80 THE NEW SCIENCE AND ENGLISH LITERATURE 



is not consistently possessed with this new humor, where he is not 

 a scientist but a man about town, engaging in base intrigues like 

 other comic characters, (Longvil) "For all his Virtue and 

 Philosophy, this grave Fool will be in the fashion too".** Into 

 these scenes the dramatist did not bring his science as he brought 

 Sir Formal wdth his Rhetoric, and Snarl with his hatred of every- 

 thing later than 1642. Sir Nicholas must be in his laboratory, 

 surrounded by his apparatus, his flies, spiders, mites and maggots, 

 or his is an ordinary, indistinguishable comic character. His 

 scientific humor, therefore, is superficial; it is obviously tacked on 

 to him and not an essential part either of him or of the plot. The 

 point is that Sir Nicholas is a pretender to this scientific knowledge 

 and it is this pretense against which the satire is aimed, and not 

 against the true-blue Greshamites. 



Although Sir Nicholas Gimcrack is Shadwell's master effort, 

 he did return in other comedies to touch upon the scientific humor. 

 In the Squire of Alsatia (1688) the father and the uncle of the 

 young squire discuss the benefit of natural philosophy in the edu- 

 cation of a gentleman. 



"Sir Edward, — He by the way read Natural Philosophy, and 

 had an insight enough into Mathematics. 



Sir William, — Natural Philosophy ! Knows nothing ; Nor would 

 I give for any Mathematician, but a Carpenter, Bricklayer, Meas- 

 ure of Land, or a Sailor. 



Sir Edward, — Some moderate skill in it will use a Man to reason 

 closely. 



Sir "William, — Very Pretty, Reason! Can he reason himself 

 into six Shillings by all this?"*« 



In The Sullen Lovers, 1688, there is a "virtuoso in the character 

 of Lady Vaine Knowall". She prides herself upon her mercurial 

 disposition. "On my conscience", says Lovell, "it is easier to fix 

 quick-silver than your Humour, Madam".*'' This capricious vi- 

 vacity is really her humor, even although she pretends to knowl- 

 edge extraordinary. "That Virtuosa, as calls herself, is the pleas- 

 antest creature I ever saw".*^ In reality there is only a claim to 



"Act III, sc. uit. 

 "■ The Squire of AUatia, Act II. 

 *« The Sullen Lovers, Act II, 8C. 1. 

 *' Ibid. Act II, sc. 1. Caroline. 



