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into divers Modes or Forms and Manners, as AЯtion, or Introduction, or Narration, or affuming the Perfon of others, or not; and proceeding, he fays, this of Dancers, that they imitate by Number alone without Harmony, for they imitate the Manners, Paffions and Actions by the numerous Variety of Gefticulation. Hence it appears, that Dancing was nothing else but a certain Faculty of imitating the Manners, Paffions, and Actions of Men, by the Motions and Geftures of the Body, made by a certain Artifice, Number and Reafon. For when he had told us in the feventh Book of his Politics, that there was nothing in Nature, which more fully exprefs'd the Similitude of things, than Number and Song, he juftly adds, that Dancers in the Imitations of Actions make ufe of Number. How this Imitation could be effected by numerous Motions, Plutarch in his fifteenth Problem expreffes this moft clearly of all Men after Ariftotle, who tells us, that Dancing had three Parts, the Bearing, Figure, and Indication; becaufe all Dancing confifts of Motions, Habitudes, or States of Body, and Paufes, as Hármony of Tones and Intervals, or Stops, he fays, the Bearing or Lation was only the reprefentative moving of any Paffion or the Actions; but the Figure the Habitude or State of Body and Difpofition, in which the Motion or Bearing ended; for the Dancers paufing near the Figure or Image of Apollo, Pan, or Bacchus, their Bodies being form'd to their Likeness, continu'd

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elegantly a-while in that Pofture. But that the Indication was not properly an Imitation, but a Declaration of fome certain thing, either of the Earth, or the Heavens, or fomething else relating to either, exprefs'd by numerous and regular Motions. As the Poets, when they imitate make ufe of fictitious fometimes, or metaphorical Words; but when they inform or inftruct, employ only thofe, which are proper. In like manner, the Dancers, when they imitate make ufe of Figures, and Habitudes, or States of the Body; but when they declare or inform, they employ the things themselves with the forefaid Indications. So that Art or Faculty of Dancing, according to Plato, Ariftotle, and Plutarch confifts in Imitation, made only by Motion ; and the Dancers themselves do nothing else but imitate the Manners and Affections, by moving themselves in Number, and ufing Gefticulations in Order, by Bearings or Lations, or Figures; or declare by Indications or Information; or elfe at once declare to all the Manners, or reprefent to all at once the Manners, Paffions and Actions of Men. Hence it was. that Simonides, with a great deal of Reason, us'd to call Dancing a filent Poefie, and Poefie a speaking Dancing.

But Plutarch, even in his Time, complains, that True Dancing was much degenerated from Mufic, to which it was join'd, and faln from that Celestial Art, which it once was, into the tumultuous and unlearned Theatres held a moft

abfolute and tyrannic Sway; and there is no Man of Knowledge but is fenfible, from that Time to our Days, how much more it is corrupted.

It is not fufficiently known, who first taught Men this fort of Dancing, unless you will allow what Theophraftus tells us in Athenæus, that Andro, a Flutinift of Catana, firft added to his Mufic apt and proper and elegant Motions; whence the Ancients call'd Dancing Sicilifing, Catana being a City of Sicily. After whom Cleophantes of Thebes and fchylus invented many Figures of Dancing, which were call'd by a Sicilian Name Balliomous, as Athenaus infinuates from the Authority of Epicharmus; and from this Name Hieronymus Mercurialis derives the Italian Name of Balli, as our Balls feems to be deriv'd from that.

Dances were perform'd to the Sound of Wind Mufic, or the Lute, or any other Inftrumental or Vocal Mufic. But Homer, Plato, Xenophon, Ariftotle, Strabo, Plutarch, Gallia, Pollux, and Lucian, give an Account of an infinite Number of various kinds of Dancing. Those that were in most Esteem deriv'd their Names either from the Countries where they were invented, or in great Requeft, or from the Inventor or Manner of Performance, Thofe which took their Names from Countries were, the Laconic, Traxenic, Empyrephyrian, Cretenfian, Ionic, Mantinean, &c. From the Inventor and Manner of Performance, as the Pyrrich from one Pyrrichus a Lacedæmonian,

or,

or, as others would have it, from Pyrrhus the Son of Achilles; in which Dances they danc'd arm'd either with a Song or without it, as we find by a piece of old Baffo Relievo.

But thefe Pyrrich Dances were divided into feveral Kinds, or had feveral Names; as, among the Cretans, the Orfitan, and Epichidian; among the Anianenfetans, and Magnetes, the Carpeans, which Xenophon mentions in the V. of his Expedition of Cyrus. There were befides, thofe call'd Apochinos or Matrifmos, which were danc'd by Women, and for that Reason call'd Martyria. Others had greater Variety, and were more folemn; as, the Dactil, Jambic, Emmelian, Moloffic, Cordux, Sicinus, Perfian, Phrygian, Thracian, and Telefias the laft fo call'd from one Tilenius, who firft danc'd it in Arms, in which Dance Ptolemus kill'd Alexander the Brother of Philip. Other Dances were call'd Turning or Verfatile, because theDancers turn'd round in a Ring.

;

There were other Dances call'd Mad Dances or Cernophorus, Mongas, Thermauftris, or the popular or plebeian Anthema, in which the Dancers moving themselves, fung to the Tune they danc'd, Where are my Rofes? Where are my Violets? Where are my Lillies? Where are my beauteous Swarms of Bees? Some were ridiculous; as, the Sodis Matrifmos, Apodimas, Sobas, Morphafmus, Glaux, and the Lion. There are befides, the Scenic Dances, as the Tragic, Comic, Satyric, and the Lyric, as the Porrichian

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richian, Gymnopædican, and Hyporchamatican, the manner of Dancing all which is not the Bufinefs of our prefent Difcourfe; it is fufficient to know, that in this third Divifion of Dancing were not only all thefe Kinds, we have mention'd, but many more, to which Lucian appropriated a whole Book, and that they likewife made ufe of a great Diversity of Motions both of the Hands and Feet. For fince all Motion is compos'd of impelling and drawing according to Ariftotle, fo the Dancers either thrust on their Bodies, or drew them, either upwards or downwards, from the Right to the Left, and the contrary, backwards and forwards; from which Motions afterwards were compos'd fimple Walking, Winding and Turning, Procurfion or Sallies, Leaping or Rifing. Divarication or fpreading of the Legs to a Distance, Claudication or halting, Ingeniculation or a bowing the Knee, or a Curtefying, Elation or bearing up haughtily, the fhaking of the Feet, Permutation or changing or altering the Motion, &c. out of all which the whole Art of Dancing was perfected.

Tho this be but an imperfect Sketch of the Excellence of the Dancing of the Ancients, and gathered from fuch Fragments, as the Injury of Time has left us; yet it is plain, that they were all directed to exprefs or imitate fomething, which was an Advantage, that few or none of our modern (especially French) Dances have.

But fince there is no Man, who fhall accurately confider the feveral Species of Dances in

ufe