The Theater of Gods Judgments, Book 2 · Chapter 43
CHAP. XLIII. Of Dicers and Card-players, and their theft.
IF any recreation be allowed us, as no doubt there is, yet surely it is not such as whereby we should worke the damage and hurt of one another, as when by gaming we draw away another mans mony with his great losse, and this is one kinde of theft, to usurpe any mans goods by unlawfull meanes: wherefore no such sports ought to finde any place amongst Christians, especially those wherein any kinde of lot or hazard is used, by the which the good blessings of God are, contrary to their true and naturall use, exposed to chance and fortune, as they tearme it: for which cause Saint Augustine is of this opinion concerning them: That the gaine which ariseth to any party in play, should be bestowedupon the poor, to the end that both the Epist. 54. ad Maced.gamesters, as well the winner as the loser might be equally punished, the one by not carrying the stake being won, the other by being frustrated of all his hope of winning. Players at dice, both by the Elibertine & Constantinopolitan Councell under Iustinian, were punished with excommunication: and by a new constitution of the said Emperour it was enacted, That no man should use Dice-play either in private or publique, no nor approve Can. 77. Can. 50.the same by their presence, under paine of punishment: and Bishops were there appointed to be overseers in this behalfe, to espie if any default was Cod. li. 3. tit. 43made.
aOd. 14. l. 2. Ludere doctior seu Graeco jubeas trocho, seu malis vetital…gibus alea.Horace an heathen Poet avouched the unlawfulnesse of this thing even in his time, when he saith that Dice-playing was forbidden by their law. Lewis the eighth, King of France, renouned for his good conditions and rare vertues; amongst all the excellent laws which he made, this was one, That all sports should be banished the Common-wealth, except shooting (whether with long bow or Crosse bow) and that no Cards nor Dice should be either made or sold by any; to the end that all occasion of gaming might bee taken away. Surely it would be very profitable and expedient for the Weale-publique, that this Ordinance might stand in use at this day, and that all Merchants and Mercers whatsoever, especially those that follow the reformation of Religion, might forbeare the sale of all such paltry Wares: for the fault in selling such trash is no lesse than the abuse of them in playing at them, for so much as they upon greedinesse of so small a gaine, put as it were a sword into a mad mans hand, by ministring to them the instruments not onelyonly of their sports, but also of those mischiefes that ensue the same. There a man may heare curses as rife as words, bannings, swearings, and blasphemies, banded up and downe; there men fret themselves to death, and consume whole nights in darke and divelish pastimes; some lose their horses, others their cloakes, a third sort all that ever they are worth, to the undoing of their houses, wives, and children; and some again from braulings fall to buffetings, from buffets to bloudshedding, from bloudshedding to hanging: and these are the fruits of those gallant sports.
But this you shall see more plainely by a few particular examples. In a Discip…. de tempor. ser. 12.towne of Campania a certaine Iew playing at dice with a Christian, lost a great summe of money unto him; with which great losse being enraged, and almost beside himselfe, as commonly men in that case are affected, hee belched out most bitter curses against Christ Iesus, and his mother the blessed Virgin, in the midst whereof the Lord deprived him of his life and sense; and strooke him dead in the place: as for his companion the Christian, indeed he escaped sudden death, howbeit he was robbed of his wit and understanding, and survived not verie long after: to teach us not onelyonly Blasphemie, Lib. 1. cap. 31.what a grievous sinne it is to blaspheme God, and to accompanie such wretches, and not to shun, or at least reprove their outrage; but also what monstrous effects proceed from such kinde of ungodly sports, and how grievously the Lord punisheth them, first by giving them over to blasphemy, secondly to death, and thirdly and lastly to eternall and irrevocable damnation: Let our English gamesters consider this example, and if it will not terrifie them from their sports, then let them looke to this that followeth, which if their hearts be not as hard as adamant, will mollifie and perswade them.
In the yeare 1533. neere to Belissana a citie in Helvetia, there were three Iob. Fincell. Andreas Muscabus in diabol. blasphemiae.prophane wretches that played at dice upon the Lords day without the wals of the citie, one of which called Vlrich Schraelerus having lost much mony, and offended God with many cursed speeches, at last presaging to himselfe good lucke, he burst forth into these tearmes, If fortune deceive me now, I will thrust my dagger into the verie body of God as farre as I can: now Mandat. 4. Breach of Saboth, li. 1. 6. 35. Mandat. 3. Blasphemie, lib. 1. cap. 31.fortune failed him as before, wherefore forthwith he drew his dagger, and taking it by the point, threw it against heaven with all his strength: behold, the dagger vanished away, and five drops of bloud distilled upon the table before them, and without all delay the divell came in place, and carried away the blasphemous wretch with such force and noyse, that the whole city was amased and astonished thereat: the other two (halfe beside themselves with feare) strove to wipe away the drops of bloud out of the table, but the more they wiped it, the more clearly it appeared; The rumor of this accident flew into the citie, and caused the people to flocke thicke and threefold unto the place, where they found the other two gamesters washing the boord; whom (by the decree of the Senate) they bound with chaines, and carried towards the prison; but as they passed with them through a gate of the citie, one of them was stroken suddenly dead in the midst of them, with such a number of lice and wormes creeping out of him, that it was both wonderfull and lothsome to behold: the third they themselves (without any further inquisition or triall) to avert the indignation which seemed to hang over their heads, put incontinently to death; the table they tooke and preserved it for a monument, to witnesse unto posterity, both how an accursed pastime dicing is, and also what great inconveniencies and mischiefes grow thereby.
But that we may see yet more the vanitie and mischievous working of this sport, I will report one storie more out of the same authour, though not equall to the former in strangenesse and height of sinne, yet as tragicall, and no lesse pitifull.
In the yeare 1550, there lived in Alsatia one Adam Steckman, one that Iob Fincel. l. 2got his living by tximming, pruning, and dressing vines; this man having received his wages, fell to dice, and lost all that he had gotten; insomuch that he had not wherewith to nourish his family, so that he fell into such a griefe of minde, and withall into such paines of the head, that he grew almost desperate withall: one day his wife being busie abroad, left the care of her children unto him; but he tooke such great care of them that he cut all their throats, even three of them, whereof one lay in the cradle, and lastly would have hanged himselfe, had not his wife come in the meane while, who beholding this pitifull tragedie, gave a great outcrie, and fell downe dead; whereupon the neighbours running in, were eye witnesses of this wofull spectacle: as for him, by law he was judged to a most severe and cruell punishment: and all these pitifull events arose from that cursed root of Diceplay.
We ought therefore to learne by all these things that have beene already spoken, to abstaine not onelyonly from this cursed pastime, but also from extortion, robberies, deceit, guile, and other such naughty practices that tend to the hurt and detriment of one another; and in place thereof to procure the good and welfare of each one in all kindenesse and equity, following the Apostles counsell, where he sayeth, Let them that stole steale no more, but rather Ephes. 4. 28.travell by labouring with his hands in that which is good, that he may have wherewith to succor the necessitie of others. For it is not enough not to do evill to our neighbor, but we are tyed to do him good, or at least to endeavour to do it.