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 626 MIRACLES AND MORALITIES ton, "Miraculous Powers" (London, 1749; new ed., 1844) ; J. H. Newman (in reply to Taylor's " Ancient Christianity "), " Essay on Miracles," prefixed to his translation of Fleury's Histoire ecclesiastique, and also published sepa- rately (1843 and 1873) ; H. Bushnell, "Nature and the Supernatural " (New York, 1858) ; and Mountford, " Miracles Past and Present " (Boston, 1870). MIRACLES AND MORALITIES, religious and allegorical plays, which constituted the drama of the middle ages. They were often called miracle plays and moral plays, and in later times have more frequently been indiscrim- inately styled mysteries. The subjects of the miracles were either the narratives of the Bible or the legends chiefly of the lives of the saints ; and the moralities, which appeared later, inter- mingled allegory with sacred history, or were represented exclusively by allegorical person- ages. In the first ages of Christianity bap- tism was refused to any one concerned with the theatre, and both the Greek and Latin fa- thers anathematized the dramatic art. In the 4th century the church succeeded in extin- guishing the theatre everywhere except in Constantinople, where the genius and the arts of antiquity lingered in decay. This triumph had hardly been accomplished when from the bosom of the church sprang a new drama and spectacle. The emperor Julian ridiculed the asceticism of the church by a law forbidding any Christian to be taught in heathen learn- ing. Apollinaris, presbyter of Laodicea, and his more celebrated son of the same name, bishop of that see (died about 390), were fine classical scholars. The former versified the Pentateuch and the history of Israel, and the latter paraphrased the gospels after the man- ner of the dialogues of Plato. Soon the sacred ceremonies and commemorations of the Chris- tian faith, in the name of which profane games had been proscribed, were transformed into dramatic representations. Gregory Nazian- zen, patriarch of Constantinople, is the reputed author of a play on Christ's passion, and of others of the same kind, written to supersede those of Sophocles and Euripides. The pro- gress of this Christian drama cannot be traced till about the llth century, when Theophylact of Constantinople introduced the feast of fools, the feast of asses, and other religious pastimes, which were celebrated in churches. To these sports the clergy added the acting of miracle plays, which originally were not only com- posed by ecclesiastics, but were performed by them in churches and the chapels of monaste- ries. They were afterward exhibited by com- panies of tradesmen, each guild sharing the expense and undertaking a portion of the per- formance ; and they served the purpose of amusing the people on public occasions and festivals, while the clergy were at length for- bidden by popes and councils to take any part in them. Jugglers and minstrels attended the travelling companies. The stages, either tem- porary or portable on wheels, usually consisted of three platforms, one above another. On the uppermost sat the Pater Cwlestis, surround- ed by his angels ; on the second appeared the saints and glorified men ; while living men oc- cupied the lowest. On one side of the stage was a dark, pitchy, flaming cavern, from which issued hideous bowlings, as of souls tormented by demons ; its occupants were the greatest jesters and buffoons of the company, who fre- quently ascended upon the stage to act the comic parts. It is probable that miracles were introduced, perhaps by returning pilgrims, from Constantinople into Italy, and thence into France and England. The oldest known are in Latin, but in the 12th and 13th centuries they became common in the modern langua- ges ; and with some exceptions there is a gen- eral resemblance in subjects, characters, and theatrical machinery between those of differ- ent countries. They probably had a common origin, and were introduced about .the same date, being communicated from one religious body to another. Three Latin miracles written ! early in the 12th century by Hilarius, a disciple of Abe"lard, are extant ; the subjects are the raising of Lazarus, the life of St. Nicholas, and the history of Daniel. The miracle of St. Cath- arine, by Geoffrey, abbot of St. Albans, was performed in Dunstable, England, and in Paris about the same time, and it was then no nov- elty. Other Latin plays are preserved which seem to have been very popular, both as scho- lastic exercises among the younger monks, and as popular exhibitions, the greater part of the story being told by pantomime. The mystery of the wise and foolish virgins, in which Latin and Provencal are used alternately, indicates the period of transition to the vernacular lan- guages, and may stand at the beginning of Eu- ropean dramatic literature. The miracle of the passion was one of the earliest and most wide-spread, and from it the first theatrical company of Paris, established in 1402, was called the brethren of the passion. It em- braced the principal events in the life of Christ, was exhibited with splendid pomp, and its representation occupied several days. Among its characters were the three members of the Trinity, angels or archangels, the apostles, dev- ils, and Herod with all his court. The Virgin Mary is a favorite character in French myste- ries, and several of them bear the title of mi- racles de Notre Dame. Others are entitled mysteries of the conception, of the nativity, of the resurrection, and of divers events in the legends of the saints and in the narratives of the Old and New Testaments. The splendor of the theatrical decorations and appliances for inspiring terror increased during the 15th century. In one of the Parisian mysteries St. Barbara was hung up by the heels on the stage, and, after uttering her remonstrances, was torn with pincers and scorched with lamps before the audience. In a mystery exhibited at Mentz in 1437, an immense dragon sprang