The identity of the last scene of _Faust_, Goethe's masterpiece, and the
conclusion of Dante's _Divine Comedy_, is so obvious that I do not think
any one could deny it. I have pointed out the thought underlying both
works, and could easily advance further proof of their similarity, but I
will keep within the limits of the last scene which contains the
totality of metaphysico-erotic yearning, and I contend that it is very
remarkable that a lifetime after the composition of Margaret, Faust (and
with him Goethe) very old, very wise, and a little cold, having had
love-affairs with demi-goddesses, and having finally renounced the love
of woman, found his mission and his happiness in uninterrupted,
productive activity. He has discovered the final value in work. But the
long-forgotten heaven opens and the love of his youth comes to meet him.
Stripped of everything earthly, a divine being, she still loves him and
shows him the way to salvation, presented under the aspect of the
_Eternal-Feminine_--exactly as in the _Divine Comedy_.
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