Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 Getty Research Institute 
 
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, 
 
 
 
A N 
 
 Hiftorical and Critical 
 
 ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 THEATRES 
 
 I N 
 
 EUROPE- 
 
A N 
 
 Hiftorical and Critical 
 
 A C C O U N T 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 T H E A T R E S 
 E U k' N 0 P E. 
 
 viz. 
 
 The Italian, Spanijb, French, 
 Englijh, Dutch, Flemijh, and 
 German Theatres. 
 
 In which is contain’d 
 
 A REVIEW of the Manner, Perfons 
 and Character of the Actors ; intermix’d 
 with many Curious Dissertations 
 upon the DRAMA. 
 
 Together with 
 
 Two Celebrated Ess ays : 
 
 VIZ. 
 
 An ESSAY on Action, or, The Art of 
 Speaking in Public : And, A Comparifon 
 of the Ancient and Modern Drama. 
 
 By the famous Lewis Riccoboni of the Italian 
 !Theatre at Paris. 
 
 The Whole illuftrated with Notes by the 
 Author and Tranflator, 
 
 L O N D O ; r : . - 
 
 Printed for T. Waller, ini i*'Temple \ and 
 R. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall, 1741. 
 
 2.5007 
 
■a 
 
 * i • > 
 
 A . * 
 
 
T O 
 
 ”\ 
 
 Charles Fleetwood\ Hfq; 
 
 SIR , 
 
 A S the Theatre has ever 
 been efteemed the bell: 
 School for polifhing and 
 improving the Manners of a People, 
 whatever tends to its Improvement 
 muft be allowed to be an A£fc of 
 Public Spirit. 
 
 The Author of the following 
 Sheets has laid down the belt and 
 A 3 mod: 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 moft lenfible Rules for A£ion, and 
 reduced the Knowledge of the Stage 
 itfelf to a kind of Science 5 therefore 
 a Tranflation of what he has wrote 
 on that Subject can be dedicated 
 to none fo properly as to a Gentle¬ 
 man who has fo fuccefsfully endea¬ 
 voured to render Theatrical Enter¬ 
 tainments at once delightful and 
 nleful. 
 
 s— 
 
 The Revival, on the Englifh 
 Stage, of thofe Plays, which do Ho¬ 
 nour to Human Nature, is in a great 
 meafure owing to You : And if this 
 Nation can claim a Merit fuperior 
 to all others, from the Noble Mo¬ 
 nument which the Public Love 
 has ere&ed to their Author, You, 
 Sir, may claim, with Juftice, a large 
 Share in that Merit, as You was not 
 only one of the Truftees, but the 
 moft confiderable Contributor in the 
 Nation towards ere&ing the Monu¬ 
 ment 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 rnent of Shakefpear in the beautiful 
 Manner we now behold it. 
 
 A Manager of a Public Theatre 
 muft in that Character be allow’d to 
 be a very important as well as ufeful 
 Member of Society, fince it is from 
 thence -that the fifing Generation 
 derives whatever is moft graceful 
 and agreeable in Life $ and others , 
 all that makes the Habit of Virtue 
 amiable in the Eyes of the Public. 
 
 In this View alone I take the 
 Liberty of fubmitting to your Peru- 
 fal, and recommending to your Pro¬ 
 tection, the following Pages, with my 
 hearty Wiihes that your Endeavours 
 may meet with the Succels they de« 
 ferve ; then will the Public, I will 
 venture to fay, have the agreeable 
 ProfpeCt of feeing the Engl'ijh Stage 
 poilels the lame Superiority in the 
 Polite World, that her Poetry has 
 A 4 long 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 long acquired with every Man of 
 Genius and Difcernment, who under- 
 Hands and can feel its Beauties. Give 
 me Leave to add another Wifh, which 
 is, that our Nation may then be as 
 forward in rewarding the Living, as 
 it has of late been grateful in ho¬ 
 nouring the Dead Supporters of her 
 Stage. 
 
 I am , 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Tour mofl Obedient 
 
 Humble Servant, 
 
 ■ Y 
 
 The Tranflator, 
 
+ 
 
 THE 
 
 TRANSLATOR’t 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 M R. Riccoboni, Author of the following 
 Pieces, has equally diftinguifh’d him- 
 felf as an Adtor, and a Critic. He is by 
 Birth an Italian, he is now in the Italian 
 Comedy at Paris, and his Turn for the Stage 
 feems to have led him into a very tedious 
 and laborious Purfuit of the Manner in which 
 it may be render’d at once entertaining and 
 improving. For this Purpofe he vifited all 
 the Stages in Europe , and in the following 
 Hiflorical Account is the Refult of all his 
 curious Relearches. 
 
 What is moft for the Purpofe of an En- 
 glijh Reader to obferve, in comparing them 
 all, is, that the Civil and Political Manners 
 of a People have ever form’d their Tafte 
 for the Drama. Italy, that great Source 
 from whence was deriv’d the Light which 
 ftruck up, what we may call, a new Creation 
 
 in 
 
Tranjlatofs 'Preface. 
 
 in the Intelligent World by the Revival of 
 Learning, Arts and Sciences, after a long 
 Night of Barbarilm, had then the Happinefs 
 of feeing the Family of Medicis flourilh in 
 Florence and at Rome , and the Example of 
 thefe learned and munificent Princes was 
 readily follow’d by every Man of Confidera- 
 tion or Note in that Nation. This natu¬ 
 rally invited the middling and inferior Peo¬ 
 ple, which always compofe the Bulk of Dra¬ 
 matic Audiences, into the fame Purfuits, 
 m. a Third after Beauty and Truth in the 
 Arts. Perhaps the Stage was not the principal 
 Objedt, but as Cicero (ays, Omnes Artes , quce 
 ad humanitatem pertinent , habent quoddam 
 commune Vinculum , & quaJiCognatione quada?n 
 inter fe continentur. Thence it was, that 
 the Drama (hared largely in the great 
 Reformation; and the Italians could then 
 boaft a Stage little inferior to that of Greece 
 itfelf. But when amongft them Delicacy 
 funk into Effeminacy , when Fa fie degenerated 
 into AffeSlation, and Knowledge into barren 
 Curiofity , their Stage (har’d in the general 
 Corruption ; and its Decay was the firft Sym¬ 
 ptom of that Degeneracy of Morals which 
 has fince made that People the eafy Prey to 
 every ambitious Invader. 
 
 Tho’ the Spanijh Drama was by no means 
 ever regular, yet we find that it flourilh’d and 
 fell with the true Chara&er of the Na¬ 
 tion, 
 
Tranjlatofs Preface. 
 
 tion, which again was influenc’d by that of 
 their Government. The Difcoveries which the 
 Spaniards made in the New World, and the 
 enterprizing Genius of that People about an 
 Age ago, may perhaps (more than to any 
 other Caufe) be attributed to a Romantic 
 Spirit, deriv’d from their Gothic and 
 Moorifli Anceftors, encourag’d by their 
 Princes, adopted by their Nobility, and propa¬ 
 gated by their Stage. With the Decay of this 
 Spirit their Stage faded in Proportion, and 
 the Drama has now but a faint and feeble 
 Exigence in that Country. 
 
 In France , the Theatre, when at its Per¬ 
 fection, retain’d every Charaderiftic of the 
 Court. The Reign of a young munificent 
 Prince, fucceeding a long Age of civil Difcord, 
 made Paffion, Gallantry and Magnificence 
 the chief Objeds of their Drama. As their 
 Court improv’d in Tafte, their Drama ap¬ 
 proached nearer to Perfedion, but both drill 
 retain’d the fame Charaders: PaJJion with¬ 
 out Elevation , Eloquence in Writings without 
 Strength of Genius , and the . Flames of the 
 Hero blown by the Sighs of the Lover. 
 
 A Man well acquainted with Englifj 
 Hiftory and Policy muft be fen Able what a 
 vaft Variety of Turns the Charader of this 
 Nation has admitted of within thefe two 
 hundred Years? if to this Knowledge he 
 
 foall 
 
TranJIator’s Preface. 
 
 fhall join that of the Englifh Drama, he will 
 find the latter always partaking in the Cha¬ 
 racter of the former; and both of them 
 influenc’d by that of the Rulers of the Land, 
 whether they aCted on the Principles of Li¬ 
 berty, Prerogative or Tyranny. Shakefpear , 
 whofe Genius is a Species of itfelf, could 
 never have wrote as he did, nor mark’d his 
 Characters fo ftrongly, had he not catch’d 
 them warm from Life, and liv’d at a Time 
 when Virtue, Honefty and Courage, being in 
 Fafliion at Court, became familiar and daily 
 ObjeCts in common Life. The two Reigns 
 fucceeding to that of Queen Elizabeth pro¬ 
 duc’d no great Dramatic Genius that had 
 not been before form’d and ripen’d by the 
 Influence of that Princefs and her Court. 
 The DifiraCtions and Ufurpations after King 
 Charles’s Murder feem’d to extinguifh every 
 Thought of the Stage; and the Return of his 
 Son, by introducing Lafcivioufnefs and De¬ 
 generacy of Manners into the Nation, efta- 
 blifbed the fame Characters on the Theatre. 
 
 The Reign of King James, a Prince, with 
 all his Imperfections, remarkably munificent to 
 Poets, was too thort for us to form any Con¬ 
 jecture about the Character which the Stage, 
 had he continued longer upon the Throne, 
 might have aflumed. I fhall leave the Rea¬ 
 der to bring this Review lower, after ac¬ 
 quainting 
 
4 
 
 Tranflator's Preface. 
 
 quainting him that there has not fince been 
 any remarkable Period, which might in any 
 degree affedt the Liberties and Interefts of 
 this Nation, in which the Stage had not had 
 a confiderable Influence. 
 
 From this fhort Review I hope it will 
 appear of what Importance the Stage is even 
 in a Political Senfe, in keeping alive that Spi¬ 
 rit which forms the true Character of every 
 People^ And I hope the following Pages 
 may give fome ufeful Hints towards a farther 
 Improvement of it here in Britain. 
 
 \ 
 
 T H E 
 

 
 
THE 
 
 A U T H 0 R’ s 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 T HE Intention of this Preface is to 
 convince the Public, that the Modern 
 Stage , tho vaflly improved flnce its 
 jirjl Inftitution is yet far from boafing that 
 Degree of Perfection that Men of Senfe , Genius 
 and Virtue require. It may be told me, that 
 after forefeeing the Necefjity of a farther Im¬ 
 provement , I ought to point out the Means ne- 
 cejfary to attain it. 
 
 Phe Objection is both juji and natural; and 
 inAnfwer to it I defign, in a feperate Work, to 
 confider the Means of reforming the Stage j 
 but I thought it proper to begin wiib an Hiflo- 
 rical Account of the Pheatres of Europe, com¬ 
 paring one *with the other, and making critical 
 Reflections on each. Phis I have done in a 
 Manner which I hope will be at once agreeable 
 and ufeful. A Point, which all Public Wri¬ 
 ters ought to have principally in View. If the 
 
 French, 
 
Author’s Preface. 
 
 French, who are naturally curious, Jhall en¬ 
 deavour to make themfelves Mafiers of the 
 Manners, the Cufloms, and the Forms of Fo¬ 
 reign Theatres, can we imagine that their 
 Neighbours will be backward in fearchingfor 
 the fame Piece of Knowledge % By this means 
 when the Tafie Jhall begin to change, and when 
 the Stage by degrees Jhall ajfume a new Form , 
 as we have feen it do in lefs than an Age pafi, 
 Pojlerity needs but to conjult this Jmall Perfor¬ 
 mance, to infirudl themjelves of the Form and 
 Manner of our prefent Drama, without taking 
 the Trouble to examine a vafl Number of Works 
 of different Nations. I dare even hope that 
 my Remarks may be of Jome Utility to Poets , 
 in regulating their ConduSl, and in directing 
 them to that Method that is mojl agreeable to 
 Reafon, Religion, and Good Manners. 
 
 In this Account, I have plac'd the Italian 
 and Spanifh Iheat re before thofe of France, 
 England, Holland and Germany, becaufe the 
 mojl 7 iatural Order to be laid down in a Work 
 of this kind is that of ’Time. The Italians and 
 Spaniards were the fir ft in this Way-, and I 
 Jhould have aided prepofteroufiy had 1 , in this 
 Work, given the Preference to others who fuc- 
 ceeded them long after. 
 
 RE- 
 
REFLECTIONS 
 
 UPON 
 
 Dec lam at i o n, or, The Art 
 of Speaking in Public , &c. 
 
 PERSON who does not piofefs 
 an Art, is excufable if he is igno¬ 
 rant of its Principles; but if he 
 profefles it, he is anfwerable to 
 the Public if he is not completely Matter of 
 it both in Theory and Pradice. The diffe¬ 
 rent Callings of Mankind in Civil Society 
 are the Effeds of the wife Difpofitions of an 
 all-ruling Providence, and it is blameable in us 
 to negled the moft minute Confideration that 
 may contribute either to our Inlfrudion in 
 the Theory, or Perfedion in the Pradice. 
 
 Experience however teaches us, that many 
 look upon their own Profejlion as the Tyrant 
 of their Genius , and exclaim againtt their 
 Fate for fubjeding them to Labours which 
 are their Averfion, and leading them into 
 B Purfuits 
 
REFLECTIONS 
 
 2 
 
 Purfuits in Life, in which, for want of the 
 neceffary Talents, they have no Profpedt of 
 fucceeding. Hence it proceeds, that many 
 negledt their own Profeffion, and are igno¬ 
 rant in the Rules of an Art, which has em¬ 
 ployed their whole Life to pradtife. 
 
 It would be eafy to demonftrate the Folly 
 of this; and the Hiftory of the great Men, 
 who have excelled in the Sciences and fine 
 Arts, are fertile in Examples of a contrary 
 Condudt. Even Daily Experience may 
 convince us, that a Man, whom Nature has 
 indulged neither in the neceffary Talents nor 
 in the Inclination for an Art which he pro- 
 feffes, can, by Application, fupply thefe De¬ 
 feats fo perfectly, as to arrive at the fame 
 Excellence with thofe who {hare largely in 
 every Gift of Nature and Judgment, that is 
 requifite to attain Perfection, 
 
 Among the Arts, there is one which is 
 either quite given up, or negledted, the Mo¬ 
 ment that a Perfon, after a faint Effay in it, 
 finds that he is deftitute of the Qualifications 
 that can make him fhine. This proceeds 
 from a common Prepoffefiion that Excellence 
 is not to be acquired, that DefeSls are not to 
 be fupplied, nor the Difficulties that lye in 
 the way furmounted, without the Affift- 
 ance of Natural Genius. The Art I mean 
 is that of Declamation , an Art in which 
 Demojlhenes is a Handing Inftance to re- 
 
upon Declamation, 6cc. 3 
 
 proach the Indolent , and a glorious Example 
 to promote the Indujlrious. 
 
 The Art I treat of unites the Expreffion 
 of Action to the Propriety of Pronuncia¬ 
 tion, in order to give the Sentiment its full 
 Imprefiion upon the Mind or Heart. 
 
 A tuneable Voice, a great and a graceful 
 Deportment, are not fufficient to make a 
 Speaker fucceed in every Province of Ora¬ 
 tory. We every Day fee Speakers who with 
 all thefe Advantages are grown grey in a falfe 
 manner of Adtion, and this becaufe they did 
 not refledl that Nature does not beftow the 
 Polilh upon the Diamond die forms, and 
 that it is Labour and Art which gives it 
 Water and Lufture. 
 
 Could we trace the Progrefs of the great- 
 eft Orators of our Times, I am perluaded 
 we fhould lind that their firft Eftays were 
 but faint and 'unpromifing, nay, that their 
 Manners were ungraceful and awkward, and 
 that it required a long Courfe of Study and 
 Application to corredt the original Abfurdi¬ 
 ties of their Adtion. The great Mafters of 
 Antiquity are thought by many to be but 
 weak Authorities upon this Head; the 
 learned Few indeed efteem them, but by 
 moft Speakers they are difregarded; as if 
 every Deviation from their Principles was not 
 at the lame time a Deviation from Fruth and 
 Nature . Men of Genius, when they read 
 B 2 their 
 
4 
 
 REFLECTIONS 
 
 their Works, perceive that their Precepts are 
 no other than a Repetition of what their 
 own Underftanding had before fuggefted; 
 fometimes the fame Ideas recur, which after 
 a ferious Examination we find were exprefied 
 by the Ancients; and this leads fome Moderns 
 into a Miftake that Antiquity is only an ufe- 
 lefs Piece of Reading -, but I maintain that 
 this is the very Quality which recommends 
 it. 
 
 It is true, that when we reafon upon an 
 Art which derives its Principles wholly from 
 Nature, a Man, tho’ of a very indifferent 
 Underftanding, may acquire it of himfelf, 
 but never can acquire it fo as to excell-, for 
 tho’ in Oratory the Uninftrudled finds in his 
 Mind every Faculty which is requifite to 
 have a clear Conception of the fundamental 
 Truths of that great Art, yet, would he be 
 completely Mafter of them, he muft be 
 directed by Acquirements unattainable by an 
 untutored Capacity. On the other hand, a 
 Man of Genius ought to cultivate an Ac¬ 
 quaintance with thofe ancient Mafters, both 
 as they regulate the Range of his Imagina¬ 
 tion, and fupply Ideas to his Judgment. 
 
 Eloquence and Action were found neceffary, 
 and pradtifed from the moft remote Anti¬ 
 quity ; they have civilized the Manners of the 
 moft barbarous, they have recommended 
 themfeives to the Efteem of the moft polite. 
 
 Nations. 
 
upon Declamation, &c. 5 
 
 Nations. The Art of Declamation is called 
 Exterior Eloquence; and indeed the moll 
 forcible and the moll irrefragable Arguments, 
 when committed to Paper, can never affecffc 
 us with the fame Force as when animated by 
 the Energy of Expreffion and the Beauty of 
 Action. When thefe meet, we may pro¬ 
 nounce the Perfon who pofielfes them a com¬ 
 plete Speaker. 
 
 The Initiates in the Art of Declamation 
 ought never to expofe themfelves to the 
 Neceflity of appearing in Public: For even 
 their firft Appearance demands the Abilities 
 of a Mafter, I do not know if there is any 
 thing in Life more irkfome than to hear a 
 Speech pronounced in a {hocking manner: 
 One can excufe himfelf from fitting a long 
 time before a wretched Picture, or before a 
 Statue where the Proportions are unjuft and 
 ill-difpofed; but when a Man enters into an 
 Affembly to hear a Speech or a Difcourfe, 
 Good Manners oblige him to fit it out to the 
 End, and it unfortunately happens that one 
 has too many Opportunities of exercifing his 
 Patience, both by the frequent Occafions 
 that offer, and the numerous Profelfors of the 
 Art. The Pulpit, the Bar, Academies, Col¬ 
 leges, Clubs, Coffee-Houfes, the Parliament 
 and the Play-houfe have all their Votaries, 
 who eagerly purfue this Art. 
 
 It is a Miftake if we imagine, among the 
 B 3 difffc* 
 
6 
 
 REFLECTIONS 
 
 different Profeffions I have named, that there 
 are any who are under no Neceffity of cul¬ 
 tivating this Art. Even Authors who only 
 appear in Print are interefted; for there is 
 no Author, who, if he has any Friends, does 
 not, before he fubinits his Work to the Cen- 
 fure of the Public, appoint a Set of Com¬ 
 pany to whom he caufes his Work to be read, 
 that from the Effects which it has upon them, 
 he may form a Judgment of its Succefs with 
 the Public. As to Poetical Compofiitions we 
 need not hefitate a Moment; for your Poeti¬ 
 cal Gentleman, tho’ perhaps he has no In¬ 
 tention to appear in Print, loves to have his 
 Verfes repeated all over the Town: Thus 
 Writers both in Verfe and Profe are under 
 a kind of Neceffity of underffanding the Art 
 of Speaking ; for a bad manner of Pronun¬ 
 ciation fometimes throws the Audience into 
 a Difguft and Languor , which is but a very 
 indifferent Omen of Succefs with the Pub¬ 
 lic; tho’ perhaps all the Matter is, that the 
 Merits of the Work are not perceived thro’ 
 the Unfkiifulnefs of the Repeater. 
 
 I am fenfible that among the Ancients, 
 whom we muff own to be our Mafters in the 
 Art of Declamation , there were a great 
 many bad Orators; therefore it is not at all 
 furprizing that the fame thing fhould happen 
 now. I own it is not, and in fome meafure 
 it is eafily accountable for; but this Obfer- 
 
 vation 
 
upon Declamation, &c. 7 
 
 vation can be no Excufe to thofe to whom 
 Nature has denied Talents for fucceeding in 
 Declamation , yet perfevere in a bad Manner , 
 without endeavouring to corredt it. 
 
 Befides, I comprehend under the Art of 
 Declamation , every Intercourfe of Conver- 
 fation which is communicable by diftindt, 
 intelligible Language, no Difcourfe is fo fami¬ 
 liar, no Chat fo indifferent and undefigning, 
 as not to have its own Peculiarities of Ex- 
 preffion pointed out by Nature herfelf; and 
 it is a Miftake to imagine that an Academic , 
 for Inftance, is not obliged to be acquainted 
 with the Rules of Declamation , provided 
 every thing that he reads in the Aflemblies 
 where he is converfant, is delivered in an in¬ 
 telligible, and almoft familiar, manner. I 
 maintain the contrary, and affirm that there 
 is no familiar Difcourfe but what has Modu¬ 
 lations of Voices that are proper or improper 
 for its Subjedt. Every Man is obliged to a 
 minute Search into the proper manner of 
 exprefling even the fmallefl Trifle that falls 
 in his way; if he wants that, the Matter he 
 has to communicate cannot have its due 
 Effedt. 
 
 I fball not here point out that immenfe 
 Variety of Accents of which the Voice is 
 fufceptible, and which ought to be employed 
 on different Occalions in order to do Juftice 
 to the vafl Crowd of Sentiments that arife in 
 B 4 the 
 
s 
 
 REFLECTIONS 
 
 the Mind. I am perfuaded that it is lmpofi- 
 fible to write fo upon this Subjedl as to leave 
 nothing unlaid that may illuftrate it; and 
 to obviate every Difficulty that may occur. 
 If Quintilian , treating of the Adlion of an 
 Orator, fays, that he ought not always to be 
 tied down to Precepts, but fometimes to con- 
 fult his own Genius, I believe I am juflified 
 in making the fame Refledlion upon the 
 Turns of the Voice; I even think that 
 Rules are unneceffary, becaufe, generally 
 fpeaking, thefe Turns are not to be regulated 
 by Precepts, and are indeed infinite, if every 
 one, following his own Genius, be it fevere 
 or eafy , J'oft or violent , varies them fuitably. 
 
 Nature in forming Mankind feldom throws 
 even the moil: minute Parts of two different 
 Men into the fame Mould; we find it very 
 rare that two Faces have a ftrong Refem- 
 blance of one another, but it never happens 
 that they cannot be diftinguifhed: We do 
 not even find that the Eyes, the Hands, the 
 Mouth, the Ears, or the Nofe of two diffe¬ 
 rent Men are exadily the fame in Colour, 
 Form, and Symmetry. This wondrous Con- 
 dudt of the Father of Nature, who has 
 .ftampt fuch a Difference not only upon the 
 •z ohole, but upon the Members of a different 
 Body, naturally leads us to another Reflec¬ 
 tion. Amidft: that furprizing Variety we 
 may obferve, that the Voices of Men never 
 
 exadily 
 
upon Declamation, &c. 9 
 
 exactly refemble one another, which can only 
 proceed from the Difference betwixt the 
 interior Organs of the Human Body in feve- 
 ral Perfons. How then can one imagine 
 himfelf capable to mark out the different 
 Turns and Cadencies peculiar to fo many 
 Millions of Men, each of whom has a dif¬ 
 ferent Voice adapted to his own particular 
 Genius, and immediately under its Direction? 
 It would require a great deal of Pains to 
 point out in general thofe different Sounds, 
 the melancholy , the chearful , the furious , &c. 
 and I even believe it is ufelefs to put the Ex¬ 
 amples fuitable to each in Writing; thele 
 muft neceffarily be conveyed by animated 
 Expreflion, and their Propriety can only be 
 perceived in the fine Adtion of an able 
 Mafter. 
 
 Could we penetrate and lay open our Soul 
 to the Bottom, it would be no hard Matter 
 to perceive the Source of every Modulation 
 of the Voice; (he comprehends them all, 
 becaufe they are neceffary to her communi¬ 
 cating to us thofe wonderful Excellencies en- 
 truftedto her by the Author of Nature. But 
 as the Matter into which (he is pent obftrudts 
 her Operations, (he muft Jhake her Plumes , 
 and detach herfelf as much as poffible from 
 the Subftance which confines her. In order 
 to fucceed in this in (bme meafure, we muft 
 fir ft deliver the Soul from the Incumbrance 
 
 of 
 
JO 
 
 REFLECTIONS 
 
 of the Senfes; an Operation which, tho’ vio¬ 
 lent, is by no means impracticable. 
 
 The Enthufiafm of Poets, and the deep 
 Refearches of Sages, in whatever Age they 
 lived, were no other than the Effects of that 
 profound Recollection of their intellectual 
 Faculties which penetrated to the Bottom of 
 the molt retired Sentiments and Paffions of 
 the Soul. Here they furveyed Anger, Pity, 
 Revenge, and the reft of the Affedions, un- 
 difguifed by Cuftom, and unfettered by Inte- 
 reft. Thus every Expreffion, every Linea¬ 
 ment of the Pictures, which they gave of the 
 Human Soul, was warm, animated and juft, 
 becaufe all drawn from the Life. Thus the 
 Readers found nothing in their Works that 
 could either be improved, mended, or correBed. 
 
 It was aftonifhing fometimes to furprife 
 thefe great Men in the Crifis of their Enthu- 
 jiafm , when they appear’d quite abfent, with¬ 
 out the Ufe either of Eyes or Ears. They 
 were looked upon as Fools till they were 
 awakened and roufed from their profound 
 Meditations; and then they at once left their 
 beautiful Vifions and enchanting Ideas, into 
 which they had been worked by their long 
 Application. A Lofs that was generally 
 irreparable; for too often it happened that 
 thefe Sages and Poets could never more recall 
 thofe exquifite Pleafures of Imagination, nor 
 recoiled the inflrudive Refledions in which 
 
 their 
 
11 
 
 upon Declamation, &c. 
 
 their Souls were wrapt before they awakened. 
 
 The Ancients termed Poetry a Divine 
 Language, an Epithet that has been 
 adapted by Pofterity; the firft Divines 
 among the Heathens were all Poets, they 
 treated of their Gods in their Poems, and 
 their Oracles were all delivered in Verfe. 
 But whence comes it that we, who have a 
 Syfletn of Faith , different from that of the 
 Heathens, fhould likewife call fine Poetry a 
 Divine Language f For my own Part I am 
 convinced, that the chief Reafon, which both 
 the Ancients and we had to give it this Ap¬ 
 pellation, was becaufe Poetry is regarded as 
 a Language above Humanity; fince in effedt, 
 when the nobleft Enthufafm of the Poet 
 fpeaks the Language of the Soul, we hear 
 fomething that is amazing, and which can 
 admit of no other Character but that of 
 Divine. 
 
 But how can we repeat or reprefent fuch 
 Compofitions, otherwife than by cloathing 
 them in the Language of the Soul likewife? 
 Hence it appears to me by an unavoidable 
 Confequence that their Orators, Sages, and 
 Poets entered into the fame Enthufafm when 
 they repeated, which they felt when they 
 compofed, their Works. If the Soul which 
 infpired their Thoughts equally operated in 
 pronouncing them, their Pronunciation 
 muft have been always juft and infinitely 
 
 variated 
 
ia 
 
 REFLECTIONS 
 
 variated, from the moft fublimeHeroics down 
 to the moft familiar Profe. But one may eafily 
 conclude, that the Enthufiafm they fell into in 
 declaiming was far lefs intenfe than that which 
 aflifted in compofmg. Nature dictates this, 
 and we fee it every Day, at leaft in appear¬ 
 ance, put in Practice. 
 
 Every Orator after he falutes his Audience 
 remains for fome Moments motionlefs and 
 filent; very often he ftiuts his Eyes; and it 
 is generally believed that he does this in order 
 to give the Spectators time to compofe them- 
 felves, that they may be more attentive to 
 what he has to deliver: I even think that it 
 is with this View that the greateft Number 
 of Orators obferve fuch a Practice; but both 
 the Speakers and Hearers are under a Miftake. 
 Thofe Moments which the Orator obierves 
 to himfelf ought to be employed in recolleB- 
 ing his Ideas ; and a Minute is fufficient for 
 him to forget all Nature, and to fill his Mind 
 entirely with his SubjeCt. Jf he afterwards 
 opens his Eyes when he begins his Difcourfe, 
 he feems to fend them over all, but fixes 
 them on no particular ObjeCt; and if by 
 Accident his Looks {hall reft on one Point, 
 he diftinguilhes it by no extraordinary Emo¬ 
 tion ; and this perhaps happens in the very 
 Crifis of his Recollection. It is then that 
 entering upon his Difcourfe, be his SubjeCt 
 what it will, he feels that Enthufiafm which 
 
upon Declamation, &c. 13 
 
 is neceflary to make him declaim in the Sounds 
 of the Soul. 
 
 It is not a random Obfervation when we 
 Commonly lay, Such a Speaker does not ani¬ 
 mate his ExpreJJion ; or that there are fome 
 Paff'ages in fuch a Work that ought to be more 
 animated. It is becaufe the Enthufafm I 
 have mentioned is wanting both in the 
 Compofition and Delivery, and neither the 
 Speaker nor Author have endeavoured to ani¬ 
 mate themfelves , that is, to write and to fpeak 
 according to the pure genuine Sentiments of 
 the Soul, detached as it were from all 
 Matter. 
 
 Words alone are not the only Means by 
 which the Art of Declamation exprefles the 
 Sentiments of the Soul: Nature has im¬ 
 planted in the Eyes fuitable Expreffions 
 which convey the Sentiments cf the Soul to 
 the Mind; and we may venture to lay, that 
 in Speaking and Adtion the Eyes polfefs the 
 faired: Place. Cicero and Quintilian have not 
 forgot their Effedts; and at prefent how 
 many Orators do we fee whole Excellen¬ 
 cies would be more complete, did they not 
 Ihut their Eyes during half the time they 
 are lpeaking? I lhall not advife an Orator to 
 go too much into this Method, whatever 
 Reafons may be given for the Pradtice; whe¬ 
 ther that an Orator, being conlcious of a trear 
 cherous Memory, is afraid that he may be 
 
 dilcon-j 
 
14- 
 
 RE FLECTIONS 
 
 difconcerted ; or that he imagines, (hutting 
 his Eyes for an Inftant, and then opening 
 them all of a fudden, they ferve as the Light¬ 
 ning that precedes the Bolt, which the 
 Eloquence of the Orator is ready to dif- 
 charge, and which indeed is a Mafterpiece of 
 Adlion. In (hort, whether it is the Effedt of 
 Precaution or Art, it is a Pradtice that is 
 both ways dangerous; for by a Speaker fre¬ 
 quently (hutting his Eyes, his Expreflion in 
 a great meafure lofes its Force. 
 
 The Eyes therefore ought indifpenfibly to 
 attend the Enthujiafm of Adtion, becaufe it 
 is certain that by them the mod incon- 
 (iderable Sentiments of the Soul may be ex- 
 prefled. We may even go fo far as to fay r 
 that without the filent Language of the 
 Eyes Words would (ink under Expreflion ; 
 that almoft Divine Expreflion communicated 
 by, and imparted to, the Soul; and we ought 
 not one Moment to doubt that both in the 
 great and the minute Parts of Oratory, the 
 Eyes infinitely contribute to the Succefs of 
 the Speaker. If we obferve narrowly, we 
 (hall find that our Eyes, without the Help of 
 Words, can dilcover Fear, Fury, Shame, 
 Refolution, Archnefs, Tendernefs, Indiffe¬ 
 rence, Envy, Joy, Grief, and that inexpref- 
 fible Number of Paffions that crowd the 
 Soul of Man. 
 
 r If a Speaker is deeply (killed in his Art 
 
 t he 
 
 ) 
 
upon Declamation, See. 15 
 
 he will not be fatisfied with barely making 
 the Expreffion of his Eyes attend that of 
 his Tongue, but take care that the former 
 fliall have a Moment’s Start of the latter. 
 For Inftance, in a Period, which ought to fet 
 out with a burft of Anger, if the Speaker, in 
 a little Paufe which he artfully makes before 
 he fpeaks, fhall by a lingle Look exprefs his 
 Anger, he can fo effectually prepoffefs the 
 Spectator with what he is to fay, that he will 
 all of a fudden mould him into that Temper 
 which moft eafily admits of the Impreffions 
 that he defigns to convey in the reft of his 
 Difcourfe. The fame Obfervation holds of 
 all the other Paflions. 
 
 Amongft all the expreffive Operations of 
 the Eye, there is one of great Confequence. A 
 Speaker ought to take care not to work himfelf 
 up to Tears: Yet if they fhall naturally flow, 
 he fhould not ufe the leaft Efforts to ftop 
 them. The Grimaces of a Speaker, who 
 forces himfelf to cry, are either difgufljul or 
 ridiculous ; but when his Tears flow fponta- 
 neoufly, it rarely happens that the Emotions 
 which attend them are difagreeable. The 
 Speakers who endeavour to weep never can 
 thoroughly feel what they fay; for when it 
 is the Soul that fpeaks, Tears require no 
 intermediate Afliftance to . make them flow. 
 If they are affeCted, the Cheat is eafily difeo- 
 vered, and the EffeCt they have is either 
 
 none 
 
REFLECTIONS 
 
 i6 
 
 none at all, or very bad; but if they are 
 natural, they touch the Heart, and fteal the 
 good Willies of the Spectators. 
 
 One can fcarcely be perfuaded that the 
 reft of the Face enjoys the fame noble Qua¬ 
 lities of the Eyes, for exprefting the Senti¬ 
 ments of the Soul; yet it contributes fo 
 much to Expreflion, that the Words and the 
 Eyes can never of themfelves fucceed with¬ 
 out its Help. We often find in a Speaker 
 a Set of inflexible Features which the Spec¬ 
 tators exprefs by a Phrafe which we daily 
 hear, An unmeaning Face. The Language 
 of the Face confifts in the Mufcles of which 
 it is compofed, with the Blood that animates 
 them; and when thefe two are put in Adtion, \ 
 they both by their Colour and Movement 
 very fenfibly paint the Sentiments of the 
 Soul. The great Shakefpear contains many 
 Inftances of this kind : In that Scene 
 where Othello murders his Wife, after he 
 gives her a Hint of his Intention, he makes 
 her fay: 
 
 — And yet Ifear you, for you're fatal then 
 When your Eyes roll fo. Why I fhould fear 
 I know not , 
 
 Since Guilt I know not: Tet I feel , 1 fear. 
 
 Oth. Think on thy Sins. 
 
 Def. They're Loves I bear to you. 
 
 Oth. Ay! and for that thou dy'jl. 
 
 Del. 
 
upon Declamation, &c. 17 
 
 Def. 'That Death's unnatural , that kills 
 for loving. 
 
 Alas! why gnaw you fo your nether Lip? 
 Some bloody Pafion flakes your very Frame: 
 Thefe are Portents: But yet I hope, I hope. 
 They do not point on me. 
 
 In Henry VIII. when that Prince leaves 
 Wolfey , the latter fays, 
 
 — He parted frowning from me, as if Ruin 
 Leapt from his Eyes. 
 
 But the fineft Inftanceof that kind I know, 
 is in King John , when Hubert acquaints 
 that Prince with the Death of Arthur. The 
 Earl of Pembroke, who had never feen Hubert 
 before, oblerving King John and him in clofe 
 Conference, fpeaking of Hubert , fays to the 
 Earl of Salijbury, 
 
 The Image of a wicked heinous Fault 
 Lives in his Eye; that clofe Afpe6t of his 
 Does Ihew the Mood of a much troubled 
 Breaft. 
 
 And I do fearfully believe 'tis done , 
 
 What we fo fear'd he had a Charge to do. 
 
 C 
 
 Sal 
 
18 REFLECTIONS 
 
 Sal. The Colour of the King doth come and 
 
 Between his Purpofe and his Confcience, 
 
 Like Heralds ’twixt two dreadful Battles fent: 
 His PaJJion is fo ripe , it needs mufl break *. 
 
 It would be endlefs to multiply Inftances 
 of this kind from this Divine Writer: The 
 only Reflection we (hall make is, That thefe 
 Paffages fhew to what Excellence , Attion 
 may be carried, if it copies immediately after 
 Nature. We may obferve at the fame time 
 that when Shakefpear wrote, it is probable 
 that the Actors, who played the Parts of King 
 John , Henry , Hubert , and Othello, muft have 
 entered fo far into Nature, as to be able to 
 exprefs by their Features, and that too at the 
 proper Inftant, thofe Paffions which the 
 Poet has fo beautifully defcribed in his Lines. 
 Otherwife the Adtion mufl: have been mife- 
 rably faulty, and the Excellence of the Poet 
 would have chiefly ferved to point out the 
 grot's Defedts of the Adtor, by putting the 
 
 Audience 
 
 * The Author in the Original gives a Quotation from 
 Racine , but it falls fo infinitely fhort of what we find in almoft 
 every good Englijb Dramatic Poet, that I believe the Reader 
 will, when he looks into the Original, eafily pardon my 
 fupplying it from Shakefpear. 1 have likewife ventured to 
 throw what he infers, from the Inflance he brings, into an¬ 
 other Light which may accommodate it more to our Stage, 
 and avoid a Repetition of fome Part of what goes before. 
 
/T". 
 
 upon Declamation, &c. 21 
 
 the Motions and Deportment of the one may 
 be extremely awkward in every thing he 
 does, and thofe of the other very genteel and 
 agreeable. If an Orator happens not to be 
 endowed by Nature with the Talent of 
 properly managing his Arms, he is defective 
 in a very material Point. The Affiftances 
 he may borrow from an affiduous Pradtice 
 before his Looking-Glafs, and great Appli¬ 
 cation, may give him an affedted, but never 
 the true, Motion of the Hand and Arm; 
 and tho’ it is faid that Demojlhenes took the 
 Advice of a Mirror in regulating his Move¬ 
 ments, I am of a quite different Opinion. 
 Who knows if the Pains he took were not 
 in order to bring to Perfection the Talents 
 which he already poffefled, rather than to 
 purfue thofe which he did not poffefs; and 
 that he did not chufe this Method to increafe 
 the Beauty rather than to correct the Faults 
 of his Action ? 
 
 An Orator who is confcious that his Adtion 
 is imperfedt in this refpedt ought, in (lead 
 of pradtifing the Action of the Anns , to 
 reftrain himfelf from moving them at all; 
 all his Cares ought to be diredfed to bring 
 the other Parts of his Adtion to as high a 
 Degree of Perfedtion as pofiible. If he once 
 can attain to fpeak with the Enthufiafm of 
 the Language of the Soul, he will, without 
 his own perceiving it, move his Arm, for the 
 C 3 Soul 
 
REFLECTIONS 
 
 22 
 
 Soul will then diredt it, and therefore his 
 Gefture never can be unjuft. 
 
 As to thofe to whom Nature has been fo 
 favourably partial as to endow them with 
 this Embellifhment, tho’ they are under no 
 Neceffity of ftudying their Gefture, yet they 
 ought to take care not to be too lavifh of 
 their Talents. It happens to them as it does 
 fometimes to certain Speakers, who having 
 deep Lungs and a ftrong Pipe, are always 
 plying them with fo much Violence, that 
 they lofe the Merit of giving to their Ex- 
 preflions that Variety of Accents, fo necef- 
 fary for painting and underftanding their 
 Thoughts; in the fame manner a Speaker, 
 who is too lavifti of his Geftures, finds fo 
 much Work for the Eyes of his Auditors 
 that they are quite fatigued, and their 
 Thoughts wandering and confufed. 
 
 The Turns of Expreftion, and the Motions 
 of the Body and the Arms, exadtly corref- 
 pond and go hand in hand with one an¬ 
 other; fo great is the Harmony with which 
 they adt, that if the one is faulty it imme¬ 
 diately affedts the other; for let the one of 
 thefe Qualities be ever fo perfedt, it never can 
 prevent the Difad vantage that arifes from a 
 Defect in the other. And indeed, how can 
 the Eyes of a Spectator, for Inftance, be 
 agreeably entertained by the great or grace¬ 
 ful Management of the Body or the Arms, 
 
 9? 
 
upon Declamation, &p. 23 
 
 or prepare themfelves to communicate to the 
 Mind the Pleafure which (he ought naturally 
 to feel, if at the fame Inftant his Ears (hall 
 be ftruck with the Sound which gives his 
 Mind a Senfation quite different from what 
 fhe expected to receive from the Eyes ? 
 
 In every Part of the Structure of the hu¬ 
 man Body, from the greateft to the leaft, it 
 is eafy to difcover the Finger of a Divine 
 Operator in forming that Mafterpiece of the 
 Creation. We fee it fo ordered by Nature, 
 that all thefe Parts of our Body concur in 
 the Art of Speaking. It is not fo with other 
 Arts, not even in thofe that are mechanical. 
 Painting *, for Inftance, employs only one 
 
 Part 
 
 * The Author in this Obfervation is too partial to his own 
 favourite Art. Had he confulted the Hiftory of Fainting in 
 his own Country, he would have found Painters, whofe Sen- 
 fes were as much abftraCted by the Enthufiafm of their Art, 
 as any Poet, Philofopher, or AS lor that ever was. And in¬ 
 deed, according to the Principles which he himfelf has laid 
 down, it requires as deep a Recollection of Imagination, and 
 as thorough an Acquaintance with the Images impreft upon 
 the Heart, to throw them out in Painting as it does in Poetry 
 or ASling. Let any Man of Tafte or Genius but confider the 
 Divine Enthufiafm that appears in the Figure of St. Paul 
 preaching, in the Cartoons at Hampton- Court ; let him con¬ 
 sider the Attention, the Recollection, and the Reverence of 
 the Spectators: Let him look upon any other Piece in that 
 Gallery, he will find in every one of them Expreilions which 
 demonflrates that Raphael has poffeffed, befides the Talents 
 of the fineft Painter that ever was, thofe that diftinguifh the 
 beft Poets , Orators , and A Si ors. 
 
 Vaflari, in his Lives of the Painters, informs us, that when 
 llichael Angelo worked as a Statuary, he appeared to be quite 
 
 an 
 
REFLECTIONS 
 
 24 
 
 Part of our Senfes; and when one paints he 
 can fing, talk, hear, &c. The fame may be 
 faid of the other Arts. In the Art of Ac¬ 
 tion, even Rettecdion is forbidden; and if 
 that Operation of the Soul, which is fo abfo- 
 lutely Matter of our Will, (hall come athwart 
 our Mind, and furprize us while we are fpeak- 
 ing, fhe is forced back; becaufe the Intenfe- 
 nefs of what we are about drives her out of 
 our Head and difclaims her Company. Nor 
 indeed are we Matters of our Refledion 
 even in other human Operations, during 
 which. Thoughts crowd upon one another 
 againtt our Will. Here we may conclude 
 that this Art, which as it were enchants cur 
 whole Senfes, is almoft Divine; that our 
 Soul is the Agent, and our Members and 
 Organ the Minijiers fhe employs. I will 
 therefore repeat it, that we can declaim only 
 in the Accents of the Soul, and that without 
 thefe there can be no Adicn. 
 
 I 
 
 an Enthufiaft, and not poTed of the fame Degree of E.eafon 
 as other Men, and it has been a very general, and a very 
 jail Obfervation of the moil eminent Painters, that when 
 they wanted to give a ftrong Expreflion to any Paifion, their 
 own Features involuntarily altered according to the P.eiem- 
 biance they wanted to create. 
 
 Cur Author’s Obfervations, though he confines them to 
 A&ion, are applicable, not only to Painting and Statuary, 
 but to Mufic, Archite&ure, and to every Art which has 
 Beauty and "Truth for its Foundation. This Application in¬ 
 deed can only be partial, but had our Author acknowledged 
 it, it would have been fo far from difparaging, that it muii 
 have done Honour to his Profefiion. 
 
upon Declaration, &c. 2 5 
 
 I have ellewhere obferved that the Thea¬ 
 trical Objedts ought to be rendered very 
 ftrong and ftriking, even tho’ the Rules 
 of Nature fliould be a little tranfgreffed, 
 that the Expreffion and Adtion may not be 
 loft to fuch Spedtators as fit at a Diftance 
 from the Stage. I fay the fame thing both 
 with regard to the Pulpit and the Bar; 
 but both the Speaker and the Player ought 
 to do this with great Caution, and only to a 
 certain Degree, left he difguft the Spedfators 
 who are more near, by introducing too great 
 a Deviation from Nature, and too ftrong an 
 Inconfiftence with 'Truth. 
 
 I (hall not take notice of the indifpenfable 
 Neceflity of a proper Pronunciation, becaufe 
 all the World is convinced of it; only I muft 
 obferve, that the Man who cannot corredt the 
 Vicioufnefs of habitual Dialedl, or defective 
 Nature , ought never to adt in Public, becaufe 
 he runs the rifque of exciting Laughter 
 when he ought to draw Tears. 
 
 In Ihort, to render the Propofition I have 
 advanced about Declaiming in the Language 
 of the Soul, on which the good or bad Sue- 
 cefs of a Speaker depends, more intelligible, 
 I (hall once for all take notice that this kind 
 of Declamation is no other than one's feeling 
 the thing he pronounces. I do not by this 
 mean that which is commonly called Good 
 Senfe in fpeaking, and an intelligible manner 
 
26 REFLECTIONS 
 
 in delivering, becaufe to feel is another thing; 
 and in order to demonftrate it, I rauft make 
 a Digreffion. 
 
 It is certain that an Orator, when upon an 
 important Point, ought to endeavour to work 
 his Audience into a Perfwafion that he be¬ 
 lieves what he advances. This is the whole 
 of his Art. A Man commonly before he 
 alters his Opinion is in fome doubt; he 
 endeavours to inquire of himfelf whether 
 the Change of his Sentiments is founded 
 on Reafon, or upon the enchanting Delufion 
 of the Speaker. The Speaker is therefore 
 obliged in his own Vindication to prevent 
 fuch a Sulpicion from gaining Ground in the 
 Mind of his Audience, or the Judges. For 
 this end he mull fpeak fo naturally as to 
 force, as it were, the Spe&ators to believe 
 every thing he is then faying, and that he 
 fpeaks from the Heart. For if the Audi¬ 
 ence, inftead of hearing, were to read what 
 he delivers, they would infallibly prefume 
 that, in composing it, a thoufand Arts and 
 Subtleties had been employed to make it 
 fucceed. On the contrary, that which feeps 
 to be as it were poured forth Extempore, 
 carries with it an Air of ’Truth and Sincerity , 
 which prepofteftes the Audience in favour of 
 every thing that is faid. If therefore a Speech 
 is thus far juft to Nature, the Ulufion is then 
 complete} and if it (hall be afterwards 
 
 - printed, 
 
upon Declamation, See. 27 
 
 printed, the Juftnefs with which the Orator 
 delivered it will be ftill admired, a Circum- 
 ftance that is highly advantagious to his 
 Character. If a Player in his Part fhall adt 
 fo as to pcrfuade us that the Characters we 
 fee are not fdlitious but real-, if a Counfel 
 fpeaking for a Client fhall lucceed fo far as 
 to convince the Judge and the Audience 
 that it is the injured Perfon himfelf who 
 petitions for Redrefs, or the Offender who 
 pleads for Mercy; I repeat it again, the lllu- 
 fion becomes then complete, then all that 
 is faid is felt, and every thing paffes in the 
 Language of the Soul. 
 
 It is eafy to underftand that all I have faid 
 of Speaking in general is applicable equally 
 to prophane and facred Orators however I 
 cannot difpenfc with touching more particu¬ 
 larly on what regards the latter. 
 
 As to the manner in which a Preacher 
 ought to deliver himfelf, his Subjedf is too 
 ferious not to make us fenfible that it ought 
 to be expreffed in Accents fmple, indeed, but 
 full of Dignity and always jujl. Among 
 thofe who mount the Pulpit, a great many 
 form themfelves upon Theatrical Adi ion 
 without following that natural Method com¬ 
 monly pradtifed at the Bar. Therefore I 
 think it will be necefiary for us to examine 
 this Theatrical Adlion, its Strength, and the 
 Nature of its Accents , before we can decide 
 
 whether 
 
28 
 
 REFLECTIONS 
 
 whether it is proper for the Pulpit. Except 
 in Theatrical Declamation, (where every 
 Period commonly begins or ends with an 
 Elevation of the Voice) it mull be granted 
 that Words, when protracted and drawled 
 out with a Samenefs of Accent , as well as the 
 Straining of the Voice, whether too vehe¬ 
 ment or ill-judged, are the perfect Averfion of 
 Nature. A manner of fpeaking different 
 from what is pradtifed, either in Mufic or in 
 Speeches, is required in Tragedy. A Law¬ 
 yer therefore will never think proper to plead 
 in the ftudied affeCted manner of Theatrical 
 Declamation. Orators have in all Ages laid 
 it down as a Maxim, that when they fpeak, 
 it is as Man to Man, and that therefore they 
 ought to communicate their Thoughts in no 
 other Accents than thofe which are natural 
 to Mankind. 
 
 I am perfuaded that it has been a great 
 Error of the French Divines in imagining 
 true Theatrical Declamation to be fuch as is 
 pradtifed in France. The great Bufinefs of 
 the Stage is, as I have already faid, to enchant 
 the Spectators into a Perfuafion that the Tra¬ 
 gedy they are beholding is no FiBion, and 
 that they who fpeak and adt are not Players, 
 but real Heroes. But Theatrical Declamation 
 in France has quite a contrary Effedt; the 
 firft Words that are heard evidently perfuade 
 the Audience that all is a Fiiton , and the 
 
 Players 
 
upon Declamation, &c 29 
 
 Players (peak in Accents fo extraordinary, 
 and To removed from Truth, that it is impof- 
 lible for one to be impofed upon. Is this 
 Theatrical Declamation then a proper Pat¬ 
 tern for the Pulpit? No, furely. A prophane 
 Orator is under no fuch (triCt Obligation to 
 declaim according to Truth, and in the Ac¬ 
 cents of the Soul, as a facred Orator is; and it 
 is certain that a Preacher who (hall deliver a 
 Sermon in the manner of a 'Theatrical De¬ 
 clamation can never make himfelf be felt. 
 It may be here objected, that if an AClor can 
 touch the Paflions in a Tragedy, a Preacher 
 may do the fame in a Sermon, if he is a per¬ 
 fect Mafter of Theatrical Declamation. I 
 anfwer in the Negative, and my Reafons are 
 as follow: 
 
 Moft Part of Spectators in France are inca¬ 
 pable of dilcerning that which may be called 
 the JuJlnefs of ASlion. They are early ac- 
 cuftomed to Theatrical Declamation: Young 
 People do not trouble their Heads much 
 about Reafoning, and they grow old before 
 they make any folid Reflections upon this 
 Point. If an Audience thus difpofed is 
 touched in feeing a Tragedy, it is becaufe 
 they are under an habitual lllufon, in which 
 Truth has no Share. All the World knows 
 that CceJ'ar, Alexander, Hannibal, &c. were 
 Men like us; and every Body is perfuaded 
 that they felt their ftrongeft Paflions, and per¬ 
 formed 
 
30 REFLECTIONS 
 
 formed their moil Heroic Actions in the famd 
 manner as the great Men of our own Age; yet 
 the very Spectators who are convinced of this, 
 being prejudiced in their Youth in favour of 
 the bombaft manner of Theatrical Declama¬ 
 tion , form their Ideas of thefe Heroes accord¬ 
 ing to the Appearance they make, as perfonated 
 by Players: That is, as Men quite above the 
 common Level of Mankind, with a manner 
 of walking, fpeaking, and looking, different 
 from the reft of the World. But according 
 to thofe fictitious Ideas which the Spectators 
 have adopted, and which deeply affeCt them, 
 they form fo ftrong an Illufion, that they fuf- 
 fer themfelves to be tranfported beyond Truth 
 in every thing they fee and hear. If Players 
 therefore touch others with the Part they 
 reprefent in Tragedy, it is only becaufe by 
 Habit the Audience reconcile themfelves to 
 the unnatural Method of Declamation, and 
 thus the EffeCt that it ought to produce, by 
 degrees, wears off. For could they fee Na¬ 
 ture and .Truth in their genuine Appear¬ 
 ances, they would foon (hake off the Preju¬ 
 dices of Cuftom. I (hall only give two In- 
 ftances of what I have advanced here, which 
 ought to be tranfmitted to Pofterity, and 
 eternallv engraved upon the Minds of Play¬ 
 ers. Whoever remembers to have feen Bet¬ 
 terton, or Booth, in England^ muft readily own 
 that the whole Houfe was touched by their 
 
 fimple 
 
upon Declamation, &c. 3* 
 
 Ample natural manner of A&ion; and Good 
 Senfe dictates to us that we never feek for 
 Pleafure in FiSlion when we can find it in 
 j Truth, efpecially in a Profeflion fuch as that 
 of a Player, which borrows its chief Excel¬ 
 lencies from Nature herfelf. 
 
 In France, when a Stranger goes to a Play- 
 houfe for the firft time, he is extremely dif- 
 gufted with their Theatrical Declamation. It 
 is true that the univerfal Applaufe which 
 their Adtors meet with, fometimes debauches 
 them into the prevailing Tafte of the Coun¬ 
 try ; but I have found at Paris a great many 
 Frenchmen who never go to fee a Tragedy 
 from an Averlion to this kind of Declamation, 
 but it is an Averfion which prevails only with 
 Men of great Genius and Tafte, who abhor, 
 they fay, to fee Nature and Truth fo man¬ 
 gled upon the Stage. How is it poffible then 
 that fuch Declamation Ihould be a proper 
 Pattern for a Preacher, who, if by a miftaken 
 manner of Pronunciation he dilguifes the 
 great Truths he delivers, may indeed con¬ 
 vince the Reafon, but never can touch the 
 Paflions, of his Audience ? A Grain of Falf- 
 hood , if I may exprefs myfelf fo, will fowr a 
 whole Lump of Truth , and the human Un- 
 derftanding can never bear to fee them afto- 
 ciated. 
 
 It is likewife inconteftibly true that the 
 general manner of Declaiming in a Preacher, 
 
 tha’ 
 
REFLECTIONS 
 
 3 2 
 
 tho’ it ought always to be true and natural* 
 yet ought ftill to admit of three different 
 Diftindtions in its Character. One accom¬ 
 modated to Sermons , one to Panegyrics , and 
 one to Funeral Orations. Zeal , Admiration , 
 and Grief, ought to regulate the manner in 
 which thefe three Subjedts are treated, fo that 
 the Speaker may always fuftain, and in his 
 Difcourfe give the Predominance to that 
 Manner which is mo ft fuitable to his Subjedt. 
 
 It is eafily perceived that each of thefe 
 three Manners, Zeal, Admiration , and Grief, 
 does not exift- independant of the other, and 
 that an Orator may have occafion to pradtife 
 them all in handling the fame Subjedt. For 
 Inftance, in a Sermon where Zeal ought to 
 predominate, the Accents of Admiration and 
 Grief, as well as other PafTions, are admitted 
 according as the Thoughts, that fall in, re¬ 
 quire. In the fame manner in Panegyric , 
 where the predominant manner ought to be 
 that of Admiration, at the glorious Adtions 
 of the Perfon who is celebrated; all other 
 Manners, fuch as Zeal and Grief may be 
 employed as Occafion offers, and may even 
 be indifpenlible. I fay the fame thing with 
 regard to Funeral Sermons ; and tho’ it would 
 feem that they are of the fame Nature with 
 Panegyric, and that Admiration of the great 
 Adfions of the Perfons who are celebrated to 
 the Audience fhould have a large Share in 
 
upon Declamation, &c. 33 
 
 the manner of delivering them, yet here 
 Grief ought to be the predominant Manner. 
 For it is certain that tho’ the glorious A<ftion9 
 of Saints and Heroes claim the fame Degree 
 of Admiration, yet it is with this Difference, 
 that we remember the firft with Admira¬ 
 tion mixt with Joy, becaufe they are looked 
 upon as happy in Heaven; and the great 
 Actions of the others rauft be celebrated 
 with Admiration mixed with Grief, arifing 
 from the Remembrance of the Lofs we have 
 juft fuftained by their Death. Thefe are the 
 Reafons why Grief ought to predominate in 
 a Funeral Oration, not only over Admiration , 
 but over all the other Manners that fall within 
 the Compafs of an Orator’s Practice. Thus, 
 as to the different Manner of employing thefe 
 three different Paffions, the Art of an Ora¬ 
 tor confifts in diipofing the immenfe Variety 
 of the Accents which he ufes fo as that they 
 may never in the leaf! obfcure that which 
 ought to predominate in his Subjedt. I 
 fhall lay no more on this Subjedt in Writing, 
 becaufe the moft inftrudtive Precepts on that 
 Point, and even thofe that may be really 
 ufeful, ought to be communicated by the 
 D Voice, 
 
 f r he Reader thro’ all this Paffage will no doubt make 
 Allowance for our Author's being a 'Reman Catholic, and 
 living in France. 
 
34 REFLECTIONS 
 
 Voice, as I have obferved before, and not by 
 Paper. 
 
 As I have faid in the Beginning of thefe 
 Reflections, that a young Orator ought never 
 to appear in Public, until he has attained 
 a certain Degree of Perfection; I own I 
 cannot help repeating the fame thing here s 
 He ought not to expeCt that his Audience 
 will fit patiently hearing him for thirty 
 Years, till he has obtained Perfection in his 
 Art; for I grant he may acquire it by long 
 Experience. A young Orator may anfwer 
 me, that it is the Exercife of an Art that 
 forms the Artiji. I know it well, and accord¬ 
 ing to the Reflections I have made, I know 
 likewife that in praCtifing it he ought to follow 
 the Method of Demojihenes. This great Man, 
 it is well known, fet out by praCtifing his 
 Art two or three times in Public; he found he 
 did not fucceed, he then fhut himfelf up for 
 feme Years, and then emerg’d into Public the 
 Wonder and Miracle of Greece. Let a young 
 Orator do the fame, let him make an Eflay 
 of his Art in Public, and if he finds he is 
 deftitute of Talents to fucceed, let him either 
 throw it entirely up, or never appear, again 
 until he is a complete Matter. How abfur'd 
 mult a contrary ConduCt be! The great 
 Men of all Sciences are at Pains to conceal 
 the Productions of their Youth, becaufe they 
 know them to be imperfect. Painters, Sculp¬ 
 tors, 
 
ttpc «, Declamation, &c. 35 
 
 tors, and Poets never put their Name to their 
 firll Effays. Workmen can never pafs for 
 Mailers if they don’t produce fome finished 
 Mafterpiece, which proves that they delerve 
 that Title. And fhall a young Orator be fo 
 imprudent as to declaim in Public, without 
 having beforehand exercifed his Talents and 
 corrected his Faults in Private ? 
 
 It is amazing that in all Ages and Nations 
 of polite Learning, no Schools for Declama¬ 
 tion have ever yet been efiablilhed. The 
 Mailers of public Schools and Colleges give 
 Boys fome flight Notions which they never 
 reduce to Pradlice in any of the Stages of 
 Civil Life; but indeed as the principal End 
 of their Employment is to teach the dead 
 Languages, they have no Time to beflow on 
 other Studies j belides the Boys whom they 
 have commonly under their Care are too 
 young and incapable either to make folid 
 Refiedtions by themfelves, or to comprehend 
 the Precepts of their Mailer. Should an 
 old Orator fill a public Chair and teach the 
 Art of Declamation , he would be as ufeful 
 to Society as moll of the fine Ellablilhments 
 that are in great Cities. Young People 
 would then lfudy Oratory when moll of 
 their other Studies were over; when they* 
 were advanced in Age, and confequently 
 more capable to comprehend the Reafons 
 that would be offered, but above all, they 
 D 2 would 
 
36 REFLECTIONS, &c. 
 
 would retain the natural and ftriking Impref- 
 fions conveyed by animated Speech in the 
 Practice of Declaiming in all the different 
 Branches of that Art. 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 ITALIAN THEATRE 
 
 13 E Remarks which in an¬ 
 other Work I have -j- already 
 made upon the Rife of the 
 Drama in Italy , fufficiently 
 juftify me in fuppofing, that it 
 has admitted of no Interrup¬ 
 tion fince it ceafed to be exhibited on the Latin 
 Theatres. But when it forgat its original Gran¬ 
 deur, it grew fo low as to If role from Town to 
 Town, where it was performed in their open 
 Places; and tho’ the infipid, indecent Buffo- 
 neries, reprefented in this manner, are far 
 from deferving the Name of Comedies, yet 
 we can in them at leaft trace the Seeds of 
 that barbarous Weed which throve fo well, 
 till abolifhed by Religion. 
 
 The Italian Drama languished for ? 
 long time in this Condition, till towards the 
 Beginning of the twelfth Century; it then 
 by Degrees recovered its Vigour, and admit¬ 
 ted the Embellilhments of Dialogue, but as 
 D 3 yet 
 
 f See cp y Hiftory of the Italian Theatre. 
 
38 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 yet it was only exhibited in private Houles. 
 About that Time, taking Advantage of Sub- 
 jeCls and Characters borrowed from Religion, 
 the Drama began to appear with more 
 Pomp, and the Invention of Printing intro¬ 
 duced her to the Acquaintance of the Pub¬ 
 lic: Some Comedies printed about fixty 
 Years after this great Diicovery, that is, about 
 the Year 1520, are yet extant; and tho’ the 
 Names of the Authors are unknown, yet it 
 is eafy to difcern from the Uncouthnefs of 
 the Language that they mu ft have been 
 compofed more than a Century before, and 
 their very Titles imply that they were print¬ 
 ed long after they were wrote. It is there¬ 
 fore very probable that there were fome 
 others worfe wrote, confequently older than 
 thefe, and perhaps now extant in Manufcript; 
 but the printed Comedies which I fpeak of 
 are fo licentious, both in the Condud and 
 Sentiments, that from them we may eafily 
 form a Judgment of the Merit of thofe 
 which preceded them. 
 
 Bibiena in his Callandra , Machiavelli in 
 his Mandragola and Clitia , and Arioflo in 
 his five Comedies , with the other beft Dra¬ 
 matic Writers who flourifhed in the firft 
 forty Years of the fixteenth Century, for the 
 moft part, formed themfelves upon thefe 
 ancient Models in their own Language, tho’ 
 full of Impiety and Indecency; all they 
 have done being to correct the Form and 
 
 ConduCt 
 
The ITALIAN THEATRE. 39 
 
 Condudt of the Fable in order to render it 
 more regular and complete. But notwith- 
 flanding the undoubted Proofs which may 
 be drawn from their ancient Comedies that 
 have come to our Hands in Print, (and of a 
 much older Date than the Age of Callendra , 
 which was adted for the firlt time towards 
 the End of the 15th Century,) the Italians 
 date the Commencement of this Drama 
 no higher than that Period ; and they reckon 
 all the Pieces written in the preceding Ages 
 to be no better than fo many Farces , tho’ 
 they are very long, and divided into five 
 Adis. Some Pieces of this kind are called 
 in the Title-Pages Farces, and others, Come¬ 
 dies. It is likewife remarkable that a great 
 many others in the Title-Pages are named 
 Farces, and in the Epilogue, Comedies. From 
 this, it is plain, that their ancient Poets, by 
 thele two Words, underftood the fame thing. 
 But the Italian Writers, without refledling 
 upon this Circumftance, very violently deny 
 them the Rank of Comedies, and place them 
 only in the Clafs of Farces. For my own 
 Part, by their Leave, I call them all Come¬ 
 dies, but defedlive ones, and the Produdt of 
 an Infant Theatre. 
 
 The Modern Italian Writers have cholen 
 to ftifle the Merits of their Predecefl'ors to 
 recommend their own Corredtnefs in Dra¬ 
 matic Performance*. It appears as if they 
 D 4 had 
 
4 o The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 had it in View to conceal from the Public 
 the Writings for the Stage almofl for two 
 Ages, that they may glory in thofe of one 
 Period which does them Honour; their Aim 
 being to perfuade the World that the Infancy 
 of their Theatre produced only Majlerpieces , 
 and not trifling , lame Performances , as has 
 been the Cafe of all the Theatres in the 
 World, fince the Time of the Greeks and 
 Latins. We can eafily perceive that thefe 
 proceeded gradually, and for a long time as 
 jf it were in Leading-firings, before they 
 arrived to Perfection, or even before they 
 had corrected their original Abfurdities. As 
 therefore the ancient Italian Comedies, which 
 have come to our Hands, and which are not 
 very numerous, are defigned in their Frontis¬ 
 pieces only under the Title of the Ancients y 
 but without any Information to the Reader, 
 or the leafl Light by which we can be ena¬ 
 bled to determine their Date, let us enquire if 
 their Reprefentations of Subjects taken from 
 Scripture can furnifh us with any Helps for 
 afcertaining the Period that gave Rife to the 
 Modern Italian Drama. 
 
 Anciently the Paffion of our Lord 'was 
 reprefented at Rome in the Collifee. The mofl 
 celebrated Italian Authors leave us no room 
 to doubt of this, and if we take the Pains to 
 examine them, we fliall find in their Works 
 plain and indifputable Proofs of the Point 
 
 we 
 
*Be ITALIAN THEATRE. 41 
 
 we are now treating; but nothing confirms 
 this Truth more ftrongly than the Tragedies 
 that are extant upon the Paflion of our 
 Lord. 
 
 It is no lefs certain that the Cuftom of 
 reprefenting the Paflion of our Lord was 
 entirely abolifhed towards the End of the 
 Pontificate of Paul the third, that is to fay, 
 in the Year *546, or at moll in 1549. This 
 we exprefsly learn from the * Authors here 
 referred to; but it will be very difficult for us 
 to determine at what time the Cuftom of 
 reprelenting the Paflion commenced, or to 
 afcertain its Original. We find indeed that 
 it is of old (landing; for the Authors I have 
 quoted, unanimoufly concur in favour of its 
 Antiquity: They fix the Period when thefe 
 Tragedies were aboliffied, but leave us en¬ 
 tirely in the dark as to the time of their 
 Rife, probably becaufe they themfelves were 
 fo: Therefore all we can advance on this 
 Head muft be founded on mere Conjecture. 
 
 Some able Antiquaries of Modern Rome 
 are however of Opinion, that the Reprefen- 
 
 tations 
 
 * Andreas Fulvius, Page 146. 
 
 La Defcription de Rome, Svo . Printed Anno 1643, Page 
 487. 
 
 11 Ritratto di Roma Moderna. Printed in 1643. Page 435. 
 Roma Ricertaca . Printed in 1699. Page 73. 
 
 Guido Pancirolli in Roma Sacra e Moderna. Printed in 
 1725. Page 37. 
 
 Crefcembini ne Ccmmcntarii de la Volgar Roe ft a. Page 242* 
 
42 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 tations of the Paffion of our Saviour at the 
 Collifee , could not have been introduced fooner 
 than in the Year 1449 ; fo that, according 
 to this Authority, they mull have lafted for 
 near a hundred Years, becaufe they ended 
 under Paul the third, towards the Year 
 1549. This Opinion is founded on the 
 Teftimony of Crefcembeni , in his Hiftory of 
 Poetry in his Mother-longue , where he cites 
 Cionnacci, and fpeaks in the following man¬ 
 ner of Pious Reprefentations. I fhall tranflate 
 his own Words: “ The moll ancient that 
 “ have come to our Hands, fays he, is, ac- 
 <e cording to Cionnacci , (who fays that he 
 “ had the Manufcript) that of Abraham and 
 “ Ifaac , by Francis Beliari , who died in 
 tl the Year 1484.” The fame Cionnacci 
 -adds, that at the End of the Manufcript he 
 read thefe Words; “ The above Piece was 
 <c played, for the fir ft time, at Florence , in 
 “ the Church of Saint Mary Magdalen , in 
 “ the Year 1449;” and Crefcembeni affirms, 
 that this was the fir ft from Holy Writ that 
 ever was compofed or adted in Italy. But 
 if I am not miftaken he is in the wrong, 
 becaufe the Manufcript affirms no fuch thing; 
 it only informs us, that the Play of Abraham 
 and IJaac was reprefented, for the firft time, 
 in the Year 1449. But it does not fay that 
 this was the firft Poem of the kind that 
 ever had been compofed in Italy. Had it 
 
 been 
 
<Tbe ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 43 
 
 been fo, the Author would not have failed to 
 have challenged to himfelf the Honour of 
 the Invention, and to have let us know that 
 he was the firffc that brought the Sacred Tra¬ 
 gedies upon the Stage; therefore Mr. Cref- 
 cembeni attributed to him an Honour which 
 the Author could not claim, and which if 
 he had, all Italy might perhaps have given 
 him the Lye. 
 
 Some Pages before, Crefcembeni , in fearch- 
 ing for the Original and Rife of Sacred Re- 
 prefentations, rejedls a Fadt which I look 
 upon as decifive in this Point, and therefore 
 {hall tranflate the Paflage literally. “ We 
 “ cannot, fays he, by any means fix upon 
 “ the Time when they began; tho’ VaJ'ori , 
 “ in his Life of Bufalmacco the Painter, 
 tf gives us an Account of this Feaft which 
 “ was made upon the Arno in the Year 
 “ 1304, where a Machine, reprefenting 
 “ Hell, was fixed upon the Boats, and 
 “ which Cionnacci imagines may be that of 
 “ Teoflo, at the End of which, as he aflerts, 
 “ Hell was reprefented, Jince it is remarked 
 “ that towards the End of it, the Devil is 
 “ returning to Hell with a Jew, and an Angel 
 “ dijmiffes the SpeSlators. Or rather that of 
 “ Lazarus the rich and Lazarus the poor , 
 “ at the End oj which the rich Lazarus in 
 “ Hell in vain begs Relief of the poor one 
 
 who is j in Abraham’r Bofom. However, 
 
 from 
 
44 ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 “ from the Time and Place of Reprefenta- 
 “ tion, (it happening about the Calends of 
 “ May, when every thing that was exhibited 
 “ was of the prophane kind,) we (hall not 
 “ place this Entertainment among the Sa- 
 c< cred Feafts, nor affirm that this was the 
 “ firft that ever was reprefented in Italy? 
 
 I am far from thinking this Conclufion of 
 our Author juft. This Entertainment might 
 have been reprefented on the River Arno as 
 a prophane one, but ftill the SubjeCt on which 
 it is built isL. facred or moral j fo that if it 
 was not of the one kind, it ought always to 
 be underftood to be included under the Rank 
 and Denomination of the other. There¬ 
 fore inftead of refuting this Opinion, I fhall 
 make Ufeof the Difcovery itfelf as a Direc¬ 
 tion for tracing, to more remote Antiquity, 
 Works of this Nature, and endeavour to fix 
 the Foundation of a probable Conjecture on 
 this Subjedt. 
 
 If I might venture to give my Opinion on 
 a Point fo obfcure, efpecially after the Au¬ 
 thority which I have quoted above, I own 
 I ffiould be very much of the Mind that the 
 Reprefentation of the Paflion of our Saviour 
 at the Collifee took its Rife much about the 
 Time of the Eftabliffiment of the Frater¬ 
 nity del Gonfalone. This I think we may 
 reafonably conclude from the Statutes of 
 that Company, which were printed at Rome 
 
The ITALIAN THEATRE. 45 
 
 by Bonfadino, in the Year 1584, Page 74, 
 an AbftraCt from which I (hall here tranflate. 
 
 “ The principal Defign of our Fraternity 
 “ being to reprefcnt the Pafion of Jesus 
 “ Christ, we ordain, that in cafe the 
 ct Myfteries of the faid Paflion are repre- 
 “ fented, our ancient Orders (hall be obferv- 
 ** ed, together with what fhall be preferibed 
 “ by the General Congregation 
 
 Two Reflections naturally arife from this 
 Paflage. It appears from thence, that the 
 principal and eflential Confutation of the Fra¬ 
 ternity del G on fa lone, was in order to repre- 
 fent the Paffion of our Lord ; it appears like- 
 wife that they had certain Regulations to 
 direCt them in the Management of thefe 
 Reprefentations , and in the Execution of the 
 Tragedy. But is it credible that the Bre¬ 
 thren, del Gonfalone, had deviated from the 
 principal Regulations of their Order, efpe- 
 cially if we conflder that the Obfervation of 
 thefe Statutes was not only agreeable to their 
 Genius, but even pleafed the general Tafte 
 of the whole Nation ? Every Body is very 
 well acquainted with the PaJJion the Italians 
 have for Shows; befides the Public knows 
 with what Earneftnefs all new Eftablilh- 
 ments are embraced. But this Fraternity 
 was founded in the Year 1264, as appears by 
 the Preface to the Statutes of the Company, 
 
46 ‘The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 and by Odlavio Panciroli , in his Teforo naf~ 
 copti di Roma , Page 488. According to thefe 
 Authorities, the lleprefentation of our Lord’s 
 Paffion muff have begun about the Year 
 1264, and continued for two hundred and 
 eighty eight Years. This is upon a Suppo- 
 iition that the Authors I have already quoted, 
 are in the right, when they affirm that they 
 were aboliffied towards the End of the Pon¬ 
 tificate of Paul the third , that is to fay, about 
 the Yea^i 549. This is my firfl Conjecture. 
 
 The Italians boaft that their Theatre is the 
 Original and Model of all the others in 
 Europe. I know they are in the right of it; 
 but this Aflertion is founded only on an 
 ancient Tradition. And without their fearch- 
 ing into the Original of the French , SpaniJJj , 
 and Engli/h Theatres, they having firmly 
 and impiicitely believed that at whatever 
 Time the Italian Theatre was opened it 
 mud have been the firft. Therefore they 
 were at no Pains to fix the precife /Era, and 
 did not care whether it was two Centuries 
 fooner, or two Centuries later. They have 
 one pofitive Inftance of a Reprefentation of 
 a Divine or Moral Nature, exhibited upon 
 the Arno in the Year 1304, but th's they 
 rejeCt, in order to fix it one hundred and 
 lixty Years later; by this means they dt ftroy 
 another ASra, which is that c-1 the I er- 
 nity del Gonfalone i eftablifhed in the Y ar 
 
*The ITALIAN THEATRE. 47 
 
 1264, and fix the firft Reprefentation of a 
 Holy Subjedt fo late as the Year 1449. Were 
 this Computation inconteftably true, the 
 Italians could have no Real'on to boaft of 
 their being the Fathers of the Drama in 
 Europe , but ought to be contented with ad - 
 mitting that they are but the Scholars of 
 other Nations, fince no Fadt is more certain 
 than that the Myfteries of the Old Teftament 
 were reprefented at London in the Year 1378, 
 and in France in the Year 1398, or rather 
 fooner, as we fihall prove in a proper Place. 
 It is therefore evident that the Italians mull 
 have learnt the Dramatic Art from the 
 Englijh and Ftench , if we admit that their 
 Plays did not begin at the Time when the 
 Fraternity del Gonfalone was eftablifhed, 
 which was in 1264, or about the Time of 
 the Entertainment prefented on the Arno 
 already mentioned, which was about the 
 Year 1300; and if, as Crefcembeni and the 
 other modern Roman Antiquaries contend, 
 their firft moral Reprefentation was fo late 
 as the Year 1449. 
 
 What we have quoted from the Statutes of 
 the Fraternity of the Gonfalone , fuggefts an¬ 
 other Refledtion on this Head. They enadt, 
 “ That in cafe the Myfteries of the Paflion 
 “ (hould be reprefented, they Ihould con- 
 “ form to the Ancient Orders , and to what 
 “ ftrould be prefcribed by the General Con - 
 
 “ gregation 
 
48 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 “ gregation Therefore the Reprefentation 
 of our Saviour’s Pafiion was prohibited only 
 with regard to the Place where it was exhi¬ 
 bited, and Paul the fecond only abolifhed it 
 at the ColliJ'ee. Jt is even rational to prefume 
 that the Fraternity exhibited them fince that 
 Time; but in other Places, for thirty fix 
 Years after the Prohibition by this Pope, it 
 appears by new Statutes that they had a 
 Privilege of playing, if they thought jit. 
 For if the Reprefentation of our Lord’s 
 Pafiion had been abfolutely prohibited by the 
 Pope in the City of Rome , the Infertion of 
 this Claufe was quite ufelefs* nor would it 
 have been lawful to have inferted it at all, 
 had it been exprefsly contrary to the Orders 
 of the Holy See. 
 
 All Holy Tragedies have been written in 
 Verfe; but we ought not to rely upon the 
 printed Editions to determine whether the 
 moll: ancient that we have were adted in .the 
 fame Shape in which they are printed. 
 Thefe Editions inform us that they were 
 tranferibed, in order to render them more 
 legible and more agreeable to the Mo¬ 
 dern Tafte; and this was done as often as a 
 new Edition was publilhed, or the Play, after 
 fome Interval, was revived. Among others, 
 there remains an Edition of one of thefe 
 Tragedies, where the principal Point I have 
 been endeavouring to prove, is clearly explain- 
 
<The ITALIAN THEATRE. 49 
 
 ed, and the Tranflation of the-Title P;i^e is 
 as follows. “ Of the Paffion, Death, and 
 “ Refurredtion of Jefus Chrift, being a Tra- 
 * c gical Reprefentation, by John Baptijl Pila- 
 “ ur, the third Edition, corredied from a 
 “ great many Miftakes, and enlarged with 
 ** the Addition of a great Number of Lines 
 “ by Salvatore Majjimio, and played in the 
 “ City of Aquila on Holy Thurfday, in the 
 
 Year 1614.” The Reprefentations there¬ 
 fore of the Paffion were not abolifhed in 
 Italy fficty five Years after the Prohibition 
 iffued out by Paul the third. This too ferves 
 to confirm the Opinion I have advanced, 
 that this Prohibition extended only to the 
 Place of Reprefentation, and not to the Thing 
 reprefented. 
 
 Reprefentafions from Holy Writ continued 
 in Italy to 1660, that is, three Years after 
 the Pontificate of Paul the third; and that 
 not only in private Places, but much oftner 
 in Churches upon the Celebration of the 
 Feftivals of the Saint who gave Name to the 
 Church ; as we may gather from the Title-* 
 Pages of a great Number of Plays; but had 
 they been prohibited and abolifhed by the 
 Pope, the Italian Rilhops never would have 
 fuffered them to have been reprefented within 
 their Bijhopricks, much lefsin their Churches: 
 But the Medley of Sacred and Prophane y 
 together with the Loofe Comedy, interfperfed 
 E in 
 
5 o The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 in thefe Performances, difgufted the Specta¬ 
 tors, and in a little time they were quite 
 laid afide. 
 
 From all I have faid above, I believe we 
 may fairly conclude, that if the Paffion of 
 our Lord was not prefented at the Colli fee 
 for the firft time, in theYearof the Eftablifh- 
 ment of the Fraternity of the Gonfalone, 
 which was founded in 1264, it appeared 
 there very foon after. Admitting this, I be¬ 
 lieve, it will naturally enough follow, that 
 this Fraternity were not the firft Inventors 
 of thefe kind of Reprefentations, but that 
 they had before been privately exhibited upon 
 the Stage, tho’ in a very bungling manner, 
 and that the Fraternity had it in View to aCt 
 them with greater Magnificence, and in a 
 more correct manner at the Collifee. What 
 End would the Inflitution of this Fraternity 
 have ferved, fuppofing this to be the princi¬ 
 pal Objedt they had in View, if they deferred 
 putting it in Execution for a hundred four - 
 fcore and five Tears ? It is therefore rea ten¬ 
 able to believe that the Execution of this 
 ProjeCl was not deferred very long ; and it 
 would be a Contradiction to all the Rules 
 of Probability, fhould we affirm that they 
 did not commence till the Year 1449. 
 
 Forty Years intervened betwixt the Efta- 
 blifhment of the Fraternity, and the Enter¬ 
 tainment exhibited upon the Arno at Fla- 
 
 ' rence, 
 
jfc ITALIAN JHEATRE. 
 
 in the Year 1304. And I take it for 
 an undifputed Fad, that during the inter¬ 
 mediate time, the Paflion of our Lord, with 
 the other Holy Reprefentations, as well as 
 other prophane Comedies or Farces as they 
 are fometimes termed, begun already to be 
 in Vogue, and that they even had appear’d 
 a long time before the Eftabliihment of the 
 Fraternity; tho’ perhaps they were the firft 
 who eredted a kind of a Theatre in a public 
 Place, fuch as the Collifee, where they were 
 to be reprefen ted. 
 
 Dante was the firft who introduced 
 Poetry among the Italians ; and without 
 relying upon what Leonardo Arethio makes 
 Dante himfelf fay, in his Life *, * that Poetry 
 had commenced a hundred and fifty Years 
 before his Time,’ it is fufficient for my Pur- 
 pofe, that it began to prevail in the Days of 
 Guido Guinicelli, Gait tone, Bonaguinta , and 
 Guida da MeJJina , who lived before Dante , 
 as they flouriihed in the Year 1200 ; this 
 confirms my Conjecture, that the Drama 
 was introduced into Italy towards the Year 
 1200, which is before the Eftabliihment of 
 the Fraternity del Gonfalone, who probably 
 formed the Plan of their Inftitution upon 
 the Cuftom which prevailed in the Country 
 of reprelenting the Paffion, on fome other 
 Entertainment, the Subjedt of which was 
 either Moral or Divine. 
 
 E z The 
 
 * Page 97, 
 
p The ITALIAN THEATRE, 
 
 The Italian Writers never advance any 
 thing as Fad: for which they have not Ocular 
 Demonftration ; and when they once ground 
 an Opinion upon Fads, if they happen to 
 differ amongft themfelves, they are perpetu¬ 
 ally at odds; the Contradidion goes round, 
 and the Difference for ever remains irrecon¬ 
 cilable : Confidering the Uncertainty in which 
 they have left us, I am very fenfible that if 
 any Body fhall adopt the Conjedures, which 
 appear to me to be well founded, I lhall be 
 the means of bringing him into a great deal 
 of Trouble and Difpute, but far contrary to 
 my Intention. The Invention of Printing 
 happened at a Time when Italy , of all the 
 Nations in Europe , poffeffed the greateft Share 
 of Learning, and by this means the Works of 
 their Ancestors buffered not a little; for their 
 Men of Learning did not apply themfelves 
 to the Publication of any Work (efpecially 
 of the poetical kind) that was not in a po¬ 
 liced Stile, and a corred Turn. Thus it is 
 by great Chance, that any thing which was 
 otherwife has at all came to our Hands. In 
 this Condud they were not imitated by the 
 other Nations in Europe, as we fhall fhew in 
 a proper Place; thefe laft having printed 
 every thing compofed by their Anceftors be 
 it good, bad, or indifferent, if written two 
 or three hundred Years before, and by this 
 they have a considerable Advantage over the 
 
 Italians 3 
 
The ITALIAN THEATRE. 53 
 
 Italians , in tranfmitting to Poflerity many 
 Works which ferve as the Documents and 
 the Guides of Hiftory. Had the Italia?is 
 done the fame thing, we fhould not have at 
 this Time been at a Lofs how to fix the 
 Date of the Italian Drama. 
 
 Since the Year 1500 no Italian Poet has 
 profeffed to write for the Theatre, in order 
 to pick up Money; Dramatic Poetry having 
 fince that Time been an Art , but not a 
 Trade. The Dukes of Ferrara , Florence ; 
 lJrbin, and Mantua , fuffered Plays to be 
 added only within their own Palaces. The 
 Academy of Sienna was the firit that, by its 
 own Example, encouraged other Learned 
 Bodies to compofe and reprefcnt correct: 
 Comedies. Their Example was followed 
 during the xvnth Century; and the hired 
 Addors, who till that Time had always added 
 extempore, never added any Piece that had 
 not before been printed. 
 
 As to what regards the modern Italian 
 Theatre, I (hall begin by giving the Reader 
 fome Notion of the Struddure of the Stage 
 itfelf, and the Cbaradder of the Spectators. 
 The Spectators in almoft all the Cities of 
 Italy are rejllefs and noify t even before the 
 Play begins. In their Applaufes they are 
 violent; and when they would diftinguifh a 
 favourite Poet or Actor, they cry as loud as 
 they can Viva — Viva. But if they have a 
 E 3 Mind 
 
54 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 Mind to damn the one, or hifs the other, they 
 bawl out Va dentro , and very often they 
 make the poor Adtor feel a further Proof of 
 their Indignation by pelting him with Ap¬ 
 ples, and loading him with a great deal of 
 Abufe. But the Adtors who have Reputa¬ 
 tion and Merit meet with great Efteem and 
 Applaufe; and in the very Cities where the 
 Audiences are moll unruly, they immedi¬ 
 ately become calm when a favourite Play or 
 Adtor appears on the Stage. 
 
 But there are fome Cities where the Audi¬ 
 ence is always quiet and civil, even tho’ nei¬ 
 ther the Play nor the Players are agreeable; 
 the Spedlators (hewing no other Refentment 
 than by not returning to the fame Enter¬ 
 tainment, after having fat it out two or three 
 times; and inftead of Noife and Bawling, 
 they exprefs their Difpleafure by a Contempt 
 that is a tacite but an equally flrong Proof of 
 Dillike. This Condudt prevails in the Cities 
 of Genoa ,, Lucca , and Florence ; however the 
 Audiences there know how to difcern and 
 do Juftice to a Poet or Adtor of Merit. 
 
 In Italy they are entirely Strangers to the 
 Cuftom of exhibiting Theatrical Entertain¬ 
 ments thro’ the whole Year, the Towns 
 where they are at all eftabliihed having their 
 ftated Times for Playing, which do not hap¬ 
 pen always at one Time of the Year: The 
 Comedians, during the Space of twelve 
 
 Months, 
 
The ITALIAN THEATRE. 55 
 
 Months, vific a good Part of Italy. The 
 Theatres of Venice are open from the Month 
 of OSlober to the fir ft Day of Lent. In 
 manyCities of the twoLombardies, the Spring 
 of the Year is allotted for Comedies and 
 they are reprefented in the Day-time with¬ 
 out any Lights, becaufe the Play-houfes are 
 built in fuch a manner as to be fufficiently 
 enlightened by the Sun. Thefe Play-houfes, 
 or rather Halls, are fometimes a plain Booth 
 eredted in large Areas, almoft like that of 
 Verona , where dvery Year fuch Booths are 
 built in the Arena of the great Amphi¬ 
 theatre. 
 
 In the Cities where Comedies are adted by 
 the Day-light, the Reprefen ration goes on 
 with great Regularity, which arifes not fo 
 much from the Charadters of the Spedlators, 
 as from the Difficulty they would find to 
 efcape public Cenfure. 
 
 The Theatres are open in Rome only the 
 laft eight Days of the Carnaval. And ever 
 fince Innocent the Eleventh prohibited Women 
 from adting on the Stage, young Men fupply 
 their Places in Habits of Women. „ 
 
 The Italian Theatres are magnificent, 
 they commonly having four Rows of Boxes, 
 befides a lower one, which forms as it were a 
 Partition round the Pit. There is at Venice 
 a Theatre with feven Rows of Boxes; this 
 is diftinguifhed by the Title of Saint Samuel, 
 E 4 according 
 
56 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 according to the general Cuftom of defigning 
 their different Theatres by the Name of 
 their refpedtive Parilhes where they are built. 
 It is an eftablilhed Cuftom all over Italy to 
 fit in the Pit. 
 
 In Venice one may fee a Comedy for fix- 
 teen Sols of Current Money, which is paid at 
 the Door, where they receive a Ticket. But 
 then, if one defigns to fit, he muff pay ten 
 Sols more ; but if the Pit is not full, they 
 are fuffered to ftand on the Floor, towards 
 the Bottom of the Houle. As to the Boxes, 
 every Body who is admitted there muff pay 
 for a whole one to himfelf. 
 
 The Theatres at Venice commonly contain 
 four and twenty, and fometimes thirty Boxes 
 in a Row; but thefe Boxes can hold no more 
 than fix Perfons, fo that admitting they were 
 all full, they would contain no more than 
 fourteen hundred Perfons in all *. The 
 great Theatre in Milan is one of the largeft 
 in Italy ; but none of them are comparable 
 to that of Parma, which, like thofe of An¬ 
 cient Rome, has no Boxes, but Benches arifing 
 in form of an Amphitheatre. 
 
 At Venice the Spectators go malqued to the 
 public Diverlions, which is a great Conveni- 
 ency to the Nobles, efpecially the Senators 
 
 and 
 
 * The Author muft mean the whole Uoufe being fifty 
 
<The ITALIAN THEATRE. 57 
 
 and the other Perfons who are in great 
 Offices ; becaufe while they are mafqucd they 
 have no Occafion to diftinguifh themfelves 
 by the Habit that is peculiar to their Quality 
 or Employment, and even the Doge himielf 
 in this Difguife, may go without his Atten¬ 
 dants. But if they have a Mind, they may 
 go with their bare Faces, which gives an 
 Opportunity for the Women of Quality and 
 Diftindtion to be feen. 
 
 There are commonly in that City eight 
 Theatres open ; four for Comedies, and four 
 for Operas. As the Diftindtions of Ranks 
 muft be obferved here, theWomen of Quality 
 place themfelves always in the Front-Boxes; 
 and the Courtezans , who for fome time pa ft 
 have ufed to mafque themfelves, fit in the 
 Row immediately below. The Men and 
 the Women, who are to fit in Chairs in the 
 Pit, take great Care not to put on fine Cloaths, 
 it being the Cuftom to fpit out of the Boxes 
 into the Pit, and to throw into it the Re¬ 
 mains of what they have been eating, which 
 renders it extremely difagreeable. 
 
 The Boxes are hired either for a Year or 
 a Day. But what they call their Year begins, 
 as we have obferved before, in the Month of 
 OBober , and ends on the lafl: Day of the Car- 
 naval. The Price of thefe Boxes are not 
 fixed, it being regulated according to the 
 Pieces that are reprefented; the Licencer of 
 
5 8 Hhe ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 the Stage is the Judge how much they ftiall 
 be enlarged or how much diminilhed; and 
 that again is commonly regulated by the 
 Merits of the Piece and of the Adors; the 
 Succefs of a new Piece having fometimes 
 mounted an Upper Gallery to the Price of 
 a Sequin, or ten French Livres; a Front Box 
 to ten Sequins, and the others in Proportion. 
 There are very few Cities in Italy which 
 have not more than one Theatre ; they hav¬ 
 ing generally two or three, and the Prices 
 paid at the Door are commonly regulated 
 according to the Rules that obtain at Venice. 
 
 Having thus fpoken of the Strudure of 
 the Stage itfelf, I proceed now to the Pieces 
 reprefented on it. Since the Year 1500, the 
 Italians may boaft with Juft ice that their 
 Drama has been very complete. Perhaps 
 it is the only Theatre. in Europe which can 
 date its Excellency fo far back; and with 
 regard to the Rules of Writing, as well as 
 the Genius and Tafte of the Writers, it has 
 proved the Model of all the Theatres that 
 have been ft nee ereded. 
 
 Towards the Middle of the xvuth Cen¬ 
 tury, Spanijh Plays took Place inftead of their 
 moft perfed Dramatical Performances; and 
 fo prevailing was this univerfal Degeneracy 
 of Tafte, during the laft fifty Years, that the 
 beft Pieces of their Anceftors, which came 
 into their Hands, were but very little efteemed 
 
 in 
 
The ITALIAN THEATRE. 59 
 
 in the Country. A Poetical Production, in 
 the Manner of Petrarch, met with but very 
 few Admirers, and was generally looked 
 upon as low and infipid. The Productions 
 for the Stage met with the fame Fate j for 
 during all that Period, if a good Play ap¬ 
 peared, it was received with Contempt, and 
 a Man would have blulhed to fay that he 
 had read it. In fhort, the Tafte for the Spa¬ 
 nish Drama, which mu ft be owned to have 
 its Beauties, was carried in Italy to the higheft 
 Pitch of Extravagance. The Productions in 
 this way are very numerous in Italy , and 
 moftly in the laft I have mentioned. 
 
 But the Madnefs began to abate, and to¬ 
 wards the End of the Century, Men of 
 Learning, Wit, and Tafte, appeared almoft 
 thro’ all the Cities of Italy , who by their 
 Writings and Academical Diflertations, in 
 Seminaries or Societies of Learning, revived 
 and eftablilhed good Senfe in every Province 
 of Poetry. With regard to the Drama , 
 Tranflations from Racine and Corneille were 
 oppofed to the prevailing Extravagance of 
 Tafte, and the mercenary Players, in imita¬ 
 tion of thefe private Judges, ftruck into the 
 Road of good Senfe j thus after a hard Strug¬ 
 gle betwixt Truth and Error, I’ajle again 
 prevailed in Italy. 
 
 Since the Year 1700 a great Number of 
 good Tragedies have been compofed bv the 
 
 'Wits 
 
60 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 Wits of Italy ; fome upon the French , fome 
 upon the ancient Plan of Writing ; the latter 
 are the Productions of th» fineft Pens of 
 Italy, who diffatisfied with the French Man¬ 
 ner have, but not with all the Succefs that 
 one could with, endeavoured to revive that of 
 the Greeks ; we have likewife feen Comedies 
 in both Manners appear, and all in Verfe: It 
 is true, they are fo very few that the Italian 
 Stage, fince the Year 1700, is extremely low, 
 if we compare it to thofe of England , France, 
 and Spain, which every Year increafed their 
 Stock by the Acceffion of new Plays, 
 
 The Barrennefs of the Italian Stage is 
 doubtlefs owing to the Authors that write for 
 it reaping no Profit from their Labours. A 
 Man of Wit and Fortune, fometimes for his 
 own Amulement and Satisfaction, compofes 
 a Theatrical Performance and gives it to the 
 Players. Others, fuch as Martelli and Gra- 
 vino, ordered their Productions of that kind 
 to be printed before they appear upon the 
 Stage, leaving the Players at Liberty, after 
 they are printed, to repretent them in what 
 Manner and at what Time they pleafe; but 
 thete Hits fo feldom happen, that we have 
 all the Reafon in the World to fear, a true 
 Tatle for the Drama will be foon entirely 
 extinguished in Italy. 
 
 Men of Wit and Spirit, who don’t always 
 fliare equally in the Gifts of Fortune as of 
 
 Nature,, 
 
<The ITALIAN THEATRE. 6i 
 
 Nature, follow another Road for attaining 
 their Ends. Time has infenfibly deftroyed 
 mod: Part of the Academies; and in thofe 
 that remain, the fame Tafte does not prevail. 
 If from time to time, and merely as the 
 Fancy ftruck them, they take it into their 
 Pleads to compofe fome Pieces for the Thea¬ 
 tre, they chufe rather to tranflate them from 
 the French than to compofe Originals. This 
 is the Practice in the Colleges of Rome , 
 Parma , and almoft all the other Colleges of 
 Italy. The Eafe with which the French 
 Plays are tranflated debauches thofe into that 
 Practice, who have Genius enough to com¬ 
 pofe Originals j and Gigli , one of the bell 
 Poets of his Age, after having compofed a 
 great many original Pieces, tranflated the 
 P’artuff of Moliere under the Title of U 
 Pilone. Hence I forefee that the Italian 
 Poets will degenerate into mere Tranfla- 
 tors, and my Prediction is already but too 
 much fulfilled. 
 
 Tho’ in Italy the Dramatic Poets have 
 never wrote for Money, yet we find by the 
 Dramaturgia of Alacci , that their Number 
 was very confiderable. According to that 
 Catalogue , it amounts to no lefs than one 
 hundred and thirty nine "Tragic Poets, and 
 three hundred and eleven Comic Poets of a 
 corredt Age, i. e. fince the Year 1500. 
 
 The fame Author, whofe Account reaches 
 
 no 
 
62 The ITALIAN* THEATRE. 
 
 no farther than A. D. 1660, gives us the 
 Titles of the Pieces, together with the Names 
 of the Author who have wrote Tragi-Come* 
 dies, Pafiorals , and Sacred Tragedies ; and 
 adding thefe to the Poets in my Catalogue , 
 we will find that the Number of Italian 
 Dramatic Poets, in the Space of one hun¬ 
 dred and fixty Years at mod, amounts to 
 one Thoufand two Hundred and Twelve. 
 But this Catalogue leaves a Gap unaccounted 
 for of no lefs than feventy fix Years back 
 from this Date; and if, amongft that infi¬ 
 nite Number of Performances, there were 
 fome of them taken from the Spanijh , or 
 written in the Manner of that Nation, yet a 
 fufficient Number of good ones will be found 
 to perfuade me that if the Italian Theatre 
 had been as productive of Rewards to the 
 Poets, as the other Thearres of Europe, it 
 muflhave produced both better Performances, 
 and in greater Number than any other; for 
 when Glory and Profit meet together, they 
 form the ruling Principle of a Genius. 
 
 As we have treated of the Dramatic 
 Poets from the Year 1500 to 1660, it will be 
 of fome Ufe to make the World acquainted 
 with the Number of Pieces that were printed 
 in that Time. In the Collection of the 
 Vatican Library we meet with no lefs than 
 two hundred and thirty five prophane Trage* 
 dies, five hundred Comedies , two hundred and 
 
 thirty 
 
the ITALIAN THEATRE. 63 
 
 thirty feven P aft or ah, one hundred and 
 twenty tragi-Comedies, and four hundred 
 and five Sacred or Moral tragedies. Alacci 
 in his fixth Lift gives a Catalogue of Trage¬ 
 dies, Comedies, Paftorals, and other Dra¬ 
 mas which have not yet been publifhed, but 
 which were written before the Year 1660; 
 and not contented with adding to thefe an 
 Hiftorical Account of them, he points out 
 the very Libraries and private Repofitories 
 where they are preferved in Manufcript: 
 But fince the Days of Alacci , not above 
 twelve of thefe Pieces have been 
 printed; in this Lift we find one hundred 
 and ten Prophane tragedies , feventy Sacred 
 or Moral ones, two hundred and three Come¬ 
 dies, twenty Paftorals , and a great Number 
 of Operas. And in a kind of Supplement 
 which he has added, he reckons up twelve 
 tragedies more, eighteen Sacred Reprefenta- 
 tions , fifteen Comedies , ten tragi-Comedies, 
 two Paftorals , and a great Quantity of Ope¬ 
 ras, which ought to have been added to his 
 Catalogue. Upon fumming up thefe diffe¬ 
 rent Numbers, we fhall find that the Italian 
 Stage has produced above two thoufand 
 Plays; and if the Catalogue of feventy fix 
 Years, which intervenes betwixt this prefent 
 Time and the Year 1660, fhall ever appear, 
 I make no Queftion but that Italy , in the 
 Space of two hundred Years, has enriched 
 
 their 
 
64 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 their Theatre with upwards of five thoufand 
 Plays. We may advance this FaCt with the 
 greater A durances, as the Drarnaturgia of 
 Alacci contains only a Collection of thofe 
 Pieces that remain in the Vatican Library i 
 and not thofe that were printed betwixt the 
 Years 1500 and 1660, and which are ftill 
 more numerous than thefe he has mentioned. 
 1 have a great Number of Tragedies and 
 Comedies of which Alacci takes no Notice, 
 and I daily find others that neither of us 
 knew any thing of before. This makes me 
 believe that we never fhall have a complete 
 Collection, or even a genuine Catalogue of all 
 the Pieces belonging to the Italian Theatre. 
 
 Italy , which at that Time contained ai¬ 
 med as many Sovereigns as it contains Cities, 
 each of which had their particular Theatres, 
 could not make a Collection of their Plays 
 with the fame Eafe as the French , Spaniards, 
 or EngliJlj. As thefe laid were all under one 
 Sovereign, the Theatres were the fame in 
 their feveral Capitals, and there was no great 
 Difficulty of finding, in the fame Cities* all 
 that was necefifary for Information on this 
 Head in their mod ancient Regiders, or in 
 their Libraries. But in Italy, a Man, whe¬ 
 ther prompted by his own Curiofity, or 
 obliged to obey the Commands of his Prince 
 to make fuch a Collection, muft have vifited 
 all thefe Cities in order to collect the Memoirs 
 
 and 
 
c Ihe ITALIAN THEATRE. 65 
 
 and Anecdotes peculiar to the feveral Enter¬ 
 tainments exhibited in every City or Palace, 
 and then indeed he might have left us a gene¬ 
 ral Catalogue of all the Pieces belonging to 
 the different Theatres; therefore it is to 
 Chance alone that we owe a great Number 
 of Pieces preferved in the Libraries and Ca¬ 
 binets of the Curious. 
 
 But if true Comedy (hall be loft among the 
 Italians , they will always retain a kind of 
 Comedy , tho’ not deferving that Appellation, 
 and more properly to be called Farce ; I 
 mean that ancient mercenary Comedy which 
 was played extempore, and fucceeded to the 
 Latin Comedy, which at firft indeed was 
 low and immcdeft, but afterwards was im¬ 
 proved into greater Decency and Corredtnefs. 
 Should the Ruin of Learning become general 
 in Italy , and fhould her Species of Dramatic 
 Poets ever be extinct, the Ignorance of the 
 People would give them a Relifh for this 
 kind of Comedy or Farce. It is therefore to 
 be prefumed, that it will continue but too 
 long fhould it be once introduced, but its 
 Reputation can never be folid, becaufe it muft 
 always depend upon the Abilities of the 
 Aftors. 
 
 Thefe Farces, the Original of which is to 
 me unknown, and which have run thro’ all 
 the Courts of Europe, have led many French 
 Writers into a Miftake, when they have been 
 F fpeaking 
 
66 ‘The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 fpeaking of their ow*n Theatre, and have 
 been obliged to run a Parallel betwixt it and 
 thofe of other Nations. The Abb zAubignac, 
 the Author of the French Theatre, printed 
 in 1674, whcfe Name I am unacquainted 
 with, Moreri, and every Author who has 
 handled this Subject, in fpeaking of the Ita- 
 //tf«Theatre, have mentioned only the extem¬ 
 pore Farces performed by A&ors in Mafque, 
 becaufe, in reality, this was the only Species 
 of the Drama known in France fo late as 
 the Reign of Henry the Third, which was 
 about the Year 1578. 
 
 The Italian Players don’t always ufe to 
 play their Parts extempore j they have, as I 
 lhall fliew by and by, fometimes learned it 
 by heart, according to the different Ages in 
 which they lived. But in thofe Courts in 
 Europe who are not fo well acquainted with 
 the Italian Language, and where the Italian 
 Players are fought after and encouraged, they 
 have gone entirely into the extempore Man¬ 
 ner, and it is under this Character that they 
 are known over all Germany , and particularly 
 in France. Hence arofe the Miftakes into 
 which the French Authors I have named 
 were led, in fuppofing that the Italian Dra¬ 
 ma confided formerly entirely in thofe Sorts 
 of Buffoonries; and upon this Suppofition, 
 without examining further, they have pro¬ 
 nounced the French Theatre to be fuperior 
 , both 
 
*tbe ITALIAN THEATRE. 67 
 
 both in Tragedy and Comedy, to all the 
 other Theatres in Europe. In this Opinion 
 they are not perhaps far in the wrong; but 
 it would not at all derogate from the Merit of 
 the French Theatre, ihould theip Authors 
 examine the State of the Italian for an Age 
 or two before, and upon a juft Compariforr 
 of the Merits of both, found the Superiority 
 which they attribute to their own Country¬ 
 men. I am pretty much convinced that the 
 Glory of Corneille , Racine , and Moliere , 
 Would receive an additional Luftre by com¬ 
 paring them with Rivals, and not as they 
 do, found their Triumphs upon a Conqueft, 
 Where the Forces of the Parties are by no 
 means equal, or rather where they can have 
 no Opportunity of a Struggle. It was in 
 order to diftipate this Miftake which fo gene¬ 
 rally prevails in France , that I have given to 
 the Public the long Catalogue of Tragedies 
 and Comedies in my Hijlory of the Italian 
 Theatre. 
 
 The French Authors have run into an¬ 
 other Miftake with regard to Italian Players* 
 in maintaining that as they only excel in 
 the Mimic Way, they are incapable of 
 doing Juftice to any thing that is great and 
 pathetic. But this Notion is effectually de- 
 ftroyed, not only by the Italian Company 
 eftablifhed at Paris in the Year 1716, but by 
 other Players of that Nation, wheat different 
 F 2 Times 
 
68 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 Times have ftudied their Parts both irTtrue 
 Tragedy and Comedy. The Action of the 
 Company I have mentioned, in theTragedies 
 of Merope and Andromache in Italian Verfe, 
 and in the Tragi-Comedies of Hercules , Samp- 
 Jon , and Life is a Dream , and many other 
 Pieces, have fufficiently convinced the Public 
 that Italian Players are as capable as thofe, of 
 any other People, to touch the Great and 
 Pathetic. 
 
 Befides we find in Italy an Excellence not 
 eafily to be met with amongft other Nations. 
 No Italian Company ever contains more 
 than eleven Adtors or Adtrefles; of whom 
 five, including the Scaramouch, fpeak only 
 the Bolognefe, Venetian , Lombardy and Neapo¬ 
 litan Dialedts. Yet when they are to adt a 
 Tragedy which requires a large Number of 
 Players, every one of them is employed ; even 
 Harlequin lays afide his Mafque, and they all 
 declaim in Verfe as properly as if they were 
 Natives of Rome. This Pradtice renders 
 them capable of doing Juftice to the moll 
 fublime Sentiments of Dramatic Writing, 
 and at the fame time of agreeably imitating 
 the m ft ridiculous Oddities in Nature. This 
 is a 4 etit which we may fay is peculiar to 
 the Italians , fince amongft the Companies of 
 other Nations, which generally confift of at 
 leaft thirty Adtors, every one is determined 
 by his natural or acquired Qualifications in, 
 
 the 
 
The ITALIAN THEATRE. 69 
 
 the Choice of the Part he undertakes; and 
 it is very rare that we meet with one or two 
 who can fuftain different Charadters, and fuit 
 themfelves to every accidental Variation of 
 Charadters and Perfons, 
 
 
 \ 
 
 Of 
 
-0 fbi ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 Of the Italian Opera. 
 
 ROM the firft Rife of the Italian 
 
 r Theatre, Mutic has always been inter¬ 
 mixed with Action. The Method of intro¬ 
 ducing it into the Drama has varied accord¬ 
 ing to the feveral Jundures. At firft it began 
 by the Chorus’s always being fung, then the 
 Prologues, Interludes in Verfe, and Epilogue. 
 When the Theatre, by the fine Pradudions 
 of a more polifhed Age, began to improve, 
 the Pradice of intermixing Mufic with the 
 Reprefentation of true Tragedies or Come¬ 
 dies wore out in twenty or thirty Years, and 
 both were reprefen ted in the Tafte and Sim¬ 
 plicity of the Ancients; Tragedy having a 
 Chorus that declaimed, and Comedy a Pro¬ 
 logue that was repeated. By this fudden 
 Change, we may eafily conceive that the Ufe 
 of Mufic was quite laid afide, becaufe incon- 
 fiftent with thefe regular Reprefentations, 
 and defpicable, as its being one of the Parts of 
 Farce which had been juft aboliftied. 
 
 Some time after, the Poets abandoned that 
 Severity for which they had been fo remark¬ 
 able at the Beginning of their Reformation; 
 nor does any Italian Writer inform us of the 
 lieafons. I am inclined to believe that the 
 
 Audiences 
 
The ITALIAN THEATRE. 71 
 
 Audiences were difgufted with the dry Ex- 
 a&nefs of Rules, and that their Poets' accom¬ 
 modated themfelves to the Tafte of the 
 People, which demanded perhaps fomething 
 more entertaining. After that, Tragedies 
 were reprelented without a Chorus, Mufic 
 was again admitted into the Prologue of Co¬ 
 medies, and by degrees they introduced Inter¬ 
 ludes which had no relation to the main 
 Subject; fometimes thofe Interludes were 
 unconneded the one with the other, and 
 each made an Adion apart j * but very often 
 three or four Interludes formed a continued 
 Adion, which was a great Embellishment to 
 the principal Piece. 
 
 It will not be improper to obferve, that the 
 three Examples referred to in the Note are 
 of the noble and exalted kind, and that they 
 are adapted to the Nature and Genius of the 
 feveral Pieces to which they were fubfervient, 
 which are either Paftorals or Tragi-Come- 
 dies; as there are likewife Interludes of an¬ 
 other kind, adapted to the Manner and Spi¬ 
 rit of Comedy. 
 
 x We mull likewife obferve, that at this 
 Time the Theatre begun infenfibly to de¬ 
 cline, and that inftead of exad Tragedy and 
 regular Comedy, Paftorals, Tragi-Comedies, 
 and Interludes were introduced, which daily 
 
 __F_4_|de- 
 
 * V Aurora Inga nn ata ; Glanco Schernito ; Dafne confer fa 
 to Laura . 
 
72 <The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 degenerating, at la ft produced the monftrous 
 Births we have mention’d. 
 
 Thefe mufical Interludes, interrupted by 
 performing the feveral Adis in the principal 
 Pieces, afforded a formal and pompous Show j 
 and if they had been feparated from the Paf- 
 toral, or Tragi-Comedy, to which they were 
 annexed, they wanted nothing but a Name to 
 denounce them a Species of Reprefentations 
 quite different from Tragedy or Comedy. 
 
 The Italian Writers have been at a great 
 deal of Pains to fettle the precife Time in 
 which the Opera begun. Some maintain 
 that the Euridice * of Rinuccini , a died at Flo¬ 
 rence in the Year 1600, uponOccafion of the 
 Marriage of Mary de Medicis to Henry the 
 Fourth, was the firft of this kind. Others 
 afcribe the Merits of its Invention to Emilio 
 del Cavalieri, who, in the Year 1590, exhi¬ 
 bited// Satyr0 and La Difperazione de Filers, 
 both mufical Paftorals, at Florence in the 
 Great Duke’s Palace. 
 
 Without troubling myfelf tocriticife upon 
 their feveral Difcuffions of this Point, I fhall 
 take my Date from that mufical Tragedy, 
 which the Senate and Republic caufed to be 
 a died in the Palace of the Doge before Henry 
 III, when he paffed thro’ Venice , in his Re¬ 
 turn from Poland in 1574+. All the Italian 
 
 Princes 
 
 * 'Rinuccini 9 . Rime , p. 13. 
 
 J La gloria della poejia e della mufica , Printed at Venice 
 without a Date. 
 
The ITALIAN THEATRE. 73 
 
 Princes about this Time publickly exhibited 
 Operas in their own Palaces. It is however 
 univerfally agreed that the firft Opera appeared 
 at Venice in the Year 1634. £ 
 
 The Book I have quoted informs us, that 
 during the Carnaval, in the Year 1637, the 
 firft public Opera, called Andromachus , was 
 exhibited on the Theatre of St. Cajun. 
 Next Year at the fame Time, and upon the 
 fame Theatre, a fecond was exhibited, called 
 the Magician Thunder-Jlruck. Thefe two 
 firft Operas were exhibited with great Magni¬ 
 ficence, and at the Expence both of the Poet 
 and Muficians. In the Year 1639, the Thea¬ 
 tre of St. John and St. Paul , on which no¬ 
 thing but Comedy had been adted, was re¬ 
 built ; and the firft Piece exhibited upon it 
 was La Delie de Jule Strozzi> where alfo 
 they exhibited the Armida , as an Entertain¬ 
 ment during the Carnaval. The Theatre of 
 St. Caffan adted at the fame the Opera of The¬ 
 tis and Delens \ and in the Autumn the other 
 Theatre exhibited that of Adonis , which had 
 lb great a Run, that it was adted, without 
 Interruption, from the Month of Ottober till 
 Lent. 
 
 In that fame Carnaval, which began the 
 Year 1640, the old Theatre called St. MoJ'es’% 
 the Foundation of which is unknown, exhi¬ 
 bited the L' Arriane d’ Ottavio Rinuccini, 
 which many Years before had been adted in 
 
 the 
 
47 7 ft? ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 the Palaces of fome Italian Princes, and 
 which, according to the Edition in 1608, is 
 prior, by thirty two Years, to the Reprefen- 
 tation I have juft now mentioned. 
 
 I (hall not here pretend to enumerate all 
 the different kinds of Operas which for thefe 
 hundred Years have appeared upon the Vene¬ 
 tian Stage; they would difguft the Reader, 
 and fwell this Volume to an ufelefs Bulk: I 
 fhall content myfelf to refer the Curious to a 
 Book I have already quoted, which is a little 
 Volume in Twelves, printed at Venice , enti¬ 
 tled I’he Glory of Poetry anPMufc. This 
 Book is a Catalogue containing two hundred 
 and fixty eight Pages j the Bookfeller has 
 added, by way of Appendix, a Lift of the 
 Operas that have been prefented for that 
 Year. This Book is printed without any 
 Date, and began to appear in the Year 1730. 
 One may eaftly judge how much Operas are 
 in Fafhion at Venice , when he is told that at 
 certain Seafons they play every Day, and in 
 fix Theatres at the lame time. 
 
 No Sovereign ever fpent fo much upon 
 thefe Reprefentations as the Venetians have 
 done, except perhaps Ranuce Farnefe , Duke 
 of Parma , who amazed all Italy by the En¬ 
 tertainments which he prefented in the Year 
 1690, on Occafion of the Marriage of his 
 Son Prince Edward. The World yet talks 
 of two Operas which he prefented, the one 
 
The ITALIAN THEATRE. 75 
 
 in the Night-time upon the great Stage of 
 his Palace, and the other in the Day-time 
 upon the great Bafon which he caufed to be 
 built in his Gardens. It were to be wifficd 
 that we could give an exaCt Detail of all the 
 Machines which the fkilful Architects con¬ 
 trived on that Occafiion; and of all the won¬ 
 derful Reprefentations of that kind that have 
 been executed at Venice , Rome , Naples , Flo¬ 
 rence, and the other Cities of Italy. As to the 
 Decorations and the Machinery it may be 
 lafely affirmed, that no Theatre in Europe 
 comes up to the Magnificence of the Vene¬ 
 tian Opera j fome of them will be handed 
 down to our mod diftant Pofterity; for In¬ 
 dia nee, the Opera entitled The Divijion of the 
 World , which the Marquis Guido Rangoni 
 exhibited in the Year 1675 at his own Ex- 
 pences, upon the Theatre of our Holy Savi¬ 
 our. In the Shepherd of AmphiJ'e , which 
 was prefented twenty Years after upon the 
 Theatre of St. John Chryfojlome, the Palace 
 of Apollo was feen to defeend of very fine 
 and grand Architecture, and built of Chri- 
 ftals of different Colours which were always 
 playing ; the Lights which were placed be¬ 
 hind thefe Chriftals were difpofed in fuch a 
 Manner, that fo great a Flux of Rays played 
 from the Machine, that the Eyes of the 
 Spectators could fcarcely fupport its Bright- 
 r.efs. 
 
 The 
 
76 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 The two Bebietyias, thefe eminent Archi¬ 
 tects and celebrated Painters now alive, have 
 convinced all Europe , by their grand Decora¬ 
 tions, that a Theatre may be adorned with¬ 
 out Machinery, not only with as much Mag¬ 
 nificence, but with more Propriety. Ma¬ 
 chines produce a magical, or, if you will, a 
 marvellous Effedt ; and we are often obliged 
 to call to Mind the Contrivance of the 
 Theatre, and that every thing that we fee is 
 moved by Pulleys, Ropes, Springs, and 
 Weights, in order to prevent our Senfes from 
 being impofed upon, fo as to believe what]we 
 fee is reprefented to be real. I (hall give one 
 In fiance of fuch an Illufion. 
 
 Cato of Utica is the Subjedt of an Opera 
 prefented upon the Theatre of St. John 
 Chryfojlome in the Year 1701. As Ccefar 
 with his Army is fuppofed not to be far from 
 that Scene where the Adtion is laid, and that 
 the Inhabitants of the Province had prepared 
 an Entertainment for him upon the Banks of 
 the River, the Ground of the Stage repre- 
 fents a Field, towards the Middle of wnich 
 there was hung in the Air a Globe, refembling 
 that of the World; this Globe was obferved by 
 degrees to advance towards the Front of thfc 
 Stage, to the Sound of Trumpets and other 
 Inftruments, and all this without the Spedta- 
 tors being able to difcern the Pulleys and 
 Machines that diredted the whole. In the 
 
 Moment 
 
fbe ITALIAN THEATRE. 77 
 
 Moment when it comes oppofite to Ccefar t 
 it opens into three Parts, reprefenting the 
 then three known Parts of the World. The 
 Infide of the Globe fhines all with Gold, 
 Precious Stones, Metals of all Colours, and 
 contains a great Number of Muficians. Thus 
 we fee what the Contrivance of a Theatre is 
 capable of effecting, which is artfully to con¬ 
 ceal the Pulleys and Springs j for by means 
 of the firft Scaffold being built above 
 the Stage, it is eafy to fuftain and conduct 
 in the Air a Machine of what Weight you 
 pleafe; and in fuch a Situation a Spectator 
 Hands in need of his Reflexion, to put him 
 in Mind that all is purely the EffeCt of the 
 Machinery and Difpofition; but in the mean 
 time this is what the Poet and the Mufician 
 ought to endeavour to make him forget. 
 
 Players by their Art fometimes imitate 
 Nature fo perfectly, that they perfuade the 
 Spectator that all they fee is real; but it is a 
 much harder Talk forfthe Mufician to attain 
 to this, it being much more difficult for them 
 to accommodate their Notes to the Paffions 
 of Anger, Grief, Sorrow, and even to Death 
 itfelf. The Poet and the Engineer, far from 
 encreafing thefe Difficulties by unnatural 
 Decorations, ought to reprefent to the Specta¬ 
 tors the molt elevated Ideas only with that 
 Art which is mod proper to render them 
 more fufceptible of the Impreffion that is to 
 
 be 
 
78 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 be conveyed. The principal End of the 
 Stage is Illufion, and that End can be ob¬ 
 tained only by keeping to what is probable. 
 
 As to the Italian Mulics, all Europe agree 
 that towards the Middle of the laft Century 
 it arrived at Perfection, and continued in that 
 State to the Beginning of this. The Com- 
 pofitions of Scarlati the elder, Bononcini, 
 and many other excellent Mafters, are undif- 
 putable Proofs of this. But thele twenty 
 Years paft, the great Reputation it had ac¬ 
 quired among Foreigners is a good deal di- 
 minilhed, becaufe the Italian Tafte of Mufic 
 is now changed. In fhort, at prefent it is all 
 a Whim; Strength is fought inftead of beau¬ 
 tiful Simplicity-, and Harfhnefs and Singu¬ 
 larity is fubftituted inftead of the Exprejjion 
 and Pnith which diftinguifhed the former 
 Manner. The furprizing Capacity of their 
 Singers, it is true, begets Admiration , but 
 moves no Pajfion ; and Judges fay juftly, 
 that it is unreafonable to force a Voice to 
 execute what is too much even for a Violin 
 or a Hautboy. This is the true Reafon why 
 the Italian Mufic falls fo far fhort of Per¬ 
 fection in Expreffion and I ruth, and why it 
 is threatened with total Ruin if it Ihall con¬ 
 tinue to deviate from that Manner which 
 formerly brought it to Perfection. The new 
 Manner however has got fuch Footing in 
 Italy, that even Mafters in the Art are obliged 
 
fhe ITALIAN THEATRE. 79 
 
 in conformity to the general Tafte, contrary 
 to their better Judgment, to deviate from the 
 Simplicity and Greatnefs of the ancient Man¬ 
 ner, both in vocal and inftrumental Perfor¬ 
 mances. 
 
 As to their Muficians, th e Italians, by their 
 Method of manufacturing a Voice, have 
 always a great Number of excellent Singers 
 both with regard to the Finenefs of the Pipe, 
 and their Skill and Tafte in Singing; fuch as 
 Piftocco, Pafqualino,Siface,Mattecucio, Cortona , 
 Luigino, and many others, whofe Memory 
 the Muficians of our Days will fcarcely be able 
 to efface. The Female-Performers have at all 
 times difputed with the Males the Excel¬ 
 lence of Singing. We may inftance, among 
 thefe who have excelled for half the laft Cen¬ 
 tury, Francifca Vainly Santa Stella, Pill a, 
 Margaretta, Salicoli, Reggiana, with many 
 others. But (he who in our Days retained 
 the true Manner of Italian Excellence in 
 Mafic, was the celebrated Cuzzoni every 
 Body knows that in the Year 1724 (he fung 
 with univerfal Applaule a Motet and a 
 Pfalm compofed by Bononcini , in the Chapel 
 of Fontainbleau. She fupported at London, 
 for fix Years, the Glory of the Italian Nation, 
 and was recalled thither in the Year 1734, 
 notwithftanding the Bickerings and Divifions 
 betwixt the Italian Theatres, Her Salary 
 was about fifteen hundred Guineas a Year, 
 
80 tibe ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 as was that of Francis Bernards , known by 
 the Name of Senejino , an excellent Muftcian, 
 who never fuffered himfelf to be carried 
 away by the Tafte for the new Mufic. But 
 what is very extraordinary in Italy , and over 
 all the World, he joined to the Charms of 
 his Voice, the Merit of Action , and the Player 
 was as accomplilhed as the Mufician. 
 
 I ought not here to forget the famous Fau- 
 jlina Bardoni AJfe, whofe Talents and Profits 
 were equal to thofe of Cuzzoni, whom I 
 have mentioned. It was owing to her extra¬ 
 ordinary Capacity and her furprifing Com¬ 
 mand of Voice, that Fauftina was obliged 
 to invent a new manner of Singing. As fhe 
 has been extremely well received all over 
 Europe, many Attempts have been made to 
 imitate her; but her Imitators having neither 
 her Pipe nor her Art, have only fpoil’d their 
 own Manner; and it is owing to this wretched 
 Imitation that a bad Manner both of Singing 
 and Compofition prevails now fo much in 
 Italy , from whence it has been communi- 
 ted to all Europe . 
 
 I have chofen to fpeak of M. Carlo-Brof- 
 chi , firnamed Farionelli , laft of all, both as 
 he is the lateft and youngeft of the celebrated 
 Italian Muficians. He fings in the Manner 
 of Faujlina-, but it is owned by the beft 
 Judges that he infinitely outdoes her, having 
 brought his Art to the laft Degree of Per¬ 
 fection 
 
The ITALIAN THEATRE, 81 
 
 fedtion. In the Year 1734 he was invited 
 to London , where he lung three Winters with 
 univerfal Applaufe. He arrived at Paris in 
 1736; and after he had fung in the moft 
 eminent Families, where he was received and 
 treated with great Diftindtion, the King did 
 him the Honour to hear him perform in the 
 Queen’s Chamber, and applauded him in a 
 Manner that aftonilhed the whole Court, 
 The Admiration he created was lo univerfal, 
 that it is on all Hands agreed Italy never did, 
 and perhaps never will, produce fo complete 
 a Singer. He is now in Spain , and kept by 
 the King and Queen to ling in their Cham¬ 
 ber. That Prince by his Liberality, and the 
 large Appointments he allows him, has com¬ 
 pleted the Good-Fortune of M. Farinelli y 
 who by his great Talents and perfonal Me¬ 
 rits delerves all he enjoys. 
 
 Formerly, the moft able and celebrated 
 Mulicians at Venice received only one hun¬ 
 dred Roman Crowns for performing for the 
 whole Autumn and Carnaval; and if thier 
 Appointments reached to one hundred and 
 twenty Crowns, or fix hundred * French 
 Livres, it was confidered as a Mark of great 
 Diftindtion and a Proof of fuperior Merit. 
 But for thele thirty Years paft, a fine Singer, 
 G either 
 
 * About 2 81. Sterling. 
 
82 *he ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 'either Man or Woman, has always had up¬ 
 wards of one hundred Golden Sequins, which 
 is about 550 /. Sterling. SanSla Stella , 
 Faujlina , Cufzoni and Farinelli , were all 
 paid on this Footing} but thefe prodigious 
 Expences have ruined all the Undertakers of 
 the Opera at Venice , and drained the hea- 
 vieft Purfes in Italy. On this Account, and 
 in order to raife the vail Sums that are paid 
 to their Performers, they have for fome Time 
 pad retrenched their expenfive Machinery. 
 
 Three Livres of Venetian Money gains 
 Admittance into the Flail of the Opera, 
 thirty Sols a Seat in the Pit, and the Boxes 
 are in Proportion. If we compare thefe 
 pool Receivings with the Expences that 
 are ueceffary for fupporting the Magni¬ 
 ficence of thefe Snows, we may eafily ac¬ 
 count for the Lofl'es which the Under¬ 
 takers of the Opera fuftaih ; it being im- 
 podible, that for the four Months, during 
 which thefe Entertainments lad:, the Re¬ 
 ceiving fhould equal the Outgiving} for the 
 Venetian Opera begins at fooneft in the Mid¬ 
 dle of November , and continues only to the 
 lad Day of the Carnaval. 
 
 A? it is experienced all over Europe , and es¬ 
 pecially in Italy , that the bed Performers, and 
 the fined Voices cannot of themfelves pro¬ 
 cure Succefs to an Opera, unlels its Mufic 
 and Drama is good} and that on the con¬ 
 trary. 
 
<The ITALIAN THEATRE. 83 
 
 trary, a good Drama and good Mufic, and 
 very often the laft alone, may fucceed very 
 well, tho’ the Performance is but indif¬ 
 ferent ; therefore at Venice , where this is more 
 fenfibly felt than elfewhere, they follow a 
 Method quite different from the ancient. 
 
 Since the Opera began there, fix hundred 
 and fifty Operas have appeared in lefs than 
 one Century, tho’ they were reprefented only 
 in the Winter. Since the Year 1637, which 
 is the Date of the firfl Appearance of the 
 Opera at Venice , to the Year 1700, we com¬ 
 pute only three hundred and fifty feven, ex- 
 clufive of five or fix, which were readied 
 on account of their great Succefs. It ap¬ 
 peared furprizing, that in the Space of fixty 
 three Years in Venice alone, three hundred 
 and fifty Operas fhould appear, but that 
 My fiery is now folved. The Undertakers, 
 not willing to run the Rifk of Novelty, al- 
 moft every Year readt the Operas which fuc- 
 ceeded in the preceding, nay, they fome- 
 times adl the fame Opera two Nights fuc- 
 ceflively ; a Pradtice which difgufts the 
 Spedlators, and not a little blemifhes the 
 Glory of the Italian Theatre, fo fertile in 
 Novelty. 
 
 Some of the Italian Poets who have wrote 
 in this way, have diftinguifhed themfelves 
 by a noble andchafte Verfification, and others 
 by a poetical and elevated Imagination ; but 
 G 2 the 
 
84 The ITALIAN THEATRE. 
 
 the greateft Part of them do not deferve 
 mention. Formerly, the Opera compre¬ 
 hended all Subjects, but, fince the Machinery 
 has been laid afide, it deak no longer in Fa¬ 
 bles, Divinities, Mufic, Paftoral, and the like, 
 but confines itfelf entirely to Hiftory. 
 
 The old Operas that have come to our 
 Hands, are Proofs of the Italian Genius in 
 treating Hiftorical Subjects. But at prefent, 
 a Barrennefs of Imagination feems to have 
 fucceeded this Fertility; the French Tragedies 
 being commonly pilaged, to furnifh out their 
 Plans, their Scenes, and even their Thoughts. 
 
 All the Inconveniences we have men¬ 
 tioned may foon reduce the Opera into the 
 fame Situation with the Comedy: And we 
 may talk fome time hence of the Italian 
 Opera, in the fame manner as we now do of 
 their Comedy of a cor reft Age , by efteeming 
 the Antients, and defpifing the Moderns. 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 B E LI E V E one might venture 
 to affirm, that the Spaniards were 
 the firft of any People'in Europe 
 who wrote for the Stage, could it 
 not be proved that ever lince the Decay of 
 the Romans the Theatre has been open 
 in Italy without Interruption. It muft in¬ 
 deed be owned that Impoftors and Mounte¬ 
 banks contributed not a little to its Conti¬ 
 nuation j for they were the chief Supports 
 of low Comedy, if one may bellow that 
 Name upon their Buffoonries, which were 
 Productions of a very monftrous Kind, in 
 which the Laws of Dialogue were over¬ 
 look’d, and the Propriety of Language dis¬ 
 regarded. Tho’ thefe Mountebanks after¬ 
 wards added a Lufture and Dignity to their 
 G 3 En- 
 
86 1 the SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 Entertainments, by exhibiting them either 
 in Courts or in the Galleries of Noblemen’s 
 Houtes, yet this is no Reafon why we (hould 
 believe that Comedy was reduced to any 
 Form, either in Italy or any other Part of 
 Europe , before the Eleventh or Twelfth 
 Century. Thefe Entertainments did at beft 
 refemble the extempore Farces which the 
 Italian Comedians adt at this very Day ; and 
 it is even to be thought that their Form and 
 Model were not near fo perfedt and un¬ 
 exceptionable as that of the prefent extern - 
 pore Farce. 
 
 I don’t intend by this to deftroy what I 
 have elfewhere faid; for I am perfwaded 
 that in the thirteenth Century there were 
 Comedies wrote in Italy ; but as they never 
 faw the Public, and were only a died pri¬ 
 vately, we cannot fix their Date with fo 
 much Certainty as we can do that of the 
 Comedy a died extempore. 
 
 The Theatre in Spain begun in a quite 
 different manner: It is true, that neither the 
 Spaniards nor any other Nation boafted of 
 adting extempore ; but they may juftly claim 
 the Honour of renewing and eftablifhing 
 the true Comedy. The Hiftory of Spain 
 furnifhes us with very ancient Accounts of 
 their firft Theatrical Entertainments, which 
 were fmall Farces of one Adt, called Entre - 
 mefes or JornadaSy which is the Name they 
 
 now 
 
The SPANISH THEATRE. 87 
 
 now bear in Spain. Thefe Pieces confifted 
 of very few Scenes, and were performed by 
 very few Adors. The Adion of the Piece 
 turned upon fome Subjed that was ridicu¬ 
 lous and common. All this was wrote 
 down, and being filled with Touches of 
 Wit and Satyre, made a very extravagant 
 Medley, not unlike the Performances of the 
 Latin Mimes, for both their Subjeds were 
 of the fame Nature. Thefe Entremejjes were 
 exhibited and performed in Thoroughfares, 
 and in the moft public Places of the Towns, 
 on occafion of fome facred or profane 
 Feaft, fuch as the Dedication of a Church, 
 the Marriage of a Sovereign Prince, or his 
 Acceflion to the Throne, or fome fuch Oc¬ 
 cafion. The French did not, till a long 
 time after, imitate the Spaniards in this. 
 If we were to judge of this fort of Perfor¬ 
 mances by the modern Entremejjes , which 
 the befl Dramatic Poets in Spain have fur- 
 nifhed us with, we would have Reafon to 
 believe that the firft of thefe were very 
 weak and infignificant Pieces ; for fuch of 
 them as were wrote in the time of Calderon 
 are very wretched Performances, and can 
 pretend to no greater Share of Merit than 
 that of being Farces , in the loweft Senfe of 
 the Word. 
 
 Thefe Diverfions, intended only for the 
 Amufement of the People, were fucceeded 
 G 4 by 
 
88 The SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 by Comedy, which was eftablifhed in the 
 fame manner as it was in Greece. It was 
 exhibited almoft without any Ornaments 
 and Decorations, and in Places not at all 
 fuited to the Feafts that occafioned it. Tho’ 
 the Spanijh Theatres are now under better 
 Regulations, yet they dill keep the old Name 
 of Corrales or Court-yards. But when Peo¬ 
 ple intend to honour them with a nobler 
 and more fplendid Name, they call them 
 Patios or great Courts. The Theatres which 
 are in the Palaces of Princes or great Men 
 are not called Corrales (that being a Name 
 too low for them) but Coti/eos. 
 
 It is evident that the Spaniards have in- 
 fenfibly introduced a better Sort of Comedy 
 inftead of thefe Farces: But it is impoffible 
 to fix the precife Time of this Change, 
 which put their Stage into its prefent Con¬ 
 dition. It is certain, however, that they 
 can juftly boaft of being the firfi: who 
 carried Comedy to that Pitch of Perfec¬ 
 tion, at which we have for fome Time paft 
 obferved it; and they can date this Re- 
 eftablifhment from the middle of the xvth 
 Century, vvhilft the Italians can only date 
 the Commencement of their regular Co¬ 
 medy, from the beginning of the xvith 
 Century; and the French theirs, from about 
 the End of the xvuth, that is to fay, from 
 the Days of Moliere , 
 
 JX 
 
•The SPANISH THEATRE. Sg 
 
 D. Lope de Rueda and Navaro , who were 
 Contemporaries, begun to reduce Comedy 
 to three Adis, which were formerly divided 
 into four : It was ufual with the Peo¬ 
 ple of thofe Days to call what we term 
 Adls t Affios-, and the two Authors, juft now 
 cited, ftile them Jornadas-, which Pradlice 
 has been follow’d by all the Authors who 
 have hitherto had their Performances printed. 
 But I judge it highly neceflary to examine 
 the Conftrudlion and Contrivance of their 
 Play-houfe, by which means we may get 
 fome Light with regard to the Antiquity of 
 their Comedy. 
 
 The Theatres in Spain are eredted in a 
 Form quite peculiar to themfelves: They 
 are almoft fquare, and have three Stories 
 for the Accommodation of the Audience. 
 There are only Boxes in the fir ft of thefe ; 
 and thefe Boxes are not like thofe of France , 
 they being only divided by Rails. The Front 
 Box, and which is immediately above the 
 Door which leads to the Pit and the The¬ 
 atre, is ftiled the City-Box, becaufe it is al¬ 
 ways taken up by (what they call) Regldores, 
 or Lieutenants of the Police. Below this 
 Box, in the reft of the Front, is eredted a 
 kind of Amphitheatre, which jutts out a little 
 into the Pit, and is furnifhed with Seats. 
 They call it Cazuela , and none but Wo¬ 
 men lit in it. Belpw the Cazuela , and on 
 
 the 
 
9 o <the SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 the two Sides of the Door by which they 
 enter into the Pit, are two dark Boxes called 
 AloxeroSy in one of which, an Alcade de Corto 
 (who is a Royal Judge) fits, having all his 
 Retinue before him in a fmall Appartment 
 which is in the Pit. This Magiflrate, how¬ 
 ever, does not always fit here, ’tis only when 
 the Scene is embaraffed by the Decorations; 
 for at the fimple Comedy, which they call de 
 Capay Spada, he fits in a Chair, on one of the 
 Sides of the Theatre, with two or three of 
 his Officers behind him. 
 
 Above the lowed: Boxes on the two Sides 
 of the Hall is a fecond Row confifling of a 
 kind of Boxes, or little Chambers called Ba¬ 
 nes ; in which thofe Perfons who want to be 
 concealed from public View, chufe to fit. 
 On the fame Line, and in all the front Ap- 
 partments, is an empty Space (as large as the 
 Cazuela ) called the < Tertulia y where the 
 Monks, Priefts, and other Perfons, whofe 
 Characters oblige them to a flriCt Obler- 
 vance of the Laws of Decency, fit. On the 
 two Sides of the Pit, are Places allotted for 
 the Men, who fit in the fame Manner as 
 they were wont to do in the antient Amphi¬ 
 theatres. Thefe Places are called Gradas, and 
 the People go up to them by fmall wooden 
 Steps. They are inclofed with a kind of 
 Baluftrade, and joined to two Rows of Seats 
 which are upon the Stage. At the End of 
 
 thefe 
 
The SPANISH THEATRE. 91 
 
 fhefe Steps, is another Place joined to the 
 Theatre and as large as it. It is raifed a little 
 above the Pit, and is called Los Fabouretes , or 
 Media Lunetta, and refembles the Orcheftrum 
 of the Italian and French Theatres. In the 
 Patio , or Pit fronting the Theatre, are Seats 
 joined to the lowed: Steps of the two Am¬ 
 phitheatres we have mentioned. Formerly, 
 the Amphitheatres had no Roof, as they now 
 have, upon that Part of the Pit. So that the 
 Spectators were often expofed to Rain, and 
 to the 1 nclemency of the Air 
 
 This Form of Theatres which in Spain 
 differs fo widely from the other Theatres of 
 Europe , may be a Proof of their Antiquity; 
 for ’tis natural to think, that if the Theatres 
 of Italy had been eredted before thofe of 
 Spain , the Spaniards in the Conftrudtion of 
 theirs would have copied from the Italian 
 Model, as the other Nations of Europe have 
 for the mod: Part done. For Indance, the 
 Form of the Amphitheatres in France , which 
 might, neverthelefs be copied from the Ca- 
 zuela y of the Theatres of Madrid ; as the 
 two Rows of Seats upon the Spanip Stage, 
 may have alfo laid a Foundation for the 
 Six eredted on the French Theatre for the 
 Accommodation of more Spedfators. 
 
 J At prefent they have built at Madrid a very large and 
 magnificent Theatre in the Italian Tafte, except retaining a 
 lew Farts of their ancient Form. 
 
 The 
 
92 The SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 The manner of paying, for feeing a Spanijh 
 Play, is the fame with the Italian. They 
 firft pay for their Entrance into the Hall, 
 Quatro quarteSy which is equivalent to two 
 Sols and a half French Money, and after¬ 
 wards for a Seat, they pay the fame Sum, or 
 a little more, according to the Quality of the 
 Seat. 'Tis ufual likewife in Spain to hire 
 Boxes for a whole Year; but this Practice is 
 chiefly ufed by Ladies of Fortune, who are 
 on fuch Occafions, attended only by their 
 own Relations, or their old Servants. But 
 they now begin to fhake off this Reftaint, 
 and in a great many Points, adt with greater 
 Freedom. If one inclines to take only a 
 Angle Seat in a Box, (which Men only do) 
 he pays for it two Reales de plata t which 
 mount to twenty Sols. The Tabouretes are 
 let at the fame Price, and all the reft in pro¬ 
 portion. 
 
 The Decorations were formerly very in- 
 confiderable, confifting only of a wretched 
 Curtain which concealed the Doors, at which 
 the Adtors came in and went out. This 
 Piece of Decoration is not quite laid afide, 
 but is chiefly ufed in the Comedies, called 
 Capay Efpada. 
 
 The Habits ufed on the Stage were for¬ 
 merly very plain; but Luxury has now 
 reached the Theatre, and the Adlreffes (efpe- 
 cially in the Opera) are drefled in a very fplen- 
 
 did 
 
<The SPANISH THEATRE. 93 
 
 did and magnificent Manner. Their Authors 
 make Choice of their Subjects from Fables, 
 fo as Mufic may bear a great Share of the 
 Entertainment; and then indeed the Deco¬ 
 rations, the Shiftings of the Schenes, the 
 Habits, and all the reft of their Equipage 
 are very fumptuous and magnificent. But 
 when any Piece is aCted in the Salon de 
 PalaciOy in the Colifeo del Ritiro, or in the 
 Houfe of fome Man of Figure or Quality, 
 they endeavour to vie with the Italian 
 Theatre in Grandeur, Pomp, and Magni¬ 
 ficence. 
 
 It would be hard to tell the precife Num¬ 
 ber of Dramatic Poets produced by Spain’, 
 but among thofe of the beft Reputation we 
 may juftly reckon Lopez de Vego , Calderon , 
 Mureto , Solis , Salazar , Molina , and fome 
 others. With regard to the Number of 
 Dramatic Performances, the Spaniards are 
 fuperior to all other Nations; and without 
 exaggerating, one may fay, that there are 
 more Spanijh Comedies than there are of 
 French and Italian , from their firft Date to 
 this very Day. If any one fhould call in 
 Queftion what I fay, he needs only examine, 
 for his Satisfaction, the Works of fome of 
 the Poets of this Nation. 
 
 Don Pedro Calderon de la Barca alone has 
 publilhed nineVolumes of Comedies, and fix 
 Volumes of Autos Sacramentales , every one 
 
 of 
 
94 We SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 of which Volumes contains twelve Pieces* 
 which in all amount to an hundred and 
 eighty ; and it is certain, that he wrote more 
 which have never been printed. Tho* Au- 
 gufline Mureto publiffied only thirty fix 
 Pieces, he certainly wrote a great many more. 
 Fray Gabriel Welles composed a great Num¬ 
 ber of Pieces, tho’ we have only five Vo¬ 
 lumes printed, every one of which contains 
 twelve Comedies. It is plain by the ancient 
 Regifter, or Journals of the Theatres, that 
 Lopes de Vega Carpio wrote more than one 
 thoufand five hundred Pieces, which have all 
 been adted; but now we can only find, and 
 that too with Difficulty, twenty fix Volumes 
 of them, containing three hundred and 
 twelve Comedies. If any one ffiould dis¬ 
 pute his Pieces which have not reached our 
 Hands, yet he cannot controvert the 312 
 which have : This prodigious Number 
 fufficiently {hews that the moft fertile 
 Genius of all the Dramatic Poets, cannot, or 
 ought not to be compared to Lopes de Vega y 
 at lead in Luxuriancy of Fancy, and Fruit- 
 fulnefs of Imagination. 
 
 Don Juan Feres de Montabalan has wrote 
 thirty fix Comedies; and twelve Autos Sa¬ 
 crament ales : And among all the Authors 
 who have wrote for the Theatres, there is 
 fcarcely one who has not been Author of 
 twenty four Pieces, except Antonio de Solis t 
 
the SPANISH THEATRE. 95 
 
 and Don Augujline de Salazar, who (tho’ 
 each of them has only wrote nine Pieces) 
 are juftly efteemed amongft the bed Poets 
 of their Age. We need not be furprized, 
 that the Performances of thefe two Authors 
 are lb few compared with thofe of their 
 Contemporaries, if w 7 e confider that Solis died 
 very young, and Salazar, when he was little 
 more than a Child. ’Tis reported that the 
 former left a Piece unfinifhed, entitled Amor 
 es Arte de Amar , but nobody ever made an 
 Attempt to finifh it. It was upon Occalion 
 of Salazars Death, that Calderon exprefled 
 himfelf thus, Etnferaba far d'Onde el Aca- 
 baba, that is, he excelled all others in thofe 
 Pieces which received the laft Touch from 
 himfelf. 
 
 There are fix hundred Autos Sacramentales 
 printed, belides an infinite Number which 
 never appeared. Thefe Autos Sacramentales 
 are facred Dramas, a<fted at certain Seafons 
 of the Year, but efpecially at Chrijlmas. 
 We have no Reafon to think that they bear 
 any Refemblance to thefe Dramas, which 
 are fo numerous in Italy, and which repre- 
 fent the Myfteries of our Saviours Paffion, 
 or fome remarkable Event in the Lives of 
 the Martyrs or Holy Virgins. No, they are 
 allegorical Performances, which treat indeed 
 of the Myfteries of Religion, but in a very 
 peculiar Manner. Don Pedro Calderon is 
 
 efteemed 
 
96 ?he SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 efteemed the beft of all the Poets in this 
 way, and ’tis univerfally agreed, that he is 
 unrivalled. 
 
 The Form of thefe Dramas is always 
 allegorical, as we have already obferved j and 
 the Memory, the Will, the Underftanding, 
 Life, Judaifm, the Church, Idolatry, Apofta- 
 cy, &c. are introduced as Perfonages. Nay, 
 Don Pedro Calderon has made Perfonages of 
 the five Senfes, but among thefe, there are 
 very often Characters from Life, efpecially of 
 the Comic kind-; as we have already ob¬ 
 ferved, the whole Action of this fort of Dra¬ 
 mas turns upon the greateft Myfteries of Re¬ 
 ligion, efpecially the Eucharift where the 
 Action generally ends. 
 
 The Autos Sacramental des las Plantes of 
 the fame Calderon , appears to me a very An¬ 
 gular Performance in this way : The Bram¬ 
 ble, the Mulberry-tree, the Cedar, the Al¬ 
 mond-tree, the Oak, the Olive-tree, the 
 Spikenard, the Vine, and the Laurel, are the 
 Actors. T wo Angels appear upon the Thea¬ 
 tre ; and adreffing thefe Plants, they tell them 
 that one among them ought to produce a 
 fweet and admirable Fruit: They then in¬ 
 vite them to a divine Combat for a Crown, 
 which one of thefe Angels holds firft in his 
 Hmd, and then hanging up at a Corner of 
 the Theatre, er ws them with the Faculty 
 of Speech, and uen ivin . „ The Trees fpeak. 
 
The SPANISH THEATRE. 97 
 
 and feem to be furprized at their Trans¬ 
 formation. The Cedar appears upon the 
 Stage with a Baton in his Hand in Form 
 of a Crofs: The reft of the Aftors are 
 reprefented as furprized at the Sight of 
 him j none of them having ever feen that 
 Tree before. The Cedar makes a long 
 allegorical Difcourfe upon the Creation of 
 the World, the Formation of Man, and the 
 Production of Animals and Vegetables: He 
 tells them, that as the feveral Species of Ani¬ 
 mals, which inhabited in the Sea, the Air, 
 and the Earth, had their refpeCtive Kings, 
 fo the Trees ought to have theirs. He adds, 
 that he did not, upon account of fuperior 
 Merit, claim this Prerogative; but that he 
 would be Judge which of them has the 
 jufteft Title to it. He then goes off the 
 Stage. 
 
 The Plants which remain upon the 
 Stage are not a little enraged, that a ftrange 
 and unknown Tree fhould arrogate to 
 itfelf the Right of judging in Matters be¬ 
 longing to them : They enumerate the fe¬ 
 veral Properties and Qualities attributed to 
 them by Mankind; and by thele every one 
 pretends to make good his Right, and carry 
 the Point in his own Favour. 
 
 In the next Scene the Cedar propofes to 
 every Plant to give in a kind of Petition, in 
 which his Title fhould be proved which is 
 
 H accord- 
 
98 The SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 accordingly done. Then the Cedar appears 
 holding before him a Crols, the Arms of 
 which are twilled round with the Leaves of 
 Cedar , Cyprefs , and Palms. The Plants are 
 divided into two Factions; fome juftify, and 
 fome condemn the Condudl of the Cedar in 
 appointing himfelf their Judge. The Bram¬ 
 ble is ready to burft with Rage, and alks 
 the Cedar , who he is ? The Cedar refuling 
 to tell him fo much as his Name, the Bram¬ 
 ble is more enraged, and fays, that he alone 
 is able to root out and deftroy a Tree fo 
 infolent, fo tyrannical, and unknown in the 
 Country. He then advances to the Cedar 
 and takes hold of him. The Cedar fcreams 
 out, and complains that he tore his Body: 
 Immediately upon this, Streams of Blood 
 were feen to flow from the Crofs; and all 
 the Plants groan at the difmal Sight. The 
 Cedar faid, he would fprinkle all the Earth 
 with that Blood; to receive which the 
 Spikenard and the Vine came up to the 
 Crofs. The Cedar then obferving their 
 Compaffion and Humility, and holding the 
 Crofs Hill before him, addrefled them in 
 thefe Words: 
 
 Pues Hu mi Ides, pues Piadofos 
 Lo dos recedib mi Cuerpo, 
 
 O mi Sangre , en lo dos Solo 
 Defde oy mi Cuerpo, y mi Sangre 
 Sera divina teforo, &c. 
 
 Which 
 
fbe SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 99 
 
 Which is, Since with Humility and Com¬ 
 panion you both receive my Body and my Blood j 
 in you two alone jhall my Body and Blood re¬ 
 main a divine TreaJ'ure from this Day. The 
 Bramble , feeing himfelf befmeared with the 
 Blood, is filled with Defpair; and obferving 
 that all the Plants fled at the Sight of him, 
 he breaks forth into hideous Lamentations : 
 Then the Crofs appears in the Air, and 
 fome of the Plants defire the Cedar to pro¬ 
 nounce, who deferved the Crown. The Ce¬ 
 dar declares that Humility gave the beft Ti¬ 
 tle to it , and accordingly decreed it to the 
 Spikenard and the Vine. Then the Piece 
 ends. In this manner end all the Autos 
 SacramentaleSy ftill concluding with a 
 Thought relating to the Myftery of the 
 Eucharift. 
 
 Thefe Dramas are ufher’d in by a Prologue 
 which they call Sacramental , and to which 
 they give a particular Title that feems to 
 have no manner of relation to the Myftery 
 of the Sacrament, which neverthelefs is the 
 chief Subject of the Piece. As for Exam¬ 
 ple, Loa Sacramental del Loco , that is, the 
 facramental Prologue of the Fool. At the 
 Beginning of this Prologue the People in the 
 Area cry, fake Care of the Fool who has 
 made his Efcape. Let us run, let us run after 
 him. The Fool afterwards appears, defiring 
 thofe who call’d after him not to make them- 
 H 2 feives 
 
100 The SPANISH THEATRE, 
 
 felves uneafy, fince he is not now the Perfon 
 he formerly was, and telling them that the 
 Pleafure of being Witnefs to the Feaft had 
 made him come forth, &c. Then in lefs than 
 two hundred fmall Verfes he makes an Enu¬ 
 meration of all the Miracles and Myfteries 
 in the Old and New Tejlament. The Cafe is 
 the fame with the Sacramental Prologue of 
 the Peafant; as likewife with that of the 
 Doublemeaners ; the Titles of which promife 
 quite the Reverfe of what is the Defign of 
 the Pieces. 
 
 Befides the known Authors, there are a 
 great many annoymous ones, who in their 
 Title-pages affume no other Name than that 
 of an Ingegnio , Dos ou de tres Ingegnios. A 
 Bookfeller in Madrid has had the Curiofity 
 to make a Collection of all the Theatrical 
 Pieces of annoymous Authors, publifhed un¬ 
 der the Name of Ingegnios ; and tho’ he has 
 not as yet been able to make up a complete 
 Sett, yet he has got four Thoufand eight 
 hundred. If we add to this the immenfe 
 Number of Theatrical Pieces, printed with 
 their Author’s Names, we may eafily difcern 
 that all the Nations in Europe cannot equal 
 the Number of Plays in Spain. I know the 
 Critics will objeCt to me, that a great many 
 of thefe Pieces do conlift but of one In¬ 
 trigue founded upon the Point of Honour, 
 which has occafioned not only a great Re- 
 
 femblancQ 
 
‘The SPANISH THEATRE, ioi 
 
 femblance one to another, but even made 
 Authors tranfcribe their own Works. But 
 we are to confider that this kind of Com po¬ 
 rtion is accommodated and adapted to the 
 prevailing Tafte of the Nation ; that it is 
 natural for an Author to conform himfelf, in 
 Works of this kind, to the Turn and Hu¬ 
 mour of his Country; and that the fame may 
 be faid of the Italians and the French , who 
 for a long time part have only chofe as the 
 Subjects of their Drama, Love-Intrigues, dif¬ 
 fering very little from one another. 
 
 As this is the Cafe, we have no juft Reafon 
 to reproach the Spaniards with having made 
 Point of Honour the chief Subject of their 
 Drama. We ought likewife to own, that 
 it is not the only Subjedt their Dramatic Wri¬ 
 ters have touched upon, fince we may learn 
 from thofe who have imitated them, what 
 a peculiar Turn their Ideas have, and with 
 what Eafe they not only invent their Subjects, 
 btit likewife work up their Fables into a 
 Conformity to the National Tafte; and not- 
 withftanding the great Number of their 
 Comedies, there are very few that in their 
 Plans and Sentiments are borrowed from 
 Writers of other Nations. The Spaniards , 
 on the contrary, have furnifhed Materials for 
 all the Dramatic Poets in Europe. 
 
 From the Beginning of the Italian Co¬ 
 medy, down to the Middle of the feventcenth 
 H 3 Century, 
 
102 The SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 Century, the Italians , both in Tragedy and 
 Comedy, have made the Greeks and Latins 
 their Patterns; but for the two hundred and 
 thirty Years following, their Dramatic Per¬ 
 formances were for the moll Part only 
 Tranflations from Spanijh Originals. The 
 French may be faid to have done the fame. 
 In the Infancy of their Theatre, they begun 
 by imitating the Greeks and Latins , but after¬ 
 wards translated from the Spaniards. Tho’ 
 in the Days of Corneille the French Tragedy 
 appeared with a quite different Face from 
 what it formerly had, yet they even then 
 imitated the Spaniards ; the Cid of Peter 
 Corneille and the Vtncejlaus of Rotrou are 
 Sufficient Proofs of this; and even in our 
 own Time we fee very beautiful Tragedies 
 almoft entirely taken from the Spanijh Lan¬ 
 guage. The Ines de Cajlro of Mr. Houdart 
 de la Motte is a Piece fo exquifite, that it is 
 fufficient to convince us, that the greateft 
 Genius ought not to defpife fo rich a Mine, 
 a Treafure in which fo many beautiful and 
 precious Materials are hoarded up. And Ex¬ 
 perience convinces us, that a Man ofTaffe 
 may thence draw Ideas which not only pleafe, 
 but (trike with uncommon Force, provided 
 he knows how to tell them properly. 
 
 It is not thro’ Ignorance that the Spani¬ 
 ards have neglected to ioWowAriftotle’s Rules. 
 Don Lopez de Vega tells us that Don Lopo 
 
 de 
 
the SPANISH THEATRE. 103 
 
 de Rueda has obferved them with great Seve¬ 
 rity in his Plays; there are alfo feveral other 
 Comedies, and Tragi-Comedies in Spain, 
 which their Poets rehearfe to their Readers, 
 and boaft that they are compofed according 
 to the exadlelt Rules of the Drama. Vega 
 himfelf, in writing of the Dramatic Art, tells 
 us, that if the Spanijh Poets have not fub- 
 jedted themfelves to Rules, it is not fo much 
 to be imputed to their Ignorance, as the Ne- 
 ceflity they are under to pleafe the Tafte of 
 the Nation, particularly the Ladies, who in 
 Spain, as well as in other Countries, fix the 
 State of the Stage and the Language. But 
 notwithstanding this Negligence, Men of 
 Genius, in tranllating the Spanijh Plays into 
 another Language, may eafily reduce them 
 to all the Exadtnefs which is necefiary. This 
 we fee has been done by the two Corneilles, 
 by Mold ere, and many others. Thus we 
 may look upon the Spanijh i heatre as an 
 inexhauftible Fund, from whence all other 
 Nations may be fupplied. 
 
 At Madrid there are at prefent three fa¬ 
 mous Dramatic Writers; viz. Don Felles de 
 Arebo, Don Bernerdo Jofeph de Reynofo y 
 Quijiones, and Don Jfofepb de Canizares. 
 The laft of thefe has the mod fertile Pen, 
 and the greateft Reputation: None of them 
 have yet published any of their Pieces, becaufe 
 it is not ufual to publilh them one after an- 
 H 4 other,! 
 
io 4 the SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 other, as is done in France ; for there they 
 wait until they have a complete Colledtion 
 for the Theatre. If thole Authors alone are 
 as exuberant in their Fancy as their Prede- 
 celfors, they will leave more Pieces to Pofte- 
 rity than all the French Authors their Cotem¬ 
 poraries. 
 
 The Spaniards obferve great Order in 
 their Theatrical Reprefentations: For how¬ 
 ever they may clap or laugh, there is never 
 any Tumult to dilturb the Adtors. Their 
 Applaufes, like thofe of the Ancients and the 
 Modern French , conlift moftly in clapping 
 their Hands. If the Play is ill wrote, or ill 
 adted, they wait to the End before they give 
 their Judgment: If it happens to pleafe, the 
 whole Audience raife a confufed Shout, and 
 demand it again next Night, as is done in 
 Italy , and particularly at Venice: And to 
 prevent Diforder, there is (as I have already 
 obferved) always an Alcaide de Corte prefent 
 with his Guards. 
 
 As the Spanijh Adlors (who always feek 
 after Truth in their Expreffion) faithfully 
 imitate Nature, they are no lefs careful to do 
 io in their Adtion and Gefture, without de¬ 
 parting from that Gravity which is peculiar 
 to their Nation. This I am informed of by 
 the Memoirs which I have received from 
 them on that Subjedt, and which I can affure 
 the Reader, are authentic. Tho’ feveral Spa¬ 
 niards 
 
*The SPANISH THEATRE. 105 
 
 niards aded in Italy in my Time, I muft 
 own that I could never thoroughly under- 
 ftand them: But having one Day met a Spa¬ 
 nijh Player, I alked the Favour of him to re¬ 
 peat Tome Scenes to me ; which he did in a 
 manner that quite furprized me, and affeded 
 me fo ftrongly, that I (hall never forget it. 
 
 My Surprize was dill increafed becaule his 
 Habit was very unfit for one that was going 
 to make a noble Declamation; having no 
 other Drels but a coarfe kind of Cloak, which 
 he had wore in a Pilgrimage to Rome. As I 
 was commending him for his moving Ac¬ 
 tion, he allured me he was but one of the 
 middling Adors of his Country, and named 
 feveral others then living, of whom he gave 
 me a furprizing Charader. Tho’ I am in¬ 
 clined to believe him, yet, left I (hould be 
 deceived, I (hall be determined by thofe who 
 have feen and underftand the Spanijh Drama. 
 
 The Spanijh Farces are more upon the 
 Italian Tafte than thole of any other Na¬ 
 tion. . He that ads the principal Part is called 
 Graciofo, and very much refembles the Drels X 
 and Charader of our Harlequin. It is true 
 that the Graciofo is not very lucky in the 
 Subjeds of his Witticifms; for on every Oc- 
 cafion he fwears by the Saints, of which the 
 Poet affeds to chufe the moft unufual 
 Names, in order to make his Wit more comi¬ 
 cal, if it can be called Wit. They who 
 
 are 
 
io6 <the SPANISH THEATRE. 
 
 are curious to fee more of this, may look 
 into the Spanijh Plays, which are full of it. 
 Indeed I am not furprized, in the main, that 
 the Graciofo fhould fo nearly refemble the 
 Harlequin of the Italian Comedy. I fup- 
 pofe the Spanijh Theatre to be an Age older 
 than that of Italy: This the Spaniards 
 themfelves pretend ; but they cannot trace it 
 back any further. However that may be, 
 it cannot be more ancient than the Italian 
 Extempore Comedy. Harlequin was intro¬ 
 duced foon alter the Decay of the Gentil 
 Comedy, if it be true that it came diredtly 
 from the Gentunculus of the Latins , as I 
 have endeavoured to prove in another * 
 Place. The Spaniards in forming their 
 Theatre followed no other Patterns but thofe 
 of Greece , Italy , or the Extempore Comedy 
 of the Italians , which undoubtedly prevailed 
 during feveral Ages afterward: Thus it is but 
 natural to fuppofe that the Spaniards imitated 
 thofe ; and it is for that Reafon we find fo 
 
 great 
 
 * In my Hiftory of the Italian Theatre printed at Paris 
 1728, Page 5, the Reader may fee that not only the 
 Harlequin is a kind of Remnant of the Latin Mimi , and 
 his Habit almoft the fame, but alfo that fince the Decay of 
 the Gentil Theatre, the Habit and Charader of thofe Latin 
 Mimi in all their Parts have been continued in Italy down to 
 our Times. To prove this we may confult Cicero, Jpulecus, 
 Diamed, VoJJius, &c. 
 
<Tbe SPANISH THEATRE. 107 
 
 great a Refemblance between the Farces of 
 the two Nations. 
 
 The Spanijh Pieces have commonly a 
 kind of Bawds whom they call the Capa y 
 Efpada: Thefe are of the fame kind with 
 the Dame Invifible , or the EJprit Folet of 
 the French Theatre, and with the Maifon a 
 deux fortes , a Comedy ailed extempore on 
 the Italian Theatre, all taken from Calderon. 
 The Spanijh Theatre is full of Pieces of this 
 kind, from whence Authors of all other 
 Nations may draw numberlefs Copies. Thole 
 which are of a more elevated kind, either by 
 the Quality of the Perfons which are intro¬ 
 duced, or the Greatnels of the Plot and the 
 Incidents, may ferve as a Model for Tragi¬ 
 comedy and Tragedy; and in copying after, 
 or imitating thefe, the Italians and French 
 have made no fmall Advantage. 
 
 From all that has been laid we may con¬ 
 clude, that tho’ the SpaniJlj Theatre is delli- 
 tute of Rules, yet if we confider the great 
 Beauty of their Thoughts, and the prodi¬ 
 gious Number and Variety of Dramatic 
 Subjedls peculiar to them, that their Stage 
 has been, and is the great Source of Poetry, 
 and the grand Model for all the Stages in 
 Europe. 
 
 THE 
 
FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 H E Original of the French Thea¬ 
 tre is not fo obfcure as thofe of 
 Italy and Spain ; for the Traces 
 which remain of it afford us a 
 more certain Knowledge of its Rile, than 
 the Spaniards or Italians have been able to 
 preferve of theirs; and feveral French Au¬ 
 thors have fixed thefe Epochas, and handed 
 them down to us. It is true we fomeiimes 
 meet with feme Anachronifms, but they are 
 not of fo great Confequence as to alter the 
 Truth of Fadts; and whatever Difference 
 we may meet with in Point of < Time> or 
 even Faffs, yet we are flill able to account 
 for the true Original State of the French 
 Theatre. Ever fince the Year 1500 we 
 meet with French Authors who have written 
 
 in 
 
The FRENCH THEATRE. 109 
 
 in the Dramatic Way; and the Differtations 
 on that Subject have never been difconti- 
 nued for an Age together. As I own myfelf 
 not very well qualified to give the complete 
 Hiftory of this Theatre, I fhall content my¬ 
 felf with giving the Reader a Hint of what 
 they have copied from the Romans , and for 
 that Purpofe go as far back in my Refearches 
 as I am able. 
 
 After I had ended thisTreatife in 1734, a 
 Hiftory of the French Theatre appeared: 
 And as that new Work obliged me to abridge 
 mine, the Reader I hope will pardon me to 
 take this Opportunity of publifhing my 
 Remarks and Obfervations thereon. 
 
 The Author of that Hiftory pretends that 
 Comedy was re-eftablilhed in France by the 
 *Troubadours about the twelfth Age ; but I 
 don’t know on what he founds his Opinion: 
 All that he fays upon that Head only (hews 
 us the different Changes which Comedies 
 fuffered before it was formed into a Thea¬ 
 trical Reprefentation. All the Works of the 
 ’Troubadours which he mentions, and which 
 indeed don’t deferve the Name of Comedies, 
 only ferved to give the French Nation gradual 
 and more perfect Ideas of it. With regard 
 to its Origin, I believe we may well raife it 
 five hundred Years higher than the Epocha 
 given it by this new Hiftory. 
 
 In fpeaking of the Troubadours } that Au¬ 
 thor 
 
no The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 thor afl'erts that they were the Inventors of 
 Comedies in Provence, and that among them 
 there were fome who were called Comics, 
 whom he would have us believe were Come¬ 
 dians. It would feem that he has mifunder- 
 ftood the Meaning of the Word Comic , 
 which fignifies only a Fool or Buffoon. To 
 prove this I need only tranfcribe that very 
 Paffage of Nojlradamus quoted by that Au¬ 
 thor with regard to Nouez , who died Anno 
 1220. “ That Poet (Cays Nojiradamus) was 
 “ a good Comic , and went about among the 
 “ Houfes of the Nobility finging, dancing, 
 “ and making Geftures; by which, and by 
 “ the other Geftures proper to a true Comic , 
 “ he gained an immenfe Treafure.” This 
 is an exadt Defcription of a Buffoon : And 
 if in thofe Days the Buffoons met with 
 greater Efleem than was due to that Cha¬ 
 racter, it was becaufe they added to it the 
 Merit of making Verfes, which they re- 
 hearfed with fome Degree of Art. 
 
 I believe he is no lefs miftaken when he 
 fays, that in the twelfth Century they had 
 Comedies and Tragedies in Provence, becaufe 
 at that Time they had Pieces of Poetry 
 whichwent under that Name: But how can 
 he give the Name of Comedy to thofe 
 Poems which by his own Confeffion (Page 
 13) refemhled rather Dialogues than Comedies? 
 To which he afterwards adds, that by the 
 
 Motion 
 
r The FRENCH THEATRE, hi 
 
 Motion of the Body and Change of the Voice, 
 Nojlradamus intends to defcribe the Art 
 which Nouez had of reciting his Dialogues 
 alone, fpeaking either with a Man’s or Wo¬ 
 man’s Voice, or fhifting the Place, Gefture, 
 or Air of his Countenance, almoft like Sofa 
 in the Soliloquy of the Play of Amphytrion: 
 Indeed thofe Qualities may be well taken for 
 thofe of a Comic, i. e. a Droll, but not that 
 of a Comedian. 
 
 The trouvers, or troubadours, who com- 
 pofed thofe different kinds of Poems, called 
 them Songs, Sonnets, Sounds, Verfes, Words, 
 Lays, Satyrs , Paf orals. Comedies, See. Now 
 thofe two laft Titles can only belong pro¬ 
 perly to Theatrical Pieces j and it is prefum- 
 able that thefe above-mentioned were only 
 Poems, or rather Dialogues, which (like feme 
 others of that kind) had their Names from 
 their Subject: Thus, for Example, thofe 
 which treated of Shepherds and rural Plea- 
 fures, were called Paftorals; thofe in Verfe 
 full of Comical or Droll Lines, tho’ rehearfed 
 only by one Perfon, were called Comedies. 
 Perhaps thofe Authors called their Poems 
 Comedies for the fame Reafon that Dante 
 gave that Name to his Poem, (Comedy figni- 
 fying Dialogue) tho’ we don’t look upon it as 
 a Dramatic Poem. And even in the Epic, be- 
 caufe the fourth Book of the Mneid is almoft 
 entirely Dramatic, muft we for that Reafon 
 
 call 
 
112 The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 call it a Tragedy? Perhaps the Provencals 
 had no other Reafon to call their Comical 
 Dialogues by the Name of Comedy. 
 
 I think Paff'aroh five Poems ought not to 
 be admitted among the Number of Tragedies: 
 For properly fpeaking, they were no more 
 than a Collection of Tragic Verfes, in which 
 he introduced fome Perfon who rehearfed, 
 declaimed, imprecated, or difcourfed with 
 another, without the Form of Rep refen ta- 
 tion, and only by one Actor, who it is faid 
 varied his Voice and Gefture. The Plans of 
 thole pretended Tragedies mentioned by the 
 Author of the Hiftorv of the Theatres, are 
 rather thofe of Hiftorical Facts, fuch as that 
 of Joan Queen of Naples having four Huf- 
 bands, taken Word for Word from Mezeray 
 and Brantome 5 and it is very probable that 
 Pajfarol compofed his Satyrical Verfes on 
 thofe Facts, and afterwards named them 
 Tragedies, becaufe according to him the Sub¬ 
 jects were tragical; and thus, as I have al¬ 
 ready obferved, all the Provencal Poems took 
 their Names from the Subject, as is the Cut- 
 tom of all other Countries at this Day. 
 
 In order to prove what I have faid, I be¬ 
 lieve I may fafely affirm that no Nation in 
 Europe can fix the Date of their Theatrical 
 Performances with any Certainty. And tho’ 
 St. ‘Thomas Aquinas , who lived in the Begin¬ 
 ning of the twelfth Century, doubted if 
 
 Comedy 
 
The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 IT 3 
 
 Comedy might be aCted without committing 
 Sin, we muft not think that he meant written 
 Comedy; for in his Time, and perhaps for 
 feveral Ages after him. Extempore Comedy 
 prevailed in Italy. The Spaniards indeed pre¬ 
 tend that their Theatre is much older than 
 that of Italy or France ; but I have already 
 fhewn that they have no fure Ground for that 
 AfTertion. In Hiftory I think we ought to 
 bring certain Proof, and not conjecture for 
 what is advanced, left we fhould impofe upon 
 thofe who without duly weighing FaCts, take 
 them upon the Credit of the Hiftorian; now 
 of all the Parts of Literature, we are moil at 
 a Lofs for the Hiftory of Theatres, and con- 
 frequently Authors may more eafily impofe 
 upon the Public on that SubjeCl. 
 
 After all thofe Reflections, it mud be 
 obferved, that from the Eftablifhment of the 
 'Troubadours until the Year 1384, our Au¬ 
 thor brings no Proof that the French had 
 either Theatres or Plays. What he has hi¬ 
 therto called Provencal Comedies, are only the 
 Rehearfals of Songs, or Dialogues, either 
 Comical, Tragical, or Satyrical; and tho’ 
 rehearfed by one Perfon in a Chamber, Court, 
 or any other Place, they cannot be named 
 Comedy, i. e. a Piece defigned for a Theatre. 
 
 The Beginning of the French Theatre 
 cannot therefore be fixed before the Year 
 1398, at which Time the Myftery of the 
 I Pafiion 
 
ii 4 *he FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 Paffion was reprefented at St. Maur. By 
 our Author’s inferring the Order of the Pro- 
 vojl of Paris on that Subjedt, he endeavours 
 to prove that the Reprefentation of the Myf- 
 tery was begun long before the Year 1398, 
 and indeed I am of his Opinion; but I can¬ 
 not agree with him that thofe facred Repre- 
 fentations that ufed to be made by Clergy¬ 
 men or Laics in Church Porches, or even in 
 Churches, can afcertain the Date of the 
 French Theatre, which ought to begin from 
 the Confraternity of the Paflion. 
 
 By a Quotation which cur Author has 
 taken from the eleventh Book of the Hiftory 
 of the City of Paris, Page 523, he fays, that 
 Anno 1313 Philip the fair gave a magnifi¬ 
 cent Feaft, to which he invited the King of 
 England ; and among the other Diverfions, 
 the People reprefented divers Shews , fometimes 
 the Joys of the Blejfed in Heaven, andfometimes 
 the P uni foments of the Damned. The Author 
 fays, that thefe Shews were Reprefentations 
 rec ted by way of Dialogue. This I am 
 willing to believe for once, and am only 
 lorry that there is not one Pattern remaining 
 of thofe Dialogues. In the Reprefentation 
 of Hell what Crying, Howling, and Lamen¬ 
 tation (hould we hear: On the contrary in 
 Paradice we (hould behold nothing but Joy 
 and Adoration. In fine, I mull beg Leave 
 to tell this Author that I differ from him. 
 
The FRENCH THEATRE. 115 
 
 In my Opinion all that was nothing but 
 Reprefentations in Figures, void of Dialogue 
 of any kind. As that Feaft was made only 
 for the Kings of France and England , is it 
 likely that thefe two.great Kings, with their 
 numerous Attendants, would ft^nd an Hour 
 and an Half in the Street to fee thofe Repre¬ 
 fentations? No, certainly ; for I believe they 
 only looked at them as they palled, or at 
 moft, flopped to hear an Angel or Devil 
 rehearfc fome Lines, till they could have a 
 fmall Notion of the Entertainment. Thefe 
 figurative Reprefentations will not appear fo 
 ftrange after reading the following Examples* 
 In the Year 1690 I was in the City of Genoa 
 on Corpus Chrijli Day: There they had feve- 
 ral Theatres eredted in the Corners of the 
 Streets through which the Proceffion of the 
 Holy Sacrament was to pafs. On each of 
 thefe was reprefented in living Figures a 
 Myftery taken from the Old or New Fejla- 
 ment. The moft remarkable of thefe was 
 that which had been eredted without the 
 Gate by the Filhersof the Town : The De¬ 
 coration reprefented the Sea with the Shore 
 at a Diftance: There appeared Jefus Chrift, 
 as he is defcribed by the Evangelifts when 
 he ordered his Apoftles St. Peter t St. John , 
 &c. to throw their Nets into the Sea; and 
 when they anfwered that they had been toil¬ 
 ing all Night to no Purpoie, Chrift com- 
 I z manded 
 
ii6 57 %e FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 manded them to let fall their Nets on the 
 other Side of the Veflel: All this was per¬ 
 formed by Action and Gefture without 
 Speech. The Adtors chofe to delay drawing 
 the Net till the Sacrament was paffing by 
 the Stage ; then they took them up, and 
 found them full of a great Number of the 
 moft delicious and rare Fifties, which had 
 been catcbed feveral Days before, and kept 
 alive in Water for that Purpofe. In the City 
 of Naples, at the Feaft of the Holy Sacra¬ 
 ment, they alfo exhibit Shows of this kind, 
 viz. Our Saviour on the Crofs on Mount 
 Calvary accompanied with the bleffed Vir¬ 
 gin, Mary Magdalen, the other Mary, and 
 all the reft of that Myftery. To do that 
 with the greater Propriety, they make Choice 
 of fuch Women and young Girls as can befl: 
 reprefent the Adtion, and who have Habits 
 proper for the feveral Perfonages. In moft 
 of the Cities of Flanders , on certain Feftivals 
 they have Chariots carrying Stages through 
 the Streets; on fome of them they /have 
 Gardens and Pyramids: On thefe Theatres 
 they have Adtors who perform all in dumb 
 Shew. The Subjedt is commonly taken 
 from the Old or New Feft ament, or allegorical 
 Objedts of Piety. Thefe Feafts they call 
 Carmeffes. 
 
 I was afifured by a Gentleman of that 
 Country, that on Chrijlmas-Day he had leen 
 
 a 
 
the FRENCH THEATRE. ii 7 
 
 a Toilet fet where the Proceffion of the 
 Sacrament was to flop firft: Before it was 
 placed a fine Lady adorned with Jewels and 
 Precious-ftonesj fhe fat adjufting her Drefs, 
 and putting on her Patches until the Hofh 
 refted : After that, fhe rofe up all of a fud- 
 den, pufhed away the Toilet, and kneeled 
 down before the Sacrament. When it was 
 taken up again, fhe followed it, beating her 
 Bread: until the fecond Reft, where fhe alfo 
 fell down upon her Knees with great Com¬ 
 punction, fhewing all the Signs of true Re¬ 
 pentance ; fhe next pulled off all her Jewels 
 and Drefs, and remained in the Habit of a 
 Penitent. In that Condition fhe followed 
 the Proceffion, fetching heavy Sighs and 
 Groans, and fhedding Tears in fuch a man¬ 
 ner as drew them alfo from all thofe who 
 faw her. Is not this one Action followed 
 through all its Forms ? 
 
 In an Electoral City of Germany they 
 commonly ereCt a Theatre in the Cathedral 
 Church on one of the Days of the holy 
 Week, reprefenting the Garden of Olives, 
 where Chrift after returning from Prayer 
 found his Difciples afleep. All this is done 
 by living Perfons: And he that reprefents 
 Chrift, goes three times and awakes the 
 Apoftles, and as often returns to Prayer: In 
 a word, we may there fee a complete I mage 
 of what happened in the Garden of Olives. 
 
 I 3 All 
 
si8 The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 All this Action is performed in Dumb Shew 
 and Pantomime. After thefe Examples, I 
 think I had Reafon to affirm, that the Re- 
 prefentation of Heaven and Hell, which I 
 have mentioned, was but figured Reprefen- 
 tations, and executed in the fame manner 
 with thofe I have been relating. 
 
 If we believe the Author of this Hiftory, 
 the firft Comedies that were added in France 
 were thofe of Provence , and begun Anno 
 1198; if (I fay) we believe him, how is it 
 poffible that 200 Years afterwards, when 
 the Mylleries of the Paffion were firft re- 
 prefented at St. Maur , there fhould be fo 
 much Simplicity and Ignorance in thofe 
 Theatrical Reprefentations ? Indeed it is 
 highly improbable, as I have already obferv- 
 ed, that at the Diftance of two Ages after 
 iheReprefentation of the * Provencal Come¬ 
 dy, the fame Ignorance fhould continue fo 
 long without the leaft Improvement either in 
 Provence or Paris. For furely if it were 
 true that the Troubadours had added Co¬ 
 medy, and PaJJ'arol Tragedy, we fliould not 
 
 have 
 
 * In the Reprefen tation of the Myfleries , the Theatre 
 reprefented Paradice, Hell, Heaven, and Earth all at once; 
 and tho’ the Adtton varied, there was no Change of the 
 Decorations. After an A6tor had performed his Part he 
 did not go off the Stage, but retired to a Corner pf it> ai*4 
 fat there in full View of all the Spe&ators. 
 
7 he FRENCH THEATRE. ii 9 
 
 have been fo much at a Lofs concerning the 
 Origin of the French Theatre. 
 
 I would not however infer from thence 
 that Dramatic Poems began to appear in 
 France only in that Year wherein the Myfte- 
 ries of the Paffion were exhibited at St. 
 Maur-y on the contrary I am perfuaded, that 
 thofe Myfteries, fuch as they were then repre¬ 
 fented, void of all kind of Order or Principle 
 in the Compofition, could not be the firft 
 which were reprefented at Paris. They 
 muft at lead for fome time before have repre¬ 
 fented either facred or prophane Plays in par¬ 
 ticular Places, Crofs-ways, &c. but thofe 
 Actions (if we confider their Nature) can 
 never be fufficient to eftablifh the Epocha of 
 the French Theatre. However that may be, 
 the Myfteries reprefented at St. Maur (I re¬ 
 peat the Aflertion) will be found to be the 
 firft Exhibition of that kind that appeared in 
 France. I know no Author who gives us 
 the leaft Hint of any older Theatre, and 
 every other Method we (hall ufe to afcertain 
 it, muft be vain, ill-founded, and conjectural, 
 
 With regard to the Origin of Comedy in 
 France, I think we may believe their Hifto- 
 rians, who tell us, that feveral Writers eredted 
 Theatres whereon they a died Pieces of their 
 own. We have alfo Authorities which prove, 
 that in the Reign of Charles the Great, the 
 Councils of Mayence, Tours, Rheims and 
 I 4 Chalons , 
 
320 The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 Chalons , prohibited the Clergy from affifting 
 at -f- Farce-Plays, and the King ratified the 
 Order of the Council by an Ediit which 
 was publilhed in the Year 813. Hence we 
 know that the Comedy which had been difi- 
 ufed among the Romans , had been renewed 
 in France and Italy by Strollers and Firce- 
 Plavers, who ailed in the Streets and other 
 public Places. We fee that to thofe Shows 
 which by an Ediit of Charles the Great 
 were declared £ obfcene and infamous, fuc- 
 ceeded the Troubadours, jongleurs , and 
 others wh6 rehearfed, or rather fung Scraps 
 of Hiftory, Gallantry, and Satyr: And after 
 thofe T mibadours had fallen into Contempt, 
 and were even banifhed the Court of || Phi¬ 
 lip Auguftus , they found Means to eftablifh 
 themfelves again in that very Reign, and ob¬ 
 tained Apartments in one particular Street of 
 the City, which from them was called La 
 Rue de Jongleurs, now Menetriers. From 
 that Time they only were paid at Feafts and 
 Aflemblies. But we learn by two Orders of 
 the Provoft of Paris, from the Year 1341 
 to 1395, that they were prohibited from 
 
 fpeaking. 
 
 f The Farce Players were even then held to be infamous 
 Perfons, and none were allowed to bring them before a 
 Court of Juftice. See Marre's Treatife ol Policy, Vol. I* 
 Page 433, fcfa. 
 
 + Hijirionum turpium & obfcenorum infolentias jocarum, See • 
 |i Rigor fc Gejl % Philip. 
 
<The FRENCH THEATRE. 121 
 
 fpeaking, Tinging, or a&ing in public Places, 
 or otherwife, any thing that might give 
 Scandal or Offence. Not content with thofe 
 Reftridiions, they changed their Manner of 
 Adtion, and applied themlelves to exhibit fur- 
 prizing Poftures and dangerous Combats 
 with naked Swords, which gave Occafion to 
 their being called Battaleurs , or Prize-fight¬ 
 ers, a Name they have retained ever fince. 
 
 If the Progrefs of thole Farce-players had 
 not been obftrudted by Orders of the Coun¬ 
 cils, and the Edidts of the King which I 
 have mentioned, perhaps the French had 
 continued to encourage them. We may even 
 venture to fay, that the fupprefljng of thofe 
 Farce-players gave Rife to the Buffoonries 
 of the c Iroubadours ) who afterwards degene¬ 
 rated into Farce-players no lels fcandalous 
 than the firft, and who were alfo fuppreffed 
 under the Reign of Philip the Auguft, as I 
 have before obferved. From thefe two 
 Epochas fo remarkable, it is probable that the 
 firft Farce-players, in the Time of Charle¬ 
 magne , were the Remainder of the Roman 
 Mimiy who adted in the Streets and public 
 Places as they do now in Italy and there is 
 good Reafon to believe that by this Progrefs 
 they would have been led by Degrees to 
 build Theatres, if they had been fuffered to 
 adl without Interruption, as is done in Italy. 
 
 About the Year 1370, in the Reign of 
 
 Charles 
 
122 The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 Charles V, we may eafily obferve the Origin 
 of Tragic Declamation in thofe long Repeti¬ 
 tions of heroic Verfes which were often taken 
 from the Myfteries of Religion, with a kind 
 of Apoftrophe to the Prince to whom they 
 were dedicated, which at times they called 
 the § Royal Song. Hence proceeded thofe 
 myfterious Dialogues which perhaps were 
 adted in particular Places and without any 
 Ornament, and were firft reprefented on a 
 Theatre in the Village of St. Maur, but were 
 prohibited by the Provoft of Paris by an 
 Order dated the 3d of June, whereby he 
 forbids all the Inhabitants , &c. to aSl or repre¬ 
 sent any Play by Per Jons, either the Lives of 
 the Saints or otherwife, without Leave from 
 the King, on Pain of, &c. * 
 
 The Adtors in thofe Reprefentations 
 formed a Part of the Royal Houfhold, and 
 in order to make themfelves more agreeable 
 to the Public, eredted their Society into a 
 Fraternity by the Name of c £he Aclors of our 
 Saviour’s Paffion. Charles VI. went to fee 
 thofe Shows, and was fo well pleafed with 
 them, that he granted the Adtors Letters- 
 paten|t dated the 4th of December 1402, 
 which are printed at length in Mr. De 
 Mar re’ sTreatifeof Policy, Page 437. They 
 
 alfo 
 
 § See Pflfquier, B. 7. of the Memoirs of France . Chape 
 V . * Treatife of Policy by Marre, T. L 
 
Me FRENCH THEATRE. 123 
 
 alfo built the Theatre of the Hofpital of the 
 Holy Trinity, on which, during the Space 
 of almoft one hundred and fifty Years, they 
 aded the Myfteries, or other Pieces of Piety 
 and Morality under the common Title of 
 Moralities. In the Year 1518 Francis I. 
 confirmed all the Privileges of the Fraternity 
 by his Letters-Patents, dated in the Month 
 of January that Year. 
 
 At laft the People, tired with thefe ferious 
 Reprefentations, forced the Fraternity to 
 join prophane and burlefque Farces, which 
 pleafed them fb much that they ran in 
 Crowds to fee them aded. But this Mixture 
 of Morality and Buffoonry difpleafed the 
 better Sort, who began to refled that thofe 
 devout Subjeds, which the Simplicity of 
 diftant Times had brought upon the Stage, 
 were rather a Profanation of the principal 
 Myfteries of Religion than Shews, and that 
 they ought no longer to be tolerated. About 
 that Time an Epidemical Difeafe prevailed 
 in Paris, which obliged the Parliament to 
 augment the Number of Hofpitals, and to 
 order by an Arret , dated the 30th of 
 July 1347, in the Reign of Henry II. that 
 the Houfe of the Trinity (hould from hence¬ 
 forth be only ufed as an Hofpital, which 
 obliged the Fraternity to demolifh their 
 Theatre. But as they were then grown 
 rich, they purchafed the Scite of the Duke 
 
124 *be FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 of Burgundy's old Houfe, and there built a 
 new Theatre. That Eftablilhment was 
 confirmed by an Arret of Parliament dated 
 the 19th of November 1548, which permit¬ 
 ted them to adt, but always on this Condition., 
 (thefe are the Words of the Adt) that they 
 Jhall meddle with none but prophane Subjects, 
 fuch as are lawful and honejl , and not to repre- 
 fent any facred Myfteries. And by confirm¬ 
 ing all their Privileges to them, all others are 
 prohibited to adt in the City or Suburbs, 
 except in the Name, and for Account of the 
 Fraternity, &c. This Privilege was further 
 confirmed by Letters-patent from Henry II. 
 in the Month of November 1559, and of 
 Charles IX, 1563. Thus the Fraternity re¬ 
 mained in peaceable Polfeflion of their Thea¬ 
 tre ; and in order to (hew that they were the 
 foie Proprietors, they had their Coat of Arms 
 cut on Stone ( viz a Scutcheon fupported by 
 two Angels, on which was reprefented a Crofs 
 and other Inftruments of the Paflion) fixed in 
 the Front of the Houfe towards the French 
 Street. This was the ancient Device of the 
 Fraternity, who, now that their new Theatre 
 was finished, and that they were prohibited 
 from adting divine Myfteries or the Lives of 
 the Saints, adted only prophane Pieces. They 
 who are of another Opinion are miftaken: 
 The Stone with the Coat of Arms which 
 I have mentioned, being only an Infcription, 
 
 can 
 
The FRENCH THEATRE. 125 
 
 can never be a fufficient Foundation for their 
 Affertion. All the Meaning of it was to (hew 
 that they were foie Mailers and Proprietors 
 of the Privileges of ailing, or caufing to be 
 ailed either prophane Comedies or Tragedies 
 within the City of Paris: And all the moral 
 Pieces that have been ailed fince, except by 
 the Fraternity, have only been in private 
 Houfes, or upon Scaffolds. 
 
 In Confequence of the Order of Parlia¬ 
 ment in 154S, and the Letters-patents of 
 Henry II. and Charles IX. confirming that 
 Privilege, they continued for a long time to 
 ail upon their new Stage under the Name 
 and Authority of the Fraternity of the PaJ -- 
 Jion . I fay under their Name and their Autho¬ 
 rity : For after the Opening of that Theatre, 
 the Fraternity did not ail all the Plays that 
 were exhibited upon the Stage. They thought 
 it was below the Dignity of their Name to 
 mount the Stage only to ail prophane Come¬ 
 dies, and immediately gave a Leafe of their 
 Houfe and Theatre to a Company of Come¬ 
 dians who were formed into a Body for that 
 Purpofe, referving only two Rooms to them- 
 felves, in which they ailed as long as their 
 Privilege lafled. 
 
 We have neither the Names ©r Charailers 
 of thole Pieces which were ailed at the 
 Opening of this Theatre, and they only 
 quote the ©Id Farce written by Pathelin t 
 
 a<ited 
 
126 The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 adted in the Reign of Henry II. The Rea- 
 fon given by the Writers of this Age for not 
 tranlmitting them to Pofterity, is, that the 
 Pieces were fo worthlefs, and the Authors fo 
 mean, that they were not worth recording. 
 They only mention one M. Jodelle who 
 wrote the firft Tragedy after the Opening of 
 the Burgundian Theatre. 
 
 Here we may obferve that the French have 
 copied the Italians in one Miftake, viz. they 
 have always reckoned Jodelle the firft Tra¬ 
 gic Writer, tho’ he was not; for there were 
 ieveral before him, as The Dejlrudlion of 
 Troy the Great , printed at Lyons in 1485. 
 The Iphegenia of Euripides by T. J. printed 
 in 1550. The Hecuba of Euripides by Bou- 
 cherella , and another by John Antoine Baif 
 one in the Year 1537, the other in 1550 j 
 and the Eleftra, or Revenge of Agamemnon, 
 tranflated literally from Sophocles by Lazarus 
 de Baif, Mafter of the Requefts, and F. 
 Anthony Baif printed in 1537. But as 
 thole Tragedies were only Tranllations 
 from the Greek , and Jodelle wrote two, viz. 
 Cleopatra and Dido , which were neither 
 Tranllations nor Imitations of the Ancients, 
 there is fome Reafon to allow him the firft 
 Place among the Tragic-Writers, and to fix 
 the Epocha of Tragedy from his Works. 
 Perhaps it may be fufpedted that Jodelle 
 imitated the Italian Tragedies of Cleopatra 
 
The FRENCH THEATRE. 127 
 
 and Dido , written and printed long before 
 he wrote, while the Italian Stage flourifhed: 
 But as I examined and compared them 
 together, I can allure the Reader they are 
 very different. Not but that there were 
 many Tranflations from Italian Plays in 
 thofe Days, as we may learn from Du Ver- 
 dier's French Bibliotheque , who in fpeaking 
 of the Comedy of that Time, has the fol¬ 
 lowing Words: “ A very elegant Comedy, 
 “ in which are contained the Loves of 
 “ Erojlratus the Son of Phelogonus of Cata- 
 “ nia, and of Polymnejla, the Daughter of 
 
 Damon , taken from the Italian and put 
 “ into French Rhyme. Printed at Paris by 
 ** Herom Marnefm 1545, the Author un- 
 “ certain.” 
 
 This Paflage of Du Verdier naturally leads 
 us to make one Obfervation which is men¬ 
 tioned by the greateft Part of his Contem¬ 
 poraries, concerning the Eftablifhment of 
 Comedy in France. They pretend that as 
 foon as the Burgundian Theatre was opened, 
 and for feveral Years after, no Plays were 
 adted worthy of Notice: And of all the 
 Pieces that were reprefented in France in 
 thofe Days, they have only mentioned a 
 Farce written by Pathelin , the Eugene of 
 y ode lie y the Taillebras , imitated from the 
 Miles Gloriofus of Plautus , and the Eunuch 
 of Terence by M. Baif in the Year 1567 ; 
 
128 The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 but at the fame time they obferve that all 
 the Plays before theie were only fbrry Farces 
 or Buffoonries. But according to Du Ver - 
 dier , the Tranflation of that Italian Comedy 
 which he commends fo much appeared in 
 1545, and confequently before the Open¬ 
 ing of the Burgundian Theatre, together 
 with the Andrian of Bonaventure de Peri - 
 ers y which appeared in 1537. Thus we 
 may reafonably conclude, that while the 
 Moralities and Myfteries of the Trinity 
 were reprefented upon the Theatre, Trage¬ 
 dies and prophane Comedies were alfo 
 adted at Paris ; and if that was not done 
 publickly and on the Theatre, the Fraternity 
 had obtained that Liberty by the Letters- 
 patent with all other kinds of Reprefen- 
 tation. 
 
 As foon as the Burgundian Theatre was 
 finiffied, the Fraternity of the Paffion let it 
 to fome Players, who (according to the Hif- 
 torian) immediately formed themfelves into 
 a Company. But if at that Time they had 
 no Actors at Paris who had been bred to the 
 Theatre, how could the Company of Come¬ 
 dians be formed immediately ? For tho’ that 
 be none of the moft difficult Profeffions, 
 yet it requires Time and Application to be 
 Mailer of it. We may therefore conclude, 
 that tho’ Comedy was adted in feveral Places 
 of Paris , there were alfo Comical and Tra¬ 
 gical 
 
rhe FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 129 
 
 gical Pieces invented or imitated long before 
 the Eftablifhment of the Burgundian Thea¬ 
 tre. 
 
 Nay, it is certain that the Bazofh, i. e. the 
 Clerks of the Attorneys of Parliament ailed 
 Comedies long before this Eftablifhment: 
 And we have all the Reafon in the World to 
 believe that they ailed in Public on Scaf¬ 
 folds, or elfe on Theatres ereited in private 
 Houfes. By a Petition of Marot , to the King 
 for the Bazocb y we learn that his Majefty 
 fometimes wasprefent at thofe Reprefentations. 
 The Pieces which were ailed by the Bazocb 
 were commonly Satyrical, and Lewis XII. 
 was the Subjeil of fome of thefe. But he laught 
 at them, and told the Fraternity, that if 
 from henceforth they endeavoured to break 
 their Jokes upon any Perfon that belonged 
 to him, he would caufe them all to be 
 hang’d. 
 
 The Fraternity of the Paffion were not 
 therefore the only Theatrical Aitors: And 
 the Mytleries which from their firft Inflitu- 
 tion had been reprefented in Churches, iyi 
 the Flemijh Palace, on Highways, public 
 Places, and crofs Streets of the City, at Feafls, 
 and public Rejoicings, confequently muft 
 have employed feveral Perfons in the Art of 
 Ailing. After this, it is eafy to imagine that 
 the Fraternity would, without much Diffi¬ 
 culty, foon find a Band of Comedians to take 
 K a 
 
130 The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 a Leafe of their Theatre, in order to ad pro¬ 
 fane Pieces. 
 
 From all that has been faid on this Head, 
 I think we may venture to affirm, that the 
 Author of the * Theatrical Library has not 
 fufficiently examined what he has advanced 
 on this Subjed. In his Remark, under the 
 Letter A, on the Andrian , he fays, “ It was 
 * c the firft: Tranfiation from Terence , that had 
 * c appeared upon th q French Theatre, becaufe 
 “ the Eunuch, which was tranflated by M. 
 i: Baif in the Reign of Charles IX, was not 
 ** aded, there being then no Comedians at 
 “ Paris” This he repeats again under the 
 Article of the Eunuch, without remember¬ 
 ing that in the Catalogue of Additions and 
 Corredions at the End of the Book, he fays, 
 “ That to the Andrian we mud add the 
 “ Bonaventure of M. Periers , Anno 1537.” 
 Therefore the Andrian which appeared in 
 1704, was not the fird French Tranfiation 
 from Terence. The fame may alfo be faid of 
 the Eunuch tranflated by Baif abo.t the 
 Year 1560. 
 
 Charles IX. who began his Reign about 
 that Time, found the Burgundian Theatre 
 fettled and furniflied with a Company of 
 Comedians; for it was opened Amo >548 
 or 49, the 2d of the Reign of Henry II. 
 There mud therefore be fome other Reafon 
 which hindered the Eunuch of M> Baif 
 
 * Printed at Far is, Anno 1733. from 
 
<Ihe FRENCH THEATRE. 131 
 
 from being reprefented ; and the moft proba¬ 
 ble one is, that when the Myfteries were 
 reprefented upon the Theatre of the Trinity, 
 and before Plays were acted at the Palace of 
 Burgundy , they played Tranflations from the 
 Clqflics upon private Stages only; for it is agreed 
 that the French Stage was then very lame and 
 poor, tho’ afterwards it came to make a con- 
 fiderable Figure. A celebrated Italian Writer 
 tells us a Story of the French Theatre, which 
 is not to be met with in any other Author: 
 I mean Girolamo Rufcelli , who in his Col¬ 
 lection of the beft Italian Plays, printed in 
 1 554 with Notes at the End, fpeaking of 
 CaJJandra , a Comedy written by Bibiena , 
 fays, “ That in his Time they had a kind 
 “ of dumb Farces in France , in which the 
 “ ACtors, without fpeaking one Word, 
 “ were furprizingly underftood by their 
 <c Geftures.” He adds, “ that the Action 
 “ was fo agreeable, and fo taking with the 
 “ Spectators, that he was much pleafed with 
 “ it. I am furprized (fays he) that this 
 * c Method has never been brought into 
 
 Italy.” 
 
 So candid a Relation from a Strangerj 
 who tells us he faw thole Farces, is of un- 
 queftionable Authority; and I know not 
 why no French Writer (at leaft that I have 
 ever feen) has thought fit to give us the leaft 
 Information concerning thefe Farces. From 
 K 2 the 
 
ija the FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 the Defcription of Rufcelli, thefe Pantomimes 
 muft have been an excellent Show, and 
 a true Imitation of the Mimes of the Anci¬ 
 ents. Admitting this Fait as certain, how 
 comes it to pafs that an Art, in which none 
 of the Moderns have made any great Pro- 
 grefs, yet was perfectly well known in France 
 in thofe Days, lhould be fo much loft as that 
 the fmalleft Traces of it are not remaining? 
 We muft not imagine that the Farces, which 
 about twenty four Years ago were ailed at 
 Paris by Labels, are of that kind : For as I 
 have been twenty Years in France , and have 
 once feen a Farce performed by Labels, I am 
 thereby enabled to judge of the Difference. 
 
 Thefe Farces which were aited with 
 Labels are a very pretty Invention of their 
 kind: Every one knows that the Aitors 
 appear upon the Stage without fpeaking: 
 That as foon as they appear, the Labels fall 
 down fucceflively from the Ceiling upon 
 their Heads thefe are filled with Couplets of 
 Songs written in large Characters, the Tunes 
 of which are played by Mufic, and the 
 Words read and fung by the Pit. The Ac¬ 
 tors, during that Time, are making Geftures 
 agreeable to the Meaning of the Words, but 
 in thofe there is very little Diverfion or Plea- 
 fure: All the Pleafure confifts in the odd 
 Cuftom of making the Dialogues of the Ac¬ 
 tors to be fung by the Spectators. That is 
 
 indeed 
 
The FRENCH THEATRE. 133 
 
 indeed quite a modern Invention, and yet 
 was not the Effect of Choice, but Ncceffity. 
 As the King's Company of Comedians and 
 the Opera were poffefled of very extenfive 
 Privileges, they would not allow the Com¬ 
 panies of the two Fairs of St. Lawrence and 
 St. German to adt either by Singing or Speak¬ 
 ing. Thefe Strollers invented the Labels in 
 order to keep up their Theatre, and at firft 
 drew up a great Number of People to be 
 Spectators, which was a great Lots to the 
 privileged Theatres. There is therefore no 
 Reafon to believe that thofe Farces which 
 were acted with Labels, were taken from the 
 dumb Farces above-mentioned, much lets 
 that they were any thing like the pantomime 
 Dances that were in Ufe in England and 
 France about twelve Years ago; for RuJ'celli 
 informs us, that thefe Farces pafied in dumb 
 Shew; and if this Adtion had been carried 
 on by the Affiftance of Dancing and Mulic, 
 (which bear fome Analogy to Language) our 
 Italian Author would not have negledted to 
 acquaint us with this Circumftance, which I 
 believe he himfelf would not have been fo 
 much furprized at. And ’tis ftranger hill, dur¬ 
 ing an hundred and fifty Years there was 
 nothing preferved in Paris which could fo 
 much as furnilh us with the fainteft Ideas of 
 thefe Pantomimes mentioned by Rufcelli. 
 
 Thefe Shows, which were exhibited at 
 K 3 Paris 
 
134 7 ^ FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 Paris even about the Middle of the fixteenth 
 Century, would induce me to think that they 
 were the Remains of the before-mentioned 
 Reprefentations of the Pains of the Damned, 
 and the Glory of the Bleffed , exhibited in the 
 Year 1313 under the Reign of Philip the 
 Beautiful, and which I have aflerted were 
 not wrought up into Dialogue, but only 
 reprefented in dumb Shew. Two Ages after 
 they were exhibited at Paris ; and becaufe 
 Time gradually perfects every thing of this 
 Nature, they were perhaps in the Year 1550 
 arrived at that Degree of Perfection men¬ 
 tioned by Rufcelli. I muft again exprefs my 
 Surprize that this Art fhould be loft, and the 
 very Traces of it undifcoverable in France. 
 
 It is indeed aftonifliing that the French 
 Theatre fhould have remained fo wretchedly 
 bad (as we find it to be, not only by its 
 printed Production, but by the Accounts of 
 fo many Authors) till the Year 1650, and 
 even in the Time of Corneille. They who 
 have (poke of this make no other Apology for 
 it than the Ignorance of the Times when it 
 was in its Infancy ; for fo they chufe to call 
 its firft Beginnings. But did not this Infancy 
 laft too long? Sure it did; for an hundred 
 Years paflea between the Opening of the 
 Theatre of Bourgogne and the Days of Cor¬ 
 neille and Moliere , the former born in 1606, 
 and the latter in 162Had not their Au- 
 ' thors 
 
The FRENCH THEATRE. 135 
 
 thors (during that Age of pretended Igno¬ 
 rance) the Aids of the Italian Theatre, 
 which at that Time flourifhed ? The Pieces 
 which had been a<fted on the Stage of Italy 
 were not then unknown in France ; for many 
 of them were tranflated into that Language. 
 
 Here I fhall only mention the Titles of 
 thefe Pieces, the Times in which they were 
 printed, and the Names of fome of thofe 
 tranflating Authors. “ JoJias , a Tragedy 
 <c tranflated from the Italian of MejJ'er Pi- 
 <c lone into French Verfe, by Louis des Mazu- 
 “ res de Tournay , in 8vo. in the Year 1556. 
 “ The Sophonijba of Claude Mermet , tran- 
 “ flated from TriJJimo in 1584. The Cartha- 
 “ ginian of Montchretien , of which the 
 <f Machinery and Scenes are the fame with 
 “ thofe of Triffmo in 1619. The Two Pro- 
 “ Jlitutes of Hierome d’ AvoJl de la Val tran- 
 “ flated from Domenichi. The Counterfeits , 
 “ a Comedy tranflated from the Ariojlo in 
 <c 1552. The Necromancer , a Comedy 
 “ tranflated from the Ariojlo in Profe, by the 
 “ Sieur de la Taile de Bondaroy in 1568. 
 <c The Emilia of Lewis Groto, the blind Man 
 * c of Hadria , in 1608. The Bravadoes of 
 “ Captain Spavante by Francis Afidreini, a 
 ct Comedy tranflated by John de Fonteney in 
 “ 1608. Solyman , Emperor, of the Turks , 
 <c a Tragedy tranflated from Bonorelli by 
 ‘‘ D' Alibras in 1637.” Thefe Tranfla- 
 K 4 tions 
 
j 3 6 The FRENCH THEATRE, 
 
 tions were made by thofe who were either 
 fenfible of a Barrennefs of Genius for Inven¬ 
 tion, or were unwilling to put themfelves to 
 that Trouble. 
 
 All thefe Tranflations from the Italian 
 were brought into France either by Chance, 
 or by the Caprice of fome Writers; for the 
 Source of the French Imitation was Spain, 
 which for a Century pall has been the foie 
 Model for their Theatre. Corneille and Mo- 
 liere have in the Spanijh Drama found excel¬ 
 lent Ideas for Tragedy and Comedy} and 
 even the Authors of the prefent Age do now, 
 and always may find the fame, fince (as I 
 have ellewhere obferved) the Spanijh Theatre 
 is an unexhauftible Source for the Drama. 
 But the Spanijh Theatre, notwithftanding 
 the Abundance of its Subjects, and the Vari¬ 
 ety of its Intrigues, did not at firft contribute 
 to the Eftablilhment of a good Tafte on the 
 French Theatre, and it was neceflary that fu- 
 perior Geniufes fhould point out the Ufe that 
 was to be made of thefe Subjedls and Im- 
 trigues. 
 
 At the Time when Peter Corneille diftin- 
 guifhed himfelf above all his Cotemporaries, 
 by treading (if I may fo fpeak) in the right 
 Path, the Cid, the Horace , the Cinna , and 
 all the other Tragedies of that great Man 
 did not all of a fudden correct the reigning 
 Tafte of the Theatre, but by degrees opened 
 
the FRENCH THEATRE. 137 
 
 the Eyes of the Spetfators, who at length 
 came to the Knowledge of true Beauty in 
 Dramatic Performances. 
 
 This however did not hinder the Drama¬ 
 tic Poets from going dill on in their old 
 Road; andfome Tragedies in the Year 1660 
 were fo defedtive and repugnant to good 
 Senfe, that one could never believe them to 
 have been wrote in the Days of Corneille. 
 The Example of Rotrou, a Tragic Poet, is 
 not only worthy of Admiration, but ought 
 to be a Direction to thofe whom Genius 
 prompts to write for the Stage. After he 
 had wrote one and thirty Pieces, all compoled 
 in the Spanijh Tafte, the Applaufes with 
 which the Cid of Peter Corneille was re¬ 
 ceived made him change his Method, and he 
 wrote Vincejlas , a Piece indeed drawn from 
 the Spanijh , but wrought up in a manner 
 quite different from thofe he had formerly 
 wrote upon foreign Models. His Ccfrces 
 which afterwards appeared, does not deviate 
 from the new Path into which he had ftruck; 
 and here we may obferve that a great many 
 are deceived, when they afcribe to Vincejlas 
 the Change of Corneille's Manner. Racit.e , 
 who found the Road paved to him, did not 
 fcruple to tread it; and one may fay that, 
 without imitating his Predeceffor, he has 
 eftablilhed the Model of good Tragedy in 
 France. Thefe two Authors have no longer 
 
 left 
 
138 Tie FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 left the Dramatic Poets in doubt of the 
 beft Manner of Writing, and all of them 
 have fince endeavoured to imitate the fu- 
 blime of Corneille , or the natural and eafy 
 Manner of Racine. 
 
 As for Comedy, it, as well as Tragedy, 
 Rood in need of Alterations and Amend¬ 
 ments in order to bring it to Perfection; it 
 did not find the Genius of the two Corneilles 
 thoroughly adapted to its proper Character, 
 tho’ by their Means it had appeared under a 
 Form lefs defpicable, and more decent than 
 it had under their Predecefifors. But to per¬ 
 fect Comedy, a Moliere was ftill wanting, 
 who, deftined to be the Reftorer of the Thea¬ 
 tre and of the true Comic Tafte, appeared 
 at Paris in the Year 1658. He was fir ft 
 taken Notice of on Account of his two Co¬ 
 medies entitled L’ Etourdi and Le Depit 
 Amoreux , which were the firft Eflays of 
 his Mufe while he was in the Country. A 
 Year after, he publilhed his Precieufes Ridicu¬ 
 les , which was foon followed by his Cocu 
 lmaginaire and his Ectle des Maris. Thefe 
 Pieces, which bore no Refemblance to any 
 Works either of the Ancients, or of the 
 Moderns, juftly got him the Reputation of 
 an excellent Comic-Poet, which he has ever 
 fince kept, and to which I can add nothing 
 by here repeating the Sentiments of Efteem 
 and Admiration, which through the whole 
 
<the FRENCH THEATRE. 139 
 
 of my Writings I have teftified for that great 
 Man} and I think it my Duty to confefs, 
 that during my five and forty Years Practice 
 on the Stage, I have ftudied this Author, and 
 never failed, upon every Review of his Ex¬ 
 cellence, to find fome new Beauty, which 
 till then had efcaped me. 
 
 As to the Dramatic Works and Authors 
 appearing in France from the Year 1450 till 
 1500, we have only an Account of three of 
 them, the Subjects of which are the Myfte- 
 ries of Religion: The Pieces of this kind 
 which now remain, have been confounded 
 with the Impreffions made fince 1500. 
 From the Year 1500 till the Year 1600, we 
 may count eighty three Authors, and a hun¬ 
 dred and forty feven Pieces of a Comical, a 
 Tragical, a Farcical, or a Moral Nature. 
 From that Period to the Year 1700 we find 
 two hundred and feventy eight Authors for 
 the Stage, and eleven hundred and eighty 
 eight Dramatical Performances of all kinds: 
 Tho’ that Age appears fo fertile of thele Pro¬ 
 ductions, yet it is but mere Show; for three 
 Fourths of them are defective, and almofl 
 unknown to the World; and we may even 
 add that moft Authors who preceded Cor¬ 
 neille, Racine, and Moliere, and even fome of 
 their Cotemporaries, wrote upon that Model 
 which prevailed in the Infancy of the French 
 Theatre. From the Year 1700 to this 
 
 Time 
 
i 4 o <the FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 Time -f* we have had feventy Authors and 
 three hundred and fifty Plays, including 
 thofe under the Name of the Comical Opera. 
 It appears therefore from this Detail, that 
 from the Year 1450 to 1730, or thereabouts, 
 the French have had four hundred and thirty 
 one Authors, who were Fathers of one thou- 
 fand fix hundred and fifty five Dramatical 
 Productions, including the Operas of the 
 Academy of Mufic, which we (hall mention 
 afterwards. 
 
 Tho’ the Italians in an hundred and fifty 
 Years produced twice as many Dramatical 
 Performances as the French did in two hun¬ 
 dred and eighty Years, yet we are not on 
 that Account to give the Preference to Italy. 
 The greateft Dramatic Excellence of the 
 Italians during that Period, falls (hort of 
 what France can (hew in feventy Years. 
 All the Nations in Europe ought to yeild this 
 to % France, fince their Productions, however 
 numerous, are miferably defective and lame. 
 The French Theatre, by a Succeffion of ex¬ 
 cellent Works, is a Proof of the Character 
 and Genius of her Dramatic Poets, who for 
 
 the 
 
 Viz. 173 j. 
 
 J The Author, by not being acquainted with the Engltjb 
 Stage, has here been very partial to France ; for it is certain 
 England has produced a greater Number of beautiful Trage¬ 
 dies and Comedies than any Nation, and perhaps fewer faulty 
 ones. 
 
<fbe FRENCH THEATRE. 141 
 
 the laft: hundred Years have compofed in a 
 right Manner. 
 
 Above all, vve may remark how much the 
 French Drama has improved in Truth, in 
 Tafte, and in Wit within thefe forty or fifty 
 Years j and I can almoft venture to affirm, 
 that many of the Theatrical. Pieces which 
 were not aded in France within that Time, 
 would have fucceeded in any other Country 
 and have been Stock-plays. As a Proof of 
 this, amongft all that vaft Number of French 
 Tragedies tranllated into Italian , and aded 
 with Succefs in Italy, a great many of them 
 were never played above once or twice at 
 Paris. 
 
 There is a ftrong Probability that in the 
 Infancy of their Stage, and even towards the 
 Middle of the laft Century, the Adors both 
 in Comedy and Tragedy were generally maf- 
 qued. This I can prove by a Remark of a 
 French Author, who favs, in fpeaking of 
 Hugues Guerru, furnamed Flechelles , and 
 Gautier Garguille: “ Phis Man who was fo 
 “ diverting in Farces, J'ometimes adled the 
 “ King very well in ferious Pieces, and even. 
 “ hit his Gravity and Majejly with the help 
 “ of a Mafque and a blight-gown, which 
 “ concealed his Legs and thin Make .” 
 
 In France they highly commend four Co¬ 
 medians, or rather Players of Farces, who, 
 before the Year 1600, rofe from Booths into 
 
 the 
 
i 4 2 The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 the Theatre of Burgundy, where they adted 
 with Applaufe. Their Names were Turin* 
 pin, Gautier Garguille, Big William, and 
 Guillot Gorgu: Thefe were all mafqued ex¬ 
 cept Big William, who inftead of a Mafque 
 bedaubed his Face with Flower, and had an 
 Art, by the Motion of his Lips, to make it 
 fly upon the Adtor who played along with 
 him. All that is told of thofe excellent 
 Farce-players, proves only that they were 
 Strollers fo low, and fo childifh in their Pro- 
 feffion, that their Reputation was entirely 
 owing to the Ignorance of their Age. But if 
 Authors, from the Comedies of Moliere , have 
 learned what Truth and Excellence is, the 
 Players, who fince the Death of that great 
 Man have adted his Works, know how to 
 afford Diverfion to People of Senfe and Qua¬ 
 lity. 
 
 At prefent no mafqued Adtors appear on 
 the French Stage; they don’t fo much as 
 wear falfe Beards, except when it is abfolutely 
 neceflary in playing the Part of an old Man; 
 nor does any peculiar Habit prevail in Co¬ 
 medy, except that of Crifpin, which is not 
 very old; The Footmen wear Livery, and 
 the Aged are cloathed agreeably to their 
 Years and Charadter: They are forced indeed 
 to preferve the Habits peculiar to the Cha- 
 radters of Moliere in the fame Fafhion they 
 were in his Time; and when they make 
 
 any 
 
1 The FRENCH THEATRE. 143 
 
 any Alteration in this refped, the A dors 
 make a like Alteration in the Verfes that 
 allude to the Drefs, or leave them entirely 
 out. 
 
 The Adors who play Tragedy furnifh 
 their Theatrical Habits out of their own 
 Pockets. Thefe Habits which are com¬ 
 monly in the Greek or the Roman Fafhion, 
 are very expenfive, being all finely embroi¬ 
 dered with Gold and Silver: Thofe of the 
 Women efpecially,coft vaft Sums. The Players 
 of Comedy are obliged to do the fame, but 
 the Expences among them are very une¬ 
 qual. The Footmen, the Bawds, and the 
 old Men have DrefTes agreeable to their 
 Charaders, and which are not very expenfive. 
 But it is different with thofe Players who ad 
 the Parts of Lovers, and reprefent diftin- 
 guifhed Charaders in Comedy; thefe are 
 often obliged to have new Drefles, commonly 
 very magnificent and fafhionable j nay, thefe 
 Adors often invent new Fafhions of their 
 own, which are foon followed by the Town. 
 The Andrians , and many other DrefTes 
 arofe from the Stage. There are fome Ha¬ 
 bits defigned for particular Characters or 
 Difguifes, which being very extraordinary, 
 are paid out of the Purfe-ftock, efpecially 
 when there are fome Diverfions extraordinary 
 in the Entertainment. 
 
 In France the Spedators (I moan thofe in 
 
 the 
 
144 The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 rhe Pit) have always behaved in a turbulent 
 Manner. We fee by a Regulation of the 
 Civil Magiftrate, made on the 5th of Fe¬ 
 bruary 1596, That every Perfon is prohibited 
 from doing any Violence in the Play-houJ'e of 
 Burgundy during the Time any Piece is per¬ 
 formings as like wife from throwing Stones t 
 Dufts or any other thing which may put the 
 Audience into an Uproaror create any Fu- 
 mults &c. 
 
 Lewis XIV. refolved to eftablilh Decency 
 and Tranquillity in public Shews: For this 
 effect (befides the old Guard kept by the 
 Crown) he ordered every Perfon who dis¬ 
 turbed the Shew, either by whittling, or mak¬ 
 ing any other Noife, to be kept in Prifon for 
 a Year and a Day. This Law is ftill in be¬ 
 ing, and is now and then reinforced by the 
 Lieutenant of the Police. 
 
 The Theatres of France are built almoft 
 in the fame Form with thofe of Italy , which 
 were the Models of all the reft in Furopes ex¬ 
 cept that beyond the Pit, there is a Place a 
 little elevated, called the Amphitheatre. 
 This Amphitheatre has Seats, and is funk a 
 little lower than the firft Row of Boxes, that 
 all the Spectators may have the fame free and 
 open View of the Stage. There is alfo at 
 the Foot of the Theatre a kind of Area, cal¬ 
 led the Orcheftrum, which was formerly 
 deligned for the Mufic, but by contracting 
 
 their 
 
<Ihe FRENCH THEATRE. 145 
 
 their Accommodation, the Spectators may now 
 have Seats there. The Entry to it is below 
 the Theatre, and it accommodates about forty 
 or fifty Perfons, who pay the fame Price with 
 the Stage ; and when the Houfe is thronged, 
 the Women fit in it on little Seats without 
 Backs, juft as they do on the Amphitheatre. 
 The Theatres here are very fmall, having 
 only three Ranges of Boxes. There are not 
 here (as in Italy) five or fix Rows of Boxes; 
 and the largeft Pit in France contains no 
 more than five or fix hundred Perfons (land¬ 
 ing, and very much crowded. 
 
 This Cuftom of (landing in the Pit is not 
 very ancient in Franee , for it is evident that 
 the Spectators had formerly Seats in it, as 
 may be feen by a Book wrote by M. M. D. 
 P. printed at Paris in 1668, entitled Ideas 
 of the new Shews. In this Piece fome Ad¬ 
 vices are given with regard to certain Ufages 
 that needed Reformation; and in fpeaking 
 of the Time immediately before a Play, the 
 Author advifes (in favour of the Citizens, and 
 efpecially the Ladies) to have fome regard to 
 their own Conveniency, and to take their Seats 
 in the Pit y which would be a fure and ea(y 
 Expedient for preventing Tumult and Difor- 
 der, fir.ce People (land a far better Chance of 
 being diftinguifhed when they fit than when 
 they (land in a Crowd. This Cuftom has 
 been followed in the Theatres lately ereCled 
 L in 
 
146 the FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 in the Fares of St. Germain and St. Laurence, 
 where both Women and Men have Seats; 
 only that in thefe two Theatres they are fo 
 modeft as to call that the Parquet which in 
 othr Theatres is called the Pit. 
 
 As for the Hour of drawing the Curtain it 
 has not always been the fame; for on the 
 12th of November 1609, the Civil Magi- 
 ftrate, with the Advice of the King’s Procu¬ 
 rator, made a Regulation, by which ibe Come¬ 
 dians were ordered (from .SY.Martin’j Day 
 till the 1 $th of February,) to open their Doors 
 at one 6 Clock , to begin the Entertainment with 
 fuch Perfons as jhould be prefent at Two in 
 the Afternoon , and to put an End to it at half 
 an Hour after Four at moft*. But it appears 
 by the Book above cited, that this Regulation 
 was not obferved in 1668; for the Author 
 advifes the Comedians, for their own Advan¬ 
 tage, to open their Doors in Winter half an 
 Hour after Three, and in Summer half an 
 Hour after Four, from which we may con¬ 
 clude that the Entertainments of his Days 
 did not begin till fix o’clock. The fame 
 Author complains of the Cuftom the Specta¬ 
 tors had of placing themfelves on the Thea¬ 
 tre, which by the bye ftill continues; and 
 tho’ it be vaftly prejudicial to Action, in 
 France they take no Exception at it, fo much 
 is it the Cuftom. 
 
 As to the Admittance-Money, the Regu- 
 
 * La Mart's Treatife of Policy. lation 
 
the FRENCH THEATRE. 147 
 
 lation of the Civil Magiftrate in 1609, of 
 which we have already fpoke, (in order to 
 prevent the Comedians augmenting it at their 
 Pleafure) fixes it in thefe Terms: Comedians 
 are hereby prohibited from taking more than 
 Jive for the Pit, and ten Sols for the Boxes and 
 Galleries, &c. But this Price was augmented 
 in proportion as Money rofe in its Value. 
 Under the Reign of Lewis XIV. the firft 
 Boxes on the Theatre and the Orcheftrum 
 could not be had under three Livres. The 
 fecond Boxes and the Amphitheatre not un¬ 
 der thirty Sols. The Pit not under fifteen 
 Sols; and the third Row of Boxes not un¬ 
 der twenty. For about thirty Years under 
 the fame Reign, the Entrance-Money for 
 Plays was raifed a fourth for the Benefit of 
 Hofpitals; fo that at prefent the Places in the 
 firft Boxes of the Stage, the Amphitheatre, 
 and the Orcheftrum coft four Livres: The 
 Amphitheatre within thefe few Years is the 
 fame Price with the Stage, becaufe in reality 
 it contains the beft Seats in the Houfe. The 
 fecond Row of Boxes coft forty Sols; the 
 third thirty, and the Pit twenty. 
 
 The Play-houfe has two Street-doors, one 
 leading to the Pit only, the other to all the 
 other Divifions of the Houfe. On one 
 Side of thefe Entrances there is a Place with 
 Bars, thro’ which the Spectator receives a 
 Ticket that introduces him either to the Pit 
 L 2 or 
 
i 4 § The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 or the other Places, and the Ticket is com¬ 
 monly marked with the Name of the Seat 
 that is paid for. The Receiver of this, upon 
 delivering it at the Inner-Door of the Play- 
 houfe, gets another there, marked Counter - 
 marque, with the Name of the Place he is 
 entitled to. Thefe Tickets are again deli¬ 
 vered to the People who are placed to open 
 the Boxes, to fee the Company leated in 
 them, and then to fhut them up as foon as 
 they contain eight Perfons, that is, four upon 
 the fore, and four upon the back Seat. Thus 
 eight may be in one Box, Men and Women, 
 and none of them know one another. But 
 the Truth is, that fometimes it is very 
 troublefome Sitting there on account of the 
 Lady’s Hoops; therefore to avoid the Incon- 
 veniency, the Ladies commonly fend in the 
 Morning, or the Night before, to befpeak a 
 Box for themfelves. Each firft Box is equi¬ 
 valent to eight Places, and amounts to thirty 
 two Livres, and they who hire it referve it 
 wholly to themfelves. The fecond Row 
 pays in proportion fixteen Livres, and with 
 regard to the third, as they are upon a level 
 with the Gallery, no Place can be kept there, 
 but by fending a Servant without Livery to 
 keep one, as is done on the Stage and Orchef- 
 trum, &c. 
 
 The firft Front-Box on the right-hand is 
 called the King’s Box j and all the Range on 
 
 that 
 
fbe FRENCH THEATRE. 149 
 
 that Side to the Bottom of the Play-houfe is 
 called the King’s Side. The firfl Front-Box 
 on the left-hand is called the Queen’s Box, 
 and all the Range on that Side is called the 
 Queen’s Side j and indeed thefe Boxes are 
 let afide for the King and Queen, whenever 
 their Majefties honour the Play-houfe with 
 their Prefenee, which happens very feldom, 
 becaufe there is a Play-houfe at Court where 
 the Players adt as often as they receive Orders. 
 
 If the Princes and Princeffes of the Blood 
 come to the Play-houfe, their Birth entitles 
 them to the principal Boxes, even tho’ they 
 may be hired by private People, who are in 
 that Cafe obliged to take up with inferior 
 Boxes. The Princes of the Blood commonly 
 lit upon the Stage, and then the Players make 
 a Paufe in the Adfion, and all the Spectators 
 rife out of Refpedt, and the Princes place 
 themfelves in the firft Seat, which is yielded 
 by whoever poffefTes it; and when the Play 
 is done, the Player who gives out the next 
 Play makes a profound Reverence to them, 
 and with all due refpedt craves their Permif- 
 lion to give it out. 
 
 Formerly when a new Play had a Run, 
 they adted it every Day for two or three 
 Months fucceffively, which fatigued the Ac¬ 
 tors and Audience, efpecially Strangers, who 
 for that Time were obliged to take up with a 
 dull Repetition of the fame Play. This 
 L 3 Ineon- 
 
The FRENCH THEATR'E. 
 
 150 
 
 Inconveniency is remarked by the Author of 
 a little Book, entitled New Diverjions ; but 
 at prefent the new Plays are a< 5 ted only every 
 other Day, fo that during the Run, the Spec¬ 
 tators are entertained with other Plays. 
 
 The firft Opera fung in Paris was in 
 1645, the Cardinal Mazarine having caufed 
 Muficians, an Architeft, and all neceflary 
 Workmen to come on purpofe from Italy ; 
 and it was exhibited in the Little Bourbon , 
 where, by Order of the fame Cardinal, others 
 were exhibited for feveral Years following 
 with greater Magnificence, but they were 
 all Italian. The firft was called La Trefla 
 Peat rale della Trinta Pazza di giulo Strozziy 
 which had appeared in Italy for fome Years 
 before. 
 
 As to the firft French Opera, Mr. De la 
 Marr places it in the Year 1672, and the 
 Author of the Dramatic Library places it in 
 the fame Year in which the Abbe Perine 
 received the Royal Privilege, which was in 
 1671, and which the Year afterwards reverted 
 to Mr. Lully. Thefe firft Operas were like 
 thofe in Italy, efpecially in the Machinery; 
 but fince the Italians have left that off, it is 
 difufed in all Places except in France^ and 
 efpecially at Paris , where that Tafte ftill 
 prevails. It is true, it has never yet been 
 brought to that Pitch of Perfection as it was 
 in Italy ; but ftill it gives a great Pleafure to 
 
The FRENCH THEATRE. 151 
 
 the Spectators who love Machinery, which 
 they do the more as it is to be met with 
 almoft in no other Part of Europe but there. 
 As France had no other Model from which 
 (he could take her Opera but that of Italy , 
 I was tempted to think that Quinault had co¬ 
 pied from them in his Opera. That of ProJ'er- 
 pine was exhibited in Venice in the Year 1644, 
 and the Proferpine of Quinault in 1680: 
 That of Perjeus was aCted at Venice in the 
 Year 1665, and that of Quinault at Paris in 
 1682. In the Year 1639 the Opera of 
 Armida was exhibited at Venice , and the 
 fame of ^uinault was exhibited at Paris in 
 1686. It is very probable that thefe Subjects 
 ferved as a Model in fome meafure to the 
 French Opera. I have not indeed examined 
 thefe Italian Operas, having never feen them 
 aCted, therefore I can fay no more on that 
 Subject: But I am led into that way of 
 thinking, becaufe in the Infancy of the Ita¬ 
 lian Opera, it often confifted of very ferious 
 Tragedies, in which were introduced the 
 Characters of old Women, Bawds, and co¬ 
 mical Serving-men; a Method intirely copied 
 by Quinault in his firft Operas. 
 
 No Spectators fit upon the Stage in the 
 Opera, becaufe that would be a great hinder- 
 ance to the Execution of the Machinery, the 
 Chorufes, and the Dancing, the Stage of the 
 Opera being in its Contrivance nothing diffe- 
 L 4 rent 
 
152 The FRENCH THEATRE. 
 
 rent from that of the Play-houfe. With 
 regard to the Price it is double that of any 
 other Entertainment, in proportion to the 
 Preference of Places. 
 
 From the Year 1671 to the Year 1737 
 inclufively, we reckon one hundred and 
 thirty two Operas, comprehending Caftor 
 and Pollux , and the two Italian Operas aded 
 at Paris , and including all that either had 
 or had not Succefs. 
 
 The Opera is furprizingly magnificent in 
 the Number and Quality of its Drefles; the 
 Embroidery is but Tinfel, yet it is of an ex¬ 
 cellent Tafte, and makes as fine a Shew as 
 the beft Drefles in the Play-houfe. The 
 Diverfity and Gallantry of the Dancing- 
 Drefles is very magnificent and peculiar to 
 France , and all is provided at the Expence of 
 the Undertakers. 
 
 The Decorations of the Stage of the 
 Opera are very handfome, but not to be 
 compared with thofe of Italy , the Smallnels 
 of the Stage not admitting of their being 
 either fo large or fo magnificent as thofe of 
 the vaft Theatres of Venice , Milan, &c. Buft 
 their Dancing makes up for all their Defi¬ 
 ciency in Point of Decoration. 
 
 All Europe knows what a Capacity and 
 Genius the French have for Dancing, and how 
 univerfally it is admired and followed ; how¬ 
 ever the World is divided on that Subjed at 
 
 prefent, 
 
<The FRENCH THEATRE. 153 
 
 prefent, fome People pretend that true and 
 graceful Dancing is loft, and they condemn 
 high Dancing, efpecially in Women; others 
 prefer this to the fmooth Dancing and the 
 Beauty of an Attitude. I fhall decide no¬ 
 thing upon this Subjedt, only I ffiall lay be¬ 
 fore the Readers a Refledlion I have made. 
 
 Formerly all the Dancers of the Opera in 
 Germany and other Countries were brought 
 from Paris-, in a certain Term of Years 
 they commonly returned to France without 
 leaving any Pupils who were capable to efta- 
 blifh in their Country a Tafte for French 
 Dancing, except for the Minuet, the Bouree, 
 and Courant, © > c. they were therefore ftill obli¬ 
 ged to recal the French Dancers; but at prefent 
 the Italian Nobility who travel, and who 
 formerly were enchanted with the Dancing 
 in the Opera at Paris, are not only no longer 
 furprized, but pretend that their own Coun¬ 
 try can boaft a Preference in this Science. 
 This appears to me fo much the more unrea¬ 
 lizable, becaufe when they are afked in what 
 the Excellency of their Dancing confifts, 
 they anfwer, that for one top Dancer at Paris , 
 they have a Dozen in Italy of equal Excel¬ 
 lency ; from whence I conclude, that the pre¬ 
 fent Method of Dancing is neither the belt 
 nor the moft difficult, as it can be fo eafily 
 imitated by Strangers, who never could have 
 done it, had it been more fimple and full of 
 native Graces. PARALLEL 
 
154 
 
 PARA LL E L, &c. 
 
 PARALLEL 
 
 Between the 
 
 Italian, Spanifh , and French 
 Theatre. 
 
 H E S E three Theatres, of which I 
 
 JL have given a (hort Hiftory, were with¬ 
 out Difpute the firft that Europe faw. The 
 Original of the Stage in Spain and in Italy 
 is, as I have already remarked, wrapt up in 
 fo thick a Veil of Obfcurity, that to diflipate 
 it feems to me next to impoffible, or to de¬ 
 cide, for Certainty, which of them gave a 
 Model to the other. On the one hand, the 
 old Italian Plays leave us in the dark as to 
 the Time in which they appeared; on the 
 other, no Spanijh Play which I have met 
 with bears Date before the Year 1500, which 
 would induce me to believe it to be later 
 than the other, did not the Spaniards aflert 
 the contrary, tho’ without advancing one 
 Proof to fupport their Affertion. We (hall 
 therefore leave to thefe two Nations the Plea- 
 
 furc 
 
PARALLEL, &c. 155 
 
 fure of contending for the Antiquity of their 
 Stages. 
 
 The Italians in their firft Theatrical Per¬ 
 formances imitated, perhaps too fervily, Plau¬ 
 tus and Terence: They however laid afide 
 in their Plays the Cuftoms and Man¬ 
 ners of the ancient Romans , which agreed 
 not at all with the Age they lived in. The 
 Amours of the young Gentlemen with the 
 Slaves, or with the Ladies of Pleafare, were 
 commonly the Subjects of the Latin Pieces. 
 The Italians copying after them, and think¬ 
 ing Licentioufnefs to be a neccffary Quality 
 in Comedy, fubftituted Intrigues with mar¬ 
 ried Women, Tricks of Monks, Traffics of 
 Procurers, and in ffiort the moft fcandalous 
 and criminal Adts of corrupted Manners. 
 In this they committed an inexcufable Fault. 
 In vain do they pretend that they aim at cor- 
 redting Licentioufnefs, for when it is repre- 
 fented on the Stage, that Gaynefs and Loof- 
 nefs, with which it is accompanied, is apt to 
 debauch the Minds of the Spedlators; and 
 even the Heart that is leaft corrupted is 
 highly offended at it; for which Reafon Pru¬ 
 dence ought to prevail with the Dramatic 
 Writers to expofe and cenfure only the Ridi¬ 
 culous, the Images of Vice being too dange¬ 
 rous. When the Italian Stage amended as 
 to Scandal, it funk in Genius and Tafte, 
 which makes it neceffary, in reading their 
 
 Comedies, 
 
156 PARALLEL, Gfr. 
 
 Comedies in that L nguage, to be acquainted 
 with thefe licentious Pieces. 
 
 The Spaniards, on the contrary, repre- 
 fented nothing in their Comedies but honour¬ 
 able Love between unmarried People. The 
 Cuftoms, by Jealoufy, introduced into Spain , 
 afford room for Intrigue in thefe fort of Sub¬ 
 jects, which in another would produce a Play 
 fo uniform, as to be for the moft Part void of 
 any Adtion, The romantic Point of Ho¬ 
 nour, by which the Spanijh Nation may be 
 charadterifed, fills up great Part of their 
 Theatrical Works. Their Servants fpeak 
 not fo freely by far, as in Italy ; but to 
 make up for that, it is not unufual to hear 
 them imprecating and fwearing by the whole 
 Catalogue of Saints. The Mixture of the 
 Sacred and Prophane is very frequent in the 
 Los Autos Sacrament ales, of which I have 
 fpoken. There is one in particular, entitled 
 Le Chevalier de St. Sacrement. In this Co¬ 
 medy we fee a Church on Fire, fo as they 
 defpair of extinguifhing it. A Chevalier 
 runs into the Flames, and returns with the 
 Hofl in his Hand. This Adtion, which 
 eliewhere would perhaps be condemned, 
 paflfes in Spain for a moft refpedtful Mark of 
 Zeal, and the Spedtators are at once edified 
 and affedled. In thefe Sort of Entertain¬ 
 ments, Farce has its Share, which muft be 
 difagreeable to every Man of Senfe: But, to 
 
PARALLEL,^. 157 
 
 take it in the whole, the Spanijh Stage is that 
 which with the moft Eafe may be chaftifed 
 into the pureft Decency. 
 
 As to France , if the did not produce 
 Works for the Theatre fo early as the other 
 Countries, (he was not very flow in following 
 them, but much more late in arriving at Per¬ 
 fection. Tragedy itfelf was not exempted 
 from Licentioufnefs. Rotrou began the Re¬ 
 formation, which was accompliflied foon 
 after by Corneille. * Moliere is the firft that 
 brought Good Manners upon the Stage, tho’ 
 imperfectly. They who immediately fuc- 
 ceeded him have been more loofe than he. 
 But during the Space of thirty Years, the 
 French Stage has inceflantly refined itfelf 
 from that Fault, the Praife of which is due 
 to the Audiences at Paris: It is owing to 
 them that their Poets are checked, by denying 
 their Applaufe to every thing that bears an 
 Air of Indecency. We fee Rife given to 
 Theatrical Reprefentations of a new Kind, 
 the Traces of a Model of .which we may 
 difcern in the Spanijh Theatre, and fome few 
 in the Italians , but both very imperfect. 
 There are Characters in the World of too 
 
 low 
 
 * We don’t know if a difcerning Reader will agree with 
 our Author in this Criticifm, fmce it is certain that as to 
 Decency of Character Molitre has been improved upon by 
 few of his Succeffors. 
 
158 PARALLEL,^ 
 
 low a Station for Tragedy, and yet too high 
 to defcend to that kind of Drollery required 
 by Comedy. They accommodate an Action 
 fuitable to thefe Characters, and work it up 
 with moving Circumftances, which occafion 
 an agreeable Entertainment; and in its Con- 
 fequences this kind of Comedy may a 
 good deal injure Tragedy, but it carries the 
 Cataftrophe infenfibly to that Point where 
 Religion and Decency requires it fhould 
 terminate. 
 
 This Kind, as it had its Beginning but 
 lately, is as yet imperfeCt; for when the 
 Circumftances of the Piece are as moving as 
 thofe of Tragedy, the Mixture of low Hu¬ 
 mour which interpofes, drives from our 
 Minds that Concern which we are rea¬ 
 dy to indulge. But it is eafy to amend 
 this Deficiency, and fome bright Genius will 
 doubtlefs raife this new kind of Writing to 
 Perfection -f». 
 
 In the moft affeCting Subjects we may 
 
 fuftain 
 
 ■\ My Work was fin idl’d when VEcote des Amis, wrote by 
 Mr. De la Chauffee , one of the Members of the Trench A- 
 cademy appear’d. That Piece may ferve as a Model for 
 Produ&ions of this kind. Some however have fo far mifta- 
 ken it, as to pronounce it a Comedy writ in the Manner of 
 the incomparable Moliere ; and not finding his comical Turn 
 in it, (which indeed ought to have no Place in a Work of 
 its kind) have fpoke too contemptibly of it, and by that 
 means have brought a greater Slur upon their own Judg¬ 
 ments than upon the Piece itfelf. 
 
PARALLEL,^. 159 
 
 fuftain a Dignity of Humour which may 
 arife from the Subject itfelf but this is a 
 Perfection only attainable by a fertile Genius. 
 The modern Authors will, without doubt, 
 endeavour to perfect this Species of Comedy, 
 fearing left they be reproached by the World, 
 of having embraced this Kind, out of De- 
 fpair of attaining to the Sublime of Corneille , 
 or the Humour and Wit of Moliere. 
 
 In ftiort the French Theatre will 'fuftain 
 its Glory, and every Day increafe it, becaufe 
 it produces Entertainments of a new Sort, 
 when the Audience are tired with a Repe¬ 
 tition of the old ones. 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 ENGLISH THEATRE. 
 
 F the Commencement of the 
 Englifj Theatre was not fo 
 early as the others, it feems to 
 have followed foon after. The 
 Origin of the firft Dramatic 
 Reprefentations in England had the fame 
 Rife with thofe of Italy, Spain , and France ; 
 I may venture to fay that they copied from 
 the Mi mi of the Latins , while like Vaga¬ 
 bonds they travelled up and down the Coun¬ 
 try without Referve and without Shame. 
 
 In the Reign of Edward III, which began 
 in 1015, and ended in 1038, it is faid in a 
 Book printed at London , that that good King 
 ordained by Adi of Parliament, that a Com¬ 
 pany of Men called Vagrants, who had made 
 MaJ'querades throughout the whole City, Jhould 
 be whipt out of London, becaufe they repre- 
 ented J'candalous Things in the little Alehoufes , 
 
The ENGLISH THEATRE. 161 
 
 and other Places where the Populace a [Jem- 
 bled. 
 
 There is good Reafon, tho’ no Certainty, 
 for believing that thefe fcandalous Amule- 
 ments were of long (banding in the City of 
 London , but were over-looked by all preced¬ 
 ing Kings. The fame happened in France 
 in.the Time of Charlemagne-, and the Sta¬ 
 tutes published by thefe two good Kings con¬ 
 ceal the Original of the Drama in thefe two 
 Nations. 
 
 After fo pofitive and rigorous a Decree in 
 England, nothing that had the lead Refem- 
 blance of a Play could appear in London , or 
 the reft of the Kingdom, unlefs difguifed 
 beneath the Veil of Religion. It was there¬ 
 fore by thefe facred Reprefentations that the 
 Theatre began to form itfelf in London, as 
 before it had done in Paris. 
 
 We find in a Book called The * Antiqui¬ 
 ties of London, that under Richard II, who 
 reigned in the Year 1378, the Clergy and 
 the Scholars of St. Paul’s School prefented a 
 Petition to the King, praying his Majefty, 
 To prohibit a Company of unexpert People 
 from prejenting the Hijlory of the Old Tefta- 
 ment, to the great Prejudice of the J'aid Clergy , 
 who have been at great Charge and Expe?ice, 
 in order to reprefent it publickly at Chriftmas, 
 M It 
 
 • S TQW'i. 
 
162 the ENGLISH THEATRE. 
 
 It is therefore in thefe Times that we can fix 
 an Epocha for the Moral Reprefentations of 
 the Old tejlament in the City of London. 
 We cannot fay, however, that they began 
 precifely in that Year when the Petition, we 
 mentioned before, was prefented. They 
 might perhaps have been introduced a long 
 time before; I am led to think thus by thefe 
 Words made ufe of in the Petition, A Com¬ 
 pany of unexperl People. Had not the Clergy 
 and the Boys of St. Paul's School been long 
 exercifed in Affairs of this Nature, and ufed 
 to give fuch Reprefentations to the People, 
 they would not have filled Perfons, who 
 undertook to reprefent the like, unexpert. 
 But as no Englifh Hiftorian, or other learned 
 Perfon have treated this Subject ex profeJfo t 
 it is not poflible to clear it from that Obfcu- 
 rity in which it is left. We muft therefore 
 content ourlelves with eftablifhing its Epocha 
 in the Year 1378, and faying, that the Ufe of 
 thefe holy Reprefentations infenfibly led them 
 to the prophane Theatre. 
 
 Richard II reigned twenty two Years, till 
 the Year 1399. Suppofing that the Boys of 
 St. Pauls School prefented their Petition the 
 fame Year that the King died, yet the fame 
 Petition lets us know, that the Boys had 
 played thefe Myfieries feme time before, 
 and that for Money. And we know the 
 Fraternity of the PaJJion did not begin to adt 
 
 at 
 
The ENGLISH THEATRE. 163 
 
 at St. Maur before 1398. ^ is therefore 
 
 evident that the Eftablilhment of a public 
 Theatre in England was before that in 
 France. I do not believe that the Englijh 
 preceded the French in the adting of Myfte- 
 ries, which were in France many Years be¬ 
 fore the Reprefentation at St. Maur ; and 
 much lefs Ground have we for difputing 
 with the Englijh their being the firft that 
 expofed their Entertainments publickly, and 
 for Money. 
 
 The Englijh Chronicles Jpeak of a pro- 
 phane Reprefentation, which is commonly 
 in that Country laid to be the firft they had. 
 Thefe * Chronicles fay, that 
 
 The jth Day of May 1520, the King 
 cauj'ed a Mafquerade to be prepared, and or¬ 
 dered a Stage to be raifed in the Great Hall at 
 Greenwich, &c. The King, Queen, and 
 Nobility came there to the RepreJ'entation of a 
 good Comedy of Plautus. 
 
 We are therefore to believe that from the 
 Year 1378 to 1520, no prophane Farces 
 appeared at London either mixt with the fa- 
 cred, or diftindt from it, as happened in 
 France. And if really that Good Comedy of 
 Plautus was the firft that appeared, we 
 muft yield to the Englijh the Merit of hav¬ 
 ing opened their Stage with a good prophane 
 Piece, whilft the other Nations in Europe 
 began theirs with the moft wretched Farces. 
 
 M 2 The 
 
 * HMngJbed* 
 
164 The ENGLISH THEATRE. 
 
 The fame thing may be faid with regard to 
 Tragedy, the firft of which was played be¬ 
 fore Queen Elizabeth ; and we find in the 
 Appendix to the Lives of the Englijh Dra¬ 
 matic Poets, that 
 
 “ The Lord Buckhurjl , afterwards Earl 
 “ of Dorfet, writ, in Conjunction with Mr. 
 “ Norton , a Tragedy, valued in thole Days, 
 “ of which there were three Impreffions. 
 “ The Title to the firft Edition is Forrex 
 * c and Porrex printed in 8vo. at London in 
 “ 1565 by G. G” 
 
 The fecond Edition was printed by Con- 
 fent of the Authors with this Title, “ The 
 “ Tragedy of Forrex and Porrex without 
 “ Augmentation or Diminution, as it was 
 “ aCted before the Queen nine Years ago,” 
 that is, on the 18th of January 1565, by 
 the Gentlemen of the Inner-Temple , printed 
 in 8vo. at London. 
 
 The Title of the third Edition is, “ The 
 “ Tragedy of Gorbeduc , of which three ACts 
 “ are written by Thomas Norton , and the 
 “ other two by Thomas Sackville , publilhed 
 “as it was prefen ted before the Queen in 
 “ the Inner-Temple, printed in 4m. in Lon- 
 * don 1590.” In this laft Edition -f* the En¬ 
 glijh Writer lets us know that they changed 
 
 the 
 
 f A Miftake : For Buckburfi was called SacAville, 
 
The ENGLISH THEATRE. 165 
 
 the Title and the Name of one of the Au¬ 
 thors : I can’t imagine for what Reafon. 
 
 Thus we fee the firft perfedfc Comedy and 
 the firft perfedt Tragedy of the Englijh y 
 which gives not a little Glory to that Nation. 
 The Perfedtion of the Comedy is not to be 
 queftioned, feeing it was one of the good 
 Comedies of Plautus. But as to the Tra¬ 
 gedy I don’t know, if upon the foie Report 
 of that Writer, who fpeaks in its Praife, and 
 is influenced by its great Reputation , if we 
 may form the fame Opinion of it, and im- 
 plicitely rely upon the Judgment of that 
 Age. It was the firft Tragedy that had 
 appeared in that Country. The French , 
 their Neighbours, could fhew them »o Ori¬ 
 ginal fit to copy after, becaufe what they had 
 were very low. And Italy , whofe Theatre 
 had attained to the higheft Pitch of its 
 Glory, was at too great a Diftance for Eng¬ 
 land to imitate. We may therefore doubt of 
 the Perfedtion of this firft Engliflj Tragedy; 
 and altho’ in that Age it might have been 
 accounted excellent, yet might it not be fo in 
 reality: We {hall form abetter Judgment of 
 this in profecuting the Hiftory of their 
 Theatre. 
 
 In the Life of Shakefpear prefixed to his 
 Works, we read that “ in the Year 1590 there 
 were profefled Comedians in London , but they 
 had no eftablifhed Theatre, and played no 
 M 3 Tragedies, 
 
166 Tie ENGLISH THEATRE. 
 
 Tragedies, for then they had no Idea of 
 them in London .” Tho’ this is fpeaking very 
 pofitively, yet it appears to be falfe, becaufe 
 Tragedy was known in the former Part of 
 that Reign, if that, of which we have given an 
 Account, was adted. It is not to be thought 
 that in the Space of twenty five Years which 
 had paffed fince Gorbeduc appeared, all Re¬ 
 membrance of it could be effaced j the three 
 Editions which I have mentioned were cer¬ 
 tainly fufficient to preferve its Memory. 
 Wherefore I think that to judge rightly of 
 this, we fhould conclude that Tragedy was 
 unknown in E)igland , becaufe Gorbeduc was 
 the only one, and it not having been adled in 
 Public, but confined to the Court, the com¬ 
 mon Players not having a Relifh for it, per¬ 
 haps this kind of Dramatic Poetry was un¬ 
 known till Shakefpear' s Time. 
 
 William Shakefpear for a fmall Trip of 
 Youth was obliged to leave the Country and 
 come up to London , where he commenced 
 Player. He was bleffed with Genius and 
 Capacity; and wrote a £ Comedy much liked 
 by Queen Elizabeth. She, to exprefs her 
 Regard for Shakefpear , granted a Patent to 
 the Comedians, declared them her Servants, 
 and formed them into a Company, with pro¬ 
 per 
 
 X The Merry Wives of Windfor. 
 
The ENGLISH THEATRE. 167 
 
 per Appointments, and the Ufe of a Thea¬ 
 tre. 
 
 In the Year 1596 Shakefpear , at the Age 
 of thirty three, gave the World his firll Tra¬ 
 gedy of Romeo and Juliet ; and the Year 
 after he produced Richard II. 
 
 James I, who fucceeded Queen Elizabeth , 
 by a Licence confirmed the Privileges of that 
 Company of Comedians: He named nine 
 new Adors, and (tiled them his Servants. 
 This Licence is conceived in Terms, Part of 
 which I think neceflary to repeat j it fays 
 towards the End, “ And we permit them to 
 ** perform the faid Plays, Tragedies, Inter- 
 “ ludes. Moral Pieces, Paftorals, Stage- 
 “ Plays, and fuch like in Public, and for 
 “ their greater Advantage, (when the Infection 
 “ of the Plague (hall ceafe) as well in our 
 “ Houfe called the Globe , in our County of 
 “ Surry , as in the Cities, Halls, Public 
 “ Places, or any other privileged Place, and 
 “ in any Borough of our faid Kingdom.” 
 
 In this Licence of James I. two Things 
 are remarkable. In 1603, when it was pub- 
 lifhed by the King, the Englijh Comedians 
 performed allthefe feveral kind of Theatrical 
 Reprefentations, that we find mentioned in 
 their Charter: This Theatre therefore mult 
 have been of long (landing, fince all the dif¬ 
 ferent kinds of Dramatic Poems were then 
 known, which could not be expeded in the 
 M 4 Pradice 
 
368 The ENGLISH THEATRE. 
 
 Pradice of twenty or thirty Years. Mention 
 in the Licence is likewife made of public 
 Places, and which lets us fee that in England , 
 as w r ell as in France , they ufed upon Scaffolds 
 to play as well moral as prophane Plays. 
 Plays being twice mentioned, firft fingly, and 
 a little lower with the Addition of Stage- 
 Plays, leads us to know that two Species of 
 Comedy are fpoken of: Thus making appa¬ 
 rent Diftindion between thofe that were 
 played in public Places, and thofe played on 
 an eftablifhcd Theatre. We are therefore 
 forced to conjedure, that during the two 
 hundred Years from 1378, moral Reprefen- 
 tations and prophane Farces had been per¬ 
 formed, and that they were at leaf! tolerated 
 by the Kings, tho’ not licenced by their Au¬ 
 thority. 
 
 Before Shakefpear embraced the Profefiion 
 of a Player, there was a Theatre in London , 
 that is to fry. Dramatic Performances had 
 been exhibited there for a long time. It 
 is true that little Mention is made of it, 
 only in the Life of that Poet we read, that 
 to him we owe Ben. Johnfon , who by his 
 Encouragement writ his Comedies. Thus 
 by thefe two Poets, the greateft that their 
 Age or Country ever produced, England is 
 enabled to fix the Epocha of her Theatre. 
 
 It is furprifing that Tragedy firft rofe in 
 England by every Horror that human Ima¬ 
 gination 
 
ENGLISH THEATRE. 169 
 
 gination can fuggeft, and that the Tafte for 
 it ftill remains, notwithftanding the Attempts 
 of fome Authors, who have endeavoured to 
 give it another Turn. I have examined into 
 the Reafon of it, and tho’ I may be mifta- 
 ken, yet fhall I always fpeak what I think. 
 
 It ought not to be queftioned that the 
 chief Aim of a Dramatic Writer is to pleafe 
 the Spectators, and that to do this, he muft be 
 acquainted with the Bent of their Inclina¬ 
 tions. When the Poet fancies he has attained 
 to that Knowledge, he ftudies to fet before 
 them Images and Actions fuitable to the 
 Tafte of that Nation for which he writes. 
 
 When that is fuppofed, it muft be granted 
 that Theatrical Pieces let us into the general 
 Character of their feveral Countries, and that 
 without any other Light than what is ftruck 
 out of the ancient and modern Plays, we 
 might judge that the Grecians were violent 
 and given to Pleafure ; that the Romans were 
 fenfual, but always with an Air of Gran¬ 
 deur; With the Romans we may rank the 
 Italians , with fome little Difference; we 
 may fay that the Quality of the Spaniards is 
 a noble Bravenefs, that they are punctilious, 
 and myfterious; and the French , on the other 
 hand, are witty, airy, and gay to Excefs: 
 And of all thefe different Characters, I don’t 
 know if any is far diftant from Truth. One 
 
 there^- 
 
i 7 o the ENGLISH THEATRE. 
 
 therefore might be tempted to believe from 
 Shakefpears prefenting to them the mod hor¬ 
 rible ObjeCts, that the Engiijh are cruel, inex¬ 
 orable, and next to inhuman, whereas indeed 
 nothing is lefs true. The Engiijh are gentle, 
 humane, extremely polite, but generally pen- 
 five to Excels. It is this laft Quality that 
 forms their general Character, as their own 
 Writers'agree. Let us proceed. 
 
 The Engiijh Dramatic Poets have, beyond 
 Imagination, ftained their Stage with Blood j 
 of this I fhall give you two Examples only. 
 In the Tragedy of Hamlet , five principal Cha¬ 
 racters die violent Deaths during the ACtion. 
 About the middle of the Play we fee the Fu¬ 
 neral of a Princefs; the Grave is dug on the 
 Stage, out of which are thrown Bones and 
 Skulls: A Prince comes then and takes up a 
 Skull in his Hand, which the Grave-digger 
 informs him was the Skull of the late King’s 
 Jefter; he makes a moral Diflertation upon 
 the Skull of the Jefter, which is reckoned a 
 Mafter-piece: The Audience liften with 
 Admiration, and applaud with Tranfport: 
 And it is for that Scene that the major Part of 
 the Spedtators refort to the Play-houfe when 
 Hamlet is performed. In the Tragedy of 
 the Moor of Venice, among other Things, the 
 Moor inflamed with Jealoufy, goes to fearch 
 for his Wife, who lies awake in Bed; he 
 fpeaks with her, and after ftrong Conflicts 
 
 between 
 
<fhe ENGLISH THEATRE. 171 
 
 between Love and Rage, he refolves to be 
 revenged, and ftrangles her before the Eyes 
 of the Spectators. Were I to give a Detail 
 of every thing horrible that is to be found in 
 Englijh Tragedy, it would be hard to be per- 
 fuaded of the Englijh being fo very gentle 
 and humane, as I have painted them, and as 
 they are in EffeCt: We fhould rather be in¬ 
 duced to think, that the Poet prefented for 
 the Entertainment of his Countrymen, what 
 was moft agreeable to their Cruelty and 
 Ferocity. If that was not his Motive, why 
 did he entertain the Nation with Objects fo 
 terrible? After all thefe Reflections, I will 
 venture to give my Opinion. 
 
 The principal Character of the Englijh is, 
 that they are to be plunged in Contemplation, 
 as I obferved before. It is owing to this 
 their penfive Mood, that the Sciences of the 
 moft fublime Nature are by the Writers of 
 that Nation handled with much Penetration, 
 and that Arts are carried to that Pitch of 
 Perfection which they are now arrived at; 
 becaufe their native Melancholy fupplies them 
 with that Patience and ExaCtnefs which 
 other Countries have not. 
 
 To purfue my Reafoning; I believe that 
 were there to be exhibited on their Stage, Tra¬ 
 gedies of a more refined Tafte, that is, ftript 
 of thofe Horrors that fully the Stage with 
 Blood, the Audience would perhaps fall 
 
 afleep. 
 
172 The ENGLISH THEATRE. 
 
 afleep. The Experience which their earlieft 
 Dramatic Writers had of this Truth, led 
 them to eftablifh this Species of Tragedy, to 
 raife them out of their contemplative Moods, 
 by fuch bold Strokes as might awaken them. 
 
 For the fame Reafon, the Englijh Come¬ 
 dies are crowded with Incidents, infomuch 
 that having adapted to their Stage fome 
 French Plays, the Authors have doubled the 
 Intrigue, or they have joined them with an¬ 
 other Plot to keep the Spectator in Breath, 
 and not allow him Time to wander with his 
 Thoughts. The Mifer of Moliere among 
 others, which in the Original is perhaps too 
 full of Intrigue, has much more in the En- 
 glijh Tranflations. Harp agon?, Miftrefs, in 
 order to raife his Averfion, making great Ex¬ 
 pence at the Charge of the old Fellow, occa- 
 jions an additional Intrigue to that Play, 
 which increafes the Plot beyond meafure. 
 
 I have faid that the Englijh Poets, with 
 Defign to make lively Impreffions on the 
 Imaginations of the Spectators, fill their 
 Tragedies with Horror, and over-charge their 
 Comedies with Incidents; with regard to 
 the latter we may add that they have form’d 
 Scenes and Dialogues obfcene to Excefs. It 
 is not my Defign to particularife any Co¬ 
 medy of that Sort which I have feen adted 
 at London, but I fhall refer to Mr. Colliers 
 Criticifm on the Englijh Stage. He reproaches 
 
the ENGLISH THEATRE. 173 
 
 the Poets of his Country with their Licenti- 
 oufnefs; and by comparing the ancient Stage 
 with the nlodern, he fhews them that no 
 Inftance of Licentioufnefs on that Stage was 
 ever equal to what appears on the Englijh 
 Theatre: But the Oblcenities and the Com¬ 
 plication of Events in Comedy, have at leaft 
 as much Force to move the Audience, as the 
 Horror in their Tragedy has Power to 
 touch them. It is, perhaps, by Defign that 
 the Authors have written in the Tafte which 
 we now have remarked. It were to be 
 wilhed that thefe Spectators, as well as the 
 Poets, were once well convinced of the true 
 ObjeCt of Dramatic Pieces ; for the Terror 
 which ought to be infpired by Tragedy, con- 
 lifts not in the Effufion of Blood, and the 
 Reprefentation of Death. 
 
 In fhort Oedipus who tore out his Eyes, 
 and JocaJla who hang’d herfelf, do not fo 
 much touch the Audience, as the Reflection 
 of Oedipus on being guilty of Inceft and Parri¬ 
 cide. Had Athaliab actually perpetrated the 
 Maflacre of the High Prieft and Levites, as 
 Ihe threatned, we Ihould not be fo fenftbly 
 touched, as by her Converfation with young 
 Joas, with Defign to carry him away and 
 deftroy him. Does not every one tremble in 
 Iphigenia y thro’ the Fear of feeing the Daugh¬ 
 ter facrificed by her Father ? Are we not 
 afteCted in the fame manner in Pbocas, who 
 
 feveral 
 
i 7 4 The ENGLISH THEATRE. 
 
 •feveral times is upon the Point of caufing 
 his Son to be killed without knowing him. 
 The Horror which reigns in thefe two En- 
 glifh Tragedies that I have named, and in all 
 the others, has not fuch Force to affeCt 
 and touch the Spectators, as the real Terror 
 of which I have given fome Inftances. 
 
 I can’t tell what Hopes to entertain of the 
 Reformation of the Englifh Theatre, but we 
 have Proofs to believe it will not be fudden. 
 It is now twenty five Years fince Mr. Addi- 
 J'on s Cato appeared at London with the uni- 
 verfal Applaufe of the whole Nation. With¬ 
 out entering into the Merits of that Tragedy, 
 let us only obferve with what Judgment the 
 Poet chole a SubjeCt in which both the Par¬ 
 ties of the Nation were at the fame Time 
 interefted, and he conducted it in fuch a Man¬ 
 ner, that both were equally pleafed. 
 
 It is Mr. Addifon who has with, admirable 
 Art put in Execution the grand Point of 
 which I have fpoken, to ftudy well the Incli¬ 
 nations of the Spectators, in order to pleafe 
 them. One would imagine that this Tra¬ 
 gedy would have new-modelled the Englifh 
 Stage: But the new Tragedies fince that 
 Time writ in the ancient Tafte, and particu¬ 
 larly one of the lateft, entitled George Barn - 
 ’well, which met with great Succefs, leave us 
 no Ground to prefume that ever there will be 
 a Change at all. They fay, however, that 
 
<The ENGLISH THEATRE. 175 
 
 they have begun to exhibit fome Things in 
 the refined Tafte, which met with no bad 
 Reception from the Public. Was this fuc- 
 cefsful Beginning profecuted to Advantage ; 
 were the Englijh Poets guided by Reafon and 
 Truth, the Spectators might improve, and the 
 French Stage in a little Time meet with a 
 formidable Rival. No Force or Beauty is 
 wanting in the Englijh Language, to exprefs 
 the noble Sentiments and fublime Thoughts 
 with which their Tragedies are filled. Nor 
 has it lefs Eleganee for Wit and Humour in 
 Comedy, which is often fet off with more 
 Spirit than in the Plays of other Coun¬ 
 tries. 
 
 Amongft the Crowd of Englijh Poets, 
 Mr. Congreve is molt efteemed for Comedy. 
 He was perfectly acquainted with Nature j 
 and was living in 1727, when I was in Lon¬ 
 don ; I converted with him more than once, 
 and found in him Tafte joined with great 
 Learning. It is rare to find many Dramatic 
 Poets of his Stamp. The Architecture of 
 their Play-houfe is beautiful and commodious. 
 All the Pit is in Form of an Amphitheatre, 
 where both Sexes lit promifcuoufly, which 
 afford a very agreeable Sight. There is but 
 one Row of Boxes, and above are two Gal¬ 
 leries with Benches one above another, where 
 People lit. It is about forty Years fince 
 the Englijh Nobility went into the Tafte of 
 
 Italian 
 
176 <fhe ENGLISH THEATRE. 
 
 Italian Operas, which they fupport with 
 great Magnificence, and at an aftonifhing 
 Expence. They draw to London the beft 
 Singers in Italy, who leave their Country 
 without any Regret, tho’ there Mufic meets 
 with very great Encouragement. The Prices 
 for Admiffion into the Houfe are much the 
 fame as at Paris. 
 
 There are commonly two Theatres for 
 acting Comedies and Tragedies, which are 
 nobly ornamented with Decorations and 
 Drefies. As to the Adors, if after forty five 
 Years Experience I may be in titled to give 
 my Opinion, I dare advance that the beft 
 Adors in Italy and France come far fhort of 
 thofe in England. The Italian and Fre?ich 
 Players, far from endeavouring at that happy 
 Imitation of Nature and Juftnefs which 
 forms the Beauty of Adion, affed a forced, 
 ftiff Manner of Ading, which never fails to 
 miflead the Audience. To form the better 
 Judgment of both, let us compare them 
 impartially. The Englijlo Authors copy 
 Truth, and are at great Pains not to flag on 
 the Stage. As for me, I have always thought, 
 nor have I been Angular in my Opinion, that 
 pure Ample Nature would be cold upon the 
 Stage. This I have experienced in feveral 
 Comedians. Wherefore the Adion fhould 
 be heightned a little, and without ftraying too 
 far from Nature, fome Art added in the 
 
 Speaking. , 
 
The ENGLISH THEATRE. 177 
 
 Speaking. As a Statue to be placed at a Di- 
 ftance fhould be bigger than the Life, that, 
 notwithftanding the Diftance, it may appear 
 in due Proportion to the Spectators, fo the 
 Englifh ACtors have the Art, if I may ufe 
 the Expreflion, to heighten Nature, fo as it 
 ought to be fhown at a Diftance, to let us 
 fee that it is pure Nature which they re- 
 prefent. When I was at London a thing hap¬ 
 pened, which, for its lingularity, deferves 
 Notice. At the Theatre in Lincolns Inn- 
 Fields I happened to be at the Acting of a 
 Comedy, the principal Plot of which I was 
 a Stranger to, but with Eafe could under- 
 Rand an Epifode, which the Author with¬ 
 out doubt had placed in the Intrigue: It is 
 that Scene which we have fo often feen in 
 Crifpin Medecine. The foie Alteration that 
 is made therein, is the introducing an old 
 Man in Place of a Footman, who by his 
 Buftle excites the Laughter of the Audience, 
 while he places himfelf in the room of a 
 dead Body which the Phyfician is to difieCt. 
 The Scene was thus difpofed; the amorous 
 old Gentleman entertains himfelf with a 
 Footman belonging to his Miftrefs’s Houfe; 
 the Footman either hears, or pretends to 
 hear, a Noife, and defires the old Fellow to 
 hide himfelf; all the Doors being locked, he 
 advifes him to place himfelf on the Board on 
 which the Body is laid. After fome Diffi- 
 N cuhies 
 
178 The ENGLISH THEATRE. 
 
 culties made, the old Man confents to it, and 
 does precifely what Crifpin does in the French 
 Comedy: But to give it the greater Air of 
 Truth, the Footman makes the old Man 
 ftrip to his Shirt; the Operator comes; Chi- 
 rurgical Inflruments are brought; he puts 
 himfelf in order to begin the pifledtion j the 
 old Man cries out, and the Trick is difco- 
 vered. 
 
 He who a died the old Man executed it to 
 the niceft Perfedlion, which one could expedt 
 in no Player who had not forty Years Exer- 
 cife and Experience. I was not at all afto- 
 nifhed in one refpedt, but I was charmed now 
 to find another Mr. Guerin, that excellent 
 Comedian, Matter of the Company at Paris, 
 which had the Misfortune to lofe him in our 
 Time. I was miftaken in my Opinion that 
 a whole Age would not produce fuch another, 
 when, in our own Time, I found his Match 
 in England, with the fame Art, and with 
 Talents as fingular. As he played the Part 
 of an old Man, I made no manner of doubt 
 of his being an old Comedian, who, inftrudt- 
 ed by long Experience, and at the fame time 
 affifled by the Weight of his Years, had per¬ 
 formed it fo naturally. But how great was 
 my Surprife, when I learn’d that he was a 
 young Man of about twenty fix! I could 
 not believe it; but I own’d that it might 
 be poffible, had he only ufed a trembling and 
 
 broken 
 
Vhe ENGLISH THEATRE. 179 
 
 broken Voice, and had only an extreme Weak- 
 nefs poflefled his Body, becaufe I conceived 
 it poffible for a young Ador, by the Help 
 of Art, to imitate that Debility of Nature to 
 fuch a Pitch of Exadnefs; but the Wrin¬ 
 kles of his Face, his funk Eyes, and his loofe 
 and yellow Cheeks, the mod: certain Marks of 
 a great old Age, were inconteftable Proofs 
 againft what they laid to me. Notwith- 
 ftanding all this I was forced to fubmit to 
 Truth, becaufe I knew for certain that the 
 Ador, to fit himfelf for the Part of the old 
 Man, fpent an Hour in dreffing himfelf, and 
 that with the Affiftance of feveral Pencils he 
 difguifed his Face fo nicely, and painted fo 
 artificially a Part of his Eye-brows and Eye¬ 
 lids, that at the Diftance of fix Paces it was 
 impoffible not to be deceived. I was defi- 
 rous to be a Witnefs of this rnyfelf, but Pride 
 hindered me; fo knowing that I mud: be 
 alhamed, I was fatisfied with a Confirmation 
 of it from the other Adors. Madmoifelle 
 Salle , among ethers who then Ihone upon 
 that Stage, confefled to me, that the fird time 
 Ihe faw him perform Ihe durd not go into a 
 Paflage where he was, fearing led: Ihe Ihould 
 throw him down Ihould the happen to touch 
 him in palling by. 
 
 I flatter rnyfelf that this Digreffion will 
 not be altogether ufelefs; it may let us know 
 to what an Exadnefs the Englijh Comedians 
 N 2 carry 
 
j8o Tdhe ENGLISH THEATRE: 
 
 carry the Imitation of Nature, and may ferve 
 for a Proof of all that I have advanced of 
 the Adtors on the Englijh Theatre. 
 
 Reafon alone fketched out the firft Rules 
 of the Theatre in the Grecian Tragedies: 
 Jrijlotle eftablifhed an Art, and made the 
 Laws for us; the Latins adopted them, and 
 Moderns have confirmed them by the Heaps 
 of Poems, by the fo great Number of Dra¬ 
 mas, which the Italians , and, dill more, the 
 French have already, and yet continue to 
 fupply us inceffantly with. One therefore 
 can’t ftep afide from thefe Rules without 
 incurring the Cenfure of the whole World. 
 Other wife nothing can be objected to the 
 Englifo Poets, but their having received a 
 particular Maxim, which differs from thofe 
 of other Countries, and which does not 
 want its Defenders to fupport it. In fuch a 
 general Agreement of Opinions authorized 
 by Good-Senfe, I am perfuaded that the 
 Men of Learning in England are fenfible of 
 the Irregularity of their Stage, and that (like 
 the Spaniards) they are the firft who take 
 Notice of it. Were it permitted to depart 
 from thefe Rules, which Reafon itfelf hath 
 dilated, the Englijh Theatre would be able 
 to balance in Reputation both the Ancient 
 and the Modern. The Excellence of the En¬ 
 glijh excels all the Beauties which the other 
 Theatres in Europe can fhew usj and if 
 
 fome 
 
 tt 
 
The ENGLISH THEATRE. i8i 
 
 fome time or other the Englifh Poets would 
 fubmit themfelves to the three Unities of the 
 Theatre, and not expofe Blood and Murder 
 before the Eyes of the Audience, they would 
 at lead partake of that Glory which the 
 other more perfed modern Theatres enjoy. 
 
 N g 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 FLEMISH and DUTCH 
 THEATRES. 
 
 H E Flemijh and Dutch Theatres 
 ought to be confidered but as one 
 and the fame, fince they ufe one 
 common Idiom : For the FlemiJJ) 
 Language being no other than the Dutch 
 Tongue corrupted by the Neighbourhood of 
 the Walloons and Picards , thofe who have 
 wrote in Flanders made Ufe of the Dutch 
 Idiom as the nobleft and fulled; of Energy, 
 and which approached neared to the Mother- 
 Tongue, which is the German. They both 
 went under the Name of the Flemijh Thea¬ 
 tre^ when the two Nations were under the 
 Government of the fame Mader, and their 
 Sovereigns redded in Flanders ; but dnce the 
 difmembering of the United Provinces, we 
 mud fpeak of them feparately. It was from 
 
Flmijh and Dutch THEATRES. 183 
 
 the Reprefentations of Myjleries, that the 
 Theatre of Flanders had its Rife, as the 
 others had, with this Difference however, 
 that as foon as the French Nation grew po¬ 
 liced, it perceived the Indecency which the 
 Simplicity of thele firft Reprefentations con¬ 
 cealed, and by degrees they gave Place to 
 Shows better underftood and more regular: 
 But Flanders had not had the fame Advan¬ 
 tage, for Theatrical Shows having ceafed in 
 that Country, the Simplicity, void of all Po- 
 litenefs and Tafte, remained in its original 
 State. I could even be tempted to believe, 
 that the Flemijh as well as the Dutch took 
 for their Model, at their firft fetting out, the 
 Engli/hTheatre rather than th e French, feeing 
 that they followed the fame Method, and 
 did not adopt the French Theatre but fince 
 Corneille. At the Time when the Flemijh 
 Theatre might have been brought to Perfec¬ 
 tion (after the Example of other Nations) 
 their Sovereigns changed the Place of their 
 Refidence, and ever fince that Period we may 
 fay it has ceafed entirely. They have been 
 now a long time without a Theatre; and aU 
 that they preferve, is the Reprefentation of the 
 PaJJion, in the fame Simplicity and Groffnefs 
 with which it began, and which is aded 
 at certain Times of the Year by Societies of 
 Burghers, who ad alfo fometimes paltry 
 Tranfiationsof French Comedies. In fhort, 
 N 4 
 
184 Flemijh and Dutch THEATRES. 
 
 we may fay that fince the Year 1566, from 
 the Time of the Civil Wars, the Flemijh 
 Theatre has not fubfided : It was not fo in 
 Holland , where it has been cultivated; and I 
 fhall fpeak of their Theatre alone, in the 
 Sequel. The Dutch Theatre had its Origi¬ 
 nal from what they call in that Country Re¬ 
 den Ryckers Kameren, Companies or Societies 
 of Rhetoricians and Poets, who may be 
 compared to the firft Troubadours of Pro¬ 
 vence, as I fhall (hew more fully in the De- 
 fcription of the German Theatre. The(e 
 Companies took their Origin from the * natu¬ 
 ral Poetical Genius of the Nation, (which is 
 fo great, that even their mod: ancient Chroni¬ 
 cles are in Verfe) and the Eagernefs of the 
 People for Shows. 
 
 Thefe Societies were alfo common in Bra¬ 
 bant : They had fourteen at Antwerp-, that 
 of the Gilli-Flower , and that of the Olive- 
 Branch were the mod didinguifhed: There 
 were -f* nineteen at Ghent they had them in 
 
 Holland 
 
 * This Genius is Hill the fame, but better regulated. If 
 any Ferfon of Difrindlion is married, dies, is promoted, Cfr. 
 the Poets immediately take the Field, and ten, fifteen, or 
 twenty Epithalamiums, Elegies, or Panegyrics appear, all 
 which are printed in the fame manner as the Thtfes at 
 Parts. 
 
 ■f This may be proved by a Collection of Allegorical 
 Pieces (ZinnefydJ reprelented by the nineteen Chambers of 
 
 C bent % 
 
Flemijh and Dutch THEATRES. 185 
 
 Holland in almoft every City, as Harlem , 
 Gouda , Schiedam , Alcmaar, Leyden , Ulaer- 
 Rotterdam , £ &c. This Cuftom did 
 not prevail in the Cities alone, but alfo in 
 many Villages. In the Year 1708 they had 
 (till one in the Village of Voorfchootten near 
 Leyden , and another in the Village of Loof- 
 duynen near the Hague ; and there is now 
 actually one of them in the great Village of 
 Wafjenaar near Leyden. 
 
 The Members of thefe Societies were the 
 Wits of the Place, who were applied to 
 for Epithalamiums, for Elegies, for Panegy¬ 
 rics, or Compliments, when any one was 
 preferred to an Office, as I have faid before. 
 The fame compoled Theatrical Pieces, 
 which they adfed in the Society-Room (thus 
 they are entitled Katnerfpel , that is, Society- 
 Plays) and very often in the Country 
 in the Time of Fairs (Kermis) in public 
 upon Scaffolds. Seldom had they any Wo¬ 
 men ; 
 
 Ghent, printed in 1539. And by another Collection of fifty 
 Pieces, Allegories, Prologues (Voeorfpel) or Farces (Nafpel) 
 reprefented by the fourteen Chambers of Anvers. Printed 
 by Silvius at Anvers in 1562. 
 
 % Konftonende Juvueel , or the Jewel of Art, is a Proof of 
 this. It is a Colle&ion of fourteen Allegorical Pieces, com- 
 pofed and reprefented by feveral Chambers of Orators at 
 Harlem , printed at ZotWin 1607 ; and Ulaerdinge Rederykfoerg 
 (the Farnaffus of Ulaerdinge) or a Collection of fixteen Pieces 
 of the Orators of the Chambers in Ulaerdinge, printed in 
 1617, £sV. 
 
i86 Flemijh and Dutch TH E ATRE S. 
 
 men? they were Men who perfonated the 
 Characters. Oftentimes thefe Reden Ryckers 
 (Poets) of one Village went to perform their 
 Pieces at the Fair of another Village, which 
 in its Turn did the like to the other; or thefe 
 Societies tranfported themfelves in a Body to 
 affift at certain Feafts and Reprefentations in 
 another Town or Village ; and this they did 
 with Ceremonies, almoft the fame with thofe 
 they obferve in France, when the Companies 
 of the Arquehufe (Gunfmiths) of one Town 
 go to Ihoot for the Prize in another; and 
 fometimes there were Societies, who even per¬ 
 formed from one Town to another, and dis¬ 
 puted the Prize of Wit, and after the Perfor¬ 
 mance was over, the Wits of the Company 
 recited Extempore Pieces, or Madrigals, Son¬ 
 nets, &c. Such was the Origin of the Dutch 
 Theatre, of which it would be difficult to 
 fix the Epocha, fince that poetical Genius, 
 and that Paffion for Shows, Dancing, and 
 Songs, are as ancient as the Nation itfelf: 
 However it is probable that thefe Societies 
 were eftablifhed before the Burgundy Family 
 reigned in the Country. 
 
 The moft ancient Piece of the Dutch 
 Theatre is De Spiegel der Minne (the Mirror 
 of Love) by Colin Van Ryjfele, printed at 
 Haerlem in 1561, in 8vo. In the ancient 
 Tragedies they reprefent the Adion juft as it 
 happened; Thus in the Story of Egmond 
 
Flemijh and Dutch TH EATRE S. 187 
 
 and Horn, they cut off the Heads of thefe 
 two Earls upon the Stage; in another Piece 
 the Hero ftabs himfelf, and falls down dead, 
 after having deluged the Stage with the Blood 
 contained in a Bladder which he had under 
 his Arm: Haman in his Tragedy is hanged, 
 and Mordecai makes the Tour of the Thea- 
 atre mounted on a Rojinante. In Tamerlane , 
 that Prince appears on Horfeback with Ba- 
 jazet: In ffiort, in the Death of Conradin 
 King of Naples, an Officer goes to take him 
 out of his Dungeon, to lead him to the 
 Scaffold, whither he is accompanied by two 
 Priefts, one habited like a Biffiop, the other 
 like a Cardinal. Another Singularity *>f 
 their ancient Theatre is, that which they call 
 Vertoning (the Reprefentation); they let down 
 the Curtain in the midft of an Adt, and 
 range the Actors upon the Stage, fo that they 
 reprefent, after the Manner of Pantomimes, 
 fome principal Adtion of the Subjedt. Thus 
 in Gyjbrecht van Aemjlel, they lift up the 
 Curtain, and on the Stage are reprefen ted the 
 Soldiers of Egmond, Enemy to Gyjbrecht , 
 who fack a Convent of Nuns, where 
 every Soldier has one, whom he ufes at his 
 Difcretion : The Abbefs is ftretched out in 
 the midft of the Theatre, holding on her 
 Knees the venerable Gofwin, the exiled Biffiop 
 of Utrecht, maffacred in his Pontifical Robes, 
 his Mitre or his Head, and the Crofs in his 
 
 Hand, 
 
18 8 Flemijh and Dutch TH EATRE S. 
 
 Hand. At the End of the Siege of Leyden there 
 are eight or ten living Emblems to reprefent 
 the Weight cf the Spanijh Tyranny, the 
 Valour of the Dutch, Religion triumphant, 
 Adis re-ellablifhed, &c. There are upon the 
 Stage upwards of three hundred Perfons, and 
 an Adtrefs, with a Wand in her Hand, ex¬ 
 plains them to the Spedlators, who appear 
 aftonilhed: We may fay that really this 
 makes a beautiful Show. 
 
 The Dutch Spedlators, befides the Maffa- 
 cres and Blood, have adopted, and have a 
 Tafte for, the Marvellous and Extraordinary : 
 For Example, they adt a Tragedy, where we 
 feeaPrincefs who has before her on a Plate her 
 Lover’s Head cut off; fhe lets herfelf down 
 to write, and addreffes her Words to the 
 Head, who anfwers her. In another Tra¬ 
 gedy, Circe defigning to deftroy the Confi¬ 
 dent of Ulyjfes, with whom Ihe was difpleafed, 
 orders a Procefs to be begun againft him: 
 The Criminal is brought before the Court 
 which Circe had conftituted for that Pur- 
 pofe: The Lyon is the Prefident, the Mon¬ 
 key the Regifter, the Wolf, the Fox, and 
 other Animals are Counfellors, and the Bear 
 is the Hangman. They condemn the Con¬ 
 fident of Ulyjfes , and hang him immediately 
 without letting him gooff the Stage: After 
 the Execution, all the Members of him that 
 was hanged, fall Piece by Piece into a Well, 
 
 which 
 
Flemijh and Dutch THEATRES. 189 
 
 which is beneath the Gallows. Ulyjjes comes 
 upon the Stage and complains to Circe , who, 
 touched at his Grief, makes him that was 
 hanged come forth from the Well alive and 
 entire as he was before. They are very curi¬ 
 ous about their Machines and their Flights. 
 When a Man is to fly, a Rope is hung down 
 with a Stirrup at the End of it; the Ador 
 puts one Foot in it, takes hold of it with one 
 Hand, and then comes down from the 
 Height of the Theatre. 
 
 Their Theatre becomes every Day more 
 exad, and they banilh all thefe ancient Pieces, 
 excepting fome few, which are as it were 
 confecrated by long Cuftom. For Example, 
 the Siege of Leyden is a died every Year on 
 the 3d of OSlober , Gyjbrecht van Aemftel on 
 Chriftmas-Eve ; and each of thefe Pieces is 
 played every Year five or fix times running, 
 to fatisfy the greedy Curiofity of Peafants, 
 inferior Burghers, old People, Servants, and 
 Children. 
 
 From the Year 1561, which is the Epocha 
 of their moft ancient Comedy, until the 
 Year 1638, the Nation counts forty Poets. 
 He who firft wrote with any Regularity for 
 the Theatre was Peter Cornelius Hooft , Son 
 to a Burgo-Mafter of Amfierdam , a learned 
 Man, diftinguifhed by the Name which they 
 give him of the Dutch Tacitus, Author of 
 a Hiftory of the Republic, and of the Hi- 
 
 flory 
 
190 Rlemijh and Dutch THEATRES. 
 
 ftory of Henry IV, which was liked fo much 
 at that Time, that Lewis XIII. ennobled 
 him, and gave him the Order of St. Michael. 
 Hooft had Talents for Poetry, he was a 
 Member of the Society of Rhetoricians at 
 Amjlerdam. His Hiftorian Brandt remarks 
 that he improved that Society very much ; 
 and giving himfelf wholly up to Poetry 
 before he wrote his Hiftory, lie compofed 
 many Pieces, very regular for that Time. 
 We have of him four Tragedies and three 
 Comedies. The firft, which is Achilles and 
 Polyxena , is dated in the Year 16205 and 
 thus he preceded by above fifteen Years 
 the famous Vondel of whom I fhall now 
 fpeak. 
 
 Vondel, furnamed the Dutch Virgil and 
 Seneca , began to write for the Theatre in 
 1638, when he gave a Tragi-Comedy, in ti¬ 
 tled PaJ’cha. His Theatrical Pieces are 
 printed in two Volumes 4to. which contain 
 thirty Tragedies; the firft Volume has fix- 
 teen on facred Subjects, and the fecond four¬ 
 teen prophane ones, five of which have been 
 corrected fince the Year 1700, according to 
 the Tafte of the modern Theatre. The 
 Palamede of Vondel pafies for a Mafter- 
 piece: It is an allegorical Piece, which 
 couches a Satire on the Stadtholderftiip of 
 Prince Maurice , and a Panegyric on Barne - 
 velt, ,>vhom that Prince brought to the 
 
 Scaffold, 
 
Flemijh and Dutch TH EATRE S. 191 
 
 Scaffold, altho’ it was to him he owed all his 
 Dignities. 
 
 Before the Reign of Lewis XIV. we find 
 in the Dutch Theatre very few foreign 
 Pieces imitated, excepting fome taken fron> 
 the Spanijh , and which they received from 
 Brabant : But fince they have approved of 
 Corneille , Racine, and the other celebrated 
 Tragedians, they have tranflated their good 
 Performances with all the Energy the Dutch 
 Tongue is capable of, infomuch that they 
 fay confidently in their Country, that they 
 have many Pieces of thefe Authors as good 
 as the Originals, and fome that exceed them: 
 For their Language, as they pretend, is infi¬ 
 nitely more expreffive of the Serious and 
 Tragic , than the French Tongue is: They 
 pretend that one Dutch Word has more 
 Force in that kind of Writing, than a Period 
 in French ; but I cannot judge of this, being 
 entirely ignorant of that Language. Their 
 Theatrical Pieces are always in Verfe, and 
 they follow the fame Rule they do in France ; 
 they feldom write in Blank Verfe. The 
 Tragedies are generally in five Adis, and 
 fometimes in three. As for the Rhime, I am 
 of Opinion that it is the Nature of their 
 Language which caufes them to follow Ver- 
 fification fo much, for their Rhimes are ex¬ 
 cellent. Their Verfe rhimes like the Italian , 
 always by the two laft Syllables: This makes 
 
 a 
 
jg 2 Flemijh and Dutch THEATRES, 
 
 a Harmony fo juft and fo fonorous, that all 
 thole who are able to tafte the Italian 
 Poetry allure us, that, for the fame Reafons, 
 they cannot help being affedted with the 
 Dutch Rhimes, 
 
 However, notwithstanding thefe Advan¬ 
 tages of the Rhime in the Dutch Language, 
 I imagine that there is an Inconvenience in 
 it. Before I explain my Thought, 1 would 
 call to mind the Criticifm which a French 
 Author made, a propos , on the Italian Lan¬ 
 guage, becaufe it appears to me to be of the 
 lame Nature with the Remark I have made 
 on the Dutch Tongue. The French Critic 
 advanced that the greateft Part of the Ita¬ 
 lian Words ended with an a or an o , and 
 faid that, that continual Monotony rendered 
 the Language very defective. The Italians 
 who anfwered him, made him fenfible, that 
 if he had been but in the leaft able to Ipeak 
 the Italian Language, he would not have 
 advanced fuch an Obfervation; but that 
 having judged of it only by the Eye, he 
 ealily fell into the Error *. This probably 
 may be my Cafe, notwithstanding all the 
 Precautions I have taken. The Dutch Poets 
 
 have 
 
 * The Marquis of Orfi , In his Letters upon TThe Manner 
 of 'Thinking well, and Mr. Mauratori in his Perfetta poejia* 
 furnifh us with as many Inftances and Examples of this kind 
 as can be defired* 
 
Flefaijh and Dutch THEATRES. 193 
 
 have imitated the Alexandrian Verfe in all 
 its Parts, and I believe that their Language 
 ought not to follow the Quality of the maf- 
 culine and feminine Rhimes of the French 
 Poetry. It feems to me that the Dutch fe¬ 
 minine Rhime is faulty in the Article of 
 Monotony: It terminates always in the Syl¬ 
 lable er z, and that perpetual Sound appears to 
 me very troublefome. I know very well that 
 the Pronounciation can diverlify, in fome 
 meafure, the Sound of that Syllable en, ac¬ 
 cording as it is preceeded by a long, or a 
 fhort, or a double Vowel, &c. but this can¬ 
 not perfuade me that the Inconvenience of 
 the Monotony does not prefent itfelf conti¬ 
 nually. I do not underfland the Dutch 
 Language ; but after having judged of it by 
 my Eyes, and by Reflection I was willing 
 alfo to judge of it by my Ears : I caufed a 
 Dutchman to pronounce to me fome Words 
 chofen out of feminine Rhimes, and I per¬ 
 ceived that the Syllable en founded con¬ 
 tinually in my Ears, notwithflanding the 
 different Sound that every Word bears; that 
 it never changes its Sound, and that it is al¬ 
 ways pronounced. They aflure me, that in 
 familiar Difcourfe it isfometimes almoft: mute, 
 or at leaft foftened ; but that on the Theatre, 
 and in the Pulpit, they pronounce it always 
 ftrong. 
 
 I make another Refle&ioru The French 
 O have 
 
194 Flemijh and Dutch TH EATRE S. 
 
 have been obliged to eftablifti two Rhimes 
 which they have named mafculine and fe¬ 
 minine, by the Nature of their Language, 
 the half of whole Words terminate in a 
 mute e ; and I conceive that the Dutch 
 Tongue was necellitated to the fame, having 
 alfo half of its Words terminating in en. 
 But I obferve the Advantage which the 
 French has over the Dutch Tongue: In the 
 one we but Very rarely perceive that the fe¬ 
 minine Rhimes terminate in e ; and in the 
 other we hear plainly that they all terminate 
 in en. In effeit, Image, Jaloufie, Chimere, 
 Sacrifice , Perfide, Adore, Colere , &c. and an 
 infinite Number of Words of French femi¬ 
 nine Rhimes, do not appear to end in e, and 
 each has a different Sound. But in the 
 Dutch Tongue, thefe Words Leden, Voren, 
 Tirannen, IVonden, Gebroken, Zoonen , Barba - 
 aren, and in all the reft of their feminine 
 Rhimes, the Syllable en founds continually, 
 and confequently the Monotony is inevitable. 
 ] have had the Curiofity to examine, on this 
 Head, the Dutch Tragedy of The Death of 
 the Prince of Orange , which is one of the 
 beft of their Theatre: The firft Adt has 
 800 Lines, 400 of which are feminine 
 Rhimes; of which there are 324 that ter¬ 
 minate in the Syllable en ; and twenty that 
 have a different Termination ; and this con¬ 
 firms to me, that the Difpofition of their 
 
 Language 
 
Flemijh and Dutch THEATRES. 195 
 
 Language is not at all lucky, in regard to 
 this Article, of the feminine Rhimes they 
 have adopted; perhaps indeed they cannot 
 difpofe any other wife, but they never fail 
 to be a remarkable Inconvenience *. 
 
 Their Theatre now becomes every Day more 
 exad: They have banilhed all the ancient 
 Pieces, and a &. none but new ones, which 
 make their Theatre entirely of a French 
 Tafle. Generally they perform a Tragedy 
 or a Comedy of five Adts, followed by a 
 fmall Piece which they call Klugtfpel. Many 
 of thele they have tranilated from D' Ancourt 
 and Le Grand, and other French Authors; 
 but thofe which are in the natural Tafte oF 
 the Country, infinitely exceed the foreign 
 Pieces; befides that, the Authors are igno¬ 
 rant of the Spirit of the French Perfor¬ 
 mances, which renders thele Tranflations 
 very infipid: But they perform Wonders in 
 O 2 Tra- 
 
 * The Dutch and Germans are the only Nations who have 
 imitated the French in making Ufe of Rhime in Tragedy and 
 Comedy. The Italians and the Englfh have never put them 
 into Rhime; and if the Spaniards have fometimes done it, 
 they have put the Rhimes correfponding to one another at a 
 confiderable Diftance, and by that Means avoided the dif- 
 agreeable Monotony of the Alexandrine Verfe. I don't think 
 however, that they are to be followed as Models io.that Parti¬ 
 cular. 
 
 From this Note of our Author s it is plain that there are a 
 gnat many Englifh Dramatic Performances , which never 
 came to brs Hands y and which he never heard of 
 
196 Flemijh and Dutch TH EATRE S. 
 
 Tragedy, which they recite nobly and natu¬ 
 rally, the Dutch being generally averfe to 
 the Tragic Declamation of the French Thea¬ 
 tre, which they regard as a Rant foreign to 
 Nature. 
 
 The Play-houfes of Amflerdam , of the 
 Hague , and of Leyden , have had good Au¬ 
 thors •f ; but they have but few fo good Ac- 
 treffes, as Madam Benjamine , &c. They 
 fay that they would yet have better Ac¬ 
 tors and Adtreffes, if they were paid as in 
 France ; for there are great Numbers who 
 have the Gifts of the Theatre, Memory, 
 Tafte, Prefence, and good Speech; but their 
 + beft Performers have not above 600 Florins 
 a Year; fo that, not being able to live by the 
 Theatre alone, they all have Trades. Punt 
 is an excellent Engraver. Duym is a Book- 
 feller, &c.. Befides this, their Players muft 
 be lober and modeft, becaufebeing almoft all 
 Burgers and Burgers Wives, they would be 
 afhamed to appear upon the Stage with an 
 Adlor whofe Virtue was fufpedted: On this 
 Account the Managers of their Theatres, 
 who are eight Perfons of Diftinilion, were 
 
 obliged 
 
 f Van Sermes, Ryu dorp, Nofeman, Brinhhuyfe , Benjamine 
 Kotringy Jan Tambour , Vander Sluys . Bor, Boehhurft , Vander 
 Ramp. Duym , Punt, have diftinguifhed themfelves. 
 
 X Benjamine Brinhhuyfe , Nofeman, Rigo, Waehtendorp, Bor 3 
 Duym, Jordaan, Maze. 
 
Fiemifo and Dutch THEATRES. 197 
 
 obliged to difmifs their bed Adtrels, becaufe 
 an Accident which had happened to her, 
 hindered her Companions to perform along 
 with her: However, fome Time after (he 
 was readmitted. 
 
 Their Play-houfes are a Demi-oval, of 
 which, the Side of the Stage makes the 
 fmall Diameter: Near to the Stage is the 
 Orchedre, confiding at the mod of two 
 Bands of Muficians: Behind this, two 
 Thirds of the Space form what they call 
 Bac, which is a Pit with Benches covered 
 with Cuflfions or Carpets: The other Third- 
 part, which is about two or three Foot 
 higher, is a Place where they dand up: 
 There is, all round the Room, a Row of Boxes 
 which are higher than the lowed Part of 
 the Stage by five or fix Feet. At Amjlerdam 
 there is a fecond Row of Boxes, in form of 
 an Amphitheatre. 
 
 They pay Twenty-pence for the Pit, 
 Thirty-pence for the Boxes, for the Standing- 
 Places Six-pence, and for the Amphitheatre 
 above (where there is one) Ten-pence. The 
 Revenue of the Theatre, (Actors paid, and all 
 Expences defray’d) isfetafide for the Support 
 of two Hofpitals, which have fometimes from 
 twenty to five and twenty thoufand Florins 
 a Year. In all the other Cities, the Perfor¬ 
 mance is carried on with Tranquillity 
 enough: As between the Adts they lower the 
 O 3 Cur- 
 
198 Flemijh and Dutch THEATRES. 
 
 Curtain in order to fnuff the Candles, the 
 meaner Sort of People take that Opportunity 
 to drink, taking Care to bring a Stock along 
 with them; but at Amjlerdam , where the 
 People are more forward and impudent, the 
 Amphitheatre, above the firfl: Boxes, is very 
 troublefome: They talk there very loud ; 
 they call to one another from one End to the 
 other; they crack Nuts during the whole 
 Performance; they are perpetually throwing 
 Bottles up and down between Adis, infomuch 
 that they make a terrible Noife, which is 
 very difagreeable. If the Adtors difpleafe 
 the Amphitheatre, they plague them ; they 
 call them Nick-names, and cry aloud to them 
 to retire, or to hold their Peace, &c. Their 
 Play-houfes are well illuminated: Belides 
 five or fix Sconces which hang from the Mid¬ 
 dle down on the Edge of the Stage, there are 
 generally between the Boxes hranched-Can- 
 dlefticks with Lights in them. They boaft 
 extremely of the Theatre of Amjlerdam , and 
 it is current in thefe Parts, that it is one of 
 the m6fl beautiful in Europe ; but this I can’t 
 affirm for Truth, becaufe I never law it: It 
 is of great Extent both irw Length and 
 Breadth: Its Decorations are magnificent: 
 There is a Gallery of the famous LaireJJ'e y 
 which is a Mafter-piece; and a Saloon of 
 ‘Troojl, which is grand. 
 
 I muff obferve that their Tafte for Poetry 
 
 ist 
 
Flemijh and Dutch TH E ATRE S. 199 
 
 is not at all diminished, altho’ the Reden-Ryck- 
 ers-Kamers do not fubfifl any more: They 
 have fubftituted in their room Poetical-Socie¬ 
 ties, and diftinguifhed every one by a De¬ 
 vice. They count in Amjlerdam So many as 
 thirty, the moft ancient of which have for 
 Devices, the one In magnis r voluiJJe fat eft ; 
 and the other, Latet quoq\ utilitas. Thefe 
 two Societies, from the Year 16S0 to 1698, 
 have produced twenty four Pieces. Another, 
 which has for its Motto, Nil volentibus ardu- 
 um y has given twenty fix from the Year 1704 
 to 1717: That which has for its Device, 
 L’ Application fait fleurir les Arts , has pro¬ 
 duced twenty five Pieces from 1700 to 1718, 
 infomueh that the Colledtion of the Thea¬ 
 trical Pieces of thefe Societies amounts to 
 near two hundred. 
 
 The Catalogue of the Pieces of the Dutch 
 Theatre printed in the Year 1727, contains 
 two hundred fixty eight Authors, thirty Socie¬ 
 ties, and four hundred ninety eight Trage¬ 
 dies, three hundred Seventy one Comedies, 
 Seventy fix Tragi-Comedies, twenty three 
 Paftorals, two hundred feventy Farces, and 
 eight Operas, which make in all one thou¬ 
 sand two hundred forty fix Theatrical Pieces. 
 As for Habits, they have followed the Tafte 
 of the Times: At prefent they ufe the fame 
 they do at Paris , excepting this, that their 
 Roman Habits are with Helmets, which are 
 O 4 yet 
 
2qo Flemijh and Dutch TH EATRE S. 
 
 ytt better than Hats: The Oriental Pieces 
 are performed in a long Drefs, like the Fur- 
 kip ; the reft in Dreffes according to the 
 Falhion: The whole is magnificent, and the 
 Roman Habits are embroidered curioufly: 
 Their Warehoufe furnifties all. 
 
 The principal Adtors are at prelent Mr. 
 Duym, whom they call their Baron, and 
 Punt, their Quinault. Madams Maze and 
 Bruyn, and fome young People who form 
 themfelves on the Inftrudtions of the old Bor, 
 who will become, as they hope, excellent; 
 Adlors. 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 L L the Capital Cities of 
 Europe have applied themfelves 
 earneftly to revive Shows. In 
 effect, as foon as Tragedy and 
 Comedy appeared fince the 
 Time of the Rom am, we 
 may oblerve, that the feveral Nations took 
 but little Time after one another, in re-efta- 
 blifhing their Theatres. In Truth, the Ger¬ 
 man Theatre has been the lateft; and for this 
 Reafon it is, that it is eafier to trace its Ori¬ 
 gin and Progrefs, than of the others. 
 
 Ancient Germany has its Bards , who in 
 Quality of Poets compofed and fung the 
 Elogies of their Heroes. Hence it is that 
 the Word Bar comes, which fignifies a Song. 
 Since Charlemagne , we have feen fucceed to 
 thefe Bards another kind of Poets, called 
 Majler-hanger, that is to fay Mafler-Singers, 
 
202 He GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 who may be fix hundred Years {landing. 
 They bring all fort of Proofs to evince that 
 they were famous even in the Days of 
 Otho the Great, who had given them confi- 
 derable Privileges, confirmed by his Succef- 
 fors, efpecially Maximilian I. Different Socie¬ 
 ties and Clubs of thefe Majler-Singers were 
 formed in the principal Cities of Germany ; 
 at Mentz, Strajbourg, Nurembourg , and AugJ- 
 bourg. They had a Right to write Poetry 
 at Tournaments, public Meetings, and other 
 folemn Ceremonies. That at Strajbourg is 
 actually fubfifting yet, and enjoys certain 
 Revenues, eftablifhed many Ages ago in 
 favour of this Company; which is compofed 
 of Tradefmen, Workmen, Taylors, Shoe¬ 
 makers, Weavers, Millers, &c. who perform 
 in a confpicuous Place, or a common Hall of 
 Tradefmen, publickly at certain Times in 
 the Year, having their old and their chief 
 Men, who are Judges of the Verfification and 
 Song, and who diftribute the inftituted Prize, 
 according to their Rules and Cuftoms; thefe 
 ignorant Workmen, who have no Notion of 
 Poetry, nor of the Rules of Mufic, give be- 
 fides fometimes an Entertainment to amufe 
 the By-ftanders. 
 
 It is from thefe Singers that we mull draw 
 the Origin of the German Theatre; but they 
 did not apply to this till late, giving them- 
 felves up generally to compofe Verfes on Sub¬ 
 jects 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 203 
 
 je<fts taken from facred and prophane Hi- 
 ftory, which they recite in their public Room. 
 The Royal Song of the French , under the 
 Reign of Charles about the Year 1370, of 
 which we have fpoken in its proper Place, 
 has all the Appearance of being the fame 
 thing. I would not undertake to fearch and 
 determine which Nation firft fung Verfes on 
 Paflages of Hiftory; any learned Man, who 
 is curious about it, may decide it; but as for 
 me, I negledt that Search, as a Thing which 
 is not at all neceffary to my Subject 
 
 Before the fifteenth Age, we find no Signs 
 of Shows reprefented by thefe German Sing¬ 
 ers. About the Middle of the fixteenth Age 
 they were frequent, efpecially at Nuremburgh , 
 where a Shoemaker named Haanflachs , who 
 was not without a Genius, had compofed 
 many German Dramatic Pieces, of which 
 there are feveral Volumes in Folio and Quar¬ 
 to, without reckoning the Manufcripts which 
 are yet extant in great Number. The Au¬ 
 thor performed them himfelf in public 
 Houfes, where thefe Tradefmen had their 
 common Meetings. Thefe firft Dramatic 
 Pieces were taken moftly from facred Hiftory, 
 like thofe which they had feen at that Time 
 in France , where they had appeared an Age 
 before. 
 
 It feems that they a died them gratis , or 
 at leaft their Recompence was but trifling: 
 
 They 
 
204 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 They alfo have made them on purpofe, to 
 amufe or inftrudl their Princes. Majfenius tells 
 us, that they had one which hinted at the 
 Affairs of Religion in thefe Times, and that 
 this was to (hew to Charles V. the Faults 
 which he had committed. Some Bodies of 
 Tradefmen in the great Towns of Germany 
 making fometimes lolemn Proceffions, had a 
 Cuftom, from Time immemorial, to adt 
 Comedies and Farces. By degrees was intro¬ 
 duced alfo into public Schools the Cuftom of 
 Shows, but generally in the Latin Tongue. 
 You will find at the End of my Book a fmall 
 Catalogue of certain German Theatrical 
 Pieces, compofed originally in that Language; 
 for they have a great many French ones, and 
 many ancient Latin ones, which have been 
 tranflated into German by different Authors 
 at different Times. 
 
 From the Year 1516 to 1628 or 30, their 
 facred and profane Tragedies were but 
 wretched; and during that Time the infipid 
 Comedies of Hannjfachs t and the other 
 Mafier-Singers^ who wrote in his Manner, 
 poffefled the German Theatre. In the Year 
 1626 a Company of Dutch Players went to 
 Hamburgh , and the German Theatre altered 
 its Manner, by borrowing from them the 
 Models of a better Drama both in Tragedy 
 and Comedy. About the Year 1627 or 28, 
 a, Company of Players was formed, which 
 
 gave 
 
Tfo GERMAN THEATRE. 205 
 
 gave Rife to many others; and thefe writing 
 Plays in the Tafte of the Dutch , by degrees 
 destroyed the Theatre of the Majler-Singers , 
 by turning them into Burlefque and Ridicule. 
 Towards the Year 1630, or at moft 35, the 
 German Theatre was in its Perfection; and 
 then their Poets wrote regular Tragedies and 
 Comedies in a correct Verification, as I (hall 
 fhew, after I have given the Reader a general 
 Notion of this Theatre. 
 
 The Players however (till retained their 
 Dutch Tafte of the Drama, and intermixt 
 true Tragedy with their ordinary Plays, 
 which in the main were as wretched as the 
 Drama of the Singers. Since the Year 1680, 
 the German Players being inftruCted by the 
 Italian Companies which were invited to 
 German Courts, attempted to play Extem¬ 
 pore Comedies; thefe Italians gave them 
 the Ground-plat, and thefe were pirated in 
 Writing during the Reprefentation. 
 
 At prefcnt the German Drama is compofed 
 of good Tragedies and Comedies; of Plays 
 written in the firft Tafte of the Dutch ; of 
 great Numbers tranfiated; and of the Ita¬ 
 lian Comedies adapted to their Idiom, and 
 played extempore . 
 
 We muft obferve that the Germa?is are 
 the only People in Europe who, in Imitation 
 of the Italians , have attempted to aCt ex¬ 
 tempore: I don’t know however if they 
 
 ought 
 
206 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 ought to boafl much of their Succefsj for 1 
 tho’ their Theatre were perfect, this Method 
 of extempore is enough to debauch and 
 ruin it. The true Italian Drama, wrote and 
 played in Academies about the Year 1500, 
 was a Reformation of the Hireling Comedy 
 which many Ages before was played extent - 
 pore , as we have feen above. But the Ger¬ 
 mans having begun their Drama by written, 
 tho’ wretched, Tragedies and Comedies, and 
 their Theatre being afterwards polilhed into 
 a better Tafte, there is great Reafon to fear 
 that the extempore Manner, which has been 
 fmce introduced, may occafion the entire 
 Ruin of the German Theatre. 
 
 The firft Company that was formed in 
 Germany after the Year 1626, was compofed 
 of young Students of good Families, and 
 their Chief was one Charles Paul, the Son of 
 a Lieutenant-Colonel. Thefe were foon fol¬ 
 lowed by others, who, like them, chofe their 
 Adtors from among the Students of the beft 
 Education and Families. The Head of the 
 fourth Company, which was formed during 
 the Infancy of their Theatre, was John Wel- 
 ten , a Profefl'or of Philofophy, and Son to 
 the ProfefTor of Divinity in the Univerfity of 
 Jena in Saxony. This able Player chofe 
 his Company from among the Flower of the 
 noble Scholars of Jena and Leipjic in Saxony . 
 He wrote Tragedies of his own Invention. 
 
 The 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 207 
 
 The Eledtor of Saxony took them all into 
 his Service, where they ended their Days in 
 great Efteem. The other Companies which 
 facceeded, kept up the great Reputation of 
 their Predeceflbrs ; fome of them by their Ta¬ 
 lents and Birth have been honoured with the 
 Laurel, and declared Poets-Laureat by the 
 Emperor j fome of them, having left the 
 Stage, attained to great Dignities in the 
 Church, and to other Ports of Power and 
 Profit, which they could not have filled, had 
 there not met in their Perfons the higheft 
 Quality with the moft diftinguilhed Capa¬ 
 city. Some of thefe Gentlemen ftiil live in 
 great Employments, tho’ it may not be de¬ 
 cent to name them, becaufe in our Days the 
 Profeffion of a Player in all Countries is a 
 Blemifli upon his natural Accomplilhments. 
 
 The German Tragedies and Comedies, 
 which originally were no other than Imita¬ 
 tions of the Dutch, have to this Day pre¬ 
 served the Gloominefs of their original Mo¬ 
 dels. I fhall not mention the Punilhments 
 nor the Torments of Martyrs, nor the Racks 
 of Ruffians, it is enough to fay that they 
 never fail to bring them all upon the Stage. 
 In their Tragedies are commonly heard hor¬ 
 rible Voices; Spedtres and Phantoms are feen 
 with bloody Swords in their Hands, or ftick- 
 ing in their Breads, together with black flam¬ 
 ing 
 
208 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 ing Torches, Tombs, and every Object that 
 can mod effectually excite Terror. 
 
 As I obferved before, about a hundred 
 Years ago, they attempted firft to chaftife and 
 reform their Theatre upon the Models of 
 Antiquityj to obferve Rules, to write in a 
 corredt Stile, elegant and fublime at the fame 
 time, to polilh their Rhimes and Numbers, 
 fo as to give their Plays their jufteft Perfec¬ 
 tion and trueft Beauty. The Silejians had 
 the Honour to be the firft who cultivated 
 this barren Spot. John Opitz, Andrew Gry- 
 phius, and Gafper de Lohenftein , are the three 
 moft able German Poets who have given the 
 greateft Beauty both to the Poetry and Stage 
 of their Country. The firft of thefe has 
 wrote a German Profody, where he lays 
 down for his Countrymen excellent Rules 
 for the Drama. The Dramatic Compofi- 
 tions of thefe Authors, which are almoft all 
 Tragedies, efpecially Gryphius who is the 
 Corneille of Germany, have merited the 
 Efteem of the Public, .and their Reputation 
 continues to this Day. The Saxons have 
 only followed or imitated thefe with regard 
 either to Tajle, Purity, or Elegance of Stile, 
 or the Force of Expreflion. No German 
 Poet fince the Time of Gryphius has pre- 
 l'umed to difpute with him the firft Place in 
 Tragedy. He was like wife Author of feme 
 very pretty diverting Farces, which contained a 
 
 very 
 
<The GERMAN THEATRE. 209 
 
 very fine and agreeable Ridicule upon the 
 Comedies that had till then been played by 
 the Singers whom we have already men¬ 
 tioned, and by the Strollers of thofe Days. 
 
 At prelent they have no Poets who at¬ 
 tempt to give the Public any original Com- 
 pofitions in their manner*, they having adopt¬ 
 ed the Dramatic Compofitions of foreign 
 Theatres to their own. Some time fince, they 
 began to tranllate from the French Theatre, 
 then from the Spanijh , the Italian , the Eng- 
 lijh , &c. without however leaving out their 
 old Pieces, which Hill are the Ground-work 
 of their Drama, tho’ very wretched Stuff. 
 If an.y Pieces in a quite new Manner ap¬ 
 peared, whether Tranfiations or Imitations, 
 they for the mod part never fold one Im- 
 preffion; the Reafon of this is lingular and 
 worthy to be accounted for. 
 
 In all their Companies there are Poets who 
 write Plays. If any Poet who is foreign to 
 their Profeffion lhall offer them a Play, he 
 experts no Copy-Money, nor any Reward, 
 but makes a Prefent of it to fome Adtor or 
 Adtrefs j and the Proprietor enjoys all the 
 Profits of the Author, or a certain Sum 
 which is agreed to be paid by the Company 
 every time it is adted, tho’ it run for an Age; 
 and thus a Play is as it were an Eftate en¬ 
 tailed, which goes by Defcent in a Family. 
 It is the fame with the Pieces of their Atting 
 P Authors: 
 
2io The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 Authors: But as foon as one of their Pieces 
 appears in Print, the Company immediately 
 make themfelves Matters of it, and give no 
 future Confideration to the Player, who is 
 either Proprietor or Author. For this Reafon 
 moft of their new Pieces are only known by 
 their being a died, and never appear in Print. 
 Iniereft prevents the Adting Authors or Pro¬ 
 prietors from reli(hing the Benefit which the 
 Public mutt receive from feeing thefe Per¬ 
 formances in Print, fince it mutt thereby be 
 enabled to judge of the Progrefs or Declen- 
 fion of their Stage, which would not fail to 
 give Rife to Diflertations andCriticifms always 
 produdtive of good EfFedls, either by con¬ 
 firming the Public in their Tafte when good, 
 or expofing it when bad. 
 
 I am fenfible that on the other hand a 
 great many People, efpecially Players, approve 
 of this Method, becaufe they know that as 
 foon as a Piece is in Print their Houfes grow 
 very thin, and the Curiofity of the Public 
 abates by reading it. When the Pieces are 
 not printed, they ftill have Novelty to recom¬ 
 mend them; and after a ten Years Inter- 
 miffion of reprefenting them, the Curiofity 
 of the Public will make as crowded a Houle, 
 as on the firtt Night of their Reprelentation. 
 Could the Poetical Inheritance at Paris be 
 brought under the like Regulation, it would 
 be of vaft Advantage to the Players, elpe- 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 211 
 
 dally as the Authors are to have no Confi- 
 deration whatfoever; but few Poets write 
 for bare Glory, and moft of them want to 
 make a Penny of their Works. For my own 
 Part I own that I am a great Stickler for an 
 Author’s being paid, for fometimes the Sweets 
 of the Gain engage Perfons who excel in 
 the Drama, to draw their Pens in that Spe¬ 
 cies of Writing, who perhaps otherwife never 
 would have dreamed of commencing Au¬ 
 thors. If this Practice of rewarding Authors 
 was introduced by Players, the State is very 
 much obliged to them, for it has produced 
 many illuftrious Authors who have done 
 Honour to the French Nation. 
 
 With regard to the Reprefentation of 
 Holy Myfteries upon the Stage, it is not 
 above thirty Years fince the Paffion of our 
 Lord was reprefen ted at Vienna in Aujlria, 
 but prohibited afterwards by the Prececeflor 
 of the prefent Archbifhop on account of the 
 Indecencies and Profanenefs introduced by 
 the Adtors in the Reprefentation. In the 
 Exhibition of this Piece, which conufted of 
 five Adts, we faw the Terreftial Paradice, the 
 Creation of Adam and Eve, their Fall, the 
 Death of Abel, Mofes in the Defart, the 
 Travels of Mary, jfofeph, and the Child 
 Jefus into i.Egypt , which laft, by the bye, is 
 reprefented in the Habit of a full-grown Lad, 
 and is fed with Spoon-meat upon the Stage. 
 
 P 2 We 
 
2 i2 Me GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 We then fee the Deputation of Chrijl with 
 the Elders in the Temple ; his Prayer in the 
 Garden; his Seizing ; all his Paftion; his 
 Death upon the Crofs, and his Burial, which 
 clofes the Reprefentation. Other Reprefen- 
 tations of the Paffion are more agreeable to 
 the Rules of Good-Senfe; but this is moft 
 frequently exhibited, it being, by reafon of 
 its lingular Decorations, the favourite Enter¬ 
 tainment of the Public. 
 
 At Vienna , and all the Courts of the Ger¬ 
 man Princes, as well as the principal Cities of 
 the Empire, their Halls are magnificent, built 
 by Italian Architects, and embellished by 
 Italian Painters; as to the Expences of fee¬ 
 ing a Play, they are pretty much upon the 
 fame Footing as in France. 
 
 At Hamburgh there is an Opera where 
 they fing in the Italian Manner, which is 
 generally followed and praCtifed all over Ger¬ 
 many : The Recitative is in their own Lan¬ 
 guage, but the Airs generally in the Italian : 
 They have three different Operas in one 
 Week. I don’t know if the Muficians in 
 the Opera at Hamburgh are upon the fame 
 Regulations they were forty Years ago; but 
 I am affured that they are all Tradefmen or 
 Handicrafts; and your Shoemaker was often 
 the firft Performer on the Stage; and you 
 might have bought Confe&ions and Fruits 
 from the fame Girls whom the Night before 
 
 you 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 213 
 
 you law in the Charadter of Armida or Semi - 
 ramis. But I am perfuaded, that in Imita¬ 
 tion of the other People of Europe they have 
 exalted this Entertainment. 
 
 There are fix German Companies of Co¬ 
 medians, whereof Sweden has one, Livonia 
 another, and the reft ftroll about as they 
 pleafe from Town to Town. Moft of the 
 German Courts have French Companies, 
 fometimes Italian , whom they hire to refide 
 with them} and they have like wile Operas 
 which coft them prodigious Sums. At Vi¬ 
 enna in Aujlria there is every Year an Opera, 
 becaufe all the Emperor’s Band of Mufic are 
 Italians ; whence we may readily infer, that 
 the German Company of Players are not 
 very well received over that Country. 
 
 In refledling upon the Manners of all the 
 Theatres we have as yet defcribed, we may I 
 believe reafonably prefume, that all of them, 
 more or lefs, fall Ihort of that Severity of 
 Manners and Didlion which Men of V irtue 
 require, and that there is great room for a Re¬ 
 formation. The Cities of Rome and Paris 
 have given very ftrong Proofs of the Defire 
 which their Governments have to put their 
 Stages on a better Footing in this refpedt. 
 
 Lewis XIV. ordered that every new Play 
 before it was a died Ihould be approved and 
 figned by the Lieutenant-General of the 
 Police, This is a very wife Inftitution, and 
 P 3 feems 
 
214 *Ihe GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 feems calculated to put it out of the Power of 
 any Poet to exhibit to the Public any thing 
 that is lewd or fcandalous, in which Cafe 
 tho’ a Prohibition might be put upon it 
 from appearing ever after, and the Impreffion 
 might be (tided, yet (till that could not pre¬ 
 vent Moderty’s receiving fome Shock by the 
 firrt Reprefentation. But by a fevere Exami¬ 
 nation of Dramatic Performances, Religion, 
 Morals, and Politics are always fafe. 
 
 At Rome the fame End is fought after by 
 quite different Means. The Italian Theatre 
 is no longer in the Tarte of their Ancertors j 
 the Extempore Comedy remains Mirtref. .u 
 the Field, • which their Dramatic Poets 
 in the Year 1500 had feized upon, by intro¬ 
 ducing the Method of adling Tragedies and 
 Comedies written in Ver(e and Profe. The 
 Italian Theatre therefore depends upon anci¬ 
 ent and modern Sketches which are impoffi- 
 ble to be criticifed; for the mod exadt and the 
 charted Outlines may produce a very (canda- 
 lous Comedy, efpecially if the mafqued Ac¬ 
 tors are not People of Virtue. The Liberty 
 of fpeaking whatever comes uppermoft may 
 fometimes feduce the mod cautious Players j 
 Criticiim would therefore be ufelefs; for that 
 Reafon perhaps at Rome thefe Pieces pafs no 
 Examination: They therefore go another 
 way to work. They have taken Care to put 
 a kind of Interdict upon Women’s going to 
 
 the 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 215 
 
 the Play-houfe, as being moft liable to be 
 corrupted j and under the Pontificate of 
 Innocent XI. they were prohibited both the 
 Comedy and the Opera. 
 
 The Women, even fuppofing them to be 
 wife, might be a Nufance upon the Stage. 
 This Inconveniency is prevented fo far as re¬ 
 gards the City of Rome ; but it can’t be faid 
 that this Reformation alone has extended to 
 all the Stages in Italy. I don’t know but the 
 different Methods of Rome and Paris joined 
 together, might have the defigned Effedt. 
 
 An Extract from the German. 
 
 B EFORE I proceed to the Extract I 
 propofe, I mud explain my Motives of 
 giving it. A German Tragedy happened to 
 fall into my Hands with a long Preface, and 
 at the End was annex’d a Critique , with an 
 Anfwer. Tho’ I don’t underftand that Lan¬ 
 guage, yet in running this Performance over 
 with my Eye, I could perceive the Names 
 of a great many French Authors mentioned, 
 and therefore was curious to know what was 
 the Author’s Meaning. I therefore put the 
 Tragedy into the Hands of a Perfon who 
 made an Extradt, from it, and I believed it 
 would be no difagreeable Entertainment to 
 P 4 the 
 
216 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 the Public to communicate to it what the 
 Author has faid in this Preface ; for befides 
 that it gives us an excellent and indifputable 
 Notion of their Stage, I don’t think his Ideas 
 in Writing at alPcontemptible. His Preface, 
 his Criticifms, and his Anfwers to them, 
 will enable us to judge of the Manner of 
 Thinking which Men of Learning in Ger¬ 
 many entertain of the Stage, and may per¬ 
 haps difabufe a great Number of People, 
 who think that in that Country they have 
 neither the Practice, the Knowledge, or a 
 Tafte of Dramatic Poetry, 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 The Death c/ CATO, by John Chris¬ 
 topher Gottsehed, a Tragedy , with 
 the Sentiments of Mr. de Fenelon on Tra¬ 
 gedy ; to which are added a Critique , and an 
 Anfwer ; the Second Edition, printed at 
 Leipftc/« the Tear 1735. 
 
 The PREFACE. 
 
 I I N T E N D to publifli a Tragedy in 
 Verfe, when fuch Pieces after being for¬ 
 got for more than thirty Years, have juft re¬ 
 newed 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 217 
 
 newed their Appearance upon our Theatre. 
 Three Years ago, in my Treatife upon Criti- 
 cij'm, I did my belt to encourage our Nation 
 to cultivate Dramatic Poetry, but I would 
 not venture upon an Attempt of that kind 
 myfelf, for fear of preventing others by my 
 Example. I waited with Impatience to fee 
 whether any of our Poets would undertake 
 this Talk for the Honour of Germany. It 
 muft be owned that we don’t want great 
 Geniuses, who feem to have a Talent for Dra¬ 
 matic Poetry, provided they knew its Rules, 
 with the Faults and the Beauties of the Ger¬ 
 man Theatre, and thole of France, England , 
 and Italy. 
 
 Before I acquaint the Reader with my 
 Motive for publilhing this Tragedy, it will 
 be necelTary to inform him, what gave me 
 fo flrong a Bent to the Drama, and prevailed 
 with me to write in that way. 
 
 Fifteen or fixteen Years ago, I read one 
 of the Tragedies of Lohenjlein*, which gave 
 me a very odd Notion of Tragedy. Tho’ 
 I heard that Poet highly extolled by People 
 of Tafte, I could never relilh the Beauties of 
 his Works, but durll not frankly declare my 
 Sentiments. I was equally diftafted with The 
 Antigona of Sophocles , tranflated into the 
 
 Ger- 
 
 * This Poet has wrote five Tragedies. See the Cata. 
 logu$ at the End, 
 
218 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 German Language by Opitz '{'; and tho’ I 
 highly reliihed the other Productions of that 
 Father of our Poetry, yet I could not endure 
 the Harthnefs of this Tranflation, which 
 like wife to me appeared a little forced and 
 unnatural. Thus I remained in a kind of 
 Indifference, or even Ignorance, with regard 
 to the Drama, till the Works of Boileau fell 
 into my Hands. The Satire addreffed to 
 Moliere , and the Encomiums and Criticifms 
 upon Dramatic Works, with which it is in- 
 terfperfed, excited my Curiofity to know the 
 reft of that Author’s Pieces. I read the 
 Works of Moliere , which gave me a ftrong 
 Inclination to fee fome Tragedy or Comedy 
 aCted. In the Year 1724, I found at Leip- 
 Jic the privileged Company of Comedians 
 belonging to the Court of Saxony , who come 
 up thither only in the Time of the Fair. 
 Here I had an Opportunity of fatisfying my 
 Curiofity; I faw every Play, but I foon per¬ 
 ceived that little Regularity was obferved on 
 that Theatre; for they reprefented great 
 Actions of Kings and Affairs of State in¬ 
 termingled with the Tricks of Harlequin , 
 romantic Adventures, Farces, and Buffoon- 
 ries. The only good Piece aCted there, was 
 The Combat of Honour and Love 5 or, Ro- 
 derigue and Chimene , tranflated into blank 
 
 Verfe. 
 
 f Opitz has wrote four Tragedies. 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 219 
 
 Verfe. It is eafy to conceive that this Piece 
 not only pleafed me more than the other 
 Plays, but like wife made me fenfible of the 
 vaft Difference between a regular Tragedy, 
 and the Exhibition of that fantaftical Med¬ 
 ley I have juft now mentioned. 
 
 I became acquainted with the then Mafter 
 of the Company. I talked to him of a bet¬ 
 ter Order upon his Theatre. I afked him 
 efpecially why he did not aCt the Tragedies 
 of GriphiuSy as alfo his Horribilicribrifax *. 
 He anfwered me, that he had formerly play’d 
 the firft of his Tragedies, but that at prefent 
 fuch Pieees did not take, becaufe they were 
 too ferious, and had no comical Characters 
 in them. I advifed him to try a new Piece 
 in Verfe, and promifed to write it myfelf. 
 Thus, tho’ entirely ignorant of the Rules, 
 nay, tho’ I knew not fo much as whether 
 there were any Rules to be obferved in Per¬ 
 formances of this Nature, I tranflated the 
 Endymion of Fontenelie^ which I caufed to be 
 printed with the Addition of fome comical 
 Scenes that made up a kind of Interlude, 
 entirely independent of the principal Action. 
 By good Fortune I did not then venture to 
 fhew my Tranflation, for Endymion was 
 more fuited to the Nature of an Opera -j-, 
 than of a Comedy. 
 
 * See the fmall Catalogue at the End. 
 t Endymion itfelf is in reality an Opera. 
 
 In 
 
220 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 In thefe Days, the bad Pieces which I faw 
 adted, cccafioncd me to make feveral Re¬ 
 flections ; and tho’ I was ignorant of the 
 Rules. I did not find in them that eafy Turn, 
 and ftridt Imitation of Nature, which is the 
 peculiar Beauty, and the chief Perfection of 
 Dramatic Performances j I became foli- 
 citous and uneafy, to know the Rules of the 
 Drama, for I could not imagine that a Piece 
 of Poetry, fo grand and auguft, could fubfift 
 without Rules, fince I obferved that all the 
 other kinds of Poetry had dated ones pecu¬ 
 liar to themfelves. But I have met with 
 none of them in our Writers, except in Ro~ 
 then’s Defcription of German Poetry , printed 
 at Leipjic , in the Year 1688. 
 
 Menantes , in his Dramatic Poetry , gives 
 but little Infight and imperfedt Directions 
 with regard to the Operas. Tho’ Rotheris 
 Thoughts upon this Subjedt are none of the 
 worft, yet, inflead of giving me full Satis¬ 
 faction, he only opened my Eyes to a new 
 Light, by the Encomiums he bellowed upon 
 Ariftotle 's Art oj Poetry. By means of thefe 
 uncommon Applaufes given it by this Wri¬ 
 ter, my Curiofity led me to read it, which I 
 did for the firft time, in Mr. Dacier’s French 
 Tranflation. Caufabon on the Satyr of the 
 Greeks , Rappolts Ariftotle's Art of Poetry , 
 Heinftus de Tr age dice Conftitutione , 7 he Abbot 
 Aubignacs PraSlice of the Theatre, and other 
 
 Writers 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 221 
 
 Writers amongft the Moderns, gave me all 
 the Satisfadion I could with for. My read¬ 
 ing the Dramas of Corneille , Racine , Moliere> 
 La Mothe Danchet , and Vdtaire , together 
 with their Prefaces , and the critical Differta- 
 tions fubjoined, contributed not a little to my 
 Information. But the Authors to whom I 
 was more obliged than to all the reft were 
 Father Brumoy , in his Theatre of the Greeks , 
 and Riccoboni in his Italian Theatre. 
 
 The more I knew of the Regulations of 
 foreign Theatres, the more I was difgufted 
 at the Diforder and Confufion of the Ger¬ 
 man Stage; but it happened that the Come¬ 
 dians of the Court of Drefden changed their 
 Mafter, whofe SuccelTor, as well as his Wife, 
 (who has a fine Genius for the Stage, and 
 equals the moft accomplifhed Adrefs either 
 ©f France or England) had a ftrong Inclina¬ 
 tion to abolifh the wild Confufion which had 
 till then debafed our Theatre, and to put the 
 German Stage on the fame Footing with that 
 of the French. Long before this, while he 
 was at the Court of Brunfwick , Attempts 
 had been made to tranflate the beft French 
 Tragedies into German Verfe, and Copies of 
 a great many of them fent to him for effec¬ 
 tuating the fame Purpofe. And tho’ they 
 begun with the Regains of Pradon y who was 
 none of the beft Writers of French Tragedy, 
 and tranflated very harfhly by Brejfand , a 
 
 Poet 
 
222 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 Poet refiding at the Court of that Prince,’ 
 yet it had fuch a Run that they were thereby 
 encouraged to aft Brutus and Alexander , 
 tranflated by the fame Hand. Some Time 
 after the Cid of Corneille appeared, tranflated 
 by a better Hand, and met with greater 
 Applaufes than any of the Pieces formerly 
 played. 
 
 That I might contribute all I could to the 
 Reformation of our Theatre, I propofed to 
 aft Cinna, tranflated by a Perfon of Diftinc- 
 tion, a Member of the Counfel of Nurem¬ 
 berg. This Mafterpiece of Corneille is in 
 the Colleftion entitled Vefta and Flora , and 
 met with the Succefs it deferved. At laft I 
 myfelf tranflated the Iphiginia of Racine ; 
 and two of my Friends tranflated the fecond 
 Part of the Cid, called the Mourning, or 
 Mourning Tear of Chimene, and Racine's Ber¬ 
 nice, which were all three afted with Ap- 
 plaufe; thus we had even at that Time eight 
 regular Tragedies afted upon our Theatre. 
 
 After having given this fhort Account of 
 the Rife to a Reformation on our Theatre, it 
 is neceflary I fliould fpeak of my own Cato, 
 and give a particular Account of its Nature 
 and Conduft. 
 
 Cato of Utica , has in all Ages of the 
 World been looked upon as the Pattern of 
 Stoical Refolution, as a thorough Patriot, and 
 a true Republican. Poets and Orators, Hi- 
 
 ftorians 
 
<The GERMAN THEATRE. 223 
 
 ftorians and Philofophers, have celebrated 
 him in their Works j and even under the 
 Defpotic Government of the Roman Empe¬ 
 rors who fucceeded Ccefar , the greateft Men 
 praifed his Zeal and Warmth in defending 
 the Republic. Virgil and Horace , under the 
 Reign of Augujlus , Lucan and Seneca , under 
 that of Claudius and Nero , have fung his 
 Praifes. The Poet Maternus (as we fee by 
 that ancient Dialogue of the Orators upon 
 the Caufe of the Decay of Eloquence) wrote 
 a Tragedy on Cato j and that Poet in all 
 probability exprefled his Averfion to Mo¬ 
 narchy in Terms fo full of Strength and 
 Force, that his Friends thought the Piece not 
 only too farcaftical, but even dangttous; a 
 Circumftance which gives us fufficient Light 
 with regard to the Original of that Poem. 
 
 Cato killed himfelf in Utica , and this Ca- 
 taftrophe has rendered the Action a fit Sub¬ 
 ject for a Tragedy; it is then no Wonder 
 that the Poets of all Nations have made 
 Choice of it for that Purpofe. 
 
 In the Year 1712 Mr. Addifon, an En- 
 glift Poet, publifhed his Cato ; it is impoffi- 
 ble to conceive how highly this Piece was 
 valued by the Englijh , and perhaps their 
 Love of Liberty contributed not a little to 
 its Succefs. It is however certain that this 
 Tragedy contains fo many real Beauties, that 
 it muft pleafe not only the Eng lift, but all 
 
 other 
 
224 GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 other Spedators: In it the Charaders and 
 Manners are ftridly preferved, and the 
 Thoughts are fuited to the different Turn 
 and Genius of the Perfonages introduced. 
 Cato is reprefented as a thorough Republican: 
 But this Tragedy having already met with 
 fufficient Applaufe on the Continent, efpe- 
 cially in a Tranflation of it into French 
 Prolb, needs no Encomiums from me. 
 
 Soon after Mr. Defchamps publilhed his 
 Cato , which was printed at the Hague in the 
 Year 1715. I don’t believe that that Poet 
 knew any thing of Mr. Addifons Tragedy, 
 for the two do not refemble one another in 
 their Condud; the Table, the Perfonages, 
 and the Incidents are quite different. And 
 in the Englijh Cato even Fads and Incidents 
 are handled in a quite different Manner. 
 The Charader of Cato is indeed the fame 
 in both, and perfedly, equally, and well 
 fuflained ; excepting when he is killed, and 
 thro’ all the fifth Ad, for as I {hall prove, the 
 EngliJJj Cato has fomething excellent in this 
 Circumstance to balance the Merit of the 
 French , which indeed is preferable in Point 
 of Regularity. 
 
 If the Subjed: of Sophonijba has been 
 handled by the Italians, the French y the 
 Englifh, and the Germans , it is not furprizing 
 if that of Cato has had the fame Fatej but 
 I am forty that it falls to my Weaknefs to 
 
 undertake 
 
 * 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 225 
 
 undertake this Subject in the German Lan¬ 
 guage. But confcious of my Inability to 
 plan but the A&ion of a Fable, I have 
 made Ufe of the two Originals juft now 
 mentioned, fo that one may fay of me what 
 on another Occafion was faid of Terence. 
 
 Qua convenere in Andriam ex Perintbia , 
 Fatetur tranjlulijfe, atq-, Vfum pro fuis. 
 
 Who confefled, “ That he took from Per in- 
 “ thia> and ufed as his own, fuch Things as 
 <{ beft fuited his Purpofe in compofing his 
 “ AndriaV 
 
 My Imitation in this Particular is ft ill far¬ 
 ther authorized by the Example of another 
 Poet: 
 
 Habet Bonorum exemplum ; quo exemplo fibi 
 Licere id facere , quod illi fecerunt putat. 
 
 Who thought, “ when he had the Example 
 “ of good Authors to imitate, he might 
 “ warrantably do what they on the like 
 ** Occafions did.” 
 
 But without having recourfe to the Exam¬ 
 ple of Terence , who has borrowed whole 
 Plays from Menander , with but a few Altera¬ 
 tions or Additions of his own, I may juftify 
 myfelf by the Example of the beft Writers 
 
 of 
 
226 the GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 of French Tragedy, - who have imitated, 
 tranflated, or altered Sophocles and Euripides. 
 
 I was at firft advifed, literally to tranflate 
 Addijoris Cato ; but as I was refolved to flick 
 to the Rules of the Drama, I found he fell 
 far fhort in Regularity to the French Tra¬ 
 gedy. The Englijh are indeed great Mailers 
 both of Thought and Expreffion; they 
 know wonderfully well how to fuftain a 
 Charader, and enter furprifingly into the 
 Heart of Man; but as to the Condud of the 
 Fable, they are very carelefs, as appears from 
 all their Dramatic Compofitions; and it 
 would have given me great Pain had the 
 German Stage been always liable to the 
 Reproach of being irregular. This prevailed 
 with me to alter my firft Purpofe, and write 
 a Cato different from that of Mr. Addifori s. 
 
 It would be ufelefsfor me to prove that the 
 Tragedy of Mr. Defchamps is exadly accord¬ 
 ing to the Rules of Arijlotle. This fufficiently 
 appears from the Criticifm annexed to it, and 
 confirms me in the Defeds of the Englijh 
 Cato. In reality Mr. Addifon joined three 
 Adions in one, tho’ each of them was en¬ 
 tirely diftind from the other, independent of 
 the main Plot, and often ferving to make the 
 Spedators lofe Sight of it. The Adion is as 
 follows: Cato with his Party, which is not 
 very numerous, is blocked up in TJtica. 
 Cafar offers him Terms, which he refufes; 
 
 upon 
 
‘The GERMAN THEATRE. 227 
 
 upon which Ccefar orders his Troops to ad¬ 
 vance, but Cato finding himfelf too weak 
 to make Head againft him, runs himfelf 
 thro’ the Body with his Sword. Mr. Addi- 
 fon , in order to extend this Action, has in- 
 ferted two Epifodes, or rather two Plots, quite 
 foreign to the main Action. Fortius and 
 Marcus , the two Sons of Cato , are in Love 
 with Lucia , the Daughter of a Roman Sena¬ 
 tor. PortiuSy whom his Brother makes his 
 Confident, adts like a wife Youth, and con¬ 
 ceals his own Paffion : Marcus dies, and his 
 Brother wins Lucia. On the other hand 
 Juba falls in Love with Marcia , the Daugh¬ 
 ter of CatOy but meets with a Rival in the 
 Perfon of Semproniusy a Roman Senator, who, 
 difguifed like a Numidian that he might 
 carry off Marcia , is furprized and killed by 
 that Prince who gains his Miftrefs. 
 
 Thefe two Epifodes are quite foreign to the 
 principal Plot, and, in reality, deftroy the 
 Principle of the Unity of Adbion. Befides the 
 Improbability in the Hurry and Confufion 
 then at Utica , fo much Time fhould have 
 been fpent in Intrigues cf Gallantry, the 
 Difguife of Sempronius to me feems too low 
 and trivial for Tragedy. Even Cato in the 
 fir ft Adt, to me does not iuftain a proper 
 Grandeur, nor is fo great as when he appeafes 
 the Tumult, and bewails the Death of his 
 Son, All the reft of the Play is quite fo- 
 Q_j 2 reign 
 
228 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 reign to the main Adion. In the Englijh 
 Tragedy the Scenes are very ill conneded 
 together; the Adors go and come without 
 any apparent Reafon ; fometimes the Stage 
 is quite empty j and the Entrances and 
 Exits are equally defedive, which never hap- 
 pens in the French Drama. In (hort, I did 
 not think it very much in Charader, that 
 when Cato was dying, he fhould trouble him- 
 felf fo much about the two Marriages. The 
 Moderns have made it an indifpenfable Duty, 
 and as it were a Rule, to finilh all Dramatic 
 Reprefentations by a Marriage, which has 
 long given me great Difguft. The Ancients 
 did it very rarely, and I wanted to try if a 
 Tragedy could fucceed without a Marriage, 
 an Attempt in whichT hope I have not been 
 unfuccefsful. 
 
 If I am alked why I have not entirely 
 tranHated the French Cato , I anfwer, It was 
 becaufe the Plot in the Beginning was laid 
 down with Good-Senfe and Probability j 
 and Cato is there reprelented as great, as in 
 the laft Ad his Charader to me appears 
 weak and languifhing; the Death of that 
 great Man being not fo much in the Cha¬ 
 rader of a Philofopher as a Bravaoe. A 
 Mutiny is raifed in Utica , where Cafar then 
 was; his Army, who lay without the City 
 being uneafy about the Safety of their Gene¬ 
 ral, furioufly run into it, and kill all the Inha¬ 
 bitants. 
 
<The GERMAN THEATRE. 229 
 
 bitants. Upon this Cato refolves to kill him- 
 felf; but alas the Matter is over-done! and I 
 can’t allow myfelf to think that any one 
 can approve of fuch a Deviation from hifto- 
 rical Truth, and altering fo much the Cha¬ 
 racter of Cato , which was that of a Phiio- 
 fopher. 
 
 Befides, Cato is faid to have had no Sons; 
 but the Speech which the Englijh Poet puts 
 into his Mouth, when he fees one of his Sons 
 dead, and infpires the other with a Hatred at 
 Tyranny, appears to me too fublime not to 
 merit a Place in my Tragedy. I have there¬ 
 fore preferved the Character of Porcius, tho’ 
 I have drefled it up in a quite different Light 
 from what it appears in the two foreign Tra¬ 
 gedies. I have not brought Marcus on the 
 Stage till after his Death, that he may be 
 viewed by Cato as the French Poet had done 
 before me. This I could not difpenfe with, 
 lince I had (truck out the Englijh Characters 
 of Sempronius and Syphax. As for the laft 
 ACt of Mr. Addifon , I have preferved it al- 
 moft entire, having only changed the Perfons, 
 and cut off the Marriages of Porcius and of 
 Jtiba. I have likewife put another Speech 
 in Cato's Mouth before his Death, which I 
 took from Mr. Defchamps. 
 
 It is likewife evident that the Marriage of 
 Arfene with Pharnaces is only intended, and 
 not actually celebrated: Mr. JJefchamps in 
 . Q^3 his 
 
230 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 his Preface has fufficiently juftified himfelf in 
 this Point. To tell the Truth, the Death of 
 Cato is an Hiftorical FaCt which does not 
 furnifh fufficient Matter tor a Tragic Action, 
 without the Help of fome Epifode, and this 
 one, in my Opinion, is very properly con¬ 
 nected with the principal Action; for by 
 Means of it, one has an Opportunity of 
 comparing the Vices of one with the Vir¬ 
 tues of another, a Thing as neceffary for 
 reprefenting Virtue in her moft amiable Co¬ 
 lours, as Shades in Painting are for height- 
 ning the Effects of the Lights. 
 
 The fame is the Cafe with regard to Ccefar. 
 He did not really enter into Utica , as the 
 Poet only fuppofes him to have done, and 
 thereby be has an Opportunity of drawing 
 the Parallel betwixt-thefe two Roman Heroes. 
 By comparing their two Characters, one is 
 enabled to dillinguifh falfe from true Gran¬ 
 deur, and to fee that Vice, when profperous, 
 may fometimes affume the Appearances of 
 Virtue. The Converfation between Cato 
 and Ceefar have not a little contributed to 
 the Preference I have given the French to 
 the Englijh Poet in this Particular. 
 
 Cato was a Hero whofe Character was 
 fuited to Tragedy, and comes within the 
 Definition of Arijiotle: His Virtue was great, 
 yet not complete, or unftai ,ed with tome 
 fmall Mixture of Vice ; for his Love of 
 
 Liberty 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 231 
 
 Liberty degenerates into a confirmed Obfti- 
 nacy; his Death is bewailed, and his Rafh- 
 nefs condemned. 
 
 TW my Cato had a great Run when 
 a£ted, and read very well, yet I mull refer 
 myfelf to the learned Readers, to whom, if it 
 is agreeable, I flatter myfelf, that I have not 
 Ipoilt what is good either in the French or in 
 the Englijh Performance; for I frankly ac¬ 
 knowledge, that all the Beauties of my Cato 
 are drawn from AddiJ'on and Defchamps , and 
 all its Blemifhes are to be afcribed to myfelf 
 and my little Practice in Dramatic Writings. 
 
 Extract of the Tragedy - , called 
 DTINQ CATO. 
 
 Dramatis Perjonce. 
 
 Cato. 
 
 Arsene, or Porcia. 
 
 Phenice, her Attendant. 
 
 Phocas, a Friend of Cato. 
 Pharnaces King of Pontus. 
 Felix, his Confident. 
 
 Cass ar. 
 
 Domitius, his Confident. 
 Artaban. 
 
 Attendants of Cato. 
 
 Attendants of Caesar. 
 
 4 The 
 
232 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 The Scene of Aftion is a Hall in the Cajlle of 
 Ufica. 
 
 The ASiion commences about 12 o'Clock, and 
 ends about Sun-Jet. 
 
 A C T I. S C E N E I. 
 
 Arfene and Phenice* 
 
 Arfene comes to wait on Cato* from whom 
 (he hopes Comfort and Relief in her Mis¬ 
 fortunes, and Shelter from the Calamities 
 which yet threaten her. She talks of the 
 common Report of the Death of her Father 
 Arfaces, King of the Parthians , and of the 
 Arrival of PharnaceSy King of Pontus ; and 
 {he is afraid of being more misfortunate than 
 ever. Phenice afks her if (he would ever 
 accept of Pharnaces for her Hufband. Ar¬ 
 fene declares to her* that that would never 
 happen , and opening her Love to her, tells 
 her, that (he could now fpeak as a Queen, 
 her Father being dead. She bids her call to 
 Mind that Roman whom Ccejar fent to her 
 Father to gain him over to his Interefts. 
 Phenice runs out in his Praifes j and Arfene 
 confefles that (he has been in Love with him 
 fince the firft Moment (he faw him. Phe¬ 
 nice a(ks her his Name. Arfene replies, She 
 does not know it* and feeing Cato approach, 
 {he praifes him, SCENE 
 
tfbe GERMAN THEATRE. 233 
 
 SCENE II. 
 
 To Them, Cato. 
 
 Cato condoles with Arfene , and confirms 
 the News of her Father’s Death. He afks 
 her if, now that the Parthiam had pro¬ 
 claimed her Queen, (he would continue that 
 Alliance and Fidelity which her Father had 
 fwore to him; this Arfene promiles to do, 
 only afks the Favour that he would not pro¬ 
 tect Pharnaces. She tells him that in the 
 Civil Wars of her Kingdom Pharnaces , in a 
 Battle, affaffinated her only Brother Pacorus : 
 That a Peace being concluded, he came to 
 her Father’s Court to demand her in Marri¬ 
 age: That they fent her to Rome to folem- 
 nize the Nuptials: That Pharnaces could not 
 leave his Kingdom becaufe of the Civil Wais 
 of the Romans: That at Rome fhe had refided 
 with Cato , and that fhe had followed his 
 Fortune. She adds, that Pharnaces himfelf 
 had but a Day before confeffed his murder¬ 
 ing her Brother j and that befides her Aver- 
 fion to this Marriage, his Guilt added to 
 the Horror fhe had at fuch an Alliance, Cato 
 promifes her all poffible Safety in Utica. 
 Arfene goes of; Cato remains alone; and as 
 he had faid before in the Scene that fhe 
 had a Roman Soul r he is now aflonifhed at 
 
 the 
 
234 $he GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 the Sentiments he feels for her, and takes 
 Notice of the great Refemblance betwixt 
 her and "Portia, his deceafed Daughter. Laft 
 of all he declares the Arrival of Phocas. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 Phocas , Artaban , and Cato. 
 
 Phocas tells Cato of a great Reinforcement 
 that was coming up to him. He brings to 
 his Remembrance that when his Wife died, 
 fhe left him a Daughter, who was brought 
 up by the Wife of Crajfus , and who was 
 along with him when the Romans were routed 
 by the Parthians , on which Occafion fhe 
 was flain. Phocas tells him that his Daugh¬ 
 ter Portia was ftill alive, and prefents Arta¬ 
 ban to him as the Perfon to whom her Safety 
 was owing. Artaban gives him an Account 
 of the Victory which the Parthians gained 
 over Crajfus , and tells him that Portia becom¬ 
 ing his Prifoner of War, he made a Prefent 
 of her to Ar faces , who having loft his Daugh¬ 
 ter Arfene , for Reafons of State, adopted her. 
 He (hews him a Deed which King Arfaces 
 had made before his Death, and entrufted to 
 him, that he might (hew to Cato. Cato reads 
 it; and Arfaces in it intreats him not to de¬ 
 prive his Daughter Portia of a Throne. 
 Cato deplores his Misfortune, and inclines 
 
<rhe GERMAN THEATRE. 235 
 
 that his Daughter (hould abdicate the Crown. 
 Phocas advifes him to allow her (till to pof- 
 fefs her Kingdom, becaufe the Aids (he could 
 afford might prove the Means of faving 
 Rome. Cato for good Reafons rejedts this 
 Advice, and taking his Leave of them both, 
 orders them not to fpeak any thing of the 
 Matter to his Daughter, whom he himfelf 
 wanted to inform of this Affair. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 Cato and Pharnaces. 
 
 After fome Difcourfe upon the prelent 
 Juncture of Affairs, Pharnaces preffes his 
 Marriage with ArJ'ene. Cato tells him that 
 he muff no longer think of that, (ince he 
 ought to look upon her as a Roman Lady. 
 Pharnaces is furprized at his Anfwer, and 
 defires him to explain himfelf. Cato pro- 
 mifes to him very foon to reveal a great Secret 
 publickly before all the City. Pharnaces 
 tells him that he ought to think maturely of 
 the Affair ; that he had loft his Dominions, 
 but that his Marriage with Arfene would 
 render him Mafter of a powerful Kingdom, 
 and that if he gave over Thoughts of that, 
 he could no longer expedt his Service; and 
 laft of all he entreats him to take Care of 
 his Interefts, his Liberty, and his Life. Cato 
 
 defpifes 
 
236 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 defpifes him; orders him to withdraw; tells 
 him they could defeat the Enemy without 
 his Affiftance, and in fine lets him know, 
 that Rome was yet free, and fpoke in his 
 Language, and that (he would never truckle 
 either to him or to Men of his Chara&er. 
 
 SCENE V. 
 
 I 
 
 To Them, Felix. 
 
 Felix informs Cato that the Plains are 
 covered with Cafar's Troops, and that Utica 
 had Reafon to be afraid of Slavery. Cato 
 fays he is going to march forth againft the 
 Enemy, and again requefts Pharnaces to be 
 gone and join the Troops of Ccefary on 
 which he goes off. 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 
 Pharnaces and Felix. 
 
 Pharnaces boafts that he will be revenged 
 for the Contempt (hewn him by Cato ; that 
 in Spite of him, he (hall have both the Hand 
 and the Kingdom of Arfene , and that Cato 
 (hall fall a Viflim to him. He difcovers his 
 Defign of fending Cato' s Head to Ccefar by 
 Fimon and Arbates. That in Recompence he 
 will demand to be reftored to his Kingdom, 
 
*tbe GERM AN THEATRE. 237 
 
 and Arfene in Marriage: Then with Maxims 
 fuitable to his Defigns he quits the Stage, and 
 the fir ft A£t ends. 
 
 A C T II. S C E N E I. 
 
 Domitius and Phocas. 
 
 Domitius informs Phocas that Gee far was 
 very foon to be in the Town of Utica. Pho¬ 
 cas afks if his Arrival did not give them 
 Hopes of Peace. Domitius is filent upon 
 that Point, and only defires him to inform 
 Arfene that Pallas had come into the City 
 along with him, and that he had fomething 
 of Confequence to impart to her. Phocas 
 goes off the Stage. Domitius ftays alone for 
 a fhort while, and lavs that Ccefar , notwith- 
 ftanding his brave and warlike Soul, is never- 
 thelefs in Love with Arfene. He fees Cato 
 approach him, whofe Prefence ftrikes him 
 with Veneration. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 
 Cato and Domitius. 
 
 Cato reproaches Domitius for having fided 
 with Ccefar. Domitius defends himfelf by 
 
 p] au Able 
 
238 the GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 plaufible Reafons, and runs out in Ccefar’s 
 Praife. At laft he defires an Interview be¬ 
 tween Ccefar and him, to deliberate upon the 
 Interefts of Rome. Cato contents to it, and 
 alks him what Surety Ccefar demanded. 
 Domitius anfwered him, that Ccefar infilled 
 on no other Surety than the Virtue of Cato , 
 but told him that he ought not to trull Phar- 
 naces in Utica. Cato informs him, that 
 Pharnaces depended on him: He defcribes 
 the Situation of the Callle, into which Ccefar 
 might come and talk with him without 
 being feen by any Body: He fays Pharnaces 
 is on the Sea-Shore viewing his Fleet j that 
 his Soldiers durlt not come near him; that 
 every thing was carefully looked after, and 
 efpecially the Motions of Pharnaces: That 
 Ccefar might therefore have an Interview 
 with him in the Callle; and that the Affair 
 might be tranfadted with the greater Secrecy, 
 he propoles to remove the Guards from its 
 Entrance. He adds, Tell Ccefar, neverthelels, 
 that Cato fees very far into the Heart of 
 Man, and that Artifice and Difguife cannot 
 blind him. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 Arfene y Phenice , and Domitius. 
 
 Arfene at her Entrance orders Domitius , 
 fince he had heard of Ccefar s Love to her, 
 
 to 
 
fhe GERMAN THEATRE. 239 
 
 to inform him that fhe fhould always look 
 upon him with Contempt and Difdain, &c. 
 She takes her Leave of Domitius , and feeing 
 Pharnaces approach, endeavours to avoid 
 him. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 Pharnaces , Arfene , and Phenice. 
 
 Pharnaces begs her to flay. Arfene loads 
 him with Reproaches, putting him in Mind 
 of her Brother’s Death. Pharnaces inflamed 
 with Wrath and Rage, tells her, that every 
 Body condemned her Conduct; that Cato 
 and the Romans complained of her, and 
 were even ready to deprive her of her Here¬ 
 ditary Throne and Kingdom. He then pfo- 
 pofes that fhe fhould go on board his Fleet, 
 and go off with him. She anfwers, that if 
 Cato fhould condemn her, fhe would fubmit; 
 and upbraids her Lover of Cowardice, pro- 
 tefting that Hie never will marry him; but 
 that fhe will think herfelf happy, could fhe 
 be revenged on him with her own Hand. 
 Upon this PharnaceSy in a Pafiion, reproaches 
 her in very harfh Terms 
 
 SCENE 
 
240 GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 S C E N E V. 
 
 To Them, Porcius. 
 
 Arfens informs Porcius of Pham aces's Pre- 
 ten fions, and begs his Support. Porcius en¬ 
 raged at the Calumnies with which Pharna - 
 ces loaded his Father, makes great Protefta- 
 tions to Arfene, and propofes to marry her. 
 Arfene quits the Stage. 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 
 Pharnaces and Porcius. 
 
 Pharnaces with a haughty Air afks Por¬ 
 cius if he thought to gain a Kingdom by 
 loving Arfene y and treats him with Contempt. 
 Porcius (peaking with Difdain of Royalty, 
 adds, That without any Views to that, he 
 fhould have thought of marrrying Arjene , 
 and that he wiftied (he had been by Birth a 
 Roman. Pharnaces tells him, that (he is fo 
 in reality, and that Cato declared (he was no 
 Queen, and infinuates that Cato muft want 
 Candour, or (he can be no Queen. Porcius 
 anfwers. It muft be fo, fince his Father had 
 faid it, and departs in Hafte to fatisfy him- 
 felf. Pharnaces remains alone, and fays he 
 is confirmed in his Thoughts of Porcius's 
 
 loving 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 241 
 
 loving Arfene y and that all his Hopes were 
 deftroyed if fhe fhould find that (he was not 
 a Parthian . He threatens to kill Porcius , &c. 
 
 SCENE VII. 
 
 Felix and Pharnaces. 
 
 V 
 
 Pharnaces tells Felix that the Face of Af¬ 
 fairs would foon be altered, and that the 
 Troubles of Africa would foon ceafe j that 
 the Romans having laid down their Arms, 
 deplored the Death of their Friends; and 
 that at laft the Sweets of univerfal Peace 
 were relifhed. He afks him if Cczfar ap¬ 
 proved of his Defign, and the Propofal he had 
 made him by Fimon and Arbates, of fecuring 
 to himfelf the Sovereign Power at the Price 
 of Cato's Head, and if Fimon and Arbates 
 are returned ? Felix replied, They were not. 
 Pharnaces is willing to execute his Defign 
 with all poflible Difpatch, and difcovers the 
 Stratagem which he intended to ufe for cauf- 
 ing his Ttoops to enter Utica to kill Cato , and 
 carry off Arfene. Felix tells him that the 
 Guard was removed from the Gate of the 
 Caftle, and that this Circumftance would 
 render his Enterprize fo much the more eaf'y. 
 Pharnaces enjoins him Secrefy, and departs 
 to execute his Defign; and thus the Adt ends. 
 
 R 
 
 ACT 
 
242 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 ACT III. SCENE I. 
 
 Ccefar and Domitius . 
 
 Ccefar fays, it is for Cato' s Intereft that he 
 demands this Interview; but that he would 
 wifh, if poflible, to fee Arfene before-hand. 
 Domitius informs him that he fhould fee 
 her, but that it would be to no Purpofe, fince 
 flie defpifed him. After fome Reafoning 
 upon his own Love, and upon the War, he 
 fees the Queen approaching, and takes his 
 Leave of Domitius. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 
 Ccefar and Arfene. 
 
 Arfene, upon feeing Ccefar , knows him to 
 be the Roman with whom fhe was in Love. 
 She alks him if it was he who came to her 
 Father’s Court with the Complaints of Cce¬ 
 far. He anfwers. It was; and that he him- 
 felf was Ccefar. Arfene is troubled. Ccefar 
 begins to explain himfelf more freely, and 
 complains that his Paffion was repaid with 
 Dildain and Platred. Arfene briefly informs 
 
 him 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 243 
 
 him that fhe did not hate him: By this Con- 
 feffton, Ccefar is tranfported with Joy. Arfene 
 blufhes at the Declaration fhe has made, but 
 at lafl confirms it, and fays, that without her 
 own Knowledge, fhe had hated what fhe 
 mofl loved. At lafi: fhe intercedes with him 
 for the Deliverance of Utica y and for the Life 
 of CatOy telling him, that nothing in the 
 World was fo dear to her as the Glory ot 
 Ccefar and the Life of CatOy See. Then fhe 
 goes off the Stage. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 Ccefar and Cato. 
 
 Ccefar advifes Cato to banifh all Sentiments 
 of Hatred, and promiles to make him Part¬ 
 ner in the Government with himfelf. With 
 Horror Cato hears the Propofal. Ccefar on 
 the one hand attempts to juftify himfelf, and 
 demands that Cato and his Friends fhould 
 allow him to reign. Cato on the other hand 
 accufes him of Tyranny, and rejects all Of¬ 
 fers of Peace upon any other Terms than 
 the Liberty of Rome. Ccefar reprefents to 
 him the Danger to which they were reduced, 
 and that they could hope for no Alhliance 
 from PharnaceSy who fought nothing fo 
 much as his Defirudlion. That he had fent 
 two Traitors to make an Offer of his Head 
 R 2 to 
 
244 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 to him, and that he had caufed them to be 
 detained. Cato commends him for his Mag¬ 
 nanimity •, but obftinately perfifting in his 
 ardent Wifhes for the Liberty of Rome, he 
 tells them that he would acquaint the Romans 
 with his Offer, and that if they accepted 
 of it, and affented to their own Ruin, for 
 his Share he would chufe to die, and fo he 
 makes his Exit. Ccefar in a fhort Soliloquy 
 breaks out into an Admiration of his Virtue, 
 and fays, That if he were not Ccefar , he 
 would wifh to be Cato , and to have fuch 
 Sentiments of Liberty. Pharnaces comes 
 up. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 To Him, Pharnaces. 
 
 Pharnaces is furprized to fee Ccefar in 
 XJtica , and tells him that he impatiently ex¬ 
 perts the Return of c Timon and Ar'oates t 
 whom he had fent to acquaint him that he 
 would prefent him with the Head of Cato: 
 That this was a Propofal which he ought not 
 to treat with Indifference, as he could thereby 
 finilh a War which might be fatal to him if 
 Cato lived. Ccefar rejects this Propofal with 
 a becoming Horror, calls him Traitor, and 
 hints to him, that the fame may one Day be 
 his Fate. On this he leaves him. Pharnaces 
 
 com- 
 
fhe GERMAN THEATRE. 245 
 
 complains that Ccefar had not fo much as 
 thanked him for his Offer; but, fays he, His 
 Haughtinefs may chance to coft him dear. 
 He then flatters himfelf with the Hopes of 
 carrying off Arfene , which finifhes the third 
 Ad. 
 
 A C T VI. S C E N E I. 
 
 Cato and Porcius . 
 
 Porcius requefls of his Father to know 
 the Anfwer which the Senate had made to 
 Ccefar s Offers. Cato tells him, That he faw 
 with great Pleafure an Unanimity among 
 them in rejeding a Peace that was inconfi- 
 ftent with the Liberty of Rome , and that the 
 Romans were determined to revenge the Inju¬ 
 ries of their Country: He then requires him 
 to fwear an invincible Hatred againfl: Ccefar. 
 Porcius complying, afks of his Father whe¬ 
 ther or not the Queen of the Parthians was 
 a Roman. Cato afks him how fuch a Thought 
 came into his Head. Porcius anfwers, That 
 Pharnaces had acquainted him that Cato 
 himfelf was the Author of the Report. 
 Cato afks if he loved him, advifes him to 
 have no Thought but of War* and tells 
 R 3 him, 
 
246 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 him, that tho’ (he was a Roman, his Views 
 on her would be to no Purpofe, as he fhould 
 very foon know. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 
 To Them, Arfene and Phenice. 
 
 Arfene tells Cato that the was come with 
 a Propofal to tpare the Effulion of Roman 
 Blood: She tells him that the mull he un¬ 
 happy while the Divifions of Rome continue: 
 That the loved the Romans better than even 
 the Parthians ; and that tho’ (lie was a 
 Queen, the could not help wifhing well to 
 the Enemies of Kings. Cato declares, that 
 if all tne Romans had the fame Regard for 
 him, their Mitery would loon end. At laft 
 Arfene tells him that the Sufpenfion of Arms 
 was almoft expired, and begs him to pro¬ 
 long it, becaufe the flattered herfelf with 
 obtaining every thing of Cczfar. Cato feems 
 to be amazed at this, and afks how that 
 could be. Arfene fays, that the will touch 
 the Heart of Coe far-, that Heaven had be¬ 
 llowed upon her a Kingdom that could 
 latisfy the whole Extent of his Ambition j 
 that Caefar might with her enjoy the King^- 
 dom of Parthia. She vows that Rome never 
 lhall be difturbed ; and that all the Fruits of 
 her Love thould be Peace, Cato , aftonithed 
 
 to 
 
the GERMAN THEATRE. 247 
 
 to hear that {he loved Ccefar, complains that 
 his Virtue was expofed to the Indignity not 
 only of feeing her attired as a Queen, but of 
 her bearing a Heart fufceptible of a Paffion 
 for a Tyrant. Arfene aflcs the Reafon of 
 this Aftonifhment; and Cato, without any 
 other Anfwer, gives her Arfaces's Letter to 
 read. After {he has read it, die is tranfported 
 with an Extafy of Joy to find herfelr the 
 Daughter of Cato, as is Porcius, to find her 
 his Sifter. At laft Cato tells her in a refolute 
 Manner, that Royalty ought to be no Happi- 
 nefs to her, and that her Love for Ccefar was 
 a Difgrace to her Birth and Character. He 
 then exhorts her to adt as a Roman , and at 
 once to put an End both to her Ambition 
 and Love. Porcia, after many Reflections, 
 at length determines to prove her Birth by her 
 Adtions, however dear it may coft her Paf¬ 
 fion. Cato upon this embraces her. He then 
 fees Ccefar approach them, that they may be 
 Witneifes of the Interview. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 To Them, Ccefar. 
 
 Ccefar defires Cato to let him know what 
 were the Senate’s Demands, Cato anfwers, 
 That they demanded the very thing with 
 which Ccefar threatned him, his Death, and 
 R 4 that 
 
2 4 § We GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 that in ftiort they wiffied that the Wat 
 would determine their Fate. Ccefar afks 
 what he had done, and enumerates his Actions 
 and good Offices. But Cato (till treats him 
 as a Tyrant. Ccefar puts him in Mind of 
 the Difproportion of their Strength} and 
 turning to the Princefs, complains of the 
 Harflinefs of Cato , which he faid was no 
 longer tolerable. Porcia reproaches Ccefar 
 with infulting an Enemy whom he ought to 
 honour, and at laft tells him that there was 
 one prefent who claimed his Refpedt. Whom 
 have I to dread ? fays Ccefar. Know, re¬ 
 plies the other, that Cato is my Father. This 
 Point being cleared up, Ccefar makes Ufepf 
 that as a Handle to propofe a Match with 
 ArJ'ene , which might give Peace to the World. 
 But this Cato reje&s with great Firmnefs, 
 telling him that he always had before his 
 Eyes the Death of Pompey , who was 
 Son-in-Law to Ccefar , a miftaken Happinefs 
 which haftened his Ruin } and that in ffiort, 
 he looked upon the Propofal as ignominious 
 for him. 
 
 SCENE IV, 
 
 To Them, Domitius. 
 
 Domitius acquaints them with the Trear 
 ehery of Pbarnaces, who with an armed 
 
 Body 
 
We GERMAN THEATRE. 249 
 
 Body had made his Way as far as the Caftle: 
 That three or four Romans, together with 
 the Confident of ArJ’ene , had bravely refilled 
 him j and that Cato’s Son Marcus , having 
 darted himfelf with great Courage into the 
 Middle, attacked Pharnaces, whom he had 
 killed j but that the latter had Strength 
 enough, while Marcus was turning towards 
 the other Enemies, to run him thro’ the 
 Back, fo that the one died as a Hero, the 
 other as a Villain; but that the reft of the 
 Enemies were difperfed. Ccefar mentions 
 the Treachery of Phcfrnaces with Horror; 
 he takes leave of Cato by telling him, that 
 fince he has rejected Peace, he mu ft prepare 
 for War; and fays to Porcia , To-morrow, 
 if the Gods (hall give me the Vidlory, I will 
 lay my Sword at your Feet j and then goes 
 off. 
 
 SCENE V. 
 
 Marcus carried by the Soldiers. 
 
 Cato , Phocas , Artaban , and Attendants. 
 
 Cato looks upon the Body with great 
 Refolution; pronounces an Encomium upon 
 his Son; gives Porcius his beft Advice, and 
 exhorts his Friends to fet fail and flee from 
 the Vengeance of Ccefar ; he gives them his 
 kft Adieu, and the Adi ends. 
 
250 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 ACT V. S C E N E I. 
 
 Cato, alone fiting by a Table with a Book be¬ 
 fore him, a naked Sword lying on the Table, 
 and a Couch on the other Hand. 
 
 Cato pronounces the Difcourfe upon the 
 Immorality of the Soul , as it is to be found in 
 Mr. Addifon'% Cato. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 
 To him, Porcius. 
 
 Porcius , alarmed at the Sight of the naked 
 Sword, wants to carry it off; but Cato pre¬ 
 vents him, and then orders him to leave the 
 Room. Porcius renews his affectionate Ex- 
 preflions; upon which Cato embraces him, 
 and defires that he would go and fee if his 
 Friends were embarked, telling him that he 
 himfelf in the mean while would endeavour 
 to take fome Repofe. This comforts Por¬ 
 cius, and he leaves his Father in Bed with 
 the Curtains drawn. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 Porcius and Porcia. 
 
 Porcius acquaints his Sifter with the pleaf- 
 ing Hopes he entertained, that all would be 
 
 well. 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 251 
 
 well, and that there was a Probability of the 
 Public Tranquillity being reftored: He in¬ 
 forms her of the Orders he had received 
 from his Father, and of his repofing himfelf, 
 and leaves the Stage. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 Porcia and Phenice. 
 
 They talk of their own Situation, and 
 that of Catos , for whom they tremble. 
 
 SCENE V. 
 
 To Them, Phocas. 
 
 Phocas enters with an Encomium upon 
 the refrefhing quiet Slumbers that arife from 
 Innocence, and tells them that he had feen 
 Cato afleep. 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 
 To Them, Artaban. 
 
 Artaban informs them that the Troops of 
 Ccefar were making no Dilpofitions for an 
 Attack; perhaps waiting the Anfwer of 
 Cato. 
 
 SCENE VII. 
 
 To Them, Porcius, in a great Emotion. 
 
 He informs them that he has been at the 
 Harbour, where his Father’s Friends were 
 
 obliged 
 
252 T’be GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 obliged to wait for want of a favourable 
 Wind to carry them away. He tells them 
 like wile that a Veflel was arrived from Pom - 
 pey’s Son, to acquaint his Father that he was 
 doing his utmoft to fend him Reinforce¬ 
 ments from Spain, to aflift him to a<ft againft 
 the common Enemy. — A Noife is heard — 
 Porcius goes out, and immediately returns in 
 a great Agony, telling them that Cato was 
 killed, j Ford a fwoons. 
 
 SCENE VIII. 
 
 To Them, Cato, carried in wounded. 
 
 Cato, as he is dying, enquires at Porcius 
 about his Friends; and if they are gone: He 
 orders him to apply neither for Pardon nor 
 Favour to the Enemy, but to do his beft to 
 reftore the Liberties of his Country. He 
 embraces Porcia ; gives her his beft Advice j 
 efpecially that fhe would efpoufe the Man 
 who fhould revenge the Wrongs of Rome. 
 He comforts his weeping Friends, and dies. 
 
The GERM AN THEATRE. 253 
 
 A [mall Treatife o/'M. de Fene¬ 
 lon, Archhijhop of Cambray, 
 and Author of The Adventures of 
 Telemachus. 
 
 I Mmediately after the Tragedy follows a 
 fmall Treatife of Mr. de Fenelon, inferted 
 in his Reflections upon Grammar, Rhetoric, 
 Poetry, and Hiftory. The Author tranflates 
 it, and he quotes it in his Anfwer to the Cri- 
 ticifm that has been paft: upon him. This 
 TraCt gave me great Pleafure; I had never 
 read it before, nor did I know that Mr. de 
 Fenelon had wrote upon that SubjeCt. As 
 the Sentiments of that great Man can’t be 
 too public, I thought it not enough to quote 
 them, without tranflating them as the Ger¬ 
 man Author has done, that the Public may 
 be entirely acquainted with his indifpenflble 
 Precepts. 
 
 The Sentiments of MonOeur Fene¬ 
 lon upon a Plan of Tragedy. 
 
 T RAGEDY ought to be charaCteri- 
 ftically different from Comedy. The 
 firft reprefenting great Events to exeite vio¬ 
 lent 
 
2*4 $bt GERMAN THEATRE, 
 
 lent Paffions; the other is confined to the 
 Reprefentation of Manners in private Life. 
 
 As to Tragedy, I am far from thinking 
 that any Rules are to be given for bringing 
 thofe Entertainments to Perfection, wherein 
 corrupted Paffions are reprefented only to 
 excite them. We know that Plato , and the 
 Sage Legiflators in the Pagan World, pro¬ 
 hibited all Inftruments of Mufic which 
 might melt a Nation into Effeminacy, from 
 .a well-ordered State. What a Severity then 
 ought to be obferved by Chriftians with re¬ 
 gard to loofe Entertainments ! Far from 
 endeavouring to bring them to Perfection, I 
 am pleafed that all of that kind which we 
 have is but lame and imperfeCt ; our Poets 
 having rendered them as languifffing, tri¬ 
 fling, and ftale as Romances. All is filled up 
 with Fires, Chains, and Tortures, and a Man 
 there dies in good Health of Body and 
 Mind. The Beauty of the Sun, or the 
 Charms of Aurora are afcribed to very indif¬ 
 ferent, very infipid Perfonages; their Eyes 
 are two Stars; every Term is a Hyperbole, 
 and not a Spark of true Pafiion enters into 
 the whole. So much the better; for by this 
 Means the Weakpefs ef the Poifon prevents 
 the Decreafe. But I think that Tragedy 
 may receive a wonderful Force, fhould its 
 Authors, without minding that giddy Ro¬ 
 mantic Love which makes fuch Havock in 
 
 their 
 
?he GERMAN THEATRE. 255 
 
 their Plays, follow only the true Philofophic 
 Ideas of Antiquity. 
 
 Among the Greeks , Tragedy was entirely 
 independent of unfandtified Love. For in- 
 ftance the OEdipus of Sophocles admits of no 
 Paflion foreign to the Subject. That great 
 Man obferves the fame Condudt in his other 
 Tragedies. Mr. Corneille in his OEdipus has 
 weakened the Adtion, rendered it double, and 
 diftradted the Spedtator by the Epifode of a 
 cold Amour betwixt Thefeus and Dirce. 
 Mr. Racine falls into the fame Abfurdity in 
 his Phedra: He has made a double Plot, by 
 joyning with the furious Phedra the whine- 
 ing miftaken Charadter of Hippolitus. Had 
 Phedra been abandoned to all the furious 
 Tranfports of her Paflion, the Adtion had 
 then been Ample and fhort, affedting and 
 rapid. But our two Tragic Poets, with all 
 the real Merit they polTeffed, were carried 
 away by the Torrent of Cuftom, and yielded 
 to the prevailing Tafte for Romances. Wit 
 had become the Fafhion, and Love reigned 
 thro’ all. They imagined that it was impof- 
 flble for an Audience to have fat two Hours 
 without yawning, if fome amorous Intrigue 
 was not brought on to relieve them: They 
 thought themfelves obliged to hurry over the 
 greatefl and moft affedting Subjedt, to make 
 way for a languifhing Hero who interrupts it. 
 Farther, his Sighs muft be ornamented with 
 
 Quibbles, 
 
256 The GERMAN THEATRE, 
 
 Quibbles, and his Defpair tagg’d with Epi- 
 gramatic Points. This made the greateft 
 Authors deviate into the grofleft Abfurdities, 
 that they might pleafe the Public. I (hall 
 give an Inftance in the following Lines; 
 
 Unrelenting Thirjl of Glory , 
 
 Whofe tranfporting Joys I breathe, 
 
 That my Name may live in Story y 
 Bids me give myfelf to Death ; 
 
 Yet thy commanding Rage controul , 
 
 Before Eternal Lije I prove. 
 
 To Death e'er I bequeath my Soul, 
 
 Let me bequeath a Sigh to Love. 
 
 Here was a Man who durft not die with¬ 
 out Points and Witticifms. 
 
 I (hall give another Inftance of a Bombaft 
 Flowry Defpair. 
 
 - Pierc'd to the Heart 
 
 With an unlook'd-for, yet a fatal Dart, 
 
 The accurs'd Avenger of a righteous Wrong*, 
 The unhappy ViSlim of a Hate too ftrong. 
 
 What a bombaft affedted Language is 
 this for ferious Grief! In my Opinion a cer¬ 
 tain empty Swelling, which is in the higheft 
 Degree improbable, ought to be cut oft from 
 Tragedy; as for Example, the following 
 
 Verfes 
 
the GERMAN THEATRE. 257 
 
 Verfcs have fomethng in them very forced 
 and unnatural. 
 
 O eager PaJJion for a great Revenge, 
 
 To which my Father's Death hath given 
 Birth; 
 
 Impetuous Progeny of my Refentment , 
 
 How my great Sorrows clafp you to my Bojom! 
 Tou fill my Soul with your unbounded Sway: 
 
 O give, O give me a Jhort Time for Refpite, 
 That I may think on this my prefent State, 
 
 On what I wifh to win, and what I'd bett, 
 Corneille'% Cinna, Adi I. Scene I. 
 
 Mr. Boileau found a kind of Genealogy 
 in the foregoing Verles; firft, Eager Pa/Jions, 
 which produced an impetuous Progeny , and 
 thefe again were clafped to the Bofom by 
 Sorrows. The Speeches of great Characters 
 in Tragedy ought to be all noble and lively, 
 if they are in the paffionate Strain ; but then 
 the Language of Paflion is always natural, 
 and without any fludied or affeded Turns, 
 for no Man would bewail his Misfortunes 
 in that Manner. 
 
 Mr. Racine was not exempted from this 
 Fault, which Cuftom had rendered as it were 
 neceffary. Nothing is more unnatural than 
 the Narration of the Death of Hippolitus 
 at the End of the Tragedy of Phedra, which 
 in other Refpedts is very beautiful. Thera- 
 S menes 
 
2 5 8 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 menes , who comes to acquaint Thefeus with 
 the Death of his Son, ought to have pro¬ 
 nounced the Faft only in two Words, and 
 even thefe he ought to have wanted Strength 
 to pronounce diftindtly. “ Hippolitus is dead. 
 “ He died by a Monfter fent from the Bot- 
 “ tom of the Deep by the Wrath of Heaven. 
 “ I faw it.” A Perfon thus affected, in fuch 
 an Agony, and out of Breath, can he ever be 
 fuppofed to amufe himfelf with the florid 
 pompous Defcription of the Dragon ? 
 
 Her Eye and drooping Head appear'd 
 
 To J'peak her mournful Purpofe , &c.-—— 
 
 ‘The Earth was mov'd , the Air diffus'd Infec - 
 tion, 
 
 ‘The Billow , on whofe Backs he rode , recoil'd. 
 Racine's Phedra. Adt V. Scene I. 
 
 Sophocles is far from this unfeafonable im¬ 
 probable Elegance. On a like Occafion he 
 puts in the Mouth of OEdipus the follow¬ 
 ing broken agonizing Sentiments: 
 
 All, all is now difclcs'd. I fee thee now, 
 
 O Light! But foon mujl never fee thee more '. 
 Unhappy Man! To what a Pitch I’m wretched! 
 Whence , whence this fuddefFalt'ring of my 
 'Tongue ,—— 
 
 My Fortune , whether art thou fled! Wretch! 
 Wretch! / 
 
 Madnefs, 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 259 
 
 Madnefs, Defpair, are link'd 'with the Remem - 
 brance 
 
 Of what I was, and am. Is there, my Friends, 
 An Objtid now that I can fee or love ; 
 
 That I can talk to, or can hear with Comfort ? 
 All, all is now Defpair. Hence with a Tyrant, 
 An execrable Villain, doom'd to be 
 Abhor'd by Gods and Men. 
 
 - Perifio the Wretch, 
 
 That in the frightful Defart, where expos'd 
 And bound I lay, preferv'd this hateful Life. 
 O barbarous Pity, what a Cup of Sorrow 
 Had I and mine ne'er tafted, but for thee! 
 
 A Father's Murder ne'er had Jlain'd my 
 Hands, 
 
 Nor had my Love defil'd a Mother's Bed • 
 
 I'm giddy when I view my Depth of Guilt. 
 Both, both my Parents ruin'd ! — and by me ! 
 Who have a Brood by her who gave me Life. 
 
 This is the Language of Nature when fhe 
 finks under Calamity. Nothing can be more 
 diftant from quaint Phrafe and Witticifm. 
 We have five ,other Inftances of the lively 
 and fimple Expreffion of Grief in the Cha¬ 
 racters of Hercules and Philccletes. 
 
 If Mr. Racine, who had ftudied the great 
 Models of Antiquity, had formed a Plan of 
 a French Tragedy upon the Subject of OEdi- 
 pus, in the Manner of Sophocles, without any 
 fubornate Intrigue of Love, and in the Greek 
 S 2 Sim- 
 
2 6o The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 Simplicity, fuch an Entertainment muft 
 have been curious, affecting, rapid, and inte- 
 refting. It might not indeed have been ap¬ 
 plauded, but it muft have commanded the 
 Affections, and poured forth the Tears. No 
 breathing Time muft have been left. A 
 Love for Virtue, and a Horror for Crimes, 
 muft have ruftied upon the Soul. In fhort, 
 it muft have had all the EffeCts defigned by 
 the rnoft wholefome Laws. It could have 
 given no Alarms even to the Purity of 
 Religion itfelf. All that was neceffary, was 
 to cut off the falfe and the improper Orna¬ 
 ments. 
 
 The Narrownefs of our Verfification, and 
 the frequent Returns of Rhime oftentimes 
 oblige our be ft Poets, for the fake of a Jin¬ 
 gle, to load their Lines with Epithets. In 
 order to make one good Verfe, they tag it to 
 another poor one. For Inftance, I am charmed 
 when I read thefe Words: 
 
 . .. Let him die. 
 
 But it puts me out of all Patience, when 
 that Line introduces another to this Purpofe, 
 
 Or with a brave Defpair gain ViSiory. 
 
 This unnatural Bombaft is really dilguft- 
 ing; it can convey to us no Idea of Men 
 
 who 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 261 
 
 who are engaged in ferious, noble, and pafi- 
 fionate Converfation. When Probability is 
 taken away, the Spectator lofes all the Plea- 
 fure of the Entertainment. I own that the 
 Ancients a little exalted the Strain of the 
 Bulkin: 
 
 An Tragic a dijcevit & ampullatur in Arte. 
 
 Horat. Epift. I. Ep. iii. v. 14. 
 
 But he never could mean that the Bulkin 
 Ihould deviate from the Imitation of true 
 Nature. It is her’s to give us a beautiful and 
 a great Reprefentation of her: But ftill a 
 Man ought to fpeak as a Man. Nothing is 
 more ridiculous than for a Hero, in the greateft 
 A&ions of his Life, not to join an unaffected 
 Simplicity to the Grandeur and Strength of 
 Expreffion, 
 
 Projicit ampullas> & Sefquipedalia Verba. 
 
 Horat. Art. Poet. v. 97, 
 
 It is fufficient to make Agamemnon haugh¬ 
 ty, Achilla fierce, Ulyffes wife, and Medcea 
 furious; but a pompous and bomball fpoils 
 the whole; and the greater the Characters, or 
 the ftronger the Paffions one would represent 
 are, the more he ought to ftudy a noble irre- 
 filtible Simplicity. 
 
 I can’t help thinking that too bomball 
 Speeches are often put in the Mouths of 
 Pomam: It is indeed true that their Thoughts 
 had fomewhatof a noble Elevation, but they 
 always chofe to exprefs them in a natural 
 S 3 and 
 
262 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 and eafy Manner. Tho they were, in Vir¬ 
 gil's Phrafe, * Popnlum late Regem, a People 
 whofe Power and Conquefts were very ex- 
 tenfive, yet they were as calm and moderate 
 in expreffing themfelves in Converfation, as 
 they were induftrious in fubduing thofe 
 Nations who were jealous of their Power. 
 
 Parcere SubjeSiis, & debellare Superbos. 
 
 Virg. /Eneid VI. v. 853. 
 
 Horace has in other Words drawn the 
 fame Picture of them. 
 
 Imperet Bellonte prior, jacentem lenh in hojlem. 
 
 Carm. Sascul. v. 51, 52. 
 
 There feems not to be a fufficient Agree¬ 
 ment betwixt the Language of Augujlus in 
 the Tragedy of Cinna, and that modeft Sim¬ 
 plicity with which Sueton adorns all his Ac¬ 
 tions and Behaviour; for he left in Rome fo 
 great an Appearance of the ancient Liberty 
 of the Common-Wealth, that he would 
 not be called Lord. Sueton’s Account of 
 him runs thus: “ Not only by his Autho- 
 “ rity, but even by his Countenance, he 
 ct checked this infolent Flattery, and next 
 
 “ Day 
 
 Vi g* Mntid v, 25* 
 
Hhe GERMAN THEATRE. 263 
 
 “ Day made a very fevere Edidt againft it j 
 “ nor after this would he fuffer himfelf to 
 “ be filled my Lord, no not by his Chil- 
 “ dren and Grand-children, either in Jed or 
 
 “ in Earned:.- During his Conful- 
 
 ** (hip he walked generally on Foot; and 
 tc when not Conful, he often appeared 
 “ in an open Chair, and received even the 
 <c Compliments of the mod promifcuous 
 
 “ Mob. --- In every Eledion of 
 
 <c Magidrates he went about with his'three 
 “ Candidates, and follicited in the accu- 
 ** domed Manner. He likewife gave his 
 “ Vote in the Tribe, like one of the People. 
 
 “ - He trained up his Daughter and 
 
 <£ Grand-daughter in Spinning and Houfe- 
 
 <c wifry.-He lodged in an ordinary 
 
 “ Houfe belonging to Hortenfius , remarkable 
 “ neither for itsLargenefs nor its Ornaments, 
 
 “ the Galleries of it being very fhort:- 
 
 <c Famed neither for Statues nor fine Walks; 
 “ and for forty Years he lay in the lame 
 
 <c Chamber both Summer and Winter.- 
 
 te His Frugality, with regard to Furniture, 
 “ appears from the Beds and Tables he left 
 “ behind him, mod of which fcarce came 
 “ up to the Elegance of a private Gentle- 
 
 “ man. - His Supper confided only 
 
 ‘ c of three, or at mod, fix Difhes, not of 
 “ the mod fumptuous kind, but given with 
 
 u the mod focial Benevolence. —--- His 
 
 S 4 Drefs 
 
264 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 <c Drefs was generally home-fpun, and made 
 “ by his Wife, his Sifter, his Daughter, and 
 
 <c Grand daughters.- He eat very little, 
 
 “ and what he did eat, was for the moft 
 “ Part ordinary Food.” 
 
 Pomp and Shew did not fo well agree 
 with what they called Roman Politenefs , as 
 with the Luxury of a Perfian Monarch. 
 Notwithftanding the Severity of Tiberius , and 
 the fervile Turn for Flattery the Romans had 
 in his Time and under his Succeffors, yet 
 Pliny informs us that Trajan even then be¬ 
 haved like a good Fellow Citizen, and lived 
 in an amiable Familiarity with thofe about 
 him. The Anfwers of this Emperor are 
 fhort, Ample, void of Ambiguity, and free 
 from the fmalleft Tin<fture of the Bombaft -f~. 
 All we read of the Romans in Titus Livius } 
 Plutarch , and in Cicero , reprefents them as 
 Men of an elevated Turn of Thought, but 
 Ample, natural, and modeft in their Expref- 
 fions. They bear no Refemblance to the 
 ftiff and over-grown Heroes of our Ro¬ 
 mances. A great Man ftiould not declaim 
 like a Player; but ftiould neverthelefs ule 
 ftrong and plain Words in his Converfation : 
 He fhould fay nothing low ; but at the fame 
 time he ftiould fay nothing affetted or bom- 
 bajl. Ne 
 
 \ The Bas-reliefs on his Pillar reprefented him in the 
 moll modeft Pcfturc, even when at the Head of his Annyv 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 265 
 
 Ne Quicumq-, Deus t Quicumq-, adhibebitur 
 Heros , 
 
 Regali ConfpeBm in Auro nuper & ojlro , 
 Migret in obfcuras humili Sermone Tabernas , 
 Aut dum vital humum , Nubes & Inania captet y 
 JJt jejiiiy &c. 
 
 Horat. Art. Poet. v. 227 & Sequ. 
 
 The Sublime of Tragedy ought not to 
 hinder Heroes themfelves from fpeaking with 
 a Simplicity adapted to the Nature of the 
 Subjects on which they talk to one another. 
 
 Et Tragicus plerumq ; dolet Sermone pedejiri. 
 
 S 
 
 Criticisms upon Cato, by an 
 
 Anonymous Friend. 
 
 N O T only I myfelf, but all my Coun¬ 
 trymen who have reaped any Advan¬ 
 tage from the Progrefs of our Poetry, ought 
 to acknowledge the Obligations we lie under 
 to Mr. Gottfcfoed, who has chalked out to us 
 the Road (if I may fo fpeak) of 'Tragedy. 
 Should I attempt to give him all the Praifes 
 his Merit deferves, my Abilities would be 
 unequal to the Talk. However, tbo’ I am 
 furprized at his Perfections, (which I am 
 
 forced 
 
266 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 forced to pafs over in Silence) yet I can’t help 
 owning that I have found fome Things in 
 his Cato which I look upon as fmall Ble¬ 
 mishes. 
 
 This Author, who fo much blames the 
 empty Scenes in the Eng/i/h Cato, has done 
 his beft to avoid the fame Fault. The Ex¬ 
 pedient he ufes for this Purpofe is. Naming 
 the Perfon who next appears, as Cato comes. He 
 appears . In the four firft Ads, confifting 
 fome of two, and fome of three Scenes, he 
 endeavours to extricate himfelf from that 
 Difficulty, by this Stratagem, which I don’t 
 like, becaufe, in my Opinion, it does not re¬ 
 pair the Lofs arifing from the Scenes being 
 empty. 
 
 As the Rules of the Drama make it necef- 
 fary to let the Spectators into the Character 
 of the chief Heroes of the Tragedy, our 
 Poet makes Arjene defcribe to Phenice the 
 true Character of Cato very fully. But be¬ 
 caufe this happens juft as Cato enters, and 
 their Difcourfe lafts a confiderable Time 
 after lie makes his Appearance, it is not pro¬ 
 bable but Cato muft have heard fome Part, 
 which might have been avoided by his not 
 entering fo foon. 
 
 Two of my Friends are of my Opinion 
 that Ca/ar, as characterized in this Tragedy, 
 is more reafonable than Cato. Cato is blame- 
 able for rejecting every Propofal with fo 
 
 much 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 267 
 
 much Obftinacy, and prefenting himfelf to 
 the polite Cafar in a harfh, furly, nay, next 
 to clownifh Manner: For Example, in the 
 third Scene of the fourth Aft, Caslar ajks 
 Cato what the Roman Senate in Utica wijhed 
 for ? Cato anfwers, That that Jhould befall 
 thee with which thou threatnefl her ; that is to 
 fay. Thy Ruin, thy Overthrow, and in fine, 
 thy Death. Some Foreigners have faid- It 
 was not to be wondered at if Caefar lojl all 
 Patience. 
 
 As to Cafar and Cato's being reprefented 
 equally great, what follows in the fame 
 Scene is a Proof of it, and in my Opinion, 
 from the Sentiments of both, one may fay of 
 Cajar and of Cato , what was faid in France 
 of the Alexander and Porus of Racine, Ei¬ 
 ther Caefar is too great for Cato, or Cato too 
 diminutive for Caefar; both the one and the 
 other is a Stranger to true Grandeur; for 
 Cafar is too thirfty of Power, and Cato too 
 ftiff in Principle. 
 
 Pharnaces and Porcius fometimes ufe very 
 trifling Expreflions; I have likewife obferved 
 that Porcius, whofe Charadter is elfewhere 
 well enough fuftained, fays fomething out of 
 Chara&er in the laft Scene. He propofes 
 that the Corps of his Father fhould be pre- 
 fented to Cafar with a View to move his 
 Pity. He muff have by this time forgot the 
 Advice of his Father, when dying; But thou 
 
268 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 Jhalt never ojk a Favour at the Hands of thy 
 Enemy , and Jhalt never negleCi any thing for 
 the Liberty of Rome. I think he would 
 have, with more Propriety, made Cato' s Son 
 fay every thing that could encourage the reft 
 of his Friends to take Advantage of the 
 News they heard of Pompey , and promife, if 
 the Exigency required, to imitate his Father 
 by dying, rather than abandon them. 
 
 The Author of the German Cato finds 
 Fault with the Englif Performance, becaufe 
 in it the ACtors make their Entrances and 
 Exits without the Spectators knowing why; 
 but in my Opinion hehimfelf has fallen into 
 the fame Fault, at leaft in one Place: For in 
 the fifth Scene of the Second ACt Porcius 
 appea'rs upon the Stage with Arj'enc , to 
 whom he thus eagerly fpeaks, Princefs, be 
 not uneafy about your Safety ; Jhould allperifh i 
 Porcius fall be thy Friend. “Tread in your 
 Father s Footjleps, by protecting Innocence. 
 Give but the JVord , and my Sword fall be 
 unjheath'd in your Defence. At thefe Words 
 Arfene turns her Back upon the Defender of 
 her Liberty, and goes off without fpeaking 
 one Syllable; I could never be reconciled to 
 this dumb Departure. 
 
 In fhort I think Cato in one Place fpeaks 
 a little out of Character. In the third Scene 
 of the Firft ACt, when he receives the News 
 of his Daughter’s being alive, he burfts out 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 269 
 
 into thefe Expreffions ; How? What? My 
 Child alive ? What do you fay ? This lure is 
 not the fame Cato, who when he faw the 
 Corps of his Son, appeared fo calm, that one 
 would have rather thought him tranfported 
 with Joy, than depreft with Sorrow. 
 
 As for the Verification I fhall only obferve 
 that you is often ufed inftead of the thou 
 but I remember to have read in a Perfor¬ 
 mance of the fame Mr. Gottfched, that even 
 in Profe Dialogues we ought rather to ufe 
 the Tu of the Latins, than fpeak in the Plu¬ 
 ral Number like the French and Germans, 
 who, one would think, were addrefiing 
 themfelves to a Dozen of People. Thus I 
 believe he might lawfully (according to his 
 own Obfervation) make Ufe of the Tu, fince 
 the Characters are Roman. Thefe few Re¬ 
 marks I have made in running over Cato, 
 (which in other RefpeCts is an excellent Per¬ 
 formance) without any Intention to detract 
 from the real Merit of its Author. 
 
 The Authors Anfvver to the above 
 
 Criticism. 
 
 T HIS Tragedy has had the good For¬ 
 tune to fall into the Hands of able 
 Critics, nay, in fome meafure, to meet with 
 
 Applaufe. 
 
270 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 Applaufe. I therefore don’t at all repent the 
 Pains it has coft me, and I am infinitely 
 obliged to any Gentleman who (hall com¬ 
 municate to me his own, or his Friend’s Sen¬ 
 timents. 
 
 I never imagined that either an Epic or 
 Dramatic Poem can be quite faultlefs. Hu¬ 
 man Imperfection will not admit of Perfec¬ 
 tion in the fmalleft Pieces of Poetry * there¬ 
 fore we can’t flatter ourfelves to think it can 
 enter into Works of greater Importance and 
 Extent. Homer i who, by the Confeflion of 
 all the World, has produced two Mafter- 
 pieces in his Iliad and Odijfey , and who was 
 fo much admired by Horace , is by the fame 
 Horace owned fometimes to have flept, tho’ 
 in the following Verfe he defends him. 
 
 “ Veram Opere in Longo Fas ejl obrepere 
 “ Somnum .” 
 
 “ But in a Work of confiderable Length it 
 “ is pardonable fometimes to fleep.” 
 
 He has even before obferved, that there 
 are Faults which may be overlooked by a 
 Poet, even when he has fucceeded in the 
 greatefl: Part of his Work. 
 
 Sunt delict a tamen , quibus ignovijfe velimus. 
 
fhe GERMAN THEATRE. 271 
 
 Yet there are fome Faults of fuch a Na¬ 
 ture, that they may be pardoned by us. 
 
 This my learned Critic has undoubtedly had 
 in his Y r iew, when he deigned to honour my 
 Cato with his Remarks; for I am perfuaded 
 that ti c great Gentlenefs with which he has 
 treated this Attempt in Tragedy, has pre¬ 
 vailed with him to overlook more confider- 
 able Faults than thefe he has marked. There¬ 
 fore, if 1 lhall anfwer his learned Criticifms, 
 it can never be thought to be with a View 
 of vindicating myfelf entirely, nor to make 
 the World believe that what he has criticized 
 ought to pafs for Beauties. No, I am not 
 fo much bewitched by Self-love; I own, and 
 am lincerely confcious, that I am liable to 
 Faults. Let me be allowed however to 
 advance fomewhat in my own Defenee, 
 and to intermix it with fome Reflections 
 which may revive a Tafte for Dramatic 
 Poetry. 
 
 The firft Fault I am charged with, is not 
 without Foundation; for one may eafily per¬ 
 ceive a Fault in another, yet be guilty of the 
 fame himfelf. Horace lays. 
 
 In vitium dneit culpce fuga, fi caret arte. 
 
 I own that I have too often repeated this 
 Connexion of the Scene, I fee him coming , 
 He appears , 6cc. and it is only the Repetition 
 
 that 
 
272 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 that makes the Fault, for the Thing itfelf is 
 none. When two Adtors are upon the 
 Stage, and one of them fees another coming 
 up, for him to fay I fee him , or there is the 
 Man 1 expeSled, or I hope he has not over¬ 
 heard us , is no Fault. This I can prove by 
 the Example of our beft Dramatic Poets. 
 Peter Corneille in his Cid, Adt III, Scene I, 
 makes Elvira, who fees Chimene coming, 
 fay, She returns. She comes. I fee her J . 
 
 I believe the Reader will difpenfe with 
 more Examples either from Corneille or other 
 Poets, for they are ealily to be met with every 
 where: I have brought the Examples from 
 the beft Piece of Corneille on Purpofe j for it 
 is certain when he wrote that, he was unac¬ 
 quainted with the only true Connexion 
 of the Scenes in which he has been fo often 
 
 defective 
 
 % Our Author here brings five Examples from the Cid; 
 but we are to remark that the Poet has diftinguifhed this 
 Connection of Scenes into two Kinds. The firft of the 
 AClor who enters, which connects the Converfation with 
 thofe on the Stage: The fecond of the ACtor who comes 
 in unexpectedly, and makes the other retire. But the Ex¬ 
 amples which the Poet has cited in his Anfwer, and which 
 I did not think proper to be inferted here, becaufe all the 
 World knew them, are all Examples of the firft kind ; and 
 it is very eafy to prove in fuch a Cafe that there is no Fault 
 in naming the AClors who enter. As to the fecond Cafe, 
 which is that of the ACtor who comes on the Stage, and 
 who occafions thofe who are already on it to make their 
 Exit, which is the principal Point, we fhall fee how he 
 proves that this Connection of the Scenes does not leave the 
 Stage empty. 
 
<The GERMAN THEATRE. 273 
 
 defective in many Refpefts. How often does 
 it happen, that two Adtors don’t fee one an¬ 
 other, and other two appear without know¬ 
 ing why ? But Corneille , without knowing 
 the Rule for the Connection of Scenes, or 
 without chufing to follow it, has put into 
 the Mouths of his Charadters the Connec¬ 
 tions we have feen, and in the natural Me¬ 
 thod we have quoted; and pray why may 
 not I do the fame in Cato % * 
 
 As to the fecond Remark of my Article, 
 he feems to think, that the Recital made by 
 T Arjene y 
 
 * In my Opinion, the Author defends himfelf very weakly 
 upon this Point. All the World knows, he fpeaks true; 
 but it was of this fecond Kind of Connection of Scenes, ra¬ 
 ther than that of the firft, that he ought to have given us 
 Examples. After all, tho’ he really gave us thefe Exam¬ 
 ples, he was not authorized to follow them at the Expence 
 of good Senfe. It is very probable, that two ACtors, in feeing 
 a third come up, by whom they would be neither feen nor 
 heard, fhould leave the Stage in naming him aloud; but he 
 is not named only, that the Scenes do not remain empty; and 
 it is not ordered by Arifiotle , that this Connection fhould be 
 accounted a juft one. Let us examine the OEdipus of 
 Sophocles , which the fame Ariftotle gives us as a Model, thro* 
 the whole of his Art of Poetry, and we fhall find none of 
 thofe Connexions of Scenes. From the Beginning to the 
 End, all the ACtors who appear have a Reafon for their 
 doing fo, and the Scene never remains empty. This is the 
 Rule for the Connection of Scenes, and thefe, who for their 
 own Eafe have found out another, are much to be blamed. 
 Our Poet has for his Vindication produced Examples of this 
 new Rule, which will never gain Credit with Pofterity, 
 unlefs an univerfal Corruption fhould prevail; for, as I faid 
 before, it is repugnant to good Senfe, and curMafters in this 
 way will not admit of it. 
 
274 GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 Arfene, to defcribe the Charader of Cato, is 
 defective, becaufe that Adrefs, after declaring 
 the Arrival of Cato, goes on in her Recital 
 in fuch a Manner, as that Cato muft have 
 heard her. Thefe are her Words: Phenice, 
 don't you fee how the Splendor of his Wifdotn 
 flines, even amidjl his Grief! Admire then 
 that Hero to whom no Mortal is comparable, 
 fhe Gods have in vain Jlruck him with reite¬ 
 rated Blows of adverfe Fortune. He yet re¬ 
 mains firm and unjhaken, and boldly encoun¬ 
 ters their IVrath by his Conftancy. 
 
 I agree that on a fhort and narrow Thea¬ 
 tre, fuch as that of Leipfic, Cato coming 
 flowly up, might have heard fome of thefe 
 Words: But upon a larger Theatre, fuch as 
 that of the Eledor of Drejden, this could 
 not be the Cafe, and the Adrefs might have 
 ended her Speech before he was within hear¬ 
 ing. If we fuppofe that a Man, fo fage and 
 venerable as Cato, ought not to enter the 
 Stage running, in the time that eight Verfes 
 were repeating, he may reafonably be fup- 
 pofed to make twelve or fifteen Steps before 
 he came fo near as to hear her. 
 
 But tho’ one fhould fuppofe that Cato 
 hears a Part of Arfene's Difcourfe, what 
 Harm can arife from that ? Perhaps fhe does 
 it on Purpofe to let him know the high 
 Notion (he had of his Virtue; and one can’t 
 reafonably conclude that it is from a Princi- 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 275 
 
 pie of Flattery (he commends Cato when he 
 appears, or from her thinking that he hears 
 her, becaule (he begins his Encomium with 
 the Scene, and before he appears. Therefore 
 neither the Rules of the Stage, nor of Pro¬ 
 bability, can be violated. 
 
 As to the third Remark of my Critic, it 
 indeed affeds the very Eflentials of Dra¬ 
 matic Poetry. It is certain that the princi¬ 
 pal Character in the Play ought to be mod 
 (Irongly marked; and the Poet ought like- 
 wife to endeavour all he can to intereft the 
 Audience in its Favour, that it may be the 
 Objed of all their Cares and Companion. 
 This is the Rule in which I am faid to 
 fail, and if the Charge is true, it is no doubt 
 a monftrous Blunder. 
 
 To vindicate mylelf in this Particular, I 
 might inftance Mr. Defchamp , who has done 
 the fame thing in his Cato. But that can’t 
 avail me; and it may be told me that I 
 ought not blindly to follow the Miftakes of 
 my Original; I mull therefore vindicate my- 
 felf by Arguments a priori , and prove that 
 in my Tragedy Cato is much greater than 
 Ccefar ; and if this laft appears as at fir ft 
 great as Cato, his Greatnefs ferves only to 
 add to that of the principal Hero. 
 
 For this Purpofe we are previoufly to re¬ 
 mark that the Charader of a Hero confifts 
 in Patriotifm, in a virtuous Magnanimity; 
 
 T 2 „ nor 
 
276 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 nor can a Love of Power, nor Tyranny dif- 
 guifed in the Shape of Virtue, pafs for true 
 Greatnefs. For inftance, Marcus Aurelius is 
 forced to make War for the Happinefs and 
 Safety of his Country. He is deftitute of 
 Money, and rather than opprefs the Romans 
 with a Tax, he puts up to Sale his mofl pre¬ 
 cious and richeft Moveables: The Senators 
 and Citizens flaunting and fhowing away iti 
 his Royal Spoils and Imperial Equipage, 
 give him no Concern, provided he can beat 
 the Enemy without impoverifhing his Sub¬ 
 jects : He pardons the Life of Cajjius , who 
 had rebelled againft him, and intercedes 
 with the Senate for his Wife and Children. 
 Nero, on the contrary, affects a boundlefs 
 Magnificence; he diverts the City with pom¬ 
 pous Entertainments, but it is with the 
 Money of the Citizens and People, and the 
 Plunder of the Exiled and Profcribed. He 
 refufes, it is true, to fign one Dead Warrant, 
 but he wifhes the Roman People had but one 
 Neck, that he might cut it off at a Stroke. 
 There is not a Man who will not prefer the 
 Poverty of Marcus Aurelius to the Magnifi¬ 
 cence of Nero ; and the Interceflion of the 
 one for the Offender, to the Pity of the 
 other for the Criminal. 
 
 Thefe very charafteriftical Differences are 
 found betwixt Ccefar and Cato. Cato is 
 greater thro’ Misfortunes. Ccefar dazzles by 
 
the GERMAN THEATRE. 277 
 
 a political Clemency; but this Virtue is coun¬ 
 terfeit, and at the bottom a Pafiion ibr Re¬ 
 venge and Power. The Pardon he offers is 
 but a Snare to entangle the Oppolition to his 
 Views. Cato , on the other hand, will have 
 nothing for himfelf, but all for Rome ; and 
 if he can’t obtain her Freedom, he chutes to 
 die. Ccefar offers him Favours, but he rejects 
 them all without the Liberty of his Country. 
 This Ccefar refufes to comply with ; and 
 Cato defparing to force him into a Compli¬ 
 ance, refolves to kill himfelf. 
 
 Is not unfortunate Virtue infinitely greater 
 than the Happinefs arifing from the Tinfel 
 Virtue of Ccefar ? Cato, it is true, is obfti- 
 nate ; but ought not the Hero of a Tragedy 
 to have feme Faults to excite our Compai- 
 fion ? This is taught us by Arifotle. Was 
 not OEdipus in fome manner the Caufe of 
 his own Misfortune, when by his unaccoun¬ 
 table Rafhnefs he killed his Father, tho’ 
 without knowing him? Did not the Rage 
 and Fury of Orejles occafion the Murder of 
 his own Mother, a Thing which to him 
 proved the fruitful Source of Woe? Is not 
 Phedra to be blamed for her own Death, 
 fince fhe declares her Love for Hippolitus 
 to her Confident, and even before the Cho¬ 
 rus? It is then neceffary that fome Part of 
 Cato 's Misfortunes fhould be owing to his 
 own Faults, which in his Circumftances can 
 T 3 only 
 
2 7 S %e GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 only happen from an Obftinacy, either the 
 Effect of Stoical Philofophy, or his own Con- 
 ftitution. But (fill Compaffion prevails; he 
 is fo virtuous, fo difinterefted, fo zealous 
 for the Good of his Country, fo unfhaken 
 under his Misfortunes, fo magnanimous, fo 
 upright, that one muff admire, love, and pity 
 him in Death. If Cato had been perfect 
 and faultlefs, the Spectators rauft have been 
 unaffected with his Fate. It is objected to 
 me, that my way of fpeaking and thinking is 
 low, and ill adapted to the Characters. This 
 Obfervation is really of the higheft Impor¬ 
 tance; and I don’t know if I fhall be able 
 to clear myfelf of the Charge. The com¬ 
 mon Opinion is, that the Stile of Tragedy 
 ought to be very lofty and fublime; but I 
 don’t know if they who think fo have not 
 adopted this Maxim by reading Seneca s Tra¬ 
 gedies, who is always fo lofty, even upon the 
 moil common Subjects, that he lofes Sight 
 of Nature and Probability, and has already 
 been fo much blamed by the moft learned 
 Poets, that we ought tQ take for our Models 
 the Tragic Authors of Greece , who make 
 Ufe of noble and unaffected Expreflions, 
 but never of Thoughts that are forced or 
 bombaft. 
 
 The modern French Poets have been found 
 fault with upon this Account in a very lively 
 Manner by Riccoboni , in his DiJJ'ertation 
 
 upon 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 279 
 
 upon Modern 'Tragedy , and by an anonymous 
 Italian Writer, in a Piece intitled, Paragone 
 Della Poejia Tragic a ; as alfoby Mr. B ocelli, 
 in the Preface of Merope de Maffei. That 
 thefe three Foreigners fhould condemn the 
 French Tragedians for this Fault, does not 
 feem ftrange to me j for Mr. Fenelon in his 
 Thoughts upon Dramatic Poetry, which I 
 have fubjoined to my Tragedy, has blamed 
 them for the fame Fault. Father Brumoy, 
 in his Theatre of the Greeks , does the fame 
 in many PafTages; and Horace had done it 
 long before him in thefe Words: 
 
 Ft Tragicus plerumq-, dolet , &c. 
 
 Thus the Tragic Poet ought to make Tele- 
 phus fpeak in a fimple Stile. When he re- 
 prefents him as an exiled and misfortunate 
 Prince, he ought to banifh from him the 
 Sublimity of Language, and every thing 
 fwelling either in the Thoughts or in the 
 Expreffions, if he would move the Spectator 
 to Compaffion. This Seneca did not believe. 
 And this Lohenftein did not advert to -f~. 
 
 Probability is the true Rule for the Tragic 
 T 4 Stile, 
 
 + An excellent German Poet, who lived at the Time of 
 the hrft Reformation of that Stage. 
 
2 8o The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 Stile, and the Poet is indifpenfably obliged to 
 flick clofe to Nature, according to Horace , 
 
 Rc/picere Exemplar 'vita Morumq ; jubebo 
 Doffum Imitatorem , & veras bine ducere 
 Voces. 
 
 How fhould I have obferved this Rule, if 
 I had made young Porcius fpeak like Cato, 
 or like the low-fpirited head-ftrong and mali¬ 
 cious Pharnaces, or like Ccefar% Muft not 
 the Difference of their Characters appear in 
 their Converfation ? The Perfonages in Tra¬ 
 gedy are not all Poets, nor can they talk and 
 think in the artificial Manner of Seneca and 
 Lohenjlein, who are condemned by all the 
 World. No! they are Men who talk a 
 Language agreeable to their State, their Age, 
 their Sex, their Fortune, and their Character, 
 left, as Horace has beautifully obferved, 
 
 - Forte Seniles 
 
 Mandentur Juveni Partes , Pueroq ; Viriles 
 Semper in AdjunSlis ALvoq-, morabitur aptis. 
 
 This I believe may be a fufficient Anfwer 
 to the firft Exception of my Criiic upon this 
 Plead. As to the Expreffions of Porcius 
 and Pharnaces, which are thought too low, 
 I anfwer, That in the laft Scene Porcius re- 
 fembles himfelf no more, fince he has forgot 
 
 his 
 
*fhe GERMAN THEATRE. 281 
 
 bis former Courage, and propofes that his 
 Father’s Body (hould be carried to CceJ'ar in 
 thefe Words: “ Come, carry the dead Body 
 « into CceJ'ar 's Prefence, we don’t know but 
 “ his unrelenting Heart may be moved, 
 
 when he fees that Hero bathed in his own 
 “ Blood. " In effedl, Porcius is no more like 
 himfelf. Neither can we fuppofe him to be 
 fo, confideringhis Youth and Circumftances; 
 for if I had made him like his Father, how 
 would he have refembled a young Man ? Or 
 how (hould I have obferved Horace's Rule 
 with regard to the Character of Youth, the 
 Fiercenefs, the tumultuous Paflions, and the 
 Inconftancy of which he has beautifully de- 
 fcribed in one Line, 
 
 Sublimis , Cupidufq& amata relinquere Per nix. 
 
 Thefe three Qualities are very plainly dis¬ 
 covered in Porcius. He is fierce and head- 
 ftrong, while his Father was alive, to fupport 
 him, and it is for this Reafon that he oppofes 
 Pharnaces with fo much Warmth and Keen- 
 nels: His Pafiion for Arfene is impetuous, 
 and in the end he proves inconftant: For 
 after having anfwered, with a noble Refolu- 
 tion, that he would never difregard the In- 
 ftruttions his Father gave him, nor fail to 
 follow the Courfe of Life he had prefcribed 
 him, he quits this laudable Defign, and (truck 
 
 with 
 
282 the GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 with the Death of his Father, endeavours to 
 gain Ccefar by the mildeft Meafures. This 
 is the true Character of fuch a young Man 
 as Nature and Experience prefent. 
 
 I am likewife blamed with committing 
 the fame Fault with which I have charged 
 Mr. Addi/dn , by making Arfene in the third 
 Scene of the fecond Adt leave Porcius , who 
 promifes to defend her againft Pharnaces , 
 without anfwering one (ingle Word. But is 
 there any thing furprizing in this, efpecially 
 when (he fees Pharnaces coming up, her 
 Brother’s Murderer, and her own hated 
 Lover; in fine, a Man whom (he induftri- 
 oufiy (huns ? 
 
 My Critic farther objedls to me, that I 
 have altered the Charadter of Cato , efpecially 
 in the Paflage where he rejoices at finding 
 his Daughter alive, after he had believed her 
 dead. He fays that Cato ought not to be fo 
 tranfported as to enquire about her Life four 
 times, as he does. But I a(k, whether Cato , 
 in fpigbt of all his Philofophy, is not dill a 
 Man ? The Stoics never maintained that the 
 AfFedtion of a Father ought to be quite 
 (lifted. The Emperor Marcus Aurelius (hed 
 Tears for the Death of his Mailers; and 
 when fome of his Courtiers a(ked him if 
 luch a Condudt became an Emperor as well 
 as a Philofopher, he anfwered them, Allow 
 me for once i I befeech you , to be a Man as well 
 
The GERMAN THEATRE. 283 
 
 as an Emperor. Why might not Cato have 
 the fame Privilege granted him ? The Stoics 
 prepared themfelves to encounter the molt 
 terrible Calamities of human Life j and it is 
 partly for this Reafon, and partly becaufe his 
 Son Marcus has fallen fo glorioufly, that Cato 
 hears the News of it with fo little Emotion, 
 and even with an Air of Pleafure; but all 
 the Philofophy in the World can’t have fuch 
 an Eflfedt upon a Father, as to make him 
 quite unconcerned when he hears that his 
 Daughter, whom he believed dead, is ftill 
 alive. In this Cafe Cato ought to be allowed 
 to give way to the Sentiments of Humanity. 
 
 Befides, if I had made any of the Perfo- 
 nages in my Tragedy addrefs one another in 
 a clownifh ruftic Manner, I believe our 
 Germans would have been highly fhocked at 
 it. In fine, if we heard an Inferior fay. 
 As for thee, my Prince, &c. or a Son to his 
 Father, I will tell thee, my Father, we could 
 not have bore it, and this has made me endea¬ 
 vour to light upon an agreeable Medium, by 
 lerving myfelf alternately, and as the Cafe 
 required, of the you and the thou. I muft 
 neverthelefs confefs, that it had been better, 
 had I always ufed the latter; if I was after 
 this to write a Tragedy, I fhould lay it down 
 as a Rule to myfelf, always to make Uje of 
 it, and likewife to imitate the noble Simplicity 
 of the ancient Manners to recommend them 
 
 to 
 
284 The GERMAN THEATRE. 
 
 to the Stage ; but others will perfect what I 
 have fo weakly laid the Foundation of. 
 
 - Fungar Vice cotis, acutum 
 
 Reddere qua ferrum valet , exors ipfa Jecandi. 
 
 There are alfo added the Author's Anfwers to 
 fome Criticifms that were made upon him 
 after his Letter was printed ; wherein he 
 very handfcmly defends himfelf for not 
 making Cato die altogether , according 
 to Hijlorical Truth. The Critic would 
 have wijhed that he had tore out his very 
 Intrails ; and our Poet, upon juft Grounds , 
 Jhews the Impojfibility of doing fo, even in 
 Ricital. 
 
 I F L AT T E R myfelf I have not judged 
 amifs, when at the Beginning I faid Peo¬ 
 ple might reap fome Advantage from the 
 Reflections of Mr. GottJ'ched, which to me 
 appear very folid. And as for the Public, 
 tho’ it (hould only learn, that in Germany 
 Authors think as juftly as in any other Na¬ 
 tion, and that the Theatre, and the Laws of 
 it are as well known there as elfewhere, yet I 
 hope it will think this an ufeful Piece of 
 Knowledge. 
 
 I 
 
*tbe GERMAN THEATRE. 285 
 
 I thought it would be agreeable to the 
 Public to give fome Account of the Number 
 and Nature of the Pieces wrote by Hannf- 
 fach , the firft Dramatic Poet who appeared in 
 Germany, as alfo of the Works of Opitz , 
 Gryphius , and Lohenjlein, whom I have 
 already mentioned, and a Catalogue of whofe 
 Works I (hall hereafter add for the Reader’s 
 Satisfaction. 
 
 Vie 
 
 I 
 
286 Of the GREEK TRAGEDY. 
 
 The Teftgn propofed by the firfl 
 Writers of Greek Tragedf. 
 The Rife, Progrefs , and Ruin of 
 Italian Tragedf. Of the New 
 Italian Tragedy. 
 
 W ITHOUT repeating what has 
 been often faid of the Original of 
 Tragedy, it is fufficient for my prefent Pur- 
 pofe that I explain the Purpotes for which 
 the ancient Greeks , its Inventors, defigned it. 
 
 One thing is plain, that every Greek Tra¬ 
 gedy had two Purpofes; one of the Fable, 
 the other of the Poet. The firft had ftated 
 Rules, as it ferved to mend the Heart, and 
 regulate the Paffions; the other to correct 
 the State, and improve political Virtues. 
 For Inflance, in the Palamedes of Euripides, 
 the End which the Poet propofed was to 
 put the Injuftice of the Sentence of the 
 Athenians againft Socrates t upon the Accufa- 
 tions of Annitus and Arijlophanes , into a 
 ftrong Light, by reprefenting the Perfecu- 
 tions of Palamedes by Ulyjfes : Hence it hap¬ 
 pened that Arif.ophaneSy to be revenged upoa 
 
 Euripides, 
 
Of the GREEK TRAGEDY. 287 
 
 Euripides , who had expofed him in his Tra¬ 
 gedy, wrote his Comedy of the Frogs, which 
 is a Satyr on the Tragic Poet. 
 
 We have no reafon to doubt that the Greek 
 Poets, in their Tragedies, had it in View to 
 excite and keep alive the public Deteftation 
 of Tyranical Government, then fo abhorred 
 by the Athenians-, and on that Account they 
 have reprefented the Vices of Princes as the 
 fruitful Sources of all the Calamities attend¬ 
 ing their Royal Families. It is true that 
 Ariftotle, who lived fo near the Times of 
 thefe Dramatic Poets, would have over¬ 
 looked, or been ignorant of the Purpofes I 
 have mentioned, if they really had any fuch 
 Meaning. 
 
 But this Obje&ion may be anfwered, by 
 obferving that the Defign of the Poet, to 
 correct or counfel the Government, was kept 
 as fecret and dark as poffible, left he might 
 have irritated the Adminiftration by his 
 Liberties in Writing. Befides we may eafily 
 conceive that Ariftotle, who was the Tutor 
 of Alexander, the Mafter and Enflaver of 
 Greece, had the Glory and Intereft of his 
 Mafter too much at Heart, or perhaps was 
 too dextrous a Courtier, to tell the World 
 that the End of all Tragic Poets was to cre¬ 
 ate an Abhorrence of Kings; and that they 
 never met with fo univerfal Applaufe, as 
 
 when 
 
2 88 Of the GREEK TRAGEDY. 
 
 when they reprefented Princes in the moft 
 odious Colours. 
 
 After the Greeks , the Romans compofed 
 Tragedies, but without any other Aim than 
 to tranfport to Rome all the Greek Arts and 
 Sciences; the Italians and French likewife 
 have wrote Tragedies, but without having 
 any political Ends in View; they having 
 wrote them purely as public Entertainments, 
 proper to make their Countrymen Sharers of 
 the Diverfions common in other Countries. 
 
 Before Tragedy appeared in Italy , which 
 was about the Year 1520, the Italians , for 
 the fifteenth Century, had been ufed to fee 
 frequent Reprefentations of the Paflions of 
 Chrif, the Lives of Martyrs, and of Virgins; 
 but thefe Shews were commonly played only 
 during Lent, and in Churches. And as the 
 Spectators repaired to them from a Principle 
 of Devotion, when the Reprefentation was 
 over they were charmed to feel the Emo¬ 
 tions of Grief and Tendernefs in their 
 Hearts; which they looked upon as a Proof 
 of their Senfibility for the Truths of their 
 Religion. 
 
 But, excepting thefe Times of Lamen¬ 
 tation and Mourning, the Italians had^ no 
 other View in feeing a Play, but to laugh 
 and amufe themfelves. The firft Poets who 
 exhibited Tragedies to the People, having 
 fent the Spectators home melancholy and 
 
 grieved, 
 
Of the GREEK TRAGEDY. 289 
 
 grieved, the Public was foon weary of this 
 new kind of Diverlion: The Authors of 
 thole Pieces upon cruel Subjedts, not refledt- 
 ing that the political Views of the Greek 
 Poets in the Cataftrophes which they wrought 
 up before the Eyes of a Republic, the jealous 
 Enemy of Tyrants, could have no Place 
 among the Italians , a People, whofe Go¬ 
 vernment was more regular, and their Man¬ 
 ners more gentle. However, Tragedy kept 
 its Footing for fome Time in Italy , by the 
 Plealure which that Lettered Age took in 
 feeing the ancient Reprefentations revived. 
 Men of Learning had before their Eyes only 
 the wonderful Produdtions of the Greek and 
 Latin Poets: But the Heavy and the Dull, 
 on whom, in Italy , the Succefs of a Play 
 depends, being infenfible of this Pleafure, 
 Tragedy was foon loft, and exhibited only 
 at Feafts, on Occafion of the Births and 
 Marriages of their great Men. But now 
 the World is quite weary of them, they 
 being thought very improper for public Re- 
 joycings, and Comedies are fubftituted in their 
 Place, as I have faid elfewhere. 
 
 Lrejjino , whoDe Ideas were commonly very 
 juft, was the firft who prefented a Tragedy 
 in the Italian Language: He chofe a well- 
 known Subjedt, becaufe he wanted that the 
 Spedlators fhould be well acquainted with it. 
 I believe the Reafon of his taking a Fable 
 U from 
 
2 9 o Of the GREEK TRAGEDY. 
 
 from Hiftory, rather than one of his own 
 Invention, in which he was very fruitful, 
 was to prevent Criticifms upon his Under¬ 
 taking. 
 
 I fhall not here enter into the common 
 Queftion, whether a Poet, in writing a Tra¬ 
 gedy, ought to adopt a hiftorical or a fabulous 
 Plot. Cajlell-vetro has treated that Subject fo 
 copioufly, that I (hall prefume to fay nothing 
 after fo great a Man. Treffino exhibited the 
 firft Tragedy, and chofe Sophonijba. The 
 ACtion and Cataftrophe are entirely hiftori¬ 
 cal: For that Princefs dies by the Poifon 
 fent her by Majinijfa . The Adtion is inte- 
 refting, and very proper to move ; but not of 
 fo horrible a Nature as to oblige the Specta¬ 
 tors to leave the Play-houfe with melancholy 
 Looks and diftorted Features. If the Dra¬ 
 matic Authors, who followed him, had imi¬ 
 tated him in this Tragedy, they might have 
 not only got Footing, but might have flou- 
 rifhed to a great Degree in Italy. But Men 
 of Learning, at that Time, probably judged 
 that this Tragedy was no Pattern to copy 
 after; and in comparing it with Greek Origi¬ 
 nals, they perhaps did not find enough of 
 Blood and Murder in it. They were fond 
 of copying exa&ly after the Greek Poets, 
 and even wanted to improve upon them : 
 And fince the Time of IreJJino we have leen 
 horbeche del Giraldi , La Semiramide del 
 
 Manfredi 
 
Of the GREEK TRAGEDY. 291 
 
 Manfredi , la Canace di Speron Speroni , and a 
 great many others which have frightned the 
 Italian Spectators out of their Wits. 
 
 If one were at Pains to compare the Tra¬ 
 gedies I have named, together with fome 
 others, with the Greek Tragedies, one might 
 there fee an exaCt Imitation of the Greek 
 Originals, and confequently they mail be 
 owned to be complete Tragedies. It is true 
 that at prefent, becaufe the Stile has nothing of 
 the Bombaft, and becaufe their Maxims and 
 Sentiments are quite fimple and natural, the 
 French , and even fome Italians , refufed to 
 look upon them as Tragedies. 
 
 The Tragedies which continued in It alp 
 for the following Age, remained buried in 
 the general Corruption of Learning. Since 
 that Time it has never recovered; and if 
 very rarely fome Italians write a Tragedy* 
 it is quite negleded. Among all the Tra¬ 
 gedies wrote fince the Year 1620, I believe 
 we cannot find a complete Model, for if any 
 of them have Beauties, thefe Beauties are 
 mingled with very great Imperfections. Fc r 
 Inftance, the Arijlodemo of Dollori is an ex¬ 
 cellent Tragedy, and upon the Stage has a 
 wonderful EffeCt; but it is wrote in fo Ly¬ 
 ric a Stile, that the Language is quite unfup- 
 portable: On the other hand, thofe who fuc- 
 ceed him to the Year 1700, and which are 
 but few, are acknowledged by the learned 
 U 2 Men 
 
2 9 2 Of the GREEK TRAGEDY. 
 
 Men of Italy themfelves to have fucceeded 
 no better. 
 
 Since that Period, the Italian Theatre has 
 taken a new Form. Mr. Martelli has wrote 
 a good many Tragedies in Alexandrine 
 Verfes that rhime. Thefe kind of Verfes were 
 at once both admired and cenfured, and are 
 not unknown in Italy , becaufe they are two 
 Verfes of feven Syllables joined together} and 
 becaufe we have fome ancient Stanzas of a 
 Sicilian Poet’s Verfes of the fame Meafure, 
 which perhaps may give the Hint to the 
 French Alexandrine } for this Sicilian is one 
 of the molt ancient Rhimers. Some time 
 after, Mr. Gravina wrote five Tragedies; 
 and the Marquis de Maffer brought his Merope 
 upon the Stage: But hitherto the Italians , fo 
 far as appears, have never eftablifhed any 
 Standard with regard to Tragedy, that may 
 be accommodated to our Age and Manners; 
 the Form of the French Tragedy not being 
 at all agreeable to their Tafte, as I fhall {hew 
 by and by. 
 
 Gravina has been perhaps too zealous an 
 Imitator of the Greeks: But the Marquis de 
 Maffer has not been fo fcrupulous upon this 
 Head; tho’ his Merope, as to its Fable, is 
 Greek , yet it is accommodated to our Man¬ 
 ners, fo as not to offend the Spectators; and 
 tho’ in the Adlion , Cresfonte is bound, a Ja¬ 
 velin brought to difpatch him, and Merope 
 
 introduced 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 293 
 
 Introduced upon the Stage with a Hatchet 
 in her Hand, all which have been blamed, 
 yet thefe two Incidents have been applauded 
 by every Audience in Italy , who have a Tafte 
 for, and admire thefe ancient Manners. It 
 is faid that the fame Author has wrote an¬ 
 other Tragedy, which is now locked up in 
 his Clofet. I don’t doubt of its Excellence ; 
 and if it has not yet been brought on the 
 Stage, it mull be owing to the Italian Play¬ 
 ers. For thefe ten Years they have played 
 only wretched Tragi-Comedies; and having 
 thrown up Tragedy, that Author is perhaps 
 unwilling to truft his Piece with Adtors who 
 have fallen into a Defuetude of adting true 
 Tragedy. 
 
 Of the Rife and Reformation of 
 
 French Tragedi. 
 
 I TALIAN Tragedy began with the 
 fixteenth Century, long before Tragedy 
 appeared in France. If they who talk of 
 Italian Tragedies, would be at Pains to com¬ 
 pare them with the French of the fame Age, 
 they will find the former grave, majeftic, 
 wrote with Dignity, conceived with Good- 
 fenfe, and exadtly according to the fevered: 
 
 U 3 Rules 
 
294 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 Rules of the Drama. On the other hand, 
 we {hall find the French confufed and artlefs, 
 languid in its Sentiments, improbable in the 
 Fable, and irregular in its Conduit. In ftiort, 
 if we compare the French with the Italian 
 Tragedies, with regard to Stile, the Italians 
 have this Advantage, that the Stile of their 
 firft Tragedies has never grown antiquated, 
 while that of the French is become quite 
 {hocking, and entirely banilhed the Stage. It 
 is far other wife in the Cafe of Italian Tra¬ 
 gedy which began in the Age of Petrarch , 
 who embelliftied that Tongue with all its 
 finifhed Graces and Perfections: And I my- 
 felf have, with Applaufe, played in 1712, in 
 the Sophonijba of IreJJino , and the Orejles of 
 Ruccelai , who were their two moll ancient 
 Tragic Poets. 
 
 Peter Corneille reformed and brought the 
 French Tragedy to its utmoft Perfection. 
 Rotron himfelf, who had trod the compleat 
 Round of Theatrical Extravagance, when 
 he faw the firft Tragedy of Corneille , cor¬ 
 rected his Faults, and compofed his Vin- 
 cejlaus, which may be looked upon as a good 
 Play. We may therefore call Monfieur Cor¬ 
 neille the Father of the Fre?ich Stage, nay, 
 the very Inventor of French Tragedy j be- 
 caufe his Tragedies, thofe of his Brother, 
 thofe of Racine , and of all fucceeding Poets, 
 refemble neither the Greek, the Latin, the 
 
 Italian, 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 295 
 
 Italian, nor the ancient French Tragedy. But 
 thefe great Men lived at a Time when the 
 French Court was the Model of Gallantry, 
 and the Pattern of Tafte. 
 
 They thought proper to foften the Seve¬ 
 rity of Tragedy, in order to recommend it 
 to the Liking of their young King and Court; 
 and for this Purpofe they made Love the 
 Mafter and Controuler of their Stage. I 
 don’t know if I (hould be much in the 
 wrong, if I declare that French Tragedy is 
 the elder Daughter of Romance, fince a ro¬ 
 mantic Strain is fo predominant thro’ it all. 
 This Tafte was then fo prevailing, that Tho¬ 
 mas Corneille, in his Timocrates , has done no¬ 
 thing but copied Calander. In a fhort time 
 Love became the Tyrant of their Stage, and 
 their Dramatic Authors have forced it into 
 Subjects not only where it was improper, but 
 where I thought it impoffible it (hould have 
 Place. 
 
 Mr. Corneille , by adapting the OEdipus of 
 Sophocles to the French Stage, has altered the 
 Originals, and in Place of Creon has intro¬ 
 duced Thefeus , and given him a Miftrefs, that 
 he may the more eafily work up fome whin¬ 
 ing Scenes. But before Corneille, I believe it 
 never entered into any Man’s Head, that 
 it was proper to introduce Love into the 
 OEdipus of Sophocles. Monfieur de Voltaire , 
 in the fame Tragedy of Sophocles, has not 
 . U j. imitated 
 
x m 
 
 296 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 imitated Corneille: He has not introduced 
 any ftrange Charters into the Adtion, that 
 they may talk of Love: However, not wil¬ 
 ling to be entirely defective in that Point, 
 without which it is thought a Tragedy 
 would be very unfuccefsful, Mr. Voltaire has 
 not indeed added a Woman more than is in 
 the Original Greek, but he introduces Philo- 
 cetes y who he fuppoles was in Love with 
 focafta, before (he was married to Laius. 
 And thele two old Men, for furely they mu ft 
 have been old, are reprefented, as calling to 
 Mind their paft Amours. 
 
 Can we imagine that, in a Sacred Tragedy, 
 the profane Love of Polenetes fhould affedt 
 the Adtion of the Piece! In the Tragedy of 
 the Maccabees , the young Maccabee loves a 
 Pagan Woman, whom he wants to convert. 
 That I may not run thro’ all the Tragedies, 
 
 I will clofe, by inftancing in that of Serto- 
 rius , in the firft Recounter of that old Gene¬ 
 ral with young Pompey , after the mod ferious 
 and political Refledtions upon the State of 
 the Public. Thefe two great Men finifh 
 this folemn Dialogue with a Differtation on 
 their Love-Intrigues. I believe in the firft 
 Place it will not be unneceffary to examine 
 the Effedts which this kind of Love produces 
 in Tragedy} and this will deferve an entirq 
 Chapter. 
 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 297 
 
 Of the Effects which Love produces 
 in French Tragedy. The 
 Cutting of the Chomfes, and the 
 Introduction of Confidents. 
 
 R OMANTIC Love generally takes 
 up three Fourths of the Action in 
 French Tragedies. If we take away the ten¬ 
 der Scenes, and reduce the principal Adtion 
 to its true Objedt, the Tragedy would be 
 ended in an Adt and a Half, or two Adts at 
 mod. For Example, let us take out of 
 Nicomedes the ten Scenes of Laodice ; out 
 of the OEdipus , the fix Scenes of Dirce ; 
 out of Poleuetes, the Love-Scenes of Sever us ; 
 from the Phedra of Racine , the fix Scenes 
 of Aricia j and we fhall fee that the Adtion 
 will not only be uninterrupted, but that it 
 will be more lively and brifk; and thus it 
 plainly appears that thefe tender Scenes ferve 
 only to damp the Actions of the Piece, and 
 to render the Heroes infipid and little. If, 
 after thefe two bed Writers of French Tra¬ 
 gedy, we examine others, this Truth will be 
 more plain: But when Love is the Subjedt of 
 the Tragedy, that Paflion, which in itfelf is 
 fo intereding, enters into the Adtion with 
 
 Propriety 
 
298 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 Propriety enough. It is generally thought in 
 France , that a Tragedy without Love could 
 never pleafe the French Ladies who compofe 
 the Bulk of the Audience in Paris. How¬ 
 ever, about the Beginning of the Year 1716, 
 when the Players firft adted Athalia , it had 
 a great Succels; and in the OEdipus of Mr. 
 Voltaire , which had univerfal Applaufe, the 
 only thing which was difliked was the Recital 
 of the Loves of OEdipus and foe aft a. Not- 
 withftanding thefe Examples, they never have 
 recovered themfelves from this Practice. 
 They are willing to preferve Love in Tra¬ 
 gedy; and I believe I can guefs the Reafon. 
 The Dilpofition of a Fable is noteafy; there 
 mull concur in it all the Steps of an Adtion 
 in Life, the Beginning, the Progrefs, the Plot, 
 the Unravelling, and the End. Half a Do¬ 
 zen Love Scenes help thefe infenfibly forward; 
 thro’ thefe we muft march for the right Con¬ 
 duct of an Adtion; and by making up thefe 
 Blanks, you are made to jump infenfibly 
 from the Beginning to the Middle, and from 
 the Middle to the End. By lopping off 
 what I have mentioned, by taking the Love 
 Scenes out of many Tragedies, which may 
 be done without interrupting the Adtion, 
 we can eafily point out this Truth, and then 
 will fee the dangerous Jumps that Authors 
 muft otherwife be obliged to make in the 
 Condudt of their Plays; I had a great Plea- 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 299 
 
 fure in making this Experiment. I propofed 
 to my Companions the Plan of a Comedy 
 which might comprehend all the Dramatic 
 Entertainments in Paris : The Propofal was 
 reliffied, and in a little time three of them 
 undertook to execute it: After the Prologue, 
 we had an Ad of Comedy in the Italian 
 Manner; the fecond Aft was a Tragedy, 
 and the third a comical Opera. The Sketch 
 of the Tragedy was given by me, and the 
 three Authors executed in fuch a manner, as 
 to do them Honour, I fpeak of the Arca- 
 gambisy which was aded with Applaufe, 
 and of which it is needlefs for me to give any 
 Account as it is in Print. In one Ad we fee 
 a complete Adion; the Princefs Thamira 
 takes up but one Scene; and if any Scholar 
 will weave into that Adion ten Love Scenes 
 betwixt c Thamira i the King, the Prince, and 
 the Nurfe; I fay, if this {hall be done hand- 
 iomely, with fome diftant Relation to the 
 Subjed, one (hall be furprized to fee a com¬ 
 plete Tragedy of five Ads grow up without 
 any other Difficulty. 
 
 I own that when the Arcagambis was 
 played, I had a complete Pleafure: I was 
 complemented by every Body upon that 
 Comic-Tragedy; and what was moft fur- 
 prizing, was to fee all the Parts and Degrees 
 of a complete Tragedy in five Ads. To 
 tell the Truth, §ir, I was not a little proud 
 
3 oo Of the FRENCH TRA.GEDY. 
 
 of the Merit of having reduced into one Adi 
 the entire Notion of a Tragedy, and can 
 perform the fame Operation upon other Ori¬ 
 ginals which I could mention, purely by cut¬ 
 ting off the Love Scenes. 
 
 When Tragedy was reformed in France , 
 the Chorus and the Choriphee was cut off. 
 The Choriphee is the Chorus that enters into 
 the Adtion, and fpeaks along with the Actors. 
 They have thought that this Part was ufelefs 
 to Tragedy, and void of Probability: And 
 indeed upon the Plan of French Tragedy 
 they may be in the right; for mod; Part of 
 their Tragedies are upon private Subjedts 
 tranfadted in the Palaces of Princes, where 
 Chorufes are certainly introduced abfurdly, 
 and againft Probability. But they found 
 themfelves at a Lofs by thus cutting oft the 
 Chorus and the Choriphee: Therefore, to fup- 
 ply the Abfence of the latter, their Authors 
 have had Recourfe to Romance ; they have 
 taken from the Charadter of the ’Squire the 
 Idea of a Confident, either Male or Female, 
 who are linked to, and attending their prin¬ 
 cipal Perfonages. 
 
 It is true that in the Alexander and the 
 Athalia of Racine there are none of thefe 
 Confidents. But I don’t think that this was 
 the Effedt of any Scruples that arofe in the 
 Mind of that excellent Poet on this Point; 
 feut owing to both the prophane and facred 
 
 Hiftory 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 301 
 
 Hiftory furniffiing a Sufficiency of principal 
 Characters, without the Authors being obliged 
 to have Recourfe to Fiction to help him out 
 with ConduCt. His Andromache convinces 
 one of this Truth: For if he had entertained 
 the leaft Scruples on this Head, he never 
 would have given a Confident to Andromache 
 and Her mi one, nor a Tutor to Pyrrhus , 
 three Characters quite ufelefs in the Play: 
 As for Orejies , the Author was fo happy, that 
 he found a Pylades , furniffied by Hiftory, to 
 his Hand. 
 
 By taking away the Chorus and the Choriphee 
 from Tragedy, and introducing Confidents, 
 I am miftaken if the Authors, by endea¬ 
 vouring to avoid a fmall Inconveniency, have 
 not fallen into a confiderable one. For their 
 Heroes, in Imitation of Cyrus and Orondates y 
 and other romantic Captains, make Confi¬ 
 dents not of Noviciates in the Art of Knight¬ 
 hood, as ’Squires were, but often of a Slave 
 to whom they entruft not only their Loves, 
 but even the mod; delicate Plots. Often 
 this Confident is brought upon the Stage 
 with no other end but to hear and explain 
 that Subje&, and is quite ufelefs thro all the 
 reft of the Play. 
 
302 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 Of the Unity of Place in French 
 Tragedy. 
 
 T HE chief Point that is mentioned* 
 with regard to Dramatic Performances, 
 is the Obfervation of the three Unities in 
 Tragedy and Comedy, I mean thofe of 
 Aftion, Time , and Place: Thefe diredt us to 
 judge of the true Merit of Tragedy and 
 Comedy. Arijlotle , in his Poetry, has not 
 mentioned the Unity of Place; but the Na¬ 
 ture of the thing alone has fuggefted the 
 Realonablenefs of it to Dramatic Poets: 
 When Arijlotle confined the Action of a 
 Tragedy to twelve or twenty four Hours, 
 the Unity of Place was abfolutely necef- 
 fary for fo fhort a time, for it can’t be fup- 
 pofed that the Adtion in that time can mea- 
 fure a great deal of Ground. 
 
 Befides, in the Infancy of Tragedy, the 
 Reprefentation was very Ample: It had no 
 Machines, no Shifting of Decorations, yet 
 thefe Shiftings are neceffary for aiding the 
 Imagination of the Spectator when the Place 
 is changed. The firft Adtors therefore were 
 obliged to make Choice of Subjedts that 
 were tranfadted upon one Spot of Ground. 
 
 Thefe 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 303 
 
 Thefe Entertainments having pleafed the 
 People, and the principal Citizens of every 
 Republic being fond of encreafing their 
 Magnificence, Machines, and Decorations, 
 were introduced; but thefe Decorations 
 ferved only to adorn the Scene, and not to 
 fhift it: As to the Machines, they were ufe- 
 ful for the Gods who were introduced into 
 the Place of the Adtion which never was 
 changed: Thus we find there are no Shift- 
 ings of the Stage in Sophocles or Euripides. 
 
 It will be doubtlefs objected to me, that 
 the Learned in Antiquity allure us there were 
 Shiftings of the Stage. To prove this, Bu- 
 langer and Lelius Geraldus quote this Verfe 
 from the third Book of Virgil's Georgies , 
 
 Vel Scena ut Verfis difeedat frontibus. 
 
 I agree with them, that in the Entertain¬ 
 ments of the Ancients there were Changes 
 of Decoration; and I know that Servius, 
 in his Note upon this Pafiage of Virgil , fays. 
 But the ConJlruSlion of the Scene was fuch i 
 that it could be either quite changed , or drawn 
 a/ide. It was faid to be changed , when by the 
 Help of Machines a quite different Face of 
 the PiSlure was prefented. It was on the 
 other hand only faid to be drawn afide , when 
 by opening the Curtains , a concealed Piffure 
 was here and there expofed to them , 
 
 It 
 
 
304 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 It is neverthelefs certain that we have no 
 ancient Tragedy, the Subjedt of which re¬ 
 quires a Shifting of the Scene. Thefe 
 Changes of Decoration were therefore only 
 made at the End of the Reprefentation of a 
 Piece, when they wanted to reprefent an¬ 
 other : For it wascuflomary to make a Piece 
 of a comic or a mimic Nature fucceed a 
 Tragedy; and often in one Day three or 
 four different Shews fucceeded one another 
 •on the lame Theatre. 
 
 Some may perhaps take the Opening of a 
 Door, by which a Meffenger enters, or that 
 Part of the Afinaria of Plautus, where the 
 Father, the Son, and the Miflrefs, are feen at 
 Table together, as a Change of the Theatre. 
 But upon an accurate Examination of the 
 Matter, one will eafily perceive, that „ thefe 
 different Changes of the Theatre, {poke of 
 by Servius , do not take Place in thefe two 
 In fiances. 
 
 In my Catalogue, when fpeaking of the 
 Olympic Theatre of Palladio , in the City of 
 Vicenza , I have given Vitruvius’s Account of 
 the Conftrudfion of Theatres. The Thea¬ 
 tres had three principal Doors, and two on 
 that Side where the Adtors entered. Every 
 one of thefe Doors fronted different Streets, 
 and different Buildings; and when in the 
 Adlion a Stranger or a Meffenger was to enter 
 the City, they opened one of the two laft 
 
 mentioned 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 305 
 
 mentioned Doors, (b that without any Change 
 of the Theatre, the Spectators, through that 
 Door, faw the City itfelf. In the fame 
 manner in the A [maria they opened one of 
 thefe two Side-Doors which prefen ted to the 
 View of the Spectators the Gallery of the 
 Houfe, where the ACtors fat eating at a Table. 
 But to return by long Cuftom the Unity 
 of the Place had become fo common among 
 the Greeks , that there was no Occafion for 
 prefcribing it formally, fince it was autho¬ 
 rized by Practice, and always prefumed to 
 be underftood. The Moderns have not fol¬ 
 lowed this Probability ; but not to name 
 them all, I (hall only inftance in Calvaret y 
 who, probably being no Stranger to the Objec¬ 
 tions made to his Predeceflor, upon this Ac¬ 
 count, has endeavoured to avoid this Fault, 
 by putting thefe Words under the Lift of his 
 Dramatis Perfonce , in the Tragedy called the 
 Rape of Proferpine. ‘The Scene is in Heaven , 
 in Sicily, and in Hell , where the Imagination 
 of the Reader may reprefent to itfelf a kind of 
 Unity of Place, by conceiving this Scene to be a 
 perpendicular Line drawn from Heaven to Hell. 
 To remedy fo monftrous an Abfurdity, the 
 Critics, who have wrote fince that Time, have 
 laid down a pofitive Rule for this Unity of 
 Place, which was only formerly confequen- 
 tially deduced from the Rules fo judicioufly 
 eftabliihed by Arifotle. They have, as for- 
 X mally. 
 
306 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 mally, required the Unity of Place as Ari - 
 fiotle did that of Action and Time, that by 
 this Means the Sallies of the Poets Imagina¬ 
 tion might have fome Check. But the late 
 Tragic Poets following this Rule of the Unity 
 of Place more fervily than their Predeceffors, 
 have perhaps paid too religious a Regard to 
 it. Is it not ftrange that the Place where a 
 Tragedy is adted Ihould be the Clofet of an 
 Emperor or a King ; and that the Adtion of 
 this Tragedy fhould be the Intrigues and 
 Secrets of a Confpiracy wrought up and con¬ 
 certed under the Eyes of the very Prince 
 intended to be murdered ? Would not one 
 be rather tempted to admit of a Change of 
 Place, as the Italians have done lince the 
 Year 1600, in their Imitations of, andTran- 
 flations from the Spani/h Theatre. 
 
 The late Commentators on Arijlotle are 
 ferioufly employed in difcovering whether 
 this Unity of Place is to be underftood of 
 the Extent of Ground taken up by the ABors 
 at the Beginning of the Tragedy , or of the 
 Town or City where the ABion is laid. But 
 without flopping to difcufs their feveral Rea- 
 fonings in this Place, we fhall in few Words 
 lay before the Reader our own Sentiments of 
 the Matter. 
 
 The fir ft of all the Rules, and that which 
 Arijlotle lays down as the Bafis and Founda¬ 
 tion of all the reft, is to obferve Probability . 
 
 Thus 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 307 
 
 Thus neither the Unity of Place, nor any of 
 the reft of Ariflotle s Maxims ought to be 
 followed at the Expence of Probability, 
 which is the Source of all the Rules obferved 
 in Poetry; and I don’t think that this Pro¬ 
 bability is fufficiently obferved in the Unity 
 of Place fo fcrupuloufly adhered to by the 
 French Poets. 
 
 The Spectators, in my Opinion, would be 
 lefs Chocked by feeing the A&ors pafs from 
 one Apartment to another in the lame Palace, 
 (as in Italy and Spain was the Cuftom in the 
 laft Age,) than by feeing a Confpiracy con¬ 
 certed and carried on in the Clofet, and under 
 the Eye of the Tyrant who was to fall the 
 Victim. 
 
 Let us, for inftance, take one of the beft 
 Tragedies of the excellent Mr. Corneille , and 
 examine the Effects of that great Man’s 
 fcrupulous Attachment to the Rule preferr¬ 
 ing the Unity of Place. Let no one charge 
 me with an Intention to criticife upon him; 
 I only intend to (hew, that by ftraining 
 Things left, he fhould have preferved Proba¬ 
 bility more, and that if he has given Occa- 
 fion for Criticifm, it is owing to his being 
 over-cautious in this refpeCt. 
 
 In his Tragedy of Cinna, the Place of 
 AClion is the Emperor’s Clofet; and it is in 
 the fame Clofet that /Emilia bawls out that 
 fhe will kill the Emperor. In the fame Clc- 
 X 2 fet 
 
3 o8 Of Ak FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 let China concerts the Confpiracy with Mmi- 
 lia and Maximus. After the Converfation 
 betwixt Augujlus , China , and Maximus , the 
 Emperor has fcarce left the Clofet, till Cinna 
 tells Maximus , That if he had advifed Auguf- 
 tus not to throw up the Empire, it is with a 
 View that his Victim may be the more illu- 
 ftrious, and that he may kill Augujlus on the 
 Throne. If the Confpirators, during all the 
 Action, run a rifque of being heard, they 
 run ftill a greater upon this than upon any 
 other Occafion ; for the Emperor having juft 
 left them, could not be far gone, and might 
 liften to know if they fpoke the fame in his 
 Abfence, they had done in his Prefence. It 
 appears then contrary to all Probability to 
 make them fpeak fo loud immediately when 
 the Emperor leaves the Room. The Poet 
 himfelf has been fenfible of this, and for 
 that reafon, he makes Cinna fay, Friend , 
 we may be over-heard in this Palace. But 
 this Reflection comes too late: I don’t know 
 but the Spectators might have been better 
 pleafed with a Change of Place, than with 
 fo imprudent Conduct in fuch Perfons as 
 China and Maximus. Mr. Corneille , in the 
 Examination of this Tragedy, endeavours to 
 defend himfelf againft this Objection, which 
 had probably been made againft his Tragedy 
 in his own Life-time: His Words run thus: 
 It is true, it has two Places of ASlion the 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 309 
 
 me Half is aided with /Emilia, and the other 
 in the Clofet of Auguftus. I Jhould have juflly 
 deferred to be ridiculed , had 1 made this Em¬ 
 peror deliberate with Maximus and Cinna 
 whether he Jhould abdicate the Empire, pre- 
 cifely in the Place where Cinna informs /Emi¬ 
 lia of the Confpiracy which he has formed 
 againjl him. 
 
 According to Mr. Corneille's, Confeflion* 
 the famous Deliberation betwixt Augujlus, 
 Cinna , and Maximus, happens in the Clofet 
 of the Emperor; and the Emperor leaves 
 them there, when he fays, Adieu, I will 
 carry the News to Livia. 
 
 And it is in the fame Clofet that Maximus 
 and Cinna held the imprudent Conference 
 we have juft now mentioned. Corneille does 
 not allow us to imagine that they had gone 
 out of it into the Apartment of /Emilia, or 
 anywhere elfe, fince he makes Cinna fay, at 
 the End of the Scene, My Friend, we may 
 pojjibly be over-heard in this Palace ; and we 
 fpeak perhaps with too much Imprudence in a 
 Place fo improper for communicating our 
 Secrets. Let us remove. They remained 
 then in the fame Clofet; and all we have 
 faid of the Want of Probability in their 
 Conference, continues in its full Force; and 
 Mr. Corneille could not remedy this without 
 ihifting the Scene of Adlion. 
 
 But let us return to what Mr. Corneille fays 
 X 3 upon 
 
3 io Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 upon the Place of Adion, agreeable to the 
 Principles which he lays down in the Exa¬ 
 mination we have juft now mentioned. All 
 the firft Ad ought to pafs in the Apartment 
 of /Emilia; all the fecond, in the Clofet of 
 Augufius ; and as for the third, it feems to 
 ftand in need of a third Place. Is it proper 
 that Maximus and Euphorbus ftiould talk to 
 one another in the Clofet of Augujlus con¬ 
 cerning the Confpiracy againft the Emperor? 
 Or that in the Apartment of /Emilia , Maxi¬ 
 mus ftiould talk to Euphorbus of his Love to 
 her; and that Euphorbus ftiould advife him 
 to abandon the Confpiracy, and betray CinnaZ 
 Mr. Corneille muft then have another Apart¬ 
 ment to preferve Probability. The three 
 firft Scenes of the fourth Adi, betwixt Au- 
 gufius, Euphorbus , and Livia , neceflarily pafs 
 in the Clofet of the Emperor: At the End 
 of the third Scene the Stage is empty; and 
 the fourth Scene paftes betwixt /Emilia and 
 her Confident , without any thing bringing 
 them on the Stage. For this Reafon Mr. 
 Corneille , in his Examination, fays that this 
 Scene, and all the reft of the Ad, paftes in 
 /Emilia 's Apartment. But how is the Spec¬ 
 tator acquainted with this Change of Place ? 
 Does lie not always fee the fame Decoration ? 
 He is then unavoidably ftiocked with two 
 Blunders, viz. The Emptinefs of the Scene, 
 and the hearing iEmilia , Fuhia, and Maxi¬ 
 mus 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 311 
 
 mus talk to one another of the Confpiracy in 
 the very Place from which Augujlus and 
 Euphorbus had but juft come. The Change 
 of Decoration would have remedy’d the for¬ 
 mer of thefe Faults; but the latter is irre¬ 
 parable. What ought we to conclude from 
 all this ? Why, that there are fome Adtions 
 which, on account of their continual Change 
 of Place, are not proper for the Theatre; 
 and that if one might, without offending 
 • Probability, admit this particular Change of 
 Place, it is ftill neceffary to acquaint the Spec¬ 
 tators of it by a Change of Decoration; for 
 perhaps it is not fufficient to make the Adtors 
 tell that they have changed the Place, as 
 when Chimcne , in the Cid, teftifies to Rode¬ 
 rick her Surprize at feeing him in her Houfe. 
 This Difcourfe is contradidted before the 
 Spedlators, by the Decoration which repre- 
 lents to them all along the fame Royal Pa¬ 
 lace. Racine has made an admirable Ufe of 
 the Change of Decoration in his Athaliah , 
 which I look upon as the Mafter-piece of 
 Dramatic Poetry. The Place of Adtion for 
 this Tragedy is the Porch of the Temple; 
 and when the Poet wants to fhew the King 
 on his Throne, furrounded with his armed 
 Levites , he has no more to do but to open 
 the Doors of the Temple: This deferves 
 the Name of an ingenious Obfervation of the 
 Rules, and a faithful Adherence to Proba- 
 X 4 bility. 
 
312 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 bility. In this refpedt he has imitated the 
 Greeks , who difpofed their Theatre in the 
 Manner which bed fuited the Natures of 
 their Pieces. Thus Sophocles , in his OEdipus> 
 the ’Tyrant , ftanding in need of the King of 
 Thebes Palace, and an Altar, choofe for the 
 Scene of Adtion the public Place in which 
 the Altar and the Palace of the King were 
 built. Guarini , in his Faflor Fido , has like- 
 wife ordered his Theatre in fuch a Manner, 
 that without any Change of Decoration, the 
 Spectators fee the Temple on the Top of the 
 Mountain, the Grotto at the Foot of it, and 
 the Valley where all the Scenes pafs. 
 
 Of the Unity of Time, and the 
 Unity of Action in French 
 Tragedies. 
 
 T H E French are not always exadt Ob- 
 lervers of the Unity of Time, or in 
 other Words, of the Rule enjoining twenty 
 four Hours for the time of the Adtion : To 
 prove this, I might produce many Examples; 
 but for Brevity-fake, fhall only take notice 
 of the Horatii. This Tragedy begins the 
 very Moment in which one would think the 
 Roman and Alban Armies were juft about to 
 
 engage 
 
Of /^FRENCH TRAGEDY. 313 
 
 engage one another; and the firft Scene re- 
 prefents to us the Anxiety of the Sabines , 
 about the Event of the Battle. At the End 
 of the firft ACt, Curiatius comes to inform 
 Camilla that there was to be no Engagement, 
 fince the contending Parties had agreed to 
 fingle out, from their refpeCtive Nations, 
 three Combatants, who were to fight for the 
 common Caufe. The Difficulty that now 
 remained, was to know who were the mod 
 proper Perfons to be made Choice of. The 
 'Romans choofe the Horatii: The Albans the 
 Curiatii. Preparations are made for the 
 Combat; the People flock to the Camp; a 
 Sufpenfion of Arms is agreed to; the Oracle 
 is confulted; and by it the Choice of the 
 Romans is applauded: The People return to 
 the Camp; the Battle is fought; Horatius 
 comes off victorious; he makes his Entrance 
 into Rome ; the People receive him with 
 Acclamations, and welcome him with Shouts 
 of Joy. He goes into his own Houfe; he 
 kills his Sifter. The King pays a Vilit to 
 Old Horatius, whofe Son Valerius accufes of 
 having murdered his Sifter. Horatius pleads 
 the Caufe of his Son; and the King acquits 
 him. Thus the Tragedy ends. Without 
 confulting Titus Livius, I believe we need 
 only reflect on the Extent of Time which 
 thefe Events may reafonably be fup- 
 pofed to take up, in order to be convinced 
 
 that 
 
3 i4 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 that they could not happen in lefs than two 
 or three Days. 
 
 With regard to the Unity of Adtion, I 
 find a great Difference between the Greek 
 and the French Tragedies} I always perceive 
 with Eafe the Adtion of the Greek Trage¬ 
 dies, and never fo much as lofe View of it} 
 but in the French, I own I am often at a 
 Lofs to diftinguifh between the Adtion itfelf, 
 and the Epifodes with which it is intermixt. 
 What, for inftance, is the Adtion of the Cid 
 of Mithridates, and of fome others ? In the 
 Cid, Roderick kills the Father of his Miftrefs, 
 puts the Enemies to Flight, has a Beating- 
 bout with his Rival, obtains the King’s Par¬ 
 don, and the Hand of Chimene. Thefe are 
 all the Events in the Piece} but which of 
 them ought to be regarded as the principal 
 one, or the main Adtion of the Tragedy ? Is 
 it the Pardon which Roderick obtains of the 
 King? That Pardon is granted in the Mid¬ 
 dle of the Piece. Is it the Defeat of the 
 Moors ? That happens in the Interval betwixt 
 the third and fourth Adt. Is it, in fine, the 
 Marriage of Chimene ? Not one of the 
 Events of the Piece leads to that End. 
 
 Mithridates returns to rally his Forces, 
 and march forth againft Rome: He finds his 
 Son in Love with Monimia, whom he him- 
 felf was to marry. The Romans advance } 
 Mithridates goes out to engage them: He 
 
 returns 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 315 
 
 returns wounded ; and dying, orders the Mar¬ 
 riage of Monimia and his Son. 
 
 Will any one fay that the Death of Mi¬ 
 thridates is the Adtion of this Tragedy! But 
 the Death of a Hero can never be the Sub¬ 
 ject of a Tragedy, unlefs the Poet diredt 
 every Part of his Piece to that particular 
 End. The Death of Britannicus , for in- 
 ftance, is juftly looked upon as the Adtion of 
 that Tragedy, becaufe the Author’s Intention 
 is by different Events to lead us on to this 
 Cataftrophe, upon which he all along fixes 
 our Views; but in Mithridates , what Cir- 
 cumftance, what Confpiracy makes us dread, 
 or even expedt the Death of that Prince? 
 There is nothing in Mithridates which fixes 
 the Death of that Prince as the Subjedt of 
 the Tragedy. 
 
 The Death of a Hero, or a Tyrant, may 
 fometimes be the Hinge on which the Adtion 
 turns; or it may be the EfFedt and Refult of 
 it. 
 
 Forinftance, in the Tragedy of Heraclius, 
 Phocas is killed, and the Adtion of the Piece 
 is the owning the rightful Succejfor to the Em¬ 
 pire , and his Re-eftablifhment upon the Throne; 
 To bring this about, Phocas is flain ; and in 
 this Cafe the Death of the Tyrant is not the 
 Aft ion itfelf but the Ejfeft and Refult of it. 
 
 In the Death of Pompey , Pompey himfelf 
 is dead before the Tragedy begins; and his 
 
 Death 
 
316 Of the FRENCH TRA’GEDY. 
 
 Death is, as it were, the Spring from which 
 the whole of the Adion flows. In this Cafe 
 the Hero’s Death is the Caufe of the Adion: 
 The Death of the Count de Gormas produces 
 feveral Adions in the Cid-, but in Mithri- 
 dates , the Death of the King is by no means 
 either the Caufe, or the Effed of the Aft ion. 
 As there would be no end of examining 
 them all, I fhall only fay, that in the far 
 greater Part of the French Tragedies, the 
 Adion is very often a Myflery, into which 
 the Authors themfelves cannot let the Spec¬ 
 tators. This is far from being the Cafe with 
 the Greek Tragedies; in them you difcover 
 the Action at firfl View. 
 
 In OEdipus, for in fiance, a Peflilence lays 
 wafte the City Thebes. On that Account 
 the Oracle is confulted, who declares that the 
 unavenged Murder of Laius is the Caufe of 
 all their Woes. Upon this OEdipus binds 
 himfelf by an Oath to avenge 1 it; a Scrutiny 
 is made, and OEdipus is found at once to be 
 the Son of Laius , and Murderer of his Fa¬ 
 ther. This is the Subjed of the OEdipus, and 
 one will at firfl perceive the Adion of this 
 Tragedy, for every Part of the Ador’s Con- 
 dud tends to difcover the Murderer of Laius , 
 and prepare the Woes of OEdipus. 
 
 After having fpoke of thefe French Tra¬ 
 gedies, in which it is not eafy to perceive the 
 true Adion, let us now fpeak of thofe 
 
 wherein 
 
Of FRENCH TRAGEDY. 317 
 
 wherein the Unity of Adtion is not fuffici- 
 ently obferved, and where Matters are fo 
 ordered, as to force one to acknowledge two 
 Adtions. 
 
 I {hall begin with Andromache , which is 
 incontedably one of the fined of Mr. Ra¬ 
 cine's Pieces. The true Subjedt of this Tra¬ 
 gedy is the Marriage of Pyrrhus: The 
 Greeks charge Orefies to oppofe it j but upon 
 his Arrival at the Court of Pyrrhus , he finds 
 himfelf fway’d by a more prevalent Intered 
 than that of Greece , which was entruded to 
 him: His Love for Hermione makes him 
 with that Pyrrhus might marry Andromache: 
 The Command of Hermione obliges him to 
 kill Pyrrhus: The Paflion which rages in 
 the Bread of that Hero, his Fury, his Jea- 
 loufy of Hermione , and in fine, his Death, 
 are all Circumdances which intered the 
 Spedtators more than thofe relating to Pyr¬ 
 rhus and Andromache , and might of them- 
 felves make the Subjedt of a Tragedy. On 
 the other hand, the Fate of Andromache , and 
 the Love of Pyrrhus for her, are Subjedts 
 diffidently intereding to fupply a Poet with 
 the Matter of a good Tragedy; and, upon 
 Refledtion, any one will eafily fee, that a 
 Poet of Mr. Racine's Abilities, could have 
 eafily worked out his Tragedy without Her- 
 mione's being at the Court of Pyrrhus , and 
 without affigning any other Intered to hinder 
 
 the 
 
 I 
 
318 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 the Marriage of Oreftes with Andromache , than 
 the Inftrudtions given him by the Greeks: 
 Pyrrhus would have had the fame Struggle 
 betwixt his Paffion for Andromache and his 
 Dread of drawing out againft himfelf the 
 united Forces of all Greece. Andromache 
 in like manner would have appeared to us 
 racked on Account of the Love the bore her 
 Son, and by her Horror at a Marriage with 
 the Murderer of Priam s Family, even the 
 Son of that hated Man who murdered her 
 Dear Hedtor. 
 
 If Mr. Racine had ftuckby the Simplicity 
 of this Subject, his Piece had been more 
 regular and more moving; for it is not the 
 Multiplicity of Interefts that renders a Piece 
 interefting; on the contrary, it interefts 
 more when one lingle Event, without any 
 thing foreign or adventitious, attracts the 
 whole of the Attention : Mr. Racine un¬ 
 doubtedly knew this well enough; but he 
 has been forced to accommodate himfelf to 
 the Genius of the Nation, which is chiefly 
 touched with the Fate of Lovers in Drama¬ 
 tic Performances; and as it is abfolutely ne- 
 ceflary that Love (hould have a Part in all 
 Subjects that are truly tragical, the Poets, 
 who have brought thefe Subjects upon the 
 French Theatre, have not only been obliged 
 to make Ufe of Epifodes for that Purpofe, 
 but often to work up thefe Epifodes with 
 
 more 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 319 
 
 more Care and Accuracy than the principal 
 Subject of the Piece. Hence it is that there 
 are lo many Epifodes in the French Tragedies. 
 To this it is owing that the Perfonages in 
 their Epifodes interell the Spectator as much 
 as the principal Hero of the Piece. 
 
 We may form a Judgment of this Affair 
 from the Severus of Potencies , the Eriphile of 
 Iphigenia , the Aricia of Phedrus , and from 
 the Amours of Thejeus and Dirce in the 
 OEdipus . 
 
 If the Neceffity of always introducing 
 Lovers upon the French Theatre, has pro¬ 
 duced Faults in thb Works of the greatefl 
 Mailers, we may eafily guefs at the Fate of 
 the inferior Clafs of Authors who have gone 
 into this Practice; but to fpeak the Truth, 
 this Ufage has perhaps been of lingular Ser¬ 
 vice to help them to maintain and keep up 
 their Dialogue, fince there is no Palfion that 
 furnilhes out a greater Number of common¬ 
 place Topics, than that of Love. 
 
 Of Character in the French 
 
 Tragedy. 
 
 T HE French Writers of Tragedy feem 
 not to have been careful enough in 
 marking the Differences as to the particular 
 
 Species 
 
320 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 Species of Heroiffli, peculiar to different 
 Nations. The Greek Poets and Hiftorians 
 paint their Heroes grand, but for the moft 
 Part fierce and cruel. The Roman Heroes 
 retain the fame Grandeur, but it is heightened 
 and fet off by Humanity and Generofity. 
 
 In the French Tragedies, Ccefar , Alexan¬ 
 der ,, Pompey , Mithridates , Auguflus , and A- 
 chilles , feeirtall born under the fame Climate, 
 and trained up in the fame Maxims. 
 
 Every Hero, befides the predominating 
 Character of his Nation, ought to have one 
 peculiar to himfelf: We know that Pyrrhus , 
 the Son of Achilles, was impetuous and cruel ; 
 and that Hippolitus , the Son of Tdhefeus , was 
 favage, auftere, and ffeel’d againft the Im- 
 prefiions of Love; neverthelefs, in Racine's 
 Phedra , this Hippolitus is finical in his Senti¬ 
 ments, and blubbers for his dear Aricia ; 
 Pyrrhus is humbled, tender, and trembling 
 at the Feet of Andromache ; it may be an- 
 fwered, that if Pyrrhus is fufceptible of Love, 
 and fubmiffive to his Miftrefs, there are cer¬ 
 tain Starts in which he difcovers his true 
 Character, and fpeaks with Haughtinefs to 
 Andromache herfelf. By attentively examin¬ 
 ing thefe Palfages, we find that it is lefs 
 the Fiercenefs of his Character which makes 
 him talk in this harfh Manner to Andro¬ 
 mache , than the Impatience which muft be 
 natural to every Lover in his Situation. 
 
 While 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 321 
 
 While his Miftrefs was continually bewailing 
 the Lofs of her Hufband, and touched with 
 the afflicting Remembrance of her Son’s Situa¬ 
 tion, the moft tender Lover would have faid 
 as much as Pyrrhus on a like Occafion; and 
 it is not fo much the Character as the Situa¬ 
 tion, that Mr. Racine has here followed. If 
 this great Poet has fo much altered two fo 
 remarkable Characters, what muft we ima¬ 
 gine others to have done ? 
 
 That we may be able to view this Fault 
 in a true Light, it will not be amifs to make 
 fome Obfervations upon Characters in gene¬ 
 ral. 
 
 Every' Man, and efpecially every Hero, 
 has fome predominant Branch of his Cha¬ 
 racter, which gives a particular Stamp, jf I 
 .may fo fay, to his Thoughts, and allows him 
 to relifh nothing but what is accommodated 
 to it: If at any time he feels the Work¬ 
 ings of thefe Paffions which are common 
 to Humanity, there is no Occafion for think¬ 
 ing that they are different in him, from 
 what they are in other Men: The fame Paf¬ 
 fions do not render different Men alike. On 
 the contrary, the different Characters of Men 
 give a different Turn to the fame Paffion in 
 every individual Man. AU Men may poffi- 
 bly be in Love, but every one is fo in his own 
 Way, and this Way depends upon the pre¬ 
 vailing Part of his Character, which is more 
 Y or 
 
3 22 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 or lefs influenced by thefe accidental Paffions, 
 as he is more or lefs able to refill their Im- 
 
 preflions. 
 
 We find Examples of the juft Combina¬ 
 tion of thefe Paffions in fome of the Trage¬ 
 dies of Racine and Corneille. 
 
 In the Iphigenia in Aulis , when Achilles 
 is afraid of lofing his Miflrefs, he does not 
 abandon himlelf to vain Regrets: But that 
 impetuous Hero, impatiently bearing the 
 Superiority of Agamemnon , flies into a Paf- 
 iion, and threatens him even in the Prefence 
 of Iphigenia. Prufias exceffively fond of 
 his Wife, and giving himfelf up to be en¬ 
 tirely managed by her, is deaf to the Calls 
 of Nature in favour of bis Son Nicomedes. 
 Thus Love, which in Achilles meets with a 
 fierce and haughty Character, allows him 
 ftill to adl agreeably to it: But finding in 
 Prufias a Character where Sweetnefs and 
 Condefcenfion reign, it quite fubdues him, 
 and imparts all its Weakneffes to him. The 
 two Poets have been equally happy in work¬ 
 ing up thefe two different Characters, and 
 have obferved all the Rules of Probability, 
 which are but indifferently obferved by the 
 other Writers of French Tragedy, who be¬ 
 llow upon their Heroes that Gallantry and 
 thofe Sentiments they have borrowed from 
 Romances, without caring whether thefe 
 Herpes would have loved in fuch a Manner, 
 
Of ^FRENCH TRAGEDY. 323 
 
 or whether their Method of loving be agree¬ 
 able to the Characters which Hiftory and 
 Fable give them. 
 
 I {hall not fpend time in running over all 
 the Pieces of the modern Poets, to point out 
 their Faults of this kind; we may eafily 
 apply to every one of thefe Pieces, what I 
 have faid concerning the prevailing Charac¬ 
 ter of every Hero, and the proportionable 
 Alterations which the Paffions make in it. 
 
 I {hall clofe this Chapter by obferving that 
 the Word Character is often improperly 
 ufed. Moft People find Characters where 
 there are really none: Is there, for inftance, 
 a fingle Character in the Cid, except that of 
 the Count de Gorinas? In Roderick is there 
 any other than that of Cleopatra ? Is there 
 any at all to be found in Hit us and Berenice ? 
 In fine, in the Horatii I can only find two 
 Characters marked, that of Horatius , and 
 that of Curiatius ; and in Cinna , thofe of 
 Augujlus and /Emilia. 
 
 I don’t pretend to give what I have faid 
 of the Character of thefe different Pieces as 
 a formal Decifion: I only let the Reader 
 know what Impreffion they made upon my- 
 felf; and perhaps what I have advanced may 
 lay a Foundation for their being examined 
 with greater Accuracy for the future. I have 
 not taken upon me to criticife thefe Trage¬ 
 dies in which I find fo fmall a Number of 
 Y 2 Cha- 
 
324 0/^* FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 Characters, a great Number of which are by 
 no means neceflary to denominate a Tragedy 
 good.' When the Action is Ample, and 
 turns upon one or two Perfonages, it is fuffi- 
 cient that their Characters be maintained 
 and marked: Thus in Roderick , the Charac¬ 
 ter of Cleopatra is fufficient for the Piece. 
 
 OJ the Sentiments of the JFrbn.Ch 
 
 Tragedies. 
 
 O NE j?f the fix conRituent Parts of 
 Tragedy, according to ufriftotle, is 
 what the Italians call Sentenza : As I don’t 
 find a French Word which correfponds ex¬ 
 actly to it, I fhall in its Read fpmetimes Ujfe 
 the Word Sentiment , and fometimes jtlje 
 Word Maxim. 
 
 The French Tragedies chiefly excel in this 
 Point, which is the Rock on which tjhofe 
 Authors fplit, who, by indulging the Fire of 
 their Imagination too much, fwerye from 
 that Probability, which is the rpoll folid 
 Foundation of true and genuine Beauty. 
 
 Is it, for inftance, probable Rut a Hero, 
 amidft the Tranfporjs of jth,e moft violent 
 Paifion, fliould enter upon the moft refined 
 and abfltraCt Speculations in fyfetapbyjicsp 
 
 This 
 
Of //^FRENCH TRAGEDY. 325 
 
 Yhis pretended beauty produces an EfFedt 
 quite contrary to the Intention of Tragic 
 Poetry. 
 
 At the very Moment the Heart is touched 
 with the deplorable Situation of a Hero, 
 boiling with Fury and madden’d with De- 
 Ipair, there flows from his Mouth a Thought 
 fo delicate and refined, a Sentiment fo little 
 expedted, and fo much above the common 
 Pitch, that it in fome meafure deftroys the 
 Sentiments of the Heart, by attradling the 
 Attention of the Mind. 
 
 Read, for inftance, in Corneille , the Dif- 
 courfe of OEdipus to Dirce , when he is 
 found to be the Son of that fame 'Jocafta 
 whom he had married; and you will ob- 
 ferve, that in order to exprefs the Situation in 
 which he is, he ufes Thoughts fo grand and 
 noble, that they force our Applaufe, but at 
 the fame time weaken our Compafiion. In 
 the Tragedy entitled The Death of Pompey, 
 Cornelia alone is capable of moving the Paf- 
 fions, and touching the Heart. Yet the no¬ 
 ble Sentiments with which (he fo much 
 abounds, both with regard to Ccefar and the 
 Allies of Pompey , are only capable of dazling 
 the Mind, but not of moving the Heart; 
 the Spedlators, inftead of being touched with 
 Pity, are ftruck with Admiration, which is 
 far from being the End of Tragedy, in which 
 the Skill of the Poet confifts in hiding Art, 
 Y 3 and 
 
326 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 and (hewing only Nature. The Sentiment 
 of the Soul, expreffed in a manner agreeable 
 to one’s Situation, is of itfelf fufficiently able 
 to move the Spedtators, which a dudied 
 Thought will never do. 
 
 If we obferve in what manner Sophocles 
 makes OEdipus fpeak, when he brings him 
 upon the Stage, together with his two young 
 Daughters, we will perceive that the real 
 Situation of that misfortunate Hero, who 
 was at once their Father and their Brother, 
 is not in the lead altered, or weakened by the 
 Wit of the Poet. If Poets tranfgrefs the 
 Rules of Probability, by putting into the 
 Mouths of their Heroes, whole Circum- 
 dances demand the mod natural Sentiments, 
 too far-fetched Expreflions, they are equally 
 culpable if the Language they put into their 
 Mouths is not fuited to their Rank, Age, and 
 Sex. 
 
 We mud agree however, that Elevation of 
 Sentiments admits of many Degrees, but the 
 manner of Expreffion is different, according 
 to the Difference of Age and Education. 
 Many of the Greek and Latin Poets have 
 been judly blamed for not having obferved 
 the Rules of Probability in the Language 
 they put into the Mouths of their Charac¬ 
 ters; and the fame Cenfure may be pad, 
 with Judice, upon French Writers of Tra¬ 
 gedy ; among them we often find Heroes, 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 327 
 
 and their Confidents, Women and Children, 
 talk in the fame Strain, and equally fhow 
 away with Maxims and Sentences. The 
 French , who are naturally full of Wit, wfith 
 Pleafure purfue that Part of Tragedy which 
 we call Sentiments , and frequently facrifile to 
 it all other Confiderations: In this they are 
 encouraged by the Applaufe which a fine 
 Maxim always gains from the Audience; and 
 it has been known that a Tragedy has fuc- 
 ceeded purely upon the Merit of the pretty 
 Maxims that w r cre fcattered thro’ it. But 
 this Succefs has impofed upon Authors, who 
 have not perceived that a Piece, which has no 
 other Merit, has never a durable Reputation : 
 If they want that their Pieces fhould be long- 
 lif’d, let them apply themfelves to the Con¬ 
 duit of the Pable; let them take care that 
 that in itfelf, when ftript of the Ornaments of 
 Speech, (hall be affeCting and interefling for 
 the Spectators; let them employ their Wit 
 in the Obfervation of the Character and other 
 Circumftances, and they fhall then be fure to 
 pleafe for ever. 
 
 Thus it is that Racine has acquired im¬ 
 mortal Fame. Some have imagined that he 
 has not excelled in Sentiments, or pretty Say¬ 
 ings ; but the; make this Reflection bectrufe 
 they don’t obferve that elevated Thoughts, 
 which ftrike in other Writers, are formed in 
 Racine in as great a Number as in other 
 Y 4 Poets; 
 
328 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY* 
 
 Poets; but in thefe they ftrike more, becaufe 
 the Inequality of their Stile {hews them in it 
 a Contraft which is more dazzling. They 
 are not fo eafily difcerned in Racine, whofe 
 Stile is always equally noble, and his Expref- 
 fions always juft and natural, but never con¬ 
 founded with founding Bombaft; and this is 
 the true Pattern of Stile. Let the French, 
 who reproach the Italians with their Con¬ 
 cetti, or Conceits, do Juftice to themfelves 
 and the' Italians both: To the Italians, by 
 owning that thefe Conceits are not agreeable 
 to their Meri of Learning, and difapproved 
 by them; and to themfelves, in guarding 
 againft a Fault for which they blame the Ita¬ 
 lians, and which is become but too common 
 among modern Writers: It is true, it is lefs 
 frequent among good Authors, and I will 
 inftance two in Racine himfelf, which are as 
 abfurd as any among the Italians. 
 
 Pyrrhus, in the Andromache, Adi I. Scene 
 IV. fays, 
 
 1 feel thofe Ills that I have dealt to Troy 
 Vanquijlfd arid bound, confirmed with fruitkfs 
 Plaints, 
 
 Burnt with more Fires than thofe I kindled 
 there. 
 
 _I 
 
 f See likewife an Inftance of this kind front the fame 
 Author in Page 258. 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 329 
 
 I have quoted thefe Paffages of Racine , 
 not fo much with any Defign to refledt on 
 that great Man who has fo rarely been faulty 
 in this refpedt, as to (hew how much we 
 ought to guard again ft thefe bombaft Senti¬ 
 ments, lince they fo eafily infinuate them- 
 felves into the Writings of the greateft 
 Mafters. 
 
 I believe I have faid enough on this Subjedt, 
 becaufe it will be eafy for the Reader to apply 
 thefe Obfervations to the feveral Dramatic 
 Performances he (hall have Occafion to 
 examine. 
 
 Of the Intention of the French Tragic 
 Poets, and fome Remarks 
 upon French Tragedy. 
 
 T H E End of Dramatic Poetry is to 
 pleafe, and for this the Poets ought to 
 conform themfelves to the Tafte of the 
 Nation. Among the Greeks , the People 
 having a great Share in the Government, 
 nothing interefted them fo much as the 
 Revolutions of Kingdoms: They were 
 pleafed to fee the Paflions drawn in fuch a 
 manner as to occafion them, and to hear the 
 Theatre adopt political Maxims. In the 
 
330 Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 
 
 firft Chapter we have feen that their Poets 
 brought upon the Stage Subjects and Cha¬ 
 racters agreeable to their Genius. The 
 French, contented with their happy Govern¬ 
 ment, through a long Succeffion of Years 
 under the wife Direction of their Princes, 
 are lefs touched with Pictures refembling the 
 Intrigues of Ambition: They with Joy be¬ 
 hold Love and Jealoufy keep Pofleffion of 
 their Stage ; and Romances, which have had 
 fuch a Run among them, have naturally led 
 their Poets to reprefent that which they took 
 a Pleajure in reading: This has given Rife to 
 French Tragedy as we have it at prefent, 
 where Love, in the Tafte of Romance, pol- 
 fefies always the firft Part; and this predo¬ 
 minant Paffion may be looked upon as the 
 CharaCteriftic of their Tragedy, which di- 
 ftinguiihes it from that of Greece and Italy. 
 
 Perhaps it were to be. wifhed that they 
 could put into the Mouths of fome other 
 Heroes, befides thofe of Greece and- Rome, 
 who were of fo oppofite a Character, Senti¬ 
 ments of Tendernefs and Love : Why may 
 they not make their Princes reprefent Dra¬ 
 matic Heroes, as the Englijh have done ? But 
 don’t let us infift too much on this Point, 
 for it would carry us too much out of our 
 Way; only we may obferve that their Poets 
 having given them French Sentiments, have 
 thought fit to give them even French Civility. 
 
 Thus 
 
Of the FRENCH TR AGEDY. 331 
 
 Thus on the Head of Achilles, or Ccefar, we 
 fee a Hat and a large Nodding Plumage, like 
 thofe over a Canopy, and Strangers who aro 
 not ufed to lee thefe Heroes fo burlefqued, 
 can’t help calling them Monfieur Ccefar, 
 and Monfieur Achilles . 
 
 Don’t let us blame the French Poets, but 
 rather the Tafte of the Spectators, who 
 could be pleafed with nothing but thefe Pic¬ 
 tures of Jealoufy and Love: To this alone are 
 owing the Faults which we have taken No¬ 
 tice of in the Works of their great Mailers; 
 fuch as their failing, in the Unity of Place, as 
 in Cinna ■> of Action, as in the Andromache ; 
 of having fo ftrongly altered Characters, as in 
 the Cid ; in Ihort, of introducing upon the 
 Stage, Confidents, thole eternally cold and 
 infipid Characters. 
 
 || If I ever lhall have the Happinefs of 
 knowing the Engli/h Stage, I lhall inform 
 you of my Sentiments of it; at prefent I 
 lhall fpeak of their Tragedy of Cato, which 
 has been tranllated into our Language, and 
 aCted upon our Stage with Applaufe. For 
 my own Part I am of Opinion, that in this 
 Play may be found the true Plan of a well 
 conducted Confpiracy, and the Language of 
 a Hero who Hill thinks nobly, but within 
 the Comoafs of Nature. Cato is greater than 
 
 all 
 
 |1 This was wrote before the Author had been in England. 
 
332 Of the FRENCH TRAGfeM. 
 
 all Heroes either ancient or modern, yet 1 
 ftill know him to be a Man. It may be 
 objeded that it is unnatural to reprefent Catd 
 as denying to £hed a Tear for the Death of 
 his Son; but I affirm that there is no Point 
 in which the Character of Cato is better fuf- 
 tained, without his deviating from Nature. 
 Cato furrounded with the thin Remains 
 of the Senate, mud: have difcouraged them 
 had he given any Proof of Weaknefs. But 
 even tho’ he had been by himfelf, perhaps he 
 might not have ffied Tears, for thefe don't 
 always accompany Grief, and agree ill with 
 the Charader of Cato ; but if we examine 
 the Sentiments of the Englijh Cato upon 
 this Occafion, we (hall find them both great 
 and tender in the higheft Degree at the fame 
 time. 
 
 r 
 
 I don’t fpeak here of the Underplot con¬ 
 taining the Loves of Cato’s Son and Lucia, 
 and Juba with Marcia ; thefe I difapprove 
 of, as not immediately aflfeding the Subjed 
 of the Play; but probably the Neceffity of 
 introducing Women put him under another, 
 that of making them young, and therefore he 
 could find no other Bufinefs for them upon 
 the Stage but Love. It is to be hoped that if 
 the Englijh and Italians follow the fine Mo¬ 
 dels that are before them, they will give the 
 World good Plays. I likewile flatter myfelf 
 that th '€French Audiences will lofe the Tafte 
 
 for 
 
Of the FRENCH TRAGEDY. 333 
 
 for thefe fwelling Thoughts which ftun the 
 Mind, and (hock the Underftanding. They 
 begin already to fet up againft the Impieties 
 and the infernal Politics, and licentious 
 Maxims, which fome Moderns have derived 
 from polluted Sources, which have only a 
 falfe Appearance of Greatnefs. Then fhall we 
 have lefs Love upon the Stage, the Manners 
 and Characters better preferved, the Unities 
 obferved, and the Sentiments and fine 
 Thoughts ufed on proper Occafions. 
 
 But I do not expeCt to fee Rhime banilhed 
 from the Theatre ; a Man mud be a French¬ 
 man, and from his Infancy have his Ears ac- 
 cuftomed to the Return of Rhime, other wife 
 they mud be grated by its continual Mono¬ 
 tony, not only of Rhime, but of the Period, 
 which always takes up the Space of two. 
 This Form, which never alters, produces on 
 your Mind the fame EffeCt that the Billows 
 of thp Sea do upon your Eye: Thefe at firft 
 pleafe the View, but afterwards fatigue it, 
 and the Spectator turns his weary Eye to the 
 Shore for Relief. 
 
 FINIS . 
 
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[N.B. The following Catalogue fhouhl have been 
 plac'd immediately after the Account of the Ger¬ 
 man Theatre .] 
 
 Tragedies and Comedies of $ Hans* 
 sach from 1516, till 1558. 
 
 Adam and Eve. 
 Virginia. 
 
 GueJ'mund. 
 
 AbJ'alom. 
 
 Lucians Charon. 
 
 The Six Champions. 
 Joe aft a. 
 
 The Two Gentlemen of 
 Burgundy. 
 
 The Falfe Emprefs. 
 The Innocent Emprefs. 
 The Elizabeth. 
 
 The Unequal Children 
 of Eve. 
 
 Jacob and EJ'au. 
 Efther. 
 
 Tobias. 
 
 The Mefjias. 
 
 Grifelda. 
 
 The Mifer and the 
 Getitleman. 
 
 Palidis. 
 
 The Prodigal Child. 
 Juno and Jupiter. 
 Job. 
 
 Judith. 
 
 The Judgment of So¬ 
 lomon. 
 
 The Rich Man dying. 
 The Folly of Erafmus. 
 The Judgment of Pa¬ 
 ris. 
 
 Plautus’s Menechmcs. 
 Hentio. 
 
 The Half Friends. 
 The ifueenof France. 
 The Banijh’d Emprefs. 
 Mucius Scevola. 
 Oliver and Artus 
 The Chevalier Galmi. 
 The Biancejfora. 
 
 The Violanta. 
 
 § This Poet died in 1567, in the 8ill Year of his Age* 
 fyis Works have been printed at Nuremberg in 1570. 
 
 Dramatical 
 
Dramatical Pieces of Martin 
 Opitz. 
 
 Daphne. 
 
 The Antigona of So¬ 
 phocles. 
 
 The Trojans of Seneca. 
 Judith. 
 
 Dramatical Pieces of Andrew 
 Gryphjus. 
 
 Tragedies. Comedies, 
 
 Leo of Armenia. The Nurfe. 
 
 Katharine of Georgia. The Wandering Shep * 
 
 Cardenio and Gelinda. herd. 
 
 Charles Stewart. Piajla. 
 
 The Death of Papi- 
 
 nian. Farces. 
 
 The Conjiant Mother. Petez Squens. 
 
 The Gibeonites. Horribilicribrifax. 
 
 Dramatical Pieces o/Xohenstei n. 
 
 Cleopatra. . Agrippina. 
 Sophonijba. Epiccharis. 
 
 Ibraim Bajfa. 
 
 A 
 
A 
 
 TABLE 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 Matters contained in Ric- 
 coboni’j* Refledhons upon 
 Declamation. 
 
 P ERSONS inexcufable, if ignorant of 
 the Arts and Callings they profefs, page I. 
 Many difgufted at their own Employ¬ 
 ments, Ibid. 
 
 This the Reafon why they are ignorant of them 
 all their Lives page 2. 
 
 The Folly of this demonftrated, from the con¬ 
 trary Practice of the Great Men of all Ages, 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Defers of Nature and Genius fupplied by Appli¬ 
 cation Ibid. 
 
 Declamation not to be given up or negledled for 
 want of a natural Genius for it, or the Diffi¬ 
 culties that attend it. Ibid. 
 
 Demofthenes , a Proof of this, Ibid. 
 
 Declamation, what, page 3, 
 
 A tuneful Voice, and graceful Deportment, not 
 all. Ibid. 
 
 Firlf Efiays of Orators faint, and their Manners 
 awkward. Ibid. 
 
 Mafter of Antiquity regarded by the Learned 
 Few, Z Ibid. 
 
<the TABLE. 
 
 Reafon why fome Moderns think the reading 
 the Ancients ufelefs and unneceffary, page 4. 
 
 Impoflibility of excelling in Declamation with¬ 
 out Affiftance from, and an Acquaintance with 
 the Ancients, Ibid. 
 
 Antiquity of A« 5 lion and Eloquence, Ibid. 
 
 Writing not fo powerful as Declamation, and 
 why, page 5. 
 
 Initiates in this, ought not to expofe themfelves in 
 
 Public, Ibid. 
 
 A Speech ill-pronounced very fhocking, and 
 why. Ibid. 
 
 Pulpit, Bar-Academies, Colleges, Clubs, Cfc. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 All thefe obliged to cultivate this Art, page 6 . 
 
 Authors who only appear in Print, and Poets 
 obliged to be acquainted with it, and why, lb. 
 
 Ancients our Mailers in this Art, Ibid. 
 
 Some of them being bad Orators, no Excufe for 
 our perfevering in a bad manner, page 7. 
 
 Declamation how extenfive, and what it compre¬ 
 hends, . - Ibid. 
 
 Vaft Variety of Accents proportioned to various 
 Sentiments, Ibid. 
 
 Rules for Accent, as well as Adtion, unneceffary, 
 
 page 8. 
 
 Mankind different in Shape, Features, and 
 Voices, Ibid. 
 
 For what Reafon, page 9. 
 
 Impoffible to mark their Cadencies and Turns, 
 and why. Ibid. 
 
 Source of thefe Modulations inherent in the Soul, 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Enthuliafm of Poets to what owing, page 10. 
 
 To what Extafy it tranfported them. Ibid. 
 
 Poetry a Divine Language, and why fo called, 
 
 page 11. 
 Heathen 
 
The TABLE. 
 
 Heathen Divines all Poets, Ibid. 
 
 Works to be repeated with the fame Enthufiafm 
 with which they arip compofed. Ibid. 
 
 Orator beginning to fpeak, ought to recoiled his 
 Ideas, page 12. 
 
 Works flat, and Delivery bad, for want of this 
 Enthufiafm, page 13.. 
 
 Eyes j their Ufe in Declamation, Ibid. 
 
 Capable of difcovering the Paflions of the Soul 
 without Words, page i 4. 
 
 Eye of the Orator fliould get the Start of his 
 Tongue, page 15. 
 
 Tears to be ufed by the Orator, Ibid. 
 
 Not to be flopped. Ibid. 
 
 Eye better calculated for difcovering the Senti¬ 
 ments of the Soul, than any other Part of the 
 Face, page 16. 
 
 Unmeaning Face, Ibid t 
 
 Inftances of this in Sbakefpear, from 16 to 18. 
 
 Thefe Inftances a Proof to what Perfedion Ac¬ 
 tion may be carried, page 18. 
 
 Adors in Shakefpear 's Time expreflfed by their 
 Features, Ibid. 
 
 The Paflions defcribed by the Foet, Ibid. 
 
 Ador, what he ought to feel, page 19. 
 
 Good-Nature and Good-Senfe eflential to him. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Difference betwixt expreflive Features and the 
 Grimaces, occafioned by the Adion of the 
 Mufcles, Ibid. 
 
 Eyes and Features muft correfpond with the 
 Adion, page 20. 
 
 Arms and Body not to be overlooked in Decla¬ 
 mation, Ibid. 
 
 Mirror ufeful in this Particular to an Orator, 
 
 Demojlbenes, what Ufe he made of it, 
 
 page 21. 
 Ibid. 
 Adion 
 
The TABLE. 
 
 Adlion of the Arms, if faulty, to be let alone 
 altogether. Ibid. 
 
 Orator fhoald not be too lavifh of his Geftures, 
 and why, page 22. 
 
 Correfpondence betwixt the Turns of Expreffion 
 and the Motions of the Body, Ibid. 
 
 Human Body its admirable Structure, and the 
 Neceffity of all its Parts in Declamation, 
 
 page 23. 
 
 Refledtion forbidden in Adtion, page 24. 
 
 Theatrical Objedts ought to ftrike very forcibly, 
 and why, page 2 5. 
 
 The lame Rule holds in the Pulpit, and at the 
 
 Bar, Ibid. 
 
 Orator ought not to over-do this Point, and 
 why, Ibid. 
 
 Pronunciation, its abfolute Neceffity, Ibid. 
 
 The Man naturally defedtive in this Point not to 
 appear in Public, and why. Ibid. 
 
 Declaiming in the Language of the Soul j what 
 it is. Ibid. 
 
 Orator ought to perfuade his Audience that he 
 believes what he fpeaks, and why, page 2 6. 
 
 Sacred Orators; what kind of Accents to be 
 ufed by them, page 27. 
 
 Theatrical Adtion, its Strength, and the Nature 
 of its Accents examined. Page 28. 
 
 Miftakeof the French Divines, Ibid. 
 
 Proper Bufinefs of the Stage, Ibid. 
 
 Theatrical Declamation improper for the Pulpit, 
 and why, pages 29, 30, and 31. 
 
 Three Diftindtions in Sacred Oratory, page 32. 
 
 What they are, and upon what Occafion to be 
 ufed, pages 32 and 33. 
 
 Objedtion of the young Orators anfwered, page 
 
 34 - 
 
 Young Orator to imitate DemoftheneSi Ibid. 
 
 There 
 
The TABLE. 
 
 There ought to be Schools for Declamation as 
 well as for other Branches of Learning, p. 35. 
 
 Profefior in this way how ufeful to Society, ib. 
 
 Italian Theatre. 
 
 What kind of Comedy l'ucceeded the Latin , 37. 
 
 When the Italian Drama begun to recover its 
 Beauty, Ibid. 
 
 Upon whom Bibiena Machiavelli, Clita , and 
 Ariojlo formed themfelves, page 38. 
 
 Commencement of their Drama, when, page 39. 
 
 The Pafiion of our Lord, where reprefented, 40. 
 
 This Cuftom, when exploded, page 41. 
 
 Conjectures upon this Matter, from p. 42 to 45. 
 
 Defign of the Fraternity of Gonfalone, page 45. 
 
 This Fraternity when founded. Ibid. 
 
 Italians boaft, without Ground, of the Anti¬ 
 quity of their Theatre, page 4 6. 
 
 An Instance of a Divine or Moral Reprelentation, 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Italians not the Father of the Drama in Europe , 
 
 page 47. 
 
 ACt of the Fraternity of Gonfalone , Ibid. 
 
 Holy Tragedies wrote in Verfc, page 48. 
 
 Title of one of them, page 49. 
 
 Reprefentations taken from Holy Writ, conti¬ 
 nued till 1660, Ibid. 
 
 Fraternity of Gonfalone not the firft Inventors of 
 thefe Reprefentations, page 50. 
 
 Dante the firft who introduced Poetry among the 
 
 Italians , page 51. 
 
 Drama introduced into Italy about 1200, Ibid. 
 
 Difpofition of the Italian Writers, page 52. 
 
 Academy of Sienna , and the good Example it 
 gave others, page 53. 
 
 Modern Italian Theatre its Structure and Regu¬ 
 lation, from 53 to 58. 
 
 Z 3 Italian. 
 
/■ 
 
 The T A B L E, 
 
 Italian Drama complete fince 1500, page 58. 
 Spamjh Flays fucceeded their Dramatical Perfor¬ 
 mances, Ibid. 
 
 Italians tranflate from Racine and Corneille, p. 59. 
 Barrennefs of the Italian Stage, to what owing, 
 
 page 60. 
 
 Practice of the College of Rome, Parma, &c. 61. 
 Their Number of Comic and Tragic Poets, Ibid. 
 Number of Pieces in the Vatican Library, p. 62 
 Computation of their Number of Plays, p. 63, 
 Difficult at that Time to collect the Italian Plays, 
 and why, page 64. 
 
 Mercenary Comedy a< 5 ted extempore, page 65. 
 Abbe Aubignac Moreri, page 66. 
 
 Italians did not always play extempore, Ibid. 
 French in a Miftake with regard to the Italian 
 Players, page 67. 
 
 Number of the Italian Companies, page 68. 
 Mufic intermixt with ACtion from the Beginning 
 of the Italian Theatre, page 70. 
 
 Poets quit their Aufterity, and why. Ibid. 
 Interludes fometimes unconnected, page 72. 
 Opinions of the Italian Writers about the Be¬ 
 ginning of their Opera, Ibid. 
 
 Foundation of St. Mofes's Theatre unknown, 73. 
 At Venice Operas aCted every Day during certain 
 Seafons, page 74, 
 
 Ranuce Farnefe, Duke of Parma, his Entertain¬ 
 ments on Occafion of his Son’s Marriage, Ibid. 
 Magnificence of their Opera Decorations, p. 75. 
 Two Babenias Architects, page 76. 
 
 Account of the Opera of Cato, ibid. 
 
 Dexterity of fome Players, page 77. 
 
 Italian Mufic when at its Perfection, and its 
 chief Performers, from 78 to 81. 
 
 Fees of their Muficians, pages 81 and 82. 
 Prices of Admittance to their Opera, page 82. 
 
 What 
 
The TABLE. 
 
 What Number of Operas have appeared fince 
 they firft begun till 1700, page 83. 
 
 Spanish Theatre. 
 
 Spaniards not the firft People of Europe who 
 wrote for the Stage, page 85. 
 
 Comedy when reduced to Form, page 86. 
 
 Comedies wrote in Italy in the 13th Century, Ibid. 
 
 Theatre in Spain , how it begun, Ibid. 
 
 Their Entremefies refemble the Performances of 
 the Latin Mimi , page 87. 
 
 Their regular Comedy begun in the 16th Cen¬ 
 tury, page 88. 
 
 Lope de Rueda and Navarro , page 89. 
 
 Form of their Theatres, from 89 to 92. 
 
 Their Manner ofpayingfor feeingtheir Plays,92. 
 
 Their Decorations and Habits, Ibid. 
 
 Choice of Subje&s made by their Authors, p. 93. 
 
 Superior to all other Nations in the Number of 
 their Dramatic Performances. Ibid. 
 
 Lopez de Vega Carpio, what Number of Plays 
 he wrote, page 94. 
 
 Autos Sacramentales very numerous, page 95. 
 
 Their Form allegorical, page 96. 
 
 Calderons very Angular, from page 96 to 99. 
 
 Prologue by which thefeDramas areufher’d in, 99. 
 
 Colledtion of Pieces by Anonymous Authors 100. 
 
 Point of Honour the chief Subjeft of their 
 Drama, . page 101. 
 
 Their Dramatic Writers no Plagiaries, Ibid. 
 
 Their Performances an inexhauftible Fund for 
 Anthors of other Nations, page to2. 
 
 ladies fix the State of the Stage, page 103. 
 
 Famous Dramatic Writers at Madrid , Ibid. 
 
 Order obferved by them in their Dramatic Re- 
 prefentations, page 104. 
 
 Their Aftors very moving, page 105. 
 
 Their 
 
The TABLE, 
 
 Their Graciofo , or Harlequin, Ibid. 
 
 Spaniards form’d their Theatre upon Greek or 
 Italian Models, page 106. 
 
 Their Capa y Efpada, page 107. 
 
 Stage deftitute of Rules, ibid. 
 
 Tho* deftitute of them, yet the great Model for 
 other Theatres, ibid. 
 
 French Theatre. 
 
 Its Origin not fo obfcure as thofe of Italy and 
 Spain , page 108. 
 
 French Writers in the Dramatic Way ftnce 1500, 
 
 ibid. 
 
 Remarks on a Hiftory of the French Theatre, 
 
 from 109 to hi. 
 
 The Trouvers , of Troubardours y ibid. 
 
 Dante ibid. 
 
 PaJJarol’s Poems not to be reckoned among the 
 Number of Tragedies, page 112. 
 
 Provencal Poems, ibid. 
 
 Thomas dquinas thought a< 5 ting Comedy finful, 
 
 page 113. 
 
 Myftery of the Pafiion of St. Maur , page 114. 
 
 Feaft of Philip the lair. Entertainments at it, ibid. 
 
 City of Genoa ; its Entertainments on Corpus 
 Chrifti Day, from page 115 to 117. 
 
 Reprefentation of what happened in the Garden 
 of Olives by the Germans , page 117. 
 
 Reprefentation of Heaven and Hell figured, 118. 
 
 Comedies adled in the Reign of Charles the 
 Great , page 119. 
 
 Troubardours banifhed from the Court of Philip 
 Juguftus, page 120. 
 
 The Batteleurs an Account of them, page 121. 
 
 Myfterious Dialogues prohibited by the Provoft 
 of Paris , page 122. 
 
 Encouraged however by Charles XVII, ibid. 
 
The TABLE. 
 
 Had Letters Patent granted them by the faid 
 Monarch, ibid. 
 
 In 1518 their Privileges confirmed by Francis I, 
 and the Demolition of their Fraternity’s Thea¬ 
 tre, page 123. 
 
 A conditional Licence again granted them to adt, 
 and their Coat of Arms fixed on their Houfe, 
 
 page 124. 
 
 Farce written by Patheline adted, page 125. 
 
 Jodelle not the firft Tragic Writer, page 126. 
 
 Lift of Tragic Writers before him, ibid. 
 
 Reflection on the Eftablifhment of Comedy in 
 France , and the Burgundian Theatre let to a 
 Company of Players, pages 127 and 128. 
 
 The Bazoch , what they are, - adted 
 
 Comedies, and Petition in their Favour, 129. 
 
 Reflection on the Author of the Theatrical Li¬ 
 brary, page 130. 
 
 Burgundian Theatre when opened, ibid. 
 
 Tranflations from the Clafiics played, page 131. 
 
 Girolamo Rufcel/iy ibid. 
 
 Farces adted by Labels, page 132. 
 
 Farces of St. Lawrence and St. German page 133. 
 
 French Theatre bad in the Time of Corneille 134. 
 
 Moliere when born, ibid. 
 
 Lift of French Tranflations from the Italian 135. 
 
 Pieces of Corneille , what Effedt they produced. 
 Rotrou, what kind of Author, p. 136 & 137. 
 
 Moliere , the Reftorer of Comic Tafte, 138. 
 
 Number of Authors who wrote for the French 
 Stage, and their quick Advances in bringing 
 the Drama to Perfection, pages 139 and 140. 
 
 Their Adtors generally mafqued, page 141. 
 
 But ufe none now. Flow they adt Crifpin , 142. 
 
 Their Habits in the Greek or Roman Fafhion 143. 
 
 A& of the Civil Magiftrate concerning the Thea¬ 
 tre, and Refolution of Lewis XIV. re¬ 
 gard to the fame, page 144. 
 
The TABLE. 
 
 Theatres how built, and fome of their Regula¬ 
 tions, ibid to 154. 
 
 Parallel between the Italian, Spanifh, and 
 French Theatres. 
 
 Thefe three the firft in Europe , page 154. 
 
 No Spanijh Play before 1500, ibid. 
 
 Italians Imitators of Plautus and Terence p. 155. 
 Jealoufy, the Grand Source for the Spanijh 
 Theatre, page 156. 
 
 Autos Sacramentales. Moliere cenfured, 156, 7. 
 Some Characters improper for Tragedy, 158. 
 French Theatre likely to fuftain its Glory, and 
 why, ibid. 
 
 English Theatre. 
 
 The Englijh Theatre not fo early as the others, 
 
 page 160. 
 
 Their ACtors at firft refembled the Mimi of the 
 Latins. Edward Illd’s Sentence againft their 
 firft ACtors, ibid. 
 
 Theatre formed in London by Sacred Reprefen- 
 tations. Petition to the King, page 161. 
 Under Richard II, Boys played the Myfteries for 
 Money. Eftablifhment of the Englijh Thea¬ 
 tre before that of France , pages 162 and 163 
 Mafquerade by the King’s Orders, page 163* 
 Lord Buckburjt and Norton's Performance, 164. 
 Tragedy of Forrex and Porrex, ibid. 
 
 Tragedy of Gorbeduck y ibid. 
 
 Comedians in London in 1590, 165. 
 
 Shakejpear y pages 166, 167. 
 
 Licence granted by James I, ibid. 
 
 Ben. Johnfon , page 168. 
 
 Chief Aim of a Dramatic Writer, page 169. 
 Charafters of Nations to be learnt from their 
 Dramatic Pieces, ibid. 
 
 Englijh 
 
The TABLE. 
 
 Englijh Dramatic Poets too bloody. Hamlet and 
 the Moor of Venice Inftances of this, page 170. 
 
 Charadfer of the Englijh , 171. 
 
 Collier, his Criticifms on the Englijh Stage, 172. 
 
 Refledtion on theTafte of the Englijh, 173. 
 
 Mr. Addifon. Mr. Congreve , pages 174, 175. 
 
 Englifh Players preferable to the French and 
 
 Italians, page 176. 
 
 Theatre at Lincoln* s-Inn-Fietds, page 177. 
 
 Mr. Guerin , the French Adtor, furpafled by an 
 Englijh one, page 178. 
 
 Mademoijelle Salle impofed upon by his Dexterity, 
 
 page 179. 
 
 Ariftotle, firft Rules laid down by him, p. 180. 
 
 Englijh Theatre would be more perfedt if they 
 obferved the three Unities, page 18 r. 
 
 The Flemifh and Dutch Theatres. 
 
 Flemijh and Dutch Theatres to be confidered as 
 one, and why. Confidered feparately fince 
 the difmembering of the United Provinces 182. 
 Flemijh and Dutch Theatres took the Englijh for 
 their Model, page 183. 
 
 Their ancient Chronicles in Verfe, page 184. 
 Societies of Adtors common in Brabant, ibid. 
 
 Nineteen of them in Ghent, ibid. 
 
 Members of thefe Soeieties the Wits of the 
 Place, page 185. 
 
 Arquebufe what they were, 
 
 Co line Van Ryjfele, 
 
 Egmond, Horn, and Tamerlane, 
 
 Vertoning, what it is, 
 
 Tafte of the Dutch Spedtators, 
 
 Siege of Leyden adted the 3d of Oftober, p. 189. 
 Cornelius Van Hoof firft Poet who wrote regu¬ 
 larly, *bid. 
 
 Michael Hooft, page 190. 
 
 Vondel, 
 
 page 186. 
 
 ibid. 
 page 187. 
 
 ibid. 
 page 188. 
 
The TABLE. 
 
 Vondel, the Dutch Virgil ; his Palamedes, 190. 
 Satyr on Prince Maurice, ibid. 
 
 Few Foreign Pieces imitated before Lewis XIV. 
 
 Force of the Dutch Langaage, page 191. 
 Their Theatrical Pieces in Verfe, but not blank, 
 
 ibid. 
 
 Inconveniency arifing from the Dutch Rhime, 
 
 page 192. 
 
 Marquis of Orfi and Nauratori, ibid. 
 
 Monotony of their Language, page 193. 
 
 Feminine Rhimes difagreeable to the Ear, ibid. 
 Death of the Prince of Orange one of their beft 
 Tragedies, page 194. 
 
 Their Klugtfpel, what it is, page 195. 
 
 Play-houfes of Amflerdam, the Hague, and Ley¬ 
 den. Their Adtors have Trades, page 196. 
 Contrivance of their Play-houfes, and Prices of 
 Admittance, pages 197, 198. 
 
 Devices of their Poetical Societies, page 199. 
 Number of the Dutch Pieces, ibid. 
 
 Tneir Chief Adtors, page 200, 
 
 The German Theatre. 
 German Theatre the lait in Europe , page 201. 
 Their ancient Bards, ibid. 
 
 Mailer-Langers fucceeded their Bards, ibid. 
 Societies of thefe formed in the principal Cities, 
 of Germany, page 202. 
 
 That at Strasbourg ftill fubiifting, ibid. 
 
 Hannfaach a Shoemaker, page 203. 
 
 MaJJennis \ Alteration in their Theatre, p. 204. 
 Germans adt extempore like the Italians, p. 205. 
 Company formed by Students, when, page 206. 
 John IVelten, ibid. 
 
 Their Encouragement from the Eledlor of Sax¬ 
 ony. Opitz and Gryphius, pages 207, 208. 
 How the Poets who are not Players difpofe of 
 their Pieces, page 209. Their 
 
the TAB L E. 
 
 Their new Pieces why not printed, prgc 210. 
 
 Paffion of our Lord reprefented at Vienna in 
 Auftria, page2ii. 
 
 Jefus Chrift fed with Spoonmeat upon their Stage. 
 
 Theatres at Vienna and other Courts of German 
 Princes. Opera at Hamburg , pages 211, 212. 
 
 Six Companies in Germany , and where, p. 213. 
 
 Caution of Lewis XIV. with regard to their 
 Plays. Extempore Comedies ftill prevail in 
 Italy., pages 213, 214. 
 
 Women prohibited the Opera, and Comedy by 
 Innocent II. page 215. 
 
 Extract from the Death of Cato by John Chri¬ 
 ft opher Gottfched , page 216. 
 
 What gave the Author a Bent to the Drama, 217. 
 
 Tragedies of Lohenftein , ibid. 
 
 Boileau and Moliere excited the Author’s Curio- 
 fity. Endymion of Fontenel tranflated by the 
 Author, pages 218, 219. 
 
 Rot ben’ s Defcription of German Poetry, p. 220. 
 
 Menantes and Ariftotle , ibid. 
 
 Caufabon, Rapolt, Hanftus , and the Abbot d' 
 Aubignac, ibid. 
 
 La Mothe, Danchet , and Voltaire. page 221. 
 
 Father Brumti and Riccoboni, ibid. 
 
 The Regulus of Pradon, ibid. 
 
 Brutus and Alexander , page 222. 
 
 Cinna of Corneille tranflated, ibid. 
 
 Cato of Utica his Charadter, ibid. 
 
 How he died. Mr. Addifon’ s Cato liked, p. 223, 
 
 The Reafon of its being fo, ibid. 
 
 Defcbamp’s Cato page 224. 
 
 Sophonisba chofen as the Subjedt of a Tragedy by 
 Poets of moft Nations, ibid. 
 
 Cato’s Death pitched upon for the fameReafons, 
 
 ibid. 
 
 Author of the German Cato took what was beft 
 from Addifon’s and Defcbamp’s, 225. ‘Terence 
 
The TABLE. 
 
 'Terence borrows from Menander , page 225. 
 
 Charader of the Englijh Writers of Tragedy, 22 6. 
 
 Dejchamp’ s Cato wrote agreeably to the Rules of 
 Arijtotle. Addifon’s Cato not fo, , ibid. 
 
 Addifon’s Cato has two Plots quite foreign to the 
 main Adion. It feems ill conneded, ,227, 8. 
 
 Why the Author did not tranflate the French 
 Cato. Laft Ad of Addifon’s Cato preferved 
 in the Author’s Cato, and why, p. 228, 229. 
 
 Cato’s Death too barren without an Epii'ode for a 
 Tragedy, page 230. 
 
 Extract of the Tragedy called dying Cato. 
 
 Dramatis Perfonte. 
 
 Ad I. Scene 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, from 231 to 237. 
 
 Ad II. Scene 1,2,3,4,5, 6, 7, from 237 to 242. 
 
 Ad III. Scene 1, 2, 3, 4, from 242 to 245. 
 
 Ad IV. Scene 1, 2. 3, 4, 5, from 245 to 250. 
 
 Ad V. Scene 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, from 250 
 
 to 253. 
 
 Table of Matters contained in Fenelon’s 
 Thoughts on Tragedy. 
 
 Tragedy ought to be charaderiftically differenced 
 from Comedy, page 253. 
 
 Inftruments of Mufic forbid by Plato , and why. 
 The Hyperbole in loofe Performances an Ad¬ 
 vantage, and why, page 254. 
 
 Ideas of Antiquity to be followed, page 255. 
 
 Corneille’s OEdipus wherein faulty, ibid. 
 
 Racine’s Phedra faulty in the fame refped, ibid. 
 
 Inftancesof the Bombaft in Corneille , 256, 257. 
 
 Mr. Racine not exempt from the fame Fault, 257. 
 
 Inftances of the Bombaft from Racine , page 258* 
 
 OEdipus of Sophocles talks like a Man in deep 
 Diftrefs, and therefore well, page 258. 
 
 Inftance of it, pages 258, 259. 
 
 Mr. 
 
the T ABLE. 
 
 Mr. Racine would have fucceeded better by fol¬ 
 lowing Nature clofer, pages 259, 260. 
 
 Reafon why our Poets load their Lines with Epi¬ 
 thets, with an Inftance of it, ibid. 
 
 Horace's Sentiments of this Matter, page 261. 
 
 Simplicity of Expreflion confident with its Gran¬ 
 deur and Strength. Romans too bombaft 
 Speeches put in their Mouths, ibid. 
 
 Their real Charater with regard to Language. 
 Suelon 's Charater of Auguftus , p. 262, 263. 
 
 Pliny's Account of Trajan's Simplicity of Stile 264 
 
 Tha true Sublime not inconfiftent with Sim¬ 
 plicity, page 265. 
 
 'table of Matters contained in the Criticifms 
 upon Cato. 
 
 Obligations the Germans lie under to Gottefched. 
 Empty Scenes in the Englijh Cato condemned 
 by Gottefched, page 265. 
 
 His Expedient to avoid the fame Fault does not 
 anfwer the End. Ceefar characterized in his 
 Tragedy, as more reafonable than Cato, ibid. 
 
 Character of Racine , Alexander , and Porus, 
 applied to Gottefched 's Cato , and why, p. 267. 
 
 Objection made to the Englijh Cato by the 
 Author of the German , page 268. 
 
 Obfervation on the Words Ton and Thou, p. 269. 
 
 table of the Matters in the Author's Anfwer 
 to the foregoing CriticiJ'm. 
 
 No Epic or Dramatic Piece can be faultlefs. 
 
 Homer fometimes flat, page 270. 
 
 Horace's Excufe for him on that Account, ibid. 
 
 Some Faults in a Poet to be pardoned, ibid. 
 
 Author’s Anfwer to the firfl Objetion, 271, 272. 
 
 Authorities from Corneille in the Author’s Vindi¬ 
 cation, page 272, 273. 
 
 Anfwer to the fecond Objetion from 272 to 275. 
 
 Anfwer 
 
The T A B L E. 
 
 Anfwer to the third Objection, from 275 to 282, 
 
 Other Remarks of the Critic anfwered, from 
 
 282 to 285. 
 
 A Table of the Subjects contained in the Trea- 
 tife on the Origin of Tragedy in different 
 Nations. 
 
 The Defign propofed by the firft Writers of 
 Greek Tragedy. The Rife, Progrefs, and 
 Ruin of Italian Tragedy. Of the New Ita¬ 
 lian Tragedy, from 286 to 293. 
 
 Of the Rife and Reformation of French Tra¬ 
 gedy, from 293 to 297. 
 
 Of the EfFeCts which Love produces in French 
 Tragedy; the Cutting of the Chorus, and the 
 Introduction of Confidents, from 297 to 302. 
 
 Of the Unity of Place in French Tragedy, from 
 
 302 to 312. 
 
 Of the Unity of Time and ACtion in French 
 
 Tragedy, from 312 to 3x9. 
 
 Of Character in the French Tragedy, from 319 
 
 to 324. 
 
 Of the Sentiments of the French Tragedies, from 
 
 324 to 329. 
 
 Of the Intention of -French Tragic Poets, and 
 fome Remarks upon French Tragedy, from 
 
 329 to 333 * 
 
 F I ,N I S. 
 
'5^6-S6&