MILTON'S PARADISE LOST. A Poem, in Twelve Books. WITH 1 PREFATORY CHARACTERS of the several Pieces; and the LIFE OF MILTON. BODLET EDINBURGH: Printed by A. DONALDSON, and fold at his M DCC LXVII. 85.10.24 THE EDITOR'S PREFACE. M ILTON IS reprefented to have been a great genius, endued with an uncommon ftrength of fancy and extent of imagination; an incomparable poet, master of most languages, and thoroughly versed in the several branches of learning. He is styled the Prince of English poets. His poetical writings are admired by the ingenious of all perfuafions; and men of the greatest eminence in the republic of letters have been employed in illustrating his beauties. His PARADISE LOST is faid to be the flower of epic poefy, one of the greatest efforts of genius, and to be equal at least, if not fuperior to the noblest productions of antiquity. These are the declared sentiments of men of the first rank in criticism: So that for us to fay any thing of his poetical character, is unnecessary, nay would be improper. Our province is to give a correct edition of his poems; and fuch, we flatter ourselves, the reader will find in these two volumes. Of the feveral editions of MILTON'S poetical works, that published by Dr. Thomas Newton is generally allowed to be the best and most correct. As we have made that edition our standard, it may not be improper to give an account of the method he used in conducting it.. As to the PARADISE LOST, Dr. Newton obferves, that the editors of MILTON have a confiderable advantage over the editors of Shakespeare. "For" (fays he) " the first editions of Shakespeare's works being " printed from the incorrect copies of the players, " there is more room left for conjectures and emen"dations; and as, according to the old proverb, Be ne qui conjiciet, vatem hunc perhibebo optimum, the " best guesser was the best diviner; fo he may be faid " in fome measure too to be the best editor of Shake"speare; as Mr. Warburton hath proved himself by variety of conjectures, and many of them very happy ones, upon the most difficult passages. But we 66 "who undertake to publish MILTON'S PARADISE LOST, "Lost, are not reduced to that uncertainty: We " are not left floating in the wide ocean of conjecture, " but have a chart and compass to steer by; we have " an authentic copy to follow in the two editions 66 printed in his own lifetime, and have only to cor"rect what may be supposed to be the errors of the press, or mistakes occafioned by the author's blind. "ness. These two editions then, the first in ten " books printed in a small 4to [in 1667], and the se"cond in twelve books printed in a small octavo [in 16 66 1674], are proposed as our standard. - Some: alterations indeed are necessary to be made in con. " sequence of the late improvements in printing, with regard to the use of capital letters, Italic characters, and the spelling of fome words. Milton's own pointing we generally observe, because it is. generally right. - In a word, we approve of "the two first editions in the main, though we cannot think that they ought to be followed (as fome: " have advised) letter for letter, and point for point. "We defire to tranfcribe all their excellencies, but " have no notion of perpetuating their faults anders" rors." As to the poems in the fecond volume, Newton fays, "Of the Paradise Regain'd and Samfon Agonistes, " there was only one edition in Milton's lifetime, in "the year 1671; and this we have made our stan" dard, correcting only what the author himself " would have corrected. Dr. Bentley pronounces it to be without faults: But there is a large table of errata at the end, which, instead of being emended, " have rather been augmented in the following edi" tions, and were never corrected in any edition that " I have seen before the present. Of the other poems: " there were two editions in Milton's lifetime; the " first in 1645, before he was blind; and the other, " with some additions, in 1673. Of the Masque there was likewife an edition published by Mr. Henry Lawes, in 1637: And of the Masque and several "other poems there are extant copies in Milton's own *" hand writing, preserved in the library of Trinity" college |