r_; others more negligently put
together, to strike the Fancy of a common and unlearned Beholder:
Some Parts are made stupendiously magnificent and grand, to surprize
with the vast Design and Execution of the Architect; others are
contracted, to amuse you with his Neatness and Elegance in little.
*So, in _Shakespeare_, we may find _Traits_ that will stand the Test
of the severest Judgment; and Strokes as carelessly hit off, to the
Level of the more ordinary Capacities: Some Descriptions rais'd to
that Pitch of Grandeur, as to astonish you with the Compass and
Elevation of his Thought: and others copying Nature within so
narrow, so confined a Circle, as if the Author's Talent lay only
at drawing in Miniature.

In how many Points of Light must we be oblig'd to gaze at this great
Poet! In how many Branches of Excellence to consider, and admire
him! Whether we view him on the Side of Art or Nature, he ought
equally to engage our Attention: Whether we respect the Force and
Greatness of his Genius, the Extent of his Knowledge and Reading,
the Power and Address with which he throws out and applies either
Nature, or Learning, there is ample Scope both for our Wonder and
Pleasure. If his Diction, and the cloathing of his Thoughts attract
us, how much more must we be charm'd with the Richness, and Variety,
of his Images and Ideas! If his Images and Ideas steal into our
Souls, and strike upon our Fancy, how much are they improv'd in
Price, when we come to reflect with what Propriety and Justness they
are apply'd to Character! If we look into his Characters, and how
they are furnish'd and proportion'd to the Employment he cuts out
for them, how are we taken up with the Mastery of his Portraits!
What Draughts of Nature! What Variety of Originals, and how
differing each from the other! How are they dress'd from the Stores
of his own luxurious Imagination; without being the Apes of Mode, or
borrowing from any foreign Wardrobe! Each of Them are the Standards
of Fashion for themselves: like Gentlemen that are above the
Direction of their Tailors, and can adorn themselves without the Aid
of Imitation. If other Poets draw more than one Fool or Coxcomb,
there is the same Resemblance in them, as in that Painter's
Draughts, who was happy only at forming a Rose: you find them all
younger Brothers of the same Family, and all of them have a Pretence
to give the same Crest: But _Shakespeare_'s Clowns and Fops come all
of a different House: the