But what shall we say then of fuch characters, as a Polyphemus, Cacus, Caliban, the Harpies, and the like monftrous, and out of nature productions? They seem to be in the poetical world, what in the natural are called lufus naturae fo these are lufus poetici, the sportive creations of a fertil imagination, introduced, by the bye, to raise the paffions of admiration and abhorrence; and indeed they are fo far under-parts, as to be loft in the grand action. Upon these principles I cannot defend fuch a character as Richard III. as proper for the stage. But much more faulty is the Jew's character, in The Merchant of Venice; who is cruel without neceffity. These are not pictures of human creatures, and are beheld with horror and deteftation. In this poetical painting of the manners of men, it ought to be remember'd, that 'tis the human creature in general should be drawn, not any one in particular. Now man is of a mixed nature, virtue and vice alternately prevailing; it being as difficult to find a person thoroughly vitious, as thoroughly virtuous. Thus Philofophers who make human nature their study speak of it; and thus the greatest of all philofophers, having touched upon the character of the mifan 5. Socrates in Plato's Phaedo. p. 89, 90. edit. H. Steph. I thrope, thrope, adds, Δῆλον ὅτι ἄνευ ΤΕΧΝΗΣ τῆς περὶ τὰ ἀνθρώπεια ὁ τοι τῷ χρῆς ἐπιχειρεῖ τοῖς ἀνθρωπείοις· εἰ γάρ πε μετὰ τέχνης ἐχρῆτο, ὥσπερ ἔχει, ὅπως ἂν ἡγήσαλο, τις μὲν χρησὲς καὶ πονηρὸς σφόδρα ὀλίγες εἶναι ἑκατέρες, τὰς δὲ μεταξὺ πλείςοις. Thofe who profess a hatred of mankind and society, and would paint human nature ill, want art, and are but bunglers in the science they profess. For it must be by long habit, and unnatural practice, that a man can become void of humanity and human affections : fince, as our " mafters in this man-fcience have obferved, even public robbers are not often without focial and generous principles. Whenever, therefore, a human creature is made to deviate from what is fair and good, the poet is unpardonable if he does not fhew the motives which led him aftray, and dazled his judgment with falfe appearances of happiness. Mean while how beautiful is it to 6 6. Plato in rep. 1. 1. p. 351. edit. Steph. Δοκεῖς ἂν ἢ πόλιν ἢ σρατόπεδον ἢ ληςας, ἢ κλέπιας, ἢ ἀλλό τι ἔθνα, ὅσα κοινῇ ἐπί τι ἔρχεται ἀδίκως, πρᾶξαι αν τι δύνασθαι, εἰ ἀδικεῖεν αλλήλες ; Cicero in Of. II. 11. Cujus [juftitiae] tanta vis eft, ut nec illi quidem, qui maleficio et fcelere pafcuntur, poffint fine ulla particula juftitiae vivere. Epid. 1. 2. c. 20. Οὕτως ἰσχυρόν τι καὶ ἀνικίνητόν ἐσιν ἡ φύσις ἡ ἀνθρωπική, Πῶς γὰρ δύναται άμπελΘ. μή αμπελικῶς κινεῖσθαι, ἀλλ' ἐλαϊκῶς; ἢ ἐλαία πάλιν μὴ ἐλαικῶς, ἀλλ ̓ ἀμπελικῶς ; αμήχανον, ἀδιανοητικόν. Οὐ τοίνυν ἐδ ̓ ἄνθρωπον οἷόν τε παντελῶς ἀπολέσαι τὰς κινήσεις τὰς ἀνθρωπικάς. fee the struggles of the mind, and the paffions at variance; which are wanting in the steady villain, or steady philofopher? and these are characters that seldom appear on the stage of the world. But what is tragic poetry without paffion? In a word, 'tis ourselves, and our own paffions, that we love to fee pictured; and in these representations we feek for delight and inftruction. II. The manners ought to be fuitable. When the poet has formed his character, the perfon is to act up to it. And here the age, the fex, and condition, are to be confidered: thus what is commendable in one, may be faulty in another. An instance of the fuitableness of character wé have in Milton, where Eve withdraws when the finds her husband and the angel entring on stu dious thoughts abftrufe. 8 Her bufband the relater he prefer'd Before the angel; and of him to afk When he gave these fuitable manners to Eve, he had in his mind Plato's great art, fo much com η. Δώτερον δὲν τὰ ἁρμότωνα. Arift. περὶ ποιητ. κεφ. και Reddere perfonae fcit convenientia cuique. Hor. poet. . 316. 8. Par. loft. VIII, 40. I mended 9 mended by Cicero, in making old Cephalus withdraw in the first book of his republic on the pretence of a facrifice. Shakespeare seems to me not to have knownfuch a character as a fine lady; nor does he ever recognize their dignity. What tramontanes in love are his Hamlets, the young Percy, and K. Henry V.? Instead of the lady Bettys, and lady Fannys, who fhine so much in modern comedies, he brings you on the ftage plain Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page, two honest good-humoured wives of two plain country gentlemen. His tragic ladies are rather feen, than heard; fuch as Miranda, Desdemona, Ophelia, and Portia. So Lavinia is just shewn in Virgil, innocent, and quiet. But Juno is a Fury; Dido and her fifter Anna plot together to debauch the pious prince of the Trojans. On this fide they fet the fleet on fire; on that, they blow the trumpet to fedition. And even a heroine 9. Cic. ad Att. 1. IV. ep. 16. Quod in iis libris, quos laudas, perfonam defideras fcaevolae, non eam temere dimovi: fed feci idem, quod in wohireg, deus ille nofter, Plato: cum in Piraceum Socrates veniffet ad Cephalum, locupletem et feftivum fenem ; quoad primus ille fermo haberetur, adeft in difputando fenex: deinde cum ipfe quoque commodiffime locutus effet, ad rem divinam dicit fe velle difcedere ; neque poftea revertitur. Credo Platonem vix putaffe confonum fore, fi hominem id aetatis în tam longo fermone diutius retinuisset. cannot forget the inconftancy of the fex, as 10 Boffu ingeniously observes; her eyes are caught Camilla's 10. See Boffu of the epic poem. IV, 11. character, the heroine, Virgil has artfully dafhed with this tincture of vanity, and love of finery; he knew their natural inclination from stories of his own country. The mother of Coriolanus, with other Roman women, had preserved their country from fire and fword, and the resentment of that proud patrician. How could the fenate reward them proportionably to their defert? Why, as Valerius Maximus tells us, 1. 5. c. 2. Sanxit uti faeminis femitâ viri cederent permifit quoque his purpurea vefte et aureis uti fegmentis. Which we may tranflate, The Senate ordered that the men should give the women the upper-hand, and allowed them to wear fine cloaths, and ornaments of gold. However old Cato fome time after, affifted by the tribunes, was refolved to repeal this order, but the clamors, and uproars of the ladies were fo great, that he was forced to defift. Livy's account [L. 34.] of this female commotion is admirable. If we look into Milton, we shall there And this vanity in Eve, when in her innocent state; that Narciffus-like admiration of herself, which the poet paints, B. IV. y. 449, &c. far exceeds any thing in Ovid: and the glozing tempter at length catches her with flattery. B. IX, . 532. &c. What shall we think after this of fuch unpoetical characters, as Marcia and Lucia in Addison's Cato? But the lefs that women appear on the stage, generally the better is the ftory: and unmarried women are left entirely out in Shakespeare's best plays, as in Macbeth, Othello, Julius Cæfar; in Hamlet, Ophelia is necessary to carry on the plot of the pretended madneís. After the Restoration women were fuffered to act on the ftage, and ftories |