Faust: A Tragedy
A scholar who has mastered every discipline discovers that all human knowledge is empty. This is Faust at the beginning of Goethe's monumental tragedy: a man who has devoured every book, only to find that understanding has brought him no closer to meaning. When the devil Mephistopheles appears, offering him a bargain, Faust accepts with desperate hunger. The contract is simple: Mephistopheles will serve Faust's every whim in life, and in exchange, Faust surrenders his soul to hell, but only if the devil can show him a single moment so perfect that Faust wishes it would last forever. What follows is a descent through seduction, tragedy, and cosmic adventure that ranges from a doomed romance with the innocent Gretchen to journeys through classical mythology. Part One appeared in 1808, Part Two in 1832, and together they form perhaps the most profound meditation on human restlessness ever written. This is the story of wanting everything and the catastrophic price of getting it.
![Faust [part 1]. Translated into English in the Original Metres](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd3b2n8gj62qnwr.cloudfront.net%2FCOVERS%2Fgutenberg_covers75k%2Febook-14591.png&w=3840&q=75)
