LE ROI DE THULE

Page II. The King of Thule is a ballad in Goethe's Faust. It is sung by Marguerite. Thule was the name generally given by the ancients to the most northerly part of Europe then known, in the description of which fancy played a conspicuous part. The Romans frequently added to Thule the désignation of Ultima, meaning Farthest Thule.- From classical times down to the présent day Thule has been in constant use by the poets and others as designating some goal to be attained, or some unknown or far-distant northern or purely mythical région. The use of Thule and Ultima Thule runs throughout the literature of ail the cultivated languages of Europe.

6. lorsqu'il sentit son heure approcher: when death was near.