Spectator; then Venus blufhing, and Mars befeeching; in a Word, he acted the whole "Fable fo well, that Demetrius much pleas'd

with the Spectacle, as the greatest Praise, that "could be bestow'd upon him, cry'd out in a "loud Voice, I hear my Friend, what act you "nor do I only fee them, but methinks you fpeak with your Hands.

This Inftance not only fhews the Difference of thefe Pantomimes from our old dumb Shews, but the Power of Action, which a Player ought to study with his utmost Application. The Orator at the Bar, and in the Pulpit, ought to understand the Art of Speaking perfectly well; but Action can never be in its Perfection but on the Stage, and in our Time the Pulpit and the Bar have left off even that graceful Action, which was neceffary to the Business of thofe Places, and gave a juft Weight and Grace to the Words they uttered. And I wonder that our Minifters do not a little more confider this Point, and reflect, that they speak to the People as much as the Orators of Greece and Rome; and what Influence Action had on them,will be evident from fome Inftances we shall give in their proper Places.

ACTION indeed has a natural Excellence in it, fuperiour to all other Qualities; Action is Motion, and Motion is the Support of Nature, which without it would again fink into the fluggish Mass of Chaos. Motion in the various and regular Dances of the Planets furprizes and delights: Life is Motion, and when that ceafes,

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the Humane Body fo beautiful, nay, fo divine when enlivened by Motion, becomes a dead and putrid Coarfe, from which all turn their Eyes. The Eye is caught by any thing in Motion, but paffes over the fluggish and motionless things as not the pleasing Objects of its View.

This Natural Power of Motion or Action is the Reason, that the Attention of the Audience is fixt by any irregular or even fantastic Action on the Stage of the most indifferent Player; and fupine and drowsy, when the best Actor fpeaks without the Addition of Action.

'Twas the Skill the ancient Players of Athens and Rome had in this, which made them not only fo much admir'd by the Great Men of thofe Times and Places, but rais'd them to the Reputation of being Mafters of two of the greatest Orators that Athens or Rome ever faw; and who had it not been for the Inftructions of the Actors Satyrus, Rofcius, and Afopus, had never been able to convey their admirable Parts to the World.

Demofthenes being, after many unsuccessful Attempts, one Time exploded the Affembly, went home with his Head muffled up in his Cloak, very much affected with the Disgrace in this Condition Satyrus the Actor follow'd him, being his intimate Acquaintance, and fell into Difcourfe with him. Demofthenes having bemoan'd himself to him, and his Misfortune, that having been the most induftrious of the Pleaders, and having spent almoft the whole

Strength

Strength and Vigour of his Body, in that Employment, yet could he not render himself acceptable to the People; That Drunkards, Tarpaulins, Sots, and illiterate Fellows found fo favourable a Hearing, as to poffefs the Pulpit, while he himself was defpis'd. What you fay (replied Satyrus) is very true, but I will foon remove the Caufe of all this, if you will repeat fome Verses to me out of Sophocles, or Euripides. When Demofthenes had pronounc'd after his way, Satyrus prefently repeating the fame Verses with their proper Tone, Mien, and Gefture,, gave fuch a Turn to them, that Demofthenes himself perceiv'd they had quite another Appearance. By which being convinc'd how much Grace and Ornainent accrues to Speech by a pro-. per and due Action, he began to think it of litle Confequence for a Man to exercise himself in declaiming, if he neglected the juft Pronunciation or Decency of Speaking. Upon this he built himself a Place under ground (which remain'd in the Time of Plutarch) whither he retir'd every Day to form his Action, and exercife his Voice. To fhew what Pains this great Man took as an Example to our young Actors, who think not themfelves oblig'd to take any at all, I fhall proceed with Plutarch. In his Houfe he had a great Looking-Glafs, before which he would ftand and repeat his Orations, by that means obferving how far his Action and Gesture were graceful or unbecoming.

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The fame Demofthenes, when a Client came te him on an Affault and Battery; he at large gave him an Account of what Blows he had receiv'd from his Adversary, but in fo calm and unconcern'd a manner, that Demofthenes faid, Surely my good Friend thou haft not fuffer'd any one thing of what thou makeft thy Complaint: Upon which his Client warm'd, cry'd aloud How Demofthenes? Have I fuffer'd nothing? Ay marry, replies he, now I hear the Voice of a Man that has been injur'd and beaten. Of fo great Confequence did he think the Tone and Action of the Speaker towards the gaining Belief.

This was the Cafe of Demofthenes, as Plu tarch affures us, (if I may credit the Tranflation, as without doubt I may;) and that of Cicero was not much different At first (fays Plutarch) he was, as well as Demofthenes, very defective in Action, and therefore he diligently apply'd himself to Rofcius the Comedian fometimes, and fometimes to Afopus the Tragedian. And fuch afterwards was the Action of Cicero, that it did not a little contribute to make his Eloquence perfuafive; deriding the Rhetoricians of his Time, for delivering their Orations with fo much Noife and Bawling, faying, that it was their want of Ability to speak, which made them have Recourse to bellowing, as lame People who cannot walk, get on Horse-back and ride.

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The fame might be faid to many of our bawling Actors, of which number Æfopus was not, yet fo poffeffed with his Part, that he took his acting to be fo real, and not a Representation, that whilft he was on the Stage reprefenting Atreus deliberating on the Revenge of Thyeftes, he was fo tranfported beyond himself, that he fmote one of the Servants haftily croffing the Stage, and laid him dead on the Place.

But my Lord Bacon, in his Advancement of Learning, gives us a History from the Annals of Tacitus, of one Vibulenus, formerly an Actor on the Stage, but at that time a common Soldier in the Pannonian Garrifons; which is a wonderful Inftance of the Power of Action, and what Force it adds to the Words. The Account is this.

This Fellow, on the Death of Auguftus Cafar, had rais'd a Mutiny, fo that Blafus the Lieutenant committed fome of the Mutineers to Prifon; but the Soldiers violently broke open the Prifon-Gates, and fet their Comrades at Liberty; and this Vibulenus, in a Tribunitial Speech to the Soldiers, begins in this manner" You "have given Life and Light to these poor in

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nocent Wretches but who reftores my "Brother to me, or Life to my Brother? Who "was fent hither with a Meffage from the Le<c gions of Germany to treat of the common "Cause; and this very laft Night has he mur ❝der'd him by fome of his Gladiators, fome of his Bravo's, whom he keeps about him