Doctor Faustus
Part 1 - Eden of Man
Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin To sound the depth of that thou wilt profess:
Having commenced, be a divine in shew, Yet level at the end of every art,
And live and die in Aristotle's works.
Sweet Analytics, 'tis thou hast ravish'd me!
Bid philosophy farewell
A greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit
Bid philosophy farewell, and
Galen come,
“Where the philosopher ends, there the physician begins”
Be a physician, Faustus; heap up gold, And be famous for some wondrous cure:
“The aim of medicine is our body's health”
Why, Faustus, have you not attain'd that end?
Is not thy common talk sound aphorisms?
Are not thy bills hung up as monuments, Whereby whole cities have escaped the plague,
And thousand desperate maladies been eased?
Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man.
Couldst thou make men to live eternally, Or, being dead, raise them to life again, Then this profession were to be esteemed.
Physic, farewell! Where is Justinian?
“If one single thing is bequeathed to two heirs, one should receive the thing,
the other the value of the thing.. Etc, etc, etc…”
A pretty case of paltry legacies!
“A father cannot disinherit a son unless… blah blah blah”
Such is the subject of the institute, And universal body of the law:
This study fits a mercenary drudge, Who aims at nothing but external trash;
Too servile and unscholarly for me.
Holy Bible
When all is done, divinity is best:
The Bible, Faustus; view it well.
“The reward of sin is death”:
that's hard.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there's no truth in us.”
Why, then, belike we must sin,
and so consequently die:
Ay, we must die an everlasting death.
What doctrine call you this, What will be, shall be?
Divinity, adieu!
These metaphysics of magicians, And necromantic books are heavenly;
Lines, circles, scenes, letters, and characters;
yes, these are those that Faustus most desires.
What a world of profit and delight,
Of power, of honour, of omnipotence, Is promised to the studious artisan!
Part 2 - Temptation
All things that move between the quiet poles Shall be at my command:
emperors and kings Are but obeyed in their several provinces,
Nor can they raise the wind, or rend the clouds;
But his dominion that exceeds in this,
Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man;
A sound magician is a mighty god:
Here, Faustus, tire thy brains to gain a deity.
How am I glutted with conceit of this!
Shall I make spirits fetch me what I please,
Resolve me of all ambiguities, Perform what desperate enterprise I will?
Faustus, lay that damned book aside,
And gaze not on it, lest it tempt your soul,
And heap God's heavy wrath upon your head!
I'll have them fly to India for gold, Ransack the ocean for orient pearl,
And search all corners of the new-found world For pleasant fruits
I'll have them read me strange philosophy, And tell the secrets of all foreign kings;
Read the Scriptures: that is blasphemy.
I'll have them wall all England with brass, And make swift Stour circle fair Canterb'ry;
Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art Wherein all Nature's treasure is contain'd:
Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky, Lord and commander of these elements.
I'll have them fill the public schools with silk, Wherewith the students shall be bravely clad.
Come, Valdes, and Cornelius, And make me blest with your sage conference.
Know that your words have won me at the last To practice magic and concealed arts:
Yet not your words only, but my own fantasy,
for my head But ruminates on necromantic skill.
Philosophy is odious and obscure; Both law and physic are for petty wits;
Divinity is basest of the three,
Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible, and vile:
'Tis magic, magic, that hath ravish'd me.
Faustus, these books, thy wit, and our experience, Shall make all nations to canonise us.
The spirits of every element shall always be serviceable to us three; If learned Faustus be resolute.
Valdes, as resolute am I in this As thou to life:
therefore object it not.
The spirits tell me they can dry the sea, And fetch the treasure of all foreign wrecks,
Yes, all the wealth that our forefathers hid Within the massy entrails of the earth:
Then tell me, Faustus, what shall we three want?
Nothing, Cornelius. O, this cheers my soul!
Come, show me some demonstrations magical, That I may conjure in some lusty grove
And have these joys in full possession.
Valdes, first let him know the words of art; And then, all other ceremonies learned,
Faustus may try this magic by himself.
First I'll instruct thee in the rudiments, And then wilt thou be better than I.
Then come and dine with me, and, after meat, We'll canvass every quiddity thereof;
For, before I sleep, I'll try what I can do:
This night I'll conjure, though I die therefore.
Now that the gloomy shadow of the earth
Longing to view Orion's drizzling look,
Leaps from th' antartic world unto the sky,
And dims the welkin with her pitchy breath,
Faustus, begin your incantations,
And try if devils will obey thy hest,
Seeing thou hast pray'd and sacrific'd to them.
Within this circle is Jehovah's name, Forward and backward anagrammatiz'd,
Th' abbreviated names of holy saints,
Figures of every adjunct to the heavens,
And characters of signs and erring stars,
Then fear not, Faustus, but be resolute, And try the uttermost magic can perform.
Belzebub, Prince of the East
King and Demogorgon of the burning hell,
we beseech you to appear and rise up with Mephistopheles
Now, Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do?
I order thee serve me whilst I live,
To do whatever Faustus shall command, Be it to make the moon drop from her sphere,
Or the ocean to overwhelm the world.
I am a servant to great Lucifer, I may not follow you without his leave:
No more than he commands must I perform.
Did not he charge you to appear to me?
No, I came here of mine own accord.
Did not my conjuring speeches raise thee?
That was the cause, but yet by “accident”;
For, when we hear one rack the name of God, Abjure the Scriptures
and his Saviour Christ, We fly, in hope to get his glorious soul;
Nor will we come, unless he use such means Whereby he is in danger to be damned.
Therefore the shortest cut for conjuring Is stoutly to abjure the Trinity, And pray devoutly to the prince of hell.
That, Faustus has already done; and holds this principle,
There is no chief but only Beelzebub; To whom Faustus doth dedicate himself. This word "damnation" terrifies not him.
Tell me what is that Lucifer thy lord?
Arch-regent and commander of all spirits.
Was not that Lucifer an angel once?
Yes, Faustus, and most dearly loved of God.
How comes it, then, that he is prince of devils?
By aspiring pride and insolence; For which God threw him from the face of heaven.
And what are you that live with Lucifer?
Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer, Conspir'd against our God with Lucifer,
And are for ever damn'd with Lucifer.
Where are you damn'd?
In hell.
How comes it, then, that thou art out of hell?
Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it: do you think that I, who saw the face of God,
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven, Am not tormented with ten thousand hells,
O, Faustus, leave these frivolous demands, Which strike a terror to my fainting soul!
What, is great Mephistophilis so passionate For being deprived of the joys of heaven?
Learn thou of Faustus manly fortitude, And scorn those joys thou never shalt possess.
Go bear these tidings to great Lucifer:
Seeing Faustus hath incurred eternal death
By desperate thoughts against Jove's deity,
Say, he surrenders up to him his soul,
So he will spare him four and twenty years, Having thee ever to attend on me,
To give me whatsoever I shall ask, To tell me whatsoever I demand,
To slay mine enemies, and aid my friends,
And always be obedient to my will.
Go and return to mighty Lucifer,
And meet me in my study at midnight, And then inform me of your master's mind.
I will, Faustus.
Now, Faustus, must Thou needs be damn'd,
and canst thou not be sav'd: What boots it, then, to think of God or heaven?
Away with such vain fancies, and despair;
Despair in God, and trust in Belzebub:
Now go not backward; no, Faustus, be resolute:
Why waver'st thou?
Abjure this magic, turn to God again!
Ay, and Faustus will turn to God again
To God? he loves thee not;
The god thou serv'st is thine own appetite, Wherein is fix'd the love of Belzebub:
To him I'll build an altar and a church, And offer lukewarm blood of new-born babes.
Sweet Faustus, leave that execrable art.
Contrition, prayer, repentance... what of them?
They are means to bring thee unto heaven!
Rather illusions, fruits of lunacy,
That make men foolish that do trust them most.
Sweet Faustus, think of heaven and heavenly things.
No, Faustus; think of honour and of wealth.
Hen Mephistophilis shall stand by me, What god can hurt thee, Faustus?
Thou art safe Cast no more doubts.
Come, Mephistophilis, And bring glad tidings from great Lucifer;
Is it not midnight?
Come, Mephistophilis,
Come! Come! Mephistopheles
Now tell me what says your Lord Lucifer?
That I shall wait on Faustus whilst he lives, So he will buy my service with his soul.
Faustus has already offered that to you.
Faustus, thou must bequeath it solemnly,
And write a deed of gift with thine own blood;
For that security, craves great Lucifer.
If thou deny it, I will return to hell.
Stay, Mephistophilis,
and tell me, what good will my soul do thy lord?
Enlarge his kingdom.
Is that the reason why he tempts us thus?
“Suffering loves company”
But, tell me, Faustus, shall I have thy soul? And I will be thy slave, and wait on thee, And give thee more than thou hast wit to ask.
Yes, Mephistophilis, I give it thee.
Then stab thine arm courageously,
And bind thy soul, that at some certain day Great Lucifer may claim it as his own;
There, Mephistophilis, for love of thee, I cut mine arm,
and with my proper blood Assure my soul to be great Lucifer
Chief lord and regent of perpetual night!
View here the blood that trickles from mine arm, And let it be propitious for my wish.
But, Faustus, thou must Sign it in manner of a deed of gift.
Yes, so I will
Consummatum est; this bill is ended,
And Faustus hath bequeath'd his soul to Lucifer.
Here, Mephistophilis, receive this scroll, A deed of gift of body and of soul:
But yet conditionally that thou perform All articles prescribed between us both.
Faustus, I swear by hell and Lucifer To effect all promises between us made!
Tell me, where is the place that men call hell?
Under the heavens.
Ay, but whereabout?
Within the bowels of these elements, Where we are tortur'd and remain for ever:
Hell hath no limits, And where hell is, there must we ever be:
when all the world dissolves, And every creature shall be purified, All places shall be hell that are not heaven.
Come, I think hell's a fable.
But, Faustus, I am an instance to prove the contrary, For I am damn'd, and am now in hell.
Nay, an this be hell, I'll willingly be damn'd here:
What! Sleeping, eating, walking, and disputing.
But, leaving off this, let me have a wife,
A wife? I'll cull thee out the fairest courtezans
Be she as chaste as was Penelope, As wise as Sheba, or as beautiful As was bright Lucifer before his fall.
Here, take this, peruse it thoroughly:
The reciting of these lines brings gold; The framing of this circle on the ground Brings whirlwinds, tempests, thunder, and lightning;
Pronounce this thrice devoutly to thyself,
And men in armour shall appear to thee, Ready to execute what thou desirest.
Thanks, Mephistophilis:
yet fain would I have a book wherein I might behold all spells and incantations
that I might raise up spirits when I please.
Here they are in this.
Now would I have a site where I might see all characters and planets of the heavens,
that I might know their motions and dispositions.
Here they are too.
Nay, let me have one more, and then I have done,
wherein I might see all plants, herbs, and trees, that grow upon the earth.
Here they be.
O, thou art deceived.
I warrant thee.
When I behold the heavens, then I repent,
And curse thee, wicked Mephistophilis, Because thou hast depriv'd me of those joys.
Why, Faustus, You Think heaven is such a glorious thing?
I tell you, 'tis not half so fair as thou, nor any person that breathes on earth.
How can you prove that?
IT was made for man, therefore is man more excellent.
Faustus, repent; yet God will pity thee.
I am a spirit?
Be I a devil,
yet God may pity me;
Ay, God will pity me,
if I repent.
You are a spirit; God cannot pity thee.
And Faustus never shall repent.
My heart's so harden'd, I cannot repent:
Scarce can I name salvation,
faith,
or heaven,
But fearful echoes thunder in mine ears, "Faustus, thou art damn'd!"
then swords, and knives, Poison, guns, halters, and poisoned steel Are laid before me to despatch myself;
I should have slain myself long ago,
Had not sweet pleasure
conquer'd deep despair.
I am resolved;
Faustus shall never repent
its too late
Too late.
Never too late, if Faustus can repent.
If thou repent, devils shall tear thee in pieces.
Repent, and they shall never raze thy skin.
Part 5 - Regret "Christ cannot save thy soul"
Come, Mephistophilis, let us dispute again,
And argue of divine astrology.
Tell me who made the world?
I will not.
Sweet Mephistophilis, tell me.
Move me not, for I will not tell thee.
Villain, have I not bound thee to tell me any thing?
Ay, that is not against our kingdom; but this is. Think thou on hell, Faustus, for thou art damned.
Think, Faustus, upon God that made the world
I Will remember this
Ay, go, accursed spirit, to ugly hell!
'Tis thou hast damn'd distressed Faustus' soul.
Ah, Christ, my Saviour, Seek to save distressed Faustus' soul!
Christ cannot save thy soul, for he is just:
There's none but I have interest in the same.
Who art thou that look'st so terrible?
I am Lucifer
O, Faustus,
he is come to fetch away thy soul!
I come to tell thee thou dost injure us;
You talk of Christ, contrary to thy promise:
You should not think of God: think of the devil.
Nor will I henceforth:
pardon me in this, And Faustus vows never to look to heaven, Never to name God,
or to pray to him, To burn his Scriptures, slay his ministers,
And make my spirits pull his churches down.
Do so, and I will highly gratify thee.
In hell is all manner of delight.
O, might I see hell, and return again,
How happy were I then!
Thou shalt; I will send for thee at midnight.
In meantime take this book; peruse it thoroughly,
And thou shalt turn thyself into what shape thou wilt.
Great thanks, mighty Lucifer! This will I keep as chary as my life.
Farewell, Faustus, and think on the devil
Farewell, great Lucifer.
Now, Mephistophilis, the restless course That time doth run with calm and silent foot
Shortening my days and thread of vital life,
Calls for the payment of my latest years:
Therefore, sweet Mephistophilis, let us Make haste to Canterbury.
Doctor Faustus, since our conference about fair ladies, which was the beautifulest in all the world,
we have determined with ourselves that Helen of Greece was the most admirable lady that ever lived:
therefore, Master Doctor, if you will do us that favour, as to let us see that peerless dame of Greece,
whom all the world admires for majesty, we should think ourselves much beholding unto you.
Gentlemen, For that I know your friendship is unfeign'd,
And Faustus' custom is not to deny the just requests of those that wish him well,
You shall behold that peerless dame of Greece,
No otherways for pomp and majesty Than when Sir Paris cross'd the seas with her,
And brought the spoils to rich Dardania.
Be silent, then, for danger is in words.
Too simple is my wit to tell her praise, Whom all the world admires for majesty.
No marvel though the angry Greeks pursued With ten years' war the rape of such a queen, Whose heavenly beauty passeth all compare
Let us depart; and for this glorious deed, Happy and blest be Faustus evermore!
Gentlemen, farewell: the same I wish to you.
Accursed Faustus, where is mercy now?
I do repent; and yet I do despair: Hell strives with grace for conquest in my breast:
What shall I do to shun the snares of death?
Part 6 - Regret "The face that launched a Thousand ships"
Thou traitor, Faustus, I arrest thy soul For disobedience to my sovereign lord:
Revolt, or I'll in piece-meal tear thy flesh.
Sweet Mephistophilis, entreat thy lord To pardon my unjust presumption,
And with my blood again I will confirm My former vow I made to Lucifer.
Do it, then, quickly, with unfeigned heart, Lest greater danger do attend thy drift.
One thing, good servant, let me crave of thee,
To glut the longing of my heart's desire,
That I might have unto my paramour That heavenly Helen which I saw of late,
Whose sweet embracings may extinguish clean Those thoughts that do dissuade me from my vow, And keep mine oath I made to Lucifer.
Faustus, this, or what else thou shalt desire, Shall be perform'd in a twinkling of an eye.
Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium-
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss
Her lips suck forth my soul:
see, where it flies!
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.
Here will I dwell,
for heaven is in these lips, And all is dross that is not Helen.
I will be Paris, and for love of thee,
Instead of Troy, shall Canterbury be sack'd;
And I will combat with weak Menelaus,
And wear thy colours on my plumed crest;
Yea, I will wound Achilles in the heel, And then return to Helen for a kiss.
O, thou art fairer than the evening air
Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars;
Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter When he appear'd to hapless Semele;
More lovely than the monarch of the sky
In wanton Arethusa's azur'd arms;
And none but thou shalt be my paramour!
What ails Faustus?
Ah, my sweet chamber-fellow, had I lived with thee, then had I lived still!
But now I die eternally.
What means Faustus?
Belike he is grown into some sickness by being over-solitary.
If it be so, we'll have physicians to cure him... 'Tis but a surfeit; never fear.
A surfeit of deadly sin,
Yet, Faustus, look up to heaven; remember God's mercies are infinite.
But Faustus' offence can never be pardoned:
the serpent that tempted Eve may be saved, but not Faustus.
Ah, gentlemen, hear me with patience, and tremble not at my speeches!
Would I had never seen CANTERBURY, never read a book!
What wonders I have done, all ENGLAND can witness, yea, all the world;
for which Faustus hath lost both England and the world,
yea, heaven itself, heaven, the seat of God, the throne of the blessed
the kingdom of joy; and must remain in hell for ever
what shall become of Faustus, being in hell for ever?
Yet, Faustus, call on God.
On God, whom Faustus hath abjured! On God, whom Faustus hath blasphemed!
Ah, my God, I would weep! but the devil draws in my tears.
Gush forth blood, instead of tears!
I would lift up my hands; but see, they hold them, they hold them!
Lucifer and Mephistophilis. Ah, gentlemen, I gave them my soul for my knowledge!
God forbade it, indeed; but Faustus hath done it:
for vain pleasure of twenty-four years hath Faustus lost eternal joy and felicity.
I writ them a bill with mine own blood: the date is expired;
Why did not Faustus tell us of this before, that divines might have prayed for thee?
Oft have I thought to have done so; but the devil threatened to tear me in pieces, if I named God,
to fetch both body and soul, if I once gave ear to divinity:
and now 'tis too late. Gentlemen, away, lest you perish with me.
O, what shall we do to save Faustus?
Talk not of me, but save yourselves, and depart
God will strengthen me; I will stay with Faustus.
Ay, pray for me, pray for me; and what noise soever ye hear, come not unto me, for nothing can rescue me.
Pray thou, and we will pray that God may have mercy upon thee
Gentlemen, farewell: if I live till morning, I'll visit you; if not, Faustus is gone to hell.
It strikes. Now Body turn into air.
Mephistopheles will take you to hell.
O soul, be chang'd into little water-drops, And fall into the ocean, ne'er be found!
My God, my god, look not so fierce on me!
Adders and serpents, let me breathe a while! Ugly hell, gape not!
Come not, Lucifer! I'll burn my books!... Ah, Mephistophilis!