which man is
bound to thank for every thing great that he is capable of, fired my
breast; from my early youth the numerous examples of tyranny and
oppression which I saw with my eyes, or read of in history, roused my
soul and inflamed me to fury. Often did I shed tears because I felt
myself unable to avenge the sufferings of mankind. To increase my
misery, I read in the history of the Greeks and Romans what advancement
man made in virtue when tyrants were put down, and he was left to follow
the bent of his own nature. Think not that I am one of those fools whose
idea of freedom is that every one should do as he pleases. Full well I
know that the capacities of men are different, and that their situations
in life must be different; but when I considered the laws which should
secure to each individual his life and property, I found nothing but a
wild chaos, which tyrannical power had artfully mixed up in order to make
herself the sole and arbitrary mistress of the happiness and the
existence of the subject. After this discovery, the whole human race
appeared to me as a flock of sheep, which a band of robbers had conspired
to plunder and devour by means of laws enacted by themselves, and to
which they themselves are not amenable: for where is the law that fetters
the rulers of the earth? Is it not madness that those very people who,
by their situations, are most liable to the abuse of their passions, are
subservient to no law, and acknowledge no tribunal which can call them to
account? Misery is near, and promised vengeance is far off; and that
chimes-in but poorly with the feelings and nature of man." Faustus
earnestly listened to all this, looked furious, and struck his forehead
with his hand. The Devil was quite enraptured with the orator, who
continued:

"The wild indignation which I expressed at every new act of oppression
does honour to my heart, and therefore I care very little though my
enemies can reproach me for want of prudence; for what is termed prudence
by the world is nothing else than blind submission, servility, flattery,
and being unscrupulous how or in what manner a place is obtained; but an
independent being like myself seeks for happiness by purer means. I had
the misfortune to be allied, by the bonds of friendship, to the present
Minister from the time we were at school together. He sought
advancement, and he has the spirit which insures it; for, from his very
infancy, he has endeavoured to