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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/25468-h.zip b/25468-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cdd640d --- /dev/null +++ b/25468-h.zip diff --git a/25468-h/25468-h.htm b/25468-h/25468-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dba5ce3 --- /dev/null +++ b/25468-h/25468-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6648 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" /> +<title>Faustus</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + P.headingsummary { margin-left: 5%;} + H1, H2 { + text-align: center; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + } + H3, H4, H5 { + text-align: left; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + table { border-collapse: collapse; } +table {margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;} + td { vertical-align: top; border: 1px solid black;} + td p { margin: 0.2em; } + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .pagenum {position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + color: gray;} + + .citation {vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: none;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h2> +<a href="#startoftext">Faustus, by Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger</a> +</h2> +<pre> +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Faustus, by Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger, +Translated by George Borrow + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Faustus + his Life, Death, and Doom + + +Author: Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger + + + +Release Date: May 14, 2008 [eBook #25468] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAUSTUS*** +</pre> +<p><a name="startoftext"></a></p> +<p>Transcribed from the 1864 W. Kent and Co. edition by David +Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org</p> +<h1>FAUSTUS:<br /> +<span class="smcap">his</span><br /> +LIFE, DEATH, AND DOOM.</h1> +<p style="text-align: center">A ROMANCE IN PROSE.</p> +<p style="text-align: center">Translated from the German.</p> +<blockquote><p> “Speed +thee, speed thee,<br /> + Liberty lead thee,<br /> +Many this night shall hearken and heed thee.<br /> + Far abroad,<br /> + Demi-god,<br /> +Who shall appal thee!<br /> +Javal, or devil, or what else we call thee.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p style="text-align: center"><span +class="smcap">london</span>:<br /> +W. KENT AND CO., PATERNOSTER-ROW.<br /> +1864.</p> +<p style="text-align: center"><!-- page ii--><a +name="pageii"></a><span class="pagenum">p. ii</span><span +class="smcap">london</span>:<br /> +<span class="smcap">robson and levey</span>, <span +class="smcap">printers</span>, <span class="smcap">great new +street</span>,<br /> +<span class="smcap">fetter lane</span>.</p> +<h2><!-- page iii--><a name="pageiii"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. iii</span>THE TRANSLATOR TO THE PUBLIC.</h2> +<p>The publication of the present volume may at first sight +appear to require some brief explanation from the Translator, +inasmuch as the character of the incidents may justify such an +expectation on the part of the reader. It is therefore +necessary to state, that although strange scenes of vice and +crime are here exhibited, it is in the hope that they may serve +as beacons, to guide the ignorant and unwary from the shoals on +which they might otherwise be wrecked.</p> +<p>The work, when considered as a whole, is strictly moral. +The Catholic priest is not praised for burning his +fellow-creature at an <i>auto-da-fé</i>, and for wallowing +in licentiousness; nor is the Calvinist commended for his +unrelenting malignity to all those whose tenets are different +from his own, and for crying down the most innocent pleasures and +relaxations which a bountiful and just God has been pleased to +place within the reach of his earthly children.</p> +<p>The tyrant and the oppressor of mankind will here find himself +depicted in his proper colours.</p> +<p>Neither will the <i>champions of freedom</i> pass the fiery +ordeal with feet unseared; since a glorious <!-- page iv--><a +name="pageiv"></a><span class="pagenum">p. iv</span>specimen of +what they all are will be found among the following pages. +Ye who with ever-open mouths are constantly clamouring at +whatever is established, whether it be beneficial to the human +race or injurious, will here find the motives for your conduct +pointed out and held up to contempt and execration.</p> +<p>But, above all, this work contains the following highly useful +advice:</p> +<p>Let every one bear his lot with patience, and not seek, at the +expense of his repose, to penetrate into those secrets which the +spirit of man, while dressed in the garb of mortality, cannot and +must not unveil. Let every one bridle those emotions which +the strange and frequently revolting phenomena of the moral world +may cause to arise in his bosom, and beware of deciding upon +them; for He alone who has power to check or permit them, can +know how and why they happen, whither they tend, and what will be +their ultimate consequence. To the mind of man all is dark; +he is an enigma to himself: let him live, therefore, in the hope +of once seeing clearly; and happy indeed is he who in this manner +passes his days.</p> +<p>The present translation, it should be added, has been executed +with as much fidelity to the original as the difference of the +two languages, and other considerations, would allow.</p> +<h2><!-- page v--><a name="pagev"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +v</span>CONTENTS.</h2> +<table> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER I.</p> +<p>Ambitious Character of Faustus—His Discovery of +Printing—Journey to Frankfort—The Devil, the White +Nun, and Father Gebhardt of Mayence—Faustus offers his +Bible to the Council of Frankfort—His first Interview with +a Spirit—The Infernal Banquet—Speech of +Satan—Allegorical Entertainments of +Leviathan—Faustus’s Dialogue with the Devil</p> +</td> +<td><p><span class="indexpageno"><a +href="#page1">1</a></span></p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER II.</p> +<p>Leviathan meets Faustus at an Inn at +Frankfort—Assembling of the Council, and Discussion on +Faustus’s Bible—Corporation Squabbles—Leviathan +and Faustus invited to a grand Civic Entertainment—Faustus +presents his Bible to the City—His Introduction to the +Mayoress—Knighthood of the Mayor—The Devil’s +Revenge on the Corrupt Corporation—The Hermit of +Homburg—A Lesson to Misanthropists—The Hermit and the +lovely Pilgrim—His Hut burnt by Leviathan, and he perishes +in the Flames—Faustus returns to his Wife and Family at +Mayence—Espouses the Cause of a despairing Client, and +corrupts the Judge—Dispute about the Nun +Clara—Leviathan’s Revenge on the avaricious +Judge—Faustus’s Adventure with Clara—Takes +leave of his Family—Rescues a Youth from Drowning</p> +</td> +<td><p><span class="indexpageno"><a +href="#page60">60</a></span></p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center"><!-- page vi--><a +name="pagevi"></a><span class="pagenum">p. vi</span>CHAPTER +III.</p> +<p>The Devil and Faustus continue their Journey on the Banks of +the Fulda—The oppressive +Prince-Bishop—Faustus’s Interview with the +Bishop—Clerical Luxury—Case of Dr. Robertus, the +Protector of the People—Faustus espouses his Cause, and +liberates the “Patriot”—The Devil and Faustus +visit the Court of the Prince of ---.—The betrayed Minister +and his Daughter—The Devil and Faustus imprisoned—The +Fiend suffocates the Prince, and, with Faustus, resumes his +Journey—The Wildgrave and burning Village—The +infatuated Monk—School of Physiognomy—Faustus and the +Virgin Student—The Devil’s Peep-show, and its +Talismanic Influence—Portrait of the Fiend</p> +</td> +<td><p><span class="indexpageno"><a +href="#page116">116</a></span></p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER IV.</p> +<p>France in the Reign of Louis XI.—Interview of the Devil +and Faustus with Father Vesois—Loves of Madame de +Monserau—Faustus and the French Widow—The Fatal +Supper—Arrival of Faustus and the Devil at +Paris—Execution of the Duke of Nemours—Faustus and +the avaricious Father—Infanticide +recommended—Horrible Death of the Miser, and Ruin of his +Daughter—Trial of a humane Surgeon, and ungrateful +Murderer—Anatomical Cruelties—Prisons of +Paris—Bishop of Verdun’s Cages—Perillus, the +Tyrant Phalaris, and the Brazen Bull—Atrocious Character of +Louis XI.—The Hermit of Calabria—Faustus and the +Devil visit England—Cruelties of Richard, Duke of +Gloucester—The Devil’s Portraiture of the English +Character—Arrival of Faustus and the Fiend at +Milan—Murder of the Duke <!-- page vii--><a +name="pagevii"></a><span class="pagenum">p. vii</span>Galeas +Sforza—Florence—Spanish Auto-da-Fé—Pope +Alexander VI.—Combat of a Papal General with one of his +Officers for a White Goat—Machinations of the +Pope—Ancient and Modern Rome, and her +Abominations—Cardinal Cæsar Borgia—Licentious +Entertainments at the Vatican—The Pope and his +Illegitimates—Cæsar Borgia and +Michelotto—Stratagem to depose his Brother +Francisco—Murder of the latter—Faustus and the lovely +Lucretia—Vanity of Human Philosophy, and Sophistry of its +Professors—Atrocious Plots and Excesses of Pope +Alexander—His Sale of Indulgences—Amended Catalogue, +with increased Prices—Murder of Alphonso of +Arragon—Cæsar Borgia’s Letter to the +Pope—Cardinal Orsini—Borgia’s Triumphal Entry +into Rome—Marriage of Lucretia—Gross +Festivities—The Devil’s Apostrophe +thereon—Descent of the Pope into Hell, and Death of +Cæsar Borgia</p> +</td> +<td><p><span class="indexpageno"><a +href="#page181">181</a></span></p> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td><p style="text-align: center">CHAPTER V.</p> +<p>Faustus’s Consolation for his Crimes—Philosophy of +Voltaire—Faustus’s portentous Dream—Apparition +of his Father—Baseness and Ingratitude of Man—Flight +of the Devil and Faustus to Mayence—Death of his Son, and +Destruction of his Family—Retrospect of his criminal +Career—Accursed Destiny of Faustus, and Triumph of the +Devil—Descent of Faustus into Hell</p> +</td> +<td><p><span class="indexpageno"><a +href="#page261">261</a></span></p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +<h2><!-- page 1--><a name="page1"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +1</span> CHAPTER I.</h2> +<p>Faustus, having long struggled with the shadows of Theology, +the bubbles of Metaphysics, and the <i>ignes-fatui</i> of +Morality, without being able to bring his mind to a firm +conviction, at length cast himself into the dark fields of Magic, +in the hope of forcing from Nature what she had so obstinately +withheld from him. His first attainment was the remarkable +invention of Printing; but his second was horrible. He +discovered, almost fortuitously, the dreadful formula by which +devils are called out of hell, and made subservient to the will +of man. But as yet he had not exerted his power, out of +love to his immortal soul, for whose welfare <!-- page 2--><a +name="page2"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 2</span>every Christian +is so anxious. At this period he was in the full bloom of +manhood. Nature had favoured him in his person, and had +given him a noble and expressive countenance. Here was +enough to bespeak his happiness in the world; but she superadded +pride and untamable impetuosity of mind, which displayed itself +in deep determination of purpose, and in the constant workings of +a heated imagination, which was never satisfied with the present, +but affected to discover the emptiness and insufficiency of the +acquired object, even in the zest of its enjoyment.</p> +<p>Faustus soon lost the path by which moderation leads frail +mortals to the abode of true happiness. He soon felt the +narrow limits of humanity, and endeavoured to burst their +bonds. By what he had learnt and believed in his youth, he +entertained a high opinion of the capacity and moral worth of +man; and, in comparing himself with others, he naturally laid the +greatest part of the sum-total to his own account. Here +were fine materials for greatness and glory: but true greatness +and true glory generally fly from him who is <!-- page 3--><a +name="page3"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 3</span>on the point of +attaining them, just before he can separate their fine pure forms +from the mist and vapour which delusion has shed round +them. It appeared to Faustus that, in his situation, the +nearest and most convenient way to honour and reputation would be +the sciences; yet scarcely had he tasted their enchantment when +his soul became inflamed with an ardent passion after +truth. Every one who is acquainted with these sirens, and +has heard their deceitful song, must know that, provided he does +not make a mere trade of them, he must infallibly miss his aim, +from the necessity of assuaging the burning thirst with which +they inspire him. Faustus, after he had for a long time +groped about in the labyrinth, found that his earnings were +doubt; displeasure at the short-sightedness of man; and +discontent and murmuring against the Being who had formed +him. He might still have been comparatively happy had he +had only these feelings to combat: but when the perusal of the +sages and the poets awakened a thousand new wants in his soul, +and his now winged and artificial imagination conjured <!-- page +4--><a name="page4"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 4</span>up +before his eyes the many intoxicating enjoyments which gold and +reputation could only procure him, his blood ran like fire +through his veins, and all his faculties were soon swallowed up +by this sensation.</p> +<p>By the discovery of Printing, Faustus thought he had at length +opened the door to riches, honour, and enjoyment. He +exerted himself to the utmost, in order to bring the art to +perfection, and he now laid his discovery before mankind; but +their lukewarmness quickly convinced him that, although the +greatest inventor of his age, he and his family would soon perish +with hunger unless his genius continually displayed itself in +some new forms. Hurled from the pinnacle of hope, oppressed +by heavy debts,—which he had incurred by generosity and +extravagant living, and by his becoming security for false +friends,—he now surveyed the world through a gloomy +medium. His domestic ties, when he no longer knew how to +support his family, became an intolerable burden. He began +to think that there was a malign influence in the distribution of +men’s fortunes: or <!-- page 5--><a name="page5"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 5</span>how did it happen that the noble and +intellectual man was every where oppressed, neglected, and in +misery; whilst the knave and the fool were rich, prosperous, and +honoured in life?</p> +<p>In this melancholy state of mind Faustus wandered from Mayence +to Frankfort, intending to sell one of his printed Latin Bibles +to the magistracy, and then to return and buy with the produce +food for his hungry children. He had been able to +accomplish nothing in his native city, because at that time the +Archbishop was at war with the whole Chapter, and all Mayence +found itself in the greatest confusion. The cause was as +follows: a Dominican monk had dreamt that he passed the night +with his penitent, the lovely Clara, who was a white nun, and a +niece of the Archbishop. In the morning it was his turn to +read mass; he did so, and, unabsolved from the night of sin, +received the host in his profane hands. At eve-tide, after +a cup or two of Rhenish, he related his dream to a young +novice. The dream tickled the imagination of the novice: he +told it with some additions to a monk; and in <!-- page 6--><a +name="page6"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 6</span>this manner the +story, embellished with horrors and licentiousness, ran through +the convent, until it came to the ears of the Prior +himself. This holy man, who hated Father Gebhardt on +account of his intimacy with the most respectable houses, was +shocked at the scandalousness of the affair, which he considered +as a profanation of the holy sacrament; and, refusing to decide +on such a weighty matter, he referred it to the Archbishop. +The Archbishop, wisely concluding that whatever sinful man wishes +or thinks by day he dreams of by night, denounced the ban of the +Church against the monk. The Chapter, whose hatred to an +Archbishop always increases the longer he lives, and gladly +seizes every opportunity to annoy him, took Father Gerhardt under +its protection, and opposed the ban on these grounds: “It +is well known that the Devil tempted St. Anthony with the most +licentious representations and voluptuous enticements; and if the +Devil dared to act so with a saint, whose equal was not to be +found in the calendar, what should prevent him from playing off +his pranks with a Dominican? We must therefore <!-- page +7--><a name="page7"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 7</span>advise +the monk to follow the example of the holy Anthony, and, like +him, to oppose the temptations of the fiend with the weapons of +prayer and fasting. It is, however, much to be lamented, +that Satan should have so little respect for the Archbishop as to +make the instrument of his wiles assume the figure of one of his +reverence’s family.” The Chapter conducted +itself in this case exactly in the same manner as hereditary +princes do whose fathers live too long. But what served +more completely to confuse the case was a report from the +nunnery. The nuns had assembled in the refectory, and were +busied in dressing up a Madonna for the next festival, hoping to +surpass by its magnificence their rivals the black nuns, when +suddenly the old porteress entered, told the licentious story, +and added, that the Dominican, whose name she had forgot, would +certainly be burnt alive, for that the Chapter had even then +assembled for the purpose of trying him. Whilst the +porteress was relating the tale with its various circumstances, +the faces of the young nuns were violently flushed, and Sin, who +never loses an opportunity <!-- page 8--><a +name="page8"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 8</span>of corrupting +innocent hearts, shot into their blood, and hastily pictured the +dangerous scene to their imaginations. Fury and +consternation, in the mean time, deformed the features of the old +ones. The abbess trembled and leaned on her staff, while +the spectacles fell from her face. But when the porteress +added, that it was the sister Clara whom the fiend had brought to +the Dominican in his dream, a dreadful shriek filled the whole +hall. Clara alone remained tranquil, and when the uproar +had ceased, she said, smiling: “Dear sisters, why do you +shriek so fearfully? I myself dreamt that I passed the +night with Father Gebhardt, my confessor; and if it was the work +of the fiend” (here she and all the rest made the sign of +the cross), “why, we must give him the +discipline.” “The Father Gebhardt!” cried +the porteress; “now, all ye saints and angels, that is the +very person who dreamt of you; that is he whom they are about to +burn.” The porteress having thus expressed herself, +this second version of the dream was immediately circulated +through the city. The Madonna was allowed to remain <!-- +page 9--><a name="page9"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +9</span>naked, for the sisters cared now very little if the black +nuns bore away the palm. The abbess did all in her power to +spread the news abroad, the housekeeper followed her example, the +porteress harangued an audience beneath the gateway, and Clara +candidly replied to the yet more candid questions of her +companions. The last trumpet could not have diffused in +Mayence more terror and confusion than did this extraordinary +tale.</p> +<p>No sooner did the Dominican prior hear of this accident than +he ran to the assembled Chapter, and gave, by his information, a +new turn to the affair. The Archbishop would willingly have +suppressed the whole business; but it was now time for the +Chapter to take it up, and all the canons were unanimously of +opinion, that so strange a circumstance ought to be communicated +to the Holy Father at Rome. They now became infuriated, and +nothing but the midday bell had power to separate them. +From that moment, all Mayence, clergy and laity, divided into two +parties; and for many years nothing was heard, spoken, or dreamt +of, but the Devil, the white nun, and Father <!-- page 10--><a +name="page10"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +10</span>Gebhardt. The matter was argued from the pulpit of +every sect: mountebanks, Capuchins, and dog-doctors, made it +their theme; while the lawyers, after having taken the +depositions of the nun and the father, and confronted them with +each other, wrote folio volumes concerning the sinful and +unsinful chances of the dream. Was this a time for Faustus +and his discoveries to succeed?</p> +<p>In Frankfort, which is at the present day the asylum of +science, Faustus, however, hoped for better fortune. He +offered his Bible to the reverend Town Council for two hundred +gold guilders; but, as a large sum had just been expended in +purchasing five hogsheads of prime Rhenish for the council +cellar, his demand came rather unseasonably. He paid his +court to the town-clerk, to the speaker, and to the +senators,—from the proud patrician to the yet prouder head +of the shoemaker guild. He was promised by all favour, +protection, and assistance.</p> +<p>At length he attached himself to the then presiding mayor, +from whom he for a long time gained nothing; but, as if in +recompense, the lady-mayoress <!-- page 11--><a +name="page11"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 11</span>kindled a +violent passion in his susceptible heart. One evening the +mayor assured him that the council, on their next day of meeting, +would come to a determination, by virtue of which the assembled +members would most probably pay down the sum for the Bible. +Faustus replied, that his children might very possibly die of +hunger before so enlightened an assembly had decided; and, +maddened with despair, he now returned to his solitary +apartment. In this moment he suddenly recollected his magic +formula. The thought of running some bold risk, and of +purchasing independence of man by an alliance with the Devil, +rushed more vividly than ever through his brain. Yet the +idea terrified him. With hasty steps, furious gestures, and +fearful cries, he strode up and down the chamber, struggling with +his rebellious spirit, which urged him to penetrate the +surrounding darkness; still his soul shuddered and was +unresolved. The clock struck eleven from the neighbouring +tower. Black night hung about the earth. The +north-wind howled, and clouds obscured the face of the full <!-- +page 12--><a name="page12"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +12</span>moon. Nature now appeared in a second chaos. +A night more suited to bewilder an excited imagination could not +be conceived. Yet was the beam of his mind balanced. +In one scale hung religion and its firm supporter—the hope +of immortality; while thirst for independence and knowledge, +pride, pleasure, malevolence, and bitterness filled the +other.</p> +<p>At length Faustus, according to the custom of magic, drew the +horrible circle which was for ever to remove him from the +providential care of the Omnipotent, and from the sweet ties of +humanity. His eyes sparkled, his heart beat louder, and his +yellow tresses stood erect on his head. At this moment he +thought he saw his aged father and his blooming wife and children +wring their hands in despair, and fall down upon their knees to +pray for him to that Being whom he was about to renounce. +“It is their misery, it is their situation, that maddens +me,” he wildly shrieked, and stamped on the ground with his +foot. He now became enraged at the weakness of his heart, +and advanced towards the circle; the storm rattled <!-- page +13--><a name="page13"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +13</span>against the windows, the foundation of the house +trembled: a noble angelic figure appeared before him, exclaiming, +“Stay, Faustus!” and the following colloquy +ensued:</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Who art thou, that disturbest my daring +work?</p> +<p><i>Figure</i>. I am the Genius of Man, and will save +thee, if thou art to be saved.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. What canst thou give me to assuage my +thirst for knowledge, and my desire for freedom and +enjoyment?</p> +<p><i>Figure</i>. Humility, resignation in suffering, +content, and a proper estimation of thyself; above all, an easy +death, and light in the world to come.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Begone, vision of my heated fancy! +I know thee by the cunning with which thou wouldst deceive the +wretches whom thou hast made subservient to power. Begone, +and hover around the brows of the beggar, of the monk, of the +debased slave, and of all those who have their hearts fettered by +unnatural bonds; and who keep their senses locked up, in order to +escape from the claws of despair. The powers of my soul +require <!-- page 14--><a name="page14"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 14</span>room, and let Him who has given me it +answer for its workings.</p> +<p>“Farewell, unhappy man,” sighed the Genius, and +disappeared.</p> +<p>Faustus cried, “Am I to be frightened on the very brink +of hell by nursery-tales? But they shall not prevent me +from piercing the darkness; I will know what the gloomy curtain +conceals, which a tyrannical hand has drawn before our +eyes. And who is to blame, I repeat? Was it I that +formed myself so that trifling exertion exhausts my +strength? Did I plant in my bosom the seeds of +passion? Did I place there that impulse for aggrandisement +which never lets me rest? Did I fashion my soul, so that it +will not submit, and will not bear contempt? Perhaps I am +like the earthen pot, which, formed by a strange hand, is broken +into pieces, because it does not hit the fancy of the maker, and +because it does not answer the use for which it appears to have +been designed. Alas! I am a mere vessel; yet wherefore then +this struggle with my destiny, which would fetter my noblest +resolves? And was mind <!-- page 15--><a +name="page15"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 15</span>given for no +purpose? Surely not! The bull trusts in his horns, +and the stag in his swiftness to escape from the hunter; and is +that which so eminently distinguishes man less his own? +Mind I possess; I employed it for the benefit of my fellow-men, +and neglect was my reward; perhaps the devils will respect it +more.”</p> +<p>Here he sprung furiously into the circle; while the +lamentations of his wife, father, and children seemed to echo, in +the deep tones of despair, “Lost! for ever lost!”</p> +<p>Satan, ruler of hell, had, by the hoarse sound of his +trumpets, which echoed even to the glowing sides of the sun, +announced to all the fallen spirits dispersed through the upper +and lower world, that he intended on this day to give a great +festival. The spirits assembled at the mighty call. +Even his envoys at the papal stool, and at the different courts +of Europe, forsook their posts; for the invitation led them to +expect something great and important.</p> +<p>Already the monstrous vaults of hell resounded with the wild +cries of the fiendish populace, while <!-- page 16--><a +name="page16"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 16</span>myriads +seated themselves upon the scorched ground. The princes +then stepped forth, and commanded silence to the multitude, +whilst Satan heard the intelligence brought by his envoys from +the upper world. The devils obeyed, and a death-like +stillness prevailed amid the thick, misty darkness, interrupted +only by the groans of the damned. In the mean time the +slaves of the fiends—shades who are neither worthy of +happiness nor damnation—prepared the immeasurable tables +for the banquet; and they deserved to be under the thraldom of +such a task. When they were yet in flesh and blood, and ate +the fruits of the earth, they were of that equivocal kind, who +seem the friends of all men and yet are the friends of none; +whose tongues continually prattle of the noble precepts of +virtue, which they feel not in their hearts; who only abstain +from evil because it is accompanied by danger, and from doing +good because it requires courage and self-denial; who traffic +with religion, and, like avaricious Jews, lay out their capital +at interest, for the purpose of securing a comfortable berth for +their miserable souls; and <!-- page 17--><a +name="page17"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 17</span>who worship +God from fear, and tremble before Him like slaves.</p> +<p>The devils, who, to say the truth, are no better masters than +the Polish, Livonian, and Hungarian nobility, drove them about in +hell at a furious rate. Others were sweating in the +infernal kitchen, and cooking the meal for their haughty +lords—an unpleasant service for a soul which had once +supported its own human body by eating and drinking. For +although the devils originally neither ate nor drank, yet they +had learnt from men the custom of celebrating every solemnity by +means of the glass and platter; and on such occasions they feast +on souls. The general of each legion (for hell is arranged +on a military footing, and in this respect resembles every +despotic government, or rather every despotic government in this +respect resembles hell) chooses a certain number of damned souls, +as food for his subalterns. These are delivered over to the +slaves, who stew, broil, and baste them with infernal +sauce. It frequently happens that these wretches have to +stick their own wives, daughters, fathers, sons, <!-- page +18--><a name="page18"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 18</span>or +brothers upon the spits, and to keep up the purgatorial fire +beneath them; a truly horrible and tragic employment, rendered +yet more so, since their overseer, a capricious devil, like all +understrappers of great lords, stands behind them with a whip in +order to expedite the work. On the present occasion two +popes, a conqueror, a celebrated philosopher, and a recently +canonised saint, were intended to feast the palates of Satan, his +viziers, and his favourites. Abundance of fresh victuals +had just arrived for the common people. The pope had a +little time before set by the ears two armies of French, +Italians, Spaniards, and Germans, in order to fish up in the +tumult certain districts, to add to the patrimony of St. +Peter. They fought like heroes, and fell by thousands into +the infernal regions. What happiness would it be for the +souls intended for these devilish repasts, if they were thereby +to find an end to their torments! But no sooner are they +swallowed, digested, and returned piecemeal into the pools of +hell than they are regenerated, and arise to become the patients +of new suffering.</p> +<p><!-- page 19--><a name="page19"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +19</span>While these victims were writhing on the spits, the +cellarers and butlers, slaves of the above-mentioned order, +decked out the sideboards. The flasks were filled with +tears of hypocrites, of would-be saints, of pretenders to +sensibility, and of persons who repent from weakness of soul; +with tears which envy squeezes out on hearing of another’s +prosperity; with tears of egotists who weep for joy because they +themselves have escaped the misfortunes by which others are +overwhelmed; and of sons who weep over the palls of their harsh +and avaricious fathers. The flasks on the supper-table were +filled with the tears of priests, who, like actors, play a part +in the pulpit, in order to move their auditors; and to give the +liquor a sharper flavour, it was mingled with tears of +courtesans, who walk the streets weeping for hunger, until some +inexperienced youth barters his dollar with them for sin. +Reserved for Satan and his princes stood, on various sideboards, +flasks of the noblest drink. This was heady and foaming, +being a mixture of the tears of monarchs, who weep for the misery +of their subjects, whilst they issue <!-- page 20--><a +name="page20"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 20</span>commands only +calculated to perpetuate it; of the tears of maidens who weep for +the loss of their chastity with streaming eyes; and of the tears +of favourites who have fallen into disgrace, and now weep because +they can no longer rob and oppress under the protection of their +masters.</p> +<p>No sooner had the slaves decked the table, and stationed +themselves behind the chairs of their masters, than the grandees +poured forth from the chambers of Satan. The furies went +foremost; the body-guards followed them, and were succeeded by +the chamberlains. Then came pages bearing lighted torches, +woven out of the souls of monks who entrap wives, and press round +the deathbed of husbands to force them to leave their property to +the Church, without reflecting that their own illegitimate spawn +must beg for bread through the land. Then came Satan +himself, closely followed by the remaining nobility of his court, +according to their rank and favour. The devils bowed their +heads in reverence, the pages placed the torches upon the table +of their sovereign; while Satan, with a triumphant air, <!-- page +21--><a name="page21"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +21</span>mounted his high throne, and delivered the following +speech:</p> +<p>“Princes, potentates, immortal spirits, welcome! thrice +welcome! Rapturous emotions glow through me when I cast my +eyes along your squadrons of countless heroes. We are yet +what we were when, for the first time, we awoke in this pool from +the stunning consequences of our fall, and for the first time +assembled here. Only one feeling still +rules,—unanimity alone maintains her sway, and in this +place only do all devote themselves to the same end. He who +has the happiness of commanding you may easily forget all other +glory. I own we have suffered, and still suffer, much, +especially since the full exercise of our powers is +restrained. But in the feeling of the vengeance which we +take on the sons of dust,—in the contemplation of their +madness and crimes, by which they continually thwart the purposes +of their being,—lies a recompense for our suffering. +Welcome, thrice welcome, all ye whom this sentiment inflames.</p> +<p>“Hear now the occasion of the festival which <!-- page +22--><a name="page22"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 22</span>I +intend this day to celebrate with you. Faustus, a daring +mortal, who, like us, is at war with the Eternal, and who, +through the strength of his spirit, may at some future period be +deemed worthy to dwell along with us here, has discovered the art +of multiplying, on an easy principle, a thousand and a +thousandfold, those things denominated books,—those +dangerous toys of men,—those vehicles of delusion, of +error, of lies, and of horror,—those sources of pride and +of painful doubt. Until now they have been too costly, and +only in the hands of the rich, whom they filled with fancies, and +from whom they chased that humility which God had for their +happiness infused into their hearts. Triumph! Soon +will the poison of knowledge and inquiry be communicated to all +classes. New cravings, new wants, will arise; and I doubt +whether my enormous kingdom will be able to contain all those who +will destroy themselves by this delicious poison. But this +were only a slight victory: my eye pierces deeper into that +distant period, which is to us no more than an hour is to +man. Soon will cavillers <!-- page 23--><a +name="page23"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 23</span>and haters of +the established Church spread about like the plague: pretended +reformers of heaven and earth will arise, and their doctrines, +from the facility of communication, will penetrate even into the +hut of the beggar. They will think to do good, and to +purify the object of their hope from falsehood. But, if men +begin well, how long do they continue to act so! Sin is not +more inseparable from them than are ill consequences from their +noblest pursuits. The well-beloved people of God, whom he +endeavoured to snatch from evil by the sacrifice of his only Son, +will quarrel about tenets which no one understands, and will tear +each other to pieces like wild-beasts. Horrible atrocities, +surpassing all the abominations perpetrated by men since they +first sprung into existence, will desolate unhappy Europe. +My hopes appear to you too bold,—I read it in your doubting +countenances; but listen to me whilst I explain. Religious +disagreements will give rise to these frenzies. Then first +will Fanaticism, the wild son of Hatred and Superstition, untie +all the bonds of nature and humanity. The father will +murder the son, and <!-- page 24--><a name="page24"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 24</span>the son the father; kings will +joyfully dip their fingers in the blood of their subjects, and +place the sword in the hands of bigots, in order that they may +slaughter their brothers by thousands, because their opinions are +different. Then will the water of the rivers turn into +streams of blood, and the shrieks of the murdered will shake hell +to its very centre. We shall see wretches come down to us +stained with crimes for which we have had hitherto neither names +nor punishments. Already do I see them attack the papal +chair, which keeps together the fragile fabric through treachery +and deceit, whilst it undermines itself through crime and +luxury. The great props of the religion which we dread give +way; and, if the sinking structure be not sustained by means of +new miracles, it will disappear from the face of the earth, and +we shall once more shine in the temples as worshiped +divinities. Where will the spirit of man stop, when he has +once undertaken to illumine that which he formerly honoured as a +mystery? He will dance on the grave of the tyrant, at whose +frown he the day before trembled. He <!-- page 25--><a +name="page25"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 25</span>will break to +pieces the altar on which he lately sacrificed, if he once +endeavour to find the way to heaven by his own wisdom. Will +the Creator take home to himself a human being, who is not a +million times more allied to us than to him? Man abuses +every thing, even the strength of his soul as well as of his +body. He abuses all that he sees, hears, feels, or thinks; +and all with which he trifles, or with which he is seriously +engaged. Not content with deforming whatever he can seize +with his hands, he soars upon the wings of imagination into +worlds to him unknown, and arrays them in ideal deformity. +Even freedom, the noblest of his treasures, to obtain which he +has shed rivers of blood, he readily sells for gold and pleasure, +before he has tasted its sweets. Incapable of good, he yet +trembles at evil, he heaps horror upon horror to escape it, and +then destroys his own handiwork.</p> +<p>“After the bloodshed of war, mankind, wearied with +slaughter, will take a few moments’ repose, and then their +venomous hatred will be displayed in petty and private +bickerings. Some, <!-- page 26--><a name="page26"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 26</span>indeed, will every now and then raise +piles of wood and fagot, and burn those alive who disagree with +them in religion; others will attempt the solution of +inexplicable riddles; and those born for darkness will dare to +struggle for light; their imaginations will become inflamed, and +their desires insatiable. Truth, simplicity, and religion +will be trodden under foot, for the sake of writing a book. +Yes, yes, book-writing will become a universal employment, by +which fools and men of genius will alike seek fame and emolument; +caring very little whether they confuse the heads of their +fellow-creatures, and hurl firebrands into the hearts of the +innocent. The heaven, the earth, the secret strength of +nature, the dark causes of her phenomena, the power which rules +the stars and bowls the comets through space,—every thing +visible and invisible,—they will wish to handle, measure, +and dive into. They will invent, for all that is +incomprehensible, words and numbers; and heap system upon system, +till they have brought deeper darkness upon the earth, through +which doubt, like the fen-fire, will only shine to <!-- page +27--><a name="page27"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +27</span>allure the wanderer into the morass. Only then +will they think to see clearly, and then I expect them. +After they have shovelled away religion, and are forced, out of +the remains, to patch together a new and monstrous mixture of +human wisdom and superstition, then I expect them. And then +open wide the gates of hell, that the race of man may +enter. The first step is already taken; the second is +near. But this must be preceded by a horrible revolution +upon the face of the earth. Soon will the inhabitants of +the old world emigrate, for the purpose of discovering new, and +to them unknown, regions of the globe. They will there +attack and slaughter millions, to possess themselves of that gold +which the innocents value not. They will fill this new +world with all their crimes, and then return with materials for +corrupting even the old one. Thus will nations become our +prey, whom till now innocence and ignorance have protected from +us. And thus shall we, by the assistance of the favourites +of heaven, triumph.</p> +<p>“This, then, O potentates! is what I wished <!-- page +28--><a name="page28"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 28</span>to +communicate to you; and now rejoice with me over this mighty day, +and enjoy in anticipation the victory which I, who know men, +promise you. Long live Faustus!”</p> +<p>With horrible uproar, which made the axis of the earth +tremble, and the bones of the dead rattle in their coffins, the +devils shouted, “Long live Faustus!” +“Long live the corrupter of the sons of dust!” +Hereupon the chief nobility of the kingdom were permitted to kiss +the hand of his Satanic majesty.</p> +<p>The triumphant devils now sat down to table, and fell upon the +prepared meal. The goblets clattered, the souls were +craunched between their iron teeth; and they drank the health of +Satan, of Faustus, of the clergy, of the tyrants of the earth, +and of future and living authors, amidst the clang of hellish +artillery. In order to render the banquet more magnificent, +the masters of the revels went to the pools, drew out the burning +souls, and chased them over the tables, to illumine the gloomy +scene; while they ran behind the wretches with poisoned whips, +forcing them to <!-- page 29--><a name="page29"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 29</span>caper; and sparks ascended to the +blackened roofs, crackling like wheat-sheaves ignited by +lightning in an autumn storm. That the devils might have +music to their meat, others hastened to the pools, and poured +molten metal amid the flames, so that the damned howled and +cursed in grisly despair. If priests now could, instead of +their cold and fruitless sermons about penitence, give a specimen +upon earth of these horrid cries, sinners would quickly turn a +deaf ear to the voluptuous warblings of castrati, and join in +some pious psalm: but, alas, hell is distant, and pleasure close +at hand. After the banquet a great stage was erected, and +various plays were performed, founded on the heroic deeds of +Satan; for example, the Fall of Man, the Betrayal of Judas +Iscariot, &c.</p> +<p>The performance was then suddenly changed to an allegorical +ballet. The scene was a wild and dreary spot. In a +dark cavern sat Metaphysics, in the shape of an Egyptian mummy, +whose eyes were fixed upon five glittering words, which flitted +continually backwards and forwards, and at each change had a +different import. The <!-- page 30--><a +name="page30"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 30</span>mummy ceased +not to follow them with its stony eyes; while in a corner stood a +little roguish devil, who incessantly blew bubbles of air into +its face. Pride, the amanuensis of Metaphysics, gathered +the bubbles up as they fell, pressed the air out, and kneaded +them into hypotheses. The mummy was clothed in an Egyptian +waistcoat, embroidered with mystic characters. Over this it +wore a Grecian mantle, which ought to have concealed the +characters, but was much too short and too narrow for that +purpose. Its legs, thighs, and body, were cased in long +loose drawers, which did not, however, entirely conceal its +nakedness. A huge doctorial hat covered its bald head, +which was marked with the scratches worn by its long nails in +provoking deep reflection. Its shoes were made after the +European fashion, and sprinkled with the finest dust of the +schools and universities. After it had gazed a considerable +time on the moving words, without being able to understand them, +its attendant, Pride, gave the wink to Delusion, who was walking +near. He seized a wooden trumpet, and sounded a +dance. No <!-- page 31--><a name="page31"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 31</span>sooner did the mummy hear the noise +than it took Pride by the hand, and danced about with antic +gambols; but its thin withered legs could not bear this long, and +it soon sunk breathless into its former posture.</p> +<p>Then came forward Morality, a fine female form, hooded in a +veil, which, chameleon-like, sported all colours. She held +Virtue and Vice by the hands, and danced a trio with them. +For music, a naked savage played upon an oaten pipe, a European +philosopher scraped the fiddle, while an Asiatic beat the drum; +and although these contradictory tones would have distracted an +harmonious ear, yet the dancers did not once lose the +step,—so well had they learnt their parts. When the +maiden gave Vice her hand, she coquetted and languished +significantly before him; but when she gave it to Virtue, she +moved along with the modest gait of a matron. After the +dance, she reposed upon a thin, transparent, and +beautifully-painted cloud, which her admirers had woven out of +various shreds and remnants.</p> +<p>Next appeared nude Poetry: she danced with <!-- page 32--><a +name="page32"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 32</span>Sensuality a +characteristic dance, to which Imagination played the flute +d’amour.</p> +<p>History then advanced upon the stage. Before her went +Fame, with a long brazen trumpet. She herself was hung +round with stories of murders, poisonings, perjuries, +conspiracies, and other horrors. Behind her panted, beneath +a prodigious load of chronicles, diplomas, and documents, a +strong nervous man, clothed in the German fashion. She +danced with Slavery, to the rustling of the stories with which +she was hung. Falsehood at length took the trumpet from the +mouth of Fame, and tuned it to the dance; and Flattery led the +figures.</p> +<p>Then appeared Medicine and Quackery, and were received with +loud laughter: they danced a minuet, to which Death clinked the +music with a purse of gold.</p> +<p>After them were seen Astrology, Cabala, Theosophy, and +Mysticism. They grasped each other by the hands, and +whirled around in intricate figures; while Superstition, +Delusion, and Fraud stood near, and blew the bagpipes.</p> +<p><!-- page 33--><a name="page33"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +33</span>These were followed by Jurisprudence, a sleek, +rosy-faced dame, fed with fees, and hung about with +commentaries—she coughed through a tedious solo; and +Chicanery played the bass-viol.</p> +<p>Last of all entered Policy, in a triumphant car drawn by two +mares, Weakness and Deceit. On her right sat Theology, +holding in one hand a sharp-pointed dagger, and in the other a +blazing torch. Policy herself wore a golden crown upon her +head, and supported a sceptre over her right shoulder. She +descended from the car, and danced with Theology a pas-de-deux, +to which Cunning, Ambition, and Tyranny played on soft tinkling +instruments. After she had finished the pas-de-deux, she +made all the other figures a sign to begin a general dance. +They immediately obeyed, and sprang about in wild +confusion. All the before-mentioned musicians played on +their instruments, and raised a din, only surpassed in loudness +by the table-music of Satan. Yet Contention soon insinuated +herself among the unsuspicious dancers; and, animated by Zeal and +Fury, they hastily snatched up weapons. When Theology <!-- +page 34--><a name="page34"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +34</span>perceived that all embraced delightful Poetry, and that +Morality wished to tear off her own veil, in order to cover her +with it, she gave the latter a thrust with a poniard from behind, +and singed the nude and tender Poetry with her flaming +torch. Both raised a dreadful shriek: Policy commanded +silence, and Quackery hastened to bind up the wound of Morality, +whilst Medicine cut a shred from her robe in payment. Death +stretched out his claw from under the mantle of thievish Medicine +to seize Morality, but Policy gave him such a blow that he yelled +aloud, and grinned most hideously. Poetry was allowed to +hop about, because she was naked, and had nothing to be despoiled +of. At length History took pity on her, and laid upon the +burn a wet leaf from a sentimental romance. Policy then +tied them all behind her chariot, and drove away in triumph.</p> +<p>All hell expressed approbation of this last spectacle by +reiterated clappings; and Satan embraced the devil Leviathan for +having got up the entertainment, which flattered him exceedingly, +it being one of his chief whims to be <!-- page 35--><a +name="page35"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 35</span>reckoned by +the fiends as the inventor of the sciences. He often said, +in his pride, that he had begotten them in his intercourse with +the daughters of earth, in order to divert men from the +straightforward and noble feelings of their hearts; to remove +from their eyes the mystic veil which constitutes their +happiness; to make them acquainted with their state of +restriction and weakness; and to fill them with painful doubt +concerning their after destination. “I taught +them,” he would continue, “by their means, to reason, +so that they might forget to practise virtue, and to +worship. We ourselves have defied Heaven with bold and open +weapons, and I have at least shown them the way of skirmishing +incessantly with the Eternal.”</p> +<p>The sensible reader will here pause, and admire the strict +resemblance of all courts to each other: that is, how the great, +through the service, toil, and sweat of the little, win the +favour of their sovereigns, and bear away the rewards. +Leviathan gave himself out as the inventor of this allegorical +ballet, and was on that account thanked <!-- page 36--><a +name="page36"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 36</span>and caressed, +although the real author of it was the Bavarian Poet Laureate, +who a short time before had died of hunger, and found his way to +hell. He prepared the ballet after the latest +court-fashion, by the command of Prince Leviathan, who had at +least talent enough to discover merit: the reason of his bitter +allusions to the sciences was, probably, because they had so ill +supported him; and perhaps Leviathan, who knew perfectly well +what would please Satan, had given him a hint to that +effect. Be this as it may, the devil had the reward, and +the thin shade of the Bavarian Laureate sat cowering behind a +rock of the theatre, and observed with bitterest agony the marks +of unmerited favour which Satan had lavished on Leviathan.</p> +<p>The half-intoxicated devils now became so clamorous as nearly +to drown the howls of the damned; when suddenly the powerful +voice of Faustus echoed from the upper world through hell. +He had at length surmounted every obstacle, and now summoned +before him one of the first princes of the kingdom of +darkness.</p> +<p><!-- page 37--><a name="page37"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +37</span>Satan started up in ecstasy: “It is Faustus who +calls there. No one else has the power; and no one else, if +he had such power, would dare to knock so loudly against the iron +portals. Up! up! a man like him is worth a thousand of the +scoundrels who come down hither every day by rote.” +Then, turning to the devil Leviathan, his favourite, he added, +“I choose thee, the subtlest seducer, the deadliest hater +of the human race, to ascend and purchase for me, by thy +dangerous services, the soul of this desperado. Only thou +canst chain, satiate, and then, drive to despair, his craving +heart and his proud and restless spirit. Quick, quick! +ascend! dispel the vapours of school-wisdom from his brain. +Consume with the fire of voluptuousness the noble feelings of his +heart. Disclose to him the treasures of nature, and hurry +him into life, that he may the sooner grow tired of it. Let +him see evil arise from good, vice rewarded, justice and +innocence trodden under foot, as is the custom of men. +Conduct him through the wild and terrible scenes of human life; +let him mistake its aim, and lose among its <!-- page 38--><a +name="page38"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 38</span>horrors the +guiding thread of virtue. And when he stands separated from +all natural and heavenly ties, in doubt concerning the noble +destination of his race,—when even pleasure and enjoyment +have left him, and the inward worm awakes,—then depict to +him, with infernal bitterness, the consequences of his deeds and +delusions, and unfold to him all their links, extending to +remotest generations. If despair should then seize him, +hurl him down, and return in triumph to hell.”</p> +<p><i>Leviathan</i>. Wherefore, O Satan, dost thou impose +this work upon me? Thou knowest that I have long ago had +enough of men, and of their playground,—the world. +What is to be made out of wretches who, as thou hast observed, +have strength neither for good nor evil? Gold, ambition, or +pleasure, can quickly make rascals of them, who have for a short +period pursued the phantom virtue; and if any one should move +boldly at first along the path of vice, he will be driven back +when half-way by the spectres of his crazy imagination. If, +indeed, it were a proud hot-headed Spaniard, a revengeful +assassinating <!-- page 39--><a name="page39"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 39</span>Italian, or even a wild lascivious +Frenchman, whom you wanted me to catch—but a German, one of +those thick-pated swine, who slavishly bend before rank, riches, +and all the artificial distinctions of men, who believe that +their lords and princes are made of superior materials to +themselves, and have a right to dispose of them just as they +please, either in fighting their own battles, or those of other +sovereigns! Hast thou heard from them for centuries a +single word of rebellion against tyranny, or of shedding blood +for the rights of man? Not one of them has, as yet, come +down to hell in glory; a proof that these people have no +distinguished heads among them. Those are to my mind who +wish to clear up every thing, who fight with the adamantine +shield of individuality, against which all prejudices, earthly or +heavenly, are shivered. Show me such a man who is willing +to become great on earth at the expense of his soul, and I will +immediately ascend.</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. Shall devils, O Leviathan, be blinded by +prejudice, like the sons of dust? I tell thee, <!-- page +40--><a name="page40"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 40</span>the +man after our own heart is born under that district of +heaven. He is one of those who, endued by nature with hot +and furious passions, rebel against all the old-established +customs of society. When such a spirit tears its way +through these cobwebs, it resembles a flame, which, by its own +fury, speedily consumes the materials which feed its +lustre. He is one of those visionary philosophers who +strive to seize, through imagination, what is denied to cold +understanding; and who, if they are unsuccessful, laugh at all +knowledge, and make pleasure and enjoyment their gods. +Away, away, Leviathan! soon shall a fire break out in Germany +which will spread through all Europe. Already is the germ +of that delusion springing up which shall endure for +centuries. What the German has once caught, he will not +easily let go.</p> +<p>The commanding voice of Faustus now resounded for the second +time. Satan continued:</p> +<p>“Thou mayst know by this call that he is no +trembler. Hasten to him, for, if thou delayest, perhaps he +may doubt the strength of his charms, and hell will lose the +fruits of his temerity. <!-- page 41--><a +name="page41"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 41</span>Truly, the +fellow is such a genius, that I can almost overlook his +origin.”</p> +<p>The devil Leviathan angrily replied: “I swear, by the +hot and foul pool of the damned, that the rebel shall one day +blaspheme, and curse this and the hour of his birth.”</p> +<p>He went away wrapt in a veil of smoke, and the fiends pursued +him with loud huzzas.</p> +<p>Faustus stood within the magic circle, while his breast +swelled with rage. For the third time he repeated the +dreadful formula, in a voice that resembled thunder. The +door suddenly flew open; a thick vapour hovered around the margin +of the circle; he struck into it with his magic rod, and cried in +triumph, “Unveil thyself, thou thing of +darkness!” The vapour dispersed, and Faustus saw a +tall figure concealed beneath a red mantle.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Why this tedious disguise to one who +wishes to see thee? Discover thyself to him, who fears thee +not in whatever shape thou mayst appear.</p> +<p>The Devil flung back his mantle, and stood in a daring and +majestic attitude before the circle. <!-- page 42--><a +name="page42"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 42</span>His fiery +eyes sparkled from beneath their black brows, between which +malice, hatred, fury, agony, and scorn had formed themselves in +thick folds. These furrows were sunk in a smooth, clear, +high-arched forehead, which contrasted strangely with the +fiendish marks between the eyes. A finely-formed aquiline +nose inclined towards a mouth which seemed to have been framed +only for the enjoyment of immortal things. He had the mien +of a fallen angel, whose countenance was once illuminated by the +Godhead, but which was now obscured by a gloomy veil.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i> (<i>in surprise</i>). Is man, then, every +where at home? Who art thou?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I am a prince of hell, and come because +thy mighty call compels me.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. A prince of hell under this mask; under +the figure of a man! I wished for a fiend, and not one of +my own race.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Perhaps, Faustus, we are most so when we +resemble ye; at least, no mask suits us better. Besides, is +it not your custom to conceal what ye are, and to appear what ye +are not?</p> +<p><!-- page 43--><a name="page43"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +43</span><i>Faustus</i>. Bitter enough, and yet true as +bitter; for, if our outsides looked like our insides, we should +not be very different from that which we imagine you to be; +still, I expected to see thee more terrible, and even hoped that +thy appearance would try the strength of my courage.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Thus do ye always imagine things contrary +to what they are. Probably you expected a devil with horns +and a cloven foot, as the cowardly age has depicted him. +But since you have ceased to worship the powers of nature, they +have forsaken you, and you can no longer conceive any thing +great. If I were to stand before thee such as I really +am,—my eyes threatening comets, my body a dark, hovering +cloud, which shoots lightning from its gloom, in my hand the +sword which I once brandished against the Avenger, and on my arm +the ponderous shield which his thunder pierced,—thou +wouldst become a heap of ashes in thy circle.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. But then I should at least see something +great.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I might admire your courage; but <!-- page +44--><a name="page44"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 44</span>you +are never more ridiculous than in these would-be grand bursts of +feeling, when you contrast the little you can embrace with the +monstrous and great which are so high above you. Thus may +the worm measure the trampling elephant, and reckon his weight in +the moment when it dies beneath his powerful foot.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Mocker! and what, then, is the spirit +within me, which, if it once get fairly on the ladder, will mount +from step to step into infinity? What are its limits?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. The length of your own nose. But, if +you called me out of hell merely for this chit-chat, permit me to +return for ever. I have long known your inclination to +prate about that which you do not understand.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Thy bitterness pleases me; it chimes in +with my humour, and I should like to be better acquainted with +thee. What is thy name?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Leviathan; which signifies <i>all</i>, for +I can do all.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Hear the braggart! Are devils, +then, so boastful?</p> +<p><!-- page 45--><a name="page45"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +45</span><i>Devil</i>. ’Twas said merely to do honour +to the shape in which thou seest me: but words are vain. +Set me to the proof. What dost thou require?</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Require? What an indefinite word +for a devil! If thou art what thou seemest, anticipate +desires, and gratify them ere they become wishes.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. The noble steed champs the bit in fury +when curbed by a timid rider: how he then resembles the man who +feels wings that could bear him into light, yet who is kept down +in the dark abyss! Faustus, thou art one of those fiery +spirits who are not contented with the scanty meal of knowledge +which Omniscience has set before them. Great is thy +strength, mighty is thy soul, and bold thy will; but the curse of +finite reason lies upon thee, as it does upon all. Faustus, +thou art as great as man can be.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Masquerading fiend, return into hell; +must thou, too, deceive us by flattery?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Faustus, I am a spirit formed of flaming +light; I saw the monstrous worlds arise out of nothing: thou art +of dust, and of yesterday. Do I flatter thee?</p> +<p><!-- page 46--><a name="page46"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +46</span><i>Faustus</i>. And yet must thou serve me if I +command.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. For that I expect the approbation of hell, +besides a reward; neither man nor devil will work for +nothing.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. What reward dost thou expect?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. To have that which animates thee; that +which would make thee my equal if it had power.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I were well off then, truly; yet, adept +as thou art, thou knowest little of men, if thou doubtest the +strength of one who has set himself free from the bonds which +nature has drawn so tightly round our hearts. How gentle +did they appear to me once, when the eye of my youth clothed men +and the world in the pure colours of morning! ’Tis +gone; dark is my horizon; I stand on the gloomy verge of +eternity, and have broken through the laws which keep the human +race in harmony.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. What madness is this, Faustus? +Harmony! does <i>she</i> rule the confused dance of life?</p> +<p><!-- page 47--><a name="page47"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +47</span><i>Faustus</i>. Silence! I feel it perhaps +for the last time; and perhaps look back for the last time upon +the pleasant, joyous days of youth. How lamentable that man +must awake from this dream of bliss; that the plant must shoot +up, in order to wither away as a tree, or be felled! Ha, +demon, smile; I was once happy. But let that be forgotten +which can never be recalled. Yes, we have only strength +when we pursue wickedness. But wherein am I great? If +I were so, should I want thee? Go, cunning flatterer; thou +wilt only make me feel my own littleness.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. He who is capable of feeling where the +shoe pinches him, and has courage enough to tear away the cause +of it, is at least great so far. More I will not say, and +woe to thee if I were to stimulate thee with words.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Observe me now, and tell me what my +spirit requires, but what I dare not utter.</p> +<p>At these words Faustus pointed to himself, then towards the +heavens, and moved his magic staff towards the east and the +west. He then continued, “Thou wast, when nothing +was.” He <!-- page 48--><a name="page48"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 48</span>laid his hand upon his breast and +forehead: “Here is darkness; let it be +dispelled.”</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Desperate man! full well I know thy wish, +and tremble, devil as I am, at thy boldness.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Wretched spirit! thou shalt not escape +by this subterfuge. In my burning thirst I would undertake +to drink dry the deep sea, if I hoped to find at its bottom what +I sought. I am thine, or another’s: I yet stand where +no devil can penetrate. Faustus is yet his own master.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Thou wast so a few minutes since. +But thy lot was cast when thou enteredst this circle. +Whoever has looked me in the face turns back in vain; and thus I +leave thee.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Thou shalt speak, and remove the dark +covering which conceals from me the world of spirits. I +will know the destination of man, and the cause of moral evil in +the world; I will know wherefore virtue suffers, and vice is +rewarded; I will know why we must purchase a moment’s +enjoyment by years of agony and sorrow. Thou shalt disclose +to me the source of things, and the mysterious causes of the +phenomena <!-- page 49--><a name="page49"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 49</span>of the physical and moral +world. Thou shalt make Him, who has arranged all, +comprehensible to me—yes! even if the vivid lightnings, +which at this moment shoot from thy demon eyes, were to stretch +me lifeless in this circle of damnation. Dost thou think +that I have summoned thee merely for pleasure and gold? Any +dastard may fill his belly, and satiate the desires of the +flesh. Thou tremblest! Have I more courage than +thyself? What quaking devil has hell vomited out? And +thou callest thyself Leviathan, who canst do all! Away, +away! thou art no fiend, but a miserable thing like myself.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Madman! thou hast not yet felt, as I have, +the vindictiveness of the Avenger, the anticipation of which +alone would make thee return to dust, even if thou didst bear in +thy bosom the united strength of men from the first to the last +sinner. Urge me no farther.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I will, and am resolved.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Thou inspirest me with reverence and +pity.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Obedience is all I require.</p> +<p><!-- page 50--><a name="page50"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +50</span><i>Devil</i>. Go to war with him who has lighted +up a torch within thee which will consume thee, if fear do not +extinguish it.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I have done so, and in vain. +Obey!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Insatiable man! But know that a +devil has his bounds too. Since our fall, we have lost the +idea of these sublime secrets, and forget even the language to +express them. The pure spirits of yonder world can alone +sing and imagine them.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Dost thou think by this crafty excuse to +cheat me of that which I desire?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Fool! I would wish for no better +revenge upon thee than to be able to paint to thy soul, in the +glittering colours of Paradise, all that thou hast lost, and then +see thee writhe in despair. Knew I more than I know, can +the tongue formed of flesh make intelligible to the ear of flesh +what lies beyond the bounds of sense, and the disembodied spirit +only comprehends?</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Then be a spirit, and speak! Shake +off this figure.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Wilt thou then understand me?</p> +<p><!-- page 51--><a name="page51"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +51</span><i>Faustus</i>. Shake off this figure, and let me +see thee as a spirit.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Thy words are folly. Now, then, see +me: I shall exist, but not for thee; I shall speak, but thou wilt +not catch my meaning.</p> +<p>Leviathan then melted into a thin clear flame, and +disappeared.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Speak, and unfold the enigma.</p> +<p>As the soft west wind moves along the perfumed meadows and +gently kisses the tender flowers, so did it murmur around the +ears of Faustus. Then the murmur changed to a loud +continued tumult, which resembled the rolling of thunder, or the +dash of a breaker against the coral reef, or its howl and bellow +in the caves of the ocean. Faustus crept close within his +circle, and with difficulty supported himself.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Ah, if this be the language of spirits, +my dream has vanished; I am deceived, and must gnash my teeth in +darkness. I have, then, exchanged my soul for the +gratification of earthly lust! for that is all in which this +intriguing devil can assist me. That is all against which I +<!-- page 52--><a name="page52"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +52</span>risked eternity! I thought to move among men +enlightened as no one had ever yet been, and to dazzle them with +my glory like the rising sun. The sublime thought of living +for ever as the greatest in their hearts is gone; and I am more +wretched than I was. Where art thou, trickster, that I may +vent my fury upon thee?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i> (<i>in his former figure</i>). Here I +am. I spoke, and thou didst not understand the sense of my +words. Dost thou not feel that thou art born for +darkness? Thou canst not become that which thou must +not. Withdraw thy mind from impossibilities, and direct it +to what is attainable. Thou wishedst to hear the language +of spirits; thou heardst it, and wert stunned and deafened by the +sound.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Provoke but my wrath, and I will bruise +thee to tears with my magic rod. I will chain thee to the +rim of my circle, and then stamp on thy neck.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Do it, and hell will laugh at thy +anger. For every tear thou makest me shed, Despair shall +one day wring a drop of blood from thy <!-- page 53--><a +name="page53"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 53</span>brow, and +Revenge shall hold the scales to catch and weigh it.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. How revolting to a noble creature like +myself to hold converse with an outcast, who has only sense for +wickedness, and will only assist in wickedness!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. How disgusting to be forced to listen to a +man who reproaches the Devil because he is a devil, and does not +boast of that shadow, Virtue, like one of you!</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Vain boast. If thou couldst but +taste the moral value of man, by which he approaches the +immortal, and which makes him worthy of immortality!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I can prove that it does not exist.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Yes; I believe thou canst. And so +can any one of us who makes the measure of his own wickedness +that of all mankind, and who makes that virtue contemptible which +he has never felt in his breast. We have had philosophers +who in this matter have long had the start of the Devil.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Better if thou hadst never read them; <!-- +page 54--><a name="page54"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +54</span>thy head would then have been more clear, and thy heart +more sound.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Damnation! Is the Devil always +right?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I will show you that which those +philosophers only talk of. I will blow away from your eyes +the clouds which pride, vanity, and self-love have collected, and +so charmingly coloured.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. How wilt thou accomplish that?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. By conducting thee through the theatre of +the world, and showing thee men in their nakedness. Let us +travel by water, by land, on foot, on horseback, on the rapid +winds, and see the race of man. Perhaps we may discover +that for which so many thousand adventurers have broken their +necks.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Agreed. Let us go through the +world; I must intoxicate myself by variety and enjoyment; and I +have long wished for a broader sphere of observation than my own +wild heart. Let us go forth, and I will force the Devil to +believe in human virtue. He shall avow to me that man is +the eye-apple of Him whom I now no more must name.</p> +<p><!-- page 55--><a name="page55"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +55</span><i>Devil</i>. Then will I return to hell a +convicted liar, and give thee back the bond which thou wilt +presently sign with thy blood.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. But if I were to trust a devil, who +might palm upon me his own fiendish performances for the works of +men, how would the scoffer laugh?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Such a monkish notion I should not have +expected from one who has so long toyed with philosophy; but in +this ye are all alike, fools and wise men. If any thing +goes wrong, pride and self-love will never permit you to lay the +blame on yourselves. Observe now those two words, Good and +Evil, which you would fain stamp into ideas; for when you have +words, you always think you have coined the empty sound into a +thought. You labour with your eyes closed, and when you +open them it is but natural that the good should be your own +work, and the evil that of the Devil. Thus, then, must we +poor devils ride about day and night, in order to turn to this or +that piece of roguery the heart or the imagination of this or +that scoundrel, who, if it had <!-- page 56--><a +name="page56"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 56</span>not been for +us, would have remained an honest fellow. Faustus! Faustus! +man seeks abroad and in the clouds a thousand things which lie in +his own bosom, or before his face. No; during our tour I +will add to nothing, except thou command me. All that thou +seest shall be the work of men; and thou wilt soon perceive that +they do not require the Devil to incite them.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. And is this all that thou canst afford +me?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I will lead you from step to step; when we +have run through this course, another scene will immediately +open. Get first acquainted with that which surrounds thee, +and then mount upwards. The treasures of the earth are +thine; thou mayst command my power: do but dream—do but +wish.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. That is something.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Only something! Discontented being, +thou shalt be able to force Leviathan to further the projects +which thou callest good and noble, and the consequences of them +shall be thy earnings, and the reward of thy heart.</p> +<p><!-- page 57--><a name="page57"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +57</span><i>Faustus</i>. That were more, if the Devil did +not say it.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Who can boast that he has forced the fiend +to do good? However, let this thought inflate thy +bosom. Faustus, step out of the circle!</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. It is not yet time.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Dost thou fear me? I repeat, thou +shalt spend the moments allotted to thee according to thy own +pleasure: yes, Faustus, I will fill for thee the intoxicating cup +of enjoyment, as it has never been filled for any other +mortal. Thy nerves shall wear away before thou hast emptied +it. Count the sands of the shore, and thence thou mayst +guess the number of joys that I will strew before thee.</p> +<p>Thereupon he placed a casket of gold near the circle. +The figures of the mayoress and a train of lovely maidens then +passed by.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Ha, devil, who has showed thee the way +to my heart?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Is not my name Leviathan? I have +weighed thee, and thy strength. Dost thou respect +these?</p> +<p><!-- page 58--><a name="page58"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +58</span>(He shook upon the ground, from a sack, a quantity of +orders of knighthood, bishops’ hats, crosses of honour, and +diplomas of nobility.)</p> +<p>“No, no; I know Faustus better: knowledge and pleasure +are his gods. Remain what you are; these things are vain +and futile. Thus, by different bribes may ye all be won; +and for the sake of lust or advancement, ye would work bare your +hands and your intellects. But, whilst fools toil for them +in the sweat of their brow, and in the exhaustion of their mind, +do thou enjoy, without care or labour, what I shall serve +up. To-morrow, with thy consent, I will conduct thee to the +mayoress.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. But how?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Accept the conditions, and I will tell +thee. Come out of the circle; thou lookest still like a +drunken man.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I would annihilate myself if it were not +for one thought!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Which is—</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. That I shall only thereby sooner fall +into thy power.</p> +<p><!-- page 59--><a name="page59"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +59</span><i>Devil</i>. How rash and hasty are men! +Learn but to know me, and, if I cannot gratify thy wildest +earthly desires, return to poverty, to contempt, and thy starving +philosophy. Step forth, I say.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. The fury of a lion inflames me, and, if +hell were to yawn beneath my foot, I would spring beyond the +limits of humanity.</p> +<p>He sprang out of the circle, and cried,</p> +<p>“I am thy lord.”</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Yes; as long as thy time runs. I +lead a mighty man by the hand, and am proud to be his slave.</p> +<h2><!-- page 60--><a name="page60"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +60</span>CHAPTER II.</h2> +<p>On the following morning the devil Leviathan came with all the +pomp and retinue of a nobleman to the inn where Faustus +sojourned. He alighted from his richly caparisoned steed, +and asked the host whether the famous Faustus sojourned +there?</p> +<p>The host replied by a reverential bow, and ushered him into +the house. The Devil then advanced to Faustus, and said to +him, in the presence of the host:</p> +<p>“Your renown, your great talents, and, above all, your +mighty invention, have induced me to make a wide circuit in my +journey in order to become acquainted with so remarkable a man, +whom the world, in spite of its lukewarmness, knows how to +value. I came, likewise, to request your company in the +tour of Europe, and shall be happy to accede to whatever +stipulations you may <!-- page 61--><a name="page61"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 61</span>choose to make, for I am perfectly +aware that such a pleasure is above all price.”</p> +<p>Faustus played his part agreeably to that of the Devil; and +the host hurried out in order to relate the adventure to his +household. The rumour was immediately spread, by a thousand +channels, through all Frankfort; and the arrival of the +distinguished stranger was soon known, from the sentinel at the +city-gate to his most worshipful the mayor himself. Away +ran the magistrates, as if the Devil drove them, to the +senate-house, leaving all the weighty affairs of state to remain +unsettled whilst they consulted about this unexpected +apparition. The senior alderman, a patrician, who was +particularly expert in deciphering the meaning of the signs which +occasionally appeared in the political horizon, and had thereby +obtained a powerful ascendency in the council, pressed his fat +chin into furrows, and his narrow brow into wrinkles, and, with +reflection in his little eyes, assured his sapient brethren that +“This distinguished stranger was nothing else than a secret +envoy of his imperial majesty, who <!-- page 62--><a +name="page62"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 62</span>was come into +Germany to observe attentively the situation, the comparative +strength, the disagreements, and the alliances, of the various +states and princes; so that the high and mighty court, at the +opening of the approaching Diet, might know how to comport +itself. And since the imperial court had always kept a +watchful eye upon their republic, they must now endeavour to +convince this distinguished visitor of the fiery zeal which they +had always entertained for the high imperial house, and not let +him depart without winning him over to the interest of the +state. That they must, in so doing, take as their pattern +the prudent senate of Venice, who never failed to show the +greatest friendship and honour towards him whom they intended to +deceive.”</p> +<p>The subordinate members of the assembly affirmed that the +alderman had spoken like the Doge of Venice himself; but the +mayor, who bore the alderman a secret grudge, because the latter, +like a true patrician, hated the democratic form of government, +and was accustomed to say, whenever he was outvoted, “Ha, +thus it goes when <!-- page 63--><a name="page63"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 63</span>tradesmen and shopkeepers are made +statesmen,” quickly took up the cudgels against him in +these words:</p> +<p>“Truly laudable and excellent, most sapient masters, +seems to me that which our most prudent and politic brother has +now advanced, were it not for one single circumstance which +unhappily spoils all. I, indeed, do not make a boast of +possessing the deep visual penetration of the alderman,—a +penetration, my brethren, which can spy out a storm before it +arises; nevertheless, whether it be from chance or reflection, I +have long foreseen, and have long foretold, that which is now +gathering around us. You must all remember, that at each of +our sittings I advised you not to treat this Faustus so +contemptuously, but to purchase his Latin Bible for the small sum +he demanded. Even my wife, who is a mere woman, like all +other women, has frequently said that, although we ourselves +neither understood nor could use the book, we ought nevertheless +to have it; and, on account of the beautiful letters in the +title-page, and of the curious invention, to make a show of it, +<!-- page 64--><a name="page64"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +64</span>as we do of our golden bull, and attract strangers from +all parts. It was likewise fitting that a free and rich +state like ours should protect the arts, and give them a helping +hand. But I know very well what was in your minds; +’twas envy—sheer envy. You could not brook that +my name should be rendered immortal. You could not digest +that posterity should read in the chronicle, ‘<i>Sub +consulatu</i> . . . a Latin Bible was bought from Faustus of +Mayence for two hundred gold guilders.’ Yes, yes; +’twas that stuck in your gizzards; but, as you have brewed, +so may you drink: Faustus is a devilish wild fellow, and a very +strange hand to deal with; I saw that proved yesterday. And +now that the imperial envoy has travelled hither merely on his +account, merely on account of him whom we have treated worse than +a poor cobbler, think ye not he will blow us up with the envoy +out of revenge, and all our scrapings and grimaces will serve for +nothing but to make us appear ridiculous before the +citizens? But he who has driven his cart into the mire may +draw it out again. I wash my hands of the whole <!-- page +65--><a name="page65"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +65</span>business, and, like Pilate, am innocent of +Israel’s blindness and destruction.”</p> +<p>Here followed a deep silence. The bloody battle of +Cannæ, which threatened Rome with ruin, did not terrify her +senate more than did this eloquent philippic the enlightened +magistracy of Frankfort. Already the mayor triumphed in +proud anticipation: he thought even that he had hurled the +alderman entirely out of his saddle; when the latter, collecting +his political wisdom and heroic strength, hastened to the +assistance of the sinking state, and bellowing aloud, <i>ad +majora</i>, undauntedly proposed “immediately to send an +embassy from the council to the hotel, in order to welcome the +distinguished guest, and to offer Faustus four hundred gold +guilders for his Latin Bible, and thereby to appease him, and to +make him favourable to the state.”</p> +<p>The mayor scoffed at the idea of giving four hundred gold +guilders for a thing which the day before they might, in all +probability, have had for one hundred; but his jeers and his +scoffs availed nothing. “<i>Salus populi suprema +lex</i>,” cried the <!-- page 66--><a +name="page66"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 66</span>alderman; +and, with the approbation of the council, he commanded the mayor +to entertain Faustus and the envoy in the most sumptuous manner, +at the expense of the state.</p> +<p>This circumstance consoled his worship, who willingly +displayed his wealth, partly on account of his defeat by the +alderman, while the concluding words, “at the expense of +the state,” put him in good humour. The junior +alderman immediately set out with one of the four syndics, and +the mayor sent to his house to order every thing proper for the +festival. The devil Leviathan was engaged with Faustus in a +deep discourse when these ambassadors were announced. They +were instantly admitted. They welcomed, with all humility, +in the name of the senate, the distinguished guest, and gave him +to understand that his noble person, as well as his important +errand, were well known to them; assuring him at the same time, +in set terms, of their zeal and devotion for the high imperial +house. The Devil, upon this, screwed up his features, +turned to Faustus, took him by the hand, and assured the <!-- +page 67--><a name="page67"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +67</span>speakers that nothing had brought him to their town but +the desire of removing from it this great man, whom he had no +doubt they knew how to prize. The ambassadors were now +somewhat disturbed; however, they soon recollected themselves, +and continued thus:</p> +<p>“It rejoiced them highly that they could give him on the +spot a convincing proof of the respect which the magistracy +entertained for so great a man, as they were authorised to tender +to Faustus four hundred gold guilders for his Latin Bible, which +they had long been anxious to possess, and preserve as a precious +treasure. The illustrious magistracy would also be most +happy to enrol him, if it were agreeable, among the number of +citizens, and thereby open to him the way to glory and +emolument.”</p> +<p>This last stroke was added by their own political wisdom; a +proof that they, as skilful negotiators, knew how to supply and +fill up every vacuum which had been at first overlooked.</p> +<p>Faustus started up in a fury, stamped on the ground, and +cried:</p> +<p><!-- page 68--><a name="page68"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +68</span>“Base, lying, deceitful pack! How long did I +not fawn upon you, from the proud patrician down to the shoemaker +and the pepper-seller, around whose necks you hang the +magisterial insignia, like halters around asses? And did ye +not permit me to wait at your dirty thresholds without deigning +me a single look? And now that you hear this noble +personage sees that in me which you did not, you come and would +pay me back in my own coin. But see, here is gold; for +which you would barter the Holy Roman Empire, provided you could +find fools gross enough to buy the huge, monstrous carcass, +without head, sense, or proportion.”</p> +<p>The Devil highly enjoyed the rage of Faustus and the downcast +looks of the young senators; but they, who had never read Roman +history, were not so high-spirited as to fling Faustus a +declaration of war from beneath their closely-folded robes of +office; on the contrary, they communicated the invitation to the +mayor’s festival in as unconcerned a tone as if nothing had +happened,—a new proof of their expertness in +negotiation. <!-- page 69--><a name="page69"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 69</span>Had they, for example, replied to the +insult, they would thereby have acknowledged that they felt the +force of it; but when they let it fall flat upon the ground, as +if it were nothing to any of them, it lost all its power, and +assumed the colour of an unfair reproach. Genius alone is +capable in such critical moments of like discrimination.</p> +<p>At the word “mayor,” Faustus pricked up his ears, +and the Devil gave him a significant side-glance. Faustus +thereupon took the Bible from the casket, handed it over to the +senators, and said, with some degree of complaisance,</p> +<p>“That, upon due consideration, he was determined to make +the city a present of his Bible, on condition that they showed +the sentence which he marked under, and of which he wrote a +German translation on the margin, to the assembled magistrates; +and, in remembrance of him, caused it to be written in letters of +gold on the wall of the council-chamber.”</p> +<p>The senators hastened back to their brethren, as delighted as +envoys who, after a ruinous war, <!-- page 70--><a +name="page70"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 70</span>return with +an advantageous peace. They were received with great joy, +and, the Bible being opened at the appointed place, they +read—</p> +<p>“<i>And lo</i>!<i> the fools sat in council</i>, <i>and +idiots clamoured in the judgment-chamber</i>.”</p> +<p>They swallowed this bitter pill, because the presumptive +shadow of imperial majesty, in the form of the demon, prevented +them from spitting it out. They comforted themselves with +having been spared the four hundred gold guilders, and wished +each other joy for having escaped so well out of this unpleasant +affair. The envoys received a vote of thanks, and it is to +be regretted that their names are not handed down to +posterity. When at last they spoke of Faustus’s +well-filled money-chest, the glitter of gold darted like +lightning through the souls of all, and each secretly determined +to make the man his friend, in order to get possession of +it. The alderman shouted, “We must make him a +citizen, and give him a seat and voice in the council. +Policy demands that we should overstep law and custom, if the +advantage of the State depends upon it.”</p> +<p><!-- page 71--><a name="page71"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +71</span>Faustus, in the mean time, strolled out with the Devil; +but they found the people of the place modelled after so +unsightly a pattern, with such ugly figures and fiat features, +that the Devil owned he had never seen them equalled, except by +the inhabitants of an English town called N---, when dressed in +their Sunday’s best. “Envy, malice, curiosity, +and avarice,” said he, “are here and there the sole +springs of action; and both places are governed by a pitiful +mercantile spirit, which prevents them from being grandly wicked +or nobly virtuous. In short, Faustus, there is little to be +done in either place by a man of spirit, and we will hurry away +from hence as soon as you have brought the mayoress to the point +you wish her.”</p> +<p>The clock sounded the hour of dinner; the Devil and Faustus, +mounted upon noble horses, and attended by a numerous retinue, +proceeded to the house of the mayor. They entered the hall +of assembly, where all the magistrates awaited them, and, on +their appearance, bowed before them even to the dust. The +fat, bloated mayor, <!-- page 72--><a name="page72"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 72</span>after a long speech, introduced them +to the wives of the dignitaries of the corporation, whose +figures, loaded with tawdry ornaments, seemed now to display a +double portion of awkwardness and vulgarity. They stared +like a flock of geese, and could not satiate themselves with +looking at the dress and physiognomy of Leviathan; but the +mayoress, a native of Saxony, towered above them all, like an +Oriad. The expressive look of Faustus had attracted her +attention, as well as his prepossessing figure, and his fine +handsome face. She blushed when he saluted her, and could +find no other answer to his eloquent address than a few broken +words, which the ears of Faustus caught like enchanting +music. The senators exerted their wits to the utmost in +complimenting their guests, and all now sat down to the +well-spread table. After dinner the Devil led the mayor by +the hand to a private apartment,—a circumstance which +flattered him extraordinarily, but which was a dagger-blow to all +the other guests, especially to the alderman.</p> +<p>The mayor, heated with wine, and intoxicated <!-- page 73--><a +name="page73"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 73</span>with the +honour which the supposed imperial envoy showed him, in a bending +attitude and with staring eyes awaited the communication. +The Devil assured him, in soft, silvery tones, how much he was +flattered by the mayor’s hospitable reception, and how very +desirous he was to prove himself thankful; adding, that he +carried with him a number of letters of nobility, signed by the +emperor’s own hand, and he would gladly bestow the first +upon him, provided—</p> +<p>Joy, transport, and astonishment darted through the +mayor’s soul; he stood before the Devil with wide-gaping +mouth, and at length stammered out, “Provided +how—what—oh!” The Devil then murmured +softly into his ear: “His friend Faustus was desperately in +love with the beautiful mayoress, and that for his sake only he +would do it; and if the mayoress would retire with Faustus for a +few moments,—which would be entirely unobserved amid the +noise and confusion of a festival,—he should deliver into +her hand the patent of nobility.”</p> +<p>Thereupon the Devil hastened to Faustus, informed <!-- page +74--><a name="page74"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 74</span>him +of what had happened, and gave him the letter of nobility, with +certainty of success. Faustus doubted, and the Devil +laughed at his doubts.</p> +<p>The mayor remained in his cabinet almost petrified. The +sudden glitter of such unexpected happiness was at once so +clouded by an odious and detestable condition, that he determined +upon rejecting it. But all at once Ambition blew into his +ear: “Ho! ho! Mr. Mayor; to be dubbed a nobleman at once, +and in such an off-hand manner, as the saying is, and thereby to +be placed on a footing with the proudest of thy foes, and to +raise thy voice in the council like a trumpet, and appear among +those there like a man whom, on account of his services, his +imperial majesty will exalt above the heads of all!”</p> +<p>Another feeling softly whispered—</p> +<p>“Uh! uh! with my own knowledge and consent to be thus +disgraced! But then, again, who will know it? and what is +there in the whole affair? I receive a certain good in lieu +of what has long ceased to have any charms for me. <!-- +page 75--><a name="page75"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +75</span>The evil consists in the idea alone, and it will be a +secret between me and my wife. But, stating the case +fairly, can I arrive at so high a distinction at a cheaper +rate? Will it not be a nail in the alderman’s coffin; +and what will the citizens not say when they see that his +imperial majesty knows how to value me? Shall I not get +every thing into my power, and revenge myself on those who have +thwarted and contradicted me? Ho! ho! Mr. Mayor; be no +fool; seize fortune by the forelock. Man is only what he +appears in the eyes of the world, and no one asks the nobleman +how he became so. But there is my wife; she will set +herself against my advancement, for I well know her Saxon +prudery.”</p> +<p>At that very moment she entered the room, eager to learn from +her husband what the magnificent stranger had confided to him in +private. He looked at her with a roguish leer, but still +with some degree of bashfulness.</p> +<p><i>Mayor</i>. Well, my chick, suppose I were to make +thee a noblewoman to-day?</p> +<p><i>Mayoress</i>. Then, duck, the wives of all the <!-- +page 76--><a name="page76"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +76</span>citizens and magistrates would swoon with envy, and the +alderman’s lady would instantly die of that husky cough +which has so long assailed her.</p> +<p><i>Mayor</i>. That she would, for certain; and I could +crush her proud husband beneath my foot. But hark, my +chick: it only rests with you to bring all this about.</p> +<p><i>Mayoress</i>. Who ever heard of wives making their +husbands noblemen, duck?</p> +<p><i>Mayor</i>. Who knows, my child, how many have been +made so? But be not terrified; you have driven that cursed +Faustus out of his wits. (<i>The Mayoress blushed</i>; +<i>he continued</i>) Only on his account will the envoy +create me a nobleman, and Faustus is to deliver to thee the +patent of nobility in private. You understand me, I +perceive. Hem! What do you think of the plan?</p> +<p><i>Mayoress</i>. I was thinking, my treasure, that if +these two gentlemen were to change their minds, we should +certainly lose the patent.</p> +<p><i>Mayor</i>. Curse it! so we might. Let us be +quick, my mouse; such bargains are not met with every day.</p> +<p><!-- page 77--><a name="page77"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +77</span>The company had in the mean while dispersed themselves +in the garden; and his worship, getting behind Faustus, whispered +softly in his ear that “his wife would esteem it an honour +to receive the patent of nobility from his hand; and he had only +to step up a back staircase, which he would show him, to an +apartment where he would find her. That as for himself, he +feared nothing from a man who had shown so much honour and +conscience.” He led him thereupon to the back +staircase. Faustus glided up immediately, and entered a +chamber, where he found the mayoress: he flew to her, and created +the mayor a knight of the Holy Roman Empire. She then went +and delivered to her spouse the letter of nobility; and they +determined between them that it should be laid upon the +supper-table in a covered golden dish, in order, by its +unexpected appearance, to make the blow more painful to the +guests. The Devil, to whom the mayor confided the plan, +highly approved of it; but Faustus murmured in the ear of +Leviathan, “I command thee to play this rascal, who has +prostituted his wife for ambition’s <!-- page 78--><a +name="page78"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 78</span>sake, a +thorough knavish trick; and to revenge me, at the same time, on +all these sheep-headed magistrates, who so long forced me to pay +my court to them.”</p> +<p>They sat down to supper, and the glasses went quickly round; +when all at once the Devil commanded the dish, which had so long +excited the Curiosity of the surrounders, to be uncovered; then, +holding up the letter of nobility, he delivered it to the mayor +with these words: “Worthy sir, his majesty the emperor, my +master, is pleased by this patent letter of nobility to create +you, on account of your fidelity and services, a knight of the +Holy Roman Empire. I hope and trust that you will never +grow lukewarm in your zeal for the high imperial house; and now, +Sir Knight, I have the honour of first drinking your +health.”</p> +<p>These words rolled like thunder in the ears of the +guests. The drunken became sober, and the sober drunk; the +lips of the women turned blue with rage, and could scarcely +stammer out a congratulation. The alderman was seized with +an apoplectic fit, and his wife was near dying of her <!-- page +79--><a name="page79"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 79</span>husky +cough. Fear, in the mean time, obliged the rest to assume a +joyous countenance; and they drank, with a loud huzza, the health +of the new-made knight. While the tumult was at the highest +pitch, a thin vapour suddenly filled the hall; the glasses began +to dance about upon the tables; and the roasted geese, turkeys, +and fowls cackled, gobbled, and crowed. The calves, sheep, +and boars’ heads cried, bleated, and grunted, bounced +across the table, and snapped at the fingers of the guests. +The wine issued in blue flames from out the flasks; and the +patent of nobility caught fire, and was burnt to ashes in the +hands of the trembling mayor. The whole assembly now sat +like so many ridiculous characters in a mad masquerade. The +mayor bore a stag’s head upon his shoulders; and the rest, +men and women, adorned with grotesque masks, spoke, cackled, +crowed, neighed, or bellowed, according to the kind of mask which +had been allotted to each individual. The alderman alone, +in the dress of a harlequin, sat motionless; and Faustus avowed +to the Devil that the ruse did <!-- page 80--><a +name="page80"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 80</span>great honour +to his ingenuity. After Faustus had satiated himself by +gazing at the spectacle, he gave the Devil the wink, and they +both flew out of the window; the latter personage, according to +custom, leaving behind him the sulphurous stench.</p> +<p>By and by the whole illusion disappeared; and when the sapient +magistrates re-assembled next morning in the council-chamber, +they scarcely mentioned to each other what had taken place the +night before. They kept the whole matter a state secret, +and only revealed it now and then to a chosen few. All that +the mayor got by this business was, that his adversary, the +alderman, lost the use of his limbs, and never again took his +seat in the council.</p> +<p>Faustus and Leviathan, in the mean time, passed over the +city-walls; and when they were in the open field, the Devil +despatched an attendant spirit to the hotel, in order to pay the +reckoning, and to fetch away Faustus’s baggage. Then +turning to the young German, he asked him if he were contented +with this first feat.</p> +<p><!-- page 81--><a name="page81"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +81</span><i>Faustus</i>. Hem! if the Devil wants praise, I +am content to give it him. But I should never have imagined +that yon pompous scoundrel would have sold his wife for +ambition’s sake.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Let us proceed a little further, my +Faustus, and I will soon convince thee that Ambition is the +godhead which ye all worship; although you disguise it under all +kind of glittering forms, in order to conceal its +nakedness. Till now you have studied man merely in books +and philosophical treatises; or, in other words, you have been +thrashing empty straw. But the film will soon fall from +your eyes. We will shortly quit this dirty country of +yours, where priestcraft, pedantry, and oppression reign +unmolested and undisturbed. I will usher you upon a stage +where the passions have a freer scope, and where great energies +are employed to great ends.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. But I will force thee to believe in the +moral worth of man before we quit my native land. Not far +from hence lives a prince, whom all Germany praises as a paragon +of every virtue. Let us seek him, and put him to the +test.</p> +<p><!-- page 82--><a name="page82"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +82</span><i>Devil</i>. Agreed; such a man would please me +for his rarity.</p> +<p>The spirit now returned with the baggage, and was sent forward +to Mayence to bespeak a lodging in an hotel. Faustus, for +secret reasons which the Devil guessed, proposed spending the +night with a hermit who dwelt in the hill of Homburg, and who was +renowned through the whole neighbourhood for his piety. +They reached the hermitage about midnight, and knocked at the +door. The solitary opened it; and Faustus, who had dressed +himself in the richest clothes which the Devil had provided for +him, begged pardon for disturbing the repose of the holy man, and +said that the night had surprised him and his companion while +hunting, and had separated them from their attendants, and that +they should be obliged by his giving them house-room for a few +hours. The hermit looked on the ground, and replied, with a +deep sigh:</p> +<p>“He who lives for heaven seldom abandons himself to +dangerous repose. You have not disturbed me; and, if you +wish to stay here till <!-- page 83--><a name="page83"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 83</span>sunrise, you must take things as you +find them. Bread and water, with straw to lie on, is all I +can afford you.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Brother hermit, we have brought all that +the stomach requires along with us. We will only trouble +you for a draught of water.</p> +<p>(<i>The hermit took his pitcher and went to a +fountain</i>.)</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Peace dwells in his heart as well as on +his brow, and I may think myself happy that he is not acquainted +with that which binds me to thee. Faith and hope serve him +instead of those things which I have damned myself for; at least +it seems so.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. And only seems. What if I were to +prove that your heart is pure as gold in comparison with his?</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Devil!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Faustus, thou wert poor, ill-treated, and +despised; thou didst see thyself in the dust; but, like an +energetic being, thou hast sprung out of contempt at thy own +risk. Thou wert incapable of gratifying thy lusts by the +murder of <!-- page 84--><a name="page84"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 84</span>thy fellow-creatures, as this saint +would if I led him into temptation.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I see all thy infernal craftiness. +If I were to command thee to put him to a fair trial, thou +wouldst confuse the senses of the just man, so that he would +commit acts which his heart abhorred.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Ridiculous! Why, then, do ye boast +of your free-will, and thereby ascribe your deeds to your own +hearts? But ye are all saints while there is nothing to +tempt ye. No, Faustus; I will remain neuter, and merely +offer delights to his senses; for the Devil has no need to creep +into ye when you are already disposed for wickedness.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. And if things do not turn out as you +assert, think not that your assurance shall remain +unpunished.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Thou mayst then torment me a whole day by +preaching of the virtues of men. Let us see whether this +will allure him.</p> +<p>A table, provided with dainty meats and delicious wines, now +appeared in the middle of the hermitage. The solitary +entered, and silently <!-- page 85--><a name="page85"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 85</span>placed the pitcher before Faustus, +and then retired into a corner, without heeding the luxurious +banquet.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Now, brother hermit, since the things +are on the table, fall to without waiting to be asked +twice. You may eat of our fare without the least injury to +your reputation. I see your mouth begins to water. +Come, a glass to the honour of your patron saint. What is +his name?</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. St. George.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Here’s his health.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Ho, ho, brother hermit! the renowned St. +George of Cappadocia was a fellow after my own heart; and if you +take him for a model, you cannot go wrong. I am perfectly +well acquainted with his history, and will relate it in a few +words for your instruction. He was the son of wretchedly +poor people, and was born in a miserable hut in Cilicia. As +he grew up, he early perceived his own talents, and, by force of +flattery, servility, and corruption, found his way into the +houses of the great and opulent, who at length, out of gratitude +for his services, procured him a <!-- page 86--><a +name="page86"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 86</span>commission in +the army of the Greek emperor. But when there he pilfered +and plundered to so enormous an extent, that he was soon obliged +to fly, to avoid being hanged. Thereupon he joined himself +to the sect of the Arians, and, by his quick parts, soon learnt +to gabble the unintelligible jargon of theology and +metaphysics. About this time the Arian emperor, +Constantine, kicked from the episcopal chair at Alexandria the +good and most Catholic Athanasius; and your redoubtable +Cappadocian was, by an Arian synod, appointed to the vacant +see. George was now completely in his element: he puffed, +strutted, and filled his paunch. But when he, by his +injustice and cruelty, had driven his subjects to the verge of +madness, they put him to death, and carried his body in triumph +through the streets of Alexandria. Thus did he become a +martyr, and consequently a saint.</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. There is not a word of this in the +legend.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I believe ye, brother; and, for the sake +of truth, the Devil only ought to have written it.</p> +<p><!-- page 87--><a name="page87"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +87</span>The hermit then crossed himself.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Do you call eating and drinking +crimes?</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. They may tempt us to commit crimes.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Your virtue must be very weak if it cannot +resist temptation; for temptation and resistance should be the +glory of a saint.</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. You are right so far; but every one is +not a saint.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Are you happy, brother?</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. Solitude makes me happy; a good +conscience makes me blessed.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. How do you obtain your food?</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. The peasants bring me wherewithal to +support my existence.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. And what do you give them in return?</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. I pray for them.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Are they bettered by your prayers?</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. They think so, and I hope so.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Brother, you are a rogue.</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. The reproaches of the sinful world are +what the just man ought to expect.</p> +<p><!-- page 88--><a name="page88"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +88</span><i>Devil</i>. Why do you not look upwards, and why +do you blush? But know, that I have the art of reading in a +man’s face what is passing in his heart.</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. So much the worse for yourself. You +will have little enjoyment in company.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Ho, ho! you know that? (<i>Looking +at Faustus</i>.)</p> +<p><i>Hermit</i>. It is a vile world in which we live, and +woe for you if thousands did not hasten into solitude to avert by +their prayers the anger of incensed Heaven from the heads of +sinners.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Reverend brother, you own yourself that +you are paid for your prayers; and, believe me, it is much easier +to pray than work.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Listen once more. You have a twist +of the mouth which tells me you are a hypocrite; and your eyes, +which revolve in so narrow a circle, and which are generally cast +downward, tell me that you are convinced they would betray the +feelings of your heart, were you to raise them.</p> +<p>The hermit lifted his eyes towards the heavens, <!-- page +89--><a name="page89"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +89</span>prayed with clasped hands, and said, “Thus does +the righteous man reply to the scoffer.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Enough. Come, brother, and bear us +company in our repast.</p> +<p>But the hermit remained inflexible. Faustus looked +scornfully on the Devil, who merely smiled and shook his +head. Suddenly the door opened, and a young female pilgrim +rushed in almost breathless. When she had recovered from +her fear, she related how she had been pursued by a knight, from +whom she had the good fortune to escape by reaching the cell of +the pious hermit. She was received in a friendly manner; +and, unclasping her long mantle, she exhibited such beauty as +would have made the victory over the flesh no easy matter for the +holy Anthony himself. She placed herself by the side of +Leviathan, ate sparingly of the meal, and the Devil began +to—</p> +<p style="text-align: center">* * * * *</p> +<p>The hermit was at first shocked, and at last confused; and he +had scarcely power to struggle with the temptation. The +pilgrim tore herself, ashamed <!-- page 90--><a +name="page90"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 90</span>and angry, +from the arms of Leviathan, to seek protection by the side of the +hermit, which he could not refuse her.</p> +<p>The Devil and Faustus now pretended to be intoxicated and +overwhelmed with sleep; but before they took repose the Devil +placed, in the presence of the hermit, a weighty purse of money +under the straw, and deposited his own rich rings and those of +Faustus in a casket, which the latter laid close beside +him. On the table they placed their swords and daggers, and +then flung themselves down and soon snored.</p> +<p>The pilgrim softly approached the table, and poured out with +her delicate and snow-white hands a goblet of foaming wine. +She just touched the rim with her rosy lips, and then offered it +to the hermit. He stood like one amazed; and in his +confusion emptied it, and another besides, and greedily swallowed +the luxurious morsels which the tempter, one after another, held +up to his mouth. She then led him out, and bursting into +tears, entreated his pardon for having been forced to outrage his +holy eyes. She then looked mournful <!-- page 91--><a +name="page91"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 91</span>and +inconsolable, pressed his hand warmly, and at last fell down on +her knees before him. At this instant the silvery moon +beamed upon her bosom, over which the gentle night-wind moved her +dark, dishevelled locks. The hermit sank upon this dazzling +bosom, without knowing whether he was dead or alive. At +length the pilgrim said, “That she would yield herself +entirely to his wishes, if he would revenge her first on those +daring reprobates, and take possession of their treasure, which +would enable him and her to live happily to the end of their +days.”</p> +<p>The hermit, at these words, recovered in some degree from his +intoxication, and asked her, in a trembling voice, what she +meant, and what she would have him do.</p> +<p>Amongst broken exclamations of rapture she murmured, +“Their daggers lie on the table: do you murder the one; I +will manage the other. Then dress yourself in their +clothes, and seize their treasure. We will then set the +hermitage on fire, and fly to France together.”</p> +<p>The horrible idea of murder made the hermit <!-- page 92--><a +name="page92"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +92</span>shudder. He hesitated, was undecided, looked on +the charms of the siren; he saw that he could make himself master +of her and of the treasure without danger; and, all his virtue +yielding, he forgot heaven and his oft-repeated vows. The +pilgrim dragged the reeling miscreant into the hut; each seized a +dagger; and just as he was about to aim a blow at Faustus, the +Devil burst into the fiendish scorn-laugh; and Faustus saw the +hermit, with a lifted dagger, standing by his side.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Cursed monster, who, under the mask of +religion, wouldst murder thy guest!</p> +<p>The hermit sunk trembling to the earth. The pilgrim, a +phantom of hell, appeared to him in a frightful form, and then +vanished.</p> +<p>Faustus commanded Leviathan to set fire to the hut, and burn +it to ashes, along with the hypocrite. The Devil obeyed +with joy. The following morning the peasants shed many +tears for the fate of the righteous man; and, having collected +his bones, they preserved them as precious relics.</p> +<p><!-- page 93--><a name="page93"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +93</span>Faustus and the Devil arrived early the next day at +Mayence, and alighted at the dwelling of the former. His +young wife fell with a cry of joy upon his neck, embraced him, +and then burst into tears of sorrow. The children clung +sobbing to his knees, and greedily examined his pockets, to see +whether he had brought them any thing. His old gray-headed +father next staggered towards him, and shook him mournfully by +the hand. The heart of Faustus was moved, and his eyes +began to moisten, while he trembled, and looked angrily upon the +Devil. When he asked his wife why she wept, she wrung her +hands, and replied, “Ah, Faustus, do you not perceive how +the hungry ones examine your pockets for bread? How can I +see that without tears? They have eaten nothing for a long +time; we have been unfortunate, and all thy friends have forsaken +us; but now I see thee again, it is to me as though I saw the +countenance of an angel. I and thy father have suffered +more on thy account than on our own. We have had such +frightful dreams and visions; and when my eyes, weary with <!-- +page 94--><a name="page94"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +94</span>weeping, have closed for a few hours, I saw thee torn +from us by force, and all was dark and horrible.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Thy dream, love, is about to be partly +fulfilled. This gentleman here will reward thy husband for +those talents which his ungrateful country overlooked or +despised. I have agreed to travel with him far and +wide.</p> +<p><i>Old Faustus</i>. “My son, stay at home and +support thyself honourably,” says Scripture.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. And die of hunger, says Experience.</p> +<p>The wife began to weep yet more bitterly, and the children +screamed for bread. Faustus gave the Devil a sign, and he +called to his servant, who presently afterwards brought into the +room a heavy coffer. Faustus unlocked it, and flung a large +bag of gold upon the table; which being opened, and the yellow +coin appearing, a lively flush of joy was instantly diffused over +the melancholy countenances of the family. He then took out +magnificent clothes and jewels, which he delivered to his +wife. Her tears vanished, and vanity at once dried them up, +as the sun-rays dry <!-- page 95--><a name="page95"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 95</span>up the morning dew. The Devil +smiled, and Faustus muttered to himself, “O magic of gold +and of vanity! I may now go to the antipodes, and no other +tears than those of hypocrisy will be shed.” Then, +aloud, “Well, wife, these are the fruits of my journey, +reaped in advance. Is not this better than staying at home +with you and starving?”</p> +<p>But the wife heard him not; for she stood with her rich robes +and jewels before the looking-glass to see how they became +her. The little girls frolicked around her, took up the +clothes and ornaments she had laid aside, and aped the +mother. In the mean time a servant brought in a substantial +breakfast, the children fell upon it, cried and shouted with joy; +but the mother had, in the mean time, forgotten her hunger.</p> +<p>The old father took Faustus aside, and said, “If thou +hast obtained all these things by honourable means, let us thank +God, my son, and enjoy his bounty; but for some nights past I +have had horrible dreams, although I hope they were merely caused +by our necessities.”</p> +<p><!-- page 96--><a name="page96"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +96</span>This remark of the old man sank deep into the heart of +Faustus; but the pleasure of seeing his children eat so heartily, +and of observing with what love and thankfulness his eldest son +and favourite looked at him; the thought of having relieved them +from their misery; and, above all, an inward longing for +pleasure,—considerably damped the impression. The +Devil added a large sum to the money in the bag, presented the +young wife with a costly necklace, gave each of the children a +trifle, and assured the family that he would bring back Faustus +to them safe, sound, and wealthy at no very distant period.</p> +<p>Faustus, attended by the Devil, now went to see a friend, whom +he found much dejected. He asked him the cause of his +unhappiness, and the other replied:</p> +<p>“This afternoon the law-suit which you have often heard +me speak of is to be determined; and I am certain of losing it, +although justice is on my side. In short, Master Faustus, +nothing remains for me to do but to beg, or drown myself in the +deepest part of the Rhine.”</p> +<p><!-- page 97--><a name="page97"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +97</span><i>Faustus</i>. How can you be certain that you +will lose your cause, if justice is for you, as you say it +is?</p> +<p><i>Friend</i>. But the five hundred gold guilders which +my opponent has given the Judge are against me; and if I cannot +outbid him, I must fall to the ground.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Pooh! does it merely depend on +that? Come, lead me to the Judge. I have a friend +here who willingly assists people out of such difficulties.</p> +<p>They found the Judge to be a proud, inflated man, who would +scarcely deign to honour a poor client with a look. Faustus +had long known him for what he was. When they entered the +room, the Judge, in an imperious tone, thus addressed +Faustus’s friend, “Why do you come to trouble +me? Do you not know that tears never interrupt the course +of justice?”</p> +<p>The unhappy friend looked humbly to the ground.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Mighty sir, you have spoken well: tears +are like water; they merely spoil the eyes of <!-- page 98--><a +name="page98"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 98</span>those that +shed them. But do you know that my friend has right on his +side?</p> +<p><i>Judge</i>. Master Faustus, I know you for a man who +plays away his money at ducks-and-drakes, and who has a loose +tongue. Right and law are very different things: if he has +the first for him, it is no reason that he should have the +second.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. You say that right and law are two +different things: something like judge and justice, perhaps.</p> +<p><i>Judge</i>. Master Faustus, I have already said that I +know you.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Perhaps we are mistaken in each other, +most enlightened sir. But it is mere waste of soap to +attempt to wash a blackamoor white. (<i>He opened the +door</i>, <i>and in stalked the Devil</i>.) Here is a +gentleman who will lay before you a document, which I hope will +give the cause of my friend a new aspect.</p> +<p>When the Judge saw the richly-dressed Leviathan, he assumed a +more friendly countenance, and asked them all to be seated.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. We can settle the whole business <!-- +page 99--><a name="page99"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +99</span>standing. (<i>To the Devil</i>) Produce the +document which we have found.</p> +<p>The Devil counted out of his purse five hundred gold guilders; +he then stopped and looked at the Judge.</p> +<p><i>Judge</i>. The document is by no means a bad one, +gentlemen; but the adverse party has long ago given me one of +equal weight.</p> +<p>The Devil continued counting till he had told out a thousand; +he then stopped.</p> +<p><i>Judge</i>. In truth, I had overlooked this +circumstance. Such vouchers, however, are not to be +withstood.</p> +<p>He then gathered up the gold and secured it in his coffer.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I hope now that right and law will go +together.</p> +<p><i>Judge</i>. Master Faustus, you understand the art of +appeasing the bitterest enemies.</p> +<p>Faustus, whom the servility of the Judge as much offended as +his former rudeness, whispered to the Devil, in going away, +“Do thou avenge justice on this wretch.”</p> +<p><!-- page 100--><a name="page100"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +100</span>Thereupon he left his friend, without waiting for his +thanks, and went about with the Devil to discharge his +debts. He then paid visits to his other friends, showered +gold upon them by handfuls, even on those who had forsaken him in +his adversity; and he felt happy in being able to give unbridled +scope to his generosity and greatness of soul. The Devil, +however, who saw deeper into things than Faustus, laughed within +himself at the consequences.</p> +<p>They now went to the hotel, Faustus, recollecting the conduct +of his wife, once again fell into an exceedingly ill +humour. He could not pardon her for having ceased to lament +his departure the moment she had seen the gold and jewels. +Till now he had imagined that she loved him more than all the +treasures of the earth; but what he had just observed forced him +to believe the contrary, and his affection for her was turned to +bitterness. The Devil, who perceived where the shoe +pinched, willingly allowed Faustus to torment himself with these +gloomy thoughts, so that he might tear himself from that sweet +tie by which <!-- page 101--><a name="page101"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 101</span>nature still gently fettered +him. He foresaw, with secret rapture, the dreadful anguish +which would one day arise in the bosom of the headstrong Faustus, +when the future should disclose to him all the horrors which he +was now about to perpetrate.</p> +<p>They dined in the public room, in company with some professors +of law and divinity, who, to the great delight of the Devil, soon +fell into a violent dispute concerning the nun Clara. The +flame of that controversy was still at its full height; +party-spirit raged in all houses, and the present disputants +talked so loudly, and said so many ridiculous things, that +Faustus soon forgot his ill humour. But when a doctor of +theology asserted that it was possible for Satan to have carried +his wickedness so far as to have brought the nun into certain +circumstances by means of the dream, the Devil burst into a +bellowing laugh; and Faustus immediately thought of a scheme by +which he might revenge himself, in a signal manner, upon the +Archbishop, who had paid so little attention to his +discovery. He hoped then to <!-- page 102--><a +name="page102"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 102</span>involve the +thread of the theological and political war at Mayence in such +confusion that no human power would be able to unravel it. +After dinner he asked the demon whether it would be possible for +him, under the figure of the Dominican, to pass that night with +the lovely Clara. The Devil assured him that nothing was +more easy; and, if he chose, the abbess herself should usher him +into the nun’s cell. Faustus, who had always +considered the abbess to be a strict, pious, and conscientious +woman, laughed in scorn at these last words of the Devil.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Thy wife, O Faustus, set up a shriek of +despair when thou didst tell her of thy intended departure; but +when the glitter of gold and dress burst upon her view, the +sorrows of her heart vanished at once. I repeat, that the +abbess herself shall introduce thee to the cell of the nun, and I +will employ no supernatural means. Thou thyself shalt see +how the old gudgeon will swallow the hook. Come, we will +pay her a visit under the pious figures of two nuns. I know +the manners and ways of the nuns, ay, and of the monks <!-- page +103--><a name="page103"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +103</span>too, of Germany, well enough to ape them. I will +represent the Abbess of the Black Nuns, and thou shalt be her +friend, Sister Agatha.</p> +<p>At this moment Faustus’s friend came, full of joy, to +inform him of the happy issue of the law-suit. He was about +to thank Faustus and the Devil upon his knees; but Faustus said, +“Spare your thanks, and take care of my wife and family +during my absence.” He then whispered into the ear of +the Devil, “It is time to think of the Judge.”</p> +<p>The Judge wished after dinner to gratify his beloved wife by +counting the gold pieces in her presence. He unlocked the +coffer, and started back in a tremor at the sight of its +contents: the gold pieces were changed into large rats, which +sprang out, and fell furiously upon his face and hands. The +Judge, who had a great aversion to these animals, rushed out of +the room; but they pursued him, fastening on his heels. He +hurried from the house, and ran through the streets; but still +they were close behind him. He fled into the fields; but +they allowed him no rest, and <!-- page 104--><a +name="page104"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 104</span>at last +forced the terrified wretch to seek shelter in the stone tower +where the tolls are gathered, and which stands in the middle of +the Rhine. Here he thought himself safe from farther +pursuit; but rats and mice hot from hell are not to be terrified +by water: they swam through, fell upon him, and ate him up +alive. His wife, in her terror and astonishment, told the +history of the transformation of the gold pieces by which her +unfortunate husband had allowed himself to be dazzled; and from +that time there has not been in the whole diocese of Mayence a +single instance of a judge or a man in office taking a +bribe. The Devil could not have foreseen this, or he +certainly would have let the scoundrel go unpunished.</p> +<p>Faustus and the Devil stood in their disguises before the gate +of the convent of White Nuns. The portress ran as fast as +she could in order to inform the abbess of the unexpected +visitors. The abbess received them with conventual +greetings, to which the Devil answered in a similar tone. +Sweetmeats and wines were then brought in, and <!-- page 105--><a +name="page105"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 105</span>while +partaking of them the two abbesses talked together, of cloister +affairs, and of the wicked world; and the Devil, with a deep +sigh, turned the discourse to Clara’s accident. +Clara, who, on account of her rank, was the pet-lamb of the +cloister, stood near the abbess, and laughed beneath her +veil. Faustus observed this, and, looking at her, really +thought he had never seen a more charming rogue wear the sacred +veil. The Devil at length gave the conversation a serious +turn, and led the abbess to conclude that he had something +weighty to confide to her.</p> +<p><i>Abbess</i> (<i>to Clara</i>). You may go, my lamb, to +the nuns in the garden, and divert yourself with them; I will +send you out some sweetmeats, so that you may celebrate the +coming of our venerable sister.</p> +<p>Clara bounded away. After a few words, which the Devil +uttered in a disturbed and thoughtful kind of tone, so that he +might thereby arouse the curiosity of the abbess, he came to the +point.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Ah, dear sister, how much do I pity <!-- +page 106--><a name="page106"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +106</span>you! It is true, and that ought in some degree to +comfort you, that the whole city and the entire district are +convinced of your holiness, your piety, and the strictness of +your discipline. In a word, you possess all the virtues +requisite for a bride of heaven. But, alas, the world will +be the world still; and the Fiend often infuses evil thoughts +into the minds of worldly men, so that through them he may +disturb those saints who are thorns in his side. No, no; +the wicked Devil cannot bear that you should bring up your lambs +in untainted purity. I pity you, as I said before, and +still more the little innocents who are at present confided to +your care. What will become of them when they lose you?</p> +<p><i>Abbess</i>. Kind sister, be of good cheer; though I +am old, I am yet, thanks to Heaven, sound and hearty, and the +little inconveniences which attend a uniform course of devotion +and penitence prolong life rather than shorten it. So, at +least, the physician of the convent tells me when I complain to +him.</p> +<p>The Devil looked at her attentively.</p> +<p><!-- page 107--><a name="page107"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +107</span>“Have you, then, had no anticipation of what is +hanging over your head? no warning vision? Has nothing +occurred in the convent to make you look forward to the future +with anxiety? It is customary for pious souls to be +informed by certain signs when any disaster menaces +them.”</p> +<p><i>Abbess</i>. You frighten me so, that I tremble in my +whole body. But let me reflect;—yes, yes, I am very +restless, and dream of raw heads and bloody bones; and some days +ago—ah, yes!—that certainly was a sign and a +warning—some few days ago I went with my lap-dog, which you +see there, to walk in the garden. I was alone; the nuns +were at some distance, telling stories beneath the +linden-trees. All at once the gardener’s great +mastiff sprung upon <i>Piety</i>, for that is the name of my +pet. I shuddered from head to foot, and crossed myself +again and again; but that would avail nothing. At last I +struck at the hideous brute with my staff,—yes, I struck +with all my strength the filthy hound who would thus profane the +cloister; and I continued striking until the staff, which his +reverence the Archbishop <!-- page 108--><a +name="page108"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 108</span>delivered +to me upon my consecration as abbess, broke in two. Was +that a sign or a warning, think ye?</p> +<p>The Devil and Faustus pretended to be shocked.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Ah, the very worst in the world. All +now is but too clear and manifest. Did not I tell you how +it would turn out, Sister Agatha?</p> +<p>Faustus made a humble bow of assent.</p> +<p><i>Abbess</i>. For Heaven’s sake, speak, or I +shall run mad.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Contain yourself, dear sister. Help +is to be found, and who knows but I bring it with me? +Remember that it was the staff which the Archbishop presented to +you upon your being consecrated an abbess which you broke; and +now listen to me attentively. You know my cousin the +prebend; well, he confided to me a very terrible affair. He +indeed made me solemnly promise not to tell you; but I know it is +best to commit a little sin, if by its means we can prevent a +great one and confound the projects of Satan.</p> +<p><i>Abbess</i>. You are perfectly right; and the <!-- +page 109--><a name="page109"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +109</span>Fathers of the Church hold that doctrine, as my +confessor has often told me.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Know, then, that the Archbishop has so far +got the upper hand of the Chapter, that he has brought them to +consent to your being deposed after the lapse of a few months, +and his niece Clara being made abbess in your stead.</p> +<p>“Jesu Maria!” cried the abbess, wrung her hands, +and fell into a swoon. The Devil made a sour face at her +exclamation, and Faustus, laughing, rubbed her wrinkled +brows. After she had recovered herself, she shed a torrent +of tears, and shrieked a thousand curses against the wickedness +of the world.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Do not despair, dear sister. For a +distant evil there is always a remedy.</p> +<p><i>Abbess</i>. And what do you advise me to do? +Wretch that I am! O Heavens! what will become of +me,—what will become of the nuns?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I have already said that it is best to +commit a slight sin if, by so doing, we prevent a great one, and +you yourself have proved it by the authority of holy Fathers; +but, dear sister, courage <!-- page 110--><a +name="page110"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 110</span>and +understanding will be necessary, if you wish to obtain your +purpose without danger to your own soul, by loading another +person with the capital sin.</p> +<p><i>Abbess</i>. Ah, dear sister, and how is that to be +contrived?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I was once in our convent in almost a +similar perplexity. The good Sister Agatha here is my +witness; and as she saw every thing, and assisted me, we may +speak out before her.</p> +<p>Faustus bowed with humility.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. A nun who, by sinful wit, and yet more +sinful beauty, had found favour among the great and powerful, +was, by their assistance, on the point of rising above me. +Ah! I have felt how grievous are the thoughts of being forced to +obey, after one has for a long time exercised boundless +power. Well, in the presence of Sister Agatha, I entered +into a consultation with my relation the prebend: he is very +knowing in affairs of conscience and crime, and understands to a +hair’s-breadth what is damnable and what is not. This +wise man gave me a piece of advice which helped <!-- page +111--><a name="page111"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 111</span>me +out of my trouble, and for which I shall always have reason to +bless him. I admit that the expedient at first appeared to +me sinful; but he assured me, and proved to me out of the +casuists, that a little fasting and penance would do away with +all that was culpable in it.</p> +<p><i>Abbess</i>. But the advice—the advice!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I am ashamed to tell it you aloud.</p> +<p><i>Abbess</i>. Then whisper it into my ear. What +the Abbess of the Black Nuns could do without endangering her +salvation, the Abbess of the White Nuns may do also.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i> (<i>softly into her ear</i>). He advised me +to contrive so that this dangerous nun should commit the sin of * +* *</p> +<p><i>Abbess</i> (<i>crossing herself</i>). Blessed +Ursula! Why, that is the work of the Devil, and leads +directly to hell.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Ay, very true, but only the person who +commits it; and I was not advising you to do it. Remember, +dear sister, you are not to be punished for all the sins which +your nuns may choose to commit.</p> +<p><!-- page 112--><a name="page112"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +112</span><i>Abbess</i>. But, in Heaven’s name, how +did you manage this dangerous affair without being +discovered?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Oh, my situation was much more difficult +than yours, for you are assisted by the report of the dream, +which already fills the whole city. Suppose, now, you were +to let a man, dressed like the Dominican, slip into Clara’s +cell, and the signs of the sinful deed were afterwards to appear, +would not the whole world say that it was a trick of the arch foe +of mankind? Let Satan have the credit of it, and do you +remain sitting in your chair, adorned with that dignity which +Heaven has been pleased to grant you. I have given you this +advice out of friendship, and for your good; you are now at +liberty to do as you please. At all events, I will send you +some one to-night to personate the Dominican, and he will only +have to return if you are too scrupulous.</p> +<p>The abbess sat like one amazed, and in her confusion began to +tell her Rosary: “<i>Ave Maria</i>. It is certainly +allying oneself to the Devil. Blessed Ursula, illumine my +darkness.” She cast her <!-- page 113--><a +name="page113"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 113</span>eyes upon +the image of the saint. “It would certainly be a +great scandal to the convent. <i>Ave Maria</i>. But +then it would be placed to Satan’s account. Perhaps, +though, I might be damned for it. <i>Pater +noster</i>. And am I now to become a servant in the +cloister, and in my old days to be tormented by a superior, after +I have so long tormented the nuns? This little baggage has +already afforded sufficient scandal to the whole town without +this. Alas, when I have no longer authority to box the nuns +about, how will this and that malignant creature revenge herself +upon me! <i>Ave Maria</i>. Well, I have made up my +mind, and, for the good of the cloister, I will continue abbess +the remainder of any days, cost what it will.”</p> +<p>The Devil applauded her, and the plan was soon arranged. +Upon going away the Devil said to Faustus:</p> +<p>“Now, what have I done else than ask the pride of this +old beldame whether it is better to risk eternal damnation, or to +give up that tyrannical power over the poor nuns, which the hand +of Death will soon deprive her of?”</p> +<p><!-- page 114--><a name="page114"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +114</span>Whatever pleasure Faustus derived from the certainty +that his desires would be gratified, he was nevertheless much +displeased that the Devil should always be in the right. +That same evening the abbess herself introduced him, under the +disguise of the Dominican, into Clara’s cell while the nuns +were at vespers. Clara herself soon appeared, and after she +had commended herself to St. Ursula, she laid herself down. +Her imagination, which had once been directed to a certain +object, often repeated to her in dreams her former vision; and +she lay in just such a transport, when Faustus approached her, +and embodied the apparition, upon which Clara awoke, and still +believed herself merely in a dream. The abbess in the mean +time did penance in her cell, and made a vow to fast every week +for the good of her soul. But the consequences of this +night were horrible to poor Clara.</p> +<p style="text-align: center">* * * * *</p> +<p>The next morning Faustus took leave of his family. Few +tears were shed; but his old father, in a mournful tone, gave him +wholesome advice.</p> +<p><!-- page 115--><a name="page115"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +115</span>As Faustus, with the Devil, rode over the bridge which +leads across the Rhine, thinking of last night’s adventure, +and making comments upon the abbess, he saw afar off a man in the +water, who seemed upon the point of drowning, and only feebly +struggled against approaching death. He commanded Leviathan +to save the man. The Devil answered, with a significant +look:</p> +<p>“Think well of what thou requirest; he is a youth, and +perhaps it will be better for him and for thee that he ends his +life here.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Thou fiend, only ready for mischief, +wouldst thou have me withstand the sacred feeling of +nature? Hasten and save him, I repeat.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Canst thou not swim thyself? +No. Well, the consequences be thy reward; thou wilt repent +of this.</p> +<p>He rushed into the stream, and rescued the youth. +Faustus consoled himself with the idea of having, by this good +act, atoned for the preceding night of sin; and Leviathan laughed +at the consolation.</p> +<h2><!-- page 116--><a name="page116"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 116</span>CHAPTER III.</h2> +<p>The Devil now led Faustus through a series of adventures which +were to serve as a prelude to the most afflicting +vicissitudes. What Faustus had hitherto seen had embittered +his heart; but the scenes which now opened upon him by degrees so +wounded his spirit, that his mind was unable either to support or +remedy them; and only one of the worldly great, or, what is +nearly synonymous, a worker and designer of human misery, could +have witnessed them unmoved.</p> +<p>The Devil and Faustus were riding in close conversation along +the banks of the Fulda, when they saw beneath an oak-tree a +countrywoman sitting with her children, appearing to be the +lifeless image of agony and dumb despair. Faustus, whom +sorrow attracted as much as joy, went hurriedly up to her, and +inquired the cause of her <!-- page 117--><a +name="page117"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +117</span>grief. The woman gazed at him for some time, and +it was not until his sympathising look had in some degree melted +her frozen heart that she was able, amidst tears and sobbings, to +explain herself in the following words:</p> +<p>“In the whole world there are no beings so wretched as +myself and these poor children. My husband was indebted to +the Prince-Bishop for three years’ rent. The first +year he could not pay it, on account of the failure of his crops; +during the second the Bishop’s wild-boars grubbed up all +his seed from the ground; and during the third his whole +hunting-train galloped over our fields and destroyed our +harvest. As my husband had often been threatened by the +steward with a distress, he intended to have gone this morning to +Frankfort, to sell a fat calf and his last pair of oxen, and with +the amount to have paid his rent. But just as he was +setting out the Bishop’s clerk-of-the-kitchen came, and +demanded the calf for his lordship’s table. My +husband pleaded his poverty, and told him how unjust it would be +to take away his calf, which <!-- page 118--><a +name="page118"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 118</span>would fetch +a high price at Frankfort. The clerk-of-the-kitchen +answered, that no peasant had a right to carry any thing out of +his master’s domain. The steward and his bailiffs +then came, and instead of taking my husband’s part, he +drove off the oxen; the clerk-of-the-kitchen took the calf; the +bailiffs turned me and my children out of house and home; and +while they were pillaging and carrying off our goods, my husband +went into the barn and out his throat in despair. The poor +wretch lies under that sheet, and we sit here to watch the body, +so that it may not be devoured by the wild-beasts, for the priest +has refused to bury it.”</p> +<p>She tore away the white sheet which had concealed the body, +and fell to the ground. Faustus started at the horrible +sight, while tears gushed from his eyes, and he cried, +“Man, man, is this thy lot?” Then looking up to +heaven, “Oh! didst thou create this unfortunate man merely +that a servant of thy religion might drive him to despair and +suicide?” He cast the cloth over the body, flung the +woman some gold, and said, “I <!-- page 119--><a +name="page119"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 119</span>will go to +the Bishop and tell him your melancholy story. I am certain +that he will bury your husband, give you back your goods, and +punish the villains.”</p> +<p>This circumstance made so strong an impression upon Faustus, +that he and the Devil reached the Bishop’s castle before he +could collect himself. They were received with great +civility, and shown into a spacious hall, where his reverence was +at table. The Prince-Bishop was a man in his best years, +but so enormously corpulent that fat seemed to have overwhelmed +his nerves, his heart, and his very soul. He was only +animated while eating; all his sense lay in his palate, and he +never knew vexation, except when he was disappointed of a dish +which he had ordered. His table was so well furnished, that +Faustus, whom the Devil had often banqueted by means of his +spirits, thought to himself that the Bishop surpassed the master +of a thousand arts in his dinners. In the middle of the +table stood, amongst other dishes, a large +calf’s-head,—a favourite morsel with the +Bishop. He was engaged, both body and soul, in <!-- page +120--><a name="page120"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +120</span>the feast, and had not yet spoken a single word, when +suddenly Faustus exclaimed:</p> +<p>“Gracious sir, do not take it ill of me if I spoil your +appetite, but it is impossible for me to look on that +calf’s-head without telling you of a shocking affair which +has this day occurred in the neighbourhood of your palace. +I hope, from your humanity and Christian mildness, that you will +cause those aggrieved to be recompensed, and take care in future +that your officers do not again outrage humanity, as they have +done in this affair.”</p> +<p>The Bishop raised his eyes in wonder, looked at Faustus, and +emptied his glass.</p> +<p>Faustus related the story with warmth and feeling; none of +those present, however, paid any attention to him, and the Bishop +continued eating. Faustus then said: “I think I am +speaking to a Bishop, a shepherd of his flock, and am standing +among teachers and preachers of religion and Christian +charity? My lord, am I right or not?”</p> +<p>The Bishop eyed him scornfully; then calling for the +clerk-of-the-kitchen, he said: “What hubbub <!-- page +121--><a name="page121"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 121</span>is +this about a peasant who has been fool enough to cut his +throat?”</p> +<p>The clerk-of-the-kitchen laughed, told the story as Faustus +had done, and added: “I took away his calf because it would +grace your lordship’s table, and was too good for the +Frankfort burghers, to whom he wished to sell it. The +steward distrained his goods because he had always been a bad +tenant, and for three years had not paid his rent. Thus, my +lord, does the case stand; and truly no peasant shall drive any +thing good out of your demesne with my consent.”</p> +<p><i>Bishop</i>. Go; you are quite right. (<i>To +Faustus</i>) What have you now to say? you see that he did +his duty in taking the calf; or do you think that the Frankfort +citizens ought to eat the fat calves of my land, and I the +lean?</p> +<p>Faustus was about to speak.</p> +<p><i>Bishop</i>. Listen! eat, drink, and be silent. +You are the first person that has ever spoken of peasants and +such rabble at my table. Verily, if your dress did not +declare you to be a gentleman, I should be inclined to think that +you were <!-- page 122--><a name="page122"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 122</span>sprung from beggars, since you speak +so warmly in their favour. Learn that the peasant who does +not pay his rent does just as well in cutting his throat, as +certain people would do in holding their tongues instead of +spoiling my appetite with useless speeches. +Clerk-of-the-kitchen, that is a noble calf’s-head.</p> +<p><i>Clerk-of-the-kitchen</i>. It is the head of Hans +Ruprecht’s calf.</p> +<p><i>Bishop</i>. So, so! Send it me here, and reach +me the pepper. I will cut myself a slice. And you, +Mr. What’s-your-name, may as well take a piece with me.</p> +<p>The clerk-of-the-kitchen placed the pepper-castor before the +Bishop. Faustus whispered into the ear of the Devil; and at +the moment the Bishop ran his knife into the calf’s-head, +the Devil changed it to the head of Hans Ruprecht, which, wild, +horrible, and bloody, now stared the Bishop in the face. +His reverence let fall his knife, and sank back in a feinting +fit; while the whole company sat in lifeless horror and +stupefaction.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. My Lord Bishop, and ye most reverend +<!-- page 123--><a name="page123"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +123</span>gentlemen, learn from this to practise Christian +charity as well as to preach it.</p> +<p>He hurried away with the Devil.</p> +<p>The <i>sang-froid</i> of the Bishop and his table-companions, +and the brutal manner in which he spoke of the fate of the +unfortunate suicide, sowed the first seeds of gloomy horror in +the breast of Faustus. He revolved in his mind his former +experience, as well as what he had seen since he had roamed about +with the Devil, and perceived, whichever way he turned, nothing +but hard-heartedness, deceit, tyranny, and a willingness to +commit crime for the sake of gold, preferment, or luxury. +He wished to seek for the cause of all this in man himself; but +his own unquiet and doubtful spirit, and his imagination, which +always avoided difficulties within its reach, began already in +dark dissatisfaction to make the Creator of mankind, if not the +author, yet, by his sufferance of all these horrors, at least the +accomplice. These impious ideas only required the aid of a +few more horrible scenes to derange his understanding entirely; +and the Devil inwardly rejoiced in being <!-- page 124--><a +name="page124"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 124</span>able to +afford a future opportunity for that purpose. Faustus hoped +soon to cure himself of this sadness at the court of the renowned +prince, and his companion willingly left him in this +delusion. About evening they arrived at a city, at the +entrance of which they perceived a crowd of people assembled +round a tower, in which culprits condemned to death were +accustomed to pass the last night of their lives. Faustus, +observing that the people were looking up to the ironed windows +with the deepest sorrow, asked the cause of this +assemblage. Whereupon a hundred voices gave him an +answer.</p> +<p>“Dr. Robertus, our father, the friend of freedom, the +protector of the people, the avenger of the oppressed, sits +imprisoned in yonder tower. The cruel tyrannical Minister, +once his friend, has now condemned him to death; and to-morrow he +is to be executed, because he dared to uphold our +privileges.”</p> +<p>These words sunk deep into the soul of Faustus. He +conceived a high opinion of a man who, at the risk of his own +life, had dared to stand forward <!-- page 125--><a +name="page125"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 125</span>as the +avenger of his fellow-creatures. As he himself had just +been a witness of the consequences of oppression, he commanded +the Devil to carry him to this doctor. The Devil took him +aside, and then flew up with him into the tower, and entered the +cell of the avenger of the people. Faustus saw before him a +man whose daring and gloomy physiognomy was truly +disgusting. But the romantic imagination of Faustus +pictured, at first sight, the form of a great man, from what he +had heard and from what he saw before him. The doctor did +not seem much surprised at their sudden appearance. Faustus +approached him, and said:</p> +<p>“Doctor Robertus, I come to hear your story from your +own mouth; not that I have any doubt, for your appearance +confirms all that has been told me of you; I am now convinced +that you fall a sacrifice to that tyranny which oppresses the +race of man, and which I abhor as much as you do. I come +likewise to offer you my assistance, which, contrary to all +appearances, can extricate you from this dreadful +situation.”</p> +<p><!-- page 126--><a name="page126"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +126</span>The doctor looked coldly upon him, let his face sink +into his hands, and replied:</p> +<p>“Yes, I fall a victim to power and tyranny; and, what is +most grievous to me, through the means of a false friend, who +sacrifices me more to his fear and envy than to his despotic +principles. I know not who ye are, and whether ye can save +me; but I wish that men of your appearance should know Dr. +Robertus, who is to bleed to-morrow in the cause of +freedom. From my earliest youth the noble spirit of +independence, which man is bound to thank for every thing great +that he is capable of, fired my breast; from my early youth the +numerous examples of tyranny and oppression which I saw with my +eyes, or read of in history, roused my soul and inflamed me to +fury. Often did I shed tears because I felt myself unable +to avenge the sufferings of mankind. To increase my misery, +I read in the history of the Greeks and Romans what advancement +man made in virtue when tyrants were put down, and he was left to +follow the bent of his own nature. Think not that I am one +of those fools <!-- page 127--><a name="page127"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 127</span>whose idea of freedom is that every +one should do as he pleases. Full well I know that the +capacities of men are different, and that their situations in +life must be different; but when I considered the laws which +should secure to each individual his life and property, I found +nothing but a wild chaos, which tyrannical power had artfully +mixed up in order to make herself the sole and arbitrary mistress +of the happiness and the existence of the subject. After +this discovery, the whole human race appeared to me as a flock of +sheep, which a band of robbers had conspired to plunder and +devour by means of laws enacted by themselves, and to which they +themselves are not amenable: for where is the law that fetters +the rulers of the earth? Is it not madness that those very +people who, by their situations, are most liable to the abuse of +their passions, are subservient to no law, and acknowledge no +tribunal which can call them to account? Misery is near, +and promised vengeance is far off; and that chimes-in but poorly +with the feelings and nature of man.” Faustus +earnestly listened to all this, looked <!-- page 128--><a +name="page128"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 128</span>furious, +and struck his forehead with his hand. The Devil was quite +enraptured with the orator, who continued:</p> +<p>“The wild indignation which I expressed at every new act +of oppression does honour to my heart, and therefore I care very +little though my enemies can reproach me for want of prudence; +for what is termed prudence by the world is nothing else than +blind submission, servility, flattery, and being unscrupulous how +or in what manner a place is obtained; but an independent being +like myself seeks for happiness by purer means. I had the +misfortune to be allied, by the bonds of friendship, to the +present Minister from the time we were at school together. +He sought advancement, and he has the spirit which insures it; +for, from his very infancy, he has endeavoured to obtain power +and riches by principles entirely opposite to mine; and in +proportion as I have attacked tyrannical forms of government, he +has defended them. We have disputed this delicate point +privately and in public, and my honesty has always enabled me to +defeat him; but as it was <!-- page 129--><a +name="page129"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 129</span>natural +that I should have the oppressed part of mankind on my side, so +was it yet more reasonable that he should succeed in winning over +all those who derive advantage from enslaving their +fellow-men. As these are the very people who can open the +door of happiness and fortune to their confederates, so was he +soon distinguished and raised, step by step, to the rank of +prime-minister of the kingdom; whilst I, neglected, despised, and +unknown, remained stationary. The proud despot exerted his +utmost to bring me over to his party by bribery and promise of +place; but I saw that he only wished to make me thereby more +deeply feel his power, and that he felt nothing more was wanting +to complete his triumph than to have a man of my principles +acknowledge him as patron, and sanctify his arbitrary measures by +coöperating with him. True, therefore, to myself, I +the more eagerly exposed and censured the crimes which he was +daily committing. You must be aware that if he had been +capable of feeling what was great, this hostility would have +inspired him with admiration for a man who took <!-- page +130--><a name="page130"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +130</span>him to task with so much danger to himself; but it +operated in a different manner. The more I exposed him, the +more his hatred against me increased; and when I, a month ago, +published a paper in which I depicted him in his true colours, +and the people thereupon assembled round his house, threatened +his life, and shouted my name with enthusiasm, the wretch had the +baseness to send the paper forthwith to the Prince, who had me +tried and condemned to death. Thus the laws of tyrants +condemn me, but the rights of man acquit me.—I have now +told you my history, and you shall hear nothing more from +me. I die without a murmur, and merely grieve that I cannot +burst the chain which fetters my fellow-men. If you can +assist me, good; but know that death from the hand of my foe is +more welcome to me than mercy. Leave me now to myself; +return to slavery, while I wing my course to everlasting +freedom.”</p> +<p>Faustus was confounded at the magnanimity of the Doctor, and +hurried away to reproach the minister with his injustice, and put +him to shame. <!-- page 131--><a name="page131"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 131</span>The Devil, who saw deeper into +matters, perceived that the Doctor was animated with quite a +different spirit than that of freedom. The minister gave +them an immediate audience; when Faustus spoke to him with much +warmth and boldness concerning the situation and opinions of the +Doctor. He represented to him how injurious it would be to +his reputation to sacrifice a man, whom he once called friend, at +the shrine of despotism. He gave him to understand that +every man would believe that revenge and fear had actuated him to +get rid of so sharp-sighted an observer of his actions. +“If your proceedings be just,” he continued, +“you have, then, nothing to fear from him; if, on the +contrary, you are such a man as he declares you to be, his +execution will only strengthen his assertion, and every honest +man will call you a false friend and an oppressor of your +fellow-citizens.”</p> +<p><i>Minister</i>. I do not know you, nor do I ask who you +are. The manner in which I bear your reproaches and your +epithets will best prove my opinion of you. Consider, now, +whether you have <!-- page 132--><a name="page132"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 132</span>a right to bestow them from mere +hearsay, being yourself unacquainted with the affairs of this +country. I will conclude, however, that you speak from +compassion, and therefore will give you an answer. I was, +and am still, the friend of Dr. Robertus; and I deplore the +necessity which forces me to deliver up to justice a man whose +talents might have made him useful to his country, had he not +perverted them to her destruction. I will not search for +the cause of this in his breast, but will leave it to his own +conscience. For a long time I have tolerated his dangerous +infatuation; but since he has inflamed the minds of the people +for whose welfare I am answerable, and has placed himself at the +head of a rebellion, he must die, as my own son must, were he +guilty of the like offence. The law has judged him, and not +I; he knew this law, and knew what penalties rebellion draws down +upon its sons. I have nothing to say against the opinion of +the people: when they are no longer misled, I believe they will +consider me as their father. If you please, you may stay +among us; and whenever you can <!-- page 133--><a +name="page133"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 133</span>see any +thing really calculated for the people’s good, be assured +that I shall always pay attention to it.</p> +<p>After these words, which he spoke in a firm and unaltered +tone, he retired, and left Faustus, who was unable at the moment +to make any reply. Upon going away, the latter said to the +Devil, “Which of these two, now, shall I +believe?” The Devil shrugged his shoulders; for he +generally appeared to be ignorant when concealing the truth would +be profitable to himself and injurious to mankind.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. But why should I ask thee? I will +obey the call of my own heart. A man who is so nearly +allied to me by his way of thinking shall not die.</p> +<p>If Faustus had been acquainted with some of our modern bawlers +for freedom, he would not have been so mistaken in the Doctor; +but such a being was a novelty at that period.</p> +<p>The next morning, when the execution was to take place, +Faustus went into the grand square, attended by the Devil, and +told him in going <!-- page 134--><a name="page134"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 134</span>along what he was to do. At +the very moment the executioner was about to decapitate the +Doctor, who had kneeled down, looking very ghastly, the latter +disappeared. The Devil carried him through the air beyond +the frontiers; and there, delivering him a large sum of money, he +abandoned him joyfully to his fate, for he saw pretty clearly how +he would employ his gold and liberty. The people raised a +wild shout of joy at the disappearance of the Doctor, and +believed that Providence had rescued their favourite. +Faustus also shouted, and rejoiced at the glorious action.</p> +<p>Faustus and the Devil now rode to the court of the Prince of +---. <a name="citation134"></a><a href="#footnote134" +class="citation">[134]</a> They soon reached the court of +this prince, who was cried up through all Germany as a wise and +virtuous ruler, whose only happiness consisted in the welfare of +his subjects. <!-- page 135--><a name="page135"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 135</span>It is true that the subjects +themselves did not always join in this cry; but the prince is not +yet born who can give satisfaction to all men.</p> +<p>Faustus and the Devil, by means of their dress and equipage, +soon found admittance at court. Faustus regarded the Prince +with the eyes of a man whose heart was already prepossessed in +his favour; and to carry this prepossession even to conviction, +nothing more was necessary than the noble exterior of the Prince +himself. He was, or appeared to be, frank and open; +endeavoured to please and to win all hearts without appearing to +do so; was familiar without laying aside his dignity, and +possessed that prudent coldness which inspires respect, though we +scarcely know why. All this was blended with so much +elegance, urbanity, and decorum, that it would have been +difficult for the most acute eye to have distinguished the +acquired, the artificial, and the assumed, from the plain and +natural. Faustus, who had as yet seen few of those men of +the world whose natural characters are swallowed up by political +prudence, formed an ideal one out of the <!-- page 136--><a +name="page136"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +136</span>above-mentioned materials; and after he had for some +time visited the court, and believed that he had obtained a +thorough knowledge of the head personage, the following +conversation took place one evening between him and the +Devil:</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I have hitherto purposely said nothing +to you of this Prince; but now, having, as I flatter myself, +caught his character, I venture to affirm that report is no liar, +and I hope to wring from thee an avowal that he is the man we +have been seeking.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I guessed, from your beginning, how you +would end. I suppose you verily believe that you have +brought the Devil into a quandary; but of this anon. Your +prince shall be for the present a thoroughly honest fellow. +I will tell you nothing of the result of the observations I have +made upon him; for, from what I have learnt at the +minister’s, there is something going forward which will +soon give you ocular demonstration of his worth; till then keep +the idea you have formed of him in your bosom, and tell me what +is your opinion of Count C., his favourite.</p> +<p><!-- page 137--><a name="page137"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +137</span><i>Faustus</i>. Curse it: he is the only person +here whom I cannot comprehend. He is the bosom friend of +the Prince, and yet is as slippery as an eel, which always +escapes through your fingers; and as smooth as a woman is towards +her husband when she has resolved to deceive him. But +perhaps he is obliged to conceal the emotions of his soul, lest +some of those spies who are always hanging round the favourites +of princes should take advantage of him.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. His soul! Dost think then, Faustus, +that a man who so studiously endeavours to disguise himself has a +breast that would bear the light? Never trust him in whom +art and subtlety have so far overcome animal nature, that even +the signs of his instinct and his sensations are +extinguished. When that which works and ferments within you +shows itself no more in your face, in your eyes, and in your +actions, you are no longer what nature formed you; but are become +the most dangerous brutes on the earth.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. And is the Count such a being as you +have described?</p> +<p><!-- page 138--><a name="page138"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +138</span><i>Devil</i>. The Count is a man who has +travelled much and has made the tour of the courts of Europe, has +smoothed down the rugged man, and has sacrificed the noble +feelings of his heart at the cold shrine of reason; in short, one +of those calculating heads who laugh at your ideal virtue, and +act with men like the potters, who dash the work of their hands +to pieces if it does not please their fancy. He is one of +those who think themselves justified, by their experience, to +consider the entire race of men as a pack of wolves who will +devour all who put confidence in them. Nothing delights him +more than to carry on an intricate state-plot; and he treats a +maiden as he does a rose which he plucks from the +stalk,—inhales the sweetness, and then very coolly treads +it under foot.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Malicious devil! and can the man thou +hast depicted to me be the bosom friend of the Prince of ---?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Time will show what he is to him. I +tell thee there is something going forward. Didst thou, by +the by, observe the minister this evening?</p> +<p><!-- page 139--><a name="page139"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +139</span><i>Faustus</i>. He appeared sad and +melancholy.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. He, now, is one of those whom you call +honest men. He is just, noble-minded, and attentive to the +duties of his situation; but, like all of you, he has a foible to +counterbalance his virtues; this is an unbounded tenderness for +the other sex: and as he, out of principle, required the blessing +of the priest to his pleasures, so did he, after the death of his +first wife, make a fool of himself by marrying the woman whom you +have seen. Through a few hours’ enjoyment he +destroyed the fabric of his fortune. She took advantage of +his doting fondness, and wasted in luxury, dress, and play, her, +his, and his children’s property, and involved him in debts +to an immense amount. It is true she found in Baron H., +whom you know, and who is sole master in the house, a powerful +coadjutor. When they were completely aground, and their +desires had become more craving in proportion as the difficulty +of gratifying them increased, the lady readily agreed to a plan +which her minion proposed to her in private, and which was +nothing else “than to sell the honour <!-- page 140--><a +name="page140"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 140</span>of her +stepdaughter, under an equivocal promise of marriage, at as high +a price as the favourite would buy it.” The minister +had not the slightest suspicion of all this; he only felt his +lack of money, the weight of his debts, the full mass of his +folly, and trembled in momentary expectation of the arrival of +his son, whom the wife had driven from home in order that she +might dissipate his property. The poor youth had in the +interval departed for the Turkish wars, and had been rewarded for +his interference with a wooden arm. I do not say that the +favourite might not have had, at the commencement of this affair, +serious views of marrying the daughter, for he was well aware of +the father’s interest with the Prince; but during these +last few days the scene has quite changed. The Prince has +proposed to him an alliance with one of the richest heiresses in +the land; and he has determined, by one secret stroke, so +entirely to overwhelm the minister and his whole house, that no +one shall dare to cry for revenge or to complain of him. +They will all be silent, and the minister will be crushed beneath +<!-- page 141--><a name="page141"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +141</span>his foot, like the worm, whose sufferings are +unheard.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. But will not the Prince hear of this +deed, and punish it?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Thine own eyes shall be witnesses of the +issue of the affair.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I command thee, under pain of my +displeasure, to play none of thy tricks here.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Those who by their crimes put the Devil +himself to blush, have very little need of his assistance. +We begin now, O Faustus, to remove the covering from the hearts +of men; and I own that I feel sincere joy in finding that the +Germans are capable of something grand. You, indeed, are +merely the imitators of other nations, and lose thereby the glory +of originality; but in hell that is not esteemed essential, and +good-will in the cause of wickedness is all that is required.</p> +<p>Faustus passed his time gaily among the women of the court, +corrupting all those who were to be obtained by money or a fine +face; whilst the drama of the favourite was rapidly hastening to +a conclusion. He now revealed his finely-spun <!-- page +142--><a name="page142"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +142</span>design to Baron H. The latter was to be the +instrument of it; and as the glitter of gold was no longer at +hand to sharpen his palled passion for the minister’s wife, +and as the tears of the unfortunate daughter, the misery of the +father, and the expected arrival of the crippled son, began to +bear heavily upon his tender conscience, he determined at once to +free himself of all these burdens. His reward consisted in +the Count’s undertaking to persuade the Prince to send the +Baron on an important mission to the imperial court. In +consideration of this, the Baron was to procure the wife of the +minister to purloin secretly, from the cabinet of her husband, a +certain parchment, considered to be one of the most important +title-deeds of the princely house; and which the favourite was +well aware would shortly be called for, on account of a certain +law-suit with another illustrious family. The Count then +hoped to make it appear that the minister, for a sum of money, +would have delivered it into the hands of the adversaries, if the +favourite’s watchfulness had not detected his +treachery. The spouse of the minister, <!-- page 143--><a +name="page143"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 143</span>who thought +that an old man who could no longer supply her with gold for her +follies deserved no mercy, readily delivered the paper into the +hands of the Baron, for whom she had the most doting +fondness.</p> +<p>The minister was walking, in a melancholy manner, up and down +his apartment. The sense of approaching shame, and the +certainty of deceived love, had removed from him even his +daughter, who latterly had been his only consolation. She +was weeping in her chamber, and breaking a heart worthy of a +better destiny. The minister’s meditations were +interrupted by his wife, who now came to reproach him, and +thereby add to his misery. Baron H. presently entered, and +coolly demanded the commission, by virtue of which he was to act +at the imperial court. As he brought with him the +Prince’s order for the same, the minister instantly went +into his cabinet to fetch it. In the mean time the lady, +who now first heard of the Baron’s intended departure, +began to rave at him in the agony of despair. No sooner did +the minister return with the Baron’s commission <!-- page +144--><a name="page144"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +144</span>than a messenger brought him a note from the Prince, in +which he was commanded instantly to bring the title-deed into +court in order that it might be laid before the envoy of the +adverse party. The minister searched the cabinet, emptied +all his drawers of their contents, and the cold sweat of death +began to trickle down his face. He questioned his +secretaries and clerks, his wife also, and his daughter; but to +no purpose. At length he was obliged to resolve, fortified +as he was by his innocence, to expose himself to the dreadful +storm. He hastened to the Prince, who was sitting alone +with the Count, informed him of his misfortune, assured him of +his innocence, and submitted to his destiny. The Count +allowed the Prince to give way to his first indignation at this +unwelcome intelligence, when, advancing very coolly, he took the +title-deed out of his own pocket, and delivered it to the Prince +with a low bow. He then suffered himself to be closely +questioned as to the means by which the deed came into his +possession; but not until the Prince had threatened him with his +displeasure did he <!-- page 145--><a name="page145"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 145</span>confess, with the greatest apparent +reluctance, the process of the affair according to his concerted +plan. The minister was dumb; this evidence of his guilt so +confused him, that not even the consciousness of his innocence +could dispel the darkness which had come over him. The +Prince looked furiously upon him, and said: “I ought long +since to have expected that you would endeavour to pay the debts +of your waste and extravagance by betraying me.” This +last reproach in some degree restored the wretched man to his +senses; he was about to speak, but the Prince commanded him to be +silent, to resign his situation immediately, go home, and not +leave his house till sentence should have been pronounced upon +him.</p> +<p>The minister accordingly went home, while big tears rolled +down his cheeks. Despair forced from the daughter the +secret of her shame, and from the wife the avowal of her +crime. The strength of his spirit gave way, his senses +became confused, and that most frightful of all visitations, +insanity, drew a gloomy veil over the remembrance of the past, +and, by the ruin of his mind, <!-- page 146--><a +name="page146"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 146</span>healed his +heart of the wounds which his nearest and dearest had inflicted +upon it.</p> +<p>It was at this moment that the Devil led Faustus into the +chamber of the minister, having previously informed him of every +particular of the affair. All the fibres of feeling were +not yet entirely destroyed, and some few drops of paternal +sensibility were yet falling from the eyes of the good old man +upon the miserable daughter who was clasping his knees. He +smiled once more, played with her dishevelled locks, and smiled +yet again. Suddenly his son rushed in, and was about to +precipitate himself into his embrace. The father gave him a +ghastly look; a wild shriek of madness, which thrilled through +the nerves of every one present, burst from his heaving breast; +and the poor sufferer became for ever an object of horror and +painful compassion.</p> +<p>Faustus raged, and uttered the most frightful curses. He +instantly determined to inform the Prince of the whole +proceeding, and to unmask the traitors. The Devil smiled, +and advised him to go softly to work if he wished thoroughly to +know <!-- page 147--><a name="page147"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 147</span>this Prince whom he boasted of as an +impersonation of all human virtues. Faustus hastened to +court; and certain, as he imagined, of being able to cause the +ruin of the favourite by this discovery, he coolly communicated +every thing to the Prince. When he came to the motive which +urged the Count to this horrible action, namely, his wish to free +himself from his engagements with the daughter of the minister, +the countenance of the Prince brightened; he sent for the Count, +and embracing him on his entrance, said:</p> +<p>“Happy is the Prince who finds a friend who, out of +obedience and the fear of displeasing him, dares commit an action +which the common rules of morality condemn. The minister +has always acted like a fool. I am glad that we have thus +got rid of him. Thou wilt fill his situation much +better.”</p> +<p>Faustus stood for a moment petrified with horror. Noble +warmth soon, however, began to fire his breast. He depicted +in frightful colours the present situation of the minister. +He then burst into fury and reproaches, and, without the <!-- +page 148--><a name="page148"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +148</span>least reserve or fear, spoke like an avenger of +humanity when unmasking a cold-blooded, hypocritical +tyrant. He was turned out of the palace as a madman. +He returned home, and the Devil received him with a triumphant +air. Faustus said nothing, but gnashed his teeth, and, in +his venomous wrath, rejoiced that he was entirely separated from +the race of man.</p> +<p>About midnight the Count caused the Devil and Faustus to be +arrested, and cast into a frightful dungeon. Faustus +commanded the fiend to submit quietly, because he wished to see +how far these hypocrites would carry their wickedness. When +in prison, the dreadful scene of the day flitted before his +mind’s eye in colours of tenfold horror; and wild thoughts +against Him who rules the destiny of man arose from the +contemplation of it. His soul became inflamed; and at +length he exclaimed, with scornful laughter:</p> +<p>“Where is here the finger of the Godhead, and where is +that Providence which presides over the path of the +righteous? I see the just man insane, and the wretch who +drove him to madness <!-- page 149--><a name="page149"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 149</span>rewarded; I disclosed to the tyrant, +who affects virtue, the wickedness of his favourite, and he found +him only so much the more worthy of his friendship and +favour. If this be the order and harmony of the moral +world, then there is harmony and order in the brain of the poor +lunatic, who is suffered to fall unprotected and +unrevenged.”</p> +<p>He continued, while the Devil listened and laughed: “But +allowing that man is obliged, by necessity, to do every thing he +does, then must his deeds and his actions be ascribed to the +Supreme Being, and they thereby cease to be punishable. If +nothing but what is good and perfect can flow from a Perfect +Being, then are our deeds, horrible as they seem to us, good and +perfect. If they are wicked, and in reality what they seem +to us, then ought that Being to be looked up to with horror and +aversion. Come, fiend, resolve my doubts, and tell me what +causes the moral misery of man.”</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. A truce to your doubts! no one clothed in +flesh is permitted to untie that knot, and <i>therefore</i> <!-- +page 150--><a name="page150"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +150</span><i>a thousand fools will hang</i>, <i>drown</i>, <i>and +destroy themselves</i>. Do not, O Faustus, forget the end +which we proposed to ourselves at our first interview. I +promised to show thee men in their nakedness, in order to cure +thee of the prejudices thou hadst imbibed from thy books, so that +they might not disturb thee in the enjoyment of life. But +when thou hast rid thyself of all these human frailties, and hast +discovered that the pretended guidance of the Eternal One whom +thou hast renounced on my account, and before whose sight thou +mayst commit, undeterred, the most horrible atrocities, is only a +delusion, perhaps thy soul will then have sufficient strength to +understand these horrible mysteries; and, if so, I will reveal +them to thee.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Then, by the mysteries of evil which +surround men from their birth to their grave, I shall yet be the +greatest of my race; for, in summoning thee, I shall have +threaded the labyrinth in which the rest must grope about to all +eternity.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. It is well that the rest of men do not +<!-- page 151--><a name="page151"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +151</span>possess the magic art which has enabled thee to render +me thy subject, else would hell soon be emptied; and thou wouldst +see more devils walking upon the earth than there are saints in +the Calendar. Heigh ho! I know what a troublesome +life a devil has who is forced to put in execution all the +designs of an honest heart and a sound head: what, then, would +become of us, if every rascal and fool could call us out of +hell!</p> +<p>This observation of the Devil’s was on the point of +putting Faustus into a better humour; but his attention was +almost immediately directed to another subject. Six armed +men, with dark lanterns, followed by two executioners with empty +sacks, now entered the dungeon. Faustus asked them what +they wanted; and the leader answered, with great politeness: +“We are merely come, sir, to request you and your +honourable companion to creep into these sacks; for we are +ordered to tie you up in them, and then fling you into the +neighbouring stream.” The Devil laughed aloud, and +exclaimed: “See, Faustus, the Prince of --- wishes to cool +in you that enthusiasm for virtue <!-- page 152--><a +name="page152"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 152</span>which you +displayed so warmly before him to-day.” Faustus +looked furiously, and gave a sign: a fiendish roar instantly +filled the arched vaults; the soldiers and executioners sunk +trembling to the ground, and out flew the prisoners on the wings +of the mighty wind.</p> +<p>Revenge now inflamed the breast of Faustus, and arrayed itself +in the brilliant hues of a great and noble call. The idea +of avenging mankind on its oppressors rushed through his brain, +and he determined to employ the power of the Devil in clearing +the earth of hypocrites and villains. He therefore +exclaimed:</p> +<p>“Fly this moment to the palace, and strangle the wretch +who makes a game of virtue. Annihilate him who rewards the +traitor, and knowingly treads upon the righteous man. +Avenge mankind on him, in my name.”</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Faustus, thou art forestalling the +vengeance of the Avenger.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. His vengeance sleeps, and the righteous +man suffers; I will have him destroyed who wears only the mask of +virtue.</p> +<p><!-- page 153--><a name="page153"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +153</span><i>Devil</i>. Bid me, then, breathe pestilence +and death over the whole earth, so that the whole race of man may +perish. I tell thee, Faustus, thou art giving thyself +useless trouble, and sending wretches down to hell in vain; for +things will still go on as they did, or perhaps worse.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Crafty fiend, thou wouldst willingly +save him in order that he might commit more crimes. Princes +like him do indeed deserve thy protection, for they render virtue +contemptible by rewarding villany. Die he shall, and, +loaded with his last deed, sink trembling into damnation.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Know, thou fool, that the Devil rejoices +over the death of a sinner; and what I said was merely to secure +myself from thy future reproaches, and that thou mightest have no +excuse remaining. The consequences of this deed be +thine.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Yes, be they mine. I will lay them +in the scale against my sins. Hasten, and be firm. Be +thou the arrow of my vengeance. Seize the favourite and +hurl him among the sands of burning Libya, so that he may perish +by inches.</p> +<p><!-- page 154--><a name="page154"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +154</span><i>Devil</i>. Only private revenge, and spite in +finding thyself deceived, drive thee to this.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Babbling fiend! It is a solitary +remnant of what you call my youthful prejudices which inspires me +with angry thoughts at the sight of any atrocious act. If I +could have seen and tolerated the wickedness of men, should I +have wanted thee? Hasten and obey.</p> +<p>The Devil suffocated the Prince on his magnificent couch, then +seized the trembling favourite and hurled him among the burning +sands of Libya. He then returned to Faustus, and cried, +“The deed is done!” They once more mounted the +rapid winds, and sailed out of the country.</p> +<p>Faustus sat, melancholy, upon his horse; for, after they had +passed the frontiers, the Devil had changed their method of +travelling. The history of the minister still gnawed his +heart, and he was stung to the quick at being obliged to +acknowledge that the Devil had as yet been right in respect to +men; and the bitterness of his spirit increased in proportion as +they displayed themselves to him in their true colours. Yet +the idea <!-- page 155--><a name="page155"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 155</span>of having avenged the unfortunate +minister upon the hypocrites cheered him in the midst of his +gloomy sorrows. Pride by degrees so inflated his heart, +that he almost began to consider his alliance with the Devil as +the act of a man who yields up his soul for the good of his race, +and thereby surpasses all the heroes of antiquity, who merely +sacrificed their temporal existence; nay more, for as they +sacrificed themselves for the sake of glory, or for a +recompense,—which he, on account of his engagement, could +entertain no hopes of,—so at last he imagined that they +were not worthy to stand for a moment in comparison with +him. Thus, place men in whatever situation you will, they +soon begin to feel happy, provided their self-love has an +opportunity of working; for self-love can even gild the yawning +gulf of hell, as in the case of Faustus. He forgot, in his +pride, the motives of his alliance with the Devil, and his thirst +for pleasure and enjoyment; and while he sat upon his horse, his +imagination dubbed him the knight-errant of virtue and the +champion of innocence. The Devil rode by his side without +<!-- page 156--><a name="page156"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +156</span>once disturbing his meditations; for he only saw in +each of these would-be noble feelings the sources of future +torment and despair. His hatred of Faustus, however, +increased in proportion as the ideal prospects of the latter +brightened and expanded; he enjoyed, in anticipation, the hour +when all these airy visions would melt and disappear, and all +these painted images of fancy would deck themselves in the livery +of hell, and tear the rash one’s heart as the heart of +mortal had never yet been torn. After a long silence, +Faustus suddenly exclaimed: “Tell me how it fares with the +false favourite.”</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. He pants upon the scorched sands, and +stretches his parched tongue from out his burning jaws, that the +air and dew may refresh and moisten it; but no cooling wind blows +there, and for a millennium there will fall no refreshing drop +from heaven. His blood boils like molten metal in his +veins, and the rays of the sun fall perpendicularly upon his bare +head. Already is a curse against the Almighty conceived in +his inflamed brain, but his tongue is unable to stammer it <!-- +page 157--><a name="page157"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +157</span>forth. He turns up the hot sand like a mole, in +order that he may suck the damp earth; but thus he only digs his +own grave. Is thy revenge satisfied?</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Revenge! Why dost thou call the +exercise of justice revenge? Here am I shedding cold drops +of sweat through my skin at what thou hast been telling me; but I +saw him laugh when I described to him and his patron the +sufferings of the noble father and the ruined daughter.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Time, which slowly draws up the curtain, +will at length disclose every thing. If the villanies of a +petty despot and his catamite horrify thee, what wilt thou think +when thou seest men who have a thousand times more power, and +consequently will, to commit evil? We have, as yet, only +removed the first skin of the monster: what will become of thee +when we tear open his breast? Soon would He, to whom +vengeance properly belongs, empty the magazine of his thunder, +were he to destroy all those who, according to thy opinion, do +not deserve to live.</p> +<p>Faustus was about to reply, when he saw afar <!-- page +158--><a name="page158"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +158</span>off a village in a blaze. As every thing uncommon +excited his curiosity, he spurred forward his horse, and the +Devil followed at his heels. He was soon met by a confused +rout of knights and attendants, who had been vanquished by +another party, which, however, did not pursue them. When +they came nearer to the village, they found the plain strewed +with the bodies of men and horses. They saw among the dead +a miserable wretch, who, with both his hands, was endeavouring to +force back his entrails, which were hanging out of his mangled +belly. He howled and cursed frightfully during this horrid +operation. Faustus asked him the cause of all this +bloodshed. The fellow screamed, “Get to the Devil, +Mr. Curiosity; if you saw your inside outmost, as I see mine, you +would have no wish to answer questions. If you want to know +why they have served me thus, inquire of that noble gentleman, my +master, who lies there dead, and whom I have to thank for this +treatment.”</p> +<p>They left him, and approached a knight who was wounded in the +shoulder, and Faustus put <!-- page 159--><a +name="page159"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 159</span>the same +question to him. The knight answered: “A boor +belonging to yon burning village killed, some time ago, a stag, +the property of the mighty Wildgrave. Thereupon the +Wildgrave demanded the culprit of my master, in order that he +might be tied upon the back of a stag and run to death, according +to the German custom. My master refused to give up the +boor; but in order to punish him, seized every thing he +possessed, and confiscated it to his own use. The Wildgrave +then sent a letter of defiance to my lord, in the name of Heaven, +and with the permission of the emperor. We were worsted in +the battle, and the Wildgrave has set fire to the village, which +he has surrounded with his horsemen, so that the inhabitants +cannot escape; for he intends to fulfil the oath which he swore, +viz. to roast all the peasants, like Michaelmas geese, for his +hounds and wild-boars.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i> (<i>furiously</i>). Where is his +castle?</p> +<p><i>Knight</i>. On yonder eminence; it is the strongest +and most magnificent castle in the whole country.</p> +<p><!-- page 160--><a name="page160"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +160</span>Faustus rode to the top of a hill, and looked down upon +the burning village, which lay beneath him in the valley. +Mothers with children in their arms, old men, youths, and maidens +rushed out, cast themselves at the feet of the horsemen, and +begged for mercy. The Wildgrave shouted till the valley +reëchoed, “Drive the rabble back; they shall perish in +the flames!” The peasants screamed out, again and +again: “We are innocent! we are innocent! He who +offended you has escaped. What have we and our children +done? Ah, spare but them!” The horsemen whipped +them up from the ground, and drove them into the fire. The +poor mothers flung down their babes, in the hope that they would +pity them; but the hoofs of the horses trampled them to +death.</p> +<p>Faustus cried deliriously: “Fly, Devil, and return not +till thou hast consumed the tyrant’s castle, and all that +is therein. When he returns home, let him find +retribution.”</p> +<p>The Devil laughed, shook his head, and flew away; whilst +Faustus flung himself down beneath a tree, and gazed impatiently +upon the castle. <!-- page 161--><a +name="page161"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 161</span>When he +beheld it in flames, the madman imagined that he had restored all +things to their right order, and received the Devil on his return +with the utmost joy. The latter came back in triumph, and +boasted of the ruin he had caused; and, pointing to the Wildgrave +and his myrmidon, who were scampering towards the castle, he +exclaimed: “The vapours of the hellish pool will not, one +day, strike him with such horror, O Faustus, as this thy deed: +his young and beloved wife was a few days ago delivered of her +firstborn.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Oh, save her and the new-born babe!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. It is too late. The mother pressed +the boy in her arms, and he was burnt to ashes upon her +bosom.</p> +<p>This episode made Faustus shudder, and he exclaimed, +“How ready is the Devil to destroy!”</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Not so ready as daring men are to decide +and punish. Had ye but our might, ye would long ago have +shattered the vast globe, and reduced it to a chaos. Are +you not a proof of this yourself, since you so madly abuse the +power <!-- page 162--><a name="page162"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 162</span>which you have over me? Go to; +go to. The man who does not bridle himself resembles the +wheel which rolls down the steep: who can stop its course? +It springs from rock to rock till it is shivered. Faustus, +I would willingly have permitted the babe to grow up and commit +sin; for I am now deprived both of him and his mother. Yes, +Faustus; she endeavoured to preserve him from the scorching +flames with her arms, the flesh of which was already frightfully +burnt.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Thou drivest it home to my very +heart. (<i>Hiding his face in his mantle</i>, <i>already +wet with his tears</i>.)</p> +<p>The desire of avenging the virtuous and the innocent upon the +wicked now began to cool in the heart of Faustus. He +however comforted his spirit, tormented by the last spectacle, +with the thought of the mother and the suckling being preserved +from hell. Besides this, his hot blood, his eagerness for +pleasure, his desire for change, and finally his doubts, did not +permit any sensation to make a lasting impression upon his +heart. As he was attracted by every new object, his +feelings, <!-- page 163--><a name="page163"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 163</span>therefore, burnt like sky-rockets, +which for a moment illumine the darkness of the night, and then +suddenly disappear. The rich meal and the delicious wines +which he enjoyed in the next city where they arrived soon chased +away his melancholy fancies; and as the grand fair was being held +there at that time, Faustus and the Devil, after they had dined, +went into the market-place to see the crowd.</p> +<p>They now found themselves in a strange city. There lived +in one of the convents a young monk, who had, by means of a +heated imagination, succeeded in so powerfully convincing himself +of the force of religious faith, that he believed he should be +able to remove mountains, and to prove himself a new apostle in +deeds and miracles, if once his soul received the true +inspiration, and the Holy Spirit worked its way through +him. Besides this, he imbibed all the follies and +quackeries which others had rejected,—a circumstance in +which visionaries entirely differ from philosophers. The +young monk, like every theorist who is inspired with the +importance of his subject, was a fiery <!-- page 164--><a +name="page164"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 164</span>orator; he +thereby soon won over the minds of the simple, especially of the +women, who were easily caught by any warm and impassioned +appeal. His imagination, however, quickly formed for him +another magic wand; for as he, on account of his alliance with +the highest of all beings, had a lofty opinion of man, he formed +the design of physiognomically dissecting the masterpiece of +creation, this favourite of heaven, and of allotting to him his +interior qualities by means of his exterior appearance. Men +of his character so frequently deceive themselves, that it is +impossible to say whether some remaining spark of understanding +had whispered to him that this new delusion would give a fresh +polish to the old one; and that more pious souls would come to +him than ever, in order to be told so many wondrous things about +their faces. As he had only seen the four walls of his +cell, his penitents, and people of his own cast, and as he was as +ignorant in regard to mankind, the world, and true science, as +men of sanguine imaginations usually are,—it may be +concluded that fancy alone excited him to this <!-- page 165--><a +name="page165"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +165</span>scheme. His words and his writings operated +prodigiously upon the minds of all those who would much rather be +confused than think clearly. This is the case with the +greater part of mankind; and, as the hours of life glide away +very pleasantly when self-love is tickled, it was impossible that +he should be without disciples, for he flattered every +body. Our monk did not confine his researches to man alone; +for he descended to the more ignoble beasts of the earth, +allotted to them their qualities by examining their faces and the +structure of their bodies, and imagined that he had made a +wonderful discovery when he proved—from the mighty claws, +the teeth, and the aspect of the lion, and from the tender, light +fabric of the hare—why the lion was not a hare, and the +hare a lion. He was strangely surprised that he had +succeeded in pointing out so clearly the appropriate and +unalterable signs of brute nature, and to be able to apply them +to man,—although society has so much accustomed the latter +to mask his features, that they are rarely to be seen in their +primitive state. Not satisfied with these triumphs, <!-- +page 166--><a name="page166"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +166</span>our monk descended even into the kingdoms of the +dead—tore skulls from the graves, and the bones of animals +from the muck-heaps; and showed his visitors why the dead were +dead, and, from their bones, how it was impossible that they +should be otherwise than dead. In a word, he proved, +clearly and unanswerably, that death never yet came without a +cause.</p> +<p>The Devil was well aware of the general infatuation, and +perceived that, while he and Faustus sat at dinner in the public +room, some of the company, and even the innkeeper himself, were +surveying them with the utmost attention; and were communicating +to each other, in whispers, the result of their observations, and +showing the profiles which they had secretly taken. The +fame of the wonderful monk had long since reached the ears of +Faustus; but he had hitherto paid so little attention to it, that +he now hardly knew what to make of these signs and +whisperings. When they arrived in the market-place, they +were surprised by a new and extraordinary spectacle. This +resort was the true school for physiognomists. Every <!-- +page 167--><a name="page167"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +167</span>one there could single out his man, lay his visage upon +the balance, and weigh out the powers of his mind. Some +stood gazing at horses, asses, goats, swine, dogs, and +sheep. Others held between their fingers spiders, +butterflies, grasshoppers, and other insects, and endeavoured to +ascertain what their instinct might be from an attentive survey +of their exterior. Some were employed in judging, from the +weight of jaw-bones or the sharpness of teeth, to what animals +they belonged. But when Faustus and the Devil advanced +among them, each man desisted from his occupation, and began to +cry out, “What a nose! what eyes! what a searching glance! +what a soft and beautiful curve of the chin! what strength! what +intuition! what penetration! what a cleanly-made figure! what a +vigorous and majestic gait! what strength of limb! how uniform +and harmonious is his whole frame!” “I would +give I know not what for the autographs of the gentlemen,” +said a weaver, “in order that I might judge, by their +handwriting, of the quickness of their thoughts.” The +Devil happening to knit his brows from impatience of <!-- page +168--><a name="page168"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +168</span>this folly, one of the physiognomists instantly said, +“The internal force of the lion, which the gentleman +possesses, has been aroused by some external provocation, or some +trifling thought.”</p> +<p>Faustus was laughing at all this, when suddenly a beautiful +female looked down upon him from a window, and cried, in sweet +amazement: “Holy Catherine! what a noble head! what soft +and angelic pensiveness in the eyes! what a sweet and lovely +physiognomy!” These melodious words sunk into the +heart of Faustus. He looked up to the window: her eyes met +his for a moment ere she drew herself back. Faustus +whispered to the Devil: “I will not quit this town till I +have possessed that maiden: what voluptuousness beams in her +eyes!” They had scarcely entered a side street, when +one of the physiognomists came up and asked them very civilly for +“the physiognomy of their writing,” assuring them +that no stranger had hitherto refused him this favour, and he +hoped and trusted that they would not. He thereupon pulled +out his album, and offered it to Faustus, at the same time +producing pen and ink.</p> +<p><!-- page 169--><a name="page169"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +169</span><i>Faustus</i>. Not so fast, my friend; one good +turn deserves another. Tell me, first, who the maiden is +that I this moment saw at the window of yonder house, and whose +countenance is so celestial.</p> +<p><i>Physiognomist</i>. Ah! she is an angel in every sense +of the word. Our illustrious master has often assured us, +that her eyes are the very mirrors of chastity, her lovely mouth +only formed to express the inspiration of a heart filled with +heavenly ideas; that her brow is the polished shield of virtue, +against which all temptations, all earthly sin, will be shivered; +that her nose snuffs the odours of the fields of bliss; and that +she is the most perfect cast of ideal beauty ever yet permitted +to appear in the world.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Truly, you have depicted her to me with +more than earthly colours; and now tell me her situation in life, +and her name.</p> +<p><i>Physiognomist</i>. She is the daughter of a +physician; but her father and mother being lately dead, she lives +by herself on her own property. Her name is Angelica.</p> +<p><!-- page 170--><a name="page170"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +170</span>They then wrote some nonsensical lines in his album, +and the physiognomist departed, delighted with his treasure.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Now tell me, Devil, how this child of +grace is to be come at. I am just inclined to see this +monk’s ideal beauty.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. By the high road to the human heart you +will certainly meet her; for sooner or later all must fall in +with it, however far their fancies may have caused them to stray +from it.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. What a delightful enjoyment it would be +to fill so exalted an imagination as hers with images of +pleasure!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. The monk has already had the start of you, +and has so sharpened her feelings, and filled her little soul +with so much vanity and self-conceit, and made her piety so +carnal, that you have nothing else to do than give one audible +tap at the gate of her heart, in order to be admitted. Let +us now see to what lengths such delusions will lead a young +woman.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. And let it be done quickly.</p> +<p>The Devil was perfectly willing to steal so <!-- page 171--><a +name="page171"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 171</span>pure a soul +from heaven, and thereby to consummate more speedily the measure +of Faustus’s sins. He suddenly stood in the shape of +an old man with a peep-show, and, giving Faustus the wink, he +hurried away into the market-place. He raised his voice, +and invited the people to come and see his peep-show. The +populace flocked around him,—footmen and chambermaids, +wives and widows, boys and graybeards. The Devil showed +them all kinds of scenes, which he accompanied with pious +explanations and moral sayings. Each person stepped back +delighted from the peep-show, and charmed the bystanders with the +recital of the wonders he had witnessed. The beautiful +Angelica now looked out of her window; and, hearing the Devil +descant in so pious a tone, she felt an irresistible desire to +see the wonders of his box, and to bestow alms upon the devout +old showman. The Devil was sent for. Even he was +struck by her wondrous beauty, her gentle manners, and her +ingenuousness; but he became only so much the more desirous to +confuse her senses and entrap her. She placed her +enthusiastic <!-- page 172--><a name="page172"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 172</span>eye to the window of the box. +The Devil preluded with a few proverbs and wise saws, and +unfolded to her view scenes of love, in which he led her fancy so +adroitly from the spiritual to the carnal, that she was scarcely +aware of the gradation. If she were about to turn away her +eyes with shame, the offensive object changed itself at once into +a sublime image, which again attracted her attention. Her +cheeks glowed, and she believed herself gazing upon an unknown +and enchanted world. The artful Devil caused the figure of +Faustus to appear in all these scenes. She saw him pursuing +a shadow which resembled her own, and undertaking for its sake +the greatest actions, and exposing himself to dangers of every +description. When the Devil had completely chained her +attention, and perceived that she was highly curious to know +wherefore the figure of Faustus was thus associated with her own, +he changed the scene, and represented the parties in situations +not to be misconstrued. Lightning does not so quickly +glance through the darkness as did these scenes flit before the +eyes of the innocent <!-- page 173--><a name="page173"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 173</span>maiden; a moment is an age in +comparison, and the poison was glowing in her breast before she +was able to retreat. She started back, and, with her hands +before her eyes, rushed into her chamber, and sunk senseless into +the arms of Faustus. When she became aware of her fall, she +hid her face and repulsed the miscreant. He laid costly +jewels at her feet; but she spurned them, and cried, +“Tremble, thou wretch! the hand of the Avenger will one day +fall heavily upon thee for this crime.”</p> +<p>The insensate Faustus rejoiced at his victory; and went, +without the least feeling of repentance, to the Devil, who +laughed at the affair, and yet more fiendishly when he thought of +its terrific consequences.</p> +<p>Faustus found himself here in his element. He flew from +conquest to conquest, and made very little use of the power of +the Devil, but a great deal of his gold, which has some influence +even over devout minds. Angelica became invisible, and all +the endeavours of Faustus to see her once more were of no avail; +but he soon <!-- page 174--><a name="page174"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 174</span>forgot her in the tumult of his +pleasures. Reading by chance some of the manuscript +publications of the monk, he was irritated by the self-conceit +and ignorance of the author. He proposed to the Devil to +play him a trick, and with that intention they both went to the +convent. As they were exceedingly well dressed, and +appeared to be persons of distinction, they were received by the +young monk in the most cordial and friendly manner. His +eyes had scarcely met those of the Devil when he became so +agitated by his physiognomy, that, forgetting all the forms of +politeness, he shook him violently by the hand; and going to some +distance, he looked at him first full in the face, and then in +the profile. He then cried out:</p> +<p>“Ha! who art thou, most mighty one? Yes; you can +do what you like; and what you wish you can also do: your +physiognomy tells me this; therefore it is not necessary for me +to know you. Never have I been more perfectly convinced of +the truth of my science than at this moment. Who can behold +such a human visage without <!-- page 175--><a +name="page175"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 175</span>interest, +without admiration? Who cannot perceive in that nose, +original greatness; in that eye, penetration, strength, and +expression?”</p> +<p>He felt his forehead, and then continued:</p> +<p>“Permit me, with my measure, to ascertain the height of +your brow? Yes; I see unshaken courage in that forehead, as +clearly as I do steadfast friendship, fidelity, love of God and +man, in those lips. What a nobleness in the whole! +Thy face is the physiognomy of an extraordinary man, who thinks +deeply, who holds fast to whatever he undertakes, works, flies, +triumphs, finds few men in whom he will confide, but many who +will rely on him.</p> +<p>“Ah! if a common mortal had such a brow, such a mouth, +such a nose, or even such hair, what would become of +physiognomy?</p> +<p>“Perhaps there is not a man existing whom thy +countenance would not by turns attract and repel. What +infantine simplicity! What heroic grandeur! Few +mortals can be so well known and so little known as yourself.</p> +<p>“Eagle, lion, destroyer, reformer of mankind, <!-- page +176--><a name="page176"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +176</span>move on, move on, and reclaim men from their blindness; +share with them the intellectual strength which nature has given +thee; and announce thyself to all as I have just announced thee +to thyself.”</p> +<p>Faustus craunched his teeth while the monk was saying all +these noble things about the countenance of the Devil, who +turning coolly to the physiognomist, said,</p> +<p>“And what is thy opinion of that gentleman? Tell +me what he is.”</p> +<p><i>Monk</i>. Great, bold, mighty, powerful, soft, and +mild; but thou, his companion, art greater, bolder, mightier, +more powerful, more soft, more mild.</p> +<p>Then looking at Faustus, he exclaimed:</p> +<p>“Mighty pupil of a mightier man, if thy spirit and thy +heart could entirely catch his greatness, thou wouldst still be +merely reflecting the rays of his glory. But seat thyself, +and let me take thy shadow.”</p> +<p>Faustus, more and more enraged to see how infinitely the monk +rated him below the Devil, now burst forth:</p> +<p><!-- page 177--><a name="page177"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +177</span>“Shadows! yes, indeed, shadows only hast thou +seen. How darest thou thus judge and measure the human +race? Hast thou seen men? Where, and how? Thou +hast merely seen their shadows, which thou adornest with the +tinsel of thy crazed imagination, and givest them out as the true +forms. Tell me what kind of human beings thou hast +seen. Were they not sectaries, fanatics, visionaries, the +very offscourings of human nature? Were they not vain +devotees, young wives who have cold husbands, and widows who have +sleepless nights? Were they not authors eager to have every +mark and pimple on their insignificant features turned into a +sign and prognostication of genius? Were they not grandees, +whose brilliant stations rendered their physiognomies imposing to +thine eye? Thou seest that I know thy customers, and have +read thy book.”</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Bravo, Faustus! Let me now put in a +word, and tell his reverence a few mortifying truths. +Brother monk, thou hast formed in thy solitary cell a phantom of +perfection, and wouldst <!-- page 178--><a +name="page178"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 178</span>fain thrust +that into people’s heads, which, when there, poisons the +brain, as the gangrene corrupts all the flesh around it. +There were men long ago who ventured to judge of the innermost of +their fellow-creatures from the outside; but there was some +difference between them and thee. They had travelled over a +considerable part of the earth; experience had made them gray; +they had lived and conversed with men, visited all the lurking +holes of vice and iniquity, roved from the palace to the cot, +crept into the caves of savages, and thus knew what belonged to a +well-organised man, and what he could do with his +faculties. But shalt thou—swollen with prejudices, +pent up in a convent like a toad in the trunk of an +oak—pretend to have a clear idea of that which even they +barely understood?</p> +<p>The monk stood between the two speakers as between two +volcanoes in eruption; he crossed his hands humbly upon his +breast, and cried, “Have mercy!”</p> +<p>The Devil continued:</p> +<p>“Among the many impudent follies which I <!-- page +179--><a name="page179"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +179</span>observed in thy book was an attempt to draw the +Devil’s portrait. It is now high time for him to +appear to thee, in order that thou mayst correct the +likeness. Look at me; and for once thou shalt be able to +say thou hast seen an object in its proper form.”</p> +<p>The Devil then appeared to him in the most frightful of +infernal figures; but he rolled a thick mist before the eyes of +Faustus, in order that he might not blast his sight. The +monk fell to the earth; and the Devil, resuming all his former +comeliness, exclaimed:</p> +<p>“Now thou mayst paint the Devil in his proper colours, +provided thou hast strength. Thou wouldst often be thus +overcome, if thou didst in reality see the innermost of those +whom thou makest angels.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Persist in thy folly; communicate it to +others; and by thy extravagances render religion repulsive to +reasonable people. Thou canst not farther more +efficaciously the interests of the enemy. Farewell!</p> +<p>The monk had lost his senses through terror; <!-- page +180--><a name="page180"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +180</span>but he still continued writing notwithstanding his +madness; and his readers never once perceived his derangement, so +much did his new books resemble his old ones.</p> +<p>Faustus was delighted with this adventure; but becoming weary +of the town, he quitted it the next morning with the Devil, and +took the road to France.</p> +<h2><!-- page 181--><a name="page181"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 181</span>CHAPTER IV.</h2> +<p>When Faustus and the Devil entered upon the fertile soil of +France, it was groaning beneath the oppression of that cruel and +cowardly tyrant Louis the Eleventh, who was the first that ever +styled himself “the most Christian king.” The +Devil had determined not to give Faustus the slightest +information beforehand concerning this prince. He had +resolved to drive him to despair, and then overwhelm him with the +most frightful blow a mortal can receive who has rebelliously +transgressed the bounds which a powerful hand has drawn around +him.</p> +<p>The Devil had learnt from one of his spies that the most +Christian king was meditating a masterpiece of state policy; or, +in other words, was on the point of getting rid of his brother, +the Duke de Berry, in order that a province which had been <!-- +page 182--><a name="page182"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +182</span>granted to him might revert to the crown. The +malicious fiend resolved to make Faustus a spectator of this +horrid scene. They rode through a wood of oaks contiguous +to a castle, and saw among the trees a Benedictine monk, who +seemed to be telling his rosary. The Devil rejoiced +inwardly at this sight; for he read upon the countenance of the +monk that he was imploring the Mother of God to assist him in the +great enterprise which his abbot had intrusted him with, and +likewise to save him from all danger. This monk was Faber +Vesois, confessor of the king’s brother. The Devil +did not disturb him in his pious meditations, but went on to the +castle with Faustus. They were received with all the +respect generally shown to persons of distinction who come to +visit a prince. The duke passed his days here in the +company of his beloved Monserau, thinking of no harm, and +expecting no misfortune. His agreeable manners soon gained +him the good-will of Faustus, who was delighted to see a scion of +royalty think and act like a man; for he had been accustomed to +see among the <!-- page 183--><a name="page183"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 183</span>German princes nothing but pride, +coldness, and that foolish ceremony which is only intended to +make visitors appear contemptible in their own eyes. Some +days were very pleasantly spent in hunting and other amusements, +and the prince gained more and more upon the heart of +Faustus. The only thing that displeased him in the prince +was the weakness he displayed in regard to his confessor, the +Benedictine. He loaded him with so much tenderness, and +submitted with so much complaisance to his will, and the monk +always looked so studiously devout, that Faustus could not +conceive how a man so frank himself could prize such a +hypocrite. The Devil, however, soon let him into the secret +by informing him of the duke’s connexion with +Monserau. His love for this fair lady was equalled by his +fear of hell; and, Madame de Monserau having a husband still +living, he was not altogether easy in respect to his amours with +her. As he neither wished to renounce her nor expose +himself to eternal punishment, he greedily caught at the baits +which the monks hang out in order to make themselves <!-- page +184--><a name="page184"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +184</span>masters of the minds of men; and when the dread of hell +tormented him too much, he allayed his fears by receiving +absolution for his sins; while he thought it impossible for him +to be too grateful to a man who encouraged him to enjoy the +present, and tranquillised him in respect to the future. +“Thou seest, O Faustus,” said the Devil, “what +men have made of religion. Its abuse has often been +associated with crimes and horrors, but is nevertheless used by +the wicked to cajole and appease their rebellious +consciences.”</p> +<p>The conduct of the prince in this respect did him little +honour in the opinion of Faustus, who had long ago parted with +his own conscience, and this last remark of the Devil’s +operated strongly upon his mind; however, he permitted things to +go on in their own way, and chiefly thought of passing his time +pleasantly.</p> +<p>They were one evening at table in excellent humour; the Devil +was diverting the company with his pleasant stories, and Faustus +was employed in saying soft things to a pretty French widow, who +listened to him very complaisantly; <!-- page 185--><a +name="page185"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 185</span>when all of +a sudden, Death, in his most frightful shape, came to disturb the +festival. The Benedictine caused a basket of +extraordinarily large peaches, which he had just received as a +present, to be brought in at dessert; and, selecting one of the +finest, he offered it to the prince with a smiling and benignant +air. The prince divided it with his beloved, and both ate +of the peach without the slightest suspicion. They then +rose from table; the monk gave his benediction to all, and +hurried away. The Devil was about to commence a new story, +when Madame de Monserau uttered a loud shriek. Her lovely +features were distorted, her lips became blue, and the paleness +of death covered her countenance. The prince rushed to her +assistance; but the terrible poison began likewise to operate +upon him; he fell at her feet, and cried, “Listen, O +Heaven: my brother, my cruel brother, has assassinated me by the +hand of that monster. He who caused his father to die of +hunger in order to avoid being poisoned, has now bribed the +minister of religion to poison me.”</p> +<p>Faustus ran out of the room to seize the confessor, <!-- page +186--><a name="page186"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +186</span>but he had fled; a troop of horse were waiting for him +in the forest, and accompanied him in his flight. Faustus +returned; but Death had seized his victims, and they had ceased +to struggle with him. Faustus and the fiend instantly +quitted the place.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Well, Faustus, what think you of the deed +committed by the Benedictine in the name of the most Christian +king?</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I am almost inclined to believe that our +bodies are animated by fiendish spirits, and that we are only +their instruments.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. What a debasing employment for an immortal +spirit to have to animate such an ill-contrived machine! +Although I am a haughty demon, yet, believe me, I would rather +animate a swine that wallows in the mire than one of ye, who roll +in all manner of vice, and yet have the confidence to call +yourselves images of the Most High.</p> +<p>Faustus was silent; for the adventures he was every day +compelled to witness forced him, against his inclination, to +believe in the moral worthlessness <!-- page 187--><a +name="page187"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 187</span>of +man. They travelled forward, and found every where hideous +monuments of the cruelty of Louis the Eleventh. Faustus +frequently made use of the Devil’s gold and treasure to +stop the bleeding wounds which the hand of the tyrant had +inflicted.</p> +<p>At length they arrived at Paris. Upon entering the city +they found every thing in commotion. The people were +rushing in crowds down one particular street; they followed the +populace, and arrived in front of a scaffold covered with black +cloth, and which communicated, by means of a door, with an +adjoining building. Faustus asked what was the cause of all +this; and he was told “that the rich Duke of Nemours was +just going to be executed.” “And for +what?” “The king has commanded it: there is a +report, indeed, that he had hostile designs against the royal +house, and that he intended to murder the dauphin; but as he has +only been tried in his dungeon by judges named by the king, we +know nothing for certain.”</p> +<p>“Say, rather,” exclaimed another of the +bystanders, “that it is his property which costs him <!-- +page 188--><a name="page188"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +188</span>his life; for our sovereign, in order to make us a +great and celebrated nation, cuts off the heads of all our +wealthy men, and would serve us in the same manner if we were to +find fault with his proceedings.”</p> +<p>The Devil left the horses at the nearest inn, and then led +Faustus through the crowd. They saw the duke, accompanied +by his children, enter a chamber hung round with black, where a +monk waited to receive his last confession. The father had +his eyes fixed upon his sons, and could not look to heaven. +After he had confessed himself, he laid his trembling hands upon +the heads of the children, who were sobbing, and said, “May +the blessing of an unhappy father, who falls a victim to tyranny +and avarice, be your safeguard through life; but, alas, ye are +the heirs of misfortune. Your rights and pretensions will +infallibly doom you to long sufferings; ye are born for misery, +and I shall die in this conviction.” He wished to say +something more; but the guards silenced him, and hurried him out +upon the scaffold.</p> +<p>The tyrannical king had given orders that the <!-- page +189--><a name="page189"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +189</span>duke’s children should be placed under the +scaffold, so that the blood of their father might drop through +the boards upon their white robes. The cries which the +wretched parent uttered at the moment his darlings were torn from +him struck terror to the hearts of all around. Tristan +alone, who was the executioner, and the king’s most +intimate friend, looked on with perfect coolness, and felt the +sharpness of the axe. Faustus imagined that the groans of +the unhappy parent would excite Heaven to avenge outraged +humanity. He lifted his tearful eyes towards the bright +blue sky, which seemed to smile upon the horrid scene. For +a moment he felt himself strongly tempted to command the Devil to +rescue the duke from the hands of the executioner; but his +troubled and agitated mind was incapable of coming to any +resolution. The duke fell upon his knees; he heard the +shrieks and lamentations of his children who were beneath the +scaffold; his own infamous death no longer occupied his mind; he +felt for the last time, and felt only for these unfortunates; big +tears hung in his eyes, his lips <!-- page 190--><a +name="page190"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 190</span>trembled; +the executioner gave the fatal blow, and the boiling blood of the +father trickled down upon the trembling children. Bathed +with paternal gore, they were then led upon the scaffold. +They were shown the livid headless trunk, were made to kiss it, +and then re-conducted to their prison, where they were chained up +against the damp wall, so that whenever they took repose the +whole weight of their bodies rested on the galling fetters. +To increase their misery, their teeth were torn out from time to +time.</p> +<p>Faustus, overwhelmed by the frightful scene he had witnessed, +returned shuddering to the inn, and commanded the Devil to +annihilate the tyrant who thus made a sport of human +suffering.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I will not annihilate him, for that would +be against the interest of hell; and why should the Devil put a +stop to his cruelties when by some they are viewed with +patience? If I were to further the projects of thy blind +rage, who would escape thy vengeance?</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Should I not be performing a noble part, +if, like unto another Hercules, I were to <!-- page 191--><a +name="page191"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 191</span>roam the +world, and purge its thrones of such monsters?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Short-sighted man, does not your own +corrupt nature prove that you must have these kings? And +would not new monsters arise out of their ashes? There +would then be no end of murder; the people would be divided, and +thousands would fall the victims of civil war. You see here +millions of bipeds like yourself, who suffer a man like +themselves to despoil them of their property, to flay them alive, +and to murder them at his pleasure. Did not they witness +the execution of this duke, who died innocent as any lamb? +Did they not gaze with pleasure, mingled with agony and grief, +upon the tragic spectacle? Does not that prove they deserve +their lot, and are unworthy of a better? Could they not +crush the tyrant at a blow? If they have the power of +relieving themselves in their own hands, wherefore should we pity +their sufferings?</p> +<p>Here the disputation ceased.</p> +<p>Faustus shortly afterwards became acquainted with a gentleman +of sense and education, who had <!-- page 192--><a +name="page192"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 192</span>an +excellent character for probity. Faustus and the Devil +pleased him so much, that he invited them to come and pass some +days with him on his estate at a short distance from Paris, where +he lived with his family, which consisted of his wife and his +daughter, who was about sixteen years old, and lovely as an +angel. At the sight of this divine object Faustus was like +one enchanted, and felt, for the first time, the sweet torments +of delicate love. He confided his sufferings to the Devil, +who instantly offered to assist him, and laughed at the pretended +delicacy of his sentiments. Faustus owned that it was +repugnant to his feelings to violate the laws of +hospitality. The Devil replied: “Well, Faustus, if +you wish to have the gentleman’s consent, I will engage to +procure it. For what do you take him?”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. For an honest man.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. It is a great pity, O Faustus, that you +are so liable to deception. And so you really believe him +to be an honest man! I admit that all Paris is of the same +opinion. What do you think he loves best in the world?</p> +<p><!-- page 193--><a name="page193"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +193</span><i>Faustus</i>. His daughter.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I know something which he loves more.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. And what is that?</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Gold; and you ought to have seen that long +ago. But since I have been obliged to open to thee the +treasures of the earth, and thou hast had them at thy disposal, +thou hast resembled the torrent which inundates the fields, +caring very little where its waters flow, or where they are +received. How much hast thou lost at play with this +gentleman?</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Let them reckon who care more for the +dross than I.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. He who tricked you can tell to a +ducat.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Tricked!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Yes, tricked you. He saw how little +you cared for money, and has made a noble harvest out of +you. Think not that the table of this miser would be so +well provided, and that he would be so prodigal of the richest +wines, and that thou wouldst see so many guests around him, +provided thy gold did not work these miracles. At every +moment he trembles lest we should leave <!-- page 194--><a +name="page194"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 194</span>his +house. I see by thy astonishment that thou hast been a +spendthrift all thy life, and that thou hast never felt this +thirst for gold, which can extinguish all the desires of the +heart, and even the most pressing wants of nature. Follow +me, but tread softly.</p> +<p>They descended a staircase, went through several subterranean +passages, and came at last to an iron door. The Devil then +said to Faustus: “Look through the key-hole.” +Faustus perceived in a vault, illumined by the feeble light of a +lamp, the gentleman seated by the side of a strong-box, in which +were many sacks of money, which he was looking at with +tenderness. He then flung the money he had won from Faustus +into another box, and wept because he saw there was not +sufficient to fill it. The Devil said softly to Faustus: +“For the sum which is wanting to fill that box, he will +sell thee his daughter.”</p> +<p>Faustus was incredulous. The Devil waxed wroth, and said +impatiently:</p> +<p>“I will show thee that gold has such irresistible power +over the minds of men, that even <!-- page 195--><a +name="page195"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 195</span>at this +moment some fathers and mothers belonging to the village are in +the neighbouring wood selling for money their babes and sucklings +to the emissaries of the king, although they are well aware that +the poor little things are destined to be slaughtered, in order +that the king may drink their blood, with the foolish hope of +renovating and refreshing the corrupt tide which flows in his own +veins.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i> (<i>with a shudder</i>). Then the world +is worse than hell, and I shall quit it without regret. But +I will be convinced with my own eyes before I credit any thing so +horrible.</p> +<p>They now went into the wood, and concealed themselves among +the bushes, where they perceived the emissaries of the king in +conference with some men and women, and the priest of the +parish. Four little children were stretched upon the grass, +one of them crying pitiably. The mother lifted it up and +gave it pap, in order to quiet it; whilst the others crept upon +the ground, and played with the flowers. The emissaries +counted money into the hands of the husbands; <!-- page 196--><a +name="page196"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 196</span>the priest +had his share, and the children were delivered up. The +echoes of the wood repeated for a long time the cries of the +little wretches as they were carried away. The mothers +groaned; but the men said to them, “Here is gold; let us go +to the public-house and buy wine, and drink to a fresh +offspring. It is better that the king should eat the brats +now they are young than flay them when they are old, or tie them +up in a sack and fling them into the Seine. It would have +been much better for us if we had been devoured as soon as we +were born.”</p> +<p>The priest comforted them, and said:</p> +<p>“They had done a meritorious act, and one which was +pleasing to the Mother of God, to whom the king was entirely +devoted.” He added, “that subjects were born +for the king; and that, as he reigned upon earth as +Heaven’s vicegerent, he had a right to dispose of them +according to his pleasure, and that they were bound to revere the +slightest of his fancies as a sacred law.”</p> +<p>The peasants then went to the public-house, <!-- page 197--><a +name="page197"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 197</span>where they +spent half the blood-money in drink, and kept the rest to pay the +king’s taxes.</p> +<p>The Devil now looked at Faustus with an air of mockery, and +said, “Hast thou still doubts whether the gentleman will +sell thee his daughter? Thou at least wilt not eat +her.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I swear by the black hell which at this +moment appears to me a paradise when compared with the earth, +that I will henceforward give boundless scope to all my passions, +and, by ravaging and destroying, believe that I am acting +consistently to such a monster as man. Fly, and purchase me +his daughter: she is doomed to destruction, as is every thing +that breathes.</p> +<p>This was exactly the disposition in which the Devil had long +been desirous to see Faustus, in order that he might precipitate +him to the end of his career, and thereby ease himself of a +grievous burden, and cease to be the slave of a thing so +contemptible as man was in his eyes. That very evening he +began to sound the father; and the next morning, whilst they +walked together, he made proposals to him, and showed <!-- page +198--><a name="page198"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +198</span>him gold and jewels, which the miser gazed at with +rapture; but which, however, he would not take until he had made +a parade of his virtue. At every objection the old +hypocrite started, the Devil augmented the sum; and at last he +bade so high that the miser accepted it, after much ceremony, +laughing secretly at the madman who flung away his gold so +foolishly. The contract was made, and the father led +Faustus to his daughter; and as he could prove that her parent +was a consenting party, she fell a willing victim.</p> +<p>The father in the mean time went with his gold and a lamp to +the vault where he kept his treasure, and which was known to none +of his family. He was overjoyed in having obtained +sufficient to fill his second strong-box. From fear of +being followed, he closed the door hastily behind him, forgetting +that it went with a spring-lock, and that he had left the key on +the outside. The lamp was extinguished by the wind of the +door, and he found himself suddenly involved in profound +darkness. The air of the vault was <!-- page 199--><a +name="page199"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 199</span>thick and +damp, and he soon felt a difficulty in his respiration. He +now first perceived that he had not the key with him, and +death-like anguish shot coldly through his heart. He had +still strength and instinct sufficient to find his box; he laid +the gold in it, and staggered back to the door, where he +considered whether he should cry out or not. He was cruelly +agitated by the alternative of discovering his secret, or of +making this vault his tomb. But his cries would have been +to no purpose; for the cavern had no connexion with the inhabited +part of the house, and he had always so well chosen his time, +that no one had ever yet seen him when he crept to the worship of +his idol. After having for a long time struggled with +himself, without coming to any resolution, the terrible images +which assailed his imagination, joined to the thickness of the +air, totally disordered his brain. He sunk to the earth, +and rolling himself to the spot where his box stood, he hugged it +in his arms, and became raving mad. He struggled with +despair and death at the moment of the ruin of his <!-- page +200--><a name="page200"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +200</span>daughter, whose innocence he had bartered for +gold. Some days after, when all the corners of the house +had been closely searched, chance led a servant to the cavern; it +was opened, and the unfortunate wretch was found lying, a blue +and ghastly corpse, upon his dear-bought treasure. The +Devil informed Faustus upon their return to Paris of the issue of +this affair, and Faustus believed that, on this occasion, +Providence had justified itself.</p> +<p>The fiend having learnt that the Parliament were about to +decide upon a case unexampled and disgraceful to humanity, he +thought it advisable that Faustus should hear it. The fact +was this: a surgeon, returning late one night to Paris with his +faithful servant, heard, not far from the highway, the groans and +lamentations of a man. His heart led him to the spot, where +he found a murderer broken alive upon the wheel, who conjured +him, in the name of God, to put an end to his existence. +The surgeon shuddered with horror and fright; but recovering +himself, he thought whether it would not be possible for <!-- +page 201--><a name="page201"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +201</span>him to reset the bones of this wretch, and preserve his +life. He spoke a few words to his servant, took the +murderer from the wheel, and laid him gently in the chaise. +He then carried him to his house, where he undertook his cure, +which he at last accomplished. He had been informed that +the Parliament had offered a reward of one hundred +louis-d’ors to any one who would discover the person who +had taken the assassin from the wheel. He told the murderer +of this when he sent him away, and, giving him money, he advised +him not to stay in Paris. The very first thing which this +monster did was to go to the Parliament and betray his +benefactor, for the sake of the hundred louis-d’ors. +The cheeks of the judges, which so seldom change colour, became +pallid at this denunciation; for he informed them with the +greatest effrontery that he was the very assassin, who, having +been broken alive upon the place where he had committed the +murder, had been saved by the compassion of the surgeon. +The latter was sent for; and the Devil conducted Faustus into the +hall of judgment exactly at the <!-- page 202--><a +name="page202"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 202</span>moment he +appeared. The attorney-general informed the surgeon of what +he was accused; but the surgeon, being certain of his +servant’s fidelity, stoutly denied the charge. He was +advised to confess, because a most convincing witness could be +brought against him. He bade them produce him. A +side-door opened, and the murderer stepped coolly into the court, +and, looking the surgeon full in the face, undauntedly repeated +his accusation, without forgetting a single circumstance. +The surgeon shrieked, “O monster! what can have urged thee +to this horrible ingratitude?”</p> +<p><i>Murderer</i>. The hundred louis-d’ors, which +you told me of when you sent me away. Did you think that I +was satisfied with merely recovering the use of my limbs? I +was broken alive on the wheel for a murder which I committed for +ten crowns, and I was not fool enough to lose gaining a hundred +louis without running any risk.</p> +<p><i>Surgeon</i>. Thou wretch! thy cries and groans +touched my heart. I took thee down from the wheel, +comforted thee, and bound up thy wounds. I fed thee with +mine own hand, till thou couldst <!-- page 203--><a +name="page203"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 203</span>use thy +shattered joints. I gave thee money, which thou canst not +yet have spent. I discovered to thee, from regard to thy +own safety, the reward which had been offered by the Parliament; +and I swear to thee, by Heaven above, that if thou hadst told me +of thy devilish intention, I would have sold my last rag, and +have furnished thee with the sum, in order that so horrible a +piece of ingratitude might remain for ever unknown to the +world. Gentlemen, judge between me and him; I confess +myself guilty.</p> +<p><i>President</i>. You have grievously offended justice +by endeavouring to preserve the life of him whom the law, for the +common safety, had condemned to die; but for this once strict +justice shall be silent, and humanity only shall sit in +judgment. The hundred louis-d’ors shall be yours, and +the murderer shall be again broken upon the wheel.</p> +<p>Faustus, who during the whole of this strange trial had been +snorting like a madman, gave now such a thundering huzza, that +the whole gallery echoed. The Devil, who observed that the +last <!-- page 204--><a name="page204"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 204</span>impression was about to destroy the +first, soon led him to another scene.</p> +<p>Some surgeons, doctors of medicine, and naturalists had formed +a secret society, for the purpose of inquiring into the mechanism +of the human body, and the effect of the soul upon matter. +In order to satisfy their curiosity, they inveigled, under all +sorts of pretences, poor men and women into a house at some +distance from the city, the upper part of which was constructed +in such a manner that it was impossible to discover from without +what was going forward within. Having tied their victims +with strong cords down upon a long table, and having placed a gag +in their mouths, they then removed their skin and their flesh, +and laid bare their muscles, their nerves, their hearts, and +their brains. In order to come at what they sought, they +fed the wretches with strengthening broths, and caused them to +die slowly under the slashing of their knives and lancets. +The Devil knew that they intended this night to assemble, and +said to Faustus, “Thou hast seen a surgeon, who, for the +sake of humanity, <!-- page 205--><a name="page205"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 205</span>or for love of his art, cured an +assassin whom justice had broken on the wheel; I will now show +thee physicians, who, in pursuit of secrets which they will not +discover, skin their fellow-creatures alive. Thou appearest +incredulous! Follow me, and I will convince thee. We +will represent two doctors.”</p> +<p>He led him to a solitary house. They entered the +laboratory, which the rays of the sun never penetrated. +Here they saw the surgeons dissecting a miserable being, whose +flesh quivered beneath their fratricidal hands, and whose bosom +heaved with the most painful agony. They were so engaged +with their object, that they never once perceived the Devil and +Faustus. The latter, feeling his nerves thrill with horror, +rushed out, struck his forehead with his hand, and commanded the +fiend to tear down the house upon their heads, and bury them and +their deed beneath its ruins.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Why this rage, O Faustus? Dost thou +not perceive that thou art acting, in respect to the moral world, +in the same manner as they act in regard to the physical +world? They mangle the <!-- page 206--><a +name="page206"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 206</span>flesh of +the living; and thou, by my destructive hand, exercisest thy fury +upon the whole creation.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Outcast fiend! dost thou think my heart +is made of stone? Dost thou think that I can see unmoved +the torments of yon poor flayed and butchered wretch? But +if I can neither dry his tears nor cure his wounds, I can avenge +him, and put him out of pain. Away! away! do as I have bid +thee, or dread my wrath!</p> +<p>The Devil obeyed with pleasure. He shook the house to +its foundation, and down it toppled with a hideous noise, and +overwhelmed the wicked doctors. Faustus hurried to Paris, +without attending to the look of wild exultation which the Devil +cast upon him.</p> +<p>Faustus, having heard much talk of the prisons which the most +Christian king had caused to be built for the purpose of +receiving those whom he dreaded, had a strong desire to see the +interior of them. The Devil willingly undertook to satisfy +his curiosity; and although the guards were forbidden, under pain +of death, to permit any strangers to enter these habitations of +horror, yet <!-- page 207--><a name="page207"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 207</span>the golden arguments which the Devil +used procured him and his companion a ready admittance. +They saw there cages of iron, in which it was impossible for a +man to stand upright, or sit down, or place himself in any easy +posture. The wretches who were compelled to tenant these +iron dwellings had their limbs galled by heavy chains. The +keeper said, confidentially, that when the king was in good +health, he frequently walked in the gallery, in order to enjoy +the song of his nightingales; for thus did he call these wretched +victims. Faustus asked some of the unfortunates the cause +of their captivity; and he heard stories which pierced him to the +heart. At last, coming to a cage wherein was a +venerable-looking old man, he put the same question to him, and +the prisoner answered, in a plaintive tone:</p> +<p>“Whoever you are, let my sad story serve you as a +warning never to assist a tyrant in his cruelties. You +behold in me the Bishop of Verdun, who first gave to the king the +idea of these horrible cages, and was the very first to be shut +up in one of them after they were completed. <!-- page +208--><a name="page208"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +208</span>Here have I, for fourteen years, done penance for my +sins, praying daily to God to end my torments by +death.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Ha, ha! Your excellence, then, +like another Perillus, has found a Phalaris. Do you know +that story? You shake your head. Well, I will tell it +you.</p> +<p>“This Perillus, who was neither a bishop nor a +Christian, constructed a brazen bull, which he showed to the +tyrant Phalaris as a masterpiece of invention, and assured him +that it was constructed in such a manner, that, if his majesty +would shut up a man in it, and then heat it red-hot by a fire +laid beneath it, the shrieks of the tormented man would exactly +resemble the bellowings of a bull, which would doubtless afford +his majesty great pleasure. ‘My dear Perillus,’ +said the tyrant, ‘I am much indebted to you; but it is +right that the artist should prove his own work.’ He +then made Perillus creep into the beast’s belly; and when +the fire was laid beneath it, he did in reality bellow like a +bull. Thus did Phalaris, a thousand years ago, play very +much the same part with <!-- page 209--><a +name="page209"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 209</span>Perillus +which the most Christian king has been playing with you, most +reverend Bishop of Verdun.”</p> +<p><i>Bishop</i>. I wish I had heard this story twenty +years ago; I should then have taken warning from it.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. You see that history may sometimes be +useful, even to a bishop. I weep for the fate of your +companions in misery; but I laugh at yours.</p> +<p>Faustus wished now to see this king, whose horrible deeds had +so heated his imagination, that he could hardly represent him to +himself under a human figure. The Devil told him that it +would be impossible for them in their present forms to enter the +Castle of Plessis du Parc, where cowardice and fear kept the +tyrant a prisoner. He added, that no one, with the +exception of some necessary domestics, the physician, the +confessor, and one or two astrologers, could enter without a +particular order.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Then let us assume other figures and +dresses.</p> +<p><!-- page 210--><a name="page210"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +210</span><i>Devil</i>. Good; I will instantly remove two +of his guards, and we will do their duty. This is an +excellent time to see the tyrant. The fear of death is +already avenging upon his cowardly spirit the thousands whom he +has slaughtered. Day and night he only thinks of putting +off the moment which is to terminate his existence, and death +seems to him more hideous every second. I will make you a +witness of his torments.</p> +<p>The Devil instantly put his project into execution, and they +found themselves standing sentinels in the interior of the +castle, where reigned the mournful silence of the tomb. +Thither had he, before whom millions trembled, banished himself, +in order to escape from the vengeance of the relations of the +murdered. Although he could thus fly from the sight of his +subjects, he could not escape the cutting remorse of his own +heart, nor the pains of his emaciated body. In vain did he +implore Heaven to grant him health and repose; in vain did he +attempt to bribe it by presents to saints, to priests, and to +churches; in vain did he cover himself with <!-- page 211--><a +name="page211"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 211</span>relics from +all parts of the world: that frightful sentence, <i>thou shall +die</i>, seemed always ringing in his ears. He scarcely +ventured to move out of his chamber, lest he should find an +assassin in one of those whom he might meet. If anguish +drove him into the free air, he went armed with lance and dagger, +just as if he had strength to use either. Four hundred +guards watched day and night around the stronghold of the +half-dead monster; three times every hour did their hoarse calls, +echoing from post to post, break the solemn stillness, and remind +the tyrant of the flight of time. All around his castle +gibbets were erected; and the hangman, Tristan, his only true +friend, went about the country every day, and returned at night +with fresh victims, in order, by their execution, to diminish the +fears of the tyrant, who from time to time would walk in an +apartment which was only separated from the torture-room by a +thin partition. There he listened to the groans and shrieks +of the wretches on the rack, and found in the sufferings of +others a slight alleviation <!-- page 212--><a +name="page212"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 212</span>of his +own. Wearing on his hat a leaden image of the +Virgin,—his pretended protectress,—he drank the blood +of murdered sucklings, and allowed himself to be tormented by his +physician, whom he requited with ten thousand crowns a month.</p> +<p>This was the wretch whom Faustus saw; and his heart rejoiced +when he contemplated the paleness of his cheeks, and the farrows +which anguish and despair had made in his brow. He was on +the point of leaving this abode of monotonous horror, when the +Devil whispered him to remain until the next day, and he would +see a singular spectacle. The king had heard that a hermit +lived in Calabria, who was honoured as a saint through all +Sicily. This fool had, from his fourteenth to his fortieth +year, dwelt upon a naked rock, where, exposed to the rains and +tempests of heaven, he martyred his body by stripes and fasting, +and refused his mind all cultivation. But, the rays of +sanctity concealing his stupidity, he soon saw the prince and the +peasant at his feet. Louis had requested the <!-- page +213--><a name="page213"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +213</span>King of Sicily to send him this creature, because he +hoped to be cured by him. The hermit was now on the road; +and as he brought with him the holy oil of Rheims, to anoint the +tyrant’s body, the latter imagined that all his disorders +would soon vanish, and he should become young again. The +happy day arrived: the Calabrian boor approached the castle; the +king received him at the gate, fell at his feet, and asked him +for life and health. The Calabrian played his part in so +ridiculous a manner, that Faustus could not avoid laughing aloud +at the farce. Tristan and his myrmidons were advancing to +seize him, and he would doubtlessly have paid for laughing with +his life, had not the Devil rescued him from their claws, and +flown away with him. When they arrived at Paris, Faustus +said:</p> +<p>“Is it by this contemptible, superstitious, tottering +object, that the bold sons of France allow themselves to be +enslaved? He is a mere skeleton in purple, who can scarcely +cough out of his asthmatic throat the desire to live; yet <!-- +page 214--><a name="page214"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +214</span>they tremble before him, as if he were a giant, whose +terrible arms could encircle the whole earth. When the +lion, enfeebled by age, lies languishing in his den, the most +insignificant beasts of the forests are not afraid of him, but +approach and mock the fallen tyrant.”</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. It is this which chiefly distinguishes the +king of men from the king of beasts. The latter is only +formidable as long as he can use his own strength; but the +former, who binds the strength of his slaves to his will, is as +powerful when lying on the bed of sickness, as when, in the +vigour of health, he is at the head of his armies. Are you +not now convinced that men are only guided by folly, which dooms +them to be slaves? Break their chains to-day, and they +would forge themselves others to-morrow. Do what you can, +they will always go on in the same eternal circle, and are +condemned for ever to seize the shadow for the reality.</p> +<p>The Devil, having shown Faustus all that was remarkable in and +about the capital of France, took him to Calais; and, crossing +the Channel, <!-- page 215--><a name="page215"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 215</span>they arrived in London at the very +moment that hideous abortion, the Duke of Gloucester, made +himself Protector of the kingdom, and was endeavouring to take +away the crown from the children of his brother, the late +king. He had removed the father by means of poison, and had +already persuaded the queen (who, upon the first discovery of his +projects, had fled for refuge, with her children, to Westminster +Sanctuary) to deliver up to him the youthful heir of the throne, +together with his brother York. Faustus was present when +Doctor Shaw, by the command of the Protector, informed the +astonished people from the pulpit, that the yet living mother of +the duke and the deceased king had admitted various lovers; that +the late king was the offspring of such adultery; and that no one +of the royal line, except the Protector, could boast of a +legitimate birth. He saw those noblemen executed who would +not accede to the execrable plot; and the Devil conducted him +into the Tower at the very moment when Tyrrell and his assistant +murdered the lawful king and his brother, <!-- page 216--><a +name="page216"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 216</span>and buried +them beneath the threshold of the dungeon. He was a witness +of the base submission of the Parliament, and of the coronation +of the frightful tyrant. He witnessed the negotiation of +the queen to support the murderer of her sons in his usurped +throne, by giving him the hand of her eldest daughter, in order +that she herself might still retain a shadow of sovereignty; +although at the same time she had entered into a secret alliance +with the Earl of Richmond, who was destined to be her +avenger. Faustus felt himself so enraged, that not all the +charms of the blooming Englishwomen could keep him any longer in +this cursed isle, which he quitted with hatred and disgust; for +neither in Germany nor in France had he seen crimes committed +with so much coolness and impunity. When they were on the +point of embarking, the Devil said to him:</p> +<p>“These people will groan for a time beneath the yoke of +despotism; they will then sacrifice one of their kings upon the +scaffold of freedom, in order that they may sell themselves to +his successors <!-- page 217--><a name="page217"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 217</span>for gold and titles. In hell +there is very little respect paid to these gloomy islanders, who +would suck the marrow from all the carcasses in the universe, if +they thought to find gold in the bones. They boast of their +morality, and despise all other nations; yet if you were to place +what you call virtue in one scale, and vice, with twopence, in +the other, they would forget their morality, and pocket the +money. They talk of their honour and integrity, but never +enter into a treaty but with a firm resolution of breaking it as +soon as a farthing is to be gained by so doing. After +death, they inhabit the most pestilential marsh of the kingdom of +darkness, and their souls are scourged without mercy. None +of the other damned will have any communication with them. +If the inhabitants of the Continent could do without sugar and +coffee, the sons of proud England would soon return to the state +in which they were when Julius Cæsar, Canute of Denmark, or +William the Conqueror, did them the honour to invade their +island.”</p> +<p><!-- page 218--><a name="page218"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +218</span><i>Faustus</i>. For a devil, thou knowest history +passably well.</p> +<p>Hereupon he led him to Milan, where they saw the Duke Galeas +Sforza murdered on St. Stephen’s day in the cathedral; +Faustus having previously heard the assassins loudly beseeching +St. Stephen and St. Ambrose to inspire them with the courage +necessary for so noble a deed.</p> +<p>In Florence, the seat of the Muses, they saw the nephew of the +great Cosmo, the father of his country, murdered in the church of +Santa Reparata, at the altar, just at the moment when the priest +raised the host in his hands; for the Archbishop of Florence, +Salviati, had informed the murderers that this was to be the +signal. He had been bribed to assist in this enterprise by +the Pope, who was determined to annihilate the Medicis, in order +to rule sole sovereign in Italy.</p> +<p>In the north of Europe they saw wild barbarians and drunken +ruffians murdering and pillaging like the more civilised +Europeans. In Spain they found upon the throne deceit and +hypocrisy wearing the mask of religion. They <!-- page +219--><a name="page219"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +219</span>saw, at an <i>auto-da-fé</i>, men and women +immolated in the flames to the mild Deity of the Christians; and +they heard the grand inquisitor, Torquemada, boast to Ferdinand +and Isabella that, since the establishment of the holy tribunal, +it had tried eighty thousand suspected persons, and had burnt six +thousand convicted heretics. When Faustus first saw the +ladies and cavaliers assembled in the grand square, dressed in +their richest habits, he imagined that he had come just in time +for some joyous festival; but when he heard the condemned +wretches howling and lamenting in the midst of a mob of monks who +were at their devotions, he was convinced that religion, when +misused, makes man the most execrable monster on the earth. +He, however, began to imagine that all these horrors were the +necessary consequences of man’s nature, who is an animal +that must either tear his fellow-creatures to pieces, or be torn +to pieces by them.</p> +<p>The Devil, perceiving that Faustus was amazed and confounded +by these scenes, said to him:</p> +<p>“Thou seest how the courts of Europe resemble <!-- page +220--><a name="page220"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +220</span>each other in wickedness and crime. Let us now go +to Rome, and see whether the ecclesiastical government goes on +better.”</p> +<p>The malicious Leviathan flattered himself that Alexander the +Sixth, who wore at that time the triple crown, and held in his +hands the keys of heaven and of hell, would give the finishing +blow to the harassed spirit of Faustus, and would enable him to +return below with his victim. For a long time he had been +weary of staying on the earth; for although he had in the course +of many thousand years so often traversed it, he still saw merely +the same beings and the same actions. From this we may +learn that there is something so annoying in uniformity, that +even the wild horrors of Satan’s hall are to be preferred +to it.</p> +<p>On the way to Rome they passed by two hostile armies encamped +face to face. The one was commanded by Malatesta of Rimini, +the other by a papal general. The crafty Alexander was now +endeavouring, either by poisoning, secret assassination, or open +war, to deprive all the <!-- page 221--><a +name="page221"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 221</span>Italian +noblemen of their property, in order that he might convert their +castles and domains into principalities for his +illegitimates. He began with the weakest, and had +despatched this little army to eject Malatesta from his fief of +Rimini. Faustus and the Devil, riding along the road, +perceived upon an eminence contiguous to the papal camp two men, +magnificently dressed, engaged in a furious combat. Moved +by curiosity, Faustus advanced to the spot; the fiend followed +him; and they perceived, by the rage of the antagonists, that +nothing less than the death of one of them would end the +struggle. But what appeared to Faustus most extraordinary +was a milk-white goat, adorned with ribbons of various colours, +which a page seemed to hold as the prize of victory, as he stood, +with the utmost coolness, near the two raging warriors. +Many cavaliers had assembled upon the height, and awaited the +issue of the affair. Faustus approached one of them, and +asked, with his German simplicity, whether the gentlemen were +fighting for that handsome goat. He had observed that the +two champions, whenever <!-- page 222--><a +name="page222"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 222</span>they paused +to take breath, looked at the goat with much tenderness, and each +seemed, according to knightly custom, to entreat it to assist him +in his danger. The Italian, turning to Faustus, coolly +answered, “Yes, certainly; and I hope our general will +punish with death the audacious knight who dared to remove from +his tent the handsomest goat in the world, at the time he was +gone to reconnoitre the enemy’s camp.” Faustus +stepped back, shook his head, and scarcely knew whether he was +dreaming or awake. The Devil let him remain for some time +in this perplexity; he then took him aside, and whispered certain +things in his ear, which made Faustus blush, and which will not +bear repetition. The duel in the mean time went on as hotly +as ever, until the sword of the papal general found an opening in +the knight’s mail, and laid him wallowing in blood upon the +ground. He yielded up his soul amidst curses and +imprecations, and took, with his last look, a tender farewell of +the pretty animal. The general was congratulated by the +surrounders, and the page delivered him the goat. He called +it <!-- page 223--><a name="page223"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +223</span>“his dearest, his best-beloved,” and loaded +it with the most tender caresses.</p> +<p>Faustus departed from the place of combat, and was hesitating +between a desire to laugh and a feeling of disgust, when the +Devil said to him:</p> +<p>“This duel has made thee acquainted with the papal +general; but he who commands the hostile army does not deserve +thy attention less. The one has risked his life for love of +a white goat; and the other has already poisoned and strangled +with his own hand, in order that he might get possession of their +property, two of his wives, sprung from the best families in +Italy. He is now on the point of marrying a third; and she +will, in all probability, experience the same fate. Both of +these personages are otherwise very religious men,—attend +processions, make vows to Heaven, and implore it for +assistance. For which side do you think it will now +declare?”</p> +<p>Faustus gave the Devil a wild look, and left the malicious +question unanswered; but the Devil, who wished to punish him for +having formerly boasted of the moral worth of man, failed <!-- +page 224--><a name="page224"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +224</span>not to make some bitter jokes upon the amours of the +papal general and the conjugal tenderness of Malatesta of +Rimini.</p> +<p>The sight of Rome and its majestic ruins, over which the +mighty spirit of the old Romans seemed yet to hover, filled +Faustus with wonder; and, as he was well acquainted with the +history of those lords of the ancient world, the remembrance of +their heroic actions elevated his soul to a pitch of +enthusiasm. But the modern inhabitants of this celebrated +city soon inspired him with very different sentiments. By +the Devil’s advice, they announced themselves as German +noblemen, whom curiosity to see the magnificence of Rome had +brought there. But their retinue, their pomp, and their +demeanour, caused a suspicion to be entertained that they were of +more consequence than they pretended to be. Friars and +matrons, quacks and harlequins, flocked to them, as soon as the +noise of their arrival had echoed through all the haunts of those +who get their livelihood by administering to the crimes and the +weaknesses of men. They offered them <!-- page 225--><a +name="page225"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 225</span>their +several female relations, and depicted their charms and various +attractions with such fiery eloquence, that Faustus, besieged on +every side, knew not which to prefer. As these wretches +uttered religious maxims in the same breath with the most +stimulant descriptions of voluptuousness, Faustus imagined +himself authorised in believing that they merely made use of +religion to appease the cravings of passion, revolted by their +shameful deeds and wickedness.</p> +<p>The next day after their arrival, Faustus and the Devil were +invited to dinner by the Cardinal Cæsar Borgia, one of the +many illegitimates of the Pope. He received them in the +most splendid manner, and promised to introduce them to his +holiness. They went on horseback, attended by a retinue of +servants, to the Vatican, and Faustus and the Devil kissed the +toe of the Pope: the German performed this act of devotion with +all the fervour of a good Christian Catholic; but the Devil +muttered to himself, “If Alexander knew who I am, I should, +most probably, see him at my own feet.” After the +usual ceremonies were <!-- page 226--><a name="page226"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 226</span>over, the Pope invited them into his +private apartments, where he spoke to them very freely, and made +them acquainted with his other illegitimates, the famous +Lucretia; Francisco Borgia, Duke of Candia, &c.</p> +<p>The Pope found the society of the handsome and well-made +Leviathan so much to his liking, that, from the first interview, +he showed him particular favour, which grew at length, as we +shall see, to the closest intimacy. Faustus attached +himself to Cardinal Borgia, who gave him such a glowing +description of the pleasures and temptations of Rome, that he +hardly knew whether he was in the Vatican or in the Temple of +Venus. The Cardinal made him more nearly acquainted with +his sister, who was married to Alphonso of Arragon. This +siren displayed voluptuousness and sensuality in a form and face +so attractive and charming, that Faustus stood before her like +one enchanted.</p> +<p>Faustus and the Devil went one evening to the Vatican to see a +play, which astonished the young German more than any thing he +had yet seen at <!-- page 227--><a name="page227"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 227</span>the papal court. It was the +<i>Mandragola</i> which was represented. The noble +Machiavel had composed this licentious and satirical piece, in +order to lay before the eyes of the court of Rome a striking +picture of the boundless corruption of the clergy, and to prove +that to be the sole cause of the dissolute lives of the +laity. But he deceived himself in his honourable design: +the <i>Mandragola</i> was applauded, not on account of its +morality, which was not understood, but of its +licentiousness. Faustus heard the Pope and the cardinals, +the nuns and the ladies, praising certain things which, in his +opinion, the most dissolute of the Roman emperors would not have +permitted upon their theatre. But real scenes yet more +abominable soon put an end to his astonishment; and he perceived +that the actions of Alexander and his children infinitely +surpassed all that which the annals of the human race had +hitherto consigned to infamy and abhorrence. Lucretia was +pleased yet more by Faustus’s rich presents than his fine +face and form. By this intimate connexion with her, he +discovered her <!-- page 228--><a name="page228"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 228</span>incestuous intercourse with her two +brothers, the Cardinal and Francisco; which she also extended to +the Pope her father. The only one whom she treated ill was +Alphonso, who had the honour to be her spouse. Faustus now +guessed the cause of the implacable hatred which the Cardinal +entertained against his brother Francisco: it arose from jealousy +at his sister’s preferring the latter to himself; and he +often swore to take vengeance upon his brother.</p> +<p>It was the custom of Faustus, after having the whole day +wallowed in the shameful pleasures of the court and city, to +pester the Devil’s ears with complaints of the wickedness +of men. He was shocked at their crimes, although he himself +had neither strength nor desire to resist any of his +inclinations. He generally concluded his sermonising by +asking, “How could such a monster ever have been elected +Pope?”</p> +<p>The Devil, who perfectly knew how that event had been brought +about (for one of the princes of hell had been at the election), +would tell him how “Alexander bought up the votes of the +<!-- page 229--><a name="page229"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +229</span>cardinals by magnificent promises; and being called +upon, after his installation, to fulfil them, he either banished +or caused to be privately assassinated all those who had any +claims upon him.”</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. I can easily conceive that the cardinals +were sufficiently corrupt to make him Pope; but how the people +can submit to his decrees is beyond my comprehension.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. The Romans are perfectly content with +him. He protects the populace, and ravages and pillages the +great. Can they wish for a better Pope than one who +sanctifies their crimes by his own example; and who, besides the +indulgences he distributes, shows by his actions that men have no +reason to be terrified at any crime?</p> +<p>The Pope having, at a consistorial court, elevated his eldest +illegitimate, Francisco, to the dignity of General of the Papal +See, the Cardinal instantly formed the Christian resolution of +putting his brother out of the way, and thereby opening a more +extensive field to his own ambition. <!-- page 230--><a +name="page230"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 230</span>Vanosa, his +mother, had informed him that the Pope intended to raise a throne +for Francisco upon the ruin of the Italian princes; and through +him, as his eldest-born, execute all the projects which he had +formed for the prosperity and aggrandisement of his family. +The Cardinal, who had always certain assassins in his pay, sent +for his faithful Dom Michelotto, and thus addressed him:</p> +<p>“Brave and honest Michelotto, five years have already +passed since the accession of my father to the papal chair, and I +am not yet what I might have been, had I acted with less delicacy +and more prudence. He first made me an archbishop, and now +I am become a cardinal; but what is that for a spirit which burns +with a desire to distinguish itself, and which aspires to +glory! My revenues scarcely supply me with absolute +necessaries, and it is impossible for me to reward, according to +the wish of my heart, those friends who have rendered me +essential services. Art thou not, O Michelotto, a striking +example of it thyself? Have I been able to acquit myself +<!-- page 231--><a name="page231"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +231</span>towards thee in the manner which my obligations to thee +demand? But shall we always languish in this shameful +inactivity; and shall we wait till fortune or chance do something +for those who will do nothing for themselves? Dost thou +think that the monotonous life I lead in the conclave and in the +church was intended for a spirit like mine? Am I born for +all these ridiculous and superstitious ceremonies? If +nature had not by foolish caprice brought my brother into the +world before me, would not all those situations, all those +honours, by which men are alone enabled to perform great actions, +have fallen to my lot? Does my brother know how to profit +by the advantages which the Pope and blind Fortune fling in his +way? Let me once occupy his place, and my name shall soon +resound through all Europe. Nature stamped me for a hero, +and him for a priest; therefore I must seek to repair the +negligence of Fortune if I wish to fulfil my destiny. +Compare him and me, and who will say we are sprung from the same +father? But be he my brother—and it little matters; +for the man who <!-- page 232--><a name="page232"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 232</span>wishes to rise above the rest should +forget tenderness and relationship—those puny bonds of +nature—and should not hesitate to dip his hands in the +sacrifice of any one whose existence may be an obstacle to his +noble views. It is thus that all great men act; it is thus +that the founder of immortal Rome acted. In order that Rome +might arrive at the height of grandeur to which his genius wished +to carry it, he did not hesitate to stab his brother; and, in +order that Cæsar Borgia may attain immortality, his brother +Francisco must bleed beneath thy knife, most courageous +Michelotto. Yes; for although it would be easy for me, in +the darkness of the night, to assassinate him myself and remain +unsuspected, I reserve for thee this deed, in order that thou +mayst have a greater right to share with me my grandeur and my +future fortunes. To-morrow I shall go to Naples to assist, +in quality of legate, at the coronation of the king. +Vanosa, my mother, who, between you and me, is weary of seeing +her enterprising Cæsar a cardinal, gives this evening a +supper to myself, my brother, and a few friends. <!-- page +233--><a name="page233"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +233</span>Francisco will go late at night to an assignation in +which he and I mutually share; and I ill know Michelotto if ever +he finds his way back to his palace. My name is +Cæsar, and I will be all or nothing.”</p> +<p>Michelotto grasped the cardinal’s hand, thanked him for +his confidence, assured him of his fidelity, and went his way in +order to get some of his companions to assist him in the +affair.</p> +<p>Faustus and the Devil were also invited to the supper. +Gaiety reigned among the guests. The good-natured Francisco +loaded his brother with caresses, which, however, did not shake +his resolution. When they rose from table, Cæsar took +leave of his mother, and said he must now go to the Pope and +receive his orders for Naples. The two brothers walked with +each other a little way, followed by Faustus and the Devil. +Francisco soon took leave of his brother, having first told him +where he was going. The Cardinal, with a smiling air, +wished him much pleasure: hurrying to the Vatican, he finished +his business there, and then went to the rendezvous, where he +found <!-- page 234--><a name="page234"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 234</span>Michelotto and his ruffians, whom he +directed how to proceed. Faustus had not the slightest +suspicion of what was going forward; but the Devil, who knew when +the horrible drama was to conclude, transported him to the banks +of the Tiber at the very moment Michelotto and his assistants +flung into the stream the corpse of the murdered Francisco. +Faustus would have attacked the assassins, though he was still +ignorant who their victim was; but the Devil prevented him, and +said:</p> +<p>“Do not approach; keep thyself quiet, and let none of +those people see thee; they swarm so at Rome and at the Vatican, +that thou wouldst not be safe, even at my side, if they were to +perceive that thou didst observe them. The murdered man +whom they flung into the water is Francisco Borgia, Duke of +Candia; his murderer is his brother, and what thou seest now is +only the prelude to actions which will astonish hell itself and +make it tremble.”</p> +<p>He then discovered to him the whole of the plot, and repeated +to him the Cardinal’s conversation <!-- page 235--><a +name="page235"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 235</span>with +Michelotto. Faustus replied, with more coolness than the +Devil expected:</p> +<p>“Their deeds will not astonish me, however infamous they +may be; for what else can we expect from a family where the +father lives in incest with his daughter, and the brothers with +their sister? But henceforth I will never suffer any one to +boast in my presence of the moral worth of man; for, in +comparison with man, especially if he be a priest, the worst +fiend is innocent as an angel. Oh, why was I not born in +happy Arabia, where I might have passed my solitary existence, +with a palm-tree for my shelter, and with Nature for my +god!”</p> +<p>The body of Francisco being found in the Tiber, his +assassination was soon noised about Rome and through all +Italy. The Pope was so afflicted at the intelligence, that +he abandoned himself to the most frightful despair, and remained +three days without eating or drinking; but he did not forget to +offer immense rewards for the discovery of the murderers. +His daughter, who guessed from whence the blow came, <!-- page +236--><a name="page236"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +236</span>gave her mother intelligence of the severe intentions +of the Pope; and Vanosa, at dead of night, went to the +Vatican. The Devil, who, in quality of favourite, had +remained alone with his holiness whilst his affliction was at its +height, hastened away upon the appearance of Vanosa; and having +found Faustus, who was consoling the lovely Lucretia, he led him +to the door of the Pope’s apartment, where they heard the +following dialogue.</p> +<p>“A fratricide! a cardinal!—and thou, mother of +them both, dost tell me this with as much coolness as if +Cæsar had merely poisoned one of the Colonnas or +Orsinis. He has, in murdering his brother, destroyed his +own fame, and has undermined the foundation of that monument of +grandeur which I was about to raise. But the monster shall +not escape punishment; he shall feel my vengeance.”</p> +<p><i>Vanosa</i>. Rodrigo Borgia, thou hast shared the +couch of my mother and myself, and wast the first that +dishonoured Lucretia, my daughter and thine. Who can number +all those whom thou <!-- page 237--><a name="page237"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 237</span>hast secretly poisoned and +assassinated? Yet thou art not less a pope. Rome +trembles before thee, and all Christianity adores thee. +Every thing depends upon the situation in which men are when they +commit crimes. I am the mother of both, Rodrigo, and I knew +that Cæsar would murder Francisco.</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. Thou wretch!</p> +<p><i>Vanosa</i>. Am I? If I be, I have become so in +thy school. It was right that the timorous and gentle +Francisco should give place to the fiery, the enterprising +Cæsar, in order that the glittering hopes may be fulfilled +which thou didst confide to me upon thy elevation to the papal +chair. Francisco was intended by nature to be a monk; my +Cæsar to be a conqueror—and I call him so already in +prophetic spirit. He alone has power to annihilate the +great and petty tyrants of Italy, and to win himself a +crown. Appoint him standard-bearer to the papal see, and he +will make the Borgias kings of the Italian realms. Is not +this thy most ardent wish? All thy poisonings and murders +will have been to no more purpose <!-- page 238--><a +name="page238"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 238</span>if +Cæsar remains a cardinal, than they would have been if yon +feeble driveller had lived. Only from Cæsar can I +expect protection when thou art no more. He loves his +mother; but the other boy neglected me, and only flattered thee, +from whom he expected his greatness. Cæsar feels that +a woman like me, who could bring forth a hero, can likewise point +out to him the way to immortal deeds. Brighten up, Rodrigo, +and be wise; for know that the hand which dispatched thy +favourite was directed by a daring spirit, who would not hesitate +to take thy own life wert thou to remove the veil which has been +flung over this deed of necessity.</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. The solidity of thy arguments restores me +to myself, and thy eloquence exalts my soul, although it makes me +shudder. Francisco is dead; Cæsar lives: let him +live, and take his brother’s place, since fate will have it +so.</p> +<p>He rang the bell, caused refreshments to be brought, and was +in excellent spirits.</p> +<p>Francisco was forgotten, and the Pope thought of nothing else +than to open to the daring Cæsar <!-- page 239--><a +name="page239"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 239</span>a wider +field in which he might exercise his dangerous talents. The +latter, in the mean time, crowned the King of Naples, with hands +yet reeking with fraternal blood. He returned to Rome; and +Faustus saw, with a malicious laugh, the cardinals and the +ambassadors of Spain and Venice receive the fratricide, whom they +knew for such, at the city-gate, and then conduct him in triumph +to the Pope, who embraced him with great tenderness. Vanosa +laid aside her mourning, and celebrated the day of his return by +a festival, at which appeared all the grandees of Rome. +Cæsar shortly afterwards changed his cardinal’s hat +for a helmet, and was with much pomp and magnificence consecrated +Gonfalonier, or Standard-bearer of the Holy See.</p> +<p>The Devil saw, with much pleasure, Faustus endeavouring, by +the wildest excesses, to escape the pangs by which his heart was +now torn. He remarked how every new scene of horror he was +doomed to witness galled his soul, and that he was becoming more +and more convinced that all he saw or heard had its origin in the +nature of <!-- page 240--><a name="page240"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 240</span>man. The Devil supported him +in this idea by sophisms, which later philosophers have worked up +into systems. He ransacked the earth of its treasures, and +showered gold and precious gems upon his victim; and Faustus, +dishonouring the wives and daughters of Rome, believed that he +could not sufficiently corrupt the human family, which, in his +opinion, was doomed to misfortune and destruction. The +lessons he had learnt from Lucretia had long since poisoned his +senses. All the sweet ties of humanity, which had so long +fettered his heart, were now totally destroyed. He +represented the world to himself as a stormy sea, on which the +human race is cast, and is tossed here and there by the wind, +which drives this man upon a rock, where he is dashed to pieces, +and blows the other happily to his haven. But what seemed +to Faustus most incomprehensible was, that the shipwrecked +mariner should be punished in an after-state for not having +guided his vessel better; when the rudder which had been given +him to shape his course by was so weak that any extraordinary +billow could not fail to shatter it.</p> +<p><!-- page 241--><a name="page241"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +241</span>A new scene now presented itself. Alexander had +determined on taking the amusements of the chase at Ostia. +He was accompanied thither by a vast throng of cardinals, +bishops, ladies, and nuns; the latter being summoned from their +cloisters, and, by their beauty, rendering the cavalcade a +glorious spectacle. The Devil was constantly by the side of +the Pope, and Faustus and Lucretia were inseparable. Every +one abandoned himself at Ostia to pleasure, and in the course of +a few days excesses were committed there from which even Tiberius +and Nero might have learnt something. Faustus had now an +excellent opportunity of examining man in his nakedness, as the +Devil had expressively termed it; but what were all these scenes +of wickedness when compared with the plans which the Pope formed +with his bastards, by way of relaxation, in the presence of +Faustus and the Devil? It was here determined that Alphonso +of Arragon, the husband of Lucretia, should be assassinated, in +order that they might give the King of France a proof that they +were willing to break entirely with the King of Naples, <!-- page +242--><a name="page242"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +242</span>and to assist the former in his usurpation of the crown +of Sicily. Louis the Twelfth had already, with the +approbation of Alexander, invaded Italy, and the Borgias thereby +saw all their projects ripening. Lucretia intrusted this +bloody deed to the management of her brother, and already +considered herself as a widow. The plan of the ensuing +campaign was then adjusted in a very expeditious manner; for it +was merely to take possession of all the towns, castles, and +domains of the noblemen of Italy, who were one and all of them to +be murdered, together with their offspring and relations, in +order that not a soul might remain alive who had the slightest +claim upon the property, and who might therefore trouble the +assassins with future conspiracies. To support the army in +the interim, the Pope and Cæsar dictated to Lucretia a list +of rich cardinals and prelates, who were to be poisoned +successively, and their goods to be taken possession of by the +right of inheritance vested in the papal chair.</p> +<p>When this secret council was broken up, the members of it +repaired to the grand hall, where <!-- page 243--><a +name="page243"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 243</span>supper +awaited them. The Pope was so contented with his schemes, +and the certainty of their accomplishment, that he committed, in +his joy, the most shameful extravagances, and by his example +incited his guests to actions similar to what we have read of in +the pages of Petronius Arbiter, and other writers of the same +character. He, nevertheless, did not entirely forget the +cares of the state; for he suddenly asked those present how the +revenues of the papal see might be increased, so as to support +its numerous army during the approaching campaign. After +various projects, Ferrara of Modena, Bishop of Patria, +Alexander’s worthy minister, by whom he caused the +benefices of the Church to be disposed of to the highest bidder, +proposed that indulgences should be sold through Europe, under +the pretence of an approaching war with the Turks; adding, like a +true papal financier, “that the foolish idea which men +entertained, of being able to wash away their sins by means of +gold, was the surest source from which the income of a pope +arose.”</p> +<p><!-- page 244--><a name="page244"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +244</span>Lucretia, who lay on the lap of her father, and played +with Faustus’s yellow looks, incidentally remarked, with a +smile,</p> +<p>“The present list of indulgences contains such insipid, +antiquated, and absurd crimes, that it is impossible to turn it +to much account. It was composed in stupid and barbarous +times; and it is now highly necessary to make a new tariff of +sin, for which Rome herself can furnish the most important +articles.”</p> +<p>The company, hot with wine, and reeking from their +abominations, eagerly caught up this sally of female wantonness; +and the Pope commanded each one present to propose some +particular sin, and to tax it; recommending them, above all, to +choose those which were most in vogue, and which would +consequently bring in the most wealth.</p> +<p><i>Borgia</i>. Holy father, leave this to the cardinals +and prelates; they are better versed in crime than any other +people.</p> +<p>Ferrara of Modena sat down to fulfil the office of +secretary.</p> +<p><!-- page 245--><a name="page245"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +245</span><i>A Cardinal</i>. Absolution to each and every +priest who commits fornication, let it be with whom it may; with +permission to perform all the duties of the Church, and to +receive and hold new benefices, provided he pay into the papal +treasury nine gold ducats.</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. Write down nine gold ducats, Bishop; and +then let us drink absolution to those priests who shall pay the +sum.</p> +<p>Each guest filled his glass, and exclaimed in chorus, +“Absolutio! dispensatio!”</p> +<p style="text-align: center">* * * * *</p> +<p><i>A Nun</i>. Ha; what means all this? Will no one +think of us? Holy father, have we alone no claim to your +paternal favour? I entreat you to let us be taxed also, in +order that we may sin in peace.</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. Right, my daughter; and you shall not be +dealt with more hardly than the priests. Bishop, write +down: Absolution for each nun who shall commit carnal sin, be it +with whom it may, within or out of the circle of the cloister; +with <!-- page 246--><a name="page246"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 246</span>fall capacity of assuming any +conventual dignity when called upon so to do: nine ducats.</p> +<p><i>Chorus</i>. Absolutio! dispensatio!</p> +<p><i>A Bishop</i>. Absolution and dispensation to each +priest who publicly keeps a mistress: five ducats.</p> +<p>Lucretia then interposed: “Absolution for carnal +knowledge, the enormity of which is indicated by fifteen +ducats.”</p> +<p>Faustus, whom this scene had horribly mortified, on account of +the triumph which it afforded the Devil over him, but who, +nevertheless, wished to have a hit at Borgia, exclaimed, with a +voice of thunder,</p> +<p>“Absolution to any parricide, matricide, or fratricide, +for three ducats.”</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. Ho, ho, friend; what are you aiming at +now? Will you tax murder lower than fornication?</p> +<p><i>Cæsar Borgia</i>. Holy father, he does not +wish, by too high a penalty, to deter men from the commission of +the crime.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. You are well aware, gentlemen, that the +poor are incapable of receiving benefit from <!-- page 247--><a +name="page247"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 247</span>any of the +above-named absolutions and dispensations.</p> +<p><i>Chorus</i> (<i>amidst shouts of laughter</i>). +Damnation to him who has no money!</p> +<p><i>Cæsar Borgia</i>. Whoever commits theft, be it +sacrilege or not, shall have his soul secured from damnation, +upon depositing in the papal treasury three parts of what he has +stolen.</p> +<p><i>Chorus</i>. Absolution to all thieves, sacrilegious +or not, provided they share their booty with the Pope.</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. Thou hast opened a rich mine, +Cæsar. Write that down, Bishop.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Absolution to any one who shall practise +magic, or enter into an alliance with the Devil. How high +shall I tax that, father?</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. My son, you will not, by this last article, +enrich the papal treasury. The fiend does not understand +his own advantage; we call upon him in vain.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. But provided that should so happen, how +high, I repeat?</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. For rarity’s sake, one hundred +ducats.</p> +<p><!-- page 248--><a name="page248"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +248</span><i>Faustus</i>. Here they are; and now write me +out an absolution, that I may be able to shake it in the face of +the Devil, provided I ever sell myself to him.</p> +<p><i>Chorus</i>. Absolution to him who shall sell himself +to the fiend.</p> +<p><i>A Nun</i>. Most reverend Bishop, since you are +writing out the absolution for the magician, be so good as to +furnish me with a paper likewise,—you know for what. +Here is my rosary; it is worth fifteen ducats; I shall have, +therefore, something in bank until another absolution becomes +necessary.</p> +<p>Ferrara wrote, and the Pope signed his name beneath.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Does your holiness imagine that Satan will +pay any regard to these scraps of paper?</p> +<p>The grand inquisitor snatched his hand out of the bosom of an +abbess, and screamed, with stammering tongue:</p> +<p>“I smell heresy! Who is the atheist? who has +uttered that blasphemy?”</p> +<p>The Pope pressed his forefinger softly upon <!-- page 249--><a +name="page249"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 249</span>the mouth +of the Devil, and said, “Cavalier, these are state secrets: +handle them not; for if you do, I myself, with all my authority, +shall not be able to protect you.”</p> +<p>Every male in the assembly now opened his purse, either from a +wish to pay his court to the Pope, or to quiet his +conscience. The Bishop had so many applications, that he +was soon obliged to call in other secretaries, to assist him in +expediting absolutions. Each applicant took away his +particular license, and each sought and found an opportunity of +using it during the remainder of the night. Never were sins +committed with more quiet minds.</p> +<p>Ferrara of Modena, the next day, caused this tariff to be +fairly copied; he then sent it to the press, <a +name="citation249"></a><a href="#footnote249" +class="citation">[249]</a> and caused it to be secretly +circulated throughout Christendom.</p> +<p>Cæsar Borgia did not forget the promise which he had +made to his sister. Alphonso of Arragon was dispatched on +the steps of the Gonfalonier’s <!-- page 250--><a +name="page250"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 250</span>palace, at +the moment he was about to enter, in order to be present at a +play to which all the nobility of Rome had been invited, and +which represented the victories of the great Cæsar, whom +Borgia intended henceforward to imitate, if not excel. This +latter personage shortly after marched out of Rome with his army; +and, within the space of a few months, the Devil purloined from +the Pope’s pocket the following letter, which he gave +Faustus to read:</p> +<blockquote><p>“<span class="smcap">Reverend +Father</span>,—</p> +<p>“I kiss the feet of your holiness. Victory and +fortune have followed my steps, and I drag them behind my car +like slaves. I hope now that Cæsar is worthy of his +name; for I also can say, <i>Veni</i>, <i>vidi</i>, +<i>vici</i>. The Duke of Urbino has fallen into the snare +which I laid for him. By virtue of your holiness’ +letter, I asked him for his artillery to fight your enemies +with. Dazzled by the marks of friendship and affection +which I showed him, and which flattered his self-love, he sent to +me a gentleman with his consent in writing. Having thus a +very decent pretence, I instantly despatched <!-- page 251--><a +name="page251"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 251</span>some +thousands of men to Urbino, who, by my commands, took possession +of that city and of the whole duchy. The duke, +unfortunately, escaped; but I revenged myself for his flight upon +the powerful and dangerous family of Montefeltro, and annihilated +their whole race. Vitelozzo was fool enough to join me, +with all his troops, near Camerino. I deceived Cæsar +di Varono by promising him honourable conditions if he would +evacuate Camerino, and I attacked the city at the very moment he +was engaged in signing the articles of capitulation. I had +hoped to have exterminated the whole family at once; but the +father found means to elude me. However, I strangled his +wife, and cut the throats of his two sons; and I flatter myself +that despair and grief will soon send the old fellow after +them. I left Camerino, and despatched Paul Orsino, +Vitelozzo, and Oliverotto, to Sinegaglia, with orders to take the +town by storm, so that they might prepare their future grave with +their own hands. When I saw them all in the net, I sent +forward my trusty Michelotto and his associates, with directions +to seize the fools <!-- page 252--><a name="page252"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 252</span>when I should give the signal. +I then put myself upon the march, and Orsino, Vitelozzo, and +Oliverotto came to meet me, and pay me their respects. They +had left all the troops behind them, according to my +expectations. I received them with caresses, and went with +them into the city; and at the very moment my people fell upon +their straggling soldiers, Michelotto and his comrades each +seized his man. Thus I made myself master of the domains +and fortresses of those whom we deceived by pretending to assist +them in subduing their enemies. The following night I +caused them to be slaughtered in their dungeons. +Michelotto, to whom I intrusted this business, told me, with much +laughter, that all the mercy Vitelozzo prayed for was, <i>that he +might not be murdered until he had received</i>, <i>from your +holiness</i>, <i>absolution for his sins</i>. Who now will +tell me that it requires much art to make oneself master of the +minds of men? As soon as your holiness shall have put out +of the way the Orsinis and the rest, I will send the Pagolas, the +Duke of Gravina, and my other prisoners, to bear them +company. If <!-- page 253--><a name="page253"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 253</span>Carraccioli, General of the +Venetians, whose lovely wife I seized upon her journey, and who +now sweetens my labour, should come to Rome with his +<i>complaint</i>, send him Michelotto’s brother to be his +physician. I hear that he is a turbulent, hot-headed +fellow, and therefore it will be as well to get rid of him. +The tumult of arms has not made me forget my sister’s +widowhood: the envoy of the eldest son of the Duke of Este is +already on the way to marry her, in his name. We have now +massacred the most dangerous of our foes; if we can win over or +exterminate (which is almost the same thing) the houses of Este +and Medici, who will then have the audacity to oppose the Borgias +in Italy? I kiss the feet of your holiness.</p> +<p style="text-align: right">“<span +class="smcap">Cæsar Borgia</span>, Gonfalonier.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Faustus, after reading this letter, looked angrily upward; but +the Devil, without giving him time to moralise, led him to the +Vatican, where they found the Pope overjoyed at the success which +had attended his weapons. He had already ordered the +remaining Orsinis, Alvianis, <!-- page 254--><a +name="page254"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 254</span>Santa +Croces, and the other cardinals and archbishops, to be arrested, +and awaited the event with impatience. All Rome hastened to +congratulate him. Those who were marked out for destruction +were seized in the Vatican, conducted into different prisons, and +privately executed; whilst the myrmidons of the Pope plundered +their palaces. The Cardinal Orsini alone was sent to the +Castle of Saint Angelo, and was permitted, for a few days, to be +supplied with food from his mother’s kitchen; but the Pope, +having heard that he possessed a pearl, very precious on account +of its extraordinary size, retracted this favour. The +mother of the once mighty and flourishing Orsinis went to the +Vatican, and offered the Pope the pearl and two thousand crowns +if he would liberate her son; when he seized the pearl and the +money with one hand, and with the other gave the sign for the +cardinal’s execution.</p> +<p>When Cæsar Borgia learnt that the Pope had accomplished +his design, he instantly commanded all his own prisoners to be +assassinated; and, entering Rome in triumph, shared, with his +holiness <!-- page 255--><a name="page255"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 255</span>and the other illegitimates, the +booty he had brought with him; and, in return, received his +dividend of the confiscated property of the slaughtered cardinals +and ecclesiastics.</p> +<p>The marriage of Lucretia was soon afterwards celebrated with +more than Asiatic pomp, and the Romans contributed to render it +as brilliant as possible. The bells pealed from the +churches; the artillery thundered from Saint Angelo; there were +bull-fights; the most immoral and indecent comedies were +performed; and the delighted populace shouted before the Vatican, +“Long live Pope Alexander! long live Lucretia, Duchess of +Este!” Faustus huzzaed with the best of them, and +said to the Devil: “If these acclamations ascend to heaven +with the groans of the assassinated, which will the Eternal +believe?” The fiend bowed himself to the earth, and +was silent.</p> +<p>In order to crown the festivities of the marriage, Alexander +and his daughter commanded a spectacle which must for ever stand +unparalleled in the annals of human infamy. The Pope sat, +with his daughter, upon a couch, in a vast illuminated <!-- page +256--><a name="page256"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +256</span>hall. Faustus, the Devil, and others who had been +invited to this scene, stood around them. Suddenly the +doors opened, and in rushed fifty nude courtesans,—more +beautiful than the houris in Mahomet’s paradise,—and +performed, to the voluptuous sound of flutes and other +instruments, a dance which decency forbids us to describe, +although it was a Pope who designed the figure. When the +dance was ended, his Holiness gave the signal for a combat which +we are still less permitted to depict,—he himself holding +the prize of victory. They proclaimed Faustus to be the +conqueror. Lucretia overwhelmed him with kisses, and +crowned him with laurels; while the Pope delivered to him the +prize,—a golden goblet, on which Lucretia had caused to be +engraven the School of Pleasure. Faustus gave it the very +next day to a Venetian monk, in whose possession Aretino saw it a +long time afterwards, and illustrated some of its incidents in +his sonnets.</p> +<p>The Pope, on the day of his daughter’s marriage, had +made an election of cardinals, choosing <!-- page 257--><a +name="page257"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 257</span>only the +richest prelates for that dignity. Cæsar Borgia, +being in want of large sums of money for the next campaign, +determined to send some of the newly-elected into the other +world, at a festival which his father intended to give at one of +his villas. [The details of these marriage-festivities are +omitted; inasmuch as the grossness of the spectacle renders it +unfit for the general reader. The conduct of Lucretia +Borgia has been the subject of much obloquy, which her defenders +maintain rests chiefly on inferences from her living in a +flagitious court, where she witnessed the most profligate +scenes. It is asserted that some of the accusations have no +better foundation than the epigrams of Pontano, and other +Neapolitan poets, the natural enemies of her +family.—<i>Transl</i>.] The Pope went in a coach, +with his daughter, the Devil, Faustus, Borgia, and the wife of +the Venetian general. Here, after witnessing a gross +spectacle, Lucretia retired with Faustus; and Borgia went with +the Venetian; and the Pope remained alone with the Devil. +His holiness now made to the fiend certain proposals, which so +exasperated <!-- page 258--><a name="page258"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 258</span>the Devil that he appeared under a +form which no mortal eye had ever yet been able to sustain. +The Pope, who knew him immediately, uttered a cry of joy.</p> +<p>“Ah, ben venuto Signor Diavolo! You could not have +come to me at a more seasonable time than the present; I have +long wished to see you, for I know perfectly well what a deal of +use might be made of so powerful a spirit as yourself. Ha, +ha, ha! you please me now much better than you did before, you +rogue, you! Come, be my friend; assume your former figure, +and I will make you a cardinal; for you only can raise me at once +to the height which I wish to attain. I entreat you to +destroy my foes, procure me money, and drive the French out of +Italy, since I have no further occasion for them. This to +you will merely be the work of a moment; and you may then ask me +for any reward you please. But by all means do not discover +yourself to my son Cæsar: he is so great a wretch, that I +verily believe he would poison me, his father, in order to +become, by thy help, King of Italy and Pope at the same +time.”</p> +<p><!-- page 259--><a name="page259"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +259</span>The Devil, who had at first been a little mortified +that his frightful exterior had produced no greater effect, was +now unable to refrain from laughing; for what he saw and heard +surpassed every thing which had as yet come to the knowledge of +hell. But recovering himself, he said, with a serious air, +“Pope Alexander, Satan once showed to the Son of the +Eternal all the kingdoms of the world, and offered him them, if +he would fall down and worship him.”</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. I understand you. He was a God, and +wanted nothing; had he been a man, and a pope, he would have done +what I will now do.</p> +<p>He fell upon his knees, and kissed the fiend’s feet.</p> +<p>The Devil stamped upon the floor, so that the whole villa +trembled. Faustus and Lucretia, Cæsar and the +Venetian, saw through the door, which had been burst open by the +shock, the Pope kneeling with clasped hands before the frightful +figure of the Devil, who seized the trembling miscreant, +strangled him, and gave his soul to an <!-- page 260--><a +name="page260"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 260</span>attendant +spirit to be conveyed to hell. Borgia fell to the ground in +an agony of terror; and the horrible spectacle brought upon him +an illness, which soon sent him after his father. The body +of the Pope, frightfully disfigured, was buried with much pomp; +and his historians, who are not well acquainted with his tragic +end, invented the story, which is partly founded on truth, that +he and his son having drunk, by the cupbearer’s mistake, +some poisoned wine which had been intended for the cardinals, +were thus caught in their own net.</p> +<h2><!-- page 261--><a name="page261"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 261</span>CHAPTER V.</h2> +<p>The horrible death of the Pope, and the frightful figure of +the Devil, whom Faustus had hitherto only seen majestic and +comely, made so strong an impression upon him, that he hastened +from the villa to Rome; and, having packed up his things, +instantly departed, with perturbed mind and beating heart. +His spirit had become so weak from all that he had seen and +heard, that he who once dared to defy the Eternal in thought +scarcely ventured now to look Satan in the face, though he still +had absolute dominion over him. Hatred and contempt for +men, cruel doubt, indifference to every thing which occurred +around him, murmurings at the insufficiency of his moral and +physical powers, were the rewards of his experience and the +fruits of his life; yet he consoled himself with the idea that +what he had witnessed <!-- page 262--><a name="page262"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 262</span>authorised in him these gloomy +sentiments, and confirmed him in the opinion, that there either +existed on earth no connexion between man and his Creator, or +that, if any did exist, such connexion ran so confusedly and +equivocally through the labyrinth of life, that it was impossible +for the eye of man to follow it. He yet flattered himself +with the delusion, that his crimes, when added to the vast mass +of earthly wickedness, would be like a drop of water falling into +the ocean. The Devil willingly permitted him to repose in +this dream, in order that the blow he intended for him might fall +with greater violence. Faustus resembled those men of the +world who abandon themselves to their pleasures without thinking +of the consequences; and at length, worn out and dejected, look +morosely on the world, and judge of the human race according to +their own sad experience, without reflecting that they have only +trodden the worst paths of life, and seen the worst part of the +creation. In a word, he was on the point of becoming a +philosopher of the species of Voltaire, who, whenever <!-- page +263--><a name="page263"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 263</span>he +found the <i>bad</i>, always held it forth to public view; and, +with unexampled industry, always endeavoured to keep the +<i>good</i> in the background.</p> +<p>Faustus was lying in a sweet morning slumber on the frontiers +of Italy, when a portentous dream depicted itself to his soul in +the liveliest colours; and this dream was followed by a frightful +apparition. He saw the Genius of Man, whom he had once +before seen. He saw him upon a vast and blooming island, +surrounded by a stormy sea, wandering up and down, and looking +very anxiously upon the raging billows. The ocean was +covered with innumerable barks, in which men, aged and young, +children, women, and maidens, of all the nations of the world, +were struggling against the tempest, in order to reach the +island. When they arrived there, their first care was to +bring to land different building materials, which they flung +together confusedly. After an immense number had gained the +shore, the Genius marked out, upon the most elevated part of the +island, the plan of a vast edifice; and each of the crowd, young +and old, weak or <!-- page 264--><a name="page264"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 264</span>strong, took, according to his or +her strength, a piece from the mass of materials, and, directed +by those whom the Genius had chosen, carried it, and deposited it +at the proper place. All worked with pleasure, with +courage, and without relaxation; and the fabric had already risen +high above the ground, when they were suddenly attacked by +numerous foes, who advanced out of a dark ambush in three +columns. At the head of each of these columns stood a +general. The first bore a glittering crown upon his head; +on his brazen shield was written the word <i>Power</i>; and in +his right hand he held a sceptre, which, like the rod of Mercury, +had a snake and a scourge twisted round it. Before him went +a fierce hyena, holding in its jaws a book, on the back of which +was written <i>My Word</i>. His troops were armed with +swords, spears, and other implements of destruction. The +second column was commanded by a majestic matron, whose noble +figure was clothed in a sacerdotal robe. On her right stood +<i>Superstition</i>, a gloomy-eyed spectre, bearing in his hand a +bow formed from the bones of the <!-- page 265--><a +name="page265"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 265</span>dead, and +on his back a quiver filled with poisoned arrows. On her +left hovered a wild, fantastically clothed figure, called +<i>Fanaticism</i>, bearing a blazing torch. These two +phantoms, with menacing gestures and frightful grimaces, led the +noble matron in chains, like a prisoner. Before them went +<i>Ambition</i>, whose head was adorned with a triple crown; in +his hand was an episcopal staff, and on his mailed breast shone +the word <i>Religion</i>. Fanaticism and Superstition +waited, with the utmost impatience, until Religion should give +them the signal to vent their fury, which they could scarcely +restrain. The army was a confused and howling rabble, and +each soldier carried a dagger and a flaming torch. The +chief of the third column advanced with bold and haughty steps; +he was clothed in the simple dress of the sages, and was called +<i>Philosophy</i>. He bore in his hand, as did all his +followers, a golden cup, filled with foaming and intoxicating +liquor. These two last armies howled and screamed so +frightfully, that even the bellowing of the waters and the roar +of the tempest were no longer audible.</p> +<p><!-- page 266--><a name="page266"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +266</span>When the three columns arrived near the labourers, they +united, by the directions of their generals, and attacked them +furiously with their murderous weapons. The most courageous +of the workmen flung away their implements of labour, and drew +their swords, which hung at their belts, in order to drive their +foes back. The others, in the mean time, endeavoured, with +redoubled zeal, to complete the fabric they had begun. The +Genius protected his brave warriors and his industrious labourers +with a huge glittering shield, which was handed to him from the +sky; but he could not cover the whole of the countless +multitude. He saw with deep sorrow thousands of his people +sink to the earth beneath the swords and poisoned darts of their +adversaries. Many allowed themselves to be ensnared by the +invitations and allurements of those who offered them the +enchanted cup to refresh themselves with; and, in their +intoxication, they soon destroyed the laborious work of their +hands.</p> +<p>Those who bore torches made their way with their daggers, and +hurled the torches into the <!-- page 267--><a +name="page267"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 267</span>unfinished +edifice, when the flames, rearing up, threatened to reduce it to +ashes. The Genius looked mournfully upon the slain, and on +those who had been intoxicated by the deceitful beverage; but he +encouraged the rest, and inspired them, by his firmness and his +dignity, with strength and patience. They extinguished the +flames; replaced what the others had overturned; and laboured, +amid death and destruction, with so much zeal, that, in spite of +the fury and malignity of their foes, they raised at length a +vast and sublime temple. The Genius then healed the +wounded, comforted the weary, praised the bold warriors, and +conducted them all, amid songs of triumph, into the temple. +The foes stood confounded at the enormous work; and, after they +had in vain attempted to shatter its solidity, they retreated, +with rage in their hearts. Faustus now found himself upon +the island. The field around the majestic building was +covered with dead bodies of all ages and of both sexes; and those +who had tasted of the enchanted cup walked coolly among the +corpses, disputed with each other, <!-- page 268--><a +name="page268"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 268</span>and laughed +at and criticised the structure of the temple. Faustus went +past them, and as he approached the edifice he read over the +entrance the following words: “Mortal, if thou hast bravely +struggled, and hast remained faithful, enter, and learn to know +thy noble destiny.”</p> +<p>At these words he felt his heart leap with joy, and he hoped +to be now able to penetrate the obscurity which had so long +tormented him. With bold and daring pace he ran up the +lofty steps, and caught a glimpse of the interior of the edifice, +which seemed filled with the roseate colours of morning. He +heard the soft voice of the Genius, and was about to enter; but +the gate of brass closed before him with a harsh sound, and he +recoiled in terror. His desire to penetrate into the +secrets of the temple was increased by the impossibility. +All of a sudden he felt wings, and rising high into the air, he +precipitated himself furiously against the brazen gate, was +hurled back, and started out of his sleep just as he was on the +point of touching the ground. He opened his eyes in +dismay. A ghastly figure, <!-- page 269--><a +name="page269"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 269</span>wrapped in +a winding-sheet, drew back the curtains of his bed. He +recognised the features of his old father, who, gazing upon him +for a moment, said, in a lamentable voice:</p> +<p>“Faustus! Faustus! never yet did father beget a more +unfortunate son; and in this feeling I have just died. For +ever—ah! for ever!—must the gulf of damnation lie +between thee and me.”</p> +<p>The portentous dream and this horrible apparition filled the +soul of Faustus with affright. He sprang from his bed, and +opened the window to inhale the fresh air. Before him lay +the enormous Alps, whose tops were just gilded by the rising +sun. He surveyed them for some time, and at last fell into +a profound reverie. He trembled as he thought of his +nocturnal vision, and was endeavouring to explain to himself its +most prominent passages, when, falling anew into his cruel +doubts, he exclaimed:</p> +<p>“Whence came those monsters who attacked the industrious +labourers? By whom were they authorised to disturb and +destroy them while engaged in their noble occupation? Who +permitted <!-- page 270--><a name="page270"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 270</span>it? Was he who permitted it +unable, or did he not wish, to hinder it? And why did the +Supreme Genius protect and save only a part of them who were +assailed by those cannibals? Were some predestined to +perish, in order that the others might triumph and taste +repose? Who, then, will dare to tell me that I am not one +of those who are born with destruction for their lot? What +evil had those unfortunates committed, and why should those be +esteemed criminal who, pressed by a burning thirst, endeavoured +to quench it by tasting the enchanted cup?”</p> +<p>Faustus wandered for a long time in a maze of doubt; but, +remembering the apparition of his father, it brought back to his +mind his long-forgotten family. He instantly determined to +return to them; to become again a member of society; to resume +his business; and to get rid of his infernal companion. He +pursued his journey towards home like many others, who, mistaking +the ardour of insensate youth for genius, enter upon the career +of the world with high pretensions, and, having quickly exhausted +the little fire <!-- page 271--><a name="page271"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 271</span>which their souls possess, soon find +themselves a burden to their kindred and their friends, at the +very place from whence they started. Faustus brooded over +all this, while he rode silently and moodily by the side of the +Devil.</p> +<p>The latter left him to his reflections, laughed inwardly at +his resolution, and shortened the time with the sweet idea of +soon being able to breathe the pleasant vapours of hell. He +determined to have a bitter laugh at Satan, who had represented +to him as a man of superior strength of mind this Faustus, whom +he now saw completely dejected even before he knew the horrors of +his fate. He compared his present downcast and timid looks +with the haughty and bold glances he had cast upon him when he +first made him appear before his magic circle. His hatred +against him increased, and he rejoiced in his black soul when he +saw Worms lie before them in the plain.</p> +<p>They rode towards the celebrated city; and when they were +about half a mile distant from it, they perceived a gibbet, to +which was suspended a tall, slender youth. Faustus lifted +up his eyes <!-- page 272--><a name="page272"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 272</span>and gazed upon him. The +evening wind blew freshly among his long hair, which +half-concealed his face, and swung his body to and fro. +Faustus burst into tears at this spectacle, and cried, with +trembling voice:</p> +<p>“Poor youth! hanging at the cursed tree before thou +hadst reached the flower of life! What sin hast thou +committed, which induced the tribunal of men to cut thee off so +soon?”</p> +<p><i>Devil</i> (<i>in a solemn and impressive tone</i>). +Faustus, this is thy work.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. My work!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Thy work. Look at him closer. +He is thy eldest son.</p> +<p>Faustus looked up, recognised him, and sunk from his +horse.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Cry and groan! The hour approaches +in which I must remove the thick veil from before thine eyes, and +blow away, with a single breath, the labyrinth in which thou hast +so long wandered. I will fling light upon the moral world, +and show thee how thou hast outraged it by each of thy +actions. I, a devil, will show thee what <!-- page 273--><a +name="page273"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 273</span>are the +consequences when a worm like thyself dares to stop the wheel of +so exact and so enormous a machine. Dost thou remember the +youth whom I, at our departure from Mayence, saved from drowning +by thy command? I gave thee warning, but thou wouldst obey +the rash impulse of thy heart. If thou hadst permitted that +miscreant to perish, thy son would not now be rotting on yon +gibbet. He on whose account thou didst change the order of +things, insinuated himself, shortly after thy departure, into the +society of thy young wife. The glitter of the gold which we +had left her in such abundance, attracted him much more than her +youth and beauty. It was no difficult thing for him to win +the affections of her who had been forsaken by thee; and in a +short time he gained such influence over her, that she delivered +up herself and all she possessed to his will and control. +Thy old father endeavoured to oppose his shameless sway; but the +young man insulted him and beat him: the poor old man sought an +asylum in the workhouse, where he died, a few days ago, of grief +for thee and thy family. <!-- page 274--><a +name="page274"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 274</span>Thy son, +having taken his grandfather’s part, and threatened the +life of his mother’s seducer, was by him turned out of the +house also. The boy wandered among the woods and +wildernesses till he was half famished. Arriving at length +in this city, and being ashamed to beg, he stole a few pence from +the poor-box in a church, in order to assuage his hunger; but he +committed this theft so artlessly, that several people perceived +him, and the most worshipful magistrate, in consideration of his +youth, sentenced him only to be hanged: he was accordingly +hanged; although he protested, with tears, that for the last four +days he had swallowed nothing but grass. Thy daughter is at +Frankfort, where she subsists upon the earnings of vice; thy +second son is in the profligate service of an infamous +prelate. The young man whom thou didst save from death +robbed thy wife not long ago of her last stiver; thy friend whom +we preserved from beggary refused thy old father the slightest +assistance, and spurned thy children from his door when they came +to him for bread. And I will now show thee <!-- page +275--><a name="page275"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +275</span>thy family, in order that thou mayest see to what a +state thou hast reduced them. I will then bring thee here +again, and hold reckoning with thee; for I am no longer thy +slave—thou art mine. The worm of despair begins to +gnaw within thee; thou art no longer fit to live, and hell only +is fit to receive thee.</p> +<p>The Devil seized the wretched man, flew with him to Mayence, +and showed him his wife and two youngest children sitting at the +gate of the Franciscan convent in expectation of the remnant of +the monks’ supper. When the mother beheld Faustus, +she screamed, “O Heaven! Faustus! your +father—” then, covering her eyes with her hands, she +fell into a swoon. The children ran to him, clung about +him, and cried for bread.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Devil, decide upon my fate: let it be +more frightful than the heart of man can support or conceive, but +supply these unfortunate creatures with bread, and rescue them +from misery and hunger.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. I have plundered for thee the earth of its +treasures; thou hast sacrificed them to thy <!-- page 276--><a +name="page276"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 276</span>infamous +pleasures, without once thinking of these wretches. Feel +now thy folly; thou hast spun the web of their destiny, and thy +hungry, beggarly, miserable brood will transmit to their remotest +posterity the misery of which thou art the cause. Thou +didst beget children—wherefore hast thou not been a father +to them? Wherefore hast thou sought happiness where mortal +never yet found it? Look at them once more. In hell +thou shalt see them again; and they will there curse thee for the +inheritance which thou didst entail upon them.</p> +<p>He tore him from his miserable family at the moment the wife +was about to embrace his knees, and to ask his pardon. +Faustus wished to comfort her; but the Devil grasped him, and +placed him once more beneath the gibbet at Worms.</p> +<p>Night sunk dark upon the earth. Faustus stood gazing on +the remains of his unfortunate son; madness glowed in his brain, +and he cried, in the wild tone of despair:</p> +<p>“Devil, let me bury this poor victim; take then my life, +and bear me to hell, where I shall <!-- page 277--><a +name="page277"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 277</span>never again +see men in flesh and bone. I have learnt to know them; I am +disgusted with them, with their destination, with the world, and +with life. Since one good action brings on my head such +inexpressible evils, I have reason to believe that the wicked +only have a right to happiness. If such be the order of +things in this world, hurl me at once into hell. Its +darkness is a thousand times preferable to the light of day.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Not so fast, Faustus. In the first +place, I take away from thee thy mighty magic rod, and confine +thee in the narrow circle which I draw around thee. Here +shalt thou listen to me, and howl and tremble. I will +unfold to thee the consequences of thy deeds, and will +assassinate thee through downright despair.</p> +<p>“Fool! thou sayest thou hast learnt to know man! +Where? How and when hast thou attained this +knowledge? Hast thou ever sounded his nature? Hast +thou separated from him that which he has acquired, and which is +foreign to him? Hast thou distinguished that which proceeds +from his heart, from that which is merely <!-- page 278--><a +name="page278"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 278</span>the affect +of an imagination corrupted by artifice? Hast thou compared +the wants and the desires resulting from his nature, with those +which he owes to civilisation? Hast thou considered man in +his proper shape, where each of his movements bears the stamp of +his inward disposition? <i>Thou hast taken the mask of +society for his natural figure</i>; <i>and thou hast only known +that man whom his titles</i>, <i>his rank</i>, <i>his riches</i>, +<i>his power</i>, <i>and his acquirements have +corrupted</i>. <i>Thou hast only known him who has +sacrificed his nature to thy own idol</i>,—<i>to +vanity</i>. Thou hast merely frequented palaces and courts, +where men spurn away the unfortunate, and laugh at the complaints +of the oppressed, whilst they are dissipating in revel-rout and +roar that which they have robbed them of. Thou hast seen +the sovereigns of the world; thou hast seen tyrants surrounded by +their parasites and their infamous courtesans; and thou hast seen +priests who make use of religion as an instrument of +oppression. Such are the men thou hast seen, and not him +who groans under the heavy yoke, and comforts himself with the +hope of <!-- page 279--><a name="page279"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 279</span>futurity. Thou hast passed by +with disdain the hut of the poor and simple man, who does not +even know your artificial wants by name, who gains his bread by +the sweat of his brow, shares it faithfully with his wife and +children, and rejoices, at the last moment of his life, in having +completed his long and laborious task. If thou hadst opened +his door, thou wouldst not indeed have found a vain ideal of +heroic and over-refined virtue, which is only the offspring of +your vices and your crimes; but thou wouldst have seen a man who, +in meekness and resigned magnanimity, shows more force of soul, +than do your renowned heroes in their blood-stained fields of +battle, or your ministers in their perfidious cabinets. If +it were not for these, and for your priests, and above all for +your false philosophers, the gates of hell would soon be +closed. Canst thou say that thou knowest man, when thou +hast only sought for him in the paths of vice and crime? +Dost thou know thyself? I will make your wounds yet deeper, +and pour poison into them. But if I had a thousand human +tongues, and were to keep thee here <!-- page 280--><a +name="page280"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 280</span>confined +for as many years, I should still be unable to enumerate to thee +all the frightful consequences of thy actions and thy +temerity. Know now the result of thy life, and remember, +that I have scarcely fulfilled one of thy insensate desires +without having forewarned thee to check it. It is by thy +command that I have interrupted the course of things, and +committed crimes which I myself could scarcely have imagined; so +that, devil as I am, I am not so bad as thyself.</p> +<p>“Dost thou remember the nun Clara, and the voluptuous +night which thou didst pass with her? But how canst thou +have forgotten her? Listen now to the consequences. A +short time after thy departure, the Bishop, who was her friend +and protector, died; and she, having become a mother, was +condemned, as an object of public horror, to be starved with her +child in a dark dungeon. In her ravenous hunger she fell +upon the newly-born, ate of thy flesh and her own, and prolonged +her existence as long as there was a bone for her to gnaw. +In what had she sinned?—she who did not comprehend her +crime; she who did not know, <!-- page 281--><a +name="page281"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 281</span>or even +suspect, the author of her ignominy and her frightful +death. Feel now the result of one single moment of +pleasure, and tremble! Hast thou not strengthened the +delusion which condemned her? Must not hell now bear the +reproach of thy crime? Those people condemned the child as +the spawn of Satan, and murdered the mother under the idea that +she had been possessed by him; and through this thy deed thou +hast bewildered their minds, and those of their posterity.</p> +<p>“Thou wast not more fortunate with the Prince +Bishop. He caused, it is true, Hans Ruprecht to be buried, +and provided for his family. He likewise, by the trick I +played him, lost his fat, and became the most mild and merciful +of princes; but he so relaxed the band of social order by his +over-indulgence, that his subjects soon became a horde of +drunkards, sluggards, ruffians, and highwaymen. The present +Bishop is obliged to be their executioner, and to disperse and +destroy a hundred families, in order that the rest, terrified by +their example, may again become <!-- page 282--><a +name="page282"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 282</span>humanised, +and submit to the laws. The furies themselves could not do +half the injury to these people which those now do to whom the +Bishop has been obliged to intrust the sword of justice and the +power of vengeance.</p> +<p>“Doctor Robertus, the renowned champion of freedom, the +man after thine own heart, was from his earliest youth an enemy +to the Minister, whom he hated on account of his talents. +Envy and jealousy caused his independence of spirit; and if he +had been in the situation of the other, he would have adopted +with pleasure the most cruel principles of despotism, for which +his wild and ferocious heart was only formed. The honest +man was the Minister; Robertus was a monster, who would have set +the whole world in a blaze, and has done it partly, in order to +satisfy his boundless ambition. Thou didst oblige me to +rescue him, and to furnish him with a large sum of money. +He made such good use of his freedom, his gold, and the +enthusiasm which his miraculous escape had caused among the +people, that he soon succeeded in stirring up a dreadful +rebellion. He <!-- page 283--><a name="page283"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 283</span>armed the peasants; they murdered +the nobility, and desolated the whole land. The noble +Minister fell a victim to his revenge; and Robertus, the friend +of liberty, the champion of the oppressed, is the author of the +calamitous war of the peasants, which by degrees will spread over +the whole of Germany, and will ravage it. Murders, +assassinations, robberies, and sacrilege are now committed with +impunity; and thy noble hero stands at the head of a furious +rabble, and threatens to make Germany the cemetery of the human +race. Satan himself could not have laboured more +effectually for the destruction of mankind, than thou didst when +I was forced by thee to rescue this madman from the stroke of +justice.</p> +<p>“Let us now return to the court of the German prince, +where thou so audaciously didst make thyself the avenger of +virtue and oppressed innocence. That prince and his +favourite affected virtues which they did not possess; but their +actions contributed to the good of the people, because both had +sense enough to perceive that the happiness of the people +constitutes that of the <!-- page 284--><a +name="page284"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +284</span>prince. Does the thirsty traveller know, or does +he care, if the spring of which he drinks gushes out of a +mountain filled with poison, provided he cools his hot blood +without receiving any harm? That hypocrite displeased thee +because he did not answer to thy preconceived high opinion, which +thou, for certain reasons, didst wish to thrust upon me; and I +was compelled to strangle him by thy orders. His infant son +was destined to succeed him in the government. His tutors +harassed and oppressed the people, once happy under the dominion +of his father; they corrupted the heart and the mind of the +future regent, who having enervated his body through early +pleasure, they rule him now he is come of age, and are his and +his people’s tyrants. Hadst thou not compelled me to +murder the father, he would have brought up his son in his own +maxims; he would have developed his faculties, and have made him +a man fit to govern a nation. The numerous subjects who are +now groaning beneath iron-handed oppression, and whose misery is +all to be imputed to thee, would then have been the happiest in +Germany. <!-- page 285--><a name="page285"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 285</span>Let their tears, their despair, and +the horrors of an approaching insurrection, reward thee for +having rashly exercised the duty of a judge.</p> +<p>“Madman! in obedience to thy command, I burnt the castle +of the fierce Wildgrave, with all its inhabitants, with his wife +and his infant. What crime had they committed? It was +a moment of delight to me. If the infant was consumed on +the breast of the mother, it was thy work. If the Wildgrave +attacked a neighbouring nobleman as the cause of the +conflagration, set fire to his house, and ignominiously whipped +him, it was thy work. Thousands have already fallen beneath +their reciprocal vengeance, and tranquillity will not be restored +to that part of Germany until the hostile families shall be +completely exhausted and annihilated. And thus, poor worm, +hast thou avenged the innocent; thou, who all thy life hast been +wallowing in the grossest sensuality; thou, who didst pull me out +of hell merely to satiate thy lusts. Groan and weep; but I +will overwhelm thee with fresh horrors.</p> +<p>“By thy order I infused the poison of lust <!-- page +286--><a name="page286"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +286</span>into the heart of the innocent Angelica, she who was +the ornament of her sex and of the world. Thou didst enjoy +her in the wild intoxication of thy senses, and she scarcely knew +what had happened to her. Shudder at the +consequences! I, who find pleasure in evil and destruction, +think with pity and compassion on her end. She fled from +her native place, and a feeling of shame forced her to conceal +the state in which she found herself, and to which thou hadst +reduced her. Alone, in solitude, and without help, amid +agonising throes and deadly pains, she became a mother. The +child died as soon as it saw the light of day. She, the +wretched victim of thy momentary pleasure, was cast into prison, +and publicly executed as an infanticide. Thou shouldst have +seen her in the last moments of her life; thou shouldst have seen +her pure blood spouting high into the air, when the sword of the +executioner separated her lovely neck.”</p> +<p>Faustus gave a loud groan. Despair was raging in his +heart.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. The daughter of the miser in France, <!-- +page 287--><a name="page287"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +287</span>whom thou didst seduce, and in whose bosom thou didst +cause slumbering desire to awake, became shortly afterwards the +mistress of the youthful king. She ruled him entirely, and +in order that he might not disturb her in her intercourse with +another lover, she urged him to the disastrous expedition into +Italy, and brought misfortunes upon France which many future +reigns will not be able to heal. The flower of the French +nobility, and the heroes of the kingdom, are rotting on the +sun-scorched plains of Italy; and the king has returned home +overwhelmed with shame and ignominy. Thus, wherever thou +hast wandered, thou hast scattered around thee the seeds of +misery, which have sprung up, and will bear fruit to all +eternity.</p> +<p>“Thou didst not pay attention to the look I gave thee +when I tore down the house upon the cruel physicians at +Paris. I had previously told thee that, by my destructive +hand, thou didst mangle the moral world worse than they did the +flesh of their fellow-creatures. Thou didst pay no +attention to that look—hear now the cause of <!-- page +288--><a name="page288"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +288</span>it. Those wretches deserve to perish beneath the +ruins of their laboratory; but what evil had the poor people +committed who lodged in the lower part of the house, and who were +totally ignorant of what was going forward above their +heads? Why should an innocent, happy family be crushed +along with those monsters? To satisfy thy blind vengeance, +I was forced to bury them beneath stones and falling +timbers. Judge and avenger at the same time, thou hadst not +thought of this. Consider now all the consequences of thy +delirium and thy folly; cast thine eyes along the whole chain, +extending to the remotest posterity, and then sink beneath the +terrible survey. Did I not once tell thee that man is much +more rash in his decisions and in his vengeance, than the Devil +is in the accomplishment of wickedness?”</p> +<p>Faustus opened his haggard eyes, and looked towards +heaven.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. It is deaf to thee. Be proud of +having lived a moment when thy atrocity was so great that it +almost made the deeds of the devils themselves forgotten. I +speak of that moment <!-- page 289--><a name="page289"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 289</span>when thou didst command me to +withdraw the veil which concealed the Eternal from thy +sight. The angel whose charge it was to register thy sins +averted his face, and struck thy name from the Book of Life.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i> (<i>springing up</i>). Cursed be thou; +cursed be myself; cursed be the hour of my birth; cursed be he +who begot me; cursed be the breast which I sucked!</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. O the delightful moment! Precious +reward of my toils! Hell rejoices at thy curses, and +expects a yet more frightful one from thee. Fool! wast thou +not born free? Didst thou not bear in thy breast, like all +who live in flesh, the instinct of good as well as of evil? +Why didst thou transgress, with so much temerity, the bounds +which had been prescribed to thee? Why didst thou endeavour +to try thy strength with and against Him who is not to be +reached? Did not God create you in such a manner, that you +were as much elevated above the devils as above the beasts of the +earth? Did he not grant you the perceptive faculty of good +and evil? Were <!-- page 290--><a name="page290"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 290</span>not your will and choice free? +We wretches are without choice, without will; we are the slaves +of evil and of imperious necessity; constrained and condemned to +all eternity to wish nothing but evil, we are the instruments of +revenge and punishment upon you. Ye are kings of the +creation, free beings, masters of your destiny, which ye fix +yourselves; masters of the future, which only depends upon your +actions. It is on account of these prerogatives that we +detest you, and rejoice when, by your follies, your impatience, +and your crimes, you cease to be masters of yourselves. It +is only in resignation, Faustus, that present or future happiness +consists. Hadst thou remained what thou wast, and had not +doubt, pride, vanity, and voluptuousness torn thee out of the +happy and limited sphere for which thou wast born, thou mightst +have followed an honourable employment, and have supported thy +wife and children; and thy family, which is now sunk into the +refuse of humanity, would have been blooming and prosperous; +lamented by them, thou wouldst have died calmly on thy bed, and +thy example would <!-- page 291--><a name="page291"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 291</span>have guided thy posterity along the +thorny path of life.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Ah, the greatest torment of the damned +is, no doubt, to hear the devil preach penitence.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. It is pleasant enough that you force us to +moralise; but, wretch, if the voice of truth and of penitence +were to echo down from heaven, you would close your ears to +it.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Destroy me at once, and do not kill me +by thy prattling, which tears my heart without convincing my +spirit. Pour out thy venom, and do not distil it upon me +drop by drop. I am not to blame if, having sown the seeds +of good, bad has arisen from them. A good action has caused +the ignominious death of my son, and a good action has +precipitated my family into the most profound misery.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Why dost thou boast to me of thy good +deed? How does it deserve that name? I suppose +because thou didst give me a command, which, by the by, did not +cost thee much. To have made the action meritorious, thou +shouldst <!-- page 292--><a name="page292"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 292</span>have cast thyself into the water, +and have saved the young man at the risk of thine own life. +I brought him to the shore, and disappeared; he would have known +thee, and, moved by gratitude, would probably have become the +protector, instead of the destroyer, of thy family.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Thou canst torment me, Devil; but thou +canst not, from stupidity, or thou wilt not, from wickedness, +dispel my doubts. Never have they torn my heart more +venomously than at this moment, when I consider the miseries of +my existence and of my after-destination. Is human life any +thing else than a tissue of crimes, torments, pains, hypocrisy, +contradictions, and false virtues? What are free agency, +choice, will, and that so much vaunted faculty of distinguishing +good from evil, if the passions drown the feeble voice of reason, +as the roar of the sea drowns the voice of the pilot whose vessel +is about to be dashed against the rocks? Is it possible for +man to destroy and root out of his breast the germ of evil which +has been designedly introduced there? I hate, more bitterly +than ever, the world, my <!-- page 293--><a +name="page293"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +293</span>fellow-creatures, and myself. Destined to suffer, +why was I born with the desire of being happy? Born for +darkness, why was I filled with the desire of seeing light? +Why had the slave the thirst for freedom? Why had the worm +the wish to fly? Why had I a boundless imagination, the +teeming mother of bold desires, daring wishes and thoughts? +Tear from my uncertain and doubtful soul the flesh which envelops +it; destroy in it all remembrance of its ever having animated a +human body: I wish to become henceforward one of you, and only to +live in the desire of evil. Ah, Devil, this is not so +pleasant to thy ears as the hissing, howling song of despair +which thou didst expect. But loosen the enchantment which +fetters me in this circle; and let me perform my last sad +duty. I will not attempt to escape from thee; if I could, I +would not, for the pain of hell cannot be greater than that which +I now feel.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Faustus, I am pleased with thy courage, +and I would sooner hear what thou hast said than the wild shriek +of despair. Be proud that the force of thy spirit has +carried thee even to madness <!-- page 294--><a +name="page294"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 294</span>and +blasphemy, for which the pain of hell awaits thee. Step out +of thy circle; bury that wretched youth; thy part will then be +played here, and thou must begin another, which will never +end.</p> +<p>Faustus climbed the gibbet, and cut the rope from the neck of +his son. He then bore him into a neighbouring field which +the plough had lately turned up, and scratching a grave with his +hands, he buried the body of the unfortunate youth. He then +returned to the Devil, and said, in a wild tone:</p> +<p>“The measure of my wretchedness is full; break now the +vase which can hold nothing more; but I have yet courage to +struggle with thee for my life. I will not perish like the +slave who yields without resistance to the might of his +master. Appear to me under whatever form thou wilt, and I +will grapple with thee. For freedom, for independence, I +once drew thee out of hell; on its verge I will yet assert my +right to both; on the verge of the frightful gulf I will use my +strength, and remember that I once saw thee <!-- page 295--><a +name="page295"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 295</span>tremble +before my magic circle, when I threatened to scourge thee with my +rod. The tears which thou seest in my eyes ore tears of +indignation, of hate, and of disgust. Not the fiend, but my +own heart, triumphs over me.</p> +<p><i>Devil</i>. Insipid braggart! With this form I +tear off the mask which belied my courage. Vengeance is at +hand, and Leviathan is himself once more!</p> +<p>He stood in gigantic stature before him. His eyes glowed +like full-laden thunder-clouds, which reflect the rays of the +descending sun. The noise of his breath was like the +rushing of the tempest-blast. The earth groaned beneath his +iron feet. The storm rustled in his hair, which waved round +his head like the tail from the threatening comet. Faustus +lay before him like a worm; for the horrible sight had deprived +him of his senses and his strength. The Devil uttered a +contemptuous laugh, which hissed over the surface of the earth; +and seizing the trembling being, he tore him to pieces, as a +capricious boy would tear an insect. He strewed the bloody +members with fury and <!-- page 296--><a name="page296"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 296</span>disgust about the field, and plunged +with the soul into the depths of hell.</p> +<p>The devils were assembled round Satan, who was consulting with +his princes concerning the punishments which should be inflicted +upon Pope Alexander the Sixth. His crimes, and the last +moments of his life, had been unparalleled, so that even the +worst devils found themselves at a loss to allot him a punishment +suitable to his deserts. The Pope stood before his judges, +who treated him as contemptuously as a tribunal of princes treats +an accused person who has nothing else to recommend him than his +being a man. All of a sudden Leviathan rushed triumphantly +into the midst, held the soul of Faustus on high, and then hurled +it with violence upon the table, saying:</p> +<p>“There you have Faustus!”</p> +<p>He was received with so loud a bellow of joy, that the damned +trembled in their pools: “Welcome, Prince Leviathan! +There is Faustus! There is Faustus!”</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. Welcome, prince of hell. Welcome, +Faustus; we have heard enough of you here.</p> +<p><!-- page 297--><a name="page297"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +297</span><i>Leviathan</i>. There he is, Satan; see him +yourself. He has plagued me not a little, but he has been a +good recruit for us, and I hope that thou art contented with my +long sojourn upon earth. But I entreat thee, for many +centuries to come, to send me no more on such errands; for I am +quite weary of the human race. I must, however, acknowledge +that this fellow did not badly support the last hour of his life, +hard as it was; but that arose, I suppose, from his having +applied himself in his youth to that philosophy which thou hast +taught mankind.</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. I thank thee, Prince Leviathan; and I +promise thee that thou shalt long continue with me among the +sweet vapours of this place, and scourge the shades of the great +princes of the earth for thy pastime. Hem! a fine fellow, +and seems to have had quite enough of men and things. +Despair, audacity, hate, rancour, agony, and pride, have torn +deep furrows in his soul. He looks even at us and hell +without trembling. Faustus, art thou become dumb of a +sudden?</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Not from fear, I assure thee. I +have <!-- page 298--><a name="page298"></a><span +class="pagenum">p. 298</span>been bold to one much mightier than +thyself, and therefore am I here.</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. Hey! carry the saucy hound to the pool of +the damned; and after being soused therein, let him be well +scourged by a legion of my most active pages, in order that he +may become a little acquainted with the rules of these +regions.</p> +<p>A devil dragged Faustus to the pool; the legion swarmed after +him.</p> +<p><i>Leviathan</i> (<i>perceiving the Pope</i>). Ah! +welcome, Pope Alexander. I hope you no longer feel any +desire to make a Ganymede of the Devil.</p> +<p><i>Pope</i> (<i>sighing</i>). No, alas!</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. Ha, ha, ha! This is now a good +specimen of the men who at present ravage the earth; but let them +once get to the new world, and they will make it a theatre of +crimes which will put the old one to shame.</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. Would that I could be there too!</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. A wish truly worthy of a pope; but console +thyself,—thy countrymen will murder millions of men for +their gold.</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. What will men not do for gold?</p> +<p><!-- page 299--><a name="page299"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +299</span>Faustus came back with his fiendish attendants.</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. Well, Faustus, how do you like your bath, +and those that rubbed you dry?</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Maddening and intolerable thought, that +the noble and ethereal part of man must expiate the sins of a +body formed of clay!</p> +<p>The devils laughed till the vaults reëchoed.</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. Bravo, Faustus! I am convinced, from +thy words and behaviour, that thou art too good for a man. +I am, besides, much indebted to thee for having invented +Printing, that art which is so singularly useful to us.</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. What, a printer! He gave himself out +at my court for a gentleman, and won my daughter Lucretia!</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. Silence, proud Spaniard. I paid +her richly; and thou wouldst have prostituted thyself to me for a +like sum, if I had been one of thine own stamp. My noble +invention will sow more good, and will be more profitable to the +human race, than all the popes from St. Peter down to +thyself.</p> +<p><!-- page 300--><a name="page300"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +300</span><i>Satan</i>. Thou art mistaken, Faustus. +In the first place, men will rob thee of the honour of having +invented this art.</p> +<p><i>Faustus</i>. That is worse than damnation.</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. Observe now this man: he stands before me, +the ruler here, and holds everlasting torments as nothing when +compared with the loss of his fame and glory, those chimeras of +his overheated brain. In the second place, Faustus, the +shades will descend by hundreds of thousands, will fall upon +thee, and overwhelm thee with curses, for having converted the +little stream which poisoned the human mind into a monstrous +flood. I, who am the ruler here, and shall gain by it, am +therefore thy debtor; and if thou wilt curse the Eternal, who +either could not or would not make thee better, thou shalt escape +the torments of this place, and I will make thee a prince of my +dark kingdom.</p> +<p><i>Pope</i>. Let me be the first to curse, O Satan; as a +pope, I have an undoubted right to the precedence.</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. Observe these men, ye devils, and see <!-- +page 301--><a name="page301"></a><span class="pagenum">p. +301</span>how they outdo ye. No, Pope; thou didst it when +thy lips kissed the feet of my Leviathan. Choose, +Faustus.</p> +<p>Faustus stepped forward; raging despair was engraven in +frightful characters on his shadowy face. He—! +Who can express what he said?</p> +<p>The devils trembled at his words, and were astonished at his +audacity. Since hell first existed, no such stillness had +reigned in the dark, frightful kingdom, the abode of eternal +misery. Faustus broke it, and required Satan to fulfil his +promise.</p> +<p><i>Satan</i>. Fool! how canst thou imagine that I, ruler +of hell, will keep my word, as there is no example of a prince of +earth ever having kept his word when he got nothing by so +doing? If thou canst forget that thou art a man, forget not +that thou standest before the Devil. My fiendish subjects +turned pale at thy temerity; thy horrid words made my firm and +imperishable throne tremble; and I thought for a moment that I +had risked too much. Away! thy presence makes me uneasy; +and thou art a proof that man can do more than the Devil can +bear. Drag him, ye fiends, into <!-- page 302--><a +name="page302"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 302</span>the most +frightful corner; let him there languish in solitude, and madden +at the recollection of his deeds, and of this moment, which he +can never atone for. Let no shade approach him. Go, +thou accursed one, and hover alone and abandoned in that land +where neither hope, comfort, nor sleep are found. Those +doubts which have tormented thee in life shall for ever gnaw thy +soul, and no one shall explain to thee that mystery, the pursuit +of which has brought thee here. This is the most painful +punishment of all to a philosopher like thee. Drag him +away, I repeat; torture him. Seize that Pope, and plunge +him into the hottest pool; for their equals are not to be found +in hell.</p> +<p>After their departure, Satan said to himself, smiling:</p> +<p>“When men wish to represent any thing abominable, they +paint the Devil: let us, therefore, in revenge, when we wish to +represent any thing infamous, depict man; and philosophers, +popes, priests, conquerors, ministers, and authors, shall serve +us as models.”</p> +<h2>Footnotes:</h2> +<p><a name="footnote134"></a><a href="#citation134" +class="footnote">[134]</a> It is not out of fear that I +refrain from giving the names of the German princes who appear in +this work, but because, having discovered the secret springs of +their actions, I should too often have to contradict their lying, +flattering, ignorant historians; and men who willingly allow +themselves to be deceived, might perhaps doubt the truth of my +assertions. Hercules himself could not clear away all the +ordure which these historians have heaped +up.—<i>Original</i>.</p> +<p><a name="footnote249"></a><a href="#citation249" +class="footnote">[249]</a> See <i>Taxæ Cancellariæ +Apostolicæ</i>, &c., printed at Rome and Paris.</p> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAUSTUS***</p> +<pre> + + +***** This file should be named 25468-h.htm or 25468-h.zip****** + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/4/6/25468 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Faustus + his Life, Death, and Doom + + +Author: Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger + + + +Release Date: May 14, 2008 [eBook #25468] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAUSTUS*** + + +Transcribed from the 1864 W. Kent and Co. edition by David Price, email +ccx074@pglaf.org + + + + + +FAUSTUS: +HIS +LIFE, DEATH, AND DOOM. + + + A ROMANCE IN PROSE. + + Translated from the German. + + "Speed thee, speed thee, + Liberty lead thee, + Many this night shall hearken and heed thee. + Far abroad, + Demi-god, + Who shall appal thee! + Javal, or devil, or what else we call thee." + + LONDON: + W. KENT AND CO., PATERNOSTER-ROW. + 1864. + + LONDON: + ROBSON AND LEVEY, PRINTERS, GREAT NEW STREET, + FETTER LANE. + + + + +THE TRANSLATOR TO THE PUBLIC. + + +The publication of the present volume may at first sight appear to +require some brief explanation from the Translator, inasmuch as the +character of the incidents may justify such an expectation on the part of +the reader. It is therefore necessary to state, that although strange +scenes of vice and crime are here exhibited, it is in the hope that they +may serve as beacons, to guide the ignorant and unwary from the shoals on +which they might otherwise be wrecked. + +The work, when considered as a whole, is strictly moral. The Catholic +priest is not praised for burning his fellow-creature at an _auto-da-fe_, +and for wallowing in licentiousness; nor is the Calvinist commended for +his unrelenting malignity to all those whose tenets are different from +his own, and for crying down the most innocent pleasures and relaxations +which a bountiful and just God has been pleased to place within the reach +of his earthly children. + +The tyrant and the oppressor of mankind will here find himself depicted +in his proper colours. + +Neither will the _champions of freedom_ pass the fiery ordeal with feet +unseared; since a glorious specimen of what they all are will be found +among the following pages. Ye who with ever-open mouths are constantly +clamouring at whatever is established, whether it be beneficial to the +human race or injurious, will here find the motives for your conduct +pointed out and held up to contempt and execration. + +But, above all, this work contains the following highly useful advice: + +Let every one bear his lot with patience, and not seek, at the expense of +his repose, to penetrate into those secrets which the spirit of man, +while dressed in the garb of mortality, cannot and must not unveil. Let +every one bridle those emotions which the strange and frequently +revolting phenomena of the moral world may cause to arise in his bosom, +and beware of deciding upon them; for He alone who has power to check or +permit them, can know how and why they happen, whither they tend, and +what will be their ultimate consequence. To the mind of man all is dark; +he is an enigma to himself: let him live, therefore, in the hope of once +seeing clearly; and happy indeed is he who in this manner passes his +days. + +The present translation, it should be added, has been executed with as +much fidelity to the original as the difference of the two languages, and +other considerations, would allow. + + + + +CONTENTS. + CHAPTER I. 1 +Ambitious Character of +Faustus--His Discovery of +Printing--Journey to +Frankfort--The Devil, the White +Nun, and Father Gebhardt of +Mayence--Faustus offers his Bible +to the Council of Frankfort--His +first Interview with a +Spirit--The Infernal +Banquet--Speech of +Satan--Allegorical Entertainments +of Leviathan--Faustus's Dialogue +with the Devil + CHAPTER II. 60 +Leviathan meets Faustus at an Inn +at Frankfort--Assembling of the +Council, and Discussion on +Faustus's Bible--Corporation +Squabbles--Leviathan and Faustus +invited to a grand Civic +Entertainment--Faustus presents +his Bible to the City--His +Introduction to the +Mayoress--Knighthood of the +Mayor--The Devil's Revenge on the +Corrupt Corporation--The Hermit +of Homburg--A Lesson to +Misanthropists--The Hermit and +the lovely Pilgrim--His Hut burnt +by Leviathan, and he perishes in +the Flames--Faustus returns to +his Wife and Family at +Mayence--Espouses the Cause of a +despairing Client, and corrupts +the Judge--Dispute about the Nun +Clara--Leviathan's Revenge on the +avaricious Judge--Faustus's +Adventure with Clara--Takes leave +of his Family--Rescues a Youth +from Drowning + CHAPTER III. 116 +The Devil and Faustus continue +their Journey on the Banks of the +Fulda--The oppressive +Prince-Bishop--Faustus's +Interview with the +Bishop--Clerical Luxury--Case of +Dr. Robertus, the Protector of +the People--Faustus espouses his +Cause, and liberates the +"Patriot"--The Devil and Faustus +visit the Court of the Prince of +---.--The betrayed Minister and +his Daughter--The Devil and +Faustus imprisoned--The Fiend +suffocates the Prince, and, with +Faustus, resumes his Journey--The +Wildgrave and burning +Village--The infatuated +Monk--School of +Physiognomy--Faustus and the +Virgin Student--The Devil's +Peep-show, and its Talismanic +Influence--Portrait of the Fiend + CHAPTER IV. 181 +France in the Reign of Louis +XI.--Interview of the Devil and +Faustus with Father Vesois--Loves +of Madame de Monserau--Faustus +and the French Widow--The Fatal +Supper--Arrival of Faustus and +the Devil at Paris--Execution of +the Duke of Nemours--Faustus and +the avaricious +Father--Infanticide +recommended--Horrible Death of +the Miser, and Ruin of his +Daughter--Trial of a humane +Surgeon, and ungrateful +Murderer--Anatomical +Cruelties--Prisons of +Paris--Bishop of Verdun's +Cages--Perillus, the Tyrant +Phalaris, and the Brazen +Bull--Atrocious Character of +Louis XI.--The Hermit of +Calabria--Faustus and the Devil +visit England--Cruelties of +Richard, Duke of Gloucester--The +Devil's Portraiture of the +English Character--Arrival of +Faustus and the Fiend at +Milan--Murder of the Duke Galeas +Sforza--Florence--Spanish +Auto-da-Fe--Pope Alexander +VI.--Combat of a Papal General +with one of his Officers for a +White Goat--Machinations of the +Pope--Ancient and Modern Rome, +and her Abominations--Cardinal +Caesar Borgia--Licentious +Entertainments at the +Vatican--The Pope and his +Illegitimates--Caesar Borgia and +Michelotto--Stratagem to depose +his Brother Francisco--Murder of +the latter--Faustus and the +lovely Lucretia--Vanity of Human +Philosophy, and Sophistry of its +Professors--Atrocious Plots and +Excesses of Pope Alexander--His +Sale of Indulgences--Amended +Catalogue, with increased +Prices--Murder of Alphonso of +Arragon--Caesar Borgia's Letter +to the Pope--Cardinal +Orsini--Borgia's Triumphal Entry +into Rome--Marriage of +Lucretia--Gross Festivities--The +Devil's Apostrophe +thereon--Descent of the Pope into +Hell, and Death of Caesar Borgia + CHAPTER V. 261 +Faustus's Consolation for his +Crimes--Philosophy of +Voltaire--Faustus's portentous +Dream--Apparition of his +Father--Baseness and Ingratitude +of Man--Flight of the Devil and +Faustus to Mayence--Death of his +Son, and Destruction of his +Family--Retrospect of his +criminal Career--Accursed Destiny +of Faustus, and Triumph of the +Devil--Descent of Faustus into +Hell + CHAPTER I. + + +Faustus, having long struggled with the shadows of Theology, the bubbles +of Metaphysics, and the _ignes-fatui_ of Morality, without being able to +bring his mind to a firm conviction, at length cast himself into the dark +fields of Magic, in the hope of forcing from Nature what she had so +obstinately withheld from him. His first attainment was the remarkable +invention of Printing; but his second was horrible. He discovered, +almost fortuitously, the dreadful formula by which devils are called out +of hell, and made subservient to the will of man. But as yet he had not +exerted his power, out of love to his immortal soul, for whose welfare +every Christian is so anxious. At this period he was in the full bloom +of manhood. Nature had favoured him in his person, and had given him a +noble and expressive countenance. Here was enough to bespeak his +happiness in the world; but she superadded pride and untamable +impetuosity of mind, which displayed itself in deep determination of +purpose, and in the constant workings of a heated imagination, which was +never satisfied with the present, but affected to discover the emptiness +and insufficiency of the acquired object, even in the zest of its +enjoyment. + +Faustus soon lost the path by which moderation leads frail mortals to the +abode of true happiness. He soon felt the narrow limits of humanity, and +endeavoured to burst their bonds. By what he had learnt and believed in +his youth, he entertained a high opinion of the capacity and moral worth +of man; and, in comparing himself with others, he naturally laid the +greatest part of the sum-total to his own account. Here were fine +materials for greatness and glory: but true greatness and true glory +generally fly from him who is on the point of attaining them, just before +he can separate their fine pure forms from the mist and vapour which +delusion has shed round them. It appeared to Faustus that, in his +situation, the nearest and most convenient way to honour and reputation +would be the sciences; yet scarcely had he tasted their enchantment when +his soul became inflamed with an ardent passion after truth. Every one +who is acquainted with these sirens, and has heard their deceitful song, +must know that, provided he does not make a mere trade of them, he must +infallibly miss his aim, from the necessity of assuaging the burning +thirst with which they inspire him. Faustus, after he had for a long +time groped about in the labyrinth, found that his earnings were doubt; +displeasure at the short-sightedness of man; and discontent and murmuring +against the Being who had formed him. He might still have been +comparatively happy had he had only these feelings to combat: but when +the perusal of the sages and the poets awakened a thousand new wants in +his soul, and his now winged and artificial imagination conjured up +before his eyes the many intoxicating enjoyments which gold and +reputation could only procure him, his blood ran like fire through his +veins, and all his faculties were soon swallowed up by this sensation. + +By the discovery of Printing, Faustus thought he had at length opened the +door to riches, honour, and enjoyment. He exerted himself to the utmost, +in order to bring the art to perfection, and he now laid his discovery +before mankind; but their lukewarmness quickly convinced him that, +although the greatest inventor of his age, he and his family would soon +perish with hunger unless his genius continually displayed itself in some +new forms. Hurled from the pinnacle of hope, oppressed by heavy +debts,--which he had incurred by generosity and extravagant living, and +by his becoming security for false friends,--he now surveyed the world +through a gloomy medium. His domestic ties, when he no longer knew how +to support his family, became an intolerable burden. He began to think +that there was a malign influence in the distribution of men's fortunes: +or how did it happen that the noble and intellectual man was every where +oppressed, neglected, and in misery; whilst the knave and the fool were +rich, prosperous, and honoured in life? + +In this melancholy state of mind Faustus wandered from Mayence to +Frankfort, intending to sell one of his printed Latin Bibles to the +magistracy, and then to return and buy with the produce food for his +hungry children. He had been able to accomplish nothing in his native +city, because at that time the Archbishop was at war with the whole +Chapter, and all Mayence found itself in the greatest confusion. The +cause was as follows: a Dominican monk had dreamt that he passed the +night with his penitent, the lovely Clara, who was a white nun, and a +niece of the Archbishop. In the morning it was his turn to read mass; he +did so, and, unabsolved from the night of sin, received the host in his +profane hands. At eve-tide, after a cup or two of Rhenish, he related +his dream to a young novice. The dream tickled the imagination of the +novice: he told it with some additions to a monk; and in this manner the +story, embellished with horrors and licentiousness, ran through the +convent, until it came to the ears of the Prior himself. This holy man, +who hated Father Gebhardt on account of his intimacy with the most +respectable houses, was shocked at the scandalousness of the affair, +which he considered as a profanation of the holy sacrament; and, refusing +to decide on such a weighty matter, he referred it to the Archbishop. +The Archbishop, wisely concluding that whatever sinful man wishes or +thinks by day he dreams of by night, denounced the ban of the Church +against the monk. The Chapter, whose hatred to an Archbishop always +increases the longer he lives, and gladly seizes every opportunity to +annoy him, took Father Gerhardt under its protection, and opposed the ban +on these grounds: "It is well known that the Devil tempted St. Anthony +with the most licentious representations and voluptuous enticements; and +if the Devil dared to act so with a saint, whose equal was not to be +found in the calendar, what should prevent him from playing off his +pranks with a Dominican? We must therefore advise the monk to follow the +example of the holy Anthony, and, like him, to oppose the temptations of +the fiend with the weapons of prayer and fasting. It is, however, much +to be lamented, that Satan should have so little respect for the +Archbishop as to make the instrument of his wiles assume the figure of +one of his reverence's family." The Chapter conducted itself in this +case exactly in the same manner as hereditary princes do whose fathers +live too long. But what served more completely to confuse the case was a +report from the nunnery. The nuns had assembled in the refectory, and +were busied in dressing up a Madonna for the next festival, hoping to +surpass by its magnificence their rivals the black nuns, when suddenly +the old porteress entered, told the licentious story, and added, that the +Dominican, whose name she had forgot, would certainly be burnt alive, for +that the Chapter had even then assembled for the purpose of trying him. +Whilst the porteress was relating the tale with its various +circumstances, the faces of the young nuns were violently flushed, and +Sin, who never loses an opportunity of corrupting innocent hearts, shot +into their blood, and hastily pictured the dangerous scene to their +imaginations. Fury and consternation, in the mean time, deformed the +features of the old ones. The abbess trembled and leaned on her staff, +while the spectacles fell from her face. But when the porteress added, +that it was the sister Clara whom the fiend had brought to the Dominican +in his dream, a dreadful shriek filled the whole hall. Clara alone +remained tranquil, and when the uproar had ceased, she said, smiling: +"Dear sisters, why do you shriek so fearfully? I myself dreamt that I +passed the night with Father Gebhardt, my confessor; and if it was the +work of the fiend" (here she and all the rest made the sign of the +cross), "why, we must give him the discipline." "The Father Gebhardt!" +cried the porteress; "now, all ye saints and angels, that is the very +person who dreamt of you; that is he whom they are about to burn." The +porteress having thus expressed herself, this second version of the dream +was immediately circulated through the city. The Madonna was allowed to +remain naked, for the sisters cared now very little if the black nuns +bore away the palm. The abbess did all in her power to spread the news +abroad, the housekeeper followed her example, the porteress harangued an +audience beneath the gateway, and Clara candidly replied to the yet more +candid questions of her companions. The last trumpet could not have +diffused in Mayence more terror and confusion than did this extraordinary +tale. + +No sooner did the Dominican prior hear of this accident than he ran to +the assembled Chapter, and gave, by his information, a new turn to the +affair. The Archbishop would willingly have suppressed the whole +business; but it was now time for the Chapter to take it up, and all the +canons were unanimously of opinion, that so strange a circumstance ought +to be communicated to the Holy Father at Rome. They now became +infuriated, and nothing but the midday bell had power to separate them. +From that moment, all Mayence, clergy and laity, divided into two +parties; and for many years nothing was heard, spoken, or dreamt of, but +the Devil, the white nun, and Father Gebhardt. The matter was argued +from the pulpit of every sect: mountebanks, Capuchins, and dog-doctors, +made it their theme; while the lawyers, after having taken the +depositions of the nun and the father, and confronted them with each +other, wrote folio volumes concerning the sinful and unsinful chances of +the dream. Was this a time for Faustus and his discoveries to succeed? + +In Frankfort, which is at the present day the asylum of science, Faustus, +however, hoped for better fortune. He offered his Bible to the reverend +Town Council for two hundred gold guilders; but, as a large sum had just +been expended in purchasing five hogsheads of prime Rhenish for the +council cellar, his demand came rather unseasonably. He paid his court +to the town-clerk, to the speaker, and to the senators,--from the proud +patrician to the yet prouder head of the shoemaker guild. He was +promised by all favour, protection, and assistance. + +At length he attached himself to the then presiding mayor, from whom he +for a long time gained nothing; but, as if in recompense, the +lady-mayoress kindled a violent passion in his susceptible heart. One +evening the mayor assured him that the council, on their next day of +meeting, would come to a determination, by virtue of which the assembled +members would most probably pay down the sum for the Bible. Faustus +replied, that his children might very possibly die of hunger before so +enlightened an assembly had decided; and, maddened with despair, he now +returned to his solitary apartment. In this moment he suddenly +recollected his magic formula. The thought of running some bold risk, +and of purchasing independence of man by an alliance with the Devil, +rushed more vividly than ever through his brain. Yet the idea terrified +him. With hasty steps, furious gestures, and fearful cries, he strode up +and down the chamber, struggling with his rebellious spirit, which urged +him to penetrate the surrounding darkness; still his soul shuddered and +was unresolved. The clock struck eleven from the neighbouring tower. +Black night hung about the earth. The north-wind howled, and clouds +obscured the face of the full moon. Nature now appeared in a second +chaos. A night more suited to bewilder an excited imagination could not +be conceived. Yet was the beam of his mind balanced. In one scale hung +religion and its firm supporter--the hope of immortality; while thirst +for independence and knowledge, pride, pleasure, malevolence, and +bitterness filled the other. + +At length Faustus, according to the custom of magic, drew the horrible +circle which was for ever to remove him from the providential care of the +Omnipotent, and from the sweet ties of humanity. His eyes sparkled, his +heart beat louder, and his yellow tresses stood erect on his head. At +this moment he thought he saw his aged father and his blooming wife and +children wring their hands in despair, and fall down upon their knees to +pray for him to that Being whom he was about to renounce. "It is their +misery, it is their situation, that maddens me," he wildly shrieked, and +stamped on the ground with his foot. He now became enraged at the +weakness of his heart, and advanced towards the circle; the storm rattled +against the windows, the foundation of the house trembled: a noble +angelic figure appeared before him, exclaiming, "Stay, Faustus!" and the +following colloquy ensued: + +_Faustus_. Who art thou, that disturbest my daring work? + +_Figure_. I am the Genius of Man, and will save thee, if thou art to be +saved. + +_Faustus_. What canst thou give me to assuage my thirst for knowledge, +and my desire for freedom and enjoyment? + +_Figure_. Humility, resignation in suffering, content, and a proper +estimation of thyself; above all, an easy death, and light in the world +to come. + +_Faustus_. Begone, vision of my heated fancy! I know thee by the +cunning with which thou wouldst deceive the wretches whom thou hast made +subservient to power. Begone, and hover around the brows of the beggar, +of the monk, of the debased slave, and of all those who have their hearts +fettered by unnatural bonds; and who keep their senses locked up, in +order to escape from the claws of despair. The powers of my soul require +room, and let Him who has given me it answer for its workings. + +"Farewell, unhappy man," sighed the Genius, and disappeared. + +Faustus cried, "Am I to be frightened on the very brink of hell by +nursery-tales? But they shall not prevent me from piercing the darkness; +I will know what the gloomy curtain conceals, which a tyrannical hand has +drawn before our eyes. And who is to blame, I repeat? Was it I that +formed myself so that trifling exertion exhausts my strength? Did I +plant in my bosom the seeds of passion? Did I place there that impulse +for aggrandisement which never lets me rest? Did I fashion my soul, so +that it will not submit, and will not bear contempt? Perhaps I am like +the earthen pot, which, formed by a strange hand, is broken into pieces, +because it does not hit the fancy of the maker, and because it does not +answer the use for which it appears to have been designed. Alas! I am a +mere vessel; yet wherefore then this struggle with my destiny, which +would fetter my noblest resolves? And was mind given for no purpose? +Surely not! The bull trusts in his horns, and the stag in his swiftness +to escape from the hunter; and is that which so eminently distinguishes +man less his own? Mind I possess; I employed it for the benefit of my +fellow-men, and neglect was my reward; perhaps the devils will respect it +more." + +Here he sprung furiously into the circle; while the lamentations of his +wife, father, and children seemed to echo, in the deep tones of despair, +"Lost! for ever lost!" + +Satan, ruler of hell, had, by the hoarse sound of his trumpets, which +echoed even to the glowing sides of the sun, announced to all the fallen +spirits dispersed through the upper and lower world, that he intended on +this day to give a great festival. The spirits assembled at the mighty +call. Even his envoys at the papal stool, and at the different courts of +Europe, forsook their posts; for the invitation led them to expect +something great and important. + +Already the monstrous vaults of hell resounded with the wild cries of the +fiendish populace, while myriads seated themselves upon the scorched +ground. The princes then stepped forth, and commanded silence to the +multitude, whilst Satan heard the intelligence brought by his envoys from +the upper world. The devils obeyed, and a death-like stillness prevailed +amid the thick, misty darkness, interrupted only by the groans of the +damned. In the mean time the slaves of the fiends--shades who are +neither worthy of happiness nor damnation--prepared the immeasurable +tables for the banquet; and they deserved to be under the thraldom of +such a task. When they were yet in flesh and blood, and ate the fruits +of the earth, they were of that equivocal kind, who seem the friends of +all men and yet are the friends of none; whose tongues continually +prattle of the noble precepts of virtue, which they feel not in their +hearts; who only abstain from evil because it is accompanied by danger, +and from doing good because it requires courage and self-denial; who +traffic with religion, and, like avaricious Jews, lay out their capital +at interest, for the purpose of securing a comfortable berth for their +miserable souls; and who worship God from fear, and tremble before Him +like slaves. + +The devils, who, to say the truth, are no better masters than the Polish, +Livonian, and Hungarian nobility, drove them about in hell at a furious +rate. Others were sweating in the infernal kitchen, and cooking the meal +for their haughty lords--an unpleasant service for a soul which had once +supported its own human body by eating and drinking. For although the +devils originally neither ate nor drank, yet they had learnt from men the +custom of celebrating every solemnity by means of the glass and platter; +and on such occasions they feast on souls. The general of each legion +(for hell is arranged on a military footing, and in this respect +resembles every despotic government, or rather every despotic government +in this respect resembles hell) chooses a certain number of damned souls, +as food for his subalterns. These are delivered over to the slaves, who +stew, broil, and baste them with infernal sauce. It frequently happens +that these wretches have to stick their own wives, daughters, fathers, +sons, or brothers upon the spits, and to keep up the purgatorial fire +beneath them; a truly horrible and tragic employment, rendered yet more +so, since their overseer, a capricious devil, like all understrappers of +great lords, stands behind them with a whip in order to expedite the +work. On the present occasion two popes, a conqueror, a celebrated +philosopher, and a recently canonised saint, were intended to feast the +palates of Satan, his viziers, and his favourites. Abundance of fresh +victuals had just arrived for the common people. The pope had a little +time before set by the ears two armies of French, Italians, Spaniards, +and Germans, in order to fish up in the tumult certain districts, to add +to the patrimony of St. Peter. They fought like heroes, and fell by +thousands into the infernal regions. What happiness would it be for the +souls intended for these devilish repasts, if they were thereby to find +an end to their torments! But no sooner are they swallowed, digested, +and returned piecemeal into the pools of hell than they are regenerated, +and arise to become the patients of new suffering. + +While these victims were writhing on the spits, the cellarers and +butlers, slaves of the above-mentioned order, decked out the sideboards. +The flasks were filled with tears of hypocrites, of would-be saints, of +pretenders to sensibility, and of persons who repent from weakness of +soul; with tears which envy squeezes out on hearing of another's +prosperity; with tears of egotists who weep for joy because they +themselves have escaped the misfortunes by which others are overwhelmed; +and of sons who weep over the palls of their harsh and avaricious +fathers. The flasks on the supper-table were filled with the tears of +priests, who, like actors, play a part in the pulpit, in order to move +their auditors; and to give the liquor a sharper flavour, it was mingled +with tears of courtesans, who walk the streets weeping for hunger, until +some inexperienced youth barters his dollar with them for sin. Reserved +for Satan and his princes stood, on various sideboards, flasks of the +noblest drink. This was heady and foaming, being a mixture of the tears +of monarchs, who weep for the misery of their subjects, whilst they issue +commands only calculated to perpetuate it; of the tears of maidens who +weep for the loss of their chastity with streaming eyes; and of the tears +of favourites who have fallen into disgrace, and now weep because they +can no longer rob and oppress under the protection of their masters. + +No sooner had the slaves decked the table, and stationed themselves +behind the chairs of their masters, than the grandees poured forth from +the chambers of Satan. The furies went foremost; the body-guards +followed them, and were succeeded by the chamberlains. Then came pages +bearing lighted torches, woven out of the souls of monks who entrap +wives, and press round the deathbed of husbands to force them to leave +their property to the Church, without reflecting that their own +illegitimate spawn must beg for bread through the land. Then came Satan +himself, closely followed by the remaining nobility of his court, +according to their rank and favour. The devils bowed their heads in +reverence, the pages placed the torches upon the table of their +sovereign; while Satan, with a triumphant air, mounted his high throne, +and delivered the following speech: + +"Princes, potentates, immortal spirits, welcome! thrice welcome! +Rapturous emotions glow through me when I cast my eyes along your +squadrons of countless heroes. We are yet what we were when, for the +first time, we awoke in this pool from the stunning consequences of our +fall, and for the first time assembled here. Only one feeling still +rules,--unanimity alone maintains her sway, and in this place only do all +devote themselves to the same end. He who has the happiness of +commanding you may easily forget all other glory. I own we have +suffered, and still suffer, much, especially since the full exercise of +our powers is restrained. But in the feeling of the vengeance which we +take on the sons of dust,--in the contemplation of their madness and +crimes, by which they continually thwart the purposes of their +being,--lies a recompense for our suffering. Welcome, thrice welcome, +all ye whom this sentiment inflames. + +"Hear now the occasion of the festival which I intend this day to +celebrate with you. Faustus, a daring mortal, who, like us, is at war +with the Eternal, and who, through the strength of his spirit, may at +some future period be deemed worthy to dwell along with us here, has +discovered the art of multiplying, on an easy principle, a thousand and a +thousandfold, those things denominated books,--those dangerous toys of +men,--those vehicles of delusion, of error, of lies, and of +horror,--those sources of pride and of painful doubt. Until now they +have been too costly, and only in the hands of the rich, whom they filled +with fancies, and from whom they chased that humility which God had for +their happiness infused into their hearts. Triumph! Soon will the +poison of knowledge and inquiry be communicated to all classes. New +cravings, new wants, will arise; and I doubt whether my enormous kingdom +will be able to contain all those who will destroy themselves by this +delicious poison. But this were only a slight victory: my eye pierces +deeper into that distant period, which is to us no more than an hour is +to man. Soon will cavillers and haters of the established Church spread +about like the plague: pretended reformers of heaven and earth will +arise, and their doctrines, from the facility of communication, will +penetrate even into the hut of the beggar. They will think to do good, +and to purify the object of their hope from falsehood. But, if men begin +well, how long do they continue to act so! Sin is not more inseparable +from them than are ill consequences from their noblest pursuits. The +well-beloved people of God, whom he endeavoured to snatch from evil by +the sacrifice of his only Son, will quarrel about tenets which no one +understands, and will tear each other to pieces like wild-beasts. +Horrible atrocities, surpassing all the abominations perpetrated by men +since they first sprung into existence, will desolate unhappy Europe. My +hopes appear to you too bold,--I read it in your doubting countenances; +but listen to me whilst I explain. Religious disagreements will give +rise to these frenzies. Then first will Fanaticism, the wild son of +Hatred and Superstition, untie all the bonds of nature and humanity. The +father will murder the son, and the son the father; kings will joyfully +dip their fingers in the blood of their subjects, and place the sword in +the hands of bigots, in order that they may slaughter their brothers by +thousands, because their opinions are different. Then will the water of +the rivers turn into streams of blood, and the shrieks of the murdered +will shake hell to its very centre. We shall see wretches come down to +us stained with crimes for which we have had hitherto neither names nor +punishments. Already do I see them attack the papal chair, which keeps +together the fragile fabric through treachery and deceit, whilst it +undermines itself through crime and luxury. The great props of the +religion which we dread give way; and, if the sinking structure be not +sustained by means of new miracles, it will disappear from the face of +the earth, and we shall once more shine in the temples as worshiped +divinities. Where will the spirit of man stop, when he has once +undertaken to illumine that which he formerly honoured as a mystery? He +will dance on the grave of the tyrant, at whose frown he the day before +trembled. He will break to pieces the altar on which he lately +sacrificed, if he once endeavour to find the way to heaven by his own +wisdom. Will the Creator take home to himself a human being, who is not +a million times more allied to us than to him? Man abuses every thing, +even the strength of his soul as well as of his body. He abuses all that +he sees, hears, feels, or thinks; and all with which he trifles, or with +which he is seriously engaged. Not content with deforming whatever he +can seize with his hands, he soars upon the wings of imagination into +worlds to him unknown, and arrays them in ideal deformity. Even freedom, +the noblest of his treasures, to obtain which he has shed rivers of +blood, he readily sells for gold and pleasure, before he has tasted its +sweets. Incapable of good, he yet trembles at evil, he heaps horror upon +horror to escape it, and then destroys his own handiwork. + +"After the bloodshed of war, mankind, wearied with slaughter, will take a +few moments' repose, and then their venomous hatred will be displayed in +petty and private bickerings. Some, indeed, will every now and then +raise piles of wood and fagot, and burn those alive who disagree with +them in religion; others will attempt the solution of inexplicable +riddles; and those born for darkness will dare to struggle for light; +their imaginations will become inflamed, and their desires insatiable. +Truth, simplicity, and religion will be trodden under foot, for the sake +of writing a book. Yes, yes, book-writing will become a universal +employment, by which fools and men of genius will alike seek fame and +emolument; caring very little whether they confuse the heads of their +fellow-creatures, and hurl firebrands into the hearts of the innocent. +The heaven, the earth, the secret strength of nature, the dark causes of +her phenomena, the power which rules the stars and bowls the comets +through space,--every thing visible and invisible,--they will wish to +handle, measure, and dive into. They will invent, for all that is +incomprehensible, words and numbers; and heap system upon system, till +they have brought deeper darkness upon the earth, through which doubt, +like the fen-fire, will only shine to allure the wanderer into the +morass. Only then will they think to see clearly, and then I expect +them. After they have shovelled away religion, and are forced, out of +the remains, to patch together a new and monstrous mixture of human +wisdom and superstition, then I expect them. And then open wide the +gates of hell, that the race of man may enter. The first step is already +taken; the second is near. But this must be preceded by a horrible +revolution upon the face of the earth. Soon will the inhabitants of the +old world emigrate, for the purpose of discovering new, and to them +unknown, regions of the globe. They will there attack and slaughter +millions, to possess themselves of that gold which the innocents value +not. They will fill this new world with all their crimes, and then +return with materials for corrupting even the old one. Thus will nations +become our prey, whom till now innocence and ignorance have protected +from us. And thus shall we, by the assistance of the favourites of +heaven, triumph. + +"This, then, O potentates! is what I wished to communicate to you; and +now rejoice with me over this mighty day, and enjoy in anticipation the +victory which I, who know men, promise you. Long live Faustus!" + +With horrible uproar, which made the axis of the earth tremble, and the +bones of the dead rattle in their coffins, the devils shouted, "Long live +Faustus!" "Long live the corrupter of the sons of dust!" Hereupon the +chief nobility of the kingdom were permitted to kiss the hand of his +Satanic majesty. + +The triumphant devils now sat down to table, and fell upon the prepared +meal. The goblets clattered, the souls were craunched between their iron +teeth; and they drank the health of Satan, of Faustus, of the clergy, of +the tyrants of the earth, and of future and living authors, amidst the +clang of hellish artillery. In order to render the banquet more +magnificent, the masters of the revels went to the pools, drew out the +burning souls, and chased them over the tables, to illumine the gloomy +scene; while they ran behind the wretches with poisoned whips, forcing +them to caper; and sparks ascended to the blackened roofs, crackling like +wheat-sheaves ignited by lightning in an autumn storm. That the devils +might have music to their meat, others hastened to the pools, and poured +molten metal amid the flames, so that the damned howled and cursed in +grisly despair. If priests now could, instead of their cold and +fruitless sermons about penitence, give a specimen upon earth of these +horrid cries, sinners would quickly turn a deaf ear to the voluptuous +warblings of castrati, and join in some pious psalm: but, alas, hell is +distant, and pleasure close at hand. After the banquet a great stage was +erected, and various plays were performed, founded on the heroic deeds of +Satan; for example, the Fall of Man, the Betrayal of Judas Iscariot, &c. + +The performance was then suddenly changed to an allegorical ballet. The +scene was a wild and dreary spot. In a dark cavern sat Metaphysics, in +the shape of an Egyptian mummy, whose eyes were fixed upon five +glittering words, which flitted continually backwards and forwards, and +at each change had a different import. The mummy ceased not to follow +them with its stony eyes; while in a corner stood a little roguish devil, +who incessantly blew bubbles of air into its face. Pride, the amanuensis +of Metaphysics, gathered the bubbles up as they fell, pressed the air +out, and kneaded them into hypotheses. The mummy was clothed in an +Egyptian waistcoat, embroidered with mystic characters. Over this it +wore a Grecian mantle, which ought to have concealed the characters, but +was much too short and too narrow for that purpose. Its legs, thighs, +and body, were cased in long loose drawers, which did not, however, +entirely conceal its nakedness. A huge doctorial hat covered its bald +head, which was marked with the scratches worn by its long nails in +provoking deep reflection. Its shoes were made after the European +fashion, and sprinkled with the finest dust of the schools and +universities. After it had gazed a considerable time on the moving +words, without being able to understand them, its attendant, Pride, gave +the wink to Delusion, who was walking near. He seized a wooden trumpet, +and sounded a dance. No sooner did the mummy hear the noise than it took +Pride by the hand, and danced about with antic gambols; but its thin +withered legs could not bear this long, and it soon sunk breathless into +its former posture. + +Then came forward Morality, a fine female form, hooded in a veil, which, +chameleon-like, sported all colours. She held Virtue and Vice by the +hands, and danced a trio with them. For music, a naked savage played +upon an oaten pipe, a European philosopher scraped the fiddle, while an +Asiatic beat the drum; and although these contradictory tones would have +distracted an harmonious ear, yet the dancers did not once lose the +step,--so well had they learnt their parts. When the maiden gave Vice +her hand, she coquetted and languished significantly before him; but when +she gave it to Virtue, she moved along with the modest gait of a matron. +After the dance, she reposed upon a thin, transparent, and +beautifully-painted cloud, which her admirers had woven out of various +shreds and remnants. + +Next appeared nude Poetry: she danced with Sensuality a characteristic +dance, to which Imagination played the flute d'amour. + +History then advanced upon the stage. Before her went Fame, with a long +brazen trumpet. She herself was hung round with stories of murders, +poisonings, perjuries, conspiracies, and other horrors. Behind her +panted, beneath a prodigious load of chronicles, diplomas, and documents, +a strong nervous man, clothed in the German fashion. She danced with +Slavery, to the rustling of the stories with which she was hung. +Falsehood at length took the trumpet from the mouth of Fame, and tuned it +to the dance; and Flattery led the figures. + +Then appeared Medicine and Quackery, and were received with loud +laughter: they danced a minuet, to which Death clinked the music with a +purse of gold. + +After them were seen Astrology, Cabala, Theosophy, and Mysticism. They +grasped each other by the hands, and whirled around in intricate figures; +while Superstition, Delusion, and Fraud stood near, and blew the +bagpipes. + +These were followed by Jurisprudence, a sleek, rosy-faced dame, fed with +fees, and hung about with commentaries--she coughed through a tedious +solo; and Chicanery played the bass-viol. + +Last of all entered Policy, in a triumphant car drawn by two mares, +Weakness and Deceit. On her right sat Theology, holding in one hand a +sharp-pointed dagger, and in the other a blazing torch. Policy herself +wore a golden crown upon her head, and supported a sceptre over her right +shoulder. She descended from the car, and danced with Theology a +pas-de-deux, to which Cunning, Ambition, and Tyranny played on soft +tinkling instruments. After she had finished the pas-de-deux, she made +all the other figures a sign to begin a general dance. They immediately +obeyed, and sprang about in wild confusion. All the before-mentioned +musicians played on their instruments, and raised a din, only surpassed +in loudness by the table-music of Satan. Yet Contention soon insinuated +herself among the unsuspicious dancers; and, animated by Zeal and Fury, +they hastily snatched up weapons. When Theology perceived that all +embraced delightful Poetry, and that Morality wished to tear off her own +veil, in order to cover her with it, she gave the latter a thrust with a +poniard from behind, and singed the nude and tender Poetry with her +flaming torch. Both raised a dreadful shriek: Policy commanded silence, +and Quackery hastened to bind up the wound of Morality, whilst Medicine +cut a shred from her robe in payment. Death stretched out his claw from +under the mantle of thievish Medicine to seize Morality, but Policy gave +him such a blow that he yelled aloud, and grinned most hideously. Poetry +was allowed to hop about, because she was naked, and had nothing to be +despoiled of. At length History took pity on her, and laid upon the burn +a wet leaf from a sentimental romance. Policy then tied them all behind +her chariot, and drove away in triumph. + +All hell expressed approbation of this last spectacle by reiterated +clappings; and Satan embraced the devil Leviathan for having got up the +entertainment, which flattered him exceedingly, it being one of his chief +whims to be reckoned by the fiends as the inventor of the sciences. He +often said, in his pride, that he had begotten them in his intercourse +with the daughters of earth, in order to divert men from the +straightforward and noble feelings of their hearts; to remove from their +eyes the mystic veil which constitutes their happiness; to make them +acquainted with their state of restriction and weakness; and to fill them +with painful doubt concerning their after destination. "I taught them," +he would continue, "by their means, to reason, so that they might forget +to practise virtue, and to worship. We ourselves have defied Heaven with +bold and open weapons, and I have at least shown them the way of +skirmishing incessantly with the Eternal." + +The sensible reader will here pause, and admire the strict resemblance of +all courts to each other: that is, how the great, through the service, +toil, and sweat of the little, win the favour of their sovereigns, and +bear away the rewards. Leviathan gave himself out as the inventor of +this allegorical ballet, and was on that account thanked and caressed, +although the real author of it was the Bavarian Poet Laureate, who a +short time before had died of hunger, and found his way to hell. He +prepared the ballet after the latest court-fashion, by the command of +Prince Leviathan, who had at least talent enough to discover merit: the +reason of his bitter allusions to the sciences was, probably, because +they had so ill supported him; and perhaps Leviathan, who knew perfectly +well what would please Satan, had given him a hint to that effect. Be +this as it may, the devil had the reward, and the thin shade of the +Bavarian Laureate sat cowering behind a rock of the theatre, and observed +with bitterest agony the marks of unmerited favour which Satan had +lavished on Leviathan. + +The half-intoxicated devils now became so clamorous as nearly to drown +the howls of the damned; when suddenly the powerful voice of Faustus +echoed from the upper world through hell. He had at length surmounted +every obstacle, and now summoned before him one of the first princes of +the kingdom of darkness. + +Satan started up in ecstasy: "It is Faustus who calls there. No one else +has the power; and no one else, if he had such power, would dare to knock +so loudly against the iron portals. Up! up! a man like him is worth a +thousand of the scoundrels who come down hither every day by rote." +Then, turning to the devil Leviathan, his favourite, he added, "I choose +thee, the subtlest seducer, the deadliest hater of the human race, to +ascend and purchase for me, by thy dangerous services, the soul of this +desperado. Only thou canst chain, satiate, and then, drive to despair, +his craving heart and his proud and restless spirit. Quick, quick! +ascend! dispel the vapours of school-wisdom from his brain. Consume with +the fire of voluptuousness the noble feelings of his heart. Disclose to +him the treasures of nature, and hurry him into life, that he may the +sooner grow tired of it. Let him see evil arise from good, vice +rewarded, justice and innocence trodden under foot, as is the custom of +men. Conduct him through the wild and terrible scenes of human life; let +him mistake its aim, and lose among its horrors the guiding thread of +virtue. And when he stands separated from all natural and heavenly ties, +in doubt concerning the noble destination of his race,--when even +pleasure and enjoyment have left him, and the inward worm awakes,--then +depict to him, with infernal bitterness, the consequences of his deeds +and delusions, and unfold to him all their links, extending to remotest +generations. If despair should then seize him, hurl him down, and return +in triumph to hell." + +_Leviathan_. Wherefore, O Satan, dost thou impose this work upon me? +Thou knowest that I have long ago had enough of men, and of their +playground,--the world. What is to be made out of wretches who, as thou +hast observed, have strength neither for good nor evil? Gold, ambition, +or pleasure, can quickly make rascals of them, who have for a short +period pursued the phantom virtue; and if any one should move boldly at +first along the path of vice, he will be driven back when half-way by the +spectres of his crazy imagination. If, indeed, it were a proud +hot-headed Spaniard, a revengeful assassinating Italian, or even a wild +lascivious Frenchman, whom you wanted me to catch--but a German, one of +those thick-pated swine, who slavishly bend before rank, riches, and all +the artificial distinctions of men, who believe that their lords and +princes are made of superior materials to themselves, and have a right to +dispose of them just as they please, either in fighting their own +battles, or those of other sovereigns! Hast thou heard from them for +centuries a single word of rebellion against tyranny, or of shedding +blood for the rights of man? Not one of them has, as yet, come down to +hell in glory; a proof that these people have no distinguished heads +among them. Those are to my mind who wish to clear up every thing, who +fight with the adamantine shield of individuality, against which all +prejudices, earthly or heavenly, are shivered. Show me such a man who is +willing to become great on earth at the expense of his soul, and I will +immediately ascend. + +_Satan_. Shall devils, O Leviathan, be blinded by prejudice, like the +sons of dust? I tell thee, the man after our own heart is born under +that district of heaven. He is one of those who, endued by nature with +hot and furious passions, rebel against all the old-established customs +of society. When such a spirit tears its way through these cobwebs, it +resembles a flame, which, by its own fury, speedily consumes the +materials which feed its lustre. He is one of those visionary +philosophers who strive to seize, through imagination, what is denied to +cold understanding; and who, if they are unsuccessful, laugh at all +knowledge, and make pleasure and enjoyment their gods. Away, away, +Leviathan! soon shall a fire break out in Germany which will spread +through all Europe. Already is the germ of that delusion springing up +which shall endure for centuries. What the German has once caught, he +will not easily let go. + +The commanding voice of Faustus now resounded for the second time. Satan +continued: + +"Thou mayst know by this call that he is no trembler. Hasten to him, +for, if thou delayest, perhaps he may doubt the strength of his charms, +and hell will lose the fruits of his temerity. Truly, the fellow is such +a genius, that I can almost overlook his origin." + +The devil Leviathan angrily replied: "I swear, by the hot and foul pool +of the damned, that the rebel shall one day blaspheme, and curse this and +the hour of his birth." + +He went away wrapt in a veil of smoke, and the fiends pursued him with +loud huzzas. + +Faustus stood within the magic circle, while his breast swelled with +rage. For the third time he repeated the dreadful formula, in a voice +that resembled thunder. The door suddenly flew open; a thick vapour +hovered around the margin of the circle; he struck into it with his magic +rod, and cried in triumph, "Unveil thyself, thou thing of darkness!" The +vapour dispersed, and Faustus saw a tall figure concealed beneath a red +mantle. + +_Faustus_. Why this tedious disguise to one who wishes to see thee? +Discover thyself to him, who fears thee not in whatever shape thou mayst +appear. + +The Devil flung back his mantle, and stood in a daring and majestic +attitude before the circle. His fiery eyes sparkled from beneath their +black brows, between which malice, hatred, fury, agony, and scorn had +formed themselves in thick folds. These furrows were sunk in a smooth, +clear, high-arched forehead, which contrasted strangely with the fiendish +marks between the eyes. A finely-formed aquiline nose inclined towards a +mouth which seemed to have been framed only for the enjoyment of immortal +things. He had the mien of a fallen angel, whose countenance was once +illuminated by the Godhead, but which was now obscured by a gloomy veil. + +_Faustus_ (_in surprise_). Is man, then, every where at home? Who art +thou? + +_Devil_. I am a prince of hell, and come because thy mighty call compels +me. + +_Faustus_. A prince of hell under this mask; under the figure of a man! +I wished for a fiend, and not one of my own race. + +_Devil_. Perhaps, Faustus, we are most so when we resemble ye; at least, +no mask suits us better. Besides, is it not your custom to conceal what +ye are, and to appear what ye are not? + +_Faustus_. Bitter enough, and yet true as bitter; for, if our outsides +looked like our insides, we should not be very different from that which +we imagine you to be; still, I expected to see thee more terrible, and +even hoped that thy appearance would try the strength of my courage. + +_Devil_. Thus do ye always imagine things contrary to what they are. +Probably you expected a devil with horns and a cloven foot, as the +cowardly age has depicted him. But since you have ceased to worship the +powers of nature, they have forsaken you, and you can no longer conceive +any thing great. If I were to stand before thee such as I really am,--my +eyes threatening comets, my body a dark, hovering cloud, which shoots +lightning from its gloom, in my hand the sword which I once brandished +against the Avenger, and on my arm the ponderous shield which his thunder +pierced,--thou wouldst become a heap of ashes in thy circle. + +_Faustus_. But then I should at least see something great. + +_Devil_. I might admire your courage; but you are never more ridiculous +than in these would-be grand bursts of feeling, when you contrast the +little you can embrace with the monstrous and great which are so high +above you. Thus may the worm measure the trampling elephant, and reckon +his weight in the moment when it dies beneath his powerful foot. + +_Faustus_. Mocker! and what, then, is the spirit within me, which, if it +once get fairly on the ladder, will mount from step to step into +infinity? What are its limits? + +_Devil_. The length of your own nose. But, if you called me out of hell +merely for this chit-chat, permit me to return for ever. I have long +known your inclination to prate about that which you do not understand. + +_Faustus_. Thy bitterness pleases me; it chimes in with my humour, and I +should like to be better acquainted with thee. What is thy name? + +_Devil_. Leviathan; which signifies _all_, for I can do all. + +_Faustus_. Hear the braggart! Are devils, then, so boastful? + +_Devil_. 'Twas said merely to do honour to the shape in which thou seest +me: but words are vain. Set me to the proof. What dost thou require? + +_Faustus_. Require? What an indefinite word for a devil! If thou art +what thou seemest, anticipate desires, and gratify them ere they become +wishes. + +_Devil_. The noble steed champs the bit in fury when curbed by a timid +rider: how he then resembles the man who feels wings that could bear him +into light, yet who is kept down in the dark abyss! Faustus, thou art +one of those fiery spirits who are not contented with the scanty meal of +knowledge which Omniscience has set before them. Great is thy strength, +mighty is thy soul, and bold thy will; but the curse of finite reason +lies upon thee, as it does upon all. Faustus, thou art as great as man +can be. + +_Faustus_. Masquerading fiend, return into hell; must thou, too, deceive +us by flattery? + +_Devil_. Faustus, I am a spirit formed of flaming light; I saw the +monstrous worlds arise out of nothing: thou art of dust, and of +yesterday. Do I flatter thee? + +_Faustus_. And yet must thou serve me if I command. + +_Devil_. For that I expect the approbation of hell, besides a reward; +neither man nor devil will work for nothing. + +_Faustus_. What reward dost thou expect? + +_Devil_. To have that which animates thee; that which would make thee my +equal if it had power. + +_Faustus_. I were well off then, truly; yet, adept as thou art, thou +knowest little of men, if thou doubtest the strength of one who has set +himself free from the bonds which nature has drawn so tightly round our +hearts. How gentle did they appear to me once, when the eye of my youth +clothed men and the world in the pure colours of morning! 'Tis gone; +dark is my horizon; I stand on the gloomy verge of eternity, and have +broken through the laws which keep the human race in harmony. + +_Devil_. What madness is this, Faustus? Harmony! does _she_ rule the +confused dance of life? + +_Faustus_. Silence! I feel it perhaps for the last time; and perhaps +look back for the last time upon the pleasant, joyous days of youth. How +lamentable that man must awake from this dream of bliss; that the plant +must shoot up, in order to wither away as a tree, or be felled! Ha, +demon, smile; I was once happy. But let that be forgotten which can +never be recalled. Yes, we have only strength when we pursue wickedness. +But wherein am I great? If I were so, should I want thee? Go, cunning +flatterer; thou wilt only make me feel my own littleness. + +_Devil_. He who is capable of feeling where the shoe pinches him, and +has courage enough to tear away the cause of it, is at least great so +far. More I will not say, and woe to thee if I were to stimulate thee +with words. + +_Faustus_. Observe me now, and tell me what my spirit requires, but what +I dare not utter. + +At these words Faustus pointed to himself, then towards the heavens, and +moved his magic staff towards the east and the west. He then continued, +"Thou wast, when nothing was." He laid his hand upon his breast and +forehead: "Here is darkness; let it be dispelled." + +_Devil_. Desperate man! full well I know thy wish, and tremble, devil as +I am, at thy boldness. + +_Faustus_. Wretched spirit! thou shalt not escape by this subterfuge. +In my burning thirst I would undertake to drink dry the deep sea, if I +hoped to find at its bottom what I sought. I am thine, or another's: I +yet stand where no devil can penetrate. Faustus is yet his own master. + +_Devil_. Thou wast so a few minutes since. But thy lot was cast when +thou enteredst this circle. Whoever has looked me in the face turns back +in vain; and thus I leave thee. + +_Faustus_. Thou shalt speak, and remove the dark covering which conceals +from me the world of spirits. I will know the destination of man, and +the cause of moral evil in the world; I will know wherefore virtue +suffers, and vice is rewarded; I will know why we must purchase a +moment's enjoyment by years of agony and sorrow. Thou shalt disclose to +me the source of things, and the mysterious causes of the phenomena of +the physical and moral world. Thou shalt make Him, who has arranged all, +comprehensible to me--yes! even if the vivid lightnings, which at this +moment shoot from thy demon eyes, were to stretch me lifeless in this +circle of damnation. Dost thou think that I have summoned thee merely +for pleasure and gold? Any dastard may fill his belly, and satiate the +desires of the flesh. Thou tremblest! Have I more courage than thyself? +What quaking devil has hell vomited out? And thou callest thyself +Leviathan, who canst do all! Away, away! thou art no fiend, but a +miserable thing like myself. + +_Devil_. Madman! thou hast not yet felt, as I have, the vindictiveness +of the Avenger, the anticipation of which alone would make thee return to +dust, even if thou didst bear in thy bosom the united strength of men +from the first to the last sinner. Urge me no farther. + +_Faustus_. I will, and am resolved. + +_Devil_. Thou inspirest me with reverence and pity. + +_Faustus_. Obedience is all I require. + +_Devil_. Go to war with him who has lighted up a torch within thee which +will consume thee, if fear do not extinguish it. + +_Faustus_. I have done so, and in vain. Obey! + +_Devil_. Insatiable man! But know that a devil has his bounds too. +Since our fall, we have lost the idea of these sublime secrets, and +forget even the language to express them. The pure spirits of yonder +world can alone sing and imagine them. + +_Faustus_. Dost thou think by this crafty excuse to cheat me of that +which I desire? + +_Devil_. Fool! I would wish for no better revenge upon thee than to be +able to paint to thy soul, in the glittering colours of Paradise, all +that thou hast lost, and then see thee writhe in despair. Knew I more +than I know, can the tongue formed of flesh make intelligible to the ear +of flesh what lies beyond the bounds of sense, and the disembodied spirit +only comprehends? + +_Faustus_. Then be a spirit, and speak! Shake off this figure. + +_Devil_. Wilt thou then understand me? + +_Faustus_. Shake off this figure, and let me see thee as a spirit. + +_Devil_. Thy words are folly. Now, then, see me: I shall exist, but not +for thee; I shall speak, but thou wilt not catch my meaning. + +Leviathan then melted into a thin clear flame, and disappeared. + +_Faustus_. Speak, and unfold the enigma. + +As the soft west wind moves along the perfumed meadows and gently kisses +the tender flowers, so did it murmur around the ears of Faustus. Then +the murmur changed to a loud continued tumult, which resembled the +rolling of thunder, or the dash of a breaker against the coral reef, or +its howl and bellow in the caves of the ocean. Faustus crept close +within his circle, and with difficulty supported himself. + +_Faustus_. Ah, if this be the language of spirits, my dream has +vanished; I am deceived, and must gnash my teeth in darkness. I have, +then, exchanged my soul for the gratification of earthly lust! for that +is all in which this intriguing devil can assist me. That is all against +which I risked eternity! I thought to move among men enlightened as no +one had ever yet been, and to dazzle them with my glory like the rising +sun. The sublime thought of living for ever as the greatest in their +hearts is gone; and I am more wretched than I was. Where art thou, +trickster, that I may vent my fury upon thee? + +_Devil_ (_in his former figure_). Here I am. I spoke, and thou didst +not understand the sense of my words. Dost thou not feel that thou art +born for darkness? Thou canst not become that which thou must not. +Withdraw thy mind from impossibilities, and direct it to what is +attainable. Thou wishedst to hear the language of spirits; thou heardst +it, and wert stunned and deafened by the sound. + +_Faustus_. Provoke but my wrath, and I will bruise thee to tears with my +magic rod. I will chain thee to the rim of my circle, and then stamp on +thy neck. + +_Devil_. Do it, and hell will laugh at thy anger. For every tear thou +makest me shed, Despair shall one day wring a drop of blood from thy +brow, and Revenge shall hold the scales to catch and weigh it. + +_Faustus_. How revolting to a noble creature like myself to hold +converse with an outcast, who has only sense for wickedness, and will +only assist in wickedness! + +_Devil_. How disgusting to be forced to listen to a man who reproaches +the Devil because he is a devil, and does not boast of that shadow, +Virtue, like one of you! + +_Faustus_. Vain boast. If thou couldst but taste the moral value of +man, by which he approaches the immortal, and which makes him worthy of +immortality! + +_Devil_. I can prove that it does not exist. + +_Faustus_. Yes; I believe thou canst. And so can any one of us who +makes the measure of his own wickedness that of all mankind, and who +makes that virtue contemptible which he has never felt in his breast. We +have had philosophers who in this matter have long had the start of the +Devil. + +_Devil_. Better if thou hadst never read them; thy head would then have +been more clear, and thy heart more sound. + +_Faustus_. Damnation! Is the Devil always right? + +_Devil_. I will show you that which those philosophers only talk of. I +will blow away from your eyes the clouds which pride, vanity, and +self-love have collected, and so charmingly coloured. + +_Faustus_. How wilt thou accomplish that? + +_Devil_. By conducting thee through the theatre of the world, and +showing thee men in their nakedness. Let us travel by water, by land, on +foot, on horseback, on the rapid winds, and see the race of man. Perhaps +we may discover that for which so many thousand adventurers have broken +their necks. + +_Faustus_. Agreed. Let us go through the world; I must intoxicate +myself by variety and enjoyment; and I have long wished for a broader +sphere of observation than my own wild heart. Let us go forth, and I +will force the Devil to believe in human virtue. He shall avow to me +that man is the eye-apple of Him whom I now no more must name. + +_Devil_. Then will I return to hell a convicted liar, and give thee back +the bond which thou wilt presently sign with thy blood. + +_Faustus_. But if I were to trust a devil, who might palm upon me his +own fiendish performances for the works of men, how would the scoffer +laugh? + +_Devil_. Such a monkish notion I should not have expected from one who +has so long toyed with philosophy; but in this ye are all alike, fools +and wise men. If any thing goes wrong, pride and self-love will never +permit you to lay the blame on yourselves. Observe now those two words, +Good and Evil, which you would fain stamp into ideas; for when you have +words, you always think you have coined the empty sound into a thought. +You labour with your eyes closed, and when you open them it is but +natural that the good should be your own work, and the evil that of the +Devil. Thus, then, must we poor devils ride about day and night, in +order to turn to this or that piece of roguery the heart or the +imagination of this or that scoundrel, who, if it had not been for us, +would have remained an honest fellow. Faustus! Faustus! man seeks abroad +and in the clouds a thousand things which lie in his own bosom, or before +his face. No; during our tour I will add to nothing, except thou command +me. All that thou seest shall be the work of men; and thou wilt soon +perceive that they do not require the Devil to incite them. + +_Faustus_. And is this all that thou canst afford me? + +_Devil_. I will lead you from step to step; when we have run through +this course, another scene will immediately open. Get first acquainted +with that which surrounds thee, and then mount upwards. The treasures of +the earth are thine; thou mayst command my power: do but dream--do but +wish. + +_Faustus_. That is something. + +_Devil_. Only something! Discontented being, thou shalt be able to +force Leviathan to further the projects which thou callest good and +noble, and the consequences of them shall be thy earnings, and the reward +of thy heart. + +_Faustus_. That were more, if the Devil did not say it. + +_Devil_. Who can boast that he has forced the fiend to do good? +However, let this thought inflate thy bosom. Faustus, step out of the +circle! + +_Faustus_. It is not yet time. + +_Devil_. Dost thou fear me? I repeat, thou shalt spend the moments +allotted to thee according to thy own pleasure: yes, Faustus, I will fill +for thee the intoxicating cup of enjoyment, as it has never been filled +for any other mortal. Thy nerves shall wear away before thou hast +emptied it. Count the sands of the shore, and thence thou mayst guess +the number of joys that I will strew before thee. + +Thereupon he placed a casket of gold near the circle. The figures of the +mayoress and a train of lovely maidens then passed by. + +_Faustus_. Ha, devil, who has showed thee the way to my heart? + +_Devil_. Is not my name Leviathan? I have weighed thee, and thy +strength. Dost thou respect these? + +(He shook upon the ground, from a sack, a quantity of orders of +knighthood, bishops' hats, crosses of honour, and diplomas of nobility.) + +"No, no; I know Faustus better: knowledge and pleasure are his gods. +Remain what you are; these things are vain and futile. Thus, by +different bribes may ye all be won; and for the sake of lust or +advancement, ye would work bare your hands and your intellects. But, +whilst fools toil for them in the sweat of their brow, and in the +exhaustion of their mind, do thou enjoy, without care or labour, what I +shall serve up. To-morrow, with thy consent, I will conduct thee to the +mayoress." + +_Faustus_. But how? + +_Devil_. Accept the conditions, and I will tell thee. Come out of the +circle; thou lookest still like a drunken man. + +_Faustus_. I would annihilate myself if it were not for one thought! + +_Devil_. Which is-- + +_Faustus_. That I shall only thereby sooner fall into thy power. + +_Devil_. How rash and hasty are men! Learn but to know me, and, if I +cannot gratify thy wildest earthly desires, return to poverty, to +contempt, and thy starving philosophy. Step forth, I say. + +_Faustus_. The fury of a lion inflames me, and, if hell were to yawn +beneath my foot, I would spring beyond the limits of humanity. + +He sprang out of the circle, and cried, + +"I am thy lord." + +_Devil_. Yes; as long as thy time runs. I lead a mighty man by the +hand, and am proud to be his slave. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +On the following morning the devil Leviathan came with all the pomp and +retinue of a nobleman to the inn where Faustus sojourned. He alighted +from his richly caparisoned steed, and asked the host whether the famous +Faustus sojourned there? + +The host replied by a reverential bow, and ushered him into the house. +The Devil then advanced to Faustus, and said to him, in the presence of +the host: + +"Your renown, your great talents, and, above all, your mighty invention, +have induced me to make a wide circuit in my journey in order to become +acquainted with so remarkable a man, whom the world, in spite of its +lukewarmness, knows how to value. I came, likewise, to request your +company in the tour of Europe, and shall be happy to accede to whatever +stipulations you may choose to make, for I am perfectly aware that such a +pleasure is above all price." + +Faustus played his part agreeably to that of the Devil; and the host +hurried out in order to relate the adventure to his household. The +rumour was immediately spread, by a thousand channels, through all +Frankfort; and the arrival of the distinguished stranger was soon known, +from the sentinel at the city-gate to his most worshipful the mayor +himself. Away ran the magistrates, as if the Devil drove them, to the +senate-house, leaving all the weighty affairs of state to remain +unsettled whilst they consulted about this unexpected apparition. The +senior alderman, a patrician, who was particularly expert in deciphering +the meaning of the signs which occasionally appeared in the political +horizon, and had thereby obtained a powerful ascendency in the council, +pressed his fat chin into furrows, and his narrow brow into wrinkles, +and, with reflection in his little eyes, assured his sapient brethren +that "This distinguished stranger was nothing else than a secret envoy of +his imperial majesty, who was come into Germany to observe attentively +the situation, the comparative strength, the disagreements, and the +alliances, of the various states and princes; so that the high and mighty +court, at the opening of the approaching Diet, might know how to comport +itself. And since the imperial court had always kept a watchful eye upon +their republic, they must now endeavour to convince this distinguished +visitor of the fiery zeal which they had always entertained for the high +imperial house, and not let him depart without winning him over to the +interest of the state. That they must, in so doing, take as their +pattern the prudent senate of Venice, who never failed to show the +greatest friendship and honour towards him whom they intended to +deceive." + +The subordinate members of the assembly affirmed that the alderman had +spoken like the Doge of Venice himself; but the mayor, who bore the +alderman a secret grudge, because the latter, like a true patrician, +hated the democratic form of government, and was accustomed to say, +whenever he was outvoted, "Ha, thus it goes when tradesmen and +shopkeepers are made statesmen," quickly took up the cudgels against him +in these words: + +"Truly laudable and excellent, most sapient masters, seems to me that +which our most prudent and politic brother has now advanced, were it not +for one single circumstance which unhappily spoils all. I, indeed, do +not make a boast of possessing the deep visual penetration of the +alderman,--a penetration, my brethren, which can spy out a storm before +it arises; nevertheless, whether it be from chance or reflection, I have +long foreseen, and have long foretold, that which is now gathering around +us. You must all remember, that at each of our sittings I advised you +not to treat this Faustus so contemptuously, but to purchase his Latin +Bible for the small sum he demanded. Even my wife, who is a mere woman, +like all other women, has frequently said that, although we ourselves +neither understood nor could use the book, we ought nevertheless to have +it; and, on account of the beautiful letters in the title-page, and of +the curious invention, to make a show of it, as we do of our golden bull, +and attract strangers from all parts. It was likewise fitting that a +free and rich state like ours should protect the arts, and give them a +helping hand. But I know very well what was in your minds; 'twas +envy--sheer envy. You could not brook that my name should be rendered +immortal. You could not digest that posterity should read in the +chronicle, '_Sub consulatu_ . . . a Latin Bible was bought from Faustus +of Mayence for two hundred gold guilders.' Yes, yes; 'twas that stuck in +your gizzards; but, as you have brewed, so may you drink: Faustus is a +devilish wild fellow, and a very strange hand to deal with; I saw that +proved yesterday. And now that the imperial envoy has travelled hither +merely on his account, merely on account of him whom we have treated +worse than a poor cobbler, think ye not he will blow us up with the envoy +out of revenge, and all our scrapings and grimaces will serve for nothing +but to make us appear ridiculous before the citizens? But he who has +driven his cart into the mire may draw it out again. I wash my hands of +the whole business, and, like Pilate, am innocent of Israel's blindness +and destruction." + +Here followed a deep silence. The bloody battle of Cannae, which +threatened Rome with ruin, did not terrify her senate more than did this +eloquent philippic the enlightened magistracy of Frankfort. Already the +mayor triumphed in proud anticipation: he thought even that he had hurled +the alderman entirely out of his saddle; when the latter, collecting his +political wisdom and heroic strength, hastened to the assistance of the +sinking state, and bellowing aloud, _ad majora_, undauntedly proposed +"immediately to send an embassy from the council to the hotel, in order +to welcome the distinguished guest, and to offer Faustus four hundred +gold guilders for his Latin Bible, and thereby to appease him, and to +make him favourable to the state." + +The mayor scoffed at the idea of giving four hundred gold guilders for a +thing which the day before they might, in all probability, have had for +one hundred; but his jeers and his scoffs availed nothing. "_Salus +populi suprema lex_," cried the alderman; and, with the approbation of +the council, he commanded the mayor to entertain Faustus and the envoy in +the most sumptuous manner, at the expense of the state. + +This circumstance consoled his worship, who willingly displayed his +wealth, partly on account of his defeat by the alderman, while the +concluding words, "at the expense of the state," put him in good humour. +The junior alderman immediately set out with one of the four syndics, and +the mayor sent to his house to order every thing proper for the festival. +The devil Leviathan was engaged with Faustus in a deep discourse when +these ambassadors were announced. They were instantly admitted. They +welcomed, with all humility, in the name of the senate, the distinguished +guest, and gave him to understand that his noble person, as well as his +important errand, were well known to them; assuring him at the same time, +in set terms, of their zeal and devotion for the high imperial house. +The Devil, upon this, screwed up his features, turned to Faustus, took +him by the hand, and assured the speakers that nothing had brought him to +their town but the desire of removing from it this great man, whom he had +no doubt they knew how to prize. The ambassadors were now somewhat +disturbed; however, they soon recollected themselves, and continued thus: + +"It rejoiced them highly that they could give him on the spot a +convincing proof of the respect which the magistracy entertained for so +great a man, as they were authorised to tender to Faustus four hundred +gold guilders for his Latin Bible, which they had long been anxious to +possess, and preserve as a precious treasure. The illustrious magistracy +would also be most happy to enrol him, if it were agreeable, among the +number of citizens, and thereby open to him the way to glory and +emolument." + +This last stroke was added by their own political wisdom; a proof that +they, as skilful negotiators, knew how to supply and fill up every vacuum +which had been at first overlooked. + +Faustus started up in a fury, stamped on the ground, and cried: + +"Base, lying, deceitful pack! How long did I not fawn upon you, from the +proud patrician down to the shoemaker and the pepper-seller, around whose +necks you hang the magisterial insignia, like halters around asses? And +did ye not permit me to wait at your dirty thresholds without deigning me +a single look? And now that you hear this noble personage sees that in +me which you did not, you come and would pay me back in my own coin. But +see, here is gold; for which you would barter the Holy Roman Empire, +provided you could find fools gross enough to buy the huge, monstrous +carcass, without head, sense, or proportion." + +The Devil highly enjoyed the rage of Faustus and the downcast looks of +the young senators; but they, who had never read Roman history, were not +so high-spirited as to fling Faustus a declaration of war from beneath +their closely-folded robes of office; on the contrary, they communicated +the invitation to the mayor's festival in as unconcerned a tone as if +nothing had happened,--a new proof of their expertness in negotiation. +Had they, for example, replied to the insult, they would thereby have +acknowledged that they felt the force of it; but when they let it fall +flat upon the ground, as if it were nothing to any of them, it lost all +its power, and assumed the colour of an unfair reproach. Genius alone is +capable in such critical moments of like discrimination. + +At the word "mayor," Faustus pricked up his ears, and the Devil gave him +a significant side-glance. Faustus thereupon took the Bible from the +casket, handed it over to the senators, and said, with some degree of +complaisance, + +"That, upon due consideration, he was determined to make the city a +present of his Bible, on condition that they showed the sentence which he +marked under, and of which he wrote a German translation on the margin, +to the assembled magistrates; and, in remembrance of him, caused it to be +written in letters of gold on the wall of the council-chamber." + +The senators hastened back to their brethren, as delighted as envoys who, +after a ruinous war, return with an advantageous peace. They were +received with great joy, and, the Bible being opened at the appointed +place, they read-- + +"_And lo_!_ the fools sat in council_, _and idiots clamoured in the +judgment-chamber_." + +They swallowed this bitter pill, because the presumptive shadow of +imperial majesty, in the form of the demon, prevented them from spitting +it out. They comforted themselves with having been spared the four +hundred gold guilders, and wished each other joy for having escaped so +well out of this unpleasant affair. The envoys received a vote of +thanks, and it is to be regretted that their names are not handed down to +posterity. When at last they spoke of Faustus's well-filled money-chest, +the glitter of gold darted like lightning through the souls of all, and +each secretly determined to make the man his friend, in order to get +possession of it. The alderman shouted, "We must make him a citizen, and +give him a seat and voice in the council. Policy demands that we should +overstep law and custom, if the advantage of the State depends upon it." + +Faustus, in the mean time, strolled out with the Devil; but they found +the people of the place modelled after so unsightly a pattern, with such +ugly figures and fiat features, that the Devil owned he had never seen +them equalled, except by the inhabitants of an English town called N---, +when dressed in their Sunday's best. "Envy, malice, curiosity, and +avarice," said he, "are here and there the sole springs of action; and +both places are governed by a pitiful mercantile spirit, which prevents +them from being grandly wicked or nobly virtuous. In short, Faustus, +there is little to be done in either place by a man of spirit, and we +will hurry away from hence as soon as you have brought the mayoress to +the point you wish her." + +The clock sounded the hour of dinner; the Devil and Faustus, mounted upon +noble horses, and attended by a numerous retinue, proceeded to the house +of the mayor. They entered the hall of assembly, where all the +magistrates awaited them, and, on their appearance, bowed before them +even to the dust. The fat, bloated mayor, after a long speech, +introduced them to the wives of the dignitaries of the corporation, whose +figures, loaded with tawdry ornaments, seemed now to display a double +portion of awkwardness and vulgarity. They stared like a flock of geese, +and could not satiate themselves with looking at the dress and +physiognomy of Leviathan; but the mayoress, a native of Saxony, towered +above them all, like an Oriad. The expressive look of Faustus had +attracted her attention, as well as his prepossessing figure, and his +fine handsome face. She blushed when he saluted her, and could find no +other answer to his eloquent address than a few broken words, which the +ears of Faustus caught like enchanting music. The senators exerted their +wits to the utmost in complimenting their guests, and all now sat down to +the well-spread table. After dinner the Devil led the mayor by the hand +to a private apartment,--a circumstance which flattered him +extraordinarily, but which was a dagger-blow to all the other guests, +especially to the alderman. + +The mayor, heated with wine, and intoxicated with the honour which the +supposed imperial envoy showed him, in a bending attitude and with +staring eyes awaited the communication. The Devil assured him, in soft, +silvery tones, how much he was flattered by the mayor's hospitable +reception, and how very desirous he was to prove himself thankful; +adding, that he carried with him a number of letters of nobility, signed +by the emperor's own hand, and he would gladly bestow the first upon him, +provided-- + +Joy, transport, and astonishment darted through the mayor's soul; he +stood before the Devil with wide-gaping mouth, and at length stammered +out, "Provided how--what--oh!" The Devil then murmured softly into his +ear: "His friend Faustus was desperately in love with the beautiful +mayoress, and that for his sake only he would do it; and if the mayoress +would retire with Faustus for a few moments,--which would be entirely +unobserved amid the noise and confusion of a festival,--he should deliver +into her hand the patent of nobility." + +Thereupon the Devil hastened to Faustus, informed him of what had +happened, and gave him the letter of nobility, with certainty of success. +Faustus doubted, and the Devil laughed at his doubts. + +The mayor remained in his cabinet almost petrified. The sudden glitter +of such unexpected happiness was at once so clouded by an odious and +detestable condition, that he determined upon rejecting it. But all at +once Ambition blew into his ear: "Ho! ho! Mr. Mayor; to be dubbed a +nobleman at once, and in such an off-hand manner, as the saying is, and +thereby to be placed on a footing with the proudest of thy foes, and to +raise thy voice in the council like a trumpet, and appear among those +there like a man whom, on account of his services, his imperial majesty +will exalt above the heads of all!" + +Another feeling softly whispered-- + +"Uh! uh! with my own knowledge and consent to be thus disgraced! But +then, again, who will know it? and what is there in the whole affair? I +receive a certain good in lieu of what has long ceased to have any charms +for me. The evil consists in the idea alone, and it will be a secret +between me and my wife. But, stating the case fairly, can I arrive at so +high a distinction at a cheaper rate? Will it not be a nail in the +alderman's coffin; and what will the citizens not say when they see that +his imperial majesty knows how to value me? Shall I not get every thing +into my power, and revenge myself on those who have thwarted and +contradicted me? Ho! ho! Mr. Mayor; be no fool; seize fortune by the +forelock. Man is only what he appears in the eyes of the world, and no +one asks the nobleman how he became so. But there is my wife; she will +set herself against my advancement, for I well know her Saxon prudery." + +At that very moment she entered the room, eager to learn from her husband +what the magnificent stranger had confided to him in private. He looked +at her with a roguish leer, but still with some degree of bashfulness. + +_Mayor_. Well, my chick, suppose I were to make thee a noblewoman +to-day? + +_Mayoress_. Then, duck, the wives of all the citizens and magistrates +would swoon with envy, and the alderman's lady would instantly die of +that husky cough which has so long assailed her. + +_Mayor_. That she would, for certain; and I could crush her proud +husband beneath my foot. But hark, my chick: it only rests with you to +bring all this about. + +_Mayoress_. Who ever heard of wives making their husbands noblemen, +duck? + +_Mayor_. Who knows, my child, how many have been made so? But be not +terrified; you have driven that cursed Faustus out of his wits. (_The +Mayoress blushed_; _he continued_) Only on his account will the envoy +create me a nobleman, and Faustus is to deliver to thee the patent of +nobility in private. You understand me, I perceive. Hem! What do you +think of the plan? + +_Mayoress_. I was thinking, my treasure, that if these two gentlemen +were to change their minds, we should certainly lose the patent. + +_Mayor_. Curse it! so we might. Let us be quick, my mouse; such +bargains are not met with every day. + +The company had in the mean while dispersed themselves in the garden; and +his worship, getting behind Faustus, whispered softly in his ear that +"his wife would esteem it an honour to receive the patent of nobility +from his hand; and he had only to step up a back staircase, which he +would show him, to an apartment where he would find her. That as for +himself, he feared nothing from a man who had shown so much honour and +conscience." He led him thereupon to the back staircase. Faustus glided +up immediately, and entered a chamber, where he found the mayoress: he +flew to her, and created the mayor a knight of the Holy Roman Empire. +She then went and delivered to her spouse the letter of nobility; and +they determined between them that it should be laid upon the supper-table +in a covered golden dish, in order, by its unexpected appearance, to make +the blow more painful to the guests. The Devil, to whom the mayor +confided the plan, highly approved of it; but Faustus murmured in the ear +of Leviathan, "I command thee to play this rascal, who has prostituted +his wife for ambition's sake, a thorough knavish trick; and to revenge +me, at the same time, on all these sheep-headed magistrates, who so long +forced me to pay my court to them." + +They sat down to supper, and the glasses went quickly round; when all at +once the Devil commanded the dish, which had so long excited the +Curiosity of the surrounders, to be uncovered; then, holding up the +letter of nobility, he delivered it to the mayor with these words: +"Worthy sir, his majesty the emperor, my master, is pleased by this +patent letter of nobility to create you, on account of your fidelity and +services, a knight of the Holy Roman Empire. I hope and trust that you +will never grow lukewarm in your zeal for the high imperial house; and +now, Sir Knight, I have the honour of first drinking your health." + +These words rolled like thunder in the ears of the guests. The drunken +became sober, and the sober drunk; the lips of the women turned blue with +rage, and could scarcely stammer out a congratulation. The alderman was +seized with an apoplectic fit, and his wife was near dying of her husky +cough. Fear, in the mean time, obliged the rest to assume a joyous +countenance; and they drank, with a loud huzza, the health of the +new-made knight. While the tumult was at the highest pitch, a thin +vapour suddenly filled the hall; the glasses began to dance about upon +the tables; and the roasted geese, turkeys, and fowls cackled, gobbled, +and crowed. The calves, sheep, and boars' heads cried, bleated, and +grunted, bounced across the table, and snapped at the fingers of the +guests. The wine issued in blue flames from out the flasks; and the +patent of nobility caught fire, and was burnt to ashes in the hands of +the trembling mayor. The whole assembly now sat like so many ridiculous +characters in a mad masquerade. The mayor bore a stag's head upon his +shoulders; and the rest, men and women, adorned with grotesque masks, +spoke, cackled, crowed, neighed, or bellowed, according to the kind of +mask which had been allotted to each individual. The alderman alone, in +the dress of a harlequin, sat motionless; and Faustus avowed to the Devil +that the ruse did great honour to his ingenuity. After Faustus had +satiated himself by gazing at the spectacle, he gave the Devil the wink, +and they both flew out of the window; the latter personage, according to +custom, leaving behind him the sulphurous stench. + +By and by the whole illusion disappeared; and when the sapient +magistrates re-assembled next morning in the council-chamber, they +scarcely mentioned to each other what had taken place the night before. +They kept the whole matter a state secret, and only revealed it now and +then to a chosen few. All that the mayor got by this business was, that +his adversary, the alderman, lost the use of his limbs, and never again +took his seat in the council. + +Faustus and Leviathan, in the mean time, passed over the city-walls; and +when they were in the open field, the Devil despatched an attendant +spirit to the hotel, in order to pay the reckoning, and to fetch away +Faustus's baggage. Then turning to the young German, he asked him if he +were contented with this first feat. + +_Faustus_. Hem! if the Devil wants praise, I am content to give it him. +But I should never have imagined that yon pompous scoundrel would have +sold his wife for ambition's sake. + +_Devil_. Let us proceed a little further, my Faustus, and I will soon +convince thee that Ambition is the godhead which ye all worship; although +you disguise it under all kind of glittering forms, in order to conceal +its nakedness. Till now you have studied man merely in books and +philosophical treatises; or, in other words, you have been thrashing +empty straw. But the film will soon fall from your eyes. We will +shortly quit this dirty country of yours, where priestcraft, pedantry, +and oppression reign unmolested and undisturbed. I will usher you upon a +stage where the passions have a freer scope, and where great energies are +employed to great ends. + +_Faustus_. But I will force thee to believe in the moral worth of man +before we quit my native land. Not far from hence lives a prince, whom +all Germany praises as a paragon of every virtue. Let us seek him, and +put him to the test. + +_Devil_. Agreed; such a man would please me for his rarity. + +The spirit now returned with the baggage, and was sent forward to Mayence +to bespeak a lodging in an hotel. Faustus, for secret reasons which the +Devil guessed, proposed spending the night with a hermit who dwelt in the +hill of Homburg, and who was renowned through the whole neighbourhood for +his piety. They reached the hermitage about midnight, and knocked at the +door. The solitary opened it; and Faustus, who had dressed himself in +the richest clothes which the Devil had provided for him, begged pardon +for disturbing the repose of the holy man, and said that the night had +surprised him and his companion while hunting, and had separated them +from their attendants, and that they should be obliged by his giving them +house-room for a few hours. The hermit looked on the ground, and +replied, with a deep sigh: + +"He who lives for heaven seldom abandons himself to dangerous repose. +You have not disturbed me; and, if you wish to stay here till sunrise, +you must take things as you find them. Bread and water, with straw to +lie on, is all I can afford you." + +_Faustus_. Brother hermit, we have brought all that the stomach requires +along with us. We will only trouble you for a draught of water. + +(_The hermit took his pitcher and went to a fountain_.) + +_Faustus_. Peace dwells in his heart as well as on his brow, and I may +think myself happy that he is not acquainted with that which binds me to +thee. Faith and hope serve him instead of those things which I have +damned myself for; at least it seems so. + +_Devil_. And only seems. What if I were to prove that your heart is +pure as gold in comparison with his? + +_Faustus_. Devil! + +_Devil_. Faustus, thou wert poor, ill-treated, and despised; thou didst +see thyself in the dust; but, like an energetic being, thou hast sprung +out of contempt at thy own risk. Thou wert incapable of gratifying thy +lusts by the murder of thy fellow-creatures, as this saint would if I led +him into temptation. + +_Faustus_. I see all thy infernal craftiness. If I were to command thee +to put him to a fair trial, thou wouldst confuse the senses of the just +man, so that he would commit acts which his heart abhorred. + +_Devil_. Ridiculous! Why, then, do ye boast of your free-will, and +thereby ascribe your deeds to your own hearts? But ye are all saints +while there is nothing to tempt ye. No, Faustus; I will remain neuter, +and merely offer delights to his senses; for the Devil has no need to +creep into ye when you are already disposed for wickedness. + +_Faustus_. And if things do not turn out as you assert, think not that +your assurance shall remain unpunished. + +_Devil_. Thou mayst then torment me a whole day by preaching of the +virtues of men. Let us see whether this will allure him. + +A table, provided with dainty meats and delicious wines, now appeared in +the middle of the hermitage. The solitary entered, and silently placed +the pitcher before Faustus, and then retired into a corner, without +heeding the luxurious banquet. + +_Faustus_. Now, brother hermit, since the things are on the table, fall +to without waiting to be asked twice. You may eat of our fare without +the least injury to your reputation. I see your mouth begins to water. +Come, a glass to the honour of your patron saint. What is his name? + +_Hermit_. St. George. + +_Faustus_. Here's his health. + +_Devil_. Ho, ho, brother hermit! the renowned St. George of Cappadocia +was a fellow after my own heart; and if you take him for a model, you +cannot go wrong. I am perfectly well acquainted with his history, and +will relate it in a few words for your instruction. He was the son of +wretchedly poor people, and was born in a miserable hut in Cilicia. As +he grew up, he early perceived his own talents, and, by force of +flattery, servility, and corruption, found his way into the houses of the +great and opulent, who at length, out of gratitude for his services, +procured him a commission in the army of the Greek emperor. But when +there he pilfered and plundered to so enormous an extent, that he was +soon obliged to fly, to avoid being hanged. Thereupon he joined himself +to the sect of the Arians, and, by his quick parts, soon learnt to gabble +the unintelligible jargon of theology and metaphysics. About this time +the Arian emperor, Constantine, kicked from the episcopal chair at +Alexandria the good and most Catholic Athanasius; and your redoubtable +Cappadocian was, by an Arian synod, appointed to the vacant see. George +was now completely in his element: he puffed, strutted, and filled his +paunch. But when he, by his injustice and cruelty, had driven his +subjects to the verge of madness, they put him to death, and carried his +body in triumph through the streets of Alexandria. Thus did he become a +martyr, and consequently a saint. + +_Hermit_. There is not a word of this in the legend. + +_Devil_. I believe ye, brother; and, for the sake of truth, the Devil +only ought to have written it. + +The hermit then crossed himself. + +_Faustus_. Do you call eating and drinking crimes? + +_Hermit_. They may tempt us to commit crimes. + +_Devil_. Your virtue must be very weak if it cannot resist temptation; +for temptation and resistance should be the glory of a saint. + +_Hermit_. You are right so far; but every one is not a saint. + +_Faustus_. Are you happy, brother? + +_Hermit_. Solitude makes me happy; a good conscience makes me blessed. + +_Devil_. How do you obtain your food? + +_Hermit_. The peasants bring me wherewithal to support my existence. + +_Faustus_. And what do you give them in return? + +_Hermit_. I pray for them. + +_Faustus_. Are they bettered by your prayers? + +_Hermit_. They think so, and I hope so. + +_Devil_. Brother, you are a rogue. + +_Hermit_. The reproaches of the sinful world are what the just man ought +to expect. + +_Devil_. Why do you not look upwards, and why do you blush? But know, +that I have the art of reading in a man's face what is passing in his +heart. + +_Hermit_. So much the worse for yourself. You will have little +enjoyment in company. + +_Devil_. Ho, ho! you know that? (_Looking at Faustus_.) + +_Hermit_. It is a vile world in which we live, and woe for you if +thousands did not hasten into solitude to avert by their prayers the +anger of incensed Heaven from the heads of sinners. + +_Faustus_. Reverend brother, you own yourself that you are paid for your +prayers; and, believe me, it is much easier to pray than work. + +_Devil_. Listen once more. You have a twist of the mouth which tells me +you are a hypocrite; and your eyes, which revolve in so narrow a circle, +and which are generally cast downward, tell me that you are convinced +they would betray the feelings of your heart, were you to raise them. + +The hermit lifted his eyes towards the heavens, prayed with clasped +hands, and said, "Thus does the righteous man reply to the scoffer." + +_Faustus_. Enough. Come, brother, and bear us company in our repast. + +But the hermit remained inflexible. Faustus looked scornfully on the +Devil, who merely smiled and shook his head. Suddenly the door opened, +and a young female pilgrim rushed in almost breathless. When she had +recovered from her fear, she related how she had been pursued by a +knight, from whom she had the good fortune to escape by reaching the cell +of the pious hermit. She was received in a friendly manner; and, +unclasping her long mantle, she exhibited such beauty as would have made +the victory over the flesh no easy matter for the holy Anthony himself. +She placed herself by the side of Leviathan, ate sparingly of the meal, +and the Devil began to-- + + * * * * * + +The hermit was at first shocked, and at last confused; and he had +scarcely power to struggle with the temptation. The pilgrim tore +herself, ashamed and angry, from the arms of Leviathan, to seek +protection by the side of the hermit, which he could not refuse her. + +The Devil and Faustus now pretended to be intoxicated and overwhelmed +with sleep; but before they took repose the Devil placed, in the presence +of the hermit, a weighty purse of money under the straw, and deposited +his own rich rings and those of Faustus in a casket, which the latter +laid close beside him. On the table they placed their swords and +daggers, and then flung themselves down and soon snored. + +The pilgrim softly approached the table, and poured out with her delicate +and snow-white hands a goblet of foaming wine. She just touched the rim +with her rosy lips, and then offered it to the hermit. He stood like one +amazed; and in his confusion emptied it, and another besides, and +greedily swallowed the luxurious morsels which the tempter, one after +another, held up to his mouth. She then led him out, and bursting into +tears, entreated his pardon for having been forced to outrage his holy +eyes. She then looked mournful and inconsolable, pressed his hand +warmly, and at last fell down on her knees before him. At this instant +the silvery moon beamed upon her bosom, over which the gentle night-wind +moved her dark, dishevelled locks. The hermit sank upon this dazzling +bosom, without knowing whether he was dead or alive. At length the +pilgrim said, "That she would yield herself entirely to his wishes, if he +would revenge her first on those daring reprobates, and take possession +of their treasure, which would enable him and her to live happily to the +end of their days." + +The hermit, at these words, recovered in some degree from his +intoxication, and asked her, in a trembling voice, what she meant, and +what she would have him do. + +Amongst broken exclamations of rapture she murmured, "Their daggers lie +on the table: do you murder the one; I will manage the other. Then dress +yourself in their clothes, and seize their treasure. We will then set +the hermitage on fire, and fly to France together." + +The horrible idea of murder made the hermit shudder. He hesitated, was +undecided, looked on the charms of the siren; he saw that he could make +himself master of her and of the treasure without danger; and, all his +virtue yielding, he forgot heaven and his oft-repeated vows. The pilgrim +dragged the reeling miscreant into the hut; each seized a dagger; and +just as he was about to aim a blow at Faustus, the Devil burst into the +fiendish scorn-laugh; and Faustus saw the hermit, with a lifted dagger, +standing by his side. + +_Faustus_. Cursed monster, who, under the mask of religion, wouldst +murder thy guest! + +The hermit sunk trembling to the earth. The pilgrim, a phantom of hell, +appeared to him in a frightful form, and then vanished. + +Faustus commanded Leviathan to set fire to the hut, and burn it to ashes, +along with the hypocrite. The Devil obeyed with joy. The following +morning the peasants shed many tears for the fate of the righteous man; +and, having collected his bones, they preserved them as precious relics. + +Faustus and the Devil arrived early the next day at Mayence, and alighted +at the dwelling of the former. His young wife fell with a cry of joy +upon his neck, embraced him, and then burst into tears of sorrow. The +children clung sobbing to his knees, and greedily examined his pockets, +to see whether he had brought them any thing. His old gray-headed father +next staggered towards him, and shook him mournfully by the hand. The +heart of Faustus was moved, and his eyes began to moisten, while he +trembled, and looked angrily upon the Devil. When he asked his wife why +she wept, she wrung her hands, and replied, "Ah, Faustus, do you not +perceive how the hungry ones examine your pockets for bread? How can I +see that without tears? They have eaten nothing for a long time; we have +been unfortunate, and all thy friends have forsaken us; but now I see +thee again, it is to me as though I saw the countenance of an angel. I +and thy father have suffered more on thy account than on our own. We +have had such frightful dreams and visions; and when my eyes, weary with +weeping, have closed for a few hours, I saw thee torn from us by force, +and all was dark and horrible." + +_Faustus_. Thy dream, love, is about to be partly fulfilled. This +gentleman here will reward thy husband for those talents which his +ungrateful country overlooked or despised. I have agreed to travel with +him far and wide. + +_Old Faustus_. "My son, stay at home and support thyself honourably," +says Scripture. + +_Faustus_. And die of hunger, says Experience. + +The wife began to weep yet more bitterly, and the children screamed for +bread. Faustus gave the Devil a sign, and he called to his servant, who +presently afterwards brought into the room a heavy coffer. Faustus +unlocked it, and flung a large bag of gold upon the table; which being +opened, and the yellow coin appearing, a lively flush of joy was +instantly diffused over the melancholy countenances of the family. He +then took out magnificent clothes and jewels, which he delivered to his +wife. Her tears vanished, and vanity at once dried them up, as the +sun-rays dry up the morning dew. The Devil smiled, and Faustus muttered +to himself, "O magic of gold and of vanity! I may now go to the +antipodes, and no other tears than those of hypocrisy will be shed." +Then, aloud, "Well, wife, these are the fruits of my journey, reaped in +advance. Is not this better than staying at home with you and starving?" + +But the wife heard him not; for she stood with her rich robes and jewels +before the looking-glass to see how they became her. The little girls +frolicked around her, took up the clothes and ornaments she had laid +aside, and aped the mother. In the mean time a servant brought in a +substantial breakfast, the children fell upon it, cried and shouted with +joy; but the mother had, in the mean time, forgotten her hunger. + +The old father took Faustus aside, and said, "If thou hast obtained all +these things by honourable means, let us thank God, my son, and enjoy his +bounty; but for some nights past I have had horrible dreams, although I +hope they were merely caused by our necessities." + +This remark of the old man sank deep into the heart of Faustus; but the +pleasure of seeing his children eat so heartily, and of observing with +what love and thankfulness his eldest son and favourite looked at him; +the thought of having relieved them from their misery; and, above all, an +inward longing for pleasure,--considerably damped the impression. The +Devil added a large sum to the money in the bag, presented the young wife +with a costly necklace, gave each of the children a trifle, and assured +the family that he would bring back Faustus to them safe, sound, and +wealthy at no very distant period. + +Faustus, attended by the Devil, now went to see a friend, whom he found +much dejected. He asked him the cause of his unhappiness, and the other +replied: + +"This afternoon the law-suit which you have often heard me speak of is to +be determined; and I am certain of losing it, although justice is on my +side. In short, Master Faustus, nothing remains for me to do but to beg, +or drown myself in the deepest part of the Rhine." + +_Faustus_. How can you be certain that you will lose your cause, if +justice is for you, as you say it is? + +_Friend_. But the five hundred gold guilders which my opponent has given +the Judge are against me; and if I cannot outbid him, I must fall to the +ground. + +_Faustus_. Pooh! does it merely depend on that? Come, lead me to the +Judge. I have a friend here who willingly assists people out of such +difficulties. + +They found the Judge to be a proud, inflated man, who would scarcely +deign to honour a poor client with a look. Faustus had long known him +for what he was. When they entered the room, the Judge, in an imperious +tone, thus addressed Faustus's friend, "Why do you come to trouble me? +Do you not know that tears never interrupt the course of justice?" + +The unhappy friend looked humbly to the ground. + +_Faustus_. Mighty sir, you have spoken well: tears are like water; they +merely spoil the eyes of those that shed them. But do you know that my +friend has right on his side? + +_Judge_. Master Faustus, I know you for a man who plays away his money +at ducks-and-drakes, and who has a loose tongue. Right and law are very +different things: if he has the first for him, it is no reason that he +should have the second. + +_Faustus_. You say that right and law are two different things: +something like judge and justice, perhaps. + +_Judge_. Master Faustus, I have already said that I know you. + +_Faustus_. Perhaps we are mistaken in each other, most enlightened sir. +But it is mere waste of soap to attempt to wash a blackamoor white. (_He +opened the door_, _and in stalked the Devil_.) Here is a gentleman who +will lay before you a document, which I hope will give the cause of my +friend a new aspect. + +When the Judge saw the richly-dressed Leviathan, he assumed a more +friendly countenance, and asked them all to be seated. + +_Faustus_. We can settle the whole business standing. (_To the Devil_) +Produce the document which we have found. + +The Devil counted out of his purse five hundred gold guilders; he then +stopped and looked at the Judge. + +_Judge_. The document is by no means a bad one, gentlemen; but the +adverse party has long ago given me one of equal weight. + +The Devil continued counting till he had told out a thousand; he then +stopped. + +_Judge_. In truth, I had overlooked this circumstance. Such vouchers, +however, are not to be withstood. + +He then gathered up the gold and secured it in his coffer. + +_Faustus_. I hope now that right and law will go together. + +_Judge_. Master Faustus, you understand the art of appeasing the +bitterest enemies. + +Faustus, whom the servility of the Judge as much offended as his former +rudeness, whispered to the Devil, in going away, "Do thou avenge justice +on this wretch." + +Thereupon he left his friend, without waiting for his thanks, and went +about with the Devil to discharge his debts. He then paid visits to his +other friends, showered gold upon them by handfuls, even on those who had +forsaken him in his adversity; and he felt happy in being able to give +unbridled scope to his generosity and greatness of soul. The Devil, +however, who saw deeper into things than Faustus, laughed within himself +at the consequences. + +They now went to the hotel, Faustus, recollecting the conduct of his +wife, once again fell into an exceedingly ill humour. He could not +pardon her for having ceased to lament his departure the moment she had +seen the gold and jewels. Till now he had imagined that she loved him +more than all the treasures of the earth; but what he had just observed +forced him to believe the contrary, and his affection for her was turned +to bitterness. The Devil, who perceived where the shoe pinched, +willingly allowed Faustus to torment himself with these gloomy thoughts, +so that he might tear himself from that sweet tie by which nature still +gently fettered him. He foresaw, with secret rapture, the dreadful +anguish which would one day arise in the bosom of the headstrong Faustus, +when the future should disclose to him all the horrors which he was now +about to perpetrate. + +They dined in the public room, in company with some professors of law and +divinity, who, to the great delight of the Devil, soon fell into a +violent dispute concerning the nun Clara. The flame of that controversy +was still at its full height; party-spirit raged in all houses, and the +present disputants talked so loudly, and said so many ridiculous things, +that Faustus soon forgot his ill humour. But when a doctor of theology +asserted that it was possible for Satan to have carried his wickedness so +far as to have brought the nun into certain circumstances by means of the +dream, the Devil burst into a bellowing laugh; and Faustus immediately +thought of a scheme by which he might revenge himself, in a signal +manner, upon the Archbishop, who had paid so little attention to his +discovery. He hoped then to involve the thread of the theological and +political war at Mayence in such confusion that no human power would be +able to unravel it. After dinner he asked the demon whether it would be +possible for him, under the figure of the Dominican, to pass that night +with the lovely Clara. The Devil assured him that nothing was more easy; +and, if he chose, the abbess herself should usher him into the nun's +cell. Faustus, who had always considered the abbess to be a strict, +pious, and conscientious woman, laughed in scorn at these last words of +the Devil. + +_Devil_. Thy wife, O Faustus, set up a shriek of despair when thou didst +tell her of thy intended departure; but when the glitter of gold and +dress burst upon her view, the sorrows of her heart vanished at once. I +repeat, that the abbess herself shall introduce thee to the cell of the +nun, and I will employ no supernatural means. Thou thyself shalt see how +the old gudgeon will swallow the hook. Come, we will pay her a visit +under the pious figures of two nuns. I know the manners and ways of the +nuns, ay, and of the monks too, of Germany, well enough to ape them. I +will represent the Abbess of the Black Nuns, and thou shalt be her +friend, Sister Agatha. + +At this moment Faustus's friend came, full of joy, to inform him of the +happy issue of the law-suit. He was about to thank Faustus and the Devil +upon his knees; but Faustus said, "Spare your thanks, and take care of my +wife and family during my absence." He then whispered into the ear of +the Devil, "It is time to think of the Judge." + +The Judge wished after dinner to gratify his beloved wife by counting the +gold pieces in her presence. He unlocked the coffer, and started back in +a tremor at the sight of its contents: the gold pieces were changed into +large rats, which sprang out, and fell furiously upon his face and hands. +The Judge, who had a great aversion to these animals, rushed out of the +room; but they pursued him, fastening on his heels. He hurried from the +house, and ran through the streets; but still they were close behind him. +He fled into the fields; but they allowed him no rest, and at last forced +the terrified wretch to seek shelter in the stone tower where the tolls +are gathered, and which stands in the middle of the Rhine. Here he +thought himself safe from farther pursuit; but rats and mice hot from +hell are not to be terrified by water: they swam through, fell upon him, +and ate him up alive. His wife, in her terror and astonishment, told the +history of the transformation of the gold pieces by which her unfortunate +husband had allowed himself to be dazzled; and from that time there has +not been in the whole diocese of Mayence a single instance of a judge or +a man in office taking a bribe. The Devil could not have foreseen this, +or he certainly would have let the scoundrel go unpunished. + +Faustus and the Devil stood in their disguises before the gate of the +convent of White Nuns. The portress ran as fast as she could in order to +inform the abbess of the unexpected visitors. The abbess received them +with conventual greetings, to which the Devil answered in a similar tone. +Sweetmeats and wines were then brought in, and while partaking of them +the two abbesses talked together, of cloister affairs, and of the wicked +world; and the Devil, with a deep sigh, turned the discourse to Clara's +accident. Clara, who, on account of her rank, was the pet-lamb of the +cloister, stood near the abbess, and laughed beneath her veil. Faustus +observed this, and, looking at her, really thought he had never seen a +more charming rogue wear the sacred veil. The Devil at length gave the +conversation a serious turn, and led the abbess to conclude that he had +something weighty to confide to her. + +_Abbess_ (_to Clara_). You may go, my lamb, to the nuns in the garden, +and divert yourself with them; I will send you out some sweetmeats, so +that you may celebrate the coming of our venerable sister. + +Clara bounded away. After a few words, which the Devil uttered in a +disturbed and thoughtful kind of tone, so that he might thereby arouse +the curiosity of the abbess, he came to the point. + +_Devil_. Ah, dear sister, how much do I pity you! It is true, and that +ought in some degree to comfort you, that the whole city and the entire +district are convinced of your holiness, your piety, and the strictness +of your discipline. In a word, you possess all the virtues requisite for +a bride of heaven. But, alas, the world will be the world still; and the +Fiend often infuses evil thoughts into the minds of worldly men, so that +through them he may disturb those saints who are thorns in his side. No, +no; the wicked Devil cannot bear that you should bring up your lambs in +untainted purity. I pity you, as I said before, and still more the +little innocents who are at present confided to your care. What will +become of them when they lose you? + +_Abbess_. Kind sister, be of good cheer; though I am old, I am yet, +thanks to Heaven, sound and hearty, and the little inconveniences which +attend a uniform course of devotion and penitence prolong life rather +than shorten it. So, at least, the physician of the convent tells me +when I complain to him. + +The Devil looked at her attentively. + +"Have you, then, had no anticipation of what is hanging over your head? +no warning vision? Has nothing occurred in the convent to make you look +forward to the future with anxiety? It is customary for pious souls to +be informed by certain signs when any disaster menaces them." + +_Abbess_. You frighten me so, that I tremble in my whole body. But let +me reflect;--yes, yes, I am very restless, and dream of raw heads and +bloody bones; and some days ago--ah, yes!--that certainly was a sign and +a warning--some few days ago I went with my lap-dog, which you see there, +to walk in the garden. I was alone; the nuns were at some distance, +telling stories beneath the linden-trees. All at once the gardener's +great mastiff sprung upon _Piety_, for that is the name of my pet. I +shuddered from head to foot, and crossed myself again and again; but that +would avail nothing. At last I struck at the hideous brute with my +staff,--yes, I struck with all my strength the filthy hound who would +thus profane the cloister; and I continued striking until the staff, +which his reverence the Archbishop delivered to me upon my consecration +as abbess, broke in two. Was that a sign or a warning, think ye? + +The Devil and Faustus pretended to be shocked. + +_Devil_. Ah, the very worst in the world. All now is but too clear and +manifest. Did not I tell you how it would turn out, Sister Agatha? + +Faustus made a humble bow of assent. + +_Abbess_. For Heaven's sake, speak, or I shall run mad. + +_Devil_. Contain yourself, dear sister. Help is to be found, and who +knows but I bring it with me? Remember that it was the staff which the +Archbishop presented to you upon your being consecrated an abbess which +you broke; and now listen to me attentively. You know my cousin the +prebend; well, he confided to me a very terrible affair. He indeed made +me solemnly promise not to tell you; but I know it is best to commit a +little sin, if by its means we can prevent a great one and confound the +projects of Satan. + +_Abbess_. You are perfectly right; and the Fathers of the Church hold +that doctrine, as my confessor has often told me. + +_Devil_. Know, then, that the Archbishop has so far got the upper hand +of the Chapter, that he has brought them to consent to your being deposed +after the lapse of a few months, and his niece Clara being made abbess in +your stead. + +"Jesu Maria!" cried the abbess, wrung her hands, and fell into a swoon. +The Devil made a sour face at her exclamation, and Faustus, laughing, +rubbed her wrinkled brows. After she had recovered herself, she shed a +torrent of tears, and shrieked a thousand curses against the wickedness +of the world. + +_Devil_. Do not despair, dear sister. For a distant evil there is +always a remedy. + +_Abbess_. And what do you advise me to do? Wretch that I am! O +Heavens! what will become of me,--what will become of the nuns? + +_Devil_. I have already said that it is best to commit a slight sin if, +by so doing, we prevent a great one, and you yourself have proved it by +the authority of holy Fathers; but, dear sister, courage and +understanding will be necessary, if you wish to obtain your purpose +without danger to your own soul, by loading another person with the +capital sin. + +_Abbess_. Ah, dear sister, and how is that to be contrived? + +_Devil_. I was once in our convent in almost a similar perplexity. The +good Sister Agatha here is my witness; and as she saw every thing, and +assisted me, we may speak out before her. + +Faustus bowed with humility. + +_Devil_. A nun who, by sinful wit, and yet more sinful beauty, had found +favour among the great and powerful, was, by their assistance, on the +point of rising above me. Ah! I have felt how grievous are the thoughts +of being forced to obey, after one has for a long time exercised +boundless power. Well, in the presence of Sister Agatha, I entered into +a consultation with my relation the prebend: he is very knowing in +affairs of conscience and crime, and understands to a hair's-breadth what +is damnable and what is not. This wise man gave me a piece of advice +which helped me out of my trouble, and for which I shall always have +reason to bless him. I admit that the expedient at first appeared to me +sinful; but he assured me, and proved to me out of the casuists, that a +little fasting and penance would do away with all that was culpable in +it. + +_Abbess_. But the advice--the advice! + +_Devil_. I am ashamed to tell it you aloud. + +_Abbess_. Then whisper it into my ear. What the Abbess of the Black +Nuns could do without endangering her salvation, the Abbess of the White +Nuns may do also. + +_Devil_ (_softly into her ear_). He advised me to contrive so that this +dangerous nun should commit the sin of * * * + +_Abbess_ (_crossing herself_). Blessed Ursula! Why, that is the work of +the Devil, and leads directly to hell. + +_Devil_. Ay, very true, but only the person who commits it; and I was +not advising you to do it. Remember, dear sister, you are not to be +punished for all the sins which your nuns may choose to commit. + +_Abbess_. But, in Heaven's name, how did you manage this dangerous +affair without being discovered? + +_Devil_. Oh, my situation was much more difficult than yours, for you +are assisted by the report of the dream, which already fills the whole +city. Suppose, now, you were to let a man, dressed like the Dominican, +slip into Clara's cell, and the signs of the sinful deed were afterwards +to appear, would not the whole world say that it was a trick of the arch +foe of mankind? Let Satan have the credit of it, and do you remain +sitting in your chair, adorned with that dignity which Heaven has been +pleased to grant you. I have given you this advice out of friendship, +and for your good; you are now at liberty to do as you please. At all +events, I will send you some one to-night to personate the Dominican, and +he will only have to return if you are too scrupulous. + +The abbess sat like one amazed, and in her confusion began to tell her +Rosary: "_Ave Maria_. It is certainly allying oneself to the Devil. +Blessed Ursula, illumine my darkness." She cast her eyes upon the image +of the saint. "It would certainly be a great scandal to the convent. +_Ave Maria_. But then it would be placed to Satan's account. Perhaps, +though, I might be damned for it. _Pater noster_. And am I now to +become a servant in the cloister, and in my old days to be tormented by a +superior, after I have so long tormented the nuns? This little baggage +has already afforded sufficient scandal to the whole town without this. +Alas, when I have no longer authority to box the nuns about, how will +this and that malignant creature revenge herself upon me! _Ave Maria_. +Well, I have made up my mind, and, for the good of the cloister, I will +continue abbess the remainder of any days, cost what it will." + +The Devil applauded her, and the plan was soon arranged. Upon going away +the Devil said to Faustus: + +"Now, what have I done else than ask the pride of this old beldame +whether it is better to risk eternal damnation, or to give up that +tyrannical power over the poor nuns, which the hand of Death will soon +deprive her of?" + +Whatever pleasure Faustus derived from the certainty that his desires +would be gratified, he was nevertheless much displeased that the Devil +should always be in the right. That same evening the abbess herself +introduced him, under the disguise of the Dominican, into Clara's cell +while the nuns were at vespers. Clara herself soon appeared, and after +she had commended herself to St. Ursula, she laid herself down. Her +imagination, which had once been directed to a certain object, often +repeated to her in dreams her former vision; and she lay in just such a +transport, when Faustus approached her, and embodied the apparition, upon +which Clara awoke, and still believed herself merely in a dream. The +abbess in the mean time did penance in her cell, and made a vow to fast +every week for the good of her soul. But the consequences of this night +were horrible to poor Clara. + + * * * * * + +The next morning Faustus took leave of his family. Few tears were shed; +but his old father, in a mournful tone, gave him wholesome advice. + +As Faustus, with the Devil, rode over the bridge which leads across the +Rhine, thinking of last night's adventure, and making comments upon the +abbess, he saw afar off a man in the water, who seemed upon the point of +drowning, and only feebly struggled against approaching death. He +commanded Leviathan to save the man. The Devil answered, with a +significant look: + +"Think well of what thou requirest; he is a youth, and perhaps it will be +better for him and for thee that he ends his life here." + +_Faustus_. Thou fiend, only ready for mischief, wouldst thou have me +withstand the sacred feeling of nature? Hasten and save him, I repeat. + +_Devil_. Canst thou not swim thyself? No. Well, the consequences be +thy reward; thou wilt repent of this. + +He rushed into the stream, and rescued the youth. Faustus consoled +himself with the idea of having, by this good act, atoned for the +preceding night of sin; and Leviathan laughed at the consolation. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +The Devil now led Faustus through a series of adventures which were to +serve as a prelude to the most afflicting vicissitudes. What Faustus had +hitherto seen had embittered his heart; but the scenes which now opened +upon him by degrees so wounded his spirit, that his mind was unable +either to support or remedy them; and only one of the worldly great, or, +what is nearly synonymous, a worker and designer of human misery, could +have witnessed them unmoved. + +The Devil and Faustus were riding in close conversation along the banks +of the Fulda, when they saw beneath an oak-tree a countrywoman sitting +with her children, appearing to be the lifeless image of agony and dumb +despair. Faustus, whom sorrow attracted as much as joy, went hurriedly +up to her, and inquired the cause of her grief. The woman gazed at him +for some time, and it was not until his sympathising look had in some +degree melted her frozen heart that she was able, amidst tears and +sobbings, to explain herself in the following words: + +"In the whole world there are no beings so wretched as myself and these +poor children. My husband was indebted to the Prince-Bishop for three +years' rent. The first year he could not pay it, on account of the +failure of his crops; during the second the Bishop's wild-boars grubbed +up all his seed from the ground; and during the third his whole +hunting-train galloped over our fields and destroyed our harvest. As my +husband had often been threatened by the steward with a distress, he +intended to have gone this morning to Frankfort, to sell a fat calf and +his last pair of oxen, and with the amount to have paid his rent. But +just as he was setting out the Bishop's clerk-of-the-kitchen came, and +demanded the calf for his lordship's table. My husband pleaded his +poverty, and told him how unjust it would be to take away his calf, which +would fetch a high price at Frankfort. The clerk-of-the-kitchen +answered, that no peasant had a right to carry any thing out of his +master's domain. The steward and his bailiffs then came, and instead of +taking my husband's part, he drove off the oxen; the clerk-of-the-kitchen +took the calf; the bailiffs turned me and my children out of house and +home; and while they were pillaging and carrying off our goods, my +husband went into the barn and out his throat in despair. The poor +wretch lies under that sheet, and we sit here to watch the body, so that +it may not be devoured by the wild-beasts, for the priest has refused to +bury it." + +She tore away the white sheet which had concealed the body, and fell to +the ground. Faustus started at the horrible sight, while tears gushed +from his eyes, and he cried, "Man, man, is this thy lot?" Then looking +up to heaven, "Oh! didst thou create this unfortunate man merely that a +servant of thy religion might drive him to despair and suicide?" He cast +the cloth over the body, flung the woman some gold, and said, "I will go +to the Bishop and tell him your melancholy story. I am certain that he +will bury your husband, give you back your goods, and punish the +villains." + +This circumstance made so strong an impression upon Faustus, that he and +the Devil reached the Bishop's castle before he could collect himself. +They were received with great civility, and shown into a spacious hall, +where his reverence was at table. The Prince-Bishop was a man in his +best years, but so enormously corpulent that fat seemed to have +overwhelmed his nerves, his heart, and his very soul. He was only +animated while eating; all his sense lay in his palate, and he never knew +vexation, except when he was disappointed of a dish which he had ordered. +His table was so well furnished, that Faustus, whom the Devil had often +banqueted by means of his spirits, thought to himself that the Bishop +surpassed the master of a thousand arts in his dinners. In the middle of +the table stood, amongst other dishes, a large calf's-head,--a favourite +morsel with the Bishop. He was engaged, both body and soul, in the +feast, and had not yet spoken a single word, when suddenly Faustus +exclaimed: + +"Gracious sir, do not take it ill of me if I spoil your appetite, but it +is impossible for me to look on that calf's-head without telling you of a +shocking affair which has this day occurred in the neighbourhood of your +palace. I hope, from your humanity and Christian mildness, that you will +cause those aggrieved to be recompensed, and take care in future that +your officers do not again outrage humanity, as they have done in this +affair." + +The Bishop raised his eyes in wonder, looked at Faustus, and emptied his +glass. + +Faustus related the story with warmth and feeling; none of those present, +however, paid any attention to him, and the Bishop continued eating. +Faustus then said: "I think I am speaking to a Bishop, a shepherd of his +flock, and am standing among teachers and preachers of religion and +Christian charity? My lord, am I right or not?" + +The Bishop eyed him scornfully; then calling for the +clerk-of-the-kitchen, he said: "What hubbub is this about a peasant who +has been fool enough to cut his throat?" + +The clerk-of-the-kitchen laughed, told the story as Faustus had done, and +added: "I took away his calf because it would grace your lordship's +table, and was too good for the Frankfort burghers, to whom he wished to +sell it. The steward distrained his goods because he had always been a +bad tenant, and for three years had not paid his rent. Thus, my lord, +does the case stand; and truly no peasant shall drive any thing good out +of your demesne with my consent." + +_Bishop_. Go; you are quite right. (_To Faustus_) What have you now to +say? you see that he did his duty in taking the calf; or do you think +that the Frankfort citizens ought to eat the fat calves of my land, and I +the lean? + +Faustus was about to speak. + +_Bishop_. Listen! eat, drink, and be silent. You are the first person +that has ever spoken of peasants and such rabble at my table. Verily, if +your dress did not declare you to be a gentleman, I should be inclined to +think that you were sprung from beggars, since you speak so warmly in +their favour. Learn that the peasant who does not pay his rent does just +as well in cutting his throat, as certain people would do in holding +their tongues instead of spoiling my appetite with useless speeches. +Clerk-of-the-kitchen, that is a noble calf's-head. + +_Clerk-of-the-kitchen_. It is the head of Hans Ruprecht's calf. + +_Bishop_. So, so! Send it me here, and reach me the pepper. I will cut +myself a slice. And you, Mr. What's-your-name, may as well take a piece +with me. + +The clerk-of-the-kitchen placed the pepper-castor before the Bishop. +Faustus whispered into the ear of the Devil; and at the moment the Bishop +ran his knife into the calf's-head, the Devil changed it to the head of +Hans Ruprecht, which, wild, horrible, and bloody, now stared the Bishop +in the face. His reverence let fall his knife, and sank back in a +feinting fit; while the whole company sat in lifeless horror and +stupefaction. + +_Faustus_. My Lord Bishop, and ye most reverend gentlemen, learn from +this to practise Christian charity as well as to preach it. + +He hurried away with the Devil. + +The _sang-froid_ of the Bishop and his table-companions, and the brutal +manner in which he spoke of the fate of the unfortunate suicide, sowed +the first seeds of gloomy horror in the breast of Faustus. He revolved +in his mind his former experience, as well as what he had seen since he +had roamed about with the Devil, and perceived, whichever way he turned, +nothing but hard-heartedness, deceit, tyranny, and a willingness to +commit crime for the sake of gold, preferment, or luxury. He wished to +seek for the cause of all this in man himself; but his own unquiet and +doubtful spirit, and his imagination, which always avoided difficulties +within its reach, began already in dark dissatisfaction to make the +Creator of mankind, if not the author, yet, by his sufferance of all +these horrors, at least the accomplice. These impious ideas only +required the aid of a few more horrible scenes to derange his +understanding entirely; and the Devil inwardly rejoiced in being able to +afford a future opportunity for that purpose. Faustus hoped soon to cure +himself of this sadness at the court of the renowned prince, and his +companion willingly left him in this delusion. About evening they +arrived at a city, at the entrance of which they perceived a crowd of +people assembled round a tower, in which culprits condemned to death were +accustomed to pass the last night of their lives. Faustus, observing +that the people were looking up to the ironed windows with the deepest +sorrow, asked the cause of this assemblage. Whereupon a hundred voices +gave him an answer. + +"Dr. Robertus, our father, the friend of freedom, the protector of the +people, the avenger of the oppressed, sits imprisoned in yonder tower. +The cruel tyrannical Minister, once his friend, has now condemned him to +death; and to-morrow he is to be executed, because he dared to uphold our +privileges." + +These words sunk deep into the soul of Faustus. He conceived a high +opinion of a man who, at the risk of his own life, had dared to stand +forward as the avenger of his fellow-creatures. As he himself had just +been a witness of the consequences of oppression, he commanded the Devil +to carry him to this doctor. The Devil took him aside, and then flew up +with him into the tower, and entered the cell of the avenger of the +people. Faustus saw before him a man whose daring and gloomy physiognomy +was truly disgusting. But the romantic imagination of Faustus pictured, +at first sight, the form of a great man, from what he had heard and from +what he saw before him. The doctor did not seem much surprised at their +sudden appearance. Faustus approached him, and said: + +"Doctor Robertus, I come to hear your story from your own mouth; not that +I have any doubt, for your appearance confirms all that has been told me +of you; I am now convinced that you fall a sacrifice to that tyranny +which oppresses the race of man, and which I abhor as much as you do. I +come likewise to offer you my assistance, which, contrary to all +appearances, can extricate you from this dreadful situation." + +The doctor looked coldly upon him, let his face sink into his hands, and +replied: + +"Yes, I fall a victim to power and tyranny; and, what is most grievous to +me, through the means of a false friend, who sacrifices me more to his +fear and envy than to his despotic principles. I know not who ye are, +and whether ye can save me; but I wish that men of your appearance should +know Dr. Robertus, who is to bleed to-morrow in the cause of freedom. +From my earliest youth the noble spirit of independence, which man is +bound to thank for every thing great that he is capable of, fired my +breast; from my early youth the numerous examples of tyranny and +oppression which I saw with my eyes, or read of in history, roused my +soul and inflamed me to fury. Often did I shed tears because I felt +myself unable to avenge the sufferings of mankind. To increase my +misery, I read in the history of the Greeks and Romans what advancement +man made in virtue when tyrants were put down, and he was left to follow +the bent of his own nature. Think not that I am one of those fools whose +idea of freedom is that every one should do as he pleases. Full well I +know that the capacities of men are different, and that their situations +in life must be different; but when I considered the laws which should +secure to each individual his life and property, I found nothing but a +wild chaos, which tyrannical power had artfully mixed up in order to make +herself the sole and arbitrary mistress of the happiness and the +existence of the subject. After this discovery, the whole human race +appeared to me as a flock of sheep, which a band of robbers had conspired +to plunder and devour by means of laws enacted by themselves, and to +which they themselves are not amenable: for where is the law that fetters +the rulers of the earth? Is it not madness that those very people who, +by their situations, are most liable to the abuse of their passions, are +subservient to no law, and acknowledge no tribunal which can call them to +account? Misery is near, and promised vengeance is far off; and that +chimes-in but poorly with the feelings and nature of man." Faustus +earnestly listened to all this, looked furious, and struck his forehead +with his hand. The Devil was quite enraptured with the orator, who +continued: + +"The wild indignation which I expressed at every new act of oppression +does honour to my heart, and therefore I care very little though my +enemies can reproach me for want of prudence; for what is termed prudence +by the world is nothing else than blind submission, servility, flattery, +and being unscrupulous how or in what manner a place is obtained; but an +independent being like myself seeks for happiness by purer means. I had +the misfortune to be allied, by the bonds of friendship, to the present +Minister from the time we were at school together. He sought +advancement, and he has the spirit which insures it; for, from his very +infancy, he has endeavoured to obtain power and riches by principles +entirely opposite to mine; and in proportion as I have attacked +tyrannical forms of government, he has defended them. We have disputed +this delicate point privately and in public, and my honesty has always +enabled me to defeat him; but as it was natural that I should have the +oppressed part of mankind on my side, so was it yet more reasonable that +he should succeed in winning over all those who derive advantage from +enslaving their fellow-men. As these are the very people who can open +the door of happiness and fortune to their confederates, so was he soon +distinguished and raised, step by step, to the rank of prime-minister of +the kingdom; whilst I, neglected, despised, and unknown, remained +stationary. The proud despot exerted his utmost to bring me over to his +party by bribery and promise of place; but I saw that he only wished to +make me thereby more deeply feel his power, and that he felt nothing more +was wanting to complete his triumph than to have a man of my principles +acknowledge him as patron, and sanctify his arbitrary measures by +cooperating with him. True, therefore, to myself, I the more eagerly +exposed and censured the crimes which he was daily committing. You must +be aware that if he had been capable of feeling what was great, this +hostility would have inspired him with admiration for a man who took him +to task with so much danger to himself; but it operated in a different +manner. The more I exposed him, the more his hatred against me +increased; and when I, a month ago, published a paper in which I depicted +him in his true colours, and the people thereupon assembled round his +house, threatened his life, and shouted my name with enthusiasm, the +wretch had the baseness to send the paper forthwith to the Prince, who +had me tried and condemned to death. Thus the laws of tyrants condemn +me, but the rights of man acquit me.--I have now told you my history, and +you shall hear nothing more from me. I die without a murmur, and merely +grieve that I cannot burst the chain which fetters my fellow-men. If you +can assist me, good; but know that death from the hand of my foe is more +welcome to me than mercy. Leave me now to myself; return to slavery, +while I wing my course to everlasting freedom." + +Faustus was confounded at the magnanimity of the Doctor, and hurried away +to reproach the minister with his injustice, and put him to shame. The +Devil, who saw deeper into matters, perceived that the Doctor was +animated with quite a different spirit than that of freedom. The +minister gave them an immediate audience; when Faustus spoke to him with +much warmth and boldness concerning the situation and opinions of the +Doctor. He represented to him how injurious it would be to his +reputation to sacrifice a man, whom he once called friend, at the shrine +of despotism. He gave him to understand that every man would believe +that revenge and fear had actuated him to get rid of so sharp-sighted an +observer of his actions. "If your proceedings be just," he continued, +"you have, then, nothing to fear from him; if, on the contrary, you are +such a man as he declares you to be, his execution will only strengthen +his assertion, and every honest man will call you a false friend and an +oppressor of your fellow-citizens." + +_Minister_. I do not know you, nor do I ask who you are. The manner in +which I bear your reproaches and your epithets will best prove my opinion +of you. Consider, now, whether you have a right to bestow them from mere +hearsay, being yourself unacquainted with the affairs of this country. I +will conclude, however, that you speak from compassion, and therefore +will give you an answer. I was, and am still, the friend of Dr. +Robertus; and I deplore the necessity which forces me to deliver up to +justice a man whose talents might have made him useful to his country, +had he not perverted them to her destruction. I will not search for the +cause of this in his breast, but will leave it to his own conscience. +For a long time I have tolerated his dangerous infatuation; but since he +has inflamed the minds of the people for whose welfare I am answerable, +and has placed himself at the head of a rebellion, he must die, as my own +son must, were he guilty of the like offence. The law has judged him, +and not I; he knew this law, and knew what penalties rebellion draws down +upon its sons. I have nothing to say against the opinion of the people: +when they are no longer misled, I believe they will consider me as their +father. If you please, you may stay among us; and whenever you can see +any thing really calculated for the people's good, be assured that I +shall always pay attention to it. + +After these words, which he spoke in a firm and unaltered tone, he +retired, and left Faustus, who was unable at the moment to make any +reply. Upon going away, the latter said to the Devil, "Which of these +two, now, shall I believe?" The Devil shrugged his shoulders; for he +generally appeared to be ignorant when concealing the truth would be +profitable to himself and injurious to mankind. + +_Faustus_. But why should I ask thee? I will obey the call of my own +heart. A man who is so nearly allied to me by his way of thinking shall +not die. + +If Faustus had been acquainted with some of our modern bawlers for +freedom, he would not have been so mistaken in the Doctor; but such a +being was a novelty at that period. + +The next morning, when the execution was to take place, Faustus went into +the grand square, attended by the Devil, and told him in going along what +he was to do. At the very moment the executioner was about to decapitate +the Doctor, who had kneeled down, looking very ghastly, the latter +disappeared. The Devil carried him through the air beyond the frontiers; +and there, delivering him a large sum of money, he abandoned him joyfully +to his fate, for he saw pretty clearly how he would employ his gold and +liberty. The people raised a wild shout of joy at the disappearance of +the Doctor, and believed that Providence had rescued their favourite. +Faustus also shouted, and rejoiced at the glorious action. + +Faustus and the Devil now rode to the court of the Prince of ---. {134} +They soon reached the court of this prince, who was cried up through all +Germany as a wise and virtuous ruler, whose only happiness consisted in +the welfare of his subjects. It is true that the subjects themselves did +not always join in this cry; but the prince is not yet born who can give +satisfaction to all men. + +Faustus and the Devil, by means of their dress and equipage, soon found +admittance at court. Faustus regarded the Prince with the eyes of a man +whose heart was already prepossessed in his favour; and to carry this +prepossession even to conviction, nothing more was necessary than the +noble exterior of the Prince himself. He was, or appeared to be, frank +and open; endeavoured to please and to win all hearts without appearing +to do so; was familiar without laying aside his dignity, and possessed +that prudent coldness which inspires respect, though we scarcely know +why. All this was blended with so much elegance, urbanity, and decorum, +that it would have been difficult for the most acute eye to have +distinguished the acquired, the artificial, and the assumed, from the +plain and natural. Faustus, who had as yet seen few of those men of the +world whose natural characters are swallowed up by political prudence, +formed an ideal one out of the above-mentioned materials; and after he +had for some time visited the court, and believed that he had obtained a +thorough knowledge of the head personage, the following conversation took +place one evening between him and the Devil: + +_Faustus_. I have hitherto purposely said nothing to you of this Prince; +but now, having, as I flatter myself, caught his character, I venture to +affirm that report is no liar, and I hope to wring from thee an avowal +that he is the man we have been seeking. + +_Devil_. I guessed, from your beginning, how you would end. I suppose +you verily believe that you have brought the Devil into a quandary; but +of this anon. Your prince shall be for the present a thoroughly honest +fellow. I will tell you nothing of the result of the observations I have +made upon him; for, from what I have learnt at the minister's, there is +something going forward which will soon give you ocular demonstration of +his worth; till then keep the idea you have formed of him in your bosom, +and tell me what is your opinion of Count C., his favourite. + +_Faustus_. Curse it: he is the only person here whom I cannot +comprehend. He is the bosom friend of the Prince, and yet is as slippery +as an eel, which always escapes through your fingers; and as smooth as a +woman is towards her husband when she has resolved to deceive him. But +perhaps he is obliged to conceal the emotions of his soul, lest some of +those spies who are always hanging round the favourites of princes should +take advantage of him. + +_Devil_. His soul! Dost think then, Faustus, that a man who so +studiously endeavours to disguise himself has a breast that would bear +the light? Never trust him in whom art and subtlety have so far overcome +animal nature, that even the signs of his instinct and his sensations are +extinguished. When that which works and ferments within you shows itself +no more in your face, in your eyes, and in your actions, you are no +longer what nature formed you; but are become the most dangerous brutes +on the earth. + +_Faustus_. And is the Count such a being as you have described? + +_Devil_. The Count is a man who has travelled much and has made the tour +of the courts of Europe, has smoothed down the rugged man, and has +sacrificed the noble feelings of his heart at the cold shrine of reason; +in short, one of those calculating heads who laugh at your ideal virtue, +and act with men like the potters, who dash the work of their hands to +pieces if it does not please their fancy. He is one of those who think +themselves justified, by their experience, to consider the entire race of +men as a pack of wolves who will devour all who put confidence in them. +Nothing delights him more than to carry on an intricate state-plot; and +he treats a maiden as he does a rose which he plucks from the +stalk,--inhales the sweetness, and then very coolly treads it under foot. + +_Faustus_. Malicious devil! and can the man thou hast depicted to me be +the bosom friend of the Prince of ---? + +_Devil_. Time will show what he is to him. I tell thee there is +something going forward. Didst thou, by the by, observe the minister +this evening? + +_Faustus_. He appeared sad and melancholy. + +_Devil_. He, now, is one of those whom you call honest men. He is just, +noble-minded, and attentive to the duties of his situation; but, like all +of you, he has a foible to counterbalance his virtues; this is an +unbounded tenderness for the other sex: and as he, out of principle, +required the blessing of the priest to his pleasures, so did he, after +the death of his first wife, make a fool of himself by marrying the woman +whom you have seen. Through a few hours' enjoyment he destroyed the +fabric of his fortune. She took advantage of his doting fondness, and +wasted in luxury, dress, and play, her, his, and his children's property, +and involved him in debts to an immense amount. It is true she found in +Baron H., whom you know, and who is sole master in the house, a powerful +coadjutor. When they were completely aground, and their desires had +become more craving in proportion as the difficulty of gratifying them +increased, the lady readily agreed to a plan which her minion proposed to +her in private, and which was nothing else "than to sell the honour of +her stepdaughter, under an equivocal promise of marriage, at as high a +price as the favourite would buy it." The minister had not the slightest +suspicion of all this; he only felt his lack of money, the weight of his +debts, the full mass of his folly, and trembled in momentary expectation +of the arrival of his son, whom the wife had driven from home in order +that she might dissipate his property. The poor youth had in the +interval departed for the Turkish wars, and had been rewarded for his +interference with a wooden arm. I do not say that the favourite might +not have had, at the commencement of this affair, serious views of +marrying the daughter, for he was well aware of the father's interest +with the Prince; but during these last few days the scene has quite +changed. The Prince has proposed to him an alliance with one of the +richest heiresses in the land; and he has determined, by one secret +stroke, so entirely to overwhelm the minister and his whole house, that +no one shall dare to cry for revenge or to complain of him. They will +all be silent, and the minister will be crushed beneath his foot, like +the worm, whose sufferings are unheard. + +_Faustus_. But will not the Prince hear of this deed, and punish it? + +_Devil_. Thine own eyes shall be witnesses of the issue of the affair. + +_Faustus_. I command thee, under pain of my displeasure, to play none of +thy tricks here. + +_Devil_. Those who by their crimes put the Devil himself to blush, have +very little need of his assistance. We begin now, O Faustus, to remove +the covering from the hearts of men; and I own that I feel sincere joy in +finding that the Germans are capable of something grand. You, indeed, +are merely the imitators of other nations, and lose thereby the glory of +originality; but in hell that is not esteemed essential, and good-will in +the cause of wickedness is all that is required. + +Faustus passed his time gaily among the women of the court, corrupting +all those who were to be obtained by money or a fine face; whilst the +drama of the favourite was rapidly hastening to a conclusion. He now +revealed his finely-spun design to Baron H. The latter was to be the +instrument of it; and as the glitter of gold was no longer at hand to +sharpen his palled passion for the minister's wife, and as the tears of +the unfortunate daughter, the misery of the father, and the expected +arrival of the crippled son, began to bear heavily upon his tender +conscience, he determined at once to free himself of all these burdens. +His reward consisted in the Count's undertaking to persuade the Prince to +send the Baron on an important mission to the imperial court. In +consideration of this, the Baron was to procure the wife of the minister +to purloin secretly, from the cabinet of her husband, a certain +parchment, considered to be one of the most important title-deeds of the +princely house; and which the favourite was well aware would shortly be +called for, on account of a certain law-suit with another illustrious +family. The Count then hoped to make it appear that the minister, for a +sum of money, would have delivered it into the hands of the adversaries, +if the favourite's watchfulness had not detected his treachery. The +spouse of the minister, who thought that an old man who could no longer +supply her with gold for her follies deserved no mercy, readily delivered +the paper into the hands of the Baron, for whom she had the most doting +fondness. + +The minister was walking, in a melancholy manner, up and down his +apartment. The sense of approaching shame, and the certainty of deceived +love, had removed from him even his daughter, who latterly had been his +only consolation. She was weeping in her chamber, and breaking a heart +worthy of a better destiny. The minister's meditations were interrupted +by his wife, who now came to reproach him, and thereby add to his misery. +Baron H. presently entered, and coolly demanded the commission, by virtue +of which he was to act at the imperial court. As he brought with him the +Prince's order for the same, the minister instantly went into his cabinet +to fetch it. In the mean time the lady, who now first heard of the +Baron's intended departure, began to rave at him in the agony of despair. +No sooner did the minister return with the Baron's commission than a +messenger brought him a note from the Prince, in which he was commanded +instantly to bring the title-deed into court in order that it might be +laid before the envoy of the adverse party. The minister searched the +cabinet, emptied all his drawers of their contents, and the cold sweat of +death began to trickle down his face. He questioned his secretaries and +clerks, his wife also, and his daughter; but to no purpose. At length he +was obliged to resolve, fortified as he was by his innocence, to expose +himself to the dreadful storm. He hastened to the Prince, who was +sitting alone with the Count, informed him of his misfortune, assured him +of his innocence, and submitted to his destiny. The Count allowed the +Prince to give way to his first indignation at this unwelcome +intelligence, when, advancing very coolly, he took the title-deed out of +his own pocket, and delivered it to the Prince with a low bow. He then +suffered himself to be closely questioned as to the means by which the +deed came into his possession; but not until the Prince had threatened +him with his displeasure did he confess, with the greatest apparent +reluctance, the process of the affair according to his concerted plan. +The minister was dumb; this evidence of his guilt so confused him, that +not even the consciousness of his innocence could dispel the darkness +which had come over him. The Prince looked furiously upon him, and said: +"I ought long since to have expected that you would endeavour to pay the +debts of your waste and extravagance by betraying me." This last +reproach in some degree restored the wretched man to his senses; he was +about to speak, but the Prince commanded him to be silent, to resign his +situation immediately, go home, and not leave his house till sentence +should have been pronounced upon him. + +The minister accordingly went home, while big tears rolled down his +cheeks. Despair forced from the daughter the secret of her shame, and +from the wife the avowal of her crime. The strength of his spirit gave +way, his senses became confused, and that most frightful of all +visitations, insanity, drew a gloomy veil over the remembrance of the +past, and, by the ruin of his mind, healed his heart of the wounds which +his nearest and dearest had inflicted upon it. + +It was at this moment that the Devil led Faustus into the chamber of the +minister, having previously informed him of every particular of the +affair. All the fibres of feeling were not yet entirely destroyed, and +some few drops of paternal sensibility were yet falling from the eyes of +the good old man upon the miserable daughter who was clasping his knees. +He smiled once more, played with her dishevelled locks, and smiled yet +again. Suddenly his son rushed in, and was about to precipitate himself +into his embrace. The father gave him a ghastly look; a wild shriek of +madness, which thrilled through the nerves of every one present, burst +from his heaving breast; and the poor sufferer became for ever an object +of horror and painful compassion. + +Faustus raged, and uttered the most frightful curses. He instantly +determined to inform the Prince of the whole proceeding, and to unmask +the traitors. The Devil smiled, and advised him to go softly to work if +he wished thoroughly to know this Prince whom he boasted of as an +impersonation of all human virtues. Faustus hastened to court; and +certain, as he imagined, of being able to cause the ruin of the favourite +by this discovery, he coolly communicated every thing to the Prince. +When he came to the motive which urged the Count to this horrible action, +namely, his wish to free himself from his engagements with the daughter +of the minister, the countenance of the Prince brightened; he sent for +the Count, and embracing him on his entrance, said: + +"Happy is the Prince who finds a friend who, out of obedience and the +fear of displeasing him, dares commit an action which the common rules of +morality condemn. The minister has always acted like a fool. I am glad +that we have thus got rid of him. Thou wilt fill his situation much +better." + +Faustus stood for a moment petrified with horror. Noble warmth soon, +however, began to fire his breast. He depicted in frightful colours the +present situation of the minister. He then burst into fury and +reproaches, and, without the least reserve or fear, spoke like an avenger +of humanity when unmasking a cold-blooded, hypocritical tyrant. He was +turned out of the palace as a madman. He returned home, and the Devil +received him with a triumphant air. Faustus said nothing, but gnashed +his teeth, and, in his venomous wrath, rejoiced that he was entirely +separated from the race of man. + +About midnight the Count caused the Devil and Faustus to be arrested, and +cast into a frightful dungeon. Faustus commanded the fiend to submit +quietly, because he wished to see how far these hypocrites would carry +their wickedness. When in prison, the dreadful scene of the day flitted +before his mind's eye in colours of tenfold horror; and wild thoughts +against Him who rules the destiny of man arose from the contemplation of +it. His soul became inflamed; and at length he exclaimed, with scornful +laughter: + +"Where is here the finger of the Godhead, and where is that Providence +which presides over the path of the righteous? I see the just man +insane, and the wretch who drove him to madness rewarded; I disclosed to +the tyrant, who affects virtue, the wickedness of his favourite, and he +found him only so much the more worthy of his friendship and favour. If +this be the order and harmony of the moral world, then there is harmony +and order in the brain of the poor lunatic, who is suffered to fall +unprotected and unrevenged." + +He continued, while the Devil listened and laughed: "But allowing that +man is obliged, by necessity, to do every thing he does, then must his +deeds and his actions be ascribed to the Supreme Being, and they thereby +cease to be punishable. If nothing but what is good and perfect can flow +from a Perfect Being, then are our deeds, horrible as they seem to us, +good and perfect. If they are wicked, and in reality what they seem to +us, then ought that Being to be looked up to with horror and aversion. +Come, fiend, resolve my doubts, and tell me what causes the moral misery +of man." + +_Devil_. A truce to your doubts! no one clothed in flesh is permitted to +untie that knot, and _therefore_ _a thousand fools will hang_, _drown_, +_and destroy themselves_. Do not, O Faustus, forget the end which we +proposed to ourselves at our first interview. I promised to show thee +men in their nakedness, in order to cure thee of the prejudices thou +hadst imbibed from thy books, so that they might not disturb thee in the +enjoyment of life. But when thou hast rid thyself of all these human +frailties, and hast discovered that the pretended guidance of the Eternal +One whom thou hast renounced on my account, and before whose sight thou +mayst commit, undeterred, the most horrible atrocities, is only a +delusion, perhaps thy soul will then have sufficient strength to +understand these horrible mysteries; and, if so, I will reveal them to +thee. + +_Faustus_. Then, by the mysteries of evil which surround men from their +birth to their grave, I shall yet be the greatest of my race; for, in +summoning thee, I shall have threaded the labyrinth in which the rest +must grope about to all eternity. + +_Devil_. It is well that the rest of men do not possess the magic art +which has enabled thee to render me thy subject, else would hell soon be +emptied; and thou wouldst see more devils walking upon the earth than +there are saints in the Calendar. Heigh ho! I know what a troublesome +life a devil has who is forced to put in execution all the designs of an +honest heart and a sound head: what, then, would become of us, if every +rascal and fool could call us out of hell! + +This observation of the Devil's was on the point of putting Faustus into +a better humour; but his attention was almost immediately directed to +another subject. Six armed men, with dark lanterns, followed by two +executioners with empty sacks, now entered the dungeon. Faustus asked +them what they wanted; and the leader answered, with great politeness: +"We are merely come, sir, to request you and your honourable companion to +creep into these sacks; for we are ordered to tie you up in them, and +then fling you into the neighbouring stream." The Devil laughed aloud, +and exclaimed: "See, Faustus, the Prince of --- wishes to cool in you +that enthusiasm for virtue which you displayed so warmly before him +to-day." Faustus looked furiously, and gave a sign: a fiendish roar +instantly filled the arched vaults; the soldiers and executioners sunk +trembling to the ground, and out flew the prisoners on the wings of the +mighty wind. + +Revenge now inflamed the breast of Faustus, and arrayed itself in the +brilliant hues of a great and noble call. The idea of avenging mankind +on its oppressors rushed through his brain, and he determined to employ +the power of the Devil in clearing the earth of hypocrites and villains. +He therefore exclaimed: + +"Fly this moment to the palace, and strangle the wretch who makes a game +of virtue. Annihilate him who rewards the traitor, and knowingly treads +upon the righteous man. Avenge mankind on him, in my name." + +_Devil_. Faustus, thou art forestalling the vengeance of the Avenger. + +_Faustus_. His vengeance sleeps, and the righteous man suffers; I will +have him destroyed who wears only the mask of virtue. + +_Devil_. Bid me, then, breathe pestilence and death over the whole +earth, so that the whole race of man may perish. I tell thee, Faustus, +thou art giving thyself useless trouble, and sending wretches down to +hell in vain; for things will still go on as they did, or perhaps worse. + +_Faustus_. Crafty fiend, thou wouldst willingly save him in order that +he might commit more crimes. Princes like him do indeed deserve thy +protection, for they render virtue contemptible by rewarding villany. +Die he shall, and, loaded with his last deed, sink trembling into +damnation. + +_Devil_. Know, thou fool, that the Devil rejoices over the death of a +sinner; and what I said was merely to secure myself from thy future +reproaches, and that thou mightest have no excuse remaining. The +consequences of this deed be thine. + +_Faustus_. Yes, be they mine. I will lay them in the scale against my +sins. Hasten, and be firm. Be thou the arrow of my vengeance. Seize +the favourite and hurl him among the sands of burning Libya, so that he +may perish by inches. + +_Devil_. Only private revenge, and spite in finding thyself deceived, +drive thee to this. + +_Faustus_. Babbling fiend! It is a solitary remnant of what you call my +youthful prejudices which inspires me with angry thoughts at the sight of +any atrocious act. If I could have seen and tolerated the wickedness of +men, should I have wanted thee? Hasten and obey. + +The Devil suffocated the Prince on his magnificent couch, then seized the +trembling favourite and hurled him among the burning sands of Libya. He +then returned to Faustus, and cried, "The deed is done!" They once more +mounted the rapid winds, and sailed out of the country. + +Faustus sat, melancholy, upon his horse; for, after they had passed the +frontiers, the Devil had changed their method of travelling. The history +of the minister still gnawed his heart, and he was stung to the quick at +being obliged to acknowledge that the Devil had as yet been right in +respect to men; and the bitterness of his spirit increased in proportion +as they displayed themselves to him in their true colours. Yet the idea +of having avenged the unfortunate minister upon the hypocrites cheered +him in the midst of his gloomy sorrows. Pride by degrees so inflated his +heart, that he almost began to consider his alliance with the Devil as +the act of a man who yields up his soul for the good of his race, and +thereby surpasses all the heroes of antiquity, who merely sacrificed +their temporal existence; nay more, for as they sacrificed themselves for +the sake of glory, or for a recompense,--which he, on account of his +engagement, could entertain no hopes of,--so at last he imagined that +they were not worthy to stand for a moment in comparison with him. Thus, +place men in whatever situation you will, they soon begin to feel happy, +provided their self-love has an opportunity of working; for self-love can +even gild the yawning gulf of hell, as in the case of Faustus. He +forgot, in his pride, the motives of his alliance with the Devil, and his +thirst for pleasure and enjoyment; and while he sat upon his horse, his +imagination dubbed him the knight-errant of virtue and the champion of +innocence. The Devil rode by his side without once disturbing his +meditations; for he only saw in each of these would-be noble feelings the +sources of future torment and despair. His hatred of Faustus, however, +increased in proportion as the ideal prospects of the latter brightened +and expanded; he enjoyed, in anticipation, the hour when all these airy +visions would melt and disappear, and all these painted images of fancy +would deck themselves in the livery of hell, and tear the rash one's +heart as the heart of mortal had never yet been torn. After a long +silence, Faustus suddenly exclaimed: "Tell me how it fares with the false +favourite." + +_Devil_. He pants upon the scorched sands, and stretches his parched +tongue from out his burning jaws, that the air and dew may refresh and +moisten it; but no cooling wind blows there, and for a millennium there +will fall no refreshing drop from heaven. His blood boils like molten +metal in his veins, and the rays of the sun fall perpendicularly upon his +bare head. Already is a curse against the Almighty conceived in his +inflamed brain, but his tongue is unable to stammer it forth. He turns +up the hot sand like a mole, in order that he may suck the damp earth; +but thus he only digs his own grave. Is thy revenge satisfied? + +_Faustus_. Revenge! Why dost thou call the exercise of justice revenge? +Here am I shedding cold drops of sweat through my skin at what thou hast +been telling me; but I saw him laugh when I described to him and his +patron the sufferings of the noble father and the ruined daughter. + +_Devil_. Time, which slowly draws up the curtain, will at length +disclose every thing. If the villanies of a petty despot and his +catamite horrify thee, what wilt thou think when thou seest men who have +a thousand times more power, and consequently will, to commit evil? We +have, as yet, only removed the first skin of the monster: what will +become of thee when we tear open his breast? Soon would He, to whom +vengeance properly belongs, empty the magazine of his thunder, were he to +destroy all those who, according to thy opinion, do not deserve to live. + +Faustus was about to reply, when he saw afar off a village in a blaze. +As every thing uncommon excited his curiosity, he spurred forward his +horse, and the Devil followed at his heels. He was soon met by a +confused rout of knights and attendants, who had been vanquished by +another party, which, however, did not pursue them. When they came +nearer to the village, they found the plain strewed with the bodies of +men and horses. They saw among the dead a miserable wretch, who, with +both his hands, was endeavouring to force back his entrails, which were +hanging out of his mangled belly. He howled and cursed frightfully +during this horrid operation. Faustus asked him the cause of all this +bloodshed. The fellow screamed, "Get to the Devil, Mr. Curiosity; if you +saw your inside outmost, as I see mine, you would have no wish to answer +questions. If you want to know why they have served me thus, inquire of +that noble gentleman, my master, who lies there dead, and whom I have to +thank for this treatment." + +They left him, and approached a knight who was wounded in the shoulder, +and Faustus put the same question to him. The knight answered: "A boor +belonging to yon burning village killed, some time ago, a stag, the +property of the mighty Wildgrave. Thereupon the Wildgrave demanded the +culprit of my master, in order that he might be tied upon the back of a +stag and run to death, according to the German custom. My master refused +to give up the boor; but in order to punish him, seized every thing he +possessed, and confiscated it to his own use. The Wildgrave then sent a +letter of defiance to my lord, in the name of Heaven, and with the +permission of the emperor. We were worsted in the battle, and the +Wildgrave has set fire to the village, which he has surrounded with his +horsemen, so that the inhabitants cannot escape; for he intends to fulfil +the oath which he swore, viz. to roast all the peasants, like Michaelmas +geese, for his hounds and wild-boars." + +_Faustus_ (_furiously_). Where is his castle? + +_Knight_. On yonder eminence; it is the strongest and most magnificent +castle in the whole country. + +Faustus rode to the top of a hill, and looked down upon the burning +village, which lay beneath him in the valley. Mothers with children in +their arms, old men, youths, and maidens rushed out, cast themselves at +the feet of the horsemen, and begged for mercy. The Wildgrave shouted +till the valley reechoed, "Drive the rabble back; they shall perish in +the flames!" The peasants screamed out, again and again: "We are +innocent! we are innocent! He who offended you has escaped. What have +we and our children done? Ah, spare but them!" The horsemen whipped +them up from the ground, and drove them into the fire. The poor mothers +flung down their babes, in the hope that they would pity them; but the +hoofs of the horses trampled them to death. + +Faustus cried deliriously: "Fly, Devil, and return not till thou hast +consumed the tyrant's castle, and all that is therein. When he returns +home, let him find retribution." + +The Devil laughed, shook his head, and flew away; whilst Faustus flung +himself down beneath a tree, and gazed impatiently upon the castle. When +he beheld it in flames, the madman imagined that he had restored all +things to their right order, and received the Devil on his return with +the utmost joy. The latter came back in triumph, and boasted of the ruin +he had caused; and, pointing to the Wildgrave and his myrmidon, who were +scampering towards the castle, he exclaimed: "The vapours of the hellish +pool will not, one day, strike him with such horror, O Faustus, as this +thy deed: his young and beloved wife was a few days ago delivered of her +firstborn." + +_Faustus_. Oh, save her and the new-born babe! + +_Devil_. It is too late. The mother pressed the boy in her arms, and he +was burnt to ashes upon her bosom. + +This episode made Faustus shudder, and he exclaimed, "How ready is the +Devil to destroy!" + +_Devil_. Not so ready as daring men are to decide and punish. Had ye +but our might, ye would long ago have shattered the vast globe, and +reduced it to a chaos. Are you not a proof of this yourself, since you +so madly abuse the power which you have over me? Go to; go to. The man +who does not bridle himself resembles the wheel which rolls down the +steep: who can stop its course? It springs from rock to rock till it is +shivered. Faustus, I would willingly have permitted the babe to grow up +and commit sin; for I am now deprived both of him and his mother. Yes, +Faustus; she endeavoured to preserve him from the scorching flames with +her arms, the flesh of which was already frightfully burnt. + +_Faustus_. Thou drivest it home to my very heart. (_Hiding his face in +his mantle_, _already wet with his tears_.) + +The desire of avenging the virtuous and the innocent upon the wicked now +began to cool in the heart of Faustus. He however comforted his spirit, +tormented by the last spectacle, with the thought of the mother and the +suckling being preserved from hell. Besides this, his hot blood, his +eagerness for pleasure, his desire for change, and finally his doubts, +did not permit any sensation to make a lasting impression upon his heart. +As he was attracted by every new object, his feelings, therefore, burnt +like sky-rockets, which for a moment illumine the darkness of the night, +and then suddenly disappear. The rich meal and the delicious wines which +he enjoyed in the next city where they arrived soon chased away his +melancholy fancies; and as the grand fair was being held there at that +time, Faustus and the Devil, after they had dined, went into the +market-place to see the crowd. + +They now found themselves in a strange city. There lived in one of the +convents a young monk, who had, by means of a heated imagination, +succeeded in so powerfully convincing himself of the force of religious +faith, that he believed he should be able to remove mountains, and to +prove himself a new apostle in deeds and miracles, if once his soul +received the true inspiration, and the Holy Spirit worked its way through +him. Besides this, he imbibed all the follies and quackeries which +others had rejected,--a circumstance in which visionaries entirely differ +from philosophers. The young monk, like every theorist who is inspired +with the importance of his subject, was a fiery orator; he thereby soon +won over the minds of the simple, especially of the women, who were +easily caught by any warm and impassioned appeal. His imagination, +however, quickly formed for him another magic wand; for as he, on account +of his alliance with the highest of all beings, had a lofty opinion of +man, he formed the design of physiognomically dissecting the masterpiece +of creation, this favourite of heaven, and of allotting to him his +interior qualities by means of his exterior appearance. Men of his +character so frequently deceive themselves, that it is impossible to say +whether some remaining spark of understanding had whispered to him that +this new delusion would give a fresh polish to the old one; and that more +pious souls would come to him than ever, in order to be told so many +wondrous things about their faces. As he had only seen the four walls of +his cell, his penitents, and people of his own cast, and as he was as +ignorant in regard to mankind, the world, and true science, as men of +sanguine imaginations usually are,--it may be concluded that fancy alone +excited him to this scheme. His words and his writings operated +prodigiously upon the minds of all those who would much rather be +confused than think clearly. This is the case with the greater part of +mankind; and, as the hours of life glide away very pleasantly when +self-love is tickled, it was impossible that he should be without +disciples, for he flattered every body. Our monk did not confine his +researches to man alone; for he descended to the more ignoble beasts of +the earth, allotted to them their qualities by examining their faces and +the structure of their bodies, and imagined that he had made a wonderful +discovery when he proved--from the mighty claws, the teeth, and the +aspect of the lion, and from the tender, light fabric of the hare--why +the lion was not a hare, and the hare a lion. He was strangely surprised +that he had succeeded in pointing out so clearly the appropriate and +unalterable signs of brute nature, and to be able to apply them to +man,--although society has so much accustomed the latter to mask his +features, that they are rarely to be seen in their primitive state. Not +satisfied with these triumphs, our monk descended even into the kingdoms +of the dead--tore skulls from the graves, and the bones of animals from +the muck-heaps; and showed his visitors why the dead were dead, and, from +their bones, how it was impossible that they should be otherwise than +dead. In a word, he proved, clearly and unanswerably, that death never +yet came without a cause. + +The Devil was well aware of the general infatuation, and perceived that, +while he and Faustus sat at dinner in the public room, some of the +company, and even the innkeeper himself, were surveying them with the +utmost attention; and were communicating to each other, in whispers, the +result of their observations, and showing the profiles which they had +secretly taken. The fame of the wonderful monk had long since reached +the ears of Faustus; but he had hitherto paid so little attention to it, +that he now hardly knew what to make of these signs and whisperings. +When they arrived in the market-place, they were surprised by a new and +extraordinary spectacle. This resort was the true school for +physiognomists. Every one there could single out his man, lay his visage +upon the balance, and weigh out the powers of his mind. Some stood +gazing at horses, asses, goats, swine, dogs, and sheep. Others held +between their fingers spiders, butterflies, grasshoppers, and other +insects, and endeavoured to ascertain what their instinct might be from +an attentive survey of their exterior. Some were employed in judging, +from the weight of jaw-bones or the sharpness of teeth, to what animals +they belonged. But when Faustus and the Devil advanced among them, each +man desisted from his occupation, and began to cry out, "What a nose! +what eyes! what a searching glance! what a soft and beautiful curve of +the chin! what strength! what intuition! what penetration! what a +cleanly-made figure! what a vigorous and majestic gait! what strength of +limb! how uniform and harmonious is his whole frame!" "I would give I +know not what for the autographs of the gentlemen," said a weaver, "in +order that I might judge, by their handwriting, of the quickness of their +thoughts." The Devil happening to knit his brows from impatience of this +folly, one of the physiognomists instantly said, "The internal force of +the lion, which the gentleman possesses, has been aroused by some +external provocation, or some trifling thought." + +Faustus was laughing at all this, when suddenly a beautiful female looked +down upon him from a window, and cried, in sweet amazement: "Holy +Catherine! what a noble head! what soft and angelic pensiveness in the +eyes! what a sweet and lovely physiognomy!" These melodious words sunk +into the heart of Faustus. He looked up to the window: her eyes met his +for a moment ere she drew herself back. Faustus whispered to the Devil: +"I will not quit this town till I have possessed that maiden: what +voluptuousness beams in her eyes!" They had scarcely entered a side +street, when one of the physiognomists came up and asked them very +civilly for "the physiognomy of their writing," assuring them that no +stranger had hitherto refused him this favour, and he hoped and trusted +that they would not. He thereupon pulled out his album, and offered it +to Faustus, at the same time producing pen and ink. + +_Faustus_. Not so fast, my friend; one good turn deserves another. Tell +me, first, who the maiden is that I this moment saw at the window of +yonder house, and whose countenance is so celestial. + +_Physiognomist_. Ah! she is an angel in every sense of the word. Our +illustrious master has often assured us, that her eyes are the very +mirrors of chastity, her lovely mouth only formed to express the +inspiration of a heart filled with heavenly ideas; that her brow is the +polished shield of virtue, against which all temptations, all earthly +sin, will be shivered; that her nose snuffs the odours of the fields of +bliss; and that she is the most perfect cast of ideal beauty ever yet +permitted to appear in the world. + +_Faustus_. Truly, you have depicted her to me with more than earthly +colours; and now tell me her situation in life, and her name. + +_Physiognomist_. She is the daughter of a physician; but her father and +mother being lately dead, she lives by herself on her own property. Her +name is Angelica. + +They then wrote some nonsensical lines in his album, and the +physiognomist departed, delighted with his treasure. + +_Faustus_. Now tell me, Devil, how this child of grace is to be come at. +I am just inclined to see this monk's ideal beauty. + +_Devil_. By the high road to the human heart you will certainly meet +her; for sooner or later all must fall in with it, however far their +fancies may have caused them to stray from it. + +_Faustus_. What a delightful enjoyment it would be to fill so exalted an +imagination as hers with images of pleasure! + +_Devil_. The monk has already had the start of you, and has so sharpened +her feelings, and filled her little soul with so much vanity and +self-conceit, and made her piety so carnal, that you have nothing else to +do than give one audible tap at the gate of her heart, in order to be +admitted. Let us now see to what lengths such delusions will lead a +young woman. + +_Faustus_. And let it be done quickly. + +The Devil was perfectly willing to steal so pure a soul from heaven, and +thereby to consummate more speedily the measure of Faustus's sins. He +suddenly stood in the shape of an old man with a peep-show, and, giving +Faustus the wink, he hurried away into the market-place. He raised his +voice, and invited the people to come and see his peep-show. The +populace flocked around him,--footmen and chambermaids, wives and widows, +boys and graybeards. The Devil showed them all kinds of scenes, which he +accompanied with pious explanations and moral sayings. Each person +stepped back delighted from the peep-show, and charmed the bystanders +with the recital of the wonders he had witnessed. The beautiful Angelica +now looked out of her window; and, hearing the Devil descant in so pious +a tone, she felt an irresistible desire to see the wonders of his box, +and to bestow alms upon the devout old showman. The Devil was sent for. +Even he was struck by her wondrous beauty, her gentle manners, and her +ingenuousness; but he became only so much the more desirous to confuse +her senses and entrap her. She placed her enthusiastic eye to the window +of the box. The Devil preluded with a few proverbs and wise saws, and +unfolded to her view scenes of love, in which he led her fancy so +adroitly from the spiritual to the carnal, that she was scarcely aware of +the gradation. If she were about to turn away her eyes with shame, the +offensive object changed itself at once into a sublime image, which again +attracted her attention. Her cheeks glowed, and she believed herself +gazing upon an unknown and enchanted world. The artful Devil caused the +figure of Faustus to appear in all these scenes. She saw him pursuing a +shadow which resembled her own, and undertaking for its sake the greatest +actions, and exposing himself to dangers of every description. When the +Devil had completely chained her attention, and perceived that she was +highly curious to know wherefore the figure of Faustus was thus +associated with her own, he changed the scene, and represented the +parties in situations not to be misconstrued. Lightning does not so +quickly glance through the darkness as did these scenes flit before the +eyes of the innocent maiden; a moment is an age in comparison, and the +poison was glowing in her breast before she was able to retreat. She +started back, and, with her hands before her eyes, rushed into her +chamber, and sunk senseless into the arms of Faustus. When she became +aware of her fall, she hid her face and repulsed the miscreant. He laid +costly jewels at her feet; but she spurned them, and cried, "Tremble, +thou wretch! the hand of the Avenger will one day fall heavily upon thee +for this crime." + +The insensate Faustus rejoiced at his victory; and went, without the +least feeling of repentance, to the Devil, who laughed at the affair, and +yet more fiendishly when he thought of its terrific consequences. + +Faustus found himself here in his element. He flew from conquest to +conquest, and made very little use of the power of the Devil, but a great +deal of his gold, which has some influence even over devout minds. +Angelica became invisible, and all the endeavours of Faustus to see her +once more were of no avail; but he soon forgot her in the tumult of his +pleasures. Reading by chance some of the manuscript publications of the +monk, he was irritated by the self-conceit and ignorance of the author. +He proposed to the Devil to play him a trick, and with that intention +they both went to the convent. As they were exceedingly well dressed, +and appeared to be persons of distinction, they were received by the +young monk in the most cordial and friendly manner. His eyes had +scarcely met those of the Devil when he became so agitated by his +physiognomy, that, forgetting all the forms of politeness, he shook him +violently by the hand; and going to some distance, he looked at him first +full in the face, and then in the profile. He then cried out: + +"Ha! who art thou, most mighty one? Yes; you can do what you like; and +what you wish you can also do: your physiognomy tells me this; therefore +it is not necessary for me to know you. Never have I been more perfectly +convinced of the truth of my science than at this moment. Who can behold +such a human visage without interest, without admiration? Who cannot +perceive in that nose, original greatness; in that eye, penetration, +strength, and expression?" + +He felt his forehead, and then continued: + +"Permit me, with my measure, to ascertain the height of your brow? Yes; +I see unshaken courage in that forehead, as clearly as I do steadfast +friendship, fidelity, love of God and man, in those lips. What a +nobleness in the whole! Thy face is the physiognomy of an extraordinary +man, who thinks deeply, who holds fast to whatever he undertakes, works, +flies, triumphs, finds few men in whom he will confide, but many who will +rely on him. + +"Ah! if a common mortal had such a brow, such a mouth, such a nose, or +even such hair, what would become of physiognomy? + +"Perhaps there is not a man existing whom thy countenance would not by +turns attract and repel. What infantine simplicity! What heroic +grandeur! Few mortals can be so well known and so little known as +yourself. + +"Eagle, lion, destroyer, reformer of mankind, move on, move on, and +reclaim men from their blindness; share with them the intellectual +strength which nature has given thee; and announce thyself to all as I +have just announced thee to thyself." + +Faustus craunched his teeth while the monk was saying all these noble +things about the countenance of the Devil, who turning coolly to the +physiognomist, said, + +"And what is thy opinion of that gentleman? Tell me what he is." + +_Monk_. Great, bold, mighty, powerful, soft, and mild; but thou, his +companion, art greater, bolder, mightier, more powerful, more soft, more +mild. + +Then looking at Faustus, he exclaimed: + +"Mighty pupil of a mightier man, if thy spirit and thy heart could +entirely catch his greatness, thou wouldst still be merely reflecting the +rays of his glory. But seat thyself, and let me take thy shadow." + +Faustus, more and more enraged to see how infinitely the monk rated him +below the Devil, now burst forth: + +"Shadows! yes, indeed, shadows only hast thou seen. How darest thou thus +judge and measure the human race? Hast thou seen men? Where, and how? +Thou hast merely seen their shadows, which thou adornest with the tinsel +of thy crazed imagination, and givest them out as the true forms. Tell +me what kind of human beings thou hast seen. Were they not sectaries, +fanatics, visionaries, the very offscourings of human nature? Were they +not vain devotees, young wives who have cold husbands, and widows who +have sleepless nights? Were they not authors eager to have every mark +and pimple on their insignificant features turned into a sign and +prognostication of genius? Were they not grandees, whose brilliant +stations rendered their physiognomies imposing to thine eye? Thou seest +that I know thy customers, and have read thy book." + +_Devil_. Bravo, Faustus! Let me now put in a word, and tell his +reverence a few mortifying truths. Brother monk, thou hast formed in thy +solitary cell a phantom of perfection, and wouldst fain thrust that into +people's heads, which, when there, poisons the brain, as the gangrene +corrupts all the flesh around it. There were men long ago who ventured +to judge of the innermost of their fellow-creatures from the outside; but +there was some difference between them and thee. They had travelled over +a considerable part of the earth; experience had made them gray; they had +lived and conversed with men, visited all the lurking holes of vice and +iniquity, roved from the palace to the cot, crept into the caves of +savages, and thus knew what belonged to a well-organised man, and what he +could do with his faculties. But shalt thou--swollen with prejudices, +pent up in a convent like a toad in the trunk of an oak--pretend to have +a clear idea of that which even they barely understood? + +The monk stood between the two speakers as between two volcanoes in +eruption; he crossed his hands humbly upon his breast, and cried, "Have +mercy!" + +The Devil continued: + +"Among the many impudent follies which I observed in thy book was an +attempt to draw the Devil's portrait. It is now high time for him to +appear to thee, in order that thou mayst correct the likeness. Look at +me; and for once thou shalt be able to say thou hast seen an object in +its proper form." + +The Devil then appeared to him in the most frightful of infernal figures; +but he rolled a thick mist before the eyes of Faustus, in order that he +might not blast his sight. The monk fell to the earth; and the Devil, +resuming all his former comeliness, exclaimed: + +"Now thou mayst paint the Devil in his proper colours, provided thou hast +strength. Thou wouldst often be thus overcome, if thou didst in reality +see the innermost of those whom thou makest angels." + +_Faustus_. Persist in thy folly; communicate it to others; and by thy +extravagances render religion repulsive to reasonable people. Thou canst +not farther more efficaciously the interests of the enemy. Farewell! + +The monk had lost his senses through terror; but he still continued +writing notwithstanding his madness; and his readers never once perceived +his derangement, so much did his new books resemble his old ones. + +Faustus was delighted with this adventure; but becoming weary of the +town, he quitted it the next morning with the Devil, and took the road to +France. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +When Faustus and the Devil entered upon the fertile soil of France, it +was groaning beneath the oppression of that cruel and cowardly tyrant +Louis the Eleventh, who was the first that ever styled himself "the most +Christian king." The Devil had determined not to give Faustus the +slightest information beforehand concerning this prince. He had resolved +to drive him to despair, and then overwhelm him with the most frightful +blow a mortal can receive who has rebelliously transgressed the bounds +which a powerful hand has drawn around him. + +The Devil had learnt from one of his spies that the most Christian king +was meditating a masterpiece of state policy; or, in other words, was on +the point of getting rid of his brother, the Duke de Berry, in order that +a province which had been granted to him might revert to the crown. The +malicious fiend resolved to make Faustus a spectator of this horrid +scene. They rode through a wood of oaks contiguous to a castle, and saw +among the trees a Benedictine monk, who seemed to be telling his rosary. +The Devil rejoiced inwardly at this sight; for he read upon the +countenance of the monk that he was imploring the Mother of God to assist +him in the great enterprise which his abbot had intrusted him with, and +likewise to save him from all danger. This monk was Faber Vesois, +confessor of the king's brother. The Devil did not disturb him in his +pious meditations, but went on to the castle with Faustus. They were +received with all the respect generally shown to persons of distinction +who come to visit a prince. The duke passed his days here in the company +of his beloved Monserau, thinking of no harm, and expecting no +misfortune. His agreeable manners soon gained him the good-will of +Faustus, who was delighted to see a scion of royalty think and act like a +man; for he had been accustomed to see among the German princes nothing +but pride, coldness, and that foolish ceremony which is only intended to +make visitors appear contemptible in their own eyes. Some days were very +pleasantly spent in hunting and other amusements, and the prince gained +more and more upon the heart of Faustus. The only thing that displeased +him in the prince was the weakness he displayed in regard to his +confessor, the Benedictine. He loaded him with so much tenderness, and +submitted with so much complaisance to his will, and the monk always +looked so studiously devout, that Faustus could not conceive how a man so +frank himself could prize such a hypocrite. The Devil, however, soon let +him into the secret by informing him of the duke's connexion with +Monserau. His love for this fair lady was equalled by his fear of hell; +and, Madame de Monserau having a husband still living, he was not +altogether easy in respect to his amours with her. As he neither wished +to renounce her nor expose himself to eternal punishment, he greedily +caught at the baits which the monks hang out in order to make themselves +masters of the minds of men; and when the dread of hell tormented him too +much, he allayed his fears by receiving absolution for his sins; while he +thought it impossible for him to be too grateful to a man who encouraged +him to enjoy the present, and tranquillised him in respect to the future. +"Thou seest, O Faustus," said the Devil, "what men have made of religion. +Its abuse has often been associated with crimes and horrors, but is +nevertheless used by the wicked to cajole and appease their rebellious +consciences." + +The conduct of the prince in this respect did him little honour in the +opinion of Faustus, who had long ago parted with his own conscience, and +this last remark of the Devil's operated strongly upon his mind; however, +he permitted things to go on in their own way, and chiefly thought of +passing his time pleasantly. + +They were one evening at table in excellent humour; the Devil was +diverting the company with his pleasant stories, and Faustus was employed +in saying soft things to a pretty French widow, who listened to him very +complaisantly; when all of a sudden, Death, in his most frightful shape, +came to disturb the festival. The Benedictine caused a basket of +extraordinarily large peaches, which he had just received as a present, +to be brought in at dessert; and, selecting one of the finest, he offered +it to the prince with a smiling and benignant air. The prince divided it +with his beloved, and both ate of the peach without the slightest +suspicion. They then rose from table; the monk gave his benediction to +all, and hurried away. The Devil was about to commence a new story, when +Madame de Monserau uttered a loud shriek. Her lovely features were +distorted, her lips became blue, and the paleness of death covered her +countenance. The prince rushed to her assistance; but the terrible +poison began likewise to operate upon him; he fell at her feet, and +cried, "Listen, O Heaven: my brother, my cruel brother, has assassinated +me by the hand of that monster. He who caused his father to die of +hunger in order to avoid being poisoned, has now bribed the minister of +religion to poison me." + +Faustus ran out of the room to seize the confessor, but he had fled; a +troop of horse were waiting for him in the forest, and accompanied him in +his flight. Faustus returned; but Death had seized his victims, and they +had ceased to struggle with him. Faustus and the fiend instantly quitted +the place. + +_Devil_. Well, Faustus, what think you of the deed committed by the +Benedictine in the name of the most Christian king? + +_Faustus_. I am almost inclined to believe that our bodies are animated +by fiendish spirits, and that we are only their instruments. + +_Devil_. What a debasing employment for an immortal spirit to have to +animate such an ill-contrived machine! Although I am a haughty demon, +yet, believe me, I would rather animate a swine that wallows in the mire +than one of ye, who roll in all manner of vice, and yet have the +confidence to call yourselves images of the Most High. + +Faustus was silent; for the adventures he was every day compelled to +witness forced him, against his inclination, to believe in the moral +worthlessness of man. They travelled forward, and found every where +hideous monuments of the cruelty of Louis the Eleventh. Faustus +frequently made use of the Devil's gold and treasure to stop the bleeding +wounds which the hand of the tyrant had inflicted. + +At length they arrived at Paris. Upon entering the city they found every +thing in commotion. The people were rushing in crowds down one +particular street; they followed the populace, and arrived in front of a +scaffold covered with black cloth, and which communicated, by means of a +door, with an adjoining building. Faustus asked what was the cause of +all this; and he was told "that the rich Duke of Nemours was just going +to be executed." "And for what?" "The king has commanded it: there is a +report, indeed, that he had hostile designs against the royal house, and +that he intended to murder the dauphin; but as he has only been tried in +his dungeon by judges named by the king, we know nothing for certain." + +"Say, rather," exclaimed another of the bystanders, "that it is his +property which costs him his life; for our sovereign, in order to make us +a great and celebrated nation, cuts off the heads of all our wealthy men, +and would serve us in the same manner if we were to find fault with his +proceedings." + +The Devil left the horses at the nearest inn, and then led Faustus +through the crowd. They saw the duke, accompanied by his children, enter +a chamber hung round with black, where a monk waited to receive his last +confession. The father had his eyes fixed upon his sons, and could not +look to heaven. After he had confessed himself, he laid his trembling +hands upon the heads of the children, who were sobbing, and said, "May +the blessing of an unhappy father, who falls a victim to tyranny and +avarice, be your safeguard through life; but, alas, ye are the heirs of +misfortune. Your rights and pretensions will infallibly doom you to long +sufferings; ye are born for misery, and I shall die in this conviction." +He wished to say something more; but the guards silenced him, and hurried +him out upon the scaffold. + +The tyrannical king had given orders that the duke's children should be +placed under the scaffold, so that the blood of their father might drop +through the boards upon their white robes. The cries which the wretched +parent uttered at the moment his darlings were torn from him struck +terror to the hearts of all around. Tristan alone, who was the +executioner, and the king's most intimate friend, looked on with perfect +coolness, and felt the sharpness of the axe. Faustus imagined that the +groans of the unhappy parent would excite Heaven to avenge outraged +humanity. He lifted his tearful eyes towards the bright blue sky, which +seemed to smile upon the horrid scene. For a moment he felt himself +strongly tempted to command the Devil to rescue the duke from the hands +of the executioner; but his troubled and agitated mind was incapable of +coming to any resolution. The duke fell upon his knees; he heard the +shrieks and lamentations of his children who were beneath the scaffold; +his own infamous death no longer occupied his mind; he felt for the last +time, and felt only for these unfortunates; big tears hung in his eyes, +his lips trembled; the executioner gave the fatal blow, and the boiling +blood of the father trickled down upon the trembling children. Bathed +with paternal gore, they were then led upon the scaffold. They were +shown the livid headless trunk, were made to kiss it, and then +re-conducted to their prison, where they were chained up against the damp +wall, so that whenever they took repose the whole weight of their bodies +rested on the galling fetters. To increase their misery, their teeth +were torn out from time to time. + +Faustus, overwhelmed by the frightful scene he had witnessed, returned +shuddering to the inn, and commanded the Devil to annihilate the tyrant +who thus made a sport of human suffering. + +_Devil_. I will not annihilate him, for that would be against the +interest of hell; and why should the Devil put a stop to his cruelties +when by some they are viewed with patience? If I were to further the +projects of thy blind rage, who would escape thy vengeance? + +_Faustus_. Should I not be performing a noble part, if, like unto +another Hercules, I were to roam the world, and purge its thrones of such +monsters? + +_Devil_. Short-sighted man, does not your own corrupt nature prove that +you must have these kings? And would not new monsters arise out of their +ashes? There would then be no end of murder; the people would be +divided, and thousands would fall the victims of civil war. You see here +millions of bipeds like yourself, who suffer a man like themselves to +despoil them of their property, to flay them alive, and to murder them at +his pleasure. Did not they witness the execution of this duke, who died +innocent as any lamb? Did they not gaze with pleasure, mingled with +agony and grief, upon the tragic spectacle? Does not that prove they +deserve their lot, and are unworthy of a better? Could they not crush +the tyrant at a blow? If they have the power of relieving themselves in +their own hands, wherefore should we pity their sufferings? + +Here the disputation ceased. + +Faustus shortly afterwards became acquainted with a gentleman of sense +and education, who had an excellent character for probity. Faustus and +the Devil pleased him so much, that he invited them to come and pass some +days with him on his estate at a short distance from Paris, where he +lived with his family, which consisted of his wife and his daughter, who +was about sixteen years old, and lovely as an angel. At the sight of +this divine object Faustus was like one enchanted, and felt, for the +first time, the sweet torments of delicate love. He confided his +sufferings to the Devil, who instantly offered to assist him, and laughed +at the pretended delicacy of his sentiments. Faustus owned that it was +repugnant to his feelings to violate the laws of hospitality. The Devil +replied: "Well, Faustus, if you wish to have the gentleman's consent, I +will engage to procure it. For what do you take him?" + +_Faustus_. For an honest man. + +_Devil_. It is a great pity, O Faustus, that you are so liable to +deception. And so you really believe him to be an honest man! I admit +that all Paris is of the same opinion. What do you think he loves best +in the world? + +_Faustus_. His daughter. + +_Devil_. I know something which he loves more. + +_Faustus_. And what is that? + +_Devil_. Gold; and you ought to have seen that long ago. But since I +have been obliged to open to thee the treasures of the earth, and thou +hast had them at thy disposal, thou hast resembled the torrent which +inundates the fields, caring very little where its waters flow, or where +they are received. How much hast thou lost at play with this gentleman? + +_Faustus_. Let them reckon who care more for the dross than I. + +_Devil_. He who tricked you can tell to a ducat. + +_Faustus_. Tricked! + +_Devil_. Yes, tricked you. He saw how little you cared for money, and +has made a noble harvest out of you. Think not that the table of this +miser would be so well provided, and that he would be so prodigal of the +richest wines, and that thou wouldst see so many guests around him, +provided thy gold did not work these miracles. At every moment he +trembles lest we should leave his house. I see by thy astonishment that +thou hast been a spendthrift all thy life, and that thou hast never felt +this thirst for gold, which can extinguish all the desires of the heart, +and even the most pressing wants of nature. Follow me, but tread softly. + +They descended a staircase, went through several subterranean passages, +and came at last to an iron door. The Devil then said to Faustus: "Look +through the key-hole." Faustus perceived in a vault, illumined by the +feeble light of a lamp, the gentleman seated by the side of a strong-box, +in which were many sacks of money, which he was looking at with +tenderness. He then flung the money he had won from Faustus into another +box, and wept because he saw there was not sufficient to fill it. The +Devil said softly to Faustus: "For the sum which is wanting to fill that +box, he will sell thee his daughter." + +Faustus was incredulous. The Devil waxed wroth, and said impatiently: + +"I will show thee that gold has such irresistible power over the minds of +men, that even at this moment some fathers and mothers belonging to the +village are in the neighbouring wood selling for money their babes and +sucklings to the emissaries of the king, although they are well aware +that the poor little things are destined to be slaughtered, in order that +the king may drink their blood, with the foolish hope of renovating and +refreshing the corrupt tide which flows in his own veins. + +_Faustus_ (_with a shudder_). Then the world is worse than hell, and I +shall quit it without regret. But I will be convinced with my own eyes +before I credit any thing so horrible. + +They now went into the wood, and concealed themselves among the bushes, +where they perceived the emissaries of the king in conference with some +men and women, and the priest of the parish. Four little children were +stretched upon the grass, one of them crying pitiably. The mother lifted +it up and gave it pap, in order to quiet it; whilst the others crept upon +the ground, and played with the flowers. The emissaries counted money +into the hands of the husbands; the priest had his share, and the +children were delivered up. The echoes of the wood repeated for a long +time the cries of the little wretches as they were carried away. The +mothers groaned; but the men said to them, "Here is gold; let us go to +the public-house and buy wine, and drink to a fresh offspring. It is +better that the king should eat the brats now they are young than flay +them when they are old, or tie them up in a sack and fling them into the +Seine. It would have been much better for us if we had been devoured as +soon as we were born." + +The priest comforted them, and said: + +"They had done a meritorious act, and one which was pleasing to the +Mother of God, to whom the king was entirely devoted." He added, "that +subjects were born for the king; and that, as he reigned upon earth as +Heaven's vicegerent, he had a right to dispose of them according to his +pleasure, and that they were bound to revere the slightest of his fancies +as a sacred law." + +The peasants then went to the public-house, where they spent half the +blood-money in drink, and kept the rest to pay the king's taxes. + +The Devil now looked at Faustus with an air of mockery, and said, "Hast +thou still doubts whether the gentleman will sell thee his daughter? +Thou at least wilt not eat her." + +_Faustus_. I swear by the black hell which at this moment appears to me +a paradise when compared with the earth, that I will henceforward give +boundless scope to all my passions, and, by ravaging and destroying, +believe that I am acting consistently to such a monster as man. Fly, and +purchase me his daughter: she is doomed to destruction, as is every thing +that breathes. + +This was exactly the disposition in which the Devil had long been +desirous to see Faustus, in order that he might precipitate him to the +end of his career, and thereby ease himself of a grievous burden, and +cease to be the slave of a thing so contemptible as man was in his eyes. +That very evening he began to sound the father; and the next morning, +whilst they walked together, he made proposals to him, and showed him +gold and jewels, which the miser gazed at with rapture; but which, +however, he would not take until he had made a parade of his virtue. At +every objection the old hypocrite started, the Devil augmented the sum; +and at last he bade so high that the miser accepted it, after much +ceremony, laughing secretly at the madman who flung away his gold so +foolishly. The contract was made, and the father led Faustus to his +daughter; and as he could prove that her parent was a consenting party, +she fell a willing victim. + +The father in the mean time went with his gold and a lamp to the vault +where he kept his treasure, and which was known to none of his family. +He was overjoyed in having obtained sufficient to fill his second +strong-box. From fear of being followed, he closed the door hastily +behind him, forgetting that it went with a spring-lock, and that he had +left the key on the outside. The lamp was extinguished by the wind of +the door, and he found himself suddenly involved in profound darkness. +The air of the vault was thick and damp, and he soon felt a difficulty in +his respiration. He now first perceived that he had not the key with +him, and death-like anguish shot coldly through his heart. He had still +strength and instinct sufficient to find his box; he laid the gold in it, +and staggered back to the door, where he considered whether he should cry +out or not. He was cruelly agitated by the alternative of discovering +his secret, or of making this vault his tomb. But his cries would have +been to no purpose; for the cavern had no connexion with the inhabited +part of the house, and he had always so well chosen his time, that no one +had ever yet seen him when he crept to the worship of his idol. After +having for a long time struggled with himself, without coming to any +resolution, the terrible images which assailed his imagination, joined to +the thickness of the air, totally disordered his brain. He sunk to the +earth, and rolling himself to the spot where his box stood, he hugged it +in his arms, and became raving mad. He struggled with despair and death +at the moment of the ruin of his daughter, whose innocence he had +bartered for gold. Some days after, when all the corners of the house +had been closely searched, chance led a servant to the cavern; it was +opened, and the unfortunate wretch was found lying, a blue and ghastly +corpse, upon his dear-bought treasure. The Devil informed Faustus upon +their return to Paris of the issue of this affair, and Faustus believed +that, on this occasion, Providence had justified itself. + +The fiend having learnt that the Parliament were about to decide upon a +case unexampled and disgraceful to humanity, he thought it advisable that +Faustus should hear it. The fact was this: a surgeon, returning late one +night to Paris with his faithful servant, heard, not far from the +highway, the groans and lamentations of a man. His heart led him to the +spot, where he found a murderer broken alive upon the wheel, who conjured +him, in the name of God, to put an end to his existence. The surgeon +shuddered with horror and fright; but recovering himself, he thought +whether it would not be possible for him to reset the bones of this +wretch, and preserve his life. He spoke a few words to his servant, took +the murderer from the wheel, and laid him gently in the chaise. He then +carried him to his house, where he undertook his cure, which he at last +accomplished. He had been informed that the Parliament had offered a +reward of one hundred louis-d'ors to any one who would discover the +person who had taken the assassin from the wheel. He told the murderer +of this when he sent him away, and, giving him money, he advised him not +to stay in Paris. The very first thing which this monster did was to go +to the Parliament and betray his benefactor, for the sake of the hundred +louis-d'ors. The cheeks of the judges, which so seldom change colour, +became pallid at this denunciation; for he informed them with the +greatest effrontery that he was the very assassin, who, having been +broken alive upon the place where he had committed the murder, had been +saved by the compassion of the surgeon. The latter was sent for; and the +Devil conducted Faustus into the hall of judgment exactly at the moment +he appeared. The attorney-general informed the surgeon of what he was +accused; but the surgeon, being certain of his servant's fidelity, +stoutly denied the charge. He was advised to confess, because a most +convincing witness could be brought against him. He bade them produce +him. A side-door opened, and the murderer stepped coolly into the court, +and, looking the surgeon full in the face, undauntedly repeated his +accusation, without forgetting a single circumstance. The surgeon +shrieked, "O monster! what can have urged thee to this horrible +ingratitude?" + +_Murderer_. The hundred louis-d'ors, which you told me of when you sent +me away. Did you think that I was satisfied with merely recovering the +use of my limbs? I was broken alive on the wheel for a murder which I +committed for ten crowns, and I was not fool enough to lose gaining a +hundred louis without running any risk. + +_Surgeon_. Thou wretch! thy cries and groans touched my heart. I took +thee down from the wheel, comforted thee, and bound up thy wounds. I fed +thee with mine own hand, till thou couldst use thy shattered joints. I +gave thee money, which thou canst not yet have spent. I discovered to +thee, from regard to thy own safety, the reward which had been offered by +the Parliament; and I swear to thee, by Heaven above, that if thou hadst +told me of thy devilish intention, I would have sold my last rag, and +have furnished thee with the sum, in order that so horrible a piece of +ingratitude might remain for ever unknown to the world. Gentlemen, judge +between me and him; I confess myself guilty. + +_President_. You have grievously offended justice by endeavouring to +preserve the life of him whom the law, for the common safety, had +condemned to die; but for this once strict justice shall be silent, and +humanity only shall sit in judgment. The hundred louis-d'ors shall be +yours, and the murderer shall be again broken upon the wheel. + +Faustus, who during the whole of this strange trial had been snorting +like a madman, gave now such a thundering huzza, that the whole gallery +echoed. The Devil, who observed that the last impression was about to +destroy the first, soon led him to another scene. + +Some surgeons, doctors of medicine, and naturalists had formed a secret +society, for the purpose of inquiring into the mechanism of the human +body, and the effect of the soul upon matter. In order to satisfy their +curiosity, they inveigled, under all sorts of pretences, poor men and +women into a house at some distance from the city, the upper part of +which was constructed in such a manner that it was impossible to discover +from without what was going forward within. Having tied their victims +with strong cords down upon a long table, and having placed a gag in +their mouths, they then removed their skin and their flesh, and laid bare +their muscles, their nerves, their hearts, and their brains. In order to +come at what they sought, they fed the wretches with strengthening +broths, and caused them to die slowly under the slashing of their knives +and lancets. The Devil knew that they intended this night to assemble, +and said to Faustus, "Thou hast seen a surgeon, who, for the sake of +humanity, or for love of his art, cured an assassin whom justice had +broken on the wheel; I will now show thee physicians, who, in pursuit of +secrets which they will not discover, skin their fellow-creatures alive. +Thou appearest incredulous! Follow me, and I will convince thee. We +will represent two doctors." + +He led him to a solitary house. They entered the laboratory, which the +rays of the sun never penetrated. Here they saw the surgeons dissecting +a miserable being, whose flesh quivered beneath their fratricidal hands, +and whose bosom heaved with the most painful agony. They were so engaged +with their object, that they never once perceived the Devil and Faustus. +The latter, feeling his nerves thrill with horror, rushed out, struck his +forehead with his hand, and commanded the fiend to tear down the house +upon their heads, and bury them and their deed beneath its ruins. + +_Devil_. Why this rage, O Faustus? Dost thou not perceive that thou art +acting, in respect to the moral world, in the same manner as they act in +regard to the physical world? They mangle the flesh of the living; and +thou, by my destructive hand, exercisest thy fury upon the whole +creation. + +_Faustus_. Outcast fiend! dost thou think my heart is made of stone? +Dost thou think that I can see unmoved the torments of yon poor flayed +and butchered wretch? But if I can neither dry his tears nor cure his +wounds, I can avenge him, and put him out of pain. Away! away! do as I +have bid thee, or dread my wrath! + +The Devil obeyed with pleasure. He shook the house to its foundation, +and down it toppled with a hideous noise, and overwhelmed the wicked +doctors. Faustus hurried to Paris, without attending to the look of wild +exultation which the Devil cast upon him. + +Faustus, having heard much talk of the prisons which the most Christian +king had caused to be built for the purpose of receiving those whom he +dreaded, had a strong desire to see the interior of them. The Devil +willingly undertook to satisfy his curiosity; and although the guards +were forbidden, under pain of death, to permit any strangers to enter +these habitations of horror, yet the golden arguments which the Devil +used procured him and his companion a ready admittance. They saw there +cages of iron, in which it was impossible for a man to stand upright, or +sit down, or place himself in any easy posture. The wretches who were +compelled to tenant these iron dwellings had their limbs galled by heavy +chains. The keeper said, confidentially, that when the king was in good +health, he frequently walked in the gallery, in order to enjoy the song +of his nightingales; for thus did he call these wretched victims. +Faustus asked some of the unfortunates the cause of their captivity; and +he heard stories which pierced him to the heart. At last, coming to a +cage wherein was a venerable-looking old man, he put the same question to +him, and the prisoner answered, in a plaintive tone: + +"Whoever you are, let my sad story serve you as a warning never to assist +a tyrant in his cruelties. You behold in me the Bishop of Verdun, who +first gave to the king the idea of these horrible cages, and was the very +first to be shut up in one of them after they were completed. Here have +I, for fourteen years, done penance for my sins, praying daily to God to +end my torments by death." + +_Faustus_. Ha, ha! Your excellence, then, like another Perillus, has +found a Phalaris. Do you know that story? You shake your head. Well, I +will tell it you. + +"This Perillus, who was neither a bishop nor a Christian, constructed a +brazen bull, which he showed to the tyrant Phalaris as a masterpiece of +invention, and assured him that it was constructed in such a manner, +that, if his majesty would shut up a man in it, and then heat it red-hot +by a fire laid beneath it, the shrieks of the tormented man would exactly +resemble the bellowings of a bull, which would doubtless afford his +majesty great pleasure. 'My dear Perillus,' said the tyrant, 'I am much +indebted to you; but it is right that the artist should prove his own +work.' He then made Perillus creep into the beast's belly; and when the +fire was laid beneath it, he did in reality bellow like a bull. Thus did +Phalaris, a thousand years ago, play very much the same part with +Perillus which the most Christian king has been playing with you, most +reverend Bishop of Verdun." + +_Bishop_. I wish I had heard this story twenty years ago; I should then +have taken warning from it. + +_Faustus_. You see that history may sometimes be useful, even to a +bishop. I weep for the fate of your companions in misery; but I laugh at +yours. + +Faustus wished now to see this king, whose horrible deeds had so heated +his imagination, that he could hardly represent him to himself under a +human figure. The Devil told him that it would be impossible for them in +their present forms to enter the Castle of Plessis du Parc, where +cowardice and fear kept the tyrant a prisoner. He added, that no one, +with the exception of some necessary domestics, the physician, the +confessor, and one or two astrologers, could enter without a particular +order. + +_Faustus_. Then let us assume other figures and dresses. + +_Devil_. Good; I will instantly remove two of his guards, and we will do +their duty. This is an excellent time to see the tyrant. The fear of +death is already avenging upon his cowardly spirit the thousands whom he +has slaughtered. Day and night he only thinks of putting off the moment +which is to terminate his existence, and death seems to him more hideous +every second. I will make you a witness of his torments. + +The Devil instantly put his project into execution, and they found +themselves standing sentinels in the interior of the castle, where +reigned the mournful silence of the tomb. Thither had he, before whom +millions trembled, banished himself, in order to escape from the +vengeance of the relations of the murdered. Although he could thus fly +from the sight of his subjects, he could not escape the cutting remorse +of his own heart, nor the pains of his emaciated body. In vain did he +implore Heaven to grant him health and repose; in vain did he attempt to +bribe it by presents to saints, to priests, and to churches; in vain did +he cover himself with relics from all parts of the world: that frightful +sentence, _thou shall die_, seemed always ringing in his ears. He +scarcely ventured to move out of his chamber, lest he should find an +assassin in one of those whom he might meet. If anguish drove him into +the free air, he went armed with lance and dagger, just as if he had +strength to use either. Four hundred guards watched day and night around +the stronghold of the half-dead monster; three times every hour did their +hoarse calls, echoing from post to post, break the solemn stillness, and +remind the tyrant of the flight of time. All around his castle gibbets +were erected; and the hangman, Tristan, his only true friend, went about +the country every day, and returned at night with fresh victims, in +order, by their execution, to diminish the fears of the tyrant, who from +time to time would walk in an apartment which was only separated from the +torture-room by a thin partition. There he listened to the groans and +shrieks of the wretches on the rack, and found in the sufferings of +others a slight alleviation of his own. Wearing on his hat a leaden +image of the Virgin,--his pretended protectress,--he drank the blood of +murdered sucklings, and allowed himself to be tormented by his physician, +whom he requited with ten thousand crowns a month. + +This was the wretch whom Faustus saw; and his heart rejoiced when he +contemplated the paleness of his cheeks, and the farrows which anguish +and despair had made in his brow. He was on the point of leaving this +abode of monotonous horror, when the Devil whispered him to remain until +the next day, and he would see a singular spectacle. The king had heard +that a hermit lived in Calabria, who was honoured as a saint through all +Sicily. This fool had, from his fourteenth to his fortieth year, dwelt +upon a naked rock, where, exposed to the rains and tempests of heaven, he +martyred his body by stripes and fasting, and refused his mind all +cultivation. But, the rays of sanctity concealing his stupidity, he soon +saw the prince and the peasant at his feet. Louis had requested the King +of Sicily to send him this creature, because he hoped to be cured by him. +The hermit was now on the road; and as he brought with him the holy oil +of Rheims, to anoint the tyrant's body, the latter imagined that all his +disorders would soon vanish, and he should become young again. The happy +day arrived: the Calabrian boor approached the castle; the king received +him at the gate, fell at his feet, and asked him for life and health. +The Calabrian played his part in so ridiculous a manner, that Faustus +could not avoid laughing aloud at the farce. Tristan and his myrmidons +were advancing to seize him, and he would doubtlessly have paid for +laughing with his life, had not the Devil rescued him from their claws, +and flown away with him. When they arrived at Paris, Faustus said: + +"Is it by this contemptible, superstitious, tottering object, that the +bold sons of France allow themselves to be enslaved? He is a mere +skeleton in purple, who can scarcely cough out of his asthmatic throat +the desire to live; yet they tremble before him, as if he were a giant, +whose terrible arms could encircle the whole earth. When the lion, +enfeebled by age, lies languishing in his den, the most insignificant +beasts of the forests are not afraid of him, but approach and mock the +fallen tyrant." + +_Devil_. It is this which chiefly distinguishes the king of men from the +king of beasts. The latter is only formidable as long as he can use his +own strength; but the former, who binds the strength of his slaves to his +will, is as powerful when lying on the bed of sickness, as when, in the +vigour of health, he is at the head of his armies. Are you not now +convinced that men are only guided by folly, which dooms them to be +slaves? Break their chains to-day, and they would forge themselves +others to-morrow. Do what you can, they will always go on in the same +eternal circle, and are condemned for ever to seize the shadow for the +reality. + +The Devil, having shown Faustus all that was remarkable in and about the +capital of France, took him to Calais; and, crossing the Channel, they +arrived in London at the very moment that hideous abortion, the Duke of +Gloucester, made himself Protector of the kingdom, and was endeavouring +to take away the crown from the children of his brother, the late king. +He had removed the father by means of poison, and had already persuaded +the queen (who, upon the first discovery of his projects, had fled for +refuge, with her children, to Westminster Sanctuary) to deliver up to him +the youthful heir of the throne, together with his brother York. Faustus +was present when Doctor Shaw, by the command of the Protector, informed +the astonished people from the pulpit, that the yet living mother of the +duke and the deceased king had admitted various lovers; that the late +king was the offspring of such adultery; and that no one of the royal +line, except the Protector, could boast of a legitimate birth. He saw +those noblemen executed who would not accede to the execrable plot; and +the Devil conducted him into the Tower at the very moment when Tyrrell +and his assistant murdered the lawful king and his brother, and buried +them beneath the threshold of the dungeon. He was a witness of the base +submission of the Parliament, and of the coronation of the frightful +tyrant. He witnessed the negotiation of the queen to support the +murderer of her sons in his usurped throne, by giving him the hand of her +eldest daughter, in order that she herself might still retain a shadow of +sovereignty; although at the same time she had entered into a secret +alliance with the Earl of Richmond, who was destined to be her avenger. +Faustus felt himself so enraged, that not all the charms of the blooming +Englishwomen could keep him any longer in this cursed isle, which he +quitted with hatred and disgust; for neither in Germany nor in France had +he seen crimes committed with so much coolness and impunity. When they +were on the point of embarking, the Devil said to him: + +"These people will groan for a time beneath the yoke of despotism; they +will then sacrifice one of their kings upon the scaffold of freedom, in +order that they may sell themselves to his successors for gold and +titles. In hell there is very little respect paid to these gloomy +islanders, who would suck the marrow from all the carcasses in the +universe, if they thought to find gold in the bones. They boast of their +morality, and despise all other nations; yet if you were to place what +you call virtue in one scale, and vice, with twopence, in the other, they +would forget their morality, and pocket the money. They talk of their +honour and integrity, but never enter into a treaty but with a firm +resolution of breaking it as soon as a farthing is to be gained by so +doing. After death, they inhabit the most pestilential marsh of the +kingdom of darkness, and their souls are scourged without mercy. None of +the other damned will have any communication with them. If the +inhabitants of the Continent could do without sugar and coffee, the sons +of proud England would soon return to the state in which they were when +Julius Caesar, Canute of Denmark, or William the Conqueror, did them the +honour to invade their island." + +_Faustus_. For a devil, thou knowest history passably well. + +Hereupon he led him to Milan, where they saw the Duke Galeas Sforza +murdered on St. Stephen's day in the cathedral; Faustus having previously +heard the assassins loudly beseeching St. Stephen and St. Ambrose to +inspire them with the courage necessary for so noble a deed. + +In Florence, the seat of the Muses, they saw the nephew of the great +Cosmo, the father of his country, murdered in the church of Santa +Reparata, at the altar, just at the moment when the priest raised the +host in his hands; for the Archbishop of Florence, Salviati, had informed +the murderers that this was to be the signal. He had been bribed to +assist in this enterprise by the Pope, who was determined to annihilate +the Medicis, in order to rule sole sovereign in Italy. + +In the north of Europe they saw wild barbarians and drunken ruffians +murdering and pillaging like the more civilised Europeans. In Spain they +found upon the throne deceit and hypocrisy wearing the mask of religion. +They saw, at an _auto-da-fe_, men and women immolated in the flames to +the mild Deity of the Christians; and they heard the grand inquisitor, +Torquemada, boast to Ferdinand and Isabella that, since the establishment +of the holy tribunal, it had tried eighty thousand suspected persons, and +had burnt six thousand convicted heretics. When Faustus first saw the +ladies and cavaliers assembled in the grand square, dressed in their +richest habits, he imagined that he had come just in time for some joyous +festival; but when he heard the condemned wretches howling and lamenting +in the midst of a mob of monks who were at their devotions, he was +convinced that religion, when misused, makes man the most execrable +monster on the earth. He, however, began to imagine that all these +horrors were the necessary consequences of man's nature, who is an animal +that must either tear his fellow-creatures to pieces, or be torn to +pieces by them. + +The Devil, perceiving that Faustus was amazed and confounded by these +scenes, said to him: + +"Thou seest how the courts of Europe resemble each other in wickedness +and crime. Let us now go to Rome, and see whether the ecclesiastical +government goes on better." + +The malicious Leviathan flattered himself that Alexander the Sixth, who +wore at that time the triple crown, and held in his hands the keys of +heaven and of hell, would give the finishing blow to the harassed spirit +of Faustus, and would enable him to return below with his victim. For a +long time he had been weary of staying on the earth; for although he had +in the course of many thousand years so often traversed it, he still saw +merely the same beings and the same actions. From this we may learn that +there is something so annoying in uniformity, that even the wild horrors +of Satan's hall are to be preferred to it. + +On the way to Rome they passed by two hostile armies encamped face to +face. The one was commanded by Malatesta of Rimini, the other by a papal +general. The crafty Alexander was now endeavouring, either by poisoning, +secret assassination, or open war, to deprive all the Italian noblemen of +their property, in order that he might convert their castles and domains +into principalities for his illegitimates. He began with the weakest, +and had despatched this little army to eject Malatesta from his fief of +Rimini. Faustus and the Devil, riding along the road, perceived upon an +eminence contiguous to the papal camp two men, magnificently dressed, +engaged in a furious combat. Moved by curiosity, Faustus advanced to the +spot; the fiend followed him; and they perceived, by the rage of the +antagonists, that nothing less than the death of one of them would end +the struggle. But what appeared to Faustus most extraordinary was a +milk-white goat, adorned with ribbons of various colours, which a page +seemed to hold as the prize of victory, as he stood, with the utmost +coolness, near the two raging warriors. Many cavaliers had assembled +upon the height, and awaited the issue of the affair. Faustus approached +one of them, and asked, with his German simplicity, whether the gentlemen +were fighting for that handsome goat. He had observed that the two +champions, whenever they paused to take breath, looked at the goat with +much tenderness, and each seemed, according to knightly custom, to +entreat it to assist him in his danger. The Italian, turning to Faustus, +coolly answered, "Yes, certainly; and I hope our general will punish with +death the audacious knight who dared to remove from his tent the +handsomest goat in the world, at the time he was gone to reconnoitre the +enemy's camp." Faustus stepped back, shook his head, and scarcely knew +whether he was dreaming or awake. The Devil let him remain for some time +in this perplexity; he then took him aside, and whispered certain things +in his ear, which made Faustus blush, and which will not bear repetition. +The duel in the mean time went on as hotly as ever, until the sword of +the papal general found an opening in the knight's mail, and laid him +wallowing in blood upon the ground. He yielded up his soul amidst curses +and imprecations, and took, with his last look, a tender farewell of the +pretty animal. The general was congratulated by the surrounders, and the +page delivered him the goat. He called it "his dearest, his +best-beloved," and loaded it with the most tender caresses. + +Faustus departed from the place of combat, and was hesitating between a +desire to laugh and a feeling of disgust, when the Devil said to him: + +"This duel has made thee acquainted with the papal general; but he who +commands the hostile army does not deserve thy attention less. The one +has risked his life for love of a white goat; and the other has already +poisoned and strangled with his own hand, in order that he might get +possession of their property, two of his wives, sprung from the best +families in Italy. He is now on the point of marrying a third; and she +will, in all probability, experience the same fate. Both of these +personages are otherwise very religious men,--attend processions, make +vows to Heaven, and implore it for assistance. For which side do you +think it will now declare?" + +Faustus gave the Devil a wild look, and left the malicious question +unanswered; but the Devil, who wished to punish him for having formerly +boasted of the moral worth of man, failed not to make some bitter jokes +upon the amours of the papal general and the conjugal tenderness of +Malatesta of Rimini. + +The sight of Rome and its majestic ruins, over which the mighty spirit of +the old Romans seemed yet to hover, filled Faustus with wonder; and, as +he was well acquainted with the history of those lords of the ancient +world, the remembrance of their heroic actions elevated his soul to a +pitch of enthusiasm. But the modern inhabitants of this celebrated city +soon inspired him with very different sentiments. By the Devil's advice, +they announced themselves as German noblemen, whom curiosity to see the +magnificence of Rome had brought there. But their retinue, their pomp, +and their demeanour, caused a suspicion to be entertained that they were +of more consequence than they pretended to be. Friars and matrons, +quacks and harlequins, flocked to them, as soon as the noise of their +arrival had echoed through all the haunts of those who get their +livelihood by administering to the crimes and the weaknesses of men. +They offered them their several female relations, and depicted their +charms and various attractions with such fiery eloquence, that Faustus, +besieged on every side, knew not which to prefer. As these wretches +uttered religious maxims in the same breath with the most stimulant +descriptions of voluptuousness, Faustus imagined himself authorised in +believing that they merely made use of religion to appease the cravings +of passion, revolted by their shameful deeds and wickedness. + +The next day after their arrival, Faustus and the Devil were invited to +dinner by the Cardinal Caesar Borgia, one of the many illegitimates of +the Pope. He received them in the most splendid manner, and promised to +introduce them to his holiness. They went on horseback, attended by a +retinue of servants, to the Vatican, and Faustus and the Devil kissed the +toe of the Pope: the German performed this act of devotion with all the +fervour of a good Christian Catholic; but the Devil muttered to himself, +"If Alexander knew who I am, I should, most probably, see him at my own +feet." After the usual ceremonies were over, the Pope invited them into +his private apartments, where he spoke to them very freely, and made them +acquainted with his other illegitimates, the famous Lucretia; Francisco +Borgia, Duke of Candia, &c. + +The Pope found the society of the handsome and well-made Leviathan so +much to his liking, that, from the first interview, he showed him +particular favour, which grew at length, as we shall see, to the closest +intimacy. Faustus attached himself to Cardinal Borgia, who gave him such +a glowing description of the pleasures and temptations of Rome, that he +hardly knew whether he was in the Vatican or in the Temple of Venus. The +Cardinal made him more nearly acquainted with his sister, who was married +to Alphonso of Arragon. This siren displayed voluptuousness and +sensuality in a form and face so attractive and charming, that Faustus +stood before her like one enchanted. + +Faustus and the Devil went one evening to the Vatican to see a play, +which astonished the young German more than any thing he had yet seen at +the papal court. It was the _Mandragola_ which was represented. The +noble Machiavel had composed this licentious and satirical piece, in +order to lay before the eyes of the court of Rome a striking picture of +the boundless corruption of the clergy, and to prove that to be the sole +cause of the dissolute lives of the laity. But he deceived himself in +his honourable design: the _Mandragola_ was applauded, not on account of +its morality, which was not understood, but of its licentiousness. +Faustus heard the Pope and the cardinals, the nuns and the ladies, +praising certain things which, in his opinion, the most dissolute of the +Roman emperors would not have permitted upon their theatre. But real +scenes yet more abominable soon put an end to his astonishment; and he +perceived that the actions of Alexander and his children infinitely +surpassed all that which the annals of the human race had hitherto +consigned to infamy and abhorrence. Lucretia was pleased yet more by +Faustus's rich presents than his fine face and form. By this intimate +connexion with her, he discovered her incestuous intercourse with her two +brothers, the Cardinal and Francisco; which she also extended to the Pope +her father. The only one whom she treated ill was Alphonso, who had the +honour to be her spouse. Faustus now guessed the cause of the implacable +hatred which the Cardinal entertained against his brother Francisco: it +arose from jealousy at his sister's preferring the latter to himself; and +he often swore to take vengeance upon his brother. + +It was the custom of Faustus, after having the whole day wallowed in the +shameful pleasures of the court and city, to pester the Devil's ears with +complaints of the wickedness of men. He was shocked at their crimes, +although he himself had neither strength nor desire to resist any of his +inclinations. He generally concluded his sermonising by asking, "How +could such a monster ever have been elected Pope?" + +The Devil, who perfectly knew how that event had been brought about (for +one of the princes of hell had been at the election), would tell him how +"Alexander bought up the votes of the cardinals by magnificent promises; +and being called upon, after his installation, to fulfil them, he either +banished or caused to be privately assassinated all those who had any +claims upon him." + +_Faustus_. I can easily conceive that the cardinals were sufficiently +corrupt to make him Pope; but how the people can submit to his decrees is +beyond my comprehension. + +_Devil_. The Romans are perfectly content with him. He protects the +populace, and ravages and pillages the great. Can they wish for a better +Pope than one who sanctifies their crimes by his own example; and who, +besides the indulgences he distributes, shows by his actions that men +have no reason to be terrified at any crime? + +The Pope having, at a consistorial court, elevated his eldest +illegitimate, Francisco, to the dignity of General of the Papal See, the +Cardinal instantly formed the Christian resolution of putting his brother +out of the way, and thereby opening a more extensive field to his own +ambition. Vanosa, his mother, had informed him that the Pope intended to +raise a throne for Francisco upon the ruin of the Italian princes; and +through him, as his eldest-born, execute all the projects which he had +formed for the prosperity and aggrandisement of his family. The +Cardinal, who had always certain assassins in his pay, sent for his +faithful Dom Michelotto, and thus addressed him: + +"Brave and honest Michelotto, five years have already passed since the +accession of my father to the papal chair, and I am not yet what I might +have been, had I acted with less delicacy and more prudence. He first +made me an archbishop, and now I am become a cardinal; but what is that +for a spirit which burns with a desire to distinguish itself, and which +aspires to glory! My revenues scarcely supply me with absolute +necessaries, and it is impossible for me to reward, according to the wish +of my heart, those friends who have rendered me essential services. Art +thou not, O Michelotto, a striking example of it thyself? Have I been +able to acquit myself towards thee in the manner which my obligations to +thee demand? But shall we always languish in this shameful inactivity; +and shall we wait till fortune or chance do something for those who will +do nothing for themselves? Dost thou think that the monotonous life I +lead in the conclave and in the church was intended for a spirit like +mine? Am I born for all these ridiculous and superstitious ceremonies? +If nature had not by foolish caprice brought my brother into the world +before me, would not all those situations, all those honours, by which +men are alone enabled to perform great actions, have fallen to my lot? +Does my brother know how to profit by the advantages which the Pope and +blind Fortune fling in his way? Let me once occupy his place, and my +name shall soon resound through all Europe. Nature stamped me for a +hero, and him for a priest; therefore I must seek to repair the +negligence of Fortune if I wish to fulfil my destiny. Compare him and +me, and who will say we are sprung from the same father? But be he my +brother--and it little matters; for the man who wishes to rise above the +rest should forget tenderness and relationship--those puny bonds of +nature--and should not hesitate to dip his hands in the sacrifice of any +one whose existence may be an obstacle to his noble views. It is thus +that all great men act; it is thus that the founder of immortal Rome +acted. In order that Rome might arrive at the height of grandeur to +which his genius wished to carry it, he did not hesitate to stab his +brother; and, in order that Caesar Borgia may attain immortality, his +brother Francisco must bleed beneath thy knife, most courageous +Michelotto. Yes; for although it would be easy for me, in the darkness +of the night, to assassinate him myself and remain unsuspected, I reserve +for thee this deed, in order that thou mayst have a greater right to +share with me my grandeur and my future fortunes. To-morrow I shall go +to Naples to assist, in quality of legate, at the coronation of the king. +Vanosa, my mother, who, between you and me, is weary of seeing her +enterprising Caesar a cardinal, gives this evening a supper to myself, my +brother, and a few friends. Francisco will go late at night to an +assignation in which he and I mutually share; and I ill know Michelotto +if ever he finds his way back to his palace. My name is Caesar, and I +will be all or nothing." + +Michelotto grasped the cardinal's hand, thanked him for his confidence, +assured him of his fidelity, and went his way in order to get some of his +companions to assist him in the affair. + +Faustus and the Devil were also invited to the supper. Gaiety reigned +among the guests. The good-natured Francisco loaded his brother with +caresses, which, however, did not shake his resolution. When they rose +from table, Caesar took leave of his mother, and said he must now go to +the Pope and receive his orders for Naples. The two brothers walked with +each other a little way, followed by Faustus and the Devil. Francisco +soon took leave of his brother, having first told him where he was going. +The Cardinal, with a smiling air, wished him much pleasure: hurrying to +the Vatican, he finished his business there, and then went to the +rendezvous, where he found Michelotto and his ruffians, whom he directed +how to proceed. Faustus had not the slightest suspicion of what was +going forward; but the Devil, who knew when the horrible drama was to +conclude, transported him to the banks of the Tiber at the very moment +Michelotto and his assistants flung into the stream the corpse of the +murdered Francisco. Faustus would have attacked the assassins, though he +was still ignorant who their victim was; but the Devil prevented him, and +said: + +"Do not approach; keep thyself quiet, and let none of those people see +thee; they swarm so at Rome and at the Vatican, that thou wouldst not be +safe, even at my side, if they were to perceive that thou didst observe +them. The murdered man whom they flung into the water is Francisco +Borgia, Duke of Candia; his murderer is his brother, and what thou seest +now is only the prelude to actions which will astonish hell itself and +make it tremble." + +He then discovered to him the whole of the plot, and repeated to him the +Cardinal's conversation with Michelotto. Faustus replied, with more +coolness than the Devil expected: + +"Their deeds will not astonish me, however infamous they may be; for what +else can we expect from a family where the father lives in incest with +his daughter, and the brothers with their sister? But henceforth I will +never suffer any one to boast in my presence of the moral worth of man; +for, in comparison with man, especially if he be a priest, the worst +fiend is innocent as an angel. Oh, why was I not born in happy Arabia, +where I might have passed my solitary existence, with a palm-tree for my +shelter, and with Nature for my god!" + +The body of Francisco being found in the Tiber, his assassination was +soon noised about Rome and through all Italy. The Pope was so afflicted +at the intelligence, that he abandoned himself to the most frightful +despair, and remained three days without eating or drinking; but he did +not forget to offer immense rewards for the discovery of the murderers. +His daughter, who guessed from whence the blow came, gave her mother +intelligence of the severe intentions of the Pope; and Vanosa, at dead of +night, went to the Vatican. The Devil, who, in quality of favourite, had +remained alone with his holiness whilst his affliction was at its height, +hastened away upon the appearance of Vanosa; and having found Faustus, +who was consoling the lovely Lucretia, he led him to the door of the +Pope's apartment, where they heard the following dialogue. + +"A fratricide! a cardinal!--and thou, mother of them both, dost tell me +this with as much coolness as if Caesar had merely poisoned one of the +Colonnas or Orsinis. He has, in murdering his brother, destroyed his own +fame, and has undermined the foundation of that monument of grandeur +which I was about to raise. But the monster shall not escape punishment; +he shall feel my vengeance." + +_Vanosa_. Rodrigo Borgia, thou hast shared the couch of my mother and +myself, and wast the first that dishonoured Lucretia, my daughter and +thine. Who can number all those whom thou hast secretly poisoned and +assassinated? Yet thou art not less a pope. Rome trembles before thee, +and all Christianity adores thee. Every thing depends upon the situation +in which men are when they commit crimes. I am the mother of both, +Rodrigo, and I knew that Caesar would murder Francisco. + +_Pope_. Thou wretch! + +_Vanosa_. Am I? If I be, I have become so in thy school. It was right +that the timorous and gentle Francisco should give place to the fiery, +the enterprising Caesar, in order that the glittering hopes may be +fulfilled which thou didst confide to me upon thy elevation to the papal +chair. Francisco was intended by nature to be a monk; my Caesar to be a +conqueror--and I call him so already in prophetic spirit. He alone has +power to annihilate the great and petty tyrants of Italy, and to win +himself a crown. Appoint him standard-bearer to the papal see, and he +will make the Borgias kings of the Italian realms. Is not this thy most +ardent wish? All thy poisonings and murders will have been to no more +purpose if Caesar remains a cardinal, than they would have been if yon +feeble driveller had lived. Only from Caesar can I expect protection +when thou art no more. He loves his mother; but the other boy neglected +me, and only flattered thee, from whom he expected his greatness. Caesar +feels that a woman like me, who could bring forth a hero, can likewise +point out to him the way to immortal deeds. Brighten up, Rodrigo, and be +wise; for know that the hand which dispatched thy favourite was directed +by a daring spirit, who would not hesitate to take thy own life wert thou +to remove the veil which has been flung over this deed of necessity. + +_Pope_. The solidity of thy arguments restores me to myself, and thy +eloquence exalts my soul, although it makes me shudder. Francisco is +dead; Caesar lives: let him live, and take his brother's place, since +fate will have it so. + +He rang the bell, caused refreshments to be brought, and was in excellent +spirits. + +Francisco was forgotten, and the Pope thought of nothing else than to +open to the daring Caesar a wider field in which he might exercise his +dangerous talents. The latter, in the mean time, crowned the King of +Naples, with hands yet reeking with fraternal blood. He returned to +Rome; and Faustus saw, with a malicious laugh, the cardinals and the +ambassadors of Spain and Venice receive the fratricide, whom they knew +for such, at the city-gate, and then conduct him in triumph to the Pope, +who embraced him with great tenderness. Vanosa laid aside her mourning, +and celebrated the day of his return by a festival, at which appeared all +the grandees of Rome. Caesar shortly afterwards changed his cardinal's +hat for a helmet, and was with much pomp and magnificence consecrated +Gonfalonier, or Standard-bearer of the Holy See. + +The Devil saw, with much pleasure, Faustus endeavouring, by the wildest +excesses, to escape the pangs by which his heart was now torn. He +remarked how every new scene of horror he was doomed to witness galled +his soul, and that he was becoming more and more convinced that all he +saw or heard had its origin in the nature of man. The Devil supported +him in this idea by sophisms, which later philosophers have worked up +into systems. He ransacked the earth of its treasures, and showered gold +and precious gems upon his victim; and Faustus, dishonouring the wives +and daughters of Rome, believed that he could not sufficiently corrupt +the human family, which, in his opinion, was doomed to misfortune and +destruction. The lessons he had learnt from Lucretia had long since +poisoned his senses. All the sweet ties of humanity, which had so long +fettered his heart, were now totally destroyed. He represented the world +to himself as a stormy sea, on which the human race is cast, and is +tossed here and there by the wind, which drives this man upon a rock, +where he is dashed to pieces, and blows the other happily to his haven. +But what seemed to Faustus most incomprehensible was, that the +shipwrecked mariner should be punished in an after-state for not having +guided his vessel better; when the rudder which had been given him to +shape his course by was so weak that any extraordinary billow could not +fail to shatter it. + +A new scene now presented itself. Alexander had determined on taking the +amusements of the chase at Ostia. He was accompanied thither by a vast +throng of cardinals, bishops, ladies, and nuns; the latter being summoned +from their cloisters, and, by their beauty, rendering the cavalcade a +glorious spectacle. The Devil was constantly by the side of the Pope, +and Faustus and Lucretia were inseparable. Every one abandoned himself +at Ostia to pleasure, and in the course of a few days excesses were +committed there from which even Tiberius and Nero might have learnt +something. Faustus had now an excellent opportunity of examining man in +his nakedness, as the Devil had expressively termed it; but what were all +these scenes of wickedness when compared with the plans which the Pope +formed with his bastards, by way of relaxation, in the presence of +Faustus and the Devil? It was here determined that Alphonso of Arragon, +the husband of Lucretia, should be assassinated, in order that they might +give the King of France a proof that they were willing to break entirely +with the King of Naples, and to assist the former in his usurpation of +the crown of Sicily. Louis the Twelfth had already, with the approbation +of Alexander, invaded Italy, and the Borgias thereby saw all their +projects ripening. Lucretia intrusted this bloody deed to the management +of her brother, and already considered herself as a widow. The plan of +the ensuing campaign was then adjusted in a very expeditious manner; for +it was merely to take possession of all the towns, castles, and domains +of the noblemen of Italy, who were one and all of them to be murdered, +together with their offspring and relations, in order that not a soul +might remain alive who had the slightest claim upon the property, and who +might therefore trouble the assassins with future conspiracies. To +support the army in the interim, the Pope and Caesar dictated to Lucretia +a list of rich cardinals and prelates, who were to be poisoned +successively, and their goods to be taken possession of by the right of +inheritance vested in the papal chair. + +When this secret council was broken up, the members of it repaired to the +grand hall, where supper awaited them. The Pope was so contented with +his schemes, and the certainty of their accomplishment, that he +committed, in his joy, the most shameful extravagances, and by his +example incited his guests to actions similar to what we have read of in +the pages of Petronius Arbiter, and other writers of the same character. +He, nevertheless, did not entirely forget the cares of the state; for he +suddenly asked those present how the revenues of the papal see might be +increased, so as to support its numerous army during the approaching +campaign. After various projects, Ferrara of Modena, Bishop of Patria, +Alexander's worthy minister, by whom he caused the benefices of the +Church to be disposed of to the highest bidder, proposed that indulgences +should be sold through Europe, under the pretence of an approaching war +with the Turks; adding, like a true papal financier, "that the foolish +idea which men entertained, of being able to wash away their sins by +means of gold, was the surest source from which the income of a pope +arose." + +Lucretia, who lay on the lap of her father, and played with Faustus's +yellow looks, incidentally remarked, with a smile, + +"The present list of indulgences contains such insipid, antiquated, and +absurd crimes, that it is impossible to turn it to much account. It was +composed in stupid and barbarous times; and it is now highly necessary to +make a new tariff of sin, for which Rome herself can furnish the most +important articles." + +The company, hot with wine, and reeking from their abominations, eagerly +caught up this sally of female wantonness; and the Pope commanded each +one present to propose some particular sin, and to tax it; recommending +them, above all, to choose those which were most in vogue, and which +would consequently bring in the most wealth. + +_Borgia_. Holy father, leave this to the cardinals and prelates; they +are better versed in crime than any other people. + +Ferrara of Modena sat down to fulfil the office of secretary. + +_A Cardinal_. Absolution to each and every priest who commits +fornication, let it be with whom it may; with permission to perform all +the duties of the Church, and to receive and hold new benefices, provided +he pay into the papal treasury nine gold ducats. + +_Pope_. Write down nine gold ducats, Bishop; and then let us drink +absolution to those priests who shall pay the sum. + +Each guest filled his glass, and exclaimed in chorus, "Absolutio! +dispensatio!" + + * * * * * + +_A Nun_. Ha; what means all this? Will no one think of us? Holy +father, have we alone no claim to your paternal favour? I entreat you to +let us be taxed also, in order that we may sin in peace. + +_Pope_. Right, my daughter; and you shall not be dealt with more hardly +than the priests. Bishop, write down: Absolution for each nun who shall +commit carnal sin, be it with whom it may, within or out of the circle of +the cloister; with fall capacity of assuming any conventual dignity when +called upon so to do: nine ducats. + +_Chorus_. Absolutio! dispensatio! + +_A Bishop_. Absolution and dispensation to each priest who publicly +keeps a mistress: five ducats. + +Lucretia then interposed: "Absolution for carnal knowledge, the enormity +of which is indicated by fifteen ducats." + +Faustus, whom this scene had horribly mortified, on account of the +triumph which it afforded the Devil over him, but who, nevertheless, +wished to have a hit at Borgia, exclaimed, with a voice of thunder, + +"Absolution to any parricide, matricide, or fratricide, for three +ducats." + +_Pope_. Ho, ho, friend; what are you aiming at now? Will you tax murder +lower than fornication? + +_Caesar Borgia_. Holy father, he does not wish, by too high a penalty, +to deter men from the commission of the crime. + +_Devil_. You are well aware, gentlemen, that the poor are incapable of +receiving benefit from any of the above-named absolutions and +dispensations. + +_Chorus_ (_amidst shouts of laughter_). Damnation to him who has no +money! + +_Caesar Borgia_. Whoever commits theft, be it sacrilege or not, shall +have his soul secured from damnation, upon depositing in the papal +treasury three parts of what he has stolen. + +_Chorus_. Absolution to all thieves, sacrilegious or not, provided they +share their booty with the Pope. + +_Pope_. Thou hast opened a rich mine, Caesar. Write that down, Bishop. + +_Faustus_. Absolution to any one who shall practise magic, or enter into +an alliance with the Devil. How high shall I tax that, father? + +_Pope_. My son, you will not, by this last article, enrich the papal +treasury. The fiend does not understand his own advantage; we call upon +him in vain. + +_Faustus_. But provided that should so happen, how high, I repeat? + +_Pope_. For rarity's sake, one hundred ducats. + +_Faustus_. Here they are; and now write me out an absolution, that I may +be able to shake it in the face of the Devil, provided I ever sell myself +to him. + +_Chorus_. Absolution to him who shall sell himself to the fiend. + +_A Nun_. Most reverend Bishop, since you are writing out the absolution +for the magician, be so good as to furnish me with a paper likewise,--you +know for what. Here is my rosary; it is worth fifteen ducats; I shall +have, therefore, something in bank until another absolution becomes +necessary. + +Ferrara wrote, and the Pope signed his name beneath. + +_Devil_. Does your holiness imagine that Satan will pay any regard to +these scraps of paper? + +The grand inquisitor snatched his hand out of the bosom of an abbess, and +screamed, with stammering tongue: + +"I smell heresy! Who is the atheist? who has uttered that blasphemy?" + +The Pope pressed his forefinger softly upon the mouth of the Devil, and +said, "Cavalier, these are state secrets: handle them not; for if you do, +I myself, with all my authority, shall not be able to protect you." + +Every male in the assembly now opened his purse, either from a wish to +pay his court to the Pope, or to quiet his conscience. The Bishop had so +many applications, that he was soon obliged to call in other secretaries, +to assist him in expediting absolutions. Each applicant took away his +particular license, and each sought and found an opportunity of using it +during the remainder of the night. Never were sins committed with more +quiet minds. + +Ferrara of Modena, the next day, caused this tariff to be fairly copied; +he then sent it to the press, {249} and caused it to be secretly +circulated throughout Christendom. + +Caesar Borgia did not forget the promise which he had made to his sister. +Alphonso of Arragon was dispatched on the steps of the Gonfalonier's +palace, at the moment he was about to enter, in order to be present at a +play to which all the nobility of Rome had been invited, and which +represented the victories of the great Caesar, whom Borgia intended +henceforward to imitate, if not excel. This latter personage shortly +after marched out of Rome with his army; and, within the space of a few +months, the Devil purloined from the Pope's pocket the following letter, +which he gave Faustus to read: + + "REVEREND FATHER,-- + + "I kiss the feet of your holiness. Victory and fortune have followed + my steps, and I drag them behind my car like slaves. I hope now that + Caesar is worthy of his name; for I also can say, _Veni_, _vidi_, + _vici_. The Duke of Urbino has fallen into the snare which I laid + for him. By virtue of your holiness' letter, I asked him for his + artillery to fight your enemies with. Dazzled by the marks of + friendship and affection which I showed him, and which flattered his + self-love, he sent to me a gentleman with his consent in writing. + Having thus a very decent pretence, I instantly despatched some + thousands of men to Urbino, who, by my commands, took possession of + that city and of the whole duchy. The duke, unfortunately, escaped; + but I revenged myself for his flight upon the powerful and dangerous + family of Montefeltro, and annihilated their whole race. Vitelozzo + was fool enough to join me, with all his troops, near Camerino. I + deceived Caesar di Varono by promising him honourable conditions if + he would evacuate Camerino, and I attacked the city at the very + moment he was engaged in signing the articles of capitulation. I had + hoped to have exterminated the whole family at once; but the father + found means to elude me. However, I strangled his wife, and cut the + throats of his two sons; and I flatter myself that despair and grief + will soon send the old fellow after them. I left Camerino, and + despatched Paul Orsino, Vitelozzo, and Oliverotto, to Sinegaglia, + with orders to take the town by storm, so that they might prepare + their future grave with their own hands. When I saw them all in the + net, I sent forward my trusty Michelotto and his associates, with + directions to seize the fools when I should give the signal. I then + put myself upon the march, and Orsino, Vitelozzo, and Oliverotto came + to meet me, and pay me their respects. They had left all the troops + behind them, according to my expectations. I received them with + caresses, and went with them into the city; and at the very moment my + people fell upon their straggling soldiers, Michelotto and his + comrades each seized his man. Thus I made myself master of the + domains and fortresses of those whom we deceived by pretending to + assist them in subduing their enemies. The following night I caused + them to be slaughtered in their dungeons. Michelotto, to whom I + intrusted this business, told me, with much laughter, that all the + mercy Vitelozzo prayed for was, _that he might not be murdered until + he had received_, _from your holiness_, _absolution for his sins_. + Who now will tell me that it requires much art to make oneself master + of the minds of men? As soon as your holiness shall have put out of + the way the Orsinis and the rest, I will send the Pagolas, the Duke + of Gravina, and my other prisoners, to bear them company. If + Carraccioli, General of the Venetians, whose lovely wife I seized + upon her journey, and who now sweetens my labour, should come to Rome + with his _complaint_, send him Michelotto's brother to be his + physician. I hear that he is a turbulent, hot-headed fellow, and + therefore it will be as well to get rid of him. The tumult of arms + has not made me forget my sister's widowhood: the envoy of the eldest + son of the Duke of Este is already on the way to marry her, in his + name. We have now massacred the most dangerous of our foes; if we + can win over or exterminate (which is almost the same thing) the + houses of Este and Medici, who will then have the audacity to oppose + the Borgias in Italy? I kiss the feet of your holiness. + + "CAESAR BORGIA, Gonfalonier." + +Faustus, after reading this letter, looked angrily upward; but the Devil, +without giving him time to moralise, led him to the Vatican, where they +found the Pope overjoyed at the success which had attended his weapons. +He had already ordered the remaining Orsinis, Alvianis, Santa Croces, and +the other cardinals and archbishops, to be arrested, and awaited the +event with impatience. All Rome hastened to congratulate him. Those who +were marked out for destruction were seized in the Vatican, conducted +into different prisons, and privately executed; whilst the myrmidons of +the Pope plundered their palaces. The Cardinal Orsini alone was sent to +the Castle of Saint Angelo, and was permitted, for a few days, to be +supplied with food from his mother's kitchen; but the Pope, having heard +that he possessed a pearl, very precious on account of its extraordinary +size, retracted this favour. The mother of the once mighty and +flourishing Orsinis went to the Vatican, and offered the Pope the pearl +and two thousand crowns if he would liberate her son; when he seized the +pearl and the money with one hand, and with the other gave the sign for +the cardinal's execution. + +When Caesar Borgia learnt that the Pope had accomplished his design, he +instantly commanded all his own prisoners to be assassinated; and, +entering Rome in triumph, shared, with his holiness and the other +illegitimates, the booty he had brought with him; and, in return, +received his dividend of the confiscated property of the slaughtered +cardinals and ecclesiastics. + +The marriage of Lucretia was soon afterwards celebrated with more than +Asiatic pomp, and the Romans contributed to render it as brilliant as +possible. The bells pealed from the churches; the artillery thundered +from Saint Angelo; there were bull-fights; the most immoral and indecent +comedies were performed; and the delighted populace shouted before the +Vatican, "Long live Pope Alexander! long live Lucretia, Duchess of Este!" +Faustus huzzaed with the best of them, and said to the Devil: "If these +acclamations ascend to heaven with the groans of the assassinated, which +will the Eternal believe?" The fiend bowed himself to the earth, and was +silent. + +In order to crown the festivities of the marriage, Alexander and his +daughter commanded a spectacle which must for ever stand unparalleled in +the annals of human infamy. The Pope sat, with his daughter, upon a +couch, in a vast illuminated hall. Faustus, the Devil, and others who +had been invited to this scene, stood around them. Suddenly the doors +opened, and in rushed fifty nude courtesans,--more beautiful than the +houris in Mahomet's paradise,--and performed, to the voluptuous sound of +flutes and other instruments, a dance which decency forbids us to +describe, although it was a Pope who designed the figure. When the dance +was ended, his Holiness gave the signal for a combat which we are still +less permitted to depict,--he himself holding the prize of victory. They +proclaimed Faustus to be the conqueror. Lucretia overwhelmed him with +kisses, and crowned him with laurels; while the Pope delivered to him the +prize,--a golden goblet, on which Lucretia had caused to be engraven the +School of Pleasure. Faustus gave it the very next day to a Venetian +monk, in whose possession Aretino saw it a long time afterwards, and +illustrated some of its incidents in his sonnets. + +The Pope, on the day of his daughter's marriage, had made an election of +cardinals, choosing only the richest prelates for that dignity. Caesar +Borgia, being in want of large sums of money for the next campaign, +determined to send some of the newly-elected into the other world, at a +festival which his father intended to give at one of his villas. [The +details of these marriage-festivities are omitted; inasmuch as the +grossness of the spectacle renders it unfit for the general reader. The +conduct of Lucretia Borgia has been the subject of much obloquy, which +her defenders maintain rests chiefly on inferences from her living in a +flagitious court, where she witnessed the most profligate scenes. It is +asserted that some of the accusations have no better foundation than the +epigrams of Pontano, and other Neapolitan poets, the natural enemies of +her family.--_Transl_.] The Pope went in a coach, with his daughter, the +Devil, Faustus, Borgia, and the wife of the Venetian general. Here, +after witnessing a gross spectacle, Lucretia retired with Faustus; and +Borgia went with the Venetian; and the Pope remained alone with the +Devil. His holiness now made to the fiend certain proposals, which so +exasperated the Devil that he appeared under a form which no mortal eye +had ever yet been able to sustain. The Pope, who knew him immediately, +uttered a cry of joy. + +"Ah, ben venuto Signor Diavolo! You could not have come to me at a more +seasonable time than the present; I have long wished to see you, for I +know perfectly well what a deal of use might be made of so powerful a +spirit as yourself. Ha, ha, ha! you please me now much better than you +did before, you rogue, you! Come, be my friend; assume your former +figure, and I will make you a cardinal; for you only can raise me at once +to the height which I wish to attain. I entreat you to destroy my foes, +procure me money, and drive the French out of Italy, since I have no +further occasion for them. This to you will merely be the work of a +moment; and you may then ask me for any reward you please. But by all +means do not discover yourself to my son Caesar: he is so great a wretch, +that I verily believe he would poison me, his father, in order to become, +by thy help, King of Italy and Pope at the same time." + +The Devil, who had at first been a little mortified that his frightful +exterior had produced no greater effect, was now unable to refrain from +laughing; for what he saw and heard surpassed every thing which had as +yet come to the knowledge of hell. But recovering himself, he said, with +a serious air, "Pope Alexander, Satan once showed to the Son of the +Eternal all the kingdoms of the world, and offered him them, if he would +fall down and worship him." + +_Pope_. I understand you. He was a God, and wanted nothing; had he been +a man, and a pope, he would have done what I will now do. + +He fell upon his knees, and kissed the fiend's feet. + +The Devil stamped upon the floor, so that the whole villa trembled. +Faustus and Lucretia, Caesar and the Venetian, saw through the door, +which had been burst open by the shock, the Pope kneeling with clasped +hands before the frightful figure of the Devil, who seized the trembling +miscreant, strangled him, and gave his soul to an attendant spirit to be +conveyed to hell. Borgia fell to the ground in an agony of terror; and +the horrible spectacle brought upon him an illness, which soon sent him +after his father. The body of the Pope, frightfully disfigured, was +buried with much pomp; and his historians, who are not well acquainted +with his tragic end, invented the story, which is partly founded on +truth, that he and his son having drunk, by the cupbearer's mistake, some +poisoned wine which had been intended for the cardinals, were thus caught +in their own net. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +The horrible death of the Pope, and the frightful figure of the Devil, +whom Faustus had hitherto only seen majestic and comely, made so strong +an impression upon him, that he hastened from the villa to Rome; and, +having packed up his things, instantly departed, with perturbed mind and +beating heart. His spirit had become so weak from all that he had seen +and heard, that he who once dared to defy the Eternal in thought scarcely +ventured now to look Satan in the face, though he still had absolute +dominion over him. Hatred and contempt for men, cruel doubt, +indifference to every thing which occurred around him, murmurings at the +insufficiency of his moral and physical powers, were the rewards of his +experience and the fruits of his life; yet he consoled himself with the +idea that what he had witnessed authorised in him these gloomy +sentiments, and confirmed him in the opinion, that there either existed +on earth no connexion between man and his Creator, or that, if any did +exist, such connexion ran so confusedly and equivocally through the +labyrinth of life, that it was impossible for the eye of man to follow +it. He yet flattered himself with the delusion, that his crimes, when +added to the vast mass of earthly wickedness, would be like a drop of +water falling into the ocean. The Devil willingly permitted him to +repose in this dream, in order that the blow he intended for him might +fall with greater violence. Faustus resembled those men of the world who +abandon themselves to their pleasures without thinking of the +consequences; and at length, worn out and dejected, look morosely on the +world, and judge of the human race according to their own sad experience, +without reflecting that they have only trodden the worst paths of life, +and seen the worst part of the creation. In a word, he was on the point +of becoming a philosopher of the species of Voltaire, who, whenever he +found the _bad_, always held it forth to public view; and, with +unexampled industry, always endeavoured to keep the _good_ in the +background. + +Faustus was lying in a sweet morning slumber on the frontiers of Italy, +when a portentous dream depicted itself to his soul in the liveliest +colours; and this dream was followed by a frightful apparition. He saw +the Genius of Man, whom he had once before seen. He saw him upon a vast +and blooming island, surrounded by a stormy sea, wandering up and down, +and looking very anxiously upon the raging billows. The ocean was +covered with innumerable barks, in which men, aged and young, children, +women, and maidens, of all the nations of the world, were struggling +against the tempest, in order to reach the island. When they arrived +there, their first care was to bring to land different building +materials, which they flung together confusedly. After an immense number +had gained the shore, the Genius marked out, upon the most elevated part +of the island, the plan of a vast edifice; and each of the crowd, young +and old, weak or strong, took, according to his or her strength, a piece +from the mass of materials, and, directed by those whom the Genius had +chosen, carried it, and deposited it at the proper place. All worked +with pleasure, with courage, and without relaxation; and the fabric had +already risen high above the ground, when they were suddenly attacked by +numerous foes, who advanced out of a dark ambush in three columns. At +the head of each of these columns stood a general. The first bore a +glittering crown upon his head; on his brazen shield was written the word +_Power_; and in his right hand he held a sceptre, which, like the rod of +Mercury, had a snake and a scourge twisted round it. Before him went a +fierce hyena, holding in its jaws a book, on the back of which was +written _My Word_. His troops were armed with swords, spears, and other +implements of destruction. The second column was commanded by a majestic +matron, whose noble figure was clothed in a sacerdotal robe. On her +right stood _Superstition_, a gloomy-eyed spectre, bearing in his hand a +bow formed from the bones of the dead, and on his back a quiver filled +with poisoned arrows. On her left hovered a wild, fantastically clothed +figure, called _Fanaticism_, bearing a blazing torch. These two +phantoms, with menacing gestures and frightful grimaces, led the noble +matron in chains, like a prisoner. Before them went _Ambition_, whose +head was adorned with a triple crown; in his hand was an episcopal staff, +and on his mailed breast shone the word _Religion_. Fanaticism and +Superstition waited, with the utmost impatience, until Religion should +give them the signal to vent their fury, which they could scarcely +restrain. The army was a confused and howling rabble, and each soldier +carried a dagger and a flaming torch. The chief of the third column +advanced with bold and haughty steps; he was clothed in the simple dress +of the sages, and was called _Philosophy_. He bore in his hand, as did +all his followers, a golden cup, filled with foaming and intoxicating +liquor. These two last armies howled and screamed so frightfully, that +even the bellowing of the waters and the roar of the tempest were no +longer audible. + +When the three columns arrived near the labourers, they united, by the +directions of their generals, and attacked them furiously with their +murderous weapons. The most courageous of the workmen flung away their +implements of labour, and drew their swords, which hung at their belts, +in order to drive their foes back. The others, in the mean time, +endeavoured, with redoubled zeal, to complete the fabric they had begun. +The Genius protected his brave warriors and his industrious labourers +with a huge glittering shield, which was handed to him from the sky; but +he could not cover the whole of the countless multitude. He saw with +deep sorrow thousands of his people sink to the earth beneath the swords +and poisoned darts of their adversaries. Many allowed themselves to be +ensnared by the invitations and allurements of those who offered them the +enchanted cup to refresh themselves with; and, in their intoxication, +they soon destroyed the laborious work of their hands. + +Those who bore torches made their way with their daggers, and hurled the +torches into the unfinished edifice, when the flames, rearing up, +threatened to reduce it to ashes. The Genius looked mournfully upon the +slain, and on those who had been intoxicated by the deceitful beverage; +but he encouraged the rest, and inspired them, by his firmness and his +dignity, with strength and patience. They extinguished the flames; +replaced what the others had overturned; and laboured, amid death and +destruction, with so much zeal, that, in spite of the fury and malignity +of their foes, they raised at length a vast and sublime temple. The +Genius then healed the wounded, comforted the weary, praised the bold +warriors, and conducted them all, amid songs of triumph, into the temple. +The foes stood confounded at the enormous work; and, after they had in +vain attempted to shatter its solidity, they retreated, with rage in +their hearts. Faustus now found himself upon the island. The field +around the majestic building was covered with dead bodies of all ages and +of both sexes; and those who had tasted of the enchanted cup walked +coolly among the corpses, disputed with each other, and laughed at and +criticised the structure of the temple. Faustus went past them, and as +he approached the edifice he read over the entrance the following words: +"Mortal, if thou hast bravely struggled, and hast remained faithful, +enter, and learn to know thy noble destiny." + +At these words he felt his heart leap with joy, and he hoped to be now +able to penetrate the obscurity which had so long tormented him. With +bold and daring pace he ran up the lofty steps, and caught a glimpse of +the interior of the edifice, which seemed filled with the roseate colours +of morning. He heard the soft voice of the Genius, and was about to +enter; but the gate of brass closed before him with a harsh sound, and he +recoiled in terror. His desire to penetrate into the secrets of the +temple was increased by the impossibility. All of a sudden he felt +wings, and rising high into the air, he precipitated himself furiously +against the brazen gate, was hurled back, and started out of his sleep +just as he was on the point of touching the ground. He opened his eyes +in dismay. A ghastly figure, wrapped in a winding-sheet, drew back the +curtains of his bed. He recognised the features of his old father, who, +gazing upon him for a moment, said, in a lamentable voice: + +"Faustus! Faustus! never yet did father beget a more unfortunate son; and +in this feeling I have just died. For ever--ah! for ever!--must the gulf +of damnation lie between thee and me." + +The portentous dream and this horrible apparition filled the soul of +Faustus with affright. He sprang from his bed, and opened the window to +inhale the fresh air. Before him lay the enormous Alps, whose tops were +just gilded by the rising sun. He surveyed them for some time, and at +last fell into a profound reverie. He trembled as he thought of his +nocturnal vision, and was endeavouring to explain to himself its most +prominent passages, when, falling anew into his cruel doubts, he +exclaimed: + +"Whence came those monsters who attacked the industrious labourers? By +whom were they authorised to disturb and destroy them while engaged in +their noble occupation? Who permitted it? Was he who permitted it +unable, or did he not wish, to hinder it? And why did the Supreme Genius +protect and save only a part of them who were assailed by those +cannibals? Were some predestined to perish, in order that the others +might triumph and taste repose? Who, then, will dare to tell me that I +am not one of those who are born with destruction for their lot? What +evil had those unfortunates committed, and why should those be esteemed +criminal who, pressed by a burning thirst, endeavoured to quench it by +tasting the enchanted cup?" + +Faustus wandered for a long time in a maze of doubt; but, remembering the +apparition of his father, it brought back to his mind his long-forgotten +family. He instantly determined to return to them; to become again a +member of society; to resume his business; and to get rid of his infernal +companion. He pursued his journey towards home like many others, who, +mistaking the ardour of insensate youth for genius, enter upon the career +of the world with high pretensions, and, having quickly exhausted the +little fire which their souls possess, soon find themselves a burden to +their kindred and their friends, at the very place from whence they +started. Faustus brooded over all this, while he rode silently and +moodily by the side of the Devil. + +The latter left him to his reflections, laughed inwardly at his +resolution, and shortened the time with the sweet idea of soon being able +to breathe the pleasant vapours of hell. He determined to have a bitter +laugh at Satan, who had represented to him as a man of superior strength +of mind this Faustus, whom he now saw completely dejected even before he +knew the horrors of his fate. He compared his present downcast and timid +looks with the haughty and bold glances he had cast upon him when he +first made him appear before his magic circle. His hatred against him +increased, and he rejoiced in his black soul when he saw Worms lie before +them in the plain. + +They rode towards the celebrated city; and when they were about half a +mile distant from it, they perceived a gibbet, to which was suspended a +tall, slender youth. Faustus lifted up his eyes and gazed upon him. The +evening wind blew freshly among his long hair, which half-concealed his +face, and swung his body to and fro. Faustus burst into tears at this +spectacle, and cried, with trembling voice: + +"Poor youth! hanging at the cursed tree before thou hadst reached the +flower of life! What sin hast thou committed, which induced the tribunal +of men to cut thee off so soon?" + +_Devil_ (_in a solemn and impressive tone_). Faustus, this is thy work. + +_Faustus_. My work! + +_Devil_. Thy work. Look at him closer. He is thy eldest son. + +Faustus looked up, recognised him, and sunk from his horse. + +_Devil_. Cry and groan! The hour approaches in which I must remove the +thick veil from before thine eyes, and blow away, with a single breath, +the labyrinth in which thou hast so long wandered. I will fling light +upon the moral world, and show thee how thou hast outraged it by each of +thy actions. I, a devil, will show thee what are the consequences when a +worm like thyself dares to stop the wheel of so exact and so enormous a +machine. Dost thou remember the youth whom I, at our departure from +Mayence, saved from drowning by thy command? I gave thee warning, but +thou wouldst obey the rash impulse of thy heart. If thou hadst permitted +that miscreant to perish, thy son would not now be rotting on yon gibbet. +He on whose account thou didst change the order of things, insinuated +himself, shortly after thy departure, into the society of thy young wife. +The glitter of the gold which we had left her in such abundance, +attracted him much more than her youth and beauty. It was no difficult +thing for him to win the affections of her who had been forsaken by thee; +and in a short time he gained such influence over her, that she delivered +up herself and all she possessed to his will and control. Thy old father +endeavoured to oppose his shameless sway; but the young man insulted him +and beat him: the poor old man sought an asylum in the workhouse, where +he died, a few days ago, of grief for thee and thy family. Thy son, +having taken his grandfather's part, and threatened the life of his +mother's seducer, was by him turned out of the house also. The boy +wandered among the woods and wildernesses till he was half famished. +Arriving at length in this city, and being ashamed to beg, he stole a few +pence from the poor-box in a church, in order to assuage his hunger; but +he committed this theft so artlessly, that several people perceived him, +and the most worshipful magistrate, in consideration of his youth, +sentenced him only to be hanged: he was accordingly hanged; although he +protested, with tears, that for the last four days he had swallowed +nothing but grass. Thy daughter is at Frankfort, where she subsists upon +the earnings of vice; thy second son is in the profligate service of an +infamous prelate. The young man whom thou didst save from death robbed +thy wife not long ago of her last stiver; thy friend whom we preserved +from beggary refused thy old father the slightest assistance, and spurned +thy children from his door when they came to him for bread. And I will +now show thee thy family, in order that thou mayest see to what a state +thou hast reduced them. I will then bring thee here again, and hold +reckoning with thee; for I am no longer thy slave--thou art mine. The +worm of despair begins to gnaw within thee; thou art no longer fit to +live, and hell only is fit to receive thee. + +The Devil seized the wretched man, flew with him to Mayence, and showed +him his wife and two youngest children sitting at the gate of the +Franciscan convent in expectation of the remnant of the monks' supper. +When the mother beheld Faustus, she screamed, "O Heaven! Faustus! your +father--" then, covering her eyes with her hands, she fell into a swoon. +The children ran to him, clung about him, and cried for bread. + +_Faustus_. Devil, decide upon my fate: let it be more frightful than the +heart of man can support or conceive, but supply these unfortunate +creatures with bread, and rescue them from misery and hunger. + +_Devil_. I have plundered for thee the earth of its treasures; thou hast +sacrificed them to thy infamous pleasures, without once thinking of these +wretches. Feel now thy folly; thou hast spun the web of their destiny, +and thy hungry, beggarly, miserable brood will transmit to their remotest +posterity the misery of which thou art the cause. Thou didst beget +children--wherefore hast thou not been a father to them? Wherefore hast +thou sought happiness where mortal never yet found it? Look at them once +more. In hell thou shalt see them again; and they will there curse thee +for the inheritance which thou didst entail upon them. + +He tore him from his miserable family at the moment the wife was about to +embrace his knees, and to ask his pardon. Faustus wished to comfort her; +but the Devil grasped him, and placed him once more beneath the gibbet at +Worms. + +Night sunk dark upon the earth. Faustus stood gazing on the remains of +his unfortunate son; madness glowed in his brain, and he cried, in the +wild tone of despair: + +"Devil, let me bury this poor victim; take then my life, and bear me to +hell, where I shall never again see men in flesh and bone. I have learnt +to know them; I am disgusted with them, with their destination, with the +world, and with life. Since one good action brings on my head such +inexpressible evils, I have reason to believe that the wicked only have a +right to happiness. If such be the order of things in this world, hurl +me at once into hell. Its darkness is a thousand times preferable to the +light of day. + +_Devil_. Not so fast, Faustus. In the first place, I take away from +thee thy mighty magic rod, and confine thee in the narrow circle which I +draw around thee. Here shalt thou listen to me, and howl and tremble. I +will unfold to thee the consequences of thy deeds, and will assassinate +thee through downright despair. + +"Fool! thou sayest thou hast learnt to know man! Where? How and when +hast thou attained this knowledge? Hast thou ever sounded his nature? +Hast thou separated from him that which he has acquired, and which is +foreign to him? Hast thou distinguished that which proceeds from his +heart, from that which is merely the affect of an imagination corrupted +by artifice? Hast thou compared the wants and the desires resulting from +his nature, with those which he owes to civilisation? Hast thou +considered man in his proper shape, where each of his movements bears the +stamp of his inward disposition? _Thou hast taken the mask of society +for his natural figure_; _and thou hast only known that man whom his +titles_, _his rank_, _his riches_, _his power_, _and his acquirements +have corrupted_. _Thou hast only known him who has sacrificed his nature +to thy own idol_,--_to vanity_. Thou hast merely frequented palaces and +courts, where men spurn away the unfortunate, and laugh at the complaints +of the oppressed, whilst they are dissipating in revel-rout and roar that +which they have robbed them of. Thou hast seen the sovereigns of the +world; thou hast seen tyrants surrounded by their parasites and their +infamous courtesans; and thou hast seen priests who make use of religion +as an instrument of oppression. Such are the men thou hast seen, and not +him who groans under the heavy yoke, and comforts himself with the hope +of futurity. Thou hast passed by with disdain the hut of the poor and +simple man, who does not even know your artificial wants by name, who +gains his bread by the sweat of his brow, shares it faithfully with his +wife and children, and rejoices, at the last moment of his life, in +having completed his long and laborious task. If thou hadst opened his +door, thou wouldst not indeed have found a vain ideal of heroic and +over-refined virtue, which is only the offspring of your vices and your +crimes; but thou wouldst have seen a man who, in meekness and resigned +magnanimity, shows more force of soul, than do your renowned heroes in +their blood-stained fields of battle, or your ministers in their +perfidious cabinets. If it were not for these, and for your priests, and +above all for your false philosophers, the gates of hell would soon be +closed. Canst thou say that thou knowest man, when thou hast only sought +for him in the paths of vice and crime? Dost thou know thyself? I will +make your wounds yet deeper, and pour poison into them. But if I had a +thousand human tongues, and were to keep thee here confined for as many +years, I should still be unable to enumerate to thee all the frightful +consequences of thy actions and thy temerity. Know now the result of thy +life, and remember, that I have scarcely fulfilled one of thy insensate +desires without having forewarned thee to check it. It is by thy command +that I have interrupted the course of things, and committed crimes which +I myself could scarcely have imagined; so that, devil as I am, I am not +so bad as thyself. + +"Dost thou remember the nun Clara, and the voluptuous night which thou +didst pass with her? But how canst thou have forgotten her? Listen now +to the consequences. A short time after thy departure, the Bishop, who +was her friend and protector, died; and she, having become a mother, was +condemned, as an object of public horror, to be starved with her child in +a dark dungeon. In her ravenous hunger she fell upon the newly-born, ate +of thy flesh and her own, and prolonged her existence as long as there +was a bone for her to gnaw. In what had she sinned?--she who did not +comprehend her crime; she who did not know, or even suspect, the author +of her ignominy and her frightful death. Feel now the result of one +single moment of pleasure, and tremble! Hast thou not strengthened the +delusion which condemned her? Must not hell now bear the reproach of thy +crime? Those people condemned the child as the spawn of Satan, and +murdered the mother under the idea that she had been possessed by him; +and through this thy deed thou hast bewildered their minds, and those of +their posterity. + +"Thou wast not more fortunate with the Prince Bishop. He caused, it is +true, Hans Ruprecht to be buried, and provided for his family. He +likewise, by the trick I played him, lost his fat, and became the most +mild and merciful of princes; but he so relaxed the band of social order +by his over-indulgence, that his subjects soon became a horde of +drunkards, sluggards, ruffians, and highwaymen. The present Bishop is +obliged to be their executioner, and to disperse and destroy a hundred +families, in order that the rest, terrified by their example, may again +become humanised, and submit to the laws. The furies themselves could +not do half the injury to these people which those now do to whom the +Bishop has been obliged to intrust the sword of justice and the power of +vengeance. + +"Doctor Robertus, the renowned champion of freedom, the man after thine +own heart, was from his earliest youth an enemy to the Minister, whom he +hated on account of his talents. Envy and jealousy caused his +independence of spirit; and if he had been in the situation of the other, +he would have adopted with pleasure the most cruel principles of +despotism, for which his wild and ferocious heart was only formed. The +honest man was the Minister; Robertus was a monster, who would have set +the whole world in a blaze, and has done it partly, in order to satisfy +his boundless ambition. Thou didst oblige me to rescue him, and to +furnish him with a large sum of money. He made such good use of his +freedom, his gold, and the enthusiasm which his miraculous escape had +caused among the people, that he soon succeeded in stirring up a dreadful +rebellion. He armed the peasants; they murdered the nobility, and +desolated the whole land. The noble Minister fell a victim to his +revenge; and Robertus, the friend of liberty, the champion of the +oppressed, is the author of the calamitous war of the peasants, which by +degrees will spread over the whole of Germany, and will ravage it. +Murders, assassinations, robberies, and sacrilege are now committed with +impunity; and thy noble hero stands at the head of a furious rabble, and +threatens to make Germany the cemetery of the human race. Satan himself +could not have laboured more effectually for the destruction of mankind, +than thou didst when I was forced by thee to rescue this madman from the +stroke of justice. + +"Let us now return to the court of the German prince, where thou so +audaciously didst make thyself the avenger of virtue and oppressed +innocence. That prince and his favourite affected virtues which they did +not possess; but their actions contributed to the good of the people, +because both had sense enough to perceive that the happiness of the +people constitutes that of the prince. Does the thirsty traveller know, +or does he care, if the spring of which he drinks gushes out of a +mountain filled with poison, provided he cools his hot blood without +receiving any harm? That hypocrite displeased thee because he did not +answer to thy preconceived high opinion, which thou, for certain reasons, +didst wish to thrust upon me; and I was compelled to strangle him by thy +orders. His infant son was destined to succeed him in the government. +His tutors harassed and oppressed the people, once happy under the +dominion of his father; they corrupted the heart and the mind of the +future regent, who having enervated his body through early pleasure, they +rule him now he is come of age, and are his and his people's tyrants. +Hadst thou not compelled me to murder the father, he would have brought +up his son in his own maxims; he would have developed his faculties, and +have made him a man fit to govern a nation. The numerous subjects who +are now groaning beneath iron-handed oppression, and whose misery is all +to be imputed to thee, would then have been the happiest in Germany. Let +their tears, their despair, and the horrors of an approaching +insurrection, reward thee for having rashly exercised the duty of a +judge. + +"Madman! in obedience to thy command, I burnt the castle of the fierce +Wildgrave, with all its inhabitants, with his wife and his infant. What +crime had they committed? It was a moment of delight to me. If the +infant was consumed on the breast of the mother, it was thy work. If the +Wildgrave attacked a neighbouring nobleman as the cause of the +conflagration, set fire to his house, and ignominiously whipped him, it +was thy work. Thousands have already fallen beneath their reciprocal +vengeance, and tranquillity will not be restored to that part of Germany +until the hostile families shall be completely exhausted and annihilated. +And thus, poor worm, hast thou avenged the innocent; thou, who all thy +life hast been wallowing in the grossest sensuality; thou, who didst pull +me out of hell merely to satiate thy lusts. Groan and weep; but I will +overwhelm thee with fresh horrors. + +"By thy order I infused the poison of lust into the heart of the innocent +Angelica, she who was the ornament of her sex and of the world. Thou +didst enjoy her in the wild intoxication of thy senses, and she scarcely +knew what had happened to her. Shudder at the consequences! I, who find +pleasure in evil and destruction, think with pity and compassion on her +end. She fled from her native place, and a feeling of shame forced her +to conceal the state in which she found herself, and to which thou hadst +reduced her. Alone, in solitude, and without help, amid agonising throes +and deadly pains, she became a mother. The child died as soon as it saw +the light of day. She, the wretched victim of thy momentary pleasure, +was cast into prison, and publicly executed as an infanticide. Thou +shouldst have seen her in the last moments of her life; thou shouldst +have seen her pure blood spouting high into the air, when the sword of +the executioner separated her lovely neck." + +Faustus gave a loud groan. Despair was raging in his heart. + +_Devil_. The daughter of the miser in France, whom thou didst seduce, +and in whose bosom thou didst cause slumbering desire to awake, became +shortly afterwards the mistress of the youthful king. She ruled him +entirely, and in order that he might not disturb her in her intercourse +with another lover, she urged him to the disastrous expedition into +Italy, and brought misfortunes upon France which many future reigns will +not be able to heal. The flower of the French nobility, and the heroes +of the kingdom, are rotting on the sun-scorched plains of Italy; and the +king has returned home overwhelmed with shame and ignominy. Thus, +wherever thou hast wandered, thou hast scattered around thee the seeds of +misery, which have sprung up, and will bear fruit to all eternity. + +"Thou didst not pay attention to the look I gave thee when I tore down +the house upon the cruel physicians at Paris. I had previously told thee +that, by my destructive hand, thou didst mangle the moral world worse +than they did the flesh of their fellow-creatures. Thou didst pay no +attention to that look--hear now the cause of it. Those wretches deserve +to perish beneath the ruins of their laboratory; but what evil had the +poor people committed who lodged in the lower part of the house, and who +were totally ignorant of what was going forward above their heads? Why +should an innocent, happy family be crushed along with those monsters? +To satisfy thy blind vengeance, I was forced to bury them beneath stones +and falling timbers. Judge and avenger at the same time, thou hadst not +thought of this. Consider now all the consequences of thy delirium and +thy folly; cast thine eyes along the whole chain, extending to the +remotest posterity, and then sink beneath the terrible survey. Did I not +once tell thee that man is much more rash in his decisions and in his +vengeance, than the Devil is in the accomplishment of wickedness?" + +Faustus opened his haggard eyes, and looked towards heaven. + +_Devil_. It is deaf to thee. Be proud of having lived a moment when thy +atrocity was so great that it almost made the deeds of the devils +themselves forgotten. I speak of that moment when thou didst command me +to withdraw the veil which concealed the Eternal from thy sight. The +angel whose charge it was to register thy sins averted his face, and +struck thy name from the Book of Life. + +_Faustus_ (_springing up_). Cursed be thou; cursed be myself; cursed be +the hour of my birth; cursed be he who begot me; cursed be the breast +which I sucked! + +_Devil_. O the delightful moment! Precious reward of my toils! Hell +rejoices at thy curses, and expects a yet more frightful one from thee. +Fool! wast thou not born free? Didst thou not bear in thy breast, like +all who live in flesh, the instinct of good as well as of evil? Why +didst thou transgress, with so much temerity, the bounds which had been +prescribed to thee? Why didst thou endeavour to try thy strength with +and against Him who is not to be reached? Did not God create you in such +a manner, that you were as much elevated above the devils as above the +beasts of the earth? Did he not grant you the perceptive faculty of good +and evil? Were not your will and choice free? We wretches are without +choice, without will; we are the slaves of evil and of imperious +necessity; constrained and condemned to all eternity to wish nothing but +evil, we are the instruments of revenge and punishment upon you. Ye are +kings of the creation, free beings, masters of your destiny, which ye fix +yourselves; masters of the future, which only depends upon your actions. +It is on account of these prerogatives that we detest you, and rejoice +when, by your follies, your impatience, and your crimes, you cease to be +masters of yourselves. It is only in resignation, Faustus, that present +or future happiness consists. Hadst thou remained what thou wast, and +had not doubt, pride, vanity, and voluptuousness torn thee out of the +happy and limited sphere for which thou wast born, thou mightst have +followed an honourable employment, and have supported thy wife and +children; and thy family, which is now sunk into the refuse of humanity, +would have been blooming and prosperous; lamented by them, thou wouldst +have died calmly on thy bed, and thy example would have guided thy +posterity along the thorny path of life. + +_Faustus_. Ah, the greatest torment of the damned is, no doubt, to hear +the devil preach penitence. + +_Devil_. It is pleasant enough that you force us to moralise; but, +wretch, if the voice of truth and of penitence were to echo down from +heaven, you would close your ears to it. + +_Faustus_. Destroy me at once, and do not kill me by thy prattling, +which tears my heart without convincing my spirit. Pour out thy venom, +and do not distil it upon me drop by drop. I am not to blame if, having +sown the seeds of good, bad has arisen from them. A good action has +caused the ignominious death of my son, and a good action has +precipitated my family into the most profound misery. + +_Devil_. Why dost thou boast to me of thy good deed? How does it +deserve that name? I suppose because thou didst give me a command, +which, by the by, did not cost thee much. To have made the action +meritorious, thou shouldst have cast thyself into the water, and have +saved the young man at the risk of thine own life. I brought him to the +shore, and disappeared; he would have known thee, and, moved by +gratitude, would probably have become the protector, instead of the +destroyer, of thy family. + +_Faustus_. Thou canst torment me, Devil; but thou canst not, from +stupidity, or thou wilt not, from wickedness, dispel my doubts. Never +have they torn my heart more venomously than at this moment, when I +consider the miseries of my existence and of my after-destination. Is +human life any thing else than a tissue of crimes, torments, pains, +hypocrisy, contradictions, and false virtues? What are free agency, +choice, will, and that so much vaunted faculty of distinguishing good +from evil, if the passions drown the feeble voice of reason, as the roar +of the sea drowns the voice of the pilot whose vessel is about to be +dashed against the rocks? Is it possible for man to destroy and root out +of his breast the germ of evil which has been designedly introduced +there? I hate, more bitterly than ever, the world, my fellow-creatures, +and myself. Destined to suffer, why was I born with the desire of being +happy? Born for darkness, why was I filled with the desire of seeing +light? Why had the slave the thirst for freedom? Why had the worm the +wish to fly? Why had I a boundless imagination, the teeming mother of +bold desires, daring wishes and thoughts? Tear from my uncertain and +doubtful soul the flesh which envelops it; destroy in it all remembrance +of its ever having animated a human body: I wish to become henceforward +one of you, and only to live in the desire of evil. Ah, Devil, this is +not so pleasant to thy ears as the hissing, howling song of despair which +thou didst expect. But loosen the enchantment which fetters me in this +circle; and let me perform my last sad duty. I will not attempt to +escape from thee; if I could, I would not, for the pain of hell cannot be +greater than that which I now feel. + +_Devil_. Faustus, I am pleased with thy courage, and I would sooner hear +what thou hast said than the wild shriek of despair. Be proud that the +force of thy spirit has carried thee even to madness and blasphemy, for +which the pain of hell awaits thee. Step out of thy circle; bury that +wretched youth; thy part will then be played here, and thou must begin +another, which will never end. + +Faustus climbed the gibbet, and cut the rope from the neck of his son. +He then bore him into a neighbouring field which the plough had lately +turned up, and scratching a grave with his hands, he buried the body of +the unfortunate youth. He then returned to the Devil, and said, in a +wild tone: + +"The measure of my wretchedness is full; break now the vase which can +hold nothing more; but I have yet courage to struggle with thee for my +life. I will not perish like the slave who yields without resistance to +the might of his master. Appear to me under whatever form thou wilt, and +I will grapple with thee. For freedom, for independence, I once drew +thee out of hell; on its verge I will yet assert my right to both; on the +verge of the frightful gulf I will use my strength, and remember that I +once saw thee tremble before my magic circle, when I threatened to +scourge thee with my rod. The tears which thou seest in my eyes ore +tears of indignation, of hate, and of disgust. Not the fiend, but my own +heart, triumphs over me. + +_Devil_. Insipid braggart! With this form I tear off the mask which +belied my courage. Vengeance is at hand, and Leviathan is himself once +more! + +He stood in gigantic stature before him. His eyes glowed like full-laden +thunder-clouds, which reflect the rays of the descending sun. The noise +of his breath was like the rushing of the tempest-blast. The earth +groaned beneath his iron feet. The storm rustled in his hair, which +waved round his head like the tail from the threatening comet. Faustus +lay before him like a worm; for the horrible sight had deprived him of +his senses and his strength. The Devil uttered a contemptuous laugh, +which hissed over the surface of the earth; and seizing the trembling +being, he tore him to pieces, as a capricious boy would tear an insect. +He strewed the bloody members with fury and disgust about the field, and +plunged with the soul into the depths of hell. + +The devils were assembled round Satan, who was consulting with his +princes concerning the punishments which should be inflicted upon Pope +Alexander the Sixth. His crimes, and the last moments of his life, had +been unparalleled, so that even the worst devils found themselves at a +loss to allot him a punishment suitable to his deserts. The Pope stood +before his judges, who treated him as contemptuously as a tribunal of +princes treats an accused person who has nothing else to recommend him +than his being a man. All of a sudden Leviathan rushed triumphantly into +the midst, held the soul of Faustus on high, and then hurled it with +violence upon the table, saying: + +"There you have Faustus!" + +He was received with so loud a bellow of joy, that the damned trembled in +their pools: "Welcome, Prince Leviathan! There is Faustus! There is +Faustus!" + +_Satan_. Welcome, prince of hell. Welcome, Faustus; we have heard +enough of you here. + +_Leviathan_. There he is, Satan; see him yourself. He has plagued me +not a little, but he has been a good recruit for us, and I hope that thou +art contented with my long sojourn upon earth. But I entreat thee, for +many centuries to come, to send me no more on such errands; for I am +quite weary of the human race. I must, however, acknowledge that this +fellow did not badly support the last hour of his life, hard as it was; +but that arose, I suppose, from his having applied himself in his youth +to that philosophy which thou hast taught mankind. + +_Satan_. I thank thee, Prince Leviathan; and I promise thee that thou +shalt long continue with me among the sweet vapours of this place, and +scourge the shades of the great princes of the earth for thy pastime. +Hem! a fine fellow, and seems to have had quite enough of men and things. +Despair, audacity, hate, rancour, agony, and pride, have torn deep +furrows in his soul. He looks even at us and hell without trembling. +Faustus, art thou become dumb of a sudden? + +_Faustus_. Not from fear, I assure thee. I have been bold to one much +mightier than thyself, and therefore am I here. + +_Satan_. Hey! carry the saucy hound to the pool of the damned; and after +being soused therein, let him be well scourged by a legion of my most +active pages, in order that he may become a little acquainted with the +rules of these regions. + +A devil dragged Faustus to the pool; the legion swarmed after him. + +_Leviathan_ (_perceiving the Pope_). Ah! welcome, Pope Alexander. I +hope you no longer feel any desire to make a Ganymede of the Devil. + +_Pope_ (_sighing_). No, alas! + +_Satan_. Ha, ha, ha! This is now a good specimen of the men who at +present ravage the earth; but let them once get to the new world, and +they will make it a theatre of crimes which will put the old one to +shame. + +_Pope_. Would that I could be there too! + +_Satan_. A wish truly worthy of a pope; but console thyself,--thy +countrymen will murder millions of men for their gold. + +_Pope_. What will men not do for gold? + +Faustus came back with his fiendish attendants. + +_Satan_. Well, Faustus, how do you like your bath, and those that rubbed +you dry? + +_Faustus_. Maddening and intolerable thought, that the noble and +ethereal part of man must expiate the sins of a body formed of clay! + +The devils laughed till the vaults reechoed. + +_Satan_. Bravo, Faustus! I am convinced, from thy words and behaviour, +that thou art too good for a man. I am, besides, much indebted to thee +for having invented Printing, that art which is so singularly useful to +us. + +_Pope_. What, a printer! He gave himself out at my court for a +gentleman, and won my daughter Lucretia! + +_Faustus_. Silence, proud Spaniard. I paid her richly; and thou wouldst +have prostituted thyself to me for a like sum, if I had been one of thine +own stamp. My noble invention will sow more good, and will be more +profitable to the human race, than all the popes from St. Peter down to +thyself. + +_Satan_. Thou art mistaken, Faustus. In the first place, men will rob +thee of the honour of having invented this art. + +_Faustus_. That is worse than damnation. + +_Satan_. Observe now this man: he stands before me, the ruler here, and +holds everlasting torments as nothing when compared with the loss of his +fame and glory, those chimeras of his overheated brain. In the second +place, Faustus, the shades will descend by hundreds of thousands, will +fall upon thee, and overwhelm thee with curses, for having converted the +little stream which poisoned the human mind into a monstrous flood. I, +who am the ruler here, and shall gain by it, am therefore thy debtor; and +if thou wilt curse the Eternal, who either could not or would not make +thee better, thou shalt escape the torments of this place, and I will +make thee a prince of my dark kingdom. + +_Pope_. Let me be the first to curse, O Satan; as a pope, I have an +undoubted right to the precedence. + +_Satan_. Observe these men, ye devils, and see how they outdo ye. No, +Pope; thou didst it when thy lips kissed the feet of my Leviathan. +Choose, Faustus. + +Faustus stepped forward; raging despair was engraven in frightful +characters on his shadowy face. He--! Who can express what he said? + +The devils trembled at his words, and were astonished at his audacity. +Since hell first existed, no such stillness had reigned in the dark, +frightful kingdom, the abode of eternal misery. Faustus broke it, and +required Satan to fulfil his promise. + +_Satan_. Fool! how canst thou imagine that I, ruler of hell, will keep +my word, as there is no example of a prince of earth ever having kept his +word when he got nothing by so doing? If thou canst forget that thou art +a man, forget not that thou standest before the Devil. My fiendish +subjects turned pale at thy temerity; thy horrid words made my firm and +imperishable throne tremble; and I thought for a moment that I had risked +too much. Away! thy presence makes me uneasy; and thou art a proof that +man can do more than the Devil can bear. Drag him, ye fiends, into the +most frightful corner; let him there languish in solitude, and madden at +the recollection of his deeds, and of this moment, which he can never +atone for. Let no shade approach him. Go, thou accursed one, and hover +alone and abandoned in that land where neither hope, comfort, nor sleep +are found. Those doubts which have tormented thee in life shall for ever +gnaw thy soul, and no one shall explain to thee that mystery, the pursuit +of which has brought thee here. This is the most painful punishment of +all to a philosopher like thee. Drag him away, I repeat; torture him. +Seize that Pope, and plunge him into the hottest pool; for their equals +are not to be found in hell. + +After their departure, Satan said to himself, smiling: + +"When men wish to represent any thing abominable, they paint the Devil: +let us, therefore, in revenge, when we wish to represent any thing +infamous, depict man; and philosophers, popes, priests, conquerors, +ministers, and authors, shall serve us as models." + + + + +Footnotes: + + +{134} It is not out of fear that I refrain from giving the names of the +German princes who appear in this work, but because, having discovered +the secret springs of their actions, I should too often have to +contradict their lying, flattering, ignorant historians; and men who +willingly allow themselves to be deceived, might perhaps doubt the truth +of my assertions. Hercules himself could not clear away all the ordure +which these historians have heaped up.--_Original_. + +{249} See _Taxae Cancellariae Apostolicae_, &c., printed at Rome and +Paris. + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAUSTUS*** + + +******* This file should be named 25468.txt or 25468.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/5/4/6/25468 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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