A Cautionary Tale

Faustus begin thine incantations,

Take good care to draw thy circle true,

By god must you prevail -

For if you fail these

Demons make a meal of you.

Your soul shall be their meat -

A kingly feast for them to eat,

Beware your future at hand,

Alas for thou art dammed.

[good angel:]

"faustus seek repentance,

Abjure this evil art,

Cease this wretched wickedness

And cleans thy foolish heart,

For the evil that once served you

Has made of you a slave,

And transformed your bed of roses'

To a premature grave."

Then in a mighty flash of light

Before thee mephistopheles appears.

[faustus:]

"i charge thee go and change thy shape,

For you fill my soul with fear.

Now swift-as-hell back to the fire

Return an old franciscan friar."

[mephistopheles:]

"mortal command me while you can,

For surely thou art dammed."

[bad angel:]

"faustus be thou resolute

In what thou wilst perform,

Ignore these righteous idiots -

Their trinity to scorn,

For years of depravation you receive eternal life,

But fame and wealth and maidens-fair

Are by far the better price."

[faustus:]

"temptations all around me,

Is there nowhere i can turn?

Hellfire is all about me,

Now i know that i shall burn,

I face excommunication for the error

Of my ways - to burn in hell for all my days.

Bell, book and candle, candle, book, bell,

Forwards and backwards to damn me to hell.

Jehova i beg thee have mercy on my soul.

Be gone foul beast that stands before me,

My god! the midnight hour chimes,

Oh lord have mercy he comes for me,

I haven't got much time.

I am awake this is no dream,

I cry - but terror takes my scream,

And now my future is at hand,

Also for i am dammed."

[good angel:]

"think for just one moment

And i'm sure that you will see,

The moral of this story -

That what shall be must be.

He who gives his soul to hell,

Must dare to pay the price,

He versed in divinity must

Live a noble life -

Or else he is damned!