In The Lady of Pleasure, a play by the English dramatist James Shirley, Lady Bornwell is rebuked for her amorous diversions by her husband Sir Thomas:
Another game you have, which consumes more
Your fame than purse; your revels in the night,
Your meetings called the “Ball,” to which repair
As to the Court of Pleasure, all your gallants
And ladies, whither bound by a subpoena
Of Venus, and small Cupid’s high displeasure;
’Tis but the Family of Love translated
Into more costly sin!