Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

TOPICUS

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)Top. | Topi. | Topicus. | Topic.
Words411
Characters2240
Typicality0.31 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA15873
BritDrama no.1922
ClusterCluster 6 — Battlefield messengers & soldiers

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

Sir, will it please you to drink this morning? I have forgotten it. Now what strange passion hath befallen my father I I wonder that he did so fawn upon Unworthy Fallacy; yet that may be Proceeded from a Father's tender love. But he look't ghastly, and his colour changed, And seemed to grow forgetful what he did; I pray this humour hold not. How now Brother? Met you your Father? Nay I swear I know not; But I do fear all is not well with him. I protest I am amazed. If any words of mine may find attention, In your not yet fully possessed ears, Nor shall it seem presumption to you Judicious Lords, which seems so palpable To prejudicious Demonstration, That I my title dare maintain with him; Your reverend wisdoms are not ignorant That though he hath been honoured more of late, Yet was I bo ne before him; then if he For birthright claimeth ought, it's endue to me: Nor to his high prized worth inferior, Are my deserts not und ervalued? If he his foe in close and narrow lists Have, as he bravely vaunts, encountered, And that not often, for none-profiting Only, self-pleasing, Contemplation, The single combats oftener fought by me In just defence of your impaired rights, Are no less famous, no less known to you: Beside, I always in the Champion field Of Rhetoric well levied forces led, Chief Mustermaster to the Sovereign Liege, Our high Commander and chief General, Under Truths colours many skirmishes I have endured, wone many Victories: Then let me for the King, for truth, for you, In all your causes never wont to fail, For mine own self in this mine own prevail. But I shall think so till I meet with thee. You say true: To know my self I well may learn of him, For you are ignorant, and know me not, Else I persuade my self, as he to both, You would give place to me. O somewhat 'twas you never could know your self, Your higher gazing thoughts could never descend To so vild abject a baseness. Thou mistakest, Those words were only spoken unto me. And Contradiction calls thee slothful Lord. May the soulest mouths Of the base vulgar spit upon the face Of my unspotted credit, if for want Of courage I abandon these my Hope's. Found Demonstration, rather than I'll yield, Appoint the place, I'll meet thee in the field.

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 6 — Battlefield messengers & soldiers page.