A brief treatise, concerning the use and abuse of dancing. Collected out of the…A briefe treatise, concerning the vse and abuse of dauncing. Collected oute of the…

The best and highest rooms, be they not kept for the young men and maidens, wheresoever the ancient substantial, and honest of the Parrish sit? nay if they be sate, be their meetings never so neighbourly, their communication never so friendly, their matters never so weighty, must they not away, my Lord cometh? But this is but once a year, and in jest many will answer, ⟨image 14⟩no more is this opportunity of this neighbourly meeting, but once a year, and therefore to be preferred this once: and this jest, turneth commonly to such earnest all the year after, that Gods commandment is broken, Honour thy Father and Mother:¹ the Apostles precept neglected, Servants obey your masters. By their brawls and sometime blows between company and company, the links of love are often severed a sunder. By their overmuch eating and drinking, charity to the poor waxeth cold. For do they not ride from town to town, go from village to village gulling in strong drink, and glutting in good meat, nature being before sufficed, that might be better bestowed upon the necessity of the saints? I will say nothing here of the gluttony and drunkenness committed neither of the practise and sport that I have seen to make a man overcome with nappy ale: but what if I (to spare you) say nothing, nevertheless the Apostle saith, That drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven: ²And the Prophet crieth, Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink to make him drunken. ⟨image 15⟩Far better were it (beloved brethren) that this Dancing the cause of this great and grievous sin (for take away Dancing and down falls all) should be utterly abolished, then that on soul should perish, or one of these woes should light upon us. It is a sore and terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Lord. Tush will some say, he that so delighteth in drinking & dancing if he have it not here, will have in it another place & will do it though this were not: & therefore it is better to let them have them at home, than they should rang about. As though other places be not, or ought not to be in this good order? or as though thou shouldest nourish naughtiness, because others do so? or as though thy fatherly fear, and masterly authority were not sufficient to suppress this sin & wickedness? In excusing this one fault, thou makest three. First thou apeachest other places of like lewdness: