he Unity of TIME. For, if I be not much mistaken, he is an
interessed [_interested_] person; the time of that Play taking up so many
years as the favour of the Duke of LERMA continued: nay, the Second and
Third Acts including all the time of his prosperity, which was a great
part of the reign of PHILIP III.; for in the beginning of the Second Act,
he was not yet a favourite, and before the end of the Third, was in
disgrace.

I say not this, with the least design of limiting the Stage too servilely
to twenty-four hours: however he be pleased to tax me with dogmatizing in
that point. In my Dialogue, as I before hinted, several persons
maintained their several opinions. One of them, indeed, who supported the
cause of the French Poesy, said, how strict they were in that particular
[p. 531]; but he who answered in behalf of our nation, was willing to
give more latitude to the Rule; and cites the words of CORNEILLE himself,
complaining against the severity of it, and observing what beauties it
banished from the Stage, page 44, of my _Essay_.

In few words, my own opinion is this; and I willingly submit it to my
adversary, when he will please impartially to consider it. That the
Imaginary Time of every Play ought to be contrived into as narrow a
compass, as the nature of the Plot, the quality of the Persons, and
variety of Accidents will allow. In Comedy, I would not exceed
twenty-four or thirty hours; for the Plot, Accidents, and Persons of
Comedy are small, and may be naturally turned in a little compass. But in
Tragedy, the Design is weighty, and the Persons great; therefore there
will, naturally, be required a greater space of time, in which to move
them.

And this, though BEN. JOHNSON has not told us, yet 'tis, manifestly, his
opinion. For you see, that, to his Comedies, he allows generally but
twenty-four hours: to his two Tragedies _SEJANUS_ and _CATILINE_, a much
larger time; though he draws both of them into as narrow a compass as he
can. For he shows you only the latter end of _SEJANUS_ his favour; and
the conspiracy of _CATILINE_ already ripe, and just breaking out into
action.

But as it is an error on the one side, to make too great a disproportion
betwixt the _imaginary_ time of the Play, and the _real_ time of its
representation: so, on the other side, 'tis an oversight to compress the
Accidents of a Play into a narrower compass than that in which they could
naturally be produced.

Of this last error, the