Man's development forseen in Goethe's Faust

time. He begins to overcome the impulse to self-destruction because a longing grows within him to construct a new world. He has been prepared to throw himself away until he has awoken to the larger human responsibilities. Is it possible to observe an impulse of this kind at work now? Istherea rising sense of responsibility for the world which it is within our human power to fashion from our ideas? Goethe has prophesied that this could be a saving grace in modern history. Faust nevertheless is represented as taking Mephistopheles with him into his new destiny. At first indeed the devil leads the way. The two go off together to the Court of the Emperor where they find that the decay of the old order has set in thoroughly. They arrive at the right moment to offer their help in improving the situation.

The old order is about to collapse for lack of money. Faust and Mephistopheles between them invent a new means of producing wealth. In other words, they introduce paper money. Useless in itself, it immediately becomes currency, universally accepted by means of the argument that there is hidden treasure in the Emperor's realm which rightly belongs to him. It is not found necessary to dig for the treasure because everyone is prepared to take the paper on trust. The modern system of finance is in fact based on just the same principle, in confidence in what is put on paper. Faust clearly depends on Mephistopheles for this invention and its success. Between them they give the old order a new existence. But then the problem arises of how to fill the life of the Emperor’s Court with a new content. The answer is found in calling on magic to provide fresh interests.

Mephistopheles shows himself willing to play with the occult for everyone's satisfaction, but a different impulse arises in the heart of Faust. It is to change the relationship between them. He takes seriously an ideal. In the language of the myth, this is represented in the idea of Helen, the woman in the form of the goddess. The imagination of Faust reaches out beyond the earthly pattern, which had attracted him in Gretchen. For him the best that there is is no longer enough. The unfulfilled ideal fills his heart and awakens his active longing. This quality of spiritual imagination begins to lift him out of the power of Mephistopheles who is represented as knowledgeable in occult things and yet lacking in

To