ies 
The English Moral Plays 403 
ity and religion. The sermon was given a new vitality and an 
extended influence by the Puritan divine; the works of practical 
piety that spread over England in dumpy little quartos taught every- 
day holiness; John Florio’s translation of Montaigne’s essays opened 
the way for the moral philosopher. The church, accordingly, no 
longer needed the service of the theater; the theater felt that it 
had outlived its indenture. There came, therefore, a re-division of 
labor in the literary world. The drama was given the task of public 
entertainment, and, at its best, of sound interpretation of life; the 
church assumed responsibility for the furtherance of godliness through 
the spoken and written word. The day of the moral play was over. 
Trans. Conn. Acap., Vol. X1V. 27 Marca, 1910. 
