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become so corrupt and dangerous, why not take the safer way, and relinquish it entirely? Would all persons acquiesce in this, then it might certainly be done. But if people were so rightly disposed, as willingly to give up a corrupt Stage, then they would be good enough to amend it. How, then, is it to be put down? Is the magistrate to interfere to suppress it? then may he as well, and more easily, interfere to amend it. The case is, that the Stage still exists, notwithstanding all that hath been done to put it down for centuries past. Much hath been done by its adversaries with the express purpose to vilify and suppress it, little in the endeavour to conciliate and amend.

Let us, then, direct our inquiries to consider, I. In the first place, whether the Stage be a thing lawful in itself;

II. Secondly, If it be not unlawful, what are the abuses of it; and

III. Thirdly, What are the most probable means of improvement.

I. First, then, let us consider, whether the Stage be a thing lawful in itself.

And here, at the very outset, an objection is thrown in our way, That "the Stage is the

invention of the Devil,"

and "owes its existence to the false religions of heathenism.”+

The historians of the Stage seem, indeed, to have concurred in ascribing the origin of the Drama to the Ode and Chorus, set to music, and performed in honour of the heathen God, Bacchus; into which, first one, then two, and then more speakers were introduced, till, in a short time it arrived at the state in which we have it in the ancient Greek Tragedians; and this was from about the year 536 to the year 400 before the Christian æra. So far, perhaps, it may justly be traced to heathenism and to the author of it; but it then becomes an inquiry, Whence the heathens acquired this Ode and Chorus in honour of their Gods? The probability is, that it was borrowed, or rather stolen, from the worship of the One True God, the Everlasting Jehovah, to furnish out idolatrous rites for the abominations of the gentiles. Certain it is, that some of the Psalms of David (who died 1015 years before Christ) are written in this manner; and the Song of Moses, on the deliverance of the Israelites from their Egyptian oppressors, in the year 1491 before Christ, is in the same style of Chorus and Semi-chorus intermixed.

See A Refutation of Heywood's Apology for Actors, p. 21; also The Conduct of the Stage considered, by Dr. CHARLES OWEN, p. 6 and 7.

↑ Styles, p. 2.

‡ Note D.

But, we have an instance in the sacred writings, which seems to come much nearer to our idea of the modern, or rather of the ancient Drama. The Song of Solomon is now almost universally acknowledged to have been the Epithalamium, or marriage song, of that monarch, composed on the celebration of his nuptials with the Shulamite, in the year 1014 B. C.; and was probably performed on that occasion, somewhat after the manner of our Cathedral Service, or of the Sacred Dramas, called Oratorios, in these days. The author of The Key to the Old Testament observes, "This book may be considered as to its form, as a dramatical poem of the pastoral kind. There is a succession of time, and a change of place, to different parts of the palace and royal gardens. The personages introduced as speakers, are the bridegroom and bride, with their respective attendants, together, as some suppose, with the sister of the bride; and, if the ingenious theory of Harmer be admitted, the first and degraded wife of Solomon, whom he considers as the figure of the Jewish Church. There is certainly an interchange of dialogue.-The companions of the bride compose a kind of Chorus, which seems to bear some resemblance to that which afterwards obtained in the Grecian Tragedy. Solomon and his Queen sometimes speak in assumed characters, and represent themselves in fictitious circumstances. They descend, as it were, from

the throne; and adopt, with the pastoral dress, that simplicity of style, which is favourable to the communication of their sentiments."*

There is another of the sacred books, the Book of Job, which, though it cannot be considered as a regular Drama, yet certainly is written very much in the dramatic form, "as the parties are introduced speaking with great fidelity of character, and as it deviates from strict historical accuracy for the sake of effect." (Gray, p. 250.) An Expositor of the Bible, indeed, goes so far as to say, "It is undoubtedly a piece of dramatic poetry; that the several answers to Job's pleas make three distinct acts, Elihu's reply a fourth, the Deity concluding in the fifth, the historical parts at the beginning and the end are a kind of prologue and epilogue, which, like those of the ancients, are plain narrations, illustrating the poetical parts." The opinion most anciently and generally entertained respecting this Book, was, that it was composed by Moses to comfort the Israelites during their afflictions in Egypt; and others have supposed it to have been written by Ezekiel to comfort them during their captivity in Babylon."+

* Gray's Key, p. 307.

Quoted by Orton in his Exposition of the Old Testament. Vol. iv. p. 139.

See Gray's Key, p. 248, 242.-and Orton, vol. iv. p. 139Also Lowth's Lectures on Hebrew Poetry, vol. ii. Lect. xxxiii.

Now, although it must be acknowledged, that this Sacred Poem does not bear the form of a regular Drama, and was not written for the purpose of being represented by different persons, sustaining the different characters introduced, which must always be considered as constituting what we mean by the general term Drama, yet thus much we certainly learn from it, that this form of writing was considered, by persons acting under divine direction, as admirably well adapted to convey moral and religious truths. And though, in this particular instance, it would have been presumption in any one to have taken upon himself to represent the Almighty, or his Angel, yet, of the other characters it may be said, that, if, instead of being read to the Jews by one person, it had been read by several, or if, instead of reading, the different parts had been committed to memory, and spoken, as if they had been the characters themselves, the effect would have been considerably increased; and one cannot conceive wherein would have consisted the harm of thus delivering this lesson, or any other one of similar concern. If, indeed, in doing this, other circumstances had been added, such as profaneness towards God, or if false morals had been taught, or if the persons assembling to hear this lesson had been guilty of immoralities, then had these circumstances in themselves been wrong; but they would have

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