Charles de Saint-Évremond

“ By his performance one would think, that he had a mind to give the world a greater idea of Porus, than of Alexander, in which it was not possible for him to succeed : for the History of Alexander, as true as it is, has much of the air of a Romance in it; and for an Author to make a greater Hero than him, is to affect to deal in fiction, and rob his Work, not only of the credit of truth, but the agreeableness of probability. Let us not therefore imagine any thing greater than this Conqueror of the World, otherwise our imaginations will range too far, and soar too high. ”

“ The Poet, who was at liberty to add to the truth of things, or at least to set them off with all the ornaments of his Art, instead of using colours and figures to embellish them, hath taken away much of their beauty; and whether the scruple of saying too much of them, did not suffer him to say enough; or whether ’tis owing to the barrenness of his Invention, he falls vastly short of the truth. He might have enter’d into their most private thoughts, and have drawn from the bottom of those great Souls, as Corneille hath done, their most secret motions ”

“ That which is harder upon him still, is, that he is made to lose much on one side, without gaining any thing on t’other : he is as indifferent a Hero in Love, as in War; and thus the History is disfigur’d, without any ornament to the Romance : we find him a Warriour, whose glory cannot inflame our courage; and a Lover, whose passion cannot affect our tenderness.
This is what I had to say of Alexander and Porus. ”

“ She may entertain her self, when alone, with those inward conflicts she feels in her self; she may sigh in secret for her uneasiness, and trust a beloved and virtuous Confident, with her fears and griefs : but, supported by her glory, and fortified by her reason, she ought always to remain mistress of her passions, and to animate her Lover to great actions by her resolution, instead of disheartning him by her weakness.
’Tis, indeed, an indecent sight, to see the Courage of a Hero softned by tears and sighs ”

“ If I have not regularly tied my self to an exact Criticism, ’tis because, instead of entering into particulars, I rather chose to enlarge my self upon the Decorum that ought to be observ’d in the discourses of Heroes, and the difference of their Characters; upon the good and ill usage of the tenderness of Love in Tragedies, which is rejected too severely by those, that ascribe every thing to the motions of Pity and Fear; and is too nicely pursu’d by those, that have no relish, but for these sorts of sentiments. ”

“ The spectator, who sees these Antients represented upon our Theatres, follows the same Rules to judge exactly of them, as the Poet doth to describe them well; and the better to succeed in this, he removes his mind from all that he sees in fashion; he endeavours to disengage himself from the humour of his own time; and renounces the inclination of his own Nature, if ’tis opposite to that of the Persons represented : for the Dead cannot know our Manners, but Reason, which is of all times, may make us know theirs. ”

“ All that is either great or valuable amongst men, the defence of a Country, the preservation of a Kingdom, don’t excite Porus to the Battle; he is encourag’d to it by the beautiful eyes of Axiana alone, and the design of his Valour, is only to recommend himself by it to her. ”

“ Most of their motions, as well as their discourses, should be the effects of their Passion; their Joy, their Sorrow, their Fears, and their Desires, ought to have a little tincture of Love, in order to be taking.
If you introduce a Mother rejoicing for the happiness of her dear Son, or afflicting herself for the misfortune of her poor Daughter, her satisfaction, or her grief, will make but a weak impression upon the spectators. To affect us with the tears and complaints of this Sex, shew us a Mistress that bewails the death of a Lover; and not a Wife, that laments the loss of a Husband. ”

“ Another Heaven, if I may so speak, another Sun, and another Earth, produce other Animals, and other Fruits : the Men seem to be of another make, by the difference of their faces, and still more, if I dare say so, by a distinction of Reason : both their Morals, and a Wisdom peculiar to their Climate, seem there to over-rule and guide another sort of Men in another World. ”

“ A maker of Romances may model his Heroes according to his fancy. Neither is it of great importance, to confine one’s self religiously to the true Character of an obscure Prince, to whose reputation we are perfect strangers : but those great Persons of Antiquity, so famous in their age, and better known amongst us than the living themselves ”

“ A Writer ought to describe a King of Asia, otherwise than a Roman Consul : one should speak like an absolute Monarch, who disposes of his Subjects as his Slaves; the other like a Magistrate, who only puts the Laws in execution, and makes their Authority respected by a free People. ”

“ The grief of Mistresses, which is tender and endearing, has a far greater influence upon us, than the affliction of an inveigling, self-interested Widow, who, as sincere as she happens to be sometimes, always gives us a melancholy idea of Funerals, and their dismal Ceremonies. ”

“ This is all that may reasonably be allow’d to Love upon our Theatres : let our Writers be contented with this, so far even as the severest Rules of the Drama will allow of it; and let not its greatest favourers believe, that the chief design of Tragedy, is to excite a tenderness in our hearts. In Subjects truly Heroick, a true Greatness of Soul ought to be maintain’d above all things. That which would be pleasing and tender in the Mistress of an ordinary man, is often weak and scandalous in the Mistress of a Hero. ”

“ Take away from some of the Fair Sex the expression of amorous thoughts, and from others those private familiarities, into which the mutual confidence they have in each other leads them, and you reduce them, for the most part, to very tedious Conversations. ”

“ An old Roman should be describ’d furious for the publick good, and moved by a fierce sense of Liberty, different from a flatterer of Tiberius’s time, who knew nothing but interest, and abandon’d himself to the Slavery of the age. We should not make the same Description of Persons of the same condition and the same time, when History gives us different characters of them. It would be ridiculous to make the same Description of Cato and Cesar, Catiline and Cicero, Brutus and Mark Anthony, under pretence, that they liv’d at the same time, in the same Republick. ”

“ Besides, since Women are as necessary in the representation, as Men, we should give them frequent occasions to speak of that which is most agreeable to their nature, and which they talk better than any thing else. ”

“ A very nice Judge of the merits of Men, is contented to compare to Alexander, the man whom he thought worthy of the highest character : he durst not attribute to him greater qualities, but took away from him the bad : magno illi Alexandro, sed sobrio neque iracundo simillimus1. ”