caufe, may afford a leffon, upon the prefumption that what hath happened may again happen: but this cannot be inferted from a ftory that is known to be a fiction.

Many are the good effe as of fuch compofitions. A pathetic compofition, whether epic or dramatic, tends to a habit of virtue, by exciting us to do what is right, and reftraining us from what is wrong. Its frequert pictures of human woes, produce, befide, two effects extremely falutary: they improve our fympathy, and fortify us to bear our own misfortunes. A moral compofition obviously produces the fame good effects, because by being moral it ceafeth not 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. 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 engaged in an important action, fome retarding, others promoting, the great catastrophe: and where there is dignity of style as well as of matter. A work of that kind has our fympathy at command; and can put in motion the whole train of the focial affections our curiofity in fome fcenes is excited, in others gratified; and our delight is confummated

at

*See chap. 2. part 1. fect. 4.

at the close, upon finding, from the characters and fituations exhibited at the commencement, that every incident down to the final catastrophe is natural, and that the whole in conjunction make a regular chain of causes and effects.

Confidering that an epic and a dramatic poem are the fame in fubftance, and have the fame aim or end, one will readily imagine, that fubjects proper for the one must be equally proper for the other. But confidering their difference as to form, there will be found reafon to correct that conjecture 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 they are not equally qualified; and there are fubjects proper for the one, and not for the other. To give some flight notion of the difference, as there is no room here for enlarging upon every article, I observe, that dialogue is better qualified for expreffing fentiments, and narrative for difplaying facts. Heroifm, magnanimity, undaunted courage, and other elevated virtues, figure beft in action: tender paffions, and the whole tribe of fympathetic affections, figure best in fentiment. It clearly follows, that tender paffions are more peculiarly the province of tragedy, grand and heroic actions of epic poetry

I

* In Racine tender fentiments prevail; in Corneille, grand and heroic manners. Hence clearly the preference of the

former

I have no occafion to fay more upon 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 involved in great obfcurity by critics.

In the chapter of Emotions and Paffions, it is occafionally fhown, that the fubject beft fitted for tragedy is where a man has himself been the cause of his misfortune; not fo as to be deeply guilty, nor altogether innocent: the misfortune • must be occafioned by a fault incident to human nature, and therefore in fome degree venial. Such misfortunes call forth the focial affections, and warmly intereft the fpectator. 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, that anguifh of mind. which is occafioned by remorse :

Poco é funefta

L'altrui fortuna

Quando non refta

Ragione alcuna

Ne di pentirfi, né darrofir.

Metaftafio.

former before the latter, as dramatic poets. Corneille would

have figured better in an heroic poem.

* Part 4.

て

An atrocious criminal, on the other hand, who brings misfortunes upon himself, excites little pity, for a different reafon: his remorfe, it is true, aggravates his diftrefs, and fwells the firft emotions of pity; but these are immediately blunted by our hatred of him as a criminal. Misfortunes that are not innocent, nor highly criminal, partake the advantages of each extreme: they are attended with remorse to embitter the diftrefs, which raises our pity to a height; and the flight indignation we have at a venial fault, detracts not fenfibly from our pity. The happiest of all subjects accordingly for raifing pity, is where a man of integrity falls into a great misfortune by doing an action that is innocent, but which, by fome fingular means, is conceived by him to be criminal: his remorse aggravates his diftrefs; and our compaffion, unreftrained by indignation, knows no bounds. Pity comes thus to be the ruling paffion of a pathetic tragedy; and by proper reprefentation, may be raised to a height fcarce exceeded by any thing felt in real life. A moral tragedy takes in a larger field; as it not only exercifes our pity, but raises another paffion, which, tho' felfish, deferves to be cherished equally with the focial affection. The paffion I have in view is fear or terror; for when a misfortune is the natural confequence of fome wrong bias in the temper, every spectator who is confcious of fuch a bias in himself, takes the alarm, and dreads his falling inVOL. II. B b

to

L

to the fame misfortune: and by the emotion of fear or terror, frequently reiterated in a variety of moral tragedies, the spectators are put upon their guard against the disorders of paffion.

The commentators upon Ariftotle, and other critics, have been much gravelled about the account given of tragedy by that author: "That,

'by means of pity and terror, it refines or puri"fies in us all forts of paffion." But no one who has a clear conception of the end and effects of a good tragedy, can have any difficulty about Aristotle'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 fympathetic emotions, because of these it is the capital. There can be no doubt that our fympathetic emotions are refined or improved by daily exercise; and in what manner our other paffions are refined by terror, I have juft now faid. One thing is certain, that no other meaning can juftly 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 conformable to the doctrine as here explained. Thefe, at the fame time, I take liberty to mention; because, as far as authority can go, they confirm the. foregoing reafoning about fubjects proper for tragedy. The firft propofition is, That it being the province of tragedy to excite pity and terror, an innocent