bate the practice of placing his works unabbreviated in the hands of thofe who are receiving their education. It is indeed a very extraordinary phenomenon, in the moral world, that a man who is supposed to have cenfured vice with the fincereft abhorrence, should use expreffions, and difplay Scenes fo extremely indelicate as to promote the very vices which he profeffed and intended to discountenance. This age is faid to display great delicacy in fcenic reprefentations. Nothing grossly indelicate is endured by a modern audience. But shall fchools admit what the play-house rejets? Shall boys be initiated in vice, where they ought to learn every thing virtuous and amiable? There is too much danger, left the world, co-operating with their own passions, fhould corrupt them on their first entrance on the busy scene; but let not the fuperintendants of education begin the work, whom it behoves to remove every thing from the view, which bas the leaft tendency to promote the growth of moral evil. It * Ο ιατρός γαρ σηπεδόνα εκβάλλειν βουλόμενος, ου σκοπεῖ, πῶς καθαρὰς διατηρήσειε τας χειρας, ἀλλ' ὅπως άυλον απαλλάξειε σηπεδόνος. St. Chryfoftom.-An infufficient apology. Ita paiam dico, fays Lubin, et fentio, nifi quis malum animum, malos mores jam ante bac adferat, neutiquam hinc ablaturum.- This is a poor defence, because it is certain that youth often have a tendency to the malus animus et malos mores; which must be increafed by prefenting them with improper images and ideas; for what is this but according to the adage, Oleum addere camiro ?-I believe the fear of being charged with hypocrify-puritanifm-of being claffed with thofe who infincerely caftigant turpia et de virtute loquuntur, has deterred many from fuch an edition as this; but the calumny and detraction of the malevolent must be patiently born by him who would oppofe prevailing vice.-Let any individual of character juftify, if he can, the placing of indecent paffages in the hands of boys. Let adults (quorum mores in tuto funt) read what their judgment approves, but I think it right to purify all fchool books, for from them the rifing generation is to form its fentiments, principles, and conduct. Lubin abufes the expurgatores ob'cœnorum authorum, with the utmost virulence; with language to opprobrious, as fully proves that he had undertaken a bad caufe, and from the defect of argument, is obliged to have recourfe to fcurrility. But let no fuperintendant of youth be deterred from his duty of preferving purity of morals, by ridicule or malice. The abufive reproaches of Lubin feem to be levelled at the Jefuits, of whom the Expurgatores fometimes confied, but whofe care in education, deferves the highest praife, and is acknowledged to have produced excellent scholars and good men. Such editions as theirs and mine have the honour to be difapproved by Monfieur Bayle. Knowing how much a master may be difconcerted when a paffage occurs in a lefjon, of an indelicate nature, and how easily the imaginations of youth are inflamed, I thought I should perform a fervice, both acceptable to the fuperintendants of schools, and favourable to the cause of virtue, if I prepared an edition of Juvenal, adapted to fchool boys alone, and from which the exceptionable passages should be expunged. It must be confiffed, that fome paffages, which confidered merely with respect to the beauty of compofition and ftyle, are excellent, must be omitted in publishing the works of a licentious poet, fo as to exclude whatever in a moral view is reprehenfible. But let a father, or a faithful instructor, weigh the importance of reading a few poetical beauties with that of entertaining pure and uncorrupted principles. Even Martial fays, Tanti non erat effe te difertum. I have not entirely rejected the Sixth and Ninth Satires, but have inferted them, in an abbreviated ftate, as fragments at the clofe. Such is the edition now offered to the public. There is little doubt, but that thofe who wish to promote the moral, as well as the intellectual advantage of the pupils committed to their care, will be pleafed with an opportunity of exhibiting the fine morality of Juvenal, uncontaminated with a mixture of licentious ideas and language. This edition is intended as an experiment, whether or not school books, thus purged, will be adopted in England as they have been in France. I do not recollect any edition of this kind printed in England; though there have been several in a neighbouring nation", by no means celebrated for the feverity of virtue. In honour of that nation it must be obferved, that the ecclefiaftics who have pres fided over education, have paid peculiar attention to the prefervation of moral purity and as an apology for masters in England, it may be added, that they were often under a neceffity of ufing unabbreviated editions, because others were not to be procured. That difficulty is now removed, and By Rodellius, Juvencius, and others, there is no doubt but that the masters of claffical Schools, abo, are not only chriftians, but frequently clergymen, will favour a defign, which contributes to preferve a purity of heart at the most dangerous age. I most willingly confefs that the omiffion of improper passages conftitutes the chief merit of this publication, and is the only plea on which the editor claims any merit; and it is the merit of a good intention. Explanatory notes are added. I wished to have exhibited an edition in which the attention of the Scholar fhould not be diverted from the text of the author, to the annotations of a commentator. But the writings of Juvenal are often truly difficult, and he is certainly one of those claffics whom school boys cannot reafonably be expected to understand, without the illuftration of explanatory notes. In the task of felecting notes from a variety of commentators, the difficulty arofe from the abundance of them and not from their fcarcity. Inopem me copia fecit. I had begun a felection from the notes of the various commentators in the prolix edition of Henninius; but though their matter was greatly compreffed, there fill remained too much to be confiftent with my plan. I therefore laid afide that laborious work, and abbreviated the notes of Ludovicus Prateus, the editor of the edition in ufum Delphini. In the midft of this employment the edition of Juventius came into my hands; a work in which a fimilar defign had been pursued. I found it would fuit my purpofe with little other alteration than that of expunging the interpretation. My labour was thus leffened, but I hope, at the fame time, the advantage of the fcholar has been equally confulted. I cannot but think that improvement is retarded, rather than promoted by a marginal interpretation. The eye and attention of the scholar are attracted from the text, to a verbofe paraphrafe, totally deftitute of claffic elegance. The fcholar ought always to be permitted to exercife his own fagacity in developing the author's ideas; but experience proves that when he fhould be reading the celebrated words of D. Junius Juvenalis, Juvenalis, he is entirely engaged in contemplating the inelegant Latin of Ludovicus Prateus. A scholar after having gone through a claffic, by attending to the interpretation, may indeed retain a compleat idea of the matter, but he will be unacquainted with the peculiar beauties of the author's language. The text makes but a flight impreffion, and being at the fame time difficult, it is an object of diflike rather than admiration. His tafte is in fome degree injured; for the beauty of writing often confifts in concifeness of expreffion, while the interpretation is induftriously diffufive. It is a bad model for imitation and prefents the student with a distorted image of claffical beauty. It is certain that thefe obfervations are juftified by actual experience. For many boys have gone through a claffic with interpretations and prolix notes, without receiving fo clear and deep an impreffion of the author hmfelf, as others whofe attention bas been directed to the text alone, nor fuffered to be diverted from it either by a marginal interpretation or a fuperfluity of notes. Mr. Pope appears by his imitations to have underflood Horace, and to have entered into his fpirit much better than many learned commentators; though he used to declare, that be never underfood Horace as read at school, nor perceived the connection and full meaning of his writings till be perufed them without a commentary or paraphraftic explanation. Long notes, though they may be very valuable and inftructive to a fcholar at a mature age, and studying in the leisure of his library, are certainly difadvantageous to School boys, who have always at hand a living inftructor, who can illuftrate real obfcurity vivâ voce, and in a more agreeable method, than by a tedious annotation. In fome editions, which, as works of labour and learning, have great merit, there are notes extending to the number of fourfcore lines clofely printed, when the text which they are to illuftrate, confifts only of four verses. A school boy is difcouraged by fo formidable an appearance; and as the difficulty of going through fuch tedious comments appears infurmountable, he takes a courfe more agree b 2 able able to his indolence, and refolves to pay them no attention, In many capital fchools, the boys feldom think of examining the note which fills fo much of the page. They give it up as impracticable. The time allowed for learning a lefon would fometimes be too short for an accurate perufal of the nates; and it is by no means certain, that the perufal would be beneficial, as their prolixity diftracts the attention of boys, and causes the text to occupy but a small space in the mind, when compared to the comment. Add to this, that the notes in the largest comment, often wander from the point in question and deviate into fubjects foreign to the purpofe. I wish the jewel, for fuch we may call the text of a good author, to be presented to the view in its full brilliancy unincumbered with incrustation. I would prefent the fruit without the husk. I even advife the fcholar never to turn from the text to the notes, in this edition, but when a real difficulty occurs, nifi dignus vindice nodus. The more he is able to find out, proprio marte, or by his own efforts, the greater pleafure will be receive from the author, the more will bis natural abilities be exercifed, and the better his improvements fecured. I believe I am right in thinking that there is no edition of Juvenal printed in England from which the exceptionable paffages are excluded. Some editions indeed omit the interpretation of thofe parts, and fill up the marginal chafm with afterifms; a mode, which points out the very lines which ought to escape notice, and which has for that reafon, long been difapproved by judicious obfervers. There are indeed fome who will object to the mutilation of a celebrated author. But before they venture to condemn, they fhould make a due diftinction between a book defigned folely for boys, and one which is to be placed in the library of a man of letters, whofe judgment is mature, and whofe morals of danger. I am not certain, that the paffages omitted in this edition, ought to be regretted by any man of any age, or in any Meres in tuto funt. Quint. are out circum |