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A Digital Anthology Of: Early Modern English Drama
A Digital Anthology Of: Early Modern English Drama
A Digital Anthology Of: Early Modern English Drama
This documentary edition has been edited to provide an accurate and transparent
transcription of a single copy of the earliest surviving print edition of this play. Further
material, including editorial policy and XML files of the play, is available on the EMED
website. EMED texts are edited and encoded by Meaghan Brown, Michael Poston, and
Elizabeth Williamson, and build on work done by the EEBO-TCP and the Shakespeare
His Contemporaries project. This project is funded by a Humanities Collections and
Reference Resources grant from the NEH’s Division of Preservation and Access.
ln 0001 THE
ln 0002 TRAGICAL
ln 0003 History of Doctor Faustus.
ln 0004 As it hath been Acted by the Right
ln 0005 Honorable the Earl of Nottingham his servants.
ln 0006 Written by Christopher Marlowe
ln 0007 LONDON
ln 0008 Printed by V. S. for Thomas Bushell. 1604.
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wln 0001 The tragical History
wln 0002 of Doctor Faustus.
wln 0003 Enter Chorus.
wln 0004 NOt marching now in fields of Thrasimene,
wln 0005 Where Mars did mate the Carthaginians,
wln 0006 Nor sporting in the dalliance of love,
wln 0007 In courts of Kings where state is overturned,
wln 0008 Nor in the pomp of proud audacious deeds,
wln 0009 Intends our Muse to daunt his heavenly verse:
wln 0010 Only this (Gentlemen) we must perform,
wln 0011 The form of Faustus’ fortunes good or bad.
wln 0012 To patient Judgements we appeal our plaud,
wln 0013 And speak for Faustus in his infancy:
wln 0014 Now is he born, his parents base of stock,
wln 0015 In Germany, within a town called Rhodes:
wln 0016 Of riper years to Wertenberg he went,
wln 0017 Whereas his kinsmen chiefly brought him up,
wln 0018 So soon he profits in Divinity,
wln 0019 The fruitful plot of Scholarism graced,
wln 0020 That shortly he was graced with Doctor’s name,
wln 0021 Excelling all, whose sweet delight disputes
wln 0022 In heavenly matters of Theology,
wln 0023 Till swoll’n with cunning of a self conceit,
wln 0024 His waxen wings did mount above his reach,
wln 0025 And melting heavens conspired his overthrow.
wln 0026 For falling to a devilish exercise,
wln 0027 And glutted more with learning’s golden gifts,
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wln 0028 He surfeits upon cursed Necromancy,
wln 0029 Nothing so sweet as magic is to him
wln 0030 Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss,
wln 0031 And this the man that in his study sits. Exit.
wln 0032 Enter Faustus in his Study.
wln 0033 Faustus Settle thy studies Faustus, and begin
wln 0034 To sound the depth of that thou wilt profess:
wln 0035 Having commenced, be a Divine in show,
wln 0036 Yet level at the end of every Art,
wln 0037 And live and die in Aristotle’s works:
wln 0038 Sweet Analytics ’tis thou hast ravished me,
wln 0039 Bene disserere est finis logices,
wln 0040 Is, to dispute well, Logic’s chiefest end
wln 0041 Affords this Art no greater miracle:
wln 0042 Then read no more, thou hast attained the end:
wln 0043 A greater subject fitteth Faustus’ wit,
wln 0044 Bid On kai me on farewell, Galen come:
wln 0045 Seeing, ubi desinit philosophus, ibi incipit medicus.
wln 0046 Be a physician Faustus, heap up gold,
wln 0047 And be eternized for some wondrous cure,
wln 0048 Summum bonum medicinae sanitas,
wln 0049 The end of physic is our body’s health:
wln 0050 Why Faustus, hast thou not attained that end?
wln 0051 Is not thy common talk sound Aphorisms?
wln 0052 Are not thy bills hung up as monuments,
wln 0053 whereby whole Cities have escaped the plague,
wln 0054 And thousand desp’rate maladies been eased,
wln 0055 Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man.
wln 0056 wouldst thou make man to live eternally?
wln 0057 Or being dead, raise them to life again?
wln 0058 Then this profession were to be esteemed.
wln 0059 Physic farewell, where is Justinian?
wln 0060 Si una eademque res legatus duobus,
wln 0061 Alter rem alter valorem rei, etc.
wln 0062 A pretty case of paltry legacies:
wln 0063 Exhaereditare filium non potest pater nisi:
wln 0064 Such is the subject of the institute
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wln 0065 And universal body of the Church:
wln 0066 His study fits a mercenary drudge,
wln 0067 who aims at nothing but external trash,
wln 0068 The devil and illiberal for me:
wln 0069 when all is done, Divinity is best.
wln 0070 Jerome’s Bible, Faustus, view it well.
wln 0071 Stipendium peccati mors est: ha, Stipendium, etc.
wln 0072 The reward of sin is death: that’s hard.
wln 0073 Si peccasse negamus, fallimur, et nulla est in nobis veritas.
wln 0074 If we say that we have no sin,
wln 0075 We deceive ourselves, and there’s no truth in us.
wln 0076 Why then belike we must sin,
wln 0077 And so consequently die.
wln 0078 Ay, we must die an everlasting death:
wln 0079 What doctrine call you this, Che sera, sera,
wln 0080 What will be, shall be? Divinity, adieu,
wln 0081 These Metaphysics of Magicians,
wln 0082 And Necromantic books are heavenly
wln 0083 Lines, circles, scenes, letters and characters:
wln 0084 Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires.
wln 0085 O what a world of profit and delight,
wln 0086 Of power, of honor, of omnipotence
wln 0087 Is promised to the studious Artisan?
wln 0088 All things that move between the quiet poles
wln 0089 Shall be at my command. Emperors and Kings,
wln 0090 Are but obeyed in their several provinces:
wln 0091 Nor can they raise the wind, or rend the clouds:
wln 0092 But his dominion that exceeds in this,
wln 0093 Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man.
wln 0094 A sound Magician is a mighty god:
wln 0095 Here Faustus try thy brains to gain a deity.
wln 0096 Enter Wagner.
wln 0097 Wagner, commend me to my dearest friends,
wln 0098 The German Valdes, and Cornelius,
wln 0099 Request them earnestly to visit me.
wln 0100 Wagner I will sir. exit.
wln 0101 Faustus Their conference will be a greater help to me,
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wln 0102 Than all my labors, plod I ne’er so fast.
wln 0103 Enter the good Angel and the evil Angel.
wln 0104 Good Angel O Faustus, lay that damned book aside,
wln 0105 And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul,
wln 0106 And heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head,
wln 0107 Read, read the scriptures, that is blasphemy.
wln 0108 Evil Angel Go forward Faustus in that famous art,
wln 0109 Wherein all nature’s treasury is contained:
wln 0110 Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky,
wln 0111 Lord and commander of these Elements. Exeunt.
wln 0112 Faustus How am I glutted with conceit of this?
wln 0113 Shall I make spirits fetch me what I please,
wln 0114 Resolve me of all ambiguities,
wln 0115 Perform what desperate enterprise I will?
wln 0116 I’ll have them fly to India for gold,
wln 0117 Ransack the Ocean for orient pearl,
wln 0118 And search all corners of the newfound world
wln 0119 For pleasant fruits and princely delicates:
wln 0120 I’ll have them read me strange philosophy,
wln 0121 And tell the secrets of all foreign kings,
wln 0122 I’ll have them wall all Germany with brass,
wln 0123 And make swift Rhine circle fair Wertenberg,
wln 0124 I’ll have them fill the public schools with skill.
wln 0125 Wherewith the students shall be bravely clad:
wln 0126 I’ll levy soldiers with the coin they bring,
wln 0127 And chase the Prince of Parma from our land,
wln 0128 And reign sole king of all our provinces:
wln 0129 Yea stranger engines for the brunt of war,
wln 0130 Than was the fiery keel at Antwerp’s bridge,
wln 0131 I’ll make my servile spirits to invent:
wln 0132 Come German Valdes and Cornelius,
wln 0133 And make me blessed with your sage conference,
wln 0134 Valdes, sweet Valdes, and Cornelius,
wln 0135 Enter Valdes and Cornelius.
wln 0136 Know that your words have won me at the last,
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wln 0137 To practice Magic and concealed arts:
wln 0138 Yet not your words only, but mine own fantasy,
wln 0139 That will receive no object for my head,
wln 0140 But ruminates on Necromantic skill,
wln 0141 Philosophy is odious and obscure,
wln 0142 Both Law and Physic are for petty wits,
wln 0143 Divinity is basest of the three,
wln 0144 Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible and vild,
wln 0145 ’Tis Magic, Magic that hath ravished me,
wln 0146 Then gentle friends aid me in this attempt,
wln 0147 And I that have with Concise syllogisms
wln 0148 Gravelled the Pastors of the German Church,
wln 0149 And made the flow’ring pride of Wertenberg
wln 0150 Swarm to my Problems as the infernal spirits
wln 0151 On sweet Musaeus when he came to hell,
wln 0152 Will be as cunning as Agrippa was,
wln 0153 Whose shadows made all Europe honor him.
wln 0154 Valdes Faustus these books thy wit and our experience
wln 0155 Shall make all nations to us,
wln 0156 As Indian Moors obey their Spanish Lords,
wln 0157 So shall the subjects of every element
wln 0158 Be always serviceable to us three,
wln 0159 Like Lions shall they guard us when we please,
wln 0160 Like Almain Rutters with their horsemen’s staves,
wln 0161 Or Lapland Giants trotting by our sides,
wln 0162 Sometimes like women, or unwedded maids,
wln 0163 Shadowing more beauty in their airy brows,
wln 0164 Than in their white breasts of the queen of Love:
wln 0165 For Venice shall they drag huge Argosies,
wln 0166 And from America the golden fleece,
wln 0167 That yearly stuffs old Philip’s treasury
wln 0168 If learned Faustus will be resolute.
wln 0169 Faustus Valdes as resolute am I in this
wln 0170 As thou to live, therefore object it not.
wln 0171 Cornelius The miracles that Magic will perform,
wln 0172 Will make thee vow to study nothing else,
wln 0173 He that is grounded in Astrology,
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wln 0174 Enriched with tongues well seen minerals,
wln 0175 Hath all the principles Magic doth require,
wln 0176 Then doubt not (Faustus) but to be renowned,
wln 0177 And more frequented for this mystery,
wln 0178 Than heretofore the Delphian Oracle.
wln 0179 The spirits tell me they can dry the sea,
wln 0180 And fetch the treasure of all foreign wracks,
wln 0181 Ay, all the wealth that our forefathers hid
wln 0182 Within the massy entrails of the earth.
wln 0183 Then tell me Faustus, what shall we three want?
wln 0184 Faustus Nothing Cornelius, O this cheers my soul,
wln 0185 Come show me some demonstrations magical,
wln 0186 That I may conjure in some lusty grove,
wln 0187 And have these joys in full possession.
wln 0188 Valdes Then haste thee to some solitary grove,
wln 0189 And bear wise Bacon’s and Albanus’ works,
wln 0190 The Hebrew Psalter, and new Testament,
wln 0191 And whatsoever else is requisite
wln 0192 we will inform thee ere our conference cease.
wln 0193 Cornelius Valdes, first let him know the words of art,
wln 0194 And then all other ceremonies learned,
wln 0195 Faustus may try his cunning by himself.
wln 0196 Valdes First I’ll instruct thee in the rudiments,
wln 0197 And then wilt thou be perfecter than I.
wln 0198 Faustus Then come and dine with me, and after meat
wln 0199 We’ll canvas every quiddity thereof:
wln 0200 For ere I sleep I’ll try what I can do,
wln 0201 This night I’ll conjure though I die therefore.
wln 0202 Exeunt.
wln 0203 Enter two Scholars.
wln 0204 1 Scholar I wonder what’s become of Faustus, that was
wln 0205 wont to make our schools ring with, sic probo.
wln 0206 2 Scholar That shall we know, for see here comes his boy.
wln 0207 Enter Wagner.
wln 0208 1. Scholar How now sirrah, where’s thy master?
wln 0209 Wagner God in heaven knows.
wln 0210 2. Scholar Why, dost not thou know?
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wln 0211 Wagner Yes I know, but that follows not.
wln 0212 1. Scholar Go to sirrah, leave your jesting, and tell us where
wln 0213 he is.
wln 0214 Wagner That follows not necessary by force of argument,
wln 0215 that you being licentiate should stand upon ’t, therefore acknowledge
wln 0216 your error, and be attentive.
wln 0217 2. Scholar Why, didst thou not say thou knewest?
wln 0218 Wagner Have you any witness on ’t?
wln 0219 1. Scholar Yes sirrah, I heard you.
wln 0220 Wagner Ask my fellow if I be a thief.
wln 0221 2. Scholar Well, you will not tell us.
wln 0222 Wagner Yes sir, I will tell you, yet if you were not dunces
wln 0223 you would never ask me such a question, for is not he corpus
wln 0224 naturale, and is not that mobile, then wherefore should
wln 0225 you ask me such a question: but that I am by nature phlegmatic,
wln 0226 slow to wrath, and prone to lechery, (to love I
wln 0227 would say) it were not for you to come within forty foot of
wln 0228 the place of execution, although I do not doubt to see you
wln 0229 both hanged the next Sessions. Thus having triumphed over
wln 0230 you, I will set my countenance like a precisian, and begin to
wln 0231 speak thus: truly my dear brethren, my master is within
wln 0232 at dinner with Valdes and Cornelius, as this wine if it could
wln 0233 speak, it would inform your worships, and so the Lord
wln 0234 bless you, preserve you, and keep you my dear brethren,
wln 0235 my dear brethren.
wln 0236 exit.
wln 0237 1. Scholar Nay then I fear he is fall’n into that damned art, for
wln 0238 which they two are infamous through the world.
wln 0239 2. Scholar Were he a stranger, and not allied to me, yet should
wln 0240 I grieve for him: but come let us go and inform the Rector,
wln 0241 and see if he by his grave counsel can reclaim him.
wln 0242 1. Scholar O but I fear me nothing can reclaim him.
wln 0243 2. Scholar Yet let us try what we can do.
wln 0244 Exeunt.
wln 0245 Enter Faustus to conjure.
wln 0246 Faustus Now that the gloomy shadow of the earth,
wln 0247 Longing to view Orion’s drizzling look,
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wln 0248 Leaps from th’ antarctic world unto the sky,
wln 0249 And dims the welkin with her pitchy breath:
wln 0250 Faustus, begin thine incantations,
wln 0251 And try if devils will obey thy hest,
wln 0252 Seeing thou hast prayed and sacrificed to them.
wln 0253 Within this circle is Jehovah’s name,
wln 0254 Forward and backward, and Agramithist,
wln 0255 The breviated names of holy Saints,
wln 0256 Figures of every adjunct to the heavens,
wln 0257 And characters of signs and erring stars.
wln 0258 By which the spirits are enforced to rise,
wln 0259 Then fear not Faustus, but be resolute,
wln 0260 And try the uttermost Magic can perform.
wln 0261 Sint mihi dei acherontis propitii, valeat numen triplex Jehovae, ignei,
wln 0262 aerii, Aquatani spiritus salvete, Orientis princeps Beelzebub, inferni
wln 0263 ardentis monarcha et demigorgon, propitiamus vos, ut apariat et
wln 0264 surgat Mephistopheles, quod tumeraris, per Jehovam gehennam et
wln 0265 consecratam aquam quam nunc spargo, signumque crucis quodnunc
wln 0266 facio, et per vota nostra ipse nunc surgat nobis dicatis Mephistopheles.
wln 0268 Enter a Devil.
wln 0269 I charge thee to return and change thy shape,
wln 0270 Thou art too ugly to attend on me,
wln 0271 Go and return an old Franciscan Friar,
wln 0272 That holy shape becomes a devil best. Exit devil.
wln 0273 I see there’s virtue in my heavenly words,
wln 0274 Who would not be proficient in this art?
wln 0275 How pliant is this Mephistopheles?
wln 0276 Full of obedience and humility,
wln 0277 Such is the force of Magic and my spells,
wln 0278 No Faustus, thou art Conjurer laureate
wln 0279 That canst command great Mephistopheles,
wln 0280 Quin regis Mephistopheles fratris imagine.
wln 0281 Enter Mephistopheles.
wln 0282 Mephistopheles Now Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do?
wln 0283 Faustus I charge thee wait upon me whilst I live,
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wln 0284 To do whatever Faustus shall command,
wln 0285 Be it to make the Moon drop from her sphere,
wln 0286 Or the Ocean to overwhelm the world.
wln 0287 Mephistopheles I am a servant to great Lucifer,
wln 0288 And may not follow thee without his leave,
wln 0289 No more than he commands must we perform.
wln 0290 Faustus Did not he charge thee to appear to me?
wln 0291 Mephistopheles No, I came now hither of mine own accord.
wln 0292 Faustus Did not my coniuring speeches raise thee? speak.
wln 0293 Mephistopheles That was the cause, but yet per accident,
wln 0294 For when we hear one rack the name of God,
wln 0295 Abjure the scriptures, and his Savior Christ,
wln 0296 We fly, in hope to get his glorious soul,
wln 0297 Nor will we come, unless he use such means
wln 0298 Whereby he is in danger to be damned:
wln 0299 Therefore the shortest cut for conjuring
wln 0300 Is stoutly to abjure the Trinity,
wln 0301 And pray devoutly to the prince of hell.
wln 0302 Faustus So Faustus hath already done, and holds this principle
wln 0303 There is no chief but only Beelzebub,
wln 0304 To whom Faustus doth dedicate himself,
wln 0305 This word damnation terrifies not him,
wln 0306 For he confounds hell in Elysium,
wln 0307 His ghost be with the old Philosophers,
wln 0308 But leaving these vain trifles of men’s souls,
wln 0309 Tell me what is that Lucifer thy Lord?
wln 0310 Mephistopheles Archregent and commander of all spirits.
wln 0311 Faustus Was not that Lucifer an Angel once?
wln 0312 Mephistopheles Yes Faustus, and most dear loved of God.
wln 0313 Faustus How comes it then that he is prince of devils?
wln 0314 Mephistopheles O by aspiring pride and insolence,
wln 0315 For which God threw him from the face of heaven.
wln 0316 Faustus and what are you that live with Lucifer?
wln 0317 Mephistopheles Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer,
wln 0318 Conspired against our God with Lucifer,
wln 0319 And are for ever damned with Lucifer.
wln 0320 Faustus Where are you damned?
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wln 0358 Nor any Potentate of Germany:
wln 0359 Now that I have obtained what I desire,
wln 0360 I’ll live in speculation of this Art,
wln 0361 Till Mephistopheles return again. exit.
wln 0362 Enter Wagner and the Clown.
wln 0363 Wagner Sirrah boy, come hither.
wln 0364 Clown How, boy? ’swounds boy, I hope you have seen many
wln 0365 boys with such pickadevaunts as I have. Boy quotha?
wln 0366 Wagner Tell me sirrah, hast thou any comings in?
wln 0367 Clown Ay, and goings out too, you may see else.
wln 0368 Wagner Alas poor slave, see how poverty jesteth in his nakedness,
wln 0369 the villain is bare, and out of service, and so hungry,
wln 0370 that I know he would give his soul to the Devil for a
wln 0371 shoulder of mutton, though it were blood raw.
wln 0372 Clown How, my soul to the Devil for a shoulder of mutton
wln 0373 though ’twere blood raw? not so good friend, by ’r lady I
wln 0374 had need have it well roasted, and good sauce to it, if I pay so
wln 0375 dear.
wln 0376 Wagner well, wilt thou serve me, and I’ll make thee go like
wln 0377 Qui mihi discipulus?
wln 0378 Clown How, in verse?
wln 0379 Wagner No sirrah, in beaten silk and stavesacre .
wln 0380 Clown how, how, knave’s acre? Ay, I thought that was all
wln 0381 the land his father left him: Do ye hear, I would be sorry
wln 0382 to rob you of your living.
wln 0383 Wagner Sirrah, I say in stavesacre.
wln 0384 Clown Oho, oho, stavesacre, why then belike, if I were
wln 0385 your man, I should be full of vermin.
wln 0386 Wagner So thou shalt, whether thou beest with me, or no:
wln 0387 but sirrah, leave your jesting, and bind yourself presently
wln 0388 unto me for seven years, or I’ll turn all the lice about thee
wln 0389 into familiars, and they shall tear thee in pieces.
wln 0390 Clown Do you hear sir? you may save that labor, they
wln 0391 are too familiar with me already, ’swounds they are as bold
wln 0392 with my flesh, as if they had paid for my meat and drink.
wln 0393 Wagner well, do you hear sirrah? hold, take these gilders.
wln 0394 Clown Gridirons, what be they?
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wln 0413 Enter two devils, and the clown runs up
wln 0414 and down crying.
wln 0467 What God can hurt thee Faustus? thou art safe,
wln 0468 Cast no more doubts, come Mephistopheles,
wln 0469 And bring glad tidings from great Lucifer:
wln 0470 Is ’t not midnight? come Mephistopheles,
wln 0471 Veni veni Mephastophile enter Mephistopheles
wln 0472 Now tell, what says Lucifer thy Lord?
wln 0473 Mephistopheles That I shall wait on Faustus whilst I live,
wln 0474 So he will buy my service with his soul.
wln 0475 Faustus Already Faustus hath hazarded that for thee.
wln 0476 Mephistopheles But Faustus, thou must bequeath it solemnly,
wln 0477 And write a deed of gift with thine own blood,
wln 0478 For that security craves great Lucifer:
wln 0479 If thou deny it, I will back to hell.
wln 0480 Faustus Stay Mephistopheles, and tell me, what good will
wln 0481 my soul do thy Lord?
wln 0482 Mephistopheles Enlarge his kingdom.
wln 0483 Faustus Is that the reason he tempts us thus?
wln 0484 Mephistopheles Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris.
wln 0485 Faustus Have you any pain that tortures others?
wln 0486 Mephistopheles As great as have the human souls of men:
wln 0487 But tell me Faustus, shall I have thy soul,
wln 0488 And I will be thy slave, and wait on thee,
wln 0489 And give thee more than thou hast wit to ask.
wln 0490 Faustus Ay Mephistopheles, I give it thee.
wln 0491 Mephistopheles Then stab thine arm courageously,
wln 0492 And bind thy soul, that at some certain day
wln 0493 Great Lucifer may claim it as his own,
wln 0494 And then be thou as great as Lucifer.
wln 0495 Faustus Lo Mephistopheles, for love of thee,
wln 0496 I cut mine arm, and with my proper blood
wln 0497 Assure my soul to be great Lucifer’s,
wln 0498 Chief Lord and regent of perpetual night,
wln 0499 View here the blood that trickles from mine arm,
wln 0500 And let it be propitious for my wish.
wln 0501 Mephistopheles But Faustus, thou must write it in manner of a
wln 0502 deed of gift.
wln 0503 Faustus Ay so I will, but Mephistopheles my blood congeals
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wln 0504 and I can write no more.
wln 0505 Mephistopheles I’ll fetch thee fire to dissolve it straight. Exit.
wln 0506 Faustus What might the staying of my blood portend?
wln 0507 Is it unwilling I should write this bill?
wln 0508 Why streams it not, that I may write afresh?
wln 0509 Faustus gives to thee his soul: ah there it stayed,
wln 0510 Why shouldst thou not? is not thy soul thine own?
wln 0511 Then write again, Faustus gives to thee his soul.
wln 0512 Enter Mephistopheles with a chaffer of coals.
wln 0513 Mephistopheles Here’s fire, come Faustus, set it on.
wln 0514 Faustus So now the blood begins to clear again,
wln 0515 Now will I make an end immediately.
wln 0516 Mephistopheles O what will not I do to obtain his soul?
wln 0517 Faustus Consummatum est, this Bill is ended,
wln 0518 And Faustus hath bequeathed his soul to Lucifer.
wln 0519 But what is this inscription on mine arm?
wln 0520 Homo fuge, whither should I fly?
wln 0521 If unto God he’ll throw thee down to hell,
wln 0522 My senses are deceived, here’s nothing writ,
wln 0523 I see it plain, here in this place is writ,
wln 0524 Homo fuge, yet shall not Faustus fly.
wln 0525 Mephistopheles I’ll fetch him somewhat to delight his mind.
wln 0526 exit.
wln 0527 Enter with devils, giving crowns and rich apparel to
wln 0528 Faustus, and dance, and then depart.
wln 0597 Enter with a devil dressed like a woman,
wln 0598 with fireworks.
wln 0599 Mephistopheles Tell Faustus, how dost thou like thy wife?
wln 0600 Faustus A plague on her for a hot whore.
wln 0601 Mephistopheles Tut Faustus, marriage is but a ceremonial toy, if
wln 0602 thou lovest me, think more of it.
wln 0603 I’ll cull thee out the fairest courtesans,
wln 0604 And bring them every morning to thy bed,
wln 0605 She whom thine eye shall like, thy heart shall have,
wln 0606 Be she as chaste as was Penelope,
wln 0607 As wise as Saba, or as beautiful
wln 0608 As was bright Lucifer before his fall.
wln 0609 Hold, take this book, peruse it thoroughly,
wln 0610 The iterating of these lines brings gold,
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wln 0611 The framing of this circle on the ground,
wln 0612 Brings whirlwinds, tempests, thunder and lightning.
wln 0613 Pronounce this thrice devoutly to thyself,
wln 0614 And men in armor shall appear to thee,
wln 0615 Ready to execute what thou desir’st.
wln 0616 Faustus Thanks Mephistopheles, yet fain would I have
wln 0617 a book wherein I might behold all spells and incantations,
wln 0618 that I might raise up spirits when I please.
wln 0619 Mephistopheles Here they are in this book. There turn to them
wln 0620 Faustus Now would I have a book where I might see all
wln 0621 characters and planets of the heavens, that I might know
wln 0622 their motions and dispositions.
wln 0623 Mephistopheles Here they are too. Turn to them
wln 0624 Faustus Nay let me have one book more, and then I have
wln 0625 done, wherein I might see all plants, herbs and trees that
wln 0626 grow upon the earth.
wln 0627 Mephistopheles Here they be.
wln 0628 Faustus O thou art deceived.
wln 0629 Mephistopheles Tut I warrant thee. Turn to them
wln 0630 Faustus When I behold the heavens, than I repent,
wln 0631 And curse thee wicked Mephistopheles,
wln 0632 Because thou hast deprived me of those joys.
wln 0633 Mephistopheles why Faustus,
wln 0634 Thinkst thou heaven is such a glorious thing?
wln 0635 I tell thee ’tis not half so fair as thou,
wln 0636 Or any man that breathes on earth.
wln 0637 Faustus How provest thou that?
wln 0638 Mephistopheles It was made for man, therefore is man more
wln 0639 excellent.
wln 0640 Faustus If it were made for man, ’twas made for me:
wln 0641 I will renounce this magic, and repent.
wln 0642 Enter good Angel, and evil Angel.
wln 0643 Good Angel Faustus, repent yet, God will pity thee.
wln 0644 evil Angel Thou art a spirit, God cannot pity thee.
wln 0645 Faustus who buzzeth in mine ears I am a spirit?
wln 0646 Be I a devil, yet God may pity me,
wln 0647 Ay God will pity me, if I repent.
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wln 0685 Mars in 4. the Sun, Venus, and Mercury in a year: the
wln 0686 Moon in 28. days. Tush these are freshmen’s suppositions,
wln 0687 but tell me, hath every sphere a dominion or Intelligentij?
wln 0688 Mephistopheles Ay.
wln 0689 Faustus How many heavens or spheres are there?
wln 0690 Mephistopheles Nine, the seven planets, the firmament, and the imperial
wln 0691 heaven.
wln 0692 Faustus Well, resolve me in this question, why have we
wln 0693 not conjunctions, oppositions, aspects, eclipses, all at one
wln 0694 time, but in some years we have more, in some less?
wln 0695 Mephistopheles Per inaequalem motum respectu totius.
wln 0696 Faustus Well, I am answered, tell me who made the world?
wln 0697 Mephistopheles I will not.
wln 0698 Faustus Sweet Mephistopheles tell me.
wln 0699 Mephistopheles Move me not, for I will not tell thee.
wln 0700 Faustus Villain, have I not bound thee to tell me any thing?
wln 0701 Mephistopheles Ay, that is not against our kingdom, but this is,
wln 0702 Think thou on hell Faustus, for thou art damned.
wln 0703 Faustus Think Faustus upon God that made the world.
wln 0704 Mephistopheles Remember this. Exit.
wln 0705 Faustus Ay, go accursed spirit to ugly hell,
wln 0706 ’Tis thou hast damned distressed Faustus’ soul:
wln 0707 Is ’t not too late?
wln 0708 Enter good Angel and evil.
wln 0709 evil Angel Too late.
wln 0710 good Angel Never too late, if Faustus can repent.
wln 0711 evil Angel If thou repent devils shall tear thee in pieces.
wln 0712 good Angel Repent, and they shall never raze thy skin. Exeunt.
wln 0713 Faustus Ah Christ my Savior, seek to save distressed Faustus’
wln 0714 soul.
wln 0715 Enter Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Mephistopheles.
wln 0716 Lucifer Christ cannot save thy soul, for he is just,
wln 0717 There’s none but I have interest in the same.
wln 0718 Faustus O who art thou that look’st so terrible?
wln 0719 Lucifer I am Lucifer, and this is my companion Prince in
wln 0720 hell.
wln 0721 Faustus O Faustus, they are come to fetch away thy soul.
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wln 0759 old, and ever since I have run up and down the world,
wln 0760 with this case of rapiers wounding myself, when I had nobody
wln 0761 to fight withal: I was born in hell, and look to it, for
wln 0762 some of you shall be my father.
wln 0763 Faustus what art thou? the fourth.
wln 0764 Envy I am Envy, begotten of a Chimneysweeper, and
wln 0765 an Oyster wife, I cannot read, and therefore wish all books
wln 0766 were burnt: I am lean with seeing others eat, O that
wln 0767 there would come a famine through all the world, that all
wln 0768 might die, and I live alone, then thou shouldst see how fat I
wln 0769 would be: but must thou sit and I stand? come down with
wln 0770 a vengeance.
wln 0771 Faustus Away envious rascal: what art thou? the fifth.
wln 0772 Gluttony who I sir, I am Gluttony, my parents are all dead,
wln 0773 and the devil a penny they have left me, but a bare pension,
wln 0774 and that is 30. meals a day, and ten bevers, a small
wln 0775 trifle to suffice nature, O I come of a royal parentage, my
wln 0776 grandfather was a gammon of bacon, my grandmother a
wln 0777 hogshead of Claretwine: My godfathers were these, Peter
wln 0778 Pickleherring, and Martin Martlemas beef, O but
wln 0779 my godmother she was a jolly gentlewoman, and wellbeloved
wln 0780 in every good town and City, her name was mistress
wln 0781 Margery Marchbeer: now Faustus, thou hast heard all my
wln 0782 Progeny, wilt thou bid me to supper?
wln 0783 Faustus No, I’ll see thee hanged, thou wilt eat up all my
wln 0784 victuals.
wln 0785 Gluttony Then the devil choke thee.
wln 0786 Faustus Choke thyself glutton: what art thou? the sixth.
wln 0787 Sloth. I am sloth, I was begotten on a sunny bank,
wln 0788 where I have lain ever since, and you have done me great
wln 0789 injury to bring me from thence, let me be carried thither again
wln 0790 by Gluttony and Lechery, I’ll not speak another
wln 0791 word for a King’s ransom.
wln 0792 Faustus What are you mistress minks? the seventh
wln 0793 and last.
wln 0794 Lechery Who I sir? I am one that loves an inch of raw
wln 0795 Mutton better than an ell of fried stockfish, and the first
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wln 0796 letter of my name begins with lechery.
wln 0797 Away, to hell, to hell. exeunt the sins.
wln 0798 Lucifer Now Faustus, how dost thou like this?
wln 0799 Faustus O this feeds my soul.
wln 0800 Lucifer But Faustus, in hell is all manner of delight.
wln 0801 Faustus O might I see hell, and return again, how happy
wln 0802 were I then?
wln 0803 Lucifer Thou shalt, I will send for thee at midnight, in mean
wln 0804 time take this book, peruse it throughly, and thou shalt turn
wln 0805 thyself into what shape thou wilt.
wln 0806 Faustus Great thanks mighty Lucifer, this will I keep as
wln 0807 chary as my life.
wln 0808 Lucifer Farewell Faustus, and think on the devil.
wln 0809 Faustus Farewell great Lucifer, come Mephistopheles.
wln 0810 exeunt omnes.
wln 0811 enter Wagner solus.
wln 0812 Wagner Learned Faustus,
wln 0813 To know the secrets of Astronomy,
wln 0814 Graven in the book of Jove’s high firmament,
wln 0815 Did mount himself to scale Olympus’ top,
wln 0816 Being seated in a chariot burning bright,
wln 0817 Drawn by the strength of yoky dragons’ necks,
wln 0818 He now is gone to prove Cosmography,
wln 0819 And as I guess, will first arrive at Rome,
wln 0820 To see the Pope, and manner of his court,
wln 0821 And take some part of holy Peter’s feast,
wln 0822 That to this day is highly solemnized. exit Wagner
wln 0823 Enter Faustus and Mephistopheles.
wln 0824 Faustus Having now, my good Mephistopheles,
wln 0825 Passed with delight the stately town of Trier,
wln 0826 Environed round with airy mountain tops,
wln 0827 With walls of flint, and deep entrenched lakes,
wln 0828 Not to be won by any conquering prince,
wln 0829 From Paris next coasting the Realm of France,
wln 0830 We saw the river Maine fall into Rhine,
wln 0831 Whose banks are set with groves of fruitful vines.
wln 0832 Then up to Naples, rich Campania,
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wln 0833 Whose buildings fair and gorgeous to the eye,
wln 0834 The streets straight forth, and paved with finest brick,
wln 0835 Quarters the town in four equivalence.
wln 0836 There saw we learned Maro’s golden tomb,
wln 0837 The way he cut an English mile in length,
wln 0838 Through a rock of stone in one night’s space.
wln 0839 From thence to Venice, Padua and the rest,
wln 0840 In midst of which a sumptuous Temple stands,
wln 0841 That threats the stars with her aspiring top.
wln 0842 Thus hitherto hath Faustus spent his time,
wln 0843 But tell me now, what resting place is this?
wln 0844 Hast thou as erst I did command,
wln 0845 Conducted me within the walls of Rome?
wln 0846 Mephistopheles Faustus I have, and because we will not be unprovided,
wln 0847 I have taken up his holiness’ privy chamber for
wln 0848 our use.
wln 0849 Faustus I hope his holiness will bid us welcome.
wln 0850 Mephistopheles Tut, ’tis no matter man, we’ll be bold with his good cheer,
wln 0851 And now my Faustus, that thou mayst perceive
wln 0852 What Rome containeth to delight thee with,
wln 0853 Know that this City stands upon seven hills
wln 0854 That underprops the groundwork of the same,
wln 0855 Over the which four stately bridges lean,
wln 0856 That makes safe passage to each part of Rome.
wln 0857 Upon the bridge called Ponto Angelo,
wln 0858 Erected is a Castle passing strong,
wln 0859 Within whose walls such store of ordnance are,
wln 0860 And double Canons, framed of carved brass,
wln 0861 As match the days within one complete year,
wln 0862 Besides the gates and high pyramids,
wln 0863 Which Julius Caesar brought from Africa.
wln 0864 Faustus Now by the kingdoms of infernal rule,
wln 0865 Of Styx, Acheron, and the fiery lake
wln 0866 Of ever burning Phlegeton I swear,
wln 0867 That I do long to see the monuments
wln 0868 And situation of bright splendent Rome,
wln 0869 Come therefore let’s away.
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wln 0907 Cross again, and Faustus hits him a box of the ear,
wln 0908 and they all run away.
wln 0909 Faustus Come on Mephistopheles, what shall we do?
wln 0910 Mephistopheles Nay I know not, we shall be cursed with bell, book,
wln 0911 and candle.
wln 0912 Faustus How? bell, book, and candle, candle, book, and bell,
wln 0913 Forward and backward, to curse Faustus to hell.
wln 0914 Anon you shall hear a hog grunt, a calf bleat, and an
wln 0915 ass bray,because it is Saint Peter’s holy day.
wln 0916 Enter all the Friars to sing the Dirge.
wln 0917 Friar. Come brethren, let’s about our business with good
wln 0918 devotion.
wln 0919 Sing this. Cursed be he that stole away his holiness meat
wln 0920 from the table. maledicat dominus.
wln 0921 Cursed be he that struck his holiness a blow on the face.
wln 0922 maledicat dominus.
wln 0923 Cursed be he that took Friar Sandelo a blow on the pate.
wln 0924 male, etc.
wln 0925 Cursed be he that disturbeth our holy Dirge.
wln 0926 male, etc.
wln 0927 Cursed be he that took away his holiness’ wine.
wln 0928 maledicat dominus.
wln 0929 Et omnes sancti. Amen.
wln 0930 Beat the Friars, and fling fireworks among
wln 0931 them, and so Exeunt.
wln 0932 Enter Chorus.
wln 0933 When Faustus had with pleasure ta’en the view
wln 0934 Of rarest things, and royal courts of kings,
wln 0935 He stayed his course, and so returned home,
wln 0936 Where such as bear his absence, but with grief,
wln 0937 I mean his friends and nearest companions,
wln 0938 Did gratulate his safety with kind words,
wln 0939 And in their conference of what befell,
wln 0940 Touching his journey through the world and air,
wln 0941 They put forth questions of Astrology,
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wln 0942 Which Faustus answered with such learned skill,
wln 0943 As they admired and wondered at his wit.
wln 0944 Now is his fame spread forth in every land,
wln 0945 Amongst the rest the Emperor is one,
wln 0946 Carolus the fifth, at whose palace now
wln 0947 Faustus is feasted ’mongst his noble men.
wln 0948 What there he did in trial of his art,
wln 0949 I leave untold, your eyes shall see performed. Exit.
wln 0950 Enter Robin the Ostler with a book in his hand
wln 0951 Robin O this is admirable! here I ha’ stol’n one of doctor
wln 0952 Faustus’ conjuring books, and i’ faith I mean to search some
wln 0953 circles for my own use: now will I make all the maidens in
wln 0954 our parish dance at my pleasure stark naked before me, and
wln 0955 so by that means I shall see more than e’er I felt, or saw yet.
wln 0956 Enter Rafe calling Robin.
wln 0957 Rafe Robin, prithee come away, there’s a Gentleman
wln 0958 tarries to have his horse, and he would have his things rubbed
wln 0959 and made clean: he keeps such a chafing with my mistress
wln 0960 about it, and she has sent me to look thee out, prithee come
wln 0961 away.
wln 0962 Robin Keep out, keep out, or else you are blown up, you
wln 0963 are dismembered Rafe, keep out, for I am about a roaring
wln 0964 piece of work.
wln 0965 Rafe Come, what dost thou with that same book thou
wln 0966 canst not read?
wln 0967 Robin Yes, my master and mistress shall find that I can
wln 0968 read, he for his forehead, she for her private study, she’s
wln 0969 born to bear with me, or else my Art fails.
wln 0970 Rafe Why Robin what book is that?
wln 0971 Robin What book? why the most intolerable book for
wln 0972 conjuring that e’er was invented by any brimstone devil.
wln 0973 Rafe Canst thou conjure with it?
wln 0974 Robin I can do all these things easily with it: first, I can
wln 0975 make thee drunk with hippocrase at any tavern in Europe
wln 0976 for nothing, that’s one of my coniuring works.
wln 0977 Rafe Our master Parson says that’s nothing.
wln 0978 Robin True Rafe, and more Rafe, if thou hast any mind
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wln 0979 to Nan Spit our kitchen maid, then turn her and wind her
wln 0980 to thy own use, as often as thou wilt, and at midnight.
wln 0981 Rafe O brave Robin; shall I have Nan Spit, and to mine
wln 0982 own use? On that condition I’ll feed thy devil with horsebread
wln 0983 as long as he lives, of free cost.
wln 0984 Robin No more sweet Rafe, let’s go and make clean
wln 0985 our boots which lie foul upon our hands, and then to our
wln 0986 conjuring in the devil’s name. exeunt.
wln 0987 Enter Robin and Rafe with a silver Goblet.
wln 0988 Robin Come Rafe, did not I tell thee, we were for ever
wln 0989 made by this doctor Faustus’ book? ecce signum, here’s a simple
wln 0990 purchase for horsekeepers, our horses shall eat no hay as
wln 0991 long as this lasts. enter the Vintner.
wln 0992 Rafe But Robin, here comes the vintner.
wln 0993 Robin Hush, I’ll gull him supernaturally: Drawer, I
wln 0994 hope all is paid, God be with you, come Rafe.
wln 0995 Vintner Soft sir, a word with you, I must yet have a goblet
wln 0996 paid from you ere you go.
wln 0997 Robin I a goblet Rafe, I a goblet? I scorn you: and you
wln 0998 are but a etc. I a goblet? search me.
wln 0999 Vintner I mean so sir with your favor.
wln 1000 Robin How say you now?
wln 1001 Vintner I must say somewhat to your fellow, you sir.
wln 1002 Rafe Me sir, me sir, search your fill: now sir, you may be
wln 1003 ashamed to burden honest men with a matter of truth.
wln 1004 Vintner Well, t’ one of you hath this goblet about you.
wln 1005 Robin You lie Drawer, ’tis afore me: sirrah you, I’ll teach ye
wln 1006 to impeach honest men: stand by, I’ll scour you for a goblet,
wln 1007 stand aside you had best, I charge you in the name of Beelzebub:
wln 1008 look to the goblet Rafe.
wln 1009 Vintner what mean you sirrah?
wln 1010 Robin I’ll tell you what I mean. He reads.
wln 1011 Sanctobulorum Periphrasticon: nay I’ll tickle you Vintner,
wln 1012 look to the goblet Rafe, Polypragmos Belyeborams framanto pacostiphos
wln 1013 tostu Mephistopheles, etc.
wln 1014 Enter Mephistopheles: sets squibs at their backs:
wln 1015 they run about.
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wln 1090 manner that they best lived in, in their most flourishing estate,
wln 1091 which I doubt not shall sufficiently content your Imperial
wln 1092 majesty.
wln 1093 Emperor Go to master Doctor, let me see them presently.
wln 1094 Knight Do you hear master Doctor? you bring Alexander
wln 1095 and his paramour before the emperor?
wln 1096 Faustus How then sir?
wln 1097 Knight I’ faith that’s as true as Diana turned me to a stag.
wln 1098 Faustus No sir but when Actaeon died, he left the horns for
wln 1099 you: Mephistopheles be gone. exit Mephistopheles
wln 1100 Knight Nay, and you go to conjuring, I’ll be gone. exit Knight:
wln 1101 Faustus I’ll meet with you anon for interrupting me so:
wln 1102 here they are my gracious Lord.
wln 1103 Enter Mephistopheles with Alexander and his paramour.
wln 1113 Enter the Knight with a pair of horns on his head.
wln 1158 him, ride him not into the water at any hand.
wln 1159 Horsecorser why sir, will he not drink of all waters?
wln 1160 Faustus O yes, he will drink of all waters, but ride him not
wln 1161 into the water, ride him over hedge or ditch, or where thou
wln 1162 wilt, but not into the water.
wln 1163 Horsecorser Well sir, Now am I made man for ever, I’ll not
wln 1164 leave my horse for forty: if he had but the quality of hey
wln 1165 ding, ding, hey, ding, ding, I’d make a brave living on him;
wln 1166 he has a buttock as slick as an Eel: well goodbye sir, your
wln 1167 boy will deliver him me: but hark ye sir, if my horse be sick, or
wln 1168 ill at ease, if I bring his water to you you’ll tell me what it is?
wln 1169 Exit Horsecourser.
wln 1170 Faustus Away you villain: what, dost think I am a horsedoctor?
wln 1171 what art thou Faustus but a man condemned to die?
wln 1172 Thy fatal time doth draw to final end,
wln 1173 Despair doth drive distrust unto my thoughts,
wln 1174 Confound these passions with a quiet sleep:
wln 1175 Tush, Christ did call the thief upon the Cross,
wln 1176 Then rest thee Faustus quiet in conceit. Sleep in his chair.
wln 1177 Enter Horsecourser all wet, crying.
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wln 1208 Pull him by the leg, and pull it away.
wln 1209 Alas, I am undone, what shall I do:
wln 1210 Faustus O my leg, my leg, help Mephistopheles, call the
wln 1211 Officers, my leg, my leg.
wln 1212 Mephistopheles Come villain to the Constable.
wln 1213 Horsecorser O Lord sir, let me go, and I’ll give you forty dollars
wln 1214 more.
wln 1215 Mephistopheles Where be they?
wln 1216 Horsecorser I have none about me, come to my Hostry and I’ll
wln 1217 give them you.
wln 1218 Mephistopheles Be gone quickly. Horsecourser runs away.
wln 1219 Faustus What is he gone? farewell he, Faustus has his leg
wln 1220 again, and the Horsecourser I take it, a bottle of hay for his
wln 1221 labor; well, this trick shall cost him forty dollars more.
wln 1222 Enter Wagner.
wln 1223 How now Wagner, what’s the news with thee?
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wln 1258 that e’er I tasted in my life before.
wln 1259 Faustus I am glad they content you so Madam.
wln 1260 Duke Come Madam, let us in, where you must well reward
wln 1261 this learned man for the great kindness he hath showed
wln 1262 to you.
wln 1263 Duchess And so I will my Lord, and whilst I live,
wln 1264 Rest beholding for this courtesy.
wln 1265 Faustus I humbly thank your Grace.
wln 1266 Duke Come, master Doctor follow us, and receive your
wln 1267 reward. exeunt.
wln 1268 enter Wagner solus.
wln 1269 Wagner I think my master means to die shortly,
wln 1270 For he hath given to me all his goods,
wln 1271 And yet methinks, if that death were near,
wln 1272 He would not banquet, and carouse, and swill
wln 1273 Amongst the Students, as even now he doth,
wln 1274 who are at supper with such bellycheer,
wln 1275 As Wagner ne’er beheld in all his life.
wln 1276 See where they come: belike the feast is ended.
wln 1277 Enter Faustus with two or three Scholars
wln 1292 Music sounds, and Helen passeth over the Stage.
wln 1327 To comfort my distressed soul,
wln 1328 Leave me a while to ponder on my sins.
wln 1329 Old. I go sweet Faustus, but with heavy cheer,
wln 1330 fearing the ruin of thy hopeless soul.
wln 1331 Faustus Accursed Faustus, where is mercy now?
wln 1332 I do repent, and yet I do despair:
wln 1333 Hell strives with grace for conquest in my breast,
wln 1334 What shall I do to shun the snares of death?
wln 1335 Mephistopheles Thou traitor Faustus, I arrest thy soul
wln 1336 For disobedience to my sovereign Lord,
wln 1337 Revolt, or I’ll in piecemeal tear thy flesh.
wln 1338 Faustus Sweet Mephistopheles, entreat thy Lord
wln 1339 To pardon my unjust presumption,
wln 1340 And with my blood again I will confirm
wln 1341 My former vow I made to Lucifer.
wln 1342 Mephistopheles Do it then quickly, with unfeigned heart,
wln 1343 Lest greater danger do attend thy drift.
wln 1344 Faustus Torment sweet friend, that base and crooked age,
wln 1345 That durst dissuade me from thy Lucifer,
wln 1346 With greatest torments that our hell affords.
wln 1347 Mephistopheles His faith is great, I cannot touch his soul,
wln 1348 But what I may afflict his body with,
wln 1349 I will attempt, which is but little worth.
wln 1350 Faustus One thing, good servant, let me crave of thee
wln 1351 To glut the longing of my heart’s desire,
wln 1352 That I might have unto my paramour,
wln 1353 That heavenly Helen which I saw of late,
wln 1354 Whose sweet embracings may extinguish clean
wln 1355 These thoughts s that do dissuade me from my vow,
wln 1356 And keep mine oath I made to Lucifer.
wln 1357 Mephistopheles Faustus, this, or what else thou shalt desire,
wln 1358 Shall be performed in twinkling of an eye. enter Helen.
wln 1359 Faustus Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?
wln 1360 And burnt the topless Towers of Ilium?
wln 1361 Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss:
wln 1362 Her lips sucks forth my soul, see where it flies:
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wln 1363 Come Helen, come give me my soul again.
wln 1364 Here will I dwell, for heaven be in these lips,
wln 1365 And all is dross that is not Helena: enter old man
wln 1366 I will be Paris, and for love of thee,
wln 1367 Instead of Troy shall Wertenberg be sacked,
wln 1368 And I will combat with weak Menelaus,
wln 1369 And wear thy colors on my plumed Crest:
wln 1370 Yea I will wound Achilles in the heel,
wln 1371 And then return to Helen for a kiss.
wln 1372 O thou art fairer than the evening air,
wln 1373 Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars,
wln 1374 Brighter art thou then flaming Jupiter,
wln 1375 When he appeared to hapless Semele,
wln 1376 More lovely than the monarch of the sky
wln 1377 In wanton Arethusa’s azured arms,
wln 1378 And none but thou shalt be my paramour. Exeunt.
wln 1379 Old man Accursed Faustus, miserable man,
wln 1380 That from thy soul exclud’st the grace of heaven,
wln 1381 And fliest the throne of his tribunal seat,
wln 1382 Enter the Devils.
wln 1383 Satan begins to sift me with his pride,
wln 1384 As in this furnace God shall try my faith,
wln 1385 My faith, vile hell, shall triumph over thee,
wln 1386 Ambitious fiends, see how the heavens smiled
wln 1387 At your repulse, and laughs your state to scorn,
wln 1388 Hence hell, for hence I fly unto my God. Exeunt.
wln 1389 Enter Faustus with the Scholars.
wln 1397 being ever solitary.
wln 1398 1. Scholar If it be so, we’ll have Physicians to cure him,
wln 1399 ’tis but a surfeit, never fear man.
wln 1400 Faustus A surfeit of deadly sin that hath damned both body
wln 1401 and soul.
wln 1402 2. Scholar Yet Faustus look up to heaven, remember god’s
wln 1403 mercies are infinite.
wln 1404 Faustus But Faustus’ offense can ne’er be pardoned,
wln 1405 The Serpent that tempted Eve may be saved,
wln 1406 But not Faustus: Ah Gentlemen, hear me with patience,
wln 1407 and tremble not at my speeches, though my heart pants and
wln 1408 quivers to remember that I have been a student here these
wln 1409 thirty years, O would I had never seen Wertenberg, never
wln 1410 read book: and what wonders I have done, all Germany
wln 1411 can witness, yea all the world, for which Faustus hath lost
wln 1412 both Germany, and the world, yea heaven itself, heaven the
wln 1413 seat of God, the throne of the blessed, the kingdom of joy,
wln 1414 and must remain in hell for ever, hell, ah hell for ever, sweet
wln 1415 friends, what shall become of Faustus, being in hell forever?
wln 1416 3. Scholar Yet Faustus call on God.
wln 1417 Faustus On God whom Faustus hath abjured, on God,
wln 1418 whom Faustus hath blasphemed, ah my God, I would
wln 1419 weep, but the devil draws in my tears gush forth blood
wln 1420 instead of tears, yea life and soul, Oh he stays my tongue,
wln 1421 I would lift up my hands, but see, they hold them, they hold
wln 1422 them.
wln 1423 All Who Faustus?
wln 1424 Faustus Lucifer and Mephistopheles.
wln 1425 Ah Gentlemen! I gave them my soul for my cunning.
wln 1426 All God forbid.
wln 1427 Faustus God forbade it indeed, but Faustus hath done it:
wln 1428 for vain pleasure of 24. years, hath Faustus lost eternal
wln 1429 joy and felicity, I writ them a bill with mine own blood,
wln 1430 the date is expired, the time will come, and he will fetch me.
wln 1431 1. Scholar why did not Faustus tell us of this before, that
wln 1432 Divines might have prayed for thee?
img: 22b
sig: F2r
wln 1469 Where is it now? ’tis gone:
wln 1470 And see where God stretcheth out his arm,
wln 1471 And bends his ireful brows:
wln 1472 Mountains and hills, come come, and fall on me,
wln 1473 And hide me from the heavy wrath of God.
wln 1474 No no, then will I headlong run into the earth:
wln 1475 Earth gape, O no, it will not harbor me:
wln 1476 You stars that reigned at my nativity,
wln 1477 whose influence hath allotted death and hell,
wln 1478 Now draw up Faustus like a foggy mist,
wln 1479 Into the entrails of yon lab’ring cloud,
wln 1480 That when you vomit forth into the air,
wln 1481 My limbs may issue from your smoky mouths,
wln 1482 So that my soul may but ascend to heaven:
wln 1483 Ah, half the hour is past: The watch strikes.
wln 1484 ’Twill all be past anon:
wln 1485 Oh God, if thou wilt not have mercy on my soul,
wln 1486 Yet for Christ’s sake, whose blood hath ransomed me,
wln 1487 Impose some end to my incessant pain,
wln 1488 Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years,
wln 1489 A hundred thousand, and at last be saved.
wln 1490 O no end is limited to damned souls,
wln 1491 Why wert thou not a creature wanting soul?
wln 1492 Or, why is this immortal that thou hast?
wln 1493 Ah Pythagoras metempsychosis were that true,
wln 1494 This soul should fly from me, and I be changed
wln 1495 Unto some brutish beast: all beasts are happy, for when they die,
wln 1496 Their souls are soon dissolved in elements,
wln 1497 But mine must live still to be plagued in hell:
wln 1498 Cursed be the parents that engendered me:
wln 1499 No Faustus, curse thyself, curse Lucifer,
wln 1500 That hath deprived thee of the joys of heaven:
wln 1501 The clock striketh twelve.
wln 1502 O it strikes, it strikes, now body turn to air,
wln 1503 Or Lucifer will bear thee quick to hell:
wln 1504 Thunder and lightning.
img: 23b
sig: F3r
wln 1505 Oh soul, be changed into little water drops,
wln 1506 And fall into the Ocean, ne’er be found:
wln 1507 My God, my God, look not so fierce on me: Enter devils.
wln 1508 Adders, and Serpents, let me breathe a while:
wln 1509 Ugly hell gape not, come not Lucifer,
wln 1510 I’ll burn my books, ah Mephistopheles. exeunt with him
wln 1511 Enter Chorus.
wln 1512 Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight,
wln 1513 And burned is Apollo’s Laurel bough,
wln 1514 That sometime grew within this learned man:
wln 1515 Faustus is gone, regard his hellish fall,
wln 1516 Whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wise,
wln 1517 Only to wonder at unlawful things,
wln 1518 whose deepness doth entice such forward wits,
wln 1519 To practice more than heavenly power permits.
wln 1520 Terminat hora diem, Terminat Author opus.
Textual Notes
1. 60 (3a) : The regularized reading eademque is supplied for the original
e[∙]dem[que].
2. 60 (3a) : The Latin is problematic throughout and is not corrected. For
example, here legatus is likely meant to be "legatur."
3. 63 (3a) : The regularized reading non is supplied for the original n[*]n.
4. 254 (6a) : The regularized reading Agramithist comes from the original
Agramithist, though possible variants include Anagrammatized.
5. 550 (10a) : The regularized reading shall is supplied for the original [*]hall.
6. 1437 (22b) : Other editions add the word save to give the reading: to save
Faustus.