THEPREFACE.

Beloved Country-men,

Had I not more respect to my Countries good in general, than any private interest of mine own, I should not have introduc’d myFriendupon the common Theatre of the World, to act the part of aRoguein the Publick view of all.Rogue!did I call him? I should recal that word, since his Actions were attended more with Witty Conceits, then Life-destroying Stratagems. It is confest, the whole bent of his mind tended to little else thenExorbitancy; andNecessityfrequently compelled him to perpetrateVillany: And no wonder, since he lived in the infectious Air of the worst of mostLicentious Times. But still I blame my self for stigmatizing him with such anOpprobrious Title, since in the declination of his days, the consideration of his formerWicked Courseshath wrought (I have so much charity for him to believe it) in him cordial contrition, and unfeigned repentance: and the truth of it is, Man should be regarded not for what hewas, but what heis.

Since hisReformation, I have taken very great delight in his Conversation, and never went from him but with great satisfaction in theIngenious Relationof the transactions of his youthful days: And frequently revolving them in my mind, Reason suggested to me, theHistory of his Lifecould not but be as profitable as pleasant, if madepublick. For herein you may see Vice pourtrayed in her own proper shape, the ugliness whereof (herVizard-Maskbeing remov’d) cannot but cause in her (quondam) Adorers, aloathinginstead ofloving. Wherefore, with myFriendsfree consent, and being instigated thereunto by manypersonsinferiour to few, either forBirth,Education, orNatural Parts, I attempted thisEssay.

If any be so curious to know what the (Actorsyou have in the Title)Authors name is, let me crave his pardon for his concealment, and answer him withPlutarchto an inquisitive Fellow,Quum vides velatum, quid inquiris in rem absconditam?It was therefore covered, because he should not know what was in it. It is enough that theActorhath shown himself willing to declarefreely, and withoutmincingthetruthof what he hath done, withoutknowingwho writ it; if theContentsshall as wellpleaseas admonish, no matter what I’m call’d. But if you are so desirous to know what theWriteris, I shall briefly inform yourcuriosity: But I doubt I haveundertakenwhat Icannot perform; for if to know a mans self be more then anHerculean Labour, then without doubt it is beyond the limits of my power to tell you what I am; neither canany mantrulyknow another, unless he firstknowshimself.

For some few years, the World and I have had a greatfalling out; and though I have used allprobableandpossiblemeans, we remain yetunreconcil’d.

My only comfort is, I have a small treasure inMinerva’s Tower, by which I subsist; and by the benefit thereof, can walk abroad, not without takingObservationboth from what Ihearandsee; and returning home,Tam Aulæ vanitatem, quam Fori ambitionem ridere mecum soleo. I can withDemocrituslaugh at theActionsof men, extractingWisdomefrom theirFollies, and afterwardslashthem with aRodofExperiencemade of their ownfond inconsiderateness.

As for my part, I am onely aWise-acre, (a Retort once put uponBen Johnson), for I have noAcres of Land. But therefore don’t be so unadvised, (as too many are of late) to regard not so much theworthof the Work, as thedignityof the Person.Qui similiter in legendos libros atq; in salutandos homines irruunt, non cogitantes quales, sed quibus vestibus induti sint.They mind not so muchwhat, aswho writit; not the Quality of theThing, but the Quality of theAuthor, and aPerson of Honour(now adays) being set in the place of theWriter, makes the Book received with a general applause. Pardon as well my Satyrical as Cynical Humour. If any dislike what I have writ, let them let italone, or publish themselves something of a betterComposition. I shall not value any ones Censure, for I have alreadyAntidotedmy self against it, by my owndis-esteemI have hereof. I am so far from beingOpinionative, that you cannot speak worse then what I judge of it.

Nasutus sis usq; licet, sis deniq; Nasus,Non potes in nugas dicere plura meas.Bark, foul-mouth’d carpingMomus, if thou durst:What I have writ is Bad; Now do thy worst.

Nasutus sis usq; licet, sis deniq; Nasus,Non potes in nugas dicere plura meas.

Nasutus sis usq; licet, sis deniq; Nasus,

Non potes in nugas dicere plura meas.

Bark, foul-mouth’d carpingMomus, if thou durst:What I have writ is Bad; Now do thy worst.

Bark, foul-mouth’d carpingMomus, if thou durst:

What I have writ is Bad; Now do thy worst.

Thus you see, as I will notarrogate, so I shall notderogate: for as I am so manyParasangesafter such a one, yet I may be anAceabove thee, if thou art tooCensorious.

But some may say, That this is butactum agere, a Collection out ofGuzman,Buscon, or some others that have writ upon this subject;Crambem bis coctam apponere; and that I have onelysqueez’dtheirJuice, (adding some Ingredients of mine own) and afterwardsdistill’dit in theLymbeckof my ownHead.Non habes confitentem reum, I ne’erextractedfrom themone single drop of Spirit. As if we could not produce anEnglish Rogueof ourown, without being beholding to otherNationsfor him. I will not say that he durst vye with either anItalian,Spanish, orFrench Rogue; but having beensteeptfor some years in anIrish Bogg, that hath added so much to hisRogue-shipsperfection, that he out-did them all by out-doing one, and that was aScot; I need not use the EpithiteRoguish, since the very name proves it aTautologie. If I have borrowed any thing, it was not from what past thePress; but what I have taken upon thescorein Discourse,&c.I here repay with Usury, but not in the sameCommodity.Etiamsi apparet unde sumptum sit, aliud tamen quam unde sumptum fit, apparet.I have not done as theRomans, who robb’d the whole Universe to enrich their ill-sited City;RomeI mean. I skimm’d not off the Cream of other mens Wits, nor Cropt the flowers in others gardens to garnish my ownPlots; neither have I Larded my Lean Fancy with the Fat of othersIngenious Labours; but from the dictation of my ownGenius, I have exprestquicquid in buccam venerit, what came next, without much premeditation or study. GramercySack, if happily I have hit the mark.

I am noAquæ potor, an implacableEnemy to Small Beer; all thePurchasesI can boast of, lies inWine, which is byModernshighly esteemed for improving good Wits,infusingElogies andHyperbolical Exornations, forming such hard Words in theBrain, as shall, likeAcesta’s arrows, catch fire as they flie. But I havewanderedfrom thatcommon rode, respecting more thematterthenwords. For my Stile isplainandfamiliar, rejecting bombastExpressions, thinking them mosthappywhen most easily to be understood.

As for theMatterit self, if it be faulty, or theMethodrude and indigested, consider,Quod nihil perfectum vel singulari consummatum industria, No man can observe all things; neither is it to be imagined that allRogueriescan be perform’d by one man. Not but that when you have read him, you will find himNotoriousenough.

Some men are not content tocommit Villanythemselves, and boast of it too, but they will rob others of that which they should beasham’dto own. In this there is little or noFiction, I’ll assure you; and there is noStorytherein which doth not carry with it more then the bareprobabilityoftruth. Should I speak much more, it is to be fear’d some will argue from hence, that I am conscious to my self of its various defects; and therefore I shall desist from Apologizing for it, or my self.

Sensible I am, that if ought be omitted or added, which the Reader likes or dislikes, he will account meMancipium pancæ lectionis, an Idiot, an insipid Asse;nullus sum, vel Plagiarius, a very Thief, and that I stole other mens Labours. Thus do I know I shall be vilified and undervalued even by such, that are so far from being capable of judging ofIngenuity, that they know not how to write Orthographically six words of sence in their own Mother-tongue. Yet I must confess, what is writ, is neither as I would, nor as it should, it being usher’d into the world as it was first written; whereas I should have done with this, as aPhysitianadvised should be done withLapis Lazuli, to be washt fifty times before used: had not immergent Affairs hindred me, I would have licked thisCubinto a morecomely Form. But since ’tis otherwise, I shall onely complain withOvid:—

Cum relego scripsisse pudet, quia plurimo cerno,Me quoq; quæ fuerant Judice digna lini.

Cum relego scripsisse pudet, quia plurimo cerno,

Me quoq; quæ fuerant Judice digna lini.

All the favour that I shall desire, is, That theReaderwould not account thePrintersliteral or verbal Escapesmine; and withal pass a candid interpretation on each Line; and I shall endeavour in a short time to become more satisfactory, and study how I may be always serviceable to my Country.

When I read o’er what I have writ, then shameO’erspreads my face, because it stabs my Name.

When I read o’er what I have writ, then shame

O’erspreads my face, because it stabs my Name.

ONThe English Rogue.

What others writ, was ta’en upon the Score;Thou art inRe,what they butfeign’dbefore.They did butlisp, or worse,speak through the Nose:Thou hast pronounc’t, and liv’st inVerseandProse.Guzman, Lazaro, Buscon,andFrancion,Till thou appear’dst did shine as at high Noon.Thy Book’s now extant; those that Judge of Wit,Say, They andRablaistoo fall short of it.How could’t be otherwise, since ’twas thy fate,Topractisewhat they did butimitate.We stand amaz’d at thyEphesian Fire;Suchpurchas’d Infamyall must admire.N. D.

What others writ, was ta’en upon the Score;

Thou art inRe,what they butfeign’dbefore.

They did butlisp, or worse,speak through the Nose:

Thou hast pronounc’t, and liv’st inVerseandProse.

Guzman, Lazaro, Buscon,andFrancion,

Till thou appear’dst did shine as at high Noon.

Thy Book’s now extant; those that Judge of Wit,

Say, They andRablaistoo fall short of it.

How could’t be otherwise, since ’twas thy fate,

Topractisewhat they did butimitate.

We stand amaz’d at thyEphesian Fire;

Suchpurchas’d Infamyall must admire.

N. D.

On the ensuing Subject.

What moreRogues still?I thought our happy TimesWere freed from such, as fromRebellious Crimes.But such will be: i’ th’ best ofTimeswe findTheworst of men;theLawcan’tlawlessbind.It might be so, since Nature thought it fitTo give some nought butLands,to othersWitBut noEstates,bestowing such a mindThat can’t within duelimitsbe confin’d.HenceDepredations, Thefts,nay worser facts,Cheating&Whoring,with unheard-of acts:ForSwimmingfor theirLives,thesemisrulesthink,’Tis bettercatchat any thing, thensink.Such was thisRogue,esteem’d the worst of men;Liv’d by hisSword,hisPregnant Wit,andPen.In short, Pray pardon if I speak amiss;I never read so arch aRogueasThis.A. B.

What moreRogues still?I thought our happy Times

Were freed from such, as fromRebellious Crimes.

But such will be: i’ th’ best ofTimeswe find

Theworst of men;theLawcan’tlawlessbind.

It might be so, since Nature thought it fit

To give some nought butLands,to othersWit

But noEstates,bestowing such a mind

That can’t within duelimitsbe confin’d.

HenceDepredations, Thefts,nay worser facts,

Cheating&Whoring,with unheard-of acts:

ForSwimmingfor theirLives,thesemisrulesthink,

’Tis bettercatchat any thing, thensink.

Such was thisRogue,esteem’d the worst of men;

Liv’d by hisSword,hisPregnant Wit,andPen.

In short, Pray pardon if I speak amiss;

I never read so arch aRogueasThis.

A. B.

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