of his Industry for above fourteen Years, till his Labour be in fome measure rewarded; with much higher reafon ought the Inventer, or Defigner of this Noble inftitution, which contributes, as I have made appear, to all manner of Knowledg, and the general Benefit of all Mankind, fince none are fo Great, or fo Inferior, but may make use of his Difcove. ry. 'Twould be ingrateful therefore, as well as unjuft, in every one, not to defend him in the Poffeffion of that, which in Equity is his Due, by difcountenancing thofe who would invade his proper Right. But I fhall fay more of the Interlopers in the last part of this Difcourse. Having paffed thro' the Novelty, and Ufefulness of the Defign of the Athenian Project, and given an Account who invented it, and by what Accident it was first thought of, not omitting the Charge the Undertaker has been at to bring it to that Establishment it is now in; I hope it will not be esteem'd a Digreffion, if I add a word or two in confideration of the Difficulties which might juftly have frightned the feveral Authors from complying with the Importunity of Mr. Dunton in the Performance ; for, 'tis evident from their Works, that they forefaw 'em. They must be Men of more than ordinary Refolution, well as Learning, as their Performances fhew; elfe the great Pains that is requir'd to go thro' this Undertaking, would have hindred them from en as tering into this Society, which as themselves well obferve, feems calculated for Objection: for it is no eafy matter to give a good Answer to the curious Enquiries into Nature; experimental Knowledg, and nice Reafon being the only Guides, as well as the only Satisfaction in those Affairs. Divinity brings far greater Difficulties with it, fince in controverfial Points (and there is no point of Theology but what has been controverted) Variety of O. pinions are endless, and Difputes may be drawn out into Volumes: yet this could not dafh their Refolutions of contributing to the Publick Satiffaction, what Reason and the higheft Probabilities afforded; and a reasonable Man can defire no more, fince they have often affur'd the World, that they pretend not to an Infallibility, and fhall be willing to acknowledg their Errors and publifh any Sentiment that any of the Ingenious fhall fend to them upon any Subject, both in Natural Experiments, and Reason, in oppofition to their own. Nothing can be more candid and ingenious than their Letter to Mr. Travesty, part of which I muft tranfcribe, to fhew the Reader that I speak not at random; 'tis thus fare you, whatever Questions you diflike, fhall be all anfwer'd anew by us (Common Equity to our Querifts obliging us to it) and in new Answers to the faid Questions, our Reader shall meet with all the Objections you send us, the best of your Thoughts, and our own Improvements thereon. This Promise they have comply'd with as often as any Objector has thought fit to give them his Reafons for what he faid. But the Pains and Induftry that were requir'd to return a good Answer to every Perfon's Query, was not the only Difficulty; fince, when they had done that to the beft Standard, and beyond the Exceptions of the Learned, they could not expect (as indeed they once expreft it) to please every Body, that being an impoffible Task: And 'tis plain, that they did not think they should appear in Print, and that in fo nice a Defign, without Oppofers. For, as the incomparable Cowly says, in his Pindaric on the Royal Society: Whoever wou'd depofed Truth advance This, as they forefaw, fo they have met with in abundance, both from their private Querifts, and publick Enemies; tho' indeed most of the Efforts that have appear'd in Print, have fhewn more Gall than Brains, and taken a great deal of Pains to convince the World how little they were guilty of Wit. For this Reason they may almoft forgive their avow'd Oppofers, because they punish themselves in the very Act of Injury against them, by the lofs of their Reputation both as to Sense and Morals, tho' that perhaps they value not very much. But there are a fort of very civil, dear, careffing Animals, that with the Air of a Friend are more troublefom than the most able Adverfary. I am afraid, says one, I shall be a Poet, direct me As how to avoid that Fate of the com any Bodies elfe. There is nothing certainly more uneafy to a Man of Senfe than to be pefter'd with a Fool; nor for a Man of Piety than to be oblig'd to hear Blafphemy, Atheifm, and other Profaneness: but this Society, being compos'd both of Men of Senfe and Piety (tho' I am fenfible fome of the Town Wits and Beaux will think the laft but a canting Commendation) have had abundant caufe to exercife their Patience. Horace had never half the Fatigue with the Poetafter, as they must have had with both Male and Female Impertinen. ces. One would know, whether any two Men have the fame number of Hairs; another is troubl'd with a fqueamith Confcience, and would know if it be lawful to eat black Puddings; a third, a great Enquirer into Myfteries, and I believe very ftudious of Cornelius Agrippa's occult Philofophy, would know what the King of France is doing at that time. 'Twere endless to run thro' the Follies they have been troubl'd with; and 1 fhall not meddle with the others that fall under Profanenefs and Atheism, abundance of which they have receiv'd, which but to repeat in the Querift's Words, would be like felling of Poifon in the Tho' I have not run thro' half the Difficulties which prefented themselves to the Noble Authors of the Athenian Oracle, upon a confideration of the mighty Task they were going to undertake, yet no private Inconveniences could deter them from the Publick Good. * Having done the firft Projector of this Defign fome Juftice already, I think my felf oblig'd not to forget that other young Man, Mr. Sault, who first, like Fafon, dar'd fo boldly to venture out into the Billows of the Criticks, and lead the way to the rest of the Hero's that were to go in fearch of the Golden Fleece of Wifdom and Learning. Mr. Sault had fo great and generous a Zeal for the general Benefit, that he would not let thofe Difficulties I have mention'd, or any other Confiderations outweigh it: No, he only kept the Nobleness of the End in his view, fixing his Eye on the farther Brink, that he might not fee the Breadth of the Stream he was going to leap; or to exprefs the noble Thought in the beft of our English Poets own Words, Mr. Dryden, I mean, In the Conquest of Granada. Almabide fays to Almanfor. Alm. Great Souls difcern not when the Leap's too wide, Because they only view the farther fide, &c. * Valerius Flaccus in his Argonauts. That That which follows is also applicable to the fame Alm. There's a Neceffity in Fats, Why still the Brave, Bold Man is fortunate: And that Affurance holds him firm and right, &c. 'Tis no small difficulty to determine which was the greatest Wonder, the Boldness of the Undertaking, or the Ability he has fhewn in fuch unripe years in the Performance. Hercules his deftroying the Serpents in the Cradle, has found Work for the Poets a great many Ages. But he has done more than all the Herculean Labours, at an Age when the rest of Mankind are but ripening; for, the mighty Senfe he writes, will not let me doubt, but that he forefaw what infinite Hydra's he was to engage with: but he has purfu'd it to a Miracle, fhewing the Scholar without the Pedant, the Philofopher without the ftiff and obfcure Expreffions, and fuperfluous Repetitions of the School; for every thing he writ in the first Mercury, had a pleafing genteel Air, and neat Turn through every Line, and discover'd that profound Reason could be lodg'd in a youthful Head, and that it met there with a Softness that did not obfcure its great and fevere Ideas. This his Boldnefs, Learning, and Ingenuity, ought to endear him to every Man, that pretends to value Excellence. And tho' I confefs my felf the most unworthy of his Conversation, yet I must affume the Vanity to boast, VOL. IV. that no Man can value his Acquaintance and Friendship more, tho' I have not yet the Honour to know him, having never had but once, and then only, a transient fight of him. I am fure, nothing but his Modefty, or the Envy of fome impotent Afpirers to the Names of Authors, will fay, that what I have here advanc'd about him, has any relish of Flattery; fince I have the Judgment of more than one of the greatest Scholars of the Age, to juftify my Sentiments: but I will not forestal what I believe they themselves may fome time or other communicate to the World. I fhall conclude this first part of my History with the Reasons why they affum'd the Title of Athenian, for even that has fall'n under the merciless Phangs of the Wou'd be-Criticks. If they had taken the Name of Lacedemonian, indeed it would have look'd fomething odd, and as if 'twere done in fpite of Learning, to borrow a Title from that place, which fcarce ever afforded a Philofopher, or any Man of Learning; but the Athenians were the moft curious, and inquifitive People of Antiquity, as that Verse I have before quoted out of the Acts, demonftrates, which I fhall add here to the C two two foregoing Verfes of the fame Chapter, v. 19. And they took him, (viz. St. Paul) and brought him into Mars ftreet, faying, May we not know what this New Doctrine,whereof thou speak eft, is? Ver. 20. For thou bring eft certain ftrange things to our Ears; we would know, therefore, what these things mean. Ver. 21. For all the Athenians and Strangers that dwelt there, gave themfelves to nothing else, but either to tell or to hear News. This, as it gave occafion to the firft rife of the Defign; fo it is enough to juftify the Title that was chofe, because the Bufinefs and End of it, is to answer the Niceties and curious Enquiries into Arts and Sciences. All that know any thing of Hiftory, or have read any of the old Authors, must be fenfible, that Athens was in that Veneration with Antiquity, that it was the only place of Study in those days; and from thence was all Europe civiliz'd, and taught Arts, and Sciences Cicero, in the Introduction to his Offices, writes to his Son, at that time hearing Philofophy there, that he had the Advantage of not only having Cratippus for his Mafter, but even in Athens it felf, as if the Place added to the Facility of his Learning; and he adds the reafon of it, because the Examples of fo many wife Men, that had flourish'd in that City, could not but ftir him up to Emulation for, there Socrates, Plato, Ariftotle, and all the great Philofophers, learned, and taught ; there were the Schools of every Sect, :: . and scarce any (I might fay none) that were receiv'd into the number of the Wife and Learned, that were not beholden for their Education to Athens: Thither Anacarfis came from Scythia, and was fo taken with the Laws, as well as Wifdom of the Athenians, that en deavouring to introduce - both into his own Country, he was kill'd by his Brother, and King: There Demofthenes liv'd, and flourish'd in Oratory; and Sophocles and Euripides, in Tragedy: There liv'd Eupolis, Curatinus, Ariftophanes, (tho' the laft was born in Rhodes, yet he liv'd there, and excell'd in their Dialect) and Menander, all Comick Poets. Demosthenes was fo great an Orator, that he exceil'd not only all the Gre cians, but put in for the Palm or Fame with Tully himself; and if he carries it not from him, yet he holds the Balance in equilibrio. The Value the Government of Athens put upon the Learned in all Sciences, afforded Encouragement to the Ingenious, to improve them. Both Comedy and Tragedy owe their Birth to Athens; and indeed, the Dramatick was more in efteem there than Epick Poetry, being the more immediately useful for Man's Life, Comedy correcting the Vices of it, and Tragedy (by Examples more powerful than Precepts) ftirring the Minds of Youth up to Heroick Actions, and keeping Virtue in Efteem, by fhewing its Reward, and the Punishment of Vice: Tho' 'tis faid of Sophocles, and Euripides, that one repre |