disregard the petty depredations which the
writers of several of them have committed upon his earlier text, were it
not possible, that by such a frittering-away of his work, he himself might
one day seem to some to have copied that from others which was first taken
from him. Trusting to make it manifest to men of learning, that in the
production of the books which bear his name, far more has been done for the
grammar of our language than any single hand had before achieved within the
scope of practical philology, and that with perfect fairness towards other
writers; he cannot but feel a wish that the integrity of his text should be
preserved, whatever else may befall; and that the multitude of scribblers
who judge it so needful to remodel Murray's defective compilation, would
forbear to publish under his name or their own what they find only in the
following pages.

26. The mere rivalry of their authorship is no subject of concern; but it
is enough for any ingenuous man to have toiled for years in solitude to
complete a work of public utility, without entering a warfare for life to
defend and preserve it. Accidental coincidences in books are unfrequent,
and not often such as to excite the suspicion of the most sensitive. But,
though the criteria of plagiarism are neither obscure nor disputable, it is
not easy, in this beaten track of literature, for persons of little reading
to know what is, or is not, original. Dates must be accurately observed;
and a multitude of minute things must be minutely compared. And who will
undertake such a task but he that is personally interested? Of the
thousands who are forced into the paths of learning, few ever care to know,
by what pioneer, or with what labour, their way was cast up for them. And
even of those who are honestly engaged in teaching, not many are adequate
judges of the comparative merits of the great number of books on this
subject. The common notions of mankind conform more easily to fashion than
to truth; and even of some things within their reach, the majority seem
contend to take their opinions upon trust. Hence, it is vain to expect that
that which is intrinsically best, will be everywhere preferred; or that
which is meritoriously elaborate, adequately appreciated. But common sense
might dictate, that learning is not encouraged or respected by those who,
for the making of books, prefer a pair of scissors to the pen.

27. The fortune of a grammar is not always an accu