4. At the extreme parts of the city there are
various sports of boys and young men, as running, hand-ball, tennis,
&c.; there are besides trials of skill among the boys, in order to
discover the readiness of their wit in speaking, acting, and perceiving;
and such as excel receive some leaves of laurel as a reward; not to
mention other things of a like nature, designed to call forth and
exercise the latent talents of the young people. 5. Moreover out of the
city are exhibited stage-entertainments, in which the actors represent
the various graces and virtues of moral life, among whom are inferior
characters for the sake of relatives." And one of the ten asked, "How
for the sake of relatives?" And they replied, "No virtue with its graces
and beauties, can be suitably represented except by means of relatives,
in which are comprised and represented all its graces and beauties, from
the greatest to the least; and the inferior characters represent the
least, even till they become extinct; but it is provided by law, that
nothing of the opposite, which is indecorous and dishonorable, should be
exhibited, except figuratively, and as it were remotely.
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