in his opinion the two
conditions were identical. Whatever did not conform to his opinion of
Shakespeare's style he treated as an interpolation. His collation of the
texts, by convincing him of their corruption, only prompted him to a more
liberal exercise of his own judgment. In the supplementary volume of
Pope's edition, it had been suggested by Sewell that our great writers
should be treated in the same way as the classics were, and the idea was
put into practice by Theobald, who could say that his method of editing
was "the first assay of the kind on any modern author whatsoever." By his
careful collation of the Quartos and Folios, he pointed the way to the
modern editor. But he was followed by Hanmer, who, as his chief interest
was to rival Pope, was content with Pope's methods. It is easy to
underestimate the value of Hanmer's edition; his happy conjectures have
been prejudiced by his neglect of the older copies and his unfortunate
attempt to regularise the metre; but what alone concerns us here is that
he reverts to the methods which Theobald had discarded. Warburton,
confident in his intellectual gifts, was satisfied with Theobald's
examination of the early copies, and trusted to his own insight "to settle
the genuine text." The critical ingenuity of editors and commentators,
before the authority of the Folios was established, betrayed them into
inevitable error. The amusing variety of conjectural readings was met by
the exquisite satire of Fielding,(21) as well as by the heavy censure of
Grub Street. "It is to be wished," says a catchpenny publication, "that
the original text of Shakespeare were left unaltered for every English
reader to understand. The numerous fry of commentators will at last
explain his original meaning away."(22) This criticism was out of date by
the time of Johnson and Capell. As it has long been the fashion to decry
Johnson's edition, it is well to recall two statements in his Preface,
which show that he had already discovered what later editors have found
out for themselves:

"I collated all the folios at the beginning, but afterwards used
only the first."(23)

"It has been my settled principle that the reading of the ancient
books is probably true.... As I practised conjecture more, I
learned to trust it less."

Johnson's collation may not have been thorough; but no modern editor can
say that he proceeded on a wrong method.

Johnson has included in his Prefa