The Knowledge of Good and Evil
The quest for knowledge and learning has been occuring since the creation of mankind. Ever since the serpent in the Garden of Eden tempted Eve to eat the forbidden apple from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, promising she would wise as the gods, man has been battling with this endless pursuit. Some men want wisdom so that they may be able to live a good and righteous life. Other men want only the power that knowledge can bring them, to use it for their own sinful purposes.
Literature tells the history of two very different men who had this desire for wisdom; King Solomon in the Old Testament, remembered for his wisdom and uprightness; and the legendary Doctor Faustus, known for his sinful pact with the devil. While driven by opposing forces, both men wanted to be exceedingly wise, and each had an encounter with a remarkable woman because of it.
The bible recounts the story of the great King Solomon, the son of the notable King David. By following God and his commandments, David had built his empire into a legacy, which was then passed on to Solomon. Soon after Solomon’s reign began, the Lord appeared to him in a dream, offering him anything he desired. Solomon’s request was wisdom and knowledge, so that he may govern his people fairly, and know the difference between good and the bad.
Therefore, God granted Solomon wisdom, that of which no one before or since has had in such abundance. And because Solomon chose wisdom, showing concern for his people, God decided to reward him with not only knowledge, but with riches and honor to set him apart from all other kings in history. Solomon then used his riches to build an official house for the lord, to show his love and reverence for God Almighty.
Solomon’s reputation quickly spread, reaching the Queen of Sheba. Intrigued, she visited him, bringing rich gifts with her: spices, gold, precious stones. The queen was very smart herself, almost an equal in money and riches to Solomon. Upon meeting Solomon though, the queen was immediately impressed by his wisdom. She soon converted to his religion, swearing that his God must indeed be the greatest.
Solomon’s righteousness and virtue are the antithesis of Doctor Faustus, the title character of Christopher Marlowe’s play, “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.” In this story, we see a man with n...
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...all too human desire for pleasurable things.
Had it not been for the enticement of having Helen in his bed, Faustus may have repented, and turned from his deal with the devil. But because he let his baser desires rule him, Faustus promised to do whatever necessary for the devil, just so that he may have Helen of Troy as his “paramour.” This carnal desire sealed Faustus’ fate, and in the end, he is taken away to hell by fiends.
Obviously, the desire for knowledge and the power that comes with it can be either a wonderful blessing or a damning curse. Solomon is an instance of how knowledge and power can be used for good. When encountering a beautiful, exotic woman, Solomon kept a level head and impressed her with his supreme brilliance and power. Solomon didn’t let his lusty desires rule his life; he let God hold the reins.
On the other hand, there is Doctor Faustus, whose arrogance and sinfulness led to his own downfall. At a point when he was considering turning away from the devil, Faustus lets the promise of fleshly pleasures with a beautiful woman steer him back to the devil. Although he was granted unlimited knowledge, Faustus clearly didn’t learn anything.
Solomon, a slave, had been a leader when he worked in the cotton fields in the South. One day he decided to fly back to Africa with his youngest son, Jake, leaving behind his wife Ryna and their twenty other children.
Livvie watched Solomon as he slept. She wondered what he might be dreaming about "He might be dreaming of what time it was, for even through his sleep he kept track of it like a clock, and knew how much of it went by, and waked up knowing where the hands were even before he consulted the silver watch that he never let go." (P. 89) Solomon exhibited control in all areas of his life--he planted his bottle trees to keep evil spirits away from his home, he had a clean dirt yard, and he evenly planted his roses on either side of the house. (P. 86) Knowing he owned these possessions, I believe, gave Solomon the feeling he controlled his life.
We see from this passage that Solomon is a loving devoted husband and father. He understands the relationship between a father and his children. Solomon appears through this writings to have been a good father.
Our knowledge is a key to our success and happiness in our life to give us personal satisfaction. Knowledge is power but not always. Sometimes our self-awareness and growth as an individual gives us negative thoughts that make us want to go back to undo it. Everyone wants to unlearn a part in our life that brought us pain and problems. Good or bad experiences brought by true wisdom can be used for our self-acceptance, self-fulfillment and these experiences would make us stronger as we walk to the road of our so called “life”, but Douglas’s and my experience about knowledge confirmed his belief that “Knowledge is a curse”. Both of us felt frustrated and sad from learning knowledge.
Knowledge is the cornerstone of Paradise Lost . Adam and Eve must not eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan pinpoints Adam and Eve’s vulnerability in their ignorance of evil. Adam worries that he may seek knowledge that displeases God. Raphael praises Adam’s thirst for knowledge and warns him about obsessively seeking knowledge that is useless. Eve eats the fruit because she wants to know how ...
In Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, the ill-fated protagonist serves as stark example of what is to come of man when he strays from God’s grace. In the play, Dr. Faustus deliberately shuns religion and rationalizes his ever-unsatisfied pursuit of knowledge, ultimately leading to a pact with the demon Mephistopheles. The Doctor’s sinful actions and inability to repent are a display of his own free choices and how he willingly chooses his downfall. A key scene in which Faustus ignores a warning of his fate-to-come is when Mephistopheles presents an outdated and unfulfilling explanation of the cosmos. While some critics have argued his lacking description of the universe is simply to torment Faustus, upon further scrutiny it becomes evident this is only one of many red flags Faustus disregards out of pride in intelligence, a reflection of his deliberate choosing to discount God.
Having attained all that he desires from the knowledge of man, Marlowe’s character Faustus turns to the only remaining school of thought that he feels he must master which is the art of necromancy. In his pursuits, he manages to summon the devil Mephistopheles, arch demon of hell, and strikes a deal to trade his immortal soul with Lucifer in exchange for being granted an infinite amount of power and knowledge that extends even beyond the limits of human understanding. However in the process of negotiating the terms of his pact, it becomes clear that Faust is in a constant state of uncertainty in terms of whether he should repent and forsake the arrangement or simply go through with it. This underlying theme of internal struggle is introduced very early and reappears in later acts with the appearance of established binaries that suggest a theme of division not only among the character of John Faustus, but within the written text as a whole. This suggests that Faustus is meant to serve as a symbol for the divided nature of man and the consequences of failing to negotiate the struggles that are a result of the divided self.
Finally, Israel had a permanent place to offer sacrifice, worship and receive atonement. In 1 Kings 3:13-14, God promised Solomon wealth and honor, he would have no equal. And if he kept God’s decrees and commands as his father David, God promised a long life. King Solomon was known as the wisest and wealthiest king in ancient times (1 Kings 4:31). Nevertheless, he did not walk as his father David or God walked.
Faustus, too, is a superior being. He consciously removes the yoke of academia, and exerts his free will. After freely entering into his contract with Lucifer, he repeatedly considers repenting. When he calls on Christ to help "save distressed Faustus' soul," the evil trinity of Lucifer, Belzebub, and Mephostophilis appear, possibly to tear him to pieces. Under duress, he vows, "never to name God or pray to him." However, with only one-half hour left on earth, he calls on God. Faustus, forever the horse trader, tries to strike a deal with God. He asks God, for Christ's sake and blood, to limit his time in hell from a thousand to a hundred thousand years.
Faust’s extreme subjectivity explains why the love affair with Margarete, so quickly displaces the original plot. The scene between Mephistopheles and the student adumbrates the turn to love, and after a brief traditional episode from the Faust chapbook in ‘Auerbach’s Tavern’ – into
King Solomon, known as the wisest man in the world wrote and coauthored biblical text giving instruction on wisdom and Godly living. Proverbs, King Solomon’s first book, contains prose and poetry and to note wrote by a young King Solomon. Proverbs 21: 5 reveals, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty” (New International Version). Proverbs 16:16-17 affirms, “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver! The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their ways preserve their lives”. This essay provides insight of these verses meaning and its blessing to one that adheres its principles.
In Faust, the intelligent gentleman Faust, seeks spiritual wholeness in knowledge. Through years of hard study, Faust becomes knowledgeable in math, sciences and religion and yet he becomes inept and incapable of having any romantic or physical relationships with the outside world. As Faust strives to become the "over man" through knowledge, he realizes that books will not satisfy his curiosity and that maybe sensual pleasures will. Therefore, in the process of creating his new life, Faust, becomes distant and unconcerned with all reality and humanity around him.
The play progresses to Faustus gaining power but doing nothing productive with it because he has no wisdom to guide himself on. Faustus wishes for power and has plans looking forward to his future life but as he gains it, he starts to lose his wisdom as power clearly took a toll on his mind. He becomes a performer for an emperor and finally ends up believing there is no redemption for his life as he knows he has sinned against God before and after his deal with the devil which what he believes - his last straw with God. Faustus crumbles after he has too much of the weight of power in his hands to the point it ruins him, as he has no wisdom to properly organize his goals or
Snow, Edward A. "Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and the Ends of Desire." Two Renaissance Mythmakers: Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Ed. Alvin Kernan. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. Print.
Doctor Faustus act of sin is very similar to what human being faces everyday in our lives. We all want to learn and want to gain knowledge and while achieving what we want, we make mistakes and fall but we continue with our path and we also know how not to make same mistakes twice. Faustus’s act of selling his soul was all because of him being ambitious to gain power that he never had, and he exchanges the twenty-four years of power with his soul. Faustus wanting to gain power and wanting to have knowledge of something that he never had is very similar to what we want in our lives. Humans always seek for something new and something to achieve. We have curiosity and jealousy that makes us going forward rather than staying still in one place. So when I was reading this play, I felt the connection with Faustus and felt the ending was such tragedy. I felt sympathy when Doctor Faustus said, “O soul, be changed to little water drops and fall into the ocean. Ne-re be found. My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!” (Scene 13. 108-110) This phrase was very emotional because it shows Faustus’s ...