may be permitted to afk a modeft queftion by the way, why may not I reftore an anachronism really made by our author, as well as Mr. Pope take the privilege to fix others upon him, which he never had it in his head to make; as I may venture to affirm he had not, in the inftance of Sir Francis Drake, to which I have spoke in the proper place? But who fhall dare make any words about this freedom of Mr. Pope's towards Shakspeare, if it can be proved, that, in his fits of criticism, he makes no more ceremony with good Homer himfelf? To try, then, a criticifm of his own advancing in the 8th Book of The Odyssey, where Demodocus fings the episode of the loves of Mars and Venus; and that, upon their being taken in the net by Vulcan, "Muft pay the penalty for lawless charms;" "That Mr. Pope is fo kind gravely to inform us, Homer in this, as in many other places, feems to allude to the laws of Athens, where death was the punishment of adultery." But how is this fignificant obfervation made out? Why, who can poffibly object any thing to the contrary?Does not Paufanias relate that Draco, the lawgiver to the Athenians, granted impunity to any perfon that took revenge upon an adulterer? And was it not alfo the inflitution of Solon, that if any one took an adulterer in the fact, he might use him as he pleafed? These things are very true: and to fee what a good memory, and found judgment in conjunction, can achieve! though Homer's date is not determined down to a fingle year, yet it is pretty generally agreed that he lived above three hundred years be fore Draco and Solon: and that, it feems, has made How juft, notwithstanding, I have been in detecting the anachronisms of my author, and in defending him for the ufe of them, our late editor feems to think, they fhould rather have slept in obfcurity and the having discovered them is fneered at, as a fort of wrong-headed fagacity. The numerous corrections which I have made of the poet's text in my SHAKSPEARE Reftored, and which the publick have been fo kind to think well of, are, in the appendix of Mr. Pope's laft edition, flightingly called various readings, gueffes, &c. He confeffes to have inferted as many of them as he judged of any the leaft advantage to the poet; but fays, that the whole amounted to about twenty five words and pretends to have annexed a complete lift of the reft, which were not worth his embracing. Whoever has read my book will, at one glance, fee how in both these points veracity is ftrained, fo an injury might be done. Malus, etfi obeffe non pote, tamen cogitat. Another expedient to make my work appear of a trifling nature, has been an attempt to depreciate literal criticifm. To this end, and to pay a fervile compliment to Mr. Pope, an anonymous writer has, David Mallet. See his poem Of Verbal Criticism, Vol. I. of his works, 12mo. 1759. REED. 1 1 like a Scotch pedlar in wit, unbraced his pack on the fubject. But, that his virulence might not feem to be levelled fingly at me, he has done me the honour to join Dr. Bentley in the libel. I was in hopes we fhould have been both abused with fmartness of fatire at least, though not with folidity of argument; that it might have been worth some reply in defence of the science attacked. But I may fairly say of this author, as Falstaff does of Poins:-Hang him, baboon! his wit is as thick as Tewksbury mustard; there is no more conceit in him, than is in a MALLET. If it be not a prophanation to fet the opinion of the divine Longinus against fuch a fcribbler, he tells us exprefsly, "That to make a judgment upon words (and writings) is the moft confummate fruit of much experience." ĥ yap τῶν λόγων κρίσις πολλῆς ἔςι πείρας τελευταῖον ἐπιγένημα. Whenever words are depraved, the fenfe of course must be corrupted; and thence the reader is betrayed into a falfe meaning. C If the Latin and Greek languages have received the greatest advantages imaginable from the labours of the editors and criticks of the two laft ages, by whofe aid and affiftance the grammarians have been enabled to write infinitely better in that art than even the preceding grammarians, who wrote when thofe tongues flourished as living languages; I Thould account it a peculiar happiness, that, by the faint effay I have made in this work, a path might be chalked out for abler hands, by which to derive the fame advantages to our own tongue; a tongue, which, though it wants none of the fundamental qualities of an univerfal language, yet, as a noble writer fays, lifps and ftammers as in its cradle; and has produced little more towards its polishing than complaints of its barbarity. Having now run through all thofe points, which I intended fhould make any part of this differtation, and having in my former edition made publick acknowledgments of the affiftances lent me, I fhall conclude with a brief account of the methods taken in this. It was thought proper, in order to reduce the bulk and price of the impreffion, that the notes, wherever they would admit of it, might be abridged for which reafon I have curtailed a great quantity of fuch, in which explanations were too prolix, or authorities in fupport of an emendation too numerous and many I have entirely expunged, which were judged rather verbose and declamatory (and fo notes merely of oftentation) than neceffary or inftructive. The few literal errors which had efcaped notice for want of revifals, in the former edition, are here reformed; and the pointing of innumerable paffages is regulated, with all the accuracy I am capable of. Ju I shall decline making any farther declaration of the pains I have taken upon my author, because it was my duty, as his editor, to publifh him with my best care and judgment; and because I am fenfible, all fuch declarations are conftrued to be laying a fort of debt on the publick. As the former edition has been received with much indulgence, I ought to make my acknowledgments to the town for their favourable opinion of it; and I fhall always be proud to think that encouragement the best payment I can hope to receive from my poor ftudies. SIR THOMAS HANMER'S PREFACE. WHAT HAT the publick is here to expect is a true and correct edition of Shakspeare's works, cleared from the corruptions with which they have hitherto abounded. One of the great admirers of this incomparable author hath made it the amufement of his leifure hours for many years paft to look over his writings with a careful eye, to note the obfcurities and abfurdities introduced into the text, and according to the beft of his judgment to restore the genuine fenfe and purity of it. In this he propofed nothing to himself, but his private fatisfaction in making his own copy as perfect as he could but, as the emendations multiplied upon his hands, other gentlemen, equally fond of the author, defired to fee them, and fome were fo kind as to give their affiftance, by communicating their obfervations and conjectures upon difficult paffages which had occurred to them. Thus by degrees the work growing more confiderable than was at firft expected, they who had the opportunity of looking into it, too partial perhaps in their judgment, thought it worth being made publick; and he, who hath with difficulty yielded to their perfuafions, is far from defiring to reflect upon the late editors for the omiffions and defects which they left to be fupplied by others who fhould |