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The Redemption of Faust.tween Mephistopheles anlt; 1 Faust ; and Faust lias no power al (lie hour of death to decide liis future destiny, comprehending its meaning, Wephistopheles at last tile force of the warning given him by the Lord. The warning is for all time beyond his grasp. The devil must forever exult in Ins own power and forever experience defeat.The final disappointment of Mephistopheles, as shown by Goethe, is the culmination of a series of events as full of sublime irony as any portrayed by the ancient Greeks ; but there is this difference : that in the ancient drama the bitter shafts of irony were launched at mankind, while in that of the modern poet they are turned against the enemy of mankind, who is conceived bv Goethe asn The Power* not understood*Wlitrh always wills the bad, andAlways work's the (food.If thesight of a devil self-defeated causes some beholders to exclaim, “ Unjust !, the sight of a glorified Faust leads a far greater number to cry, “Impossible!’’ Literature has spread and ordinary experience eon firms the opinion that a man once sold In the Evil One is hopelessly lost. Goethe defies both ordinary experience and literary tradition. lie not only raises his hero from the degradation of sin to a virtuous life on earth, but he enthrones him in immortality and bestows on him the crown of spiritual perfection. The render of the second part of Faust may even be inclined to accuse its author of adopting as his text his Astrologer's saving: u Impossible 1t is—therefore to be believed. Yet Goellie has only expressed in concrete form I he deepest human experience. lie lias dwelt upon the fearful danger which attends every alliance with evil ; he has shown the possibility of breaking away from sin and rising from its lowest depths to serene heights of virtue; finally, he has pictured in s\ mbolic language that ideal life
Newspaper Details
Poughkeepsie Vassar Miscellany
Poughkeepsie, New York, US
Fri, Jul 01, 1887
Page 4
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 18 May 2020
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