III. either Statuary or Painting. The ancient P ART Romans ufed to fhed tears at the reprefentations of their pantomimes, as we do at that of the most interesting tragedies; an effect which is altogether beyond the powers of Statuary or Painting. The ancient Greeks appear to have been a nation of dancers, and both their common and their stage dances feem to have been all imitative. The stage dances of the ancient Romans appear to have been equally fo. Among that grave people it was reckoned. indecent to dance in private focieties; and they could therefore have no common dances. Among both nations imitation feems to have been confidered as effential to dancing. It is quite otherwise in modern times: though we have pantomime dances upon the stage, yet the greater part even of our stage dances are not pantomime, and cannot well be faid to imitate any thing. The greater part of our common dances either never were pantomime, or, with a very few exceptions, have almost all ceafed to be fo. This remarkable difference of character between the ancient and the modern dances feems to be the natural effect of a correfpondent difference in that of the mufic, which has accompanied and directed both the one and the other. PART III. In modern times we almost always dance to inftrumental mufic, which being itself not imitative, the greater part of the dances which it directs, and as it were infpires, have ceased. to be fo. In ancient times, on the contrary, they feem to have danced almost always to vocal mufic; which being neceffary and effentially imitative, their dances became fo too. The ancients feem to have had little or nothing of what is properly called inftrumental mufic, or of mufic compofed not to be fung by the voice, but to be played upon inftruments, and both their wind and their stringed inftruments feem to have ferved only as an accompaniment and direction to the voice. : In the country it frequently happens, that a company of young people take a fancy to dance, though they have neither fiddler nor piper to dance to. A lady undertakes to fing while the rest of the company dance in most cafes the fings the notes only, without the words, and then the voice being little more than a musical inftrument, the dance is performed in the ufual way, without any imitation. But if the fings the words, and if in thofe words there happens to be fomewhat more than ordinary spirit and humour, immediately all the company, especially all the beft dancers, and all those who dance most at their eafe, become more or lefs pantomimes, and III. and by their geftures and motions exprefs, as P A RT well as they can, the meaning and story of the fong. This would be still more the cafe, if the fame perfon both danced and fung; a practice very common among the ancients: it requires good lungs and a vigorous conftitution; but with thefe advantages and long practice, the very higheft dances may be per• formed in this manner. I have feen a Negro dance to his own fong, the war-dance of his own country, with fuch vehemence of action and expreffion, that the whole company, gentlemen as well as ladies, got up upon chairs and tables, to be as much as poffible out of the way of his fury. In the Greek language there are two verbs which both fignify to dance; each of which has its proper derivatives, fignifying a dance and a dancer. In the greater part of Greek authors, these two fets of words, like all others which are nearly fynonimous, are frequently confounded, and ufed promifcuously. According to the best critics, however, in ftrict propriety, one of thefe verbs fignifies to dance and fing at the fame time, or to dance to one's own mufic. The other to dance without finging, or to dance to the mufic of other people. There is faid too to be a correspondent difference in the fignification of their respective derivatives. In the chorufes of the ancient Greek tragedies, confifting fometimes of more than fifty X 3 perfons, PART perfons, fome piped and fome fung, but all III. danced, and danced to their own mufic. * * [The following Obfervations were found among Mr. SMITH's Manufcripts, without any intimation whether they were intended as part of this, or of a different Efay. As they appeared too valuable to be fupprefed, the Editors have availed themfelves of their connection with the passage referred to in p. 266, and have annexed them to this Effay.] Of the Affinity between Mufic, Dancing, and IN the fecond part of this Effay I have men tioned the connection between the two arts of Mufic and Dancing, formed by the Rhythmus, as the ancients termed it, or, as we call it, the tune or measure that equally regulates both. It is not, however, every fort of step, gefture, or motion, of which the correfpondence with the tune or measure of Mufic will constitute a Dance. It must be a step, gef ture, ture, or motion of a particular fort. In a good opera-actor, not only the modulations and paufes of his voice, but every motion and gefture, every variation, either in the air of his head or in the attitude of his body, correspond to the time and measure of Mufic. The best opera-actor, however, is not, according to the language of any country in Europe, understood to dance, yet in the performance of his part, he generally makes ufe of what is called the stage ftep; but even this ftep is not understood to be a dancing step. Though the eye of the most ordinary fpectator readily diftinguishes between what is called a dancing ftep and any other step, gefture, or motion, yet it may not perhaps be very easy to exprefs what it is which constitutes this distinction. To afcertain exactly the precise limits at which the one species begins, and the other ends, or to give an accurate definition of this very frivolous matter, might perhaps require more thought and attention, than the very finall importance of the fubject may feem to deferve. Were I, however, to attempt to do this, I fhould obferve, that though in performing any ordinary action-in walking, for example-from the one end of the room to the other, a perfon may show both grace and agility, yet if he betrays the leaft intention of showing either, he is fure of offending more or less, and we |