Sect. IX.] Drama. 57' 



bited a considerable number of original pieces, 

 and others adopted from the French and German. 

 And though the former are not equal to the first 

 class of British productions, and the moral ten- 

 dency of some of the latter has been questioned ; 

 yet they form one stop in that literary progress of 

 the country, which is more particularly detailed 

 in another place. 



There are several characteristic features which 

 belong to the dramatic compositions of the eigh- 

 teenth century, in which they differ from those of 

 any preceding age. It may be proper to take 

 some notice of a few of these features before bring- 

 ing this section to a close. 



One circumstance in which modern dramas dif- 

 fer from those of former times is, that they arc 

 more consistent and correct in the structure of their 

 fable. If they do not surpass or equal some pre- 

 ceding productions of this class in genius, they must 

 be allowed to excel in taste and regularity of plan. 

 Many of the noblest of the dramas which were given 

 to the world before the eighteenth century, violated 

 every principle of probability and nature. They 

 departed from the most obvious unities of time,, 

 place, and action. They gave to one country the 

 customs, laws, and general characters of another ^ 

 and thus, amid splendid excellences, abounded 

 with manifest absurdities ; and while they grati- 

 fied the taste, also put to a severe test the pati- 

 ence of the critic. Vv^ith most of these faults, 

 even the immortal Shakspeare is chargeable. The 

 best dramatists of the eighteenth century may be 

 said, ia general, to adhere more closely to proba- 



