Editing Mephistopheles (section)

== Origins ==
Around the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries in Europe, the age of witchcraft waned, and the Devil became more of a fixture in literature until the later eighteenth century. Once the idea of Satan's "metaphysical existence" seemed less pressing, he became a symbol in literature representing evil characters, evil meanings, corruption, etc.<ref name="Easlea 105–106">{{Cite journal |last=Easlea |first=Brian |date=1989-02-01 |title=<scp>jeffrey burton russell</scp>. ''Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1986. Pp. 333. $24.95 |url=https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/94.1.105 |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=105–106 |doi=10.1086/ahr/94.1.105 |issn=1937-5239|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Sometimes, authors had a more sympathetic depiction of Satan, which would later be called the Romantic Devil. Those who believed in pantheistic mysticism<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Starr |first=Reginald H. |date=1901 |title=Christian Mysticism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27528139 |journal=The Sewanee Review |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=30–40 |issn=0037-3052}}</ref>— the belief that an individual experiences a mystical union with the divine, believing that God and the universe are one—often held that the angels fell from Heaven because they loved beauty and wanted to have Heaven for themselves.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus in cage |url=https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9956530.cmp.24 |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=doi.org|doi=10.3998/mpub.9956530.cmp.24 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> This idea led to the work ''Faust''  by  [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] (1749-1832), in which Goethe created his version of the Devil, Mephistopheles. Goethe's Mephistopheles has been highly influential.<ref name="Easlea 105–106"/> [[Image:Mephistophiles Passau 1527.jpg|thumb|right|''MEPHISTO_PHILES'' in the 1527 ''Praxis Magia Faustiana'', attributed to Faust]]

=== Devil vs. Mephistopheles ===
The Enlightenment and Romantic eras in Europe increased the variety of views of the Devil.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Russell |first=Jeffrey Burton |url=https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501703331 |title=The Prince of Darkness |date=2016-03-10 |publisher=Cornell University Press |doi=10.7591/9781501703331 |isbn=978-1-5017-0333-1}}</ref> The Devil, also known as Satan or Lucifer, is understood to be the chief adversary of God. He is the leader of the fallen angels and the chief source of evil and temptation. The Devil is the ruler of Hell and is the prince of evil spirits. In the Christian tradition, the Devil is a creation who was subject to the divine will and who misused the divine nature.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Easlea |first=Brian |date=1989-02-01 |title=jeffrey burton russell . Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World . Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1986. Pp. 333. $24.95 |url=https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/94/1/105/147393 |journal=The American Historical Review |language=en |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=105–106 |doi=10.1086/ahr/94.1.105 |issn=1937-5239|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Mephistopheles is seen as Hell's messenger, making him the servant of the Devil. In the Faust legend, he plays the roles of trickster, liar, cheater, and negotiator, making deals for souls, although he can also be intelligent, ironic, and charming. Mephistopheles can shapeshift into any animal, person, knight, etc., through magic and illusion.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Russell |first=Jeffrey Burton |title=The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History |date=2016 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-0333-1 |location=Ithaca}}</ref> He is the opponent of beauty and freedom, and he causes the death of the individuals and works to ruin lives.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Easlea |first=Brian |date=1989-02-01 |title=jeffrey burton russell . Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World . Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1986. Pp. 333. $24.95 |url=https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/94/1/105/147393 |journal=The American Historical Review |language=en |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=105–106 |doi=10.1086/ahr/94.1.105 |issn=1937-5239|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==== Etymology and Name Meaning ====
The name ''Mephistopheles'' is a corrupted [[Greek language|Greek]] [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]].<ref name=":0">
{{cite book
 |last=Snider |first=Denton Jaques
 |year=1886
 |title=Goethe's Faust: A commentary
 |publisher=Sigma
 |pages=132–133
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=um8oAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA132
 |language=en
}}
</ref>
The Greek [[particle (linguistics)|particle]] of [[Affirmation and negation#Negation|negation]] (μή, ''mē'') and the Greek word for "[[philia|love]]" or "loving" (φίλος, ''philos'') are the first and last terms of the compound, but the middle term is more doubtful.

Three possible meanings have been proposed, and three different etymologies have been offered: 
*"not loving light" or "not a friend of light" <ref name=":3" />(φῶς, ''phōs''; the old form of the name being ''Mephostopheles'')
*"not loving Faust" or "not a friend of Faust"<ref name=":3" />
*''[[wikt:mephitic|mephitic]],'' pertaining to poisonous vapors arising from pools, caverns, and springs.<ref name=":0" />
Mephistopheles' name was possibly taken from the Hebrew words "mephiz", or destroyer, and "tophel", or slander. The name was invented for the historical [[alchemist]] [[Johann Georg Faust]] by the anonymous author of the first ''[[Faustbuch]]'' (published 1587).<ref name=":1" /> Mephistopheles was not previously part of the traditional magical or demonological lore. In the play, ''[[Doctor Faustus (play)|Doctor Faustus]]'' (1604)'','' created by Christopher Marlowe, Mephistopheles was written more as a fallen angel than as familiar demon. In the drama [[Faust]], written in two parts by J.W. von Goethe, Mephistopheles appears as cold-hearted, humorous, and ironic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lackland |first=Caroline Eliot |date=1882 |title=Mephistopheles |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25667926 |journal=The Journal of Speculative Philosophy |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=320–329 |issn=0891-625X}}</ref>