d, I believe, _Thersites_ in _Troilus_ and _Cressida_,
and _Apemantus_ in _Timon_, will be allow'd to be Master-Pieces of ill
Nature, and satyrical Snarling. To these I might add, that incomparable
Character of _Shylock_ the _Jew_, in _The Merchant of_ Venice; but tho'
we have seen that Play Receiv'd and Acted as a Comedy, and the Part of
the _Jew_ perform'd by an Excellent Comedian, yet I cannot but think it
was design'd Tragically by the Author. There appears in it such a
deadly Spirit of Revenge, such a savage Fierceness and Fellness, and
such a bloody designation of Cruelty and Mischief, as cannot agree
either with the Stile or Characters of Comedy. The Play it self, take it
all together, seems to me to be one of the most finish'd of any of
_Shakespear_'s. The Tale indeed, in that Part relating to the Caskets,
and the extravagant and unusual kind of Bond given by _Antonio_, is a
little too much remov'd from the Rules of Probability: But taking the
Fact for granted, we must allow it to be very beautifully written. There
is something in the Friendship of _Antonio_ to _Bassanio_ very Great,
Generous and Tender. The whole fourth Act, supposing, as I said, the
Fact to be probable, is extremely Fine. But there are two Passages that
deserve a particular Notice. The first is, what _Portia_ says in praise
of Mercy, _pag. 577_; and the other on the Power of Musick, _pag. 587_.
The Melancholy of _Jacques_, in _As you like it_, is as singular and odd
as it is diverting. And if what _Horace_ says

_Difficile est proprie communia Dicere,_

'Twill be a hard Task for any one to go beyond him in the Description
of the several Degrees and Ages of Man's Life, tho' the Thought be old,
and common enough.

_--All the World's a Stage,
And all the Men and Women meerly Players;
They have their Exits and their Entrances,
And one Man in his time plays many Parts,
His Acts being seven Ages. At first the Infant
Mewling and puking in the Nurse's Arms:
And then, the whining School-boy with his Satchel,
And shining Morning-face, creeping like Snail
Unwillingly to School. And then the Lover
Sighing like Furnace, with a woful Ballad
Made to his Mistress' Eye-brow. Then a Soldier
Full of strange Oaths, and bearded like the Pard,
Jealous in Honour, sudden and quick in Quarrel,
Seeking the bubble Reputation
Ev'n in the Cannon's Mouth. And then the Justice
In fair round Belly,