Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	act_n	law_n	parliament_n	2,185	5	6.6353	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36512	The antient and modern stages survey'd, or, Mr. Collier's view of the immorality and profaness of the English stage set in a true light wherein some of Mr. Collier's mistakes are rectified, and the comparative morality of the English stage is asserted upon the parallel.	Drake, James, 1667-1707.	1699 (1699)	Wing D2123; ESTC R22914	157,366	406

the purchase of their Swords thought fit by a publick discouragement to deter their Youth from giving themselves up to an Employment that so little suited the posture and condition of their Affairs at first and the vastness of their Ambition afterwards Or that after the first separation occasion'd as Livy hints rather by the incapacity and unfitness of the Romans for Elegancy and polite Exercise the practice of the Stage fell wholly into the hands of Slaves and Mercenary Foreigners to joyn with whom the Magistrates and People who were extremely proud and jealous of the honour and dignity of their Citizens as such thought it so great an indignity and debasement that they made provision by this Law against it Or lastly that their Mimes Pantomimes were already before the making of this Law arriv'd at that lewd heighth of impudence that we have already taken notice of which obliged the Government to take this method to fright their Citizens from mixing in the proctice of such impurities Of these Reasons the two first seem joyntly to have contributed to the production of this Law and Livy tho he does not formally assign any reason for this severe usage of the Players yet seems implicitely to intimate 'em to us in the notice that he has taken of 'em tho not as causes yet as circumstances considerable at that time The silence of Livy concerning any such licentiousness in their Shews at that time is a sufficient argument against the last cause For that Historian who upon all occasions shews abundance of zeal for the honour of his Country would not have fail'd to have done 'em justice upon this occasion had this rigour been the product of their Morals and regard to Virtue It is apparent therefore that this discouragement of the Shews or rather this restraint of the Action to Servants and Strangers was the result of their Policy not Manners and is therefore an impertinent instance to Mr Collier's purpose who I suppose writes for the Reformation of Men's Morals not Politicks 'T is probable that when Tragedy and Comedy came upon the Roman Stage being destitute of able Actors of a higher Character they were necessitated to make use of the Actors of the Scenic Shews who tho us'd to Representations differing very much both in their manner and end yet by their practice and pronunciation and gestures had both Voice and Motion under great command which made the exercise of the Tragick or Comick Stage tho new and unknown to 'em before not difficult By this means the Actors of Tragedy and Comedy who cou'd not be aim'd at by a Law made long before any such were in being might yet be brought under the censure of it in quality of Histriones or Scene Players before noted Thus these different Characters meeting constantly in the persons of the same men amongst the undistinguishing Crowd the Infamy of one might affect the other But granting the meaning and intention of that Law to reach the Dramatick Actors and that using a craft which submits 'em to those compliances for which the other are censur'd they also are offenders against the design of it and consequently are comprehended within the intent of it and liable to the penalty Yet even thus this instance giving it all the scope that may be in the utmostlatitude of construction is no way serviceable to this Reformer's purpose This would have appear'd very plain had the Law itself instead of the instance from Livy been produc'd The Pretorian Edict runs thus Whoever appears upon the Stage to speak or act is declar'd infamous Which Labeo expounds thus The Stage is any place fitted up for the use of Plays where any one is to appear and by his motion make himself a publick Spectacle This Law being conceiv'd in general terms against all that speak or act upon the Stage for the diversion of the People seems indeed naturally to include Comedians and Tragedians who do both speak and act upon the Stage and make a show of themselves to the People too Yet it does not serve our Adversaries cause at all who must shew that their Profession was branded for the Immorality of it or he talks nothing to the purpose This Exposition of Labeo's upon this Law like the Preamble to one of our Acts of Parliament may let us into the meaning of the Letter and the motives that induc'd 'em to make it What this Learned Roman Lawyer here observes as matter of offence is only that they did Spectaculum sui praebere make a shew of themselves for hire which the Pride of the Romans might very naturally make 'em think to be a Prostitution of the Dignity and Character of a Citizen of Rome which deserv'd to be punish'd with the privation of that which they had dishonour'd To secure this point the words ab Histrionibus pollui which he renders to be blemish'd by the Stage are as has already been observ'd put into the Margin by which he hopes to cast that blemish upon the Morality of the performance which in strictness regarded only the Persons and Dignity of the Actors and that not upon any Moral but a Political Consideration By these Instances it may appear what violence of Construction is used to rack and torture these antient Authors to confess and depose against their Consciences Stretching the Text is nothing with him to serve his purpose it must be dismember'd that he may have the cementing the fragments as he pleases by which means he has shewn 'em in more unnatural figures than even Posture Clark knew Heads and Tails are so promiscuously jumbled together that the most familiar posture you find 'em in is that of a Dog couchant with their Noses in their A s. But if after all this Censure shou'd reach the Mercenary or Hireling Actors only and meerly upon that account I think 't will be pretty evident that 't was not the exercise of their Mystery that made 'em scandalous but the Motives that induc'd 'em to it To clear this point let us look a little forward and to the former Law we shall find the following subjoyn'd Those that enter the Lists for the sake of Gain or appear upon the Stage for Reward are infamous says Pegasus and Nerva the Son Here 't is plain that 't was not the nature of their Profession that drew the censure upon 'em but the condition of their exercising it which was for hire whereby they became Mercenaries This disgrace affecting only the Mercenary Actors reflects no way upon the Poets of the Drama and their Performances For had they been scandalous 't is not to be imagin'd that so many of the greatest men that ever Rome bred and the tenderest of their honour wou'd have amus'd themselves about Works in which they must have employ'd abundance of Time Learning and Judgment to forfeit their Reputation and Dignity Scipio Africanus and Laelius were publickly suspected to have