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ENOX LIBRARY

NEW YORK

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The PREFACE prefixed to POPE's and SWIFT's Mifcellanies, in 4 volumes 12m0, 1727.

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papers that compose the first of these volumes were printed about eighteen years ago, to which there are now added two or three finall tracts; and the verfes are transferred into the fourth volume apart, with the addition of fuch others as we fince have written. The fecond and third will confift of several small treatises in profe, in which a friend or two is concerned with us.

Having both of us been extremely ill treated by fome bookfellers, especially one Edmund Curll, it was our opinion, that the best method we could take for justifying ourselves, would be to publish whatever loofe papers, in profe and verfe, we have formerly written; not only fuch as have already stole into the world (very much to our regret, and perhaps very little to our credit), but fuch as in any probability hereafter may run the fame fate; having been obtained from us by the importunity, and divulged by the indifcretion of friends, although reftrained by promifes, which few of them are ever known to observe, and often think they make us a compliment in breaking.

But the confequences have been still worfe: we have been intitled, and have had our names prefixed at length, to whole volumes of mean productions, equally offenfive to good manners and good fenfe, which we never faw nor heard of till they appeared in print.

For a forgery in fetting a falfe name to a writing, which may prejudice another's fortune, the law punishes the offender with the lofs of his cars; but has inflicted no adequate penalty for fuch as prejudice another's reputation in doing the fame thing in print; though all and every individual book, fo fold under a falfe name, are manifeftly so many feveral and multiplied forgeries. Indeed we hoped, that the good nature, or at least the good judgment of the world, would have cleared us from the imputation of fuch things, as had been thus VOL. II. charged

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charged upon us by the malice of enemies, the want of judgment in friends, the unconcern of indifferent perfons, and the confident affertions of bookfellers.

We are afhamed to find fo ill a tafte prevail, as to make it a neceffary work to do this juftice to ourselves. It is very poffible for any author to write below himfelf; either his fubject not proving fo fruitful, or fitted for him, as he at firft imagined; or his health, or his humour, or the prefent difpofition of his mind, unqualifying him at that juncture: however, if he poffeffed any diftinguishing marks of style, or peculiarity of thinking, there would remain in his leaft fuccefsful writings fome few tokens, whereby perfons of tafte might difcover him.

But fince it hath otherwife fallen out, we think we have fufficiently paid for our want of prudence, and determine for the future to be lefs communicative: or rather, having done with fuch amusements, we are refolved to give up what we cannot fairly difown, to the severity of critics, the malice of perfonal enemies, and the indulgence of friends.

We are forry for the fatire interfperfed in fome of these pieces upon a few people, from whom the highest provocations have been received, and who, by their conduct fince, have fhewn, that they have not yet forgiven us the wrong they did. It is a very unlucky circumftance, to be obliged to retaliate the injuries of fuch authors, whofe works are fo foon forgotten, that we are in danger already of appearing the firft aggreffors. It is to be lamented, that Virgil let pafs a line, which told pofterity he had two enemies, called Bavis and Mævius. The wifeft way is not once to name them, but (as the madman advised the gentleman, who told him he wore a fword to kill his enemies), to let them alone, and they would die of themselves. And according to this rule we have acted throughout all thofe writings which we defigned for the prefs: but in thefe, the publication whereof was not owing to our folly, but that of others, the omiffion of the names was not in our power. At the worst we can only give them that liberty now for fomething, which they have fo many years exercised for nothing, of railing and fcribbling against us. And it is fome commendation, that we have not done it all this while, but

avoided

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