1. Cyprian to the congregation who stand fast in the Gospel, sends greeting. As it greatly saddens me, and deeply afflicts my soul, when no opportunit

 2. Believers, and men who claim for themselves the authority of the Christian name, are not ashamed—are not, I repeat, ashamed to find a defence in th

 3. These are therefore an argument to stimulate virtue, not a permission or a liberty to look upon heathen error, that by this consideration the mind

 4. What has Scripture interdicted?  Certainly it has forbidden gazing upon what it forbids to be done. It condemned, I say, all those kinds of exhibit

 5. What is the need of prosecuting the subject further, or of describing the unnatural kinds of sacrifices in the public shows, among which sometimes

 6. But now to pass from this to the shameless corruption of the stage. I am ashamed to tell what things are said I am even ashamed to denounce the th

 7. It is not sufficient for lust to make use of its present means of mischief, unless by the exhibition it makes its own that in which a former age ha

 8. Now that other folly of others is an obvious source of advantage to idle men and the first victory is for the belly to be able to crave food beyon

 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing

 10. Let the faithful Christian, I say, devote himself to the sacred Scriptures, and there he shall find worthy exhibitions for his faith. He will see

2. Believers, and men who claim for themselves the authority of the Christian name, are not ashamed—are not, I repeat, ashamed to find a defence in the heavenly Scriptures for the vain superstitions associated with the public exhibitions of the heathens, and thus to attribute divine authority to idolatry. For how is it, that what is done by the heathens in honour of any idol is resorted to in a public show by faithful Christians, and the heathen idolatry is maintained, and the true and divine religion is trampled upon in contempt of God?  Shame binds me to relate their pretexts and defences in this behalf. “Where,” say they, “are there such Scriptures? where are these things prohibited? On the contrary, both Elias is the charioteer of Israel, and David himself danced before the ark. We read of psalteries, horns,4    “Nabla.” trumpets, drums, pipes, harps, and choral dances. Moreover, the apostle, in his struggle, puts before us the contest of the Cæstus, and of our wrestle against the spiritual things of wickedness. Again, when he borrows his illustrations from the racecourse, he also proposes the prize of the crown. Why, then, may not a faithful Christian man gaze upon that which the divine pen might write about?” At this point I might not unreasonably say that it would have been far better for them not to know any writings at all, than thus to read the Scriptures.5    [In Edin. trans. needlessly “the writings of the Scriptures.”] For words and illustrations which are recorded by way of exhortation to evangelical virtue, are translated by them into pleas for vice; because those things are written of, not that they should be gazed upon, but that a greater eagerness might be aroused in our minds in respect of things that will benefit us, seeing that among the heathens there is manifest so much eagerness in respect of things which will be of no advantage.

II. Non pudet, non pudet, inquam, fideles homines et christiani sibi nominis auctoritatem vindicantes, superstitiones vanas gentilium cum spectaculis mixtas de Scripturis coelestibus vindicare et divinam auctoritatem idololatriae conferre. Nam, quomodo id quod 0781D in honore alicujus idoli ab ethnicis agitur a fidelibus Christianis spectaculo frequentatur, et idololatria gentilis asseritur, et in contumeliam Dei religio vera et divina calcatur? Pudor me tenet praescriptiones 0782A eorum in hac causa et patrocinia referre. Ubi, inquiunt, scripta sunt ista, ubi prohibita? Alioquin et auriga est Israel Helias, et ante arcam David ipse saltavit. Nabla, cynares, aera, tympana, tibias, citharas, choros legimus. Apostolus quoque dimicans cestus et colluctationis nostrae adversus spiritalia nequitiae proponit certamen. Rursus, cum de stadio sumit exempla, coronae quoque collocat praemia. Cur ergo homini Christiano fideli non liceat spectare quod licuit divinis Litteris scribere? Hoc in loco non immerito dixerim longe melius fuisse istis nullas Litteras nosse quam sic Litteras legere. Verba enim et exempla quae ad exhortationem evangelicae virtutis posita sunt, ad vitiorum patrocinia transferuntur; quoniam non ut spectarentur ista scripta sunt, sed ut animis 0782B nostris instantia major excitaretur in rebus profuturis, dum tanta est apud ethnicos in rebus non profuturis.