Only give me full license, and you’ll see
How I shall lead him softly to my goal.
The Lord.
As long as on the earth he lives
Thou hast my license full and free;
Man still must stumble while he strives.
Mephistopheles.
My thanks for that! the dead for me
Have little charm; my humor seeks
The bloom of lusty life, with plump and rosy cheeks;
For a vile corpse my tooth is far too nice,
I do just as the cat does with the mice.
The Lord.
So be it; meanwhile, to tempt him thou are free;
Go, drag this spirit from his native fount,
And lead him on, canst thou his will surmount,
Into perdition down with thee;
But stand ashamed at last, when thou shalt see
An honest man, ’mid all his strivings dark,
Finds the right way, though lit but by a spark.
Mephistopheles.
Well, well; short time will show; into my net
I’ll draw the fish, and then I’ve won my bet;
And when I’ve carried through my measure
Loud blast of trump shall blaze my glory;
Dust shall he eat, and that with pleasure,
Like my cousin the snake in the rare old story.
The Lord.
And thou mayst show thee here in upper sky
Unhindered, when thou hast a mind;
I never hated much thee or thy kind;
Of all the spirits that deny,
The clever rogue sins least against my mind.
For, in good sooth, the mortal generation,
When a soft pillow they may haply find,
Are far too apt to sink into stagnation;
And therefore man for comrade wisely gets
A devil, who spurs, and stimulates, and whets.
But you, ye sons of heaven’s own choice,
In the one living Beautiful rejoice!
The self-evolving Energy divine
Enclasp you round with love’s embrace benign,
And on the floating forms of earth and sky
Stamp the fair type of thought that may not die.
Mephistopheles.
From time to time the ancient gentleman
I see, and keep on the best terms I can.
In a great Lord ’tis surely wondrous civil
So face to face to hold talk with the devil.
FAUST.
