dulg'd from Time to Time the fallen Satisfaction of yawning over theſe Productions. If the Reaſon ſhould afterwards be ſought, why the greateſt Genius's who have been incorporated into that Body have ſometimes made the worſt Speeches; I anſwer , that 'tis wholly owing to a ſtrong Propenſion, the Gentlemen in Queſtion had to ſhine, and to diſplay a thread-bare, worn-out Subject in a new and uncommon Light. The Neceſſity of ſaying ſomething, the Perplexity of having nothing to ſay, and a Deſire of being witty, are three Circumſtances which alone are capable of making even the greateſt Writer ridiculous. Theſe Gentlemen, not being able to ſtrike out any new Thoughts, hunted after a new Play of Words, and deliver'd themſelves without thinking at all; in like Manner as People who ſhould ſeem to chew with great Eagerneſs, and make as tho' they were eating, at the ſame Time that they were juſt ſtarv'd.
