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Page 3
Finally, the Preface exists in two forms. The later and shorter form
was that designed for Theobald's second edition (1740), which omits all
passages presumably contributed by Warburton and more besides, the
section on Greek texts, and the list of acknowledgements to contemporary
Shakespearian enthusiasts. This abridged form has been frequently
reprinted. From a copy in the University of Michigan Library the
original Preface is here reproduced for the first time.
Hugh G. Dick
University of California,
Los Angeles
* * * * *
* * * *
* * * * *
[Transcriber's Note:
Most Sidenotes appear at the beginning of a paragraph. Where they
originally appeared at mid-paragraph, their approximate position is
shown with an asterisk*.]
The
WORKS
of
_SHAKESPEARE:_
in
Seven Volumes.
Collated with the Oldest Copies, and Corrected;
With NOTES, Explanatory, and Critical:
By Mr. _THEOBALD_.
_I, Decus, i, nostrum: melioribus utere Fatis._
Virg.
_LONDON:_
Printed for A. Bettesworth and C. Hitch,
J. Tonson, F. Clay, W. Feales,
and R. Wellington.
MDCCXXXIII.
* * * * *
THE
PREFACE.
The Attempt to write upon SHAKESPEARE is like going into a large, a
spacious, and a splendid Dome thro' the Conveyance of a narrow and
obscure Entry. A Glare of Light suddenly breaks upon you, beyond
what the Avenue at first promis'd: and a thousand Beauties of Genius
and Character, like so many gaudy Apartments pouring at once upon
the Eye, diffuse and throw themselves out to the Mind. The Prospect
is too wide to come within the Compass of a single View: 'tis a gay
Confusion of pleasing Objects, too various to be enjoyed but in a
general Admiration; and they must be separated, and ey'd distinctly,
in order to give the proper Entertainment.
[Sidenote*: A sketch of _Shakespeare's_ general Character.]
And as in great Piles of Building, some Parts are often finish'd up
to hit the Taste of the _Connoisseur_; others more negligently put
together, to strike the Fancy of a common and unlearned Beholder:
Some Parts are made stupendiously magnificent and grand, to surprize
with the vast Design and Execution of the Architect; others are
contracted, to amuse you with his Neatness and Elegance in little.
*So, in _Shakespeare_, we may find _Tra�ts_ that will stand the Test
of the severest Judgment; and Strokes as carelessly hit off, to the
Level of the more ordinary Capacities: Some Descriptions rais'd to
that Pitch of Grandeur, as to astonish you with the Compass and
Elevation of his Thought: and others copying Nature within so
narrow, so confined a Circle, as if the Author's Talent lay only
at drawing in Miniature.
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