Faust

Faust

by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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The Chancellor-Archbishop Character Analysis

A political realist and high-ranking Catholic official who hides his true motives under a mask of piety, the Chancellor-Archbishop tells the Emperor that evils afflict his realm. He is also the only counselor who openly challenges Mephistopheles’s proposal that the Emperor resuscitate his state by digging for hidden gold. He does this not to protect the empire, however, but to consolidate his own power by maintaining the integration of Church and State. Later, the Chancellor-Archbishop squeezes lands, taxes, and tithes from the Emperor in exchange for hushing up the fact that his victory over rebels came only because of an alliance with the devil himself.

The Chancellor-Archbishop Quotes in Faust

The Faust quotes below are all either spoken by The Chancellor-Archbishop or refer to The Chancellor-Archbishop. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Reason and Passion Theme Icon
).
Part 2: Act 1: The Throne Room Quotes

Nature and intellect are not words said to Christians.
Because such language is so dangerous
the atheist is executed at the stake.
Nature is sin, and Intellect the devil;
hermaphroditic Doubt their child
which they foster together.

Related Characters: The Chancellor-Archbishop (speaker), Mephistopheles, The Emperor
Page Number: 4897-4902
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Chancellor-Archbishop Quotes in Faust

The Faust quotes below are all either spoken by The Chancellor-Archbishop or refer to The Chancellor-Archbishop. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Reason and Passion Theme Icon
).
Part 2: Act 1: The Throne Room Quotes

Nature and intellect are not words said to Christians.
Because such language is so dangerous
the atheist is executed at the stake.
Nature is sin, and Intellect the devil;
hermaphroditic Doubt their child
which they foster together.

Related Characters: The Chancellor-Archbishop (speaker), Mephistopheles, The Emperor
Page Number: 4897-4902
Explanation and Analysis: