WHEN you deſire to know my Sentiments concerning Mr. Law's late Pamphlet againſt the Stage, you make a Requeſt, which 'tis not ſo eaſy for me to ſatisfy as you may perhaps imagine: For I really never was ſo much at a Loſs to know what an Author meant. Sometimes I am inclined to think him in good earneſt; and ſometimes I believe, that there are Grounds to ſuſbect, that he deſign'd this whole Pamphlet for nothing but a ſpiritual Banter; for there ſeems to me to be a Neceſſity of believing, either that a Clergyman, as Mr. Law is, ſhould be profoundly ignorant of the ſacred Writings, a Man of Letters of the Nature of Dramatick Poems, and one who had liv'd long enough in the World to have ſome Experience of the preſent State of Religion, and Virtue, and Vice, among us; or a Neceſſity of concluding, that while Mr. Law is declaiming with ſo much furious Zeal againſt the Stage and Players, he is all that while acting a Part, and ſhewing himſelf a great Comedian.

When Mr. Law is putting Idolatry and frequenting the Playhouſe upon an equal Foot, he ſeems to be playing a Part: for he cannot but know, that St. Paul was of another Mind, who when he was at Athens, the very Source of Dramatick Poetry, ſaid a great deal publickly againſt their Idolatry, but not one Word againſt their Stage. When he was afterwards at Corinth, as little did he ſay againſt theirs: For St. Paul, who was educated in all the Learning of the Grecians, who had read all their Poets, who in the vjth Chapter of the Acts, Ver. 28, quotes Aratus, and Epimenides, in the firſt Chapter of his Epiſtle to Titus, Ver. 10, could not but have read all their noble Dramatick Poems; and yet has been ſo far from ſpeaking one Word againſt them, that he has made uſe of them for the Inſtruction and Converſion of Mankind. And when afterwards he wrote his Firſt Epiſtle to the Corinthians, he did not ſcruple, for their Inſtruction, to make uſe of an Athenian Play; for all the World knows, that Evil Communications corrupt Good Manners, 1 Cor. xv. 33. is taken from an Athenian Dramatick Poet. Does Mr. Law believe that that Epiſtle, and conſequently that Verſe, was dictated by the Holy Ghoſt or not? Can Mr. Law believe, that St. Paul was guided by the Spirit of God to make Choice of that Verſe for the Inſtruction▪ and Converſion of the Corinthians? And can he believe at the ſame Time, that the Theatre, as he more than once declares it, is the Temple of the Devil? If any one ſhould affirm, That St. Paul was guided by the Spirit of God, to take a Verſe from the Temple of the Devil, would it not be ſuch horrid Blaſphemy as would make even the Blood of the moſt profligate of all Players to curdle within the Miſcreant's Veins. But if St. Paul had in the leaſt believed, that the Athenian Stage was the Sink of Sin and Corruption, as Mr. Law ſays every Stage is, he would not have fail'd to reproach them with it, in order to check the ſpreading Evil. He who dares talk openly and boldly againſt the National Religion of a People, may very well venture to condemn their Vices and evil Cuſtoms. But St. Paul not only ſays nothing at all againſt Dramatick Poetry, but makes uſe of it for the Converſion and Reformation of Mankind. Now I would fain know, if quoting a Dramatick Poet, without giving the leaſt Caution againſt the Stage, be not a downright Approbation of Dramatick Poetry, and eſtabliſhing the Stage by no leſſer an Authority than that of the Spirit of God himſelf.

If we look into the Old Teſtament, we ſhall find, that the Kings of Iſrael and Judah, they and their Reigns, were declared righteous or wicked, according as thoſe Kings were Idolaters or not Idolaters; and that no Sin whatever was reckon'd ſo abominable as Idolatry. Solomon, who had ſeven hundred Wives, had no leſs than three hundred Concubines; and yet when God threatened to rend Ten Tribes of his Subjects from him, it was only for his Idolatry, becauſe he had forſaken God, and had worſhipped Aſhtoreth the Goddeſs of the Sidonians, Chemoſh the God of the Moabites, and Milcom the God of the Children of Ammon, 1 Kings xj. For it came to paſs, that when Solomon was old, his Wives turned away his Hear after other Gods, and his Heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the Heart of David his Father, ibid. Ver. 4. Now David committed Adultery with Bathſheba, and murdered her Husband Uriah; yet theſe Sin that were of ſo flagrant a Nature that they brought a Plague upon Iſrael, were venial, compared to Idolatry. They brought, indeed, a Plague upon the People, but they depoſed the King from no Part of his Subjects, as the Idolatry of Solomon did his Son Rehoboam. In ſhort, Idolatry is by ſo much more criminal than the Tranſgreſſion of any other divine Commandment, as the Attempt to depoſe a King and to ſet up a Pretender, is a Crime of a higher Nature than the Breach of any other human Law.

As it is hard to imagine, that Mr. Law ſhould be ignorant of what has been ſaid above, it gave me juſt Cauſe to ſuſpect his Sincerity: But when I came to the Paſſage which he quotes from Archbiſhop Tillotſon, in the 38th Page of his Pamplet, I found that he prevaricated ſo vilely in it, that the Hypocriſy became immediately manifeſt: For he has omitted the former Part of the Paſſage, becauſe it makes directly againſt him. It is as follows:

To ſpeak againſt them (viz. Plays) in general, may be thought too ſevere, and that which the preſent Age cannot ſo well brook, and would not perhaps be ſo juſt and reaſonable, becauſe it is very poſſible they might be ſo framed, and governed by ſuch Rules, as not only to be innocent and diverting, but inſtructive and uſeful, to put ſome Vices and Follies out of Countenance, which cannot perhaps be ſo decently reproved, nor ſo effectually expoſed and corrected any other Way. All this, as I have ſaid above, he has purpoſely omitted, becauſe it makes point blank againſt him.

For after he has told us, in this bleſſed Pamphlet, That the Playhouſe is the Temple of the Devil, a more delightful Habitation for him than ever any Temple that he had in the Heathen World, where Impurity and Filthineſs, immodeſt Songs, prophane Rants, Luſt, and Paſſions, entertain the Audience, a Place, the peculiar Pleaſure of the Devil, where all they who go, yield to the Devil, go over to his Party, and become Members of his Congregation, where all the Laughter is not only vain and fooliſh, but that it is a Laughter among Devils; that all who are there, are upon prophane Ground, and hearing Muſick in the very Porch of Hell. After he has beſtow'd all this fine Language upon it, and all theſe fragrant Flowers of Rhetorick, he aſſures us, that the Playhouſe is all that he has ſaid, not thro' any accidental Abuſe, as any innocent or good Thing may be abuſed, but by its genuine Helliſh Nature; which is directly contrary to what the foremention'd illuſtrious Prelate has ſaid. Mr. Law ſays, that every Entertainment of the Stage is in its Nature unlawful, abominable, and infernal. The Archbiſhop aſſures us, that the Entertainments of the Stage may be ſo managed, as not only to be innocent, but uſeful and inſtructive; nay, that they may even become neceſſary for the expoſing ſome certain Follies, and the correcting ſome certain Vices.

As Mr. Law has ſhewn his Want of Sincerity in the foreſaid Quotation, he gives us great Reaſons to ſuſpect it in his Invectives againſt the Drama. For 'tis hard to conceive, that a Man of Letters ſhould be ſo ignorant of the Nature of a legitimate Dramatick Poem, as thoſe Invectives ſuppoſe him; for 'tis ſuch only that we pretend to defend, and abhor the Productions of ignorant and impure Poetaſters as much as he does. 'Tis hard to conceive, that a Man who has read the Claſſicks, ſhould not know that a legitimate Dramatick Poem, either of the Comick or Tragick Kind, is a Fable, and as much a Fable as any one of Aeſop's, agreeing in Genus, and differing only in Species. Terence has told him in almoſt every one of his Prologues, that every Comedy is a Fable; and he begins his very firſt to Andrea with it. Poeta cum primum animum ad ſcribendum appulit, Id ſibi negoti credidit ſolum dari, Populo ut placerent quas feciſſet Fabulas. And Horace tells us the ſame Thing concerning Tragedy, more than once or twice: Neve minor quinto, neu ſit productior actu Fabula. De Arte Poet. And we find in the ſame Treatiſe; Interdam ſpecioſa locis, morataque recte Fabula. And likewiſe again; Nec Quodcunque volet poſcat ſibi Fabula credi.

Mr. Law cannot but know, that the Inſtruction by Fables and Parables, which mean the ſame Thing, was mightily in Uſe among the wiſe Ancients, and eſpecially among the ſacred Writers; that we have an Example of it, of about three thouſand Years ſtanding, in the Parable of Jothan. And that Jeſus Chriſt, who beſt knew the Nature of Men, made uſe of Fables or Parables, as moſt proper at the ſame Time, both to pleaſe, and inſtruct, and perſwade. For a Fable is a Diſcourſe moſt aptly contrived to form the Manners of Men by Inſtructions diſguiſed under the Allegory of an Action. And therefore he could not chuſe but know, that every legitimate Dramatick Poem, either of the Comick or Tragick Kind, is not a mere Diverſion, as he pretends, but a philoſophical and moral Lecture, in which the Poet is Teacher, and the Spectators are his Diſciples, as Horace inſinuates in the three following Verſes: Nec minimum meruere Decus veſtigia Graeca Auſi deſerere & celebrare Domeſtica Facta Vel qui Praetextas, vel qui docuere togatas. And knowing all this, he could not but know that 'tis very hard, if not very extravagant, to put the frequenting moral Lectures upon the ſame Foot with Idolatry.

If Mr. Law has read either Ariſtotle or any of his Interpreters, as 'tis hard to imagine that he ſhould think himſelf qualified to write againſt the Stage if he had read none of them, he cannot but know, that as the Action of a Dramatick Fable is univerſal and allegorical, the Characters are ſo likewiſe. For as when Aeſop introduces a Horſe, or a Dog, or a Wolf, or a Lion, he does not pretend to ſhew us any ſingular Animal, but only to ſhew the Nature of that Creature, as far as the Occaſion where it appears admits of; ſo when a Dramatick Poet ſets before us his Characters, he does not pretend to entertain us with particular Perſons, tho' he may give them particular Names; but propoſes to lay before us general and allegorical Fantoms, and to make them talk and act as Perſons compounded of ſuch and ſuch Qualities, would talk and act upon like Occaſions, in order to give proper Inſtructions.

Now as a Dramatick Fable is a Diſcourſe invented to form the Manners by Inſtructions diſguiſed under the Allegory of an Action, it follows, that in a Dramatick Fable for the proving the Moral, 'tis as neceſſary to introduce vicious as virtuous Characters, and to make them ſpeak and act, as all Perſons compounded of their Qualities would be obliged by Nature to ſpeak and act upon the like Occaſions; as Aeſop, for the Sake of his Morals, does not only introduce innocent and peaceable Creatures, as Horſes, and Sheep, and Cows, and Dogs; but likewiſe noxious and violent ones, as Lions and Bears, and Wolves, and Foxes: But the Poet at the ſame time ought to take care that the Vices ſhould be ſhewn after ſuch a Manner, as to render them odious or ridiculous, and not agreeable or deſirable; and that the Reader ſhould reap no Pleaſure from the Agreeableneſs of the Vices, but only from a juſt Imitation of Nature.

I make no Doubt, Sir, but that I have ſaid enough to ſatifie you or any of your Friends to whom you may happen to ſhew this Letter, that as every true Dramatick Poem is a Fable as much as any one of Aeſop's; it has in its Nature a direct Tendency to teach moral Virtue, and can therefore never be contrary to a Chriſtian Temper and Cirit, which, where-ever it is, incites us to good Works, that is, to the Performance of moral Duties. But there is every Jot as much Difference between a true Dramatick Poem, and the Production of an ignorant obſcene Poetaſter, as there is between two religious Books, the Bible and the Alcoran. Now will Mr. Law affirm, that becauſe the Alcoran is full of egregious Falſhoods, and of monſtrous Fanatick Extravagancies, therefore we ought not to read the Bible? It belongs to none but to an Atheiſt, or ſome other unbelieving Sceptick, to make ſuch a Concluſion.

Sir, As 'tis hard to conceive that Mr. Law ſhould be ignorant of what we have ſaid above, both concerning the ſacred Writings, and the Nature of a Dramatick Poem; and equally hard, if he is not ignorant, to believe him a Writer of Sincerity and Integrity; ſo it ſeems to be as hard to conceive, that a Man of his Years, and conſequently of his Experience, ſhould be utterly a Stranger to the preſent State of Religion, and Virtue and Vice, among us; or that, if he is not a Stranger to it, he ſhould be capable of writing ſo malicious or ſo erroneous a Treatiſe as that which he has lately publiſh'd againſt the Stage.

Before I come to ſpeak of the preſent State of Religion among us, I deſire Leave to tranſlate a Paſſage from Dacier's Preface to his excellent Comment on Ariſtotle's Art of Poetry. If the Quotation appears to be of more than ordinary Length to you, I comfort my ſelf with this Reflection, that you will attend to an Author of more than ordinary Learning and Judgment, and who can ſpeak ſ much better in this Cauſe than myſelf.

'Poetry, ſays that moſt judicious Critick, is an Art which was invented for the Inſtruction of Mankind, and an Art which is by Conſequence uſeful. 'Tis a Truth acknowledg'd by all the World, that every Art is in itſelf good, becauſe there is none whoſe End and Deſign is not ſo: But as it is no leſs true, that Men are apt to abuſe the very beſt Things, and to pervert the very beſt Deſigns, that which was at firſt invented as a wholſome Remedy, may afterwards become a very dangerous Poiſon. I am obliged to declare, then, that in what I ſay of Tragedy, I ſpeak not of corrupted Tragedy: For'tis not in Works that are deprav'd and vicious that we are to ſearch for the Reaſon and the Deſign of Nature, but in thoſe which are ſound and intire; when I ſay this ſpeak of ancient Tragedy, of that which is conformable to the Rules of Ariſtotle, which I dare pronounae to be the moſt uſeful and moſt neceſſary of all Diverſions whatever.'

'If it were in our Power to oblige all Men to follow the Precepts which the Goſpel lays down, nothing could be more happy for Mankind. In living conformably to them, they would find true Repoſe, ſolid Pleaſure, and a ſure Remedy for all their Infirmities; and they might then look upon Tragedy as a uſeleſs Thing, and which would be infinitely below them. How could they look upon it in any other Light, ſince the Heathens themſelves beheld it in the very ſame, as ſoon as they had embraced the Study of Philoſophy. They confeſs, that if People could be always nouriſh'd with the ſolid Truths of Philoſophy, the Philoſophers had never had Recourſe to Fables, in order to give them Inſtruction. But as ſo much Corruption could not bear ſo much Wiſdom, the Philoſophers were obliged to look for a Remedy for the Diſorder which they ſaw in Mens Pleaſures; for which they invented Tragedy, and they offered it to the World, not as the moſt excellent Thing of which Men could make their Employment and their Study, but yet as a Means to correct thoſe Exceſſes, in which they were wont to be plunged at their ſolemn Feaſts; and to render thoſe Diverſions uſeful to them, which Cuſtom and their Weakneſs had render'd neceſſary, and their Corruption very dangerous.'

'What Men were formerly, they are To-day; and what they are To-day, they will be hereafter; they have the ſame Paſſions which they always had, and run with the ſame Eagerneſs after Pleaſure. To undertake to reduce them in this Condition by the Severity of Precepts, is endeavouring to put a Bridle on a mad Horſe in the greateſt Rapidity of his Courſe. In the mean time, there is no Middle; Men will fall into the moſt criminal Exceſſes, unleſs we find Pleaſures for them which are wiſe and regular. 'Tis ſome Degree of Happineſs, that a Remnant of Reaſon inclines them to love ſuch Diverſions as are conſiſtent with Order, and ſuch Amuſements as are not incompatible with Truth. And I am perſuaded, that we are obliged in Charity to make our Advantage of this Inclination, that we may not give time to Debauchery entirely to quench that Spark of right Reaſon which ſtill may be ſeen to glimmer in them. We preſcribe to diſtemper'd Perſons; and Tragedy is the only Remedy, from which, in their preſent Condition, they can reap any Advantage; for 'tis the only Diverſion in which they can find the Profitable united with the Pleaſant.'

Thus far Monſieur Dacier. And here, Sir, I beg Leave to obſerve, that, notwithſtanding our Reformation, we have as few Perſons here in England who have the true Spirit of Chriſtianity in them, as there are in France: But there is this Difference between them and us; In France, all own themſelves Chriſtians publickly; none of them dare renounce the Name, tho' few of them are the Thing: But among us, How many open Diſſenters are there from Chriſtianity itſelf? How many Atheiſts? How many Deiſts? How many Free-thinkers of a Thouſand Kinds? who all of them refuſe to join in our ſacred Rites; ſome of them, as the Atheiſts, believing them to be ſenſ leſsand ridiculous; and others, as the Deiſts, eſteeming them to be blaſphemous and idolatrous. Then what School of publick Virtue and of publick Spirit have we for too great a Part of our Youth, but our Theatres only?

'Tis very ſtrange that Mr. Law ſhould be ſo ignorant of the preſent State of Religion among us, as not to foreſee that the wild Enthuſiaſm, and the ſpiritual Fanatical Rant, which abounds ſo much in his late Pamphlet, would afford Matter of Scorn and Laughter to Infidels and Freethinkers of all Sorts, and render our moſt ſacred Religion ſtill more contemptible among them.

When Mr. Law ſays, in the 16th Page of his Pamphlet, that It cannot be doubted by any one, that the Playhouſe is a Nurſery of Vice and Debauchery, and that the Effect it has upon Peoples Manners is as viſible as the Sun at Noon; he ſeems to know as little of the preſent State of Vice among us, as he pretends to do of Religion. The preſent reigning Vices of the Town, are Drinking, Gaming, Curſing, Swearing, Prophaneſs, Corruption of all Sorts, as Bribing, Tricking, Oppreſſion, Cheating, Whoring and execrable Sodomy. And Mr. Law, forſooth, has the Face to tell the World, that the Playhouſe encourages all theſe; that it is the Sink of Corruption and Debauchery; and that that is not the State of it thro' any accidental Abuſe, but that Corruption and Debauchery are the truly natural and genuine Effects of the Stage-Entertainment, that is, of any Stage-Entertainment. Now to ſhew the Folly and the Arrogance of theſe Aſſertions, let us conſider theſe Vices one by one.

Firſt then; Does the Theatre encourage Drunkenneſs? No; it neither does nor can encourage it: To ſhew it, is enough to render it odious or ridiculous. To ſhew a Man drunk, is to ſhew a Fool or a Madman, in whom the Creator's Image is for a Time intirely defaced, and who, while he continues in that State, ſtands in need of a Guardian. Beſides, nothing is more certain, than that brutal Vice rages moſt in the Scum and Off-ſcowring of the People, who neither have nor ever had the leaſt Communication with the Playhouſe. 'Tis true, Men of Thought may be ſometimes drawn into it, but they naturally hate it; for Drunkenneſs is a mortal Enemy to Thought, and conſequently Thought to that.

Does the Playhouſe encourage Gaming? So far from that, that Gaming has increaſed ten-fold, ſince Collier's Books againſt the Stage were publiſhed; and ſince when, whole Plays have been writ to ſhew it dangerous and deſtructive, to ſhew the unſpeakable Harm it does to both Sexes, and particularly to the Women; to ſhew that Gaming, by giving Men a Privilege of being familiar with, and ſometimes rude to Women, removes that Awe which Nature has placed between the Sexes, as the ſtrongeſt Bulwark of Chaſtity; that when a young Lady, even of the ſtricteſt, the moſt unblemiſh'd Honour, loſes a Sum of Money, which ſhe dares not own to her Relations, and which ſhe cannot pay without them, and loſes it to an agreeable young Fellow, who perhaps loves her, and has a ſecret Deſign upon her, ſhe finds a Temptation that trys her utmoſt Virtue.

Does the Playhouſe encourage Swearing and Curſing? Both Reaſon and Experience aſſure us that it does not. They who walk the Streets in the Weſt End of the Town may be ſufficiently convinced, that it rages moſt in the Lees of the People, who never knew what a Playhouſe was. It infects even their Wives and their Children, as it very rarely does thoſe of the better Sort. As common Swearing is a fooliſh brutal Vice, that brings neither Pleaſure nor Profit with it, and is the Reſult of want of Thought; it follows, that the fooliſh brutal Part of the People muſt be moſt infected with it. Of the Women that frequent the Playhouſe, few are addicted to it but the common Strumpets; and of the Men, none but Bullies, Rakes, and giddy Coxcombs. If a Comick Poet draws any of theſe, in order to correct and amend them, he is obliged to ſhew them ſometimes Swearing, or he leaves out one of their Characteriſticks. But he cannot fail of ſhewing that very Quality either odious or ridiculous, when it appears in Perſons who are themſelves both the one and the other. And if he ſhews it either odious or ridiculous, that ſurely will invite none of the Audience to imitate it.

We equally deny, that the Playhouſe encourages any other Sort of Prophaneſs. But as a Play is a Fable, that is, a Compoſition of Truth and Fiction (as we have obſerved above;) as the Action is feigned and the Moral true; as Characters are neceſſary for the carrying on the Action, and or proving the Moral, and vicious Characters as neceſſary, and perhaps ſometimes more neceſſary, than are the good ones; as to ſhew vicious Characters, and to expoſe them, 'tis abſolutely neceſſary to put vicious Sentiments into their Mouths, it follows, that the moſt criminal Sentiments, and the moſt violent Paſſions, are allowable in vicious and violent Characters; the moſt ungovern'd Fury, and the moſt outragious Blaſphemy itſelf, not excepted; provided they are adapted to the Character and the Occaſion, and the Character and the Occaſion are neceſſary for the Moral. Virgil has every where ſhewn Mezentius a Contemner of the Gods, and a Blaſphemer of them; yet we never heard that the moſt bigotted of his Cotemporaries ever accuſed Virgil upon that Account. Milton, in the ſecond Book of Paradice loſt, makes the Devils, in their infernal Council, blaſpheme in a moſt outragious Manner; and yet, as they ſpeak agreeably to their Characters and the Occaſion, no Man has ever been ſo weak or ſo unjuſt, as to accuſe Milton for that Blaſphemy, or to give all his Readers to the Devil for being entertained with it. On the contrary, all Men of good Underſtanding, and good Taſte, have been peculiarly charm'd with that very Book, as one of the moſt beautiful of that admirable Poem. Cowley makes not only the Devil, but Goliah blaſpheme; Thus he blaſphem'd aloud; The Hills around, Flatt'ring his Voice, reſtor'd the dreadful Sound. and yet has been never blamed for it. The Book of Job is canonical, and is firmly believed to have been writ by divine Inſpiration. Tho' it is full of uncharitable Judgments, and is not free from Blaſphemy, yet the Inſtructions which that divine Parable or Fable gives, proceed in a great meaſure from that very Blaſphemy, and thoſe uncharitable Judgments. But now, if a Poet is allow'd to put Blaſphemy into the Mouth of one of his Characters, provided he takes care to puniſh him for it, he is certainly at Liberty to do the like by any inferior Prophaneſs.

The Three Nonjuring Prieſts who have attack'd the Stage, have made ſuch a Noiſe about nothing as Prophaneſs; it ſometimes drops three or four Times in one Page from their tautologous Pens; and they have chiefly accuſed our Comedies for it: The Unreaſonableneſs of which may appear from hence, that all our true Comedies are but Copies of the fooliſh or vicious Originals of the Age. Certainly never Man knew what a Comedy was better than did Moliere. Now when in the Critic of the Ecole des Femmes, he is endeavouring to prove, by the Mouth of Dorante, that Comedy is harder to write than Tragedy, he gives the following Reaſon for it: Lors que vous peignez des Heros, vous faites ce que vous voulez; ce ſont des Portraits a plaiſir, ou l'ou ne cherche de reſſemblance; et vous n'avez qu'a ſuivre les Traits d'une Imagination qui ſe donne l'eſſor, et qui ſouvent laiſſe le vrai pour atraper le Merveilleux. Mais lors que vous peignez les Hommes, il faut peindre d'apres Nature; on veut qui ces Portraits reſſemblent, et vous n'avez rien fait ſi vous n'y faites reconnoitre le Gens de votre Siecle. That is to ſay; When you draw Heroes, you are at your own Liberty; thoſe are Pictures at the Painter's Pleaſure, in which no Body looks for Likeneſs; and you have nothing to do but to indulge the Flight of a ſoaring Imagination. But when you paint Men, you muſt draw after Nature; the World expects that thoſe Pictures ſhould be like; and you have done nothing at all, unleſs you ſhew your Readers or your Spectators the People of the Age you live in.

Now with Regard to Prophaneſs, our Comedies are the fainteſt Copies in the World, and you may often hear more Prophaneſs in one Night's Converſation at a Tavern or an Eating-houſe, than you ſhall hear from the Stage in a year. For Atheiſts, Deiſts, Arians, and Socinians, are wont to ſay at their private Meetings, what no one dares to pronounce on the Stage. Now are not theſe Nonjuring Prieſts either very wiſe, or very conſcientious Perſons? Our Comedies are but Copies of the fooliſh and vicious Originals of the Age; and 'tis the Buſineſs of the Copies to expoſe, and ſatyrize, and ridicule thoſe fooliſh and thoſe vicious Originals. Now theſe Nonjuring Prieſts having nothing to ſay againſt thoſe fooliſh and thoſe vicious Originals, which moſt certainly corrupt and debauch the Age, make it their Buſineſs to fall foul on the Copies, which chaſtiſe, and ſatyrize, and ridicule the Originals.

What I have ſaid of the Stage with Relation to Prophaneſs, is in Proportion true, with Regard to all other Vices. Now ſince our Comedies are but Copies of the fooliſh and the vicious Originals of the Age in which we live, and Copies which do by no means come up to the Originals, I appeal to all the World, if it does not unanſwerably follow from what I have ſaid, that the Originals of the Age debauch the Stage, by which latter, the Age never poſſibly can be debauched. The Stage was eſtabliſh'd in England towards the Beginning of Queen Elizabeth's Reign; whereas the Manners of the People continued generally ſound till beyond the Middle of the laſt Century▪ And the Manners of the People continuing generally ſound, the Stage remain'd generally chaſte: But at the Reſtoration of Charles the Second, the Court returning from abroad, corrupted by foreign Luxury, quickly debauch'd the Town; and the Court and the Town jointly endeavour'd to debauch the Stage, becauſe our Comick Poets were obliged to copy their lewd Originals, in order to expoſe and reform them.

As for Corruption of any Sort, whether it be Tricking, Oppreſſing, Bribing, Sharping, Cheating, the true Poet, who 〈◊〉 perfectly free from all Avarice, is leaſt of all addicted to it.

Their uſual Poverty is a ſignal Proof of this: For as the Love of Money is the Source of all Corruption, he who deſpiſes Gold, is above all the Vices that attend it. And Poverty attended with great Parts, may very well paſs for a pretty ſure Sign of Honeſty. A Dramatick Poet therefore being averſe from all Corruption himſelf, if ever he deſcribes any Kind of it, is ſure to make it both odious and ridiculous.

I come now to almoſt the only Charge againſt the Stage which ſeems to have any thing of real Weight in it, and that is, That it excites in Mens Minds the natural Love of Women. And here by this Charge may be meant two Things; the one is, That it excites in Men a Deſire to the unlawful Enjoyment of Women; the other is, That it inclines them to that violent Paſſion of Love, which is ſometimes between the two Sexes.

As to the firſt Part of the Charge, that it excites in Men a Deſire to the unlawful Enjoyment of Women; if there are any Paſſages in our Plays that are chargeable with that Guilt, or that defile the Imaginations of an Audience with unchaſt and immodeſt Images, they are neither natural to the Drama nor neceſſary, but flagrant Abuſes of it, and contrary to the very Deſign of the Art; and thoſe Paſſages ought to be baniſh'd from the Stage for ever. And yet I cannot help thinking, that if ever thoſe Paſſages could be excuſable, they would be ſo at this Juncture, when the execrable Sin of Sodomy is ſpread ſo wide, that the foreſaid Paſſages might be of ſome Uſe to the reducing Mens Minds to the natural Deſire of Women. Let Fornication be ever ſo crying a Sin, yet Sodomy is a Crime of a thouſand times a deeper Dye. A Crime that forc'd down ſupernatural Fire from Heaven, to extinguiſh its infernal Flames; a Crime that would have obliged even righteous Lot to proſtitute his two chaſt and virgin Daughters, in order to prevent it. I cannot here omit obſerving one Thing, That this unnatural Sin has very much increaſed ſince Collier's Books were publiſh'd againſt the Stage. There were no leſs than four Perſons condemned for it the laſt Seſſions; and I am inform'd, that ſeveral more have been ſince apprehended for it: The like of which was never heard of in Great Britain before.

As for the Paſſion of Love, by which the Hearts of Men and Women are ſometimes mutually and violently inclined to each other; if the Paſſion is kept within the Bounds of Nature, if the Object and the Intention of it is lawful, or if 'tis puniſh'd when 'tis unlawful, I am of the Opinion, that it cannot have the leaſt ill Conſequence; 'tis certainly a Check upon wandring looſe Deſires; it gives a very great and very harmleſs Pleaſure, and has a direct Tendency to the keeping the two Sexes ſtedfaſt and firm to the natural Love of each other: For not only the Affections of the Men have wildly wander'd from Nature, as is manifeſt to all the World, but not a few of the Women too have endeavour'd to make themſelves the Center of their own Happineſs. St. Paul is pleas'd to reprove this unnatural Affection of the Roman Dames in the firſt Chapter of his Epiſtle to the Romans. And Mr. Law is deſired to take Notice, that he lays thoſe unnatural Deſires not upon their going to Plays, but upon their Idolatry; Verſe 22, Profeſſing themſelves to be wiſe, they became Fools. Verſe 23, And changed the Glory of the incorruptible God into an Image made like to corruptible Man, and to Birds, and fourfooted Beaſts, and creeping Things. Verſe 24, Wherefore God alſo gave them up to Uncleanneſs, to diſhonour their own Bodies between themſelves. Verſe 25, Who changed the Truth of God into a Lie, and worſhipped and ſerved the Creature rather than the Creator, who is bleſſed for ever. Amen. Verſe 26, For this Cauſe God gave them up to vile Affections: For even their Women did change the natural Uſe into that which is againſt Nature. Verſe 27, And likewiſe the Men, leaving the natural Uſe of the Women, burned in their own Luſts one toward another, Men with Men working that which is unſeemly, and receiving in themſelves that Recompence of their Errors which was meet. And Mr. Law may be pleaſed to obſerve, that the Apoſtle here gives us another ſignal Proof, that he does not put Idolatry and going to Plays upon an equal Foot. And here, Sir, I desire Leave to make another Remark, and that is, That of all the Countries of the Chriſtian World, that Country has been, is, and is like to be, the moſt infamous for this execrable Vice, in which Idolatry has ſet up its Head Quarters.

Sir, You are very well acquainted with the exact Judgment of the late French Satyriſt, who was an Honour to France. That he was very far from being a Friend to the Corruption of the Stage, will appear from the following Paſſage of the fourth Canto of his Art of Poetry; where he is giving his Advice to the Poets who were his Cotemporaries. Que votre ame & vos moeurs peints dans tous vos ouvrages N'offrent jamais de vous que de nobles Images. Je ne puis eſtimer ces dangereux Auteurs, Qui de l'honneur en vers infames deſerteurs, Trahiſſant la vertu ſur un papier coupable, Aux yeux de leurs Lectures rendent le vice aimable. Tho' I know very well, that no one underſtands this Author better than you do; yet as this Letter is to paſs thro' your Hand to the Preſs, I deſire Leave to tranſlate the Paſſage, for the Benefit of thoſe who are not uſed to French. Let your Soul and your Manners, appearing in your Works to your Readers, never offer any but noble Ideas of you. I can have no Eſteem for thoſe dangerous Authors, thoſe infamous Deſerters of Honour in their Verſes, who being Traytors to Virtue in their guilty Lines, render Vice lovely to the Eyes of thoſe who peruſe them. And yet immediately after comes his Approbation of Love in Dramatick Poems: Je ne ſuis pas pourtant de ces triſtes Eſprits Qui banniſſant l'Amour de tous chaſtes êcrits, D'un ſi riche ornement veulent priver la Scene: Traitent d'empoiſonneurs & Rodrigue & Chimene. L'amour le moins honneſte exprimé chaſtement, N'excite point en nous de honteux movement. Didon a beau gemir & m'étaler ſes charmes; Je condamne ſa faute, en partageant ſes larmes. And yet, ſays he, I am none of thoſe ſplenetick Souls, who baniſhing Love from all chaſte Compoſures, endeavour to deprive the Stage of ſo rich an Ornament. The moſt diſhonourable Love, if 'tis chaſtly expreſs'd, excites no ſhameful Motion in us. In vain does Dido lament and groan, expoſing all her Charms to me; I condemn her Conduct at the very Time that I partake of her Grief.

I now return to the Charge of Hypocriſy; for which there are very juſt Grounds of Suſpicion from the Stile and Language of this Pamphlet. For is not this little Treatiſe, which is pretended to be writ thro' a Zeal for the Chriſtian Religion, writ in downright Antichriſtian Language? Is this Pamplet writ in the Language of Modeſty, of Humility, of Meekneſs? Is it writ in the attractive Language of Charity? On the contrary, Does not Mr. Law ſeem to have taken all his Degrees at a certain Univerſity between the Bridge and the Tower? And as the Diſciples of our Saviour, from Dealers in Fiſh became the Apoſtles of their Maſter; this falſe Apoſtle ſeems to ſet up for Water Doctor, and from a Prieſt to become a Dealer in Fiſh. For he has not only the Tropes, and the Figures, and all the Rhetorical Flowers, but the very Tautologies of thoſe obſtreperous Dealers in quiet and mute Animals. For the foreſaid obſtreperous Dealers, are not contented with calling Rogue, or Whore, or Bitch, or Villain, once, they will repeat it fifty Times; and their Fellow-Collegiate who diſputes with them, will return it fifty-fold.

I deſire that you would give me leave to preſent you with ſome of Mr. Law's Rhetorical Flowers.

At the Bottom of the ſecond Page of his Pamphlet, he tells us, That there is more to be ſaid in Behalf of Popery than of going to Plays. For that is plainly his Meaning, tho' he diſguiſes it by the Terms that he uſes. And towards the Top of the third Page, he is no leſs poſitive, that God is leſs diſpleaſed with Popery than he is with going to Plays. It looks as if Mr. Law would be very glad to exchange Plays for Popery.

In all the reſt of the ſecond Page, he puts them upon an equal Foot; and aſſures us, that the Entertainment of the Stage is contrary to more Doctrines of Scripture than the Worſhip of Images.

What, tho' we grant it; Intemperance in Eating, Drinking, and Venery, is contrary to more Doctrines of Scripture, than is either Murder, or High-Treaſon; and yet either Murder or High-Treaſon ſingly, is ten Times a greater Sin than all the forementioned Three together. Sometimes he is making Idolatry, that is Popery, leſs criminal than going to Plays: Sometimes he is for making them equal, and endeavouring to revive the old ſtoical Opinion, Omnia peccata ſunt aequalia; All Sins are equal: A Paradox that would tend to make Chriſtianity as ridiculous, as it help'd to do Pagan Stoiciſm.

In the firſt Paragraph of the 4th Page. You go to hear Plays you ſay—I tell you, ſays Mr. Law, you go to hear Ribaldry and Prophaneſs; that you entertain your Mind with extravagant Thoughts, wild Rant, blaſphemous Speeches, wanton Amours, prophane Jeſts, and impure Paſſions. [Ay, now the Language of the College begins.] And a little lower, He who goes to a Play, diverts himſelf with the Lewdneſs, Impudence, Prophaneſs, and impure Diſcourſes of the Stage. And a little lower, in the ſame Page, This is plainly the Caſe of the Stage; it is an Entertainment that conſiſts of lewd, impudent, prophane Diſcourſes. And Pag. 7, It is an Entertainment made up of Lewdneſs, Prophaneſs, and all the extravagant Rant of diſorder'd Paſſions. At the Top of Page 8. he is endeavouring once more to make Popery leſs ſinful than going to Plays; and by the ſame Piece of ſpiritual Sophiſtry, he confirms this religious Lie; becauſe, forſooth, the Stage, with its lewd prophane Diſcourſes, offends againſt more Doctrines of plain Scripture than Popery: Which is proving one groſs Piece of Falſhood, by another that is much greater.

About the Middle of the ſame Page, he brings an Argument againſt the Stage from the Iniquity of the Players, againſt whom he inveighs with his uſual Sophiſtry and Uncharitableneſs: Which is full as wiſe and as juſt, as it would be to bring an Argument againſt the Church, from the Vices of ſome ſpiritual Comedians. The Players are Men and Women, ſays he, equally bold, in all Inſtances of Prophaneſs, Paſſion, and Immodeſty; whoſe Buſineſs, Pag. 9, is prophane, wicked, lewd, and immodeſt; and a little lower in the ſame Page, whoſe Employment is leſs Chriſtian than that of Robbers. For he muſt know very little of the Nature of Religion, ſays Mr. Law, who can look upon Luſt, Prophaneſs, and diſorder'd Paſſions, to be leſs contrary to Religion, than the taking Money from the right Owner. Which is directly contrary to common Senſe and to common Utility.

Page 10, He ſpeaks of the Blaſphemy, Prophaneſs, Lewdneſs, Immodeſty, and wicked Rant of Plays. And a little lower in the ſame Page, he mentions a Collection of all the wicked, prophane, blaſphemous, lewd, impudent, deteſtable Things that are ſaid in the Playhouſe. And Page 11, he ſpeaks of the Entertainment of the Stage, as it conſiſts of Love-Intrigues, blaſphemous Paſſions, prophane Diſcourſes, lewd Deſcriptions, filthy Jeſts, and all the moſt extravagant Rant of wanton profligate Perſons of both Sexes; heating and inflaming one another with all the Wantonneſs of Addreſs, the Immodeſty of Motion, and the Lewdneſs of Thought, that Wit can invent.

And here I deſire Leave to ſay a Word, by the way, in Defence of Players, whoſe Profeſſion he very wiſely, humanely, and Chriſtianly, makes as unlawful as that of Robbers. Is he to be told at this Time of Day, that the Players ſay nothing of Themſelves? They only ſpeak what the Poet puts into the Mouths of his univerſal allegorical Fantoms; which Fantoms the Players repreſent. Can this poor Gentleman be ſo ſimple as to believe, that Reynard, Bruin, Iſgrim, and Grimalkin, ſay really of themſelves the Things that Aeſop puts into their Mouths? The Players are only the Poet's Inſtruments, by which he carries on his Action, and proves his Moral. If any Muſician ſings a treaſonable Song, and plays to it at the ſame time, he ought to ſuffer for his Crime; but would you indict the Fiddle or the Flute upon which the Tune is play'd?

What Turn Mr. Law deſign'd to ſerve, by being ſo profuſe of ſo much fine Language he beſt can tell, tho' we perhaps may gueſs. But he could never poſſibly think of making Poets, or Players, or Spectators, good Chriſtians, by railing at them for an Hour together, and treating them worſe than the great Archangel dared to treat the Devil, who durſt not bring againſt him a railing Accuſation, but only ſaid, The Lord rebuke thee. If he deſign'd to convert People by ſuch a Proceeding, he might as well pretend to begin a Friendſhip with another by abuſing him, and throwing Dirt at him.

But to make ſome Amends for treating his Fellow-Creatures with ſo much Antichriſtian Language, he uſes the Devil with a great deal of Reſpect and Civility. For beſides the gentle Terms in which he ſpeaks of him; of his Honour, of his Glory, of his Joy, his Delight, his Pleaſure, his peculiar Pleaſure; as if Damnation were an honourable and a happy State; beſides this, I ſay, he is pleaſed, out of his great Bounty, to ſettle upon him and his, to have and to hold for ever, the Freehold and Fee-Simple of all our Theatres. One may, with the ſame Aſſurance, affirm, ſays he, that the Playhouſe, not only when ſome prophane Play is on the Stage, but in its daily common Entertainments, is as certainly the Houſe of the Devil, as the Church is the Houſe of God, Page 12. And a little lower in the ſame Page, The Manner and Matter of Stage-Entertainments, is as undeniable a Proof, and as obvious to common Senſe, that the Houſe belongs to the Devil, and is the Place of his Honour, as the Matter and Manner of Church Service prove that the Place is appropriated to God.

Now my Opinion is, That if the Devil ſhould once become the Head-Landlord of our Theatres, he would immediately turn them into ſo many Jacobite Conventicles: For thoſe are properly his Houſes, thoſe are properly his Temples. For the Sins which the Theatres are accuſed by Mr. Law of encouraging, are not the Devil's Sins, but our own, the Sins of Men and Women. The Devil neither drinks nor whores, nor games, nor rants, nor gormandizes. But the Sins which are carried on in a Jacobite Conventicle, are the Devil's own Sins; his two great original Sins, Lying and Rebellion. There all thoſe falſe Doctrines are carried on, of Hereditary Right, Divine Right, Indefeaſible Right, Abſolute Power, Uncontroulable Power, Paſſive Obedience, Unconditional Obedience; Doctrines invented on purpoſe to make and flatter Tyrants, who are the Devil's Viceroys. For as good Kings are God's Vicegerents, ſure a Tyrant is Hell's Viceroy. The Place where the Pretender's Cauſe is carried on, is properly the Temple of the Devil, the original Pretender.

When Mr. Law affirms, That the Playhouſe is the Sink of Corruption and Debauchery, Page 15, and that this is not the State of it, thro' any accidental Abuſe, as any innocent or good Thing may be abuſed, but that Corruption and Debauchery are the truly natural and genuine Effects of the Stage Entertainments; is it poſſible that he can be ſo ignorant as he pretends to make himſelf? Can he be ignorant, that by affirming this, he contradicts what has been the common Senſe of Mankind for two thouſand Years; and that he contradicts the Opinions and the Judgments of the greateſt, and wiſeſt, and moſt virtuous Men, of the greateſt, and wiſeſt, and moſt virtuous Nations, during that vaſt Space of Time? If Corruption and Debauchery were the natural and genuine Effects of Theatrical Entertainments; would they have been encouraged by the great Legiſlators, the moſt learned Philoſophers, and the wiſeſt Rulers of the freeſt States in the World?

No Body knows better than Mr. Law, that of all publick Diverſions, the Drama is the moſt reaſonable, manly, noble, and inſtructive Diverſion; the excelling in which, ſhews the Excellence and the Strength of Genius of that particular Nation where it appears, and by that Means advances its Reputation with other Nations, and augments its Power; and that therefore Dramatick Performances have been ſo cheriſhed and eſteemed by the wiſeſt Rulers of the nobleſt Nations, that they have been maintain'd by the publick Treaſure; and the Magiſtrate has not thought it at all below him, to have the Regulation and the immediate Inſpection of it: Which is an undeniable Proof, that they did not at all miſtruſt that it was natural to thoſe Entertainments to corrupt and debauch their People.

The Drama is in itſelf ſo excellent, and to excel in it requires ſo many great Qualities, that of all the Nations we hear of among the Ancients, but Two were capable of proper conſtant Theatrical Entertainments; and thoſe Two were the wiſeſt, braveſt, and moſt virtuous of all the Nations; ſo famous for their great Actions in War, and ſo illuſtrious for the Arts of Peace, that to know what they were, is become a principal Part of the Learning of us Moderns; and 'tis accounted ſcandalous in a Gentleman to be ignorant of what they ſaid, and wrote, and did; and yet to know what their Tragick and Comick Poets were, and what they wrote, is none of the meaneſt Branches of that very Learning.

What Opinion the Grecians themſelves had of their Drama; how far they believed their Tragick Poets able to inſpire their Countrymen with the Love of their Country, with the Love of Liberty, of Virtue, and of true Glory, and with a magnanimous Contempt of Death for the publick Good, may be gathered from the unanimous Conſent of Greece, and particularly from the Honours done by the Athenians to their Tragick Poets, who made them Governors of Provinces, Generals of their Armies, and Guardians of the publick Liberty. For when the Athenians ſettled a greater Fund for the ſupporting the Magnificence of their Tragick Repreſentations, than for the Maintenance of their Fleets and Armies, we may juſtly conclude that it was their Opinion, that their Tragick Poets, by conſtantly ſetting before them the Calamities of Tyrants, defended them from far more dangerous Enemies than thoſe which their Armies were ſent to encounter, and that was from their own aſpiring Citizens. As no People were ever more jealous of their Liberties than the Athenians, none ever knew better that Corruption and Debauchery are inconſiſtent with Liberty; and therefore it never in the leaſt enter'd into the Thoughts of that great People, that Corruption and Debauchery were the natural Effects of Dramatick Entertainments.

Nor can it be objected with any manner of Juſtice, that it was the Fury of the Athenian Populace, running mad after their Pleaſures, that made them ſo warmly eſpouſe the Drama. The greateſt and the wiſeſt Philoſophers of that renown'd Republick declared moſt warmly and moſt loudly for it. Ariſtotle writ an admirable Syſtem of Rules for the compoſing Dramatick Poems, with that Right Hand that has given us ſo many excellent Leſſons of Morality. And Socrates, the wiſeſt and the moſt virtuous of all the Philoſophers, who made it the whole Buſineſs of his Life to inſtruct his Countrymen in moral Virtue, did not think it in the leaſt below his Wiſdom and his Virtue, to aſſiſt Euripides in the writing his Tragedies.

That the Romans did not yield to the Grecians in the Eſteem which they had for Dramatick Entertainments, and the Belief that they were capable of contributing to the Glory and the Felicity of a mighty State, and to the Glory and Felicity of the Authors of them, we may gather from the Actions of their wiſeſt Stateſmen, their greateſt Captains, and their ſevereſt Philoſophers. Their greateſt Captains and their wiſeſt Stateſmen not only encouraged Dramatick Poems, but vouchſafed to write them themſelves. Scipio, the wiſe, the virtuous Scipio, writ Comedy with that conquering Hand that won the Empire of the World at Zama. Auguſtus Caeſar, as famous for the Arts of Peace as his Succeſs in War, renown'd for the wholſome Laws he enacted, and for his reforming the Manners of the People, begun the Tragedy of Ajax, tho' he could not finiſh it; but found it eaſier to make himſelf Emperor of the World, than a great Dramatick Poet. Cicero, the Champion of the Roman Liberties, in twenty Places of his Philoſophick Treatiſes, quotes the Roman Tragick Poets. And Seneca, who thro' the Opinion which Agrippina had of the Strictneſs and the Severity of his Virtue, was intruſted with the Education of a Prince, upon whoſe Conduct the Happineſs of Mankind depended; Seneca, who, by ſo many admirable Leſſons of moral Virtue, has obliged all the Lovers of Wit and Virtue for ever, did not think writing Tragedy an Employment at all below him.

Now, Sir, I appeal to you, whether it does not logically and neceſſarily follow, from what has been ſaid, that either Mr. Law muſt believe, that the Great Men among the ancient Grecians and Romans, their Captains, Stateſmen, and Philoſophers, wanted common Senſe; or he cannot poſſibly believe, that Corruption and Debauchery are the natural Effects of Theatrical Entertainments; and conſequently muſt be guilty of very vile Hypocriſy.

There remains another ſtrong Preſumption of Hypocriſy againſt Mr. Law. For what is Mr. Law? And what are his two Predeceſſors, Collier and Bedford, who attack'd the Stage before him? Why Jacabite Nonjuring Parſons all three of them, who have diſown'd our Eſtabliſh'd Church, and diſown'd our Government. How come they to take up this great Concern for our Salvation in a Matter about which all our Paſtors, who have the immediate Care of our Souls, are ſilent? Have they more Capacity to ſee the enormous Crimes of Theaters, and the pretended fatal Conſequences of them, than ſo many great and good Men, who have been the exalted Lights of the Church ſince the Reſtoration? No, all the World knows, that there is not the leaſt Pretence for it, nor the leaſt Compariſon. Have they more true Zeal and Concern for the Chriſtian Religion? No, that, as we obſerved above, is inconſiſtent with their Manner of treating us. The Language of Billingſgate can never be the Language of Charity, nor conſequently of Chriſtianity. Truth has not the impetuous ſtormy Air which Mr. Law aſſumes, but comes in the ſoft and ſtill Voice, like the God who inſpires it; and Truth deteſts and abominates the Equivocating and Prevaricating of Mr. Collier and Mr. Bedford.

But now let us conſider the Time that theſe People have choſe to exert their pretended Zeal. It has been always when ſomething has been about to be done, which it was thought might prove favourable to the Pretender. Mr. Collier publiſh'd his Short View when France declar'd for the Chevalier, upon the Death of James II. and his Diſſuaſive, upon the great Storm, when the great Devaſtation which that Huricane wrought, had amaz'd and aſtoniſh'd the Minds of Men, and made them obnoxious to melancholly and deſponding Thoughts. I formerly expos'd the egregious hypocritical Folly of making that Storm a Divine Judgment upon the Nation for the Enormities of our Theatres. Mr. Law has taken the Opportunity to attack the Stage, upon the great Preparations which he heard were making abroad, and which the Jacobites flatter'd themſelves were deſign'd in their Favour. As for Mr. Bedford's Serious Remonſtrance, tho' I know nothing of the Time of publiſhing it, yet I dare to lay Odds it was either upon the Duke D'Aumont's being at Somerſet-Houſe, or upon the late Rebellion. Now all theſe Attacks upon the Stage have been Attacks upon the Government, and thoſe three worthy Perſons ſeem to me to have been at the Beck of ſome certain Superiors, and always ready at their Command to divert the People of Great Britain from their real Danger, by giving them Alarms in a wrong Place.