July 10.
_Critical Digest of various Readings in the Works of Shakspeare._--There is
much activity in the literary world just now about the text of Shakspeare:
but one most essential work, in reference to that text, still remains to be
performed,--I mean, the publication of a complete digest of _all_ the
various readings, in a concise shape, such as those which we possess in
relation to the MSS. and other editions of nearly every classical author.
At present, all editions of Shakspeare which claim to be considered
critical, contain much loose information on readings, mixed up with notes
(frequently very diffuse) on miscellaneous topics. This is not in the least
what we require: we need a regular _digest_ of readings, wholly distinct
from long debates about their value.
What I mean will be plain to any one who is familiar with any good critical
edition of the Greek New Testament, or with such books as Gaisford's
_Herodotus_, the Berlin _Aristotle_, the Zurich _Plato_, and the like. We
ought to have, first, a good text of Shakspeare: such as may represent, as
fairly as possible, the real results of the labours of the soundest
critics; and, secondly, page by page, at the foot of that text, the
following particulars: