Page:The Plays of William Shakspeare (1778).djvu/82

70 By the admiion of this negation and affirmation, has any new idea been gained?

The labours of preceding editors have not left room for a boat, that many valuable readings have been retrieved; though it may be fairly aerted, that the text of Shakepeare is retored to the condition in which the author, or rather his firt publihers appear to have left it, uch emendations as were abolutely neceary, alone admitted: for where a particle, indipenably neceary to the ene, was wanting, uch a upply has been ilently adopted from other editions; but where a yllable, or more, had been added for the ake of the metre only, which at firt might have been irregular, uch interpolations are here contantly retrenched, ometimes with, and ometimes without notice. Thoe peeches, which in the elder editions are printed as proe, and from their own contruction are incapable of being compreed into vere, without the aid of upplemental yllables, are retored to proe again; and the meaure is divided afreh in others, where the mas of words had been inharmoniouly eparated into lines.

The cenery, throughout all the plays, is regulated in conformity to a rule, which the poet, by his general practice eems to have propoed to himelf. Several of his pieces are come down to us, divided into cenes as well as acts. Thee diviions were probably his own, as they are made on ettled principles, which would hardly have been the cae, had the tak been executed by the players. A change of cene, with Shakepeare, mot commonly implies a change of place, but always, an entire evacuation of the