him Mad in the higheft Degree? Now confider, whether there be a lefs Degree of Madness in going to the Play-house. You own, that God has called you to a great Purity of Conversation, that you are forbid all foolish Difcourfe, and filthy Jeftings, as exprefsly, as you are forbid Swearing; that you are to let no corrupt Communication proceed out of your Mouth, but fuch as is good for the Ufe of edifying; and yet you go to the Houfe fet apart for corrupt Communications, you hire Perfons to entertain you with all manner of Ribbaldry, Prophanefs, Rant, and Impurity of Difcourfe; who are to present you with vile Thoughts, and lewd Imaginations in fine Language, and to make wicked, vain, and impure Discourse, more lively and effecting, than you could poffibly have it in any ill Company. Now, is not this finning with as high a Hand, and as grofly offending against the plain Doctrines of Scripture, as if you was to give your Money to be entertained with mufical Oaths and Curfes? You might reasonably think that Woman very ridiculous in her Piety, that durft not Swear her felf, but fhould nevertheless frequent Places to hear Oaths. But you may as juftly think her very ridiculous in her Modesty, who, tho' fhe dares not to fay, or look, or do an immodeft Thing her felf, fhall yet give her Mo

ney,

ney, to fee Women forget the Modefty of their Sex, and talk impudently in a publick Play-boufe. If the Play-houfe was fill'd with Rakes and ill Women, there would be nothing to be wonder'd at in fuch an Affembly; for fuch Perfons to be delighted with fuch Entertainments, is as natural, as for any Animal to delight in its proper Element. But for Perfons who profefs Purity and Holinefs, who would not be fufpected of Immodefty or corrupt Communication, for them to come under the Roof of a Houfe devoted to fuch ill Purposes, and be pleas'd Spectators of fuch Actions and Difcourfes, as are the Pleasure of the most abandon'd Perfons, for them to give their Money to be thus entertain'd, is fuch a Contradiction to all Piety and common Senfe, as cannot be fufficiently expos'd.

AGAIN, when you fee the Players acti ing with Life and Spirit, Men and Women equally bold in all Inftances of Prophaness, Paffion, and Immodefty, I dare fay, you never fufpect any of them to be Perfons of Chriftian Piety. You can't even in your Imagination join Piety to fuch Manners, and fuch a Way of Life. Your Mind will no more allow you to join Piety with the Behaviour of the Stage, than it will allow you to think two and two to be ten. And perhaps you had rather fee your Son chain'd

to

to a Galley, or your Daughter driving Plow, than getting their Bread on the Stage, by adminiftring in fo fcandalous a Manner to the Vices and corrupt Pleasures of the World. Let this therefore be another Argument to prove the abfolute Unlawfulness of going to a Play. For confider with your felf, is the Bufinefs of Players fo contrary to Piety, so inconfiftent with the Spirit and Temper of a true Chriftian, that it is next to a Contradiction to suppose them united? How then can you take your felf to be Innocent, who delight in their Sins, and hire them to commit them? You may make your felf a Partaker of other Men's Sins, by Negligence, and for want of reproving them; but certainly, if you ftand by, and affift Men in their evil Actions, if you make their Vices your Pleasure and Entertainment, and pay your Money to be so entertain'd, you make your felf a Partaker of their Sins in a very high Degree. And confequently it must be as unlawful to go to a Play, as it is unlawful to approve, encourage, affift, and reward a Man for renouncing a Chriftian Life. Let therefore every Man or Woman that goes to a Play, ask themselves this Question, Whether it suits with their Religion to act the Parts that are there acted? Perhaps they would think this as inconfiftent with that Degree of

Piety that they profefs, as to do the vilest Things. But let them confider, that it must be a wicked and unlawful Pleafure, to delight in any Thing that they dare not do themselves. Let them alfo confider, that they are really acting those Indecencies and Impieties themfelves, which they think is the particular Guilt of the Players. For a Person may very juftly be faid to do that himself, which he pays for the doing, and which is done for his Pleafure. You must therefore, if you would be consistent with your self, as much abhor the Thoughts of being at a Play, as of being a Player your felf, for to think that you must forbear the one and not the other, is as abfurd, as to fuppofe, that you must be temperate your self, but may affift, encourage, and reward other People for their Intemperance. The Business of a Player, is prophane, wicked, lewd, and immodeft, to be any way therefore approving, affifting, or encouraging him in fuch a Way of Life, is as evidently finful, as 'tis finful to affift and encourage a Man in ftealing, or any other Wicked

nefs.

To proceed. When I confider Churches, and the Matter of Divine Service, that it confifts of holy Readings, Prayers, and Exhortations to Piety, there is Reason to think, that the Houfe of God, is a natu

ral

ral Means of Promoting Piety, and Religion, and rendering Men devout and sen fible of their Duty to God. The very Nature of divine Affemblies thus carried on, has this direct Tendency. I ask you whether this is not very plain, that Churches thus employed fhould have this Effect.

CONSIDER therefore the Play-house, and the Matter of the Entertainment there, as it confifts of Love-intreagues, blaf phemous Paffions, prophane Difcourfes, lewd Defcriptions, filthy Fefts, and all the most extravagant Rant of wanton, vile, profligate Perfons of both Sexes, heating and inflaming one another with all the Wantonnefs of Addrefs, the Immodefty of Motion, and Lewdness of Thought, that Wit can invent; confider, I fay, whether it be not plain, that a Houfe fo employed, is as certainly ferving the Caufe of Immorality and Vice, as the House of God is ferving the Caufe of Piety? For what is there in our Church-Service, that fhews it to be useful to Piety and Holinefs, what is there in divine Worship to correct and amend the Heart, but what is directly contrary to all that is doing in the Play-houfe? So that one may with the fame Affurance affirm, that the Play-house, not only when fome very prophane Play is on the Stage, but in its daily, common Entertainment, is as certain

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