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The Dramatic Works of John Ford, in Two Volumes
The Dramatic Works of John Ford in Two Volumes Author:John Ford General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1827 Original Publisher: John Murray, Albemarle Street. Subjects: Drama / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Literary Criticism / Drama Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illu... more »strations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: In the long list of errors and emendations which follows, it will be seen that the first column of figures applies to the present edition, the second to the former. The numbers indicate the pages where the corresponding passages will be found. THE LOVER'S MELANCHOLY Ciford, p. 7. Wtber, 17. be doth not owe To others' fancies; " We have here a very indubitable allusion to Ben Jonson. His high conceit of his abilities, and ' his stolen inventions from the antients,' were used as excellent weapons of retaliation by his opponents." Mr, Weber is " very indubitably," an admirable judge of what belongs to the ancients, and a no less admirable critic on the originality of his author! It happens, unfortunately for his sagacity, on the present occasion, however, that this drama abounds in " stolen inventions" above all the rest. But let not the poet suffer for the ignorance of his editor. Omit the false pointing after fancies, and read with the old copy -- Our writer, for himself, would have you know That, in the following scenes, he doth not owe To others' fancies, nor hath lain in wait For any stolen invention, (from whose height He might commend his own,) more than the right A scholar claims, may warrant for delight. Here, instead of insulting any one, the poet offers a judicious apology for his own borrowings; and asserts the freedom which every scholar may lawfully take with the work of liis predecessors. G. ...« less