The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Volume I Part 52

I'm in no mood to see him now.

MEPHISTOPHELES

Poor lad! He must be tired, I trow; He must not go disconsolate.

Hand me thy cap and gown; the mask Is for my purpose quite first rate.

[_He changes his dress._]

Now leave it to my wit! I ask But quarter of an hour; meanwhile equip, And make all ready for our pleasant trip!

[_Exit_ FAUST.]

MEPHISTOPHELES (_in_ FAUST'S _long gown_)

Mortal! the loftiest attributes of men, Reason and Knowledge, only thus contemn; Still let the Prince of lies, without control, With shows, and mocking charms delude thy soul, I have thee unconditionally then!-- Fate hath endow'd him with an ardent mind, Which unrestrain'd still presses on forever, And whose precipitate endeavor Earth's joys o'erleaping, leaveth them behind.

Him will I drag through life's wild waste, Through scenes of vapid dulness, where at last Bewilder'd, he shall falter, and stick fast; And, still to mock his greedy haste, Viands and drink shall float his craving lips beyond-- Vainly he'll seek refreshment, anguish-tost, And were he not the devil's by his bond, Yet must his soul infallibly be lost!

A STUDENT _enters_.

STUDENT

But recently I've quitted home, Full of devotion am I come A man to know and hear, whose name With reverence is known to fame.

MEPHISTOPHELES

Your courtesy much flatters me!

A man like other men you see; Pray have you yet applied elsewhere?

STUDENT

I would entreat your friendly care!

I've youthful blood and courage high; Of gold I bring a fair supply; To let me go my mother was not fain; But here I longed true knowledge to attain.

MEPHISTOPHELES

You've hit upon the very place.

STUDENT

And yet my steps I would retrace.

These walls, this melancholy room, O'erpower me with a sense of gloom; The s.p.a.ce is narrow, nothing green, No friendly tree is to be seen And in these halls, with benches filled, distraught, Sight, hearing fail me, and the power of thought.

MEPHISTOPHELES

It all depends on habit. Thus at first The infant takes not kindly to the breast, But before long, its eager thirst Is fain to slake with hearty zest: Thus at the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of wisdom day by day With keener relish you'll your thirst allay.

STUDENT

Upon her neck I fain would hang with joy; To reach it, say, what means must I employ?

MEPHISTOPHELES

Explain, ere further time we lose, What special faculty you choose?

STUDENT

Profoundly learned I would grow, What heaven contains would comprehend, O'er earth's wide realm my gaze extend, Nature and science I desire to know.

MEPHISTOPHELES

You are upon the proper track, I find; Take heed, let nothing dissipate your mind.

STUDENT

My heart and soul are in the chase!

Though, to be sure, I fain would seize, On pleasant summer holidays, A little liberty and careless ease.

MEPHISTOPHELES

Use well your time, so rapidly it flies; Method will teach you time to win; Hence, my young friend, I would advise, With college logic to begin!

Then will your mind be so well braced, In Spanish boots so tightly laced, That on 'twill circ.u.mspectly creep, Thought's beaten track securely keep, Nor will it, ignis-fatuus like, Into the path of error strike.

Then many a day they'll teach you how The mind's spontaneous acts, till now As eating and as drinking free, Require a process;--one! two! three!

In truth the subtle web of thought Is like the weaver's fabric wrought: One treadle moves a thousand lines, Swift dart the shuttles to and fro, Unseen the threads together flow, A thousand knots one stroke combines.

Then forward steps your sage to show, And prove to you, it must be so; The first being so, and so the second, The third and fourth deduc'd we see; And if there were no first and second, Nor third nor fourth would ever be.

This, scholars of all countries prize,-- Yet 'mong themselves no weavers rise.

He who would know and treat of aught alive, Seeks first the living spirit thence to drive: Then are the lifeless fragments in his hand, There only fails, alas! the spirit-band.

This process, chemists name, in learned thesis, Mocking themselves, _Naturae encheiresis_.

STUDENT

Your words I cannot fully comprehend.

MEPHISTOPHELES

In a short time you will improve, my friend, When of scholastic forms you learn the use; And how by method all things to reduce.

STUDENT

So doth all this my brain confound, As if a mill-wheel there were turning round.

MEPHISTOPHELES

And next, before aught else you learn, You must with zeal to metaphysics turn!

There see that you profoundly comprehend What doth the limit of man's brain transcend; For that which is or is not in the head A sounding phrase will serve you in good stead.

But before all strive this half year From one fix'd order ne'er to swerve!

Five lectures daily you must hear; The hour still punctually observe!

Yourself with studious zeal prepare, And closely in your manual look, Hereby may you be quite aware That all he utters standeth in the book; Yet write away without cessation, As at the Holy Ghost's dictation!