Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	church_n	good_a	place_n	990	5	4.1917	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33918	A second defence of the Short view of the prophaneness and immorality of the English stage, &c. being a reply to a book, entituled, The ancient and modern stages surveyed, &c. / by Jeremy Collier ...; Short view of the immorality and profaneness of the English stage	Collier, Jeremy, 1650-1726.	1700 (1700)	Wing C5262; ESTC R20776	75,081	146

Author were extreamly strict and severe in their Government and Administration * Ea civitas severitatis custos accerrim● est Ibid. Now by the Surveyor's Account of the Mimes and Pantomimes this could never be meant of them For they says he Surveyor p. 24. Danced Naked and were in their Gestures foul to the last Degree of Scandal I would gladly know what Instance of Severity it could be to deny Admission to such Monsters as these Is it indeed an Argument of extraordinary Rigour not to allow the grossest Liberties and which had often been marked and punished at Rome A Government can't be said to be remarkably Rigid unless they tie up their Subjects to particular Restraints and bar them the Freedoms commonly practised elsewhere The Massilienses therefore having this Character of Severity it must be because they would not admit of the more inoffensive Performances of the Stage because they refused the Diversions of Comedy and Tragedy which were then generally permitted in the Roman Empire 4. Mimus the Word which the Surveyor cavils upon is by other good Authors taken for a Play in the sence of the Drama as this Gentleman loves to speak Thus the Learned Thysius upon the place understands it It 〈…〉 Comedi●n omnesque adeo Scenicos Ludos Republica sua ejecerunt Vid●bant enim eam esse lasciviae matrem nequitiae magistram c. Thysius in Loc. Su●to● in August The Massilienses says he cleared their Country of Comedy and all sorts of Stage-Plays This they did because they looked upon them as the Nurseries of Lewdness And Suetonius tells us That Augustus being at the point of Death ask'd some of his Friends Ecquid iis videretur mimum vitae commode transegisse Now I would ask the Surveyor what he thinks of this Matter Did the Emperor enquire whether he had been a good Pantomime in his Life Whether he had acted like a finish'd Debauchee and been Lewd without Shame or Measure Did Augustus affect such a Character as this or think his Memory would be obliged by it Such a Supposition would be a Libel upon Nero who when he came to dye had the Justice to be displeased with his own Lewdness The meaning therefore of this Question of Augustus must be Whether he had behaved himself well in his Station and acted his Part handsomly as a good Player does upon the Stage From whence it will follow that Mimus must be taken for a Play in its usual signification But 't is time to dismiss Valerius Maximus Surveyor p. 50. and pass on to Seneca who it seems has but little to say to the Matter He should have said he has but little to say to Seneca View c. p. 236. However let the View c. decide that Question Well! if Seneca says but little he is resolved to fortifie his Testimony and help him out For he frankly confesses That the Roman youth were generally corrupted by the Countenance which Nero gave to the Stage and to all those Arts which gratified and indulged the Senses Surveyor p. 50 51. and that this Philosopher's Complaint was not unreasonable Truly I think so too or else I had never cited him In this place the Surveyor is somewhat kinder than ordinary for here he not only quotes * Nihil vero tam damnosa●a bonis moribus quam in aliquo spectaculo desidere tunc emm per voluptatem vitia facilius surrepunt Senec. Epist. 7. but argues for me too and gives me both Text and Margin to make my best of This Knack of Writing and Recanting at the same time is a good subtle Expedient For if ever he should be questioned for publishing a Book to Debauch the Nation he can make substantial Proof he has confuted himself Survey p. 51. and that it 's to be hoped may stop the Prosecution I must confess I like an Author that knocks his own Mischief on the Head and like the Scorpion is both Poyson and Antidote But the Surveyor objects That Seneca's Charge against the Shews * Spectaculum p. 52. is general Why then they are all comprehended Then he may be sure the most remarkable Shews such as the Stage are concerned in the Caution especially since the Author has elsewhere expressly declaim'd against 〈◊〉 View p. 236. Well I perceive all this Skirmishing has nothing but feint and false Alarm but now he is resolved to come to the Assault in good earnest and enter upon the Breach of the Quotation for there if you will believe him I have made a shift to steal in Two Falsifications Now to try this Cause and discover the foul Play we must read the Deed in the Court The Original runs thus Tunc enim per voluptatem vitia facilius surrepunt The Translation thus For there Vice makes an insensible approach and steals upon us in the Disguise of Pleasure * View p. 236. And where is the harm of all this Harm Why I have corrupted one of the Eight Parts of Speech and suborn'd the Adverb Tunc to give in false Evidence by Translating it There instead of Then Nay that 's intolerable For Seneca you must observe had nothing to say against the Shews and the Play-house the Diversion or the Company The Then the Circumstance of Time was the Bugbear All the infection lay in the Clock or the Sun-Dial For People may see what Shews and go to what Place they please and be safe enough provided they do it at no Time This is exactly the Surveyor's Reasoning and thus he proves the Indictment Surveyor p. 53. The next Falsification is my rendring the words Per Voluptatem in the Disguise of Pleasure For all that if he renders them otherwise I 'm satisfied he 'l do it worse Indeed I think these Objections are not made in the Disguise of Sence To conclude if I was so unfair as to steal in Two Falsifications I had it seems the Discretion to steal them out again for 't is plain there 's none of them to be found at present Tacitus and Plutarch appear next and are given up by him But then he is never at a loss for when he can't Reason he can Rail and so the Book goes on as well as ever I produced Ovid and Mr. Wycherley to shew that the Audience at the Play-house was dangerous as well as the Entertainment Surv. p. 55. Against this the Surveyor insinuates That if nothing but Solitude and Retirement will secure us we must not go to Church for there is mixt Company and bad Designs too sometimes Under favour this does not follow To go to Church is our Duty Now a Man's Business and especially when Religious is his Guard And God will let no Body miscarry for their Obedience Besides the Quality of the Employment the Solemnity of the Place and the Majesty of the Presence is apt to furnish good Thoughts and check those which are otherwise But at the Play-house the Case

is quite different This is a Place where Thinking is out of Doors and Seriousness Impertinent Here our Reason is apt to be surpriz'd and our Caution disarm'd Here Vice stands upon Prescription and Lewdness claims Privilege to Solicit Nay the very Parade the Gaiety and Pleasure of the Company is not without its danger These Circumstances heightned with Luscious Dialogue lively Action and airy Musick are very likely to make an unserviceable Impression And thus we see our standing is but slippery and the Tide runs high against Flesh and Blood And as for the Protection of Heaven to bring us off 't is Presumption to expect it If we will sit in the Seat of the Scornfull and make Wickedness our Diversion Providence we may be sure w●ll withdraw and leave us to the Government of another Influence To do the Surveyer Right he is somewhat of my Opinion in this Matter He won't deny but a promiscuous conflux of People of all Ages Survey p. 55 56. Sexes and Conditions will make the business of Intrigue go forward and facilitate Enterprizes of this Nature But he is afraid if a Restraint were laid upon People and they were kept out of Harms way Ibid. it would be worse with them And for the truth of this Conjecture he appeals to the Experiment of Italy and Spain where he observes there is a great deal of Care and yet a great deal of Miscarriage It may be so but if they are bad under Caution 't is to be feared Liberty would never mend them His reasoning about the Imagination being vitiated p. 56. for want of Freedom is very slender for Opportunity makes a Thief The Temptation rises upon sight for Sence is stronger than Memory and Life than Painting If the strength of the Stream forces the Bank to give way the making the Breach wider is not I suppose the proper Method to stop the Torrent He had best perswade the Dutch to pull up their Dikes and their Dams because in several Countreys where the Sea is left to its Course it does no manner of damage I confess I never heard that the Spaniards and Italians were all Fools till now But it seems so 'tis with them For they are still perfect Strangers to themselves and know nothing of the Temper of their People after so many Ages for Information But of all Men the Surveyor should not have been severe upon the Reservedness of the Spaniards Surveyor p. 35. because he had allowed it in the Persians before His Reason was because the Heat of the Climate and the Warmth of their Constitutions hurried them very precipitiously as he Phrases it into Irregularities Now Spain is as hot as Persia Why then all this Partiality That that 's Sawce for a Goose is Sawce for a Gander Why must the Poor Spaniard be maul'd for his Caution and for preventing his Family from being hurried very precipitiously into Irregularities But after all the Caffres and Soldanians the Monsters of Africk both in Figure and Folly and which as to some of them whether Men or Munkeys has been disputed These Aequinoctial Sages are much Wiser it seems in the Guard of Virtue than the Spaniards and Italians For in many places under the Line where the People go constantly naked the familiarity of the Objects takes away all Wantonness of Imagination Surveyor p. 56. which the artificial difficulties of some Countreys promote Say you so must Spain and Italy be reformed by Africk and brought up to the Standard of the Line Must People go naked to secure their Modesty These are wonderful Discoveries and one would almost conclude by the drift of them that the Man had a fancy to turn either Adamite or Pantomime These Artificial Difficulties of Cloaths spoil all They disserve the Interest of Virtue and are an Impolitick Contrivance This fine Phrase puts me in mind of his Quareling a Sentence of mine for want as he pretends of Syntax and Grammer And therefore upon this occasion I must tell him That if the Charge was true Sence without Grammar is somewhat better then Grammer without Sence Ovid by the Surveyor's Confession pleads guilty Survey p. 57. and owns not only the Opportunity but the Business of the Place promotes Lewdness But then he fences against the Testimony with his usual evasion and turns it all upon the Representation of the Mimi Ibid. but the next Verse to that in his Margin will be sufficient to beat him off his Guard Vt tamen hoc fatear De T●ist Lib. 2. View 239. Ludiquoque semina prebent Nequitiae tolli tota Theatra jube Thus Ovid we see is for quite Levelling the Enemies Works He is for pulling down all the Play-houses and not leaving so much as a Corner of them standing for Comedy and Tragedy This Line of the Poet had too much Light to be look'd on and therefore the Surveyor was resolved to wink hard and get over it There is another Verse likewise in the Citation which one would have thought might have put him beside the fancy of his Mimi View p. 239. ov Remed Amor. and 't is this Quid caveat Actor quid juvet arte docet This Pentameter refers much more to Dialogue than Dancing to the Methods of Courtship and the Mysteries of Intrigue which are generally the Subject of Comedy And now the Surveyor thinks fit to make a Halt and seems extreamly satisfied with his performance P. 57. I have says he at length run through all his private Authorities against the Stage Run through them Yes like a Bowl that gets nothing or if you please like a Souldier that runs the Gauntlet Indeed this Author's Method is so very peculiar he does so often fall foul upon his own Book quote away his Argument and mortifie himself that one would almost fancy he wrote for a Pennance We are now coming up to the Censures of the State Upon this Head I began with the Athenians and observ'd that this Republick made a Law that no Iudge of the Areopagus should write a Comedy View p. 240. Here the Surveyor is surpriz'd to find the Athenians produced against the Drama of which they were the greatest Encouragers Survey p. 58 59. As great Encouragers as they were their forbidding the Judges writing Comedy proves they look'd upon 't as the most unreputable part of Poetry Now this was enough for my purpose Nay after a little struggling the Surveyor comes forward to a Compliance He grants writing Comedy was likely to engage the Author in Quarrels and Partialities and was also an Indignity to the Office of a Iudge Survey p. 61. And is not all this a sign that there was something untoward and unreputable in the performance His objecting that Aristophanes had the better of Socrates is no Argument of the standing Interest of Comedy For 't is pretty plain Socrates was oppress'd by a Faction and executed in a Hurry For soon after the Government repented his