"the filly and derogatory applauses of the players."

Afterwards Mr. Pope proceeds to note soine of those almost innumerable errors in his Plays, which have arisen from the ignorance of the players, both as his actors, and as his editors. "It is not certain, says he, that any one of his plays " was published by himself. During the time of his employ"ment in the theatre, several of his pieces were printed se"parately in quarto: but what makes me think, that moft " of these were not published by him, is the excessive careless" ness of the press. Every page is so scandaloufly false spel" led, and almost all the learned or unusual words so intole"rably mangled, that it is plain there either was no corrector " to the press at all, or one totally illiterate. If any were fu" pervised by himself, I should fancy the two parts of Henry "IV, and Midsummer's Night's Dream, might have been so, "because I found no other printed with any exactness; and, "contrary to the rest, there is very little variation in all the "subsequent editions of them. There are extant two prefaces "to the first quarto edition of Troilus and Cressida in 1609, " and to that of Othello; by which it appears, that the first " was published without his knowledge or consent, and even "before it was acted, so late as seven or eight years before he " died, and that the latter was not printed till after his death. "The whole number of genuine plays, which we have been " able to find printed in his life-time, amounts but to eleven: " and of fome of these, we meet with two or more editions by " different printers, each of which has whole heaps of trash " different from the other; which I should fancy was occa" fioned by their being taken from different copies, belonging to "different play-houses. The folio edition, in which all the " plays we now receive as his were first collected, was pub"lished by two players, Heminges and Condell, in 1623, fer

ven years after his decease. They declare, that all the o"ther editions were stolen and surreptitious, 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 respects else it " is far worse than the quarto's. First, because the additions " of triffing and bombast passages are in this edition far more "numerous. For whatever had been added, fince those "quarto's, by the actors, or had stolen from their mouths " into

Sc. 4.

" into the written parts, were from thence conveyed into "the prinred text, and all stand charged upon the author. "He himself complained of this usage in Hamlet, where "he wishes, that those who play the clowns would speak “ no more, than is fet down for them. But as a proof Act. III. "that he could not escape it, in the old editions of "Romeo and Juliet there is no hint of a great num"ber of the mean conceits and ribaldries now to be "found there. In others, the low scenes of mobs, ple"beians, and clowns, are vastly shorter than at present; "and I have seen one in particular (which seems to "have belonged to the play-houses, by having the parts "divided with lines, and the actors names in the margin) " where several of those very passages were added in a writ"ten hand, which are fince to be found in the folio. In "the next place, a number of beautiful passages, which are " extant in the first single editions, are omitted in this "This edition is faid to be printed from the original copies: " I believe they meant those, which had lain ever fince the " author's days in the play-house, and had from time to time "been cut, or added to, arbitrarily. It appears, that this " edition, as well as the quarto's, were printed, at least "partly, from no better copies than the prompter's book, or "piece-meal parts written out for the use of the actors: " for in some places their very names are through carelesiness " fet down instead of the dramatis persons; and in others "the notes of direction to the property-men for their move"ables, and to the players for their entries, are inserted into "the text through the ignorance of the transcribers. The "plays not having been before so much as diftinguished by " acts and scenes, they are in this addition divided, according " as they played them; often where there is no pause in the "action, or where they thought fit to make a breach in it, " for the sake of music, masques, or monsters. Sometimes "the scenes are transposed and shuffled backward and for"ward; a thing, which could no otherwise happen, but by "their being taken from separate and piece-meal-written " parts. Many verses are omitted intirely, and others tran"sposed; from whence invincible obscurities have arisen, " past the guess of any commentator, but just where the ac"cidental

"cidental glimpse of an old edition enlightens us, From "what has been said, there can be no question, but had "Shakespear published his works himself, especially in his " latter time, and after his retreat from the stage, we should " not only be certain which are genuine, but should find in "those that are, the errors lessened by some thousands. If "I may judge from all the distinguishing marks of his stile,

and his manner of thinking and writing, I make no doubt " to declare, that those wretched plays Pericles, Locrine, "Sir John Oldcastle, Yorkshire Tragedy, Lord Cromwell, "The Puritan, and London Prodigal, cannot be admitted as

his: and I should, conjecture of some of the others, parti "cularly Love's Labour Loft, The Winter's Tale, and Titus "Andronicus, that only fome characters, single scenes, or " perhaps a few particular passages, were of his hand. It is “ very probable, what occafioned some plays to be supposed "Shakespear's was only this; that they were pieces pro"duced by unknown authors, or fitted up for the theatre, "while it was under his administration; and no author "claiming them, they were adjudged to him, as they give "strays to the lord of the manor a mistake which, one may "also observe, it was not for the interest of the house to "remove. Yet the players themselves, Heminges and Con" dell, afterwards did Shakespear the justice to reject those " eight plays in their edition; though they were then printed " in his name, in every body's hands, and acted with some "applause: as we learn from what Ben Johnson says of Pe"ricles, in his ode on the New Inn. That Titus Andro" nicus is one of this class, I am the rather induced to be"lieve, by finding the same author openly express his con"tempt of it in the Induction to Bartholomew Fair, in the "year 1614, when Shakespear was yet living. And there " is no better authority for these latter fort, than for the "former, which were equally published in his life-time. If " we give into this opinion, says Mr. Pope, how many low

and vicious parts and passages might no longer reflect up" on this great genius, but appear unworthily charged upon " him? And even in those which are really his, how many " faults may have been unjustly laid to his account from ar" bitrary additions, expunctions, transpositions of scenes and

" lines,

" lines, confufion of characters and persons, wrong applica" tion of speeches, corruptions of innumerable passages by "the ignorance, and wrong corrections of them again by "the impertinence, of his first editors? From one or other " of these considerations, I am verily perfuaded, that the "greatest and the groffeft part of what are thought his er"rors would vanish, and leave his character in a light very " different from that disadvantageous one, in which it now " appears to us."

Mr. Pope concludes his preface by saying of Shakespear, that " with all his faults, and with all the irregularities of his " drama, one may look upon, his works, in comparison of "those that are more finished and regular, as upon an ancient "majestic piece of gothic architecture, compared with a "neat modern building: the latter is more elegant and gla"ring, but the former is more strong and more folemn. It "must be allowed, that in one of these there are materials " enough to make many of the other. It has much the "greater variety, and much the nobler apartments; though "we are often conducted to them by dark, odd, and un"couth passages. Nor does the whole fail to strike us with "greater reverence, though many of the parts are childish, "ill-placed, and unequal to its grandeur."

To the memory of my beloved the author, Mr. WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR, and what he hath left us. "To draw no envy, Shakespear, on thy name, "Am I thus ample to thy book and fame : " While I confess thy writings to be such, " As neither man nor muse can praise too much. "'Tis true, and all mens fuffrage. But these ways "Were not the paths I meant unto thy praise: "For seeliest ignorance on these may light, "Which, when it sounds at best, but ecchoes right; "Or blind affection, which doth ne'er advance "The truth, but gropes, and urgeth all by chance; "Or crafty malice might pretend this praise, " And think to ruine, where it seem'd to raise.. "These are, as some infamous band, or whore, " Should praise a matron. What could hurt her more? "But

"But thou art proof against them, and indeed "Above th' ill fortune of them, or the need. " I therefore will begin, foul of the age! "The applause! delight! the wonder of our stage! " My Shakespear rise; I will not lodge thee by "Chaucer, or Spencer, or bid Beaumont lye "A little further, to make thee a room: "Thou art a monument without a tomb, " And art alive still, while thy book doth live, " And we have wits to read, and praise to give. "That I not mix thee so, my brain excuses ; " I mean with great, but disproportion'd muses: "For if I thought my judgment were of years, " I should commit thee surely with thy peers, " And tell how far thou didst our Lily out-shine, "Or sporting Kid, or Marlow's mighty line. " And though thou hadst small Latin and less Greek, " From thence to honour thee, I would not seek "For names; but call forth thund'ring Æschylus, " Euripides, and Sophocles to us, "Pacuvius, Accius, him of Cordova dead, "To live again, to hear thy buskin tread, " And shake a stage: or, when thy focks were on, " Leave thee alone for the comparison "Of all, that infolent Greece, or haughty Rome "Sent forth, or since did from their ashes come. "Triumph, my Britain, thou hast one to show, " To whom all scenes of Europe homage owe. " He was not of an age, but for all time! " And all the muses, still were in their prime, "When like Apollo he came forth to warm " Our ears, or like a Mercury to charm! " Nature herself was proud of his designes, " And joy'd to wear the dreffing of his lines! " Which were so richly spun, and woven so fit,

"As, fince, she will vouchsafe no other wit.

" The merry Greek, tart Ariftophanes

" Neat Terence, witty Plautus, now not please;

" But antiquated, and deferted lye,

" As they were not of nature's family.

" Yet