Talk:Johann Georg Faust

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Feared and hated by Luther and Melanchthon, his followers induced him to teach.

is that a dangling participle, or was it actually his followers who were feared and hated? dab (ᛏ) 12:05, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Did Melanchton Fabricate Johann Georg Faust?

Exactly which of Melancthon's works, if any, shall we examine for determining the factual basis for Faust's existence?

In light of the Legend of the Doctor of Paris, Cenodoxus, it can be argued that Melancthon fabricated Johann Georg Faust, if not from the ground up, then from the top down. A stronger claim to historical authenticity appears to lie in the Legend of the Doctor of Paris than to a supposed scoundrel and cad by the name of Faust. For starters, the Carthusian Monastery was purportedly founded in the late 11th Century, and spreaded from there, urging disavowal of the demands of society, decrying the doing of good deeds (or any deeds whatsoever), and instead emphasizing the need to withdraw from civilization by abandoning friends and family for the sake of a solitary ascetic life. If Melancthon desired to shut down these monasteries, he could do this the more easily by disparaging the figure of the good doctor, especially if the good doctor had been the subject of chapbooks aimed at boosting recruits into the Carthusian Brotherhood. After all, it was this particular Brotherhood that regarded St. Bruno as their patron saint, and emphasized how he had been the best friend of the Good Doctor of Paris, the source of what must be a very peculiar if not miraculous event. And if withdrawing from society is made less respectable, then the monasteries of the time could be shut down, or face a loss of funds, or somehow made less influential, and this would be bound to benefit the forces of the Reformation, to which Melancthon was certainly a most instrumental figure.

Plagiarism

This article has been copied from the Walter Kaufmann introduction to his translation of Goethe's Faust, Part 1, published by Anchor Books (a division of Random Books) in 1961. I am reading portions of this word for word. Walter Kaufman is a professor at Princeton University. If you have questions or concerns, please email me at bfalcon.cf@gmail.com Philip Lockwood

reason for execution

why, why was he put to death? can somebody please put that down.

New biography out

Has anyone read the new biography by Leo Ruickbie? It promises to change a lot of what we know (or think we know) about Faust. There was a review in the Pagan Dawn recently that was really good. I've added some info from the review and the publisher's website to the leo ruickbie name space. I think someone needs to read the book and put in some new info here as well.83.192.26.97 (talk) 08:59, 16 April 2009 (UTC)