Monday night misogyny

"A cup of ale without a wench, why alas, 'tis like an egg without salt, or a red herring without mustard." - Lodge & Green (circa 1590)

When I was trying to find the exact source of the above quote (I couldn't, so it is only quoted from a scribble in my notebook) I came across a paper discussing Lodge and Green's late 16th century plays. The author, Dr William R. Dynes, comments as follows:

"These plays locate sin within the mundane transactions of English life, and are especially concerned with a perceived disintegration, however historically inaccurate, from a gracious and hospitable past to a present populated by the predatory wealthy and the victimized poor."

So it seems then, that disintegration from a gracious and hospitable past to a present populated by the predatory wealthy and the victimized poor is the bane and whine of every generation.