Works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Page 244
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.
Baccalaureus.
A rogue perchance! — For where’s the teacher found
Who to our face, direct, will Truth expound?
Children to edify, each knows the way,
To add or to subtract, now grave, now gay.
Mephis.
For learning there’s in very truth a time;
For teaching, I perceive, you now are prime.
While a few suns and many moons have wan’d,
A rich experience you have doubtless gain’d!
Baccalaureus.
Experience! Froth and scum alone,
Not with the mind of equal birth!
Confess! what men have always known,
As knowledge now is nothing worth.
Mephis.
(After 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!
Mephis.
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!
Mephis.
(Good-naturedly.) Thou know’st not, friend, how rude is thy reply.
Baccalaureus.
In German to be courteous is to lie.
Fr. Pecht del.
published by george barrie
[Editor: illegible word]
Wagner.
Mephis.
(Still moving his 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.
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 vigor rife,
The newer life createth out of life.
There all is movement, something there is done;
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 reject’d; — nothing won.
Age is, in sooth, a fever cold,
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.
Mephis.
The devil here has nothing more to say.
Baccalaureus.
Save through my will, no devil dares to be.
Mephis.
(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;
Her changeful course the Moon began with me;
The Day array’d herself my steps to meet,
The Earth grew green, and blossom’d me to greet;
At my command, upon you primal Night,
The starry hosts unveil’d their glorious light.
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 light I follow, and rejoice;
Swift I advance, enraptur’d, void of fear,
Brightness before me, darkness in the rear.
[Exit.
Mephis.
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 pass’d away? —
Yet we for him need no misgiving have;
Chang’d will he be, when a few years are past;
Howe’er absurdly may the must behave,
Nathless it yields a wine at last. —
(To the younger part of the audience, who do not applaud.)
Though to my words you’re somewhat cold,
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
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,
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?
Mephis.
(Entering.) Welcome! As friend I enter here.
Wagner.
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.
Mephis.
(In a whisper.) What is it, then?
Wagner.
A man is being made.
Mephis.
A man? and pray what loving pair
Have in your smoke-hole their abode?
Wagner.
Nay! Heaven forbid! As nonsense we declare
The ancient procreative mode;
The tender point, life’s spring, the gentle strength
That took and gave, that from within hath press’d,
And seiz’d, 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,
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 —
The human substance duly we compose,
And then in a retort enclose,
And cohobate; in still repose
The work is perfect’d, our labor ends.
[Again turning to the furnace.
It forms! More clear the substance shows!
Stronger, more strong, conviction grows!
What Nature’s mystery we once did style,
That now to test, our reason tries,
And what she organiz’d erewhile,
We now are fain to crystallize.
Mephis.
Who lives, doth much experience glean;
By naught in this world will he be surpris’d;
Already in my travel-years I’ve seen,
Full many a race of mortals crystallized.
Wagner.
(Still gazing intently on the phial.)
It mounts, it glows, and doth together run,
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 imbu’d,
Henceforth your living thinker will create.
[Surveying the phial with rapture.
The glass resounds, with gracious power possess’d;
It dims, grows clear; living it needs must be!
And now in form of beauty dress’d,
A dainty mannikin I see.
What more can we desire, what more mankind?
Unveil’d is now what hidden was of late;
Give ear unto this sound, and you will find,
A voice it will become, articulate.
Homunculus.
(In the phial, to Wagner.)
Now, Fatherkin, how goes it? ’Twas no jest!
Come let me to thy heart be fondly press’d —
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?
At the right moment! Thee I thank. ’Tis clear
To us a happy fortune leadeth thee;
While I exist, still must I active be,
And to the work forthwith myself would gird;
Thou’rt skill’d the way to shorten.
Wagner.
Just one word!
I oft have been asham’d that knowledge fail’d,
When old and young with problems me assail’d.
For instance: no one yet could comprehend,
How soul and body so completely blend,
Together hold, as ne’er to part, while they
Torment each other through the livelong day.
So then —
Mephis.
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.
Homunculus.
What’s to be done?
Mephis.
(Pointing to a side door.)
Yonder thy gifts display!
Wagner.
(Still gazing into the phial.)
A very lovely boy, I needs must say!
[The side door opens; Faustis seen stretched upon a couch.
Homunculus.
(Amazed.) Momentus!
[The phial slips from Wagner’shands, hovers over Faust,and sheds a light upon him.
Girt with beauty! — Water clear
In the thick grove; fair women, who undress;
Most lovely creatures! — grows their loveliness:
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. —
Of swiftly moving wings what sudden noise?
What plash, what plunge the liquid glass destroys?
The maidens fly, alarmed; alone, the queen,
With calm composure gazes on the scene:
With womanly and proud delight, she sees
The prince of swans press fondly to her knees,
Persistent, tame; familiar now he grows. —
But suddenly upfloats a misty shroud,
And with thick-woven veil doth overcloud
The loveliest of all lovely shows.
Mephis.
Why thou in sooth canst everything relate!
Small as thou art, as phantast thou art great.
I can see nothing —
Homunculus.
I believe it. Thou,
Bred in the north, in the dark ages, how,
In whirl of priesthood and knight-errantry,
Have for such sights, thy vision free!
In darkness only thou’rt at home.
[Looking round.
Ye brown, repulsive blocks of stone,
Arch-pointed, low, with mould o’ergrown!
Should he awake, new care were bred,
He on the spot would straight be dead.
Wood-fountains, swans, fair nymphs undress’d,
Such was his dream, presageful, rare;
In place like this how could he rest,
Which I, of easy mood, scarce bear!
Away with him!
Mephis.
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!
Mephis.
Of such I ne’er have heard, I frankly own.
Homunculus.
Upon your ear indeed how should it fall?
Only romantic ghosts to you are known;
Your genuine ghost is also classical.
Mephis.
But whitherward to travel are we fain?
Your antique colleagues are against my grain.
Homunculus.
North-westward, Satan, lies thy pleasure-ground;
But, this time, we to the south-east are bound. —
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.
Mephis.
Alas! Forbear! Forever be eschew’d
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 play’d upon
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,
From boyhood up; so he becomes a man.
The question here is, how to cure this one?
[Pointing to Faust.
Hast thou a means, here let it tested be;
Canst thou do naught, then leave the task to me.
Mephis.
Full many a Brocken-piece I might essay,
But bolts of heathendom foreclose the way.
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 reckon’d gloomy and obscure.
And now what next?
Homunculus.
Of old thou wert not shy;
And if I name Thessalian witches, — why,
I something shall have said, — of that I’m sure.
Mephis.
(Lustfully.) Thessalian witches — well! the people they
Concerning whom I often have inquir’d.
Night after night, indeed, with them to stay,
That were an ordeal not to be desir’d;
But for a trial trip —
Homunculus.
The mantle there
Reach hither, wrap it round the knight!
As heretofore, the rag will bear
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;
And each with other then combine with care;
Upon the What, more on the How, reflect!
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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;
Such high reward deserves such striving; — wealth,
Honor and glory, lengthen’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 see thee more.
Mephis.
Now to Peneios forth we wend!
We must not slight our cousin’s aid.
(To the spectators.)
At last, in sooth, we all depend
On creatures, we ourselves have made.
CLASSICAL WALPURGISNIGHT.
Pharsalian Fields.
Darkness.
Erichtho.*
To this night’s ghastly fête, as oftentimes before,
I hither come, Erichtho, I, the gloomy one;
Not so atrocious, as the sorry poet-throng
Me in excess have slander’d. . . They no measure know
In censure and applause. . . O’erwhiten’d seems to me,
With waves of dusky tents, the valley, far and wide,
Night-phantom of that dire and most appalling night.
How often ’tis repeated! Will for evermore
Repeat 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
How impotent soe’er, ruleth right joyously
His neighbor’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,
The stubborn laurel bends around the victor’s brow.
Of greatness’ budding-day here Pompey dream’d; and there,
Watching the wavering balance, Cæsar wakeful lay!
Strength they shall measure. Knows the world who here prevail’d.
Brightly the watch-fires burn, diffusing ruddy flames;
Reflex of blood, once spill’d, does from the soil exhale,
And by the night’s most rare and wondrous splendor lur’d,
Hither the legions throng of Hellas’ mythic lore.
Round every fire dim shapes, phantoms of ancient days,
Flit wavering to and fro, or there recline at ease. . .
The moon, not fully orb’d, of clearest light serene,
Uprising, lustre mild diffuses all around.
Vanish the spectral tents, the fires are burning blue.
But lo! above my head, what sudden meteor sails!
It shines, and doth illume a ball corporeal.
I snuff the 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 I retire.