After discussing his plan for revenge with Monticelso, who reveals that he has an extensive list of all the criminals operating in Italy contained in a book, Francisco reflects upon the extent to which class and wealth pervert the course of justice. His speech here is one of the very few soliloquies in The White Devil:
And thus it happens:
Your poor rogues pay for’t, which have not the means
To present bribe in fist; the rest o’th’ band
Are razed out of the knaves’ record, or else
My lord he winks at them with easy will.
His man grows rich, the knaves are the knaves still.
But to the use I’ll make of it: it shall serve
To point me out a list of murderers,
Agents for any villainy. Did I want
Ten leash of courtesans, it would furnish me; Nay, laundress three armies. That in so little paper
Should lie th’undoing of so many men!
Francisco is surprised to learn about Monticelso’s book, as it seems inappropriate for a Catholic Cardinal, who should pardon or punish sinners rather than maintain a list of them for future use. Cynically noting that powerful men like Monticelso exploit criminals but are themselves never punished for their involvement in crime, Francisco notes that “poor rogues” or criminals lack the funds to “bribe” legal authorities and are punished. Those who do have enough money, however, are “razed out of the knaves’ record,” or in other words, their crimes are not documented and they are allowed to maintain their good reputation. Francisco recognizes the flaws that mark his society, yet he is himself still willing to take advantage of Monticelso’s book for his own purposes.
