MANKIND
Of the earth and of the clay we have our propagation;
By the providence of God thus be we derivate-
To whose mercy I recommend this whole congregation;
I hope unto his bliss ye be all predestinate. (Act I lines 186-189)
A morality play has the intention of teaching a lesson to the audience and it does not make many stretches for the imagination. Characters are named for who/what they represent and their intentions are straightforward. The very first lines of the play's protagonist set the stage for the entire piece's intentions. For a little better understanding, I turned to the OED to clarify two words that I understood but wanted more depth.
From the OED:
From the OED:
Propagation: The production of offspring; the action or practice of causing a people, race, etc., to continue in being by procreation; reproduction; (also) the action of causing a plant, animal, etc., to produce offspring or multiply by natural processes.
Predestinate: Destined by divine will, foreordained; predestined to a specified fate or to do something.
These four lines are dripping in religious ideology. First we can examine the first line to mean two things, one: that man is made from clay and, two: Mankind is commenting on the ground around him that he will farm. Farming is a pretty similar idea of something being made from earth. So ideally we see an image of Mankind living in a way that reflects God who made man from the clay of earth. The word "propagation" does have connotations of reproduction or producing plants, animals or people. This is a very early call to the audience that the audience is being represented here, as they are all one in the same.
Mankind then, very kindly, wishes God's divinity to all. He calls all that he addresses a "congregation" which very much brings forth the idea of a group gathered for religious purposes. (Personally, I would have walked out at this point if I was in attendance. My heebie jeebies alarm would have been going off that I was about to be preached to) The word "Predestinate" is how Mankind wishes everyone to be, destined for divinity. These four lines ending with the idea of pre-destiny seems like foreshadowing. The audience sees and knows (because of Mercy) that Mankind is inherently good and his kind wishes for the audience (or crops if you want to hold onto the Christian imagery of being a shepherd of man) proves his forthcoming divinity with God.
There may even be a spark of hope for the Vices in the play with Mankind's words. If "congregation" is taken to simply mean a "gathering", then the vices can be considered as part of that congregation Mankind addresses. This way, the vices are redeemable. It could also be a warning that not everyone who congregates is redeemable despite intentions. That is the point the Vices eventually make by tricking the audience into "sinning" along in song later.
Predestinate: Destined by divine will, foreordained; predestined to a specified fate or to do something.
These four lines are dripping in religious ideology. First we can examine the first line to mean two things, one: that man is made from clay and, two: Mankind is commenting on the ground around him that he will farm. Farming is a pretty similar idea of something being made from earth. So ideally we see an image of Mankind living in a way that reflects God who made man from the clay of earth. The word "propagation" does have connotations of reproduction or producing plants, animals or people. This is a very early call to the audience that the audience is being represented here, as they are all one in the same.
Mankind then, very kindly, wishes God's divinity to all. He calls all that he addresses a "congregation" which very much brings forth the idea of a group gathered for religious purposes. (Personally, I would have walked out at this point if I was in attendance. My heebie jeebies alarm would have been going off that I was about to be preached to) The word "Predestinate" is how Mankind wishes everyone to be, destined for divinity. These four lines ending with the idea of pre-destiny seems like foreshadowing. The audience sees and knows (because of Mercy) that Mankind is inherently good and his kind wishes for the audience (or crops if you want to hold onto the Christian imagery of being a shepherd of man) proves his forthcoming divinity with God.
There may even be a spark of hope for the Vices in the play with Mankind's words. If "congregation" is taken to simply mean a "gathering", then the vices can be considered as part of that congregation Mankind addresses. This way, the vices are redeemable. It could also be a warning that not everyone who congregates is redeemable despite intentions. That is the point the Vices eventually make by tricking the audience into "sinning" along in song later.
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