“Marlowe’s ‘Tragical History of Doctor Faustus’ concerns a German scholar who sells his soul to the devil so as to unlock the secrets of nature and conquer the world, very much including the fabled Orient from where the richest colored fabrics and dyes came. ‘Faustus’ can be read today as an old-fashioned morality play, and no doubt even in Marlowe’s time it was a delight for its exaggeration. But the images and the language endure. The devil may have been banished to the world of fable and children’s literature, but the poetic truth of selling one’s soul to the devil is probably more relevant today than it was in 1600, for now it is an everyday occurrence and technology can be truly apocalyptic. Who needs the devil when you have MBAs and AK-47s, his favorite calling cards?”