That the author of this comedy should have written no less than twenty-eight plays,
seventeen of which are in print,² and yet have
no more than this one which holds possession of the stage—is a subject of much
surprise! For that "A New Way to pay Old Debts" is the production of a
man of genius, scarce any reader could doubt, though the name of Massinger were not affixed to the work:
but, notwithstanding it is a very admirable play, it is not altogether a pleasing
one. With excellent dialogue, and some most able characters, the fable does not
excite interest; and the description of many passions, incident to human nature, in
which the poet has been nicely accurate, is, nevertheless, calculated to give pain,
rather than gratification.

Both readers and auditors, however they may revere the author for the masterly
touches of his pen, in Sir Giles Overreach,³ must yet lament to behold in that character,
courage, ambition, and indefatigable industry, united with the most vile, and the
most wicked pursuits. Yet the author having made his usurer neither a
miser, nor a coward, stamps his originality as a person of the drama, and renders
him
a still more exact copy of mankind; in whom vice and b 2[Page 4]virtue, the blameable and the
laudable qualities, are generally combined.

Deficient as the part of Sir Giles is, in bestowing that kind of entertainment which
an audience mostly seek, it is still the only attractive character in the play. The
failure of many past dramatists, in the perfection of their art, has chiefly arisen
from their bestowing spirit, fire, and every powerful emotion of the soul, upon the
wicked, and making all their good people insipid. Such is the case in this
comedy.—Lord Lovell, Lady Allworth,⁴ and every amiable
character, is a dull one; whilst the amusement of the public is to depend upon the
mean and the base.

It is certainly a more difficult task for a writer to give violent exertions of the
mind to the good, than to the evil-disposed persons of his drama. The life of the
vicious man is one continued round of agitation, whilst the man of virtue has not
only fewer turbulent passions, but a higher degree of control over those by which
he
is assailed; nor can they ever amount, in his breast, to those grand exhibitions for
a theatre—remorse, or despair.

But, as the virtuous are the most placid, the higher skill of an author is shown,
in
depicting these characters under sensations which awaken interest, and yet do not
impair their moral disposition. This can only be effected by the creation of events.
Bold and unlooked for occurrences, will raise conflicts in the most peaceful bosom;
and the best, among human kind, be surprised, by sudden temptation, into the path
of
evil. But thus to incite tumultuous eager-[Page 5]ness in the tranquil mind, or
draw, by casualty, the good to the commission of ill, requires such a fertile
invention, the production of such a variety of cross or untoward accidents, such a
number of perplexing or happy coincidences—that the modern author has too
frequently failed in pursuing this excellent design, and lost his credit in the
venturous enterprise.

To atone for the faults in this comedy, the reader will find, that, from the
ingratitude of Tapwell⁵ in the first scene, to the feebleness of Sir Giles in
the last, every circumstance that occurs is a highly finished moral, and almost every
speech bestows some valuable instruction.

The enjoyment which Overreach professes to take in his own "dark and crooked
ways,"⁶ might be an objection to the above remarks, if
there were more than his own word in evidence of this criminal delight; but granting
that he is not urged by pride to this boasting of his
happiness, the time arrives which makes this very happiness a more sublime
example.

Philip Massinger, the author of this
play, was born in 1584,⁷ at the time of Queen Elizabeth's
reign.—He was entered a fellow commoner of St. Alban's Hall, Oxford, where he
remained several years: but his inclination having prompted him to the study of poetry
and
polite literature, in preference to logic and philosophy, he quitted the University
without taking any degree;⁸ and, coming to London, immediately employed himself in
writing for the stage.

The plays of Massinger were so warmly
received b 3[Page 6]by the town,
that his reputation as a dramatic poet, soon became very high, and yet never inclined
him to think so proudly of his abilities, as to take from his demeanour and
sentiments a peculiar modesty and diffidence, which rendered him admired and beloved
even by his rival dramatists.

This author is placed, by some critics, as second only to Shakspeare; of course, in the same
rank with Beaumont, Fletcher, and Ben Jonson: and, however, in some branches of
dramatic science, Massinger may be
inferior to those celebrated men, in purity of style, and delicacy of manners, he
has
surpassed them all.