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Twelfth Night,
Act 4, Scene 2, lines 6-10.

Note to Twelfth Night, 4.2.6-10, "I am not tall enough to / become the function well, nor lean enough to be / thought a good student; but to be said an honest man / and a good housekeeper goes as fairly as to say a / careful man and a great scholar."

Alone, the Clown comments that he is not really suited to the role of Sir Topas the curate (a clergyman). Ideally, a curate would visit the sick of his parish and provide counsel and comfort and in this case, the sick man is Malvolio, who as the butt in a practical joke is thought to be insane. The Clown, as curate, should be "a careful man" (one who takes care to do his duty) and "a great scholar" (one whose studies will provide him with an understanding of Malvolio's affliction) which is the opposite of the kind of personality of a quick-thinking devilishly witty clown. Of course, the Clown is not a curate: he doesn't look like one, and doesn't have the knowledge that a curate should have. Still, the Clown reasons that it's as important to be known as "an honest man and a good housekeeper," as to be known as a good curate. Ironically, the Clown, though he is "honest" (loyal and trustworthy) in his sometimes too honest fool's way, is not a "housekeeper" (manager and host) at all—more of a hanger-on whose job is entertainment.

Stanczyk, the jester by Jan Matejko, 1862
Clown