Several men of taste, and among others the author of "Telemachus," have considered the relation of the death of Hippolytus, in Racine, as an amplification; long recitals were the fashion at that time. The vanity of actors make them wish to be listened to, and it was then the custom to indulge them in this way. The archbishop of Cambray says that Theramenes should not, after Hippolytus' catastrophe, have strength to speak so long; that he gives too ample a description of the monster's _threatening horns_, his _saffron scales, etc._; that he should say in broken accents, _Hippolytus is dead--a monster has destroyed him--I beheld it._ I shall not enter on a defence of the _threatening horns_, etc.; yet this piece of criticism, which has been so often repeated, appears to me to be unjust. You would have Theramenes say nothing more than _Hippolytus is killed--I saw him die--all is over._ This is precisely what he does say; _Hippolyte n'est plus!_ (Hippolytus is no more!) His father exclaims aloud; and Theramenes, on recovering his senses, says; _J'ai vu des mortels périr le plus amiable,_ I have seen the most amiable of mortals perish, and adds this line, so necessary and so affecting yet so agonizing for Theseus: _Et j'ose dire encore. Seigneur, le moins coupable._ And, Sire, I may truly add, the most innocent. The gradations are fully observed; each shade is accurately distinguished. The wretched father asks what God--what sudden thunder-stroke has deprived him of his son. He has not courage to proceed; he is mute with grief; he awaits the dreadful recital, and the audience awaits it also. Theramenes _must_ answer; he is asked for particulars; he must give them. Was it for him who had made Mentor and all the rest of his personages discourse at such length, sometimes even tediously; was it for him to shut the mouth of Theramenes? Who among the spectators would not listen to him? Who would not enjoy the melancholy pleasure of hearing the circumstance of Hippolytus' death? Who would have so much as three lines struck out? This is no vain description of a storm unconnected with the piece; no ill-written amplification; it is the purest diction, the most affecting language; in short, it is Racine. Amplification, declamation, and exaggeration were at all times the faults of the Greeks, excepting Demosthenes and Aristotle. There have been absurd pieces of poetry on which time has set the stamp of almost universal approbation, because they were mixed with brilliant flashes which threw a glare over their imperfections, or because the poets who came afterward did nothing better. The rude beginnings of every art acquire a greater celebrity than the art in perfection; he who first played the fiddle was looked upon as a demi-god, while Rameau had only enemies. In fine, men, generally going with the stream, seldom judge for themselves, and purity of taste is almost as rare as talent.