A Votive

rected.

Puellam, cujus Zonam folvit; cujus VERNUS

Flos

Præproperô tabuit in Thalamô.

VIII. I come now to the Votive Table, Table cor- which is rich in poetick Graces, however overwhelm'd with Depravation: and Sir George seems as much to have miftaken the Purport, as the Words, of the Infcription. At Chalcedon, fays he, I found an Inscription in the Wall of a private House near the Church; which fignifieth, that Evante, the Son of Antipater, having made a profperous Voyage, and defiring to return by the gean Sea, offer'd Cakes at a Statue, which he had erected to Jupiter, which had fent him fuch good Weather, as a Token of his good Voyage.

· Ουρον.
2 πρύμνης.

3 πρώτων,
ἱε ίοι.

4 Κυανεαίς

δίνησιν επίδες μου.

5 Niser.

ο βαλών.

η ξοάιρο δ ̓ Εσδέ.

9 ένα θη.

το φίλων.

Ι

2

ΟΥΡΙΟΝ ., ΠΡΙΜΝΗΣ τις οδηγη τῆρα καλείτω,

Ζήνα και 3 πρωτοΝ ΩΝισιον ἐκπετάσας

+ ΕΠΙ ΚΥΑΝΕΑΣ ΔΙΝΑΣ ΔΡΟΜΟΥΣ ἔνθα Ποσειδῶν

Καμπύλον εἰλίσσει κῦμα τους ψαμαθοῖς. Εἶτα κατ' Αἰγαῖαν πόνε πλάκα 5 ΝΑΣ έρω

νων,

6

Νείπω τῳ δὲ ΒΑΛΛΩΝ ψαρά

7 ΤΩ͂ ΖΩΑΝΩ.

Ο ΔΕ * * ΕΥΑΝΤΗ * αεὶ θεὸν Ἀντιπά τρυπάς

Ι

Στησε * φιλων ἀγαθῆς σύμβολον ἀπλοίης.

I have mark'd, as before, my Corrections at the Side; and I may venture to say, I have fupported the faltring Verfes both with Numbers and Senfe. But who ever heard of Evante, as the Name of a Man, in Greece? Neither is this Infcription a Piece of Ethnic Devotion, as Sir George has fuppos'd it, to a Statue erected to Jupiter: On the contrary, it despises those fruitless Superftitions. Philo (a Chriftian, as it feems to me ;) fets it up, in Thanks for a safe Voyage, to the true God. That all my Readers may equally fhare in this little Poem, I have attempted to put it into an English Dress.

Invoke who Will the profp'rous Gale behind, Jove at the Prow, while to the guiding Wind O'er the blue Billows he the Sail expands, Where Neptune with each Wave heaps Hills of Sands:

Then let him, when the Surge he backward plows,

Pour to his Statue-God unaiding Vows:
But to the God of Gods, for Deaths o'erpaft,
For Safety lent him on the watry Waste,
To native Shores return'd, thus Philo pays
His Monument of Thanks, of grateful Praife.

I fhall have no Occafion, I believe, to ask the Pardon of fome Readers for these Nine last Pages; and Others may be so kind to pass them over at their Pleasure. (Those Discoveries, which give Light and Satisfaction to d 4

the

the truly Learned, I must confess, are Dark-
ness and Mystery to the lefs capable: Dey
μὲν ξωεοῖς, ἀξωετοῖς δ ̓ Ερεβ.) Nor will
they be abfolutely foreign, I hope, to a Pre-
face in fome Measure critical; efpecially, as
it could not be amifs to fhew, that I have read
other Books with the fame Accuracy, with
which I profess to have read Shakespeare. Be-
fides, I defign'd this Inference from the De-
fence of Literal Criticism. If the Latin and
Greek Languages have receiv'd the greatest
Advantages imaginable from the Labours of
the Editors and Criticks of the two laft Ages;
by whofe Aid and Affiftance the Grammari-
ans have been enabled to write infinitely
better in that Art than even the preceding
Grammarians, who wrote when thofe Tongues
flourish'd as living Languages: I fhould ac-
count it a peculiar Happiness, that, by the
faint Affay I have made in this Work, a Path
might be chalk'd out, for abler Hands, by
which to derive the fame Advantages to our
own Tongue: a Tongue, which, tho' it wants
none of the fundamental Qualities of an univer-
fal Language, yet as a noble Writer fays, lifps
and stammers as in its Cradle; and has produced
little more towards its polishing than Com-
plaints of its Barbarity.

The Delay

Having now run thro' all thofe Points, of this Edi- which I intended fhould make any Part of this fed. Differtation it only remains, that I should account to the Publick, but more particularly to

tion excu

my

my Subscribers, why they have waited fo long for this Work; that I should make my Acknowledgments to thofe Friends, who have been generous Affiftants to me in the conducting it: and, laftly, that I should acquaint my Readers what Pains I have myself taken to make the Work as complete, as faithful Industry, and my best Abilities, could ren

der it.

In the middle of the Year 1728, I first put out my Proposals for publishing only Emendations and Remarks on our Poet: and I had not gone on many Months in this Scheme, before I found it to be the unanimous Wish of those who did me the Honour of their Subscriptions, that I would give them the Poet's Text corrected; and that I would fubjoin thofe Explanatory Remarks, which I had purpos'd to publish upon the Foot of my firft Propofals. Earneft Sollicitations were made to me, that I would think of fuch an Edition; which I had as ftrong Defires to liften to and fome noble Perfons then, whom I have no Privilege to name, were pleased to intereft themselves fo far in the Affair, as to propofe to Mr. Tonfon his undertaking an Impreffion of Shakespeare with my Corrections. The throwing my whole Work into a different Form, to comply with this Proposal, was not the flightest Labour: and fo no little Time was unavoidably loft. While the Publication of my Remarks was thus refpited, my

Enemies

Enemies took an unfair Occasion to suggest, that I was extorting Money from my Subfcribers, without ever defigning to give them any Thing for it an Infinuation levell'd at once to wound me in Reputation and Interest. Conscious, however, of my own just Intentions, and labouring all the while to bring my wish'd Purpose to bear, I thought these anonymous Slanderers worthy of no Notice. A Justification of myself would have been giving them Argument for fresh Abuse; and I was willing to believe that any unkind Opinions, entertain'd to my Prejudice, would naturally drop and lofe their Force, when the Publick fhould once be convinc'd that I was in Earnest, and ready to do them Justice. I left no Means untry'd to put it in my Power to do this and I hope, without Breach of Modefty, I may venture to appeal to all candid Judges, whether I have not employ'd all my Power to be just to them in the Execution of my Task. I muft needs have been in the most Pain, who faw myself daily so barbaroufly outraged. I might have taken advantage of the favourable Impreffions entertain'd of my Work, and hurried it crudely into the World: But I have fuffer'd, for my Author's fake, thofe Impreffions to cool, and perhaps, be loft; and can now appeal only to the Judgment of the Publick. If I fucceed in this Point, the Reputation gain'd will be the more folid and lafting.