THE ALCHEMIST. THE ARGUMENT. T be sickness bot, a mafter quit, for fear, A Cheater, and his punk; who now brought low, F PROLOGUE. Ortune, that favours fools, these two short hours To th' author juftice, to our felves but grace. No 1 The ALCHEMIST.] By this expreffion is here meant, one who pretends to the knowledge of what is called the philofophers ftone, A 3 which No clime breeds better matter for your whore, The vices that she breeds, above their cure. They fhall find things, they'ld think, or wish, were They are fo natural follies, but so shown, [done; As even the doers may fee, and yet not own. which had the faculty of tranfmuting bafer metals into gold. The profeffors of the art of chemiftry are themfelves (as well as the critics) not entirely agreed about the meaning and etymology of the word: Menage, who affents to Bochart, derives it from an Arabic term, fignifying the occult fcience; and Julius Firmicus, who lived in the time of Conftantine, is faid to be the first writer who uses the word Alchymia. But if the curious reader would be more fully informed of the origin and progrefs of chemiflry, I refer him to the hiftory of it, prefixed to Boerhaave's Chemistry, publifhed by Dr Shaw. But with regard to our poet, in the choice of his fubject he was happy; for the age was then extremely addicted to the study of chemistry, and favourable to the profeffors of it. The following comedy was therefore no unfeafonable fatire upon the reigning foible; fince among the few real artists. there was undoubtedly a far greater number of impoftors. There was alfo at this time a particular controverfy on foot, with the famous Dr. Anthony, about his Aurum Fotabile, which was warmly agitated by the members of the faculty; and we fhall find that our poet alludes to this dispute in fome paffages of the play. ACT ACT I. SCENE I. Face, Subtle, Dol Common. Face. Buy Thy worst. I fart at thee. Dol. Ha' you your wits? why gentlemen! for loveFac. Sirrah, I'll ftrip you Sub. What to do? lick figs Out at my- Fac. Rogue, rogue, out of all your fleights'. [men? Sub. O, let the wild fheep loofe. I'll gum your filks With good strong-water, an' you come. Dol. Will you have The neighbours hear you? will you betray all? Fac. Sirrah 'Fac. Sirrah, I'll ftrip you-Sub. What to do? lick figs Out at my -Fac. Rogue, rogue, out of all your fleights.] Our poet could not poffibly have chofen a happier incident to open his play with. Inftead of opening with a dull narration, you have action; and fuch action too, as cannot poflibly be fupposed to happen at any other time, than this very prefent time. Two rogues with their punk, are introduced quarreiling, and juft fo much of their fecrets is discovered to the audience, as is fufficient for the audience at prefent to know. The reader, perhaps, too is to be informed, that our learned comedian does not deal in vulgar English expreffions, but in vulgar Attic or Roman expreffionsfart at thee, T winas xalaxieden, paupertati oppedere. Ariftophanes in Plut. v. 618. πινιας καλαπέρδειν, and Horace, the polite Horace, did not think himself too delicate for this phrafe: Vin' tu Judæis oppedere curtis. Lib. I. S. 9. ver. 70. What to do? lick figs out at my The allufion here will be very obvious to thofe who have read the story of the punishment inflicted on the inhabitants of Milan by the emperor Frederic Barbaroffa. The facetious Rabelais relates it, B. IV. chap. 45. Sub. I fhall mar All that the taylor has made, if you approach. Fac. You moft notorious whelp, you infolent flave, Dare you do this? Sub. Yes faith, yes faith. Fac. Why, who Am I, my mungril? who am I? Sub. I'll tell you, Since you know not your felf Fac. Speak lower, rogue. Sub. Yes, you were once (time's not long paft) the [good, Honeft, plain, livery-three-pound-thrum, that kept Your mafter's worship's houfe here in the friers, For the vacations Fac. Will you be fo loud? Sub. Since, by my means, translated suburb-captain. Sub. Within man's memory, All this I fpeak of. Fac. Why, I pray you, have I Been countenanc'd by you, or you by me? Sub. I do not hear well. Fac. Not of this, I think it. But I fhall put you in mind, fir; at Pie corner, Sub. I wish you could advance your voice a little. That That scarce would cover your no-buttocks Sub. So, fir! Fac. When all your alchemy, and your algebra, Your conjuring, coz'ning, and your dozen of trades, Sub. Your mafter's house? Fac. Where you have ftudied the more thriving skill Of bawd'ry fince. Sub. Yes, in your mafter's houfe. You and the rats here kept poffeffion. Make it not ftrange. I know yo' were one could keep The which, together with your christmass vails 2 I'll thunder you in pieces: I will teach you That carries tempeft in his hand and voice. Sub. No, your clothes. up Thou vermin, have I ta'en thee out of dung, 2 No, you SCARABE, house. I'll thunder you in pieces.] You fearabe--the beetle bred in dung, and corrupted filth: fo a little lower he explains the phrate, Thou vermin, have I ta'en thee out of dung?" " So |