Excerpt from The School of Abuse: Containing a Pleasant Invective Against Poets, Players, Jesters, &C Stephen gosson, the author of the tract reprinted on the following pages, was not the earliest literary enemy of theatrical performances in this country. That distinction belongs to John Northbrooke, whose Trea tise wherein Dicing, Dauncing, Vaine Playes or Eu terluds &c. Are reproved, was licensed for the press in 1577: it was printed by H. Bynneman, with out date, but no doubt prior to 1579, when Cosson's Schoole of Abuse, conteining a plesaunt Invective against Poets, Pipers, Plaiers, Jesters &c. Made its appearance. Our author, therefore, is only entitled to the second place in the attack upon the stage, although he says nothing about any predecessor. Northbrooke's work well merits at least equal attention; and on an early occasion we shall offer a careful re-impression of it to the members of the Shakespeare Society. We were led, in the first instance, to Gosson's tract, by his connection with Edward Alleyn, late in life, when Gosson was vicar of the parish in which that great actor and most benevolent man was born. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.