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Article PROLOGUE TO EMILIA GALOTTI. Page 1 of 1 Article EPILOGUE. Page 1 of 4 →
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Prologue To Emilia Galotti.
PROLOGUE TO EMILIA GALOTTI .
SPOKEN BY Jlli . WHITFIELD . TO the Eiramatic Genius of our isle , And you , its patrons , we devote this pile , High as our hopes we pitch th' aspiring plan , And wide as your munificence the span ; Not that our humble scenes this night demand The splendid polish of the painter ' s hand ;
Nature can hold her converse . with the soul ,. Tho' the proud metaphor forbears to roll ; 'Tis to reflect your graces on tlie sight , Not for ourselves we keep our mirror bright , The venerable fathers of our stage Walk'd in the gloom of a benighted age , Nature they had to reach the loftiest part , But there was wanting Nature ' s handmaidArt ;
, Mean . was the plank-tliat . Shakespeare's buskin tro <« j A straw-built temple held the . Drama's God ; So vast his scope , so quick his fancy wrought , That apprehension . would not catch his thought ; . . . No glimm ' ring twilight warn'd the clouds away , Flaming he rose , ' and pour'd the flood of day ; ' The dazzled world look '' d up to him aghast .
Ere they regain'd their sight the flash was past . . . But ' now should this eventful time inspire A second Shakespeare with a Muse of Fire , Our Theatre will be prepar'd to yield His future Agincourt an ampler field ; And here , perhaps , in this illustrious round , The heroes of that drama may"be found ; Here tooth' unconscious bard that shall rehears *
Their glorious triumphs in immortal verse—And , he shall come — for where can poet find Themes to provoke such energy of mind ; - Horrors so deep , disasters , feuds , and fears ; And deeds , which- told , " shaU'drowh his stage with tears . ; The incidents arc ready to his hands , Diction is all his tragedy demands . - Amidst the nation ' s wreck kind fate has giv ' n
One proof that man is yet the care of Heav ' n , One spot of earth by partial favour blest , On which the wearied dove of peace may rest ; Snatch'd from the general deluge , we embark . The family of Muses in our ark : So when reviving nature springs anew , Genius shall owe its second birth to voa .
Epilogue.
EPILOGUE .
Sl'OKEN BY MRS . SIDDO . VS . WRETCHED the state , and fatal is the hour , When headstrong passion nerves the arm of pow ' r . Choke but the source whence virtue's streams should Sow , The current stops , and all is foul below . He Ihtn thrives best who best can fawn and cozen . And up start Marindlis by the dozen ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Prologue To Emilia Galotti.
PROLOGUE TO EMILIA GALOTTI .
SPOKEN BY Jlli . WHITFIELD . TO the Eiramatic Genius of our isle , And you , its patrons , we devote this pile , High as our hopes we pitch th' aspiring plan , And wide as your munificence the span ; Not that our humble scenes this night demand The splendid polish of the painter ' s hand ;
Nature can hold her converse . with the soul ,. Tho' the proud metaphor forbears to roll ; 'Tis to reflect your graces on tlie sight , Not for ourselves we keep our mirror bright , The venerable fathers of our stage Walk'd in the gloom of a benighted age , Nature they had to reach the loftiest part , But there was wanting Nature ' s handmaidArt ;
, Mean . was the plank-tliat . Shakespeare's buskin tro <« j A straw-built temple held the . Drama's God ; So vast his scope , so quick his fancy wrought , That apprehension . would not catch his thought ; . . . No glimm ' ring twilight warn'd the clouds away , Flaming he rose , ' and pour'd the flood of day ; ' The dazzled world look '' d up to him aghast .
Ere they regain'd their sight the flash was past . . . But ' now should this eventful time inspire A second Shakespeare with a Muse of Fire , Our Theatre will be prepar'd to yield His future Agincourt an ampler field ; And here , perhaps , in this illustrious round , The heroes of that drama may"be found ; Here tooth' unconscious bard that shall rehears *
Their glorious triumphs in immortal verse—And , he shall come — for where can poet find Themes to provoke such energy of mind ; - Horrors so deep , disasters , feuds , and fears ; And deeds , which- told , " shaU'drowh his stage with tears . ; The incidents arc ready to his hands , Diction is all his tragedy demands . - Amidst the nation ' s wreck kind fate has giv ' n
One proof that man is yet the care of Heav ' n , One spot of earth by partial favour blest , On which the wearied dove of peace may rest ; Snatch'd from the general deluge , we embark . The family of Muses in our ark : So when reviving nature springs anew , Genius shall owe its second birth to voa .
Epilogue.
EPILOGUE .
Sl'OKEN BY MRS . SIDDO . VS . WRETCHED the state , and fatal is the hour , When headstrong passion nerves the arm of pow ' r . Choke but the source whence virtue's streams should Sow , The current stops , and all is foul below . He Ihtn thrives best who best can fawn and cozen . And up start Marindlis by the dozen ;