Doctor Faustus Faustus Quotes

Faustus > Faustus

Quote 34

FAUSTUS
Is to dispute well logic's chiefest end?
Affords this art no greater miracle?
Then read no more; thou hast attained that end. (1.1.7-10)

Well we already know that Faustus can dispute well; the Chorus told us he's an awesome debater (Chorus.17). All the same, Faustus could be making a mistake by assuming that the study of logic is only useful for learning how to win debates. Isn't knowledge for its own sake a worthwhile goal? We'd say so.

Faustus > Faustus

Quote 35

FAUSTUS
The end of physic is our body's health.
Why, Faustus, hast thou not attained that end?
Are not thy bills hung up as monuments,
Whereby whole cities have escaped the plague
And thousand desperate maladies been cured? (1.1.16-20)

Here Faustus is talking about public health measures against the plague that he has apparently put into place. These are probably recommendations like isolating the sick and poisoning the rodent population. By referring to such recommendations as "monuments," Faustus emphasizes their public nature and his view of himself as an important public figure, whose wits have an impact.

Faustus > Faustus

Quote 36

FAUSTUS
Then, gentle friends, aid me in this attempt,
And I, that have with subtle syllogisms
Gravelled the pastors of the German Church
And made the flowering pride of Wittenberg
Swarm to my problems, as th'infernal spirits
On sweet Musaeus when he came to hell,
Will be as cunning as Agrippa was
Whose shadow made all Europe honor him. (1.1.104-111)

It's not enough for Faustus that he's known as a great scholar and has a swarm of pupils in Wittenberg all clamoring to learn from him. He wants more. As his allusion to Agrippa, a famous magician, makes clear, he wants to be famous far and wide—not just at home. Agrippa famously summoned a spirit on his deathbed, so Faustus is saying not only that he wants to be famous, but also that he wants to be famous for deeds beyond the realm of mere mortals like us.