“Who dares bestow the infant his true name? The few who felt and knew, but blindly gave Their knowledge to the multitude--they fell Incapable to keep their full hearts in, They, from the first of immemorial time, Were crucified or burnt.”--Goethe's “Faust.” The pains and penalties of folly are not necessarily death. They were in old times, perhaps, according to the text, and he who kept not to himself the secrets of his silly heart was surely crucified or burnt. Though lacking in penalties extreme like these, the present is not without its own. All times, indeed, have their penalties for folly, much more certainly than for crime; and this fact furnishes one of the most human arguments in fa…
Your support pays for translating these classics into more languages.
Support for $12/month DonateSubscribers read with instant translation, without waiting for the free daily limit.