Some have been of opinion that even a particular fyntax prevailed in the time of Shakespeare; but, as I do not recollect that any proofs were ever brought in fupport of that fentiment, I own I am of the contrary opinion.

In his time indeed a different arrangement of fyllables had been introduced in imitation of the Latin, as we find in Afcham; and the verb was very frequently kept back in the fentence; but in Shakespeare no marks of it are difcernible: and though the rules of fyntax were more ftrictly obferved by the writers of that age than they have been fince, he of all the number is perhaps the most ungrammatical. To make his meaning intelligible to his audience feems to have been his only care, and with the ease of converfation he has adopted its incorrectness.

The past editors, eminently qualified as they were by genius and learning for this undertaking, wanted industry; to cover which they published catalogues, transcribed at random, of a greater number of old copies than ever they can be fuppofed to have had in their poffeffion; when, at the fame time, they never examined the few which we know they had, with any degree of accuracy. The laft editor alone has dealt fairly with the world in this particular; he profeffes to have made use of no more than he had really feen, and has annexed a lift of fuch to every play, together with a complete one of thofe fuppofed to be in being, at the conclufion of his work, whether he had been able to procure them for the fervice of it or not.

For these reasons I thought it would not be unacceptable to the lovers of Shakespeare to collate all the quartos I could find, comparing one copy with the reft, where there were more than one of the fame play; and to multiply the chances of their being preferved, by collecting them into volumes, inftead of leaving the few that have efcaped, to share the fate of the rest, which was probably haftened by their remaining

remaining in the form of pamphlets, their use and value being equally unknown to thofe into whofe hands they fell.

Of fome I have printed more than one copy; as there are many perfons, who, not contented with the poffeffion of a finished picture of fome great master, are defirous to procure the first sketch that was made for it, that they may have the pleasure of tracing the progress of the artist from the firft light colouring to the finishing stroke. To fuch the earlier editions of King John, Henry the Fifth, Henry the Sixth, The Merry Wives of Windfor, and Romeo and Juliet, will, I apprehend, not be unwelcome; fince in these we may difcern as much as will be found in the hafty outlines of the pencil, with a fair profpect of that perfection to which he brought every performance he took the pains to retouch.

The general character of the quarto editions may more advantageoufly be taken from the words of Mr. Pope, than from any recommendation of my own.

"The folio edition (fays he) in which all the plays "we now receive as his were firft collected, was pub"lished by two players, Heminges and Condell, in "1623, feven years after his decease. They declare "that all the other editions were ftolen and furrep"titious, and affirm theirs to be purged from the " errors of the former. This is true as to the literal ❝errors, and no other; for in all refpects elfe it is far worse than the quartos.

"First, because the additions of trifling and bom"baft paffages are in this edition far more numerous. "For whatever had been added fince thofe quartos "by the actors, or had ftolen from their mouths into

the written parts, were from thence conveyed into "the printed text, and all ftand charged upon the "author. He himself complained of this ufage in "Hamlet, where he wifhes those who play the clowns. ss would speak no more than is fet down for them (A& ̈ ̄

iii. Sc. iv.) But as a proof that he could not escape it, in the old editions of Romeo and Juliet, there is no hint of the mean conceits and ribaldries "now to be found there. In others the fcenes of the "mobs, plebeians, and clowns are vaftly shorter than at prefent; and I have feen one in particular (which feems to have belonged to the play-houfe, by having the parts divided by lines, and the actors σε names in the margin) where feveral of thofe very "paffages were added in a written hand, which fince "are to be found in the folio.

"In the next place, a number of beautiful paffages "were omitted, which were extant in the first fingle "editions; as it seems without any other reason than "their willingness to fhorten fome scenes."

To this I must add, that I cannot help looking on the folio as having fuffered other injuries from the licentious alteration of the players; as we frequently find in it an unufual word changed into one more popular; fometimes to the weakening the fenfe, which rather feems to have been their work, who knew that plainnefs was neceffary for the audience of an illiterate age, than that it was done by the confent of the author; for he would hardly have unnerved a line in his written copy, which they pretend to have tranfcribed, however he might have permitted many to have been familiarized in the reprefentation. Were I to indulge my own private conjecture, I fhould fuppofe that his blotted manufcripts were read over by one to another among those who were appointed to tranfcribe them; and hence it might eafily happen, that words of fimilar founds, though of fenfes directly oppofite, might be confounded with each other. They themfelves declare that Shakespeare's time of blotting was paft, and yet half the errors we find in their edition could not be merely typographical. Many of the quartos (as our own printers affure me) were far from being unfkilfully executed, and fome of them

were

were much more correctly printed than the folio, which was published at the charge of the fame proprietors, whofe names we find prefixed to the older copies; and I cannot join with Mr. Pope in acquitting that edition of more literal errors than thofe which went before it. The particles in it seem to be as fortuitoufly difpofed, and proper names as frequently undiftinguished by Italick or capital letters from the rest of the text. The punctuation is equally accidental; nor do I fee on the whole any greater marks of a skilful revifal, or the advantage of being printed from unblotted originals in the one, than in the other. One reformation indeed there feems to have been made, and that very laudable; I mean the fubftitution of more general terms for a name too often unneceffarily invoked on the stage; but no jot of obfcenity is omitted: and their caution against prophaneness is, in my opinion, the only thing for which we are indebted to the judgment of the editors of the folio.

How much may be done by the affiftance of the old copies will now be eafily known; but a more difficult task remains behind, which calls for other abilities than are requifite in the laborious collator.

From a diligent perufal of the comedies of contemporary authors, I am perfuaded that the meaning of many expreffions in Shakespeare might be retrieved; for the language of converfation can only be expected to be preferved in works, which in their time affumed the merit of being pictures of men and manners. The ftile of converfation we may fuppofe to be as much altered as that of books; and in confequence of the change we have no other authorities to recur to in either cafe. Should our language ever be recalled to a ftrict examination, and the fashion become general of striving to maintain our old acquifitions, inftead of gaining new ones, which we fhall be at laft obliged to give up, or be incumbered with their weight, it will then be lamented that no regular col

lection

lection was ever formed of the old English books from which, as from antient repofitories, we might recover words and phrafes as often as caprice or wantonnefs fhould call for variety; inftead of thinking it neceffary to adopt new ones, or barter folid strength for feeble fplendour, which no language has long admitted, and retained its purity.

We wonder that, before the time of Shakespeare, we find the stage in a ftate fo barren of productions, but forget that we have hardly any acquaintance with the authors of that period, though fome few of their dramatick pieces may remain. The fame might be almost faid of the interval between that age and the age of Dryden, the performances of which, not being preferved in fets, or diffufed as now, by the greater number printed, must lapfe apace into the fame obfcurity.

Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona

Multi

And yet we are contented, from a few fpecimens only, to form our opinions of the genius of ages gone before us. Even while we are blaming the taste of that audience which received with applause the worst plays in the reign of Charles the Second, we fhould confider that the few in poffeflion of our theatre, which would never have been heard a fecond time had they been written now, were probably the best of hundreds which had been difmiffed with general cenfure. The collection of plays, interludes, &c. made by Mr. Garrick, with an intent to depofit them hereafter in fome publick library, will be confidered as a valuable acquifition; for pamphlets have never yet been examined with a proper regard to pofterity. Most of the obfolete pieces will be found on enquiry to have been introduced into libraries but fome few years fince; and yet those of the prefent age, which may one time