my feet; and for the utmost refuge of notorious blockheads, reduced to the last extremity of sense, turn my own lines upon me, and in utter despair of your own satire, make me satirize myself. Some of you have been driven to this bay already; but above all the rest commend me to the nonconformist parson, who writ the WHIP AND KEY." I am afraid it is not read so much as the piece deserves, because the bookseller is every week crying help at the end of his gazette, to get it off. You see I am charitable enough to do him a kindness, that it may be published as well as printed; and that so much skill in Hebrew derivations may not lie for waste-paper in the shop, Yet I half suspect he went no farther for his learning than the index of Hebrew names and etymologies, which is printed at the end of some English Bibles. If Achitophel signify the brother of a fool, the author of that poem will pass with his readers for the next of kin; and perhaps it is the relation that makes the kindness. Whatever the

verses are, buy them up, I beseech you, out of pity; for I hear the conventicle is shut up, and the brother of Achitophel out of service.

Now, footmen, you know, have the generosity to make a purse for a member of their society,

"Of this poem I have never met with a copy. It was printed in 4to. in 1682, in answer to ABSALOM AND ACHITOPHEL, for Richard Janeway, the bookseller who published THE MEDAL OF JOHN BAYES, and probably was written by the same author.

who has had his livery pulled over his ears; and even protestant socks are bought up among you, out of veneration to the name. A dissenter in poetry from sense and English will make as good a protestant rhymer, as a dissenter from the church of England a protestant parson. Besides, if you encourage a young beginner, who knows but he may elevate his style a little above the vulgar epithets of prophane and saucy Jack, and atheistick scribbler, with which he treats me, when the fit of enthusiasm is strong upon him; by which wellmannered and charitable expressions I was certain of his sect, before I knew his name. What would you have more of a man? he has damned me in your cause, from Genesis to the Revelations; and has half the texts of .both the Testaments against me, if you will be so civil to yourselves as to take him for your interpreter; and not to take them for Irish witnesses.* After all, perhaps you will tell me that you retained him only for the opening of your cause, and that your main lawyer is yet behind. Now if it so happen he meet with no more reply than his predecessors, you may either conclude that I trust to the goodness of my cause, or fear my adversary, or disdain him, or what you please; for the short on't is, it is indifferent to your humble servant, whatever your party says or

thinks of him.

In the different trials on the Popish Plot, several Irish witnesses had been guilty of perjury.

PREFACE

ΤΟ

RELIGIO LAICI."

A POE POEM with so bold a title, and a name prefixed, from which the handling of so serious a subject would not be expected, may reasonably oblige the author to say somewhat in defence both of himself and of his undertaking. In the first place, if it be objected to me, that being a layman, I ought not to have concerned myself with speculations which belong to the profession of Divinity, I could answer, that perhaps laymen, with equal

This poem was first printed in quarto, in 1682. I have elsewhere (Vindication of Shakspeare, p. 212.) had occasion to observe, that several of our English writers have borrowed titles for their pieces from their predecessors. For the title of the poem to which this preface was prefixed, our author was indebted to Lord Herbert of Cherbury, who annexed to his book DE VERITATE tract entitled DE RELIGIONE LAICI, first printed at Paris in 1633, and afterwards at London in 1645. In the year after our author's RELIGIO LAICI appeared, Charles Blount, who afterwards destroyed himself, published a short treatise with the same title, which is little more than an abstract of Lord Herbert's work. In the Epistle Dedicatory, addressed to his "muchhonoured friend, John Dryden, Esqre." the author says, "I have endeavoured that my discourse should only be

1663

advantages of parts and knowledge, are not the
most incompetent judges of sacred things. But
in the due sense of my own weakness and want of
learning, I plead not this; I pretend not to make
myself a judge of faith in others, but only to
make a confession of my own; I lay no unhallowed
hand upon the Ark, but wait on it with the reve-
rence that becomes me at a distance. In the next
place, I will ingenuously confess, that the helps
I have used in this small treatise were many of
them taken from the works of our own reverend
divines of the church of England; so that the
weapons with which I combat irreligion are already
consecrated; though I suppose they may be taken
down as lawfully as the sword of Goliah was by
David, when they are to be employed for the
common cause against the enemies of piety. I
intend not by this to entitle them to any of my
errours, which yet I hope are only those of charity

a continuance of yours; and that as you taught men how
to believe, so I might instruct them how to live."

Browne's RELIGIO MEDICI, which was published in 1642, and translated into five languages, had made this def kind of title very popular; and accordingly, previous to the appearance of either Dryden's or Blount's pieces, Georg Mat anonymous writer who has concealed himself under the Kentul initial letters of his name, T. A., in 1681. gave the publick a RELIGIO CLERICI. Ten years afterwards, lishedy (1691) Benjamin Bridgewater issued out RELIGIO BIBLIOPOLE; and in 1898 was published ingh deligio The and The late Mr. Mason has left among his papers a Milks

Religio

RELIGIO CLERICI, which, together with some other ecce posthumous works, will, I believe, soon be published.

ие

in

Jelges Juris prudentes,

8r.6851

to mankind; and such as my own charity has caused me to commit, that of others may more easily excuse.

Being naturally inclined to scepticism in philo sophy, I have no reason to impose my opinions in a subject which is above it; but whatever they are, I submit them with all reverence to my mother church, accounting them no further mine, than as they are authorized, or at least uncondemned by her. And indeed, to secure myself on this side, I have used the necessary precaution of shewing this paper before it was published to a judicious and learned friend, a man indefatigably zealous in the service of the church and state, and whose writings have highly deserved of both. He was pleased to approve the body of the discourse, and I hope he is more my friend than to do it out of complaiIt is true he had too good a taste to like it all; and amongst some other faults, recommended to my second view what I have written, perhaps too boldly, on St. Athanasius, which he advised me wholly to omit. I am sensible enough that I had done more prudently to have followed his opinion; but then I could not have satisfied myself that I had done honestly, not to have written what was my own. It has always been my thought, that heathens who never did, nor without miracle could, hear of the name of Christ, were yet in a possibility of salvation. Neither will it enter easily into my belief, that before the coming of our Saviour, the whole world, excepting only the Jewish nation, should lie under the inevitable

sance.

I suspect Fillation metal that home

Dean of Canterbiy

that, our