First edition. In a recent half-leather binding, marbled paper to boards, with laid-paper endpapers. No half-title. Contents are age-toned but clean, a little chipping to four page edges, no loss to text. [2], xxxix, [1], 406pp. Edward Gibbon's verdict on this book was that it was ""the most acute and accurate piece of criticism since the days of [Richard] Bentley.""