{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_15656/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_15656","id":"gutenberg_15656","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15656","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Theater -- England -- Early works to 1800","Theater -- Moral and ethical aspects -- Early works to 1800"],"text":"Produced by David Starner, Richard Cohen and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Transcriber's Note:\n\n+ Hyphens splitting words across lines have been removed.\n\n+ Original spellings have generally been retained, but\n  obvious corrections have been made silently, and the\n  original text can be found in the HTML or the XML version.]\n\n\n\nSeries Three:\nEssays on the Stage\n\n\nNo. 2\nAnon., Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the English Stage\n(1704)\nand\nAnon., Some thoughts Concerning the Stage (1704)\n\n\nWith an Introduction by\nEmmett L. Avery\nand\na Bibliographical Note\n\nAnnouncement of Publications for the Second Year\n\nThe Augustan Reprint Society\nMarch, 1947\nPrice: 75c\n\n\nGeneral Editors: Richard C. Boys, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor;\nEdward N. Hooker, H. T. Swedenberg, Jr., University of California, Los\nAngeles 24, California.\n\nMembership in the Augustan Reprint Society entitles the subscriber to\nsix publications issued each year. The annual membership fee is $2.50.\nAddress subscriptions and communications to the Augustan Reprint\nSociety, in care of one of the General Editors.\n\nEditorial Advisors: Louis I. Bredvold, University of Michigan; James L.\nClifford, Columbia University; Benjamin Boyce, University of Nebraska;\nCleanth Brooks, Louisiana State University; Arthur Friedman, University\nof Chicago; James R. Sutherland, Queen Mary College, University of\nLondon; Emmett L. Avery, State College of Washington; Samuel Monk,\nSouthwestern University.\n\nPhoto-Lithoprint Reproduction\nEDWARDS BROTHERS, INC.\nLithoprinters\nANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nWithin two or three years after the appearance in 1698 of Jeremy\nCollier's 'A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English\nStage', the bitter exchanges of reply and counter-reply to the charges\nof gross licentiousness in the London theaters had subsided. The\ncontroversy, however, was by no means ended, and around 1704 it flared\nagain in a resurgence of attacks upon the stage. Among the tracts\nopposing the theaters was an anonymous pamphlet entitled 'A\nRepresentation of the Impiety and Immorality of the English Stage', a\npiece which was published early in 1704 and which appeared in three\neditions before the end of that year.\n\nThe author reveals within his tract some of the reasons for its\nappearance at that time. He remarks upon the obvious failure of the\nopponents of the theater to end \"the outragious and insufferable\nDisorders of the STAGE.\" He stresses the brazenness of the players in\npresenting, soon after the devastating storm of the night of November\n26-27, 1703, two plays, 'Macbeth' and 'The Tempest', \"as if they\ndesign'd to Mock the Almighty Power of God, _who alone commands the\nWinds and the Seas_.\" ('Macbeth' was acted at Drury Lane on Saturday,\nNovember 27, as the storm was subsiding, but, because it was advertised\nin the 'Daily Courant' on Friday, November 26, for the following\nevening, it would appear that, unless the players possessed the even\nmore formidable power of foreseeing the storm, their presentation of\n'Macbeth' at that time was pure coincidence. No performance of 'The\nTempest' in late November appears in the extant records, but there was\nprobably one at Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was not regularly\nadvertising its offerings.) The author also emphasizes the propriety,\nbefore the approaching Fast Day of January 19, 1704, of noting once more\nthe Impiety of the stage and the desirability of either suppressing it\nwholly or suspending its operations for a considerable period.\nApparently the author hoped to arouse in religious persons a renewed\nzeal for closing the theaters, for the tract was distributed at the\nchurches as a means of giving it wider circulation among the populace.\n('The Critical Works of John Dennis' [Baltimore, 1939], I, 501, refers\nto a copy listed in Magga catalogue. No. 563, Item 102, with a note:\n\"19th Janry, Fast Day. This Book was given me at ye Church dore, and was\ndistributed at most Churches.\")\n\nExcept for the author's ingenuity in seizing upon the fortuitous\ncircumstances of the storm, the acting of 'Macbeth' and 'The Tempest',\nand the proclamation of the Fast Day (which was ordered partly because\nof the ravages of the storm), there is nothing greatly original in the\nwork. The author was engaged, in fact, in bringing up to date some of\nthe accusations which earlier controversialists had made. For example,\nhe reviews the indictments of the players in 1699 and 1701 for uttering\nprofane remarks upon the stage, and he culls from several plays and\nprints the licentious expressions which had resulted in the indictments.\nLike Jeremy Collier before him and Arthur Bedford in 'The Evil and\nDanger of Stage-Plays' later (1706), he adds similar expressions from\nplays recently acted, as proof, presumably, of the failure of the\ntheaters to reform themselves in spite of the publicity previously given\nto their shortcomings. In so doing, he damns the stage and plays by\nexcerpts, usually brief ones, containing objectionable phrases. To this\nmaterial he adds a section consisting of seventeen questions, a not\nuncommon device, addressed to those who might frequent the playhouses.\nThe questions again stress the great difficulty involved in attending\nplays and remaining truly good Christians.\n\nThe pamphlet must have been completed late in 1703 or very early in\n1704. The references to the storm and the performances of 'Macbeth' and\n'The Tempest' would place its final composition after late November,\n1703, and it was in print in time to be distributed at the churches on\nJanuary 19 and also to be advertised in the 'Daily Courant' for January\n20 under the heading \"This present day is publish'd.\" The fact that it\nquickly attained three editions during 1704 may be partially accounted\nfor by its being given to churchgoers, for it seems unlikely that the\npamphlet would have a tremendous sale, even if one allows for the strong\nopposition to the stage which persisted in the minds of many people at\nthe turn of the century. The author of the tract is unknown, although\nSister Rose Anthony in 'The Jeremy Collier Stage Controversy, 1698-1726'\n(Milwaukee, 1937), pages 194-209, ascribed it to Jeremy Collier, an\nattribution which E. N. Hooker, in a review of the book in 'Modern\nLanguage Notes', LIV (1939), 388, and also in 'The Critical Works of\nJohn Dennis', I, 501, has deemed unlikely.\n\nAdvertised also in the 'Daily Courant' for January 20, 1704, under the\nheading \"This present day is publish'd\" and in the same paragraph with\nthe advertisement of 'A Representation', was another short pamphlet,\n'Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage in a Letter to a Lady'. (Immediately\nbelow this notice of publication was a re-advertisement of Jeremy\nCollier's 'Dissuasive from the Play-House', with the result that, on the\nday following the Fast Day, three of the pamphlets attacking the stage\nand referring to the performances of plays representing tempests soon\nafter the destructive storm of November 26-27, 1703, were brought\nsimultaneously to the attention of the public.)\n\nIt seems clear that the publication and distribution of these books was\na feature in the activities of the Societies for Reformation of Manners.\nThe anonymous 'Account of the Progress of the Reformation of Manners'\n(13th ed., 1705) boasted that the Societies had enlarged their design\nby causing books to be written which aimed at \"laying open to the World\nthe outragious Disorders and execrable Impieties of our most Scandalous\nPlay-Houses, with the fatal Effects of them to the Nation in general,\nand the manifest Sin and Danger of particular Persons frequenting of\nthem\" (p. 2). Defoe's 'Review' (III, no. 93, for August 3, 1706) pointed\nout that thousands of Collier's books had been distributed at the church\ndoors by the Societies for Reformation of Manners and the founders of\nthe Charity Schools. Obviously the Societies did not restrict themselves\nto the works of Collier. Incidentally, the habit of Collier and his\nfollowers of giving excerpts to illustrate the profaneness and\nimmorality of the stage produced an unexpected effect in at least one\nquarter. The same issue of the 'Review' tells us that the Rev. Dr.\nWilliam Lancaster, archdeacon of Middlesex, objected strongly to the\ndispersal of anti-stage tracts at the door of _his_ church, on the\ngrounds that they tended \"to teach the ignorant People to swear and\ncurse.\"\n\n'Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage in a Letter to a Lady' was ascribed\nby Halkett and Laing to Josiah Woodward, who was associated with the\nSociety for the Reformation of Manners, and the ascription has been\nreferred to by later writers on the controversy over the immorality of\nthe stage. According to Sister Rose Anthony (op. cit., pp. 203-209),\nJeremy Collier may have issued a pamphlet as a supplement to his\n'Dissuasive from the Play-House', which was first published late in\n1703; and it has been conjectured (cf. 'Critical Works of John Dennis',\nI, 501, 505) that 'Some Thoughts' might be that work, especially since\nDennis, at the end of 'The Person of Quality's Answer to Mr. Collier's\nLetter', refers to a quotation from Tillotson which appears on pages 8-9\nof 'Some Thoughts' and begins his reference to the pamphlet by\ndesignating it as a \"Letter written by you [Collier], tho' without\nName.\" In any event, both 'A Representation' and 'Some Thoughts' stem\nfrom the renewed opposition to the stage which arose in the winter of\n1703-1704 and were activated in part by the belief that the great storm\nof 1703 was a judgment brought on England by, among other faults, the\nlicentiousness of the stage.\n\nBoth of the items printed in this issue are reproduced, with permission,\nfrom copies in the library of the University of Michigan.\n\n                                                         Emmett L. Avery\n                                             State College of Washington\n\n\n\n\nA\nREPRESENTATION\nOF THE\nImpiety & Immorality\nOF THE\nEnglish Stage,\n\n\nWITH\nReasons for putting a Stop thereto: and some Questions Addrest to those\nwho frequent the Play-Houses.\n\n\nThe Third Edition.\n\nLONDON,\nPrinted, and are to be Sold by J. Nutt near Stationers-Hall, 1704.\n\n\n\n\n\nA\nREPRESENTATION\nOF THE\nImpiety & Immorality\nOF THE\nEnglish Stage.\n\n\nThe various Methods that have been used for Preventing the outragious\nand insufferable Disorders of the STAGE, having been in a great measure\ndefeated: It is thought proper, under our present Calamity, and before\nthe approaching FAST, to collect some of the _Prophane and Immoral\nExpressions_ out of several late PLAYS, and to put them together in a\nlittle Compass, that the Nation may thereby be more convinced of the\n_Impiety of the Stage_, the Guilt of such as frequent it, and the\nNecessity of putting a Stop thereto, either by a total Suppression of\nthe _Play-Houses_, as was done in the Reign of Queen _Elizabeth_, or by\na Suspension for some considerable time, after the Example of other\nNations; where, we are informed, the Stages were very chaste, in respect\nof ours of this Nation, who are of a Reformed Religion, and do with so\nmuch Reason glory in being of the best constituted Church in the World;\nnay, 'tis out of doubt but the _Theatres_ even of _Greece_ and _Rome_\nunder _Heathenism_ were less obnoxious and offensive, which yet by the\nPrimitive Fathers and General Councils stood condemned.\n\nAnd is not the dangerous and expensive War we are engaged in, together\nwith the present Posture of Affairs, a sufficient Reason for this, tho'\nthe Play-Houses were less mischievous to the Nation than they are?\n\nAre we not also loudly called upon to lay aside this prophane Diversion,\nby the late dreadful Storm, terrible beyond that which we are told was\nfelt in the Year 1636? which, as a Right Reverend Prelate has observ'd,\nsome good Men then thought presag'd further Calamity to this Nation, and\nwas accordingly followed by the Commotions in _Scotland_ the very next\nYear, and not long after by the Civil War in _England_.\n\nAnd if we go on to countenance such open and flagrant Defiances of\nAlmighty God, have we not great Reason to fear his heavy Judgments will\nconsume us?\n\nBut further, Her Majesty having now, upon Occasion of the late great\nCalamity, appointed a Day of Solemn Fasting and Humiliation throughout\nthe Kingdom, for the deprecating of God's Wrath, surely the Players have\nlittle Reason to expect that they shall still go on in their abominable\nOutrages; who, 'tis to be observed with Indignation, did, as we are\nassured, within a few Days after we felt the late dreadful Storm,\nentertain their Audience with the ridiculous Representation of what had\nfill'd us with so great Horror in their Plays call'd 'Mackbeth' and the\n'Tempest' as if they design'd to Mock the Almighty Power of God, _who\nalone commands the Winds and the Seas, and they obey him_. No surely, it\ncannot but be hoped, that a Suspension at least of the Players acting\nfor some considerable time will follow, when the _Prophaneness and\nImmorality of the Stage_ comes to Her Majesty's Knowledge, who, 'tis to\nbe remembred, has never once given any Countenance to the Play-House by\nHer Royal Presence, since Her happy Accession to the Throne.\n\nThe abominable obscene Expressions which so frequently occur in our\nPlays, as if the principal Design of them was to gratifie the lewd and\nvicious part of the Audience, and to corrupt the virtuously dispos'd,\nare in this black Collection wholly omitted; lest thereby fresh Poison\nshould be administred instead of an Antidote.\n\n_After the Endeavours used by Sir Richard Blackmore, Mr. Collier, and\nothers, to Correct and Reform the _Scandalous Disorders and Abuses of\nthe Stage_ were found too unsuccessful; in the Year _1699_, several of\nthe _Players_ were prosecuted in the Court of _Common-Pleas_, upon the\nStatute of _3 Jac. 1._ for prophanely using the Name of GOD upon the\n_Stage_, and Verdicts were obtained against them._\n\n_And in _Easter-Term, 1701_, the _Players_ of one House were Indicted at\nthe _King's-Bench-Bar_, before the Right Honourable the Lord Chief\nJustice _Holt_, for using these following Expressions, and were thereof\nConvicted._\n\n\n_In the Play call'd, _The Provok'd Wife.__\n\n'But more than all that, you must know I was afraid of being damn'd in\nthose Days; for I kept sneaking, cowardly Company, Fellows that went to\nChurch, and said Grace to their Meat, and had not the least Tincture of\nQuality about em.\n\n'Damn 'em both, with all my Heart, and every thing else that daggles a\nPetticoat; except four generous Whores, with Betty Sands at the Head of\n'em, who were drunk with my Lord Rake and I, ten times in a Fortnight.\n\n'Sure, if Woman had been ready created, the Devil, instead of being\nkick'd down into Hell, had been married.\n\n'Pox of my Family.\n\n'Pox of her Virtue.\n\n'He has married me, and be damn'd to him\n\n'Pox of the Parson.\n\n'Damn Morality, and damn the Watch.\n\n'Let me speak and be damn'd.\n\n    [Note: _This is spoken by one in a Minister's Habit._]\n\n'And you and your Wife may be damn'd.\n\n'Stand off and be damn'd.\n\n'Damn me, if you han't.\n\n'Lord! What Notions have we silly Women from these old Philosophers of\nVirtue, for Virtue is this, and Virtue is that, and Virtue has its own\nReward; Virtue, Virtue is an Ass, and a Gallant is worth forty on't.\n\n'If I should play the Wife and Cuckold him.\n\n'That would be playing the down-right Wife indeed.\n\n'I know according to the strict Statute Law of Religion, I shou'd do\nwrong; but if there were a Court of _Chancery_ in Heaven, I'm sure I\nshou'd cast him.\n\n'If there were a House of Lords you might.\n\n'If you should see your Mistress at a Coronation, dragging her Peacocks\nTrain, with all her State and Insolence about her, it would strike you\nwith all the awful Thoughts that Heaven it self could pretend to, from\nyou.\n\n'Madam, to oblige your Ladyship, he shall speak Blasphemy.\n\n'In hopes thou'lt give me up thy Body, I resign thee up my Soul.\n\n'A Villain, but a repenting Villain; Stuff which Saints in all Ages have\nbeen made of.\n\n'Satan and his Equipage; Woman tempted me, Lust weakened me, and so the\nDevil overcame me; as fell _Adam_, so fell I.\n\n_A Bill was likewise found against the _Players_ of the other House, in\nthe Term abovementioned, for the following Expressions; but the\nIndictement being wrong laid, they were acquitted: but they were\nIndicted the Term following for the same, which Indictment is not yet\ntried._\n\n\nIn the Humour of the Age.\n\n'Marriage, that was only contriv'd for the meaner Rank; tell me of\nMarriage, commend me to a Whore.\n\n'Every serious Thought, was so much Time lost.\n\n'We address you with the same awful Reverence we petition Heaven.\n\n\n_In Sir 'Courtly Nice'._\n\n'Nay, his Salvation is a Looking-Glass, for there he finds his eternal\nHappiness, Surly's Heaven, at least his Priest is his Claret-Glass, for\nto that he confesses all his Sins, and from it receives Absolution and\nComfort. But his Damnation is a Looking-Glass, for there he finds an\neternal Fire in his Nose.\n\n'That same thing, the Word _Love_, is a Fig-Leaf to cover the naked\nSense, a Fashion brought up by _Eve_, the Mother of Jilts, she Cuckold\nher Husband with the Serpent, then pretended to Modesty, and fell a\nmaking of Plackets.\n\n'Let him be in Misery and be damn'd.\n\n'And a Pox on thee for't.\n\n'Prithee Dress and be damn'd.\n\n'Pox on 'em: Pox on you all Whores.\n\n'Pox take him.\n\n'Rot me.\n\n'Let him Plague you, Pox you, and damn you; I don't care and be damn'd.\n\n_The following Expressions are transcribed out of the Plays that have\nbeen Acted and Printed since they were Indicted for the horrid Passages\nabove-recited._\n\n\n_In the Comedy call'd, 'The False Friend. 1702'._\n\nPag. 7. 'Pox take ye. Pag. 12 'The Devil fetch me, &c.\n\nPag. 22. 'Heaven's Blessing must needs fall upon so dutiful a Son; but I\ndon't know how its Judgments may deal with so indifferent a Lover.\n\nPag. 28. 'Say that 'tis true, you are married to another, and that a----\nTwou'd be a Sin to think of any Body but your Husband, and that ---- You\nare of a timorous Nature, and afraid of being damn'd.\n\n'How have I lov'd, to Heaven I appeal; but Heaven does now permit that\nLove no more.\n\n'Why does it then permit us Life and Thought? Are we deceiv'd in its\nOmnipotence? Is it reduc'd to find its Pleasure in its Creature's Pain?\n\nPag. 33. '_Leonora_'s Charms turn Vice to Virtue, Treason into Truth;\nNature, who has made her the Supream Object of our Desires must needs\nhave design'd her the Regulator of our Morals.\n\n'There he goes I'faith; he seem'd as if he had a Qualm just now; but he\nnever goes without a Dram of Conscience-water about him to set Matters\nright again.\n\nPag. 43. 'Speak, or by all the Flame and Fire of Hell eternal; speak, or\nthou art dead.\n\n\n_In the 'Inconstant', or the 'Way to Win him. 1702'._\n\nPag. 10. 'My Blessing! Damn ye, you young Rogue.\n\nPag. 20. 'What do you pray for? Why, for a Husband; that is, you implore\nProvidence to assist you in the just and pious Design of making the\nwisest of his Creatures a Fool, and the Head of the Creation a Slave.\n\nPag. 43. 'But don't you think there is a great deal of Merit in\ndedicating a beautiful Face to the Service of Religion?\n\n'Not half so much as devoting them to a pretty Fellow. If our Femality\nhad no Business in this World, why was it sent hither? Let's dedicate\nour beautiful Minds to the Service of Heaven: And for our handsom\nPersons, they become a Box at the Play, as well as a Pew in the Church.\n\n\n_In the 'Modish Husband'._\n\nPag. 12. 'She's mad with the Whimsies of Virtue and the Devil.\n\nPag. 28. 'I think Wit the most impertinent thing that belongs to a\nWoman, except Virtue.\n\nPag. 47. 'The Devil fetch him.\n\nPag. 50. 'I'm going towards Heaven, Sirrah; it must be the Way to my\nMistress.\n\n\n_In the Play call'd, 'Vice Reclaim'd', &c._\n\nPag. 15. 'Now the Devil take that dear false agreeable; what shall I\ncall him, _Wilding_. But I'll go home and pray heartily we may meet\nagain to morrow.\n\n'By Heaven, &c.\n\nPag. 24. 'By Heaven it becomes you.\n\nPag. 27. 'The Devil take me.\n\nPag. 31. 'Lightning blast him! Thunder rivet him to the Earth! That\nVulture, Conscience, prey upon his Heart, and rack him to Despair!\n\nPag. 32. 'Grant me, ye Powers, one lucky Hint for Mischief.\n\nPag. 43. 'Then damn me, if I don't, &c.\n\nPag. 47. 'Rot me and be damn'd.\n\nPag. 52. 'By Heaven, &c.\n\nPag. 60. 'Well, the Devil take me.\n\n\n_In the 'Different Widows'._\n\nPag. 1. 'Damn'd Lies, by _Jupiter_ and _Juno_, and the rest of the\nHeathen Gods and Goddesses; for I remember I paid two Guinea's for\nswearing Christian Oaths last Night.\n\nPag. 2. 'Pox take him. Pag. 24. 'Ye immortal Gods, who the Devil am I?\n\nPag. 61. 'May the Devil, Curses, Plagues and Disappointments light upon\nyou.\n\n\n_In the 'Fickle Shepherdess'._\n\nPag. 17. 'Bid _Charon_ instantly prepare his Boat, I'd row to Hell.\n\nIbid. 'O _Ceres_, can thy all-seeing Eye _behold_ this Object, and yet\nrestrain thy Pity?\n\nPag. 32. 'Fly hence to Hell; there hide thy Head lower than Darkness.\nWou'd thou hadst been acting Incest, Murder, Witchcraft, when thou\ncam'st to pray: Thou hadst in any thing sinn'd less than in this\nDevotion.\n\nPag. 36. 'Where Love's blind, God sends forth continual Arrows.\n\nPag. 42. '_Ceres_, to whom we all things owe.\n\nPag. 46. 'Almighty _Ceres_.\n\n\n_In the Play called, 'Marry or do Worse, 1704'._\n\nPag. 4. 'Pox on me. Rot the World.\n\nPag. 6. 'Pox on him.\n\nPag. 8. 'A Plague on her.\n\n'The Devil take you for a Witch. The Devil take you for a Fool.\n\nPag. 12. 'No Matrimony; the Devil danced at the first Wedding there was,\nand Cuckoldom has been in Fashion ever since.\n\n'The Devil take you for me.\n\nPag. 12 & 13. 'The Devil's in't if he been't fit for Heaven, when my\nMaster has writ Cuckoldom there.\n\n'The Devil take me &c.\n\nPag. 18. 'A Plague choak you,\n\nPag. 21. 'A smart Jade by Heaven.\n\nPag. 33. 'Now the Devil take him &c.\n\nPag. 37. 'A Plague on my Master.\n\nPag. 44. 'The Devil take me, &c.\n\nPag. 47. 'I pity him, and yet a Pox on him too.\n\nPag. 51. 'That dear damn'd Virtue of hers tempts me strangely.\n\nPag. 54. 'The Devil take me, &c.\n\nPag. 64. 'By Heaven.\n\nIt must be again remembred, that the detestable lewd Expressions\ncontained in the abovementioned Plays, which seem to be the most\npernicious part of our Comedies, are not here recited, least they should\ndebauch the Minds and corrupt the Manners of the Reader, and do the same\nMischief, in some degree, as they do in the greatest when used upon the\nStage, tho' mentioned with never so great Indignation. And it must be\nlikewise taken notice of, that these Instances of the prophane Language\nof Plays, which the good Christian will read with Horror, would not have\nbeen put together, and laid before the World, had not the\nIncorrigibleness of the Players made it necessary for the Ends\nabovementioned.\n\n_And now may not these plain Questions be proposed, without Offence, to\nthe Persons who frequent our _Play-Houses_; and especially to such of\nthem as appear at any times in our Churches, and at the Holy Sacrament,\nand be submitted to the Judgment of all Mankind._\n\nI. Can Persons who frequent the _Play-Houses_, and are not displeased to\nhear Almighty God blasphemed, his Providence questioned and denied, his\nName prophaned, his Attributes ascribed to sinful Creatures, and even to\nHeathen Gods, his Holy Word burlesqued, and treated as a Fable, his\nGrace made a Jest of, his Ministers despised, Conscience laught at, and\nReligion ridiculed; in short, the Christian Faith and Doctrine exposed,\nand the sincere Practice of Religion represented as the Effect of\nVapours and Melancholy, Virtue discountenanced, and Vice encouraged.\nEvil treated as Good, and Good as Evil, and all this highly aggravated\nby being done in cool Blood, upon Choice and Deliberation? Can those, I\nsay, that frequent the _Play-Houses_, and are not displeased with any of\nthese things, be thought to have any due Sense of Religion?\n\nII. Can Persons who often spend their Time and Money to see Plays, be\nsuppos'd to be displeas'd with, and to have a due Indignation at, the\nHearing the Outrages beforementioned, which so often occur in them, and\nof which there is a dismal Specimen laid before the World in this Paper?\n\nIII. Can sincere Christians encourage and assist, by their Presence and\nPurses, Men in committing such Practices, and in their living by a\nProfession, which, as it is managed, is so inconsistent with\nChristianity?\n\nIV. Can any who have a true Concern for the Honour of Almighty God, give\nCountenance and Support to such Entertainments whereby he is so\ndishonour'd and affronted, though they could suppose themselves above\nthe Danger of being the worse for them, which they can never be?\n\nV. Can Persons who know 'tis generally allowed, that the Infidelity and\nLooseness of the Age is very much owing to the Play-Houses; who have\nobserved, that the Zeal of particular Persons have decreased, and their\nStrictness of Life abated, by their going to Plays; and do think that\nthe Gospel obliges them to discourage, by their Reproof and Example, Sin\nin their Neighbours, to endeavour, according to their Advantages and\nOpportunities, to further their spiritual Welfare, and to be _Lights_ to\nlead others in their Duty and Way to Heaven? Can such, tho' they could\nthink themselves wholly secure from taking Infection in going to the\nPlay-House, encourage others, even weak and feeble Christians, by their\nExample, to run to the same dangerous Place likewise? Can this be\nthought an Expression of their Charity to their Neighbour, or to be\nacceptable to Almighty God? or rather, Should not Compassion to the\nSouls of their Neighbours keep such as have a due Concern for them from\ngoing to such Places?\n\nVI. Can it be denied, but that the going of a few sober Persons, tho'\nbut once a Year, to see a Play, that they think less offensive and\ndangerous, does encourage many others to go frequently to Plays, and to\nthose that are more abominably loose and prophane; who might never go at\nall to them, if none frequented them but such as were entirely abandoned\nto Shame as well as Vice?\n\nVII. Can Persons who have good Dispositions to Religion, who go but once\nor twice in a Year to the _Play-House_, say, upon their Experience, that\nthey think the seeing of Plays is proper to encrease the Love of God in\nMen, to fit them for holy Exercises, and to promote their spiritual\nWelfare? or rather, Must they not own, that by the seeing of Plays they\nare more indisposed for Religious Performances; that the Awe and\nReverence which they had for God and Religion, and the Horrour which\nthey had at the Sins which they there see Men divert themselves with,\nand make a Jest of, does thereby wear off; that their sensual Desires\nare more heightned and enflamed; that they are more alienated from God,\nand more enamoured with the World?\n\nVIII. Can Persons who are sensible of, and do heartily lament their want\nof the Love and Fear of God, their too great a Love of the World, the\nfrequent Distractions of their Mind in Prayer, and the Unruliness of\ntheir Lusts and Passions, delight to frequent a Place where they are\nsurrounded with Temptations to the Love of the World; where what can\nexcite to unlawful Desires and Actions is promoted; and the Arts of an\neasie Defilement are studied? Can they think this consistent with the\nRules of keeping from all Appearance of Evil, of avoiding the Occasions\nand Temptations to Sin, and that Watchfulness over their Thoughts, and\nthat Diligence in making their Calling and Election sure, as the Gospel\nrequires? Do they in any wise herein adorn their Profession, resemble\nthe Christians who lived in the first Ages of Christianity; or those who\nin any Age since have been celebrated for their Virtue?\n\nIX. Can Persons in good earnest pray, as they are directed in the\nLord's-Prayer, _Not to be led into Temptation_, and yet frequent the\nPlay-House, where they are assaulted with more and greater Temptations\nthan incounter them perhaps in any other Place?\n\nX. Can such Persons as go to the _Play-Houses_ on Week-days, and appear\nin our _Churches_ on the Lord's-day, and even at the Holy Sacrament,\nwhere they declare, that they _present themselves, their Souls and\nBodies, as a reasonable, holy and lively Sacrifice to God_, be suppos'd\nto attend upon these Holy Ordinances with a suitable Frame of Mind;\nsince the Language and Design of Sermons, and of our Liturgy, and of\nPlays, are so different and even directly contrary to each other?\n\nXI. Can Ladies really dislike Lewd Discourse in Conversation, and yet\nlike to see Lewdness represented in all the Dresses that can vitiate the\nImagination, and fasten upon the Memory?\n\nXII. Can Parents, or any other Persons who have the Conduct of Youth,\nand have any serious Concern for the Souls of their Children, or of\nthose that are committed to their Care, satisfie their Consciences,\nwithout Restraining them from going to a place of such Impiety and\nInfection; where they would be in the way to unlearn the best\nInstructions of their Parents and Governours; where Pride and Falshood,\nMalice and Revenge, Injustice and Immodesty, Contempt of Marriage, and\nfalse Notions of Honour, are recommended; where Men are taught to call\nin question the first Principles of their Religion, and are led to a\ncontempt of Sacred things?\n\nXIII. Can sincere and judicious Christians think that the Players\nexposing (as they pretend to do) Formality, Humour, and Pedantry, is an\nEquivalent for their insulting sacred things, and their promoting to so\nhigh a degree the Prophaneness and Debauchery of the Nation?\n\nXIV. Can modest and prudent Christians think, that the Opinion of the\nGeneral Councils, Primitive Fathers, and so many wise and good Men in\nthe several Ages of the Church, who have condemned the going to Plays as\nunlawful, and as a renouncing the Baptismal Engagements, doth not\ndeserve great regard?\n\nXV. Can sincerely religious Persons hear of the most horrid, licentious\nTreatment of sacred things as is in our Plays, and this not among\n_Mahometans_ and _Infidels_, not at _Rome_ and _Venice_, but in a\nProtestant Countrey, without a Fear that the Judgments of God will fall\nupon us?\n\nXVI. Can less be expected from good Christians, who are sensible of the\nintolerable Disorders of the Play-Houses, and the Mischiefs that are\nbrought upon Mankind by them, than that they would use all proper\nMethods for the Discouraging and Restraining their Relations and Friends\nfrom going to them, as they have any Concern for the Honour of God, the\nGood of Mankind, and the Welfare of their own Immortal Souls; that so by\nPersons, who have any virtuous Principles, keeping from a Place which\nthey will never be able to frequent with Safety to themselves, under any\npartial Regulation; the _Players_, the unhappy, the miserable _Players_,\nmay be necessitated to quit their Profession, and take upon them some\nhonest and useful Employment (wherein good Men ought to encourage and\nassist them) and thereby the execrable Impieties of the _Play-Houses_,\nand the ruinous consequences of them, be prevented?\n\nXVII. Lastly, Can Persons frequent the Play-Houses, after the outragious\nImpieties of them, and the fatal Effects of their going to them, are in\nso full and advantageous a manner laid open to the World, without a\ngreater Aggravation of their Guilt?\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\nSome\nTHOUGHTS\nConcerning the\nSTAGE\nIN A\nLETTER\nTO A\nLADY\n\nLondon, Printed Anno Dom. 1704\n\n\n\n\n_Madam_,\n\nIt is with no little Pleasure I behold you treading in the Paths of\n_Virtue_, and practising the Duties of a Holy and Religious life. This,\nas it has deservedly gain'd you the Love and Admiration of all that know\nyou: so, I doubt not, but you will always find it a _Fund_ of solid\nPeace and Satisfaction to your own Mind. I heartily wish there were many\nmore such bright Examples in the World, that the Ladies might be at last\nconvinc'd, _That there is something worthy their Imitation beyond the\nModes of Dress and Equipage; something which will render them much more\nagreeable to the best and wisest of their Admirers, and, in time, no\nless pleasing to themselves_. I make no doubt but the Age (as corrupt as\nit is) can furnish us with many Instances of those of your _Sex_, who\nthink the Beauty of the Mind does far surpass the gay Appearances of the\nmost splendid Outside: But yet, it must be confessed, that there are\nothers, (and those not a few) whose Lives are almost one continued\nCircle of Vanity and Folly. Such as divide the best and most precious\npart of their Time between their _Toilet_, the _Exchange_, and the\n_Play-House_. This, I believe, upon Enquiry, will appear to be no unjust\nCensure; tho' at the same time, _Madam_, I must freely own to you, that\nI think it a most amazing thing, that the _Ladies_ (at least those who\nmake any Pretensions to Virtue and Goodness) should ever be seen at the\nlast of these Places; where they find themselves so scandalously\ntreated. I am apt to think, that very few of 'em have read Mr. Collier's\n'View of the Stage'; if they had, they would there see the _Corruptions_\nof the Plays set in so clear a Light, that one would believe, they\nshould never after be Tempted to appear in a Place where _Lewdness_ and\n_Obscenity_ (not to mention other Immoralities) are so great a part of\nthe Entertainment; a Place that is now become the _Common Rendezvouz_ of\nthe most Lewd and Dissolute Persons; the _Exchange_, (if I may so call\nit) where they meet to carry on the _vilest_ and _worst_ of Practices.\n'Tis the Nursery of all manner of _Wickedness_, where the Seeds of\n_Atheism_ and _Irreligion_ are sown, which Weak and Tender Minds too\nreadily cultivate, and from thence are easily led into a _Contempt_ of\nall that's Serious. It is impossible to say, how many, and how great the\n_Mischiefs_ are that spring from thence; which if a Man should take a\nView of, it would perhaps, be one of the most Melancholy Prospects that\never he beheld. To look into our _Modern Plays_, and there to see the\nDifferences of Good and Evil confounded, Prophaneness, Irreligion, and\nUnlawful Love, made the masterly Stroaks of the _fine Gentleman_;\nSwearing, Cursing, and Blaspheming, the Graces of his Conversation; and\nUnchristian Revenge, to consummate the Character of the _Hero_;\nSharpness and Poignancy of Wit exerted with the greatest Vigor against\nthe _Holy Order_; in short, Religion and all that is Sacred, Burlesqu'd\nand Ridicul'd; To see this, I say, and withall, to reflect upon the\nfatal Effects which these things have already had, and how much worse\nare likely to follow, if not timely prevented, cannot but fill the Minds\nof all good Men with very dismal Apprehensions.\n\nAnd are these then the Entertainments for a Christian to be pleas'd\nwith; for one whose _Salvation_ is to be wrought out with Fear and\nTrembling? Will the Strictnesses of Virtue and Religion be ever relished\nby a Mind tinctur'd with such Licentious Representations? Must not such\nDiversions (to say no worse of 'em) insensibly steal upon the\n_Affections_, especially of the _Younger sort_; give their Minds quite a\nwrong Biass, and disarm them of that _Severity_ which is their greatest\nGuard, and which, when once lost, leaves 'em an easie Prey to every\nTemptation? Will not those _Lewd Scenes_ of Love, wherewith almost every\nPlay is fraught, inflame the Fancy, heighten the Imagination, and render\na Person thus prepar'd, a fit Subject for ill designing People to work\non? But suppose it were possible to be so armed as to be Proof against\nall these Dangers; yet let any that have the least Regard to what is\n_Serious_, tell me how they can answer it to _God_, or their own\n_Consciences_, to be any ways Instrumental towards the _Support_ of so\nmuch Wickedness? Do they think it a Sin to give the least Encouragement\nto Vice, and at the same time believe themselves _Innocent_, when by\ntheir _Persons_, and their _Purses_, they contribute to the cherishing\nthe very _Seed-Plot_ of Irreligion? 'Tis to no purpose for such to say,\nThat they are cautious what Plays they see, and always go to the best\nand that the _Play-Houses_ would thrive whether they frequented them or\nno. This may he true, but what then, Will this excuse them? Suppose a\npowerful _Rebellion_ is begun in a Nation, and carried on\n_successfully_, for some time; and a Man should not only appear\nsometimes among the Rebels, but should, now and then, send them a\n_Supply_ (tho' never so little) of Money and Arms: Could such a one\npretend that he was no ways _Instrumental_ in this Rebellion, nor\nAccessary to the Mischiefs that attended it, and that because it was not\nonly _begun_, but would have _prosper'd_ too, without him; and altho' he\ndid sometimes appear among the Authors of it, yet it was with the Party\nwhich did the least Mischief? Do you think, _Madam_, this a just way of\nReasoning? I dare say you do not. Is not this then the very Case I am\nspeaking of? Is the _Stage_, as 'tis now manag'd, any thing else but a\ndownright Rebellion against God and his Holy Religion? Are not the\nPlays, (if not by Design) yet by a natural and necessary Consequence, an\n_undermining_ of his Laws, and an _Attempt_ upon his Government? And\nmust it not then follow, that _every one_ that frequents them, is a\n_Party_ in the _Cause_, and _encourages_ the Undertaking? And tho' he\nshould be so Happy as never to smile at a _Prophane Jest_, nor join in\nApplauding a _Vitious_ Play; yet, will that exempt him from a Share of\nthat _Guilt_ which his Presence and Purse has help'd to support? No,\n_Madam_, 'tis _Numbers_ strengthen the Enemy, and give fresh Courage to\nhis Attempts! A _Full_ House is the very _Life_ of the Stage, and keeps\nit in Countenance, whereas _thin Audiences_ would, in time, make it\ndwindle to nothing.\n\nI know, _Madam_, this is strange Doctrine to some People. If a Man talks\nto them of leaving the Plays, they wonder what he means, and are ready\nto take him for a Madman. They have so long habituated themselves to the\n_Play-Houses_, that they begin to think a _Place_ there, to be part of\ntheir _Birth-Right_: But I desire such would be perswaded to hear what\nthe late A. B. Tillotson thought of these matters, (and I hope some\nDeference is due to his Judgment). If they look into the 11th Volume of\nhis 'Sermons', they will find that in his Discourse against the _Evil of\nCorrupt Communication_, he tells them, _That Plays, as the Stage now is,\nare intolerable, and not fit to be permitted in a Civiliz'd, much less\nin a Christian Nation, They do most notoriously minister_, says he,\n_both to Infidelity and Vice. By the Prophaneness of them they are apt\nto instil bad Principles into the Minds of Men, and to lessen that Awe,\nand Reverence which all Men ought to have for God and Religion: and by\ntheir Lewdness they teach Vice, and art apt to infect the Minds of Men,\nand dispose them to Lewd and Dissolute Practices. And therefore_, says\nhe, _I do not see how any Person pretending to Sobriety and Virtue, and\nespecially to the pure and holy Religion of our Blessed Saviour; can,\nwithout great Guilt and open Contradiction to his Holy Profession, be\npresent at such Lewd and Immodest Plays, much less frequent them, as too\nmany do, who would yet take it very ill to be shut out of the Communion\nof Christians, as they would most certainly have been in the first and\npurest Ages of Christianity._\n\nThis is the Opinion, _Madam_, of that Excellent Man: and, one would\nthink, it should put those Persons who are the Encouragers of Plays, and\nthe Frequenters of them, when they read it, upon an Enquiry, What it is\nthey are doing? Whether they are not carrying on the Designs of the\ngreat Enemy of Mankind? But if that will not prevail upon them, let 'em\nreflect upon the late Instance of God's _severe Displeasure_ against us,\nand tell me then, whether they think it consistent with that\n_Humiliation_ and _Repentance_ which this great Judgment ought to awaken\nin us, and which _Her Majesty_, by Her late Gracious _Proclamation_,\ncalls upon us to Exercise, to be ever again present at a _Place_, where\nthey must often hear the Name of _God_ Prophaned, and every thing that\nis _Serious_ made a Jest of? A _Place_ which they cannot but know, and\nmust own, (if put to the Question) has contributed so much to the\n_Corrupting_ the present Age; and which, 'tis to be fear'd, is one of\nthose _accursed things_, that has provok'd the Almighty to be so angry\nwith us.\n\nThese are things, _Madam_, of no trifling Importance; they are such as\ndeserve the serious Reflections of all _good_ Christians, whatever the\n_Pretenders to Gaiety_ may think. And though some may, perhaps,\nmisconstrue and ridicule such Considerations by the Names of\n_Preciseness_ and _Fanaticism_; yet, 'tis to be hop'd, that all who have\nany regard for the _Honour_ of God, the _Welfare_ of their Countrey, and\nthe _Interest_ of our _Established Church_, will not be laugh'd out of\ntheir _Duty_, but be perswaded, not only to withdraw _themselves_ from a\nPlace of so much Danger, but advise _others_ to do the like; that the\nStage may no longer Triumph in the _Spoils_ of Virtue and Religion. 'Tis\nnow the time to begin such an _Undertaking_: We have a powerful Enemy\n_abroad_, and a more formidable one at _home_; I mean that _Looseness_\nand _Irreligion_ which so abounds: and what will it avail us to _subdue_\nthe one, while we _encourage_ the other? The _Hand of God_ has been\nlifted up against us, we have seen the _Terrors of the Lord_, and felt\nthe _Arrows of the Almighty_; and what can all this mean, but to awaken\nus to a due Sense of our _Danger_? And, 'tis to be hop'd, the Nation has\nalready taken the Alarm, and begin to think how to avert God's\nDispleasure. The _Stage_ is called in Question, and Papers are dispers'd\nto warn us of its Mischiefs; and it is not improbable that the\n_Licentious_ and _Unbounded Liberty_ the Players have taken of late\nyears, and particularly in their daring to Act THE TEMPEST within a very\nfew Days after the late dreadful Storm, has rais'd in the Minds of Men\nsuch an Abhorrence and Indignation, that we may possibly be so happy as\nto see the Stage (if not _totally suppress'd_) yet brought under such a\n_Regulation_, both as to the _Plays_ that are Acted, and the _Company_\nthat Resort to them, that Foreigners may no longer _stand amaz'd_ when\nbrought into our _Theatres_, nor Good Men _tremble_ at the Continuance\nof them: but that _Virtue_ may appear there with all its Charms, and\n_Vice_ be expos'd to the utmost _Contempt_. In short, that the Stage may\nbecome so _Chast_, that even those _Birds of Prey_ who now hover about\nthe _Play-Houses_ and make the Avenues to 'em so dangerous, may fly away\nfrom a Place that will no longer _Encourage_ nor _Protect_ them.\n\nBut after all, _Madam_, Whether this is such a Scheme as can ever be\nreduc'd in Practice; whether so _noble a Structure_ as I am speaking of,\ncan be erected upon so _rotten_ a _Foundation_; whether the _Wound_ is\nnot _Gangreen'd_, and must be cur'd by _Excision_; I say, whether such a\n_Regulation_ of the _Stage_ be possible, must be left to those who have\n_Skill_ and _Authority_ to try the Experiment. In the mean time, it will\nbe every one's Duty to run from a Place of such _Infection_, least they\ncontribute to the spreading a _Disease_ which may, in time, prove\n_Fatal_ to the whole Nation. But I forget, _Madam_, I am intrenching\nupon your Patience, while I detain you in a place you have so long\nabandon'd. I am fallen upon a Subject, which 'tis difficult not to say\nmuch of: but I shall no longer interrupt your better Thoughts, than\nwhile I beg Pardon for this Trouble, who am,\n\n                                                                _Madam_,\n                                               Your very Humble Servant.\n                                                              Jan. 10th.\n                                                                   1704.\n\n\n\n\nA / Representation / of the / Impiety & Immorality / of the / English\nStage, / with / Reasons for putting a Stop thereto: / and some Questions\nAddrest to / those who frequent the Play-/ Houses. / London, / Printed,\nand are to be Sold by J. Nutt / near Stationers-Hall, 1704 / [enclosed\nwithin double frame of rules]\n\nCollation: A8 B4. Pp. [ 1-] 24. P. [1] title, as above; p. [2]\nblank; pp. 3-24 text.\n\nThree editions were issued in 1704. If we take the author's words\nliterally, the pamphlet was written between the \"Great Storm\" of\nNovember 26, 1703 and the day of fasting decreed by Queen Anne for\nJanuary 19, 1704. According to Arthur Bedford ('The Evil and Danger of\nStage Plays' ... London, 1706) the pamphlet was published \"At the Time\nof the Fast ...\"\n\n                                                            Colton Storm\n\n\nACKNOWLEDGMENTS\n\nThe Editors of the Augustan Reprint Society wish to thank the following\npeople for assistance rendered during the first year of the society's\npublication:\n\n\n      Mr. Warner G. Rice, Director of the Library, University of\n      Michigan.\n      Mr. Stanley Pargellis, Director of the Newberry Library, Chicago.\n      Mr. William Jackson, Director of the Houghton Library, Harvard\n      University.\n      Mr. R. B. Downs, Director of the Library, University of Illinois.\n      Mr. Leslie Bliss, Director of the Henry E. Huntington Library, San\n      Marino, California.\n      Mr. Colton Storm, Curator of Manuscripts and Maps, William L.\n      Clements Library, University of Michigan.\n      Miss Ella M. Hymans, Curator of Rare Books, General Library,\n      University of Michigan.\n      Alvina Woodford, Photostat Department, General Library, University\n      of Michigan.\n      Cal Markham, Edwards Bros., Ann Arbor.\n\n\nThe Augustan Reprint Society\n\nannounces its schedule of publications for the _SECOND YEAR_\n\n\nMay, 1947:\n      Series I, no. 3--John Gay's THE PRESENT STATE OF WIT and a section\n      on wit from THE ENGLISH THEOPHRASTUS. With an Introduction by\n      Donald Bond.\nJuly, 1947:\n      Series II, no. 3--Rapin's DE CARMINE PASTORALI, translated by\n      Creech. With an Introduction by J. E. Congleton.\nSept. 1947:\n      Series III, no. 3--T. Hanmer's (?) SOME REMARKS ON THE TRAGEDY OF\n      HAMLET. With an Introduction by Clarence D. Thorpe.\nNov., 1947:\n      Series I, no. 4.--Corbyn Morris's ESSAY TOWARDS FIXING THE TRUE\n      STANDARDS OF WIT, etc. With an Introduction by James L. Clifford.\nJan., 1948:\n      Series II, no. 4.--Thomas Purney's DISCOURSE ON THE PASTORAL. With\n      an Introduction by Earl Wasserman.\nMar., 1948:\n      Series III, no. 4--Essays on the Stage, selected, with an\n      Introduction by Joseph Wood Krutch.\n\n\nPublications\n\nThe above schedule is subject to slight modification. On the whole the\nchoices were made in response to requests by members of the Society. You\nare urged to write the editors, who are anxious to know, not only what\nyou would like to see reprinted, but also what items already printed you\nhave found most useful, and what sort of information you think is most\nprofitable to include in the Introductions. At present we offer a\nminimum of six issues annually. As soon as the Society's membership\nincreases sufficiently to warrant it, we shall bring out additional\npublications at no extra charge.\n\n\nFuture Plans\n\nIt has seemed desirable that for the Second Year we should continue the\npresent series (on Wit, on Poetry and Language, and on the Stage). But\nnext year we hope to run one or two new series: Rare Poems, Rare Plays,\nSwiftiana, Drydeniana, Popeana, Rare Periodicals, or some such unifying\ntopic or theme. Send us your suggestions for items in these or in the\npresent series. All suggestions are listed in our files; and our policy\nin publications will be determined by the requests of members.\n\n\nBibliographical Notes\n\nFrom time to time we shall include Bibliographical Notes in our\npublications. If members find this addition valuable, it will become a\nregular feature of the Reprints.\n\n\nMembership Fees\n\nWith this issue we conclude our publications for the First Year. If your\nmembership expires, please send us your renewal before May 1, so that\nyou will not miss the first issue of the Second Year. Membership rates\nremain fixed at $2.50 per year in the United States and Canada, and\n$2.75 in Great Britain and the continent.\n\n\nBack Numbers\n\nA limited supply of back numbers is still available. Publications of the\nfirst year may be secured by members for $2.50, the annual membership\nrate. For your convenience we list them below:\n\n\nMay, 1946:\n      Richard Blackmore's ESSAY UPON WIT (1716) and Joseph Addison's\n      FREEHOLDER no. 45 (1716).\nJuly, 1946:\n      Samuel Cobb's OF POETRY, and DISCOURSE ON CRITICISM (1707).\nSept. 1946:\n      Anon., LETTER TO A. H. ESQ; CONCERNING THE STAGE (1698) and\n      Richard Willis's (?) THE OCCASIONAL PAPER, no. IX (1698).\nNov., 1946:\n      Anon., ESSAY ON WIT (1748), together with Characters by Flecknoe\n      and Joseph Warton's ADVENTURER nos. 127 and 133.\nJan., 1947:\n      Samuel Wesley's EPISTLE TO A FRIEND CONCERNING POETRY (1700) and\n      ESSAY ON HEROIC POETRY (1693).\nMar., 1947:\n      Anon., REPRESENTATION OF THE IMPIETY AND IMMORALITY OF THE STAGE\n      (1704), and anon., SOME THOUGHTS CONCERNING THE STAGE (1704).\n\n\nLibraries\n\nLibraries as well as individuals are eligible for membership. Because\nthe publications are issued without profit it will be impossible to\nallow discounts to libraries, agents, or booksellers.\n\n\nForeign Subscriptions\n\nOur agent for British subscriptions is B. H. Blackwell, Broad Street,\nOxford, ENGLAND.","title":"Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the English Stage (1704); Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage in a Letter to a Lady (1704)","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":8375}