who had reputation in the old Comedy, Eupolis Cratinus †, and Aristophanes, of whom he fays, That they, and others who wrote in the same way, reprehended the faults of particular persons with exceffive liberty.' Thefe are probably the poets of the greatest reputation, though they were not the first, and we know the names of many others t. Among these three we may be fure that Aristophanes had the greateft character, fince not only the king of Perfia || expreffed a high efteem of him to the Grecian ambaffadors, as of a man extremely useful to his country, and Plato § rated him so high, as to fay, that the graces refided in his bofom; but likewife because he is the only writer of whom any comedies have made their way down to us, through the confufion of times. There are not indeed any proofs that he was the inventor of comedy, properly fo called, efpecially fince he had not only predeceffors who wrote in the fame kind, but it is at least a fign, that he had contributed more than any other to bring comedy to *Eupolis was an Athenian; his death, which we fhall mention prefently, is reprefented differently by authors, who almoft alt agree that he was drowned. Elian adds an incident which deferves to be mentioned: he fays (book x. Of Animals), that one Augeas of Eleufis, made Eupelis a prefent of a fine maftif, who was fo faithful to his mafter as to worry to death a flave who was carrying away fome of his comedies. He adds, that when the poet died at Egene, his dog ftaid by his tomb till he perifhed by grief and hunger. + Cratinus of Athens, who was fon of Callimedes, died at the age of ninety-feven. He compofed twenty comedies, of which nine had the prize he was a daring writer, but a cowardly warrior. Hertelius has collected the fentences of fifty Greek poets of the different ages of comedy. | Interlude of the second act of the comedy intitled The Acharniens. § Epigram attributed to Plato. the the perfection in which he left it. We fhall, therefore, not enquire farther, whether regular comedy was the work of a fingle mind, which feems yet to be unfettled, or of feveral contemporaries, fuch as these which Horace quotes. We must distinguish three forms which comedy wore, in confequence of the genius of the writers, or of the laws of the magiftrates, and the change of the government of many into that of few. That comedy, which Horace calls The old, midthe ancient, and which, according to his dle, and new account, was after Efchylus, retained comedy. something of its original ftate, and of the licentioufness which it practifed, while it was yet without regularity, and uttered loofe jokes and abuse upon the paffers-by from the cart of Thefpis. Though it was now properly modelled, as might have been worthy of a great theatre and a numerous audience, and deferved the name of a regular comedy, it was not yet much nearer to decency. It was a reprefentation of real actions, and exhibited the dress, the motions, and the air, as far as could be done in a mask, of any one who was thought proper to be facrificed to public fcorn. In a city fo free, or to fay better, fo licentious as Athens was at that time, nobody was spared, not even the chief magiftrate, nor the very judges, by whofe voice comedies were allowed or prohibited. The infolence of those performances reached to open impiety, and sport was made equally with men and *This history of the three ages of comedy, and their different characters, is taken in part from the valuable fragments of Platonius. gods. gods*. These are the features by which the greatest part of the compofitions of Aristophanes will be known. In which it may be particularly obferved, that not the leaft appearance of praife will be found, and therefore certainly no trace of flattery or fervility. This licentioufnefs of the poets, to which in fome fort Socrates fell a facrifice, at laft was reftrained by a law. For the government, which was before fhared. by all the inhabitants, was now confined to a fettled number of citizens. It was ordered, that no man's name fhould be mentioned on the ftage; but poetical malignity was not long in finding the fecret of defeating the purpose of the law, and of making themselves ample compenfation for the reftraint laid upon authors, by the neceffity of inventing false names. They fet themfelves to work upon known and real characters, fo that they had now the advantage of giving a more exquifite gratification to the vanity of poets, and the malice of fpectators. One had the refined pleasure of fetting others to guess, and the other that of gueffing right by naming the masks. When pictures are so like, that the name is not wanted, nobody infcribes it. The confequence of the law, therefore, was nothing more than to make that done with delicacy, which was done grossly before; and the art, which was expected would be confined within the limits of duty, was only partly tranfgreffed with more ingenuity. Of this Ariftophanes, who was comprehended in this law, gives us good examples in fome of his poems. Such was that which was afterwards called the middle comedy. *It will be fhewn how and in what fenfe this was allowed. The * The new comedy, or that which followed, was again an excellent refinement, prefcribed by the magiftrates, who, as they had before forbid the ufe of real names, forbad afterwards real fubjects, and the train of choruffes too much given to abufe: fo that the poets faw themselves reduced to the neceffity of bringing imaginary names and fubjects upon the ftage, which at once purified and enriched the theatre; for comedy from that time was no longer a fury armed with torches, but a pleafing and innocent mirror of human life... Chacun peint avec art dans ce nouveau miroir The comedy of Menander and Terence is, in propriety of fpeech, the fine comedy. I do not repeat all this after so many writers but just to recall it to memory, and to add to what they have faid, fomething which they have omitted, a fingular effect of public edicts appearing in the fucceffive progrefs of the art. A naked history of poets and of poetry, fuch as has been often given, is a mere body without foul, unless it be enlivened with an account of the birth, progress, and perfection of the art, and of the caufes by which they were produced. * Perhaps the chorus was forbid in the middle age of the comedy. Platonius feems to fay fo. Defpreaux Art. Poet. chant, S. VI. To omit nothing effential which concerns The Latin co- this part, we fhall fay a word of the medy. Latin comedy. When the arts paffed. from Greece to Rome, comedy took its turn among the reft: but the Romans applied themselves only to the new fpecies, without chorus or perfonal abuse; though perhaps they might have played fome tranflations of the old or the middle comedy, for Pliny gives an account of one which was reprefented in his own time. But the Roman comedy, which was modelled upon the laft fpecies of the Greek, hath nevertheless its different ages, according as its authors were rough or polished. The pieces of Livius Andronicus, more ancient and lefs refined than those of the writers who learned the art from him, may be faid to compofe the firft age, or the old Roman comedy and tragedy. To him you must join Nevius his contemporary, and Ennius, who lived fome years after him. The fecond age comprifes Pacuvius, Cecilius, Accius, and Plautus, unless it fhall be thought better to reckon Plautus with Terence, to make the third and highest age of the Latin comedy, which may properly be called the new comedy, efpecially with regard to Terence, who was the friend of Lelius, and the faithful copier of Menander. But the Romans, without troubling themselves with this order of fucceffion, diftinguifhed their comedies by the dreffes † of the players. The robe, called prætexta, with large borders of purple, being the formal dress of magiftrates in their dignity, and in the * The year of Rome 514, the first year of the 135th Olympiad. t Pratexta, Togate, Tabernarie. exercise |