Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	heathen_a	let_v	publican_n	2,742	5	10.9981	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

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

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