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Footnotes
1 ( )
[ mate— i.e. confound, defeat.]
2 ( )
[ vaunt— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "daunt."]
3 ( )
[ her— All the 4tos "his."]
4 ( )
[ Whereas— i.e. where.]
5 ( )
[ cunning— i.e. knowledge.]
6 ( )
[ So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "more."]
7 ( )
[ 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.]
8 ( )
[ Analytics, 'tis thou, &c.— Qy. "Analytic"? (but such
phraseology was not uncommon).]
9 ( )
[ So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "the" (the printer
having mistaken "yt" for "ye").]
10 ( )
[ So the later 4tos (with various spelling).—2to 1604
"Oncaymaeon."]
11 ( )
[ and— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
12 ( )
[ Couldst— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "Wouldst."]
13 ( )
[ men— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "man."]
14 ( )
[ legatur— All the 4tos "legatus."]
15 ( )
[ &c.— So two of the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
16 ( )
[ law— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "Church."]
17 ( )
[ This— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "His."]
18 ( )
[ Too servile— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "The deuill."]
19 ( )
[ Che sera, sera— Lest it should be thought that I am wrong
in not altering the old spelling here, I may quote from Panizzi's
very critical edition of the ORLANDO FURIOSO,
"La satisfazion ci SERA pronta." C. xviii. st. 67.]
20 ( )
[ scenes— "And sooner may a gulling weather-spie
By drawing forth heavens SCEANES tell certainly," &c.
Donne's FIRST SATYRE,—p. 327, ed. 1633.]
21 ( )
[ tire— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "trie."]
22 ( )
[ Enter WAGNER, &c.— Perhaps the proper arrangement is,]
"Wagner!
Enter WAGNER.
Commend me to my dearest friends," &c.]
23 ( )
[ treasure— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "treasury."]
24 ( )
[ Jove— So again, p. 84, first col.,[See Note 59]
:
"Seeing Faustus hath incurr'd eternal death
By desperate thoughts against JOVE'S deity," &c.:
and I may notice that Marlowe is not singular in applying the name
JOVE to the God of Christians:]
"Beneath our standard of JOUES powerfull sonne [i.e. Christ—".
MIR. FOR MAGISTRATES, p. 642, ed. 1610.
"But see the judgement of almightie JOUE," &c.
Id. p. 696.
"O sommo GIOVE per noi crocifisso," &c.
Pulci,—MORGANTE MAG. C. ii. st. 1.]
25 ( )
[ these elements— So again, "Within the bowels of THESE
elements," &c., p. 87, first col,[See Note 90——"THESE" being
equivalent to THE. (Not unfrequently in our old writers THESE
is little more than redundant.)]
26 ( )
[ resolve— i.e. satisfy, inform.]
27 ( )
[ silk— All the 4tos "skill" (and so the modern editors!).]
28 ( )
[ the— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "our."]
29 ( )
[ the fiery keel at Antwerp's bridge— During the blockade
of Antwerp by the Prince of Parma in 1585, "They of Antuerpe
knowing that the bridge and the Stocadoes were finished,
made a great shippe, to be a meanes to breake all this worke
of the prince of Parmaes: this great shippe was made of masons
worke within, in the manner of a vaulted caue: vpon the hatches
there were layed myll-stones, graue-stones, and others of great
weight; and within the vault were many barrels of powder, ouer
the which there were holes, and in them they had put matches,
hanging at a thred, the which burning vntill they came vnto
the thred, would fall into the powder, and so blow vp all.
And for that they could not haue any one in this shippe to
conduct it, Lanckhaer, a sea captaine of the Hollanders, being
then in Antuerpe, gaue them counsell to tye a great beame at the
end of it, to make it to keepe a straight course in the middest
of the streame. In this sort floated this shippe the fourth of
Aprill, vntill that it came vnto the bridge; where (within a
while after) the powder wrought his effect, with such violence,
as the vessell, and all that was within it, and vpon it, flew in
pieces, carrying away a part of the Stocado and of the bridge.
The marquesse of Roubay Vicont of Gant, Gaspar of Robles lord of
Billy, and the Seignior of Torchies, brother vnto the Seignior
of Bours, with many others, were presently slaine; which were
torne in pieces, and dispersed abroad, both vpon the land and vpon
the water." Grimeston's GENERALL HISTORIE OF THE NETHERLANDS,
p. 875, ed. 1609.]
30 ( )
[ only— Qy. "alone"? (This line is not in the later 4tos.)]
31 ( )
[ vile— Old ed. "vild": but see note ||, p. 68.—(This line
is not in the later 4tos.)
[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.")—]
32 ( )
[ concise syllogisms— Old ed. "Consissylogismes."]
33 ( )
[ cunning— i.e. knowing, skilful.]
34 ( )
[ Agrippa— i.e. Cornelius Agrippa.]
35 ( )
[ shadow— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "shadowes."]
36 ( )
[ spirits— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "subiects."]
37 ( )
[ Almain rutters— See note ***, p. 43.]
[Note *** from p. 43. (The Second Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
Almains, Rutters— Rutters are properly—German troopers
(reiter, reuter). In the third speech after the present one
this line is repeated VERBATIM: but in the first scene of
our author's FAUSTUS we have,
"Like ALMAIN RUTTERS with their horsemen's staves."—]
38 ( )
[ have the— So two of the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "in their."]
39 ( )
[ From— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "For."]
40 ( )
[ in— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
41 ( )
[ renowm'd— See note ||, p. 11.]
[Note || from p. 11. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
renowmed— i.e. renowned.—So the 8vo.—The 4to "renowned."
—The form "RENOWMED" (Fr. RENOMME) occurs repeatedly
afterwards in this play, according to the 8vo. It is
occasionally found in writers posterior to Marlowe's
time. e.g.
"Of Constantines great towne RENOUM'D in vaine."
Verses to King James, prefixed to Lord Stirling's
MONARCHICKE TRAGEDIES, ed. 1607.—]
42 ( )
[ Albertus'— i.e. Albertus Magnus.—The correction of I. M.
in Gent. Mag. for Jan. 1841.—All the 4tos "Albanus."]
43 ( )
[ cunning— i.e. skill.]
44 ( )
[ Enter two SCHOLARS— Scene, perhaps, supposed to be before
Faustus's house, as Wagner presently says, "My master is within
at dinner."]
45 ( )
[ upon— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "vpon't."]
46 ( )
[ speak, would— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "speake, IT would."]
47 ( )
[ my dear brethren— This repetition (not found in the later 4tos)
is perhaps an error of the original compositor.]
48 ( )
[ Enter FAUSTUS to conjure— The scene is supposed to be a grove;
see p. 81, last line of sec. col.
[Page 81, second column, last line:
"VALDES. Then haste thee to some solitary grove,"—]
49 ( )
[ anagrammatiz'd— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "and
Agramithist."]
50 ( )
[ Th' abbreviated— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "The breuiated."]
51 ( )
[ erring— i.e. wandering.]
52 ( )
[ surgat Mephistophilis, quod tumeraris— The later 4tos have
"surgat Mephistophilis DRAGON, quod tumeraris."—There is a
corruption here, which seems to defy emendation. For "quod
TUMERARIS," Mr. J. Crossley, of Manchester, would read (rejecting
the word "Dragon") "quod TU MANDARES" (the construction being
"quod tu mandares ut Mephistophilis appareat et surgat"): but the
"tu" does not agree with the preceding "vos."—The Revd. J. Mitford
proposes "surgat Mephistophilis, per Dragon (or Dagon) quod NUMEN
EST AERIS."]
53 ( )
[ dicatus— So two of the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "dicatis."]
54 ( )
[ Re-enter Mephistophilis, &c.— According to THE HISTORY OF
DR. FAUSTUS, on which this play is founded, Faustus raises
Mephistophilis in "a thicke wood neere to Wittenberg, called
in the German tongue Spisser Wolt..... Presently, not three
fathom above his head, fell a flame in manner of a lightning,
and changed itselfe into a globe..... Suddenly the globe opened,
and sprung up in the height of a man; so burning a time, in the
end it converted to the shape of a fiery man[?— This pleasant
beast ran about the circle a great while, and, lastly, appeared
in the manner of a Gray Fryer, asking Faustus what was his
request?" Sigs. A 2, A 3, ed. 1648. Again; "After Doctor Faustus
had made his promise to the devill, in the morning betimes he
called the spirit before him, and commanded him that he should
alwayes come to him like a fryer after the order of Saint Francis,
with a bell in his hand like Saint Anthony, and to ring it once
or twice before he appeared, that he might know of his certaine
coming." Id. Sig. A 4.]
55 ( )
[ came hither— So two of the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "came
NOW hither."]
56 ( )
[ accidens— So two of the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "accident."]
57 ( )
[ Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it— Compare Milton,
Par. Lost, iv. 75;
"Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell."]
58 ( )
[ these— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "those."]
59 ( )
[ Jove's— See note ****, p. 80. [i.e. Note 24]
: ]
60 ( )
[ four and twenty— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "24."]
61 ( )
[ resolve— i.e. satisfy, inform.]
62 ( )
[ thorough— So one of the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "through."]
63 ( )
[ country— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "land."]
64 ( )
[ desir'd— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "desire."]
65 ( )
[ Enter WAGNER, &c.— Scene, a street most probably.]
66 ( )
[ pickadevaunts— i.e. beards cut to a point.]
67 ( )
[ by'r lady— i.e. by our Lady.]
68 ( )
[ Qui mihi discipulus— The first words of W. Lily's
AD DISCIPULOS CARMEN DE MORIBUS,
"Qui mihi discipulus, puer, es, cupis atque doceri,
Huc ades," &c.]
69 ( )
[ staves-acre— A species of larkspur.]
70 ( )
[ vermin— Which the seeds of staves-acre were used to destroy.]
71 ( )
[ familiars— i.e. attendant-demons.]
72 ( )
[ their— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "my."]
73 ( )
[ slop— i.e. wide breeches.]
74 ( )
[ vile— 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.")]
75 ( )
[ vestigiis nostris— All the 4tos "vestigias nostras."]
76 ( )
[ of— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
77 ( )
[ me— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
78 ( )
[ he lives— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "I liue."]
79 ( )
[ why— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
80 ( )
[ Solamen miseris, &c.— An often-cited line of modern Latin
poetry: by whom it was written I know not.]
81 ( )
[ Why— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
82 ( )
[ torture— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "tortures."]
83 ( )
[ Faustus— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
84 ( )
[ Bill— i.e. writing, deed.]
85 ( )
[ Here's fire; come, Faustus, set it on— This would not
be intelligible without the assistance of THE HISTORY OF
DR. FAUSTUS, the sixth chapter of which is headed,—"How Doctor
Faustus set his blood in a saucer on warme ashes, and writ as
followeth." Sig. B, ed. 1648.]
86 ( )
[ But what is this inscription, &c.— "He [Faustus— tooke
a small penknife and prickt a veine in his left hand; and for
certainty thereupon were seen on his hand these words written,
as if they had been written with blood, O HOMO, FUGE."
THE HISTORY OF DR. FAUSTUS, Sig. B, ed. 1648.]
87 ( )
[ me— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "thee."]
88 ( )
[ he desires— Not in any of the four 4tos. In the tract
just cited, the "3d Article" stands thus,—"That Mephostophiles
should bring him any thing, and doe for him whatsoever." Sig. A 4,
ed. 1648. A later ed. adds "he desired." Marlowe, no doubt,
followed some edition of the HISTORY in which these words,
or something equivalent to them, had been omitted by mistake.
(2to 1661, which I consider as of no authority, has "he
requireth.")]
89 ( )
[ that, &c.— So all the 4tos, ungrammatically.]
90 ( )
[ these— See note §, p. 80.[i.e. Note 25]
: ]
91 ( )
[ there— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
92 ( )
[ are— So two of the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "is."]
93 ( )
[ fond— i.e. foolish.]
94 ( )
[ What! walking, disputing, &c.— The later 4tos have "What,
SLEEPING, EATING, walking, AND disputing!" But it is evident
that this speech is not given correctly in any of the old eds.]
95 ( )
[ let me have a wife, &c.— The ninth chapter of THE HISTORY
OF DR. FAUSTUS narrates "How Doctor Faustus would have married,
and how the Devill had almost killed him for it," and concludes
as follows. "It is no jesting [said Mephistophilis— with us:
hold thou that which thou hast vowed, and we will peforme as we
have promised; and more shall that, thou shalt have thy hearts
desire of what woman soever thou wilt, be she alive or dead,
and so long as thou wilt thou shalt keep her by thee.—These
words pleased Faustus wonderfull well, and repented himself that
he was so foolish to wish himselfe married, that might have any
woman in the whole city brought him at his command; the which
he practised and persevered in a long time." Sig. B 3, ed. 1648.]
96 ( )
[ me— Not in 4to 1604. (This line is wanting in the later 4tos.)]
97 ( )
[ no— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
98 ( )
[ Saba— i.e. Sabaea—the Queen of Sheba.]
99 ( )
[ iterating— i.e. reciting, repeating.]
100 ( )
[ And argue of divine astrology, &c.— In THE HISTORY OF
DR. FAUSTUS, there are several tedious pages on the subject;
but our dramatist, in the dialogue which follows, has no
particular obligations to them.]
101 ( )
[ erring— i.e. wandering.]
102 ( )
[ freshmen's— "A Freshman, tiro, novitius." Coles's DICT.
Properly, a student during his first term at the university.]
103 ( )
[ resolve— i.e. satisfy, inform.]
104 ( )
[ Seek to save— Qy. "Seek THOU to save"? But see note ||,
p. 18.]
[Note ||, from page 18 (The First Part of Tamburlaine The
Great):
Barbarous— Qy. "O Barbarous"? in the next line but one,
"O treacherous"? and in the last line of the speech,
"O bloody"? But we occasionally find in our early dramatists
lines which are defective in the first syllable; and in some
of these instances at least it would almost seem that nothing
has been omitted by the transcriber or printer.—]
105 ( )
[ Enter the SEVEN DEADLY SINS— In THE HISTORY OF DR. FAUSTUS,
Lucifer amuses Faustus, not by calling up the Seven Deadly Sins,
but by making various devils appear before him, "one after another,
in forme as they were in hell." "First entered Beliall in forme
of a beare," &c.—"after him came Beelzebub, in curled haire of
a horseflesh colour," &c.—"then came Astaroth, in the forme of
a worme," &c. &c. During this exhibition, "Lucifer himselfe sate
in manner of a man all hairy, but of browne colour, like a
squirrell, curled, and his tayle turning upward on his backe as
the squirrels use: I think he could crack nuts too like a
squirrell." Sig. D, ed. 1648.]
106 ( )
[ case— i.e. couple.]
107 ( )
[ bevers— i.e. refreshments between meals.]
108 ( )
[ L.— All the 4tos "Lechery."—Here I have made the alteration
recommended by Mr. Collier in his Preface to COLERIDGE'S SEVEN
LECTURES ON SHAKESPEARE AND MILTON, p. cviii.]
109 ( )
[ Away, to hell, to hell— In 4to 1604, these words stand
on a line by themselves, without a prefix. (In the later 4tos,
the corresponding passage is as follows;
"——— begins with Lechery.
LUCIFER. Away to hell, away! On, piper! [Exeunt the SINS.
FAUSTUS. O, how this sight doth delight my soul!" &c.)]
110 ( )
[ I will send for thee at midnight— In THE HISTORY OF DR.
FAUSTUS, we have a particular account of Faustus's visit
to the infernal regions, Sig. D 2, ed. 1648.]
111 ( )
[ Enter CHORUS— Old ed. "Enter WAGNER solus." That these
lines belong to the Chorus would be evident enough, even if we
had no assistance here from the later 4tos.—The parts of Wagner
and of the Chorus were most probably played by the same actor:
and hence the error.]
112 ( )
[ Learned Faustus,
To know the secrets of astronomy, &c.— See the 21st chapter
of THE HISTORY OF DR. FAUSTUS,—"How Doctor Faustus was carried
through the ayre up to the heavens, to see the whole world,
and how the sky and planets ruled," &c.]
113 ( )
[ Enter FAUSTUS and MEPHISTOPHILIS— Scene, the Pope's
privy-chamber.]
114 ( )
[ Trier— i.e. Treves or Triers.]
115 ( )
[ From Paris next, &c.— This description is from THE HISTORY
OF DR. FAUSTUS; "He came from Paris to Mentz, where the river
of Maine falls into the Rhine: notwithstanding he tarried not
long there, but went into Campania, in the kingdome of Neapol,
in which he saw an innumerable sort of cloysters, nunries, and
churches, and great houses of stone, the streets faire and large,
and straight forth from one end of the towne to the other as a
line; and all the pavement of the city was of bricke, and the
more it rained into the towne, the fairer the streets were:
there saw he the tombe of Virgill, and the highway that he cu[t]
through the mighty hill of stone in one night, the whole length
of an English mile," &c. Sig. E 2, ed. 1648.]
116 ( )
[ The way he cut, &c.— During the middle ages Virgil was
regarded as a great magician, and much was written concerning
his exploits in that capacity. The LYFE OF VIRGILIUS, however,
(see Thoms's EARLY PROSE ROMANCES, vol. ii.,) makes no mention
of the feat in question. But Petrarch speaks of it as follows.
"Non longe a Puteolis Falernus collis attollitur, famoso palmite
nobilis. Inter Falernum et mare mons est saxeus, hominum manibus
confossus, quod vulgus insulsum a Virgilio magicis cantaminibus
factum putant: ita clarorum fama hominum, non veris contenta
laudibus, saepe etiam fabulis viam facit. De quo cum me olim
Robertus regno clarus, sed praeclarus ingenio ac literis, quid
sentirem, multis astantibus, percunctatus esset, humanitate fretus
regia, qua non reges modo sed homines vicit, jocans nusquam me
legisse magicarium fuisse Virgilium respondi: quod ille severissimae
nutu frontis approbans, non illic magici sed ferri vestigia
confessus est. Sunt autem fauces excavati montis angustae sed
longissimae atque atrae: tenebrosa inter horrifica semper nox:
publicum iter in medio, mirum et religioni proximum, belli quoque
immolatum temporibus, sic vero populi vox est, et nullis unquam
latrociniis attentatum, patet: Criptam Neapolitanam dicunt, cujus
et in epistolis ad Lucilium Seneca mentionem fecit. Sub finem fusci
tramitis, ubi primo videri coelum incipit, in aggere edito, ipsius
Virgilii busta visuntur, pervetusti operis, unde haec forsan ab
illo perforati montis fluxit opinio." ITINERARIUM SYRIACUM,—OPP.
p. 560, ed. Bas.]
117 ( )
[ From thence to Venice, Padua, and the rest,
In one of which a sumptuous temple stands, &c.— So the
later 4tos.—2to 1604 "In MIDST of which," &c.—THE HISTORY
OF DR. FAUSTUS shews WHAT "sumptuous temple" is meant: "From
thence he came to Venice....He wondred not a little at the
fairenesse of S. Marks Place, and the sumptuous church standing
thereon, called S. Marke, how all the pavement was set with
coloured stones, and all the rood or loft of the church double
gilded over." Sig. E 2, ed. 1648.]
118 ( )
[ Just through the midst, &c.— This and the next line are
not in 4to 1604. I have inserted them from the later 4tos, as
being absolutely necessary for the sense.]
119 ( )
[ Ponte— All the 4tos "Ponto."]
120 ( )
[ of— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
121 ( )
[ Then charm me, that I, &c.— A corrupted passage.—Compare
THE HISTORY OF DR. FAUSTUS, Sig. E 3, ed. 1648; where, however,
the Cardinal, whom the Pope entertains, is called the Cardinal
of PAVIA.]
122 ( )
[ Sonnet— Variously written, SENNET, SIGNET, SIGNATE, &c.—A
particular set of notes on the trumpet, or cornet, different from
a flourish. See Nares's GLOSS. in V. SENNET.]
123 ( )
[ Enter ROBIN, &c.— Scene, near an inn.]
124 ( )
[ ippocras— Or HIPPOCRAS,—a medicated drink composed of wine
(usually red) with spices and sugar. It is generally supposed to
have been so called from HIPPOCRATES (contracted by our earliest
writers to HIPPOCRAS); perhaps because it was strained,—the woollen
bag used by apothecaries to strain syrups and decoctions for
clarification being termed HIPPOCRATES' SLEEVE.]
125 ( )
[ tabern— i.e. tavern.]
126 ( )
[ [Exeunt.
Enter ROBIN and RALPH, &c.— A scene is evidently wanting
after the Exeunt of Robin and Ralph.]
127 ( )
[ purchase— i.e. booty—gain, acquisition.]
128 ( )
[ Drawer— There is an inconsistency here: the Vintner
cannot properly be addressed as "Drawer." The later 4tos are
also inconsistent in the corresponding passage: Dick says, "THE
VINTNER'S BOY follows us at the hard heels," and immediately
the "VINTNER" enters.]
129 ( )
[ tone— i.e. the one.]
130 ( )
[ MEPHIST— Monarch of hell, &c.— Old ed. thus:—]
"MEPHIST. Vanish vilaines, th' one like an Ape, an other like
a Beare, the third an Asse, for doing this enterprise.
Monarch of hell, vnder whose blacke suruey," &c.
What follows, shews that the words which I have omitted ought
to have no place in the text; nor is there any thing equivalent
to them in the corresponding passage of the play as given in
the later 4tos.]
131 ( )
[ Enter EMPEROR, &c.— Scene—An apartment in the Emperor's
Palace. According to THE HISTORY OF DR. FAUSTUS, the Emperor
"was personally, with the rest of the nobles and gentlemen, at
the towne of Inzbrack, where he kept his court." Sig. G, ed. 1648.]
132 ( )
[ Master Doctor Faustus, &c— The greater part of this scene
is closely borrowed from the history just cited: e.g. "Faustus,
I have heard much of thee, that thou art excellent in the black art,
and none like thee in mine empire; for men say that thou hast a
familiar spirit with thee, and that thou canst doe what thou list;
it is therefore (said the Emperor) my request of thee, that thou
let me see a proofe of thy experience: and I vow unto thee, by
the honour of my emperiall crowne, none evill shall happen unto
thee for so doing," &c. Ibid.]
133 ( )
[ won— May be right: but qy. "done"?]
134 ( )
[ As we that do succeed, &c.— A corrupted passage (not found
in the later 4tos).]
135 ( )
[ The bright, &c.— See note ||, p. 18.]
[Note ||, from page 18 (The First Part of Tamburlaine The
Great):
Barbarous— Qy. "O Barbarous"? in the next line but one,
"O treacherous"? and in the last line of the speech,
"O bloody"? But we occasionally find in our early dramatists
lines which are defective in the first syllable; and in
some of these instances at least it would almost seem that
nothing has been omitted by the transcriber or printer.—]
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.]
137 ( )
[ both— Old ed. "best."]
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.]
139 ( )
[ FAUSTUS. Now Mephistophilis, &c.— Here the scene is supposed
to be changed to the "fair and pleasant green" which Faustus
presently mentions.]
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.]
141 ( )
[ for forty— Qy. "for TWICE forty DOLLARS"?]
142 ( )
[ into— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "vnto."]
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.]
144 ( )
[ know of— The old ed. has "KNOWNE of"; which perhaps is right,
meaning—acquainted with.]
145 ( )
[ hey-pass— Equivalent to—juggler.]
146 ( )
[ ostry— i.e. inn,—lodging.]
147 ( )
[ cunning— i.e. skill.]
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."]
149 ( )
[ Saba— i.e. Sabaea.]
150 ( )
[ beholding— i.e. beholden.]
151 ( )
[ Enter WAGNER— Scene, a room in the house of Faustus.]
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."]
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.]
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.]
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.")—]
156 ( )
[ sin— Old ed. "sinnes" (This is not in the later 4tos).]
157 ( )
[ almost— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
158 ( )
[ now— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
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."]
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
have suffered death, she had so stoln away his heart: and, to
his seeming, in time she was with childe, whom Faustus named
Justus Faustus. The childe told Doctor Faustus many things which
were don in forraign countrys; but in the end, when Faustus lost
his life, the mother and the childe vanished away both together."
THE HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS, Sig. I 4, ed. 1648.]
161 ( )
[ Those— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "These."]
162 ( )
[ Faustus, this— Qy. "This, Faustus"?]
163 ( )
[ topless— i.e. not exceeded in height by any.]
164 ( )
[ is— So the later 4tos.—2to 1604 "be."]
165 ( )
[ shalt— So all the 4tos; and so I believe Marlowe wrote,
though the grammar requires "shall."]
166 ( )
[ Enter the OLD MAN— Scene, a room in the Old Man's house.
—In THE HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS the Old Man makes himself very
merry with the attempts of the evil powers to hurt him. "About
two dayes after that he had exhorted Faustus, as the poore man
lay in his bed, suddenly there was a mighty rumbling in the
chamber, the which he was never wont to heare, and he heard as
it had beene the groaning of a sow, which lasted long: whereupon
the good old man began to jest and mocke, and said, Oh, what a
barbarian cry is this? Oh faire bird, what foul musicke is this?
A[h—, faire angell, that could not tarry two dayes in his place!
beginnest thou now to runne into a poore mans house, where thou
hast no power, and wert not able to keepe thy owne two dayes?
With these and such like words the spirit departed," &c.
Sig. I 2, ed. 1648.]
167 ( )
[ Enter Faustus, &c.— Scene, a room in the house of Faustus.]
168 ( )
[ cunning— i.e. knowledge, skill.]
169 ( )
[ Why did not Faustus tell us of this before, &c.— "Wherefore
one of them said unto him, Ah, friend Faustus, what have you done
to conceale this matter so long from us? We would, by the helpe
of good divines and the grace of God, have brought you out of this
net, and have torne you out of the bondage and chaines of Satan;
whereas now we feare it is too late, to the utter ruine both of
your body and soule. Doctor Faustus answered, I durst never doe
it, although I often minded to settle my life [myself?— to godly
people to desire counsell and helpe; and once mine old neighbour
counselled me that I should follow his learning and leave all my
conjurations: yet, when I was minded to amend and to follow that
good mans counsell, then came the Devill and would have had me
away, as this night he is like to doe, and said, so soone as I
turned againe to God, he would dispatch me altogether." THE
HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS, Sig. K 3, ed. 1648.]
170 ( )
[ save— So the later 4tos.—Not in 4to 1604.]
171 ( )
[ and what noise soever ye hear, &c.— "Lastly, to knit up
my troubled oration, this is my friendly request, that you would
go to rest, and let nothing trouble you; also, if you chance heare
any noyse or rumbling about the house, be not therewith afraid,
for there shall no evill happen unto you," &c. THE HISTORY OF
DOCTOR FAUSTUS, ubi supra.]
172 ( )
[ O lente, &c.
"At si, quem malles, Cephalum complexa teneres,
Clamares, LENTE CURRITE, NOCTIS EQUI."
Ovid,—AMOR. i. xiii. 39.]
173 ( )
[ That, when you, &c.— So all the old eds.; and it is certain
that awkward changes of person are sometimes found in passages
of our early poets: but qy.,
"That, when THEY vomit forth into the air,
My limbs may issue from THEIR smoky mouths," &c.?]
174 ( )
[ and I be chang'd
Unto some brutish beast— "Now, thou Faustus, damned wretch,
how happy wert thou, if, as an unreasonable beast, thou mightest
dye without [a— soule! so shouldst thou not feele any more doubts,"
&c. THE HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS, Sig. K. ed. 1648.]
175 ( )
[ Exeunt DEVILS with FAUSTUS— In THE HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS,
his "miserable and lamentable end" is described as follows: it
took place, we are informed, at "the village called Rimlich,
halfe a mile from Wittenberg."—"The students and the other that
were there, when they had prayed for him, they wept, and so went
forth; but Faustus tarried in the hall; and when the gentlemen
were laid in bed, none of them could sleepe, for that they att[e—nded
to heare if they might be privy of his end. It happened that
betweene twelve and one a clocke at midnight, there blew a mighty
storme of winde against the house, as though it would have blowne
the foundation thereof out of his place. Hereupon the students
began to feare and goe out of their beds, comforting one another;
but they would not stirre out of the chamber; and the host of
the house ran out of doores, thinking the house would fall. The
students lay neere unto the hall wherein Doctor Faustus lay, and
they heard a mighty noyse and hissing, as if the hall had beene
full of snakes and adders. With that, the hall-doore flew open,
wherein Doctor Faustus was, that he began to cry for helpe,
saying, Murther, murther! but it came forth with halfe a voyce,
hollowly: shortly after, they heard him no more. But when it was
day, the students, that had taken no rest that night, arose and
went into the hall, in the which they left Doctor Faustus; where
notwithstanding they found not Faustus, but all the hall lay
sprinkled with blood, his braines cleaving to the wall, for the
devill had beaten him from one wall against another; in one corner
lay his eyes, in another his teeth; a pittifull and fearefull
sight to behold. Then began the students to waile and weepe for
him, and sought for his body in many places. Lastly, they came
into the yard, where they found his body lying on the horse-dung,
most monstrously torne and fearefull to behold, for his head and
all his joynts were dashed in peeces. The fore-named students and
masters that were at his death, have obtained so much, that they
buried him in the village where he was so grievously tormented.
After the which they returned to Wittenberg; and comming into the
house of Faustus, they found the servant of Faustus very sad,
unto whom they opened all the matter, who tooke it exceeding
heavily. There found they also this history of Doctor Faustus
noted and of him written, as is before declared, all save only
his end, the which was after by the students thereto annexed;
further, what his servant had noted thereof, was made in another
booke. And you have heard that he held by him in his life the
spirit of faire Helena, the which had by him one sonne, the which
he named Justus Faustus: even the same day of his death they
vanished away, both mother and sonne. The house before was so
darke that scarce any body could abide therein. The same night
Doctor Faustus appeared unto his servant lively, and shewed unto
him many secret things, the which he had done and hidden in his
lifetime. Likewise there were certaine which saw Doctor Faustus
looke out of the window by night, as they passed by the house."
Sig. K 3, ed. 1648.]
