Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

On the Public Shows

Pseudo-Cyprian

Section 4

About this work

Author: Pseudo-Cyprian

4. What has Scripture interdicted? Certainly it has forbidden gazing

‹ Section 3 Section 5 ›

upon

what

it

forbids

to

be

done

.

It

condemned

,

I

say

,

all

those

kinds

of

exhibitions

when

it

abrogated

idolatry

—

the

mother

of

all

public

amusements

,

whence

these

prodigies

of

vanity

and

lightness

came

.

For

what

public

exhibition

is

without

an

idol

?

what

amusement

without

a

sacrifice

?

what

contest

is

not

consecrated

to

some

dead

person

?

And

what

does

a

faithful

Christian

do

in

the

midst

of

such

things

as

these

?

If

he

avoids

idolatry

,

why

does

he

who

is

now

sacred

take

pleasure

in

things

which

are

worthy

of

reproach

?

Why

does

he

approve

of

superstitions

which

are

opposed

to

God

,

and

which

he

loves

while

he

gazes

upon

them

?

Besides

,

let

him

be

aware

that

all

these

things

are

the

inventions

of

demons

,

not

of

God

.

He

is

shameless

who

in

the

church

exorcises

demons

while

he

praises

their

delights

in

public

shows

;

and

although

,

once

for

all

renouncing

him

,

he

has

put

away

everything

in

baptism

,

when

he

goes

to

the

devil’s

exhibition

after

(

receiving

)

Christ

,

he

renounces

Christ

as

much

as

(

he

had

done

)

the

devil

.

Idolatry

,

as

I

have

already

said

,

is

the

mother

of

all

the

public

amusements

;

and

this

,

in

order

that

faithful

Christians

may

come

under

its

influence

,

entices

them

by

the

delight

of

the

eyes

and

the

ears

.

Romulus

was

the

first

who

consecrated

the

games

of

the

circus

to

Consus

as

the

god

of

counsel

,

in

reference

to

the

rape

of

the

Sabine

women

.

But

the

rest

of

the

scenic

amusements

were

provided

to

distract

the

attention

of

the

people

while

famine

invaded

the

city

,

and

were

subsequently

dedicated

to

Ceres

and

Bacchus

,

and

to

the

rest

of

the

idols

and

dead

men

.

Those

Grecian

contests

,

whether

in

poems

,

or

in

instrumental

music

,

or

in

words

,

or

in

personal

prowess

,

have

as

their

guardians

various

demons

;

and

whatever

else

there

is

which

either

attracts

the

eyes

or

allures

the

ears

of

the

spectators

,

if

it

be

investigated

in

reference

to

its

origin

and

institution

,

presents

as

its

reason

either

an

idol

,

or

a

demon

,

or

a

dead

man

.

Thus

the

devil

,

who

is

their

original

contriver

,

because

he

knew

that

naked

idolatry

would

by

itself

excite

repugnance

,

associated

it

with

public

exhibitions

,

that

for

the

sake

of

their

attraction

it

might

be

loved

.

Notes

10
Vid. Ovid’s Fasti, lib. v.
11
The Oxford text here has the reading, “Why does he speak of it? why does he,” etc.