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The Growth of English Drama by Arnold Wynne
page 21 of 315 (06%)
30. The Trial of Christ.
31. Pilate's Wife's Dream.
32. The Condemnation and Crucifixion of Christ.
33. The Descent into Hell.
34. The Burial of Christ.
35. The Resurrection.
36. The Three Maries.
37. Christ Appearing to Mary.
38. The Pilgrim of Emaus.
39. The Ascension.
40. The Descent of the Holy Ghost.
41. The Assumption of the Virgin.
42. Doomsday.

One dominant characteristic is observed by every student of the original
play, namely, the maintenance of a lofty elevation of tone wherever the
sacredness of the subject demands it. The simple dramatic freedom of
that day brought God and Heaven upon the stage, and exhibited Jesus in
every circumstance of his life and death; yet on no occasion does the
play descend from the high standard of reverence which such a subject
demanded, or derogate from the dignity of the celestial Father and Son.
That this was partly due to the Bible will be admitted at once. But
there is great credit due to the writer (or writers) who could keep so
true a sense of proportion that in scenes even of coarse derision,
almost bordering on buffoonery, the central figure remained unsoiled and
unaffected by his surroundings. A writer less filled with the religious
sense must have been strongly tempted to descend to biting dialogue, in
which his hero should silence his adversaries by superiority in the use
of their own weapon. A truer instinct warned our author that any such
scene must immediately tend to a lowering of character. He refused, and
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