The drama rose anew at the foot of the altar. Christian
priests were its reformers, its guardians and its actors. Designed for
the amusement as well as the instruction of the gaping multitudes, it
was necessarily a pretty crude affair. Satan was introduced as the
clown, and laughter was provoked at his discomfiture when routed, or at
the destruction of those who wilfully cast themselves into his clutches.
It is not strange that the pious and learned St. Augustine, in the
fourth century, regretted the polished dramatic performances at
Alexandria that in his youth had afforded him so much genuine enjoyment.
Among the people the church play became so popular that in the course of
time it was found necessary to erect more spacious stages in the open
air.
Thus arose the Mystery, Miracle, Morality and Passion Plays, the direct
progenitors of the Opera and the Oratorio. The descent of the Opera may
be traced also to another source, to the secular play which persisted in
the face of ecclesiastical disfavor and the ban that excluded its
players from the church sacraments.
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