More: Utopia (1685 Burnet Translation)

...pedantry under which it struggled long ago, and the frivolous style of obscure and incomprehensible wit original: "Wit"; here referring to intellectual cleverness or literary style that came after that, and the crude excess of jargon original: "Canting"; often referring to the specialized or hypocritical language used by specific religious or social groups that followed.

But as one extreme commonly produces another, we were beginning to soar into the lofty heights of a powerful but deceptive rhetoric original: "Rhetorick". This style had greatly corrupted not only the theater original: "Stage" but even the pulpit. These are two places that, although they should not be mentioned together—much less resemble one another—it cannot be denied that the standards and patterns of speech are generally taken from them. However, that flowery original: "florid" style is now almost completely worn out; it has become as ridiculous today as it was once admired.

Thus, without the same cost or effort that the French have invested, our language has—like a fine wine—