caste-system is an antecedent of every Hindu drama, and the peculiar
organization of Chinese society of nearly every Chinese play with which
we are acquainted. Greek tragedy itself, though treating subjects
derived from no historic age, had established a standard of manners from
which in its decline it did not depart with impunity. Again, the
imitation of manners of a particular age or country may or may not be of
moment in a play. In some dramas, and in some species of drama, time and
place are so purely imaginary and so much a matter of indifference that
the adoption of a purely conventional standard of manners, or at least
the exclusion of any definitely fixed standard, is here desirable. The
ducal reign of Theseus at Athens (if its period be ascertainable) does
not date _A Midsummer_ _Night's Dream_; nor do the coasts of Bohemia in
_The Winter's Tale_ localize the manners of the customers of Autolycus.
Where, on the other hand, as more especially in the historic drama, or
in that kind of comedy which directs its shafts against the ridiculous
vices of a particular age or country, significance attaches to the
degree in which the manners represented resemble what is more or less
known, the dramatist will do well to be careful in his colouring. How
admirably is the French court specialized in _Henry V._; how completely
are we transplanted among the burghers of Brussels in the opening scenes
of _Egmont_; what a portraiture of a clique we have in the _Precieuses
ridicules_ of Moliere; what a reproduction of a class in the pot-house
politicians of Holberg! And how minutely have modern dramatists found it
necessary to study the more fascinating aspects of _la vie parisienne_,
in order to convey to the curious at home and abroad a conviction of the
verisimilitude of their pictures! Yet, even in such instances, the
dramatist will only use what suits his dramatic purpose; he will select,
not transfer in mass, historic features, and discriminate in his use of
modern instances. The details of historic fidelity, and the lesser
shades distinguishing the varieties of social usage, will be introduced
by him at his choice, or left to be supplied by the actor. Where the
reproduction of manners becomes the primary purpose of a play, its
effect can only be of an inferior kind; and a drama purely of manners is
a contradiction in terms.

Species of the drama.

Tragic and comic.

No complete system of dramatic species can be abstra