guage, should not have given full scope to his genius, and taken in a greater variety of personages, and been more studious to diversify the incidents of his several comedies.

For more particular observations on our poet, the reader is referred to the Notes on the several plays. As for the notes themselves; many of them, being taken from the best criticks and commentators, antient and modern, living and dead, natives and foreigners, will, I know, be allowed to have merit: many others, being entirely my own, are as liable to censure as the translation itself; especially those, wherein I have ventured to oppose the judgments of others; though I can safely say that I have never attempted to litigate any opinion, merely from a petulant spirit of contradiction, or an ambition of novelty. It is the duty of an editor aud translator to illustrate and explain the author, to the best of his abilities; and if he differs from former criticks, he should give his reasons for his dissent, and leave it to the publick to decide. He too, it is true, may be deceived in his turn: for, as the critick is as often wrong as the author on whom he comments, or, if we may take a poet's word on this occasion,

Ten censure wrong for one who writes amiss "7;

so is the hypercritick as fallible as the critick. But each man's understanding, such as it is, must be his guide; and he, who has not courage to make a free use of it, but obtrudes the opinions of others, unsifted and unexamined, on his readers, betrays more want of respect for their understanding, than diffidence of his

own.

It was my first intention to have accompanied this Translation with a Dissertation on Comedy; hoping it might have appeared an agreeable addition to the work: but on weighing this matter seriously, and turning it over and over in my thoughts, I found the subject grow upon me so considerably, as it opened itself to my mind, that the pursuit of it would have unavoidably betrayed me into another volume; so that what I meant for the advantage of the reader, like the bonus in a government-subscription, would in fact have proved a heavy tax. The work has already exceeded the limits, which I proposed to myself at first setting out. I did not, therefore, think it justice to the purchasers to swell the price still more and to have given the Dissertation, maimed or incomplete, would have been injustice to them, as well as to myself. Whenever it sees the light, it shall be as perfect as I am able to make it. In the mean time, every thing relative to the Comedies of Terence, critical as well as explanatory, will, I hope, be found

2

found in the Notes. I have with much industry endeavoured to collect, from all quarters, (sometimes perhaps too minutely,) whatever could contribute to throw any light on our Author; and there is prefixed a translation of the account of his life from Suetonius: with which, as well as the notes annexed to it from Madam Dacier, together with a translation of all that learned lady's remarks on the four last plays, I was favoured by Dr. Ralph Schömberg of Bath: nor can I otherwise account for his great kindness in voluntarily offering to take so toilsome and disagreeable part of my task off my hands, but that he was resolved that there should be none of his family, to whom I should not owe some obligation.

The order in which the six Comedies are placed in this translation, although the same that is observed in most editions and manuscripts, is not according to the real series in which they were written and exhibited by Terence: they succeeded each other in the original course of representation at Rome, as follows: 1. The Andrian;' 2. The Step-Mother;' 3. The Self-Tormentor;' 4. The Eunuch;' 5. Phormio;' 6. The Brothers.'

6

Madam Dacier, endeavouring to assign the motives that induced the most antient editors and transcribers to that arrangement of the plays in which we now see them, in preference to the true chronological order, imagines

it

it beyond a doubt, that they were influenced by the judgment of Volcatius Sedigitus; who, she supposes, had ranked every dramatic piece, as well as every author, according to his opinion of their merit; and who placed the Step-Mother' the last of our author's six plays.

Sumetur Hecyra sexta ex his fabula.

The Step-Mother,'

The last and least in merit of the six.

Agreeably to this notion, she places the 'Step-Mʊther' the last in her collection; which has induced her followers to do the same thing: but the truth is, that in most copies, the Step-Mother' stands the fifth; so that in all probability, as little respect was paid to the judgment of Volcatius concerning the respective merit of our author's several pieces, (if indeed he decided on them. all,) as to his injudicious decision of the rank due to him among the Comic Poets.

The old compilers had, I doubt not, a reason for the order in which they placed these Comedies: it is impossible to speak with any confidence on so dark a point at this distance of time; but after a longer investigatio of this matter than perhaps such a trifle required, it ap peared to me the most plausible, as well as most simpl manner of accounting for it, to suppose that, in regard to

the

the original authors from whom the Comedies were taken, the principal intention of the first compilers was merely to keep together all the pieces imitated from the same Greek poet. Accordingly, the four first plays, the Andrian,' Eunuch,' Self-Tormentor,' and 'Brothers,' are from Menander; and the two last, the 'Step-Mother,' and Phormio,' from Apollodorus. Allowing for this variation, they are ranged, as nearly as may be, according to the true order in which they appeared: for I take it for granted, that the Eunuch' is placed the second, that the Self-Tormentor' might not be forced out of its right place; since, in the present arrangement, the Self-Tormentor' and the Andrian' still precisely occupy their original rank. This however is submitted merely as conjecture: but it is remarkable, that however books differ in other respects, they all concur in giving the first place to the Andrian; though it would be difficult for the nicest critick to assign the reasons why it ought, in point of merit, to take the lead of the Eunuch;' or why either of the two should precede the Self-Tormentor.' It should seem therefore, that the chronological order was attended to by the old transcribers, as far as it could be reconciled to the plan on which they proceeded.

Before I conclude this Preface, it is necessary to speak of two or three circumstances peculiar to these Comedies.