-Poetæ -quorum comœdia prisca virorum est : Si quis erat dignus describi, quod malus, aut fur, The comic poets, in its earliest age, Who form'd the manners of the Grecian stage— Rake, cut-throat, thief, whatever was his crime, Eupolis is said to have satirized Alcibiades in this manner, and to have fallen a sacrifice to the resentment of that powerful Athenian; but others say he was drowned in the Hellespont, during a war against the Lacedemonians; and that in consequence of this accident the Athenians passed a decree, that no poet should ever bear arms. The comedies of Cratinus are recommended by Quintilian for their eloquence; and Plutarch tells us, that even Pericles himself could not escape the censure of this poet. Yet Aristophanes, of whom there are eleven comedies still extant, enjoyed such a pre-eminence of reputation, that the Athenians by a public decree honoured him with a crown made of a consecrated olive-tree, which grew in the citadel, for his care and success in detecting and exposing the vices of those who governed the commonwealth. this poet, whether impelled by mere wantonness of genius, or actuated by malice and envy, could not refrain from employing the shafts of his ridicule against Socrates, the most venerable character of Pagan antiquity. In the comedy of the Clouds, this virtuous philosopher was exhibited on the stage under his own name, in a cloak exactly resembling that which Socrates wore, in a mask modelled and wrong. from his features, disputing publicly on the nature of right This was undoubtedly an instance of the most flagrant licentiousness; and what renders it the more extraordinary, the audience received it with great applause, even while Socrates himself sat publicly in the theatre. The truth is, the Athenians were so fond of ridicule, that they relished it even when employed against the gods themselves, some of whose characters were very roughly handled by Aristophanes and his rivals in repu tation. We might here draw a parallel between the inhabitants of Athens and the natives of England, in point of constitution, genius, and disposition. Athens was a free state like England, that piqued itself upon the influence of the democracy. Like England, its wealth and strength depended upon its maritime power; and it generally acted as umpire in the disputes that arose among its neighbours. The people of Athens, like those of England, were remarkably ingenious, and made great progress in the arts and sciences. They excelled in poetry, history, philosophy, mechanics, and manufactures; they were acute, discerning, disputatious, fickle, wavering, rash, and combustible, and, above all other nations in Europe, addicted to ridicule; a character which the English inherit in a very remarkable degree. If we may judge from the writings of Aristophanes, his chief aim was to gratify the spleen and excite the mirth of his audience; of an audience too, that would seem to have been uninformed by taste, and altogether ignorant of decorum; for his pieces are replete with the most extravagant absurdities, virulent slander, impiety, impurities, and low buffoonery. The comic muse, not contented with being allowed to make free with the gods and philoso -Poetæ -quorum comœdia prisca virorum est : Si quis erat dignus describi, quod malus, aut fur, The comic poets, in its earliest age, Who form'd the manners of the Grecian stage- Eupolis is said to have satirized Alcibiades in this mann and to have fallen a sacrifice to the resentment of t powerful Athenian; but others say he was drowned in Hellespont, during a war against the Lacedemonians; that in consequence of this accident the Athenians pa a decree, that no poet should ever bear arms. ра The comedies of Cratinus are recommended by Q lian for their eloquence; and Plutarch tells us, that Pericles himself could not escape the censure of this Aristophanes, of whom there are eleven comedic extant, enjoyed such a pre-eminence of reputation the Athenians by a public decree honoured him crown made of a consecrated olive-tree, which gre citadel, for his care and success in detecting and e the vices of those who governed the commonwealt this poet, whether impelled by mere wantonness of or actuated by malice and envy, could not refra employing the shafts of his ridicule against Socr most venerable character of Pagan antiquity. I medy of the Clouds, this virtuous philosopher bited on the stage under his own name, in a cloa resembling that which Socrates wore, in a mask phers, applied her scourge so severely to the magistrates of the commonwealth, that it was thought proper to restrain her within bounds by a law, enacting, that no person should be stigmatized under his real name; and thus the chorus was silenced. In order to elude the penalty of this law, and gratify the taste of the people, the poets began to substitute fictitious names, under which they exhibited particular characters in such lively colours, that the resemblance could not possibly be mistaken or overlooked. This practice gave rise to what is called the middle comedy, which was but of short duration; for the legislature, perceiving that the first law had not removed the grievance against which it was provided, issued a second ordinance, forbidding, under severe penalties, any real or family occurrences to be represented. This restriction was the immediate cause of improving comedy into a general mirror, held forth to reflect the various follies and foibles incident to human nature; a species of writing called the new comedy, introduced by Diphilus and Menander, of whose works nothing but a few fragments remain. ESSAY XV. HAVING Communicated our sentiments touching the origin of poetry, by tracing tragedy and comedy to their common source, we shall now endeavour to point out the criteria by which poetry is distinguished from every other species of writing. In common with other arts, such as statuary and painting, it comprehends imitation, invention, com |