THE NEW SCIENCE AND COMEDY 105 



Madness of the two". And yet to be a "fool" with Boyle and 

 Newton is better than to be witty — with some dramatists. 



Fools are pretenders. The knowledge which the scientists pro- 

 fess in comedy is all bluff; if it be a virtue, they have it not. Sir 

 Nicholas, when face to face with the mob, confesses he never did 

 anything of use; Valeria deserts her "dear, dear Philosophy" for 

 the arms of her lover; Veterano, for all his study of "rarities", is 

 easily fooled with some "modern antiques"; Dr. Boliardo, after 

 years of observing the moon, is deceived into thinking he sees a 

 nymph up there when Scaramouch holds a picture before the tele- 

 scope; Fossil can not distinguish between a real mummy or a real 

 alligator and men dressed in costumes from the theatre. IMopus 

 finds "terms" (learned language) to be three-fourths the physi- 

 cian's knowledge; Drench and Gregory become doctors without a 

 course in medicine ; Lady Science is " a great Pretender to Phil- 

 osophy". None of these "inferior members of the tribe" have the 

 learning which they profess. 



But, even although they did have the knewledge, says comedy, 

 it would be of no use. Here is the essential criticism in all of this 

 satiric representation of science. "This foolish Virtuoso does not 

 consider that one Bricklayer is worth forty Philosophers"."^ "So 

 it is Knowledge, 'tis no matter of what","* says Longvil of Sir 

 Nicholas. "And yet, by your favor, Sir, of what use can they 

 IjgM 143 Pedro inquires of Veterano, the Antiquary. The greatest 

 virtuoso of them all had not ' ' invented even so much as an Engyne 

 to pare Cheese with"."® The study of antiquities only wasted good 

 money; the study of insects and fishes and all the phenomena of 

 nature merely cracked the brains, spoiled women for wives,"^ men 

 for husbands,"* made girls foolish,"'^ boys pedantic. ^'^° Such knowl- 

 edge might be a very fine thing; but "there's no Philosophy like 

 Love", there is no science equal to commonsense. Therefore, Sir 



^*^The rirtuoso, Act IV, Bruce. 

 i^Ibid. Act III. 

 ^*^The Antiquary, Act II. 

 >« The Virtuoso, Act V. 



"' The Female Virtuosoes, Sir Maurice, — "Who ■would marry Wit". 

 '*8 The Cheats, Mrs. Mopus, — "I wonder what I'm better for a husband in you. 

 Here you sit moping and moping all day upon a book," Act I, sc. 3. 

 ^** Of. Valeria and Sophronia. 

 ""Of. Carlos. 



