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" moins ce foible interet eft pur & fans melange de peine ; qu'ii 

 '* n'eft point excite par des noirceurs, par des crimes, ni mel^ de 

 " tourment de hair. Je ne fcaurois conce'^oir que plaifir on peut 

 '* prendre a imaginer & compofer le perfonage d'un fcelerat, a fe / 

 " mettre a fa plate tandis qu'on le reprefente, a lui preter I'eclat 

 " le plus impofant. Je plains beaucoup. les auteurs de tant de 

 " Tragedies pleines d'horreurs, les quels paflent leur vie, a faire 

 " agir et parler des gens, qu'on ne peut ecouter ni voir fans fouffrir." 

 - — How different are the notions of the German Dramatifts ! They 

 fcarce ever think of exciting intereft, but through the medium of 

 crimes and horrors; to communicate the torment of hating is their 

 favourite objed, and to imagine and compofe the oerfonage of 

 fome monfter of guilt and depravity, is their delight. With v^^hat 

 fenfations, would Rouffeau have perufed the plays, of Goethe, or 

 Schiller 1 



When robbery, murder, fuicide, and every other form of atro- 

 cious guilt is clothed by the poet in pompous language, decked 

 with impofing colours, and perfonified in his heroes and heroines, 

 or afcribed to thofe characters, which he labours to exhibit as 

 amiable or eftimable; and when thefe enormities are juftified, by 

 plaufible pretences, and grave arguments, or even panegyrifed, as 

 ads of virtue and heroifm, in fwelling declamation, what mull 

 be the efFed on the minds of the young and unexperienced I How 

 muft fuch compofitions tend, to pollute the minds, and deprave 

 the morality of the rifing generation ! Lbok into the Robbers and 

 Vol, VIII, ( G ) the 



