Faust’s Lament - from the front matter of The Anarchist Medical Book
by Wolfgang von Göthe, translation by Four Thieves
Alas! I have completed study of Philosophy,
Law, and Medicine,
And tragically, also Theology
I have taken great pains to study thoroughly,
Yet here I stand, poor fool that I am,
And am no wiser than before.
I am called Master, even Doctor,
I reflect on these ten years:
Up down, criss cross
Have I led my students by the nose—
And seen there is nothing we can know!
Inevitably, this will burn my heart.
Indeed I’m smarter than all those morons:
Doctors, Masters, Scribes, and Priests;
I am not plagued by scruples or doubts,
I fear neither Hell nor the Devil—
For this though, all Joy is torn from me,
I do not pretend that I know a single truth,
I do not pretend that I could teach a single thing
To improve or save humanity.
Also I have neither goods nor money,
Nor honor or glory of the world;
No dog would want to continue living this way!
So I have devoted myself to magic,
In hopes that through force of will,
No secret will evade me;
That I no longer need embarrassingly admit what I do not know,
That I recognize what the world holds at its innermost core,
Show all my strength and greatness,
And toil no more with words.
—Faust