REMARKS ON SOME OBSERVATIONS ON Dr. BROWN'S DISSERTATION ON POETRY and MUSICK. In a LETTER to the AUTHOR of the OBSERVATIONS.
LONDON, Printed for L. DAVIS and C. REYMERS, against
Gray's-Inn-Gate, Holborn,
Printers to the Royal Society. MDCCLXIV.
REMARKS,
&c.
I Address the following Remarks to you, not because I pretend to guess at your Person, but because I think you are most interested in them; and I send you them plain and simple, without prefacing them either with Compliments or Acrimony.
I entirely agree with you in your first general Observation, (P. 2.) that of most, if not
"all Arts or Exertions of human Faculty, those which Dr. Brown has chosen for his Subject are most liable to be influenced by a Variety of Causes; seemingly most remote and minute, and most difficult to be observed".
But surely your Conclusion is not logical;
"That to think, by laying down one or a few Principles, to deduce the Progress of them systematically, is parallel to
Almanackmakers
foretelling the Weather."
In my Opinion the present Question is not whether they can be solved systematically or not, but whether Dr. B—'s Solution is just or groundless: And if you apply this Conclusion to his Work, before you have examined it, your Determination must be ranked with the Judgments of those Countries, where they
behead
a Man first and try afterwards whether he is Guilty.
Your second Observation is of the
"Unimportance of such Investigations, as being mere amusing Gratifications of Curiosity."
Yet if you are really in earnest, how came you (who have affected to display so large a Fund of Reading) to have
"
P. 2.
employed so much of your Thoughts on a
small Part
of this very Subject? And
Ibid.
if ever you publish your Thoughts,"
I appeal to your own Heart, in what Estimation you would hold the Man who should tell you they were of
"no Importance to Mankind, or rank
them,
as you have done Dr. B—'s, with
Almanack-making.
Your third Objection
"of the doctorial Manner and Air of Science with which it has been fashionable of late to advance Conjectures;"
is at least not liberal. If Dr. B—'s Conjectures are false, it
ought
to be Triumph enough for you to prove them so; if on the contrary, notwithstanding your Arguments, they prove
true, ought
they not to be advanced with the Confidence of Truth, by a Man who knows them
so."
I entirely acquiesce in your fourth Observation
"that, since Truth is the principal Purpose these Investigations can answer,
Misrepresentation
or even
Error
in matter of Fact is less excusable in them than in any other Kind of Enquiry,"
except in such as
your's
and
mine,
where if we
misrepresent
either thro'
Prejudice
or
Partiality,
or
err
in Matters of Fact when we would correct the
Errors
of others, then we are
less excusable,
because we are
less honest.
So much may suffice for your Preliminaries; The Body of your Work remains now to be examined.
1. You say,
"I will not take the Advantage of the obvious Ridicule which arises from the searching the Seeds and Principles of all the most refined and transporting Poetry of Greece, in the dreary Wilds of North-America
P. 4.
."
—'Tis indeed out of the common road, for Dr. B. to carry us so
far
in Quest of
Brutality,
when he might have found it so much nearer Home, among the old
Pelasgi
of ancient
Greece;
who certainly were no better than the modern
Iroquois.
We know they were
Acorn-Eaters
and
Man-Eaters:
Sylvestres Homines,
Sacer Interpresque Deorum,
Caedibus
&
Victu foedo
deterruit ORPHEUS
Horace.
This is the most we know of them; and this we know of the modern
Iroquois
too, but then we know
a great dealmore.
Now, what we know of the
mordern Iroquois,
Dr. B. on the Foundation of
Analogy,
applies to the
old Pelasgi:
He attempts to prove by an easy Chain of Reasoning, that in Case of a supposed Civilization of
Iroquois,
such Consequences might naturally be expected to arise, as did actually arise in
antient Greece;
and
viceversa,
that as the
old Pelasgi
were once in the same State as the
Iroquois
are now, they actually did proceed by the same Steps as these would probably do upon a similar Civilization. The Argument is new I confess, but is not therefore to be treated with Contempt. If the Principles on which all Savage Tribes proceed are
always
simple, and nearly the same in all, making only some small Allowance for the Difference of Soil, and Climate: If the Similarity of Causes and Effects be too clear and convincing to be denied; in a Word if, even where Variations of Character arise, they serve rather to illustrate than confound the Subject, certainly any Conclusions properly drawn from so amazing an Analogy, must fall little short of Demonstration.—The Method then of Argumentation no rational Man can object to; let us therefore see whether Dr. B—has sustained it properly in those Parts which regard ancient Greece.
You begin with a very material Point, which if once made out would overthrow Dr. B—'s Hypothesis from the Foundation. You tell us,
"It is taken for granted all along, that the Poetry and Music, and Legislation, and Religion of Greece, were entirely the spontaneous Productions of that Climate"
but that
"it is certain, the first Seeds of them were imported
P. 4.
."
You then appeal to ancient Authors, and affirm (from them) that Dr. B's System
"cannot hold, since their
first Civilizers
did certainly introduce
foreign Gods,
and
were not the Object of Worship themselves
P. 5.
.
To prove that it was otherwise, you cite
Herodotus;
and you say,
"he assures us that the Pelasgi had no more than some general Notion of
a superior Power
who
made
the World
P. 6.
."
Now, how can
You,
whose Work professes to be built on the Pillar of
strict Quotation,
how can
You
begin with so egregious an Untruth? In your Translation you have represented the PELASGI
(Acorn-Eaters
and
Man-Eaters)
as
pure Theists;
and it seems it was
Orpheus
who
afterwards
debased them into gross
Idolaters
Euterpe, l. 52.
. Now
Herodotus
says nothing of all this. He mentions not
a superior Power;
but expressly says
Gods
(
) nor does he speak one Word of their
making,
but only of their
governing
the World
P. 6.
. And is not this a palmary Argument in Proof of their having no Religion, that
"they
worshiped
the
Gods,
who in their Opinion
governed the World?"
—Well: but it seems,
"they knew no Name for any Divinity; the Names of their Gods were brought from Egypt; and if their Gods had been their own Chiefs,
their
Names would have been better remembered than any Thing else
P. 6.
."
Here, I confess with Pleasure, is some Appearance of good Reasoning.
But to set this Matter in its true Light; and acquaint you whence it probably came to pass, that the
savage Pelasgi
had no Names for their Gods, I must (in Imitation of Dr. B.) carry you once more among your new Acquaintances, the Savages of America.—You must know, then, that the savage Tribes seldom retain the
particular Name
of the
Chieftain
whom they
deify
and
worship:
and the Reason of this is, because he generally
loses
it even
before be dies.
When he is exalted to the Rank of
Chief,
his former Name is commonly dropped, and a new Appellation is given him, suited to the Station he is raised to: This Title (rather than Name) is generally that of
Father, Senior,
or
Sun
of the Tribe. In Proof of this I might refer you to all the Writers on the Manners of savage Tribes: On this Subject, however, LAFITAU and the
Lettres Edifiantes,
will give you ample Satisfaction. Under this State of Things, the savage Tribes offer Sacrifice, consult Oracles, and perform the general Acts of a native Religion. This, then, seems to have been the idolatrous State of the old Pelasgi: They probably worshipped their first savage Chieftains; for it is clear, on the Evidence of
Herodotus
himself, that they offered
Sacrifice
to their Gods, and
consulted
the
Oracle
of
Dodona,
whether they should give the
Egyptian Names
to
their own Deities
Herod. ib.
: two Circumstances which prove even to Demonstration, that they had Deities before the Time of Orpheus.
You will say,
"what then did Orpheus introduce, if he introduced not the Gods of Greece?"
Why, Herodotus tells us, as plain as Words can tell us: He introduced
Mysteries
(
): and that he might distinguish the native Gods whom he found already established by a general Worship, he appropriated particular Rites to each; and to this End, very properly distinguished each God by a particular Appellation, But sure, never was Critic so unlucky in his Remarks as You: For it has been made appear by a learned Writer, that these
, these very
Mysteries
which ORPHEUS introduced to Greece, were so far from being the
Beginnings
of
Heroe Worship,
that they were intended as a
Detection
(to the
initiated)
of the
Errors
of
pre-established Polytheism
Div. Leg. of Moses, B. ii. Sect. 4.
.
It appears then, that the
oldest Gods
of Greece were strictly
native:
I shall now prove that they were the
Chiefs
and
first Civilizers
of the savage Inhabitants. That they were such, is evident from the Testimony of several ancient Authors, founded on the Traditions of the Country, which are the only original Evidences that can be obtained in a Case of this Nature.—The first and chief of these was He, to whom
Orpheus
(it seems) gave the Name of JUPITER. This old Chieftain was born in Crete: and was brought young by his Mother into Greece
Strabo, l. x.
. He conquered the
Titans
(probably another Tribe of Savages, at Enmity with the
Pelasgi)
and civilized the Inhabitants of the Country which he subdued
Diodorus, l. iii.
. After he had vanquished the
Titans,
he is said by some Authors to have instituted the Olympian Games, in Commemoration of his Victory
Pausanias, l. v.
.
Another of these most ancient Gods of Greece, to whom ORPHEUS gave the Name of APOLLO, was a Chief who killed the Serpent
Python,
and the Tyrant
Titius;
taught the Inhabitants of Greece the Use of the Fruits of the Earth, and civilized the Inhabitants of several Districts
Strabo, l. ix.
.
Two more of these ancient Gods of Greece, were the famed Brothers, CASTOR and POLLUX. They were Natives of the little Isle of
Pephnos
near
Messene
Pausanias, l.
; and taught the Lacedemonians the Arts of Dancing and of War
Lucian. de Saltatione.
.
Now these
four
are the very
ancient Gods
whom Dr. B. has singled out, as being delivered down to Posterity under the Characters of Musicians, Singers, and Dancers. All of them Chiefs and Civilizers of ancient Greece, in some Department or other of Legislation.
But he might have added several more. Of this Class was MERCURY. He was born in Greece
Pausanias Arcad.
; was the
Inventor
of the
Lyre;
and is said to have been deified for this Invention
Eliac.
.
Another Deification I must not pass over: You have led me to it yourself: It is that of BACCHUS; whose Love of Wine, Dance, and Music, is too well known to need a Comment. You speak of his Mysteries, as being not of Grecian but foreign Original; and thence you conclude, that the God himself was so. I need hardly bid you turn back to the preceding Pages, to put you in Mind how inconclusive this Argument is. The
old Chieftain
himself was a Civilizer of
Greece,
tho' his
Mysteries
(introduced by ORPHEUS) were
Egyptian.
You will demand a Proof of the God being a Civilizer of Greece. Take the following Account, then; which unfortunately contains as ample a Confutation of all you have advanced on this Subject, as any Heart can wish.
"PHILONIDES informs us, that the Vine having been transplated from the Borders of the
Red Sea
into
Greece,
by BACCHUS;—the Greeks, when the unmixed Wine is brought to Table at Supper, invoke the good Genius or God, honouring (or worshipping) the Power who invented it: This God is BACCHUS
Athen. Deip. l. xv.
."
Thus, your capital Objection to Dr. B's System seems absolutely untenable, and void of all Foundation.
3. You proceed, next, to object against his Account of the Origin of
poetic Numbers
P. 8, 9, 13, &c.
What you have advanced on this Subject, I shall only stile an Instance of your
Power of Representation.—
You confound the Origin of
Poetry
with the Origin of
mere Rythm;
nor perhaps is it necessary that a mere Critic should know the Difference.—You represent Savages, in their lowest State of Nature, to have no Leisure for Amusement; when, if you will
read,
you will
find,
they have
more
Leisure than any
civilized
Nations:—You charge Dr. B. with representing them as going formally to Work, with an
a-priori Notion
of Harmony and Measure, to adapt their Words to Music; when in Reality he tells you from
Lafitau,
that they dance and sing, and join their Words to their Music as well as they can; and to this End, that they
"even retrench and strike off some Syllables from their Words,"
that they
"may tally better with their Dance and Music; and hence the natural Origin of Rythm or Numbers"
—You own that the Dance
cannot be totally without Measure;
and yet you deny its Tendency to produce a
correspondent Measure
in the
annexed Words:—
You say that violent Emotions of the Mind naturally produce harmonious Periods, yet though you are very angry through your whole Work, you never produce one harmonious Period.—Such are the Materials of this Article, which I shall leave to the Reader's Contemplations.
4. But you have not yet done with the old Deities of Greece: You say you remember a
"Passage of ARISTOTLE full in the Teeth of Dr. B's System: wherein it is observed, that "the Poets never represent Jupiter singing
P. 14.
."
Truly, neither does Dr. B. for he only says (on the Authority of a very old Poet) that
"Jupiter
danced."
'Tis a little hard upon the Father of Gods and Men, thus to tie him Hand and Foot because he wanted an
Ear,
or happened to be
hoarse:
and because he did not
sing,
that you won't let him
dance
neither. Good Sir, be a little more ingenuous in your Application of ancient Authors.
But you affirm, that
"Arctinus mentions Jupiter's Dancing as a Thing
unusual
lb.
."
Now, why did not you refer to the Passage in Athenaeus which you here allude to? Was it for Fear the Reader might consult it?—With some Trouble I have found it; and am sorry to say, I have detected you in what an illiberal Critic would call a downright Falsehood. The following is a literal Translation of the Passage.
"Eumelus
or
Arctinus
the Corinthian somewhere introduces Jupiter dancing; saying, "Among them danced the Sire of Gods and Men
Deip. l. i.
."
Not a Syllable occurs here, on its being either an
usual
or
unusual Thing.
But it seems,
"the Character of the Poet should be ascertained whether serious or burlesque, &c. before any thing concerning the whole System of Grecian Religion be determined by one Quotation at Second-hand from him
P. 14.
."
—You are a notable Logician.—But it happens, that the Proof of Dr. B's System does not depend upon this one Quotation: he has (in the Course of his Dissertation) given twenty more, which are generally corroborative of This.
5. You next come to consider Dr. B's Account of the Origin of Poetic History: You charge Dr. B. with misquoting and misrepresenting the Author of the Life of Homer, in order to bring him to his own Purpose
P. 15.
. But in reality, all that Dr. B. has done, is to express that
properly,
which the Author of the Life of Homer had expressed
improperly:
Both their Expressions imply the same Thing. You farther charge Dr. B. indeed, with
"turning
Spanish
Works into
Arabic
ones
P. 16.
."
Now these Spanish Fragments are indeed Arabic by Descent; and this is evidently Dr. B's Meaning. But You, I find, being ignorant of their Original, did not comprehend his Meaning.
6. On the Subject of
"ancient Laws being written in Verse,"
you say,
"the Actions of their Gods and Heroes were such as could not be a Foundation for moral Exhortations to Imitation
P. 16.
."
Here, I suspect, that instead of putting
yourself
in the Place of the
Savages,
you have put the
Savages
in
your Place.
Certainly, to a
modern Englishman,
the Actions of their Gods and Heroes could never have seemed a worthy Model for Imitation: Yet to an ancient savage Greek (an Acorn-Eater, and a Man-Eater) they might very well pass for such.
"Plunder and Revenge (as you observe
P. 13.
) being what the Savage chiefly values,"
an Exhortation to this Purpose would naturally be included in the Song-Feast.—
7. You say,
"I would fain know why the Doctor should suppose the Practice of
religious Dance
and
Song
to have
necessarily arisen
from a
false Religion,
which, as he himself takes Notice, made a Part of the
true
P. 17.
."
But where has the Doctor asserted, that they
necessarily arose?
That they
naturally
arose both among
Pagans
and
Jews,
he has made it very evident. Now, why should we have Recourse to a pedantic Principle of
Imitation,
void of Evidence, for a Practice which manifestly arises from
Nature?
I expect, you will prove in your next Work, that all
Pagans
learnt of the
Jews,
how to beget Children, and eat their Victuals.
8. You now come to the old poetic Oracles of GREECE: So far as the Affair of mere Reasoning is concerned, I shall again leave you to the natural Penetration of the Reader. With Respect to the literary Part of the Argument, I at length give you Joy of a small Discovery: for you have detected Dr. B. in calling an ancient Priestess of Apollo by the Name of PHEMONOE instead of HEROPHILE. I wish you had been as successful in your next Attack.
For the main Point worth contending for an this Subject is,
"Whether the ancient Pythian Oracles were the Effect of Enthusiasm."
To prove that they were not, you bring a Story from Homer, who tells us of a wonderful Feat of APOLLO, who 1st changed himself into a Dolphin; 2dly, drove the Cretan Voyagers from their Course at Sea; 3dly, appeared to them (Qu. in his own Shape, or the Dolphin's?) and told them, they were to be his Sacrificers; 4thly, that the poor Fellows being hungry, he assured them, they need not fear for a Subsistence; for that he could foretel, they should live comfortably on the Sacrifices: on which, they believed him, and became his Priests.—Now, on this curious and authentic Trait of History, which you call
rational
and
probable,
you found the Rise of the Delphic Oracle. Believe your Creed who may, I shall not endeavour to shake his Faith: But in Respect to those who may think that any thing can possibly be fabulous which comes from that most
scrupulous
and
true Historian, Old
HOMER, I can only set against him the weak Authority of that poetical and lying Romancer, DIODORUS the
Sicilian.
Now this Author tells us, in the most express Terms, that
"the Rise of this famed Oracle was from Enthusiasm: That the first Diviners being seized with this, began to prophecy, and were agitated with
wild and frantic Gestures,
which were so violent, that many of them leapt into the deep Cleft of the Earth, near the Place where now the Temple of Delphi stands: And that in Process of Time, the Diviner or Pythia, was
confined
to the
Tripos,
as the Means of
preventing
the
like
fatal
Consequences
Diodorus, l. 16.
."
This whole Account confirms all that Dr. B. has advanced concerning the Origin of the old poetic Oracles of GREECE: it overturns all the Objections you have mustered on this Subject: And as to the illiberal Misrepresentations of Dr. B's Method of Reasoning, which close your Argument, I am quite ashamed of them, and might give you for Answer, a Maxim of your own;
"that a Buffoon always places Things in that Light which is most advantageous to his Satire
P. 35.
."
9. On the Subject of the Greek Melody, you say,
"you have little to object:"
and for the same Reason, perhaps, I have nothing to object; and I fear the Reason is, because we do not understand it.—However, you are even with him in the next Paragraph; in which you prove yourself a greater Adept in Prosody, not only than Dr. B. but even than the learned
Vossius
himself: And here you have laid hold of a fair Opportunity of exposing Dr. B. for
another Man's Ignorance
at least, if
not
for
his own.
On this important Head, therefore I will lay down a Brace of Maxims, built on your most ingenious Criticism, which I defy him and all his Adherents to overturn. 1. That a Writer is answerable for any incidental Error of the Author whom he quotes, though it be not essential to his Subject. 2. That though the Author who
made
a trifling Mistake may be a Man of
Sense
and
Learning,
yet he who
passes
it unnoticed
must
be an
ignorant Blockhead.
10. You own that
"the Power of the Greek Melody is justly attributed by Dr. B. to the
Power of Association
P. 39.
."
—
"But,"
—Ay, right or wrong, there must be a
but—
"But this is in Effect owning, that it is in a great Measure unaccountable
Ib.
."
Let us see, now, how this Argument stands.—If we know that it is
justly
attributed to
Association,
then surely we know what
Association
means; and if so, then, I apprehend, it is clearly
accounted for.—
Had I not been tolerably acquainted with you before I arrived at this logical Paragraph, I should have wondered to hear a Man
saying
and
unsaying
the
same
thing at a Breath.—Well; but we will pass over this as one of those Propositions you speak of, which are
neither true
nor
false.
We will suppose, that all you mean to assert is only what follows;
"that their
particular Associations
being
unknown,
the
particular
Nature of their
Melody
(which arose from
these Associations)
must be
unknown likewise:"
—This is a Proposition which has both Sense and Truth in it:
But then,
unluckily for you, it is the very thing that Dr. B. asserts: For he tells you, even again and again, that notwithstanding all the Pretences of your whole critical Fraternity, we know nothing particular about the Matter.
11. But now you hasten into the midst of things; and, to confess the Truth, take such Strides in Absurdity, that it requires some Pains to follow you.—Dr. B. says,
"Their Songs were of a legislative Cast, and being drawn chiefly from the Fables or History of their own Country, contained the essential Parts of their religious, political, and moral Systems."
—This it seems you cannot
digest;
and yet, I fear, you will be compelled to
swallow
it.—
First, you acknowledge, that the Songs of
Orpheus
and
Amphion
were of this
legislative Cast:
that
"they employed them to perswade the Savages to live together sociably, and without injuring each other, and to worship the Gods
P. 26.
."
So far we go together.—
"But as soon as the Conveniencies of Life began to abound, they began to seek
Amusement;
and then, it is in the Light of pleasing and charming, not sage or useful, we find them considered
Ib.
."
Now, with all due Deference to the contrary Opinion and Practice of a learned Critic, who lards his Sentences with Scraps of Greek, may not a Work be at once
pleasing
and
instructive?
Or to express myself in a Way more suitable to the Taste of certain Writers (because less intelligible to Half their Readers) may not the
Utile
and the
Dulce
be joined together? As a full Proof, that this was the Fact in the Poems of the ancient Greeks, I need only refer to what Dr. B. has quoted from Plato
Dissert. Sect. v. Art 12.
. There it appears at large, that the Poems of their Bards were taught to their Children, as the
Foundation
both of their
Opinions
and their
Manners.
And the very Reason is assigned by Plato
why
this Method of
Instruction
was
used,
"Because the
youthful
Mind is
not apt
to attend to
serious
Study, therefore the
pleasing Vebicle
of
Song
is to be administered."
But you urge further,
"that the Bard's Profession was not of that Dignity, which Dr. B. ascribes to it;"
"and as for his ranking the Bard next to
Kings,
I can quote him two Passages where he is ranked with
Carpenters
P. 29.
."
—You might have saved yourself the Trouble: because Dr. B. himself has produced an Instance from another Country,
(Ireland)
where the Bards had thought proper to rank themselves with
Thieves
and
Robbers
Dissert. p. 163.
. Yet in this very Country, there had been a time, when they were ranked with
Kings
and
Gods
Ib p. 161.
. This shrewd Observation, therefore, arises only from your being unfairly carried off your Ground, and obliged to talk on a Subject you are not acquainted with: You suppose the Dignity of the Bard's Character to have been always
stationary
and
the same,
whereas indeed, it appears from Dr. B's Work, that it was generally
fluctuating,
according to the accidental Changes in Civilization, Arts, and Manners.
Again, you say,
"Had Homer's Work been
legislative,
his Business would have been to deliver a
more perfect
and
improved
System in each Kind
P. 29.
."
How do you know that? Has Homer himself told you so? Upon what Authority do you make Homer
wiser
than he
was,
and
wiser
than the
Times
had
made him?
"He painted what he saw and believed (says Dr. B.) and painted truly: the Fault lay in the Opinions and Manners of the Times: In the Defects of an early and barbarous Legislation, which had but half-civilized Mankind
Dissert. p. 82.
."
But now, after having granted, that Homer
did not
deliver a perfect and improved System of Doctrines, you proceed (like a profound Philosopher) to prove that he
did
P. 29, 30.
. Your Argumentation on this Head I shall leave to the natural and common Sense of the Reader; only adding this Remark, that Homer's Fables were such a Picture of Life and Morals, as
Plato
(in a more refined Period) thought proper to banish from his Republic, lest they should
destroy all good Morals.—
Dr. B. has particularized some of the Chief of them, which sufficiently justify
Plato's
Censure
Differt. p. 81.
.
You next proceed to
Pindar:
and here, when I found you allowed that
"the poetic Songs
must
abound with Reflections on what was laudable, or the contrary; and with Pictures and Recommendations of what that Age and Nation reputed
Virtue;"
and also that
"Fables built on the current Traditions, at once struck the Imagination, soothed the Vanity, and excited the awful Respect of the Hearers
P. 32.
:"
Now, said I, we are happily agreed: But see the Vanity of human Hopes! In the very next Line we are all broke to Pieces. For it seems
"Pindar's intermixed Fables were so far from being necessary to his Odes, that in his first Ode he wrote without mixing Fables at all, until an elder and more experienced Artist,
Corinna,
told him how
necessary they were
Ib.
."
—I durst hold an even Wager, that this same
Corinna
was a sensible old Woman: You see, she was instructing a young Greek Divine in the Art of Preaching: You tell us too, that
"he followed her Advice."
Marry, and with good Reason: for it appears, from Dr. B's Dissertation, as well as Corinna's Advice, that Fables were regarded as an essential Part of the Performance
Dissert. p. 83, 84.
.
Your subsequent Remark is a downright Triumph. For here you prove irrefragably, that Dr. B. has called Pindar's Chair, a Chair of
Gold;
when in Reality, it was only a Chair of
Iron.
This is the second Error you have luckily hit; by which you have more than made good the ancient Proverb, that
"once a blind Man killed a Batt."
I cannot conceive how Dr. B. will bring himself off here; unless he should perversely affirm, that he speaks metaphorically; and calls Pindar's a Chair of
Gold,
in the same Manner, as if he were to speak of the Chair in which certain modern Critics sit and write, he would call it a Chair of
Lead.
You go on:
"The three Greek Tragedians, says the Doctor, are the last of this illustrious Catalogue of legislative Bards."
—
"Wo is me!"
—For
"in the most private Conversations I h
ve had, they never gave me a Hint of their being Legislators, or legislative Writers
P. 33, 34.
."
No Wonder they never whispered the Secret to You, who seem only to have been counting your Fingers, and scanning Verses. If they had whispered any thing to you, I think I can guess what it would have been. But you have set me an Example of Politeness; and therefore, notwithstanding all the friendly Freedoms I take with you, I will not so much as hint, what it was the Reeds whispered to
Midas.—
Yet you allow that
"they hold forth the leading Principles of the Greek Religion, Polity, and Morals; and their Subjects are the Grecian Gods and Heroes
P. 33. 34.
."
Here then you seem to carry about you more Truth than you are aware of. You remember what grave Creature it was that formerly
carried the Mysteries,
and yet was
never the wiser:
But I make no ill-natured Applications.
But Solon (you say) does not seem to have
"had that high Idea of
the tragic Writers,
as
useful Servants of the State
Ib.
."
What Tragic Writers? The three that Dr. B. speaks of? Solon was dead long before they existed. You shall take your Choice, whether you will have this set down to the Account of your
Learning
or your
Modesty.—
But
"Plutarch informs us, that he expressed a great Dislike of their Art, in the Practice of Thespis
P. 34.
."
True; he did so: And you tell us yourself, in another Place, what it was that Solon disliked: It was
"the
new Circumstance
of
dramatic Representation
P. 47.
."
But this was not the Place for you to bring that Circumstance into View; because it would have unmasked your Battery. Solon was alarmed at a a Change in their poetic and musical Contests, which hitherto had maintained their
simpler Form;
and it was probably his high Idea of their
preestablished Utility,
which induced him so severely to censure this
Innovation.
Thus, in the End, this Affair of Solon and Thespis tends to confirm Dr. B's Opinion, rather than to confute it.
But now you suddenly come round, and become quite good-humoured; nay you are willing to lend Dr. B. a Lift; and produce a Passage which tends to the Confirmation of his System
P. 34, 35.
: For you tell us,
"Euripides himself is introduced, affirming that the Reason why Poets are to be honoured is for their
Ingenuity, salutary Admonitions,
and
bettering
their Fellow-Citizens."
This is a Method of Confutation altogether new, and very ingenious: To confirm an Adversary's System by Proofs which he himself was ignorant of; and thus to demonstrate your Superiority.
And now to close this Article in your own Manner, I will also produce some additional Evidenees in Favour of Dr. B's System; and then I think we shall have
humbled
him sufficiently between us.
The Doctor must know then (for to be sure if he
had known
it, he would have
said
it) that in the ancient Times of Greece, there was no other
Code,
either
religious, moral,
or
political,
but the Songs of their Bards. If there was even one let Dr. B. produce it at his Peril. These Songs or Poems, then, were indeed the great
Repository
of their
Principles:
having no
real Revelation
or
Guide
from
Heaven,
they took up with the
best they could find;
and hence laid hold of the
Examples
of their fabulous
Gods
and
Heroes,
as the Means of
fixing
the
fluctuating Principles
of their refpective Societies by a certain
Standard,
however
defective.
These Songs, therefore, may, on this Foundation, be properly stiled
legislative,
because they actually stood in the Place of
Law.
In farther Proof of this, I will give Dr. B. two or three Authorities.
"Hesiod and Homer (says Herodotus) were they who formed a Theogony for the Greeks, giving Names to their Gods, and fixing their Shapes or Figures
Herod. Euterpe.
."
As a Consequence of this, a respectable Modern tells us, that
"the Writings of Homer became the
Standard
of
private Belief,
and the
grand Directory
of
public Worship
Life of Homer, p. 174.
."
—Another learned Modern expresses himself in still stronger Terms. For speaking of the ancient Greeks, he affirms that
"Homer was their
Bible:
and whatsoever was not
read therein,
nor could be expressly
proved thereby,
passed with them for
apocryphal
Div. Leg. of Moses, Vol. ii. Part i. p. 52.
."
Again, He calls Homer and Hesiod
"the popular and only
authorized Books of Divinity
amongst the Greeks; which assign the
Names,
the
Attributes,
and the
Form,
to each God
Ib. P. 259.
."
How it happened, that these Fables which were swallowed in Times of Ignorance, came to be established in a more knowing Age, this learned Person likewise inform us.
"The great Poets of Greece, who had
most contributed
to
refine
the
public Taste
and
Manners,
and were now grown into a Kind of
sacred Authority,
had
sanctified
these silly Tales in their Writings, which Time had now consigned to Immortality
lb. Vol. i. Part ii. P. 303.
."
Now all these Authorities, every one of them tending to confirm his System, Dr. B. hath ignorantly omitted; and (with
an a-priori Notion,
as you elegantly stile it) has pretended to be
wiser
than his Neighbours, and gone about to prove with the most consummate Arrogance that it
must
be so; and that from the
natural Progression
of
savage
Manners, it
could not
be
otherwise.
Having thus sufficiently humbled Dr. B. by bringing Arguments in his Favour which he knew nothing of; we will now take Leave of this Article, and proceed to Number
12. You preface your Criticisms on this Article, by stiling them
"loose Observations
P. 35.
;"
which we must take without much
"Order, for you have not Time enough to methodize them."
—And yet you have been a whole Year in throwing up your Crudities.
Your first loose Observation on the 12th Article is this;
"that although the Greeks regarded Music as a necessary Part of a liberal Education, yet this only implies that it was an Accomplishment parallel to
Dancing
in present Times:"
and in Proof of this, you add, that
"one (modern) Author intitles his Book on the Subject,
the Rudiments of genteel Education
P. 35, 36.
."
I could have furnished you with an Instance still more to your Purpose, of a Dancing Master who writ a Treatise to prove, that all the Vices of the present Age are owing to the
Neglect
of
Dancing.
—You go on:
"Even the abstracted Locke and Rousseau insist on it, in their Treatises on Education.—May we not then conjecture, the Cases were in some Measure alike
Ib.
?"
Truly, we might conjecture as we pleased, if the clear Evidence of Antiquity was not against us. But
unluckily
again, Dr. B. has proved from various ancient Authors, that their Poems were the
Bible
of ancient Greece: that these Poems were
sung,
both in
public
and
private;
and not only so, but that their Children were taught to sing them to the Lyre, as the very first Foundation of a virtuous Education
Dissert. Sect. v. Art. 12. p. 86, &c.
: He has proved that all this was done, even before they learnt the
gymnastic Arts:
And
these
(if you had been properly conversant with ancient Manners) were what you would have compared to modern
dancing.
"Music
(says Plato, in a Passage quoted by Dr. B.) relates to the
Mind,
the
Gymnastic
to the Improvement of the
Body
Dissert. Sect. v. Art. 12. p. 86, &c.
."
Well: But
"Plato gives Notice, that when he speaks of Music, he includes the Subject, Words, or Song; and by the Passage quoted from the Alcibiades it appears, that this was not the popular Sense
P. 37.
."
Very true, but very consistent with, nay corroborative of, all that Dr. B. has said. He has observed, that in the Time of Plato, the
Separation
of Poetry and Music had
commenced:
Therefore it was proper and natural in Plato, to explain himself
particularly,
whenever he writ on this Subject; and to inform his Readers that he spoke of Music in the
ancient
Sense, and not in the
new.
In his Alcibiades too, he writ altogether according to Character: For it was natural for Alcibiades (a young Debauche) to adopt the
new
Sense, and for Socrates to put him in Mind of the
old.
You next charge Dr. B. with writing in that Stile which
"is neither true nor false, because he has not precisely fixed the Point which separates what he calls the
early
from the
late
Periods of Antiquity, with regard to the Use of Music merely instrumental
(y)."
In this Point you not a little resemble an honest Lawyer at the Bar, who was examining a Witness to a Fact: The Witness said, it happened between Nine and Ten in the Morning.
"Was it at five Minutes, or ten Minutes, or a Quarter, or Half, or three Quarters after Nine?"
said the honest Lawyer. The Witness declaring he could not fix it to a few Minutes, the Man of Logic turned about to the Jury, and said,
"Now Gentlemen, I hope you are convinced that the Fellow talks in a Stile that is neither true nor false, and that he knows nothing of the Matter."
But it seems, you have at length discovered a Passage,
"where Dr. B. speaks of a particular Period as an early one, in which I will prove that a Separation had taken Place. In a Passage from Strabo, he speaks of something done after the Crissaean War, as done in ancient Times
Ib.
."
Dr. B. says no such Thing: Pray, examine his Book once again: He says exactly what Strabo says: but
unluckily,
you understand neither Dr. B. nor Strabo. That Author says,
"that in ancient Times, there was a Contest of Musicians:"
and then he tells us farther
"that
this
was
established
at Delphi, after the Crissaean War."
This Dr. B. translates literally from Strabo
Dissert. p. 107.
, who manifestly speaks of two distinct Periods; but the first of these happening to lie beyond the Depth of your chronological Plummet, you have learnedly jumbled them into one. The ancient Times that Dr. B. (after Strabo) speaks of here, were the Times of Apollo, and his immediate Followers.—But of this you will hear more in due Time.
However, an early Period you are resolved to find, though it make never so much against you.
"If this should not satisfy the Doctor; Pausanias, in his History of the Pythian Contentions, will tell him of one Eleutheres, whom he mentions before Hesiod, that gained the Prize for
mere
Execution,
singing a Composition
not his own.
He will tell him likewise, that Hesiod did not play on the Harp; so that there was a Separation of the Poet's and Musician's Character very early
P. 39.
."
—Certain Stars there are, which ray out
Light;
and others I have read of in a profound Author, which are said to ray out
Darkness.
Of this latter Kind is the Paragraph before us, which in this Sense may be stiled of the
first Magnitude.
It requires no common Genius for Absurdity, to crowd so much of it into so small a Compass, as you have put into this short Paragraph. The Point in Question is, whether at this early Period, there was an
allowed Separation
of
vocal
and
instrumental
Music, in the public Contests? Dr. B. affirms there was not; and You bring this Passage to prove that there was. Now whoever will look into Pausanias, will find from this very Passage, 1st, that Eleutheres, because he
could join
the
vocal
with
instrumental
Music, was allowed to
sing
the Composition of
another;
and Hesiod, because
he could not join them,
was not allowed to
sing his own
Pausanias, Phoc.
. His not being able to join the
vocal
and
instrumental
Melody was regarded as such a Defect in this Poet, as all his eminent Talents could not make up for. Thus the very Passage which you bring in Confutation of Dr. B's System, when
fairly
and
honestly
given to the Reader, is a collateral Proof of the Truth of all he has said on the Subject.
These Cavils arise manifestly from your
Power of Representation.
The next, to give You your
Due,
is chiefly the Effect of pure Ignorance. This relates to the second Instance which Dr. B. has alledged, concerning the Power of ancient Music: On this You observe,
"that the Instrument in Question was the
Flute,
both Quintilian and Iamblicus agree: and how the most able Musician could
play
on this Instrument and
sing too,
I do not well conceive, except it could be proved, that the
was that truly respectable and ancient Instrument the Scottish Bagpipe
P. 41.
."
Right sorry I am, to lie under a Necessity of exposing the
Errors
of a
learned Critic,
who piques himself on a Familiarity with all ancient Authors.—Now, that the Instrument was the
or
Tibia,
these Authors do both agree. But did they agree to give
you
Leave to
translate
or
transform
it into a
Flute?
A
Pipe,
if you please: But the Name and Fashion of a
Flute
are so
connected
in the Idea of a Modern, that by this Transition you carry your Cause at once, even before your Argument comes on. Every
Flute
is indeed a
Pipe;
but every
Pipe
is not a
Flute.
And here lies the whole Mystery of the Matter. For in the first Place, you will see, from the Passage you have quoted from Pausanias, that Echembrotus gained the Prize at the Pythian Games for
singing and playing on the Pipe;
"There was the Song to the Harp, as formerly; there was the
Song to the Pipe;
and there was the Pipe itself, without Song. Cephalon won the Prize among those who sung and played on the Harp; Echembrotus, among those who
sung
and
played on the Pipe;
Sacadas, among those who played on the Pipe only
Pausan. in Phocicis.
."
—That the same Person
sung
and
played
on the
Pipe,
is evident; 1st, from the Greek Name,
, which is
compound,
and implies
both:
2dly, from the Circumstance recorded of Hesiod, that he was not admitted to the Pythian Contest, because he could not both
sing
and
play.—
Farther, it is evident, from many Passages in
Theocritus,
particularly from his 8th Eidyllium, that the Shepherds both sung and played on their pastoral Pipe at the same Time. In their Contention, they are represented as accompanying their Song with the Pipe; and to prepare us for this Union, we are told in the Opening of the Pastoral, that they were
"both skilled in playing on the Pipe, both skilled in singing."
—In
Virgil's
Eclogues, this Union of the Shepherd's Pipe and Song is no less clearly alluded to.
Sylvestrem tenui
Musam meditaris Avena:—
Formosam
resonare
doces
Amaryllida
Sylvas
Ecl. i.
.
In which Passage we have the
Subject
of his
Song,
and the
Instrument
with which he
accompanies
it. —Again,
An mihi cantando victus non redderet ille,
Quem mea
Carminibus meruisset Fistula,
Caprum
Ecl. iii.
?
Once more, in the same Eclogue, the Union is expressly declared,
Cantando
tu illum? aut unquam tibi
Fistula
Cera
Juncta fuit? non tu in Triviis, indocte, solebas
Stridenti
miserum
Stipula
disperdere
Carmen?
There is a Hint at it in the following Lines, which however I give you chiefly for the Sake of a Picture it contains, which perhaps you may know the next Time you look in your Glass:
Aut hic ad veteres Fagos, quum
Daphnidis Arcum
Fregisti & Calamos;
quae tu,
perverse
Menalca,
Et cum vidisti Puero donata,
dolebas;
Et si non aliquâ nocuisses, mortuus esses.
Again: and, if possible, in still clearer Terms,
O Mihi tum quam molliter Ossa quiescant,
Vestra meos olim si
Fistula dicat Amores
Ecl. x.
.
I could transcribe several other Passages, but shall conclude with the following; in which the Shepherd invokes his
Pipe
(his
Tibia,
the very Instrument in Question) to
accompany
his
Song.
Incipe
Moenalios
mecum,
mea
Tibia, Versus
Ecl. vii.
.
As to the
Means
by which this Union was accomplished, whether the Pipe was inflated from
above
or from
below,
by
Wind
or by
Water,
I shall leave to
Your
Investigation. Is is a Subject too sublime for
Me
to attempt; but every Way worthy of your exalted Genius. On this, therefore, I shall commend you to your most profound Meditations, guided by
Julius Pollux, Bartholine,
and other learned Men who have written
De Tibiis Veterum:
In the mean Time, please to accept (if you will condescend so far) a little Information from that poor ignorant Fellow,
Isaac Vossius:
"Si solas exceperis organicas Fistulas quae in Templis vulgo usurpantur, vix ullas invenias alias, quae Tibiarum dignae sunt Vocabulo
De Poem. Cantu. p. 98.
."
—
"Ascaul
seu
Utricularii Veterum,
nihil omnino discrepant ab hodiernis Organariis
Ib. p. 99.
."
According to this Author, you see, you are ignorant even of the Genealogy of a
Bag-pipe:
I am sorry to be under a Necessity of joining my Evidence to his against you. For you must know, the true Scotch Bag-pipe (still used in the Highlands) is blown by the Mouth, and That blown by the Bellows is a Theft from the Continent, and probably (as the Passage of Vossius implies) delivered down from antient Times.
17. Your next Attack on Dr. B. is upon the Subject of the
hymnal
or
lyric
Species: And here you charge him with confounding two Things together, which were essentially different: You affirm, that
"the
Hymn
was always written in
heroic Measure,
and was the more ancient Form of the two; that the
lyric Ode
was always written in
varied Measures,
and was much later in its Production, being no older than the Age of Thespis
P. 42, 43, 44.
."
You are so confident of the Propriety and Truth of this Distinction, that you insult Dr. B. on his Ignorance; and boast, that by this Argument alone you have cut and torn his Cobweb Hypothesis
P. 44.
.
Of all the Men of Criticism I ever read, You, my Friend, are the most unfortunate. Had you been as well acquainted with ancient Authors as you are with your Prosody, you would not have given Dr. B. such an Oportunity of exposing your Ignorance. I will prevent your having the Mortification of being severely chastised; and will lay on the Rod as gently as I can, by referring you to a Passage in Dr. B's
"History of the Rise and Progress of Poetry,"
which I have now lying before me: It is a Quotation from
Proclus;
in which that Author tells us, that
"in the
Pythian Nomos,
or
Hymn
in Praise of
Apollo, Terpander
(who lived after the Age of
Homer)
was the first who used the
hexameter
or
heroic
Verse; and that after Him,
Phrynes
joined
This
to the
various
or
lyric Measure,
which alone had been employed before
Terpandrum vero Nomon absolvisse apparet;
cum ad
ibuisset heroicum Carmen:—
Phrynes vero novam Rationem commentus est: Hexametrum enim cum soluto Carmine conjanxit.
Proclus apud Photium.—
See the Passage quoted at large below, p. 47, 48.
"
Here, then, it appears, that both (what you call) the
hymnal
and the
lyric Measure
were actually
employed together,
and this, many Ages before Thespis existed. It appears farther, to the total Annihilation of all your critical Pretensions, that the
various
or
lyric Measure
(
"solutum Carmen"
) was the more ancient of the two, in this
Pythian Hymn
or
Song:
so far from being the the Invention of the Age of
Thespis,
it was from the earliest Times employed in the
Pythian Song,
even as far back as the Times of
Apollo.
Indeed, it had been very strange, had it been otherwise. That
regular Hexameters
should have been
invented
before
irregular Rythms
were
used,
could never have been supposed by any one whose Researches had gone beyond his
Prosody:
But
there
the
Hexameter
standing
first
in
Rank,
it was natural enough for a mere
Scanner
of
Verses
to imagine it was the
first
in the Order of
Nature.
But how consistent you are with yourself in another Place, I leave Yourself to determine. You have told us before, that in the rudest Periods of Society, the Passions of Men naturally produce a
loose
Kind of
Verse
P. 15, &c.
(the
solutum Carmen);
and now, towards your Conclusion, you tell us that the
loose
Kind of
Verse
(the
solutum Carmen)
had no Existence till about the Time of
Thespis,
and that the
regular Hexameter
existed long before it. You might as reasonably affirm, that Savages built
Palaces,
before
Caves
and
Cabins
had Existence."
19. You next proceed to deliver
Your
Sentiments concerning the Rise and Progress of Tragedy: But as you confess that it is no more than
"what every School Boys knows
P. 45.
,"
I shall save myself the Trouble of commenting on it; This being indeed the vulgar Track of Criticism, which Dr. B. has set himself to expose, through the Course of his Work. As therefore you offer no new Evidences, but only retail the old ones,
"which every School Boy knows,"
I shall leave this Part of your Observations to shift for itself; with this general Remark, which Truth compels me to make, that the Inconsistency and Disagreement of the several ancient Writers which you quote on this Subject is so glaring; that in Fact they overturn each other's Authority, and would induce any unprejudiced Man to go in Quest of some more general and rational Foundation for the Rise of Tragedy, than the mere accidental Adventure of Thespis and his Route: And this, I perceive, is one of the main Purposes of Dr. B's Inquiry; with which, if you please, we will therefore go on.
"To this (you say) I have a few Objections to urge.—1st, I would fain know, if this be the natural Origin of Tragedy, how it came to pass that in all Nations, except Greece, the more pathetic Drama is without a Chorus at all
(r)."
Critic, be a little more cautious in your Assertions. In three other Instances, where Tragedy has arisen from Nature, among the
Chinese,
proper
Indians,
and
Peruvians,
Dr. B. has shewn, that in the first there is a manifest Remnant of a Choir, in the second a Choir actually exists, and in the third (that of
Peru)
we know not whether there was a Choir or not
Disiert. p. 166, &c.
. So far is it from the Truth, what you assert, that
"in all Nations, except Greece, the more pathetic Drama is without a Chorus."
Again, you object,
"If the Rise and Progress of Tragedy be so extremely natural, since
every Thing
that is
natural
is
universal,
how came this Species of Poetry to arise, or be cultivated in Athens only, which that it was we have Plato's Word
P. 48.
?"
—My Remarks on this Observation are—1st, Every thing that is
natural
is not
universal,
because there are different Degrees of Civilization and Knowledge among Mankind, which are attended with Accidents or Improvements
peculiar
and
natural
to
each,
but
not universal
or
natural
to
all.—
2. Dramatic Representation was not cultivated at Athens only: It has been cultivated in
China,
in
India,
and
Peru:
though
"we have not
Plato's
Word for it."
—3. The Degree of Civilization, and the concomitant Powers of the Mind, may be so weak among many Nations, as never to produce the dramatic Form, which was the Case among some of the Tribes of ancient
Greece,
as likewise of ancient
Gaul, Britain,
and other Countries.—4. The Progress of Poetry, up to the dramatic Form, may be checked by a Variety of Accidents either
internal
or
external.
By Accidents
internal,
as among the
Egyptians;
where the first rude Forms of Poem and Melody were established by Law, which prevented all
Change;
that is, either
Improvement
or
Corruption.
And again, as among the
Hebrews,
where the Purity of Religion prevented their Poetry from assuming the dramatic Form.—By Accidents
external;
as where War, Conquest, a Subversion of Religion or Government destroyed that original System of Pagan Principles on which natural Tragedy is built: And if, by any of these, the original Form of Tragedy was once changed, it could not probably be renewed, by the mere Force of Nature.—I have been the more particular on this Article, because the Objection, though ignorantly made by You, gave Room for a farther Opening of the main Subject.
But 3dly, you object, that
"unfortunately it is declared as fully as any thing can or need be, that the
ancient
Tragedy consisted of a
Chorus alone,
and without an Actor
P. 48.
."
—I suppose you mean it was so at
Athens;
but does it therefore follow that it wore the same Form every where else? Dr. B. has proved (in a Passage which must soon rise up in Judgment against you) that even in the
earliest
Celebration of the
Pythian
Games at
Delphi,
there was a
narrative
(if not a
dramatic) Episode,
divided into
five Acts:
From this Passage it farther appears that long before the Time of
Thespis,
or even of
Homer,
this Episode was performed by a
single Person,
and not by the
Choir
See Hist. of Poetry, p. 110, &c. The Passage is quoted below, p. 30, 31.
. Now if this existed at
Delphi,
even
soon after
the
Age
of
Apollo,
what is it to the Purpose to say that it did not exist at
Athens?
Dr. B. is investigating the Rise of Tragedy from Nature and finds its first rude Form existing
at Delphi,
in or about
the Time of Apollo:
and to disprove This,
you
most philosophically endeavour to make it out, that it did not appear
at Athens
till
many Ages after.
This is another of your new Modes of Confutation.
Your 4th Objection is as follows.
"It will likewise follow from the Doctor's System, that the Choral Part would be of Course, only an Appendage to the Episode; and the Chorus would be but a supposed Spectator of the Action, or a subordinate Personagein it: But that the contrary does happen in striking Instances, is well known to those, whose Ideas of Greek Tragedy are taken from Eschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles; not merely from Dissertations, Bibliotheca's, and Institutiones Poeticae
P. 49.
."
—Again:—
"The Chorus, in several ancient Tragedies, are themselves principal Personages, and deeply interested:—in two, Eumenides and Iketides, they are the leading Personages, &c.
P. 49.
.—In Reply to this, I shall give you the following Paragraph, from Dr. B's History of Poetry.
"By thus tracing the tragic
Choir
to its true Foundation, the
savage Song-Feast;
we are now inabled to give a clear and easy Solution to a Difficulty which hath embarrassed all the Critics. It hath been held a Circumstance unaccountable or absurd, that the
Choir,
in several of the ancient
Greek Tragedies,
should be made
privy
to some of the most
atrocious Designs,
and yet should not
reveal
them, though its
Character
was confessedly
moral.
This indeed, on the common Supposition, that the
Choir originally
made an essential Part of the
dramatic Persons,
is a thorough Absurdity. But in Reality it appears in the
savage Song-Feast,
that they who
recite
or
represent
the
Action,
are a
Body
quite distinct from the
Choir;
and that the
Choir,
in its
original
State, is indeed the
Audience
who surround the
Narrator
or
Actor,
and
answer
him at every
Pause,
with Shouts of
Triumph, Approbation,
or
Dislike.
This being so, how could they (the
Choir
or
Audience)
properly
reveal
any secret Designs, either good or bad?—To whom should they
reveal
them? To each other?—This was needless, because they knew them already.—Must they, then, reveal them to the
Actors
of the Drama? This could only have confounded the Representation, and destroyed the Plot. It would have been precisely on a Level with the Practice of an honest Country Lad, who was present at the Representation of OTHELLO: When he foresaw, that IAGO's Treachery was likely to end tragically for poor DESDEMONA, he called aloud to OTHELLO,
Sir, the Rascal lies: he stole the Handkerchief himself.—
This naturally leads to the Elucidation of another Circumstance. In the Beginning of the Time of ESCHYLUS, the
Choir
consisted of no less than
fifty
Persons: Afterwards the Number was lessened to
fifteen.
How came it to pass, that in the more barbarous Periods the Number should be so much greater? Manifestly (on the Principles here given) because
that
rude Age bordered on the
savage
Times, when the
whole Audience
had
sympathized
with the
narrative Actor,
and became as
one general Choir.
"This Solution naturally clears up another Circumstance, which is unaccountable on the common System. If the
Choir
were
originally
a Part of the
dramatic Actors,
why were they placed in a
Balcony
or
Gallery, separate
from the
Stage?
No good Reason can be assigned. But if we suppose them to have been
originally
the
Spectators
of the
Drama,
we see they were in their
natural
and
proper Situation.
"But to this it may be objected, "that the
Choir
sometimes maintains a
Dialogue
with the
Actor,
in the
Greek
Tragedies; and ought therefore to be regarded as a
dramatic Person."
—To this (which hath been observed above) it is reply'd, that though the
Choir
sometimes
speaks,
yet this is only by its
Leader,
and then only
occasionally,
and from
Necessity,
to fill the
Place of another Actor,
when no more than one or two are upon the Stage. For this Reason ESCHYLUS uses the Expedient oftener than his Successors, because his dramatic Persons were
fewer.
But though the
Choir
sometimes speak by their
Leader,
yet they never take Part in the
Action;
as sufficiently appears by their not revealing the Secrets of it.
"It may be urged again, that in the
Eumenides
and
Iketides
of ESCHYLUS, the
Choir
is certainly to be considered as a
dramatic Person,
because they are indeed the
chief Actors
in the Drama. True; they are so: but though this Objection looks formidable, yet on a deeper Consideration, the Bugbear will vanish—ESCHYLUS was desirous to represent an Action of
fifty Furies,
and another of
fifty Da
aids,
at a Time when only
two dramatic Persons
were allowed by Custom to come on the Stage together. What Expedient could he use? Why, surely, no other than That which we find he
hath
used: To throw these
numerous Bodies
into the Form of a Choir; and thus he gained them Admittance on the Stage.—To speak with Precision, therefore, we ought to say, that the Action of these two Tragedies passeth
without a Choir,
that is, without any supposed
Spectators
who
take no Part in it
Hist. of Poetry, p. 126, &c.
."
I hope that in your
next Edition,
you will prove this strange Paragraph to be a Heap of Nonsense and Absurdity; or perswade the Reader by all Means (if you can) that Dr. B. picked it out of some Dissertation, Bibliotheca, or Institutio Poetica.
I must now give you a gentle Rebuke, for rashly charging Dr. B. either with
Ignorance
or
Hypocrisy,
for saying that
"we are assured, on the Authority of other Writers, that a Report prevailed in Greece, that certain Poets had
in ancient Times
contended at the Tomb of
Theseus."
—This, you affirm, happened at a late Period (which late Period, by the Way, Dr. B. had mentioned in his Dissertation
P. 125.
, when
Sophocles
won the Prize from
Eschylus;
and then you leave it to Dr. B's Choice, whether he will submit to the Charge of
Ignorance
or
Dissimulation.
Now I perceive, that in the History of Poetry, he has cleared himself of
both
This (says Dr. B.) is asserted by SCALIGER, in the clearest Terms; and is alledged by him as a Proof of the Existence of Tragedy, before the Age of THESPIS. Tragediam vero esse Rem antiquam constat ex Historia: ad THESEI namque Sepulchrum certasse Tragicos legimus:" (De Poet. l. i. c. 5.) On what Authority he says this, I know not. If any ancient Author hath asserted it, this Contest must have been held at the Place where the Remains of THESEUS had been interred before they were brought to ATHENS by CIMON; for that Event happened in the Time of SOPHOCLES."
;
and left the Public to fix upon
You
what
Name
they please.
What that Name is,
you may guess from the next Remark I am now compelled to make. For (as a Reader of some Curiosity observed to me)
"after the Critic had charged Dr. B. in his Text, with
Dishonesty
or
Ignorance;
in a
sly Corner
of a
Note,
which he supposed many Readers would pass over, he confesses that
his Charge
is
groundless:
and says,
a Friend then with me, told me he feared I was mistaken.
This Charge, then (continued the Gentleman) though at first it
might possibly
have been
written
by
Mistake,
yet was
certainly persisted in
and
printed
in
Hypocrisy
and
Malice;
because both the Charge against Dr. B. and the
Confession
of its
Falshood
are printed on
the same Page;
and therefore nothing is more certain, than that he might have struck out this
Slander,
if he pleased."
You proceed:
"But now follows a Passage, which I do look upon to be the Master-piece of Dr. B's whole Work: where I know not which most to admire, the Learning, Exactness, Fidelity, or Judgment
P. 53.
."
—You then proceed to translate at large a Passage from
Strabo,
which Dr. B. hath refered to, and in Part transcribed. This Passage relates to the
Pythian Nomos
or
Song;
and Dr. B. having alledged it, to prove that the rude Form of Tragedy existed many Ages before Thespis, you affirm on the contrary that Dr. B's Argument is a Heap of Ignorance, Blunder, and Misrepresentation: You endeavour to perswade the Reader, 1st That this
Pythian Nomos, Hymn,
or
Song,
did not exist till
after
the
Crissaean
War, which was about the Time of
Thespis.
2dly, That Dr. B. asserts or supposes this
Crissaean
War to have been
before
the Time of
Homer.
3dly, That the musical Contest alluded to by
Strabo
was merely
instrumental.
4thly, That the Nature of this musical Contest was not well understood, and was only explained in a
particular Manner,
by one who lived three hundred Years after
P. 51, 52, &c.
. On this Subject, I presume the following Paragraph may give you entire Satisfaction.
"But a still stronger Evidence presents itself: For even the very
Substance
and
Form
of one of these rude Outlines of
savage Tragedy
remains in several respectable Authors of Antiquity: I mean; in their Accounts of the Celebration of the
Pythian Games.
These were first celebrated in the times of APOLLO himself; and contained a mimetic Narration, by
poetic Song, Melody,
and
Dance,
of his Victory over the
Python.
This Representation was called the
Pythian Nomos;
and underwent the following Changes or Improvements through the several successive Periods of Antiquity."
"The Poem called
Nomos
had APOLLO for its Subject; and took its Name from
Him:
For APOLLO was named
Nomimos,
because in ancient Times, when the whole
Choir
used to sing the
Nomos
to the
Pipe
or
Lyre,
CHRYSOTHEMIS the
Cretan
was the first who, clad in a splendid Robe, and playing on the Harp, sung the Nomos
alone,
in
Imitation
of APOLLO'S Victory; and being much applauded,
this Form
of the Contest
remained to After-Ages
Certamen apud Delphos antiquitus fuit Citharoedorum, Paeanem in Laudem Dei canentium.
Strabo,
l. ix.
Nomos quidem in Apollinem
conscriptus;
a quo appellationem sumpsit. Apollo enim
nomimos
appellatus est, quia
Veteribus Choros constituentibus,
& ad Tibiam vel Lyram
Nomon canentibus,
Chrysothemis Cretensis primus stola usus insigni, & accepta Cithara,
Apollinem imitatus
(the Original is stronger;
)
solus cecinit Nomon:
qui cum valde probatus esset, permansit hic Modus Certaminis.
Proclus apud Photium. Bibl. Ed. Hoesch.
p. 982.
."
What this
Form
was, we learn from the following Accounts.
The Poem was divided into
five Parts
or
Acts.
The first contained the
Preparation
for the Fight; the second, the Challenge; the third exhibited the Fight itself; the fourth, the
Victory
of APOLLO; the fifth contained the
Triumph
of the God, who
danced
after his Victory
Pythici vero nomi, qui Tibia canitur, partes quinque sunt; Rudimentum, Provocatio, Iambicum, Spondeum, Ovatio. Representatio autem est Modus quidem Pugnae Apollinis contra Draconem.—Et in ipso Experimento Locum circumspicit, num Pugnae conveniens sit:—In Provocatione vero, provocat Draconem:—Sed in Iambico pugnat:—Spondeum vero Dei Victoriam representat: et in Ovatione, Deus ad victorialia Carmina saltat.
—Jul. Pollux. O
.
l. iv. c. 10.
.
—
"It appears that TERPANDER improved the
Nomos,
by adding the
heroic Measure:
After Him, ARION inlarged it greatly; being both a
Poet
and a
Performer
on the
Harp.
PHRYNES introduced a
new Circumstance;
for he joined the
Hexameter
with the
various Measure
Terpandrum vero Nomon absolvisse apparet, cum adhibuisset heroicum Carmen: Post, Arion Methymnaeus non parum auxit, Poeta ipse & Citharaedus. Phrynes vero Mitylenaeus novam Rationem commentus est: Hexametrum enim cum soluto Carmine conjunxit.
Proclus apud Photium:
ib.
."
—In a later Period, this poetic and musical Representation was
"formally established at DELPHI, after the
Crissaean
War
Institutum a Delphis
post Crissaeum Bellum.
."
Afterwards the Amphictyons added a Contest of
Music merely instrumental
"Adjecerunt autem Citharoedis Tibicines, et qui Cithara luderent
sine cantu,
modularenturque Carmen, quod Nomos five Modus Pythius dicebatur."
—Strabo,
l. ix.
; but preserved what had been practised in former Times: "There was the
Song
to the
Harp,
as
formerly;
there was the
Song
to the
Tibia
or
Pipe;
and there was the Pipe itself
without Song
"Certamina instituerunt Amphictyones; Cantus ad Citharam, ut pridem: Cantus item ad Tibiam; ipsarum etiam per se Tibiarum."
—Pausanias, in Phocicis:
." This Addition of Music
merely instrumental
was likewise
imitative;
being designed as a
mimetic Description,
by
mere Melody,
of the Battle between APOLLO and the
Python.
It consisted likewise of five Parts, corresponding with those of the ancient Song
"Quinque sunt ejus Partes; anacrusis, ampeira, katakeleusmos, Iambi & Dactyli, syringes seu Fistulae sibilae."
Strabo.
ib.
.—"TIMOSTHENES, in the Time of the second
Ptolomy,
writ a Poem descriptive and explanatory of this musical Contention: According to this Author, the Subject was the Victory of APOLLO over the Serpent. The first Part was the Prelude to the Battle; the second was the Beginning of the Engagement; the third was the Battle itself; the fourth was the Paean or Triumph on the Victory; the fifth was an Imitation of the Agonies and Hissing of the dying Serpent
Carmen composuit Timosthenes secundi Ptolemaei Claffr Praefectus:—Vult autum Apollinis adversus Draconem Certamen celebrari eo Carmine: & anacrusin significare Praeludium; ampeiran Certaminis Initium; katakeleusmon ipsam Pugnam; Iambum & Dactylum Paeanem qui Victoriae accinitur, talibus Modis five Rythmis, quorum Hymnus quidem proprius est; Iambus autem
(desunt quaedam)
& iambizare; Fistulas autem Mortem imitatas Serpentis, Vitam cum Sibilis quibusdam finientis.
Strabo.
ib.—These Passages are given in the Latin Translations (which, though not always elegant, are sufficiently correct) that a greater Number of Readers may be inabled to judge of the Evidence.
."
Now, though these ancient Authors differ from each other in two or three trifling Circumstances; yet, as to every thing
essential,
they
perfectly agree.
And from their concurrent Evidence, we have clear Proof of the following Facts. 1. That the immediate Followers of APOLLO began these
poetic
and
musical
Contests. 2. That till CHRYSOTHEMIS appeared (in, or near the Time of APOLLO) there subsisted only a
Choir.
3. That
He
first sung the
Episode,
single and alone. 4. That his Song was a
mimetic Narration,
or
Imitation
of APOLLO's Victory. 5. That the
Form
which He gave to This,
continued
through succeeding Times. 6. That this Poem was divided into
five Parts
or
Acts,
containing a
progressive Description
and
Imitation
of the Battle and Victory. And lastly, that
Songs
of
Triumph, Exultation, Sarcasm,
and
Contempt,
together with a
correspondent Dance,
accompanied the
narrative Episode
"SCALIGER is of Opinion, that the
Dance
was
mimetic
of the
whole Narration
or
Action,
and divided into the same Number of
Acts.
At vero seorsum Saltatio
haud illi absimilis
edebatur, in
tot
m Actus
aeque distributa."
Poet. l. i. c. 23.
If indeed this was added, it amounts to a strict
dramatic Representation.
For, as the same learned Critic says elsewhere, "Sane Ludi sunt tacitae Fabulae; Fabulae vero Ludi loquentes."
lb. c. xxii.
But as this Circumstance is not so clearly delivered as the rest, I lay no Stress on it."
.
Thus, in this most ancient
Pythian Song,
as delivered down from the Times of APOLLO himself, and performed and augmented through the succeeding Periods of ancient GREECE; we have the very
Substance
and
Form
of a first rude Essay towards Tragedy, divided into
five Acts,
and compounded of
poetic Narration, imitative Music, Dance,
and
Choral Song.—
And it is worthy of singular Observation, that through this whole representative Scene, of APOLLO
singing, dancing,
and
praising his own Exploits;
the
ancient Greek Historians
transport us, as it were, into the Wilds of
modern America;
and present to us the
genuine Picture
of a
savage Chieftain
"See the Description of the savage Song Feast, from LAFITAU. Sect. ii."
.
"It appears, therefore, that Tragedy had a much earlier and deeper Foundation in ancient GREECE, than the accidental Adventure of THESPIS and his Route: That it arose from
Nature,
and an unforced
Union
and
Progression
of
Melody, Dance,
and poetic
Song
History of Poetry, p. 109, &c.
."
You see here, that your whole critical Fabric is annihilated at a Blow. For 1st, it appears on the clearest Evidence, that this Pythian Song was performed
in ancient Times;
even as
ancient
as those of
Apollo
himself. 2dly, It appears, that when you charge Dr. B. with Ignorance, in supposing the
Crissaean
War to have been before the Time of
Homer;
your Objection is unhappily founded on your own Ignorance, on your not understanding
Strabo
nor Dr. B. who both speak of two different Periods, which you have profoundly jumbled into one. 3dly, It appears, that this musical Contest was not merely instrumental, but contained a
mimetic Song,
performed by a
single Person,
in
Imitation
of
Apollo's
Victory: and 4thly, we are at no Loss for the
essential
Parts of it; but know certainly that it contained a progressive Description of
Apollo's Battle
and
Victory
over the
Python.
And now, let me cordially advise you for the future to be less insolent in a State of imagined Security and Conquest; lest your own Expressions should be retorted upon you:—Thus,—
"a few such Mistakes as Mr.—here presents you in a Bunch, would serve a Man of ordinary Genius to spread through a whole Book."
—
"Is it not a fine Thing for a Man to set up for an Instructor of Mankind, who is ignorant of what his commonest Readers know
P. 53.
:"
—And other modest Expressions, scattered through your Work, of the same Nature.
20. The same
Spirit
still impels you to proceed: though I look upon you
now,
as little more than the
Ghost
of a
departed Critic.—
Dr. B. having endeavoured to prove, by a Variety of Arguments, that
Eschylus
was an
original
Writer, and not a mere
Imitator
of
Homer,
you say, you can oppose
"the Testimony of
Eschylus
himself; of whom it was a common and well-known Saying, as
Athenoeus
tells us, that his Pieces were small Scraps or Morsels of the magnificent Entertainment of
Homer
P. 55.
."
—I could not but smile at your Simile of the
Faggot-Binder;
and thought you had got a small Advantage over Dr. B. till I looked into the
"History of Poetry, where I found the following Note. It is said, indeed, of ESCHYLUS, that he called his Tragedies no more than Fragments of the magnificent Entertainment given by HOMER."
Now this Expression
"being only
metaphorical,
we ought to interpret it in that Sense only, to which a Comparison of their Writings leads us. And, as it appears that there is no Resemblance between them, either in the
particular Subjects,
or in the
Manner
of treating them; the only rational Interpretation that can be given, seems to be this "that the Subjects of his Tragedies were only small
Morsels
or
Fragments
of the
Grecian Story;
whereas HOMER had given a
general System
of their fabulous History, both in a more
extensive
and a more
connected
Manner."
22. You accuse Dr. B. of treating the Author of
Elfrida
and
Caractacus
with
Indignity
P. 55.
.—Now, what has that Author to do in the present Debate? Are
You
in any Respect concerned for the
Reception
or
Credit
of
his
Works? Or after all, is there not
some other
Author on whose Account you are so touched to the Quick, though you are too prudent to mention or even to hint at him?
But if Dr. B. has treated the Author of
Elfrida
with Indignity, how do
you
know that
that
Author had not first deserved it, by treating
himself
with
Indignity?—
I could say more; for I have heard more: but it is neither generous, nor worth while, to disturb the Ashes of the
Dead.
23. You go on:
"The Union of Music with Tragedy, he says, was never accounted for; to which I add, nor is it yet: But of that you will hear another Time
P. 59.
."
—Come on then with your Proofs; for of your Affirmations we have had enough.
24.
"Concerning his Comment on
Aristotle's
Definition of Tragedy (you add) I have more to say than You or I have, at present Time for
Ib.
."
My learned Friend, find a little Time if you can: I am satisfyed, that
Your
Comment will be a great Curiosity.
25. This Article is of Consequence to the main Question: and therefore I must be particular in my Remarks.—You say,
"On his Account of the Masque and Buskin, which he says arose from the Custom of selecting the tallest and strongest Men for their Chiefs; I have to observe, that the Actions of their Tragedies are almost universally taken from a Period in which their Kingdoms were hereditary; and in which Men succeeded not by Election, for Bulk, or any thing else, but by Birth and Descent
P 56.
."
—Here, you not only
affirm,
but you
reason:
I wish I could say, like a
Man,
and not like a
Child.—
What is it to the Purpose whence the Subjects of the more
modern
Tragedies of
Eschylus, Sophocles,
and
Euripides
were taken? To satisfy Dr. B. in this Point, you must tell him what were the Subjects of all those
fifteen Tragedians,
who were prior to the Age of
Thespis.
Nay, I question whether he will be content with this (for we have found him very exorbitant in his Claims) but will insist upon your telling him, what were the Subjects of all the oldest irregular savage Bards, who existed as early, or perhaps even more early, than
Apollo
himself. This will carry us, you see, up to the Period of savage Life, in which we must allow (I am afraid) that
"the tallest and strongest Men are commonly selected as Chiefs."
—But then you will say,
"that the Masque was the Invention of a later Age: even a later than
Thespis
himself."
—In
Attica, possibly
it might be so. But though
Eschylus
is said by some, to have been the Inventor of the
Masque,
yet
Aristotle
fairly confesses that its
Origin
is absolutely
unknown;
and
Clemens Alexandrinus
affirms that it was in Use, even in the
Times
of
Orpheus.
These Circumstances are not a little favourable to Dr. B's System; and seem to imply, that dramatic Representation had existed in
Greece,
though not perhaps at
Athens,
even as long ago as the Age of
Orpheus.
And it is beyond all Doubt, that a very little before the Age of
Orpheus,
the Time was, when
"the Savages elected the tallest and strongest Men for Chiefs."
26, &c.—You now declare, you are tired with the Task of
"combating Chimeras
P. 56.
."
And truly, so am I.—We will therefore hasten to a Conclusion as fast as possible. Some few scattered Observations only now remain.
You charge Dr. B. with an Error in
"insisting that the last Institution of the Pythian Games was no more than a Separation of the Gymnastic Exercises from the Musical; whereas the Words of Strabo, whom he quotes, are as clear as possible, that only the Musical subsisted before, and that the Gymnastic and Equestrian were then added to them
P. 57.
."
For Truth's and Decency's Sake, do not give Dr. B. so many repeated Occasions of calling your Sincerity in Question. Who would not believe, from the Tenor of this Passage, but that Dr. B. in his Quotation from
Strabo,
had some how or other disguised this Circumstance, of the Addition of the gymnastic and equestrian Exercises? Yet, on looking into the Passage in Dr. B's Dissertation, I find it quoted in the
very same Words.
Indeed, the Doctor questions the strict
Propriety
of
Strabo's
saying
"that the
gymnastic
Exercises were
added;"
because he conceives they were there
before,
making a Part of the
ancient Musical
Exercises, under the Denomination of the
Dance
Diss. p. 121.
."
This he has attempted to prove by some very plausible Arguments, I must confess: not one of which
you
have
disproved.
However, what you cannot
disprove,
you can
misrepresent;
which, with some Readers, may do as well.
Again, you charge him with
"interpreting as an Account of the Effect of Music on Manners, what Plato means only as an Illustration of the ill Effects of a licentious democratic Spirit, &c.
P. 57.
."
On the contrary, Dr. B. has made it appear, by Passages quoted from
Plato
himself, that
Plato's
Argument included
both
these Causes.
Diss. Sect. vi. Art. 31, 32, 33, 34.
.
Another Censure is on
"his supposing that the Writings of
Archilochus
were banished from
Sparta
on Account of their
sarcastic Turn,
which was indeed on Account of their
Obscenity
P. 57.
."
As the Passage in Dr. B. is short, I will give it entire; that every one may judge for himself.
"The Spartans ordered the Writings of
Archilochus
to be banished from their City, because they thought the Perusal of them was
dangerous
to the
Purity
of
Manners
Diss. Sect. vii. Art. 5.
."
In a correspondent Article, he explains himself still more particularly:
"because nothing could be more dangerous to a Commonwealth established on
Severity
of
Manners,
than the
unbounded Licentiousness
of
Sentiment
and
Speech,
which this (the
old)
Comedy must
tend
to
produce
Ib.
."
—Seriously I am at a Loss, how to express myself properly on this Occasion; and therefore shall briefly set down this, as another Instance of
your Modesty.
I shall now conclude all, with a most shining Proof of your being eminently possessed of this great Virtue. After very notably squabbling with Dr. B. about a dubious Passage in Xenophon, and quarrelling him for not rendering it exactly as You would have him; you charge him with falsely translating the Word
the better to serve his Purpose: You affirm, that this Word does not imply
"good
and
virtuous
Men,"
but
"only the
rich
or
powerful,
the
better Sort
as we say
P. 57.
."
—Now, my most ingenuous Friend, turn back to the 34th and 35th Pages of your own Work, and you will see a Gorgon's Head, which (if you are not totally melted into Modesty) will turn you into Stone. Here we find this very Word translated by your good Self, in that very Sense in which Dr. B. had translated it.
"The Reason (say You) why Poets are to be honoured is,
for their Admonitions, and
bettering
their Fellow-Citizens."
—Reader,
"you may stare:"
but the Assertion lies open to broad Day Light in his 34th and 35th Pages.—
"Wits
have
short
Memories (says
Pope)
and
Dunces none:"
But
one Class
of Men there is, who, all the World agree, either
have,
or
ought to have
GOOD MEMORIES.
Two or three other Paragraphs there are, on which I might very reasonably bestow a farther Panegyric: But this last contains so delicate a Picture of your
amiable Mind,
and of the
generous Motives
that set you to work, to criticize Dr. B. that I am unwilling to draw off the Reader from the Contemplation of so
sweet
a Pourtrait.
Thus, through the Course of my Remarks, you see I have been very
free,
but very
friendly.
I cannot help congratulating you on your good Fortune, in falling into the Hands of one who has made great Allowances for your Imperfections; and even passes over many inferior Blots, which a censorious Critic would have hit
Of this Kind is a slight Mistake (p. 5.) in your saying the
"Oracle of
Delphos,
instead of the "Oracle of
Delphos."
You may knock down your Adversary with your critical Dungfork, if you please: but who gave you Leave, without Provocation to break poor
Priscian's
Head? What would
You
say of Dr. B's Knowledge in Grammar, should he affirm that
"Aristotelem
was not so profound a Reasoner, nor
Longinum
so sublime a Critic as
You?"
—Yet this he might have said with the same Propriety:—I mean, so far as Grammar is concerned.
. The more so, because you openly profess to treat Dr. B's
Errors
with
Severity
P. 55.
; whereas mere
Errors
have ever been supposed to merit
Indulgence.
Add to this, that your Bitterness to a Man who has put his
Name
to his Work, while You
conceal Yours,
has (in the Opinion of some People) the Air of dishonest Cowardice, and what they will needs call
stabbing in the Dark.
You conclude with a solemn Charge against Dr. B. of his being
"flagrantly guilty of misquoting Authors."
I wish you had better maintained this heavy Charge: I am bold to say, that the Instances you have produced have turned out to the Confirmation of
his
System, and little to
your
Honour. Give me leave to put you in Mind of a Passage in a certain Book, which relates to a Man's pulling a
Mote
out of his
Brother's
Eye, while he sees not the
Beam
that is in his
own.
I will now conclude with a Hint of Advice to you; in which I am sure I shall
deserve
your Thanks, whether I
obtain
them or
not.
I mean only to exhort you for the future to stick to that Species of Criticism for which you are apparently qualified. In every Instance where you attack the larger Parts of Dr. B's System, my Regard to Truth obliges me to say, that you fail most miserably. But when you get hold of him upon a
minute
Article, you are sure to pinch him to the Bone. Thus on the
wide
Subject of the old
Greek Religion,
the
Origin
of
poetic Numbers,
the Genius of
savage Manners,
the
Rise
and
Progressions
of
Poetry
consequent on these, with several other large and extensive Articles of Inquiry, you are totally off your Ground: But to make Amends for this small Defect, you are amply revenged by detecting him in the important Blunder of calling
Herophile
by the Name of
Phenomoë,
stiling Pindar's Chair a Chair of
Gold,
when it was only of
Iron:
And in the painful and laborious Article of
Prosody
or
scanning Verses, Isaac Vossius
himself is forced to yield to you.
Now, as you observe in the Beginning of your Work,
"Multi multa possunt, sed nemo omnia."
—Nobody can have at once the
microscopic
and the
telescopic
Eye. Therefore, improve the Talent which Nature has given you: If you cannot
see
, cultivate that Kind of Vision which is
: that is, if you cannot comprehend
large
and
distant
Objects, apply yourself diligently to the
near-at-hand
or
purblind
Criticism.
With this Advice, I shall take my Leave of you; esteeming it a sufficient Waste of Time and Labour, thus for once to have
unmasqued
the
empty Parade
of a trifling and disingenuous Caviler.
Personam Tragicam forte Vulpes viderat:
O
quanta Species,
inquit,
cerebrum non habet!
THE END.
Fig. 1.
The Scale of
V.th•
&c. B♭♭ E♭, C♭ G♭, D♭ A♭𝄀E♭ B♭, F C, G D; A E, B F♯, C♯ G♯𝄀D♯ A♯, E♯ B♯, F♯♯ C♯♯ &c.
Fig. 2.
The Foreboard.
Fig. 3.
A complete Foreboard.
Fig. 4.
A general pattern for the Sliders
Fig. 5.
The Scale for tuning.