"We order that the clergy must not be jesters, goliards, or buffoons; if they pursue such disgraceful accomplishments for a whole year, they are to be stripped of all ecclesiastical privileges. Pope Boniface VIII (ca. 1298 CE)".

"[Dr. Swift] can Preach and read Prayers in the Morning, write Baudy in the Afternoon, banter Heaven and Religion and write prophanely at Night, and then read Prayers and Preach again the next Morning, and so on in a due Rotation of Extremes; [he] is much fitter than I am for turning the Tears of the Unhappy into a Ballad, and making a Mock of human Misery. Daniel Defoe (1726)".

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Si vulgus vult decipi, decipiatur -- Classis stage-itinerant -- From gabble and harangue to quack's bill -- Universal improvement of mankind -- Ejaculating the soul -- Aping the medicine show: Mencken, Salmon, Yworth -- Doctor and presto -- Dumfounding -- Apollonius of Tyana -- Beginnings and endings, terrae filius on Grub Street.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2011. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.