Page:The lives of the poets of Great Britain and Ireland to the time of Dean Swift - Volume 4.djvu/317

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We have been induced to tranſcribe theſe lines of Mr. Addiſon, in order to have the pleaſure of producing ſo great an authority in favour of the Engliſh drama, when placed in contradiſtinction to an entertainment, exhibited by Eunuchs and Fidlers, in a language, of which the greateſt part of the audience are ignorant; and from the nature of which no moral inſtruction can be drawn.

The chief excellence of this play certainly conſiſts in the beauty and harmony of the verſification. The language is luxuriantly poetical. The paſſion of Phædra for her huſband’s ſon has been conſidered by ſome critics as too unnatural to be ſhwen on the ſtage; and they have obſerved that the poet would have written more ſucceſsfully if he had