documents in the Heralds' Office connected with the coat of arms
obtained for the playwright's father. Such typical expansions were
the result of conscientious research.

Second, all critics have agreed to condemn the digression in which
Theobald advertised his ability to emend Greek texts. Theobald himself
was hesitant about including it lest he be indicted for pedantry, but
was encouraged to do so by Warburton, who later scoffed at what he had
originally admired. This much may be said in Theobald's behalf. Such a
digression would not have seemed irrelevant in an age which took its
classical scholarship seriously; and such digressions, arising naturally
out of context and strategically placed before the conclusion, were not
only allowed but actually encouraged by classical rhetoricians like
Cicero and Quintilian, whose teachings were still standard in the
English schools.

Finally, the Preface exists in two forms. The later and shorter form
was that designed for Theobald's second edition (1740), which omits all
passages presumably contributed by Warburton and more besides, the
section on Greek texts, and the list of acknowledgements to contemporary
Shakespearian enthusiasts. This abridged form has been frequently
reprinted. From a copy in the University of Michigan Library the
original Preface is here reproduced for the first time.

Hugh G. Dick
University of California,
Los Angeles

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