in Histriomastix, or The Player Whipped — Marston, John
Metadata
Play
Histriomastix, or The Player Whipped
Author
Marston, John
Year (catalogued)
1610
First performance
1599
Decade
1610s
Genre
Moral
Play type
Boys Professional
Company
Unknown
Speech prefix(es)
Pry. | Pride. | Pryd.
Words
444
Characters
2565
Typicality
0.26 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A03405
BritDrama no.
1314
Cluster
Cluster 2 — Allegory, Nature & pageant voices
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
Then thus, (as sovereign Empress of all sins) Pride turns her hour and here her Scene begins. Lawyers and Merchant's met! bestir thee Pride. Fortune and health attend you Gentlemen. Men call me Pride, and I am Plenties heir: Immortal, though I bear a mortal show. Are not you Lawyers, from whose reverend lips Th'amaxed multitude learn Oracles? Are not you Merchant's, that from East to West. From the antartieke to the Arctic Poles, Bringing all treasure that the earth can yield? Then use your wisdom to enrich your selves, Make deep success high Steward of your store. Enlarge your mighty spirits, strive to exceed, In buildings, riot, garments gallantry. For take this note: The world the show affects, Plain Virtue, (vilely clad) is counted Vice, And makes high blood endure base praeiudice. Broke with the least touch of a golden wire. True, had you no means to excel the same, But having power, labour to ascend, The fame's of mighty men do never end, Yes for blind bats and birds of lazy wing. Why beasts themselves, of bounds are discontent, Spend me your studies to get offices, Then stooping suitors with uncovered heads May groaning come, unboweling the bags, Of their rich burdens, in your wide mouthed desks. True charity begins first at home, Here in your bosoms dwell your dear-loved hearts, Feed them with joy; first crown their appetites, And then cast water on the care-scorch't face, Let your own longings first be satisfied, All other pity is but foolish pride. All to be brave, else all of no respect, It is the habit, does the mind deject. The puffed up spirits of the greater sort. Shall make them scorn the abject and the base; the impatient spirit of the wretched sort, Shall think imposed duties their disgrace, Poor naked need shall be as full of pride, As he that for his wealth is Deifide. Brave minds, now beautify your thoughts with pomp, Send forth your Ships unto the furthest Seas, Fetch me the feathers of the Arabian Birds, Bring Mermaids combes, and glasses for my gaze: Let all your sundry imitating shapes, Make this your native soil, the land of Apes. Then Ladies trick your trains with Turkish pride, Plate your disheau led hair with ropes of Pearl, Wear sparkling Diamonds Like twinkling stars, And let your spangled crowns shine Like the Sun, "If you will fit in throne of state with Pride, "The newest fashion (still) must be your guide. Vain. Vainglory vows to lackey by thy foot, Till she hath swollen men's hearts with Arrogance. Oh these be Lawyers! Concords enemies, Prides fuel shall their fire of strife increase.
Plot summary
Plot — Histriomastix, or The Player Whipped
Under the benevolent rule of Peace, various orders of society turn to learning in their different ways: Mavortius and his fellow noblemen and gentlemen become students of the liberal arts, professional people appoint the scholar Chrisoganus as their lecturer, and some artisans organize themselves as a company of players, Sir Oliver Owlet’s Men. However, the new reign of Plenty tempts many of them away from their studies, leaving only Chrisoganus loyal. While the lawyers and merchants take advantage of the leisure of the vacation to go hunting, Mavortius entertains his guests with a play given by Owlet’s Men. Plenty is succeeded by Pride, who encourages a dedication to fashion and a neglect of proper decorum: the lawyers and merchants enrich themselves unjustly, Mavortius dismisses many of his servants to release more money to spend on pleasure, and both Chrisoganus (who has turned playwright) and Owlet's Men price themselves out of the market. Next, Envy comes to power, causing class resentment in the realm: the citizenry’s adoption of the latest fashions causes resentment among the nobility, envious behaviour disrupts the players’ rehearsal, and Mavortius becomes belligerent. The next ruler is War, under whom the players are conscripted as soldiers, Mavortius fights with his friends, the common people rise in rebellion against their social superiors, and the Spanish invade the realm. Out of this chaos comes Poverty, leading aristocrats, merchants. and peasants alike to debt, bankruptcy, and famine. Owlet’s men, unable to pay their taxes, are banished from the realm. Finally Poverty and her associates are expelled by the return of Peace and Plenty. Queen Elizabeth also appears, in the guise of Astraea, and the play ends with the five lesser rulers resigning their sceptres to Peace.