Chapter 4

But tho’ no _English_ Author has attempted a Performance in this Kind, yet it must be confess’d that in some late diurnal Papers we have had excellent Specimens in the Characteristic-Way. The Papers, which I mean to point out, are the _Tatlers_ and the _Spectators_. They are of the miscellaneous Kind, and were design’d for the universal Delight and Instruction of the _British_ Nation. In these Papers are contained Abundance of true Wit and _Humour_, lively Descriptions of human Nature in its various Forms and Disguises, the Praises of Virtue, and pointed Satir against Vice; and here and there are interspers’d Characters of Men and Manners compleatly drawn to the Life.--If the great Authors, who were concerned in the Composition of those Papers, would have join’d their Abilities to form a Work of this Kind, I doubt not but it would have been inimitable, and deserv’d the next Place, in Point of Fame, to that of _Theophrastus_: For this is the highest Pitch to which Moderns can aspire. A greater Design would be Presumption, and would only serve to shew the greater Vanity of the Attempt. An establish’d Reputation of above two thousand Years cannot be easily shaken. _Theophrastus_ is, and ever will be, an Original in _Characteristic-Writings_. His Fame still lives in our Memory, and the Main of his Characters still subsists in our Actions.

_FINIS._

* * * * *

PUBLICATIONS OF THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY FIRST YEAR (1946-47)

[Transcriber’s Note: Many of the listed titles are or will be available from Project Gutenberg. Where possible, the e-text number is given in brackets.]

Numbers 1-4 out of print. [#13484, #14528, #14973]

5. Samuel Wesley’s _Epistle to a Friend Concerning Poetry_ (1700) and _Essay on Heroic Poetry_ (1693).

6. _Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the Stage_ (1704) and _Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage_ (1704). [#15656]

SECOND YEAR (1947-1948)

7. John Gay’s _The Present State of Wit_ (1711); and a section on Wit from _The English Theophrastus_ (1702). [#14800]

8. Rapin’s _De Carmine Pastorali_, translated by Creech (1684). [#14495]

9. T. Hanmer’s (?) _Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet_ (1736). [#14899]

10. Corbyn Morris’ _Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit, etc._ (1744). [#16233]

11. Thomas Purney’s _Discourse on the Pastoral_ (1717). [#15313]

12. Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood Krutch.

THIRD YEAR (1948-1949)

13. Sir John Falstaff (pseud.), _The Theatre_ (1720).

14. Edward Moore’s _The Gamester_ (1753). [#16267]

15. John Oldmixon’s _Reflections on Dr. Swift’s Letter to Harley_ (1712); and Arthur Mainwaring’s _The British Academy_ (1712).

16. Nevil Payne’s _Fatal Jealousy_ (1673).

17. Nicholas Rowe’s _Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespeare_ (1709).

18. “Of Genius,” in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719); and Aaron Hill’s Preface to _The Creation_ (1720). [#15870]

FOURTH YEAR (1949-1950)

19. Susanna Centlivre’s _The Busie Body_ (1709).

20. Lewis Theobold’s _Preface to The Works of Shakespeare_ (1734). [In Preparation]

21. _Critical Remarks on Sir Charles Grandison, Clarissa, and Pamela_ (1754).

22. Samuel Johnson’s _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749) and Two _Rambler_ papers (1750). [#13350]

23. John Dryden’s _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681). [#15074]

24. Pierre Nicole’s _An Essay on True and Apparent Beauty in Which from Settled Principles is Rendered the Grounds for Choosing and Rejecting Epigrams_, translated by J.V. Cunningham.

FIFTH YEAR (1950-51)

25. Thomas Baker’s _The Fine Lady’s Airs_ (1709). [#14467]

26. Charles Macklin’s _The Man of the World_ (1792). [#14463]

27. Frances Reynolds’ _An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Taste, and of the Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty, etc._ (1785). [#13485]

28. John Evelyn’s _An Apologie for the Royal Party_ (1659); and _A Panegyric to Charles the Second_ (1661).

29. Daniel Defoe’s _A Vindication of the Press_ (1718). [#14084]

30. Essays on Taste from John Gilbert Cooper’s _Letters Concerning Taste_, 3rd edition (1757), & John Armstrong’s _Miscellanies_ (1770). [#13464]

31. Thomas Gray’s _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard_ (1751); and _The Eton College Manuscript_. [#15409]

32. Prefaces to Fiction; Georges de Scudéry’s Preface to _Ibrahim_ (1674), etc. [#14525]

William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California

THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY

_General Editors_

H. RICHARD ARCHER William Andrews Clark Memorial Library

R.C. BOYS University of Michigan

E.N. HOOKER University of California, Los Angeles

JOHN LOFTIS University of California, Los Angeles

The Society exists to make available inexpensive reprints (usually facsimile reproductions) of rare seventeenth and eighteenth century works. The editorial policy of the Society continues unchanged. As in the past, the editors welcome suggestions concerning publications. All income of the Society is devoted to defraying cost of publication and mailing.

Publications for the sixth year [1951-1952]

(At least six items, most of them from the following list, will be reprinted.)

Thomas Gray: _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Church Yard_ (1751). Introduction by George Sherburn. [#15409]

James Boswell, Andrew Erskine, and George Dempster: _Critical Strictures on the New Tragedy of Elvira_ (1763). Introduction by Frederick A. Pottle. [#15857]

_An Essay on the New Species of Writing Founded by Mr. Fielding_ (1751). Introduction by James A. Work.

Henry Gally: _A Critical Essay on Characteristic Writing_ (1725). Introduction by Alexander Chorney.

[John Phillips]: _Satyr Against Hypocrits_ (1655). Introduction by Leon Howard.

_Prefaces to Fiction._ Selected and with an Introduction by Benjamin Boyce. [#14525]

Thomas Tyers: _A Biographical Sketch of Dr. Samuel Johnson_ ([1785]). Introduction by Gerald Dennis Meyer.

* * * * *

[Problems Noted by Transcriber:

p. xv, xvii, xxiv judg; knowledg _spellings as in original_

p. 16 is said to have been done upon _original has_ is sa d to...

p. 78 and in a very / jejune Manner _original has_ ...j june Manner

p. 88 yet this Work shews _original has_ ye this Work... (_with extra space_)

List of ARS Publications: 20. Lewis Theobold’s _Preface to The Works of Shakespeare_ (1734). _so in original: correct spelling is_ Theobald

Publications for the sixth year: ...Gray’s _Elegy_ and ..._Prefaces to Fiction_) _so in original: see titles 31 and 32, fifth year_ ]