The influence of the treatise outside of England was considerable and important.Lessing undertook to translate it,and many instances have been pointed out in which his "Laocoon"is indebted to Burke;so that Burke ranks among the sources of that fertilising contribution to the mind of the great German thinker which he was always eager to acknowledge.
Preface I have endeavoured to make this edition something more full and satisfactory than the first.I have sought with the utmost care,and read with equal attention,everything which has appeared in public against my opinions;
I have taken advantage of the candid liberty of my friends;and if by these means I
have been better enabled to discover the imperfections of the work,the indulgence it has received,imperfect as it was,furnished me with a new motive to spare no reasonable pains for its improvement.Though I have not found sufficient reason,or what appeared to me sufficient,for making any material change in my theory,I have found it necessary in many places to explain,illustrate,and enforce it.I have prefixed an introductory discourse concerning Taste:it is a matter curious in itself;and it leads naturally enough to the principal inquiry.This,with the other explanations,has made the work considerably larger;and by increasing its bulk,has,I am afraid,added to its faults;so that,notwithstanding all my attention,it may stand in need of a yet greater share of indulgence than it required at its first appearance.
They who are accustomed to studies of this nature will expect,and they will allow too for many faults.They know that many of the objects of our inquiry are in themselves obscure and intricate;and that many others have been rendered so by affected refinements or false learning;they know that there are many impediments in the subject,in the prejudices of others,and even in our own,that render it a matter of no small difficulty to show in a clear light the genuine face of nature.They know that,whilst the mind is intent on the general scheme of things,some particular parts must be neglected;that we must often submit the style to the matter,and frequently give up the praise of elegance,satisfied with being clear.
The characters of nature are legible,it is true;but they are not plain enough to enable those who run,to read them.We must make use of a cautious,I had almost said a timorous,method of proceeding.We must not attempt to fly,when we can scarcely pretend to creep.In considering any complex matter,we ought to examine every distinct ingredient in the composition,one by one;
and reduce everything to the utmost simplicity;since the condition of our nature binds us to a strict law and very narrow limits.We ought afterwards to re-examine the principles by the effect of the composition,as well as the composition by that of the principles.We ought to compare our subject with things of a similar nature,and even with things of a contrary nature;
for discoveries may be,and often are,made by the contrast,which would escape us on the single view.The greater number of the comparisons we make,the more general and the more certain our knowledge is like to prove,as built upon a more extensive and perfect induction.
