It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employments of life, to be rather driven by the fear of evil, than
attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed to censure, without hope of praise; to be disgraced by
miscarriage, or punished for neglect, where success would have been without applause, and diligence without
reward.

Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dictionaries; whom mankind have considered, not as the pupil,
but the slave of science, the pionier of literature, doomed only to remove rubbish and clear obstructions from
the paths through which Learning and Genius press forward to conquest and glory, without bestowing a smile
on the humble drudge that facilitates their progress. Every other authour may aspire to praise; the
lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach, and even this negative recompense has been yet granted to
very few.