of juft fentiments in elegant language, than a reprefentation of natural affections, or of any ftate probable or poffible in human life. Nothing here "ex"cites or affuages emotion:" here is "no magical 66 power of raifing phantaftick terror or wild. "anxiety." The events are expected without folicitude, and are remembered without joy or forrow. Of the agents we have no care; we confider not what they are doing, or what they are fuffering; we wifh only to know what they have to fay. Cato is a being above our folicitude; a man of whom the gods take care, and whom we leave to their care with heedlefs confidence. To the reft neither gods nor men can have much attention; for there is not one amongst them that ftrongly attracts either affection or esteem. But they are made the vehicles of fuch fentiments and fuch expreffion, that there is fcarcely a scene in the play which the reader does not wish to imprefs upon his memory.

When Cato was fhewn to Pope *, he advised the author to print it, without any theatrical exhibition; fuppofing that it would be read more favourably than heard. Addifon declared himfelf of the fame opinion; but urged the importunity of his friends. for its appearance on the ftage. The emulation of parties made it fuccefsful beyond expectation; and its fuccefs has introduced or confirmed among us the use of dialogue too declamatory, of unaffecting elegance, and chill philofophy.

The univerfality of applaufe, however it might quell the cenfure of common mortals, had no other

effect than to harden Dennis in fixed diflike; but his dislike was not merely capricious. He found and fhewed many faults; he fhewed them indeed with anger, but he found them indeed with acuteness, fuch as ought to rescue his criticifm from oblivion; though, at laft, it will have no other life than it derives from the work which it endeavours to opprefs. Why he pays no regard to the opinion of the audience, he gives his reafon, by remarking, that,

"A deference is to be paid to a general applaufe, "when it appears that the applaufe is natural and

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spontaneous; but that little regard is to be had to "it, when it is affected or artificial. Of all the "tragedies which in his memory have had vaft and "violent runs, not one has been excellent, few have "been tolerable, most have been fcandalous. When

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a poet writes a tragedy, who knows he has judge"ment, and who feels he has genius, that poet pre"fumes upon his own merit, and fcorns to make a "cabal. That people come coolly to the reprefen"tation of fuch a tragedy, without any violent expectation, or delufive imagination, or invincible. "prepoffeffion; that fuch an audience is liable to "receive the impreffions which the poem fhall natu"rally make on them, and to judge by their own "reason, and their own judgements, and that reafon "and judgement are calm and ferene, not formed “by nature to make profelytes, and to controul and "lord it over the imaginations of others. But that "when an author writes a tragedy, who knows he "has neither genius or judgement, he has recourse "to the making a party, and he endeavours to make

"up

up in industry what is wanting in talent, and to "fupply by poetical craft the abfence of poetical "art that fuch an author is humbly contented to "raise men's paffions by a plot without doors, fince "he despairs of doing it by that which he brings upon the ftage. That party and paffion, and pre"poffeffion, are clamorous and tumultuous things, " and so much the more clamorous and tumultuous "6 by how much the more erroneous: that they do"mineer and tyrannize over the imaginations of "perfons who want judgement, and fometimes too "of those who have it; and, like a fierce and outrageous torrent, bear down all oppofition before "them."

He then condemns the neglect of poetical juftice; which is always one of his favourite principles.

"Tis certainly the duty of every tragick poet, "by the exact distribution of poetical juftice, to "imitate the Divine Difpenfation, and to inculcate

a particular Providence. 'Tis true, indeed, upon "the ftage of the world, the wicked fometimes "profper, and the guiltlefs fuffer. But that is "permitted by the Governor of the world, to fhew, " from the attribute of his infinite juftice, that there "is a compenfation in futurity, to prove the im"mortality of the human foul, and the certainty of "future rewards and punishments. But the poeti"cal perfons in tragedy exift no longer than the "reading, or the reprefentation; the whole extent "of their enmity is circumfcribed by those; and

therefore, during that reading or reprefentation, "according to their merits or demerits, they must "be punished or rewarded. If this is not done, "there

"there is no impartial diftribution of poetical juf"tice, no inftructive lecture of a particular Provi"dence, and no imitation of the Divine Dispensa❝tion. And yet the author of this tragedy does not "only run counter to this, in the fate of his princi

pal character; but every where, throughout it, "makes virtue fuffer, and vice triumph: for not "only Cato is vanquished by Cæfar, but the "treachery and perfidioufnefs of Syphax prevail "over the honeft fimplicity and the credulity of Ju"ba; and the fly subtlety and diffimulation of Por"tius over the generous franknefs and open-hearted"nefs of Marcus."

Whatever pleasure there may be in feeing crimes punished and virtue rewarded, yet, fince wickedness often profpers in real life, the poet is certainly at liberty to give it profperity on the ftage. For if poetry has an imitation of reality, how are its laws broken by exhibiting the world in its true form? The stage may fometimes gratify our wifhes; but, if it be truly the "mirror of life," it ought to fhew us fometimes what we are to expect.

Dennis objects to the characters, that they are not natural, or reasonable; but as heroes and heroines are not beings that are seen every day, it is hard to find upon what principles their conduct fhall be tried. It is, however, not ufelefs to confider what he says of the manner in which Cato receives the account of his fon's death.

"Nor is the grief of Cato, in the fourth act, "one jot more in nature than that of his fon and Lucia in the third. Cato receives the news of "his fon's death not only with dry eyes, but with a

"fort

"fort of fatisfaction; and in the fame page sheds "tears for the calamity of his country, and does the "fame thing in the next page upon the bare appre"henfion of the danger of his friends. Now, fince "the love of one's country is the love of one's "countrymen, as I have fhewn upon another occa"fion, I defire to afk thefe queftions: Of all our "countrymen, which do we love moft, thofe whom "we know, or those whom we know not? And "of those whom we know, which do we cherish

moft, our friends or our enemies? And of our "friends, which are the dearest to us, those who are "related to us, or those who are not? And of all

our relations, for which have we moft tenderness, "for those who are near to us, or for those who are "remote ? And of our near relations, which are "the nearest, and confequently the dearest to us, "our offspring, or others? Our offspring moft "certainly; as Nature, or in other words Providence, "has wifely contrived for the prefervation of man"kind. Now, does it not follow, from what has "been faid, that for a man to receive the news of "his fon's death with dry eyes, and to weep at the "fame time for the calamities of his country, is a "wretched affectation, and a miferable inconfiften"cy? Is not that, in plain English, to receive "with dry eyes the news of the deaths of thofe for "whofe fake our country is a name fo dear to us, "and at the fame time to fhed tears for those for "whofe fakes our country is not a name fo dear to ❝ us?"

But this formidable affailant is lefs refiftible when he attacks the probability of the action, and the

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