CHA P. II.

The CONTENTS.

Tragedy before Thefpis. A Religious Worship: Mufick and Dance follow the Chorus: Governments care of the Stage, as of Religion. No Private Perfon to build a Chappel. Young men not to pres fent Plays. Didafcalia, and Tragedy-doctors. Difficulty. Publick Revenue for Plays. Theatremoney facred. End of Poetry. What effect by Aeschylus. Of his Perfians. Schools for Boys. Stage for Men. Character of Aristophanes. O. pinion of the Perfian Ambaffador. The State takes aim from him. Spares not his Mafter the People. Democratical Corruption. His Addrefs unimitable. Comedy after him dwindles. Somewhat like him amongst the Moderns. Rehearsal. Alchymift. Vertuofo. Rabilais. End of Poetry with the Romans. Tragedies by their Great Men. All Tranflation. Numa Pompilius. Old Romans averfion to Poetry. 12 Tables. StagePlays 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. Wanted Show. And Action. Athens the Soil for Dramatick Poetry. A forreign Plant with the Romans. They for the Eye, pleas'd more with the outfide. Their Theatres confiderable, not the Tragedies. Horace's Reafon.

Uthors generally look no higher than Thefpis for the Original of Tragedy; yet Plato reckons it much ancienter. Minos, (a)fays he,for all his wisdom, was (a) Minos dial.

over

overseen in making war upon Athens; where lived fo many Tragic Poets, that represented him, and fixed on him and his Family a Narne and Character never to be wiped off.

The Judges of Hell, Pafiphae, and her Minotaur, are upon record to all Pofterity.

All agree, that in the beginning it was purely a Religious Worship, and folemn Service for their Holy-days. Afterwards it came from the Temples to the Theatre, admitted of a Secular Allay, and grew to be fome Image of the World, and Humane Life. When it was brought to the utmost perfection by Sophocles, the Chorus continued a neceffary part of the Tragedy; but that Mufick and the Dancing which came along with the Chorus, were meer Religion, were no part of the Tragedy, nor had any thing of Philosophy or Inftruction in them.

The Government had the fame care of these Representations, as of their Religion, and as much caution about them. The Laws would not permit a private person to make a Chappel, raife an Altar, or confccrate an Image; otherwife all places would in time be fo cramm'd from the Devotion of Women and weak heads, that a man should not fet a foot, nor find elbow-room, for Gods, and Shrines, confecrated stuff.

The like providence had they for the The atre. No (b) Poet under the age of 30 or 40 years was allow'd to present any Play to be acted. Seldens Marmora, and other Chronologers inform us that Aeschylus had the victory, when he was 40 years old: And Euripides not till he was 43. The dramatick Poet was ftyled Comedodidafcalus, and Tragadodidafculus, as one fhould fay, Comedy-doctor, and Tragedy-doctor: We find too the Word didafcalia, with the Titles of Terence's Comedies, which afterwards the Latins came to imitate, as Cicero in Brut. Livius qui primus fabulam Docuit, And Hor.

vel qui Docuere Togatas. So to write a Play, in the opinion of Aristophanes, Comodo-didafcalia, is of all things the most difficult.

More(c) of their publick money was spent about the Chorus, and other charges and de corations of their Theatre, than in all their Wars with the Kings of Perfia.

And when brought to theirlaft extremity, that no other Bank remain'd for them, wherewith to carry on a War,without which War they could not longer expect to be a People, the delicate turn us'd by Demofthenes, in ftarting the motion, for applying this Theatre-money to the War, is obferv'd as a (d) Masterpiece of addrefs by the Orators. Did I Say (quoth Demosthenes) the The (b) Sebol. Arifto. (c) Demitr. Libanius.

Olyn. t.

atre

atre-money may be applied to the War? no, by Jove, not I.

Monafteries and Church Lands were never with us fo facred.

In the days of Aristophanes, it was on all hands agreed, that the best Poet was he who had done the most to make men vertuous and ferviceable to the Publick. In a Dialogue of the dead, (e) where they dispute the precedence, fays Aeschylus, Confider what fort of men I left you.

Men generous, four Cubits high, not fuch as now-a-days,

That flip the collar when they should ferve their Countrey.

Indifferent, loofe (f) prudential, (g) tricking Fellows;

Nought did they breathe, but broad Swords, Battle-Axes,

The Helmets lofty pride, (h) Jack-Baots, Ha

geons,

With true (i) Beef-courage.

So when his Princes at Thebes, and when his Perfians were acted, not a Spectator, but bit his Thumbs with impatience for the Field, to give the Enemy Battel. So his Patroclus, his Tencer, and his Thimaleon's were represented only to fpur on his Coun(e) Ariftoph. Frogs. (1) Καβάλας (8) Πανεργος (h) xrnuï das (i) Diuus iwraCoslys. C 3

trey

trey-men to Vertue, and provoke them to a generous Emulation.

And here Ariftophanes declares another Rule (which Plato takes from him) That if any thing looks with an ill face, the Poét muft hide it; not fuffer it, by any means, to be shown or reprefented in a Play: Becaufe as the Schools are for teaching Children, the Stage should be for men of riper years and Judgment. So that a Poet must be fure that his Doctrine be good and wholfome.

This Author appears in his Function, a man of wonderful zeal for Vertue, and the good of his Countrey; and he laid about him with an undaunted refolution, as it were fome Chriftian Martyr, for his Faith and Religion. He plainly ran a Muck at all manner of Vice where-ever he saw it, be it in the greatest Philofophers, the greatest Poets, the Generals, or the Minifters of State.

The Perfian Ambaffador, who was Lieger there (as formerly the French with us) feeing the Town all at his beck; and the Government taking aim, turning out, dif gracing, impeaching, banishing, out-lawing and attainting the great men, according as he hinted, or held up the finger, the Ambaffador, not understanding the Athenian temper,