independent of their internal evidence, the following account (which has been given to the public by Mr. Singer, the editor of the most complete edition), is conclusive :

The original copy of Spence's Anecdotes, with all the other papers of Mr. Spence, remained in the hands of Dr. Lowth,* and were by him, some time previous to his decease, given to the late Mr. Forster, (his private secretary) from whose representatives they have been obtained, and will form the materials of this publication." These manuscripts were purchased by Mr. Carpenter the bookseller, from the nephew of Mr. Forster, but now belong to Mr. Singer, to whom I am indebted for this particular information respecting them.

It must, however, be observed, that notwithstanding the information afforded by these and other sources for the life of Pope, there are many parts of it which have long been, and perhaps will still remain, subjects of a controversial nature; and that however desirous his biographer might now be, of laying before the public a plain and impartial narrative, he will probably find himself impeded by innumerable obstacles, thrown in the way

*One of the executors of Mr. Spence.

by his predecessors, which, in order to do justice to the subject, it will be absolutely necessary for him to examine, and if improperly placed there, to remove. If, in the performance of this indispensable duty, he should be under the necessity of controverting the opinions, or rejecting the conclusions of others, he will only exercise the same privilege which they have themselves exercised before him; and will, at all events, endeavour to keep within those bounds of civility and literary courtesy, which are due to those against whom he can have no personal feeling, and consequently no motives either of resentment or disrespect.

In the present edition of the works of Pope, it has been thought advisable to adhere principally to that of Warburton, in preference to those that have since been published; such edition having in a great degree been prepared and corrected by the author himself, who furnished many of the notes; and the commentaries and remarks of Warburton, as far as completed in the lifetime of Pope, having received his decided approbation.

At the same time, the estimation in which the literary character, and the labours of Dr. Warton are deservedly held, is such, that

it would be unjust to deprive the present edition of the advantages which it must derive from his acknowledged erudition; talents, and taste. I have, therefore, endeavoured to unite as far as practicable, his various and extensive notes and observations in the same edition with those of Warburton, with the omission, however, of such of those of Warton, as appeared to have no immediate relation to the writings of Pope.

That the annotations and remarks of Mr. Bowles, in his edition, should not all be included in the present work, will not be thought surprising by any person who feels himself interested in the character and writings of Pope. Such of them as tend to illustrate the subject, or exhibit a candid and impartial spirit of criticism, are, however, retained. But there is one class of notes to which little indulgence has been extended, from whatever quarter they proceed. These are such as pretend to point out the beauties and the faults, according as they appear to the judgment of the critic. Swift has observed, that "it is the frequent error of those men, otherwise very commendable for their labours, to make excursions beyond their talent and their office, by pretending to point out the beauties and

*

the faults; which is no part of their trade, which they always fail in, which the world never expected from them, nor gave them any thanks for endeavouring at:"-and Pope has himself remarked, in the preface to his works, that " a bad author deserves upon the whole, better usage than a bad critic; for a writer's endeavour, for the most part, is to please his readers, and he fails merely through the misfortune of an ill judgment; but such a critic's is to put them out of humour; a design he could never go upon without both that and an ill temper."

In performing the difficult task which has devolved upon the present editor, of determining what pieces ought to be admitted into this edition, as constituting "THE WORKS OF POPE," he has endeavoured to keep in view what he conceives to be the chief duty of an editor; viz. to execute an office which the author can no longer perform for himself, in the same manner as he would have performed it, if living; admitting nothing that he would himself have rejected, and rejecting nothing that he would have admitted ;not, however, disregarding the additional considerations suggested by the change which has taken place (so greatly for the better,) in the

sentiments and manners of the present times, and by which it is probable that the author himself would have been equally influenced. On the whole, he has reason to believe, that the differences which would have arisen between the author and himself on this head, would have been very trivial, if any; and that the great variation in this respect will appear between the two last editions of Dr. Warton and Mr. Bowles, and the present.

The arrangement of the Letters has been attended with unexpected trouble, as will appear from the preliminary explanations given at the head of some of the series. Important additions have also been made, not only valuable in themselves, but as they illustrate the correspondence before published.

To the criticisms and remarks of his predecessors, the present editor has not found occasion to make any considerable additions. His own observations have chiefly been confined to the estimate of the poetical character of the author, and the preliminary notes to the principal poems, in which, as well as in the few remarks on the text, it has been his object, rather to correct the errors, and obviate the unfounded censures of former commentators, than to increase the great