Paul Scarron explains that his own laziness, not his printer’s neglect, is responsible for any errors in printing in his new book. Le Romant comique, or the Comical Novel (a very utilitarian title), was a great hit for Monsieur Scarron, and has gone through many editions since, but every subsequent edition still carries this notice to the reader. It’s part of the fun.
I give you no other Errata in my book than my book itself, which is all full of errors. It is less the printer’s fault than my own, since I have the bad habit of not finishing what I give to the printer until the day before the printing: so that, having still in my head what I composed such a short time ago, I reread the sheets brought to me to correct, in nearly the same way that I recited a lesson at the College that I had not had time to learn: I mean running my eyes over a few lines, and passing over what I have not already forgotten. If it is important to you to know why I am in such a hurry, that is something I don’t want to tell you; and if you are not interested in knowing it, I am still less interested in explaining it to you. Those who are able to distinguish the good from the bad in what they read will quickly recognize the mistakes that I should not have been capable of making, and those who do not understand what they are reading will not notice that I have made any mistakes. That, Benevolent Reader, or Malevolent Reader, is all I have to say to you. If my book pleases you enough to wish to see it in a more correct form, then buy it enough to call for a second printing, and I promise you that you will see it reviewed, augmented, and corrected.