"The Devil is an Ass" by Ben Jonson is a Jacobean comedy first performed in 1616. When a minor devil named Pug begs to visit Earth, Satan warns him that London's vices have grown too sophisticated for a simple demon. Sent to plague the foolish Fabian Fitzdottrel, Pug finds himself hopelessly outmatched by cunning swindlers and charming gallants who converge on his master. As confidence men spin elaborate schemes and pursue Fitzdottrel's virtuous wife, the hapless devil discovers that human corruption far exceeds anything Hell has to offer. (This is an automatically generated summary.)