Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

DEMONSTRATION

in The Sophister (Fallacy, or The Troubles of Great Hermenia) — Zouche, Richard

Metadata

PlayThe Sophister (Fallacy, or The Troubles of Great Hermenia)
AuthorZouche, Richard
Year (catalogued)1639
First performance1614
Decade1630s
GenreComedy
Play typeUniversity
Speech prefix(es)Demon. | Demo. | Dem.
Words336
Characters1869
Typicality0.30 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA15873
BritDrama no.1922
ClusterCluster 8 — Martial kings & Roman gravity

Important excerpts

Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 8 (massinissa, yaw, league, renown, quasi, apud…). Matches are highlighted.

closer working Nature have set forth, The hidden cause locked from common eyes In deep, scarce-searchable Obscurity, I opened wide to his illustrious view. I the renowned Champion of Truth, Have her defended against her proudest foes, And many combats for her honour fought, Never returning conquered from the field, And therefore

Full speech

Not I; is he gone? He bid me call up young Lord Intellect. What is the matter? Not well, and stand we talking? Come let us seek him out. Then why do not some dim & purblind Stars, Corrivals with the thrice most glorious Sun, Sue at the Throne of Heavens Majesty To ruleth the Day? 'twere less presumption Than this of these competitors of mine: For were not I by my Nobility, And most apparent births prerogative, In all men's sighed, to be preferred, before This Topicus, and bastard Fallacy: Yet were my worth, great worth, beyond compare, To prove my claim just, all-sufficient. I from the State long since have banished Gross ignorance, and that her cursed spawn, Vild superstitious Admiration, The Tyrant of the vulgar simple minds: I the chief Shewer to my Lord Discourse, All the most strange and wonderful effects Of closer working Nature have set forth, The hidden cause locked from common eyes In deep, scarce-searchable Obscurity, I opened wide to his illustrious view. I the renowned Champion of Truth, Have her defended against her proudest foes, And many combats for her honour fought, Never returning conquered from the field, And therefore now to any scorn to yield. And 'twould no less befit you Topicus To know your self, and learn of Fallacy To yield unto your betters. Brave spirit, and can I endure To be called base and abject? Rather as the Lightning shall my courage pierce Through any Clouds, that likely are to obscure My brighter glory. And shall my brother seek to thrust me down, And I endure it O the name of a King Is better than the common vulgar name Of Brother. Topicus, look to thy self, He that my right and honour shall deny, If I do live and breath, shall surely die. I do confess I know thee not, for Demonstration Looks not so low, with his inquiring eye, In greater matters only busied. Go fetch thy weapons, I will not be long.

Plot summary

Plot — The Sophister (Fallacy, or The Troubles of Great Hermenia)
. . The envious bastard Fallacy Sat to Sdtiinintent a oo to his father, Discourse, which will drive him-mad. His eager servant, Ambiguity, provides two options, one of |. - which will only induce drunkeriness. During. a’ - telling-off, Fallacy slips his father the drug and Discourse’s attitude changes: Fallacy becomes his. favourite son. The madness disables Discourse from being the ruler of Hermenia, so a regent must be _ appointed. Fallacy bribes Opposition to support his claim against his legitimate younger brothers, Topicus and Demonstration. He also tells Invention and ~ Judicium that Intellect has left. the kingdom, and persuades them to go looking for him; in fact, he has Intellect under lock and key. The counsellors debate. - the three brothers’ claims, and Topicus fights a duel : ar with Demonstration in which both are. wounded. -. Fallacy becomes Regent, appoints Opposition his chief -. counsellor, and banishes the others who supper’ Bs ' ' brothers. Hermenia declines ehder Fallacy’s jindtighbened. x rule. He locks up Scientia and Opinion, his brothers’ fiancées, and their mother, Truth. His attempts to woo © - Scientia are rebuffed, but he tricks Opposition into thinking that the lady is willing but unable to accepthis ©. proposal because Judicium knows her secret vows to... - _.the- contrary. ls Judicium. Fallacy then persuades Opposition’s son, Contradiction, to fight a duel ‘with an unknown. ~°0° | opponent. Father and son fight. and wound one Tae ‘another with poisoned _rapiers. we Opposition -undertakes to murder. Ambiguity gets his enemy, Distinction, dusk: steals ~ his clothes, and leaves him to pay the alehouse bill. . Distinction is left in Ambiguity’s clothes, and, mistaking his identity, Fallacy gives him the-insanity ~ - drug to put away. Entrusted with the keys, Distinction discovers Intellect and the imprisoned ladies. ‘He tests the drug on a dog, then administers it to Fallacy’s followers, who duly go mad. The two. wounded - - ‘brothers are cured by the surgical ministrations of __Analysis, and Equipolence. the apothecary brings Opposition and Contradiction back from the brink of death to tell their story of Fallacy’s $ perfidy. Analysis. a also cures Discourse. . - oo Realizing that the game is up, vi Putlagy swaps. clothes BS with Ambiguity, ostensibly to. practice making. his _ excuses when called-to account by Discourse, but in _ fact to procure a disguise in which to escape. Ambiguity - is arrested. Discourse pronounices…
Generated automatically from cluster_xy_table__archetype.csv. View other characters in this group on the Cluster 8 — Martial kings & Roman gravity page.