whence they drew: The ingenious Mr. _Congreve_ has pursu’d the same
Vein of _Humour_; and he has imitated his Predecessors so well, that
he has by far out-done ’em all. In his Dramatic-Pieces there is the
greatest Variety of _Humour_ and of original Characters, set off by
the greatest Delicacy of Sentiments, and adorn’d with the Beauties of
the justest Diction that can possibly be imagined. Mr. _Dryden_ must
be allow’d to be a competent Judge in an Affair of this Nature, and he
has given us the true Character and Panegyric of Mr. _Congreve_ in the
following Lines.

In him all Beauties of this Age we see; }
_Etherege_ his Courtship, _Southern_’s Purity; }
The Satir, Wit and Strength of manly _Wicherly_. }

’Tis true, there is some Difference between the Characters which
enter into the Composition of Dramatic Pieces, and those which are
represented by _Characteristic-Writers_; but this Difference is so
small, that I doubt not but he, who is an able Master in one of these
Kinds, would as successfully perform in the other. For, in reality,
the essential Parts of the Characters, in the _Drama_, and in
_Characteristic-Writings_, are the same. They are both an Image of one
Life; a Representation of one Person: All the Diversity lies in the
different Manner of representing the same Image. The _Drama_ presents
to the Eyes of a Spectator an Actor, who speaks and acts as the
Person, whom he represents, is suppos’d to speak and act in real Life.
The _Characteristic_ Writer introduces, in a descriptive manner,
before a Reader, the same Person, as speaking and acting in the same
manner: And both must be perform’d in such a natural and lively
manner, as may deceive the Spectator and Reader, and make them fancy
they see the Person represented or characteris’d.