by their own force intitled to extend; and the
_Metamorphoses_ of _Ovid_, upheld by them, lay in a new claim to unmerited
immortality.

_Shakespeare_ is a name so interesting, that it is excusable to stop a
moment, nay it would be indecent to pass him without the tribute of some
admiration. He differs essentially from all other writers: Him we may
profess rather to feel than to understand; and it is safer to say, on many
occasions, that we are possessed by him, than that we possess him. And no
wonder;--He scatters the seeds of things, the principles of character and
action, with so cunning a hand, yet with so careless an air, and, master
of our feelings, submits himself so little to our judgment, that every
thing seems superior. We discern not his course, we see no connection of
cause and effect, we are rapt in ignorant admiration, and claim no kindred
with his abilities. All the incidents, all the parts, look like chance,
whilst we feel and are sensible that the whole is design. His Characters
not only act and speak in strict conformity to nature, but in strict
relation to us; just so much is shewn as is requisite, just so much is
impressed; he commands every passage to our heads and to our hearts, and
moulds us as he pleases, and that with so much ease, that he never betrays
his own exertions. We see these Characters act from the mingled motives of
passion, reason, interest, habit, and complection, in all their
proportions, when they are supposed to know it not themselves; and we are
made to acknowledge that their actions and sentiments are, from those
motives, the necessary result. He at once blends and distinguishes every
thing;--every thing is complicated, every thing is plain. I restrain the
further expressions of my admiration lest they should not seem applicable
to man; but it is really astonishing that a mere human being, a part of
humanity only, should so perfectly comprehend the whole; and that he
should possess such exquisite art, that whilst every woman and every child
shall feel the whole effect, his learned Editors and Commentators should
yet so very frequently mistake or seem ignorant of the cause. A sceptre or
a straw are in his hands of equal efficacy; he needs no selection; he
converts every thing into excellence; nothing is too great, nothing is too
base. Is a character efficient like _Richard_, it is every thing we can
wish: Is it otherwise, like _Hamlet_, it is productive of equal
admiration: Actio