Book Description:
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE EDITOR'S PREFACE. Fkom the justly acquired celebrity of Dr. Goldsmith, the original compiler of this Work, it seems highly neces sary, as well through respect to the genius and erudition of that great author, as regard to public opinion, that I should state the reasons which induced me to attempt the revision and correction of a book, which has been, for a long series of years, so general a favourite in our schools. That Dr. Goldsmith, in those productions which he in Vtended as a monument of literary immortality, has display d abilities, which seldom have been equalled, or perhaps snever have been surpassed, is generally admitted: but, that in many, which were written through necessity, and pub j lished without revisal, he has fallen below authors, whose V names are scarcely mentioned in the page of criticism, is a truth, which stands attested by their perusal. rt My first intention was merely to render innocuous those passages, which, by their indecency, were sure to promote hesitation in the reader, and to cover with a blush the cheek of modesty. That such recitals should be tolerated by the instructors of our youth, is extraordinary: thus, by repetition, familiarizing the infant mind with obscenity, and associating indelicacy with instruction. To obviate this, by even a partial rejection of historical matter, has not, in the. present edition, been attempted. Such a course, might be fairly censured by the friendly, or, with severity, be attacked by the fastidious. The remedy, I have sought, in the substitution of language, which, without partaking of vulgarity, may be found equally expressive of the meaning. Though, however, my original plan was confined to di vesting the work of those passages which were the mo!t...
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