or Dancing, as at present practised, may be defined, "an agreeable motion of the body, adjusted by art to the measures or tune of instruments, or of the voice."—But, according to what some reckon more agreeable to the true genius of the art, dancing is "the art of expressing the sentiments of the mind, or the passions, by measured steps or bounds that are made in cadence by regulated motions of the body, and by graceful gestures; all performed to the sound of musical instruments or of the voice."

There is no account of the origin of the practice of dancing among mankind. It is found to exist among all nations whatever, even the most rude and barbarous; and, indeed, however much the affluence of art may be necessary to make any one perfect in the practice, the foundation must certainly lie in the mechanism of the human body itself.

The connection that there is between certain sounds and those motions of the human body called dancing, hath seldom or never been inquired into by philosophers, though it is certainly a very curious speculation. The power of certain sounds not only over the human species, but even over the inanimate creation, is indeed very surprising. It is well known, that the most solid walls, nay the ground itself, will be found to shake at some particular notes in music. This strongly indicates the presence of some universally diffused and exceedingly elastic fluid, which is thrown into vibrations by the concussions of the atmosphere upon it, produced by the motion of the sounding body.—If these concussions are so strong as to make the large quantity of elastic fluid vibrate that is dispersed through a stone wall or a considerable portion of earth, it is no wonder they should have the same effect upon that invisible and exceedingly subtle matter that pervades and seems to reside in our nerves. Some there are that have their nerves constructed in such a manner, that they cannot be affected by the sounds which affect others, and some scarce with any, while others have such an irritability of the nerves in this case, that they cannot, without the greatest difficulty, sit or stand still when they hear a favourite piece of music played.

It is conjectured by very eminent philosophers, that all the sensations and passions to which we are subject do immediately depend upon the vibrations excited in the nervous fluid above mentioned. Hence, musical sounds have the greatest power over those people who are of a delicate sensible frame, and who have strong passions. If it be true, therefore, that every passion in the human nature immediately depends upon a certain affection of the nervous system, or a certain motion or vibration in the nervous fluid, we shall immediately see the origin of the different dances among different nations. One kind of vibration, for instance, raises the passions of anger, pride, &c., which are indispensably necessary in warlike nations. The sounds, for such there are, capable of exciting a similar vibration, would naturally constitute the martial music among such nations, and dances conformable to it would be instituted. This appears to be the case particularly among barbarous nations, as we shall presently have occasion to remark. Other vibrations of the nervous fluid produce the passions of joy, love, &c.; and sounds capable of exciting these particular vibrations will immediately be formed into music for dances of another kind.

As barbarous people are observed to have the strongest passions, so they are also observed to be the most easily affected by sounds, and the most addicted to dancing. Sounds to us the most disagreeable, the drumming with sticks upon an empty cask, or the noise made by blowing into reeds incapable of yielding one musical note tolerable to us, is agreeable music to them. Much more are they affected by the sound of instruments which have anything agreeable in them. Mr Gallini informs us, that "The spirit of dancing prevails almost beyond imagination among both men and women in most parts of Africa. It is even more than instinct; it is a rage, in some countries of that part of the globe.—Upon the gold coast especially, the inhabitants are so passionately fond of it, that in the midst of their hardest labour, if they hear a person sing, or any musical instrument played, they cannot refrain from dancing.—There are even well attested stories of some negroes flinging themselves at the feet of an European playing on a fiddle, intreating him to desist, unless he had a mind to tire them to death; it being impossible for them to cease dancing while he continued playing."—The same thing is found to take place in America, though, as the inhabitants of that continent are found to be of a more fierce and barbarous nature than the African nations, their dances are still more uncouth and barbarous than those of the negroes. "In Mexico," says Gallini, "they have also their dances and music, but in the most uncouth and barbarous style. For their symphony they have wooden drums, something in form of a kettle-drum, with a kind of pipe or flagelet, made of a hollow cane or reed, but very grating to an European ear. It is observed they love everything that makes a noise, how disagreeable forever the sound is. They will also hum over something like a tune when they dance 30 or 40 in a circle, stretching out their hands, and laying them on each other's shoulders. They stamp and jump, and use the most antic gestures for several hours, till they are heartily weary. And one or two of the company sometimes step out of the ring to make sport for the rest, by showing feats of activity, throwing their lances up into the air, catching them again, bending backwards, and springing forwards with great agility."

The origin of dancing among the Greeks was most certainly the same as among all other nations; but as they proceeded a certain length in civilization, their dances were of consequence more regular and agreeable than those of the more barbarous nations. They reduced dancing into a kind of regular system; and had dances proper for exciting, by means of the sympathy above mentioned, any passion whatever in the minds of the beholders. In this way they are said to have proceeded very great lengths, to us absolutely incredible. At Athens, it is said, that the dance of the Eumenides or Furies on the theatre had so expressive a character as to strike the spectators with irresistible terror; men grown old in the profession of arms trembled; the multitude ran out; women with child miscarried; people imagined they saw in earnest those terrible deities commissioned with the vengeance of heaven to pursue and punish crimes upon earth.

The Greeks had martial dances, which they reckoned to be very useful for keeping up the warlike spirit of their youth; but the Romans, though equally warlike with the Greeks, never had any thing of the kind.—This probably may be owing to the want of that romantic turn for which the Greeks were so remarkable. The Romans had no heroes among them, such as Hercules, Achilles, or Ajax; nor does the whole Roman history furnish an example of a general that made war after the manner of Alexander the Great. Though their soldiers were as valiant as ever the Greeks could pretend to be, the object with them was the honour of the republic, and not their own personal praise. Hence there was less fury, and much more cool deliberate valour, exercised by the Romans, than any other nation whatever. The passions of pride, resentment, obstinacy, &c., were excited in them, not by the mechanical means of music and dancing, but by being taught that it was their chief honour to fight for the republic.—It does not however appear, that the Romans were at all less capable of being affected in this mechanical manner than the Greeks. When dancing was once introduced, it had the very same effects at Rome as at Athens.

Among the Jews, dancing seems to have made a part of the religious worship on some occasions, as we learn from some passages in the Psalms, though we do not find either that or singing positively enjoined as a divine precept.—In the Christian churches mentioned in the New Testament, there is no account of dancing being introduced as an act of worship, though it is certain that it was used as such in after ages. Mr Gallini tells us, that "at Limoges, not long ago, the people used to dance the round in the choir of the church which is under the invocation of their patron saint; and at the end of each psalm, instead of the Gloria Patri, they sung as follows: St Marcel, pray for us, and we will dance in honour of you."—Though...