the state, to shews and plays, by which the people were enervated.

A very wife man faid, he believed, if a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who made the laws of a nation. The antient legiflators did not pretend to reform the manners of the people without the help of the poets"."

How auftere must the manners of the Romans have originally been, which did not allow a perfon of cha • racter to dance! It was a faying among them, Nemo fere, &c. Nobody dances unless he be either drunk or mad b.' The Greeks, however, had no objection to this art.

There must have been a confiderable falling off, when Sylla won that popular favour by a fhew of lions, which in better times he could only have obtained by fubftantial fervices c.

The Olympic games are to be looked upon in a very different light from all other public diversions, shows, &c. They gave an opportunity to all perfons to exhibit their skill and abilities in all the accomplishments which were esteemed in those days. They kept up a laudable emulation to excel; for, a prize gained on account of the meanest accomplishment, as fwiftnefs of foot, for inftance, was a matter of great honour, as a man's being victor in that conteft, fuppofed him to be a better runner than any other within the Olympian, Nemaan, Elean, or Ifthmian circles. The contefts were alto uteful for keeping up in the people a pleasure in manly and warlike exercifes, which was abfolutely neceffary

a Fletcher, P. 372,

b See Cicero's ORATION in defence of a man of confular rank accufed of the crime of dancing.

CANT. UNIV. HIST. XIII. 33.

neceffary in those times, when perfonal valour was of fuch confequence, which now is nothing, fince the art of war has, by the invention of gun-powder, been wholly changed a.

The combats of Athleta were first introduced at Rome when the manners of the people were confiderably corrupted, of which thefe diverfions, with the fhows of gladiators and the like, were the caufes and fymptoms.b.

As for these laft, which prevailed more and more as the manners degenerated more, they are a difgrace to human nature, and only Milton's devils ought to be capable of being diverted with the fight of men tormenting, cutting with fwords, tearing to pieces by wild beasts, and deftroying their wretched fellowcreatures. The government which fuffered fuch abominations to prevail for fo many ages, must have been very barbarous. For it is not neceffary, in order to make a people martial and brave, to make them infernal furies.

We find, that players, on account of their debauchery, were banished from Italy in the debauched times of Tiberius d; and that games of hazard, and concerts of mufic, were forbidden. It is not known what the harm of those musical entertainments might be. Perhaps they were of the fame kind with the mufic-houses in Holland, which are public brothels. Antonius

a See the learned account of the Olympic games, prefixed by my late efteemed friend Gilbert Weft, Efq; to his TRANSLATION OF PINDAR. b ANT. UNIV. HIST. XII. 354.

c Referring to the poet's account of the diverfions with which the dæmons amused themselves during Satan's abfence. PARAD. LOST, Book II.

d ANT. UNIV. HIST. XIV. 184.

e Ibid. XII. 450.

Antonius led a private life in the imperial court of Romea. Aurelius hated the public diverfions, and talked with his minifters about the public bufinefs the whole time of his attending themb. Conftantine put a ftop to the fhows of gladiators c. The Emperor Honorius totally abolished the shows of gladiators d.

A motion was made, A. D. 1735, in parliament, for reftraining the number of playhouses. It was obferved, that there were then in London, the operahoufe, the French playhouse in the Haymarket, and the theatres in Covent-garden, Drury lane, Lincoln'sinn-fields, and Goodman's-fields; and that it was nơ lefs furprising than fhameful to fee fo great a change for the worse in the temper and inclinations of the British nation, who were now fo extravagantly addicted to lewd and idle diverfions, that the number of playhouses in London was double to that of Paris. That we now exceeded in levity even the French themselves, from whom we learned these and many other ridiculous cuftoms, as much unfuitable to the manners of an Englifhman or a Scot, as they were agreeable to the air and levity of a Monfieur: That it was astonishing to all Europe, that Italian eunuchs and fingers thould have fet falaries equal to thofe of the lords of the treafury, and judges of England. After this it was ordered, nem. con. that a bill be brought in, pursuant to Sir John Barnard's motion, which was done accordingly: but it was afterwards dropt, on account of a claufe offered to be inferted in the faid bill, for enlarging the power of the lord chamberlain, with regard to the licenfing of plays.

a ANT. UNIV. HIST. XV. 197.

c Ibid. 581.

e DEB. COM. IX, 93.

Plays

b Ibid. 209.

d Ibid. xv. 492.

Plays and other public diverfions were stopped by parliament, A. D. 1647, for half a year. Several lords protested because it was not for perpetuity 2.

Petitions were presented, A. D. 1738, from the city, university, and merchants of Edinburgh, against licensing a playhouse b.

The reader fees, that, though I have mentioned the entertainments of the theatre among thofe abuses of our times, of which this work exhibits a general furvey; I have not abfolutely condemned them on the contrary, I have confeffed the ufe, which a set of able statesmen might make of them in reforming and improving the manners of the people: the particulars of which I leave to be found and applied by men of wildom and of public fpirit.

The most fashionable of all diverfions in our time, is masquerading; on which I have a few thoughts to offer.

Shame is the most powerful restraint from bad actions. To put on a mafk is to put off fhame. And what is a human character without fhame?

It was observed long ago by the excellent Tillotson, on another account, that the people of England are but too tractable in imitating fome of their worst neighbours in fome of their worst cuftoms. The French taught us masquerading, which has been an amusement of that fantastical people ever fince the days of Charles VI, if not earlier. For in his time there was exhibited a most dreadful scene of that kind, which, one would have expected to cool a little their eagerness for masquerades ever after. The king and five of the court, on occafion of a marriage, disguised themselves like fatyrs, by covering their naked bodies with linen habits,

a PARL, HIST. XVI. 112.

b DEB. COм. X. G.

habits, close to their limbs, which habits were bedaubed with rofin, on which down was ftuck. One of the company, in a frolick, running a light against one of them, as they were dancing in a ring, all the fix were instantly enveloped with flames, and the whole company in a confternation, left the fire should be communicated to all. Nothing was to be feen or heard but flames and fcreams. Four of the fix died two days after, in cruel agonies; and the King, who was subject to a weakness of brain, was overfet by the fright, so that he was ever after outrageous by fits, and incapable of government.

There are few entertainments more unmeaning, to say the least, than masquerades. For the whole innocent pleasure of them muft confift in the ready and brilliant wit of the masks, fuitable to the characters they affume. But it cannot be fuppofed, that among a thousand people, there are fifty perfons capable of entertaining by the readiness of their wit, and their judgment in fuftaining affumed characters. Accordingly we hear of much ftupidity played off on those occafions; and yet the rage after them continues. Wit muft indeed be at a low ebb, when it is thought witty for a nobleman to affume at a masquerade the dress of a turkey cock. This piece of wit, I am informed, was really exhibited at a late masquerade at Mrs. Cornellys's. As we know of nothing characteristical in a real turkey cock, but his gabbling, it is not easy to imagine what entertainment a man of quality fhould propofe to give a company by affuming that character. If he had taken the likeness of a rook, he might have been a visible fatire on gamefters, placemen, &c. If that of an owl, he might have said he was a deep ftatefman; or if he chofe a quadrupedal transformation, as that of an ass, for inftance, or of a ftag, a bull, or any of the horned fraternity, he might have told thofe who queftioned

him