ORIGIN OF THE DRAMA. GREECE, the nursery of the arts and sciences, was the parent of the drama; at least there is no record of its having been known among more ancient nations. The different states of Greece have contested the honor of its birth, but it is generally attributed to the Athenians, who derived its origin from the hymns which were sung in the festivals of Bacchus in honor of that deity. While these resounded in the ears of the multitude, chorusses of Bacchantes and Fauns ranged round certain images, which they carried in triumphant procession, chaunting indecent songs, and sometimes sacrificing individuals to public ridicule.

While this was the practice in the cities, a still greater licentiousness reigned in the worship paid to the same divinity by the inhabitants of the country, especially at the season when they gathered the fruits of his supposed beneficence. Vintagers, besmeared with wine lees, and intoxicated with joy and the juice of the grape, rode forth in their carts, and attacked each other on the road with gross sarcasms, revenging themselves on their neighbors with ridicule, and on the rich by publishing their acts of injustice.

The hymns in honor of Bacchus, while they described his rapid progress and splendid conquests, became imitative; and in the contests of the Pythian games, the players on the flute, who entered into competition, were enjoined by an express law to represent successively the circumstances that had preceded, accompanied, and followed the victory of Apollo over Python.

SUSARION AND THESPIS.

To Susarion and Thespis the Greek drama was in its infancy largely indebted; indeed the latter has been almost considered as the parent of the stage, dramatic performers being to this day called the children of Thespis. Susarion and Thespis were both born at Icaria in Attica : each appeared at the head of a company of actors, the one on a kind of stage, the other in a cart. Susarion, who attacked the vices and follies of the age, represented his first pieces about 580 years before Christ. Thespis, who treated more noble subjects, which he took from history, made his first attempts in tragedy some years afSusarion, and acted his Alcestis, 536 before Curist.

The comedies of Susarion were in the same taste with those indecent and satirical farces which were afterwards performed in some of the cities of Greece, and were long the favorite entertainment of the country people.

Thespis had noticed in the festivals in which, as yet, hymns only were sung, that one of the singers, mounted on a table, formed a kind of

dialogue with the chorus. From this hint he conceived the idea of introducing into the tragedies, an actor, who, by simple recitais introduced at intervals, should give relief to the chorus, divide the action, and rendor it more interesting. This happy innovation, together with some other liberties in which Thespis indulged, gave alarm to the great Athenian legislator, who was supposed to be better able than any other to discern the value or danger of the novelty. Solon condemned a species of composition in which the ancient traditions were disguised by fictions. "If,” said he to Thespis, "we applaud falsehood in our public exhibitions, we shall soon find that it will insinuate itself into our most sacred engage

ments."

The pieces of Thespis and Susarion were, however, received with an approbation and delight, both in the city and country, that rendered useless the suspicious foresight of Solon. The poets, who till then had only exercised their genius in dithyrambics and licentious satire, struck with the elegant forms which this species of composition began to assume, dedicated their talents to tragedy and comedy. Comedy soon admitted a greater variety of subjects; and although those who judge of their pleasures only from habit, exclaimed that these subjects were foreign to the worship of Bacchus, yet the greater number crowded with still more eagerness after the new pieces. From this period the progress of the dramatic art was extremely rapid.

Horace says, that the actors whom Thespis carried about in his cart, had their faces besmeared with wine lees; but Suidas asserts, that white lead and vermilion were the ingredients employed.

ESCHYLUS.

Eschylus, who was born eleven years after Thespis first performed his Alcestis, found the drama enveloped in a rude vestment, deficient both in grace and dignity, expressing its conceptions sometimes with elegance, but generally in a low and feeble style, polluted with indecencies.

Eschylus was the first to introduce two actors on the stage in his tragedies, and to clothe them with dresses suitable to their character. Afterwards, copying the example of Sophocles, who had just entered on his theatrical career, he admitted a third, and sometimes even a fourth actor. By this multiplicity of personages, one of his actors naturally became the hero of the piece, and attracted to himself the principal interest; and as the chorus now held but a subordinate station, Eschylus took care to shorten its part materially.

This poet has been censured for admitting

mute characters into his dramas; thus Achilles, after the death of his friend, and Niobe after the destruction of her children, appeared on the stage, and remained motionless during several scenes, with their heads covered, and in utter silence. It may, however, be doubted, whether, if their eyes had been suffused in tears, and they had poured forth the bitterest lamentations, they could have produced an effect so terrible as this veil, this silence, this abandonment to grief.

Lest the noble and elevated style of tragedy should not leave, in the minds of the audience, a sufficient impression of grandeur, it was deemed necessary, in order to captivate the multitude, that every part of the spectacle should combine to produce the same effect. It was then the general opinion that nature, by bestowing on the ancient heroes a more lofty stature, had impressed on their persons a majesty which procured them as much respect from the people, as the ensigns of dignity by which they were accompanied. Eschylus, therefore, raised his actors on high stilts or buskins, and clothed them in flowing and magnificent robes.

Instead of the wretched scaffolds which were formerly erected in haste, Eschylus obtained a theatre furnished with machines, and embellished with decorations. Here the sound of the trumpet was reverberated, incense was seen to burn on the altars, the shades of the dead to arise from the tomb, and the furies to rush from the gulphs of Tartarus. In one of these pieces, these infernal divinities were represented with masks of horrid paleness, torches in their hands, serpents entwined in their hair, and followed by a numerous retinue of dreadful spectres. It is related, that at the sight of them, and the sound of their terrific howlings, terror seized on the whole assembly, women fainted, and children expired with fear; and that the magistrates, to prevent similar accidents in future, commanded that the chorus should only consist of fifteen actors, instead of fifty. The effect of so many new objects could not but astonish the spectators; nor were they less surprised and delighted at the intelligence displayed by the actors whom schylus always exercised himself: he regulated their steps, and taught them to give additional force to their action by new and expressive gestures.

Eschylus wrote ninety tragedies, forty of which were rewarded with the public prize, and yet only seven of them have been preserved. Some expressions in one of his play's had nearly proved fatal to him; for, in consequence of them, he was accused of impiety, and condemned to be stoned to death. The sentence was just going to be put into execution, when his brother Amynias, with a happy presence of mind throwing aside his cloak, showed an arm, the hand of which had been cut off when bravely fighting at the battle of Salamis, in defence of his country. The sight made such an impression on the judges, that, touched with the remembrance of his valor, and the friendship he showed for his brother, they pardoned Eschylus. The poet, however, resented the indignity of his persecution so much, that he bade an everlasting adieu to his native

place, and retired to the court of Hiero, King of Sicily, where he continued till his death.

Suidas having said, that Æschylus retired into Sicily, because the seats broke down during the representation of one of his tragedies, some have taken this literally; but, according to Joseph Scaliger, it was a phrase among the comedians to say, that one had broken down the seats, whose piece could not stand, but fell to the ground. The truth was, that the pieces of Eschylus had begun to be less pleasing to the Athenians than those of Sophocles, a younger and more polished writer; and it is to this cause that Suidas, by the figurative expression he has used, would impute the retirement of Æschylus, rather than to any resentment he may have felt for the jeopardy in which his life was placed by the accusation of impiety.

MENÁNDER.

Menander may be regarded as the father of what is called the new Comedy in Greece, which, if inferior to the old in strength and fire, far exceeded it in delicacy, regularity, and decorum, came nearer to nature, and to what we conceive of the legitimate drama. Among his contemporaries who wrote upon this reformed plan, were Philemon, Diphilus, Pollodorus, Philippides, and Posidippus; and from many fragments which remain, it appears that they were not only bold declaimers against the vice and immorality of the age in which they lived, but that they ventured upon truths and doctrines in religion, totally irreconcilable to the popular superstitions and idolatries of the Heathen world; and, therefore, says Cumberland, or rather Bentley, we cannot but admire the extraordinary toleration of their pagan audiences.

According to some accounts, Menander wrote eighty plays, while others. wrote more than double that amount; but whatever may have been their number, it has been thought that morality, taste, and literature scarcely ever suffered more irreparably than by the loss of them. A few fragments only remain, which, says Warton, ought" to be as highly prized by the curious, as was the Coan Venus, which Appelles left imperfect and unfinished."

We have many testimonies of the admiration in which he was held during his life-time. Pliny informs us, that the kings of Egypt and Macedon sent ambassadors to invite him to their courts, and even fleets to convey him; but that Menander preferred the free enjoyment of his studies, to the promised favors of the great. Yet the envy and corruption of his countrymen, sometimes denied his merit that justice at home which it found abroad; for notwithstanding the astonishing number of plays which he wrote, he won no more than eight prizes. Philemon, a contemporary, and much inferior dramatic poet, by the partiality of the judges, often disappointed him of the laurel; which made Menander once say to him, "Tell me fairly, Philemon, if you do not blush when the victory is decreed to you against me?" Menander's wonderful talent at express

of the orchestra, where the stage is erected in modern theatres, stood the thymele, or logeon, but projecting a little towards the audience. It was a little higher than the orchestra, and in some theatres was only six feet square. Here the principal part of the chorus made their recitations, and in comic interludes the mimi performed. Behind the thymele appeared the stage, considerably elevated. No part of this theatre was covered, except the stage, and a high gallery called circys, set apart for the women. The Athenians being thus exposed to the weather, came usually with great cloaks, to secure them from the rain or the cold; and for defence against the sun, they had the sciadion; a kind of parasol, which the Romans used also in their theatres, by the name of umbella; but when a sudden storm arose, the play was interrupted, and the spectators dispersed.

At Athens the plays were always represented in the day time, which made the unroofed theatres less inconvenient.

The chorus in the Grecian theatre was, according as the subject demanded, composed of men and women, old men or youths, citizens or slaves, priests, soldiers, &c. The chorus came upon the stage preceded by a flute player, who regulated their steps, sometimes one after the other; but in tragedy, more frequently three in front and five in depth, or five in front and three in depth.

In ancient Greece, the same persons performed in tragedy and comedy, but it was very rarely that one person excelled in both. The pay of those who had acquired great reputation, was considerable. Polus, one of the most celebrated of the Grecian actors, gained a talent, which was equal to £225 sterling, in two days. Players of eminence in Greece were solicited to attend the festivals. If, after making an engagement, they failed to attend, they were obliged to pay a fixed sum of money; and if they were absent during the festival of their own republic, they were condemned in a still heavier penalty.

ROMAN DRAMA.

Dramatic entertainments were introduced at Rome in the year of the city 391. They were called ludi scenici, because they were acted in a shade formed by the branches and leaves of trees. They originally consisted of little more than dances to the sound of a flute, without either singing or acting. These were performed by Etrurians, who were the first players in Rome; but the Roman youth soon imitated them at their solemn festivals, adding raillery in rude verses and gestures, suited to the subject. These were called Fescennine verses, from the town Fescennia in Etruria, where they had originated.

It was not until about the year of Rome 512, that an attempt was made to represent a regular play, written by Livius Andronicus, the first Latin dramatic poet. From this period, the

drama progressively improved, and the plays which still exist sufficiently attest the excellence to which this species of composition arrived; while the fortunes acquired by some of the actors, afford ample proof of the estimation in which the histrionic art was held, notwithstanding that according to the Roman law, the profession of an actor was declared infamous, and those who practised it were deprived of the rights of citi

zens.

The Roman comedy was at first wholly borrowed from the Greeks, and it was long before the Latin stage could boast of an original composition. When delivered from the trammels of imitation, their plays became more descriptive of Roman character and manners; but it may be doubted whether they did not lose more in purity of taste, than they gained in originali. ty; for we find that the stage degenerated soon after the fall of the republic, and was at length abandoned to dancers and buffoons.

Tragedy was not introduced at Rome until long after comedy was known, and the pieces still extant are so few, as to afford but little means of judging of the general merit of the Roman tragic muse.

The Roman play was usually succeeded by a farce performed by amateurs. These were styled Attellane comedies, in which the actors, not speaking from any written dialogue, trusted to the spontaneous effusion of their own fancies; a license which they frequently abused by the introduction of much gross ribaldry. The performers in the Attellana could not be compelled by the audience to unmask, nor were they, like the common actors, deprived of their civil rights.

Interludes of dancing, and processions of exhibitions of animals, and combats of gladiators, were generally introduced between the acts; and these, together with pantomimical representations, tumbling and rope-dancing, constituted so great a portion of the entertainment, that they at length superseded the regular drama.

A singular custom prevailed on the Roman stage; the occasional division of the same part between two actors, the one reciting, while the other accompanied him with the appropriate gesture. This appears to have been confined to the recitation of verses, or single speeches, for we do not find that it was applied to dialogue; and it was originally introduced for the convenience of a favorite performer, who was rendered hoarse by his obedience to reiterated calls of "encore."

PLAUTUS.

At the same time that Cato was distinguished for his eloquence in the forum, Plautus was renowned for his comic representations on the stage. According to Varro, he was so well paid for his plays, as to think of doubling his stock by trading. In this speculation, however, he was so unfortunate, that he lost all he had acquired by the muses, and for his subsistence was reduced, in a time of general famine, to work

at a mill. How long he continued in this distress, is uncertain; but Varro adds, that the poet's wit was his best support, and that he composed three plays during this daily drudgery.

TERENCE.

Terence, although one of the purest of the Roman writers, was of African origin. He was a native of Carthage, and brought early to Rome among other slaves; but fell into the hands of a generous master, Terentius Lucanus, who gave him first a good education, and afterwards his liberty. Agreeably to a custom of the Romans, he took the name of his master; and thus, by a singular fatality, says Madame Dacier, while he has immortalized the name of his master, he has not been able to preserve his own.

When Terence offered his first play, Cæcilius was not only the oldest, but considered the best poet of the age; much regard was therefore paid to his judgment; and the ædile, before he would look at Terence's production, told him to wait upon Cæcilius, and take his opinion upon it. The old gentleman being at table, bid the young author take a stool, and begin to read it to him. It is observed by Suetonius, that Terence's dress was mean, so that his outside did not much recommend him; but he had not gone through the first scene, when Cæcilius was so pleased, that he invited him to sit at table with him, and defer the reading of the remainder of the play till after supper. Cæcilius, on hearing it to the end, found only more and more reason to admire; he dismissed the author with a most flattering testimonial of his approbation; the play was brought out, and attended with a success which at one established Terence's fame as a dramatic writer.

The plays of Terence appear to have brought him in very large sums. He received eight thousand sesterces for his "Eunuch," which was acted twice in one day, a piece of good fortune which perhaps never happened to any other play; for plays with the Romans were never designed to serve above two or three times. For the rest he was no doubt equally well paid; since it appears from the prologue to the " Hecyra," that the poets used to be paid every time their play was acted. At this rate Terence must have made a handsome fortune before he died, for most of his plays were acted more than once in his life time; and yet a notion has prevailed, for what reason it is difficult to discover, that he died in poverty. He left a daughter, who was afterwards married to a Roman knight, and it is certain that he left also a house and gardens on the Appian Way, near the Villa Martis.

ROSCIUS.

ways appeared upon the stage with a mask; but the Romans frequently constrained him to take it off, and overlooked the deformities of his face, that they might the better hear his elegant pronunciation. In private life he was so much esteemed, as to be elevated to the rank of Senator. When falsely accused, Cicero, who bad been one of his pupils, undertook his defence, and cleared him of the malevolent aspersions of his enemies, in an eloquent oration extant in his works. Roscius is said to have written a treatise, which has not escaped the wreck of time, comparing, with great success and erudition, the profession of the orator with that of the comedian. His daily pay for acting is said to have been 1000 denarii, or £32. 68. English money, though Cicero makes his annual income amount to the enormous sum of £48,434. 10s.

Dr. Burney observes, that there are several passages in Cicero concerning Roscius, which, if the ancient actors, Romans as well as Greeks, did not declaim in musical notes, would be wholly unintelligible. He tells us (de Orat.) that Roscius had always said, when age should diminish his powers, he would not abandon the stage, but would proportion his performances to his strength, and make music conform to the weakness of his voice; which really happened, for the same author informs us, that in his old age he sung in a lower pitch of voice, and made the Tibicines play slower. As there were combats, or contests, established by the ancients for the voice, as well as for other parts of the gymnastice, those who taught the management of the voice were called phonasci, and under their instructions were put all those who were designed to be orators, singers, and comedians. Roscius had an academy for declamation, at which he taught several persons preparatory to their speaking in public, or appearing upon the stage. These are proofs sufficient of the dramatic declamation of the ancients being uttered in musical tones, agreeing with those of the musical instruments by which they were accompanied

MYSTERIES.

Mysteries were among the earliest species of dramatic representation in modern Europe. They are supposed to have originated with the pilgrims in France, who on returning from the Holy Land, or other places to which their devotion had led them, used to sing verses, composed by themselves, on the subject of their pilgrimages, in which they also celebrated the history of Jesus Christ, and the legends, miracles, and wondrous tales of the saints and martyrs. These compositions were very rude; but the simplicity of the times, the piety of the subject, and the sanctity of the characters, rendered them attractive with the people.

The church soon perceived the fondness of the people for these entertainments, and thought them a fit means for exciting devotion in the minds of the multitude, who are always attracted