The Sophister (Fallacy, or The Troubles of Great Hermenia) · chunk 9 of 32
Zouche, Richard · published 1639 · first performed or written 1614 [c.1614-1620] (Annals) comedy T35 Fools, wit and railing typicality 0.63 · 509 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T35: fool, wit, aristippus, achilles, wise, fools, patroclus, thersites, master, men.
Sure that Irrationale had many Husbands, I have known her married to above Twenty myself. Why? had not all the rest so? Substance, Corpus, and Corpus animatum, my son Privation, if he were here, could tell their names. Where is he? He hath lain a long time bedridden, deaf, blind, and dumb. I am sorry for him. Who are next Definition? Homo begat Socrates, Plato, and the rest. Now thou seest Description, Nature gives with two hands; with one the gifts of the body, with the other the qualities of the mind; so to these men she hath now given more understanding than unto Substance, Corpus, and those in former time. But may it not be doubted, whether Socrates and Plato were of this Country; I could never hear that they had much to do with Substance. 'Tis true, if you mean Substance as the Vulgar do, for wealth: But if you understand it as we do, the Province, questionless they had. I say they had not, and can prove it: They were Philosophers, were they not? Yes. And Philosophers have no place here. And why not Sir? Because ignorant fellows have not, it holds from contraries. So it pleaseth you to conclude Sir; but how prove you that Sir? They are Transcendents over all the Provinces, and therefore cannot rightly be said to be in any. Indeed they say, Homer had seven Cities strove for his Birth, but none ever gave him place of abiding: but I thought Philosophers had more certain abode than a wandering Poet. They are in Substance, for they love to stand by themselves, and depend on none: They are in Quantity, for ignorant men are in number many, in magnitude monstrous. I think least of all in Quantity, for they are rather in number infinite; and I cannot tell whether they have Longitude and Latitude, I am sure they have no profoundness. Profoundness either may be taken for deepness of judgement and understanding, and that they are far from, or for thick grossness, and that in them is most palpable. They are in Quality: for who so fat, fair, strong, and lusty as they? out of Relation they cannot be: You have ignorant Rulers, ignorant Subjects, ignorant Tutors, and ignorant Scholars: who more in Action? who more passionate in all places, at all times? who use more gestures? Who better appareled? For the particulars, you Description, take this our Licence, by which we do authorise you to go through the Country, and take notice of the names and Differences of them all: For us it is sufficient to set down these things in general. Belike Sir, you mean I shall not die in idleness? Shall we proceed to some other Province? I must first have the assistance of Lord Demonstratition; I can do nothing without him. Why send you not Distinction for him? Go tell him we expect his coming; entreat him to make haste. Now my Lords, as you love yourselves, or respect the State, employ your careful providence with all expedition.
nodes 358–386 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 9 of 32 in this edition
Length
509 words · 655 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T35 — Fools, wit and railingcross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.626 (cosine to the topic centroid)
Other seeds
seed 43: T58 · seed 44: unassigned — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
Sure that Irrationale had many Husbands, I have knowne her married to above Twenty my selfe. Why? had not all the rest so? Substance, Corpus, and Corpus animatum, my sonne Privation, if he were here, could tell their names. Where is he? He hath laine a long time bed-ridden, deafe, blind, and dumbe. I am sorry for him. Who are next Definition? Homo begat Socrates, Plato, and the rest. Now thou seest Description, Nature gives with two hands; with one the gifts of the body, with the other the qualities of the minde; so to these men she hath now given more understanding than unto Substance, Corpus, and those in former time. But may it not be doubted, whether Socrates and Plato were of this Countrey; I could never heare that they had much to doe with Substance. 'Tis true, if you meane Substance as the Vulgar doe, for wealth: But if you understand it as we doe, the Province, questionlesse they had. I say they had not, and can prove it: They were Philosophers, were they not? Yes. And Philosophers have no place here. And why not Sir? Because ignorant fellows have not, it holds from contraries. So it pleaseth you to conclude Sir; but how prove you that Sir? They are Transcendents over all the Provinces, and therefore cannot rightly be said to be in any. Indeede they say, Homer had seven Cities strove for his Birth, but none ever gave him place of abiding: but I thought Philosophers had more certaine abode than a wandring Poet. They are in Substance, for they love to stand by themselves, and depend on none: They are in Quantity, for ignorant men are in number many, in magnitude monstrous. I think least of all in Quantity, for they are rather in number infinite; and I cannot tell whether they have Longitude and Latitude, I am sure they have no profoundnesse. Profoundnesse either may be taken for deepnesse of judgement and understanding, and that they are farre from, or for thick grosnesse, and that in them is most palpable. They are in Quality: for who so fat, faire, strong, and lusty as they? out of Relation they cannot bee: You have ignorant Rulers, ignorant Subjects, ignorant Tutors, and ignorant Schollers: who more in Action? who more passionate in all places, at all times? who use more gestures? Who better apparrelled? For the particulars, you Description, take this our Licence, by which we doe authorize you to goe through the Countrey, and take notice of the names and Differences of them all: For us it is sufficient to set downe these things in generall. Belike Sir, you meane I shall not dye in idlenesse? Shall we proceede to some other Province? I must first have the assistance of Lord Demonstratition; I can doe nothing without him. Why send you not Distinction for him? Goe tell him we expect his comming; intreate him to make haste. Now my Lords, as you love your selves, or respect the State, imploy your carefull providence with all expedition.