Fausta

“ Presently, not three fathoms above his head, fell a flame in manner of lightning, and changed itself into a globe; yet Faustus feared it not, but did persuade himself that the devil should give him his request before he would leave. Oftentimes after to his companions he would boast that he had the stoutest head under the cope of heaven at command. Whereat they answered, They knew no stouter than the Pope or Emperor. But Dr. Faustus said, "The head that is my servant, is above all upon earth;" ”

“ Gretchen and Helena, Wagner and Mephisto, Homunculus and Euphorion, the Emperor's court and the shades of the Greek past, the broodings of medieval mysticism and the practical tasks of modern industrialism, the enlightened despotism of the eighteenth century and the ideal democracy of the future—all this and a great deal more enters into Faust's being. He strides on from experience to experience, from task to task, expiating guilt by doing, losing himself and finding himself again. Blinded in old age by Dame Care, he feels a new light kindled within. Dying, he gazes into a far future. ”

“ Faust—"Oft have I thought to have done so; but the devil threatened to tear me in pieces if I named God; to fetch me body and soul if I once gave ear to divinity. And now it is too late."' As the fearful moment fast approaches, Dr. Faustus, orthodox on the subject of the duration of future punishment, exclaims in agony—
'Oh! if my soul must suffer for my sin,
Impose some end to my incessant pain.
Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years—
A hundred thousand, and at the last be saved:
No end is limited to damned souls.
Why wert thou not a creature wanting soul? ”

“ The heart of Faustus was moved, and his eyes began to moisten, while he trembled, and looked angrily upon the Devil. When he asked his wife why she wept, she wrung her hands, and replied, “Ah, Faustus, do you not perceive how the hungry ones examine your pockets for bread? How can I see that without tears? They have eaten nothing for a long time; we have been unfortunate, and all thy friends have forsaken us; but now I see thee again, it is to me as though I saw the countenance of an angel. I and thy father have suffered more on thy account than on our own. ”

“ Excited to a frenzy of rage, Faust curses all that is good and calls upon the Evil One to aid him. Mephistopheles appears, and offers gold, glory, boundless power; but the aged doctor craves youth, its passions and delights. The fiend agrees that all shall be his if he but sign a compact, by which the devil serves Faust on earth, but in the hereafter below the relation is to be reversed. Faust wavers at first, but a vision of Marguerite appears, which inflames his ardor and dispels his hesitation; he drinks the potion and is transformed into a young and handsome man. ”

“ C'est quand nos âmes en sont pleines Que la mort nous les prend ainsi!... Sitôt qu'elle s'éveillait, vite Il fallait que je fusse là!... Elle n'aimait que Marguerite! Pour la voir, la pauvre petite, Je reprendrais bien tout cela!...
Faust. Si le ciel, avec un sourire, L'avait faite semblable à toi, C'était un ange!... Oui, je le crois!...
Mar. Vous moquez-vous!...
Faust. Non! je t'admire!
Mar. (souriant) . Je ne vous crois pas Et de moi tout bas Vous riez sans doute!... J'ai tort de rester Pour vous écouter!... Et pourtant j'écoute!...
Faust. Laisse-moi ton bras!... ”

“ The first act shows us Faust as an old man, sitting in his study weary and disappointed. He is about to end his troubles and uncertainty in death, when an Easter hymn sung in the distance by a chorus of villagers seems to bid him stay his hand. With a quick revulsion of feeling he calls on the powers below, and, rather to his surprise, Mephistopheles promptly appears. In exchange for his soul, the devil offers him youth, beauty, and love, and, as an earnest of what is to come, shows him a vision of the gentle Margaret sitting at her spinning wheel. ”

“ The Devil now looked at Faustus with an air of mockery, and said, “Hast thou still doubts whether the gentleman will sell thee his daughter? Thou at least wilt not eat her.”
Faustus. I swear by the black hell which at this moment appears to me a paradise when compared with the earth, that I will henceforward give boundless scope to all my passions, and, by ravaging and destroying, believe that I am acting consistently to such a monster as man. Fly, and purchase me his daughter: she is doomed to destruction, as is every thing that breathes. ”

“ The main objection, however, on the face of this theory, is, that all the legends of Faust agree in placing the hero of magic fully half a century later than Faust the printer, who flourished about 1440. It is true, indeed, that some of the Volksbücher (vide Dürr, ut supra) ascribe to the Emperor Maximilian, what is generally told of Charles V., viz. that Doctor Faust conjured up before him the apparitions of Alexander the Great and his queen; but the other tricks, which were played before Cardinal Campegio and Pope Adrian, agree better with the age of Charles V. than with that of Maximilian. ”

“ Magical books under his name have become as famous as those of Solomon; [i20] artists and poets have vied with one another in rendering his name immortal in the annals of Art; tragedies and comedies, puppet-plays and operas, ballads and novels, essays, and dissertations and commentaries, prologues and epilogues, and all the varied paraphernalia of genius and erudition, have been heaped on one another, to adorn the trophy of Doctor John Faustus, the great German quack. The wondrous exploits of Faust are endless, and it would be an endless task to recount the tithe of them. ”

“ How this true soul that loves so dearly,
Yet hugs, at every cost,
The faith which she
Counts Heaven itself, is horror-struck sincerely
To think of giving up her dearest man for lost.
Mephistopheles. Thou supersensual, sensual wooer, A girl by the nose is leading thee.
Faust. Abortion vile of fire and sewer!
Mephistopheles. In physiognomy, too, her skill is masterly.
When I am near she feels she knows not how,
My little mask some secret meaning shows;
She thinks, I'm certainly a genius, now,
Perhaps the very devil—who knows?
To-night then?—
Faust. ”

“ Faust eagerly did so, and immediately he was transformed from an old man into a handsome youth of noble appearance, with quick young blood flowing through his veins, and a heart throbbing with impulsive feeling and enjoyment of life. He found himself splendidly clad in the rich garments of a noble, and plentifully supplied with gold; and, determined to make the most of the pleasures now brought once again within his grasp, the rejuvenated Faust sallied forth with his evil companion. For Mephistopheles had no intention of leaving his victim until the time came to claim him for his own ”

“ At which words the spirit stole away the heart of Faustus, who spake in this sort: "Mephistophiles, tell me how and after what sort God made the world and all the creatures in it? And why man was made after the image of God?"
The spirit hearing this, answered Faustus: "Thou knowest that all this is in vain for thee to ask. I know that thou art sorry for what thou hast done, but it availeth thee not; for I will tear thee in a thousand pieces if thou change not thy opinions." ”

“ Thou ne'er till now sawft her who lies before thee!
Faust. O sorrow worse than death is o'er me!
Margaret. Now I am wholly in thy power.
But first I'd nurse my child—do not prevent me.
I hugged it through the black night hour;
They took it from me to torment me,
And now they say I killed the pretty flower.
I shall never be happy again, I know.
They sing vile songs at me! 'Tis bad in them to do it!
There's an old tale that ends just so,
Who gave that meaning to it?
Faust [prostrates himself] . A lover at thy feet is bending, Thy bonds of misery would be rending. ”

“ Faust has now filled to the brim the measure of his iniquity. The devil appears, proves to him that it is time to depart; it strikes twelve; the smoke of a fizzling squib and several diabolical fire-crackers fills the air, and Faust is carried away, while the small servant, as satanical and self-possessed as ever, makes his jokes on the folly of Faust--and the curtain falls."
This is the true Faust drama of the Middle Ages, with the ante-Shakespearian blending of tragedy and ribald fun. ”

“ The nation of scholars pictured the quester as a student, not as a knight. When it took shape in the dreary period of Protestant scholasticism the quest is wholly cursed. Faust’s pursuit of knowledge is unlawful, a rebellion against God, which dooms him irrevocably. Not until Goethe’s day is the full significance of the legend perceived, is the theme widened to embrace the totality of human striving. Thus the last glimpse we have of Faust is of one devoted to the service of man; the last words of the poem are a recognition of the divine element in the love of man and woman. ”

“ And thou repelling me freezingly;
And 'tis thou, the same good soul, I see.
Faust. If thou feelest 'tis I, then come with me
Margaret. Out yonder?
Faust. Into the open air.
Margaret. If the grave is there, If death is lurking; then come! From here to the endless resting-place, And not another pace—Thou go'st e'en now? O, Henry, might I too.
Faust. Thou canst! 'Tis but to will! The door stands open.
Margaret. I dare not go; for me there's no more hoping. What use to fly? They lie in wait for me. So wretched the lot to go round begging, With an evil conscience thy spirit plaguing! ”

“ To rid the world of devil and of poet.
Mephistopheles. You'll see him shortly sit into a puddle, In that way his heart is reassured; When on his rump the leeches well shall fuddle, Of spirits and of spirit he'll be cured. [To FAUST, who has left the dance.] Why let the lovely girl slip through thy fingers, Who to thy dance so sweetly sang?
Faust. Ah, right amidst her singing, sprang A wee red mouse from her mouth and made me cower.
Mephistopheles. That's nothing wrong! You're in a dainty way; Enough, the mouse at least wan't gray. Who minds such thing in happy amorous hour? ”

“ Well, all have a way that they incline to, But still there is something wrong with thee; Thou hast no Christianity.
Faust. Dear child!
Margaret. It long has troubled me That thou shouldst keep such company.
Faust. How so?
Margaret. The man whom thou for crony hast,
Is one whom I with all my soul detest.
Nothing in all my life has ever
Stirred up in my heart such a deep disfavor
As the ugly face that man has got.
Faust. Sweet plaything; fear him not! ”

“ He buries him in a deep sleep, and creates in his place a phantom, with which the cheated devils try successfully the whole process of temptation and seduction. All this appears to Faustus in a dream. He awakes; the Devil discovers his error, and flies with shame and fury, and Faustus, thanking Providence for its warning, clings to truth and virtue more firmly than ever. ”

“ One of the latter is, indeed, also in so far remarkable, as we see from it that Lessing's mind inclined to the modern view, according to which Faustus ought to be and would be finally saved. One of the devils describes him, before temptation, as "a solitary, thinking youth, entirely devoted to wisdom,--living, breathing, only for wisdom and knowledge,--renouncing every passion but the one for truth,--highly dangerous to thee [Satan] and to us all, if he were ever to be a teacher of the people." Satan resolves at once to seduce and destroy him. But Faustus's good angel has mercy on him. ”

“ Faust. And in return what service shall I render?
Mephistopheles. There's ample grace—no hurry, not the least.
Faust. No, no, the devil is an egotist,
And does not easily "for God's sake" tender
That which a neighbor may assist.
Speak plainly the conditions, come!
'Tis dangerous taking such a servant home.
Mephistopheles. I to thy service here agree to bind me,
To run and never rest at call of thee;
When over yonder thou shalt find me,
Then thou shalt do as much for me.
Faust. I care not much what's over yonder:
When thou hast knocked this world asunder,
Come if it will the other may! ”

“ Faust [unlocking] . She little dreams, her lover is so near, The clanking chains, the rustling straw can hear; [He enters.]
Margaret [burying herself in the bed] . Woe! woe! They come. O death of bitterness!
Faust [softly] . Hush! hush! I come to free thee; thou art dreaming.
Margaret [prostrating herself before him] . Art thou a man, then feel for my distress.
Faust. Thou'lt wake the guards with thy loud screaming! ”

“ At times she'll be laughing, seldom smile,
At times wept-out she'll seem,
Then again tranquil, you'd deem,—
Lovesick all the while.
Faust. Viper! Viper!
Mephistopheles [aside] . Ay! and the prey grows riper!
Faust. Reprobate! take thee far behind me!
No more that lovely woman name!
Bid not desire for her sweet person flame
Through each half-maddened sense, again to blind me!
Mephistopheles. What then's to do? She fancies thou hast flown, And more than half she's right, I own.
Faust. I'm near her, and, though far away, my word,
I'd not forget her, lose her; never fear it! ”

“ Shouldst thou manure, thyself, the field thou reapest;
Follow this course and, trust to me,
For eighty years thy youth thou keepest!
Faust. I am not used to that, I ne'er could bring me to it, To wield the spade, I could not do it. The narrow life befits me not at all.
Mephistopheles. So must we on the witch, then, call.
Faust. But why just that old hag? Canst thou Not brew thyself the needful liquor?
Mephistopheles. That were a pretty pastime now
I'd build about a thousand bridges quicker.
Science and art alone won't do,
The work will call for patience, too ”

“ Faustus. I were well off then, truly; yet, adept as thou art, thou knowest little of men, if thou doubtest the strength of one who has set himself free from the bonds which nature has drawn so tightly round our hearts. How gentle did they appear to me once, when the eye of my youth clothed men and the world in the pure colours of morning! ’Tis gone; dark is my horizon; I stand on the gloomy verge of eternity, and have broken through the laws which keep the human race in harmony.
Devil. What madness is this, Faustus? Harmony! does she rule the confused dance of life? ”