with which it could be thought he was acquainted, or that feemed likely to contribute any thing towards his illuftration. To what degree they illuftrate him, and in how new a light they fet the character of this great poet himself, can never be conceived as it should be, till these extracts come forth to publick view, in their juft magnitude, and properly digefted for befides the various paffages that he has either made ufe of or alluded to, many other matters have been felected and will be found in this work, tending all to the fame end, our better knowlege of him and his writings; and one class of them there is, for which we shall perhaps be cenfured as being too profufe in them, namely—the alalmost innumerable examples, drawn from these ancient writers, of words and modes of expreffion which many have thought peculiar to Shakespeare, and have been too apt to impute to him as a blemish: but the quotations of this clafs do effectually purge him from such a charge, which is one reason of their profufion; though another main inducement to it has been, a defire of fhewing the true force and meaning of the aforefaid unusual words and expreffions; which can no way be better ascertained, than by a proper variety of well-chofen examples. Now, to bring this matter home to the fubject for which it has been alledged, and upon whose account this affair is now laid before the publick fomewhat

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then, that Shakespeare was very well grounded, at least in Latin, at fchool: it appears from the cleareft evidence poffible, that his father was a man of no little fubftance, and very well able to give him fuch education; which, perhaps, he might be inclined to carry further, by fending him to a university; but was prevented in this defign (if he had it) by his fon's early marriage, which, from monuments and other like evidence, it appears with no leís certainty, must have happened before he was feventeen, or very foon after: the dif pleasure of his father, which was the confequence of this marriage, or elfe fome exceffes which he is faid to have been guilty of, it is probable, drove him up to town; where he engaged early in fome

before its time,-who is fo fhort-fighted as not to perceive upon first reflection, that, without manifeft injuftice, the notes upon this author could not precede the publication of the work we have been defcribing; whofe choiceft materials would unavoidably and certainly have found a place in thofe notes, and fo been twice retailed upon the world; a practice which the editor has often condemned in others, and could therefore not refolve to be guilty of in himself? By poftponing these notes a while, things will be as they ought: they will then be confined to that which is their proper fubject, explanation alone, intermixed with fome little criticifm; and instead of long quotations, which would otherwife have appeared in them, the "School of Shakespeare" will be referred to occafionally; and one of the many indexes with which this fame "School" will be provided, will afford an ampler and truer Gloffary than can be made out of any other matter. In the mean while, and till fuch time as the whole can be got ready, and their way cleared for them by publication of the book above-mentioned, the r.ader will please to take in good part fome few of these notes with which he will be prefented by and by: they were written at least four years ago, with intention of placing them at the head of the several notes that are defigned for each play; but are now detached from their fel

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of the theatres, and was honour'd with the patronage of the earl of Southampton: his "Venus andAdonis" is addreffed to that earl in a very pretty and modest dedication, in which he calls it-" the first heire of his invention ;" and ufhers it to the world with this fingular motto,Vilia miretur vulgus, mibi flavus Apollo

Pocula Caftalia plena miniftret aqua;

and the whole poem, as well as his "Lucrece," which follow'd it foon after, together with his choice of thofe fubjects, are plain marks of his acquaintance with fome of the Latin clafficks, at least at that time: the diffipation of youth, and, when that was over, the bufy scene in which he inftantly plunged himself, may very well be fup

lows, and made parcel of the Introduction *, in compliance with fome friends' opinion; who having given them a perufal, will needs have it, that 'tis expedient the world should be made acquainted forthwith-in what fort of reading the poor poet himself, and his editor after him, have been unfortunately immersed.

This difcourfe is run out, we know not how, into greater heap of leaves than was any ways thought of, and has perhaps fatigued the reader equally with the penner of it: yet can we not dismiss him, nor lay down our pen, till one article more has been enquired into, which seems no less proper for the difcuffion of this place, than one which we have inferted before, beginning at p. 137; as we there ventured to ftand up in the behalf of fome quartos and maintain their authenticity, fo mean we to have the hardiness here to defend some certain plays in this collection from the attacks of a number of writers who have thought fit to call in question their genuineness: the plays contested are-" The three Parts of Henry VI; Love's Labour's loft; The Taming of the Shrew; and Titus Andronicus ;" and the fum of what is brought against them, fo far at least as is hitherto come to knowledge, may be all ultimately refolved into the fole opinion of their unworthiness, exclufive of fome weak

In this edition these notes are place among the notes to each play at the end of the volume, and marked E. CAPELL.

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pofed to have hinder'd his making any great progrefs in them; but that fuch a mind as his fhould quite lofe the tincture of any knowledge it had once been embu'd with, cannot be imagined: accordingly we fee, that this fchool-learning (for it was no more) ftuck with him to the laft, and it was the recordations, as we may call it, of that learning which produced the Latin that is in many of his plays, and moft plentifully in thofe that are moft early: every several piece of it is aptly introduced, given to a proper character, and utter'd upon fome proper occafion; and fo well cemented, as it were, and join'd to the paffage it stands in, as to deal conviction to the ju

furmifes which do not deferve a notice: it is therefore fair and allowable, by all laws of duelling, to oppose opinion to opinion; which if we can ftrengthen with reafons, and fomething like proofs, which are totally wanting on the other fide, the last opinion may chance to carry the day.

To begin then with the firft of them," the Henry VI, in three Parts." We are quite in the dark as to when the firft part was written; but fhould be apt to conjecture, that it was fome confiderable time after the other two; and, perhaps, when those two were re-touched, and made a little fitter than they are in their first draught to rank with the author's other plays which he has fetched from our English hiftory and those two parts, even with all their re-touchings, being ftill much inferior to the other plays of that clafs, he may reasonably be fuppofed to have underwrit himself on purpose in the first, that it might the better match with thofe it belonged to: now that these two plays (the first draught of them, at leaft) are among his early performances, we know certainly from their date; which is further confirmed by the two concluding lines of his "Henry V,” spoken by the Chorus; and (poffibly) it were not going too far, to imagine that they are his fecond attempt in history, and near in time to his original " King John" which is alfo in two parts: and, if this be fo, we may fafely pro

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dicious that the whole was wrought up together, and fetched from his own little ftore, upon the fudden and without Audy.

The other languages which he has fometimes made ufe of, that is the Italian and French, are not of fuch difficult conqueft that we fhould think them beyond his reach: an acquaintance with the first of them was a fort of fashion in his time; Surrey and the fonnetwriters fet it on foot, and it was continued by Sidney and Spencer: all our poetry iffued from that fchool; and it would be wonderful indeed, if he, whom we faw a little before putting himfelf with to much zeal under the banner of the Mufes, thould not have been VOL. I. 1

nounce them his, and even highly worthy of him; it being certain, that there was no English play upon the stage, at that time, which can come at all in competition with them; and this probably it was, which procured them the good reception that is mentioned too in the chorus. The plays we are now speaking of have been inconceivably mangled either in the copy or the press, or perhaps both : yet this may be discovered in them,-that the alterations made afterwards by the author, are nothing near fo confiderable as those in some other plays; the incidents, the characters, every principal out-line, in fhort, being the fame in both draughts; so that what we fhall have occafion to say of the second, may, in fome degree, and without much violence, be applied also to the firft: and this we presume to say of it ;—that, low as it must be fet in comparison of his other plays, it has beauties in it, and grandeurs, of which no author was capable but Shakespeare only; that extremely affecting fcene of the death of young Rutland, that of his father which comes next it, and of Clifford the murderer of them both; Beaufort's dreadful exit, the exit of king Henry, and a scene of wondrous fimplicity and wondrous tenderness united, in which that Henry is made a speaker while his laft decifive battle is fighting,- -are fo many stamps upon these plays, by which his property is marked, and himself declared the owner

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tempted to tafte at leaft of that fountain to which of all his other brethren there was fuch continual refort: let us conclude then, that he did taste of it; but, happily for himfelf, and more happily for the world that enjoys him now, he did not find it to his relish, and threw away the cup metaphor apart, it is evident-that he had fome little knowledge of the Italian: perhaps, juft as much as enabled him to read a novel or a poem; and to put fome few fragments of it, with which his memory furnished him, into the mouth of a pedant, or fine gentleman.

How or when he acquired it, we must be content to be ignorant, but of the French language he was fomewhat a greater mafter than