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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A35682	The usefulness of the stage, to the happiness of mankind, to government, and to religion occasioned by a late book written by Jeremy Collier, M.A. / by Mr. Dennis.	Dennis, John, 1657-1734.; Collier, Jeremy, 1650-1726. Short view of the immorality and profaneness of the English stage.	1698 (1698)	Wing D1046; ESTC R12743	51,263	154

Collier conclude from hence That the Spartans disapprovd of the Drama Why then did they frequent the Theatre while they so journ'd at Athens As it is plain that they did both from the Cato Major of Cicero and from Valerius Maximus Chap. 5. Lib. 4. All that can be concluded from what Plutarch says of the Lacedaemonians is that the Drama was not so agreeable to the nature of the Spartan Government it being incompatible with rigid poverty and with fewness of Subjects which as Machiavel observes in the Sixth Chapter of the first Book of his Discourses were the two fundamentals of their constitution But then Mr Collier may be pleased to observe that no sort of Poetry flourish'd in that Government nor History nor Eloquence nor written Philosophy For as we observed above the Arts never flourish'd in any Country where the Drama was decay'd or discouraged and in those places where they have flourish'd as they have risen they have sunk with the Stage But tho the Drama was inconsistent with the nature of the Spartan Government it is so remarkably agreeable to ours that the Stage with us was never attempted till the late Civil Wars and then too by those who had first broke in upon our constitution and as it rose again with the Hierarchy and with the Monarchy we have seen it now attempted a second time by those who by their writings and by their examples have strenuously endeavour'd to ruin both Church and State The next Authority is brought from the Romans Tully informs us says Mr Collier that their predecessors counted all Stage-Plays uncreditable and scandalous Insomuch that any Roman who turn'd Actor was not only to be degraded but likewise as it were disincorporated and unnatur aliz'd by the order of the Censors This Mr Collier tells us that St. Austin cites from Tully in the fourth Book De Repub. to which I could easily answer that the same St Austin as he is cited by Mr Collier in the 274th page of his Book having apparently done Tully wrong in his citation of one of his Orations which is extant the passage which he cites from the fourth Book De Republica which is not come down to us may be very justly suspected This I say I could easily answer and to convince the Reader that I have very good grounds for it I think my felf oblig'd to make it appear that St Austin as Mr Collier has cited him in the 274th page of his Book has done Cicero a great deal of wrong The passage is this Their own Tully 's commendation of the Actor Roscius is remarkable He was so much a Master says he that none but himself was worthy to tread the Stage and on the other hand so good a man that he was the most unfit person of the gang to come there Now what will the Reader say when I make it appear that Tully never said any such thing In order to which I am oblig'd to transcribe the passage Roscius Socium fraudavit Potest hoc homini huic haerere peccatum Qui medius ●idius audacter dico plus Fidei quam artis plus veritatis quam disciplinae possidet in se quem Populus Romanus meliorem virum quam Histrionem esse arbitratur qui it a dignissimus est scena● propter artificium ut dignissimus sit curia propter abstinentiam Has Roscius defrauded his friend Can he possibly be guilty of this Who by Heavens I boldly speak it has more sincerity than he has Art more integrity than he has discipline who by the judgment of the Roman people is a better Man than he is a Player the worthiest of all men to tread the Stage by reason of his excellent action and the worthiest to partake of the Magistracy by reason of his singular moderation Now I appeal to the Reader if this has so much as the least affinity with Mr Collier's meaning I have all this while done my utmost to keep my Temper But I cannot forbear informing Mr Collier that Nature did not make the ferment and rising of the Blood for Atheism as he fondly imagins in the 80th page of his Book For an Atheist is a wretched unthinking Creature who deserves compassion No Nature made the Ferment of the blood to rise against those who are base enough to defame the dead by suborning them to witness what they never knew nor thought From all which it plainly appears that I may deny very justly to answer to what is cited here from Cicero since part of it carries in itself such a Manifestation of falsehood for how could Plays be accounted scandalous by the predecessors of Cicero when before the end of the first Punick War which was about two hundred years before Cicero's time the Romans knew nothing of the true Drama for the Plays which were represented in the 391 st year of the City were the Ludi Fescennini Now it was not quite a hundred years after the appearance of Livius Andronicus who writ the first Plays that Scipio and Lelius the two greatest men of the State whether you consider their virtue their courage or their capacity encourag'd and assisted Terence in the writing of his Comedies and were his friends by publick profession which they would certainly never have been if at that time the Romans had lookt upon Plays as scandalous 'T is indeed very true that the profession of Actor was not very creditable at Rome but it does not follow from thence that Plays were at all scandalous Your common Fidlers are scandalous here though Musick is very honourable The ancient Romans could not esteem any thing that was Religious scandalous Their Plays were a part of their Religious worship represented at the publick expence and by the care of the Aediles Curules the Magistrate who had the care of the publick worship I must confess I have a hundred times wondered why Players that were so much esteem'd at Athens should have so little credit at Rome when the Plays had so much when not only both Tragedies and Comedies were a part of their Religious worship represented at the expence of the publick and by the care of the publick Magistrates but when the very persons who writ'em were carest by their greatest Statesmen nay and when some of the Poems were written by their greatest Statesmen themselves But Livy whom Mr Collier cites once again shall immediately clear my doubt for the young Romans says he according to Mr Collier's citation kept the Fabulae Atellanae to themselves They would not suffer this diversion to be blemish'd by the Stage For this reason says Mr Collier as the Historian observes the Actors of the Fabulae Atellanae were neither expell'd their Tribe nor refus'd to serve in Arms. Both which penalties it appears the common Players lay under Here Mr Collier seems to me to have made a very gross mistake For he has interpreted ab Histrionibus Pollui to be blemish'd by the Stage according to the noble Latitude which he