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A NEW EDITION,

With NOTES of various AUTHORS,
By THOMAS NEWTON, D. D.

LONDON:

Printed for J. and R. TONS ON and S. DRAPER in the Strand.

M DCC LII

T hath been recommended to me by fome great perfons, as well as

I by feveral friends, to complete the edition of Milton's portical works:

for tho' the Paradise Loft be the flower of epic poefy, and the nobleft effort of genius; yet here are other poems which are no less excellent in their kind, and if they have not that fublimity and majefty, are at leaft equally beautiful and pleafing to the imagination. And the fame method that was taken in the publication of the Paradise Loft, is purfued in this edition of the Paradife Regain'd and other poems, first to exhibit the true and genuin text according to Milton's own editions, and then to illuftrate it with notes critical and explanatory of various authors. Of the Paradife Regain'd and Samfon Agonistes there was only one edition in Milton's life-time, in the year 1671; and this we have made our standard, correcting only what the author himself would have corrected. Dr. Bentley pronounces it to be without faults, but there is a large table of Errata at the end, which instead of being emended have rather been augmented in the following editions, and were never corrected in any edition that I have seen before the prefent. Of the other poems there were two editions in Milton's life-time, the firft in 1645 before he was blind, and the other with fome additions in 1673. Of the Mask there was likewife an edition publifh'd by Mr. Henry Lawes in 1637: and of the Mask and several other poems there are extant copies in Milton's own hand writing, preserved in the library of Trinity College in Cambridge: and all these copies and editions have been carefully collated and compared together, the differences and variations are noted, and even the poet's corrections and alterations in his Manuscript are specified for the fatisfaction of the curious critical reader. The Manuscript indeed hath been of fingular fervice in rectifying several paffages, and especially in the Sonnets, fome of which were not printed till many years after Milton's death, and were then printed imperfect and deficient both in fense and meter, but are now by the help of the Manuscript restored to their just harmony and original perfection. From the Manufcript too we have given the plan of Paradife Loft, as Milton firft defigned it, in the form of a tragedy, and

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likewise

likewise the subjects which he had sketched out for other tragedies, whether with an intention ever to finish them or not we cannot be certain. ̈ They were printed before in the Historical and Critical Life of Milton prefixed to his profe works by the learned and ingenious Mr. Birch, who is continually adding something new to the ftock of learning: but it was judged proper to reprint them from the Manuscript in this edition, as they bear a nearer relation to the author's poetical works.

The notes, as upon the Paradise Loft, so likewise upon the Paradise Regain'd and other poems, are of various authors and of various kinds: but these, excepting only a few, were never printed before, and have therefore novelty to recommend them, as well as fome names of the first rank and greatest eminence in the republic of letters. The truth of my affertion will be fully juftify'd by mentioning only the names of Mr. Warburton and Mr. Jortin, who while they are employ'd in writing the most learned and elaborate defenses of religion, yet find leifure to cultivate the politer arts, and to promote and improve both in themfelves and others a claffical taste of the finest authors: and whatever may be the fuccefs, I can never repent of having engaged in this undertaking, which hath given me fo many convincing proofs of their friendship and kindness, and at the same time hath happily conjoined (what perhaps might never else have been joined together) my studies and my name with theirs. I am equally obliged too to Mr. Thyer for the continuation of his friendly affiftance; and the reader will find the fame good sense, and learning, and ingenuity in these, as in his former remarks upon the Paradife Loft. And now he hath gone thro' Milton's poetical works, I hope he will do the fame juftice to another of our greatest English poets, and gratify the public with a complete edition of Spenfer's works, or at leaft with his equally learned equally elegant obfervations upon them. I would not be understood by this to difparage in the least Mr. Upton's intended edition, or Mr. Sympson's, who is my friend, and hath kindly affifted me in this edition, as well as in that of the Paradife Loft. Mr. Upton is certainly a man of great learning, and fo likewife is Mr. Sympfon, and particularly well read in our old English authors,

authors, as appears from his fhare in the late excellent edition of Beaumont's and Fletcher's works: but I know no man, who hath a jufter and more delicate taste of the beauties of an author than Mr. Thyer, or is a greater master of the Italian language and Italian poetry, which in Spenfer's time was the study and delight of all the men of letters, and Spenfer himfelf hath borrowed more from that source than from almost any other, and sometimes hath translated two or three stanza's together. Mr. Richardson likewise hath continued his good offices, and communicated his comment upon Lycidas and his marginal notes and obfervations upon the other poems, together with a very fine head of Milton done spurious _ certxints by his father after a drawing of Cooper: and both the Richardsons father and fon deferve the thanks of all lovers of the fifter arts, for their inftructive effays on painting, as well as for feveral ingenious remarks on Milton. I had the honor of all these for my affociates and affiftants before, but I have been farther ftrengthen'd by fome new recruits, which were the more unexpected, as they were fent me from gentlemen, with whom I never had the pleasure of a perfonal acquaintance. The reverend Mr. Meadowcourt, Canon of Worcester, in 1732 publifhed a Critical Differtation with notes upon the Paradife Regain'd, a fecond edition of which was printed in 1748; and he likewise transmitted to me a sheet of his manuscript remarks, wherein he hath happily explained a most difficult paffage in Lycidas better than any man had done before him. The reverend Mr. Calton of Marton in Lincolnshire hath contributed much more to my affiftance: he favor'd me with a long correfpondence; and I am at a lofs which to commend moft, his candor as a friend, or his penetration and learning as a critic and divine. Befides all these helps I have pickt out fome grain from among the chaff of Mr. Peck's remarks, and have gleaned up every thing which I thought might any ways be useful towards illustrating our author; and in the conclufion have added an index of the lefs common words occafionally explained in the notes.

The Latin poems I cannot fay are equal to several of his English compofitions: but yet they are not without their merit; they are not a Cento like most of the modern Latin poetry; there is fpirit, invention,

and

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