the share of multitudes. In this hiftory of his life, will be contained a large account of his writings; a critique on the nature, force, and extent of his genius, exemplified from these writings; and a vindication of his moral character, exemplified by his more diftinguished virtues; his filial piety, his difinterested friendships, his reverence for the conftitution of his country, his love and admiration of VIRTUE, and, (what was the neceffary effect) his hatred and contempt of VICE, his extenfive charity to the indigent, his warm benevolence to mankind, his fupreme veneration of the Deity, and above all his fincere belief of REVELATION. Nor fhall his faults be concealed. It is not for the interests of his Virtues that they should. Nor indeed could they be concealed, if we were fo difpofed, for they shine thro' his Virtues; no man being more a Dupe to the fpecious appearances of virtue in others. In a word, I mean not to be his Panegyrift but his Historian. And may I, when Envy and Calumny have taken the fame advantage of my absence (for, while I live, I will freely truft it to

my

my Life to confute them) may I find a Friend as careful of my honest fame as I have been of His!-Together with his Works, he hath bequeathed me his DUNCES. So that as the property is transferred, I could wifh they would now let his The veil which Death memory alone. draws over the Good is fo facred, that to tear it, and with facrilegious hands, to throw dirt upon the Shrine, gives scandal even to Barbarians. And tho' Rome per

mitted her flaves to calumniate her beft Citizens on the day of Triumph, yet the fame petulancy at their Funeral would have been rewarded with execration and a Gibbet.

The Public may be malicious: but is rarely vindictive or ungenerous. It would abhor all infults, on a writer dead, tho' it had borne with the ribaldry, or even fet the Ribalds on work, when he was alive. And in this there is no great harm: for he must have a strange impotency of mind indeed whom fuch miferable fcriblers can difturb or ruffle. Of all that gross Beotian phalanx who have written fcurrilously against the Editor, he knows not fo much as One whom a wri

ter

ter of reputation would not wifh to have his enemy, or whom a man of honour would not be afhamed to own for his friend. He is indeed but flightly converfant in their works, and knows little of the particulars of their defamation. To his Authorship they are heartily welBut if any of them have been fo far abandoned by Truth as to attack his moral character in any refpect whatfoever, to all and every one of These and their Abettors, he gives the LYE in form, and in the words of honeft Father Valerian, MENTIRIS IMPUDENTISSIME.

come.

PREFAC E.

I

Am inclined to think that both the writers of books, and the readers of them, are generally not a little unreasonable in their expectations. The first seem to fancy the world must approve whatever they produce, and the latter to imagine that authors are obliged to please them at any rate. Methinks, as on the one hand no fingle man is born with a right of controuling the opinions of all the reft; so on the other, the world has no title to demand, that the whole care and time of any particular person should be facrificed to its entertainment. Therefore I cannot but believe that writers and readers are under equal obligations, for as much fame, or pleafure, as each affords the other.

Every one acknowledges, it would be a wild notion to expect perfection in any work of man: and yet one would think the contrary was taken for granted, by the judgment commonly past upon Poems. A Critic fuppofes he has done his part, if he proves a writer to have failed in an expreffion, or erred in any particular point: and can it then be wondered at, if the Poets in general feem refolved not to own themselves in any error? For as long as one fide will make no al