Editing Mephistopheles (section)

=== 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}}</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}}</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>