Classic Poem

SCENE ONE

FAUSTUS in his study . FAUSTUS :
Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin
To sound the depth of that thou wilt profess.
Having commenced, be a divine in show,
Yet level at the end of every art
And live and die in Aristotle's works.
Sweet Analytics, 'tis thou hast ravished me.
Bene disserere est finis logices .
Is 'to dispute well logic's chiefest end'?
Affords this art no greater miracle?
Then read no more: thou hast attained that end.
A greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit.
Bid on cai me on farewell. And Galen, come.
Seeing, ubi desinit philosophus, ibi incipit medicus .
Be a physician, Faustus: heap up gold
And be eternized for some wondrous cure.
Summum bonum medicinas sanitas :
'The end of physic is our body's health'.
Why, Faustus, hast thou not attained 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 cured?
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?
Si una eademque res legatur duobus ,
Alter rem, alter valorem rei etc. ,
A petty case of paltry legacies!
Exhaereditare filium non potest pater, nisi ÔÇô
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 illiberal for me.
When all is done Divinity is best.
Jerome's Bible! Faustus, view it well.
Stipendium peccati mors est . Ha! Stipendium etc. ,
'The reward of sin is death'. That's hard.
Si pecasse negamus, fallimur, et nulla est in nobis veritas .
'If we say that we have no sin
We deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us.'
Why then, belike, we must sin,
And so consequeatly die.
Ay, we must die, an everlasting death.
What doctrine call you this? Che sera, sera .
'What will be, shall be.' Divinity, adieu!
These necromantic books are heavenly,
Lines, circles, scenes, letters and characters:
Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires.
Oh, what a world of profit and delight,
Of power, of honour of, omnipotence,
Is promised to the studious artizan!
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 demi-god.
Here, tire my brains to get a deity.
Enter WAGNER .
Wagner, commend me to my dearest friends,
The German Valdes and Cornelius.
Request them earnestly to visit me. WAGNER :
I will, sir.
Exit . FAUSTUS :
Their conference will be a greater help to me
Than all my labours, plod I ne'er so fast.
Enter the GOOD and EVIL ANGELS . GOOD ANGEL :
Oh Faustus, lay that damned book aside,
And gaze not on it lest it tempt thy soul
And heap God's heavy wrath upon thy head.
Read, read the scriptures: that is blasphemy. EVIL ANGEL :
Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art
Wherein all nature's treasure is contained.
Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky,
Lord and commander of these elements.
Exeunt ANGELS . FAUSTUS :
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?
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 and princely delicates.
I'll have them read me strange philosophy,
And tell the secrets of all foreign kings.
I'll have them wall all Germany with brass,
And make swift Rhine circle fair Wittenberg.
I'll have them fill the public schools with silk,
Wherewith the students shall be bravely clad.
I'll levy soldiers with the coin they bring,
And chase the Prince of Parma from our land,
And reign sole king of all the provinces.
Yea, stranger engines for the brunt of war
Than was the fiery keel at Antwerp's bridge
I'll make my servile spirits to invent.
Come, German Valdes and Cornelius,
And make me blest with your sage conference.
Enter VALDES and CORNELIUS .
Valdes, sweet Valdes and Cornelius!
Know that your words have won me at the last
To practise magic and concealed arts.
Yet not your words only but mine own fantasy
That will receive no object 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 ravished me.
Then, gentle friends, aid me in this attempt,
And I, that have with subtle syllogisms
Gravelled the pastors of the German Church
And made the flowering pride of Wittenberg
Swarm to my problems as the infernal spirits
On sweet Musaeus when he came to hell,
Will be as cunning as Agrippa was,
Whose shadow made all Europe honour him. VALDES :
Faustus, these books, thy wit and our experience
Shall make all nations to canonize us,
As Indian moors obey their Spanish lords.
So shall the spirits of every element
Be always serviceable to us three.
Like lions shall they guard us when we please;
Like Almain rutters with their horsemen's staves;
Or Lapland giants trotting by our sides.
Sometimes like women or unwedded maids,
Shadowing more beauty in their airy brows
Than has the white breasts of the queen of love.
From Venice shall they drag huge argosies,
And from America the golden fleece
That yearly stuffs old Philip's treasury
If learned Faustus will be resolute. FAUSTUS :
Valdes, as resolute am I in this
As thou to live, therefore object it not. CORNELIUS :
The miracles that magic will perform
Will make thee vow to study nothing else.
He that is grounded in Astrology,
Enriched with tongues, well seen in minerals,
Hath all the principles magic doth require.
Then doubt not, Faustus, but to be renowned,
And more frequented for this mystery
Than heretofore the Delphian oracle.
The spirits tell me they can dry the sea,
And fetch the treasure of all foreign wracks.
Yea, all the wealth that our forefathers hid
Within the massy entrails of the earth.
Then tell me, Faustus, what shall we three want? FAUSTUS :
Nothing, Cornelius! Oh, this cheers my soul.
Come, show me some demonstrations magical,
That I may conjure in some bushy grove,
And have these joys in full possession. VALDES :
Then haste thee to some solitary grove,
And bear wise Bacon's and Albanus' works,
The Hebrew Psalter and New Testament;
And whatsoever else is requisite
We will inform thee e're our conference cease. CORNELIUS :
Valdes, first let him know the words of art,
And then, all other ceremonies learned,
Faustus may try his cunning by himself. VALDES :
First I'll instruct thee in the rudiments,
And then wilt thou be perfecter than I. FAUSTUS :
Then come and dine with me, and after meat
We'll canvass every quiddity thereof,
For ere I sleep, I'll try what I can do.
This night I'll conjure, though I die therefore.
Exeunt .

SCENE TWO

Enter two SCHOLARS . FIRST SCHOLAR :
I wonder what's become of Faustus, that was wont to make our schools ring with sic probo .
Enter WAGNER . SECOND SCHOLAR :
That shall we presently know. Here comes his boy. FIRST SCHOLAR :
How now, sirrah, where's thy master? WAGNER :
God in heaven knows. SECOND SCHOLAR :
Why, dost not thou know then? WAGNER :
Yes, I know, but that follows not. FIRST SCHOLAR :
Go to, sirrah. Leave your jesting and tell us where he is. WAGNER :
That follows not by force of argument, which you, being licentiates, should stand upon. Therefore, acknowledge your error and be attentive. SECOND SCHOLAR :
Then you will not tell us? WAGNER :
You are deceived, for I will tell you. Yet if you were not dunces, you would never ask me such a question. For is he not Corpus naturale ? And is not that mobile ? Then wherefore should you ask me such a question? But that I am by nature phlegmatic, slow to wrath and prone to lechery (to love, I would say), it were not for you to come within forty foot of the place of execution, although I do not doubt but to see you both hanged the next sessions. Thus, having triumphed over you, I will set my countenance like a precision, and begin to speak thus: 'Truly, my dear brethren, my master is within at dinner with Valdes and Cornelius, as this wine, if it could speak, would inform your worships. And so the Lord bless you, preserve you and keep you, my dear brethren.'
Exit . FIRST SCHOLAR :
Oh Faustus, then I fear that which I have long suspected:
That thou art fallen into that damned art
For which they two are infamous through the world. SECOND SCHOLAR :
Were he a stranger, not allied to me,
The danger of his soul would make me mourn.
But come, let us go, and inform the Rector.
It may be his grave counsel may reclaim him. FIRST SCHOLAR :
I fear me nothing will reclaim him now. SECOND SCHOLAR :
Yet let us see what we can do.
Exeunt .

SCENE THREE

Thunder. Enter LUCIFER and FOUR DEVILS . FAUSTUS to them with this speech . FAUSTUS :
Now that the gloomy shadow of the night,
Longing to view Orion's drizzling look,
Leaps from th'Antarctick world unto the sky,
And dims the Welkin with her pitchy breath,
Faustus, begin thine incantations
And try if devils will obey thy hest,
Seeing thou hast prayed and sacrificed to them.
Within this circle is Jehova's name
Forward and backward anagrammatised:
The abbreviated names of holy saints,
Figures of every adjunct to the heavens,
And characters of signs and evening stars,
By which the spirits are enforced to rise.
Then fear not, Faustus, to be resolute
And try the utmost magic can perform.
Thunder .
Sint mibi dei acherontis propitii, valeat numen triplex Jehovac, ignei areii, aquatani spiritus salvete: orientis princeps Belzebub, inferni ardentis monarcha et demigorgon, propitiamus vos, ut appareat, et surgat Mephostophilis (Dragon) quod tumeraris: per Jehovam, gehennam, et consecratam aquam quam nunc spargo; signumque crucis quod nunc facio; et per vota nostra ipse nunc surgat nobis dicatus Mephostophilis .
Enter a DEVIL .
I charge thee to return and change thy shape.
Thou art too ugly to attend on me.
Go, and return an old Franciscan friar:
That holy shape becomes a devil best.
Exit DEVIL .
I see there's virtue in my heavenly words.
Who would not be proficient in this art?
How pliant is this Mephostophilis!
Full of obedience and humility,
Such is the force of magic and my spells.
Now, Faustus, thou art conjuror laureate:
Thou canst command great Mephostophilis.
Quin redis Mephostophilis fratris imagine .
Enter MEPHOSTOPHILIS . MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Now, Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do? FAUSTUS :
I charge thee wait upon 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. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
I am a servant to great Lucifer,
And may not follow thee without his leave.
No more than he commands must we perform. FAUSTUS :
Did not he charge thee to appear to me? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
No, I came now hither of mine own accord. FAUSTUS :
Did not my conjuring speeches raise thee? Speak. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
That was the cause, but yet per accidens ;
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 all godliness
And pray devoutly to the prince of hell. FAUSTUS :
So Faustus hath already done, and holds this principle:
There is no chief but only Belzebub,
To whom Faustus doth dedicate himself.
This word 'damnation' terrifies not me,
For I confound hell in elysium.
My ghost be with the old philosophers.
But leaving these vain trifles of men's souls,
Tell me, what is that Lucifer, thy lord? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Arch-regent and commander of all spirits. FAUSTUS :
Was not that Lucifer an angel once? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Yes, Faustus, and most dearly loved of God. FAUSTUS :
How comes it then that he is prince of devils? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Oh, by aspiring pride and insolence,
For which God threw him from the face of heaven. FAUSTUS :
And what are you that live with Lucifer? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer,
Conspired against our God with Lucifer,
And are for ever damned with Lucifer. FAUSTUS :
Where are you damned? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
In hell. FAUSTUS :
How comes it then that thou art out of hell? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.
Think'st thou that I that saw the face of God
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells
In being deprived of everlasting bliss?
Oh, Faustus, leave these frivolous demands,
Which strike a terror to my fainting soul. FAUSTUS :
What, is great Mephostophilis 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,
Letting him live in all voluptuousness,
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 to 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 resolve me of thy master's mind. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
I will, Faustus.
Exit . FAUSTUS :
Had I as many souls as there be stars,
I'd give them all for Mephostophilis.
By him I'll be great emperor of the world,
And make a bridge through the air
To pass the ocean. With a band of men
I'll join the hills that bind the Affrick shore,
And make that country continent to Spain,
And both contributory to my crown.
The Emperor shall not live but by my leave,
Nor any potentate of Germany.
Now that I have obtained what I desired,
I'll live in speculation of this art
Till Mephostophilis return again.
Exit .

SCENE FOUR

Enter WAGNER and the CLOWN . WAGNER :
Come hither, sirrah boy. CLOWN :
Boy? Oh, disgrace to my person! Zounds! 'Boy' in your face! You have seen many boys with beards, I am sure. WAGNER :
Sirrah, hast thou no comings in? CLOWN :
Yes, and goings out too, you may see, sir. WAGNER :
Alas, poor slave. See how poverty jests in his nakedness. I know the villain's out of service and so hungry that I know he would give his soul to the devil for a shoulder of mutton though it were blood-raw. CLOWN :
Not so neither. I had need to have it well roasted, and good sauce to it, if I pay so dear, I can tell you. WAGNER :
Sirrah, wilt thou be my man and wait on me?
And I will make thee go like Qui mibi discipulus . CLOWN :
What, in verse? WAGNER :
No, slave, in beaten silk and stavesacre. CLOWN :
Stavesacre? That's good to kill vermin. Then belike, if I serve you I shall be lousy. WAGNER :
Why, so thou shalt be whether thou dost it or no. For, sirrah, if thou dost not presently bind thyself to me for seven years, I'll turn all the lice about thee into familiars, and make them tear thee in pieces. CLOWN :
Nay, sir, you may save yourself a labour, for they are as familiar with me as if they paid for their meat and drink, I can tell you. WAGNER :
Well, sirrah, leave your jesting and take these guilders. CLOWN :
Yes, marry, sir, and I thank you too. WAGNER :
So, now thou art to be at an hour's warning, whensoever and wheresoever the devil shall fetch thee. CLOWN :
Here, take your guilders. WAGNER :
Truly, I'll none of them. CLOWN :
Truly but you shall. WAGNER :
Bear witness I gave them him. CLOWN :
Bear witness I give them you again. WAGNER :
Not I. Thou art pressed. Prepare thyself, for I will presently raise up two devils, to carry thee away: Banio, Belcher! CLOWN :
Belcher? And Belcher come here, I'll belch him! I am not afraid of a devil.
Enter TWO DEVILS and the CLOWN runs up and down crying . WAGNER :
How now, sir, will you serve me now? CLOWN :
Ay, good Wagner. Take away the devil then. WAGNER :
Baliol and Belcher, spirits, away!
Exeunt DEVILS . CLOWN :
What, are they gone? A vengeance on them! They have vile long nails. There was a he-devil and a she-devil. I'll tell you how you shall know them: all he-devils has horns, and all she-devils has clifts and cloven feet. WAGNER :
Well, sirrah, follow me. CLOWN :
But, do you hear, if I should serve you, would you teach me to raise up Banio's and Belcheo's? WAGNER :
I will teach thee to turn thyself to anything, to a dog, or a cat, or a mouse, or a rat, or anything. CLOWN :
How? A Christian fellow to a dog or a cat, a mouse or a rat? No, no, sir, if you turn me into anything, let it be in the likeness of a little pretty frisking flea, that I may be here and there and everywhere. Oh, I'll tickle the pretty wenches' plackets! I'll be amongst them, i'faith. WAGNER :
Well, sirrah, come. CLOWN :
But do you hear, Wagner? WAGNER :
How? Baliol and Belcher! CLOWN :
Oh Lord, I pray, sir, let Banio and Belcher go sleep. WAGNER :
Villain, call me Master Wagner, and see that you walk attentively and let your right eye be always diametrically fixed upon my left heel, that thou mayest Quasi vestigias nostras insistere .
Exit . CLOWN :
God forgive me, he speaks Dutch fustian! Well, I'll follow him. I'll serve him, that's flat.
Exit .

SCENE FIVE

Enter FAUSTUS in his study . FAUSTUS :
Now, Faustus, must thou needs be damned?
And canst thou not be saved?
What boots it then to think on 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 waverest thou? Oh, something soundeth in mine ears
Abjure this magic, turn to God again.
Ay, and Faustus will turn to God again.
To God? He loves thee not.
The God thou servest is thine own appetite,
Wherein is fixed the love of Belzebub.
To him I'll build an altar and a church,
And offer lukewarm blood of new-born babes.
Enter the GOOD and EVIL ANGELS . GOOD ANGEL :
Sweet Faustus, leave that execrable art. FAUSTUS :
Contrition, prayer, repentance, what of these? GOOD ANGEL :
Oh, they are means to bring thee unto heaven. EVIL ANGEL :
Rather illusions, fruits of lunacy,
That makes men foolish that do trust them most. GOOD ANGEL :
Sweet Faustus, think of heaven and heavenly things. EVIL ANGEL :
No, Faustus, think of honour and of wealth.
Exeunt ANGELS . FAUSTUS :
Of wealth!
Why, the signory of Emden shall be mine!
When Mephostophilis shall stand by me,
What God can hurt thee, Faustus? Thou art safe.
Cast no more doubts. Come, Mephostophilis,
And bring glad tidings from great Lucifer.
Is't not midnight? Come Mephostophilis!
Veni, veni, Mephostophile!
Enter MEPHOSTOPHILIS .
Now tell me, what saith Lucifer, thy lord? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
That I shall wait on Faustus whilst he lives,
So he will buy my service with his soul. FAUSTUS :
Already Faustus hath hazarded that for thee. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
But now 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 back to hell. FAUSTUS :
Stay, Mephostophilis, and tell me
What good will my soul do thy lord? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Enlarge his kingdom. FAUSTUS :
Is that the reason why he tempts us thus? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Solamen miseris, socios habuisse doloris . FAUSTUS :
Why, have you any pain, that torture others? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
As great as have the human souls of men.
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. FAUSTUS :
Ay, Mephostophilis, I'll give it thee. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Then, Faustus, stab thy arm courageously,
And bind thy soul, that at some certain day
Great Lucifer may claim it as his own,
And then be thou as great as Lucifer. FAUSTUS :
Lo, Mephostophilis, for love of thee
I cut mine arm, and with my proper blood
Assure my soul to be great Lucifer's,
Chief lord and regent of perpetual night.
View here the blood that trickles from mine arm,
And let it be propitious for my wish. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
But, Faustus, thou must write it in manner of a deed of gift. FAUSTUS :
Ay, so I will. But, Mephostophilis,
My blood congeals and I can write no more! MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
I'll fetch thee fire to dissolve it straight.
Exit . FAUSTUS :
What might the staying of my blood portend?
Is it unwilling I should write this bill?
Why streams it not that I may write afresh?
'Faustus gives to thee his soul': ah, there it stayed!
Why shouldst thou not? Is not thy soul thine own?
Then write again: 'Faustus gives to thee his soul'.
Enter MEPHOSTOPHILIS with a chafer of coals . MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Here's fire. Come, Faustus, set it on. FAUSTUS :
So, now my blood begins to clear again.
Now will I make an end immediately. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Oh what will not I do to obtain his soul! FAUSTUS :
Consummatum est : this bill is ended,
And Faustus hath bequeathed his soul to Lucifer.
But what is this inscription on mine arm?
Homo fuge! Whither should I flie?
If unto heaven, he'll throw me down to hell.
My senses are deceived: here's nothing writ!
Oh, yes, I see it plain. Even here is writ
Homo fuge . Yet shall not Faustus fly. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
I'll fetch him somewhat to delight his mind.
Exit .
Enter DEVILS , giving crowns and rich apparel to FAUSTUS ; they dance and then depart. Enter MEPHOSTOPHILIS . FAUSTUS :
What means this show? Speak, Mephostophilis. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Nothing, Faustus, but to delight thy mind,
And let thee see what magic can perform. FAUSTUS :
But may I raise such spirits when I please? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Ay, Faustus, and do greater things than these. FAUSTUS :
Then there's enough for a thousand souls.
Here, Mephostophilis, receive this scroll,
A deed of gift, of body and of soul:
But yet conditionally, that thou perform
All covenants and articles between us both. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Faustus, I swear by hell and Lucifer
To effect all promises between us both. FAUSTUS :
Then hear me read it, Mephostophilis.
On these conditions following:
First, that Faustus may be a spirit in form and substance.
Secondly, that Mephostophilis shall be his servant, and be by him commanded.
Thirdly, that Mephostophilis shall do for him, and bring him whatsoever.
Fourthly, that he shall be in his chamber or house invisible.
Lastly, that he shall appear to the said John Faustus at all times, in what shape and form soever he please.
I, John Faustus of Wittenberg Doctor, by these presents, do give both body and soul to Lucifer, Prince of the East, and his minister Mephostophilis, and furthermore grant unto them that four and twenty years being expired, and these articles above written being inviolate, full power to fetch or carry the said John Faustus, body and soul, flesh, blood or goods, into their habitation wheresoever.
By me, John Faustus. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Speak, Faustus, do you deliver this as your deed? FAUSTUS :
Ay, take it, and the devil give thee good of it. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
So now, Faustus, ask me what thou wilt. FAUSTUS :
First I will question with thee about hell.
Tell me, where is the place that men call hell? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Under the heavens. FAUSTUS :
Ay, so are all things else; but whereabouts? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Within the bowels of these elements,
Where we are tortured and remain for ever.
Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed
In one self place. But where we are is hell,
And where hell is there must we ever be.
And to be short, when all the world dissolves
And every creature shall be purified,
All places shall be hell that is not heaven. FAUSTUS :
Come, I think hell's a fable. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Ay, think so still, till experience change thy mind. FAUSTUS :
Why, dost thou think that Faustus shall be damned? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Ay, of necessity, for here's the scroll
In which thou hast given thy soul to Lucifer. FAUSTUS :
Ay, and body too, but what of that?
Think'st thou that Faustus is so fond to imagine
That after this life there is any pain?
Tush, these are trifles and old wives' tales. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
But Faustus, I am an instance to prove the contrary,
For I tell thee I am damned, and now in hell. FAUSTUS :
How? Now in hell? Nay, and this be hell, I'll willingly be damned here.
What! Sleeping, eating, walking and disputing?
But leaving this, let me have a wife, the fairest maid in Germany, for I am wanton and lascivious, and cannot live without a wife. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
How, a wife? I prithee, Faustus, talk not of a wife. FAUSTUS :
Nay, sweet Mephostophilis, fetch me one, for I will have one. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Well, thou wilt have one. Sit there till I come: I'll fetch thee a wife in the devil's name.
Enter a DEVIL dressed like a woman, with fireworks . FAUSTUS :
What sight is this? MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Tell, Faustus, how dost thou like thy wife? FAUSTUS :
A plague on her for a hot whore. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Tut, Faustus, marriage is but a ceremonial toy.
If thou lovest me, think no more of it.
I'll cull thee out the fairest courtesans
And bring them every morning to thy bed.
She whom thine eye shall like, thy heart shall have,
Be she as chaste as was Penelope,
As wise as Saba, or as beautiful
As was bright Lucifer before his fall.
Here, take this book, and peruse it well.
The iterating of these lines brings gold,
The framing of this circle on the ground
Brings thunder, whirlwinds, storm and lightning.
Pronounce this thrice devoutly to thyself
And men in harness shall appear to thee,
Ready to execute what thou commandest. FAUSTUS :
Thanks, Mephostophilis. Yet fain would I have a book wherein I might behold all spells and incantations, that I might raise up spirits when I please. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Here they are in this book.
There turn to them . FAUSTUS :
Now would I have a book where I might see all characters and planets of the heavens, that I might know their motions and dispositions. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Here they are too.
Turn to them . FAUSTUS :
Nay, let me have one book more, and then I have done, wherein I might see all plants, herbs and trees that grow upon the earth. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Here they be. FAUSTUS :
Oh thou art deceived. MEPHOSTOPHILIS :
Tut, I warrant thee.
Turn to them .