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Show 14- An E S S A T without fome ftop put to it, is clearly true on this Occafion ; the Soul being already roov'd with the Charaaers and Fortunes of thofe imaginary Perfons, continues going of its o w n accord, and w e are no more weary tohcar what becomes of them when they are not on the Stage, than wre are to linen to the news of an ab-fent Mittrefs. But it is objeaed, That if one part ofthe Play may be related, then w h y not all ? I anfwer, Some parts ofthe Aftion are more fit to be reprefented, fome to be related. Corneille fays judicioufly, that the Poet is not oblig'd to expofe to view all particular Aftions which conduce to the principal: H e ought to felea fuch of them to be fenn which will appear with the greateft Beauty, either by the magnificence of the fhow, or the vehemence of Paffions which they produced, or fome other charm which they have in them,and let the reft arrive to the Audience by Narration. 'Tis a great miftake in us to believe the French prefent no part of the Action upon the Stage : Every alteration or crofting of a defign, e-very new fprung paffion, and turn of it, is a part of the Aaion, and much the nobleft,except w e conceive nothing to be Aaion till they come to blows ; as if the painting of the Hero's mind were not more properly the Foets W o r k than the ftrength of his Body. Nor does this any thing contradict the Opinion of Horace, where he tells us, Segnim irritant animos demiffa per aurem Quam quzfunt oculisfubjecfa fidelibus. For he fays immediately after, - • • ' - N o n tamcn intiu Dignageripromesinfcenam, Mull ay, tolles Ex oculis, qux mox narret facundia prtfens. A m o n g many which he recounts fome. Necpueros coram populo Medea t run del, Aut in avem Progne mutetur, Cadmus in anguem, &c. That is, thofe Aaions which by reafon of their cruelty will caufe averfion in us or by reafon of their impoffibihty unbelief, ought either wholly to be avoided by a Poet, or only deliver'd by Narration, T o which, w e m a y have leave to add fuch as to avoid tumult, (as was before hinted) or to reduce the Plot into a more rea-fonable compafs of time, or for defect of Beauty in them, are rather to be related than prefented to the Eye. Examples of all thefe kinds are frequent, not only a-mong all the Ancients, but in the heft receiv'd of our Englifh Poets. W e find Ben. Johnfon ufing them in his Magnetick Lady, where one comes out from Dinner, and relates the quarrels and diforders of it to fave the undecent appearing of them on the Stage, and to abbreviate the Story : And this in exprefs imitation of Terence, w h o had done the fame before him in his Eunuch, where Pythias makes the like relation of what had happen'd within at the Souldiers entertainment The relations likewife of Sejanus's Death, and the Prodigies before it are remarkable; the one of which was hid from fight to avoid the horror and tumult of the reprefentation ; the other to fhuii the introducing of things impoflible to be behev'd. In that excellent Play the King and no King, Fletcher goes yet farther * for the whole unravelling of the Plot is done by Narration in the fifth Act, after the manner ofthe Ancients ; and it moves great concernment in the Audience, though it be only a relation of what was done many Years before the Play. I could multiply other inftanccs, but thefe are fufficient to prove that there is no errour in choofingafubject which requires this fort of Narrations ; in the ill managing of them, there may. b b But I find I have been too long in this difcourfe fince theFrench have many other Excellencies not c o m m o n to us, as that you never fee any of their Plays end with a conyerfion, or fimple change of will, which is the ordinary w a y our Poets ufe to end theirs It fhows little art in the conclufion of a Dramatick Poem, when they who have hinder'd the Felicity during the four A a S , defift from it in the fifth without fome powerful caufe to take them off: A n d though I deny not but fuch rea-ons may be found, yet it is a path that is cautioufly to be trod, and the Poet is to be lure he convinces the Audience that the motive is ftrong enough. As for example, the converfion of the Ufurer in the Scornful Lady , feems to m e a little tore a; tor being an Ufurer, which implies a Lover of M o n e y to the hi«*heft degree otcovetouinefs, (and fuch the Poet has reprefented him; the accountTie gives for thefudden change is, that he has been dup'd by the wild Young Fellow which in i-eaion might render him more wary another time, and make him punifti himfelfwith harder Fare and Courfer Cloaths to get it up again: But that he fhould look upon it as a judgment, and fo repent, w e m a y expea to hear of in a Sermon, but I fhould never ind tire it in a Play. I raf of Dramatick Poefie. 15 I pafsby this ; neither will I iniitt upon the care they take, that no Perfon after his firft entrance fhall ppear, but the bufinefs which brings him upon the Stage ftiall be evident: Which, if obferv'd, muft needs render all the events in the Play more Natural; for there you fee the probability of every accident, in the caufe that produe'dit; and that which appears chance in the Play, will feem fo reasonable to you, that vou will there find it almoft neceffary ; fo that in the exits of their Actors vou have a clear account of their purpofe and defign in the next entrance : (though, if the Scene be well wrought, the event will commonly deceive you) for there is nothing fo abfurd, f 1 ys Cor for an Actor to leave the Stage, only becaufe he has no more to fay. I fhould n o w fpeak ofthe Beauty of their Rhime, and the iuft reafon I have to prefer that w a y of Writing in Tragedies before ours in Blank-Verfe; but becaufe it is partly receiv'd by us, and therefore not altogether peculiar to them, I will fay no more' of it in relation to their Plays. For our o w n I doubt not but it will exceedingly Beautifie them, and I can fee but one reafon w h y it fhould notg nerally obtain, that is, becaufe our Poets Write fo ill in it. 'J ;d may prove a-more prevailing argument than all others which are us'd todeftroy it, and therefore I a m only troubled when great and judicious Poets, and thole w h o are acknowledged fuch, have Writ or Spoke againft it; as tor others they are to be an-fwer'd by that one Sentence of an Ancient Author. Sedut'primo adconfeauendos eos quos prions ducimus accendimtlr, it a ubi aut preterm, aut aquari ecs poffe defperavimus, (rudium cum fpe fenefcit; quod, fctltcet, affequi non potejf, fequi defmit; prdteritoq, eo in quo emi »** *" 1™ mtamur ^TJX^'concliided in this manner ; and Neander after a little paufe thus anfwer'd Tftiall grant USdeius, without much difpute, a great part of what he has urg'd againft us, for I acknowledge theFrench contrive their Plots more regularly, ob-ferve the L a w s of Comedy, and decorum ofthe Stage f to fpeak generally; with more exaa.iefs than the Englifh. Farther I deny not but he has tax d us mftlym fome irregularities of ours which he has mention'd; yet, after all, I a m ot Opinion that neither our feuks not their Virtues are conliderable enough to place them a- °ForUthe lively imitation of Nature being in the definition of a Play, thofe which heft fulfil that L a w ought to be efteem'd Superiour to the others. 1 is true, thofe SeTof^ncl^oefie are fuch as will raife V * * b ^ ^ * & but are not fufficient to give it where it is not: 1 hey are ^ « ^ ™ ^ ^ S * £ Statue, but not of a Man, becaufe not am mated wit n the Soulof P o e ^ h i c h * imitation of humour and paffions : And tins Lifideius himlelt, o r ™ y ™ ™ > *™ evesbyaffed to their Party, cannot but^acknowledge, if h e . \ ^ ™ ™ ^ the humours of our Comedies, or the Char afters ofour fe no us ays With tteu* He that will look upon theirs which have been Written till thefe laft ten Y cat s 01 theiSbou will find it an hard matter to pick out two or three paffable humour * £ # * £ CWMiimfelf, their Arch-Poet, whathashe prod£exceo the Lier and you know how it was cry'd up 111 France; but when it came upon the Enghllinage, tn^ confident it never receiv'd in its own Country; the latter end to clear it up. rminault and fome others, But of late Years* Moliere the Younger Cur,*elUeto ^ j ^ s Thcj have been imitating of afar oft thequick turns ^ ^ ^ ^ t h J b c z t h of mix'd their ferious Plays with mirth like ™ £ * ^ | J ^ nave commend- Cardinal Richlieu, which Lifdeius^\ ^ ^ ^ ^ Z ^aftife. Molt of ed that in them for a virtue winch they *emfclv« no wng^ ^ ^ Thci e is theirnew Plays arelike fome * ^ * ™ $ ^ $ ^ ^ the fcarceoneof /hem without a veil, ™ ? ^ f > { ^ ' L them with that Name, rate of the Adventures. ^ ^ ^ « $ ^ ^ & in any Play : I dare take are fo thin fown that never above one of them COOKS I y ^ [Q lomewfSr, cannot but acknowledge with me. j &mt |