The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
nothing has been omitted by the transcriber or printer.--]
[Footnote 136: But, if it like your grace, it is not in my ability, &c.]
"D. Faustus answered, My most excellent lord, I am ready to
accomplish your request in all things, so farre forth as I and
my spirit are able to performe: yet your majesty shall know that
their dead bodies are not able substantially to be brought before
you; but such spirits as have seene Alexander and his Paramour
alive shall appeare unto you, in manner and form as they both
lived in their most flourishing time; and herewith I hope to
please your Imperiall Majesty. Then Faustus went a little aside
to speake to his spirit; but he returned againe presently, saying,
Now, if it please your Majesty, you shall see them; yet, upon this
condition, that you demand no question of them, nor speake unto
them; which the Emperor agreed unto. Wherewith Doctor Faustus opened
the privy-chamber doore, where presently entered the great and mighty
emperor Alexander Magnus, in all things to looke upon as if he
had beene alive; in proportion, a strong set thicke man, of a
middle stature, blacke haire, and that both thicke and curled,
head and beard, red cheekes, and a broad face, with eyes like
a basiliske; he had a compleat harnesse (i.e. suit of armour)
burnished and graven, exceeding rich to look upon: and so,
passing towards the Emperor Carolus, he made low and reverend
courtesie: whereat the Emperour Carolus would have stood up to
receive and greet him with the like reverence; but Faustus tooke
hold on him, and would not permit him to doe it. Shortly after,
Alexander made humble reverence, and went out againe; and comming
to the doore, his paramour met him. She comming in made the Emperour
likewise reverence: she was cloathed in blew velvet, wrought and
imbroidered with pearls and gold; she was also excellent faire,
like milke and blood mixed, tall and slender, with a face round
as an apple. And thus passed [she-- certaine times up and downe
the house; which the Emperor marking, said to himselfe, Now have
I seene two persons which my heart hath long wished to behold;
and sure it cannot otherwise be (said he to himselfe) but that
the spirits have changed themselves into these formes, and have
but deceived me, calling to minde the woman that raised the prophet
Samuel: and for that the Emperor would be the more satisfied in
the matter, he said, I have often heard that behind, in her neck,
she had a great wart or wen; wherefore he tooke Faustus by the
hand without any words, and went to see if it were also to be
seene on her or not; but she, perceiving that he came to her,
bowed downe her neck, when he saw a great wart; and hereupon she
vanished, leaving the Emperor and the rest well contented."
THE HISTORY OF DR. FAUSTUS, Sig. G, ed. 1648.]
[Footnote 137: both-- Old ed. "best."]
[Footnote 138: Mephistophilis, transform him straight-- According to THE
HISTORY OF DR. FAUSTUS, the knight was not present during Faustus's
"conference" with the Emperor; nor did he offer the doctor any
insult by doubting his skill in magic. We are there told that
Faustus happening to see the knight asleep, "leaning out of a
window of the great hall," fixed a huge pair of hart's horns on
his head; "and, as the knight awaked, thinking to pull in his head,
he hit his hornes against the glasse, that the panes thereof flew
about his eares: thinke here how this good gentleman was vexed,
for he could neither get backward nor forward." After the emperor
and the courtiers, to their great amusement, had beheld the poor
knight in this condition, Faustus removed the horns. When Faustus,
having taken leave of the emperor, was a league and a half from
the city, he was attacked in a wood by the knight and some of his
companions: they were in armour, and mounted on fair palfreys;
but the doctor quickly overcame them by turning all the bushes
into horsemen, and "so charmed them, that every one, knight and
other, for the space of a whole moneth, did weare a paire of
goates hornes on their browes, and every palfry a paire of oxe
hornes on his head; and this was their penance appointed by
Faustus." A second attempt of the knight to revenge himself on
Faustus proved equally unsuccessful. Sigs. G 2, I 3, ed. 1648.]
[Footnote 139: FAUSTUS. Now Mephistophilis, &c.-- Here the scene is supposed
to be changed to the "fair and pleasant green" which Faustus
presently mentions.]
[Footnote 140: Horse-courser-- i.e. Horse-dealer.--We are now to suppose the
scene to be near the home of Faustus, and presently that it is the
interior of his house, for he falls asleep in his chair.--"How
Doctor Faustus deceived a Horse-courser" is related in a short
chapter (the 34th) of THE HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS: "After this
manner he served a horse-courser at a faire called Pheiffering," &c.]
[Footnote 141: for forty-- Qy. "for TWICE forty DOLLARS"?]
[Footnote 142: into-- So the later 4tos.--2to 1604 "vnto."]
[Footnote 143: Doctor Lopus-- i.e. Doctor Lopez, domestic physician
to Queen Elizabeth, who was put to death for having received
a bribe from the court of Spain to destroy her. He is frequently
mentioned in our early dramas: see my note on Middleton's WORKS,
iv. 384.]
[Footnote 144: know of-- The old ed. has "KNOWNE of"; which perhaps is right,
meaning--acquainted with.]
[Footnote 145: hey-pass-- Equivalent to--juggler.]
[Footnote 146: ostry-- i.e. inn,--lodging.]
[Footnote 147: cunning-- i.e. skill.]
[Footnote 148: [Exeunt.
Enter the DUKE OF VANHOLT, the DUCHESS, and FAUSTUS-- Old ed.;
"Exeunt.
Enter to them the DUKE, the DUTCHESS, the DUKE speakes."
In the later 4tos a scene intervenes between the "Exeunt" of
Faustus, Mephistophilis, and Wagner, and the entrance of the Duke
of Vanholt, &c.--We are to suppose that Faustus is now at the court
of the Duke of Vanholt: this is plain, not only from the later 4tos,
--in which Wagner tells Faustus that the Duke "hath sent some of
his men to attend him, with provision fit for his journey,"--but
from THE HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS, the subjoined portion of which
is closely followed in the present scene. "Chap. xxxix. HOW DOCTOR
FAUSTUS PLAYED A MERRY JEST WITH THE DUKE OF ANHOLT IN HIS COURT.
Doctor Faustus on a time went to the Duke of Anholt, who welcommed
him very courteously; this was the moneth of January; where sitting
at the table, he perceived the dutchess to be with child; and
forbearing himselfe untill the meat was taken from the table,
and that they brought in the banqueting dishes [i.e. the dessert--,
Doctor Faustus said to the dutchesse, Gratious lady, I have alwayes
heard that great-bellied women doe alwayes long for some dainties;
I beseech therefore your grace, hide not your minde from me, but
tell me what you desire to eat. She answered him, Doctor Faustus,
now truly I will not hide from you what my heart doth most desire;
namely, that, if it were now harvest, I would eat my bellyfull of
grapes and other dainty fruit. Doctor Faustus answered hereupon,
Gracious lady, this is a small thing for me to doe, for I can doe
more than this. Wherefore he tooke a plate, and set open one of
the casements of the window, holding it forth; where incontinent
he had his dish full of all manner of fruit, as red and white
grapes, peares, and apples, the which came from out of strange
countries: all these he presented the dutchesse, saying, Madam,
I pray you vouchsafe to taste of this dainty fruit, the which
came from a farre countrey, for there the summer is not yet ended.
The dutchesse thanked Faustus highly, and she fell to her fruit
with full appetite. The Duke of Anholt notwithstanding could not
withhold to ask Faustus with what reason there were such young
fruit to be had at that time of the yeare. Doctor Faustus told
him, May it please your grace to understand that the year is
divided into two circles of the whole world, that when with us it
is winter, in the contrary circle it is notwithstanding summer;
for in India and Saba there falleth or setteth the sunne, so that
it is so warm that they have twice a yeare fruit; and, gracious
lord, I have a swift spirit, the which can in the twinkling of
an eye fulfill my desire in any thing; wherefore I sent him into
those countries, who hath brought this fruit as you see: whereat
the duke was in great admiration."]
[Footnote 149: Saba-- i.e. Sabaea.]
[Footnote 150: beholding-- i.e. beholden.]
[Footnote 151: Enter WAGNER-- Scene, a room in the house of Faustus.]
[Footnote 152: he hath given to me all his goods-- Compare chap. lvi. of
THE HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS,--"How Doctor Faustus made his will,
in which he named his servant Wagner to be his heire."]
[Footnote 153: HELEN passeth over the stage-- In THE HISTORY OF DOCTOR
FAUSTUS we have the following description of Helen. "This lady
appeared before them in a most rich gowne of purple velvet, costly
imbrodered; her haire hanged downe loose, as faire as the beaten
gold, and of such length that it reached downe to her hammes;
having most amorous cole-black eyes, a sweet and pleasant round
face, with lips as red as a cherry; her cheekes of a rose colour,
her mouth small, her neck white like a swan; tall and slender of
personage; in summe, there was no imperfect place in her: she
looked round about with a rolling hawkes eye, a smiling and
wanton countenance, which neere-hand inflamed the hearts of all
the students; but that they perswaded themselves she was a spirit,
which made them lightly passe away such fancies." Sig. H 4, ed. 1648.]
[Footnote 154: Enter an OLD MAN-- See chap. xlviii of THE HISTORY OF DOCTOR
FAUSTUS,--"How an old man, the neighbour of Faustus, sought to
perswade him to amend his evil life and to fall into repentance,"
--according to which history, the Old Man's exhortation is delivered
at his own house, whither he had invited Faustus to supper.]
[Footnote 155: vild-- Old ed. "vild." See note ||, p. 68.
[Note || from page 68 (The Second Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
Vile-- The 8vo "Vild"; the 4to "Wild" (Both eds. a little
before, have "VILE monster, born of some infernal hag", and,
a few lines after, "To VILE and ignominious servitude":--the
fact is, our early writers (or rather transcribers), with
their usual inconsistency of spelling, give now the one form,
and now the other: compare the folio SHAKESPEARE, 1623,
where we sometimes find "vild" and sometimes "VILE.")--]
[Footnote 156: sin-- Old ed. "sinnes" (This is not in the later 4tos).]
[Footnote 157: almost-- So the later 4tos.--Not in 4to 1604.]
[Footnote 158: now-- So the later 4tos.--Not in 4to 1604.]
[Footnote 159: MEPHIST. Do it, then, quickly, &c.-- After this speech,
most probably, there ought to be a stage-direction, "FAUSTUS
STABS HIS ARM, AND WRITES ON A PAPER WITH HIS BLOOD. Compare
THE HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS, chap. xlix,--"How Doctor Faustus
wrote the second time with his owne blood, and gave it to the
Devill."]
[Footnote 160: One thing, good servant, &c.-- "To the end that this miserable
Faustus might fill the lust of his flesh and live in all manner
of voluptuous pleasure, it came in his mind, after he had slept
his first sleepe, and in the 23 year past of his time, that he
had a great desire to lye with faire Helena of Greece, especially
her whom he had seen and shewed unto the students at Wittenberg:
wherefore he called unto his spirit Mephostophiles, commanding him
to bring to him the faire Helena; which he also did. Whereupon he
fell in love with her, and made her his common concubine and
bed-fellow; for she was so beautifull and delightfull a peece,
that he could not be one houre from her, if he should therefore