He
probably
began the work when he was about twenty years old.
Faust, a Tragedy by Goethe
And camp around me to defend me I
Henry! I dread to look on thee.
_Mephistopheles_. She's judged!
_Voice [from above_]. She's saved!
_Mephistopheles [to Faust_]. Come thou to me!
[_Vanishes with_ FAUST. ]
_Voice [from within, dying away_]. Henry! Henry!
NOTES.
[Footnote 1: Dedication. The idea of Faust had early entered into Goethe's
mind.
He probably began the work when he was about twenty years old. It
was first published, as a fragment, in 1790, and did not appear in its
present form till 1808, when its author's age was nearly sixty. By the
"forms" are meant, of course, the shadowy personages and scenes of the
drama. ]
[Footnote 2: --"Thy messengers"--
"He maketh the winds his-messengers,
The flaming lightnings his ministers. "
_Noyes's Psalms_, c. iv. 4. ]
[Footnote 3: "The Word Divine. " In translating the German "Werdende"
(literally, the _becoming, developing_, or _growing_) by the term _word_,
I mean the _word_ in the largest sense: "In the beginning was the Word,
&c. " Perhaps "nature" would be a pretty good rendering, but "word," being
derived from "werden," and expressing philosophically and scripturally the
going forth or manifestation of mind, seemed to me as appropriate a
translation as any. ]
[Footnote 4: "The old fellow. " The commentators do not seem quite agreed
whether "den Alten" (the old one) is an entirely reverential phrase here,
like the "ancient of days," or savors a little of profane pleasantry, like
the title "old man" given by boys to their schoolmaster or of "the old
gentleman" to their fathers. Considering who the speaker is, I have
naturally inclined to the latter alternative. ]
[Footnote 5: "Nostradamus" (properly named Michel Notre Dame) lived
through the first half of the sixteenth century. He was born in the south
of France and was of Jewish extraction. As physician and astrologer, he
was held in high honor by the French nobility and kings.
