_But howsoever thou pursu'st this Act,
Taint not thy Mind; nor let thy Soul contrive
Against thy Mother ought; leave her to Heav'n,
And to those Thorns that in her Bosom lodge,
To prick and sting her._ Vol. V. p. 2386.
This is to distinguish rightly between _Horror_ and _Terror_. The latter
is a proper Passion of Tragedy, but the former ought always to be
carefully avoided. And certainly no Dramatick Writer ever succeeded
better in raising _Terror_ in the Minds of an Audience than _Shakespear_
has done. The whole Tragedy of _Macbeth_, but more especially the Scene
where the King is murder'd, in the second Act, as well as this Play, is
a noble Proof of that manly Spirit with which he writ; and both shew how
powerful he was, in giving the strongest Motions to our Souls that they
are capable of. I cannot leave _Hamlet_, without taking notice of the
Advantage with which we have seen this Master-piece of _Shakespear_
distinguish it self upon the Stage, by Mr. _Betterton_'s fine
Performance of that Part. A Man, who tho' he had no other good
Qualities, as he has a great many, must have made his way into the
Esteem of all Men of Letters, by this only Excellency. No Man is better
acquainted with _Shakespear_'s manner of Expression, and indeed he has
study'd him so well, and is so much a Master of him, that whatever Part
of his he performs he does it as if it had been written on purpose for
him, and that the Author had exactly conceiv'd it as he plays it.
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