fameness and uniformity in the fentiments. What most be the refult of this? Why, narration is fubftituted in the place of the action; the weakness in the manners fupplied by elaborate defcriptions; and the quick and lively turns of paffion are loft in the detail, and pomp of declamation *." This just obfervation is no where more apparent than in the French tragedies in general: the delicacy of their nation requires the fricteft adherence to the unities; and it does not require any great fagacity to ob ferve, that in most of their pieces we find the defects which Mr. Webb mentions. Racine, notwithstanding what the French critics affert, was a cool tame genius : in none of his pieces are we hurried away by the poetic fire; no hafty ftrokes of

Webb's Remarks on the Beauties of Poetry,

true

true paffion, which lay open the very foul; in a word, no characters fo admira. bly fuftained as we every where find in Shakespear. Corneille himself, or as the French always call him, "The great Corneille," abounds for ever with pomp of declamation: inftead of ftrokes of character and paffion, every thing is de fcribed; the unavoidable neceffity of regarding the unities +. Rouffeau has the

honesty

+ How hard dialogue-writing is, will be evident even without reafoning from the imperfect compofitions of this kind found without number in all languages. The art of mimicking any fingularity in voice or gefture is a rare talenti though directed by fight and hearing, the acuteft and most lively of our external fenfes: how much more rare mult the talent be of imitating cha racters and internal emotions, tracing all theit different tints, and reprefenting them in a lively manner by natural fentiments properly expreffed? The truth is, fuch execution is too delicate for an ordinary genius; and for that reason, the bulk of writers, inftead of expreffing a paffion like

one

honesty to expofe his countrymen's abfurdity with great fpirit and humour: the excellency of the observations which

one who is under its power, content themselves with defcribing it like a spectator. To awake paffion by an internal effort merely, without any external caufe, requires great fenfibility; and yet this operation is neceffary not lefs to the writer than to the actor; because none but they who actually feel a paffion, can represent it to the life. The writer's part is much more complica ted; he must join compofition with action; and, in the quickeft fucceffion, be able to adopt every different character introduced in his work. But a very humble flight of imagination may ferve to convert a writer into a spectator, so as to figure, in some obfcure manner, an action as paffing in his fight and hearing. In this figured fituation, he is led naturally to defcribe as a spectator, and at fecond-hand to entertain his readers with his own observations, with cool description and florid declamation; instead of making them eye-witneffes, as it were, to a real event, and to every movement of genuine paffion. Thus, in the bulk of plays, a tirefome monotony prevails, a pompous declamatory ftile, without entering into different characters or paffions.

Elements of Criticism, vol. ii. p. 155.

paint the French tafte exactly will excufe the length of the quotation.

"There is in general much difcourfe and but very little action on the French stage: the reafon of which is, perhaps, the French talk much more than they do, or at least that they pay a much greater regard to what is faid than to what is done. I remember the answer of a fpectator, who in coming out from the reprefentation of one of the pieces of Dionyfius the Ty rant was afked, what he had feen? I have feen nothing, faid he, but have heard a deal of talk. The fame might be faid of the French plays. Racine and Corneille,' with all their genius, are no more than, talkers; and their fucceffor is the first of all the French poets, who, in imitation of the English, has fometimes ventured to bring fcenes of action upon the ftage.

In

་

In common, their plays confift only of witty or florid dialogues well difpofed; where it is obvious the chief defign of the speakers is to display their talents of wit and elocution. In the mean time, almost every sentiment is delivered in the file of a general maxim. However transported they may be with passion, they always preferve their refpect to the publick, of whom they think more constantly than of themselves. The pieces of Racine and Moliere excepted*, egotifm sis, excluded as fcrupulously from the French drama, as from the writings of Meffieurs de Port Royal; and the paffions

Moliere ought not to be ranked here with Racine. The firft indeed abounds with maxims and fentential observations, like all the others, especially in all his verfified pieces: but in Racine all is fentimental; he makes every character fpeak for the author, and is in this point truly fingular among all the dramatic writers of his nation.

of