Imatges de pàgina
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too long; it must be a paffion truly tra gic, confidered as a weaknefs, and refifted by remorse. Either love must be the cause of crimes and misfortunes, in order to fhew the danger of fuch a paffion, or virtue must get the better of it, to prove that it is not irrefiftible. Otherwise it will be more properly adapted to eclogues and to comedy.

'Tis you, my lord, who are to determine whether I have fulfilled any of thefe conditions; but above all things, I beg your friends will not judge of the taste or genius of our nation by this effay and the tragedy that I fend you. I am perhaps one of those who apply to literature in France with the leaft fuccefs; and if the opinions which I here fubmit to your judgment, be disapproved of," I alone, am to bear the blame.

LETTER

LETTER

From Mr.Voltaire to father Porée, a Jesuit.

I

fend you, my reverend father, the edition that has been lately published of the tragedy of Edipus *. I have endea voured to throw out, as much as poffible, the filly expreflions of a mif-placed intrigue, which I had been obliged to introduce, among the bold and manly ftrokes that the fubject required. You must know, in my juftification, that young as I was, when I wrote Edipus, I composed it pretty much in the fame manner, in which it will now appear to you. My head was full of the ancients, and of your inftructions; I knew but little of the theatre of Paris, but was better acquainted with that of Athens. I confulted Mr. Dacier † who advised me to introduce

* The author wrote this play when he was but nineteen. It was acted in the year 1718, and ran forty-five nights fucceffively.

+ A famous French critic, particularly fond of, and well acquainted with, the Grecian language

and

duce a chorus in every scene after the manner of the Greeks, which was advifing me to walk in the ftreets of Paris in Plato's robes. It was with difficulty that I could prevail upon the actors of Paris to admit a chorus three or four times only, during the whole play. It was ftill more difficult to make them accept a tragedy almost entirely void of amorous intrigue. The actreffes laughed at me when they perceived there was no miftrefs's part. The fcene of the double discovery between Edipus and Jocasta, partly taken from Sophocles, appeared to them quite infipid. In fhort, the actors who were great men at that time, and great coxcombs, abfolutely refused to bring on the play. I was then extremely young; I fuppofed, they must be in the right. In compliance to them, I spoiled the whole tragedy, by introducing tender fentiments in a subject fo little fufceptible of them. When there was a love-intrigue, the players began to be

and writings. He tranflated Hippocrates and other books from the Greek into the French.

fatisfied;

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fatisfied; but were ftill entirely against the
important scene between Edipus and Jo-
cafta. Sophocles and his imitator were
both laughed at. I argued the cafe; and
employed fome friends, by whofe intereft
Edipus was at last represented. One of the
players, whofe name was Quinaut, said, that
to punish me for my obftinacy, they ought
to act it with it's bad fourth act taken from
the Greek. Befides, it was looked upon
as the greatest mark of rashness in me, to
dare to undertake a subject which Peter
Corneille had already handled fo fuccefs-
fully. Corneille's Edipus at that time was
thought excellent; but, for my part, I
found it a very bad performance; twelve
years ago I dared not fay fo: but now every
body is of my opinion. It's fometimes a
great while before juftice is exactly.
administered.
Mr. de la Motte

The

two Edipus' of had their proper va

lue

* A very ingenious French writer; the most remarkable of his works is a volume of fables in verfe, on a different plan from Æfop's; inftead of beafts, he introduces and perfonifies, in a very de

licate

lue fet, in a fhorter time. The reverend father de Tournemine has probably shewn you the preface, in which I declare war to that author. Mr. de la Motte is a very ingenious man; he somewhat resembles the Grecian wrestler, who, when he was actually down, proved by force of argument, that he was the conqueror.

I entirely differ in my opinions from Mr. de la Motte; but you have taught me to difpute like a gentleman. I write against him in fo civil a manner, that I defired he should be the examiner of this very preface, in which I endeavour in every line, to point out his mistakes; and he has himself approved my little polemical differtation. It is thus men of letters fhould difpute; and thus they would attack each other had they been bred under your care; but in general, they are as fatyrical as lawyers, and as choleric as janfe

licate and moral manner, the different qualities of the mind, as well as the feveral virtues we are capable of, and the vices we are prone to.

nifts.

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