ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 301 



they do not understand, of immediately supposing a fault 

 in the copy. Thus, in that passage of Tacitus, where a 

 certain colony pleads a right of protection in the Senate, 

 Tacitus tells us they were not favorably heard ; so that the 

 ambassadors distrusting their cause, endeavored to procure 

 the favor of Titus Vinius by a present, and succeeded; 

 upon which Tacitus has these words: &quot;Turn dignitas et 

 antiquitas colonise valuit&quot; : &quot;Then the honor and antiquity 

 of the colony had weight,&quot; in allusion to the sum received. 1 

 But a considerable critic here expunges &quot;turn,&quot; and substi 

 tutes &quot;tantum,&quot; which quite corrupts the sense. And from 

 this ill practice of the critics, it happens that the most cor 

 rected copies are often the least correct. And to say the 

 truth, unless a critic is well acquainted with the sciences 

 treated in the books he publishes, his diligence will be 

 attended with danger. 



A second thing belonging to criticism is the explanation 

 and illustration of authors, comments, notes, collections, 

 etc. But here an ill custom has prevailed among the critics 

 of skipping over the obscure passages, and expatiating upon 

 such as are sufficiently clear, as if their design were not so 

 much to illustrate their author, as to take all occasions of 

 showing their own learning and reading. It were therefore 

 to be wished, that every original writer who treats an ob 

 scure or noble subject, would add his own explanations 

 to his own work, so as to keep the text continued and un 

 broken by digressions or illustrations, and thus prevent any 

 wrong interpretation by the notes of others. 



Thirdly, there belongs to criticism the thing from whence 

 its name is derived; viz., a certain concise judgment or cen 

 sure of the authors published, and a comparison of them 

 with other writers who have treated the same subject. 

 Whence the student may be directed in the choice of his 

 books, and come the better prepared to their perusal; and 

 this seems to be the ultimate office of the critic, and has 



Hist. b. i. c. 68. 



