musicians.

Grabut, his yokemate, ne'er shall be forgot.
Whom th' god of tunes upon a muse begot;
Bayes on a double score to him belongs,
As well for writing, as for setting songs;
For some have sworn the intrigue so odd is laid,
That Bayes and he mistook each other's trade,
Grabut the lines, and he the music made.

THE

PREFACE.

If wit has truly been defined, "a propriety of thoughts and words,[1]"
then that definition will extend to all sorts of poetry; and, among
the rest, to this present entertainment of an opera. Propriety of
thought is that fancy which arises naturally from the subject, or
which the poet adapts to it; propriety of words is the clothing of
those thoughts with such expressions as are naturally proper to them;
and from both these, if they are judiciously performed, the delight of
poetry results. An opera is a poetical tale, or fiction, represented
by vocal and instrumental music, adorned with scenes, machines, and
dancing. The supposed persons of this musical drama are generally
supernatural, as gods, and goddesses, and heroes, which at least are
descended from them, and are in due time to be adopted into their
number. The subject, therefore, being extended beyond the limits of
human nature, admits of that sort of marvellous and surprising
conduct, which is rejected in other plays. Human impossibilities are
to be received as they are in faith; because, where gods are
introduced, a supreme power is to be understood, and second causes are
out of doors; yet propriety is to be observed even here. The gods are
all to manage their peculiar provinces; and what was attributed by the
heathens to one power, ought not to be performed by any other. Phoebus
must foretel, Mercury must charm with his caduceus, and Juno must
reconcile the quarrels of the marriage-bed; to conclude, they must all
act according to their distinct and peculiar characters. If the
persons represented were to speak upon the stage, it would follow, of
necessity, that the expressions should be lofty, figurative, and
majestical: but the nature of an opera denies the frequent use of
these poetical ornaments; for vocal music, though it often admits a
loftiness of sound, yet always exacts an harmonious sweetness; or, to
distinguish yet more justly, the recitative part of the opera requires
a more masculine beauty of expression and sou