Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	word_n	world_n	zeal_n	49	3	7.3025	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11423	A second and third blast of retrait from plaies and theaters the one whereof was sounded by a reuerend byshop dead long since; the other by a worshipful and zealous gentleman now aliue: one showing the filthines of plaies in times past; the other the abhomination of theaters in the time present: both expresly prouing that that common-weale is nigh vnto the cursse of God, wherein either plaiers be made of, or theaters maintained. Set forth by Anglo-phile Eutheo.; De gubernatione Dei. Book 6. English	Salvian, of Marseilles, ca. 400-ca. 480.; Munday, Anthony, 1553-1633, attributed name.	1580 (1580)	STC 21677; ESTC S105761	39,276	142

A second and third blast of retrait from plaies and Theaters the one whereof was sounded by a reuerend Byshop dead long since the other by a worshipful and zealous Gentleman now aliue one showing the filthines of plaies in times past the other the abhomination of Theaters in the time present both expresly prouing that that Common-weale is nigh vnto the cu●sse of God wherein either plaiers be made of or Theaters maintained Set forth by Anglo-phile Eutheo Ephes. 5 verse 15 16. Take heede therefore that ye walke circumspectlie not as vnwise but as wise redeeming the time because the daies are euil Allowed by auctoritie 1580. Anglo-phile Eutheo to the Reader S. THou hast here Christian reader a second and third blast of retrait from plaies and Theaters The first blast in my compt is The Schoole of abuse a title not vnfitlie ascribed vnto plaies For what is there which is not abused thereby Our hartes with idle cogitations our eies with vaine aspects gestures and toies our eares with filthie speach vnhonest mirth and rebaldrie our mouths with cursed speaking our heads with wicked imaginations our whole bodies to vncleanes our bodies and mindes to the seruice of the Diuel our holie daies with prophanes our time with idlenes al our blessings health wealth and prosperitie to the increase of Satans kingdome are there abused that not vnfitlie they are tearmed as of late The schoole of abuse by one The schoole of Bauderie by another The nest of the Diuel and sinke of al sinne by a third so long agoe The chaire of pestilence by Clement Alexandrinus by Cyril and Saluianus The pompe of the Diuel the soueraigne place of Satan by Tertullian And albe I cal them A second and third blast c. yet do I not so as though there were no moe blastes or dehortations frō them or inuectiues against them beside For in al ages the most excellent men for learning haue condemned them by the force of eloquence and power of Gods worde as I am to proue vpon anie good occasion offered But so do I tear●● them in respect of the time present wherein none that I knowe besides these Autors haue written though manie thanked be God in the principal places of this land haue and dailie yea and openlie do speake against plaies and Theaters The former of these two was written in the Latine tong by that reuerend man Saluianus Bishop of Massilia who for his wonderful eloquence and zeale is called Magister Episcoporum The maister of Byshops by Gennadius and that 1100 yeeres sithence VVherebie thou maist gather first that it is a most odious intolerable thing in a Christian Common-weale which so learned a Byshop would stand to confute secondlie that to dehort from plaies is no newe thing being condemned so long ago The Lord of his infinite mercie grant that his blast maie do more good with Englishmen than it did with the Romans to which he sounded the same Otherwise I know right wel that must needs betide vs which happened vnto them For they contemned his saiengs and the warnings of such like good men Therfore first came the foraine enimies the Gothes and Vandales who ouercame them and oppressed them with most grieuous bondage and afterward they fel into the handes of Satan who caried them headlong into al impuritie of life abomination vnder which curse of God they as yet continue So we assuredlie vnles we listen vnto the dehortations of these good men and shun plaies with such like pompes of Satan the which once we when it was before God his congregation renounced shal fal into some one intolerable plague of God or other into the handes if not of foraine enimies which I feare yet of our spiritual aduersarie the Pope or Diuel which I am sure of Touching the Autor of the latter blast thou maist coniecture who he was but I maie not name him at this time for my promise sake yet this do I saie of him that he hath bine to vse his verie wordes A great affecter of that vaine Art of plaie making c. Yea which I ad as excellent an Autor of those vanities as who was best But the Lord of his goodnes hath called him home so that he did not so much delight in plaies in times past but he doth as much detest them now and is hartilie sorie that euer he was such an instrument to set vice afloate as more at large in his discourse thou maist perceaue VVhereby first note with me the goodnes of our God toward vs who seeing that we wil not shun plaies for anie dehortations of his godlie Preachers who daie by daie in al places of greatest resort denounce the vengeance of GOD to them be they hie or lowe that fauor plaies Theaters or plaiers stirreth vp the verie Autors themselues to inueigh against them that we maie be ashamed any waie to allowe that which the verie Autors do vtterlie condemne Secondlie praise God I beseech you for bringing this Autor and Maister Gosson who made the Schoole of abuse out of Babylon And thirdlie praie vnto him that al ●●kers of plaies maie folowe their ●●ample then sure I am that both 〈◊〉 rude multitude if not for feare of Gods displeasure yet because they 〈◊〉 heare nothing but what is stale 〈◊〉 leaue haunting of stinking 〈◊〉 and also plaiers themselues 〈◊〉 their vnlawful vngodlie and abominable exercise for lacke either of Autors or of auditors Loth was the Autor I must needs confesse to haue his worke published not because he would not haue plaies openlie reproued which from his hart he wisheth were most straightlie forbidden but through a too too base conceipt of his owne worke thinking that some grounded Diuine were more fit to dehort from so prophane an exercise than he whose profession if so I maie saie is otherwise But hearing partlie by me and partlie by others what a ioie to the children of God and griefe to the seruants of 〈◊〉 would be to heare that he who 〈◊〉 so famous an Autor was now 〈◊〉 a religious dehorter from 〈◊〉 yea thinking how the one sort would with more Zeale auoide them the other with more shame appeare on stage when they should vnderstand that al the world knoweth that their exercise is neither warranted by Gods worde nor liked of Christians but disalowed vtterly by Scripture by reason by Doctors by Byshops by their verie Autors themselues yea and by al other good men as the enimie to godlines and the corruption of the wel disposed and so consequentlie a special engine both to subuert al Religion and to ouerthrowe the good state of that Common-weale where it is maintained he altered his minde and gaue me his booke wishing me to do therewithal as I thought best for the glorie of God and thy commoditie VVhich I haue now together with the inuectiue of that reuerend Bishop Saluianus published that one of

yong boies inclining of themselues vnto wickednes trained vp in filthie speeches vnnatural and vnseemelie gestures to be brought vp by these Schoole-masters in bawderie and in idlenes I cannot chuse but with teares and griefe of hart lament O with what delight can the father behold his sonne bereft of shamefastnes trained vp to impudencie How proane are they of themselues and apt to receiue instruction of their lewde teachers which are the Schoolemasters of sinne in the schoole of abuse what do they teach them I praie you but to foster mischiefe in their youth that it maie alwaies abide in them and in their age bring them sooner vnto hel And as for those stagers themselues are they not commonlie such kind of men in their conuersation as they are in profession Are they not as variable in hart as they are in their partes are they not as good practisers of Bawderie as inactors Liue they not in such sort themselues as they giue precepts vnto others doth not their talke on the stage declare the nature of their disposition doth not euerie one take that part which is proper to his kind doth not the Plough-mans tong walke of his plough the Sea-faring man of his mast cable and saile the Soldier of his harnes speare and shield bawdie mates of bawdie matters Aske them if in their laieng out of their partes they choose not those partes which is most agreeing to their inclination and that they can best discharge And looke what euerie of them doth most delight in that he can best handle to the contentment of others If it be a roisting bawdie and lasciuious part wherein are vnseemelie speeches that they make choise of them as best answering proper to their manner of plaie maie we not saie by how much he exceedes in his gesture he delightes himselfe in his part by so much it is pleasing to his disposition and nature If it be his nature to be a bawdie plaier and he delight in such filthie cursed actions shal we not thinke him in his life to be more disordered and to abhor virtue But they perhaps wil saie that such abuses as are handled on the stage others by their examples are warned to beware of such euils to amendment In deed if their auctoritie were greater than the wordes of the Scripture or their zeale of more force than of the preacher I might easilie be persuaded to thinke that men by them might be called vnto good life But when I see the word of truth proceeding from the hart and vttered by the mouth of the reuerend preachers to be receaued of the most part into the eare and but of a fewe rooted in the hart I cannot by anie means beleeue that the wordes proceeding from a prophane plaier and vttered in scorning sort interlaced with filthie lewde vngodlie speeches haue greater force to mooue men vnto virtue than the wordes of truth vttered by the godlie Preacher whose zeale is such as that of Moses who was contented to be raced out of the booke of life and of Paule who wished to be separated from Christ for the welfare of his brethren If the good life of a man be a better instruction to repentāce than the tong or words why do not plaiers I beseech you leaue examples of goodnes to their posteritie But which of them is so zealous or so tendereth his owne saluatiō that he doth amend himselfe in those pointes which as they saie others should take heede of Are they not notoriouslie knowen to be those men in their life abroade as they are on the stage roisters brallers il-dealers bosters louers loiterers ruffins So that they are alwaies exercised in plaieng their parts and practising wickednes making that an art to the end they might the better gesture it in their partes For who can better plaie the ruffin thā a verie ruffin who better the louer than they who make it a common exercise To conclude the principal end of all their interludes is to feede the world with sights fond pastimes to iuggle in good earnest the monie out of other mens purses into their owne hands What shal I saie They are infamous men and in Rome were thought worthie to be expelled albe there was libertie enough to take pleasure In the primatiue Church they were kept out from the Communion of Christians and neuer remitted til they had perfourmed publike penance And thervpon S. Cyprian in a certaine Epistle counseleth a Bishop not to receiue a plaier into the pension of the Church by which they were norished til there was an expresse act of penance with protestation to renounce an art so infamous And thus much for those plaiers Some haue obiected that by these publique plaies manie forbeare to do euil for feare to be publiquelie reprehended And for that cause they wil saie it was tolerated in Rome wherein Emperors were touched though they were present But to such it maie be answered first that in disguised plaiers giuen ouer to al sortes of dissolutenes is not found so much as a wil to do good seing they care for nothing lesse than for virtue Secondlie that is not a good meanes to correct sinne For that if it be secret it ought not to be reuealed openlie but by such meanes to be reformed as Christ himselfe alloweth in his Gospel If saith he thy brother trespasse against thee speaking of those secret particular sinnes which are not open and made knowen to others go and tel him his fault betweene thee and him alone if he heare thee thou hast wonne thy brother But if he heare thee not take yet with thee one or two that by the mouth of two or three witnesses euerie worde maie be confirmed And if he wil not vouchsafe to heare them tel it vnto the Church which is to those ancient expert men of the Iewes which were appointed to reforme manners and execute discipline For those assemblies of ancient Fathers did represent the Church because they had the charge thereof appointed vnto them and if he refuse to he are the Church also let him be vnto thee as an Heathen man and a Publicane You see then that euerie fault being priuatelie knowen is to be kept secret and not to be openlie vttered to the defamation of the offender And that on the otherside if it be a matter openlie knowen it is to be put to the reprehension of the Magistrate and not of the plaier whose reprehension is as vnreuerend and odious as the reprehension of a Magistrate is decent and commendable The antiquitie of plaieng is likewise often vsed for an argument to proue it allowable But the custome of euil is not to be maintained because of antiquitie Gods truth is not to be oppressed vnder that color what examples of antiquitie soeuer do serue to maintaine wickednes I am not bounde to allowe of them

of being so highlie esteemed of al sortes of men for that euerie man conceaueth of the goodnes or badnes of a thing according as it seemeth in his owne opiniō And therefore the thing which they discommend maie be both liked and allowed I confesse the iudgement of one or two is not to be allowed in such cases neuertheles the opinions of the rude multitude are not alwais the soundest which are mooued with vnconstant motions whereby manietimes they like of that which is most hurtful and dislike that which is most profitable because the one pleaseth their humors and the other restraineth their affections The censure therfore of them who carie best groūd from Gods worde and is most agreeable to reason most profitable for the Cōmon-weale least hurtful to our brethren and tending alwaie to the reformation of abuse is soonest to be allowed and followed Then whether this my iudgement to be admitted or no as being the soundest respecting the benefit of this our countrie I leaue it to the iudgement of the godlie wise and learned And that I maie seeme to write nothing without ground or to finde fault without cause I wil GOD to freend set downe nothing to prooue mine assertion good but what Scripture shal warrant examples confirme reason allowe and present experience ratifie Which mine arguments if anie by more colour of truth can ouerthrowe I am readie to recant and to allowe that for good which I can yet but condemne as wicked and thinke of al other to be the most intolerable abuse in our Cōmon-weale For otherwise I cannot thinke vnles I be constrained as Petrarch saith to iudge by other mens iudgements which who so doth iudgeth not of himselfe but reporters the opinion of others Manie run on their courses verie vainelie til it please God to cal them home by the Spirit of his grace vnto amendment of life For when it shal please him to touch the conscience of the wicked with repentance the whole state of their life doth alter from that it was before as maie appeare in S. Paule at his conuersion And assuredlie the Lord doth suffer vs manie-times to run past our selues that when he hath called vs home we maie become examples of virtue and godlines vnto others I confesse that ere this I haue bene a great affecter of that vaine art of Plaie-making insomuch that I haue thought no time so wel bestowed as when my wits were exercised in the inuention of those follies I might scarselie with patience heare anie man speake weare he neuer so learned godlie that thought to persuade me from them So far was I from receiuing of their good and godlie admonitions that I stopped mine eares and hardened mine harte against their counsaile Such is our peeuish nature we can like of nothing which doth dislike vs or seemeth contrarie to our vaine opinions And therefore it is God onlie that must turne our mindes otherwise wee shal neuer discerne profitable from hurtful things For able we have some about vs who counsaile vs the best seeke our profit yet for al that our nature is so peruerse froward that what is wel said wil take no place This found I by my selfe this I now perceaue to be in others but the Lordes purpose is good in al his dealings It might haue bene said of me then as it was written of the wicked that they considered not the waies of the Lord but after when it pleased God of his mercie to cal mee to the reading of his worde and diligent studie of the Scriptures I began to loath my former life and to mislike my owne doings and I was no sooner drawen with an hartie desire to returne vnto the Lorde but I found my selfe strengthened with his grace vnto good desires For the Lord neuer faileth them that seeke him Assuredlie his promise can neuer deceaue men but when they knock the gate shalbe opened vnto them and when thy seeke they shal find There is nothing more required in vs than a readie desire of wel doing who no doubt being trulie ingraffed in our minds shalbe so watered with the dewe of Gods holie spirit that it wil increase and growe vp in vs to a more ful grouth and perfection When I came to a streit examination of my life which I had vainelie consumed in those exercises and that I began to cal mine old doings into question and to trie them by the true tuch of Gods word I found what I counted for gold to be but drosse vile and of none account hauing the propertie to make their fauorers of their owne nature Then to the end that others should not be deceaued with that wherewith my selfe was ouertaken I thought it my part to laie open to al mens eies the horrible abuse aswel of plaies as of the Inactors the disorder of their Auditorie that the abuse being perceaued euerie man might reforme himselfe be weaned from their wickednes or otherwise that the Magistrats being informed might take such good waies that the intolerable exercise of plaies might be vtterlie put downe For I am verilie persuaded that if they may be permitted stil to make sale of sinne we shal pul on our heads Gods vengeance to our realme bring an vtter confusion What I shal speake of the abuse by plaies of my owne knowledge I know maie be affirmed by hundreds to whome those matters are as wel knowen as to my selfe Some citizens wiues vpon whom the Lord for ensample to others hath laide his hands haue euen on their death beds with teares confessed that they haue receiued at those spectacles such filthie infections as haue turned their minds from chast cogitations and made them of honest women light huswiues by them they haue dishonored the vessels of holines and brought their husbandes into contempt their children into questiō their bodies into sicknes and their soules to the state of euerlasting damnation Such is the nature and inclination that we run whether affection leades vs and are withdrawen by companie And therefore as Dauid saith VVith the godlie thou wilt showe thy selfe godlie with the vpright man thou wilt showe thy selfe vpright VVith the pure thou wilt shewe thy selfe pure and with the froward thou wilt showe thy selfe froward The repaire of them that are honest to those places of euil resort makes their owne good life to be doubted of for that the place breedes suspicion aswel of good as of bad For who can see man or woman resort to an house which is notoriouslie wicked but wil iudge them to be of the crewe of the wicked and vngodlie The most honest wife is the soonest assalted and hath such snares laid to entrap her as if God assist her not she must needes be taken When I gaue my selfe first to note the abuse of common plaies I found mine harte sore smitten with sorowe sinne did there so abound was so