aste to the people; criticism would improve
authors, performers, and auditors: and the nation becoming refined in the
fine arts, the audience would not permit an actor striking another on the
stage. A moral people should not laugh in seeing an actor degrading
another in action, or words: and when such bad actions are introduced by
the author as a historical event, they should always be represented with
an aside, reproving the clownish act. The laughter worthy of a civilized
nation it is when wit, and decent actions would be exhibited with feeling,
and refinement.

Travesties, or parodies should be entirely banished from the stage, not
only because they injure the heroic actions; but, such actors exhibit
nothing else but a company of insanes; and as it is not moral to laugh at
insanes, we should banish from a moral place an immoral laughter. As the
tears shed over the misfortunes of others, enhance the nobility of our
heart, and the angry tears degrade us, so the laughter should not be
excited in a delicate mind, were it even aimed at the last of men: a
generous heart should always give to the most degraded, a chance to esteem
himself. Such a bad laughter has so bad an influence in society, that
ladies would laugh at every reasonable thing, uttered by the gentleman
they dislike, for no other purpose than to make of the honest individual a
stock of their pastime--when they have exhausted all their kind feeling
with their lover. There were fools among the ancient courts to keep merry
the ignorant kings and lords: and, before the middle ages, human beings
were killed, with long torments, for sport!

Perhaps no author did benefit more, and injured more at the same time a
national theatre, than Shakspeare. Such an extraordinary genius wrote
plays, which have not the common sense. Andronichus for instance, is such
an ugly monster, which must astonish every body who judge by themselves,
how Shakspeare could write such an unnatural play. Andronichus is neither
a tragedy, nor a parody. As Shakspeare had never been crazy, I am inclined
to believe he was drunk, when he wrote Andronichus. That it was written by
Shakspeare and by no body else, I have no doubt, since we find the style,
the wit, and the might of his genius in it; a language which no body, but
Shakspeare had ever been able to coin. The Andronichus of Shakspeare
proves, that men judge like parrots in literature. Down to our days, all
the learned say, that all the works o