Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

DAMNATION

in All for Money — Lupton, Thomas

Metadata

PlayAll for Money
AuthorLupton, Thomas
Year (catalogued)1578
First performance1577
Decade1570s
GenreMoral
Play typeInterlude
Speech prefix(es)Damnation
Words295
Characters1549
Typicality0.62 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA06480
BritDrama no.621
ClusterCluster 22 — Ghosts, curses & horror voices

Important excerpts

No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).

Full speech

¶ I am fearful Damnation through sin procreated, To such as in sin have all their felicity And die without repentance I shall be adnexed: But the repentant sinner that obtains Gods mercy, Shall enjoy the heavens far separate from me: Therefore father Sin to thee be endue honour, That in bringing forth of me thou tookest such pains and labour. ¶ Fare well most sweet father I am loath to depart, So soon to be trudging, it grieves me at the heart. ¶ Come, come you woeful wights, t'is folly now to prate, To speak, complain, or else of matters to debate: Away unto that doleful place whereas the devil lies, The best cheer that you shall have there, is groan and gnash of teeth. Of money thou so greedy wast thy master to betray, And after in despair thou madest thy self away. And thou didst pamper up thy gorge, and poor didst not regard, Wherefore thy last assured hope is hell for thy reward. Where is now thy money, wherefore soldst thou thy master? Where is now thy fare wherein thou hadst thy pleasure You would not take heed while that you were king, Therefore you must pay for it in hell without ending. I think if on the earth you were alive again You would not from your pleasures for all this refrain: For the most partly on the earth do live so wickedly That they think there is no hell to punish sin truly: In money they have great love, in pride they do exceed, In gluttony and lechery their lives they do still lead. ¶ Away, away you wretched souls to hell you must needs go, And such as die as you have , shall dwell with you also.

Plot summary

Plot — All for Money
The play satirizes the domination of money in a sequence of discrete episodes. Theology, Science, and Art lament that they are now primarily studied out ofa desire for money. Money becomes ill and vomits up Pleasure, who in turn gives birth to Sin in the same manner, whose progeny in turn is Damnation. Satan is pleased that Money’s wide popularity will consign so many souls to hell, and asks Sin to assist in the process. The relative values of money and learning are assessed in an encounter between four characters who have or lack them in various permutations: learning is shown to be superior to money, and poverty in this world carries the promise of a heavenly reward in the next; the clinching point is that Learning with Money gives alms to the poor where Money without Learning refuses. Money feels overworked and Sin gives him an associate, All for Money, who presides over a corrupt court: he pardons theft and assault, infanticide, and bigamy, but hangs a poor thief who is unable to bribe him. He also advises two suitors to procure false witnesses to support their causes, and protects a corrupt and incompetent cleric. Judas and Dives, two souls damned for monetary sins, lament their situation; Damnation drives them off to hell. Godly Admonition warns the audience not to repent too late, and to give up cupidity.