Doctor Faustus (2021) - full transcript

Doctor Faustus

Part 1 - Eden of Man

Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin To
sound the depth of that thou wilt profess:

Having commenced, be a divine in shew,
Yet level at the end of every art,

And live and die in Aristotle's works.

Sweet Analytics, 'tis
thou hast ravish'd me!

Bid philosophy farewell

A greater subject fitteth Faustus' wit

Bid philosophy farewell, and

Galen come,

“Where the philosopher ends,
there the physician begins”



Be a physician, Faustus; heap up gold,
And be famous for some wondrous cure:

“The aim of medicine is our body's health”

Why, Faustus, have you
not attain'd that end?

Is not thy common talk sound aphorisms?

Are not thy bills hung up as monuments,
Whereby whole cities have escaped the plague,

And thousand desperate maladies been eased?

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 esteemed.

Physic, farewell! Where is Justinian?

“If one single thing is bequeathed to
two heirs, one should receive the thing,

the other the value of the thing..
Etc, etc, etc…”

A pretty case of paltry legacies!

“A father cannot disinherit
a son unless… blah blah blah”

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 unscholarly for me.

Holy Bible

When all is done, divinity is best:

The Bible, Faustus; view it well.

“The reward of sin is death”:

that's hard.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, 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,
What will be, shall be?

Divinity, adieu!

These metaphysics of magicians,
And necromantic books are heavenly;

Lines, circles, scenes,
letters, and characters;

yes, these are those that
Faustus most desires.

What a world of profit and delight,

Of power, of honour, of omnipotence,
Is promised to the studious artisan!

Part 2 - Temptation

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.

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?

Faustus, lay that damned book aside,

And gaze not on it,
lest it tempt your soul,

And heap God's heavy wrath upon your head!

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

I'll have them read me strange philosophy,
And tell the secrets of all foreign kings;

Read the Scriptures: that is blasphemy.

I'll have them wall all England with brass,
And make swift Stour circle fair Canterb'ry;

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.

I'll have them fill the public schools with silk,
Wherewith the students shall be bravely clad.

Come, Valdes, and Cornelius, And make
me blest with your sage conference.

Know that your words have won me at the
last To practice magic and concealed arts:

Yet not your words only,
but my own fantasy,

for my head But 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:

'Tis magic, magic, that hath ravish'd me.

Faustus, these books, thy wit, and our experience,
Shall make all nations to canonise us.

The spirits of every element shall always be serviceable
to us three; If learned Faustus be resolute.

Valdes, as resolute am I
in this As thou to life:

therefore object it not.

The spirits tell me they can dry the sea, And
fetch the treasure of all foreign wrecks,

Yes, all the wealth that our forefathers
hid Within the massy entrails of the earth:

Then tell me, Faustus,
what shall we three want?

Nothing, Cornelius. O, this cheers my soul!

Come, show me some demonstrations magical,
That I may conjure in some lusty grove

And have these joys in full possession.

Valdes, first let him know the words of art;
And then, all other ceremonies learned,

Faustus may try this magic by himself.

First I'll instruct thee in the rudiments,
And then wilt thou be better than I.

Then come and dine with me, and, after
meat, We'll canvass every quiddity thereof;

For, before I sleep,
I'll try what I can do:

This night I'll conjure,
though I die therefore.

Now that the gloomy shadow of the earth

Longing to view Orion's drizzling look,

Leaps from th' antartic world unto the sky,

And dims the welkin with her pitchy breath,

Faustus, begin your incantations,

And try if devils will obey thy hest,

Seeing thou hast pray'd
and sacrific'd to them.

Within this circle is Jehovah's name,
Forward and backward anagrammatiz'd,

Th' abbreviated names of holy saints,

Figures of every adjunct to the heavens,

And characters of signs and erring stars,

Then fear not, Faustus, but be resolute,
And try the uttermost magic can perform.

Belzebub, Prince of the East

King and Demogorgon of the burning hell,

we beseech you to appear and
rise up with Mephistopheles

Now, Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do?

I order thee serve me whilst I live,

To do whatever Faustus shall command, Be
it to make the moon drop from her sphere,

Or the ocean to overwhelm the world.

I am a servant to great Lucifer, I
may not follow you without his leave:

No more than he commands must I perform.

Did not he charge you to appear to me?

No, I came here of mine own accord.

Did not my conjuring speeches raise thee?

That was the cause, but yet by “accident”;

For, when we hear one rack the
name of God, Abjure the Scriptures

and his Saviour Christ, We fly,
in hope to get his glorious soul;

Nor will we come, unless he use such means
Whereby he is in danger to be damned.

Therefore the shortest cut for conjuring Is stoutly to
abjure the Trinity, And pray devoutly to the prince of hell.

That, Faustus has already
done; and holds this principle,

There is no chief but only Beelzebub; To whom Faustus doth
dedicate himself. This word "damnation" terrifies not him.

Tell me what is that Lucifer thy lord?

Arch-regent and commander of all spirits.

Was not that Lucifer an angel once?

Yes, Faustus, and most dearly loved of God.

How comes it, then, that
he is prince of devils?

By aspiring pride and insolence; For which
God threw him from the face of heaven.

And what are you that live with Lucifer?

Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer,
Conspir'd against our God with Lucifer,

And are for ever damn'd with Lucifer.

Where are you damn'd?

In hell.

How comes it, then, that
thou art out of hell?

Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it: do
you think that I, who saw the face of God,

And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells,

O, Faustus, leave these frivolous demands,
Which strike a terror to my fainting soul!

What, is great Mephistophilis so passionate
For being deprived of the joys of heaven?

Learn thou of Faustus manly fortitude, And
scorn those joys thou never shalt possess.

Go bear these tidings to great Lucifer:

Seeing Faustus hath incurred eternal death

By desperate thoughts against Jove's deity,

Say, he surrenders up to him his soul,

So he will spare him four and twenty
years, Having thee ever to attend on me,

To give me whatsoever I shall ask,
To tell me whatsoever I demand,

To slay mine enemies, and aid my friends,

And always be obedient to my will.

Go and return to mighty Lucifer,

And meet me in my study at midnight, And
then inform me of your master's mind.

I will, Faustus.

Now, Faustus, must Thou needs be damn'd,

and canst thou not be sav'd: What boots
it, then, to think of God or heaven?

Away with such vain fancies, and despair;

Despair in God, and trust in Belzebub:

Now go not backward; no,
Faustus, be resolute:

Why waver'st thou?

Abjure this magic, turn to God again!

Ay, and Faustus will turn to God again

To God? he loves thee not;

The god thou serv'st is thine own appetite,
Wherein is fix'd the love of Belzebub:

To him I'll build an altar and a church,
And offer lukewarm blood of new-born babes.

Sweet Faustus, leave that execrable art.

Contrition, prayer,
repentance... what of them?

They are means to bring thee unto heaven!

Rather illusions, fruits of lunacy,

That make men foolish
that do trust them most.

Sweet Faustus, think of
heaven and heavenly things.

No, Faustus; think of honour and of wealth.

Hen Mephistophilis shall stand by
me, What god can hurt thee, Faustus?

Thou art safe Cast no more doubts.

Come, Mephistophilis, And bring
glad tidings from great Lucifer;

Is it not midnight?

Come, Mephistophilis,

Come! Come! Mephistopheles

Now tell me what says your Lord Lucifer?

That I shall wait on Faustus whilst he lives,
So he will buy my service with his soul.

Faustus has already offered that to you.

Faustus, thou must bequeath it solemnly,

And write a deed of gift
with thine own blood;

For that security, craves great Lucifer.

If thou deny it, I will return to hell.

Stay, Mephistophilis,

and tell me, what good
will my soul do thy lord?

Enlarge his kingdom.

Is that the reason why he tempts us thus?

“Suffering loves company”

But, tell me, Faustus, shall I have thy soul? And I will be thy slave,
and wait on thee, And give thee more than thou hast wit to ask.

Yes, Mephistophilis, I give it thee.

Then stab thine arm courageously,

And bind thy soul, that at some certain
day Great Lucifer may claim it as his own;

There, Mephistophilis, for
love of thee, I cut mine arm,

and with my proper blood Assure
my soul to be great Lucifer

Chief lord and regent of perpetual night!

View here the blood that trickles from mine
arm, And let it be propitious for my wish.

But, Faustus, thou must Sign
it in manner of a deed of gift.

Yes, so I will

Consummatum est; this bill is ended,

And Faustus hath bequeath'd
his soul to Lucifer.

Here, Mephistophilis, receive this scroll,
A deed of gift of body and of soul:

But yet conditionally that thou perform
All articles prescribed between us both.

Faustus, I swear by hell and Lucifer
To effect all promises between us made!

Tell me, where is the
place that men call hell?

Under the heavens.

Ay, but whereabout?

Within the bowels of these elements,
Where we are tortur'd and remain for ever:

Hell hath no limits, And where
hell is, there must we ever be:

when all the world dissolves, And every creature shall be
purified, All places shall be hell that are not heaven.

Come, I think hell's a fable.

But, Faustus, I am an instance to prove the
contrary, For I am damn'd, and am now in hell.

Nay, an this be hell, I'll
willingly be damn'd here:

What! Sleeping, eating,
walking, and disputing.

But, leaving off this, let me have a wife,

A wife? I'll cull thee
out the fairest courtezans

Be she as chaste as was Penelope, As wise as Sheba, or
as beautiful As was bright Lucifer before his fall.

Here, take this, peruse it thoroughly:

The reciting of these lines brings gold; The framing of this circle
on the ground Brings whirlwinds, tempests, thunder, and lightning;

Pronounce this thrice devoutly to thyself,

And men in armour shall appear to thee,
Ready to execute what thou desirest.

Thanks, Mephistophilis:

yet fain would I have a book wherein I
might behold all spells and incantations

that I might raise up
spirits when I please.

Here they are in this.

Now would I have a site where I might see
all characters and planets of the heavens,

that I might know their
motions and dispositions.

Here they are too.

Nay, let me have one more,
and then I have done,

wherein I might see all plants, herbs,
and trees, that grow upon the earth.

Here they be.

O, thou art deceived.

I warrant thee.

When I behold the heavens, then I repent,

And curse thee, wicked Mephistophilis,
Because thou hast depriv'd me of those joys.

Why, Faustus, You Think heaven
is such a glorious thing?

I tell you, 'tis not half so fair as thou,
nor any person that breathes on earth.

How can you prove that?

IT was made for man, therefore
is man more excellent.

Faustus, repent; yet God will pity thee.

I am a spirit?

Be I a devil,

yet God may pity me;

Ay, God will pity me,

if I repent.

You are a spirit; God cannot pity thee.

And Faustus never shall repent.

My heart's so harden'd, I cannot repent:

Scarce can I name salvation,

faith,

or heaven,

But fearful echoes thunder in mine
ears, "Faustus, thou art damn'd!"

then swords, and knives, Poison, guns, halters, and
poisoned steel Are laid before me to despatch myself;

I should have slain myself long ago,

Had not sweet pleasure

conquer'd deep despair.

I am resolved;

Faustus shall never repent

its too late

Too late.

Never too late, if Faustus can repent.

If thou repent, devils
shall tear thee in pieces.

Repent, and they shall never raze thy skin.

Part 5 - Regret "Christ
cannot save thy soul"

Come, Mephistophilis, let us dispute again,

And argue of divine astrology.

Tell me who made the world?

I will not.

Sweet Mephistophilis, tell me.

Move me not, for I will not tell thee.

Villain, have I not bound
thee to tell me any thing?

Ay, that is not against our kingdom; but this is.
Think thou on hell, Faustus, for thou art damned.

Think, Faustus, upon
God that made the world

I Will remember this

Ay, go, accursed spirit, to ugly hell!

'Tis thou hast damn'd
distressed Faustus' soul.

Ah, Christ, my Saviour, Seek to
save distressed Faustus' soul!

Christ cannot save thy
soul, for he is just:

There's none but I have
interest in the same.

Who art thou that look'st so terrible?

I am Lucifer

O, Faustus,

he is come to fetch away thy soul!

I come to tell thee thou dost injure us;

You talk of Christ,
contrary to thy promise:

You should not think of
God: think of the devil.

Nor will I henceforth:

pardon me in this, And Faustus vows never
to look to heaven, Never to name God,

or to pray to him, To burn his
Scriptures, slay his ministers,

And make my spirits pull his churches down.

Do so, and I will highly gratify thee.

In hell is all manner of delight.

O, might I see hell, and return again,

How happy were I then!

Thou shalt; I will send
for thee at midnight.

In meantime take this
book; peruse it thoroughly,

And thou shalt turn thyself
into what shape thou wilt.

Great thanks, mighty Lucifer! This
will I keep as chary as my life.

Farewell, Faustus, and think on the devil

Farewell, great Lucifer.

Now, Mephistophilis, the restless course
That time doth run with calm and silent foot

Shortening my days and
thread of vital life,

Calls for the payment of my latest years:

Therefore, sweet Mephistophilis,
let us Make haste to Canterbury.

Doctor Faustus, since our conference about fair
ladies, which was the beautifulest in all the world,

we have determined with ourselves that Helen of
Greece was the most admirable lady that ever lived:

therefore, Master Doctor, if you will do us that
favour, as to let us see that peerless dame of Greece,

whom all the world admires for majesty, we
should think ourselves much beholding unto you.

Gentlemen, For that I know
your friendship is unfeign'd,

And Faustus' custom is not to deny the
just requests of those that wish him well,

You shall behold that
peerless dame of Greece,

No otherways for pomp and majesty Than
when Sir Paris cross'd the seas with her,

And brought the spoils to rich Dardania.

Be silent, then, for danger is in words.

Too simple is my wit to tell her praise,
Whom all the world admires for majesty.

No marvel though the angry Greeks pursued With ten years' war the
rape of such a queen, Whose heavenly beauty passeth all compare

Let us depart; and for this glorious
deed, Happy and blest be Faustus evermore!

Gentlemen, farewell:
the same I wish to you.

Accursed Faustus, where is mercy now?

I do repent; and yet I do despair: Hell
strives with grace for conquest in my breast:

What shall I do to shun
the snares of death?

Part 6 - Regret "The face that
launched a Thousand ships"

Thou traitor, Faustus, I arrest thy soul
For disobedience to my sovereign lord:

Revolt, or I'll in
piece-meal tear thy flesh.

Sweet Mephistophilis, entreat thy
lord To pardon my unjust presumption,

And with my blood again I will confirm
My former vow I made to Lucifer.

Do it, then, quickly, with unfeigned heart,
Lest greater danger do attend thy drift.

One thing, good servant,
let me crave of thee,

To glut the longing of my heart's desire,

That I might have unto my paramour That
heavenly Helen which I saw of late,

Whose sweet embracings may extinguish clean Those thoughts that
do dissuade me from my vow, And keep mine oath I made to Lucifer.

Faustus, this, or what else thou shalt desire,
Shall be perform'd in a twinkling of an eye.

Was this the face that
launch'd a thousand ships,

And burnt the topless towers of Ilium-

Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss

Her lips suck forth my soul:

see, where it flies!

Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.

Here will I dwell,

for heaven is in these lips, And
all is dross that is not Helen.

I will be Paris, and for love of thee,

Instead of Troy, shall
Canterbury be sack'd;

And I will combat with weak Menelaus,

And wear thy colours on my plumed crest;

Yea, I will wound Achilles in the heel,
And then return to Helen for a kiss.

O, thou art fairer than the evening air

Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars;

Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter
When he appear'd to hapless Semele;

More lovely than the monarch of the sky

In wanton Arethusa's azur'd arms;

And none but thou shalt be my paramour!

What ails Faustus?

Ah, my sweet chamber-fellow, had I
lived with thee, then had I lived still!

But now I die eternally.

What means Faustus?

Belike he is grown into some
sickness by being over-solitary.

If it be so, we'll have physicians to cure
him... 'Tis but a surfeit; never fear.

A surfeit of deadly sin,

Yet, Faustus, look up to heaven;
remember God's mercies are infinite.

But Faustus' offence can never be pardoned:

the serpent that tempted Eve
may be saved, but not Faustus.

Ah, gentlemen, hear me with patience,
and tremble not at my speeches!

Would I had never seen
CANTERBURY, never read a book!

What wonders I have done, all ENGLAND
can witness, yea, all the world;

for which Faustus hath lost
both England and the world,

yea, heaven itself, heaven, the seat
of God, the throne of the blessed

the kingdom of joy; and
must remain in hell for ever

what shall become of Faustus,
being in hell for ever?

Yet, Faustus, call on God.

On God, whom Faustus hath abjured!
On God, whom Faustus hath blasphemed!

Ah, my God, I would weep! but
the devil draws in my tears.

Gush forth blood, instead of tears!

I would lift up my hands; but see,
they hold them, they hold them!

Lucifer and Mephistophilis. Ah, gentlemen,
I gave them my soul for my knowledge!

God forbade it, indeed;
but Faustus hath done it:

for vain pleasure of twenty-four years
hath Faustus lost eternal joy and felicity.

I writ them a bill with mine
own blood: the date is expired;

Why did not Faustus tell us of this before,
that divines might have prayed for thee?

Oft have I thought to have done so; but the devil
threatened to tear me in pieces, if I named God,

to fetch both body and soul,
if I once gave ear to divinity:

and now 'tis too late. Gentlemen,
away, lest you perish with me.

O, what shall we do to save Faustus?

Talk not of me, but save
yourselves, and depart

God will strengthen me;
I will stay with Faustus.

Ay, pray for me, pray for me; and what noise soever
ye hear, come not unto me, for nothing can rescue me.

Pray thou, and we will pray that
God may have mercy upon thee

Gentlemen, farewell: if I live till morning,
I'll visit you; if not, Faustus is gone to hell.

It strikes. Now Body turn into air.

Mephistopheles will take you to hell.

O soul, be chang'd into little water-drops,
And fall into the ocean, ne'er be found!

My God, my god, look not so fierce on me!

Adders and serpents, let me breathe
a while! Ugly hell, gape not!

Come not, Lucifer! I'll burn
my books!... Ah, Mephistophilis!