manner, as to make it fairly his own. The ingeniou's editor of The Reliques of Ancient Poetry having never met with this play, and as it is not preserved in Mr. Garrick's collection, I thought it a curiofity worthy the notice of the publick.

I have likewife reprinted Shakespeare's Sonnets, from a copy published in 1609, by G. Eld, one of the printers of his plays; which, added to the confideration that they made their appearance with his name, and in his life-time, seems to be no flender proof of their authenticity. The fame evidence might operate in favour of feveral more plays which are omitted here, out of refpect to the judgment of those who had omitted them before 3.

It is to be wished, that fome method of publication most favourable to the character of an author were once established; whether we are to send into the world all his works without diftinction, or arbitrarily to leave out what may be thought a disgrace to him. The first editors, who rejected Pericles, retained Titus Andronicus; and Mr. Pope, without any reason, named The Winter's Tale, a play that bears the strongest marks of the hand of Shakespeare, among those which he supposed to be spurious. Dr. Warburton has fixed a stigma on the three parts of Henry the Sixth, and fome others :

1

Inde Dolabella est, atq; hinc Antonius,

and all have been willing to plunder Shakespeare, or mix up a breed of barren metal with his pureft ore.

Joshua Barnes, the editor of Euripides, thought every scrap of his author so sacred, that he has preserved with the name of one of his plays, the only

3 Locrine, 1595. Sir John Oldcastle, 1600. London Prodigal, 1605. Pericles Prince of Tyre, 1609. Puritan, 1600. Thomas Lord Cromwell, 1613. Yorkshire Tragedy, no date.

remaining

}

remaining word of it. The fame reason indeed might be given in his favour, which caused the prefervation of that valuable trifyllable; which is, that it cannot be found in any other place in the Greek language. But this does not seem to have been his only motive, as we find he has to the full as carefully published several detached and broken sentences, the gleanings from scholiafts, which have no claim to merit of that kind; and yet the author's works might be reckoned by some to be incomplete without them. If then this duty is expected from every editor of a Greek or Roman poet, why is not the fame infifted on in refpect of an English claffick? But if the cuftom of preferving all, whether worthy of it or not, be more honoured in the breach than the observance, the fuppreffion at least should not be confidered as a fault. The publication of such things as Swift had written merely to raise a laugh among his friends, has added something to the bulk of his works, but very little to his character as a writer. The four volumes that came out fince Dr. Hawkesworth's edition, not to look on them as a tax levied on the publick (which I think one might without injuftice) contain not more than fufficient to have made one of real value; and there is a kind of disingenuity, not to give it a harsher title, in exhibiting what the author never meant should fee the light; for no motive, but a fordid one, can betray the furvivors to make that publick, which they themselves must be of opinion will be unfavourable to the memory of the dead.

Life does not often receive good unmixed with evil. The benefits of the art of printing are depraved by the facility with which scandal may be diffused, and fecrets revealed, and by the temptation by which traffick folicits avarice to betray the weaknesses of paffion, or the confidence of friendship.

I cannot forbear to think these posthumous publications injurious to society. A man confcious of literary

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literary reputation will grow in time afraid to write with tenderness to his fifter, or with fondness to his child; or to remit on the flightest occafion, or most pressing exigence, the rigour of critical choice, and grammatical severity. That esteem which preserves his letters, will at last produce his disgrace; when that which he wrote only to his friend or his daughter shall be laid open to the publick.

There is perhaps fufficient evidence, that the plays in question, unequal as they may be to the rest, were written by Shakespeare; but the reason generally given for publishing the less correct pieces of an author, that it affords a more impartial view of a man's talents or way of thinking, than when we only fee him in form, and prepared for our reception, is not enough to condemn an editor who thinks and practises otherwise. For what is all this to shew, but that every man is more dull at one time than another; a fact which the world would have easily admitted, without asking any proofs in its fupport that might be destructive to an author's reputation.

To conclude; if the work, which this publication was meant to facilitate, has been already performed, the fatisfaction of knowing it to be so may be obtained from hence; if otherwise, let those who raised expectations of correctness, and through negligence defeated them, be justly exposed by future editors, who will now be in poffeffion of by far the greatest part of what they might have enquired after for years to no purpose; for in respect of fuch a number of the old quartos as are here exhibited, the first folio is a common book. This advantage will at least arife, that future editors, having equally recourse to the same copies, can challenge diftinction and preference only by genius, capacity, industry, and learning.

As I have only collected materials for future artists, I consider what I have been doing as no more than an apparatus for their use. If the publick is inclined

to

to receive it as such, I am amply rewarded for my trouble; if otherwise, I shall submit with chearfulness to the censure which should equitably fall on an injudicious attempt; having this confolation, however, that my design amounted to no more than a defire to encourage others to think of preserving the oldest editions of the English writers, which are growing scarcer every day; and to afford the world all the assistance or pleasure it can receive from the most authentick copies extant of its NOBLEST POET.

SOME

ACCOUNT of the LIFE, &c.

OF

Mr. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE,

I

Written by Mr. ROWE.

T seems to be a kind of respect due to the me mory of excellent men, especially of those whom

their wit and learning have made famous, to deliver fome account of themselves, as well as their works, to pofterity. For this reason, how fond do we fee fome people of discovering any little personal story of the great men of antiquity! their families, the common accidents of their lives, and even their shape, make, and features have been the fubject of critical enquiries. How trifling foever this curiofity may feem to be, it is certainly very natural; and we are hardly fatisfied with an account of any remarkable person, till we have heard him described even to the very cloaths he wears. As for what relates to men of letters, the knowledge of an author may fometimes conduce to the better understanding his book; and though the works of Mr. Shakespeare may feem to many not to want a comment, yet I fancy fome little account of the man himself may not be thought improper to go along with them.

He