Shakspeare's himself again: or, The language of the poet asserted: being a full but dispassionate examen of the readings and interpretations of the several editors
Becket, Andrew, 1749-1843
»*» . , S>.55 >*>->> ">i» Z*SS3h Ti. v > ■> > > > ■■■' >; 'JB».»> r>.> | u% m ^r > > >» j > » ->> > yy > : ^ ^ ;■ >-i ' ^^flKE^HKWI -» fr^ SB to-' *> • » » f> 1 1 » •) s »> ■ » i» 1 -■ .- "» ~> ; 3 1 >. > » 7> . k ■»» •>■ % 3> > >19SI ^^ 01 f \ ■' i <Ibr Anne iRmtnj ^Jjaksprrr (HoUprtum Trinity College Library DURHAM, N. C. 1903 hh f PERKINS LIBRARY Duke University Kare Dooks L SHAKSPEARE'S HIMSELF AGAIN: OR Cfje Language of t&c Ipoct asfsfertcD : BEING A FULL EUT DISPASSIONATE EXAMEN OF THE READINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS Or THE SEVERAL EDITORS. THE WHOLE COMPRISED IN A SERIES OF NOTES, SIXTEEN HUNDRED IN NUMBER, AND FURTHER ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE MORE DIFFICULT PASSAGES IN HIS PLAYS, — ■ TO THE VARIOUS EDITIONS OF "WHICH THE PRE- SENT VOLUMES FORM A COMPLETE AND NECESSARY SUPPLEMENT. BY ANDREW BECKET ; Author of Lucianus Redivivus, &c. &c, Nairn a ilfece e poi ruppc la stampa. Asiosto. LV 771 O VOLUMES. VOL. r. T Lontion: /« printed by a. j. valpy, tooke's court, chancery lane. SOLD BY MESSRS. LAW AND WHITTAKER; LONGMAN, HURST AND CO.; LACK1NGTON AND CO.; RlVlNGTON Zf~ AND CO.; BALDWIN AND CO.; J. RICHARD- iD SON; SHERWOOD AND CO.; LONDON. _) PARKER, OXFORD; MACRED1E AND ^y CO. EDINBURGH. A 1815. r. I PREFACE. Ihe world is in possession of so many excellent dis- courses respecting Shakspeare, that to insist on his merit at the present day were only to repeat the sentiments contained in them. But though the general excellence of the Poet, is admitted on all hands, his particular ex- pression has (except in the instance of the Editor War- burton',) been very frequently misunderstood. This is a matter, however, which will best appear by an attentive perusal of the notes and observations which I have now 1 u O learning ! — Open thy Maeonian and thy Mantuan coffers, with whatever else includes thy philosophic, thy poetic, and thy historical treasures, whether with Greek or Roman characters thou hast chosen to inscribe the ponderous chests; give me awhile that key to all thy trea- sures, which t thy Warburton thou hast intrusted." " Reader it is impossible we should know what sort of person thou wilt be , for perhaps thou may'st be as learned in human nature as Shak- I himself was, «md perhaps thou may'st be no wiser than some ofhis editors. Now lest this latter should be the case, we think proper, before we go any fanner together, to give thee a few wholesome admonitions; that thou may'st not as grossly misunderstand and misrepresent'us, as some of the said Editors have misunderstood and misrepresented their author." — Introductory Chapters to Tom Jones. IV PREFACE. the honor of submitting to the public opinion. The task was laborious but pleasing : It originated in what may be termed adoration of a writer, perhaps the most distin- guished that England can be said to boast ; but who yet, and even like the monumental marble, has suffered con- siderable injury from length of time. But the injury is chiefly discoloration ; the effigies of this terrestrial Jupiter, this maker, this creator, stands majestically firm. Some- thing, more, indeed, was requisite to its beauty than the mere removal of spot or stain : the chisel was to be oc- casionally used with boldness, but it was at the same time to be directed with care. Unhappily, however, this care is little seen. But to speak more particularly, and at once to the point. The only way in which the later com- mentators attempt to elucidate Shakspeare, is by produ- cing what they call parallel passages from the writers of the time : which passages, however, being 'parallel in nothing but a word, while the sense is entirely different, has led to the grossest, the most ridiculous mistakes : — for it should ever be borne in mind that to illustrate an author properly, the similarity must be found, not in the word alone, but in the thought. Now, it is from attend- ing to little more than the former, that almost all the Editors have failed in their examples : and that we have still so very many errors to correct.' That they have been seemingly diligent, I must readily own : yet such kind of diligence2 as that which is found in them, darkens 1 The notes and observations of any worth, and which are subscribed with the name of Steevens, are known to have proceeded, for the most part, from the pen of Capel. In like manner, those attributed to Theo- bald, and which can Le said to be of value, are as certainly the work of Warburton. 1 " The obscure diligence of the Editor Theobald.'' Thus speaks WarburtoB, and the words may be as aptly applied to Mr. Steevens. PREFACE. V instead of illuming, — so that we can with difficulty dis- cover " through the palpable obscure," our " uncouth way/' Addison has well observed, that " in works of criticism, it is absolutely necessary to have a clear and logical head." In this he is incontrovertibly right. But here let me advert to the duty of the Critic and the Annotator, and which I conceive to be nearly as follows : To consider the word which may be liable to challenge in his author, not only in respect to analogy, or as it may resemble in sound or appearance that which he pro- poses to substitute for it, but how far the one he has to offer will agree with the context ; so that no explica- tion, no interpretation whatever, may appear forced or arbitrarily brought in. A very frivolous objection has been raised against the Poet, and for. the admission of words which may be considered as new.1 *' Such," say the Editors, " are not to be received : no example can be found of their use." But it should be remembered that if words are employed by Shakspeare, of which the etymology is un- known : if there be among them such as Philologers declare, themselves unable to trace back to any ancient language whatever, but which seem to be entirely of the writer's formation : why may they not have their origin with Shakspeare as well as with another ? Nay, the greater the genius of the author, the more likely will he be to venture on expressions at once novel and bold. It is from this very circumstance, from this very practice, and which has been so weakly and impoliticly censured, ' " I wish we had more liberty to introduce new words by a derivation analogous to others already in use, when they are evidently wanted." Priestly's Introduction to Grammar. Why this liberty should not be taken, and generally, it may be diffi- cult to tell. VI PREFACE. that both Homer and Milton have so greatly excelled in sublimity of style.' Thus much with respect to words which may properly be said to be coined by the Poet. As to French and Italian expressions he has used very many : he has likewise no inconsiderable number of words with a Latin sense : and which our Grammarians and Lexicographers, instead of cavilling at, would do well to adopt, since the English language is comparatively weak, But it will here be necessary to consider — and I shall do it as concisely as possible — how far it may be permitted to bring conjecture in aid of the Editor, and for the pur- pose of clearing up obscurities which may be said to lie in the Foet's Janet/, and which consequently can be effected in no other way. It has indeed been largely indulged in by Warburton, and hence his excellence as a Critic and a Commentator : hence the very high estimation in which he must ever be held by those who are possessed of a kindred spirit. He was truly the character depicted by the Roman orator ; Vir maiime limatus et subtilis, equally judicious and acute* But this Conjectural Criti- cism, of which I shall presently say more, certain of the Poet's Editors will not by any means admit : nor, from the manner in which, as before observed, they attempt to elucidate him — am I in the least surprised at the objec- tion. They who have looked to verbal mistakes alone, will necessarily exclaim against a mode of interpretation which owes its superiority to strength of intellect : to an 1 For a defence of the Freedom of Versijicution, and in which Shaks- peare, like his contemporary Dramatists, has largely indulged himself, the reader is referred to Waiburton's excellent preface to the Poet's works. See also the annotations of that Editor (passim :) with the remarks of Webbe and other distinguished critics of the latter aire. PREFACE. Vll intimate acquaintance with the nature of man. I am clearly of the opinion of Johnson in the matter (though much more inclined, by the way, to such kind of criti- cism than himself,) who has remarked that, "there is no danger in conjecture, if proposed as conjecture** This, then, I have practised on every occasion, by confining my emendations entirely to the margin, where they may be suffered to remain, until some future Editor, (who, let it be remembered, must be neither a Theobald nor a Steevens) shall determine on the validity of their claims. It must not be imagined from what has gone before, that I declare against the illustration of an author by producing parallel passages from the works of his con- temporaries, or from those of a not very distant age : I am sensible that this is frequently to be done, and with success, — all I contend for is, that it must be practised by well considering the context : by an attention, as I have already remarked, not to the word alone, but to the thought : above all, however, I will maintain, and boldly, that without the " daring conjecture," as Johnson has termed it, Shakspeare would ever remain particularly ob- scure : for as a similarity of talent is wanting, in the writers of his time, it is in vain to search among them for a similarity of sentiment or expression. I yet repeat, that on ordinary occasions, and where, (if it be permitted me so to talk) the Poet is nothing more than man,— such. resemblance is often to be found : and if there be judg- ment to direct in the application, it will be well — the mode of explication may be adopted, I say, with success. It is acknowledged, I believe, on all hands, that John- son did little as a commentator on Shakspeare : that is to say, in giving clearness and consistency to the Poet's ex- pression ; while the charge of a want of morality in his writings, is much too hastily advanced. The critic ob- vin preface. serves of him — '* He sacrifices virtue to convenience, and is so much more careful to please than to instruct, that he se^ms to write without an\ moral purpose." But it shi be remembered, that if some things repugnant to our moral feelings Kr- occasionally found in his pages, the Poet is no way deserving of reprehension on that account. It is not himself, but the character who speaks. It is true, indeed, that the stage should be a school of morality, — and it is on this principle — whatever the formalist may think on the matter — that the vicious are presented to our view : — it is not to excite us to imita- tion, but abhorrence, that they are produced on the scene. — And who shall have the temerity to say, that the axiomatical sentences, the lessons in virtue which are scattered through the dramas of Shakspeare, are not such as must inevitably arrest the attention of the good, and tend to the reformation of the bad. But the censure of the critic is not confined to this point alone. He is equally severe when speaking of him in the exercise of his art.- — " Whenever he solicits his invention, or strains his faculties, the offspring of his throes is tumour, mean- ness, tediousness, and obscurity" — with much more to the like effect. Again we are told of one of his plays ; " To remark the tolly of the fiction, the absurdity of the conduct, the confusion of the names and manners of different times, and the impossibility of the events in any system of life, were to waste criticism upon unresisting imbecility," &c. &c. This is a language by no means allowable in speaking of Shakspeare £ — it is indeed far better suited to the meridian of Paris, than that of London. Beside, what are we to understand by " unre- sisting imbecility ?" The expression is vague and inde- terminate : it gives us nothing but an empty sound. But Johnson on other occasions is frequently more sonq- PREFACE. IX rous than solid. He says, for instance, that " the chief desire of him that comments an author, is to show how much other commentators have corrupted and obscured him." Bat this is stating the matter perversely. It is certain that a commentator who finds his author obscure, is desirous of noting it : or for what, it may be asked, has he taken up the pen ; and it must be the same, if passages, by whatever means, are rendered corrupt. The fact is, not that he has a desire to show how much pre- ceding annotators have mistaken the sense of the writer they have sat down to expound, but that his works being corrupted, the annotator has a desire to restore him to himself. It is true that in doing this, he exposes the blunders of those who have gone before ; this, how- ever, should not be attributed to choice or " desire" as the learned Gentleman has called it, — but to necessity and the nature of things. I must further observe of this Critic, who by the way has been much too highly panegyrized by his followers, that he is remarkably wanting in consistency. In one page, we find him objecting to a word by saying, " it must not be admitted : there is no example of it." In another, " this expression I am forced to propose without the support of any authority for it." If so, why may not the same be practised by other persons and of other words ? With like inconsistency, and when speaking of the gene- ral merit of Shakspeare's performances, he observes, "the theatre, generally speaking, is peopled by such characters as were never seen, conversing in a language which was never heard, upon topics which will never arise in the commerce of mankind. But the dialogue of this author is often so evidently determined by the incident which pro- duces it, and is pursued with so much ease and simplicity, X PREFACE. that It seems scarcely to claim the merit of fiction, but to have been gleaned, by diligent selection, out of com- mon conversation, and common occurrences :" — " this, therefore, is the praise of Shakspeare, that his drama is the mirror of life j that he who has mazed his imagi- nation, in following the phantoms which other writers raise up before him, may here be cured of his delirious ecstacies, by reading human sentiments in human lan- guage, by scenes from which a hermit may estimate the transactions of the world, and a confessor predict the pro- gress of the passions." — Again, " His comedy pleases by the thoughts and the language, and bis tragedy, for the greater part, by incident and action. His tragedy seems to be skill, his comedy to be instinct. His comedy, indeed, often surpasses expectation or desire." — But how does this agree with what follows ? — " In his comic scenes he is seldom successful when he engages his cha- racters in reciprocations of smartness and contests of sar- casm ; their jests are commonly gross, and their plea- santry licentious ; neither his Gentlemen nor Ladies have much delicacy, nor are sufficiently distinguished from his clowns by any appearance of rehned manners." — ''His declamations, or set speeches, are commonly cold and weak : when he endeavoured, like other tragic writers, to catch opportunities of amplification, and instead of inquiring what the occasion demanded, to show how much his stores of knowledge could supply, he seldom escapes without the pity or resentment- of his reader.". .. As to the employing of conjecture in the exposition of Shakspeare, I hold it absolutely indispensable, since, of those expressions which are evidently his own, there are very many which have acquired abstruseness from the lapse of years : while others are wholly unintelligible, •r from the carelessness of the transcriber, the printer, PREFACE. XI or the error of the critic. It is not with the author, however, but with the latter, that the greater liberty is to be taken : it is with these that we can exercise our license without fear of reproof ; and it is with these, in- deed, that we have chiefly to do, here it is that the diffi- culties are principally found. In a word, and in fact, it is not so much the Poet as his Copier and Commentator that we have to correct. Dr. Johnson has said, though without a due consideration of circumstances, " It were to be wished that we all explained more and amended less." This is certainly desirable, and as it respects the genuine language of Shakspeare, it is a mode which should be pursued at all times ; and it is here adopted, I am to hope, with success. But to attempt an interpre- tation of that which the transcriber, the printer, or the editor, has converted into nonsense, were a strange abuse of intellect indeed, and must infallibly be disgraceful to ourselves : — for how explain that which is wholly inexplicable as it stands, Nothing then is left for us but to explain by conjecture ; and this, it should be remem- bered, can only be done by a particular attention to the context. But as it may even be thought by some that warrant were necessary for this : that is, for an indul- gence in conjectural criticism, — I shall bring forward the opinions, or rather positions, of certain writers, and which might deservedly be erected into laws. — " That many passages have passed in a state of depravation through all the editions is indubitably certain ; of these the restoration is only to be attempted by collation of copies, or sagacity of conjecture. The collator's pro- vince is safe and easy, the conjecturer's perilous and difficult. '* That a conjectural critic should often be mistaken, cannot be wonderful, either to others or himself, if it be considered that in his art there is no system. His chance of error is renewed at every attempt. That is an un- happy state, in which danger is hid under pleasure. Con- jecture has all the joy, and all the pride of invention ; and he who has once started a happy change, is too much delighted to consider what objections may rise against it." — Such is the reasoning of Johnson. But if the change is " happy " what will the objections which may be raised against it amount to ? It should not be forgotten, how- ever, that he shortly after proceeds in a different strain. — " Yet conjectural criticism has been of great use in the learned world ; nor is it my intention to depreciate a study, that has exercised so many mighty minds, from the revival of learning to our own age : from the Bishop of Aleria to English Bentley." This, indeed, is highly just. Alteration may further be admitted on his own principle, when he says, " Since I have confined my imagination to the margin, it must not be considered as very reprehensible, if I have suffered it to play some freaks in its own dominion :" — " while the text remains uninjured, changes may be safely offer- ed," &c. Johnson's Pre/, to Shale. Shakspeare stands in precisely the same predicament as Quintus, the Smyrnean, of whom it has been well observed, " His poem is remarkable for having appeared in the successive editions which it has hitherto obtained, in a state of corruption which scarcely any other work of antiquity exhibits. It was first printed by Aldus from a very inaccurate MS. and the succeeding Editors have transmitted nearly all the errors of the original impres- sion. Many of these, indeed, are little more than very obvious mistakes of transcribers, and may, in numerous PREFACE. Xlll instances, be corrected by the exercise of conjectural aiticism alone, with a confidence little inferior to that which would be derived from the support of ancient MSS. This has accordingly been done by Rhodoman- nus, in his annotations on this poet, with distinguished success, and with a skill which proves his accurate and elegant knowledge of the ancient poetical diction." What Bishop Louth has observed of conjecture in re- gard to his translation of Isaiah, will apply sufficiently well to the text of Shakspeare. The words of the learn- ed prelate are as follows : " If the translation should sometimes appear to be merely conjectural, I desire the reader to consider the exigence of the case : and to judge whether it is not better in a very obscure and doubtful passage, to give something probable by way of supplement to the author's sense apparently de- fective, than to leave such passage altogether unintelli- gible." And Dr. Newcombe, in an introduction to his version of the minor prophets, has also said, " Of dark passages, or which exhibit no meaning as they stand, an intelligible reading should be made on the principles of sound criticism." I have already remarked on the necessity of conjec- tural criticism in the elucidation of our great Poet ; and have to hope that the sentiments of the learned and inge- nious writers whom I have thus cited, will bear me out in regard to it. That I have not wantonly exercised the privilege granted by them, must be acknowledged by every one acquainted with the writings which I would willingly expound. In a word, I am clearly of opinion, that we should, like Alexander, cut the knot which it is impossible to untie. One great particular to be attended to in the exposi- tion of Shakspeare, is, his frequent use of French and XIV PREFACE. Italian words. But this source of explanation I shall here barely advert to, as I have, in several instances, had occasion to speak of it in the margin of the work. The Editor, Johnson, reprobates, and justly, the con* duct of critics, who speak scurrilously of each other : who rail at the " stupidity, negligence, ignorance, and asinine tastelessness, of the former editors," Sec. But it is a wretched mistake to give to such men the appellation of ciitic. He who is really deserving of such honorable distinction ; he who actually merits the " noble name" is of a totally different complexion. He will not attempt to condemn by assertion alone. He will not be content to say of the opinion he would dissent from, that " it is ridiculous : " if this be indeed the case, he will prove that such is its character. Scurrility, therefore, will amount to nothing. The " I am Sir Oracle" — the " So I pronounce of it" of the Dogmatist will at no time be admitted by those who have been accustomed to think and judge for themselves. But true criticism, like true poetry, seems to be little understood. I have spoken somewhat largely of Dr. Warburton, but with respect to the other, and numerous Editors, I have little to say. Their industry I can acknowledge without a pause. This their toil, it is true, and in the language of Pope, may well be called the dull duty of an editor : unfortunately, however, their labor, as far as it respects the language of the poet, has been not only dull but useless ; since the dark passages are so inva- riably slimmed by them.1 — That Mr. Steevens has clear- ed up many obscurities as they spring from the manners and customs of the time, I am by no means disposed to deny. In this particular, the world is certainly in-. 1 Young, PREFACE. XV debtcd to him : yet this, it should be remembered, he was enabled to do by the aid of books. But with regard to difficulties and intricacies in the sentiment or lan- guage, and in the disentanglement of which the principal merit of a commentator lies, he has little to boast. In- deed, for any interpretation of those expressions which I have termed obscitHties in the Poet's fancy, he had not the smallest talent. Plodding ibilities he certainly pos- sessed, and had he kept in mind the ne sutor, &c. all had been well ; for it must be owned that such abilities, how- ever inferior, are not unprofitable, — that is, and as I have before observed, in regard to the manners, &c. of the age. But unhappily for this critic, and still more un- happily for Shakspeare, he thought himself superior (will posterity believe it?) to almost every scholiast, ancient and modern : superior even to the great, the erudite Warburton ! and at whom he has dared to sneer, after the example of that insipid versifier, Hayley, whose account of the Bishop, by the way, is false and con- temptible, and such as can only be disgraceful to him- self. Mr. Malone has said in his preface, " the text is now settled." But it will be seen, I think, that this asser- tion has been much too hastily made, and that the pre- sent publication is by no means a work of supereroga- tion, but necessary at once to the fame of the Poet, and the country which gave him birth. It is not in the " multitude " of commentators, indeed, that " there is safety" —it is not from their number that perfection is to proceed :— yet were particular apology required for what is here undertaken, it might be found in the follow- ing declaration of Dr. Johnson, and in which he invites to a fuller and nicer consideration of the text thaa' that he had been able to give. " To time I have been obliged XVI PREFACE. to resign many passages, which though I did not under- stand them, mil perhaps hereafter be explained ; having, I hope, illustrated some, which others have neglected or mistaken, sometimes by short remarks or marginal direc- tions, such as every editor has added at his will, and often by comments more laborious than the matter will seem to deserve ; but that which is most difficult is not always most important, and to an editor nothing is a trifle by which his author is obscured." I repeat, — this invitation, as it may be called, of the critic, has influenced me greatly in regard to the Work. Every passage in the plays, however uncouth the expres- sion, and which the commentators have given up as " ab- solutely unintelligible" (Archaisms are stubborn things) will here be found interpreted : and, as I should hope, to the satisfaction of the admirers of Shakspeare. — As to other difficulties, they are various and many. Some proceed from the use of the grammatical figures, aphce- resis, syncope, and apocope ; and some from the punc- tuation,— but the greater part, as I have already observed, arise from the carelessness of transcribers, printers, and editors. Having delivered my sentiments with freedom, touch- ing the qualifications of Mr. Steevens as an annotator (de mortuis nil nisi verum is the maxim I shall always pursue) it might be expected that I should strike his examples, as he calls them, from the page. There is, however, a necessity that they should keep their place. It is highly expedient that he be confuted ; that his errors be fully and particularly shown : for were* not this to be done, his opinions, which have largely gone abroad, might at some future day be received by an injudicious editor, and even recommended by him to the notice of the world ; so that the great poet of nature PREFACE. XVli would be reduced nearly to a level with those whom he was born to instruct.' The matter at issue, indeed, is this : Shakspeare must be sacrificed to Mr. Stcevens, or Mr. Steevens to Shakspeare. Now this being clearly the case, how was it possible to hesitate, even for. a moment, respecting it : and this must be my vindication in regard to the ridicule which I have sometimes thrown on this gentleman, and his opinions. To attempt a serious confutal of him had been indeed absurd. — A jly is not to be broken on the wheel. To sum up the mat- ter in a word — an honest indignation has prompted me to the present censures. I have certainly spoken of this latter editor without reserve : there was, as will be seen in the course of the ensuing pages, an absolute necessity for it. Yet I have been guided invariably by justice and truth. In fine, I speak from no kind of prejudice whatever. If Warburton is held by me as the best, (though much was left by him to be done) and Steevens as the worst of the Poet's critics, it is not from any personal knowledge of either. They were known 1 Some of this Editors notes, however, together with others of his ' learned coadjutor," I have expunged from the volumes of the edition now preparing for the press. They must he considered as an affiont to the understanding of. any man. e. g. " Thaw and resolve itself into a dew." Ham. Resolve means the same as dissolve. " Against all colour." Without any pretence of right. * Spleen ridiculous " is a ridiculous fit " That was the way to make his god-head [Cupid] wax ; " For he hath been five thousand years a bey." To wax anciently signified to grow. Yes, and modernly too, Mr. Steevens. " To fine issues." To great consequences. "He said he was gentle, but uufoi tunate." Gentle is well-born, of birth above the vulgar, &c. &c. If such are to be called illustrations — But it were best to cast them into the oblivious pool. SlIAK. I. b XVU1 PREFACE. to me by nothing but their works. But if a further apology be necessary, I have only to say — It will always be pleasing to the ingenuous mind, to acknowledge genius wherever it may be found, and also to defend it, not only against the attacks of envy and malevolence, but against that which might perhaps be still more pre- judicial— the feeble friendship of such a commentator as him whom I have been forced to proscribe. I think it unnecessary to remark particularly on the merits of the other Commentators. My sentiments in regard to them will be seen in the following notes. It may not be improper, however, to observe, in a general way, that Warburton, by reason of his critical acumen, and of the taste and judgment so frequently found in his annotations, is entitled to the highest consideration as editor of Shakspeare. His pen may be said to have the power of that of the Poet, since he has in many instances given to " airy nothing " (so considered from the expression not having been understood by those who had gone before him) an actual being, a " local habita- tion and a name : " although, as already hinted, he has left not a little for others to do : for it must in fairness be acknowledged that the quickness of his conceptions have sometimes been fatal to that judgment of which he had so large a share, and he has much too hastily advanced opinions, and with a dogmatical air, which, in his cooler moments, I am persuaded he must have been inclined to retract. But still the boldness of his conjec- tures, and which the tamer critic will consider as a fault, must by the lovers of nature and real genius be commended, since in no one instance can he be charged with absurdity or with inconsistency of any kind — an excellence, indeed, which those who immediately suc- ceeded him, have not to claim. All with him is unU PREFACE. XIX formly grand and striking, and his eccentricities, if so they must be called, demand, and indeed extort, like to those of the " Divinity " whose works he is considering, at once our admiration and respect. In a word, nothing appears labored in him : the master-hand is discoverable in almost all : not but that we occasionally suspect him to have produced by a sort of impatient, yet happy dash of the pencil, that foam which is exhibited on his canvas, and which has been mistaken for the work of art. It is not a little painful to observe on the disinge- nuousness of petty critics, who would deny to such a man as Warburton the claim of literary abilities. I will maintain, however, that those abilities were really^r.^- rate, whether he be considered as a religionist and a philosopher (characters which, unhappily, are not always found together) a polemic, or a writer of notes : which latter employment, indeed, has been looked on contemptuously by those who, charmed by trie " whist- ling of a name," had supposed that the scoff of the Twickenham bard was necessarily founded in truth. But at the fantastic and gibing expression alluded to (" the dull duty of an editor") Johnson has very properly manifested his indignation, and in the following words : 64 This was a work " (the publication of Shakspeare's plays) " which Pope seems to have thought unworthy of his abilities, being not able to suppress his contempt of the dull duty of an editor. He understood but half his undertaking. The duty of a collator is indeed dull, yet, like other tedious tasks, it is very necessary : but an emendatory critic would ill discharge his duty, without qualities very different from dulness. In peru- sing a corrupted piece, he must have before him all possibilities of meaning, with all possibilities of expression. Such must be his comprehension of thought, and such XX PREFACE.. his copiousness of language. Out of many readings possible, he must be able to select that which best suits with the taste, opinions, and mode of language prevail- ing in every age, and with his author's particular cast of thought and turn of expression. Such must be his knowledge, and such his taste. Conjectural criticism demands more than humanity possesses, and he that ex- ercises it with most praise, has very frequent need of indulgence. Let us now be told no more of the dull dull) of an editor" This is all verv just ; though certainly not consistent with the under-cited passage : " I could have written longer notes, for the art of wri- ting notes is not of difficult attainment. The work is performed, first by railing at the stupidity, negligence, ignorance, and asinine tasielessness of former editors," &c. Thus we find in one page that the business of a com- mentator is far from easy ; and in another that nothing can be more so ; since he has only to rail at the " asi- nine tastelcssness " of the editors who have preceded him. But this concluding assertion, and which I have before remarked on, is peevishly made. The " art of writing notes," is attained m a very different manner indeed ! In a word, it may be said of John- son, as I have had occasion to remark of Warburton, that the latter end of his commonwealth forgets the be- ginning ; or that he would prove the truth of his pro- positions by something like the veduclio ad absurdum of the schools. It is for the honor of the nation to stand forward in the cause of Shakspeare. " O Menander and Nature ! which of you copied your pieces from the other's works ? " Such is the memorable question of Aristo- PREFACE. XXI phanes the grammarian. How well then may the same be asked of our immortal bard ! With respect to the emendations now proposed, (which yet have cost me no little time and attention) I shall leave them, as already hinted, to the decision of the candid and the good : ' and only observe in conclu- sion, and with Tully, though on a different subject — Ut potero, ejrplicabo : nee tamen ut Pythius Apollo, certa ut shit et jixa qua? dixero ; sed ut homullus proba- hilia conjectura sequens. In other words — I shall hope by unceasing industry, and a nice attention to the har- mony of parts, to have exhibited the Poet with his na- tive grace. A. Becket. 1 Thus much in submission to the critically just. To the merally just, I have yet to make appeal in a narrative of the transactions of my life* and in which the -wrongs, the very many wrongs, that have been done me, both in my literary and commercial capacity, will be particularly shown. I may be told, perhaps, that to such kiml of appeals the world will remain indifferent. Of the people collectively taken the assertion is, no doubt, founded : individually it is not the case. Beside, the injuries in question are held out by me as beacons for unworldly men : the " higher order," as Johnson emphatically terms them, and with truth. When, therefore, the aforesaid narrative shall pass from the press, I am to hope that the hand of Virtue will be stretched forth for me : not, however, to bring vengeance on the head of my enemies, I wrould only find protection for myself. Mr. Dallas, in his elegant speech on the trial of Governor Hastings, observed \ " Her attitude," (speaking of Jus- tice) " is most lovely, not when she lifts up her arm to strike the oppres- sor, but when she stoops to raise the oppressed.'' A beautiful picture ! and which the good and generous spirit must ever view with ineffable delight. Yet in speaking of protection let me be rightly understood. It is not pecuniary assistance that I am in search of: it is not for money that " I lay " but " fur hearts." ' 1 Shakspeare. Lately published by the Author of the present Annotations. 1. LUCIANUS REDIVIVUS: Dialogues concerning MENj mannkes, and opimons, (moral, critical, satirical, and gay,) and comprising a great variety of subjects : among ■which are the following : On the Literary Character; Conduct of Princes; Satire;, Drama ; Criminal Law ; Poetry ; Fair Criticism ; Coquetry ; Misanthropy ; Imitation; Machiavelism : Shakspeare's Editors; Powers of the Mind; War and Slavery; Hypocrisy and Deceit; Retirement ; Establishment for the Poor ; with Loans to ne- cessitous and industrious Persons, &c. Octavo, 8s. 66. in boards. %* The British Critic (to whom the writer is wholly unknown,) has, with the candour and liberality which have so long distinguished him, pronoui ced of the performance, as follows : — " The writing, in the form of Dialogue, is confessedly difficult, and has not often been tried with success in our language. These Dialogues are on miscellaneous subjects, and generally indicative of knowledge of the world, and are also characterised with a great deal of humour. The colloquy between Garrick and Johnson is exceedingly good, which may be said of many of the others. The volume will very agreeably fill up an hour's interval of leisure, and, in particular, offers some good poetical criticism, in the Dialogue between Pope, Churchill, Mason, and Gray." 2. PUBLIC PROSPERITY; or Arguments in Support of a Plan for raising Six Millions Sterling, and for employing that Sum in Loans to necessitous and industrious Persons. Printed in Pamphleteer, No. 4. The love of nature unconfin'd, and chief Of human race, the large ambitious wish To make them blest. Thomson. The Reviewers, after setting forth the heads of the project, observe, — "That the benevolent author's plan, judiciously regulated, would increase public prosperity, seems highly probable ; but the most faithful and im- partial conduct of the trustees would be necessary for carrying it into exe- cution." This seeming difficulty, with respect to the trust, would be effectually removed, by naming to it no other than wealthy, unprejudiced, ?.:id, certainly, respectable men, subject nevertheless, and at all times, XXH1 , to parliamentary inquiry and controul. Again, the Reviewers remark: — " This plan, which reconciles in its composition the highest degree qf{ benevolence, with general utility, was noticed in a former review. The Author has now re-printed it, for the purpose of more extensive commu- nication, and continues to urge the adoption of it hy many forcible argu- ments." Thus speak the journalists; but it may be proper, briefly, to make known the plan. It is proposed then, in the first instance, to establish a fund, and in perpetuity, for the relief of industrious traders, &c. who may have failed in their several callings. The sum to be advanced (and which must be determined by circumstances) from fifty to five hundred pounds each, returnable in the event of their after-success, and for the use of the public, as before. This scheme, it may be re- marked, would not only give assistance to honest, though unfortunate, men, but release from very hard labour the many who now are subjected to it, in order to procure a scanty subsistence for themselves and families; while by taking them from such employ, and for which they are possibly wholly unfit, it would necessarily bring into useful actio.ii the idler and the sturdy vagabond, confessedly the pests of a state, — reducing, by an equally obvious consequence, the poor-rates in a consi- derable sum. 3. THE GENII, (good and evil,) Attendants on the human Race: a Masque, 8vo. price 2s. 6d. in New British Theatre, 2fo. 4. Scit Genius natale comes qui temperat astrum, Naturas Deus humanar, mortalis in unum Quodque caput; vultu mutabilis, albus et ater. Hor. Epist; 4. SOCRATES, a Dramatic Poem ; written on the Model of the ancient Greek Tragedy. Second Edition, with (now first printed) an Apoloey for the Author and the Work, 8vo. 3s. 6d. " O, Athens, renowned City, how much more fortunate art thou than wise!" Eupolis. *„* The mixed and irregular Verse ( Apolilemcnon,) so happily adopted, by Milton, in the lyrical parts of his tragedy, and here again attempted, is, unless the Hebrew Poetry be adverted to, almost peculiar to the Greeks; this peculiarity the ordinary Critic is unacquainted with, and, in the genuine spirit of ignorance, at such mode of composition, as well as at the Hellenistic expression, he will be ever inclined to sneer. That the present Drama must be " Caviare to the General" is easily told, — but for them it has not been written : as to some lines which may be called Hexameters, the scene and subject will warrant their use. 5. THEODOSIUS TO CONSTANTIA ; a Poetical Epistle, 4to. Is. Written at the age of sixteen. " The Epistle is animated, and flows in a strain of pathetic sentiments, not unhke the tender and passionate correspondence of Eloisa and Abelard." Critical Review. " In this Epistle, which is supposed to be written by Theodosius, im- mediately after his having retired to a Convent, and where he first learnt the falsity of the report concerning the marriage of Constantia, we meet with many good verses," &c. Monthly Review. 