Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke. Actus Primus, Scena Prima • Paragraph 1185
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[Footnote III.130: _A vice of kings_;] _i.e._, a low mimick of kings. The vice was the fool of the old moralities or dramas, who was generally engaged in contests with the devil, by whom he was finally carried away. Dr. Johnson says the modern Punch is descended from the vice.]