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CHAP. XVI.

SENTIMENT S.

E

VERY thought fuggefted by a paffion
or emotion, is termed a fentiment *.

The knowledge of the fentiments peculiar to each paffion confidered abstractly, will not alone enable an artist to make a just representation of nature. He ought, over and above, to be acquainted with the various appearances of the fame paffion in different perfons. Paffions, it is certain, receive a tincture from every peculiarity of character; and for that reafon, it rarely happens that any two perfons vent their paffions precisely in the same manner. Hence the following rule concerning dramatic and epic compofitions, That a paffion be adjusted to the character, the fentiments to the paffion, and the language to the fentiments.

• See Appendix.

If

If nature be not faithfully copied in each of these, a defect in execution is perceived. There may appear fome resemblance; but the picture upon the whole will be infipid, through want of grace and delicacy. A painter, in order to represent the various attitudes of the body, ought to be intimately acquainted with muscular motion: not less intimately acquainted with emotions and characters ought a writer to be, in order to represent the various attitudes of the mind. A general notion of the paffions, in their groffer differences of strong and weak, elevated and humble, fevere and gay, is far from being fufficient. Pictures formed fo fuperficially, have little refemblance, and no expreffion. And yet it will appear by and by, that in many inftances our reputed mafters are deficient even in this fuperficial knowledge.

In handling the present subject, it would be endless to trace even the ordinary paffions through their nicer and more minute differences. Mine fhall be an humbler tafk; which is, to felect from the best writers inftances of faulty fentiments, after pa

ving the way by fome general obfervations. To talk in the language of mufic, each paffion hath a certain tone, to which every fentiment proceeding from it ought to be tuned with the greatest accuracy. This is no easy work, especially where fuch harmony is to be fupported during the course of a long theatrical reprefentation. In order to reach fuch delicacy of execution, it is neceffary that a writer affume the precise character and paffion of the perfonage reprefented. This requires an uncommon genius. But it is the only difficulty; for the writer, who, forgetting himself, can thus perfonate another, fo as to feel truly and diftinctly the various agitations of the paffion, need be in no pain about the fentiments thefe will flow without the least study, or even preconception; and will frequently be as delightfully new to himself as afterward to his reader. But if a lively picture even of a fingle emotion require an effort of genius; how much greater must the effort be, to compose a paffionate dialogue, in which there are as many different tones of paffion as there are speakers? With what

:

ductility

ductility of feeling ought a writer to be endued who aims at perfection in fuch a work; when, to execute it correctly, it is neceffa ry to affume different and even oppofite characters and paffions, in the quickest fucceffion? And yet this work, difficult as it is, yields to that of compofing a dialogue in genteel comedy devoid of paffion; where the sentiments must be tuned to the nicer and more delicate tones of different charac ters. That the latter is the more difficult task, appears from confidering, that a character is greatly more complex than a paffion, and that paffions are more distinguishable from each other than characters are. Many writers accordingly who have no genius for characters, make a fhift to reprefent, tolerably well, an ordinary paffion in its plain movements. But of all works of this kind, what is truly the most difficult, is a characteristical dialogue upon any philofophical fubject. To interweave characters with reafoning, by adapting to the peculiar character of each speaker a peculiarity not only of thought but of expreffion, requires the perfection of genius, tafte, and judgement.

How

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How hard dialogue-writing is, will be evident, even without reafoning, from the imperfect compofitions of this kind found without number in all languages. The art of mimicking any fingularity in voice, or gefture, is a rare talent, though directed by fight and hearing, the acuteft and moft lively of our external fenfes how much more rare must the talent be of imitating characters and internal emotions, tracing all their different tints, and representing them in a lively manner by natural fentiments properly expressed? The truth is, fuch execution is too delicate for an ordinary genius; and for that reafon, the bulk of writers, inftead of expreffing a paffion like one who is under its power,: content themselves with defcribing it like a fpectator. To awake paffion by an inter nal effort merely, without any external caufe, requires great fenfibility; and yet this operation is neceffary not lefs to the writer than to the actor; because none but they who actually feel a paffion, can répre fent it to the life. The writer's part is much more complicated: he must join compofiVOL. II. U.

tion

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