| Wagner: |
..It does seem so sublime,
Entering into the spirit of the time
To see what wise men, who lived long ago, believed,
Till we at last have all the highest aims achieved. |
| Faust: |
Up to the stars -- achieved, indeed!
My friend, the times that antecede
Our own are books safely protected
By seven seals. What spirit of the time you call,
Is but the scholars' spirit, after all,
In which times past are now reflected.
In truth, it often is pathetic,
And when one sees it, one would run away:
A garbage pail, perhaps a storage attic,
At best a pompous moralistic play
With wonderfully edifying quips,
Most suitable to come from puppets' lips. |
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