A DISSERTATION UPON PAMPHLETS, And the UNDERTAKING of PHOENIX BRITANNICUS, To Revive the moſt EXCELLENT among Them.
In a LETTER to a NOBLEMAN: From the Original M. S.

THE Inclination you have expreſſed, to hear what might be ſaid, in Behalf of thoſe moſt numerous Productions of our Preſs, which we diſtinguiſh by the Name of PAMPHLETS; and the preſent Undertaking, by the Compiler of PHOENIX BRITANNICUS, to Revive the moſt Excellent among them; has induced me thus briefly, to touch upon thoſe Particu⯑lars which ſeemed moſt to attract your Lordſhip's Inquiry; hoping the Readineſs of my Endeavour will atone for the Imperfections of my Performance; which, if it does not equal the Extenſions of your Curioſity, may add to the Inſtances of your Candour: So that, where you find not Entertainment commenſurate to your Knowledge, you will not fail of Exerciſe correſpondent to your Goodneſs.

And, Firſt, for the Derivation of the Word Pamphlet: I ſhould think it little diſcredited by what ſome Etymologiſts, and thoſe who torture Words into Confeſſions of what they were never guilty, have, thro' the Confinement of themſelves to ſome opprobrious Signification, cenſoriouſly ſuggeſted thereof. Thus one Linguiſt, having found a Word which will illuſtrate the Adaptneſs of theſe Writings to the vulgar Conſultation of the Populace, would derive it from [...] and [...], as fil⯑ling all Places, which all vulgar and popular Things have the Property of doing^*. Ano⯑ther Original, no leſs ſpecious, has been offered me, by an ingenious Friend, from [...] and [...], which, by a Grammatical Turn, reaches to the Analogy of Sound, and, by a Rhetorical Twiſt, to the plauſible Senſe of inflaming all Parties. But others, conſidering the Subject of Pamphlets in a more copious and unbiaſſed Latitude, as having branched into all other Parts of Science, beſides Religion and Politics, from the firſt Appropriation of the Name, and before their Engagement in Controverſy could draw upon them any prevailing Sobriquet to their Diſparagement, have, with leſs Partiality, concluded of theſe Tracts, whoſe Contents, therefore, as well as Di⯑menſions, [2] are ſo generally engaging to all Writers and Readers, ſo much more uni⯑verſally ſuited to every Body's Peruſal, to every Body's Purchaſe, that the Name is more properly derivable from [...] and [...], as if they were a Kind of Compoſi⯑tion, beloved by, or delighting all People^*. But, notwithſtanding this favourable De⯑rivation, I ſhould not be for going to Athens after one, or ſeeking it in any other of the more ancient Languages, ſeeing that Word Pampier, for Paper, in one more Modern, more probable to me (as it ſeemed before, to one of our moſt induſtrious Gloſſographers) for this of Pamphlet, to be derived from ^‡; the laſt Letter of the firſt Syllable being interwoven by Epentheſis, to mollify the Sound; and the laſt Sylla⯑ble ſubſtituted, as a noted Term of Diminution in many Languages^‖; with the ſame Difference of Interpretation, as between Charta and Chartula, or Papyrus and Papy⯑rulus: Thus, alſo, in French, the Diminutive of the Word Livre, for a Book itſelf, is Livret; and thus, in Engliſh, we have Aglet, Amulet, Bracelet, Chaplet, Corſlet, Eaglet, Gafflet, Hamlet, Howlet, Oilet, Pallet, Pullet, Ringlet, Rivulet, and Twenty more, with like Terminations to the ſame Senſe. Now, this Extraction, beſides the Plea of Precedent, has the farther Recommendations to our Preference, of not ante⯑dating the Familiarity of Graeciſms in our Tongue, and withal of deriving itſelf from the more apparent, and determinable Quality, of the Size or Subſtance, rather than the Subject Matter, of theſe more exiguous Compoſitions. And thus the Word Pam⯑phlet, or little Paper Book, imports no reproachful Character, any more than the Word Great Book; ſignifies a Paſquil, as little as it does a Panegyric, of itſelf: Is neither Good nor Bad, Learned nor Illiterate, True nor Falſe, Serious nor Jocular, of its own naked Meaning, or Conſtruction; but is either of them, according as the Subject makes the Diſtinction. Thus, of ſcurrilous and abuſive Pamphlets, to be burned in 1647, we read in Ruſhworth; and, by the Name of Pamphlet, is the En⯑comium of Queen Emma called in Hollinſhed.

As for the Antiquity of Pamphlets, it is not only queſtionable, whether the Art of Printing ſhould ſet a Bound to it, but even the very Adoption of the Name itſelf; which yet I take to be more Modern than that Art: For I look upon them as the eldeſt Offspring of Paper, and to claim the Rights of Primogeniture even of Bound Volumes, however they may be ſhorter-liv'd, and the Younger Brother has ſo much out-grown the Elder; in-as-much as Arguments do now, and more eſpecially did, in the Minority of our Erudition, not only ſo much more rarely require a larger Com⯑paſs than Pamphlets will compriſe; but theſe being of a more ready and facil, more decent and ſimple Form, ſuitable to the Character of the more Artleſs Ages, they ſeem to have been preferred by our modeſt Anceſtry for the Communication of their Sen⯑timents, before Book-Writing became a Trade; and Lucre, or Vanity let in De⯑luges of Digreſſory Learning, to ſwell up unweildy Folio's. Thus I find, not a a little to the Honour of our Subject, no leſs a Perſon than the Renowned King AELFRED, collecting his Sage Precepts, and Divine Sentences, with his own Royal Hand, into Quaternions of Leaves ſtitched together ^**; which he would inlarge with additional Quaternions, as Occaſion offered; yet ſeemed he to keep his Collection ſo much within the Limits of a Pamphlet-Size (however bound together at laſt) that he called it by the Name of his Hand-Book, becauſe he made it his conſtant Compa⯑nion, and had it at Hand wherever he was.

It is ſo difficult to recover even any of our firſt Books, or Volumes, which were Printed by William Caxton, though it is certain he ſet forth near Half a Hundred of them in Folio, that it were a Wonder if his Pamphlets ſhould not be quite loſt. [3] There are more extant of his Succeſſor Wynkin de Worde's Printing in this leſſer Form, whereof, as great Rarities, I have ſeen both in Quarto and Octavo, tho' holding no Compariſon, probably, with thoſe of his alſo, which are deſtroyed. But it was the Ir⯑ruption of the Grand Controverſy between the Church of Rome, and the firſt Op⯑poſers thereof, which ſeems to have laid the great Foundation of this Kind of Writ⯑ing, and to have given great Credit to it at the ſame Time, as well by the many eminent Authors it produced in Church and State, as the ſucceſsful Detection and Defeat, thereby befalling thoſe religious Impoſtures, which had ſo univerſally inſlaved the Minds of Men. Nay, this important Reformation, has been much aſcribed to one little Pamphlet only, which a certain Lawyer of Grey's-Inn, obliged to fly into Germany (for having acted in a Play which incenſed Cardinal Wolſey) compoſed there, and conveyed by Means of the Lady Anne Bullen, to the Peruſal of King Henry, at the Beginning of the ſaid Rupture^*, and how the Copies thereof were ſtrewed about, at the King's Proceſſion to Weſtminſter (the firſt Example, as ſome think, of that Kind of Appeal to the Public) how the Cardinal was nettled thereat; how he endeavoured to ſtifle and ſecrete the ſame; how it provoked the Pen of the bigotted Lord Chancellor ^‖; how, glaringly it was fix'd in the very Front of prohibited Books; and, yet, how it cap⯑tivated the ſaid King's Eſteem and Affection: may be not only preſumed from the Pur⯑port, but gathered from the Accounts which our Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtorians have given thereof ^‖‖. It would be endleſs to ſpecify, how much this Province was thence-forward cultivated by Prelates, Stateſmen, and Authors of the firſt Rank, not excepting Majeſty itſelf, in the ſeveral Examples, which might be produced of the ſaid King Henry VIII. King James, and King Charles. And, not to mention others of our Princes, leſs no⯑ted, though not leſs truly Authors in this Claſs, the middlemoſt of thoſe here named, thought ſo honourably of theſe Pamphlet-Performances, that he deemed one of his own Writing ſo much above all Human Patronage, as to make a formal Dedication, or Inſcription thereof, as I remember, to JESUS CHRIST himſelf^**: Yet are many of the ſaid Labours of thoſe ROYAL PAMPHLETEERS, and others, by ſome of the moſt renowned Scholars among us, no leſs equally difficult to retrieve, with the meaneſt and moſt illiterate whatever. Had Phoenix Britannicus been alive a Century paſt, or half a one ſooner, we might have had a better Knowledge of that vaſt Num⯑ber of Pamphlets, which Montaigne mentions ^§, and whereof he intimates many to have been ſo ingeniouſly written, on the aforeſaid Controverſy of the Reforma⯑tion, than it is now poſſible we ſhall ever arrive at even the Names of.

But, as England, thro' its Spirit of Liberty, has been the moſt fruitful Coun⯑try, for the Production of Pamphlets, ſo the Period which has been moſt fruitful in them, was that of our Civil Wars, in the Reign of King Charles the Firſt. And, indeed, in all Diſorders, or Commotions, it is natural to have Recourſe to the moſt expeditious Intelligence and Redreſs, leſt the Delay ſhould be more dangerous than the Deficiency of them; or they, ſuperannuated before they are born. For, while ſome Perſons are labouring in the Paroxyſms of Contention, were others to be pondering long-winded Expedients of Accommodation, and preſcribe a Volume for a Recipe, the Doſe would come too late for the Diſeaſe, and the very Preparation thereof diſ⯑able its Efficacy. Therefore are Pamphlets, and ſuch ſhort Tracts, riſeſt in great Revolutions; which tho' looked upon, by ſome, but as Paper Lanterns, ſet a fly⯑ing to be gaped at by the Multitude (in illuminating whom, they have not always eſcaped the Flames themſelves) yet are they beheld, by politic, or penetrating Eyes, [4] as the Thermometers of State, fore-ſhewing the Temperature and Changes of Govern⯑ment, with the Calentures approaching therein, and even Preſervatives to be had againſt them, would the Active be as unanimous to prevent, as the Speculative have been induſtrious to prognoſticate the ſame. Tho' there may not remain as eminent Proofs among the Pamphleteers in the aforeſaid Anarchy, of an Ambition to Unanimity, as there are to Diſſention: For, ſurely, no Nation, has ever given more conſpicuous In⯑ſtances, to what immeaſurable Lengths, Animoſity, and Indignation will advance, upon the leaſt Impoſition, or even Umbrage of Tyrannical or Arbitrary Power; as might be exemplified, among many others, in the reſtleſs John Lilburn, and the endleſs William Prynne, who had both been bleeding Witneſſes thereof. There are near a Hundred Pamphlets, written by, and concerning the firſt of theſe Authors: But the Labours of the laſt being unparallel'd, I may here not improperly obſerve, that during the Forty-two Years he was a Writer, he publiſhed above a Hundred and Sixty Pamphlets, beſides ſeveral thick Bound Volumes in Quarto and Folio, all ſaid to be gathered into about Forty Tomes, and extant in Lincoln's-Inn Library. I think the printed Catalogue of his Writings, extends not their whole Number beyond One Hun⯑dred Sixty-eight different Pieces: But Anthony Wood to above One Hundred and Fourſcore; who alſo computes, he muſt needs have compoſed at the Rate of a Sheet every Day, from the Time that he came to Man's Eſtate^*. That Author's Cha⯑racter of him is drawn from his avowed Enemies, even Papiſts, as Creſſy, or Perſo⯑nal Antagoniſts, as Heylin, &c. — But I cannot well omit what one ſprightly Pam⯑phleteer intimates, among other Things, of him, to this Purpoſe; "That Nature makes ever the dulleſt Beaſts moſt laborious, and the greateſt Feeders: That though he had read and ſwallowed much, yet, for want of Rumination, he concocted little: That to return Things unaltered, was a Symptom of a feeble Stomach; and, as an Error in the firſt Concoction, derives itſelf to the others, and nouriſhing up a prevaleſcent Humour, begets, at laſt, a Diſeaſe; even ſo, his Judgment, being once depraved, turned all his Reading into bilious or putrid Humours, which being perpetually increa⯑ſed, by his inſatiate Gluttony of Books, did miſerably foment and heighten his Ma⯑lady of Writing" ^‖. Another of his Draughtſmen has, among other humourous Touches, as follows:— "This is the William, whoſe Paſſion is the Conqueror.—The Error of whoſe Judgment, and unpardonable Inſtability, is to be imputed to the Loſs of his two Biaſſes; for, if a Bowl's Deviation from the Jack, is occaſioned hereby, much more a Rational Creature's, à fortiori" ^‡. Neither will I omit what the Tranſlator of the Ingenious Father Bartoli's Huomo di Lettere ſays in his Praiſe, where he calls him, "Pater Patriae; forgiving us a Daedalian Clue in the blackeſt Night of Tyranny: farther adding; "Your numerous and nervous, large and learned Volumes (which who can reckon?) have been ſo ſucceſsful in the Refutation of Errors, Reformation of Vice, Regulation of Diſorders, Reſtauration of Parliaments and Laws, that I muſt, in Juſtice, join you with the Renowned General MONK, as the two worthieſt Subjects of all Honour: For, if his Generoſity ſpeaks him Herculem Anglorum, your Erudition proclaims you Alcidem Litterarum, &c"^**.

This particular Notice of our moſt voluminous Pamphleteer, will lead us to a ge⯑neral Review of the numerous Produce of the Preſs, during that turbulent Series aforeſaid, wherein he was ſuch a fruitful Inſtrument, to impregnate the ſame, and promote the licentious Superſoetation thereof. For, by the grand Collection of Pam⯑phlets, which was made by Tomlinſon the Bookſeller ^‡‡, from the Latter-end of the [5] Year 1640, to the Beginning of 1660, it appears, there were publiſhed, in that Space, near Thirty Thouſand ſeveral Tracts, and that theſe were not the compleat Iſſue of that Period, there is good Preſumption, and, I believe, Proofs in Being: Notwith⯑ſtanding, it is enriched with near a Hundred Manuſcripts, which no Body then (being written on the Side of the Royaliſts) would venture to put in Print; the Whole, however, for it is yet undiſperſed, is progreſſionally and uniformly Bound, in upwards of Two Thouſand Volumes, of all Sizes. The Catalogue, which was taken by Marmaduke Foſter, the Auctioneer, conſiſts of Twelve Volumes in Folio ^*, wherein every Piece has ſuch a punctual Regiſter and Reference, that the ſmalleſt, even of a ſingle Leaf, may be readily repaired to thereby. They were collected, no doubt, with great Aſſiduity and Expence, and not preſerved, in thoſe troubleſome Times, without great Danger and Difficulty; the Books being often ſhifted from Place to Place, out of the Army's Reach. And ſo ſcarce were many of theſe Tracts, even at their firſt Publication, that King Charles the Firſt is reported to have given Ten Pounds for only reading one of them over, which he could no where elſe procure, at the Owner's Houſe, in St. Paul's Church-Yard^†. And yet this Collection, will, perhaps, not now produce the Tenth, and, ſome think, not the Twentieth Part of the Four Thouſand Pounds which he is ſaid to have refuſed for it. Whatever is the Reaſon, that they may ſeem to be thus depreciated, I preſume not to diſtinguiſh, perceiving ſo many Reaſons offering themſelves to our Choice for the ſame: As, Whether it lies not in the Way of the preſent Poſſeſſor, to make the beſt Uſe or Advantage of them: Whe⯑ther abundance of extraneous Volumes, or more extended Treatiſes, publiſhed in that Interſtice, upon Subjects foreign to a Collection of Occaſional Pamphlets, Hiſtorical and Political, interfere not to make up the Number: Particularly, Whether it is not ſurcharged with the canting Divinity of thoſe Times, which may be thought too crude, lean, and dull for the Edification of theſe: But more particularly, Whether thoſe who would be Purchaſers, having, doubtleſs, ſome Knowledge of Pamphlets, the Uſe which has been, and what remains to be made by Hiſtorical Writers, of them, do not apprehend, that ſo many copious Collectors, general and ſpecial, who were con⯑temporary with that important Period, have already ſufficiently gleaned, and diſplayed whatever is Material among theſe more compendious Aſſiſtances. For ſo it is evi⯑dent, that Mr. Ruſhworth, the moſt voluminous of them all, did, moſt plentifully, ſup⯑ply himſelf from theſe Fountains, how abundantly ſoever he repreſents the Facts there⯑in corrupted with Fiction: How fondly ſoever he ſeems to magnify his own Sagacity, in the diſtinguiſhment of one from the other; and how ſuſpiciouſly ſoever he diſcoun⯑tenances all farther Examination into them, than that wherewith he has been pleaſed to preſent us; where he expreſſes himſelf thus ſlightingly of theſe very Authorities, which have yet ſo liberally contributed to ſuch of the maſſy Tomes, paſſing under his Name, whereof he was the real Compiler. ‘Poſterity (ſays he) ſhould know, that ſome durſt write the Truth, whilſt other Men's Fancies were more buſy than their Hands; forging Relations; building, and battering Caſtles in the Air; publiſh⯑ing Speeches, as ſpoken in Parliament, which were never ſpoken there; printing Declarations, which were never paſſed; relating Battels, which were never fought; and Victories, which were never obtained; diſperſing Letters, which were never writ by the Authors; together with many ſuch Contrivances, to abet a Party or Inte⯑reſt.—Pudet haec opprobria. Such Practices, and the Experience I had thereof, and the Impoſſibility for any Man, in After-Ages, to ground a True Hiſtory, by re⯑lying on the printed Pamphlets of our Days, which paſſed the Preſs, while it was without Controul, obliged me to all the Pains and Charge I have been at, for many Years together, to make a great Collection; and, whilſt Things were freſh in Me⯑mory, [6] to ſeparate Truth from Falſhood; Things real, from Things fictitious, or imaginary; whereof I ſhall not at all repent, if I may but prove an ordinary In⯑ſtrument to undeceive thoſe who come after us^‡.’

Otherwiſe, excepting thoſe more partial, and precipitous Products of this Kind, wherewith that Age was ſo much glutted, there never was a greater Eſteem, or a better Market; never ſo many eager Searchers after, or extravagant Purchaſers of ſcarce Pamphlets, than in theſe preſent Times, as might be made evident, either from the Sales of them in general; as that of Tom Britton, the celebrated Small-coal-Man of Clarkenwell, who, beſides his Chymical and Muſical Collections, had one of Choice Pamphlets, which, as I have heard, he ſold to the late Lord Somers, for upwards of Five Hundred Pounds. And, more eſpecially, that of Mr. Anthony Collins, the laſt Year, whoſe Library, conſiſting chiefly of Pamphlets, and thoſe moſtly Controverſial, moſtly Modern, yet is reported to have been ſold, both Parts of it, for above Eighteen Hundred Pounds: Incouragement ſufficient to make the Catalogues of other like Auctions as expreſſive, and diſtinct as theſe are. Or, whether we deſcend into Par⯑ticulars, and conſider the exorbitant Value ſet upon, and Profits which have been made out of ſome ſingle Pieces: As the Topographical Pamphlets of John Norden, the Sur⯑veyor; which, before they were re-printed often ſold for Forty Shillings a-piece. And ſome of Bale's Tracts; as that of Anne Askew: More eſpecially, the Examination of Sir John Oldcaſtle, which I have known to ſell for Three Guineas, though gleaned by Fox into his Book of Martyrs. The Expedition of the Duke of Somerſet into Scot⯑land, alſo, has been ſold for Four Guineas, though totally inſerted in Hollinſhed. Theſe, and ſome other perſonal Narratives, I could Name, are as notorious as the Advancement of Jordano Bruno's little Book, called, Spaccio della Beſtia Tri⯑umfonte, to near Thirty Pounds, at the Auction of Mr. Bernard's Books, Serjeant-Surgeon to her late Majeſty: Or of the uncaſtrated Holinſhead, to near Forty-five Pounds, ſome Years after. Though, when the former came to be known in Engliſh, it would ſometimes paſs off for ſo many Pence; and the Deficiencies of the Latter, to be ſupplied out of Auditor Jett's Library, it would not always riſe to ſo many Shillings, that is to ſay, above its ordinary Eſtimation. Plainly demonſtrating, that unreaſon⯑able Value aroſe not from any rich Mines of Knowledge, which the ſcarce Part would communicate, from nothing intrinſically Curious, or Inſtructive in it; nor even any material Uſe to be made of it; but merely from the empty Property of its Sin⯑gularity, and being, as the contending Purchaſers fondly apprehended, no where elſe recoverable.

Several other Tracts, beſides thoſe before ſpecified, I could mention, which the Retailers of them have prized at their Weight in Gold, and for which, more Pounds have been exacted, than, probably, they ever yielded Pence, at their firſt Publica⯑tion. But I refrain being too Particular, leſt I ſhould, too inadvertently, give Handles for Extortion on one Side, or too diſtinctly expoſe this Dotage of Curioſity on the other; nevertheleſs, I may hereupon ſeaſonably obſerve, and the rather, becauſe I have had Your LORDSHIP's Noble Concurrence, that this Caco-zealous Curioſity it is; which has, of late, been deemed ſo obſtructive to the Advancement of Know⯑ledge, in a Set of reputed Literati, who make no more Uſe of the Books they are beſet with in their Studies, than Eunuchs, of the Beauties which inviron them in the Seraglio; yet can never reſt till they have gathered themſelves Libraries to doze in; like Children, who will not be quiet without Lights to ſleep by. But thoſe, who are thus diſeaſed, would do well to conſider, while they monopolize ſuch Collections as would extenſively benefit the Republic of Letters, and bury them in the narrow Circuit of their own private, and unconſequentional Poſſeſſion, only becauſe they have [7] great Fortunes which will impower them to do it, how detrimental they may be to induſtrious and ingenious Scholars, of ſmall ones, who really want them for public and important Uſes; while the mercenary Saleſmen, making no Diſtinction, but a general Rule of Valuation, from the particular Payments of one prodigal Pur⯑chaſer, is incouraged to part with nothing to any Body elſe, at the intrinſic, or mo⯑derate Value: Whereas, if there were no extravagant Buyers of Books, there would be no extortionate Sellers of them. And if due Uſe were allowed to be made of all that are uſeful, there would be no ſuch ſhameful Scarcity among them. Such Col⯑lectors, would, therefore, do well, I ſay again, to conſider, that Curmudgeons among Books, are as diſcoverable as thoſe among Bags; and that they may loſe more Honour and Credit, than gain Wiſdom or Happineſs, by the fruitleſs Amaſſment and Impri⯑ſonment of either.

The extraordinary Price of Pamphlets aforeſaid, would naturally excite our more deliberate Enquiry into what has been moſt extraordinary in the Contents of them; but ſo multifarious are the Subjects they comprehend, that it cannot be expected I ſhould even enumerate the ſame, in the narrow Limits of this Epiſtolary Addreſs. What do moſt attract the Attention of Mankind, are thoſe dreaded Scourges of Male-Ad⯑miniſtration, commonly, tho' perhaps, ſometimes too indiſcriminately, bearing the contu⯑melious Denomination of Libels. It matters little whether it appears to me Reaſona⯑ble, or not, that ſuch Writings, as duly expoſe Villany, ſhould themſelves be held vile; or that ſome Perſons, who have been unjuſtly Injurious, by any other Means, may not be juſtly injured by this: But it is obvious to all, who know the Diſproportion of Riches and Power in the World, that there are Crimes not to be blaſted, and Criminals not to be branded by any other Means. And, ſince the Laſhes of Rea⯑ſon, will reach where thoſe of Juſtice cannot; ſince Truth will project Defamation from the Actions of oppreſſive Rulers, as uncontrouledly as the Sun does Shadows from opacous Bodies, the Redreſs of the Effect is to be ſought for in the Cauſe: And we ſhould apply the Salve to the Minds which received the Provocation, not Em⯑peric-like, ſeek to ſtanch them, by binding up the Weapons which returned it. Nay, we read that the Emperor Charles V. King Francis I. of France, and even Solyman, the Great Turk, with Barbaroſſa, the Pyrate, and ſeveral other Potentates, all condeſcended to become Tributaries to the Satyric Muſe of Pietro Aretino; whom, notwithſtanding it is not very probable, they had any Way perſonally exaſperated^*. Some, alſo, in our own Story, might be named, who have taken the like Methods to aſſuage the Effects of their diſcreditable Conduct: Among whom are not wanting thoſe, who, having pe⯑nuriouſly made their Plaſter too ſcanty for the Sore, have rather multiplied, than ſubſtracted from their own Diſgrace, and induſtriouſly expoſed their Folly, by the imperfect Concealment of their Vice. Theſe had not the effectual Tenderneſs for their own Reputation, it ſeems, even of the Turk and Barbarian; not that exquiſite Apprehenſion of this durable Diſcipline, which may viſit the Sins of the Fathers upon their Children, unto the third and fourth Generation; as, not the Love, ſo neither the Fear of Men of Letters, which is noted in one of the wiſeſt Roman Emperors, by the Hiſtorian of his Life ^‖; and by one of our own Authors, in theſe Words:

Well knowing, that,

I ſhall leave it for others to diſcuſs, whether this Sort of Writing is more incli⯑nable to flouriſh, and take deeper Root, by the Ventilations of Reſentment, or wither, [8] and dye away in the Shades of Diſregard ^*. But this we may obſerve, that ſome Charges are of ſuch a convincing, ſuch a clinging Nature, that they are found not only to ſtrike all Apology, or Contradiction dumb, but to ſtick longer upon the Names of the Accuſed, than the Fleſh upon their Bones. Thus, Philip IId's wicked Employment, treacherous Deſertion, and barbarous Perſecution of his Secretary An⯑tonio Perez, upbraids him, out of that Author's Librillo, thro' all Eur [...]pe, to this Day ^‡. Mary, Queen of Scots, has not yet got clear of Buchanan's Detection ^‖. Robert, Earl of Leiceſter, cannot ſhake off Father Parſons's Green-coat ^**. George, Duke of Buckingham, will not ſpeedily out-ſtrip Dr. Egliſham's Fore-runner of Re⯑venge ^§. Nor was Oliver Cromwell far from Killing himſelf, at the Pamphlet which argued it to be no Murder ^‖‖, leſt it ſhould perſuade others to think ſo, and he periſh by ignobler Hands than his own.

In this Manner did ſome take the Liberty of calling theſe Perſonages to Account for their Miſdeeds, even while they were living. And, with regard to that moſt me⯑morable Uſurper, laſt mentioned, thus was a celebrated Writer of ours for im⯑mortalizing his Name after his Death. ‘When we fix any Infamy on deceaſed Perſons, it ſhould not be done out of any Hatred to the Dead, but out of Love and Cha⯑rity to the Living; that the Curſes, which only remain in Mens Thoughts, and dare not come forth againſt Tyrants (becauſe they are Tyrants) while they are ſo, may, at laſt, be for ever ſettled, and engraven upon their Memory, to deter all others from the like Wickedneſs; which, elſe, in the Time of their fooliſh Proſperity, the Flattery of their own Hearts, and of other Mens Tongues, would not ſuffer them to perceive.— The Miſchief of Tyranny is too great, even in the ſhorteſt Time that it can continue: It is endleſs, and inſupportable, if the Example be to Reign too.—If it were poſſible, to cut Tyrants out of all Hiſtory, and to extin⯑guiſh their very Names, I am of Opinion, that it ought to be done; but, ſince they have left behind them, too deep Wounds to be ever cloſed up without a Scar, a [...] leaſt, let us ſet ſuch a Mark upon their Memory, that Men of the ſame wicked Incli⯑nations, may be no leſs affrighted with their laſting Ignominy, than inticed by their mo⯑mentary Glories^§§.’ How little ſoever theſe Sentiments may be thought to need any Corroboration, I flatter myſelf the following Reply of our late excellent Queen Mary ought not here to be forgotten. When ſome of her Courtiers would have incenſed he [...] againſt Monſieur Jurieu, who, in his Anſwer to Father Maimburg, that he migh [...] the better juſtify the Reformation in Scotland, made a very black Repreſentation of thei [...] Queen Mary: Is it not a Shame, ſaid one of the Company, that this Man, withou [...] any Conſideration for your Royal Perſon, ſhould dare to throw ſuch infamous Calumnie [...] upon a Queen from whom your Royal Highneſs is deſcended? Not at all, replied thi [...] ingenuous Princeſs, for, is it not enough that, by fulſom Praiſes, Kings be lulled aſlee [...] all their Lives, but muſt Flattery accompany them to their Graves? How ſhall the Princes fear the Judgment of Poſterity, if Hiſtorians were not allowed to ſpeak Trut [...] after their Death. ^***

[9]Thus much for the Topics and Arguments ariſing from thoſe Examples and Au⯑thorities, which have occurred, as moſt obſervable, upon this ſudden Recollection, to illuſtrate my preſent Subject. What remains to be ſaid of Pamphlets, will more eſpecially regard the preſent Undertaking, to make a ſelect Revival of them. The Approbation whereof may be grounded on theſe Conſiderations.

Firſt, The Regard we owe to the Preſervation of Good Writings in general, and to their Separation from the Bad: But more in particular to theſe. For, if the Re-printing of good old Books is commendable, much more is that of good old Pamphlets; they being, not to mention the greater Eaſe of the Expence, really more in Want of ſuch Juſtice, to remove that mean Opinion which ſome, unread therein, have more indiſtinctly entertained of them all, becauſe many indeed are but meanly written; tho' the Proportion is not greater than in Books: And for thoſe Pamphlets which really are well written (as abundance ſufficient for any ſuch Undertaking have been, by the ableſt Pens, upon the moſt emergent Points, however they daily pe⯑riſh in the common Wreck, for Want of a helping Hand) they cannot be denied a juſt Claim to this Care.

Secondly; Becauſe they ſtand in greater Need of ſuch Care, than Writings better ſecured by their Bulk and Bindings do. Many good old Family-Books are deſcended to us, whoſe Backs and Sides our careful Grand-ſires Buff'd, and Boſs'd, and Board⯑ed againſt the Teeth of Time, or more devouring Ignorance, and whoſe Leaves they guarded with Braſs, nay, Silver Claſps, againſt the Aſſaults of Worm and Wea⯑ther: But theſe defenſeleſs Conduits of Advertiſement are ſo much more obnoxious, by reaſon of their Nakedneſs and Debility, to all deſtructive Caſualties, that it is more rare and difficult, for Want of a proper Aſylum, to meet with ſome Tracts which have not been Printed Ten Years, than with many Books which are more than ten Times their Age.

Thirdly; As being the livelieſt Pictures of their Times. Pamphlets having this conſiderable Advantage, that ſpringing uſually from ſome immediate Occaſion, they are copied more directly from the Life; ſo likelier to bear a Reſemblance, than any more extended Draughts taken by a remoter Light. But being therefore a Kind of Reading à la Mode, and the Events, their Sources, ſo ſuddenly giving Way to every freſh Current of Affairs, it is no Wonder if theſe little Maps of them are, in like Man⯑ner, over-borne, and become as tranſient as they: And yet whenever the Political Wheel rouls into any of its former Tracks, or preſent Occurrences tally with thoſe of paſt Times, doubtleſs what was then advanced for the Public Good, might now be conducive thereto: Whereas the Diſorders of former Times revive, and the Remedies which were preſcribed againſt them are to ſeek; many, as well pleaſant as profitable, being loſt merely for Want of Revival.

Fourthly; The trueſt Images of their Authors. For, Pamphlets running ſo often upon new, particular, and unprecedented Subjects, the Writers have leſs Opportunity to commit, and their Writings are leſs liable to admit ſuch foul and frequent Practi⯑ſes of Plagiary, as Books of Matter more Various, and Bulk more Voluminous, too often exhibit. Beſides, the Author being more vigorouſly prompted to Applica⯑tion, by the Expediency of bringing forth his Work opportunely ‘is urged (as has been elſewhere ſaid upon another Occaſion ^*) to ſtrike out the Images of his Mind at a Heat, in the moſt natural Form and Symmetry, in the moſt ſignificant Cir⯑cumſtances at once; ſeldom allowing Leiſure for the Writer to doat upon, or dream over his Work: neither to diſguiſe it with the Conceptions of other Men, nor to deform it with Chimeras of his own.’ Hence are they preferred by many [10] Critics, to diſcover the genuine Abilities of an Author, before his more dilatory and accumulated Productions.

Theſe, beſides many other Arguments which might be deduced from the commo⯑dious Brevity, the vaſt Choice, or Variety of well-written Pamphlets, more particu⯑larly their regretted Diſperſion, Conſumption and Obſcurity; but, above all, the many ſurpriſing Scenes to be unfolded, and brought in View, by ſelect and public Collec⯑tions, from the rich but diſregarded Store, are, in my Opinion, ſufficient Recom⯑mendations to the Encouragement of ſuch a Revival. What few Attempts have hi⯑therto been made, ſeem either of a ſhort-ſighted Nature, or of one too unbounded. Thus Edward Husband, circumſcribes himſelf to the Speeches and Ordinances of Par⯑liament, in a few Years of K. Charles I. As the Collections in K. Charles II. and K. William's Reigns, contain only ſome State-Tracts of thoſe Times. And, for John Dunton's Collection, it might have ſucceeded better, had he not been for rambling into foreign, or heavy and unaffecting Subjects. But the Undertaking moſt likely to ſucceed, is one wholly unconfined, as to Time, and only confined to Matter domeſtically applicable; provided the Undertaker chuſes judiciouſly his Materials. And, certainly, the Public might ſoon be obliged with a very valuable Collection, if in thoſe Particulars whereof the Collector's own Store ſhould be deficient, he were ſupplied by ſuch Poſſeſſors of theſe Curioſities, as have a Reliſh for the Project: Which may be farther rendered a convenient Receptacle for the Reſtoration of what is not only rare and remarkable, but pertinent and ſeaſonable.

And ſuch, among others, are the Advantages promiſed us by the preſent PHOENIX; which, if it ever grows into a Volume, and is accommodated with a compleat In⯑dex, I cannot help fancying, we ſhall imagine ourſelves led into new and untrodden Paths; into Regions of neglected but notable Intelligence, which, having lain long dormant, and widely remote from ordinary Obſervation, will look like a ſudden Re⯑ſurrection of Characters and Deſcriptions, Schemes and Diſcoveries; or rather a Kind of Re-Creation of them in the Land of Literature: So that it may yield the beſt Comment upon paſt Times, and become the grand Expoſitor of many Incidents, which General Hiſtorians are either wholly ignorant of, or very ſuperficially mention.

Thus, my LORD, you have the free, but undigeſted Thoughts of one totally diſinte⯑reſted in the Undertaking aforeſaid, and no otherwiſe concerned for the ſame, than as a Well-wiſher to what I cannot but think may be of public Utility: And the juſter Title they may have to your favourable Cenſure, as being the immediate Conſe⯑quence of your Commands. I might, indeed, have farther inlarged on a Theme ſo fruitful; but in handling the Subject of Pamphlets, it may not be diſcommendable to conform my ſelf to their Size: For, ‘Inter Pygmaeos non pudet eſſe brevem.’ More eſpecially when I conſider, that I may have already treſpaſſed farther upon your Lordſhip's Patience, than will admit of an Apology from