The Vicar of Wakefield

by

Oliver Goldsmith

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The disguised butler is Mr. Arnold’s servant who presents himself to Dr. Primrose as the master of the house. After meeting Dr. Primrose in a tavern, the disguised butler insists that Dr. Primrose accompany him home. There, the men become embroiled in a heated argument about monarchy and liberty. While the butler boasts of being extremely well read, it is unclear if this is true, and he takes issue with Dr. Primrose’s defense of the king and attempts to throw him out. When his disguise comes to light, however, Dr. Primrose intervenes and convinces Mr. Arnold not to fire the butler. The butler later informs Dr. Primrose of the Squire’s attempts to marry Miss Wilmot.

The Butler (The Well-Dressed Gentleman) Quotes in The Vicar of Wakefield

The The Vicar of Wakefield quotes below are all either spoken by The Butler (The Well-Dressed Gentleman) or refer to The Butler (The Well-Dressed Gentleman). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Humility in the Face of Adversity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 19 Quotes

Politics, however, was the subject on which our entertainer chiefly expatiated; for he asserted that liberty was at once his boast and his terror. After the cloth was removed, he asked me if I had seen the last Monitor, to which replying in the negative, ‘What, nor the Auditor, I suppose?’ cried he. ‘Neither, Sir,’ returned I. ‘That’s strange, very strange,’ replied my entertainer. ‘Now, I read all the politics that come out. The Daily, the Public, the Ledger, the Chronicle, the London Evening, the Whitehall Evening, the seventeen magazines, and the two reviews; and though they hate each other, I love them all. Liberty, Sir, liberty is the Briton’s boast, and by all my coal mines in Cornwall, I reverence its guardians.’

Related Characters: Dr. Charles Primrose (speaker), The Butler (The Well-Dressed Gentleman) (speaker)
Page Number: 113
Explanation and Analysis:

What they may then expect, may be seen by turning our eyes to Holland, Genoa, or Venice, where the laws govern the poor, and the rich govern the law. I am then for, and would die for, monarchy, scared monarchy; for if there be any thing sacred amongst men, it must be the anointed sovereign of his people, and every diminution of his power in war, or in peace, is an infringement upon the real liberties of the subject. The sounds of liberty, patriotism, and Britons, have already done much, it is to be hoped that the true sons of freedom will prevent their ever doing more. I have known many of those pretended champions for liberty in my time, yet I do not remember one that was not in his heart and in his family a tyrant.

Related Characters: Dr. Charles Primrose (speaker), The Butler (The Well-Dressed Gentleman)
Page Number: 117
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Butler (The Well-Dressed Gentleman) Quotes in The Vicar of Wakefield

The The Vicar of Wakefield quotes below are all either spoken by The Butler (The Well-Dressed Gentleman) or refer to The Butler (The Well-Dressed Gentleman). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Humility in the Face of Adversity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 19 Quotes

Politics, however, was the subject on which our entertainer chiefly expatiated; for he asserted that liberty was at once his boast and his terror. After the cloth was removed, he asked me if I had seen the last Monitor, to which replying in the negative, ‘What, nor the Auditor, I suppose?’ cried he. ‘Neither, Sir,’ returned I. ‘That’s strange, very strange,’ replied my entertainer. ‘Now, I read all the politics that come out. The Daily, the Public, the Ledger, the Chronicle, the London Evening, the Whitehall Evening, the seventeen magazines, and the two reviews; and though they hate each other, I love them all. Liberty, Sir, liberty is the Briton’s boast, and by all my coal mines in Cornwall, I reverence its guardians.’

Related Characters: Dr. Charles Primrose (speaker), The Butler (The Well-Dressed Gentleman) (speaker)
Page Number: 113
Explanation and Analysis:

What they may then expect, may be seen by turning our eyes to Holland, Genoa, or Venice, where the laws govern the poor, and the rich govern the law. I am then for, and would die for, monarchy, scared monarchy; for if there be any thing sacred amongst men, it must be the anointed sovereign of his people, and every diminution of his power in war, or in peace, is an infringement upon the real liberties of the subject. The sounds of liberty, patriotism, and Britons, have already done much, it is to be hoped that the true sons of freedom will prevent their ever doing more. I have known many of those pretended champions for liberty in my time, yet I do not remember one that was not in his heart and in his family a tyrant.

Related Characters: Dr. Charles Primrose (speaker), The Butler (The Well-Dressed Gentleman)
Page Number: 117
Explanation and Analysis: