Part 2 (2/2)

_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 h.e.l.l 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 n.o.ble, 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 sh.o.r.e, 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 pa.s.sed 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 quant.i.ty of orders of knighthood, bishops' hats, crosses of honour, and diplomas of n.o.bility.)

”No, no; I know Faustus better: knowledge and pleasure are his G.o.ds.

Remain what you are; these things are vain and futile. Thus, by different bribes may ye all be won; and for the sake of l.u.s.t 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.

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