Hamlet, Prince of Denmark • Paragraph 230
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In short, Vice is punished in this excellent Piece, and thereby the Moral Use of it is unquestionable. And if _Hamlet's_ Virtue is not rewarded as we could wish, Mr. _Addison's_ Maxim ought to satify us, which is this, "That no Man is so thoroughly Virtuous as to claim a Reward in Tragedy, or to have Reason to repine at the Dispensations of Providence; and it is besides more Instructive to the Audience, because it abates the Insolence of Human Nature, and teaches us not to judge of Men's Merit by their Successes. And he proceeds farther, and says, that though a virtuous Man may prove unfortunate, yet a vicious Man cannot be happy in a well wrought Tragedy." This last Rule is well observed here.