THE

Contents.

Chap. 1. how to the Spectators. Two SenHe Chorus keeps the Poet to Rules. Les to be pleased. The Eye, by the Show, and by the Action Plays Acted without words. Words often better out of the way. Inftances in Shakespear. Ben Johnfon and Seneca Noted. To the Ear, Pronunciation is all in all, The Story of Demofthenes. Mistakes in Judg ing. Two forts of Judges. At Athens a Third fort. Judges upon Oath. In France Judges divided about the Cid. Cardinal Richelieu against the Majority. At the Thomas Morus, weeping unawares. Horace Angry with Shows. The French Opera inconfiftent with Nature and Good fenfe. Burlesk Verfe. At Paris Chrift's Paffion in Burlesk. A Tragedy of Aeschylus. The defeat of Xerxes. The Subject, and Oeconomy. How imitated for our English Stage. King John of France, Francis

Francis 1. Prisoners. The Spanish Armado in

88. An imitation, recommended to Mr. Drey-

den.

Chap. 2. Tragedy before Thefpis. A Religions

Worship: Mufick and Dance follow the Cho-

rus: Governments care of the Stage, as of

Religion. No Private Perfon to build a Chap-

pel. Young Men not to prefent Plays. Didaf-

calia, and Tragedy-doctors. Difficulty. Pub-

lick Revenue for Plays. Theatre-money facred.

End of Poetry. What effect by Aeschylus. Of

bis Perfians. Schools for Boys. Stage for Mer.

Character of Ariftophanes. Opinion of the

Perfian Ambaffador. The State takes aim from

bim. Spares not his Mafter the People. De-

mocratical Corruption. His Address unimita-

ble. Comedy after him dwindles. Somewhat

like him amongst the Moderns. Rehearsal. Al-

chymift. Vertuofo. Rabilais.

End of Poetry with the Romans. Tragedies by

their Great Men. All Tranflation. Numa

Pompilius. Old Romans averfion to Poetry.

12 Tables. Stage-Plays to remove the Plague.

Never improv'd by them. The ufe hardly known.

Far fhort of the Greeks. Horace and Virgil.

Their Conduct. Terence's Complaint. Want-

ed Show. And Action. Athens the Soil for

Dramatick Poetry. A forreign Plant with the

Romans. They for the Eye, pleas'd more with

the

the out fide. Their Theatres confiderable, not

the Tragedies. Horace's Reason.

,

Chap. 3. The first Chriftians cry against Idols

Stage Plays, Pagan Worship. Apoftolical Con-

ftitutions. Greek and Latin Fathers. Ter-

tullian's Conceipt. Counfels against Heathen

Learning. Greek-Wisdom. St. Hierom

St. Austin, their Sin of Heathen Books. A

Canon that no Bishop read an Heathen Book.

Julians Project. The Chriftians Countermine.

A Chriftian Homer, Pindar, and Euripides.

Stage-Plays particularly level'd at. The fame

beat at this day in the Spanish Jefuits. Pe-

dro de Guzman against Stage-Plays and Bull-

feafts. The Name of Poet a Bugbear at the

Reformation. The Herefie charged on Sing-

Songs,
and Stage-plays. Marot's Pfalms.

How in vogue at the French-Court. Rea

fons against Stage-plays. Lactantius. The

Same 2000 years ago by Plato. Tragedy,

Homer, Aefchylus. Objections by Arifto-
phanes.

Chap. 4:

Chap. 4. Ariftotle's general Answer evasive.

Plato a better Divine. Not better than our

Modern. God may use ill inftruments. The

falfe Dream. The two Barrels. Fables be-

fore Homer. He of God fenfibly. Plato,

Cant. Metaphore the utmost we are capable

of. Fables. Allegory. Celfus to Origen

against the Bible. Allegory, a cure for all.

Homer's Fables from the Bible. The falfe

Dream, from the Story of Achab improv'd

by Homer. Averroes of Arabian Poets.

Apollo Loxias Particular fentences. Texts

of Scripture. Juno, Job's Wife. SS. in

Valgar Tongue. Euripides, ill Women. No

blame to the art. Pomp of the Theatre. What

ill names by Jefuits.

Chap. 5. of Poetry in Italy. Ariftotle's

Works. Tramontains. Cardinal Bibiena.

Tragedy there with Chorus. Strolers. Chrift's

Paffion.

Of Poetry in France. Clem. Marot. Strolers

there. Proceedings at Law against them. Re-

port of their Cafe. Their Old Testament.

Acts of the Apostles, and Chrift's Paffion.

Banisht from France. Comedy there. Trage-

dy by Hardy, Corneille, Richilieu. Aca-

demy Royal. The Theatre. Caution that no

Equivoque, nor ought against good Man-

ners.

ners More nice than the Pulpit. Their Gal-

lantry, Verfe, Language, unfit for Trage-

dy. Dramatick reprefentations banish'd from

Spain. Nurfe of Herefie. Father Guzman.

Efcobar.

Of Poetry in England. British, Saxon, Nor-

man Latin and Provencial Poetry there.

Richard Ceur de Lion, a Provencial Poet.

Our Monks and Hiftory falfe on that account.

The Gay Science. That and the Albigenfes

Contemporary, and from the fame Countrey.

King Kichard's Fellow-Poets. Jeffry Rudel

and Countess of Tripoly.

Chap. 6. Savery de Mauleon

Provencial Po-

et. Teftimony of him. King R. I. His Ver-

fes when Prifoner in Auftria. The Emperor

Frederick Barbaroffa. His Poetry. Ramond

Beringhier. Four Daughters, four Queens.
Rob. Grofthead. His Provencial Poetry. O-

ther Languages ftubborn. Chaucer refin'd our

English. Which in perfection by Waller. His

Poem on the Navy Royal, beyond all modern

Poetry in any Language. Before him our Poets

better expreffed their thoughts in Latin.
Whence Hoveden might mistake and his

Malice. A Translation from Grofthead.

The Harp a Mufick then in fashion. Five
Tragedies from Joan Queen of Naples. For-

reigners all call'd French. Plays by the Parish

Clerks