The Twelve Articles of the Pact

equals. Crucially, no symbolic action takes place around twelve in the evening on the first day after Faustus first performed his rituals in the Spessart woods, because no binding promises are made by either involved party at that time. That moment in the book’s narrative passes, and the three initial demands, requiring Mephostophiles to answer Faustus’s questions truthfully, are left behind, discarded.

Erstlich / daß er auch ein Geschickligkeit / Form vnnd Gestalt eines Geistes möchte an sich haben vnd bekommen

Zum andern / daß der Geist alles das thun solte / was er begert / vnd von ihm haben wolt.

Zum dritten / daß er im gefliessen / vnterthänig vnd gehorsam seyn wolte / als ein Diener.

Zum vierdten / daß er sich allezeit / so offt er in forderte vnd beruffte / in seinem Hauß solte finden lassen.

Zum fünften / daß er in seinem Hause wölle vnsichtbar regiern / vnd sich sonsten von niemandt / als von im sehen lassen / es were denn sein Will vnd Geheiß.

Vnd letzlich / daß er ihm / so offt er ihn forderte / vnnd in der Gestalt / wie er ihm aufferlegen würde / erscheinen solt. (HDF, p. 20)

This entire list is in essence an expansion on Faustus’s previous demand for a submissive Devil. Only the first request in this list concerns something other than the servitude of Mephostophiles. The second states that the spirit should do whatever Faustus wants him to do, while demands three through six concern the manner in which the spirit should serve: He should serve politely and willingly, appear in the doctor’s house whenever Faustus wishes it, be invisible to everyone except the doctor, and he should (again) appear at any time and in any form Faustus wishes him to.

Faustus initially required that Mephostophiles should submit to him, that the spirit should answer all of his questions, and that he should do so truthfully. Now, the doctor’s desires have shifted towards action: Mephostophiles is now required to do various things for Faustus, rather than truthfully disclose secrets concerning the nature of heaven and earth. The third request is an expanded version of the first demand from the first list, but this time the doctor emphasises that Mephostophiles should be obedient like a servant, implying that he will not be his servant, but that it would appear to an onlooker as though he were. There is an implied moderation of Faustus’s initial desire to be the spirit’s master in the final clause of the third request from the second list, in that Faustus there recognises that Mephostophiles will not be his servant, but rather that he will only appear to serve. Mephostophiles is also no longer required to answer metaphysical questions or to sate Faustus’ impious curiosity; his main task as servant to Faustus is now to do whatever the doctor requires him to, and to bestow on Faustus the powers of a spirit. Faustus ends up

requesting expansion of his power on earth rather than insight.¹⁰³ If there is curiosity still present in these new demands, it is not Augustinian curiositas, or scientific Fürwitz, but a more mundane species of curiosity. Faustus is later shown realms both distant and near, he drinks from the Pope’s wine, and he commits various acts of debauchery and gluttony. He does not in fact learn forbidden metaphysical

knowledge throughout the work, arguably excluding his foray into astrology.¹⁰⁴ In a significant portion of the first part of the book, he is seen exploring earthly matters well within the limits of contemporary knowledge.¹⁰⁵

Throughout the book, the pact will point back to the disputation that took place during the evening hours, which is decidedly different from the first disputation.

103 This is in line with Münkler (2011, p. 244), who sees the second list as an expression of Faustus’s desire to exercise power, but contrary to Williams (1991, p. 21), who sees the second list as an expansion of the articles in the first. The latter misses the point that the Historia’s author makes during the opening chapter in the Spessart woods, namely that Faustus cannot command the Devil, but must humbly ask one of the Devil’s servants, and then take what is on offer rather than what he at first wanted.

104 This, however, does not put a stop to his curiosity, or his desire to “speculate the elements”.

Faustus still wishes to expand his insights, but this is not what his pact enables him to do. The spirit is kept in Faustus’ study (HDF, p. 26), already indicating a certain kinship between it and Faustus’

studies, and although chapters 9 and 10 are mostly devoted to describing the food, drink and women Faustus conjures, steals and lures with the help of Mephostophiles, this is merely a background for what follows: six chapters of questions and untruthful answers regarding the nature of

Mephostophiles, Lucifer and Hell (chapters 11-17), three chapters containing Faustus’ newfound insights into the physical world (chapters 18, 19, and 20, which respectively treat astrology, astronomy and the seasons), and finally two chapters wherein Faustus asks questions of heaven and God (chapters 21 and 22) and Mephostophiles answers with lies, before what may be considered physical demonstrations, consisting of Faustus’ travels into these three domains, begin. The first eight years of Faustus’ twenty-four year agreement with Mephostophiles are primarily spent studying and learning: “Doct. Faustus war auff das achte Jar kommen / vnd (...) / war auch die zeit deß meisten theils mit Forschen / Lernen / Fragen vnd Disputiern vmbgangen.“ (HDF, p. 52) These initial chapters of questions and answers are clearly fuelled by one principle, which is Faustus’s Fürwitz.

After the short description of his lavish lifestyle in chapters 9 and 10, the doctor finds that “[b]ald sticht in der Fürwitz” (HDF, p. 29), and for this reason he desires a conversation with the spirit, who is locked away in his study. When the doctor is forbidden by the spirit to inquire further into the topic of the Lord’s Heaven, the prohibition distresses him greatly: “Doctor Faustus dorffte (wie

vorgemeldt) den Geist von Göttlichen vnd Himmlischen dingen nicht mehr fragen / das thäte ihm wehe / vnd gedacht ihm Tag vnd Nacht nach” (HDF, p. 46). Faustus retains a desire for insights, but he has not entered into a pact that will allow him to gain insights.

105 “Was ihm der Teufel über die Kosmologie, das Zustandekommen der Jahreszeiten usw. erzählt, beschränkt sich auf längst überholten Wissensstoff, über den man in jedem der damals so beliebten Kalender nachlesen konnte (...)“ (Könneker 1991, p. 5).

Barbara Könneker is correct when she points out, contrary to general consensus then and now, that Faustus does not gain forbidden or hermetic insights from the evil spirit, but she incorrectly holds that this is not what Faustus wants. Könneker identifies the first of Faustus’s second list of requests as his primary motivation:

“Diese Geschickligkeit der Geister zu erwerben, die wesentlich an ihre besondere Form und Gestalt gebunden ist, ist also Fausts wichtigste Forderung, ist sein

eigentliches Paktziel” (Könneker 1967 p. 181). Könneker points out that the form of a spirit will allow Faustus to transcend limitations of space and time, thus increasing his power. While the abilities this demand gives the doctor certainly occupies a central role in Parts II and III of the book, it is crucial to keep in mind that this second list of demands is only put forth once Mephostophiles has rejected the first on behalf of Lucifer. If Faustus’ Paktziel had been to obtain the form of a spirit, he would have immediately demanded this of the spirit Mephostophiles, while he was still under the impression that he had bent Lucifer to his will.

Könneker’s questioning of Faustus’s motivation is threatened by one weak link in her chain of arguments, which regards the relation between the doctor’s first demands and his second, moderated list: Not enough attention has been given to the importance of temporal sequence in the matter of formalised agreements. Könneker puts weight behind the fact that the first request that Faustus makes during his afternoon interaction with Mephostophiles is the first, indicating that it has priority.

However, it is not the first, it is in fact the fourth desire that Faustus presents to the spirit. The first three demands are not present in Könneker’s argumentation at all, except in a relatively short footnote, where she acknowledges that a counterargument to her hypothesis may be found here. However, she soon dismisses the idea on the grounds that Faustus’ first set of demands are not his real demands, but rather a basis for negotiation, a “Verhandlungsbasis” (p. 181) for the actual negotiations taking place in Chapter Four. In other words, Könneker stages Faustus as an occult used car salesman, initially offering a very high price for his soul so that his subsequent offers will appear more reasonable. This view clashes sharply with the sequence of events as they are described in the book: It is Mephostophiles who first introduces the idea

that Faustus must pay for each of the promises the spirit makes with a counterpromise, and so they are not “negotiating” before the third day.

As an immediate response to Faustus’s new list of more carefully formulated wishes, Mephostophiles refines his initial proposal for a reciprocal agreement down to the notion that they shall exchange an equal number of promises: “Auff diese sechs Puncten antwort der Geist dem Fausto / daß er ihm in allem wolt willfahren vnd gehorsamen / so fern daß er im dagegen auch etlich fürgehaltene Artickel wölle leisten” (HDF, p. 20). Faustus’s list of six requests on the one hand concerns an expansion of the doctor’s abilities, and on the other hand concerns power structures:

The doctor wants to ensure that Mephostophiles will follow his whims and desires.

However, much more profound is the power structure immediately established in the list of six counter-demands that the evil spirit sets forth: Faustus may be allowed to command Mephostophiles, and to have him appear at any time and in any guise he desires, but in return he must pledge himself completely to the spirit, meaning that the latter will own him:

Erstlich / daß er / Faustus / verspreche vnd scwhere / daß er sein / des Geistes / eygen seyn wolte

Zum andern / daß er solches zu mehrer Bekräfftigung / mit seinem eygen Blut wölle bezeugen / vnd sich darmit also gegen im verschreiben.

Zum dritten / daß er allen Christgläubigen Menschen wölle Feind seyn.

Zum vierdten / daß er den Christlichen Glauben Wölle verläugnen.

Zum fünfften / daß er sich nicht wölle verführen lassen / so ihne etliche wöllen bekehren.

Hingegen wölle der Geist ihme / Fausto / etliche Jahr zum Ziel setzen / wann solche verloffen / soll er von ihme geholt werden.¹⁰⁶

(HDF, pp. 20-21)

The written document mentioned in the second demand is specifically meant to attest to the first requirement that Mephostophiles sets forth, which is that Faustus shall belong to him. Faustus’s Verschreiben is one-sided: As part of the pact he is about to enter into with Mephostophiles, he must promise to pledge himself in writing to

106 The pact’s temporal duration is here included in Mephostophiles’s list of counter-demands, despite its formatting indicating that it is an addendum, and its wording rather inelegantly referring back to Faustus’s six demands (“Hingegen”), as if the list preceding it were not there.

Mephostophiles. This pledge is that he shall belong to the spirit. The other articles are subjected to this first: Faustus promises to be the enemy of Christians, deny the Christian faith and not allow himself to be dissuaded from his continued apostasy.

Mephostophiles shall finally “take” Faustus after twenty-four years have passed, and it is implied that he will bring his immortal soul to Hell.¹⁰⁷

These twelve statements make up the entirety of the pact between Faustus and Mephostophiles. As soon as Mephostophiles has made his proposal, the narrator dwells on Faustus’s acceptance, which is described three times, and marked with a handshake:¹⁰⁸

D. Faustus war in seinem Stoltz vnnd Hochmut so verwegen / ob er sich gleich ein weil besunne / daß er doch seiner Seelen Seligkeit nicht bedencken wolte / sondern dem bösen Geist solches darschluge / vnnd all Artickel zuhalten verhiesse. (...) Nach dem D. Faustus dise Promission gethan (...) (HDF, p. 21)

The handshake takes place at this time, between three and four in the afternoon, and this symbolic action marks the finalisation of the reciprocal agreement between Faustus and Mephostophiles. Although the book says nothing of Mephostophiles’s formal acceptance of Faustus’s six articles, a handshake is inherently bilateral, despite Faustus being the subject in the sentence that describes it. This handshake marks the moment at which a deal is struck, and a pact is put in effect.

The development of Faustus’s interaction with the Devil has so far been the following: He summons the spirit and attempts to command him. When this fails, the spirit returns at a later point, carrying a proposal for a reciprocal agreement which is an exchange of an equal number of duties or promises on both sides. The doctor orally agrees to the exchange of promises, and his agreement is referred to with the

107 The book operates with an understanding of Hell as a physical location where the immortal component of human existence is subjected to physical torture such as intense heat or cold.

108 The verb “darschlagen” from the following quote can be understood in this sense because it is a response to Mephostophiles’s proposal, so it would make little sense to read it in the sense of

“propose”.

noun “Promission” (HDF, p. 21). It seems clear at this point that the pact consists of the exchange of promises in these two lists, and does not encompass the three demands that the doctor first made. Faustus is granted six powers, and in return he must abide by six articles laid down by Mephostophiles. Amongst the latter articles, the second is for a document written in Faustus’s own blood that attests to one particular point in their agreement: That Faustus shall pledge himself to the spirit.

The following chapter will make a point of the marked temporal difference between these two symbolically reinforced sets of promises, isolate the pact from Faustus’s written pledge, and demonstrate beyond doubt that the two latter are not the same.