it worthy of the flourishing days of Athens, and of the small number of mafter-pieces our nation poffeffes; and worthy, in fine, of the fuffrage of fuch a mind as yours, and minds happy enough to resemble yours.

DE

DEDICATION

Of the ORPHAN of CHINA.

To his grace the duke of RICHELIEU.

I toe toe to

marble ftatue like the genoefe *, instead of a chinese mandarin, which is all that I have to offer you. Indeed this performance does not feem at all calculated for you. It makes no mention of an hero, who has won univerfal approbation by the charms of his wit; who faved a republic that was on the brink of deftruction +; and who found out the means of conquering a formidable column of englishmen with four canons +. No body can be better perfuaded

+ The duke of Richelieu contributed confiderably towards faving the republic of Genoa, last war, from the attempt and defign of the germans; in gratitude of which his ftatue has been erected by the genoese. + It is fuppofed that the principal cause of the retreat of the glorious column of english infantry in the

battle

fuaded than I am, of the fmallness of my prefent; but fome indulgence may be granted to an attachment of forty years continuance. It may poffibly be infinuated, that, retired as I am, at the foot of the Alps, and in view of eternal fnow, where I fhould lead the life of a philofopher, I cannot however refift the vanity of telling the world, that the moft valuable perfonages on the borders of the river Seine, have never forgot me; it is certain however, that I only confulted the fentiments of my heart; they alone are the guides of my conduct, and have always influenced my words and actions. The heart is fometimes mistaken; but not after fo long a trial. Permit me, therefore, if this trage. dy should happen to remain fometime after its author, to acquaint posterity, that as your uncle, cardinal Richelieu, introduced the fine arts into France, and encouraged them in their infancy, so you have fupported them in their decline.

battle of Fontenoy, was owing to the havock caused among them by a few canon placed directly oppofite to the column, by the direction of this nobleman, The

N

The first time I thought of writing this play, was on reading the Orphan of Tchao, a chinese tragedy, tranflated by father Bremare, and inferted in the collection published by father Du Halde. This chinese drama was compofed in the fourteenth century, under the very dynasty of Gengis-Kan. This is an additional proof that the tartar conquerors caufed no change in the manners of the nation they fubdued. They protected all the arts that were establifhed in China, and adopted all its laws.

This is a ftriking example of the natural fuperiority of reafon and genius, over blind and barbarous force; and the Tartars have twice furnished this example. For when they over-ran this great empire a a fecond time, in the beginning of the laft century, they fubmitted a fecond time to to the wisdom of the vanquished; and both became one people, governed by the most ancient laws in the univerfe: an event worthy of admiration; and to mark this event was the chief aim I propofed in writing the following tragedy. The chinefe tragedy, which bears the name of the Orphan, is chofen from an immense collection of theatrical pieces of that nation.

nation. The chinese have cultivated, above three thousand years, this art, invented a little later by the greeks, of drawing living defcriptions of the actions of men, and of establishing fchools of morality where virtue is taught in action and dialogue. So that dramatic poetry has been long held in efteem, only in the vast dominion of China, feparated from and unknown to, the rest of the world, and in the fingle city of Athens. Rome did not cultivate this branch of literature for four hundred years afterwards. No trace of it is to be found either among the perfians or indians, who generally are confidered as people of genius and invention. Afia has always been contented with the fables of Pilpay and of Locman, which include an entire fyftem of morality, and inftruct by allegory every age and every nation. It should feem, that having put difcourfes into the mouths of animals, there was but another step to take, in order to introduce human perfonages as difcourfing to each other; and thus give rife to the dramatic art; and yet thefe ingenious nations never thought of advancing