Johann Wolfgang Goethe. "Faust".
Part II Act II Scene V: Rocky Coves in the Aegean Sea
Part II Act II Scene V: Rocky Coves in the Aegean Sea
The Nereids and Tritons
Sound out loud, with clearer tones,
Ringing through the sea’s wide zones:
Call the peoples of the deep!
Before the storm’s ravening face,
We sank to the stillest place,
Now we’re drawn, by singing, sweet.
See, how we’ve adorned ourselves,
In our great delight, as well,
With our crowns, so nobly gemmed,
And our belts with spangles hemmed!
These spoils, now, before you, we lay,
Treasures, shipwrecked here, and swallowed,
Your enticing songs they followed,
You the daemons of our bay...
Ringing through the sea’s wide zones:
Call the peoples of the deep!
Before the storm’s ravening face,
We sank to the stillest place,
Now we’re drawn, by singing, sweet.
See, how we’ve adorned ourselves,
In our great delight, as well,
With our crowns, so nobly gemmed,
And our belts with spangles hemmed!
These spoils, now, before you, we lay,
Treasures, shipwrecked here, and swallowed,
Your enticing songs they followed,
You the daemons of our bay...
Nereus
Don’t ruin such a rare mood as this!
Greater needs await me, today, than his:
I’ve summoned all my daughters here to me,
The Dorides, the Graces of the Sea.
Neither Olympus, nor your lands can show
Such lovely forms, with such delicate flow,
They fling themselves, with graceful actions,
From sea-horses to Neptune’s stallions,
Blending so sensitively with the element,
That they seem made of foam, to all intent.
In a play of colours, on Venus’ chariot shell,
Galatea, the loveliest, comes to me, as well,
Who, since Cypris turned away from us,
Rules as the new divinity of Paphos.
And so, heiress, for ages now, the sweet one,
Holds town, and temple, chariot and throne.
Away! It’s time for a father’s enjoyments,
Hearts without hate, lips without judgements.
Away, to Proteus! Ask that wondrous man:
How man exists, and changes, if he can...
Don’t ruin such a rare mood as this!
Greater needs await me, today, than his:
I’ve summoned all my daughters here to me,
The Dorides, the Graces of the Sea.
Neither Olympus, nor your lands can show
Such lovely forms, with such delicate flow,
They fling themselves, with graceful actions,
From sea-horses to Neptune’s stallions,
Blending so sensitively with the element,
That they seem made of foam, to all intent.
In a play of colours, on Venus’ chariot shell,
Galatea, the loveliest, comes to me, as well,
Who, since Cypris turned away from us,
Rules as the new divinity of Paphos.
And so, heiress, for ages now, the sweet one,
Holds town, and temple, chariot and throne.
Away! It’s time for a father’s enjoyments,
Hearts without hate, lips without judgements.
Away, to Proteus! Ask that wondrous man:
How man exists, and changes, if he can...
Part II Act II Scene VI
Fales
Hail! Hail! Anew!
How happy I feel, too,
Pierced by the Beautiful and True….
All things came from the watery view!
All things are sustained by water!
Ocean, grant us your realm forever.
If you didn’t produce the clouds,
No flowing streams would be allowed,
The rivers wouldn’t roar and shout,
The streams would never bubble out,
Where would hill, plain, and world be then?
The freshness of life’s what you maintain.
How happy I feel, too,
Pierced by the Beautiful and True….
All things came from the watery view!
All things are sustained by water!
Ocean, grant us your realm forever.
If you didn’t produce the clouds,
No flowing streams would be allowed,
The rivers wouldn’t roar and shout,
The streams would never bubble out,
Where would hill, plain, and world be then?
The freshness of life’s what you maintain.
