PROPOSITION

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

Metadata

Play	The Sophister (Fallacy, or The Troubles of Great Hermenia)
Author	Zouche, Richard
Year (catalogued)	1639
First performance	1614
Decade	1630s
Genre	Comedy
Play type	University
Speech prefix(es)	Prop. \| Propo. \| Pro.
Words	360
Characters	2070
Typicality	0.38 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id	A15873
BritDrama no.	1922
Cluster	Cluster 18 — Chronicle statesmen & prelates

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

Now my Lords, as you love your selves, or respect the State, employ your careful providence with all expe dition. O, I shall speak too soon: Our Lord Discourse, is fallen stark mad. Nay, worse than this. Demonstration, Topicus, and Fallacy, are hight in con tention who must govern. If that three Dukedoms, all of equal worth, To these three, all thrice-worthy, noble Lords Should by our sentence be distributed, I quickly would decide all doubt; but now All having equal interest in my love, All equally deserving in mine eyes, I swear I know not whom I should prefer Before the rest, lest I should do the rest More injury than right to him: therefore Let me entreat you take some other course, For the determining of this weighty strife. Oh act Heroical! And what was in the viol you named? Sir, would you go your fair direction might assist us much. It's Ambiguity. My Lord, we have surprised here One of his chief and nearest followers, But of himself, as yet we cannot learn. I know not how: but now he seems exceedingly to affect him. No not by any inquisition. Now we may pity our confederates, But cannot as we ought, bewail their state. Our nearer griefs do hugely overflow The just proportion of all humane woe. Opposition and Contradiction contending for the rule, Have wounded each the other wilfully. Oh strange! will any drug cause madness? Happy Hermenia, if again she see Discourse recovered, and for ever bound To your discreet good will and worthy love Vouchsafed to us, in your friendly presence. Here's one well practised skilful, fortunate Analysis, who hath well nigh recured The life-despairing brother's, Topicus and Demonstration. We thank you Sir, but we must speak with him. Sir if you will needs know our business. Of Capital Treason, we arrest you here, As conscious of all those vild designs, Which gainst our Sovereign and his worthy sons, Against this state, and those distressed Ladies Of poor Verona, late have been contrived By Fallacy and you his damned creature. Come, let us have him to our Sovereign. He shall exa mine him himself.

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…

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