Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	church_n	old_a	testament_n	6,574	5	8.1314	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03185	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.	Heywood, Thomas, d. 1641.	1612 (1612)	STC 13309; ESTC S106113	35,274	66

contriues To get thy widdowed souldiers Sabine wyues In those dayes from the marble house did wau● No saile no silken flagge or ensigne braue Then was the Tragicke stage not painted red Or any mixed staines on pillers spred Then did the Sceane want art th'vnready stage Was made of grasse and earth in that rude age About the which were thicke-leau'd branches placed Nor did the Audients hold themselues disgraced Of turfe and heathy sods to make their seates Fr●m'd in degrees of earth and mossy peates Thus plac'd in order euery Roman pry'd Into her face that sate next by his side And closing with her seuerally gan moue The innocent Sab●ne women to their loue And whil'st the piper Thuscus rudely plaid And by thrice stamping with his foote had made A signe vnto the rest there was a shout Whose shrill report pierst all the aire about N●w at a signe of rape giuen from the King Round through the hou●e the lusty Romans fling Leauing no corner of the same vnsought Till euery one a frighted virgin caught Looke as the trembling Doue the Eagle flyes Or a yong Lambe when he the Woolfe espyes Soran the poore girles filling th' aire with skreekes Emptying of all the colour their pale cheekes One feare possest them all but not one looke This teares her haire she hath her wits forsooke Some sadly sit some on their mothers call Som● cha●e some flye some stay but frighted all Th●● were the ra●●sh'd Sabi●es blushing led Be●omming shame vnto each Romans bed If any striu'd against it streight her man Would ●ak● her on 〈◊〉 knee whom feare made w●n And ●ay Why weep'st thou sweet what ailes my deere D●y vp these drops these clowds of sorrow cleere I l'e be to thee if thou thy griefe wilt smother Such as thy father was vnto thy mother Full well could Romulus his Souldiers please To giue them such faire mistresses as these If such rich wages thou wilt giue to me Great Romulus thy souldier I will ●e Romulus hauing erected the walles of Rome and leading vnder him a warlike Nation being in continuall warre with the Sabines after the choyce selecting of a place fit 〈◊〉 so famous a Citty and not knowing how to people the same his traine wholly consisting of Souldiers who without the company of women they not hauing any in their Army could not multiply but so were likely that their immortall fames should dye issulesse with their mortall bodies Thus therefore Romulus deuised After a parle and attonement made with the neighbour Nations hee built a Theater plaine according to the time yet large fit for the entertainement of so great an Assembly and these were they whose famous issue peopled the Cittie of Rome which in after ages grew to such height that not Troy founded by Dardanus Carthage layed by Dido Tyru● built by Agenor Memphis made by Ogdous Thebes seated by Cadmus nor Babylon reared by Semiramis were any way equall to this situation grounded by Romulus to which all the discouered kingdomes of the earth after became tributaries And in the noone-tide of their glory and height of all their honor they edified Theaters and Amphi-theaters for in their flourishing Common-weale their publike Comedians and Tragedians most florished insomuch that the Tragicke and Comicke Poets were all generally admired of the people and particularly euery man of his priuate Mec●nas In the reigne of Augustus Christ was borne and as well in his dayes as before his birth these solemnities were held in the greatest estimation In Iulius Caesars time predecessor to August●● the fam●us hony-tong'd Orator Cicero florished who amongst many other his eloquent Oratio●s writ certaine yet extant for the Com●dian Ros●ius pro Roscio Comaedo of whom we shall speake more large hereafter These continued in their honour till the reigne of Tiberius Caesar and vnder Tiberius Christ was crucified To this end do I vse this assertion because in the full and perfect time our Sauiour soiurned on the earth euen in those happy and peacefull dayes the spacious Theaters were in the greatest opinion amongst the Romans yet neither Christ himselfe nor any of his san●●ified Apostles in any of their Sermons Acts or Documents so much as named them or vpon any abusiue occasion touched them Therefore hence me thinkes a very probable and important argument may be grounded that since they in their diuine wisdomes knew all the sinnes abounding in the world before that time taxt and reproued all the abuses reigning in that time and foresaw all the actions and inconueniences to the Church preiudiciall in the time to come Since they I say in all their holy doctrines bookes and principles of Diuinity were content to passe them ouer as things tollerated and indifferent why should any nice and ouer-scrupulous heads since they cannot ground their curiousnesse either vpon the old or new Testament take vpon them to correct controule and carpe at that against which they cannot finde any text in the sacred Scriptures In the time of Nero Caesar the Apostle Paul was persecuted and suffered Nero was then Emperour Paul writ his Epistle to the Romans and at the same time did the Theaters most florish amongst the Romans yet where can we quote any place in his Epistles which forbids the Church of God then resident in Rome to absent themselues from any such assemblies To speake my opinion with all indifferency God hath not enioyned vs to weare all our apparrell solely to defend the cold Some garments we weare for warmth others for ornament So did the children of Israel hang eare-rings in their eares not was it by the law forbidden them That purity is not look't for at our hands being mortall and humane that is required of the Angels being celestiall and diuine God made vs of earth men knowes our natures dispositions and imperfections and therefore hath limited vs a time to reioyce as hee hath enioyned vs a time to mourne for our transgressiōs And I hold them more scrupulous than well aduised that goe about to take from vs the vse of all moderate recreations Why hath God ordained for man va●●●tie of meates dainties and delicates if not to taste thereon why doth the world yeeld choyce of honest pastimes if not decently to vse them Was not the Hare made to be hunted the Stagge to be chaced and so of all other beasts of game in their seuerall kindes since God hath prouided vs of these pastimes why may wee not vse them to his glory Now if you aske me why were not the Theaters as gorgeously built in all other Cities of Italy as Rome And why are not Play-houses maintained as well in other Cities of England as London my answere is It is not meet euery meane Esquire should carry the part belonging to one of the Nobility or for a Noble-man to vsurpe the estate of a Prince Rome was a Metropolis a place whither all the nations knowne vnder the Sunne resorted so is London and being to receiue