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I would suppose the author of a tragedy had proposed to put us in mind, that God fometimes punishes great crimes by extraordinary methods: I would suppose the piece conducted with fo much art, that the audience expects every moment, to fee the ghost of a murdered prince calling out for vengeance; and yet this apparition not indispensably requifite to clear up a puzzled intrigue: I think, in that cafe, a prodigy of this kind would have a great effect, if well brought about, in any language, time time or

place.

Such is the conduct of the tragedy of Semiramis, if you except the beauties with which I was incapable of adorning it. You may fee from the very firft fcene, that the whole is to be transacted by fupernatural powers; every thing is relative, from act to act, to this fole idea. An avenging god inspires Semiramis with remorfe, which fhe would not have felt in the course of her prosperity, had not the voice of Ninus, rifing from his tomb, terrified her in the midst of all her glory. The fame god makes use of that very remorse to bring about her punishment; and from thence refults the moral of the piece, The antients had often in their works a defign of establishing some great maxim; fo Sophocles finishes his Oedipus, by faying that a man can never be deemed happy befor his death. Here the whole inftruction lies in one sentence, That

There are crimes of fo horrid a nature, that the wrath of God can never be appeafed,

A maxim of much greater importance than that of Sophocles. But it may be asked, what instruction can the generality of mankind derive from a crime fo rare, and a punishment ftill more fo? I own the catastrophe of Semiramis can happen but feldom; but what happens every day is contained in the last lines of the play.

· Learn from hence that crimes

From mankind hidden, by the gods are seen,

There are few families in the world, to whom these lines may not be applicable, one time or other. Subjects, the most distant from the general courfe of events, may thus have the trueft relation to the manners of all mankind.

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I might, particularly, apply to the tragedy of Semiramis, the moral by which Euripides finishes his Alceftes, a performance, where the marvellous reigns more abundantly than in mine: "That the gods make use of furprising methods to bring about their eternal defigns; that the great events which they prepare, are above the ideas of mortal men."

In fine, my lord, it is merely because this work breathes the pureft morals, and even the most severe, that I offer it to your eminence. True tragedy is the fchool of virtue; and the only difference that fubfifts between a refined theatre and books of morality, is, that inftructions in tragedy are alive, in action, interesting,

and fet off with the charms of an art invented formerly to inftruct the earth; they fing the praises of heaven; and were therefore called the language of the gods. You, who join this great art to fo many others, will easily forgive the long detail I have entered into, on matters which, perhaps, had not been before cleared up; but which might be soon explained fatisfactorily, would your eminence be pleased to communicate your thoughts upon antiquity, of which you have fo profound a knowlege.

Of the CONTRAST of Merry and Af-
fecting Sentiments,
Sentiments, and of the
CAUSE of Laughter, in COMEDY.

In the PREFACE to the COMEDY of the PRODIGAL SON.*

I

T is not a little furprising that this comedy,

which was acted about ten years ago, and ran thirty nights, fhould have hitherto remained in manuscript. As the author concealed his name, it was attributed to several perfons of dif tinguished merit; but it certainly is the work of monfieur de Voltaire, though the file is fo very different from that of the Henriade, that it would be hardly poffible to discover they were both written by the fame perfon.

We offer this piece therefore in his name to the public, as the first comedy which has been written in verses of ten fyllables; this novelty,

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*The style and manner of this and fome other introductory prefaces, offered to the public, in the name of the publisher or bookfeller, fufficiently fhew, that they were written by monfieur de Voltaire.

The French Comedies are all in verfes of twelve fyllables, or Alexandrians, as they are called in France, except a very few, that are written in profe

may, perhaps, induce fome other person to chuse the fame metre. It will cause some variety on the French stage; and he who finds out new fources of pleasure and entertainment, has a right to meet with a favourable reception.

If a comedy fhould be the representation of manners, this play deserves that name. It contains that mixture of gravity and mirth, that fucceffion of ridiculous and pathetic events, with which the life of man is variegated. Even the fame accidents is fometimes productive of all these contrafts. How many families may we obferve, in which the father fcolds, the love-fick daughter weeps, and the fon turns both into ridicule; while the other relations variously partake in the fame fcene! What is laughed at in one apartment, draws tears from the company of the next. The fame perfon has often laughed and cried at the fame thing, in the fpace of a quarter of an hour.

A very refpectable lady, kneeling by the bedfide of one of her daughters, who was given o ver, and furrounded by the rest of the family, used often to cry out, in the bitterness of grief; My Cod, reftore her to me, and take away all my other children! A gentleman, who had mar ried another of her daughters, went up to her, and pulling her by the fleeve, Pray, Madam, fays he, do you reckon your fons-in-law in the number? The grave, yet droll manner, in which he pronounced thefe words, had fuch an effect on the afflicted mother, that fhe left the room in a fit of laughter; none of the com. pany could refrain from doing the fame; and the

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