"Ooh. nothing conjured up wit sooner than poverty!"
Sponger is one of the poorest characters in the play and this is the main reason why he tags along to Follywit, his wealthier friend. While Follywit hopes one day of having a good standing in society, Sponger does not believe that this is possible for him as well, mainly because he does not come from a wealthy and influential family. Still, Sponger does not see himself as being hopeless. Instead, he admits that the problems he had to deal with throughout his life made him a stronger person, someone who doesn't give up easily. As he also points out, a lack of necessities usually has the power to push a person to do things he never believed he could while at the same time setting the premise how no one is in a hopeless situation as long as they have the will to fight.
“There's a good chapter on Hell that will terrify her in this cold weather. So read to her the horrible punishments for itching wantonness.”
Hairbrain is terrified of the idea his wife might cheat on him and sleep with other men. In an effort to try and prevent his wife from slipping into sin, Hairbrain orders the Courtesan to look after his wife and read her from the Bible. Hairbrain suggests a Biblical passage on Hell and the punishments a person will suffer if they sin and cheat on their husbands. The idea of using religious teachings to control a person's behavior is not novel, especially when taking into consideration the time when the play was composed. Still what is important to note is the idea that while women had to obey these religious teachings, men were not expected to do the same and in fact were free to behave as they saw fit.
"Who lives by cunning, mark it, his fate's cast;
When he has gulled all, then is himself the last."
All throughout the play, Follywit tried to fool those around him for his own benefit. Follywit did not care what happened to the others as long as he was happy and prosperous. Because of this, it is ironic to see how things turned against him at the end of the play and he lost everything he had. The quote from above is uttered by one of the men Follywit tried to cheat off their money but was unsuccessful. This man then thinks about how those who want to do ill to others are those who in the end will suffer the most, punished by the greater powers in the universe.
