Faust monologue (Act 7) — Faust: A Tragedy

Yet a few paces, till we reach yon stone, And there our wearied strength we may repair. Here oft I sat in moody thought alone, And vexed my soul with fasting and with prayer. Rich then in hope, in faith then strong, With tears and sobs my hands I wrung, And weened the end of that dire pest, From heaven's high-counselled lord to wrest. Now their applause with mockery flouts mine ear. O could'st thou ope my heart and read it here, How little sire and son For such huge meed of thanks have done! My father was a grave old gentleman, Who o'er the holy secrets of creation, Sincere, but after his peculiar plan, Brooded, with whimsied speculation. Who, with adepts in painful gropings spent His days, within the smoky kitchen pent, And, after recipes unnumbered, made The unnatural mixtures of his trade. The tender lily and the lion red, A suitor bold, in tepid bath were wed, With open fiery flame well baked together, And squeezed from one bride-chamber to another; Then, when the glass the queen discovered, Arrayed in youthful glistening pride, Here was the medicine, and the patient died, But no one questioned who recovered. Thus in these peaceful vales and hills, The plague was not the worst of ills, And Death his ghastly work pursued, The better for the hellish brewst we brewed. Myself to thousands the curst juice supplied; They pined away, and I must live to hear The praise of mercy in the murderer's ear.