Volpone: Act 1, Scene 4 Summary & Analysis

Mosca puts away the gold platter brought by Voltore and tells Volpone to pretend he is asleep. He then instructs the money to “multiply.” Mosca describes Corbaccio as an old man who is sicker than Volpone even pretends to be, but who hopes to “hop over his grave.”

Corbaccio enters the room, and Mosca greets him. Corbaccio then asks how Volpone is doing, and when Mosca says Volpone is doing worse, Corbaccio responds by saying it’s good. Mosca informs Corbaccio that Volpone doesn’t sleep well, and Corbaccio says “Good!” and says he has brought medicine from his own doctor.

Volpone though, according to Mosca, is not interested in medicine. Corbaccio becomes defensive, saying that he oversaw the doctor making the medicine, which he promises will only make Volpone sleep. In an aside, Volpone jokes that it would make his “last sleep” if he were to take it.

Mosca responds to Corbaccio’s offer by saying that Volpone has no faith in medicine. Mosca reports that Volpone thinks doctors are even more dangerous than the diseases they treat, and he has apparently often said that Corbaccio’s doctor will never be his heir. Corbaccio thinks Mosca has said that he won’t be the heir, but Mosca corrects Corbaccio saying it’s Corbaccio’s doctor who won’t be.

Elaborating on Volpone’s distrust of physicians, Mosca tells Corbaccio that doctors cut people open and experiment on dead men. They are not punished for this gruesome practice, but instead are rewarded. Corbaccio says that doctors kill “with as much license as a judge,” but Mosca says that doctors kill more freely; while a judge only kills those who have broken the law, a doctor can kill even a judge.

Corbaccio agrees that a doctor can kill anyone, then he changes the subject back to Volpone’s health. Corbaccio asks about Volpone’s apoplexy, which Mosca says is “violent;” he says Volpone struggles to speak, his eyes are sunken, and his face looks long. Corbaccio at first mishears long as “strong” and becomes worried that Volpone might recover, but Mosca tells him that he said “long,” and Corbaccio is relieved. Mosca continues to list symptoms of Volpone’s disease: his mouth gapes, his eyelids hang, his joints are stiff, his flesh is grey, his pulse is slow, and there is a cold sweat and fluid continuously coming from his brain out the corner of his eyes. During this extensive list of symptoms, Corbaccio constantly interjects with his approval.

After Mosca finishes reciting Volpone’s symptoms, Corbaccio wonders if it is possible that he is healthier than Volpone is. Corbaccio says that he now thinks he’ll outlive Volpone, which makes him feel twenty years younger. He then asks Mosca if Volpone has made his will, to which Mosca responds “not yet.” Corbaccio asks what Voltore the lawyer was doing at the house previously if Volpone has not yet made his will. Mosca says that Voltore heard Volpone was making a will—which Mosca claims to have urged for the benefit of Corbaccio—and so Voltore came by and gave Volpone a gold plate. When Corbaccio asks if Voltore is trying to become Volpone’s heir, Mosca pretends not to know, but Corbaccio assumes that Voltore does want the inheritance.

To prevent Voltore from being named heir, Corbaccio presents Mosca with a bag of chequins (gold coins). Mosca takes the bag and says that money is the true, sacred medicine, that drugs cannot compare to “this great elixir.” Corbaccio responds in Latin with the adage that gold can be felt, if not drunk. They talk about potentially healing Volpone, at which point Corbaccio attempts to take his money back. Mosca, though, tells him not to take it back, saying that he’ll advise Corbaccio on how to win the entire fortune. Mosca tells Corbaccio that the fortune Corbaccio’s by destiny. He then claims that when Volpone recovers from this particularly bad fit of illness, he will convince Volpone to write the will by showing him the bag of gold left by Corbaccio.

After Corbaccio agrees to leave the bag of gold, Mosca encourages him to run home to name Volpone heir to Corbaccio’s fortune. Corbaccio is confused, since he doesn’t want to disinherit his son. Mosca says disinheriting his son will make the ruse seem all the more real; he explains that when Volpone finds out that Corbaccio has named him heir, he will undoubtedly name Corbaccio heir to his own fortune in return. After hearing this, Corbaccio says he had considered the idea before, and he agrees with Mosca that it is sure to work, especially since Corbaccio is so likely to outlive Volpone. Corbaccio says that by disinheriting his son to earn Volpone’s fortune, he’s really only increasing his son’s inheritance.

Mosca assures Corbaccio that he’s on Corbaccio’s side, and, as Corbaccio leaves, Mosca yells jokes at him, since Corbaccio is hard of hearing. While Mosca essentially says that he is swindling Corbaccio, Corbaccio says that he’s certain to outlive Volpone and that he doesn’t doubt Mosca at all.

Once Corbaccio is gone, Volpone jumps out of bed again and says he almost burst from laughter. Mosca tells him to contain his laughter, and Volpone praises Mosca for his excellent work in swindling Corbaccio. Modestly, Mosca says that he just does what he is told: he flatters the men, lies to them, and sends them away. Volpone then says “What a rare punishment is avarice to itself!” Volpone reflects on old age and the slow decline of the human body, then jokes about how Corbaccio wants to live longer and how he deceives himself in his attempt to deceive others about his age.

At the end of Volpone’s speech on age, someone else knocks. Mosca tells Volpone to go back to pretending to be sick, since Corvino (the merchant) has come. Volpone says he’ll play dead, and Mosca helps him apply more eye ointment before allowing Corvino to enter.