Faust (trans. Bayard Taylor)/Act I/IV
IV.
PLEASURE-GARDEN.
THE MORNING SUN.
The Emperor, his Court, Gentlemen and Ladies: Faust,
Mephistopheles, becomingly, according to the mode, not
showily dressed: both kneel.
Faust.
SIRE, pardon’st thou the jugglery of flame?
SIRE, pardon’st thou the jugglery of flame?
Emperor (beckoning him to rise).
I wish more exhibitions of the same.
A-sudden stood I in a glowing sphere;
It almost seemed as if I Pluto were.
There lay, like night, with little fires besprent,
A rocky bottom. Out of many a vent,
Whirling, a thousand savage flames ascended,
Till in a single vault their streamers blended.
The tongues even to the highest dome were shot,
That ever was, and ever then was not.
Through the far space of spiral shafts of flame
The long processions of the people came;
Crowding, till all the circle was o’errun,
They did me homage, as they ’ve ever done.
Some from my Court I knew: to speak with candor,
A Prince I seemed o’er many a salamander.
A-sudden stood I in a glowing sphere;
It almost seemed as if I Pluto were.
There lay, like night, with little fires besprent,
A rocky bottom. Out of many a vent,
Whirling, a thousand savage flames ascended,
Till in a single vault their streamers blended.
The tongues even to the highest dome were shot,
That ever was, and ever then was not.
Through the far space of spiral shafts of flame
The long processions of the people came;
Crowding, till all the circle was o’errun,
They did me homage, as they ’ve ever done.
Some from my Court I knew: to speak with candor,
A Prince I seemed o’er many a salamander.
Mephistopheles.
That art thou, Sire! Because each element
Fully accepts thy Majesty’s intent.
Obedient Fire is tested now by thee:
Where wildest heaving, leap into the Sea,
And scarce the pearly floor thy foot shall tread,
A grand rotunda rises o’er thy head:
Thou seest the green, translucent billows swelling,
With purple edge, for thy delightful dwelling,
Round thee, the central point. Walk thou at will,
The liquid palaces go with thee still!
The very walls rejoice in life, disporting
In arrowy flight, in chasing and consorting:
Sea-marvels crowd around the glory new and fair,
Shoot from all sides, yet none can enter there.
There gorgeous dragons, golden-armored, float;
There gapes the shark, thou laughest in his throat.
However much this Court thy pride may please,
Yet hast thou never seen such throngs as these.
Nor from the loveliest shalt thou. long be parted;
The curious Nereids come, the wild, shy-hearted,
To thy bright dwelling in the endless waters,—
Timid and sly as fish the youngest daughters,
The elder cunning: Thetis hears the news
And will, at once, her second Peleus choose.
The seat, then, on Olympus high and free—
Fully accepts thy Majesty’s intent.
Obedient Fire is tested now by thee:
Where wildest heaving, leap into the Sea,
And scarce the pearly floor thy foot shall tread,
A grand rotunda rises o’er thy head:
Thou seest the green, translucent billows swelling,
With purple edge, for thy delightful dwelling,
Round thee, the central point. Walk thou at will,
The liquid palaces go with thee still!
The very walls rejoice in life, disporting
In arrowy flight, in chasing and consorting:
Sea-marvels crowd around the glory new and fair,
Shoot from all sides, yet none can enter there.
There gorgeous dragons, golden-armored, float;
There gapes the shark, thou laughest in his throat.
However much this Court thy pride may please,
Yet hast thou never seen such throngs as these.
Nor from the loveliest shalt thou. long be parted;
The curious Nereids come, the wild, shy-hearted,
To thy bright dwelling in the endless waters,—
Timid and sly as fish the youngest daughters,
The elder cunning: Thetis hears the news
And will, at once, her second Peleus choose.
The seat, then, on Olympus high and free—
Emperor.
The spaces of the air I leave to thee:
One all too early must ascend that throne.
One all too early must ascend that throne.
Mephistopheles.
And Earth, high Prince! already is thine own.
Emperor.
What fortune brought thee here, for our delights,
Directly from the One and Thousand Nights?
If thou like Scheherazade art rich in stories,
My favor shall insure thee higher glories.
Be ready always, when your world of day,
As often haps, disgusts me every way!
Directly from the One and Thousand Nights?
If thou like Scheherazade art rich in stories,
My favor shall insure thee higher glories.
Be ready always, when your world of day,
As often haps, disgusts me every way!
Lord High Steward (enters hastily).
Highness Serene, I never dared expect
To trumpet forth a fortune so select
As this, supremely blessing me,
Which I announce with joy to thee:
Reckoning on reckoning ’s balanced squarely;
The usurer’s claws are blunted rarely;
I’m from my hellish worry free:
Things can’t in Heaven more cheerful be.
To trumpet forth a fortune so select
As this, supremely blessing me,
Which I announce with joy to thee:
Reckoning on reckoning ’s balanced squarely;
The usurer’s claws are blunted rarely;
I’m from my hellish worry free:
Things can’t in Heaven more cheerful be.
General-in-Chief (follows hastily).
Arrears of pay are settled duly,
The army is enlisted newly;
The trooper’s blood is all alive,
The landlords and the wenches thrive.
The army is enlisted newly;
The trooper’s blood is all alive,
The landlords and the wenches thrive.
Emperor.
How breathe your breasts in broader spaces!
How cheerful are your furrowed faces!
How ye advance with nimble speed!
How cheerful are your furrowed faces!
How ye advance with nimble speed!
Treasurer (appearing).
Ask these, ’t is they have done the deed!
Faust.
It is the Chancellor’s place the matter to present.
Chancellor (who comes forward slowly).
In my old days I’m blest, and most content.
So hear and see the fortune-freighted leaf42
Which has transformed to happiness our grief.
(He reads.)
“To all to whom this cometh, be it known:
A thousand crowns in worth this note doth own.
It to secure, as certain pledge, shall stand
All buried treasure in the Emperor’s land:
And ’t is decreed, perfecting thus the scheme,
The treasure, soon as raised, shall this redeem.”
So hear and see the fortune-freighted leaf42
Which has transformed to happiness our grief.
(He reads.)
“To all to whom this cometh, be it known:
A thousand crowns in worth this note doth own.
It to secure, as certain pledge, shall stand
All buried treasure in the Emperor’s land:
And ’t is decreed, perfecting thus the scheme,
The treasure, soon as raised, shall this redeem.”
Emperor.
A most enormous cheat —a crime, I fear!
Who forged the Emperor’s sign-manual here ?
Has there not been a punishment condign ?
Who forged the Emperor’s sign-manual here ?
Has there not been a punishment condign ?
Treasurer.
Remember! Thou the note didst undersign;
Last night, indeed. Thou stood’st as mighty Pan,
And thus the Chancellor’s speech, before thee, ran:
“Grant to thyself the festal pleasure, then
The People’s good —a few strokes of the pen!”
These didst thou give: they were, ere night retreated,
By skilful conjurers thousandfold repeated;
And, that a like advantage all might claim,
We stamped at once the series with thy name:
Tens, Thirties, Fifties, Hundreds, are prepared.
Thou canst not think how well the folk have fared.
Behold thy town, half-dead once, and decaying,
How all, alive, enjoying life, are straying!
Although thy name long since the world made glad,
Such currency as now it never had.
No longer needs the alphabet thy nation,
For in this sign each findeth his salvation.
Last night, indeed. Thou stood’st as mighty Pan,
And thus the Chancellor’s speech, before thee, ran:
“Grant to thyself the festal pleasure, then
The People’s good —a few strokes of the pen!”
These didst thou give: they were, ere night retreated,
By skilful conjurers thousandfold repeated;
And, that a like advantage all might claim,
We stamped at once the series with thy name:
Tens, Thirties, Fifties, Hundreds, are prepared.
Thou canst not think how well the folk have fared.
Behold thy town, half-dead once, and decaying,
How all, alive, enjoying life, are straying!
Although thy name long since the world made glad,
Such currency as now it never had.
No longer needs the alphabet thy nation,
For in this sign each findeth his salvation.
Emperor.
And with my people does it pass for gold?
For pay in court and camp, the notes they hold?
Then I must yield, although the thing ’s amazing.
For pay in court and camp, the notes they hold?
Then I must yield, although the thing ’s amazing.
Lord High Steward.
’T was scattered everywhere, like wild-fire blazing,
As currency, and none its course may stop.
A crowd surrounds each money-changer’s shop,
And every note is there accepted duly
For gold and silver’s worth — with discount, truly.
Thence is it spread to landlords, butchers, bakers:
One half the people feast as pleasure-takers;
In raiment new the others proudly go,—
The tradesmen cut their cloth, the tailors sew.
The crowd “ The Emperor’s health!” in cellars wishes,
Midst cooking, roasting, rattling of the dishes.
As currency, and none its course may stop.
A crowd surrounds each money-changer’s shop,
And every note is there accepted duly
For gold and silver’s worth — with discount, truly.
Thence is it spread to landlords, butchers, bakers:
One half the people feast as pleasure-takers;
In raiment new the others proudly go,—
The tradesmen cut their cloth, the tailors sew.
The crowd “ The Emperor’s health!” in cellars wishes,
Midst cooking, roasting, rattling of the dishes.
Mephistopheles.
If one along the lonely terrace stray,
He sees the lady, in superb array,
With brilliant peacock-fan before one eye;
A note she looks for, as she simpers by,
And readier than by wit or eloquence
Before Love’s favor falls the last defence.
One is not plagued his purse or sack to carry;
Such notes one lightly in his bosom bears,
Or them with fond epistles neatly pairs:
The priest devoutly in his breviary
Bears his: the soldier would more freely trip,
And lightens thus the girdle round his hip.
Your Majesty will pardon, if my carriage
Seems as it might the lofty work disparage.
He sees the lady, in superb array,
With brilliant peacock-fan before one eye;
A note she looks for, as she simpers by,
And readier than by wit or eloquence
Before Love’s favor falls the last defence.
One is not plagued his purse or sack to carry;
Such notes one lightly in his bosom bears,
Or them with fond epistles neatly pairs:
The priest devoutly in his breviary
Bears his: the soldier would more freely trip,
And lightens thus the girdle round his hip.
Your Majesty will pardon, if my carriage
Seems as it might the lofty work disparage.
Faust.
The overplus of wealth, in torpor bound,
Which 1n thy lands lies buried in the ground,
Is all unused; nor boldest thought can measure
The narrowest boundaries of such a treasure.
Imagination, in its highest flight,
Exerts itself, but cannot grasp it quite;
Yet minds, that dare explore the secrets soundless,
In boundless things possess a faith that’s boundless
Which 1n thy lands lies buried in the ground,
Is all unused; nor boldest thought can measure
The narrowest boundaries of such a treasure.
Imagination, in its highest flight,
Exerts itself, but cannot grasp it quite;
Yet minds, that dare explore the secrets soundless,
In boundless things possess a faith that’s boundless
Mephistopheles.
Such paper, stead of gold and jewelry,
So handy is —one knows one’s property:
One has no need of bargains or exchanges,
But drinks of love or wine, as fancy ranges.
If one needs coin, the brokers ready stand,
And if it fail, one digs awhile the land.
Goblet and chain one then at auction sells,
And paper, liquidated thus, compels
The shame of doubters and their scornful wit.
The people wish naught else; they ’re used to it:
From this time forth, your borders, far and wide,
With jewels, gold, and paper are supplied.
So handy is —one knows one’s property:
One has no need of bargains or exchanges,
But drinks of love or wine, as fancy ranges.
If one needs coin, the brokers ready stand,
And if it fail, one digs awhile the land.
Goblet and chain one then at auction sells,
And paper, liquidated thus, compels
The shame of doubters and their scornful wit.
The people wish naught else; they ’re used to it:
From this time forth, your borders, far and wide,
With jewels, gold, and paper are supplied.
Emperor.
You ’ve given our empire this prosperity;
The pay, then, equal to the service be!
The soil intrusted to your keeping, shall you
The best custodians be, to guard its value.
You know the hoards, well-kept, of all the land,
And when men dig, ’t is you must give command,
Unite then now, ye masters of our treasure,
This, your new dignity, to wear with pleasure,
And bring the Upper World, erewhile asunder,
In happiest conjunction with the Under!
The pay, then, equal to the service be!
The soil intrusted to your keeping, shall you
The best custodians be, to guard its value.
You know the hoards, well-kept, of all the land,
And when men dig, ’t is you must give command,
Unite then now, ye masters of our treasure,
This, your new dignity, to wear with pleasure,
And bring the Upper World, erewhile asunder,
In happiest conjunction with the Under!
Treasurer.
No further strife shall shake our joint position;
I like to have as partner the magician.
[Exit, with Faust
I like to have as partner the magician.
[Exit, with Faust
Emperor.
Man after man, the Court will I endow:
Let each confess for what he ’ll spend, and how!
Let each confess for what he ’ll spend, and how!
Page (receiving).
I'll lead a jolly life, enjoy good cheer.
A Second (the same).
I ’ll buy at once some trinkets for my dear.
Chamberlain (accepting).
Wines twice as good shall down my throat go trickling,
A Second (the same).
I feel the dice within my pockets tickling.
Knight Banneret (reflectively).
My lands and castle shall be free of debt.
Another (the same).
I ‘ll add to other wealth the wealth I get.
Emperor.
I hoped the gifts to bolder deeds would beckon;
But he who knows you, knows whereon to reckon.
I see that, spite of all this treasure-burst,
You stay exactly as you were at first.
But he who knows you, knows whereon to reckon.
I see that, spite of all this treasure-burst,
You stay exactly as you were at first.
Fool (approaching).
You scatter favors: grant me also some!
Emperor.
Thou ’rt come to life? ’T would go at once for rum.
Fool.
The magic leaves! I don’t quite comprehend.
Emperor.
That I believe; for them thou ’It badly spend.
Fool.
There others drop: I don’t know what to do.
Emperor.
Just pick them up! they fall to thy share, too.
[Exit
[Exit
Fool.
Five thousand crowns are mine? How unexpected!
Five thousand crowns are mine? How unexpected!
Mephistopheles.
Two-leggéd wine-skin, art thou resurrected?
Fool.
Much luck I ’ve had, but like this never yet.
Mephistopheles.
Thou ’rt so rejoiced, it puts thee in a sweat.
Fool.
But look at this, is ’t money’s-worth, indeed?
Mephistopheles.
’T will bring thee what thy throat and belly need.
Fool.
And cattle can I buy, and house and land?
Mephistopheles.
Of course! just make an offer once, off-hand!
Fool.
Castle and wood, and chase, and fishing?
Mephistopheles.
All!
I ’d like upon Your Worship then to call.
I ’d like upon Your Worship then to call.
Fool.
To-night as landed owner I shall sit.
[Exit.
[Exit.
Mephistopheles (solus).
Who now will doubt that this our Fool has wit?