Page:An Essay on the Opera's After the Italian Manner.pdf/25

 Now if we can hew that Poetry augments this Spirit where ever it finds it, and ometimes begets it where it was not before, and that meer Muick, uch as is that of our Opera’s, is o far from begetting this Spirit where it was not before, or from augmenting it where it meets with it, that it has a natural tendency to the diminihing it, and detroying it, then I hope it will be readily granted, that ince publick Entertainments of meer Muick and Poetry are incompatible, and that we mut banih one and retain the other, it will be reaonable to banih the Opera and not Poetry.

If the Entertainment which we have from our Opera’s is a meer enual Pleaure, which ays nothing either to enlighten the Undertanding or to convert the Will, it is impoible to conceive, how it can either raie the Paions to correct them, or infue generous entiments into the Soul, to exalt and confirm the Reaon, or to inpire publick Spirit, and publick Virtue, and elevated notions of Liberty.

It belongs to Poetry only, to teach publick Virtue and publick Spirit, and a noble contempt of Death, with an Expreion and with an Air becoming of its God-like Notions. That alone can worthily tell Mankind that we were not born for our elves; that we were fram’d and contriv’d for Society by an All-wie Maker; and that the greatet of Men are Mierable if they are long in Solitude. That o great is the ympathy of Souls, that it is impoible for a thinking Man to be Happy, but in the common Felicity of his Fellow Creatures; that He who never did any thing to promote that, never felt perfect Pleaure; that Man has infinitely more Pleaure, ev’n of Sene, from thoe acts by which he maintains his Species, than he has from thoe by which he preerves himelf. What Raptures of