None but a
tragedian can die by rule, and wait till he discovers a plot, or says a
fine thing upon his exit. In real life, this is a chimera; and by noble
spirits, it will be done decently, without the ostentation of it. We see
men of all conditions and characters go through it with equal
resolution: and if we consider the speeches of the mighty philosophers,
heroes, law-givers, and great captains, they can produce no more in a
discerning spirit, than rules to make a man a fop on his death-bed.
Commend me to that natural greatness of soul, expressed by an innocent,
and consequently resolute, country fellow, who said in the pains of the
colic, "If I once get this breath out of my body, you shall hang me
before you put it in again." Honest Ned! and so he died.[173]
But it is to be supposed, from this place you may expect an account of
such a thing as a new play is not to be omitted. That acted this night
is the newest that ever was writ. The author is my ingenious friend Mr.
Thomas D----y. The drama is called, "The Modern Prophets,"[174] and is a
most unanswerable satire against the late spirit of enthusiasm.
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