“ Faustus said, "I would gladly know of thee if thou wert a man in manner and form as I am, what wouldst thou do to please both God and man?"
Whereat the spirit smiled, saying, "My Faustus, if I was a man as thou art, and that God had adorned me with those gifts of nature which thou once hadst, even so long as the breath of God were by and within me, would I humble myself unto his majesty, endeavouring all that I could to keep his commandments, praise him and glorify him, that I might continue in his favour, so were I sure to enjoy the eternal joy and felicity of his kingdom." ”

“ Judge thou farther, God stood in the middle, the darkness was on his left hand, in the which my Lord was bound in chains until the day of judgment. In this confused hell is nought to find but a sulphurish fire, and stinking mist or fog. Farther, we devils know not what substance it is of, but a confused thing; for as the bubble of water flieth before the wind, so doth hell before the breath of God. Moreover, the devils know not how God hath laid the foundation of our hell, nor where it is; but to be short, Faustus, we know that hell hath neither bottom nor end. ”

“ Hereat came Mephistophiles into the hall to Faustus, in apparel like unto a friar, to whom Faustus spake: "Thou hast done me a wonderful pleasure in showing me this pastime; if thou continue as thou hast begun, thou shalt win my heart and soul, yea, and have it."
Mephistophiles answered: "This is nothing; I will please thee better; yea, that thou mayst know my power on all, ask what request thou wilt of me, that shalt thou have, conditionally hold thy promise, and give me thy handwriting." At which words the wretch thrust forth his hand, saying, "Hold thee, there hast thou my promise." ”

“ Now thou Faustus, damned wretch! how happy wert thou if, as an unreasonable beast, thou mightest die with a soul? so shouldest thou not feel any more doubts; but now the devil will take thee away, both body and soul, and set thee in an unspeakable place of darkness; for although other souls have rest and peace, yet I, poor damned wretch, must suffer all manner of filthy stench, pains, cold, hunger, thirst, heat, freezing, burning, hissing, gnashing, and all the wrath and curse of God; yea, all the creatures God hath created are enemies to me. ”

“ What helpeth the emperor, king, prince, duke, earl, baron, lord, knight, esquire, or gentleman, to cry for mercy being there? Nothing; for if on earth they would not be tyrants and self-willed, rich with covetousness, proud with pomp, gluttons, drunkards, whoremongers, backbiters, robbers, murderers, blasphemers, and such like, then were there some hope to be looked for; therefore, my Faustus, as thou comest to hell with these qualities thou mayst say with Cain, 'My sins are greater than can be forgiven;' go hang thyself with Judas ”

“ Faustus answered him: "My friend and brother, you see that the stars that fall from heaven, when they come to the earth, they be very small to our thinking as candles, but being fixed in the firmament, they are many as great as a city, some as great as a province or dukedom, others as great as the whole earth, other some far greater than the earth twelve times, and from the height of the heavens there is scarce any earth to be seen—yea, the planets in the heavens are some so great as this land, some so great as the whole empire of Rome, some as Turkey, yea, some as great as the whole world." ”

“ We have also with us in hell a ladder, reaching of exceeding height, as though the top of the same would touch the heaven, to which the damned ascend to seek the blessing of God, but through their infidelity, when they are at very highest degree, they fall down again into their former miseries, complaining of the heat of that unquenchable fire; yea, sweet Faustus, so much understand thou of hell, the while thou art desirous to know the secrets of our kingdom. And mark, Faustus, hell is the nurse of death, the heat of fire, the shadow of heaven and earth, the oblivion of all goodness ”

“ It is impossible that a man, after he is once dead, can return to life again." "Not only did the Son of God rise from the dead," replied Orlando, "but all the men that have died since the creation of the world shall rise again, and appear before his tribunal, where they shall be rewarded everyone according to his deeds, whether they be good or evil. That God, who makes the tree spring from the soil, and the grain of wheat to rot in the ground, that it may revive with fresh increase, can at the last day clothe the souls of men with their own bodies, and restore them to life. ”

“ All the fire in hell seemed to Faustus to have been put out, whereupon followed a monstrous thick fog, that he saw nothing, but shortly after it seemed to him to wax clear, where he saw two great dragons fastened unto a waggon, in the which the ape ascended and set Faustus therein; forth flew the dragons into an exceeding dark cloud, where Faustus saw neither dragons nor chariot wherein he sate, and such were the cries of tormented souls, with mighty thunder-claps and flashing lightnings about his ears, that poor Faustus shook for fear ”

“ And too late I remember that my spirit Mephistophiles did once tell me there was great difference amongst the damned, for the greater the sin the greater the torment; as the twigs of a tree make greater flames than the trunk thereof, and yet the trunk continueth longer in burning, even so the more that a man is rooted in sin, the greater is his punishment. Ah! thou perpetual damned wretch! how art thou thrown into the everlasting fiery lake that shall never be quenched! ”

“ Continuing in these cogitations, suddenly his spirit appeared unto him, clapping him upon the head, and wrung it as though he would have pulled his head from his shoulders, saying unto him, "Thou knowest, Faustus, that thou hast given thyself, body and soul, to my lord Lucifer, and thou hast vowed thyself an enemy to God and to all men; and now thou beginnest to hearken to an old doting fool, which persuadeth thee as it were to good, when indeed it is too late, for thou art the devil's, and he hath great power presently to fetch thee. ”

“ It is also certain, we have not as yet opened to any man the truth of our dwelling, neither of our ruling, neither what our power is; neither have we given any man any gift, or learned him anything, except he promise to be ours."
Dr. Faustus upon this arose where he sat, and said, "I will have my request, and yet I will not be damned."
The spirit answered: "Then shalt thou want thy desire, and yet art thou mine notwithstanding; if any men would detain thee, it is but in vain, for thy infidelity hath confounded thee." ”

“ Then said Faustus, "See, there thou hast thy request; but yet he will not obey thee until I be dead, for when my spirit Mephistophiles shall fetch me away, then shall thy spirit be bound unto thee, if thou agree, and thy spirit shalt thou name Aberecock, for so he is called. But all this upon a condition, that you publish my cunning and my merry conceits, with all that I have done (when I am dead) in an history, and if thou canst not remember all, the spirit Aberecock will help thee; so shall the acts that I have done be made manifest unto the world." ”

“ There shalt thou know, Faustus, whereof the fiery sphere above, and the signs of the Zodiac doth not burn and consume the whole face of the earth, being hindered by placing the two moist elements between them—the airy clouds and wavering waves of water. Yea, Faustus, I will learn thee the secrets of Nature; what the cause is, that the sun in summer, being at the highest, giveth all his heat downwards on the earth; and being winter at the lowest, giveth all his heat upwards into the heavens ”

“ Learn of me, Faustus, to run through walls, doors, and gates of stone and iron; to creep into the earth like a worm, or swim in the water like a fish; to fly in the air like a bird, and to live and nourish thyself in the fire like a salamander: so shalt thou be famous, renowned, far spoken of, and extolled for thy skill ”

“ Know, Faustus, that hell hath many figures, semblances, and names; but it cannot be named or figured in such sort to the living that are damned, as it is to those that are dead, and do both see and feel the torments thereof: for hell is said to be deadly, out of which came never any to life again but one, but he is nothing for thee to reckon upon; hell is bloodthirsty, and is never satisfied: hell is a valley into which the damned souls fall ”

“ Faustus said, "But that I have not done."
"No, thou sayest truth," quoth Mephistophiles, "thou hast not done it; but thou hast denied the Lord thy Maker which gave thee the breath of life, speech, hearing, sight, and all other thy reasonable senses, that thou mightest understand his will and pleasure, to live to the glory and honour of his name, and to the advancement of thy body and soul. Him, I say, being thy Maker, hast thou denied and defied; yea, wickedly hast thou applied that excellent gift of understanding, and given thy soul to the devil ”

“ Wherefore it so affrighted Faustus that he vowed to be revenged on him, for his pomp, he thought, was more fit for himself; wherefore as the Turk sate at meat Faustus showed them a little apish play, for round about the privy-chamber he sent forth flashing flames of fire, insomuch that the whole company forsook their meat and fled, except only the Great Turk himself; him Faustus charmed in such sort that he could neither rise nor fall, neither could any man pull him up. ”

“ The water that thou seest divided in four parts, is the water that issueth out of the well in the middle of Paradise. The first is called Ganges or Pison, the second Gihon, the third Tygris, and the fourth Euphrates; also thou seest that he standeth under Libra and Aries, right towards the Zenith; and upon this fiery wall standeth the angel Michael with his flaming sword, to keep the tree of life, which he hath in charge. But," the spirit said to Faustus, "neither thou, nor I, nor any after us, yea, all men whatsoever, are denied to visit, or come any nearer than we be." ”

“ Wherefore I discreetly answer, no; for whomsoever God hath forsaken and thrown into hell must there abide his wrath and indignation in that unquenchable fire, where is no hope of mercy to be looked for, but abiding his perpetual pains, world without end: for even as much it availeth thee, Faustus, to hope for the favour of God again as Lucifer himself; who indeed, although he and we have a hope, yet it is to small avail and taketh none effect, for out of that place God will neither hear crying nor singing; if he do, thou shalt have a little remorse, as Dives, Cain, and Judas had. ”

“ They went on the bridge, and about midway a poor pilgrim met them. "My friend," said the angel to him, "show us the way to yonder city." The pilgrim turned, and pointed with his finger to the road they were to take; but as he turned the angel seized him by the shoulders, and hurled him into the stream below. At this the terror of the hermit became greater. "It is the devil," he said to himself; "it is the devil, and no good angel! What evil had the poor man done that he should be drowned?" ”

“ My Faustus, be not thou so cowardly minded; for although thou lovest thy body, it is long unto the day of judgment, and thou must die at the last, although thou live many thousand years. The Turks, the Jews, and many an unchristian emperor are in the same condemnation; therefore, my Faustus, be of good courage, and be not discomforted, for the devil hath promised that thou shalt not be in pains, as the rest of the damned are. ”

“ Also he deceived King Solomon, that worshipped the gods of the heathen: and there are such spirits innumerable, that can come by men, and tempt them, and drive them to sin, and weaken their belief; for we rule the hearts of kings and princes, stirring them up to war and bloodshed, and to this intent do we spread ourselves through all the world, as the utter enemies of God and his Son Christ—yea, and all that worship them, and that thou knowest by thyself, Faustus. How have we dealt by thee? ”

“ No one could tell of what the palace was constructed, save themselves, and those who passed under their yoke to eternal damnation. From all which, my beloved, we may gather the dangers we are exposed to, and how cautious we should be of invoking the devil to our assistance, as well as of committing our family to his power. Let us guard our hearts, and beware that he catch not up the sinful soul, and plunge it into the lake of everlasting misery ”

“ Do thou, O Lord, mercifully blot out their offences, accounting them worthy to be delivered from the pains of hell. Send thy archangels to rescue their souls from darkness, and bear them to the regions of light, where thy blessed martyrs eternally live and reign with thee, who dost live and reign with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, to all ages. ”

“ Faustus being demanded the cause why the stars fall from heaven, he answered: "That it is but our opinion; for if one star fall, it is the great judgment of God upon us, as a forewarning of some great thing to come: for when we think that a star falleth, it is but as a spark that issueth from a candle or flame of fire ”

“ Why then did you take possession of it?" "Because," replied Charles, "our Lord Jesus Christ, the creator of heaven and earth, elected us in preference to others, and gave us dominion over all the earth: therefore I endeavoured to convert the Saracens to the Christian faith."—"It would be unworthy of us to submit to you," rejoined Argolander, "when our own faith is best. We have Mahomet, a prophet of God, whose precepts we obey. Therefore we have a powerful God, who through his prophet has declared his will, and by him we live and reign." "O Argolander," said the King, "how widely do you err! ”

“ Faustus continued thus in this epicurish life day and night, believed not that there was a God, hell, or devil: he thought that soul and body died together, and had quite forgot divinity, or the immortality of the soul, but stood in that damnable heresy day and night, and bethinking himself of a wife, called Mephistophiles to council: which would in no case agree, demanding of him if he would break the covenant made with him, or if he had forgot it. "Hast thou," quoth Mephistophiles, "sworn thyself an enemy to God and to all creatures? ”

“ Yea, Christian reader, to the glory of God, and to the profit of my soul, I will open unto thee a divine opinion touching the rule of this confounded chaos, far more than my rude German author, being possessed with the devil, was able to utter, and prove some of my sentences before to be true; look into Genesis, into the works of God, at the creation of the world, there shalt thou find that the spirit of God moved upon the water, before heaven and earth were made. ”

“ Then ensued a great shout, and the Christians, rushing in upon the Saracens, slew them on all sides, making so great a slaughter that none escaped but the Kings of Seville and Cordova, and a few of their troops. So great, indeed, was the effusion of blood, that the Christians waded in it to their very knees. They slew likewise all the Saracens left in the city. Charles fought for the faith, and therefore triumphed over Argolander. Note then, O Christian, that whatsoever thou undertakest thou likewise shalt accomplish if thou hast faith, for all things are possible to them that believe. ”

“ The spirit answered, "My name is as thou sayest, Mephistophiles, and I am a prince, but a servant to Lucifer, and all the circuit from septentrio to the meridian, I rule under him."
Even at these words was this wicked wretch Faustus inflamed, to hear himself to have gotten so great a potentate to serve him, forgetting the Lord his Maker, and Christ his Redeemer, he became an enemy to all mankind; yea, worse than the giants, whom the poets said to climb the hills to make war with the gods, not unlike the enemy of God and Christ, that for his pride was cast into hell ”

“ Faustus complained that he should in his lusty Time,
and youthful Years, die so miserably.
The sorrowful time drawing near, so troubled Dr. Faustus, that he began to write his mind, to the end he might peruse it often and not forget it, which was in manner as followeth:—"Ah! Faustus, thou sorrowful and woeful man, now must thou go to the damnable company in unquenchable fire, whereas thou mightest have had the joyful immortality of thy soul, the which now thou hast lost! Ah! gross understanding and wilful will! What seizeth upon thy limbs, other than robbing of my life? ”

“ CHAPTER XXVI. How Faustus was asked a Question concerning
the Spirits that vexed Men.
"That is most true," said he to Faustus, "concerning the stars and planets; but, I pray you, in what kind or manner do the spirits use to vex men so little by day and so greatly by night?"
Dr. Faustus answered: "Because the spirits are of God forbidden the light; their dwelling is in darkness, and the clearer the sun shineth, the farther the spirits have their abiding from it, but in the night when it is dark, they have their familiarity and abiding near unto us men. ”