, which suits generally with all men's humors.
Shakespeare's language is likewise a little obsolete, and Ben Jonson's
wit comes short of theirs.

As for Jonson, to whose character I am now arrived, if we look upon
him while he was himself--for his last plays were but his dotages--I
think him the most learned and judicious writer which any theater ever
had. He was a most severe judge of himself, as well as others. One can
not say he wanted wit, but rather that he was frugal of it. In his
works you find little to retrench or alter. Wit, and language, and
humor also in some measure, we had before him; but something of art
was wanting to the drama, till he came. He managed his strength to
more advantage than any who preceded him. You seldom find him making
love in any of his scenes, or endeavoring to move the passions; his
genius was too sullen and saturnine to do it gracefully, especially
when he knew he came after those who had performed both to such a
height. Humor was his proper sphere; and in that he delighted most to
represent mechanic people. He was deeply conversant in the ancients,
both Greek and Latin, and he borrowed boldly from them; there is
scarce a poet or historian among the Roman authors of those times whom
he has not translated in "Sejanus" and "Catiline." But he has done his
robberies so openly that one may see he fears not to be taxed by any
law. He invades authors like a monarch; and what would be theft in
other poets, is only victory in him. With the spoils of these writers
he so represents old Rome to us, in its rites, ceremonies, and
customs, that if one of their poets had written either of his
tragedies, we had seen less of it than in him.

If there was any fault in his language, 'twas that he weaved it too
closely and laboriously, in his comedies especially: perhaps, too, he
did a little too much Romanize our tongue, leaving the words which he
translated almost as much Latin as he found them; wherein, tho he
learnedly followed their language, he did not enough comply with the
idiom of ours. If I would compare him with Shakespeare, I must
acknowledge him the more correct poet, but Shakespeare the greater
wit. Shakespeare was the Homer, or father of our dramatic poets:
Jonson was the Virgil, the pattern of elaborate writing: I admire him,
but I love Shakespeare. To conclude of him: as he has given us the
most correct plays, so, in the precepts which he has laid down in his
"Discoveries," we have as