Page:A letter to the Rev. Richard Farmer.djvu/14

 abilities and learning. But I claim no uch allowance; for I aid only what I trictly and incerely thought. Not chooing however to peak confidently and poitively of a matter concerning which I could not be certain, I ued the words—"eems now finally ettled." I had not then undertaken to publih an edition of Shakpeare, nor regularly collated a ingle play of that author with the authentick copies. When my admiration of his innumerable beauties led me to undertake an edition of his works, I then thought it my duty to exert every faculty to make it as perfect as I could; and in order to enure a genuine text, to collate word by word every line of his plays and poems with the original and authentick copies; a tak equally new and arduous. By this laborious proces I obtained of the text; that is, I found that the text of this author, notwithtanding all the well-employed diligence and care of the late editors in correcting the errors of former copies, and rejecting the adulterations introduced in the econd folio and the ubequent impreions, till remained corrupted in ixteen hundred and fifty four places, and I corrected it accordingly; not as that word is ometimes undertood, by capricious innovation, or fanciful conjecture, but by the  tion