in 
Literwture 
and Art. 
281 
Now-a-Days (Mairztenant), who are the Scholars of Once-good (Jabien), 
who ihows them how to play at Cards and at Dice, and to entertain 
Luxury, whereby one comes to Shame (Honte), and from Shame to 
Defpair  and from Defpair to the gibbet of Perdition, and then 
turns himfelf to Good-doing." The characters in this play are N0w-a- 
Days, Once-good, Luxury, Shame, Defpair, Perdition, and Good-doing. 
The three dramatic focieties which produced all thefe farces, fotties, 
and moralities, continued to Houriih in France until the middle of the 
fixteenth century, at which period a great revolution in dramatic litera- 
ture took place in that country. The performance of the Myllzeries had 
been forbidden by authority, and the Bazochians themfelves were fup- 
preiled. The petty drama reprefented by the farces and fotties went 
rapidly out of faihion, in the great change through which the mind of 
iociety was at this time pafling, and in which the tafle for clailical 
literature overcame all others. The old drama in France had difap- 
peared, and a new one, formed entirely upon an imitation of the clailical 
drama, was beginning to take its place. This incipient drama was repre- 
fented in the Iixteenth century by Etienne Jodel, by Jacques Grevin, 
by Remy Belleau, and efpecially by Pierre de Larivey, the molt prolific, 
and perhaps the molt talented, of the earlier French regular dramatic 
authors. 
 Thefe French dramatic eH'ays, the farces, the fotties, and the morali- 
 ties, were imitated, and lbmetimes tranflated, in Englith, and many of 
 them were printed; for the further our refearches are carried into the 
 early hittory of printing, the moreiwe are aflonifhed at the extreme 
 aitivity of the prefs, even in its infancy, in multiplying literature of a 
 popular charaeter. In England, as in France, the farces had been, at :1 
 rather early period, detached from the mylteries and miracle-plays, but 
 the Word interludes had been adopted here as the general title for them, 
 and continued in ufe even after the eftablilhment of the regular drama. 
 Perhaps this name owed its popularity to the circumftance that it feemed 
 more appropriate to its objeit, when it became fo faihionable in England 
 to aet thefe plays at intervals in the great feilivals and entertainments 
 given at court, or in the houfeholds of the great nobles. At all events, 
0 0 there