Goethe’s Faust, Part One
The sign of the Macrocosm in Faust
Faust opens the mysterious book and sees the sign of the Macrocosm. The sight gives him a sudden sense of vital bliss and the revealing powers of nature. He describes forces rising and descending in harmony, yet calls the vision a show alone. His desire for direct participation leads him to turn to the Earth Spirit.
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In the sources
Principal account
LiteraryFaust opens the mysterious book and sees the sign of the Macrocosm. The sight gives him a sudden sense of vital bliss and the revealing powers of nature.
Further detail
LiteraryHe describes forces rising and descending in harmony, yet calls the vision a show alone. His desire for direct participation leads him to turn to the Earth Spirit.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the character, setting or motif in Part One of Goethe’s drama as translated by Bayard Taylor. Its supernatural events and spoken claims belong to the play, rather than serving as historical biography or independently established accounts of spirits.
Original passages
Source 1
Faust
sign of the MacrocosmOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Goethe’s Faust, Part One; active reader leaf 46
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0088-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0088-E001-P0046
- Original scan leaf
- 47
- Recorded leaf number
- 47
- Current Reader position
- 43
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Faust
How grand a show! but, ah! a show aloneOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Goethe’s Faust, Part One; active reader leaf 47
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0088-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0088-E001-P0047
- Original scan leaf
- 48
- Recorded leaf number
- 48
- Current Reader position
- 44
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed