the opinion that he is always or usually dressed in a
fool's costume has absolutely no justification'.
fool's costume has absolutely no justification'.
Ben Jonson - The Devil's Association
Sc.
1 and Act 5.
Sc.
6.
In
the latter he reverses the usual process and carries away the devil to
hell. This point has already been discussed (p. xxiv).
Aside from these two particulars, Iniquity is far nearer to the fool
than to the original Vice. As he comes skipping upon the stage in the
first scene, reciting his galloping doggerel couplets, we see plainly
that the element of buffoonery is uppermost in Jonson's mind. Further
evidence may be derived from the particularity with which Iniquity
describes the costume which he promises to Pug, and which we are
doubtless to understand as descriptive of his own. Attention should
be directed especially to the wooden dagger, the long cloak, and the
slouch hat. Cushman says (p. 125): 'The vice enjoys the greatest
freedom in the matter of dress; he is not confined to any stereotyped
costume; . . .
the opinion that he is always or usually dressed in a
fool's costume has absolutely no justification'. The wooden dagger, a
relic of the Roman stage,[49] is the most frequently mentioned article
of equipment. It is first found (1553-8) as part of the apparel of Jack
Juggler in a print illustrating that play, reproduced by Dodsley. It is
also mentioned in _Like Will to Like_, _Hickescorner_, _King Darius_,
etc. The wooden dagger was borrowed, however, from the fool's costume,
and is an indication of the growing identification of the Vice with
the house-fool. That Jonson recognized it as such is evident from his
_Expostulation with Inigo Jones_:
No velvet suit you wear will alter kind;
A wooden dagger is a dagger of wood.
The long cloak, twice mentioned (1. 1. 51 and 85), is another
property borrowed from the fool. The natural fool usually wore a
long gown-like dress,[50] and this was later adopted as a dress for
the artificial fool. Muckle John, the court fool of Charles I. , was
provided with 'a long coat and suit of scarlet-colour serge'. [51]
Satan's reply to Pug's request for a Vice is, however, the most
important passage on this subject. He begins by saying that the Vice,
whom he identifies with the house fool, is fifty years out of date.
Only trivial and absurd parts are left for Iniquity to play, the
mountebank tricks of the city and the tavern fools. Douce (pp.
the latter he reverses the usual process and carries away the devil to
hell. This point has already been discussed (p. xxiv).
Aside from these two particulars, Iniquity is far nearer to the fool
than to the original Vice. As he comes skipping upon the stage in the
first scene, reciting his galloping doggerel couplets, we see plainly
that the element of buffoonery is uppermost in Jonson's mind. Further
evidence may be derived from the particularity with which Iniquity
describes the costume which he promises to Pug, and which we are
doubtless to understand as descriptive of his own. Attention should
be directed especially to the wooden dagger, the long cloak, and the
slouch hat. Cushman says (p. 125): 'The vice enjoys the greatest
freedom in the matter of dress; he is not confined to any stereotyped
costume; . . .
the opinion that he is always or usually dressed in a
fool's costume has absolutely no justification'. The wooden dagger, a
relic of the Roman stage,[49] is the most frequently mentioned article
of equipment. It is first found (1553-8) as part of the apparel of Jack
Juggler in a print illustrating that play, reproduced by Dodsley. It is
also mentioned in _Like Will to Like_, _Hickescorner_, _King Darius_,
etc. The wooden dagger was borrowed, however, from the fool's costume,
and is an indication of the growing identification of the Vice with
the house-fool. That Jonson recognized it as such is evident from his
_Expostulation with Inigo Jones_:
No velvet suit you wear will alter kind;
A wooden dagger is a dagger of wood.
The long cloak, twice mentioned (1. 1. 51 and 85), is another
property borrowed from the fool. The natural fool usually wore a
long gown-like dress,[50] and this was later adopted as a dress for
the artificial fool. Muckle John, the court fool of Charles I. , was
provided with 'a long coat and suit of scarlet-colour serge'. [51]
Satan's reply to Pug's request for a Vice is, however, the most
important passage on this subject. He begins by saying that the Vice,
whom he identifies with the house fool, is fifty years out of date.
Only trivial and absurd parts are left for Iniquity to play, the
mountebank tricks of the city and the tavern fools. Douce (pp.
