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fortifies us in bearing our own misfortunes. A moral compofition must obviously produce the fame good effects, becaufe by being moral it doth not cease to be pathetic. It enjoys befide an excellence peculiar to itself for it not only improves the heart, as above mentioned, but inftructs the head by the moral it contains. For my part, I cannot imagine any entertainment more fuited to a rational being, than a work. thus happily illuftrating fome moral truth; where a number of perfons of different characters are engag ed in animportant action, fome retarding, others moting the great catastrophe; and where there is dignity of ftyle as well as of matter. A work of this kind, has our fympathy at command, and can put in motion the whole train of the focial affections. We have at the fame time great mental enjoyment, in perceiving every event and every fubordinate incident connected with its proper caufe. Our curio fity is by turns excited and gratified; and our delight is confummated at the clofe, upon finding, from the characters and fituations exhibited at the commencement, that every circumftance down to the final catastrophe is natural, and that the whole in conjunction make a regular chain of caufes and effects.

Confidering an epic and dramatic. poem as the fame in fubftance, and having the fame aim or end it might be thought that they are equally fitted for the fame fubjects. But confidering their difference as to form, there will be found reafon to correct that thought, at least in fome degree. Many fubjects may indeed be treated with equal advantage in either form but the fubjects are still more numerous for which one of the forms is ftill better qualified than the other; and there are fubjects proper for the one, and not for the other; To give fome flight notion of the difference, as there is no room here for enlarging upon every article, I obferve, that dialogue is better qualified for expreffing fentiments,

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and narrative for difplaying facts. Thefe peculiari ties tend to confine each within certain limits. Heroifm, magnanimity, undaunted courage, and the whole tribe of the elevated virtues, figure beft in action: tender paffions and the whole tribe of fympathetic affections, figure beft in fentiment. What we feel is the most remarkable in the latter what we perform is the moft remarkable in the former. It clearly follows, that tender paffions are more peculiarly the province of tragedy: grand and heroic actions of epic poetry

I have no occafion to say more of the epic, confidered as peculiarly adapted to certain fubjects. But as dramatic fubjects are more complex, I must take a narrower view of them; which I do the more willingly, in order to clear a point thrown into great obfcurity by critics.

In the chapter of emotions and paffions t, it is occafionally fhown, that the fubject beft fitted for tragedy is the ftory of a man who has himself been the caufe of his misfortune. But this man mult neither be deeply guilty nor altogether innocent. The misfortune must be occafioned by a fault incident to human nature, and therefore venial. Misfortunes of this kind, call forth the whole force of the focial affections, and intereft the fpectator in the warmest manner. An accidental misfortune, if not extremely fingular, doth not greatly move our pity. The perfon who fuffers being innocent, is freed from the greatest of all torments, viz. the anguish of mind occafioned by remorse:

Poco

In Racine, tender fentiments prevail; in Corneille, grand and heroic manners. Hence clearly the preference of the former before the latter, as dramatic poets. Corneille would figure better in an herois poem.

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A criminal, on the other hand, who brings misfortunes upon himself, excitès little pity, for a dif ferent reafon. His remorfe, it is true, aggravates his diftrefs, and fwells the firft emotions of pity: but then our hatred to the criminal blending with pity, blunts its edge confiderably. Misfortunes that are not innocent nor highly criminal, partake the advantages of each extreme: they are attended with remorfe to embitter the diftrefs, which raises our pity to a great height; and the flight indignation we have at a venial fault, detracts not fenfibly from our pity. For this reafon, the happieft of all fubjects for tragedy, if fuch a one could be invented, would be where a man of integrity falls into a great misfortune by doing an innocent action, but which by fome fingular means he conceives to be criminal. His remorfe aggravates his diftrefs; and our compaffion, unreftrained by indignation, rifes to its higheft pitch. Pity comes thus to be the ruling paffion of a pathetic tragedy; and by proper repre fentation, may be raised to a height fcarce exceeded by any thing felt in real life. A moral tragedy takes in a larger field; for, befide exercifing our pity, it raifes another paffion, felfish indeed, but which deferves to be cherished equally with the focial affections. When a misfortune is the natural confequence of fome wrong bias in the temper, every fpectator who is confcious of fome fuch defect in himself, takes the alarm, and confiders that he is liable to the fame misfortune. This confideration raifes in him an emotion of fear or terror; and it is by this emotion, frequently reiterated in a

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variety of moral tragedies, that the fpectators are put. upon their guard against the disorders of paffion.

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The commentators upon Ariftotle and other critics, have been much graveled about the account given of tragedy by this authors That by means of pity and terror it refines in us all forts "of paffion. But no one who has a clear cont ception of the end and effects of a good tragedy, can have any difficulty about Ariftotle's meaning. Our pity is engaged for the perfons reprefented, and our terror is upon our own account, Pity indeed is here made to ftand for all the sympathetic emotions, because of these it is the capital. There can be no doubt, that our fympathetic emotions are refined or improved by daily exercife; and, in what manner our other paffions are 'refined by térror I have juft now faid. One thing is certain, that no other. meaning can juffly be given to the foregoing doctrine than that now mentioned; and that it was really Ariftotle's meaning, appears from his 13th chapter, where he delivers feveral propofitions a greeable to the doctrine as here explained. Thefe, at the fame time, I the rather chufe to mention; because, fo far as authority can go, they confirm the. foregoing reafoning about the proper fubjects for tragedy. His firft propofition is, That it being the province of tragedy to excite pity and terror, an innocent perfon falling into adverfity ought never to be the subject. This propofition is a neceflary confequence of his doctrine as explained: a fubject of this nature may indeed excite pity and terror; but the former in an inferior degree, and the latter in no degree for moral inftruction. The second propofition is, That we muft not reprefent a wick, ed perfon emerging from mifery to good fortune. This excites neither terror nor compaffion, nor is agreeable in any refpect. The third is, That the misfortunes of a wicked perfon ought not to be repre

fented.

fented. Such reprefentation may be agreeable in fome measure upon a principle of juftice: but it will not move our pity; or any degree of terror, except in those of the fame vicious difpofition with the perfon reprefented. His lait propofition is, That the only character fit for reprefentation lies in the middle, neither eminently good nor eminently bad; where the misfortune is not the effect of deliberate vice, but of fome involuntary fault, as our author expreffes it. The only objection I find to Ariftotle's account of tragedy, is, that he confines it within too narrow bounds, by refufing admittance to the pathetic kind. For if terror he effential to tragedy, no representation deferves that name, but where the misfortunes exhibited are caused by a wrong balance of mind, or fome diforder in the internal conftitution. Such misfortunes always fuggeft norai inftruction; and by fuch misfortunes only can terror be excited for our improvement.cli

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Thus Ariftotle's four propofitions above mentioned, relate folely to tragedies of the moral kind. Thofe of the pathetic kind, are not confined within fo narrow limits. Subjects fitted for the theatre, are not in fuch plenty, as to make us reject innocent misfortunes which roufe our fympathy,, though they inculcate no moral. With refpect to fubjects of this kind, it may indeed 'be a doubtful queftion, whether the conclufion ought not always to be happy. Where a perfon of integrity is reprefented as fuffering to the end under misfortunes purely ac.cidental, we depart difcontented, and with fome obfcure fenfe of injuftice; for feldom is man fo fubmiffive to the courfe of providence, as not to revolt

DOT

*If one can be amufed with a grave discourse which promifeth much and performs nothing, he may fee tis fubject treated by Brumoy in his Theatre Grec. Freliminary difcourfe on the origin of tragedy.

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