He is the malevolent conscience, mind and will of the sun god Solaris. Mephistophilis is the second most important dramatic personage in the drama. As Mephistopheles explains after this passage, devils always appear when someone rejects God, in the hopes of gaining that sinner's soul. During the term of the bargain, Faust makes use of Mephistopheles in various ways. What areas of study did Renaissance science primarily consist of? Beelzebub is a corruption of the name of an ancient god of the Middle East, applied to one of the ruling demons of hell, according to Christian folklore. Entry for 'Mephistopheles' - 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica - One of 8 Bible encyclopedias freely available, this resource contained over 40 million words in nearly 40,000 articles written by 1,500 respected authors Literature. In his study table, Faust reads some commentaries on the Bible and philosophical tracts. In many versions of the story, particularly Goethe's drama, Mephistopheles helps Faust seduce a beautiful and innocent girl, usually named Gretchen, whose life is ultimately destroyed. It is an interesting coincidence that the added letter, S, not appearing in the original biblical names, corresponds to the Hebrew letter Samech, which represents, in biblical Hebrew, evil forces! Job. Etymology The name is associated with the story of Faust, a scholar who sold his soul to the demon Mephistopheles for knowledge. Mephistopheles appearance was just a side effect of Faustus's blasphemy. The novel is considered to be one of the most controversial literary works of the 19th century. In Medieval Demonology, Mephistopheles is one of the seven chief devils (and the tempter of Faust). There are several passages in the Bible which must be read in connection with specific lines in the play. Mephistopheles definition, one of the seven chief devils and the tempter of Faust. He is deeply sad because after studying so many tracts and books, he … He tells God that such character is a weakness – that it is impossible to fully understand the cosmos. We need you to answer this question! mephistopheles, [Written Mephostophilus in Shakespeare, Fletcher etc., Mephostophilis in Marlowe, but now generally Mephistopheles, as in Goethe: a made-up name, like most of the names of the medieval devils, but supposed by some to be formed (irregularly) from … Mephistopheles definition, one of the seven chief devils and the tempter of Faust. Much like today's crude interpretations of the devil, Mephistopheles was a skeptic, a gambler, self- confident, witty, stubborn, smart, creative, tempting and of course, evil. Under him are demons cast down from heaven with Lucifer when he coveted God’s rule. Mephistopheles is overtly happy, presumably because he knew that he could easily sway Faust away from God. In Goethe's Faust, Mephistopheles is the personified principle of negation, betting with God that he would succeed to make Faust turn away from God.