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Show 540 THE CODE OF TERPSICHORE. poems of Ossian may be applauded on the banks of the Tagus, but they will find no imitators among the Portuguese. While we endeavour, so far as we can, to attain perfection, we should not lose sight of the taste of the people for whom we compose. (An attempt has been made to carry this idea into effect, in the preceding programmes of different styles of Ballets.) The man of genius belongs to every nation ; happy is he, who, charmed with the works of the authors of Othello, of Britannicus, of Orlando, of Telemachus, of the Lusiad, of Faust, of the Hero of La Mancha, &c. & c , may, by availing himself of their example, and profiting by their exertions in the mine of thought, one day attain a name equal to that of the least of them ! W e have already detailed the different dramatic styles and opinions of the most celebrated critics on each of them, and the ideas which a study of the best authors and practical observation have suggested to us on the subject. The styles which are pre-eminent over all others are the classic and the romantic. These offer us a thousand means of succeeding : both have their charms and their defects. If one may often be accused of tameness, the other is frequently to blame for running into the opposite fault. Each is supported by such splendid talent, that it is difficult for the young author or artist to decide which he shall make his model. If one attract by powerful charms, he is soon after exposed to the seductive beauties displayed by the other, of which its rival is utterly ignorant. A fine philosophy, a pure taste, and an unprejudiced mind, can alone endow him with the means of steering an advantageous middle course between them, adopting the beauties of both, without falling into the faults of either. The artist cannot act thus without entirely laying aside his national prejudices. He should not |