In the first line of the indicated passage of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Faustus shows his arrogance. This character trait can only be understood in reference to the overall context. Faustus has tried "the utmost magic can perform" and called on Belzebub (i.e., the foremost adversary of God, Satan; also spelled Beelzebub), "Orientis princeps / Belzebub," and has conjured the demon Mephistophilis, commanding him to appear.

Mephistophilis (sometimes called Mephisto), after having been sent away once to improve his appearance, asks Faustus what he wants after first giving Faustus the impression that he is "[f]ull of obedience and humility": "How pliant is this Mephistophilis, / ... / Such is the force of magic and my spells."

Mephisto then says, "Now, Faustus, what wouldst thou have me do?" Faustus replies that he wishes Mephisto to act according to Faustus's commands, regardless of what laws of divine natural order his commands might break:

I charge thee wait upon me whilst I live,
To do whatever Faustus shall command,
Be it to make the moon drop from her sphere,
Or the ocean to overwhelm the world.

Mephisto replies with what will later be critical to the unfolding of the play by saying he serves only Lucifer:

I am a servant to great Lucifer,
And may not follow thee without his leave:
No more than he commands must we perform.

This background leads into the quoted passage, the language of which reveals some important points about Faustus's character. Faustus's arrogance is revealed in the background and confirmed when he says, "This 'damnation' terrifies not him [Faustus]" while speaking of himself in the third person.

Faustus’s reason for not being terrified of damnation is that he treats hell as being identical with heaven: "For he confounds hell in Elysium." Some explanation of this line is needed. This meaning of "confound" is identified in the Collins Dictionary as being the act of mistakenly treating one thing as identical to another. In addition, "Elysium" is defined by American Heritage Dictionary as a place of ideal happiness, in other words, the heaven of Greek mythology, which was reserved for the "blessed ones who had died." So Faustus is saying to Mephisto that hell to him is heaven. It is interesting to note that Mephisto contradicts this later: "Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it: / ... / being depriv'd of everlasting bliss."

Another thing language reveals about Faustus is that he shares the same sins that led to Lucifer (i.e., Belzebub) being cast out of God's heaven. Lucifer was guilty of "aspiring pride and insolence; / For which God threw him from the face of heaven," which is exactly what Faustus's arrogance leads him to as is proven by the fact that he dared to conjure Mephisto. Another thing revealed is indirectly implied from Mephisto's comment about himself. He says:

Think'st thou that I, who saw the face of God,
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells,
In being depriv'd of everlasting bliss?

This language implies that Faustus, who is part of the hell that Mephistophilis suffers, is equally far removed from God, joy, bliss, and goodness.