--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It hath evermore been the notorious badge…" description: "\"It hath evermore been the notorious badge of prostituted Strumpets and the lewdest Harlots, to ramble abroad to Plays, to Playhouses; whither no honest..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/william-prynne-62084_ancient_it-hath-evermore-been-the-notorious-badg_3067010.jpg" --- # It hath evermore been the notorious badge of prostituted… ![“It hath evermore been the notorious badge of prostituted Strumpets and the lewdest Harlots, to ramble abroad to Plays, to Playhouses; whither no honest, chaste or sober Girls or Women, but only branded Whores and infamous Adulteresses, did usually resort in ancient times.” quote by William Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/william-prynne-62084_ancient_it-hath-evermore-been-the-notorious-badg_3067010.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/william-prynne-62084_ancient_it-hath-evermore-been-the-notorious-badg_3067010.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/william-prynne-62084_ancient_it-hath-evermore-been-the-notorious-badg_3067010.jpg) > “It hath evermore been the notorious badge of prostituted Strumpets and the lewdest Harlots, to ramble abroad to Plays, to Playhouses; whither no honest, chaste or sober Girls or Women, but only branded Whores and infamous Adulteresses, did usually resort in ancient times.” [William Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-prynne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He condemns women who act on stage, labeling them as immoral and dangerous to society's virtue. **In simple terms:** He believes female performers corrupt moral standards. Key Takeaway Challenge gender stereotypes in the arts. Themes morality gender theatre social control Mood critical historical controversial Type persuasive moralistic When to use this quote - theatre criticism - social morality - gender debates Key Concepts Puritanical critique censorship gender bias Questions to Reflect On - Should artistic expression be regulated by morality? - How do modern societies view women in performance? A Different Perspective Historical context limits relevance today. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Ancient times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-times/) [Chaste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaste/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Resorts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resorts/) [Sober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sober/) [Theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theater/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/we-hold-upon-this-earth-the-place-of-god-almighty/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [My muse is an ungrateful harlot who’s abandoned me to actually come up with my own plots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/my-muse-is-an-ungrateful-harlot-who-s-abandoned-me-to-actually-come/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [The hand that holds the seven stars is as loving as the hand that was laid in blessing upon the little children; the face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/the-hand-that-holds-the-seven-stars-is-as-loving-as-the-hand-that-was/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Be not so set upon poetry, as to be always poring on the passionate and measured pages. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [To hear the Japanese plead for free trade is like hearing the word love on the lips of a harlot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lane-kirkland/to-hear-the-japanese-plead-for-free-trade-is-like-hearing-the-word/) [Lane Kirkland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lane-kirkland/) > [It's obsequious little nicety-nice girls like me who allow assholes to run the world: Miss Harlot O'Harlots, billionaire phony tree huggers, hypocrite drug-snorting, weed-puffing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/it-s-obsequious-little-nicety-nice-girls-like-me-who-allow-assholes/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [The old harlot, German philosophy, has finally turned into a church lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/the-old-harlot-german-philosophy-has-finally-turned-into-a-church-lady/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [Books and harlots have their quarrels in public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/books-and-harlots-have-their-quarrels-in-public/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [All the delights of sense, or heart, or intellect, with which you could once have tempted him, even the delights of virtue itself, now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/all-the-delights-of-sense-or-heart-or-intellect-with-which-you-could/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [It is our wisest and our safest course to stand at the farthest distance from sin; not to go near the house of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/it-is-our-wisest-and-our-safest-course-to-stand-at-the-farthest/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [The worst sinners, according to Jesus, are not the harlots and publicans, but the religious leaders with their insistence on proper dress and grooming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-nibley/the-worst-sinners-according-to-jesus-are-not-the-harlots-and/) [Hugh Nibley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-nibley/) > [Dear lost sinner, if you are a wicked sinner, yet you do not have to die and go to Hell forever. If you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-rice/dear-lost-sinner-if-you-are-a-wicked-sinner-yet-you-do-not-have-to/) [John R. Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-rice/) ## More by William Prynne > [A woman with cut hair is a filthy spectacle, and much like a monsterit being natural and comely to women to nourish their hair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-prynne/a-woman-with-cut-hair-is-a-filthy-spectacle-and-much-like-a-monsterit/) [William Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-prynne/) > [Dancing serves no necessary use, no profitable, laudable, or pious end at all. It is only from the inbred pravity, vanity, wantonness, incontinency, pride,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-prynne/dancing-serves-no-necessary-use-no-profitable-laudable-or-pious-end/) [William Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-prynne/) > [Dancing, is, for the most part, attended with many amorous smiles, wanton compliments, unchaste kisses, scurrilous songs and sonnets, effeminate music, lust provoking attire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-prynne/dancing-is-for-the-most-part-attended-with-many-amorous-smiles-wanton/) [William Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-prynne/) > [The way to heaven is too steep, too narrow for men to dance in and keep revel rout. 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