Topic 39 — Profit, conscience and dishonest dealing
Dominant work: The Three Ladies of London · genre mix of this topic (British Drama labels): moral 78%; comedy 7%; satire; dialogue 6%
54chunks
26,897words
14works
3works with ≥3 chunks
37 %dominant work
78 %top-3 works
All statistics on this page are on the representative editions (one per work). Including the other editions, placed after the fit: 56 chunks · 16 works · 27,866 words — those 2 chunks are listed at the end of the page and are not part of any figure above.
Classificationcross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · confirmed by the researcher Label (researcher): Profit, conscience and dishonest dealing Notes (researcher): sample review supports profit, conscience and dishonest dealing beyond Wilson: exposed knavery in Wily Beguiled and unequal justice in Impatient Poverty. Recommend inclusion with a content label, while retaining the strong Wilson concentration as a sensitivity flag. Reviewed excerpts (three different works): 155_00015; 548_00035; 53_00006.Original AI draft — before researcher review
draft label: Lucre, Conscience and Usury personified (Wilson's London plays) · pattern basis: shared_narrative+recurring_role_or_name 54 chunks, 14 works, Three Ladies of London 37 % + Three Lords and Three Ladies 35 % = 72 %. Wilson's personified vices and virtues (Lucre, Conscience, Simony, Fraud, Usury) with a few allegorical neighbours (Microcosmus). Two-play cluster. chunks read for the draft: 146_00003;155_00010;813_00008;1045_00018;548_00035;114_00008;238_00005
Wilson, Robert, 1592 · moral · 20 chunks of this work here
Come lady Conscience, will you walk home from this company? With right good will, for their sights likes not me. Fraud is the clubbish knave, and Usury the hard hearted knave And S…
Wilson, Robert, 1590 · moral · 19 chunks of this work here
No, I am one more than is in the deck, but you'll be smelled as soon as ye begin to speak, I'll see what they'll say to me: hear ye you women, wives, widows, maids, men's daughters…
Anonymous, 1619 · satire; dialogue · 3 chunks of this work here
Faith not I, not much, saving that I have heard many years ago that he was a reasonable honest man but for's religion, and they say still he's a kind of a Papist. What a rascal 'st…
Sharpham, Edward, 1607 · comedy · 2 chunks of this work here
Faith at Court Fleire, when wert thou there? Faith but yesterday, where I saw a farmer's Son sit newly made a courtier, that sat in the presence at cards, as familiar as if the cha…
Anonymous, 1561 · moral · 1 chunks of this work here
I said it to make you sport and game I cry you mercy, I was to blame I see ye are some virtuous man Shortly hence that way thou came For here thou shalt not be Good Lord some succo…
B., R., 1575 · tragedy · 1 chunks of this work here
And sayest thou so my sured friend, than hap as hap shall hit, Let Constance grope, & judgement crave, I will not shrink one whit I well persever in my thought, I will deflower her…
Woodes, Nathaniel, 1581 · moral · 1 chunks of this work here
But sith PHILOLOGUS is nought else, but one that loves to talk, And common of the word of God, but hath no further care, According as it teacheth them, in God's fear for to walk, I…
Wilson, Robert, 1594 · moral · 1 chunks of this work here
Faith and you had kept your news until now, ye should have been my guest, for your talk would have served well for the table. That's a practice of thine own art: it makes thy compa…
Genre mix (chunks of this topic, British Drama labels)
moral
42 (78 %)
comedy
4 (7 %)
satire; dialogue
3 (6 %)
tragedy
2 (4 %)
masque
2 (4 %)
history
1 (2 %)
This is the direction topic → genre, on the raw British Drama labels; the share of each genre group's text that falls in this topic is on the Genre page.
The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London (1590) · typ. 0.91 …am married to painful penury: Look now my proud stately masters, I may if I will, & you would if ye might. No, not dwell with such a beggar as Conscience. No, Fraud near loved Conscience since he was an Ostler. Who cares for Conscience but dies a beggar? That will not Usury do, he will first take 3. score pound in the hundred. love, look …
The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London (1590) · typ. 0.91 …n, Than Caesar did in Rome his Laurel wear. Lord policy hath Love unto his Fere. Lord pomp hath Lucre to maintain his port, Lord pleasure Conscience to direct his sport. Usury is marked to be known, Dissimulation like a shadow fleets, And Simony is out of knowledge grown, And Fraud unfound in London but by fits. Simplicity with painful pe…
The Three Ladies of London (1592) · typ. 0.90 Come lady Conscience, will you walk home from this company? With right good will, for their sights likes not me. Fraud is the clubbish knave, and Usury the hard hearted knave And Simony the diamond dainty knave, And Dissimulation the spiteful knave of spade. Come there any more knav…
The Three Ladies of London (1592) · typ. 0.89 …y men care not what they forsake, so lady Lucar they win. That we poor ladies may sigh to see our states thus turned and tossed, and worse and worse is like to be, where Lucar rules the roast. You say the truth, yet God I trust will not admit it so, that Love and Conscience by Lucars lust shall catch an overthrow. Good ladies rest content…
The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London (1590) · typ. 0.88 …ue in thy need Whom thou by licence of the law mayst use, tenders himself, and all his services to do thy will in duty as tofore, Glad of thy freedom as his proper life. Lady Lucre, you love an apple, take heed the Caterpillar consume not your fruit. Why who is it that maketh this latest suit? 'tis usury. Great is the service he hath done…
The Three Ladies of London (1592) · typ. 0.87 …oon as I can tell ye, For now I ha' gold, I would fain have some good meat in my belly. Nay i'll hie me after, that I may send back lady Loves gown. For I would not have Love bought quite out of town. marry for Conscience tut, I care not two straws, Why I should take care for her, I know no kind of cause. Oh what shall I say? Usury hath u…
The Three Ladies of London (1592) · typ. 0.85 …l him secretly. Come ye miserable drudge, and receive thy death. Help good lady, help, he will stop my breath. Alas I would help thee, but I have not the power. Farewell lady Conscience, you shall have Hospitality in London nor England no more. O help, help help some good body. Who is that calls for help so hastily? Out alas thy fellow Us…
The Three Ladies of London (1592) · typ. 0.85 … God hath ordained this way, I am to use the mean, Have ye any old shoes, or have ye any boots, have ye any bufkins, or will ye buy any broom. Who bargains or chops with Conscience, what will no customer come? Who is it that cries brooms, what Conscience selling brooms above the street? What Usury, it is great pity thou art unhanged yet. …
The Three Ladies of London (1592) · typ. 0.85 … will steal, you will rob, you will kill in your hate: I deny you, I defy you, then cease off your talking, I refrain you, I disdain you, therefore get you walking. What Fraud, Dissimulation, Usury, and Simony, How dare you for shame presume so boldly, As once to show yourselves before Love and Conscience, Not yielding your lewd lives fir…
The Three Ladies of London (1592) · typ. 0.84 …e, I pray you walk in with me, And as I find you kind to me, so will I savour ye, Me tank my good Lady. But M. Dissimulation, here is for your fellows, Fraud, Usury, and Simony, and say me give it dem. I marry Sir, these bribes have welcome been, Good faith I perceive, Dissimulation, Fraud, Simony and Usury shall live In spite of Love and…
The Three Ladies of London (1592) · typ. 0.84 … every man's fall: Both he and Lucar hath so pinched us, we know not what to do, Were it not for Hospitality, we knew not whither to go. Great is the misery that we poor ladies abide, And much more is the cruelty of Lucar and Usury beside. O Conscience, thou art not accounted of, O Love, thou art little set by, For almost every one, true …
The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London (1590) · typ. 0.84 …ut a while, and serve mine own turn and away. Master Usury come hither, you desire to serve me, you have done Lady Lucre good service you say, but it was against God and Conscience you did it, neither ever in your life did ye any thing for Love: Well to be short, serve me you shall not, and I would I could banish you from London for ever,…
All 54 chunks of the representative editions (chronological; click a header to sort)