feem as done by the Left, which confounds the Gesture, and gives it an aukward Appearance: And to rectify this Appearance to you from the Glafs, by giving the Motions by the contrary Hands, night contract fuch an ill Habit, as ought with the utmost Caution to be avoided,

As to all the other Parts of Action indeed a Glass may prove very advantageous, fince in it you have a faithful Representation not only of the Face in all its Variations of the Countenance, but of the whole Body likewife in all its Poftures and Motions, and the Agreeablenefs and Harmony of one to the other, and the Parts with the Whole, and the Whole with the Parts. So that you may thus eafily discover any Habit or Gesture that wants Grace, and Agreeableness, and any Action, which may add them to your Perfon, and in them that Force and Influence to you utter.

your

For want of fuch a Glafs there is but a more difficult thing to be apply'd to, and that is fome Friend, who is a perfect Mafter in all the Beauties of Gefture and Motion, and can correct Errors, as you perform before him, and point out those Graces, which wou'd render yourAction compleatly charming. 'Tis true, that fome have advis'd the Learner to have fome excellent Pattern always before his Eyes, and urge, that Hortenfius was fo to Rofcius and Efopus, who always made it their Business to be prefent at his Pleadings with that Attention as to improve themselves fo far by what they faw, as to carry E 4 away

away his fine Actions and Gesture, and practice afterwards on the Stage, what they had seen at the Bar: Yet can I not allow of this Imitation in Acting, for when a very young Player conceives a strong Opinion of any one of received Authority on the Stage, he at best becomes a good Copy, which must always fall short of an Original. Befides, this Inftance of the two Roman Players will not reach our Cafe, fince they were established Players, had fixt their Characters, and manner of Playing; and only did by Hortenfius what a Player now might do by the fine Pieces of Hiftory-Painting, carry off the beautiful Paffions and Pofitions of the Figures, or the particular Appearance of any one Paffion, But after all it puzles me, who am not acquainted fo well with the Ancients, how to reconcile this of Rofcius and Efopus learning Gesture of Hortenfius, and inftructing Cicero in the fame : 'Tis true I have been inform'd, that Hortenfius was Senior to Cicero, and therefore they might be thought to have paid that to the Bar in Cicero, which they had borrow'd from the Bar in Hortenfius. But let this be as it will, the Controverfy is not of that Moment as to detain us any longer.

But it may be objected, that what I have deliver'd all this Time feems rather to dwell upon Generals, than to come to any Particulars. I confefs in this Art it is much an eafier Matter to difcourfe in a general Manner, than to deliver particular Rules for the Direction of our

Actions.

Actions. Yet I believe I may venture to say, that as general as my Difcourfe may feem to fome, thofe, who have any true Genius to Playing, will find fuch particular Inftructions, as may be of very great ufe to them; and this Art, as well as most others, but efpecially Poetry, delivers fuch Rules, that are not easily understood without a Genius.

However, to gratify thofe, who require greater Particularities, I fhall add fome particular Rules of Action; which justly weigh'd, will be of use to the Bar and the Pulpit, as well as the Stage, provided, that the Student allow a more ftrong, vivid and violent Gesture to the Plays, than to either of the other.

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Í fhall therefore begin with the Government, Order, and Balance, as I may fay, of the whole Body; and thence I fhall proceed to the Regiment and proper Motions of the Head, the Eyes, the Eye-brows, and indeed the whole Face; and I fhall conclude with the Actions of the Hands, more copious and various; than all the other Parts of the Body.

The Place and Pofture of the Body ought not to be chang'd every Moment, fince fo fickle an Agitation is trifling and light: Nor, on the other Hand, fhould it always keep the fame Pofition, fixt like a Pillar or Marble Statue. For this, in the first place, is unnatural, and must therefore be disagreeable, fince God has fo form'd the Body with Members difpofing it to Motion, that it must move either as the Impulse of the

Mind directs, or as the neceffary Occafions of the Body require. This heavy Stability, or thoughtless Fixtnefs, by lofing that Variety, which is fo becoming of and agreeable in the Change and Diversity of Speech and Discourse, and gives Admiration to every thing it adorns, lofes likewife that Genteelnefs, and Grace, which engages the Attention by pleafing the Eye. Being taught to dance will very much contribute in general to the graceful Motion of the whole Body, efpecially in Motions, that are not immediately embarrafs'd with the Paffions.

That the Head has various Geftures and Signs, Intimations and Hints, by which it is capable of expreffing Confent, Refufal, Confirmation, Admiration, and Anger, &c. is what every one knows, who has ever thought at all. It might therefore be thought fuperfluous to treat particularly of them. But this Rule I muft lay down on this Head in general, first that it ought not to be lifted up too high, and ftretched out extravagantly, which is the Mark of Arrogance and Haughtiness; but an Exception to this Rule will come in for the Player, who is to act a Perfon of that Character. Nor on the other fide fhould it be hung down upon the Breaft, which is both difagreeable to the Eye, in rendring the Mien clumfy and dull; and would prove extremely prejudicial to the Voice, depriving it of its Clearnefs, Diftinction, and that Intelligibility, which it ought to have: Nor fhould

the

the Head always lean towards the Shoulders, which is equally ruftic and affected, or a great Mark of Indifference, Languidnefs, and a faint Inclination. But the Head, in all the calmer Speeches at least, ought to be kept in its juft Natural State and upright Pofition. In the Agitation indeed of a Paffion, the Pofition will naturally follow the feveral Acceffes and Receffes of the Paffion whether Grief, Anger, &c.

We must farther obferve, that the Head muft not be kept always like that of a Statue without Motion; nor muft it on the contrary be moving perpetually, and always throwing it felf about on every different Expreffion. It must therefore, to fteer between this Scylla and Carybdis, and fhun these ridiculous Extremes, turn gently on the Neck, as often, as Occafion requires a Motion, according to the Nature of the thing, turning now to one fide, and then to another, and then return to fuch a decent Pofition, as your Voice may best be heard by all or the Generality of the Audience. To this I may add, that the Head ought always to be turn'd on the fame fide, to which the Actions of the rest of the Body are directed, except when they are employ'd to exprefs our Averfion to Things, we refufe; or on Things we deteft and abhor : For thefe Things we reject with the Right Hand, at the fame time turning the Head away to the Left.

But the greatest Life and Grace of Action derive themselves from the Face. For this Rea

fon: