Exhæreditare filium non potest pater, nisi, &c. *
Such is the subject of the institute,
And universal body of the law :
This study fits a mercenary drudge,

[Reads.

Who aims at nothing but external trash;
Too servile and illiberal for me.
When all is done, divinity is best :
Jerome's Bible, Faustus; view it well.
Stipendium peccati mors est. Ha! Stipendium, &c.
The reward of sin is death: that's hard. [Reads]
Si peccasse negamus, fallimur, et nulla est in nobis
veritas; If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and there is no truth in us. Why,
then, belike we must sin, and so consequently
die:

Ay, we must die an everlasting death.
What doctrine call you this, Che sera, sera,
What will be, shall be? Divinity, adieu !
These metaphysics of magicians,

And necromantic books are heavenly;
Lines, circles, scenes, letters, and characters; +
Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires.
O, what a world of profit and delight,
Of power, of honour, and omnipotence,
Is promis'd to the studious artizan !

All things that move between the quiet poles
Shall be at my command: emperors and kings
Are but obeyed in their several provinces;
But his dominion that exceeds in this,
Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man;
A sound magician is a demigod :
Here tire, my brains, to gain‡ a deity.

E. Ang. Go forward, Faustus, in that famous

art

Wherein all Nature's treasure is contain'd: Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky, Lord and commander of these* elements.

[Exeunt Angels.

Faust. How am I glutted with conceit of

this!
Shall I make spirits fetch me what I please,
Resolve me of all ambiguities,

Perform what desperate enterprise † I will?
I'll have them fly to India for gold,
Ransack the ocean for orient pearl,

And search all corners of the new-found world
For pleasant fruits and princely delicates;
I'll have them read me strange philosophy,
And tell the secrets of all foreign kings;
I'll have them wall all Germany with brass,
And make swift Rhine circle fair Wittenberg;
I'll have them fill the public schools with silk, §
Wherewith the students shall be bravely clad;
I'll levy soldiers with the coin they bring,
And chase the Prince of Parma from our land,
And reign sole king of all the provinces ;
Yea, stranger engines for the brunt of war,
Than was the fiery keel at Antwerp-bridge,
I'll make my servile spirits to invent.

Enter VALDES and CORNELIUS.

Come, German Valdes, and Cornelius,

And make me blest || with your sage conference.
Valdes, sweet Valdes, and Cornelius,
Know that your words have won me at the last
To practise magic and concealed arts.
Philosophy is odious and obscure;
Both law and physic are for petty wits:
'Tis magic, magic that hath ravish'd me.
Then, gentle friends, aid me in this attempt;
And I, that have with subtle syllogisms
Gravell'd the pastors of the German church,
And made the flowering pride of Wittenberg
Swarm to my problems, as th' infernal spirits
On sweet Musæus when he came to hell,
Will be as cunning as Agrippa was,

Whose shadow made all Europe honour him. Vald. Faustus, these books, thy wit, and our experience,

As Indian Moors obey their Spanish lords,
So shall the spirits of every element
Be always serviceable to us three;

Like lions shall they guard us when we please;
Like Almain rutters with their horsemen's staves,
Or Lapland giants, trotting by our sides;
Sometimes like women, or unwedded maids,
Shadowing more beauty in their airy brows

Than have

love:

From Venice shall they

drag huge § argosies, And from America the golden fleece

That yearly stuffs || old Philip's treasury;
If learned Faustus will be resolute.

Faust. Valdes, as resolute am I in this
As thou to live therefore object it not.
Corn. The miracles that magic will perform
Will make thee vow to study nothing else.
He that is grounded in astrology,
Enrich'd with tongues, well seen in minerals,
Hath all the principles magic doth require:
Then doubt not, Faustus, but to be renowm'd,
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,
Yea, all the wealth that our forefathers hid
Within the massy entrails of the earth :
Then tell me, Faustus, what shall we three want?
Faust. Nothing, Cornelius. O, this cheers
my soul !

Come, shew me some demonstrations magical,
That I may conjure in some bushy grove,
And have these joys in full possession.

Vald. Then haste thee to some solitary grove,
And bear wise Bacon's and Albertus' ** works,
The Hebrew Psalter, and New Testament;
And whatsoever else is requisite

We will inform thee ere our conference cease. Corn. Valdes, first let him know the words of

probo.

Sec. Schol. That shall we presently know; here comes his boy.

Enter WAGNER.

First Schol. How now, sirrah! where's thy master?

Wag. God in heaven knows.

Sec. Schol. Why, dost not thou know, then? Wag. Yes, I know; but that follows not. First Schol. Go to, sirrah! leave your jesting, and tell us where he is.

Wag. That follows not by force of argument, which you, being licentiates, should stand upon : therefore acknowledge your error, and be attentive.

Sec. Schol. Then you will not tell us?

Wag. You are deceived, for I will tell you: yet, if you were not dunces, you would never ask me such a question; for is he not corpus naturale? and is not that mobile? then wherefore should you ask me such a question? But that I am by nature phlegmatic, slow to wrath, and prone to lechery (to love, I would say), it were not for you to come within forty foot of the place of execution, although I do not doubt but to see you both hanged the next sessions. Thus having triumphed over you, I will set my countenance like a precisian, and begin to speak thus:-Truly, my dear brethren, my master is within at dinner, with Valdes and Cornelius, as this wine, if it could speak, would inform your worships: and so, the Lord bless you, preserve you, and keep [Exit. you, my dear brethren!

First Schol. O Faustus! Then I fear that which I have long suspected, That thou art fall'n into that damnèd art For which they two are infamous through the world.

Sec. Schol. Were he a stranger, not allied to me, The danger of his soul would make me mourn.

*that] So 4tos 1616, 1624.-2to 1681 "the."

Faust. Now that the gloomy shadow of the night,

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 pray'd and sacrific'd to them.
Within this circle is Jehovah's name,
Forward and backward anagrammatiz'd,
Th' abbreviated names of holy saints,
Figures of every adjunct to the heavens,
And characters of signs and erring § stars,
By which the spirits are enforc'd to rise:
Then fear not, Faustus, to be resolute,
And try the utmost magic can perform.

Re-enter MEPHISTOPHILIS like a Franciscan friar.

Meph. Now, Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do?

Faust. 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.

Meph. I am a servant to great Lucifer,
And may not follow thee without his leave:
No more than he commands must we perform.
Faust. Did not he charge thee to appear to me?
Meph. No, I came hither of mine own accord.
Faust. Did not my conjuring speeches + raise
thee? speak!

*

Meph. 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 damn'd.
Therefore the shortest cut for conjuring
Is stoutly to abjure all godliness,
And pray devoutly to the prince of hell.
Faust. So Faustus hath

Already done; and holds this principle,
There is no chief but only Belzebub;
To whom Faustus doth dedicate himself.

This word "damnation" terrifies not me,
For I confound hell in Elysium:
My ghost be with the old philosophers!
But, leaving these vain trifles of men's souls,
Tell me what is that Lucifer thy lord?

Meph. Arch-regent and commander of all spirits.

Faust. Was not that Lucifer an angel once? Meph. Yes, Faustus, and most dearly lov'd of

Faust. How comes it, then, that thou art out

of hell?

Meph. Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it:
Think'st thou that I, that saw the face of God,
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells,
In being depriv'd of everlasting bliss?
O, Faustus, leave these frivolous demands,
Which strike a terror to my fainting soul !
Faust. What, is great Mephistophilis so pas-
sionate

For being deprived of the joys of heaven?
Learn thou of Faustus manly fortitude,
And scorn those joys thou never shalt possess.
Go bear these tidings to great Lucifer:
Seeing Faustus hath incurr'd eternal death
By desperate thoughts against Jove's deity,
Say, he surrenders up to him his soul,

So he will spare him four and twenty years,
Letting him live in all voluptuousness;
Having thee ever to attend on me,
To give me whatsoever I shall ask,
To tell me whatsoever I demand,

To slay mine enemies, and to aid my friends,

And always be obedient to my will.

Clown. Yes, and goings out too, you may see, sir.

Wag. Alas, poor slave! see how poverty jests in his nakedness! I know the villain's out of service, and so hungry, that I know he would give his soul to the devil for a shoulder of mutton, though it were blood-raw.

Clown. Not so neither: I had need to have it well roasted, and good sauce to it, if I pay so dear, I can tell you.

Wag. Sirrah, wilt thou be my man, and wait on me, and I will make thee go like Qui mihi discipulus?

Clown. What, in verse?

Way. No, slave; in beaten silk and staves-acre. Clown. Staves-acre ! that's good to kill vermin: then, belike, if I serve you, I shall be lousy.

Wag. Why, so thou shalt be, whether thou dost it or no; for, sirrah, if thou dost not presently bind thyself to me for seven years, I'll turn all the lice about thee into familiars, and make them tear thee in pieces.

yourself a

Clown. Nay, sir, you may save labour, for they are as familiar with me as if they paid for their meat and drink, I can tell you.

Wag. Well, sirrah, leave your jesting, and take these guilders. [Gives money. Clown. Yes, marry, sir; and I thank you too. Wag. So, now thou art to be at an hour's warning, whensoever and wheresoever the devil shall fetch thee.

Clown. Here, take your guilders again; † I'll none of 'em.

Wag. Not I; thou art pressed: prepare thyself, or I will presently raise up two devils to carry thee away.-Banio! Belcher !

Clown. Belcher! an Belcher come here, I'll belch him: I am not afraid of a devil.

* vestigiis nostris] Old eds. "vestigias nostras."

+ backward] So 4to 1616 (and so 4to 1604).-2tos 1624, 1631, "backe."

Why] So 4to 1616 (and so 4to 1604).-Not in 4tos 1624, 1631.

§ that famous] So 4to 1616.-2tos 1624, 1631, "that most famous."

of] So 4to 1616.-2tos 1624, 1631, "be."

¶men] So 4tos 1624, 1631 (and so 4to 1604).-2to 1616 "them."

And bring glad tidings from great Lucifer;Is't not midnight?-come Mephistophilis, Veni, veni, Mephistophile 1*

Enter MEPHISTOPHILIS.

Now tell me what saith Lucifer, thy lord? Meph. That I shall wait on Faustus whilst he lives,

So he will buy my service with his soul.

Faust. Already Faustus hath hazarded that for

thee.

Meph. But now thou must bequeath it solemnly, And write a deed of gift with thine own blood; For that security craves Lucifer.

If thou deny it, I must back to hell.

Faust. Stay, Mephistophilis, and tell me, what good will my soul do thy lord?

Meph. Enlarge his kingdom.

Faust. Is that the reason why he tempts us

thus?

Meph. Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris. Faust. Why, have you any pain that torture others?

Meph. 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.

Faust. Ay, Mephistophilis, I'll give it thee.† Meph. Then, Faustus, 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.

Faust. [Stabbing his arm] Lo, Mephistophilis, for love of thee,

Faustus hath cut his arm, and with his proper blood

Assures his soul to be great Lucifer's,

Chief lord and regent of perpetual night!

View here this blood that trickles from mine

arm,

And let it be propitious for my || wish.

Meph. But, Faustus,

Write it in manner of a deed of gift.

Faust. [Writing] Ay, so I do. But, Mephisto

philis,

My blood congeals, and I can write no more.

* Mephistophile] So 4to 1616.-2tos 1624, 1631, "Mephostophilis."

↑ thee] So 4to 1604.-The later 4tos "him." thine] So 4tos 1624, 1631.-2to 1616 "thy."

§ 4nd] So 4to 1616.-Not in 4tos 1624, 1631. my] So 4to 1616.-2tos 1624, 1631, "thy."