Leave me alone!
SATAN
One moment more, I pray,
Of your kind patience. Sir, ere you proceed,
I have a word to give you. I have heard
Tales of your cleverness in foiling twice
The Devil who sought to lead you to resign
Your will to his. Perhaps it was not well
That you so spurned his euthanasia.
By your own devious path, you come at last
To where all facts are vain, all visions fade,
And your old wager is a laughing-stock,
So valueless your will, so vain your power
To shape one end of hope. Life crumbles, falls,
Around you; and your kind with horror see
Your utter nakedness. But I have brought
A little present for you: not so nice
As two the Devil once offered in its place;
Yet 'twill suffice. Men who would cheat the Devil
Come, with a curious unanimity,
To where the lump of lead becomes a boon
Unto the soul rejecting easier sleep.
The Devil claims his own in his own day.
(He approaches the platform, and offers to Faust a pistol)
YOUNG STUDENT
What is he saying?
CHILD
Are they going to shoot?
YOUNG PLUMBER
Bang yourself one! That's what it's for.
BUTCHER