On Don Surly
Don
Surly,
to
aspire
the
glorious
name
Of
a
great
man,
and
to
be
thought
the
same,
Makes
serious
use
of
all
great
trade
he
know.
He
speaks
to
men
with
a
Rhinocerotes'
nose,
Which
he
thinks
great;
and
so
reads
verses
too,
And
that
is
done
as
he
saw
great
men
do.
He
has
timpanies
of
business
in
his
face,
And
can
forget
men's
names
with
a
great
grace.
He
will
both
argue
and
discourse
in
oaths,
Both
which
are
great;
and
laugh
at
ill-made
clothes—
That's
greater
yet—to
cry
his
own
up
neat.
He
doth,
at
meals,
alone
his
pheasant
eat,
Which
is
main
greatness;
and
at
his
still
board
He
drinks
to
no
man;
that's,
too,
like
a
lord.
He
keeps
another's
wife,
which
is
a
spice
Of
solemn
greatness.
And
he
dares,
at
dice,
Blaspheme
God
greatly,
or
some
poor
hind
beat
That
breathes
in
his
dog's
way;
and
this
is
great.
Nay
more,
for
greatness'
sake,
he
will
be
one
May
hear
my
epigrams,
but
like
of
none,
Surly,
use
other
arts;
these
only
can
Style
thee
a
most
great
fool,
but
no
great
man.
Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson (born June 11?, 1572, London, England—died August 6, 1637, London) English Stuart dramatist, lyric poet, and literary critic. He is generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the reign of James I. Among his major plays are the comedies Every Man in His Humour (1598), Volpone (1605), Epicoene; or, The Silent Woman (1609), The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fair (1614). Ben Jonson died in Westminster on August 8, 1637. A tremendous crowd of mourners attended his burial at Westminster Abbey. He is regarded as one of the major dramatists and poets of the seventeenth century.