and very beautiful, but ill-placed, hymn to Mars; I speak of that which bigins fo nobly, ver. 793, σε Ω πολύμοχθος Αρης,” "O direful Mars! why art thou ftill delighted with blood and with death, and why an enemy to the feafts of Bacchus "" And a ftill more glaring inftance may be brought from the end of the third act of the Troades, in which the ftory of Ganymede is introduced not very artificially. To thefe may be added that exquifite ode in praise of Apollo, defcriptive of his birth and victories, which we find in the Iphigenia in Tauris. On the other hand, the choruses of Sophocles never defert the subject of each particular drama, and all their sentiments and re. flections are drawn from the fituation of the principal perfonage of the fable. Nay, Sophocles hath artfully found a method of making those poetical descriptions, with which the choruses of the ancients abound, carry on the chief defign of the piece; and has by these means accomplished what is a great difficulty in writing tragedy, united poetry with propriety. In the Philoctetes the chorus takes a natural occafion, at verse 694, to give a minute and moving picture of the solitary life of that unfortunate hero; and when afterwards, at verse 855, pain has totally exhausted the strength and spirits of Philoctetes, and it is neceffary for the plot of the tragedy that he should fall asleep, it is then that the chorus breaks out into an exquisite ode to Sleep. As in the Antigone, with equal beauty and decorum in an address to the God of Love, at verse 791 of that play. And thus laftly, when the birth of dipus is doubtful, and his parents unknown, the chorus fuddenly exclaims, σε Τις σε, τεκνοί,” “From which, O my son, of the immortal gods, didst thou fpring? Was it fome nymph, a favourite of Pan, that haunts the mountains; or fome daughter of Apollo; for this god loves the remote rocks and caverns, who bore you? Or was it Mercury who reigns in Cyllene, or did Bacchus, 99 ver. 1118. σε Θεος ναιων επ' ακρων ορέων, a god who dwells on the tops of the mountains, beget you, on any of the nymphs that poffefs Helicon, with whom he frequently fports?" But what shall we fay to the ftrong objections lately made by fome very able and learned critics to the use of the chorus at all? YOL. I. N The The critics I have in view, are Metaftafio, Twining, Pye, Colman, and Johnson; who have brought forward fuch powerful arguments against this fo important a part of the ancient drama, as to fhake our conviction of its utility and propriety, founded on what Hurd, Mason, and Brumoy, have fo earneftly and elegantly urged on the fubject. WARTON. CHORUS OF YOUTHS AND VIRGINS*. SEMICHORUS. OH Tyrant Love! hast thou poffeft The prudent, learn'd, and virtuous breaft? Wisdom and wit in vain reclaim, And Arts but foften us to feel thy flame. Love, foft intruder, enters here, But ent'ring learns to be fincere. 5 ΙΟ Love's NOTES. • Some of Dryden's fhort lyrical odes and fongs are wonderfully harmonious; and not fufficiently noticed; particularly in King Arthur, A&,III. "O Sight! the mother of Defire," &c. The fong alfo of the Syrens in A& IV; and the Incantations in the Third Act of Edipus, put in the mouth of Tirefias; Chufe the darkeft part o' th' grove, Such as ghofts at noon-day love," &c. Nor muft his firft ode for St. Cecilia's Day be forgotten, in which are paffages almoft equal to any of the fecond: efpecially its opening, and the fecond ftanza that defcribes Jubal and his brethren. WARTON. CHORUS. Love's purer flames the Gods approve; The Gods and Brutus bend to love: And fterner Caffius melts at Junia's eyes. Chafte as cold Cynthia's virgin light, SEMICHORUS, Oh fource of ev'ry social tye, 15 20 25 United wish, and mutual joy! What various joys on one attend, As fon, as father, brother, husband, friend? VER. 31. Or meets] Recalling to our minds that pathetic stroke in Lucretius; "dulces occurrunt ofcula nati Præripere, et tacitâ pectus dulcedine tangunt." Lib. iii. 909. WARTON. What tender paffions take their turns, What home-felt raptures move? His heart now melts, now leaps, now burns, With rev'rence, hope, and love. CHORUS. Hence guilty joys, diftaftes, furmifes, 36 Fires that scorch, yet dare not shine : 40 Pureft love's unwasting treasure, NOTES. a These two Chorus's are enough to fhew us his great talents for this species of Poetry, and to make us lament he did not profecute his purpose in executing some plans he had chalked out; but the Character of the Managers of Playhouses at that time, was what (he faid) foon determined him to lay afide all thoughts of that nature. WAR BURTON. Perhaps there were other reasons which determined Pope to lay afide all thoughts of the Drama. |