Marlowe, Christopher -- The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 1, sc. 3 (sc. 3), l. 231ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)

Dave — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 23:26:51 +0000

FAUSTUS: Faustus, begin thine incantations
And try if devils will obey thy hest,
Seeing thou hast prayed and sacrificed to them.
Within this circle is Jehovah’s name,
Forward, and backward, anagrammatised:
Th’abbreviated names of holy saints,
Figures of every adjunct to the heavens,
And characters of signs, and erring stars,
By which the spirits are enforced to rise.
Then fear not, Faustus, to be resolute
And try the utmost magic can perform.

[Thunder]

Sint mihi Dei Acherontis propitii! Valeat numen triplex Jehovae! Ignei aerii, aquatani spiritus, salvete! Orientis princeps Beelzebub, inferni ardentis monarcha, et Demigorgon, propitiamus vos, ut appareat, et surgat Mephistophilis Dragon, quod tumeraris; per Jehovam, gehennam, et consecratam aquam quam nunc spargo; signumque crucis quod nunc facio, et per vota nostra, ipse nunc surgat nobis dicatus Mephistophilis!

[Enter a Devil]

Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564-1593) English dramatist and poet
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 1, sc. 3 (sc. 3), l. 231ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)
(Source)

Spelling regularized. The 1616 "B" text is the same.

The Latin spell reads (in Eddington/Bevington (1995)):

Be propitious to me, gods of Acheron! Let the threefold spirit of Jehovah be strong! Hail to thee, spirits of fire, air, water, and earth! Lucifer, thou prince of the East, Beelzebub, thou monarch of fiery hell, and Demogorgon, we beseech you that Mephistopheles may appear and rise. Why do you delay? By Jehovah, Gehenna, and the holy water I now sprinkle, and by the sign of the cross I now make, and by our prayers, may Mephistopheles himself arise at our command!

Shakespeare, William -- Macbeth, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 10ff (4.1.10-11) (1606)

Dave — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 14:02:30 +0000

ALL WITCHES: Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Macbeth, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 10ff (4.1.10-11) (1606)
(Source)

WIST Quotations

Marlowe, Christopher -- The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 1, sc. 3 (sc. 3), l. 231ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)

Shakespeare, William -- Macbeth, Act 4, sc. 1, l. 10ff (4.1.10-11) (1606)