
 
 Wherewith another to obtain. 
 
 But child is child, and play is j)lay. 2390 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I know not — shall I ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Do you ask? 
 Perchance you would retain the treasure ? 
 If such your wish, why then, I say, 
 Henceforth absolve me from my task. 
 
 Nor longer waste your hours of leisure. 239 5 
 
 I trust you're not by avarice led ! 
 I rub my hands, I scratch my head, — 
 
 {^He 'places the caslcet in the press and closes the locJc). 
 Now quick ! Away ! 
 That soon the sweet young creature may 
 The wish and purpose of your heart obey ; 2400 
 
 Yet stand you there 
 
 As would you to the lecture-room repair, 
 As if before you stood. 
 Arrayed in flesh and Ijlood, 
 
 Physics and metaphysics weird and grey ! — 2405 
 
 Away! 
 
 MARGARET (with a lamp). 
 It is so close, so sultry now, 
 
 (She opens the tvindow.) 
 Yet out of doors 'tis not so warm. 
 I feel so strange, I know not how — 
 I wish my mother would come home. 
 
 Through me there runs a shuddering — 2410 
 
 I'm Imt a foolish timid tiling ! 
 
 (While undressing! herself she her/ins in siui/.) 
 There was a king in Tliule, 
 True even to the grave ;
 
 96 FAUST. 
 
 To whom his dying mistress 
 . A golden beaker gave. 2415 
 
 At every feast he drained it, 
 Naught was to him so dear, 
 And often as he drained it, 
 Gush'd from his eyes the tear. 
 
 "When death he felt approaching, 2420 
 
 His cities o'er he told ; 
 
 And grudged his heir no treasure 
 
 Except his cup of gold. 
 
 Girt round with knightly vassals 
 
 At a royal feast sat he, 2425 
 
 In yon proud hall ancestral. 
 
 In his castle o'er the sea. 
 
 Up stood the jovial monarch. 
 
 And qiiafiPd his last life's glow. 
 
 Then hurled the hallow'd goblet 2430 
 
 Into the flood below. 
 
 He saw it splashing, drinking, 
 
 And plunging in the sea ; 
 
 His eyes meanwhile were sinking, 
 
 And never again drank he. 2435 
 
 (S/ie ope7is the press to put away her clothes, and 
 perceives the casket.) 
 How comes this lovely casket here? The press 
 I locked, of that I'm confident. 
 'Tis very wonderful ! What's in it I can't gTiess ; 
 Perhaps 'twas brought by some one in distress, 
 And left in pledge for loan my mother lent. 2440 
 
 Here by a ribbon hangs a little key ! 
 I have a mind to open it and see ! 
 Heavens ! only look ! what have we here ! 
 In all my days ne'er saw I such a sight I 
 Jewels ! which any noble dame might wear, 2445 
 
 For some high pageant richly dight ! 
 How would the necklace look on me! 
 These splendid gems, whose may they be ? 
 
 (^She puts them on and stejjs before the glass.)
 
 FAUST, 97 
 
 Weie but the ear-rings only mine I 
 
 Thus one has quite another air. 2450 
 
 What boots it to be young and fair ? 
 
 It doubtless may be very fine ; 
 
 But then, alas, none cares for you, 
 
 And praise sounds half like pity too 
 
 Gold all doth lure, 2455 
 
 Gold doth secure 
 
 All things. Alas, we poor I 
 
 Promenade. 
 
 (Faust walking thoughtfully up and down. To him 
 Mephistopheles.) 
 
 mephistopheles. 
 By love desjiis'd ! By hell's fierce fires I cuise, 
 "Would I knew aught to make my imprecation Avorse ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What aileth thee ? what chafes thee now so sore ? 24(50 
 A face like that I never saw before ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I'd yield me to the devil instantly, 
 Did it not happen that myself am he ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 There must be some disorder in thy wit 1 
 
 To rave thus like a madman, is it fit ? 2465 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Just think ! The gems for Gretchen brought, 
 
 Them hath a ju'iest now made his own ! — 
 
 A glimpse of tliem the mother caught, 
 
 And 'gan with secret fear to groan. 
 
 The woman's scent is keen enough ; 2470 
 
 Doth ever in the prayer-book snuff; 
 
 Smells every article to ascertain 
 
 Whether tlie thing is holy or profane. 
 
 And scented in the jewels rare, 
 
 That there was not much blcssino; there. 247.'i
 
 98 FAUST. 
 
 •' My child," she cries, " ill-gotten good 
 
 Ensnares the soul, consumes the blood ; 
 
 "With them we'll deck our Lady's shrine, 
 
 She'll cheer our souls with bread divine !** 
 
 At this poor Gretchen 'gan to pout ; 2480 
 
 'Tis a gift-horse, at least, she thought, 
 
 And sure, he godless cannot be. 
 
 Who brought them here so cleverly. 
 
 Straight for a priest the mother sent, 
 
 Who, when he understood the jest, 2485 
 
 With what he saw was well content. 
 
 " This shows a pious mind !" Quoth he : 
 
 " Self-conquest is ti"ue victory. 
 
 The Church hath a good stomach, she, with zest, 
 
 Hath lands and kingdoms swallow'd down, 2490 
 
 And never yet a surfeit known. 
 
 The Church alone, be it confessed, 
 
 Daughters, can ill-got wealth digest." 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 It is a general custom, too. 
 
 Practised alike by king and jew. 2495 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 With that, clasp, chain, and ring, he swept 
 
 As they were mushrooms ; and the casket, 
 
 Without one word of thanks, he kept, 
 
 As if of nuts it were a basket. 
 
 Promised reward in heaven, then forth he hied — 2500 
 
 And greatly they were edified. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 And Gretchen ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 In unquiet mood 
 Knows neither what she would or should ; 
 The trinkets night and day thinks o'er. 
 On him who brought them, dwells still more. 2505 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The darling's sorrow grieves me, bring 
 
 Another set without delay ! 
 
 The first, methinks, was no great thing.
 
 FAUST. 99 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 All's to my gentleman child's play ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Plan all things to achieve' mj^ end I 2510 
 
 Engage the attention of her friend I 
 No milk-and-water devil be, 
 And bring fresh jewels instantly ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Ay, sir ! Most gladly I'll obey. 
 
 (Faust exit.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Your doting love-sick fool, with ease. 
 
 Merely his lady-love to please, 2515 
 
 Sim, moon, and stars in sport would pnff away. (Exit. 
 
 The Neighbour's House. 
 
 MARTHA (alone). 
 God pardon my dear husband, he 
 Doth not in truth act well by me ! 
 
 Forth in the world abroad to roam, ' 252(1 
 
 And leave me on the straw at home. 
 And yet his will I ne'er did thwart, 
 God knows, I lov'd him from my heart 
 
 (She weeps.) 
 Perchance he's dead ! — oh wretched state ! — 
 Had I but a certificate ! 2525 
 
 (Margaret comes). 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Dame Martha ! 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Gretchen ? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Only think I 
 My knees beneath me well-nigh sink ! 
 Within my press I've found to-day, 
 Another case, of ebony. 
 
 And things — magnificent they are, 25.'>0 
 
 More costly than the first, by far. 
 
 H 2
 
 100 FAUST. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 You miist not name it to yoxir mother 1 
 It would to shrift, just like the other. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Xay look at them ! now only see ! 
 
 MARTHA (^dresses her hj>). 
 Thou happy creature ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Woe is me ! 2535 
 
 Them in the street I cannot wear, 
 Or in the church, or any where. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Come often over here to me, 
 
 The gems put on quite privately ; 
 
 And then before the mirror walk an hour or so, 2540 
 
 Thus we shall have our pleasure too. 
 
 Then suitable occasions we must seize, 
 
 As at a feast, to show them by degrees : 
 
 A chain at« first, then ear-drops, — and yoxir mother 
 
 Won't see them, or we'll coin some tale or other. 2545 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 But, who, I wonder, could the caskets bring ? 
 I fear there's something wi-ong about the thing ! 
 
 (a hnoch). 
 Good heavens ! can that my mother be ? 
 
 MARTHA (peering ihrougli the blind), 
 'Tis a strange gentleman, I see. 
 C!ome in! 
 
 (Mephistopheles enters). 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I've ventur'd to intiiide to-day. 2550 
 
 Ladies, excuse the liberty, I pray. 
 
 (He steps hack respectfully before Margaret.) 
 After dame Martha Schwerdtlein I inquire ! 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 'Tis I. Pray what have you to say to me ?
 
 FAUST. 101 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES (asicle to her). 
 I know you now, — and therefore will retire ; 
 At present you've distinguished comj^any. 2555 
 
 Pardon the freedom, Madam, with your leave, 
 I mil make free to call again at eve. 
 
 MARTHA (aloud). 
 Why, child, of all strange notions, he 
 For some grand lady taketh thee ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I am, in truth, of humlole blood — 2560 
 
 The gentleman is far too good — 
 Nor gems nor trinkets are my own. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Oh 'tis not the mere ornaments alone ; 
 Her glance and mien far more betray. 
 Eejoiced I a.m that I may stay. 2565 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Your business, Sir ? I long to know-^ 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Would I could happier tidings show ! 
 
 I trust mine errand you'll not let me rue ; 
 
 Your husband's dead, and greeteth you. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Is dead ? True heart ! Oh misery ! 2570 
 
 My husband dead ! Oh, I shall die ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Alas ! good Martha ! don't despair ! 
 
 MFPHISTOPHKLES. 
 
 N^ow listen to the sad affair ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I for this cause should fear to love. 
 
 The loss my certain death would prove. 2575 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Joy still must sorrow, sorrow joy attend.
 
 102 FAUST. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Proceed, and tell the story of his end I 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 At Padua, in St. Anthony's, 
 
 In holy ground his body lies ; 
 
 Quiet and cool his place of rest, 2580 
 
 With pious ceremonials blest. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 And had you naught besides to bring? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Oh yes ! one grave and solemn prayer ; 
 
 Let them for him three hundred masses sing ! 
 
 But in my pockets, I have nothing there. 2585 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Ko trinket ! no love-token did he send ! 
 
 What every journeyman safe in his pouch will hoard 
 
 There for remembrance fondly stored, 
 
 And rather hungers, rather begs than spend ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Madam, in truth, it grieves me sore, 2590 
 
 But he his gold not lavishly hath spent. 
 
 His failings too he deeply did repent. 
 
 Ay ! and his evil plight bewail'd still more. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Alas ! That men should thus be doomed to woe ! 
 
 I for his soul will many a requiem pray. 2595 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 A husband you deserve this very day ; 
 A child so worthy to be loved. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Ah no, 
 That time hath not yet come for me. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 If not a spouse, a gallant let it be. 
 
 Among heaven's choicest gifts, I place, 2600 
 
 So sweet a darling to embrace.
 
 FAUST. 103 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Our land doth no sticli usage know, 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Usage or not, it happens so. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Go on, I pray ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I stood by his bedside. 
 Something less foul it was than dung ; 2605 
 
 'Twas straw half rotten ; yet, he as a Christian died. 
 And sorely hath remorse his conscience wi-ung. 
 " Wretch that I was," quoth he, with parting breath, 
 " So to forsake my business and my wife ! 
 Ah ! the remembrance is my death. 2610 
 
 Could I but have her pardon in this life ! " — 
 
 MARTHA (weeping'). 
 Dear soul ! I've long forgiven him, indeed ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 " Though she, God knows, was more to blame than I." 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 What, on the brink of death assert a lie 1 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 If I am skill'd the countenance to read, 2615 
 
 He doubtless fabled as he parted hence. — 
 
 " No time had I to gape, or take my ease," he said, 
 
 " First to get children, and then get them bread ; 
 
 And bread, too, in the very widest sense ; 
 
 Nor could I eat in peace even my proper share." 2020 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 What, all my truth, my love forgotten quite ? 
 My weary drudgery by day and night ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Not so ! He thought of you with tender care. 
 Quoth ho : " Heaven knows how fervently I prayed, 
 For wife and children when from Malta bound; — 262 j 
 The prayer hath heaven with favour crowned ;
 
 104 FAUST. 
 
 We took a Turkish vessel wliicli conveyed 
 
 Kich store of treasure for tlie Sultan's court ; 
 
 It's own reward our gallant action brought ; 
 
 The captur'd prize was shared among the crew, 2630 
 
 And of the treasure I received my due." 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 How ? "Where ? The treasure hath he buried, pray ? 
 
 HIEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Where the four winds have blown it, who can say? 
 
 In Naples as he stroll'd, a stranger there, — 
 
 A comely maid took pity on my friend ; 2635 
 
 And gave such tokens of her love and care, 
 
 That he retained them to his blessed end. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Scoundrel ! to rob his children of their bread ! 
 
 And all this misery, this bitter need. 
 
 Could not his course of recklessness impede! 2640 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Well, he hath paid the forfeit, and is dead. 
 Now were I in your place, my counsel hear ; 
 My weeds I'd wear for one chaste year. 
 And for another lover meanwhile would look out. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Alas, I might search far and near, 2645 
 
 Not quickly should I find another like my first ! 
 
 There could not be a fonder fool than mine. 
 
 Only he loved too well abroad to roam ; 
 
 Loved foreign women too, and foreign wane, 
 
 And loved besides the dice accurs'd. 2650 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 All had gone swimmingly, no doubt, 
 
 Had he but given you at home, 
 
 On his side, jiist as wide a range. 
 
 Upon such terms, to you I swear. 
 
 Myself with you would gladly rings exchange ! 2655 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 The gentleman is surely pleas'd to jest !
 
 FAUST. 105 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (aside). ■ 
 Now to be off in time, were best ! 
 Sbe'd make the very devil marry her. 
 
 (To Margaket.) 
 How fares it with your heart ? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 How mean you, Sir? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (aside). 
 The sweet young innocent ! 
 
 (aloud.) 
 
 Ladies, farewell ! 2660 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Farewell ! 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 But ere you leave us, quickly tell I 
 I from a witness fain had heard, 
 
 Where, how, and when my husband died and was interr'd. 
 To forms I've always been attached indeed. 
 His death I fnin would in the journals read. 2665 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Ay, madam, what two witnesses declare 
 Is held as valid everywhere ; 
 A gallant friend I have, not far from here, 
 Who will for you before the judge appear. 
 I'll bring him straight. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 I pray you do ! 2670 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 And this young lady, we shall find her too ? 
 A noble youth, far travelled, he, 
 Shows to the sex all courtesy. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I in his presence needs must blush for shame. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Not in the presence of a crowned king ! 2675
 
 106 FAUST. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 The garden, then, behind my house, we'll name, 
 There we'll await you both this evening. 
 
 A Street. 
 
 Faust. Mephistopheles. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 How is it now ? How speeds it ? Is't in train ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Bravo ! I find you all aflame ! 
 
 Gretchen full soon your own you'll name. 2680 
 
 This eve, at neighbour Martha's, her you'll meet again ; 
 
 The woman seems expressly made 
 
 To drive the pimp and gipsy's trade. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Good! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 But from us she something would request. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 A favour claims return as this world goes. 2685 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 We have on oath but duly to attest. 
 
 That her dead husband's limbs, outstretch'd, repose 
 
 In holy ground at Padua. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Sage indeed ! 
 So I suppose we straight must journey there 1 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Sanda simplicitas ! For that no need ! 2690 
 
 Without much knowledge we have but to swear. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 If you have nothing better to suggest. 
 Against your plan I must at once protest.
 
 FAUST. 107 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Oll, holy man ! metliinks I liave you there I 
 
 In all your life say, have you ne'er 2695 
 
 False witness borne, until this hour ? 
 
 Have you of God, the world, and all it doth contain, 
 
 Of man, and that which worketh in his heart and brain, 
 
 Not definitions given, in words of weight and power, 
 
 With front unblushing, and a dauntless breast ? 2700 
 
 Yet, if into the depth of things you go. 
 
 Touching these matters, it must be confess'd. 
 
 As much as of Herr Schwerdtlein's death you know ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou art and dost remain liar and sophist too. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Ay, if one did not take a somewhat deeper view ! 2705 
 To-morrow, in all honour, thou 
 Poor Gretchen wilt befool, and vow 
 Thy soul's deep love, in lover's fashion. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 And from my heart. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 All good and fair ! 
 Then deathless constancy thou'lt swear; 271 6 
 
 Speak of one all o'ermastering passion, — 
 Will that too issue from the heart ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Forbear ! 
 When passion sways me, and I seek to frame 
 Fit utterance for feeling, deep, intense, 
 And for my frenzy finding no fit name, 2715 
 
 Sweep round the ample world with every sense, 
 Grasp at the loftiest words to speak my flame, 
 And call the glow, wherewith I bum, 
 Quenchless, eternal, yea, etemc — 
 Is that of sophistry a devilish play? 2720 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Yet am I rhAit !
 
 lOS FAUST. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Mark this, 1113^ fricud, 
 And spare my lungs : whoe'er to have the right is fain, 
 If he have but a tongue, wherewith his point to gain, 
 Will gain it in the end. 
 
 But come, of gossip I am weary quite ; 2725 
 
 Because I've no resource, thou'rt in the right. 
 
 'Garden. 
 
 Margaret on Faust's arm. Martha with Mephistopheles 
 
 walking up and doion. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I feel it, you but spare my ignorance, 
 
 To shame me, sir, you stoop thus low. 
 
 A traveller from complaisance, 
 
 Still makes the best of things ; I know 2730 
 
 Too well, my humble prattle never can 
 
 Have power to entertain so wise a man. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 One glance, one word of thine doth charm me more, 
 Than the world's wisdom or the sage's lore. 
 
 {He kisses her hand.) 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Nay ! trouble not yourself! A hand so coarse, 2735 
 
 So rude as mine, now can you kiss ! 
 ^Vhat constant work at home must I not do perforce I 
 My mother too exacting is. 
 
 (^TJiey pass on.) 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Thus, sir, unceasing travel is your lot? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Traffic and duty urge us ! With what pain 2740 
 
 Are we compelled to leave full many a spot, 
 Where yet we dare not once remain ! 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 In youth's wild years, with vigour crown'd, 
 
 'Tis not amiss thus through the world to sweep ; 
 
 But ah, the evil days come round ! 2745
 
 FAUST. 109 
 
 And to a lonely grave as bachelor to creep, 
 A pleasant thing has no one found. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The prospect fills me with dismay. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Therefore in time, dear sir, reflect, I pray. 
 
 (Jl'lieij pass on.) 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Ay, out of sight is out of mind ! 2750 
 
 Politeness easy is to you ; 
 
 Friends everywhere, and not a few. 
 
 Wiser than I am, you will find. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Trust me, my angel, what doth pass for sense 
 Full oft is self-conceit and blindness ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 How? 2755 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Simplicity and holy innocence, — 
 
 When will ye learn your hallow'd worth to know ! "^-^ '""-/^ 
 
 Ah, when will meekness and humility. 
 
 Kind and all-bounteous nature's loftiest dower — 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Only one little moment think of me ! 2760 
 
 To think of you I shall have many an hour. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 You are perhaps much alone ? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Yes, small our household is, I own. 
 
 Yet must I see to it. No maid we keep, 
 
 And I must cook, sew, knit, and sweep, 2765 
 
 Still early on my feet and late ; 
 
 My mother is in all things, great and small, 
 
 So accurate ! 
 
 Not that for thrift there is such pressing need ; 
 
 Than others we might make more show indeed ; 2770
 
 110 FAUST. 
 
 My father left behind a small estate, 
 
 A house and garden near the city-wall. 
 
 Quiet enough my life has been of late ; 
 
 ]\Iy brother for a soldier's gone ; 
 
 My little sister's dead ; the babe to rear 2775 
 
 Occasion'd me some care and fond annoy ; 
 
 But I would go through all again with joy, 
 
 The darling was to me so dear. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 An angel, sweet, if it resembled thee ! 
 
 MARG».RET. 
 
 I reared it up, and it grew fond of me. 2780 
 
 After my father's death it saw the day ; 
 
 We gave my mother up for lost, she lay 
 
 In such a wretched plight, and then at length 
 
 So very slowly she regain'd her strength. 
 
 Weak as she was, 'twas vain for her to try 2785 
 
 Herself to suckle the poor babe, so I 
 
 Reared it on milk and water all alone ; 
 
 And thus the child became as 'twere my own ; 
 
 Within my arms it stretched itself and grew, 
 
 And smiling, nestled in my bosom too. 2790 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Doubtless the purest happiness was thine. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 But many weary hours, in sooth, were also mine. 
 
 At night its little cradle stood 
 
 Close to my bed ; so was I wide awake 
 
 If it but stirred ; 2795 
 
 One while I was obliged to give it food, 
 
 Or to my arms the darling take ; 
 
 From bed full oft must rise, whene'er its cry I heard, 
 
 And, dancing it, must pace the chamber to and fro ; 
 
 Stand at the wash-tub early ; forthwith go 2800 
 
 To market, and then mind the cooking too — 
 
 To-morrow like to-day, the whole year through. 
 
 Ah, sir, thus living, it must be confess'd 
 
 One's spirits are not always of the best ; 
 
 Yet it a relish gives to food and rest. (They pass on.)
 
 FAUST. 1 1 1 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Poor women ! we are badly off, I own ; 2806 
 
 A bachelor's conversion's hard, indeed I 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Madam, with one like you it rests alone, 
 To tutor me a better course to lead. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Speak frankly, sir, none is there you have met? 2810 
 
 Eas your heart ne'er attach'd itself as yet ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 One's own fire-side and a good wife are gold 
 And pearls of price, so says the proverb old. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 I mean, has passion never stirred your breast ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I've everywhere been well received, I own. 2815 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Yet hath your heart no earnest preference kno^vn? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 With ladies one should ne'er presume to jest. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Ah ! you mistake ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I'm sorry I'm so blind ! 
 But this I know — that you are very kind. 
 
 {They pass on.) 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Me. little angel, didst thou recognise, 2820 
 
 When in the garden first I came ? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Did you not see it ? I cast down my eyes. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou dost forgive my boldness, dost not blame 
 
 The liberty I took that day, 
 
 When thou from church didst lately wend tliy way? 2825
 
 112 FAUST. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I was confused. Sc had it never been ; 
 
 No one of me could any evil say. 
 
 Alas, thougiit I, he doubtless in thy mien, 
 
 Something unmaidcnly or bold hath seen ? 
 
 It seemed as if it struck him suddenly, 2830 
 
 Here's just a girl with whom one may make free ! 
 
 Yet I must own that then I scarcely knew 
 
 What in your favour here began at once to plead ; 
 
 Yet I was angry with myself indeed, 
 
 That I more angry could not feol with you. 2835 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Sweet love ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Just wait awhile ! 
 (She gathers a star-flower and pluchs off the leaves on« 
 after another.^ 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 A nosegay may that be ? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 No ! It is but a game. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 How? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Go, you'll laugh at me ! 
 (^She plucks off the leaves and murmurs to herself.^ 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What murmurest thou ? 
 
 MARGARET (Jialf üloud). 
 
 He loves me, — loves me not. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Sweet angel, with thy face of heavenly bliss ! 
 MARGARET (continues). 
 
 He loves me — n^t — he loves me — not — 
 
 (plu dicing off the last leaf with fond joy. ^ 
 He loves me !
 
 FAUST. 113 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Yes! 
 And this flower-language, darling, let it be, 2841 
 
 A heavenly oracle ! He loveth thee ! 
 Know'st thou the meaning of. He loveth thee ? 
 
 (Be seizes both her hands.) 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I tremble so ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Nay ! do not tremble, love ! 
 Let this hand-pressure, let this glance reveal 2845 
 
 Feelings, all power of speech above ; 
 To give oneself up wholly and to feel 
 A joy that must eternal prove ! 
 Eternal ! — Yes, its end would be despair. 
 No end ! — It cannot end ! 2850 
 
 (Margaret presses his hand, extricates herself, and 
 
 runs away. He stands a moment in thought, and 
 
 then follows her.^ 
 
 MARTHA (approaching). 
 Night's closing. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Yes, we'll presently away. 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 I would entreat you longer yet to stay ; 
 
 But 'tis a wicked place, just here about ; 
 
 It is as if the folk had nothing else to do, 
 
 Nothing to think of too, 2855 
 
 But gaping watch their neighbours, who goes in and out ; 
 
 And scandal's busy still, do whatsoe'er one may. 
 
 And our young couple? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 They have flown up there. 
 The wanton butterflies ! 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 He seems to take to hei. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 And she to him. 'Tis of the world tlie way ! 2860 
 
 J
 
 114 FATJST. 
 
 A Summer-House. 
 (Margaret runs in, hides behind the door, holds the tip 
 of her finger to her lip, and peeps through the crevice.) 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 He comes ! 
 
 FAÜST. 
 
 All, little rogue, so tliou 
 Think'st to provoke me ! I have caught thee now ! 
 
 (iZe kisses her.) 
 
 MARGAEET. 
 
 (^embracing him, and returning the kiss.) 
 Dearest of men ! I love thee from my heart ! 
 
 (Mephistopheles knocks.) 
 
 FAUST (^stamping). 
 Who's there ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHKLES. 
 
 A friend ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 A brute ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 'Tis time to part. 
 MARTHA (comes). 
 Ay, it is late, good sir. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Mayn't I attend you, then ? 2865 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Oh no — my mother would — adieu, adieu ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 And must I really then take leave of you ? 
 Farewell ! 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Good-bye ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Ere long to meet again ! 
 {Exeunt Faust and Mephistopheles.)
 
 FAUST. 115 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Good heavens ! how ail thinajs far and near 
 
 Must till his mind, — a man like this ! 2870 
 
 Abash'd before him I appear, 
 
 And say to all things only, yes. 
 
 Poor simple child, I cannot see, 
 
 What 'tis that he can find in me. (Exit.) 
 
 Forest and Cavern. 
 
 FAUST (alone). 
 Spirit sublime ! Thou gav'st me, gav"st me all ^ 2875 
 For which I prayed ! Kot vainly hast thou turn'd 
 To me thy countenance in flaming fire ; 
 Gavest me glorious nature for my realm, 
 And also power to feel her and enjoy ; 
 Not merely with a cold and wondering glance, 2880 
 
 Thou dost permit me in her depths profound, 
 As in the bosom of a friend to gaze. 
 Before me thou dost lead her living tribes, 
 And dost in silent grove, in air and stream 
 Teach me to know my kindred. And when roars 2885 
 The howling storm-blast through the groaning wood, 
 Wrenching the giant joine, which in its fall 
 Crashing sweeps down its neighbour trunks and boughs, 
 While with the hollow noise tlae hill resounds : 
 Then thou dost lead me to some shelter'd cave, 2890 
 
 Dost there reveal me to myself, and show 
 Of my own bosom the mysterious depths. 
 And when with soothing beam, the moon's pale orb 
 Full in my view climbs up the pathless sky, 
 From crag and dewy grove, the silvery forms 2805 
 
 Of by-gone ages hover, and assuage 
 The joy austere of contemplative thought. 
 
 Oh, that naught perfect is assign'd to man, 
 
 I feel, alas ! With this exalted joy. 
 
 Which lifts me near and nearer to the gods, 290*!) 
 
 Thou gav'st me this companion, unto Avhom 
 
 I needs must cling, though cold and insolent. 
 
 He still degrades me to myself, and turns 
 
 Thy glorious gifts to nothing, with a breath.
 
 116 FAUST. 
 
 He iij- my bosom with malicious zeal 2905 
 
 For that fair image fans a raging fire ; 
 From craving to enjoyment thus I reel, * 
 
 And in enjoyment languish for desire. 
 
 (Mephistopheles enters.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Of this lone life have you not had your fill? 
 
 How for so long can it have charms for you? 2910 
 
 'Tis well enough to try it if you will ; 
 
 But then away again to something new ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 "Would you could hetter occupy your leisure. 
 Than in disturbing thus my hours of joy. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Well ! Well ! I'll leave you to yourself with pleasure, 
 
 A serious tone you hardly dare employ. 2916 
 
 To part from one so crazy, harsh, and cross, 
 
 I should not find a grievous loss. 
 
 The live-long day, for you I toil and fret ; 
 
 Ke'er from his worship's face a hint I get, 2920 
 
 What pleases him, or what to let alone. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Ay truly ! that is just the proper tone ! 
 
 He wearies me, and would with thanks be paid ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Poor Son of Earth, without my aid. 
 
 How would thy weary daj^s have flown? 2925 
 
 Thee of thy foolish whims I've cured. 
 
 Thy vain imaginations banished, 
 
 And but for ni'C, be well assured, 
 
 Thou from this sphere must soon have vanished. 
 
 In rocky hollows and in caverns drear, 2930 
 
 Why like an owl sit moping here ? 
 
 Wherefore from dripping stones and moss with 
 
 ooze embued, 
 Dost suck, like any toad, thy food ? 
 A ,rare, sweet pastime. Verily ! 
 The doctor cleaveth still to thee. 2935
 
 FAUST. 117 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Dost comprehend what bliss without alloy 
 From this wild wand'ring in the desert springs ? — 
 Couldst thou but guess the new life-power it brings, 
 Thou wouldst be fiend enough to envy me my joy. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 'What super-earthly ecstasy ! at night, 2940 
 
 To lie in darkness on the dewy height, 
 Embracing heaven and earth in rapture high. 
 The soul dilating to a deity; 
 
 With prescient yearnings pierce the core of earth, 
 Feel in your labouring breast the six-days' birth, 2945 
 Enjoy, in proud delight what no one knows, 
 While your love-rapture o'er creation flows, — 
 
 j The earthly lost in beatific vision, 
 
 I And then the lofty intuition — 
 
 I (^icith a gesture.') 
 
 I I need not tell you how — to close ! 2950 
 
 1 FAUST. 
 
 Fie on you ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 This displeases j^ou? " For shame !" 
 You are forsooth entitled to exclaim ; 
 We to chaste ears it seems must not pronounce 
 What, nathless, the chaste heart cannot renounce. 
 Well, to be brief, the joy as fit occasions rise, 2955 
 
 1 grudge you not, of specious lies. 
 But soon the self-deluding vein 
 Is past, once more thou'rt whirled away, 
 And should it last, thou'lt be the prey 
 Of frenzy or remorse and pain. 2960 
 
 Imough of this ! Thy true love dwells apart, 
 And all to her seems flat and tame ; 
 Alone thine image fills her heart, 
 She loves thee with an all-devouring flame. 
 First came thy passion with o'erpowering rush, 2965 
 
 like mountain torrent, swollen by the melted snow ; 
 Full in lier heart didst pour the sudden gush. 
 Now has thy brooklet ceased to flow.
 
 118 FAUST. 
 
 Instead of sitting throned midst forests Avild, 
 
 It wonld beconio so great a lord 2970 
 
 To comfort the enamovir'd child, 
 
 And the young monkey for her love reward. 
 
 To her the hours seem miserably long ; 
 
 She from the window sees the clouds float by 
 
 As o'er the lofty city-walls they fly. 2975 
 
 " If I a birdie were ! " so runs her song, 
 
 Half through the night and all day long. 
 
 Cheerful sometimes, more oft at heart full sore ; 
 
 Fairly outwept seem now her tears, 
 
 Anon she tranquil is, or so appears, 2980 
 
 And love-sick evermore. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Snake ! Serpent vile ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (aside). 
 
 Good ! If I catch thee with my guile ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Vile reprobate ! go get thee hence ; 
 
 Forbear the lovely girl to name ! 2985 
 
 Nor in my half-distracted sense, 
 
 Kindle anew the smouldering flame ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 What wouldest thou ! She thinks you've taken flight ; 
 It seems, she's partly in the right. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I'm near her still — and should I distant rove, 2990 
 
 Her I can ne'er forget, ne'er lose her love ; 
 And all things touch'd by those sweet lips of hers, 
 Even the very Host, my envy stirs. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 'Tis well ! I oft have envied you indeed, 
 
 The twin-pair that among the I'oses feed. 2995 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Pander, avaunt ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Go to ! I laugh, the while you rail. 
 The power which fashion'd youth and maid.
 
 FAUST. 119 
 
 Well understood the noble tiade ; 
 
 So neither shall occasion fail. 
 
 But hence ! — In truth a case for gloom ! 3000 
 
 Bethink thee, to thy mistress' room 
 
 And not to death shouldst go ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What is to me heaven's joy within her arms? 
 
 What though my life her bosom warms ! — 
 
 Do I not ever feel her woe? 3005 
 
 The outcast am I not, who knows no rest, 
 
 Inhuman monster, aimless. and unblest. 
 
 Who, like the greedy surge, from rock to rock. 
 
 Sweeps down the dread abyss with desperate shock ? 
 
 While she, within her lowly cot, which graced 3010 
 
 The Alpine slope, beside the waters wild, 
 
 Her homely cares in that small world embraced^ 
 
 Secluded lived, a simple artless child. 
 
 Was't not enough, in thy delirious whirl 
 
 To blast the stedfast rocks ; 3015 
 
 Her, and her peace as well, 
 
 Must I, God-hated one, to ruin hurl ! 
 
 Dost claim this holocaust, remorseless Hell ! 
 
 Fiend, help me to cut short the hours of dread ! 
 
 Let what must happen, happen speedily ! 3020 
 
 Her direful doom fall crashing on my head, 
 
 And into ruin let her plunge with me I 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Why how again it seethes and glows ! 
 
 Away, thou fool ! Her torment ease 1 
 
 When such a head no issue sees, 3025 
 
 It pictures straight the final close. 
 
 Long life to him who boldly dares ! 
 
 A devil's pluck thou'rt wont to show; 
 
 As for a devil who despairs. 
 
 There's naught so mawkish hero below. 3030 
 
 Margaret's Boom. 
 MARGARET {alone at her spinning wheel). 
 My peace is gone. 
 My heart is soro,
 
 120 FAUST. 
 
 I find it never, 
 And nevermore ! 
 
 Where him I have not, 3035 
 
 Is the grave to me; 
 And bitter as gall 
 
 The whole world to me. 
 My wilder'd brain 
 
 Is overwrought ; 3040 
 
 My feeble senses 
 
 Are distraught. 
 
 My peace is gone, 
 
 My heart is sore, 
 I find it never, 3045 
 
 And nevermore ! 
 
 For him from the window 
 
 I gaze, at home ; 
 For him and him only 
 
 Abroad I roam. 3050 
 
 His lofty step, 
 
 His bearing high, 
 The smile of his lip. 
 
 The power of his eye, 
 
 His witching words, 3055 
 
 Their tones of bliss. 
 His hand's fond pressure. 
 
 And ah — his kiss ! 
 
 My peace is gone. 
 
 My heart is sore, 3060 
 
 I find it never. 
 
 And nevermore. 
 
 My bosom aches 
 
 To feel him near ; 
 Ah, could I clasp 3065 
 
 And fold him here ! 
 
 Kiss him and kiss him 
 
 Again would I, 
 And on his kisses 
 
 I fain would die ! 3070
 
 PAUST. 12] 
 
 Martha's Garden. 
 Margaret and Faust. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Promise, me, Henry — 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What I can ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 How is it with religion in thy mind? 
 Thou art a dear kind-hearted man, 
 But I'm afraid not piously inclined. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Forbear ! Thou feelest I love thee alone ; 3075 
 
 For those I love, my life I would lay down. 
 And none would of their faith or church bereave. 
 
 JIARGARET. 
 
 That's not enough, we must ourselves believe ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Must we ? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Ah, could I but thy soul inspire ! 
 Thou honourest not the sacraments, alas ! 3080 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I honour them. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 But yet without desire ; 
 'Tis long since thou hast been either to shrift or mass. 
 Dost thou believe in God ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 My darling, who dares say, 
 Yes, I in God believe ? 
 
 Question or priest or sage, and they 3085 
 
 Seem, in the answer you receive, 
 To mock the questioner. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Then thou dost not believe ?
 
 122 FAUST. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Sweet one ! my meaning do not misconceive 1 
 
 Him who dare name 
 
 And who proclaim, 3090 
 
 Him I believe? • 
 
 Who that can feel, 
 
 His heart can steel, 
 
 To say : I believe him not r 
 
 The All-embracer, 3095 
 
 All sustainer, 
 
 Holds and sustains he not 
 
 Thee, me, himself? 
 
 Lifts not the Heaven its dome above ? 
 
 Doth not the firm-set earth beneath us lie? 3100 
 
 And beaming tenderly with looks of love, 
 
 Climb not the everlasting stars on high ? 
 
 Do I not gaze into thine eyes ? 
 
 Nature's impenetrable agencies, 
 
 Are they not thronging on thy heart and brain, 3105 
 
 Viewless, or visible to mortal ken, 
 
 Around thee weaving their mysterious chain ? 
 
 Fill thence thy heart, how large soe'er it be ; 
 
 And in the feeling when thou utterly art blest, 
 
 Then call it, what thou wilt, — 3110 
 
 Call it Bliss ! Heart ! Love ! God ! 
 
 I have no name for it ! 
 
 'Tis feeling all ; 
 
 Name is but sound and smoke 
 
 Shrouding the glow of heaven. 3115 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 All this is doubtless good and fair ; 
 Almost the same the parson says. 
 Only in slightly different phrase. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Beneath Heaven's sunshine, everywhere, 
 
 This is the utterance of the human heart ; 3120 
 
 Each in his language doth the like impart ; 
 
 Then why not I in miae ?
 
 FAUST. 123 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Wliat tlnis I hear 
 Sounds plausible, yet I'm not reconciled ; 
 There's something wrong about it ; much 1 fear 
 That thou art not a Christian. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 My sweet child ! 3125 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Alas ! it long hath sorely troubled me, 
 To see thee in such odious company. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 How so ? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 The man who comes with thee, I hate, 
 Yea, in my spirit's inmost depths abhor ; 
 As his loath'd visage, in my life before, 3130 
 
 Naught to my heart e'er gave a pang so great. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Fear not, sweet love ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 His presence chills my blood. 
 Towards all beside I have a kindly mood ; 
 Yet, though I yearn to gaze on thee, I feel 
 At sight of him strange horror o'er me steal ; 3135 
 
 That he's a villain my conviction's strong. 
 May Heaven forgive me, if I do him wrong ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Yet such strange fellows in the world must bo ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I would not live with such an one as he. 
 
 If for a moment ho but enter here, 3140 
 
 He looks around him with a mocking sneer, 
 
 And malice ill-conceal'd ; 
 
 That he, with naught on earth can sympathize is clear; 
 
 Upon his brow 'tis legibly revealed, 
 
 That to his heart no living soul is dear. 3145 
 
 So blest I feel, within tliine arms,
 
 124 FAUST. 
 
 So warm and happy, — free from all alarms ; 
 
 And still my heart doth close when ho comes near. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Foreboding angel ! check thy fear ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 It 80 o'ermasters me, that when, 3150 
 
 Or wheresoe'er, his step I hear, 
 
 I almost think, no more I love thee then. 
 
 Besides, when he is near, I ne'er could pray, 
 
 This eats into my heart ; with thee 
 
 The same, my Henry, it must be. 3155 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 This is antipathy ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I must away. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 For one brief hour then may I never rest. 
 
 And heart to heart, and soul to soul be pressed? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Ah, if I slept alone, to-night 
 
 The bolt I fain would leave undrawn for thee; 3160 
 
 But then my mother's sleep is light, 
 
 Were we surprised by her, ah me ! 
 
 Upon the spot I should be dead. 
 
 Dear angel ! there's no cause for dread. 
 
 Here is a little phial, — if she take 3165 
 
 Mixed in her drink three drops, 'twill steep 
 
 Her nature in a deep and soothing sleep. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 What do I not for thy dear sake ! 
 To her it will not harmful prove ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Should I advise else, sweet love ? 3170
 
 FAUST. 125 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I know not; dearest, -when thy face T see, 
 What doth my spirit to thy will coc strain; 
 Already I have done so much for thee, 
 That scarcely more to do doth now remain. 
 
 (Exit.) 
 
 (Mephistopheles enters). 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The monkey ! Is she gone ? 
 
 FAUST, 
 
 Again hast played the spy ? 3175 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Of all that pass'd I'm well apprized, 
 
 I heard the doctor catechised, 
 
 And trust he'll profit much thereby ! 
 
 Fain would the girls inquire indeed 
 
 Touching their lover's faith, if he 3180 
 
 Believe according to the ancient creed ; 
 
 They think : if pliant there, to us he'll yielding be. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou monster, dost not see that this 
 
 Pure soul, possessed by ardent love. 
 
 Full of the living faith, 3185 
 
 To her of bliss 
 
 The only pledge, must holy anguish prove, 
 
 Holding the man she loves, fore-doomed to endless death ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Most sensual, supcrsensualist ? The while 
 
 A damsel leads thee by the nose ! 3190 
 
 FAUST, 
 
 Of filth and fire abortion vile ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 In physiognomy strange skill she shows ; 
 
 She in my presence feels she knows not how ; 
 
 My mask it seems a hidden sense reveals ; 
 
 That I'm a genius she must needs allow, 3195
 
 126 FAUST. 
 
 That I'm the very devil perhaps she feels. 
 So then to-night — 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What's that to you ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I've my amusement in it too ! 
 
 At the Well. 
 Margaret and Bessy, with pitchers. 
 
 BESSY. 
 
 Of Barbara hast nothing heard ? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I rarely go from home, — no, not a word. .*200 
 
 BESSY. 
 
 'Tis tme : Sybilla told me so to-day ! 
 That comes of being proud, methinks ; 
 She played the fool at last. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 How so? 
 
 BESSY. 
 
 They say 
 That two she feedeth when she eats and drinks. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Alas! 
 
 BESSY. 
 
 She's rightly served, in sooth. 3205 
 
 How long she hung upon the youth ! 
 What promenades, what jaunts there were. 
 To dancing booth and village fair ! 
 The first she everywhere must shine, 
 
 He always treating her to pastry and to wine. 3210 
 
 Of her good looks she was so vain. 
 So shameless too, that she did not disdain 
 Even his presents to retain ; 
 Sweet words and kisses came anon — 
 And then the virgin flower was gone! 3215
 
 Poor tMng I 
 
 FATJST. 127 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Forsooth dost pity her ? 
 At night, when at our wheels we sat, 
 Abroad our mothers ne'er would let us stir. 
 Then with her lover she must chat, 
 
 Or oa the bench, or in the dusky walk, 3220 
 
 Thinking- the hours too brief for their sweet talk ; 
 Her proud head she will have to bow, 
 And in white sheet do penance now ! . 
 
 SIARGARET. 
 
 But he will surely marry her ? 
 
 BESSY. 
 
 Not he I 
 He won't be such a fool ! a gallant lad 3225 
 
 Like him, can roam o'er land and sea, 
 Besides, he's off. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 That is not fair ! 
 
 BESSY. 
 
 If she should get him, 'twere almost as bad ! 
 
 Her myrtle wreath the boys would tear ; 
 
 And then we girls would plague her too, 3230 
 
 For we chopp'd straw before her door would strew ' 
 
 {Exit.) 
 
 MARGARET {walking towards home). 
 How stoutly once I could inveigh, 
 If a poor maiden -went astray ! 
 Not words enough my tongue could find, 
 'Gainst others' sin to speak my mind; 3235 
 
 Black as it seemed, 1 blacken'd it still more, 
 And strove to make it blacker than before. 
 And did myself securely bless — 
 Now my own trespass doth appear ! 
 
 Yet ah ! — what urg'd mo to transgress, 3240 
 
 Sweet heaven, it was so good ! so dear I
 
 128 PAUST. 
 
 Zwinger. 
 Enclosure between the City-wall and the Gate. 
 
 (7« the niche of the ivall a devotional image of the Mater 
 dolorosa, with flower-pots hefore it.) 
 
 MARGARET (putting fresh flowers in the pots). 
 Ah, rich in sorrow, thou. 
 Stoop thy maternal brow, 
 And mark with pitying eye my misery ! 
 
 The sword in thy pierced heart, 3245 
 
 Thou dost with bitter smart. 
 
 Gaze upwards on thy Son's death agony. 
 
 To the dear God on high, 
 Ascends thy piteous sigh. 
 Pleading for his and thy sore misery. 3250 
 
 Ah, who can know 
 
 The torturing woe, 
 
 The pangs that rack me to the bone? 
 
 How my poor heart, without relief. 
 
 Trembles and throbs, its yearning grief 3255 
 
 Thou knowest, thou alone ! 
 
 Ah, wheresoe'er I go, 
 
 With woe, with woe, with woe. 
 
 My anguish'd breast is aching ! 
 
 When all alone I creep, 3260 
 
 I weep, I weep, I weep, 
 
 Alas ! my heart is breaking ! 
 
 The flower-pots at my window 
 
 Were wet with tears of mine. 
 
 The while I pluck'd these blossoms, 3265 
 
 At dawn to deck thy shrine ! 
 
 When early in my chamber 
 
 Shone bright the rising mom, 
 
 I sat there on my pallet, 
 
 My heart with anguish torn. 32 7C 
 
 Help ! from disgrace and death deliver me ! 
 
 Ah ! rich in sorrow, thou, 
 
 Stoop thy maternal brow. 
 
 And mark with pitying eye my misery !
 
 FAUST. 129 
 
 Night. Street before Margaret's door. 
 VALENTINE (a Soldier, Margaret's brother). 
 When seated 'mong the jovial crowd 3275 
 
 Where merry comrades boasting loud, 
 Each named with pride his favourite lass, 
 And in her honour drain'd his glass ; 
 Upon my elbows I would lean, 
 
 With easy quiet view the scene, 3280 
 
 Nor give my tongue the rein, until 
 Each swaggering blade had talked his fill. 
 Then smiling I my beard would stroke. 
 The while, with brimming glass, I sjjoke; 
 " Each to his taste ! — but to my mind, 3285 
 
 Where in the country will you find, 
 A maid, as my dear Gretchen fair. 
 Who with my sister can compare ? " 
 Cling ! Clang ! so rang the jovial sound ! 
 Shouts of assent went circling round ; 3290 
 
 Pride of her sex is she ! — cried some ; 
 Then were the noisy boasters dumb. 
 
 And now ! — I could tear out my hair, 
 
 Or dash my brains out in despair ! — ■ 
 
 Me every scurvy knave may twit, 3295 
 
 With stinging jest and taunting sneer ! 
 
 Like skulking debtor I must sit. 
 
 And sweat each casual word to hear ! 
 
 And though 1 smash'd them one and all, — 
 
 Yet them I could not liars call. 3300 
 
 Who comes this way ? who's sneaking here ? 
 If I mistake not, two draw near. 
 If he be one, have at him ; — well I wot 
 Alive he shall not leave this spot ! 
 
 Eaust. Mephistopiieles. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 IIow from yon sacristy, athwart the niglit, 3305 
 
 its beams the ever-burning taper throws. 
 While ever waning, fades the glimmering liglit, 
 
 K
 
 130 FAUST. 
 
 As gathering darkness doth around it close ! 
 So night-like gloom doth in my bosom reign. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I'm like a tom-cat in a thievish vein, 3310 
 
 That up fire-ladders tall and steep, 
 
 And round the walls doth slyly creep ; 
 
 Virtuous withal, I feel, with, I confess, 
 
 A touch of thievish joy and wantonness. 
 
 Thus through my limbs already there doth bound 3315 
 
 The glorious Walpurgis night ! 
 
 After to-morrow it again comes round. 
 
 What one doth wake for, then one knows aright ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Meanwhile, the flame which I see glimmering there. 
 
 Is it the treasui-e rising in the air ? 3320 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Ere long, I make no doubt, but you 
 To raise the chest will feel inclined ; 
 Erewhile I peep'd within it too ; 
 With lion-dollars 'tis well lined. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 And not a trinket ? not a ring ? 3325 
 
 Wherewith my lovely girl to deck? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I saw among them some such thing, 
 A string of pearls to grace her neck. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 'Tis well ! I'm always loath to go. 
 
 Without some gift my love to show. S330 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Some pleasures gratis to enjoy. 
 
 Should surely cause you no annoy. 
 
 While bright with stars the heavens appear, 
 
 I'll sing a masterpiece of art : 
 
 A moral song shall charm her ear, 3335 
 
 More surely to beguile her heart.
 
 FAUST 131 
 
 (^Sings to the guitar), 
 Kathrina say, 
 Why lingering stay 
 At dawn of day 
 
 Before your lover's door? 3340 
 
 Maiden, beware, 
 ^'or enter there, 
 Lest forth you fare, 
 A maiden never more. 
 
 Maiden take heed ! 3345 
 
 Reck well my rede ! 
 
 Is't done, the deed ? 
 
 Good night, you poor, poor thing ! 
 
 The spoiler's lies. 
 
 His arts despise, 3350' 
 
 Nor yield your prize, 
 
 Without the marriage ring ! 
 
 VALENTINE {steps forioard). 
 Whom are you luring here ? I'll give it you ! 
 Accursed rat-catchers, your strains I'll end ! 
 First, to the devil the guitar I'll send ! 3355 
 
 Then to the devil with the singer too ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The poor guitar ! 'tis done for now. 
 
 VALENTINE. 
 
 Your skull shall follow next, I trow ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (to FaUST). 
 
 Doctor, stand fast ! your strength collect ! 
 
 Be prompt, and do as I direct. 8360 
 
 Out with your whisk ! keep close, I pray, 
 
 I'll parry ! do you thrust away ! 
 
 VALENTINE. 
 
 Then parry that ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Why not? 
 
 VALENTINE. 
 
 That too I 
 
 K 2
 
 1 32 FAUST. 
 
 IIEPHISTOPIIELES. 
 
 With ease ! 
 
 VALENTINE. 
 
 The devil fights for you ! 
 Why how is this? my hand's already lamed ! 3365 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES {tO FaUST). 
 
 Thrust home ! 
 
 VALENTINE (falls). 
 
 Alas ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 There ! Now the lubber's tamed ! 
 But quick, away ! We miist at once take wing ; 
 A cry of murder strikes upon the ear ; 
 With the police I know my course to steer, 
 But with the blood-ban 'tis another thing. , 3370 
 
 MARTHA (^at the window). 
 Without ! without ! 
 
 MARGARET (at the windoio). 
 Quick, bring a light ! 
 
 MARTHA (as above). 
 They rail and scuffle, scream and fight ! 
 
 PEOPLE. 
 
 One lieth here already dead I 
 
 MARTHA (^coming out). 
 Where are the murderers ? are they fled ? 
 
 MARGARET {coming out). 
 Wlio lieth here ? 
 
 PEOPLE. 
 
 Thy mother's son. 3375 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Almighty God ! I am undone ! 
 
 VALENTINE. 
 
 I'm dying — 'tis a soon-told tale, 
 
 And sooner done the deed. 
 
 Why, women, do ye howl and wail ? 
 
 To my last words give heed ! (All gather round him). 3380
 
 FAUST. 133 
 
 Gretclien, tliou'rt still of tender age. 
 
 And, well I wot, not over sage, 
 
 Thoii dost thy matters ill ; 
 
 Let this in confidence be said : 
 
 Since thou the path of shame dost tread, 3385 
 
 Tread it with right good will ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 My brother ! God ! what can this mean ? 
 
 VALENTINE. 
 
 Abstain, 
 Nor dare God's holy name profane ! 
 What's done, alas, is done and past ! 
 
 INIatters will take their course at last; 3390 
 
 By stealth thou dost begin with one, 
 Others will follow him anon ; 
 And when a dozen thee have known, 
 Thou'lt common be to all the to'wn. 
 
 When infamy is newly born, 3395 
 
 In secret she is brought to light. 
 And the mysterious veil of night 
 O'er head and ears is drawn ; 
 The loathsome birth men fain would slay ; 
 But soon, full grown, she waxes bold, 3400 
 
 And though not fairer to behold. 
 With brazen front insults the day : 
 The more abhorrent to the sight. 
 The more she courts the day's pure light. 
 
 The time already I discern, 3405 
 
 When thee all honest folk will spurn, 
 
 And shun thy hated form to meet. 
 
 As when a corpse infects the street. 
 
 Thy heart will sink in blank despair, 
 
 When they shall look thee in the face ! 3410 
 
 A golden chain no linore thou'lt wear — 
 
 Nor near the altar take in church th}^ i)lacc — 
 
 I71 fair lace collar simply dight 
 
 Tliou'lt dance no more witli K])irits light — 
 
 In darksome comers them wilt bide, 3415 
 
 Where beggars vile and cripples liide —
 
 134 FAUST. 
 
 And e'en though God thy crime forgive. 
 On earth, a thing accursed, thou'lt live ! 
 
 MARTHA. 
 
 Your parting soul to God commend ; 
 
 Your dying breath in slander will you spend ? 3420 
 
 VALENTINE. 
 
 Could I but reach thy vs^ither'd frame, 
 Thou wi-etched beldame, void of shame ! 
 Full measure I might hope to win 
 Of pardon then for every sin. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Brother ! what agonizing pain ! 3425 
 
 VALENTINE. 
 
 I tell thee ! from vain tears abstain ! 
 
 'Twas thy dishonour pierced my heart , 
 
 Thy fall the fatal death-stab gave. 
 
 Through the death-sleep I now depart 
 
 To God, a soldier true and brave. (c7«es.) 3430 
 
 Cathedral. 
 Service, Organ, and Anthem, 
 Margaret amongst a number of people. 
 Evil-Spirit behind Margaret. 
 
 EVIL-SPIRIT. 
 
 How diflEerent, Gretchen, was it once with thee, 
 
 When thou, still full of innocence. 
 
 Here to the altar camest. 
 
 And from the small and well-conn'd book 
 
 Didst lisp thy prayer, 3435 
 
 Half childish sport, 
 
 Half God in thy young heart ! 
 
 Gretchen ! 
 
 What thoughts are thine ? 
 
 What deed of shame 3440 
 
 Lurks in thy sinful heart ? 
 
 Is thy prayer utter'd for thy mother's soul. 
 Who into long, long torment slept through thee ?
 
 FAUST. 135 
 
 Whose blood is on thy threshold ? 
 
 — And stirs there not already 'neath thy heai"t 3445 
 
 Another quick'ning pulse, that even now 
 
 Tortures itself and thee 
 
 With its foreboding presence ? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Woe! Woe! 
 
 Oh could I free me from the thoughts 3450 
 
 That hither, thither, crowd upon my brain, 
 
 Against my will ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Dies ircB, dies ilia, 
 Solvet scBclum in favilla. 
 
 (The organ sounds.^ 
 
 EVIL-SPIRIT. 
 
 Grim horror seizes thee ! 3455 
 
 The trumpet sounds ! 
 
 The graves are shaken I 
 
 And thy heart 
 
 From ashy rest 
 
 For torturing flames 3460 
 
 Anew created, 
 
 Trembles into life ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Would I were hence ! 
 
 It is as if the organ 
 
 Choked my breath, 3465 
 
 As if the choir 
 
 Melted my inmost heart ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Judex ergo cum sedebit, 
 
 Quidquid latet adparebit. 
 
 Nil inultum remanebit. 3470 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I feel oppressed ! 
 
 The pillars of the wall 
 
 Imprison me !
 
 136 FAUST. 
 
 The vaulted roof 
 
 Weighs down upon me ! — air ! (i475 
 
 EVIL-SPIRIT. 
 
 Wotildst hide thee ? sin and shame 
 Eemain not hidden ! 
 Air ! light ! 
 "Woe's thee ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Quid sum miser tunc dicturus ? 3480 
 
 Quern patronum rogaturus ! 
 Gum vix Justus sit securus. 
 
 EVIL-SPIRIT. 
 
 The glorified their faces turn 
 
 Away from thee ! 
 
 Shudder the pure to reach 3485 
 
 Their hands to thee ! 
 
 Woe! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Quid sum miser tunc dicturus — 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Neighbour ! your smelling bottle ! 
 
 (iSAe awoons away.)
 
 ( 137 ) 
 
 W ALP U E Gl S- NIGHT. 
 
 The Hartz 3Iouniains. 
 
 District of Schierlce and Elend. 
 
 Faust and MEPHiSToniELES. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 A broomstick dost tliou not at least desire ? 3490 
 
 The roughest he-goat fain would I bestride, 
 By this road from our goal we're still far wide. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 While fresh upon my legs, so long I naught require, 
 
 Except this knotty staff. Beside, 
 
 What boots it to abridge a pleasant way ? 3495 
 
 Along the labyiinth of these vales to creep, 
 
 Then scale these rocks, whence, in eternal spray, 
 
 Adown the clifls the silvery fountains leap : 
 
 Such is the joy that seasons paths like these ! 
 
 Spring weaves already in the birchen trees ; ;3500 
 
 E'en the late pine-gi'ove feels her quickening powers ; 
 
 Should she not work within these limbs of ours ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Naught of this genial influence do I know ! 
 
 Within me all is wintry. Frost and snow 
 
 I should prefer my dismal path to bound. 3505 
 
 How sadly, yonder, with belated glow 
 
 Rises the ruddy moon's imperfect round. 
 
 Shedding so faint a light at every tread 
 
 One's sure to stumljlo 'gainst a rock or tree! 
 
 An Ignis Fatuus I must call instead. 3510 
 
 Yonder one burning merrily, I see. 
 
 Holla! my friend, may I request your light? 
 
 Why should you flare away so uselessly ? 
 
 Be kind enough to show us up the height I 
 
 IGNIS FATUUS. 
 
 Through reverence, I iKjpo I may suljduo 3515
 
 138 FAUST. 
 
 The lightness of aiy nature ; true, 
 Our course is but a zigzag one. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Ho! ho! 
 So man, forsooth, he thinks to imitate ! 
 Now, in the devil's name, for once go straight, 
 Or out at once your flickering life I'll blow ! 3520 
 
 IGNIS FATUUS. 
 
 That you are master here is obvious quite ; 
 
 To do your will, I'll cordially essay ; 
 
 Only reflect ! The hill is magic-mad to-night ; 
 
 And if to show the path you choose a meteor's light. 
 
 You must not wonder should we go astray. 3525 
 
 FAUST, BIEPHISTOPHELES, IGNIS FATUUS 
 
 (in alternate so^ig). 
 Through this dream and magic-sphere, 
 Lead us on, thou flickering guide. 
 Pilot well our bold career ! 
 That we may with onward stride 
 Gain yon vast and desert waste ! 3530 
 
 See how tree on tree with haste 
 
 Rush amain, the granite blocks 
 
 Make obeisance as they go ! 
 
 Hark ! the grim, long-snouted rocks, 
 
 How they snort, and how they blow ! 3535 
 
 Brook and brooklet hurrying flow 
 
 Through the turf and stones along ; 
 
 Hark, the rustling ! Hark, the song I 
 
 Hearken to love's plaintive lays ; 
 
 Voices of those heavenly days — 354C 
 
 What we hope, and what we love ! 
 
 Like the song of olden time. 
 
 Echo's voice repeats the chime. 
 To- whit ! To-whoo ! It sounds more near ; 
 Pewit, owl, and jay appear, 3545 
 
 All awake, around, above ! 
 Paunchy salamanders too 
 Crawl, long-limbed, the bushes through I
 
 FAUST. 139 
 
 And, like snakes, tlie roots of trees 
 
 Coil themselves from rock and sand, 3550 
 
 Stretching many a wondrous band, 
 
 Us to frighten, ns to seize ; 
 
 From nide knots with life emhiied, 
 
 Polyp-fangs abroad they spread, 
 
 To snare the wanderer ! 'Neath our tread, 3555 
 
 Mice, in myi'iads, thoiisand-hued, 
 
 Through the heath and through the moss ! 
 
 And the fire-flies' glittering throng, 
 
 Wildering escort, whirls along. 
 
 Here and there, our path across. 3560 
 
 Tell me, stand we motionless. 
 
 Or still foi-ward do we press ? 
 
 All things round us whirl and fly 
 
 Eocks and trees make strange grimaces, 
 
 Dazzling meteors change their places, 3565 
 
 How they puff and multiply ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Now grasp my doublet — we at last 
 
 Have reached a central precipice. 
 
 Whence we a wondering glance may cast, 
 
 How Mammon lights the dark abyss. 3570 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 How through the chasms strangely gleams, 
 
 A lurid light, like da"\vn's red glow, 
 
 Pervading with its quivering beams. 
 
 The gorges of the gulf below ! 
 
 There vapours rise, there clouds float by, 3575 
 
 And here through mist the splendour shines ; 
 
 Now, like a fount, it bursts on high, 
 
 Now glideth on in slender lines ; 
 
 Far-reaching, with a hundred veins, 
 
 Through the far valley see it glide, 3580 
 
 Here, where the gorge the flood restrains. 
 
 At once it scatters far and wide ; 
 
 Anear, like showers of golden sand 
 
 Strewn broadcast, sputter sparks of light : 
 
 And mark yon rocky walls that stand 3585 
 
 Ablaze, in all their towering height !
 
 1 40 FAUST. 
 
 :\IEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Sir Mammon for this fostival, 
 
 Grandl}^ illumes his palace hall ! 
 
 To see it "was a lucky chance ; 
 
 E'en now the boist'rous guests advance. 3590 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 How the fierce tempest sweeps around ! 
 UjDon my neck it strikes with sudden shock ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Cling to these ancient ribs of granite rock, 
 
 Else it Avill hurl you doA^Ti to yon abyss profound. 
 
 A murky vapour thickens night. 3595 
 
 Hark ! Through the woods the tempests roar ! 
 
 The owlets flit in wild afright. 
 
 Split are the columns that upbore 
 
 The leafy palace, green for aye : 
 
 The shivered branches whirr and sigh, 3600 
 
 Yawn the huge trunks with mighty groan, 
 
 The roots, upriven, creak and moan ! 
 
 In fearful and entangled fall. 
 
 One crashing ruin whelms them all, 
 
 While through the desolate abyss, 3605 
 
 Sweeping the wi'eck-strown precipice, 
 
 The raging storm-blasts howl and hiss ! 
 
 Hear'st thou voices sounding clear, 
 
 Distant now and now more near ? 
 
 Hark! the mountain ridge along, 3610 
 
 Streameth a raving magic-song ! 
 
 WITCHES {in chorus). 
 Now to the Brocken the witches hie, 
 The stubble is yellow, the corn is green ; 
 Thither the gathering legions fly. 
 And sitting aloft is Sir Urian seen : 3615 
 
 O'er stick and o'er stone they go whirling along, 
 Witches and he-goats, a motley throng. 
 
 VOICES. 
 
 Alone old Baubo's coming now ; 
 She rides upon a farrow sow.
 
 FAUST. 141 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Honour to her, to whom honour is due ! 3620 
 
 Forward, Daiue Baubo ! Honour to you ! 
 A goodly sow and mother thereon. 
 The whole witch chorus follows anou. 
 
 VOICE. 
 
 "Which way didst come ? 
 
 VOICE. 
 
 O'er Ilsenstein ! 
 There 1 peep'd in an owlet's nest. 3625 
 
 With her broad eye she gazed in mine ! 
 
 VOICE. 
 
 Drive to the devil, thou hellish pest ! 
 Why ride so hard ? 
 
 VOICE. 
 
 She has graz'd my side, 
 Look at the wounds, how deep and how wide ! 
 
 WITCHES {in chorus). 
 The way is broad, the way is long ; 3630 
 
 What mad pursuit ! What tumult wild ! 
 Scratches the besom and sticks the prong ; 
 Crush'd is the mother, and stifled the child. 
 
 WIZARDS (half chorus). 
 Like house-encumber'd snail we creep ; 
 While far ahead the women keep, 3635 
 
 For when to the devil's house we speed, 
 By a thousand steps they take the lead. 
 
 THE OTHER HALF. 
 
 Not so. precisely do we view it ; — 
 
 They with a thousand steps may do it ; 
 
 But let them hasten as they can, 3640 
 
 With one long bound 'tis clear'd by man. 
 
 VOICES (above). 
 Come with us, come with us from Felsensee. 
 
 VOICES (from hclow). 
 Aloft to you we would mount with glee !
 
 142 FAUST. 
 
 We wash, and free from all stain are "we, 
 
 Yet barren evermore must be ! 3G45 
 
 BOTH CHORUSES. 
 
 The wind is hushed, the stars grow pale, 
 The pensive moon her light doth veil ; 
 And whirling on, the magic choir, 
 Sputter forth sparks of drizzling fire. 
 
 VOICE (^from helow). 
 Stay ! stay ! 
 
 VOICE (from above). 
 What voice of woe " 3G50 
 
 Calls from the cavern'd depths below ? 
 
 VOICE (^frorn helow). 
 Take me with you ! Oh take me too ! 
 Three centuries I climb in vain, 
 And yet can ne'er the summit gain ! 
 To be with my kindred I am fain. 3655 
 
 BOTH CHORUSES. 
 
 Broom and pitch-fork, goat and prong, 
 Mounted on these we whirl along ; 
 Who vainly strives to climb to-night, 
 Is evermore a luckless wäght ! 
 
 DEMI-WITCH (heloiv). 
 
 I hobble after, many a day ; 366Ö 
 
 Already the others are far away ! 
 No rest at home can I obtain — 
 Here too my efforts are in vain ! 
 
 CHORUS OF WITCHES 
 
 Salve gives the ^vitches strength to rise ; 
 
 A rag for a sail does well enough ; 3665 
 
 A goodly ship is every trough ; 
 
 To-night who flies not, never flies. 
 
 BOTH CHORUSES. 
 
 And when the topmost peak we round, 
 
 Then alight ye on the ground ; 
 
 The heath's wide regions cover ye 3670 
 
 With your mad swarms of witchery ! 
 
 {TJiey let themselves doicn.)
 
 FAUST 143 
 
 MEPHISTO PHELES. 
 
 They crowd and jostle, whirl and flutter ! 
 
 They whisper, babble, twirl, and splutter I 
 
 They glimmer, sparkle, stink and flare — 
 
 A true witch-element ! Beware ! 3675 
 
 Stick close ! else we shall severed be. 
 
 Where art thou ? 
 
 FAUST (m the distance). 
 Here ! 
 
 MEPniSTOPHELES. 
 
 Already, whirl'd so far away ! 
 The master then indeed I needs must play. 
 Give ground ! Squire Voland comes ! Sweet folk, give 
 
 ground ! 
 Here, doctor, grasp me ! With a single bound 3680 
 
 Let us escape this ceaseless jar ; 
 Even for me too mad these people are. 
 Hard by there shineth something with peculiar glare, 
 Yon brake allureth me ; it is not far ; 
 Come, come along with me ! we'll slip in there, 3685 
 
 FAUST, 
 
 Spirit of contradiction ! Lead ! I'll follow straight ! 
 'Twas wisely done, however, to repair 
 On May-night to the Brocken, and when there, 
 By our own choice ourselves to isolate ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Mark, of those flames the motley glare ! 3690 
 
 A merry club assembles there. 
 In a small circle one is not alone, 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I'd rather be above, though, I must own I 
 
 Already fire and eddying smoke I view ; 
 
 The impetuous millions to tlic devil ride ; 3695 
 
 Full many a riddle will be there untied. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 Ay ! and full many a one be tied anew. 
 But let tlie great world rave and riot t 
 Here will we house ourselves in quiet.
 
 144 FAUST, 
 
 A custom 'tis of ancient date, 3700 
 
 ( )ur lesser worlds within the great world to create ! 
 
 Young witches there I see, naked and bare, 
 
 And old ones, veil'd more prudently. 
 
 For my sake only courteous be ! 
 
 The trouble's small, the sport is rare. 3705 
 
 Of instruments I hear the cursed din — 
 
 One must get used to it. Come in ! come in ! 
 
 There's now no help for it. I'll step before, 
 
 And introducing you as my good friend, 
 
 Confer on you one obligation more. 3710 
 
 How say you now? 'Tis no such paltiy room ; 
 
 Why only look, you scarce can see the end. 
 
 A hundred fires in rows disperse the gloom ; 
 
 They dance, they talk, they cook, make love, and drink : 
 
 Where could we find aught better, do you think? 3715 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 To introduce us, do you purpose here 
 As devil or as wizard to appear ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Though I am wont indeed to strict incognito. 
 
 Yet upon gala-days one must one's orders show. 
 
 No garter have 1 to distinguish me, 3720 
 
 Katliless the cloven foot doth here give dignity. 
 
 Seest thou yonder snail ? Crawling this way she hies ; 
 
 With searching feelers, she, no doubt, 
 
 Hath me already scented out ; 
 
 Here, even if 1 would, for me there's no disguise. 3725 
 
 From fire to fire, we'll saunter at our leisure. 
 
 The gallant you, I'll cater for yoiu' pleasure. 
 
 (To a party seated round some expiring embers.) 
 Old gentlemen, apart, why sit ye mojiing here ? 
 Y'e in the midst should be of all this jovial cheer, 
 Girt round with noise and youthful riot ; 3730 
 
 At home one surely has enough of quiet. 
 
 GENERAL. 
 
 In nations put his trust, who may, 
 Whate'er for them one may have done ;
 
 FAUST. 145 
 
 Tlie people are like women, they 
 
 Honour your rising stars alone ! 3735 
 
 Too far from truth and right they wander now ; 
 I must extol the good old ways, 
 For truly when all spoke our praise, 
 Then was the golden age, I trow. 
 
 PARVENU. 
 
 Ne'er were we 'mong your dullards found, 3740 
 
 And what we ought not, that we did of old ; 
 
 Yet now are all things turning round. 
 
 Just when we most desired them fast to hold. 
 
 AUTHOR. 
 
 Who, as a rule, a treatise now woiild care 
 
 To read, of even moderate sense ? 3745 
 
 As for the rising generation, ne'er 
 
 Has youth displayed such arrogant pretence. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 (^suddenly appearhuj very old). 
 Since for the last time 1 the Brocken scale. 
 That folk are ripe for doomsday, now one sees ; 
 And just because my cask begins to fail, 375'j 
 
 So the whole world is also on the lees. 
 
 HUCKSTER-AVITCH. 
 
 Stop, gentlemen, nor pass me by. 
 Of wares 1 have a choice collection : 
 Pray honour them with your inspection. 
 Lose not this opportunity ! 3755 
 
 No fellow to my booth you'll find 
 On earth, for 'mong my store there's naught, 
 Which to the world, and to mankind. 
 Hath not some direful mischief wrought. 
 No dagger here, which hath not flow'd with blood, 37G0 
 No bowl, which hath not poured into some healtliy frame 
 Hot poison's life-consuming flood. 
 No trinket, l)ut hath wrought some woman's shame. 
 No weapon but hath cut some sacred tie, 
 Or from behind hath stabl/d an enemy. 3765 
 
 I
 
 146 FAUST. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Gossip ! For wares like these the time's gone by. 
 What's done is past 1 what's past is doue ! 
 "With novelties j^our booth supply ; 
 Now novelties attract aloue. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 May this wild scene my senses spare I 3770 
 
 This, may in truth be called a fair ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Upward the eddying concourse throng ; 
 Thinking to push, thyself art push'd along. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Who's that, pray ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Mark her well ! That's Lilith. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Who ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Adam's first wife. Of her rich locks beware ! 3775 
 
 That charm in which she's parallel'd by few ; 
 "When in its toils a youth she doth ensnare, 
 He will not soon escape, I promise you. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 There sit a pair, the old one with the young ; 
 
 Already they have bravely danced and sprung ! 378G 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I^ere there is no repose to-day. 
 
 Another dance begins ; we'll join it, come aAvay ! 
 
 FAUST 
 
 (^dancing with the youmj one). 
 Once a fair vision came to me ; 
 Therein I saw an apple-tree. 
 
 Two beauteous apples charmed mine eyes ; 378« 
 I climb'd forthwith to reach the prize. 
 
 THE FAIR ONE. 
 
 Apples still fondly ye desire, 
 From paradise it hath been so.
 
 FAUST. 147 
 
 Feelings of joy my breast inspire 
 
 That such too in my garden grow. 3790 
 
 ;\1EPH1ST0PHELES (icitli the old one). 
 Once a weird vision came to me ; 
 Therein I saw a rifted tree. 
 
 It Irad a ; 
 
 But as it was it pleased me too. 
 
 THE OLD ONE. 
 
 I beg most humbly to salute 3795 
 
 The gallant with the cloven foot ! 
 Let him a . . . have ready here, 
 If he a . . . does not feai. 
 
 PROCTOPHANTASMIST. 
 
 Accursed mob ! How dare ye thus to meet ? 
 
 Have 1 not shown and demonstrated too, 3800 
 
 That ghosts stand not on ordinary feet ? 
 
 Yet here ye dance, as other mortals do ! 
 
 THE FAIR ONE {dancing). 
 Then at our ball, what doth he here ? 
 
 FAUST {dancing'). 
 Oh ! He must everywhere appear. 
 
 He must adjudge, when others dance ; 3805 
 
 If on each step his say's not said, 
 So is that step as good as never made. 
 He's most annoyed, so soon as wo advance ; 
 If ye would circle in one narrow round, 
 As he in his old mill, then doubtless ho 3810 
 
 Your dancing would approve, — especially 
 if ye forthwith salute him with respect profound ! 
 
 PROCTOPHANTASM 1ST. 
 
 Still here ! what arrogance ! unheard of quito ! 
 
 Vanish ; we now have fiU'd the world with light ! 
 
 Laws are unheeded by tlie devil's host ; 3815 
 
 Wise as we are, yet Tegel hath its ghost ! 
 
 How long at this conceit I've swept Avith all mj' might, 
 
 Lost is the labour : 'tis unheard of quite ! 
 
 THK FAIR ONE. 
 
 Cease liere to teaze ug any more, I pray. 
 
 L 2
 
 148 FAUST. 
 
 PROCTO PR.^ NT ASM IST, 
 
 Spirits, I plainly to j^our face declare : 3820 
 
 No spiritual control myself will bear, 
 Since my o^^^l spirit can exert no sway. 
 
 {The dancing continues.) 
 To-night, I see, I shall in naught succeed ; 
 But I'm prepar'd my travels to pursue, 
 And hope, before my final step indeed, 3825 
 
 To triumph over bards and devils too. 
 
 JIEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Now in some puddle will he take his station, 
 
 Such is his mode of seeking consolation ; 
 
 Where leeches, feasting on his blood, will drain 
 
 Spirit and spirits from his haiinted brain. 3830 
 
 (To Faust, tvho has left the dance.) 
 But why the charming damsel leave, 1 pray, 
 Who to you in the dance so sweetly sang ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Ah ! in the very middle of her lay, 
 
 Out of her mouth a small red mouse there sprang. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Suppose there did ! One miist not be too nice . 3835 
 
 'Twas well it was not grey, let tliat suffice. 
 Who 'mid his pleasures for a trifle cares ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Then saw I 
 
 JIEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 What? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Mephisto, seest thou there 
 Standing far ofi", a lone child, pale and fair ? 
 Slow from the spot her drooping form she tears, 3840 
 
 And seems with shackled feet to move along ; 
 I own, within me the delusion's strong, 
 That she the likeness of my Gretchen wears, 
 
 JIEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Gaze not upon her ! 'Tis not good ! Forbear I 
 
 'Tis lifeless, magical, a shape of air, 3845
 
 FAUST. 149 
 
 An idol. SiTch to meet with, bodes no good ; 
 That rigid look of hers doth freeze man's blood, 
 And well-nigh petrifies his heart to stone : — 
 The story of Medusa thou hast known. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Ay, verily ! a corpse's eyes are those, 3850 
 
 Which there was no fond loving hand to close. 
 
 That is the bosom I so fondly press'd. 
 
 That my sweet Gretchen's form, so oft caress'd ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Deluded fool ! 'Tis magic, I declare ! 
 
 To each she doth his lov'd one's image wear. 3855 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What bliss ! what torture ! vainly I essay 
 
 To turn me from that piteous look away. 
 
 How strangely doth a single crimson line 
 
 Around that lovely neck its coil entwine, 
 
 It shows no broader than a knife's blunt edge ! 3860 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Quite right. I see it also, and allege 
 
 That she beneath her arm her head can bear, 
 
 Since Perseus cut it off. — But you I swear 
 
 Are craving for illusion still ! 
 
 Come then, ascend yon little hill ! 3865 
 
 As on the Prater all is gay, 
 
 And if my senses are not gone, 
 
 I see a theatre, — what's going on ? 
 
 SERVIBILIS. 
 
 They are about to recommence ; — the play 
 
 Will be the last of seven, and spick-span new — 3870 
 
 'Tis usual here that number to ])rescnt — 
 
 A dilettante did the piece invent, 
 
 And dilettanti will enact it too. 
 
 Excuse me, gentlemen ; to me's assign'd 
 
 As dilettante to uplift the curtain. 3875 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 You on the Blocksberg I'm rejoiced to find, 
 That 'tis your most appropriate sphere is certain.
 
 ( 150 ) 
 
 WALPURGIS-NIGHT'S DEEAM; 
 
 OR, 
 
 OBEPtOX AND TITAXIA'S 
 GOLDEN WEDDING-FEAST. 
 
 INTERMEZZO. 
 
 Theatre. 
 :manager. 
 
 Vales, where mists still shift and play, 
 
 To ancient hill succeeding, — 
 These our scenes; — so \7e, to-day, 3880 
 
 May rest, brave sons of Mieding. 
 
 HER.VLD. 
 
 That the maiTiage golden be, 
 
 Must fifty years be ended ; 
 More dear this feast of gold to me, 
 
 Contention now suspended. 3885 
 
 OBERON. 
 
 Spirits, are ye hovering near, 
 Show yourselves around us ! 
 
 King and queen behold ye here, 
 Love hath newly bound us. 
 
 PUCK. 
 
 Puck draws near and wheels about, 3890 
 
 In mazy circles dancing ! 
 Hundreds swell his joyous shout, 
 
 Behind him still advancing.
 
 FAUST. 151 
 
 ARIEL. 
 
 Ai'iel wakes his dainty air, 
 
 His Ij're celestial stringing.— 3895 
 
 Fools he lureth, and the fair, 
 
 With his celestial singing. 
 
 OBEROX. 
 
 Wedded ones, would ye agree, 
 
 We court your imitation : 
 Would ye fondly love as we, 3900 
 
 We counsel separation. . 
 
 TITANIA. 
 
 If husband scold and wife retort, 
 
 Then bear them far asunder ; 
 Her to the burning south transport, 
 
 And him the North Pole under. 3905 
 
 THE WHOLE ORCHESTRA (fortlSsimo). 
 
 Flies and midges all unite 
 
 With frog and chirping cricket, 
 Our orchestra throughout the night, 
 
 Eesounding in the thicket ! 
 
 (Solo.) 
 Yonder doth the bagpipe come ! 3910 
 
 Its sack an airy bubble. 
 Schnick, schnick, schnack, with nasal hum, 
 
 Its notes it doth redouble. 
 
 EMBRYO SPIRIT. 
 
 Spider's foot and midge's wing, 
 
 A toad in form and i'eature; 3915 
 
 Together verses it can string. 
 
 Though scarce a living creature. 
 
 A LITTLE PAIR. 
 
 Tiny step and lofty bound. 
 
 Through dew and exhalation ; 
 Ye trip it deftly on the ground, 3920 
 
 But gain no elevation.
 
 152 FAUST. 
 
 INQUISITIVE TRAVELLER. 
 
 Can I indectl believe my eyes ? 
 
 Js't not mere masquerading? 
 What ! Oberon in beanteous gnise. 
 
 Among the groups parading ! 3925 
 
 ORTHODOX. 
 
 No claws, no tail to whisk abont, 
 
 To fright us at our revel ; — 
 Yet like the gods of Greece, no doubt, 
 
 He too's a genuine devil. 
 
 NORTHERN ARTIST. 
 
 These that I'm hitting off to-day 3930 
 
 Are sketches unpretending ; 
 Towards Italy without delay, 
 
 My steps I think of bending. 
 
 PURIST. 
 
 Alas ! ill-fortune leads me here, 
 
 Where riot still grows louder ; 3935 
 
 And 'mong the witches gather'd here. 
 
 But two alone wear powder ! 
 
 YOUNG WITCH, 
 
 Your powder and your petticoat, 
 Suit hags, there's no gainsaying ; 
 
 Hence I sit fearless on my goat, S940 
 
 My naked charms displaying. 
 
 MATRON. 
 
 We're too well-bred to squabble here, 
 
 Or insult back to render ; 
 But may you wither soon, my dear, 
 
 Although so young and tender. 3945 
 
 LEADER OF THE BAND. 
 
 Nose of fly and gnat's proboscis, 
 
 Throng not the naked beauty ! 
 Frogs and crickets in the mosses. 
 
 Keep time and do your duty I
 
 FAUST. 153 
 
 WEATHERCOCK (towards one side). 
 What cliarming company I view 3950 
 
 Together here collected ! 
 Gay bachelors, a hopeful crew, 
 
 And brides so unaffected ! 
 
 WEATHERCOCK (jtowards the other side) 
 Unless indeed the yawning ground 
 
 Should open to receive them, 3955 
 
 From this vile crew, with sudden bound, 
 
 To Hell I'd jump and leave them. 
 
 XENIEN. 
 
 With small sharp shears, in insect guise, 
 
 Behold us at your revel ! 
 That we may tender, filial-wise, 396'^ 
 
 Our homage to the devil. 
 
 HENNINGS. 
 
 Look now at yonder eager crew, 
 
 How naively they're jesting ! 
 That they have tender hearts and true, 
 
 They stoutly keep protesting ! 3965 
 
 MUSAGET. 
 
 Oneself amid this witchery 
 
 How pleasantly one loses ; 
 For witches easier are to me 
 
 To govern than the Muses ! 
 
 CI-DEVANT GENIUS OF THE AGE. 
 
 With proper folks when we appear, 3970 
 
 No one can then surpass us ! 
 Keep close, wide is the Blocksberg here 
 
 As Germany's Parnassus. 
 
 INQUISITIVE TRAVELLER. 
 
 How name ye that stiff formal man, 
 
 Who strides with lofty paces? 3975 
 
 He tracks the game where'er he can, 
 
 " He scents the Jesuits' traces."
 
 1 54 FAUST. 
 
 CRANE. 
 
 Wliere waters troubled are or clear, 
 
 To fish I am delighted ; 
 Thus pious gentlemen apjiear 3980 
 
 With devils here united. 
 
 WORLDLING. 
 
 B}^ pious people, it is true, 
 
 No medium is rejected ; 
 Conventicles, and not a few, 
 
 On Blocksberg are erected. 3985 
 
 DANCER. 
 
 Another choir is drawing nigh, 
 
 Far off the drums are beating. 
 Be still ! 'tis but the bittern's cry, 
 
 Its changeless note repeating. 
 
 DANCING MASTER. 
 
 Each twirls about and never stops, 3990 
 
 And as he can advances. 
 The crooked leaps, the clumsy hops. 
 
 Nor careth how he dances. 
 
 FIDDLER. 
 
 To take each other's life, I trow, 
 
 Would cordially delight them ! 3995 
 
 As Orpheus' lyre the beasts, so now 
 
 The bagpipe doth unite them. 
 
 DOGMATIST. 
 
 My views, in spite of doubt and sneer, 
 
 I hold with stout persistence, 
 Inferring from the devils here, 4000 
 
 The evil one's existence. 
 
 » 
 
 IDEALIST. 
 
 My every sense rules Phantasy 
 
 With sway quite too potential; 
 Sure I'm demented if the I 
 
 Alone is the essential. 4005
 
 FAUST. 155 
 
 REALIST. 
 
 This entity's a dreadful bore, 
 
 And cannot choose but vex me ; 
 The ground beneath me ne'er before 
 
 Thus totter'd to perplex me. 
 
 SUPERNATURALIST. 
 
 Well pleased assembled here I view 4010 
 
 Of spirits this profusion ; 
 From devils, touching angels too, 
 
 I gather some conclusion. 
 
 SCEPTIC. 
 
 The ignis fatuus they track out. 
 
 And think they're near the treasure. 4015 
 
 Devil alliterates with doubt, 
 
 Here I abide with j^leasure. 
 
 LEA.DER OF THE BAND. 
 
 Frog and cricket in the mosses, — 
 
 Confound your gasconading ! 
 Nose of fly and gnat's proboscis; — > 4020 
 
 Most tuneful serenading ! 
 
 THE KNOWING ONES. 
 
 Sans-souci, so this host we greet, 
 
 Their jovial humour showing ; 
 There's now no walking on our feet. 
 
 So on our heads we're going. 4025 
 
 THE AWKWARD ONES. 
 
 In seasons past we snatch'd, 'tis true, 
 
 Some tit-bits by our cunning ; 
 Our shoes, alas, are now danced through. 
 
 On our bare soles we're running. 
 
 WILL-O'-TIIE-WISPS. 
 
 From marshy bogs we sprang to light, 4030 
 
 Yet here behold us dancing ; 
 The gayest gallants of the night. 
 
 In ""litfrin"; rows advanciii<r.
 
 156 FAUST. 
 
 SHOOTING STAR. 
 
 With rapid motion from, on high, 
 
 1 shot in starry splendour ; 4035 
 
 Now prostrate on the grass 1 lie ; — • 
 
 "Who aid will kindly render ? 
 
 THE MASSIVE ONES. 
 
 Eoom ! wheel round ! They're coming ! lo ! 
 
 Down sink the bending grasses. 
 Though spirits, yet their limbs, we know, 4040 
 
 Are huge substantial masses. 
 
 PUCK. 
 
 Don't stamp so heavily, I pray ; 
 
 Like elephants you're treading ! 
 And 'mong the elves be Puck to-day, 
 
 The stoutest at the wedding ! 4045 
 
 ARIEL. 
 
 If nature boon, or subtle sprite, 
 
 Endow your soul with pinions ; — 
 Then follow to yon rosy height, 
 
 Through ether's calm dominions ! 
 ORCHESTRA (jnauissimo). 
 Drifting cloud and misty wi-eathes 405C 
 
 Are fill'd with light elysian ; 
 O'er reed and leaf the zephyr breathes — 
 
 So fades the fairy vision ! 
 
 , Ä gloomy Bay. Ä Plain. 
 
 Faust and Mephistopheles. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 In miseiy ! despairing ! long wandering joitifully on 
 the face of the earth and now imprisoned ! This gentle 
 hapless creature, immured in the dungeon as a malefactor 
 and reserved for horrid tortures ! That it should come to 
 this ! To this ! — Perfidious, worthless spirit, and this 
 thou hast concealed from me ! — Stand ! ay, stand ! roll 
 in malicious rage thy fiendish eyes ! Stand and brave 
 me with thine insupportable presence ! Imprisoned ! In 
 hopeless misery ! Delivered over to the poAver of evil
 
 FAUST. 157 
 
 epirits and the judgment of impitying humanity ! — And 
 me, the while, thou wert lulling with tasteless dissipa- 
 tions, concealing from me her growdug anguish, and 
 leaving her to perish without help ! 4066 
 
 MEPHIST0PHELE6. 
 
 She is not the first. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Hound ! Execrable monster ! — Back with him, oh thou 
 infinite spirit ! back with the reptile into his dog's shape, 
 in which it was his wont to scamper before me at even- 
 tide, to roll before the feet of the harmless wanderer, and 
 to fasten on his shoulders when he fell ! Change him 
 again into his favourite shape, that he may crouch on his 
 belly before me in the dust, whilst 1 spurn him with my 
 foot, the reprobate ! — Not the first ! — Woe ! Woe ! By no 
 human soul is it conceivable, that more than one human 
 creature has ever sunk into a depth of wretchedness like 
 I this, or that the first in her writhing death-agony, should 
 [not have atoned in the sight of all-pardoning Heaven, for 
 the guilt of all the rest ! The misery of this one pierces 
 me to the very marrow, and harrows up my soul ; thou 
 art grinning calmly over the doom of thousands ! 4082 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Now we are once again at our wit's end, just where the 
 reason of you mortals snaps ! Why dost thou seek our 
 fellowship, if thou canst not go through with it ? Wilt 
 fly, and art not proof against dizziness? Did we force 
 ourselves on thee, or thou on us? 4087 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Cease thus to gnash thy ravenous fangs at me ! I 
 loathe thee ! — Great and glorious spirit, thou who didst 
 vouchsafe to reveal thyself unto me, thoii who dost know 
 my very heart and soul, why hast thou linked me with 
 this base associate, who feeds on mischief and revels in 
 destruction? 4093 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Hast done ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Save her ! — or woe to thee ! The direst of curses on 
 thee for thousands of years !
 
 158 FAUST. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 1 cannot loose the bands of the avenger, nor withdraw 
 his holts. — Save her ! — Who was it plunged her into 
 perdition? lor thou? 4099 
 
 FAUST (looks wildly around). 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Would'st grasp the thunder? Well for you, poor 
 mortals, that 'tis not yours to wield ! To smite to atoms, 
 the being however innocent, who obstructs his path, such 
 is the tj-rant's fashion of relieving himself in difficulties ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Convey me thither ! She shall be free ! 4104 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 And the danger to which thou dost expose thj^self? 
 Know, the guilt of blood, shed by thy hand, lies yet 
 upon the town. Over the place where fell the murdered 
 one, avenging spirits hover and watch for the returning 
 murderer. 4109 
 
 FAUST, 
 
 This too from thee? The death and downfall of a 
 world be on thee, monster ! Conduct me thither, I say, 
 and set her free ! 4112 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I will conduct thee. And what I can do, — hear! 
 Have 1 all power in heaven and upon earth ? I'll cloud 
 the senses of the warder, — do thou possess thyself of the 
 keys and lead her forth with human hand ! 1 will keep 
 watch ! The magic steeds are waiting, I bear thee off. 
 Thus much is in my power. 4118 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Up and away ! 
 
 Night. Open country. 
 
 Faust. Mephistopheles. 
 
 (RusMng along on black horses.^ 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Wbat weave they yonder round the Eavenstone? 4120
 
 FAUST. 159 
 
 MEPHISTO PHELES. 
 
 I know not what they shape and brew. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 They're soaring, swooping, bending, stooping. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 A witches' pack. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 They charm, they strew. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 On ! On ! 
 
 Dungeon. 
 
 Faust 
 (with a hunch of Jceys and a lamp before a small iron door). 
 A fear unwonted o'er my spirit falls ; 4125 
 
 Man's concentrated woe o'erwhelms me here ! 
 She dwells immnr'd within these dripping walls ; 
 Her only trespass a delusion dear ! 
 Thou lingerest at the fatal door ? 
 
 Thou dread'st to see her face once more? 4130 
 
 On ! While thou dalliest, draws her death-hour near. 
 (He seizes the loch. Singing within.) 
 ■ My mother, the harlot. 
 She took me and slew ! 
 My father, the scoundrel, 
 Hath eaten me too ! 4135 
 
 My sweet little sister 
 Hath all my bones laid, 
 Where soft breezes whisper 
 All in the cool shade ! 
 Then became I a wood-bird, and sang on the spray. 
 Fly away ! little bird, fly away ! fly away I 4141 
 
 FAUST (opening the lock). 
 Ah ! she forebodes not that her lover's near. 
 The clanking chains, the rustling straw, to hear. 
 (He enters). 
 
 MAUGAUET 
 
 (hiding her face in the bed of straio). 
 Woe ! woe ! they come ! oh bitter 'tis to die !
 
 160 FAUST. 
 
 FAUST (softly). 
 Hush ! hush ! be still ! I come to set thee free? 4145 
 
 MARGARET (throwing herself at his feet). 
 If thou art human, feel my misery ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou "wilt awake the jailor with thy cry ! 
 
 (fie grasps the chains to unlock them.) 
 
 MARGARET (ou her hiees). 
 "Who, headsman, unto thee this power 
 O'er me could give ? 
 
 Thou com'st for me at midnight-hour. 4150 
 
 Be merciful, and let me live ! 
 Is morrow's dawn not time enough ? 
 
 (She stands up). 
 I'm still so young, so young — 
 And must so early die ! 
 
 Fair was I too, and that was my undoing. 4155 
 
 My love is now afar, he then was nigh ; 
 Torn lies the garland, the fair blossoms strew'd. 
 Nay, seize me not with hand so rude ! 
 Spare me ! What harm have I e'er done to thee ? 
 Oh let me not in vain implore ! 4160 
 
 I ne'er have seen thee in my life before ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Can I endure this bitter agony ? 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I now am at thy mercy quite. 
 
 Let me my babe but suckle once again ! 
 
 I fondled it the live-long night ; 41 65 
 
 They took it from me but to give me pain, 
 
 And now, they say that I my child have slain. 
 
 Gladness I ne'er again shall know. 
 
 Then they sing songs about me, — 'tis wicked of the 
 
 throng — 
 An ancient ballad endeth so; 4170 
 
 Who bade them thus apply the song?
 
 FAUST. 161 
 
 FAUST 
 
 (throimng himself on the ground). 
 A lover at thy feet bends low, 
 To loose the bonds of wretchedness and woe. 
 
 MARGARET 
 
 (tliroics herself beside hini). 
 Oh, let us kneel and move the saints by prayer ! 
 Look! look! yon stairs below, 4175 
 
 Under the threshold there, 
 Hell's flames are all aglow ! 
 Beneath the floor, 
 With hideous noise. 
 The devils roar ! 4180 
 
 FAUST {aloud). 
 Gretchen ! Gretchen ! 
 
 MARGARET (listening). 
 
 That was my lov'd one's voice ! 
 
 {She springs up, the chains fall off.) 
 Where is he ? I heard him calling me. 
 Free am I ! There's none shall hinder me. 
 To his neck will I fly, 4185 
 
 On his bosom will lie ! 
 
 Gretchen, he called ! — On yon threshold he stood ; 
 Amidst all the howling of hell's fiery flood. 
 The scofl" and the scorn of its devilish crew, 
 The tones of his voice, sweet and loving, I knew. 4190 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 'Tis I ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 'Tis thou ! say so once again ! 
 
 {embracing him.) 
 'Tis he ! 'Tis he ! where's now the torturing pain ? 
 Where are the fetters ? where the dungeon's gloom ? 
 'Tis thou ! To save me thou art come ' 
 And I am sav'd ! — 4195 
 
 M
 
 1 62 FAUST. 
 
 Already now the street I see 
 
 Where the first time I caught a glimpse of thee. 
 
 There too the pleasant garden shade, 
 
 Where I and Martha for thy coming stay'd. 
 
 FAUST 
 
 {endeavouring to lead her away}. 
 
 Come ! come away ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Oh do not haste ! 4200 
 
 I love to linger where thou stayest. (caressing him.) 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Ah haste ! For if thou still delayest. 
 Our lingering we shall both deplore. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 How, dearest ? canst thou kiss no more ! 
 
 So short a time away from me, and yet, 4205 
 
 To kiss thou couldst so soon forget ! 
 
 Why on thy neck so anxious do I feel — 
 
 When formerly a perfect heaven of bliss 
 
 From thy dear looks and words would o'er me steal ? 
 
 As thou wouldst stifle me thou then didst kiss ! — 4210 
 
 Kiss me ! 
 
 Or I'll kiss thee ! (She embraces him.) 
 
 Woe ! woe ! Thy lips are cold, — 
 
 Are dumb ! 
 
 Thy love where hast thou left ? 4215 
 
 Who hath me of thy love bereft ? (She turns away from him.) 
 
 FAUST, 
 
 Come ! Follow me, my dearest love, be bold ! 
 I'll cherish thee with ardour thousand-fold; 
 I but entreat thee now to follow me !
 
 FAUST. 1G3 
 
 MARGARET 
 
 {turning towards Mni). 
 And art tKou lie? and art thou really he? 4220 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 'Tis I ! Oh come ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Thou wilt strike off my chain, 
 And thou wilt take me to thine arms again. 
 How comes it that thou dost not shrink from me ? — 
 And dost thou know, love, whom thou wouldst set free ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Come ! come ! already night begins to wane. 4225 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 I sent my mother to her grave, 
 
 I drown'd my child beneath the wave. 
 
 Was it not given to thee and me — thee too? 
 
 'Tis thou thyself! I scarce believe it yet. 
 
 Give me thy hand ! It is no dream ! 'Tis true ! 4230 
 
 Thine own dear hand ! — But how is this ? 'Tis wet ! 
 
 Quick, wipe it off ! Meseems that yet 
 
 There's blood thereon. 
 
 Ah God ! what hast thou done ? 
 
 Put up thy sword, 4235 
 
 I Ijeg of thee ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 ()h, dearest, let the past forgotten be ! 
 Death is in every word. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 No, thou must linger here in sorrow I 
 
 The graves I will descrilje to thee, 4240 
 
 And thou to them must see 
 
 To-morrow : 
 
 The best place give to my mother, 
 
 Close at her side my brother, 
 
 M 2
 
 164 FAUST. 
 
 Mo at some distance lay — 4245 
 
 But not too for away ! 
 
 And the little one place on my right breast. 
 
 Nobody else will near me lie ! 
 
 To nestle beside thee so lovingly, 
 
 That was a rapture, gracious and sweet ! 4250 
 
 A rapture I never again shall prove ; 
 
 Methinks I would force myself on thee, love, 
 
 And thou dost spurn me, and back retreat — 
 
 Yet 'tis thyself, thy fond kind looks I see. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 If thou dost feel 'tis I, then come with me ! 4255 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 What, there ? without ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Yes, forth in the free air. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Ay, if the grave's -odthout, — If death lurk there ! 
 
 Hence to the everlasting resting-place. 
 
 And not one step beyond ! — Thou'rt leaving me ? 
 
 Oh Henry ! would that I could go with thee ! 4260 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou canst ! But will it ! Open stands the door. 
 
 BIARGARET. 
 
 I dare not go ! I've naught to hope for more. 
 
 What boots it to escape ? 'I'hey lurk for me ! 
 
 'Tis wretched to beg, as I must do, 
 
 x\nd with an evil conscience thereto ! 4265 
 
 'Tis "WTctched, in foreign lands to stray ; 
 
 And me they will catch, do what I may I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 With thee will I abide.
 
 FAUST. 165 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Quick ! Quick ! 
 
 Save thy poor child ! 4270 
 
 Keep to the path 
 
 The brook along, 
 
 Over the bridge 
 
 To the wood beyond, 
 
 To the left, where the plank is, 4275 
 
 In the pond. 
 
 Seize it at once ! 
 
 It fain would rise, 
 
 It struggles still ! 
 
 Save it. Oh save ! 4280 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Dear Grei2hen, more collected be ! 
 One little step, and thou art free ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Were we but only past the hill ! 
 
 There sits my mother upon a stone — 
 
 My brain, alas, is cold with dread ! — 4285 
 
 There sits my mother upon a stone. 
 
 And to and fro she shakes her head ; 
 
 She winks not, she nods not, her head it droops sore ; 
 
 She slept so long, she waked no more ; 
 
 She slept, that we might taste of bliss : 4290 
 
 Ah ! those were happy times, I wis ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Since hero avails nor argument nor prayer, 
 Thee hence by force I needs must bear. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Loose me ! I will not suffer violence ! 
 
 "With murderous hand hold not so fust ! 4295 
 
 I have done all to please thee in the past !
 
 1()6 FAUST. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Day dawBs ! My love I My lovo ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Yes ! day draws near. 
 The day of judgment too will soon appear ! 
 It should have been my bridal ! No one tell, 
 That thy poor Gretchen thou hast known too well. 4300 
 AVoe to my garland ! 
 Its bloom is o'er ! 
 Though not at the dance — 
 We shall meet once more. 
 
 The crowd doth gather, in silence it rolls ; 4305 
 
 The squares, the streets, 
 Scarce hold the throng. 
 The staff is broken, — the death-bell tolls, — 
 I'hey bind and seize me ! I'm hurried along, 
 To the seat of blood ali'eady I'm boimd ! 4310 
 
 Quivers each neck as the naked steel 
 Quivers on mine the blow to deal — 
 The silence of the grave now broods around ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 ^^'ould I had ne'er been born ! 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES {appears without). 
 Up! or you're lost. 4315 
 
 Vain hesitation ! Babbling, quaking ! 
 ]\Iy steeds are shivering, 
 Morn is breaking. 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 "What from the floor ascendeth like a ghost ? 
 
 Tis he ! 'Tis he ! Him from my presence chase ! 4320 
 
 "What would he in this holy place ? 
 
 It is for me he cometh ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou shalt live! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Judgment of God ! To thee my soul I give I
 
 FAUST. 167 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (to FaUST), 
 
 Come ! come ! I'll leave thee else to share her doom ! 
 
 MARGARET. 
 
 Father, I'm thine ! Save me ! To thee I come ! 4325 
 Ye angels ! Ye angelic hosts ! descend, 
 Encamp aroimd to guard me and defend ! — 
 Henry ! I shudder now to look on thee ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 She now is judged ! 
 
 VOICES {from above). 
 Is saved ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (to FaUST). 
 
 Come thou -with me ! 
 
 {vanishes with Faust.) 
 
 VOICE {from ivithin, dying aicay). 
 Henry ! Henry ! 433 
 
 EKH OF VART I.
 
 THE SECOND PART 
 
 TEAGEDY OF FAUST.
 
 Aeiel. 
 
 Emperor. 
 
 Fool (Mephistophdes'). 
 
 Chancellor. 
 
 DRAMATIS PEESON.E. 
 
 FArsT. 
 
 Mepuistopheles in various disguises. 
 
 ALSO IN 
 
 Act I. 
 
 Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 Treasurer, 
 
 Mai;shal. 
 
 Astrologer. 
 
 Various Ladies. Gentlemen, and Pages of the Court. Also numerous 
 
 male and female masks. 
 Scene. Chiedy in the different apartments and Pleasure Garden of 
 
 the Imperial Palace. 
 
 Act II. 
 
 Famulus. I Wagner. 
 
 BaCCALAUREUS. I HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Numerous mythical personages and monsters appearing in the Classical 
 
 Walpurgis Night. 
 Scene. Faust's Study ; afterwards the Pharsaliau Plains. 
 
 Act III. 
 
 Helen. Euphorion, Helen's son. 
 
 Phorktad (BTephistophfles). Paxthalis and Chorus of Trojan 
 
 Lyncecs, the watchman. wome?n. 
 
 Scene. At first the supposed Palace of Menelaus in Sparta : after- 
 wards the courtyard of a mediaeval castle, and finally a rocky dell. 
 
 Act IV. 
 
 The three mighty men : Bully, Havequick, and Holdfast 
 Speedquick. 
 
 The Emperor, and other OfiBcers of his Court, as in Act I . 
 Scene. A high mountainous country and the adjacent neighbourhood. 
 
 Act V. 
 Baucis. The Four Gray Women : Want, 
 
 Philemon. Guilt, Care, and Need. 
 
 A Wanderer. Lemures. 
 
 Lynceus. a Penitent, formerly Margaret. 
 
 Dr. Marianus. 
 Chorus of Angels and Penitents and various Heavenly characters. 
 Scene. The neighbourhood of Faust's Palace, afterwards rocky 
 heights and the higher regions of the sky.
 
 PART II. 
 
 ACT THE FIRST. 
 
 Ä pleasing landscape. 
 
 Faust reclining upon flowery turf, 
 
 restless, seeking sleep. 
 
 TWILIGHT. 
 
 Circle of spirits, hovering, flit around ; — 
 Graceful, tiny forms. 
 
 ARIEL. 
 
 Song, accompanied by JEolian harps. 
 
 When, in vernal showers descending, 
 
 Blossoms gently veil the earth, 
 
 When the fields' green wealth, iip-tending, 
 
 Gleams on all of mortal birth : 
 
 Tiny elves, where help availeth, 5 
 
 Large of heart, theie fly apace ; 
 
 Pity they whom grief assaileth, 
 
 Be he holy, he he base. 
 
 Ye round this head on airy wing careering, 
 
 Attend, in noble Elfin giiise appearing ; 10 
 
 Assuage the cruel strife that rends his heart, 
 
 The burning shaft remove of keen remorse. 
 
 From rankling horror cleanse his inmost part : 
 
 Four are the pauses of the nightly course ; 
 
 Them, without rest, fill up witli kindly art. 15 
 
 And first his head upon cool pillow lay, 
 
 Then liathe ye him in dew from Lethe's stream ; 
 
 Tlis limbs, cramp-stiff"en'd, will more freely play. 
 
 If sleep-refreshed he wait morn's wakening beam^ 
 
 Perform the noljk^st Elfin-rite, 20 
 
 Restore ye him to the holy light !
 
 172 FAUST. [PiiiT H. 
 
 CHORUS 
 (singly, two or more, alternately and together). 
 Softly when warm gales are stealing 
 O'er the green-environed ground, 
 Twilight sheddeth all-concealing 
 
 Mists and balmy odours round : 25 
 
 Whispers low sweet peace to mortals, 
 Eocks the heart to childlike rest, 
 And of day-light shuts the portals 
 To these eyes, with care oppressed. 
 Night hath now descended darkling, 30 
 
 Holy star is linked to star ; 
 Sovereign fires, or faintly sparkling, 
 Glitter near and shine afar ; 
 Glitter here lake-mirror'd, yonder 
 Shine adown the clear night sky ; 35 
 
 Sealing bliss of perfect slumber, 
 Eeigns the moon's full majesty. 
 Now the hours are cancelled ; sorrow, 
 Happiness, have passed away : 
 
 Whole thou shalt be on the morroAv ! 40 
 
 Feel it ! Trust the new-born day ! 
 Swell the hills, green grow the valleys. 
 In the dusk ere breaks the morn ; 
 And in silvery w^avelets dallies, 
 
 With the wind, the ripening corn. 45 
 
 Cherish hope, let naught appall thee ! 
 Mark the East, -with, splendour dyed ! 
 Slight the fetters that enthrall thee ; 
 Fling the shell of sleep aside ! 
 
 Gird thee for the high endeavour ; 50 
 
 Shun the crowd's ignoble ease ! 
 Fails the noble spirit never. 
 Wise to think, and prompt to seize. 
 (A tremendous tumult announces the uprising of the Sun.^} 
 
 ARIEL. 
 
 Hark I the horal tempest nears ! 
 
 Sounding but for spirit ears, 55 
 
 Lo ! the new-born day appears ;
 
 Act I] FAUST. 173 
 
 Clang the rocky portals, climb 
 
 Phoäbus' wheels with thiuid'rous chime: 
 
 Breaks with tuneful noise the light ! 
 
 Blare of trumpet, clarion sounding, 60 
 
 Eye-sight dazing, ear astounding ! 
 
 Hear not the unheard ; take flight ! 
 
 Into petaled blossoms glide 
 
 Deeper, deeper, still to bide, 
 
 In the clefts, 'neath thickets ! ye, 65 
 
 If it strike you, deaf will be. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Life's piTlses reawakened freshly bound. 
 The mild ethereal twilight fain to greet. 
 Thou, Earth, this night wast also constant found. 
 And, newly-quickened, breathing at my feet, 70 
 
 Beginnest now to gird me with delight ; 
 A strong resolve dost rouse, with noble heat 
 Aye to press on to being's sovereign height. 
 The world in glimmering dawn still folded lies ; 
 With thousand- voiced life the woods resound ; 75 
 Mist-wreaths the valley shroud ; yet from the skies 
 Sinks heaven's clear radiance to the depths profound ; 
 And bough and branch from dewy chasms rise. 
 Where they had drooped erewhile in slumber ftirled ; 
 Earth is enamelled with unnumber'd dyes, 80 
 
 Leaflet and flower with dew-drops are impearled ; 
 Around me everywhere is paradise. 
 
 Gaze now aloft ! Each mountain's giant height 
 
 The solemn hour announces, herald- wise ; 
 
 They early may enjoy the eternal light, 85 
 
 To us below which later finds its way. 
 
 Now are the Alpine slopes and valleys dight 
 
 With the clear radiance of the new-born day, 
 
 Which, downward, step by step, steals on apace. — 
 
 It T)lazcs forth, — and, blinded by the ray, 90 
 
 With aching eyes, alas ! I veil my face. 
 
 Ho when a hope, the heart hath long held fast, 
 
 Trustful, still striving towards its highest soal, 
 
 Fulfilment's portals open finds at last ; — 
 
 Sudden from those eternal depths doth roll 95
 
 1 74 FAUST. [Pakt II. 
 
 An over-powcriiig flame ; — we stand aghast ! 
 
 The torch of life to kindle we were fain ; — 
 
 A fire-sea, — what a fire ! — doth round us close ; 
 
 Love is it ? Is it hate ? with joy and pain, 
 
 In alternation vast, that round us glows ? 100 
 
 iSo that to earth we turn our wistful gaze, 
 
 In childhood's veil to shroud us once again I 
 
 So let the sun behind me pour its rays ! 
 
 The cataract, through rocky cleft that roars, 
 
 I view, with growing rapture and amaze. 105 
 
 From fall to fall, with eddying shock, it pours, 
 
 In thousand torrents to the depths below, 
 
 Aloft in air up-tossing showers of spray. 
 
 But see, in splendour burs-ting from the storm, 
 
 Arches itself the many-coloured bow, 110 
 
 An ever-changeful, yet continuous form. 
 
 Now drawn distinctly, melting now away, 
 
 Diflusing dewy coolness all around ! 
 
 Man's eflbrts there are glassed, his toil and strife ; 
 
 Reflect, more true the emblem will be found : 115 
 
 This bright reflected glory pictures life ! 
 
 Imperial Palace. Throne-Boom. 
 Council of State, in expectation of the Emperor. 
 
 Trumpets. 
 
 Enter courtiers of every grade, splendidly attired. 
 
 The Emperor ascends the throne; to the right 
 
 the Astrologer. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 I greet you, trusty friends and dear, 
 
 Assembled thus from far and wide ! — • 
 
 I see the wise man at my side. 
 
 But wherefore is the fool not here? 12Q 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Entangled in thy mantle's flow. 
 He tripped upon the stair below ; 
 The mass of fat they bare away. 
 If dead or drunken — who can say ?
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 175 
 
 SECOND PAGE. 
 
 Forthwith another comes apace, 125 
 
 With wondrous speed to take his place ; 
 
 Costly, yet so grotesque his gear, 
 
 All start amazed as he draws near. 
 
 Crosswise the guards before his face, 
 
 Entrance to bar, their halberds hold — 130 
 
 Yet there he is, the fool so bold. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 (Jcneeling before the throne). 
 
 What is accursed and gladly hailed ? 
 
 What is desired and chased away ? 
 
 What is upbraided and assailed ? 
 
 What wins protection every day ? 135 
 
 Whom darest thou not summon here ? 
 
 Whose name doth plaudits still command? 
 
 ^\'hat to thy throne now draweth near? 
 
 What from this place itself hath banned ? 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 For this time thou thy words mayst spare ! 140 
 
 This is no place for riddles, friend ; 
 
 They are these gentlemen's affair. — 
 
 Solve them ! an ear I'll gladly lend. 
 
 My old fool's gone, far, far away, I fear ; 
 
 Take thou his place, come, stand beside me here ! 145 
 
 WJEPHiSTOPHELES ascends and places himself at the Emperor's 
 
 left. 
 
 Murmur of the crowd. 
 
 Here's a new fool — for plague anew ! 
 Whence cometh he ? — How passed he through ? 
 The old one fell — he squander'd hath. — 
 He was a tub — now 'tis a lath. — 
 
 emperor. 
 So now, my friends, beloved and leal, 150 
 
 Be welcome all, from near and far ! 
 Ye meet 'neath an auspicious star ; 
 For us above are written joy and weal.
 
 176 FAUST. [Part II. 
 
 But tell me wherefore, on this day, 
 
 W hen we all care would cast away, 155 
 
 And don the masker's quaint array, 
 
 And naught desire but to enjoy, 
 
 Should we with state affairs ourselves annoy ? 
 
 But if ye think it so must be indeed, 
 
 Why, well and good, let us forthwith proceed ! 160 
 
 CHANCELLOR. 
 
 The highest virtue circles halo-wise 
 
 Our Caesar's brow ; virtue, which from the throne, 
 
 He validly can exercise alone : 
 
 Justice ! — What all men love and prize, 
 
 What all demand, desire, and sorely want, 165 
 
 It lies with him, this to the folk to grant. 
 
 But ah ! what help can intellect command, 
 
 Goodness of heart, or willingness of hand. 
 
 When fever saps the state with deadly power. 
 
 And mischief breedeth mischief, hour by hour ? 170 
 
 To him who doT\Tiward from this height supreme 
 
 Views the wide realm, 'tis like a troubled dream. 
 
 Where the deformed deformity o'ersways. 
 
 Where lawlessness, through law, the tyrant plays. 
 
 And error's ample world itself displays. 175 
 
 One steals a woman, one a steer. 
 
 Lights from the altar, chalice, cross. 
 
 Boasts of his deed full many a year, 
 
 Unscathed in body, without harm or loss. 
 
 Now to the hall accusers throng ; 180 
 
 On cushioned throne the judge presides ; 
 
 Surging meanwhile in eddying tides, 
 
 Confusion waxes fierce and strong. 
 
 He may exult in crime and shame, 
 
 Who on accomplices depends ; 185 
 
 Guilty ! the verdict they proclaim. 
 
 When Innocence her cause defends. 
 
 So will the world succumb to ill. 
 
 And what is worthy perish quite ; 
 
 How then may grow the sense which still 190 
 
 Instructs us to discern the right ?
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 177 
 
 E'en the riglit-mlnded man, in time, 
 To briber and to flatterer j-ields ; 
 The judge, who cannot punish crime, 
 
 Joins with the culprit whom he shiekls. — 195 
 
 I've painted black, yet fain had been 
 A veil to draw before the scene. 
 Pause. 
 Measures must needs be taken ; when 
 All injure or are injured, then 
 E'en Majesty becomes a prey. 200 
 
 FIELD MARSHAL. 
 
 In these wild days what tumults reign ! 
 
 Each smitten is and smites again, 
 
 Deaf to command, wdll none obey. 
 
 The burgher, safe behind his wall, 
 
 Within his rocky nest, the knight, 205 
 
 Against us have conspired, and all 
 
 Firmly to hold their own unite. 
 
 Impatient is the hireling now. 
 
 With vehemence he claims his due ; 
 
 And did we owe him naught, I trow, 210 
 
 OiF he would run, nor bid adieu. 
 
 Who thwarts what fondly all expect. 
 
 He hath disturbed a hornet's nest ; 
 
 The empire which they should protect, 
 
 It lieth plundered and oppress'd. 215 
 
 Their furious rage may none restrain ; 
 
 Already half the world's undone ; 
 
 Abroad there still are kings who reign — 
 
 None thinks 'tis his concern, not one. 
 
 TREASURER. 
 
 Who will depend upon allies ! 220 
 
 For us their promised subsidies 
 
 Like conduit-water, will not flow. 
 
 Say, Sire, through your dominions vast 
 
 To whom hath now possession passed ! 
 
 Some upstart, whoresoo'er we go, 225 
 
 Keeps house, and independent reigns ; 
 
 We must look on, he holds his own ; 
 
 So many rights away we've thrown,
 
 178 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 That for ourselves no right remains. 
 
 On so-called parties in the state 230 
 
 There's no reliance, now-a-days ; 
 
 They may deal out or blame or praise, 
 
 Indificrent are love and hate. 
 
 The Ghihcllinc as well as Guelph 
 
 Eetire, that they may live at ease ! 235 
 
 "Who helps his neighbour now ? Plimself 
 
 Each hath enough to do to please. 
 
 Barred are the golden gates ; while each 
 
 Scrapes, snatches, gathers all within his reach — 
 
 Empty, meanwhile, our chest remains. 240 
 
 STEWARD. 
 
 AVhat worry must I, also, bear ! 
 
 Our aim each day is still to spare — 
 
 And more each day we need ; my pains, 
 
 Daily renewed, are never o'er. 
 
 The cooks lack nothing ; — deer, wild-boar, 245 
 
 Stags, hares, fowls, turkeys, ducks and geese, — 
 
 Tribute in kind, sure payment, these 
 
 Come fairly in, and none complains. 
 
 But now at last wine fails ; and if of yore 
 
 Up-piled upon the cellar-floor, 250 
 
 Cask rose on cask, a goodly store, 
 
 El om the best slopes and vintage ; now 
 
 The swilling of our lords, I trow, 
 
 Unceasing, drains the very lees. 
 
 E'en the Town-council must give out 255 
 
 Its liquor ; — bowls and cups they seize. 
 
 And 'neath the table lies the drunken rout 
 
 Now must I pay, whate'er betides ; 
 
 Me the Jew spares not ; he provides 
 
 Anticipation-bonds which feed 260 
 
 Each year on that which must succeed ; 
 
 The swine are never fattened now ; 
 
 Pawned is the pillow or the bed. 
 
 And to the table comes fore-eaten bread. 
 
 EMPEROR 
 
 (^aftcr some reflection, to Mephistopheles). 
 Say, fool, another grievance knowest thou? 265
 
 A(JT I.J FAUST. 179 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I, nowise. On this circling pomp to gaze, 
 
 On thee and thine ! There can reliance fail 
 
 Where majesty resistless sways, 
 
 And ready power makes foemen quail ? 
 
 Where loyal will, through reason strong, 270 
 
 And prowess, manifold, unite, 
 
 What could together join for wrong, 
 
 For darkness, where such stars give light ? 
 
 Murmur of the Crowd. 
 He is a knave — ^lie comprehends — 
 
 He lies — while lying serves his ends— 275 
 
 Full well I know — what lurks behind — 
 What next ? — Some scheme is in the wind I — 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 Where is not something wanting here on earth ? 
 
 Here this, — there that : of gold is here the dearth. 
 
 It cannot from the floor he scrap'd, 'tis true ; 280 
 
 But what lies deepest wisdom brings to view. 
 
 In mountain-veins, walls underground, 
 
 Is gold, both coined and uncoined, to be found. 
 
 And if ye ask me, — bring it forth who can ? 
 
 Spirit- and nature-power of gifted man. 285 
 
 CHANCELLOR. 
 
 Nature and spirit — christians ne'er should hear 
 
 Such words, with peril fraught and fear. 
 
 These words doom atheists to the fire. 
 
 Nature is öin, spirit is devil ; they. 
 
 Between them, doul)t beget, their progeny, 290 
 
 Hermaphrodite, mis-shapen, dire. 
 
 Not so with us ! Within our Caesar's land 
 
 Two orders have arisen, two alone, 
 
 Who worthily support his ancient tlirone : 
 
 Clergy and knights, who fearless stand, 295 
 
 Bulwarks 'gainst every storm, and they 
 
 Take church and state, as their appropriate pay 
 
 Through lawless men, the vulgar lierd 
 
 To opposition have of late been stirred ; 
 
 The heretics these are, the wizards, who 300 
 
 The city ruin and the country too. 
 
 N 2
 
 180 FAUST. [Past H. 
 
 With thj' TdoIcI jests, to this high sphere. 
 
 Such miscreants wilt smuggle in ; 
 
 Hearts reprobate to you are dear ; 
 
 They to the fool are near of kin. 305 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Herein your learned men I recognise ! 
 
 AVhat you touch not, miles distant from you lies ; 
 
 What you grasp not, is naught in sooth to you ; 
 
 What you count not, cannot you deem be true ; 
 
 Wliat you weigh not, that hath for you no weight ; 310 
 
 What you coin not, you're sure is counterfeit. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Therewith our needs are not one whit the less. 
 
 Wliat meanest thou with this thy Lent-address ? 
 
 I'm tired of this eternal If and How. 
 
 'Tis gold we lack ; so good, procure it thou ! 315 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I'll furnish more, ay, more than all you ask. 
 
 Though light it seem, not easy is the task. 
 
 There lies the gold, but to procure it thence, 
 
 That is the art : who knoweth to commence ? 
 
 Only consider, in those days of terror, 320 
 
 When human floods swamped land and folk together, 
 
 How every one, how great soe'er his fear. 
 
 All that he treasured most, hid there or here ; 
 
 So was it 'neath the mighty Roman's sway, 
 
 So on till yesterday, ay, till to-day : 325 
 
 That all beneath the soil still buried lies — - 
 
 The soil is Caesar's, his shall be the prize. 
 
 TREASURER. 
 
 Now for a fool he speaketh not amiss ; 
 
 Our Caesar's ancient right, in sooth, was this. 
 
 CHANCELLOR. 
 
 Satan for you spreads golden snares ; 'tis clear, 330 
 
 Something not right or pious worketh here. 
 
 STEWARD. 
 
 To US at court if welcome gifts he bring, 
 A little wrong is no such serious thing.
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 181 
 
 FIELD JIAKSHAL. 
 
 Shrewd is the fool, he bids what all desire ; 
 
 The soldier, whence it comes, will not inquire. 335 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Yon think yourselves, perchance, deceived by me ; 
 
 Ask the Astrologer ! This man is he ! 
 
 Circle round circle, hour and house, he knows. — 
 
 Then tell us, how the heavenly aspect shows. 
 Murmur of the crowd. 
 Two rascals — each to other known — 340 
 
 Phantast and fool — So near the throne — 
 The old old song, — now trite with age — 
 The fool still prompts — while speaks the sage — 
 
 ASTROLOGER 
 
 (spealcs, Mephistopheles prompts). 
 The sun himself is purest gold ; for pay 
 And favour serves the herald. Mercury ; 345 
 
 Dame Venus hath bewitched you from above, 
 Early and late, she looks on you with love ; 
 Chaste Luna's humour varies hour by hour ; 
 Mars, though he strike not, threats you with his power ; 
 And Jupiter is still the fairest star ; 350 
 
 Saturn is great, small to the eye and far ; 
 As metal him we slightly venerate. 
 Little in worth, though ponderous in weight. 
 Now when with Sol fair Luna doth unite. 
 Silver with gold, cheerful the world and bright ! 355 
 
 Then easy 'tis to gain whate'er one seeks ; 
 Parks, gardens, palaces, and rosy cheeks ; 
 These things procures this highly learned man. 
 He can accomplish what none other can. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Double, methinks, his accents ring, 360 
 
 And yet they no conviction bring. 
 
 Murmur. 
 Of what avail ! — a worn-out tale — 
 Calendery — and chemistry — 
 I the false word — full oft have heard— 
 And as of yore — we're hoax'd once mure 365
 
 182 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The grand discovery they misprize, 
 
 As, in amaze, they stand around ; 
 
 One prates of gnomes and sorceries, 
 
 Another of the sable hound. 
 
 What matters it, though witlings rail, 370 
 
 Though one his suit 'gainst witchcraft press, 
 
 If his sole tingle none the less, 
 
 If his sure footing also fail? 
 
 Ye of all swaying Nature feel 
 
 The secret working, never-ending, 375 
 
 And, from her lowest depths up-tending, 
 
 E'en now her living trace doth steal. 
 
 If sudden cramps your limbs surprise. 
 
 If all uncanny seem the spot — 
 
 There dig and delve, but dally not ! 380 
 
 There lies the fiddler, there the treasure lies I 
 
 Murmur. 
 Like lead it lies my foot about — 
 Cramp'd is my arm — 'tis only gout — 
 Twitchings I have in my great toe — 
 Down all my back strange pains I know — 385 
 Such indications make it clear 
 That sumless treasuries are here. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 To work — the time for flight is past. — 
 
 Put to the test your frothy lies ! 
 
 These treasures bring before our eyes ! 390 
 
 Sceptre and sword aside I'll cast. 
 
 And with these royal hands, indeed, 
 
 If thou lie not, to work proceed. 
 
 Thee, if thou lie, I'll send to hell ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Thither to find the way I know full well ! — 395 
 
 Yet can I not enough declare, 
 
 What wealth unown'd lies waiting everywhere : 
 
 The countrjTuan, who ploughs the land^ 
 
 Gold-crocks upturneth with the mould ; 
 
 Nitre he seeks in lime-walls old, 400
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 183 
 
 And findeth, in liis meagre hand, 
 
 Scared, yet rejoiced, rouleaus of gold. 
 
 How many a vault upblown must be, 
 
 Into what clefts, what shafts, must he 
 
 Who doth of hidden treasure know, 405 
 
 Descend, to reach the world below ! 
 
 In cellars vast, impervious made, 
 
 Goblets of gold he sees displayed, 
 
 Dishes and plates, row after row ; 
 
 There beakers, rich with rubies, stand; 410 
 
 And would he use them, close at hand 
 
 Well stored the ancient moisture lies ; 
 
 Yet — would ye him who knoweth, trust? — 
 
 The staves long since have turned to dust, 
 
 A tartar cask their place supplies ! 415 
 
 Not gold alone and jewels rare, 
 
 Essence of noblest wines are there, 
 
 In night and horror veiled. The wise, 
 
 Unwearied here pursues his quest. 
 
 To search by day, that were a jest ; 420 
 
 'Tis darkness that doth harbour mysteries. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 What can the dark avail ? Look thou to that ! 
 
 If aught have worth, it cometh to the light. 
 
 Who can detect the rogue at dead of night ? 
 
 Black are the cows, and grey is every cat. 425 
 
 These pots of heavy gold, if they be there — ■ 
 
 Come, drive thy plough, upturn them with thy share ! 
 
 MEPHISTO PHELES. 
 
 Take spado and hoe thyself; — dig on — 
 
 Great shalt thou be through peasant toil — 
 
 A herd of golden calves anon 430 
 
 Themselves shall tear from out the soil ; 
 
 Then straight, with rapture newly bom, 
 
 Thyself thou canst, thy sweet-heart wilt adorn. 
 
 A sparkling gem, lustrous, of varied dye. 
 
 Beauty exalts as well as majesty. 435 
 
 KMPKROR. 
 
 To work, to work ! IIow long wilt linger ?
 
 184 FAUST. [Päbt IL 
 
 MErUISTOPHELES. 
 
 Sire, 
 Eelax, I pray, siicli vcliement desire ! 
 First let us see the motley, joyous, show ! 
 A mind distraught conducts not to the goal. 
 First must we calmness win through self-control, 440 
 
 Through things above deserve what lies below. 
 Who seeks for goodness, must himself be good ; 
 Who seeks for joy, must moderate his blood ; 
 Who wine desires, the luscious grape must press; 
 Who craveth miracles, more faith possess. 445 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 So be the interval in gladness spent ! 
 Ash-wednesday cometh, to our hearts' content. 
 Meanwhile we'll solemnize, whate'er befall, 
 More merrily the joyous Carnival. 
 
 (Trumjpets. Exeunt.^ 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 That merit and success are link'd together, 450 
 
 This to your fools occurreth never ; 
 
 Could they appropriate the wise man's stone, 
 
 That, not the wise man, they would prize alone. 
 
 A spacious Hall, with adjoining apartments^ arranged and 
 decorated for a masquerade. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Think not we hold in Germany our revels ; 
 
 WTiere dances reign of death, of fools and devils ; 455 
 
 You doth a cheerful festival invite. 
 
 Our Ctesar, Eomeward turning his campaign, 
 
 Hath — for his profit, and for your delight — 
 
 Crossed the high Alps, and won a fair domain. 
 
 Before the sacred feet bowed do-\vn, 460 
 
 His right to reign he first hath sought. 
 
 And when he went to fetch his crowna, 
 
 For us the fool's cap hath he brought. 
 
 Now all of us are born anew ; 
 
 And every world-experienced man 465 
 
 Draws it in comfort over head and ears ; 
 
 A fool beneath it, he appears,
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 185 
 
 And plays the sage as best he can, 
 
 I see them, how they form iu groiij^s, 
 
 Kow they pair off, now wavering sever; 470 
 
 Choir now with choir together troops, 
 
 Within, without, unwearied ever I 
 
 The world remaineth as of yore, 
 
 With fooleries, ten thousand score, 
 
 The one great fool, for ever more ! 475 
 
 GARDEN-GIRLS. 
 
 Song, accompanied by mandolins. 
 That to us ye praise may render. 
 Decked are we in festive sort ; 
 Girls of Florence, we the splendour 
 Follow of the German court. 
 
 Many a flower, we. Flora's vassals, 480 
 
 In our dark brown tresses wear ; 
 Silken threads and silken tassels, 
 Play their part and grace our hair. 
 
 For we hold ourselves deserving, 
 
 All your praises, full and clear ; 485 
 
 Since our flowers, their bloom preserving, 
 Blossom through the live-long year. 
 
 Cuttings divers-hued were taken. 
 
 And arranged with symmetry ; 
 
 Piece by piece they mirth awaken, 490 
 
 Yet the whole attracts the eye. 
 
 Garden-girls and fair to look on, 
 
 Fittingly we play our part ; 
 
 For the natural in woman, 
 
 Closely is allied to art. 495 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Now from baskets richly laden. 
 
 Which, upon her head and arm, 
 
 Beareth every lovely maiden. 
 
 Let each choose what each doth charm j 
 
 Hasten ye, till bower and alley _ 500 
 
 Aspect of a garden bears ! 
 
 Worthy are the crowds to dally 
 
 Round the sellers and their wares.
 
 186 FAUST. [Pabt II. 
 
 GARDEKT-GIRLS. 
 
 In this mart, ^-our flowers unscreening, 
 
 Cheapen not, as them you show ! 505 
 
 With brief words, hut full of meaning, 
 
 What he hath, let each one know, 
 
 OLIVE-BRANCH (joith fruit), 
 I of blossoms envy none, 
 Quarrels studiously I shun ; 
 
 They against my nature are : 510 
 
 Marrow of the land, in sooth 
 Pledge I am of peace and ruth, 
 To all regions near and far. 
 Be it my good fortune now 
 To adorn the loveliest brow. 515 
 
 WHEAT-WREATH (goHen). 
 Ceres' gifts, sweet peace expressing, 
 Would enhance thy charms ; be wise 1 
 What is useful, rich in blessing, 
 As thy best adornment prize ! 
 
 FANCY-GARLAXD. 
 
 Coloured flowers, from moss out-peering, 520 
 
 Mallow-like, a wondrous show — 
 Not in nature's guise appearing, 
 Fashion 'tis that makes them blow. 
 
 FAXCY-NOSKGAY. 
 
 Theophastus would not venture 
 
 Kames to give to flowers like these. 525 
 
 Yet, though some perchance may censure 
 
 Many still I hope to please. ■ 
 
 Who to wreathe her locks permits me 
 
 Straight shall win a heightened grace. 
 
 Or who near her heart admits me, 530 
 
 Finding on her breast a place. 
 
 CHALLENGE. 
 
 Be your motley fancies moulded, 
 
 For the fashion of the day. ' 
 
 Kature never yet unfolded 
 
 Wonders half so strange as they : 535
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 187 
 
 Golden bells, green stalks, forth glancing 
 
 From rich locks, their charm, enhancing. 
 But we — • 
 
 ROSE-BUDS. 
 
 hide from mortal eyes. 1^ 
 
 Happy he who finds the prize ! 
 When draws nigh once more the summer, 540 
 Eose-buds greet the bright new-comer. — 
 "Who such happiness would miss ? 
 Promise, then fulfilment, — this 
 Is the law in Flora's reign, 
 
 Swayeth too sense, heart, and brain. 545 
 
 Hie floicer-giiis tastefully arrange their wares under greeny 
 leafy arcades. 
 
 GARDENERS. 
 
 Song, accompanied by Tlieorhos. 
 Mark the blossoms calmly sprouting, 
 Charmingly to wreath your brow ; 
 Fruits will not deceive, I trow, 
 Taste, enjoy them, nothing doubting. 
 Magnum bonums, cherries, peaches, 550 
 
 Faces offer sun-embrown'd : 
 Buy, poor judge the eye is found ; — 
 Heed what tongue, what palate teaches. 
 Luscious fruits to taste invite them 
 Who behold these rich supplies. 555 
 
 We o'er roses poetize ; — 
 As for apples, we must bite them. 
 Let us now, with your good pleasure, 
 Join your youthful choir, in pairs ; 
 And beside your flowery wares, 560 
 
 Thus adorn our riper treasure. 
 Under leaf-adorned bowers, 
 'Mid the merry windings haste ; 
 Each will find what suits his taste ; 
 Buds or leafage, fruit or flowers. 565 
 
 Amid alternate songs, accompanied by guitars and TJieorbos^ 
 the two choruses proceed to arrange their wares, terrace- 
 wise, and to offer them for sale.
 
 188 FAUST. [Pabt n. 
 
 MOTHER and daughter. 
 Maiden, when thou cam'st to Hglit, 
 Full thy tender form of grace j 
 In its tiny hood bedight, 
 ** Lovely was thy infant face. 
 
 Then I thought of thee with pride 570 
 
 Of some wealthy youth the bride, 
 Taking as his wife thy place. 
 
 Ah ! full many a year in vain, 
 
 All unused away have passed ; 
 
 Of the suitors' motley train 575 
 
 Quickly hath gone by the last ! 
 
 Thou with one didst gaily dance, 
 
 One didst seek with quiet glance. 
 
 Or sly elbow-touch, to gain. 
 
 All the fetes that we might plan, 580 
 
 Vainly did we celebrate ; 
 
 Games of forfeit, or third man. 
 
 Fruitless were, they brought no mate ; 
 
 Many a fool 's abroad to-day. 
 
 Dear one, now thy charms display, 585 
 
 One thou may'st attach though late. 
 
 Girlish playfellows, young and beautiful, enter and join the 
 groups ; loud confidential chatting is heard. Fishers and 
 bird-catchers with nets, fishing-rods, limed twigs, and 
 other gear, enter and mingle with the maidens. Re- 
 ciprocal attempts to win, to catch, to escape, and hold 
 fast^ give occasion to most agreeable dialogues. 
 
 WOOD-CUTTERS 
 
 (enter, boisterous and uncouth^. 
 Place ! Give place ! 
 "We must have space I 
 Trees we level, 
 
 Do^NTi they fall, 590 
 
 Crashing to the ground ; 
 As we bear them forth, 
 Blows we deal around. 
 To our praise, be sure ; — 
 This proclaim aloud ; — 595
 
 FAUST. 189 
 
 Laboured not the boor, 
 
 Where were then the proud I 
 
 How in idless revel 
 
 Could they at their ease ! 
 
 Ivever then forget, — 600 
 
 If we did not sweat. 
 
 That ye all would freeze. 
 
 PUNCHINELLOES 
 
 (^awkward and foolish). 
 
 Fools are ye, poor hacks ! 
 
 Born with curved backs. 
 
 Prudent ones are we, 605 
 
 From all burdens free ; 
 
 For our greasy caps, 
 
 Our jerkins and our traps 
 
 We bear right easily. 
 
 Forthwith at our leisure, 610 
 
 We with slipper'd feet. 
 
 Saunter at our pleasure. 
 
 On through mart and street, 
 
 Standing still or going, 
 
 At each other crowing ; 615 
 
 When the folk around 
 
 Gather at the sound, 
 
 Slipping then aside, 
 
 Frolicking together. 
 
 Eel-like on we glide. 620 
 
 And we care not whether 
 
 Ye applaud or blame ; 
 
 To us 'tis all the same. 
 
 PAEASiTES (flattering — lustful). 
 Porters brave, and you, 
 
 Charcoal-burners true, 625 
 
 Kinsmen, ye indeed 
 Are the men we need. 
 
 Bowings low. 
 
 Assenting smiles, 
 
 Long-drawn phrases, 630 
 
 Crooked wiles,
 
 190 FAUST. [Paüt IL 
 
 Ponhlc-brcath, 
 
 That as yuu jileaso. 
 
 Blows hot or cold ; 
 
 AVhat profit these ? — 635 
 
 ^)o^^Tl from heaven 
 
 JNIust lire be given, 
 
 Vast, enormous, 
 
 If, to warm xis, 
 
 "We no coal had got, 640 
 
 Kor of logs a heap, 
 
 "Warm our hearth to keep, 
 
 Our furnace to make hot. 
 
 There is roasting. 
 
 There is brewing, • 645 
 
 There is toasting. 
 
 There is stewing. 
 
 Your true taster 
 
 Licks the dish ; 
 
 Sniffs the roast, 650 
 
 Forebodes the fish ; 
 
 These for great deeds make him able, 
 
 Seated at his patroi v's table. 
 
 DRUXKEX MAN (hardly conscious). 
 Naught to-day shall mar my pleasure I 
 Frank I feel myself and free ; 655 
 
 Cheerful songs and jovial leisure, 
 Both I hither bring with me ; 
 Therefore drink I ! Drink ye, drink ! 
 Strike your glasses ! Clink ye, clink ! 
 You behind there, join the fun ! 660 
 
 Strike your glasses ; so, 'tis done ! 
 
 Let my wife, shrill-tongued, assail me, 
 
 Sneering at my coloured vest. 
 
 And, despite my vaunting, hail me 
 
 Fool, like masquerader dressed ; 665 
 
 Still I'll drink ! Come drink ye, drink ! 
 
 Strike your glasses ! Clink ye, clink ! 
 
 Fools in motley, join the fun ! 
 
 Strike your glasses ; so, 'tis done !
 
 Act L] FAUST. 191 
 
 Here I'm blest, whoever chooses 670 
 
 Me, as erring, to upbraid : 
 
 If to score mine host refuses. 
 
 Scores the hostess, scores the maid ; 
 
 Always drink I ! drink ye, drink ! 
 
 Up my comrades ! clink ye, clink I 675 
 
 Each to other ! Join the fun ! 
 
 To my thinking now 'tis done ! 
 
 From this place there's now no flj'ing, 
 
 Here where pleasures are at hand ; 
 
 Let me lie, where I am lying, 680 
 
 For I can no longer stand. 
 
 CHORUS, 
 
 Brothers all, come drink ye, drink ! 
 
 One more toast, now clink ye, clink ! 
 
 Firmly sit on bench and board ! 
 
 'Neath the table lie who's floor'd ! 685 
 
 The Herald announces various poets, the Poet of Nature, 
 Court singers, and Bitter-singers, tender as well as enthu- 
 siastic. In the throng of comfetitors of every hind none 
 will allow the others to he heard. One sneaks past with 
 a few words. 
 
 SATIRIST. 
 
 Know ye what would me to-day, 
 The poet, most rejoice and cheer ? 
 If I dared to sing and say. 
 That which none would like to hear. 
 
 Poets of Night and of the Sepulchre send apologies, inasmuch 
 as they are engaged in a most interesting conversation 
 with a newly-arisen Vampnre, wherefrom a new kind of 
 poetry may perhaps he developed ; the Herald must 
 admit the excuse, and meanwhile summons the Greek 
 Mythology, lohich, though in modern masks, loses neither 
 character nor charm. 
 
 The Graces. 
 
 AGLAIA. 
 
 Charm we bring to life, and grace ; 690 
 
 In your gifts let both have place !
 
 192 FAUST. [Pabt U 
 
 HEGEMONY. 
 
 In receiving let the twain, 
 
 Preside ! 'Tis sweet our wish to gain. 
 
 EÜPHROSYNE. 
 
 And when benefits you own 
 
 Chiefly be these graces shown 1 695 
 
 The Fates. 
 
 ATROPOS. 
 
 I, the Eldest, am from yonder 
 Eealm invited, here to spin. 
 Much to think of, much to ponder, 
 Lieth life's frail thread within. 
 
 That it pliant be and tender, 700 
 
 Finest flax to choose be mine ; 
 That it even be and slender. 
 Must the cunning finger twine. 
 
 If of festive dance and pleasure 
 
 Ye too wantonly partake, 705 
 
 Think upon this thread's just measure ; 
 
 be cautious ! It may break ! 
 
 CLOTHO. 
 
 Know ye, to my guidance lately 
 
 They the fateful shears confide. 
 
 By our elder's doings greatly 710 
 
 None, in sooth, were edified. 
 
 Spinnings, to no issue tending. 
 
 Forth she drew to air and light ; 
 
 Threads of noblest promise rending, 
 
 Down she sent to realms of night. 715 
 
 While a novice still in reigning, 
 
 1 too err'd, in by-gone years ; 
 But to-day, myself restraining, 
 In the sheath I plunge my shears. 
 
 Fain I am to wear the bridle, 720 
 
 Kindly I this place survey ; 
 In these seasons, gay and idle, 
 Give your revelry full play 1
 
 Act L] FAUST. 193 
 
 LACHESI3. 
 
 Eeason's laws alone obeying, 
 
 Order was to me decreed, 725 
 
 Mine the will that, ever-swaying, 
 
 Never errs though over-speed. 
 
 Threads are coming ; threads are going ; 
 
 Each one in its course I guide, 
 
 None permit I over-flowing, 730 
 
 From its skein to swerve aside. 
 
 Were I only once to slumber ! — 
 
 For the world my spirit quakes ; 
 
 Years we measure, hours we number. 
 
 And the hank the weaver takes. 735 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 How versed so e'er in lore of ancient fame, 
 
 Those who are coming now ye would not know ; 
 
 Gazing upon these workers of much woe, 
 
 Them, as your welcome guests, ye would proclaim. 
 
 The Furies these, — none will believe us ; — kind, 740 
 
 Graceful in figure, pretty, young, and fair ; 
 
 If their acquaintance ye would make, beware ; 
 
 How serpent-like such doves can wound, ye'll find. 
 
 Cunning they are, yet now, when every clown 
 
 Boastful, his failings shuns not to proclaim, 745 
 
 They too, desiring not angelic fame. 
 
 Own themselves plagues of country and of town. 
 
 ALECTO. 
 
 "What help for you ? Since young we are and fair. 
 
 Ye in such flattering kittens will confide ! 
 
 Has any here a sweet-heart to his side, 750 
 
 Stealing, we gain his ear, until we dare 
 
 To tell him, face to face, she may be caught 
 
 Winking at this or that one ; that 'tis plain. 
 
 She halts, is crooked-backed, and dull of brain, 
 
 And, if to him betrothed, is good for naught. 755 
 
 To vex the Ijrido doth also tax our skill : 
 
 We tell what slighting things, some weeks agone. 
 
 Her lover said of her, to sucli an one. — 
 
 They're reconciled, yet something rankles still. 
 
 o
 
 19-t FAUST. [Part U. 
 
 MEG AR A. 
 
 That's a mere jest ! Let them be mated, then 760 
 
 I go to work, and e'en the fairest joy, 
 
 In every case, can through caprice destroy. 
 
 The hours are changeful, changeful too are men. 
 
 What was desired, once grasp'd, its charm hath lost ; 
 
 "Who lirnily holds the madly longed-for prize, 765 
 
 Straight for some other blessing fondly sighs ; 
 
 The sun he flieth, and would warm the frost. 
 
 Kow to arrange, I know, in such affairs ; 
 
 And here Asmodi lead, my comrade true. 
 
 At the right time mischief abroad to strew ; 770 
 
 And so destroy the human race in pairs. 
 
 TISIPHONE. 
 
 Poison, steel, I mix and whet, 
 
 Words abjuring, — for the traitor; — 
 
 Lov'st thou others, sooner, later, 
 
 Euin shall o'erwhelm thee yet. 775 
 
 All transform'd to gall and foam 
 
 Is the moment's sweetest feeling ! 
 
 Here no higgling, here no dealing ! 
 
 Sinned he hath, his sin comes home. 
 
 Let none say : " Forgiveness cherish !" 780 
 
 To the rocks my cause I bring ; 
 
 Hark ! Eevenge, the echoes ring ! 
 
 Who betrayeth, he must perish ! 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Now may it please you, to retire behind ; 
 
 For what now cometh is not of your kind. — 785 
 
 Ye see a mountain press the crowd among. 
 
 Its flanks with brilliant carpet proudly hung ; 
 
 W^ith lengthen'd tusks, and serjient-trunk below, 
 
 A mystery, but I the key will show. 
 
 Thron'd on his neck a gentle lady rides, 790 
 
 With a fine wand his onward course she guides. 
 
 Aloft the other stands, of stately height. 
 
 Girt with a splendour that o'erpowers the sight ; 
 
 Beside him, chained, two noble dames draw near ; 
 
 Sad is the one, the other blithe of cheer ; 796
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 195 
 
 The one for freedom yearns, the other feels she's fiee. 
 Let them declare in turn who they may he ! 
 
 FEAR. 
 
 Torches, lamps, with lurid sheen, 
 
 Through the turmoil gleam around; 
 
 These deceitful forms between, 800 
 
 Fetters hold me lirmly bound. 
 
 Hence, vain laughter-loving brood I 
 
 I mistrust your senseless grin ! 
 
 All my foes, with clamour rude, 
 
 Strive to-night to hem me in. 805 
 
 Friend like foeman would betray me. 
 But his mask I recognise ; 
 There is one who fain would slay me, 
 Now, unmasked, away he hies. 
 
 Ah, how gladly would I wander 810 
 
 Hence, and leave this lower sphere ; 
 But destruction, threatening yonder, 
 Holds me 'twixt despair and fear. 
 
 HOPE. 
 
 Hail ! Beloved sisters, hail ! 
 
 If to-day and yesterday 815 
 
 Ye have loved this masking play, 
 
 Yet to-morrow, trite the tale. 
 
 Will your masks aside be thrown ; 
 
 And if, 'neath the torches' glare, 
 
 We no special joy have known, 820 
 
 Yet will we, in day-light fair. 
 
 Just according to our pleasure, 
 
 Now with others, now alone. 
 
 Wander forth o'er lawn and mead ; 
 
 Work at will, or take our leisure, 825 
 
 Careless live, exempt from need ; 
 
 And at last, we'll aye succeed. 
 
 Everywhere, as welcome guest. 
 
 Step we in, with easy mind ; 
 
 Confident that we the best 83P 
 
 Somewhere, certainly, may find. 
 
 2
 
 10r> FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 PRUDENCE. 
 
 Fear and hope, in chains thus guiding, 
 
 Tavo of man's chief foes, I bar 
 
 From the thronging crowds ; — dividing, 
 
 Clear tlie way ; — now saved yo are ! 835 
 
 I this live colosse am leading, 
 Which, tower-laden, as ye gaze, 
 Unfatigued is onward speeding. 
 Step by step, up steepest ways. 
 
 But, with broad and rapid pinion, 840 
 
 From the battlement on high, 
 Gazing on her wide dominion, 
 Turneth that divinity. 
 
 Fame, around her, bright and glorious, 
 
 Shining on all sides one sees : 845 
 
 Victory her name, — victorious 
 
 Queen of all activities. 
 
 ZOILO-THERSITES. 
 
 l^);ih ! Bah ! The very time I've hit ! 
 
 You all are wrong, no doubt of it ! 
 
 Yet what 1 make my special aim 850 
 
 Is victory, yon stately dame. 
 
 She, with her snowy wings, esteems 
 
 Herself an eagle, and still deems 
 
 That wheresoe'er she bends her sight, 
 
 Peoples and land are hers, by right ! 855 
 
 But, where a glorious deed is done, 
 
 31 y harness straight I buckle on ; 
 
 ^\ here high is low, and low is high. 
 
 The crooked straight, the straight awry — 
 
 Then only am I wholly sound : 860 
 
 So be it on this earthly round. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 So take thou then, thou ragged hound. 
 
 From my good staff, a master-blow ! 
 
 There crouch and wriggle, bending low ! 
 
 The double dwarfish form, behold, 865 
 
 Itself to a vile ball hath rolled !
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 197 
 
 The ball becomes an egg ! — strange wonder 1 
 
 It now dilates and bursts asunder : 
 
 Thence falleth a twin-pair to earth, 
 
 Adder and bat ; — a hideous birth ; 870 
 
 Forth in the dust one creeps, his brother 
 
 Doth darkling to the ceiling flee ; 
 
 Outside they haste to join each other — 
 
 The third I am not fain to be ! 
 
 3Iiirmur. 
 Come on ! Behind they're dancing — No, 875 
 
 Not I, from hence I fain would go — 
 Dost thou not feel the spectral rout 
 Is flitting everywhere about ? 
 It whistled right above my hair — 
 Close to my feet, — I felt it there — 880 
 
 No one is hurt — 'tis not denied, — 
 But we have all been terrified — 
 Wholly the frolic now is ended — 
 'Tis what the brutish pair intended. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Since on me, at festive masque, 885 
 
 Laid hath been the Herald's task, 
 
 At the doors I watch with care, 
 
 Lest aught harmful, unaware, 
 
 Creep into this joyous space ; 
 
 I nor waver, nor give place. 890 
 
 Yet I fear, the spectral brood, 
 
 Through the window may intrude. 
 
 And from trick and sorcery, 
 
 I know not how to keep you free. 
 
 First the dwarf awaken'd doubt, 895 
 
 Now streams in the spectral rout. 
 
 I would show you herald-wise, 
 
 What each figure signifies. 
 
 But what none can comprehend 
 
 I should strive to teach in vain. 900 
 
 All must help me to explain ! — 
 
 Through the crowd behold ye it wend ; — 
 
 A splendid car is borne along 
 
 By a team of four ; the throng
 
 108 FAUST. [Part II. 
 
 Is not parted, nor doth reign 905 
 
 'rinnnlt round the stately wain ; 
 
 Briglit it glitters from afar ; 
 
 .Shiuoth many a motley star, 
 
 As from magic-lantern cast ; 
 
 On it snorts with stormful blast. — 910 
 
 I needs must shudder ! Clear the way I 
 
 BOY-CHARIOTEER. 
 
 Stay j'our wings, ye coursers, stay ! 
 
 Ovra the bridle's wonted sway ! 
 
 Kein yourselves, as you I rein ; 
 
 \\ hen I prompt you, rush amain ! — 915 
 
 Honour we this festal ground. 
 
 See how press the folk around, 
 
 King in ring, with wondering eyes. — 
 
 Herald, as thy wont is, rise ; 
 
 From you ere we flee afar, 920 
 
 Tell our name, our meaning show 1 
 
 Since we allegories are, 
 
 'Tis thy duty us to know. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 I cannot guess how I should name thee ; 
 
 I to describe thee should prefer. 925 
 
 BOY- CHARIOTEER. 
 
 So, try it then ! 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 We must proclaim thee, 
 Firstly to be both young and fair ; 
 A half-grown boy ; — yet women own 
 They fain would see thee fully grown ; 
 A future wooer seemest thou to me, 930 
 
 A gay deceiver out and out to be. 
 
 BOY-CHARIOTEER. 
 
 Kot badly spoken ! Pray proceed ! 
 
 The riddle's cheerful meaning strive to read. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Thine eyes swart flash, thy jewelled bandlet glowing 
 Starlike, amid thy night-like hair; 935
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 199 
 
 And what a graceful robe dost wear, 
 
 Do^vn from thy shoulder to thy buskin flowing, 
 
 With purple hem and fringes rare ! 
 
 Thee as a girl one might misprize ; 
 
 Yet thou, for weal or woe, wouldst be, 940 
 
 E'en now, of worth in maidens' ejxs ; 
 
 Thee they would teach the ABC. 
 
 BOY-CHARIOTEER. 
 
 And he whose stately figure gleams 
 Enthroned upon his chariot wain ? 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 A monarch, rich and mild, he seems ; 945 
 
 Happy who may his grace obtain. 
 
 Henceforth they've naught for which to strive ! 
 
 His glance discerns if aught's amiss, 
 
 Greater his pleasure is to give. 
 
 Than to possess or wealth or bliss. 950 
 
 BOY-CHARIOTEER. 
 
 Suspend not here thy words, I pray, 
 Him thou more fully must pourtray. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 The noble none can paint. Yet there 
 
 Glows the round visage, hale and fair, 
 
 Full mouth, and blooming cheeks, descried 955 
 
 Beneath the turban's jewell'd pride ; 
 
 What case his mantle folds display ! 
 
 What of his bearing can I say ? 
 
 As ruler seems he known to me. 
 
 BOY-CHARIOTEER. 
 
 Plutus, the god of wealth is ho. 960 
 
 Hither he comes in royal state ; 
 Of him the emperor's need is great. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Tell of thyself the what and how to me I 
 
 BOY-CHARIOTEER. 
 
 I am profusion, I am Poesie ; 
 
 The bard am I, who to perfection tends 965
 
 200 FAUST. [Paut II. 
 
 ^^ heu freely lie his inner -wealth expends. 
 
 1 tuo have riches beyond measure, 
 
 And niatcli with riutns' wealth my treasure, 
 
 For liim adurn and quicken dance and show, 
 
 And wdiat he lacketh, that do I bestow. 970 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Boasting to thee new charm imparts. 
 Now show us something of thine arts ! 
 
 BOY-CHAPaOTEER. 
 
 See me but snap my fingers, lo ! 
 
 Around the car what splendours glow ! 
 
 A string of pearls forth leapeth here ; 975 
 
 (^Continually snapping.) 
 Take golden clasps for neck and ear ; 
 Combs too, and other precious things, 
 Cro^^-ns Avithout flaw, and jewell'd rings 1 
 Flamelets I scatter too, in play. 
 Awaiting where they kindle may. 980 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 How the good people snatch and seize ! 
 
 Almost the donor's self they squeeze. 
 
 As in a dream he gems doth rain, 
 
 In the wide space they snatch amain. 
 
 But — here new juggling meets mine eye : 985 
 
 "What one doth grasp so eagerly. 
 
 Doth prove, in sooth, a sorry prize ; 
 
 Away from him the treasure flies ; 
 
 The pearls are loosen'd from their band, 
 
 Now beetles crawl within his hand ; 990 
 
 He shakes them ofl', poor fool, instead, 
 
 Swarming, they buzz around his head ; 
 
 Others, in place of solid things. 
 
 Catch butterflies, wath lightsome wings. 
 
 Though vast his promises, the knave 995 
 
 To them but golden glitter gave ! 
 
 BOY-CHAPvlOTEER. 
 
 Masks, I remark, thou canst announce full well; 
 Only to reach the essence 'neath the shell,
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 201 
 
 Is not the Herald's courtly task ; 
 
 A sharper vision that dost ask. 1000 
 
 But I from every quarrel would \e free. — 
 
 Master, I speech and question turn to thee. 
 
 (Turning to Plutus.) 
 The storm-blast didst thou not confide 
 To me, of this four-yoked car ? 
 
 Lead I not well, as thou dost guide ? 1005 
 
 Where thou dost point, thence am I far ? 
 Have I not known, on daring wing 
 For thee the victor's palm to wring ? 
 Full often as for thee I've fought. 
 
 Still have I conquered ; and if now 1010 
 
 The laurel decorates thy brow, 
 Have not my hand and skill the chaplet wrought ? 
 
 PLUTUS. 
 
 If need there be, that I should witness bear, — 
 
 Soul of my soul, thee gladly I declare : 
 
 According to my will thou actest ever; 1015 
 
 Art richer than myself indeed. 
 
 To give thy service its due meed. 
 
 Before all cix)wns the laurel wreath I treasure. ^ 
 
 This truthful word let all men hear : 
 
 My son art thou, thee doth my soul hold dear. 1020 
 
 BOY-CHARIOTEER (tO the Crowd). 
 
 Now of my hand the choicest dower, 
 I've scatter'd in this festive hour ; 
 There glows on this or that one's head 
 A flame, which I abroad have shed ; 
 
 From one to other now it hies, 1025 
 
 To this one cleaves, from that one flies, 
 Seldom aloft its flames aspire ; 
 Sudden they gleam, with transient fire; 
 With many, ore they know the prize. 
 
 It mournfully bums out and dies. 1030 
 
 Clamour of Women. 
 
 lie yonder, on the chariot-van, 
 
 Is, without doubt, a charletan. 
 
 Behind him, crouching, is the clown, 
 
 By thirst and hunger so worn down,
 
 202 FAUST. [Part II. 
 
 Tho like was never seen till now; 1035 
 
 If pinch'd, he would not feel, 1 trow. 
 
 THE STARVELING. 
 
 Avannt, ye loathed women-kind ! 
 \\ ith you I ne'er a welcome find. — 
 AVhen ruled the hearth your thrifty dame. 
 Then Avaritia was my name; 1040 
 
 Then thi'ove our household well throughout ; 
 For much came in, and naught went out ! 
 Great was my zeal for chest and hin — 
 And that, forsooth, you call a sin ! 
 
 But in these later years, no more 1045 
 
 The wife is thrifty as of yore ; 
 She, like each tardy payer, o"\^'ns 
 Far more desires than golden cro^vns ; 
 This for her spouse much care begets ; 
 "Where'er he tumeth, there are debts; 1050 
 
 What she by spinning earns, she spends 
 On gay attire, and wanton friends ; 
 Better she feasts, and drinketh too 
 More wine, with her vile suitor crew : 
 "^That raised for me of gold the price. 1055 
 
 Kow, male of sex, I'm Avarice ! 
 
 Leader of the Women. 
 Dragon may still with dragon spare ; 
 It's cheat and lies at last, no more ! 
 He comes to rouse the men ; beware ! 
 Full troublesome they were before. 1060 
 
 WOMEN (all together). 
 
 The scarecrow ! Box his ears ! Make haste I 
 
 To threat us does the juggler dare ? 
 
 Us shall his foolish prating scare ? 
 
 The dragons are but wood and paste; 
 
 Press in upon him, do not spare ! 1065 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Kow, by my staff ! Keep quiet there ! 
 Yet scarcely needed is my aid. 
 See, in the quickly opened space. 
 How the grim monsters move apace I
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 203 
 
 Their pinions' donWe pair displayed! 1070 
 
 The dragons shake themselves in ire, 
 Scale-proof, their jaws exhaling fire — 
 The crowd recedes ; clear is the place. 
 
 (Plutus descends from the chariot.') 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 He steps helow, a king confessed ! 
 
 He nods, the dragons move ; the chest 1075 
 
 They from the chariot, in a trice. 
 
 Have lowered, with gold and avarice ; 
 
 Before his feet it standeth now : 
 
 How done a marvel is, I trow. 
 
 PLUTUS {to the Charioteer). 
 Now from the burden that oppressed thee here 1080 
 
 Thou'rt fiank and free ; away to thine own sphere ! 
 Here is it not ; distorted, wild, grotesque, 
 Surrounds us here a motley arabesque. 
 There fly, where on thy genius thou canst wait. 
 Lord of thyself; where charm the good, the fair; 1085 
 Where clear thy vision in the clear calm air ; 
 To solitude — there thine own world create ! 
 
 BOY-CHARIOTEER. 
 
 Myself as trusty envoy I approve ; 
 
 Thee as my nearest relative I love. 
 
 Where thou dost dwell, is fulness ; where I reign, 1090 
 
 Within himself each feeleth glorious gain ; 
 
 And 'mid life's contradictions wavers he : 
 
 Shall he resign himself to thee, to me ? 
 
 Thy votaries may idly rest, 'tis true ; 
 
 Who follows me, hath always work to do. 1095 
 
 My deeds are not accomplished in the shade, 
 
 I only breathe, and fortliwith am betrayed. 
 
 Farewell ! My bliss thou grudgest not to mo ; 
 
 But whisper low, and straight I'm back with thee. 
 
 {Exit as he came.) 
 
 PLUTUS. 
 
 Now is the time the treasure to set free ! 1100 
 
 The locks I strike, thus with the Herald's rod ;
 
 204 FAUST. [Part II 
 
 'Tis opened now ! In "blazing caldrons, see, 
 
 It liul)lilcs np, and shows like golden blood ; 
 
 Next crowns, and chains, and rings, a precious dower : 
 
 It swells and fusing threats the jewels to devour. 1105 
 
 Alternate cry of the Crowd. 
 Look here ! Look there ! How flows the treasure, 
 To the chest's brim in ample measure ! — 
 Vessels of gold are melting, near 
 Vp-surging, coined rouleaux appear, 
 
 And ducats leap as if impressed — 1110 
 
 how the vision stirs my breast ! — 
 My heart's desire now meets mine eye ! 
 They're rolling on the floor, hard by. — 
 To you 'tis proffered ; do not wait. 
 
 Stoop only, you are wealthy straight! — 1115 
 
 'While, quick as lightning, we, anon. 
 The chest itself will seize upon. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Ye fools, what ails you ? "What your quest ? 
 
 'Tis but a masquerading jest. 
 
 To-night no more desire ye may ; 1120 
 
 Think you that gold we give away, 
 
 And things of worth ? For such as you, 
 
 And at such foolish masking too, 
 
 E'en counters were too much to pay. 
 
 Blockheads ! a pleasing show, forsooth, 1125 
 
 Ye take at once for solid truth. 
 
 What's truth to you ? Delusion vain 
 
 At every turn ye clutch amain. — 
 
 Thou, Plutus, hero of the masque, 
 
 This folk to chase, be now thy task ! 1130 
 
 PLUTUS. 
 
 Ready at hand thy staff I see ; 
 
 For a brief moment lend it me ! — 
 
 Quickly in fire and seething glare 
 
 I'll dip it. — Now, ye masks, beware ! 
 
 It sputters, crackles, flares outright! 1135 
 
 Bravely the torch is now alight ; 
 
 And pressing round, who comes too nigh,
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 205 
 
 Is forthwith scorch'd, relentlessly ! — 
 Kow then my circuit is begun. 
 
 Cries and Tumult. 
 misery ! We are undone. — 1140 
 
 Escape, let each escape who can ! 
 Back ! further hack ! thou hindmost man ! — 
 Hot in my face it sputtered straight — 
 Of the red staif I felt the weight — 
 We all, alas ! we all are lost ! — 1145 
 
 Back, back, thou masquerading host ! — 
 Back, back, unthinking crowd ! — Ah me, 
 Had I but wings, I hence would flee ! — 
 
 PLUTUS. 
 
 Back is the circle driven now ; 
 
 And no one has been singed, I trow. 1160 
 
 The crowds give way, 
 
 Scared, with dismay. — 
 
 Yet, pledge of order and of law, 
 
 A ring invisible I draw. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Achieved thou hast a noble deed ; 1155 
 
 For thy sage might be thanks thy meed ! 
 
 PLUTUS, 
 
 Yet needs there patience, noble friend ; 
 Still many a tumult doth impend. 
 
 AVARICE. 
 
 If it so please us, pleasantly. 
 
 We on this living ring may gaze around. 11 GO 
 
 For women ever foremost will be foimd, 
 
 If aught allure the palate or the eye. 
 
 Not yet am I grown rusty quite ! 
 
 A pretty face must always please ; 
 
 And since it nothing costs to-night, 1165 
 
 We'll go a-wooing at our case. 
 
 Yet as in this o'ercrowdcd sphere, 
 
 Words are not audible to every car. 
 
 Deftly I'll try, — and can but hope success — 
 
 In pantomime my meaning to express. 1170
 
 206 FAUST. [Part U 
 
 Hai^d, foot, and frcstiire will not here suffice, 
 Heuco I must strive to fashion some device : 
 Like moisten'd clay forthwith I'll knead the gold • 
 This metal into all things we can mould. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 The meagre fool, what doeth he ? 1175 
 
 Hath such a starveling humour ? See, 
 
 He kncadeth all the gold to dough, 
 
 Beneath his hand 'tis pliant too ; 
 
 Yet howsoe'er he squeeze and strain, 
 
 Misshajien it must still remain. 1180 
 
 lie to the women turns, but they 
 
 All scream, and fain would flee away, 
 
 With gestures of aversion. Still 
 
 Eeady the rascal seems for ill ; 
 
 Happy, I fear, himself he rates, 1185 
 
 When decency he violates. 
 
 Silence w^ere wTong in such a case ; 
 
 Give me my staff, him forth to chase ! 
 
 PLUTUS. 
 
 What threats us from without, he bodeth not. 
 
 Let him play out his pranks a little longer ! 1190 
 
 Eoom for his jests will fail him soon, I wot ; 
 
 Strong as is law, necessity is stronger. 
 
 Enter Fauns, Satyrs, Gnomes, Nymphs, dc, attendants on 
 Pan, a7id announcing Ms approach. 
 
 Tumult and Song. 
 From forest-vale and mountain height, 
 Advancing with resistless might. 
 The savage host, it cometh straight : 1195 
 
 Their mighty Pan they celebrate. 
 They know, what none beside can guess, 
 Into the vacant ring they press. 
 
 PLUTUS. 
 
 You and your mighty Pan I recognize ! 
 
 Conjoined you've entered on a bold emprize. 1200 
 
 Full well I know, what is not known to all, 
 
 And ope this narrow space, at duty's call. —
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 207 
 
 may a. tappy Fate attend ! 
 
 Wonderb most strange may happen now ; 
 
 They know not where unto they tend ; 1205 
 
 Forward they have not looked, I trow. 
 
 Wild Song. 
 Bedizened people, glittering brood ! 
 They're coming rough, they're coming rude 
 "With hasty run, with lofty bound. 
 Stalwart and strong they press around. 1210 
 
 FAUNS. 
 
 Fauns advance, 
 
 Their crisp locks bound 
 
 With oak-leaves round, — 
 
 In merry dance ! 
 
 A fine and sharply pointed ear, 1215 
 
 Forth from their clustering locks doth peer ; 
 
 A stumpy nose, with breadth of face — 
 
 These forfeit not a lady's grace : 
 
 If but his paw the Faun advance. 
 
 Not lightly will the fairest shun the dance. 1220 
 
 SATYR. 
 
 The Sat^-r now comes hopping in. 
 
 With foot of goat, and withered shin ; 
 
 These sinewy must be and thin. 
 
 In chamois-guise, on mountain height, 
 
 Around to gaze is his delight ; 1225 
 
 In freedom's air, with freshness rife. 
 
 Child he despiseth, man and wife, 
 
 Who, 'mid the valley's smoke and steam, 
 
 That they too live, contented dream ; 
 
 On those pure heights, sequester'd, lone, 1230 
 
 The upper world is his alone ! 
 
 GNOMES. 
 
 Tripping, here comes a tiny crew. 
 
 They like not keeping two and two ; 
 
 In mossy dress, with lamplet clear, 
 
 Commingling swiftly, they career, 1235 
 
 Where for himself his task each plies, 
 
 Swarming they glitter, emmet-wise ;
 
 208 FAUST. [Part II 
 
 Ami ever bus}', move about, 
 With ceaseless bustle iu and out. — 
 
 Wo tho " Good Folk " as kindred own, 1240 
 
 As rock-cbirurgists well we're known ; 
 
 Cupping the lofty bills, we drain, 
 
 With cunning, from each well-filled vein, 
 
 The metals, which aloft we j)ile, 
 
 Shouting, Good luck ! Good luck ! the while: 1245 
 
 Kindness at bottom we intend ; 
 
 Good men we evermore befriend. 
 
 Yet to the light we gold unseal. 
 
 That men therewith may pimp and steal. 
 
 Nor to the proud, who murder planned 1250 
 
 Wholesale, shall fail the iron brand ; 
 
 These three commands who hath transgressed, 
 
 Will take small reckoning of the rest ; 
 
 Nathless for that we're not to blame : 
 
 Patient we are, be ye the same ! 1255 
 
 GIANTS. 
 
 The wild men, such in sooth our name, 
 
 Upon the Hartzberg known to fame, 
 
 Naked, in ancient vigour strong. 
 
 Pell-mell we come, a giant throng ; 
 
 With pine-stem grasp'd in dexter hand, 1260 
 
 And round the loins a padded band, 
 
 Apron of leaf and bough, uncouth, — 
 
 Such guards the pope owns not, in sooth. 
 
 CHORUS OF NYMPHS. 
 
 (Tliey surround the great Pan.) 
 He draweth near ! 
 
 In mighty Pan 1265 
 
 The All we scan 
 Of this world-sphere. 
 All ye of gayest mood advance, 
 And him surround, in sportive dance I 
 For since he earnest is and kind, 1270 
 
 Joy everywhere he fain would find; 
 E'en 'neath the blue o'erarching sky, 
 He watcheth still, with wakeful eye ;
 
 Act L] FAUST. 209 
 
 Purling to him the brooklet flows, 
 
 And Zephyrs lull him to repose ; 1275 
 
 And when he slumbers at mid-day, 
 
 kStii-s not a leaf upon the spray ; 
 
 Health-breathing plants, with balsams rare. 
 
 Pervade the still and silent air ; 
 
 The nymph no more gay vigil keeps, 1280 
 
 And where she standeth, there she sleeps. 
 
 But if, at unexpected hour. 
 
 His voice resounds with mighty power, 
 
 Like thunder, or the roaring sea. 
 
 Then knoweth none, where he may flee ; 1285 
 
 Panic the valiant host assails, 
 
 The hero in the tumult quails. 
 
 Then honour to whom honour's due ! 
 
 And hail to him, who leads us unto you ! 
 
 Deputation of GiioyiES (to the great Pan). 
 When a treasure, richly shining, 1290 
 
 Winds through clefts its thread-like way, 
 Sole the cunning rod, divining, 
 Can its labyrinth display. 
 
 Troglodytes, in caves abiding. 
 We our sunless homes vault o'er; 1295 
 
 Thou, 'mid day's pure airs presiding. 
 Graciously thy gifts dost pour. 
 
 Close at hand, a fount of treasure 
 We have found, a wondrous vein ; — 
 Promising in fullest measure, 1300 
 
 What we scarce might hope to gain. 
 
 Perfect thou alone canst make it ; 
 
 Every treasure in thy hand. 
 
 Is a world-wide blessing ; take it, 
 
 Thine it is. Sire, to command ! 1305 
 
 PLUTus (to the Herald). 
 Our self-possession now must be disi)layed. 
 And come what may, we must be undismayed ; 
 Htill hast thou shown a strong, courageous soul. 
 A dreadful incident will soon betide ; 
 
 P
 
 210 FAUST. :Part II. 
 
 'Twill be l\v "Vorld and after- world denied; 1310 
 
 Inscribe it truly in thy protocol ! 
 
 HERALD 
 
 (^grasping the staff ichick Plutus holds in his hand). 
 The dwarfs conduct the mighty Pan 
 Softly the source of lire to scan ; 
 It surges from the gulf profound, 
 
 Then downward plunges 'neath the ground ; 1315 
 
 While dark the mouth stands, gaping wide, 
 Once more up-rolls the fiery tide. 
 The mighty Pan stands well-content, 
 Rejoicing in the wondrous sight. 
 
 While pearl-foam drizzles left and right. 1320 
 
 How may he trust such element ! 
 Bending, he stoops to look within. — 
 But now his beard hath fallen in ! — 
 Who may he be, with shaven chin ? 
 
 His hand conceals it from our eyes. — 1325 
 
 Now doth a dire mishap arise ; 
 His beard takes fire and backward flies ; 
 Wreath, head, and breast are all ablaze; 
 Joy is transformed to dire amaze. — • 
 
 To quench the fire his followers run ; 1330 
 
 Free from the flames remaineth none ; 
 Still as they strike from side to side, 
 New flames are kindled far and wide ; 
 Enveloped in the fiery shroud, 
 
 Burns now the masquerading crowd. 1335 
 
 But what's the tale that's rumour'd here, 
 From mouth to mouth, from ear to ear ! 
 O night, for aye with sorrow fraught, 
 To us what mischief hast thou broiight 1 
 The coming morn will tidings voice, 1340 
 
 At which, in sooth, will none rejoice. 
 From every side they cry amain, 
 " The Emperor sulfers grievous pain !" 
 O were some other tidings true ! — 
 
 The Emperor bums, his escort too. 1345 
 
 Accurst be they, for evermore. 
 Who him seduced, with noisy roar.
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 211 
 
 AlDroad, tegirt with pitchy bongh, 
 
 To roaia, for general overthrow ! 
 
 youth, youth, and wilt thou never 13^0 
 
 To joy assign its fitting bound ? 
 
 Majesty, with reason never 
 Will thy omnipotence be crowned ? 
 The mimic forest hath caught fire ; 
 
 Tongue-like the flame mounts high and higher > 1356 
 Now on the wood-bound roof it plays. 
 And threats one universal blaze ! 
 O'erflows our cup of suflering ; 
 
 1 know not, who may rescue bring ; 
 
 Imperial pomp, so rich o'er night, 1360 
 
 An ash-heap lies in morning's light. 
 
 PLÜ1U5. 
 
 Long enough hath terror swayed ; 
 
 Hither now be help conveyed. — 
 
 Strike, thou hallowed staff, the ground, 
 
 Till earth tremble and resovmd ! , 1365 
 
 Cooling vapours everywhere 
 
 Fill the wide and spacious air ! 
 
 Moisture-teeming mist and cloud 
 
 Draw anear, and us o'ershroud ; 
 
 Veil the fiery tumult, veil ! 1370 
 
 Curling, drizzling, breathing low. 
 
 Gracious cloudlets hither sail. 
 
 Shedding do^wn the gentle I'ain ! 
 
 To extinguish, to allay. 
 
 Ye, the assuagers, strive amain ; 1375 
 
 Into summer-lightning's glow 
 
 Change our empty ficr^' play ! — 
 
 Threaten spirits us to hurt. 
 
 Magic must its power assert. 
 
 Pleasm-e-garden. 
 Morning sun. 
 The Emperor, his court, men and women; Faust, Mepiiisto- 
 PHELES dressed becomingly, in the usual fashion ; both kneel. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The flaming juggler's play dost pai-don, Sire ? 1380 
 
 p 2
 
 212 BAUST. [Pabt IL 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 I of such sports full many should desire. — 
 
 I saw luysflf within a glowing sphere ; 
 
 Almost it seemed as if I Pluto were ; 
 
 A rock abyss there lay, with fire aglow, 
 
 Gloomy as night ; from many a gulf below, 1385 
 
 Seething, a tliousand savage flames ascend, 
 
 And in a fiery vault together blend ; 
 
 Up to the highest dome their tonguciS were toss'd, 
 
 Which ever was, and evermore was lost. 
 
 In the far space, through spiral shafts of flame, 1390 
 
 Peoples I saAv, in lengthen'd lines who came ; 
 
 In the wide circle forward pressed the crowd. 
 
 And as their wont hath been, in homage bowed ; 
 
 I seemed, surrounded by my courtly train, 
 
 O'er thousand Salamanders king to reign. 1395 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Such art thou, Sire ! For thee each element 
 
 To own as absolute is well content. 
 
 Obedient thou hast proven fire to be. 
 
 AVhere it is wildest, leap into the sea — 
 
 And scarce thy foot the pearl-strewn floor shall tread, 140C 
 
 A glorious, billowy dome o'ervaults thy head ; 
 
 Wavelets of tender green thou seest swelling. 
 
 With purple edge, to form thy beauteous dwelling, 
 
 Pound thee, the central point ; where thou dost wend. 
 
 At every step, thy palace homes attend ; 1405 
 
 The very walls, in life rejoicing, flow 
 
 With arrowy swiftness, surging to and fro ; 
 
 Sea-marvels to the new the gentle light repair ; 
 
 They dart along, to enter none may dare; 
 
 There sports, with scales of gold, the bright-hued snake. 
 
 Gapes the fell shark, his jaws thy laughter wake : [1411 
 
 Howe'er thy court may round thee now delight. 
 
 Such throng as this, before ne'er met thy sight. 
 
 Nor long shalt severed be from the most fair ; 
 
 The curious Nereids, to thy dwelling rare, 1415 
 
 'Mid the eternal freshness, shall draw nigh ; 
 
 The youngest, greedy like the fish, and shy ; 
 
 The elder prudent. Thetis hears the news,
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 213 
 
 Nor to the second Peleus will refuse 
 
 Or hand or lip. — Olympos' wide domain 1420 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 I leave to thee, thou o'er the air may'st reign ; 
 Full early every one must mount that throne. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Earth, noblest Sire ! already thou dost own. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Hither what happy Fate, with kindness fraught, 
 
 Thee from the thousand nights and one hath brought ! 1425 
 
 If thou, like Scheherazade, prolific art, 
 
 To thee my highest favour I'll impart ; 
 
 Be ever near when, as is oft the case. 
 
 Most irksome is our world of common-place ! 
 
 MARSHAL {entering in haste). 
 Your Highness, never thought I in my life 1430 
 
 Tidings to give, with such good fortune rife 
 As these which, in thy presence, clieer 
 My raptured heart, absolved from fear ; 
 All reckonings paid, from debt we're eased ; — 
 The usurer's clutches are appeased — 1435 
 
 From such hell-torment I am free ! 
 In Heaven can none more cheerful be. 
 
 COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF (folloWS hastily). 
 
 Paid in advance the soldiers' due, 
 
 Now the whole army's pledged anew. 
 
 Blood dances in the trooper's veins ; 1440 
 
 Vintner and damsel reap their gains. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 How freely now your breast doth heave I 
 The marks of care your visage leave ! 
 How hastily yju enter ! 
 
 TREASURER (entering). 
 Sire, proceed 
 These men to question who have done the deed. 1445 
 
 FAUST (to the Chancellor). 
 To you it doth belong the case to statö
 
 214 FAUST. [Part II. 
 
 CHANCELLOR (icIiG advances slowly). 
 
 In my old days I am with joy elate ! 
 
 So hear and see this fortune-weighted scroll, 
 
 AVhieh hath to happiness transform'd onr dole : 
 
 {He reads.') 
 
 " To all whom it concerneth, be it known : 1450 
 
 Who OA^^lS this note a thousand cro-vvns doth own. 
 
 To him assured, as certain pledge, there lies, 
 
 Beneath the Emperor's land, a boundless prize ; 
 
 It is decreed, this wealth without delay 
 
 To raise, therewith the promised sum to pay." 1455 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Crime I suspect, some huge deceit ! 
 
 The Emperor's name who here doth counterfeit ? 
 
 Unpunished still remains such breach of right ? 
 
 TREASURER. 
 
 Eemember, Sire ! Thyself but yesternight 
 
 Didst sign, the note. — Thou stood'st as mighty Pan ; 1460 
 
 Then spake the Chancellor, whose words thus ran : 
 
 " This festive pleasure for thyself obtain, 
 
 Thy people's weal, with a few pen-strokes gain !" 
 
 These mad'st thou clearly ; thousand-fold last night 
 
 Have artists multiplied what thou didst write; 1465 
 
 And that to each alike might fall the aid, 
 
 To stamp the series, we have not delayed, 
 
 Ten, thirty, fifty, hundreds at a stroke. 
 
 You cannot guess, how it rejoiced the folk : 
 
 Behold your town, mouldering half dead that lay, 1470 
 
 How full of life and bounding joy to-day ! 
 
 Long as thy name hath blessed the world, till now 
 
 So gladly was it ne'er beheld, I trow. 
 
 The Alphabet is now redundant grown ; 
 
 Each in this sign finds happiness alone. 1475 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 My people take it for true gold, you say ? 
 In camp, at court, it passes for full pay? 
 Much as I wonder, it 1 must allow.
 
 Act I] FAUST. 215 
 
 MARSHAL. 
 
 To stay the flying leaves were hopeless now ; 
 
 With speed of lightning all abroad they float : 1480 
 
 The changers' banks stand open ; every note 
 
 Is honoured there with silver and with gold ; 
 
 Discount deducted, if the truth were told. 
 
 To butcher, baker, vintner, thence they fare ; 
 
 With half the world is feasting their sole care ; 1485 
 
 The other half, new- vestured, bravely shows ; 
 
 The mercer cuts away, the tailor sews. 
 
 In cellars still " The Emperor !" they toast, 
 
 W^hile, amid clattering plates, they boil and roast. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Alone who treads the terraced promenade, 1490 
 
 Sees there the fair one, splendidly arrayed ; 
 
 One eye the peacock's fan conceals ; the while 
 
 This note in view, she lures las with her smile, 
 
 And swifter than through eloquence or wit, 
 
 Love's richest favour may be won by it. 1495 
 
 Oneself with purse and scrip one need not tease. 
 
 Hid in the breast, a note is borne with ease, 
 
 And with the billet-doux is coupled there ; 
 
 The priest conveys it in his book of prayer ; 
 
 The soldier, that his limbs may be more free, 1500 
 
 Quickly his girdle lightens. Pardon me, 
 
 Your Majesty, if the high work I seem, 
 
 Dwelling on these details, to disesteem. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 This superfluity of wealth, that deep 
 
 Imprisoned in its soil thy land doth keep, 1505 
 
 Lies all unused ; wide-reaching thought profound 
 
 Is of such treasure but a soiTy boimd ; 
 
 In loftiest flight, fancy still strives amain 
 
 To reach its limit, but still strives in vain — 
 
 Yet minds who dare behind the veil to press, 1510 
 
 In the unbounded, boundless faith possess. 
 
 MEnilSTOI'HELES. 
 
 Such paper, in the place of pearls and gold, 
 Convenient is, we know how much m e hold ;
 
 216 FAUST. [Part II 
 
 No need i'or change or Imrtcr, each at will 
 
 Of love and wine may henceforth drink his fill. 1515 
 
 If coin is needed, stands the changer nigh, 
 
 If there it faileth, straight the shovel ply ; 
 
 Goblet and chain at auction fetch their price ; 
 
 The paper, forthwith cancelled, in a trice 
 
 The sceptic shames, who us did erst deride ; 1520 
 
 The people, used to it, wish naught beside : 
 
 So henceforth, through the realm, there's goodly stoi'e, 
 
 Of jewels, gold, and paper, ever more. 
 
 EMPEROR, 
 
 You this high aid have rendered to our state ; 
 Great is the service, be the meed as great ! 1525 
 
 Our realm's subsoil confide we to your care ; 
 Best guardians of the treasure buried there. 
 Full well ye know the vast, well-guarded hoard, 
 And when men dig, so be it at your word ! 
 To Faust and the Treasurer. 
 Ally yourselves, ye masters of our treasure, 1530 
 
 The honours of your place fulfil with pleasure, 
 There where together joined in blest content. 
 The upper with the under Avorld is blent ! 
 
 treasurer. 
 Not the most distant strife shall us divide ; 
 As colleague be the conjuror at my side. 1535 
 
 [Exit with Faust. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 If I at court each man with gifts endow, 
 Whereto he'll use them, let each tell me now. 
 
 PAGE {receiving). 
 Merry I'll be, and taste life's ploasant things. 
 
 ANOTHER (the same). 
 I for my sweetheart will buy chain and rings. 
 
 CHAMBERLAIN {accepting). 
 Wine twice as good from this time forth I'll drink. 1540 
 
 ANOTHER (the same'). 
 The dice already in my pocket clinV.
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 217 
 
 BANNERET {tllOUglltfldhj). 
 
 My field and castle I from debt will free. 
 
 ANOTHER {the same). 
 I'll lay my treasure in my treasury. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Courage I hoped, and joy, for new emprize — 
 
 But whoso knows you, straight will recognize ; 1545 
 
 I mark it well, though wealth be multiplied, 
 
 Just what ye were, the same will ye abide ! 
 
 FOOL (approaching). 
 Favours you scatter ; grant me some, I pray ! 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 What, living yet? Thou'lt drink them soon away. 
 
 FOOL. 
 
 These magic leaves ! I comprehend not quite — 1550 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 That I believe : them thou'lt not spend aright. 
 
 FOOL. 
 
 There, others drop — I know not what to do — 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Take them ! They've fallen to thy share, adieu ! 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 FOOL. 
 
 Five thousand crowTis in hand ! can it be true ? 
 
 MEPHLSTOPHELES. 
 
 Thou two-legged paunch, art thou then risen anew ? 1 555 
 
 FOOL. 
 
 As oft before, ne'er happily- as now. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 So great thy joy, it makes thee sweat, I trow. 
 
 FOOL. 
 
 Is this indeed worth money ? art thou sure ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 "What throat and paunch desire it will procure.
 
 218 FAUST. [Paiit IL 
 
 FOOL. 
 
 Can I then field, and house, and cattle buy ? 1560 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Of course ! Bid only, thee it will not fail. 
 
 FOOL. 
 
 Castle with forest, chase, and fish-pond ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Ay! 
 Thee as your worship I should like to hail ! 
 
 FOOL. 
 
 As land-owner I'll rock myself ere eve ! (Exit.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 In our fool's wit who will not now believe ? 1565 
 
 Dark Gallery. 
 
 Faust, Mephistopheles. 
 
 mephistopheles. 
 
 Why drag me these dark corridors along ? 
 Within hast not enough of sport ? 
 Occasion 'mid the motley throng 
 For jest and lie, hast not at court ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Speak not of that ; in days of old hast thou 1570 
 
 Out-worn it to the very soles. But now, 
 
 Thy shuffling is a mere pretext 
 
 How to evade my questions. Sore perplexed, 
 
 I know not how to act, or what to do ; 
 
 The marshal urges me, the steward too, 1575 
 
 The Emperor wills it — hence it straight must be — 
 
 Wills Helena and Paris here to see ; 
 
 Of man and woman-kind the true ideal, 
 
 He fain would AÜew, in forms distinct and real. 
 
 Quick to the work ! My word I may not break. 1580 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Such promise it was weak, nay, mad to make.
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 219 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Comrade, thou hast not thought, I trow, 
 
 Whither these arts of thine must lead : 
 
 First we have made him rich, and now 
 
 Him to amuse we must proceed. 1585 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Thou think'st no sooner said than done ; 
 
 Here before steeper steps we stand, 
 
 A foreign realm must here be won, 
 
 New debts wilt add to those of old. 
 
 With the same ease dost think I can command 1590 
 
 Helen, as phantom-notes evoke for gold ! 
 
 With wizard, witchery, or ghostly ghost, 
 
 Or goitered dwarf, I'm ready at my post. 
 
 But Devil's darlings, though we mayn't abuse them, 
 
 Yet cannot we as heroines produce them. 1595 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Still harping on the ancient lyre ! 
 
 The father thou of hindrances ; — with thee 
 
 We needs must fall into uncertainty ; 
 
 For each expedient thou dost claim new hire ! 
 
 With little muttering, I know, 'tis done ; 1600 
 
 Ere one looks round, thou'lt bring them to the spot. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The Heathen-folk I'm glad to let alone, 
 In their own hell is cast their lot ; 
 Yet are there means — 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Speak quickly, naught withhold ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Loth am I higher secrets to unfold. 1605 
 
 In solitude, where reigns nor space nor time. 
 Are goddesses enthroned from early prime ; 
 'Tis hard to speak of beings so sublime — 
 The Mothers are they. 
 
 FAUST (terrified). 
 
 Mothers !
 
 220 FAUST. [Part U 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Tromblest tliou ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The Mothers ! Mothers ! strange it sounds, I trow ! 1610 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 And is so: Goddesses, to men unknown, 
 
 And by us named unwillingly, I own. 
 
 Their home to reach, full deeply must thou mine. 
 
 That we have need of them, the fault is thine ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The way ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 No way ; to the untrodden none, 1615 
 
 Not to be trodden, neither to be won 
 By prayer ! Art ready for the great emprize ? 
 No locks are there, no bolts thy way to bar, 
 By solitudes shalt thou be whirl'd afar : 
 Such void and solitude canst realize? 1620 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 To spare such speeches, it were well ! 
 
 They of the witches' kitchen smell, 
 
 And of a time long past and gone. 
 
 To know the world have I not sought ? 
 
 The empty learned, the empty taught ? — 1625 
 
 Spake I out plainly, as in reason bound, 
 
 Then doubly loud the paradox would sound ; 
 
 By Fortune's adverse buffets over-borne, 
 
 To solitude I fled, to wilds forlorn, 
 
 And not in utter loneliness to live, 1630 
 
 Myself at last did to the Devil give ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 And hadst thoii swum to ocean's utmost verge. 
 
 And there the shoreless infinite beheld, 
 
 There hadst thou seen surge rolling upon surge. 
 
 Though dread of coming doom thy soul had quell'd, 1635 
 
 Thou hadst seen something ; — dolphins thou hadst seen. 
 
 Cleaving the silent sea's pellucid green. 
 
 And flying cloud hadst seen, sun, moon, and etar ; 
 
 Naught, in the everlasting void afar,
 
 Aci LI FAUST. 221 
 
 Wilt see, nor hear thy footfall's sound, 1640 
 
 Nor for thy tread find solid ground ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thou speakest as of mystagogues the first, 
 
 True neophytes who gulled — only reversed : 
 
 I to vacuity by thee am sent. 
 
 That art as well as strength I may augment ; 1 645 
 
 Thou wouldest, like the cat, make use of me. 
 
 The chestnuts from the fire to snatch for thee. 
 
 We'll fathom it ! come on, nor look behind ! 
 
 In this thy naught, the All I hope to find. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Before we part, thy bearing I commend; 1650 
 
 I see, the Devil thou dost comprehend. 
 Here, take this key ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 That little thing ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 First hold it fast, not lightly valuing ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 It waxes in my hand ! It flashes, glows ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Soon shalt thou mark what virtue it bestows. 1655 
 
 The key Avill scent the very place you need ; 
 Follow, thee to the Mothers it will lead. 
 
 FAUST (shuddering). 
 The Mothers ! Like a blow it strikes mine ear ! 
 What is this word, it troubles me to hear ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 So narrow-minded, scared by each new word ! 1660 
 
 Wilt only hear, what hast already heard ? 
 Inured to marvels, thee let naught astound ; 
 Be not disturbed, how strange soe'er the sound I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 My weal I seek not in torpidity ; 
 
 Humanity's best part in awe doth lie : 1665
 
 222 FAUST. [Part IT. 
 
 Howe'cr the world the sentiment disown, 
 
 Once seized — we deeply feel the vast, the unknown. 
 
 IMEPIIISTOPHELES. 
 
 Sink then ! Arise ! This also I might say : — 
 
 'Tis all the same. Escapino- from the real. 
 
 Seek thou the boundless realm of the ideal. 1670 
 
 Delight thyself in forms long past away ! 
 
 The train, like cloud-procession, glides along; 
 
 Swing thou the key, hold ofi" the shadowy throng ! 
 
 FAUST (inspired). 
 
 Good ! firmly grasping it, new strength is mine. 
 
 My breast expands ! Now for the great design ! 1675 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 A glowing tripod teaches thee thou hast 
 
 The deep attained, the lowest deep, at last ; 
 
 There, by its light the Mothers thou wilt see ; 
 
 Some sit, while others, as the case may be. 
 
 Or stand, or walk : formation, transformation, 1680 
 
 Of mind etern, eternal recreation ! 
 
 While forms of being round them hover ; thee 
 
 Behold they not, phantoms alone they see. 
 
 Take courage, for the danger is not slight. 
 
 Straight to the tripod press thou on, be brave, 1685 
 
 And touch it with the key — 
 
 (Faust, with the key, assumes an attitude of determined 
 authority.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (observing him). 
 
 So, that is right ! 
 It cleaves to thee, it follows like a slave ; 
 Calmly dost mount, fortune doth thee upbear. 
 Back art thou with it, ere they are aware. 
 And hither hast thou brought it, by its might, 1690 
 
 Hero may'st call, and heroine from night ; 
 The first to venture in such enterprise ; 
 'Tis done — with thee the bold achievement lies 
 And then by spells, to sorcery allowed. 
 To gods shall be transformed the in cense- cloud, 1695
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 223 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 And now what next ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Downward thy being strain. 
 Stamping descend, stamping thou'lt rise again. 
 
 (Faust stamps and sinks.) 
 In his behoof if worketh but the key ! 
 Whether he will return, I'm fain to see. 
 
 Hall, brilliantly Ihjhted. 
 Emperor and princes : The court in movement. 
 
 CHAMBERLAIN {tO MePHISTOPHELES). 
 
 You're still our debtors for the spirit-show ; 1700 
 
 To work ! The Emperor doth impatient grow. 
 
 STEWARD. 
 
 His Highness even now hath question'd me; 
 Delay not, nor affront his Majesty ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 My comrade's for that very purpose gone ; 
 
 How to commence he knows ; he labours on, 1705 
 
 Secluded in his study, calm and still, 
 
 With mind intensely strung ; for who the prize. 
 
 Ideal beauty, would evoke at will. 
 
 Needs highest art, the magic of the wise. 
 
 STEWARD. 
 
 To us it matters not, what arts you need ; 1710 
 
 The Emperor wills that ye forthwith proceed. 
 
 A BLONDE (to MePHISTOPHELES). 
 
 One word, good sir ! My visage now is clear — 
 
 It is not so when baleful summer's here : 
 
 Then sprout a hundred freckles, brown and red. 
 
 Which, to my grief, the white skin over-spread. 1715 
 
 A cure ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 'Tis pity, face so fair to see. 
 In May like panther's cub should mottled bo I
 
 224 FAUST. [Part II. 
 
 Take spa-wTi of frog, and tongue of toad, the twain 
 Under the fullest moon distil with care ; 
 Lay on the mixture, when the moon doth wane — 1720 
 The spring arrives, no blemishes are there. 
 
 BRUNETTE. 
 
 To fawn upon you, how the crowds advance ; 
 
 A remedy I ask ! A frozen foot 
 
 Hinders me sorely when I walk or dance ; 
 
 Awkward my movement e'en when I salute. 1725 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 A single tread allow me with my foot ! 
 
 BRUNETTE. 
 
 Well, betwixt lovers that might come to pass — 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 A deeper meaning, child, my foot-print has : 
 
 Like unto like, in sickness is the rede ; 
 
 Foot healeth foot ; with every limb 'tis so. 1 730 
 
 Draw near ! Give heed ! My tread return not. 
 
 BRD NETTE (screaming). 
 
 Woe! 
 Ah, woe ! It burns ! A hard tread that indeed, 
 Like horse's hoof! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Eeceive thy cure as meed. 
 Now may'st thou dance at pleasure ; and salute, 
 Beneath the festal board, thy lover's foot. 1 735 
 
 LADY (j)7-essing forward). 
 Make way for me, too grievous is my smart, 
 Seething, it rankles in my deepest heart : 
 Bliss in my looks he sought till yesterday — 
 With her he talks, and turns from me away I 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The case is grave, but this my lore receive: 1740 
 
 Thou to his side must stealthily make way ; 
 Take thou this coal, a mark upon his sleeve, 
 His cloak, or shoulder make, as tappen may — •
 
 ACT I.] FAUST. 225 
 
 His heart repentant will be thine once more • 
 
 The coal thou straight must swallow ; after it, 1745 
 
 No water near thy lip, no wine, permit — 
 
 This very night he'll sigh before thy door. 
 
 LADY. 
 
 It is not poison? 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES (offended). 
 Honour where 'tis due ! 
 You for such coal mtich ground must wander o'er ; 
 It Cometh from a pyre, that we of yore 1750 
 
 More fiercely stirred than now we do. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 I love ; as still unripe they scorn my youth ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (aside). 
 I know not whom to listen to, in sooth. 
 
 (To the Page.) 
 Not on the youngest set your happiness ; 
 Those more in years your merits will confess. 1755 
 
 (Others press up to him.) 
 Others are coming ! What a fearful rout ! 
 Myself with truth I must at last help out — 
 The sorriest shift ! Great is the need ! Ah me ! 
 Mothers, Mothers ! Only Faust set free. 
 
 (Looliing round.) 
 The lights are burning dimly in the hall ; 1760 
 
 At once the court is moving, one and all ; 
 Advancing in due order them I see. 
 Through long arcade and distant gallery ; 
 Now in the old Baronial hall, the train 
 Assemble, them it scarcely can contain ; 1765 
 
 Its ample walls I'are tapestries enrich, 
 While armour decks each corner, every niche 
 Here magic- words, methinks, are needed not, 
 Ghosts, of their own accord, would haunt this spot.
 
 226 FAUST. [Pakt II. 
 
 Baronial HaU. 
 
 Dimly illuminated. 
 
 Emperor and Court have entered. 
 
 HERALD. 
 
 Mine ancient usage, to announce the play, 1770 
 
 The spirits' secret working mars ; in vain 
 
 The surging tumult to ourselves, to-day, 
 
 Would we, on reasonable grounds, explain. 
 
 Seats are arranged, ready is every chair; 
 
 The Emperor sits before the wall, and there, 1775 
 
 On tapestry in comfort may behold 
 
 The battles of the glorious days of old. 
 
 All now are seated ; prince and court around ; 
 
 While crowded benches fill the hinder ground ; 
 
 Your lovers too, in these dark hours, will find, 1780 
 
 Beside their sweethearts, places to their mind. 
 
 So now we're seated, ready for the play ; 
 
 The phantoms may appear, without delay ! 
 
 (^Trmnpets.^ 
 
 ASTROLOGER. 
 
 Now let the drama, 'tis the Sire's command, 
 
 Begin forthwith its course ! ye walls expand ! 1785 
 
 Naught hinders ; magic yields what we require. 
 
 The curtains vanish, as up-rolled by fire ; 
 
 The wall splits open, backward it doth wend ; 
 
 An ample theatre appears to rise, 
 
 A mystic lustre gleams before our eyes ; 1790 
 
 And I to the proscenium ascend. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 (emerging from the prompter's box). 
 I hope for general favour in your eyes, 
 The Devil's rhetoric in prompting lies ! 
 {To the Astrologer.) 
 The time dost know, in which the stars proceed, 
 And, like a master, wilt my whispering read. 1795 
 
 astrologer. 
 Through magic power, appears before our gaze, 
 Massive enough, a fane of ancient days ;
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 227 
 
 Like Atlas, who of old the heavens up-bare, 
 
 Coiumns, iu goodly rows, are standing there ; 
 
 They for their burden may suffice, when twain 1800 
 
 A mighty edifice might well sustain. 
 
 ARCHITECT. 
 
 That the antique — I cannot think it right ; 
 
 It as unwieldy we should designate ; 
 
 The rude is noble styled, the clumsy great ! 
 
 Slim shafts I love, aspiring, infinite ; 1805 
 
 The pointed zenith lifts the soul on high; 
 
 Such building us doth mostly edify. 
 
 ASTROLOGER. 
 
 Eeceive with reverence star-granted hours ! 
 
 By magic word enthralled be reason's powers ; 
 
 Here, on the other hand, let phantasy, 1810 
 
 Noble and daring, roam more wildly free ! 
 
 What boldly you desired, he with your eyes perceived ! 
 
 Impossible, and hence, by faith to be believed. 
 
 (Faust rises at the other side of the p-oscenium.) 
 
 ASTROLOGER. 
 
 In priestly vesture, crown'd, a wondrous man, 
 
 Who now achieves, what trustful he began; 1815 
 
 A tripod with him from the gulf ascends ; 
 
 With the surrounding air the incense blends ; 
 
 He arms himself, the lofty work to bless : 
 
 Henceforth we naught can augur but success. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 In your name, Mothers, ye who on your throne 1 820 
 
 Dwell in the Infinite, for aye alone. 
 
 Yet sociably ! Around your heads are rife 
 
 Life's pictures, restless, yet devoid of life ; 
 
 What was, there moveth, bright with lustrous sheen ; 
 
 For deathless will al)ide what once hath been. 1 825 
 
 This ye dispense, beings of matchless might, 
 
 To day's pavilion, to the vault of night : 
 
 Life in its gentle course doth some arrest ; 
 
 Of others tlie bold magian goes in quest, 
 
 In rich profusion, fearless, he displays 1830 
 
 The marvels u})on which each longs to gaze. 
 
 Q 2
 
 223 FAUST. [Paht II. 
 
 ASTROLOGER. 
 
 Scarcely the glowing key the censer nears, 
 
 When o'er the scene a misty shroud appears ; 
 
 It creepeth in, cloudlike it onward glides, 
 
 Expands, up-curls, contracts, unites, divides. 1835 
 
 Now recognize a spirit masterpiece : 
 
 The clouds make music ; wonders never cease, 
 
 The airy tones, one knows not how, float by : 
 
 Where'er they move, there all is melody ; 
 
 The pillar'd shaft, the very triglyph rings ; 1840 
 
 Yea, I believe that the whole temple sings ! 
 
 The mist subsides ; steps forth, in measured time, 
 
 From the light veil, a youth in beauty's prime. 
 
 Silent mine office here ; his name I need not show ; 
 
 "Who doth the gentle Paris fail to know ! 1845 
 
 1st lady. 
 ! In his youthful strength what lustrous grace ! 
 
 2nd lady. 
 Fresh as a peach, and full of sap his face ! 
 
 3rd lady. 
 The finely chiselled, sweetly swelling lip ! 
 
 4th lady. 
 At such a beaker fain wert thou to sip ? 
 
 5th lady. 
 Though handsome, quite unpolish'd is his mien. 1850 
 
 6th lady. 
 A little more refined he might have been. 
 
 knight. 
 The shepherd youth, methinks, in him I trace ; 
 Naught of the prince or of the courtier's grace ! 
 
 ANOTHER KNIGHT. 
 
 Half naked, fair the stripling seems to be ; 
 
 But clad in armour him we first miast see! 1855 
 
 lady. 
 Gently he seats himself, with easy grace.
 
 Act I.] FAUST. 229 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 For yoTi his lap were pleasant resting-place? 
 
 ANOTHER. 
 
 Lightly his arm he bendeth o'er his head. 
 
 CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 That is not here allow'd. 'Tis under-bred I 
 
 LADY. 
 
 You gentlemen are always hard to please. 1860 
 
 CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 Before the Emperor to loll at ease ! 
 
 LADY. 
 
 He only acts ! He thinks himself alone. 
 
 CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 The drama should be courtly near the throne. 
 
 LADY. 
 
 Gently hath sleep o'ercome the gracious youth. 
 
 CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 He snoreth now ; 'tis nature, perfect truth. 1865 
 
 YOUNG LADY (enraptured). 
 What fragrance with the incense sweetly blends, 
 That to my inmost heart refreshment sends ? 
 
 OLDER LADY. 
 
 A breath the soul pervades with gracious power I 
 From him it comes. 
 
 OLDEST LADY. 
 
 Of growth it is the flower ; 
 It like ambrosia from the youth distils, 1870 
 
 And the whole atmosphere around him fills. 
 
 (Helena steps forward.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I Such then she was ! Slio will not break my rest 1 
 Fair, doubtless ; but she is not to my taste. 
 
 ASTROLOGER. 
 
 [ For me remains no further duty now, 
 
 As man of honour, this I must allow. 1875
 
 230 FAUST. rPAKT IL 
 
 The fair ono comcs ; and had I tonf^nos of firo — ■ 
 Boaiity of old did many a song ins2)irc — 
 Who sees her is enraptur'd ; all too blest 
 ^Vas ho indeed by whom she Avas possessed. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Have I still eyes ? Is beauty's very spring, 1880 
 
 Full gushing, to mine inmost sense revealed ? 
 
 Most blessed gain doth my dread journey bring. 
 
 How blank to me the world, its depths unseal'd ! 
 
 What is it since my priesthood's solemn hour ! 
 
 Enduring, firmly-based, a precious dower ! 1885 
 
 Vanish from me of life the breathing power, 
 
 If. e'en in thought, I e'er from thee decline ! — 
 
 The gracious form that raptured once my sight, 
 
 That in the magic mirror waked delight. 
 
 Was a foam-image to such charms as thine ! — 1890 
 
 'Tis thou, to whom as tribute now I bring 
 
 My passion's depth, of every power the spring. 
 
 Love, adoration, madness, heart and soul ! 
 
 LIEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 {fi-om tJie prompter'' s box). 
 Collect 3"ourself, and fall not from your role ! 
 
 ELDERLY LADY. 
 
 Tail and well-shaped ! Only too small the head. 1895 
 
 YOUNGER LADY. 
 
 Her foot ! 'Tis clumsy if the truth were said. 
 
 DIPLOMATIST. 
 
 Princesses of this kind I've seen ; and she 
 From head to foot seems beautiful to me. 
 
 COURTIER. 
 
 Softly she nears the sleeper, artful, shy. 
 
 LADY. 
 
 How hateful near that form of purity ! 1900 
 
 POET. 
 
 He is illumined by her beauty's sheen.
 
 Act I] FAUST. 231 
 
 LADY. 
 
 Endymion ! Luna !— 'Tis the pictured scene ! 
 
 POET. 
 
 Quite right ! The goddess downiward seems to sink ; 
 
 O'er him she bends, his balmy breath to drink ; 
 
 A kiss ! — The measure's full ! — envied youth ! 1905 
 
 DUENNA. 
 
 Before the crowd — too bold that is, in sooth I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 A fearful favour to the boy ! — 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Be still ! 
 And let the phantom do whate'er it will 
 
 COURTIER. 
 
 She steals away, light-footed ; — he awakes, 
 
 LADY. 
 
 A backward glance, just as I thought, she takes ! 1910 
 
 COURTIER. 
 
 He starts ! 'Tis marvellous ! he's all amaze. 
 
 LADY. 
 
 To her no marvel is what meets her gaze. 
 
 COURTIER. 
 
 To him with coy reserve she turneth now. 
 
 LADY. 
 
 She takes him into tutelage, it seems ; 
 
 All men in such a case are fools, I trow; 1915 
 
 Himself to be the first, he fondly dreams I 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 Let me admire ! Majestically fair — 
 
 LADY. 
 
 The courtezan ! 'Tis vulgar, I declare ! 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Now in his place to be, full fain I were !
 
 232 FAUST. lPart LI. 
 
 COURTIER. 
 
 Wlio in such not would not be gladly caught? 1920 
 
 LADY. 
 
 From hand to hand the jewel hath been passed ; 
 The very gilding is wcru oil' at last. 
 
 ANOTHER. 
 
 From her tenth year she hath been good for naught. 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 Each takes the best that Fate to him hath sent : 
 
 AVith this fair ruin I were well content. 1925 
 
 LEARNED MAN. 
 
 Her I behold, yet to confess am free, 
 
 Doubts may arise, if she the right one be. 
 
 "What's present doth into extremes betray ; 
 
 Cling closely to the letter, that's my way ; 
 
 I to what's written turn, and there I read : 1930 
 
 How she all Troya's grey-beards charmed indeed. 
 
 How perfectly this tallies here, I see — 
 
 I am not young, and yet she pleases me. 
 
 ASTROLOGER. 
 
 A boy no more ! A man, heroic, brave. 
 
 He claspeth her, who scarce herself can save ; 1935 
 
 "With stalward arm aloft he raises her. 
 
 Thinks he to bear her off? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Eash fool ! Beware ! 
 Thou darest ! Hearest not ! Forbear, I say ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 "Whj- thou thj'self dost make the phantom-play! 
 
 ASTROLOGER. 
 
 Only one word ! From what did her befall, 1940 
 
 " The rape of Helena," the piece I call. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The rape ! Count I for nothing here ? This key, 
 
 Do I not hold it still wdthin my hand ? 
 
 Through drearj^ wastes, through waves, it guided me. 
 
 Through solitudes, here to this solid land ; 1945
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 233 
 
 Here is firm footing, here the actual, where 
 
 Spirit with spirits to contend may dare, 
 
 And for itself a vast, twin-realm prepare. 
 
 Far as she was, how can she he more near? 
 
 Saved, she is donhl}' mine ! I'll dare it ! Hear, 1950 
 
 Ye pothers, Mothers, hear, and grant my quest ! 
 
 Who once hath known, without her cannot rest ! 
 
 ASTROLOGER. 
 
 What dost thou ? Faustus ! Faustus ! — Her with might. 
 He seizes ; fades the phantom from the sight; 
 Towards the youth he turneth now the key, 1955 
 
 He touches him ! — Presto ! alas ! Woe's me ! 
 
 (Explosion, Faust lies upon the ground.^ 
 {The phantoms vanish in the air.^ 
 
 IIEPHISTOPIIELES 
 
 {talcing Faust xtpon his shoulders). 
 You haA^e it now ! With fools oneself to burden, 
 May to the devil prove a sorry guerdon. 
 (Darhicss. Tumult.) 
 
 ACT THE SECOND. 
 
 High-vaulted, narrow Gothic chamber, 
 formerly Faust's, unaltered. 
 
 wephistopheles. 
 (^Stepping from behind a curtain. While he raises it and 
 looks bacJc, Faust is seen, stretched upon an old- 
 fashioned bed.) 
 Lie there, ill-starred one ! In love's chain, 
 Full hard to loose, he captive lies ! 
 Not soon his senses will regaiu 
 Whom Helena doth paralyze. 
 
 (Looking round.) 
 Above, around, on every side 6 
 
 I gaze, uninjured all remains : 
 Dimmer, methinks, appear the colour'd panes,
 
 234 FAUST. CPart IT. 
 
 Tho spiders' wcl>s arc multi])lie(l, 
 
 Yollow tho paper, and the ink is dry; 
 
 Yet in its place each thing 1 find ; 10 
 
 And hero tho vcr}^ pen doth lie, 
 
 ^Vhere^vith himself Fanst to the Devil signed. 
 
 Yea, qiiite dried up, and deeper in the bore, 
 
 The dro]) of hlood, I lured from him of yore — 
 
 O'crjoyed to own such specimen unique 15 
 
 Were he who objects rare is fain to seek — ; 
 
 Here on its hook hangs still the old fur cloak, 
 
 I\Ie it reraindeth of that merry joke, 
 
 When to the boy I precepts gave, for truth, 
 
 AVhereon, perchance, he's feeding now, as youth. 20 
 
 'J'he wish comes over me, with thee allied. 
 
 Enveloped in thy worn and rugged folds, 
 
 Once more to swell with the professor's pride ! 
 
 How quite infallible himself he holds ; 
 
 This feeling to obtain your savans know ; 25 
 
 The devil parted with it long ago. 
 
 (^He shakes the fur cloak which he has taken down; 
 crickets, moths, and chafers fly out.) 
 
 CHORUS OF INSECTS. 
 
 We welcome thy coming. 
 
 Our patron of yore ! 
 
 We're dancing and humming, 
 
 And know thee once more. 30 
 
 Us singly, in silence. 
 
 Hast planted, and lo ! 
 
 By thousands, oh Father, 
 
 We dance to and fro. 
 
 The rogue hides discreetly 35 
 
 The bosom within ; 
 
 We looseskins fly rather 
 
 Forth from the fur skin. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 O'erjoyed I am my progeny to know ! 
 
 We're sure to reap in time, if we but sow. 40 
 
 I shake the old fur-mantle as before. 
 
 And here and there out-flutters one or more. —
 
 Act IL] FAOST. 235 
 
 Above, artmnd, hasten, "beloved elves, 
 
 In hundred thousand nooks to hide yourselves ! 
 
 'Mid boxes there of by-gone time, 45 
 
 Here in these age-embrowned scrolls, 
 
 In broken potsherds, foul with grime, 
 
 In yonder skulls' now eyeless holes ! 
 
 Amid such rotten, mouldering life, 
 
 Must foolish whims for aye be rife. 50 
 
 (Slips into the fur mantle.^ 
 Come shroud my shoulders as of yore ! 
 To-day I'm principal once more ; 
 But useless 'tis, to bear the name : 
 Where are the folk to recognize my claim? 
 
 (Jle jndls the hell, ivhich emits a shrill penetrating sounds 
 at which the halls shaJce and the doors spring open.) 
 
 FAMULUS. 
 
 (Tottering up the long darh passage.) 
 What a clamour ! What a quaking ! 55 
 
 Stairs are rocking, walls are shaking : 
 Through the windows' quivering sheen, 
 Are the stormful lightnings seen ; 
 Springs the ceiling,— thence, below. 
 Lime and mortar rattling flow : 60 
 
 And, though bolted fast, the door 
 Is undone by magic power ! 
 There, in Faust's old fleece bedight, 
 Stands a giant, — dreadful sight ! 
 
 At his glance, his beck, at me 1 65 
 
 I could sink upon my knee. 
 Shall I fly, or shall I stay ? 
 What will be my fate to-day ! 
 
 MKI'HISTOPIIELES. 
 
 Come hither, friend ! — Your name is Nicodemus ? 
 
 FAMULUS. 
 
 Most honour'd Sir, such is my name. — Oremus 1 70 
 
 MEPIIISTOPIIELES. 
 
 That we'll omit 
 
 FAMULUS. 
 
 joy, me you Jo not forget.
 
 236 FAUST. [Paut II. 
 
 MEnilSTOPHELES, 
 
 I kno^^ it well : okl, and a student yet; 
 
 My mossy friend, even a learned man 
 
 Still studies on, because naup;ht else he can : 
 
 Tlius a card-house each huilds of medium height ; 75 
 
 The greatest spirit fails to Imild it quite. 
 
 Your master, thougli, that title well may clair^ — 
 
 The noble Doctor "Wagner, known to fame. 
 
 First in the learned world ! 'Tis he, they say, 
 
 Who holds that world together ; every day 80 
 
 Of AN-isdom he augments the store ! 
 
 Who crave omniscience, evermore 
 
 In crowds upon his teaching wait ; 
 
 He from the rostrum shines alone ; 
 
 The keys doth like Saint Peter own, 85 
 
 And doth of Hell and Heaven ope the gate ; 
 
 As before all he glows and sparkles, 
 
 No fame, no glory but grows dim. 
 
 Even the name of Faustus darkles ! 
 
 Inventor there is none like him. 90 
 
 FAMULUS. 
 
 Pardon, most honour'd Sir, excuse me, pray— 
 
 If I presume your utterance to gainsay — 
 
 This bears not on the question any way ; 
 
 A modest mind is his allotted share. 
 
 The disappearance, unexplained as yet, 95 
 
 Of the great man, his mind doth sorely fret ; 
 
 Comfort from his rettirn and health are still his prayer. 
 
 The chamber, as in Doctor Faustus' day, 
 
 Maintains, untouched, its former state. 
 
 And for its ancient lord doth wait, 100 
 
 Venture therein I scarcely may. 
 
 What now the aspect of the stars ? — 
 
 Awe-struck the very walls appear ; 
 
 •The door-posts quivered, sprang the bars — 
 
 Else you yourself could not have entered here. 105 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Where then bestowed himself hath he? 
 Lead me to him 1 bring him to me !
 
 Act n.] FAUST. 237 
 
 FAMULUS. 
 
 Alas ! Too strict his prohibition, 
 
 Scarce dare I, without liis permission. 
 
 Months, on his mighty work intent, 110 
 
 Hath he, in strict seclusion spent. 
 
 Most dainty 'mong your men of books, 
 
 Like charcoal-burner now he looks, 
 
 With face begrimed from ear to nose ; 
 
 His eyes are lolear'd, while fire he blows ; 115 
 
 Thus for the crisis still he longs ; 
 
 His music is the clang of tongs. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Admittance unto me deny ? 
 
 To hasten his success, the man am I. 
 
 {Exit Famulus. Mephistopheles seats himself with a solemn air.) 
 
 Scarce have I ta'en my post, when lo ! 120 
 
 Stirs from behind a guest, whom well I know ; 
 
 Of the most recent school, this time, is he, 
 
 And quite unbounded will his daring be. 
 
 BACCALAUREUS 
 
 {storming along the passage). 
 Open find I door and gate ! 
 
 Hope at last springs up elate, 125 
 
 That the living shall no more 
 Corpse-like rot, as heretofore. 
 And, while breathing living breath, 
 Waste and moulder as in death. 
 
 Here partition, screen, and wall 130 
 
 Are sinking, bowing to their fall, 
 
 And, unless we soon retreat. 
 
 Wreck and ruin us will greet. 
 
 Me, though bold, nor soon afraid. 
 
 To advance shall none persuade. 135 
 
 What shall I experience next ? 
 
 Years ago, when sore perplexed. 
 
 Came I not a freshman here. 
 
 Full of anxious doubt and fear, 
 
 On these grey-beards then relied, ItO 
 
 By their talk was edified ?
 
 238 FAUST. [Paut II. 
 
 What from nnisty tomos they drew, 
 They lied to ine ; the things they know 
 Believed they not ; with falsehood rife, 
 Themselves and me they robbed of life. 145 
 
 ITow ? — Yonder in the murky glare, 
 There's one still sitting in the Chair — 
 
 Drawing near I wonder more — 
 
 Just as him I left of yore, 
 
 There he sits, in furry gown, 150 
 
 Wrapped in shaggy fleece, the brown ! 
 
 Then he clever seemed, indeed, 
 
 Him as yet I could not read ; 
 
 Naught will it avail to-day ; 
 
 So have at him, straight-away ! 155 
 
 If Lethe's murky flood not yet hath passed, 
 Old Sir, through your bald pate, that sideways bends. 
 The scholar recognize, who hither wends, 
 Outgrown your academic rods at last. 
 
 The same I find you, as of yore ; 160 
 
 But I am now the same no more. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Glad am I that I've rung you here. 
 
 I prized you then not slightingly ; 
 
 In grub and chrj^salis appear 
 
 The future brilliant butterfly. 165 
 
 A childish pleasure then you drew 
 
 From collar, lace, and curls. — A queue 
 
 You probably have never worn ? — 
 
 Now to a crop I see you shorn. 
 
 All resolute and bold your air — 170 
 
 But from the absolute forbear ! 
 
 BACCALAUREUS. 
 
 We're in the ancient place, mine ancient Sir, 
 
 But think upon time's onward flow. 
 
 And words of double-meaning spare ! 
 
 Quite otherwise we hearken now. 175 
 
 You fooled the simple, honest youth ; 
 
 It cost but little art in sooth, 
 
 To do what none to-day will dare.
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 239 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 If to the young the naked truth one speaks, 
 
 It pleases in no wise the yellow beaks ; 180 
 
 But afterwards, when in their turn 
 
 On their own skin the painful truth they learn, 
 
 They think, forsooth, from their own head it came ; 
 
 " The master was a fool," they straight proclaim. 
 
 BACCALAUUEUS. 
 
 A rogue perchance ! — For where's the teacher found 185 
 Who to our face, direct, will Truth expound ? 
 Children to edify, each knows the way, 
 To add or to subtract, now grave, now gay. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 For learning there's in very truth a time ; 
 
 For teaching, I perceive, you now are prime. 190 
 
 While a few suns and many moons have waned, 
 
 A rich exjDerience you have doubtless gained ! 
 
 BACCALAUREUS. 
 
 Experience ! Froth and scum alone, 
 
 Not with the mind of equal birth ! 
 
 Confess ! what men have always known, 195 
 
 As knowledge now is nothing worth. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES {aftci' a pause). 
 I long have thought myself a fool ; 
 Now shallow to myself I seem, and dull. 
 
 BACCALAUREUS. 
 
 That pleases me ! Like reason that doth sound ; 
 
 The first old man of sense I yet have found ! 200 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I sought for hidden treasures, genuine gold — 
 And naught but hideous ashes forth I bore ! 
 
 BACCALAUREUS. 
 
 Confess that pate of yours, though bare and old, 
 Than yonder hollow skull is worth no more ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES {fjood-naturedhj). 
 Thou kuow'st not, friend, how rude is thy reply. 205
 
 240 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 BACCALAUREUS. 
 
 In Gorman to bo courteous is to lie. 
 
 MEPHISTOPIIELES 
 
 {still moving 1m wheel-chair ever nearer to the 'proscenium^ 
 to the pit). 
 Up here I am bereft of light and air ; 
 I perhaps shall find a refuge with you there ? 
 
 BACCALAUREUS. 
 
 When at their worst, that men would something be, 
 
 "When they are naught, presumptuous seems to me. 210 
 
 Man's life is in the blood, and where, in sooth, 
 
 Pulses the blood so strongly as in youth ? 
 
 That's living blood, which with fresh vigour rife, 
 
 The newer life createth oiit of life. 
 
 There all is movement, something there is done ; 215 
 
 Falleth the weak, the able presses on ! 
 
 "While half the world we 'neath our sway have brought, 
 
 "What have ye done ? Slept, nodded, dream'd, and thought. 
 
 Plan after plan rejected ; — nothing won. 
 
 Age is, in sooth, a fever cold, 220 
 
 "With frost of whims and peevish need : 
 
 "When more than thirty years are told, 
 
 As good as dead one is indeed : 
 
 You it were best, methinks, betimes to slay. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The devil here has nothing more to say. 225 
 
 BACCALAUREUS. 
 
 Save through my will, no devil dares to be. 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES (aside). 
 The devil now prepares a fall for thee ! 
 
 BACCALAUREUS, 
 
 The noblest mission this of youth's estate. 
 
 The world was not, till it I did create ; 
 
 The radiant Sun I led from out the sea ; 230 
 
 Her changeful course the Moon began with me ; 
 
 The Day arrayed hei-self my steps to meet, 
 
 The Earth grew green, and blossom'd me to greet ;
 
 Act IL] FAUST. 241 
 
 At my command, upon you primal Night, 
 
 The starry hosts unveiled their glorious light. 235 
 
 Who, beside me, the galling chains unbound, 
 
 Which cramping thought had cast your spirits round ? 
 
 But I am free, as speaks my spirit-voice, 
 
 My inward Kght I follow, and rejoice ; 
 
 Swift I advance, enraptur'd, void of fear, 240 
 
 Brightness before me, darkness in the rear. {Exit.^ 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Go, in thy pride. Original, thy way ! — 
 
 True insight would, in truth, thy spirit grieve ! 
 
 What wise or stupid thoughts can man conceive, 
 
 Unponder'd in the ages passed away ? — 245 
 
 Yet we for him need no misgiving have ; 
 
 Changed will he be, when a few years are past ; 
 
 Hovve'er absurdly may the must behave, 
 
 Nathless it yields a wine at last. — 
 
 {To the younger part of the audience, ivho do not applaud. ^ 
 Though to my words you're somewhat cold, 250 
 
 Good children, me you don't offend ; 
 Reflect ! The devil, he is old ; 
 Grow old then, him to comprehend ! 
 
 Laboratory. 
 
 (After the fashion of the middle ages; cumbrous, useless 
 apparatus, for fantastic purposes.) 
 
 WAGNER (at the furnace). 
 Soundeth the bell, the fearful clang 
 Thrills through these sooty walls ; no more 255 
 
 Upon fulfilment waits the pang 
 Of hope or fear ; — suspense is o'er; 
 The darknesses begin to clear. 
 Within the inmost phial glows 
 
 Radiance, like living coal, that throws, 260 
 
 As from a splendid carbuncle, its rays ; 
 Athwart the gloom its lightning plays. 
 A pure white lustre doth appear ; 
 may I never lose it more ! — 
 My God ! what rattles at the door? 265
 
 What is it, then ? 
 
 242 FAUST. [Pabt 1L 
 
 MEPHisTOPHELES (^entering) 
 "Welcome ! As friend I enter here. 
 
 WAGXER. 
 
 Hail to the star that rules the hour ! 
 (Softly.) 
 On breath and utterance let a ban be laid ! 
 Soon will be consummate a work of power. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (in a wMsper 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 A man is being made. 270 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 A man ? and pray what loving pair 
 Have in your smoke-hole their abode ? 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 Nay I Heaven forbid ! As nonsense we declare 
 
 The ancient procreative mode ; 
 
 The tender point, life's spring, the gentle strength 27o 
 
 That took and gave, that from within hath pressed, 
 
 And seized, intent itself to manifest 
 
 The nearest first, the more remote at length, — 
 
 This from its dignity is now dethron'd ! 
 
 The brute indeed may take delight therein, 280 
 
 But man, by whom such mighty gifts are own'd, 
 
 Must have a purer, higher origin. 
 
 (He turns to the furnace.) 
 It flashes, see ! — Now may we trustful hold, 
 That if, of substances a hundred-fold, 
 
 Through mixture, — for on mixture it depends — 285 
 
 The human substance duly we compose. 
 And then in a retort enclose. 
 And cohobate ; in still repose 
 The work is perfected, our labour ends. 
 
 (Again turning to the furnace.) 
 It forms ! More clear the substance shows 1 290 
 
 Stronger, more strong, conviction grows !
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 243 
 
 What Nature's mystery we once did style, 
 
 That now to test, our reason tries, 
 
 And what she organized erewhile, 
 
 We now are fain to crystallize. 295 
 
 lIEPinSTOPIIELES. 
 
 Who lives, doth much experience glean ; 
 By naught in this world will he be surprised ; 
 Already in my travel-years I've seen, 
 Full many a race of mortals crystallized. 
 
 WAGNER (still (jazing intently on the pliiaJ). 
 
 It mounts, it glows, and doth together run, 300 
 
 One moment, and the work is done ! 
 
 As mad, a grand design at first is view'd ; 
 
 But we henceforth may laugh at fate, 
 
 And so a brain, with thinking-power embued, 
 
 Henceforth your living thinker will create. 305 
 
 (Surveying the phial ivitli rapture.^ 
 The glass resounds, with gracious power possessed ; 
 It dims, grows clear ; living it needs must be ! 
 And now in form of beauty dressed, 
 A dainty mannikin I see. 
 
 What more can we desire, what more mankind? 310 
 
 Unveiled is now what hidden was of late ; 
 Give ear unto this sound, and you will find, 
 A voice it will become, articulate. — 
 
 HOMUNCULUS 
 
 (m the phial, to Wagner). 
 
 Now, Fatherkin, how goes it ? T'was no jest ! 
 
 Come, let me to thy heart bo fondly pressed — 315 
 
 Lest the glass break, less tight be thine embrace ! 
 
 This is the property of things : the All 
 
 Scarcely suffices for the natural ; 
 
 The artificial needs a bounded space. 
 
 ( To Mephistopheles.) 
 But thou, Sir Cousin, Rogue, art thou too here ? 320 
 
 At the right moment ! Thee I thank. 'Tis clear 
 To us a ]i!i])py fortune Icadeth thee ; 
 While I exist, still must I active be, 
 
 R 2
 
 244 FAUST. [Pabt II. 
 
 Autl to tho wovk forthwith myself would gird; 
 Thou'rt skill'd the way to shorten. 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 Just one word ! 325 
 I oft have been ashamed that knowledge failed, 
 When old and young with problems me assailed. 
 For instance : no one yet could comprehend, 
 ITow soul and body so completely blend, 
 l\tgether hold, as ne'er to part, while they 330 
 
 Tornaent each other through the live-long day. 
 So then — 
 
 MEl'IUSTOPHELES, 
 
 Forbear ! The problem solve for me, 
 Why man and wife so wretchedly agree ? 
 Upon this point, my friend, thou'lt ne'er be clear; 
 The mannikin wants work, he'll find it here. 335 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 What's to be done ? 
 
 SIEPHISTOPIIELES 
 
 {pointing to a side door). 
 Yonder thy gifts display ! 
 
 WAGKER 
 
 {still gazing into the jjliiaT). 
 A very lovely boy, I needs must say ! 
 {The side door opens ; Faust is seen stretched upon a couch.) 
 
 HOJiUNCLTLUS {amazed). 
 Momentus ! 
 
 {The phial slips from Wagner's hands, hovers over 
 Faust, and sheds a light upon him.) 
 Girt with beauty ! — Water clear 
 In the thick gi'ove ; fair women, w^ho undress ; 
 Most lovely creatures ! — grows their loveliness : 340 
 
 But o'er the rest one shines without a peer, 
 As if from heroes, nay from gods she came ; 
 In the transparent sheen her foot she laves ; 
 The tender life-fire of her noble frame 
 She cools in yielding crystal of the waves. — 345 
 
 Of swiftly moving wings what sudden noise ? 
 \\ hat plash, what plunge the liquid glass lestroys ?
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 245 
 
 The maidens fly, alarmed ; alone, tlie queen, 
 
 With calm composure gazes on the scene ; 
 
 With womanly and proud delight, she sees 360 
 
 The prince of swans press fondly to her knees, 
 
 Persistent, tame ; familiar now he grows. — 
 
 But suddenly up-floats a misty shroud, 
 
 And with thick-woven veil doth over-cloud 
 
 The loveliest of all lovely shows. 355 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Why thou in sooth canst every thing relate I 
 Small as thou art, as phantast thou a:t great. 
 I can see nothing — 
 
 HOMÜNCULUS. 
 
 I believe it. Thou, 
 Bred in the north, in the dark ages, how, 
 In whirl of priesthood and knight-errantry, 360 
 
 Have for such sights, thy vision free 1 
 In darkness only thou'rt at home. 
 
 (Looking round.) 
 Ye bi'own, repulsive blocks of stone, 
 Arch-pointed, low, with mould o'ergrown ! 
 Should he awake, new care were bred, 365 
 
 He on the spot would straight be dead. 
 Wood-fountains, swans, fair nymphs undressed, 
 Such was his dream, presageful, rare ; 
 In place like this how could he rest, 
 
 Which I, of easy mood, scarce bear! 370 
 
 Away with him 1 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I like your plan, proceed ! 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Command the warrior to the fight, 
 
 The maiden to the dancers lead ! 
 
 They're satisfied, and all is right. 
 
 E'en now a thought occurs, most bright ; 
 
 'Tis classical Walpurgis-night — "'^ 
 
 Most fortunate ! It suits his bent. 
 
 So bring him straightway to his element!
 
 LM(J FAUST. [Pakt 11. 
 
 MEPIIISTOPHELES. 
 
 Of sndi I no'or have heard, I frankly own. 
 
 HOMUNCÜLUS. 
 
 ('poll your car indeed how should it fall? 380 
 
 Only roiuiuitic ghosts to you are known; 
 Ynur genuine ghost is also classical. 
 
 MEPHISTOPilELES. 
 
 But whitherwaril to travel are we fain? 
 Your anticjuc colleagues are against my grain. 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 North-westward, Satan, lies thy pleasure-ground ; 385 
 
 But, this time, we to the south-east are hound. — 
 
 An ample vale Peneios floweth through, 
 
 'Mid bush and tree its curving shores it laves ; 
 
 The plain extendeth to the mountain caves, 
 
 Above it lies Pharsalus, old and new. 390 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Alas ! Forbear ! For ever be eschewed 
 
 Those wars of tyranny and servitude ! 
 
 I'm bored with them : for they, as soon as done, 
 
 Straight recommence ; and no one calls to mind 
 
 That he in sooth is only played upon 395 
 
 By Asmodeus, who still lurks behind. 
 
 They battle, so 'tis said, for freedom's rights — 
 
 More clearly seen, 'tis slave 'gainst slave who fights. 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Leave we to men their nature, quarrel-prone ! 
 
 Each must defend himself, as best he can, 400 
 
 From boyhood up ; so he becomes a man. 
 
 The question here is, how to cure this one? 
 
 (Pomtinfj to Faust.) 
 Hast thou a means, here let it tested be ; 
 Canst thou do naught, then leave the task to me. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Full many a Brocken-piece I might essay, 405 
 
 But bolts of heathendom fore-close the way.
 
 Act n.] FAUST. 247 
 
 The Grecian folk were ne'er worth much, 'tis true, 
 
 Yet with the senses' play they dazzle you ; 
 
 To cheerful sins the human heart they lure, 
 
 While ours are reckoned gloomy and obscure. 410 
 
 And now what next ? 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Uf old thou wert not shy ; 
 And if I name Thessalian witches, — why, 
 I something shall have said, — of that I'm sure. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (lustfulhj). 
 
 Thessalian witches — well ! the people they 
 
 Concerning whom I often have inquired. 415 
 
 Night after night, indeed, with them to stay. 
 
 That were an ordeal not to be desired ; 
 
 But for a trial trip — 
 
 H0MUXCÜLUS. 
 
 The mantle there 
 Eeach hither, wrap it round the knight ! 
 As heretofore, the rag will bear 420 
 
 Both him and thee ; the way I'll light. 
 
 WAGNER {alarmed). 
 And I? 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 At home thou wilt remain, 
 Thee most important work doth there detain ; 
 The ancient scrolls unfolding, cull 
 
 Life's elements, as taught by rule, 425 
 
 And each with other then combine with care ; 
 Upon the What, more on the Huw, reflect ! 
 Meanwhile as through a piece of world I fare, 
 I may the dot upon the " I " detect. 
 
 Then will the mighty aim accomplish'd be ; 430 
 
 Such high reward deserves such striving ; — wealth, 
 Honour and glory, lengthcn'd life, sound health. 
 Knowledge withal and virtue — possibly. 
 Farewell ' 
 
 WAGNER. 
 
 Farewell ! That grieves my heart full sore ! 
 I fear indeed I ne'er shall sec thee more!, 435
 
 248 FAUST. [Past IL 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Now to Poneios forth Ave wend ! 
 We must not slight our cousin's aid. 
 
 (To the spectators.) 
 At last, in sooth, we all depend 
 On oreatmes, wo uuiselves have macUi.
 
 Act ILJ FAUST. 249 
 
 CLASSICAL WALPUEGIS NIGHT. 
 
 Pharsalian Fields. 
 Darkness. 
 
 ERICHTHO.* 
 
 To this night's ghastly fete, as oftentimes before, 440 
 
 I hither come, Erichtho, I, the gloomy one ; 
 
 Not so atrocioiis, as the sorry poet-throng 
 
 Me in excess have slandered. . . They no measure know 
 
 In censure and applause. . . O'erwhitened seems to me. 
 
 With waves of dusky tents, the valley, far and wide, 445 
 
 Night-phantom of that dire and most appalling night. 
 
 How often 'tis repeated ! Will for evermore 
 
 Eepeat itself for aye. . . empire none gladly yields 
 
 To others ; none to him, by force who master'd it 
 
 And forceful reigns. For each, his inmost self to rule 450 
 
 How impotent soe'er, ruleth right joyously 
 
 His neighbour's will, as prompts his own imperious 
 
 mind. . . . 
 Nathless a great example here was battled through ; 
 Here force 'gainst force more potent takes its stand. 
 Freedom's fair chaplet breaks, with thousand blossoms 
 
 rife, 455 
 
 The stubborn laurel bends around the victor's brow. 
 Of greatness' budding-day hero Pompcy dreamed ; and 
 
 there, 
 Watching the wavering balance, Caesar wakeful lay ! 
 Strength they shall measure. Knows the world who here 
 
 prevailed. 
 Brightly the watch-fires bum, diffusing ruddy flames ; 400 
 Eeflex of blood, once spilt, does from the soil exhale. 
 And by the night's most rare and wondrous splendour 
 
 lured. 
 Hither the legions throng of Hellas' mytliic lore. 
 Round every fire dim shapes, phantoms of ancient days 
 Flit wavering to and fro, or there recline at ease. . . 465 
 • A TbcBsalian witch consultod by Pompcy.
 
 250 FAUST, [Paut II. 
 
 The moon, not fully orli'd, of clearest Hglit serene, 
 
 U])risiiii;-, lustre mild iliiTuscs all around. 
 
 Vanisli the spectral tents, the fires are burning blue. 
 
 l)ut lo ! above my head, what sudden meteor sails ! 
 
 It shines, and dotli illume a ball corporeal. 470 
 
 1 snuff tlie scent of life. Me it beseemeth not 
 
 The living to approach, to whom I noxious am ; 
 
 That brings me ill-repute, and nothing profits me. 
 
 Already it sinks down. With caution 1 retire. 
 
 ( Withdraws.) 
 
 The aerial travellers above. 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 O'er the horror weird and blazing, 475 
 
 Wing once more your circling flight ; 
 
 Down on vale and hollow gazing, 
 All phantasmal is the sight. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 Hideoiis ghosts, as through the casement 
 
 Old, 'mid northern waste and gloom, 480 
 
 I behold, — without amazement, — 
 Here as there I am at home ! 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Swiftly, there, before us striding, 
 Mark yon tall, retreating shade I 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Seeing us through ether gliding, 485 
 
 Troubled seems she, and afraid. 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Let her stride ! Set down thy burden, — 
 Him, thy Knight ; — the while I speak, 
 
 Life to him returns, the guerdon, 
 
 He in fable-land doth seek. 490 
 
 FAUST (touching the ground). 
 Where is she ? 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 That I cannot say, 
 But here perchance inquire for her you may.
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 251 
 
 Till breaks the dawn, with speed, do thou, 
 
 From fire to fire, still seeking, wend; 
 
 He nothing more need fear, I trow, 495 
 
 Who, to the Mothers, ventured to descend. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 My part to play, I also claim ; 
 
 And for our weal naught better know, 
 
 Than that, forthwith, from flame to flame. 
 
 Seeking his own adventures each should go. 
 
 Then us once more to re-unite, 500 
 
 Show, little friend, thy sounding light 1 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Thus shall it sound, thus glitter too ! 
 
 (T/ie glass rings, and emits a powerful liglit.^ 
 And now away to marvels new ! 
 
 FAUST {alone). 
 Where is she ? — Now no further question make ! . . . 505 
 If this were not the sod, her form that bare. 
 This not the wave that brake to welcome her. 
 Yet 'tis the air, that once her language spake ! 
 Here ! through a wonder, here on Grecian land ! 
 I felt at once the soil whereon I stand : 510 
 
 As me, the sleeper, a new spirit fired, 
 An Antaeus in heart, I rise inspired. 
 Assembled here objects most strange I find. 
 Searching, through this flame-labyrinth I'll wind. 
 
 {He retires.) 
 MEPHISTOPHELES {-prying around). 
 As I these little fires still wander through, 515 
 
 I find myself a stranger everywhere ; 
 Quite naked most, some shirted here and there : 
 The Sphinxes shameless, and the Griffins too, 
 And winged things, with tresses, hurrying past, 
 Before, behind, within mine eye are glassed . . . 520 
 
 At heart indecent ai'o we, truth to speak. 
 Yet all too life-like find I the Antique ; 
 It by ^'he modem mind must be controlled, 
 And over-glossed, in fashions manifold. . . , 
 A crew repulsive ! Yet, a stranger guest, 526
 
 252 FAUST. [Paut II. 
 
 lu ct)urteons phrase "be my sahite expressed. . . . 
 All hail ! yc beauteous ladies, grey -beards wise ! 
 
 GRIFFIN (snarling^ 
 Kot Grey-heards — Griffins ! It the temper tries 
 To hear oueself styled grey. In every wurd 
 Some echo of its origin is heard : 530 
 
 Grim, grievous, grizzled, grimy, grave-yards, grey, 
 In etymology accord, and they 
 Still put us out of tune. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Yet all the same, 
 The " Gri " contents you in your honour'd name. 
 
 GRIFFIN (as above). 
 Of course ! For the alliance proved may be, 535 
 
 Oft blamed indeed, but praised more frequently. 
 Let each one gripe at beauty, empire, gold, 
 Fortune still aids the Griper if he's bold. 
 
 ANTS (of the colossal hind). 
 Of gold ye speak. Thereof we much had stored, 
 And piled in rocks and caves our secret hoard ; 540 
 
 The Arimaspians found it, bore it off — 
 So far away that now at us they scoff. 
 
 GRIFFIN. 
 
 We'll bring them straightway to confession. 
 
 ARIMASPIAN. 
 
 Not on this night of jubilee ! 
 
 Ere morning, all will squander'd be ; 545 
 
 For this time we retain possession. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 (who has seated liimself between the Sphinxes). 
 How soon, well-pleased, I grow familiar here ! 
 I understand them, man by man. 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 Our spirit-tones into your ear 
 
 We breathe, embody them you can. 550 
 
 Until we know thee better, tell thy name.
 
 Act U.] FAUST. 253 
 
 MEPHISTOPIIELES. 
 
 Full many a title I 'mong men may claim. 
 
 Are Britons here ? They travel far to trace 
 
 Renowned battle-fields, and water-falls, 
 
 Old musty classic sites, and ruined walls. 555 
 
 A Avorthy goal for them this very place ; 
 
 Of me their ancient plays would testify ; 
 
 I there was seen as Old Iniquity. 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 How came they upon that ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I know not. 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 That may he. 
 To read the starry volume hast thou power ? 560 
 
 What sayest to the aspect of the hour ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (looMng tip). 
 
 Star shooteth after star, bright the shorn moon doth 
 
 shine, 
 And I'm content this cozy place within ; 
 I warm myself against thy lion's skin. 
 Aloft to climb were hurtful, I opine. 565 
 
 Propose some riddles, some charades !— Begin ! 
 
 Sphinx. 
 
 Thyself declare, a riddle that indeed. 
 
 Only essay thine inmost self to read : 
 
 " Needful to pious, as to bad men found ; 
 
 Armour to those, ascetic fence to test, 570 
 
 Comrade to these, in every desperate quest. 
 
 And both alike to Zeus, a merry jest." 
 
 1st gpjffin (snarling). 
 1 like him not ! 
 
 2nd griffin (snarling more loudly')» 
 
 What wants he here? 
 
 BOTH. 
 
 Tlie brute belongs not to this sphere I
 
 2Ö4 FAUST. [PaIvT II. 
 
 MEPniSTOi'iiP:LKS (hrutaUi/). 
 Thou thinkest. maybe, that the stranger's nail, 575 
 
 To scratch with, like thy talons, can't avail? 
 Let's try, forthwith ! 
 
 SPHINX (^mildlij). 
 Here thou may'st ever dwell, 
 But from oxir midst thyself wilt soon expel. 
 In thine ovm land art wont thyself to please. 
 If I mistake not, here thou'rt ill at ease. 580 
 
 llEPUISTOPHELES. 
 
 Enticing art thou, when above descried ; 
 But with the beast below, I'm horrified. 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 Thou false one, thou shalt bitterly repent : 
 
 These paws are sound : but as for thee, 
 
 AVith thy shrunk hoof thou'rt not content, 585 
 
 It seems, in our society. 
 
 Sirens (jpreluding above). 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 What birds are those, on poplar bough 
 Swinging, the river banks along ? 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 Beware ! the noblest have ere now 
 
 Been master'd by the Sirens' song ! 590 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Ah ! Misguided one, why linger, 
 
 'Mid these hideous wonders dwelling I 
 
 Cometh each melodious singer ; — 
 
 Hark ! our choral notes are swelling, 
 
 As beseems the Siren-throng. 595 
 
 SPHINXES 
 
 (viiocMnq them in the same melody). 
 Force them downward, hither faring ; 
 'Mid the boughs themselves concealing, 
 They to seize you are preparing ; 
 Ugly falcon-claws revealing, 
 If ye hearken to their song. 600
 
 Act n.] FAUST. 255 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Envy, Hate, avaunt ye ! Listen ! 
 
 All the brightest joys that glisten, 
 
 'Neath the sky, assemble we ! 
 
 Now with joy in every feature, 
 
 Hail we gladly every creature, 605 
 
 On the earth or in the sea ! 
 
 HEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Dainty novelties, — there ring 
 
 From the throat, and from the string 
 
 Tones that sweetly interweave. 
 
 Trills on me away are thrown ; 610 
 
 Tickle they mine ear alone. 
 
 But untouched my heart they leave. 
 
 SPHINXES. 
 
 Speak not of hearts, for, I believe, 
 
 A leathern wallet in its place, 
 
 Shrivelled, would better suit thy face. 615 
 
 FAUST (entering). 
 
 The spectacle contents me ; — wondrous creatures, 
 Ill-favoured, yet with large and stalward features. 
 E'en now, I augur an auspicious fate ; 
 Whither doth me tliat earnest glance translate ? 
 
 ijjointing to the Sphinxes.) 
 Once before such took Qildipus his stand ; 620 
 
 {pointing to the Sirens.) 
 Writhed before such Ulyss in hem})en band? 
 
 {pointing to the Ants.) 
 By such the mightiest treasure was upstored. 
 
 (pointing to the Griffins.) 
 With true and faithful watch, these kept the hoard. 
 I feel new life my being penetrate ; 
 Great are the forms, the memories are great ! 625 
 
 mephistopheles. 
 Once thou such shapes had scouted, now 
 Thou seemest friendly to their kind ; 
 E'en monsters welcome are, 1 trow. 
 To him who would the loved one find.
 
 2öG FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 FAUST {to the Sphinxes). 
 Yo ■woraon shapos. straight nmst ye answer me : 380 
 
 Hath oue of you chanced Helena to see ? 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 We roach not to her day ; the hist was slain 
 
 By Hercules ; some tidings thou may'st gain 
 
 From Chiron, canst thou him detain. 
 
 Kound on this ghostly night he doth career ; 635 
 
 If he will answer thee, thy goal is near. 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Thou, for certain, shalt not fail ! . . . , 
 
 When Ulysses, with us whiling, 
 
 Sped not forward, unreviling, 
 
 He hath told us many a tale. 340 
 
 All to thee we would confide, 
 
 If 'midst Ocean's purple tide. 
 
 To our seats thou wouldst repair. 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 Noble one, their guile "beware ! 
 
 As Ulysses to the mast, — 345 
 
 Thee let our good counsel bind. 
 
 Canst thou noble Chiron find. 
 
 Thy desii'e wilt gain at last. 
 
 {Exit Faust.) 
 
 MEPHisTOPHELEs {j>eevishly). 
 "What croaks, on pinions rushing by ? 
 So swiftly they elude the eye, 350 
 
 In single file they hun-ying fly ; 
 The hunter they would tire, I ween. 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 Like storm of wintry tempest, these, 
 
 Scarce reach Alcides' arrows keen — 
 
 They are the swift Stymphalides ; 655 
 
 Their croaking too is kindly meant, 
 
 With foot of goose and vulture beak ; 
 
 To mingle in our sphere they seek. 
 
 Their cousinship to prove intent.
 
 Act IL] FAUST. 257 
 
 MEPniSTOPHELES (^scored). 
 There whiz some other forms of ill — 660 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 For fear of these you need not quake : 
 
 These are the heads of the Lernoean snake, 
 
 Shorn from the trunk, and think they're something si ill.— 
 
 But say what meaneth this distress ? 
 
 This troubled air, this restlessness ? 665 
 
 Where would you go ? Be off, I say ! 
 
 The group, that yonder meets mine eye, 
 
 Leads you to turn your neck awry. 
 
 Be not constrained ! Begone ! Away ! 
 
 And greet full many a visage fair ! 670 
 
 The Xiamise, wantons sly, are there. 
 
 With forehead bold, and winning smile, 
 
 As they the Satyr-race beguile : 
 
 With them the goat's foot all may dare. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 You'll stay, that I may find you here again. 675 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 Yea ! mingle with the airy train ! 
 
 From Egypt we the custom own. 
 
 That each a thousand years should keep her throne. 
 
 And to our place, if due respect ye pay, 
 
 We rule the lunar, rule the solar day. 680 
 
 We, the Pyramids before, 
 Sit for judgment of the nations. 
 War and peace and inundations — 
 Change our features never more. 
 
 Peneios. 
 Surrounded by waters and Nymphs. 
 
 peneios. 
 Sedgy whispers, gently flow ; 685 
 
 Sister reeds breathe faint and low ; 
 Willows lightly rustle ye. 
 Lisp each trembling puplar-tree,
 
 258 FAUST. [Part U. 
 
 To my interrupted dream ! 
 
 Wakous me a tempest drear ; 690 
 
 From my rest a trembling fear 
 
 iScareB me, 'neath my flowing stream. 
 
 FAUST (^approaching the stream). 
 By mine ear I must believe, 
 Where these arbours interweave 
 Bush and bough, there breathes aroixnd, 61)5 
 
 As of human voice the sound ; 
 Prattling seems each wave to play, 
 And the breeze keeps holiday. 
 
 NYMPHS (to Faust). 
 Oh best were it for thee, 
 
 Way-weary and sore, 700 
 
 In coolness reclining, 
 Thy limbs to restore ; — 
 The rest thus enjoying 
 That from thee doth flee ; 
 
 We rustle, we muiTQur, 705 
 
 We whisper to thee ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Yes, I'm awake ! Let them have sway 
 
 These peerless shapes, as in their play 
 
 Follows mine eye, in eager quest. 
 
 How strange the feeling ! What are these? 710 
 
 Dreams are they ? Are they memories ? 
 
 Already once wert thou so blest. 
 
 Athwart thick-woven copse and bush 
 
 Still waters glide ; — they do not msh, 
 
 Scarcely they rustle as they flow : 715 
 
 From every side their currents bright 
 
 A hundred crystal springs unite, 
 
 And form a sloping bath below. 
 
 Young nymphs, whose limbs of graceful mould. 
 
 The gazer's raptured eyes behold, 720 
 
 Are in the liquid mirror glassed ! 
 
 ]>athing with joyance all-pervading, 
 
 Xow boldly swimming, shyly wading, 
 
 W^ith shout and water-fight at last.
 
 4cT II.] FAUST. 259 
 
 Contented might I be with these, 725 
 
 Mine eye be charmed with what it sees. 
 
 Yet to yon covert's leafy screen 
 
 My yearning glance doth forward press, 
 
 The verdant wealth of whose recess 
 
 Shronds from my gaze the lofty queen. 730 
 
 Most wonderful ! Swans now draw near ; 
 
 Forth from the bays their course they steer, 
 
 Oaring with majestic grace ; 
 
 Floating, tenderly allied, 
 
 But with self-complacent pride, 735 
 
 Head and beak they move apace ! 
 
 But one seems before the rest, 
 
 Joyfully the wave to breast. 
 
 Sailing s^dft, without a peer ; 
 
 Swells his plumage, wave on wave, 740 
 
 That the answering flood doth lave ; — 
 
 He the hallowed spot doth near. . . , 
 
 Now the others swim together. 
 
 To and fro, with shining feather ; 
 
 Soon in splendid strife, they scare 745 
 
 All the timid maids away ; 
 
 That, from duty swerving, they 
 
 For themselves alone may care. 
 
 NYMPHS. 
 
 Sisters, hearken, lay your ear 
 
 To the water's grassy bound ! 750 
 
 Eingeth, if I rightly hear. 
 
 As of horse's hoof the sound. 
 
 Would I knew, who on this night, 
 
 Message bears in rapid flight. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 As it seems, the earth indeed 
 Echoes 'neath a hurrying steed. 
 
 Yonder turns my glance ! 
 
 Can such blessed chance 
 
 Wait upon me here ? 
 
 Marvel without peer ! 760 
 
 Hither a rider swift doth scour — 
 Fiiidowed with spirit and with power —
 
 260 PAUST. [Part IL 
 
 Borue by a snow-white steed is he. . . . 
 
 I err not, him I seek is found — 
 
 Of Fhilyra the son renowned ! — 7G5 
 
 Halt ! Chiron ! Halt ! I'd speak with thee. . . . 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 How now ! what wouldest thou ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Thy course arrest ! 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 I pause not. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Take me with thee, grant my quest ! 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Blount ! So I can inquire, as on we fare, 
 
 Whither art bound ? Thou standest on the banks; 770 
 
 Prepared I am, thee through the stream to bear. 
 
 FAUST (^mounting'). 
 Where'er thou wilt. Have evermore my thanks. . . . 
 The mighty man, the pedagogue of old 
 AVhose fame it was, a hero-race to mould : 
 The noble Argonauts, with all their peers, 775 
 
 Who formed the poet's world, in bygone years — 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 That pass we over ! Pallas' self indeed 
 
 As Mentor is not honour'd ; to my thought, 
 
 All, in the end, in their own way proceed, 
 
 As though, in sooth, they never had been taught. 780 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The leech who names each plant, who knows 
 All roots, e'en that which deepest grows, 
 Wounds who assuageth, sickness who doth chase. 
 In mind and body's strength I here embrace— 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Were hero wounded on the field, 785 
 
 Counsel and aid I could impart ; 
 But, in the end, to priests 1 yield, 
 And women-herbalists my healing art.
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 261 
 
 FAUST. 
 In ttee the truly great man speaks, 
 
 To words of praise who stops his ears ; 790 
 
 Who acts, while privacy he seeks, 
 As were he one of many peers. 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Well skilled thou seemest, to beguile 
 People and prince with glozing wile. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 At least hy thee t'will be confessed, — 795 
 
 The greatest of thy time hast seen, the best ; 
 
 Hast with the noblest vied, in earnest strife, 
 
 And lived of demi-gods the arduous life ! 
 
 But 'mong those figures of heroic mould, 
 
 In virtue whom pre-eminent didst hold ? 800 
 
 CHIRON, 
 
 In the high circle of the Argonauts, 
 
 Each valiant was in foshion of his o'mi, 
 
 And, by the virtue which inspired his thoughts. 
 
 Where others failed, he could suffice alone ; 
 
 The Dioscuri ever did prevail 805 
 
 Where youthful bloom and beauty turned the scale ; 
 
 Eesolve, prompt deeds for others' welfare, these 
 
 The portion fair of the Boreades ; 
 
 Reflective, wary, strong, in council wise, 
 
 So Jason lorded, dear to woman's eyes. 810 
 
 Then Orpheus, tender, contemplative, still ; — 
 
 Smote he the lyre, all owned his wondrous skill. 
 
 Lynceus, through rocks and shoals, who, keen of sight, 
 
 Guided the holy ship, by day and night. 
 
 In fellowship is danger fronted best, 815 
 
 Where one achieves, extolled by all the rest. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Of Hercules to me wilt naught impart ? 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Alas ! wake not the longing in my heart. . , . 
 
 Never had Phoebus met my gaze. 
 
 Ares, or Hermes, — such their name ; 820
 
 2(>2 FAUST. [Part U. 
 
 ^Vhen, as divine what all men praise 
 
 Ik'ibre my raptured vision came ! 
 
 A monarch born, in youth arrayed 
 
 AVith glorious beauty ; homage due 
 
 He to his elder brothw paid, 825 
 
 And to the loveliest women too; 
 
 His second bears not Mother Earth, 
 
 Nor Hebe leads to heaven again ; 
 
 Song strives in vain to tell his worth, 
 
 Tortured is marble too, in. vain ! 830 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 To give such form to mortal ken 
 The sculptor's boasted power is weak. 
 The fairest hast pourtrayed of men, 
 Kow of the loveliest woman speak ! 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 What ! Woman's beauty ! Empty phrase, 835 
 
 Too oft an image void of life ; 
 
 The being only can I praise, 
 
 Joy-giving and with gladness rife. 
 
 For Beauty in herself is blest ; 
 
 Grace makes resistless, where possessed, 840 
 
 Like Helena, whom once I bare. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Her thou hast borne ? 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Yea ! On this back. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Was I not 'mazed enough ? Alack ! 
 And now such seat must bless me ! 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 By my hair 
 Me hath she grasped, as thou dost now. 845 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I lose myself ! Oh tell me, how ? 
 
 8he is in truth my sole desire ! 
 
 Her. whence and whither didst thou bear?
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 263 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Easy to tell what yon require. 
 
 Their little sister, then the robbers' prey, 850 
 
 The Dioscuri had redeemed ; but they, — 
 
 The ravishers, not wont to be subdued, 
 
 Took courage, and with stormful rage pursued ; 
 
 The brothers, with their sister, urged their way 
 
 Towards the marsh, that near Eleusis lay : 855 
 
 The brothers waded ; plashing, over it I swam ; 
 
 Then off she sprang, and fondly pressed 
 
 My mane, all-dripping ; self-possessed, 
 
 iShe soothed and thanked, with sweet reserve and coy ! 
 
 How charming was she ! Young, of eld the joy ! 860 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Just seven years old. . . . 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 The philologues, I see. 
 As they themselves deceived, so have they thee. 
 Unique, in sooth, your mythologic dame : 
 After his pleasure her the poet shows ; 
 For ever young, old age she never knows, 865 
 
 Her figure, love-inspiring, aye the same ; 
 Eavish'd when young, courted when youth is flown — 
 Enough, no bonds of time the poets own. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 So let her also by no time be bound ! 
 
 At Pheras by Achilles she was found 870 
 
 Beyond time's limits — happiness how rare ! 
 
 In spite of destiny, love triumphed there ; 
 
 And should I not, with powerful longing rife, 
 
 Draw forth that matchless figure into life. 
 
 The deathless being, born of gods the peer, 875 
 
 Tender as great, sublime yet ever dear? 
 
 Thou saw'st her once, whom I to-day have seen, 
 
 Charming as fair, fair as desired, I ween ! 
 
 Enthralled is my whole being, heart and brain ; 
 
 I cease to live, unless I her obtain ! 880 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Stranger ! Thou art enraptured, as men deem ; 
 Yet among spirits, brain-struck thou dost seem.
 
 264 FAUST. [Part II 
 
 'Tis Avcll tins madness hath assailed thoe here, 
 
 Since, only for some nionients, every year, 
 
 iMy Avont it is to Manto to repair ; 885 
 
 She, .I'lsc'iipalius' child, in silent prayer 
 
 Implores her sire, who honour thus would gain, 
 
 Now to illumine the physicians' brain, 
 
 That from rash death-strokes they henceforth refrain— - 
 
 To me the dearest of the Si oyl's guild, 890 
 
 Not wildly moved, with hel))ful kindness filled; 
 
 After a brief delay, tliy perfect cure, 
 
 'J'hrough power of simples, can her art secure. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 But cured I would not be ! My mind is strong 1 
 
 Then were I abject like the vulgar throng ! 895 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Scorn not the healing of the noble fount. 
 
 We now are at the place ; with speed, dismount. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 AVhither, upon this night, with horror fraught. 
 
 Me, through the pebbly stream, to land hast brought ? 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Here Eome and Hellas madly spurned in fight, 900 
 
 (Olympus left, Peneios to the right,) 
 
 The mightiest i-ealm that e'er in sand was lost ; 
 
 The monarch flies, triumphs the burgher host. 
 
 Look up ! Here stands, significantly near, 
 
 The fane eternal, bath'd in moonlight clear. 905 
 
 MANTO (^dreaming witlihi). 
 Horse-hoofs shake the air, 
 Eings the sacred stair ; 
 Demi-gods draw near. 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Right ! Open but thine eyes ! I'm here 1 
 MANTO (aipaldng^. 
 Welcome ! Thou hast not fail'd, I see. 910 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Still stands thy temple-home for thee 1
 
 Act nj FAUST. 265 
 
 MAN TO. 
 
 Unwearied roam'st thou far and wide ? 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 In quiet dost thou aye abide, 
 While I in ceaseless change delight ? 
 
 MANTO. 
 
 I wait, time circles me. — This wight? 915 
 
 CHIRON. 
 
 Him hath this ill-reputed night 
 
 Caught in its whirl, and hither brought. 
 
 Helen, with mind and sense distraught, 
 
 Helen, he for himself would win, 
 
 But how and where he knows not to begin ; 920 
 
 Worthy is he thy healing art to prove. 
 
 MANTO. 
 
 Who the impossible desires, I love. 
 
 (Chiron is already far away.^ 
 Enter, bold man, be joy thy meed ! 
 This gloomy path to Proserpine doth lead 
 She at Olympus' hollow foot 925 
 
 Doth lurk for unallowed salute. 
 In bygone time I Orpheus smuggled here ; 
 Do thou fare better ! Forward I Do not fear ! 
 
 (They descend.) 
 
 The Upper Peneios, as befor& 
 
 sirens. 
 
 Plunge into Peneios' flood ! 
 
 There beseems to swim rejoicing, 930 
 
 Song on song in chorus voicing. 
 
 For the unhallow'd people's good. 
 
 Without water health is none ! 
 
 In bright bands to the il<]gean, 
 
 Speed we now with sounding pa^an ; 835 
 
 Every joy will then bo won. 
 
 {EarihqimJce.)
 
 266 FAUST. [Pakt II. 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 r.ack the foaming wave is rusliing, 
 
 111 its bed it Hows no more ; 
 
 (Quakes the earth, the floods are gushing, 
 
 Bursting smokes the pebbly shore. 940 
 
 Let us fly ! Come, every one ! 
 
 Bodes this marvel good to none. 
 
 Hence ! each noble, joyous guest, 
 
 Seaward to our gladsome fest, 
 
 Where the wavelets' glittering band 945 
 
 Lightly swelling, lave the strand ; 
 
 There where Luna, mirror'd true, 
 
 Moistens us with holy dew ! 
 
 There is life's unfettered motion — 
 
 Here an earthquake's dire commotion ! 950 
 
 Hence ! Ye wise ones, fly apace ! 
 
 Horror reigneth in this place. 
 
 SEISMOS 
 
 (bellowing and blustering in the depths). 
 Once more heave with might and main, 
 With the shoulders bravely strain : 
 So the upper world we gain, 955 
 
 Where to us must all things bend ! 
 
 SPHINX. 
 
 What a most unpleasant quaking, 
 
 Hideous storm-blast, awe-awaking 1 
 
 What a heaving, what a throe, 
 
 Surging, swaying, to and fro ! 960 
 
 Horror not to be endured ! 
 
 But our post we'll not forsake. 
 
 Though all Hell were loose to break. 
 
 Now uprears itself a dome, 
 
 Wonderful. With age long hoar, 965 
 
 He it is who built of yore 
 
 Delos' isle amid the foam. 
 
 Heaving it from out the sea, 
 
 For her, a mother soon to be ; 
 
 Striving, pressing, upward-tending, 970 
 
 Arms wide-stretching, back low-bending.
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 267 
 
 Atlas-like, amid the surf 
 
 Shale he raises, grass and turf, 
 
 Pebbles, gravel, loam, and sand. 
 
 Tranquil cradle of our strand : 975 
 
 Cross- wise, he a track did wrest 
 
 From the valley's tranquil vest : 
 
 Caryatid, of giant mould, 
 
 He, with strength that ne'er grows old, 
 
 Bears, half buried, earth his zone, 980 
 
 A huge scaffolding of stone — 
 
 But his course must here be stayed ! 
 
 Sphinxes here their stand have made. 
 
 SEISMOS. 
 
 That have I wrought, myself alone, 
 
 This will mankind at last declare ; 985 
 
 Had I not shaken, and up-thrown, 
 
 How had the world been now so fair ? 
 
 Into the pure ethereal blue, 
 
 Their crests how should yon mountains raise. 
 
 Had I not heaved them forth to view, 990 
 
 To charm the painter's raptured gaze. 
 
 What time (my sires meanwhile surveying. 
 
 Chaos and Night), myself I bare 
 
 Stoutly, and, with the Titans playing, 
 
 Pelion and Ossa tossed like balls in air ? 995 
 
 Madly we raged, by youthful heat possessed. 
 
 Till, fairly wearied out at last. 
 
 With malice, on Parnassus' crest, 
 
 We, like twin-caps both mountains cast. . . , 
 
 There with the Muses' hallowed choir, 1000 
 
 Apollo finds a glad retreat ; 
 
 For Zeus too, and his bolts of fire, 
 
 I raised aloft his glorious seat. 
 
 So now, have I, with direful strain, 
 
 Pressed from the depths to upper air, 1005 
 
 And joyous dwellers call amain 
 
 New life henceforth with me to share. 
 
 SPHINXES. 
 
 Primeval had been deemed, I trow, 
 What here hath struggled into birth,
 
 2G8 FAUST. [Part II. 
 
 Had vre ourselves not Avitncssed how 1010 
 
 It tore itself from out the earth. 
 Now upwards Imshy groves themselves extend, 
 Eocks pressing upon rocks still forAvard tend ; 
 Yet not for this shall any sphinx retreat : 
 Untroubled we retain our sacred seat. 1015 
 
 GRIFFINS. 
 
 Gold in leaflets, gold in flitters. 
 Through the crannies how it glitters ; 
 I^et none rob yoii of the prize — 
 Up ! to seize it, Emmets, rise ! 
 
 CHORUS OF ANTS. 
 
 Giants, the light to greet, 1020 
 
 Upward -aspiring 
 
 Hurl'd it ; with pattering feet 
 
 Climb, never tiring ! 
 
 Nimbly press out and in ! 
 
 Each cleft is screening 1025 
 
 (Seek ye each crumb to win,) 
 
 Gold worth the gleaning ; 
 
 Even the least of all 
 
 Must ye uncover ; 
 
 Haste, in each cranny small 1030 
 
 Gold to discover. 
 
 Swarmers, in quest of pelf 
 
 Toil without leisure ! 
 
 Heed not the hill itself; 
 
 Gather the treasure ! 1035 
 
 GRIFFINS. 
 
 In with it ; pile the golden heap 1 
 Upon it we our claws will lay ; 
 Bolts of the surest fashion, they 
 The greatest treasure safe will keep, 
 
 PIGMIES. 
 
 "We a footing here have got, 1040 
 
 How it chanced, doth not appear ;
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 269 
 
 Whence we issued, question not ; 
 
 Once for all we're settled here 1 
 
 Seat for merry life doth yield, 
 
 Every country, every land ; 1045 
 
 Is a rocky cleft revealed. 
 
 There the dwarf is straight at hand. 
 
 Dwarf and dwarfess, model pair, 
 
 Swiftly each its labour plies. 
 
 Know I cannot if it were 1050 
 
 So before in Paradise ; 
 
 Here all find we for the best, 
 
 So our stars we thank ; for still. 
 
 Mother Earth, in east and west, 
 
 Bringeth forth with right good will. 1055 
 
 DACTYLS. 
 
 Hath she, in a single night 
 Brought these tiny ones to light, 
 She the smallest will create ; 
 Each forthwith will find his mate. 
 
 ELDEST OF THE PIGMIES. 
 
 Hasten, make ready, 1060 
 
 Prompt be, and steady ! 
 
 Swift to the deed ! 
 
 Let strength be for sjieed 1 
 
 Peace still is reigning ; 
 
 Build uncomplaining 1065 
 
 The smithy, to burnish 
 
 Armour, and furnish 
 
 All war's belongings 
 
 Now for the host ! 
 
 Ants in swift throngings. 1070 
 
 Busily post ; — 
 
 Metals procure, and you, 
 
 Dactyls, a tiny crew. 
 
 Yet an unnumbered band, 
 
 Hear our command ; 1075 
 
 Wo(«l l)ring with speed I 
 
 riamclcts in secret heap ;
 
 270 FAUST. [Part U. 
 
 Them still alive to keep, 
 Coals too "we need ! 
 
 GENERALESSISSIMO. 
 
 "With arrow and bow 1080 
 
 Now march on the foe : 
 
 The herons that o'er 
 
 Yon fish-pond now soar. 
 
 Numberless nesting, 
 
 Haughtily breasting, 1085 
 
 Shoot altogether, 
 
 That so we may 
 
 With helm and feather 
 
 Ourselves array ! 
 
 ANTS AND DACTYLS. 
 
 Deliverance is vain ! 1090 
 
 The iron we bring, 
 
 They forge the chain ; 
 
 Our freedom to wi'ing 
 
 'Tis not yet the hour : 
 
 Crouch then to their power ! 1095 
 
 THE CRANES OF IBYCUS. 
 
 Cry of murder, dying- wailing ! 
 
 Wing-strokes, anguished, unavailing ! 
 
 What lament, what agony. 
 
 Pierces to our realms on high ! 
 
 All are murder'd now ; the water, 1100 
 
 Red with blood, betrays the slaughter ; 
 
 Wanton lust of ornament 
 
 Hath the heron's plumage shent : 
 
 See it o'er the helmet wave 
 
 Of each greasy, crook-legged knave ! 1105 
 
 Comrades of our army, ye 
 
 Heron-wanderers of the sea, 
 
 Be with us for vengeance mated, 
 
 In a cause so near related : 
 
 Let none spare or strength or blood ! 1110 
 
 Deathless hatred to this brood ! 
 
 {They disperse, croaking in the air.)
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 271 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES (on the plain). 
 
 The Northern witches I could curb ; with these, 
 
 Your foreign spirits, I am ill at ease. 
 
 The Blockberg is convenient when you roam : 
 
 Go where you may, you find yourself at home, 1115 
 
 For us Dame Ilsa watches on her stone, 
 
 Heinrich is cheerful on his mountain-throne, 
 
 The Snorers grunt if Elend but appears, 
 
 Yet all is settled for a thousand years ; 
 
 But here, stand still or walk, and who can know 1120 
 
 Whether the ground up-heaves not from below ? 
 
 Through a smooth valley merrily I wind. 
 
 And all at once there rises from behind 
 
 A mountain, — scarce a mountain, — yet of height 
 
 To intercept the sphinxes from my sight. ... 1125 
 
 Adown the valley many a flamo aspires ; 
 
 Eound some adventure quiver still the fires .... 
 
 Dances, and round me hovers to entice, 
 
 An amorous crew, with many a coy device. 
 
 But soft : — Accustomed to forbidden sweets, 1130 
 
 One seeks to snatch them, wheresoe'er one meets ! 
 
 LAMIiE 
 
 (luring Mephistopheles after them). 
 
 Fleeter, still fleeter ! 
 
 Ever advancing ! 
 
 Then again staying, 
 
 Prattling and playing I 1135 
 
 Nothing is sweeter 
 
 Than the hoar sinner, 
 
 After us dancing. 
 
 Thus to allure ; 
 
 Limping and stumbling, 1140 
 
 Fretting and grumbling, 
 
 To penance sure, 
 
 Draweth he nigh ; 
 
 His stiff leg dragging, 
 
 Comes he unflagging, 1145 
 
 As him we fly.
 
 272 FAUST. [Paut IL 
 
 MEPinsToniELES {standing still). 
 
 Accursed Fate ! Duiics truly styled ! 
 
 From Adam do^\^lwurd, fool'd, beguiled ! 
 
 AVe age — but whu's in wisdom schooled ? 
 
 Wert not enough already fooled ? 1150 
 
 We know how good for naught these creatures ; 
 
 Pinch'd at the waist, witli painted features ; 
 
 No soundness in their bodies slim ; — 
 
 Grasp where we may, rotten is every limb : 
 
 We know, we see, we handle it in life — 1155 
 
 And yet we dance, if but the carrion fife ! 
 
 LAMi^ {sto]yping). 
 Hold ! He considers, lingers, stands ; 
 Meet him, lest he escape your hands ! 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES {advancing). 
 
 Push on ! nor, like a simpleton. 
 
 Let web of doubt entangle thee ! 1 160 
 
 For if of witches there were none, 
 
 The devil who would devil be ! 
 
 LAMI^. 
 
 Eound this hero circle we ! " 
 
 Love for one within his breast, 
 
 Soon itself will manifest. 1165 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 By this light's uncertain gleam 
 Beauteous damosels ye seem, 
 So from blame shall you be free. 
 
 EJiPUSA {rushing in). 
 
 And I also ! One with you. 
 
 Now admit me to your crew ! 1170 
 
 LAM^, 
 
 One too many, she I ween 
 Spoiler of our sport hath been.
 
 Act n.l FAUST. 273 
 
 EMPÜSA (to MepHISTOPHELES). 
 
 Thee doth thy cousin dear salute, 
 
 Empusa with the Ass's foot ! 
 
 Thine but a horse's hoof, yet thee, 1175 
 
 Cousin, I greet most courteously ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Myself unknown I fancied hero — 
 
 And yet, alas, near kinsfolk meet ; 
 
 From Hartz to Hellas, far and near. 
 
 So runs the rede, you'll cousins greet ! 1180 
 
 EMPUSA. 
 
 I with resolve can act, can take 
 Full many a shape ; but for thy sake. 
 That I to thee due honour pay, 
 The Ass's head I don to-day. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I see, with people of this sort, 1185 
 
 Eelationship doth much import; 
 
 Yet come what may, 'tis all the same ; 
 
 The ass's head I must disclaim. 
 
 LAMI^. 
 
 This hag avoid ! She comes to scare 
 
 "Whatever lovely seems and fair; 1190 
 
 What lovely was and fair before, 
 
 When she draws near, is so no more. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHKLES. 
 
 These smooth slim cousins, short or tall, 
 
 Make me suspicious, one and all ; 
 
 I fear, those rosy cheeks behind, • 1195 
 
 Some metamorphoses to find. 
 
 LAMI^. 
 
 Come, take thy choice ; we many are. 
 
 Catch hold ! If reigns thy lucky star, 
 
 Thou of the lot may'st draw tlie best. 
 
 What means this hankering delay? 1200 
 
 The wooer wretchedly dost play,
 
 274 FAUST. [rART li. 
 
 With hani;'lity niicn ami lofty crest ! — 
 
 Amid our troop now soo liiiu glide ; 
 
 Throw by degrees your masks aside, 
 
 Aud be your proper selves coufest ! 1205 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 I've made my choice, the fairest, she .... 
 
 {Embracing her.) 
 Dry as a besom ! Woe is me ! 
 (^Seizing another.) 
 And this ?. . . a fright, oh wretched lot ! 
 
 LAMI^. 
 
 Deserv'st thou better ? Think it not ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The little one I fain would clasp 1210 
 
 A lizard glides from out my grasp, 
 And serpent-like her polished hair. 
 
 Anon a taller one I catch 
 
 A thyrsus-staif alone I snatch, 
 
 That for a head doth pine-cone wear. 1215 
 
 "Where will this end ? . . . One plump and round, 
 
 With whom some solace may be found — 
 
 I'll try my fortune once again ! — 
 
 Eight flabby, squashy ; such a prize. 
 
 Your Oriental dearly buys 1220 
 
 But ah ! The puff-ball bursts in twain ! 
 
 LAMLE. 
 
 Quick as lightning, disunite ! 
 
 Hover ye, in dusky flight, 
 
 Round the intruding witch's son, 
 
 In uncertain, ghastly rings, 1225 
 
 Flitter-mice, on noiseless wings ! 
 
 Too cheaply he'll escape anon. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (shaJcing himself). 
 1 have not grown much wiser, that is clear 
 The North's absurd, absurd 'tis also here. 
 Ghosts here as there, a devilish crew, 1230 
 
 Folk are insipid, poets too ! 
 'Tis here a masquerade as there, 
 A sensual dance, as everywhere;
 
 Act II.J FAUST. 275 
 
 At beauty's mask I clutched amain — 
 
 And seized, what made me stand aghast. . . . 1235 
 
 Yet to deceive myself I'm fain, 
 
 If only longer it would last ! 
 
 (Losing his way among the roclcs.^ 
 Where am I ? Whither tend my pains ? 
 Where was a path, there cliao« reigus, 
 I by smooth roads have hither sped, 1240 
 
 Eude boulders now impede my tread ; 
 I clamber up and down in vain — 
 My sphinxes, where shall I regain ? 
 Ne'er had I dreamed so mad a thing : 
 Such mountain in a single night ! 1245 
 
 A bold witch-journey is this liight. 
 Their Blockberg with them here they bring ! 
 
 OREAD {from the natural rocJc). 
 Hither ascend ! My mountain old 
 Its form primaeval still doth hold — 
 My steep and rocky steps revere, 1250 
 
 Extremest branch of I'indus —here, 
 Unshaken have 1 reared my head, 
 When over me Pompeius fled ; 
 Yon phantom shape that cheats the eye 
 Away, when crows the cock, will fly, 1255 
 
 Such fables oft arise, I see, 
 And disappear as suddenly. 
 
 MEPHISTOPIIELES. 
 
 Honour to thee, thou reverend iiead ; 
 
 With lofty oak-strength garlanded, 
 
 Moonshine, however clear and bright, 1260 
 
 Faileth to pierce thy rayless night ! — 
 
 But, 'mong the buslies, comes this way 
 
 A light, that gleams with )iiodest ray. 
 
 How fitly all things happen thus ; 
 
 In truth ! it is lloiiiunculus ! — 1265 
 
 Whither away, thou tiny friend? 
 
 nOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Flitting from place to place, I wend. 
 In the best sense full fain 1 am to be ; 
 
 T 2
 
 27ß FAUST. [Pakt II. 
 
 And long impatiently my glass to break; 
 
 Only, IVum what I've seen and see, 1270 
 
 Conrage I lack the step to take. 
 
 But now, in confidence to speak, 
 
 Of two philosophers the track I seek ; 
 
 I hearken'd, their discourse I overheard ; 
 
 And Nature — Nature — was their only word : 1275 
 
 Apart from these I would not go, 
 
 Somewhat of earthly being they must know, 
 
 And doubtless I at last shall learn 
 
 "\\ hither most wisely I myself may turn. 
 
 aiEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Thy course shape thou thyself. Be wise ! 1280 
 
 For where your ghosts find entrance, there 
 
 Welcome is your philosopher : 
 
 That you his art and favour may delight, 
 
 A dozen new ones he brings forth to light. 
 
 Unless thou errest, reason dormant lies; 1285 
 
 "Wilt thou exist, through thine own effort rise ! 
 
 HOMUMCüLUS. 
 
 Such good advice should not neglected be. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 So now away ! Of this we more shall see. 
 
 {They separate.) 
 
 ANAXAGORAS (to ThALES). 
 
 To yield is adverse to thy stubborn mind ; 
 
 To bring conviction, needs there further proof? 1290 
 
 THALES. 
 
 The wave yields willingly to every wind, 
 But from the beetling crag still keeps aloof. 
 
 ANAXAGORAS. 
 
 Through fieiy vapour came this rock to birth. 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Moisture hath gender'd all that lives on earth. 
 
 HOMUN'CULUS (between them). 
 To walk beside you, suffer me! 1295 
 
 I also greatly long to be.
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 9.77 
 
 ANAXAGORAS. 
 
 Hast tliou, Thaies, ever in one niglit, 
 
 Such mountain out of slime brought forth to light ? 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Never was Nature, with her living powers, 
 
 Measured by scale of days and nights and hours ; 1300 
 
 By law each shape she fashioneth, and hence, 
 
 E'en in the grand there is no violence. 
 
 ANAXAGORAS. 
 
 Yet such was here ! Plutonic savage fire, 
 
 -(Eolian vaporous force, explosive, dire. 
 
 Burst through the ancient crusts of level earth, 1305 
 
 And a new mountain came forthwith to birth. 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Why further press the case ? at any rate, 
 
 'Tis there, and that is well. In such debate, 
 
 Leisure and precious time away one flings, 
 
 Your patient folk to keep in leading-strings. 1310 
 
 ANAXAGORAS. 
 
 Quickly with myrmidons the mountain teems, 
 The clefts to people : forth there streams 
 Of pigmies, ants, and gnomes, a living tide, 
 And other tiny bustling things beside. 
 
 (To HOMUNCULUS.) 
 
 After the Great hast ne'er aspired, 1315 
 
 But hermit-like hast lived retired ; 
 To lordship if thyself canst bring. 
 Forthwith I'll have thee crown'd as king. 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 What says my Thales ? 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Not with my consent ; 
 With dwarfs we are with dwarfish deeds content : 1320 
 While with the great the dwaif doth greatness win. 
 See there : of cranes the swarthy cloud, 
 They threaten the excited crowd,
 
 278 FAUST. fPAKT II. 
 
 And so wonM thront the king ; with beak 
 
 Sharp-pointed and with tahms fierce, 1325 
 
 Down-swooping, they the pigmies pierce; 
 
 Fatefnl, their storiut'ul ire they wreak ; 
 
 A crime the herons doomed to shvnghter, 
 
 Brooding around their trnnquil water; 
 
 Btit tliat death-shower of arrowy rain, 1330 
 
 For bloody vengeance cries amain, 
 
 And doth with rage their kindred fill, 
 
 The pigmies' guilty blood to spill. 
 
 Of what avail helm, spear, and shield ? 
 
 What helps the dwarf the heron's plume? 1335 
 
 How ant and dactyl shun their doom ! 
 
 Wavers the host, — they fly, they yield. 
 
 ANAXAGORAS {after a pause, solemnly). 
 If I, till now, the powers subterrain praise, 
 I, in this hour, my prayers to heaven upraise. . . . 
 Thou throned aloft, eternal, aye the same, 1340 
 
 Threefold in aspect, and threefold in name. 
 Amid my people's woe I cry to thee, 
 Diana, Luna, Hecate ! 
 
 Deep pondering mind, expander of the breast. 
 Mighty within, though outwardly at rest, 1345 
 
 Unclose the gulfs abyssmal of thy shade. 
 Be without spells thine ancient might displayed ! 
 (^Pause.) 
 
 Am I too quickly heard ? 
 
 And hath my prayer. 
 
 Ascending there, 1350 
 
 Marred Nature's order with a word ? 
 
 And greater, ever greater draweth near 
 
 The goddess' throne, her full-orbed sphere, 
 
 Enormous, fearful to the gaze ! 
 
 Its tire growls redder through the haze, . . . 1355 
 
 Ko nearer ! Threatening orb, I pray ; — 
 
 Ourselves and land and sea thou'lt sweep away ! 
 
 "Was it then tme that dames of Thessaly 
 
 Through sinful trust in magic, thee 
 
 Have downAvard from thy pathway sung, 1360 
 
 From thee have powers most baleful wrung ? . . ,
 
 Act n.] FAUST. 279 
 
 The glittering shield, behold, it darkles ! 
 
 Sudden it splits, and flares, and sparkles ! 
 
 What a hissing ! what a rattling ! 
 
 Thunder and storm-blast fiercely battling ! — 1365 
 
 Humbled I fall before thy throne — 
 
 Pardon ! myself invoked it, I alone. 
 
 {Throws himself on his face.) 
 
 THALES. 
 
 "What hath this man not seen and heard ! 
 
 I know not rightly how with us it fared. 
 
 Like him I have not felt it. Ne'ertheless 1370 
 
 The hours are out of tune, we must confess, 
 
 And Luna calmlj' as before. 
 
 In her own place aloft doth soar. 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Behold the pigmies' seat ! The mound 
 
 Is pointed now, before t'was round. 1375 
 
 Convulsion huge I felt ; a rock 
 
 Down from the moon, with sudden shock. 
 
 Hath fallen ; and both friend and foe 
 
 Were crushed and slaughter'd at a blow ! 
 
 Yet arts like these I needs must praise, 1380 
 
 That, working with creative might, 
 
 Upwards and downwards, could upraise, 
 
 This mountain in a single night. 
 
 Peace ! 'Twas but fancy. That vile brood, — 
 
 To swift destruction let them fare ! 1385 
 
 That thou wert not their king, is good. 
 
 Now to the sea's glad feast repair ! 
 
 Strange guests are honoured and expected there. 
 
 {They withdraw.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 {clambering up the opposite side). 
 Up rocky stairs and steep must I to-day, 
 Through ancient oaks' gnarl'd roots make toilsome way 
 Upon my Hartz the piny atmosphere 1391 
 
 Savours of pitch, and that to me is dear,
 
 280 FAUST. [Paut II. 
 
 'Tis next to Inimstonc . . . Here, among the Greeks 
 E'en for a trace of it one vainly seeks. 
 Inquisitive I am, and must inquire 1305 
 
 Wherewith they feed hell-torment and hell-fire. 
 
 DRYAD. 
 
 In thine own land be prudently at home ; 
 
 Thoii hast not wit enoup:h aliroad to roam. 
 
 Towards home thou should'st not turn thy thought; 
 
 while here 
 The honour of the sacred oaks revere. 1400 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The lost will aye in thought arise ; 
 What w^e are used to, is our Paradise. 
 But say, what triple object do I trace, 
 By the dim light, in yonder cavern's shade? 
 
 DRYAD. 
 
 The Phorkyads ! Go, venture to the place, 1405 
 
 And speak to them, if thou art undismayed ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 And wherefore not ? . . . I see it with amaze. 
 
 Proud as I am, e'en I must needs confess, 
 
 Their like I ne'er have seen ; their ugliness 
 
 That of our hellish hags o'er-sways ! 1410 
 
 Sins reprobated long, — will they 
 
 Waken henceforth the least dismay. 
 
 If men this three-fold dread survey ? 
 
 We would not suffer them to dwell 
 
 On threshold of our dreariest Hell ; 1415 
 
 Rooted in Beauty's land of fame, 
 
 Here to be styl'd antique they claim . . . 
 
 They stir themselves, to scent me they appear. 
 
 Like Yampire-Bats, their twitter meets mine ear. 
 
 PHORKYAD. 
 
 Give me the eye, my sisters, forth to gaze, 1420 
 
 So n 3ar our fane w^ho boldly thus delays ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Most honoured ! To approach you give me leavo, 
 That I your threefold blessing may receive.
 
 Act IL] FAUST. 281 
 
 As still unknown indeed I come to you, 
 
 Yet am, methinks, a distant cousin too. 1425 
 
 Gods ancient and revered I've seen of yore. 
 
 Deeply have Ops and Khe^ bowled before ; 
 
 Your own and Chaos' sisters, y ester-night, 
 
 Or night before, the Parcaä, met my sight ; 
 
 Yet on your like I ne'er before have gazed. 1430 
 
 Silent I am, delighted and amazed. 
 
 PHOEKYAD. 
 
 Intelligent this spirit seems to be. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 That you no bard hath sung, surprises me. 
 
 And say, most worthy ones, how hath it been 
 
 That of your charms no pictured forms are seen? 1435 
 
 Your shapes should sculpture labour to retain, 
 
 Not Juno, Pallas, Venus, and their train 1 
 
 PHORKYADS. 
 
 Immersed in solitude and night profound. 
 
 Such thought no entrance to our mind hath found ) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 How should it, from the world retired, when ye, 1440 
 
 Yourselves by none beheld, can no one see I 
 
 You in such regions rather should reside 
 
 Where art and splendour reign in equal pride, 
 
 Where from a marble-block, with genius rife, 
 
 Steps forth each day a hero into life, 1445 
 
 Where 
 
 PHORKYADS. 
 
 Silence ! in us wake no longings new : 
 What would it profit us, if more we knew ? 
 In night begot, to things of night allied. 
 Unto ourselves scarce known, unknown to all beside. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Not much, indeed, in such case can one say. 1450 
 
 But each himself to others can convey : 
 One eye, one tooth suffices fur you three ; 
 So would it tally with mythology,
 
 282 FAUST. [rART II. 
 
 In two the lioinp; of tho tlirco to Wend, 
 
 And yonr tliird soniblanco Tinto me to leüd, 1455 
 
 But for brief space. 
 
 ONE OF THE TUORKYADS. 
 
 What think you, may we try ? 
 
 THE OTHER. 
 
 "We'll venture — hut without or tooth or eye. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 "^^'ith these the very best away you've ta'en ; 
 Imperfect the stern image would remain ! 
 
 ONE OF THE PHORKYADS. 
 
 Press one eye close — full easily 'tis done ; 1460 
 
 Now of your canine teeth display but one — 
 Forthwith, in profile, perfect and complete, 
 Our sisterly resemblance we shall greet. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Much honour I Be it so ! 
 
 PHORKYADS. 
 
 So be it ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 {as a Phorkyad in profile). 
 Done! 
 Here stand I Chaos' well-beloved son ! 1465 
 
 PHORKYADS. 
 
 Daughters of Chaos we, by ancient right. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Me now they call, oh shame, hermaphrodite I 
 
 PHORKYADS. 
 
 What beauty our new triad gives to view ! 
 Of eyes, and eke of teeth, we now have two., 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Now must I shroud myself from mortal sight, 1470 
 
 In pool of hell the devils to affright. {Exit.)
 
 Act n.] FAUST. 283 
 
 B,ocky hays of the ^gean Sea. 
 The moon pausing in the zenith. 
 
 SIRENS 
 
 (reclined upon the cliffs aruund, fluting and singing). 
 
 Thou whom from thy realm supernal, 
 
 Downward drew, with rites nocturnal, 
 
 Weird Thessalian sorceresses, 
 
 With thy glance, all things, that blesses, 1475 
 
 Now illume the throng that presses 
 
 Through the waves with billowy motion, 
 
 Flooding all the rippling ocean 
 
 With the splendour of thy light ! 
 
 Luna fair, thy vassals greet thee; 1480 
 
 Be propitious, we entreat thee ! 
 
 NEREIDS and TRITONS 
 
 (^as wonders of the sea). 
 Sing aloud, with shriller singing, 
 Let it, through broad ocean ringing, 
 Call its people, far and near ! — 
 
 From the storm's dread whirlpools hiding, 1485 
 
 We in stillest depths were biding ; 
 Gracious song allures us here. 
 
 See, we deck ourselves enraptured. 
 
 With the treasures we have captured. 
 
 Golden chain and clasp and gem, 1400 
 
 Spangled zone and diadem; 
 
 All this fruitage is your prey ; 
 
 Down to us these shipwreck'd treasures, 
 
 You have lured with your sweet measures. 
 
 You, the Daemons of our bay ! 1495 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Well we know, through sea-waves gliding. 
 
 In their crystal depths abiding, 
 
 Live the fishes, sorrow-free ; 
 
 Yet blithe roamers, hither thronging, 
 
 We to-day to know are longing 1500 
 
 That yc more than fishes bo.
 
 284 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 NERKIDS and TRITONS. 
 
 Ere yonr sonfi; hath hither hrought ns, 
 
 Of this question we've bethought us ; 
 
 Sisters, Brothers, hasten we ! 
 
 I'riefest journey, doubt dis])elliiig, 1505 
 
 Yieldeth proof sufficing, telling 
 
 That we more than fishes bo ! iThey retire.) 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 In a twinkling, straight away, 
 
 Sped to Samothrace have they. 
 
 Vanished with a favouring wind ! 1510 
 
 "What their purpose ? what to gain, 
 
 Where the high Cabiri reign? 
 
 Gods they are, the strangest, who, 
 
 Self-evolved, are ever neAv, 
 
 Yet to their own nature blind. 1515 
 
 Kindly linger on thy height, 
 Gracious Luna, that the night 
 Tan-y may, lest day-light breaking 
 Drive us hence, our haunts forsaking ! 
 
 THALES 
 
 (on the shore, to Homunculus). 
 Thee to old Nereus gladly would I lead ; 1520 
 
 Not distant are we from his cave indeed ; 
 But sour he is and obstinate, 
 Moreover hath a stubborn pate ! 
 The race entire of mortal kind 
 
 Is never to the grumbler's mind. 1525 
 
 But he the future can disclose, 
 Hence each to him due reverence shows, 
 And gives him honour at his post ; 
 To many he hath rendered aid. 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Let's knock, that trial may be made ! 1530 
 
 At once my glass and flame it will not cost. 
 
 NEREUS. 
 
 Men's voices are they, that mine ear hath heard? 
 With anger straight mine inmost heart is stin-ed !
 
 Act IL] FAUST. 285 
 
 FonQS — striving still, who high as gods would soar, 
 
 Yet to be like themselves, doomed evermore. 1535 
 
 Long years could I have dwelt in godlike rest, 
 
 But ever was impelled to aid the best ; 
 
 And when at last I saw the accomplished deed. 
 
 It was as though they ne'er had heard my rede. 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Yet people trust in thee, thou Ocean Seer; 1540 
 
 "Wise art thou ; chase us not ! This flamelet here. 
 That man's similitude doth wear, survey, 
 In every thing thy counsel he'll obey. 
 
 NEREÜS. 
 
 Counsel ! What good to men hath counsel brought ? 
 
 On stubborn ears fall prudent words in vain ; 1545 
 
 Oft as the deed dire punishment hath wrought. 
 
 Self-willed as ever mortals aye remain. 
 
 How fatherly I Paris warned, or e'er 
 
 His hist another's consort did ensnare ! 
 
 On Hellas' shore fearless he stood and bold ; 1 550 
 
 What I in spirit saw, I there foretold : 
 
 The reeking winds, the upstreaming ruddy glow, 
 
 Eafters ablaze, murder and death below, 
 
 Troy's day of doom — fast bound in deathless rhyme, 
 
 A terror and a portent for all time. 1555 
 
 The scoffer mocked the old man's oracle ; 
 
 He followed his own lust, and Ilion fell, 
 
 A giant corpse, slowly its death-pangs ceased, — 
 
 To Pindus' eagles a right welcome feast. 
 
 Ulysses too — did I not oft presage 1560 
 
 To him dark Circe's wiles, the Cyclop's rage. 
 
 His own delay, his comrades' reckless vein, 
 
 And what not else? And hath it brought him gain ? 
 
 Till, sorely battered, he full late, at last, 
 
 By favouring wave on friendly shore was cast. 1565 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Such conduct to the sago must needs give pain ; 
 Yet still the good man trieth once again. 
 A grain of thanks that richly him repays, 
 Tons of ingratitude still overweighs.
 
 286 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 I and this yoTnip;stcr no slight Loon require. 1570 
 
 Wisely to be is uow his sole desire. 
 
 NEREUS. 
 
 Spoil not for nie my present mood, most rare ! 
 
 Far other aims to-day engross my care ; 
 
 My daughters I've invoked to come to mo, 
 
 The Dorides, the Graces of the sea. 1575 
 
 Neither Olympos nor your region bears 
 
 Form so replete with grace, so lithe as theirs. 
 
 From Dragons of the sea, with loveliest motion. 
 
 They cast themselves upon the steeds of Ocean, 
 
 One with the element that round them plays, 1580 
 
 The very foam would seem their forms to raise. 
 
 'Mid rainbow-hues of Venus' pearly car, 
 
 Comes Galatea, beauty's choicest star, 
 
 Who, since on us hath Cypris ceased to smile, 
 
 As goddess honoixred is on Paphos' Isle ; 1585 
 
 And so for long the gracious one doth owti. 
 
 As heiress, temple-town and chariot-throne. 
 
 Away! Harsh words, and hatred in the heart 
 
 Have in the Father's raptured hour no part. 
 
 Away to Proteus ! Ask that being strange 1500 
 
 The secret of existence and of change 
 
 (üe retires towards the sea.^ 
 
 THALES. 
 
 We by this step, it seems, have nothing won ; 
 
 For if we light on Proteus, straight he's gone, 
 
 And if he wait, he only says at last 
 
 Things that perplex, and make one stand aghast. 1 595 
 
 Yet, once for all, such counsel thou dost need ; 
 
 So then to try him, onward let us speed ! 
 
 (They retire.) 
 
 SIRENS (on the rocks above). 
 What are these, far oif appearing, 
 Through the billowy realm careering? 
 Like to sails of snowy whiteness, I GOO 
 
 Zephyr-guided, such their brightness. 
 Hither borne wäth gentle motion. 
 These the lustrous nymph» of Ocean I
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 287 
 
 Downward climb we ; liark ! They're singing ; 
 Hear ye not their voices ringing ! 1 605 
 
 NEREIDS and TRITONS. 
 
 Those whom thus our hand upraises 
 
 Scatter blessings ; — sing their praises 1 
 
 From Chelone's giant shield, 
 
 Shines an awful form revealed : 
 
 Gods they are whom we rejoicing 1610 
 
 Hither bring, glad pagans voicing. 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Little in height, 
 
 Potent in might, 
 
 Hoar gods from the wave 
 
 The shipwrecked who save 1 1615 
 
 NEREIDS and TRITONS. 
 
 To our peaceful revel speeding. 
 
 The Cabiri we are leading ; 
 
 Where their power the hapless shieldeth, 
 
 Kindly sway there Neptune wieldeth. 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Yield we must to you. 1620 
 
 Ye the sinking crew. 
 With resistless power. 
 Save in shipwreck's hour. 
 
 NEREIDS and TRITONS. 
 
 Three we bring, our triumph sharing, 
 
 But the fourth refused, declaring 1625 
 
 That for all abiding yonder. 
 
 He the sole one is to ponder. 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Thus one god doth jeer 
 
 At his fellows still. 
 
 All the good revere, 1630 
 
 Dread ye every ill ! 
 
 NEREIDS and TRITONS. 
 
 There of them should seven bo.
 
 ?88 FAUST. Tart II 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Where them are the other three? 
 
 NEREIDS and TRITONS. 
 
 That we cannot answer : rather, 
 
 On Olyinpos question farther : 1635 
 
 There tlie eighth perchance is pining, 
 
 "Whom none thinks upon. Inclining 
 
 Graciously, they us have greeted — 
 
 But all are not yet completed. 
 
 The incomparable, these ; — 1 640 
 
 Pressing onward, aye aspiring. 
 Full of longing, still desiring 
 What can ne'er be reached, to seize. 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Every power enthroned. 
 
 Sun or Moon that sways, 1645 
 
 In our prayers is owned ; 
 
 'Tis our wont ; It pays. 
 
 NEREIDS and TRITONS. 
 
 How brightly shines our fame, behold, 
 Leading this festivity ! 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Heroes of the ancient days 1650 
 
 Lack henceforth their meed of praise, 
 How great soe'er their fame of old ; 
 Though they have won the fleece of gold, 
 Ye have the Cabiri. 
 
 (^Repeated in full Chorus.^ 
 Though they have won the fleece of gold, 1655 
 
 We ! ye ! have the Cabiri. 
 
 (The Nereids and Tritons pass on.) 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 These uncouth figures, — I am fain 
 
 For earthen pots to take them, 
 
 'Gainst them the wise ones strike amain 
 
 Their stubborn heads, and break them ! 1660
 
 Act II.] FAUST. 289 
 
 THALES. 
 
 The very thing they most desire. 
 The rusty coiu is valued higher. 
 
 PROTEUS (unperceived). 
 This pleases me, the old in fable : 
 The stranger 'tis, the more respectable I 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Where art thou, Proteus ? 
 
 PROTEUS 
 
 (ventriloquizing, now near, now far away). 
 
 Here ! and here ! 1665 
 
 THALES. 
 
 I pardon the stale jest ; appear, 
 
 And with a friend vain words forego ! 
 
 From a false place dost speak, I know. 
 
 PROTEUS (as from a distance'). 
 Farewell ! 
 
 THALES (softly to HOMUNCULUS). 
 
 He's close at hand. Now brightly flare. 
 He's curious as a fish ; where'er 1670 
 
 Ho hide himself, that flame, be sure, 
 Hither forthwith will him allure. 
 
 HOMUNCULUS. 
 
 Full light I'll pour, yet care must take 
 Lest with the shock the glass should break. 
 
 PROTEUS 
 
 (in the form of a gigantic porpoise). 
 What shines with radiancy so dear? 1675 
 
 THALES 
 
 (concealing Homunculus). 
 Good ! If thou wish it, thou canst draw more near ; 
 Let the slight trouble vex thee not, I pray, 
 Thyself upon two human feet displa3% 
 'Tis solely by our leave, and courtesy. 
 That what we now conceal, who wills may see. 16Ö0 
 
 V
 
 290 FAUST. [Pakt IL 
 
 PROTKUS (in a noble form). 
 Thy sophist's tricks, it seems, dost still employ. 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Tliy figure to transform still gives thee joy. 
 
 (He has uncovered Homunculus.) 
 
 PROTEUS {astonished). 
 A glittering dwarflein ! Ne'er beheld before I 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Fain to exist, he counsel doth implore. 
 
 He is, from him I heard it, come to earth 1685 
 
 Only half-fonned, through some mj'sterious birth. 
 
 Fairly endowed with qualities ideal, 
 
 The power he lacks, firmly to grasp the real. 
 
 Till now the glass alone to him gives weight ; 
 
 But he at once would be incorporate. 1690 
 
 PROTEUS. 
 
 A genuine virgin's son art thou ; 
 Bom ere thou shouldest be, I trow ! 
 
 THALES (in a whis]per\ 
 Further it seemeth critical to me ; 
 He an Hermaphrodite appears to be. 
 
 PROTEUS. 
 
 The sooner 'twill succeed ; where'er 1695 
 
 He comes, he happily will fare. 
 
 With much reflection we may here dispense ; 
 
 In the broad sea thy being must commence ; 
 
 On a small scale one there begins, 
 
 Well pleased the smallest to devour; 1700 
 
 Till, waxing step by step, one wins, 
 
 For loftier achievement, ampler power. 
 
 HOilUNCULUS. 
 
 A tender air is wafted here ; 
 
 Dear is to me the breeze, the fragrance dear I 
 
 PROTEUS. 
 
 Eight, dearest youth ! Farther away 1705 
 
 Still more delightful 'twill be found ; 
 
 Ir.eö"able the airs that play 
 
 This nan'ow tongue of land around.
 
 Act II ] FAUST. 291 
 
 Thenc«, near enough, the train we see. 
 
 Now fl Dating hither. Come with me 1 1710 
 
 THALES. 
 
 I too will go with thee, proceed ! 
 
 HOJIUNCULUS. 
 
 A threefold spirit-step, wondrous indeed ! 
 
 TELCHINES of RHODES. 
 
 (^Upon hippocampi and sea-dragons, hearing Ntptune's 
 trident.) 
 The trident we forged, wherewith Neptune assuages 
 Old Ocean's wild waves, when most fiercely he rages : 
 His clouds when the Thunderer spreads o'er the skies, 1715 
 To their rolling terrific then Neptune replies ; 
 And when from on high the jagged lightning doth leap, 
 Then wave after wave dashes up from the deep ; 
 And all that in anguish their joint rage o'erpowered. 
 Long whirled to and fro, by the depth is devoured ; 1720 
 To-day then the sceptre to us hath he lent. — 
 Now joyously float we, serene and content 1 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 You, to Helios dedicated. 
 
 You, to bright day consecrated, 
 
 Hail we to this hour, whose light 1725 
 
 Doth to Luna's praise invite ! 
 
 TELCHINES, 
 
 Thou loveliest Queen of yon o'ervaulting sphere, 
 
 The praise of thy brother with rapture dost hear; 
 
 To Rhodus' blest island an ear thou dost lend, 
 
 Thence one deathless paean to him doth ascend. 1730 
 
 The day-course he opens and with fiery gaze. 
 
 When finished his journey, our troop lie- surveys ; 
 
 The cities and hills, shore and wave, yield delight 
 
 To the glorious Ood, and are lovely and bright. 
 
 No mist hovers o'er us, and should one draw near, 1735 
 
 A ray and a zephyr — the island is clear : 
 
 His foriu tlic liigh god beholds multiplied there. 
 
 As stripling, as giant, the Mighty, the Fair — 
 
 u 2
 
 292 FAUST. [Pabt IL 
 
 The power of the gods it was we who began 
 
 To pourtray in the form, not unworthy, of man. 1740 
 
 PROTEUS. 
 
 Grudge them not their boastful singing, 
 
 To the holy sun, life-bringing, 
 
 Dead works are an idle jest. 
 
 Fusing mould they ; when completed ■• 745 
 
 Stands their god with rapture greeted. 
 
 Straight with triumph swells their breast ! 
 
 These proud gods, so fondly cherished, — 
 
 "What their doom, inquire ye ? Prone, 
 
 By an earthquake overthro^vn. 
 
 Melted, they long since have perished. 1750 
 
 Toil of earth, whate'er it be, 
 Nothing is but drudgery ; 
 Life in ocean better fareth : 
 Thee to endless water beareth 
 Proteus-Dolphin. (fie transforms Jiimself.') 
 
 Fairly sped ! 1755 
 
 Bravely, on my back careering. 
 Thou shalt prosper, onward steering, 
 And to Ucean thee I'll wed. 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Obey the noble inspiration. 
 
 And at its source begin creation, 1760 
 
 Make ready for the great emprize ! 
 
 By laws eternal still ascending. 
 
 Through myriad forms of being wending. 
 
 To be a man in time thou'lt rise. 
 
 (HoMUNCULus mounts the Peoteus dolphin^ 
 
 PROTEUS. 
 
 In spirit come to boundless ocean : ] 765 
 
 Unfetter'd there in every motion. 
 
 At thine own pleasure thou shalt wend ; 
 
 But let not higher rank allure thee ; 
 
 Attaining manhood, I assure thee, 
 
 Then all with thee is at an end I 1770
 
 A-CT n.] FAUST. 293 
 
 THALES. 
 
 As it may happen ; good it seems to me, 
 In one's o\vn day a stalwart man to be. 
 
 PROTEUS (to ThALES). 
 
 One of your stamp, perchance ! For they 
 
 Abide awhile, nor pass away ; 
 
 Since 'mong the troops of spirits pale, 1775 
 
 As pass the centuries, thy form I hail. 
 
 SIRENS (on the roclcs). 
 See yon cloudlets, how they mingle 
 Round the moon in circlet bright ! 
 Doves they are, whom love doth kindle, 
 With their pinions pure as light ! 1 780 
 
 Paphos hath her bird-choir sent us, 
 Girt with radiance they appear. 
 Now our fete may well content us, 
 Fraught with rapture full and clear! 
 
 NEREUS (^approaching Thales). 
 
 Yonder ring, an airy vision 1785 
 
 Nightly wanderer might maintain ; 
 
 But with juster intuition. 
 
 Other views we entertain : 
 
 Doves they are, whose escort playeth 
 
 Eound my daughter's pearly car ; 179C 
 
 Wondrous art their movement swayeth, 
 
 Learned by them in days afar. 
 
 TIIALES, 
 
 That I also hold for best, 
 
 Peace that yieldeth to the good, 
 
 If in warm and silent nest 1795 
 
 Something holy still doth brood. 
 
 PSYLLI and MARSI 
 
 (on sea-hulls, sea-calves, and sea-rams). 
 In the rugged Cyprian caves. 
 Sheltered from the shocks of Ocean, 
 From the earthquake's dire commotion, 
 Fanned by Zephyr's viewless waves, 1800 
 
 There, as in the days afar, 
 We, with conscious rapture, are
 
 294 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 Gniirdiaiis of Cythcra's car, 
 
 And thi-<)Uj;-h breathings of the night, 
 
 Through the rippling wavelets bright, 1805 
 
 Viewless still to mortal sight, 
 
 We the loveliest daughter lead. 
 
 Us nor winged lion scares, 
 
 Kor eagle, as our task we ply, 
 
 Nor cross, nor crescent, though it flares 1810 
 
 Aloft, emblazoned in the sky ; 
 
 To and fro, alternate swaying, 
 
 Each the other driving, slaying, 
 
 Fields and towns In ashes laying : 
 
 Thus with joyous speed, 181: 
 
 Onward our loveliest mistress we lead. 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 Circling still, with gentle motion, 
 
 Eound the chariot, line on line, 
 
 Gliding o'er the waves of ocean, 
 
 With your movements serpentine, 1820 
 
 Come ye stalwart Nereides, 
 
 Sturdy damsels, gracious, wild ; 
 
 Bring ye, tender Dorides, 
 
 Galatea, fair and mild. 
 
 Image of her mother, she 1825 
 
 Earnest is, of god-like mien, 
 
 Worthy immortality. 
 
 Yet, like earth's fair dames, your queen 
 
 Winsome is, with grace serene ! 
 
 DORIDES 
 
 (passing in cJiorus before Nereus, mounted upon dolphins). 
 Luna, light and shadow throwing, 1830 
 
 Eound this j^outhful band, shine clear ! 
 For we come our Father showing 
 Prayerfully, our bridegrooms dear, 
 
 (To Nereüs.) 
 Them, soft pity's voice obeying, 
 From the rock's fell tooth we bore, 183Ö 
 
 And on moss and sea-weed laying. 
 Warmed them back to light once more :
 
 Act IL] FAUST. 296 
 
 Kisses upon tis bestowing, 
 
 Thus their grateful temper showing, 
 
 View them kindly, we implore ! 1840 
 
 NEREUS. 
 
 Precioiis indeed the two-fold gain : 
 
 To show compassion, and delight obtain ! 
 
 DORIDES. 
 
 Dost praise, Father, our endeavour ? 
 Grudge ns not our joy, well-earned ; 
 Deathless youth, enjoyed for ever 1845 
 
 In the bHss of love returned ! 
 
 NEREUS. 
 
 Would ye enjoy your captured treasure ! 
 
 Then mould each youth to be a man ; 
 
 Powerless am I to do your pleasure ; 
 
 Accord your prayer Zeus only can. 1850 
 
 The waves, whose foam around you playeth, 
 
 All steadfastness in love ignore. 
 
 And if its spell no longer swayeth, 
 
 Then place them quietly ashore. 
 
 DORIDES. 
 
 Dear ye are, sweet youths, in sooth ; 1855 
 
 Yet from you we needs must sever : 
 We have craved eternal truth, 
 But the Gods allow it never ! 
 
 THE YOUTHS. 
 
 Gallant sailor-youths and true, 
 
 If ye still win fondly tend us ; 1860 
 
 Life so fair we never knew. 
 
 Nor could fate a fairer send us, 
 
 (Galatea approaches in the shell chariot.) 
 
 NEREUS. 
 
 Tis thou, my beloved one ! 
 
 GALATEA. 
 
 Sire ! what delight 
 Linger, ye dolphins, enchained is my sight.
 
 206 FAUST. [Part H. 
 
 NEREÜS. 
 
 Gone already ! They forsake me, 1865 
 
 Speeding on with circling motion ! 
 
 "What to them tlio heart's emotion ! 
 
 Oh ! that with them tliey would take me ! 
 
 \'et snch rapture yields one gaze, 
 
 The livelong year it well repays. 1870 
 
 THALES. 
 
 Hail ! all hail ! The cry renew ! 
 
 Blooms my spirit, pierced through 
 
 By the Beautiful, the True ! . . . . 
 
 All from water sprang amain ! 
 
 All things water doth sustain : 1875 
 
 Ocean grant thy deathless reign ! 
 
 Were no clouds by thee outspread, 
 
 No rich brooklets by thee fed. 
 
 On their course no rivers sped, 
 
 And no streamlets perfected, ] 880 
 
 What then were the world, what were ocean and plain ? 
 
 'Tis thou, who the freshness of life dost maintain. 
 
 ECHO 
 
 (^cliorus of the collective circles). 
 Tis thou, from whom freshness of life pours amain ! 
 
 NEREUS. 
 
 Far distant now they wheel and turn, 
 
 And vainly glance for glance must yearn ; 1885 
 
 Circle in circle wide-extending. 
 
 The countless throngs, in order blending, 
 
 Urge o'e» the waves their glad career. 
 
 But Galatea's pearly throne. 
 
 Behold I still, behold ; alone 1890 
 
 Now it glitters like a star 
 
 'Midst the crowd ; with radiance tender. 
 
 Shines through the press the loved one's splendour ; 
 
 Though so far, so very far. 
 
 Still it shimmers bright and clear, 1895 
 
 Ever true and ever i.ear!
 
 Act IL] ITAUST 297 
 
 HOMÜNCULÜS. 
 
 In tliis moisture calm and dear, 
 All I sliine on doth appear 
 Exquisitely fair ! 
 
 PROTEUS. 
 
 In this living, dewy sphere, 1900 
 
 First thy flamelet shineth clear, 
 Breathing tones most rare. 
 
 NEREUS. 
 
 But lo ! what new mystery, fraught with surprise, 
 Reveals itself now, 'mid yon crowds, to our eyes ? 
 What flames round the shell, round the feet of my child ? 
 Now strongly it glitters, now sweetly, now mild, 1906 
 As if by the pulses of love it were swayed ! 
 
 TIIALES. 
 
 Homunculus is it, by Proteus betrayed .... 
 
 A yearning majestic these symptoms disclose, 
 
 Presage ful they tell of his passionate throes ; 1910 
 
 Against the bright throne he'll be shattered I It glows, 
 
 It flashes, it sparkles, abroad now it flows ! 
 
 SIRENS. 
 
 What marvel illumines the billows, which dash 
 
 Against one another in glory ? They flash. 
 
 They waver, they hither ward glitter, and bright 1915 
 
 All forms are ablaze in the pathway of night ; 
 
 And all things are gleaming, by fire girt around. 
 
 Prime source of creation, let Eros be crowned ! 
 
 Hail ye billows ! Hail to thee. 
 
 Girt by holy fire, sea ! 1920 
 
 Water hail ! Hail fire's bright glare ! 
 
 Hail to this adventure rare ! 
 
 ALL TOGETHER. 
 
 Hail each softly blowing gale ! 
 
 Caverns rich in marvels, hail I 
 
 Highly honoured evermore 1925 
 
 Be the elemental four !
 
 JOS FAUST. iTart II. 
 
 ACT THE THIRD. 
 
 Before the Palace of Menelaus in Sparta. 
 
 Enter Helena, ivith a chorus of captive Trojan women. 
 
 Penthalis, leader of the chorus. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 The much admired and much upbraided, Helena, 
 From yonder strand I come, where erst we disembark'd. 
 Still giddy from the roll of ocean's billowy surge, 
 Which, through Poseidon's favour and through Euros' 
 
 might, 
 On lofty crested backs hither hath wafted us, 5 
 
 From Phrygia's open field, to our ancestral bays. 
 Yonder King Menelaus, glad of his return. 
 With his brave men of war, rejoices on the beach. 
 But oh, thou lofty mansion, bid me welcome home. 
 Thou, near the steep decline, which Tyndareus, my sire, 10 
 From Pallas' hill returning, here hath builded up ; 
 Which also was adorned beyond all Sparta's homes, 
 What time with Clytemnestra, sister-like, I grew, 
 W^ith Castor, Pollux, too, playing in joyous sport. 
 Wings of yon brazen portals, you I also hail ! 15 
 
 Through you, ye guest-inviting, hospitable gates, 
 Hath Menelaus once, from many princes chosen. 
 Shone radiant on my sight, in nuptial sort arrayed. 
 Expand to me once more, that I the king's behest 
 May faithfully discharge, as doth the spouse beseem. 20 
 Let me within, and all henceforth behind remain. 
 That, charged with doom, till now darkly hath round me 
 
 stonned ! 
 For since, by care untroubled, I these sites forsook, 
 Seeking Cythera's fane, as sacred wont enjoined. 
 And by the spoiler there was seized, the Phrygian, 25 
 Happened have many things, whereof men far and wide 
 Are fain to tell, but which not fain to hear is he 
 Of whom the tale, expanding, hath to fable grown.
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 299 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Disparage not, oli glorious dame, 
 
 Honour'd possession of highest estate ! 30 
 
 For sole unto thee is the greatest boon given ; 
 
 The fame of beauty that all over-towers ! 
 
 The hero's name before him resounds, 
 
 So strides he with pride ; 
 
 Nathless at once the stubbomest yields 35 
 
 To beauty, the presence which all things subdues. 
 
 Enough ! I with my spouse, ship-borne, have hither sped, 
 
 And to his city now by him before am sent. 
 
 But what the thought he harbours, that I cannot guess. 
 
 Come I as consort hither ? Come I as a queen ? 40 
 
 Come I as victim for the prince's bitter pangs, 
 
 And for the evils dire, long suffered by the Greeks? 
 
 Conquered I am ; but whether captive, know I not : 
 
 For the Immortal Powers fortune and fame for me 
 
 Have doomed ambiguous ; direful ministers that wait 4o 
 
 On beauty's form, who even on this threshold here, 
 
 With dark and threat'ning mien, stand bodeful at my 
 
 side! 
 Already, ere we left the hollow ship, my spouse 
 Looked seldom on me, spake no comfortable word ; 
 As though he mischief brooded, facing me he sat. 50 
 
 But now, when, to Eurotas' deeply curving shores 
 Steering our course, scarce had our foremost vessel's beak 
 The land saluted, spake he, as by God inspired : 
 " Here let my men of war, in ordered ranks, disbark ; 
 I marshal them, drawn up upon the ocean strand ; • 55 
 But thou, pursue thy way, not swerving from the banks. 
 Laden with fruit, that bound Eurotas' sacred stream. 
 Thy coursers guiding o'er the moist, enamelled meads, 
 Until thou may'st anive at that delightful plain, 
 Where Laceda;mon, once abroad fruit-bearing field, 60 
 By mountains stern surrounded lifteth now its walls. 
 Set thou thy foot within the tower-crown'd princely 
 
 house. 
 Assemble thou the maids, whom I at parting left,
 
 300 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 And with them summon too the wise old stewardess. 
 
 Bid her dis])lay to tliee the treasures' ample store, 65 
 
 As by thy sire bequeathed, and which, in peace and war, 
 
 Increasing evermore, I have myself up-piled. 
 
 All standing shalt thou find in ancient order ; for, 
 
 This is the pri&ce's privilege, that to his home, 
 
 ^Vhen he returns at last, safe eveiy thing he finds, 70 
 
 Each in its proper place, as he hath left it there. 
 
 For nothing of himself the slave hath power to change." 
 
 cnoRüs. 
 Oh gladden now, with glorious wealth, 
 Ever increasing, thine eye and heart ! 
 For beautiful chains, the adornment of crowns, 75 
 Are priding themselves, in haughty repose j 
 But step thou in, and challenge them all. 
 They arm themselves straight ; 
 
 I joy to see beauty contend for the prize, 79 
 
 With gold, and with pearls, and with jewels of price. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Forthwith hath followed next this mandate of my lord : 
 
 *' Now when in order thou all things hast duly seen, 
 
 As many tripods take, as needful thou may'st deem. 
 
 And vessels manifold, which he at hand requires, 
 
 Who duly would perform the sacrificial rite, 85 
 
 The caldrons, and the bowls, and shallow altar-plates ; 
 
 Let purest water, too, from sacred fount be there. 
 
 In lofty pitchers ; further, store of seasou'd wood. 
 
 Quick to accept the flame, hold thou in readiness ; 
 
 A knife, of sharpest edge, let it not fail at last. 90 
 
 But I all other things to thy sole care resign," 
 
 So spake he, urging me at once to part ; but naught, 
 
 Breathing the breath of life, the orderer appoints. 
 
 That, to the Olympians' honour, he to slaughter doom'd : 
 
 Suspicious seems it ! yet, dismiss I further care ; 95 
 
 To the high Gods' decree be everything referred, 
 
 Who evermore fulfil, what they in thought conceive ; 
 
 It may, in sooth, by men, as evil or as good 
 
 Be counted, it by us, poor mortals, must be borne. 
 
 Full oft the ponderous axe on high the priest hath raised, 
 
 In consecration o'er the earth-bowed victim's neck. 101
 
 ACTT III.] FAUST. 301 
 
 Nor could achieve the rite, for he was lindeied, 
 Or by approaching foe, or intervening God. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 What now ^dll happen, canst thou not guess ; 
 
 Enter, queen, enter thou in, 105 
 
 Strong of heart ! 
 
 Evil Cometh and good 
 
 Unexpected to mortals ; 
 
 Though foretold, we credit it not. 
 
 Troya was burning, have we not seen 110 
 
 Death before us, terrible death ! 
 
 And are we not here, 
 
 Bound to thee, serving with joy. 
 
 Seeing the dazzling sunshine of heaven, 
 
 And of earth too the fairest, 115 
 
 Kind one — thj'self — happy are we ! 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Come what come fnay ! Whate'er impends, me it behoves 
 To ascend, without delay, into the royal house, 
 Long missed, oft yearned- for, well-nigh forfeited ; 
 Before mine eyes once more it stands, I know not how. 
 My feet now bear me not so lightly as of yore, 121 
 
 When up the lofty steps I, as a child, have sprung. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Fling now, sisters, ye 
 
 Captives who mourn your lot. 
 
 All your sorrows far from you. 125 
 
 Share ye your mistress' joy ! 
 
 Share ye Helena's joy. 
 
 Who to the dear paternal hearth. 
 
 Though returning full late in sooth, 
 
 Nathless with surer, firmer tread 13Ü 
 
 Joyfully now approaches ! 
 
 Praise ye the holy ones, 
 
 Happy restoring ones, 
 
 Gods, the home-leaders, praise ye 1 
 
 Soars the enfranchised one, 135 
 
 As upon out-spread wings. 
 
 Over the roughest fate, while in vain
 
 302 FAUST. [Part Tl. 
 
 Pines the captured one, yearning- IraugLt, 
 
 Over the prison-battlements 
 
 Arms out-stretching, in anguish. 140 
 
 Nathless her a god hath seized. 
 
 The exiled one, 
 
 And from Ilion's wreck 
 
 Bare her hitherward back once more. 
 
 To the ancient, the newly -adorned 145 
 
 Father-house, 
 
 After unspeakable 
 
 Pleasure and anguish. 
 
 Earlier youthful time, 
 
 Newly quicken'd, to ponder. 150 
 
 PENTHALis (as leader of (lie chorus). 
 Forsake ye now of song the joy-surrouruied path. 
 And toward the portal-wings turn ye forth-^^-ith your 
 
 gaze ! 
 "What see I, sisters ? Here, retumeth ilot the queen ? 
 With step of eager haste, comes she not back to us ? — 
 What is it, mighty queen, that in the palace-halls, 155 
 Instead of friendly hail, could there encounter thee, 
 And shatter thus thy being ? Thou conceal'st it not ; 
 For I abhorrence see, impressed upon thy brow. 
 And noble anger, that contendeth with surprise. 
 
 HELENA 
 
 (wTio has left the folded doors open, excited). 
 No vulgar fear beseems the daughter of high Zeus, IGO 
 And her no lightly-fleeting terror-hand may touch ; 
 But that dire horror which, from womb of ancient Night, 
 In time primeval rising, still in divers shapes. 
 Like lurid clouds, from out the mountain's fiery gorge. 
 Whirls itself forth, may shake even the hero's breast. 165 
 Thus have the Stygian Gods, with horror fraught, to-day 
 Mine entrance to the house so marked, that fain I am. 
 Back from the oft-time trod, long-yeamed-for threshold, 
 
 now. 
 Like to a guest dismissed, departing, to retire. 
 Yet no, i-etreated have I hither to the light ; 170 
 
 No fuither shall ye drive me, Powers, whoe'er ye be !
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 303 
 
 Some expiation I'll devise, then purified, 
 
 Tlie hearth-flame welcome may the consort as the lortl. 
 
 LEADER OF THE CHORUS. 
 
 Discover, noble queen, to us thy handmaidens, 
 Devotedly who serve thee, what hath come to pass ! 175 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 What I have seen ye too, with your own eyes, shall see, 
 If ancient Night, within her wonder-teeming womb, 
 Hath not forthwith engulfed, once more, her ghastly 
 
 birth ; 
 Biit yet, that ye may know, with words I'll tell it you : — 
 What time the royal mansion's gloomy inner court, 180 
 Upon my task intent, with solemn step I trod, 
 I wondered at the drear and silent corridors. 
 Fell on mine ear no sound of busy servitors, 
 No stir of rapid haste, officious, met my gaze ; 
 Before me there appeared no maid, no stewardess, 185 
 
 Who every stranger erst, with friendly greeting, hailed. 
 But when I neared at length the bosom of the hearth, 
 There saw I, by the light of dimly smouldering fire. 
 Crouched on the ground, a crone, close-veiled, of stature 
 
 huge, 
 Not like to one asleep, but as absorbed in thought ! 190 
 With accent of command I summon her to wurk, 
 The stewardess in her surmising, whom perchance 
 My spouse, departing hence, with foresight there had 
 
 placed ; 
 Yet, closoly muffled up, still sits she, motionless ; 
 At length, upon my threat, up-lifts she her right arm, 195 
 As though from hearth and hall she motioned me away. 
 Wrathful from her I turn, and forthwith hasten out, 
 Towards the steps, whereon aloft the Thalamos 
 Kiscs adorned, thereto the treasure-house hard by ; 
 When, on a sudden, starts the wonder from the floor ; 200 
 Barring with lordly mien my passage, she herself 
 In haggard height displays, with hollow eyes, blood- 
 grimed, 
 An aspect weird and strange, confounding eye and thought. 
 Vet speak I to the winds ; for language all in vain
 
 304 FAUST. lPart IL 
 
 Creatively essays to body fortli such shapes. 205 
 
 There see herself! Tlie light she ventures to confront ! 
 Hero are "vvo master, till the lord and monarch comes ; 
 The ghastly brood of Kight doth Phoebus, beauty's friend, 
 Back to their caverns drive, or them he subjugates. 
 (ruoiiKYAS stepping on the threshold, between the door-posts.) 
 
 CHOKUS. 
 
 Much have I lived through, although my tresses 210 
 Youthfully waver still round my temples ; 
 Manifold horrors have mine eyes "witnessed ; 
 "Warfare's dire anguish, Ilion's night, 
 WhenitfeU; 
 
 Through the o'erclouded, dust over-shadovr'd 215 
 Tumult of war, to gods have I hearken'd, 
 Fearfully shouting ; hearken'd while discord's 
 Brazen voices clang through the field 
 Eampart- wards. 
 
 Ah, yet standing were Ilion's 220 
 
 Eamparts ; nathless the glowing flames 
 
 Shot from neighbour to neighbour roof, 
 
 Ever spreading from here and there, 
 
 With their tempest's fiery blast. 
 
 Over the night-darkened city. — 225 
 
 Flying, saw I through smoke and glare, 
 
 And the flash of the tongued flames. 
 
 Dreadful, threatening Gods draw near; 
 
 Wondrous figures, of giant mould. 
 
 Onward striding through the weird 230 
 
 Gloom of fire-luminous vapour. 
 
 Saw I them, or did my mind, 
 
 Anguish-tom, itself body forth 
 
 Phantoms so terrible — never more 
 
 Can I tell ; but that I this 235 
 
 Horrible shape with eyes behold, 
 
 This of a surety know I ! 
 
 Yea, with my hands could clutch it even, 
 
 Did not fear, from the perilous 
 
 Venture, ever withhold me. 240
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 305 
 
 Tell me, of Phorkyas' 
 
 Daughters which art thou ? 
 
 For to that family 
 
 Thee must I liken. 
 
 Art thou, may be, one of the gray-bom ? 245 
 
 One eye only, and but one tooth 
 
 Using still alternately ? 
 
 One of the Graise art thou. ? 
 
 Darest thou. Horror, 
 
 Thus beside beauty, 250 
 
 Or to the searching glance 
 
 Phoelnis' unveil thee ? 
 
 Nathless step thou forward undaunted ; 
 
 For the horrible sees he not. 
 
 As his hallowed glances yet 255 
 
 Never gazed upon shadows. 
 
 But a tragical fate, alas, 
 
 Us, poor mortals, constrains to bear 
 
 Anguish of vision, unspeakable. 
 
 Which the contemptible, ever-detestable, 260 
 
 Doth in lovers of beauty wake ! 
 
 Yea, so hearken then, if thou dar'st 
 
 Us to encounter, hear our curse. 
 
 Hark to each imprecation's threat. 
 
 Out of the curse-breathing lips of the happy ones. 
 
 Who by the gods created are ! 266 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Trite is the word, yet high and true remains the sense : 
 That Shame and Beauty ne'er together, hand in hand. 
 Their onward way pursue, earth's verdant path along. 
 Deep-rooted in these twain dwelleth an ancient grudge. 
 So that, where'er they happen on their way to meet, 271 
 Upon her hated rival turneth each her back ; 
 Then onward speeds her course with greater vehemence. 
 Shame filled with sorrow. Beauty insolent of mood, 
 Till her at length euiln-aces Orcus' hollow night, 275 
 
 Unless old age erewliile her haughtiness hath tamed. 
 You lind I now, yo wantons, from a foreign shore. 
 With insolence o'erflowing, like the clamorous flight 
 
 X
 
 306 PAUST. [Part II. 
 
 « 
 
 Of cranes, with shrilly scream that high above our lieads, 
 A loug and luuving cloud, croakiug send down their 
 noise, 280 
 
 Which the lone pilgrim lures, wending his silent way, 
 Alol't to turn his gaze ; yet on their course they fare. 
 He also upon his : so will it be with us. 
 
 Who are ye then, that thus around the monarch's house, 
 AVith Maenad rage, ye dare like drunken ones to rave? 285 
 Who are ye then that ye the house's stewardess 
 Thus bay, like pack of hounds hoarsely that bay the 
 
 moon 
 
 Tliink ye, 'tis hid from me, the race whereof ye are? 
 Thou youthful, war-begotten, battle-nurtured brood, 
 Lewd and lascivious thou, seducers and seduced, 290 
 
 Unnerving both, the soldier's and the burgher's strength ! 
 Seeing your throng, to me a locust-swarm ye seem. 
 Which, settling down, conceals the young green harvest- 
 field. 
 Wasters of others' toil ! ye dainty revellers, 
 Destroyers in its bloom of all prosperity ! 295 
 
 Thou conquer'd merchandise, exchanged and marketed ! 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Who in the mistress' presence chides her hand-maidens, 
 
 Audacious, doth o'erstep her household privilege ; 
 
 For her alone beseems, the praise-worthy to praise, 
 
 As also that to punish which doth merit blame. 300 
 
 Moreover with the service am I well-content. 
 
 Which these have rendered me, what time ju'oud Ilion's 
 
 strength 
 Beleaguer'd stood, and fell and sank ; nor less indeed 
 When we, of our sea- voyage the dreary changeful woe 
 Endured, where commonly each thinks but of himself. 305 
 Here also 1 expect the like from this blithe train ; 
 Kot wliat the servant is, we ask, but how he serves. 
 Therefore be silent thou, and snarl at them no more ! 
 If thou the monarch's house till now hast guarded Avell 
 Filling the mistress' place, that for thy praise shall count ; 
 But now herself is come, therefore do thou retire, 311 
 
 Lest chastisement be thine, instead of well-earn'd meed !
 
 Act IIL] FAUST. 307 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 The menial train to thieat, a sacred right remains, 
 Which the illustrious spouse of heaven-favour'd lord 314 
 Through many a year doth earn of prudent governance. 
 Since that, now recognised, thy ancient place as queen, 
 And mistress of the house, once more thou dost resume. 
 The long-time loosen'd reins grasp thou ; be ruler here, 
 And in possession take the treasures, us with them ! 
 Me before all protect, who am the elder-born, 320 
 
 From this young brood, who seem, thy swan-like beauty 
 
 near. 
 But as a basely winged flock of cackling geese ! 
 
 LEADER OF THE CHORUS. 
 
 How hideous beside beauty showeth hideousness ! 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 How foolish by discretion's side shows foolishness ! 
 {Henceforth the choristers respond in turn, stepping forth 
 simjly from the chorus.) 
 
 1st CHORISTER. 
 
 Tell us of Father Erebus, tell us of Mother Night ! 325 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Speak thou of Scylla, speak of her, thy sister-born ! 
 
 2nd CHORISTER. 
 
 From thy ancestral tree springs many a monster forth. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 To Oi'cus hence, away ! Seek thou thy kindred there ! 
 
 3rd CHORISTER. 
 
 Who yonder dwell, in sooth, for thee are far too young. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Tiresias, the hoary, go, make love to him ! 330 
 
 4th CHORISTER. 
 
 Orion's nurse of old, was thy great-grand-daughter. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Harpies, so I suspect, .lid rear thee up in filth. 
 
 X 2
 
 v308 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 5th CHORISTER. 
 
 Thy cherished meagreness, whereon dost nourish that ? 
 
 riioRicYAS. 
 'Tis not with blood, for which so keenly thou dost thirst. 
 
 6th criouiSTER. [335 
 
 For corjises dost thou hunger, loathsome corpse thyself! 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Within thy shameless jaw the teeth of vampires gleam. 
 
 7th CHORISTER. 
 
 Tliinc I should stop were I to tell thee who thou art. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 First do thou name thyself; the riddle then is solved. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Not wrathful, hut in grief, step I between you now. 
 Forbidding such alternate quarrel's angry noise ; 340 
 
 For to the ruler naught more hurtful can befall. 
 Than, 'mong his trusty servants, sworn and secret strife ; 
 The echo of his mandate then to him no more, 
 In swift accomplished deed responsively returns ; 
 No, stormful and self-will'd, it rages him around, 345 
 
 The self-bewilder'd one, and chiding still in vain. 
 Nor this alone ; ye have in rude unmanner'd wrath 
 Unblessed images of dreadful shapes evoked, 
 Which so encompass me, that whirl'd I feel myself 
 To Orcus do\%Ti, despite these my ancestral fields. 350 
 
 Is it remembrance ? W^as it frenzy seized on me ? 
 ^Vas I all that? and am I? shall I henceforth be 
 The dread and phantom-shape of those town- wasting ones? 
 The maidens quail : but thou, the eldest, thou dost stand, 
 Calm and unmoved; speak, then, to me some word of 
 sense ! 355 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Who of long years recalls the fortune manifold. 
 To him heaven's highest favour seems at last a dream. 
 But thou, so highly favoured, past all bound or goal, 
 Saw'st, in thy life-course, none but love inflamed mcTi,
 
 Alt III.) TAUST. 309 
 
 Kindled by impulse rash to boldest enterprise. 360 
 
 Theseus by passion stirred full early seized on thee, 
 A man of glorious form, and strong as Heracles. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Forceful he bore me off, a ten-year slender roe, 
 And in Aphidnus' keep shut me, in Attica. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 But thence full soon set free, by Castor, Pollux too, 365 
 In marriage wast thou sought by chosen hero-band. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Yet hath Patroclus, he, Pelides' other self, 
 My secret favour won, as willingly I own. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 But thee thy father hath to Menelaus wed. 
 
 Bold rover of the sea, and house-sustainer too. 370 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 His daughter gave he, gave to him the kingdom's sway ; 
 And from our wedded union sprang Hermione. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 But while he strove afar, for Crete, his heritage, 
 To thee, all lonely, came an all too beauteous guest. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Wherefore the time recall of that half-widowhood, 375 
 And what destruction dire to lue therefrom hath grown ! 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 That voyage unto me, a free-born dame of Ci'cte, 
 Hath also capture brouglit, and weary servitude. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 As stewardess forthwith, he did appoint thee here, 
 
 With much entrusted, — fort and treasure boldly won. 380 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 All which thou didst forsake, by Ilion's tower-girt town 
 Allured, and by the joys, the exliaustlcss joys of love.
 
 310 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 IIELKNA. 
 
 lu'iniud mo not of joys : No, an infinitude 
 
 Of all too bitter woo o'erwhelm'd my heart and brain. 
 
 PIIORKYAS, 
 
 Nathless 'tis said thou didst in two-fold shape appear ; 385 
 Seen within Ilion's walls, and seen in Egypt too. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Confuse thou not my brain, distraught and desolate I 
 Here even, who I am in sooth I cannot tell. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 'Tis also said, from out the hollow shadow-realm, 
 Achilles, passion-fired, hath joined himself to thee, 390 
 Whom he hath loved of old, 'gainst all resolves of Fate. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 As phantom I myself, to him a phantom bound ; 
 A dream it was — thus e'en the very words declare. 
 I faint, and to myself a phantom I become. 
 
 (^She sinks into the arms of the semi-chorus.) 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Silence ! Silence ! 395 
 
 False seeing one, false speaking one, thou ! 
 Through thy horrible, single-tooth'd lips, 
 Ghastly, what exhaleth 
 From such terrible loathsome gulf ! 
 
 For the malignant one, kindliness feigning, 400 
 
 Eage of wolf 'neath the sheep's woolly fleece, 
 
 Far more terrible is unto me than 
 
 Jaws of the hound three-headed. 
 
 Anxiously watching stand we here : 
 
 When ? flow ? Where of such malice 405 
 
 Bursteth the tempest 
 
 From this deep-lurking brood of Hell ? 
 
 Now, 'stead of friendly words, freighted with comfort, 
 Lethe-bestowing, gracious and mild. 
 Thou art summoning from times departed, 410 
 
 Thoughts of the past most hateful, 
 Overshadowing not alone
 
 A.CT III.] FAUST. 311 
 
 All sheen gilding the present, 
 
 Also the future's 
 
 Mildly glimmering light of hope. 415 
 
 kSilence ! Silence ! 
 
 That fair Helena's soul, 
 
 Ready e'en now to take flight, 
 
 Still may keep, yea firmly keep 
 
 The form of all forms, the loveliest, 420 
 
 Ever illumined of old by the sun. 
 
 (Helena has revived, and again stands in the midst.) 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Forth emerge from, fleeting cloudlets, sun resplendent of 
 
 this day. 
 If when veiled thou could'st delight us, dazzling now thy 
 
 splendour reigns. 
 As the world unfolds before thee, thou dost gaze with 
 
 gracious look. 
 Though as hideous they revile me, well the beautiful I 
 
 know. 425 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Giddy from the void I issTie, that in fainting round me 
 
 closed, 
 Eest once more I fain would cherish, for sore-weary are 
 
 my limbs ; 
 Yet the queen it still beseemeth, yea all mortals it beseems. 
 Self-controlled, to man their spirits, whatsoe'er of ill may 
 
 threat. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 In thy greatness now thou standest, in thy beauty 'fore 
 us there, 430 
 
 Tells thy glance that thou commandest ; what command'st 
 thou ? speak it forth ! 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 The delay your strife occasioned, now prepare ye to 
 
 retrieve : 
 Haste, a sacrifice to order, as the king commanded me ! 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 In the palace all is ready : censer, tripod, sharpen'd axe. 
 For lustration and for incense ; now the destined victim 
 show ! 435
 
 312 Faust. [Paut IL 
 
 HELEVA. 
 
 That tc me tbe king disclosed not. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Spake it not ? doleful word ! 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 What the sorrow that o'erpowers thee ? 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Queen, it is thyself art meant 1 
 
 HELENA. 
 I? 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 And these. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Oh woe and wailing ! 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Thou wilt perish by the axe. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Dreadful — yet surmised ! Me wretched ! 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Unavoidable it seems. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 And to us, ah what will happen ? 
 
 PHORKYAS. [440 
 
 She a noble death will die ; 
 But upon the lofty rafter, that upholds the gable-roof, 
 As in fowling-time the thrushes, ye shall struggle in a 
 row, 
 (Helena and the chorus stand astounded and terrified, in 
 striking, well-arranged groups.^ 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Poor phantoms ! — Stand ye there like figures petrified. 
 In deadly fear to part from day. which is not yours. 
 Mortals, who phantoms are together like as ye, 445 
 
 Kot willingly renounce the sun's resplendent beams ;
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 313 
 
 Yet from their doom may none save tlicm by force or prayer ; 
 All know it, yet can few with pleasure welcome it ! 
 Enough, ye all are lost. So to the work fortliAvith ! 449 
 (^She clajjs her hands ; thereupon appear at the door mashed 
 dwarfish figures, who execute with alacrity the orders as 
 they are delivered.) 
 Approach, thou swarthy, round, misshapen, goblin train ! 
 Eoll yourselves hither ! Mischief work ye here at wdll. 
 The altar, golden-horned, bear ye, and give it place ; 
 And let the gleaming axe o'er-lay the silver rim ! 
 The water-vessels fill, wherewith to wash away 
 Of black polluting gore, the horror-breathing stain ; 455 
 The costly carpet here outspread upon the dust, 
 That so the victim may in royal fashion kneel, 
 And wrapt within its folds, although with severed head, 
 Sepulchred straight may be, with honourable rites ! 
 
 LEADER OF THE CHORUS. 
 
 The queen, absorbed in thought, beside us stands apart ; 
 Blenching the maidens droop, like meadow-grass when 
 mown ; 46 1 
 
 On me, the eldest, seems a sacred duty laid, 
 With thee to barter words, thou form of primal eld. 
 Experienc'd art thou, wise, well-minded seem'st to us, 
 Although this brainless troop, misjudging, thee reviled : 
 Tell then, if thou dost know, of rescue possible. 466 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 'Tis easy said. Alone it resteth with the queen 
 Herself to save, and you her handmaidens with her. 
 Needful is prompt resolve, and of the quickest too ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Most revered among the Parcas, wisest of the Sibyls thou. 
 Sheathed hold the golden ßcissors, light and life to us 
 
 proclaim! 471 
 
 For our tender limbs already, feel we dangling, un- 
 
 rejoicing. 
 Swinging to and fro, that rather in the dance rejoiced of 
 
 yore, 
 Kestino; then on lover's breast.
 
 314 FAUST. [Pakt II. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 These tremblers leave ye ; sorrow feel I, naxight of fear ; 
 Yet know'st thou rescue, straight ho it with thanks 
 received ! 470 
 
 To sage, far-seeing minds, oft the inipossiT)le 
 As possible doth show. Speak on and tell thy thought ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Speak and tell us, tell us quickly ; how may we escape 
 
 the ghastly. 
 Odious nooses, that, with menace, like to ornaments the 
 
 vilest, 480 
 
 Round our necks themselves are coiling ? We, poor victims, 
 
 feel beforehand. 
 Feel the stifling, feel the choking, if of all the gods, thou, 
 
 Khea, 
 Lofty mother, feel'st no pity ! 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Have ye patience, to my story's course protracted 
 
 Still to hearken ? Manifold its windings are. 485 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Patience enough ! For while we hearken still we live. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 The man at home who tarries, noble wealth who guards, 
 And knoweth to cement his dwelling's lofty walls, 
 As also to secure his roof 'gainst stress of rain. 
 With him shall all go well, through the long day of life : 
 But lightly who o'ersteps, with rash and flying foot, 491 
 His threshold's sacred bounds, by guilty aim impelled, 
 Shall find, on his return, the ancient place, indeed, 
 But altered every thing, if not completely wrecked. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Declare, whereto these trite and well-known proverbs 
 here ? 495 
 
 Thou should'st relate; stir not what needs must give 
 offence ! 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 True history it is, in no wise a reproof. 
 
 As pirate Menelaus steered from bay to bay ;
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 315 
 
 Mainland and islands, all he ravaged as a iue. 
 With spoil returning home, as it within lies stored. 500 
 He before Ilion's walls hath wasted ten long years, 
 But on his homeward course how many know I not ; 
 Meanwhile how fares it here where stands the lofty house 
 Of Tyndarus ? How fares it with the region round ? 
 
 Is then reproach in tbee so thoroughly ingraft, 505 
 
 That, save to utter blame, thy lips thou canst not move ? 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Thus stood, for many years, forlorn the sloping ridge 
 That northwards to the height rises in Sparta's rear. 
 Behind Taygetus, whence, still a merry brook. 
 Downward Eurotas rolls, and then, along our vale, 510 
 Broad-flowing among reeds, gives nurture to your swans. 
 There in the mountain-vale, behind, a stalwart race 
 Themselves established, pressing from Cimmerian night, 
 And have up-reared a fastness, inaccessible, 
 AVhence land and folk around they harry, as they list. 515 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 This could they then achieve ? Impossible it seems. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 They ample time have had ; haply, some twenty years. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Is one the lord ? Are they a numerous robber-horde ? 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Not robbers are they, yet is one among them lord. 520 
 Of him I speak no blame, though once he sought me here ; 
 He might have taken all, yet did content himself 
 With some few things — which he free-gifts, not tribute, 
 named. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 And what his mien ? 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 No-wise amiss ! He pleases me. 
 A cheerful man he is, courageous, and well-built,
 
 316 FAUST. [PAiiT U 
 
 ^'itli tindcrstaTiflincr dower'd, as few amonc; the Greeks, 525 
 
 A.8 barbarous avu brand the race, but yet, methiuks, 
 
 So savage none can be as heroes, not a lew, 
 
 AVho nian-devoiiring })ests at Ilion showed themselves. 
 
 His greatness I respect ; did trust myself to him. 
 
 His fortress ! That should ye with your o%\ti eyes behold ! 
 
 'Tis something difterent from clumsy mason-work 531 
 
 The which your fiithers have aloft, at random, piled, 
 
 Cyclopean like the cyclops, one unwieldy stone 
 
 On stone unwieldy hurling ! There quite otherwise, 
 
 Upright and level, all is fixed by square and rule. 535 
 
 Gaze on it from without; ujjward it strives toward 
 
 heaven. 
 So straight, so well-adjusted, mirror-smooth like steel; 
 To clamber there, in sooth, your very thought slides down. 
 AVithin are ample courts, broad spaces girt around 
 AVith solid mason-work, of divers kinds and use ; 540 
 
 Pillars, pilasters, arches, archlets, balconies. 
 Are there, and galleries, lor peering out and in 
 And scutcheons. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 "VNTiat are they? 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Ajax upon his shield, 
 A coiled serpent bare, as ye yourselves have seen ; 
 The seven chiefs at Thebes have figured emblems borne. 
 Each one upon his shield, significant and rich : 546 
 
 There moon and star were seen, on heaven's nightly field. 
 There goddess, hero, ladder, weapons, torches too. 
 And what with violence still threatens goodly towns. 
 Devices of like sort beareth our hero-band, 550 
 
 In colour'd splendour, heir'd from primal ancestors ; 
 There lions you behold, eagles, claw too and beak, 
 Then horns of bufialo, wings, roses, peacock-tails. 
 Bars also, gold and black and silver, blue and red. 
 Such symbols in their halls hang pendant, row on row, 555 
 In halls that know no bound, ample as is the world ; 
 There might ye dance ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 tell us, be there dancers there ?
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 317 
 
 PIIORKYAS. 
 
 The best ; a youthful band, blooming and golden-haired ; 
 Of j-outh they breathe ! Of yore so only Paris breathed, 
 What time he to the queen approached too near. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Thou fall'st 560 
 Quite from thy part ! To me declare the final word. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 That speakest thou ; in earnest say distinctly yes ! 
 Then with that fortress thee I'll straightway compass. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Speak 
 That little word, and save thyself and us with thee ! 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 How ? Shall I harbour fear, lest Menelaus should 565 
 So ruthlessly transgress as rage to wreak on me ? 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Hast thou forgotten, how he thy Deiphobus, 
 Thy slaughtered Paris' brother, in unheard-of guise, 
 Hath mangled, he who strove thy stubborn widow-hood 
 To bend, and gained his purpose ! Kose and ears he 
 lopped, 570 
 
 And mutilated sore ; 'twas horror to behold ! 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 That did he unto him ; for my sake it was done. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 And for his sake, be sure, the like he'll do to thee. 
 Not to be shared is beauty ; her who hath possessed 
 Entire, destroyeth rather, cursing partnership. 575 
 
 (^Trumpets in the distance ; the Chorus shudders.) 
 As the shrill trumpets' blare doth ear and entrails seize, 
 Rending asunder, so her talons jealousy 
 Fixes in that man's breast, who never can forget 
 W hat once he own'd, now lost, by him possessed no more. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Hear'st thou not the horns resounding? Secst thou not 
 the gleam of arms ? 580
 
 318 FAHST. [Part IL 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Be thou welcome ! To tliee, lord and monarch ! gladly give 
 I reckoning. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 But for us? 
 
 PHORKYAS, 
 
 Ye know full surely : 'fore your eyes her deatX 
 you see, 
 Your own death mark too within there ; no, for you there 
 is no help. (Pause.) 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 I have the course devised, which next I will pursue. 
 
 An adverse Demon art thou, that full well I feel ; 585 
 
 And fear thou wilt convert even the f2;ood to ill. 
 
 Nathless to yonder keep I straight will follow thee. 
 
 The rest I know : but what in her deep breast the queen 
 
 As mysteiy conceals, let it remain to all 
 
 A secret unrevealed ! Now, ancient one, lead on I 590 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 how gladly go we hence, 
 
 Urging our footsteps : 
 
 Death in our rear ; 
 
 Once more before us 
 
 Rises a fortress, 595 
 
 With unscalable ramparts ; 
 
 Us may they shelter as well, 
 
 Even as Ilion's keep, 
 
 "Which succumbed at last 
 
 Through contemptible craft alone ! 000 
 
 (Mists diffuse themselves, veiling the hacJc-fjround ; also the 
 nearer portion of the scene.) 
 How ! Sisters, how ! 
 Sisters, gaze around ! 
 "Was it not cheerfulest day? 
 Mists are rising, wreathing aloft, 
 From Eurotas' hallow'd stream ! 605 
 
 Vanished hath the beautiful, 
 Sedge-becro^\Tied marge from the gaze ; 
 And the free, graceful swans, 
 Proudly, silently, floating,
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 319 
 
 Joyfully together, 610 
 
 See I, ah ? no more ! 
 
 Yet, sisters, yet ! 
 
 Singing hear I them, 
 
 Singing harsh tones from afar — 
 
 Death presaging, so mortals say; 615 
 
 Ah, that they to us may not, 
 
 'Stead of rescue's promised weal, 
 
 Ruin dire betoken at last. 
 
 Unto us, swanlike maids, 
 
 Fair, white-throated ones, and ah 1 620 
 
 To our queen swan-gendered ! 
 
 Woe to us, woe, woe ! 
 
 All itself over-shrouds, 
 
 Wrapt in vapour and mist : 
 
 Gaze on each other can we not 1 625 
 
 What befalls ? Do we walk ? 
 
 Hover we now, 
 
 Tripping with light steps over the ground ? 
 
 Seest thou naught ? Floats not us before 
 
 Hermes perchance? Gleams not his golden wand, 630 
 
 Bidding, commanding us back to return. 
 
 Back to yon joyless realm, dusky and grey, 
 
 With intangible phantoms teeming. 
 
 The o'ercrowded, yet aye-empty Hades ? 
 
 Deepens all at once the darkness. Ray less now dissolves 
 
 the vapour, 635 
 
 Grey and murky, brown as stone-work. Walls ascend, 
 
 our glances meeting, 
 Our free glances meeting sheer. Court is it ? deep moat ? 
 
 or cavern ? 
 'Tis in every case appalling ! Sisters, ah, we are im- 
 
 prison'd, 
 'Prisou'd now as erst we were ! 
 
 (pinner court of the ensile, surrounded with rich fantastic 
 buildings of the middle aijes. ) 
 
 LEADER OF THE CHORUS. 
 
 Foolish and ovorswift, true type of woman-kind, 640 
 
 Depeude.nt on the mumeiit, sport of every gust
 
 320 FAUST. [Part I. 
 
 Of bale or bloBsing ! Yet not either can ye bear 
 With constant courap;o. One still fiercely contra.licts 
 The others, cross-wise she by others is gainsaid ; 
 Only in joy and pain ye, "vvith tlic self-same tone, C-iS 
 
 Or howl or laugh. Be still and hearken what the queen, 
 High-suuled, may here decide both for herself and us. 
 
 Where art thou, Pythonissa ? Whatsoe'er thy name, 
 From out the gloomy vaults step forth of this stern keep ! 
 Perchance, art gone to seek this wondrous hero-lord, 650 
 To herald my approach, reception kind bespeaking! 
 80 take my thanks and quickly lead me unto him ! 
 My wanderings I would end, repose I wish alone. 
 
 LEADER OF THE CHORUS. 
 
 Vainly thou lookest, queen, round thee on every side ; 
 The hateful form hath vanished, or perchance remain'd 655 
 In yonder mist, from forth whose bosom hitherward, 
 We came, I wist not how, swiftly without a step ; 
 Perchance, indeed, in doubt this labyrinth she treads, 
 Where many castles strangely mingle into one. 
 Greeting august and high demanding from its lord. 660 
 But yonder see above, where move in busy throngs. 
 In corridors, at casements, and through portals wide, 
 A crowd of menials passing, swiftly here and thei'e ; 
 Distinguished welcome this portends of honour'd guest. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Expands now my heart ! 0, yonder behold, 665 
 
 How modestly downward, with lingering step, 
 
 A fair youthful throng becomingly move 
 
 In march well-appointed ! Say, by whose command 
 
 Now appeareth well-trained, and so promptly arrayed, 
 
 Of blooming boyhood, the glorious race ? 670 
 
 What admire I the most? Is it their elegant gait, 
 
 Or the tresses that curl round their dazzling white brow, 
 
 Or the twin-blooming cheeks, with the hue of the peach. 
 
 And shaded like it with soft tender down ? 
 
 Fain would I bite, but I shrink back in fear ; 675 
 
 For in similar venture, replete was the moutli, 
 
 I shudder to tell it, with ashes !
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 321 
 
 But the most beautiful 
 
 Hither are wending ; 
 
 What are they bearing ? G80 
 
 Steps for the throne, 
 
 Carpet and seat. 
 
 Hangings and tent- 
 
 Adoruing gear ? 
 
 Hover the fokls on high, 685 
 
 Cloud-garlands forming 
 
 Over the head of our queen ; 
 
 Lo ! now invited, 
 
 Climbs she the stately couch. 
 
 Forward advancing, 690 
 
 Step by step, treading, 
 
 Eange yourselves there ! 
 
 Worthy, oh worthy, thrice worthy of her. 
 
 Be blessing on such a reception ! 
 (^All that the Chorus has indicated takes place hy degrees.") 
 (^After pages and squires have descended in long procession, 
 Faust appears above, on the steps, in knightly court 
 costume of the middle ages ; he descends slowly and with 
 dignity.) 
 
 LEADER OF THE CHORUS 
 
 (^attentively observing him). 
 If to this man the gods have not, as is their wont, 695 
 But for a season lent this wonder-worthy form. 
 And if his lofty grace, his love-inspiring mien, 
 Be not their transient gift, success will sure attend 
 On all he undertakes, be it in strife with men. 
 Or in the petty war, with fairest women waged. 700 
 
 To many others him, in sooth, I must prefer. 
 Others, the highly prized, on whom mine eyes have gazed. 
 With slow, majestic step, by reverence withheld, 
 The prince do I behold. Towards him turn, queen ! 
 
 FAUST 
 
 (advancing, a man in fetters at his side). 
 'Stead of most solemn greeting, as beseemeth, 705 
 
 'Stead of most reverent welcome, bring I theo, 
 In chains fast manacled, this varlet, who 
 In duty failing, wrested mine from mo. — 
 
 T
 
 322 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 Here bend thy knee, before this noblest dame, 
 
 To make fortlnvith confession of thy guilt ! — 710 
 
 This is, exalted potenta'te, the man, 
 
 Of rarest vision, from the lofty tower 
 
 Appointed ronnd to gaze, the expanse of heaven 
 
 Keenly to overlook, and breadth of earth, 
 
 If here or yonder anght present itself, 715 
 
 From the encircling hills, across the vale. 
 
 Towards this fortress moving ; billowy herds, 
 
 Or warlike host perchance ; those we defend. 
 
 These meet in fight. To-day, wliat negligence l 
 
 Thou comest hither, he proclaims it not ; 720 
 
 August reception faileth, honour due 
 
 To guest so noble. Forfeited he hath 
 
 His guilty life, and in the blood of death. 
 
 Well-merited, should lie ; but thou alone 
 
 May'st punish, or show mercy, at thy pleasure. 725 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 High as the honour thou accordest me, 
 
 As judge, as potentate, and were it but, 
 
 As I susi^ect, to try me — so will I 
 
 The judge's foremost duty now fulfil. 
 
 To give the accused a hearing. — Therefore speak I 730 
 
 LYWCEUS, THE TOWER-WARDER. 
 
 Let me kneel and gaze upon her, 
 
 Let me live or let me die : 
 
 Pledged to serve, with truth and honour, 
 
 The god-given dame, am I. 
 
 Watching for the morning, gazing 735 
 
 Eastward for its rising, lo ! 
 
 Li the south, my vision dazing, 
 
 Eose the sun a wondrous show. 
 
 Neither earth nor heavenward turning. 
 
 Depth nor height my vision drew ; 740 
 
 Thitherward I gazed, still yearning. 
 
 Her, the peerless one, to view. 
 
 Eyesight keen to me is granted, 
 
 Like to lynx on highest tree ; 
 
 From the dream, Avhich me enchanted, 745 
 
 Hard I struggled to be free.
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 323 
 
 Could I the delusion banish — 
 
 Turret— tower — barred gateway see ? 
 
 Vapours rise, and vapours vanish ; 
 
 Forward steps this deity ! 750 
 
 Eye and heart to her I tender ! 
 I inhale her gentle light ; 
 Blinding all, such beauty's splendour 
 Blinded my poor senses quite ; 
 
 I forgot the warder's duty, 755 
 
 I forgot the entrusted horn ; 
 Threaten to destroy me — Beauty 
 Tameth anger, tameth scorn. 
 
 HELENA, 
 
 The ill, myself occasioned, dare I not 
 
 Chastise. Ah, woe is me ! What ruthless fate 760 
 
 Pursues me, everywhere the breasts of men 
 
 So to befool, that they nor spare themselves 
 
 Nor aught that claimeth reverence. Plundering no v, 
 
 Seducing, fighting, harrying here and there, 
 
 Gods, heroes, demi-gods, yea da3mons too, 765 
 
 Perplexed have led me, wandering to and fro; 
 
 Singly, the world I maddened, doubly, more ; 
 
 Now threefold, fourfold, bring I woe on woe ! — 
 
 This guiltless man discharge, let him go free, 
 
 No shame should light upon the god-befool'd. 770 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Filled with amaze, queen, I see at once 
 
 The unerring smiter, here the smitten one ; 
 
 The bow I see, wherefrom hath sped the sliaft 
 
 This man that wounded. Shaft doth follow shaft. 
 
 And me they smite. Them crosswise I perceive, 775 
 
 Feather'd, and whirring round through court and keep. 
 
 What am I now ? Thou makest, all at once, 
 
 My trustiest, rebellious ; insecure 
 
 My very walls ; henceforth my hosts, I fear. 
 
 Will serve the conquering unconquered (j[ueen. 780 
 
 What now remaineth, save myself to yield. 
 
 And all I faiicied mine, to thy sole sway? 
 
 Freely and truly, let rae at thy feet, 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 FAUST. [Part II. 
 
 Acknowlodpje thoe as qiicon, who, comina; here, 
 
 Hath wüu i'urthwith possession and a throne. 785 
 
 LYNCEUS 
 
 (^with a chest, followed by men hearing other chests). 
 Back, queen, thou seest me once nioi"e ! 
 One ghmco the rich man doth implore; 
 Poor as a beggar feeleth ho, 
 Yet rich as prince — beholding thee. 
 
 What was I erst — what am I now? 700 
 
 "What can I wish — what aim avow ? 
 What boots it keenest sight to own ? 
 Its glance reboundeth from thy throne ! 
 
 We from the east still onAvard pressed, 
 
 And soon o'ermastered was the west; 705 
 
 A. host of nations, long and vast — 
 
 The foremost knew not of the last ; 
 
 The foremost fell ; the next advance ; 
 Eeady the third with doughty lance — 
 Strengthened was each a hundred-fold ; 800 
 
 Thousands, unmark'd, lay stark and cold. 
 
 We rushed along, we stormed apace. 
 
 Lordship we won, from place to place ; 
 
 And where to-day I sway achieved, 
 
 Next day another sacked and reaved. 805 
 
 Eapid the glance we took — one laid 
 His hand upon the fairest maid, 
 The steer one seized of surest tread ; 
 The horses all with us were led. 
 
 But my delight was everywhere 810 
 
 To peer about for things most rare ; 
 And what another held in store. 
 To me was withered grass, no more. 
 
 On treasure's track I onward sped, 
 
 Only by my keen insight led ; 815 
 
 In every coffer I could see. 
 
 Transparent was each chest to me. 
 
 Thus heaps of gold at length were mine, 
 And jewel-stones, with lustrous shine ? —
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 325 
 
 The emerald's resplendent green 820 
 
 Alone may grace thy breast, fair qneen. 
 
 Let pearl-drops hang 'twixt lip and ear, 
 
 The spoil of ocean ! rubies, near 
 
 Thy dainty cheeks, their radiance lose, 
 
 Quenched by their vermeil-tinctured hues. 825 
 
 The greatest treasures thus to-day, 
 Before thy presence here I lay ; 
 And at thy feet, in homage yield 
 Harvest of many a bloody field. 
 
 Though I full many a chest have brought, 830 
 
 Yet more I have, with treasure fraught ; 
 
 Let me attend thy path, and lo ! 
 
 Thy treasure-vaults shall straight o'erflow. 
 
 For scarce dost thou the throne ascend. 
 Already boAv, already bend, 835 
 
 Eeason, and wealth, and sovereign power, 
 Before thy beauty's peerless dower. 
 
 All this I firmly held, as mine — 
 
 Freely relinquished, now 'tis thine ! 
 
 Its worth I deemed both vast and high — 840 
 
 Its nothingness I now descry. 
 
 What once was mine, doth from me pass, 
 
 Scatter'd like mown and withered grass. 
 
 With one kind look, give ba ;k once more, 
 
 In full, the wortli it owned before ! 845 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Hence quickly with the burden boldly earned. 
 
 Not blamed in sooth, l)ut yet Avithout reward. 
 
 Already all is hers, which in its depths 
 
 The castle hides ; to offer special gifts 
 
 Is bootless. Hence ! Treasure on treasure heap, 850 
 
 In order due ; of splendour yet unseen 
 
 Set forth the exalted pomp ; and let the vaults 
 
 Glitter like heaven new-born ; from lifeless life 
 
 A paradise prepai'e ; before her steps. 
 
 With eager haste, let carpet, rich in flowers, 855 
 
 Unroll on flowory carpet I Let her tread
 
 326 FAUST. [Pakt IL 
 
 IMcot dainty footing; and tho brightest sheen, 
 Blinding tu all but guds, her glance arrest ! 
 
 LYNCEUS. 
 
 Slight is our lord's behest ; 'tis play, 
 
 A ^duasant pastime, to obey : 860 
 
 Not wealth alone, the blood no less 
 
 O'ersways this beauty's fond excess ! 
 
 Tamed is the host, and falchions keen, 
 
 Now blunt and lame, have lost their sheen ; 
 
 The sun beside her form divine, 865 
 
 "Weary and cold, forgets to shine ; 
 
 While near the riches of her face, 
 
 Empty is all, devoid of grace. (^Exit ) 
 
 HELENA (to Faust). 
 With thee I fain would speak, therefore ascend, 
 And seat thee at my side ! The vacant place 870 
 
 Invites its owner, and secures me mine. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 First, kneeling, let my true allegiance be 
 
 Accepted, noble lady; let me kiss 
 
 The hand that now iiplifts me to thy side ! 
 
 Me as co-regent strengthen of thy realm, 875 
 
 Ko bound that knows ; and for thyself obtain 
 
 Adorer, liegeman, warder, all in one ! 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Full many a wonder do I see and hear ; 
 
 Amazement strikes me, much I have to ask. 
 
 Yet fain I am to know wherefore the speech 
 
 Of yonder man sounds strangely, strange and sweet 
 
 Each tone appears accordant with the next, 
 
 And hath a word found welcome in the ear. 
 
 Another woos caressingly the first. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 If thee our people's utterance thus delights, 
 then be sure, their song will ravish thee. 
 Appeasing to their depths both ear and mind. 
 Yet were it best this language to essay ; 
 Alternate speech invites it, calls it forth. 
 
 880
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 327 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 IIow thus to speak so s>veetly I would know. 890 
 
 FAÜST. 
 
 'Tis easy, fiom the heart the words must flow ; 
 And when with fond desire the bosom yearns, 
 We look around and ask — 
 
 HELENA, 
 
 Who with us bums? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The spirit looks nor forward nor behind. 
 The present only — 
 
 HELENA, 
 
 There our bliss we find. 895 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Wealth is it, pledge and fortune ; I demand, 
 Who granteth confirmation? 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 This — my hand. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Who would now upbraid our princess 
 
 Grants she to this castle's lord 
 
 Friendliest demeanour? 900 
 
 For confess, together are we 
 
 Captives now, as oft already, 
 
 Since the tragical overthrow 
 
 Ilios', and our piteous voyage. 
 
 Labyrinthine, with sorrow fraught, 905 
 
 Women wont to men's affection. 
 
 Choosers arc they not in sooth. 
 
 Rather adepts are they ; 
 
 And to gold-ringleted shepherds. 
 
 May-be to Fauns darkly bearded, 910 
 
 As to them the occasion comes. 
 
 O'er thy delicate limbs must they 
 
 Yield completely an equal right. 
 
 Near and nearer sit they already, 
 
 Each on other reclining, 915
 
 328 FAUST. [Paht IL 
 
 Shoulder to slioiililor, knee to knee, 
 
 Ilaiui in hand, rock they themselves 
 
 Over the throne's 
 
 High and loftily-cushioned state : 
 
 For no scruple hath majesty, 920 
 
 Secretest rajiturcs, 
 
 'Fore the eyes of the people, 
 
 All unblushingly thus to display, 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 I feel myself so distant, yet so near. 
 
 And all too gladly say : Here am I ! here ! 925 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I tremble ; scarcely breathe, words die away : 
 A dream it is, vanished have place and day ! 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Outworn I feel, and yet as life were new, 
 
 With thee entwined, to thee the unknown one true. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Forbear to ponder thy strange destiny ! 930 
 
 Being is duty, were it momently. 
 
 PHORKYAS (^entering impatiently). 
 On love's primer cast j^our eyes, 
 Its sweet lessons analyse, 
 Fondly sport in lover-%vise I 
 
 Yet thereto time fails, I ween. 935 
 
 Feel ye not the storm o'erhanging? 
 Hear ye not the trumpet clanging I 
 Euin Kears, with threatening mien. 
 
 Menelaus comes, and gleaming 
 
 With him waves of people streaming ; 940 
 
 Arm ye for the conflict keen ! 
 
 Girt by victors, conquest-heated. 
 
 Like Deiphobus, mal-treated, 
 
 Forfeit thou must pay, queen ; 
 
 These light ware, shall from the halter 945 
 
 Dangle ; ready on the altar 
 
 ßharpen'd axe for thee is seen I
 
 Act III.] FAUSr. 329 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Bold interrnption, she annoyingly intrudes ! 
 
 !Not e'en in peril brook I senseless violence. 
 
 Ill message hideous make the fairest messenger ; 950 
 
 Most hideous thou who dost ill tidings gladly bring. 
 
 They shall not profit thee ; ay, shatter thou the air 
 
 With empty breath. In sooth, no danger lurketh here, 
 
 And danger's self would seem but idle threatening. 
 
 (^Signals. Explosions from the towers, trumpets and cornets, 
 
 martial tnusic, a powerful army marches across the 
 
 stage.) 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 No, straight assembled thou shalt see 955 
 
 Our heroes' close united band ! 
 For woman's grace none wins but he 
 Who knows to shield with forceful hand. 
 (To the leaders, who separate themselves from their columns 
 and step forward.) 
 With bridled rage and silent power, 
 Wh-ich victory must crown at length, 960 
 
 Ye of the north, the youthful flower. 
 Ye of the east, the blooming strength ! 
 
 Steel-clad, with sunbeams round them breaking. 
 Empires they shatter with their spear ; 
 They march — beneath them earth is shaking ; — 965 
 They pass — it thunders in their rear. 
 
 At Pylos from our barques we landed — 
 
 The ancient Nestor was no more ; 
 
 In vain their troops the kingliiigs banded, 
 
 'Gainst our free host, on Hellas' shoi'c. 970 
 
 Drive from these walls, my voice obeying. 
 King Menelaus back to sea; 
 There let him, sacking and way-laying, 
 Fulfil his will and destiny. 
 
 I hail you dukes, for so ordaineth 975 
 
 Sparta's fair queen ; before her lay 
 Mountain and valley ; while she reigncth, 
 Ye too shall profit by her sway.
 
 830 TAlST. [?ai:t II. 
 
 (Jnanl, Ciorman, wall ami fence extending, 
 Corinthus' bay, whato'er assails ; 980 
 
 Gotlis, I coiifiilo to your dufending, 
 Achaia, with its hundred vales ; 
 
 March, Franks, your course to Elis steering, 
 Messene be the Saxon's share ; 
 
 Normans, the sea from pirates clearing, 985 
 
 Of Argolis the strength repair. 
 
 Then shall each one, at home abiding. 
 
 Prowess and strength abroad make known ; 
 
 Yet Sparta shall, o'er all presiding, 
 
 Be still our queen's ancestral throne. 990 
 
 Eejoicing in their lands, each nation 
 She sees, with every blessing crown'd ; 
 Justice and light and confirmation, 
 Seek at her feet, with trust profound. 
 (Faust descends, the princes close a circle round Mm, in 
 order better to hear his instructions and commands.) 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Who the fairest fain would possess, 995 
 
 Foremost, let him for weapons 
 
 Stoutly and wisely look all around ! 
 
 Fond words for him may have won 
 
 What on earth is the highest : 
 
 Yet in peace possesseth he not ; 1000 
 
 Fawners slily entice her from him. 
 
 Spoilers daringly snatch her from him ; 
 
 This to guard against be he prepared ! 
 
 I for this commend our prince. 
 
 Prize him higher than others, 1005 
 
 Who, brave and prudent, himself hath leagued, 
 
 So that the stalwart obedient stand, 
 
 To his beck still attentive ; 
 
 Loyally they his bests fulfil. 
 
 To his own profit, one and all, 1010 
 
 Having his guerdon in his lord's thanks, 
 
 And for the loftiest gloiy of both
 
 Act KT.] FAUST. 331 
 
 For wLo shall snatch her away 
 
 From lier potent possessor ? 
 
 She is his, to him bo she granted, 1015 
 
 Doubly granted by us, whom he 
 
 Within, e'en like her, with impregnable ramparts. 
 
 Without, by mightiest host, surrounds. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Our gifts to these are great and glorious : 
 
 To every one a goodly land, 1020 
 
 Fertile and broad. March on victorious ! 
 
 Here in the midst take we our stand. 
 
 Girt round by waves in sun-light dancing, 
 
 Half island, thee — whose hill-chains blend 
 
 With Europe's mountains, widely branching — 1025 
 
 Will they in rivalry defend. 
 
 Blessed be this land, all lands transcending, 
 
 To every race, for evermore, 
 
 Which sees my queen the throne ascending, 
 
 As erst her birth it hailed of yore. 1030 
 
 When, 'mid Eurotas' reedy whisper, 
 
 Forth from the shell she burst to light. 
 
 Her mighty mother, brothers, sister. 
 
 Were blinded by the dazzling sight. 
 
 This land, her choicest bloom that layeth 1035 
 
 Before thee, waiting thy behest — 
 
 Though the wide earth thy sceptre swayeth, 
 
 Oh love thy father-land the best ! 
 
 What though the sun's keen arrow coldly playeth, 
 Upon the mountain-summits, jagg'd and bare 1040 
 
 Yet where the rock the verdure over-layeth. 
 The wild goat nibbling, crops its scanty faro ; 
 
 The spring leaps forth, united plunge the fountains. 
 And meadow, gorge, and valley, all are green. 
 On broken pastures of a hundred mountains, 1045 
 
 Spread far and wide, the woolly herds are seen ; 
 
 With measured tread, cautious, in lino divided, 
 
 By the steep edge, the horned cattle wend ; 
 
 Yet for them all a slielter is provided. 
 
 O'er many a cave the vaulted rock doth bond! 1050
 
 332 PAUST. [Part IL 
 
 Pan shields thom there, an(l many a nymph appeareth. 
 In Jiii^iist and busliy caverns dwullini»; iree ; 
 And yearning after liighcr sjihcres, uprearcth 
 Its leafy branches tree close-pressed to tree — 
 
 Primeval woods ! The giant oak there standing, 1055 
 Links bough to bough, a stubborn, tortuous, maze ; 
 The gentle maple, with sweet juice expanding, 
 Shoots clear aloft and with its burden plays — 
 
 And motherly for child and lambkin streameth, 
 'Mid silent shades, warm milk prepared for them ; 1060 
 Fruit close at hand, the plain's ripe nurture, gleameth, 
 And honey droppeth, from the hollow stem. 
 
 Pleasure is here a birthright ; vicing 
 
 In gladness cheek and lip are found, 
 
 Each in his station is undying, 10G5 
 
 Content and blooming health abound. 
 
 And thus to all his father's strength unfoldeth 
 
 The gentle child, environed by sweet day. 
 
 Amazed we stand ; each asks, as he beholdeth : 
 
 If gods they be, or men ? so fair are they, 1070 
 
 So when the part of hind Apollo playeth. 
 Like him the fairest shepherd-youth apjiears ; 
 For there w-here Nature in clear circle swayeth, 
 Harmoniously are linked her several spheres. 
 
 {Talcing his seat beside Helena.) 
 
 Thus happy Fate hath me, hath thee attended; 1075 
 
 Behind us henceforth let the past be thrown ! 
 From God supreme, oh feel thyself descended ; 
 Thou to the primal world belong' st alone. 
 
 Thee shall no firm-built fortress capture; 
 
 Strong in eternal youth, expands 1080 
 
 For us a sojourn, fraught with rapture, 
 
 Arcadia, near to Sparta's lands. 
 
 Allured to this blest region, hither 
 
 Hast fled to brightest destiny : 
 
 Thrones change to bowers that never wäther; 1085 
 
 Arcadian be our bliss and free !
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 333 
 
 (T/ie scene is entirely changed. Close arbours recline 
 ayainst a series of rocky caverns. A shady grove 
 extends to the base of the encircling rocks. Faust and 
 Helena are not seen. The Chorus lies sleeping, 
 scattered here and there.) 
 
 PHOP.KYAS. 
 
 How long these maids have slept, in sooth I cannot tell ; 
 
 Or whether they have dreamed what I before mine eyes 
 
 Saw bright and clear, to me is equally unknown. 
 
 So wake I them. Amazed the younger folk shall be, 1090 
 
 Ye too, ye bearded ones, who sit below and wait, 
 
 Hoping to see at length these miracles resolved. 
 
 Arise ! Arise ! And shake quickly your crisj)ed locks ! 
 
 Shake slumber from your eyes ! Blink not, and list to me ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Only speak, relate, and tell us, what of wonderful hath 
 chanced! 1095 
 
 We more willingly shall hearken that Avhich we cannot 
 believe ; 
 
 For we are aweary, weary, gazing on these rocks around. 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Children, how, already weary, though you scarce have 
 
 rubbed your eyes ? 
 Hearken then ! Within these caverns, in these grottoes, 
 
 in these bowers. 
 Shield and shelter have been given, as to lover-twain 
 
 idyllic, 1100 
 
 To our lord and to our lady — 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 How, within there? 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Yea, secluded 
 From the world ; and me, me only, they to secret service 
 
 called. 
 Highly honoured stood I near them, yet, as one in trust 
 
 beseemeth. 
 Round I gazed on other objects, turning hithor, turning 
 
 thither,
 
 334 PAUST. [Part II. 
 
 Sought for roots for barks aud mosses, Mith their pro- 
 perties acquainted ; 1105 
 And they thns remained alone. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Tlion would'st make believe that yonder, world-wide 
 
 sjnices lie within, 
 Wood and meadow, lake and brooklet ; what strange fable 
 
 spinnest thou ! 
 
 PIIORKYAS. 
 
 Yea, in sooth, ye inexperienced, there lie regions un- 
 discovered : 
 Hall on hall, and court on court ; in my musings these 1 
 
 track. ' 1110 
 
 Suddenly a peal of laughter echoes through the cavern'd 
 
 spaces ; 
 In I gaze, a boy is springing from the bosom of the 
 
 woman 
 To the man, from sire to mother : the caressing and the 
 
 fondling. 
 All love's foolish playfulnesses, mirthful cry and shout of 
 
 rapture. 
 Alternating, deafen me. 1115 
 
 Kaked, without wings, a genius, like a faun, with nothing 
 
 bestial. 
 On the solid ground he springeth ; but the ground, with 
 
 counter-action. 
 Up to ether sends him flying ; with the second, third 
 
 rebounding 
 Touches he the vaulted roof. 
 Anxiously the mother calleth : Spring amain, and at thy 
 
 pleasure: 1120 
 
 But beware, think not of flying, unto thee is flight denied. 
 And so warns the faithful father : In the earth the force 
 
 elastic 
 Lies, aloft that sends thee bounding; let thy toe but 
 
 touch the surface. 
 Like the son of earth, Antaeus, straightway is thy strength 
 
 renewed. 
 And so o'er these rocky masses, on from dizzy ledge to 
 
 ledge, 1125
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 335 
 
 Leaps he ever, hither, thither, springing like a stricken 
 
 ball. 
 But in cleft of rugged cavern suddenly from sight ho 
 
 vanished ; 
 And now lost to us he seemeth, mother waileth, sire 
 
 cousoleth. 
 Anxiously I shrug my shoulders. But again, behold, 
 
 what vision ! 
 Lie there treasures hida3n yonder? Eaiment broidered 
 
 o'er with flowers 1130 
 
 lie becomingly hath donned ; 
 Tassels from his arms are waving, ribbons flutter on his 
 
 bosom. 
 In his hand the lyre all-golden, wholly like a tiny 
 
 Phoebus, 
 Boldly to the edge he steppeth, to the precipice; we 
 
 wonder. 
 And the parents, full of rapture, cast them on each other's 
 
 heart; 1135 
 
 For around his brow what splendour ! Who can tell 
 
 what there is shining ? 
 Gold- work is it, or the flaming of surpassing spirit-power ? 
 Thus he moveth, with such gesture, e'en as boy himself 
 
 announcing 
 Future master of all beauty, through whose limbs, whose 
 
 every member, 
 Flow the melodies eternal : and so shall ye hearken to 
 
 him, 1140 
 
 Aiid so shall ye gaze upon him, to your special wonder- 
 ment. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 This call'st thou marvellous, 
 
 Daughter of Creta ? 
 
 Unto the bard's pregnant word 
 
 Hast thou perchance never listened? 1145 
 
 Hast thou not heard of Ionia's, 
 
 Ne'er been instructed in Hellas' 
 
 Legends, from ages primeval, 
 
 Godlike, hcroical treasure? 
 
 All, that still liappeceth 1150 
 
 Now in the prcseut.
 
 336 FAUST. [Pabt IL 
 
 Sorrowful echo 'tis. 
 
 Of days ancestral, more noble; 
 
 Equals not in sooth tliy story 
 
 That which beautiful iiction, 1155 
 
 Than trutli more worthy of credence. 
 
 Chanted hath of Maia's offspring 1 
 
 This so shapely and potent, yet 
 
 Scarcelj'-born delicate nursling. 
 
 Straight have his gossiping nurses 1160 
 
 Folded in purest swaddling fleece, 
 
 Fastened in costly swathings, 
 
 With their irrational notions. 
 
 Potent and shapely, ne'ertheless, 
 
 Draws the rogue his flexible limbs, 1165 
 
 Body firm yet elastic, 
 
 Craftily ft)rth ; the purple shell. 
 
 Him so grievously binding, 
 
 Leaving quietly in its place ; 
 
 As the perfected butterfly, 1170 
 
 From the rigid chrysalid, 
 
 Pinion unfolding, rapidly glides, 
 
 Boldly and wantonly sailing through 
 
 Sun-impregnated ether. 
 
 So he, too, the most dextrous, 1175 
 
 That to robbers and scoundrels. 
 
 Yea, and to all profit-seekers, 
 
 He a favouring god might be. 
 
 This he straightway made manifest, 
 
 Using arts the most cunning. 1180 
 
 Swift from the ruler of ocean he 
 
 Steals the trident, yea, e'en from Ares 
 
 Steals the sword from the scabbard ; 
 
 Arrow and bow from Phoebus too, 
 
 Also his tongs from Hephasstos : 1185 
 
 Even Zeus', the father's, bolt, 
 
 Him had fire not scared, he had ta'en. 
 
 Eros also worsted he. 
 
 In limb-grappling, wrestling match ; 
 
 Stole from Cypria as she caressed him, 1190 
 
 From her bosom, the girdle.
 
 Act m.l FAUST. 337 
 
 (J.n exquisite, purely melodious lyre-music resounds from the 
 cave. All become attentive, and appear soon to be in- 
 wardly moved ; henceforth, to the pause indicated, there 
 is a full musical accompaniment.^ 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 Hark those notes so sweetly sounding ; 
 
 Cast aside jour fabled lore : 
 
 Gods, in olden time abounding, — 
 
 Let them go ! their day is o'er. 1195 
 
 None will comprehend your singing ; 
 Nobler theme the age requires : 
 From the heart must flow, up-springing, 
 "What to touch the heart aspires. 
 
 {She retires behind the rock.) 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 To these tones, so sweetly flowing, 1200 
 
 Dire one ! dost incline thine ears, 
 They in us, new health bestowing, 
 Waken now the joy of tears. 
 
 Vanish may the sun's clear shining. 
 In our soul if day arise, 1205 
 
 In our heart we, unrepining, 
 Find what the whole world denies. 
 Helena, Faust, Eupiiorion in the costume indicated above. 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 Songs of childhood hear ye ringing. 
 
 Your own mirth it seems ; on me 
 
 Gazing, thus in measure springing, 1210 
 
 Leap your parent-hearts with glee. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Love, terrestrial bliss to capture, 
 
 Two in noble union mates ; 
 
 But to wake celestial rapture, 
 
 He a precious three creates. 1215 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 All hath been acliieved. For ever 
 I am thine, and mine thou art,
 
 338 FAUST. [Paet II. 
 
 Blent our "beings arc — oh never 
 May cur present joy depart! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Many a year of purest pleasiire, 1220 
 
 In tlie mild light of their boy, 
 Crowns this pair in richest measure. 
 Me their union thrills Avith joy I 
 
 EÜPII01U0N. 
 
 Now let me gambol, 
 
 Joyfully springing ! 1225 
 
 Upward to hasten 
 
 Through ether winging, 
 
 This wakes my yearning, 
 
 This prompts me now ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Gently ! son, gently I 1230 
 
 Be not so daring ! 
 
 Lest ruin seize thee 
 
 Past all repairing, 
 
 And our own darling 
 
 Whelm us in woe ! 1235 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 From earth my spirit 
 
 Still upw^ard presses ; 
 
 Let go my hands now, 
 
 Let go my tresses, 
 
 Let go my garments, 1240 
 
 Mine every one ! 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 To whom, bethink thee, 
 
 Now thou pertainest ! 
 
 Think how it grieves us 
 
 When thou disdainest 1245 
 
 Mine, thine, and his, — the all 
 
 That hath been won. 
 
 CHORUS, 
 
 Soon shall, I fear me, 
 The bond be undone I
 
 iOT mj FAUST. 339 
 
 HEI.ENA and FAUST. 
 
 Curb for thy parents' sake, 1250 
 
 To us returning, 
 
 Curb thy importunate 
 
 Passionate yearning ! 
 
 Make thou the rural plain 
 
 Tranquil and bright. 1255 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 But to content you 
 Stay I my flight. 
 [ Winding among the Chorus and drawing them forth to dance.^ 
 Eouncl this gay troop 1 flee 
 With impulse light. 
 
 Say is the melody, 1260 
 
 Say is the movement right ? 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 Yea, 'tis well done ; advance, 
 Lead to the graceful dance 
 These maidens coy ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Could I the end but see ! 1265 
 
 Me this mad revelry 
 Fills with annoy. 
 
 EUPHORION and the chorus. 
 (Dancing and singing, they move about in interweaving lines.) 
 
 Moving thine arms so fair 
 With graceful motion. 
 
 Tossing thy curling hair 1270 
 
 In bright commotion ; 
 When thou with foot so light 
 Over the earth doth skim, 
 Thither and back in flight, 
 
 Moving each gi'aceful limb ; 1275 
 
 Thou hast attained thy goal, 
 Beautiful child. 
 All licarts thojix hast beguiled, 
 Won every soul. (Pause.) 
 
 K 2
 
 340 . FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 EUPIIORION. 
 
 Gracefully sporting, 1280 
 
 Light-footed roes, 
 
 New frolic courting, 
 
 Scorn ye repose : 
 
 1 am the hunter, 
 
 Ye are the game. 1285 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Us wilt thou capture. 
 
 Urge not thy pace ; 
 
 For it were rapture 
 
 Thee to embrace, 
 
 Beautiful creature, 1290 
 
 This our sole aim ! 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 Through trees and heather, 
 
 Bound all together, 
 
 O'er stock and stone ! 
 
 Whate'er is lightly won, 1295 
 
 That I disdain ; 
 
 What I by force obtain, 
 
 Prize I alone. 
 
 T^^LENA and FAUST. 
 
 "What vagaries, sense confounding ! 
 
 Naught of measure to be hoped for ! 1300 
 
 Like the blare of trumpet sounding. 
 
 Over vale and forest ringing. 
 
 What a riot ! What a cry ! 
 
 CHORUS {entering quicMy one by one). 
 Us he passed with glance scom-laden ; 
 Hastily still onward springing, 1305 
 
 Bearing now the wildest maiden 
 Of our troop, he draweth nigh. 
 
 EUPHORiON (hearing a young maiden). 
 I this wilful maid and coy 
 Cany to enforced caress ; 
 
 For my pleasure for my joy ■ 1310 
 
 Her resisting bosom press,
 
 Act hi.] FAUST. 341 
 
 Kiss her rebel lips, that so 
 
 She my power and will may know. 
 
 MAIDEN. 
 
 Loose me ! in this frame residing, 
 
 Burns a spirit's strength and might; 1315 
 
 Strong as thine, our will presiding 
 
 Swerveth not with purpose light. 
 
 Thinkest, on thy strength relying, 
 
 That thou hast me in a strait ? 
 
 Hold me, fool ! thy strength defying, 1320 
 
 For my sport, I'll scorch thee yet ! 
 
 (She flames up and flashes into the air.) 
 Follow where light breezes wander, 
 Follow to rude caverns yonder. 
 Strive thy vanish'd prey to net ! 
 
 EUPHORiON (shaking off the last flames). 
 Eocks all around I see, 1325 
 
 Thickets and woods among ! 
 • Why should they prison me ? 
 Still am I fresh and young. 
 Tempests, they loudly roar, 
 
 Billows, they lash the shore ; 1330 
 
 Both far away I hear ; 
 Would I were near ! 
 
 (jffe springs higher up the roch) 
 
 HELENA, FAUST, and CHORUS. 
 
 Wouldst thou chamois-like aspire ? 
 Us thy threaten'd fall dismays ! 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 Higher must I climb, yet higher, 1335 
 
 Wider still must be my gaze. 
 
 Know I now, where I stand : 
 
 'Midst of the sea-girt land, 
 
 'Midst of great Pelops' reign, 
 
 Kin both to earth and main. 1340 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Canst not near copse and wold 
 Tarry, then yonder,
 
 342 FAUST. [Paut II. 
 
 Ripo figs and apple-gold 
 
 Seeking, we'll Avander ; 
 
 Grapes too shall woo onr hand, 1345 
 
 Grapes from the mantling vine. 
 
 Ah, let this dearest land, 
 
 Dear one, be thine ! 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 Dream ye of peaceful day ? 
 
 Dream on, while dream ye may I 1350 
 
 War ! is the signal cry. 
 
 Hark ! cries of victory ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 War who desireth 
 
 While peace doth reign, 
 
 To joy aspire th 1355 
 
 Henceforth in vain. 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 All whom this land hath hred; 
 
 Through peril onward led, 
 
 Free, of undaunted mood. 
 
 Still lavish of their blood, 1360 
 
 With soul untaught to yield, 
 
 Eending each chain ! 
 
 To such the bloody field, 
 
 Brings glorious gain. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 High he soars, — mark, upward gazing, — 1365 
 
 And to us not small doth seem : 
 Victor-like, in harness blazing. 
 As of steel and brass the gleam I 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 Not on moat or wall relying, 
 
 On himself let each one rest ! 1370 
 
 Firmest stronghold, all def;ydng. 
 
 Ever is man's iron breast ! 
 
 Dwell for aye unconquered would ye ? 
 Arm, by no vain dreams beguiled !
 
 Act III.] FAUSl. 343 
 
 Amazons your womeii should be, 1375 
 
 And a hero every child ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 O hallowed Poesie, 
 
 Heavenward still soareth she I 
 
 Shine on, thou brightest star. 
 
 Farther and still more far ! 1380 
 
 Yet us she still doth cheer ; 
 
 Ever her voice to hear, 
 
 Joyful we are. 
 
 EUPHOPJON. 
 
 Child no more ; a stripling bearing 
 
 Arms appears, with valour fraught : 1385 
 
 Leagued with the strong, the free, the daring, 
 
 In soul already who hath wrought. 
 
 Hence, away ! 
 
 No delay ! 
 
 There where glory may be sought. 1390 
 
 HELENA and FAUST. 
 
 Scarcely summoned to life's gladness, 
 
 Scarcely given to day's bright gleam, 
 
 Downward now to pain and sadness 
 
 Wouldst thou rush, from heights supreme ! 
 
 Are then we 1395 
 
 Naught to thee ? 
 
 Is our gracious bond a dream? 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 Hark ! What thunders seaward rattle, 
 
 Echoing from vale to vale ! 
 
 'Mid dust and foam, in shock of battle, 1400 
 
 Throng on throng, to grief and bale ! 
 
 And tlie command 
 
 Is, firm to stand ; 
 
 Death to face, nor ever quail. 
 
 HELENA, FAUST, and CHORUS. 
 
 Oh what horror ! Ilast thou told it ! 1405 
 
 Is then death for thee decreed ?
 
 B44 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 From afar shall 1 behold it ? 
 
 No ! I'll share the care and need I 
 
 HELENA, FAUST, and CHORUS. 
 
 Eashness to peril brings, 
 
 And deadly fate ! 1410 
 
 EUPHORION. 
 
 Yet — see a pair of wings 
 Un'foldeth straight ! 
 Thither — I imist, I must — • 
 Grudge not my flight ! 
 He casts himself into the air; Ms garments support him for a 
 moment ; his head flames, a trail of light follows him.) 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Icariis ! Icarus ! 1415 
 
 Oh woeful sight ! 
 (J. beautiful youth falls at the parents^ ff^^-, we imagine that 
 in the dead loe recognize a well-knoivn form ; yet suddenly 
 the corporeal part vanishes ; the aureole rises like a comet 
 to heaven; dress, mantle, and lyre remain lying on the 
 ground.) 
 
 HELENA and FAUST. 
 
 Follows on joy new-born 
 Anguishful moan ! 
 
 euphorion's "VOICE (from the depths'). 
 
 Leave me in realms forlorn, 
 
 Mother, not all alone ! {Pause.) 1420 
 
 chorus (dirge). 
 
 Not alone — for hope we cherish. 
 
 Where thou bidest thee to know ! 
 
 Ah, from daylight though thou perish, 
 
 Ne'er a heart will let thee go ! 
 
 Scarce we venture to bcAvail thee, 1425 
 
 Envying we sing thy fate : 
 
 Did sunshine cheer, or storm assail thee. 
 
 Song and heart were fair and great.
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 345 
 
 Earthly fortune was tliy dower, 
 
 Lofty lineage, ample might, 1430 
 
 Ah, too early lost, thy flower 
 
 Withered by untimely blight ! 
 
 Glance was thine the world discerning, 
 
 Sympathy with every wrong, 
 
 Woman's love for thee still yearning, 1435 
 
 And thine own enchanting song. 
 
 Yet the beaten path forsaking, 
 
 Thou didst run into the snare : 
 
 So with law and usage breaking, 
 
 On thy wilful course didst fare ; 1440 
 
 Yet at last high thoiight has given 
 
 To thy noble courage weight. 
 
 For the loftiest thou hast striven — 
 
 It to win was not thy fate. 
 
 Who does win it? Unreplying, 1445 
 
 Destiny the question hears. 
 
 When the bleeding people lying. 
 
 Dumb with grief, no cry uprears ! — 
 
 Now new songs chant forth, in sorrow 
 
 Deeply bowed lament no more ; 1450 
 
 Them the earth brings forth to-morrow. 
 
 As she brought them forth of yore ! 
 
 (^FuH pause. The music ceases.) 
 
 HELENA (to Faust). 
 
 An ancient word, alas, approves itself in me : 
 That joy and beauty ne'er enduringly are linked ! 
 Eent is the bond of life, with it the bond of love; 1455 
 Lamenting both, I say a sorrowful farewell, 
 And throw myself once more, once only, in thine arms. — 
 Persephoneia, take the boy, take also me ! 
 (She embraces Faust, her corporeal part vanishes, her garment 
 and veil remain in his arms.) 
 
 niORKYAS. 
 
 Hold fast what doth of all alone remain to thee. 
 
 The garment, loose it not ! Already hale 1460 
 
 The Demons at its skirts, and it would fain 
 
 Drag to the nether regions. Hold it fast !
 
 346 FAUST. ■ [Part IL 
 
 The Goddess is it not, whom thou hast lost, 
 Yet p;odlike 'tis. Avail thee of the high 
 [nestimablo gift, and npward soar ; 1465 
 
 Thee o'er all common things 'twill swiftly bear 
 Tkroiigh e;her, long as there thou canst abide. 
 We meet again, far, far away from here. 
 (Helena's garmcnfs dissolve into clouds, they envelop Faust, 
 raise him aloft, and pass with him from the scene.) 
 
 PHORKYAS. 
 
 {Takes Euphorign's dress, mantle, and lyre from the earth, steps 
 into the proscenium ; holding up the spoils, she 8ays.~) 
 A happy find hath me bestead. 
 
 The flame in sooth is vanished, 1470 
 
 Yet for the world no grief I know : 
 Enough remaineth bards to consecrate, 
 Envy to scatter in their guild and hate ; 
 And am I powerless genius to bestow, 
 Its vesture I can lend, at any rate. 1475 
 
 {She sits down in the proscenium, at the foot of a pillar.) 
 
 PENTHALIS. 
 
 Xow hasten, girls ! At length we are from magic free, 
 From the soul-swaying spell of the Thessalian hag ; 
 Free also from the blare confused of jangling tones. 
 The ear perplexing, and still worse the inner sense. 
 Away to Hades ! Thither hath in haste the queen, 1480 
 With earnest step, descended. Now, ye faithful maids, 
 Do ye, ■without delay, follow upon her track. 
 Her at the throne we find of the Inscrutable. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Royal ladies, certes, everyv\^here are content; 
 
 E'en in Hades places take they supreme, 1485 
 
 Proud to be with their peers allied. 
 
 With Persephone in friendship knit ; 
 
 We, meanwhile, far-oif in meadows 
 
 Deep of asphodel abiding, 
 
 With far-reaching poplars, 1490 
 
 And unfruitful willows conjoined, 
 
 What amusement or joy have we ! 
 
 Flitting, bat-like to twitter — 
 
 Whispering, undelightsome, and ghostlike !
 
 Act III.] FAUST. 347 
 
 LEADER of the CHORUS. 
 
 Who hath no name achieved, nor at the noble aims, 1495 
 
 Belongs but to the elements ; so hence, begone ! 
 
 My vehement desire is with my queen to be ; 
 
 Kot merit 'tis alone, fidelity as well, 
 
 Secure in yonder spheres, the individual life. (Exit.^ 
 
 ALL. 
 
 Back are we given now to the daylight; 1500 
 
 Certes, persons no more. 
 
 That feel we, that know we ; 
 
 Nathless return we never to Hades ! 
 
 Nature, eternally living, 
 
 Claims in us spirits, 1505 
 
 We in her, a title undoubted. 
 
 A portion of the chorus. 
 
 We, amid the wavy-trembling of these thousand rustling 
 
 branches. 
 Gently lure with dalliance charming from the root the 
 
 vital currents. 
 Up into the boughs ; with foliage, soon with lavish wealth 
 
 of blossoms. 
 We adorn our tresses, floating in the breeze for airy 
 
 growth. 1510 
 
 Falls the fruit, forthwith assemble life-enjoying folk and 
 
 cattle, 
 For the grasping, for the tasting, swiftly coming, onward 
 
 pressing. 
 And, as 'fore the Gods primeval, so all bend around us 
 
 here. 
 
 ANOTHER portion. 
 
 Where these rocky walls are imaged in the smooth, far- 
 gleaming mirror. 
 
 Moving in the gentle wavelets, soothingly wo onward 
 glide, 1515 
 
 Listen, hearken, to all music : birdie's singing, reedy- 
 fluting. 
 
 Is it Fan's loud voice tremendous — voice responsive 
 straight replies :
 
 348 PAUST. [Pakt II. 
 
 "Whisper is it? — we too whisper; thunders it? — wo roll 
 
 our thunder 
 In o'erwhelming repercussion, threefold, tenfold, echoing 
 
 back. 
 
 A THIRD PORTION. 
 
 Sisters, wo, of spirit mobile, hasten with the brooklets 
 
 onwards; 1520 
 
 For yon hill-slopes, richly mantled, charm us rising far 
 
 away. 
 Ever dü'WTi wards, ever deeper, in meandering course we 
 
 water 
 Now the meadows, then the pastures, then the garden 
 
 roimd the house ; 
 There, across the landscape, slender cypress shafts our 
 
 banks o'er-peering. 
 Telling of our crystal mirror, upwards into ether soar. 
 
 A FOURTH PORTION. 
 
 Eoam ye others, at your pleasure ; we will cii'cle, we will 
 
 rustle 1526 
 
 Eound the slopes so richly planted, on its prop where 
 
 sprouts the vine. 
 By the vintager's emotion, we throughout the live-long 
 
 day, 
 See what doubtful issue waiteth on his busy loving care : 
 Now with hoe, and now with mattock, earth up-heaping, 
 
 pruning, binding, 1530 
 
 Prayeth he to all Celestials, chiefly to the Sun-God prays. 
 
 Bacchus frets himself, the weakling, little for his faithful 
 
 vassal, 
 Eests in arbours, leans in grottoes, toying with the 
 
 youngest faun ; 
 For 1ÜS visions what he lacketh, dreaming half inebriate. 
 Stored in skins, in jars and vessels, ready for his use he 
 
 finds, 1535 
 
 Right and left in cool recesses treasured for eternal time. 
 
 But at length have the Celestials, hath now HeKos 'fore 
 
 them ail. 
 Breathing, moistening, warming, glowing, filled the 
 
 berries' teeming horn :
 
 Act in.] FAUST. 349 
 
 Where the vintager in silence lahour'd, there is sudden 
 life, 
 
 Busy stir in every alley, rustles round from vine to vine ; 
 
 Baskets creak, and pitchers clatter, and the loaded vine- 
 troughs groan, 1541 
 
 All towards the mighty wine-press, to the pressor's sturdy 
 dance ; 
 
 And so is the sacred fullness of the purely-nurtured 
 berries 
 
 Eudely trodden ; foaming, seething, now it mingles, 
 foully squash'd ; 
 
 And now splits the ear the cymbal, with the beaker's 
 brazen tones, 1545 
 
 For himself hath Dionysos from his mysteries revealed ; 
 
 Comes he with goat-footed satyrs, reeling nymphs goat- 
 footed too, 
 
 And meanwhile unruly brayeth shrill, Silenus' long- 
 eared beast — 
 
 Naught is spared ; all law and order cloven hoofs are 
 treading down — 
 
 All the senses whirl distracted, hideously the ear is 
 stunned; 1550 
 
 Drunkards for their cups are groping, over-full are head 
 and paunch ; 
 
 Careful one is, there another, yet the tumult waxes loud : 
 
 Since the newer must to garner, they the old skins 
 quickly drain. 
 (Tlie curtain falls. Phorkyas, in the proscenium, rises to a 
 gigantic height, descends from the cothurni, lays aside 
 mask and veil, and reveals herself as Mephistophelks, 
 in order, so far as it may he necessary, to comment upon 
 the piece by way of epilogue.^
 
 360 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 ACT THE FOUKTH. 
 
 High mountain. 
 
 Strong jagged rocky summit. A cloud approacTies, leans 
 against the rock, and sinks down upon a projecting 
 level. It divides. 
 
 FAUST (^steps forth). 
 
 On deepest solitudes down-gazing, far telow my feet, 
 
 Full thoughtfully I tread this lofty mountain ridge, 
 
 My cloudy car forsaking, me which softly bare, 
 
 Through days of sunshine, hither over land and sea. 
 
 Slowly it melts from me, not scattered suddenly ; 5 
 
 Towards the East the mass strives in its rolling march. 
 
 In admiration lost, the eye strives after it ; 
 
 Moving it now divides, wavelike, and full of change ; 
 
 Yet "vv-iil it shape itself — mine eye deceives me not, 
 
 On sun-illumined pillows, gloriously reclines, 1 
 
 Of giant size indeed, a god-like female form ; 
 
 I see it, like to Juno, Leda, Helena ; 
 
 In majesty and love before mine eye it floats ! 
 
 Ah, now it scatters ; formless, broad, up-towering, 
 
 Rests in the East, and there, like ice-hills far away, 15 
 
 Mirrors of fleeting life the deep significance. 
 
 Yet round me hovers still, a mist-wreath, tender, light, 
 
 SuiTOunding breast and brow, cheering, caressing, cool. 
 
 Lightly it rises now, still lingering, high and higher, — 
 
 Together draws. Doth me a rapturing form delude, 20 
 
 As youth's first fondly prized, long-yearn'd for, highest 
 
 good? 
 "Well up the earliest treasures of my deepest heart : 
 To me Aurora's love, so light of wing, it shows. 
 The swift-experienced glance, the first, scarce understood. 
 Which, long and finnly held, each treasure over-shone ! 25 
 Like beauty of the soul rises the gracious form,
 
 Act IV.] FAOST. 351 
 
 Dissolvetli not, but upward into ether floats, 
 And with it, of my being draws the best away. 
 
 (J. seven-league boot tramps down, another immediately 
 follows. Mephistopheles descends. The boots stride 
 onioard in haste.') 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 That's forAvard striding, I must own ! 
 
 But tell me, what dost thou intend, 30 
 
 That 'mid such horrors dost descend, 
 
 Such wilderness of yawning stone ? 
 
 Though not precisely here, I know it well; 
 
 This was in sooth the very floor of Hell. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Of foolish legends never fails thy store ; 35 
 
 Such to give forth dost thou begin once more ? 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (serioushj). 
 When God the Lord — the reason well I know, — 
 Us from the air had banned to depths profound. 
 There, where of fire eterne the central glow 
 With lurid flames still circles round and round. 40 
 
 By the too brilliant light, we found that we 
 O'ercrowded were, and placed unpleasantly. 
 Forthwith to cough the devils all were fain ; 
 From top to bottom straight they spat amain ; 
 With sulphur-stench and acids thus inflated, 45 
 
 Hell, with foul gas, so hugely was dilated. 
 That earth's smooth surface, by the fiery blast, 
 Thick as it was, cracking must burst at last. 
 That all things are reversed wo now discern ; 
 What bottom was, is summit in its turn ; 50 
 
 Also in this the proper lore they base. 
 To give the undermost the highest place ; 
 For from the hot and slavish cave we fare 
 Into the lordship of the boundless air ; 
 An open secret, long time well concealed, 55 
 
 And to the folk only of late revealed. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 To me ai'S mountain-masses grandly dumb ; 
 I question neither whence nor why they come.
 
 352 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 Herself when Nature in herself liacl founded, 
 
 This glohe of earth she then hath ptirely rounded, CO 
 
 Took both in summit and in gorge delight, 
 
 Piled rock on rock, and mountain-height on height ; 
 
 The hills she fashioned next with gentle force. 
 
 And to the valleys sloped their downward course : 
 
 Then growth and verdure came, and for her joy 65 
 
 She needs no mad convulsive freak employ. 
 
 MEPHISTOPIIELES. 
 
 Ay ! so you say, sun-clear to you it lies ; 
 
 But who was present there, knows otherwise. 
 
 I was at hand when, seething still below, 
 
 Swelled the aljyss, belching a fiery tide, 70 
 
 When Moloch's hammer rocks, with thunderous blow 
 
 Welding, the fragments scatter'd far and wide. 
 
 'Neath massive foreign blocks still groans the land — 
 
 Such hurling-might say who can comprehend ? 
 
 This your philosopher can't understand ; 75 
 
 There lies the rock, must lie, and there's an end ; 
 
 But to our shame doth all our thinking tend. 
 
 Your genuine common folk alone conceive, 
 
 And naught disturbs them in their creed ; 
 
 Long since their wisdom ripen'd : they believe 80 
 
 A marvel 'tis, Satan receives his meed ; 
 
 On crutch of faith my pilgrim hobbles on 
 
 To Devil's bridges, to the Devil's stone. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Note-worthy 'tis. Nature, as now I do. 
 
 To study from the Devil's point of view. 85 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Be Nature what she may, what do I care ! 
 
 My honour's touched : the Devil, sooth, was there ! 
 
 We are the folk, the mighty to attain : 
 
 Convulsion, madness, force. 'Tis written plain ! — 
 
 But now, at last, to make my meaning clear, 90 
 
 Did nothing please thee in our upper sphere? 
 
 In boundless space the world thou hast surveyed. 
 
 Its kingdoms and their glory, all disulai^ed.
 
 Act rv.] FAUST. 353 
 
 And yet, insatiate as thou art, 
 
 To tliee did tliey no joy impart? 95 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 A. project vast allured me on ; 
 Divine it ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 That I'll do anon. 
 Some capital I'd choose ; therein a store 
 Of burgher-feeding rubbish at its core ; 
 N\ ith crooked alleys, gabled peaks, 100 
 
 Markets confined, kale, turnips, leeks, 
 And shambles where blue flies repair, 
 On well-fed joints to batten — there, 
 At any moment shalt thou find 
 
 Stench and activity combined ; 105 
 
 Wide squares, with spacious streets between, 
 Which arrogate a lordly mien ; 
 And lastly, boundless to the eye. 
 Beyond the gate, the suburbs lie. 
 
 Of coaches too, th' eternal roar, 110 
 
 Still rattling, behind, before, 
 Would charm me and the ceaseless flow 
 Of ant-swarms, running to and fro ; 
 And let me walk, or let me ride. 
 
 Their central point I should abide, 115 
 
 By thousands honour'd and admired. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Stich things I slightly estimate. 
 
 That men, it is to be desired. 
 
 Should multiply, should live at ease, 
 
 Be taught, developed if you please ; — 120 
 
 More rebels thus ycju educate. 
 
 MErinSTOI'IIELKS. 
 
 Then, in grand style, with conscious power, I'd rear 
 A pleasure-castle, some fair plcasance near: 
 Hill, valley, meadow, forest, glade. 
 
 Into a splendid garden made, 1 25 
 
 2 A
 
 354 FAUST. [Part II. 
 
 With velvet la-wns and verdurous walls, 
 
 Straight ]iaths, art-guided shadows, waterfalls, 
 
 From rock to rock constrained to wind, 
 
 And water-jets of every kind ; 
 
 Majestic soaring there while at the sides, 130 
 
 With whiz and gush, threadlike the stream divides. 
 
 Then for the loveliest women I'd prepare 
 
 A tiny lodge, cosy and quiet ; there 
 
 The countless hours, according to my mood 
 
 I'd spend, in that sweet social solitude — 1M5 
 
 Women, I say : since, once for all, 
 
 I in the plural think upon the Fair. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Modem and base ! Sardanapal ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Might one but guess thy purpose ? High, 
 
 Doubtless, and grandly bold ! Since thou 140 
 
 By so much nearer to the moon didst fly, 
 
 Aptly thy choice might thither tend, I trow I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Not so. Upon this globe of ours 
 
 For grand achievement still there's space; 
 
 Something astounding shall take place, 145 
 
 For daring toil I feel new powers. 
 
 SIEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Fame also to achieve thou'rt fain ? 
 
 That thou hast been with heroines is plain. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Dominion and estate by me are sought. 
 
 The deed is eveiything, the fame is naught! 150 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELFS. 
 
 Yet poets shall arise, thy fame 
 To after ages to proclaim, 
 Through folly, folly to inflame.
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 355 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 That is "beyond thy scope, I ween ; 
 
 How knowest thou, what man desires? 155 
 
 Adverse thy nature, bitter, keen, 
 
 How knoweth it, what man requires ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPIIELES. 
 
 Be thy will done, since yield I must. 
 
 Me with the circuit of thy whims entrust. 
 
 FAUST, 
 
 Mine eye was fixed upon the open sea : 160 
 
 Aloft it tower'd, up-heaving ; then once more 
 
 Withdrew, and shook its waves exultingly, 
 
 To storm the wide expanse of level shore — 
 
 That angered me, since arrogance of mood, 
 
 In the free soul, that values every right, 165 
 
 Through the impetuous passion of the blood, 
 
 Harsh feeling genders, in its own despite. 
 
 I deemed it chance : more keenly eyed the main : 
 
 The billow paused, and then rolled back again, 
 
 And from its proudly conqiiered goal withdrew ; 170 
 
 The hour returns, the sport it doth renew — 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES (ud specttttores). 
 
 For me there's nothing novel here, I own ; 
 
 This for some hundred thousand years I've known. 
 
 FAUST (^continues passionately). 
 
 On through a thousand channels it doth press, 
 
 Barren itself, and causing barrenness; 175 
 
 It waxes, swells, it rolls and spreads its reign 
 
 Over the waste and desolate domain. 
 
 There, power-inspired, wave upon wave sweeps on, 
 
 Triumphs awhile, retreats — and naught is done : 
 
 It to despair might drive mc to survey 180 
 
 Of lawless elements the aimless sway ! 
 
 To soar above itself then dared my soul ; 
 
 Here would I strive, this force would I control ! 
 
 And it is possible. Howe'er the tide 
 
 May rise, it fawneth round each hillock's side ; 185 
 
 2 A 2
 
 356 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 However proudly it may domineer, 
 Each puny height its crest doth 'gainst it rear, 
 Each puny deep it forcefully allures. 
 ►So swiftly plan on plan my mind matures : 
 This glorious ])leasure for thyself attain ; 190 
 
 Back from the shore to bar the imperious main, 
 Narrow the limits of the Avatery deep, 
 ( 'onstrain it far into itself to sweep ! 
 I\Iy purpose step by step I might lay bare. : 
 That is my wish, to aid it boldly dare ! 105 
 
 (Dr«)»s and martial music heltind the spectators, from tJie 
 distance, on the right hand.^ 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 How easy 'tis ! — Hear'st thou the drums afar ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What, w^ar again I — The prudent likes not war. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 In peace or war the prudent doth obtain 
 
 From every circumstance his proper gain. 
 
 We watch, we mark each favouring moment ; now, 200 
 
 The occasion smileth — Faustus, seize it thou ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Me, I entreat, this riddling nonsense spare. 
 And short and good, speak out ; — thyself declare. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 On my way hither I became aware 
 
 That the good emperor is vexed with care ; 205 
 
 Thou knowest him. The while w^e him amused. 
 
 And with the show of riches him abused. 
 
 Then the whole world to him w-as cheap, since he 
 
 While young attained to regal dignity ; 
 
 This false resolve did then beguile his leisure, 210 
 
 That possible it is and right 
 
 Together these two interests to unite. 
 
 At once to govern, and to take one's pleasure. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 A grievous eiTor ! He who would command. 
 
 His highest bliss must in commanding find, 215
 
 A.CT IV.] FAUST. 357 
 
 With lofty will his bosom must expand, 
 
 Yet what he willeth may not be divined ; 
 
 To trusty ear he whispers his intent, 
 
 'Tis realized, — all feel astonishment : 
 
 So holds he still the most exalted place, 220 
 
 The worthiest. Enjoyment doth debase ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Siwih is he not ; on pleasure he was bent ! ^ 
 
 Meanwhile the realm by anarchy was rent. 
 
 Where high and low were ranged against each other, 
 
 And brother still pursued and slaughtered brother, 225 
 
 Castle 'gainst castle, town 'gainst town had feud, 
 
 Guild against noble too ; in conflict rude, 
 
 Chapter and flock against their bishop rose ; 
 
 Who on each other gazed, were foes ; 
 
 Within the churches death and murder reign, 230 
 
 Merchant and traveller at the gates were slain ; 
 
 All waxed in daring, nor to small extent ; 
 
 To live was self-defence. — So matters went. 
 
 FAUST, 
 
 They went, they limped, they fell, again they rose. 
 Were overturn'd, rolled headlong — such the close. 235 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 And such condition no one dared to blame, 
 
 Authority each could and each would claim ; 
 
 The smallest even proudly reared his crest. 
 
 At length too mad it grew e'en for the best. 
 
 The able, they forthwith arose with might, 240 
 
 And said : Who gives us peace is lord, by right; 
 
 The Emperor cannot, will not ! — Let us choose 
 
 Another, in the realm who shall infuse 
 
 Fresh life, and safety unto each assign, 
 
 Who in a world its vigour that renews, 245 
 
 Together, peace and justice shall combine I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 That sounds like priest-craft.
 
 358 FAUST. [Paht II. 
 
 MEPHIST0PHELE3. 
 
 Priests in sooth were there ; 
 'I'he well-fed paiinch, that was their primal care ; 
 They implicated were above the rest. 
 
 The tumult swelled, the priests the tumult blest ; 250 
 
 Our Emperor, whom we beguiled, perchance 
 To his last battle hither doth advance. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I pity him — so frank, so kind of heart. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Let us look on. There's hope ere life depart. 
 
 Him from this narrow vale let us deliver ! 255 
 
 If rescued now, he rescued is for ever. 
 
 How yet the die may fall, who may divine ! 
 
 Vassals he'll have, if Fortune on him shine, 
 
 {Tliey ascend the middle range of hills and survey the 
 
 disposition of the army in the valley. Drums and 
 
 military music resound from below,) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Well chosen the position is, I see ; 
 
 We'll join them, perfect then the victory. 2fiO 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What there may we expect ? Deceit ! 
 Illusive sorceiy ! A hollow cheat ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Cunning to win war's lofty game ! 
 
 Be constant to thy mighty aim, 
 
 The while thy goal dost bear in sight ; 265 
 
 Secure we to the Emperor throne and land, 
 
 Then kneel, from him receiving as thy right, 
 
 The fief of the unbounded strand. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Already much for me hast done ; 
 
 By thee be now a battle won ! 270 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 No, do thou win it ; forthwith hero 
 As general-in-chief appear.
 
 Act IV] FAUST. 359 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 To my true honour it would tend, 
 
 There to command where naught I comprehend ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The general's staff, let that provide, 275 
 
 So the field-marshal's safe whate'er betide. 
 
 War's want of council to its source I've traced ; 
 
 War's council I forthwith have based 
 
 On mountain's and on man's primeval force : 
 
 Blest who together draws their joint resource. 280 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What yonder bearing arms appears ? 
 Hast thou aroused the mountaineers ? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 No, but like Master Peter Squenze, 
 Of the whole mass the quintessence. 
 
 (TÄe three mighty ones enter.) 
 My fellows now are drawing near ! 285 
 
 Divers the clothes, the arms, they wear, 
 Of different ages they appear ; 
 With them not badly shalt thou fare. 
 
 (ad spedatores.) 
 There's not a child but loves to see 
 Harness and arms of warlike knight ; 290 
 
 And, allegoric as the rascals be, 
 They, for that reason, give the more delight. 
 
 BULLY 
 
 (young, lightly armed, in motley attire). 
 If one but looks into my eyes. 
 Straight let his jaws my clenched fist beware, 
 And if a coward from me flies, 295 
 
 Forthwith I seize him by the hair I 
 
 HAVEQUICK 
 
 (manly, well armed, in rich attire). 
 Such brawls are foolish, are invidious, 
 They forfeit what the occasion brings ; 
 In talcing only be assiduous ; 
 Hereafter look to other things. 300
 
 360 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 HOLDFAST 
 
 (tn years, strongly armed, without attire). 
 Xot much by such a course is won ; 
 Through great possessions soon we run, 
 Borne by the stream of life away. 
 To take is good, 'tis better fast to hold ; 
 Be still by the gray carle controlled, 305 
 
 And none from thee takes aught away. 
 
 ( They descend the mountain together.) 
 
 On the Headland. 
 
 Drums and martial music from below. The Emperor's tent 
 
 is pitcJted. Emperor, General-in-chief, Attendants. 
 
 GENERAL-IN-CHIEF. 
 
 Still duly weighed appears our course, 
 
 Back to this vale at hand that lies, 
 
 To lead when somewhat pressed our force ; 
 
 Our choice of ground, I trust, is wise. 310 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 How it succeeds must soon be known. 
 
 Me this half flight, this yielding, grieves, I own. 
 
 GENERAL-IN-CHIEF. 
 
 On our right flank, my prince, now cast your eyes I 
 
 Such ground doth war's ideal realize : 
 
 Not steep the hills, nor yet too easy to ascend, 315 
 
 The enemy ensnaring, while they ours befriend ; 
 
 We, on the wavelike plain, are half concealed — 
 
 No cavalry durst venture on such field. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Save to commend naught now remains for me ; 
 
 Here strength and courage can well tested be. 320 
 
 GENERAL-IN-CHIEF. 
 
 There, where the middle plain allures the sight, 
 
 Behold the phalanx, eager for the fight ; 
 
 In the bright sunshine, gilded by its rays. 
 
 The lances glitter through the morning haze. 325 
 
 How darkly waves the mighty square below I 
 
 For bold emprize its thousands all aglow.
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 361 
 
 The mass's strength thou thus canst comprehend ; 
 To them I trust, the foemen's strength to rend. 
 
 EUPEROR. 
 
 So fair a sight ne'er have I seen before : 
 
 Such host is worth its number, twice told o'er. 330 
 
 GEXERAL-IN-CHIEF. 
 
 Of our left flank naught have I to relate. 
 
 Holding the stubborn cliffs, stout heroes wait ; 
 
 Ablaze with arms, the rocky height ascends, 
 
 Which the close entrance to the pass defends. 
 
 Here, where the bloody onslaught none expect, 335 
 
 The hostile force will, I foresee, be wrecked. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 There march my lying kinsfolk, still who claim'd, 
 
 As me they uncle, cousin, brother, named. 
 
 More and more license ; till the sceptre's strength, 
 
 Its honour from the throne, they stole at length ; 340 
 
 The empire, through their feuds, distracted lies. 
 
 Now, leagxaed as rebels, they against me rise ! 
 
 The many waver, swayed from side to side ; 
 
 Then headlong rush, borne onward by the tide. 
 
 GENERAL-IN-CniEF, 
 
 A trusty man, abroad for tidings sent, 345 
 
 Hastes down the rocks ; oh happy be the event. 
 
 FIRST SPY. 
 
 Fair success on us hath waited ; 
 
 Through our bold and crafty art, 
 
 Here and there we penetrated ; 
 
 Little good can we impart : 350 
 
 Many pure allegiance proffered ; 
 
 But for their inaction they. 
 
 In excuse, these pretexts offered, 
 
 Public danger, civil fray — 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Self-seekers, caring for themselves alone, 355 
 
 To duty, honour, gratitude, are blind ! 
 
 If full your measure, you ne'er call to mind, 
 
 Your neighbour's houBC-firo may consuiuo your own.
 
 362 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 GENERAL-IN-CHIEF. 
 
 The seoond comes, descending heavily ; 
 
 Tremble his limbs, a Aveary man is he. 360 
 
 SECOND SPY. 
 
 First with pleasure we detected 
 
 The wild tumult's erring course. 
 
 ündelaying, unexpected, 
 
 A new emperor leads his force ; 
 
 And with his behests complying, 365 
 
 O'er the plain the concourse sweep. 
 
 This false banner, proudly flying, 
 
 They all follow now — like sheep I 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 As gain a rival emperor I hail ; 
 
 That I am emperor, now first I feel ! 370 
 
 But as a soldier did I don the mail ; 
 
 For higher purpose now I'm clad in steel. 
 
 At every festival, how bright so e'er, 
 
 Though naught was wanting — danger failed me there. 
 
 When to the ring-sport at your call I went ; 375 
 
 My heart beat high, I breathed the tournament ; 
 
 From war had ye not held me back, my name 
 
 For deeds heroic had been known to fame 1 
 
 What self-reliance in my breast did reign, 
 
 When I stood mirrored in the fire-domain ; 380 
 
 The ruthless element pressed on elate, 
 
 'Twas but a show, and yet the show was great. 
 
 Fame, victoiy, my troubled dreams displayed — 
 
 I'll now achieve, what basely I delayed ! 
 
 (^Heralds are dispatched to challenge the rival Emperor.) 
 
 Faust in armour, with half-closed visor. The three mighty 
 ones, armed and clothed, as above. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 We come, we hope uncensured — foresight here 385 
 
 May yet avail, though needless it appear. 
 
 Thoughtful, thou know'st, and wise the mountain-race, 
 
 Of rock and nature they the secrets trace ; 
 
 Spirits, who long have left the level gi'ound, 
 
 Are to their rocky heights more firmly bound : 390
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 363 
 
 Througli la"byrintliine clefts they labour, where 
 
 Rich fumes metallic fill the gaseous air ; 
 
 Untired they separate, combine and test ; 
 
 The hidden to make known is their sole quest ; 
 
 With the light touch of spirit-might, they rear 395 
 
 Transparent figures, then in crystal clear 
 
 And its eternal silence, miiTor'd true, 
 
 The doings of the upper- world they view. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 This I have heard, and think that it may be ; 
 
 But, honest man, say : what is this to me ? 400 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The Norcian sorcerer, the Sabine, he 
 
 True, honourable servant is to thee ; 
 
 What ghastly fate appalled him, on the pyre ! 
 
 Crackled the brushwood, rose the tongues of fire ; 
 
 Dry faggots all around up-piled were seen, 405 
 
 Mingled with pitch, with brimstone-bars between, 
 
 Man's, god's, or devil's aid had been in vain — 
 
 Your majesty then burst the fiery chain ! 
 
 'Twas there, in Eome. Deeply to thee he's bound, 
 
 And o'er thy path keeps watch with care profound ; 410 
 
 Himself forgetting, from that moment he 
 
 Questions the stars, questions the depths for thee. 
 
 He bade us, at the swiftest, hither post, 
 
 To succour thee. Great powers the mountains boast : 
 
 There Nature works, omnipotently free — 415 
 
 The priest's dull mind blames it as sorcery. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 On festal day when guest on guest we greet, 
 
 Joyful themselves, who joyance come to meet, 
 
 Well pleased we see them enter, each and all, 
 
 And, man by man, contract the spacious hall ; 420 
 
 Yet highest welcome is the brave man's dower, 
 
 Who, as ally to aid us, comes with power. 
 
 When morning breaks, which doubtful issues wait. 
 
 While over it are poised the scales of Fate. 
 
 Nathless withhold awhile thy stalwart hand, 425 
 
 In this high moment, from the willing brand !
 
 364 FAUST. [Paet II. 
 
 Honour the hour, wlien many thousands wend 
 
 To l)attU', for or 'gainst me to contend ! 
 
 Alan's sell' is man ! Who would be thron'd and crown'd. 
 
 Of the lii<;-]i honour must he worthy found. 43C 
 
 Kow may this phantom, that against us stands, 
 
 This SL'lf-stjded emperor, ruler of our lands, 
 
 The army's duke, lord of our feudal train. 
 
 By my own hand, be thrust to death's domain I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Whate'er the need to end the glorious fight, 435 
 
 To peril thine own head cannot be right. 
 
 Is not the helm with crest and plumage dcck'd ? 
 
 The head, our zeal which fires, it doth protect. 
 
 Without the head what could the members do ? 
 
 Let that but sleep, forthwith all slumber too ; 440 
 
 If it be injured, all are straight unsound, 
 
 And all revive, if it with health be crown'd. 
 
 Promptly the arm its own strong right doth wield, 
 
 And to protect the skull uplifts the shield ; 
 
 Its proper duty well the sword doth know, 445 
 
 Parries with strength, and then returns the blow ; 
 
 The active foot shares in the common weal, 
 
 And on the slain foe's neck doth plant the heel. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Such is mine anger : him I thus would treat. 
 
 Make his proud head a foot-stool for my feet I 450 
 
 HERALDS (returning). 
 Little profit, little credit. 
 From our challenge did we gain ; 
 Noble 'twas, yet while we read it, 
 Us they flouted with disdain : 
 
 " Spent your Emperor's power," — they say, 455 
 
 " Like echo in yon narrow vale ; 
 Would we think of him to-day ; — 
 Once there was : — so runs the tale." 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What hath occurred doth with their wish accord. 
 
 Who firm and ti-ue for thee would draw the sword. 460
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 365 
 
 The foe approach ; tliy troops impatient stand ; 
 The moment favours ; straight the charge command ! 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 To the command all claim I now resign. 
 
 (To the General-in-Chief.) 
 To execute that duty, prince, be thine ! 
 
 general-in-chief. 
 IMarch then our right wing onward to the field ! 465 
 
 The foemen's left, who even now ascend, 
 Ere they complete their final step, shall jdeld 
 To their tried valour who the slope defend ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Permission grant that this blithe hero be 
 
 Enrolled among thy ranks, immediately, 470 
 
 That with thy ranks incorporate, he may 
 
 Have for his poAverful nature ample play. 
 
 {He points to the right.) 
 
 BULLY (steps foncard). 
 His face to me who shows doth not escape, 
 Till both his jaws I've smashed with sudden bang ; 
 His back to me who turns, I strike his nape, — 475 
 
 Dangling adown his back, neck, head, and top-knot hang ! 
 And if, with sword and club, thy men 
 Will strike, as on I rage before, 
 Man over man down-smitten, then 
 The foe shall welter in their gore ! (Exit.) 480 
 
 general-in-chief. 
 Now let the centre phalanx follow slow, 
 And in full force with caution meet the foe ! 
 Distressed, they yield already on the right. 
 Their plan, by our attack, is shattered quite, 
 
 FAUST (pointing to the middle one). 
 Let this one also thy command obey. 485 
 
 HAVEQuiCK (steps forward). 
 Unto the host's heroic pride. 
 Shall thirst for booty be allied ;
 
 366 PAUST. [Part II 
 
 I'pon this p;oal "be all intent ; 
 
 The rival iinpcror's sumptuous tent. 
 
 Not long upon his throne he'll boast indeed I 490 
 
 Myself to battle will this phalanx lead. 
 
 SPEED-BOOTY, Sutler-woman 
 
 {fawning upon hini). 
 Although his wife I may not be, 
 A sweetheart dear is he to me. 
 For us what harvest now is ripe ! 
 
 Woman is fierce when she doth gripe, 495 
 
 Is ruthless when she robs ; press on, 
 All is allowed — when we have won. (^Exeunt.) 
 
 GENERAL-IN-CHIEF. 
 
 Upon our left, as was to be expected, 
 
 With furious charge, their right is now directed. 
 
 The defile's rocky path they hope to gain ; 500 
 
 To thwart their purjDOse man for man must strain. 
 
 FAUST (beckons to the left). 
 Sire, I entreat, look also on this one ; 
 If strength be stronger made, no harm is done. 
 
 HOLDFAST (^stcps forward). 
 For the left wing dismiss all care ! 505 
 
 For wehere I am, safe is possession there : 
 Herein doth age approve itself, we're told ; 
 No lightning rendeth, what I hold ! (Exit.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 (coming down from above). 
 Now to the back-ground turn your gaze ; 
 Forth from the jagged and rocky ways, 
 See how the anned warriors pour, 510 
 
 The narrow paths to straiten more. 
 With helm, shield, harness, sword and spear, 
 A wall they're forming in our rear, 
 Waiting the sign to strike the blow. 
 
 (Aside, to tJie knowing ones.) 
 
 From whence they come, ask not to know. 515 
 
 No time I lost ; where I appear'd, 
 The armour-halls around were clear'd
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 367 
 
 rootmen and horsemen, stood they there, 
 
 As if yet lords of earth they were ; 
 
 Knight, emperor, king, they were of yore, 520 
 
 Now are they empty snail-shells, nothing more, — 
 
 Full many a ghost, thus arm'd for strife, 
 
 The middle ages have brought back to lifo; 
 
 What devilkin therein may lurk. 
 
 For this time it may do its work. 525 
 
 (^Aloud.) 
 Hark, in their anger, how they clatter, 
 And like tin-plates, each other batter ; 
 Torn banners too, flapping aloft one sees, 
 That wait impatiently to catch the breeze. 
 Reflect, an ancient race stands ready there, 530 
 
 And in this modern combat fain would share. 
 
 (^Terrible flourish of trumpets from above ; jerceptibie waver- 
 ing in the hostile army.) 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Now dark the whole horizon shows, 
 
 Yet here and there presageful glows 
 
 A ruddy and jDortentous ray ; 
 
 The weapons gleam, distained with blood ; 535 
 
 The atmosphere, the rock, the wood, 
 
 The heavens, mingle in the fray. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Firmly the right flank holds its ground ; 
 
 Among them towering there I see 
 
 Stout Hans, the nimble giant, he 540 
 
 His wonted strokes now deals around. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 First on one lifted arm I gazed, 
 
 A dozen now I see up-raised : 
 
 Not nature's laws are working here f 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Of mist- wreaths hast not heard, above 645 
 
 The coast of Sicily that rove ? 
 There hovering in day-light clear, 
 Up-lifted in the iniddlc-alr, 
 Mirror'd in exhalations rare,
 
 3(58 FAUST. [Part IT. 
 
 A wondrous show the vision takes. 5o0 
 
 There cities wuver to and fro, 
 
 There gardens rise, now high, now low. 
 
 As form on form through ether breaks. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 It looks suspicions ! For I there 
 
 See all the lofty spear-tops glare ; 555 
 
 And through our phalanx, on each lance 
 
 I see a nimble flamelet dance : 
 
 Too spectral seems to me the sight ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Pardon, my lord ! The traces they 
 
 Of spirit-natures passed away, 660 
 
 A reflex of the mighty Pair, 
 
 By whom were sailors wont to swear : 
 
 Here they collect their final might. 
 
 EJIPEROR. 
 
 To whom are we beholden, say. 
 
 That nature, for our weal to-day, 565 
 
 Her rarest powers should here unite? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 To whom save him, that master high, 
 
 Thy fate who bears within his breast ? 
 
 The strong threat of thine enemy 
 
 His soul hath stirred to deep unrest. 570 
 
 His gratitude will see thee saved. 
 
 Though death in the attempt he braved. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 They cheered, with pomp around my march they pressed ; 
 
 I now was something : That I fain would test, 
 
 So, without thought, it pleased me, then and there, 675 
 
 To grant to that white beard the cooling air. 
 
 Thus of the clergy I the sport have crossed, 
 
 And have, in sooth, thereby their favour lost ; 
 
 Now shall I, when so many years are passed, 
 
 (Jf that glad deed the fruitage reap «t last ? 580
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 369 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Eich interest "bears the generous deed. 
 Now heavenward be thy glance directed : 
 An omen he will send ; give heed ! 
 Straight it appears — as I expected. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 An eagle hovers in the heavenly height ; 585 
 
 A griffin, with wild threats, attends his flight. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Give heed ! Auspicious seems the sign. 
 
 Your griffin is of fabled line ; 
 
 How, self-forgetting, can he dare 
 
 Himself with genuine eagle to compare ! 590 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Forthwith, in wide-spread circles wending. 
 Around they wheel ; now, through the sky. 
 Impetuous, they together fly, 
 Each other's throat and plumage rending. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Mark how the sorry griffin, torn 595 
 
 And ruffled sore, his flight now steereth, 
 With drooping lion-tail, forlorn. 
 And 'mid the tree-tops disappeareth. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 So be it, e'en as these portend ! 
 
 With wonder filled, I wait the end. 600 
 
 MEPHisTOPHELEs (foicards the right). 
 Pressed by our onslaught, oft-repeated. 
 Our foes must yield, well nigh defeated, 
 Yet, waging still a dubious fight, 
 Onward they press toward their right, 
 And thus embarrass in the fray 605 
 
 The left flank of their chief array. 
 
 Our phalanx its firm point doth bring. 
 
 Like lightning 'gainst their dexter wing, 
 
 The foe, where weakest, they engage. 
 
 Now, as when storm -vexed billows rago, 610 
 
 2 R
 
 370 FAUST. [Pakt IL 
 
 ^Vil^lly sonfcnd, with equal might, 
 Both armies in the double fight. 
 More glorious det'tl was never done, 
 Ours is the field, the victory's won ! 
 
 EMPEROR 
 
 (on the left side, to Faust). 
 Suspicious yonder it doth seem ; 015 
 
 Our station hazardous I deem, 
 No stones they hurl against the foe, 
 Scaled are the lower rocks, and lo ! 
 Deserted those above appear ; 
 
 The foe, — in solid mass, draw near ; 620 
 
 "With might and main still pressing on. 
 Perchance the passage they have won : 
 Of skill unholy such the end ! 
 Your arts to futile issues tend ! (Pause.^ 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Hither, my ravens twain are winging ! 625 
 
 For us what message are they bringing? 
 We are, I fear, in evil plight. 
 
 EMPEROli. 
 
 What want these birds, mischance portending ? 
 
 They come their swarthy sails extending. 
 
 Straight from the hot and rocky fight. C30 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (to the raveiis). 
 Close to mine ears now take your post. 
 Whom you protect, is never lost ; 
 For shrewd your counsel is and right. 
 
 FAUST (to the Emperor) 
 Of pigeons thou hast heard, returning 
 Homeward, for nest and fledglings yearning, 535 
 
 Steering their flight from far ofi" lands. 
 But here a difference obtaineth : 
 Pigeons suffice while peace still reigneth, 
 But war the raven-post demands. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 The message tells of sore distresses. 640 
 
 See yonder how the tumult presses
 
 Act rV'.] FAUST. 371 
 
 Our heroes' rocky wall around ! 
 
 The nearest heights are now ascended, 
 
 Win they the pass by ours defended, 
 
 In sorry plight we should be found. 645 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 So I deluded am at last ! 
 
 Around me you have drawm your net ; 
 
 I've shudder'd, since it held me fast ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Take courage ! Naught is lost as yet ; 
 
 Patience unties the hardest knot ! 650 
 
 Still sharpest is the final stand. 
 
 My trusty messengers I've got ; 
 
 Command me, that I may command. 
 
 GENERAL-IN-CHIEF 
 
 (wlio meanwhile has arriced). 
 With these thou hast thyself allied, 
 
 I long have grieved to see them at thy side ; 655 
 
 No stable good doth conjuring earn. 
 To change the battle now I can't pretend ; 
 They have begun it, they may end ! 
 My staff I unto thee return. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 It for some better hour retain, 660 
 
 Which Fate for us may have in store. 
 This fellow and his ravens twain. 
 His horrid comrades, I abhor ! 
 
 (To Mephistopheles). 
 The staff I can't on thee bestow. 
 
 Thou seemest not the proper man ; 665 
 
 Command, and save us from the foe ! 
 Then happen may what happen can. 
 
 {Exit into the tent tvith the General-in-Chief.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Him may the stupid staff defend 1 
 To us small profit would it lend ; 
 
 There was a kind of cross tliereon. 670 
 
 2 B 2
 
 372 FAUST. [Päbt U. 
 
 FAUST 
 
 What is to do? 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Why, all is done ! 
 Now haste, my cousins, swart and fleet, 
 To the great mountain lake ; the Undines greet, 
 And for a seeming flood, entreat them fair ! 
 The actual they indeed, through female art, 675 
 
 Hard to conceive, from semblance know to part ; 
 That it the actual is, then each will swear. (^Pause.') 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The water-maidens must our raven-pair 
 
 Kightly have flattered and with cunning rare : 
 
 Yonder it drops already ; see, 680 
 
 From many a bare rock's barren side, 
 
 Gushes the full, swift-flowing tide — 
 
 'Tis over with their victory. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Strange greeting give the rushing streams — 
 
 Perplexed the boldest climber seems. 685 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Already downward brook to brook is sweeping, 
 
 Doubled from many a gorge again they're leaping ; 
 
 A stately water-arch one stream doth throw; 
 
 Kow o'er the rock's broad level smoothly gliding, 
 
 Anon, with flash and roar, again dividing, 690 
 
 It plunges step-wise to the vale below. 
 
 To stem the flood what boots their brave endeavour ? 
 
 Them from the mighty flood may none deliver. 
 
 Before the tumult wild myself must quail ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Nothing I see of all these watery lies ; 695 
 
 They bring illusion but to human eyes ; 
 
 With joy the wondrous change I hail. 
 
 Headlong the masses pour, a shining throng ; 
 
 The fools imagine they will soon be drown'd, 
 
 And while they snort upon the solid ground, 700
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 373 
 
 Like swimmers laughably they move along. 
 
 Now reigns confusion all around. (TÄe ravens return.) 
 
 To the high master you I will commend. 
 
 Youi selves, would ye as masters prove — attend; 
 
 Straight to the glowing smithy fare, 705 
 
 To the dwarf- folk, whu tireless there 
 
 Strike sparks from metal and from stone — 
 
 W ith them, while chattering, desire 
 
 A shining, dazzling, bursting fire, 
 
 As to man's highest fancy shown. 710 
 
 True, lightning-flashes gleaming from afar, 
 
 And, swift as vision, fall of loftiest star. 
 
 May happen every summer night ; 
 
 But flashes amid tangled bushes found, 
 
 And stars that hiss upon the humid ground — 715 
 
 These are in sooth, no common sight : 
 
 So must ye, wdthout much annoy. 
 
 Entreaties first, and then commands, employ. 
 
 (Exeunt the ravens. All happens as prescribed.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Thick darkness o'er the foe is spreading ! 
 
 They in uncertainty are treading ! 720 
 
 Deluding flashes everywhere ; 
 
 Then blindness, from the sudden glare ! — 
 
 All that has wondrously succeeded ; 
 
 But now some terror-sound is needed. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The hollow weapons from the armouries, 725 
 
 Feel themselves stronger in the open breeze ; 
 They rattle there above, and clatter on — 
 A wonderful discordant tone. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Quite right. They can be reined no more ; 
 
 As in the gracious times of yore, 730 
 
 The sound of knightly blows is rife ; 
 
 Armlets and leg-protecting gear. 
 
 As Guelfs and Ghibellines appear, 
 
 Swift to renew the eternal strife : 
 
 Firm in transmitted hate, they close, 735 
 
 #
 
 374 FAUST. [Part IT. 
 
 While far and n-ide resound their blows, 
 The rancour ending but with life. 
 
 At last, in cverj' devil's fete 
 
 Most potently works party-hate, 
 
 Till the last horror closes all ; 7-iO 
 
 Discordant sounds of rout and panic, 
 
 Between whiles, piercing, shrill, Satanic, 
 
 Through the wide valley rise and fall. 
 
 I^War tumult in the Orchestra, passing at last into cheerful 
 military music.) 
 
 The rival Emperor's tent. Throne, rich surroundings. 
 Havequick, Speed-booty. 
 
 SPEED-BOOXy. 
 
 So here the first we are, I see ! 
 
 HAVEQUICK. 
 
 No raven flies so fast as we. 745 
 
 SPEED-BOOTY. 
 
 "What treasTire-lieaps lie here and there I 
 "Where to begin ? To finish, where ? 
 
 HAVEQUICK. 
 
 So full the space, I'm hard to please : 
 I know not what I first should seize 1 
 
 ■ SPEED-BOOTY. 
 
 This carpet is the thing for me, 750 
 
 My bed is apt too hard to be. 
 
 HAVEQUICK. 
 
 Here a steel club is hanging, such, 
 Long, as mine own, I've wished to clutch. 
 
 SPEED-BOOTY. 
 
 The mantle red, with golden seams — 
 
 I've seen its fellow in my dreams. 755 
 
 HAVEQUICK (taking the weapon). 
 "With this full soon the work is done : 
 One strikes him dead, and passes on. 
 ]\luch hast thou packed, yet, for thy pains, 
 Kothing of worth thy sack contains :
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 375 
 
 This plunder in its place may rest. 760 
 
 One among many, take this chest ! 
 The host's appointed pay they hold ; 
 Within its belly is pure gold. 
 
 SPEED-BOOTY. 
 
 A murderous weight is this ! I may 
 
 Nor lift, nor carry it away. 765 
 
 HAVEQUICK. 
 
 Duck quickly ! Thou must bend ! I'll pack 
 The booty on thy stalwart back. 
 
 SPEED-BOOTY. 
 
 Alack ! alack ! 'Tis all in vain ! 
 The load will break my back in twain. 
 ( The chest falls, and springs open.^ 
 
 HAVEQUICK. 
 
 There lies of ruddy gold a heap ; 770 
 
 Be quick, the prize away to sweep ! 
 
 SPEED-BOOTY (stoopS down'). 
 
 Now fling it in my lap with speed ! 
 There's plenty to supply our need. 
 
 HAVEQUICK. 
 
 Now there's enough ! Av/ay then pack ! 
 
 (^She rises.^ 
 The apron has a hole, alack ! 775 
 
 Where thou dost stand, and where dost go, 
 The treasure lavishly dost sow. 
 
 HALBERDIERS (o/ OUT Emperor). 
 Sacred this place ! What do ye here ? 
 Why pillage thus the Emperor's gear ? 
 
 HAVEQUICK. 
 
 Cheaply we sold our limbs, I trow ! 780 
 
 Our share of spoil we gather now, 
 In hostile tents, the victors' due ; 
 And we — why we are soldiers too. 
 
 HALBERDIERS. 
 
 It suits not in our ranks to be 
 
 Soldier at once and thief. For he 785
 
 876 FAUST. [Part II. 
 
 To serve our Emperor who would claim, 
 Must bear an honest soldier's name ! 
 
 HAVEQUICK. 
 
 Such honesty we know, by you 
 'Tis Contribution styled ! Ye, too, 
 
 Upon the self-same footing live : 790 
 
 The pass- word of your trade is — Give ! 
 {To Speed-Booty). 
 Off with thy prey, right speedily ! 
 For here no welcome guests are we. 
 
 {Exeunt.^ 
 
 FIRST HALBERDIER. 
 
 Say, wherefore didst thou not bestow 
 
 Upon the rascal's cheek a blow ? . 795 
 
 SECOND. 
 
 I know not ; me my strength forsook ; 
 So phantom-like to me their look ! 
 
 THIRD. 
 
 Something there came to mar my sight. 
 It glimmered — I saw naught aright. 
 
 FOURTH. 
 
 In sooth, I know not what to say. 800 
 
 So hot it was the live-long day ! 
 
 Fearful, oppressive, close, as well ; 
 
 While one man stood, another fell ; 
 
 We groped, still striking at the foe ; 
 
 Opponents fell at every blow — 805 
 
 Floated before our eyes a mist ; 
 
 Then in our ear it buzzed, hummed, hissed. 
 
 So on it went — now are we here ; 
 
 The manner of it is not clear ! 
 
 Enter the Emperor, mih, four Princes. 
 
 ( The Halberdiers retire.) 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Be with him as it may, the day is ours. Sore-battered, 
 Over the level plain the foe in flight are scattered. 811 
 Here stands the vacant throne ; with tapestry hung round, 
 The traitor's treasure too narrows the tented ground.
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 377 
 
 By our own guards defended, we wait with exultation, 
 And with imperial pomp, the envoys of each nation. 815 
 Here from all sides arrive glad tidings hour by hour : 
 The realm is pacified, and gladly owns our power. 
 Though in our fight perchance some magic arts were 
 
 wrought. 
 Yet at the last, ourselves — we, only we, have fought. 
 To combatants, in sooth, chance still may work for good — 
 From Heaven falls a stone, on foemen it rains blood ; 821 
 Strange sounds of wondrous power from rocky caves may 
 
 flow. 
 Which lift our courage high, and strike with fear the foe. 
 Object of lasting scorn, prostrate the vanquished lies, 
 While to the favouring God the victor's praises rise ; 825 
 All blend with him, nor need that he should give the word — 
 " We praise Thee, Lord our God !" from million throats is 
 
 heard. 
 Yet as the highest praise, my own breast I'll explore. 
 Searching with pious glance, which rarely happed before. 
 A young and joyous prince, of time may waste the dower : 
 Him years will teach, at last, th' importance of the hour. 
 Hence to ally myself with you, most worthy four, 832 
 
 For house, and court, and realm, will I delay no more. 
 
 {To the First.) 
 
 Thine was, Prinee, the "udse aiTangement of the host. 
 And in the crisis thou heroic skill couldst boast ; 835 
 
 Therefore work thou as may with times of peace accord. 
 Arch-Marshal name I thee ; to thee I give the sword. 
 
 ARCH-MARSHAL. 
 
 Thy host, within the realm till now employed alone, 
 Shall on the border guard thy person and thy throne. 
 Then be it ours, when crowds make glad on festive day 
 Thy large ancestral hall, thy banquet to array. 841 
 
 I'll hold it at thy side, or bear it thee before, 
 Of highest majesty the escort evermore. 
 
 EMPEROR {to the Second). 
 
 With valour who, like thee, doth courtesy unite, 
 Arch-Chamborlain shall be. The duties are not light.
 
 378 FAUST. I I'art IL 
 
 Of all the honsc-retainors chief art thou ; thcin I find 846 
 But suny servants, still to househuld strifu inclined: 
 In honemr held, may they, from thy example, see 
 How they to prince, to court, to all, may gracious be. 
 
 ARCH- CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 The master's lofty thought to further, bringeth grace : 
 Ever to aid the good, nor injure e'en the base, 851 
 
 Frank, without guüo to be, and calm without disguise. 
 That thou shouldst know me, Sire, this boon alone I prize. 
 Dare fancy to that feast press on with pinions bold — 
 Thou goest to the board, I reach the ewer of gold, 855 
 Thy rings I take, that while joy reigneth and delight. 
 Thy hand may be refresh'd, while gladdens me thy light. 
 
 EMPEROR, 
 
 Too earnest feel I now to think of joyous fest ; 
 Yet be it so — a glad commencement still is best ! 
 
 {To the Third.) 
 Arch-Steward thee I choose. Therefore henceforth to thee 
 The chase, the poultry-yard, the farm shall subject be. 861 
 Choice of my favourite dishes still for me prepare, 
 As them the month brings round, and dressed with proper 
 care. 
 
 arch-steward. 
 Strict fasting be for me the duty that I boast. 
 Until before thee placed the dish to please thee most : 865 
 The kitchen-service shall with me co-operate, 
 The far to bring anear, seasons to ante-date. 
 Thee charm not viands rai'e, wherewith thy board is 
 
 graced ; 
 Simple and racy food, thereto inclines thy taste. 
 
 EMPEROR {to the Fourth). 
 Since festivals perforce alone engage us now, 870 
 
 To Cupbearer transformed, young hero, straight be thou t 
 Arch-Cupbearer, henceforth the duty shall be thine 
 To see our cellars stored richly with generous wine. 
 Be temperate thyself; be not misled through mirth, 
 Howe'er allurements tempt, to which the hour givea 
 birth I 875
 
 Act n 1 FAUST. 379 
 
 ARCH-CUPBEARER. 
 
 Your highness, youth itself, if trust therein be shown. 
 
 Stands, ere one looks around, to man's full stature grown. 
 
 Myself I too transport to that great festive day : 
 
 The imperial side-board then right nobly I'll array ; 
 
 Of gold and silver there shall splendid vessels shine, 880 
 
 Yet first the loveliest cup will i select as thine — 
 
 A clear Venetian glass, wherein joy lurking waits : 
 
 The flavour it improves, yet ne'er inebriates. 
 
 In such a wondrous cup too great our trust may be ; 
 
 Thy moderation, sire, still more protecteth thee, 885 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 What, in this solemn hour, I have conferred on you. 
 Receive with confidence, from valid lips and time ; 
 Great is the Emperor's word, and every gift makes sure, 
 For confirmation yet there needs his signature. 
 This duty to prepare, and royal writ thereto, 890 
 
 The fitting man appears, at the fit moment too. 
 
 {The Archbishop and Arch-chancellor enter. ^ 
 
 If to the key-stone trusts its weight the vaulted arch, 
 
 Securely built it then defies time's onward march. 
 
 Thou sec'st four princes here. E'en now we have 
 
 decided 
 How governance shall be for house and court provided. 895 
 A\hat the whole realm concerns, be that with weight 
 
 and power. 
 To you, ye princes five, entrusted from this hour. 
 In landed wealth ye shall all others far excel ; 
 Hence, with their heritage who from our standard fell. 
 The bounds of your possessions I forthwith expand : 900 
 Ye faithful ones, be yours full many a goodly land, 
 Also the lofty right, should time the occasion send, 
 Through purchase, chance, exchange, their limits to 
 
 extend ; 
 To practise undisturb'd, this is secured to you, 
 What sovereign rights soe'er, as land-lords, are your 
 
 due ; 905 
 
 As judges, be it yours to speak the final doom, — 
 From your high stations none will to appeal presume.
 
 380 FAUST. [Pakt U. 
 
 Then tiibntc, tax, and tithc, safe-conduct, toll, and fee, 
 Mine-salt, and eoinap;e-dues, your property shall h«. 
 That thus my gratitude may validly be shown, 910 
 
 In rank I you have raised next the Imperial throne. 
 
 ARCHBISHOP. 
 
 In name of all be given our deepest thanks to thee ! 
 Us mak'st thou strong and firm, — thy power shall 
 strengthened be. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Yet higher dignities I to you five will give. 
 
 Still live I for my realm, and still rejoice to live ; 915 
 
 Nathless of my great sires the chain withdraws my gaze, 
 
 From keen endeavour back, the coming doom to face : 
 
 I also, in His time, must bid my friends adieu ; 
 
 The emperor to name shall then belong to you. 
 
 On the high altar raised, crown ye his sacred brow, 920 
 
 And peacefully shall end, what stormful was e'en now ! 
 
 ARCH-CHANCELLOR. 
 
 With pride in their deep breasts, with lowly gestures, stand 
 Princes, before thee bow'd, the foremost of the land. 
 So long as in our veins the faithful current plays. 
 The body we, which still thy lightest impulse sways ! 925 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 And, to conclude, what we to-day have done, made sure, 
 Shall be henceforth for aye, by writ and signature ; 
 Ye hold indeed as lords, possession, full and free. 
 Yet on these terms — that it partioned ne'er shall be, 
 And howsoe'er encreased, what ye from us receive 930 
 Ye to your eldest son shall undivided leave. 
 
 ARCH-CHANCELLOR. 
 
 For our weal and the realm's, to parchment will I straight. 
 With joyful mind, confide a statute of such weight ; 
 The Chancery shall seal and document procure. 
 Then shall confirm it. Sire, thy sacred signature ! 935 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 And 80 I you dismiss, that on this glorious day. 
 In solemn conclave met, deliberate ye may. 
 
 (TAe temporal lords retire. The Archbishop remains, and 
 speaks in a pathetic tone.^
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 381 
 
 ARCHBISHOP. 
 
 The chancellor is gone ; the bishop doth remain, 
 
 His father's heart for thee trembles with anxious pain : 
 
 Him a deep warning soul impels thine ear to seek. 940 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 What in this joyous hour is thy misgiving ? Speak ! 
 
 ARCHBISHOP. 
 
 With what a bitter pang find I, in such an hour, 
 Thy consecrated head in league with Satan's power I 
 Confirm'd upon thy throne, as it appeareth, — true ; 
 But in despite of God, and Father Pontiff too ! 945 
 
 Hearing of this, forthwith, will he pronounce thy doom ; 
 With sacred fire thy realm, accurst, will he consume ; 
 For he forgets not how, the day when thou wast crown'd. 
 E'en at that hour supreme, the sorcerer hast unbound ; 
 To Christendom's foul shame, on that accursed head, 950 
 From out thy diadem, mercy's first beam was shed. 
 Now smite upon thy breast, and from thy guilty prey 
 Back to our holy church some little share repay. 
 The broad hill-space whereon thy tent did lately stand. 
 Where, thee to aid, themselves did evil spirits band, 955 
 There, where the Prince of Lies did late thine ears aj^use, 
 Taught piously, that spot devote to pious use, — 
 With mountains and thick wood, so far as they extend. 
 With verdant slopes which yield rich pasture, without 
 end ; 959 
 
 ülear lakes, alive with fish, unnumber'd brooks that flow, 
 With swift and snakelike course, down to the vale below ; 
 Then the broad vale itself, with meadow, hollow, plain — 
 Let thy repentance speak, and mercy thou'lt obtain ! 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 For this, my grievous fault, terror so fills my mind, 
 
 iy thine own measure be the bounds by thee assign'd. 965 
 
 ARCHBISHOP. 
 
 f'irst shall the space defiled, by sin so desecrated, 
 To service of the Highest straight bo consecrated ! 
 Swift, to the spirit-eye, tlie massive walls aspire, 
 The morning sun's first beam already gilds the choir ;
 
 382 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 Croßs-Aviso the stnicturo grows, the nave, in length and 
 height " 970 
 
 Expaniling, straightway fills believers wäth delight. 
 Throngli the wide jiortal now, they throng with ardent zeal, 
 ^\ hile over hill and vale resounds the bells' first peal — 
 From lofty towers they ring, which heavenwai'd strive 
 
 amain, 
 The penitent draws near, there to be bom again. 975 
 
 On consecration day — that day soon may we see ! — 
 The highest ornament shall then thy presence be. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 And be my pious wish, through work so great made 
 
 known. 
 The Lord our God to praise, and for my sin atone ! 
 Enough ! Already raised my spirit now I feel. 980 
 
 ARCHBISHOP. 
 
 As chancellor, I claim both covenant and seal. 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 A deed which to the church shall all these rights 
 
 secure— 
 Bring it, I will with joy afiix my signature. 
 
 ARCHBISHOP 
 
 (takes leave, hut turns hack again at the door). 
 
 Thou, as the work proceeds, to it must dedicate 
 The land's collective dues— tribute, and tithe, and rate — 
 For ever. Ample wealth for due support we need, 986 
 And careful governance still heavy costs doth breed. 
 For swift erection too, on spot so waste, some gold. 
 From thy rich plunder, thou from us wilt not withhold. 
 Moreover, we shall want — this I cannot disguise — 990 
 Timber, and lime, and slate, and such far-off supplies ; 
 Taught from the pulpit, these the willing people bears : 
 The church still blesses him, who for her service cares. 
 
 [Exit.) 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 Heavy and sore the sin whose burden I bewail ! 
 
 Those odious sorcerers have wrought me grievous bale ! 995
 
 Act IV.] FAUST. 383 
 
 AECHBISHOP 
 
 (returning once more loith profound obeisance). 
 Pardon, Sire, thou hast to that unworthy man 
 The realm's seashore conveyed ; yet him shall smite the 
 
 ban, 
 Unless with tithe and dues, with rent and taxes, thou, 
 Repentant, also there our holy church endow. 
 
 EMPEROR (^with ill-humour). 
 The land is not yet there ; broad in the sea it lies. 1000 
 
 ARCHBISHOP. 
 
 For him the time will come who potent is and wise. 
 For us still may your word in its full powers remain. 
 
 (Exit.) 
 EMPEROR (alone). 
 So may I sign away the realm o'er which I reign ! 
 
 ACT THE FIFTH. 
 
 Open country. 
 
 WANDERER, 
 
 Yes, 'tis they, their branches rearing, 
 
 Hoary lindens, strong in age ; — 
 
 There I find them, reappearing, 
 
 After my long pilgrimage ! 
 
 'Tis the very spot ; — how gladly 5 
 
 Yonder hut once more I see. 
 
 By the billows raging madly, 
 
 Cast ashore, which sheltered me ! 
 
 My old hosts, I fain would greet them, 
 
 Helpful they, an honest pair ; ] ü 
 
 May I hope to-day to meet them ? ■ 
 
 Even then they aged were. 
 
 Worthy folk, iu God believing ! 
 
 Shall 1 knock? or raise my voice?
 
 384 FAUST. [Pakt II. 
 
 Hail to yoii if, guest receiving, 15 
 
 lu good deeds yc still rejoice ! 
 
 BAUCIS (a very aged woman). 
 Stranger dear, beware of breaking 
 My dear husband's sweet repose ! 
 Strength for brief and feeble waking 
 Lengthened sleep on age bestows. 20 
 
 WANDERER, 
 
 Mother, say then, do I find thee, 
 
 To receive my thanks once more, 
 
 In niy youth who didst so kindly, 
 
 "With thy spouse, my life restore? 
 
 Baucis, to my lips half-dying, 25 
 
 Art thou, who refreshment gave ? 
 
 ( The husband steps forth.) 
 Thou Philemon, strength who plying. 
 Snatched my treasure from the wave? 
 By your flames, so promptly kindled, 
 By your bell's clear silver sound — 30 
 
 That adventure, hoiTor-mingled, 
 Hath a happy issue found. 
 Forward let me step, and gazing 
 Forth upon the boundless main, 
 
 Kneel, and thankful prayers upraising, 35 
 
 Ease of my full heart the strain ! 
 
 (flis walks forward upon the dovms.) 
 
 PHILEMON {to Baucis). 
 Haste to spread the table, under 
 The green leafage of our trees. 
 Let him run, struck dumb with wonder. 
 Scarce he'll credit what he sees. 40 
 
 {He follows the wanderer. Standing beside him.) 
 
 Where the billows did maltreat you, 
 
 Wave on wave in fury rolled, 
 
 There a garden now doth greet you, 
 
 Fair as Paradise of old. 
 
 Grown more aged, as when stronger, 45 
 
 I could render aid no more ; 
 
 And, as waned my strength, no longer
 
 Act V.1 FAUST. 385 
 
 Eolled the sea upon the shore : 
 
 Prudent lords, bold serfs directing, 
 
 It with trench and dyke restrained ; 50 
 
 Ocean's rights no more respecting, 
 
 Lords they were, where he had reigned. 
 
 See, green meadows far extending ; — 
 
 Garden, village, woodland, plain. 
 
 But return we, homeward wending, 55 
 
 For the sun begins to wane. 
 
 In the distance sails are gliding, 
 
 Nightly they to port repair ; 
 
 Bird-like, in their nests confiding, 
 
 For a haven waits them there. 60 
 
 Far away mine eye discerneth 
 
 First the blue fringe of the main ; 
 
 Eight and left, where'er it turneth, 
 
 Spreads the thickly-peopled plain. 
 
 In the Garden. The three at table. 
 
 BAUCIS (to the stranger). 
 Art thou dumb ? No morsel raising 65 
 
 To thy famished lips ? 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 I trow. 
 He of wonders so amazing 
 Fain would hear ; inform him thou. 
 
 BAUCIS. 
 
 There was wrought a wonder truly. 
 
 Yet no rest it leaves to me ; 70 
 
 Naught in the aöair was duly 
 
 Done, as honest things should be f 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 Who as sinful can pronounce it ? 
 
 'Twas the emperor gave the shore ; — 
 
 L)id the trumpet not announce it 75 
 
 As the herald passed our door? 
 
 Footing firm they first have planted 
 
 Near these downs. Tents, huts, appeared ; 
 
 2 c
 
 386 PAUST. [Pakt II 
 
 O'er the green, the eye, enchanted, 
 
 Saw ere long a palace reared. 80 
 
 BAUCIS, 
 
 Shovel, axe, no laboiir sparing, 
 
 Vainly ])lied the men by day ; 
 
 Where the lires at ni_ü;ht shone flaring, 
 
 Stood a dam, in morning's ray. 
 
 Still from human victims bleeding, 85 
 
 Wailing sounds were nightly borne ; 
 
 Seaward sped the flames, receding ; 
 
 A canal appeared at morn ! 
 
 Godless is he, naught respecting ; 
 
 Covets he our grove, our cot ; 90 
 
 Though our neighbour, us subjecting. 
 
 Him to serve will be our lot. 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 Yet he bids, our claims adjusting, 
 Homestead fair in his new land. 
 
 BAUCIS. 
 
 Earth, from water saved, mistrusting, 95 
 
 On thine own height take thy stand. 
 
 PHILEMON. 
 
 Let us, to the chapel wending, 
 
 Watch the sun's last raj's subside; 
 
 Let us ring, and prayerful Ijending, 
 
 In our fathers' God confide ! 100 
 
 Palace. 
 Spacious ornamental garden ; hroad, straight canal. 
 Faust in extreme old age, walking about, meditating. 
 
 LYNCEUS, THE WAPvDEP. 
 
 (ihrough a speaking trumpet^. 
 The sun sinks down, the ships belated 
 Kejoicing to the haven steer. 
 A stately galley, deeply freighted. 
 On the canal, now draweth near ; 
 Her chequer'd flag the breeze caresses, 105 
 
 The masts unbending bear the sails : *
 
 Act v.] FAUST. 387 
 
 Thee now the grateful seaman blesses, 
 Thee at this moment Fortune hails. 
 
 {The hell rings on the clowns.^ 
 
 FAUST {starting). 
 Accursed bell ! Its clamour sending, 
 Like spiteful shot it wounds mine ear! 110 
 
 Before me lies my realm unending ; 
 Vexation dogs me in the rear ; 
 For I, these envious chimes still hearing, 
 Must at my narrow bounds repine ; 
 The linden grove, brown hut thence peering, 115 
 
 The mouldering church, these are not mine. 
 Refreshment seek I, there repairing ? 
 Another's shadow chills my heart, 
 A thorn, nor foot nor vision sparing, — 
 O far from hence could I depart ! 120 
 
 WARDER (as above). 
 How, wafted by the evening gales. 
 Blithely the painted galley sails ; 
 On its swift course, how richly stored ! 
 Chest, coffer, sack, are heaped aboard. 
 A splendid galley, richly and brilliantly laden with the 
 produce of foreign climes. 
 
 Mephistopheles. The three mighty comrades. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Here do we land, 125 
 
 Here are we now. 
 Hail to our lord ; 
 Our patron, thou \ 
 {They disembark. The goods are brought ashore.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 So have we proved our worth — content 
 If we our patron's praises earn : 130 
 
 With but two ships abroad we went, 
 With twenty we to ])ort return. 
 By our rich lading all may see 
 The great successes wo have wrought. 
 Free ocean makes the spirit free : 1 35 
 
 2 c 2
 
 888 FAUST. [Pabt IL 
 
 Thero claims compunction ne'er a thought ! 
 
 A rapid grip there needs alone ; 
 
 A fish, a ship, on both we seize. 
 
 Of three if wc the lordship own, 
 
 Straightway wc hook a fourth with ease, 140 
 
 Then is the fi.fth in sorry plight — 
 
 Who hath the power, has still the right ; 
 
 The What is asked for, not the How. 
 
 Else know I not the seaman's art ; 
 
 War, commerce, piracy, I trow, 145 
 
 A trinity, we may not part. 
 
 THE THREE MIGHTY COMRADES, 
 
 No thank and hail ; 
 
 No hail and thank ! 
 
 As were our cargo 
 
 Vile and rank ! 150 
 
 Disgust upon 
 
 His face one sees : 
 
 The kingly wealth 
 
 Doth him displease I 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Expect ye now 155 
 
 No further pay ; 
 Eor ye your share 
 Have ta'en away. 
 
 THE THREE MIGHTY COMRADES» 
 
 To pass the time, 
 
 As was but fair ; 1 60 
 
 We all expect 
 
 An equal share. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 First range in order, 
 
 Hall on hall, 
 
 These wares so costly, 165 
 
 One and all ! 
 
 And when he steps 
 
 The prize to view,
 
 Act V.l FAUST. 389 
 
 And reckons all 
 
 With judgment true, 170 
 
 He'll be no niggard ; 
 
 As is meet, 
 
 Feast after feast 
 
 He'll give tlie fleet. 
 
 The gay birds come with morning tide; 175 
 
 Myself for them can best provide. 
 
 (The cargo is removed.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (tO FaUST). 
 
 With gloomy look, with earnest brow 
 
 Thy fortune high receivest thou. 
 
 Thy lofty wisdom has been crowned ; 
 
 Their limits shore and sea have found ; 180 
 
 Forth from the shore, in swift career, 
 
 O'er the glad waves, thy vessels steer ; 
 
 Speak only from thy pride of place, 
 
 Thine arm the whole world doth embrace. 
 
 Here it began; on this spot stood 185 
 
 The first rude cabin formed of wood ; 
 
 A little ditch was sunk of yore 
 
 "Where plashes now the busy oar. 
 
 Thy lofty thought, thy people's hand. 
 
 Have won the prize from sea and land. 190 
 
 From here too 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 That accursed here ! 
 It weighs upon me ! Lend thine ear ; — 
 To thine experience I must tell. 
 With thrust on thrust, what wounds my heart ; 
 
 To bear it is impossible 195 
 
 Nor can I, without shame, impart : 
 
 The old folk there above must yield ; 
 
 Would that my scat those lindens were ; 
 
 Those few trees not mine own, that field. 
 
 Possession of the world impair. 200 
 
 There I, wide view o'er all to take, 
 
 From bough to bough would scaifolds raise; 
 
 Would, for the prospect, vistas make, 
 
 On all that I have done to gaze ;
 
 390 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 To Bce at once before me brought 205 
 
 Tlie master--\vork of human thought, 
 
 Where Avisdom hath achieved the plan, 
 
 And won broad dwelling-place for man. — 
 
 Thus are we tortured ; — in our weal, 
 
 That which we lack, we sorely feel ! 210 
 
 The chime, the scent of linden-bloom, 
 
 Surround me like a vaulted tomb. 
 
 The will that nothing could withstand, 
 
 Is broken here upon the sand : 
 
 How from the vexing thought be safe? 215 
 
 The bell is pealing, and I chafe ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES, 
 
 Such spiteful chance, 'tis natural, 
 
 Must thy existence fill with gall. 
 
 Who doubts it ! To each noble ear, 
 
 This clanging odious must appear ; 220 
 
 This cursed ding-dong, booming loud, 
 
 The cheerful evening-sky doth shroud, 
 
 With each event of life it blends. 
 
 From birth to burial it attends, 
 
 Until this mortal life doth seem, 225 
 
 Twixt ding and dong, a vanished dream I 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Resistance, stubborn selfishness. 
 
 Can trouble lordliest success. 
 
 Till, in deep angry pain one must 
 
 Grow tired at last of being first ! 230 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Why let thyself be troubled here ? 
 Is colonizing not thy sphere ? 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Then go, to move them be thy care ! 
 
 Thou knowest well the homestead fair, 
 
 I've chosen for the aged pair — 235 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 We'll bear them off, and on new ground 
 Set them, ere one can look around.
 
 Act v.] FAUST. 391 
 
 The violence outlived and past, 
 Shall a fair home atone at last. 
 
 (iZe whistles shrilly.^ 
 
 The Three enter. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Come ! straight fulfil the lord's behest ; 240 
 
 The fleet to-morrow he will feast. 
 
 THE THREE. 
 
 The old lord us did ill requite ; 
 
 A sumptuous feast is ours by right. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (to the spectators'), 
 What happ'd of old, here happens too : 
 Still Naboth's vineyard meets the view. 245 
 
 (1 Kings xvi.) 
 Deep night. 
 
 LYNCEUS THE WARDER (on the icatch-tower, singing). 
 
 Keen vision mj^ birth-dower, 
 
 I'm placed on this height, 
 
 Still sworn to the watch-tower, ^ 
 
 The world's my delight. 
 
 I gaze on the distant, 250 
 
 I look on the near. 
 
 On moon and on planet, 
 
 On wood and the deer : 
 
 The beauty eternal 
 
 In all things I see ; 255 
 
 And pleased with myself 
 
 All bring pleasure to me. 
 
 Glad eyes, look around ye 
 
 And gaze, for whate'er 
 
 The sight they encounter, 260 
 
 It still hath been fair ! 
 
 (Pause.) 
 Not alone for pleasure-taking 
 Am I planted thus on high ; 
 "What dire vision, horror-waking, 
 From yon dark world scares mine eye ! Z65 
 
 Fiery sparkles sec 1 gleaming
 
 392 FAUST. [Pakt U. 
 
 Through the lindens' two-fold night ; 
 
 By the breezes fanned, their beaming 
 
 Gloweth now with fiercer light ! 
 
 Ah ! the peaceful hut is burning ; 270 
 
 Stood its moss-grown walls for years ; 
 
 They for speedy help are yearning — 
 
 And no rescue, none appears ! 
 
 Ah the aged folk, so kindly, 
 
 Once so careful of the fir*e, 275 
 
 Now, to smoke a prey, they blindly 
 
 Perish, oh misfortune dire ! 
 
 'Mid red flames, the vision dazing. 
 
 Stands the moss-hut, black and bare ; 
 
 From the hell, so fiercely blazing, 280 
 
 Could we save the honest pair ! 
 
 Lightning-like the fire advances, 
 
 'Mid the foliage, 'mid the branches ; 
 
 Withered boughs, — they flicker, burning, 
 
 Swiftly glow, then fall ; — ah me ! 285 
 
 Must mine eyes, this woe discerning. 
 
 Must they so far-sighted be ! 
 
 Down the lowly chapel crashes 
 
 'Neath the branches' fall and weight; 
 
 Winding now, the pointed flashes 290 
 
 To the summit climb elate. 
 
 Eoots and trunks the flames have blighted ; 
 
 Hollow, purple-red, they glow ! 
 
 {Long pause. Song.') 
 Gone, what once the eye delighted, 
 With the ages long ago ! 295 
 
 FAUST {on the balcony, toicards the downs). 
 From above what plaintive whimper ? 
 Word and tone are here too late ! 
 Wails my warder ; me, in spirit 
 Grieves this deed precipitate ! 
 
 Though in ruin unexpected 300 
 
 ChaiTed now lie the lindens old. 
 Soon a height will be erected, 
 Whence the boundless to behold.
 
 Act v.] FAUST. 393 
 
 I the home shall see, enfolding 
 
 In its walls, that ancient pair, 305 
 
 Who, my gracious care beholding, 
 
 Shall their lives end joyful there. 
 
 MEPniSTOPiiELES and the three (below). 
 Hither we come full speed. We crave 
 Your pardon ! Things have not gone right 1 
 Full many a knock and kick we gave, 310 
 
 They opened not, in our despite ; 
 Then rattled we and kick'd the more, 
 And prostrate lay the rotten door ; 
 We called aloud with threat severe. 
 Yet sooth we found no listening ear. 315 
 
 And as in such case still befalls, 
 They heard not, would not hear our calls ; 
 Forthwith thy mandate we obeyed, 
 And straight for thee a clearance made. 
 The pair — their sufferings were light, 320 
 
 Fainting they sank, and died of fright. 
 A stranger, harbour'd there, made show 
 Of force, full soon was he laid low ; 
 In the brief space of this wild fray, 
 From coals, that strewn around us lay, 325 
 
 The straw caught fire ; 'Tis blazing free. 
 As funeral death-pyre for the three. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 To my commandments deaf were ye ! 
 
 Exchange I wished, not robbery. 
 
 For this your wild and ruthless part ; — 330 
 
 I curse it ! Share it and depart ! 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 The ancient saw still rings to-day : 
 
 Force with a willing mind obey ; 
 
 If boldly thou canst stand the test. 
 
 Stake house, court, life, and all the rest ! 335 
 
 {Exeunt.) 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 The stars their glance and radiance veil ; 
 Smoulders the sinking fire, a gale
 
 394 FAUST. Part II 
 
 Fans it with moisturc-ladeu wings, 
 
 Vaponr to me and smoke it brings. 
 
 Rash mandate — raslily too obeyed ! — 340 
 
 ^Vllat hither sweejDS like spectral shade ? 
 
 Midnight. 
 Four gray women enter. 
 
 FIRST. 
 
 My name, it is Want. 
 
 My name, it is Care. 
 
 SECOND. 
 
 And mine, it is Blame. 
 
 THIRD. 
 
 FOURTH. 
 
 Need, that is my name. 
 THREE (together). 
 The door is fast-bolted, we cannot get in ; 
 The owner is wealthy, we may not within. 345 
 
 WANT. 
 
 There fade I to shadow. 
 
 BLAME. 
 
 There cease I to be. 
 
 NEED. 
 
 His visage the pampered still tumeth from me. 
 
 CARE. 
 
 Ye sisters, ye cannot, ye dare not go in ; 
 
 But Care through the key-hole an entrance may win. 
 
 (Care disajjjpears.) 
 
 WANT. 
 
 Sisters, gray sisters, away let us glide I 350 
 
 BLAME. 
 
 1 bind myself to thee, quite close to thy side. 
 
 NEED. 
 
 And Need at your heels doth with yours blend her breath.* 
 
 * Noth and Tod, the German equivalents for Need and Death, form 
 a rhyme. As this cannot be rendered in English, I have introduced a 
 Blight alteration into my trauslation.
 
 Act v.] FAUST. 395 
 
 THE THREE. 
 
 Fast gather the clouds, they eclipse star on star. 
 
 Behind there, behind, from afar, from afar. 
 
 There comes he, our brother, there cometh he — Death. 355 
 
 FAUST (zn the palace). 
 
 Four saw I come, but only three went hence. 
 
 Of their discourse I could not catch the sense ; 
 
 There fell upon mine ear a sound like breath. 
 
 Thereon a gloomy rhyme-word followed — Death ; 
 
 Hollow the sound, with spectral horror fraught ! 360 
 
 Not yet have I, in sooth, my freedom wrought; 
 
 Could I my pathway but from magic free, 
 
 And quite unlearn the spells of sorcery. 
 
 Stood I, oh nature, man alone 'fore thee. 
 
 Then were it worth the trouble man to be ! 365 
 
 Such was I once, ere I in darkness sought, 
 
 And curses dire, through words with error fraught, 
 
 Upon myself and on the world have brought ; 
 
 So teems the air with falsehood's juggling brood, 
 
 That no one knows how them ho may elude ! 370 
 
 If but one day shines clear, in reason's light — 
 
 In spectral dream envelopes us the night ; 
 
 From the fresh fields, as homeward we advance — 
 
 There croaks a bird : what croaks he ? some mischance ! 
 
 Ensnared by superstition, soon and late ; 375 
 
 As sign and portent, it on us doth wait — 
 
 By fear unmanned, we take our stand alone ; 
 
 The portal creaks, and no one enters, — none. 
 
 (Agitated.) 
 Is some one here ? 
 
 CARE. 
 
 The question prompteth, yes ! 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 What art thou then? 
 
 CARE. 
 
 Here, once for all, am I. 380
 
 396 FAUST. [Part II 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Withdraw thyself! 
 
 CARE. 
 
 My proper place is this. 
 
 FAUST 
 
 (first angry, then appeased. Aside). 
 Take heed, and speak no word of sorcery. 
 
 CARE. 
 
 Though by outward ear unheard, 
 
 By my moan the heart is stirred j 
 
 And in ever-changeful guise, 385 
 
 Cruel force I exercise ; 
 
 On the shore and on the sea, 
 
 Comrade dire hath man in me, 
 
 Ever found, though never sought, 
 
 Flattered, cursed, so have I wrought. 390 
 
 Hast thou as yet Care never known 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 I have but hurried through the world, I own. 
 
 I by the hair each pleasure seized ; 
 
 Relinquished what no longer pleased, 
 
 That which escaped me I let go, 395 
 
 I've craved, accomplished, and then craved again ; 
 
 Thus through my life I've storm'd — with might and 
 
 main, 
 Grandly, with power, at first ; but now indeed, 
 It goes more cautiously, with wiser heed. 
 I know enough of earth, enough of men ; 400 
 
 The view beyond is barred from mortal ken ; 
 Fool, who would yonder peer with blinking eyes, 
 And of his fellows dreams above the skies ! 
 Firm let him stand, the prospect round him scan. 
 Not mute the world to the true-hearted man. 405 
 
 Why need he wander through eternity ? 
 What he can grasp, that only knoweth he. 
 So let him roam adown earth's fleeting day; 
 If spirits haunt, let him pursue his way ; 
 In joy or torment ever onward stride, 410 
 
 Though every moment still unsatisfied !
 
 Act v.] FAUST. 397 
 
 CARE. 
 
 To him whom I have made mine own 
 
 All profitless the world hath grown : 
 
 Eternal gloom around him lies ; 
 
 For him suns neitlier set nor rise ; 415 
 
 With outward senses perfect, whole, 
 
 Dwell darknesses within his soul ; 
 
 Though wealth he owneth, ne'ertheless 
 
 He nothing truly can possess. 
 
 Weal, woe, become mere phantasy ; 420 
 
 He hungers 'mid satiety ; 
 
 Be it joy, or be it sorrow. 
 
 He postpones it till the morrow ; 
 
 Of the future thinking ever, 
 
 Prompt for present action never. 425 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Forbear ! Thou shalt not come near me I 
 I will not hear such folly. Hence ! 
 Avaunt ! This evil litany 
 The wisest even might bereave of sense. 
 
 CARE. 
 
 Shall he come or go ? He ponders ; — 430 
 
 All resolve from him is taken ; 
 
 On the beaten path he wanders, 
 
 Groping on, as if forsaken. 
 
 Deeper still himself he loses. 
 
 Everything his sight abuses, 435 
 
 Both himself and others hating, 
 
 Taking breath — and suffocating. 
 
 Without life — yet scarcely dying. 
 
 Not desparing — not relying. 
 
 Rolling on without remission : 440 
 
 Loathsome ought, and sad permission, 
 
 Now deliverance, now vexation. 
 
 Semi-sleep, — poor recreation, 
 
 Nail him to his place and wear him. 
 
 And at last for hell prepare him, 445
 
 398 FAUST. [Part H 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Unblessed spectres ! Ye mankind have so 
 
 Trcateil a thousand times, their thoughts deranging ; 
 
 E'en nnevcnttul days to mar ye know, 
 
 Into a tangled web of torment changing ! 
 
 'Tis hard, I know, from demons to get tree, 450 
 
 The mighty spirit-bond by force untying ; 
 
 Yet Care, I never will acknowledge thee, 
 
 Thy strong in-creeping, potency defying. 
 
 CARE. 
 
 Feel it then now ; as thou shalt find 
 
 When with a curse from thee I've wended : 455 
 
 Through their whole lives are mortals blind — 
 
 So be thou, Faust, ere life be ended ! 
 
 {She breathes on him.) 
 
 FAUST (blind). 
 
 Deeper and deeper night is round me sinking ; 
 
 Onlj' within me shines a radiant light. 
 
 1 haste to realize, in act, my thinking ; 460 
 
 The master's word, that only giveth might. 
 
 Up, vassals, from your couch ! my project bold. 
 
 Grandly completed, now let all behold ! 
 
 Seize ye your tools ; your spades, your shovels ply ; 
 
 The work laid down, accomplish instantly ! 465 
 
 Strict inile, swift diligence, — these twain 
 
 The richest recompence obtain. 
 
 Completion of the greatest work demands 
 
 One guiding spirit for a thousand hands. 
 
 Great fore-court of the Palace. 
 Torches. 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES (as overseer leading the way.) 
 
 This way ! this way ! Come on ! come on I 470 
 
 Ye T^emures, loose of tether, 
 Of tendon, sinew, and of bone, 
 Half natures, patched together !
 
 Act v.] FAUST. 399 
 
 LEMURES (in chorus). 
 
 At thy behest we're here at hand ; 
 
 Thy destined aim half guessing — • 475 
 
 It is that we a spacious land 
 
 May win for our possessing. 
 
 Sharp-pointed stakes we bring with speed, 
 
 Long chains wherewith to measure. 
 
 But we've forgotten why indeed 480 
 
 To call us was thy pleasure. 
 
 MEPIIISTOPHELES. 
 
 No artist-toil we need to-day ; 
 
 Sufificeth your own measure here : 
 
 At his full length the tallest let him lay ! 
 
 Ye others round him straight the turf uprear ; 485 
 
 As for our sires was done of yore, 
 
 An oblong square delve ye once more. 
 
 Out of the palace to the narrow home — 
 
 So at the last the sorry end must come ! 
 
 LEMURES 
 
 (digging, with mocking gestures^. 
 
 In youth when I did live and love, 490 
 
 Methought, it was very sweet ! 
 Where frolic rang and mirth was rife. 
 Thither still sped my feet. 
 
 Now with his crutch hath spiteful age 
 
 Dealt me a blow full sore : 495 
 
 I stumbled o'er a yawning grave, 
 
 "Why open stood the door ! 
 
 FAUST 
 
 (comes forth from the palace, groping his way by the doorposts), 
 
 IIow doth the clang of spades delight my soul ! 
 
 For me my vassals toil, the while 
 
 Earth with itself they reconcile, 500 
 
 The waves within tlicir bounds control, 
 
 And gird the sea with stcdfast zone — 
 
 MEi'iiiSTOi'iiELES (aside). 
 And yet for us dost work alone,
 
 400 FAUST. [Part IL 
 
 ^Vhile tlioii for dam and bulwark carcst ; 
 
 Since thus for Neptuuo thou preparest, 505 
 
 The water-fiend, a mighty fete ; 
 
 liefore thee naught but ruin lies ; 
 
 The elements are our allies ; 
 
 OuAvard destruction strides elate. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 Inspector ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Here. 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 As many as you may, 510 
 
 Bring crowds on crowds to labour here ; 
 Them by reward and rigour cheer ; 
 Persuade, entice, give ample pay ! 
 Each day be tidings brought me at what rate 
 The moat extends which here we excavate. 515 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES {half aloud). 
 Thej^ speak, as if to me they gave 
 Report, not of a moat — but of a grave.* 
 
 FAUST. 
 
 A marsh along the mountain chain 
 
 Infecteth what's already won ; 
 
 Also the noisome pool to drain — 620 
 
 My last best triumph then were won : 
 
 To many millions space I thus should give, 
 
 Though not secure, yet free to toil and Hve ; 
 
 Green fields and fertile ; men, with cattle blent. 
 
 Upon the newest earth would dwell content, 525 
 
 Settled forthwith upon the firm-based hill, 
 
 Up-lifted by a valiant people's skill ; 
 
 "Within, a land like Paradise ; outside, 
 
 E'en to the brink, roars the impetuous tide, 
 
 And as it gnaws, striving to enter there, 530 
 
 All haste, combined, the damage to repair. 
 
 * The play of words contained in the original cannot be reproduced 
 in translation, the German for moat being Graben, and for grave Grab.
 
 Act v.] FAUST. 401 
 
 Yea, to this thotiglit I cling, with virtue rife, 
 Wisdom's last fruit, profoundly true : 
 Freedom alone he earns as well as life, 
 Who day by day must conquer them anew. 535 
 
 So girt by danger, childhood bravely here, 
 Youth, manhood, age, shall dwell from year to year ; 
 Such busy wowds I fain would see. 
 Upon free soil stand with a people free ; 
 Then to the moment might I say : 540 
 
 Linger awhile, so fair thou art ! 
 Nor can the traces of my earthly day 
 Through ages from the world depart ! 
 In the presentiment of such high bliss. 
 The highest moment I enjoy — 'tis this. 545 
 
 (Faust sinks bach, the Lejiures lay hold of him and lay him 
 upon the ground.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Him could no pleasure sate, no joys appease, 
 
 So wooed he ever changeful phantasies ; 
 
 The last worst empty moment to retain, 
 
 E'en to the last, the sorry wretch was fain. 
 
 Me who so stoutly did withstand — 550 
 
 Time conquers, — lies the old man on the sand ! 
 
 The clock stands still — 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Stands still, no sound is heard ; 
 The index falls — 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 It falls, 'tis finished now. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 Yes, it is past ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Past, 'tis a stupid word. 
 Why past? 5i5 
 
 Past and pure nothingness are one, I trow. 
 Of what avail creation's ceaseless play ? 
 Created things forthwith to sweep away ? 
 " There, now 'tis past." — 'Tis past, what may it mean ? 
 It is as good as if it ne'er had been, 5(30 
 
 2 D
 
 402 FAUST. [Part n. 
 
 And yet as if it Beins; did possess, 
 Still in a circle it doth censcless })ress : 
 1 should prefer the Eternal — Emptiness. 
 {BURIAL.) 
 
 LEMUR (solo). 
 
 Who hath the house so badly built, 
 
 With shovel and with spade ? 565 
 
 LEMURES (m chorus). 
 For thee, sad guest, in hempen vest, 
 'Tis all too deftly made. 
 
 LEMUR (solo). 
 
 Who furaished hath so ill the place ? 
 Chair, table, where are they ? 
 
 LEMURES (in chorus). 
 
 Short was the let ; there came apace 570 
 
 New claimants, day by day. 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 There lies the body, would the spirit flee, 
 
 I'd show him speedily the blood-sign'd scroll — 
 
 Yet they've so many methods, woe is me. 
 
 Tu cheat the devil now of many a soul ! 575 
 
 On the old way one is not sure ; 
 
 Upon the new we're not commended ; 
 
 Else had I done it unattended, 
 
 Assistants must I now procure. 
 
 In all things we're in evil plight ! 580 
 
 Transmitted usage, ancient right — 
 
 In these the time for confidence is past. 
 
 With the last breath once sped the soul away ; 
 
 And like the nimblest mouse, I watched my prey ; 
 
 Snap ! Locked within my claws I held it fast; 585 
 
 Now she delays, nor will the dismal cell. 
 
 The loathsome body, leave, though reft of life, 
 
 The elements, in ceaseless strife, 
 
 Her, in the end, disgracefully expel. 
 
 For days and hours I've plagued myself ere now ; — 590 
 
 Abides the sorry question ; — when ? where ? how ?
 
 Act v.] FAUST. 403 
 
 Old death lias lost Ms power, once swift and strong ; 
 
 If dead or no ? in donbt we tarry long ; 
 
 On rigid members oft I've lustful gazed ; 
 
 'Twas but a feint, it stirred, once more itself upraised ! 595 
 
 (^Fantastic gestures of conjuration.) 
 
 Come swiftly on ! Double your sj)eed ; no pause ! 
 
 Lords of the straight, lords of the crooked horn ! 
 
 Chips of the ancient block, true devils born, 
 
 Hither bring ye forthwith Hell's murky jaws. 
 
 Hell, to be sure, full many jaws may claim ; 600 
 
 Which gape as rank enjoins, and dignity ; 
 
 But we however in this final game. 
 
 Not so particular henceforth will be. 
 
 (The ghastly jaws of Hell open on the left.) 
 
 Clatter the corner-teeth ; the fire-stream whirling, 
 
 The vault's abyss doth overflow, 605 
 
 And through the background-smoke up-curling 
 
 The town of flame I see in endless glow ; 
 
 Up to the very teeth the ruddy billow dashes ; 
 
 The damned, salvation hoping, swim amain, 
 
 Them in his jaws the huge hyaena crashes, 610 
 
 Then they retrace their path of fiery pain. 
 
 In nooks fresh horrors lurk to scare the sight, 
 
 In narrowest space supremest agony : 
 
 Full well ye do, thus sinners to aflright. 
 
 They hold it but for dream, deceit and lie. 615 
 
 (To the stout devils, with short straight horns.) 
 
 Now, paunchy slaves, with cheeks that hotly burn, 
 
 On hellish brimstone richly fed, ye glow. 
 
 Clumsy and short, with necks that never turn — 
 
 For gleam like phosphor-light, watch here below : 
 
 It is the soul, Psyche, with soaring wing ; 620 
 
 The wings pluck ofl', so 'tis a sorry worm. 
 
 First with my seal I'll stamp the ugly thing, 
 
 Then off with it to fiery-whirling-storm ! 
 
 Mark ye the lower regions duly. 
 
 Ye bladders ! 'tis your duty so ! 625 
 
 If there she likes to harl>our, — truly, 
 
 We cannot accurately know ; 
 
 2 D 2
 
 404 PAUST. [Part IL 
 
 She in the navel loves to bide : 
 Take heed, lost from yon thence away she glide ! 
 (To the lean devils, with long crooJced horns.) 
 Buflfoons, ye fuglemen, a giant crew, 630 
 
 Grasp in the air, still clutch without repose. 
 With out-stretched arms, claws sharp and pliant too, 
 The fluttering, fleeing creature to enclose ! 
 In her old home she rests uneasily. 
 
 Genius aspires, it fain would soar on high. 635 
 
 {Glory from above, on the right.^ 
 
 THE HEAVENLY HOST. 
 
 Follow, ye envoys blest. 
 
 Leave, brood of heaven, your rest, 
 
 Earthward to steer : 
 
 Sinners do ye forgive. 
 
 Dust cause ye now to live ! 640 
 
 Floating on out-spread vdng 
 
 Through nature's sphere, 
 
 Kindliest traces bring 
 
 Of your career ! 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES. 
 
 Discordant tones I hear, an odious noise 645 
 
 Comes with unwelcome daylight from above : 
 
 A maukish whimper, fit for girls and boys, 
 
 Such as a canting taste doth still approve. 
 
 Ye know how we, in hours with curses fraught, 
 
 Planned the destruction of the human race : 650 
 
 The most atrocious product of our thought 
 
 In their devotion finds a fitting place. 
 
 They come, the fools, in hypocritic guise ! 
 
 Full many a soul from us they've snatch'd away — 
 
 "With our own weapons warring 'gainst us, they 655 
 
 Are devils also, only in disguise. 
 
 Here your defeat eternal shame would bring ; 
 
 On to the grave, and to the margin cling ! 
 
 CHORUS OF ASGELS {scattering roses). 
 
 Eoses, with dazzling sheen, 
 
 Balsam out-pouring ! 660
 
 Act v.] FAUST. 405 
 
 Float heaven and earth between, 
 
 Sweet life restoring ! 
 
 Branchlets with plumy wing, 
 
 Buds softly opening 
 
 Hasten to blow ! 665 
 
 Burst into verdure, Spring, 
 
 Purple and green ! 
 
 To him who sleeps below, 
 
 Paradise bring ! 
 
 MEPHISTO PHELES [^ the Satans). 
 
 Why duck and shrink? Is this hell's wonted way? 670 
 
 Stand firm, and let them scatter to and fro. 
 
 Back to his place each fool ! Imagine they, 
 
 Forsooth, with such a pretty flowery show. 
 
 To cover the hot devils, as with snow ? 
 
 They'll shrink and shrivel where your breathings play. 
 
 Blow now, ye Blowers ! Hold ! not quite so fast ! 676 
 
 Pales the whole bevy 'neath your fiery blast. 
 
 Not quite so fiercely ! Mouth and nostril close ! 
 
 Your breathing now too strongly blows. 
 
 that ye never the just mean will learn ! 680 
 
 That shrivels not alone, 'twill scorch and bum. 
 
 Floating they come, with poisonous flames and clear ; 
 Stand firm against them, press together here ! — 
 
 Force is extinguished, courage all is spent ; 
 
 A strange alluring glow the devils scent. 685 
 
 ANGELS. 
 
 Blossoms, with rapture crown'd, 
 
 Flames fraught with gladness, 
 
 Love they difiuse around, 
 
 Banishing sadness. 
 
 As the heart may : 690 
 
 Words, blessed truth that tell. 
 
 Give, by their potent spell, 
 
 Spirits etcrne to dwell 
 
 In endless day ! 
 
 MEPHIST0PHELE3. 
 
 A curse upon tlio idiot Ijaiid ! 605 
 
 Upon their heads the Satans stand !
 
 406 FAUST. [Paut IL 
 
 Tail-foremost down the hell ward path 
 Plunge round and round the clumsy host. 
 Enjoy your Avell-earned fiery hath ! 
 But for my part, I'll keep my post, 700 
 
 (^Striking aside the hovering roses.^ 
 
 OS, will o' the wisp ! How bright soe'er thy ray, 
 Captured, thou'rt but an odious, pulpy thing ; 
 Why flutterest ? Wilt vanish, straight away ! — • 
 Like pitch and brimstone to my neck dost cling ? 
 
 ANGEL {chorus). 
 
 Doth aught thy nature mar ? 705 
 
 Cease to endure it ; 
 
 If 'gainst thy soul it war, 
 
 Must ye abjure it ; 
 
 If to press in it try, 
 
 Quell it right valiantly ! 710 
 
 'Tis love the loving-one 
 
 Leadeth on high. 
 
 MEPHISTO PHELES. 
 
 I'm all aflame, head, heart, and liver burn — 
 
 An over-devilish element. 
 
 Than hellish fire more sharp by far! 715 
 
 Hence ye so mightily lament. 
 
 Unhappy lovers, who, when scorned ye are. 
 
 After your sweethearts still your necks must turn. 
 
 Thus too with me, what draws my head aside ? 
 
 Them have I not to deadly war defied ? 720 
 
 My fiercest hate their aspect waked of yore ; 
 
 Hath something alien pierced me through and through ? 
 
 These gracious youths, them am I fain to view ! — 
 
 What now restrains me that I curse no more ? 
 
 And if befooled I now should be, 725 
 
 Who may henceforth " the fool " be styled ? — 
 
 The rascals, whom I hate, for me 
 
 Too lovely are, I fairly am beguiled ! 
 
 Sweet children, tell me, to the race 
 
 Belong ye not of Lucifer ? 730 
 
 So fair ye seem, you I would fain embrace I
 
 Act v.] FAUST, 407 
 
 At the right moinent ye appear ; 
 
 So pleasant 'tis, so natural, as though 
 
 I you had seen a thousand times before, 
 
 So lustfully alluring now ye show. 735 
 
 With every look your beauty charms me more ! 
 
 nearer come ! grant me but one glance ! 
 
 AXGEL. 
 
 We come, why dost thoii shrink as we advance? 
 So, if thou canst, abide ; go not away. 
 
 (TAe angels hover round, and occupy the entire space.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES 
 
 (who 18 pressed into the proscenium). 
 As spirits damned we're blamed by you — 740 
 
 Yourselves are yet the sorcerers true, 
 For man and maid ye lead astray. — 
 A curs'd adventure this I trow ! 
 Is this love's element ? My frame 
 
 In fire is plunged, I scarcely now 745 
 
 Feel on my neck the scorching flame ! — 
 
 Ye hover to and fro ; with pinions furl'd 
 
 Float downward, after fashion of the world 
 
 Move your sweet limbs ; in sooth that earnest style 
 
 Becomes you, yet, for once, I fain would see you smile ; 
 
 That were for me a rapture unsurpassed, — 751 
 
 A glance, I mean, like that which lovers cast : 
 
 A slight turn of the mouth, so is it done. — 
 
 Thee, tall and stately youth, most dearly thee I prize ; 
 
 But ill beseemeth thee that priestly guise, 755 
 
 Give me one loving glance, I crave but one ! 
 
 Ye might, with decency, less clothed appear, 
 
 O'er modest in such lengthened drapery. — 
 
 They wheel around, to see them in the rear! 
 
 All too enticing are the rogues for me ! 760 
 
 ^ CHORUS OF ANGELS. 
 
 Love now with lustrous ray 
 Thy fires reveal ! 
 Those to remorse a prey 
 Truth's power can heal;
 
 408 FAUST. [Part II. 
 
 No longer evil's thrall, 765 
 
 Joyful and blest. 
 
 One with the All-in-all, 
 
 Henceforth they rest ! 
 
 MEPHiSTOPHELES (^Collecting himself \ 
 
 How is't with me ? The man entire, like Job, 
 
 Mnst loathe himself, cleft through with boil on boil, — 
 
 Yet triiimphs too, after the first recoil, 771 
 
 If he his inward nature fairly probe, 
 
 And in himself confides and in his kin : 
 
 Saved are the noble devil parts within. 
 
 This love attack he casts upon the skin, — 775 
 
 Burnt out already are the cursed flames, 
 
 And, one and all, I curse you, as the occasion claims ! 
 
 CHORUS OF ANGELS. 
 
 Whom ye with hallow'd glow. 
 Pure fires, o'erbrood, 
 
 Blest in love's overflow, 780 
 
 Lives with the good. 
 Singing with voices clear. 
 Soar from beneath ; 
 Pure is the atmosphere, 
 
 Breathe, spirit, breathe ! 785 
 
 {Tfieij rise, hearing with them the immortal part of Faust.) 
 
 MEPHISTOPHELES (loohing around). 
 
 How is it ? Whither are they gone ? 
 
 Me have ye cozen'd, young things though ye be ! 
 
 They wdth their booty now are heavenward flown. 
 
 Therefore they nibbled at this grave ! From me 
 
 A great rare prize they've captured : the high soul, 790 
 
 That pledged itself to me with written scroll, — 
 
 This have they filch'd away, right cunningly ! 
 
 From whom shall I now seek redress ? 
 
 Who can secure my well-earned right ? 
 
 In thine old days thou'rt cheated ! Yet confess, 795 
 
 Thou hast deserved it, art in sorry plight ; 
 
 Mismanaged have I in disgraceful sort. 
 
 Vast outlay shamefully away have throwTi ;
 
 Act v.] FAUST 409 
 
 The devil's sense, though season'd wed, the sport 
 
 Of common lust ! — a love absurd I own. 8Ü0 
 
 And if the shrewd old devil chose 
 
 Tlimself to busy with this childish freak, 
 
 Not small the foolishness, the truth to speak. 
 
 Which him hath thus o'er-master'd at the close. 
 
 3Iounfain defiles, Forest, Bock, Wilderness. 
 
 Holy Anchorites, dispersed up the hill, stationed among the 
 
 clefts. 
 
 CHORUS and echo. 
 Forests are waving here, 805 
 
 "Hocks their huge fronts uprear, 
 Eoots round each other coil, 
 Stems thickly crowd the soil ; 
 Wave gusheth after wave. 
 
 Shelter yields deepest cave ; 810 
 
 Lions, in silence round 
 Tamely that rove. 
 Honour the hallow'd ground, 
 Eefuge of love. 
 
 PATER ECSTATICUS 
 
 {floating up and down). 
 Joy's everlasting fire, 815 
 
 Love's glow of pure desire. 
 Pang of the seething breast, 
 Eapture, a hallow'd guest ! 
 Darts, pierce me through and througli, 
 Lances, my flesh subdue, 820 
 
 Clubs, me to atoms dash. 
 Lightnings, athwart me flash, 
 That all the worthless may 
 Pass like a cloud away. 
 
 While shineth from afar, 825 
 
 Love's germ, a deathless star. 
 
 PATER PROFUNDUS. 
 
 (Lower region.) 
 As the rock-chasm, sheer descending. 
 On chasm restoth more pi'ofound. 
 As thousand sparkling streamlets blending, 
 Foam in the torrent's headlong bound ; 830
 
 410 PAUST. [Part II. 
 
 As soars, the realm of air invading, 
 The stem, impelled by inward strain ; 
 So love, almighty, all-pervading, 
 Doth all things mould, doth all sustain. 
 
 A roaring that the heart appalleth 835 
 
 Sounds as if shook the wood-crown'd steep ; 
 
 Yet, lovely in its plashing, falleth 
 
 The wealth of water to the deep, 
 
 liefreshment to the valley bearing ; 
 
 The atmosphere, with poison fraught, 840 
 
 The lightning cleareth, wildly flaring, 
 
 Whose deadly flash dire ruin brought — 
 
 Love's heralds these, His purpose telling 
 
 Who, ever- working, us surrounds. 
 
 Come holy fire, within me dwelling, 845 
 
 Where, tortured in the senses' bounds. 
 
 Fetters of pain my soul enclosing, 
 
 Hold it immured in rayless gloom ! 
 
 God, my troubled thoughts composing. 
 
 My needy heart do thou illume ! 850 
 
 PATER SERAPHINUS. 
 
 [Middle region.^ 
 Through the pine-trees' waving tresses. 
 What bright cloud floats high and higher ? 
 What it shrouds my spirit guesses ! 
 Soars from earth and youthful choir. 
 
 CHORUS OF BLESSED BOYS. 
 
 Whither, father, are we hieing ? 855 
 
 Tell us, kind one, who are we ? 
 Happy are we, upward flying ; 
 Unto all 'tis bliss to be ! 
 
 FATHER SERAPHINUS. 
 
 Boys, ere soul or sense could waken, 
 
 Ye were bom at midnight hour ; 860 
 
 From your parents straightway taken, 
 
 For the angels a sweet dower. 
 
 You a loving one embraces. 
 
 This ye feel • then hither fare '
 
 Acr v.] FAUST. 411 
 
 But of earth's rude paths no traces, 865 
 
 Blessed ones, your spirits bear. 
 
 In the organ now descending 
 
 Of my worldly, earth-born, eyes ; 
 
 Use them, thus thy need befriending — 
 
 View the sphere that round you lies : 870 
 
 (He takes them into Mmself). 
 
 There are trees ; there rocks up-soaring ; 
 Headlong there the flood doth leap ; 
 Cleaves the tm-rent, loudly roaring, 
 Shorter passage to the deep. 
 
 BLESSED BOYS (from wUMii). 
 
 Grand the scene, but fear awaking : — 875 
 
 Desolate the spot and drear. 
 
 Us with dread and horror shaking. 
 
 Hold us not, kind father, here ! 
 
 PATER SERAPHICUS. 
 
 Eise to higher spheres, and higher 1 
 
 Unobserved your growth, yet sure, 880 
 
 As God's presence doth inspire 
 
 Strength, by laws eternal, pure. 
 
 This the spirit's nurture, stealing 
 
 Through the ether's depths profound : 
 
 Love eternal, self-revealing, 885 
 
 Sheds beatitude around. 
 
 CHOI! us OF BLESSED BOYS 
 
 (circling round the highest summit). 
 
 Through ether winging. 
 
 Hands now entwine, 
 
 Joyfully singing 
 
 With feelings divine 1 890 
 
 Taught by the Deity, 
 
 Tnist in His grace ; 
 
 Whom yo adore shall yo 
 
 See face to face 1
 
 412 FAUST. [r.vKT II. 
 
 ANGELS 
 
 (Jiovering in the liujlicr atmosphere, hearing the immortal part of 
 Faust;. 
 Saved is this noble soul from ill, 895 
 
 Our spirit-peer. "Who ever 
 Strives forward with unswel•^'ing will, — 
 Ilim can we aye deliver ; 
 And if with him celestial love 
 
 Hath taken part, — to meet him 900 
 
 Come down the angels from above ; 
 With cordial hail they greet him. 
 
 THE YOUNGER ANGELS. 
 
 Eoses, from fair hands descending, 
 
 Holy, penitent and piire. 
 
 Our high mission gladly ending, Ö05 
 
 Helped our conquest to secure, 
 
 Making ours this spirit-treasure. 
 
 Demons shrank, in sore displeasure, 
 
 Devils fled, as we assailed them. 
 
 Hell's accustomed torture failed them, 910 
 
 They by pangs of love were riven ; 
 
 The old Satan-master even. 
 
 Pierced was by sharp annoyance. 
 
 Conquered have we ! shout with joyance ! 
 
 THE MORE PERFECT ANGELS. 
 
 Sad 'tis for us to bear 915 
 
 Spirit earth-encumbered ; 
 
 Though of asbest he were. 
 
 Yet is he numbered 
 
 Not with the pure. For where 
 
 Worketh strong spirit-force, 920 
 
 Elements blending, 
 
 Iso angel may divorce 
 
 Natures thus tending 
 
 Of twain to form but one ; 
 
 Parts them God's love, alone, 925 
 
 Their union ending. 
 
 THE YOUNGER ANGELS. 
 
 Mistlike, with movement rife, 
 Rock- summits veiling,
 
 A ax v.] FAUST. 413 
 
 Near us a spirit-life 
 
 Upwards is sailing ; 930 
 
 Kow grow the vapours clear; 
 
 Yonder blest boys appear, 
 
 In chorus blending ; 
 
 They from earth's pressure free 
 
 Circle united ; 935 
 
 Still upward tending, 
 
 In the new spring with glee 
 
 Bathe they delighted : 
 
 Here let him then begin. 
 
 Yet fuller life to win, 940 
 
 With these united. 
 
 BLESSED BOYS. 
 
 Him as a chrysalis 
 
 Joyful receive we : 
 
 Pledge of angelic bliss 
 
 In him achieve we. 945 
 
 Loosen the flakes of earth 
 
 That still enfold him ! 
 
 Great through the heavenly birth, 
 
 And fair, now behold him. 
 
 DOCTOR MARIANUS (m the highest, purcst cell). 
 
 Here is the prospect free, 950 
 
 The soul subliming. 
 
 Yonder fair forms I see. 
 
 Heavenward they're climbing ; 
 
 In starry wreath is seen, 
 
 Lofty and tender, 955 
 
 Midmost the heavenly Queen, 
 
 Known by her splendour. 
 
 (Enraptured.) 
 In thy tent of azure hue. 
 Queen supremely reigning. 
 
 Let me now thy secret view, 960 
 
 Vision high obtaining ! 
 With the holy joy of love, 
 In man's breast, whatever 
 Lifts the soul to thee above. 
 Kind one, foster ever ! 965
 
 414 FAUST. [Part IT. 
 
 All invincihlo wc feci, 
 
 If our arm thou claiuicst ; 
 
 Siuitk'iily assua_o-ed our zeal 
 
 If our breast thou tamest. 
 
 VirgiiK, pure from taint of earth, 970 
 
 Mother, wo adore thee, 
 
 "With the Godhead one by birth, 
 
 Queen, we bow before thee ! 
 
 Cloudlets are pressing 
 
 Gently around her ; 975 
 
 Her knee caressing 
 
 Cloudlets surround her ; — 
 
 Penitents are they; 
 
 Ether inhaling. 
 
 Their sins bewailing. 980 
 
 Passionless and pure, from tliee 
 
 Hath it not been taken. 
 
 That poor frail ones may to thee 
 
 Come, with trust unshaken. 
 
 In their weakness snatched away, Ö85 
 
 Hard it is to save them ; 
 
 By their own strength rend Avho may 
 
 Fetters that enslave them ? 
 
 Glide on slippery ground the fee 
 
 Swiftly downward sailing ! 990 
 
 A\ hom befool not glances sweet, 
 
 Flattery's breath inhaling ? 
 
 (Mater Gloriosa soars fonoard.') 
 
 CHORUS OF FEMALE PENITENTS. 
 
 To realms eternal 
 
 Upward art soaring; 
 
 Peerless, supernal, 995 
 
 Hear our imploring. 
 
 Thy grace adoring. 
 
 (St. Luhe vii. 36). 
 
 MAGNA PECCATRIX. 
 
 By the love, warm tears out-pouring, 
 Laving as with balsam sweet,
 
 Act v.] FAUST. 415 
 
 Pharisaic sneers ignoring, lOOQ 
 
 Of tliy godlike Son the feet ; 
 
 By the vase, rich odour breathing. 
 
 Lavishing its costly store ; 
 
 By the locks, that gently wreathing, 
 
 Dried his holy feet once more — 1005 
 
 MULIER SAMARITANA (St. Johl iv.) 
 
 By the well, whereto were driven 
 
 Abram's flocks in ancient days ; 
 
 By the cooling draught thence given, 
 
 Which the Saviour's thirst allays ; 
 
 By the fountain, still out-sending 1010 
 
 Thence its waters, far and wide, 
 
 Over-flowing, never-ending, 
 
 Through all worlds it pours its tide — 
 
 MARIA AEGYPTiACA (Ada Sanctorum). 
 By the hallowed grave, whose portal 
 
 Closed upon the Lord of yore ; 1015 
 
 By the arm, unseen by mortal, 
 Back which thmst me from the door ; 
 By my penance, slowly fleeting, 
 Forty years amid the waste ; 
 
 By the blessed farewell greeting, 1020 
 
 "Which upon the sand I traced — 
 
 THE THREE. 
 
 Thon, unto the greatly sinning. 
 
 Access who dost not deny. 
 
 By sincere repentance winning 
 
 Bliss throughout eternity, 1025 
 
 So from this good soul, thy blessing, 
 
 "Who but once itself forgot. 
 
 Sin who knew not, while transgressing, 
 
 Gracious One, withhold thou not ! 
 
 UNA PrENITENTIUM 
 
 (formerly named Gretcuen, jjressing towards her.) 
 Incline, oh incline, 1030 
 
 All others excelling. 
 In glory aye dwelling, 
 Unto my bliss thy glance benign I
 
 416 FAUST. [rAm II. 
 
 Tho loved one, ascending, 
 
 Ilis Ion«;- trouble ending, 10135 
 
 Comes back, he is mine ! 
 
 BLESSED BOYS. 
 
 {They approach, hovering in a circle.^ 
 Mighty of limb, he towers 
 E'en now, above us. 
 He for this care of ours 
 
 Eichly will love us. 1040 
 
 Dying, ere we could reacn 
 Earth's pain or pleasure ; 
 AN'hat he hath learned he'll teach 
 In ample measure. 
 
 A PENITENT 
 
 (formerly named Gretchen.) 
 Encircled by the choirs of heaven, 1045 
 
 Scarcely himself the stranger knows ; 
 Scarce feels the existence newly given, 
 So like the heavenly host he grows. 
 See, how he every band hath riven ! 
 
 From earth's old vesture freed at length, 1050 
 
 Now clothed upon by garb of heaven, 
 Shines forth his pristine youthful strength. 
 To guide him, be it given to me ; 
 Still dazzles, him the new-born day. 
 
 MATER GLORIOS A. 
 
 Ascend, thine influence feeleth he, 1055 
 
 He'll follow on thine upward way. 
 
 DOCTOR MARIANUS 
 
 (adoring, prostrate on his face). 
 
 Penitents, her Saviour-glance 
 
 Gratefully beholding 
 
 To beatitude advance. 
 
 Still new powers unfolding ! 1060 
 
 Thine each better thought shall be, 
 
 To thy service given ! 
 
 Holy Virgin, gracious be. 
 
 Mother, Queen of Heaven !
 
 Act v.] FAUST 417 
 
 CHORUS MYSTICUS. 
 
 All of mere transient date 10(35 
 
 As sjTnbol showeth ; 
 
 Here, tlie inadequate 
 
 To fulness groweth; 
 
 Here the ineifable 
 
 Wrought is in love ; 107C 
 
 The ever- womanly 
 
 Draws us above. 
 
 2 B
 
 ANNOTATIONS 
 
 SECOND PART OF FAUST. 
 
 On the first appearance of the ' Helena,' Goethe declared, with refer- 
 ence to the completion of ' Faust,' that in the second part the hero 
 must be introduced into a higher sphere, and be brought into social 
 relations of a more elevated character. This purpose is manifest in 
 each act of the second part. It may be well, however, before entering 
 upon the study of the poem, to bear in mind that Goethe repudiated 
 the notion that "the rich, varied, and highly diversified life which he 
 has brought to view in ' Faust,' is strung upon the slender thread of 
 one pervading idea." His utterance with reference to the 'Helena' is. 
 in a certain degree, applicable to the other scenes of the drama ; " it 
 forms," he says, " an independent little world, and is only connected 
 with the whole by a slight reference to what precedes and follows ;" 
 "the only mutter of importance in such compositions," he adds, " is, 
 that the single masses should be clear and significant, while the whole 
 remains incommensurable; and even on that account, like an unsolved 
 problem, constantly lures mankind to study it again and again."* 
 
 Act I. 
 
 A I'k'usinfj Landscape. 
 
 Faust's remorseful agony and his resolve to venture his life for the 
 deliverance of Gretchen, as pourtrayed in the concluding acene of the 
 first part, indicate that tlie voice of conscience is not atificd in his soul. 
 In the opening scene of the second part he is represented as coming 
 under the healing infiucnces of time an<l of nature;, typified by Ariel 
 and the Elfin choir. Tlicy allay the anguish of remorse ; sootlie ami 
 tramjuiliize the troubled spirit; summon him to oast aside the shell uf 
 
 * 'Conversations of Goethe with Hlckcrinann ' (Bohii Trans., p. '><J7). 
 
 2 E 2
 
 420 ANNOTATIONS TO THE 
 
 sloop, nnd to return to the active duties of life.' The break of day, 
 iier;d(le(l h\ the rising sun, symbolizes the new iife-caroer upon which 
 he is about to enter, inspired by the high resolve. 
 
 "Aye to press on to being's sovereign height." 
 
 The Imperial Court. 
 
 The vi.-it of Mephistopheles to the imperial court, suggested by the 
 old Faust-book, aßbrds Goethe the opportunity of exhibiting, in the 
 reckless expenditure which there prevails, while the people perish for 
 lack of food and of justice, tlie evils which threaten the fall of an 
 empire, together with their cause. 
 
 " In the Emperor," he said, " I have endeavoured to represent a 
 prince who has all the necessary qualities for losing his land, and at 
 last succeeds in so doing. He does not concern himself about the 
 welfare of his kingdom and his subjects ; he only thinks of himself and 
 how he cnn amuse himself from day to day. The land is without law 
 and justice ; the judge himself is on the side of the criminals ; the most 
 atrocious crimes are committed without check and with impunity. The 
 
 army is without pay and without discipline The state treasury 
 
 is without money In the Emperor's own household things are 
 
 no better The councillor of state wislies to remonstrate with his 
 
 majesty upon all the?e evils, and advises as to their remedy ; but the 
 gracious sovereign is unwilling to lend his sublime ear to anything so 
 disagreeable; he prefers amusing himself. Here now is the true 
 element of Mephisto, who quickly supplants the former fool, and is at 
 once at the side of the Emperor as new fool and counsellor." * The 
 greatest embarrassment is caused by the want of money, which Mephis- 
 topheles promises to provide. This theme continues through the 
 masquerade. 
 
 The Carnival Masquerade. 
 
 In this scene a series of groups is introduced, representing manifold 
 aspects of human society, and intended possibly to exhibit the progress 
 of civilization, together with the agencies by which it is retarded or 
 advanced. It also serves to introduce the paper-money device, which 
 forms the subject of the following scene. 
 
 The first groups bring before the eye some features of the golden age, 
 when the human race, free from selfishness and greed, lived together in 
 joyous liberty ; the peace and plenty, the richness of imagination and 
 of love, which characterized that idyllic period, are aptly symbolized by 
 
 • ' Conversations of Goethe with Eckermann.
 
 SECOND PART OF FAUST. 421 
 
 the Olive-branch, the Wheatsheaf, the Fancy-nosegay, and the Budding 
 E.'^ees, iü the hands of the Florentine Garden-girls. 
 
 In the succeeding group of the Mother and Daughter, this picture of 
 primeval simplicity is contrasted with life under a more conventional 
 aspect. As civilization advances the fruits of the field no longer suffice 
 for human nourishment. Fishermen and Bird-catchers are introduced, 
 and the Wood-cutters appear as representatives of manual toil. It 
 is not difficult to discern the social classes represented by the Pulci- 
 nelli and the Parasites, while the Drunken Man exhibits the debasing 
 influence of sensual indulgence. 
 
 The figures of Grecian mythologj% which next appear, represent those 
 spiritual forces and qualities which permanently manifest themselves in 
 civilized society, under all its various aspects. The Graces, through the 
 courteous interchange of kindly aid, restore to life its freedom and its 
 charm. The Fates are the representatives of law, of just measure and 
 established order ; while the Furies, appearing not as the avengers but 
 as the authors of crime, under the guise of evil passions, calumny, and 
 slander, are the destroyers alike of public and domestic peace. 
 
 In order to bridle these unruly elements firm Authority is needed, 
 and accordingly one of the most significant groups is next introduced. 
 A living Colossus symbolizes the State, guided by Prudence, while de- 
 lusive Hope, and despoiuliug Fear, two of the most potent disturbers of 
 public tranquillity, walk chained on either side; Victoria, queen of all 
 activities, is enthroned upon the summit. 
 
 The accompanying figure of Zoilo-Thersites (a combination formed 
 from the Thersites of the Iliad and Zoilus, a griimraarian of tiie third 
 century before Christ, known as the defamer of Homer) represents tlie 
 spirit of envious detraction, manifested more especially in public life. 
 
 Drawn by dragons and guided by the Boy-Charioteer, Faust appears 
 as the god of wealth, spiritual as well as material, while Mephistopheles 
 is introduced, seated upon the chariot, as Avarice. By means of a 
 magic lantern the picture of the dragon-team has passed in rapid 
 flight over and through the crowd. 
 
 Diintzer sees in Faust the symbol of prosperity as the result of well- 
 directed activity in tiie state, while art, which is closely connected with 
 it, which reconciles the useful and the beautiful, and is itself a source 
 of national wealth, is typified l)y the Boy-Charioteer; as the spirit of 
 jM^jctry, he is the first appearance of the genius subsequently craboilied 
 in Euphorion. Of the latter Goethe is reported to have said, " he is 
 not a human but an alh^gorical being. In him is personified Poetry, 
 which is bound to neitiier time, place, nor person. The same spirit 
 who afterwards chooscä to be Euphorion, appears here as the Boy-
 
 422 ANNOTATIONS TO THE 
 
 Cliuriotoor, and is so far like a spci'tre, tliat ho can bo present every- 
 wliere and at all tinu-s." 
 
 Poetry and art, which prepare for life its richest embellishments, 
 must seek their inspiration far from the bustle of resort; the Boy- 
 Cluuiotecr is accordingly dismissed by Plutus, that " in solitude he 
 may create his own world ;" thither, to the realm of The Mothers, he 
 will soon be followed by Faust himself. Tlie relation between Goethe 
 and Karl August, the Grand Duke of Weimar, are supposed to be 
 represented in those between the Boy-Charioteer and Plutus. The 
 interpretation of the allegory in its details must be left to the penetra- 
 tion of the reader; suffice it to say that therein is pourtrayed tho 
 vulgar crowd, who, incajiable of appreciating the beautiful and the 
 true, mistake appearance for reality, and are unable to reach the idea 
 which underLes it. By them gold is prized as the means of purchasing 
 the frivolous enjoyments of sense, and thus, instead of raising the 
 national life to a higher level, it becomes a soiu-ce of immorality and 
 corruption. In the final group the Emperor appears in the mask of 
 Pan, " the All of the world," reminding us of Louis XlVth's cele- 
 brated exclamation : " The state, it is I." The Fauns, Satyrs, Gnomes 
 and Giants, supposed by some commentators to symbolize the privileged 
 classes attendant upon royalty, are represented by his courtiers. The 
 Emperor is conducted to the fount of gold ; the fiery catastrophe may 
 he regarded as a delusive magic show, which has its counterparts in 
 the old Faust-book. It probably symbolizes the revolution caused by 
 misgovernment, and may have been designed by Faust as a warning 
 to the pleasure-loving Emperor. The moral of the show is embodied 
 in tiie words of the Herald. 
 
 " youth, youth, and wilt thou never 
 
 To joy assign its fitting bound ? 
 
 Majesty, with reason never 
 
 Will thy omnipotence be crowned ? " 
 
 The Pleasure Garden. 
 
 The paper-money device, the subject of this scene, shows that a 
 corrupt society is stimulated by the acquisition of wealth, not to the 
 accomplishment of noble deeds, but to idleness and self-indulgence. 
 The sudden influx of riches, instead of being employed in making 
 available, through labour and skill, the undeveloped resources of the 
 country, tends to relax the energies of the nation, and thus prepares 
 the way for the dangers which threaten it, as represented in the fourth 
 act.
 
 SECOND PAET OF FAUST. 423 
 
 Dark Gallery. (^The Mothers.) 
 
 Goethe, when asked by Eckermann for an explanation of this scene, 
 replied, " I can only reveal that I found it mentioned in Plutarch, that 
 in Grecian antiquity certain goddesses were revered under ♦■lie name of 
 ' The Mothers.' ' These Mothers were old Pulasgian Nature-deities, 
 who were superseded by the great goddesses, Demeter and Persephone. 
 
 Of special significance in this connection is the following passage 
 from Plutarch ('De Defect.,' chap. 22). "There are 183 worlds; they 
 were arranged in the figure of a triangle, and every side contained 
 sixty worlds, the remaining three occupy the corners ; in this order 
 they gently touch each otlier, and ceaselessly revolve as in a dance. 
 The space within the triangle is to be regarded as a common hearth 
 for all, and is called the field of Truth. Within lie, motionless, the 
 causes, forms, and original images of all things, whiuli have been and 
 which shall be. Eternity surrounds them, from which Time, as an 
 effluence, flows over the worlds. Hvxmaa souls of transcendent excel- 
 lence obtain permission, every thousand years, to contemplate the 
 spectacle, and the most glorious mysteries on earth are simply dreams 
 of such contemplation." 
 
 The realm of " The Mothers " is that field of Truth ; they are its 
 imaginary guardians ; the conceptions, causes, energies of all created 
 things repose in its mysterious depths, issue thence, and are developed 
 in time and space ; it is the realm of the infinite as opposed to the 
 finite ; of the ideal as opposed to the real. 
 
 As in everything which receives new life on earth, the female prin- 
 ciple is most in operation; these creating divinities are rightly thouglit 
 of as female, and the august title of " The Mothers " may be given to 
 them not without reason. 
 
 Faust is required to invoke Helena and Paris, in whom he recognises 
 the ideal imjiersonation of womanly and manly beauty, whoso forms 
 had been embodied in Grecian art. In order to reproduce them he 
 must forget the region of actuality, and enter that of the Infinite and 
 the Eternal; ho must, moreover, realize in the depths of his spiritual 
 consciousness tlie sentiments and ideas I'rom which they originally 
 sprang. This can only be accomplished by an inten.se eflbrt of mental 
 abstiaction, condjined with tlie patient study of classical antiquity. It 
 is given to creative genius alonu to unlock witli its glowing key tlie 
 treasury of the past, to summon thence ihe spirits of a bygone age, and 
 to lireathe into them the breath of life. This intellectual ])r(ice8s is 
 typified by Faust's descent to " The Mothers." At fii st he shrinks back 
 appalled from the ellbrt ; having, however, at length entered the realm
 
 424 ANNOTATIONS TO THE 
 
 of tlie invisible, the eoiitomplation of the divine ideal is for him a 
 spiritual iiew-birtli. The trijiod appears to iiave a double signification, 
 and to isyinbolize at the same time the original creative energy subsisting 
 at the heart of tilings, and also tlie inspiration of genius, which is alone 
 the source of ideal imiiorsonation. 
 
 The BrilUantly-Vrjlded Hall 
 
 This and the following scene exläbit the c.)ntrast between the frivo- 
 lous impulses of the courtly throng und Faust's earnest devotion to his 
 ideal aim. Genuine art is regiirded by them simply as an amusement, 
 and their contemplation of its masterworks is accompanied by the 
 shaUowest remarks. 
 
 Hall of the Knights. 
 
 What to the audience is merely a charming spectacle is to Faust a 
 profound experience. His ideal, conceived in the innermost depths of 
 his spirit, meets his enraptured gaze ; with that passionate desire, which 
 is characterised by Plato as a divine madness, he seeks to grasp it, to 
 retain it as an enduring possession. Without this fiery enthusiasm 
 nothing great is accomplished either in life or in art ; it is, however, 
 the beginning, not the end ; perfection can be achieved only by long 
 and patient labour ; to him who thinks to hold the ideal with a sudden 
 grasp, it vanishes in mist. Faust falls prostrate to the ground as, in the 
 first act, at the appearance of the Earth-spirit. Now, however, lie will 
 follow the star which has arisen within him ; he will prepare " tlie 
 two-fold realm ;" the spirit-realm of antiquity, which has vanished from 
 his consciousness, will again arise within him, and will combine with 
 the actual to form an ideal world, over which beauty and oider shall 
 reign supreme, as symbolically pourtrayed in the picture of Arcadia, in 
 the ' Helena.' 
 
 Act II. 
 
 FausCs Study. 
 
 Faust lias seen his ideal ; paralysed by the vision he is borne sleeping 
 by Mephistopheles to the study from which he had escaped in bygone 
 years, and from which, lighted by Homunculus, he is speedily to issue 
 forth in quest of Helena. The poet here symbolizes liis own experience ; 
 like Faust, lie drew his ideals from the depth of his inner consciousness. 
 How earnestly he devoted himself to the study of nature, art, and an- 
 tiqiiity, as the necessary condition for their realization, is revealed by 
 the whole course of his biography.
 
 SECOND PART OF FAUST. 425 
 
 During Faust's absence his chamber has remained undisturbed, and 
 nmidst its dust and m^uld are generated the whims and crotchets typi- 
 fied by the cliorus of insects. Mephisto assumes Faust's furry gown ; 
 that he first shakes thence the chafers and other insects is not without 
 sijjnificunce. When the contemner of ancient authority, the Voltaire of 
 the age, occupies the professor's chair, a revolution is at hand ; the liell 
 sounds which announces the advent of a new epoch ; the walls tremble, 
 tJie doors spring open, giving access to the fresh air of independent 
 thought. 
 
 Genuine knowledge requires that careful observation and reverence 
 for the past shall be combined with freedom from prejudice, and perfect 
 liberty of thought ; these elements are here disjoined, the former having 
 their representatives in Wagner and his Famulus, the Litter in the cha- 
 racter of the Baccalaureus, in whom is personified, as Goethe himself 
 said, the arrogance peculiar to youth. The conversation between him 
 and Mephisto is a satirical comment upon the philosopljy of Fichte, 
 whose extravagant idealism found no favour with Goethe. 
 
 Tlie Lahorafonj. 
 
 Antiquity was acquainted with certain small waxen figures, in the 
 human sliape, called Homunculi, which were employed by dealers in 
 magical arts. The name also occurs in the writings of Paracelsus, which 
 contain a curious receipt for the " (jeneratio homtmndorum." The 
 passage is quoted by Diintzer, who adds that through the lectures of the 
 philosopher, John Jacob Wagner, who maintained that all organisms 
 were developed metals, the assertion was disseminated throughout Ger- 
 many that chemistry could succeed in producing organized bodies, and 
 in creating men through crystallization. The name of tliis philosopher 
 may have suggested to Goethe to ascribe the attempt to his Wagner. 
 Through the co-operation of Mephistopheles he succeeds : Homunculua 
 appears like a small huma'i form in the phial ; being a product of tho 
 understanding, witiiout any physical ;,ttributcs, he may fairly be re- 
 presented as desiring incorporation. With regard to the signification 
 of the Iloraunculus various interpretations have been sugi^ested. He 
 has been supposed to symbolize the truth that reflection and study, of 
 ■which he is tlie product, must be associated with inspiration and genius 
 for the accomplishment of any great master-work. By Diintzer he is 
 reganled as tlie type of thoughtful, self-conscious striving after the ideal, 
 which cannot he conquered by storm, but can be won only by sustained 
 and i)ati(iit clFort. Ileriuann Kiintzel gives a wider apjilication to tho 
 eyinbol. After alluding to the Darwinian tlieory, that all organized
 
 4 J 6 ANNOTATIONS TO THE 
 
 beings hnvc their origin in a jirimal cell, so Iloinunculus, ho says, may 
 be rogiinhd us the .-piritiiivl protoplasnia of the antiiiimtt'd nt-w epoch. 
 " As a being to whom tlie present is perfectly clear and transparent, 
 the llonuineulus t^ces into the soul of the sleeping Faust, who, eniaj)- 
 tured by a lovely dri am, beholds Leda visited by swans while she is 
 bathing in a pleasant spot." With reference to this dream, Eckermann 
 remarked to Goethe, " It is wonderful to me how the several parts of 
 6uch a work bear upon, perfect, and sustain one another! By this 
 dream of Leda, ' Helena ' gains its proper foundation." Goethe acqui- 
 esced, and said in reply : "Thus you will see that in these earlier acts 
 the chords of the classic and romantic are constantly struck, so that, as 
 on a rising ground, where both forms of poetry an- brought out, and in 
 some sort balance one another, we may ascend to ' Helena.'* 
 
 The Classical Walpurgis-Night. 
 
 The scene is laid in the Pharsalian field where, 48 b.c., the triumph 
 of Cffisar over Pompey put an end to the Roman republic and inaugu- 
 rated a new epoch in the history of the world. It represents Faust's 
 passionate striving after the realization of his ideal, together with the 
 transition from lower to higher forms of being, as manifested more 
 especially in the history of Grecian art. With these motives are 
 associated two others; namely, the search of Mephistopheles fur an 
 appropriate form, which brings out the repulsive elements in classical 
 mythology, where supreme ugliness, in contrast with ideal beauty, has its 
 type in the Phorkyads ; and also the strinng of Homunculus after 
 organic existence. 
 
 We are presented at the opening of the scene with figures from the 
 East, which w^ere adopted and developed by the Greeks, the Assyiian 
 Griffin and the Egyptian Sphinx, together with the Arimaspians who 
 were of iScytliian origin. To these strange beings Mephistopheles in- 
 troduces himself as the Old Iniquity ; he is, however, soon recognised 
 by the Sphinxes, who tell him that he himself is the greatest riddle. 
 While Mephistopheles feels not quite at home among these antique 
 forms, Faust awakens to new life upon the classic soil. He inquires from 
 the Sphinxes the way to Helena, and is referred by them to Cheiron, the 
 Centaur, the teacher of ^sculapius, who carries him to the prophetess 
 Manto. This venerable sybil sympathizes with his striving to win the 
 apparently impossible; she suflers him to descend through the temple 
 of Apollo to the depths of Olympus, where Persephone sits enthroned, 
 
 • ' Conversations of Goethe with Eckermaua.'
 
 SECOND PAKT OF FAUST. 427 
 
 queen of tlie dead. "With reference to tliis scene Goethe is reported by 
 Eekermanii to have spoken as follows : " Then only think what is to be 
 said on that mad night ! Faust's speech to Proserpine -when he would 
 move her to give him Helena, what a speech that should be, when 
 Proserpine herself is moved to tears !" "NVe cannot but regret that the 
 poet was never inspired to embody his conception, but has left its 
 realizntion to the imagination of the reader. 
 
 FaTist here withdraws from the scene, in order to prepare for the 
 consummation in the following act. when, through the union between 
 classical and mediaeval culture, a new epoch is to be inaugurated. 
 
 Tlie idea of Being and Development is now transferred to the history of 
 the earth ; in geological phenomena Goethe preferred the theory which 
 refers to water as the chief agency in modifying the surface of the 
 globe ; alike in the moral and the material world he was opposed to every- 
 thing vio'ent and explosive ; hence, when he wished to picture a period 
 of transition under the image of a struggle between the elements, he 
 would naturally give the victory to water and to air. 
 
 While the Sirens sing the praise of water, the soil is upheaved by an 
 eartliquake, personified by the giant Seismos. Eafael, in a picture of 
 the imprisonment of St. Paul, has similarly represented an earthquake 
 under the form of a powerful giant, who, with his broad slioulders 
 presses upwards througli the earth. The process of transition from 
 lower to higher forms of being, alike in nature and in history, is 
 accompanied not unfrequently by seasons of revolution and disruption ; 
 such a period seems to be indicated by the Seismos ejjisode, with the 
 Pigmies and Dactyles, the slaughter of the Herons, and the subsequent 
 attack of the avenging Cranes ; it would be beyond the scope of these 
 notes to attempt any elaborate interpretation of the scene. It is re- 
 garded by Hermann Kiintzel as typifying a political insurrection ; and 
 to his work I must refer for a fuller exjwsition of his views. I will 
 accordingly pass on to the moonlit bay, where the festival prepared by 
 the Xereids indicates the transition from a jteriod of anarchy and con- 
 fu.sion to one of hapjjiness and peace. 
 
 They hasten to Samothrace to bring thence the venerable Cabiri, 
 which they carry upon the giant shield of Chelone (the ancient shell 
 of the turtle covered with hieroglyphics). The Cabiri, according to 
 Hermann Kiintzel, indicate the religious element; th-y are mentioned 
 by Strabo as primeval Palasgian divinities, who sat in council with 
 the greater gods ; they were the mediators between the gods and men, 
 and a-t such it is .striking that Goethe should liave introduced them as 
 eymbols of the great religions of the world ; their likenesses are found 
 only on coins and pottery ; they also appeared as figures on the bow-
 
 428 ANNOTATIONS TO THE 
 
 eprits of Plioenicinn vessels, niid were suiiposed by the mariners to insure 
 prnteetion ai^ninst shipwreck. 
 
 Three only of the Cahiri are brought by the Nereids anil Tritons n])on 
 their hieroglyphic-eovered shield ; the ancient Indian, the Egyptian, 
 and the Grecian IMytlms are probably indicated. Tlie fourth god, who 
 was not willing to come, must be regarded as the IMosaic Monotheistic 
 religion, whicli in its abliorrence of symbols, would fain keep aloof from 
 the mythological iestivity of the Walpurgis-night. 
 
 The Cabiri were regarded as seven in number, which, with the 
 introduction of the Egyptian god, was increased to eight. Four have 
 been accounted for; the Sirens inquire "Wliere are tlie other tliree?" 
 They are yet concealed in Olympus ; the Buddhist, Moliammedan. 
 and Christian religions belong to tlie future ; they are not yet ready ; 
 and there in Olympus abides tlie eighth god, of whom as yet no one 
 thinks. Goetlie may be supposed to refer to his own religious concep- 
 tions, which combined the idea of a self-acting nature pervaded by the 
 deity, with belief in a personal God who could be apprehended by 
 thought, and who comes into direct relation with the individual soul. 
 How strongly was Goethe possessed by the idea of the Divine love 
 appears from the following dialogue betvv^een Eckermaun and himself ; 
 the former struck with admiration at seeing a bird which had been set 
 free return through the window to feed its young, remarked, " Such 
 parental love, superior to danger and imprisonment, moved me deeply, 
 and I expressed my surprise to Goethe." 
 
 " Foolish man ! " he replied, with a meaning smile ; " if you believed 
 in God, you would not wonder. Did not God inspire the bird with 
 this all-powerful love for its young, and did not similar impulses 
 pervade all animate nature, the world could not subsist. But thus 
 is the Divine energy everywhere diffused, and Divine love everywhere 
 active." 
 
 To return, however, to the ^Egean sea. The religious element 
 having been Introduced by the arrival of the Cabiri the peaceful 
 festival proceeds, heralded by the Telchines of Rhodes, the mythological 
 fire-workers, who forged the trident of Neptune. 
 
 Proteus transforms himself into a dolpliin, in order to carry Homun- 
 culus to the sea ; the words which follow are of interest, as bearing 
 upon the Darwinian theory. Thales commends the praiseworthy de- 
 sire to commence creation at the beginning, and assures Homunculus 
 that he shall progress, by eternal laws, through a thousand and still a 
 thousand forms towards his goal, in order eventually to become a man. 
 Thales, the materialistic philosoiAer. is in error. He regards Homun- 
 culus as an organic, whereas he is a spiritual protoplasma. Proteus
 
 SECOND PART OF FAUST. 429 
 
 tak^s a juster view of the matter, and assures him that if he once be- 
 comes a man there will be au end of him. The true destinatiou of 
 iileas is their diö'iision, not their incorporation, in individual forms, 
 where they are liable to perish. Meanwldle appear new messengers of 
 peace, the love-enkindled doves sent by Paphos, the island of Galatea. 
 
 Should ought of danger threaten, in water or on land, the Pselli and 
 Marse, the serpent-destroyers, draw near, to establish security and to 
 purify the way for the approach of Galatea. The female element is 
 represented by the Nereids and the Derides, both daughters of Nereus; 
 the former strong and sturdy, resembling their father, the latter grace- 
 ful and tender, like their mother Doris. Galatea now draws near, ad- 
 vancing with her innumerable host, in extended chain-circles, symbol- 
 izing the path of culture and of progress ; such spiral lines were before 
 indicated^as described by the Paphian doves, who, in wonderful flight 
 learned in olden time, accompanied the chariot of the goddess. Thus 
 with a revolving yet ever-advancing motion comes Galatea, as pour- 
 trayed in Rafael's beautiful fresco on the walls of the Farnesina Palace 
 at Rome. The lovely sea nymph, being the successor of Aphrodite, the 
 queen of beauty, her apparition forms a fitting prelude to the Helena. 
 
 Fain would she stay to greet her aged father ; in vain ; time's onward 
 movement knows no pause ; her innumerable attendants, the represen- 
 tatives of the new epoch, festively follow in her train. Meanwhile the 
 glass of Homunculus gives forth a beautiful sound, and glitters like a 
 flame. He feels the presence of Eros, the primeval god, the origin of 
 all things ; he feels the constraining power of an infinite longing ; he 
 renounces his self-existence ; his glass is shattered against the throne 
 of Galatea, and the ideas which constituted his essence are far and 
 wide dift'used over the waves. It is interesting to compare the conclud- 
 ing chorus, which celebrates the praise of Eros, with the final chorus 
 of the poem, where Divine love, symbolized as the Mater Gloriosa, is 
 represented as the pervading, all-inspiring principle of the universe. 
 
 Act III. 
 
 The marriage of Faust with Helena, forming as it does, a prominent 
 feature of the mediaeval legend, belongs to the oldest of Goethe's con- 
 cei)tions, a sketch of it having been brought with liim to Weimar in 
 1775. After his Italian journey, the thought occurred to him that this 
 element of the old legen<l miglit bo employed to symbolize tlie union 
 between classical and romantic poetry. In 1H25 IJyron's individuality 
 and tragic fate having supplied him with the long-sought motive for 
 Lis Euphorion, the child of Helena and Faust, the type of modena
 
 430 ANNOTATIONS TO THE 
 
 jxietic genius, he applied him<clf to the completion of the work. Goethe 
 iiimself directs attention to the fundamental idea wliich underlies it ; 
 ' It is time," he says, " tliat tlie passionate conflict between the cliissic 
 and thf romantic should at Inst be reconciled ' ; and adds, " the delivery 
 of the human mind from the monkish barbarism of the fifteeiitli and 
 sixteenth centuries was largely due to the extended survey then ob- 
 tained over Greek and Roman literature." We are, moreover, justified, 
 by the poet's own words, in saying that his own inward experience is 
 embodied in this poem ; that it symbolizes the union of his own spirit 
 with classical antiquity, together with the refining of his poetic genius, 
 the perfection of artistic form, and the spiritual new birth to which it 
 conducted him. 
 
 Thus Helena and Faust represent the culture of two distinct world- 
 epochs, from whose union was to spring a new form of spiritual develop- 
 ment, wherein the depth and intensity of sentiment and other charac- 
 teristics of Medievalism were to be associated with the harmony, the 
 moderation, the plastic clearness of conception, which formed the chief 
 elements of Grecian art, a spirit which was to exert an enliglitening 
 and emancipating influence, not only over poetry but over life. 
 
 This thought finds expression in the description of Arcadia, the ima- 
 ginary realm over which Faust and Helena are to exercise their united 
 sway. The state of things here described forms a striking contrast to 
 the lawlessness and disorder pourtrayed in the scene at the Emperors 
 court, and exhibits the purifying and regenerating influences of ideal 
 beauty, when regarded as the crowning glory of the reign of law. 
 
 Act IV. 
 A Mountain-ri'hje, 
 
 Helena's veil has wafted Faust from the imaginary realm of Arcadia 
 and set him down on German soil ; how great has been the distance 
 thus traversed is symbolized by the seven-league boots, employed by 
 Mephistopheles to overtake him. The veil dissolves into a cloud, 
 which, mirroring the affections of his soul, take the forms of Helena 
 aad Gretchen ; art and early love are thus recognised as the ideal 
 powers which raise the spirit above the vulgar and the mean. 
 
 Through the contemplation of ideal beauty, Faust has won for his 
 guidance in actual life, the conception of moderation and self-restraint ; 
 an aimless activity, the alternate reeling from desire to enjoyment^ 
 these have became repulsive to him ; this idea underlies the word 
 wherein he gives expression to Goethe's idea of creation, as a process of
 
 SECOND PAET OF FAUST. 431 
 
 orderly development, as opposed to the Plutonic theory, symbolized by 
 the ac-tion of Moloch ami other »atauic agencies described by Mephis- 
 toplieles. 
 
 Faust strives no longer after the vague and the undefined ; he desires a 
 distinct, practical aim for his activity. Mephistopheles endeavours to 
 divert him from his purpose by the prospect of sensual enjoyment aud 
 the lure of fame ; Faust, however, does not swerve from his ideal ; not 
 art, but life, is the true aim of life ; to realize man's highest welfare is 
 the problem of humanity. The sea-waves, breaking with uufettered 
 violence upon the strand, barren themselves, and causing barrenness, 
 are the symbols of the ungoverned impulses of his early life ; both 
 shall now be restrained, and a region recovered from the lawless 
 elements where a free people may dwell upon a free soil. Faust is no 
 longer the type of isolated genius ; he has learned the great lesson that 
 " man is made for man," and that all efforts must be glorified by con- 
 secration to the service of humanity. 
 
 V 
 
 Uiwn the Headland. 
 
 Here the masquerade of the first act is realized in actual life ; the 
 Emperor, made apparently rich by the influx of paper-money, has, in 
 accordance with the character there attributed to him, let things take 
 their course, till the insurrection, symbolized by the magical conflagra- 
 tion, has actually broken out. Faust helps to suppress it, that he may 
 thus obtain the privilege of reclaiming a tract of laud from the sea. In 
 hi.s description of the battle and its accomjianiments, Goethe directs 
 his irony against the admirers of Medipevalism, with its party hatreds, 
 gross popular superstitions, and strange military paiaphernuliu. The 
 three mighty men represent tlie more brutal aspects of war. 
 
 Tlie Rival Emj)eror's Tent. 
 
 In the hour of victory the Emperor speaks proud words, and tells how 
 he had turned his gaze inward, and has learnt through the experience 
 of years the value of the moment. Nevertheless in tliis crisis of his 
 affairs, instead of applying himself to the establishment of good govf'rn- 
 nicnt he ff)rtliwith augments the power of the princes and, tiiat they 
 may give lustrti to his court, he allows them to oppress the people by 
 the arbitrary imposition of taxes. Goethe here exhibits the (ioldeii 
 Bull, by which the emperor, Charles VI., in the Kcichtag at INIaiuz, 
 1 '{."iC, defined the hereditary offices of the Kurfursts. Hollow pomp and 
 artificial ceremonialism take the place of gcuuiue political activity.
 
 432 ANNOTATIONS TO THE 
 
 The insurrection bail Ix^en promoted by the clergy, whoso bif^jotry and 
 nipacity are strikingly exhibited in tlie person of the Arclibishup. Wo 
 liave here a picture of the political state of Germany Iroiu the days of 
 Faust to the days of Goethe. Such a state of things offered no sphere 
 for the high and earnest i)uriK)se of Faust, which, for its realizatiou, 
 must create for itself a new and appropriate sphere. 
 
 Act V. 
 Open Country. 
 
 The names of Philemon and Baucis recaM the ancient pair whose 
 piety is celebrated by Ovid. ■" " These names," said Eckermanri to 
 Goethe, " transport me to the Phrygian coast, and remind me of the 
 famous couple of antiquity. But our scene belongs to modern days, 
 and a Christian landscape." 
 
 " My Philemqji and Baucis," said Goethe, " have nothing to do with 
 tliat renowned ancient couple, and the traiiition connected witli them. 
 I gave this couple the names merely to elevate the characters." 
 
 The return of the wanderer to the scene of his shipwreck in bygone 
 years shows us the magnitude of the work accomplished by Faust, in 
 reclaiming from the now distant sea a vast area of fertile and thickly- 
 [leopled land. 
 
 The Palace. 
 
 " Faust," said Goethe to Eckermarm, " when he appears in the fifth 
 act, should, according to my design, be exactly a hundred years old ; 
 and I rather think it would be well expressly to say so in some passage." 
 His desire to appropriate the cottage of tlie aged pair exemplifies the 
 familiar experience that new desires are awakened by the consciousness 
 of success ; that the lust for power is too often generated by the posses- 
 sion of power. Thus Faust grows weary of being just ; he cannot brook 
 opposition. The aged ]iair are to be deprived of their inheritance, and 
 to receive in compensation a new estate. 
 
 Beep Night. 
 
 Such unrestrained self-will is however sinful egotism, and its exer- 
 cise is often attended by consequences more disastrous than were anti- 
 cipated. The cottage, the cliapel, and the linden-trees perish in tlie 
 flames. Faust vainly laments the impatient deed, still hoping that the 
 aged couple, in the eujoyn_fiiit of their new estate, will forgive tlie
 
 SECOND PART OF FAUST. 433 
 
 destruction of their property ; he has to learn, however, that the arrow 
 when it has left the bow, is no longer under the control of the archer. 
 On hearing from Mephi*topheles that the aged pair, together with their 
 guest, have perislied in the flames, he curses the savage execution of 
 his command. He cannot, however, prevent that the smoke of the 
 murderous conflagration shall shape itself into vague shadowy figures, 
 tormenting spirits, that hover round him, presageful of approaching 
 death. 
 
 Midnight. 
 
 Faust now recognises that he has not yet attained true freedom, 
 perfect self-control ; that imperious interference with the establislied 
 order, expressed by magic, has become habitual to liim ; he would now 
 fain stand face to face with the world in simple humanity, and with 
 tliat very patience which had beon the object of his sptcial curse. 
 Nevertheless he manfully fights with Care, which now seeks to embitter 
 his last hours ; he abides by his resolve to speak no magic word, no 
 longer through self-will forcefully to interrupt the established order ; 
 and thus, though the outward power of vision is extinguished, a 
 spiritual light arises within his soul. The fact that he does not 
 murmur against his calamity, that he patiently bears it and elevates 
 himself above it, in the joy of beneficent activity, reveals that his 
 reconciliation with the moral order has been achieved. 
 
 Fore-court of the Palace. 
 
 Faust recognises in his dying siJeech that genuine freedom is no 
 external possession ; that it is the permanent enfranchisement of tlie 
 human spirit, which can only be achieved and maintained tlirough 
 constantly repeated effort. He hopes to stand with a free people upon 
 a free soil ; he recognises that he has laboured for the liighest welfare 
 of humanity, and inspired by such thoughts he can address to the 
 moment the fateful words, '' Linger awhile, so fair thou art ! " In 
 accordance with his compact this should be his death-hour ; tiiere is 
 here a direct alluHif)n to his curse in the first part, "The clock stands 
 still, the index falls" — as there indicated, his eartlily c;irecr is ended. 
 
 We must now inquire into the significance of the compact, one condi- 
 tion of which is tlius fulfilled. As the wager between the Lord and 
 Mephistoplielos had preceded tlie compact, Faust couhl not uncondi- 
 tionally sign away his soul. Mephistopheles was to be Faust's servant 
 here, and in return Faust was to be aitrrendered to him when they luut 
 
 2 1.'
 
 4:U ANNOTATIONS TO THE 
 
 in tlic world beyond. AVould tliis conic to pass ? That is tlie question. 
 Tlic answer di'i)ends upon wliether Mepiiistoplieles lias succeedeil in 
 dra,ü;;,'inj^ Faust njjon tiie downward way, or wliether the liigher 
 oUiueiits of Faui^t's nature have eventually triumphed over the lower. 
 The inomont which ho would fain arrest finds him possessed not by 
 sinful egoistic desires, but by asiiirutioiia in harmony with the higliest 
 moral order. 
 
 In speaking of the conclusion of ' Faust,' Goethe directed Eckerraann's 
 attention to the following passage : — 
 
 " Saved is this noble soul from ill, 
 Our spirit peer. Who ever 
 Strives forward with unswerving will, 
 Him can we aye deliver; 
 And if with him celestial love 
 Hath taken part, — to meet him 
 Come down the angels from above ; 
 With cordial hail they greet him." 
 
 "In these lines," said he, " is contained the key to Faust's salvation. 
 In Faust himself there is an activity which becomes constantly higher 
 and purer to the end, and from above there is eternal love coming to 
 his aid. This harmonizes perfectly with our religious views, according 
 to wliicii we cannot obtain heav(;rdy bliss through our own strength 
 alone, but with the assistance of Divine grace." 
 
 Goethe recognised that the human spirit is an imperishable essence, 
 an ever-unfolding energy, wliich, like the sun, appears only to the 
 bodily eye to set, but in reality shines on without intermission ; he 
 maintained, tliat the best proof of our immortality is that we cannot do 
 without it. So Kant also named it a postulate of the practical reason, 
 a necessary condition of our moral self-consciousness. The traditional 
 conceptions of heaven and hell, of devil and angels, are accepted by 
 him as mythical symbols of ideal truth; as he himself said, "amid 
 eucli supersensual matters, I might easily have lost myself in the 
 vague, if I had not, by means of sliari)ly-drawn figures and images from 
 the Christian church, given my poetical design a desirable form and 
 bubstance." 
 
 Tlie contest between devils and angels for the soul of the dying, as 
 pourt rayed in mediioval pictures and wood-carvings, formed the kernel 
 of the " Moralities." In the letter of Judas, verse 9, it is mentioned 
 that the archangel Michael quarrelled with the devil over the soul of 
 Moses ; a legend to which Goctlic alludes in the ' Xeuien.'
 
 SECOND PAKT OF FAUST. 435 
 
 Hell yawns below, heaven opens above, and angels degcend to 
 awaken life, to bring aid and salvation to the sinner, and to manifest 
 to all natures the riches of the Divine grace. 
 
 How often in i)ictures angels are represented scattering roses, which 
 however become burning flames to the devils ; just as in the depraved 
 soul, which has lost the capacity for ideal enjoyment, the visiou of pure 
 beauty awakens only the torment of ungratitied desire. Tliis is 
 experienced by Mephis-topheles. 
 
 The form of the meditcval Latin hymns is reproducctl in the angels' 
 songs, which intentionally echo those of the Easter morning of the first 
 part. 
 
 Between the musical harp-like tones of the angels' songs are heard 
 in wouderful contrast, the discordant utterances of Mephistopheles, as 
 he now exhorts the devils to pluck oil" the Tsyehe-wings of Faust's soul, 
 now recognises and deplores his own lustful and futile cravings. Thus 
 he retires, like the stupid devil in the popuhir religious plays, self- 
 deceived, rather than deceived by others. 
 
 In Goethe's treatment of the subject, as in the medi;v;val dramas, the 
 humorous element is associated with the earnest conception of thö 
 struggle between heaven and hell; the pix^t has ventured to blend 
 together the sublime and the burlesque, heavenly peace and demoniacal 
 desire, and he luxs succeeded. 
 
 Moiintai)>-(jonje, Woods, Bocks, and Dcsni-place, 
 
 The song of the angels who bear aloft tlic innnortal part of Faust 
 contains, according to Goethe's own confession to Eckermann ^ii. 3Ö0), 
 the key to his deliverance : the providence of God, guiding men from 
 error and perplexity to freedom and light, corresponds to the innate 
 tendency to goodness and truth implanted in the human soul. This 
 tliouglit embodied in the Prologue in lUaven, finds expression also in 
 the Ei)il(>gne. 
 
 As the Prologue in Heaven was suggested to Goethe by the Po<-ik of 
 Job, wUlie Epilogue reminds us of Dante. If the poet desired to bring the 
 supersensual sphere before the spiritual gaze, and at the sauic time 
 poetically to represent the blessed immortality of tlie luunau soul. Ids 
 object was most cftectnally accomplished by freely emjiloying the con- 
 ceptions wherewith Christianity, from the earliest times, had endea- 
 voured to symbolize the intinite and unseen, and wliieh no one has set 
 forth with greater nobleness than Dante. As tlie Florentine bard is 
 conducted by Peatrice, tlio beloved of his youtii, so Faust is led to 
 higher sj)heres by Gretchea Both symbolize the glorified spirit, u ray
 
 43 f? ANNOTATIONS TO THE 
 
 of the cvoilasting truth and love. As in the viaion of Dante, tho 
 mountain of puritication rises from eartli to heaven, from tho huinmit of 
 ■svl\ioh the purified spirits soar aloft, while angels descend from the 
 celestial spheres, so Goethe transports us to an eminence, where an- 
 chorites and hermits, hovered round by glorified spirits, dedicate thera- 
 eelves to the worship of the Divine. The mountain of Montserrat, near 
 Barcelona, with its hermitages, nestling amid the loftiest and most 
 rugged summits, of which "William von Humboldt had sent the poet a 
 masterly description, doubtless hovered before his mental eye. 
 
 Pater Ecstaticus, lifted above tlie earth by the heavenward impulse 
 of his soul, as is related of St. Theresa and Philip Neri, together with 
 expressions of sorrow for sin and heavenly rapture, blends the pas- 
 sionate longing to be redeemed from everything transient, and purified 
 from all eartiily dross. 
 
 Pater Profundus (who recalls Bernhard of Clairvaux or Thomas of 
 Bradwardyne), in strains which harmonize with the song of the Arch- 
 angels in the Prologue, gives expression to -the hope that the Eternal 
 Love, all-embracing, all-sustaining, ever actively beneficent, may de- 
 liver him from the earthly limitations wliich impri.son his spirit as with 
 bonds of pain, and lead him to freedom and to liglit. 
 
 Pater Seraphicus ( the representative, perchance, of Francis of Assist, 
 or Bonaventura) öfters his eyes as organs of sense to the blessed boys, 
 early deceased, that they may thus acquire some knowledge of the 
 earth, which they were obliged to forsake before they had attained to 
 perfect consciousness. He intimates that God's presence, pervading all 
 things, is the eternal source of strength, and that to recognise the reve- 
 lation of His love, whose goal is the blessedness of His creatures, is the 
 spirit's true nourishment. 
 
 Emanuel Swedenborg imagined himself to be in communication 
 with spirits, who entered into him, in order, through his senses, to 
 obtain the perception and knowledge of earthly things. 
 
 Faust's association with the blessed boys recalls the words of Jesus, 
 that we must become as little children, in order to enter into the 
 kingdom of heaven ; wliile tlieir desire to learn from him, and the 
 rapidity with which he outgrows them, indicate the significance which 
 attaches to our earthly existence, with its intellectual and moral 
 striving, for all futurity. 
 
 The soul of Faust is not yet free from the dross of earth, and it is 
 intimated by the more perfect angels that God's eternal love is alone 
 able to purify the spirit from the lower elements with which it has 
 been associated, and to bring it into harmony with the eternal goodness. 
 Faust is at length freed from the old coil of earthly bondage, and
 
 SECOND PART OF FAUST. 437 
 
 Orctclien can exclaim with joy, thai his first truthful strength shines 
 forth, full and beautiful, from its ethereal robes. 
 
 It 18 the privilege of poetry thus to give expression to the deepest 
 yearning of the human heart. Doctor Marianus, like the scholastic 
 doctor, Duns Scotus, derives his name from the worship of the Virgin 
 Blary. The womanly element, impersonating Love, as an essential 
 principle in the divine nature, has manifested itself in all ancient re- 
 ligions. Goethe has here followed the symbolism of inediasval art. 
 The Mater Gloriosa is introduced as the manifestation of the Divine 
 mercy, which, with saving power, is near to all those who confidingly 
 seek it. 
 
 Three pardoned sinners implore that Gretchen, who has sinned with- 
 out evil intention, may be received into eternal blessedness ; Mary 
 Magdalene and the woman of Samaria are known to us from the 
 Gospels ; the story of the Egyptian Maiy (Maria JiJgyptiaca) is related 
 in the legend of the saints. 
 
 Gretchen's rapturous words, intentionally on the part of the poet, 
 recalls the prayer of anguish addressed by her to the Mater Dolorosa, in 
 the first part. The whole image is bathed in light. The Mystical 
 Chorus (Chorus Mysticus) reminds us that all things visible and transient 
 are only types of the unseen and eternal ; only symbolically can the 
 world beyond be represented. There will be perfected what on earth is 
 fragmentary or incomplete. The ever-womanly, type of jjure, self- 
 sacrificing love, the innermost core of woman's nature, makes us one 
 with God. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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