Page 12 of Faust: First Part


  MEPHISTOPHELES. The question is absurd,

  Surely, in one who seeks to know

  The inmost essence, not the outward show,

  And has such deep contempt for the mere word. 1330

  FAUST. Ah, with such gentlemen as you

  The name often conveys the essence too,

  Clearly enough; we say Lord of the Flies*

  Destroyer, Liar—each most fittingly applies.

  Well then, who are you?

  MEPHISTOPHELES. Part of that Power which would

  Do evil constantly, and constantly does good.

  FAUST. This riddle has, no doubt, some explanation.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. I am the spirit of perpetual negation;

  And rightly so, for all things that exist

  Deserve to perish, and would not be missed— 1340

  Much better it would be if nothing were

  Brought into being. Thus, what you men call

  Destruction, sin, evil in short, is all

  My sphere, the element I most prefer.

  FAUST. You seem complete and whole, yet say you are a part?

  MEPHISTOPHELES. I speak the modest truth, I use no art.

  Let foolish little human souls

  Delude themselves that they are wholes.

  I am part of that part which once, when all began,

  Was all there was; part of the Darkness before man 1350

  Whence light was born, proud light, which now makes futile war

  To wrest from Night, its mother, what before

  Was hers, her ancient place and space. For light depends

  On the corporeal worlds—matter that sends

  Visible light out, stops light in its stride

  And by reflected light is beautified.

  So, light will not last long, I fear;

  Matter shall be destroyed, and light shall disappear.

  FAUST. Well! now I know your high vocation:

  Failing that grand annihilation 1360

  You try it on a smaller scale.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. And frankly, I must own, here too I fail.

  The Something, this coarse world, this mess,

  Stands in the way of Nothingness,

  And despite all I’ve undertaken,

  This solid lump cannot be shaken—

  Storms, earthquakes, fire and flood assail the land

  And sea, yet firmly as before they stand!

  And as for that damned stuff, the brood of beasts and men,

  That too is indestructible, I’ve found; 1370

  I’ve buried millions—they’re no sooner underground

  Than new fresh blood will circulate again.

  So it goes on; it drives me mad. The earth,

  The air, the water, all give birth:

  It germinates a thousandfold,

  In dry or wet, in hot or cold!

  Fire is still mine, that element alone—

  Without it, I could call no place my own.

  FAUST. And so the ever-stirring, wholesome energy

  Of life is your arch-enemy; 1380

  So in cold rage you raise in vain

  Your clenched satanic fist. Why, you

  Strange son of chaos! think again,

  And look for something else to do!

  MEPHISTOPHELES. On such a point there’s much to say;

  We’ll talk again another day.

  This time I’ll take my leave—if, by your leave, I may.

  FAUST. Why not? We are acquainted now,

  And you are welcome to come back

  And visit me some time, somehow. 1390

  Here is the window, there’s the door;

  I even have a chimney-stack.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. I must confess that on the floor,

  Across your threshold, you have put

  A certain obstacle—a witch’s foot—*

  FAUST. You mean, that pentagram I drew

  Hinders a gentleman from hell?

  Then how did you get in? Well, well!

  How did I fool a sprite like you?

  MEPHISTOPHELES. It’s not well drawn; look closely, sir! 1400

  One of the outside angles—there,

  You see? the lines do not quite meet.

  FAUST. How curious! how very neat!

  And so you are my prisoner.

  A lucky chance, I do declare!

  MEPHISTOPHELES, The poodle skipped in without noticing,

  But now it’s quite another thing:

  The Devil can’t skip out again.

  FAUST. Why don’t you use the window, then?

  MEPHISTOPHELES. Devils and spirits have a law, as you 1410

  may know:

  They must use the same route to come and go.

  We enter as we please; leaving, we have no choice.

  FAUST. So even hell has laws? Good; in that case

  One might conclude a pact with you

  Gentlemen, and a guaranteed one too?

  MEPHISTOPHELES. Whatever is promised, you shall have your due,

  There’ll be no quibbling, no tergiversation.

  But that all needs mature consideration;

  We shall discuss it by and by.

  Meanwhile I must most earnestly 1420

  Repeat my plea to be released.

  FAUST. Come, stay a little while at least,

  To edify me with your conversation.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. Excuse me now: I soon will reappear

  And tell you anything you wish to hear.

  FAUST. I did not pursue you, you know;

  You put your own head in the noose.

  Don’t catch the Devil and let go,

  They say—it’s harder when he’s on the loose.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. Very well, if you wish, I will remain 1430

  And help you while the time away;

  But I insist you let me entertain

  You with my arts in a befitting way.

  FAUST. Certainly, you are welcome to do so;

  But you must make it an amusing show.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. My friend, you shall in this one night,

  In this one hour, know greater sensuous delight

  Than in a whole monotonous year!

  Delicate spirits now will bring

  You visions, and will charm your ear 1440

  With song; theirs is no empty conjuring.

  Your palate also shall be sated,

  Your nostrils sweetly stimulated,

  Your sense of touch exhilarated.

  We are all ready, all are in

  Our places—come, at once, begin!

  SPIRITS. Vanish, you darkling

  Vaults there above us!

  Now let the sweeter

  Blue of the ether 1450

  Gaze in and love us!

  Are not the darkling

  Clouds disappearing?

  Starlight is sparkling,

  Suns of a gentler

  Brightness appearing.

  Children of light dance

  Past in their radiance,

  Swaying, inclining,

  Hovering, shining: 1460

  Passionate yearning

  Follows them burning.

  And their long vesture

  Streams out and flutters,

  Streams out and covers

  Arbour and pasture,

  Where lovers ponder

  As they surrender

  Each to each other.

  Arbour and bower, 1470

  Full fruit and flower!

  Vines shed their burden

  Into the winepress

  Rich with their ripeness;

  Wines foam unending

  In streams descending,

  Through precious gleaming

  Stones they are streaming,

  Leaving behind them

  Heights that confined them, 1480

  Pleasantly winding

  Round the surrounding

  Hills and their verdure,

  To lakes expanding.

 
Birds drink their pleasure,

  Soaring to sunlight,

  Flying to far bright

  Islands that shimmer,

  Trembling, enticing,

  Where the waves glimmer, 1490

  Where echo answers

  Songs of rejoicing

  Shouted in chorus,

  Where we see dancers

  Leaping before us

  Out over green fields;

  Over the green hills

  Some of them climbing,

  Some of them over

  Lake-waters swimming, 1500

  Some of them hover;

  All seeking life, each

  Seeking a distant star

  Where love and beauty are

  Far beyond speech.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. He sleeps! Well done, my airy cherubim!

  How soon your lullaby enchanted him!

  This concert puts me in your debt.

  Faust, you are not the man to hold the Devil yet!

  Go on deluding him with sweet dream-shapes, 1510

  Plunge him into a sea where he escapes

  Reality. As for this threshold, I know how

  To split the spell: I need a rat’s tooth now.

  No need to conjure in this place for long!

  I hear them scuttling, soon they’ll hear my song.

  The master of all rats and mice,

  All flies and frogs and bugs and lice,

  Commands you to poke forth your snout

  And gnaw this floor to let me out!

  I’ll smear it for you with some drops 1520

  Of oil. Aha! see, out he hops!

  Now set to work. The point where I was stuck

  Is at the front here. What a piece of luck!

  One little bite more and it’s done.—

  Now, Faust, until we meet again, dream on!

  FAUST [waking]. Have I been twice deluded in one day?

  The spirit-orgy vanishes: it seems

  I merely saw the Devil in my dreams,

  And had a dog that ran away!

  7. FAUST’S STUDY (II)* [F.I./FRA/UR

  FAUST. A knock? Come in!—Who is this bothering me 1530

  Again?

  MEPHISTOPHELES. I’m back!

  FAUST. Come in!

  MEPHISTOPHELES. You must say it three

  Times over.

  FAUST. Well, come in!

  MEPHISTOPHELES [entering]. Well done!

  I think we’re going to get on

  Together, you and I. To cheer

  You up, I’ve come dressed as a cavalier:

  In scarlet, with gold trimmings, cloak

  Of good stiff silk, and in my hat

  The usual cock’s feather; take

  A fine long pointed rapier,

  And one’s complete. So, my dear sir, 1540

  Be ruled by me and do just that:

  Wear clothes like mine, strike out, be free,

  And learn what the good life can be.

  FAUST. The earth’s a prison—one can’t get away

  From it, whatever clothes one wears.

  I’m still too young to lack desires,

  Not young enough now for mere play.

  What satisfaction can life hold?

  Do without, do without! That old

  Command pursues us down the years 1550

  Endlessly echoing in our ears—

  The same old hoarse repeated song

  Heard hour by hour our whole life long!

  With each new dawn I wake aghast,

  My eyes with bitter tears are filled

  To think that when this day has passed

  I’ll not have had one single wish fulfilled,

  That even my presentiments of joy

  Will die of nagging scruples, and life’s mess

  Of trivial impediments destroy 1560

  My active soul’s creativeness.

  When the night falls, I seek my bed

  With anxious fears, with many a sigh,

  But find no peace: with sights of dread

  Wild dreams torment me as I lie.

  And though a god lives in my heart,

  Though all my powers waken at his word,

  Though he can move my every inmost part—

  Yet nothing in the outer world is stirred.

  Thus by existence tortured and oppressed 1570

  I crave for death, I long for rest.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. And yet death never is a wholly welcome guest.

  FAUST. Happy the man whom glorious death has crowned

  With bloodstained victor’s laurels, happy he

  Whose sudden sweet surcease is found

  In some girl’s arms, after wild revelry!

  And I, who saw that mighty Spirit’s power,

  Why did I not expire with joy in that same hour!

  MEPHISTOPHELES. And yet, in that same night, someone who mixed a brown

  Elixir did not drink it down. 1580

  FAUST. You seem to like eavesdropping.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. I am not

  Omniscient, but I know a lot.

  FAUST. In that great turmoil and distress

  Sweet well-known echoing notes deceived

  My ear, old childhood joys relieved

  My homesick heart—this I confess.

  But now I curse all flattering spells

  That tempt our souls with consolation,

  All that beguilingly compels

  Us to endure earth’s tribulation! 1590

  A curse first on the high pretences

  Of our own intellectual pride!

  A curse on our deluded senses

  That keep life’s surface beautified!

  A curse upon our dreams of fame,

  Of honour and a lasting name!

  A curse upon vain property,

  On wife and child and husbandry!

  A curse on mammon, when his gold

  Lures us to rash heroic deeds, 1600

  Or when his easeful arms enfold

  Us softly, pampering all our needs!

  I curse the nectar of the grape,

  I curse love’s sweet transcendent call,

  My curse on faith! My curse on hope!

  My curse on patience above all!

  CHORUS OF INVISIBLE SPIRITS. Alas, alas,

  You have destroyed

  The beautiful world!

  At a blow of your clenched fist 1610

  It falls, struck down

  By a demigod, it disappears.

  Into the void

  We carry its fragments, with our tears

  We mourn

  The beauty that is lost.

  Mightiest

  Of the sons of earth,

  Let it be built anew

  More splendidly, let it come to birth 1620

  Again, within you:

  Begin new

  Ways of living,

  With your mind clear,

  New light receiving,

  New music to hear.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. My little sprites

  Are performing their rites:

  Full of wise exhortations

  And invitations 1630

  To worlds unknown

  Of living and doing.

  Why sit here alone,

  They say, stifling and stewing?

  Stop playing with your misery,

  That gnaws your vitals like some carrion-bird!

  Even the worst human society

  Where you feel human, is to be preferred!

  I don’t of course propose that we

  Should merely mingle with the common herd; 1640

  I’m not exactly a grandee,

  But if you’d fancy getting through

  Your life in partnership with me,

  I shall with pleasure, without more ado,

  Wholly devote myself to you.

  You shall have my company,

  And if you are satisfied,

  I shall be your servant, always at your side!

  FAUST. And what i
s your reward for this to be?

  MEPHISTOPHELES. Long years will pass till we need 1650

  think of that.

  FAUST. No, no! The Devil has his tit-for-tat;

  He is an egoist, he’ll not work for free,

  Merely to benefit humanity.

  State your conditions, make them plain and clear!

  Servants like you can cost one dear.

  MEPHISTOPHELES. In this world I will bind myself to cater

  For all your whims, to serve and wait on you;

  When we meet in the next world, some time later,

  Wages in the same kind will then fall due.*

  FAUST. The next world? Well, that’s no great matter; 1660

  Here is a world for you to shatter—

  Smash this one first, then let the next be born!

  Out of this earth all my contentment springs,

  This sun shines on my sufferings;

  First wean me from all earthly things—

  What happens then’s not my concern.

  That’s something I’ve no wish to hear:

  Whether there’s hatred still or love

  In that remote supernal sphere,

  And who’s below and who’s above. 1670

  MEPHISTOPHELES. Why, in that case, be bold and dare!

  Bind yourself to me, begin life anew:

  You soon will see what I can do.

  No man has ever known a spectacle so rare.

  FAUST. Poor devil! What can you offer to me?

  A mind like yours, how can it comprehend

  A human spirit’s high activity?

  But have you food that leaves one still unsatisfied,

  Quicksilver-gold that breaks up in

  One’s very hands? Can you provide 1680

  A game that I can never win,

  Procure a girl whose roving eye

  Invites the next man even as I lie

  In her embrace? A meteoric fame

  That fades as quickly as it came?

  Show me the fruit that rots before it’s plucked

  And trees that change their foliage every day!

  MEPHISTOPHELES. I shall perform as you instruct;

  All these delights I can purvey.

  But there are times in life, my friend, 1690

  When one enjoys mere quiet satisfaction.

  FAUST. If ever I lie down in sloth and base inaction,

  Then let that moment be my end!

  If by your false cajolery

  You lull me into self-sufficiency,

  If any pleasure you can give

  Deludes me, let me cease to live!

  I offer you this wager!

  MEPHISTOPHELES. Done!

  FAUST. And done again!

  If ever to the moment I shall say:

  Beautiful moment, do not pass away! 1700

  Then you may forge your chains to bind me,

  Then I will put my life behind me,

  Then let them hear my death-knell toll,

  Then from your labours you’ll be free,

  The clock may stop, the clock-hands fall,

  And time come to an end for me!