The first night. Second night

It was already four in the morning, when a crowd of young friends rushed into Faust's room - either philosophers or life-burners. It seemed to them that Faust knew everything. No wonder he surprised everyone with his manners and neglected secular decencies and prejudices. Faust met friends, as usual unshaven, in an armchair, with a black cat in his hands. However, he refused to discuss the meaning of life and the purpose of man at such a time. I had to continue the conversation the next midnight. Faust remembered the parable of a blind, deaf and dumb beggar who had lost the golden one. Searching in vain for him, the beggar returned home and lay down on his stone bed. And then the coin suddenly slipped out of his bosom and rolled down over the stones. So sometimes we, Faust continued, look like this blind man, for we not only do not understand the world, but even each other, we do not distinguish truth from lies, the genius of an artist and a madman.

Third night

The world is full of eccentrics, each of which is able to tell an amazing story. On a hot day in Naples, a young man in an antiquary shop met a stranger in a powdered wig, in an old caftan, looking at architectural engravings. To get to know him, he advised him to look at the projects of the architect Piranesi: cyclopean palaces, caves turned into castles, endless arches, dungeons ... When he saw the book, the old man jumped in horror: “Close, close this damned book!” This was the architect Piranesi. He created grandiose projects, but could not realize them and published only his drawings. But each volume, each drawing tormented and demanded to translate it into buildings, not allowing the soul of the artist to find peace. Piranesi asks the young man for ten million pieces of gold to connect Etna with Vesuvius with the arch. Pitying the madman, he handed him a dime. Piranesi sighed and decided to attach it to the amount collected for the purchase of Mont Blanc ...

Fourth night

Once, the ghost of a friend of mine appeared to me - a venerable official who did neither good nor evil. But he rose to the rank of state adviser. When he died, he was coldly buried, coldly buried and dispersed. But I continued thinking about the deceased, and his ghost appeared before me, reproaching with tears in indifference and contempt. Like Chinese shadows on a wall, various episodes of his life appeared before me. Here he is a boy in his father’s house. But it is not his father who educates him, but the servants, she teaches ignorance, debauchery, cruelty. Here the boy is pulled into the uniform, and now the light kills and corrupts his soul. A good friend should drink and play cards. A good husband should have a career. The more ranks, the stronger boredom and resentment - on oneself, on people, on life.

Boredom and resentment led to the disease, the disease led to death ... And now this terrible person is here. She closes my eyes - but she opens her spiritual eyes so that the dying man can see the nakedness of his life ...

A ball is organized in the city. All actions are led by a bandmaster. He seemed to have collected everything that is strange in the works of famous musicians. The grave voice of horns sounds, the laughter of the timpani laughing at your hopes. Here is Don Juan mocking bottom Anna. Here the deceived Othello takes on the role of judge and executioner. All torture and torment merged into one scale, a dark cloud hanging over the orchestra ... From it bloody drops and tears fell on the floor. Satin slippers of beauties easily glided across the floor, dancing subdued some kind of madness. The candles burn unevenly, the shadows fluctuate in a suffocating fog ... It seems that it’s not people dancing, but skeletons. In the morning, hearing a gospel, I went to the temple. The priest spoke of love, prayed for the brotherly unity of mankind ... I rushed to awaken the hearts of the merry mad people, but the crews had already passed the church.

The populous city gradually began to empty, an autumn storm drove everyone under the roofs. The city is a living, panting and even heavier thinking monster. One sky was clear, menacing, motionless, but no one's gaze rose to him. A carriage rolled off the bridge, in which a young woman sat with her companion. She stopped in front of a brightly lit building. Lingering singing announced the street. Several torchbearers accompanied the coffin, which was slowly carried across the street. Strange meeting! The beauty looked out the window. At this moment, the wind bent and lifted the edge of the cover. The dead man grinned with an unkind mockery. The beauty gasped - once this young man loved her and she answered him with spiritual awe and understood every movement of his soul ... But the general opinion put an insurmountable barrier between them, and the girl obeyed the light. Barely alive, through force she climbs the marble stairs, dances. But this senseless fake music of the ball hurts her, she responds in her heart with the prayer of the deceased youth, a prayer which she coldly rejected. But here is the noise, the cries at the entrance: “Water, water!” Water already smoothed the walls, broke windows and poured into the hall ... Something huge, black appeared in the breach ... This is a black coffin, a symbol of inevitability ... An open coffin rushes through the water, behind it the waves attract a beauty ... Dead raises her head, she touches the beautiful woman’s head and laughs without opening her mouth: “Hello, Lisa! The prudent Lisa! ”

Forced Lisa woke up from a swoon. The husband is angry that she ruined the ball and scared everyone. He could not forgive that because of female coquetry he had lost a major gain.

And now the time has come. Residents of cities fled to the fields to feed themselves. Fields became villages, villages became cities. Crafts, arts and religion disappeared. People felt like enemies. Suicides were classified as heroes. Laws forbade marriages. People killed each other, and no one defended the slain. Everywhere appeared the prophets of despair, inspiring hatred of outcast love, the numbness of death. Behind them came the Messiah of Despair. His eyes were cold, the voice was loud, urging people to experience the ecstasy of death together ... And when a young couple suddenly appeared from the ruins, asking to postpone the death of humanity, she answered with laughter. It was a conditional sign - the Earth exploded. For the first time, eternal life has repented ...

Fifth night

Several minds tried to build a new society. The followers of Bentham found a deserted island and created there first a city, then a whole country - Benthamia, in order to realize the principle of public benefit. They believed that the benefits and morality are one and the same. Everyone worked. A boy at the age of twelve was already saving money, raising capital. The girl read a treatise on a spinning mill. And everyone was happy until the population increased. Then there was not enough land. At this time, settlements also appeared on neighboring islands. Bentamtsy ravaged neighbors and seized their land. But a dispute arose between border cities and inland ones: the former wanted to trade, the latter to fight. No one knew how to reconcile their gain with that of a neighbor. Disputes turned into rebellion, rebellion into rebellion. Then the prophet appealed to the hardened people, asking him to look to the altars of selfless love. No one heard him - and he cursed the city. A few days later, a volcanic eruption, a storm, an earthquake destroyed the city, leaving one lifeless stone.

Sixth night

A strange man visited a small house on the outskirts of Vienna in the spring of 1827. He was dressed in a black frock coat, his hair was tousled, his eyes were burning, his tie was missing. He wanted to rent an apartment. Apparently, he once studied music, because he paid attention to amateur musicians gathered here to play the last Beethoven quartet. The stranger, however, did not hear the music, he only tilted his head in different directions, and tears flowed down his face. Only when the violinist took a random note did the old man raise his head: he heard. The sounds that tore the ears of those present pleased him. Forcibly the young girl who came with him managed to take him away. Beethoven is gone, unknown to anyone. He is very lively, he says that he has just composed the best symphony - and wants to celebrate it. But Louise, who contains him, has nothing to give him - money is enough only for bread, not even wine. Beethoven drinks water, mistaking it for wine. He promises to find new laws of harmony, to combine in one harmony all the tones of the chromatic scale. “For me, harmony sounds when the whole world turns into harmony,” says Beethoven to Louise. - Here it is! Here is Egmont's symphony! I hear her. The wild sounds of battle, the storm of passions - in silence! And the trumpet sounds again, its sound is stronger and more harmonious! ”

One of the courtiers regretted the death of Beethoven. But his voice was lost: the crowd listened to the conversation of two diplomats ...

The seventh night

The guests submitted to the art of the improviser Kipriano. He put on a subject in a poetic form, developed a given topic. At the same time he wrote a poem, dictated another, improvised a third. The ability to improvise, he received recently. He was bestowed by Dr. Segeliel. After all, Kipriano grew up in poverty and was very worried that he felt the world, but could not express it. He wrote poetry on order - but unsuccessfully. Kipriano thought the disease was to blame for his failure. Segeliel healed everyone who came to him, even if the disease was fatal. He did not take money for treatment, but set strange conditions: throw a large amount of money into the sea, break his house, leave his homeland. Those who refused to fulfill these conditions soon died. Enemies accused him of numerous murders, but the court acquitted him.

Segeliel agreed to help Kipriano and set the condition: "You will know everything every moment, see everything, understand everything." Kipriano agreed. Segeliel put his hand on the young man's heart and cast a spell. At this moment, Kipriano already felt, heard and understood the whole nature - how the prosector sees and feels the body of a young woman, touching him with a knife ... He wanted to drink a glass of water - and saw a myriad of ciliates in it. He lays down on the green grass and hears thousands of hammers ... Kipriano and people, Kipriano and nature were divided by the abyss ... Kipriano went crazy. He fled from the fatherland, wandered. Finally he acted as a jester to a steppe landowner. He walks in a frieze overcoat, belted with a red scarf, composes poetry in some language, composed of all the languages ​​of the world ...

Eighth night

Sebastian Bach was brought up in the house of his older brother, organist of the Christopher Ordruff Church. He was a respected but slightly stiff musician who lived in the old way and raised his brother in the same way. It was only at confirmation in Eisenach that Sebastian first heard a real organ. The music captured him entirely! He did not understand where he was, why, did not hear the questions of the pastor, answered inappropriately, listening to the unearthly melody. Christopher did not understand him and was very upset by the frivolity of his brother. On the same day, Sebastian secretly entered the church to understand the structure of the organ. And then a vision came to him. He saw how the organ pipes rise up, connected with the Gothic columns. Light angels seemed to be floating in the clouds. Every sound was heard, and, however, only the whole became clear - the treasured melody in which religion and art merged ...

Christopher did not believe his brother. Grieved by his behavior, he fell ill and died. Sebastian became a student of organ master Bandeleur, a friend and relative of Christopher. Sebastian turned the keys, measured the pipes, bent the wire and constantly thinking about his vision. And soon he became an assistant to another master - Albrecht from Luneburg. Albrecht surprised everyone with his inventions. So now he came to Bandeler to inform that he had invented a new organ, and the emperor had already ordered him this instrument. Noticing the young man’s abilities, Albrecht gave him to study with his daughter Magdalene. Finally, the teacher got him a place as a court violinist in Weimar. Before leaving, he married Magdalene. Sebastian knew only his art. In the morning he wrote, studied with his students, explaining harmony. By venus he played and sang along with Magdalene on the clavichord. Nothing could disturb his calm. Once, during the service, another choir joined the choir, looking either like the cry of suffering, or the cry of a cheerful crowd. Sebastian laughed at the singing of the Venetian Francesca, but Magdalene was carried away - and singing and singer. She recognized the songs of her homeland. When Francesco left, Magdalene changed: she became isolated, stopped working, and only asked her husband to compose a canzone. Unhappy love and worries about her husband brought her to the grave. Children comforted the father in grief. But he realized that half of his soul perished prematurely. He tried in vain to remember how Magdalen sang - he only heard the unclean and seductive melody of the Italian.

Ninth night

When the path of each of the described heroes happened, they all appeared before the Judgment Seat. Everyone was condemned either for what he had done to himself or for what he had not done. Segeliel alone did not recognize the supreme authority over himself. The court demanded that the defendant appear before himself, but only a distant voice from the abyss answered him: “For me there is no full expression!”