Booker Igor 06/13/2019 at 14:33
Everyone has heard the name of Dr. Faust. Became a cult hero of literature back inXVI century eke, he forever remained in the memory of descendants. But a real person named Faust has little in common with his illustrious image, and little is known for certain about him.
According to reliable sources, Johann Georg Faust, or Georg Faust, was born around 1480 in Knittlingen, and died in 1540 (1541) in or near the town of Staufen im Breisgau. His whole life was spent in approximately one geographical place - the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Faust combined the combined talents of an alchemist, magician, healer, astrologer and soothsayer.
If you accidentally see a chubby volume devoted to the biography of Faust on the counter of a bookstore, do not believe your eyes. No, you are not being led by the nose: in that hypothetical book, everyday life at the end of the 15th - first half of the 16th century, the literary and artistic image of Faust, and much more interesting things can be described in detail. There will be no biography of Faust in the folio, since even the most complete and scrupulous biography will fit perfectly on several sheets of A4 format, and at the same time, not everything written on them will be true.
As the contemporary German literary historian Günther Mahal observed, "a jungle of question marks surrounds the historical figure of Faust."
In all the testimonies of contemporaries about Faust, he is called Georg, or Jörg (Jörg). The name Johann first pops up two decades after the death of the alchemist. A sorcerer and healer, Faust at the end of the last century would have been called a psychic in Russia. Unlike Kashpirovsky or Chumak, Faust did not have a huge television audience, but his name crossed the borders of not only Germany, but also Europe and remained in the memory of posterity.
Unlike the seven ancient Greek cities that argued among themselves as to the birthplace of the great Homer, only three German towns claim to be the cradle of the famous Faust: Knittlingen, already named above, Helmstadt near Heidelberg and the place of Roda in Thuringia mentioned only in the legend. The victory was won by Knittlingen, which today houses the Faust Museum and its archive. As a matter of fact, the winner was determined thanks to a document that has survived to this day on the acquisition of real estate by a magician in these parts. It is dated 1542.
Unfortunately, only a copy of this document made in pencil by Karl Weisert in 1934 has survived to this day. The original burned down during World War II. The authenticity of the archival document, handwritten by a school teacher, is officially certified by the signature and seal of the then burgomaster of the city of Lehner dated March 3, 1934. In addition to this paper, the testimony of Johann Manlius has been preserved. In a letter to his teacher, written in 1563, he mentions an acquaintance with Faust from Knittlinger, whom he called "a cesspool full of devils" ( Scheisshaus vieler Teufel).
The teacher of this witness was the famous theologian and reformer, an associate of Luther, nicknamed the Teacher of Germany (Praeceptor Germaniae) by the humanist Philipp Melanchthon. And he called Faust, adopted during the Renaissance, the Latinized pseudonym Faustus, which in translation meant "lucky".
After so many centuries, it is very difficult to judge who the said Faust really was. Some saw him as a deceiver, charlatan and adventurer, while others saw him as a philosopher, alchemist, soothsayer, palmist and healer. In some sources, Faust is insultingly referred to as "a vagabond, an empty talker and a tramp-deceiver." Apparently, it was about a wandering magician.
By the way, it is worth noting that even today some people are negatively disposed towards psychics (at the same time, they did not approach them even a cannon shot), others were cautious out of envy of their success, etc. In addition, until 1506 there is not a single document that would highlight the activities of Dr. Faust.
In one of the letters, our hero is attested with the following words: "Master Georg Sabellicus Faust Jr. (Georg Sabellicus Faust der Jüngere) is a storehouse for necromancers, an astrologer, the second of magicians, a palmist, an aeromancer, a pyromancer, the second of hydromancers." Perhaps this is an example of a successful "PR" of the sorcerer, who pretended to be a specialist in reading lines on his hand, in clouds, fog and the flight of birds (auspices), as well as being able to predict and guess by fire, water and smoke.
The Vatican Library has preserved a letter from the Benedictine abbot from Würzburg Johannes Trithemius (Iohannes Trithemius), sent by him on August 20, 1507 to the mathematician and court astrologer in Heidelberg Johann Firdung (Johann (es) Virdung, 1463-1535), in which the Kabbalist Trithemius describes the tricks of Faust with boys. According to this learned man, when the pedophile Faust was threatened with exposure of his homosexual addictions, he disappeared. Dr. Faust was called the great sodomite and necromancer in documents that are stored in the archives of the city of Nuremberg.
According to the abbot Trithemius, Faust boasted of such knowledge of all sciences and such a memory that if all the works of Plato and Aristotle and all their philosophy were completely forgotten, then he, “like the new Ezra of Judea, would completely restore them from memory even in a more elegant form". And also, as Faust said more than once, he "takes at any time and any number of times to do everything that the Savior did," says Trithemius.
It is not known whether Trithemius was an initiate, but some have argued that he predicted a schism two years before the appearance of Luther, an English translator of his works announced a fire in London in 1647 that would devastate the capital of this island 19 years later.
The natural philosopher Johann Trithemius, whose students were the notorious Agrippa Nettesheim and Theophrastus Paracelsus, spoke rather dismissively about Faust and his abilities, which involuntarily makes one wonder if it was envy that drove him with a pen and whether he was slandering his fellow craftsmen.
However, much more was told about other abilities of the magician and wizard, which resembled more circus tricks than playful adventures with boys. During another toast in honor of a drinking buddy, Faust in a tavern swallowed a boy servant who poured wine over the edge of a mug. And once at the fair, Faust covered a basket with chicken eggs with his cloak, and chickens immediately hatched from it. In Vogel's Leipzig Chronicle it is written: "There are rumors among the people that once, when the cellarers in the Auerbach wine cellar could not roll out an unopened barrel of wine, the famous warlock Dr. Faust mounted it and by the power of his spell the barrel itself jumped into the street" .
In 1520, Faust compiled a birth chart for the influential Archbishop-Elector George III of Bamberg. It should be noted that this is a sign of considerable recognition of the merits of the sorcerer, since His Eminence was one of the highest church hierarchs in the German-speaking countries. "Also, X guilders were given and sent to Dr. Faustus the Philosopher," the archbishop-elector's valet pedantically testified in lowercase letters. Ten guilders at that time was a princely payment.
From the depths of centuries, a legend has come to us about a man who, with the help of Satan - an angel cast into hell because of pride and a desire to equal the power of the Creator - also decided to challenge God, mastering the secrets of the world and his own destiny. For the sake of this, he did not regret even his immortal soul, promised to the owner of the underworld in payment for this union. This is one of the "eternal images" of world literature. In the Renaissance, he found his embodiment in the face of Dr. Faust - the hero of a German medieval legend, a scientist who made an alliance with the devil for the sake of knowledge, wealth and worldly pleasures.
This hero had his prototypes. According to the Historical Lexicon, entries in German church books, lines from letters, notes of travelers indicate that in 1490 a certain Johann Faust was born in the city of Knitlingen (Principality of Württemberg).
The name of Johann Faust, Bachelor of Theology, is listed in the University of Heidelberg lists for 1509. Sometimes he is mentioned as Faust from Simmern, sometimes as a native of the town of Kundling, who studied magic in Krakow, where at that time it was taught openly. It is known that Faust was engaged in magic tricks, quackery, alchemy, and made horoscopes. It is clear that this did not cause approval among respectable citizens. Faust was expelled from Nornberg and Ingolstadt. He led a hectic life and suddenly, like a ghost, appeared here and there, confusing and outraging the public. The little that is known about Faust testifies to the great wounded pride of this man. He liked to call himself "the philosopher of philosophers."
Even during his lifetime, legends began to form about this strange person, in which ancient legends about magicians, anecdotes about wandering scholars, motifs from early Christian lives and medieval demonological literature were intertwined. Moreover, among the people, Faust was not taken seriously, but rather, with regret and mockery:
“Faust rode out, holding on to his sides, From the Auerbach cellar, Sitting astride a barrel of wine, And everyone around saw it. He comprehended black magic, And the devil was rewarded for it.
The church treated Faust more severely. In 1507, the abbot of the Shponheim monastery Johann Trithemius wrote to the court astrologer and mathematician of the Elector of the Palatinate: “The person you write to me about ... who dares to call himself the head of necromancers is a vagabond, idle talker and swindler. So, he came up with a suitable, in his opinion, the title of "Master George Sabellicus Faust Jr., a storehouse of necromancy, an astrologer, a successful magician, a palmist, an aeromancer, a pyromancer and an outstanding hydromancer." The priests also told me that he boasted of such a knowledge of all sciences and such a memory that if all the works of Plato and Aristotle and all their philosophy were completely forgotten, then he would completely restore them from memory and even in a more elegant form. And having appeared in Würzburg, he no less presumptuously said in a large assembly that there was nothing worthy of surprise in the miracles of Christ, he himself undertakes at any time and as many times as he likes to do everything that the Savior did. True, Faust's boasts remained boasts - he failed to accomplish anything outstanding.
It was said that Faust enjoyed the patronage of the rebellious imperial knight Franz von Sickengen and the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, and that he was always accompanied by "a dog disguised as a devil." On the outskirts of the city of Wittenberg, the ruins of the castle are still preserved, which are called the "House of Faust". Here, for many years after the death of Faust, alchemists worked, among whom stood out Christopher Wagner, who called himself a student of Faust. The Wittenberg alchemists made various magical objects, in particular, the mysterious "black mirrors". Various desperate people who were eager to join magic were also trained here.
The real Faust died in 1536 or 1539 in the town of Staufer (Braischau). And in the second third of the 16th century, folk stories about Dr. Faust were recorded, and on their basis, in 1587, the Frankfurt publisher I. Spies published the book “The Story of Dr. Faust, the famous sorcerer and warlock”. It told about how a scientist named Faust made a pact with the devil, because otherwise he could not know “what drives the world and what this world is based on”; how at the imperial court he evoked images of ancient heroes and philosophers, how he showed students the living Helen of Sparta, because of whom the Trojan War broke out and with whom the sorcerer himself subsequently entered into a love affair; how before his death he repented of his deed, but this did not save Faust from the claws of the devil, who dragged the soul of the warlock to hell.
Among the many transcriptions, alterations and translations of this book that flooded Europe, experts single out the books of the French doctor of theology Victor Caillé (1598), the Nuremberg doctor Nikolaus Pfitzer (1674), who first spoke about Faust's love for a certain "beautiful but poor maid", and an anonymous book "Believing Christian" (1725).
But the greatest success was waiting for the drama of the Englishman Christopher Marlo "The Tragic History of Doctor Faust", first published in 1604. Marlo himself claimed that his drama was based on some old manuscript he found in one of the Scottish castles, but it is known that Marlo was prone to hoaxes and, moreover, this story was already well known in Europe by that time. But Goethe, of course, made the name of Faust truly immortal. Under his pen, the image of Faust became a symbol of the entire modern Western civilization, which, under the influence of Gnostic teachings, abandoned God and turned onto a technocratic path of development in the name of mastering the secrets of the world, in the name of knowledge, wealth and worldly pleasures. The price of this turn is known - the rejection of immortality. And the end of this path is also known:
"There is no Faust. His end is terrible. Let us all be convinced, How a brave mind is defeated, When he transgresses the law of heaven."
2. Legend of Faust
Even in the early years, Goethe's attention was attracted by the folk legend about Faust, which arose in the 16th century.
In the 16th century, feudalism in Germany suffered its first serious blows. The Reformation destroyed the authority of the Catholic Church; a powerful uprising of the peasants and the urban poor shook the entire feudal-serf system of the medieval empire to its foundations.
It is no coincidence, therefore, that it was precisely in the sixteenth century that the idea of Faust was born and that the image of a thinker boldly daring to penetrate the secrets of nature arose in popular fantasy. He was a rebel, and, like any rebel who undermined the foundations of the old order, the churchmen declared him an apostate who had sold himself to the devil.
For centuries, the Christian Church has inspired ordinary people with ideas of slavish obedience and humility, preaching the renunciation of all earthly goods, educating the people to disbelieve in their own strength. The church zealously guarded the interests of the ruling feudal class, which was afraid of the activity of the exploited people.
The legend of Faust was formed as an expression of passionate protest against this humiliating sermon. This legend reflected faith in man, in the strength and greatness of his mind. She confirmed that neither torture on the rack, nor wheeling, nor bonfires broke this faith among the masses of yesterday's participants in the crushed peasant uprising. In a semi-fantastic form, the image of Faust embodied the forces of progress that could not be strangled among the people, just as it was impossible to stop the course of history.
“How Germany was in love with her Doctor Faust!” Lessing exclaimed. And this love of the people only confirmed the deep folk roots of the legend.
On the squares of German cities, simple structures were erected, stages of a puppet theater, and thousands of citizens followed the adventures of Johann Faust with excitement. Goethe saw such a performance in his youth, and the legend of Faust captured the poet's imagination for life.
By 1773, the first sketches of the tragedy belong. Her last scenes were written in the summer of 1831, six months before Goethe's death.
But the main ideological concept of the great tragedy took shape in the 90s of the 18th century, in the years immediately following the French Revolution.
For the reader, who for the first time joins the artistic world of Faust, many things will seem unusual. Before us is a philosophical drama, a genre characteristic of the Age of Enlightenment. The features of the genre are manifested here in everything: in the nature and motivation of the conflict, in the choice and placement of characters. The severity of the conflict is determined here not just by the clash of human characters, but by the clash of ideas, principles, the struggle of different opinions. The place and time of the action are conditional, that is, they are devoid of precise historical signs.
When do the events in Faust take place? is a difficult question to answer. In Goethe's time? Hardly. In the 16th century, when the legendary warlock Johann Faust lived? But it is quite clear that Goethe did not seek to create a historical drama depicting the people of that time. The displacement of all historical times is especially striking in the second part. Helena, the heroine of an ancient myth (about 1000 BC!) is suddenly transferred to the era of the knightly Middle Ages and meets Faust here. And their son Euphorion was given the features of the 19th century English poet Byron.
Not only the time and place of the action are conditional, but also the images of the tragedy. Therefore, it is impossible to speak of the typicality of the characters depicted by Goethe in the sense that we say, for example, when considering the works of critical realism of the 19th century.
In Margarita you can see the real type of a German girl of the 18th century. But her image in the artistic system of tragedy also plays a special allegorical role: for Faust, she is the embodiment of nature itself. The image of Faust is given universal human features. Mephistopheles is fantastic, and, as we shall see, behind this fantasy there is a whole system of ideas, complex and contradictory.
In this regard, attention should also be paid to the features of the plot in Faust. The plot, as you know, reflects the relationship of the characters. But Faust is not an everyday drama, but a philosophical tragedy. Therefore, the main thing here is not the external course of events, but the movement of Goethe's thought. From this point of view, the unusual prologue that takes place in heaven is also very important. Goethe uses the images of the Christian legend familiar for that time, but, of course, puts into them a completely different content. The hymns of the archangels create a kind of cosmic backdrop. The universe is majestic, everything in nature is in constant motion, in struggle:
Threatening the earth, agitating the waters,
Storms rage and roar
And the formidable chain of forces of nature
The whole world is mysteriously embraced.
There is a deep meaning in the fact that immediately after the end of this hymn to the universe, a dispute begins about man, about the meaning of his existence. The poet, as it were, reveals to us the greatness of the cosmos, and then asks: what is a person in this vast, endless world?
Mephistopheles answers this question with a destructive characteristic of man. A person, even such as Faust, in his opinion, is insignificant, helpless, pathetic. Mephistopheles scoffs at the fact that a person is proud of his mind, considering it empty conceit. This reason, according to Mephistopheles, serves only to the detriment of a person, because it makes him “even more animal than any animal” (in the translation of N. Kholodkovsky: “to be cattle from cattle”).
Goethe puts the humanistic program into the mouth of the Lord, who opposed Mephistopheles with his faith in man. The poet is convinced that Faust will overcome temporary delusions and find the way to the truth:
And let Satan be put to shame!
Know: a pure soul in its vague search
Consciousness of truth is full!
Thus, the prologue not only exposes the main conflict and gives the beginning of the struggle that will unfold around the question of a person's vocation, but also outlines an optimistic resolution of this conflict.
In the first scene we have Faust's office in front of us. The gloomy room with gothic vaults going high up symbolizes that stuffy, tight circle from which Faust seeks to escape "to freedom, to the wide world." The sciences he studied did not bring him closer to knowing the truth. Instead of living nature, it is surrounded by decay and rubbish, "skeletons of animals and bones of the dead."
Desperation drives him to magic. With a magic spell, he summons the Spirit of the Earth, but his secret remains inaccessible to Faust. Nature is immense, the path to its knowledge is difficult. It is not for nothing that Faust recalls the martyrs of thought who were burned at the stake. Before the mind's eye of the poet, probably, the image of Giordano Bruno, condemned to death by the medieval Inquisition, arose.
Faust's thoughts are conveyed in vivid lyrical monologues. The poet finds living colors to convey the complex philosophical reasoning of the hero. In the mouth of Faust, he puts an expressive description of the situation. Faust compares his office with a “deaf stone hole”, into which sunlight barely penetrates through dull colored glass. The books are worm-eaten and covered in dust.
Lush color of living nature, The Creator gave us joy, You exchanged for decay and rubbish, For a symbol of death, for a skeleton! .. - so figuratively Goethe conveys the meaning of the struggle that takes place in the soul of Faust.
But Goethe does not confine himself to this passionate monologue. He reveals the conflict between true science and dead knowledge by confronting Faust with his student Wagner. Wagner is a type of layman in science. Painstakingly rummaging through dusty parchments, shutting himself up in the twilight of a medieval study, Wagner, unlike Faust, is quite satisfied with his lot. He is far from life and is not interested in life:
... Without joyless boredom
Delving into the most boring and empty things;
He seeks treasures with a greedy hand -
And glad when he finds earthworms!
The next scene, "At the City Gates," is one of the most important in Goethe's tragedy.
The action takes place on a green lawn in front of the city gates. You have to really imagine the setting of a medieval German city in order to feel the deep meaning of this scene. The ancient city with narrow streets, surrounded by a fortress wall, a rampart and a moat, appears as a symbol of medieval isolation.
The Easter holiday loses its religious meaning. The people celebrate the resurrection of nature. From musty, cramped houses, from workshops where everyone was chained to his craft, from the darkness of churches,
From the stuffy city to the field, into the light, the people are crowded, lively, dressed up ...
Goethe does not depict this motley crowd of people as one-faced. City burghers, apprentices, servant girls, peasants, soldiers, students - each social group is characterized by a few, but expressive words. With great skill, Goethe uses a variety of poetic rhythms that emphasize social characteristics.
Slowly ponderous is the speech of a burgher who dreams of quiet home comfort and loves to talk on holidays:
Like somewhere in Turkey, in the far side.
The peoples are slaughtered and fighting.
The song of the soldiers sounds like a marching march. They belong to a mercenary army (“Glorious pay for glorious labors!”), And therefore in their song there is not a word about what they are fighting for. Their prowess is aimless, and death in battle is devoid of a halo of glory.
The merry, fervent rhythm of the folk song “The shepherd started to dance” introduces us to the atmosphere of a peasant holiday:
The people swarmed under the lindens, And the frantic dance was in full swing, And the violin was filled.
And here, among the dancing peasants, Faust appears. His whole wonderful monologue permeates the feeling of life, the joy of being, a vivid perception of nature:
Broken ice floes rushed off into the sea;
Spring shines with a lively smile ...
... Everywhere a living aspiration will be born,
Everything wants to grow, in a hurry to blossom,
And if the glade does not bloom yet,
Instead of flowers, the people dressed up.
Faust feels the spring holiday as the resurrection of the people themselves, who leave the narrow confines of the medieval city, as he himself strives to escape from the dead fetters of medieval science.
When the peasants thank Faust for his help during the epidemic, the words of gratitude echo in his soul as a mockery. Faust understands that his science is still powerless to help the people.
In this scene, the contrast between Faust and Wagner is further revealed. Wagner is alienated from the people, afraid and does not understand them. Just as alien to the people is its bookish wisdom. At the end of the scene, Wagner admits that Faust's aspirations are incomprehensible to him. He has only one desire and one joy - to move from book to book, from page to page.
The next scene is decisive for the entire ideological conception of Faust.
Faust dreams of enlightening his people and translating the Gospel into their native language, a book that in those days replaced textbooks. “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was God,” began this book. And the very first line raises a wave of doubts in Faust's soul. “I can’t value a word so highly,” he says.
The word cannot be the engine of progress, the basis for the development of civilization. He changes the text of the translation and confidently writes: "Dejane is the beginning of being."
Not sharing revolutionary views, Goethe at the same time affirmed the idea of progress, continuous movement forward. And he understood that with his activity, creative work, a person would be able to pave his way into the future.
A.M. Gorky wrote about the scene of the translation of the Gospel: "A hundred years before our days, Goethe said:" The beginning of being is in deed. Very clear and rich idea. As if by itself, the same simple conclusion emerges from it: the knowledge of nature, the change of social conditions is possible only through action.
Goethe said - thanks to the fact that I was born in such an era when the greatest world events took place. "The great poet and thinker embodied all his historical experience in the brilliant tragedy Faust. It was based on the German legend of the 16th century. about the magician and a warlock who made a pact with the devil. The plot of the tragedy combines fantastic situations and real-life scenes. In this sense, "...
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And the townspeople. Several free cities arose in the country, reporting directly to the emperor and having self-government. In such a free city of Frankfurt am Main, Goethe was born into a family of wealthy citizens. His father was a lawyer, he himself raised his son Wolfgang and his younger sister Cornelia, hired good teachers for them and gave them a good education. At the age of sixteen, Goethe became a student...
Goethe's vision, in which the author shares his thoughts on universal human values, on the meaning of life, which are based on tireless activity for the sake of man, even if this activity carries tragic mistakes. The tragedy "Faust" begins with the "Prologue in Heaven", where a conversation between God and Mephistopheles took place, more reminiscent of a philosophical discussion. In the conversation, for the first time, the name Faust is heard, whom ...
Goethe's tragedy "Faust"
Faust - final for the European Enlightenment work.
Just as Defoe's Robinson Crusoe was a philosophical prologue to the eighteenth century, so Goethe's Faust can be called philosophical epilogue. In the tragedy of Goethe, all the most important questions that confronted the enlighteners of the 18th century are concentrated. And the most important of the problems is the problem of MIND. Artistic comprehension of the complex process of cognition of truth, the problem of the correlation of theoretical knowledge, words - and deeds comes to the fore; thoughts and reality.
Work on the tragedy lasted about 60 years, this is one of the most daring expressions in the art of the personal beginning. The 1st Dedication "Here you are again, shifting shadows..." (written June 24, 1797) indicates that at the back of the book are deeply personal motives. The book comes from personal experiences and experiences. And in the book itself - the personality takes on all the burden of unresolved issues in an effort to answer the main question of the era - what is a person?
creative history
For the first time, the idea was born in Strasbourg, prompted by an interest in national creativity, German antiquity. In the collected works in 1790, an unfinished passage was printed - the so-called "Fragment".
Supplemented with a number of scenes that significantly changed the original plan, "Faust" was published in 1808 under the title "Faust, the first part of the tragedy."
The 2nd part was completely printed already in the posthumous collection of essays in 1833.
The legend of "Faust" captivated writers as product of folk art and as a work close in content and form to Shakespeare's theater. seen in Faust rebellious personality aspiring to infinite knowledge and boundless happiness; a person who transgresses the boundaries of what is permitted. The personality of Faust combined the titanism of the spirit, protest, impulse towards the infinite.
Folk legend of Dr. Faust
The historical Faust, probably named Georg, was born in 1480 in Württemberg and died in 1536 or 1539. He attracted attention early with magic tricks, was engaged in quackery, taught, made horoscopes, led a hectic life, was expelled from Nuremberg and Ingolstadt, unexpectedly disappeared and reappeared.
Even during his lifetime, legends began to swarm around this strange person. In the legend of Dr. Faust, he was already called Johann, and in the second third of the 16th century the history of his deeds and life was recorded and published in 1587 by the Frankfurt publisher Shpisom how " The story of Dr. Johann Faust, the famous sorcerer and warlock". The book includes facts and fiction, shvanki and stories about witchcraft tricks, reflections on heaven and hell, harsh edifications. Faust makes a pact with the devil because he wants to know what drives the world and what this world is based on.
Faust of the "People's Book" is a greedy for knowledge, insatiable in pleasures, a daring and arrogant nature. The son of a peasant, he becomes a doctor of theology, then medicine, an astrologer, a mathematician, and, finally, not satisfied with the boundaries set by religion for a person and the data of the then sciences, he turns to magic in the hope that with its help he will be able to "explore all the foundations of the earth and the sky." Since this has proved impossible through the divine, let it be done through the devil. The main thing is to know the essence and fullness of life, to subjugate the world to your human power - even at the cost of life and eternal torment. This is the meaning of the agreement between Faust and Mephistopheles and all its subsequent implementation.
Having concluded the agreement, Faust immediately began to find out from Mephistopheles the origin and structure of the world, earth and the entire universe, the location and content of hell and paradise, the origin of man and his relationship to transcendent forces. Almost the entire first half of the book is devoted to this. By themselves, Mephistopheles' information about the world is still medieval in nature. But the point is not in them, but in that immense breadth of interests of the hero, in his intense desire to find out, to extort everything from the devil, in general and in all particulars.
After 8 years, during which he "engaged in research, teaching, questioning and debate", Faust decided to get acquainted with the world directly. He flew around Asia, Africa, Europe, "he saw so many lands that it is impossible to describe."
The narrator, a stern Lutheran, seeks to inspire his readers: one must not extend one's aspirations too broadly; so Faust is taken by the devil. “Be obedient to the Lord, resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” reads the warning epigraph.
Various versions of the legend were in circulation. In England as early as 1590 Christopher Marlo created a tragedy based on Shpis's "The Story of Doctor Faust". The tragedy depicts a hero who is equally greedy both in the thirst for knowledge and in the thirst for pleasure. Faust's bold claims to omnipotence in the universe bring him into conflict with the already dominant cosmic forces - with God and Satan. God punishes him for apostasy and arrogance; the devil makes him a victim of his satanic machinations.
This play was played in Germany by itinerant acting troupes. Goethe saw such a performance in his youth.
"Great Faust"
The first manuscript edition (1773 - 1775) is mainly the story of Faust and Marguerite. It is well known that it was written under the influence of a real event - after Margarita Brand was publicly executed for infanticide in the poet's hometown. The hero of the fragment bears little resemblance to the legendary Faust. This is young Henry. This is not just a casual acquaintance, rigged meetings, sensual attraction, extramarital secret relationship; the love of Faust and Margarita appears as a concrete manifestation of some deep essential forces of Nature. They are guided by faith in the human right to freely, without false conventions, reveal their natural essence.
And already in the 1st version of Faust, the tragedy of the scientist emerges, who, due to doubts about the sufficiency of his knowledge, summons the earthly spirit in order to join the world creative process himself. Mephistopheles is simply present here as partner And How antagonist Faust.
So, here (in Pra-Faust) two tragedies - tragedy of knowledge and tragedy of love. Not satisfied with book teaching, Faust throws himself into life. But fatal circumstances lead to the death of his beloved. This is perhaps the most tragic of all the creations of the young Goethe.
"Witch's Kitchen" and "Prologue"
After Pra-Faust (with a break of 13 years) there was " witch kitchen» (1788). A fantastic element appeared in the former text, which will then be developed in the scenes of "Walpurgis Night", "Classic Walpurgis Night", in the final scenes of the tragedy.
After the appearance of The Kitchen of the Witches, the story of Margarita began to mean one of the stages in the life of the hero, followed by other stages, later deployed in the second part of Faust. The new scenes have largely overshadowed Marguerite's story. And the central collision becomes Martial arts of Faust and Mephistopheles.
In order to clarify the totality of ideas to which he planned to subordinate all the aspirations of Faust and all the intrigues of Mephistopheles, Goethe conceived " Prologue in the sky”, where the Lord God and Mephistopheles argue about Faust. Everything that happens next with Faust is played out before the very eyes of the Lord God himself. The drama acquires the features of a mystery, the whole universe serves as a theater. The tall spectator is present throughout the development of the action, although his presence is almost never manifested. I had to set it up for the same " Theatrical prologue(follows immediately after the Initiation). He must set up that everything that follows is a performance created by the efforts of the Poet, the Actor and the organizer of the spectacle.
And now, before the eyes of the audience, human fate makes its circle in anticipation of when the highest judge will pass his sentence on her. At the end of the 1st part, a voice will be heard from above "Saved" - but this applies only to Margarita. Faust will be sentenced at the end of the 2nd part, where the plot frame will close.
In the Prologue, two opposing ideas about man collide. For Mephistopheles, human life is sheer vanity:
Poor man! He is so pitiful in suffering,
That torturing the poor and I am not able to.
But for God, the search, the throwing of a person is lawful, they lead to the perfection of a person. He is convinced that he is right and puts his slave - Faust - at the disposal of Mephistopheles:
While his mind still wanders in darkness,
But it will be illuminated by a ray of truth ...
He serves me and it's obvious
And break out of the darkness to please me.
When a gardener plants a tree
The fruit is known in advance to the gardener.
And Mephistopheles, at the will of God, should act as an instigator, forever inducing a person to new activity, because “out of laziness a person falls into hibernation”:
Weak man; submissive to the lot,
He is glad to seek peace - because
I will give him a restless companion:
As a demon teasing him, let him excite him to action!
In the speech of Mephistopheles, a person is belittled (reduced to the level of a small creature, it is no coincidence that the comparison with the “long-legged grasshopper”). Behind these words is a centuries-old assessment of man as weak, worthy only of humility and humility, unarmed in the face of nature. God, as the supreme Judge, is ready to recognize the weakness of man, the possibility of an erroneous choice, delusions. But even these delusions are a necessary and inevitable stage in the search for truth that elevates a person.
So, continuing the topic,
I decided to make a small selection of the most famous doctor in the world and
Part-time warlock Faust.
Johann Faust (circa 1480-1540)
Doctor, warlock, who lived in the first half of the 16th century. in Germany,
The legendary biography of which developed already in the era of the Reformation and on
For several centuries it has been the subject of numerous works
European Literature
Mikhail Vrubel.
Flight of Faust and Mephistopheles
Portrait of Faust by an anonymous German artist of the 17th century
Legend
About Dr. Faust, the warlock scientist who sold his soul to the devil,
It originated in Germany in the 16th century. Johann Faust is a historical figure.
From 1507 to 1540, his name is repeatedly found in various
Documents. In 1909, Faust is mentioned among the students of the philosophical
The income and expenditure book of the Bishop of Bamberg notes: "Appointed and
The philosopher Dr. Faust was awarded 10 guilders for compiling
Horoscope".
Faust and Wagner notice a poodle (the incarnation of Mephistopheles).
However, on less specific biographical information about Faust
Very little. There is an assumption that he was the so-called
"wandering schoolboy", that is, one of the representatives of the medieval
Intelligentsia who received a university education, but did not have
Permanent service and moving from city to city in search of temporary
Earnings. Faust became famous as a connoisseur of the occult sciences, a predictor and
Composer of horoscopes.
Rembrandt, engraving "Faust"
Legend
The fact that Faust sold his soul to the devil arose during his lifetime. Myself
Faust did not deny these rumors, but, on the contrary, supported them. One of
Contemporaries of Faust, who knew him personally, the doctor Johann Wier, writes:
I have one acquaintance, his beard is black, his face is darkish,
Evidence of a melancholic structure (due to illness
spleen).
Illustration by L.D. Goncharova
When he somehow
I met with Faust, he immediately said: "Before you look like my
Kumanka that I even looked at your legs, if I see long
Claws." It was he who mistook him for the devil, whom he was waiting for to him and
He usually called him a kuman. The reality of the deal with the devil at that time was neither
Who was not in doubt. Another acquaintance of Faust, a learned theologian
Johann Gast, wrote: "He had a dog and a horse, which, I believe, were
Demons, because they could do anything. I heard from people that
The dog sometimes turned into a servant and delivered food to the owner.
Faust
He died in 1540. In one of the historical chronicles written
Twenty-seven years after his death, it is said: "This Faust for
He did so many wonderful things in his life that they would be enough for
The writings of a whole treatise, but in the end the unclean still suffocated
Him. "And during the life of Faust, and after his death, there were many people
stories about him. They existed both orally and in writing,
Moreover, these notes were considered notes of Faust himself. In 1587, in
Frankfurt am Main book publisher Johann Spies published a book under
titled "The Story of Dr. Johann Faust, the famous sorcerer and
Warlock", the subtitle of which stated: "For the most part
Extracted from his own posthumous writings.
So...Image
The legendary Faust is significantly different from his historical
Prototype. In the book of Spies, for the first time, the main idea was clearly voiced.
The legends of Dr. Faust - a thirst for knowledge, to satisfy which
The scientist is ready to sacrifice his soul, renounce God and surrender
Committed to science," and "he winged like an eagle, he wanted to comprehend everything
Depths of heaven and earth." For this, Faust made an alliance with the devil, and he
He assigned to him an unclean spirit named Mephistopheles, who must
He was to fulfill all the wishes of the scientist and answer all his questions.
Faust and Mephistotheus. Artist E. Delacroix.
"People's book"
Title
Page of the "People's Book"In the Renaissance, when faith was still alive
In magic and miraculous, and, on the other hand, outstanding victories
The science, liberated from the bonds of scholasticism, was won by many
The fruit of the union of a daring mind with evil spirits, the figure of Dr. Faust
It quickly gained legendary outlines and wide popularity. In 1587 in
In Germany, the first literary revision appeared in the edition of Spies
Legends of Faust, the so-called "folk book" about Faust: "Historia
Von Dr. Johann Fausten, dem weitbeschreiten Zauberer und
Schwartzkünstler etc." (The story of Dr. Faust, the famous magician
And the warlock). The book is woven with episodes dated at one time to
Various sorcerers (Simon Magus, Albert the Great, etc.) and referred to
Ney to Faust. The source of the book, in addition to oral tales, was
Modern writings on witchcraft and "secret" knowledge (books of the theologian
Lerheimer, a student of Melanchthon: "Ein Christlich Bedencken und
Erinnerung von Zauberey, 1585; book by I. Vir, student of Agrippa
Nettesheimsky: "De praestigiis daemonum", 1563, German. translation 1567, and
The wicked who entered into an alliance with the devil for the sake of gaining a great
Knowledge and power (“Faust grew eagle wings for himself and wanted to penetrate
And study all the foundations of heaven and earth." “His falling away does not affect
Nothing but arrogance, despair, audacity and courage, like those
To the Titans, of whom the poets speak, that they piled mountains upon mountains and
They wanted to fight against God, or similar to an evil angel who
He opposed himself to God, for which he was cast down by God as impudent and
Conceited"). The final chapter of the book tells about the "terrible and
Terrifying end" Faust: he is torn apart by demons, and his soul goes to hell.
It is characteristic at the same time that Faust is given the features of a humanist. These traits
Noticeably enhanced in the edition of 1589.
Faust and Mephistopheles
Faust at Kaye
In 1603, Pierre Caillé publishes a French translation of the popular book about Faust.
Faust
Lectures on Homer at the University of Erfurt, at the request of students
Summons the shadows of the heroes of classical antiquity, etc. Addicted
Humanists to antiquity is personified in the book as a "godless" connection
Lustful Faust and Beautiful Elena. However, despite the desire
Yet fanned by the famous heroism; his face reflects the whole
The era of the Renaissance with its inherent thirst for limitless knowledge, the cult
Unlimited personality possibilities, powerful rebellion against
Medieval quietism, dilapidated church-feudal norms and foundations.
Faust at Marlo's
People's
The book about Faust was used by the English playwright of the 16th century. Christopher
Marlo, who wrote the first dramatic adaptation
Legends. His tragedy "The tragical history of the life and death of
Doctor Faustus" (ed. 1604, 4th ed., 1616) (A tragic story
Doctor Faust, Russian translation by K. D. Balmont, Moscow, 1912, earlier in
Thirst for knowledge, wealth and power. Marlo enhances heroic traits
Legends, turning Faust into a bearer of the heroic elements of the European
Renaissance. From the folk book, Marlo learns the alternation of serious and
Comic episodes, as well as the tragic ending of the legend of Faust -
The finale, which is connected with the theme of the condemnation of Faust and his daring
Gusts.
Faust at Widmann
Folk
The book also forms the basis of a lengthy essay by G. R. Widman on
Faust (Widman, Wahrhaftige Historie etc.), published in Hamburg in
1598. Widmann, in contrast to Marlowe, strengthens the moralistic and
Clerical and didactic tendencies of the "folk book". For him history
About Faust in the first place - a story about "terrible and disgusting
Sins and misdeeds" of the famous warlock; his presentation
He meticulously furnishes the legends of Faust with "necessary reminders and
excellent examples," destined to serve the general
"instruction and warning".
Faust in the 18th century
In the footsteps of Widmann went Pfitzer (Pfitzer), released in 1674 his version of the folk book about Faust.
exceptional
The theme of Faust gained popularity in Germany in the second half of the 18th century.
V. among writers, the period of "storm and onslaught" [Lessing - fragments
Unrealized play, Müller-painter - tragedy "Fausts Leben
Dramatisiert" (Life of Faust, 1778), Klinger - novel "Fausts Leben,
Thaten und Höllenfahrt" (Life, deeds and death of Faust, 1791, Russian
Transl. A. Luther, Moscow, 1913), Goethe - the tragedy "Faust" (1774-1831),
Russian translation by N. Kholodkovsky (1878), A. Fet (1882-1883), V.
Bryusov (1928), etc.]. Faust attracts writers-stormers with his
With daring titanism, with its rebellious encroachment on
traditional norms. Under their pen, he acquires the features of a "stormy genius",
Trampling in the name of the unlimited rights of the individual the laws of the environment
Peace. The Stürmers were also attracted by the "Gothic" flavor of the legend, its
irrational element. At the same time, the sturmers, especially Klinger, combine
The theme of Faust with sharp criticism of the feudal-absolutist order
(for example, the picture of the atrocities of the old world in Klinger's novel: arbitrariness
Feudal lord, crimes of monarchs and clergy, depravity
The ruling classes, portraits of Louis XI, Alexander Borgia and
Faust by Goethe
Most
The theme of Faust reaches its powerful artistic expression in
Tragedies of Goethe. The tragedy reflected the whole
The versatility of Goethe, the whole depth of his literary, philosophical and
Scientific research: his struggle for a realistic worldview, his
Humanism etc.
If in "Prafaust"
(1774-1775) the tragedy is still fragmentary, then with the advent of
Prologue "In Heaven" (written 1797, published in 1808), she assimilates the grandiose
The outlines of a kind of humanistic mystery, all numerous
The episodes of which are united by the unity of the artistic conception. Faust
Grows into a colossal figure. He is a symbol of opportunities and destinies
Humanity. His victory over quietism, over the spirit of negation and
The disastrous emptiness (Mephistopheles) marks the triumph of creative forces
Humanity, its indestructible vitality and creative power.
But on the way to victory, Faust is destined to go through a series of "educational"
steps. From the "small world" of burgher everyday life, he enters the "big world"
Aesthetic and civic interests, the boundaries of the scope of its activities
Everything expands, more and more new areas are included in them, until before Faust
The cosmic expanses of the final scenes, where the seeker
The creative spirit of Faust merges with the creative forces of the universe.
The tragedy is permeated with the pathos of creativity. There is nothing frozen here.
Unshakable, everything is here - movement, development, incessant "growth",
A mighty creative process that reproduces itself at ever higher
steps.
In this regard, the very image of Faust, the tireless seeker, is significant.
the "right way", alien to the desire to plunge into inactive peace;
A distinctive feature of Faust's character is "discontent"
(Unzufriedenheit), forever pushing him on the path of relentless action.
Faust killed Gretchen because he grew eagle wings and they
They drag him outside the stuffy burgher chamber; he does not close himself and
In the world of art and perfect beauty, for the kingdom of classical Helena
In the end, it turns out to be just an aesthetic appearance.
Faust craves
Great work, tangible and fruitful, and he ends his life
The leader of a free people who, on a free land, builds his
Well-being, winning the right to happiness from nature. Hell is losing over
Faust his strength. The indefatigably active Faust, who found the "right path",
Honored with cosmic apotheosis. So under the pen of Goethe the old
The legend of Faust takes on a deeply humanistic character. Should
Note that the final scenes of Faust were written during the period
The rapid rise of young European capitalism and, in part,
Reflected the successes of capitalist progress. However, the greatness of Goethe in
The fact that he already saw the dark sides of the new social relations and in
His poem tried to rise above them.
Ary Scheffer (1798-1858)
Faust and Marguerite in the garden, 1846
Frank Cadogan Cooper "Faust" - Marguerite Possessed by an Evil Spirit in the Cathedral
The image of Faust in the era of romanticism
Early 19th century the image of Faust with its gothic outlines attracted
Romantikov. Faust is a wandering charlatan of the 16th century. - appears in the novel
Arnima "Die Kronenwächter", I Bd., 1817 (Guardians of the Crown). the legend of
Faust was developed by Grabbe ("Don Juan und Faust", 1829, Russian translation.
I. Kholodkovsky in the journal "Vek", 1862), Lenau ("Faust", 1835-1836,
Russian translation. A. Anyutina [A. V. Lunacharsky], St. Petersburg, 1904, the same, trans.
N. A-nsky, St. Petersburg, 1892), Heine ["Faust" (a poem intended for dancing,
"Der Doctor Faust". Ein Tanzpoem…, 1851), etc.]. Lenau, author of the most
Significant after Goethe's development of the theme of Faust, depicts Faust
An ambivalent, hesitant, doomed rebel.
Faust and Marguerite. E. Delacroix.
in vain
Dreaming of "connecting the world, God and himself", Faust Lenau falls victim to
The machinations of Mephistopheles, which embodies the forces of evil and corrosive
Skepticism, related to Goethe's Mephistopheles. The spirit of denial and doubt
Triumphs over the rebel whose impulses turn out to be wingless and
Worthless. Lenau's poem marks the beginning of the collapse of the humanistic
Legend concepts. Under the conditions of mature capitalism, the theme of Faust in its
Renaissance-humanistic interpretation could no longer receive
Full implementation. "Faustian spirit" flew away from the bourgeois
Culture, and not by chance at the end of the XIX and XX centuries. we do not have significant
Artistic treatment of the legend of Faust.
Tatyana Fedorova "Faust and Mephistopheles" 1994
Faust in Russia
A. S. Pushkin paid tribute to Russia to the legend of Faust in his wonderful
"Scene from Faust". With echoes of Goethe's "Faust" we meet in
"Don Juan" by A. K. Tolstoy (prologue, Faustian features of Don Juan,
Languishing over the solution of life - direct reminiscences from Goethe) and in
The story in the letters "Faust" by I. S. Turgenev.
Faust at Lunacharsky
20th century the most interesting development of the theme of Faust was given by A. V. Lunacharsky
In his reading drama Faust and the City (written 1908, 1916, ed.
Narkompros, P., in 1918). Based on the final scenes of the second part
Goethe's tragedy, Lunacharsky draws Faust as an enlightened monarch,
Dominant over the country he won back from the sea. However, ward
Faust, the people are already ripe for liberation from the bonds of autocracy, there is
Revolutionary upheaval, and Faust welcomes what happened, seeing in it
The fulfillment of their long-held dreams of a free people in a free
Earth. The play reflects a premonition of a social upheaval, the beginning
new historical era. The motives of the Faustian legend attracted V. Ya.
Bryusov, who left a complete translation of Goethe's Faust (part 1 published in
1928), the story "Fiery Angel" (1907-1908), as well as a poem
"Klassische Walpurgisnacht" (1920
Faust Alexandra Zhumailova-Dmitrovskaya
Theona-Doctor Faust
THE BOOK OF JOB. William Blake.
Artist I. Tishbein. Portrait of I.V. Goethe.
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