MONTHLY KEVIEW OF LITERATURE AND ART. 595 



but fair to admit, that there is no predominating insolence of triumph in his 

 remarks. On one point, however, if not disposed to justify Lord Gower, we 

 are inclined to palliate his offence ; we mean, for the omission of " The 

 Prologue in Heaven." His lordship was, perhaps, rather too fastidious ; but 

 it is a fastidious age we are a very fastidious people more nice than wise ; 

 and Lord Gower thought that the introduction of the Almighty upon the 

 stage in familiar chat with Memphistophiles, was rather too much of a bad 

 thing. We think so too. We think that Goethe should never have written 

 The Prologue in Heaven. 



The Quarterly Review conceives that the omission injures the integrity of 

 the design. It may do so ; but we contend that Goethe might have con- 

 ceived a perfect design without it. The reviewer further adds, that the effect 

 of its introduction must have been abundantly considered by so learned an 

 artist as Goethe ; but that is no reason why we must believe it to be proper. 

 The arguments brought forward by the reviewer to prove that so strange a 

 medley of elements as are huddled together in Faust (of which The Prologue 

 is one) is calculated to heighten the effect of the work, we consider to be in 

 the worst style of modern fudge. 



A word or two before we conclude, concerning this boasted chef-d'oeuvre 

 of German genius. We are perfectly aware of, and sincerely rejoice in, the 

 daily increasing attention that is paid to German literature, and we grate- 

 fully admit, that there is much very much that will bear out and justify 

 the most enthusiastic admiration of the great men whom modern Germany 

 has produced. But we know also that a tribe of young philosophers 

 have marched up to Highgate for the purpose of communing with that 

 " old man eloquent" resident there ; and have trotted down again as pre- 

 cious a gang of self-satisfied mystics as ever provoked laughter or excited 

 disgust. When a sect is formed, narrow-minded bigotry is in instant pro- 

 cess of manufacture. A German sect is formed the manufacture is exten- 

 sive. To the shrine of this one man, Goethe, many of the brightest orna- 

 ments of our literature have, by these persons, been constrained to bend the 

 knee ; and it has been even deemed expedient to depreciate many of his 

 contemporary countrymen in order to appease the envy or to gratify the 

 insatiate vanity of" The Master." Mr. Thomas Carlyle could tell us, if he 

 pleased, wherefore Goethe should have presumed to speak with contempt of 

 such a man as Grillparzer ; he may, at the same time, inform us why Aehas 

 chosen to do so. 



The play of " Faust," although, doubtless, a very extraordinary perform- 

 ance, is not remarkable, in our opinion, by reason of such merits as are 

 popularly ascribed to it. We do not consider it a great work of art ; on the 

 contrary, we think, that in that very point it is especially defective. A 

 series of detached scenes some of great force and beauty, we admit are put 

 together, the intermediate circumstances that connect which, are very care- 

 fully, skilfully, and prudently avoided. For instance ; after the desertion of 

 Margaret by Faust, we hear nothing more of her, till we find her in prison, 

 when we learn that she has murdered her child. Would the great Greek 

 tragedians, the meagre Latin translations of whom, Mr. Lamb so much 

 delights in, would they have shrunk from the task of exhibiting Margaret 

 under the influence of such feelings as may naturally be supposed to have 

 impelled her to the commission of that act ? We think not. Again, we 

 think a great artist would have chosen to show us Faust from first to last, 

 which Goethe has not done. Marlowe did this, and so powerfully, that we 

 do not wonder that Goethe was fearful of provoking comparisons. 



Goethe also, is, in our opinion, much more indebted to Marlowe, than his 

 translator is willing to acknowledge. The Evil Spirit that attends Margaret 

 during the service in the Cathedral would never have been thought of by 

 Goethe, had he not remembered the bad angels in Marlowe's play. 



