"I revised my comedies, together with some interludes which had lain some time in a corner, and I did not think them so wretched, but that they might appeal from the muddy brain of this player, to the clearer perception of other actors less scrupulous and more judicious."
— Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de (1547-1616); Smollett, Tobias (1721-1771)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for A. Millar
Date
1755
Metaphor
"I revised my comedies, together with some interludes which had lain some time in a corner, and I did not think them so wretched, but that they might appeal from the muddy brain of this player, to the clearer perception of other actors less scrupulous and more judicious."
Metaphor in Context
[...] I confess, I was not a little chagrined at hearing this declaration; and said to myself, Either I am quite altered or the times are greatly improved, contrary to common observation, by which the past is always preferred to the present. I revised my comedies, together with some interludes which had lain some time in a corner, and I did not think them so wretched, but that they might appeal from the muddy brain of this player, to the clearer perception of other actors less scrupulous and more judicious.--Being quite out of humour, I parted with a copy to a bookseller, who offered me a tolerable price: I took his money, without giving myself any further trouble about the actors, and he printed them as you see. I could wish they were the best in the world, or, at least, possessed of some merit. Gentle reader, thou wilt soon see how they are, and if thou canst find any thing to thy liking, and afterwards shouldst happen to meet with my back-biting actor, desire him, from me, to take care and mend himself; for, I offend no man: as for the plays, thou mayest tell him, they contain no glaring nonsense, no palpable absurdities.
(25)
(25)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
At least 21 entries in the ESTC (1755, 1761, 1765, 1766, 1770, 1782, 1783, 1784, 1786, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796)
See The History and Adventures of the Renowned Don Quixote. Translated from the Spanish of Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra, To Which is Prefixed, Some Account of the Author’s Life. By T. Smollett, M.D. Illustrated with Twenty-Eight New Copper-Plates, Designed by Hayman, and Engraved by the Best Artists. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed for A. Millar, over against Catherine-Street, in the Strand; T. Osborn, T. and T. Longman, C. Hitch and L. Hawes, J. Hodges, and J. and J. Rivington, 1755). <Link to ESTC>
Reading Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de. The History and Adventures of the Renowned Don Quixote, trans. Tobias Smollett (New York: Random House, 2001).
See The History and Adventures of the Renowned Don Quixote. Translated from the Spanish of Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra, To Which is Prefixed, Some Account of the Author’s Life. By T. Smollett, M.D. Illustrated with Twenty-Eight New Copper-Plates, Designed by Hayman, and Engraved by the Best Artists. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed for A. Millar, over against Catherine-Street, in the Strand; T. Osborn, T. and T. Longman, C. Hitch and L. Hawes, J. Hodges, and J. and J. Rivington, 1755). <Link to ESTC>
Reading Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de. The History and Adventures of the Renowned Don Quixote, trans. Tobias Smollett (New York: Random House, 2001).
Date of Entry
09/12/2008
