right of law, I was elected by the emperor," begins Bruno as a measure of his defense, yet the pope replies despotically: "We will depose the emperor for that deed and curse the people who submit to him" (viii, 125-8). "Pope Julian swore to princely Sigismund for him and the succeeding popes of Rome to hold the emperors their lawful lords," Bruno continues, yet meets only another harsh rebuke: "Pope Julius did abuse the church's rights, and therefore none of his decree can stand" (viii, 146-50). This scene leaves the clear impression that Bruno is guiltless, and thus Faustus becomes determined to rescue him. In this act, one sees a noble deed by Faustus, rescuing the innocent victim of the pope without any motive of personal gain. It is significant that Faustus gains nothing for himself other than an opportunity to excercise his powers and to receive the eternal damnation of the pope and friars. He simply desires to "restore Bruno to his liberty and bear him to the states of Germany" (viii, 121-2), with no thought for himself. Clearly, if Faustus were a villain worthy of eternal damnation, he would have been depicted as demanding a reward for saving the life of Bruno. In Faustus' soliloquy during his last hour of life, one notes a glaring lack of sympathy from God or the heavens for Faustus, a man destined to dwell eternally in hell. Having reached a truly repentant state, Faustus remains ignored by God as he has been throughout the play. Although the angel appears as the vague representation of heaven, he is depicted in a manner so damnably pure and naive that it is difficult to take him seriously. Turning to Faustus' soliliquy, one sees a clearly anguished man, desirous of some end to his eternal damnation: O God, if thou wilt not have mercy on my soul, Yet for Christ's sake, whose blood hath ransomed me, Impose some end to my incessant pain: Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years, A hundred thousand, and at last be saved (xix, 173-7) There is no question that Faustus recognizes his sin at this point, the graveness of which he simply could not grasp before. Yet it is odd that he be so coldly rejected by the supposedly benevolent God; odd that Faustus, who, other than a symbolic (and to him, meaningless) act of selling his soul, commits no grave sin worthy of the slightest damnation, nonetheless should be ignored by a God not willing to settle for a hundred thousand years damnation for Faustus. It is the very principle of eternal damnation that Marlowe attacks at this point, depicting in an extremely bleak manner the dismal life after death man will be forced to endure if the kingdom is ruled by a being so arbitrary and vindictive as that portrayed in the current Christian tradition by both the Church of England and the Catholic Church. It is interesting that his final soliloquy is not the only time Faustus expresses a repentant tone, a clear regret for his actions: O Christ my Savior, my Savior Help to save distressed Faustus' soul" (vi, 88089) Faustus realizes that he has committed a grave sin at this point, and clearly desires to repent. Yet once again, he receives no answer, save an appearance by Lucifer who makes the ironic comment, "Christ cannot save thy soul for he is just" (vi, 90). The appearance of Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Mephistopheles tends to support the admonition of the bad angel that "if thou repent, devils will tear thee in pieces" (vi, 85). The threat of Mephistopheles to destroy Faustus violently becomes very real at this point, in contrast to the distant and remote promise of salvation from the good angel if Faustus repents. Realizing that Faustus is not certain whether he is to be forgiven for selling his soul anyway, it is not difficult to understand why he should affirm his unity with Mephistopheles: the devils are his only physical contact with the spiritual world, and Lucifer himself has just assured Faustus there is no way he can be saved. Indeed, throughout the play, the one basic hindrance to Faustus' repentance is his fear of the wrath of hell. While speaking with the scholars near the end of the play, Faustus expresses this fear in explaining his failure to repent: Oft I have thought to have done so; but the devils threatened to tear me into pieces if I named God, to fetch me body and soul if I once gave ear to divinity (xix, 75-9) This fear is very real and very easy to understand; Faustus has been frequently rejected completely by heaven, he faces directly the threats from Mephistopheles and Lucifer, including another one after the futile attempt to repent upon the appearance of the mysterious old man: "Revolt, or I'll piecemeal tear thy flesh" (xviii, 75). Thus, there is no question of Faustus' desire for repentance; on numerous occasions, he expresses this desire, only to be ignored by heaven (which undermines the credibility of the good angel) and to be threatened by hell. In the very act of selling his soul, Faustus does not grasp precisely the nature of his act. At this point, he does not even believe in a life after death: "the word 'damnation' terrifies not me, for I confound hell in Elysium" (iii, 61-2). One finds further support for this idea after Faustus sells his soul, commenting: "I think hell's a fable" (v. 11). To Faustus, the act is essentially meaningless as he is to gain 24 years of the power of necromancy in exchange for eternal residence in hell, which he doesn't believe exists. It is a contract borne out of ignorance, and unbelievable that a just and merciful God and Savior would bind him to such a contract, particularly since Faustus never abuses the power to any great extent, merely using it in rescuing Bruno and in self-defense. Indeed, Marlowe makes a mockery of Christianity by illustrating its contradictions and bleakness. His portrayal of the good angel is a perfect example of this: O Faustus, lay that damned book aside And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul, Read, read the scriptures. (i, 72-3) Nevertheless, this is precisely how the Christians thought in that age, as well how many Christians in modern times think. In spite of the good that can be done with such works as necromancy, like the rescue of the forthright and noble Bruno from a tyrannical and despotic pope, the good angel actually expects Faustus to abjure his knowledge and dwell only on the scriptures; it is equally incredible that Faustus be damned for holding to his knowledge rather than throwing it all away in favor of a blind faith in a God in whom he has no reason whatsoever to believe. Moreover, when Faustus does call out to Christ to save his "distressed soul" and even at the last moment is willing to accept a hundred thousand years of hell and damnation, this is not enough for the angry gods, who will settle for nothing less than eternal and infinite damnation. And yet, this is precisely the nature of Christianity that Marlowe had to cope with; and indeed, one sees this even today. There is no doubt of Marlowe's "critical comment on Christianity" in his drama Dr. Faustus. A man is damned Who has no control over his actions, ignorant of the deed, does not (beyond the deed itself) commit any grave sin, and all the while, is completely rejected by God and heaven. Indeed, the death of Dr. Faustus is a most tragic one, particularly realizing that there is little if anything he gains in the way of knowledge (other than the powers of the magic) that he could not have attained without Mephistopheles. And so Faustus dies, desirous only of attaining "a greater subject that fitteth Faustus' wit" (i., 11): "And yet he was a scholar, once admired For wonderous knowledge in our German schools." (xx, 12-13). 20 The Aardvark Review Volume 2, Number 1 The Aardvark Review Contributors to this issue: Therese Allen, Penelope Armstrong, Robert J. Arway, Russell Burrows, Christina C Carrillo, Frank J. Cook, Patrice De Jong, Ben Hyde, Kristine Bjorklund Mamanakis, Walsh Mercer, Rachel A. Roche, Randy Rust, Mary Ann Suznovich, Maryonne Wilson, and Robert G. Wright A bee settling on a flower has stung a child. And the child is afraid of bees and declares that bees exist to sting people. A poet admires the bee sucking from the chalice of a flower and says it exists to suck the fragrance of flowers. A beekeeper, seeing the bee collect pollen from flowers and carry it to the hive, says that it exists to gather honey. Another beekeeper who has studied the life of the hive more closely says that the bee gathers pollen dust to feed the young bees and rear a queen, and that it exists to perpetuate its race. A botanist notices that the bee flying with the pollen of a male flower to a pistil fertilizes the latter, and sees in this the purpose of the bee's existence. Another observing the migration of plants, notices that the bee helps in this work, and may say that in this lies the purpose of the bee. But the ultimate purpose of the bee is not exhausted by the first, the second, or any of the processes the human mind can discern. The higher the human intellect rises in the discovery of these purposes, the more obvious it becomes that the ultimate purpose is beyond our comprehension. All that is accessible to man is the relation of the life of the bee to other manifestations of life. Tolstoy War and Peace, I Epilogue, IV The Review is printed by the Lorraine Press, at 1952 West 1500 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84104. The Review is printed on 80 lb. Centura Gloss and Dull Offset White paper, in Goudy Old Style Book, Souvenir Light, Souvenir Light Italic, and Goudy Old Style Book Italic typefaces. Typefaces are courtesy of the Column Type Co., Inc. Photographs are courtesy of Weber County Library, Special Collections. Weber State College