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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 cursèd 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.

:

FAUSTUS discovered in his study.‡

[Exit.

FAUST. Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin
To 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.

cunning] i. e. knowledge.

+ now] So the later 4tos.-2to 1604 "more."

Faustus discovered in his study] Most probably, the Chorus, before going out, drew a curtain, and discovered Faustus sitting. In B. Barnes's Divils Charter, 1607, we find; "Scen. Vltima. Alexander vnbraced betwixt two Cardinalls in his study looking vpon a booke, whilst a groome draweth the Curtaine." Sig. L 3.

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*

Sweet Analytics, 'tis thou hast 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 that+ end:

A greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit:

Bid Economy farewell, and§ Galen 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 medicinæ 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.
Couldst thou make men** to live eternally,
Or, being dead, raise them to life again,
Then this profession were to be esteem'd.

* Analytics, 'tis thou, &c.] Qy. "Analytic"? (but such phraseology was not uncommon).

+ that] So the later 4tos.-2to 1604 "the" (the printer having mistaken "yt" for "ye").

Economy] So the later 4tos (with various spelling).—2to

1604 "Oncaymæon."

Sand] So the later 4tos.-Not in 4to 1604.

|| bills] i. e. placards.

Couldst] So the later 4tos.-2to 1604 "Wouldst."

**men] So the later 4tos.-2to 1604 "man."

Physic, farewell! Where is Justinian?

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[Reads.

Si una eademque res legatur duobus, alter rem, alter valorem rei, &c.

A pretty case of paltry legacies!

[Reads.

Exhæreditare filium non potest pater, nisi, &c.†

Such is the subject of the institute,

And universal body of the Law:

This study fits a mercenary drudge,

Who aims at nothing but external trash;

Too servile and illiberal for me.

When all is done, divinity is best:

[Reads.

Jerome's Bible, Faustus; view it well.
Stipendium peccati mors est. Ha! Stipendium, &c.
The reward of sin is death: that's hard. [Reads] Si
peccasse negamus, fallimur, et nulla est in nobis
veritas; If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our-
selves, and there's no truth in us. Why, then, belike
we must sin, and so consequently die:

Ay, we must die an everlasting death.
What doctrine call you this, Che sera, sera,

What will be, shall be? Divinity, adieu!

These metaphysics of magicians,

And necromantic books are heavenly;

* legatur] All the 4tos "legatus."

+ &c.] So two of the later 4tos.-Not in 4to 1604. Law] So the later 4tos.-2to 1604 "Church."

§ This] So the later 4tos.-2to 1604 "His."

Too servile] So the later 4tos.-2to 1604 "The deuill."

Lines, circles, scenes, letters, and characters;
Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires.
Oh, 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 poles
Shall be at my command: emperors and kings
Are 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, tire† thy brains to gain a deity.

Enter WAGNER ‡. ́

Wagner, commend me to my dearest friends,

The German Valdes and Cornelius;

Request them earnestly to visit me.

WAG. I will, sir.

[Exit.

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FAUST. Their conference will be a greater help to me

Than all my labours, plod I ne'er so fast.

* scenes] "And sooner may a gulling weather-spie

By drawing forth heavens Sceanes tell certainly," &c.
Donne's First Satyre,-p. 327, ed. 1633.

+ tire] So the later 4tos.-2to 1604 "trie."

Enter Wagner, &c.] Perhaps the proper arrangement is,―

Wagner!

Enter Wagner.

Commend me to my dearest friends," &c.

Enter GOOD ANGEL and EVIL ANGEL.

G. ANG. Oh, 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.
E. ANG. Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art,
Wherein all Nature's treasure* is contain'd:
Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky,

Lord and commander of these elements †.

[Exeunt Angels.

FAUST. How am I glutted with conceit of this! Shall I make spirits fetch me what I please, Resolve me of all ambiguities,

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

And search all corners of the new-found world
For pleasant fruits and princely delicates;
I'll have them read me strange philosophy,
And tell the secrets of all foreign kings;
I'll have them wall all Germany with brass,
And make swift Rhine circle fair Wertenberg;
I'll have them fill the public schools with silk §,

* treasure] So the later 4tos.-2to 1604 "treasury."

+ these elements] I should have supposed that the right reading was "the elements," but that we find in a subsequent scene, "Within the bowels of these elements," &c. p. 32.

Resolve] i. e. satisfy, inform.

§ silk] All the 4tos" skill" (and so the modern editors!).

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