Preface to Shakespeare • Paragraph 13
Stage 1 of 6

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To censure the faults of Shakspeare is easy; to imitate the compass of his mind is difficult. He saw men in all their varieties; he saw the mixtures of good and evil, of vice and virtue, in every heart. This is not the work of imitation; it is the gift of nature. We may correct his errors, but we cannot improve his discoveries.