The Works of M. de Voltaire: Oedipus. Mariamne. BrutusJ. Newbery, R. Baldwin, W. Johnston, S. Crowder, T. Davies, J. Coote, G. Kearsley, and B. Collins, at Salisbury., 1761 |
From inside the book
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Page 8
... French academy , have both of them fince treated the fame fubject , and both avoided the errors which I had fallen into . It is not my business to criticife their performances , my cen- fures and my praises would be equally liable to ...
... French academy , have both of them fince treated the fame fubject , and both avoided the errors which I had fallen into . It is not my business to criticife their performances , my cen- fures and my praises would be equally liable to ...
Page 10
... French were the firft of the moderns , who revived the wife rules of the antient theatre : other nations refused for a long time fubmif- fion to a yoke , which they thought too fevere ; but as the laws were juft , and reafon must ...
... French were the firft of the moderns , who revived the wife rules of the antient theatre : other nations refused for a long time fubmif- fion to a yoke , which they thought too fevere ; but as the laws were juft , and reafon must ...
Page 15
... French tragedies , we fhall always find the principal characters differently interested ; but all thefe different interefts tend towards that of the principal character , and thus conftitute the unity of action . If , on the contrary ...
... French tragedies , we fhall always find the principal characters differently interested ; but all thefe different interefts tend towards that of the principal character , and thus conftitute the unity of action . If , on the contrary ...
Page 19
... . Mon- tagne has given us a tranflation into French of a fong , written in American rhime ; and in one of Addison's Spectators . we meet with a Lapland ode , the original of • 4 of which is alfo in rhime , and which [ 19 ]
... . Mon- tagne has given us a tranflation into French of a fong , written in American rhime ; and in one of Addison's Spectators . we meet with a Lapland ode , the original of • 4 of which is alfo in rhime , and which [ 19 ]
Page 23
... French tongue ; we allow no licence to our poetry , which is obliged , like our profe , to follow the precife order of our ideas ; we are therefore under the absolute neceffity of em- ploying the repetition of the same sounds , to ...
... French tongue ; we allow no licence to our poetry , which is obliged , like our profe , to follow the precife order of our ideas ; we are therefore under the absolute neceffity of em- ploying the repetition of the same sounds , to ...
Common terms and phrases
againſt ALBINUS anſwer ARUNS becauſe behold blood BRUTUS Cæfar cauſe cou'd crimes cruel death detefted DIMAS doft dreadful e'er EGINA ev'n ev'ry facred fafety fame fatal fate father fave fear fecret fenate ferve fhall fhou'd fince firſt flave fome foon forrows foul ftill fubjects fuch gods guilty happineſs hate hath heart heav'n HEROD himſelf honour huſband ICARUS IDAMAS intereft JOCASTA juft juftice juſt king laft Laius laſt leaſt LICTORS lord lov'd mafter Mariamne MAZAEL Meffala MESSALA Motte muft muſt myſelf NABAL o'er OEDIPUS paffion PHILOCTETES PHORBAS pleaſe pleaſure Polybus pow'r PROCULUS profe puniſh purpoſe rage reaſon refpect rhime Roman Rome SALOME SCENE ſerve ſhall ſhame ſhe ſpeak ſtage ſtill Tarquin Thebes thee thefe theſe thine thoſe thou art thou know'ft throne Titus tragedy Tullia tyrant unhappy uſe VALERIUS Varus vengeance verfe verſes virtue weakneſs whilft whoſe woes wou'd wretched
Popular passages
Page 210 - Here comes his body, mourned by Mark Antony: who, though he had no hand in his death, shall receive the benefit of his dying, a place in the commonwealth; as which of you shall not? With this I depart, — that, as I slew my best lover for the good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death.
Page 208 - CATO; Alas ! my friends ! Why mourn you thus ? let not a private loss Afflict your hearts. 'Tis Rome requires our tears. The mistress of the world, the seat of empire, The nurse of heroes, the delight of gods, That humbled the proud tyrants of the earth, And set the nations free, Rome is no more. O liberty! O virtue ! O my country!
Page 207 - How beautiful is death, when earn'd by virtue ! Who would not be that youth ? what pity is it That we can die but once to serve our country...
Page 119 - Great, en" amored of the loveliest woman in the world ; the " fierce passion of this King so famous for his virtues " and for his crimes — his ever-recurring and rapid " transition from love to hatred, and from hatred to " love — the ambition of his sister — the intrigues of " his concubines — the cruel situation of a princess " whose virtue and beauty are still world-renowned, " who had seen her kinsmen slain by her husband, and " who, as the climax of grief, found herself loved by " their...
Page 222 - To render love worthy of the tragic scene, it ought to arise naturally from the business of the piece, and not be brought in by mere force, only to fill up a vacancy, as it generally does in your tragedies, and in ours, which are both of them too long: it should be a passion entirely tragical, considered as a weakness, and opposed by remorse ; it should either lead to misfortunes or to crimes, to convince us how dangerous it is ; or it should be subdued by virtue, to show us that it is not invincible....
Page 10 - Even in England, at this day, authors give us notice at the beginning of their pieces that the time employed in the action is equal to that of the representation and thus go further than ourselves, who taught them.
Page 218 - The English are more fond of action than we are, and speak more to the eye ; the French give more attention to elegance, harmony, and the charms of verse. It is certainly more difficult to write well than to bring upon the stage assassinations, wheels, mechanical powers, ghosts, and sorcerers. The tragedy of "Cato," which reflects so much honor on Mr.
Page 209 - What surprises me is, that there are not more in a work written in an age of ignorance, by a man who understood not Latin, and who had no other master but a happy genius.
Page 23 - Ou me cacher? Fuyons dans la nuit infernale. Mais que dis-je? Mon pere y dent 1'urne fatale. Le sort, dit-on, 1'a mise en ses severes mains. Minos juge aux Enfers tous les pales humains.
Page 210 - ... of your nation ! not that I approve the barbarous irregularities which it abounds with; it only astonishes me, that there are not many more in a work written in an age of ignorance, by a man who did not even understand Latin, and had no instructor but his own genius : and yet, among so many gross faults, with what rapture did I behold Brutus, holding in his hand a dagger, still wet with the blood of Caesar, assemble the Roman people, and thus harangue them from the tribunal: "Romans, countrymen,...