The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus E-Book

Christopher Marlowe

• Herausgeber: Christopher Marlowe
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Not marching now in fields of Thrasymene, Where Mars did mate the Carthaginians; Nor sporting in the dalliance of love, In courts of kings where state is overturn'd; Nor in the pomp of proud audacious deeds, Intends our Muse to vaunt her heavenly verse: Only this, gentlemen,—we must perform The form of Faustus' fortunes, good or bad: To patient judgments we appeal our plaud, And speak for Faustus in his infancy. Now is he born, his parents base of stock, In Germany, within a town call'd Rhodes: Of riper years, to Wertenberg he went, Whereas his kinsmen chiefly brought him up. So soon he profits in divinity, The fruitful plot of scholarism grac'd, That shortly he was grac'd with doctor's name, Excelling all whose sweet delight disputes In heavenly matters of theology; Till swoln with cunning, of a self-conceit, His waxen wings did mount above his reach, And, melting, heavens conspir'd his overthrow; For, falling to a devilish exercise, And glutted now with learning's golden gifts, He surfeits upon cursed necromancy; Nothing so sweet as magic is to him, Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss: And this the man that in his study sits.

Leseprobe

Christopher Marlowe

UUID: 7d5472a2-f505-11e5-a8a7-0f7870795abd

This ebook was created with StreetLib Write (http://write.streetlib.com)by Simplicissimus Book Farm

Table of contents

DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

THE TRAGICAL HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS

FOOTNOTES:

DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

THE POPE.     CARDINAL OF LORRAIN.     THE EMPEROR OF GERMANY.     DUKE OF VANHOLT.     FAUSTUS.     VALDES,    ] friends to FAUSTUS.     CORNELIUS, ]     WAGNER, servant to FAUSTUS.     Clown.     ROBIN.     RALPH.     Vintner.     Horse-courser.     A Knight.     An Old Man.     Scholars, Friars, and Attendants.     DUCHESS OF VANHOLT     LUCIFER.     BELZEBUB.     MEPHISTOPHILIS.     Good Angel.     Evil Angel.     The Seven Deadly Sins.     Devils.     Spirits in the shapes of ALEXANDER THE GREAT, of his Paramour and of HELEN.     Chorus.

THE TRAGICAL HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS

Enter CHORUS.CHORUS. Not marching now in fields of Thrasymene,Where Mars did mate1the Carthaginians;Nor sporting in the dalliance of love,In courts of kings where state is overturn'd;Nor in the pomp of proud audacious deeds,Intends our Muse to vaunt2her3heavenly verse:Only this, gentlemen,—we must performThe form of Faustus' fortunes, good or bad:To patient judgments we appeal our plaud,And speak for Faustus in his infancy.Now is he born, his parents base of stock,In Germany, within a town call'd Rhodes:Of riper years, to Wertenberg he went,Whereas4his kinsmen chiefly brought him up.So soon he profits in divinity,The fruitful plot of scholarism grac'd,That shortly he was grac'd with doctor's name,Excelling all whose sweet delight disputesIn heavenly matters of theology;Till swoln with cunning,5of a self-conceit,His waxen wings did mount above his reach,And, melting, heavens conspir'd his overthrow;For, falling to a devilish exercise,And glutted now6with learning's golden gifts,He surfeits upon cursed necromancy;Nothing so sweet as magic is to him,Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss:And this the man that in his study sits.[Exit.]FAUSTUS discovered in his study.7FAUSTUS. Settle thy studies, Faustus, and beginTo sound the depth of that thou wilt profess:Having commenc'd, be a divine in shew,Yet level at the end of every art,And live and die in Aristotle's works.Sweet Analytics, 'tis thou8hast ravish'd me!Bene disserere est finis logices.Is, to dispute well, logic's chiefest end?Affords this art no greater miracle?Then read no more; thou hast attain'd that9end:A greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit:Bid Economy10farewell, and11Galen come,Seeing, Ubi desinit philosophus, ibi incipit medicus:Be a physician, Faustus; heap up gold,And be eterniz'd for some wondrous cure:Summum bonum medicinae sanitas,The end of physic is our body's health.Why, Faustus, hast thou not attain'd that end?Is not thy common talk found aphorisms?Are not thy bills hung up as monuments,Whereby whole cities have escap'd the plague,And thousand desperate maladies been eas'd?Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man.Couldst12thou make men13to live eternally,Or, being dead, raise them to life again,Then this profession were to be esteem'd.Physic, farewell! Where is Justinian?[Reads.]Si una eademque res legatur14duobus, alter rem,alter valorem rei, &c.A pretty case of paltry legacies![Reads.]Exhoereditare filium non potest pater, nisi, &c.15Such is the subject of the institute,And universal body of the law:16This17study fits a mercenary drudge,Who aims at nothing but external trash;Too servile18and illiberal for me.When all is done, divinity is best:Jerome's Bible, Faustus; view it well.[Reads.]Stipendium peccati mors est.Ha!Stipendium, &c.The reward of sin is death: that's hard.[Reads.]Si peccasse negamus, fallimur, et nulla est in nobis veritas;If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, andthere's no truth in us. Why, then, belike we must sin, and soconsequently die:Ay, we must die an everlasting death.What doctrine call you this, Che sera, sera,19What will be, shall be? Divinity, adieu!These metaphysics of magicians,And necromantic books are heavenly;Lines, circles, scenes,20letters, and characters;Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires.O, what a world of profit and delight,Of power, of honour, of omnipotence,Is promis'd to the studious artizan!All things that move between the quiet polesShall be at my command: emperors and kingsAre but obeyed in their several provinces,Nor can they raise the wind, or rend the clouds;But his dominion that exceeds in this,Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man;A sound magician is a mighty god:Here, Faustus, tire21thy brains to gain a deity.Enter WAGNER.22Wagner, commend me to my dearest friends,The German Valdes and Cornelius;Request them earnestly to visit me.WAGNER. I will, sir.[Exit.]FAUSTUS. Their conference will be a greater help to meThan all my labours, plod I ne'er so fast.Enter GOOD ANGEL and EVIL ANGEL.GOOD ANGEL. O, Faustus, lay that damned book aside,And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul,And heap God's heavy wrath upon thy head!Read, read the Scriptures:—that is blasphemy.EVIL ANGEL. Go forward, Faustus, in that famous artWherein all Nature's treasure23is contain'd:Be thou on earth as Jove24is in the sky,Lord and commander of these elements.25[Exeunt Angels.]FAUSTUS. How am I glutted with conceit of this!Shall I make spirits fetch me what I please,Resolve26me of all ambiguities,Perform what desperate enterprise I will?I'll have them fly to India for gold,Ransack the ocean for orient pearl,And search all corners of the new-found worldFor pleasant fruits and princely delicates;I'll have them read me strange philosophy,And tell the secrets of all foreign kings;I'll have them wall all Germany with brass,And make swift Rhine circle fair Wertenberg;I'll have them fill the public schools with silk,27Wherewith the students shall be bravely clad;I'll levy soldiers with the coin they bring,And chase the Prince of Parma from our land,And reign sole king of all the28provinces;Yea, stranger engines for the brunt of war,Than was the fiery keel at Antwerp's bridge,29I'll make my servile spirits to invent.Enter VALDES and CORNELIUS.Come, German Valdes, and Cornelius,And make me blest with your sage conference.Valdes, sweet Valdes, and Cornelius,Know that your words have won me at the lastTo practice magic and concealed arts:Yet not your words only,30but mine own fantasy,That will receive no object; for my headBut ruminates on necromantic skill.Philosophy is odious and obscure;Both law and physic are for petty wits;Divinity is basest of the three,Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible, and vile:31'Tis magic, magic, that hath ravish'd me.Then, gentle friends, aid me in this attempt;And I, that have with concise syllogisms32Gravell'd the pastors of the German church,And made the flowering pride of WertenbergSwarm to my problems, as the infernal spiritsOn sweet Musaeus when he came to hell,Will be as cunning33as Agrippa34was,Whose shadow35made all Europe honour him.VALDES. Faustus, these books, thy wit, and our experience,Shall make all nations to canonize us.As Indian Moors obey their Spanish lords,So shall the spirits36of every elementBe always serviceable to us three;Like lions shall they guard us when we please;Like Almain rutters37with their horsemen's staves,Or Lapland giants, trotting by our sides;Sometimes like women, or unwedded maids,Shadowing more beauty in their airy browsThan have the38white breasts of the queen of love:From39Venice shall they drag huge argosies,And from America the golden fleeceThat yearly stuffs old Philip's treasury;If learned Faustus will be resolute.FAUSTUS. Valdes, as resolute am I in thisAs thou to live: therefore object it not.CORNELIUS. The miracles that magic will performWill make thee vow to study nothing else.He that is grounded in astrology,Enrich'd with tongues, well seen in40minerals,Hath all the principles magic doth require:Then doubt not, Faustus, but to be renowm'd,41And more frequented for this mysteryThan heretofore the Delphian oracle.The spirits tell me they can dry the sea,And fetch the treasure of all foreign wrecks,Ay, all the wealth that our forefathers hidWithin the massy entrails of the earth:Then tell me, Faustus, what shall we three want?FAUSTUS. Nothing, Cornelius. O, this cheers my soul!Come, shew me some demonstrations magical,That I may conjure in some lusty grove,And have these joys in full poss [...]