than he did to the
Means or Methods whereby he brought his Characters into those
Circumstances. How far a general Vogue is the Test of the Merit of a
Tragedy, has been often considered by eminent Writers, and is a Subject
of too complicated a Nature to discuss in these few Sheets. But I shall
just hint two or three of my own Thoughts on that Head. Nature is the
Basis of all Tragick Performances, and no Play that is unnatural, i.e.
wherein the Characters act inconsistently with themselves, and in a
Manner repugnant to our natural Ideas, can please at all. But a Play may
be natural, and yet displease one Sett of People out of Two, of which
all Audiences are composed. If a Play be built upon low Subjects, but
yet carried on consistently, and has no Merit but Nature, it will please
the Vulgar; by which I mean, all the unlearned and ill-educated, (as for
Instance, _George Barnwell_, a Piece calculated for the Many) but it
must be nauseous to the Learned, and to those of improved and exalted
Understandings. So on the other Hand, a Piece which turns upon
Passions, which regard those of high Station chiefly, cannot be so
pleasing to the Vulgar; for tho' all Men are born with the same
Passions, yet Education very much exalts and refines them. Thus the
Loves of Boors and Peasants may delight the Populace, but those of
better Sort must have Delicacy in that Passion to see it represented
with any tolerable Patience. The same is to be said of Jealousy and
Revenge, which are indeed felt by all, but in Breasts well educated are
felt with sharper Pangs, and are combated with more Vehemence, and from
more and greater Motives; therefore such People are fitter to judge, and
more likely to be taken with noble and sublime Representations of such
Incidents. I need not observe, that the Vulgar cannot judge of the
Historical Propriety of a great Character, This is obvious to every one;
nor can they judge of the Passion of Ambition, as it has Power with
Princes and great Men, because not being versed by Reading in parallel
Stories, and not being in such a Situation of Life, as to feel the
Torments of such Passions, they cannot certainly tell whether such
Things are represented with proper Circumstances, and proper
Consequences drawn from them. And moreover, as all Men are by Nature
more prone to some Passions than to others, This must cause Variety of
Sentiments in relation to the same Piece. Besides all this, we may be
very certain that differ