Doctor Faustus Religion Quotes Page 1

Shmoop calls this the Doris Day doctrine. But here's the thing. Faustus doesn't just think that mankind is predestined to sin, and is therefore headed to hell. He also thinks that, because of this, studying religion has no point. This tells us that Faustus is not interested in knowledge for its own sake—only for how it can benefit him. But the joke's on Faustus, because if he had studied religion, he probably wouldn't be in this predicament.

The idea that swearing—taking God's name in vain, or cursing God—draws devils around you who will to try to win your soul for the Dark Side, is not a new one. In fact, it dates back to medieval times (no, not the restaurant). Back then, folks thought that a person always opens a space in his heart for the devil when he sins, but by swearing, he announces it to the world, basically advertising to evil spirits that his soul is theirs for the taking.

Mephistopheles's Latin response to Faustus's question translates into "to the unhappy it is a comfort to have had company in misery." (In other words, "misery loves company.") This is basically a warning from Mephistopheles to Faustus to turn back from his intended course of action, since it implies that hell is miserable. But Faustus ignores it. He's really good at ignoring people.