DOCTOR FAUSTUS / 1023

an overreacher, striving to get beyond the conventional boundaries established to

contain the human will.
Unlike Tamburlaine, whose aim and goal is "the sweet fruition of an earthly crown,"
and Barabas, the Jew of Malta, who lusts for "infinite riches in a little room," Faustus
seeks the mastery and voluptuous pleasure that come from forbidden knowledge. To
achieve his goal Faustus must make—or chooses to make—a bargain with Lucifer.
This is an old folklore motif, but it would have been taken seriously in a time when
belief in the reality of devils was almost universal. The story's power over its original
audience is vividly suggested by the numerous accounts of uncanny events at per-
formances of the play: strange noises in the theater or extra devils who suddenly
appeared among the actors on stage, causing panic.
In the opening soliloquy, Marlowe's Faustus bids farewell to each of his s t u d i e s -
logic, medicine, law, and divinity—as something he has used up. He turns instead to
black magic, but the devil exacts a fearful price in exchange: the eternal damnation
of Faustus's soul. Faustus aspires to be more than a man: "A sound magician is a
mighty god," he declares. His fall is caused by the same pride and ambition that
caused the fall of the angels in heaven and of humankind in the Garden of Eden. But
it is characteristic of Marlowe that he makes this aspiration nonetheless magnificent.
The immediate source of the play is a German narrative called, in its English trans-
lation,
That source supplies Marlowe's drama with the scenes of horseplay and low practical
joking that contrast so markedly with the passages of huge ambition. It is quite pos-
sible that these comic scenes are the work of a collaborator; but no other Elizabethan
could have written the first scene (with its brilliant representation of the insatiable
aspiring mind of the hero), the ecstatic address to Helen of Troy, or the searing scene
of Faustus's last hour. And though compared with these celebrated passages the
comic scenes often seem crude, they too contribute to the overarching vision of Faus-
tus's fate: the half-trivial, half-daring exploits, the alternating states of bliss and
despair, the questions that are not answered and the answers that bring no real sat-
isfaction, the heroic wanderings that lead nowhere.
Marlowe's play exists in two very different forms: the A text (1604) and the much
longer B text (1616), which probably incorporates additions by other hands and which
has also been revised to conform to the severe censorship statutes of 1606. We use
Roma Gill's edition, based on the A text. Following the play are parallel versions of a
key scene that will enable the reader to compare the two texts.

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

DRAMATIS PERSONAE1

CHORUS
DR. J O H N F A U S T U S
WA G N E R,
V AL DE S 1 J
CORNELIUS J
THREE SCHOLARS
GOOD AN GE L
E VI L A N G E L
MEPHASTOPHILIS
LUCIFER
BELZEBUB

1. There is no list of characters in the A text. The one here is an editorial construction.
1024 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

O L D MAN
CLOWN
ROBIN I
RAFE
VINTNER
HORSE-COURSER
THE POPE
T H E CARDINAL OF L ORR AI NE
C H A R L E S V, E M P E R O R O F G E R M A N Y
A KNIGHT EMPEROR'S
D U K E O F V A N HO L T
D U C H E S S O F V A NH O L T

TH E S EV EN DEADLY S INS
PRIDE
COVETOUSNESS
WRAT H
ENVY
G LU T T O NY
SLOTH
LECHERY
ALEXANDER TH E GREAT P A R A MO U R
H E L E N O F TROY

ATTENDANTS, F RIARS, DEVILS

CHORUS.]2
CHORUS Not marching now in fields of Thrasimene,
Where Mars 3 did mate0 the Carthaginians,
Nor sporting in the dalliance of love,
In courts of kings where state0 is overturned,
Nor in the pomp of proud audacious deeds,
Intends our Muse to vaunt his heavenly verse:
Only this (Gentlemen) we must perform,
The form of Faustus' fortunes good or bad.
To patient judgments we appeal our plaud,°
And speak for Faustus in his infancy:
Now is he born, his parents base of stock,
In Germany, within a town called Rhodes;
Of riper years to Wittenberg4 he went,
Whereas0 his kinsmen chiefly brought him up.
So soon he profits in divinity,0
The fruitful plot of scholarism graced,
That shortly he was graced with doctor's name,5
Excelling all, whose sweet delight disputes 6

2. A single actor who recited a prologue to an act
or a whole play, and occasionally delivered an epi-
logue.
3. God of war. The battle of Lake Trasimene (217
B.C.E.) was one of the Carthaginian leader Han-
nibal's great victories.
4. The famous university where Martin Luther
studied, as did Shakespeare's Hamlet and Horatio.
"Rhodes": Roda, or Stadtroda, in Germany.
5. The lines play on two senses of he so
(1) adorned the place ("plot") of scholarship—i.e.,
the university—that shortly he was (2) honored
with a doctor's degree.
6. Referring to formal disputations, academic
exercises that took the place of examinations.
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1025

In heavenly matters of theology.

20 Till, swollen with cunning,0 of a self-conceit,
His waxen wings did mount above his reach,
And melting heavens conspired his overthrow.7
For falling to a devilish exercise,
And glutted more with learning's golden gifts,
25 He surfeits upon cursed necromancy:0
Nothing so sweet as magic is to him,
Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss.8
And this the man9 that in his study sits.

SCENE 1

FA US TUS
FAUSTUS Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin
To sound the depth of that thou wilt profess:
Having commenced, be a divine in show,1
Yet level0 at the end of every art,
5 And live and die in Aristotle's works.
Sweet 'tis thou hast ravished me:

Is to dispute well logic's chiefest end?

Affords this art no greater miracle?
io Then read no more, thou hast attained the end;
A greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit.°
Bid farewell;3 Galen come:
Seeing,
Be a physician, Faustus, heap up gold,
15 And be eternized for some wondrous cure.

The end of physic0 is our body's health.

Why Faustus, hast thou not attained that end?
Is not thy common talk found aphorisms? 6
20 Are not thy bills0 hung up as monuments,
Whereby whole cities have escaped the plague,
And thousand desperate maladies been eased?
Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man.
Couldst thou make men to live eternally,
25 Or, being dead, raise them to life again,
Then this profession were to be esteemed.
Physic farewell! Where is Justinian?7

30 A pretty case of paltry legacies:

7. In Greek myth, Icarus flew too near the sun on
wings of feathers and wax made by his father, Dae-
dalus; the wax melted, and he fell into the sea and
drowned.
8. The salvation of his soul.
9. Apparently a cue for the Chorus to draw aside
the curtain to the enclosed space at the rear of the
stage.
1. In external appearance. "Commenced"; gradu-
ated, i.e., received the doctor's degree.
2. "To carry on a disputation well is the end [or
purpose] of logic" (Latin). the title of two
treatises on logic by Aristotle.
3. The Greek phrase means "being and not being";
i.e., philosophy.
4. "Where the philosopher leaves off the physician
begins" (Latin). Galen: the ancient authority on
medicine (2nd century C.E.).
5. The Latin is translated in the following line.
6. I.e., generally accepted wisdom.
7. Roman emperor and authority on law (483—565
C.E.).
8. "If something is bequeathed to two persons,
one shall have the thing itself, the other something
of equal value."
9. "A father cannot disinherit his son unless . . ."
1026 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

Such is the subject of the Institute,

And universal body of the law:
This study fits a mercenary drudge
35 Who aims at nothing but external trash!
Too servile and illiberal for me.
When all is done, divinity is best:
Jerome's Bible, 1 Faustus, view it well:
ha!
40 The reward of sin is death? That's hard.

If we say that we have no sin,

We deceive ourselves, and there's no truth in us.
Why then belike 0 we must sin,
45 And so consequently die.
Ay, we must die an everlasting death.
What doctrine call you this?
What will be, shall be! Divinity, adieu!
These metaphysics 0 of magicians,
50 And necromantic books are heavenly!
Lines, circles, schemes, letters, and characters!
Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires.
O what a world of profit and delight,
Of power, of honor, of omnipotence
55 Is promised to the studious artisan! 4
All things that move between the quiet 0 poles
Shall be at my command: emperors and kings
Are but obeyed in their several 0 provinces,
Nor can they raise the wind, or rend the clouds;
60 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, try thy brains to gain a deity.
WAGNER.]
Wagner, commend me to my dearest friends,
65 The German Valdes and Cornelius,
Request them earnestly to visit me.
WAGNE R I will, sir.
FA USTUS Their conference will be a greater help to me
Than all my labors, plod I ne'er so fast.
GOOD A N G E L E VI L A N G E L . ]
70 GOOD A N G E L O 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.
EVI L A N G E L G O forward, Faustus, in that famous art,
75 Wherein all nature's treasury is contained:
Be thou on earth as Jove 5 is in the sky,
Lord and commander of these elements.

1. The Latin translation, or "Vulgate," of St.
Jerome (ca. 3 4 0 - 4 2 0 C.e.).
2. Romans 6.23. But Faustus reads only of
the Scripture verse: "For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord."
3. 1 John 1.8 (translated in the following two
lines).
4. A practitioner of an art; here, necromancy.
5. G od —a common substitution in Elizabethan
drama.
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1027

FA USTUS How am I glutted with conceit 0 of this!

Shall I make spirits fetch me what I please,
so Resolve me of all ambiguities,
Perform what desperate enterprise I will?
I'll have them fly to India 6 for gold,
Ransack the ocean for orient pearl,
And search all corners of the new-found world
85 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; 7
90 I'll have them fill the public schools 8 with silk,
Wherewith the students shall be bravely0 clad.
I'll levy soldiers with the coin they bring,
And chase the Prince of Parma 9 from our land,
And reign sole king of all our provinces.
95 Yea, stranger engines for the brunt of war
Than was the fiery keel at Antwerp's bridge, 1
I'll make my servile spirits to invent.
Co me German Valdes and Cornelius,
And make me blest with your sage conference.
VALDES CORNELIUS.]
IOO 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, 0
That will receive no object 2 for my head,
105 But ruminates on necromantic skill.
Philosophy is odious and obscure,
Roth law and physic are for petty wits;
Divinity is basest of the three,
Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible, and vile.
110 'Tis magic, magic that hath ravished me.
Then, gentle friends, aid me in this attempt,
And I, that have with concise syllogisms
Graveled 0 the pastors of the German church,
And made the flowering pride of Wittenberg
115 Swarm to my problems, 3 as the infernal spirits
On sweet Musaeus when he came to hell,
Will be as cunning as Agrippa was,
Whose shadows made all Europe honor him. 4
VALDES Faustus, these books, thy wit,° and our experience
120 Shall make all nations to canonize us.
As Indian Moors 5 obey their Spanish lords,

6. "India" could refer to the West Indies, America,
or Ophir (in the east).
7. Wittenberg is in fact on the Elbe River.
8. The university lecture rooms.
9. The duke of Parma was the Spanish governor-
general of the Low Countries, 1579—92.
1. A reference to the burning ship sent by the
Protestant Netherlanders in 1585 against the bar
rier on the river Scheldt that Parma had built as a
part of the blockade of Antwerp.
2. That will pay no attention to physical reality.
3. Questions posed for public academic disputa-
tion.
4. Cornelius Agrippa, German author of
(1530),
was popularly supposed to have had the power of
calling up the "shadows" or shades of the dead.
Musaeus was a mythical singer, son of Orpheus; it
was, however, Orpheus who charmed the denizens
of hell with his music.
5. Dark-skinned native Americans.
1028 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

SO shall the spirits of every element

Be always serviceable to us three.
Like lions shall they guard us when we please,
125 Like Almaine rutters0 with their horsemen's staves,
Or Lapland giants trotting by our sides;
Sometimes like women, or unwedded maids,
Shadowing0 more beauty in their airy brows
Than in the white breasts of the Queen of Love.
130 From Venice shall they drag huge argosies,
And from America the golden fleece
That yearly stuffs old Philip's0 treasury,
If learned Faustus will be resolute.
FAUSTUS Valdes, as resolute am I in this
135 As thou to live, therefore object it not.6
CORNELIUS The miracles that magic will perform
Will make thee vow to study nothing else.
He that is grounded in astrology,
Enriched with tongues,0 well seen 0 in minerals,
HO Hath all the principles magic doth require:
Then doubt not, Faustus, but to be renowned
And more frequented for this mystery0
Than heretofore the Delphian oracle. 7
The spirits tell me they can dry the sea,
145 And fetch the treasure of all foreign wrecks,
Ay, all the wealth that our forefathers hid
Within the massy0 entrails of the earth.
Then tell me, Faustus, what shall we three want?0
FAUSTUS Nothing, Cornelius. O this cheers my soul!
150 Come, show me some demonstrations magical,
That I may conjure in some lusty0 grove,
And have these joys in full possession.
VALDES Then haste thee to some solitary grove,
And bear wise Bacon's and Abanus'8 works,
155 The Hebrew Psalter, and New Testament;
And whatsoever else is requisite
We will inform thee ere our conference cease.
CORNELIUS Valdes, first let him know the words of art,
And then, all other ceremonies learned,
160 Faustus may try his cunning by himself.
VALDES First, I'll instruct thee in the rudiments,
And then wilt thou be perfecter0 than I.
FA USTU S Then come and dine with me, and after meat
We'll canvass every quiddity0 thereof:
165 For ere I sleep, I'll try what I can do.
This night I'll conjure,0 though I die therefore.

SCENE 2

SCHOLARS.]
1 SCHOLAR I wonder what's become of Faustus, that was wont to
make our schools ring with

6. I.e., do not make an issue of my resolve. entist popularly thought to be a magician, and Pie-
7. The oracle of Apollo at Delphi in Greece. tro dAbano, 13th-century alchemist.
8. Roger Bacon, the 13th-century friar and sci- 9. Thus I prove; a phrase in scholastic disputation.
 D O C T O R F A U S T U S , CHORUS 3 / 1029

2 SCHOLAR Th at shall we know; for see, here c o m es his boy. 1

WAGNER.]
SCHOLAR H o w now sirra, where's thy mast er?
5 WAGNER G o d in heaven knows.
2 SCHOLAR Why, dost not thou know?
WAGNER Yes I know, but that follows not.
1 SCHOLAR GO to sirra, leave your jesti ng, and tell us where he is.
WAGNER T h at follows not nec es s ary by force of argument , that you,
io being licentiates, 2 should st and upon't; theref ore acknowledge your
error, and be attentive.
2 SCHOLAR Why, didst thou not say thou knew'st?
WAGNER Have you any witness on't?
1 SCHOLAR Yes sirra, I heard you.
15 WAGNER As k my fellow if I be a thief.
2 SCHOLAR Well, you will not tell us.
WAGNER Yes sir, I will tell you; yet if you were not du n ce s you would
never as k me su ch a questi on. For is not he ? And
is not that ?3 Th en wherefore should you as k me su c h a ques-
20 tion? But that I am by nature phl egmat ic, 4 slow to wrath, and prone
to lechery—to love I would say—it were not for you to c o m e within
forty foot of the place of execution, 5 although I do not d oubt to see
you both hang ed the next s es sions. T h u s having tri umphed over
you, I will set my co u n t e na nc e like a precisian, 6 and begin to spe ak
25 thus: Truly my dear brethren, my mas te r is within at dinner with
Valdes and Cornel iu s, as this wine, if it coul d speak, it would inform
your worships. And so the Lord bless you, preserve you, and keep
you, my dear brethren, my dear brethren.
1 SCHOLAR Na y then, I fear he is fallen into that d a m ne d art, for
30 which they two are i n f am o us through the world.
2 SCHOLAR Were he a stranger, and not allied to me, yet should I
grieve for him. Bu t come, let us go and inform the Rector, 7 and see
if he by his grave counsel can reclaim him.
1 SCHOLAR Ay, but I fear me nothing c a n reclaim him.
35 2 S C H O L A R Yet let us try what we can do.

SCENE 3

F AUS TUS
FAUSTUS NOW that the gl oomy sh ado w of the earth,
Longing to view Orion's drizzling look, 8
L e ap s f ro m th'antarctic world unto the sky,
And dims the welkin 0 with her pitchy breath,
5 F a u s t u s , begin thine incantati ons,
And try if devils will obey thy hest,°
S eei ng thou hast prayed and sacrificed to them.
Within this circle 9 is Jeh ovah's name,

1. Poor student acting as servant to earn his living.
2. Graduate students.
3. ("matter natural and
movable") was a scholastic definition of the subject
matter of physics. Wagner is here parodying the
language of learning at the university.
4. Dominated by the phlegm, one of the four
humors of medieval and Renaissance medicine
and psychology.
5. The dining room.
6. Puritan. The rest of his speech is in the style of
the Puritans. "Sessions": sittings of a court.
7. The head of a German university.
8. The constellation Orion appears at the begin-
ning of winter. The phrase is a reminiscence of
Virgil.
9. The magic circle drawn on the ground, within
which the magician would be safe from the spirits
he conjured.
1030 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

Forward and backward anagrammatized;

10 Th'abbreviated names of holy saints,
Figures of every adjunct to the heavens,
And characters of signs and erring stars, 1
By which the spirits are enforced to rise.
Then fear not Faustus, but be resolute,
15 And try the uttermost magic can perform.

20

DEVIL.]
I charge thee to return and change thy shape,
Thou art too ugly to attend on me;
25 Go and return an old Franciscan friar,
That holy shape becomes a devil best. DEVIL.]
I see there's virtue 0 in my heavenly words!
Who would not be proficient in this art?
How pliant is this Mephastophilis,
30 Full of obedience and humility,
Such is the force of magic and my spells.
Now Faustus, thou art conjurer laureate 0
That canst command great Mephastophilis.

MEPHASTOPHILIS.]
35 MEPH ASTOPHILIS Now Faustus, what would'st 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.
40 MEPHASTOPHILIS I am a servant to great Lucifer,
And may not follow thee without his leave;
No more than he commands must we perform.
FA USTUS Did not he charge thee to appear to me?
MEPHASTOPHILIS N O , I came now hither of mine own accord.
45 FAUSTUS Did not my conjuring speeches raise thee? Speak!
MEPHASTOPHILIS That was the cause, but yet
For when we hear one rack 5 the name of God,
Abjure the Scriptures, and his savior 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:

1. The moving planets. "Adjunct": heavenly body,
thought to be joined to the solid firmament of the
sky. "Characters of signs": signs of the zodiac and
the planets.
2. Faustus's Latin conjures the devils: "May the
gods of the lower regions favor me! Farewell to the
Trinity! Hail, spirits of fire, air, water, and earth!
Prince of the East, Belzebub, monarch of burning
hell, and Demogorgon, we pray to you that
Mephastophilis may appear and rise. What are you
waiting for? By Jehovah, Gehenna, and the holy
water that I now sprinkle, and the sign of the cross
that I now make, and by our vows, may Mephas-
tophilis himself now rise to serve us." "Beelzebub"
("Lord of Flies"): an ancient Phoenician deity; in
Matthew 12.24, he is called "the prince of the dev-
ils." "Demogorgon": in Renaissance versions of
classical mythology, a mysterious primeval god.
3. "Return, Mephastophilis, in the shape of a
friar."
4. The immediate, not ultimate, cause.
5. Torture (by anagrammatizing).
 D O C T O R F A U S T U S , CHORUS 3 / 1031

Theref ore the shortest cut for conj uring

Is stoutly to abj ure 0 the Trinity,
And pray devoutly to the prince of hell.
55 FAUSTUS SO Fa u s t u s hath already done, and holds this principle:
Th er e is no chief but only Bel zebub,
To whom F a u s t u s doth d edicat e himself.
This word damn ati o n terrifies not him,
Fo r he c o n f o u n ds hell in Elysium:
60 His ghost be with the old phil osophers. 6
But leaving these vain trifles of men's soul s,
Tell me, what is that Lu c i f er thy lord?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Arch-regent and c o m m a n d e r of all spirits.
FAUSTUS Was not that L u ci f e r an angel once?
65 MEPHASTOPHILIS Yes F a u s t u s , and mo st dearly loved of God.
FAUSTUS HOW co m e s it then that he is prince of devils?
MEPHASTOPHILIS O, by aspiring pride and insolence,
For which Go d threw him from the fa c e of heaven.
FAUSTUS And what are you that live with Luci f er?
TO MEPHASTOPHILIS Unhap py spirits that fell with Lucifer,
Conspired against our Go d with L uc if er,
And are forever damned with Lu cif er.
FAUSTUS Where are you d a mn e d?
MEPHASTOPHILIS In he ll.
75 FAUSTUS HOW co me s it then that thou art out of hell?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.
Think'st thou that I, who saw the f a c e of G o d,
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten t ho us and hells
so In being deprived of everlasting bliss? 7
O Fau s t u s , leave these frivolous d e ma nd s , 0
Which strike a terror to my fainting soul.
FAUSTUS What, is great Meph ast oph il is so pa ss i o na t e
For being deprived of the joys of heaven?
85 Learn thou of F a u s t u s manly fortitude,
And scorn those joys thou never shalt p o s s e s s .
Go bear these tidings to great Luci fer,
Seeing F a u s t u s hath incurred eternal death
By desperate thoughts against Jove's deity:
90 Say, he surrenders up to him his soul
So he will spare him four and twenty years,
Letting him live in all v ol u p t u ou s ne ss ,
Having thee ever to attend on me,
To give me whatsoever I shall ask,
95 To tell me whatsoever I de ma n d,
To slay mine enemies, and aid my friends,
And always be obedient to my will.
Go, and return to mighty Lu cifer,
And meet me in my study at midnight
IOO And then resolve me of thy master's mi nd. 8
MEPHASTOPHILIS I will, F au s t u s .

6. Faustus considers hell to be the Elysium of the ence, which is supposed to be the greatest torment
classical philosophers, not the Christian hell of tor- of hell.
ment. 8. I.e., give me his decision.
7. This is the punishment of loss of God's pres-
1032 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

FAUSTUS H a d I as many souls as there be stars,

I'd give them all for Mep has to ph il i s.
By him I'll be great emperor of the world,
105 And make a bridge through the moving air
To p as s the o cean with a ba n d of me n;
I'll join the hills that bind the Afric shore,
And make that land continent to° S pai n,
And both contributory to my crown,
no T h e emperor 9 shall not live but by my leave,
Nor any potentat e of G er many .
No w that I have obtained what I desire,
I'll live in specul ation 0 of this art
Till Mephas toph il is return again.

SCENE 4

WAGNER CLOWN.1]
WAGNER Sirra boy, c o me hither.
CLOWN How, boy? Zo und s, boy! I hope you have seen many boys
with s uch pickadevants as I have. Boy, quoth a! 2
WAGNER Tell me sirra, hast thou any comin gs in? 3
5 CLOWN Ay, and goings out too; you may see else. 4
WAGNER Alas poor slave, see how poverty jestet h in his nakednes s!
T h e villain is bare, and out of service, 5 and so hungry that I know
he would give his soul to the devil for a shoulder of mut ton, though
it were blood raw.
io CLOWN HOW, my soul to the devil for a shoulder of mut ton though
'twere blood raw? Not so good friend; by'rlady, 6 I had need have it
well roasted, and good s a u c e to it, if I pay so dear.
WAGNE R Well, wilt thou serve me, and I'll m ak e thee go like

15 CLOWN H o w , in v e r s e ?
WAGNER NO sirra; in beat en silk and stavesacre. 8
CLOWN HOW, how, knavesacre? 9 Ay I thought that was all the land
his father left him! Do ye hear, I would be sorry to rob you of your
living.
20 WAGNER Sirra, I say in stavesacre.
CLOWN Oho, oho, stavesacre! Wh y then belike, if I were your man,
I should be full of vermin.
WAGNER SO thou shalt, whether thou be'st with me or no. But sirra,
leave your jesting, and bind your self presently unt o me for seven
25 years, or I'll turn all the lice about thee into familiars, 1 and they
shall tear thee in pieces.
CLOWN DO you hear, sir? You may save that labor: they are too famil-
iar with me al ready—zounds , they are as bold with my flesh as if
they had paid for my meat and drink.

9. The Holy Roman Emperor. 5. Out of a job.

1. Not a court jester (as in some of Shakespeare's
plays) but an older stock character, a rustic buf-
foon.
2. Says he. The point of the clown's retort is that
he is a man and wears a beard. "Zounds": an oath,
meaning "God's wounds." "Pickadevants": small,
pointed beards.
3. Income, but the clown then puns on the literal
meaning.
4. I.e., if you don't believe me.
6. An oath: "by Our Lady."
7. "You who are my pupil" (the opening phrase of
a poem on how students should behave, from Lily's
ca. 1509). Wagner means "like a
proper servant of a learned man."
8. A preparation from delphinium seeds, used for
killing vermin.
9. Wordplay, here and below.
1. Familiar spirits, demons. "Bind your self": i.e.,
as apprentice. "Presently": immediately.
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1033

30 WAGNER Well, do you hear, sirra? Hold, take these guilders. 2

CLOWN Gridirons; what be they?
WAGNER Why, F re nc h crowns. 3
CLOWN 'Mas s, but for the n a m e of F re nc h crowns a m a n were as
good have as m an y English count ers! 4 And what should I do with
35 these?
WAGNER Why, now, sirra, thou art at an hour's warning whensoever
or wheresoever the devil shall fetch thee.
CLOWN No, no, here take your gridirons again.
WAGNER Truly I'll none of them.
40 CLOWN Truly but you shall.
WAGNER Bear witness I gave them him.
CLOWN B ear witness I give them you again.
WAGNER Well, I will c a u s e two devils presently to fetch thee away.
Baliol 5 and Belcher!
45 CLOWN Let your Baliol an d your Belcher c o m e here, and I'll knock 6
them, they were never so knocked since they were devils! Say I
shoul d kill one of them, what would folks say? " D o ye see yonder
tall fellow in the r oun d slop? 7 He has killed the devil!" So I should
be called "Killdevil" all the parish over.
DEVILS, CLOWN
50 WAGNER Baliol and Belcher, spirits, away! DEVILS.]
CLOWN What, are they gone? A ven ge ance on them! They have vile
long nails. T he re was a he devil an d 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.
55 WAGNER Well sirra, follow me.
CLOWN But do you hear? If I shou ld serve you, would you t each me
to raise up Banios and B el ch eo s?
WAGNER I will teach thee to turn thyself to anything, to a dog, or a
cat, or a m o u s e , or a rat, or anything.
60 CLOWN HOW! A Christi an fellow to a dog, or a cat, a m o u s e , 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, a nd there, and every-
where. O I'll tickle the pretty wenches' plackets! I'll be amo n gs t
them, i'faith. 8
65 WAGNER Well sirra, co me.
CLOWN But, do you hear, Wag ne r . . . ?
WAGNER HOW? Baliol and Belcher!
CLOWN O Lord I pray, sir, let Bani o and Belcher go sleep.
WAGNER Villain, call me M a s t e r Wa gne r; and let thy left eye be dia-
70 metarily fixed upon my right heel, with

CLOWN G o d forgive me, he speaks D u t c h f ustian! 1 Well, I'll follow

him, I'll serve him; that's flat.

SCENE 5

FAUSTUS
FAUSTUS NOW Fa u s t u s , mu s t thou ne eds be d am ne d,

2. Coins. 7. Baggy pants. "Tall": fine.

3. French crowns, legal tender in England at this
period, were easily counterfeited.
4. Worthless tokens. "'Mass ": by the Mass.
5. Probably a corruption of Belial.
6. Beat.
8. In faith. "Plackets": slits in garments—but with
an obvious sexual allusion.
9. A pedantic way of saying "Follow my footsteps."
"Diametarily": diametrically.
1. Gibberish.
034 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

And canst thou not be saved.

What boots 0 it then to think of G o d or heaven?
Away with su ch vain f ancies, and despair,
Despair in Go d, and trust in Belzebub.
N o w go not backward: no, F a u s t u s , be resolute;
Why waverest thou? O, s omet hi ng so un det h in mine ears:
"Abjure this magic, turn to G o d agai n."
Ay, and F a u s t u s will turn to G o d again.
To God? He loves thee not:
T h e god thou servest is thine own appetite,
Wherein is fixed the love of Belzebub.
To him I'll build an altar a n d a chu rch ,
And of fer lukewarm blood of newborn b abes.
GOOD ANGEL EVIL. ]
GOOD ANGEL Sweet F a u s t u s , leave that execrable 0 art.
FAUSTUS Contrition, prayer, repentance: what of t hem?
GOOD ANGEL O they are m e a n s to bring thee unto heaven.
EVIL ANGEL Rather illusions, fruits of lunacy,
That makes m e n foolish that do trust the m most .
GOOD ANGEL S we et F a u s t u s , think of heaven, and heavenly things.
EVIL ANGEL NO F au s t u s , think of honor and of wealth.
FAUSTUS Of w e a l t h !
Why, the signory 0 of E m d e n 2 shall be mine,
Whe n Mephast ophil is shall stand by me.
What god can hurt thee, F a u s t u s ? T h o u art saf e,
C as t no more doubts. C o m e , Meph ast ophi li s,
And bring glad tidings f ro m great Luci fer.
Is't not midnight? C o m e , Mep hast oph il i s:

MEPHASTOPHILIS.]
N o w tell, what says Luc i fe r thy lord?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Th at I shall wait on F a u s t u s whilst he lives,
S o° he will buy my service with his soul.
FAUSTUS Already F a u s t u s hath hazarded that for thee.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Bu t F a u s t u s , thou m u s t b eq u e at h it solemnly,
And write a deed of gift with thine own blood,
For that security 0 craves great Lucifer.
If thou deny it, I will back to hell.
FAUSTUS Stay, Mephastophilis , a nd tell me,
What good will my soul do thy lord?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Enlarge his kingdom.
FAUSTUS Is that the reason he tempts us thus?
MEPHASTOPHILIS
FAUSTUS Have you any pain that tortures others?
MEPHASTOPHILIS AS great as have the h u m a n souls of men.
Bu t tell me F au s t u s , shall I have thy soul?
And I will be thy slave and wait on thee,
And give thee m ore than thou hast wit to ask.
FAUSTUS Ay Mephastophil is, I give it thee.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Th en stab thine arm courageously,
And bind thy soul, that at s ome certain day

A wealthy German trade center. 4. "Misery loves company."

"Come, come, Mephastophilis!"
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1035

Great Lu ci f er may claim it as his own,

And then be thou as great as Luci fer.
FAUSTUS LO Mephast ophi li s, for love of thee,
I cut my arm, an d with my proper 0 blood
55 Assure my soul to be great Lucifer's,
Chief lord and regent of perpet ual night.
View here the blood that trickles fr om mine arm,
And let it be propitious for my wish.
MEPHASTOPHILIS B u t F au s t u s, thou m u s t write it
60 In manner of a dee d of gift.
FAUSTUS Ay, so I will; but, Mephast ophi li s,
My blood congeal s and I can write no more.
MEPHASTOPHILIS I'll fet ch thee fire to dissolve it straight.
FAUSTUS Wh at might the staying of my blood portend?
65 Is it unwilling I shou ld write this bill? 0
Why streams it not, that I may write afresh:
"F a u s t u s gives to thee his soul"? Ah, there it stayed!
Why should'st thou not? Is not thy soul thine own?
T h e n write again: " F a u s t u s gives to thee his s oul ."
MEPHASTOPHILIS
70 MEPHASTOPHILIS Here's fire, c o m e F a u s t u s , set it on.
FAUSTUS SO, now the blood begins to clear again.
No w will I make an end immediately.
MEPHASTOPHILIS O what will not I do to obtain his soul!
FAUSTUS this bill is ended,
75 And Fa u s t u s hath b equ ea th ed his soul to Lu cif er.
But what is this inscription on mine arm?
Whither s hould I fly?
If unto God, he'll throw me down to hell;
My s ens es are deceived, here's nothing writ;
so I see it plain, here in this place is writ,
Yet shall not Faustus fly.
MEPHASTOPHILIS I'll fetch him somewhat to delight his mind.
D E V I LS , FAUSTUS,

FAUSTUS Speak, Mephastoph il is, what m e a n s this show?

MEPHASTOPHILIS Nothing, F a u s t u s , but to delight thy mind withal,
85 And to show thee what magi c can perf orm.
FAUSTUS But may I raise up spirits when I pl ease?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Ay, F a u s t u s , and do greater things than these.
FAUSTUS T h e n there's en ou g h for a t hou sand souls!
Here, Mephastophil is, receive this scroll,
90 A deed of gift of body and of soul:
But yet conditionally, that thou perf orm
All articles prescribed between us both.
MEPHASTOPHILIS F a u s t u s , I swear by hell and Lu ci f er
To ef fect all promi ses between us mad e .
95 FAUSTUS Th en hear me read them. On these conditions following:

5. "It is finished": a blasphemy, because these are 6. I.e., have the supernatural powers of a spirit.
the words of Christ on the Cross (John 19.30).
1036 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

100

105

MEPHASTOPHILIS Speak, Faustus: do you deliver this as your deed?

FA USTUS Ay, take it; and the devil give thee good on't.
MEPHASTOPHILIS N O W , Faustus, ask what thou wilt.
FA USTUS First will I question with thee about hell:
ii5 Tell me, where is the place that men call hell?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Under the heavens.
FAUSTUS Ay, but whereabouts?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Within the bowels of these elements,
Where we are tortured and remain for ever.
120 Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed
In one self place; for where we are is hell,
And where hell is, there must we ever be.
And to conclude, when all the world dissolves,
And every creature shall be purified,
125 All places shall be hell that is not heaven.
FA USTUS Come, I think hell's a fable.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Ay, think so still, till experience change thy mind.
FA USTUS Why? think'st thou then that Faustus shall be damned?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Ay, of necessity, for here's the scroll
130 Wherein 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 mere old wives' tales.
135 MEPHASTOPHILIS But Faustus, I am an instance to prove the contrary;
For I am damned, and am now in hell.
FAUSTUS H O W , now in hell? Nay, and this be hell, I'll willingly be
damned here! What? walking, disputing, etc. . . . But leaving off
this, let me have a wife, the fairest maid in Germany, for I am
140 wanton and lascivious, and cannot live without a wife.
MEPHASTOPHILIS How, a wife? I prithee Faustus, talk not of a wife.8
FAUSTUS Nay sweet Mephastophilis, fetch me one, for I will have
one.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Well, thou wilt have one; sit there till I come.
145 I'll fetch thee a wife in the devil's name.
DEVIL
MEPHASTOPHILIS Tell, Faustus, how dost thou like thy wife?
FA USTUS A plague on her for a hot whore!
MEPHASTOPHILIS Tut, Faustus, marriage is but a ceremonial toy;

7. Legal articles.
8. Mephastophilis cannot produce a wife for Faustus because marriage is a sacrament.
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1037

If thou lovest me, think no more of it.

150 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, 9 or as beautiful
155 As was bright Lucifer before his fall.
Hold, take this book, peruse it thoroughly:
The iterating0 of these lines brings gold;
The framing0 of this circle on the ground
Brings whirlwinds, tempests, thunder and lightning.
160 Pronounce this thrice devoutly to thyself,
And men in armor shall appear to thee,
Ready to execute what thou desirest.
FAUSTUS Thanks, Mephastophilis, yet fain would I have a book
wherein I might behold all spells and incantations, that I might
165 raise up spirits when I please.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Here they are in this book.
FAUSTUS N O W would I have a book where I might see all characters
and planets of the heavens, that I might know their motions and
dispositions.
170 MEPHASTOPHILIS Here they are too.
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.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Here they be.
175 FAUSTUS O thou art deceived!
MEPHASTOPHILIS Tut, I warrant thee.
FAUSTUS When I behold the heavens, then I repent,
And curse thee, wicked Mephastophilis,
Because thou hast deprived me of those joys.
I8O MEPHASTOPHILIS Why Faustus,
Think'st thou that heaven is such a glorious thing?
I tell thee 'tis not half so fair as thou,
Or any man that breathes on earth.
FAUSTUS How prov'st thou that?
185 M E P H A S T O P HI L I S It was made for man, therefore is man more excellent.
FAUSTUS If it were made for man,'twas made for me:
I will renounce this magic, and repent.
GOOD ANGEL E VI L A N G E L . ]
G OOD A N G E L Faustus, repent, yet° God will pity thee.
EVIL A N G E L Thou art a spirit, 0 God cannot pity thee.
190 FAUSTUS Who buzzeth in mine ears I am a spirit?
Be I a devil, yet God may pity me.
Ay, God will pity me if I repent.
EVI L A N G E L Ay, but Faustus never shall repent.
FAUSTUS My heart's so hardened 1 I cannot repent!
195 Scarce can I name salvation, faith, or heaven,
But fearful echoes thunders in mine ears,
"Faustus, thou are damned"; then swords and knives,

9. The queen of Sheba. "Penelope": the wife of state of the reprobate who will suffer eternal dam-
Ulysses, famed for chastity and fidelity. nation.
1. Hardness of heart is the desperate spiritual
 1038 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

Poison, gu ns, halters, 0 and en ve nom ed steel

Are laid b efo re me to di sp atc h myself:
200 And long ere this I should have slain myself,
H a d not sweet pl eas ure co nqu ere d d eep despair.
Have I not m a de blind H o m e r sing to me
Of Alexander's 2 love, and Oenon's death?
And hath not he that built the walls of T h e b e s
205 With ravishing sou nd of his mel odious harp, 3
M a d e mus ic with my M ephas t oph il i s?
Why shoul d I die then, or basely despair?
I am resolved! F au s t u s shall ne'er repent.
C o m e , Mephastophi li s, let us dispute again,
210 And argue of divine astrology.
Tell me, are there many heavens above the m oo n ?
Are all celestial bodies b ut one globe,
As is the s u b s t a n c e of this centric earth? 4
MEPHASTOPHILIS As are the elements , s u c h are the spheres,
215 Mut ually folded in each other's orb.
And, F au s t u s , all jointly move upo n one axletree
Wh o s e termine 0 is termed the world's wide pole,
Nor are the n a m es of Sat urn, Ma rs , or Jupi ter
Feigned, but are erring stars. 5
220 FAUSTUS But tell me, have they all one motion, both
MEPHASTOPHILIS All jointly move f ro m east to west in four-and-
twenty hours up on the poles of the world, but differ in their motion
upo n the poles of the zodiac. 7
FAUSTUS T u s h , these slender trifles Wa gn e r c an decide!
225 H at h Mephast ophil is no greater skill?
Wh o knows not the doubl e mot ion of the planet s?
Th e first is finished in a natural day, the s eco nd thus: as Sa t ur n in
thirty years; Jupit er in twelve; Ma rs in four; the Su n , Ven us , and
Mercury in a year; the M o o n in twenty-eight days. T u s h , these are
230 f resh men's suppositions. Bu t tell me, hath every sphere a dominion
or
MEPHASTOPHILIS Ay.
FAUSTUS HOW many heavens or spheres are there?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Nine: the seven planet s, the firmament, and the
235 empyreal heaven. 9
FAUSTUS Well, resolve me then in this quest ion: why have we not
conjunctions, oppositions, 1 as pect s, eclipses, all at one time, but in
s ome years we have more, in s om e less?
MEPHASTOPHILIS

2. Alexander is another name for Paris, the lover
of Oenone; later he deserted her and abducted
Helen, causing the Trojan War. Oenone refused to
heal the wounds Paris received in battle, and when
he died of them, she killed herself in remorse.
3. The legendary musician Amphion, whose harp
caused stones, of themselves, to form the walls of
Thebes.
4. Faustus asks whether all the apparently differ-
ent heavenly bodies form really "one globe" like the
earth. Mephastophilis answers that like the ele-
ments, which are separate but combined, the heav-
enly bodies are separate but their spheres are
enfolded and they move on one axletree.
5. It is appropriate to give individual names to Sat-
urn, Mars, Jupiter, and the other planets—which
are called wandering, or "erring" stars. The fixed
stars were in the eighth sphere (the firmament, or
crystalline sphere).
6. "In position and in time."
7. The common axletree on which all the spheres
revolve.
8. An angel, or intelligence, thought to be the
source of motion in each sphere.
9. The ninth sphere was the immovable empy-
rean.
1. "Oppositions": when two planets are most
remote. "Conjunctions": the apparent joinings of
two planets.
2. "Becaus e of their unequal movements in
respect of the whole."
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1039

FAUSTUS Well, I am answered. Tell me who m a de the world?

MEPHASTOPHILIS I will not.
FAUSTUS Sweet M ephast ophili s, tell me.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Move 0 me not, for I will not tell thee.
FAUSTUS Villain, have I not bou nd thee to tell me anything?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Ay, that is not against our kingdom; but this is.
Think thou on hell, F a u s t u s , for thou art dam ne d .
FAUSTUS Think, F a u s t u s , u po n G od , that m a de the world.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Re me mb e r this.
FAUSTUS Ay, go acc ur se d spirit, to ugly hell,
Tis thou hast d amn ed dist ressed F a u s t u s ' soul:
Is't not too late?
GOOD ANGEL EVIL.]
EVI L A N G E L TOO l a t e .
GOOD ANGEL Never too late, if F a u s t u s will repent.
EVIL ANGEL If thou repent, devils shall tear thee in pieces.
GOOD ANGEL Repent, and they shall never raze 0 thy skin.

FAUSTUS Ah Christ my Savior! seek to save

Distressed F au s t u s ' soul!
LUCIFER, BELZEBUB, MEPHASTOPHILIS.]
LUCIFER Christ cannot save thy soul, for he is just .
There's none but I have interest in the sa me.
FAUSTUS O who art thou that look'st so terrible?
LUCIFER I am Lucifer, and this is my co mp an i o n prince in hell.
FAUSTUS O Fa u s t u s , they are c o m e to fet ch away thy soul!
LUCIFER We c o m e to tell thee thou dost injure us.
T ho u talk'st of Christ, contrary to thy promise.
Th ou should'st not think of G od; think of the devil,
And his dam 3 too.
FAUSTUS Nor will I henceforth: pardon me in this,
And F a u s t u s vows never to look to heaven,
Never to n a m e G o d, or to pray to him,
To burn his Scriptures, slay his ministers,
And make my spirits pull his c hu rc hes down.
LUCIFER DO SO, and we will highly gratify thee. F au s t u s , we are co m e
f rom hell to show thee s o m e past ime; sit down, and thou shalt
see all the Seven Deadly Sins 4 ap pear in their proper sh ap es.
FAUSTUS Th at sight will be as pleasing unto me as Paradi se was to
Adam, the first day of his creation.
LUCIFER Tal k not of Paradise, nor creation, but mark this show; talk
of the devil and nothing else. C o m e away.
SEVEN DE AD LY SINS.]
Now F a u s t u s , examine them of their several n a m e s an d disposi-
tions.
FAUSTUS W h a t art thou, the first?
PRIDE I am Pride: I disdain to have any parents. I am like to Ovid's
f lea,' I can creep into every corner of a wench: s omet i mes like a
periwig, I sit upo n her brow; or like a fa n of feathers, I kiss her lips.
Indeed I do—wh at do I not! Bu t fie, what a scent is here? I'll not

3. Mother. "The devil and his dam" was a common
colloquial expression.
4. Pride, avarice, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and
sloth, called deadly because they lead to spirtual
death. All other sins are said to grow out of them
(cf. the procession of the Seven Deadly Sins in
Spenser's 1.4, stanzas 16—37).
5. A salacious medieval poem "Carmen de Pulice"
(Song of the Flea) was attributed to Ovid.
1040 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

s peak another word, except the grou nd were p e r f u m e d and covered

with cloth of arras. 6
FAUSTUS W h a t art thou, the s ec ond?
COVETOUSNESS I am Co v et o u s ne s s , begotten of an old churl in an
old leathern bag; and might I have my wish, I would desire that this
hous e, and all the peopl e in it, were turned to gold, that I might
lock you up in my good chest. O my sweet gold!
FAUSTUS W h at art thou, the third?
WRATH I am Wrath. I had neither father nor mother: I l eaped out of
a lion's mou t h when I was s carce half an hour old, and ever since
I have run up and down the world, with this c a s e of rapiers, wound-
ing myself when I had nobody to fight withal. I was born in hel l—
and look to it, for s ome of you shall be my father.
FAUSTUS W h at art thou, the fourth?
ENVY I am Envy, begotten of a chimney- sweeper and an oyster-wife.
I cannot read, and therefore wish all books were burnt; I am lean
with seeing others e a t — O that there would c o m e a f ami n e through
all the world, that all might die, and I live alone; then thou should'st
see how fat I would be! B u t m u s t thou sit and I st and ? C o m e down,
with a vengeance!
FAUSTUS Away, envious rascal! Wh a t art thou, the fifth?
GLUTTONY Who, I sir? I am Gluttony. My parents are all dead, and
the devil a penny they have left me but a bare pension, and that is
thirty meal s a day and ten b ev er s 7 —a small trifle to su ff i ce nature.
O, I c o me of a royal parentage: my grand father was a g a m m o n 8 of
baco n, my grandmot her a h og sh ea d of claret wine; my godfathers
were these: Peter Pickled-Herring, and Marti n Mar t l em as -Bee f . 9 O
but my godmot her! S h e was a jolly gent lewoman, and well-beloved
in every good town and city; her n a m e was Mi stress Margery
March -Beer. 1 Now, F a u s t u s , thou hast heard all my progeny; 2 wilt
thou bid me to supper?
FAUSTUS No , I'll see thee han ged; thou wilt eat up all my victuals.
GLUTTONY T h en the devil ch oke thee!
FAUSTUS C h o ke thyself, Gl utt on. W h a t art thou, the sixth?
SLOTH I am Sloth; I was begotten on a sunny bank, where I have lain
ever s i n ce — an d you have do ne me great injury to bring me from
thence. Let me be carried thither again by Gluttony and Lech-
ery. I'll not s pe ak another word for a king's ranso m.
FAUSTUS Wh at are you, Mi st res s Minx, the seventh and last?
LECHERY Who , I sir? I am one that loves an inch of raw mu tt on better
than an ell of fried stockfish; 3 and the first letter of my n a m e begins
with Lechery.
LUCIFER Away! To hell, to hell! SINS.]
Now F a u s t u s , how dost thou like this?
FAUSTUS O this feeds my soul!
LUCIFER Tut, F au s t u s , in hell is all ma nn e r of delight.
FAUSTUS O might I see hell, and return again, how happy were I
then!
LUCIFER Th o u shalt; I will send for thee at midnight. In meant ime,

6. Arras in Flanders exported fine cloth used for
tapestry hangings. "Except": unless.
7. Snacks.
8. The lower side of pork, including the leg.
9. Meat, salted to preserve it during the winter,
was prepared around Martinmas (November 11).
1. A rich ale, made in March.
2. Lineage.
3. Dried cod. "Mutton": frequently a bawdy term
in Elizabethan English; here, the penis. "Ell": forty-
five inches.
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1041

335 take this book, p er u s e it thoroughly, and thou shalt turn thyself into
what s h ape thou wilt.
FAUSTUS Great thanks, mighty L uci f er; this will I keep as chary 4 as
my life.
LUCIFER Farewell, F au s t u s ; and think on the devil.
340 FAUSTUS Farewell, great Lu cif er; c om e, Mep hast oph il i s.
OMNES.]

SCENE 6

ROBIN
ROBIN O this is admirable! here I ha' stolen one of Doctor F a u s t u s '
conjuring books, and i'faith I m e a n to s earch s o me circles 6 for my
own use: now will I ma ke all the mai d en s in our parish da nc e at
my pleasu re stark naked b ef ore me, and so by that m e a n s I shall see
5 more than ere I felt or saw yet.
RAFE ROBIN.]
RAFE Robin, prithee c o m e away, there's a gent l eman tarries to have
his horse, and he would have his things ru bb ed and ma d e clean.
He keeps s uc h a chafing 7 with my mistress abou t it, and she has
sent me to look thee out. Prithee, c o m e away,
io ROBIN Keep out, keep out; or else you are blown up, you are dis-
membe red, Raf e. Keep out, for I am abo ut a roaring 8 piece of work.
RAFE C o m e , what dost thou with that s a m e book? T h o u canst not
read!
ROBIN Yes, my mas ter and mistress shall find that I can r e a d —h e
15 for his f orehead, 9 she for her private study. She's born to bear with
me, 1 or else my art fails.
RAFE Why Robin, what book is that?
ROBIN Wh at book? Why the mos t intolerable 2 book for conj uring
that ere was invented by any bri mst one devil.
20 RAFE C a n s t thou conjure with it?
ROBIN I can do all these things easily with it: first, I can ma ke thee
drunk with 'ipocrase 3 at any tavern in Eu r o p e for nothing, that's
one of my conjuring works.
RAFE Ou r mast er pars on says that's nothing.
25 ROBIN T rue, Raf e! And more, Raf e, if thou hast any mind to N a n
Spit, our kitchen maid, then turn her and wind her to thy own us e,
as often as thou wilt, and at midnight.
RAFE O brave Robin! Shall I have N a n Spit, and to mine own u se?
On that condition I'll feed thy devil with ho rseb read as long as he
30 lives, of free cost. 4
ROBIN NO more, sweet Raf e; let's go and make cl ean our boots which
lie foul upon our hands , and then to our conju ring in the devil's
name.

CHORUS 2

WAGNER
WAGNER Le arn ed F au s t u s ,
To know the secrets of ast ronomy

4. Carefully. horns—cuckold him.

5. Hostler, stablehand. 1. I.e., bear his weight, or bear him a child.
6. Magicians' circles, but with a sexual innuendo. 2. Irresistible.
7. Scolding. 3. Robin's pronunciation of a spiced
8. Dangerous. wine.
9. That is, Robin intends to give his master 4. Free of charge. "Horsebread": fodder.
1042 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

Graven in the book of Jove's high fi rmamen t,

Did mo un t himself to scale Olympu s' 5 top.
5 Being s eat ed in a chariot burning bright,
Drawn by the strength of yoked dragons' necks.
He now is gone to prove cosmography, 6
And, as I gues s, will first arrive at R o m e
To see the pope, and m an n e r of his court,
10 And take s o me part of holy Peter's feast , 7
That to this day is highly solemnized. WAGNER.]

SCENE 7

FAUSTUS MEPHASTOPHILIS.]
FAUSTUS Having now, my good Meph ast ophi li s,
Pa s s ed with delight the stately town of Trier, 8
Environed round with airy m o u n t ai n tops,
With walls of flint, and d eep ent renched lakes, 0
5 Not to be won by any conqu erin g prince;
From Paris next, coasti ng 0 the realm of Franc e,
We saw the river Mai n fall into Rhine,
Wh o s e banks are set with groves of fruitful vines;
T h e n up to Nap l es , rich Ca m p a n i a ,
io With buildings fair and gorgeous to the eye,
T h e streets straight forth, and paved with finest brick,
Q u a r t e r s the town in f our equivalents;
Th ere saw we learned Maro's 9 golden tomb,
T h e way° he cut, an Engl ish mile in length,
15 Tho rou gh 0 a rock of stone in one night's spa ce.
F rom thence to Venice, P a d u a , and the rest,
In midst of which a s u m p t u o u s temple 0 stands
That threats the stars with her aspiring top.
Th u s hitherto hath F a u s t u s spent his time.
20 But tell me now, what resting p l ace is this?
H ast thou, as erst° I did c o m m a n d ,
C o n du c t ed me within the walls of R om e ?
MEPHASTOPHILIS F au s t u s , I have; an d b ec a u s e we will not be unpro-
vided, I have taken up his holiness' privy ch am b er for our use.
25 FAUSTUS I hope his holiness will bid us wel come.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Tut,'tis no matter, man, we'll be bold with his good
cheer. 1
And now, my F au s t u s , that thou may'st perceive
What R o m e containeth to delight thee with,
30 Know that this city st ands upon seven hills
That underprop the groundwork of the s am e ;
J u s t through the midst runs flowing Tiber's stream,
With winding banks, that cut it in two parts;
Over the which four stately bridges lean,
35 T hat makes s af e p as s ag e to eac h part of R om e.
U p on the bridge called Pont e Angelo

5. The home of the gods in Greek mythology. gil was considered a magician whose powers pro-
6. To test the accuracy of maps. duced a tunnel on the promontory of Posilippo at
7. St. Peter's feast is June 29. Naples, near his tomb.
8. Treves (in Prussia). 1. Entertainment.
9. Virgil's. In medieval legend the Roman poet Vir-
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1043

E rec ted is a castle p as si n g strong, 2

Within whose walls s u c h store of o r dna nc e are
And double cannons, f r a me d of carved brass,
40 As ma t c h the days within one c om pl et e y ea r —
Bes ides the gates and high pyramides 0
Which J ul i u s Ca e s a r brought from Africa.
FAUSTUS NOW by the k ingdoms of infernal rule,
Of Styx, Acheron, and the fiery lake
45 Of ever-burning Phlegethon, 3 I swear
That I do long to see the m o n u m e n t s
And situation of bright-splendent Ro me.
C o m e therefore, let's away.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Nay, F a u s t u s , stay. I know you'd fain s ee the pope,
50 And take s o me part of holy Peter's feast,
Where thou shalt see a troop of bald-pate friars,
Whose is in belly-cheer.
FAUSTUS Well, I am content to c o m p a s s 5 then s o m e sport,
And by their folly make us merriment.
55 Th e n c harm me that I may be invisible, to do what I pl eas e
u nseen of any whilst I stay in Ro me.
M E P H A S T O P H I L I S [casts S o F au s t u s , now do what thou
wilt, thou shalt not be di scerned.
POPE CARDINA L OF LOR-
RA I N E FRIARS
POPE My lord of Lorraine, will't pl ease you draw near.
60 FAUSTUS Fall to; and the devil choke you and 7 you spare.
POPE HOW now, who's that which spake? Friars, look about.
1 FRIAR Here's nobody, if it like 8 your holiness.
POPE My lord, here is a dainty dish was sent to me f rom the bi shop
of Milan.
65"" FAUST US I thank you, sir.
POPE HOW now, who's that which s nat ch ed the meat f rom m e? Will
no ma n look? My lord, this dish was sent me f ro m the cardinal of
Florence.
FAUSTUS YO U say true? I'll have't.
70 POPE What, again! My lord, I'll drink to your grace.
FAUSTUS I'll pledge 9 your grace.
LORRAINE My lord, it may be s o m e ghost newly crept out of purgatory
co me to beg a pardon of your holiness.
POPE It may be so; friars; prepare a dirge 1 to lay the fury of this ghost.
75 On c e again my lord, fall to. [ POPE
FAUSTUS What , are you crossi ng of your self? Well, use that trick no
more, I would advise you.
[Cross
FAUSTUS Well, there's the second time; aware the third! I give you
fair warning.
[Cross FAUSTUS

2. Surpassingly. Actually the castle is on the bank, 7. If. "Fall to": start eating.
not the bridge. 8. Please.
3. Classical names for rivers of the underworld. 9. Toast.
4. The greatest good; often refers to God. 1. A requiem mass. But what actually follows is a
5. Take part in. litany of curses.
6. A set of notes on the trumpet or cornet.
1044 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

so FAUSTUS C o m e on, Me phas to phi l is , what shall we do?

MEPHASTOPHILIS Nay, I know not; we shall be c u rs ed with bell, book,
and candle. 2
FAUSTUS How! Bell, book, and candle; candle, book, and bell,
Forward and backward, to cu rse F a u s t u s to hell.
85 Anon you shall hear a hog grunt, a calf bleat, and an ass bray,
B e c a u s e it is St. Peter's holy day.
FRIARS
1 FRIAR C o m e brethren, let's abo ut our b u si ne ss with good devotion.

C u r s e d be he that stole away His Hol iness' meat from the table.

90 C u r s e d be he that st ruck His Hol i nes s a blow on the f ac e.

C u r s e d be he that took Friar Sa nde l o a blow on the pate.

C u r s e d be he that disturbeth our holy dirge.

95
C u r s e d be he that took away His Hol ines s' wine.

.4 Ame n.
FRIARS,

^ SCENE 8

ROBIN RAFE
ROBIN C o m e , Raf e, did not I tell thee we were forever m a d e by this
Doctor F au s t u s ' book? Here's a simple p u r c h a s e for
horsekeepers: our horses shall eat no hay as long as this lasts.
VINTNER.]
RAFE But Robin, here c o me s the vintner.
5 ROBIN H u s h , I'll gull him supernaturally! Drawer, 6 I hope all is paid;
G o d be with you. C o m e , Raf e.
VINTNER So ft , sir, a word with you. I m u s t yet have a goblet paid
from you ere you go.
ROBIN I, a goblet, R af e ? I, a goblet? I scorn you: and you are but a
io &c. 7 . . . I, a goblet? S e ar c h me.
VINTNER I m e an so, sir, with your favor. ROBIN.]
ROBIN HOW s a y y o u n o w ?
VINTNER I mu s t say so mewha t to your fellow; you, sir!
RAFE M e , sir? M e, sir? S e a r c h your fill. No w sir, you may be a s h a m e d
15 to burden honest m en with a matter of truth.
VINTNER RAFE] Well, t o n e of you hath this goblet abo ut
you.
ROBIN YOU lie, drawer; 'tis afore me. Sirra you, I'll teach ye to
i mpeach 8 honest men: [to RAFE] s tand by. [to VINTNER] I'll scour
20 you for a gob l et —st and aside, you were b e s t —I charge you in the
n a m e of Bel z ebu b—l o ok to the goblet, Rafe!
VINTNER Wh at mean you, sirra?
ROBIN I'll tell you what I m ean:

2. The traditional paraphernalia for cursing and 5. "Behold the proof."

excommunication. 6. Wine-drawer. "Gull": trick.
3. "May the Lord curse him." 7. The actor might ad lib abuse at this point.
4. "And all the saints (also curse him)." 8. Accuse.
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1045

—nay, I'll tickle you, vintner—look to the goblet, R a f e —

25
&c 9

MEPHASTOPHILIS:

VINTNER W h a t mean'st thou, Robin? T h o u hast

no goblet.
RAFE 3 Here's thy goblet, good vintner.

30 ROBIN 4 Wh at shall I do? G o o d devil, forgive

me now, and I'll never rob thy library more.

MEPHASTOPHILIS.]
MEPHASTOPHILIS Vanish, villains, th'one like an ape, another like a
bear, the third an ass, for doi ng this enterprise. VINTNER.]
M o n ar c h of hell, under wh os e bl ack survey
35 Great potent ates do kneel with awful fear;
Upo n wh ose altars tho u sand souls do lie;
How am I vexed with these villains' cha rms!
F rom Const anti nop le am I hither c om e,
Only for pl eas ure of these da m n e d slaves.
40 ROBIN HOW, f rom C ons tant i nopl e? You have had a great journey!
Will you take sixpence in your pu rs e to pay for your supper, and be
gone?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Well, villains, for your pres umpt i on, I transform
thee into an ape, and thee into a dog; and so begone!
45 ROBIN HOW, into an ape? That's brave: I'll have fine sport with the
boys; I'll get nuts and apples enow. 5
RAFE A n d I m u s t be a d o g .
ROBIN I'faith, thy head will never be out of the potage 6 pot.

CHORUS 3

CHORUS. ] 7

CHORUS W h en F au s t u s had with pl eas ure ta'en the view

Of rarest things, and royal court s of kings,
He stayed his course, and so returned home;
Where such as bare his a b s e n c e but with g ri e f —
5 I me a n his friends and nearest c o m p a n i o n s —
Did gratulate his safety with kind words.
And in their c on f eren ce of what befell,
To u ch i n g his journey through the world and air,
They pu t forth questi ons of astrology,
io Whic h F a u s t u s answered with such learned skill,
As they admired and wondered at his wit.
No w is his f a m e spread forth in every land:
Amongs t the rest the emperor is one,
C arol us the Fifth, 8 at whos e pa l a c e now
15 F au s t u s is f ea st ed 'mongst his nobl emen.

9. Dog-Latin, as Robin attempts to conjure from 3. "Sin of sins!"

Faustus's book. 4. "Have mercy on us!"
1. Firecrackers. Evidently Mephastophilis is on 5. Enough. "Brave": splendid.
stage only long enough to set off the firecrackers 6. Porridge.
and is not seen by Robin, Rafe, or the vintner. He 7. I.e., Wagner.
then reenters at line 32. 8. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (reigned
2. "In the name of the Lord"; the Latin invoca- 1519- 56).
tions are used in swearing.
1046 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

What there he did in trial0 of his art

I leave untold: your eyes shall see performed.

SCENE 9

EMPEROR, FAUSTUS, K N I G HT ,
EMPEROR Master Doctor Faustus, I have heard strange report of thy
knowledge in the black art, how that none in my empire, nor in the
whole world, can compare with thee for the rare effects of magic.
They say thou hast a familiar spirit, by whom thou canst accomplish
5 what thou list! This therefore is my request: that thou let me see
some proof of thy skill, that mine eyes may be witnesses to confirm
what mine ears have heard reported. And here I swear to thee, by
the honor of mine imperial crown, that whatever thou dost, thou
shalt be in no ways prejudiced or endamaged,
io KNIGHT Ffaith, he looks much like a conjuror.
FA USTUS My gracious sovereign, though I must confess myself far
inferior to the report men have published, and nothing answerable
to the honor of your imperial majesty, yet for that love and duty
binds me thereunto, I am content to do whatsoever your majesty
15 shall command me.
EMPEROR Then Doctor Faustus, mark what I shall say. As I was
sometime solitary set within my closet,9 sundry thoughts arose
about the honor of mine ancestors—how they had won by prowess
such exploits, got such riches, subdued so many kingdoms, as we
20 that do succeed, or they that shall hereafter possess our throne,
shall (I fear me) never attain to that degree of high renown and
great authority. Amongst which kings is Alexander the Great,1 chief
spectacle of the world's pre-eminence:
The bright shining of whose glorious acts
25 Lightens the world with his reflecting beams;
As when I hear but motion0 made of him,
It grieves my soul I never saw the man.
If therefore thou, by cunning of thine art,
Canst raise this man from hollow vaults below,
30 Where lies entombed this famous conqueror,
And bring with him his beauteous paramour, 2
Both in their right shapes, gesture, and attire
They used to wear during their time of life,
Thou shalt both satisfy my just desire
35 And give me cause to praise thee whilst I live.
FA USTUS My gracious lord, I am ready to accomplish your request,
so far forth as by art and power of my spirit I am able to perform.
KNIGHT I'faith, that's just nothing at all.
FAUSTUS But, if it like your grace, it is not in my ability to present
40 before your eyes the true substantial bodies of those two deceased
princes, which long since are consumed to dust.
KNIGHT Ay, marry,3 master doctor, now there's a sign of grace
in you, when you will confess the truth.
FAUSTUS But such spirits as can lively resemble Alexander and his
45 paramour shall appear before your grace, in that manner that they

9. Private chamber. 2. Probably Roxana, Alexander's wife.

1. The emperor traces his ancestry to the world 3. To be sure,
conqueror (356—323 B.C.E.).
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1047

best lived in, in their mo st flourishing estate: which I doubt not

shall sufficiently content your imperial majesty.
EMPEROR GO to, mas te r doctor, let me s ee th em presently. 4
KNIGHT DO you hear, m ast er doctor? You bring Alexander and his
50 pa ra mo u r before the emperor!
FAUSTUS H ow then, sir?
KNIGHT I'faith, that's as true as Di ana turned me to a stag.
FAUSTUS NO sir; but when Ac ta eon died, he left the horns 5 for you!
Mephastophi lis, begone! MEPHASTOPHILIS.]
55 KNIGHT Nay, and 6 you go to conjuring I'll be gone. KNIGHT.]
FAUSTUS I'll meet with 7 you ano n for interrupting me so. Here they
are, my gracious lord.
MEPHAS TOPHILIS ALEXANDER P A R A MO U R. ]
EMPEROR M as t e r doctor, I heard this lady, while sh e lived, had a
wart or mole in her neck; how shall I know whether it be so or no?
60 FAUSTUS Your highness may boldly go and see.
E MPEROR
EMPEROR S ure, thes e are no spirits, but the true substantial bodies
of those two d ec e as e d princes.
ALEXANDER P ARAMOUR) . ]
FAUSTUS Will't pl eas e your hi ghness now to send for the knight that
was so pl easant with me here of late?
65 EMPEROR On e of you call him forth.
KNIGHT
EMPEROR HOW now, sir knight? Why, I had thought thou hadst been
a bachelor, but now I see thoil hast a wife that not only gives thee
horns but makes thee wear them! Feel on thy head.
KNIGHT T h o u d am ne d wretch and execrable 0 dog,
70 Bred in the concave of s o m e mo ns t ro us rock,
How dar'st thou thus a b u s e a gent l eman?
Villain, I say, u ndo what thou hast done.
FAUSTUS O not so fast, sir, there's no haste but good. Are you remem-
bered 8 how you crossed me in my c on f er en ce with the emperor? I
75 think I have met with you for it.
EMPEROR G o o d master doctor, at my entreaty release him; he hath
done pe n an ce sufficient.
FAUSTUS My gracious lord, not so m u c h for the injury he off ered me
here in your pres ence as to delight you with s o me mirth, hath F au s -
80 tus worthily requited this injurious knight; which being all I desire,
I am content to release him of his horns. And, sir knight, hereafter
speak well of scholars: Mephas top hil i s, t rans f orm him straight. 9
Now, my good lord, having d on e my duty, I humbl y take my leave.
EMPEROR Farewell, mas ter doctor; yet ere you go, expect fro m me a
85 bou nteou s reward.
EMPEROR ATTENDANTS).]
FAUSTUS NOW, Mephastoph ili s, the restless cou rse
That time doth run with calm an d silent foot,

4. Immediately. 6. If.
5. Horns were traditionally a sign of the cuckolded 7. Be revenged on.
husband (cf. Scene lines 14—15). "Actaeon": the 8. Have you forgotten. "No haste but good": a
hunter of classical legend who happened to see the proverb: no point hurrying, unless it's to good
goddess Diana bathing. For punishment he was effect.
changed into a stag; he was then chased and killed 9. Immediately.
by his own hounds.
1048 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

S horteni ng my days and thread of vital life,

Calls for the payment of my latest years;
90 Therefore, sweet Mephastophi lis , let us m ake h as te to Wittenberg.
MEPHASTOPHILIS What, will you go on ho rs eb ack or on foot?
FAUSTUS Nay, till I am pas t this fair and pl eas ant green, I'll walk on
foot.

SCENE 10

HORSE-COURSER. ] 1

HORSE-COURSER I have b een all this day seeking one M as t e r Fus ti an:
'mass, 2 see where he is! G o d save you, mast er doctor.
FAUSTUS What, horse-courser: you are well met.
HORSE-COURSER DO you hear, sir; I have brought you forty dollars 3
5 for your horse.
FAUSTUS I cannot sell him so: if thou lik'st him for fifty, take him.
HORSE-COURSER Alas sir, I have no more. I pray you s peak for me.
MEPHASTOPHILIS I pray you let him have him; he is an honest fellow,
and he has a great ch arge 4 —ne it her wife nor child,
io FAUSTUS Well, co me, give me your mo ney; my boy will deliver him
to you. But I mu s t tell you one thing b efo re you have him: ride him
not into the water at any hand.
HORSE-COURSER Why sir, will he not drink of all waters?
FAUSTUS O yes, he will drink of all waters, but ride him not into the
15 water. Ride him over hedge or ditch, or where thou wilt, but not
into the water.
HORSE-COURSER Well sir. No w am I m a d e m a n forever: I'll not leave
my horse for forty! If he had but the quality of hey ding ding, hey
ding ding, 5 I'd make a brave living on him! He has a but tock as slick
20 as an eel. Well, G o d b y , 6 sir; your boy will deliver him me. But hark
ye sir, if my horse be sick, or ill at ease, if I bring his water 7 to you,
you'll tell me what it is?
HORSE-COURSER.]
FAUSTUS Away, you villain! What, dost think I am a horse-doctor?
What art thou, F a u s t u s , but a m a n c o n d e m n e d to die?
25 Thy fatal time doth draw to final end.
Despair doth drive distrust unto my thoughts:
C o n f o u n d t hese p as s io ns with a quiet sleep.
T u sh , Christ did call the thief u po n the cross; 8
T h en rest thee, F a u s t u s , quiet in conceit. 0

HORSE-COURSER
30 HORSE-COURSER Alas, alas, Doctor Fu st ian, qu ot h 'a: 'mass, Doct or
L o p u s 9 was never su ch a doctor! H'as given me a purgation, h'as
purged me of forty dollars! I shall never see th em more. But yet,
like an ass as I was, I would not be ruled by him; for he bade me I
should ride him into no water. No w I, thinking my horse h ad had
35 s ome rare quality that he would not have had me known of, I, like

1. Horse trader, traditionally a sharp bargainer or
cheat.
2. By the Mass. "Fustian": the horse-courser's
mispronunciation of Faustus's name.
3. Common German coins.
4. Burden.
5. I.e., he wishes his horse were a stallion, not a
gelding, so he could put him to stud.
6. Good-bye (contracted from "God be with you").
7. Urine.
8. In Luke 23.39—43 one of the two thieves cru-
cified with Jesu s is promised paradise.
9. In February 1594 Roderigo Lopez, the queen's
personal physician, was executed for plotting to
poison her. Obviously Marlowe, who died in 1593,
did not write the line.
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1049

a vent'rous youth, rid him into the deep pond at the town's end. I
was no sooner in the middle of the pond, but my horse vanished
away, and I sat upon a bottle 1 of hay, never so near drowning in my
life! But I'll seek out my doctor, and have my forty dollars again, or
40 I'll make it the dearest 2 horse. O, yonder is his snipper-snapper! Do
you hear, you hey-pass, 3 where's your master?
MEPHASTOPHILIS Why, sir, what would you? You cannot speak with
him.
HORSE-COURSER But I will speak with him.
45 MEPHASTOPHILIS Why, he's fast asleep; come some other time.
HORSE-COURSER I'll speak with him now, or I'll break his glass-
windows 4 about his ears.
MEPHASTOPHILIS I tell thee, he has not slept this eight nights.
HORSE-COURSER And he have not slept this eight weeks I'll speak
50 with him.
MEPHASTOPHILIS See where he is, fast asleep.
HORSE-COURSER Ay, this is he; God save ye master doctor, master
doctor, master Doctor Fustian, forty dollars, forty dollars for a bot-
tle of hay.
55 ME PH AST OPHILIS Why, thou seest he hears thee not.
HORSE-COURSER S O ho ho; so ho ho. 5 No, will you
not wake? I'll make you wake ere I go.
Alas, I am undone! What shall I do?
FAUSTUS O my leg, my leg! Help, Mephastophilis! Call the officers!
60 My leg, my leg!
MEPHASTOPHILIS Come villain, to the constable.
HORSE-COURSER O Lord, sir! Let me go, and I'll give you forty dollars
more.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Where be they?
65 HORSE-COURSER I have none about me: come to my ostry 6 and I'll
give them you.
MEPHASTOPHILIS Begone quickly!
[HORSE-COURSER
FAUSTUS What, is he gone? Farewell he: Faustus has his leg again,
and the horse-courser—I take it—a bottle of hay for his labor! Well,
70 this trick shall cost him forty dollars more.
WAGNER.]
How now, Wagner, what's the news with thee?
WAGNE R Sir, the duke of Vanholt doth earnestly entreat your
company.
FAUSTUS The duke of Vanholt! An honorable gentleman, to whom
75 I must be no niggard of my cunning. Come, Mephastophilis, let's
away to him.

SCENE 11

[FAUSTUS MEPHASTOPHILIS
DUKE DUCHESS; DUKE
DUKE Believe me, master doctor, this merriment hath much pleased
me.
FAUSTUS My gracious lord, I am glad it contents you so well: but it

1. Bundle. 4. Spectacles.
2. Most expensive. 5. The huntsman's cry, when he sights the quarry.
3. A conjurer's phrase. "Snipper-snapper": insig- 6. Hostelry, inn.
nificant youth, whipper-snapper.
050 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

may be, m a d a m , you take no delight in this; I have heard that great-
bellied wo men do long for s o m e dainties or other-—what is it,
m a da m ? Tell me, and you shall have it.
DUCHESS T han ks , good mast er doctor; and for I s ee your co urt eo us
intent to p lea su re me, I will not hide f rom you the thing my heart
desires. And were it now s u m m e r, as it is Ja nu a ry and the d ead of
winter, I would desire no better meat than a dish of ripe grapes.
FA USTUS Alas m a da m , that's nothing! Mephast oph ili s, begone!
MEPHASTOPHILIS.] Were it a greater thing than this, so it would
content you, you should have it. MEPHASTOPHILIS
.] Here they be, m a d a m ; will't pl eas e you taste on them?
DUKE Believe me, mas ter doctor, this makes me wonder above the
rest: that being in the dead time of winter, and in the month of
Janu ary, how you should c o m e by thes e grapes?
FAUSTUS If it like your grace, the year is divided into two circles over
the whole world, that when it is here winter with us, in the contrary
circle it is s u m m e r with them, as in India, S a b a , 7 and farther coun-
tries in the east; and by me an s of a swift spirit that I have, I had
t hem brought hither, as ye see. Ho w do you like them, m a da m ; be
they good?
DUCHESS Believe me, mas ter doctor, they be the best grapes that ere
I tasted in my life before.
FAUSTUS I am glad they content you so, m a d a m .
DUKE C o m e ma d am , let us in, where you mu s t well reward this
learned m a n for the great kindness he hath showed to you.
DUCHESS And so I will, my lord; and whilst I live, rest beholding for
this courtesy.
FAUSTUS I humbly thank your grace.
DUKE C o m e , master doctor, follow us, and receive your reward.

CHORUS 4

WAGNER
WAGNER I think my master m e a n s to die shortly,
For he hath given to me all his goods!
And yet methinks, if that death were near,
He would not banquet, and c arou se, and swill
Amongs t the students, as even now he doth,
Wh o are at s upper with s u c h belly-cheer
As Wag ner ne'er beheld in all his life.
S ee where they come: belike the f east is ended.

SCENE 12

FAUSTUS MEPHASTOPHILIS),
SCHOLARS. ]
1 SCHOLAR M ast er Doctor F a u s t u s , since our co n f er enc e abou t fair
ladies, which was the be aut if u l est in all the world, we have deter-
mined with ourselves that H el en of Gr e ec e was the admirablest lady
that ever lived. Theref ore, mast er doctor, if you will do us that favor
as to let us see that peerl ess d am e of Gre ece , whom all the world

The biblical kingdom of Sheba, in southwestern Arabia.

 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1051

admires for majesty, we should think ourselves m u c h beholding

unto you.
FAUSTUS Gen t l eme n, for that I know your friendship is unf eigned,
And F au s t u s ' c u st o m is not to deny
Th e j u st requests of th ose that wish him well,
You shall behold that peerless d a m e of Greec e,
No otherways for p o m p and majesty
Th a n when Sir Paris cro ss ed the seas with her
And brought the spoils to rich Dar dani a. 0
Be silent then, for danger is in words.
HELEN
2 SCHOLAR T o o simple is my wit to tell her praise,
Wh o m all the world admires for majesty.
3 SCHOLAR NO marvel though the angry Greeks pu rs u ed
With ten years' war the rape of s u c h a qu een,
W h o s e heavenly beauty pas s et h all co mp ar e.
1 SCHOLAR Si nce we have s een the pride of Nat ure's works
And only paragon of excellence,
Let us depart; and for this glorious deed
Happy and blest be F a u s t u s evermore.
FAUSTUS Gen t l e me n farewell; the s a m e I wish to you.
SCHOLARS.]
OLD MAN.]
OLD MAN Ah Doctor F a u s t u s , that I might prevail
To guide thy steps unto the way of life,
By which sweet path thou may st attain the goal
That shall c ondu c t thee to celestial rest.
Break heart, drop blood, and mingle it with tears,
Tears falling f rom repentant heaviness
Of thy most vile and lo at hs ome filthiness,
T he stench whereof corrupts the inward soul
With su ch flagitious 0 crimes of heinou s sins,
As no commiserati on may expel
Bu t mercy, F a u s t u s , of thy savior sweet,
Wh o s e blood alone mu s t wash away thy guilt.
FAUSTUS Where art thou, F a u s t u s ? Wretch, what hast thou done!
D am ne d art thou, F au s t u s , da mn e d; despair and die!
Hell calls for right, and with a roaring voice
Says, " F a u s t u s , come: thine hour is c o m e ! "
[MEPHASTOPHILIS j
And F a u s t u s will c om e to do thee right.
OLD MAN Ah stay, good Fa u s t u s , stay thy desperat e steps!
I see an angel hovers o'er thy head
And with a vial full of preciou s grace
Of f ers to pour the s a me into thy soul!
Then call for mercy, and avoid despair.
FAUSTUS Ah my sweet friend, I feel thy words
To comfort my distressed soul;
Leave me awhile to ponder on my sins.
OLD MAN I go, sweet Fa u s t u s ; but with heavy cheer, 0
Fearing the ruin of thy hopel es s soul.
FAUSTUS Accu rsed F au s t u s , where is mercy now?
I do repent, and yet I do despair:
Hell strives with grace for c on qu es t in my breast!
1052 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

What shall I do to shu n the s nares of death?

MEPHASTOPHILIS Th o u traitor, F au s t u s : I arrest thy soul
For d isob edi ence to my sovereign lord.
Revolt, 8 or I'll in pi ecem eal tear thy flesh.
60 FAUSTUS Sweet Meph ast oph i li s, entreat thy lord
To pardon my unju st p res u mpt i o n;
And with my blood again I will confirm
My f ormer vow I m a d e to L uci f er.
MEPHASTOPHILIS DO it then quickly, with u nfei gned heart,
65 Les t greater danger do attend thy drift. 0
FAUSTUS Torment , sweet friend, that b as e and crooked age
Th at durst d is s ua de me f r o m thy Lu cif er,
With greatest torments that our hell aff ords.
MEPHASTOPHILIS His faith is great, I canno t tou ch his soul,
70 But what I may afflict his body with
I will at t emp t—wh i ch is but little worth.
FAUSTUS O n e thing, good servant, let me crave of thee,
To glut the longing of my heart's desire:
That I might have u nt o° my p ar a mo u r
75 That heavenly Helen which I saw of late,
Wh o s e sweet embraci ngs may extinguish clean
Th e s e thoughts that do di ss u ade me fro m my vow:
And keep mine oath I m a d e to Lucif er.
MEPHASTOPHILIS F a u s t u s , this, or what else thou shalt desire,
so Shall be pe rf or med in twinkling of an eye.
HELEN.]
FAUSTUS Wa s this the fa c e that la u nc he d a t h o u s a n d ships,
And burnt the topless 9 towers of Ilium? 0
Sweet Hel en, m ake me immortal with a kiss:
Her lips sucks forth my soul, see where it flies!
85 C o m e Helen, come, give me my soul again.
Here will I dwell, for heaven be in these lips,
And all is dross that is not Hel ena!
OLD MAN.]
I will be Paris, and for love of thee,
Instead of Troy shall Wittenberg be s acked;
90 And I will co mb a t with weak M en e l a u s , 0
And wear thy colors on my p l u me d crest:
Yea, I will wo und Achilles in the heel, 1
And then return to H el e n for a kiss.
O thou art fairer than the evening air,
95 Cl ad in the beauty of a t h ou s an d stars,
Brighter art thou than f l aming Ju pi ter
Wh e n he app ear ed to hapless Seme l e; 2
Mo re lovely than the mo n ar c h of the sky
In wanton Arethusa's azured arms ; 3
IOO And none but thou shalt be my p ara mo u r.
(FAUSTU S HELEN).]

8. Turn back (to your allegiance to Lucifer). in his full splendor.

9. Immeasurably high; matchless.
1. Achilles could only be wounded in his heel—
where he was shot by Paris.
2. A Theban girl, loved by Jupiter and destroyed
by the fire of his lightning when he appeared to her
3. Arethusa was the nymph of a fountain, as well
as the fountain itself; she excited the passion of
the river god Alpheus, who was by some accounts
related to the sun.
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, CHORUS 3 / 1053

OLD MAN A ccu r se d F a u s t u s , mi se r ab le m a n ,

T h a t f r o m thy soul exclud'st t h e g race of h e av e n
And fliest t h e t h r o n e of His tr i b u n a l seat!
DEVILS.]
S a t an begins to sift me with his pride, 4
105 As in this f u r n a c e Go d shall try my fa i th .
My fa ith, vile hell, shall t r i u m p h over thee!
Am bi ti ou s fi en ds , see h o w t h e h e a v en s smiles
At your repulse, an d laugh s yo ur s ta te 0 to sco rn.
H e n c e hell, for h e n c e I fly u n t o my G o d .

SCENE 13

FAUSTUS SCHOLARS.]
FA USTUS Ah, g en t l e m en !
1 S C H O L A R W h a t ails F au s t u s ?
FA USTUS Ah, my sweet c ha m b e r- fe l l o w, h a d I lived wi th thee, t h e n
h ad I lived still; b u t n o w I die eternally. Look, c o m e s he no t, co m e s
5 he not?
2 SCHO LAR W h a t m e a n s F au s t u s ?
3 S C H O L A R Belike h e is grown int o s o m e s ickness by bei ng
oversolitary.
1 SCHOLAR If it be so, we'll have phys ician s to c u r e h i m; 'tis bu t a
io surfeit: 5 never fear, m a n .
FAUSTUS A surfeit of deadly sin, t h a t h a t h d a m n e d b ot h body a n d
soul.
2 S C H O L A R Yet F a u st u s, look u p to he av en ; r e m e m b e r Go d's merci es
are infinite.
15 FAUSTUS B ut F au s t u s ' o f f e n s e ca n n e 'e r b e p a r d o n ed ! T h e s e r pen t
t h a t t e m p t e d Eve ma y be saved, b u t n o t F a u s t u s . Ah g e n t l em e n,
h e ar me with p at i en ce , an d t r e m b l e n ot at m y sp ee ch es , t h o u gh my
h ea rt p a n t s a n d quivers to r e m e m b e r t h a t I h av e b e e n a s t u de n t
h e re t hes e thirty y ea r s — O wo ul d I h a d never s e en Wi t t e n ber g ,
20 never read b o o k — a n d w h a t wo n d e r s I have d o n e, all W i t t e n b e r g
ca n wi tnes s —y ea, all t he world; f o r wh i c h F a u s t u s h a t h lost b o t h
G er m a n y a n d t h e w orl d—y ea , h e av en i t s el f — h ea ve n , t h e seat of
Go d, t h e t h r o n e of th e bless ed, t h e ki ng do m of joy; a n d m u s t r e m a i n
in hell fo rever—hell, ah, hell forever! Sw eet f ri en d s, w h a t shall
25 b ec o m e of Fa u s t u s , be i ng in hell forever?
3 S C H O L A R Yet Fa u st u s , call on G o d .
FAUSTUS O n G od , w h o m F a u s t u s h a t h abj u re d? O n Go d , w h o m
F a u s t u s h a t h b l as p h e m ed ? A h my G o d — I wou l d weep, b u t t h e devil
draws in my tears! gu sh f o rt h blood, i n st ead of t ears —ye a, life a n d
30 soul! O, he stays my ton gue ! I wo ul d lift up my h a n d s, b u t see, they
hold t h e m , they hold t h e m !
ALL W h o , F au st u s ?
FAUSTUS L u ci fe r a n d Me p h as to p hi li s! Ah g e n t l e m e n , I gave t h e m my
soul for my c u n n i n g .
35 ALL G o d forbid!
FAUSTUS God f o r b ad e it in d e ed, b u t F a u s t u s h a t h d o n e it: for t he
vain p le as ur e of f o u r - a n d - t w e n t y years h a t h F a u s t u s lost et e rn al joy

4. To test me with his strength. 5. Indigestion caus ed by overeating.

54 / CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE

and felicity. I writ them a bill 6 with mine own blood, the date is
expired, the time will come , and he will fetch me.
1 SCHOLAR Why did not F a u s t u s tell us of this before, that divines
might have prayed for thee?
FAUSTUS Of t have I thought to have done so, but the devil threatened
to tear me in pieces if I n a m e d G od, to f etch both body and soul,
if I once gave ear to divinity; and now 'tis too late. Ge nt l e me n,
away, lest you perish with me!
2 SCHOLAR O what shall we do to save F a u s t u s ?
3 SCHOLAR G o d will strengt hen me. I will stay with F a u s t u s .
1 SCHOLAR T e m p t not Go d, sweet friend, but let us into the next
room, and there pray for him.
FAUSTUS Ay, pray for me, pray for me; and what noise soever ye hear,
c ome not unto me, for nothing ca n r es cu e me.
2 SCHOLAR Pray thou, and we will pray, that Go d may have mercy
upon thee.
FAUSTUS Gentl emen, farewell. If I live till morning, I'll visit you; if
not, F au s t u s is gone to hell.
ALL F a u s t u s , farewell. SCHOLARS.]

FAUSTUS Ah F a u s t u s ,
Now hast thou but one bare hour to live,
And then thou must be dam ne d perpetually.
S tand still, you ever-moving spheres of heaven,
That time may cease, and midnight never c ome .
Fair Nature's eye, rise, rise again, and make
Perpetual day, or let this hou r be but
A year, a month, a week, a natural day,
That F au s t u s may repent and save his soul.
O
Th e stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike,
Th e devil will co me, and F a u s t u s m us t be d amn ed.
O I'll leap up to my God! Wh o pulls me down?
S ee, see where Christ's blood st reams in the firmament! 0
One drop would save my soul, half a drop: ah my C h r i s t —
Ah, rend not my heart for n ami n g of my Christ;
Yet will I call on h i m — O spare me, Luci fer!
Where is it now? 'Tis gone: and see where G o d
Stretcheth out his arm, and bends his ireful brows!
Mou nt ai ns and hills, c o me , c o m e and fall on me,
And hide me from the heavy wrath of Go d .
No, no?
Th en will I headlong run into the earth:
Earth, gape! O no, it will not harbor me.
You stars that reigned at my nativity,
Wh o s e i nf luence hath allotted deat h and hell,
No w draw up F a u s t u s like a foggy mist
Into the entrails of yon laboring cloud,
Th at when you vomit forth into the air
My limbs may issue from your smoky m ou t h s ,

Document.
"Slowly, slowly run, O horses of the night"; adapted from a line in Ovid's
 DOCTOR FAUSTUS, EPILOGUE / 1055

So that my soul may but ascend to heaven. 8

Ah, half the hour is past: 'twill all be past anon.

O God, if thou wilt not have mercy on my soul,
90 Yet for Christ's sake, whose blood hath ransomed me,
Impose some end to my incessant pain:
Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years,
A hundred thousand, and at last be saved.
O no end is limited to damned souls!
95 Why wert thou not a creature wanting 0 soul?
Or why is this immortal that thou hast?
Ah, Pythagoras' —were that true,
This soul should fly from me, and I be changed
Unto some brutish beast:
IOO All beasts are happy, for when they die,
Their souls are soon dissolved in elements;
But mine must live still 0 to be plagued in hell.
Cursed be the parents that engendered me:
No, Faustus, curse thy self, curse Lucifer,
105 That hath deprived thee of the joys of heaven.

O it strikes, it strikes! Now body, turn to air,

Or Lucifer will bear thee quick 0 to hell.

O soul, be changed into little water drops,

And fall into the ocean, ne'er be found,
no My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!
DEVILS.]
Adders and serpents, let me breathe awhile!
Ugly hell gape not! Come not, Lucifer!
I'll burn my books—ah, Mephastophilis!

CHORUS.]
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight,
And burned is Apollo's laurel bough, 1
That sometime grew within this learned man.
Faustus is gone! Regard his hellish fall,
5 Whose fiendful fortune 0 may exhort the wise
Only to wonder at2 unlawful things:
Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits 0
To practice more than heavenly power permits.

1604, 1616

8. Faustus wants to be drawn up into a cloud,
which would compact his body into a thunderbolt
so that his soul, thus purified, might ascend to
heaven.
9. Pythagoras's doctrine of the transmigration of
souls.
1. The laurel crown of Apollo symbolizes (among
other things) learning and wisdom.
2. Be content simply to observe with awe.
3. "The hour ends the day, the author ends his
work"; this motto was probably added by the
printer.