W.SHAKSPEARE, Ob.an.1616.Atat.53. Published Dec. & 1783, as the. At directs by I. Stockdale, Piccadilly. A PREFACE. NEW edition of Shakspeare, and an edition of fo fingular a form as the present, in which all his plays are comprehended in one volume, will, perhaps, appear furprifing to many readers; but, upon a little reflection, their surprize will, the editor doubts not, be converted into approbation. Much as Shakspeare has been read of late years, and largely as the admiration and study of him have been extended, there is ftill a numerous class of men to whom he is very imperfectly known. Many of the middling and lower ranks of the inhabi. tants of this country are either not acquainted with him at all, excepting by name, or have only feen a few of his plays, which have accidentally fallen in their way, It is to fupply the wants of these persons that the present edition is principally undertaken; and it cannot fail of becoming to them a perpetual source of entertainment and instruction. That they will derive the highest entertainment from it, no one can deny; for it does not require any extraordinary degree of knowledge or education to enter into the general spirit of Shakfpeare. The paffions he describes are the paffions which are felt by every human being; and his wit and humour are not local, or confined to the customs of a particular age, but are such as will give pleafure at all times, and to men of all ranks, from the highest to the lowest. But the instruction that may be drawn from Shakspeare is equal to the entertainment which his writings afford. He is the greatest master of human nature and of human life that, perhaps, ever existed; so that we cannot peruse his works without having our understandings confiderably enlarged, Besides this, he abounds in occasional maxims and reflections, which are calculated to make a deep impression upon the mind. There is scarcely any circumstance in the common occurrences of the world, on which something may not be found peculiarly applicable in Shakspeare; and, at the same time, better expressed than in any other author. To promote, therefore, the knowledge of them, is to contribute to general improvement. A 2 Nor |