Excerpt from Faust: A Tragedy I'r was my intention to have put forth this Translation without either preface or note, but lest I should be charged with presumption or affectation in so closely imitating Goethe - and because it has been said in different quarters that there was no want Of another version - that Goethe was already perfectly understood, and had had ample justice done to his faus'r - and that it was audacious in one unknown as a German scholar and to the literary world, to fancy that he could, in the face Of seven English translations, throw new light on the original text, or improve its garb; for these causes, with feelings some thing akin to pity towards such persons, and great diffi dence towards the republic Of literature, I have so far changed my mind as to Offer a few remarks as to the why and wherefore, and a statement Of my principles Of action in respect to the following translation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.