WHEREAS certain haberdashers of points and particles, being instigated by the spirit of pride, and assuming to themselves the name of critics and restorers, have taken upon them to adulterate the common and current sense of our glorious ancestors, poets of this realm, by clipping, coining, defacing the images, mixing their own base alloy, or otherwise falsifying the same, which they publish, utter, and vend as genuine, the said haberdashers having no right thereto, as neither heirs, executors, administrators, assigns, or in any sort related to such poets, to all or any of them: Now We, having carefully revised this our Dunciad, * beginning with the words The mighty mother, and ending with the words buries all, containing the entire sum of one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four verses, declare every word, figure, point, and comma of this impression to * Read thus confidently, instead of "beginning with the " word books, and ending with the word flies," as formerly it stood: read also, "containing the entire sum of one thou"sand seven hundred and fifty-four verses," instead of " one thousand and twelve lines," such being the initials and final words, and such the true and entire contents of this poem. be authentic: and do therefore strictly enjoin, and forbid any person or persons whatsoever to erase, reverse, put between hooks, or by any other means, directly or indirectly, change or mangle any of them. And We do hereby earnestly exhort all our brethren to follow this our example, which we heartily wish our great predecessors had heretofore set, as a remedy and prevention of all such abuses: provided always, that nothing in this declaration shall be construed to limit the lawful and undoubted right of every subject of this realm to judge, censure, or con demn, in the whole, or in part, any poem or poet what soever, Given under our hand at London, this third day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred thirty and two. Declarat' cor' me, JOHN BARBER, mayor. Thou art to know, reader, that the first edition thereof, like that of Milton, was never seen by the author, though living, and not blind: the editor himself confessed as much in his preface; and no two poems were ever published in so arbitrary a manner. The editor of this had as boldly suppressed whole passages, yea the entire last book, as the editor of Paradise Lost added and augmented. Milton hirn self gave but ten books, his editor twelve: this author gave four books, his editor only three. But we have happily done justice to both, and presume we shall live, in this our last labour, as long as in any of our others. BENTLEY. |