Imatges de pàgina
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The hero, therefore; full of this idea of facrificing Caefar to his injured country, after stabbing him in the fenate, tells the Romans to ftoop, and befmear their hands and their swords in the blood of the facrifice. This was agreeable to an ancient and religious cuftom. So in Aeschylus we read, that the feven captains, who came against Thebes, facrificed a bull, and dipped their hands in the gore, invoking, at the fame time, the gods of war, and binding themselves with an oath to revenge the cause of Eteocles. And 19 Xenophon tells us, that when the barbarians ratified their treaty with the Greeks, they made a facrifice, and dipped their fpears and fwords in the blood of the victim. By this folemn action Brutus gives the affaffination of Caefar a religious air and turn; and history too informs us, that he marched out of the fenate house, with his bloody hands, proclaiming liberty.

As there is nothing pleases the human mind. fo much as order, and confiftency; fo when the poet has art to paint this uniformity in manners, he not only hinders confufion, but brings the audience acquainted, as it were, with the perfon represented; you fee into his character,

18 Exl. iri One. *. 42. &c.

19 Xen. Avac. C'.

know

know how he will behave, and what párt he will take on any emergency. And Shakespeare's characters are all thus ftrongly marked and manner'd.

SECT. XI.

A Queftion here arifes, which I shall leave

to the reader's confideration. It being proved that manners are effential to poetry, must not the poet, not only know what morals and manners are, but be himself likewife a moral and honeft man? Or can there be knowledge without practice ? 'Tis certain no one can exprefs and paint manners, without knowing what manners are, how they become deformed and monftrous, how natural and beautiful. Nor can he know others without knowing himself; what he is, what conftitutes his good, and what his ill. But whether fuch an enquiry will be attended with anfwerable practice, will depend on the fairness and fincerity of the enqui

For there is not that man living, who does not act the hypocrite more with refpect to himfelf, than to the reft of the world.-But this is a mysterious subject, too long for this place: and it may be fufficient therefore at present, if we have the authorities of a poet or two, with

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out being at the trouble of going to the more
abftrufe philofophers. Let us hear Horace:

Qui didicit patriae quid debeat, et quid amicis;
Quo fit amore parens, quo frater amandus et hofpes;
Quod fit confcripti, quod judicis officium, quae
Partes in bellum miffi ducis; ILLE PROFECTO
REDDERE PERSONAE SCIT CONVENIENTIA

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CUIQUE.

rance,

And Johnson, in his dedication of his Volpone
to the two univerfities: "It is certaine, nor can
"it with any fore-head be opposed, that the
"too much license of poetafters, in this time,
"hath much deformed their mistrifs ; that
every day, their manifold and manifeft igno-
doth stick unnatural reproaches upon
"her but for their petulancy, it were an act
"of the greatest injustice, either to let the
"learned fuffer; or fo divine a skill (which
"should not indeed be attempted with uncleane
"hands) to fall under the leaft contempt. For,
"if men will impartially, and not a-fquint
"looke toward the offices, and fanction of a
66 poet, they will eafily conclude to themselves,
"the impoffibility of any one man's being the
good poet, without firft being a good man."
Our learned comedian being a great reader of

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Greek authors, has literally tranflated' Strabo's words. Ἡ δὲ ποιητᾶ συνέζευκτας τῇ τῇ ἀνθρώπω· καὶ ἐχ οἷόν τε ΑΓΑΘΟΝ γενέσθαι ΠΟΙΗΤΗΝ, μὴ πρότε ρον γεννηθέντα ΑΝΔΡΑ ΑΓΑΘΟΝ. As to our poet, he is an undoubted example for that fide of the queftion, which one would wish to hold true in general. All his contemporaries answer for his honefty.

Look how the father's face

Lives in his iffue, even fo the race

Of Shakespeare's mind and manners brightly fhines In his well-torned and true-filed lines.

And in his Discoveries.

"I remember the

players have often mention'd it as an honour to Shakespeare, that in his writing, (whatso"ever he penn❜d) he never blotted out a line.

My answer hath been, Would he had blotted

a thousand. Which they thought a malevo"lent fpeech. I had not told pofterity this, "but for their ignorance, who chose that cir"cumftance to commend their friend by, "wherein he most faulted. And to justifie "mine own candor, (for 1 loved the Man, and

Strabo, 1. 1. p. 33.

2 Johnfon had the expreffion of the ancients in view, bene tornatos, et limatos verfus.

* do bonour bis memory, on this fide idolatry, as *much as, any.) HE WAS INDEED HONEST

AND OF AN OPEN AND FREE NATURE: had 66 an excellent phantfie, brave notions, and "gentle expreffions: wherein he flowed with "that facility, that fometime it was neceffary "he fhould be stop'd: fufflaminandus erat ; as * 3 Auguftus faid of Haterius. His wit was in "his own power; would the rule of it had been "fo too. Many times he fell into thofe things, "that could not efcape laughter: As when he "faid in the perfon of Caefar, one speaking to "him, Caefar, thou doft me wrong. He re"ply'd; Caefar did never wrong but with just caufe: and fuch like; which were ridiculous. "But he redeemed his vices with his virtues. "There was ever more in him to be praised "than to be pardoned."

4

If Shakespeare was this honeft man, he muft have felt what the charms of honefty were, and

3 Seneca 4. declam.

4. He cites by memory, which is often treacherous. In Julius Caefar, A&t III. the paffage is thus,

Caefar. Know, Caefar doth not wrong, nor without cause Will be be fatisfied.

The fame kind of treacherous memory made Longinus cenfure Xenophon, for what Xenophon never wrote. See: his treatile περὶ ύψ. κεφ. γ'.

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