The greater part of this Play (the Frogs) had been printed upwards of twenty years ago, having been intended for private distribution; an intention to which the writer adheres, being unwilling to cancel what had been already printed and in part distributed; and being at the same time aware that the system of metrical notation here adopted is imperfect, inasmuch as no distinction is marked between the dominant and the minor accents, nor are the legitimate substitutes for the Iambic dipodium sufficiently indicated—Such as it is then, with this acknowledged imperfection, he ventures to present it to his friends and to his friends only, satisfied with having secured the existence of the text, upon which much time and attention had been bestowed, but without venturing to obtrude upon the public a work, (in its present form and appearance at least) avowedly defective.
