TEL But besides this objection, which extends universally to all translations of Aristophanes, and many allusions of which time has deprived us, there are loose expressions thrown out to the populace to raise laughter from corrupt passions, which are unworthy of the curiosity of decent readers, and which ought to rest eternally in proper obscurity. Not every thing. in this infancy of comedy was excellent, at least it would not appear excellent at this distance of time, in comparison of compositions of the same kind, which lie before our eyes; and this is reason enough to save" me the trouble of translating, and the reader that of perusing. As for that small number of writers who' delight in those delicacies, they give themselves very little trouble about translations, except it be to find fault with them; and the majority of people of wit, like comedies that may give them pleasure, without much trouble of attention, and are not much disposed to find beauties in that which requires long deductions to find it beautiful. If Helen had not appeared beautiful to the Greeks and Trojans but by force of argument, we had never been told of the Trojan war. On the other side, Aristophanes is an author more considerable than one would imagine. The history of Greece could not pass over him, when it comes to touch upon the people of Athens; this alone might procure him respect, even when he was not considered as a comic poet. But when his writings are taken into view, we find him the only author from whom may be drawn a just idea of the comedy of his age; and farther, we find in his pieces, that he often makes attacks upon the tragic writers, particu " " larly upon the three chief, whose valuable remains we have had under examination; and, what is yet worse, fell sometimes upon the state, and upon the gods themselves. The chief heads of this discourse. II. These considerations have determined me to follow, in my representation of this writer, the same method which I have taken in several tragic pieces, which is that of giving an exact analysis as far as the matter would allow, from which I deduce four important systems. First, Upon the nature of the comedy of that age, without "omitting that of Menander*. Secondly, Upon the vices and govern * Menander, an Athenian, son of Diopethes and Hegestrates, was apparently the most eminent of the writers of the new comedy. He had been a scholar of Theophrastus: his passion for the women brought infamy upon him: he was squint-eyed, and very lively. Of the one hundred and eighty comedies, or, according to Suidas, the eighty which he composed, and which are all said to be translated by Terence, we have now only a few fragments remaining. He flourished about the 115th Olympiad, 318 years before the Christian Era. He was drowned as he was bathing in the port of Pireus. I have told in another place, what is said of one Philemon, his antagonist, not so good a poet as himself, but one who often gained the prize. This Philemon was older than him, and was much in fashion in the time of Alexander the Great. He expressed all his wishes in two lines, To have health, and fortune, and 'pleasure, and never to be in debt, is all I desire.' He was very covetous, and was pictured with his fingers hooked, so that he set He lived about a hundred years, Many tales are told of his death; his comedies at a high price. some say a hundred and one. Valerius Maximus says, that he died with laughing at a little incident: seeing an ass eating his figs, he ordered his servant to drive her away; the man made no great haste, and the ass eat them all. now give her some wine.' Apuleius and Quintilian placed this writer much below Menander, but give him the second place. • Well done,' says Philemon, ment of the Athenians. Thirdly, Upon the notion we ought to entertain of Aristophanes, with respect to Eschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Fourthly, Upon the jest which he makes upon the gods. These things will not be treated in order, as a regular discourse seems to require, but will arise sometimes separately, sometimes together, from the view of each particular comedy, and from the reflections which this free manner of writing will allow. I shall conclude with a short view of the whole, and so finish my design. History of comedy.-Who is author of comedy. III. I shall not repeat here what Madame Dacier, and so many others before her, have collected of all that can be known relating to the history of comedy. Its beginnings are as obscure as those of tragedy, and there is an appearance that we take these two words in a more extensive meaning; they had both the same original, that is, they began among the festivals of the vintage, and were not distinguished from one another but by a burlesque or serious chorus, which made all the soul and all the body. But, if we give these words a stricter sense, according to the notion which has since been formed, comedy was produced after tragedy, and was in many respects a sequel and imitation of the works of Eschylus. It is in reality nothing more than an action set before the sight, by the same artifice of representation. Nothing is different but the object, which is merely ridicule. This original of true comedy will be easily admitted, if we take the word of Horace, who must have known better than us the true dates of dramatic works. This poet supports the system which I have. endeavoured to establish in the second discourse* so strongly as to amount to demonstrative proof. 66 Horace † expresses himself thus, "Thespis is said to "have been the first inventor of a species of tragedy, "in which he carried about in carts, players smeared "with the dregs of wine, of whom some sung and "others declaimed." This was the first attempt both of tragedy and comedy; for Thespis made use only of. one speaker, without the least appearance of dialogue. Eschylus afterwards exhibited them with more dig"nity. He placed them on a stage, somewhat above "the ground, covered their faces with masks, put "buskins on their feet, dressed them in trailing robes, "and made them speak in a more lofty style." Horace omits invention of dialogue, which we learn from Aristotle. But, however, it may be well enough inferred from the following words of Horace; this. completion is mentioned while he speaks of Eschylus, and therefore to Eschylus it must be ascribed: "Then "first appeared the old comedy, with great success "in its beginning." Thus we see that the Greek comedy arose after tragedy, and by consequence tragedy was its parent. It was formed in imitation of Eschylus, the inventor of the tragic drama; or, to go yet higher into antiquity, had its original from Homer, who was the guide of Eschylus. For, if we credit Aristotle §, comedy had its birth from the Margetes, a satirical poem of Homer, and tragedy Greek Theatre, part I. vol. I, + Hor. Poet. v. 275, § Poet, ch. 4. from the Iliad and Odyssey. Thus the design and artifice of comedy were drawn from Homer and Eschylus. This will appear less surprising, since the ideas of the human mind are always gradual, and arts. are seldom invented but by imitation. The first idea contains the seed of the second; this second, expanding itself, gives birth to a third; and so on. Such is the progress of the mind of man; it proceeds in its productions step by step, in the same manner as nature multiplies her works by imitating, or repeating her own act, when she seems most to run into variety. In this manner it was that comedy had its birth, its increase, its improvement, its perfection, and its diversity. IV. But the question is, who was the happy author. of that imitation, and that shew, whether only one, like Eschylus of tragedy, or whether they were several? for neither Horace, nor any before him, explained this. This poet only quotes three writers * The alterations, which have been made in tragedy, were perceptible, and the authors of them unknown; but comedy has lain. in obscurity, being not cultivated, like tragedy, from the time of its original: for it was long before the magistrates began to give comic choruses. It was first exhibited by actors, who played voluntarily, ' without orders of the magistrates. From the time that it began to 'take some settled form, we know its authors, but are not informed 'who first used masks, added prologues, increased the numbers of "the actors, and joined all the other things which now belong to it. The first that thought of forming comic fables, were Epicharmus ' and Phormys, and consequently this manner came from Sicily: 'Crates was the first Athenian that adopted it, and forsook the 'practice of gross raillery that prevailed before.' Aristot. ch. 5. Crates flourished in the 82d Olympiad, 450 years before our æra, 12 or 13 years before Aristophanes. |