Be Not Deceived: We Will Reap What We Sow

BE NOT DECEIVED: WE WILL REAP WHAT WE SOW

The story of Dr. Faustus' deception begins with his quest for knowledge. He was the epitome of the "Renaissance Man." The Renaissance man was a man who had achieved great knowledge and had come to what Maslow considered "self-actualization." Marlowe, in his studies of ambitious men, dealt with the Renaissance "overreacher," revealing his heroism and strength of will while simultaneously chronicling the loss of humanity occasioned by his unchecked abuse of power . This is the tragedy of Dr. Faustus.
Dr. Faustus, a great man of knowledge, sought to gain more knowledge by making a pact with the devil. He thought that the god of the underworld, a created being, could make all knowledge, even the forbidden knowledge, available to him. This was the first deception.

Faustus deceived himself into believing that there is no hell. This is his second deception. Faustus believed in the Elysian Fields, the place of abode for the virtuous mortals or those given immortality by divine favor. He thought that he would spend eternity debating and learning from the great philosophers of ancient times. Faustus even asks Mephistopheles "What is Hell?" The answer should have caused Faustus to shiver and turn to the God he had renounced.

"Why this is hell, nor am I out of it. Thinks't thou that I, who saw the face of God, and tasted the eternal joys of heaven, am not tormented with ten thousand hells in being deprived of everlasting bliss! O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands, which strike terror to my fainting soul."

Even through the warnings of Mephistopheles of the reality of hell, Faustus would not listen. He was deceived by his own lust for knowledge, fame and power. Faustus believed that he had greater strength, as a man, than had Mephistopheles.

"What, is great Mephistopheles so passionate for being deprived of the joys of heaven? Learn thou from Faustus manly fortitude, and scorn those joys thou never shalt posses."