This quote echoes a very important topic, which is tightly intertwined with my dissertation. My work is all about a character who possessed great knowledge, but without goodness turned it to evil. Of course, I am talking about Doctor Faustus, for he is such a great illustration for the words of saint Paphnutius. In the tragedy written by Christopher Marlowe we see a successful scientist, a medic, and, which is important, a doctor of theology. But this very lack of goodness in Faustus let all his knowledge and effort go in vain. He knew the subjects of all the major sciences, but perceived not what was the final goal of them. Faustus had no God in his heart, nor did he acknowledge his immortal soul as the essential part of his self. And not only did it lead to the damnation of his soul, but he also himself became a preacher of destruction and death, spreading his unholy magic and corrupting the weak souls of the people around him, for he became an instrument of Satan.

Indeed, we can see that knowledge is at times more harmful than helpful if put in use with malicious or ungodly intent. People discover, describe and utilize laws of nature to create mass destruction weapons, instead of having as the final goal of their research a better vision of this world made for men by God.

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