The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 01

Well done, my dainty spirits! now he slumbers!Ye have entranc'd him fairly with your numbers!This minstrelsy of yours I must repay.—Thou art not yet the man to hold the devil fast!—With fairest shapes your spells around him cast,And plunge him in a sea of dreams!But that this charm be rent, the threshold passed,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,Commands thy presence; without fearCome forth and gnaw the threshold here,Where he with oil has smear'd it.—ThouCom'st hopping forth already! NowTo work! The point that holds me boundIs in the outer angle found.Another bite—so—now 'tis done—Now, Faustus, till we meet again, dream on.

FAUST (awaking)

Am I once more deluded! must I deemThat thus the throng of spirits disappear?The devil's presence—was it but a dream?Hath but a poodle scap'd and left me here?

STUDY

FAUST, MEPHISTOPHELES

FAUST

A knock? Come in! Who now would break my rest?

MEPHISTOPHELES

'Tis I!

FAUST

Come in!

MEPHISTOPHELES

Thrice be the words express'd.

FAUST

Then I repeat, Come in!

MEPHISTOPHELES

 'Tis well,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,A cock's gay feather for a plume,A long and pointed rapier, too;And briefly I would counsel youTo don at once the same costume,And, free from trammels, speed away,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.What can the world to me afford?Renounce! renounce! is still the word;This is the everlasting songIn every ear that ceaseless rings,And which, alas, our whole life long,Hoarsely each passing moment sings.But to new horror I awake each morn,And I could weep hot tears, to see the sunDawn on another day, whose round forlornAccomplishes no wish of mine—not one.Which still, with froward captiousness, impainsE'en the presentiment of every joy,While low realities and paltry caresThe spirit's fond imaginings destroy.Then must I too, when falls the veil of night,Stretch'd on my pallet languish 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;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'dThat Death is never quite a welcome guest.

FAUST

Happy the man around whose brow he bindsThe bloodstain'd wreath in conquest's dazzling hour;Or whom, excited by the dance, he findsDissolv'd in bliss, in love's delicious bower!O that before the lofty spirit's might,Enraptured, I had rendered up my soul!

MEPHISTOPHELES

Yet did a certain man refrain one nightOf its brown juice to drain the crystal bowl.

FAUST

To play the spy diverts you then?

MEPHISTOPHELES

 I own,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:So curse I all, around the soul that windethIts magic and alluring spell,And with delusive flattery bindethIts victim to this dreary cell!Curs'd before all things be the high opinionWherewith the spirit girds itself around!Of shows delusive curs'd be the dominion,Within whose mocking sphere our sense is bound!Accurs'd of dreams the treacherous wiles,The cheat of glory, deathless fame!Accurs'd what each as property beguiles,Wife, child, slave, plough, whate'er its name!Accurs'd be mammon, when with treasureHe doth to daring deeds incite:Or when to steep the soul in pleasure,He spreads the couch of soft delight!Curs'd be the grape's balsamic juice!Accurs'd love's dream, of joys the first!Accurs'd be hope! accurs'd be faith!And more than all, be patience curs'd!

CHORUS OF SPIRITS (invisible)

 Woe! woe! Thou hast destroy'd The beautiful world With violent blow; 'Tis shiver'd! 'tis shatter'd! The fragments abroad by a demigod scatter'd! Now we sweep The wrecks into nothingness! Fondly we weep The beauty that's gone! 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 Enter a new career; Songs shall salute thine ear, Ne'er heard before!

MEPHISTOPHELES

My little ones these spirits be.Hark! with shrewd intelligence,How they recommend to theeAction, and the joys of sense!In the busy world to dwell,Fain they would allure thee henceFor within this lonely cell,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.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, thouThy steps through life forthwith wilt take,Upon the spot myself I'll makeThy comrade;—Should it suit thy need,I am thy servant, am thy slave indeed!

FAUST

And how must I thy services repay?

MEPHISTOPHELES

Thereto thou lengthen'd respite hast!FAUST No! no!The devil is an egoist I knowAnd, for Heaven's sake, 'tis not his wayKindness to any one to show.Let the condition plainly be exprest!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 we appear,Then shalt thou do the same for me.

FAUST

But small concern I feel for yonder world;Hast thou this system into ruin hurl'd,Another may arise the void to fill.This earth the fountain whence my pleasures flow,This sun doth daily shine upon my woe,And if this world I must forego,Let happen then,—what can and will.I to this theme will close mine ears,If men hereafter hate and love,And if there be in yonder spheresA depth below or height above.

MEPHISTOPHELES

In this mood thou mayst venture it. But makeThe compact! I at once will undertakeTo charm thee with mine arts. I'll give thee moreThan mortal eve hath e'er beheld before.

FAUST

What, sorry Devil, hast thou to bestow?Was ever mortal spirit, in its high endeavor,Fathom'd by Being such as thou?Yet food thou least which satisfieth never;Hast ruddy gold, that still doth flowLike 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 neighbor snare,Lofty ambition's joy divine,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.But, my good friend, a season will come roundWhen 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 wileTill self-reproach away I cast,—Me with joy's lure canst thou beguile;—Let that day be for me the last!Be this our wager!

MEPHISTOPHELES

Settled!

FAUST

 Sure and fast!When to the moment I shall say,"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,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.Slave am I here, at any rate,If thine, or whose, it matters not, I trow.

MEPHISTOPHELES

At thine inaugural feast I will this dayAttend, my duties to commence.—But one thing!—Accidents may happen, henceA 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?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, therefrom would part?How blest within whose breast truth reigneth pure!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,Leather and wax usurp the mastery then.Spirits of evil! what dost thou require?Brass, marble, parchment, paper, dost desire?Shall I with chisel, pen, or graver write?Thy choice is free; to me 'tis all the same.

MEPHISTOPHELES

Wherefore thy passion so excite,And thus thine eloquence inflame?A scrap is for our compact good.Thou under-signest merely with a drop of blood.

FAUST

If this will satisfy thy mind,Thy whim I'll gratify, howe'er absurd.

MEPHISTOPHELES

Blood is a juice of very special kind.

FAUST

Be not afraid that I shall break my word!The scope of all my energyIs in exact accordance with my vow.Vainly I have aspired too high;I'm on a level but with such as thou;Me the great spirit scorn'd, defied;Nature from me herself doth hide;Rent is the web of thought; my mindDoth knowledge loathe of every kind.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!Plunge we in time's tempestuous flow,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 sphere for man.

MEPHISTOPHELES

Nor goal, nor measure is prescrib'd to you,If you desire to taste of every thing,To snatch at joy while on the wing,May your career amuse and profit too!Only fall to and don't be over coy!

FAUST

Hearken! The end I aim at is not joy;I crave excitement, agonizing bliss,Enamor'd hatred, quickening vexation.Purg'd from the love of knowledge, my vocation,The scope of all my powers henceforth be this,To bare my breast to every pang,—to knowIn 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,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 WholeDoth 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!But one thing puzzles me, my friend;Time's short, art long; methinks 'twere fitThat you to friendly counsel should attend.A poet choose as your ally!Let him thought's wide dominion sweep,Each good and noble qualityUpon your honored brow to heap;The lion's magnanimity,The fleetness of the hind,The fiery blood of Italy,The Northern's stedfast mind.Let him to you the mystery showTo blend high aims and cunning low;And while youth's passions are aflameTo fall in love by rule and plan!I fain would meet with such a man;Would him Sir Microcosmus name.

FAUST

What then am I, if I aspire in vainThe crown of our humanity to gain,Toward which my every sense doth strain?

MEPHISTOPHELES

Thou'rt after all—just what thou art.Put on thy head a wig with countless locks,And to a cubit's height upraise thy socks,Still thou remainest ever, what thou art.

FAUST

I feel it, I have heap'd upon my brainThe 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.

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,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?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 speculative churlIs like a beast which some ill spirit leads,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!A precious life, thyself to bore,And some few youngsters evermore!Leave that to neighbor Paunch! Withdraw?Why wilt thou plague thyself with thrashing straw?The very best that thou dost knowThou dar'st not to the striplings show.One in the passage now doth wait!

FAUST

I'm in no mood to see him now.

MEPHISTOPHELES

Poor lad! He must be tired, I trow;He must not go disconsolate.Hand me thy cap and gown; the maskIs for my purpose quite first rate.

[He changes his dress.]

Now leave it to my wit! I askBut quarter of an hour; meanwhile equip,And make all ready for our pleasant trip!

[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!—Fate hath endow'd him with an ardent mind,Which unrestrain'd still presses on forever,And whose precipitate endeavorEarth's joys o'erleaping, leaveth them behind.Him will I drag through life's wild waste,Through scenes of vapid dulness, where at lastBewilder'd, he shall falter, and stick fast;And, still to mock his greedy haste,Viands and drink shall float his craving lips beyond—Vainly he'll seek refreshment, anguish-tost,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 comeA man to know and hear, whose nameWith 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!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 true knowledge to attain.

MEPHISTOPHELES

You've hit upon the very place.

STUDENT

And yet my steps I would retrace.These walls, this melancholy room,O'erpower me with a sense of gloom;The space is narrow, nothing green,No friendly tree is to be seenAnd in these halls, with benches filled, distraught,Sight, hearing fail me, and the power of thought.

MEPHISTOPHELES

It all depends on habit. Thus at firstThe infant takes not kindly to the breast,But before long, its eager thirstIs fain to slake with hearty zest:Thus at the breasts of wisdom day by dayWith 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?

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,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,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 friend, I would advise,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,Nor will it, ignis-fatuus like,Into the path of error strike.Then many a day they'll teach you howThe mind's spontaneous acts, till nowAs eating and as drinking free,Require a process;—one! two! three!In truth the subtle web of thoughtIs like the weaver's fabric wrought:One treadle moves a thousand lines,Swift dart the shuttles to and fro,Unseen the threads together flow,A thousand knots one stroke combines.Then forward steps your sage to show,And prove to you, it must be so;The first being so, and so the second,The third and fourth deduc'd we see;And if there were no first and second,Nor third nor fourth would ever be.This, scholars of all countries prize,—Yet 'mong themselves no weavers rise.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,Mocking themselves, Naturæ encheiresis.

STUDENT

Your words I cannot fully comprehend.

MEPHISTOPHELES

In a short time you will improve, my friend,When of scholastic forms you learn the use;And how by method all things to reduce.

STUDENT

So doth all this my brain confound,As if a mill-wheel there were turning round.

MEPHISTOPHELES

And next, before aught else you learn,You must with zeal to metaphysics turn!There see that you profoundly comprehendWhat doth the limit of man's brain transcend;For that which is or is not in the headA sounding phrase will serve you in good stead.But before all strive this half yearFrom one fix'd order ne'er to swerve!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 awareThat 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!Your counsel I appreciate quite;What we possess in black and whiteWe 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,And hence I cannot your repugnance blame.Customs and laws in every place,Like a disease, and heir-loom dread,Still trail their curse from race to race,And furtively abroad they spread.To nonsense, reason's self they turn;Beneficence becomes a pest;Woe unto thee, that thou'rt a grandson born!As for the law born with us, unexpressed;—That law, alas, none careth to discern.

STUDENT

You deepen my dislike. The youthWhom 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 findSo hard it is to shun the erring way,And so much hidden poison lies thereinWhich scarce can you discern from medicine.Here too it is the best, to listen but to one,And by the master's words to swear alone.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

Right! But o'er-anxious thought you'll find of no avail;For there precisely where ideas fail,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,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 supplyA pregnant utterance or two!Three years! how brief the appointed tide!The field, heaven knows, is all too wide!If but a friendly hint be thrown,'Tis easier than to feel one's way.

MEPHISTOPHELES (aside)

I'm weary of the dry pedantic tone,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.In vain abroad you range through science's ample space,Each man learns only that which learn he can;Who knows the moment to embrace,He is your proper man.In person you are tolerably made,Nor in assurance will you be deficient:Self-confidence acquire, be not afraid,Others will then esteem you a proficient.Learn chiefly with the sex to deal!Their thousand ahs and ohs,These the sage doctor knows,He only from one point can heal.Assume a decent tone of courteous ease,You have them then to humor as you please.First a diploma must belief infuse,That you in your profession take the lead:You then at once those easy freedoms useFor which another many a year must plead;Learn how to feel with nice addressThe dainty wrist;—and how to press,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

Gray is, young friend, all theory:And green of life the golden tree.

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:Here is my album; do not, Sir, denyThis token of your favor!

MEPHISTOPHELES

Willingly!

[He writes and returns the book.]

STUDENT (reads)

ERITIS SICUT DEUS, SCIENTES BONUM ET MALUM

[He reverently closes the book and retires.]

MEPHISTOPHELES

Let but this ancient proverb be your rule,My cousin follow still, the wily snake,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,Thou'lt revel through thy gay career!

FAUST

Despite my length of beard I needThe easy manners that insure success;Th' attempt I fear can ne'er succeed;To mingle in the world I want address;I still have an embarrass'd air, and thenI 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 pray?Steeds, servants, carriage, where are they?

MEPHISTOPHELES

We've but to spread this mantle wide,'Twill serve whereon through air to ride;No heavy baggage need you take,When we our bold excursion make.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.

AUERBACH'S CELLAR IN LEIPZIG

A Drinking Party

FROSCH

No drinking? Naught a laugh to raise?None of your gloomy looks, I pray!You, who so bright were wont to blaze,Are dull as wetted straw today.

BRANDER

'Tis all your fault; your part you do not bear,No beastliness, no folly.

FROSCH (pours a glass of wine over his head)

 There,You have them both!

BRANDER

You double beast!

FROSCH

'Tis what you ask'd me for, at least!

SIEBEL