pre

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of his Style (for novelty has a strange at- DIAL. tractive) does often please so at the very beginning, that one is apt, upon the valence of the first furprize, to take fuch a liking as makes one think there is fomething excellent in every extraordinary turn. When once we are thus prejudiced in favour of a book, we read on with a design to admire, rather than examine. The reafon is very natural; for when once we are prepoffefs'd on the favourable fide,we think it a reflection upon our wit, not to perceive a great deal, where perhaps the author meant but little. It is what you Cartefians object to Peripateticks, that doating upon Ariftotle, they find more in him than ever he thought of: And here by the help of fome of those authors you admire , I could read you a long lecture against Prejudice, a Topic continually handled by fome writers, and indeed by moft Innovators, whether in Philofophy or Religion.

CRITOM. As great an admirer of those writers as you are pleas'd to make me, I ftill think arguments drawn from prejudice, prove equally on both fides. I am fure at leaft, they are equally advanced on both, and make little to the purpose on either.

$ Art de Penfer, Recherche de la Verité, &c.

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CLEAND. There, Critomachus, you' will give me leave to interpofe my own experience. For though one may be prejudiced as much againft, as in favour of an Author, yet, methinks, it is far more natural, to be prevented in favour of one who has the commendation of a furprizing novelty.

CRITOM. I do not love to argue against experience, otherwife I wou'd make bold to tell you, I am of the contrary opinion. I fear we are more apt to cenfure than to approve other men's undertakings. Those who pretend to have ftudied the nature of man, tell us, the reafon is, that a certain inborn principle of felf-esteem, makes us unwilling to acknowledge the perfections of others; imagining our merit diminishes by the increase of theirs.

CLEAND. There may be fomething of that in people of the fame profeffion, where emulofity inclines 'em to undervalue those who may ftand in their light, tho' they will, as Horace obferves, admire 'em when they are removed out of the way. But where there is no concurrence in the defign, there can fcarce be any emulofity,

Urit enim fulgore fuo, nam & pragravat artes infra fe pofitas. Extinctus amabitur Idem. Lib. 2. Epift. 1. And

And therefore fince, as I fuppofe, neither DIAL. you nor I have any defign to appear in print, II. I do not fee what can thus influence our judgment of Authors.

CRITOM. Alas, Sir, there are few but pretend to be witty, and therefore when they find a contemporary Author begins to have a topping credit, 'tis very natural to be drawing him to a common level. This is certainly the reafon we are more inclin'd to criticize modern than antient Authors. Nay, very often we praise the Antients only to fpite the Moderns, if you believe Horace again. We look upon those as too far off to enter into our concern of reputation: and therefore eafily let 'em pafs without any envious feverity; whilft looking upon thefe with a nearer eye, we think the distance not fo great; but by a little criticism we may make way for a comparifon between them and our felves.

EUDOX. Prethee, Critomachus, don't make fuch envious creatures of us. As if we could not fuffer an Author to rife in the common esteem, without bearing him a grudge! I cannot endure to think man is of fo envious an humour. Ideclare, for my part, I look upon Callicrates and Mon

Ingeniis non ille favet, plauditque fepultis, noftra fed impugnat, nos noftraque lividus odit. Lib. 2. Epift. 2. taigne

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DIAL. taigne with equal indifference, tho' one is II. an extern, and farther off than the other.

Nor do I perceive my felf the leaft more jealous of the name one has now, and the other had a hundred years ago. Why then may I not give my opinion equally of both?

CLEAND. 'Tis certainly a little hard to think a man envious because he does not like every Author that lives at the fame time. And I fuppofe, Critomachus, you will not have every Author claim a right to our esteem, and constrain our judgment, meerly because he appears in publick while we are alive.

CRITOM. By no means.

We

Only I wou'd not have us fo free in our cenfures. fhou'd encourage witty undertakings, and countenance those writers who might otherwife be a credit to our age, if they were not deterred by the tyranny of criticks.

CLEAND. As for that, Sir, I think few Authors are fo daftardly as to be hinder'd by any fuch apprehenfion. The humour of printing has now gone fo far, that criticizing feems only, by fcratching, to make it itch the more. I wish a more efficacious remedy cou'd be found to the disease. But I fear the Republick of Learning may say of Scriblers, what Tacitus does of Aftrologers,

that

that they are a fort of men who will be al- DIAL. ways prohibited, but always continued. II.

CRITOM. I muft needs grant our age is too licentious in printing. But, I hope, Cleander, you are not fo fuddenly, and fo fully changed to a contrary extreme, as to count Callicrates among the scriblers.

CLEAND. So far from it, that altho' I do not admire his way of writing fo much as I did at firft, yet I ftill place him above vulgar writers; and I dare fay, Eudoxus will not deny him the merit of an ingenious Author.

EUDOX. I fhou'd be very unjust to refuse him that character; yet if his wit was in a different turn of expreffion, I fhou'd like it better. The particular jog of his periods, the continual metaphors, and the whole air of his Style, has more of a forced than. native luftre. It looks too like painting, which can never equal the charms of a natural beauty. Quintilian fays, that an effeminate study of beauty is only taking pains to be ugly. Which puts me in mind of what your Author fays, that Authors,

f

Genus hominum potentibus infidum, sperantibus fallax ; quod in civitate noftra & vetabitur femper, & retinebitur. Hift. Lib. 1.

f Fucata muliebriter, fædiffima funt ipfo forma labore. Lib. 8

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