Page:The Plays of William Shakspeare (1778).djvu/42

30 every man finds his mind more trongly eized by the tragedies of Shakepeare than of any other writer; others pleae us by particular peechcs, but he always makes us anxious for the events and has perhaps excelled all but Homer in ecuring the firt purpoe of a writer, by exciting retles and unquenchable curioity, and compelling him that reads his work to read it through.

The hows and butle with which his plays abound have the ame original. As knowledge advances, pleafure paes from the eye to the ear, but returns, as it declines, from the ear to the eye. Thoe to whom our author’s labours were exhibited had more kill in pomps or proceions than in poetical language, and perhaps wanted ome viible and dicriminated events, as comments on the dialogue. He knew how he hould mot pleae; and whether his practice is more agreeable to nature, or whether his example has prejudiced the nation, we till find that on our tage omething mut be done as well as aid, and inactive declamation is very coldly heard, however muical or elegant, paionate or ublime.

Voltaire exprees his wonder, that our author’s extravagancies are endured by a nation, which has een the tragedy of Cato. Let him be anwered, that Addion peaks the language of poets, and Shakepeare, of men. We find in Cato innumerable beauties which enamour us of its author, but we ee nothing that acquaints us with human entiments or human actions; we place it with the fairet and the noblet progeny which judgment propagates by junction