Chapter 58

_How Dr. Faustus was carried through the Air, up to the Heavens to see the whole World, and how the Sky and Planets ruled; after the which he wrote a Letter to his Friend of the same to Liptzig, and how he went about the World in eight days._

This letter was found by a freeman and citizen of Wittenburg, written with his own hand, and sent to his friend at Liptzig, a physician, named Love Victori, the contents of which were as followeth:

"Amongst other things, my beloved friend and brother, I remember yet the former friendship we had together when we were schoolfellows and students in the university at Wittenburg; whereas you first studied physic, astronomy, astrology, geometry, and cosmography, I, to the contrary, you know, studied divinity, notwithstanding now in any of your own studies I am sure I have proceeded farther than yourself; for since I began I have never erred, for, might I speak it without affecting mine own praise, my calendars and other practices have not only the commendations of the common sort, but also the chiefest lords and nobles of this our Dutch nation, because (which is chiefly to be noted) I write and presage of matters to come, which all accord and fall out so right, as if they had already been before. And for thee, my beloved Victori, you write to know my voyage which I made unto the heavens, the which (as you certify me) you have had some suspicion of, although you partly persuade yourself that it is a thing impossible; no matter for that, it is as it is, and let it be as it will, once it is done in such a manner as now according, unto your request, I will give you here to understand. I being once laid in my bed, and I could not sleep for thinking on my calendar and practice, I marvelled with myself how it were possible that the firmament should be known, and so largely written of by men, or whether they write true or false, by their own opinions and suppositions, or by due observation and true course of the heavens; behold, I thought my house would have been blown down, so that all my doors and chests flew open, whereat I was not a little astonished, for withal I heard a groaning voice, which said, 'Get up; the desire of thy heart, mind, and thought thou shalt see.' At the which I answered, 'What my heart desireth that would I fain see; and to make proof if I shall see, I will away with thee.' 'Why, then,' quoth he, 'look out the window, there cometh a messenger for thee.' That did I; and behold, there stood a waggon with two dragons before it to draw the same, and all the waggon was of a light burning fire, and for that the moon shone I was the willinger at that time to depart. But the voice spoke again: 'Sit up, and let us away.' 'I will,' said I, 'go with thee, but upon condition that I may ask after all things that I see, hear, or think on.' The voice answered: 'I am content for this time.' Hereupon I got me into the waggon, so that the dragons carried me up right into the air.

"The waggon had four wheels, the which rattled so, and made such a noise, as if it had been all this while running on the stones, and round about us flew flames of fire; and the higher that I came, the more the earth seemed to be darkened, so that methought I came out of a dungeon; and looking down from heaven, behold Mephistophiles my spirit and servant was behind me; and when he perceived that I saw him, he came and sate by me; to whom I said, 'I pray thee, Mephistophiles, whither shall I go now?' 'Let not that trouble thy mind,' said he; and yet they carried us higher up. And now I will tell thee, good friend and schoolfellow, what things I have seen and proved; for on the Tuesday I went out, and on Tuesday seven nights following I came home again, that's eight days, in which time I slept not, no not one wink came within my eyes; and we went invisible of any man; and as the day began to appear, after the first night's journey, I said to my spirit Mephistophiles, 'I pray thee how far have we now ridden? I am sure thou knowest, for methinks we have ridden exceeding far, the world seemeth so little.' Mephistophiles answered me, 'My Faustus, believe me, that from the place from whence thou camest unto this place where we now are is already forty-seven leagues right in height.' And as the day increased, I looked down into the world. Asia, Europe, and Africa, I had a sight of; and being so high, quoth I to my spirit, 'Tell me 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, Tartary, Silesia, Bohemia, Saxony; and here on our right hand, Spain, Portugal, France, England, and Scotland; then right on before us lie the kingdoms of Persia, India, Arabia, the king of Althar, and the great Cham. Now we are come to Wittenburg, and are right over the town of Weim, in Austria, and ere long we will be at Constantinople, Tripoli, and Jerusalem, and after will we pierce the frozen zone, and shortly touch the horizon and the zenith of Wittenburg.' There looked I on the ocean sea, and beheld a great many ships and galleys ready to battle one against another; and thus I spent my journey, and I cast my eyes here, now there, towards 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 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 into thousands; likewise it was so clear and so hot, that I could not gaze upon it, it so dimmed my sight; and had not my spirit Mephistophiles covered me, as it were with a shadowing cloud, I had been burnt with the extreme heat thereof; for the sky which we behold here, when we look up from the earth, is so fast and thick as a wall, clear and shining bright as crystal, in which is placed the sun, which casteth forth his rays and beams over the whole world, to the uttermost confines of the earth. But we think that the sun is very little; no, it is altogether as big as the world; indeed the body substantial is but little in compass, but the rays or streams that it casteth forth by reason of the thing wherein it is placed, maketh him to extend and show himself all over the whole world; and we think that the sun runneth his course, and that the heavens stand still; no, it is the heavens that moves his course, and the sun abideth perpetually in his place, he is permanent and fixed in his place; and although we see him beginning to ascend in the orient or east, at the highest in the meridian or south, setting in occident or west, yet is he in the lowest in septentrio or north, and yet he moveth not, it is the axle of the heavens that moveth, the whole firmament being a chaos or confused thing, and for that proof I will show this example: like as thou seest a bubble made of water and soap blown out of a quill, it is in form of a confused mass or chaos, and being in this form is moved at pleasure of the wind, which runneth round about that chaos, and moveth him also round; even so the whole firmament or chaos, wherein are placed the sun and the rest of the planets, is turned and carried at the pleasure of the spirit of God, which is wind. Yea, Christian reader, to the glory of God, and to the profit of my soul, I will open unto thee a divine opinion touching the rule of this confounded chaos, far more than my rude German author, being possessed with the devil, was able to utter, and prove some of my sentences before to be true; look into Genesis, into the works of God, at the creation of the world, there shalt thou find that the spirit of God moved upon the water, before heaven and earth were made. Mark how he made it, and how by his word every element took his place; these were not his works, but his words, for all the words he used before, concluded afterwards in one work, which was in making man. Mark, reader, with patience, for thy soul's health, see into all that was done by the word and work of God. Light and darkness was, the firmament stood, and the great and little light in it; the moist waters were in one place, the earth was dry, and every element brought forth according to the word of God. Now follow his works: he made man after his own image. How? Out of the earth. The earth will shape no image without water; there was one of the elements; but all this while there was wind. All elements were at the word of God. Man was made, and in a form by the work of God, yet moved not that work before God had breathed the spirit of life into his nostrils, and made him a living soul. Here was the first wind and spirit of God, out of his own mouth; which we have likewise from the same seed which was only planted by God in Adam; which wind, breath, or spirit, when he had received, he was living and moved on earth; for it was ordained of God for his habitation, but the heavens are the habitation of the Lord. And like as I showed before of the bubble or confused chaos made of water and soap, through the wind and breath of man is turned round and carried with the wind, even so the firmaments wherein the sun and the rest of the planets are fixed, be moved, turned, and carried with the wind, breath, and spirit of God; for the heavens and firmaments are moveable as the chaos, but the sun is fixed in the firmament. And farther, my good schoolfellow, I was thus nigh the heavens, where methought every planet was but as half the earth, and under the firmament ruled the spirits in the air. As I came down, I looked upon the world and heavens, and methought that the earth was inclosed (in comparison) within the firmament as the yolk of an egg within the white; methought that the whole length of the earth was not a span long, and the water was as it had been twice as broad and as long as the earth. Even thus, at eight days' end, I came home again, and fell asleep, and so I continued sleeping three days and three nights together, and the first hour I waked, fell fresh again to my calendars, and have made them in right ample manner as you know. And to satisfy your request for that you write unto me, I have (in consideration of our old friendship had at the university of Wittenburg) declared unto you my heavenly voyage, wishing no worse unto you than unto myself, that is, that your mind were as mine in all respects. Dixi, Dr. Faustus the astrologian."