The faults my enemies have found are rather
cavils concerning little and not essential decencies; which a master
of the ceremonies may decide betwixt us. The French poets,
I confess, are strict observers of these punctilios: They would not,
for example, have suffered Cleopatra and Octavia to have met; or,
if they had met, there must have only passed betwixt them some cold
civilities, but no eagerness of repartee, for fear of offending
against the greatness of their characters, and the modesty of their
sex. This objection I foresaw, and at the same time contemned; for
I judged it both natural and probable, that Octavia, proud of her
new-gained conquest, would search out Cleopatra to triumph over her;
and that Cleopatra, thus attacked, was not of a spirit to shun the
encounter: And it is not unlikely, that two exasperated rivals
should use such satire as I have put into their mouths; for, after
all, though the one were a Roman, and the other a queen, they were
both women. It is true, some actions, though natural, are not fit to
be represented; and broad obscenities in words ought in good manners
to be avoided: expressions therefore are a modest clothing of our
thoughts, as breeches and petticoats are of our bodies.
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