The tragedy of I. V. Goethe “Faust” was written in 1774 – 1831 and belongs to the literary movement of romanticism. The work is the main work of the writer, on which he worked throughout almost his entire life. The plot of the tragedy is based on the German Legend of Faust, the famous warlock of the 16th century. The composition of the tragedy attracts special attention. The two parts of Faust are contrasted: the first depicts the doctor’s relationship with the spiritually pure girl Margarita, the second depicts Faust’s activities at court and his marriage to the ancient heroine Helen.

Main characters

Heinrich Faust- doctor, scientist disillusioned with life and science. Made a deal with Mephistopheles.

Mephistopheles- the evil spirit, the devil, bet with the Lord that he could get Faust’s soul.

Gretchen (Margarita) – beloved of Faust. An innocent girl who, out of love for Henry, accidentally killed her mother, and then, having gone crazy, drowned her daughter. She died in prison.

Other characters

Wagner – Faust's disciple who created the Homunculus.

Elena- Ancient Greek heroine, beloved of Faust, with whom she had a son, Euphorion. Their marriage is a symbol of the union of the ancient and romantic principles.

Euphorion – the son of Faust and Helen, endowed with the features of a romantic, Byronic hero.

Martha- Margarita's neighbor, a widow.

Valentine- soldier, Gretchen's brother, who was killed by Faust.

Theater director, Poet

Homunculus

Dedication

Theatrical introduction

The director of the theater asks the Poet to create an entertaining work that will be interesting to absolutely everyone and will attract more spectators to their theater. However, the Poet believes that “sprinkling vulgarities is a great evil,” “the craft of mediocre scoundrels.”

The director of the theater advises him to move away from his usual style and get down to business more decisively - to “deal with poetry in his own way,” then his works will be truly interesting to people. The director provides the Poet and Actor with all the possibilities of the theater in order to:

“In this plank booth
You can, as in the universe,
Having gone through all the tiers in a row,
Descend from heaven through earth to hell."

Prologue in the sky

Mephistopheles appears to receive the Lord. The devil argues that people “illuminated by God’s spark” continue to live like animals. The Lord asks if he knows Faust. Mephistopheles recalls that Faust is a scientist who is “eager to fight and loves to take on obstacles” while serving God. The devil offers to bet that he will “take away” Faust from the Lord, exposing him to all sorts of temptations, to which he receives consent. God is sure that the scientist's instincts will lead him out of the dead end.

Part one

Night

Cramped gothic room. Faust sits awake reading a book. The Doctor reflects:

“I have mastered theology,
Poored over philosophy,
Jurisprudence hammered
And he studied medicine.
However, at the same time I
He was and remains a fool."

“And I turned to magic,
So that the spirit appears to me when called
And he discovered the secret of existence."

The doctor’s thoughts are interrupted by his student Wagner unexpectedly entering the room. During a conversation with a student, Faust explains: people actually know nothing about antiquity. The doctor is outraged by Wagner’s arrogant, stupid thoughts that man has already grown to know all the secrets of the universe.

When Wagner left, the doctor reflects on the fact that he considered himself equal to God, but this is not so: “I am a blind worm, I am the stepson of nature.” Faust realizes that his life is “passing in the dust” and is going to commit suicide by drinking poison. However, at the moment when he brings the glass of poison to his lips, bells ring and choral singing is heard - angels sing about the Resurrection of Christ. Faust abandons his intention.

At the gate

Crowds of people walking, including Wagner and Faust. The old peasant thanks the doctor and his late father for helping to “eliminate the plague” in the city. However, Faust is ashamed of his father, who, during his medical practice, gave people poison for the sake of experiments - while treating some, he killed others. A black poodle runs up to the doctor and Wagner. It seems to Faust that behind the dog “a flame is snaking across the land of the glades.”

Faust's work room

Faust took the poodle to his place. The Doctor sits down to translate the New Testament into German. Reflecting on the first phrase of scripture, Faustus comes to the conclusion that it is translated not as “In the beginning was the Word,” but “In the beginning was the Deed.” The poodle begins to play around and, distracted from work, the doctor sees how the dog turns into Mephistopheles. The Devil appears to Faust dressed as a traveling student. The doctor asks who he is, to which Mephistopheles replies:

"Part of the strength that is without number
He does good, desiring evil for everything."

Mephistopheles chuckles at human weaknesses, as if knowing what thoughts torment Faust. Soon the Devil is about to leave, but the pentagram drawn by Faust does not let him in. The devil, with the help of spirits, puts the doctor to sleep and, while he sleeps, disappears.

The second time Mephistopheles appeared to Faust in rich clothes: in a camisole made of karamzin, with a cape on his shoulders and a rooster feather on his hat. The devil persuades the doctor to leave the walls of the office and go with him:

“You will be comfortable here with me,
I will perform any whim."

Faust agrees and signs the contract in blood. They set off on a journey, flying through the air on the Devil's magic cloak.

Auerbach cellar in Leipzig

Mephistopheles and Faust join the company of merry revelers. The devil treats drinkers to wine. One of the revelers spills a drink on the ground and the wine catches fire. The man exclaims that this is hellfire. Those present rush at the Devil with knives, but he puts a “dope” on them - people begin to think that they are in a beautiful land. At this time, Mephistopheles and Faust disappear.

Witch's kitchen

Faust and Mephistopheles are waiting for the witch. Faust complains to Mephistopheles that he is tormented by sad thoughts. The devil replies that he can be distracted from any thoughts by a simple means - running a normal household. However, Faust is not ready to “live on a grand scale.” At the request of the Devil, the witch prepares a potion for Faust, after which the doctor’s body “gets hot” and his lost youth returns to him.

Street

Faust, seeing Margarita (Gretchen) on the street, is amazed by her beauty. The doctor asks Mephistopheles to introduce him to her. The devil replies that he just overheard her confession - she is as innocent as a small child, so the evil spirits have no power over her. Faust sets a condition: either Mephistopheles arranges a date for them today, or he will terminate their contract.

Evening

Margarita reflects that she would give a lot to find out who the man she met was. While the girl leaves her room, Faust and Mephistopheles leave her a gift - a jewelry box.

On a walk

Margarita's mother took the donated jewelry to the priest, as she realized that it was a gift from evil spirits. Faust orders Gretchen to be given something else.

Neighbor's house

Margarita tells her neighbor Martha that she discovered a second jewelry box. The neighbor advises not to say anything about the mother’s find, starting to put on jewelry gradually.

Mephistopheles comes to Martha and reports the fictitious death of her husband, who left nothing for his wife. Martha asks if it is possible to get a paper confirming the death of her husband. Mephistopheles replies that he will soon return with a friend to testify about the death, and asks Margarita to stay too, since his friend is an “excellent fellow.”

Garden

Walking with Faust, Margarita says that she lives with her mother, her father and sister have died, and her brother is serving in the army. The girl tells fortunes using a daisy and receives the answer “Loves”. Faust confesses his love to Margarita.

Forest Cave

Faust is hiding from everyone. Mephistopheles tells the doctor that Margarita misses him very much and is afraid that Henry has lost interest in her. The devil is surprised that Faust so simply decided to abandon the girl.

Martha's Garden

Margarita shares with Faust that she really doesn’t like Mephistopheles. The girl thinks that he might betray them. Faust notes the innocence of Margarita, before whom the Devil is powerless: “Oh, the sensitivity of angelic guesses!” .

Faust gives Margarita a bottle of sleeping pills so that she can put her mother to sleep, and they can be alone longer next time.

Night. Street in front of Gretchen's house

Valentin, Gretchen's brother, decides to deal with the girl's lover. The young man is upset that she has brought shame upon herself by having an affair without marriage. Seeing Faust, Valentin challenges him to a duel. The doctor kills the young man. Before they are noticed, Mephistopheles and Faust hide and leave the city. Before his death, Valentin instructs Margarita, saying that the girl must take care of her honor.

Cathedral

Gretchen attends a church service. Behind the girl, an evil spirit whispers to her thoughts that Gretchen is guilty of the death of her mother (who did not wake up from the sleeping potion) and brother. Besides, everyone knows that a girl carries a child under her heart. Unable to bear the obsessive thoughts, Gretchen faints.

Walpurgis Night

Faust and Mephistopheles watch the Sabbath of witches and sorcerers. Walking along the fires, they meet a general, a minister, a rich businessman, a writer, a ragpicker witch, Lilith, Medusa and others. Suddenly, one of the shadows reminds Faust of Margarita; the doctor dreamed that the girl was beheaded.

It's a nasty day. Field

Mephistopheles tells Faust that Gretchen has been a beggar for a long time and is now in prison. The doctor is in despair, he blames the Devil for what happened and demands that he save the girl. Mephistopheles notices that it was not he, but Faust himself who ruined Margarita. However, after thinking, he agrees to help - the Devil will put the caretaker to sleep, and then take them away. Faust himself will have to take possession of the keys and lead Margarita out of prison.

Jail

Faust enters the dungeon where Margarita is sitting, singing strange songs. She lost her mind. Mistaking the doctor for an executioner, the girl asks to delay the punishment until the morning. Faust explains that her lover is in front of her and they need to hurry. The girl is happy, but hesitates, telling him that he has lost interest in her embrace. Margarita tells how she put her mother to death and drowned her daughter in a pond. The girl is delirious and asks Faust to dig graves for her, her mother and brother. Before her death, Margarita asks God for salvation. Mephistopheles says that she is condemned to torment, but then a voice comes from above: “Saved!” . The girl is dying.

Part two

Act one

Imperial Palace. Masquerade

Mephistopheles appears before the emperor in the guise of a jester. The State Council begins in the throne room. The Chancellor reports that the country is in decline, the state does not have enough money.

Party garden

The devil helped the state solve the problem of lack of money by pulling off a scam. Mephistopheles put into circulation securities, the collateral of which was gold located in the bowels of the earth. The treasure will one day be found and cover all expenses, but for now the fooled people are paying in shares.

Dark gallery

Faust, who appeared at court as a magician, tells Mephistopheles that he promised the emperor to show the ancient heroes Paris and Helen. The Doctor asks the Devil to help him. Mephistopheles gives Faust a guide key that will help the doctor penetrate the world of pagan gods and heroes.

Knight's Hall

The courtiers await the appearance of Paris and Helen. When an ancient Greek heroine appears, the ladies begin to discuss her shortcomings, but Faustus is captivated by the girl. The scene of the “abduction of Helen” by Paris is played out in front of the audience. Having lost his composure, Faust tries to save and hold the girl, but the spirits of the heroes suddenly evaporate.

Act two

Gothic room

Faust lies motionless in his old room. The student Famulus tells Mephistopheles that Wagner, who has now become a famous scientist, is still awaiting the return of his teacher Faust, and is now on the verge of a great discovery.

Laboratory in a medieval spirit

Mephistopheles appears to Wagner, who is at the awkward instruments. The scientist tells the guest that he wants to create a person, since, in his opinion, “for us, the former existence of children is an absurdity, archived.” Wagner creates the Homunculus.

The homunculus advises Mephistopheles to take Faust to the Walpurgis Night celebration, and then flies away with the doctor and the Devil, leaving Wagner.

Classic Walpurgis Night

Mephistopheles lowers Faust to the ground, and he finally comes to his senses. The Doctor goes in search of Elena.

Act three

In front of the Palace of Menelaus in Sparta

Landed on the shores of Sparta, Helen learns from the housekeeper Phorkiades that King Menelaus (Helen's husband) sent her here as a victim for sacrifice. The housekeeper helps the heroine escape death by helping her escape to a nearby castle.

Castle courtyard

Helen is brought to Faust's castle. He reports that the queen now owns everything in his castle. Faust directs his troops against Menelaus, who is coming at him with war and wants revenge, and he and Helen take refuge in the underworld.

Soon a son, Euphorion, is born to Faust and Helen. The boy dreams of jumping so “that he might inadvertently reach the heavens in one leap.” Faust tries to shield his son from trouble, but he asks to leave him alone. Having climbed a high rock, Euphorion jumps from it and falls dead at the feet of his parents. Grieving Helen says to Faust: “The old saying comes true on me, That happiness does not coexist with beauty,” and, with the words “Take me, O Persephone, with a boy!” hugs Faust. The woman's body disappears, and only her dress and bedspread remain in the man's hands. Helen's clothes turn into clouds and carry Faust away.

Act Four

Mountain landscape

Faust floats on a cloud to the rocky ridge, which was previously the bottom of the underworld. A man reflects on the fact that with the memories of love, all his purity and “best essence” goes away. Soon Mephistopheles flies to the rock on seven-league boots. Faust tells Mephistopheles that his greatest desire is to build a dam on the sea and

"At any cost in the abyss
Conquer a piece of land."

Faust asks Mephistopheles for help. Suddenly the sounds of war are heard. The Devil explains that the Emperor, whom they had previously helped, is in dire straits after the discovery of a securities scam. Mephistopheles advises Faust to help the monarch return to the throne, for which he can receive the seashore as a reward. The Doctor and the Devil help the Emperor achieve a brilliant victory.

Act five

Open area

A wanderer visits the elderly, loving married couple Baucis and Philemon. Once upon a time, the old people already helped him, for which he is very grateful to them. Baucis and Philemon live by the sea, nearby there is a bell tower and a linden grove.

Castle

The aged Faustus is outraged - Baucis and Philemon do not agree to leave the seashore so that he can bring his idea to life. Their house is located exactly on the site that now belongs to the doctor. Mephistopheles promises to deal with the old people.

Deep night

The house of Baucis and Philemon, and with it the linden grove and bell tower, were burned. Mephistopheles told Faust that they tried to drive the old people out of the house, but they died of fright, and the guest, resisting, was killed by the servants. The house caught fire accidentally from a spark. Faust curses Mephistopheles and the servants for being deaf to his words, since he wanted a fair exchange, and not violence and robbery.

Large courtyard in front of the palace

Mephistopheles orders the lemurs (grave ghosts) to dig a grave for Faust. The blind Faust hears the sound of shovels and decides that these are the workers making his dream come true:

“They put a limit to the frenzy of the surf
And, as if reconciling the earth with itself,
They are erecting, the shaft and embankments are being secured.”

Faust orders Mephistopheles to “recruit countless workers here,” constantly reporting to him on the progress of work. The Doctor reflects that he would like to see the days when a free people worked in a free land, then he could exclaim: “In a moment! Oh, how wonderful you are, wait!” . With the words: “And anticipating this triumph, I am now experiencing the highest moment,” Faust dies.

Coffin position

Mephistopheles waits for Faust's spirit to leave his body so that he can present to him their agreement, backed by blood. However, angels appear and, having pushed the demons away from the doctor’s grave, they carry Faust’s immortal essence into the sky.

Conclusion

Tragedy I. In Goethe, “Faust” is a philosophical work in which the author reflects on the eternal theme of the confrontation in the world and man between good and evil, reveals issues of human knowledge of the secrets of the world, self-knowledge, touches on issues of power, love, honor, justice that are important at any time and many others. Today, Faust is considered one of the pinnacles of German classical poetry. The tragedy is included in the repertoire of the world's leading theaters and has been filmed many times.

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Scene two

People walking out of the gate.

Several apprentices

Hey you! Where are you going, gentlemen?

Other

To the hunting yard. Where are you going?

First

To the mill.

One of the apprentices

Let's go to the ponds!

Second Journeyman

God be with them!
The road there is too bad!

Second group of apprentices

Third Journeyman

I'll go somewhere with others.

Fourth

I advise you to visit Burgdorf!
What girls, what beer there!
And the fight is first class! Let's go, guys!

Fifth

You know, your back itches: give up all the fights.
Just wait, they'll bruise your sides.
Go ahead yourself - don’t invite me.

Maid

No no! I need to come back soon.

Other

Where? He's probably there, by the poplars, in the alley.

First

What kind of joy is there for me?
He always follows you.
He chats and dances not with me:
What is your joy to me?

Second

Yes, we will not go with him alone:
Curly will also be with him.

Student

Eh, girls, damn it! Look, they are running so fast!
Well, colleague, we need to catch up with them!
Strong tobacco and foamy beer,
Yes, the girl is beautiful - what more could you ask for!

City girl

That's it, well done! How can they not be surprised!
After all, this is just shame and disgrace!
We could take a walk in excellent company -
No, they were hot on the heels of the maids!

Second student

(to the first)

Wait: there are two others coming;
One of them is my neighbor.
I really like her.
Look how elegant they are!
Slowly, they walk step by step
And they are waiting for us secretly.

First student

Eh, brother, come on! I don't want to be shy.
Hurry up: the game can gallop away!
Whose hand sweeps the floor when Saturday comes -
On holiday, she will be the best at cuddling everyone.

city ​​dweller

No, the new burgomaster is no good at all.
As the day goes on, he is prouder.
Does the city see much benefit in it?
Every day is worse, no doubt;
Everything is just more submission
Yes, we pay more and more every day.

Beggar

(sings)

Another Citizen

I love to hear how people gather on holiday
Talk about battles, about war,
Like somewhere in Turkey, in a distant place,
Peoples are cutting and fighting.
Holding my glass, I stand in front of the window,
And the barges on the river pass before me;
And then in the evening I go to my house,
Blessing the world with a calm soul.

Third Citizen

Old woman

(to city girls)

Look how dressed up they are - it looks like a young rose!
Oh you beauties! Well, how can you not fall in love with you?
What are you looking at proudly? Don't disdain me:
The old lady might come in handy.

City girl

Here, Agatha! Away from the old woman!
It’s not appropriate for the witch and I to talk in public.
Although, believe me, on St. Andrew's night
She deftly showed me her betrothed.

Other

I also saw it with her:
The witch showed me in the mirror.
Military - how good! I've been looking for him
Yes, I can’t meet you, I don’t know why.

Soldiers

Towers with battlements,
Submit to us!
Proud maidens,
Smile at us!
All of you will surrender!
Glorious payment
Brave work!
Feat of a soldier
Sweet for us.
We are all matchmakers
With a ringing trumpet
To noisy joy,
To the death combat.
In battles and assaults
Our days are rushing;
Walls and maidens
They will submit to us.
Glorious payment
Brave work!
A moment - and a soldier
No longer there.

Faust and Wagner.

Faust

The broken ice floes rushed into the sea;
Spring shines with a living smile;
The valleys shine with spring beauty;
The gray winter has weakened: into the gorges,
She goes to the high mountains.
There she hides in fruitless anger
And sometimes it blows like a cold blizzard
To the fresh, tender greenery of spring, -
But the sun does not want to tolerate whiteness;
Living aspiration will be born everywhere,
Everything wants to grow, it’s in a hurry to blossom,
And if the clearing is not yet blooming,
Instead of flowers, people dressed up.
Look, turn around: from under the ancient arch
The crowd comes out in a long line;
From the stuffy city to the field, into the light
The people are crowded, animated, dressed up;
Basking in the sun is a pleasure for everyone.
They celebrate Christ Sunday -
And it was as if they themselves had been resurrected:
Endless winter days have passed;
From a stuffy room, from hard work,
From the shops, from his cramped workshop,
From the darkness of the attics, from under the carved roof
The people rushed in a cheerful crowd,
And after prayer in the darkness of the churches
The air of green fields caresses them.
Look, look: both the fields and the road
Covered with a cheerful and motley crowd;
And there, on the river, there was fuss and anxiety,
And a countless swarm of boats flashes by.
And now the last shuttle, loaded,
With effort he set off, to the edge of the water;
And even above, on a distant mountain,
You can see colorful dresses everywhere.
Chu! You can hear the chatter of the crowd in the clearing;
This is true paradise for them! The villagers rejoice
Both old and young, in a cheerful circle.
Here again I am a man, here I can be!

Wagner

I love a walk, doctor, with you,
It is my honor and benefit;
But I am the enemy of the rude - and I would not dare
Stay here alone with the men.
Their skittles, violins, shouting and round dance
I endure with strong disgust:
As if possessed by a demon, the people grimace, -
And he calls this fun, dancing, singing!

Peasants

(dancing under the linden tree; dancing and singing)

The shepherdess began to dance;
There are ribbons and a wreath on it,
And the jacket was showing off.
People swarmed under the linden trees,
And the mad dance was in full swing,
And the violin began to play.
He immediately flew into the crowd
And he hit a girl with his elbow
For the first start.
But the girl looks briskly:
“How stupid it is,” he says,
It wouldn’t hurt to be quiet!”
But he, wrapping his arm around her,
He started a dashing dance with her -
Only the skirts fluttered.
He lifted her on his elbow,
They felt hot in the cramped space,
And both were out of breath.
“Let me go, you won’t trick me!
I know: your caresses are a lie.
And your oaths are unsteady!
But he, hugging her, attracts her,
And there, in the distance, people are making noise
And the sounds of the violin flow.

Old peasant

That's great of you,
Why have you come at a merry hour!
You are so learned and smart,
And they didn’t forget about us.
You with a mug of the best drink
The people give gratitude
And loudly here I wish:
May she refresh your breasts,
And how many pure drops are in it -
May God give you so many bright days.

Faust

I drink to your health,
And thank you for the hello.

People gather around.

Old man

Yes, it’s a good idea to visit
The people are now at a cheerful hour;
But you happened to come
And in days of trouble, working for us.
There are a lot of them here,
Whom your father treated:
He saved them from certain death
And he extinguished the infection for us.
Then you, young man, follow him
I walked everywhere among the sick,
Brave, clean and unharmed,
Between corpses filled with pus, -
And the patron remained alive:
The Savior kept the savior.

People

Learned man, you have saved many;
Live a hundred years saving us!

Faust

Better bow down before
Who teaches everyone and benefits everyone.

Wagner

What should you, great man, feel?
Hearing this speech and these exclamations!
Oh, happy is he who has his gifts and knowledge
I could have used it to such advantage!
Your arrival instantly changed the picture:
The father shows you to his son,
Everyone is running, hurrying, crowding around;
The violinist fell silent, the dancing suddenly died down;
You walk by - they stand in rows,
And hats are all flying up here!
One more moment - and they will fall on their faces,
As before sacred gifts.

Faust

Let's go there: on that stone
Let's sit down and rest a little.
More than once I sat here, tormenting myself with fasting,
Praying and calling on God.
With hope, with faith in the creator,
In tears, groaning, wringing my hands,
For an evil ulcer, for terrible torment
I asked for a quick end.
The words of the crowd sound like evil mockery
In my ears, and I alone know
How little we, father and son,
We can be proud of this praise.
My father, a dark worker, in silence
He struggled in vain with the secrets of nature;
Into her circles of saints he strove
Penetrate with all the powers of the soul -
In your own way, but honestly. Between adherents
He sat locked up in the black kitchen
And I tried to find a healing balm,
Mixing many different recipes.
A red lion appeared - and he was the groom,
And in the warm liquid they crowned him
With a beautiful lily, and warmed them with fire,
And they were moved from vessel to vessel.
And then - shining with rays of all colors
We received the young queen in glass:
The healing drink was ready.
And we began to treat. The torment doubled:
The patients died without exception,
Has anyone recovered?
They didn’t think to ask about that.
These are our healing feats!
Among these mountains we destroyed
Worse than the destructive plague!
I myself gave poison to thousands:
They are gone - but I live... And so
In my person the people repaid
Honor and glory to your murderers!

Wagner

Well, is it worth bothering you about this!
Enough if correct and honest
You managed to put everything into action,
What did you know from others?
As a young man, I honor my father’s labors
You rewarded him - he was pleased with you;
Then you yourself advanced science,
And your son will go on again!

Faust

Oh, happy is he who is given joy -
Hope to get out of the impenetrable darkness!
What we need, we don’t know
What do we know, we don’t need that.
But stop it: let's not poison
This is a wonderful hour with sad speeches.
Look: the sun has already begun to shine
Gardens and huts with farewell rays.
It comes there, hiding in the distance,
And awakens the life of another land...
Oh, give me wings to fly away from the earth
And rush after him, without getting tired along the way!
And I would see in the radiance of rays
The whole world is at my feet: even the sleeping valleys,
And the burning peaks with a golden shine,
And a river in gold, and a stream in silver.
Gorges of wild mountains with high ridges
The aspirations of the soul could not constrain:
The seas would appear, sleeping in silence,
Before amazed eyes.
Now the sun has disappeared, but in my soul I am sick
A mighty desire grows again
Fly after him and drink his radiance,
I see the night behind me and the day in front of me,
And the sky is high, and the waves are under your feet.
A wonderful dream! But the day has already faded.
Alas, only the spirit soars, having renounced the body, -
We cannot soar with bodily wings!
But sometimes you can’t suppress
There is an innate desire in the soul,
Striving upward when it reaches us
Suddenly a lark sings
From the vast blue skies,
When, leaving the valley and forest below,
Eagle soars freely over the mountains
Or high under the clouds
To your distant homeland
A flock of cranes rushes.

Wagner

I, too, often moped, without a doubt,
But I didn’t feel such a desire.
After all, you will soon get tired of wandering in the forests, in the fields...
No, what do I need wings and why be a bird!
Ah, is it a matter of absorbing
After volume after volume, page after page!
And the winter nights fly by so merrily,
And the heart beats so pleasantly!
And if I come across a rare parchment,
I'm just in heaven and endlessly happy.

Faust

You know only one aspiration,
To know otherwise is misfortune for people.
Ah, two souls live in my aching chest,
Strange to each other - and thirst for separation!
Of these, one is dear to the earth -
And here she loves it, in this world,
The other is the heavenly fields,
Where the shadows of the ancestors are, there, in the ether.
O spirits, if you live on high
And you soar imperiously between heaven and earth,
From the golden sphere come down to me
And let me live a different life!
Oh, how glad I would be to have a magic cloak,
To fly away on it to an unknown world!
I would give the most luxurious outfit for him,
I wouldn’t trade it for the royal purple!

Wagner

Don't call this familiar swarm,
Spilled in the air, rushing above us;
From time immemorial he has been in the human soul
It threatens with grief and troubles from all sides.
They rush from the north, and their sharp teeth savagely
And with their tongue they sting us like an arrow;
Then from the east they send us rainlessness
And they dry our breasts with evil consumption;
Then, if the hot south sends them out of the deserts,
They accumulate scorching heat above our heads;
Then suddenly they will rush in coolness from the west,
And after us, the meadows and fields are drowned.
They rush to the call, preparing our death:
They submit, wanting to lead you into deception,
They are like heaven's holy ambassadors,
And their evil lies are like the song of the angels...
However, it’s time for us to go home long ago:
The fog is falling, it’s cold, it’s dark...
Yes, only in the evening we appreciate a secluded house!
But what have you become? And than in the dark valley
Is your attention so attracted?
What is your gaze looking for in the foggy darkness?

Faust

Do you see a black dog prowling around the field?

Wagner

Well, yes; but what's special about that?

Faust

Take a closer look: what do you see in him?

Wagner

Yes, just a poodle in front of us:
He is looking for the owner by following the tracks.

Faust

Do you see: spiral circles
He is rushing closer and closer to us.
It seems to me that a fiery stream
Sparks follow in his wake.

Wagner

You inadvertently fall into a visual illusion:
There's just a black dog there - and nothing more.

Faust

It seems to me that he is luring us
Into the magical network among your circles.

Wagner

He was looking for the owner - and he sees two strangers!
Look how timidly he runs up to us.

Faust

The circles are getting closer, closer... He’s already close to us.

Wagner

Of course, a dog like a dog is not a ghost: you see for yourself!
Either he will lie down, then, grumbling, he will rush without looking back,
Then he wags his tail: it’s all a dog’s grip!

Faust

Come here! Follow us!

Wagner

Yes, there is no end to the fun with this dog:
You stand calmly - he waits patiently;
If you call out, he’s coming towards you;
If you drop an item, he will bring it back in an instant;
Throw a stick into the water - he will get it out quickly.

Faust

You're right, I was wrong. Yes:
All the training is here, but not a trace of the spirit.

Wagner

Yes, to such a tamed dog
Sometimes even a learned husband will become attached.
Pupil of daring students,
This dog is worth your mercy.

They enter the city gates.

Scene three

Faust enters with a poodle.

Faust

I left the fields and fields;
They were covered in fog.
Soul, humble your impulses!
Innocent dream, wake up!
The wild anxiety has subsided,
And the blood does not rage in the veins:
Faith in God was resurrected in my soul,
Love for one's neighbor has been resurrected.
Poodle, be silent, don’t rush and don’t fight:
It’s enough for you to grumble on the threshold;
Go to the stove, calm down, warm up -
You can lie on a soft pillow.
You amused us along the long road,
He jumped, galloped and frolicked all the way;
Lie down now and behave decently.
Be a friendly guest.
When again in the ancient cell
The lamp will shine, friend of the nights,
Quiet fun will arise
In my humbled soul,
And again thoughts will swarm,
Hope will bloom again -
And again dreams strive there,
Where the spring of life flows.
Poodle, be quiet! To these heavenly sounds,
So took possession of my soul,
By the way, should I mix in your wild howl?
Often we have over the beautiful and honest
People laugh with evil mockery,
Not being able to understand the High Duma.
They only grumble angrily, not controlling themselves.
Is that how you, poodle, grumble in front of me? –
But woe is me! Contentment and humility
My sore chest no longer feels.
Why have you dried up, the key of peace?
Why am I thirsting in vain again?
Alas, I have experienced this more than once!
But, in order to compensate for the loss of happiness,
We are learning to appreciate the unearthly
And in Revelation we are waiting for an answer,
And its ray burns brightest
That's what the New Testament tells us.
I will reveal the ancient, inspired text,
I will be completely imbued with holy antiquity
And I will honestly convey the sacred original
In the dear dialect of Germany, dear.

(Opens the book and gets ready to translate.)

It is written: “In the beginning was the Word” -
And now one obstacle is ready:
I cannot value the Word so highly.
Yes, I have to change the text in the translation,
When my feeling told me correctly.
I will write that Thought is the beginning of everything.
Wait, don't rush, so that the first line
It was not far from the truth!
After all, Thought cannot create and act!
Isn't Power the beginning of all beginnings?
I write - and again I began to hesitate,
And again doubt troubles my soul.
But the light flashed - and I see a way out, boldly
I can write: “In the beginning was the Deed!”
Poodle, don’t you dare squeal and rush around,
If you want to stay with me!
The comrade is too annoying:
Your howling is disturbing me from studying.
Me or you; although against hunting,
I am forced to turn the guest out the door.
Well, come out quickly now:
You will easily find the path to freedom here.
But what do I see? Reality or dream?
My poodle is growing, he is scary,
Huge! What miracles!
It grows in length and width!
He doesn't look like a dog!
The eyes are burning; like a hippopotamus
He bared his mouth at me!
Oh, you will recognize my power!
"Key of Solomon" all its weight
He'll show you, demigod!

Perfume

(in the corridor)

He's caught! Let's hurry!
But you can’t go in behind him.
Like a fox among snares,
The old demon sits and waits.
So come quickly,
A swarm of cautious spirits,
And try with the whole crowd,
So that he can escape the chains.
On this dark night
We must help him.
He is great, mighty, strong:
He helped us more than once!

Faust

To subdue the evil beast
Let me say four words first:
Salamander, burn!
You, Sylphide, fly!
You, Undine, swirl!
Brownie, work hard!
Elements four
Reign in this world;
Who has not comprehended them,
Their strength did not penetrate, -
Power is alien to him,
To curse the spirits.
Disappear in fire
Salamander!
Spill in the wave
You, Ondine!
Shine with a star
You, Sylphide!
Give me some help at home,
Incubus, Incubus,
Come out to end the alliance!
No, none of the four
The terrible beast does not hide:
It doesn't hurt him; he lay down,
And he bares his teeth and mocks.
To call the spirit and find out,
I will spell stronger.
But know this: if you, insolent,
A fugitive from dark hell,
Then - look - a victory sign!
Hell and darkness fear him,
The spirits of the dust are submissive to him.
The dog bristled with fear!
Damned creature!
Can you read the title
Him, the uncreated
Him, ineffable,
And death and hell of the trampled
And the one who suffered on the cross!
Terrible, menacing, huge, like an elephant,
It grows behind the stove,
And in the fog it wants to spill out!
He fills the entire vault with himself.
Gloomy spirit, I am your lord:
You must bow before me.
It was not in vain that I threatened with the cross:
I will burn you with God's fire!
Don't wait from me now
Three times the holy fire!
Don't wait, I say, from me
The most powerful in our sacrament!

The fog dissipates, and Mephistopheles appears from behind the stove in the clothes of a wandering scholastic.

Mephistopheles

Faust

So that's who was sitting in the poodle;
Scholastic, hidden in the dog!
Funny!

Mephistopheles

Hello to you, venerable priest of science!
By your grace, I was sweating quite a bit.

Faust

What is your name?

Mephistopheles

The question is quite petty
In the mouth of one who despises words
And, alien to appearance, empty,
He only looks deeply into the essence of things.

Faust

To find out the essence about your brother,
The name is something to look at.
According to your specialty, the nickname you are given is:
The spirit of malice, the demon of lies, deceit - as necessary.
So who are you?

Mephistopheles

I am part of the eternal power,
Always wishing evil, doing only good.

Faust

Curly said; and more simply - what is it?

Mephistopheles

I deny everything - and this is my essence,
Then, that only to fail with thunder,
All this rubbish that lives on earth is good.
Wouldn’t it be better if they weren’t born at all!
In short, everything that your brother calls evil -
The desire to destroy, evil deeds and thoughts,
This is all my element.

Faust

You told me: “I am part”; but all of you are in front of me?

Mephistopheles

I modestly expressed only the truth, without a doubt.
After all, it’s just you, your ridiculous little world
You count for everything, for the center of all creation!
And I am only part of the part that was
At the beginning of all the darkness that the light produced,
The arrogant light that began to argue from birth
Happy mighty night, mother of creation.
But he still can’t grow up to us!
Whatever he gives birth to, all this every time
Inseparably connected with bodies,
Originated from bodies, beautiful only in bodies,
It must always remain within the boundaries of bodies,
And - right, it seems, we won’t have to wait long -
He himself will fall apart with their bodies into decay and dust.

Faust

So this is your high value!
You couldn’t destroy something great
Then, in small ways, you started destruction!

Mephistopheles

What to do! And even here I tried in vain.
Trashy Something, insignificant world,
Rival of the eternal Nothing,
Stands without looking at anything
And it causes all sorts of harm:
Whether there is a flood, fires, thunderstorms, hail -
Both sea and land still stand.
With the breed of stupid animals and humans
Sometimes I don't have the strength to fight -
After all, how many people have I already destroyed?
And life flows its wide river.
Yes, it’s crazy - everything in the world is done this way,
What is in the air, in the water and on the dry road,
The embryo will develop in both heat and cold.
One more fire remains, thank you.
Otherwise, by God, you wouldn’t find shelter!

Faust

And this life-giving power,
Always fighting evil
You threaten in vain, foolish devil,
With your cold fist.
It’s better to invent another aspiration,
Chaos is a strange creation!
The poodle didn't see this thing as strange;
He jumped up and instantly changed his appearance,
And the exit was closed to the evil one.

Faust

Go to the window, there will be no difficulties.

Mephistopheles

Alas, this is the law of devils and ghosts:
The way you entered is the way you come out.
I am free to enter, but I am obliged to leave.
Where he entered.

Faust

And is hell bound by law?
Here's the news! Well! Great: maybe
Is it possible to conclude an agreement with you?

Mephistopheles

What we promise you can get
In full, we will not deceive you in anything.
Yes, but it takes a long time to talk about this.
Another time we will talk in more detail.
Now I ask your humble permission
Leave. Could you please remove the pentagram?

Faust

Where? Why rush? Stay a moment.
Can you tell me a story?

Mephistopheles

Now let me go! After all, I will come again;
Then ask - I will give a solution to everything.

Faust

I didn’t call you, you know that;
You yourself got caught in the net, don’t you tell me?
Whoever holds the devil, keep him:
It's not so easy to catch him again.

Mephistopheles

Well, if that's what you want, I'm ready
Stay with you for a few hours;
But I ask you to give me the freedom
I amuse you with my art.

Faust

Do whatever you want; only if you can
Keep me busy.

Mephistopheles

You are in a brief hour among visions
You will get more pleasure
Than in a whole year of ordinary days.
Not the songs of disembodied spirits,
Not a marvelous series of wonderful paintings
They will not be a dream of magical enchantments;
You will please your sense of smell,
And taste, and even touch -
I’ll give you everything, everything as a gift!
No need to wait for preparations:
We're all here. Start together!

Perfume

You dark arches,
Oh, may you be gone!
Let it be light and bright
He will look friendly
Ether blue!
Let the clouds disappear
The swarm will disperse!
Let the stars twinkle
Let meekly caressing
The sun is shining for us!
Like a light flock,
In luxurious bloom
Incorporeal beauty
Heavenly children
Fluttering, flying;
And a lovely swarm of them
It will fly higher
It creeps below
And closer, ever closer
He strives for the ground
And ethereal fabric
Their clothes are blowing
Above the bushes of peace,
Blessed country,
Where are the gazebos in the bliss,
Full of sweet thoughts
Lovers are thrilled
They are loyal to each other.
And everywhere they are colorful
Gazebos, gazebos!
Vine tender branches
They give grapes;
Pressed in a vice,
The juice of the grapes flows,
And, foaming, rivers
The wine flows down;
Among the incomparable
Precious stones
It flows
And, leaving the heights
Shining mountains
Flows, falling
To the plains of lakes.
Strings of hills
They bloom among them,
And birds of paradise
They drink bliss there,
And they strive for the sun,
And they rush joyfully
They're off to the islands
What's in the brilliance of the radiance
Floating on the waves;
And a hymn of rejoicing
We hear it there;
Our eyes captivate
Dancing choirs
In the bright meadows,
Climbing mountains
Diving in the waves
And they soar in the air,
And cherished in the heart
Your aspirations
To that blessed life
In the boundless universe,
Where are the stars, sparkling,
They give them, caressing,
Bliss of love!

Mephistopheles

He is lulled to sleep. aerial creations,
Thank you my for your chants:
I am indebted to you for this concert.
No, Faust, it is not for you to command demons!
Let him dream, embraced by airy dreams,
All immersed in deceptive peace.
But we need to remove the spell from the threshold:
The rat will chew it off for me.
Now one has come: the order runs and
My fulfillment is just waiting.
Lord of rats, mice, frogs,
Bedbugs, and fleas, and lice, and flies
Would you like to order
Run up to that threshold -
And where he puts the oil,
Let your tooth gnaw hard.
Live, little animal! Forward! Stops me from going out
There, on the edge, is a corner on the left side.
Enough! Fine! Thanks for your efforts!
Well, Faust, get some sleep! See you soon!

(Leaves.)

Faust

(waking up)

Will I be deceived again?
The spirit world has disappeared again: in a dream
An insidious demon appeared to me,
And the poodle disappeared from the alcove!

Dedication 1
The “Dedication” to Faust was written on June 24, 1797. Like the "Dedication" to Goethe's collected works, it is written in octaves - an eight-line stanza very common in Italian literature and first transferred by Goethe to German poetry. With his “dedication” to Faust, Goethe marked a significant event - his return to work on this tragedy (on the end of its first part and a number of sketches that later became part of the second part).

You are here again, changing shadows,
have been troubling me for a long time,
Will you finally find your embodiment?
Or has my youthful enthusiasm cooled down?
But you came like smoke, visions,
Fog covered my horizons.
I catch your breath with all my chest
And next to you my soul becomes younger.

You have resurrected past paintings,
Old days, old evenings.
An old fairy tale emerges in the distance
The first time of love and friendship.
Pierced to the very core
The melancholy of those years and the thirst for goodness,
I am everyone who lived on that radiant noon,
Again I remember gratefully.

They won't hear the next songs,
To whom did I read the previous ones? 2
Of the listeners of the first scenes of Faust, the following had died by that time (1797): the poet’s sister Cornelia Schlosser, his youthful friend Merck, the poet Lenz; others, such as: the poets Klopstock, Klinger, the Stolberg brothers lived far from Weimar and in estrangement from Goethe; Alienation was observed then between Goethe and Herder.

The circle that was so tight fell apart
The noise of the first approvals has faded.
The voice of the uninitiated is light,
And, I admit, I’m afraid of their praises,
And the former connoisseurs and judges
They scattered, all over the place, among the desert.

And I'm chained by an unprecedented force
To those images that surged from outside,
The Aeolian harp sobbed
The beginning of stanzas that were born in the rough.
I'm in awe, the languor is over,
I shed tears, and the ice inside me melts.
The urgent fades into the distance, and the past,
As it gets closer, it becomes clearer.

Theatrical introduction 3
Written in 1797 (1798?) Commentators consider it an imitation of the Indian writer Kalidasa's drama "Sakuntala", which Goethe regarded as "one of the greatest manifestations of human genius."

In any case, Kalidasa’s drama is preceded by a prologue in which a conversation takes place between the theater director and the actress.

Theater director, poet and comic actor

Director

Both of you, amidst everyone's misfortunes
Those who gave me luck,
Here, with my traveling troupe,
What kind of success do you expect me to have?
My audience is mostly anonymous,
And our support in life is the majority.
The pillars of the platform are dug in, the boards are knocked down,
And everyone expects God knows what from us.
Everyone raises their eyebrows in anticipation,
Preparing a tribute of recognition in advance.
I know them all and I undertake to light them up,
But for the first time I was overcome with such anxiety.
Although their taste is not spoiled,
They read an incalculable amount.
To immediately show the product with your face,
A new product must be introduced into the repertoire.
What could be more pleasant than crowds,
When people rush to the theater
And, in jealousy reaching the point of recklessness,
Like the doors of heaven, storming the entrance?
There are no four, but clever sneaks,
Making a way with your elbows in a crush,
Like going to a baker for bread, going to the cashier
And they are happy to break their necks for a ticket.
The wizard and the culprit of their influx,
Poet, accomplish this miracle today.

Poet

Don't tell me about the crowd guilty
The fact that in front of her we are taken aback.
It sucks like a quagmire
Spins like a whirlpool.
No, take me to those heights
Where does concentration call?
To where God's hand created
Abode of dreams, sanctuary of peace.

What will those places bring to your soul?
Don't let it burst into your mouth right away.
Secular vanity will dispel the dream,
Vanity will trample under its heel.
Let your thought, when it ripens,
It will appear to us completely clean.
External shine is designed to last a moment,
But the truth passes on through generations.

Comic actor

They told me enough about posterity.
If only I would give effort to posterity,
Who would amuse our youth?
In accordance with the century, being is not so small.
The delights of a generation are not a trifle,
You won't find them on the street.
The one who is not deaf to the whims of the public,
Treats her without prejudice.
The wider the circle of our listeners,
The more contagious the impression.
A person can't go wrong with talent.
Connect only in each role
Imagination, feeling, mind and passion
And a fair amount of humor.

Director

And most importantly, drive the action
Live, episode by episode.
More details in their development,
To capture the attention of onlookers,
And you defeated them, you reign,
You are the most necessary person, you are a magician.
To deliver a good collection to the play,
It requires a prefabricated composition.
And everyone, choosing something from the mixture,
He will go home, saying thank you.
Put all sorts of things in the feeding bowl:
A little bit of life, a little bit of fiction,
You succeed at this kind of stew.
The crowd will turn everything into okroshka,
I can't give you better advice.

Poet

Sprinkling vulgarities is a great evil.
You are not aware of this at all.
The craft of mediocre scoundrels,
As I see, you are held in high esteem.

Director

Fortunately, your reproach passed me by.
Based on carpentry material
You take the right tool.
Have you thought in your work,
Who is your work intended for?
Some people go to a performance out of boredom,
Others - having lunched to the fullest,
And others – feeling severe itching
Show off a judgment taken from a magazine.
How crowds wander around masquerades
Out of curiosity, for one moment,
Ladies come to us to show off their clothes
No engagement fee.
A self-intoxicated celestial being,
Come down to earth from the clouds!
Take a closer look: who is your audience?
He is indifferent, rude and clueless.
He will rush from the theater to the roulette wheel
Or into the arms of a flighty coquette.
And if so, I am seriously surprised:
Why torment the poor muses without benefit?
Pile into a heap, sliding on top,

Whatever comes along for variety.
It is impossible to amaze with an excess of thought,
So surprise with the lack of communication.
But what happened to you? Are you ecstatic?

Poet

Go, look for another slave!
But your power over the poet is weak,
So that he has his sacred rights
Because of you, I criminally mixed him with dirt.
How do his words touch your heart?
Is it only thanks to a loud phrase?
The structure of his soul is in tune with the world -
Here is this secret power being.
When nature spins the yarn of life
And the spindle of time turns,
She doesn't care if the thread runs smoother
Or with a hitch fiber.
Who gives, aligning the spinning wheel,
Then acceleration and smoothness of the wheel?
Who brings into the noise of pathetic disunity
A chord of euphony and beauty?
Who brings feelings of confusion closer to the storm? 4
Goethe gives here a brief description of the three main genres of poetry: “ Who brings feelings of confusion together with the storm?"characterizes drama; " Sadness is related to sunset by the river" - epic; " By whose will does the flowering plant //Drops petals on those who love” - lyrics.

Who is sadness related to the sunset by the river?
By whose will does the flowering plant
Does it drop petals on those who love?
Who crowns the feats? Who is the defense
To the gods in the shadow of the Olympic groves?
What is this? – Human power,
The poet spoke openly.

Comic actor

Use it for its intended purpose.
Take care of your business of inspiration
The way love affairs are conducted.
How are they led? By chance, I missed it.
They are friends, sigh, sulk, - a minute,
Another one, and the bonds are ready.
A disagreement, an explanation - a reason is given,
There is no retreat for you, you are having an affair.
Imagine us exactly such a drama.
Rake straight from the thick of life.
Not everyone is aware of how they live.
Whoever grasps this will carry us away.
Into a fermented fable
Throw in a grain of truth,
And it will be cheap and angry
Your drink will seduce everyone.
Then the color of selected youth
Will come to look at your revelation
And he will draw with grateful trembling,
Whatever suits his mood.
No one's eyes will be able to remain dry.
Everyone will listen with bated breath.
And cry and laugh without delay,
The one who is young and yellow-throated can do it.
Who has grown up is gloomy and picky,
Anyone who still needs to grow will understand everything.

Poet

Then give me back my wonderful age,
When everything was ahead
And in a continuous procession
Songs were surging from my chest.
For the first time the world lay in fog,
And, rejoicing in the miracle in everything,
I picked wild flowers,
Growing all around.
When I was poor and rich,
He lives by truth and is glad of falsehood.
Give me back my untamed spirit,
Days of torment and days of bliss,
The heat of hatred, the heat of love,
Bring back the days of my youth!

Comic actor

Ah, my friend, you need youth,
When you fall in battle, weakening;
When gray hair cannot save
And girls hang themselves around their necks;
When at a running competition
You must be the first to reach the goal;
When at a noisy young feast
You spend the night dancing and having fun.
But put your hand into the strings of the lyre,
With whom you are inseparable all the time,
And don’t lose the thread
In a topic freely chosen by you,
Mature summers are just in favor here,
And the saying is like a frail old man
Towards the end it falls into childhood - slander,
But we are all children until the grave.

Director

Enough salon chatter.
It’s not for us to weave pleasantries.
Why bow down in vain?
We could come to something worthwhile.
Who waits in inaction for inspirations,
Will wait for them until the end of days.
Do you want to thunder in poetry?
Deal with her in your own way.
I told you that it is for our good.
You cook your mash.
No talking about the boiler!
The day was missed, the day passed, -
You won't get back what you lost.
Catch on the go, at work
A convenient case for a crest.
Look, on the German stage
They're frolicking to their heart's content.
Tell me - the prop man will give you
All the necessary equipment.
You will need overhead light -
You burn as much as you like.
In the elements of fire and water,
And there is no shortage of others.
In this plank booth
You can, as in the universe,
Having gone through all the tiers in a row,
Descend from heaven through earth to hell. 5
The director does not mean the essence of Faust and his death (in the spirit of the old folk book about Doctor Faustus), but the breadth of the concept of the tragedy, which truly embraces earth, heaven, and hell.

Prologue in the sky 6
This second prologue was written in 1797–1798. Finished in 1800. As is known, in response to Goethe’s remark that Byron’s “Manfred” is a kind of reworking of “Faust” (this, however, did not in the least detract from the work of the English poet in Goethe’s eyes), Byron, offended by this, said that “Faust”, in turn, , is an imitation of the great Spanish poet-playwright Calderon (1666–1681); that Gretchen’s songs are nothing more than free adaptations of the songs of Ophelia and Desdemona (Shakespeare’s heroines in Hamlet and Othello); that, finally, “Prologue in Heaven” is an imitation of the book of Job (Bible), this, perhaps, the first playwright. Goethe met Calderon much later than he began work on Faust, and was hardly ever influenced by the Spanish poet. Gretchen's monologues and songs only very indirectly go back to the songs and monologues of Ophelia and Desdemona. As for the book of Job, the borrowing from it was confirmed by Goethe himself: “It is true that the exposition of my Faust has some similarities with the exposition of Job,” Goethe said to his secretary Eckermann, discussing with him Byron’s review, “but I am for it should be praised rather than blamed." The similarity of both expositions (plots) is all the more striking since the biblical text is presented in dramatic form.

The Lord, the heavenly host, then Mephistopheles. Three Archangels.

Rafail

In space, surrounded by a choir of spheres,
The sun gives its voice,
Coming with a thunderclap
Prescribed cycle. 7
In these verses, as in the first act of the second part of Faust, Goethe talks about the harmony of the spheres, a concept borrowed from the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras (6th century BC).

The angels of the Lord marvel
Looking around the entire limit.
As on the first day, so today
The glory of God's works is immeasurable.

Gabriel

And with incomprehensible speed
The earth rotates below,
For a night with terrible darkness
And the bright afternoon divides the circle.
And the sea is covered with foam of waves,
And the surf hits the stones with foam,
And the planet rushes stones with the sea
In a circle forever behind you.

Michael

And storms, destroying everything along the way
And covering everything with rubble,
Now in the free sea, now on land
They are vying madly.
And the lightning runs away like a snake,
And the distance is covered with smoke,
But we, Lord, are in awe
Before your wondrous providence.

All three of us

We, your angels of God,
Having looked around the entire limit,
Let's sing like on the first day today
Praise the greatness of God's works.

Mephistopheles

I came to you, God, for an appointment,
To report our situation.
That's why I'm in your company
And everyone who is in service here.
But if I were to rant,
Like the pompous face of angels,
I would make you laugh until you drop,
Whenever you stop laughing.
I'm embarrassed to talk about planets,
I will tell you how people struggle and suffer.
God of the universe, man is like that,
As he has been from time immemorial.
It would be better if he lived a little, if he didn’t light up
His you are God's spark from within.
He calls this spark reason
And with this spark the cattle live as cattle.
I beg your pardon, but according to my own methods
He looks like some kind of insect.
Half flying, half galloping,
He waxes like a locust.
Oh, if only he were sitting in the mowing grass
And I wouldn’t poke my nose into all the squabbles!

Lord

And it's all? Are you on your own again?
Just complaints and constant whining?
So everything on earth is wrong for you?

Mephistopheles

Yes, Lord, it’s pitch black there,
And the poor man feels so bad,
That even I spare him for now.

Lord

Do you know Faust?

Mephistopheles

He is a doctor?

Lord

He is my slave.

Mephistopheles

Yes, this doctor is strange
Fulfills God's duties to you,
And no one knows what he is fed with either.
He is eager to fight, and loves to take on obstacles,
And sees a target beckoning in the distance,
And demands stars from the sky as a reward
And the best pleasures on earth,
And his soul will never be in peace forever,
Whatever the search leads to.

Lord

He serves me and it's obvious
And he will break out of the darkness to please me.
When a gardener plants a tree,
The fruit is known to the gardener in advance.

Mephistopheles

Let's argue! You will see with your own eyes,
I'll take the crazy one away from you,
Having learned a little about myself.
But give me the authority to do this.

Lord

They are given to you. You can drive
While he is alive, he will be on all ledges.
He who seeks is forced to wander.

Mephistopheles

Having no predilection for corpses,
I must say thank you.
The juices of life are closer to me,
Blush, rosy cheeks.
Cats need a live mouse
You can't tempt them with death.

Lord

He is placed under your care!
And if you can, bring it down
Into such a human abyss,
So that he trails behind.
You lost for sure.
By instinct, by choice
He will break out of the deadlock.

Mephistopheles

Let's argue. Here's my hand
And soon we will be even.
You will understand my triumph,
When he, crawling in the droppings,
The dust from the shoe will be eaten,
How the century creeps
Snake, my dear aunt. 8
The snake, in the image of which, according to biblical myth, Satan tempted the foremother Eve.

Lord

Then come to me without hesitation.
I am never an enemy to someone like you.
Of the spirits of denial, you are the least of all
He was a burden to me, a rogue and a merry fellow.
Out of laziness, a person falls into hibernation.
Go, stir up his stagnation,
Turn around in front of him, languish, and worry,
And irritate him with your hot temper.

(Addressing the angels.)

You, children of wisdom and mercy,
Admire the beauty of the eternal firmament.
What fights, suffers and lives,
May love and participation give birth to you,
But these transformations in their turn
Decorate with unfading thoughts.

The sky is closing. The archangels part.

Mephistopheles

(one)

How calm and soft his speech is!
We get along without spoiling our relationship with him.
A wonderful trait in an old man
It’s human to think about the devil this way.

Part one

Night 9
The scene up to the verse “To every earthworm” was written in 1774–1775 and subsequently underwent only minor revisions. It opened with a fragment of Faust from 1790; the end of the scene was completed in 1797–1801 and was first published in the edition of the first part of Faust (1808).

A cramped Gothic room with a vaulted ceiling. Faust sits sleeplessly in a chair behind a book on a folding stand.

Faust

I mastered theology
Poored over philosophy,
Jurisprudence hammered
And he studied medicine.
However, at the same time I
He was and remains a fool.
I'm a master's degree student, I'm a doctorate student
And I've been leading you by the nose for ten years
Students, like a book reader,
Interpreting the subject this way and that.
But it cannot give knowledge,
And this conclusion gnaws at my heart,
Although I am smarter than many grips,
Doctors, priests and lawyers,
It’s as if they were all confused by the goblin,
I won’t be in a hurry before the devil, -
But I also know my worth,
I don’t indulge in arrogant thoughts,
What a beacon I am of the human race
And the world is entrusted to my care.
Didn't gain honor and goodness
And I didn’t taste how spicy life is.
And the dog would howl with such a life!
And I turned to magic,
So that the spirit appears to me when called
And he discovered the secret of existence.
So that I, ignoramus, endlessly
No more posing as a sage,
I would understand if I were alone,
The universe has an internal connection,
Comprehended all that exists at its core
And he didn’t get into any fuss.

Oh month, you got used to me
Meet among papers and books
In my nightly labors, without sleep
In the corner by this window.
Oh, if only your pale face were here
It caught me for the last time!
Oh, if only you from now on
Met me on the heights of the mountains,
Where are the fairies and elves in the fog?
Playing hide and seek in the clearing!
There, there is dew at the entrance to the grotto
I would wash away the stain of scholarship!

But how? In spite of my blues
I'm still in this kennel
Where access to light is blocked
Colored window painting!
Where are the dusty volumes
Piled up to the ceiling;
Where even in the morning it’s half-dark
From the black burning of the night light;
Where the fathers' belongings are collected in a heap.
This is your world! Your father's blood!

And another question for you,
Where does this fear come from in your heart?
How did you bear it all?
And I didn’t wither away in captivity,
When forcibly, in return
Living and God-given forces,
Yourself among these dead walls
Are you surrounded by skeletons?

Get up and run without looking back!
And those accompanying you on this journey
Take the creation of Nostradamus
Don't forget the mysterious. 10
Nostradamus (actually, Michel de Notre Dame, 1503–1566), the life physician of the French king Charles IX, attracted attention with the “prophecies” contained in his book “Centuries” (Paris, 1555). From these lines to the verse “The obnoxious, narrow-minded scholar,” Goethe operates with mystical concepts drawn from the book of the Swedish mystic Swedenborg (1688–1772), a writer very fashionable at the end of the 18th century (especially revered in Masonic circles). The so-called “teaching” of Swedenborg basically boils down to the following: 1) the entire “supermundane” world consists of many “associations of spirits” communicating with each other, which live on earth, on planets, in water and in the fire element; 2) spirits exist everywhere, but do not always respond to every call; 3) usually a spirit seer is able to communicate only with the spirit of the sphere accessible to him; 4) only a person who has reached the highest degree of moral perfection can communicate with all the “spheres” of spirits. Never being a fan of Swedenborg, Goethe more than once spoke out against the fashionable passion for mysticism and spiritualism; nevertheless, these provisions, borrowed from the “teachings” of Swedenborg, are widely used by him in a number of scenes of his tragedy, where the phenomena of the so-called “other world” are touched upon. Remark: He opens the book and sees the sign of the macrocosm. – Macrocosm - the universe, according to Swedenborg - the entire spiritual world in its totality; The sign of the macrocosm is a six-pointed star.

And you will read in the movement of the stars,
What can happen in life?
The growth will fall from your soul,
And you will hear the spirits speak.
Their signs, no matter how much you gnaw,
Not food for dry minds.
But, spirits, if you are close,
Answer me this call!

(Opens the book and sees the sign of the macrocosm.)

What delight and strength, what pressure
This mark is born in me!
I come alive looking at the pattern
And again I awaken sleeping desires.
Which god invented this sign?
What a cure for despondency
Gives me a combination of these lines!
The darkness that tormented the soul dissipates.
Everything becomes clear, just like in a painting.
And now it seems to me that I myself am God
And I see, taking apart the symbol of peace,
The universe from edge to edge.
Now it is clear what the sage said:
“The world of spirits is nearby, the door is not locked,
But you yourself are blind, and everything in you is dead.
Wash yourself in the morning dawn, like in the sea,
Wake up, this is the world, enter it.” 11
The world of spirits is nearby, the door is not locked... until the words: “Wake up, this is the world, enter it.”- a quote from Swedenborg translated into verse; “dawn” - according to Swedenborg, a symbol of an ever-regenerating world.

(Looks at the image carefully.)

In what order and agreement
Work is underway in the spaces!
Everything in stock
In the untouched corners of the universe,
That's a thousand winged creatures
Alternately serves
Each other in golden tubs
And it scurries up and scurries down.
What a sight! But woe is me:
Just a spectacle! With a vain groan,
Nature, I'm on the sidelines again
Before your sacred womb!
Oh, how can I extend my hands?
To you, how to fall on your chest,
To cling to your bottomless keys!

(With annoyance he turns the page and sees the sign of the earthly spirit.)

I love this sign more.
The spirit of the earth is dearer to me, more desirable.
Thanks to his influence
I rush forward as if drunk.
Then, I bet my head,
I'm ready to give my soul for everyone
And I know for sure that I won’t be afraid
In its hour of fatal collapse.

The clouds are swirling
The moon has set
The fire of the lamp went out.
Smoke! The red beam glides
Around my forehead.
And from the ceiling
Trembling
It smelled like a grave horror!
Desired spirit, you are scurrying around here somewhere.
Show up! Show up!
How my heart aches!
With what force the breath was taken away!
All my thoughts merged with you!
Show up! Show up!
Show up! Let it be worth your life!

(Takes the book and pronounces a mysterious spell. A reddish flame flares up, in which the Spirit appears.)

Who called me?

Faust

(turning away)

Terrible view!

He cursed me with his call
Persistent, impatient,
And so…

Faust

Your face frightens me.

He begged me to come to him,
I longed to hear, to see,
I took pity, came and, lo and behold,
In fright, I see a spirit seer!
Well, go for it, superman!
Where are the flames of your feelings and thoughts?
Well, imagining to be equal to us,
Have you resorted to my help?
And it is Faust who spoke
With me, as an equal, with excess of strength?
I'm here, and where are your habits?
Goosebumps run all over my body.
Are you curling around in fear like a worm?

Faust

No, spirit, I’m not hiding my face from you.
Whoever you are, I, Faust, mean no less.

I am in a storm of deeds, in the waves of life,
In fire, in water,
Always, everywhere
In the eternal shift
Deaths and births.
I am the ocean
And the swell develops,
And the weaving mill
With a magic thread
Where, having thrown a through outline of time,
I weave living clothes for the deity.

Faust

O active genius of existence,
My prototype!

Oh no, similar to you
Only the spirit that you yourself know, 12
In the double challenge of the spirits and in the double failure that befell Faust, there is the beginning of the tragedy, Faust’s decision to achieve knowledge by any means.

–
Not me!

(Disappears.)

Faust

(confused)

Not you?
So who?
I, the image and likeness of God,
I'm even with him
Incomparable to him, the inferior!

There is a knock on the door.

It’s not easy that she brought it. In the midst
These wondrous visions are my assistant!
All the charm of the spell will be dispelled by this boring
Obnoxious, narrow-minded student!

Wagner enters in a sleeping cap and dressing gown, with a lamp in his hand. Faust turns to him with displeasure.

Wagner

Sorry, not from Greek tragedies
Did you just read a monologue?
I dared to come to you so that in conversation
Have you take a recitation lesson.
So that the preacher goes uphill with success,
Let the guy learn from the actor.

Faust

Yes, if the preacher is an actor himself,
As has been observed recently.

Wagner

We spend a century working at home
And only on holidays we see the world through glasses.
How to manage a flock unfamiliar to us,
When are we so far from it?

Faust

Where there is no gut, you can’t help.
The price for such efforts is a copper penny.
Only sermons with sincere flight
A mentor in faith can be good.
And the one who is poor in thought and assiduous,
The retelling is in vain
Phrases borrowed from everywhere,
Limiting the whole thing to excerpts.
He might create authority
Among children and foolish fools,
But without a soul and high thoughts
There are no living paths from heart to heart.

Wagner

But diction and style mean a lot,
I feel like I'm still bad at this.

Faust

Learn to achieve success honestly
And attract thanks to the mind.
And the trinkets, booming like an echo,
It's a fake and no one needs it.
When something seriously owns you,
You won't chase words
And reasoning, full of embellishment,
The brighter and more flowery the turns,
They make you bored, like in the autumn hour
The howl of the wind tearing off the leaves.

Wagner

Oh, Lord, but life is not long,
And the path to knowledge is long. Scary alien:
And so your most humble servant
He's puffing with zeal, but it couldn't get any worse!
Some spend half their life on this,
To reach the sources,
Look, he's halfway there
The blow from diligence is enough.

Faust

Parchments do not quench thirst.
The key to wisdom is not on the pages of books.
Who strives for the secrets of life with every thought,
He finds their spring in his soul.

Wagner

However, is there anything sweeter in the world?
How to be carried away into the spirit of bygone centuries
And infer from their works,
How far have we come?

Faust

Oh yes, of course, all the way to the moon!
Don't touch distant antiquities.
We cannot break her seven seals.
And what is called the spirit of the times,
There is a spirit of professors and their concepts,
Which these gentlemen are inappropriate
They pass it off as true antiquity.
How do we imagine the ancient order?
Like a closet filled with junk,
And some are even more deplorable -
Like a puppeteer's old farce.
According to some, our ancestors
They were not people, but puppets.

Wagner

But peace! But life! After all, the man has grown up,
To know the answer to all your riddles.

Faust

What does it mean to know? That, my friend, is the question.
We are not doing well on this score.
Few who penetrated into the essence of things
And revealing the tablets to everyone’s souls,
Burned at the stake and crucified, 13
According to the young Goethe, the true role of the sciences is always progressive, revolutionary; it is based not on the study of “sources”, but on living, active experience, on active participation in the historical existence of mankind.

As you know, from the earliest days.
But we started talking, it’s time to sleep.
Let's leave the argument, it's already quite late.

Wagner

It seems like I wouldn't sleep until the morning
And I would interpret everything with you seriously.
But tomorrow is Easter, and in a free hour
I will bother you with questions.
I know a lot, I'm immersed in my studies,
But I would like to know everything without exception.

(Leaves.)

Faust

(one)

I want to give the eccentric a hard time!
He is looking for treasure with greedy hands
And, like a find, I’m glad, digging through the trash,
Any earthworm.
He dared to break the silence of the corner,
Where I froze, looking into the faces of the spirits.
This time really praise
The poorest of all earthly creatures.
I would probably go crazy alone,
If only he hadn't knocked on my door.
That ghost was great, like a giant,
And I, like a dwarf, was lost in front of him.

I, called the likeness of a deity,
He imagined himself to be truly equal to God.
So obvious in this blindness
I overestimated my rights!
I considered myself an unearthly phenomenon,
Permeating, like God, creation.
I decided that I was brighter than the seraphim,
Stronger and more powerful than a genius.
In retribution for this daring
I am destroyed by the word of thunder.

You have the right, spirit, to dishonor me.
I could force you to come
But I couldn't hold you.
I felt high in that moment
Such power, such pain!
You threw me down cruelly
Into the dark vale of people.
How to deal with suggestions and dreams,
With dreams? Should I follow them?
What are the difficulties when we are on our own
We hinder and harm ourselves!

We are unable to overcome gray boredom,
For the most part, hunger of the heart is alien to us,
And we consider it an idle chimera
Anything beyond everyday needs.
Liveliest and best dreams
They perish in us amid the bustle of life.
In the rays of imaginary shine
We often soar in breadth with our thoughts
And we fall from the weight of the pendant,
From the load of our voluntary weights.
We drape in every way
Your lack of will, cowardice, weakness, laziness.
The burden serves as a screen for compassion,
And conscience, and any rubbish.
Then everything is an excuse, everything is an excuse,
To create a commotion in the soul.
Now this is a house, now children, now a wife,
Either fear of poison, or fear of arson,
But only nonsense, but a false alarm,
But fiction, but imaginary guilt.

What a god I am! I know my appearance.
I am a blind worm, I am nature's stepson,
Which swallows dust before itself
And dies under the foot of a pedestrian.

Isn't my life passing in dust?
Among these bookshelves, as if in captivity?
Aren't these chests just junk?
And this moth-eaten rag?
So, will I find everything I need here?
Here, in a hundred books, I will read the statement,
That man has always endured need
And happiness was the exception?
You, naked skull in the middle of housing!
What are you hinting at by baring your teeth?
That your owner has no time, like me,
Looking for joy, wandered in sadness?
Don't laugh at me by dividing the scales,
Naturalist's instruments!
I picked you up like keys to a castle,
But nature has strong gates.
What she wishes to hide in the shadows
Of your mysterious cover,
Do not lure out the gear screws,
Not with any weapons.
The shards untouched by me,
Alchemy of the father's remnants.
And you, handwritten
And soot-covered scrolls!
I'd rather waste you like a spendthrift
Why languish from your neighborhood.
Only those who are worthy of inheriting
Who can apply an inheritance to life.
But pathetic is the one who accumulates dead rubbish.
Whatever the moment gives birth to is for our benefit.

But why is my gaze towards myself so powerful
Does that bottle attract like a magnet?
It becomes so clear in my soul
It’s as if the moonlight is spilling into the forest.

A bottle with the treasured thick liquid,
I reach out to you with reverence!
In you I honor the crown of our quest.
Infused grounds from sleepy herbs,
With the deadly force inherent in you,
Today, respect your creator!
If I look at you, it’s easier than torment,
And the spirit is equal; Will I take you in my hands?
The excitement begins to subside.
The distance is getting wider and the fresh wind blows,
And to new days and new coasts
The mirror-like surface of the sea is calling.

The chariot of fire flies down,
And I'm ready, spreading my chest wider,
On it, shoot into the ether like an arrow,
Direct the way to unknown worlds.
Oh, this height, oh, this enlightenment!
Are you worthy, worm, to ascend like this?
Turn your back to the sun without regret,
Say goodbye to earthly existence.
When you have gathered your courage, break it with your hands
A gate whose very appearance is terrifying!

In fact, prove that before the gods
A man's resolve will endure!
That he will not flinch even at the threshold
Deaf cave, at that crater,
Where is the suspicious power of superstition?
She lit the fires of the entire underworld.
Manage yourself, make a decision,
At least at the cost of destruction.

Perhaps, a hereditary spell,
And you are born from an old case.
I haven't taken you out for many years.
Playing with a rainbow of crystal faces,
Sometimes you brought joy to the meeting,
And each one drained the charm in one gulp.
At these celebrations, family guests
Poems were expressed in every toast.
You reminded me of these days, glass.
Now I won’t have time to say a word,
This drink works faster
And its stream flows more slowly.
He is the work of my hands, my idea,
And so I drink it with all my soul
For the glory of the day, for the sunrise.

(He brings the glass to his lips.)

The second part of Faust

The second part of Faust is overloaded with allusions to the events and disputes of those years, and much in our time needs commentary.

But the main thing remains the path of Faust. It is difficult, associated with new illusions and misconceptions. There are no everyday scenes of the first part, symbolic images predominate, but the author reveals them with the same poetic skill. The verse of the second part is even richer and more masterly than in the first. (Translators are not always able to convey this).

Goethe freely shifts times and eras. In Act III we find ourselves in Ancient Greece, in Sparta, ten centuries BC. Helen the Beautiful, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, because of whom, according to legend, the Trojan War occurred, acts as a symbol of the beauty of the ancient world.

The marriage of Faust and Helen is symbolic. It embodies the dream of reviving the high ideals of Greek antiquity. But this dream collapses: their son dies, Elena herself disappears like a ghost.

With all the further development of the action, Goethe affirms a progressive, ultimately revolutionary thought: the golden age is not in the past, but in the future, but it cannot be brought closer by beautiful dreams, one must fight for it.

Only he is worthy of life and freedom, Who goes to battle for them every day! - exclaims the aged, blind, but internally enlightened Faust.

Faust carries out a bold project of transforming nature. Part of the sea is drained, and a new city is built on the land reclaimed from the sea.

Death finds Faust at the moment when he dreams of draining these lands. He sees his highest and final feat in “diverting the rotten water away from stagnation”:

And let millions of people live here,

All my life, in view of the severe danger,

Relying only on your free labor.

The ending of the tragedy takes us back to the “Prologue in Heaven”: the dispute between the Lord and Mephistopheles is over. Mephistopheles lost the bet. He failed to prove the insignificance of man.

The tragedy "Faust" brilliantly completed the age of reason. But, as already said, the second part of it was created in a new era. Goethe lived the last three decades of his life in the 19th century, and the contradictions of the new society did not escape his penetrating gaze. In the second part of Faust, he allegorically introduced the image of Byron, perhaps the most tragic of the romantics, who so powerfully expressed the pain and disappointments of his time: after all, the “Kingdom of Reason” promised by the enlighteners did not materialize.

Goethe's own optimism, however, was not shaken. And this is the greatness of the titans of the Age of Enlightenment - they without hesitation carried their faith in man, in his high calling, throughout the entire unsettled planet.

But the debate between optimists and skeptics is not over. And Goethe’s Faust entered world literature as one of the “eternal images.” Eternal images in literature (Prometheus, Don Quixote, Hamlet) seem to continue to live beyond the boundaries of the era in which they were created. Humanity turns to them again and again, resolving the tasks that life poses to them. These heroes often return to literature, appearing under the same or a different name in the works of writers of subsequent eras. So, A.V. Lunacharsky’s play “Faust and the City”; Thomas Mann wrote the novel “Doctor Faustus”...

In our time, the problems of Goethe's Faust have not only acquired a new meaning, but have also become unusually complicated. The twentieth century is a century of revolutionary upheavals. This is the century of the Great October Revolution, the historical victories of socialism, the awakening of the peoples of entire continents to social life, and this is the century of amazing technical discoveries - the atomic age, the age of electronics and space exploration.

Life has confronted modern Fausts with questions that are infinitely more difficult than those faced by the medieval warlock, who allegedly entered into a pact with the devil.

As one of the modern researchers rightly writes, Goethe’s Faust sacrificed Margarita in the name of his quest; the price of Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb turned out to be more expensive: “A thousand Hiroshima Margaritas went to her account.”

And when, on the eve of the war, in the laboratory of the Danish physicist Niels Bohr, the mystery of the fission of the atomic nucleus was first solved, Bertolt Brecht wrote the drama “The Life of Galileo” (1938-1939). In the years when the historical revolution in science began, the great playwright of the 20th century called for thinking about what a great and responsible duty lies on each participant in this revolution.

And what an amazing transformation of the Faustian theme occurs in the drama of the modern Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt “The Physicists”! Its hero, the physicist scientist Mobius, feigns insanity so as not to continue his research, which could lead to the destruction of the world. The genius faces a terrible choice: “Either we stay in a madhouse, or the world will become a madhouse. Either we will disappear forever from the memory of humanity, or humanity itself will disappear.”

But the Faustian problem in our time is not limited to the question of the scientist’s responsibility to society.

In the West, technological progress coupled with general social disorder gives rise to fear for the future: whether a person will turn out to be a pathetic toy in the face of the fantastic technology he himself created. Sociologists are already recalling another work of Goethe - “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. This ballad tells how a sorcerer's student, in his absence, made a simple broom carry water, but he himself almost drowned in the streams of water, because, having managed to summon the spirit, he forgot the magic words that could have been used to stop him. In horror, he calls his mentor for help:

Here he is! Have mercy,

There is no escaping grief.

I could summon the strength

But not to tame. ( Translation by V. Gippius)

Of course, modern man, who creates tiny elements of “thinking” machines and powerful multi-stage rockets, is least of all like this frivolous student. He has in his power not mysterious spells, but fundamental scientific knowledge, the result of an objective comprehension of the laws of nature.

The gloomy doubts of medieval sociologists about the fruitfulness of progress often resemble the position of Mephistopheles:

I deny everything - and this is my essence.

Then, that only to fail with thunder,

All this rubbish that lives on earth is good...

It is clear that doubt can be fruitful when it is one of the elements of the process of understanding the world. We remember Marx's motto: “Question everything.” This means that when studying facts and phenomena, one must meticulously and thoroughly check them, without taking anything for granted. But in this case, doubt serves knowledge itself, it is overcome by the course of research and only because of this helps the search for truth.

To clear the area, Mephistopheles burns the house of Philemon and Baucis. Their death was not part of Faust's calculations. But this was the reverse of his feat: by erecting a new city on the seashore, he inevitably destroyed the former quiet patriarchal way of life.

We know that modern technological progress also brings some unforeseen evil: the nervous rhythm of life, mental overload from the increasing flow of information, pollution of the atmosphere, rivers, and seas. However, the illnesses of the century, the costs of the journey, temporary failures and mistakes should not obscure the main result - the greatness of the historical successes of man and humanity. Goethe teaches us this in Faust.

Need I clarify that Goethe’s historical optimism is far from any kind of good-naturedness?

“Act is the beginning of being!” This is Goethe's main lesson - to tirelessly, rapidly move forward, to fight. Passivity, reconciliation with evil, any indifference and complacency are destructive for a person.

When on the bed of sleep, in contentment and peace,

I'll fall, then my time has come!

When you begin to flatter me deceitfully

And I will be pleased with myself,

With sensual delight when you deceive me,

Then it's over!

This is Faust's oath when he enters into an agreement with Mephistopheles: not to succumb to the temptation of peace and contentment!

Goethe calls us to Promethean daring, continuous feat in the name of the future in his “Faust”.

Second part: more difficult because it is more abstract. Faust and Mephistopheles find themselves at the court of a certain emperor. The emperor, who seemingly has power, is not at all omnipotent and has full control over himself and his subjects. External threats, internal economic difficulties. Faust appears and instills in the emperor the idea that an adviser will appear who can help cope with these difficulties. But being at court gives Faust practically nothing, even though he is in favor. To cope with the crisis, Mephistopheles suggests printing banknotes. For Faust, his stay is associated with two important moments: a reward from the king - a strip of land cut into the sea and a meeting with Helen the Beautiful (Part 2 is aimed at antiquity). In the second part there is a parallel with Walpurgis Night only with ancient creatures (sphinxes, chimeras). Elena appears against this background.

Before us is a maid of honor, not the first youth and beauty. And at first she does not make a strong impression on Faust. But he is inclined to see eternal femininity in her, Elena becomes the legal wife of Faust, they have a son. An amazing son, this young creature of amazing beauty and charm, gifted by nature, Eufarion (euphoria, bliss, aspiration to the sky). We love our parents to bits. Their life is colored by the constant fear that they will lose him and will not be able to keep him on earth. These fears are coming true. Having become an adult, Eufarion asks his parents to let him go. He does not return to earth, he dissolves into the ether. There is a polar divergence in the destinies of Faust's children.

The entire amplitude of human life rests on human mortality. His student, Wagner, thinks that science should provide practical solutions to problems, that it should be useful, and he creates an artificial person. Comparison with the powerful God - nature, man, as Goethe shows, created by God, is imperfect (he dies, suffers, doubts), but maybe man, created by man, will be perfect?

Wagner manages to create an artificial man, grown in a flask, there is a small man, but an adult. He tries to free himself, gets out, but turns out to be unviable.

“Faust on the Seashore” (last third of the second part). Faustus decides that he will use his reward for the benefit of people. He will give it to those who will be happy with it. Faust has a new idea of ​​life. Thinking about others, living for generations gives a sense of perspective. Faust by this time is so old that he cannot do anything on his own, he is frail, weak and blind. Faust demands from Mephistopheles that this strip of land be expanded and secured so that a large number of people can prosper there. In this regard, the problem of man and nature arises, the transformative power of culture on this earth under the leadership of Faust is digging graves and at the edge of the earth there is a grave for Faust himself.

“The Myth of Philemon and Baucis” - loving spouses who died on the same day and the Gods, as a reward, turned the husband into an oak tree and the wife into a linden tree. According to Goethe, they live on this cape and go to work every day. The ringing of the bells makes Mephistopheles grind his teeth, but cannot do anything with them and persuades Faust to move them, since they bother him. He swears that they won't lose anything, but he scared them so much that they died on the spot.

Faust lives to his last day and it seems to him that he has understood the secret of why to live. He believes that happy people, worthy of glory and freedom, will live on a well-maintained land. The meaning of life is to go to battle every day for glory and freedom. And having understood this thought, then I would say “You are beautiful for a moment...” (in the conditional mood). Nevertheless, death overtakes Faust, and next to him is Mephistopheles, but legions of souls of the righteous rush to intercept Faust’s soul to save his soul, God, forgetting about humanity. Remembers a person. Among the perfumes is Margarita. Everything in the world is in motion - the struggle of contradictions and unity.

The dispute over Faust always walks a fine line, on the edge of a knife, and the existence of humanity is on this line and it is necessary to maintain balance. BUT evil turns out to be not only not omnipotent, there is a contradiction in itself (in the image of Mephistopheles) he speaks of himself as part of that force that seeks and desires evil, but contributes to the creation of good.

“Faust” is a dramatic work, but it is not a play for the theater, although individual episodes can be staged. It is both a tragedy and a colossal philosophical poem that reflected the quest of an entire era of German thought. To the author himself...

This image was created by Goethe’s imagination: M. is absent from folk legends. Faust, who regained his youth in The Witch's Kitchen, meets a beautiful girl on the street and falls in love with her at first sight. Margarete is a young, inexperienced girl of strict rules, living...

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   Only he is worthy of life and freedom, Who goes to battle for them every day. I. Goethe Goethe created his “Faust” throughout his life. Although Goethe did not write Faust for the theater, it is both a tragedy and a philosophical poem. It reflected...

Goethe’s “Faust” is one of the outstanding works of art that, while delivering high aesthetic pleasure, at the same time reveal a lot of important things about life. Such works surpass in their meaning books that are read out of curiosity...