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
A86316	The actors vindication, containing, three brief treatises, viz. I. Their antiquity. II. Their antient dignity, III. The true use of their quality. Written by Thomas Heywood.; Apology for actors	Heywood, Thomas, d. 1641.; Cartwright, William, 1611-1643.	1658 (1658)	Wing H1777; Thomason E948_4; ESTC R6819	34,648	62

not painted red Or any mixed staines on pillers spred Then did the Sceane want art th' unready Stage Was made of grasse and earth in that rude age About the which were thick leav'd branches placed Nor did the Audients hold themselves disgraced Of turf and heathy sods to make their seats Fram'd in degrees of earths and mossy peats Thus plac'd in order every Roman pry'd Into her face that sat next by his side And closing with her severally gan move The innocent Sabine women to their love And whil'st the piper Thuscus rudely plaid And by thrice stamping with his foot had made A signe unto the rest there was a shout Whose shrill report peirc'd all the aire about Now at a signe of rape given from the King Round through the house the lusty Romans fling Leaving no corner of the same unsought Till every one a frighted virgin caught Look as the trembling Dove the Eagle flyes Or a young Lamb when he the Woolf espies So ran the poor girles filling th' aire with skreeks Emptying of all the colour their pale cheeks One fear possest them all but not one look This tears her haire she hath her wits forsook Some sadly sit some at their mothers call Some chase some fly some stay but frighted all Thus were the ravish'd Sabines blushing led Becomming shame unto each Romans bed If any striv'd against it streight her man Would take her on his knee whom fear made wan And say Why weep'st thou sweet what ailes my dear Dry up these drops these clouds of sorrow clear I l'e be to thee if thou thy grief wilt smother Such as thy Father was unto thy Mother Full well could Romulus his Souldiers please To give them such fair Mistresses as these If such rich wages thou wilt give to me Great Romulus thy Souldier I will be Romulus having erected the walls of Rome and leading under him a warlike Nation being in continuall warre with the Sabines after the choyce selecting of a place fit for so famous a City and not knowing how to people the same his train wholly consisting of Souldiers who without the company of women they not having any in their Army could not multiply but so were likely that their immortal fames should dye issuless with their mortal bodies Thus therefore Romulus devised After a p●rle and at●●nement made with the neighbour Nations he built a Theater plain according to the time yet large fi● for the entertainment of so great an Assembly and these were they whose famous issue peopled the City of Rome which in after-ages grew to such height that not Troy founded by Dardanus Carthage layed by Dido Tyrus 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 discovered Kingdomes of the earth after became tributaries And in the noon-tide of their glory and height of all their honour they edified Theaters and Amphi-theaters For in their flourishing Commonweal their publick Comedians and Tragedians most flourished insomuch that the Tragick and Comick Poets were all generally admired of the people and particularly every man of his private Mecenas Imperante Augusto natus est Christus Imperante Tiberio crucifixus 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 Julius Caesar's time predeces●●ur to Augustus the famous hony-tongu'd Orator Cicero flourished who amongst many other his eloquent Orations writ certain yet extant for the Comedian Roscius pro Roscio Comoedo of whom we shall speak more large hereafter These continued in their honour till the reigne of Tiberius Caesar and under Tiberius Christ was crucified To this end do I use this assertion because in the full perfect time our Saviour sojourned on the earth even in those happy and peacefull dayes the spacious Theaters were in the greatest opinion amongst the Romans yet neither Christ himself nor any of his sanctified Apostles in any of their Sermons Acts or Documents so much as named them or upon any abusive occasion touched them Therefore hence me thinkes a very probable and important argument may be grounded that since they in their divine wisedomes knew all the sinnes abounding in the world before that time tax reproved all the abuses reigning in that time and foresaw all the actions and inconveniences to the Church prejudiciall in the time to come Since they I say in all their holy doctrines books and principles of divinity were content to passe them over as things tolerated and indifferent why should any nice over scrupulous head● since they cannot ground their curiousnesse either upon the old or new Testament take upon them to correct controule 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 flourish amongst the Romans yet where can we quote any place in his Epistles which so bids the Church of God then resident in Rome to absent them selves from any such assemblies To speak my opinion with all indifferency God hath not enjoyned us to wear all our apparrel solely to defend the cold Some garments we weare for warmth others for ornament So did the children of Israel hang ear-rings in their ears nor was it by the law forbidden them That purity is not look't for at our hands being morall and humane that is required of the Angels being celestiall and divine God made us of earth men knows our natures dispositions and imperfections and therefore hath limited us a time to rejoyce as he hath enjoyned us a time to mourne for our transgressions and I hold them more scrupulous than well advised that go about to take from us the use of all moderate recreations Why hath God ordained for man variety of meats dainties and delicates if not to taste thereon why doth the world yield choice of honest pastimes if not decently to use them Was not the Hare made to be hunted the Stagg to be chased and so of all other beasts of game in their severall kinds since God hath provided us of these pastimes why may we not use them to his glory Now if you ask 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 answer is It is not meet every mean Esquire should carry the part belonging to one of the Nobility or for a Noble man to usurpe the estate of a Prince Rome was a Metropolis a place whither all the nations known under the Sunne resorted so is London and being to receive all Estates all Princes all Nations therefore to afford them all choyce of pastimes sports and recreations