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Show THE COMPOSITION OF BALLETS. 211 The Greeks did not confine themselves to comedy, whose province it is to describe the ridiculous; nor to tragedy, which inspires only terror and pity. They understood how to introduce serious scenes into their comedy, as may be seen in Aristophanes; while tragic pieces frequently admitted the gaiety of comedy, as the works of Euripides will prove : " Interdum tamen et vocem comoedia tollit; Et tragicus plerumque dolet sermone pedestri." HOR. The Greeks had also other kinds of dramas, namely, the Satirical, the Ilarodia, and the Magodia, which being ranked between tragedy and comedy, partook more or less of each, and formed a very agreeable and convenient connexion between the two extremes of the dramatic art. With such a license poets would present every species of character, with every shade and gradation of passion. Nature in her course advances not by leaps; nor does she fly in an instant from the obscurity of night to the brightness of day ; or from the frosts of winter to the heat of summer; on the contrary, she proceeds gradually and imperceptibly. Of all the varieties of drama to be found in the two principal divisions, the tragi-comic is most remarkable. The characters of this class are those of princes and great men, who, though preserving a certain noble and imposing style, perform with a kind of condescending cheerfulness. The aid of deep and powerful passion is not required ; and the catastrophe is never of a terrible description. Very few French authors have availed themselves of this literary license; they have left it to the Spaniards, English, Italians and Germans, who have cultivated this kind of composition eagerly and successfully. By such a |
