Faust Read Online

A toast for my Leipzig!

It’s a little Paris and gives a man polish.24

SIEBEL.

What do you take these strangers for?

FROSCH.

	Leave it to me. Once the glasses are filled,
	I’ll pull some worms of truth from their noses,
	easy as pulling babies’ teeth.
	They seem to be of noble family
	because they look proud and dissatisfied.

BRANDER.

I’ll bet they’re a couple of hucksters.

ALTMAYER.

Perhaps.

FROSCH.

2180	Watch me. I’ll squeeze it out of them.

MEPHISTOPHELES (to FAUST).

	The dears would never suspect the devil,
	even if he had them by the collar.

FAUST.

We salute you, gentlemen.

SIEBEL.

	We thank you and return your greeting.
	(Softly, observing MEPHISTOPHELES from the corner of his eye).
	Why does the rascal drag one foot?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Allow us to join you at the table.
	Since we can’t have wine of any quality,
	let the company make up for it.

ALTMAYER.

You are a fastidious one, I see.

FROSCH.

	You left Rippach late, I guess.
2190	Did you have supper with Master Hans?25

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	We passed him on the road today.
	But we spoke to him on our previous trip.
	He had a lot to say about his cousins
	and had greetings for each one of you.
	(He bows to FROSCH.)

ALTMAYER (softly).

There you are. The fellow is no fool.

SIEBEL.

A slippery customer!

FROSCH.

All right, just wait. I’ll trip him soon enough.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Unless I am mistaken, we just heard
	the sounds of well-trained voices.
	These vaulted ceilings surely should provide
2200	a splendid echo to such music!

FROSCH.

You are a virtuoso, I suppose?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

Far from it! My strength is feeble, though my desire’s great.

ALTMAYER.

Give us a song!

MEPHISTOPHELES.

As many as you like.

SIEBEL.

Let it be a brand-new one.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	We’ve just returned from Spain,
	that lovely land of wine and song.
	(Sings.)
	In ages past there lived a king
	Who owned a large-size flea—

FROSCH.

	Listen to that! A flea! Did you get that?
2210	There’s a neat fellow, a flea!

MEPHISTOPHELES (sings).

	In ages past there lived a king
	Who owned a large-size flea.
	On him he lavished everything
	As if a son were he.
	He called the tailor of the court,
	Who quickly came a-running,
	To fit him doublets long and short
	And breeches that were stunning.

BRANDER.

	And don’t forget to warn that tailor
2220	to measure for a very tight fit;
	if he wants to save his neck,
	there’d better be no wrinkles in those breeches.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	In velvet and in silkiness
	The courtly flea was dressed
	To the hilt with ribbons on his dress
	And a shiny cross on his breast.
	And he nobly brought to court
	His brothers and his sisters,
	For he was now a mighty lord,
2230	One of the State’s ministers.
	The lords and ladies of the State
	Were very sorely tried.
	The queen said to the chambermaid
	“We cannot shield our hide.”
	The fleas did make them shiver
	And squeal as they were nicked.
	We slither and we quiver
	As soon as we are pricked.

CHORUS (jubilant).

	We slither and we quiver
2240	As soon as we are pricked.

FROSCH.

Bravo, bravo! That was beautiful!

SIEBEL.

It should happen to all fleas.

BRANDER.

Cock your fingers, squish them prettily.

ALTMAYER.

Long live wine, and long live liberty!

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	I’d like to fill my glass and drink to freedom’s honor,
	if only you had wine of better quality.

SIEBEL.

Don’t let us hear such talk again!

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	I fear the landlord might not like it,
	else I should treat our worthy guests
2250	to something rare from our cellar.

SIEBEL.

Let’s have it, man. I’ll take the blame for it.

FROSCH.

	If you’ll produce the liquid, we’ll sing your praises to the sky
	But let me have a generous sample,
	for if I am asked to referee,
	I must guzzle deep and long.

ALTMAYER (aside).

I can tell they come from the Rhine.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

Bring me an auger now!

BRANDER.

	What would you want with that?
	You have no casks outside the door, or else?

ALTMAYER.

Back there the landlord keeps his box of tools.

MEPHISTOPHELES (takes the auger). (To FROSCH.)

2260	Now tell me, what’s your favorite label?

FROSCH.

How do you mean? Do you have several kinds?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

The choice is free. It’s up to you.

ALTMAYER (to FROSCH).

Aha! Even now he licks his lips.

FROSCH.

	All right, if I can choose, I want some Rhenish wine.
	The fatherland bestows the finest gifts of all.

MEPHISTOPHELES (drills a hole into the edge of the table in front of FROSCH).

Get me some wax, so we may stanch the flow.

ALTMAYER.

Ah, that’s just a juggler’s trick.

MEPHISTOPHELES (to BRANDER).

And for you?

BRANDER.

	Champagne for me,
	and make it sparkle and tingle.

MEPHISTOPHELES (bores holes; one of the others has meanwhile made the wax stoppers and begun to plug the holes).

BRANDER.

2270	Sometimes one can’t abstain from foreign stuff;
	what is good lies often far away.
	A German of fine blood dislikes the French,
	but he enjoys their wines the better.

SIEBEL (as MEPHISTOPHELES approaches his seat).

	I must confess, I never liked it sour.
	Pour me a glass of sweet and mellow wine.

MEPHISTOPHELES (continues to bore holes).

Tokay for you; watch it flow in just a minute.

ALTMAYER.

	Now, gentlemen, look straight into my eyes!
	Ah yes, your joke’s on us, I must confess.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Come, come! With guests of your distinction
2280	such sport would be a risky venture.
	Be quick and speak out honestly:
	Which wine would be your pleasure?

ALTMAYER.

	Anything for me! Don’t ask a lot of questions.
	(The holes have been bored and Plugged.)

MEPHISTOPHELES (gesturing mysteriously).

	The grape from living vines is fed;
	The goat, it has a horned head.
	Wine is juice, plants yield more,
	From this plank the wine shall pour.
	Profoundly into Nature peer!
	Have faith, a miracle is here!
2290	Now draw the stoppers, drink your fill!

TOGETHER (as they pull the stoppers, and the desired wine pours into their glasses).

Flow on, O fairest spring!

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Be very careful not to spill a single drop.
	(They drink repeatedly.)

TOGETHER (singing).

	We feel so good, so cannibalistic jolly,
	much like five hundred grunting sows.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

The people are free. How they enjoy themselves!

FAUST.

I am inclined to leave immediately.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Take notice first how their bestiality
	will stand revealed in glowing color.

SIEBEL (drinks carelessly; the wine spills to the ground and turns into flame).

Help! Fire! Hell’s aflame!

MEPHISTOPHELES (addressing the flame).

2300	Be still, my friendly element!
	(To the students.)
	This time it was the merest drop of purgatory.

SIEBEL.

	What do you mean? Wait, man, you will pay for this!
	Do you know with whom you’re dealing?

FROSCH.

Don’t try this trick a second time, you hear!

ALTMAYER.

Let’s ease him sideways out the door.

SIEBEL.

	What, sir? You have the audacity
	to play your hocus-pocus here on us?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

Shut your mouth, you tub of wine!

SIEBEL.

	You skinny broomstick, you!
	I think you want to play it rough.

BRANDER.

2310	Just wait. We’ll knock you black and blue.

ALTMAYER (pulls a plug from the table; fire leaps in his face).

I burn! I burn!

SIEBEL.

	That’s sorcery!
	Cut him down! He is a public enemy.
	(They draw their knives and move against MEPHISTOPHELES.)

MEPHISTOPHELES (with solemn gestures).

	False when and false where,
	The foul and the fair
	Be here, be there!
	(They stand amazed and stare at each other.)

ALTMAYER.

Where am I? What a lovely land!

FROSCH.

Vineyards! Can I trust my eyes?

SIEBEL.

And grapes so near at hand!

BRANDER.

	And look! beneath the dark green arbor,
	what vines! and oh, what luscious grapes!
	(He seizes SIEBEL’S nose. The others do the same, one to the other, and raise their knives.)

MEPHISTOPHELES (more gestures).

2320	Illusion, release these eyes from error!
	And you take notice how the devil plays his game.
	(He disappears with FAUST. The students scatter.)

SIEBEL.

What’s up?

ALTMAYER.

Eh?

FROSCH.

Was that your nose?

BRANDER (to SIEBEL).

And yours I hold here in my hand!

ALTMAYER.

	It was a shock that went through bone and marrow!
	Bring me a chair, I think I’m fainting.

FROSCH.

Will someone tell me what has happened?

SIEBEL.

	Where is he? If I can get my hands on him,
	he won’t come off alive this time.

ALTMAYER.

	I’m sure I saw him on a cask—
2330	riding out the open cellar door—
	My legs feel heavier than lead.
	(Turning to the table.)
	Do you suppose the wine might still be running?

SIEBEL.

It was a fraud, a lie, and trickery.

FROSCH.

I was so sure that I was drinking wine.

BRANDER.

And how about those luscious grapes?

ALTMAYER.

Who says there are no miracles!

WITCH’S KITCHEN

A great cauldron stands on the fire over a low hearth. Various grotesque figures can be seen through the rising smoke. A she-ape sits by the cauldron, stirring and skimming it. A he-ape with his young ones sits near her, warming himself. Walls and ceilings are decorated with bizarre household implements.

Faust, Mephistopheles.

FAUST.

	I am repelled by all this magic stew and fuss!
	Can you promise me that I’ll be cured
	by wallowing in that whirling frenzy?
2340	Should I seek counsel from an ancient hag?
	And can that filthy, frothing cookery
	relieve my carcass of some thirty years?
	I am lost if you can think of nothing better!
	My dearest hope has vanished even now.
	Why has not nature or a noble spirit
	found some remedial balm for me?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Now you speak more sensibly again, my friend!
	You may yet naturally regain your youth,
	but that is written in a different book
2350	and constitutes a special chapter.

FAUST.

I wish to know it.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Good! A method can be used
	without physicians, gold, or magic.
	Go out into the open field
	and start to dig and cultivate;
	keep your body and your spirit
	in a humble and restricted sphere,
	sustain yourself by simple fare,
	live with your herd and spread your own manure
	on land from which you reap your nourishment.
2360	Believe me, that’s the best procedure
	to keep your youth for eighty years or more.

FAUST.

	I am not used to that. I cannot bring myself
	to take a spade and till the ground.
	The narrow life has no appeal for me.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

Then, I suppose the witch is worth a try.

FAUST.

	Why must it be that ancient hag?
	Why can’t you brew the drink yourself?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	A pretty pastime during which
	I’d rather build a thousand bridges!
2370	Art and science is not all we need,
	this business requires patience too.
	A tranquil mind must labor many years;
	the fermentation is supplied by time.
	The recipe requires care
	and strange, exotic condiments.
	The devil showed the witch the way,
	but the devil cannot stoop to brew the potion.
	(Notices THE ANIMALS.)
	Observe the dainty couple here!
	This is the houseboy, that’s the maid.
	(To THE ANIMALS.)
2380	It seems your mistress isn’t home?

THE ANIMALS.

	Slipped away to carouse,
	Flew from the house,
	Out through the chimney!

MEPHISTOPHELES.

When do her revels usually end?

THE ANIMALS.

When our paws feel warm and cozy.

MEPHISTOPHELES (to FAUST).

How do you like the tender pets?

FAUST.

As hideous a bunch as I have seen.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	But look, a discourse such as this
	is of the type I like above all others.
	(Addressing THE ANIMALS.)
2390	Do tell me, cursed puppets,
	What are you stirring in that slop?

THE ANIMALS.

We’re boiling watery beggar soup.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

You’re sure to find a large demand for it.

HE-APE (slinks up and fawns on MEPHISTOPHELES).

	Roll the dice, you honey,
	And get me some money.
	Be crooked and stealthy,
	Impatient and rash;
	Then I’ll be healthy,
	With plenty of cash.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

2400	The monkey here would be so glad
	if he could also join a game of chance.
	(Meanwhile the young apes have been playing with a large sphere which they now roll forward.)

HE-APE.

	The world is a ball,
	A rise and a fall;
	Its sparkling mass
	Is hollow matter,
	Can quickly shatter
	Like shiny glass.
	Here it’s night,
	There it’s bright.
2410	I am wild!
	My darling child,
	Go away, go away!
	You have to die.
	It’s only clay
	And goes to pieces.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

What about that sieve?

HE-APE (takes it down).

	If you came to thieve,
	By this I can tell.
	(Runs to SHE-APE and lets her peer through it.)
	Peer through the sieve!
2420	You know the thief well,
	And yet dare not name him?

MEPHISTOPHELES (goes near the fire).

And what of this pot?

HE-APE AND SHE-APE.

	The simple sot
	Knows not the pot,
	Knows not the kettle.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

Impertinent beast!

HE-APE.

	Take that feather duster there
	And sit back in your chair.
	(Motions MEPHISTOPHELES to sit down.)

FAUST (who all this time has been standing before a mirror, now drawing nearer, now moving away from it).

	I see a form of boundless beauty
2430	give radiance to this magic glass.26
	O Love, lend me the swiftest of your wings,
	and lead me to her bright regions.
	Ah, if I try to move from here—
	if I dare appraoch the mirror—
	she quickly fades into a cloud of mist.
	Oh, highest vision of a woman!
	Can it be? Can this woman be so fair?
	Do I see in her recumbent shape
	the form and essence of the heavens?
2440	Can this epitome be found on earth?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	If a god will do six days of heavy labor
	and in the end say “bravo” to himself,
	then something decent should result from it.
	Feast your eyes for now and sate yourself.
	I can arrange for such a doll for you.
	Good fortune will have blessed the lucky man
	who takes her to his home and bed.
	(FAUST continues to peer into the mirror. MEPHISTOPHELES, stretching in his armchair and fanning himself with the feather duster, continues.)
	I sit here like a king enthroned,
	with scepter in hand; I only need a crown.

THE ANIMALS (who until now had moved about in all kinds of curious ways, bring MEPHISTOPHELES a crown, chattering and shrieking).

2450	Oh, be a clown
	And paste the crown
	With blood and perspiration.
	(They handle the crown awkwardly and break it; then gambol about with the two pieces.)
	Now it is done!
	We crawl and we run;
	We speak, we hear, and we rhyme—

FAUST (before the mirror).

Ah, I shall lose my mind.

MEPHISTOPHELES (pointing to THE ANIMALS).

The devil’s head itself is reeling.

THE ANIMALS.

	And if it goes well—
	A lucky spell—
2460	There will be thought in it.

FAUST (as above).

	A fire rises in my breast!
	Let us quickly get away!

MEPHISTOPHELES (still in the same attitude).

	Well, at least one should acknowledge:
	these poets have sincerity.
	(The SHE-APE has for some time neglected the cauldron. It begins to overflow; there is a large flame which blazes up the chimney. The WITCH comes down through the flame, emitting horrible shrieks.)

WITCH.

	Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!
	The filthy beast! The dirty swine!
	Neglects the pot, sears my behind!
	You filthy beast!
	(She notices FAUST and MEPHISTOPHELES.)
	What’s this now?
2470	Who’s that now?
	What do you want here?
	Who crept in here?
	Fire and flame
	Consume your frame!
	(She dips the ladle into the cauldron
	and squirts flames on FAUST,
	MEPHISTOPHELES, and THE ANIMALS. THE ANIMALS whine.)

MEPHISTOPHELES (reverses the feather duster which he holds in his hand and flails the pots and glasses with it).

	Bang! Crash!
	There lies the trash!
	The crystal is shattered,
	Not that it mattered.
	Here’s a rhythm, you bitch,
2480	For your sweet ditty.
	(While the WITCH recoils, chagrined and terror-stricken.)
	You know me now, you hag! Abomination!
	You recognize your lord and master?
	I have a mind to strike you down,
	to smash you and your horde of monkeys.
	Is this your homage to my scarlet coat?
	Can you not recognize my cap and feather?
	I did not keep my visage out of sight.
	Must I announce my name to you?

WITCH.

	Forgive my uncouth greeting, master!
2490	I failed to see the equine hoof,
	and your two ravens—where are they?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	This time I’ll let you off unpunished,
	for certainly it has been rather long
	since last we saw each other face to face.
	The world is now a cultured place,
	where the devil has evolved accordingly.
	The Nordic phantom is entirely passé, you see,
	he’s shed his horns and tail and crooked fingers.
	As for the hoof, I cannot really do without it,
2500	but it would harm me in society,
	and hence, like many youthful gentlemen,
	I’ve worn false calves these many years.

WITCH (dancing).

	I’ll shriek with glee, I’ll lose my brain,
	my Squire Satan has come back again!

MEPHISTOPHELES.

Such appellation, hag, is out of place.

WITCH.

What’s wrong, what harm is there in it?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	It’s now a name for fairy tales and fables;
	the people are as miserable as ever—
	the Evil One is gone, the evil ones remain.
2510	You call me Baron, that will do for now.
	I am a cavalier, like other cavaliers.
	You cannot doubt the noble blood in me.
	Just take a look at my escutcheon.
	(Makes an obscene gesture.)

WITCH (bursts out laughing).

	Ha! Ha! Ha! There’s my little devil!
	As shameless now as ever!

MEPHISTOPHELES (to FAUST).

	My friend, I hope you understand it well.
	This is the way we deal with witches.

WITCH.

Now tell me, sirs, what’s on your mind.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Get me a glassful of your famous juice!
2520	But please, the oldest you can find—
	where years of age have multiplied its strength.

WITCH.

	With pleasure! I keep a handy bottle on my person,
	from which I snitch a little now and then.
	The stink has gone from it completely.
	Yes, indeed, I’ll gladly let you have a swig. (Softly.)
	But if this man should drink it when he’s not prepared,
	he would die within the hour, as you know.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	He is my friend; he should be the better for the potion.
	He deserves the finest sample of your cookery.
2530	Go draw your circle, speak your spells,
	pour him a gobletful.
	(While making fantastic gestures, the WITCH draws a circle and places strange objects into it; the glasses begin to ring, the kettles hum—a kind of music ensues. Finally the WITCH picks up a large tome and motions the apes to jump into the circle. Some hold torches, and the backs of others serve her as a reading lectern. She beckons FAUST to approach.)

FAUST (to MEPHISTOPHELES).

	What is the drift of this performance?
	What’s all this nonsense, this frenzied mumbo-jumbo?
	With such repugnant business
	I am only too familiar by now.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Don’t be foolish! This is only for a laugh or two.
	For once don’t be the stern professor!
	She adopts a healer’s hocus-pocus
	to make the juice agree with you.
	(He makes FAUST step into the circle.)

WITCH (begins to declaim with great pathos from the book).

2540	See how it’s done!
	Make ten from one,
	The two must go,
	And three is so,
	When four is lost,
	You earn the most.
	From five to six,
	By the witch’s tricks,
	Come seven and eight
	In excellent state!
2550	And nine is lame
	And ten is tame—
	All in the witch’s numbers-game.27

FAUST.

I think the witch is running a high fever.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	You’ve barely heard the half of it.
	I know it well—it is the tenor of her book;
	I used it once and wasted time with it.
	A bald and thorough contradiction
	holds mystery for fools and clever men alike.
	My friend, it is an old as well as novel art.
2560	It was the custom then and now—
	by three and one and one and three—
	to broadcast error instead of verity.
	They teach and blabber undisturbed
	and no one really doubts these fools.
	So long as words will flow, there’ll be the notion
	that thought must be their part and parcel.

WITCH (continues).

	When science lies buried,
	The “why is” or “what is”
	Need never be sought.
2570	No one is worried;
	All science is gratis,
	Need never be thought.

FAUST.

	What kind of nonsense is she drooling?
	Another dose of it will split my head in two.
	It seems I hear a choir
	of a hundred thousand fools.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Enough, enough, O worthy Sibyl!
	Bring on the drink, uncork the bottle,
	and fill his goblet quickly to the brink.
2580	No harm will come to our friend from this:
	He is a man of manifold degrees
	who’s quaffed a wholesome drink or two before.

WITCH (while gesturing ceremoniously, she pours the potion into a bowl; as FAUST puts it to his lips, a delicate flame leaps up).

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Go to it, friend, don’t hesitate.
	Before you know, your heart will soar with joy.
	You are the devil’s intimate—
	and would retreat before a little fire?
	(The WITCH breaks the circle. FAUST steps out.)

MEPHISTOPHELES.

Now out with you. Let’s go, you must not rest.

WITCH.

I hope the drink sits well with you.

MEPHISTOPHELES (to the WITCH).

	If you should ever need me for a favor,
2590	don’t hesitate to call on me Walpurgis Night.28

WITCH.

	Here is a song for you! If you would sing it now and then,
	you will experience its special powers.

MEPHISTOPHELES (to FAUST).

	Come quickly now, and let yourself be guided;
	you must perspire thoroughly
	so that the strength will penetrate within and out.
	Later on you’ll learn to value leisure,
	and soon you’ll sense with thorough satisfaction
	how Cupid stirs and prances to and fro.

FAUST.

	Just let me quickly look into the mirror!
2600	The woman’s form was, oh, so fair!

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	No! No! The paragon of womankind
	shall come before you in the flesh.
	(Aside.)
	With that potion in your belly
	you’ll soon see Helena in every wench.

A STREET

Faust; Margaret passing by.

FAUST.

	My fairest lady, may I dare
	to offer you my arm and company?

MARGARET.

	Am neither lady, neither fair,
	and need no escort to go home.
	(She frees herself and exits.)

FAUST.

	My God, this child is beautiful!
2610	I’ve never seen the like of it.
	She is so proper and so virtuous,
	and yet a little snippy too.
	The red of her lips, the light of her face,
	will be forever in my mind!
	The way she shyly drops her eyes
	is stamped profoundly in my heart.
	How pert and curt she was with me—
	a sheer delight, an ecstasy!
	(MEPHISTOPHELES enters.)

FAUST.

Listen! Get that girl for me!

MEPHISTOPHELES.

Which girl?

FAUST.

2620	The one who just went by.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Oh, that one? She only left her priest just now
	who absolved her soul from every sin;
	I sneaked in right behind her bench.
	She is a very innocent young thing
	who went for nothing to confession.
	I have no power over her.

FAUST.

But she’s past fourteen already.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	You talk like Jack the Libertine,
	who craves each lovely blossom for himself.
2630	He fancies that all gifts and favors
	are free and ready for the plucking;
	but there are times without successes.

FAUST.

	My dear Professor Know-It-All,
	don’t lecture me on legal matters!
	I’ll be brief and to the point:
	Unless that sweet and youthful blood
	lies in my arms this very evening,
	by midnight you and I part company.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Don’t ask for the impossible!
2640	I need at least two weeks, and more,
	to ferret out an opportunity.

FAUST.

	Had I but seven hours’ peace,
	I should not need the devil’s help
	to seduce that darling creature.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	You’re talking almost like a Frenchman now;
	there is no need to be discouraged.
	What good is easy consummation?
	The pleasure is not half so keen
	as when you first must clear your way
2650	through sundry growth and thickets.
	Mold your moppet, knead her into shape,
	as you have read in those Italian stories.

FAUST.

Thank you, my appetite is good enough without such titillations.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	No nonsense now, I’m serious.
	Once for all, the matter is not easy.
	You need some time to get this child.
	You cannot take the citadel by storm;
	we must employ some skill and strategy.

FAUST.

	Get me a token from my angel’s dress!
2660	Lead me to her bed and chamber!
	Get me a kerchief from her breast,
	a garter for my passionate desire.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Your pangs of love, as you shall see,
	are not without my sympathy;
	we must not lose a moment’s time;
	I’ll guide you to her room this very day.

FAUST.

And shall I see her, have her?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	No!
	She will be in her neighbor’s house.
	Meanwhile you may indulge yourself alone
2670	in your hopes of future ecstasies
	and stay to breathe the fragrance of her chamber.

FAUST.

May we go now?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

It’s still too soon.

FAUST.

	Get me a gift for her this afternoon.
	(Exits.)

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	A gift so soon? That’s nice! It bodes success for you.
	I know of several likely places
	and several treasures buried long ago;
	I’d better scout about a bit.
	(Exits.)

EVENING

A small, neatly kept room.

MARGARET (braiding and tying up her hair).

	I’d give anything if only I could know
	who was that gentleman today!
2680	I think he cut a gallant figure
	and is of noble family.
	I could plainly see it in his face—
	else he’d not have been so bold with me.
	(Exits.)

(MEPHISTOPHELES, FAUST.)

MEPHISTOPHELES.

Step in—softly now—but enter!

FAUST (after keeping silent for some time).

I beg of you—leave me alone!

MEPHISTOPHELES (looking around).

	Not every girl’s this neat and tidy.
	(Exits.)

FAUST.

	Welcome, lovely twilight glow,
	how you pervade this sacred shrine!
	Grip my heart, O keen-edged lover’s pain,
2690	that languishes on mere dewdrops of a hope.
	A sense of peace breathes in this room,
	of order and contentment!
	What fullness in this poverty,
	what blessedness within this cell.
	(He throws himself into a leather armchair next to the bed.)
	You who once with open arms received the joys
	and sorrows of a world gone by, oh, take me in!
	How often round about this soft ancestral throne
	have swarms of children clung!
	Perhaps on Christmas Eve, in gratitude,
2700	my round-cheeked sweetheart kissed her grandsire’s wilted hand.
	I feel, O girl, the whisper of your spirit,
	of order and abundance everywhere,
	which, motherly, instructs you daily how
	to spread the cloth upon the table,
	and even how to smooth the sand beneath your feet.
	Beloved hand, so godlike and so sweet!
	Through you this cottage is a paradise.
	And here!
	(He lifts a bed-curtain.)

	What raptures come over me!
2710	Here I could while away the fullest hours.
	O Nature, here you shaped in airy dreams
	your very own angelic child!
	Here lay the girl, her tender bosom filled
	with warm and vibrant breath of life,
	and here, on Nature’s purest looms,
	was wrought the semblance of divinity.

	And you, what led you to this chamber?
	How deeply you are stirred!
	Your heart is heavy, and you feel so out of place.
2720	Wretched Faust! Who are you anyway?

	Am I moving in a magic haze?
	I came to seize the crassest pleasure,
	and now I dissolve in dreams of love!
	Are we the sports of every whim of the weather?

	And should she enter at this very moment,
	how you would rue your crude transgression!
	Then Faust would suddenly be very small
	and languish helpless at her feet.

MEPHISTOPHELES (entering).

Quick, my friend! I see her coming down below.

FAUST.

2730	Away from here, and never to return!

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	I have a little jewel box, not very heavy,
	which I acquired at another place.
	Relax, and put it in the wardrobe there;
	I swear she’ll be beside herself with pleasure.
	I enclosed some little trinkets
	which were meant for someone other.
	But a child’s a child and a game is a game.

FAUST.

I don’t know—shall I?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Don’t ask questions!
	You mean to keep the trinkets for yourself?
2740	May I advise Your Lustfulness
	to use the happy daylight hours
	and spare me further toil and trouble!
	I hope you’re not a stingy man!
	I scratch my head and rub my palms—
	(He places the box in the wardrobe and clicks the lock shut.)
	Away from here! Let’s hurry—
	so we may bend the sweet young thing
	to your wish and heart’s desire.
	You stand there with a sad expression
	like a student entering the lecture hall,
2750	as if before you in gray majesty
	stood Physics and Metaphysics in person!
	Away from here!
	(Exits.)

MARGARET (carrying a lamp).

	It is so close, so sultry here,
	(She opens the window.)
	and yet it’s not too warm outside.
	It makes me feel so—I don’t know.
	If only Mother would come home.
	I feel a chill go down my spine—
	I’m such a silly, fearful girl.
	(She begins to sing, while undressing.)
	There was a king in Thule,
2760	Was true unto the grave.
	To him his dying lady
	A golden goblet gave.

	And he prized nothing dearer;
	At feasts he drained it dry.
	And when he held the goblet,
	The tears would fill his eye.

	And when he came to dying,
	He counted land and town.
	He gave all to his children,
2770	But kept the cup his own.

	With him in his great chamber
	Sat knights of high degree.
	They held the royal dinner
	In the castle by the sea.

	There stood the old carouser
	And drank his last red wine,
	Then flung the holy vessel
	Into the foamy brine.

	He saw it sway and falter
2780	And slip into the sea;
	His eyes did sink forever,
	And nevermore drank he.29
	(She opens the wardrobe to arrange her dresses and notices the jewel box.)

	How did that handsome jewel case get here?
	I am quite sure I locked the wardrobe door.
	It’s very strange! I wonder what’s inside?
	Perhaps some neighbor brought it as a pawn,
	for which my mother lent some money.
	There is a key tied neatly to a ribbon;
	I have a mind to open it and see.
2790	What’s that? My God in Heaven! Look!
	I never saw the like of this before.
	It’s jewelry! The greatest lady
	could wear this piece on highest holidays.
	How would these jewels look on me?
	Whose could they ever be?
	(She adorns herself with the jewels and steps before the mirror.)
	I wish these earrings were my own.
	One looks so different right away.
	What good is youth and beauty for the like of us!
	They say, “All that is very good,”
2800	and then they leave us as we are.
	Their praise is half in pity.
	They race after gold
	and cling to gold,
	and we stay poor forever.

PROMENADE

Faust, lost in thought, walking up and down.

Mephistopheles enters.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	By all rejected lovers! By every hellish element!
	I wish I had a better malediction.

FAUST.

	What ails you now? What’s pinching you?
	In all my life I’ve never seen a face like that.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	I’d give myself over to the devil,
2810	if I were not he himself.

FAUST.

	Is there a screw loose in your head?
	Your ravings are a telling symptom.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Just think! The jewelry you gave to Gretchen—
	slipped in the pocket of a priest!
	When her mother took a look at it,
	she got the secret shudders!
	That woman has an excellent sense of smell
	always sniffing in her prayer book.
	Her nose can tell from far away
2820	which is sacred, which profane.
	And those jewels left no doubt in her
	that their presence was not wholly blessed.
	“My child,” she cried, “ill-gotten gain
	ensnares the soul and saps the blood.
	We’ll offer it to our blessed Virgin,
	who will make God’s manna rain on us!”
	Little Margaret made a face and pouted.
	“It’s a gift horse after all,” she thought,
	“whoever brought it here so cleverly
2830	could never be a godless person.”
	The mother asked the priest to have a look,
	and he had scarcely heard what was afoot
	when he eyed the gems with muted glee
	and said: “You’ve done the proper thing!
	Who conquers self will be rewarded in the end.
	The church has always had an iron belly,
	has swallowed states and countries now and then,
	and yet it never overate.
	The church alone, dear women, can digest
2840	ill-gotten gains without a stomachache.”

FAUST.

	That is a universal custom;
	a Jew or king might do the same.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	He then took brooch and chain and ring
	as if they had been chicken feed
	and made no greater show of gratitude
	than for a basketful of nuts.
	He promised them rewards of every kind,
	and they were highly edified.

FAUST.

And Gretchen?

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Sits about and frets,
2850	not knowing what she wants or ought to do,
	thinks of the jewels day and night
	and even more of him who brought them.

FAUST.

	My sweetheart’s trouble saddens me.
	Go, get at once another ornament!
	The first one was not very much.

MEPHISTOPHELES.

Oh yes, all this is child’s play to the gentleman!

FAUST.

	Move quickly and arrange things to my liking,
	and worm your way into her neighbor’s graces.
	Are you a devil of molasses?
2860	Go, get another set of precious stones for her!

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	Yes, gracious sir! My pleasure, sir!
	(FAUST exits.)

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	The lovesick fool. He’d blow away
	the sun and moon and all the stars,
	as a pastime for his sweetheart.
	(Exits.)

THE NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE

MARTHA (alone).

	May God forgive my husband’s escapades;
	he’s done me a great injury!
	Suddenly he’s off into the big wide world
	and leaves me on the straw alone.
	I never gave him cause for grief
2870	because, God knows, I dearly loved the man.
	(She weeps.)
	Perhaps he’s dead by now! Oh, grief—
	and not to have it certified!
	(MARGARET enters.)

MARGARET.

Martha!

MARTHA.

Gretchen, what’s up?

MARGARET.

	I thought my knees were giving out!
	I found another jewel box of ebony
	placed neatly on the wardrobe shelf.
	The things are beautiful beyond compare,
	far richer than the first ones yet.

MARTHA.

	This time you must not tell your mother.
2880	She’d promptly take it to a priest again.

MARGARET.

Just look at this. Oh my, just look and see!

MARTHA (arranging the jewels on MARGARET).

You are a lucky creature, you!

MARGARET.

	I dare not walk about with these,
	and cannot show myself in church or street.

MARTHA.

	Come to me as often as you please;
	put on your jewels secretly;
	parade an hour, if you like, before my mirror,
	so we can both enjoy the sight.
	There’ll soon be an occasion, some festivity,
2890	where slowly, by degrees, you’ll let the people see
	the necklace first, and then the earrings made of pearl.
	Your mother will not notice, or else we’ll think of what to say.

MARGARET.

	Who could have brought the jewel boxes?
	There’s something not quite right.
	(A knock at the door.)
	Oh, goodness! Could that be my mother?

MARTHA (peering through the blind).

	A foreign gentleman—Come in!
	(MEPHISTOPHELES enters.)

MEPHISTOPHELES.

	I take the liberty of stepping through your door.
	I beg the gracious ladies’ pardon.
	(Steps back reverently on seeing MARGARET.)
	I seek a Mrs. Martha Schwerdtlen hereabouts.

MARTHA.

2900	That’s me.