[23] I consulted Dr. Dickerman, the most eminent Egyptologist in this
country, upon this subject, and his observation was this: The state
of mind and the condition of society of the ancient Egyptians were
not such as would incline them to theatrical representations. They
had athletic sports, games, such as draughts or checkers, and games
of chance, but not such a disposition as brought people together to
witness anything. None of the buildings whose ruins have been studied
indicate that any were constructed with reference to the assembling
of people, except the processions, with priests, in the temples, and
that the Labyrinth, moreover, in the twelfth dynasty, contemporary with
Abraham, had meetings of the delegates from the different nomes, or
provinces, to discuss the political affairs of the kingdom.
[24] Smith’s Dictionary, Vol. iii, p. 997.
[25] Gibbon says the Roman people considered the circus as their
home, their temple, and the seat of the republic. The impatient crowd
rushed at the dawn of day to secure their places; and there were many
who passed sleepless and anxious nights in the adjacent porticos.
From the morning to the evening, careless of the sun or of the rain,
the spectators, who sometimes amounted to the number of four hundred
thousand, remained in eager attention; their eyes fixed on the horses
and charioteers, their minds agitated with hope and fear, for the
success of the colors which they espoused and the happiness of Rome
appeared to hang on the event of a race. “Gibbon’s Decline and Fall,”
Vol. iv. pp. 87, 88. London edition of 1848.
[26] Collier, 256, 1st. ed.
[27] Prof. A. W. Ward.
[28] Jeremy Collier’s “View of the English Stage,” 1st ed., p. 258.
[29] Bossuet’s Works, Vol. xxxii. Calcraft’s “Defence of the Stage,” p.
12.
[30] Gifford’s “Jonson,” Vol. iii., pp. 162, 163.
[31] Calcraft, p. 61.
[32] Smith’s “Dictionary,” Vol. i, p. 42; Calcraft, 67.