Hudibras: No greater Complement can be paid to thefe Writings, than to fay, they are His; and therefore I fball forbear to add any thing further to their Praife, fince no one, who is the leaft acquainted with the Characters of this Glory of our Nation, but must fecretly congratulate himself and Mankind upon the recovery of this invaluable Treafure, and conceive the highest Idea of any thing that comes from fo renowned a Hand, ་ from 4 from one whom all confeß the most exalted Wit of the Age in which he lived, and one of the brightest Spirits that ever adorn'd' our Ifland: There is no one, I say, who bas heard the Name of BUTLER, but will natu rally expect from thefe Mix fcellanies every Excellence that can be met with in human Productions: He will depend to fee Wit in its whole extent and variety, fo unconftrain'd, and flowing with that freedom, as if the great Author were only the Amanuenfis to fome Heavenly Mufe, and charmed us with Thoughts not his own. What therefore the Reader may be inform'd of is, that a very great Expence, and almost incredible Induftry has been laid out in collecting these Papers, which have been fcattered thro' an infinite number of Hands, and could not have been recovered but by the most intense application, Το To conclude, Thefe genu ine Pieces were written, as may be collected from the general Arguments, partly during the Rebellion, and partly at the latter end of King Charles the Second's Reign, about which Time your inimitable Author died. Just at the finifbing of this Volume, the Publisher of it having receiv'd fome extraordinary Pieces done by this celebrated Author, from feveral Gentlemen, he 3 is, at their Requeft, defired to publish them; and accordingly he will, next Term, oblige the World with 'em: Therefore if any other Perfons have any Ma nufcripts of Mr. SAMUEL BUTLER'S in their Hands, if they please to fend 'em to Mr. John Morphew near Stationers-Hall, they hall be carefully incerted in the next. Volume, which will be printed at the Time abovementioned. THE |