| Citation |
VGW(HU.752.070
22 Sep 1752:31 (89)
On Friday last the Company of Comedians from England, open'd
the theatre in this city, when The Merchant of Venice, and
the Anatomist, were perform'd, before a numerous and polite
audience, with great applause; the following prologue,
suitable to the occasion, was spoken by Mr. Rigby.
PROLOGUE.
O! for the tuneful voice of eloquence.
Whose numbers flow with harmony and sense,
That I may soar above the common wing,
In lively strains the grateful subject sing;
To celebrate the laurel'd poet's fame,
And thro' the world the stage's use proclaim.
To charm the fancy, and delight the soul,
To deal instruction, without harsh controul,
To cultivate (by pleasing arts) the mind,
To win to reason, and with wit refin'd
To check each error, and reform mankind.
For this the bard, on Athen's infant stage,
At first produc'd the drama's artful page;
At once to please and satyrize he knew,
And all his characters from nature drew;
Without restriction then, as nature taught
The player acted, and the poet wrote;
The tragic muse did honour to the state,
And in a mirrour taught them to be great;
The comick too, by gentle means reprov'd,
Lash'd every vice, and every vice remov'd.
. . . [continues in like vein for 25 lines]
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