1 84 The Duchess of Newcastle 



much phancy of their own, as to conceive the poetical 

 phancies of others; for if they did, they must needs 

 love poetry : for poetry is so powerfull, and hath such 

 an attractive beauty, that those that can but view her 

 perfectly, could not but be enamoured, her charms 

 do so force affection. But surely those that delight 

 not in poetry or musick, have no divine souls, nor 

 harmonious thoughts. 



But by those weak observations I have made, I 

 perceive, that as most men have particular under- 

 standings, capacities, or ingenuities, and not a general; 

 so in their discourses, some can speak eloquently, and 

 not learnedly; others learnedly, and not eloquently; 

 some wittily and neither learned or eloquent; and 

 some will speak neither learnedly, eloquently, wittily, 

 or rationally. Likewise some can speak well, but 'tis 

 but for a time, some a longer, and some a shorter time, 

 like several sized candles, are longer or shorter ere 

 they come to a snuff, where sometimes some objects 

 or conceits, unexpected objections or questions, or 

 the like, do prove as a small coal got into the tallow 

 of their wit, which makes it bleer out sooner than 

 otherwise it would do. 



Also, some will speak wisely upon some subjects, 

 and foolishly upon others. 



Likewise, some will speak well as it were by chance ; 

 others in one discourse speak mixtly, now rational, 

 then nonsently, at least weakly or obstructedly. But 

 they are great masters of speech that speak clearly, 

 as I may say, untangled, which can winde their words 

 from off their tongue without a snarl or knot, and can 

 keep even sense, like an even thread, or can work that 

 thread of sense into a flourishing discourse, and they 

 have a quick wit that can play with, or on any sub- 

 ject, which doubtless some can do of those things 



