Tertullian: de Spectaculis

[1] Qui status fidei, quae ratio veritatis, quod praescriptum disciplinae inter cetera saecularium errorum etiam spectaculorum voluptates adimat, dei servi, cognoscite, qui cum maxime ad deum acceditis, recognoscite, qui iam accessisse vos testificati et confessi estis, ne aut ignorando aut dissimulando quis peccet.

[1] What the state of the faith is, what the rationale of truth, what prescription of discipline takes away, among other secular errors, even the pleasures of spectacles, servants of God, know; you who are just now approaching God, recognize; you who have already testified and confessed that you have approached, lest anyone sin either by being ignorant or by dissembling.

[2] tanta est enim voluptatum vis, ut et ignorantiam protelet in occasionem et conscientiam corrumpat in dissimulationem.

[2] so great indeed
is the force of pleasures, that it both protracts ignorance into
an occasion and corrupts conscience into
dissimulation.

[3] ad utrumque adhuc forsan alicui opiniones ethnicorum blandiantur, qui in ista causa adversus nos ita argumentari consuerunt: nihil obstrepere religioni in animo et in conscientia tanta solacia extrinsecus oculorum vel aurium nec vero deum offendi oblectatione hominis, qua salvo erga deum metu et honore suo in tempore et suo in loco frui scelus non sit.

[3] in regard to both, perhaps as yet the opinions of the pagans may flatter someone, who in this cause against us have been accustomed to argue thus: that nothing jars against religion in the mind and in the conscience, such great solaces from without for the eyes or ears, nor indeed that God is offended by a man's delectation, by which, with fear toward God preserved and with its proper honor in its time and in its place, to enjoy is not a crime.

[4] atquin hoc cum maxime paramus demonstrare, quemadmodum ista non competant verae religioni et vero obsequio erga verum deum.

[4] But indeed this we are just now especially
preparing to demonstrate, how these things do not
befit true religion and true obedience toward
the true God.

[5] sunt qui existimant Christianos, expeditum morti genus, ad hanc obstinationem abdicatione voluptatum erudiri, quo facilius vitam contemnant amputatis quasi retinaculis eius nec desiderent, quam iam supervacuam sibi fecerint, ut hoc consilio potius et humano prospectu, non divino praescripto definitum existimetur.

[5] There are those who think that Christians,
a kind expeditious for death, are trained to this obstinacy
by an abdication of pleasures, so that they may the more easily contemn life,
its, as it were, retinacula amputated, and not desire it,
since they have already made it superfluous to themselves, so that
this is thought to be defined rather by this counsel and by human prospect,
not by divine prescription.

[6] pigebat scilicet etiam perseverantes tantis in voluptatibus propter dominum mori. quamquam, etsi ita esset, tam apto consilio tantae obstinatio disciplinae debebat obsequium.

[6] it irked, to be sure, even those persevering in such great pleasures to die on account of the Lord. although, even if it were so, to so apt a counsel such obstination of discipline owed obedience.

[1] Iam vero nemo est, qui non hoc quoque praetendat: omnia a deo instituta et homini attributa, sicut praedicamus, et utique bona omnia, ut boni auctoris; inter haec deputari universa ista, ex quibus spectacula instruuntur, equum verbi gratia et leonem et vires corporis et vocis suavitates; igitur neque alienum videri posse neque inimicum deo quod de conditione constet ipsius, neque cultoribus dei deputandum, quod ei non sit inimicum, quia nec alienum.

[1] Now indeed there is no one who does not also put this forward: that all things have been instituted by God and attributed to man, as we preach, and assuredly all good, as of a good author; among these are to be reckoned all those things out of which spectacles are constructed— a horse, for example, and a lion, and the strengths of the body and the sweetnesses of the voice; therefore neither can that seem alien nor inimical to God which consists of his own creation, nor is it to be assigned as forbidden to the worshipers of God, that which is not hostile to him, since neither is it alien.

[2] plane et ipsae extructiones locorum, quod saxa, quod caementa, quod marmora, quod columnae dei res sunt, qui ea ad instrumentum terrae dedit; sed et ipsi actus sub caelo dei transiguntur.

[2] plainly even the very constructions of places, since the stones, the cement, the marbles, the columns are God’s things, who gave them as the instrument of the earth; but the acts themselves too are transacted under God’s heaven.

Quam sapiens argumentatrix sibi videtur ignorantia humana, praesertim, cum aliquid eiusmodi de gaudiis et de fructibus saeculi metuit amittere.

How wise an arguer it seems to itself, human ignorance, especially, when it fears to lose something of this sort from the joys and from the fruits of the age.

[3] plures denique invenias, quos magis periculum voluptatis quam vitae avocet ab hac secta. nam mortem etiam stultus ut debitam non extimescit, voluptatem etiam sapiens ut datam non contemnit, cum alia non sit et stulto et sapienti vitae gratia nisi voluptas.

[3] you will find, in fact, more, whom more
the danger to pleasure than to life diverts from this
sect. For even the fool does not
dread death as a debt due, nor does the wise man contemn pleasure as something given,
since there is no other end both for the fool and for the wise
of life save pleasure.

[4] nemo negat, quia nemo ignorat, quod ultro natura suggerit, deum esse universitatis conditorem eamque universitatem tam bonam quam homini mancipatam.

[4] no one denies, because no one is ignorant, what nature of its own accord suggests: that God is the founder of the universe, and that universe both good and made over to man.

[5] sed quia non penitus deum norunt nisi naturali iure, non etiam familiari, de longinquo, non de proximo, necesse est ignorent, qualiter administrari aut iubeat aut prohibeat quae instituit, simul quae vis sit aemula ex adverso adulterandis usibus divinae conditionis, quia neque voluntatem neque adversarium noveris eius quem minus noveris.

[5] but because they do not know God thoroughly, save by natural law, not also by familiar knowledge, from afar, not from near at hand, it must needs be that they are ignorant how he either bids or forbids the administration of the things he has instituted, and likewise what rival force there is, set over against, for adulterating the uses of the divine creation, since you know neither the will nor the adversary of him whom you know the less.

[6] non ergo hoc solum respiciendum est, a quo omnia sint instituta, sed a quo conversa. ita enim apparebit, cui usui sint instituta, si appareat, cui non.

[6] therefore, not this alone is to be looked to,
namely, by whom all things have been instituted, but by whom they have been turned.
for thus it will appear, for what use they have been instituted, if
it should appear, for what not.

[7] multum interest inter corruptelam et integritatem, quia multum est inter institutorem et interpolatorem.

[7] there is great difference between
corruption and integrity, since there is great [difference] between
the institutor and the interpolator.

Ceterum omnes species malorum, quae etiam ethnici ut indubitata et prohibent et defendunt, ex operibus dei constant.

Moreover, all the forms of evils, which even
the pagans, as indubitable, both prohibit and defend, consist of
the works of God.

[8] vides homicidium ferro veneno magicis devinctionibus perfici: tam ferrum dei res est quam herbae, quam angeli. numquid tamen in hominis necem auctor ista providit? atquin omnem homicidii speciem uno et principali praecepto interimit: "non occides."

[8] you see homicide accomplished by iron
by poison, by magical bindings: just as iron
is a thing of God as much as herbs, as much as angels. Did
however the Author provide these things for a man’s slaughter?
Nay rather, he does away with every sort of homicide by one principal
precept: "you shall not kill."

[9] proinde aurum aes argentum ebur lignum et quaecumque fabricandis idolis materia captatur quis in saeculo posuit nisi saeculi auctor deus? numquid tamen, ut haec adversus ipsum adorentur? atquin summa offensa penes illum idololatria.

[9] accordingly
gold bronze silver ivory wood and whatever
material is taken up for fabricating idols—who in the world
placed it, unless God, the author of the world? Surely not, however, that
these things should be adored against Himself? But indeed the highest
offense with Him is idolatry.

quid non dei est quod deum offendit? sed cum offendit, dei esse desiit, et cum desiit, offendit.

What is not God's that offends God? But when it offends, it has ceased to be God's, and when it has ceased, it offends.

[10] ipse homo, omnium flagitiorum auctor, non tantum opus dei, verum etiam imago est; et tamen et corpore et spiritu desciit a suo institutore. neque enim oculos ad concupiscentiam sumpsimus et linguam ad maliloquium et aures ad exceptaculum maliloquii et gulam ad gulae crimen et ventrem ad gulae societatem et genitalia ad excessus impudicitiae et manus ad vim et gressus ad vagam vitam, aut spiritus ideo insitus corpori, ut insidiarum, ut fraudium, ut iniquitatium cogitatorium fieret. non opinor.

[10] the man himself, the author of all flagitious acts, is not only a work of God, but even an image; and yet both in body and in spirit he has seceded from his institutor. For we did not receive eyes for concupiscence and a tongue for evil-speaking and ears as a receptacle of evil-speaking and a gullet for the crime of gluttony and a belly for the society of gluttony and genitals for the excesses of impudicity and hands for violence and steps for a vagrant life, or the spirit was therefore implanted in the body, that it might become a workshop of cogitation for ambushes, for frauds, for iniquities. I do not suppose so.

[11] nam si omnem malignitatem et si tantum malitiam excogitatam dens exactor innocentiae odit, indubitate quaecumque condidit non in exitum operum constat condidisse quae damnat, licet eadem opera per ea quae condidit administrentur, quando haec sit tota ratio damnationis: perversa administratio conditionis a conditis.

[11] For if God, the exactor of innocence, hates all malignity and even malice as far as it has been excogitated, undoubtedly it is evident that, whatever he has created, he did not create for the ruin of works the things which he condemns, although the same works are administered through the things which he has created, since this is the whole rationale of damnation: the perverted administration of the condition by the created.

[12] nos igitur, qui domino cognito etiam aemulum eius inspeximus, qui institutore comperto et interpolatorem una deprehendimus, nec mirari neque dubitare oportet: cum ipsum hominem, opus et imaginem dei, totius universitatis possessorem, illa vis interpolatoris et aemulatoris angeli ab initio de integritate deiecerit, universam substantiam eius pariter cum ipso integritati institutam pariter cum ipso in perversitatem demutavit adversus institutorem, ut, quam doluerat homini concessam, non sibi, in ea ipsa et hominem reum deo faceret et suam dominationem collocaret.

[12] We therefore, who, the Lord once known, have also inspected his rival, who, the institutor being discovered, have at the same time detected the interpolator, ought neither to marvel nor to doubt: since the man himself—the work and image of God, the possessor of the whole universe—has been cast down from integrity from the beginning by that force of the interpolator and emulative angel, and his whole substance, established for integrity, together with himself has been transmuted together with himself into perversity against the institutor, so that that which he had lamented as granted to man and not to himself, in that very thing he might both make the man guilty to God and establish his own domination.

[1] hac conscientia instructi adversus opinionem ethnicorum convertamur magis ad nostrorum detractatus. quorundam enim fides aut simplicior aut scrupulosior ad hanc abdicationem spectaculorum de scripturis auctoritatem exposcit et se in incertum constituit, quod non significanter neque nominatim denuntietur servis dei abstinentia eiusmodi.

[1] Equipped with this conscience, let us turn rather, against the opinion of the pagans, to the detractions of our own people. For the faith of certain persons, either simpler or more scrupulous, exacts from the Scriptures authority for this abdication of spectacles and sets itself in uncertainty, because abstinence of this sort is not expressly nor by name enjoined upon the servants of God.

[2] plane nusquam invenimus, quemadmodum aperte positum est: "non occides, non idolum coles, non adulterium, non fraudem admittes", ita exerte definitum: non ibis in circum, non in theatrum, agonem, munus non spectabis.

[2] plainly we find nowhere, just as it is openly set down: "you shall not kill, you shall not worship an idol, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit fraud", so expressly defined: you shall not go into the circus, not into the theater, a contest, a gladiatorial show you shall not watch.

[3] sed invenimus ad hanc quoque speciem pertinere illam primam vocem David: "felix vir", inquit, "qui non abiit in concilium impiorum et in via peccatorum non stetit nec in cathedra pestium sedit."

[3] but we find that to this species also pertains that first voice of David: "Blessed is the man," he says, "who has not gone into the counsel of the impious and has not stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence."

[4] nam etsi iustum illum videtur praedicasse, quod in concilio et in consessu Iudaeorum de necando domino consultantium non communicavit, late tamen semper scriptura divina dividitur, ubicumque secundum praesentis rei sensum etiam disciplina munitur, ut hic quoque non sit aliena vox a spectaculorum interdictione.

[4] for even if he seems to have proclaimed that just man,
because he did not communicate in the council and in the assembly
of the Jews who were consulting about killing the Lord,
yet divine Scripture is always widely extended,
wherever, according to the sense of the present matter,
discipline also is fortified, so that here too the voice is not
foreign to the interdiction of spectacles.

[5] si enim pauculos tunc Iudaeos impiorum concilium vocavit, quanto magis tantum conventum ethnici populi? minus impii ethnici, minus peccatores, minus hostes Christi quam tunc Iudaei?

[5] if indeed he then called a few Jews a council of the impious, how much more such a gathering of the gentile people? Are the gentiles less impious, less sinners, less enemies of Christ than the Jews then?

[6] quid, quod et cetera congruunt: nam apud spectacula et in cathedra sedetur et in via statur; vias enim et cardines vocant balteorum per ambitum et discrimina popularium per proclivum; cathedra quoque nominatur ipse in anfractu ad consessum situs.

[6] what,
what of it that the rest also agree: for at the spectacles both
in the cathedra one sits and in the via one stands; for they call the “ways” and
the “cardines” the circuits of the belts around and the discriminations
of the populace along the declivity; the cathedra, too,
is likewise named the very site in the bend for the assembly.

[7] itaque e contrario "infelix qui in quodcumque concilium impiorum abierit et in quacumque via peccatorum steterit et in quacumque cathedra pestium sederit." generaliter dictum intellegamus, cum quid aliter, etiam specialiter interpretari capit. nam et specialiter quaedam pronuntiata generaliter sapiunt.

[7] and so, on the contrary, "unhappy whoever has gone into whatever council of the impious, and has stood in whatever way of sinners, and has sat in whatever cathedra of pests." generally said let us understand, since a thing, otherwise, also admits of being interpreted specially. for even things pronounced specially have a general savor.

[8] cum deus Israhelitas admonet disciplinae vel obiurgat, utique ad omnes habet; cum Aegypto et Aethiopiae exitium comminatur, utique in omnem gentem peccatricem praeiudicat. sic omnis gens peccatrix Aegyptus et Aethiopia a specie ad genus, quemadmodum etiam omne spectaculum concilium impiorum a genere ad speciem.

[8] When God admonishes the Israelites to discipline or rebukes them, assuredly it pertains to all; when he threatens destruction to Egypt and to Ethiopia, assuredly he prejudges every sinful nation. Thus every sinful nation is an Egypt and an Ethiopia, from species to genus, just as also every spectacle is a council of the impious, from genus to species.

[1] ne quis argutari nos putet, ad principalem auctoritatem convertar ipsius signaculi nostri. cum aquam ingressi Christianam fidem in legis suae verba profitemur, renuntiasse nos diabolo et pompae et angelis einus ore nostro contestamur.

[1] lest anyone think that we are caviling, I will turn to the principal authority of our very seal: when, having entered the water, we profess the Christian faith in the words of its law, we attest with our mouth that we have renounced the devil and his pomp and his angels.

[2] quid erit summum atque praecipuum, in quo diabolus et pompae et angeli eius censeantur, quam idololatria? ex qua omnis immundus et nequam spiritus ut ita dixerim, + quia nec diutius de hoc.

[2] what will be the highest and the principal thing, in which the devil and his pomp and his angels are to be reckoned, than idolatry? from which every unclean and iniquitous spirit, so to speak,—for we will not linger longer on this.

[3] igitur si ex idololatria universam spectaculorum paraturam constare constiterit, indubitate praeiudicatum erit etiam ad spectacula pertinere renuntiationis nostrae testimonium in lavacro, quae diabolo et pompae et angelis eius sint mancipata, scilicet per idololatrian.

[3] Therefore, if it has been established that the entire apparatus of the spectacles consists of idolatry, it will without doubt be pre-judged that the testimony of our renunciation in the laver pertains also to the spectacles, those things which are mancipated to the devil and his pomp and his angels, namely through idolatry.

[4] commemorabimus origines singulorum, quibus in cunabulis in saeculo adoleverint exinde titulos, quibus nominibus nuncupentur, exinde apparatus, quibus superstitionibus instruantur, tum loca, quibus praesidibus dicentur, tum artes, quibus auctoribus deputentur. si quid ex his non ad idolum pertinuerit, id neque ad idololatrian neque ad nostram eierationem pertinebit.

[4] we will commemorate the origins of each, in what cradles in the world they have grown up; thereafter the titles, by what names they are nominated; thereafter the apparatus, by what superstitions they are equipped; then the places, to what presiding powers they are dedicated; then the arts, to what authors they are assigned. if anything of these shall not pertain to an idol, that will pertain neither to idolatry nor to our renunciation.

[1] de originibus quidem ut secretioribus et ignotis penes plures nostrorum altius nec aliunde investigandum fuit quam de instrumentis ethnicalium litterarum.

[1] As to the origins indeed—since, as more secret and unknown among many of our own, they had to be investigated more deeply, and from no other source than from the instruments of ethnical literature.

[2] extant auctores multi, qui super ista re commentarios ediderunt. ab his ludorum origo sic traditur: Lydos ex Asia transvenas in Etruria consedisse Timaeus refert duce Tyrreno, qui fratri suo cesserat regni contentione. igitur in Etruria inter ceteros ritus superstitionum suarum spectacula quoque religionis nomine instituunt.

[2] there exist many authors, who have published commentaries on this matter. From these the origin of the games is thus handed down: Timaeus relates that the Lydians, immigrants from Asia, settled in Etruria under the leader Tyrrhenus, who had yielded to his brother in a contest for the kingdom. Therefore in Etruria, among the other rites of their superstitions, they also institute spectacles under the name of religion.

inde Romani arcessitos artifices mutuantur, itemque enuntiationem, ut ludii a Lydis vocarentur.

thence the Romans borrowed imported artificers, and likewise the enunciation, that the ludii were called from the Lydians.

[3] sed etsi Varro ludios a ludo id est a lusu interpretatur, sicut et Lupercos ludios appellabant, quod ludendo discurrant, tamen eum lusum iuvenum et diebus festis et templis et religionibus reputat.

[3] but although Varro interprets the ludii from ludus, that is, from lusus, just as they even called the Luperci ludii, because by playing they run about, nevertheless he reckons that play of youths as belonging to feast-days and to temples and to religious observances.

[4] nihil iam de caussa vocabuli, cum rei caussa idololatria sit. nam et cum promiscue ludi Liberalia vocarentur, honorem Liberi patris manifeste sonabant. Libero enim a rusticis primo fiebant ob beneficium quod ei adscribunt demonstrata gratia vini.

[4] nothing now about the cause of the term, since the cause of the thing is idolatry. for even when the games were promiscuously called the Liberalia, they manifestly sounded the honor of Liber Pater. To Liber indeed by rustics at first they were performed on account of the benefaction which they ascribe to him, the grace of wine having been demonstrated.

[5] exinde ludi Consualia dicti, qui initio Neptunum honorabant. eundem enim et Consum vocant. dehinc Ecurria ab equis Marti Romulus dixit; quamquam et Consualia Romulo defendunt, quod ea Conso dicaverit deo, ut volunt, consilii, eius scilicet, quo tunc Sabinarum virginum rapinam militibus suis in matrimonia excogitavit.

[5] thereafter games
called the Consualia, which at the beginning honored Neptune.
for they also call the same one Consus. next the Ecurria from
horses for Mars Romulus declared; although also
they maintain the Consualia are due to Romulus, because he to Consus
dedicated them, to the god, as they wish, of counsel, namely of that by which
then he contrived the rapine of the Sabine virgins for his soldiers into
marriages.

[6] probum plane consilium et nunc quoque inter ipsos Romanos iustum et licitum, ne dixerim penes deum. facit enim et hoc ad originis maculam, ne bonum existimes quod initium a malo accepit, ab impudentia a violentia ab odio, a fratricida institutore, a filio Martis.

[6] a thoroughly proper
plan, and even now among the Romans themselves
just and lawful, not to say before God. It makes,
for this too, for the stain of its origin, lest you deem good
what took its beginning from evil, from
impudence, from violence, from odium, from a fratricidal
founder, from the son of Mars.

[7] et nunc ara Conso illi in circo demersa est ad primas metas sub terra cum inscriptione eiusmodi: CONSUS CONSILIO MARS DUELLO LARES +COILLO +POTENTES. sacrificant apud eam nonis Iuliis sacerdotes publici, XII. Kalend.

[7] and now the altar of Consus for him is sunk in the circus at the first turning-posts, under the earth, with an inscription of this sort: CONSUS CONSILIO
MARS DUELLO LARES +COILLO +POTENTES. At it the public priests sacrifice on the Nones of July, 12 days before the Kalends.

Septembres flamen Quirinalis et virgines.

of September, the Flamen Quirinalis and the virgins.

[8] dehinc idem Romulus Iovi Feretrio ludos instituit in Tarpeio, quos Tarpeios dictos et Capitolinos Piso tradit; post hunc Numa Pompilius Marti et Robigini fecit (nam et robiginis deam finxerunt); dehinc Tullus Hostilius dehinc Ancus Marcius et ceteri. qui quos quem per ordinem et quibus idolis ludos instituerint, positum est apud Suetonium Tranquillum vel a quibus Tranquillus accepit. sed haec satis erunt ad originis de idololatria reatum.

[8] thereafter the same Romulus instituted games to Jupiter Feretrius
on the Tarpeian, which Piso hands down were called the Tarpeian and
the Capitoline; after him Numa Pompilius
instituted them for Mars and for Robigo (for they even fashioned a goddess of rust)
then Tullus Hostilius, then Ancus
Marcius and the rest. Who instituted which games, in what order, and
for which idols, has been set down by
Suetonius Tranquillus, or by those from whom Tranquillus
received it. But these will suffice for the origin of the charge concerning
idolatry.

[1] accedit ad testimonium antiquitatis subsecuta posteritas formam originis de titulis huius quoque temporis praeferens, per quos signatum est, cui idolo et cui superstitioni utriusque generis ludi notarentur.

[1] There is added to the testimony of antiquity the posterity that followed,
displaying the form of the origin from the titles of this time as well,
by which it has been signified to which idol and to which superstition
the games of each kind were noted.

[2] Megalenses enim et Apollinares, item Cereales et Neptunales et Latiares et Florales in commune celebrantur, reliqui ludorum de natalibus et sollemnibus regum et publicis prosperitatibus et municipalibus festis superstitionis causas habent.

[2] For the Megalensians and the Apollinarians,
likewise the Cerealians and the Neptunalians and the Latiarians and the Floralians
are celebrated in common, the remaining of the games from
the natal days and solemnities of kings and public
prosperities and municipal feasts have causes of superstition.

[3] inter quos etiam privatorum memoriis legatariae editiones parentant, id quoque secundum institutionis antiquitatem. nam et a primordio bifariam ludi censebantur, sacri et funebres id est deis nationum et mortuis.

[3] among which also
legacy-funded presentations render offerings
to the memories of private individuals, this too according to the antiquity
of the institution. For even from the beginning the games
were reckoned in a twofold way, sacred and funereal—that is to the gods of the nations
and to the dead.

[4] sed de idololatria nihil differt apud nos, sub quo nomine et titulo, dum ad eosdem spiritus perveniat, quibus renuntiamus. licebit mortuis, licebit deis suis faciant, perinde mortuis suis ut diis faciunt; una condicio partis utriusque est, una idololatria, una renuntiatio nostra adversus idololatrian.

[4] But as to idolatry, it makes no difference with us, under whatever name and title, so long as it comes to the same spirits whom we renounce. Let them do it for the dead, let them do it for their gods; just so they do for their own dead as for their gods; one condition belongs to each party, one idolatry, one is our renunciation against idolatry.

[1] communis igitur origo ludorum utriusque generis, communes et tituli, ut de communibus causis. perinde apparatus communes habeant necesse est de reatu generali idololatriae conditricis suae.

[1] Therefore the origin of the games of each kind is common, and the titles are common too, as being from common causes. Accordingly, it is necessary that they likewise have a common apparatus, on account of the general guilt of idolatry, their foundress.

[2] sed circensium paulo pompatior suggestus, quibus proprie hoc nomen: pompa praecedens, quorum sit in semetipsa probans de simulacrorum serie, de imaginum agmine, de curribus, de tensis, de armamaxis, de sedibus, de coronis, de exuviis.

[2] but the staging of the circus-games is a little more pomp-laden, to which this name properly belongs: the pomp that precedes, proving in itself to whom it pertains, from the series of simulacra, from the throng of images, from the chariots, from the tensae, from the armamaxes, from the seats, from the crowns, from the spoils.

[3] quanta praeterea sacra, quanta sacrificia praecedant, intercedant, succedant, quot collegia, quot sacerdotia, quot officia moveantur, sciunt homines illius urbis, in qua daemoniorum conventus consedit.

[3] how many moreover sacred rites, how many sacrifices
go before, intervene, follow after, how many colleges,
how many priesthoods, how many offices are set in motion, the men
of that city know, in which the convention of demons has taken its seat.

[4] ea si minore cura per provincias pro minoribus viribus administrantur, tamen omnes ubique circenses illuc deputandi, unde et petuntur, inde inquinantur, unde sumuntur. nam et rivulus tenuis ex suo fonte et surculus modicus ex sua fronde qualitatem originis continet.

[4] if these are administered with lesser care through the provinces in proportion to lesser powers, nevertheless all circus-games everywhere are to be deputed thither, whence they are also sought; from there they are polluted, whence they are taken. for even a slender rivulet from its own fountain, and a modest sprig from its own foliage, retains the quality of its origin.

[5] viderit ambitio sive frugalitas eius, quod deum offendit qualiscumque pompa circi: etsi pauca simulacra circumferat, in uno idololatria est; etsi unam tensam trahat, Iovis tamen plaustrum est; quaevis idololatria sordide instructa vel modice locuples et splendida est censu criminis sui.

[5] Let its ambition or its frugality see to this: that whatever pomp of the circus offends God;
even if it parades few images, in a single one there is idolatry; even if it draws one
tensa, nevertheless it is Jupiter’s wagon; any
idolatry, whether sordidly equipped or moderately opulent and
splendid, is valued by the assessment of its own crime.

[1] ut et de locis secundum propositum exequar, circus Soli principaliter consecratur. cuius aedes in medio spatio et effigies de fastigio aedis emicat, quod non putaverunt sub tecto consecrandum quem in aperto habent.

[1] that I may also, according to my plan, set forth about the places,
the circus is principally consecrated to Sol. whose temple stands out in
the middle space, and whose effigy projects from the pediment of the temple,
because they did not think that he whom they have in the open ought to be consecrated under a roof.

[2] qui spectaculum primum a Circa Soli patri suo, ut volunt, editum affirmant, ab ea et circi appellationem argumentantur. plane venefica eis utique negotium gessit hoc nomine, quorum sacerdos erat, daemoniis et angelis scilicet. quot igitur in habitu loci illius idololatrias recognoscis?

[2] Those who affirm that the first spectacle was put on by Circe for her father Sol, as they would have it, also argue the appellation of the circus from her. Plainly the sorceress certainly did business for them under this name, of whom she was a priestess—namely, of demons and angels. How many idolatries, then, do you recognize in the guise of that place?

[3] singula ornamenta circi singula templa sunt. ova honori Castorum adscribunt qui illos ovo editos credendo de cygno Iove non erubescunt. delphines Neptuno vomunt, columnae Sessias a sementationibus, Messias a messibus, Tutulinas a tutela fructuum sustinent;

[3] each ornament of the circus is a separate temple. they ascribe the eggs to the honor of the Castors, who, by believing them born from an egg, do not blush at Jove as a swan. they vomit forth dolphins to Neptune, the columns sustain Sessia from the sementations, Messia from the harvests, Tutulina from the tutelage of the fruits;

[4] ante eas tres arae trinis deis parent, Magnis Potentibus Valentibus. eosdem Samothracas existimant.

[4] before them
three altars are dedicated to triple gods, the Great, the Potent,
the Valiant. They reckon them the same as the Samothracians.

[5] obelisci enormitas, ut Hermateles affirmat, Soli prostituta. scriptura eius unde eius et census: de Aegypto superstitio est. frigebat daemonum concilium sine sua Matre Magna; ea itaque illic praesidet euripo.

[5] the enormity of the obelisk, as Hermateles affirms, prostituted to the Sun. its inscription—whence it is and its census: the superstition is from Egypt. the council of daemons was growing cold without its own Great Mother; accordingly she there presides over the euripus.

[6] Consus, ut diximus, apud metas sub terra delitescit Murcias. eas quoque idolum fecit: Murciam enim deam amoris volunt, cui in illa parte aedem voverunt.

[6] Consus, as we have said, hides under the earth by the Murcian turning-posts. even these too Love has made into an idol: for they want Murcia to be a goddess of love, to whom in that part they vowed a temple.

[7] animadverte, Christiane, quot nomina inmunda possederint circum. aliena est tibi regio, quam tot diaboli spiritus occupaverunt.

[7] Take note, Christian, how many unclean names have possessed the circus. The region is alien to you, which so many diabolic spirits have occupied.

de locis quidem locus est retractandi ad praeveniendam quorundam interrogationem.

about the places, indeed, there is room for retractation to prevent the interrogation of certain people.

[8] quid enim, inquis, si alio in tempore circum adiero, periclitabor de inquinamento? nulla est praescriptio de locis. nam non sola ista conciliabula spectaculorum, sed etiam templa ipsa sine periculo disciplinae adire servus dei potest urguente causa simplici dumtaxat, quae non pertineat ad proprium eius loci negotium vel officium.

[8] What then, you say, if at another time I go to the circus, shall I be in danger of defilement? there is no prescription concerning places. for not only those meeting-places of spectacles, but even the temples themselves a servant of God can approach without danger to discipline, an urgent cause pressing—only a simple one—which does not pertain to the proper business or office of that place.

[9] ceterum et plateae et forum et balneae et stabula et ipsae domus nostrae sine idolis omnino non sunt: totum saeculum satanas et angeli eius repleverunt.

[9] moreover both the streets and the forum and the baths and the stables and our very houses are not at all without idols: the whole age Satan and his angels have filled.

[10] non tamen quod in saeculo sumus, a deo excidimus, sed si quid de saeculi criminibus attigerimus. proinde si Capitolium, si Serapeum sacrificator vel adorator intravero, a deo excidam, quemadmodum circum vel theatrum spectator. loca nos non contaminant per se, sed quae in locis fiunt, a quibus et ipsa loca contaminari altercati sumus: de contaminatis contaminamur.

[10] not, however, because we are in the world, do we fall from God, but if we touch anything of the world’s crimes. accordingly, if as a sacrificer or worshiper I enter the Capitol, or the Serapeum, I shall fall from God, just as as a spectator the circus or the theater. places do not contaminate us per se, but the things which are done in the places, by which we have even argued that the places themselves are contaminated: from the contaminated we are contaminated.

[11] propterea autem commemoramus, quibus eiusmodi loca dicentur ut eorum demonstremus esse quae in iis locis fiunt, quibus ipsa loca dicantur.

[11] for that reason, moreover, we commemorate by what things such places are designated, so that we may demonstrate them to belong to the things that are done in those places, by which the places themselves are named.

[1] nunc de artificio quo circenses exhibentur. res equestris retro simplex: de dorso agebatur, et utique communis usus reus non erat. sed cum ad ludos coactus est, transiit a dei munere ad daemoniorum officia.

[1] now about the craft by which the Circensian games are exhibited. the equestrian affair was formerly simple: it was conducted from the back, and surely common usage was not guilty. but when it was forced into the games, it passed from the gift of God to the offices of demons.

[2] itaque Castori et Polluci deputatur haec species, quibus equos a Mercurio distributos Stesichorus docet. sed et Neptunus equestris est, quem Graeci HIPPION appellant.

[2] and so to Castor and Pollux
this kind is attributed, to whom Stesichorus teaches that the horses were distributed by Mercury.
but Neptune too is equestrian, whom the Greeks call HIPPION.

[3] de iugo vero Iovi, quadrigas Soli, bigas Lunae sanxerunt. sed et

[3] as to the yoke, indeed, for Jupiter, the quadrigae for Sol, the bigae for Luna they sanctioned. but also

primus Erichthonius currus et quattuor ausus iungere equos rapidusque rotis insistere victor.

first Erichthonius dared to yoke a chariot and four horses, and, rapid, to take his stand upon the wheels as victor.

Erichthonius, Minervae et Vulcani filius, et quidem de caduca in terram libidine, portentum est daemonicum, immo diabolus ipse, non coluber.

Erichthonius, son of Minerva and Vulcan, and indeed from lust fallen to the earth, is a daemonic portent, nay the devil himself, not a serpent.

[4] si vero Trochilus Argivus auctor est currus, primae Iunoni id opus suum dedicavit. si Romae Romulus quadrigam primus ostendit, puto et ipse inter idola conscriptus est, si idem est Quirinus.

[4] if indeed Trochilus the Argive is the originator of the chariot, to First Juno he dedicated that work of his. if at Rome Romulus first displayed the quadriga, I suppose he too has been enrolled among the idols, if he is the same as Quirinus.

[5] talibus auctoribus quadrigae productae merito et aurigas coloribus idololatriae vestierunt. namque initio duo soli fuerunt, albus et russeus. albus hiemi ob nives candidas, russeus aestati ob solis ruborem voti erant.

[5] with such authors the four-horse chariots were brought forth deservedly, and they clothed the charioteers with the colors of idolatry. for at the beginning there were only two, the white and the red. the white were vowed to winter on account of the white snows, the red to summer on account of the redness of the sun.

sed postea tam voluptate quam superstitione provecta russeum alii Marti, alii album Zephyris consecraverunt, prasinum vero Terrae matri vel verno, venetum Caelo et Mari vel autumno.

but afterward, carried forward as much by voluptuousness as by superstition, some consecrated the red to Mars, others the white to the Zephyrs, the green indeed to Mother Earth or to spring, the blue to Sky and Sea or to autumn.

[6] cum autem omnis species idololatriae damnata sit a deo, utique etiam illa damnatur, quae elementis mundialibus profanatur.

[6] but since every species of idolatry has been condemned by God, assuredly that too is condemned which is profaned to the elements of the world.

[1] transeamus ad scaenicas res, quarum et originem communem et titulos pares secundum ipsam ab initio ludorum appellationem et administrationem coniunctam cum re equestri iam ostendimus.

[1] Let us pass to theatrical matters, of which we have already shown both the common origin and the equal titles, according to the very appellation of the games from the beginning and the administration conjoined with the equestrian matter.

[2] apparatus etiam ex ea parte consortes, qua ad scaenam a templis et aris et illa infelicitate turis et sanguinis inter tibias et tubas itur duobus inquinatissimis arbitris funerum et sacrorum, dissignatore et haruspice.

[2] the apparatus too are consorts on that side, in that to the stage from the temples and altars and that ill-omen of incense and blood, between pipes and trumpets, there is a going, with the two most defiled arbiters of funerals and sacred rites, the dissignator and the haruspex.

[3] ita cum de originibus ludorum ad circenses transiimus, inde nunc ad scaenicos ludos dirigemus a loci vitio. theatrum proprie sacrarium Veneris est. hoc denique modo id genus operis in saeculo evasit.

[3] thus, when from the
origins of the games we passed over to the circus-games, from there
now we will direct ourselves to the stage-plays by the vice of the place.
the theater is properly a shrine of Venus. in this,
finally, way that kind of work has emerged in the world.

[4] nam saepe censores nascentia cum maxime theatra destruebant moribus consulentes, quorum scilicet periculum ingens de lascivia providebant, ut iam hinc ethnicis in testimonium cedat sententia ipsorum nobiscum faciens et nobis in exaggerationem disciplinae etiam humana praerogativa.

[4] for often the censors, consulting for morals, were demolishing theaters in their very nascency, since they plainly foresaw the huge peril from lasciviousness, so that from this point the judgment of the pagans themselves, making common cause with us, may yield as testimony, and for us, to the aggrandizement of discipline, there is even a human prerogative.

[5] itaque Pompeius Magnus solo theatro suo minor cum illam arcem omnium turpitudinum extruxisset, veritus quandoque memoriae suae censoriam animadversionem Veneris aedem superposuit et ad dedicationem edicto populum vocans non theatrum, sed Veneris templum nuncupavit, cui subiecimus, inquit, gradus spectaculorum.

[5] and so Pompey the Great, lesser only than his own theater, when he had constructed that citadel of all turpitudes, fearing at some time a censorial animadversion upon his memory, superposed a temple of Venus and, calling the people by edict to the dedication, he named it not a theater, but a temple of Venus, “to which,” he said, “we have set beneath the steps of the spectacles.”

[6] ita damnatum et damnandum opus templi titulo praetexuit et disciplinam superstitione delusit. sed Veneri et Libero convenit. duo ista daemonia conspirata et coniurata inter se sunt ebrietatis et libidinis.

[6] thus he cloaked a damned and damnable
work with the title of a temple, and mocked discipline
with superstition. But it is fitting for Venus and Liber.
Those two demons, conspired and sworn together with each other,
belong to drunkenness and lust.

[7] itaque theatrum Veneris Liberi quoque domus est. nam et alios ludos scaenicos Liberalia proprie vocabant, praeterquam Libero devotos, quae sunt Dionysia penes Graecos, etiam a Libero institutos.

[7] therefore the theater
of Venus is also the house of Liber. For they even used to call other
scenic games “Liberalia” properly, besides
those devoted to Liber, which among the Greeks are the Dionysia,
also instituted by Liber.

[8] et est plane in artibus quoque scaenicis Liberi et Veneris patrocinium. quae privata et propria sunt scaenae, de gestu et corporis flexu mollitiam Veneri et Libero immolant, illi per sexum, illi per luxum dissolutis.

[8] and plainly there is in the scenic arts as well the patronage of Liber and Venus. the things which are private and proper to the stage, concerning gesture and the flexion of the body, immolate softness to Venus and to Liber, to the one through sex, to the other through luxury, with people debauched.

[9] quae vero voce et modis et organis et litteris transiguntur, Apollines et Musas et Minervas et Mercurios mancipes habent.

[9] whereas those things which
are transacted by voice and modes and organs and letters,
have Apollos and Muses and Minervas and Mercuries
as proprietors.

Oderis, Christiane, quorum auctores non potes non odisse.

You will hate, Christian, those whose authors you cannot not hate.

[10] iam nunc volumus suggerere de artibus et de his, quorum auctores in nominibus exsecramur. scimus nihil esse nomina mortuorum, sicut nec ipsa simulacra eorum; sed non ignoramus, qui sub istis nominibus et institutis simulacris operentur et gaudeant et divinitatem mentiantur, nequam spiritus scilicet, daemones.

[10] even now we wish to put forward about the arts and about
those, whose authors we execrate in their names.
we know that the names of the dead are nothing, just as not even their very
simulacra are; but we are not unaware who under those
names and instituted simulacra operate and rejoice and counterfeit divinity—namely
wicked spirits, daemons.

[11] videmus igitur etiam artes eorum honoribus dicatas esse, qui nomina incolunt auctorum earum, nec ab idololatria vacare, quarum institutores etiam propterea dei habentur.

[11] We see therefore
that even their arts are dedicated to the honors of those who
inhabit the names of their authors, and that they do not
stand free from idolatry, whose institutors also
for that reason are held as gods.

[12] immo quod ad artes pertinet, altius praescripsisse debemus, daemonas ab initio prospicientes sibi inter cetera idololatriae etiam spectaculorum inquinamenta, quibus hominem a domino avocarent et suo honori obligarent, eiusmodi quoque artium ingenia inspirasse.

[12] indeed, as far as the arts pertain, we ought to have prescribed more deeply that the demons, from the beginning, foreseeing for themselves, among the other contaminations of idolatry, even of the spectacles, by which they would draw man away from the Lord and bind him to their own honor, inspired the very ingenuity of such arts as well.

[13] neque enim ab aliis procuratum fuisset quod ad illos perventurum esset nec per alios tunc homines edidissent quam per ipsos, in quorum nominibus et imaginibus et historiis fallaciam consecrationis sibi negotium acturae constituerunt. ut ordo peragatur, ineamus etiam agonum retractatum.

[13] for neither would that which was to come to them have been procured by others, nor would they then have brought it forth through other men than through those very ones, in whose names and images and histories they established for themselves the business of enacting the fallacy of consecration. that the order may be carried through, let us also enter upon a retractation of the contests.

[1] origo istis de ludorum propinquitate est. inde et ipsi sacri vel funebres instituti aut deis nationum aut mortuis fiunt. perinde tituli: Olympia Iovi, quae sunt Romae Capitolina, item Herculi Nemea, Neptuno Isthmia, ceteri mortuorum varii agones.

[1] Their origin is from the kinship of the games. Thence also they themselves, instituted as sacred or funerary, are held either for the gods of the nations or for the dead. Accordingly the titles: the Olympia to Jupiter, those which are at Rome, the Capitoline; likewise the Nemea to Hercules, the Isthmia to Neptune, the rest various contests for the dead.

[2] quid ergo mirum, si vel apparatus agonum idololatria conspurcat de coronis profanis, de sacerdotalibus praesidibus, de collegiariis ministris, de ipso postremo boum sanguine?

[2] What then is marvelous, if even the apparatus of the agones is befouled by idolatry—by profane crowns, by sacerdotal presidents, by collegial ministers, by, last of all, the very blood of the oxen?

[3] ut de loco suppleam et de loco communi, pro collegio artium Musicarum et Minervalium et Apollinarium, etiam Martialium, per duellum, per tubam in stadio circum aemulantur, quod utique templum est et ipsum eius idoli, cuius sollemnitates agit.

[3] so that I may supply something as to the place,
and as a commonplace, on behalf of the college of the arts—
the Musical and the Minerval and the Apollinarian, even
the Martial—by duel, by the trumpet, in the stadium
they emulate all around; which is assuredly a temple, and
itself of that idol, whose solemnities it celebrates.

[4] sed et gymnicas artes Castorum et Herculum et Mercuriorum disciplinae prodiderunt.

[4] but also the gymnic arts the disciplines of the Castors and of Hercules and of the Mercuries have handed down.

[1] superest illius insignissimi spectaculi ac receptissimi recognitio. munus dictum est ab officio, quoniam officium etiam muneris nomen est. officium autem mortuis hoc spectaculo facere se veteres arbitrabantur, posteaquam illud humaniore atrocitate temperaverunt.

[1] There remains a recognition of that most distinguished and most well‑received spectacle. The munus is said to be from office, since office is also the name of a munus. Moreover, the ancients thought that they were doing an office to the dead by this spectacle, after they had tempered that atrocity with a more humane atrocity.

[2] nam olim, quoniam animas defunctorum humano sanguine propitiari creditum erat, captivos vel mali status servos mercati in exequiis immolabant.

[2] formerly, since it was believed that the souls of the deceased were propitiated by human blood, having purchased captives or slaves of low condition, they used to immolate them at the exequies.

[3] postea placuit impietatem voluptate adumbrare. itaque quos paraverant, armis quibus tunc et qualiter poterant eruditos, tantum ut occidi discerent, mox edicto die inferiarum apud tumulos erogabant. ita mortem homicidiis consolabantur.

[3] afterwards it pleased them
to adumbrate impiety with pleasure. and so those whom
they had procured, instructed in arms with what arms and as they then could,
only so that they might learn to be killed, they soon, on the appointed day
of the Inferiae, expended at the tombs. thus they consoled death
with homicides.

[4] haec muneri origo. sed panlatim provecti ad tantam gratiam, ad quantam et crudelitatem, quia ferarum voluptati satis non fiebat nisi et feris humana corpora dissiparentur. quod ergo mortuis litabatur, utique parentationi deputabatur; quae species proinde idololatria est, quoniam et idololatria parentationis est species: tam haec quam illa mortuis ministrat.

[4] this is the origin of the munus.
but little by little they advanced to so great a favor, to
as great also a cruelty, since for the pleasure of wild beasts
it did not suffice unless human bodies too were torn apart by beasts.
what therefore was offered to the dead was of course assigned
to parentation; which kind accordingly is idolatry, since even idolatry
is a kind of parentation: as much this as that ministers to the dead.

[5] in mortuorum autem idolis daemonia consistunt.

[5] however, in the idols of the dead, demons dwell.

ut et titulos considerem, licet transierit hoc genus editionis ab honoribus mortuorum ad honores viventium, quaesturas dico et magistratus et flaminia et sacerdotia, cum tamen nominis dignitas idololatriae crimine teneatur, necesse est quicquid dignitatis nomine administratur communicet etiam maculas eius, a qua habet causas.

so that I may consider the titles as well, although this kind of publication has passed from the honors of the dead to the honors of the living—I mean quaestorships and magistracies and flaminates and priesthoods—since nevertheless the dignity of the name is held under the charge of idolatry, it is necessary that whatever is administered under the name of dignity also share the stains of that from which it derives its causes.

[6] idem de apparatibus interpretabimur in ipsorum honorum suggestu deputandis, quod purpurae, quod fasces, quod vittae, quod coronae, quod denique contiones et edicta et pultes pridianae sine pompa diaboli, sine invitatione daemonum non sunt.

[6] we will interpret the same about the apparatus to be assigned on the platform of those honors themselves, as to the purple, as to the fasces, as to the vittae, as to the crowns, and finally that the contiones and edicts and the porridges of the eve are not without the pomp of the devil, without the invitation of daemons.

[7] quid ergo de horrendo loco perorem, quem nec periuria sustinent? pluribus enim et asperioribus nominibus amphitheatrum consecratur quam Capitolium: omnium daemonum templum est. tot illic immundi spiritus considunt, quot homines capit.

[7] What, then, shall I declaim about the horrendous place, which not even perjuries sustain? For the amphitheater is consecrated by more and harsher names than the Capitol: it is the temple of all daemons. As many unclean spirits take their seats there as the number of people it holds.

ut et de artibus concludam, Martem et Dianam utriusque ludi praesides novimus.

and, to conclude also about the arts, we know Mars and Diana as the presiding patrons of each game.

[1] satis, opinor, implevimus ordinem, quot et quibus modis spectacula idololatrian committant, de originibus, de titulis, de apparatibus, de locis, de artificiis, quo certi simus nulla ex parte competere nobis ea, qui bis idolis renuntiamus.

[1] Enough, I think, we have filled out the order, how many and by what modes the spectacles commit idolatry—on the origins, on the titles, on the apparatus, on the places, on the artifices—so that we may be certain that in no respect do those things befit us, we who renounce idols twice.

[2] non quod idolum sit aliquid, ut apostolus ait, sed quoniam quae faciunt daemoniis faciunt consistentibus scilicet in consecrationibus idolorum, sive mortuorum sive, ut putant, deorum.

[2] not that an idol is anything, as the apostle says, but because
the things which they do, they do to demons, present, to wit,
in the consecrations of idols, whether of the dead or, as they suppose, of gods.

[3] propterea igitur, quoniam utraque species idolorum condicionis unius est, dum mortui et dei unum sunt, utraque idololatria abstinemus.

[3] therefore, for that reason, since both species of idols are of one condition, since the dead and the gods are one, we abstain from both idolatries.

[4] nec minus templa quam monumenta despuimus, neutram aram novimus, neutram effigiem adoramus, non sacrificamus, non parentamus. sed neque de sacrificio et parentato edimus, quia non possumus cenam dei edere et cenam daemoniorum.

[4] no less
we spit upon temples than monuments, neither
altar do we acknowledge, neither effigy do we adore, we do not
sacrifice, we do not perform parentation. But neither do we
eat from sacrifice and parentation, because we cannot
eat the supper of God and the supper of daemons.

[5] si ergo gulam et ventrem ab inquinamentis liberamus, quanto magis augustiora nostra, et aures et oculos, ab idolothytis et necrothytis voluptatibus abstinemus, quae non intestinis transiguntur, sed in ipso spiritu et anima digeruntur, quorum munditia magis ad deum pertinet quam intestinorum.

[5] if therefore we free the gullet and the belly from defilements, how much more do we keep our more august parts, both the ears and the eyes, away from the pleasures of idolothyta and necrothyta, which are not transacted in the intestines, but are digested in the very spirit and soul, whose purity pertains more to God than that of the intestines.

[1] nunc interposito nomine idololatriae, quod solum subiectum sufficere debet ad abdicationem spectaculorum, alia iam ratione tractemus ex abundanti, propter eos maxime qui sibi blandiuntur quod non nominatim abstinentia ista praescripta sit.

[1] Now, with the name of idolatry interposed—which alone as the subject ought to suffice for the abdication of the spectacles—let us now treat the matter on another line of reasoning, out of superabundance, especially for those who flatter themselves that this abstinence has not been prescribed by name.

[2] quasi parum etiam de spectaculis pronuntietur, cum concupiscentiae saeculi damnantur. nam sicut pecuniae vel dignitatis vel gulae vel libidinis vel gloriae, ita et voluptatis concupiscentia est; species autem voluptatis etiam spectacula.

[2] as if too little were even pronounced about the spectacles
when the concupiscences of the age are condemned. For just as there is concupiscence of money or of dignity or
of gluttony or of libido or of glory, so too there is concupiscence of pleasure; moreover, the species of pleasure are even
the spectacles.

[3] opinor, generaliter nominatae concupiscentiae continent in se et voluptates, aeque generaliter intellectae voluptates specialiter et in spectacula disseruntur.

[3] I suppose, concupiscences named in general
contain in themselves even pleasures, likewise
pleasures understood in general are discussed specifically also in
spectacles.

[1] ceterum rettulimus supra de locorum condicione, quod non per semetipsa nos inquinent, sed per ea quae illic geruntur, per quae, simul inquinamentum combiberunt, tunc etiam in alteros respuunt. viderit ergo, ut diximus, principalis titulus, idololatria; reliquas ipsarum rerum qualitates contrarias dei omnes feramus.

[1] moreover, we have reported above about the condition of places, that they do not defile us by themselves, but through the things that are done there; through which, as soon as they have imbibed the defilement, then they also spit it back upon others. let, therefore, as we have said, the principal title be idolatry; let us take all the remaining qualities of the things themselves as contrary to God.

[2] deus praecepit spiritum sanctum, utpote pro naturae suae bono tenerum et delicatum, tranquillitate et lenitate et quiete et pace tractare, non furore, non bile, non ira, non dolore inquietare.

[2] God has commanded the Holy Spirit, as—by the good of his nature—tender and delicate, to be handled with tranquillity and lenity and quiet and peace, not to be disquieted by fury, nor by bile, nor by anger, nor by pain.

[3] huic quomodo cum spectaculis poterit convenire? omne enim spectaculum sine concussione spiritus non est. ubi enim voluptas, ibi et studium, per quod scilicet voluptas sapit; ubi studium, ibi et aemulatio, per quam studium sapit.

[3] How can this agree with spectacles
to begin with? For every spectacle is not without
a concussion of the spirit. Where indeed pleasure is, there
also zeal, through which of course pleasure has savor; where
zeal is, there also emulation, through which zeal has savor.

[4] porro et ubi aemulatio, ibi et furor et bilis et ira et dolor et cetera ex his, quae cum his non conpetunt disciplinae.

[4] moreover, where there is emulation, there too are fury and bile and ire
and dolor and the rest from these, which are not compatible with the discipline.

[5] nam et si qui modeste et probe spectaculis fruitur pro dignitatis vel aetatis vel etiam naturae suae condicione, non tamen immobilis animi est et sine tacita spiritus passione.

[5] for even if someone modestly and properly enjoys spectacles according to the condition of his dignity or age, or even of his own nature, nevertheless he is not of an unmoved mind and without a silent passion of the spirit.

[6] nemo ad voluptatem venit sine affectu, nemo affectum sine casibus suis patitur. ipsi casus incitamenta sunt affectus. ceterum si cessat affectus, nulla est voluptas, et est reus iam ille vanitatis eo conveniens, ubi nihil consequitur.

[6] No one comes to pleasure without affect, no one suffers affect without his own accidents. The very accidents are the incitements of affect. Otherwise, if affect ceases, there is no pleasure; and that man is already a defendant of vanity, resorting there where he attains nothing.

[7] puto autem etiam vanitas extranea est nobis. quid quod et ipse se iudicat inter eos positus, quorum se similem nolens utique detestatorem confitetur?

[7] I think, moreover, that even vanity is extraneous to us. What of this: that he himself judges himself placed among those, whom, not wishing to be like, he certainly confesses himself a detester?

[8] nobis satis non est, si ipsi nihil tale facimus, nisi et talia factitantibus non conferamur. "si furem" inquit "videbas, concurrebas cum eo." utinam ne in saeculo quidem simul cum illis moraremur! sed tamen in saecularibus separamur, quia saeculum dei est, saecularia autem diaboli.

[8]
it is not enough for us, if we ourselves do nothing of the sort, unless we also
are not associated with those who practice such things. "If a thief"
he says, "you saw, you ran together with him." would that we did not even in
the world dwell together with them! but
nevertheless in secular matters we are separated, because the world
is God’s, but the secular things are the Devil’s.

[1] cum ergo furor interdicitur nobis, ab omni spectaculo auferimur, etiam a circo, ubi proprie furor praesidet. aspice populum ad id spectaculum iam cum furore venientem, iam tumultuosum, iam caecum, iam de sponsionibus concitatum.

[1] when therefore fury is interdicted to us, we are removed from every
spectacle, even from the circus, where fury properly
presides. look at the populace coming to that spectacle
already with fury, already tumultuous, already
blind, already stirred up over wagers.

[2] tardus est illi praetor, semper oculi in urna eius cum sortibus volutantur. dehinc ad signum anxii pendent, unius dementiae una vox est.

[2] slow
to him is the praetor; their eyes are always rolling in his urn along
with the lots. then at the signal they hang, anxious; one voice
of one madness it is.

[3] cognosce dementiam de vanitate: "misit", dicunt et nuntiant invicem quod simul ab omnibus visum est. teneo testimonium caecitatis: non vident missum quid sit; mappam putant, sed est diaboli ab alto praecipitati figura.

[3] recognize
the madness from vanity: "he has sent!", they say and announce
to one another what has been seen at the same time by all. I hold
the testimony of blindness: they do not see what has been sent;
they think it is the napkin, but it is the figure of the devil
precipitated from on high.

[4] ex eo itaque itur in furias et animos et discordias et quicquid non licet sacerdotibus pacis. inde maledicta, convicia sine iustitia odii, etiam suffragia sine merito amoris.

[4] From that, therefore, they go into furies and passions and discords and whatever is not permitted to the priests of peace. Thence maledictions, revilings without the justice of hatred, even suffrages without the merit of love.

[5] quid enim suum consecuturi sunt, qui illic agunt, qui sui non sunt? nisi forte hoc solum, per quod sui non sunt: de aliena infelicitate contristantur, de aliena felicitate laetantur. quicquid optant, quicquid abominantur, extraneum ab iis est; ita et amor apud illos otiosus et odium iniustum.

[5] For what of their own are they going to obtain, who act there, who are not their own? Unless perhaps this alone, by which they are not their own: they are made sad at another’s infelicity, they rejoice at another’s felicity. Whatever they desire, whatever they abominate, is extraneous to them; thus both love among them is idle and hatred unjust.

[6] an forsitan sine causa amare liceat quam sine causa odisse? deus certe etiam cum causa prohibet odisse, qui inimicos diligi iubet; deus etiam cum causa maledicere non sinit, qui maledicentes benedici praecipit.

[6] or perhaps to love without cause
is permitted rather than to hate without cause? God certainly even with
cause forbids to hate, who commands that enemies be loved; God
also even with cause does not allow to curse, who
commands that those who curse be blessed.

[7] sed circo quid amarius, ubi ne principibus quidem aut civibus suis parcunt? si quid horum, quibus circus furit, alicubi conpetit sanctis, etiam in circo licebit, si vero nusquam, ideo nec in circo.

[7] but what more bitter than the circus,
where they spare not even their princes nor their own citizens?
if any of these things, over which the circus raves, anywhere befits the saints,
it will be permitted even in the circus; but if nowhere, then not in the circus either.

[1] similiter impudicitiam omnem amoliri iubemur. hoc igitur modo etiam a theatro separamur, quod est privatum consistorium impudicitiae, ubi nihil probatur quam quod alibi non probatur.

[1] similarly we are commanded to remove all impudicity. thus, in this way, we are also separated from the theater, which is the private consistory of impudicity, where nothing is approved except what elsewhere is not approved.

[2] ita summa gratia eius de spurcitia plurimum concinnata est, quam Atellanus gesticulatur, quam mimus etiam per muliebres repraesentat, sensum sexus et pudoris exterminans, ut facilius domi quam scaenae erubescant, quam denique pantomimus a pueritia patitur ex corpore, ut artifex esse possit.

[2] thus its highest favor is for the most part contrived out of filth, which the Atellan farce gesticulates, which the mime even represents through womanly roles, exterminating the sense of sex and of modesty, so that they blush more easily at home than on the stage, and, finally, what the pantomime from boyhood suffers in his body, in order that he may be an artist.

[3] ipsa etiam prostibula, publicae libidinis hostiae, in scaena proferuntur, plus miserae in praesentia feminarum, quibus solis latebant, perque omnis aetatis, omnis dignitatis ora transducuntur; locus, stipes, elogium, etiam quibus opus non est, praedicatur, etiam (taceo de reliquis) quae in tenebris et in speluncis suis delitescere decebat, ne diem contaminarent.

[3] even the prostitutes,
sacrificial victims of public lust, are brought forth on the stage,
all the more wretched in the presence of women, from whom alone
they had been hidden, and they are paraded before the faces of every age, of every rank;
their place, their post, their placard, even when there is no need of them,
is proclaimed—also (I am silent about the rest) those things
which it was fitting to skulk with in the dark and in their caves,
lest they contaminate the day.

[4] erubescat senatus, erubescant ordines omnes! ipsae illae pudoris sui interemptrices de gestibus suis ad lucem et populum expavescentes semel anno erubescunt.

[4] let the senate blush, let all the orders blush! even those very murderesses of their own modesty, growing terrified on account of their own gestures at the light and the populace, blush once a year.

[5] quodsi nobis omnis impudicitia exsecranda est, cur liceat audire quod loqui non licet, cum etiam scurrilitatem et omne vanum verbum indicatum a deo sciamus? cur aeque liceat videre quae facere flagitium est? cur quae ore prolata communicant hominem, ea per aures et oculos admissa non videantur hominem communicare, cum spiritui appareant aures et oculi nec possit mundus praestari cuius apparitores inquinantur?

[5] But if for us every immodesty is to be execrated, why is it permitted to hear what it is not permitted to speak, since we also know scurrility and every vain word to be indicted by God? Why is it equally permitted to see what it is a disgrace to do? Why should the things brought forth by the mouth, which make a man a participant, not seem, when admitted through the ears and the eyes, to make a man a participant—since the ears and the eyes attend upon the spirit, and one cannot be presented pure whose apparitors are defiled?

[6] habes igitur et theatri interdictionem de interdictione impudicitiae. si et doctrinam saecularis litteraturae ut stultitiae apud deum deputatam aspernamur, satis praescribitur nobis et de illis speciebus spectaculorum, quae saeculari litteratura lusoriam vel agonisticam scaenam dispungunt.

[6] you have
therefore also the interdiction of the theater from the interdiction
of immodesty. If we also spurn the doctrine of secular literature,
as deputed to folly before God,
it is sufficiently prescribed to us also concerning those species
of spectacles which secular literature marks off as the ludic
or agonistic stage.

[7] quodsi sunt tragoediae et comoediae scelerum et libidinum auctrices cruentae et lascivae, impiae et prodigae, nullius rei aut atrocis aut vilis commemoratio melior est: quod in facto reicitur, etiam in dicto non est recipiendum.

[7] but if
tragedies and comedies are bloody and lascivious instigators of crimes and lusts,
impious and prodigal,
no commemoration of any matter, whether atrocious or base,
is for the better: what is rejected in deed is not
to be received even in word.

[1] quodsi stadium contendas in scripturis nominari, sane obtinebis. sed quae in stadio geruntur, indigna conspectu tuo non negabis, pugnos et calces et colaphos et omnem petulantiam manus et quamcumque humani oris, id est divinae imaginis, depugnationem.

[1] But if you contend that the stadium is named in the Scriptures,
assuredly you will prevail. But the things that are done in the stadium, unworthy
of your sight you will not deny: fists and kicks and
cuffs, and every petulance of the hand, and
whatever fighting against the human face—that is, the divine image.

[2] non probabis usquam vanos cursus et iaculatus et saltus vaniores, nusquam tibi vires aut iniuriosae aut vanae placebunt, sed nec cura facticii corporis, ut plasticam dei supergressa, et propter Graeciae otium altiles homines oderis.

[2] you will approve nowhere vain courses and javelin-throws, and leaps more vain, nowhere will strength either injurious or vain please you, but nor a care for a factitious body, as though surpassing the plastic art of God, and on account of Greece’s leisure you will hate fattened men.

[3] et palaestrica diaboli negotium est: primos homines diabolus elisit. ipse gestus colubrina vis est, tenax ad occupandum, tortuosa ad obligandum, liquida ad elabendum. nullus tibi coronarum usus est; quid de coronis voluptates aucuparis?

[3] And the palaestric art is the devil’s business: the devil dashed down the first humans. The very gesture is a serpentine force, tenacious for seizing, tortuous for binding, liquid for slipping away. You have no use for crowns; why do you hunt for pleasures by means of crowns?

[1] exspectabimus nunc ut et amphitheatri repudium de scripturis petamus? si saevitiam, si impietatem, si feritatem permissam nobis contendere possumus, eamus in amphitheatrum. si tales sumus quales dicimur, delectemur sanguine humano.

[1] Shall we now await even to seek the repudiation of the amphitheatre from the Scriptures? If we can contend that savagery, impiety, ferity are permitted to us, let us go into the amphitheatre. If we are such as we are said to be, let us take delight in human blood.

[2] "bonum est, cum puniuntur nocentes." quis hoc nisi nocens negabit? et tamen innocentes de supplicio alterius laetari non oportet, cum magis competat innocenti dolere, quod homo, par eius, tam nocens factus est, ut tam crudeliter impendatur.

[2] "It is good, when the guilty are punished." Who will deny this except a guilty person? And yet it is not proper for the innocent to rejoice at another’s punishment, since it more befits the innocent to grieve that a human being, his peer, has been made so guilty as to be so cruelly expended.

[3] quis autem mihi sponsor est, nocentes semper vel ad bestias vel ad quodcumque supplicium decerni, ut non innocentiae quoque inferatur aut ultione iudicantis aut infirmitate defensionis aut instantia quaestionis? quam melius ergo est nescire cum mali puniuntur, ne sciam et cum boni pereunt, si tamen bonum sapiunt.

[3] But who is a sponsor for me that the guilty are always adjudged either to the beasts or to whatever punishment, so that it is not also inflicted upon innocence either by the vengeance of the judge or by the infirmity of the defense or by the urgency of the questioning? How much better therefore it is not to know when the evil are punished, lest I also know when the good perish—if indeed they savor the good.

[4] certe quidem gladiatores innocentes in ludum veneunt, ut publicae voluptatis hostiae fiant. etiam qui damnantur in ludum, quale est ut de leviore delicto in homicidas emendatione proficiant?

[4] surely indeed innocent gladiators are sold into the games, so that they may become victims of public pleasure. even those who are condemned to the games, what sort of thing is it that from a lighter offense they advance, by correction, into homicides?

[5] sed haec ethnicis respondi. ceterum absit ut de istius spectaculi aversione diutius discat Christianus. quamquam nemo haec omnia plenius exprimere potest nisi qui adhuc spectat.

[5] But these things I have replied to the pagans. For the rest, far be it that a Christian should learn at greater length about aversion from that spectacle; although no one can express all these things more fully except one who still watches.

malo non implere quam meminisse.

I would prefer not to complete than to remember.

[1] quam vana igitur, immo desperata argumentatio eorum, qui sine dubio tergiversatione amittendae voluptatis optendunt nullam eius abstinentiae mentionem specialiter vel localiter in scripturis determinari, quae directo prohibeat eiusmodi conventibus inseri servum dei.

[1] how vain, nay rather desperate, is the argumentation of those who, by a tergiversation about forfeiting pleasure, plead that no mention of this abstinence is determined in the Scriptures specifically or locally, which would directly forbid a servant of God to be inserted into assemblies of that sort.

[2] novam proxime defensionem suaviludii cuiusdam audivi. sol, inquit, immo ipse etiam deus de caelo spectat nec contaminatur. sane, sol et in cloacam radios suos defert nec inquinatur.

[2] I have lately heard a new defense of a certain sweet-entertainment. The sun, he says, nay even God himself, looks down from heaven and is not contaminated. Certainly, the sun even carries his rays into a sewer and is not polluted.

[3] utinam autem deus nulla flagitia hominum spectaret, ut omnes iudicium evaderemus. sed spectat et latrocinia, spectat et falsa et adulteria et fraudes et idololatrias et spectacula ipsa. et idcirco ergo nos non spectabimus, ne videamur ab illo, qui spectat omnia.

[3] Would that, however, God were watching no flagitious deeds of men, so that we all might evade judgment. But he watches even brigandages, he watches also falsehoods and adulteries and frauds and idololatries and the spectacles themselves. And for that reason, therefore, we will not spectate, lest we be seen by him who watches all things.

[4] comparas, homo, reum et iudicem, reum, qui, quia videtur, reus est, iudicem, qui, quia videt, iudex est.

[4] you compare, man, the defendant and the judge, the defendant,
who, because he is seen, is a defendant, the judge, who, because he sees,
is a judge.

[5] numquid ergo et extra limites circi furori studemus et extra cardines theatri impudicitiae intendimus et insolentiae extra stadium et immisericordiae extra amphitheatrum, quoniam deus etiam extra cameras et gradus et apulias oculos habet? erramus: nusquam et numquam excusatur quod deus damnat, nusquam et numquam licet quod semper et ubique non licet.

[5] Do we then also outside the limits of the circus devote ourselves to fury, and outside the thresholds of the theater aim at unchastity, and at insolence outside the stadium, and at pitilessness outside the amphitheater, since God has eyes even outside the boxes and tiers and pulpits? We err: nowhere and never is excused what God condemns; nowhere and never is permitted what always and everywhere is not permitted.

[6] haec est veritatis integritas et, quae ei debetur, disciplinae plenitudo et aequalitas timoris et fides obsequii, non inmutare sententiam nec variare iudicium. non potest aliud esse, quod vere quidem est bonum seu malum. omnia autem penes veritatem dei fixa sunt.

[6] This is the integrity of truth and, what is owed to it, the plenitude of discipline and the equality of fear and the faith of obedience: not to alter the sentence nor to vary the judgment. That which truly indeed is good or evil cannot be other. But all things are fixed under the truth of God.

[1] ethnici, quos penes nulla est veritatis plenitudo, quia nec doctor veritatis deus, malum et bonum pro arbitrio et libidine interpretantur: alibi bonum quod alibi malum, et alibi malum quod alibi bonum.

[1] the ethnics, with whom there is no plenitude of truth, since God is not their teacher of truth, interpret evil and good by arbitrament and libido: in one place good what elsewhere is evil, and elsewhere evil what elsewhere is good.

[2] sic ergo evenit, ut, qui in publico vix necessitate vesicae tunicam levet, idem in circo aliter non exuat, nisi totum pudorem in faciem omnium intentet, ut et qui filiae virginis ab omni spurco verbo aures tuetur, ipse eam in theatrum ad illas voces gesticulationesque deducat,

[2] thus therefore it comes about that he who in public scarcely, under the necessity of the bladder, lifts his tunic, the same man in the circus does not undress otherwise, except by hurling all modesty into the face of everyone, so that even he who guards the ears of his virgin daughter from every filthy word, himself leads her into the theater to those voices and gesticulations,

[3] et qui in plateis litem manu agentem aut compescit aut detestatur, idem in stadio gravioribus pugnis suffragium ferat, et qui ad cadaver hominis communi lege defuncti exhorret, idem in amphitheatro derosa et dissipata et in suo sanguine squalentia corpora patientissimis oculis desuper incumbat,

[3] and he who in the streets either restrains or detests a quarrel waged by hand, the same in the stadium for graver fist-fights gives his suffrage, and he who at the corpse of a man dead by the common law shudders, the same in the amphitheater upon bodies gnawed and scattered and foul in their own blood with most patient eyes from above leans,

[4] immo qui propter homicidae poenam probandam ad spectaculum veniat, idem gladiatorem ad homicidium flagellis et virgis compellat invitum, et qui insigniori cuique homicidae leonem poscit, idem gladiatori atroci petat rudem et pilleum praemium conferat, illum vero confectum etiam oris spectaculo repetat, libentius recognoscens de proximo quem voluit occidere de longinquo, tanto durior, si non voluit.

[4] nay rather, the very one who comes to the spectacle for the sake of approving a homicide’s punishment, this same man compels an unwilling gladiator to homicide with whips and rods; and he who demands a lion for any more notable homicide, this same man petitions that a savage gladiator be awarded the rudis and the pileus as a prize—indeed, when he is spent he even calls him back again for the spectacle of his face, more gladly recognizing at close range the one whom he wished to have killed from afar, so much the harder, if he did not wish it.

[1] quid mirum? inaequata ista hominum miscentium et commutantium statum boni et mali per inconstantiam sensus et iudicii varietatem.

[1] What wonder? those inequalities of men
mixing and interchanging the state of good and evil
through the inconstancy of sense and the variety of judgment.

[2] etenim ipsi auctores et administratores spectaculorum quadrigarios scaenicos xysticos arenarios illos amatissimos, quibus viri animas, feminae autem illis etiam corpora sua substernunt, propter quos se in ea committunt quae reprehendunt, ex eadem arte, qua magnifaciunt, deponunt et deminuunt, immo manifeste damnant ignominia et capitis minutione, arcentes curia rostris senatu equite ceterisque honoribus omnibus simul et ornamentis quibusdam.

[2] indeed the very authors and administrators of spectacles the charioteers, stage-players, xystic athletes, arena-men—those most beloved, for whom men lay down their souls, but women even lay their bodies beneath them—on whose account they commit themselves to those very things which they reprehend, from that same art by which they magnify them, they depose and diminish, nay rather, they openly condemn, with ignominy and diminution of status, excluding them from the curia, the rostra, the senate, the equestrian order, and all other honors at once, as well as from certain ornaments.

[3] quanta perversitas! amant quos multant, depretiant quos probant, artem magnificant, artificem notant.

[3] how great
perversity! they love those whom they mulct, they depreciate those whom
they approve, they magnify the art, they stigmatize the artificer.

[4] quale iudicium est, ut ob ea quis offuscetur, per quae promeretur? immo quanta confessio est malae rei! cuius auctores, cum acceptissimi sint, sine nota non sunt.

[4] What sort of judgment is it, that on account of those things through
which one merits, he is obscured? Nay rather, how great a confession of an evil
thing it is! whose authors, although most acceptable, are not without a mark.

[1] cum igitur humana recordatio etiam obstrepente gratia voluptatis damnandos eos censeat ademtis bonis dignitatum in quendam scopulum famositatis, quanto magis divina iustitia in eiusmodi artifices animadvertit?

[1] Since therefore human recollection, even with the grace of pleasure clamoring against it, deems them condemnable, the goods of dignities having been taken away, onto a certain reef of notoriety, how much more does divine justice take punitive notice of such artificers?

[2] an deo placebit auriga ille tot animarum inquietator, tot furiarum minister +tot statuum+, ut sacerdos coronatus vel coloratus ut leno, quem curru rapiendum diabolus adversus Elian exornavit?

[2] Will that charioteer please God, the disturber of so many
souls, the minister of so many furies, +of so many
statuses+, such that a priest is crowned or colored like a
pimp, whom the devil equipped with a chariot to be snatched away
against Elijah?

[3] placebit et ille, qui voltus suos novacula mutat, infidelis erga faciem suam, quam non contentus Saturno et Isidi et Libero proximam facere insuper contumeliis alaparum sic obicit, tamquam de praecepto domini ludat?

[3] Will he also be pleasing, he who changes his visages
with a razor, infidel toward his own face, which,
not content to make it very near to Saturn, Isis, and Liber,
he moreover exposes thus to the contumelies of slaps,
as though he were playing by the precept of the lord?

[4] docet scilicet et diabolus verberandam maxillam patienter offerre. sic et tragoedos cothurnis extulit, quia "nemo potest adicere cubitum unum ad staturam suam": mendacem facere vult Christum.

[4] he teaches
of course, that even the devil to offer the cheek to be beaten
patiently. Thus too he has exalted the tragedians with cothurni,
because "no one can add a single cubit to
his stature": he wants to make Christ a liar.

[5] iam vero ipsum opus personarum quaero an deo placeat, qui omnem similitudinem vetat fieri, quanto magis imaginis suae? non amat falsum auctor veritatis; adulterium est apud illum omne quod fingitur.

[5] now indeed I ask whether the very work of personae pleases God, who forbids every likeness to be made, how much more of his own image? The author of truth does not love the false; with him everything that is feigned is adultery.

[6] proinde vocem sexus aetates mentientem, amores iras gemitus lacrimas asseverantem non probabit: omnem enim hypocrisin damnat. ceterum cum in lege praescribit maledictum esse qui muliebribus vestietur, quid de pantomimo iudicabit, qui etiam muliebribus curatur?

[6] Accordingly, he will not approve a voice that lies about sexes and ages,
asseverating loves, angers, groans, tears: for he condemns all
hypocrisy. Moreover, since in the Law he prescribes
that accursed is he who shall be clothed in women’s garments, what will he judge about
the pantomime, who is even groomed with women’s
things?

[7] sane et ille artifex pugnorum impunitus ibit? tales enim cicatrices caestuum et callos pugnorum et aurium fungos a deo cum plasmaretur accepit; ideo illi oculos deus commodavit, ut vapulando deficiant.

[7] surely that artificer of fights will go unpunished? For did he receive from God, when he was being formed, such cicatrices of the cestuses and calluses of fights and fungus-growths of the ears? For this reason God lent him eyes, so that, by being beaten, they might fail.

[8] taceo de illo, qui hominem leoni prae se opponit, ne parum sit homicida quam qui eundem postmodum iugulat.

[8] I pass over in silence that one who puts a human before a lion in his own presence, he is no less a homicide than the one who afterwards jugulates the same man.

[1] quot adhuc modis perorabimus, nihil ex his quae spectaculis deputantur placitum deo esse aut congruens servo dei quod deo placitum non sit?

[1] By how many ways shall we still perorate, that nothing of those things which
are deputed to the spectacles is pleasing to God, or
congruent to the servant of God that which is not pleasing to God?

[2] si omnia propter diabolum instituta et ex diaboli rebus instructa monstravimus (nihil enim non diaboli est quicquid dei non est vel deo displicet), hoc erit pompa diaboli, adversus quem in signaculo fidei eieramus.

[2] if we have shown that all things are instituted on account of the devil and equipped from the devil’s resources (for nothing is not the devil’s, whatever is not God’s or displeases God), this will be the devil’s pomp, against whom in the seal of faith we have abjured.

[3] quod autem eieramus, neque facto neque dicto neque visu neque prospectu participare debemus. ceterum nonne eieramus et rescindimus signaculum rescindendo testationem eius? numquid ergo superest, ut ab ipsis ethnicis responsum flagitemus?

[3] but that which we have abjured, we ought not to partake of either by deed nor by word nor by sight nor by gaze.
moreover, did we not abjure, and do we not rescind the seal by rescinding its attestation?
what then remains—are we to demand an answer from the pagans themselves?

illi nobis iam renuntient, an liceat Christianis spectaculo uti. atquin hinc vel maxime intelligunt factum Christianum, de repudio spectaculorum.

let them now report back to us, whether
it is permitted for Christians to use the spectacle. and indeed from this most of all
they understand the Christian to have been made, about the repudiation
of spectacles.

[4] itaque negat manifeste qui per quod agnoscitur tollit. quid autem spei superest in eiusmodi homine? nemo in castra hostium transit nisi proiectis armis suis, nisi destitutis signis et sacramentis principis sui, nisi pactus simul perire.

[4] thus he manifestly denies who removes that by which he is recognized. But what hope remains in a man of such a kind? No one crosses over into the enemy’s camp unless his own arms have been thrown away, unless the standards and the sacraments—that is, the oaths—of his own commander have been abandoned, unless he has bargained to perish as well.

[1] an ille recogitabit eo tempore de deo positus illic ubi nihil est de deo? pacem, opinor, habebit in animo contendens pro auriga, pudicitiam ediscet attonitus in mimos.

[1] Or will that man at that time reflect about God, being set there
where there is nothing of God? Peace, I suppose, he will have in
mind while contending for a charioteer; he will learn chastity by heart,
astonished at the mimes.

[2] immo in omni spectaculo nullum magis scandalum occurret quam ille ipse mulierum et virorum accuratior cultus. ipsa consensio, ipsa in favoribus aut conspiratio aut dissensio inter se de commercio scintillas libidinum conflabellant.

[2] Rather, in every spectacle no scandal occurs more than that very more meticulous adornment of women and of men. The very consensus, the very conspiracy in favors or dissension among themselves about intercourse fan the sparks of lust into flame.

[3] nemo denique in spectaculo ineundo prius cogitat nisi videri et videre. sed tragoedo vociferante exclamationes ille alicuius prophetae retractabit et inter effeminati tibicinis modos psalmum secum comminiscetur, et cum athletae agent, ille dicturus est repercutiendum non esse.

[3] no one, finally, on entering a spectacle thinks first of anything except to be seen and to see. But while the tragedian is bellowing, will he rehearse the exclamations of some prophet, and amid the modes of an effeminate flute-player will he invent a psalm to himself, and when the athletes are performing, will he be going to say that there is not to be striking back?

[4] poterit ergo et de misericordia moneri defixus in morsus ursorum et spongias retiariorum. avertat deus a suis tantam voluptatis exitiosae cupiditatem!

[4] he will then be able even to be admonished about mercy,
while riveted upon the bites of bears and the sponges of the net-men.
may God avert from his own such a cupidity of ruinous pleasure!

[5] quale est enim de ecclesia dei in diaboli ecclesiam tendere, de caelo, quod aiunt, in caenum? illas manus quas ad deum extuleris postmodum laudando histrionem fatigare? ex ore, quo Amen in Sanctum protuleris, gladiatori testimonium reddere, EIS AINÔNAS AP' AINÔNOS alii omnino dicere nisi deo et Christo?

[5] for what is it like, to stretch from the church of God into the church of the devil, from heaven, as they say, into the mire? those hands which you have lifted up to God, thereafter to weary by praising an actor? from the mouth with which you have uttered “Amen” in the Holy, to render testimony to a gladiator, to say “forever and ever” to anyone else at all except to God and Christ?

[1] Cur ergo non eiusmodi etiam daemoniis penetrabiles fiant? Nam et exemplum accidit domino teste eius mulieris, quae theatrum adiit, et inde cum daemonio rediit.

[1] Why then should they not also become penetrable to such daemons? For even an example occurred, with the Lord as witness, of that woman who went to the theater, and from there returned with a daemon.

[2] itaque in exorcismo cum oneraretur immundus spiritus, quod ausus esset fidelem aggredi, constanter: "et iustissime quidem" inquit "feci: in meo eam inveni."

[2] and so, in the exorcism
when the unclean spirit was being charged, because it had dared
to attack a faithful one, steadfastly: "and very justly
indeed," it said, "I did: I found her in what is mine."

[3] constat et alii linteum in somnis ostensum eius diei nocte, qua tragoedum audierat, cum exprobratione nominato tragoedo nec ultra quintum diem eam mulierem in saeculo fuisse.

[3] it is established
and that to another a linen-cloth was shown in dreams on the night of that day,
on which she had heard the tragedian, with reproach,
the tragedian being named, and that not beyond the fifth day that
woman was in the world.

[4] quot utique et alia documenta cesserunt de his qui cum diabolo apud spectacula communicando a domino exciderunt. "nemo enim potest duobus dominis servire." "quid luci cum tenebris? quid vitae et morti?"

[4] how many indeed, and other proofs besides, have accrued about those who, by communicating with the devil at the spectacles, have fallen away from the Lord. "for no one can serve two masters." "what has light with darkness? what has life with death?"

[1] odisse debemus istos conventus et coetus ethnicorum, vel quod illic nomen dei blasphematur, illic in nos quotidiani leones expostulantur, inde persecutiones decernuntur, inde temptationes emittuntur.

[1] we ought to hate those assemblies and gatherings
of the pagans, either because there the name of God is blasphemed,
there daily lions are demanded against us, from there
persecutions are decreed, from there temptations
are sent forth.

[2] quid facies in illo suffragiorum impiorum aestuario reprehensus? non quasi aliquid illic pati possis ab hominibus (nemo te cognoscit Christianum), sed recogita, quid de te fiat in caelo.

[2] what will you do, caught in that surge of impious suffrages? not as though you could suffer anything there from men (no one knows you to be a Christian), but reconsider what is done concerning you in heaven.

[3] dubitas illo enim momento, quo diabolus in ecclesia furit, omnes angelos prospicere de caelo et singulos denotare, quis blasphemiam dixerit, quis audierit quis linguam, quis aures diabolo adversus deum ministraverit?

[3] do you doubt that at that very moment, when the devil rages in the church, all the angels look forth from heaven and denote each individual—who has spoken blasphemy, who has heard it, who has ministered his tongue, who his ears, to the devil against God?

[4] non ergo fugies sedilia hostium Christi, illam cathedram pestilentiarum ipsumque aerem qui desuper incubat scelestis vocibus conspurcatum? sint dulcia licebit et grata et simplicia, etiam honesta quaedam. nemo venenum temperat felle et elleboro, sed conditis pulmentis et bene saporatis, et plurimum dulcibus id mali inicit.

[4] will you not therefore flee the seats of the enemies of Christ, that cathedra of pestilences, and the very air which broods above, befouled by wicked voices? be they sweet, if you please, and pleasing and simple, even in some respects honorable. no one mixes poison with gall and hellebore, but into seasoned dishes and well-flavored, and most of all into sweet things, he injects that evil.

ita et diabolus letale quod conficit rebus dei gratissimis et acceptissimis imbuit.

thus also the devil imbues the lethal thing which he concocts with the most pleasing and most acceptable things of God.

[5] omnia illic seu fortia seu honesta seu sonora seu canora seu subtilia perinde habe ac stillicidia mellis de lucunculo venenato nec tanti gulam facias voluptatis quanti periculum per suavitatem.

[5] reckon all things there whether strong or honest or sonorous or canorous or subtle, hold them just the same as tricklings of honey from a poisoned little cup, and do not set the gullet’s pleasure at so high a value as the peril through sweetness.

[1] saginentur eiusmodi dulcibus convivae sui: et loca et tempora et invitator ipsorum est. nostrae coenae, nostrae nuptiae nondum sunt. non possumus cum illis discumbere, quia nec illi nobiscum: vicibus disposita res est.

[1] Let their guests be fattened with sweets of that kind: and both the places and the times and the inviter are theirs. Our suppers, our nuptials are not yet. We cannot recline with them, because neither do they with us: the matter is arranged by turns.

nunc illi laetantur, nos conflictamur.

now they rejoice, we are in conflict.

[2] "Saeculum" inquit "gaudebit, vos tristes eritis." lugeamus ergo, dum ethnici gaudent, ut, cum lugere coeperint, gaudeamus, ne pariter nunc gaudentes tunc quoque pariter lugeamus.

[2] "The age," he says, "will rejoice; you will be sad." Let us therefore mourn, while the pagans rejoice, so that, when they begin to mourn, we may rejoice, lest, rejoicing together now, then also we likewise mourn together.

[3] delicatus es, Christiane, si et in saeculo voluptatem concupiscis, immo nimium stultus, si hoc existimas voluptatem.

[3] You are delicate, Christian, if even in the age you desire pleasure; nay, exceedingly foolish, if you deem this to be pleasure.

[4] philosophi quidam hoc nomen quieti et tranquillitati dederunt, in ea gaudent, in ea avocantur, in ea etiam gloriantur. tu mihi metas et scaenam et pulverem et harenam suspiras?

[4] certain philosophers gave this name to quiet and tranquillity; in it they rejoice, in it they are called away, in it they even glory. do you, then, sigh after the turning-posts and the scene and the dust and the arena-sand?

[5] dicas velim: non possumus vivere sine voluptate, qui mori cum voluptate debemus? nam quod est aliud votum nostrum quam quod et apostoli, exire de saeculo et recipi apud dominum? Hic voluptas, ubi et votum.

[5] I would like you to tell me: can we not live without pleasure, we who ought to die with pleasure? For what other votum is ours than that of the apostles as well—to go out from the world and be received by the Lord? Here is pleasure, where the votum is also.

[1] iam nunc si putas delectamentis exigere spatium hoc, cur tam ingratus es, ut tot et tales voluptates a deo contributas tibi satis non habeas neque recognoscas? quid enim iucundius quam dei patris et domini reconciliatio, quam veritatis revelatio, quam errorum recognitio, quam tantorum retro criminum venia?

[1] even now, if you think to spend this span with delectations, why are you so ungrateful that you do not deem sufficient nor acknowledge so many and such pleasures contributed to you by God? For what is more delightful than reconciliation with God the Father and Lord, than the revelation of truth, than the recognition of errors, than the pardon of so many past crimes?

[2] quae maior voluptas quam fastidium ipsins voluptatis, quam saeculi totius contemptus, quam vera libertas, quam conscientia integra, quam vita sufficiens, quam mortis timor nullus,

[2] what greater pleasure than loathing of pleasure itself, than contempt of the whole world, than true liberty, than an integral conscience, than a sufficient life, than no fear of death,

[3] quod calcas deos nationum, quod daemonia expellis, quod medicinas facis, quod revelationes petis, quod deo vivis? haec voluptates, haec spectacula Christianorum sancta perpetua gratuita; in his tibi circenses ludos interpretare, cursus saeculi intuere, tempora labentia, spatia peracta dinumera, metas consummationis exspecta, societates ecclesiarum defende, ad signum dei suscitare, ad tubam angeli erigere, ad martyrii palmas gloriare.

[3] that you trample the gods of the nations, that you expel daemons, that you work cures, that you seek revelations, that you live for God? These are the pleasures, these the spectacles of Christians—holy, perpetual, gratuitous; in these interpret for yourself the circus-games, behold the course of the age, the slipping times, count up the laps completed, await the goal-posts of consummation, defend the societies of the churches, at the sign of God rouse, at the trumpet of the angel rise up, in the palms of martyrdom glory.

[4] si scaenicae doctrinae delectant, satis nobis litterarum est, satis versuum est, satis sententiarum, satis etiam canticorum, satis vocum, nec fabulae, sed veritates, nec strophae, sed simplicitates.

[4] if the doctrines of the stage
delight, we have enough of letters, enough of verses,
enough of sentences, enough even of canticles,
enough of voices, not fables, but verities, not
strophes, but simplicities.

[5] vis et pugilatus et luctatus? praesto sunt, non parva et multa. aspice impudicitiam deiectam a castitate, perfidiam caesam a fide, saevitiam a misericordia contusam, petulantiam a modestia adumbratam, et tales sunt apud nos agones, in quibus ipsi coronamur.

[5] Do you want both pugilism and
wrestling? They are at hand—no slight ones, and many. Behold
impudicity thrown down by chastity, perfidy
cut down by faith, cruelty bruised by mercy,
petulance overshadowed by modesty, and such are
the contests among us, in which we ourselves are crowned.

vis autem et sanguinis aliquid? Habes Christi.

Do you, however, want even some blood? You have Christ’s.

[1] quale autem spectaculum in proximo est adventus domini iam indubitati, iam superbi, iam triumphantis! quae illa exultatio angelorum, quae gloria resurgentium sanctorum! quale regnum exinde iustorum!

[1] what, moreover, a spectacle is at hand the Advent of the Lord now indubitable, now superb, now triumphing! what exultation of the angels, what glory of the saints rising again! what a kingdom thereafter of the just!

qualis civitas nova Hierusalem!

what a city the New Jerusalem!

[2] at enim supersunt alia spectacula, ille ultimus et perpetuus iudicii dies, ille nationibus insperatus, ille derisus, cum tanta saeculi vetustas et tot eius nativitates uno igni haurientur.

[2] but indeed other spectacles remain, that ultimate and
perpetual day of judgment, that one unhoped-for by the nations, that
one derided, when so great an antiquity of the age and so many of its
nativities will be swallowed up by a single fire.

[3] quae tunc spectaculi latitudo! quid admirer? quid rideam?

[3] what then a breadth of spectacle! what am I to admire? what am I to laugh at?

ubi gaudeam, ubi exultem, tot spectans reges, qui in caelum recepti nuntiabantur, cum Iove ipso et ipsis suis testibus in imis tenebris congemescentes? item praesides persecutores dominici nominis saevioribus quam ipsi flammis saevierunt insultantes contra Christianos liquescentes?

where should I rejoice, where exult, beholding so many kings, who were announced as received into heaven, groaning together with Jupiter himself and with their very own witnesses in the lowest darkness? Likewise, the governors, persecutors of the Lord’s name, in flames more savage than those with which they themselves raged, insulting against the Christians, liquescing?

[4] quos praeterea? sapientes illos philosophos coram discipulis suis una conflagrantibus erubescentes, quibus nihil ad deum pertinere suadebant, quibus animas aut nullas aut non in pristina corpora redituras adfirmabant? etiam poetas non ad Rhadamanthi nec ad Minonis, sed ad inopinati Christi tribunal palpitantes?

[4] whom besides? those wise philosophers before
their own disciples, blushing as they burned together in one conflagration,
whom they used to persuade that nothing pertains to God, to whom
they affirmed that souls are either none at all or would not return into their former bodies? even the poets, not to
that of Rhadamanthus nor of Minos, but to the tribunal of the unlooked-for
Christ, trembling?

[5] tunc magis tragoedi audiendi, magis scilicet vocales in sua propria calamitate; tunc histriones cognoscendi, solutiores multo per ignem; tunc spectandus auriga in flammea rota totus ruber; tunc xystici contemplandi, non in gymnasiis, sed in igne iaculati, nisi quod ne tunc quidem illos velim visos, ut qui malim ad eos potius conspectum insatiabilem conferre, qui in dominum desaevierunt.

[5] then the tragedians to be heard,
more, to be sure, vocal in their own proper
calamity; then the histrions to be recognized, much more
unbound through fire; then the charioteer to be gazed at on a
flaming wheel, wholly red; then the xystic athletes
to be contemplated, not in gymnasia, but hurled
in fire, except that not even then would I wish them seen,
since I would prefer to direct an insatiable gaze rather toward those
who raged to the uttermost against the Lord.

[6] hic est ille, dicam, fabri aut quaestuariae filius, sabbati destructor, Samarites et daemonium habens; hic est quem a Iuda redemistis, hic est ille harundine et colaphis diverberatus, sputamentis dedecoratus, felle et aceto potatus; hic est, quem clam discentes subripuerunt, ut surrexisse dicatur, vel hortulanus detraxit, ne lactucae suae frequentia commeantium adlaederentur.

[6] this is he, I will say, the son of a smith or of a prostitute, the Sabbath-destroyer, a Samaritan and one having a demon; this is he whom you bought from Judas; this is that one beaten with a reed and with buffets, dishonored with spittle, made to drink gall and vinegar; this is he whom his disciples secretly stole, so that he might be said to have risen, or the gardener took him away, lest his lettuces be harmed by the crowd of passers-by.

[7] ut talia spectes, ut talibus exultes, quis tibi praetor aut consul aut quaestor aut sacerdos de sua liberalitate praestabit? et tamen haec iam quodammodo habemus per fidem spiritu imaginante repraesentata. ceterum qualia illa sunt, quae nec oculus vidit nec auris audivit nec in cor hominis ascenderunt?

[7] that you may behold such things, that you may exult in such things, what praetor or consul or quaestor or priest will bestow it on you out of his liberality? and yet we already in some manner have these through faith, represented by the Spirit imagining. But what are those things like, which neither eye has seen nor ear has heard nor have ascended into the heart of man?

credo, circo et utraque cavea et omni stadio gratiora.

I believe, more pleasing than the circus and both the seating-areas and every stadium.