not appear to be perfectly without Fault, can with little Justice complain of the Wrong he receives by it, fince it has prevented his suffering a much greater ; no more than a Man, who is pushed down out of the Way of a Bullet, can with Reason take as an Affront, either the Blow he falls by, or the Dirt he rises with. But indeed I have very little Uneafiness upon me for fear of any Injury the Author's Credit and Reputation may receive from any Imperfection or Uncorrectness in these following Tracts, fince the Persons, from whom I had them, and in whose Hands I have reason to believe the Author left them, when his Affairs called him out of this Kingdom, are of so much Worth themselves, and have so great a Regard for the Author, that I am confident they would neither do, nor suffer any thing that might turn to his Disadvantage. I must confess, I am upon another Account under fome Concern, which is, left some of the following Papers are such as the Author perhaps would rather should not have been Published at all, in which Cafe, I should look upon my self highly, obliged to all his Pardon : But even on this Suppofition, as there is no Person named, the supposed Author is at liberty to disown as much as he thinks fit of what is here Published, and so can be chargeable with no more of it, than he pleases to take upon himself. From this Apology I have been making, the Reader may in part be satisfied how these Papers came into my Hands; and to give him a more particular Information herein, will prove little to his Use, tho' perhaps it might some wbat what gratify his Curiosity, which I think not material any farther to do, than by afsuring him, that I am not only my self sufficiently convince ed, that all the Tracts in the following Collection, except those before, which I have in the Book expressed my Doubtfulness, and the other three (to which I which I have prefix'd their Author's Names) were Wrote by the same Hand, but feveral Judicious Persons, who are well acquainted with the supposed Author's Writings, and not altogether Strangers to his Conversation, have agreed with me herein, not only for the Reasons I have before hinted at, but upon this Account also, that there are in every one of these Pieces fome particular Beauties that discover this Author's Vein, who excells too much not to be di, ftinguished, since in all his Writings such a surprizing Mixture of Wit and Learning, true Hųmour and good Sense, does every-where appear, as fers him almost as far out of the Reach of Imitation, as it does beyond the Power of Censure, The Reception that these Pieces will meet the with from the Publick, and the Satisfaction they will give to all Men of Wit and Tafte, will loon decide it, whether there be any Reason for the Reader to fufpect an Impofition, or the Author to apprehend an Injury: The former, I am fully fatisfied will never be, and the latter I am sure, I never intended. In confidence of which should the Author, when he sees these Tracts appear, take some Offence, and know where to place his Refentment, I will be fo free as to own, I could without much Uneafiness fit down under some degree of it, fince it would be no hard Talk to bare fome Difpleasure from a single Person, for that which one is fure to receive the Thanks of overy Body else. THE THE Discourse of the Contefs and Diffentions between the Nobles and Commons in Athens and Rome, with the Consequences they bad upon those States. THỂ Sentiments of a Church of England man, with respect to Religion and Government, 57 IN Argument to prove, that the Abolishing of Chriftiani- ty in England may, as things now ftand, be attended with fome Inconveniencies, and perbaps not produce those many Good Effets proposed thereby, Proje&t for the Advancement of Religion, and the Re- formation of Manners. To tbeCountess of Berkeley, III Meditation upon a Broom-Stick, according to the Style and Manner of the Honourable Robert VARIOUS Thoughts, Moral and Diverting, 144 Tritical Eray upon the Faculties of the Mind, 150 PREDICTIONS for the Year, 1708. Wherein the Montb, and Day of the Month are set down, the Persons named, and the great Actions and Event's Lear particularly related, as they will come to pass. Written to prevent the People of England from being farther imposed on by Vulgar Almanack-Makers, THE Accomplishment of the Firft of Mr. Bicker- ftaff's Predi&tions ; being an Account of the Death of Mr. Partridge the Almanack-maker, spon the A 158 Vindication of Isaac Bickerstaff, Efq; again what is obje&ed to bim by Mr. Partridge in bis Alma- nack for the present Tear, 1709. By the said Isaac A Famous Predi&tion of Merlin the British Wizard, Written above a I boufand Tears ago, and relating to this present Tear, 1709. With explanatory Notes. VERSES wrote in a Lady's Ivory Table Book, 190 TO their Excellencies the Lords Fufices of Ireland, the Humble Petition of Frances Harris, LADY B B-finding in the Authors Room fome Verses Unfinished, underwrote a Stanza of her own with Raillery upon him, which gave occasion to this Ballad, to the Tune of the Cutpurse, 197 V's House, Built from the Ruins of White- THE Description of a Salamander, Baucis and PhilEMON. Imitated from tbe Eightb A Grubstreet Elogy on the supposed Death of Par- APOLLO Outwitted. To the Honourable Mrs. Finch un- THE Virtues of Sid Hamet tho Magicians Rod, 228 THE Seventb Epifle of the firft Book of Horace Imitas- ed. And address'd to a Noble Lord, Letter from a Lay Patron to a Gentleman design- The Battel of the Pygmies and Cranes. 260 A friendly Conference between a Preacher, and a Fa- DISCOURSE OF THE Between the IN both those STATES. Si tibi vera videtur Dede mands; a fe falfa eft accingere contra. Lucrot; Written in the Year, 1701. T CHAP. I. is an absolute unlimited Power, which naturally and originally seems to be placed in the whole Body, wherever the Executive Part of it lies. This holds in the Body natural ; For wherever we place the Beginning of Motion, whether from the Head, or the Heart, or the animal Spirits in general, the Body moves and acts by a Consent of all its Parts. This un. limited Power placed fundamentally in the BoB dy |