Go, and return an old Franciscan friar,
That holy shape becomes a devil best.
Exit DEVIL [MEPHISTOPHELES].
I see there’s virtue in my heavenly words.
Who would not be proficient in this art?
30 How pliant is this Mephistopheles,
Full of obedience and humility!
Such is the force of magic and my spells.
Now, Faustus, thou art conjurer laureate,
That canst command great Mephistopheles.
Quin redis, Mephistopheles, fratris imagine!
Enter MEPHISTOPHELES [dressed as a friar].
MEPHISTOPHELES
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,
40 Or the ocean to overwhelm the world.
MEPHISTOPHELES
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?
MEPHISTOPHELES
No, I came now hither of mine own accord.
FAUSTUS
Did not my conjuring speeches raise thee? Speak.
MEPHISTOPHELES
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,
50 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.
FAUSTUS
So Faustus hath
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,
60 For he confounds hell in Elysium.
His ghost be with the old philosophers!
But leaving these vain trifles of men’s souls,
Tell me what is that Lucifer thy lord?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Arch-regent and commander of all spirits.
FAUSTUS
Was not that Lucifer an angel once?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Yes, Faustus, and most dearly loved of God.
FAUSTUS
How comes it then that he is prince of devils?
MEPHISTOPHELES
O, by aspiring pride and insolence,
70 For which God threw him from the face of heaven.
FAUSTUS
And what are you that live with Lucifer?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer,
Conspired against our God with Lucifer,
And are for ever damned with Lucifer.
FAUSTUS
Where are you damned?
MEPHISTOPHELES
In hell.
FAUSTUS
How comes it then that thou art out of hell?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.
Think’st thou that I, who saw the face of God
80 And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells
In being deprived of everlasting bliss?
O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands,
Which strike a terror to my fainting soul!
FAUSTUS
What, is great Mephistopheles so passionate
For being deprivèd 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:
90 Seeing Faustus hath incurred eternal death
By desp’rate 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 aid my friends,
And always be obedient to my will.
Go and return to mighty Lucifer,
100 And meet me in my study at midnight,
And then resolve me of thy master’s mind.
MEPHISTOPHELES I will, Faustus.
Exit [MEPHISTOPHELES].
FAUSTUS
Had I as many souls as there be stars,
I’d give them all for Mephistopheles.
By him I’ll be great emperor of the world,
And make a bridge through the moving air
To pass the ocean with a band of men;
I’ll join the hills that bind the Afric shore
And make that land continent to Spain,
110 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 desire,
I’ll live in speculation of this art
Till Mephistopheles return again.
Exit
[Scene 4]
Enter WAGNER and [ROBIN the Clown.
WAGNER Sirrah boy, come hither.
ROBIN How, ‘boy’? ’Swounds, ‘boy’! I hope you have seen many boys with such pickedevants as I have. ‘Boy’, quotha?
WAGNER Tell me, sirrah, hast thou any comings in?
ROBIN Ay, and goings out too, you may see else.
WAGNER Alas, poor slave, see how poverty jesteth in his nakedness!
The villain is bare and 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.
10 ROBIN How? My soul to the devil for a shoulder of mutton, though’t were blood raw? Not so, good friend. By’r Lady, I had need have it well roasted, and good sauce to it, if I pay so dear.
WAGNER Well, wilt thou serve me, and I’ll make thee go like Qui mihi discipulus?
ROBIN How, in verse?
WAGNER No, sirrah, in beaten silk and stavesacre.
ROBIN How, how, knave’s acre? [Aside] Aye, I thought that
was all the land his father left him. [To WAGNER] Do ye hear?
20 I would be sorry to rob you of your living.
WAGNER Sirrah, I say in stavesacre.
ROBIN Oho, oho, ‘stavesacre’! Why then, belike, if I were your man, I should be full of vermin.
WAGNER So thou shalt, whether thou beest with me or no. But
sirrah, leave your jesting, and bind yourself presently unto
me for seven years, or I’ll turn all the lice about thee into
familiars, and they shall tear thee in pieces.
ROBIN Do you hear, sir? You may save that labour. They are
too familiar with me already. ’Swounds, they are as bold with
30 my flesh as if they had paid for my meat and drink.
WAGNER Well, do you hear, sirrah? [Offering money] Hold, take these guilders.
ROBIN Gridirons? What be they?
WAGNER Why, French crowns.
ROBIN Mass, but for the name of French crowns a man were as good have as many English counters. And what should I do with these?
WAGNER Why now, sirrah, thou art at an hour’s warning whensoever or wheresoever the devil shall fetch thee.
40 ROBIN No, no, here, take your gridirons again.
[He hands him the money.]
WAGNER Truly, I’ll none of them.
ROBIN Truly, but you shall.
WAGNER [to the audience] Bear witnes
s I gave them him.
ROBIN Bear witness I give them you again.
WAGNER Well, I will cause two devils presently to fetch thee away. Balioll and Belcher!
ROBIN Let your Balio and your Belcher come here and I’ll knock
them. They were never so knocked since they were devils. Say
I should kill one of them, what would folks say? ‘Do ye see
yonder tall fellow in the round slop? He has killed the devil.’
50 So I should be called ‘Kill devil’ all the parish over.
Enter two DEVILS, and [ROBIN] the Clown runs up and down crying.
WAGNER Balioll and Belcher! Spirits, away!
Exeunt [DEVILS].
ROBIN 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 clefts and cloven feet.
WAGNER Well, sirrah, follow me.
ROBIN But do you hear? If I should serve you, would you teach me to raise up Banios and Belcheos?
WAGNER I will teach thee to turn thyself to anything, to a dog,
60 or a cat, or a mouse, or a rat, or anything.
ROBIN 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. O, I’ll tickle the pretty wenches’
plackets! I’ll be amongst them, i’faith!
WAGNER Well, sirrah, come.
ROBIN But do you hear, Wagner?
WAGNER How? Balioll and Belcher!
ROBIN O Lord, I pray sir, let Banio and Belcher go sleep.
70
WAGNER Villain, call me Master Wagner, and let thy left eye be
diametarily fixed upon my right heel, with quasi vestigiis
nostris insistere.
Exit [WAGNER].
ROBIN God forgive me, he speaks Dutch fustian. Well, I’ll follow him, I’ll serve him, that’s flat.
Exit.
[Scene 5]
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 of God or heaven?
Away with such vain fancies and despair!
Despair in God and trust in Beelzebub.
Now go not backward. No, Faustus, be resolute.
Why waverest thou? O, something soundeth in mine ears:
‘Abjure this magic, turn to God again!’
Ay, and Faustus will turn to God again.
10 To God? He loves thee not.
The god thou servest is thine own appetite,
Wherein is fixed the love of Beelzebub.
To him I’ll build an altar and a church,
And offer lukewarm blood of new-born babes.
Enter GOOD ANGEL and EVIL [ANGEL].
GOOD ANGEL
Sweet Faustus, leave that execrable art.
FAUSTUS
Contrition, prayer, repentance – what of them?
GOOD ANGEL
O, 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
20 Sweet Faustus, think of heaven and heavenly things.
EVIL ANGEL
No, Faustus, think of honour and wealth.
Exeunt [ANGELS].
FAUSTUS
Of wealth?
Why, the seigniory of Emden shall be mine.
When Mephistopheles shall stand by me,
What god can hurt thee, Faustus? Thou art safe,
Cast no more doubts. Come, Mephistopheles,
And bring glad tidings from great Lucifer.
Is’t not midnight? Come, Mephistopheles!
Veni, veni, Mephistophile!
Enter MEPHISTOPHELES.
30 Now tell, what says Lucifer thy lord?
MEPHISTOPHELES
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.
MEPHISTOPHELES
But, 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 back to hell.
FAUSTUS Stay, Mephistopheles, and tell me, what good will my soul do thy lord?
MEPHISTOPHELES Enlarge his kingdom.
40
FAUSTUS Is that the reason he tempts us thus?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris.
FAUSTUS
Have you any pain, that tortures others?
MEPHISTOPHELES
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, Mephistopheles, I give it thee.
MEPHISTOPHELES
Then stab thine arm courageously,
And bind thy soul that at some certain day
50 Great Lucifer may claim it as his own,
And then be thou as great as Lucifer.
FAUSTUS [cutting his arm]
Lo, Mephistopheles, 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.
MEPHISTOPHELES But Faustus, thou must write it in manner
60 of a deed of gift.
FAUSTUS
Ay, so I will. [He writes.] But Mephistopheles,
My blood congeals, and I can write no more.
MEPHISTOPHELES
I’ll fetch thee fire to dissolve it straight.
Exit [MEPHISTOPHELES].
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 MEPHISTOPHELES with a chafer of coals.
MEPHISTOPHELES
70 Here’s fire. Come Faustus, set it on.
FAUSTUS
So. Now the blood begins to clear again.
Now will I make an end immediately. [He writes.]
MEPHISTOPHELES [aside]
O, 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 fly?
If unto God, he’ll throw thee down to hell.
My senses are deceived; here’s nothing writ.
80 I see it plain. Here in this place is writ
‘Homo, fuge!’ Yet shall not Faustus fly.
MEPHISTOPHELES [aside]
I’ll fetch him somewhat to delight his mind.
Exit [MEPHISTOPHELES, then re-]enter with DEVILS,
giving crowns and rich apparel to FAUSTUS, and dance
and then depart.
FAUSTUS
Speak, Mephistopheles. What means this show?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Nothing, Faustus, but to delight thy mind withal
And to show thee what magic can perfo
rm.
FAUSTUS
But may I raise up spirits when I please?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Ay, Faustus, and do greater things than these.
FAUSTUS
Then there’s enough for a thousand souls.
Here, Mephistopheles, receive this scroll,
A deed of gift of body and of soul –
90 But yet conditionally that thou perform
All articles prescribed between us both.
MEPHISTOPHELES
Faustus, I swear by hell and Lucifer
To effect all promises between us made.
FAUSTUS Then hear me read them.
‘On these conditions following:
First, that Faustus may be a spirit in form and substance.
Secondly, that Mephistopheles shall be his servant, and at his command.
Thirdly, that Mephistopheles shall do for him and bring
100 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 form or shape 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 Mephistopheles, and furthermore grant unto
them that, four-and-twenty years being expired, the articles
above written inviolate, full power to fetch or carry the said
110 John Faustus, body and soul, flesh, blood, or goods, into their
habitation wheresoever.
By me, John Faustus.’
MEPHISTOPHELES Speak, Faustus. Do you deliver this as your deed?
FAUSTUS [giving the deed] Ay. Take it, and the devil give thee good on’t.
MEPHISTOPHELES Now, Faustus, ask what thou wilt.
FAUSTUS
First will I question with thee about hell.
Tell me, where is the place that men call hell?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Under the heavens.
120 FAUSTUS Ay, but whereabout?
MEPHISTOPHELES
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, for where we are is hell,
And where hell is must we ever be.
And, to conclude, 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.
MEPHISTOPHELES
130 Ay, think so still, till experience change thy mind.
FAUSTUS
Why, think’st thou then that Faustus shall be damned?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Ay, of necessity, for here’s the scroll
The Complete Plays Page 35