Mr. Johnson, whofe genius and learning render him fuperior to a fervile awe of pedantic institutions, in his ingenious preface to his edition of Shakespear, has well obviated all that can be objected to our author's neglect of the unities of time and place. Shakespear's felicity has been rendered compleat in this age. His genius produced works that time could not deftroy: but fome of the lighter characters were become illegible; these have been reftored by critics, whose learning and penetration have traced back the veftiges of fuperannuated opinions and customs. They are now no longer in danger of being effaced, and the testimony of these learned commentators to his merit, will guard our author's great monument of human wit from the presumptuous invasions of our rafh critics, and the fquibs of our witlings; fo that the bays will for ever flourish unwithered and inviolate round his tomb; and his very spirit seems to come forth and to animate his characters, as often as Mr. Garrick, who who acts with the fame inspiration with which He wrote, affumes them on the ftage. After our poet has received fuch important fervices from the united efforts of talents and learning in his behalf, some apology feems neceffary for this work. But let it be remembered, that the most fuperb and lasting monument that ever was confecrated to Beauty, was that to which every lover carried a tribute. I dare hope to do him honour only by augmenting the heap of volumes given by his admirers to his memory. I will own, I was incited to this undertaking by great admiration of his genius, and ftill greater indignation at the treatment he has received from a French wit, who feems to think he has made prodigious conceffions to our prejudices in favour of the works of our countryman, in allowing them the credit of a few fplendid paffages, while he speaks of every entire piece as a monftrous and ill- conftructed Farce. farce.-Ridiculously has our poet, and ridiculously has our taste been represented, by a writer of univerfal fame; and through the medium of an almost universal language. Superficial criticisms hit the level of shallow minds, to whom a Bon Mot will appear Reason, and an epigrammatic Turn, Argument; so that many of our countrymen have haftily adopted this lively writer's opinion of the extravagance, and total want of defign in Shakespear's dramas. With the more learned, deep, and fober critics, however, he lies under one confiderable disadvantage. For copying nature, as he found it, in the bufy walks of human life, he drew from an original, with which the Literati are feldom well acquainted. They perceive his portraits are not of the Grecian or of the Roman school; so that after finding them unlike to the dignified characters preferved in learned museums, they do not deign to enquire, whether they resemble the living perfons, they were intended to reprefent. Among these connoiffeurs, whofe acquaintance with man kind is formed in the library, not in the ftreet, the camp, or village, whatever is unpolished and uncouth paffes for fantastic and abfurd, though, in fact, it is a faithful reprefentation of a really existing cha racter. But it must be acknowledged, that, when this objection is obviated, there will yet remain another cause of cenfure; for though our author, from want of delicacy or from a defire to please the popular tafte, thought he had done well, when he faithfully copied nature, or reprefented cuftoms, it will ap→ pear to politer times, the error of an untutored mind, which the example of judicious artifts, and the admonitions of delicate connoiffeurs had not taught, that only graceful nature and decent customs give proper fubjects for imitation. It may be faid in mitigation of his fault, that the vulgar here had not, as at Athens, been used to behold, Gorgeous Gorgeous tragedy In fcepter'd pall come sweeping by, Presenting Thebes or Pelops' line, Homer's works alone were fufficient to teach the Greek poets how to write, and their audience how to judge. The fongs fung by our bards at feafts and merry-makings were of a very coarse kind: as the people were totally illiterate, and the better fort alone could read even their mother tongue, their tafte was formed on these compofitions. As yet our stage had exhibited only those palpable allegories, by which rude unlettered moralifts inftruct and please the grofs and ignorant multitude. Nothing can more plainly evince the opinion, the poets of those times had of the ignorance of the people, than the condefcenfion fhewn to it by the learned Earl of Dorfet, in his tragedy of Gorboduc; in which the moral of each act is represented on the stage in dumb fhew. It is therefore strange that Mr. de Voltaire, B 2 who |