A second edition was not called for until about 1742, when it was issued
at Shrewsbury; but in the thirty years following, as many as five
editions were published, and in the present century, at least twelve
editions (including two or three by the Rev. Canon Silvan Evans) have
appeared. The text followed in this volume is that of Mr. Isaac Foulkes'
edition, but recourse has also been had to the original edition for the
purpose of comparison. The only translation into English hitherto has
been that of George Borrow, published in London in 1860, and written in
that charming and racy style which characterises his other and better
known works. He has, however, fallen into many errors, which were only
natural, seeing that the Visions abound in colloquial words and phrases,
and in idiomatic forms of expression which it would be most difficult for
one foreign to our tongue to render correctly.

The author's name is not given in the original nor in any subsequent
edition previous to the one published at Merthyr Tydfil in 1806, where
the Gweledigaetheu are said to be by "Ellis Wynne." But it was well
known, even before his death, that he was the author; the fact being
probably deduced from the similarity in style between the Visions and an
acknowledged work, namely, his translation of the Holy Living. The most
likely reason for his preferring anonymity is not far to seek; his
scathing denunciation of the sins of certain classes and, possibly, even
of certain individuals, would be almost sure to draw upon the author
their most bitter attacks. Many of the characters he depicts would be
identified, rightly or wrongly, with certain of his contemporaries, and
many more, whom he never had in his mind at all, would imagine themselves
the objects of his satire; he had nothing to gain by imperilling himself
at the hands of such persons, or by coming into open conflict with them;
he had his message to deliver to his fellow-countrymen, his Visions a