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When he had reached the maturity of his wisdom, Faust organised drainage works, the object of which was to increase the area of land that could be utilised ::

To many millions let me furnish soil,

Though not secure, yet free to active toil;

Green, fertile fields.

A land like Paradise here, round about.

Yes! to this thought I hold with firm persistence;

The last result of wisdom stamps it true :

He only earns his freedom and existence,

Who daily conquers them anew.

Thus here, by dangers girt, shall glide away
Of childhood, manhood, age, the vigorous day:
And such a throng I fain would see,
Stand on free soil among a people free!
Then dared I hail the Moment fleeing:
"Ah, still delay-thou art so fair!"

The traces cannot, of mine earthly being,
In æons perish,-they are there!-

In proud fore-feeling of such lofty bliss,

I now enjoy the highest Moment,-this! 1

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These were the last words of the wise centenarian. It has been said that they contain the quintessence of Goethe's moral philosophy, and that they preach the sacrifice of the individual for the benefit of society. Lewes, for instance, takes this view, holding that Faust was the exposition of a man who had conquered the vanity of individual aspirations and joys, and had come to the knowledge of the great truth that man must live for man, and can find lasting happiness only in work for the benefit of humanity. For my own part, it seems to me that according to Goethe's Faust man must dedicate a large part of his life to the complete development of his own individuality, and that it is only in the second half of his life, when he has grown wise by experience and feels satisfied as an individual, that he should use his activity for the good of 1 Op. cit., pp. 354-355.

mankind. It was no part either of the ideas of Goethe or of the nature of his work to preach the sacrifice of individuality.

Goethe was thus absorbed in Faust by the problem. of the conflict between certain actions and guiding principles. The misdeeds of the hero in the first Part of his life had to be redeemed. He said to Eckermann that "the key to the salvation of Faust was to be found in the Angels' Chorus":

The noble spirit now is free,
And saved from evil scheming :
Whoe'er aspires unweariedly
Is not beyond redeeming.'

However, that of which he did not speak, and which none the less was most important in Faust and in Goethe himself, is the action of love as a stimulant to artistic creation, and it was probably to this that he referred at the end of his tragedy. The mystical chorus sent up prayers in a religious and erotic ecstasy, and their mysterious song is :

The Indescribable,
Here it is done;

The Woman-Soul leadeth us
Upward and on! 2

Although these verses have been interpreted as love which sacrifices or even love which leads to the grace of God (Bode, p. 149), it is much more probable that it is love for feminine beauty, a love which makes possible the execution of wonderful things. Such an interpretation agrees with the fact that the verses are spoken by a mystic choir which speaks of the indescribable (das Unbeschreibliche) in which we must see the amorous passion of the old man. In such an interpretation the whole of Faust (and especially the second Part) is an eloquent pleading 1 Op. cit., p. 365. Op. cit., p. 370.

2

for the importance of love in the higher activity of man, in accordance with the law of human nature, which is a much better justification of Goethe's conduct than all the arguments of his interpreters and admirers.

I do not agree with the common idea that the two Parts of Faust are two distinct works, but regard them as complementary. In the first Part we see the young pessimist, full of ardour and of desires, ready to make an end of his days and stopping at nothing to satisfy his thirst for love. In the second Part we have a mature old man still loving women, but in a different way, a man who is wise and optimistic, and who, having satiated the wants of his individual life, dedicates the rest of his days to mankind, and who, having reached a century, dies extremely happy, in fact almost exhibiting the instinct of natural death.

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PART IX

SCIENCE AND MORALITY

I

UTILITARIAN AND INTUITIVE MORALITY

Difficulty of the problem of morality-Vivisection and anti-
vivisection-Enquiry into the possibility of rational morality
-Utilitarian and intuitive theories of morality-Insufficiency
of these

IN the course of this book I have from time to time approached subjects closely related with the problem of morality. For instance, in considering the prolongation of human life, it was necessary to show that extension of longevity far beyond the reproductive period of man in no way is opposed to the principles of the highest morality, although there exist races who find the sacrifice of old people in harmony with their conception of morality.

Experimental biology, which lies at the root of most of the doctrines exposed in this work, depends on vivisection of animals. There are, however, very many persons who regard it as immoral to operate on living animals when it is not for the direct benefit of these. The attempts which have been made in France and Germany to prevent or to limit vivisection in laboratories have not succeeded, but in England there is a severe law controlling operations on animals and submitting them to oppressive regulations to which many of the scientific men in the country are opposed. The question of experiments upon human beings is still

more delicate. Just as formerly the examination of a human corpse could be made only in secret, so at the present time, if the slightest experiment is to be made upon a human being, it can be only by devious ways. People who are hardly shocked at all at the numberless accidents caused by automobiles and other means of transit, or in field sports, make the strongest protest against any proposal to try some new method of treatment upon a human being.

A large number of people, amongst them even men of science, regard as immoral any attempt to prevent the spread of venereal diseases. Recently, in connection with the investigations into the action of mercurial ointment as a means of preventing syphilis, the members of the Faculty of Medicine in France made a public protest, declaring that it would be "immoral to let people think that they could indulge in sexual vice without danger," and that it was wrong to give to the public a means of protection in debauch." None the less, other men of science, equally serious, were convinced that they were performing an absolutely moral work in attempting to find a prophylactic against syphilis which would preserve many people, including children and other innocent persons who, if no preventive measures existed, would suffer from the terrible. disease.

66

Such examples show the reader what confusion exists in the problem of morality. Although at every moment, in every act of human conduct, the precepts of morality must be reckoned with, even the most authoritative persons are far from agreeing as to what rules to follow. About a year ago in a Parisian journal an enquiry into the subject 1 V. Tribune médicale, 1906, p. 449. 2 La Revue, Nov. 15th and Dec. 1st.

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