Take courage, my
darling!
Faust, a Tragedy by Goethe
Given over to evil spirits and to the
judgment of unfeeling humanity, and me meanwhile thou lullest in insipid
dissipations, concealest from me her growing anguish, and leavest her
without help to perish!
_Mephistopheles_. She is not the first!
_Faust_. Dog! abominable monster! Change him, thou Infinite Spirit! change
the worm back into his canine form, as he was often pleased in the night
to trot before me, to roll before the feet of the harmless wanderer, and,
when he fell, to hang on his shoulders. Change him again into his favorite
shape, that he may crawl before me on his belly in the sand, and that I
may tread him under foot, the reprobate! --Not the first! Misery! Misery!
inconceivable by any human soul! that more than one creature ever sank
into the depth of this wretchedness, that the first in its writhing
death-agony did not atone for the guilt of all the rest before the eyes of
the eternally Forgiving! My very marrow and life are consumed by the
misery of this single one; thou grinnest away composedly at the fate of
thousands!
_Mephistopheles_. Here we are again at our wits' ends already, where the
thread of sense, with you mortals, snaps short. Why make a partnership
with us, if thou canst not carry it through? Wilt fly, and art not proof
against dizziness? Did we thrust ourselves on thee, or thou on us?
_Faust_. Gnash not so thy greedy teeth against me! It disgusts me! --Great
and glorious spirit, thou that deignedst to appear to me, who knowest my
heart and soul, why yoke me to this shame-fellow, who feeds on mischief
and feasts on ruin?
_Mephistopheles_. Hast thou done?
_Faust_. Rescue her! O woe be unto thee! The most horrible curse on thee
for thousands of years!
_Mephistopheles_. I cannot loose the bonds of the avenger, nor open his
bolts. --Rescue her! --Who was it that plunged her into ruin? I or thou?
[FAUST _looks wildly round_. ]
Grasp'st thou after the thunder? Well that it was not given to you
miserable mortals! To crush an innocent respondent, that is a sort of
tyrant's-way of getting room to breathe in embarrassment.
_Faust_. Lead me to her! She shall be free!
_Mephistopheles_. And the danger which thou incurrest? Know that the guilt
of blood at thy hand still lies upon the town. Over the place of the
slain, avenging spirits hover and lurk for the returning murderer.
_Faust_. That, too, from thee? Murder and death of a world upon thee,
monster! Lead me thither, I say, and free her!
_Mephistopheles_. I will lead thee, and hear what I can do! Have I all
power in heaven and on earth? I will becloud the turnkey's senses; possess
thyself of the keys, and bear her out with human hand. I will watch! The
magic horses shall be ready, and I will bear you away. So much I can do.
_Faust_. Up and away!
NIGHT. OPEN FIELD.
FAUST. MEPHISTOPHELES.
_Scudding along on black horses_.
_Faust_. What's doing, off there, round the gallows-tree? [47]
_Mephistopheles_. Know not what they are doing and brewing.
_Faust_. Up they go--down they go--wheel about, reel about.
_Mephistopheles_. A witches'-crew.
_Faust_. They're strewing and vowing.
_Mephistopheles_. Pass on! Pass on!
PRISON.
FAUST [_with a bunch of keys and a lamp, before an iron door_]
A long unwonted chill comes o'er me,
I feel the whole great load of human woe.
Within this clammy wall that frowns before me
Lies one whom blinded love, not guilt, brought low!
Thou lingerest, in hope to grow bolder!
Thou fearest again to behold her!
On! Thy shrinking slowly hastens the blow!
[_He grasps the key. Singing from within_. ]
My mother, the harlot,
That strung me up!
My father, the varlet,
That ate me up!
My sister small,
She gathered up all
The bones that day,
And in a cool place did lay;
Then I woke, a sweet bird, at a magic call;
Fly away, fly away!
_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!
[_He seizes the chains to tin lock them. _]
_Margaret_ [_on her knees_]. Headsman, who's given thee this right
O'er me, this power!
Thou com'st for me at dead of night;
In pity spare me, one short hour!
Wilt't not be time when Matin bell has rung?
[_She stands up. _]
Ah, I am yet so young, so young!
And death pursuing!
Fair was I too, and that was my undoing.
My love was near, far is he now!
Tom is the wreath, the scattered flowers lie low.
Take not such violent hold of me!
Spare me! what harm have I done to thee?
Let me not in vain implore thee.
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.
_Margaret [flings herself beside him_].
O let us kneel, the saints for aid invoking!
See! 'neath the threshold smoking,
Fire-breathing,
Hell is seething!
There prowling,
And grim under cover,
Satan is howling!
_Faust [aloud_]. Margery! Margery!
_Margaret [listening_]. That was the voice of my lover!
[_She springs up. The chains fall off_. ]
Where is he? Where? He calls. I hear him.
I'm free! Who hinders? I will be near him.
I'll fly to his neck! I'll hold him!
To my bosom I'll enfold him!
He stood on the threshold--called Margery plainly!
Hell's howling and clattering to drown it sought vainly,--
Through the devilish, grim scoffs, that might turn one to stone,
I caught the sweet, loving, enrapturing tone.
_Faust_. 'Tis I!
_Margaret_. 'Tis thou! O say it once again.
[_Clasping again. _]
'Tis he! 'tis he! Where now is all my pain?
And where the dungeon's anguish? Joy-giver!
'Tis thou! And come to deliver!
I am delivered!
Again before me lies the street,
Where for the first time thou and I did meet.
And the garden-bower,
Where we spent that evening hour.
_Faust_ [_trying to draw her away_]. Come! Come with me!
_Margaret_. O tarry!
I tarry so gladly where thou tarriest.
[_Caressing him. _]
_Faust_. Hurry!
Unless thou hurriest,
Bitterly we both must rue it.
_Margaret_. Kiss me! Canst no more do it?
So short an absence, love, as this,
And forgot how to kiss?
What saddens me so as I hang about thy neck?
When once, in thy words, thy looks, such a heaven of blisses
Came o'er me, I thought my heart would break,
And it seemed as if thou wouldst smother me with kisses.
Kiss thou me!
Else I kiss thee!
[_She embraces him. _]
Woe! woe! thy lips are cold,
Stone-dumb.
Where's thy love left?
Oh! I'm bereft!
Who robbed me?
[_She turns from him_]
_Faust_. O come!
Take courage, my darling! Let us go;
I clasp-thee with unutterable glow;
But follow me! For this alone I plead!
_Margaret [turning to him_]. Is it, then, thou?
And is it thou indeed?
_Faust_. 'Tis I! Come, follow me!
_Margaret_. Thou break'st my chain,
And tak'st me to thy breast again!
How comes it, then, that thou art not afraid of me?
And dost thou know, my friend, who 'tis thou settest free?
_Faust_. Come! come! The night is on the wane.
_Margaret_. Woe! woe! My mother I've slain!
Have drowned the babe of mine!
Was it not sent to be mine and thine?
Thine, too--'tis thou! Scarce true doth it seem.
Give me thy hand! 'Tis not a dream!
Thy blessed hand! --But ah! there's dampness here!
Go, wipe it off! I fear
There's blood thereon.
Ah God! what hast thou done!
Put up thy sword again;
I pray thee, do!
_Faust_. The past is past--there leave it then,
Thou kill'st me too!
_Margaret_. No, thou must longer tarry!
I'll tell thee how each thou shalt bury;
The places of sorrow
Make ready to-morrow;
Must give the best place to my mother,
The very next to my brother,
Me a little aside,
But make not the space too wide!
And on my right breast let the little one lie.
No one else will be sleeping by me.
Once, to feel _thy_ heart beat nigh me,
Oh, 'twas a precious, a tender joy!
But I shall have it no more--no, never;
I seem to be forcing myself on thee ever,
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!
So wretched the lot, an exile roaming--And
then on my heels they are ever coming!
_Faust_. I shall be with thee.
_Margaret_. Make haste! make haste!
No time to waste!
Save thy poor child!
Quick! follow the edge
Of the rushing rill,
Over the bridge
And by the mill,
Then into the woods beyond
On the left where lies the plank
Over the pond.
Seize hold of it quick!
To rise 'tis trying,
It struggles still!
Rescue! rescue!
_Faust_. Bethink thyself, pray!
A single step and thou art free!
_Margaret_. Would we were by the mountain. See!
There sits my mother on a stone,
The sight on my brain is preying!
There sits my mother on a stone,
And her head is constantly swaying;
She beckons not, nods not, her head falls o'er,
So long she's been sleeping, she'll wake no more.
She slept that we might take pleasure.
O that was bliss without measure!
_Faust_. Since neither reason nor prayer thou hearest;
I must venture by force to take thee, dearest.
_Margaret_. Let go! No violence will I bear!
Take not such a murderous hold of me!
I once did all I could to gratify thee.
_Faust_. The day is breaking! Dearest! dearest!
_Margaret_. Day! Ay, it is day! the last great day breaks in!
My wedding-day it should have been!
Tell no one thou hast been with Margery!
Alas for my garland! The hour's advancing!
Retreat is in vain!
We meet again,
But not at the dancing.
The multitude presses, no word is spoke.
Square, streets, all places--
sea of faces--
The bell is tolling, the staff is broke.
How they seize me and bind me!
They hurry me off to the bloody block. [48]
The blade that quivers behind me,
Quivers at every neck with convulsive shock;
Dumb lies the world as the grave!
_Faust_. O had I ne'er been born!
_Mephistopheles [appears without_]. Up! or thou'rt lost! The morn
Flushes the sky.
Idle delaying! Praying and playing!
My horses are neighing,
They shudder and snort for the bound.
_Margaret_. What's that, comes up from the ground?
He! He! Avaunt! that face!
What will he in the sacred place?
He seeks me!
_Faust_. Thou shalt live!
_Margaret_. Great God in heaven!
Unto thy judgment my soul have I given!
_Mephistopheles [to Faust_].
Come! come! or in the lurch I leave both her and thee!
_Margaret_. Thine am I, Father! Rescue me!
Ye angels, holy bands, attend me!
And camp around me to defend me I
Henry! I dread to look on thee.
_Mephistopheles_. She's judged!
_Voice [from above_]. She's saved!
_Mephistopheles [to Faust_]. Come thou to me!
[_Vanishes with_ FAUST. ]
_Voice [from within, dying away_]. Henry! Henry!
NOTES.
[Footnote 1: Dedication. The idea of Faust had early entered into Goethe's
mind. He probably began the work when he was about twenty years old. It
was first published, as a fragment, in 1790, and did not appear in its
present form till 1808, when its author's age was nearly sixty. By the
"forms" are meant, of course, the shadowy personages and scenes of the
drama. ]
[Footnote 2: --"Thy messengers"--
"He maketh the winds his-messengers,
The flaming lightnings his ministers. "
_Noyes's Psalms_, c. iv. 4. ]
[Footnote 3: "The Word Divine. " In translating the German "Werdende"
(literally, the _becoming, developing_, or _growing_) by the term _word_,
I mean the _word_ in the largest sense: "In the beginning was the Word,
&c. " Perhaps "nature" would be a pretty good rendering, but "word," being
derived from "werden," and expressing philosophically and scripturally the
going forth or manifestation of mind, seemed to me as appropriate a
translation as any. ]
[Footnote 4: "The old fellow. " The commentators do not seem quite agreed
whether "den Alten" (the old one) is an entirely reverential phrase here,
like the "ancient of days," or savors a little of profane pleasantry, like
the title "old man" given by boys to their schoolmaster or of "the old
gentleman" to their fathers. Considering who the speaker is, I have
naturally inclined to the latter alternative. ]
[Footnote 5: "Nostradamus" (properly named Michel Notre Dame) lived
through the first half of the sixteenth century. He was born in the south
of France and was of Jewish extraction. As physician and astrologer, he
was held in high honor by the French nobility and kings. ]
[Footnote 6: The "Macrocosm" is the great world of outward things, in
contrast with its epitome, the little world in man, called the microcosm
(or world in miniature). ]
[Footnote 7: "Famulus" seems to mean a cross between a servant and a
scholar. The Dominie Sampson called Wagner, is appended to Faust for the
time somewhat as Sancho is to Don Quixote. The Doctor Faust of the legend
has a servant by that name, who seems to have been more of a _Sancho_, in
the sense given to the word by the old New England mothers when upbraiding
bad boys (you Sanch'! ). Curiously enough, Goethe had in early life a
(treacherous) friend named Wagner, who plagiarized part of Faust and made
a tragedy of it. ]
[Footnote 8: "Mock-heroic play. " We have Schlegel's authority for thus
rendering the phrase "Haupt- und Staats-Action," (literally, "head and
State-action,") who says that this title was given to dramas designed for
puppets, when they treated of heroic and historical subjects. ]
[Footnote 9: The literal sense of this couplet in the original is:--
"Is he, in the bliss of becoming,
To creative joy near--"
"Werde-lust" presents the same difficulty that we found in note 3. This
same word, "Werden," is also used by the poet in the introductory theatre
scene (page 7), where he longs for the time when he himself was
_ripening_, growing, becoming, or _forming_, (as Hayward renders it. ) I
agree with Hayward, "the meaning probably is, that our Saviour enjoys, in
coming to life again," (I should say, in being born into the upper life,)
"a happiness nearly equal to that of the Creator in creating. "]
[Footnote 10: The Angel-chorusses in this scene present the only instances
in which the translator, for the sake of retaining the ring and swing of
the melody, has felt himself obliged to give a transfusion of the spirit
of the thought, instead of its exact form.
The literal meaning of the first chorus is:--
Christ is arisen!
Joy to the Mortal,
Whom the ruinous,
Creeping, hereditary
Infirmities wound round.
Dr. Hedge has come nearer than any one to reconciling meaning and melody
thus:--
"Christ has arisen!
Joy to our buried Head!
Whom the unmerited,
Trailing, inherited
Woes did imprison. "
The present translator, without losing sight of the fact that "the Mortal"
means Christ, has taken the liberty (constrained by rhyme,--which is
sometimes more than the _rudder_ of verse,) of making the congratulation
include Humanity, as incarnated in Christ, "the second Adam. "
In the closing Chorus of Angels, the translator found that he could best
preserve the spirit of the five-fold rhyme:--
"Thatig ihn preisenden,
Liebe beweisenden,
Bruderlich speisenden,
Predigend reisenden,
Wonne verheissenden,"
by running it into three couplets. ]
[Footnote 11: The prose account of the alchymical process is as follows:--
"There was red mercury, a powerfully acting body, united with the tincture
of antimony, at a gentle heat of the water-bath. Then, being exposed to
the heat of open fire in an aludel, (or alembic,) a sublimate filled its
heads in succession, which, if it appeared with various hues, was the
desired medicine. "]
[Footnote 12: "Salamander, &c. " The four represent the spirits of the
four elements, fire, water, air, and earth, which Faust successively
conjures, so that, if the monster belongs in any respect to this mundane
sphere, he may be exorcized. But it turns out that he is beyond and
beneath all. ]
[Footnote 13: Here, of course, Faust makes the sign of the cross, or holds
out a crucifix. ]
[Footnote 14: "Fly-God," _i. e.
judgment of unfeeling humanity, and me meanwhile thou lullest in insipid
dissipations, concealest from me her growing anguish, and leavest her
without help to perish!
_Mephistopheles_. She is not the first!
_Faust_. Dog! abominable monster! Change him, thou Infinite Spirit! change
the worm back into his canine form, as he was often pleased in the night
to trot before me, to roll before the feet of the harmless wanderer, and,
when he fell, to hang on his shoulders. Change him again into his favorite
shape, that he may crawl before me on his belly in the sand, and that I
may tread him under foot, the reprobate! --Not the first! Misery! Misery!
inconceivable by any human soul! that more than one creature ever sank
into the depth of this wretchedness, that the first in its writhing
death-agony did not atone for the guilt of all the rest before the eyes of
the eternally Forgiving! My very marrow and life are consumed by the
misery of this single one; thou grinnest away composedly at the fate of
thousands!
_Mephistopheles_. Here we are again at our wits' ends already, where the
thread of sense, with you mortals, snaps short. Why make a partnership
with us, if thou canst not carry it through? Wilt fly, and art not proof
against dizziness? Did we thrust ourselves on thee, or thou on us?
_Faust_. Gnash not so thy greedy teeth against me! It disgusts me! --Great
and glorious spirit, thou that deignedst to appear to me, who knowest my
heart and soul, why yoke me to this shame-fellow, who feeds on mischief
and feasts on ruin?
_Mephistopheles_. Hast thou done?
_Faust_. Rescue her! O woe be unto thee! The most horrible curse on thee
for thousands of years!
_Mephistopheles_. I cannot loose the bonds of the avenger, nor open his
bolts. --Rescue her! --Who was it that plunged her into ruin? I or thou?
[FAUST _looks wildly round_. ]
Grasp'st thou after the thunder? Well that it was not given to you
miserable mortals! To crush an innocent respondent, that is a sort of
tyrant's-way of getting room to breathe in embarrassment.
_Faust_. Lead me to her! She shall be free!
_Mephistopheles_. And the danger which thou incurrest? Know that the guilt
of blood at thy hand still lies upon the town. Over the place of the
slain, avenging spirits hover and lurk for the returning murderer.
_Faust_. That, too, from thee? Murder and death of a world upon thee,
monster! Lead me thither, I say, and free her!
_Mephistopheles_. I will lead thee, and hear what I can do! Have I all
power in heaven and on earth? I will becloud the turnkey's senses; possess
thyself of the keys, and bear her out with human hand. I will watch! The
magic horses shall be ready, and I will bear you away. So much I can do.
_Faust_. Up and away!
NIGHT. OPEN FIELD.
FAUST. MEPHISTOPHELES.
_Scudding along on black horses_.
_Faust_. What's doing, off there, round the gallows-tree? [47]
_Mephistopheles_. Know not what they are doing and brewing.
_Faust_. Up they go--down they go--wheel about, reel about.
_Mephistopheles_. A witches'-crew.
_Faust_. They're strewing and vowing.
_Mephistopheles_. Pass on! Pass on!
PRISON.
FAUST [_with a bunch of keys and a lamp, before an iron door_]
A long unwonted chill comes o'er me,
I feel the whole great load of human woe.
Within this clammy wall that frowns before me
Lies one whom blinded love, not guilt, brought low!
Thou lingerest, in hope to grow bolder!
Thou fearest again to behold her!
On! Thy shrinking slowly hastens the blow!
[_He grasps the key. Singing from within_. ]
My mother, the harlot,
That strung me up!
My father, the varlet,
That ate me up!
My sister small,
She gathered up all
The bones that day,
And in a cool place did lay;
Then I woke, a sweet bird, at a magic call;
Fly away, fly away!
_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!
[_He seizes the chains to tin lock them. _]
_Margaret_ [_on her knees_]. Headsman, who's given thee this right
O'er me, this power!
Thou com'st for me at dead of night;
In pity spare me, one short hour!
Wilt't not be time when Matin bell has rung?
[_She stands up. _]
Ah, I am yet so young, so young!
And death pursuing!
Fair was I too, and that was my undoing.
My love was near, far is he now!
Tom is the wreath, the scattered flowers lie low.
Take not such violent hold of me!
Spare me! what harm have I done to thee?
Let me not in vain implore thee.
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.
_Margaret [flings herself beside him_].
O let us kneel, the saints for aid invoking!
See! 'neath the threshold smoking,
Fire-breathing,
Hell is seething!
There prowling,
And grim under cover,
Satan is howling!
_Faust [aloud_]. Margery! Margery!
_Margaret [listening_]. That was the voice of my lover!
[_She springs up. The chains fall off_. ]
Where is he? Where? He calls. I hear him.
I'm free! Who hinders? I will be near him.
I'll fly to his neck! I'll hold him!
To my bosom I'll enfold him!
He stood on the threshold--called Margery plainly!
Hell's howling and clattering to drown it sought vainly,--
Through the devilish, grim scoffs, that might turn one to stone,
I caught the sweet, loving, enrapturing tone.
_Faust_. 'Tis I!
_Margaret_. 'Tis thou! O say it once again.
[_Clasping again. _]
'Tis he! 'tis he! Where now is all my pain?
And where the dungeon's anguish? Joy-giver!
'Tis thou! And come to deliver!
I am delivered!
Again before me lies the street,
Where for the first time thou and I did meet.
And the garden-bower,
Where we spent that evening hour.
_Faust_ [_trying to draw her away_]. Come! Come with me!
_Margaret_. O tarry!
I tarry so gladly where thou tarriest.
[_Caressing him. _]
_Faust_. Hurry!
Unless thou hurriest,
Bitterly we both must rue it.
_Margaret_. Kiss me! Canst no more do it?
So short an absence, love, as this,
And forgot how to kiss?
What saddens me so as I hang about thy neck?
When once, in thy words, thy looks, such a heaven of blisses
Came o'er me, I thought my heart would break,
And it seemed as if thou wouldst smother me with kisses.
Kiss thou me!
Else I kiss thee!
[_She embraces him. _]
Woe! woe! thy lips are cold,
Stone-dumb.
Where's thy love left?
Oh! I'm bereft!
Who robbed me?
[_She turns from him_]
_Faust_. O come!
Take courage, my darling! Let us go;
I clasp-thee with unutterable glow;
But follow me! For this alone I plead!
_Margaret [turning to him_]. Is it, then, thou?
And is it thou indeed?
_Faust_. 'Tis I! Come, follow me!
_Margaret_. Thou break'st my chain,
And tak'st me to thy breast again!
How comes it, then, that thou art not afraid of me?
And dost thou know, my friend, who 'tis thou settest free?
_Faust_. Come! come! The night is on the wane.
_Margaret_. Woe! woe! My mother I've slain!
Have drowned the babe of mine!
Was it not sent to be mine and thine?
Thine, too--'tis thou! Scarce true doth it seem.
Give me thy hand! 'Tis not a dream!
Thy blessed hand! --But ah! there's dampness here!
Go, wipe it off! I fear
There's blood thereon.
Ah God! what hast thou done!
Put up thy sword again;
I pray thee, do!
_Faust_. The past is past--there leave it then,
Thou kill'st me too!
_Margaret_. No, thou must longer tarry!
I'll tell thee how each thou shalt bury;
The places of sorrow
Make ready to-morrow;
Must give the best place to my mother,
The very next to my brother,
Me a little aside,
But make not the space too wide!
And on my right breast let the little one lie.
No one else will be sleeping by me.
Once, to feel _thy_ heart beat nigh me,
Oh, 'twas a precious, a tender joy!
But I shall have it no more--no, never;
I seem to be forcing myself on thee ever,
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!
So wretched the lot, an exile roaming--And
then on my heels they are ever coming!
_Faust_. I shall be with thee.
_Margaret_. Make haste! make haste!
No time to waste!
Save thy poor child!
Quick! follow the edge
Of the rushing rill,
Over the bridge
And by the mill,
Then into the woods beyond
On the left where lies the plank
Over the pond.
Seize hold of it quick!
To rise 'tis trying,
It struggles still!
Rescue! rescue!
_Faust_. Bethink thyself, pray!
A single step and thou art free!
_Margaret_. Would we were by the mountain. See!
There sits my mother on a stone,
The sight on my brain is preying!
There sits my mother on a stone,
And her head is constantly swaying;
She beckons not, nods not, her head falls o'er,
So long she's been sleeping, she'll wake no more.
She slept that we might take pleasure.
O that was bliss without measure!
_Faust_. Since neither reason nor prayer thou hearest;
I must venture by force to take thee, dearest.
_Margaret_. Let go! No violence will I bear!
Take not such a murderous hold of me!
I once did all I could to gratify thee.
_Faust_. The day is breaking! Dearest! dearest!
_Margaret_. Day! Ay, it is day! the last great day breaks in!
My wedding-day it should have been!
Tell no one thou hast been with Margery!
Alas for my garland! The hour's advancing!
Retreat is in vain!
We meet again,
But not at the dancing.
The multitude presses, no word is spoke.
Square, streets, all places--
sea of faces--
The bell is tolling, the staff is broke.
How they seize me and bind me!
They hurry me off to the bloody block. [48]
The blade that quivers behind me,
Quivers at every neck with convulsive shock;
Dumb lies the world as the grave!
_Faust_. O had I ne'er been born!
_Mephistopheles [appears without_]. Up! or thou'rt lost! The morn
Flushes the sky.
Idle delaying! Praying and playing!
My horses are neighing,
They shudder and snort for the bound.
_Margaret_. What's that, comes up from the ground?
He! He! Avaunt! that face!
What will he in the sacred place?
He seeks me!
_Faust_. Thou shalt live!
_Margaret_. Great God in heaven!
Unto thy judgment my soul have I given!
_Mephistopheles [to Faust_].
Come! come! or in the lurch I leave both her and thee!
_Margaret_. Thine am I, Father! Rescue me!
Ye angels, holy bands, attend me!
And camp around me to defend me I
Henry! I dread to look on thee.
_Mephistopheles_. She's judged!
_Voice [from above_]. She's saved!
_Mephistopheles [to Faust_]. Come thou to me!
[_Vanishes with_ FAUST. ]
_Voice [from within, dying away_]. Henry! Henry!
NOTES.
[Footnote 1: Dedication. The idea of Faust had early entered into Goethe's
mind. He probably began the work when he was about twenty years old. It
was first published, as a fragment, in 1790, and did not appear in its
present form till 1808, when its author's age was nearly sixty. By the
"forms" are meant, of course, the shadowy personages and scenes of the
drama. ]
[Footnote 2: --"Thy messengers"--
"He maketh the winds his-messengers,
The flaming lightnings his ministers. "
_Noyes's Psalms_, c. iv. 4. ]
[Footnote 3: "The Word Divine. " In translating the German "Werdende"
(literally, the _becoming, developing_, or _growing_) by the term _word_,
I mean the _word_ in the largest sense: "In the beginning was the Word,
&c. " Perhaps "nature" would be a pretty good rendering, but "word," being
derived from "werden," and expressing philosophically and scripturally the
going forth or manifestation of mind, seemed to me as appropriate a
translation as any. ]
[Footnote 4: "The old fellow. " The commentators do not seem quite agreed
whether "den Alten" (the old one) is an entirely reverential phrase here,
like the "ancient of days," or savors a little of profane pleasantry, like
the title "old man" given by boys to their schoolmaster or of "the old
gentleman" to their fathers. Considering who the speaker is, I have
naturally inclined to the latter alternative. ]
[Footnote 5: "Nostradamus" (properly named Michel Notre Dame) lived
through the first half of the sixteenth century. He was born in the south
of France and was of Jewish extraction. As physician and astrologer, he
was held in high honor by the French nobility and kings. ]
[Footnote 6: The "Macrocosm" is the great world of outward things, in
contrast with its epitome, the little world in man, called the microcosm
(or world in miniature). ]
[Footnote 7: "Famulus" seems to mean a cross between a servant and a
scholar. The Dominie Sampson called Wagner, is appended to Faust for the
time somewhat as Sancho is to Don Quixote. The Doctor Faust of the legend
has a servant by that name, who seems to have been more of a _Sancho_, in
the sense given to the word by the old New England mothers when upbraiding
bad boys (you Sanch'! ). Curiously enough, Goethe had in early life a
(treacherous) friend named Wagner, who plagiarized part of Faust and made
a tragedy of it. ]
[Footnote 8: "Mock-heroic play. " We have Schlegel's authority for thus
rendering the phrase "Haupt- und Staats-Action," (literally, "head and
State-action,") who says that this title was given to dramas designed for
puppets, when they treated of heroic and historical subjects. ]
[Footnote 9: The literal sense of this couplet in the original is:--
"Is he, in the bliss of becoming,
To creative joy near--"
"Werde-lust" presents the same difficulty that we found in note 3. This
same word, "Werden," is also used by the poet in the introductory theatre
scene (page 7), where he longs for the time when he himself was
_ripening_, growing, becoming, or _forming_, (as Hayward renders it. ) I
agree with Hayward, "the meaning probably is, that our Saviour enjoys, in
coming to life again," (I should say, in being born into the upper life,)
"a happiness nearly equal to that of the Creator in creating. "]
[Footnote 10: The Angel-chorusses in this scene present the only instances
in which the translator, for the sake of retaining the ring and swing of
the melody, has felt himself obliged to give a transfusion of the spirit
of the thought, instead of its exact form.
The literal meaning of the first chorus is:--
Christ is arisen!
Joy to the Mortal,
Whom the ruinous,
Creeping, hereditary
Infirmities wound round.
Dr. Hedge has come nearer than any one to reconciling meaning and melody
thus:--
"Christ has arisen!
Joy to our buried Head!
Whom the unmerited,
Trailing, inherited
Woes did imprison. "
The present translator, without losing sight of the fact that "the Mortal"
means Christ, has taken the liberty (constrained by rhyme,--which is
sometimes more than the _rudder_ of verse,) of making the congratulation
include Humanity, as incarnated in Christ, "the second Adam. "
In the closing Chorus of Angels, the translator found that he could best
preserve the spirit of the five-fold rhyme:--
"Thatig ihn preisenden,
Liebe beweisenden,
Bruderlich speisenden,
Predigend reisenden,
Wonne verheissenden,"
by running it into three couplets. ]
[Footnote 11: The prose account of the alchymical process is as follows:--
"There was red mercury, a powerfully acting body, united with the tincture
of antimony, at a gentle heat of the water-bath. Then, being exposed to
the heat of open fire in an aludel, (or alembic,) a sublimate filled its
heads in succession, which, if it appeared with various hues, was the
desired medicine. "]
[Footnote 12: "Salamander, &c. " The four represent the spirits of the
four elements, fire, water, air, and earth, which Faust successively
conjures, so that, if the monster belongs in any respect to this mundane
sphere, he may be exorcized. But it turns out that he is beyond and
beneath all. ]
[Footnote 13: Here, of course, Faust makes the sign of the cross, or holds
out a crucifix. ]
[Footnote 14: "Fly-God," _i. e.
