| Citation |
NYJ-N.772.096
18 Jun 1772:41 (1537)
THE ACTOR.
Once, on the stage, in Rome's declining days,
When Christians were the subject of their plays,
E'er persecution dropp'd her iron rod,
And man still wag'd an impious war with God,
An actor flourish'd of no vulgar fame,
Nature's disciple, and Genest his name.
A noble object for his skill he chose,
A martyer dying, 'midst insulting foes;
Resign'd with patience to religion's laws,
Yet braving monarchs in his Saviour's cause;
Fill'd with th' idea of the secret part,
He felt a zeal beyond the reach of art,
While look, and voice, and gesture all exprest
A kindred ardour in the player's breast;
Till as the flame thro' all his bosom ran,
He lost the actor and commenc'd the man;
Profest the faith, his pagan Gods denied,
And what he acted then he after died.--
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