Selected quad for the lemma: king_n
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A03185
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An apology for actors Containing three briefe treatises. 1 Their antiquity. 2 Their ancient dignity. 3 The true vse of their quality. Written by Thomas Heywood.
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Heywood, Thomas, d. 1641.
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1612
(1612)
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STC 13309; ESTC S106113
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35,274
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66
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flattery or rage our Scenes affoord thee store of men to shape your liues by who be frugall louing gentle trusty without soothing and in all things temperate Wouldst thou be honourable iust friendly moderate deuout mercifull and louing concord thou mayest see many of their fates and ruines who haue beene dishonourable iniust â—alse gluttenous sacrilegious bloudy-minded and brochers of dissention Women likewise that are chaste are by vs extolled and encouraged in their vertues being instanced by Diana Belphebe Matilda Lucrece and the Countesse of Salisbury The vnchaste are by vs shewed their errors in the persons of Phrinâ— Lais â—hais Flora and amongst vs Rosamond and Mistresse Shore What can sooner print modesty in the soules of the wanton then by discouering vnto them the monstrousnesse of their sin It followes that we proue these exercises to haue beeâ—e the discouerers of many notorious murders long concealed from the eyes of the world To omit all farre-fetcht instances we wil proue it by a domestike and home-borne truth which within these few yeares happened At Lin in Norfolke the then Earle of Sussex players acting the old History of Fryer Francis presenting a woman who insatiately doting on a yong gentleman had the more securely to enioy his affection mischieuously and seceretly murdered her husband whose ghost haunted her and at diuers times in her most solitary and priuate contemplations in most horrid and fearefull shapes appeared and stood before her As this was acted a townes-woman till then of good estimation and report finding her conscience at this presenment extremely troubled suddenly skritched and cryd out Oh my husband my husband I see the ghost of my husband fiercely threatning and menacing me At which shrill and vexpected out-cry the people about her moou'd to a strange amazement inquired the reason of her clamour when presently vn-urged she told them that seuen yeares ago she to be possest of such a Gentleman meaning him had poysoned her husband whose fearefull image personated it selfe in the shape of that ghost whereupon the murdresse was apprehended before the Iustices further examined by her voluntary confession after condemned That this is true as well by the report of the Actors as the records of the Towne there are many eye-witnesses of this accident yet liuing vocally to confirme it As strange an accident happened to a company of the same quality some 12 yeares ago or not so much who playing late in the night at a place called Perin in Cornwall certaine Spaniards were landed the same night vnsuspected and vndiscouered with intent to take in the towne spoyle and burne it when suddenly euen vpon their entrance the players ignorant as the townes-men of any such attempt presenting a battle on the stage with their drum and trumpets strooke vp a lowd alarme which the enemy hearing and fearing they were discouered amazedly retired made some few idle shot in a brauado and so in a hurly-burly fled disorderly to their boats At the report of this tumult the townes-men were immediatly armed and pursued them to the sea praysing God for their happy deliuerance from so great a danger who by his prouidence made these strangers the instrument and secondary meanes of their escape from such imminent mischife and the tyranny of so remorcelesse an enemy Another of the like wonder happened at Amsterdam in Holland a company of our English Comedians well knowne trauelling those Countryes as they were before the Burgers and other the chiefe inhabitants acting the last part of the 4 sons of Aymon towards the last act of the history where penitent Râ—naldo like a common labourer liued in disguise vowing as his last pennance to labour carry burdens to the structure of a goodly Church there to be erected whose diligence the labourers enuying since by-reason of his stature and strength hee did vsually perfect more worke in a day then a dozen of the best hee working for his conscience they for their lucres Whereupon by reason his industry had so much disparaged their liuing conspired amongst themselues to kill him waiting some opportunity to finde him asleepe which they might easily doe since the forest labourers are the soundest sleepers and industry is the best preparatiue to rest Hauing spy'd their opportunity they draue a naile into his temples of which wouâ—d immediatly he dyed As the Actors handled this the audience might on a sodaine vnderstand an out-cry and loud shrike in a remote gallery and pressing about the place they might perceiue a woman of great grauity strangely amazed who with a distracted troubled braine oft sighed out these words Oh my husband my husband The play without further interruption proceeded the woman was to her owne house conducted without any apparant suspition euery one coniecturing as their fancies led them In this agony she some few dayes languished and on a time as certaine of her well disposed neighbours came to comfort her one amongst the rest being Church-warden to him the Sexton posts to tell him of a strange thing happening him in the ripping vp of a graue see here quoth he what I haue found and shewes them a faire skull with a great nayle pierst quite through the braine-pan but we cannot coniecture to whom it should belong nor how long it hath laine in the earth the graue being confused and the flesh consumed At the report of this accident the woman out of the trouble of her afflicted conscience discouered a former murder For 12 yeares ago by driuing that nayle into that skull being the head of her husband she had trecherously slaine him This being publickly confest she was arraigned condemned adiudged and burned But I draw my subiect to greater length then I purposed these therefore out of other infinites I haue collected both for their familiarnesse and latenesse of memory Thus our Antiquity we haue brought from the Grâ—cianâ— in the time of Hercules from the Macedâ—nians in the age of Alexandâ—r from the Romans long before Iulius Caesar and since him through the reigns of 23 Emperours succeeding euen to Marcus Aurelius after him they were supported by the Mantuans Venetians Valâ—ncians Neopolitans the Florentines and others since by the German Princes the Palsgraue the Landsgraue the Dukes of Saxony of Brounswicke c. The Cardinall at Bruxels hath at this time in pay a company of our English Comedians The French King allowes certaine companies in Paris Orleans besides other Cities so doth the King of Spaine in Ciuill Madrill and other prouinces But in no Country they are of that eminence that ours are so our most royall and euer renouned soueraigne hath licenced vs in London so did his predecessor the thrice vertuous virgin Queene Elizabeth and before her her sister Queene Mary Edward the sixth and their father Henry the eighth and before these in the tenth yeare of the reigne of Edward the fourth Anno 1490. Iohn Stowe an ancient and graue Chronicler records amongst other varieties tending to the
my flowry Chaplet towsd my tresses Nay some whom for their basenesse hist and skorn'd The Stage as loathsome hath long-since spuedâ—ut Haue watcht their time to cast inuenom'd â—nke To stayne my garments with Oh Seneca Thou tragicke Poet hadst thou liu'd to see This outrage done to sad Melpoâ—ene With such sharpe lynes thou wouldst reuenge my blot As Armed Oâ—â—d against Ibis wrot With that in rage shee left the place and I my dreame for at the instant I awaked when hauing perused this vision ouer and ouer againe in my remembrance I suddenly bethought mee How many antient Poets Tragicke and Comicke dying many ages agoe liue still amongst vs in their works as amongst the Greekes Euripideâ— Mâ—nandâ—r Sophocles Eupolis Eschilus Aristophanes Appâ—llodorus Aâ—axandrides Nichomachus Alexis Tereus and others so among the Latins Attilius Actius Melithus Plaâ—tus Terens others whome fore breuity sake I omit Hos Ediscit hos arcto stipata Theatro Spectat Roma potens habet hos numer atque Poetas These potent Rome acquires and holdeth deare And in their round Theaters flocks to heare These or any of these had they liued in the afternoone of the world as they dyed euen in the morning I assure my selfe wold haue left more memorable tropheys of that learned Muse whome in their golden numbers they so richly adorned And amongst our moderne poets who haue bene industrious in many an elaborate and ingenious poem euen they whose pennes haue had the greatest traffiâ—ke with the Stage haue bene in the excuse of these Muses most forgetfull But leauing these lest I make too large a head to a small body and so mishape my subiect I will begin with the antiquity of Acting Comedies Tragedies and Hystories And first in the golden world In the first of the Olimpiads amongst many other actiue exercises in which Hercules euer trimphâ—d as victor there was in his nonage presented vnto him by his Tuâ—or in the fashion of a History acted by the choyse of the nobility of Greece the worthy and memorable acts of his father Iupiter Which being personated with liuely and well-spirited action wrought such impression in his noble thoughts that in meere emulation of his fathers valor not at the behest of his Stepdame Iuno he perform'd his twelue labours Him valiant Theseus followed and Achilles Theseus Which bred in them such hawty and magnanimous attempts that euery succeeding age hath recorded their worths vnto fresh admiration Aristotle that Prince of Philosophers whose bookes carry such credit euen in these our vniuersâ—â—ies that to say Ipse dixit is a sufficient Axioma hee hauing the tuition of young Alexander caused the destruction of Troy to be acted before his pupill in which the valor of Achilles was so naturally exprest that it imprest the hart of Alexander in so much that all his succeeding actions were meerly shaped after that patterne and it may be imagined had Achilles neuer liued Alexander had neuer conquered the whole world The like assertion may be made of that euer-renowned Roman Iulius Caesar. Who after the like representation of Alexander in the Temple of Hercules standing in Gades was neuer in any peace of thoughts till by his memorable exployts hee had purchas'd to himselfe the name of Alexander as Alexander till hee thought himselfe of desert to be called Achilles Achilles Theseus Theseus till he had sufficiently Imitated the acts of Hercules and Hercules till hee held himselfe worthy to bee called the son of Iupiter Why should not the liues of these worthyes presented in these our dayes effect the like wonders in the Princes of our times which can no way bee so exquisitly demonstrated nor so liuely portrayed as by action Oratory is a kind of a speaking picture therefore may some say is it not sufficient to discourse to the eares of princes the fame of these conquerors Painting likewise is a dumbe oratory therefore may we not as well by some curious Pigmalion drawe their conquests to worke the like loue in Princes towards these Worthyes by shewing them their pictures drawne to the life as it wrought on the poore painter to bee inamored of his owne shadow I answer this Non â—agis expressi vultus per ahenia signa Quam per vatis opus mores animique virorum Clarorum apparent The visage is no better cut in brasse Nor can the Caruer so expresse the face As doth the Poets penne whose arts surpasse To giue mens liues and vertues their due grace A Description is only a shadow receiued by the eare but not perceiued by the eye so liuely portrature is meerely a forme seene by the eye but can neither shew action passion motion or any other gesture to mooue the spirits of the beholder to admiration but to see a souldier shap'd like a souldier walke speake act like a souldier to see a Hector all besmered in blood trampling vpon the bulkes of Kinges A Troylus returning from the field in the sight of his father Priam as if man and horse euen from the steeds rough fetlockes to the plume in the champions helmet had bene together plunged into a purple Ocean To see a Pompey ride in triumph then a Caesar conquer that Pompey labouring Hanniball aliue hewing his passage through the Alpes To see as I haue seene Hercules in his owne shape hunting the Boare knocking downe the Bull taming the Hart fighting with Hydra murdering Gerion slaughtring Diomed wounding the Stimphalides killing the Centaurs pashing the Lion squeezing the Dragon dragging Cerberus in Chaynes and lastly on his high Pyramides writing Nilvltra Oh these were sights to make an Alexander To turne to our domesticke hystories what English blood seeing the person of any bold English man presented and doth not hugge his fame and hunnye at his valor pursuing him in his enterprise with his best wishes and as beeing wrapt in contemplation offers to him in his hart all prosperous performance as if the Personater were the man Personated so bewitching a thing is liuely and well spirited action that it hath power to new mold the harts of the spectators and fashion them to the shape of any noble and notable attempt What coward to see his contryman valiant would not bee ashamed of his owne cowardise What English Prince should hee behold the true portrature of that amous King Edward the third foraging France taking so great a King captiue in his owne country quaâ—tering the English Lyons with the French Flower-delyce and would not bee suddenly Inflam'd with so royall a spectacle being made apt and fit for the like atchieuement So of Henry the fift but not to be tedious in any thing Ouid in one of his poems holds this opinion that Romulus was the first that broght plaies into Italy which he thus sets downe Primus sollicitos fecisti Romule Ludos Cum iurit viduos rapta sabina viros Tunc neque marmoreo pendebant vela Theatro c. Which wee English thus Thou noble Romulus first playes