In his Preface Mr. Newman stated with respect to the
translation “that for almost the whole of it the Editors were
indebted to Mr. Church, Fellow of Oriel College.” Mr.
Church was at that time a very young man, having taken his First Class
in Michaelmas Term, 1836; and this his first published work gave
abundant promise of that peculiar felicity of expression, which made
him in maturer life one of the most perfect masters of the English
tongue. Having received full liberty to make such use of his
translation as I might deem most desirable for the purpose of the
present Edition, I have been obliged to exercise my own judgment both
in preserving much of Dean Church’s work unaltered, and in
revising it wherever the meaning of the original appeared to be less
perfectly expressed.