The Anatomy of Abuses, Part 9
Of Stage-playes and Enterluds, with their wickednes.
Philo.
ALL Stage-playes, Enterluds and Commedies, are either of diuyne, or prophane matter: If they be of diuine matter, than are they most intollerable, or rather Sacrilegious, for that the blessed word of GOD, is to be handled, reuerently, grauely, and sagely, with veneration to the glorious Maiestie of God, which shineth therin, and not scoffingly, flowtingly, & iybingly, as it is vponupon stages in Playes & Enterluds, without any reuerence, worship, or veneration to ye same: the word of our Saluation, the price of Christ his bloud, & the merits of his passion, were not giuen, to be derided, and iested at as they be in these filthie playes and enterluds on stages & scaffolds,The deriding of the word of God in stage playes. or to be mixt and interlaced with bawdry, wanton shewes & vncomely gestures, as is vsed (eueryevery Man knoweth) in these playes and enterludes. In the first of Ihon we are taught, that the word is GOD, and God is the word. Wherfore, who so euer abuseth this word of our God on stages in playes and enterluds, abuseth the Maiesty of GOD in the same, maketh a mocking stock of him, & purchaseth to himselfe, eternal dānation. And no marueil, for the sacred word of GOD, and God himselfe,Reuerence to the maiestie of God du…. is neuer to be thought of, or once named, but with great feare, reuerence and obedience to the same. All the holy companie of Heauen, Angels, Archangels, Cherubins, Seraphins, and all other powers whatsoeuer, yea the Deuills themselues (as Iames saith) doo tremble & quake, at the naming of God, and at the presence of his wrath, and doo these Mockers and Flowters of his Maiesty, these dissembling Hipocrites, and flattering Gnatoes, think to escape vnpunished? beware therfore you masking Players, you painted sepulchres, you doble dealing ambodexters, be warned betymes,A warming to Players. and lik good computi…tes cast your accompts before what wil be the reward therof in the end, least God destroy you in his wrath: abuse God no more, corrupt his people no longer with your dregges, and intermingle not his blessed word with such prophane vanities. For, at no hand, it is not lawfull, to mixt scurrilitie with diuinitie,Not lawfull to intermixt diuynitie, with scurrilitie nor diuinitie with scurrilitie.
Theopompus, mingled Moyses law with his writinges, and therfore the LORD stroke him madd. Theodictes began the same practise, but the Lorde stroke him blind for it. With many others who attempting the like deuyses, were al ouerthrowne, and died miserably: besids, what is their iudgemēt in the other World the Lord onelyonly knoweth. Upon the other side, if their playes be of prophane matters, thā tend they to y• dishonor of God and norishing of vice,What if playes be of prophane matter. both which are dā nable. So that whither they be the one or the other, they are quite contrarie to the Word of grace, and sucked out of the Deuills teates, to nourish vsus in ydolatrie hethenrie, and sinne.
And therfore, they cariyng the note, or brand of GOD his curse vppon thei… backs, which way soeuer they goe, are to be hissed out of all Christian Kingdomes, if they wil hauehave Christ to dwell amongst them.
Spud.
Are you able to shewe, that euer any good Men from the beginning, hauehave resisted Playes and Enterluds?
Philo.
Not onelyonly the word of GOD doth ouerthrow thē, addiudging them, & the maintainers of them, to Hell, but also all holie coū sels, and sinodes, both generall, nationall and prouinciall,The word of God, al Writers, counsels and Fathers hauehave writ against playes, and e…terluds. together, with all Writers both diuyne and prophane, euer since y• beginning hauehave disalowed them, and writ (almost) whole volumes against them.
The learned Father Tertullian in his booke de Speculo, saith, that playes, were consecrat to that false ydoll Becchus, for that he is said to hauehave found out, and inuented strōg drinke.
Augustinus de ciuit. Dei, saith,Wherfo…e playes … ordeined. that plaies were ordeined by the Deuill, and consecrat to heathen Gods, to draw vsus from Christianitie to ydolatrie, and gentilisme. And in an other place: Pecunias Histrionibus dare, vitium est innane, non virtus. To giuegive money to Players, is a gréeuous sin.
Chrisostome, calleth those playes, festa Sathani, feasts of the Deuill. Lactantius, an ancient learned Father, saith, Histrionum impudissimi gestus, nihil aliud nisi Libidinem mouent: The shamelesse gestures of Plaiers, serue to nothing so much, as to moue the flesh to lust,Concilium. 3. and vnclennesse. And therfore, in the .30.Carth…. Cap▪ 11 Counsell of Carthage, & Synode of Laodicea, Synode▪ Laodicea.it was decréed, that no Christen Man,Cap. 54. or Woman, should resorte to playes and enterludes, where is nothing but blasphemie, scurrilitie and whordome maintained. Scipio, seeing the Romaines bente to erect Theaters, & places for plaies, dehorted them from it,Write…s both diuyne and prophane against playe… and Enterluds. with most prudent reasons and forcible arguments. Valerius Maximus saith, playes were neuer brought vp, sine regni rubore, without shame to the Cuntrey.
Arist.
debarreth youth accesse to Playes & Enterluds, least they séeking to quench the thirst of Venus, doo quench it with a potle of fire. Augustus, banished Ouid, for making Bookes of louelove, Enterluds and such other amorous trumperie.
Constantius, ordeined that no Player shold be admitted to the table of the Lord. Than séeing, that Playes were first inuented by the Deuil,The ends of playes and Enterluds. practised by the heathen gentiles, and dedicat to their false ydols, Goddes and Goddesse…: as the howse, stage and apparell, to Venus: the musicke, to Appollo: the penning, to Minerua, and the Muses: the action and pronuntiation to Mercurie and ye rest, it is more than manifest, that they are no fit exercyses for a Christen Man to follow. But if there were no euill in them, saue this, namely, that the arguments of tragedies,The arguments of tragedies. is anger, wrath, immunitie, crueltie, iniurie, incest, murther & such like: the Persons or Actors, are Goddes, Goddesses, Furies, Fyends, Hagges, Kings, Quéenes, or Potentates. Of Commedies, the matter and ground is louelove,The ground of Commedies. bawdrie, cosenage, flattery, whordome, adulterie: the Persons or agēts, whores, queanes, bawdes, scul…lions, Knaues, Curtezans, lecherous old men… amorous yong men, with such like of infinit varietie: If I say there were nothing els, but this, it were sufficiēt to withdraw a good christian from the vsing of them. For so often, as they goe to those howses where Players frequēt▪ thei go to Venus pallace & sathās synagogue to worship deuils, & betray Christ Iesus.
Spud.
But notwithstanding,Theaters and curtaines Venus pallaces. I hauehave hard some hold opinion that they be as good as sermons, and that many a good Example may be learned out of them?
Philo.
Oh blasphemie intollerable:No playes cō parable to the word of God Are filthie playes & bawdy enterluds comparable to the word of God, y• foode of life, and life it selfe? It is all one, as if they had said, bawdrie, hethenrie, pagārie, scurrilitie, and diuelrie it self, is equall with the word of God. Or that the Deuill, is equipolent with the Lord.
The Lord our God hath ordeined his blessed word, and made it the ordenarie mean of our Saluation, the Deui…l hath inferred the other, as, the ordenarie meane of our destruction, and will they yet compare the one with y• other? If he be accursed,He is cursed that saith playes and enterluds are comparable to sermons. y• calleth light darknes, & darknes light, truth, falsehood, & falshood truth, swéet, sowre, and sowr sweete, than a fortiori is he accur…d that saith that playes & enterluds be equiualent with Sermons, Be…ids this, there is no mischief which these plaies, maintain not. For, do they not norish ydlenes? and otia dant vitia, ydlenes is the Mother of vice. Doo they not draw the people frō hering the word of God, from godly Lectures, and sermons? for you shall hauehave them flocke thither thick & thréefould, whē ye church of God shalbe bare & emptie. And those y• will neuer come at sermons wil flow thither apace. The reason is,Wherfore so many …flock to see playe… and enterluds. for that the nūber of Christ his elect is but few, and the number of the reprobat is many, the way y• leadeth to life is narow, and few tread y• path, y• way that leadeth to death, is brod, & many find it. This sheweth, they are not of God, who refuse to here his word (for he that is of God, hereth God his word saith our Sauiour Christ) but of the deuill, whose exercyses they go to visite. Do they not maintaine bawdrie,The fruits o… theathers, & playes. insinuat folery, & renue ye remēbrance of hethen ydolatrie? Do they not induce whordome & vnclennes? nay, are they not rather plaine deuourers of maydenly virginitie and chastitie? For proofe wherof, but marke the flocking and rūning to Theaters & curtens, daylie and hourely, night and daye, tyme and tyde to see Playes and Enterludes,The Godly demeanoures vsed at playes and enterluds where such wanton gestures, such bawdie speaches: such laughing and fléering: such kissing and bussing: such clipping and culling: Suche winckinge and glancinge of wanton eyes, and the like is vsed, as is wonderfull to behold. Than these goodly pageants being done, eueryevery mate sorts to his mate, eueryevery one bringes another homeward of their way verye fréendly, and in their secret conclaues (couertly) they play ye Sodomits, or worse. And these be the fruits of Playes and Enterluds, for the most part. And wheras, you say, there are good Examples to be learned in them:
Trulie,The goodly examples of Playes and Enterluds. so there are: if you will learne falshood, if you will learn cosenage: if you will learn to deceiue: if you will learn to play the Hipocrit: to cogge, lye and falsifie: if you will learn to iest, laugh and fléer, to grin, to nodd, and mow: if you will learn to playe the vice, to swear, teare, and blaspleme, both Heauen and Earth:What things are to be lerned at playes. If you will learn to become abawde, vncleane, and to deuerginat Mayds, to deflour honest Wyues: if you will learne to murther, s…aie, kill, picke, steal, robbe and roue: If you will learn to rebel against Princes, to cōmit treasons, to comsume treasurs, to practise ydlenes, to sing and talke of bawdie louelove and venery: if you will lerne to deride, scoffe, mock & flowt, to flatter & smooth: If you will learn to play the whore-maister, the glutton, Drunkard, or incestuous person: if you will learn to become proude, hawtie & arrogant: and finally, if you will learne to comtemne GOD and al his lawes, to …are neither for heauen nor hel, and to commit al kinde of sinne and mischéef you néed to goe to no other schoole,Theater… … Seminaries of pseudo christianit for all these good Examples, may you sée painted before your eyes in enterludes and playes: wherfore, that man who giueth money for the maintenance of them, must néeds incurre the damage of premunire, that is, eternall damnation except they repēt. For the Apostle biddeth vsus beware,A dyuine premunire. least wée communica… with other mens sinnes, & this their dooing, is not only to communicat with other mens sinnes, & maintain euil, to the distruction of thē selues & many others, but also a maintaining of a great sorte of idle lubbers and buzzing dronets to suck vp and deuoure the good honie,What it is to communicate with other mens sinnes. wherupon the poor bées should liue.
Therfore I beséech all players & Founders of plaies and enterludes, in the bowels of Iesus Christe, as they tender the saluation of their soules, and others, to leaue of that cursed kind of life,An Exhotation to plaiers. and gi…e them selues to such honest exercises, and godly misteries, as God hath cō maunded them in his woord to get their liuings wtall: for who wil call him a wiseman that plaieth the part of a foole and a vice? who can call him a Christian, who playeth ye part of a deuil,The … due to Play…ers. the sworne enemie of Christe? who can call him a iust man, that playeth the part of a dissembling hipocrite? And to be breef, who can call him a straight deling man, who playeth a Cosoners trick? And so of all ye rest. Away therfore with this so infamous an art, for goe they neuer so braue,Players liue vponupon begging. yet are they coū ted and taken but for beggers. And is it not true? liue they not vponupon begging of eueryevery one that comes? Are they not taken by the lawes of the Realm,Players counted Rogues by the lawes of the Realm for roagues and vacabounds? I speak of such as trauaile the Cuntries, with playes & enterludes, making an occupation of it, and ought so to be punished, if they had their deserts. But hoping that they will be warned now at the last, I wil say no more of them, beséeching them to consider what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of God, & to prouoke his wrath and heauie displeasure against them selues and others, which the Lord of his merciemercy turn from vsus.
Spud.
Of that sorte he the other kinde of playes, which you call Lords of Mis-rule? for mée thinke, the very name it self caryeth a taste of some notorious euil.