the remembrance of a most serious, and, in truth, nearly the last conversation which passed between himself and Mr. Fox; and upon this circumstance he would rest his apology for submitting them, on the present occasion, to the consideration of the public. As he had expressed some of his expectations upon the probable merit of Mr. Fox's History in the earlier part of his Notes, and before the appearance of the work itself, he could not with propriety be quite silent when that History had seen the light, and when it was in his power to form a more correct opinion of its excellencies and its faults. He is aware that some controversial discussions, which in justice to Mr. Fox's memory he could not avoid, will be interesting chiefly to ecclesiastical readers. But it should not be forgotten that among them will be found many persons of learning, sense, and virtue, to whose esteem Mr. Fox, if he were living, would not be indifferent, and to whose judgment therefore is more particularly addressed the vindication of Mr. Fox's principles from the severe charges brought against them in a periodical work, which has, and deserves to have, a very extensive circulation, and a very favourable reception, among the teachers of the Established Church. As to the Notes, which in number and in size have imperceptibly grown far beyond the original expectation of the Editor, he must content himself with stating, that the additional ones suggested themselves to his mind when he was gathering a rank and huge bundle of errata in the sheets printed off; that the matter contained in them, and the precedings ones, relates to subjects which he thinks important; that he in all probability will have no future opportunity for communicating his opinions upon those subjects; and that he sees no reason for believing even the present communication of them likely to be unacceptable to that class of readers to whose decisions upon questions of criticism, politics, and ethics, he is disposed to pay the greatest respect. The Editor owes great praise to the patience, diligence, and even sagacity of his Printer, in contending with the difficulties of a manuscript, which was sent to him in loose papers, had been written by eleven different scribes, and obscured by numerous references, corrections, erasures, and additions. In truth, the Editor has felt frequent and serious inconvenience from his early and perverse inattention to an attainment, the usefulness of which was justly appreciated by an ancient critic: "Non est aliena res, quæ fere ab honestis negligi solet, cura bene et velociter scribendi. Nam cùm sit in studiis præcipuum, quoque solo verus ille profectus, et altis radicibus nixus paretur, scribere ipsum: tardior stylus cogitationem moratur; rudis et confusus intellectu caret: unde sequitur alter dictandi, quæ et transferenda sunt, labor."* He unfortunately accustomed himself "velociter scribere, non bene," and often has he been induced by * Quintilian, lib. i. cap. i. p. 13. ed. Gesner, V. Not. et VV. LL. his own painful experience to recommend Quintilian's observation to young men, who, conscious of their natural talents, and their literary acquisitions, were disposed to slight good penmanship, as below the notice of a scholar. He has sometimes wished that it had been his own lot to aspire to the calligraphy of the Antiquarii, or the united accuracy and rapidity of the Notarii, whom Scaliger describes in his learned remarks upon Ausonius,* Those wishes must now be unavailing-But he hopes to put some check upon the boyish heedlessness, or petty vanity of other men, by reminding them, that in the art of writing Mr. Fox was eminently distinguished by the clearness and firmness, Mr. Professor Porson by the correctness and elegance, and Sir William Jones by the ease, beauty, and variety, of the characters which they respectively employed.* * Vid. Note on Epigram 146, and Epistol. 16. printed off; that the matter contained in them, an the precedings ones, relates to subjects which h thinks important; that he in all probability wi have no future opportunity for communicating hi opinions upon those subjects; and that he sees no reason for believing even the present communication of them likely to be unacceptable to that class o readers to whose decisions upon questions of criticism, politics, and ethics, he is disposed to pay the greatest respect. The Editor owes great praise to the patience, diligence, and even sagacity of his Printer, in contending with the difficulties of a manuscript, which was sent to him in loose papers, had been written by eleven different scribes, and obscured by numerous references, corrections, erasures, and additions. In truth, the Editor has felt frequent and serious inconvenience from his early and perve inattention to an attainment, the usefulne which was justly appreciated by an ancient "Non est aliena res, quæ fere ab honest solet, cura bene et velociter scribendi. sit in studiis præcipuum, quoque s profectus, et altis radicibus nixus ipsum: tardior stylus cogitationer et confusus intellectu caret: u dictandi, quæ et transferenda unfortunately accustomed him bere, non bene," and often has |