BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
This volume and volumeXII.contain those of Hazlitt’s writings which remained uncollected during his lifetime and have not been included in earlier volumes of the present edition. Some of these writings were published by the author’s son in the three works of which particulars are given below; one of them, the essay ‘On Abstract Ideas,’ was published in the second edition (1836) ofAn Essay on the Principles of Human Action(cf. Bibliographical Note, vol.VII.p. 384); a few, viz. ‘Common Places’ and ‘Trifles Light as Air,’ were included in Mr. W. C. Hazlitt’s edition ofThe Round Table(Bohn’s Standard Library, 1871); but most of the papers are here reprinted for the first time. See the Table of Contents, where the essays which have never been republished before are marked by an asterisk. The evidence upon which the Editors have relied in respect of this fresh material will be found in the Notes. A great many of the Essays now printed have not hitherto been identified as Hazlitt’s, but none have been included concerning which the Editors feel any doubt.
The works published by the author’s son and referred to above are as follows:—
1. ‘Literary Remains of the late William Hazlitt.With a Notice of his Life, By his Son, and Thoughts on his Genius and Writings, By E. L. Bulwer, Esq., M.P. and Mr. Sergeant Talfourd, M.P. In Two Volumes. London: Saunders and Otley, Conduit Street. 1836.’ Vol.I.contained (as a frontispiece) Bewick’s crayon drawing of Hazlitt reproduced in vol.VIII.of the present edition; a Sonnet ‘written on seeing Bewick’s Chalk-Drawing of the Head of Hazlitt’ by Sheridan Knowles; a ‘Biographical Sketch’ of Hazlitt by his son; ‘Some Thoughts on the Genius of William Hazlitt’ signed ‘The Author of “Eugene Aram”‘; ‘Thoughts upon the Intellectual Character of the late William Hazlitt,’ by Mr. Sergeant Talfourd, M.P.; ‘Character of Hazlitt,’ by Charles Lamb, extracted from the well-known ‘Letter of Elia to Robert Southey, Esq.’ (1823); six ‘Sonnets to the Memory of Hazlitt’ by ‘A Lady’; and the following essays by Hazlitt, viz.: (i) Project for a new Theory of Civil and Criminal Legislation, (ii) Definition of Wit, (iii) On Means and Ends, (iv) Belief, whether Voluntary? (v) Personal Politics, (vi) On the Writings of Hobbes, (vii) On Liberty and Necessity, (viii) On Locke’s Essay on the Human Understanding, and (ix) On Tooke’s Diversions of Purley.—Vol.II.contained the following essays by Hazlitt, viz.: (i) On Self-Love, (ii) On the Conduct of Life; or, Advice to a School-boy, (iii) On the Fine Arts, (iv) The Fight, (v) On the Want of Money, (vi) On the Feeling of Immortality in Youth, (vii) The Main-Chance, (viii) The Opera, (ix) Of Persons One Would Wish to Have Seen, (x) My First Acquaintance with Poets, (xi) The Shyness of Scholars, (xii) The Vatican, and (xiii) On the Spirit of Monarchy. Of these, the essay ‘On the Fine Arts’ and the essay on ‘The Vatican’ are included in vol.IX.of the present edition; the rest are published in this volume or in vol.XII.
2. ‘Sketches and Essays.By William Hazlitt. Now first collected by his Son. London: John Templeman, 248, Regent Street.MDCCCXXXIX.’ An Advertisement states that ‘The volume which the Editor has here the gratification of presenting to the public, consists of Essays contributed by their author to various periodicals. None of them have hitherto been published in a collective form, and it is confidently anticipated that they will be received as an acceptable Companion to the “Table Talk” and “Plain Speaker.”’ The contents are as follows: (i) On Reading New Books, (ii) On Cant and Hypocrisy, (iii) Merry England, (iv) On a Sun-Dial, (v) On Prejudice, (vi) Self-Love and Benevolence (a Dialogue), (vii) On Disagreeable People, (viii) On Knowledge of the World, (ix) On Fashion, (x) On Nicknames, (xi) On Taste, (xii) Why the Heroes of Romance are insipid, (xiii) On the Conversation of Lords, (xiv) The Letter-Bell, (xv) Envy, (xvi) On the Spirit of Partisanship, (xvii) Footmen, and (xviii) A Chapter on Editors. This volume was reprinted in 1852 with ‘Sketches and Essays’ as a half-title and the following title-page: ‘Men and Manners: Sketches and Essays. By William Hazlitt. London: Published at the office of the Illustrated London Library, 227 Strand.MDCCCII.’ In this edition the essay entitled ‘Self-Love and Benevolence (A Dialogue)’ is omitted. A third edition (which has been reprinted from time to time) was published in 1872 in Bohn’s Standard Library, edited by Mr. W. C. Hazlitt.
3. ‘Winterslow: Essays and Characters written there.By William Hazlitt. Collected by his Son. London: David Bogue, Fleet Street.MDCCCL.’ This small 8vo volume contained the following essays: (i) My First Acquaintance with Poets, (ii) Of Persons One Would Wish to Have Seen, (iii) Party Spirit, (iv) On the Feeling of Immortality in Youth, (v) On Public Opinion, (vi) On Personal Identity, (vii) Mind and Motive, (viii) On Means and Ends, (ix) Matter and Manner, (x) On Consistency of Opinion, (xi) Project for a new Theory of Civil and Criminal Legislation, (xii) On the Character of Burke, (xiii) On the Character of Fox, (xiv) On the Character of Pitt, (xv) On the Character of Lord Chatham, (xvi) Belief, whether Voluntary, and (xvii) A Farewell to Essay-Writing. This volume was republished in 1872 along withSketches and Essaysin the volume of Bohn’s Standard Library referred to above. Of the essays published inWinterslowthe Characters of Burke, Fox, Pitt and Lord Chatham are included in vol.III.of the present edition (Political Essays). The rest of the essays published inSketches and EssaysandWintersloware included in vols.XI.andXII.of the present edition.
It will be seen thatLiterary RemainsandWinterslowto some extent overlap one another, and thatWinterslowcontained several essays which had already been published inPolitical Essays. Under these circumstances it has been found necessary in the present edition to adopt a fresh scheme of arrangement in place of republishingLiterary Remains,Sketches and EssaysandWinterslowas they stand. Each essay, whether contained in one of those posthumous collections or now republished for the first time, is printed in chronological order under the heading of the magazine or newspaper in which it originally appeared; and the magazines themselves are arranged in a chronological order based upon the respective dates atwhich Hazlitt began to contribute to them. The only exception to this last scheme of arrangement is that at the end of the present volume it was found convenient to take the ‘Common Places’ fromThe Literary Examinera little before their turn. They should strictly have followed the contributions toThe Liberalin vol.XII., but it was thought better not to divide between two volumes the important essays fromThe New Monthly Magazinewhich now begin vol.XII.
This plan of arrangement seemed on the whole the simplest and best, and it is hoped that with the aid of the Tables of Contents and the Index the reader will have no difficulty in finding any particular essay.
In the present edition all the essays, the magazine source of which is known, have been printedverbatimfrom the magazines themselves. In preparingLiterary Remains,Sketches and EssaysandWinterslowfor the press the author’s son took considerable liberties with the text. In one or two cases the alterations which he made may have been based on aMS.or a copy of a magazine with corrections by Hazlitt, but far more often the essays were reprinted with omissions and trifling alterations made, as it would seem, by the editor himself on his own responsibility. Some passages thus omitted and now restored for the first time are of great interest. The more important of them are specially indicated in the notes. In the few cases where the author’s son added passages from a MS. or other authoritative source, the passages have been given either in the text (with a note indicating where they occur), or in the Notes.
In addition to the essays printed in the text of this volume and to those referred to in the notes it may be convenient to mention here a few essays which may have been written by Hazlitt but have been omitted from the present edition on the ground that his authorship is not sufficiently certain. They are arranged in the following list under the heading of the magazine in which they first appeared.
I.The Examiner.
II.The Edinburgh Magazine(new Series).
Three papers on the criminal law, viz.: ‘Historical View of the Progress of Opinion on the Criminal Law and the Punishment of Death’ (March, 1819, vol.IV.p. 195); ‘Parliamentary Report on the Criminal Laws’ (Dec., 1819, vol.V.p. 491); and a short paper on the same subject (Jan. 1820, vol.VI.p. 26). Mr. W. C. Hazlitt in hisMemoirs, etc.(vol.I.p. xxvi.) attributes these articles to Hazlitt, perhaps on the strength of someMS.or proof in his possession at the date of theMemoirs(1867). Hazlitt’s authorship, however, though very probable, does not seem to be certain, and as the papers consist largely of extracts from a Parliamentary Report, they have been omitted from the present edition. Hazlitt’s views on capital punishment will be found in an extract which was first published inFraser’s Magazinein 1831 and is reprinted in vol.XII.
III.The London Magazine.