# Pertinax Surly — The Alchemist character guide

> Pertinax Surly in The Alchemist by Ben Jonson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Surly

**First appearance:** 0008-act-ii

## Snapshot

A hard-drinking, hard-nosed gamester who trusts no alchemist, no knight, and no promise that glitters — and sets out to prove it.

## Who they are

Surly moves through the play as the resident skeptic, needling Sir Epicure Mammon's raptures about the philosopher's stone with dry asides about waterworks and Pict-hatch vestals. He refuses to be gulled, declaring 'your stone cannot transmute me,' and his contempt for credulity makes him both the sharpest observer and the most isolated figure in the house. His determination to expose the fraud — even by disguise — sets him on a collision course with Subtle and Face that drives the play's central contest.

## Relationships

### [Sir Epicure Mammon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_alchemist_se/characters/sir_epicure_mammon)

_rivalry_

Surly is a skeptic who openly mocks Mammon's gullibility and tries to expose the alchemical fraud.

### [Sir Epicure Mammon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_alchemist_se/characters/sir_epicure_mammon)

_rivalry_

Surly is a skeptic who openly mocks Mammon's gullibility and tries to expose the alchemical fraud.

### [Sir Epicure Mammon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_alchemist_se/characters/sir_epicure_mammon)

_rivalry_

Surly is a skeptic who openly mocks Mammon's gullibility and tries to expose the alchemical fraud.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_alchemist_se/characters/pertinax_surly
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_alchemist_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_alchemist_se/characters