The history of the damnable life and deserved death of Doctor John Faustus, 1592, together with The second report of Faustus, containing his appearances and the deeds of Wagner, 1594.
History
The history of the damnable life and deserved death of Doctor John Faustus, 1592, together with The second report of Faustus, containing his appearances and the deeds of Wagner, 1594.
Faust, -approximately 1540 -- Legends
was behind me, and when he perceived that I saw him, he came and sat by
me, to whom I said, I pray thee Mephostophiles whither shall I go now?
Let not that trouble thy mind, said he, and yet they carried us higher
up. And now will I tell thee good friend and schoolfellow, what things
I have seen and proved; for on the Tuesday went I out, and on Tuesday
seven-nights following I came home again, that is, eight days, in
which time I slept not, no not one wink came in mine eyes, and we went
invisible of any man: and as the day began to appear, after our first
night’s journey, I said to my Spirit Mephostophiles, I pray thee how
far have we now ridden, I am sure thou knowest: for methinks that we
are ridden exceeding far, the World seemeth so little: Mephostophiles
answered me, my Faustus believe me, that from the place from whence
thou earnest, unto this place where we are now, is already forty-seven
leagues right in height, and as the day increased, I looked down upon
the World, there saw I many kingdoms and provinces, likewise the
whole world, Asia, Europa, and Africa, I had a sight of: and being so
high, quoth I to my Spirit, tell me now how these Kingdoms lie, and
what they are called, the which he denied not, saying, see this on
our left hand is Hungaria, this is also Prussia on our left hand, and
Poland, Muscovia, Tartascelesia,[25] Bohemia, Saxony;: and here on
our right hand, Spain, Portugal, France, England, and Scotland: then
right out before us lie the Kingdoms of Persia, India, Arabia, the
King of Alchar, and the great Cham: now are we come to Wittenberg, and
are right over the town of Weim in Austria, and ere long will we be
at Constantinople, Tripolie, and Jerusalem, and after will we pierce
the frozen Zone, and shortly touch the Horizon, and the Zenith of
Wittenberg. There looked I on the Ocean Sea, and beheld a great many
of ships and Galleys ready to the battle, one against another: and
thus I spent my journey, now cast I my eyes here, now there, toward
South, North, East, and West, I have been in one place where it rained
and hailed, and in another where the Sun shone excellent fair, and so
I think that I saw the most things in and about the world, with great
admiration that in one place it rained, and in another hail and snow,
on this side the Sun shone bright, some hills covered with snow never
consuming, others were so hot that grass and trees were burned and
consumed therewith. Then looked I up to the heavens, and behold, they
went so swift, that I thought they would have sprung in thousands.
Likewise it was so clear and so hot, that I could not long gaze into
it, it so dimmed my sight: and had not my Spirit Mephostophiles covered
me as it were with a shadowing cloud, I had been burnt with the extreme
heat thereof, for the Sky the which we behold here when we look up from
the earth, is so fast and thick as a wall, clear and shining bright as
a Crystal, in the which is placed the Sun, which casteth forth his rays
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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