Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-07-25

timony Of the Jewish and Christian
Churches, the deliberate acts of tifty-fo
ancient and modern general, national and
provincial councils and synods, both OF the
Eastern and Western churches. the con-
demnatory sentence of seventy-one anciena
fathers and 100 modern Catholic and Prot
estant writer's iHerrick Johnson's Plain
Talk About the Yhester."
In the middle ages we hear little OF
the drama, except tie miracle plays,
and may SIS well leap at once
to the age Of Queen Elizabeth.
when Shakespeare came upon the stage,
the brightest star Of the English armament,
the central sun Of u constellation which
then suddenly burst upon tie world. Snen-
ser, Greene, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Beau
mont, Fletcher. Ben Jons3n, these are
names which were not born 10 die and
by their influence in few Years the drama
in England grew from nothing to hold the
principal place in English eyes, and Eliza
| beth was, Of course. its chief patron Ii
was the most brilliant age OF English
| history, and It's intellectual influence upon
| the civilization Of the world Will never
| cease.
But the moral influence Of the Eliza
| oethan drama was the same as had been
experienced III Greece and Rome. 1t did
not improve by tina. experience. The
moral character of the plays presented was
| often very high, but more often it was very
! low. The brilliant constellation WAS itself
| not spotleSs. and it soon gave place TO
! shower Of sUlphurous metcOTs. But
! thanks 10 the strength Of the English peo-
| pie. they soon rebeued against the c0rrnp-
| tons of the stage. They saw it was enerya-
| ting their character as . nation Elizabeth
! herself the Queen OF the drama, died in
despair, fooling her lost days away with
dresses ami jeTelTy. and the English peo-
pie took alarm. : great reformation in
morals arose, and the English Puritans
succeeded TO the English Graluatists in con
trolling the nation. The Bible supplanted
Shakespeare in the house, and the worship
OF God in the church drew The people away
from the play in The theater. Greece and
Rome had no Bible, and they went to de-
cay. England had q Bible and she read it
and Tss saved.
OF this time ! +. Green speaks as fellows
in his history OF the English people
" The earlier dramatists. such as Nash,
Pearl, kyd, Green and MGTlowe were, for
the most part, poor, and reckless in their
poverty; wild hvers, defiant IF law or
common fame, IN revolt against the re-
ligion and Usages OF their dav, atheists
ii gen3fai Tepntc. holding Moses for q
jugg,er,' haunting the bICthtl ana the ale
=
The groseness of the latter
comedy is incredible. Almost ~ incred-
ihe :e the taste OF the later tragediaHs for
horrors Of incest and blood The hatred
Of the Pu1tans to the stage WIS not mere
Iougln5 % Evense the tauats and iusulls
which The stage had IeVcled at Puritanis,n
il was in the main the honest hatred Of
God fearing men against the fOuest de-
praYlty, presented IN q poetic and attractive
form"
To this view Of an English historian We
may, as Americans, add gratefully the
statement that the English Puritans were
our Pilgrim Fathers. and that one result OF
the protest Of the English people against
the loose pleasures Of the Elis4bs,han age
was the building of Plymouth Rock into
the foundation OF the American republic.
What shall be sale CT the drama since
shakcspeare'5 time, and especially Of the
theaters of our own day? The evidence
VIII require about the same verdict IS III
the cases Of ancient Greece and Rome and
the age of Elizabeth. After the restoration
Of the English Kings. Charles II. under
took 10 restore tie drama u II, former
splendor. But It's moral character vas still
corrupt.
Macaulay in his history gays From
the day on which the theaters were re-
and the evil propagated itself. The profit
gaCy Of the representations soon drove
away sober people. The frivolous and
Gissolute vino remained, required every
year stronger and stronger stimuiants
Thus the artists corrupted the spectators,
and the spectators the artists, till the turpi-
tude Of the drama became sUck as must
astonish all who are not aware that eX-
IRENE relaxation Is the natural effect Of cz-
tTenle restraint
IN his essay on the comic dramGtists OF
the Restoration Macau]ay says: This part
of our literature is q disgrace to our Ian
guage and cur rational character. 1t is
clever, indeed and very entertaining but it
is in the most emphatic sense Of the words,
earthly, sensual devilish' We are sur
rounded ny foTeheads Of bronze, hearts ike
the neither milestone, and tongues set on
fire Of hell
\ hundred years late the moral character
Of the drama was still bad, although not so
bold as before. One Of the earliest acts Of
the American Congress vas the following
WHEREAS True religion and good morals are
the only solid foundation Of public liberty and
happiness
Et.0l,ed, That it be and is hereby earnestly
recommended TO the several Stateg, TO take the
most effective measures for the encouragement
thereof, and the suppression of theatrical enter
tainments. horse racing, gaming, and such other
diversions as are productive OF ldleDcSS disSipa-
ton, and general depTayity Of principles ana
manners.
a hundred years later and we have the
stage Of to-day. What is il? know thst
Shakespeare is still the standard, and that
his reputation hiss held up the drama won
dertuly, but sbakespeare's plays are sell
dom represented on the stage nowadays,
for the simple reason thatthey do not draw
tie crowd and will not nay the manager. (
Shakespeare's influence upon modern civil |
lization is wonderful, but his throne--oom
Is the library. and not the public theateT
Edwin Booth built q magnificent temple in
New York for the legitimate drama" but
it cost him his fortune, passed out of his pos
session, and is now open TO 3 very different
class Of plays.
a dramatic writer in 2 large and widely
circulated paper, the Philadelphia Press,
about two years ago made the following
confession " The stage has reached that
point of degradation which Dr.. Jonson
deprecated and which Byron deplored, and
which Mr.. BOuciCault and the manager of
Drury Lane have 30 lately ayowed and in
dOrsed in the columns Of the London YSz.cs;
yes, shamefUly and defiantly Endorsed, their
argument being, chat, IS the standard drama
will not draw, something else must. And
the moUntebGnks are not very particular
what chat something else shall be, pro
vided always that the public and the laws
Of the land will tolerate their disgraceful
descent into the darkest ages OF the
drama, when the stage was q place
for the orgies of satyrs. and its
songs were the music OF internal sirens
Olive Logan, who comes of theatrical
family, but who left the stage for the more
genial walks of literature, still, however,
remaining protested friend of the institu-
ton, wrote in 1875: " stay in Boston long
enough to note that, in the late Woman's
Convention there, lady related the trials
of young friend of hers, who went upon
the stage and endured insult and wicked
ness from managers The same lady cor
roborated my own observations with the
statement that managers look upon the
girls they employ as women of the town.
I can advise no honorable self
respecting woman to turn to the stage for
supnort with it's denOralizine, ipfiuences