The Comedies of William Congreve - 2 Author:William Congreve Volume: 2 General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1895 Original Publisher: Methuen Subjects: Drama / General Drama / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Drama / Shakespeare Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the... more » General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: THE WAY OF THE WORLD A COMEDY Audire est operas pretium, procedere rede Qui mcechis non vultis. -- Hor. Sat. i. 2, 37. Metuat doti deprensa. -- Ibid. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE RALPH, EARL OF MOUNTAGUE, Etc. My Lord, -- Whether the world will arraign me of vanity or not, that I have presumed to dedicate this comedy to your loi-d- ship, I am yet in doubt; though, it may be, it is some degree of vanity even to doubt of it. One who has at any time had the honour of your lordship's conversation, cannot be supposed to think very meanly of that which he would prefer to your perusal. Yet it were to incur the imputation of too much sufficiency to pretend to such a merit as might abide the test of your lordship's censure. Whatever value may be wanting to this play while yet it is mine, will be sufficiently made up to it when it is once become your lordship's; and it is my security, that I cannot have overrated it more by my dedication than your lordship will dignify it by your patronage. That it succeeded on the stage was almost beyond my expectation ; for but little f jt was prepared for that general taste which seems now to be predominant in the palates of our audience. Those characters fHhich are meant to be ridiculed in most of our comedies are of fools so gross, that in my humble opinion they should rather disturb than divert the well-natured -and reflecting part of an audience; they are rather objects of charity than contempt, and instead of moving our mirth, they ought...« less