Faust (trans. Bayard Taylor)/Act IV/III
III.
THE RIVAL EMPEROR’S TENT.
Throne: Rich Surroundings.
Havequick. Speedbooty.
Speedbooty.
SO we are here the first, I see!
Havequick.
No raven flies so swift as we.
Speedbooty.
O, how the treasure-piles extend!
Where shall I once begin? where end?
Where shall I once begin? where end?
Havequick.
But all the space is full! And now
I krow not what to take, I vow!
I krow not what to take, I vow!
Speedbooty.
This carpet is the thing I need!
My couch is often hard indeed.
My couch is often hard indeed.
Havequick.
Here hangs a morning-star, so strong,
The like of which I ’ve wanted long.
The like of which I ’ve wanted long.
Speedbooty.
This crimson mantle, bound with gold,
Is like the one my dreams foretold.
Is like the one my dreams foretold.
Havequick (taking the weapon).
With this, a man is quickly sped;
One strikes him dead, and goes ahead.
Thou art already laden so,
And nothing right thy sack can show.
This rubbish, rather, here forsake,
And one of yonder caskets take!
The army’s modest pay they hold,
Their bellies full of purest gold.
One strikes him dead, and goes ahead.
Thou art already laden so,
And nothing right thy sack can show.
This rubbish, rather, here forsake,
And one of yonder caskets take!
The army’s modest pay they hold,
Their bellies full of purest gold.
Speedbooty.
O what a murderous weight is there!
I cannot lift it, cannot bear.
I cannot lift it, cannot bear.
Havequick.
Quick, bend and squat to take the pack!
I ’Il heave it on thy sturdy back.
I ’Il heave it on thy sturdy back.
Speedbooty.
Ome! Alack! the burden slips:
The weight has crushed my back and hips.
(The chest falls and bursts open.)
The weight has crushed my back and hips.
(The chest falls and bursts open.)
Havequick.
There lies the red gold in a heap!
Quick, rake and take what thou canst keep!
Quick, rake and take what thou canst keep!
Speedbooty (crouching down).
Quick, let the booty fill my lap!
’T will still be quite enough, mayhap.
’T will still be quite enough, mayhap.
Havequick.
So! there ’s enough! Now haste, and go!
(She rises.)
The apron has a hole, ah woe!
Wherever thou dost walk or stand,
Thou sowest treasure on the land.147
(She rises.)
The apron has a hole, ah woe!
Wherever thou dost walk or stand,
Thou sowest treasure on the land.147
Guardsmen (of our Emperor).
What seek ye here with wanton eyes?
Ye rummage the Imperial prize !
Ye rummage the Imperial prize !
Havequick.
We hazarded our limbs for pay,
And now we take our share of prey.
In hostile tents ’t is always so,
And we are soldiers too, you know.
And now we take our share of prey.
In hostile tents ’t is always so,
And we are soldiers too, you know.
Guardsmen.
Among our troops he comes to grief
Who ’s both a soldier and a thief:
Who serves our Emperor fair and free,
Let him an honest soldier be!
Who ’s both a soldier and a thief:
Who serves our Emperor fair and free,
Let him an honest soldier be!
Havequick.
O yes! such honesty we know:
’T is Contribution,—call it so!148
In the same mould you all are made.
“Give!” is the password of your trade.
(To Speedbooty.)
With what thou hast, the coast we ’ll clear:
As guests we are not welcome here.
[Exeunt.
’T is Contribution,—call it so!148
In the same mould you all are made.
“Give!” is the password of your trade.
(To Speedbooty.)
With what thou hast, the coast we ’ll clear:
As guests we are not welcome here.
[Exeunt.
First Guardsman.
Why didst thou not at once bestow
On the scamp’s face a smashing blow?
On the scamp’s face a smashing blow?
Second.
I know not,—had not strength to strike;
They seemed to me so phantom-like.
They seemed to me so phantom-like.
Third.
Something there was disturbed my sight,—
A flash: I could not see aright.
A flash: I could not see aright.
Fourth.
I, also, can declare it not:
The whole day long it was so hot,
So sultry, close, and terrible;
One man stood firm, another fell;
We groped and fought, with valor rash,
The foemen fell at every slash;
Before one’s eyes there was a mist,
And something roared, and hummed, and hissed;
So to the end, and here are we,
And how it happened, cannot see.
(The Emperor enters, accompanied by Four Princes. The'
Guardsmen retire.)
The whole day long it was so hot,
So sultry, close, and terrible;
One man stood firm, another fell;
We groped and fought, with valor rash,
The foemen fell at every slash;
Before one’s eyes there was a mist,
And something roared, and hummed, and hissed;
So to the end, and here are we,
And how it happened, cannot see.
(The Emperor enters, accompanied by Four Princes. The'
Guardsmen retire.)
Emperor.149
Now fare he, as he may! For us is won the battle,
And o’er the plain the foe have fled like frightened cattle.
The trait’rous treasure, here, the empty throne, we ’ve found,
That, hung with tapestry, contracts the space around.
Enthroned in honor we, true guardsmen us protecting,
The people’s envoys are imperially expecting.
The messengers of joy arrive from every side,
And, loyal now to us, the realm is pacified.
Though in our fight, perchance, some jugglery was woven,
Yet, at the last, our own unaided strength we ’ve proven.
True, accidents sometimes for combatants are good;
A stone may fall from heaven, on foes a shower of blood;
From rocky caves may ring tremendous strains of wonder,
That lift our hearts with faith, and drive the foe asunder.
The Conquered yielded, scourged by Scorn’s immortal rod;
The Victor, as he boasts, exalts the favoring God;
And all responsive shout, unordered, unentreated:
“We praise Thee, God our Lord!” from million throats repeated.
Yet as the highest praise, so rarely else expressed,
I turn my pious glance on mine own grateful breast.
A young and lively Prince may give his days to pleasure;
Him teach the years, at last, the moment’s use to measure,
Therefore, without delay, I call ye, for support,
Beside me, worthy Four, in realm and house and court.
(To the First.)
Thine was, O Prince! the host’s arrangement, wise inspection,
Then, in the nick of time, heroic, bold direction:
Act now in peace, as Time thine offices may show!
Arch-Marshal shalt thou be: the sword I here bestow.
And o’er the plain the foe have fled like frightened cattle.
The trait’rous treasure, here, the empty throne, we ’ve found,
That, hung with tapestry, contracts the space around.
Enthroned in honor we, true guardsmen us protecting,
The people’s envoys are imperially expecting.
The messengers of joy arrive from every side,
And, loyal now to us, the realm is pacified.
Though in our fight, perchance, some jugglery was woven,
Yet, at the last, our own unaided strength we ’ve proven.
True, accidents sometimes for combatants are good;
A stone may fall from heaven, on foes a shower of blood;
From rocky caves may ring tremendous strains of wonder,
That lift our hearts with faith, and drive the foe asunder.
The Conquered yielded, scourged by Scorn’s immortal rod;
The Victor, as he boasts, exalts the favoring God;
And all responsive shout, unordered, unentreated:
“We praise Thee, God our Lord!” from million throats repeated.
Yet as the highest praise, so rarely else expressed,
I turn my pious glance on mine own grateful breast.
A young and lively Prince may give his days to pleasure;
Him teach the years, at last, the moment’s use to measure,
Therefore, without delay, I call ye, for support,
Beside me, worthy Four, in realm and house and court.
(To the First.)
Thine was, O Prince! the host’s arrangement, wise inspection,
Then, in the nick of time, heroic, bold direction:
Act now in peace, as Time thine offices may show!
Arch-Marshal shalt thou be: the sword I here bestow.
Arch-Marshal.
Thy faithful host, till now employed for civil order,
Thee and thy throne secured, shall strengthen next thy border:
Then let us be allowed, when festal throngs are poured
Through thine ancestral halls, to dress for thee the board.
Before thee brightly borne, and brightly held beside thee,
Thy Majesty’s support, the sword shall guard and guide thee!
Thee and thy throne secured, shall strengthen next thy border:
Then let us be allowed, when festal throngs are poured
Through thine ancestral halls, to dress for thee the board.
Before thee brightly borne, and brightly held beside thee,
Thy Majesty’s support, the sword shall guard and guide thee!
Emperor. (to the Second).
He who as gallant man can also gracious be,
Thou,—be Arch-Chamberlain!—not light the place, for thee.
Thou art the highest now of all the house-retainers
Whose strife makes service bad,—the threateners and complainers:
Let thy example be an honored sign to these,
How they the Prince and Court, and all, should seek to please!
Thou,—be Arch-Chamberlain!—not light the place, for thee.
Thou art the highest now of all the house-retainers
Whose strife makes service bad,—the threateners and complainers:
Let thy example be an honored sign to these,
How they the Prince and Court, and all, should seek to please!
Arch-Chamberlain.
To speed thy high design, thy grace is fair precursor:
The Better to assist, and injure not the Worser,—
Be frank, yet cunning not, and calm without deceit!
If thou but read my heart, I’m honored as is meet.
But let my fancy now to festal service hasten!
Thou goest to the board, I bear the golden basin,
And hold thy rings for thee, that on such blissful days
Thy hands may be refreshed, as I beneath thy gaze.
The Better to assist, and injure not the Worser,—
Be frank, yet cunning not, and calm without deceit!
If thou but read my heart, I’m honored as is meet.
But let my fancy now to festal service hasten!
Thou goest to the board, I bear the golden basin,
And hold thy rings for thee, that on such blissful days
Thy hands may be refreshed, as I beneath thy gaze.
Emperor.
Too serious am I still, to plan such celebration;
Yet be it so! We need a glad inauguration.
(To the Third.)
I choose thee Arch-High-Steward! Therefore henceforth be
Chase, poultry-yard, and manor subject unto thee!
Give me at all times choice of dishes I delight in,
As with the month they come, and cooked with appetite in!
Yet be it so! We need a glad inauguration.
(To the Third.)
I choose thee Arch-High-Steward! Therefore henceforth be
Chase, poultry-yard, and manor subject unto thee!
Give me at all times choice of dishes I delight in,
As with the month they come, and cooked with appetite in!
Arch-High-Steward.
A rigid fast shall be the penalty I wish,
Until before thee stands a goodly-savored dish.
The kitchen-folk shall join, and gladly heed my reasons
To bring the distant near and expedite the seasons.
Yet rare and early things shall not delight thee long:
Thy taste desires, instead, the simple and the strong.
Until before thee stands a goodly-savored dish.
The kitchen-folk shall join, and gladly heed my reasons
To bring the distant near and expedite the seasons.
Yet rare and early things shall not delight thee long:
Thy taste desires, instead, the simple and the strong.
Emperor (to the Fourth).
Since here, perforce, we plan but feasts, and each is sharer,
Be thou for me transformed, young hero, to Cup-bearer!
Arch Cup-Bearer, take heed, that all those vaults of mine
Richly replenished be with noblest taps of wine!
Be temperate thyself, howe’er temptation presses,
Nor let occasion’s lure mislead thee to excesses!
Be thou for me transformed, young hero, to Cup-bearer!
Arch Cup-Bearer, take heed, that all those vaults of mine
Richly replenished be with noblest taps of wine!
Be temperate thyself, howe’er temptation presses,
Nor let occasion’s lure mislead thee to excesses!
Arch Cup-Bearer.
My Prince, the young themselves, if trust in them be shown,
Are, ere one looks around, already men full-grown.
I at the lordly feast shall also take my station,
And give thy sideboard’s pomp the noblest decoration
Of gorgeous vessels, golden, silver, grand to see;
Yet first the fairest cup will I select for thee,—
A clear Venetian glass, good cheer within it waiting,
Helping the taste of wine, yet ne’er intoxicating.
One oft confides too much on such a treasured store:
Thy moderation, though, High Lord, protects thee more.
Are, ere one looks around, already men full-grown.
I at the lordly feast shall also take my station,
And give thy sideboard’s pomp the noblest decoration
Of gorgeous vessels, golden, silver, grand to see;
Yet first the fairest cup will I select for thee,—
A clear Venetian glass, good cheer within it waiting,
Helping the taste of wine, yet ne’er intoxicating.
One oft confides too much on such a treasured store:
Thy moderation, though, High Lord, protects thee more.
Emperor.
What, in this earnest hour, for you have I intended,
From valid mouth confidingly you ’ve comprehended.
The Emperor’s word is great, his gift is therefore sure,
But needs, for proper force, his written signature:
The high sign-manual fails. Here, for commission needful,
I see the right man come, of the right moment heedful.
From valid mouth confidingly you ’ve comprehended.
The Emperor’s word is great, his gift is therefore sure,
But needs, for proper force, his written signature:
The high sign-manual fails. Here, for commission needful,
I see the right man come, of the right moment heedful.
(The Archbishop-Arch-Chancellor enters.)
Emperor.
If in the keystone of the arch the vault confide,
’Tis then securely built, for endless time and tide.
Thou seest Four Princes here! To them we ’ve just expounded
How next our House and Court shall be more stably founded.
Now, all the realm contains, within its bounds enclosed,
Shall be, with weight and power, upon Ye Five imposed!
Your landed wealth shall be before all others splendid;
Therefore at once have I your properties extended
From their inheritance, who raised ’gainst us the hand.
You I award, ye Faithful, many a lovely land,
Together with the right, as you may have occasion,
To spread them by exchange, or purchase, or invasion:
Then be it clearly fixed, that you unhindered use
Whate’er prerogatives have been the landlord’s dues.
When ye, as Judges, have the final sentence spoken,
By no appeal from your high Court shall it be broken;
Then levies, tax and rent, pass-money, tolls and fees
Are yours,—of mines and salt and coin the royalties.
That thus my gratitude may validly be stated,
You next to Majesty hereby I ’ve elevated.
’Tis then securely built, for endless time and tide.
Thou seest Four Princes here! To them we ’ve just expounded
How next our House and Court shall be more stably founded.
Now, all the realm contains, within its bounds enclosed,
Shall be, with weight and power, upon Ye Five imposed!
Your landed wealth shall be before all others splendid;
Therefore at once have I your properties extended
From their inheritance, who raised ’gainst us the hand.
You I award, ye Faithful, many a lovely land,
Together with the right, as you may have occasion,
To spread them by exchange, or purchase, or invasion:
Then be it clearly fixed, that you unhindered use
Whate’er prerogatives have been the landlord’s dues.
When ye, as Judges, have the final sentence spoken,
By no appeal from your high Court shall it be broken;
Then levies, tax and rent, pass-money, tolls and fees
Are yours,—of mines and salt and coin the royalties.
That thus my gratitude may validly be stated,
You next to Majesty hereby I ’ve elevated.
Archbishop.
In deepest thanks to thee we humbly all unite:
Thou mak’st us strong and sure, and strengthenest thy might.
Thou mak’st us strong and sure, and strengthenest thy might.
Emperor.
Yet higher dignities I give for your fulfilling.
Still for my realm I live, and still to live am willing;
Yet old ancestral lines compel the prudent mind
To look from present deeds to that which looms behind.
I, also, in my time, must meet the sure Redresser;
Your duty be it, then, to choose me a successor.
Crowned, at the altar raise his consecrated form,
That so may end in peace what here began in storm!
Still for my realm I live, and still to live am willing;
Yet old ancestral lines compel the prudent mind
To look from present deeds to that which looms behind.
I, also, in my time, must meet the sure Redresser;
Your duty be it, then, to choose me a successor.
Crowned, at the altar raise his consecrated form,
That so may end in peace what here began in storm!
Arch-Chancellor.
With pride profound, yet humbly, as our guise evinces,
Behold, before thee bowed, the first of earthly princes!
So long the faithful blood our living veins shall fill,
We are the body which obeys thy lightest will.
Behold, before thee bowed, the first of earthly princes!
So long the faithful blood our living veins shall fill,
We are the body which obeys thy lightest will.
Emperor.
Now, to conclude, let all that we have here asserted,
Be, for the future time, to document converted!
’T is true that ye, as lords, have your possession free,
With this condition, though, that it unparcelled be;
And what ye have from us, howe’er ye swell the treasure,
Shall to the eldest son descend in equal measure.
Be, for the future time, to document converted!
’T is true that ye, as lords, have your possession free,
With this condition, though, that it unparcelled be;
And what ye have from us, howe’er ye swell the treasure,
Shall to the eldest son descend in equal measure.
Arch-Chancellor.
On parchment I, at once, shall gladly tabulate,
To bless the realm and us, the statute of such weight:
The copy and the seals the Chancery shall procure us,
Thy sacred hand shall then validity assure us.
To bless the realm and us, the statute of such weight:
The copy and the seals the Chancery shall procure us,
Thy sacred hand shall then validity assure us.
Emperor.
Dismissal now I grant, that you, assembled, may
Deliberate upon the great, important day.
(The Secular Princes retire.)
Deliberate upon the great, important day.
(The Secular Princes retire.)
Archbishop
(remains and speaks pathetically).
The Chancellor withdrew, the Bishop stands before thee:
A warning spirit bids that straightway he implore thee!
His heart paternal quakes with anxious fear for thee.
The Chancellor withdrew, the Bishop stands before thee:
A warning spirit bids that straightway he implore thee!
His heart paternal quakes with anxious fear for thee.
Emperor.
In this glad hour what may thy dread misgiving be?
Archbishop.
Alas, in such an hour, how much my pain must greaten,
To find thy hallowed head in covenant with Satan!
True, to the throne, it seems, hast thou secured thy right;
But, woe! in God the Lord’s, the Holy Pontiff’s spite.
Swift shall he punish when he learns the truth—the latter:
Thy sinful realm at once with holy ban he ’ll shatter!
He still remembers how, amid thy highest state,
When newly crowned, thou didst the wizard liberate.150
Thy diadem but made thy heart for Christians harden,
For on that head accurst fell its first beam of pardon.
Now beat thy breast, and from thy guilty stores, this day,
Unto the Sanctuary a moderate mite repay!
The spacious sweep of hills, where stood thy tent erected,—
Where Evil Spirits then, united, thee protected,—
Where late the Liar-Prince thy hearing did secure,—
Devote thou, meekly taught, to pious use and pure,
With hill and forest dense, far as they stretch extended,
And slopes that greenly swell for pastures never ended,
Then crystal lakes of fish, unnumbered brooks that flow
In foamy windings down, and braid the vale below;
The broad vale then, itself, with mead, and lawn, and hollow!
Thus penitence is shown, and pardon soon shall follow.
To find thy hallowed head in covenant with Satan!
True, to the throne, it seems, hast thou secured thy right;
But, woe! in God the Lord’s, the Holy Pontiff’s spite.
Swift shall he punish when he learns the truth—the latter:
Thy sinful realm at once with holy ban he ’ll shatter!
He still remembers how, amid thy highest state,
When newly crowned, thou didst the wizard liberate.150
Thy diadem but made thy heart for Christians harden,
For on that head accurst fell its first beam of pardon.
Now beat thy breast, and from thy guilty stores, this day,
Unto the Sanctuary a moderate mite repay!
The spacious sweep of hills, where stood thy tent erected,—
Where Evil Spirits then, united, thee protected,—
Where late the Liar-Prince thy hearing did secure,—
Devote thou, meekly taught, to pious use and pure,
With hill and forest dense, far as they stretch extended,
And slopes that greenly swell for pastures never ended,
Then crystal lakes of fish, unnumbered brooks that flow
In foamy windings down, and braid the vale below;
The broad vale then, itself, with mead, and lawn, and hollow!
Thus penitence is shown, and pardon soon shall follow.
Emperor.
For this, my heavy sin, my terror is profound:
By thine own measure shalt thou draw the borders round.
By thine own measure shalt thou draw the borders round.
Archbishop.
First be the spot profane, where sin was perpetrated,
To God’s high service soon and wholly dedicated!
With speed the walls arise to meet the mind’s desire;
The rising morning sun already lights the choir;
The growing structure spreads, the transept stands exalted;
Joy of Believers, then, the nave is lifted, vaulted;
And while they press with zeal within the portals grand,
The first clear call of bells is swept across the land,
Pealed from the lofty towers that heavenwards have striven:
The penitent draws near, new life to him is given.
The consecration-day—O, may it soon be sent!—
Thy presence then shall be the highest ornament.
To God’s high service soon and wholly dedicated!
With speed the walls arise to meet the mind’s desire;
The rising morning sun already lights the choir;
The growing structure spreads, the transept stands exalted;
Joy of Believers, then, the nave is lifted, vaulted;
And while they press with zeal within the portals grand,
The first clear call of bells is swept across the land,
Pealed from the lofty towers that heavenwards have striven:
The penitent draws near, new life to him is given.
The consecration-day—O, may it soon be sent!—
Thy presence then shall be the highest ornament.
Emperor.
So great a work shall be my pious proclamation
To praise the Lord our God, and work mine expiation,
Enough! I feel, e’en now, how high my thoughts aspire.
To praise the Lord our God, and work mine expiation,
Enough! I feel, e’en now, how high my thoughts aspire.
Archbishop.
As Chancellor, next, the formal treaty I require.
Emperor.
A formal document,—the Church needs full requital.
Bring it to me, and I with joy will sign her title!
Bring it to me, and I with joy will sign her title!
Archbishop
(has taken leave, but turns back again at the door).
At once unto the work devote, that it may stand,
Tithes, levies, tax, — the total income of the land,
Forever. Much it needs, to be supported fairly,
And careful maintenance will also cost us rarely:
And, that it soon be built, on such a lonesome wold,
Thou ’It from thy booty spare to us some little gold.
Moreover, we shall want — here, most, we claim assistance—
Lumber, and lime, and slate, and such like, from a distance.
The people these shall haul, thus from the pulpit taught;
The Church shall bless the man, whose team for her has wrought.
[Exit.
At once unto the work devote, that it may stand,
Tithes, levies, tax, — the total income of the land,
Forever. Much it needs, to be supported fairly,
And careful maintenance will also cost us rarely:
And, that it soon be built, on such a lonesome wold,
Thou ’It from thy booty spare to us some little gold.
Moreover, we shall want — here, most, we claim assistance—
Lumber, and lime, and slate, and such like, from a distance.
The people these shall haul, thus from the pulpit taught;
The Church shall bless the man, whose team for her has wrought.
[Exit.
Emperor.
The sin is very sore, wherewith my soul is weighted:
Much damage unto me the Sorcerers have created.
Much damage unto me the Sorcerers have created.
Archbishop
(returning once again, with profoundest genuflections).
Pardon, O Prince! to him, that vile, notorious man,
The Empire’s coast was given; but him shall smite the ban,
Unless thy penitence the Church’s wrath relaxes
There, too, with tithes and gifts, and revenues and taxes.
Pardon, O Prince! to him, that vile, notorious man,
The Empire’s coast was given; but him shall smite the ban,
Unless thy penitence the Church’s wrath relaxes
There, too, with tithes and gifts, and revenues and taxes.
Emperor (ill-humoredly).
The land doth not exist: far in the sea it lies.
Archbishop.
Who patient is, and right, his day shall yet arise.
Your word for us remains, and makes secure our trover!
[Exit.
Your word for us remains, and makes secure our trover!
[Exit.
Emperor (solus).
I might as well, at last, make all the Empire over!
I might as well, at last, make all the Empire over!