Page:The Plays and Poems of William Shakspeare (1790) - Vol. 1a.djvu/21

Rh age, and particularly studious of his authour’s diction. There is danger lest peculiarities should be mistaken for corruptions, and paflages rejected as unintelligible, which a narrow mind happens not to understand.

"All the former criticks have been so much employed on the correction of the text, that they have not sufficiently attended to the elucidation of paffages obscured by accident or time. The editor will endeavour to read the books which the authour read, to trace his knowledge to its source, and compare his copies with the originals. If in this part of his design he hopes to attain any degree of superiority to his predecessors, it must be considered, that he has the advantage of their labours; that part of the work being already done, more care is naturally bestowed on the other part; and that, to declare the truth, Mr. Rowe and Mr. Pope were very ignorant of the ancient English literature; Dr. Warburton was detained by more important studies; and Mr. Theobald, if fame be just to his memory, considered learning only as an instrument of gain, and made no further inquiry after his author’s meaning, when once he had notes sufficient to embellish his page with the expected decorations. "With regard to obsolete or peculiar diction, the editor may perhaps claim some degree of confidence, having had more motives to consider the whole extent of our language than any other man from its first formation. He hopes, that, by comparing the works of Shakspeare with those of writers who lived at the fame time, immediately preceded, or immediately followed him, he shall be able to ascertain his ambiguities,