Chapter VIII: Part 8

To come now to later Times; it must be own'd, the Moderns are excell'd by the Ancients in no Kind of Writing more than this; they succeed best, when they make use of their Language; for many of the Moderns are very good Masters of it. _Casimire_ is often very happy this Way; but often harsh, turgid, and pompously empty; of which the present Solemnity reminds me of one Instance. The Poet is speaking in Praise of a Peace lately made; and after he had begun well enough,

_Jam minæ sævi cecidere belli,
Jam prophanatis male pulsa terris
Et salus, & pax._

he goes on thus,

----_niveis revisit
Oppida bigis._

Then comes, a little after:

_Grandinat gemmis, riguoque cælum
Depluit auro._

The Verses are smooth and sonorous; only they have the Misfortune to want common Sense. But in another Ode he is much happier, unless, perhaps, a little too bold:

_Vive, jucundæ metuens juventæ,
Crispe Lævini; fugiunt avaræ
Mensium lunæ, nimiumque volvi
Lubricus Æther._

But the Lines that follow, a little after, are perfectly just, and beautiful:

_Quod tibi larga dedit hora dextra,
Hora furaci rapuit sinistra;
More fallentis tenerum jocosæ
Matris alumnum._

Our Countryman _Hannes_ needed only to have writ more to have made himself second to _Horace_ in all future Ages. But the Odes that are writ in the modern Languages, in _French_, _Italian_, and _English_, have nothing of the Genius of the Ancients. Ours, which generally go under the Name of _Pindarics_, are such empty, trifling Performances, that they are below even the Censure of a Critic. A Heap of Verses, tho' never so insipid and ridiculous, form'd as little upon the Laws of Reason, as of Metre, a monstrous Product of the Brain, shall be call'd, forsooth, a _Pindaric_! a Scandal which it is to be wish'd the Learned would no longer suffer to be offer'd to so sacred a Title. Our Songs and Catches, likewise, which are daily set to Music, whatever Charms they may borrow from thence, have very rarely any of their own; nay, it is observable, that often the worst Verses are set to Music best; as if true Poetry, and good Music, Sisters as they are, cou'd never agree: Which is a Reproach that redounds no less to the Dishonour of Music, than the former, I just mention'd, was to _Pindar_. But better Times appear, in which we hope to see these, and all other Arts, improv'd to their utmost Perfection; in this happy Age, I mean, wherein (that I may conclude my Discourse as I began, with a View at once to our present Solemnity, and our present Subject)

_Jam Fides, & Pax, & Honor, Pudorque
Priscus, & neglecta redire Virtus
Audet, apparetque beata pleno
Copia cornu._

Now _Honour_, _Chastity_ and _Peace_,
_Virtue_ and banish'd _Faith_, return;
Now Plenty broods a fair Increase,
And fills with Flow'rs her fragrant Horn.
_Olds._

FOOTNOTES:

[281] Hor. Carm. Lib. I. Od. 12.

[282] Son of _Sirach_, _Ecclus_ xliv, 5.

[283] _Deut._ xv.

[284] Lib. III. Od. 1.

[285] Lib. I. Od. 3.

[286] Lib. II. Od. 13.

[287] Lib. III. Od. 29.

[288] Lib. IV. Od. 2.

[289] Mr. _Edmund Smith_, of _Christ-Church, Oxon_.

[290] Mus. Angl. Vol. II.

[291] Hor. Lib I. Od. 32.

[292] Lib. I. Od. 31.

[293] Lib. I. Od. 1.

[294] _Henry Purcell._

[295] Dr. _Croft._

[296] Art. Poet. ℣ 83.

[297] Lib. I. Od. 6.

[298] Lib. III. Od. 3.

[299] Lib. II. Od. 1.

[300] Lib. III. Od. 4.

[301] Lib. IV. Od. 4.

[302] Lib. II. Od. 3.

[303] Ibid.

[304] Od. 14.

[305] Od. 2.

[306] Lib. II. Od. 16.

[307] Casimir. Lib. I. Od. 1.

[308] Ibid.

[309] Od. 5.

[310] Hor. Carmen Seculare.

LECTURE XVII, XVIII.
_Of_ SATIRE.

It is Merit enough for a Writer on a Subject that has been often canvass'd, if he can reduce into a short Compass whatever hath been said before, and add something material of his own. Whether I have done this in the present Case, must be submitted to the Judgment of the Audience; I am sure I shall make it my Endeavour, not only to represent my own Sentiments in an advantageous Light, but those of others; for I have a large Field of Writers before me, on this Subject; not only _Horace_, _Quintilian_, and the rest of the Ancients, but the learned _Casaubon_, _Scaliger_, _Vossius_, _Dacier_, and some others.

A Difficulty occurs upon our first Entrance; for a Doubt has been made about the Name of _Satire_, and the Orthography of it: The Reason of which Doubt will appear, from the uncertain History we have of this Kind of Poem. It cannot be denied, but that the _Grecian_ Satire differ'd from the _Roman_; but yet the Difference seems not so great, as some are apt to imagine: The former was of the dramatic Kind, a Sort of Interlude annex'd to Tragedy, to remove from the Audience too melancholy Impressions. It is _Horace_'s Observation,

_Carmine qui Tragico vilem certavit ob hircum,
Mox etiam agrestes Satiros nudavit, & asper
Incolumi gravitate jocum tentavit; eo quod
Illecebris erat, & grata novitate, morandus
Spectator._

The first Tragedians found that serious Style
Too grave for their uncultivated Age,
And so brought wild and naked Satires in,
(Whose Motion, Words, and Shape, were all a Farce)
As oft as Decency wou'd give them Leave;
Because the mad ungovernable Rout,
Full of Confusion, and the Fumes of Wine,
Lov'd such Variety, and Antic Tricks.
_Roscom._

The _Scene_ was laid in the Country, the _Persons_ Satyrs, and rural Deities. Sometimes Peasants and Rustics were mix'd with them. The Subject was jocose, and full of Sneer and Banter; the Style a Medium between Comedy and Tragedy. This, as I said, was the satirical Poetry of the _Grecians_; but Satire, as we now have it, is entirely _Roman_, if we may believe _Quintilian_, who says[312], _Satira quidem tota nostra est_; or _Horace_[313], who styles _Ennius_ the _Inventor of a Poem unknown to the_ Grecians, meaning _Satire_, according to the Opinion of most of his Interpreters. _Scaliger_, however, expresly denies it to be of _Roman_ Original; and there is Reason, indeed, as we shall see hereafter, to understand those Expressions of _Quintilian_ and _Horace_ with some Abatement. Those that will not allow it to be deriv'd from the _Grecians_, but entirely _Roman_, maintain, that _Satira_ should be writ with an _i_, not a _y_; and that it is not deriv'd from _Satyrus_, but _Satur_; _Satira_, therefore, is the same as _Satura_, as _Maximus_ anciently _Maxumus_. Now _Satur_ signifies _full_ of a Mixture of Things, as _Lanx Satura_, a Dish full of Varieties; and, as _Dacier_ observes[314], "those Laws were call'd _Leges Saturæ_[315], which contain'd several Heads and Titles under them; as the _Julian-Papian-Poppæan_ Law, which was otherwise call'd the _Miscella_, which is but another Word for _Satura_. Hence that Expression, _per Saturam legem ferre_, when the Votes of the Senators were not taken in Order, or counted, but were given together promiscuously. And this is properly _per Saturam sententias exquirere_, which is an Expression _Sallust_ makes use of after _Lælius_. Nor is this all; some Books anciently bore this Title; as _Pescennius Festus_ left _Historias Saturas_, or _per Saturam_." Thus far _Dacier_. _Satire_, then, when applied by a Metaphor to Writing, is a Miscellaneous Poem, full of Variety of Matter: According to that of _Juvenal_,

_Quicquid agunt homines, votum, timor, ira, voluptas,
Gaudia, discursus, nostri est farrago libelli._
Whatever since that golden Age was done,
What Human Kind desires, and what they shun,
Rage, Passions, Pleasures, Impotence of Will,
Shall this satirical Collection fill.
_Dryden._

But however various the Matter of it is, it ought always to have somewhat of Keenness and Invective, to expose the Vices and Follies of Mankind with Raillery, or chastise them with Severity. Before Plays were brought to _Rome_, the _Saturnine_ and _Fescennine_ Verses were much in Vogue: They were a Sort of rude and unpolish'd Compositions, at best, full of Contumely, and often of Ribaldry. Whence _Horace_,

_Fescennina per hunc inventa licentia morem
Versibus alternis opprobria rustica fudit._

Hence grew the Liberty of the looser Muse,
Hence they grew scurrilous, and wou'd abuse.
_Creech._

Afterwards, as the _Romans_ grew more polite, these kind of Verses refin'd in Proportion: But they retain'd, still, their Jibes and Banter and kept so far to their first Institution, as to make the Follies of human Life the Object of their Ridicule. From hence proceeded _Satire_, so call'd from the _Farrago_ and Variety of Matter it contain'd. It was improv'd, likewise, with Music and Dancing, which, considering its being carried on in Dialogue, made it resemble somewhat of the dramatic Kind; nor had the _Romans_ any Thing, yet, that came so near the Drama as this did. Afterwards, when they had receiv'd both Tragedy and Comedy from the _Grecians_, they were so taken with the Novelty, that Satire, for some Time, lay neglected. But coming again into Esteem, it was added, as a Kind of _Exodium_, to Comedy. Thus Things went on for some Years, till _Ennius_ arose, endu'd with Wit, and true poetic Fire, who observing how fond the People were of seeing the Vices of Mankind expos'd upon the Stage, thought a Poem on the same Subject, without the Decoration of Scenes and Action, might have the same Effect. Accordingly, he attempted Satires in the same Form we now see them, only he did not confine himself to the Hexameter, but made use of all Sorts of Measure. The Remains we have of this Poet, are noble Indications of the Strength of his Genius; and _Horace_ and _Virgil_ have shewn what Opinion they had of his Writings, by borrowing so much from them. After _Ennius_, succeeded _Pacuvius_; but his Works are all lost, excepting some Fragments, and those of uncertain Authority. Next came _Lucilius_, of whom, likewise, we have only some Fragments remaining. But his Excellencies and Imperfections are very amply set forth by _Horace_, whose Words I have no Occasion to cite here. I would observe, however, that those Lines,

----_Quid, cum est Lucilius ausus
Primus in hunc operis componere carmina morem?_

How, Sir, _Lucilius_, that did first engage
In writing Satires, and that lash'd the Age.
_Creech._

are not so to be understood, as if he was the first that attempted Satire; which both _Ennius_ and _Pacuvius_, as we just now observ'd, had done before him: But that _Lucilius_ improv'd it so far as to give it that new Face, under which it appear'd in _Horace_'s Time: For that his Satires were of the same Form with _Horace_'s, is maintain'd by Monsieur _Dacier_ against _Casaubon_[319]. It must be allow'd, however, that one Species of Satire owes its Perfection to _Horace_, as another does to _Juvenal_; both which we shall hereafter speak of separately. A third Kind was the _Varronian_ or _Menippean_ Satire, so call'd from _Menippus_, a Cynic Philosopher, among the _Grecians,_ whose Doctrine _Varro_ follow'd. It was a Sort of Medley, consisting not only of all Kinds of Verse, but of Verse and Prose mix'd together; a Specimen of which we have in _Petronius_'s _Satyricon_[320]. We have none of _Varro_'s poetical Works remaining, except some small Fragments; which is the more to be lamented, considering the Character _Quintilian_ gives of him, That he was the most learned of all the _Romans_.

The Word _Satire_ was anciently taken in a less restrain'd Sense than it is at present, not only as denoting a severe Poem against Vice, but as consisting of Precepts of Virtue, and the Praises of it: And even in the Satires, as they are call'd, of _Horace_, _Juvenal_, and _Persius_, &c. which are principally levell'd against the Weakness, the Follies, or Vices of Mankind; we find many Directions, as well as Incitements to Virtue. Such Strokes of Morality, _Horace_, particularly, is full of; and in _Juvenal_ they occur very frequently. Thus,

_Permittas ipsis expendere numinibus, quid
Conveniat nobis, rebusque sit utile nostris:
Charior est illis homo, quam sibi._

Intrust thy Fortune to the Pow'rs above,
Leave them to manage for thee, and to grant
What their unerring Wisdom sees thee want:
In Goodness, as in Greatness, they excel;
Ah! that we lov'd ourselves but half as well.
_Dryden._

And afterwards:

_Monstro, quod ipse tibi possis dare; semita certe
Tranquillæ per virtutem patet unica vitæ._

The Path to Peace is Virtue: What I show,
Thyself may freely on thyself bestow.
_Dryden._

All of them sometimes correct Vice, like Moralists, I may say, like Divines, rather than Satirists: What less can we say of this of _Persius_?

_O curvæ in terras animæ, & cœlestium inanes!_

O Souls, in whom no heav'nly Fire is found.
_Dryden._

Sentiments, these, one would think, were fetch'd from true Religion, not from unassisted Reason; and which we might expect from the _Christian_, more than the _Stoic_.

Notwithstanding the learned Arguments which _Casaubon_, _Dacier_, and others have urg'd, for the Etymology of the Word Satire, I can't but think their Opinion has more Probability in it than Truth; nor can any sufficient Reason be assign'd, why it may not be as well deriv'd from _Satyrus_, a Satyr, as from _Satur_, full. There's certainly too much Reason to think that some Things in _Horace_, _Juvenal_, and _Persius_, were borrow'd from the suppos'd Manners and Customs of Satyrs; and I cannot but lament, that Writers so deserving in all other Respects, should reprove some Vices in such a Manner, as to teach them; and that while they are recommending Virtue, they should throw in some Expressions so injurious to it. This Controversy, then, about the _Name_ of _Satire_, (which, it must be own'd, is the more material, because it in a great Measure defines its _Nature_) I shall leave in Uncertainty, with _Vossius_, rather than determine upon it positively with _Dacier_.

For I cannot but be surpriz'd to see this last Author so confidently assert[324], "That _Satire_ is a Species of Poetry unknown to any but the _Romans_, and has no Relation to the satirical Compositions of the _Grecians_, as some learned Men, by Mistake, have thought[325]." Now, I'll be bold to say, that not only _some_, but _most_, if not all the Learned, have thought so, and still think the same; and even Mons. _Dacier_ himself, I reckon among the Number, how much soever he seems here to have forgot himself. I appeal not only to what I have before said upon this Subject myself, but to what I have cited from him, whether it does not appear that the _Roman Satire_ had some _Affinity_ with the _Grecian_, and, particularly, that it ow'd its Rise to it.[326]_Vossius_, speaking of the _Grecian_, tells us, "That the Discourse was agreeable to the Characters of the Speakers; full of Ribaldry, Ridicule, and Scurrility. The Failings of Men were the Objects of their Scoffs, and to excite Laughter the Aim of them. _Horace_, in his Art of Poetry,

_[327]Verum ita risores, ita commendare dicaces
Conveniet Satyros, ita vertere seria ludo."_

Yet Satires shou'd observe this decent Rule,
And so turn serious Things to Ridicule,
As, _&c._ _Creech._

Now will any one say, the _Grecian_ and _Roman_ Satire had nothing of this in common between them? Are Lasciviousness, Ridicule, and Banter, the exposing Vice, and the exciting Laughter, Properties in which the _Roman_ Satire had no Share? We readily grant, indeed, that as it appear'd in a _different Form_, it was not the very _same Kind_ of Poem with the _Grecian_: But surely there was some, nay, a great deal of Affinity between them; and the one, particularly, owes its Rise to the other.

[Sidenote: _Eighteenth Lecture._]

Thus much for the Etymology, the History of the Rise and Progress of Satire. With Respect to the Nature and different Species of it, I can by no means subscribe to _Vossius_'s Opinion, who observes[328], "That, as the Vices of Mankind may be corrected either publickly, or in private, the latter Method is much the more suitable to Satire: And that _Juvenal_ and _Persius_, setting aside the Metre, have deviated more from the true Nature of it, than _Lucian_ in his Dialogues, or _Julian_ in his _Cæsars_. For the former shew their ill Nature more than their Wit, and don't so much put Vice out of Countenance, as themselves out of Temper; whereas the latter always keep up their Humour, and mix their Reproof with Facetiousness[329]." According to this, the _Horatian_ Satire is the only true one; and the Writings of _Juvenal_ and _Persius_ have no Pretence to that Title. But the truer State of the Case is this: Satire in _general_, is a Poem design'd to reprove the Vices and Follies of Mankind: It is twofold; either the _jocose_, as that of _Horace_, or the _serious_. like that of _Juvenal_. The former hidden, the latter open. That generally makes Sport with Vice, and exposes it to Ridicule: This probes it to the Bottom, and puts it to Torture: And so far is it from not deserving the Title of Satire, that, in my Opinion, it is the more noble Species of it; and the genteel Jokes of _Horace_, how ingenious soever, are less affecting than the poetic Rage, and commendable Zeal of _Juvenal_. I shall speak to both Kinds, as _Persius_ has well distinguish'd them, where he describes the Difference between _Lucilius_ and _Horace_'s Way of Writing:

[330]----_Secuit Lucilius urbem
Te Lupe, te Muti, & genuinum fregit in illis.
Omne vafer vitium ridenti Flaccus amico
Tangit, & admissus circum præcordia indit,
Callidus excusso populum suspendere naso._
Yet old _Lucilius_ never fear'd the Times,
But lash'd the City, and dissected Crimes.
_Mutius_ and _Lupus_ both by Name he brought;
He mouth'd 'em, and betwixt his Grinders caught.
Unlike in Method with conceal'd Design,
Did crafty _Horace_ his low Numbers join;
And, with a sly insinuating Grace,
Laugh'd at his Friend, and look'd him in the Face:
Wou'd raise a Blush, where secret Vice he found;
And tickle, while he gently prob'd the Wound.
With seeming Innocence the Crowd beguil'd;
But made the desp'rate Passes when he smil'd.
_Dryden._

_Vossius_ still erring upon the same String, says, "It is not so much the Business of Satire to reprove all Sorts of Vice, as those that are the proper Subjects of Laughter[331]." If this Maxim is true, _Juvenal_ will scarce find a Place among the Satirists: For tho' he may sometimes laugh, he is, for the Generality, serious; and shews the Lash much more than his Teeth. Nay, his Smiles are very different from those of _Horace_; they are not the genteel ones of a Courtier, but mix'd with Gall and ill Nature; such as _Virgil_ describes:

_Ad quem subridens mista Mezentius ira._

To whom _Mezentius_ with malignant Smile.

The Argument which _Vossius_ cites for his Opinion, makes against it, rather than for it. He urges[332], "that those Vices are the proper Subjects of Satire, that were so of the ancient Comedy: Hence _Horace_;

"_Si quis dignus erat describi, quod malus, aut fur,
Aut mœchus foret, aut sicarius, aut alioqui
Famosus, multa cum libertate notabant._"

If they were to describe a vile, unjust,
And cheating Knave, or scourge a lawless Lust,
Or other Crimes; regardless of his Fame,
They shew'd the Man, and boldly told his Name.
_Creech._

I ask, then, are Thieves, Whoremasters, and Robbers, guilty of those less Crimes which are only to be expos'd to Ridicule?

But the same learned Writer goes on: "The Diction of Satire, says he[334], ought to resemble Prose rather than Poetry, and appear with as much Ease as if it flow'd _Extempore_. _Juvenal_ has had little Regard to this Rule, whose Style is Epic[335]; and _Persius_ still less, who is swelling, and lofty. Whereas nothing is so great an Ornament to Satire, as an Appearance of Truth and Simplicity, with which bold Metaphors are very inconsistent." Here he takes for granted that there is only one Kind of Satire, such as _Horace_ writ; which is begging a Question, that can by no means be granted him. All he says may be very true, in respect to that one Kind, but not at all applicable to the rest; and to blame _Juvenal_ for not writing in the familiar Style, is the same Absurdity, as if he should arbitrarily lay it down as an universal Rule, that every Dramatic Piece ought to be writ so too; and then very gravely tell us, _That_ Sophocles _has had little Regard to this Maxim_. For, to say the Truth, there is scarce less Difference between the two Kinds of Satire, than there is between Comedy and Tragedy. But I cannot conceive what possess'd this Writer, when, to prove his Position, that Satire ought to be writ in the low Style, he urges this of _Horace_[336]:

"_Non ego inornata, & dominantia nomina_ SOLUM,
_Verbaque, Pisones, satyrorum scriptor amabo_."

You must not think that a satiric Style
Allows of scandalous and brutish Words.
_Roscom._

"Here, says he, it is evident, that the Character of a Satirist is not to affect Ornament, but Strength and Propriety." Now, not to observe that _Horace_ is not speaking of the Satire of his own Time, but of the satirical Drama that was us'd as an Interlude in Tragedy; to pass by, I say, the Occasion of the Words, the Sense of them is so far from favouring the Opinion they are brought for, that they directly overthrow it: He says, that in this Kind of Writing he does not chuse ONLY Words of common Use, proving therefore that Satire may be writ in a sublimer Style. _Vossius_, I suppose, here took _non_ for _nihilo_[337].

In the same Discourse he observes[338], "That it is the Business of the Satirist not so much to correct the Manners of past Times, as of the present. _Persius_, says he, often transgresses this Rule; for he taxes few of his own Age, and those only under general Names; such as _Titius_, or _Mævius_. His Poems, therefore, scarce deserve to be call'd Satires, because they affect no one particularly. And _Juvenal_ sometimes deviates from this indubitable Rule." I cannot help making a few Remarks on these Assertions, which will not a little serve to illustrate the Subject before us. In the first Place, I can't see why it is the Business of a Satirist to correct Mankind in Individuals, rather than in general. He may chuse, indeed, either Way, and it is hard to say which is more peculiarly his Province. But if any Difference is to be made, I should take the Side against _Vossius_, and avoid reproving Particulars. It is undoubtedly fairer to aim our Shafts against the Vice, rather than the Man. The latter, indeed, is sometimes justifiable, against some notorious Monsters, that deserve to be the Butts of Mankind: But even here the Poet does not point them out by their real Names, but under fictitious Characters; which is another Particular I have been oblig'd to observe against the foremention'd Author; who, for what Reason I know not, makes it essential to Satire to characterise by Name; a Property which I should much rather leave to the Libeller, than the Poet. _Horace_ and _Juvenal_, it is true, sometimes assume this Liberty; but, for the Generality, 'tis Vice they reprove in the Abstract; and when they seem to mention Names, it is to be observ'd, that we, at this Distance of Time, know not whether they are real or borrow'd ones. The other Observation of _Vossius_'s, _That it is the Business of a Satirist not so much to correct the Manners of past Times, as of the present_, I readily assent to; and is so evident a Proposition, that it is needless to assert it. The Living, not the Dead, are capable of Amendment; the latter are accidentally only, brought upon the Stage, that the former, through their Sides, may receive the more advantageous Wound. To this End, we often see _Juvenal_'s Example follow'd:

[339]----_Experiar, quid concedatur in illos,
Quorum Flaminia tegitur cinis atque Latina._

Since none the Living Villains dare implead,
Arraign them in the Persons of the Dead.
_Dryden._

Which, by the Way, is a Confirmation of what we before alledg'd against _Vossius_'s Opinion, _viz._ That, in _Juvenal_'s at least, the Living ought to be noted in Satire under their real Names. But it is Time we should now return to the two different Species of it which I before mention'd.

They both agree in being pungent and cutting; yet are distinguish'd by very evident Marks: The one is pleasant and facetious; the other angry and austere: The one smiles; the other storms: The Foibles of Mankind, are the Object of the one; greater Crimes, of the other: The former is always in the low Style; the latter generally in the Sublime: That abounds with Wit only; this adds to the Salt Bitterness and Acrimony. _Horace_'s Satires are of so fine and delicate a Turn, as may much easier be conceiv'd, than express'd: They are rightly term'd _Discourses_, for some of them are scarce reducible under either Species of Satire. _Juvenal_'s are all true Satires, except the fifteenth, which is of uncertain Authority. So far is _Vossius_ from being in the right, when he makes _Horace_ almost the only Satirist, and scarce admits _Juvenal_ to the Title of one.

It is not very clear, then, why _Horace_ should say of himself,

[340]_Sunt quibus in Satira videar nimis acer._

Some fancy I am bitter when I jeer,
Beyond the Rules of Satire too severe. _Creech._

or who they were that thought so. I cannot, indeed, come into the Opinion of others whom he mentions:

[341]----_Sine nervis altera, quicquid
Composui, pars esse putat, similisque meorum
Mille die versus deduci posse._

Some, that my Verse is dull, and flat; and say
A Man may write a Thousand such a Day.
_Creech._

But surely too much Warmth was never his Fault; he ought sometimes, perhaps, to be condemn'd for the Want of it.

Either Kind of Satire may be writ in the Dialogue or Epistolary Manner, and we have Instances of both Forms in _Horace_, _Juvenal_, and _Persius_. As some of _Horace_'s, which are call'd Satires, are as truly Epistles; so many of his Epistles might as well be call'd Satires. For Example,[342]_Qui fit Mecænas_, &c. might, with equal Reason, be reckon'd among the Epistles; and[343]_Prima dicte mihi_, &c. among the Discourses or Satires, if the Author or Editor had so thought fit.

The distinguishing Nature of _Juvenal_ cannot be better known, than from the very Beginning of his Satires:

_Semper ego auditor tantum? nunquamne reponam,
Vexatus toties rauci Theseide Codri?_ &c.

Still shall I hear, and never quit the Score,
Stunn'd with hoarse _Codrus Theseid_, o'er and o'er.
_Dryden._

At the first Onset, he declares open War, and gives sufficient Intimation of the Strength of his Spirit, and what the Reader may expect from it. He first sharpens his Style against the scribbling Poets of his Age; and when he had, in a sarcastical Manner, mention'd the Reasons that induced him to _write_,

----_Stulta est clementia, cum rot ubique
Vatibus occuras, perituræ parcere chartæ._

But since the World with Writing is possest, }
I'll versify in Spite; and do my best, }
To make as much waste Paper as the rest. }
_Dryden._

He sallies forth, a few Lines after, into a more extensive Field of Satire, and with no less Wit than Gall, tells us the Reasons why he chose this _Kind_ of _Writing_:

_Cur tamen hoc potius libeat decurrere campo,
Per quem magnus equos Auruncæ flexit Alumnus,
Si vacat, & placidi rationem admittitis, edam.
Cum tener uxorem ducat spado, Mævia Tuscum
Figat aprum, & nuda teneat venabula mamma;
Patricios omnes opibus sum provocet unus,
Quo tondente gravis juveni mihi barba sonabat;
Cum pars Niliacæ plebis, cum verna Canopi,
Crispinus, Tyrias humero revocante lacernas,
Ventilet æstivum digitis sudantibus aurum,
Nec sufferre queat majoris pondera gemmæ;
Difficile est, Satiram non scribere: nam quis inquæ
Tam patiens urbis, tam ferreus, us tentat se?_

But why I lift aloft the Satire's Rod,
And tread the Path that fam'd _Lacilius_ trod,
Attend the Causes which my Muse have led:
When sapless Eunuchs mount the Marriage-Bed,
When mannish _Mævia_, that two-handed Whore,
Astride an Horseback hunts the _Tuscan_ Boar,
When all our Lords are by his Wealth out-vy'd,
Whose Razor on my callow Beard was try'd;
When I behold the Spawn of conquer'd _Nile_,
_Crispinus_ both in Birth and Manners vile,
Pacing in Pomp with Cloak of _Tyrian_ Dye,
Chang'd oft a Day for needless Luxury;
And finding oft Occasion to be fann'd,
Ambitious to produce his Lady Hand;
Charg'd with light Summer Rings, his Fingers sweat,
Unable to support a Gem of Weight:
Such fulsome Objects meeting ev'ry where,
'Tis hard to write, and harder to forbear.
_Dryden._

In these, and the Lines that follow, he lays down the chief Heads of Satire he design'd to treat of; this he does in an elegant and poetical Manner, not by proposing them in general Terms, but by Particulars. Afterwards, having weigh'd the Reasons his Friend alledges to dissuade him from so dangerous an Attempt, he replies, with a Quickness and Vivacity Worthy of a Satirist:

_Qui dedit ergo tribus patruis aconita, vehetur
Pensilibus plumis, atque illinc despiciet nos?_

Shall they who drench'd three Uncles in a Draught
Of pois'nous Juice, be then in Triumph brought?
_Dryden._

What a Poignancy in the Words, and how swift a Turn in the Thought?

I agree with _Vossius_, but for a different Reason from his, that _Persius_ scarce deserves a Place among the Satirists. He has dropp'd, indeed, many fine Expressions in describing the Beauty of Virtue, and the Deformity of Vice: But he wants Poignancy and Sting; he never laughs, and strikes but seldom: He does not correct Faults so much, as find them; his Reproof, at best, is too mild, and more like the Evenness of a _Philosopher_, than the Severity of a _Satirist_.

To come now to our own Times. There are few Kinds of Writing, in which the Moderns, of our own Country especially, are less exceeded than in this[348]; I mean in that Species of it in which _Juvenal_ writ: For the _Horatian_ Satire is but little affected among us. That Author, particularly[349], who not long since attack'd the _Jesuits_, tho' his Works, either through want of Care, or Judgment, or, more probably, considering his Youth, for want of both, are not so correct as might have been wish'd; yet his shewn a true poetical Vein, and a Fire not unworthy _Juvenal_ himself. No one can be a Stranger to _Dryden_, who, as he exceeds others in every Kind of Poetry, so, in this, exceeds himself. But to pass by the rest of our own Countrymen whom I might mention, that deservedly celebrated _French_ Poet[350] has so happily blended _Horace_ and _Juvenal_ together, that he seems to have found out a beautiful Species of Satire between both. He claims the poetical Laurel, but in Satire more particularly, from all the Writers of this Age, by universal Consent; and that is an Authority, to which I shall never think fit to oppose my private Judgment, whatever it is.

FOOTNOTES:

[311] De Art. Poet. ℣ 220.

[312] Instit. L. I. c. x.

[313] L. I. Sat. X. 66.

[314] Prafat. in Horatii Satiras, De Orig. & Progressu Satiræ Romanæ.

[315] Mons. _Dacier_, who borrow'd the Observation from _Is. Casaubon_, should have mention'd some Authority for this Expression of _Leges Saturæ_; because _Vossius_, who allows the like Use of the Word, yet questions the Grammarians in this Instance. _Festus_ cites, _Imperium, quod Plebes per saturam dederat, id abrogatum est_. Again, _Dein postero die, quasi per saturam sententiis exquisitis, in deditionem accipitur_, "ubi _per saturam_ valet collectim ac raptim. At non video, says _Vossius_, ut hinc colligi possit, fuisse Romanis legem ullam, quæ _satura_ diceretur."

[316] Sat. I. 85.

[317] Lib. II. Epist. I. ℣ 155.

[318] Lib. I. Sat. II. ℣ 62.

[319] _Casaubon_ expresly says, that _Horace_ imitated _Lucilius_; his Point was not to prove that _Lucilius_'s Satires were of a different Kind from _Horace_'s, but from _Ennius_'s. Mons. _Dacier_, on the contrary, maintains, that the Satires of _Horace_, _Lucilius_, and _Ennius_, were all of the same Species. And yet, I think, very hardly reconciles his Opinion with Antiquity. He produces _Quintilian_: _Alterum illud & prius Satiræ_ GENUS, _quod non solum Carminum varietate mistum condidit Terentius Varro_. _Quintilian_, says he, did not suppose that _Varro_ liv'd before _Lucilius_: What then? why he imitated _Ennius_'s Satire, which was _alterum & prius_ GENUS, a different and prior _Kind_ to that of _Lucilius_.

[320] _Lucilius_ made use, in the same Poem, of different Sort of Verses: _Ennius_ of different Sort of Verses, but not in the same Poem: _Varro_, of Prose and Verse together: _Horace_ kept to one Metre throughout his Satires.

[321] Sat. X. 347.

[322] ℣ 363.

[323] Sat. II. 61.

[324] He says no more than _Quintilian_, l. x. as cited before, _Satira quidem tota nostra est_; and even _Horace_, _Græcis intactum Carmen_.

[325] De Orig. & Progr. Satiræ Rom.

[326] Hist. Poet. L. II. c. ix. p. 41.

[327] ℣ 225.

[328] Instit. Poet. Lib. III. c. 9, 41.

[329] _Vossius_'s Opinion seems to be the Result of his Enquiry into the Original of Satire, which he observes to have arose out of the old Comedy. From whence he maintains, that the chearful bantering Humour should be still kept up, and not be forfeited for Moroseness: And for the same Reason, the Style should be near allied to Prose. In both which Particulars, and indeed in all the others which he mentions, he sets _Horace_ for an Example.

[330] Sat. I. ℣ 114.

[331] P. 40.

[332] Ibid.

[333] Lib. I. Sat. IV.

[334] P. 43.

[335] P. 44.

[336] Ibid.

[337] I don't see how _nihilo inornata_ would make more for _Vossius_'s Sense. But do not _Horace_'s Words imply, that a Writer of Satires should CHIEFLY use common Words, tho' he allows he is not always oblig'd to use no other? A common Style is the general Rule, tho' there may be some Exceptions to it.

[338] P. 40, 41.

[339] Sat I. ad finem.

[340] Lib. II. Sat. I. ℣ 1.

[341] ℣ 2.

[342] Lib. I. Sat. I.

[343] Lib. I. Ep. I.

[344] Sat. I ℣ 1.

[345] ℣ 17.

[346] ℣ 19.

[347] ℣ 158.

[348] Modern Satires will always appear with an Advantage, which the Ancients want, _viz._ we are better acquainted with the Characters; which is a Reason why they will please best, not of their real Excellence.

[349] _Oldham_.

[350] _Boileau_.

LECTURE XIX, _&c._
_Of the_ DRAMA _in general_.

We are come, at last, to that Species of _Poetry_ which is chiefly and primarily so call'd, because it agrees best with the Sense of the original Word, ποιειν, whence _Poema_ is deriv'd. For such is the comprehensive Signification of this Word, that it denotes not only the Invention, but the Contexture of the Fable, the Conduct of the Action, and the Disposal of the Parts: All which concern the two Sorts of Poems that now remain to be discours'd of, _viz._ the Epic and Dramatic, but more especially the latter. The former, indeed, is, upon the whole, more noble in its Nature; but, in some Circumstances, is inferior to the other; in the Action, particularly, as the Etymology of the Word _Drama_, from δραν, to _act_, implies. In Epic, indeed, Heroes and Gods are represented speaking: But the Poet there performs only the Part of an Historian, and the Speeches are no more than Narrations. Whereas, in the Dramatic Writings, the Persons themselves are introduced, every Thing is transacted in our Sight, and our Eyes and Ears at once are gratified. Now _Horace_'s Observation is undoubted just:

_Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem,
Quam quæ sunt oculis commissa fidelibus._

But what we hear, moves less than what we see.
_Roscommon._

Besides, the Action in the Drama is much more simple, and compendious, than in the Epic; it takes up less Time, and therefore requires more Art to conduct it. It excites in the Mind more rapid Motions, and consequently makes the Pleasure and Admiration more intense. For these, and other Reasons, _Aristotle_, in the last Chapter of his Book of Poetry, does not scruple to give the Preference to Tragedy before Epic. Not that I think he reckons it a more noble Kind in _general_, (for that would be contrary to Truth and Reason) but only so far as its Sphere extends: And this is a Difference, which, I humbly conceive, is very distinguishable. This Excellence of the Drama, which I here speak of, is the Reason, no doubt, why, tho' his Book bears the Title of _Poetry_ in general, yet he dwells solely upon that Species of it. I am not ignorant, indeed, that this Work of his, as it is now extant, is imperfect, and part of it lost. But by what we have now remaining, the rest of it appears to have been spent on the same Subject. And _Horace_, the best Interpreter of _Aristotle_, in his famous Epistle to the _Piso's_, keeps chiefly in this Track. The other Kinds of Poetry he does but lightly touch: But the Laws of the Drama he treats of fully and professedly. After his Example, various Writers upon the _Art of Poetry_ in different Ages and Languages, have chose to dwell chiefly upon the _Drama_, and have left abundance of elaborate Treaties upon that Subject. I shall make it my Business to collect what others have said, into as short a Compass as I can, and explain more fully what I have now to add of my own.

The principal Species of the Drama are two, Comedy and Tragedy: Some others there are, of less Note; as Pastoral, and Satire, both which we have already spoke of. Tragi-Comedy I don't reckon one of them, because I think it the greatest Absurdity in Nature, and is not so properly a Species distinct from the other two I first mention'd, as the Abuse and Corruption of them. For what can be more ridiculous, than, in the Compass of three Hours, to distract the Mind with Joy and Grief, in such a Manner, that the two contrary Passions may debilitate, or totally extinguish each other? How ill are such incoherent Parts united? And what is it but a monstrous Production?

[352]----_Turpiter atrum
Desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne._

A Handsome Woman with a Fish's Tail.
_Roscom._

How irrational a Transition is it, from beholding the Conflicts of Kings and Heroes with Misfortunes, to descend, on a sudden, to low Scenes of Ribaldry, and to return again from these to so moving a Spectacle! A Poem, indeed, should be adorn'd with Variety, but not with Inconsistencies. The Passions, likewise, and Affections of the Mind, should be bent and bow'd down; but so bent, that they may not grow languid, but recover new Strength. This poetic Kind of Prodigy, I think, is altogether modern, and chiefly of _British_ Extraction; for it was the last Age produc'd Multitudes of them in our own Tongue. I know very well that the learned _Vossius_[353], speaking of the Plays of the Ancients divided into _Prætextatæ_ and _Togatæ_, observes, that "there was a _mix'd_ Kind, call'd _Tabernariæ_, where some of the Persons appear'd in the _Prætexta_, others in the _Toga_. Thus _Festus_ in _Pomponius Lætus_: _The_ Togatæ _were of two kinds_, viz. _the_ Prætextatæ, _when the Actors represented Persons of Quality, such as had the Liberty of wearing the_ Prætexta; _and the_ Tabernariæ, _when Persons of low Rank were mix'd with others of Birth and Figure_. From hence it is plain, if the _Prætextatæ_ were a Sort of Tragedies, and the _Togatæ_ Comedies; the _Tabernariæ_ being of a mix'd Nature, were what _Plautus_ calls Tragi-Comedies. Such is the _Amphitryo_ of _Plautus_, and _Hercules Licymnius_ of the _Greeks_." And as absurd as these Poems were, they agreed so far, only, with our Tragi-Comedies, that they mix'd Persons of high and low Rank together; but they never debas'd the Misfortunes of the former with the Lasciviousness of the latter, as is usual with our Writers. As to the _Mimi_, _Pantomimi_, the _Nomi_, and the _Attellani_, they don't so much come within the Province of a Criticism on Poetry, as of a History of it; since the Writings of the Ancients, in this Way, are now quite out of Date. They that are desirous of this Part of Knowledge, may consult other Writers, and _Vossius_ particularly. But there's another Species of Dramatic Folly, which the Ancients were utter Strangers to, the _Opera_'s, I mean, introduc'd among us from foreign Parts, by the mercenary Traffic of Eunuchs and Courtezans: Among us, I say, and it is with Shame I speak it, who set a Value upon every Thing that is foreign; and are laugh'd at, on that Account, by the very Foreigners we admire. Too fatal an Indication this, of the Depravity of our Taste, as well as of our Manners, when we place the Height of our Pleasure in those Things, which it would be too much to honour, even with a Toleration. Metre, no doubt, is very suitable to Poetry, especially to the Dramatic Kind, and ought often to be us'd there, as it is a proper Instrument of raising or soothing the Passions: But that the whole Drama should be Sing-Song, that the Actors should always appear

_Et_ cantare _pares, & respondere paratos._

Well pair'd to sing,
And ready with each other's Skill to vie.

that the most insignificant Action, as well as the deepest Passion, should be express'd in Tune; and whether they send a Message, or read a Letter; whether they quarrel, fight, kill, or are kill'd; whether they laugh, or storm, or die; that this should all be perform'd in Song, is somewhat more monstrous than the Poets ever yet describ'd[355]. Whatever Share of Poetry these Performances can pretend to, is so wretchedly silly, that it does not deserve our Notice. Those Words of _Horace_ are truly applicable to them, and in a more proper Sense, than he was ever aware of:

----_Versus inopes rerum, nugæque_ canoræ.

Mere sounding Trifles, Verses void of Sense.

'Tis then for the Music, only, they are follow'd. My sincere Wishes are, that Music may for ever flourish; but by no Means at the Expulsion of Poetry, whereas both Comedy and Tragedy seem, at present, to have been banish'd our Country, and yielded up the Stage to the _Opera_; I will farther add, if I may say so much, with humble Submission to better Judges, even Music itself, when join'd with these empty Rhythms, seems too light and childish, and, by the frequent Repetition of the same Sound, tiresome. And tho' I readily grant, that the great Masters of _Italy_, in former Ages, far exceeded ours; yet we have now such Artists, as, from imitating the immortal _Purcell_, are arriv'd to a greater Perfection than any which _Italy_, _France_, or _Germany_ send us. For, you must know,

----_Huc omnes tanquam ad vivaria currunt._

Chas'd from their Woods and Bogs the Padders come,
To this vast City, as their native Home.
_Dryden._

They live upon us; our ambitious Poverty, our Luxury, Folly, and Vices, are all subservient to their Advantage; to the utter Neglect and Contempt of our own Countrymen. Broken and unnerv'd _Britains_! into what a shameful Effeminacy are we sunk? Far, far be it from us, to detract, in the least, from the Merit of our Neighbours; but let us not be injurious to our own Countrymen, merely because they are such: Let the Rule hold, not only in greater Things, but even in these of less Moment, (which are yet of greater than they seem to be)

_Vincat amor patriæ_----

His Country's Love
Shall conquer.

[359]----_Non possum ferre, Quirites,
Græcam urbem._

To speak my Mind,
I hate in _Rome_ a _Grecian_ Town to find.
_Dryden._

Having thus set aside these spurious Offsprings, Comedy and Tragedy remain now to be discours'd of distinctly, after I have first said something of what relates to them in common, that is, to Dramatic Poetry in general.

The History of the ancient Drama, both _Greek_ and _Roman_, as it does not come within my present Design, I leave to be learnt from _Vossius_, and others. I shall only lay before you the following Passage, from his _Poetical Institutions_, which may serve for a short View of it. [360]"The Drama, says he, owes its Rise to Days of Festivity. For in ancient Times 'twas usual for Men, when they had collected in the Fruits of the Earth, to meet together, that they might sacrifice to the Deity, and unbend their Minds from the Fatigues of the Harvest. Hence arose two Sorts of Poetry; the one graver, in Praise of the Gods; the other jocose, full of Lampoon against one another. Under the former Head we may reckon the _Dithyrambics_ of _Bacchus_, Hymns to the Gods, and Panegyrics upon Heroes. Under the second _Iambics_, and _Phallic_ Verses. The first Essays were rough, and unpolished; but, by Degrees, the great Actions of Gods and Heroes grew more numerous, and increas'd into set Fables: So, in like manner, the jocose Compositions began to come under proper Regulations. Thus from the former Kind arose Tragedy; from the latter, Satire, Comedy, and Mimic." Thus he, agreeable to which, is _Virgil_, in his _Georgics_:

----_Baccho caper omnibus aris
Cæditur, & veteres ineunt proscenia ludi._

An horn'd He-Goat,
Sacred to _Bacchus_, on each Altar bleeds;
And ancient Interludes adorn the Scene.

And _Horace_, in his Epistle to _Augustus_:

_Agricolæ prisci fortes, parvoque beati,
Condita post frumenta, levantes tempore festo
Corpus, & ipsum animum_, &c.

The ancient Swains, those temp'rate happy Swains,
Contented Sov'reigns of their little Plains,
When all their Corn was hous'd, wou'd make a Feast,
Unbend their Minds, and lay them down to rest;
Their Cares dissolv'd into a happy Thought,
And Minds enjoy'd the Rest their Labour sought.
_Creech._

For the same Reason, I shall pass over all the Apparatus of the ancient _Drama_, of which the foremention'd learned Author, and many others, have treated fully; the Form, for Instance, and Ornaments of the Theatre, the _Scene_, _Proscenium_, _Pulpitum_, _Orchæstra_; the Habits of the Actors, as the _Toga_, _Pallium_, _Soccus_, _Cothurnus_, and many other Particulars of the like Nature. I cannot help, indeed, making this one Remark, that the Mask of the Ancients has been, to me, Matter of Astonishment. For can any Thing in the World be more contradictory to Reason? The great Aim of the Drama has always been, to represent Nature herself, and conceal Art, as much as possible: The Poet, therefore, thought it his Business to draw the Characters of Men, as they really were. Is it the Custom, then, I beseech you, either for Kings and Heroes, on the one Hand, or the Commonalty, on the other, to walk about with Masks on? Why, then, do they appear with them, upon the Stage? If it is the Excellence of the Poet to counterfeit Nature, why are so much Pains thrown away, to convince the Spectators, that what they see is but an imperfect Copy of her. This Artifice might do well enough in Puppet Shews: But that the immortal Works of _Sophocles_ and _Terence_ should be murdered with so monstrous a Device, is perfectly amazing. Besides, (to omit the Impediment they must be to the Actor's Speech) is it usual for Men to preserve the same Countenance in all the possible Variety of Circumstances? Why, then, must they do so upon the Stage? Where are the different Passions, of Joy or Sorrow, and the various Turns of the Muscles that express them? At this Rate, indeed, _Horace_'s Rule is preserv'd according to the Letter, tho' very far from the Sense of it:

[363]----_Servetur ad imum
Qualis ab incepto processerat, & sibi constet._

Let all the Parts agree, and be alike.
_Creech._

I cannot help wondering, that _Horace_, and the rest of the great Critics of _Greece_ and _Rome_, should have borne with this _Opprobrium_ of the Theatre[364]. How much better is it for the Persons to appear as they do among us, with their own Face, and, to use our own academical Term, each habited according to his _Degree_. Nor am I perfectly satisfied with the Sock and Buskin of the Ancients, tho' undoubtedly a less Absurdity than the Mask; for we all know, that the Commonalty did not, in Fact, wear the Sock, nor the Nobility the Buskin; and why Actors should appear only as Actors, I can see no Reason, since it is the Business of the Poet to imitate Nature, and conceal Art and Fiction as much as possible.

As I before determin'd to pass over the History, and the Decoration of the Drama, so I had much less Inclination to describe the musical Instruments that were made use of in it; this is rather the Province of Musicians and Antiquaries, than Poets or Criticks. The various Kinds of Flutes, the _Tibicines_, _Choraules_, _Pythaules_, &c. are abundantly explain'd by _Vossius_, whom we have often had Occasion to mention.

To come, then, at last, to the Subject that properly concerns us: The Drama, I define to be, _A Poem containing some certain Action, and representing a true picture of human Life, for the Delight and Improvement of Mankind_.

A certain _Action_ I say, in the singular, because it ought to be but _one_; two do but distract the Minds of the Audience, and create more Uneasiness than Pleasure. In many, indeed, I may say most Tragedies, as well as Comedies, but in Comedies more particularly, two Actions seem to be carried on; but they are often only seemingly two, not so in Reality. One of them is so subservient to the other, so united, and interwoven with it, that it must be reckon'd rather a Part of the same, than a distinct Action. Like a small River that branches out from a greater, which returns to its first Channel, and is totally lost in it. But in some Plays the Action is entirely one, and tho' the other Kind may be justly admitted, nay, often admir'd; yet this must be allow'd the more excellent of the two; for it requires a much nicer Art to excite Pleasure and Admiration by a proper Conduct of one simple Tale, than from a Variety of surprizing Incidents. Besides, when the Mind is solicitous only about one Event, the Thoughts are more close and compact, the Expectation more attentive, the Concern more exquisite, and the Impressions strike deeper than when it is distracted and weaken'd between two different Prospects. Here, therefore, _Horace_'s Rule is more _peculiarly_ directed, tho' propos'd by him in general:

----_Sit quod vis simplex duntaxat & unum._

True, indeed, it is, according to the Principles of Nature, and Natural Philosophy, that all Things, the more simple they are, and less compounded, are the more perfect, and less subject to Change and Corruption, to Vice and Error. This appears manifestly, from a Comparison between the Body and Soul, the Creature and the Creator.

[Sidenote: _Twentieth Lecture._]

Tho' the Words, _Fable_, _Action_, and _Design_, are frequently us'd indiscriminately, they have each of them peculiar and distinct Ideas. By the _Action_ is meant some Adventure of one or other of the principal Persons, attended by a great and memorable Event. By the _Fable_, or Plot, a Heap of Incidents, Episodes, and Other Things, which are subservient to the carrying on the Action, and bringing it to a Conclusion. The _Design_ is a particular Disposal of the several Parts, so as they may be artfully interwoven, and unfolded. What we call the _Distinction_ of _Persons_ or _Characters_, the _Passions_, _Thought_ and _Diction_, are certain Adjuncts and Circumstances adhering to the Persons represented. These Things, tho' of the greatest Moment, and the chief Concern of the Poet, which we shall treat of singly in their proper Place, it shall suffice to have mention'd only at present; because they don't so properly come under the Head we are upon, of the _Drama_ in _general_. When we come to the distinct species of it, these will then offer themselves very naturally.

I would now, however, observe, that those general Precepts of _Horace_ relate to the Drama, where he speaks _first_ of the _Passions_, _Thought_, and _Diction_:

_Non satis est pulchra esse poemata; dulcia sunto,
Et, quo unque volent, animum auditoris agunto.
Ut ridentibus arrident, ita fientibus adsunt
Humani vultus: Si vis me flere, dolendum est
Primum ipse tibi; tunc tua me infortunia lædunt,
Telephe, vel Peleu: male si mandata loqueris,
Aut dormitabo, aut ridebo. Tristia mœstum
Vultum verba decent, iratum plena minarum,
Ludentem lasciva, severum seria dicta.
Format enim natura prius nos intus ad omnem
Fortunarum habitum; juvat, aut impellit ad iram,
Aut ad humum mœrore gravi deducit, & angit:
Post effert animi motus, interprete lingua._

He that wou'd have Spectators share his Grief,
Must write not only well, but movingly,
And raise Mens Passions to what Height he will.
We weep and laugh, as we see others do.
He only makes me sad, who shews the Way,
And first is sad himself. Then, _Telephus_,
I feel the Weight of your Calamities,
And fancy all your Miseries my own;
But if you act them ill, I sleep, or laugh:
Your Looks must alter, as your Subject does,
From kind to fierce, from wanton to severe;
For Nature forms and softens us within,
And writes our Fortunes Changes in our Face.
Pleasure enchants, impetuous Rage transports,
And Grief dejects, and wrings the tortur'd Soul,
And these are all interpreted by Speech.
_Roscom._

Next of the _Characters_, or the different Circumstances, and Dispositions of the Persons: