Scholars in Wittenberg who gossip about and bemoan Faustus's interest in necromancy, rise to power, and damnation. They are emblems of a wider public reaction to Faustus's meteoric rise and fall, and also serve as examples of the scholarly, academic world in which Faustus lives. While devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, they do not put their desire for knowledge ahead of their devotion to God (unlike Faustus) and they pray for Faustus' soul at the end of the play.