Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	king_n	people_n	see_v	2,763	5	3.6476	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50839	A letter to A.H. Esq., concerning the stage	Hopkins, Charles, 1664?-1700?; Hammond, Anthony, 1668-1738.	1698 (1698)	Wing M2033; ESTC R16571	11,283	26

that we are not in so much danger even from our very bad Plays For the more monstrous the less Power it has to please and whatever looses the Power can never do much damage So that if Mr. Collier should make a Collection of D'urfey's Works who is there that wou'd become a Convert And who wou'd turn Parson to be drunk and beat the Watch Or who wou'd be proud of an Imitation of any of his Heroes Has any Body brought themselves under his Character in hopes to recommend them to the World It would be happy if the World had learnt no more Irreligion from the Pulpit than it has from the Stage at least the Consequence of the first has been more fatal What dismal Effect has the holy Cant had upon the Multitude What Rebellion Blood-shed and Mischief have been encourag'd under the Name of Sanctity Religion and the Good old Cause Whoever learnt to cut a King's Throat by seeing of Plays But by going to Church the People were instructed to bind the King in Chains and his Nobles in Fetters of Iron That the Kingdom ought to be taken away and given to the Saints And who wou'd not be a Saint for such an Inheritance Who cou'd refuse resisting of Authority when instead of Damnation it was coming forth to the Help of the Lord against the Mighty But this is but one Mischief of the Pulpit this is only putting a Kingdom in Civil Broils intestine Wars and unnatural Murthers But when Men of debauch'd Principles shall become the Teachers of the Nation what may we not expect from their Industry and Sedition After all my Lord Foppington was never design'd to teach People to speak or act like him nor was it intended that the Ladies shou'd be byass'd by the Example of Berinthia to turn Coquetts These and the like Characters in other Plays are not propos'd as a Direction for the Gallant Man or the Vertuous Lady but that seeing how such Persons behave themselves on the Stage that they may not make the like Figure in the World but if any body shou'd rather be in love than terrified by these Examples 't is their Fault and not the Poets since the best things are liable to Corruptions But it may be objected That our Poets don't make Persons speak like themselves That indeed is a Fault and I can't say any thing to excuse it but this That they who have the Judgment to know when a Poet speaks improperly ought to have so much Judgment as not to be by assed by his Irregularities The People who don 't understand it generally suppose that what is Vertuous is to be imitated and what is Vicious is to be avoided That this is the general Observation of those who frequent Plays may justly be inferr'd from the Practice of the Town For I challenge any Man to prove That any one Vice now in being took its Rise from the Stage The Stage takes Examples from the Town The Scene must be really acted in the World before it comes to be expos'd So that whatever appears Vicious or Ridiculous is owing to the Wickedness of the Times and not to the Theatre It may be objected That what is generally acted on the Stage if it was done before yet it was done in private but the Stage publishes it To this I answer That it does not intend to license it only to set it in a true Light that it may be expos'd and shunn'd As to those Objections That the Actors are generally debauch'd and of leud Conversation and that no Person who is a known Adulterer or Profane ought to be encouraged That the Play-house is a Resort of vicious Persons and gives Opportunity to such who have wicked Inclinations All these wou'd fall upon the advancement of a regular Stage but as 't is the Objections are not levell'd Right for the State is chargeable with the Immoralities There are Laws for the Punishment of Vice and if the Magistrate neglect his Duty he must answer for it I don't know that any body is oblig'd to a Conversation with the Players and their Lives can influence only their Associates and such they wou'd find whether they are Players or not When they are on the Stage they are confin'd to the Poets Language And if we shou'd see Mr. Powel acting a Brave Generous and Honest Part or Mrs. Knight a very Modest and Chaste one it ought not to give us Offence because we are not to consider what they are off the Stage but whom they represent We are to do by them as in Religion we do by the Priest mind what they say and not what they do Tho' the Stage is not so abandon'd but that there are some Honest and Vertuous for any thing the Town can say to the contrary And I wou'd leave it to themselves whether they don't find their Account in it whether the Town is not more favourable on any Occasion so that it ought to be an Encouragement to persist in their Vertue The Objection against the Play-House it self because it gives Opportunities for Wickedness is so trifling it is hardly worth answering for they who are viciously inclin'd will find an Opportunity and as long as the Toleration-Act is in force there is never a Meeting in Town but will afford extraordinary Hints of that kind the Morning and Evening Lectures are precious Seasons Mr. Doelittle may thresh his Heart out there will be Tares among the Wheat and those Houses are haunted with a sort of Spirits that are not to be cast out with Prayer and Fasting I think from the little I have said it is certain the Town has not been debauch'd by the Stage and that 't is much easier to demonstrate the Good than prove the Evil Effect even of our bad Plays I have shew'd that there has been a Vertue in them and we might very well pardon them if it were only for that one Benefit of being so serviceable to the reclaiming of the Clergy If they can give me an Instance of any Play whose Vices have had so ill Effect with the People as to counter-balance the Good it has wrought in them I shou'd set my self against the Stage too but then as to other Advantages which we have receiv'd from the Plays of the first Rank we are certainly very much in debt to them The Refinement of our Tongue is principally owing to them Good Manners and good Conversation is owing to our Comedy and I don't doubt but some of our Tragedies have fired some with a Greatness of Spirit and taught to act the Hero with Prudence Vertue and Courage I shall conclude this part of my Letter with this Observation that if the present Stage has not been so terrible an Enemy to Christianity but on the contrary has afforded a great deal of good to the World that a Regulated Stage wou'd be of infinite Service to the Nation I have proposed it as an Argument in Defence of a Regular Stage that it lies on