thus Whensoeuer any vertue is commaunded all vices whiche are contrary to that vertue are forbidden as for examples sake when men are commaunded to practise liberalitie they are forbidden to vse couetousnes or to embrace prodig alâ—tie and when we are commaunded to loue trueth we are commaunded to hate and detest theft c. Therefore when as we are commanded to vse sobrietie wee are forbidden to vse lasciuious dauncing Iu. Yea but howe doe you proue this you are as farre from the matter as you were Min. Lasciuious dauncing is a vice w t is opposite to the virtue sobrietie therefore if when the vertue is commaunded the vice be forbidden sobriety being commaunded lasciuious dauncing is forbidden Iu. You are alwayes wrangling with me with your Logicke if I shoulde suffer you to choppe logicke at your pleasure you woulde make me belieue that the Moone were made of greene cheese and that the crowe were white but I pray you sir remember your promise Min. My promise as I remeÌ„ber was this y â— I would remoue those 2. shoores which you had set vp to stay dauncing the former whereof I thinke is quite pluckt away and I meane the other shall followe him which is this the Church-wardens of Vbique do not forbidde men to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saue onely in time of diuine seruice therefore may you lawfully daunce vpon the Sabboath day so it bee not in time of diuine seruice A more rotten shoore then this coulde not haue been set vp vnto a more crasie staffe then this could you not â—â—and and a more bale reason to proue your matter to bee good could you not haue brought Is it therefore lawfull for you to doe what you list because the Churchwardens doe neglect their duetie not regarde their othe not consider what burden lyeth vppon their backes Shall you be excused by their sinne will you be lewde because they are lowsse Shall this bee a sufficient excuse for you in the day of iudgement when as standing before the iudgement seate of God the breach of the Sabboath day shall be laide to your charge to saye your Churchwardens suffered you so to â—oâ— Nay nay you shall beare your owne offences and they shall bee plagued for their iniquities If your resoÌ„ were forceable then was the idolatrie of the Israelites tollerable because Aaron who was their priest suffered them so to doe If your argument were strong yn 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 theÌ„ did the Israelites well to crucifie Christ because the high Priestes and Elders consented thereto For it is al one to say Aaron gaue his consent to make the Israelites a Calfe and therefore is Idolatrie good as to say the Churchwardens doe suffer men to daunce vpon the Sabboath day therefore is dauncing lawfull vpon the Sabboath day Iu. By this you seeme to burthen Churchwardens and sworne men with periurie because they doe suffer vs to daunce vpon the Sabboth day Min. In deede if they doe willingly permit you to daunce vpon the Sabboath day without certifiyng of those whiche haue authoritie to punishe suche faultes they can scarsely excuse themselues of periurie Iu. In deede you doe charge them very deepely nowe but they say they are charged no further but onely to see that men doe not daunce in seruice time Min. Yea but they are charged to see men keepe the Sabboath day holy according to Gods holy will and pleasure and they are commaunded vppon their othe to present all those whom they doe see to doe the contrary so that vnles they doe present commen and laciuious dauncers they can in no case excuse them selues of periurie for euen those dauncers doe breake the Sabboath day and that grossely as I haue sufficiently prooued alreadie Iu. Yea but they say if they should deale as strictly as they are commaunded by their articles they shoulde present them selues and you also Min. In trueth this is their common answere but whiles they say thus they are like to Sainte George on horsebacke who doeth alwayes spurre cutte but hee doeth not ride a mile in a moone They are still presenting but whiles they may not present all they wil present none at all But let them take heede to themselues for surely that God who hath saide that hee will not holde him giltles who taketh his name in vaine wil lay this negligence to their charge when as they shall stande trembling before his iudgement seate where they can fee no Lawyer for money nor golde to pleade their case where no shift wil serue where no brybe wil be taken where they cannot smooth ouer matters with lies for there there the secretes of all heartes shall bee opened Let them not thinke that God is ignoraunt what their doings are Let them not thrust them selues out of Gods fauour because they will winne mans fauour Let them not loose a great commodity yea the greatest commodity because they will purchase a small commoditie Let them beware that they doe not taste of the punishment eternall because they will saue their neighbour from that punishment whiche is temporall What shall this auayle them to winne the shel loose the egge to win y â— saddle and loose the horse what auayleth it them to to winne the whole worlde and to loose their owne soule They shal be in fauour with men but they shall haue no friendeshippe with God they shall here haue pleasure but after death paine here shall they haue mirth and melodie but when as they are gone hence mone and mourning here shal they haue solace and singing but when they haue left this life sorrowe sobbing and sighing here shal they haue wealth but when death hath done his message they shal haue want and wo and all their weale shall be away Therefore say I once againe let them looke to their othe let them not put them selues in hazarde because they will saue other men harmelesse He that made the eye can see their dooings and he that planted the eare can he are their counsells and he that nurtereth the heathen doeth vnderstand their imaginations Let them take heede and that good heede to themselues non enim sapiunt si sibi non sapiunt for they are not wise if they do not prouide for them selues Iu. You haue saide meetely wel in this but nowe to returne to our former talke I maruel very much why you shoulde disprayse dauncing sithence a great many haue gotten their wyues and that rich wiues also onely by dauncing Min. The Papistes in times past and nowe also affirme that ignoraunce was the mother of deuotion and truely it was the best much cowe that euer they did grasse it was the most profitable opinion that euer they did holde For by this did they debarre the simple people from reading the woorde whereby it came to passe that they could neuer espy out their iuglinge But I doe nowe see and perceiue that ignoraunce was the mother of all mischiefe that shee was the head welspring from whence did proceede all errours
A Dialogue agaynst light lewde and lasciuious dauncing wherin are refuted all those reasons which the common people vse to bring in defence thereof Compiled and made by Christopher Fetherston Eccle. 9. 4. ¶ Vse not the companie of a woman that is a singer and a dauncer least thou be intrapped in her snares Imprinted at London by Thomas Dawson 1582. To the right woorshipfull M. D. Lewyn doctor of the ciuil Lawes one of the Queenes Maiesties high coÌ„missioners and Chauncellour to the reuerent father in God Iohn Bishop of Rochester Christopher Fetherston wisheth long life happie dayes and eternall felicitie IF wee enquire of the times of old right worshipfull and seeke out what hath been done in the daies which are passed If we goe through that sacred volume wherein are contayned the statutes of the most highest and the glad tidings of our saluation and diligently â—oate the histories therein contayned if we reade the auncient histories wherein are recorded the factes of our forefathers those things which haue happened heretofore wee shall playnely see perceiue y t they haue alwayes had some cloak in readines to couer eue their most abhominable sin to y t end it might appeare vnto meÌ„ to be no sin at all When as our great GrauÌ„dfather AdaÌ„ had transgressed the Law which God had giuen him violated the coÌ„mandement of his creator by eating the forbiddeÌ„ fruit being asked why he did so he could quickly couer the matter with a figge leafe say that it was y â— womaÌ„ which thou gauest me which gaue it me to eate where he hath no other to lay y â— blame vpoÌ„ but vpoÌ„ God himself When Cain y â— murtherer had slaine his brother Abell being asked of God where his brother was hee coulde answere God very disdainfully say nuÌ„quid ego suÌ„custos fratris meâ— am I y â— keeper of my brother When as y â— I sraelites would coÌ„mit idolatrie they said they would haue gods to go before them into Canaan for they knew not what was become of that Moses which brought theÌ„ forth of y â— land of Egypt where they cloaked their sin with zeale When Ahab would haue Naboaths vineyard the possessioÌ„ of his fathers it was because he would make a gardeÌ„ of earbes therof WheÌ„ as that cursed Iesabel whose life was lewd death shamful did goe about to haue Naboth stoned to death shee did cast this couering vpoÌ„ her preâ—â—ce said he had spokeÌ„ against god against the king When as Saul had traÌ„sgressed the coÌ„maundement of God in not killing the Amelekyts all that was theirs he excused his fact with his good intent and said he saued the best of the sheepe of the oxen to offer in sacrifice vnto the Lord. The Iewes would put Christ to death because he had transgressed their law by making himselfe a king Caesar being yet aliue And Stephan was stoned for sooth because hee spake blasphemie when he spake the truth Out of which examples we see that thing euidently proued where of I haue spokeÌ„ before Now if we come nigher home take a full view of those times which are now we shal plainly see y â— the meÌ„ of these dayes are not behind their auncestors in these things for they caÌ„bring a thinne skin ouer their festered sore that it may seeme to be hole when it is nothing so The vsurer can say for him self that it is lawful for a maÌ„ to make the most of his own The couetous man draweth this vaile ouer his sinne it is good sauing a penny against a wet day he whose teath doth go before his handes shall neuer be worth one halfpenny The fornicator hath gone to schoâ—â—â— with the Papistes and there hath he learned this lesson Simplex fornicatio non est adulterium that single fornication is not adulterie and this is his last refuge when hee can say no more for himselfe The Drunkard can say that he is a good fellow and suche are to be well thought on The lasciuious Dauncer hath all those colours which in this Dialogue are recited and many more then these to paynt his dauncing withall that it may seeme to be golde whereas it is but copper that it may seeme good whereas it is euill and that it may seeme an honest recreation whereas it is inhonest of all those which will seeme to be honest vtterly to be abhorred And now right worshipfull as it hath been the custome of all those holy men which liued in those dayes when those former sinnes were committed to pul away those copwebs where with they couered their sinns that they might appeare as they were in deede so it behooueth those which liue in these daies to pluck away the visurs from the faces of their vices whiche raigne in these dayes Which thing I haue gone about to do with what diligence I cold in the last vice which I repeated whiche was lasciuious dauncing sithens it hath pleased God here to fore and euen nowe of late to stirre vp those which haue sufficiently refuted whatsoeuer could haue been saide in defence of these other vices And though I may seem to some to haue enterpriced this thing more rashly then wisely and more impudently then prudently fithens there are a great many which might better haue taken this same in hand yet the causes which moued me here unto were such that I thought I had better take this thing vpon me though I should doe it but simplie then to let it alone least when all men do straine curtesie it shoulde be left vndone It is not onely the common sort of people which doeth render these reasons for dauncing but it is euen some of those which carry some credite and are of great countenaunce which vse to obiect as followeth So that it is to be feared least lasciuious dauncing in time bee taken for a vertue where as in deede it is but a vice as it is nowe a dayes vsed And nowe right worshipfull the especial causes which moued mee to dedicate this my simple Dialogue vnto your worship are two in number The first was this because I ment hereby not in any case reaching you your duty to certifie you in whose hande it is to reforme this and suche like vices in these our dioces howe commonly this lewde pastime is vsed vpon the Sabboath day and againe howe the ministers of Gods worde are contemned because they woulde debarre the youth from dauncing so that it is to bee doubted that vnlesse speedie reformation be had they shall vtterly be set at nought To whom shall the seruant who hath espied weedes in the fieldes complayne if not to the maister whose the fielde is And whom shold I rather certify of this thing then you who hath authoritie to plucke vp suche weeds by the rootes The last cause but not the least which enforced mee to offer vnto you the first fruites of my labours was because you are he at whose handes I haue
Diuell when he is olde Min. A more diuelishe prouerbe could not y â— dwell himself haue inuented But I tell thee playnely Iuuenis that vnlesse men doe indeuour them selues to liue like Saintes that is to leade an holy and vncorrupt life when they be yong they may chance to proue diuels in deed For both common experience and also that sage saying of the prudente Poete Horace tell vs this that quo semel est imbutarecâ—ns seruabit odâ—rem testa diu What sauour so euer the caske hath when he is newe hee will retayne the same a long space so that wee must studie to liue vertuously in our youth else wee may chaunce to bee vicious in our age and then beware that wee become not very Diuelles as did Iudas the traytour Iu. Tushe tushe wee will haue our swindg while we be yong age wil come soone ynough and it will make vs forsake all these sportes and then will wee be sober and vertuous Min. Beside this that age hath his proper vices yet doeth neyther age nor nature bring vertues vpon their backe For vertues are habits which are gotten by many actions of our owne so that you are greatly deceiued in so saying Iu. Well well dauncing is vsed euery where vpon Sundayes and will be vsed whether you will or no. Agayne why are you so scrupulous and curious about dauncing for I am sure the Church wardens of vbique vpon whose oth it lyeth to for bidde the same if it were vnlawfull wil suffer both the minstrels to play and vs to daunce vpon Sundayes so we do not daunce in time of seruice Min. If you remember your selfe you promised to lay such groundworkes for dauncing as shoulde bee sufficient to vpholde the same but you haue here set vp such a couple of shoores to stay dauncing as I do thinke will make me sweat before I shall shoue them away Your first shoore or stay is the lewdenes of the multitude the seconde the negligence of Church wardens and sworne men You haue nowe payde it home Well haue a lifte at your first shoore which is this dauncing is vsed euery where therefore is it lawfull for you to vse the same It is written in Exod. 23. 2. That wee must not followe a multitude to do euill Which place maketh much against you because you see that it is no sufficient excuse for vs when we doe euill to saye the multitude doeth so and doubtles to daunce as wee doe daunce in these dayes is euill therefore must we not daunce because the multitude daunceth If your reason which you bring were sufficient to defende dauncing then surely God shoulde haue dealt very vniustly with the men of the old world in destroying theÌ„ for their sinnes which were most horrible because there was not one of them which coulde not haue alleadged for him selfe that they sinned euery where If your defence were strong inough then surely the Sodomites and Gomorreans had great wrong for they might euerie one of them haue sayde for him selfe that their sinne was vniuersall and did reigne in euery corner and street of their citie If your position might stande for a principle then surely Moses did the Israelites great wrong to breake the tables of the couenant because they committed Idolatrie for all of them might haue said that they did eate and drinke through the whole hoast and when their panches were well stuffed they ryse vp to playe They might haue said generally that they consented to turne their glorye into the similitude of a Calfe that eateth hay They might haue sayde that with one mynde and one mouth they badde Aaron make them gods of siluer and gods of golde to goe before them for as for that Moses which brought theÌ„ out of Egypt they knewe not where he was become If your reason were sounde why did the Lorde plague Hierusalem for Idolatrie for their supersâ—ition for their abhominations for without doubte they coulde haue sayde that it fared so euery where But this was no sufficiente excuse for them but the olde worlde was destroyed with the diluge of water the Sodomites were brent vp with fire from heauen the Israelites were sore plagued Hierusalem came to a shamful ende this notwithstanding that their sinnes were committed euery where No more can we alledge for our selues that dauncing and lasciuiousnes is lawefull because it is vsed euerye where for it is contrary to the will and woorde of God as were all their sinnes wherefore that shoore beginneth to shake It is not sufficient for vs to doe that whiche other men doe vnlesse they doe that whiche ought to bee done Wee must not doe that which is done vnlesse that bee done which God hath commanded to be done Therefore away with that foolishe aunswere which men doe vse most commonly to make when as they are reprehended for their faults they doe so in all places When as God had by a mightie hande and stretched out arme deliuered his people euen the sonnes of Iacob Ioseph out of the lande of Egypt hee straytelie commaunded them that they shoulde not doe as they had seene the Egyptians do neither shoulde they doe according to the customes of the lande of Canaan whether they went to possesse it but they shoulde do according to his iudgements Thou shalt not doe that whiche seemeth good in thine owne eyes but do that onely whiche I commaunde thee Uppon which wordes Chrysostome in his oration against the Iewes sayeth thus Of a trueth that whiche is done according to the will of God although it seeme displeasant yet is it altogether pleasant and acceptable in the syght of God Contrarywise whatsoeuer is done beside the woorde of God and otherwise then hee woulde haue it done though it bee as a thing acceptable to God yet it is of all other the worst and most wicked Out of all which places wee gather this that though dauncing or any other exercise whatsoeuer haue bin vsed neuer so long or thogh it be vsed in neuer so many places yet if it be contrary to the worde and will of God and forbidden by the same it is detestable and of all men to be eschewed Iu. Yea but howe doe you proue that dauncing is forbiddeÌ„ by the word of God Min. We are commaunded by the worde of God to vse sobrietie therefore wee are forbidden by the worde of God to vse laciuious dauncing Iu. Yet againe here is a wise reason The cowlestaffe standeth in the corner therefore the Pope is at Rome my dagger hangeth at my backe therefore my staffe is in my hande Min. In deede Iuuenis your reasons haue in them no reason but I will proue that my reasons are framed according to reason Iu. Do so then I pray you but the Doctors doubt whether you can doe it or no. Min. My reason then is this We are commaunded by the worde of God to vse sobrietie therefore we are forbidden by the woorde of God to vse laciuious dauncing I proue it