III. ADVERTISEMENT To the FIRST EDITION with Notes,. T will be fufficient to say of this edition, that the plete copy of the DUNCIAD, than has hitherto appeared. I cannot answer but some mistakes may have flipt into it; but a vast number of others will be prevented by the names being now not only fet at length, but juftified by the authorities and reafons given. I make no doubt, the author's own motive to ufe real rather than feigned names, was his care to preserve the innocent from any false application; whereas, in the former editions, which had no more than the initial letters, he was made, by keys printed here, to hurt the inoffenfive; and (what was worse) to abuse his friends, by an impreffion at Dublin. The commentary which attends this poem was fent me from several hands, and confequently must be unequally written; yet will have one advantage over most commentaries, that it is not made upon conjectures, or at a remote diftance of time: And the reader cannot but derive one pleasure from the very Obfcu rity of the perfons it treats of, that it partakes of the nature of a Secret, which most people love to be let 1 înto, tho' the men or the things be ever fo inconfiderable or trivial. Of the Perfons it was judged proper to give some account for fince it is only in this monument that they muft expect to furvive (and here furvive they will, as long as the English tongue fhall remain fuch as it was in the reigns of Queen ANNE and King GEORGE,) it seemed but humanity to bestow a word or two upon each, just to tell what he was, what he writ, when he lived, and when he died. If a word or two more are added upon the chief offenders, 'tis only as a paper pinned upon the breaft, to mark the enormities for which they fuffered; left the correction only should be remembered, and the crime forgotten. In fome articles it was thought fufficient, barely to transcribe from Jacob, Curl, and other writers of their own rank, who were much better acquainted with them than any of the authors of this comment can pretend to be. Most of them had drawn each other's characters on certain occafions; but the few here inferted are all that could be faved from the general deftruction of fuch works. Of the part of Scriblerus I need fay nothing; his manner is well enough known, and approved by all but those who are too much concerned to be judges. The imitations of the Ancients are added, to gratify thofe who either never read, or may have forgotten them; together with some of the Parodies and allufions to the most excellent of the Moderns. If, from the frequency of the former, any man think the poem too much a Cento, our poet will but appear to have done the fame thing in jeft which Boileau did in earneft; and upon which Vida, Fracaftorius, and many of the most eminent Latin poets, profeffedly valued themselves. IV. ADVERTISEMENT To the FIRST EDITION of The FOURTH Book of the DUNCIAD, when printed feparately in the Year 1742. WE apprehend it can be deemed no injury to the author of the three first books of the Dunciad, that we publish this Fourth. It was found merely by accident, in taking a survey of the Library of a late eminent nobleman; but in fo blotted a conditon, and in fo many detached pieces, as plainly fhewed it to be not only incorrect, but unfinished. That the author of the three first books had a design to extend and complete his poem in this manner, appears from the differtation prefixed to it, where it faid, that the defign is more extensive, and that we may expect other episodes to complete it: And from the declaration in the argu. ment to the third book, that the accomplishment of the prophefies therein would be the theme hereafter of a greater Dunciad. But whether or no he be the author of this, we declare ourselves ignorant. If he be, we are no more to be blamed for the publication of it, than Tucca and Varius for that of the laft fix books of the Eneid, tho' perhaps inferior to the former. If any perfon be poffeffed of a more perfect copy of this work, or of any other fragments of it, and will communicate them to the publisher, we fhall make the next edition more complete: In which we allo promise to infert any Criticisms that shall be published (if at all to the purpose) with the Names of the Authors; or any letters fent us (tho' not to the purpose) shall yet be printed under the title of Epiftola Obfcu rorum Virorum; which, together with fome others of the fame kind formerly laid by for that end, may make no unpleasant addition to the future impressions of this poem. V. ADVERTISEMENT To the complete EDITION of 1743. I Have long had a defign of giving fome fort of Notes on the works of this poet. Before I had the happiness of his acquaintance, I had written a commentary on his Efay on Man, and have fince finished another on the Effay on Criticifm. There was one already on the Dunciad, which had met with general appro bation but I ftill thought some additions were wanting (of a more serious kind) to the humorous notes of Scriblerus, and even to those written by Mr Cleland, Dr Arbuthnot, and others. I had lately the pleasure to pass some months with the author in the country, where I prevailed upon him to do what I had long defired, and favour me with his explanation of several paffages in his works. It happened, that juft at that juncture was published a ridiculous book against him, full of Perfonal Reflections, which furnished him with a lucky opportunity of improving This Poem, by giving it the only thing it wanted, a more confiderable Hero. He was always fenfible of its defect in that particular, and owned he had let it pass with the Hero it had, purely for want of a better; not entertaining the least expectation that such an one was reserved for this Post, as has fince obtained the Laurel: But fince that had happened, he could no longer deny this juftice either to him or the Dunciad. And yet I will venture to say, there was another motive which had still more weight with our Author: This perfon was one, who, from every Folly (not to fay Vice) of which another would be ashamed, has constantly derived a Vanity; and therefore was the man in the world who would leaft be hurt by it. W. W. |