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The Shows, or De Spectaculis

Tertullian

Chapter 20

About this work

Author: Tertullian

How vain, then—nay, how desperate—is the

‹ Chapter 19 Chapter 21 ›

reasoning

of

persons

,

who

,

just

because

they

decline

to

lose

a

pleasure

,

hold

out

that

we

cannot

point

to

the

specific

words

or

the

very

place

where

this

abstinence

is

mentioned

,

and

where

the

servants

of

God

are

directly

forbidden

to

have

anything

to

do

with

such

assemblies

!

I

heard

lately

a

novel

defence

of

himself

by

a

certain

play

-

lover

.

“

The

sun

,

”

said

he

,

“

nay

,

God

Himself

,

looks

down

from

heaven

on

the

show

,

and

no

pollution

is

contracted

.

”

Yes

,

and

the

sun

,

too

,

pours

down

his

rays

into

the

common

sewer

without

being

defiled

.

As

for

God

,

would

that

all

crimes

were

hid

from

His

eye

,

that

we

might

all

escape

judgment

!

But

He

looks

on

robberies

too

;

He

looks

on

falsehoods

,

adulteries

,

frauds

,

idolatries

,

and

these

same

shows

;

and

precisely

on

that

account

we

will

not

look

on

them

,

lest

the

All

-

seeing

see

us

.

You

are

putting

on

the

same

level

,

O

man

,

the

criminal

and

the

judge

;

the

criminal

who

is

a

criminal

because

he

is

seen

,

and

the

Judge

who

is

a

Judge

because

He

sees

.

Are

we

set

,

then

,

on

playing

the

madman

outside

the

circus

boundaries

?

Outside

the

gates

of

the

theatre

are

we

bent

on

lewdness

,

outside

the

course

on

arrogance

,

and

outside

the

amphitheatre

on

cruelty

,

because

outside

the

porticoes

,

the

tiers

and

the

curtains

,

too

,

God

has

eyes

?

Never

and

nowhere

is

that

free

from

blame

which

God

ever

condemns

;

never

and

nowhere

is

it

right

to

do

what

you

may

not

do

at

all

times

and

in

all

places

.

It

is

the

freedom

of

the

truth

from

change

of

opinion

and

varying

judgments

which

constitutes

its

perfection

,

and

gives

it

its

claims

to

full

mastery

,

unchanging

reverence

,

and

faithful

obedience

.

That

which

is

really

good

or

really

evil

cannot

be

ought

else

.

But

in

all

things

the

truth

of

God

is

immutable

.