by Colin Teevan
And so consequently die.
Ay, we must die an everlasting death.
What doctrine call you this, Che serà, serà,
What will be, shall be? Divinity, adieu!
(He picks up a book of magic.)
These metaphysics of magicians
And necromantic books are heavenly:
Lines, circles, signs, letters, and characters –
Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires.
O, what a world of profit and delight,
Of power, of honour, of omnipotence,
Is promised to the studious artisan!
All things that move between the quiet poles
Shall be at my command. Emperors and kings
Are but obeyed in their several provinces,
Nor can they raise the wind or rend the clouds;
But his dominion that exceeds in this
Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man.
A sound magician is a mighty god.
Here, Faustus, tire thy brains to gain a deity.
Wagner!
Enter WAGNER.
FAUSTUS
Commend me to my dearest friends,
The German Valdes and Cornelius.
Request them earnestly to visit me.
WAGNER
I will, sir.
Exit WAGNER.
FAUSTUS
Their conference will be a greater help to me
Than all my labours, plod I ne’er so fast.
Enter the GOOD ANGEL and the EVIL ANGEL.
GOOD ANGEL
O Faustus, lay that damnèd 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 treasury is contained.
Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky;
Lord and commander of these elements.
Exit 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 levy soldiers with the coin they bring,
And reign sole king of all our provinces.
Enter VALDES and CORNELIUS.
FAUSTUS
Valdes, sweet Valdes, and Cornelius,
Know that your words have won me at the last,
To practice magic and concealèd 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.
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 subjects of every element
Be always serviceable to us three.
If learnèd 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 wrecks –
Ay, 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. O, this cheers my soul!
Come, show me some demonstrations magical,
That I may conjure in some lusty grove,
And have these joys in full possession.
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
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.
Exit all.
SCENE 3
FAUSTUS
Now that the gloomy shadow of the earth,
Longing to view Orion’s drizzling look,
Leaps from th’Antarctic 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.
He draws a circle.
FAUSTUS
Within this circle is Jehovah’s name,
Forward and backward anagrammatised,
The breviated names of holy saints,
Figures of every adjunct to the heavens,
And characters of signs and erring stars,
By which the spirits are enforced to rise.
Then fear not, Faustus, but be resolute,
And try the uttermost magic can perform.
Sint mihi dei Acherontis propitii! Valeat numen triplex Jehovae! Ignei, aerii, aquatici, terreni, spiritus, salvete! Orientis princeps Lucifer,
Beelzebub, inferni ardentis monarcha, et Demogorgon, propitiamus vos, ut appareat et surgat Mephistopheles! Quid tumoraris? Per Jehovam,
Gehennam, et consecratam aquam quam nunc spargo, signumque crucis quod nunc facio, et per vota nostra, Ipse nunc surgat nobis dicatus
Mephistopheles!
Enter a DEVIL (MEPHISTOPHELES).
FAUSTUS
I charge thee to return and change thy shape.
Thou art too ugly to attend on me.
Exit DEVIL (MEPHISTOPHELES).
FAUSTUS
I see there’s virtue in my heavenly words.
Who would not be proficient in this art?
How pliant is this Mephistopheles –
Full of obedience and humility –
Such is the force of magic and my spells!
Now, Faustus, thou art conjuror laureate,
That canst command great Mephistopheles.
Re-enter MEPHISTOPHELES.
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,
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?
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MEPHISTOPHELES
No, I came 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;
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,
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,
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
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:
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,
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 her 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,
And both contributory to my crown.
The Emp’ror 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.
SCENE 4
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.
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 the GOOD ANGEL and the 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
Sweet Faustus, think of heaven and heavenly things.
EVIL ANGEL
No, Faustus; think of honour and of wealth.
Exit 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.
FAUSTUS
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.
FAUSTUS
Is that the reason why he tempts us thus?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Misery loves company.
FAUSTUS
Have you any pain that tortures other?
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’ll give it thee.
MEPHISTOPHELES
Then stab thine 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 cuts his arm.
FAUSTUS
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 of a deed of gift.
FAUSTUS
Ay, so I will.
(He writes.)
But Mephistopheles,
My blood congeals, and I can write no more.
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 give to thee his soul.’
MEPHISTOPHELES
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 me down to hell –
My senses are deceived; here’s nothing writ –
FAUSTUS looks at arm. It is blank. He looks to other arm.
FAUSTUS
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 returns with DEVILS.
FAUSTUS
Speak, Mephistopheles. What means this show?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Nothing, Faustus, but to delight thy mind withal,
And to show thee what magic can perform.
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 –
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.
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.
FAUSTUS
Ay, but where about?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Within the bowels of these elements,