y are made to serve, are different;
but these still take new vigor, because they are the Laws of Nature, who
always acts uniformly, renews them incessantly, and gives them a
perpetual Existence.

I won't pretend nevertheless that the Rules of this Art, are so firmly
established, that 'tis impossible to add any thing to them, for tho'
_Tragedy_ has all its proper Parts, 'tis probable one of those may yet
arrive to greater Perfection. I am perswaded, that tho' we have been
able to add nothing to the Subject, or Means, yet we have added
something to the Manner, as you'l find in the Remarks, and all the new
Discoveries are so far from destroying this Establishment, that they do
nothing more than confirm it; for Nature is never contrary to herself,
and one may apply to the Art of Poetry, what _Hippocrates_ says of
Physick,[17] _Physick is of long standing, hath sure Principles, and a
certain way by which in the Course of many Ages, an Infinity of Things
have been discovered, of which, Experience confirms the Goodness; All
that is wanting, for the perfection of this Art, will without doubt be
found out, by those Ingenious Men, who will search for it, according to
the Instructions and Rules of the Ancients, and endeavour to arrive at
what is unknown, by what is already plain: For whoever shall boast that
he has obtained this Art by rejecting the ways of the Ancients, and
taking a quite different one, deceives others, and is himself deceived;
because that's absolutely impossible._ This Truth extends it self to all
Arts and Sciences, 'tis no difficult matter to find a proper Example in
our Subject, there is no want of _Tragedies_, where the management is
altogether opposite to that of the Ancients. According to the Rules of
_Aristotle_, a _Tragedy_ is the Imitation of an Allegorical and Universal
Action, which by the means of Terror, and Compassion, moderates and
corrects our Inclinations. But according to these new _Tragedies_ 'tis
an imitation of some particular Action, which affects no body, and is
only invented to amuse the Spectators, by the Plot, and unravelling a
vain Intrigue, which tends only to excite and satisfie their Curiosity,
and stir up their Passions, instead of rend'ring them calm and quiet.
This is not only not the same Art, but can be none at all, since it
tends to no good, and 'tis a pure Lye without any mixture of Truth; what
advantage can be drawn from this Falshood? In a word, 'tis not a Fable,
and by con