times he is diftracted, and here Nature will teach him, that his Action has always fome→ thing wild and irregular, tho even that regu larly, that his Eyes, his Looks or Countenance, Motions of Body, Hands and Feet, be all of a Piece, and that he never falls into the indifferent State of Calmnefs and Unconcern. As he now reprefents Achilles, then Eneas, another Time Hamlet, then Alexander the Great and Oedipus, he ought to know perfectly well the Characters of all thefe Heroes, the very fame Paffions differing in the different Heroes as their Characters differ: The Courage of Æneas, for Example, of it felf was fedate and temperate, and always attended with good Nature; that of Turnus join'd with Fury, yet accompany'd with Generofity and Greatnefs of Mind. The Valour of Me Zentius was favage and cruel; he has no Fury but Fiercenefs, which is not a Paffion but Habit, and nothing but the Effect of Fury cool'd into a very keen Hatred, and an inveterate Malice. Turnus feems to fight to appease his Anger, MeZentius to fatisfy his Revenge, his Malice and barbarous Thirft of Blood. Turnus goes to the Field with Grief, which always attended Anger, whereas Mezentius deftroys with a barbarous Joy, he's fo far from Fury, that he is hard to be provoked to common Anger; who calmly killing Ondes, grows but half angry at his Threats At whom Mezentius fmiling with a mingl'd Ire. Thus, 'tis plain, he has not the Fury of Tur nus, but a Barbarity peculiar to himself, and a favage Fiercenefs, according to his Character in the tenth Book of Virgil. To know these different Characters of eftablished Heroes, the Actor need only be acquainted with the Poets, who write of them; if the Poet who introduces them in his Play have not fufficiently diftinguifh'd them. But to know the different Compofitions of the Manners, and the Paffions fpringing from those Manners, he ought to have an Infight into Moral Philosophy, for they produce various Appearances in the Looks and Actions, according to their various Mixtures. For that the very fame Paffion has various Appearances, is plain from the History Painters, who have followed Nature. Thus Jordan of Antwerp, in a Piece of our Saviour's being taken from the Crofs, which is now in his Grace the Duke of Marlborough's Hands, the Paffion of Grief is exprefs'd with a wonderful Variety ; the Grief of the Virgin Mother is in all the Extremity of Agony, that is confiftent with Life, nay indeed that leaves scarce any Signs of remaining Life in her; that of St. Mary Magdalen is an extreme Grief, but mingled with Love and Tenderness, which fhe always expreffed after her Converfion for our bleffed Lord; then the Grief of St. John the Evangelift is ftrong but manly, and mixt with the Tenderness of perfect Friendship; and that of Joseph of Arimathea fuitable to his Years and Love for Chrift, Chrift, more folemn, more contracted in himself, and yet forcing an Appearance in his Looks. Coypel's Sacrifice of Jeptha's Daughter has not unluckily exprefs'd a great Variety of this fame Paffion. The History Painters indeed have obferv'd a Decorum in their Pieces, which wants to be introduc'd on our Stage; for there is never any Person on the Cloth, who has not a Concern in the Action. All the very Slaves in Le Brun's Tent of Darius participate of the grand Concern of Sifigambis Statira, &c. This would render the Representation extremely folemn and beautiful; but on the Stage, not only the Supernumeraries, as they call them, or Attendants, mind nothing of the great Concern of the Scene, but even the Actors themselves, who are on the Stage, and not in the very principal Parts, fhall be whispering to one another, or bowing to their Friends in the Pit, or gazing about. But if they made Playing their Study, (or had indeed a Genius to their Art) as it is their Bufinefs, they would not only not be guilty of these Abfurdities, but would, like Le Brun, obferve Nature where-ever they found it offer any thing that could contribute to their Perfection. For he was often seen to mind a Quarrel in the Street betwixt various People, and there not only obferve the several Degrees of the Paffion of Anger rifing in the Quarrel, and their different Recefs, but the diftinct Expreffions of it in every Face that was concern'd. Our Stage at the beft indeed is but a very cold Representation, fupported by loud prompting, to the eternal Difguft of the Audience, and fpoiling the Decorum of the Reprefentation; for an imperfect Actor affronts the Audience, and betrays his own Demerits. I must say this in the Praife of Mr. Wilks, he always takes Care to give the Promptor little Trouble, and never wrongs the Poet by putting in any thing of his own; a Fault, which fome applaud themselves for, tho they deferve a fevere Punishment for their equal Folly and Impudence, They forget Hamlet's Advice to the Players- And let those who play your Clowns Speak no more, than is Set down for them; for there be of them that will of themfelves laugh to fet on fome Quantity of barren Spectators to laugh too; tho in the mean time fome necessary Question of the Play be then to be confider'd. That's VILLANOUS, and fhews a moft PITIFUL Ambition in the FOOL that uses it. This is too frequently done by fome of our popular but half Comedians. But it is, I think, a greater Fault in a Tragedian, who through his Imperfectnefs in his Part fhall fpeak on any Stuff, that comes in his Head, which muft infallibly prejudice the true Expreffion of the Bufinefs of the Play, let it be Paffion, Defcription, or Narration. But notwithstanding this Supinity in general of too many of our mo dern Players, we have fometimes fome of them who are in earneft; for I remember I once faw Mr. Benjamin Jobnfon (our prefent Rofcius) act Numphs Numphs with fuch an Engagement in the Part, that I could not perfuade my felf, that it was acting but the Reality; tho this often depends on the Poet in his furnishing his Characters with Matter enough to engage, the Player to enter entirely into it, but a good Player will help out an indifferent Poet. But this Addrefs in the Performance can never be obtain'd without the last Degree of Perfectness, for without that the Player can never be free from the Apprehenfion of being out. Among thofe Players, who feem always to be in earnest, I must not omit the Principal, the incomparable Mrs. Barry, her Action is always juft, and produc'd naturally by the Sentiments of the Part, which she acts, and she every where obferves thofe Rules prefcrib'd to the Poets by Horace, and which equally reach the Actors. We weep and laugh as we fee others do, But |