High characters (cries one); and he would see
Things that ne'er were, nor are, nor ne'er will be.

Compare: "Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, Thinks what ne’er was, nor is, nor e’er shall be."—Pope, Essay on Criticism, pt. ii, l. 53. "There’s no such thing in Nature, and you’ll draw A faultless monster which the world ne’er saw."—Sheffield, Essay on Poetry