1000000030

e o

had no other view but to remo,'e froOl thc

fl" ll.tor~

!hocking aélion, he cenaloly was in a capilal IIllflake:

for murder in cold blood, which in fome me.fure was

the cafe as reprefentcd, is more Ihocking tO a polile au–

dience, even where the concJuGve {\ab i! not feen, th. n

the f.OlCaél pcrformed in their prefence, when it is oc–

caGoned by 'violent .nd unpreOlcditated pamon, as fud–

denly repenttd of as commimd. We heanily agree

with AddiCon, that 00par!

this incident ollghl 10 have

beeo repreCented, but reCerved for a

narrativ~,

wilh eve–

ry alleviating circumflance in f.!Vour of the hero. This

is the ooly melhod to avoid the diflicuhies that unquali.

fy this incident for repreCentation, a deliberate murder

on the one hand, and on the olher a violen! aélion per–

formed on the ¡fage, which mufl roufe the fp!él.tor

from his dream of realily.

A few words IIpon Ihe dialogue, which ought to be

conduéled as tO be a true reprefentation of nalure.

Every Gngl.

fpe~ch,

OlOrt or long, ought tO arife from

'What is Caid by the former Cpeaker, and CuroiOI maner

for wh.1 comes after, till the eno of the fcene. In this

. iew, Ihe \Vhole fpeeches, from Grtl 10 lall, reprefent fo

many links, all conneéled logether in one regular chain.

No aUlhor, ancient or Olodern,

pull'ell'~s

the art of oia–

logue equal 10 Shakefpwe. Dryden in this particular

may juflly be placed as his

oppofil~ :

he freqllendy in–

troduces Ihree or four pertons fpeaking upon Ihe fame

[ubjcél, each Ihrowing out his own Ceotiment! fepamely,

wilhou! regarding what is faid by the !'efl; lake for an

ex.mple the firll fcene of Auren.ebe: fometimes he

makes a oumber club in rdating aoevent, not tO a flran–

ger, fuppofed ignorant uf it, but loone another, for Ihe

Cake merely

fpe.king: of which nmable COrt of dia·

logue,

\Ve

have a fpeci,"tn in the fidl fcene of the firfl

pm of the Conquefl of Granada. In the fecond part of

Ihe f¡me tragedy, fcene fecond, the king, Aben.mar,

snd Zulema, make their feparate obCervalions, like fo

many Coliloquies, upon the ftuéluatinglemperof Ihe mob:

dialogue fo .uneoulh, pl\t! one in mind of tWO Olepherds

in a palloral, exeited by a prize tOpronounce vertenl–

ternatdy, each in praife of his own miOrefs.

'fhebaodying fcntimenls in Ihis monoer, befide anun–

natural air, has another bad e/feél: il ftays the courfe

of the aélioD, becaufe il is not produaire of any confe·

~uence.

In Congre'le'! comedies, the aélion is often

fufpended to make way for a play of wit.

. No fault is more commo" among IVrite" , than tO pro–

loog a fpeech after the ilOpatienee of the perfoo tO whom

il is addrtll'ed ought 10 prompt hilO or her to break in.

ConGeler only how Ihe i",patient aaor is to beh;ve in

lhe mtan time. To exprefs his impalience in violent

gélion IVitl"Jut interrllpting, would be nnnalural; and yel

dlll'~mble

his

impati~nce

by appeiuing eool whcre he

ought to be

~ighly

inflamed, would be no leCs unnatu·

ral.

Rhyole heing unnatural and difgnfi ful in di.

.Jng~e,

h.ppdy baniOled Ircmour thcatrc: the ooly \Vonder i9,

tbat il ever found admittance, efpeci.lly amor.?, a pcople

accuflometl 10 Ihe l)Iorc manly freedom uf Slt.lktfpeare's

dialotue. By barúOlÍng rhyme, we have g,lincu fo mueh

e o

as IIc'/eronce

oreamIhat there can be any fUr!herim–

prol'cment. And yet, however fuitable blank mfe

may be 10 elevated charaélers and IVarnl pamons, il

mun appear improp"r and a/feéled in the moulhs of

the lower Corto Why then !hould it be a rule, tha!

every feene in Iragedy mufl be in blank verfe? Shake–

fpeare, wilh great judgment, has followed a di/ferent

rule; which is, to intermix profe with verfe, and only

to employ the laner where the importance or dignity

of Ihe fubjea requires it. Familiar Ihoughts and or–

dinary faéls oughl to he exprell'ed io plaio language'

¡nd if it appear not ridiculous to hm a foolman de:

Jiver a fimple melfage in blank verfe, a vail mua be

drawn over the ridiculous appearance by the force of

cunom. In !hOrt, that variety of eharaélers and of fi–

tuations, IVhieh is the life of a play, require6 nOI

only a fuitable varie!y io the fenoments, but alfo io

the diélioo.

COMPOS1T IO N, in palnung, confifls of two parl!, in–

vention and difpofition; Ihe fira whereof is the choice

of Ihe objea. which are to eOler imo the comppfition

of Ihe fubjeél the pai nter intend, 10 execute, aod i,

eilher fimply hiflorieal or allegorical.

COMPOSITION, in commerce, acontraél between an in–

folvent debtor and his creditors, whereby Ihe Jauer

aeeept of a par! of the deht in compenfation for'the

whole, and give a general

ac~uittance

aceordingly.

pos 1

oN,

prinling, commonly termed compo.

fing, the

arrang~ng

of feveral types" or lenm, in the

.:ompofing-fliek, in order 10 form

line; and of fe–

"eral IIOes nnged in order io the galley, to make

page; alld of feveral pages, to make a formo See

PRINTING.

COM POST, in huCoandry and .gardening, feveral fom

,f (oils, or carthy maner, mixed together, in order

tO make

manure, for amaing Ihe natural earrh in lhe

work of .egemioo, by way of amendmeot or improve–

ment. See AGRICULTURE.

COMPOSTELLA, the capital of C,.Jicia, in ·SpatO,.

remarkable for the devolion paid there by pilgrims

from all counnie, to Ihe relies of St Jame!.

COMPOUND, in a general (enre, an appellation givm

to whmver is compofed, or made up of di/ferent·

things: Ihus we fay, a compound word, compóond.

found, compound

talle,

compound force,

&~.

COMYOUND·INTHEST. See

I~TEREST.

COMPOUND

N U ~'"ERS ,

Ihofe which may be dividid by

Come other nUOlber befides unity, wilhout leaviog any'

remainder: fuch are

18, 20,

&c.

the fira being mea–

fured by me lIumbers

6,.

9 ;'

lnd the

(~cond

by'

Ihe nJmbers

4, 5,

10 .

COMf lEHENSION, in logic, the fame Wilh apprc.

•

hrnfi~n.

COMPRESSION, the aél

preO¡ng or fqueezing fonte

m~tler,

10 re! ils pans nearer 10 each other, 'alld

m. ke il polCefs

Itf~

fpaee.

COl\JPR.I NT, among bJoklcllers, fignlfies a furrepti_

tious prinlillgo( anolher's copy, in arder to gainthere–

by, which is cxprtfsly conlraly to natute 14 Caro

COMPROMISE, a treaty, or eontrna, wherehy two '

c.omelldiog