Mephistopheles. Ift den Gang dort aufgeflogen. Muthwill'ge Sommervögel! Marthe. Er scheint ihr gewogen. Mephistopheles. Und sie ihm auch. Das ist der Lauf der Welt! Ein Gartenhäuschen. Margarete springt herein, steckt sich hinter die Thür, hält die Fingerspite an die Lippen und guckt durch die Rize. Er fommt! Margarete. Faust (kommt). Ach Schelm! so neckst du mich! Treff' ich dich! (Er küßt sie.) Margarete Cihn fassend und den Kuß zurückgebend). Wer da? Bester Mann! von Herzen lieb' ich dich ! Mephistopheles klopft an. Faust (stampfend). Mephistopheles. Gut Freund! Margarete. Auf baldig Wiedersehn! (Fauft und Mephistopheles ab.) Margarete. 2860 Du lieber Gott, was so ein Mann Nicht Alles, Alles denken fann! Begreife nicht, was er an mir find't. (Ab.) Wald und Höhle. Faust is alone amid the woods and caves, and calls upon the Earth Spirit. From him he has received all for which he prayed; Nature herself has been given him for a kingdom, with full power to enjoy her; he has been permitted to read her mysteries as he might a friend's heart; not only has he been made acquainted with all the varied forms of life, but the wonders contained within his own breast have been revealed to him, and even the silvery forms of the past have arisen to soothe him when he has needed relief from the strain of contemplation. But what avails such a favoured lot, when he is fettered to a companion who delights to debase him, and to blast all Nature's bounty; who is ever fanning the wild fire of passion within him, and gives him no rest from the alternation of enjoyment and desire? Mephistopheles here enters, and urges him to leave meditation and return to the world, and when Faust expresses his irritation at the interruption, begins to grumble at Faust's surly ways, and uncertain temper, and his ingratitude for all that he has done for him. What is there to be gained by sitting and moping, like a toad or an owl, among rocks and dripping stones? he has still something of the professor about him. ""Tis, forsooth, a supernatural pleasure to inflate yourself to the dimensions of a god, to realise within you all the work of creation, and to lose yourself in the universe, and all this with an anti-climax which I will only hint at! and then you must needs exclaim because I put a name to things which your chaste heart can nevertheless not renounce: this double dealing must cease; it can only end in misfortune. Think of your love, whom you have left to sit and lament you; your passion may have run dry, but hers is still at the flood; leave these solitudes and go and comfort her." Faust assures Mephistopheles that he has not really forgotten her, and Mephistopheles bids him act in accordance with his words. Thus the tempter prevails: Faust utters one last remorseful moan over the ruin which, like some cruel mountain torrent, he has brought upon this childish simple life, and then resigns himself to what is to follow, since what must be had better be quickly; while Mephistopheles rejoices over the flame which he has rekindled, and scoffs at Faust for the faint-hearted way in which he tries to play the devil. Faust allein. Erhabner Geist, du gabst mir, gabst mir Alles, Gabst mir die herrliche Natur zum Königreich, 2870 Kraft, sie zu fühlen, zu genießen. Nicht Kalt staunenden Besuch erlaubst du nur, Wie in den Busen eines Freunds, zu schauen. Vor mir vorbei und lehrst mich meine Brüder Im stillen Busch, in Luft und Wasser kennen. Und wenn der Sturm im Walde braust und knarrt, Und Nachbarstämme quetschend niederstreift, Und steigt vor meinem Blick der reine Mond Von Felsenwänden, aus dem feuchten Busch Und lindern der Betrachtung strenge Luft. O, daß dem Menschen nichts Vollkommnes wird, Mephistopheles tritt auf. 2900 Habt ihr nun bald das Leben g'nug geführt? Es ist wohl gut, daß man's einmal probirt; Fauft. Ich wollt', du hättest mehr zu thun, Mephistopheles. Nun, nun! ich lass' dich gerne ruhn, 2910 Den ganzen Tag hat man die Hände voll! Faust. Das ist so just der rechte Ton! Er will noch Dank, daß er mich ennüyirt. Mephistopheles. Wie hättst du, armer Erdensohn, Dein Leben ohne mich geführt? Hab' ich dich doch auf Zeiten lang curirt; 2920 Von diesem Erdball abspaziert. Was schlurfft aus dumpfem Moos und triefendem |