yet has the universal learned world already refolved upon appealing to your future dictates with the lowest and most refigned fubmiffion; fate having decreed you fole arbiter of the productions of human wit, in this polite and moft accomplished age. Methinks, the number of appellants were enough to fhock and startle any judge of a genius lefs unlimited than yours. But, in order to prevent fuch glorious trials, the perfon, it seems, to whofe care the education of your Highness is committed, has refolved, (as I am told) to keep you in almoft an univerfal ignorance of our ftudies, which it is your inherent birthright to infpect.

It is amazing to me, that this person fhould have afsurance, in the face of the fun, to go about perfuading your Highness, that our age is almoft wholly illiterate, and has hardly produced one writer upon any subject. I know very well, that when your Highnefs fhall come to riper years, and have gone thro' the learning of antiquity, you will be too curious to neglect inquiring into the authors of the very age before you. And to think that this infolent, in the account he is preparing for your view, defigns to reduce them to a number fo infignificant as I am ashamed to mention; it moves my zeal and my fpleen for the honour and intereft of our vaft flourishing body, as well as of myself, for whom I know, by long experience, he has profeffed, and ftill continues a peculiar malice.

"Tis not unlikely, that when your Highness will one day perufe what I am now writing, you may be ready to expoftulate with your Governor upon the credit of what I here affirm, and command him to fhew you fome of our productions. To which he will anfwer, (for I am well informed of his defigns) by asking your Highness, where they are? and, what is become of them? and pretend it a demonstration that there never were any, because they are not then to be found. Not to be found! who has mifled them? are they funk in the abyss of things? 'tis certain, that in their own nature they were light enough to fwim upon the surface for all eternity. There

fore

fore the fault is in him, who tied weights fo heavy to their heels, as to deprefs them to the centre. Is there very effence destroyed? who has annihilated them? were they drowned by purges, or martyred by pipes ? who adminiftred them to the pofteriors of But, that it may no longer be a doubt, with your Highness, who is to be the author of this universal ruin, I beseech you to obferve that large and terrible scythe which your Governor affects to bear continually about him; be pleafed to remark the length and strength, the fharpnefs and hardness of his nails and teeth; confider his baneful abominable breath, enemy to life and matter, infectious and corrupting; and then reflect whether it be poffible for any mortal ink and paper of this generation to make a fuitable refiftance. Oh! that your Highnefs would one day refolve to difarm this ufurping Maitre du palais of his furions engines, and bring your empire bors de page t

Ir were endlefs to recount the feveral methods of tyranny and deftruction which your Governor is pleased to practife upon this occafion. His inveterate malice is fuch to the writings of our age, that of feveral thoufands produced yearly from this renowned city, before the next revolution of the fun, there is not one to be heard of: unhappy infants, many of them barbarously deftroyed, before they have fo much as learned their mother tongue to beg for pity. Some he ftifles in their cradles; others he frights into convulfions, whereof they fuddenly die: fome he flays alive, others he tears limb from limb:. great numbers are offered to Moloch; and the reft, tainted by his breath, die of a languishing confumption.

* Comptroller. The kingdom of France had a race of kings which they call les roys faineans (from their doing nothing) who lived lazily in their apartments, while the kingdom was adminiftred by the Mayor de palais, till Charles Martel, the last mayor, put his mafter to death, and took the kingdom into his own hand.

Out of guardianship..

BUT the concern I have most at heart, is for our corporation of poets; from whom I am preparing a petition to your Highness, to be fubfcribed with the names of one hundred thirty fix of the first rate; but whofe immortal productions are never likely to reach your eyes, tho' each of them is now an humble and an earneft appellant for the laurel, and has large comely volumes ready to fhew for a fupport to his pretenfions. The never-dying works of thefe illuftrious perfons, your Governor, Sir, has devoted to unavoidable death; and your Highness is to be made believe, that our age has never arrived at the honour to produce one fingle poet.

We confefs immortality to be a great and powerful goddess: but in vain we offer up to her our devotions and our facrifices, if your Highnefs's Governor, who has ufurped the priesthood, muft, by an unparallelled ambition and avarice, wholly intercept and devour them.

To affirm that our age is altogether unlearned, and devoid of writers in any kind, feems to be an affertion fo bold and fo falfe, that I have been fometime thinking, the contrary may almost be proved by uncontroulable demonftration. "Tis true indeed, that altho' their numbers be vaft, and their productions numerous in proportion; yet are they hurried fo haftily off the scene, that they efcape our memory, and delude our fight. When I firit thought of this addrefs, I had prepared a copious lift of titles to prefent your Highness, as an undifputed argument for what I affirm. The originals were pofted fresh upon all gates and corners of ftreets; bat, returning in a very few hours to take a review, they were all torn down, and fresh ones in their places. I inquired after them among readers and bookfellers: but I inquired in vain; the memorial of them was left among men, their place was no more to be found and I was laughed to fcorn for a clown, and a pedant, without all taste and refinement, little verfed in the courfe of prefent affairs and that knew nothing of what had paffed in the best companies of court and town. So that I can only avow in general to your Highness, that we do abound in learn

ing and wit; but to fix upon particulars, is a task too flippery for my flender abilities. If I fhould venture in a windy day to affirm to your Highness, that there is a large cloud near the horizon in the form of a bear, another in the zenith with the head of an ass, a third to the westward with claws like a dragon; and your Highness fhould in a few minutes think fit to examine the truth; 'tis certain they would all be changed in figure and pofition; new ones would arife; and all we could agree upon would be, that clouds there were, but that I was grossly. mistaken in the zoography and topography of them..

Bur your Governor perhaps may ftill infift, and put the queftion, what is then become of thofe immense bales of paper, which muft needs have been employed in fuch numbers of books? can these also be wholly an、 nihilate, and fo of a fudden, as I pretend? What shall I fay in return of fo invidious an objection? it ill befits the distance between your Highness and me, to fend you for ocular conviction to a jakes or an oven; to the windows of a bawdy-house, or to a fordid lanthern. Books, like. men, their authors, have no more than one way of coming into the world; but there are ten thousand to go out of it, and return no more.

I profefs to your Highness, in the integrity of my heart, that what I am going to fay, is literally true this minute I am writing. What revolutions may happen. before it shall be ready for your perufal, I can by no means warrant. However, I beg you to accept it as a fpecimen of our learning, our politenefs, and our wit. I do therefore affirm, upon the word of a fincere man, that there is now actually in being a certain poet, called John Dryden, whofe tranflation of Virgil was lately printed in a large folio, well bound; and, if diligent fearch were made, for ought I know, is yet to be seen. There is another, called Nahum Tate, who is ready to make oath, that he has caufed many reams of verse to be published, whereof both himself and his bookfeller, (if lawfully required) can ftill produce authentic copies; and therefore wonders why the world is pleased to make

C 3

fuch

1

fuch a fecret of it. There is a third, known by the name of Tom Durfy, a poet of a valt comprehenfion, an univerfal genius, and most profound learning. There are alfo one Mr. Rymer, and one Mr. Dennis, moft profound critics. There is a perfon ftyled Dr. Bnty, who has written near a thousand pages of immenfe erudition, giving a full and true account of a certain quabble of wonderful importance between himfelf and a bookfeller*. He is a writer of infinite wit and humour; no man rallies with a better grace, and in more sprightly turns. Farther, I avow to your Highness, that with these eyes I have beheld the person of William W"ttn, B. D. who has written a good fizeable volume against a friend of your Governor + (from whom, alas! he must therefore look for little favour) in a moft gentlemanly ftyle, adorned with the utmost politeness and civility; replete with discoveries, equally valuable for their novelty and ufe; and embellished with traits of wit fo poignant and fo appofite, that he is a worthy yokemate to his forementioned friend.

WHY fhould I go upon farther particulars, which might fill a volume with the juft elogies of my cotemporary brethren? I fhall bequeath this piece of justice to a larger work; wherein I intend to write a character of the present set of wits in our nation. Their perfons I fhall defcribe particulary, and at length; their genius and understandings in mignature.

In the mean time, I do here make bold to prefent your Highness with a faithful abftract drawn from the univerfal body of all arts and fciences, intended wholly for your service and inftruction. Nor do I doubt in the leaft, but your Highnefs will perufe it as carefully,

and

Bentley in his controverfy with Lord Orrery upon the gennineness of Phalaris's epiftles has given, in a preface, a long account of his dialogues with a bookfeller about the loan and reftitution of a MS.

Sir William Temple.