ture have also been
corrected in numerous instances. But beyond this, nothing almost whatever
has been done, with the exception of the occasional emendation of what,
according to existing rules, would now be considered an ungrammatical
expression, or the substitution of a modern word for one that was obsolete
or provincial. The text itself, however, will show that very few changes
indeed of this description have been ventured upon. It was thought better,
for various reasons, that the author should be allowed to speak in his own
familiar tongue, than that he should be transformed into a modern
preacher. The remodelling of his style might have made it more agreeable
to some readers, but it would no longer have been the style of Binning,
nor characteristic of his age and country. His language, moreover, would
have lost much of its raciness in the attempt to mellow it.

An explanation of such words as have been employed by Binning, and are not
now in common use, or generally understood beyond the limits of Scotland,
has been given in the Notes. Many of his Latin quotations, when not
translated by himself, have likewise been explained, and verified, and
their authors pointed out. This, it is confessed, has been a very irksome
and laborious undertaking. As the classical quotations of the author, like
his quotations from scripture, have not unfrequently been made from
memory, the difficulty of tracing them to their proper sources was thereby
much increased. The necessary books were not always at hand to consult,
and even when these were obtained, it was sometimes found to be
impossible, after the most patient research, to discover the place where
the saying of some ancient writer was concealed. There are few notes
comparatively attached to the first part of the work, as the printing of
it commenced sooner than was expected. To supply this defect, some
_Notanda_ have been inserted after the Life of the Author.

But in addition to some of the classical quotations of the author, various
historical allusions required to be elucidated, along with certain obscure
references to passing events, and the opinions and proceedings of
different sects and parties. It is not pretended that every thing of this
kind has had light thrown upon it. But I can say this much with
confidence, that it has been my constant endeavour to discover the latent
or partially disclosed meaning of the author, and to give to the candid
reader the benefit of my r