Swift-plunder (A camp follower, fawning on him.)

Although he and I aren’t wed,

He’s my sweetheart. Here instead

Autumn ripens for the bold!

Woman’s fierce when she takes hold,

Merciless, in a plundering crowd,

Forward to victory! All’s allowed.

(They exit together.)

The Commander-in-Chief

As I anticipated on our left flank,

They hurl their right, in force, at last.

We’ll resist their furious ranks,

And keep them from the narrow pass.

Faust (Beckoning to the Warrior on the left.)

Prince, take note of this man too:

No shame if the strong are stronger than you.

Hold-tight (Coming forward.)

Let the flanks forget their fear!

I seize the ground where I appear:

In me are born the powers of old,

No lightning splits what I shall hold.

Mephistopheles (Descending from above.)

Now see how from the hinterland

Of this rocky jagged land,

An armed host bursts forth

On narrow pathways from the north,

With sword and helmet, shield and spear,

Forming a rampart in our rear:

They wait for the signal to charge on.

(Aside, to the knowing ones.)

You mustn’t ask me where they’re from.

I’ve gathered them from everywhere,

The armouries all around are bare:

They stood on foot, and sat astride,

Like lords of earth on every side:

They were emperors, knights, and kings,

Now they’re the empty shells of things:

I’ve dressed so many spirits for the strife,

It’s like the Middle Ages come to life.

Whichever little devils are inside,

They’ll have enough effect to turn the tide.

(Aloud.)

Listen how they show their anger,

Jostling, in metallic clangour!

The ragged banners flutter free,

That waited restless for the breeze.

Think: here’s an ancient race that’s ready

To mingle in our new dispute, and gladly.

(A tremendous peal of trumpets from above: a perceptible tremor in the hostile army.)

Faust

The far horizon darkens swiftly,

Yet, here and there, and meaningfully,

There’s an incipient crimson glow,

Already the battlefield gleams there,

The rocks, the woods, the atmosphere,

The very heavens join the show.

Mephistopheles

The right flank holds in strength:

There’s Bullyboy the nimble giant,

Towering over all, defiant,

And charging them at length.

The Emperor

First I saw an arm uplifted,

Then at least a dozen shifted:

The thing’s unnatural.

Faust

Don’t you know the bands of mist

That drift round the Sicilian cliffs?

There, in the daylight, clear,

In mid-air, hovering about

Mirrored in peculiar cloud,

Marvellous images appear.

Cities wander to and fro,

Gardens rise above, below,

As form on form fills the air.

The Emperor

Yet it’s suspicious! All about

The tips of spears are shining out:

On our phalanx’ gleaming lances,

I see a crowd of flame-lets dances.

It looks quite ghostly there, to me.

Faust

Forgive me, Lord, those are the traces

Of natural spirits, vanished races,

A glimmer of the Dioscuri,

Sailors invoke in tempest’s fury:

They show their last strength there.

The Emperor

But tell me: who then might command

Nature’s assistance for our land,

This gathering of the rare?

Mephistopheles

Who else than that noble Master,

Who takes your destiny to heart?

The thought of military disaster

Moves him deeply, stirs his art.

In gratitude, he wants to save you,

Though he himself should suffer too.

The Emperor

They cheered me, when I was invested:

So I was keen to see my power tested:

I found it useful, without much thought, as ruler,

To send that wise man where the air was cooler.

I robbed the clergy of a fond desire,

And hardly won their favour from the fire.

Now that so many years have gone

Is this the reward of what I’d done?

Faust

Good deeds from the heart reap riches:

Let your glance stray upwards now!

I think he’ll send a sign, a show,

Attend: straight away it’s as he wishes.

The Emperor

An eagle soars in the upper air,

A Gryphon attacks him there.

Faust

Attend: It’s an auspicious feature.

The Gryphon’s a fabulous creature:

How could he forget who’s regal,

And tangle with a real eagle?

The Emperor

And now, they fly in wider gyres,

They wheel together: swiftly now

Then dash against each other’s bow,

So neck and chest are ripped entire.

Faust

Now note the miserable Gryphon,

Ripped and rumpled, hurt quite badly,

Now, with his lion’s tail all torn,

He falls, and vanishes in a tree.

The Emperor

As it’s prophesied, so let it be!

This whole thing’s astounding me.

Mephistopheles (Towards the right.)

Driven by blows, ten times repeated,

The enemy force has retreated,

And in the uncertain fight

Drifts away towards the right,

So defusing all the force

Of their army’s sinister course.

Our phalanx with its spears tightening

Moves to the right, and like lightening

Strikes them in the weakest place:

Now like the storm-driven waves

They roar, with opposing force,

Wildly on their dual course:

Gloriously all sound dies away,

And victory is ours, I’d say!

The Emperor (On the left, to Faust.)

See! Something looks suspicious,

Our position’s inauspicious,

Not a stone’s hurled in the air,

The cliffs below are taken there,

Bare the narrows, to the pass.

Now! The enemy en masse

Are ever nearer to the sun,

Perhaps we’re already overrun:

An end to this unholy strife!

Your arts won’t save my life.

(Pause.)

Mephistopheles

See, my two ravens come winging,

What news might they be bringing?

I fear we’re in trouble here.