they gave in fpeaking to thofe pieces of theirs which are left us: Something like this enthusiasm we are defcribing, gave them the energy they are fo highly celebrated for; and if we wou'd form a true idea of the effects it had on their auditors, the best method we can take, is to be attentive to a good tragedy, in which a confiderable part falls to the fhare of Mr. Quin.

CHA P. III.

As all Players have occafion for the great Quality of Senfibility; thofe in a particular manner who propofe to themselves to fucceed in drawing Tears from us, have more Neceffity than any others, for that peculiar kind of it, which we fometimes exprefs by the Word Tenderness, tho' more Strongly by the appropriated Term Feeling.

T is a maxim as old as the days of Horace;

If you was'd have me shed tears, you must weep

your felf first. That excellent author addrefs'd this doctrine to orators; but it is ftill more applicable to actors.

Would the tragedian ftrongly imprefs the illufion of his performance upon us, he must first impress it as ftrongly upon himself; he muft feel every thing ftrongly, that he would have his audience feel: In order to his utmoft fuccefs, it is neceffary that he imagine himself to be, nay that he for the time really is the perfon he reprefents, and that a happy frenzy perfwades him that he is himfelf in his own perfon betray'd, perfecuted, and expofed to all the unmerited inju-. ries, for which we are to pity him. Nay it is neceffary that this voluntary error pafs from his

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imagi

imagination to his heart, and on many occafions that a pretended distress produce from him real tears: In this case we no longer perceive in him the cold player, who by his ftudied tones and forc'd geftures, is labouring to intereft our hearts in imaginary adventures; he is to us the perfon he reprefents, and if fome unfurmountable accident does not oppofe the effect he ought to produce, he is fure to work all the wonders that can be perform'd by his profeffion. The players of this masterly kind are the only abfolute fovereigns of the world: They command in an irrefiftible manner the heart, the very foul itfeli. They are the only enchanters who know how to give feeling to the most lifeless, and naturally infenfible beings.

- Such as this is the power of forrow when well exprefs'd: This tender affection of the foul is a kind of epidemic malady, the progress of which among an audience is amazing; it fpreads itfelf every way at once, and infects the moft remote spectators with a rapidity scarce to be conceiv'd. Contrary to the nature of all other infections, this propagates itfelf only by the eyes and ears; but it paffes through both these so regularly and fo certainly, that it is fufficient if we fee a person in real and undeferv'd affliction; nay, if we only hear of it, we are fure, whether we will or not, to join in it.

The utmost effes of the other paffions are by no means fo contagious: A man gives himfelf up in our company to all the extravagant emotions of rage and fury; yet we remain in perfect, undisturb'd tranquility; another is elevated to the clouds with a tranfport of joy, yet we, tho' prefent at the whole fcene, continue feF 6 rious

rious and unmov'd; but tears and the figns of distress, even in a perfon ever so indifferent to us, have almost always the power to affect us, to touch our hearts, and make us fympathize: Born as we are to pain, to fufferings and misfortune, we read with a feeling forrow our own fate in that of the unhappy wherever we meet them; and the wretchedness of others is a fort of mirror to us, in which we fee and cannot but contemplate with bitterness and forrow the miseries which we know are attach'd to our own condition.

It is not difficult to affign the reason of our finding it thus eafy to afflict and mortify ourfelves: We fhall understand it pretty readily, if we enquire of our hearts what is truly and exactly the nature of that pleasure which we receive from seeing a tragedy perform'd: Our feeling ourfelves affected is not always a proof of the fuperior merit of the piece; we often go thither on purpose to pick up fome impreffions which we know we ought to have, but cannot find that we really are poffefs'd of; or to throw off fome others which difplease, and seem not fo agreeable as they ought to be, to the circumftances of our hearts.

What is most of all furprizing is, that there appears to be a fort of joy in the expreffing our forrow; and we often go to fuch a representation on purpose to indulge a melancholy, and give ourfelves an opportunity of fhedding tears. Every man may affure himself, from the remembrance of fome part or other of his life, that this odd inclination is natural; and many reafons fpecious enough may be affign'd for it. The difficulty is not to affign fome one caufe for it, but to deter

mine

mine which of all thofe that offer themselves to our thoughts is the moft general.

When we obferv'd that the misfortunes of others, are a fort of mirrors, in which we meditate upon the fate ourselves are deftin'd to, we might have establifh'd a diftinétion; which however may be more advantageously plac'd here, and which will ferve to discover the fource of at least one of those pleasures, the origin of which we are to enquire into, on this occafion.

The view of the miseries of others always is painful to us, when thofe miferies are such as oui felves are equally expos'd to with thofe whom we fee fuffering them; but, on the contrary, we find a fort of confolation in looking upon those misfortunes which we fee others labouring under, and which we are convinc'd, by reafon and the nature of things, can never fall to our own fhare. The reprefentation in this cafe gives us pride inftead of humility, and a peculiar kind of pleafure inftead of the common uneafinefs. The fource of all our affections on these occafions, is the bringing home to ourfelves, what we fee reprefented as the fate of others; and we often receive from this, a fort of comfort in observing, that people in those states of life, which are apt to attract our envy, are at times fubject to misfortunes, which our own more humble fituation perfectly and fecurely preferves us from.

We not only are taught by this leffon to bear our private misfortunes with more patience, but we congratulate ourselves on finding that we are, comparatively to the reft of the world, lefs unhappy than we imagin'd we were.

While the misfortunes of others, however, fo long as they are greater than our own, comfort

us

us with the reflexion that if we are not more happy than we find ourselves, we might have eafily been lefs fo; it does not follow that we must neceffarily tafte the beauties of the piece, in order to our afflicting ourselves upon the occafion of the misfortunes of the principal perfon ages of it, when felf-love does not find its account in paying them this tribute.

The heroes whom we fee reprefented as famous for their misfortunes, have been alfo famous for their uncommon virtues; elfe they had not been heroes. The more we are affected by their fortune, the more we fhew that we understand the rank and value of their virtues; and we flatter our own pride in being adequate judges of fuch exalted greatnefs. In other cafes, a fenfibility and feeling for the diftreffes of our fellow creatures, when it is conducted by the rules of discretion, is itself a virtue; and we place ourfelves in the class of generous and noble fouls by beftowing on the illuftrious unfortunate, that compaffion which is their due.

It is peculiar to the forrow which we exprefs on occafion of theatrical reprefentations, that we grieve and afflict ourselves the more willingly in favour of thofe great and virtuous perfons, who we know beforehand will not long be the objects of this compaffion; when we know that the melancholy we are indulging, will not be of fo long a duration as to become troublefome, but that a happy change in their affairs will foon wipe away their mifery, and all the tears that flow for it.

Are we at a new play in fome degree deceived in this imagination? Does the heroe whofe fortune we have been compaffionating thro' the