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The greatest part of that book was finished about thirteen years fince, 1696; which is eight years before it was published. The author was then young, his invention at the height, and his reading fresh in his head. By the affiftance of fome thinking, and much converfation, he had endeavoured to strip himself of as many real prejudices as he could: I fay, real ones; becaufe, under the notion of prejudices, he knew to what dangerous heights fome men have proceeded. Thus prepared, he thought the numerous and grofs corruptions in religion and learning might furnish matter for a fatire, that would be useful and diverting. He refolved to proceed in a manner that should be altogether new; the world having been already too long naufeated with endless repetitions upon every fubject. The abufes in religion he proposed to fet forth in the allegory of the coats, and the three brothers; which was to make up the body of the dif course those in learning he chose to introduce by way of digreffions. He was then a young gentleman much in the world; and wrote to the taste of those who were like himself: therefore, in order to allure them, he gave a liberty to his pen, which might not fuit with maturer years, or graver characters; and which he could have eafily corrected with a very few blots, had he been master of his papers for a year or two before their publication.

the grave

Not that he would have governed his judgment by the ill-placed cavils of the four, the envious, the ftupid, and the taftelefs; which he mentions with difdain. He ac knowledges there are feveral youthful fallies, which, from and the wife. may deferve a rebuke. But he defires to be answerable no farther than he is guilty; and that his faults may not be multiplied by the ignorant, the unnatural, and uncharitable applications of thofe, who have neither candor to fuppofe good meanings, nor palate to distinguish true ones. After which, he will forfeit his life, if any one opinion can be fairly deduced from that book, which is contrary to religion or morality.

Why should any clergyman of our church be angry to fee the follies of Fanaticifm and Superftition expofed, though in the most ridiculous manner? fince that is perhaps the most probable way to cure them, or at least to

hinder them from farther fpreading. Befides, though it was not intended for their perufal, it rallies nothing but what they preach.againft. It contains nothing to provoke them by the leaft fcurrility upon their perfons or their functions. It celebrates the church of England as the most perfect of all others in difcipline and doctrine; it advances no opinion they reject, nor condemns any they receive. If the clergy's refentments lay upon their hands, in my humble opinion, they might have found more proper objects to employ them on. Nondum tibi defuit hoftis; I mean thofe heavy, illiterate fcribblers, proftitute in their reputations, vicious in their lives, and ruined in their fortunes; who, to the fhame of good fenfe, as well as piety, are greedily read, merely upon the strength of bold, falfe, impious affertions, mixed with unmannerly reflexions upon the priesthood, and openly intended against all religion; in fhort, full of fuch principles as are kindly received, because they are levelled to remove thofe terrors, that religion tells men will be the confequence of immoral lives. Nothing like which is to be met with in this discourse, though fome of them are pleased fo freely to cenfure it. And I with there were no other inftance of what I have too frequently obferved, that many of that Reverend body are not always very nice in diftinguishing between their enemies and their friends.

Had the author's intentions met with a more candid interpretation from fome, whom out of refpect he forbears to name, he might have been encouraged to an examination of books written by fome of those authors above defcribed; whofe errors, ignorance, dulnefs, and villany, he thinks he could have detected and expofed in fuch a manner, that the perfons who are most conceived to be infected by them, would foon lay them afide, and be ashamed. But he has now given over those thoughts; fince the weightieft men in the weightiest stations, are pleafed to think it a more dangerous point, to laugh at thofe corruptions in religion, which they themselves must disapprove, than to endeavour pulling

Alluding to Dr. Sharp the Archishop of York's reprefengation of the author. Hawkefworth.

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up thofe very foundations wherein all Chriftians have agreed.

He thinks it no fair proceeding, that any perfon fhould offer determinately to fix a name upon the author of this difcourfe, who hath all along concealed himself from most of his nearest friends: yet feveral have gone a farther step, and pronounced another book to have been the work of the fame hand with this; which the author directly affirms to be a thorough mistake, he having yet never fo much as read that difcourfe: A plain inftance how little truth there often is in general furmifes, or in conjectures drawn from a similitude of ftyle, or way of thinking.

Had the author written a book to expofe the abufes in Jaw, or in phyfic, he believes the learned profeffors in either faculty would have been fo far from refenting it, as to have given him thanks for his pains; efpecially if he had made an honourable refervation for the true practice of either fcience. But religion, they tell us, ought not to be ridiculed; and they tell us truth: yet furely the corruptions in it may.; for we are taught by the triteft maxim in the world, that religion being the best of things, its corruptions are likely to be the worlt.

There is one thing which the judicious reader cannot but have obferved, that fome of thofe paffages in this difcourfe, which appear moft liable to objection, are what they call parodies, where the author perfonates the ftyle and manner of other writers, whom he has a mind to expofe. I fhall produce one inftance; it is in fect. 1. parag. 3. from the end, p. 47. Dryden, L'Eftrange, and fome others I fhall not name, are here levelled at; who, having spent their lives in faction, and apoftafies, and all manner of vice, pretended to be fufferers for loyalty and religion. So Dryden tells us, in one of this prefaces, of his merits and fufferings; thanks God, that he poffeffes his foul in patience; in other places he talks at the fame rate; and L'Eftrange often ufes the like ftyle; and I believe the reader may find more perfons to give that paffage an application. But this is enough to direct those who may have overlooked the author's intention.

Letter concerning enthusiasm.

There

There are three or four other paffages, which prejudiced or ignorant readers have drawn, by great force, to hint at ill meanings; as if they glanced at fome tenets in religion. In anfwer to all which, the author folemnly protefts he is entirely innocent; and never had it once in his thoughts, that any thing he faid would in the least be capable of fuch interpretations; which he will engage to deduce full as fairly from the most innocent book in the world, And it will be obvious to every reader, that this was not any part of his fcheme or defign; the abufes he notes, being such as all church-of-England mens agree in nor was it proper for his fubject to meddle with other points, than fuch as have been perpetually controverted fince the reformation.

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power,

To inftance only in that paffage about the three wooden machines mentioned in the introduction: In the original manufcript there was a defcription of a fourth, which those who had the blotted out, as papers Having fomething in it of fatire, that, 1 fuppofe, they thought was too particular; and therefore they were forced to change it to the number three; from whence fome have endeavoured to fqueeze out a dangerous meaning, that was never thought on. And indeed the conceit was half fpoiled by changing the numbers; that of four being much more cabalistic, and therefore better expofing the pretended virtue of numbers; a fuperftition there in-tended to be ridiculed.

Another thing to be obferved, is, that there generally runs an irony through the thread of the whole book which the men of talte will obferve and distinguish, and which will render fome objections that have been made, very weak and infignificant.

This apology being chiefly intended for the fatisfaction of future readers, it may be thought unneceffary to take any notice of fuch treatifes as have been written against the enfuing difcourfe; which are already funk into wafte paper and oblivion, after the ufual fate of common anfwerers to books which are allowed to have any merit. They are indeed like annuals, that grow about a young tree, and feem to vie with it for a fummer; but fall and die with the leaves in autumn, and are never heard of any When Dr. Eachard writ his book about the con

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tempt of the clergy, numbers of those anfwerers immediately started up, whofe memory if he had not kept alive by his replies, it would now be utterly unknown, that he were ever answered at all. There is indeed an exception, when any great genius thinks it worth his while to expofe a foolish piece. So we ftill read Marvel's anfwer to Parker with pleasure, though the book it answers be funk long ago; fo the Earl of Orrery's remarks will be read with delight, when the differtation he expofes will neither be fought nor found †. But these are no enterprifes for common hands, nor to be hoped for above once or twice in an age. Men would be more cautious of lofing their time in fuch an undertaking, if they did but confider, that to anfwer a book effectually, requires more pains and fkill, more wit, learning, and judgment, than were employed in the writing it. And the author affures thofe gentlemen who have given themselves that trouble with him, that his difcourfe is the product of the ftudy, the obfervation, and the invention of feveral years; that he often blotted out much more than he left; and if his papers had not been a long time out of his poffeffion, they must have still undergone more fevere corrections. And do they think fuch a building is to be battered with dirt-pellets, however invenomed the mouths may be that. difcharge them? He hath feen the productions but of two anfwerers; one of which at first appeared as from an unknown hand, but fince avowed by a perfont, who upon fome occafions hath discovered no ill vein of humour. It is a pity any occafion fhould put him under a neceffity of being fo hafty in his productions, which otherwife might often be entertaining. But there were

Parker, afterwards Bifhop of Oxford, wrote many treatifes against the diffenters, with infolence and contempt, fays Burnet, that enraged them beyond measure ; for which he was chaftifed by Andrew Marvel, under-fecretary to Milton, in a little book called, The Rehearsal tranfprofed. Hawkef.

↑ Boyle's remarks upon Bentley's differtation on the epistles of Phalaris. Hawkef.

Suppofed to be Dr. William King, the civilian, author of an account of Denmark, a differtation on famplars, and other pieces of burlefque on the Royal Society, and the art of Cookery, in imitation of Horace's art of poetry, &c. Hawkef.

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