40 Milton D. Baumgartner 



deutschen Schaubiihne," published in the same number of the 

 Bibliothek with the Essay; and again in the Literaturhrief , as 

 already mentioned. Lessing's first grouping in the Essay is in his 

 explanation of the " last age " used by Crites. " Er versteht unter 

 diesem letztvergangenen Weltalter die kurz vor dem biirgerlichen 

 Kriege vorhergegangenen Jahre, die Regierung der Konigin Elisa- 

 beth und Jakobs I., unter welcher Shakespeare, Johnson und 

 andere grosze Genies lebten." The second grouping is in con- 

 nection with the dialogue of Eugenius and Neander, where the 

 former interrupts the latter in the examination of the Silent 

 Women to beg for the sketch of Shakspere, Jonson, Beaumont, 

 and Fletcher. This Lessing condenses as follows : " Ehe es hierzu 

 kommt, ersuchet Eugenius den Neander, den Charakter ihrer vier 

 vornehmsten dramatischen Dichter zu entwerfen, welches er in 

 folgenden thut." 



The passage in the Geschichte der deutschen Schaubiihne runs : 

 " Shakspere, Beaumont, Fletcher und Ben Johnson waren die 

 groszen Genies, die es [das vorige Jahrhundert] mit unsterblichen 

 Werken bereicherten und es auf einmal zu einem Theater machten, 

 welches nach dem griechischen fiir einen Kenner der schonen 

 Wissenschaften das allerinteressanteste ist und dem Anschein 

 nach auch bleiben wird."^° 



Furthermore Dryden and Lessing in common emphasize the 

 weakness of Corneille. Measuring him by the definition of a play 

 laid down in the Essay ("a just and lively imitation of nature, rep- 

 resenting its passions and humors"), Dryden finds many weak- 

 nesses in Corneille, the "arch-dramatist" of the French. He 

 grants that his plays are regular, but adds : " What is more easy 

 than to write a regular French play, or is more difficult than to 

 write an irregular English one, like those of Fletcher, or of Shak- 

 spere " ? He regards the plots of Corneille as " flat designs," and 

 compares them with " ill riddles " found out ere they are half pro- 

 posed. To him Corneille's best comedy, The Liar, lacks humor, 

 and does not compare favorably with many comedies of Fletcher 

 and Jonson. Corneille's tragedies do not move the passions, ac- 

 cording to Dryden, on account of their long tedious speeches. 



^^ Lessing s Werke, V, p. 351. 



328 



