CONTENTS.

On elegance of expreffion in tragedy..

In a preface to Herod and Mariamne.

page 67

Of french and english tafte, with regard

to dramatic compofition. In a letter

to Sir Everard Falkener.

78.

On the fame fubject, in a fecond letter to

On the usefulness of fhewing the dan-

ger of fanaticifm in dramatic perform-

In an advertisement prefixed to

ances.

Mabomet.

129

On the fame fubject. In a letter to the

king of Pruffia.

137

Dedir

On the noble fimplicity of greek tragedy.

In a letter to fignor Maffei.

157

On Shakespear. In an advertisement pre-

fixed to the Death of Cæfar.

181

On ancient and modern tragedy. Ad-

dreffed to cardinal Quirini.

185

On the contrast of merry and affecting

fentiments, and on the cause of laugh-

ter, in comedy. In a preface to the

Prodigal Son.
226

On the proper provinces of tragedy, and

of comedy. In a preface to Nanine.

234

Of

xii

CONTENT S.

Of the excellencies of the greek, and de-

fects of the french drama.

to the dutchess of Maine.

Addreffed

242

On chinese tragedy. In a dedication to

the duke of Richelieu.

264

CR I-

CRITICAL ESSAYS.

ESSAY on TRAGEDY;

Addreffed to Henry St. John, Lord Viscount Bolingbroke.

T

HOUGH I dedicate to an Englishman a play reprefented at Paris, it is not, my lord, that there are wanting in France men of great merit, and excellent judges, to whom I might have paid that homage. But, you know, the tragedy of Brutus was begun in England: you remember when I was re

*

* There is an English Brutus by an author named Lee; but it is a performance unknown, and never reprefented in London. Voltaire. B

tired

tired to Wandsworth at my good friend, Sir Everard Falkener's, that worthy and virtuous patriot, I applied myself to write, in english profe, the firft act of this play, pretty much in the fame manner as it now ftands in the french verfe. I fpoke to you of it sometimes, and we were both furprized that no english writer had handled this fubject, which is fo extremely well adapted to your theatre. You emboldened me to continue a fubject fo fufceptible of great fentiments.

Give me leave then, my lord, to offer you Brutus, tho' wrote in a foreign tongue, dotte fermones utriufque linguæ to you who could give me inftructions in the french as well as in the english, to you who at leaft, might teach me to add to my native language that energy and force which a noble liberty of thinking infpires: for the vigorous fentiments of the foul pass always to the tongue; a ftrength of mind always commands a strength of expreffion. I must own that at my return from England, where I spent a couple of years in a continual study of your language,

I