Page:An Essay on the Opera's After the Italian Manner.pdf/13



His mall Treatie is only levell’d againt thoe Opera’s which are entirely Muical; for thoe which are Drammatical may be partly defended by the Examples of the Ancients. We have endeavour’d to hew in the following Treatie, that the Englih Stage is like to be overthrown by the Progres of thee new Opera’s; it would be eaie here to hew the Importance of that Stage to the Publick: That People mut and will have Diverions, and that a great and flourihing People will have publick Diverions, that if the Government does not take care to provide reaonable Diverions for them, they will not fail to provide uch for themelves as are without Reaon. That unreaonable ones are pernicious to Government, and that reaonable ones are advantagious to it; that pleaure of Sene being too much indulged, makes Reaon ceae to be a Pleaure, and by conequence is contrary both to publick and private Duty. That the Drama of all reaonable Diverions is the bet that has ever been invented at once to delight and intruct the World, that it has never flourih’d but in Three or Four of the bravet Nations that have been ince the World began, and that in the mot flourihing States of thoe Nations, and that a