hourly contradict their theory in practice. The word advertifement they will have, according to their rule, to be accented as formerly on the fecond fyllable. But why do they not begin first, by bringing it forward from the last fyllable in the radical word advertise. If they fay, they do lay an accent both on the first and last syllables,. though greater on the laft; I answer that, then their practice is wholly contrary to all rules refpe&ting both fenfe and found; for that they lay a great ftrefs on the formal and most infignificant, fyllable, a lefs on a more fignificant, and on the moft fignificant. none at all. I am fenfible that the euphony of fpeech frequently interferes with the rules, founded folely on on its fignificancy; and that they fhould mutually give way, for the convenience of each other. But, if either be to fuffer effentially, it should certainly be the found rather than the fenfe. There are fome good rules, nevertheless, that ferve well enough for their reciprocal accommodation.' We agree with our author in regard to the abfurdity of an invariable adherence to the rule abovementioned. There is neither fignificance nor euphony in réfradory, refractorinef contemptible, corruptible, ácceptable, conversable, éxemplariness, in→ acceffibie, réfpe&able, &c. Upon the principle of diftinguishing the moft fignificant fyllable, Dr. Kenrick accents the following words thus: comméndable, convérfant, confeffor, fucceffor, adjacent, concordance, aggrandize, fufceptible, peremptory, refluent, and, after Dr. Johnfon, indifputable, irrefutable, and irrefragable. But if thefe be right, where fhall we ftop? Why does he not, by the fame rule, fay, irreparable, reputable, inexorable, and admirable? Latin and Greek profody infallibly ascertain the pronunciation of the word afylum*; and our author very properly accents it alum. But in oppofition to all the rules of profody, he likewife accents mausoleum † and European ‡, on the fecond fyllable. Corollary is ufually pronounced corollary; being immediately derived from corollarium. But our author thinks that it is dif'ficult and uncouth to pronounce it in this manner; he therefore lays the accent on the fecond fyllable, and calls it corallary; which, in our opinion, is more uncouth. He fays, capillary, and not capillary: why then corollary, and not corollary? › Deutronomy is ufually accented on the penultima; but the in votos being fhort, our author places the accent on the antepenultima, Deuteronomy. In favour of the former mode of pronouncing this word, we can only fay, that the fecond is a lefs fignificant fyllable than the third. I Hinc lucum ingentem, quem Romulus acer afylum. + Nec Maufolei dives fortuna fepulchri. Prop. iii. 2. Oy. Met. viii. 23. The 11 The firft fyllable in farewel he directs us to pronounce like 1 2 1 I 13 far not fare, accenting and marking it thus farewell, fare well. The former part of the word is the imperative of the verb fare; and therefore we apprehend, that the doctor's mode of pronouncing it is improper." He places the accent on the last fyllable of July. This, we confefs, is a common way of pronouncing the word; but furely improper: at least, we do not know, that any reafon can be affigned for it. 15 Been, the participle preterite of be, he marks thus, ben; by which we are directed to pronounce it like bin. But where do we meet with ee fhortened in this manner? The x in exile, &c. founds, he says, like gz.-Vulgar! 7 16 He feems to be right in pronouncing the i in ob lige, like the pronoun I, and not like ee. The power of and efhould not be confounded in mere English words. Dr Johnfon accents the prepofition towards on the fecond fyllable our author, more properly, on the firft, towards. To is the most fignificant fyllable. Analogy is likewife in his fayour; for we almoft unanimously say, upwards, downwards, backwards. forwards, inwards, dutwards, afterwards, onwards, froward, awkward, &c. He tells us, that when the fhort found of the vowels precedes the r, the two flendereft, viz. i and e, are generally converted into a diftinct ; and that confequently cur, bur, fur, fir, were, and her, have but one and exactly the fame quality of found.'-This, we apprehend, is more agreeable to the pronunciation of Welchmen, than that of polite people in the metropolis. In fome inftances the author gives different modes of pronunciation, without informing us which of them he prefers. 14 I I 2 I 14 I 16 1 For example: Lèìfure, lei-fure, lei-fure; either, either, or ei-ther; 5 15 1 I 15 13 15 1 J 3 I 6 burial, bu-ri-al, bur-i-al, bur-i-al; prefumptuous, pre-fump-tu-ous, 13 I I 1 6 or pre-fump-tuous; advertisement, or advertisement —ad-ver-tife 13 I I I 15 I 3 ment, or thus, ad-ver- tife-ment; bòsom, bos-om, or bo-jom; onion, on-ion, and by fome people on-ion. I I IS I ༞ -་་ ; Onion pronounced as a rhime to opinion is certainly a vulgarifm. In the orthographical part of this Dictionary there seems to be a little fingularity in the fpelling of fome words ending in cor ck; as lunatic or lunatick. The adjectives Pare written written with only, and, merely for fake of distinction, the fubftantives with ck. The following account of the past time and the participle. of the verb write, is inaccurate, Write, v. a. preterite zorit, or wrote; part. paff. written, writ, or wrote. The right way of inflecting this word is, wrote in the preterite, and written in the participle paffive. In this inftance, as indeed in almost every other article, our author has implicitly followed Dr. Johnfon. He has adopted his etymologies, explanations, and illuftrations of idiom and phrafeology: what is new chiefly confifts in the rhetorical grammar, and the mode of afcertaining the pronunciation of words, which are both ingenious. As this was the great defign of his performance, he has availed himself of the labours of Dr. Johnfon without fcruple; thinking that it might be of fome advantage to his readers, to make his Dictionary at the same time a copious index to a work of very general acceptation, in which the literal authorities, collected from our beft writers, may be confulted at large.' With respect to literal authorities,' we beg leave to make this one remark. Reason, and not authority, fhould be the ultimate guide of lexicographers. Ten thousand citations can never justify an abfurdity. In the works of our most eminent writers, fuch as Tillotson, Swift, Pope, Hume, &c. there are innumerable improprieties; and if we are implicitly governed by authorities, grammatical inaccuracies will be propagated from one generation to another. III. The Plays of William Shakespeare. In Ten Volumes. With the Corrections and Illuftrations of various Commentators; to which are added Notes by Samuel Johnfon and George Steevens. With an Appendix. 8vo. 31. Bathurst. N° & [O writer, ancient or modern, has so much attracted admiration, and exercised the ingenuity of commentators, as the celebrated English poet whofe productions now lie before us. After the ceffation of the civil commotions, which had long fufpended the progrefs of literature in the nation, an edition of the works of Shakespeare was undertaken by Rowe, who performed his tafk rather with the vigilance of a typographical corrector than the learning of a scholiaft. To him fucceeded Mr. Pope, who first attempted to reform the text by the liberal ufe of critical emendations, in which he was fucceffively followed by Theobald, Sir Thomas Hanmer, Dr. Warburton, and Dr. Johnson. The new edition with which the public is here prefented, makes its appear appearance under the conjunct aufpices of Dr. Johnson and Mr. Steevens, but fo small a fhare, comparatively, feems the for mer of these gentlemen to have had in the execution of the work, that it deferves to be confidered as almost entirely the produc tion of Mr. Steevens. This edition is introduced with the republication of Dr. Johnfon's Preface, who in chara&erifing all the editors that went before him, has neither treated the dead with unjustifiable feverity, nor mentioned the furvivor with applaufe which he does not feem to have deserved. At the conclufion of his Preface, the doctor has added a fentence, declaring, that his coadjutor Mr. Steevens was now to give an account of what had been performed in the ten volumes at prefent exhibited to the public. Then follows Mr. Steevens's advertisement, from which, as containing the plan whereby the work is conducted, we shall lay before our readers a quotation. The labours of preceding editors have not left room for a boaft, that r many valuable readings have been retrieved; though it may be fairly afforted, that the text of Shakespeare is reftored to the condition in which the author, or rather his firft publifhers, appear to have left it, fuch emendations as were abfolutely neceffary, alone admitted. Muita dies, variufq; labor mutabilis ævi Where a particle, indifpenfably neceffary to the fenfe, was want ing, Juch a fupply has been filently adopted from other editions; but where a fyllable, or more, has been added for the fake of the metre only, which at first might have been irregular, fuch interpolations are here conftantly retrenched, fometimes with, and fometimes without notice. Thofe fpeeches, which in the elder editions are printed as profe, and from their own construction are incapable of being compreffed into verfe, without the aid of fupplemental fyllables, are reftored to profe again; and the measure-is divided afrefh in others, where the mafs of words had been inharmoniously feparated into lines. The fcenery, throughout all the plays, is regulated in conformity to a rule, which the poet, by his general practice, feems to have propofed to himself. Several of his pieces are come down to as, divided into fcenes as well as acts. Thefe divifions were probably his own, as they are made on fettled principles, which would hardly have been the cafe, had the task been executed by the players.. A change of fcene, with Shakespeare, most commonly implies a change of place, but always, an entire evacuation of the stage. The custom of diftinguishing every entrance or exit by a fresh foene, was adopted, perhaps very idly, from the French theatre. For the length of many notes, and the accumulation of examples in athers, fome apology may be likewife expected. An attempt at brevity is often found to be the fource of an imperfect explanation. Where a passage has been constantly misunderstood, where the jeft or pleasantry has been fuffered to remain long in obscurity, more inftances have been brought to clear the one, or elucidate the other, than appear at first fight to have been neceffary. For thefe, thefe, it can only be said, that when they prove that phrafeology or fource of merriment to have been once general, which at prefent feems particular, they are not quite impertinently intruded; as they may ferve to free the author from a fufpicion of having employed an affected fingularity of expreffion, or indulged himfelf in allufions to tranfient customs, which were not of fufficient notoriety to deferve ridicule or reprehenfion. When examples in favour of contradictory opinions are affembled, though no attempt is made to decide on either part, fuch neutral collections fhould always be regarded as materials for future critics, who may here, after apply them with fuccefs. Authorities, whether in refpect of words or things, are not always producible from the most cele brated writers; yet fuch eircumstances as fall below the notice of hiftory, can only be fought in the jeft-book, the fatire, or the play; and the novel, whofe fashion did not outlive a week, is fometimes neceffary to throw light on those annals which take in the compafs of an age. Thofe, therefore, who would with to have the peculiarities of Nym familiarized to their ideas, muft excufe the infertion of fuch an epigram as beft fuits the purpose, however tedious in itself; and fuch as would be acquainted with the propriety of Falstaff's allufion to frewed prunes, should not be disgufted at a multitude of inftances, which, when the point is once known to be established, may be diminished by any future editor. An author, who catches (as Pope expresses it) at the Cynthia of a minute, and does not furnish notes to his own works, is fure to lofe half the praife which he might have claimed, had he dealt in allufions lefs temporary, or cleared up for himfelf thofe difficulties which lapfe of time muft inevitably create. The author of the additional notes has rather been defirous to fupport old readings, than to claim the merit of introducing new ones. He defires to be regarded as one, who found the task he undertook more arduous than it feemed, while he was yet feeding his vanity with the hopes of introducing himself to the world as an editor in form. He, who has difcovered in himself the power to rectify a few mistakes with eafe, is naturally led to imagine, that all difficulties muft yield to the efforts of future labour; and per-haps feels a reluctance to be undeceived at last. Mr. Steevens defires it may be obferved, that he has ftrictly complied with the terms exhibited in his propofals, having appropriated all fuch affiftances, as he received, to the ufe of the prefent editor, whofe judgment has, in every inftance, determined on their respective merits. While he enumerates his obligations to his correspondents, it is necessary that one comprehenfive remark fhould be made on fuch communications as are omitted in this edition, though they might have proved of great advantage to a more daring commentator. The majority of these were founded on the fuppofition, that Shakespeare was originally an author correct in the utmost degree, but maimed and interpolated by the neglect or prefumption of the players. In confequence of this belief, alterations have been propofed wherever a verfe could be harmonized, an epithet exchanged for one more apposite, or a sentiment rendered less perplexed, Had the general current of advice been followed, the notes would have been filled with attempts at emendation apparently unneceffary, though fometimes elegant, and as frequently with explanations of what none would have thought difficult. A conftant peruser of Shakespeare will fuppofe whatever is eafy to his own apprehenfion, will prove fo to that of others, and. con |