The Candlebearer.

Through this philosophy my soul grows great, and my intellect is magnified. 1

Therefore, whatever the point of this evening I await might be—if
change is true: I, who am in the night, await the day; and those
who are in the day, await the night. Everything that is, is either here,
or there; near, or far; now, or later; soon, or late. Rejoice, 5

then, and if you can, stay healthy, and love those who love you.

[6] Argument and order of the comedy

There are three main subjects woven together in the present comedy:
the love of Bonifacio, the alchemy of Bartolomeo, and the pedantry
of Mamphurio. However, for a clear understanding of the subjects, the 10

logic of the order, and the evidence of the artful weaving: let us
first present the insipid lover by himself; second, the sordid miser;
third, the clumsy pedant. Of these, the insipid man is not without clumsiness
and sordidness. The sordid one is likewise insipid and clumsy. And the clumsy
one is no less sordid and insipid than he is clumsy. 15

Bruno is explaining that while the play follows three different men, their character flaws—lust, greed, and intellectual vanity—are all interconnected and equally foolish.

In Act 1. Scene one: in love with Lady Vittoria, and realizing
that his love could not be reciprocated (the reason being that
she was a lover—as they say—of "flowers of beards and fruits of purses" An idiomatic way of saying she prefers men who are both young and wealthy.;
and he was neither young nor generous), he places his hope in the va- 20

nity of magical superstitions to achieve his amorous goals. For
this reason, he sends his servant to find Scaramuré, who had
[7] been described | to him as an effective magician. Scene 2. Having sent Ascanio,
he discourses with himself, calling to mind the value of that art.
Scene 3. Bartolomeo comes upon him and, with a certain artful trick, 25

makes him "vomit up" original: "vomitare." Here used metaphorically to mean confessing or blurting out a secret. his secret, and shows the difference in the object
of his love. Scene 4. Sanguino, father and shepherd of rogues, and
a student who studied under Mamphurio, who had heard
these discussions from the side: they discuss that event. Sanguino par-
ticularly begins to take the lead in weaving some web against 30

Bonifacio. Scene 6. Bruno skips Scene 5 in this summary, a common occurrence in early drafts or printers' errors. Lucia the procuress ruffiana: a woman who acts as a go-between in illicit affairs or manages prostitutes. appears with a small gift
that Bonifacio was sending; she performs an "anatomy" of it A detailed, piece-by-piece inspection., and prepares to
take her "tithe" from it, and she was nearly caught in the act. Scene 7
and 8. Bonifacio arrives all full of pride for a certain poem of 35

his, written in a new style in honor and glory of his lady. In this celebration
he was found by Gioan Bernardo the painter, to whom he would have dis-
closed his new poetic frenzy; but he was distracted by the thought of the
portrait, and by a thought regarding a doubt that Gioan Bernardo left with him.