FAURE
>07
FAUSTA
successively to the Jesuits' College at Louvain, to Paris, Munich, and Kcms, where he was appointed di- vinit}' reader in the Eni^lish Jesuits' College. He wrote several theological treatises, for an account of ■which, see Watts, Bib. Brit. — Kose, New Gtn. Bior/. Diet. ; Allibonc, Diet, of Authors.
Fanre, Charles, a French Roman Catholic theo- logian, born at Luciennes, near Paris, in 15'J4 ; died Nov. 4, 16-14. He was the first superior-general of the regular canons of the Congregation of France, and de- voted his life to the reform of the religious orders. He is the author of several religious works, among which is the Dictionnaire des Novices (Pai-is, 1711, ito). •— Hoefer, Nouc. Biorj. Glneruk.
Faure, FraiiQois, a French prelate, born Nov. 8, 1C12; died Maj' 11, 1087. He entered the Franciscan order at the age of seventeen, and rose to the highest positions therein ; was appointed sub-preceptor of Louis XIV, and finally bishop of Amiens. Wc have from him a condemnation o{ the Lettres Provinciales ; an Ordonnance conire le Nouvecm Testament de Mons (1673) : a Punlguiique de Louis A'/F(Paris, 1G80, 4to) ; an Oraison fanebre de la reine Anne d'.iutriche (died 1660); and an Oraison fun'ebre de Ilenriette- Marie de France.^ reine de la Grande-Bretagne (Paris, 1070, dto). — Hoefer, Nouv. Blag. Generale.
Faust, Dn., according to tradition, a celebrated deal- er in the black art. (The following account, chiefly' translated from Pierer, Universal-Lexikon, is taken from Chambers, Encyclojjxdia, s. v.) He was born probaldy about A.D. 1480, at Knittlingen (or Kundlingon), in Wiirtemberg, or, as some say, at Koda, near Weimar. He is said to have studied magic at Cracow. "After having spent a rich inherit:ince left him bj' his uncle, Faust is alleged to have mado use of his ' power' to raise or conjure up tha devil, with whom he entereil into a contract for twenty-four j'ears, obtaining during that time his fill of earthly pleasure, but at its termi- nation surrendering body and soul into the hands of the great enemy. The devil gave him an attendant spirit or daemon, called Mephistopheles. though other names are given him by the later traditionists, with whom he travelled about, enjoying life in all its forms, and astonishing people b}' working wonders, till he was finall}' carried off by the Evil One, who appeared in terrible guise between twelve and one o'clock at night, at the village of Rimlich, near Wittenberg, though several other places lay claim to that vcr}' questionable honor. Some have doubted, considering- the monstrously mythical form in which his career has come down to us, wliether such an individual as Faust ever existed ; but it is now generall}' believed that there was a basis of fact, on which tradition has built its grotesque superstructure. Gorres, indeed, as- serts that one George Sabellicus, who disappeared about tb3 year 1517, is the real Faust ; but Philip Mo- lancthon — the man of all the reformers whose word in regard to a matter of fact would most readily be trust- ed— says that he had himself conversed with Dr. Faus- tus. Conrad Gesner (1561) is equally positive ; and Luther, in his Table Talk, speaks of Dr. Faust as a man lost beyond all hope. The opinion that prevails, and which is reckoned to be intrinsically the more , probalilo, is that some man of this name, possessed of varied knowledge, may possibly have practised jug- glery (fur the wandering savans of the Middle Ages had all a touch of the (juack about them), and thus have been taken by the ignorant people for a dealer in the l)lack art, and one who maintained a secret and intimate relation with evil spirits. His widely diffused celebrity not only occasioned the wonders worked bj- other so-called necromancers of an earlier age — Alber- tus Magnus, Simon Magus, and Paracelsus — to be at- tributed to him, but likewise many ancient tales and legends of a marvellous character were gradually ! transferred to him, till he finally appears as the very [
hero of magicians. But while, on the cne hand, the narrative of Faust's marvels afforded amusement to the people, on the other they were made use of for in- struction by the clergy, who pointed out, in the fright- ful fate of Faust, the danger of tampering with the ' black art,' and the al)ominableness of a life sunk in sensualit}' and vice. The niytii of Faust has received a manifold literary treatment. First come the Volks- biicher (or people's books), which record Faust's enter- prises and feats. The oldest of these now known. ap- peared at Frankfort in 1588. Then came an ' im- proved' edition of the same, by ^^"idmann, entitled Wahrhafiige Historien von denen graulichen Sunden Dr. Joh. Faust's (True History of the Horrible Crimes of Dr. John Faust, Hamb. 3 vols. 1599); and in 1695, a work was published at Niirnberg by Pfitzer, based upon that of Widmann. The oldest of these books was translated into all the civilized languages of Europe. Impostors also published books of magic under the name of Faust, such as Faust's grosser imd gewaltiger Ilollenzwang (Faust's Great and Poient Book of Spells), Fausten's Mirakelhinst (Faust's Art of Performing Miracles), and DreiJ'ache Ilollenzwang (The Threefold Book of Spells). 1 hese wretched productions are fill- ed throughout with meaningless scrawls and figures, interspersed with texts from tiie Bible scandalously misapplied ; but in the belief of the vulgar, they were supposed capable, when properlj' understood, of accom- plishing prodigies. That the poetical art should in due time have seized on a suljject affording so much material for the fancy to work upon was inevitable, and consequently German literature aljounds in ele- gies, pantomimes, tragedies, and comedies on Faust. Since the end of the 17th century, tlie Puppenspiel (Puppet-show) of Dr. Faust (puldished at Leipsic in 1850) has been one of the most popular pieces in Ger- many. It forms the transition from the rudo magic tales concerning Faust to the later philosophic con- ception of the Faust-mvth, which has become the most perfect poetical expression of tlie eternal strife between good and evil in tho joul of man. The first writer who treated the sto.y of Faust dramatically was the English writer Christopher Marlowe, about the j-ear 1000 (German translation by AV. Miiller, Berlin, 1818): but the grandest work on the subject is Goethe's Faust, the iirst part of which appeared under the title of Dr. Faust, ein Truuerspitl (Leip. 1790), and afterwards in a remodelled form, under the title of Faust, ei/te Trag- oJle (Tubingen, 1808). The second part was published after the author's death, at Stuttgart, in 1833. Be- sides Goethe's drama may be mentioned Lessing's masterly fragment, Faust und die S/eb'n Geister (Faust and the Seven Spirits^ G. F. L. IMiiller's Br. Faust's Leben (Dr. Faust's Life, Mannh. 1778), and Klinger's Fausfs Leben, Tkaten, und HijUenfahrt (Fa.usVs Life, Doings, and Descent into Hell ; Petersburg and Leip. 1791). The plastic art has also found a fit sut)ject in Faust. In Aucrbach's cellar at Leipsic, where Faust is said to have performed many of his feats, are two rude daubs of the year 1525, representing Faust and Mephistopheles riding out of the cellar on a wine-bar- rel. Rembrandt and Christopli von Sichem have also illustrated the story of Faust, and, in modern times, Cornelius and Retzsch have done the same. See Pe- ter, Die Literatur der Faustsage (The Literature of the Faust Myth), 2d edit. Leip.' 1851."