’Tis like Sir, you will think it strange, that I make so Pious a Person asTheodora, offer her Breast toDidymus’s Sword, and by soliciting him to Kill her, tempt him to an Action, which would makeherguilty of a Murder, and makehimgreatly accessory to it. But possibly her Action would not appear very strange, if we were not too enclinable to estimate the Affairs of Past Times, and Remote Regions, by the Opinions and Customes of our own Age and Countrys. For, what ever we now justly think of the sinfulness of Destroying a Mans self, whether immediately or otherwise, yet I must not deny, but that divers of the Ancient Christians thought it not Criminal, when it was necessary for the preservation of Chastity. And, if I much misremember not, St.Jeromhimself, where he speaks of the unlawfulness of Self-destroying, intimates, that he excepts the Case of an inevitable danger of a Rape. But my chief answer is, that having found the Virgin Martyrs proposal expresly deliver’d by the Author I was to follow, I judg’d it the part of an Historian not to suppress it; which I acknowledge, I the rather declin’d to do, becauseTheodorasoffer was a noble evincement, both of her Gratitude and her Generosity. And therefore, instead of Omitting so considerable an Action of hers, I chose rather to Set my thoughts a work, to find a plausible Colour for it. Which whether I have happily done, by supplying her with the Example of a Prophet, who, though he would not cast Himself into the Sea, yet solicited Others to cast him, (and that having first bound him) I must leave You to judge.
I freely confess, Sir, that, if the following Piece had been written by One, that I were fond of Censuring, I could my self find enough in it to Criticize upon; and should object against it, besides the want of Uniformity throughout, That if judg’d of by the strict Rules of Art, it ought to pass for an Irregular Piece. And therefore I shall not wonder, if Nicer Criticks, and more vers’d in Exquisite Composures than I pretend to be, shall find fault with this Artless one of mine. But the reception that the following Papers met with, from the Persons for whom they were chiefly written, affords me the Consolation derivable from the ingenious saying of that excellent Wit, who declar’d,He had rather the Dishes serv’d up at his Treat, should please the Guests, than the Cooks. And I might say too, that some of the Passages that may meet with Censure, would perhaps escape it; if in writing this Book many years agoe, I had not had some Aims, that I then thought more fit to be Pursu’d, than I now do to be Declar’d. Yet I will not here dissemble, that I know it may be thought by some, that this Paper should have consisted less of Conversations, and more of Narratives. But I chose the way of Writing I have employ’d,partlybecause the Authors I met with furnish’d me with so very few matters of Fact, that if I would have confin’d my self to Relations; I must have compriz’d this piece in a very few Pages, and have finish’d it presently after I had begun it: Andpartlytoo, (and indeed much more) because (as I lately began to intimate) my chief design was not so much, to perform the Office of a meer Historian, as to take Rises from the several Circumstances I should relate, to convey unperceivedly, into the minds of those young Persons of Quality for whom I wrote, Sentiments of true Piety and Vertue. And these I thought would not so happily gain admittance and entertainment, it they were presented in a Scholar like Discourse, or a profess’d Book of devotion, as when they were taken, not from common places but from the Nature of the Things and Persons Introduc’d; and without formality Instill’d by the occasional discourses of a young Gentleman and fair Lady, for whom the Beauty and the Merit ascrib’d to the Speakers, had given the Hearers a great Esteem and Kindness. And I shall not scruple to own, that I, who value time above most other things, did not think it worth the expence of mine, to give my self the trouble of Writing a Book, only to give others a Divertisement in Reading it. And whilst I was Conversing with such Excellent Company, as our noble Martyrs, and Meditating on such Serious Subjects, as are Death, and the Worth of that Heavenly Religion for whose sake They despis’d It; I found my self Incited, and thought my self Oblig’d, to aim less at the Pleasing of some few Nice Exactors of Regularity, than to Possess many Readers with high and noble Sentiments of the Christian Religion, and the sublime Dictates of it; and thereby both Elevate their minds to a generous Contempt of all they can lose and suffer for it, and Fill them with brightIdea’s of Heroick Vertue, and of the much brighter Glories that will Crown it. By such Reflections, I was induc’d not to omit some Passages that seem’d likely to further the main Ends I pursu’d, though I forsaw, that perhaps some rigid Judges would say, that they might have been spar’d. ForasI writ not a Romance, wherein Authors are wont to aim no higher, than to Delight the Delicate Readers, and Escape the Critical ones, by making their Composures Diverting and Regular;soI presum’d that to employ a more Useful, though less Fashionamble way of Writing, was allowable for Me, who oughttoendeavour in such a piece as This, rather to propose Patterns of Vertue, than Models of Skill or Eloquence; andtothink it more Successful, if the Readers shall upon perusing it, Imitate our excellent Martyrs Piety, than if they should only Applaud their History. Which both as to Stile and Reasonings, is freely submitted to your Judgment, by
Sir,your most&c.
ERRATA.
Preface Page 3. line 19. readJonathan Cæsar, &c.p. 5. l. 11. r.feign ContentsCh. 1. r.Chamber. Ch. 3. r.thinking. P. 80. l. 16. r.manifest Danger, &c. p. 89. l. 14. r.and let her see, &c. p. 152. l. 14. r.enough. p. 222. l. 17. r.her Kindness, &c. p. 227. l. 1. forhaving, r.did. ibid. l. 4. forassum’d, r.assume. p. 238, l. 15. r.of all other, &c.
Preface Page 3. line 19. readJonathan Cæsar, &c.p. 5. l. 11. r.feign ContentsCh. 1. r.Chamber. Ch. 3. r.thinking. P. 80. l. 16. r.manifest Danger, &c. p. 89. l. 14. r.and let her see, &c. p. 152. l. 14. r.enough. p. 222. l. 17. r.her Kindness, &c. p. 227. l. 1. forhaving, r.did. ibid. l. 4. forassum’d, r.assume. p. 238, l. 15. r.of all other, &c.
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California
The Augustan Reprint Society
General Editors
H. Richard ArcherWm. Andrews Clark Memorial LibraryR. C. BoysUniversity of MichiganRalph CohenUniversity of California, Los AngelesVinton A. DearingUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Corresponding Secretary:Mrs. Edna C. Davis, Wm. Andrews Clark Memorial Library
The Society exists to make available inexpensive reprints (usually facsimile reproductions) of rare seventeenth and eighteenth century works. The editorial policy of the Society remains unchanged. As in the past, the editors welcome suggestions concerning publications. All income of the Society is devoted to defraying cost of publication and mailing.
All correspondence concerning subscriptions in the United States and Canada should be addressed to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles 18, California. Correspondence concerning editorial matters may be addressed to any of the general editors. The membership fee is $3.00 a year for subscribers in the United States and Canada and 15/- for subscribers in Great Britain and Europe. British and European subscribers should address B. H. Blackwell, Broad Street, Oxford, England.
Publications for the seventh year [1952-1953]
(At least six items, most of them from the following list, will be reprinted.)
Selections from the Tatler, the Spectator, the Guardian.Introduction by Donald F. Bond.Bernard Mandeville:A Letter to Dion(1732). Introduction by Jacob Viner.M. C. Sarbiewski:The Odes of Casimire(1646). Introduction by Maren-Sofie Rœstvig.An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding(1751). Introduction by James A. Work.[Thomas Morrison]:A Pindarick Ode on Painting(1767). Introduction by Frederick W. Hilles.[John Phillips]:Satyr Against Hypocrits(1655). Introduction by Leon Howard.Prefaces to Fiction.Second series. Selected with an introduction by Charles Davies.Thomas Warton:A History of English Poetry: An Unpublished Continuation.Introduction by Rodney M. Baine.
Selections from the Tatler, the Spectator, the Guardian.Introduction by Donald F. Bond.
Bernard Mandeville:A Letter to Dion(1732). Introduction by Jacob Viner.
M. C. Sarbiewski:The Odes of Casimire(1646). Introduction by Maren-Sofie Rœstvig.
An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding(1751). Introduction by James A. Work.
[Thomas Morrison]:A Pindarick Ode on Painting(1767). Introduction by Frederick W. Hilles.
[John Phillips]:Satyr Against Hypocrits(1655). Introduction by Leon Howard.
Prefaces to Fiction.Second series. Selected with an introduction by Charles Davies.
Thomas Warton:A History of English Poetry: An Unpublished Continuation.Introduction by Rodney M. Baine.
Publications for the first six years (with the exception of nos. 1-6, which are out of print) are available at the rate of $3.00 a year. Prices for individual numbers may be obtained by writing to the Society.
THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETYWILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY2205 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles 18, California
Make check or money order payable toThe Regents of the University of California.
PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY
First Year(1946-47)
Numbers 1-6 out of print.
Second Year(1947-1948)
7. John Gay’sThe Present State of Wit(1711); and a section on Wit fromThe English Theophrastus(1702).8. Rapin’sDe Carmine Pastorali, translated by Creech (1684).9. T. Hanmer’s (?)Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet(1736).10. Corbyn Morris’Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit, etc.(1744).11. Thomas Purney’sDiscourse on the Pastoral(1717).12. Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood Krutch.
7. John Gay’sThe Present State of Wit(1711); and a section on Wit fromThe English Theophrastus(1702).
8. Rapin’sDe Carmine Pastorali, translated by Creech (1684).
9. T. Hanmer’s (?)Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet(1736).
10. Corbyn Morris’Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit, etc.(1744).
11. Thomas Purney’sDiscourse on the Pastoral(1717).
12. Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood Krutch.
Third Year(1948-1949)
13. Sir John Falstaff (pseud.),The Theatre(1720).14. Edward Moore’sThe Gamester(1753).15. John Oldmixon’sReflections on Dr. Swift’s Letter to Harley(1712); and Arthur Mainwaring’sThe British Academy(1712).16. Nevil Payne’sFatal Jealousy(1673).17. Nicholas Rowe’sSome Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespeare(1709).18. “Of Genius,” inThe Occasional Paper, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719); and Aaron Hill’s Preface toThe Creation(1720).
13. Sir John Falstaff (pseud.),The Theatre(1720).
14. Edward Moore’sThe Gamester(1753).
15. John Oldmixon’sReflections on Dr. Swift’s Letter to Harley(1712); and Arthur Mainwaring’sThe British Academy(1712).
16. Nevil Payne’sFatal Jealousy(1673).
17. Nicholas Rowe’sSome Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespeare(1709).
18. “Of Genius,” inThe Occasional Paper, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719); and Aaron Hill’s Preface toThe Creation(1720).
Fourth Year(1949-1950)
19. Susanna Centlivre’sThe Busie Body(1709).20. Lewis Theobold’sPreface to The Works of Shakespeare(1734).21.Critical Remarks on Sir Charles Grandison, Clarissa, and Pamela(1754).22. Samuel Johnson’sThe Vanity of Human Wishes(1749) andTwo Ramblerpapers (1750).23. John Dryden’sHis Majesties Declaration Defended(1681).24. Pierre Nicole’sAn Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in Which from Settled Principles is Rendered the Grounds for Choosing and Rejecting Epigrams, translated by J. V. Cunningham.
19. Susanna Centlivre’sThe Busie Body(1709).
20. Lewis Theobold’sPreface to The Works of Shakespeare(1734).
21.Critical Remarks on Sir Charles Grandison, Clarissa, and Pamela(1754).
22. Samuel Johnson’sThe Vanity of Human Wishes(1749) andTwo Ramblerpapers (1750).
23. John Dryden’sHis Majesties Declaration Defended(1681).
24. Pierre Nicole’sAn Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in Which from Settled Principles is Rendered the Grounds for Choosing and Rejecting Epigrams, translated by J. V. Cunningham.
Fifth Year(1950-51)
25. Thomas Baker’sThe Fine Lady’s Airs(1709).26. Charles Macklin’sThe Man of the World(1792).27. Frances Reynolds’An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste, and of the Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty, etc.(1785).28. John Evelyn’sAn Apologie for the Royal Party(1659); andA Panegyric to Charles the Second(1661).29. Daniel Defoe’sA Vindication of the Press(1718).30. Essays on Taste from John Gilbert Cooper’sLetters Concerning Taste, 3rd edition (1757), & John Armstrong’sMiscellanies(1770).
25. Thomas Baker’sThe Fine Lady’s Airs(1709).
26. Charles Macklin’sThe Man of the World(1792).
27. Frances Reynolds’An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste, and of the Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty, etc.(1785).
28. John Evelyn’sAn Apologie for the Royal Party(1659); andA Panegyric to Charles the Second(1661).
29. Daniel Defoe’sA Vindication of the Press(1718).
30. Essays on Taste from John Gilbert Cooper’sLetters Concerning Taste, 3rd edition (1757), & John Armstrong’sMiscellanies(1770).
Sixth Year(1951-1952)
31.Thomas Gray’s An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard(1751); andThe Eton College Manuscript.32. Prefaces to Fiction; Georges de Scudéry’s Preface toIbrahim(1674), etc.33. Henry Gally’sA Critical Essayon Characteristic-Writings (1725).34. Thomas Tyers’ A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson (1785).35. James Boswell, Andrew Erskine, and George Dempster.Critical Strictures on the New Tragedy of Elvira, Written by Mr. David Malloch(1763).36. Joseph Harris’sThe City Bride(1696).37. Thomas Morrison’sA Pindarick Ode on Painting(1767).38. John Phillips’A Satyr Against Hypocrites.39. Thomas Warton’sA History of English Poetry.40. Edward Bysshe’sThe Art of English Poetry.41. Bernard Mandeville’s “A Letter to Dion” (1732).
31.Thomas Gray’s An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard(1751); andThe Eton College Manuscript.
32. Prefaces to Fiction; Georges de Scudéry’s Preface toIbrahim(1674), etc.
33. Henry Gally’sA Critical Essayon Characteristic-Writings (1725).
34. Thomas Tyers’ A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson (1785).
35. James Boswell, Andrew Erskine, and George Dempster.Critical Strictures on the New Tragedy of Elvira, Written by Mr. David Malloch(1763).
36. Joseph Harris’sThe City Bride(1696).
37. Thomas Morrison’sA Pindarick Ode on Painting(1767).
38. John Phillips’A Satyr Against Hypocrites.
39. Thomas Warton’sA History of English Poetry.
40. Edward Bysshe’sThe Art of English Poetry.
41. Bernard Mandeville’s “A Letter to Dion” (1732).