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Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethetranslated by George Madison PriestPrevious section .Next section . Back to Faust page CATHEDRAL[Mass, Organ, and Singing.GRETCHEN among many people, EVIL SPIRIT behind GRETCHEN.] Evil Spirit. How different, Gretchen, it was with thee, When thou, still full of innocence, Here to the altar cam'st, Out of the well-worn, little book Didst prattle prayers, Half childhood's play, Half God in thy heart! Gretchen! Where are thy thoughts? Within thy heart What foul misdeed? Is it for thy mother's soul thou prayest, who Through thee to long, long torment fell asleep? Upon thy door-sill, whose the blood? -Beneath thy heart already Is there not stirring swelling life That tortureth itself and thee With its foreboding presence? Gretchen. Woe! Woe! Would I were free of thoughts That go within me hither and thither Against my will! Choir. Dies irae, dies illa Solvet saeclum in favilla. [Sound of the organ.] Evil Spirit. Wrath grips thee! The last trumpet sounds! The graves are trembling! And thy heart, From rest in ashes To flaming torments Raised up, re-created, Trembling ascends! Gretchen. Would were away from here! It seems to me as if the organ Would stifle my breathing, As if my inmost heart Were melted by the singing. Choir. Judex ergo cum sedebit, Quidquid latet adparebit, Nil inultum remanebit. Gretchen. I'm stifling here! The walls and pillars Imprison me! The vaulted arches Crush me! - Air! Evil Spirit. Hide thyself! Sin and shame Remain not hidden. Air? Light? Woe's thee! Choir. Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? Quem patronum rogaturus, Cum vix justus sit securus? Evil Spirit. The faces of the Glorified Will turn away from thee; To thee their hands to offer Will the Pure shudder. Woe! Choir. Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? Gretchen. Neighbour! Your smelling-salts! [She falls in a swoon.] If you have problems understanding these alchemical texts, Adam McLean now provides a study course entitled How to read alchemical texts : a guide for the perplexed. |