These facts,
however, seem certain, and for the present discussion sufficient: that
the vices of the earlier and of the later moralities represent the
same stock figure; that this figure stood originally for the principle
of evil, and only in later days became confused with the domestic
fool or jester; that the process of degeneration was continuous and
gradual, and took place substantially in the manner outlined by Cushman
and Eckhardt; and that, while to the
playwright
of Jonson's day the
term was suggestive primarily of the buffoon, it meant also an evil
personage, who continued to preserve certain lingering traits from the
character of intriguer in the earlier moralities.
Ben Jonson - The Devil's Association
Chambers concludes therefore that 'the character of the
vice is derived from that of the domestic fool or jester', and that
the term was borrowed by the authors of the moralities from the comic
interludes.
These two views are widely divergent, and seem at first wholly
irreconcilable. The facts of the case, however, are, I believe,
sufficiently clear to warrant the following conclusions: (1) The early
moralities possessed many allegorical characters representing vices
in the ordinary sense of the word. (2) From among these vices we may
distinguish in nearly every play a single character as in a preeminent
degree the embodiment of evil. (3) To this chief character the name of
Vice was applied about 1553, and with increasing frequency after that
date. (4) Whatever may have been the original meaning of the word, it
must have been generally understood in the moralities in the sense
now usually attributed to it; for (5) The term was applied in the
moralities only to a character in some degree evil. Chambers instances
_The Tide tarrieth for No Man_ and the tragedy of _Horestes_, where
the Vice bears the name of Courage, as exceptions. The cases, however,
are misleading. In the former, Courage is equivalent to 'Purpose',
'Desire', and is a distinctly evil character.[46] In the latter he
reveals himself in the second half of the play as Revenge, and although
he incites Horestes to an act of justice, he is plainly opposed to
'Amyte', and he is finally rejected and discountenanced. Moreover
he is here a serious figure, and only occasionally exhibits comic
traits. He cannot therefore be considered as supporting the theory
of the original identity of the fool and the Vice. (6) The Vice of
the comic interludes and the leading character of the moralities are
distinct figures. The former was from the beginning a comic figure or
buffoon;[47] the latter was in the beginning serious, and continued to
the end to preserve serious traits. With which of these two figures
the term Vice originated, and by which it was borrowed from the other,
is a matter of uncertainty and is of minor consequence.
These facts,
however, seem certain, and for the present discussion sufficient: that
the vices of the earlier and of the later moralities represent the
same stock figure; that this figure stood originally for the principle
of evil, and only in later days became confused with the domestic
fool or jester; that the process of degeneration was continuous and
gradual, and took place substantially in the manner outlined by Cushman
and Eckhardt; and that, while to the
playwright
of Jonson's day the
term was suggestive primarily of the buffoon, it meant also an evil
personage, who continued to preserve certain lingering traits from the
character of intriguer in the earlier moralities.
[39] Eckhardt, p. 195.
[40] In W. Wager's _The longer thou livest, the more fool thou art_.
[41] In Wapull's _The Tide tarrieth for No Man_.
[42] Subtle Shift in _The History of Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes_.
[43] In Wilson's _The Three Ladies of London_.
[44] He is so identified in Chapman's _Alphonsus, Emperor of Germany_
c 1590 (_Wks._, ed. 1873, 3. 216), and in Stubbes' _Anat._, 1583.
Nash speaks of the Vice as an antiquated figure as early as 1592
(_Wks._ 2. 203).
