No More Learning

HOR. _de_ ART. POET.
_Ficta voluptatis Cau? a, ? int proxima veris. _

[DEVICE OF A GRIFFIN'S HEAD ERASED]

_LONDON_.

Printed by _I. B. _ for ROBERT ALLOT, and are
to be ? old at the ? igne of the _Beare_, in _Pauls_
Church-yard. 1631.




THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY.

SATAN. _The great diuell. _ [93]
PVG. _The le? ? e diuell. _
INIQVITY. _The Vice. _
FITZ-DOTTRELL. _A Squire of_ Norfolk.
Mi? tre? ? e FRANCES. _His wife. _ 5
MEERE-CRAFT. _The Proiector. _
EVERILL. _His champion. _
WITTIPOL. _A young Gallant. _
MANLY. _His friend. _
INGINE. _A Broaker. _ 10
TRAINES. _The Proiectors man. _
GVILT-HEAD. _A Gold-? mith. _
PLVTARCHVS. _His ? onne. _
Sir POVLE EITHER-SIDE. _A Lawyer, and Iu? tice. _
Lady EITHER-SIDE. _His wife. _ 15
Lady TAILE-BVSH. _The Lady Proiectre? ? e. _
PIT-FALL. _Her woman. _
AMBLER. _Her Gentlemanv? her. _
SLEDGE. _A Smith, the con? table. _
SHACKLES. _Keeper of Newgate. _ 20

SERIEANTS.

_The Scene_, LONDON.




The Prologue.


_The_ DIVELL _is an_ A? ? e. _That is, to day,
The name of what you are met for, a new Play.
Yet, Grandee's, would you were not come to grace
Our matter, with allowing vs no place.
Though you pre? ume_ SATAN _a ? ubtill thing, 5
And may haue heard hee's worne in a thumbe-ring;
Doe not on the? e pre? umptions, force vs act,
In compa? ? e of a chee? e-trencher. This tract
Will ne'er admit our_ vice, _becau? e of yours.
Anone, who, wor? e then you, the fault endures 10
That your ? elues make? when you will thru? t and ? purne,
And knocke vs o' the elbowes, and bid, turne;
As if, when wee had ? poke, wee mu? t be gone,
Or, till wee ? peake, mu? t all runne in, to one,
Like the young adders, at the old ones mouth? 15
Would wee could ? tand due_ North; _or had no_ South,
_If that offend: or were_ Mu? couy _gla? ? e,
That you might looke our_ Scenes _through as they pa? ? e.
We know not how to affect you. If you'll come
To ? ee new Playes, pray you affoord vs roome, 20
And ? hew this, but the ? ame face you haue done
Your deare delight, the_ Diuell _of_ Edmunton.
_Or, if, for want of roome it mu? t mi? -carry,
'Twill be but Iu? tice, that your cen? ure tarry,
Till you giue ? ome. And when ? ixe times you ha' ? een't, 25
If this_ Play _doe not like, the Diuell is in't. _

[93] Dramatis Personae 1716, f. G places the women's names after those
of the men.

[94] 1, 2 Devil 1692, f.

[95] 4 Fabian Fitzdottrel G

[96] 5 Mrs. Frances Fitzdottrel G || His wife] om. G

[97] 9 Eustace Manly G

[98] 10 Engine 1716, f.

[99] 12 Thomas Gilthead G

[100] 15 His wife] om. G

[101] 18 Gentleman-usher to lady Tailbush G

[102] 21 Serjeants, officers, servants, underkeepers, &c. G

[103] 22 The] om. 1716, W

[104] The Prologue. ] follows the title-page 1716, W

[105] 5 _subtle_ 1692 f.

[106] 10 than 1692, f. passim in this sense. Anon 1692, f.

[107] 12 o'] on G?

[108] 14 till] 'till 1716

[109] 25 ha'] have G?




THE DIVELL IS AN ASSE. [95]


ACT. I. SCENE. I.


DIVELL. PVG. INIQVITY.

Hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh, hoh, &c.
To earth? and, why to earth, thou foooli? h Spirit?
What wold'? t thou do on earth?

PVG. For that, great Chiefe!
As time ? hal work. I do but ask my mon'th.
Which euery petty _pui'nee Diuell_ has; 5
Within that terme, the Court of _Hell_ will heare
Some thing, may gaine a longer grant, perhaps.

SAT. For what? the laming a poore Cow, or two?
Entring a Sow, to make her ca? t her farrow?
Or cro? ? ing of a Mercat-womans Mare, 10
Twixt this, and _Totnam_? the? e were wont to be
Your maine atchieuements, _Pug_, You haue ? ome plot, now,
Vpon a tonning of Ale, to ? tale the ye? t,
Or keepe the churne ? o, that the buttter come not;
Spight o' the hou? ewiues cord, or her hot ? pit? 15
Or ? ome good Ribibe, about _Kenti? h_ Towne,
Or _Hog? den_, you would hang now, for a witch,
Becau? e ? hee will not let you play round _Robbin_:
And you'll goe ? owre the Citizens Creame 'gain? t Sunday?
That ? he may be accus'd for't, and condemn'd, 20
By a _Middle? ex_ Iury, to the ? atisfaction
Of their offended friends, the _Londiners_ wiues
Who? e teeth were ? et on edge with it? Fooli? h feind,
Stay i' your place, know your owne ? trengths, and put not
Beyond the ? pheare of your actiuity. 25
You are too dull a Diuell to be tru? ted [96]
Forth in tho? e parts, _Pug_, vpon any affayre
That may concerne our name, on earth. It is not
Euery ones worke. The ? tate of _Hell_ mu? t care
Whom it imployes, in point of reputation, 30
Heere about _London_. You would make, I thinke
An Agent, to be ? ent, for _Lanca? hire_,
Proper inough; or ? ome parts of _Northumberland_,
So yo' had good in? tructions, _Pug_.

PVG. _O Chiefe! _
You doe not know, deare _Chiefe_, what there is in mee.
35
Proue me but for a fortnight, for a weeke,
And lend mee but a _Vice_, to carry with mee,
To practice there-with any play-fellow,
And, you will ? ee, there will come more vpon't,
Then you'll imagine, pretious _Chiefe_.

SAT. What _Vice_? 40
What kind would? t th' haue it of?

PVG. Why, any _Fraud_;
Or _Couetou? ne? ? e_; or Lady _Vanity_;
Or old _Iniquity_: I'll call him hither.

INI. What is he, calls vpon me, and would ? eeme to lack a _Vice_?
Ere his words be halfe ? poken, I am with him in a trice; 45
Here, there, and euery where, as the Cat is with the mice:
True _vetus Iniquitas_. Lack'? t thou Cards, friend, or Dice?
I will teach thee cheate, Child, to cog, lye, and ? wagger,
And euer and anon, to be drawing forth thy dagger:
To ? weare by Gogs-nownes, like a lusty _Iuuentus_, 50
In a cloake to thy heele, and a hat like a pent-hou? e.
Thy breeches of three fingers, and thy doublet all belly,
With a Wench that shall feede thee, with cock-? tones and gelly.

PVG. Is it not excellent, _Chiefe_? how nimble he is!

INI. Child of hell, this is nothing! I will fetch thee a leape 55
From the top of _Pauls_-? teeple, to the Standard in _Cheepe_:
And lead thee a daunce, through the ? treets without faile,
Like a needle of _Spaine_, with a thred at my tayle.
We will ? uruay the _Suburbs_, and make forth our ? allyes,
Downe _Petticoate-lane_, and vp the _Smock-allies_, 60
To _Shoreditch_, _Whitechappell_, and so to Saint _Kathernes_.
To drinke with the _Dutch_ there, and take forth their patternes:
From thence, wee will put in at _Cu? tome-hou? e_ key there,
And ? ee, how the Factors, and Prentizes play there,
Fal? e with their Ma? ters; and gueld many a full packe, 65
To ? pend it in pies, at the _Dagger_, and the _Wool-? acke_.

PVG. Braue, braue, _Iniquity_! will not this doe, _Chiefe_?

INI. Nay, boy, I wil bring thee to the Bawds, and the Roy? ters,
At _Belins-gate_, fea? ting with claret-wine, and oy? ters,
From thence ? hoot the _Bridge_, childe, to the Cranes
i' the _Vintry_, 70
And ? ee, there the gimblets, how they make their entry!
Or, if thou had? t rather, to the _Strand_ downe to fall,
'Gain? t the Lawyers come dabled from _We? tmin? ter-hall_ [97]
And marke how they cling, with their clyents together,
Like Iuie to Oake; so Veluet to Leather: 75
Ha, boy, I would ? hew thee.

PVG. Rare, rare!

DIV. Peace, dotard,
And thou more ignorant thing, that ? o admir'? t.
Art thou the ? pirit thou ? eem'? t? ? o poore? to choo? e
This, for a _Vice_, t'aduance the cau? e of _Hell_,
Now? as Vice ? tands this pre? ent yeere? Remember, 80
What number it is. _Six hundred_ and _? ixteene_.
Had it but beene _fiue hundred_, though ? ome _? ixty_
Aboue; that's _fifty_ yeeres agone, and _? ix_,
(When euery great man had his _Vice_ ? tand by him,
In his long coat, ? haking his wooden dagger) 85
I could con? ent, that, then this your graue choice
Might haue done that with his Lord _Chiefe_, the which
Mo? t of his chamber can doe now. But _Pug_,
As the times are, who is it, will receiue you?
What company will you goe to? or whom mix with? 90
Where can? t thou carry him? except to Tauernes?
To mount vp ona joynt-? toole, with a _Iewes_-trumpe,
To put downe _Cokeley_, and that mu? t be to Citizens?
He ne're will be admitted, there, where _Vennor_ comes.
Hee may perchance, in taile of a Sheriffes dinner, 95
Skip with a rime o' the Table, from _New-nothing_,
And take his _Almaine_-leape into a cu? tard,
Shall make my Lad _Maiore? ? e_, and her ? i? ters,
Laugh all their hoods ouer their shoulders. But,
This is not that will doe, they are other things 100
That are receiu'd now vpon earth, for Vices;
Stranger, and newer: and chang'd euery houre.
They ride 'hem like their hor? es off their legges,
And here they come to _Hell_, whole legions of 'hem,
Euery weeke tyr'd. Wee, ? till ? triue to breed, 105
And reare 'hem vp new ones; but they doe not ? tand,
When they come there: they turne 'hem on our hands.
And it is fear'd they haue a ? tud o' their owne
Will put downe ours. Both our breed, and trade
VVill ? uddenly decay, if we preuent not. 110
Vnle? ? e it be a _Vice_ of quality,
Or fa? hion, now, they take none from vs. Car-men
Are got into the yellow ? tarch, and Chimney-? weepers
To their tabacco, and ? trong-waters, _Hum_,
_Meath_, and _Obarni_. VVe mu? t therefore ayme 115
At extraordinary ? ubtill ones, now,
When we doe ? end to keepe vs vp in credit.
Not old _Iniquities_. Get you e'ne backe, Sir,
To making of your rope of ? and againe.
You are not for the manners, nor the times: [98] 120
They haue their _Vices_, there, mo? t like to _Vertues_;
You cannnot know 'hem, apart, by any difference:
They weare the ? ame clothes, eate the ? ame meate,
Sleepe i' the ? elfe-? ame beds, rid i' tho? e coaches.
Or very like, foure hor? es in a coach, 125
As the be? t men and women. Ti? ? ue gownes,
Garters and ro? es, foure? core pound a paire,
Embroydred ? tockings, cut-worke ? mocks, and ? hirts,
More certaine marks of lechery, now, and pride,
Then ere they were of true nobility! 130
But _Pug_, ? ince you doe burne with ? uch de? ire
To doe the Common-wealth of Hell ? ome ? eruice;
I am content, a? ? uming of a body,
You goe to earth, and vi? it men, a day.
But you mu? t take a body ready made, _Pug_, 135
I can create you none: nor ? hall you forme
Your ? elfe an aery one, but become ? ubiect
To all impre? ? ion of the fle? h, you take,
So farre as humane frailty. So, this morning,
There is a hand? ome Cutpur? e hang'd at _Tiborne_, 140
Who? e ? pirit departed, you may enter his body:
For clothes imploy your credit, with the Hangman,
Or let our tribe of Brokers furni? h you.
And, looke, how farre your ? ubtilty can worke
Thorow tho? e organs, with that body, ? pye 145
Among? t mankind, (you cannot there want vices,
And therefore the le? ? e need to carry 'hem wi' you)
But as you make your ? oone at nights relation,
And we ? hall find, it merits from the State,
Your ? hall haue both tru? t from vs, and imployment. 150

PVG. Most gracious _Chiefe_!

DIV. Onely, thus more I bind you,
To ? erue the fir? t man that you meete; and him
I'le ? hew you, now: Obserue him. Yon' is hee,
_He ? hewes_ Fitz-dottrel _to him, comming forth_.
You ? hall ? ee, fir? t, after your clothing. Follow him:
But once engag'd, there you mu? t ? tay and fixe;
Not ? hift, vntill the midnights cocke doe crow.

PVG. Any conditions to be gone.