John Dennis

“ When I affirm that an Opera after the Italian Manner is monstrous, I cannot think that I deal too severely with it; no not tho’ I add, that it is so prodigiously unnatural, that it could take its beginning from no Country, but that which is renowned throughout the World, for preferring monstrous abominable Pleasures to those which are according to Nature. ”

“ England may certainly with a little Encouragement produce the greatest Tragick Poets in Europe, but there is scarce one Nation in the Christian World, but is qualify’d to surpass us in Opera’s, since they are almost all scituated under a serener Sky.
If a private Man who mistakes his Talent, and applies himself to things, for which neither God nor Nature have qualify’d him, does by that very choice deface all his good Qualities, and render himself contemptible to the World, how much more dishonourable must it be for a whole Nation? ”

“ In short, where-ever there is either the Love of Liberty or the Love of Glory, a true Poet may well be admir’d, and in how wretched a condition must the Nation be where both those Qualities are wanting. From what has been said ’tis manifest that it behoves us to think, before we fully resolve upon banishing so useful an Entertainment as that of the Drama, for the pernicious Amusement of Opera’s. ”

“ After what has been said, I appeal to any Lover of his Country, if Poetry which begets a publick Spirit, ought to be banish’d for Musick which destroys it, which as it corrupts Mankind has a natural tendency to the Inslaving them; and indeed where-ever Opera’s have been a constant Entertainment they have been attended with slavery. We are at present contending for Liberty, and hard is the Contention, and the event doubtful, and we can not so much as hope to succeed, but by the Virtue of that magnanimous Spirit, which Poetry exalts, and which effeminate Mufick debases. ”

“ What then, must not the French and Italians think of us, who despise the most generous Productions of our own Minds, and indeed of the Mind of Man, for the vilest of theirs of which we are not capable. Let us take heed, that as we have taken the Opera from the Nations which we despise, it senders us not contemptible to those very Nations. ”

“ The Modern Italians have the very same Sun and Soil which the Antient Romans had, yet are their Manners directly opposite; their Men are neither Vertuous, nor Wise, nor Valiant, and they who have reason to know their Women, never trust them out of their sight. ’Tis impossible to give any reason of so great a Difference between the Ancient Romans, and the Modern Italians but only Luxury, and the Reigning Luxury of Modern Italy, is that soft and effeminate Musick which abounds in the Italian Opera. ”

“ Man is so very Fantastical a Creature, that perhaps he owes his best and his worthiest Actions to what may be properly called his Weakness, that is, to his Vanity, or his Love of Glory. For tho’ that depends upon an Opinion of Excellence, which is almost always false, and is therefore truly a Weakness, yet it gives the Mind a Force, an Elevation and an Enthusiasm, which it has not without it, and which make it capable of quite other things than it was before. Now the greater the Action is that any one designs, the more is requir’d of so impetuous a Motive to execute it ”

“ Which Order has shewn that she is as much distinguish’d by the Beauty of her Mind, as by that of her Person; and as every Grace has been always a constant Attendant on her, ’tis become the Duty of every Muse to wait on her, and to return her Thanks for making way by her illustrious Example, for the delivering English Poetry from the Oppression of Foreign Luxury, as every Englishman is bound to extol the Heroe from whom she sprung, for lessening in English Hearts the Apprehension of Foreign Tyranny. ”

“ That what we call Life here is not properly the Hero’s Life, that almost half of it is pass’d in absolute Death, and the rest in Desire, in Grief, in Love, in Rage, in Pain. And that the bright and eternal Fame, to which great Minds aspire, is never fully attain’d to here; that the Names of the greatest Heroes are circumscrib’d by narrow bounds both of time and space ”

“ But if an Opera so design’d is not writ with force, I leave it to any one to judge, whether the weakness of the expression and of the sentiments, are like to make Impression enough to work any change in the Souls of an Audience ”

“ Man naturally pursues Pleasure and flies from Pain, and endeavours to be happy at as little Expence as he can, and therefore the Delights of Sense are preferred to reasonable Pleasures, because the Soul takes in the first without any effort, but the last require severe Preparation, or at the least Attention. In short, if ’tis so hard to part with sensual Pleasures, after they are once become habitual, tho’ all a Man’s Interest and his whole Reputation require it, how much more difficult must it be, when these two powerful Motives are wanting. ”

“ It belongs to Poetry only, to teach publick Virtue and publick Spirit, and a noble contempt of Death, with an Expression and with an Air becoming of its God-like Notions. That alone can worthily tell Mankind that we were not born for our selves ”

“ If the Entertainment which we have from our Opera’s is a meer sensual Pleasure, which says nothing either to enlighten the Understanding or to convert the Will, it is impossible to conceive, how it can either raise the Passions to correct them, or infuse generous sentiments into the Soul, to exalt and confirm the Reason, or to inspire publick Spirit, and publick Virtue, and elevated notions of Liberty. ”

“ But that so many people of great Quality, and of greater Parts, Lovers of their Country, and Encouragers of Art, and of Poetry more particularly, should prove so zealous in the encouraging and promoting Entertainments, which tend so directly to the Detriment of the Publick, to the Detriment of Arts, and especially of expiring Poetry; Entertainments which are so directly contrary to their Nobler Pleasures, and their real Interests, can proceed from nothing but from that Weight of Affairs which oppresses them, and deprives them of time and leisure to consider deliberately of these things. ”

“ Musick may be made profitable as well as delightful, if it is subordinate to some nobler Art, and subservient to Reason; but if it presumes not only to degenerate from its ancient Severity, from its sacred Solemnity; but to set up for itself, and to grow independant, as it does in our late Opera’s, it becomes a meer sensual Delight, utterly incapable of informing the Understanding, or of reforming the Will; and for that very Reason utterly unfit to be made a publick Diversion, and then the more charming it grows, it becomes the more pernicious. ”

“ And as soft and delicious Musick by soothing the Senses, and making a Man too much in Love with himself, makes him too little fond of the publick, so by emasculating and dissolving the mind, it shakes the very foundation of Fortitude, and so is destructive of both branches of the publick Spirit. ”

“ And the very Spirit of Prophesie, which was the Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, departing from the Jews in the Babylonish Captivity, was a fatal Omen that Liberty and Empire were never to flourish more with them.
That the Declension of Poetry should portend the fall of Empire is not without very good Reason. Because it shews a slackning of the publick Spirit, and an increase of universal Corruption, which prepares the Fate of Empires, as a spreading mortification fore-runs the Fate of Men. ”

“ And yet tho’ the Reformation and Liberty and the Drama were establish’d among us together, and have flourish’d among us together, and have still been like to have fall’n together; notwithstanding all this, at this present Juncture, when Liberty, and the Reformation are in the utmost Danger, we are going very bravely to oppress the Drama, in order to establish the luxurious Diversions of those very Nations, from whose Attempts and Designs both Liberty and the Reformation are in the utmost Danger. ”

“ But yet this must be allow’d, that tho’ the Opera in Italy is a Monster, ’tis a beautiful harmonious Monster, but here in England ’tis an ugly howling one. What then must not only Strangers, but we our selves say, with all our Partiality to our selves, when we consider that we not only leave a reasonable Entertainment for a ridiculous one, an artful one for an absurd one, a beneficial one for a destructive one, and a very natural one for one that is very monstrous ”

“ May she be follow’d by every fair one, as Venus is by the Graces, but after they have all in imitation of her, combin’d to banish foreign Foppery from off the English Stage, may the Glory of the Triumph be peculiarly hers, who first so happily shew’d the way to conquer it, as her illustrious Father will justly share in the Honour of every Confederate General, because all Victories that are to come will be influenc’d by that Immortal one, which shew’d us first that the French are not Invincible. ”

“ That gaming, by giving Men a privilege to be familiar with, and sometimes rude to Women, removes that awe which Nature has plac’d between the Sexes as the strongevt Bulwark of Chastity; that when a young Lady ev’n of the strictest and most unblemish’d Honour, looses a Summ of Money, which she dares not own to her Relations, and which she cannot pay without them, and looses it to a young agreeable Fellow, who perhaps loves her, and has a secret Design upon her, she finds a Temptation that tries her utmost Virtue. ”

“ But if any one objects that an Opera may be so contriv’d and Writ, as to inspire us with an affection for the Publick, and with a generous contempt of Death; to him I answer, that an Opera so design’d, must be writ with force or without it. If ’tis writ with force ’tis incompatible with Musick, especially in so masculine a Language as ours; for force in our Language cannot be exprest without a great many Consonants, and Words that terminate in Consonants ”

“ We have indeed very bravely defended our Liberties, but we have at the same time abandon’d our Poetry to the very Nations who have attack’d the other, and by I know not what Whimsey of Fate, while in the Field we have been knocking their bravest Men on the Head, we have been caressing and hugging the Off-scowring of them at home. ”

“ There is no Man living, who has either a higher esteem than my self for their natural and acquir’d Endowments, or a greater Veneration for their restless Endeavours to promote the real good of their Country in all other things. ”

“ That some of the greatest Monarchs and greatest Ministers of State have not only encourag’d Plays, but have writ them themselves; that some of the greatest Philosophers have done the same, that here in England indeed Two or Three formal affected Bigots have endeavour’d to contradict all these and the common Sense of Men, and upon a pretence of making all Men good Christians, which Christ and his Apostles have so often told us never will be, have actually made Thousands ten times worse than they would have been without them. ”

“ Perhaps too the Pride and Vanity that is in Mankind, may determine the generality to give into Musick at the expence of Poetry. Men love to enjoy their Pleasures entirely, and not to have them restrain’d by Awe, or curb’d by Mortification. ”

“ Thus Musick has caus’d so great a Change in our Writers, because it has wrought so great a one in our Audiences, and it will certainly work a greater in both if it goes on Triumphantly; for the generality of our Audiences are far more capable of a Pleasure of Sense than of a Delight of Reason. Now Musick that is not subservient to Reason, especially if it be soft and effeminate, is a meer Delight of Sense ”

“ But that this Vanity may be nourish’d and Supported in them, they must actually find themselves prais’d by the best of Men, and meet with an Admiration equal to the Idea which they conceive of their Labours. ”

“ That Poetry is like from the Progress of Musick, to have the same Fate in England, that it met with in France and Italy; we have very good reason to believe, when we consider that of late Years, they who have had some Talent for writing, have, for the most part, still writ worse and worse, and when that which has been well writ, has been worse received by our Audiences ”

“ There is no Man living who is more convinc’d than my self of the Power of Harmony, or more penetrated by the Charms of Musick. I know very well that Musick makes a considerable Part both of Eloquence and of Poetry ”

“ We have endeavour’d to shew in the following Treatise, that the English Stage is like to be overthrown by the Progress of these new Opera’s; it would be easie here to shew the Importance of that Stage to the Publick: That People must and will have Diversions, and that a great and flourishing People will have publick Diversions, that if the Government does not take care to provide reasonable Diversions for them, they will not fail to provide such for themselves as are without Reason. That unreasonable ones are pernicious to Government, and that reasonable ones are advantagious to it ”

“ Now there are but few judicious Spectators at our Dramatick Representations, since none can be so, but who with great Endowments of Nature have had a very generous Education, and the rest are frequently mortify’d by passing foolish Judgments; but in Musick the Case is vastly different, to judge of that requires only Use and a fine Ear, which the Footman often has a great deal finer than his Master. ”