107 too, that Plato was a critic, as well as a philosopher. There are others again who will literally interpret Plato's words, in contradiction to all other authorities. However, if he be here understood, as often he should, with fome latitude, perhaps the whole difficulty will disappear. Socrates is defending the character of Minos, which had been abufed: "How comes it "then (says some one) that Minos has been fo "afperfed for a barbarous and cruel prince? "Why, replies Socrates, if you have any in"clination to have a good name, keep fair with "the poets, which was not the case of Minos "for he waged war with this city, which abounds with arts and sciences, and with all "other forts of poets, as well as tragic writers. "For here tragedy is of ancient date, not, as "men think, beginning from Thefpis or Phry"nichus; but if you'll examine, you'll find it "an old invention of this state. For tragedy " is a kind of poetry moft proper to please the people, and to work upon their affections." Ἡ δὲ τραίῳδία ἔσι παλαιὸν ἐνθάδε, εχ, ὡς οἴονίαι, ἀπὸ Θέσπιδος αρξαμένη, εδ' ἀπὸ Φρυνίχε· ἀλλ ̓ εἰ θέλεις ἐννοῆσαι πάνυ παλαιὸν αὐτὸ εὑρήσεις ὃν τῆσδε τῆς πό λεως εὕρημα· ἔτι δὲ τῆς ποιήσεως δημοτερπέςαλόν τε ν ψυχα[ωδικώτατον ἡ τραῳδία. It feems to me very plain, that TPAṛSAIA is here to be taken in it's ΤΡΑΓΩΔΙΑ larger larger extent and fignification. Thus if I should fay the book of Job is a tragedy with a happy catastrophe, I should not mean 'twas ever acted on a stage. There were no stage-plays, 'till the times of Thespis and Phrynichus, and in this fense no tragedies. But yet there were stories, of a dramatic kind, formed into dialogue, and characters drawn, as of Minos, a cruel king: and this manner of writing was of ancient date at Athens, not the invention of Thefpis or Phrynichus, as people generally thought, confounding the stage with the characteristic and dialogue manner of writing: fo that the thing itself was older than the name. And this explanation of Plato will lead us to another of Horace. Ignotum tragicae genus invenisse camaenae Thefpis 11 Hor. art. poet. 275. In this paffage of Horace poemata is not strictly his written plays; but in a larger fignification his plays with their whole apparatus: fo Diogenes Laertius in the life of Solon ufes rpaludías, tragedies with their apparatus, Θέσπιν ἐκώλυσε τραγῳδίας ἄδειν τε, καὶ διδάσε Meiv. 1. 1. f. 59. Solon forbid Thefpis to carry his tragedies about in carts, and to act them; which I mention, because Dr. Bentley will take the word poemata in a limited and Thefpis is faid to have invented an unknown kind of tragic poetry, and to have carried his plays with all their apparatus about in a cart, which were to be afted by ftrolers, whose faces were daubed with the lees of wine. Horace does not say the tragic mufe had no existence, in any shape whatever, before Thefpis; but only that he invented a new kind, unknown before: for he first made his stories entirely dramatic, and brought them on the stage. 12 AFTER tragedy, the old comedy fucceeded which took it's firft hint from an ob scene strict sense, on purpose to make way for his emendation. "Quale tamen obfecro illud eft, vexiffe plauftris poemata ? "boc eft ut enarrat Acron, tam multa fcripfisse quae poffet plauftris advehere. Mirum hoc profe&o, &c." The Dr. however saw the true meaning, but that he hurries over, and corrects, Et plauftris vexiffe poemata Thefpis Qui canerent agerentque peruněti faecibus ora. id eft, vexiffe plauftris eos qui canerent, &c. But that Horace is to be understood in this expreffion, [poemata] according to its utmost latitude, I have a witness beyond all exception, the learned author of the differtation upon the epiftles of Phalaris, to oppose to the editor of Horace; who citing these words, p. 207. plauftris vexiffe poemata Thefpis, thus tranflates them, That in the beginning the PLAYS were carried about the villages in carts. 12 Hor. art. poet. 281. Succefit vetus his Comoedia. Marc Anton. ΧΙ, 6. Μετὰ δὲ τὴν τρα[ῳδίαν ἡ ἀρχαῖα κωμωδία fcene fong, which they fung in the festivals of Bacchus, called hence the 13 Phallic. Comedy lay neglected, and remained, according to its κωμωδίας παρήχθη, παιδα[ωτικὴν παρρησίαν ἔχεσα, καὶ τῆς ἀτυφίας ἐν ἀχρήτως δι ̓ αὐτῆς τῆς εὐθυῤῥημοσύνης ὑπομιμνή σκασα. After tragedy the old comedy fucceeded, ufing an inftructive liberty of inveighing against personal vices, and by this direct freedom of Speech was of great use to humble pride and arrogance. What Ariftotle fays, is worth our notice : Η δὲ κωμῳδία, διὰ τὸ μὴ σπεδάζεσθαι ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ἔλαθεν· καὶ γὰρ χορὸν κωμῳδῶν ὀψέ ποτε ὁ ἄρχων ἔδωκεν, ἀλλ ̓ ἐθελον]αὶ ἦσαν. We don't know the feveral changes of comedy To well, because it has not been improved fince it's beginning as much as tragedy. For 'twas late e're the archon gave the comic chorus : but the allors play'd voluntarily. Arift. κεφ. ε. 'Tis to be observed that the Archon at Athens defray'd the charges of the play, as the Ædiles did at Rome: which they term'd χορὸν διδόναι. There is the fame expreffion at the latter end of Plato's Repub. L. II. which the interpreters feem to be ignorant of. Ὅταν τις τοιαῦτα λέγῃ περὶ θεῶν χαλπαν μέν τε, καὶ ΧΟΡΟΝ ΟΥ ΔΩΣΟΜΕΝ. 13 Ἡ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν τὰ φαλλικά, ἃ ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἐν πολλαῖς τῶν πόλεων διαμένει νομιζόμενα. Arif. κεφ. γ. And Arifophanes, Acarn. *. 260. Ἐγὼ δ ̓ ἀκολυθῶν ᾄσομαι τὸ φαλλικόν. Schol. άσματα λέγονται φαλλικά, τὰ ἐπὶ τῷ φαλλῷ αδόμενα μέλη ἔσι δὲ εἰς Διόνυσον, ἢ ἄλλοτε εἰς Πρίαπος. See the fchol. on the fame play, . 242. where the story there told has a near resemblance to what the priests and diviners advised the Philistines, being afflicted with emerods: viz. to make them images. And they accordingly made them images of the emerods. 1 Sam. vi. 4 & 17. But another word fhould be ufed, not emerods. etymology, etymology, a fong in country towns, when tra gedy was publicly acted at the expence of the magiftrate. Thefe village fongs were either abusive and fcurrilous, expofing the follies and failings of the neighbourhood; or they were of the obscene kind, as more agreeable to the ridiculous figure carried in the proceffions of the festival. It had another name, rgufudra, the wineLong; as realudia, is the goat-fong: a veffel of wine being the prize of comedy, and a goat of tragedy. Ariftophanes calls the old comedians 14 gufodaíueves, in that paffage, rather from their diabolical faces bedaubed with the lees of wine, 14 Ariftoph. nub. †. 298. ¿ μý oxw&ns, undè woinors, ἅπερ οἱ τρυ[οδαίμονες ὗτοι. Schol. οἱ τρυ[οδαίμωνες, οἱ ποιηταί· [lege οἱ κωμικοὶ ποιηταί· ἐπειδὴ τὴν τρύδα χριόμενοι, ἵνα μὴ γνώριμοι γένωνται, ὅτω τὰ αὐτῶν ἦθον ποιήματα καλὰ τὰς ὁδὸς ἀμάξης ἐπικαθήμενοι. διὰ α) παροιμία, Ὡς ἐξ ἀμάξης καλεῖ· ἦγεν ἀναισχύνως ὑβρίζει. τῦτο δὲ ἐπόιεν οἱ κωμικοί ποιηταί. From this paflage of Ariftophanes and the fcholiaft, a moft certain correction offers itself, of a corrupted place in Xenophon's memoirs of Socrates, where the young man complains to his father of his mother Xanthippe's cross temper, What, (fays "Socrates) do you think it more difficult for you to hear * what your mother fays, than for the players when they " abuse one another iv`raïs rguswdiais." So I would undoubtedly read, not reasediais, as the present copies have it. Xen. amo. C.C. C'. xsQ. C'. than |