A Few Words Inspired By Faust.
Final scene from Goethe's "Faust", Peter von Cornelius
Recently, while reading my book on the correspondence between Sigmund Freud and Lou Andreas-Salomè (a very interesting lady and someone worth researching, a piece may even be coming someday about her on this site), a quote by Goethe was mentioned, and while my translation may have been incorrect, what I took from it reminded me of current issues in the world. Our world is currently filled with power-hungry people, some of the most notable being Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Jeffrey Epstein. There is a tension between the morally corrupt, and the judicial system designed to hold criminals to account for their actions. The wealthy and powerful who transgress and commit crimes wield their power for nefarious reasons, ultimately to manipulate the courts to serve their purpose. Despite their belief that they are beyond incrimination, if others commit these same crimes, in true hypocritical style, they do not believe the same of others who transgress. Like “Lucifer”, affluent offenders can manipulate others to commit crimes for them, whether through hush money or blackmail.
“Are you with the devil, and will you protect yourself from the flame?” or “Bist mit dem Teufel du und du, Und willst dich vor der Flamme scheunen?”
Many wealthy “sinners" will use the sense of their own superiority to assert that they do not belong in the way other criminals do in prison or “hell”. Trump’s determination to receive presidential immunity and no federal indictment allows him to feel protected from “der Flamme”. Avoiding punishment of their “sins” by abusing their privilege provides a clear example of the game of tug of war that exists between the rule of law and those of the criminal underworld. In effect, the power play between “heaven and hell”.
Malefactors believe that because of their status, they should be held in higher esteem over others and, therefore, should control who enters the realm of “heaven” and “hell”. Their inherent narcissism, and belief in their own implacable virtue, makes obvious the profound disconnect between their self perception, as a “divine being”, and how they appear to others. “Lucifer” accepted his punishment for dishonouring “God” who then condemned him and his “fallen angels” to earth (Isaiah 14:15; Ezekiel 28:16-18; Revelation 12:9) before sending them down to the depths of “hell” (Matthew 25:41), not allowing himself to shy from “der Flamme”. The only difference between the “devil” and the contemporary members of the powerful criminal class is that they are not willing to embrace the “sins” they have committed.