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 but half his undertaking. The duty of a collator is indeed dull, yet, like other tedious taks, is very neceary; but an emendatory critick would ill dicharge his duty, without qualities very different from dulnes. In peruing a corrupted piece, he mut have before him all poibilities of meaning, with all poibilities of expreion. Such mut be his comprehenion of thought, and uch his copiounes of language. Out of many readings poible, he mut be able to elect that which bet uits with the tate, opinions, and modes of language prevailing in every age, and with his author’s particular cat of thought, and turn of expreion. Such mut be his knowledge, and uch his tate. Conjectural criticim demands more than humanity poees, and he that exercies it with mot praie, has very frequent need of indulgence. Let us now be told no more of the dull duty of an editor.

Confidence is the common conequence of ucces. They whoe excellence of any kind has been loudly celebrated, are ready to conclude, that their powers are univeral. Pope’s edition fell below his own expectations, and he was o much offended, when he was found to have left any thing for others to do; that he paed the latter part of his life in a tate of hotility with verbal criticim.

I have retained all his notes, that no fragment of o great a writer may be lot; his preface, valuable alike for elegance of compoition and jutnes of remark, and containing a general criticim on his thor,