,transcriber's ,note3 ,the              
,introduction1 by ,jacob ,viner1 was    
first published without a copyright     
notice and1 therefore1 is in the public 
domain4    ,the ,augustan ,reprint      
,society   ,,bernard ,,mandeville   ,a  
,letter to ,dion  7#agcb7   ,with an    
,introduction by ,jacob ,viner          
,publication ,number #da  ,los ,angeles 
,william ,andrews ,clark ,memorial      
,library ,university of ,california     
#aiec     ,,general ,,editors  ,h4      
,,richard ,,archer1 ,clark ,memorial    
,library ,,richard ,c4 ,,boys1          
,university of ,michigan ,,ralph        
,,cohen1 ,university of ,california1    
,los ,angeles ,,vinton ,a4 ,,dearing1   
,university of ,california1 ,los        
,angeles  ,,assistant ,,editor  ,w4     
,,earl ,,britton1 ,university of        
,michigan  ,,advisory ,,editors         
,,emmett ,l4 ,,avery1 ,state ,college of
 ,washington ,,benjamin ,,boyce1 ,duke  
,university ,,louis ,,bredvold1         
,university of ,michigan ,,john ,,butt1 

,king's ,college1 ,university of ,durham
 ,,james ,l4 ,,clifford1 ,columbia      
,university ,,arthur ,,friedman1        
,university of ,chicago ,,edward ,,niles
 ,,hooker1 ,university of ,california1  
,los ,angeles ,,louis ,a4 ,,landa1      
,princeton ,university ,,samuel ,h4     
,,monk1 ,university of ,minnesota       
,,earnest ,,mossner1 ,university of     
,texas ,,james ,,sutherland1 ,university
 ,college1 ,london ,h4 ,t4 ,,swedenberg1
 ,,jr41 ,university of ,california1 ,los
 ,angeles  ,,corresponding ,,secretary  
,,edna ,c4 ,,davis1 ,clark ,memorial    
,library     ,,introduction   ,the      
,letter to ,dion1 ,mandeville's last    
publication1 was1 in form1 a reply to   
,bishop ,berkeley's ,alciphron3 or1 the 
,minute ,philosopher4 ,in ,alciphron1 a 
series of dialogues directed against    
free thinkers in general1 ,dion is the  
presiding host and ,alciphron and       
,lysicles are the expositors of         
objectionable doctrines4 ,mandeville's  
,fable of the ,bees is attacked in the  

,second ,dialogue1 where ,lysicles      
expounds some ,mandevillian views but is
 theologically an atheist1 politically a
 revolutionary1 and socially a leveller4
 ,in the ,letter to ,dion1 however1     
,mandeville assumes that ,berkeley is   
charging him with all of these views1   
and accuses ,berkeley of unfairness and 
misrepresentation4  ,neither ,alciphron 
nor the ,letter to ,dion caused much of 
a stir4 ,the ,letter never had a second 
edition1#a and is now exceedingly       
scarce4 ,the significance of the ,letter
 would be minor if it were confined to  
its role in the exchange between        
,berkeley and ,mandeville4#b ,berkeley  
had more sinners in mind than           
,mandeville1 and ,mandeville more       
critics than ,berkeley4 ,berkeley1      
however1 mere than any other critic     
seems to have gotten under ,mandeville's
 skin1 perhaps because ,berkeley alone  
made effective use against him of his   
own weapons of satire and ridicule4#c   
#a ,in its only foreign language        

translation1 the ,letter1       somewhat
 abbreviated1 is appended to the ,german
 translation of       ,the ,fable of the
 ,bees by ,otto ,bobertag1 ,mandevilles 
,bienenfabel1 ,munich1 #aiad1 pp4       
#cdi-cih4        #b ,berkeley again     
criticized ,mandeville in ,a ,discourse 
,addressed to ,magistrates1 #agcf1      
,works1 ,a4 ,c4 ,fraser ed41            
,oxford1 #ahga1 ,,iii4 #dbd4        #c  
,a ,vindication of the ,reverend ,d---- 
,b--y1 ,london1 #agcd1       applies to 
,alciphron the comment of ,shaftesbury  
that reverend       authors who resort  
to dialogue form may perhaps1 find means
 to       laugh gentlemen into their    
religion1 who have unfortunately been   
laughed out of it4 ,see ,alfred ,owen   
,aldridge1 ,shaftesbury and       the   
,deist ,manifesto1 ,transactions of the 
,american ,philosophical       ,society1
 ,new ,series1 ,,xli 7#aiea71 ,part #b1 
p4 #ceh4  ,berkeley came to closest     
grips with ,the ,fable of the ,bees when
 he rejected ,mandeville's grim picture 

of human nature1 and when he met        
,mandeville's eulogy of luxury by the   
argument that expenditures on luxuries  
were no better support of employment    
than equivalent spending on charity to  
the poor or than the more lasting life  
which would result from avoidance of    
luxury4#d        #d ,francis ,hutcheson1
 a fellow-townsman of ,berkeley1 had    
previously made these points against    
,mandeville's treatment of       luxury 
in letters to the ,dublin ,journal in   
#agbf1 7reprinted in       ,hutcheson1  
,reflections upon ,laughter1 and        
,remarks upon the ,fable       of the   
,bees1 ,glasgow1 #agej1 pp4 #fa-fc1 and 
in ,james ,arbuckle1       ,hibernicus' 
,letters1 ,london1 #agbi1 ,letter #df74 
,in ,the ,fable of       the ,bees1     
,mandeville concedes that gifts to      
charity would       support employment  
as much as would equivalent expenditures
 on       luxuries1 but argues that in  
practice the gifts would not be         
made4  ,of the few contemporary notices 

of the ,letter to ,dion1 the most       
important was by ,john1 ,lord ,hervey4  
,hervey charged both ,berkeley and      
,mandeville with unfairness1 but aimed  
most of his criticism at ,berkeley4 ,he 
claimed that ,alciphron displayed the   
weaknesses of argument in dialogue form1
 that it tended either to state the     
opponent's case so strongly that it     
became difficult afterwards to refute it
 or so weakly that it was not worth     
answering4 ,he found fault with         
,berkeley for denying that ,mandeville  
had told a great many disagreeable      
truths--presumably about human nature   
and its mode of operation in            
society--and with ,mandeville for having
 told them in public4 ,he held1 ,i      
believe rightly1 that ,mandeville1 in   
associating vice with prosperity1       
deliberately blurred the distinction    
between vice as an incidental           
consequence of prosperity and vice as   
its cause3 vice1 said ,hervey1 is the   
child of ,prosperity1 but not the       

,parent2 and 444 the ,vices which grow  
upon a flourishing ,people1 are not the 
,means by which they become so4#e       
#e ,lord ,hervey1 ,some ,remarks on the 
,minute ,philosopher1       ,london1    
#agcb1 pp4 #bb-bc1 #db-ej4  ,t4 ,e4     
,jessop1 in his introduction to his     
edition of ,alciphron1 characterizes    
,berkeley's account of the argument of  
,the ,fable of the ,bees as not unfair1 
and says3 ,i can see no reason for      
whitewashing ,mandeville4 ,the content  
and manner of his writing invite retort 
rather than argument4 ,berkeley gives   
both1 in the most sparkling of his      
dialogues4 ,mandeville wrote a feeble   
reply1 ,a ,letter to ,dion4#f ,f4 ,b4   
,kaye1 on the other hand1 says of the   
exchange between ,berkeley and          
,mandeville that men like 444 ,berkeley1
 who may be termed the religious-minded 
444 in their anguish1 threw logic to the
 winds1 and criticized him i4e41        
,mandeville for the most inconsistent   
reasons4#g        #f ,alciphron1 or the 

,minute ,philosopher1 ,t4 ,e4 ,jessop1  
ed41 in       ,the ,works of ,george    
,berkeley1 ,bishop of ,cloyne4 ,edited  
by ,a4 ,a4       ,luce and ,t4 ,e4      
,jessop4 ,london1 etc41 ,,iii4 7#aiej71 
#i-aj4        #g ,in his edition of ,the
 ,fable of the ,bees1 ,oxford1 #aibd1   
,,ii4       #dae-daf4 ,all subsequent   
references to ,the ,fable of the ,bees  
will be to this edition4  ,objective    
appraisal of the outcome of the debate  
between ,berkeley and ,mandeville would 
presumably lead to a verdict somewhere  
between those rendered1 with appropriate
 loyalty to their authors1 by their     
respective editors4 ,it is mainly for   
other reasons1 however1 that the ,letter
 to ,dion is still of interest4 ,there  
is first its literary merit4 ,more      
important1 the ,letter presents in more 
emphatic and sharper form than elsewhere
 two essential elements of ,mandeville's
 system of thought1 the advocacy1 real  
or pretended1 of unqualified rigorism in
 morals1 and the stress on the role of  

the ,state1 of the skilful ,politician1 
in evoking a flourishing society out of 
the operations of a community of selfish
 rogues and sinners4 ,the remainder of  
this introduction will be confined to   
comments on these two aspects of        
,mandeville's doctrine4 ,since the      
publication in #aibd of ,f4 ,b4 ,kaye's 
magnificent edition of ,the ,fable of   
the ,bees1 no one can deal seriously    
with ,mandeville's thought without heavy
 reliance on it1 even when1 as is the   
case here1 there is disagreement with   
,kaye's interpretation of ,mandeville's 
position4  ,it was ,mandeville's central
 thesis1 expressed by the motto1        
,private ,vices1 ,publick ,benefits1 of 
,the ,fable of the ,bees1 that the      
attainment of temporal prosperity has   
both as prerequisite and as inevitable  
consequence types of human behavior     
which fail to meet the requirements of  
,christian morality and therefore are   
vices4 ,he confined the ,name of ,virtue
 to every ,performance1 by which ,man1  

contrary to the impulse of ,nature1     
should endeavour the ,benefit of others1
 or the ,conquest of his own ,passions  
out of a ,rational ,ambition of being   
good4#h ,if out of a ,rational ,ambition
 of being good be understood to mean out
 of charity in its theological sense of 
conscious love of ,god1 this definition 
of virtue is in strict conformity to    
,augustinian rigorism as expounded from 
the sixteenth century on by ,calvinists 
and1 in the ,catholic ,church1 by       
,baius1 ,jansenius1 the ,jansenists1 and
 others4 ,mandeville professes also the 
extreme rigorist doctrine that whatever 
is not virtue is vice3 in ,augustinian  
terms1 aut caritas aut cupiditas4 ,man  
must therefore choose between temporal  
prosperity and virtue1 and ,mandeville  
insists1 especially in the ,letter to   
,dion1 that on his part the choice is   
always of virtue3      444 the ,kingdom 
of ,christ is not of this ,world1 and   
444 the     last-named is the very      
,thing a true ,christian ought to       

renounce4     7p4 #ah7i        #h ,fable
 of the ,bees1 ,i4 #dh-di4        #i    
,all page references placed in the main 
text of this       introduction are to  
the ,letter to ,dion4        ,tho' ,i   
have shewn the ,way to ,worldly         
,greatness1 ,i have1 without            
,hesitation1 preferr'd the ,road that   
leads to ,virtue4 7p4 #ca7  ,kaye       
concedes3 that ,mandeville's rigorism   
was merely verbal and superficial1 and  
that he would much regret it if the     
world were run according to rigoristic  
morality2 that emotionally and          
practically1 if not always              
theoretically1 ,mandeville chooses the  
utilitarian side of the dilemma between 
virtue and prosperity2 and that         
,mandeville's philosophy1 indeed1 forms 
a complete whole without the extraneous 
rigorism4#aj ,kaye nevertheless insists 
that ,mandeville's rigorism was sincere1
 and that it is necessary so to accept  
it to understand him4 ,it seems to me1  
on the contrary1 that if ,mandeville's  

rigorism were sincere1 the whole        
satirical structure of his argument1 its
 provocative tone1 its obvious          
fun-making gusto1 would be              
incomprehensible1 and there would be    
manifest inconsistency between his      
satirical purposes and his procedures as
 a writer4        #aj ,fable of the     
,bees1 ,,ii4 #daa4 ,i1 lxi1 ,i1 lvi4    
,kaye argues that rigorism was not so   
unusual as of itself to justify doubt as
 to its genuineness in the case of      
,mandeville2 rigorism was a contemporary
 point of view both popular and         
respected1 a view-point not yet extinct4
 ,to show that rigorism was the         
respectable orthodox position for both  
,catholics and ,protestants1 ,kaya cites
 as rigorists1 in addition to ,bayle1   
,st4 ,augustine1 ,luther1 ,calvin1      
,daniel ,dyke 7the author of ,mystery of
 ,selfe-,deceiving1 #afdb71 ,thomas     
,fuller 7#afjh-affa71 ,william ,law1 and
 three ,continental moralists1 ,esprit  
and ,pascal1 ,jansenists1 and ,j4 ,f4   

,bernard1 a ,french ,calvinist4#aa      
#aa ,ibid41 ,i4 li1 ,i4 lv1 ,i4 cxxi4   
,christian rigorism by ,mandeville's    
time had had a long history4 ,from and  
including ,st4 ,augustine on1 it had    
undergone many types of doctrinal       
dilution and moderation even on the part
 of some of its most ardent exponents4  
,in ,mandeville1 and in ,kaye1 it is    
presented only in its barest and        
starkest form4 ,kaye1 however1 required 
by his thesis to show that ,mandeville's
 doctrine was in accord with a great    
body of contemporary theory1#ab while   
accepting it as the code of rigorism    
treats it as if it were identical with  
any moral system calling for any measure
 of self-discipline or associated with  
any type of religious-mindedness4#ac ,he
 also identifies it with rationalism in 
ethics as such1 as if any rationalistic 
ethics1 merely because it calls for some
 measure of discipline of the passions  
by reason1 is ipso facto rigorist4#ad   
#ab ,ibid4 ,i4 cxxiv1 note4        #ac  

,for example1 ,kaye cites from ,blewitt1
 a critic of       ,mandeville1 this    
passage3 nothing can make a ,man honest 
or       virtuous but a ,regard to some 
religious or moral ,principles       and
 characterizes it as precisely the      
rigorist position from       which      
,mandeville was arguing when he asserted
 that our so-called       virtues were  
really vices1 because not based only on 
this       regard to principle4 7,ibid4 
,,ii4 #daa4 ,the italics in both cases  
are mine74 ,the passage from ,blewitt is
 not1 of itself1 manifestly             
rigoristic1 while the position          
attributed to ,mandeville is            
rigorism at its most extreme4        ,as
 further evidence of the prevalence of  
rigorism1 ,kaye cites       from ,thomas
 ,fuller the following passage3 corrupt 
nature 7which       without thy         
restraining grace will have a ,vent47   
,ibid4 ,i4       cxxi1 note4 ,but in    
,calvinist theology restraining grace1  
which       was not a purifying grace1  

operated to make some men who were      
not purged of sin lead a serviceable    
social life4 7,see ,john       ,calvin1 
,institutes of the ,christian ,religion1
 ,bk4 ,,ii1 ,ch4 ,,iii1       77 #c1 pp4
 ,i4 #cae-caf of the ,seventh ,american 
,edition1       ,philadelphia1 n4d47 ,as
 ,i understand it1 the role of          
restraining       grace in ,calvinist   
doctrine is similar to that of honntet  
in       ,jansenist doctrine1 referred  
to infra4 ,the rascals whom             
,mandeville finds useful to society are 
not to be identified       either with  
those endowed with the restraining grace
 of the       ,calvinists or with the   
honntes hommes of the ,jansenists4      
,for other instances of disregard by    
,kaye of the variations in              
substance and degree of the rigorism of 
genuine rigorists1 see       ibid4 ,,ii4
 #djc-djf1 ,,ii4 #dae-daf4        #ad   
,see especially ,f4 ,b4 ,kaye1 ,the     
,influence of ,bernard                  
,mandeville1 ,studies in ,philology1    

,,xix 7#aibb71 #ij-ajb4  ,mandeville was
 presumably directing his satire        
primarily at contemporary ,englishmen1  
not at men who had been dead for        
generations nor at participants in      
,continental theological controversies  
without real counterpart in ,england1 at
 least since the ,restoration4 ,if this 
is accepted1 then of the men cited by   
,kaye to show the orthodoxy and the     
contemporaneity of rigorism only        
,william ,law has any relevance4 ,but   
,law was an avowed enthusiast1 and in   
the ,england of ,mandeville's time this 
was almost as heretical as to be an     
avowed sceptic4 ,calvinism in its       
origins had been unquestionably--though 
not unqualifiedly--rigoristic4 ,by      
,mandeville's time1 however1 avowed     
,calvinism was almost extinct in        
,england2 even in ,geneva1 in ,scotland1
 in ,holland1 its rigorism had been much
 softened by the spread of ,arminianism 
and by a variety of procedures of       
theological accommodation or mediation  

between the life of grace and the life  
of this sinful world4 ,on the           
,continent1 ,jansenists were still      
expounding a severe rigorism4 ,but      
,jansenist rigorism was not orthodox4   
,though not as extreme as ,mandeville's 
rigorism1 it had repeatedly been        
condemned by ,catholic authorities as   
rigorisme outr4#ae        #ae ,cf4      
,denziger-,bannwart1 ,enchiridion       
,symbolorum4 7,see index       of any   
edition under ,baius1 ,fnelon1 ,iansen1 
,iansenistae1       ,quesnell47  ,to    
take seriously ,mandeville's rigorism1  
the narrowness with which he defines    
virtue1 the broadness with which he     
defines vice1 his failure to recognize  
any intermediate ground between virtue  
and outright vice1 or any shades or     
degrees of either1 the positiveness with
 which he assigns to eternal damnation  
all who depart in any degree from virtue
 as he defines it1 is therefore to      
accept ,mandeville as a genuine exponent
 of a rigorism too austere and too grim 

not only for the ordinary run of        
orthodox ,anglicans or ,catholics of his
 time but even for ,st4 ,augustine 7at  
times71 for the ,calvinists1 and for the
 ,jansenists4  ,kaye justifiably puts   
great stress on the extent of           
,mandeville's indebtedness to ,pierre   
,bayle4 ,there is not the space here to 
elaborate1 but it could be shown1 ,i    
believe1 that ,mandeville was also      
indebted greatly1 both indirectly       
through ,bayle and directly1 to the     
,jansenist1 ,pierre ,nicole1 and that   
,mandeville's rigorism was a gross      
distortion of1 while ,bayle's was       
essentially faithful to1 ,nicole's      
system4#af ,nicole insisted that true   
virtue in the rigorist sense was        
necessary for salvation1 but at the same
 time expounded the usefulness for      
society of behavior which theologically 
was sinful4 ,but it was the sinful      
behavior of honntes hommes1 of citizens 
conforming to the prevalent moral       
standards of their class1 not of rogues 

and rascals1 which ,nicole conceded to  
be socially useful4#ag ,mandeville1 on  
the other hand1 not only lumped the     
respectable citizens with the rogues and
 rascals1 but it was the usefulness for 
society of the vices of the rogues and  
rascals more than--and rather           
than--those of honest and respectable   
citizens which he emphasized4 ,in the   
flourishing hive1 prior to its reform1  
there were3      444 ,sharpers1         
,parasites1 ,pimps1 ,players1           
,pick-pockets1 ,coiners1 ,quacks1       
,south-sayers1                    99    
99      99      ,these were call'd      
,knaves1 but bar the ,name1     ,the    
grave ,industrious were the same4#ah    
#af ,the most pertinent writings of     
,nicole for present purposes       were 
his essays1 ,de la charit  de           
l'amour-propre1 ,de la       grandeur1  
and ,sur l'vangile du ,jeudi-,saint1    
which in the       edition of his works 
published by ,guillaume ,desprez1       
,paris1       #agee-agfh1 under the     

title ,essais de morale1 are to be found
 in       volumes ,,iii1 ,,vi1 and ,,xi4
        #ag ,for a similar distinction  
by ,bayle between honntes hommes        
who are not of the elect and the        
outright rascals1 see ,pierre           
,bayle1 ,dictionaire historique et      
critiqu4 #eth ed41 ,amsterdam1          
#agdj1 claircissement sur les obscnits1 
,,iv4 77 iv1 p4 #fdi4        #ah ,fable 
of the ,bees1 ,i4 #ai4  ,the moral      
reform which brought disaster to the    
,grumbling ,hive consisted merely in    
abandonment of roguery and adoption of  
the standards of the honnte homme4#ai   
#ai ,in the ,french versions of #agdj   
and #agej1 the title1 ,the       ,fable 
of the ,bees3 or1 ,private ,vices1      
,publick ,benefits1 is       translated 
as ,la fable des abeilles ou les fripons
 devenus       honnestes gens4          
,for the honnte homme in #agth and #ahth
 century usage as       intermediate    
between a knave and a saint1 see ,m4    
,magendie1 ,la       politesse mondaine 

et les thories de l'honntet en ,france1 
,paris1 n4d41 7ca4 #aibe71 and ,william 
,empson1 ,the ,structure of             
,complex ,words1 ,london1 #aiea1 ch4 #i1
 ,honest ,man4  ,the contrast between   
his general argument and that of ,nicole
 or ,bayle throws light on the role     
which ,mandeville's professed rigorism  
played in the execution of his satirical
 purposes4 ,it not only supports the    
view of all his contemporaries that     
,mandeville's rigorism was a sham1 but  
also the view that he was not averse to 
having its insincerity be generally     
detected1 provided only that it should  
not be subject to clear and unambiguous 
demonstration4 ,by lumping together the 
vices of the knave and the honest man1  
,mandeville could without serious risk  
of civil or ecclesiastical penalties    
make rigorism of any degree seem        
ridiculous and thus provide abundant    
amusement for himself and for           
like-minded readers2 he could then      
proceed to undermine all the really     

important systems of morality of his    
time by applying more exacting standards
 than they could meet4 ,against a       
naturalistic and sentimental system1    
like ,shaftesbury's1 he could argue that
 it rested on an appraisal of human     
nature too optimistic to be realistic4  
,against current ,anglican systems of   
morality1 if they retained elements of  
older rigoristic doctrine he could level
 the charge of hypocrisy1 and if they   
were latitudinarian in their tendencies 
he could object that they were          
expounding an easy ,christianity        
inconsistent with ,holy ,writ and with  
tradition4  ,mandeville clearly did not 
like clergymen1 especially hypocritical 
ones1 and there still existed sufficient
 pulpit rigorism to provide him with an 
adequate target for satire and a        
substantial number of readers who would 
detect and approve the satire4 ,as      
,fielding's ,squire ,western said to    
,parson ,supple when the latter reproved
 him for some misdeed3 ,at'nt in pulpit 

now8 when art a got up there ,i never   
mind what dost say2 but ,i won't be     
priest-ridden1 nor taught how to behave 
myself by thee4 ,only if it is read as a
 satire on rigorist sermons can there be
 full appreciation of the cleverness of 
the parable of small beer which         
,mandeville1 with obvious contentment   
with his craftsmanship1 reproduces in   
the ,letter to ,dion 7pp4 #be-bi7 from  
,the ,fable of the ,bees4 ,here the     
standard rigorist proposition that there
 is sin both in the lust and in the act 
of satisfying it is applied to drink1   
where the thirst and its quenching are  
both treated as vicious4#bj        #bj  
,kaye in a note to this parable1 ,fable 
of the ,bees1 ,i4 #bch1       cites as  
relevant1 ,i ,cor4 x4 #ca2 ,whether     
therefore ye eat1 or       drink1 or    
whatsoever ye do1 do all to the glory of
 ,god4 ,even       more relevant1 ,i    
believe1 is ,deut4 xxix4 #ai1 where1 in 
the ,king       ,james version1 the     
sinner boasts3 ,i shall have peace1     

though ,i       walk in the imagination 
of mine heart1 to add drunkenness to    
thirst4  ,mandeville1 as ,kaye          
interprets him1 resembles the           
,jansnistes du ,salon who prided        
themselves on the fashionable rigor of  
their doctrine but insisted on the      
practical impossibility of living up to 
it in the absence of efficacious grace4 
,in my interpretation1 ,mandeville was  
both intellectually and temperamentally 
a libertine patently putting on the mask
 of rigorism in order to be able at the 
same time to attack the exponents of    
austere theological morality from their 
rear while making a frontal attack on   
less exacting and more humanistic       
systems of morality4 ,the phenomenon was
 not a common one1 but it was not       
unique4 ,bourdaloue1 the great          
seventeenth-century ,jesuit preacher1   
not very long before had called         
attention to libertines in ,france who  
masqueraded in rigorist clothes in order
 to deepen the cleavages among the      

members of the ,church3 ,d'u il arrive  
assez souvent1 par l'assemblage le plus 
bizarre et le plus monstrueux1 qu'un    
homme qui ne croit pas en ,dieu1 se     
porte pour dfenseur du pouvoir          
invincible de la grce1 et devient  toute
 outrance le pangyriste de la plus      
troite morale4#ba        #ba ,penses    
diverses sur la foi1 et sur les vices   
opposs1       ,oeuvres de ,bourdaloue1  
,paris1 #ahdj1 ,,iii4 #cfb-cfc4  ,the   
,letter to ,dion has bearing also on    
another phase of ,mandeville's doctrine 
which is almost universally             
misinterpreted4 ,many scholars1         
including economists who should know    
better1 regard ,mandeville as a pioneer 
expounder of laissez-faire individualism
 in the economic field and as such as an
 anticipator of ,adam ,smith4 ,kaye     
accepts this interpretation without     
argument4  ,the evidence provided by    
,the ,fable of the ,bees in support of  
such an interpretation is confined to   
these facts3 ,mandeville stressed the   

importance of self-interest1 of         
individual desires and ambitions1 as the
 driving force of socially useful       
economic activity2 he held that a better
 allocation of labor among different    
occupations would result1 at least in   
,england1 if left to individual         
determination than if regulated or      
guided2 he rejected some types of       
sumptuary legislation4  ,all of this1   
however1 though required for            
laissez-faire doctrine1 was also        
consistent with mercantilism1 at least  
of the ,english type4 ,the later        
exponents of laissez-faire did not      
invent the economic man who pursued only
 his own interest1 but inherited him    
from the mercantilists and from the     
doctrine of original sin4 ,english      
analysis of social process had in this  
sense always been individualistic1 and  
in this sense both mercantilism and the 
widely-prevalent theological            
utilitarianism were at least as         
individualistic as later laissez-faire  

economics4 ,englishmen1 moreover1 had   
long been jealous of governmental power1
 and at the height of ,english          
mercantilism they insisted upon limits  
to appropriate governmental             
intervention4 ,it is not safe1          
therefore1 to label anyone before ,adam 
,smith as an exponent of laissez-faire  
merely on the ground that he would      
exempt a few specified types of economic
 activity from interference by          
government4 ,it would be misleading also
 to apply to eighteenth-century writers 
modern ideas as to the dividing line    
between interventionists and exponents  
of liberalism or of laissez faire4 ,as  
compared to modern totalitarianism1 or  
even to modern central economic         
planning1 or to ,keynesianism1 the      
,english mercantilism of the late       
seventeenth and the eighteenth century  
was essentially libertarian4 ,it is only
 as compared to ,adam ,smith1 or to     
,english classical and the ,continental 
liberal schools of economics of the     

nineteenth century1 that it was         
interventionist4  ,adam ,smith is       
regarded as an exponent of laissez-faire
 because he laid it down as a general   
principle 7subject in practice to       
numerous and fairly important specific  
exceptions7 that the activities of      
government should be limited to the     
enforcement of justice1 to defense1 and 
to public works of a kind inherently    
unsuitable for private enterprise4 ,he  
based this doctrine partly on natural   
rights grounds1 partly on the belief    
that there was a pervasive natural and  
self-operating harmony1 providentially  
established1 between individual interest
 and the interest of the community1     
partly on the empirical ground that     
government was generally inefficient1   
improvident1 and unintelligent4  ,there 
is nothing of such doctrine in          
,mandeville2 there is abundant evidence 
in his writings that ,mandeville was a  
convinced adherent of the prevailing    
mercantilism of his time4 ,most ,english

 mercantilists disapproved of some or   
all kinds of sumptuary regulations on   
the same grounds as ,mandeville         
disapproved of some of them1 namely1 the
 existence of more suitable ways of     
accomplishing their objectives or the   
mistaken character of their objectives4 
,mandeville's objection to charity      
schools on the ground that they would   
alter for the worse the supplies of     
labor for different occupations was     
based on his belief that ,england1      
unlike some other countries1 already had
 more tradesmen and skilled artisans    
than it needed4 ,mandeville1 in contrast
 to ,adam ,smith1 put great and repeated
 stress on the importance of the rle of 
government in producing a strong and    
prosperous society1 through detailed and
 systematic regulation of economic      
activity4  ,it is a common              
misinterpretation of ,mandeville in this
 respect to read his motto1 ,private    
,vices1 ,publick ,benefits1 as a        
laissez-faire motto1 postulating the    

natural or spontaneous harmony between  
individual interests and the public     
good4 ,the motto as it appeared on title
 pages of ,the ,fable of the ,bees was  
elliptical4 ,in his text1 ,mandeville   
repeatedly stated that it was by the    
skilful ,management of the clever       
,politician that private vices could be 
made to serve the public good1 thus     
ridding the formula of any implication  
of laissez-faire4  ,this is made clear  
beyond reasonable doubt by the ,letter  
to ,dion4 ,berkeley1 in ,alciphron1 had 
made ,lysicles say3 ,leave nature at    
full freedom to work her own way1 find  
all will be well4 ,mandeville1 taking   
this as directed against himself1       
disavows it vigorously1 and cites the   
stress he had put on laws and           
governments in ,the ,fable of the ,bees4
 7pp4 #c-d2 see also #ee74 ,he repeats  
from ,the ,fable of the ,bees his       
explanation that when he used as a      
subtitle the ,private ,vices1 ,publick  
,benefits motto1 ,i understood by it1   

that ,private ,vices1 by the dexterous  
,management of a skilful ,politician1   
might be turned into ,publick ,benefits4
 7pp4 #cf-cg74 ,later he refers to the  
role of the skilful ,management of the  
,legislator 7p4 #db71 and to the ,wisdom
 of the ,politician1 by whose skilful   
,management the ,private ,vices of the  
,worst of ,men are made to turn to a    
,publick ,benefit4 7p4 #de74 ,they are  
silly ,people1 he says1 who imagine1    
that the ,good of the ,whole is         
consistent with the ,good of every      
,individual4 7p4 #di74  ,a recent       
work#bb provides indirectly             
unintentional support to my denial that 
,mandeville was an exponent of          
laissez-faire4 ,in this work we are told
 that ,the most famous exponent of what 
,halvy calls the natural identity of    
interests is ,bernard ,mandeville and   
that ,what ,mandeville did for the      
principle of the natural identity of    
interests ,helvtius did for that of     
their artificial identity1 that is1 that

 the chief utility of governments       
consists in their ability to force men  
to act in their own best interests when 
they feel disinclined to do so4 ,it so  
happens1 however1 that ,helvtius as an  
apostle of state intervention was not   
only not departing from ,mandeville but 
was echoing him even as to language4    
,helvtius said that motives of personal 
temporal interest sufficed for the      
formation of a good society1 provided   
they were manis avec adresse par un     
lgislateur habile4#bc        #bb ,john  
,plamenatz1 ,the ,british ,utilitarians1
 ,oxford and ,new       ,york1 #aidi1   
pp4 #dh-di4        #bc ,helvtius1 ,de   
l'esprit1 ,discours ,,ii4 ,ch4 ,,xxiv4  
,in the       ,french version of ,the   
,fable of the ,bees1 the phrasing is    
almost       identical3 ,see ,la fable  
des abeilles1 ,paris1 #agej1 e4g4 ,,ii4 
#bfa3 mnags avec dextrit par d'habiles  
politiques4 ,when the       ,sorbonne1  
in #agei1 condemned ,de l'esprit1 it    
cited ,the ,fable       of the ,bees as 

among the works which could have        
inspired it4 7,f4       ,grgoire4       
,bernard ,de ,mandeville1 ,nancy1 #aidg1
 p4 #bjf74        ,kaye1 in his ,the    
,influence of ,bernard ,mandeville1     
7loc4 cit41       p4 #ajb71 says that   
,de l'esprit ,is in many ways simply a  
,french       paraphrase of ,the ,fable4
 ,in his edition of ,the ,fable of the  
,bees1 however1 he says1 ,i think we may
 conclude no more than       that       
,helvtius had probably read ,the ,fable4
 7,fable of the       ,bees1 ,i4 ,,cxlv1
 ,note74 ,kaye systematically fails to  
notice the       significance of        
,mandeville's emphasis on the rle of the
 skilful       ,politician4  ,here also 
there is a close link between           
,mandeville1 ,bayle1 and the            
,jansenists1 especially ,nicole and     
,domat4 ,all of them adopted a          
,hobbesian view of human nature4 ,all of
 them followed ,hobbes in believing that
 the discipline imposed by positive law 
and enforced by government was essential

 if a prosperous and flourishing society
 was to be derived from communities of  
individuals vigorously pursuing their   
self-regarding interests4 ,mandeville's 
originality was in pretending that in   
the interest of true morality he        
preferred that the individual pursuit of
 prosperity be abandoned even at the    
cost of social disaster4     ,a         
,,letter  ,,to  ,,dion1  ,occasion'd by 
his ,book  ,,call',d  ,,alciphron1  ,,or
  ,the ,,minute ,,philosopher4    ,by   
the ,author of the ,,fable of the       
,,bees4    ,,london3  ,printed and ,sold
 by ,j4 ,,roberts in ,warwick-,lane4    
,m4,,dcc4,,xxxii4     ,,sir1  ,i have   
read your ,two ,volumes of ,alciphron1  
or1 ,the ,minute ,philosopher with      
,attention4 ,as far as ,i am a ,judge1  
the ,language is very good1 the ,diction
 correct1 and the ,style and whole      
,manner of ,writing are both polite and 
entertaining3 ,all together bespeak the 
,author to be a ,man of ,learning1 good 
,sense and ,capacity4 ,my ,design in    

troubling you with this tedious ,epistle
 in ,print1 which perhaps will be longer
 than you could have wish'd it1 is to   
rescue the ,publick from a vulgar       
,error1 which ,thousands of knowing and 
well-meaning ,people1 and your self1 ,i 
see1 among the ,rest1 have been led into
 by a common ,report1 concerning ,the   
,fable of the ,bees1 as if it was a     
wicked ,book1 wrote for the             
,encouragement of ,vice1 and to debauch 
the ,nation4 ,i beg of you not to       
imagine1 that ,i intend to blame you1 or
 any other candid ,man like your self1  
for having rashly given ,credit to such 
a ,report without further ,examination4 
,the ,fable of the ,bees has been       
presented by a ,grand ,jury more than   
once2 and there is hardly a ,book that  
has been preach'd and wrote against with
 greater ,vehemence or ,severity4 ,when 
a ,work is so generally exclaim'd       
against1 a wise ,man1 who has no ,mind  
to mispend his ,time1 has a very good   
,reason for not reading it4 ,but as your

 second ,dialogue is almost entirely    
levell'd at that ,book and its ,author1 
and you have no where declar'd in ,words
 at length 7at least1 as ,i remember7   
that you never read ,the ,fable of the  
,bees1 it is possible ,i might be ask'd1
 why ,i would take it for granted1 that 
you never had read it1 when many of your
 ,readers perhaps will believe the      
contrary4 ,if this ,question was put to 
me1 ,i would readily answer1 that ,i    
chose to be of that ,opinion1 because it
 is the most favourable ,i can possibly 
entertain of ,dion4 ,it is not1 ,sir1   
believe me1 out of ,disrespect1 that ,i 
call you plain ,dion2 but because ,i    
would treat you with the utmost         
,civility3 ,it is the ,name under which1
 ,i find1 you are pleas'd to disguise   
your self2 and offering to guess at an  
,author1 when he chuses to be conceal'd1
 is1 ,i think a ,rudeness almost equal  
to that of pulling off a ,woman's ,mask 
against her ,will4  ,whoever reads your 
second ,dialogue1 will not find in it   

any real ,quotations from my ,book1     
either stated or examined into1 but that
 the wicked ,tenets and vile ,assertions
 there justly exposed1 are either such  
,notions and ,sentiments1 as first1 my  
,enemies1 to render me odious1 and      
afterwards ,common ,fame had already    
father'd upon me1 tho' not to be met    
with in any ,part of my ,book2 or else1 
that they are spiteful ,inferences1 and 
invidious ,comments1 which others before
 you1 without ,justness or ,necessity1  
had drawn from and made upon what ,i had
 innocently said4 ,i find no ,fault with
 you1 ,sir2 for whilst a ,person        
believes these ,accusations against me  
to be true1 and is entirely unacquainted
 with the ,book they point at1 it is not
 impossible that he might inveigh       
against it without having any ,mischief 
in his ,heart1 tho' it was the most     
useful ,performance in the ,world4 ,a   
,man may be credulous and yet well      
disposed2 but if a ,man of ,sense and   
,penetration1 who had actually read ,the

 ,fable of the ,bees1 and with          
,attention perused every ,part of it1   
should write against it in the same     
strain1 as ,dion has done in his second 
,dialogue1 then ,i must confess1 ,i     
should be at a ,loss1 what ,excuse to   
make for him4  ,it is impossible that a 
,man of the least ,probity1 whilst he is
 writing in ,behalf of ,virtue and the  
,christian ,religion1 should commit such
 an immoral ,act as to calumniate his   
,neighbour1 and willfully misrepresent  
him in the most atrocious ,manner4 ,if  
,dion had read ,the ,fable of the ,bees1
 he would not have suffer'd such lawless
 ,libertines as ,alciphron and ,lysicles
 to have shelter'd themselves under my  
,wings2 but he would have demonstrated  
to them1 that my ,principles differ'd   
from theirs1 as ,sunshine does from     
,darkness4 ,when they boasted of setting
 ,men free1 and their abominable ,design
 of ridding them of the ,shackles of    
,laws and ,governments1 he would have   
quoted to them the very ,beginning of my

 ,preface4 ,laws and ,government are to 
the political ,bodies of civil          
,societies1 what the vital ,spirits and 
,life it self are to the natural ,bodies
 of animated ,creatures4 ,from the same 
,preface he would have shew'd those     
barefaced ,advocates for all ,manner of 
,wickedness1 the small ,encouragement   
they were like to get from my ,book2 and
 as soon as it appear'd1 that by        
,liberty they meant ,licentiousness1 and
 a ,privilege to commit the most        
detestable ,crimes with ,impunity1 he   
would have quoted these ,words3 ,when ,i
 assert1 that ,vices are inseperable    
from great and potent ,societies1 and   
that it is impossible1 that their       
,wealth and ,grandeur should subsist    
without2 ,i do not say1 that the        
particular ,members of them1 who are    
guilty of any1 should not be continually
 reproved1 or not punish'd for them when
 they grew into ,crimes4 ,this he would 
have corroborated by several ,passages  
in the ,book it self1 and not have      

forgot what ,i say1 page #bee4 ,i lay   
down as a first ,principle1 that in all 
,societies1 great or small1 it is the   
,duty of every ,member of it to be good1
 that ,virtue ought to be encouraged1   
,vice discountenanc'd1 the ,laws obey'd1
 and the ,transgressors punish'd4 ,if he
 had only read the first ,edition1 a    
little ,book in ,twelves1 a ,man of     
,dion's ,virtue and ,integrity could not
 have stifled the ,care ,i have taken in
 ,fifty ,places1 nor the many ,cautions 
,i have given1 that ,i might not offend 
or be misunderstood3 ,on the ,contrary1 
he would have made use of them1 to      
undeceive his ,friends1 and prevented   
their groundless ,fears and senseless   
,insinuations4 ,if ,dion had read what  
,i have said about the ,fire of ,london1
 ,nothing but his ,politeness could have
 hinder'd him from bursting out into a  
loud ,laughter at the judicious ,remark 
of the ,learned ,crito1 where he points 
at the ,probability1 that the late      
,incendiaries had taken the ,hint of    

their ,villainies from ,the ,fable of   
the ,bees4  ,i can't say1 that there are
 not several ,passages in that          
,dialogue1 which would induce one to    
believe1 that you had dipt into ,the    
,fable of the ,bees2 but then to        
suppose1 that upon having only dipt in  
it1 you would have wrote against it as  
you have done1 would be so injurious to 
your ,character1 the ,character of an   
honest ,man1 that ,i have not ,patience 
to reason upon such an uncharitable     
,supposition4 ,i know very well1 ,sir1  
that ,i am addressing my self to a ,man 
of ,parts1 a ,master in ,logick1 and a  
subtle ,metaphysician1 not to be imposed
 upon by ,sophistry or false ,pretences3
 ,therefore ,i beg of you1 carefully to 
examine what ,i have said hitherto1 and 
you'll be convinced2 that my not        
believing you to have read ,the ,fable  
of the ,bees1 can proceed from ,nothing 
but the good ,opinion ,i have of your   
,worth and ,candour1 which ,i hope ,i   
shall never have any ,occasion to alter4

 ,you are not the first1 ,sir1 by five  
hundred1 who has been very severe upon  
,the ,fable of the ,bees without having 
ever read it4 ,i have been at ,church my
 self when the ,book in ,question has   
been preach'd against with great ,warmth
 by a worthy ,divine1 who own'd1 that he
 had never seen it2 and there are living
 ,witnesses now1 ,persons of            
unquestion'd ,reputation1 who heard it  
as well as ,i4  ,after all1 you have    
advanced ,nothing in the second         
,dialogue concerning me1 which it may   
not be proved to have been said or      
insinuated over and over in ,pamphlets1 
,sermons and ,news-,papers of all ,sorts
 and ,parties4 ,i can help you to       
another very good ,reason why a ,man of 
,sense might not mistrust the ill       
,report1 that has been spread about ,the
 ,fable of the ,bees1 and write against 
it in general ,terms1 tho' he had not   
read it4 ,every body knows1 what ,pains 
our ,party-writers take in contradicting
 one another1 and that there are few    

,things1 which if the one praises1 the  
other does not condemn4 ,now1 if we find
 the ,london ,journal have a ,fling at  
,the ,fable of the ,bees one ,day1 and  
,the ,craftsman another1 it is a certain
 ,sign that the ill ,repute of the      
,book1 must be well establish'd and not 
to be doubted of4 ,then why might not an
 ,author write against it1 without      
giving himself the ,trouble of reading  
it8 ,it would be hard1 a ,man should not
 dare to affirm1 that it is hot in the  
,east-,indies1 without having made a    
tedious ,voyage thither and felt it4    
,the more therefore ,i reflect1 ,sir1 on
 your second ,dialogue1 and the ,manner 
you treat me in1 the more ,i am         
convinced1 that you never read the ,book
 ,i speak of1 ,i mean1 not read it      
through1 or at least not with           
,attention4 ,if ,dion had inform'd      
himself concerning ,the ,fable of the   
,bees1 as he might have done1 he must   
have met with my ,vindication of it in  
some ,shape or other4 ,first1 it came   

out in a ,news-,paper2 after that1 ,i   
publish'd it in a ,six-penny ,pamphlet1 
together with the ,words of the first   
,presentment of the ,grand ,jury and an 
injurious abusive ,letter to ,lord ,c4  
that came out immediately after it2 both
 which had been the ,occasion of my     
writing that ,vindication4 ,the ,reason 
,i gave for doing this1 was1 that the   
,reader might be fully instructed in the
 ,merits of the ,cause between my       
,adversaries and my ,self2 and because  
,i thought it requisite1 that to judge  
of my ,defence1 he should know the whole
 ,charge1 and all the ,accusations      
against me at large4 ,i took ,care to   
have this printed in such a ,manner1 as 
to the ,letter and ,form1 that for the  
,benefit of the ,buyers1 it might       
conveniently be bound up1 and look of a 
,piece with the then last1 which was the
 second ,edition4 ,ever since the whole 
,contents of this ,pamphlet have been   
added to the ,book1 and are at the ,end 
of the third1 the fourth1 and the fifth1

 as well as this last ,impression of    
#agcb4 ,if ,dion had seen and approved  
of this ,vindication1 he would not have 
wrote against me at all2 and if he had  
thought my ,answers not satisfactory1   
and that ,i had not clear'd my self from
 the ,aspersions1 which had been cast   
upon me1 it was unkind1 if not a great  
,disregard to the ,publick1 not to take 
,notice of it1 and shew the             
,insufficiency of my ,defence1 which    
from his own ,writings it is evident1   
that great ,numbers of the beau monde   
must have acquiesc'd in1 or not thought 
necessary4  ,give me ,leave1 then1 ,sir1
 for your own ,sake1 to treat you1 as if
 you never had read ,the ,fable of the  
,bees and in ,return ,i give you my     
,word1 that ,i shall make no use of it  
to your ,disadvantage2 on the ,contrary1
 ,i take it for granted1 that from the  
bad ,character you had heard of the     
,book from every ,quarter1 you had      
sufficient ,reason to write against it1 
as you have done1 without any further   

,enquiry4 ,this being settled1 ,i shall 
attempt to shew you the ,possibility1   
that a ,book might come into such a     
general ,disrepute without deserving it4
 ,an ,author1 who dares to expose ,vice1
 and the ,luxury of the ,time he lives  
in1 pulls off the ,disguises of artful  
,men1 and examining in to the false     
,pretences1 which are made to ,virtue1  
lays open the ,lives of those1 ,qui     
,curios simulant  ,bacchanalia vivunt3  
,an ,author1 ,i say1 who dares to do    
this in a great1 and opulent1 and       
flourishing ,nation1 can never fail of  
drawing upon him a great ,number of     
,enemies4 ,few ,men can bear with       
,patience1 to see those ,things         
detected1 which it is their ,interest1  
and they take ,pains to conceal4 ,as to 
,grand ,juries1 what they go upon is1   
the ,testimony of others2 they don't    
judge of ,books from their own ,reading2
 and many have been presented by them1  
which none1 or at least the greatest    
,part of them had never seen before4    

,yet when ever the ,publisher of a ,book
 is presented by a ,grand ,jury1 it is  
counted a publick ,censure upon the     
,author1 a ,disgrace not easily wiped   
off4  ,the ,news-,writers1 whose chief  
,business it is1 to fill their ,papers  
and raise the ,attention of their       
,readers1 never forget any ,scandal     
which can be publish'd with ,impunity4  
,by this ,means a ,book1 which once this
 ,indignity has been put upon1 is in a  
few ,days render'd odious1 and in less  
than a ,fortnight comes to be infamous  
throughout the ,kingdom without any     
other ,demerit2 ,those ,polemick        
,authors among them1 who are            
,party-,men1 and write either for or    
against ,courts and ,ministers1 have a  
greater ,regard to what will serve their
 ,purpose1 than they have to ,truth or  
,sincerity4 ,as they subsist by vulgar  
,errors1 and are kept alive by the      
,spirit of ,strife and ,contention1 so  
it is not their ,business to rectify    
,mistakes in ,opinion1 but rather to    

encrease them when it serves their      
,turn4 ,they know1 that whoever would   
ingratiate themselves with ,multitudes  
and gain ,credit amongst them1 must not 
contradict them2 which is the ,reason   
that1 how widely soever these           
,party-,writers may differ from ,one    
another in ,principles and ,sentiments1 
they will never differ in their ,censure
 or ,applause1 when they touch upon such
 ,notions which are generally receiv'd4 
,if you'll consider1 ,sir1 what ,i have 
said in the two last ,paragraphs1 you   
will easily see the ,possibility that   
,books may get into an ill ,repute and a
 very bad ,character without deserving  
it4 ,the next ,i shall endeavour to     
demonstrate to you1 is1 that this has   
been the ,case of ,the ,fable of the    
,bees1 and that the ,animosities which  
have been shewn against it1 were        
originally owing to another ,cause1 than
 what my ,adversaries pretended to be   
the true one4 ,in order to this1 ,i     
shall be obliged to make several        

,quotations from the ,book it self1 and 
repeat many ,things1 which ,i have      
already said in the ,vindication hinted 
at before3 ,but as ,i design this only  
for your self and those who have judged 
of the ,book from ,common ,report1 and  
never perused either the ,first or the  
,second ,part of it1 these ,citations   
will be as new to you as any other ,part
 of my ,letter4  ,i am not ignorant of  
the ,prejudice and real ,hurt1 which    
,authors do themselves by making long   
,quotations4 ,they interrupt the ,sense1
 and often break off the ,thread of the 
,discourse2 and many a ,reader1 when he 
comes to the ,end of a long ,citation1  
has forgot the main ,subject1 and often 
the ,thing it self1 which that very     
,citation was brought in to prove4 ,for 
this ,reason we see1 that ,judicious    
,writers avoid them as much as possible2
 or that where they cannot do without1  
instead of inserting them in the main   
,text of their ,works1 they make ,place 
for them in ,notes or ,remarks1 which   

they refer to1 or else an ,appendix1    
where many of them may be put together1 
and are never seen but by ,choice1 and  
when the ,reader is at ,leisure4 ,that  
this segregating all extraneous ,matter 
from the main ,body of the ,book1 the   
,text it self1 is less disagreeable to  
most ,readers1 than the other1 which ,i 
hinted at first1 is certain2 but it is  
attended with this ill ,consequence1    
which the less engaging ,method of      
,writing is not1 to wit1 that many      
curious and often the most valuable     
,things1 and which it is of the highest 
,concern to the ,author1 that they      
should be known1 are neglected and never
 look'd into1 only because they are put 
into ,notes or ,appendixes4 ,in my ,case
 you'll find1 ,sir1 that the long       
,quotations1 some of them of several    
,pages1 which ,i am obliged to trouble  
you with1 are more material for the     
,vindication of my ,book than all that  
can possibly be said besides4 ,for they 
will not only demonstrate to you1 that  

,i have been shamefully misrepresented1 
but likewise give you a clear ,insight  
into the real ,cause of the ,anger1 the 
,hatred1 and ,inveteracy1 of my         
,enemies1 who first gave the ,book an   
ill ,name1 and were the industrious     
,authors of the false ,reports1 by which
 your self and many other good ,men1 to 
my great ,affliction1 have been impos'd 
upon4 ,you'll pardon me then1 ,sir1 if1 
consulting my own ,interest in a just   
,defence1 rather than your ,pleasure in 
reading it1 ,i plant my strongest       
,evidences so directly in your ,way1    
that1 if you'll do me the ,favour of    
perusing this ,letter1 it shall be      
impossible for you to remain ignorant   
any longer of the ,innocence of my      
,intentions1 and the ,injustice that has
 been done me4  ,in the ,presentment of 
the ,grand ,jury in #agbc1 it is        
insinuated that in ,the ,fable of the   
,bees there are ,encomiums upon ,stews1 
which ,i can assure you1 ,sir1 is not   
true4 ,what might have given a ,handle  

to this ,charge1 must be a ,political   
,dissertation concerning the best       
,method to guard and preserve ,women of 
,honour and ,virtue from the ,insults of
 dissolute ,men1 whose ,passions are    
often ungovernable4 ,as in this there is
 a ,dilemma between two ,evils1 which it
 is impracticable to shun both1 so ,i   
have treated it with the utmost         
,caution1 and begin thus3 ,i am far from
 encouraging ,vice1 and should think it 
an unspeakable ,felicity for a ,state1  
if the ,sin of ,uncleanness could be    
utterly banish'd from it2 but ,i am     
afraid it is impossible4 ,i give my     
,reasons1 why ,i think it so2 and       
speaking occasionally of the            
,musick-,houses at ,amsterdam1 ,i give a
 short ,account of them1 than which     
,nothing can be more harmless4 ,to prove
 this to those who have bought or are   
possess'd of ,the ,fable of the ,bees1  
it would be sufficient to appeal and    
refer to the ,book3 ,but as one great   
,reason of my printing this ,letter1 is 

to shew my ,innocence to such1 who1 as  
well as your self1 neither have read nor
 care to buy the ,book1 it is requisite 
,i should transcribe the whole4 ,you'll 
see1 ,sir1 that my ,aim is to shew1 that
 these ,musick-,houses are              
discountenanc'd1 at the same ,time they 
are tolerated4  ,in the first ,place1   
the ,houses ,i speak of1 are allow'd to 
be no where but in the most slovenly and
 unpolish'd ,part of the ,town1 where   
,seamen and ,strangers of no ,repute    
chiefly lodge and resort4 ,the ,street1 
in which most of them stand1 is counted 
scandalous1 and the ,infamy is extended 
to all the ,neighbourhood round it4 ,in 
the ,second1 they are only ,places to   
meet and bargain in1 to make            
,appointments1 in order to promote      
,interviews of greater ,secrecy1 and no 
,manner of ,lewdness is ever suffer'd to
 be transacted in them2 which ,order is 
so strictly observ'd1 that1 bar the ,ill
 ,manners and ,noise of the ,company    
that frequent them1 you'll meet with no 

more ,indecency1 and generally less     
,lasciviousness there1 than with us are 
to seen at a ,play-,house4 ,thirdly1 the
 ,female ,traders1 that come to these   
,evening-,exchanges1 are always the     
,scum of the ,people1 and generally     
such1 as in the ,day-,time carry ,fruit 
and other ,eatables about in            
,wheel-barrows4 ,the ,habits indeed they
 appear in at ,night1 are very different
 from their ordinaray ones2 yet they are
 commonly so ridiculously gay1 that they
 look more like the ,roman ,dresses of  
strolling ,actresses1 than ,gentlewomens
 ,cloaths3 ,if to this you add the      
,awkwardness1 the hard ,hands and course
 ,breeding of the ,damsels that wear    
them1 there is no great ,reason to fear1
 that many of the better ,sort of       
,people will be tempted by them4  ,the  
,musick in these ,temples of ,venus is  
perform'd by ,organs1 not out of        
,respect to the ,deity that is worship'd
 in them1 but the ,frugality of the     
,owners1 whose ,business it is to       

procure as much ,sound for as little    
,money as they can1 and the ,policy of  
the ,government1 which endeavours as    
little as is possible1 to encourage the 
,breed of ,pipers and ,scrapers4 ,all   
,sea-faring ,men1 especially the ,dutch1
 are1 like the ,element they belong to1 
much given to ,loudness and ,roaring1   
and the ,noise of ,half a ,dozen of     
them1 when they call themselves ,merry1 
is sufficient to drown ,twice the       
,number of ,flutes or ,violins2 whereas 
with one ,pair of ,organs they can make 
the whole ,house ring1 and are at no    
other ,charge than the keeping of one   
scurvy ,musician1 which can cost them   
but little1 yet notwithstanding the good
 ,rules and strict ,discipline that are 
observ'd in these ,markets of ,love1 the
 ,schout and his ,officers are always   
vexing1 mulcting1 and1 upon the least   
,complaint1 removing the miserable      
,keepers of them3 ,which ,policy is of  
two great ,uses2 ,first1 it gives an    
,opportunity to a large ,parcel of      

,officers1 the ,magistrates make use of 
on many ,occasions1 and which they could
 not be without1 to squeeze a ,living   
out of the immoderate ,gains accruing   
from the worst of ,employments1 and at  
the same ,time punish those necessary   
,profligates1 the ,bawds and ,panders1  
whom1 tho' they abominate1 they desire  
yet not wholly to destroy4 ,secondly1 as
 on several ,accounts it might be       
dangerous to let the ,multitude into the
 ,secret1 that those ,houses and the    
,trade that is drove in them are        
conniv'd at1 so1 by this ,means         
appearing unblameable1 the wary         
,magistrates preserve themselves in the 
good ,opinion of the weaker ,sort of    
,people1 who imagine1 that the          
,government is always endeavouring1 tho'
 unable1 to suppress what it actually   
tolerates3 ,whereas if they had a ,mind 
to rout them out1 their ,power in the   
,administration of ,justice is so       
sovereign and extensive1 and they know  
so well how to have it executed1 that   

one ,week1 nay one ,night1 might send   
them all a packing4  ,i appeal to your  
self1 ,sir1 whether this ,relation is   
not more proper to give ,men 7even the  
,voluptuous1 of any ,taste7 a ,disgust  
and ,aversion to the ,women in those    
,houses1 than it is to raise any        
criminal ,desire4 ,i am sorry the ,grand
 ,jury should conceive1 as they said1   
that ,i publish'd this with a ,design to
 debauch the ,nation2 without           
considering1 in the first ,place1 that  
there is not a ,sentence nor a          
,syllable1 that can either offend the   
chastest ,ear1 or sully the ,imagination
 of the most vicious2 or1 in the        
,second1 that the ,matter complain'd of1
 is manifestly address'd to ,magistrates
 and ,politicians1 or at least the most 
serious and thinking ,part of ,mankind2 
whereas a general ,corruption of        
,manners1 as to ,lewdness1 to be        
produced by ,reading1 can only be       
apprehended from ,obscenities1 easily   
purchased1 and every ,way adapted to the

 ,tastes and ,capacities of the heedless
 ,multitude1 and unexperienc'd ,youth of
 both ,sexes2 but that the ,performance 
so outragiously exclaim'd against was   
never calculated for either of these    
,classes of ,people1 is self-evident    
from every ,circumstance4 ,the          
,beginning of the ,prose is altogether  
,philosophical1 and hardly intelligible 
to any1 that have not been used to      
,matters of ,speculation2 and the       
running ,title of it is so far from     
being specious1 or inviting1 that1      
without having read the ,book it self1  
,no body knows what to make of it1      
whilst at the same ,time the ,price is  
,five ,shillings4 ,from all which it is 
very plain1 that if the ,book contains  
any dangerous ,tenets1 ,i have not been 
very sollicitous to scatter them among  
the ,people4 ,i have not said a ,word to
 please or engage them1 and the greatest
 ,compliment ,i have made them1 has     
been1 ,apage ,vulgus4 ,but as ,nothing  
7,i say p #beg47 would more clearly     

demonstrate the ,falsity of my ,notions1
 than that the ,generality of the       
,people should fall in with them1 so ,i 
don't expect the ,approbation of the    
,multitude4 ,i write not to ,many1 nor  
seek for any ,well-wishers1 but among   
the ,few that can think abstractly1 and 
have their ,minds elevated above the    
,vulgar4 ,of this ,i have made no ill   
,use1 and ever preserv'd such a tender  
,regard to the ,publick1 that when ,i   
have advanced any uncommon ,sentiments1 
,i have used all the ,precautions       
imaginable that they might not be       
hurtful to weak ,minds that might       
casually dip into the ,book4 ,when 7page
 #bee7 ,i own'd1 that it was my         
,sentiment1 that no ,society could be   
raised into a rich and mighty ,kingdom1 
or1 so raised1 subsist in their ,wealth 
and ,power for any considerable ,time1  
without the ,vices of ,man1 ,i had      
premised what was true1 that ,i had     
never said or imagin'd1 that ,man could 
not be virtuous1 as well in a rich and  

mighty ,kingdom1 as in the most pitiful 
,commonwealth2 mind ,sir1 p4 #beg4 ,when
 ,i say1 that ,societies cannot be      
raised to ,wealth and ,power and the    
,top of ,earthly ,glory without ,vices1 
,i don't think1 that by so saying1 ,i   
bid ,men be vicious1 any more than ,i   
bid them be quarrelsome or covetous1    
when ,i affirm1 that the ,profession of 
the ,law could not be maintain'd in such
 ,numbers and ,splendour1 if there was  
not ,abundance of too selfish and       
litigious ,people4 ,a ,caution of the   
same ,nature ,i had already given       
towards the ,end of the ,preface1 on    
,account of a palpable ,evil1           
inseparable from the ,felicity of       
,london4 ,the ,words are these1 ,there  
are1 ,i believe1 few ,people in ,london1
 of those that are at any ,time forc'd  
to go a-foot1 but what could wish the   
,streets of it much cleaner than        
generally they are1 whilst they regard  
,nothing but their own ,cloaths and     
private ,conveniency3 but when once they

 come to consider1 that what offends    
them1 is the ,result of the ,plenty1    
great ,traffick and ,opulency of that   
mighty ,city1 if they have any ,concern 
in its ,welfare1 they will hardly ever  
wish to see the ,streets of it less     
dirty4 ,for if we mind the ,materials of
 all ,sorts1 that must supply such an   
infinite ,number of ,trades and         
,handicrafts as are always going        
forward1 and the vast ,quantities of    
,victuals1 ,drink1 and ,fuel1 that are  
daily consumed in it2 the ,waste and    
,superfluities1 that must be produced   
from them2 the ,multitudes of ,horses   
and other ,cattle1 that are always      
daubing the ,streets2 the ,carts1       
,coaches1 and more heavy ,carriages1    
that are perpetually wearing and        
breaking the ,pavement of them2 and1    
above all1 the numberless ,swarms of    
,people1 that are continually harassing 
and trampling through every ,part of    
them3 ,if1 ,i say1 we mind all these1 we
 shall find1 that every ,moment must    

produce new ,filth2 and considering how 
far distant the great ,streets are from 
the ,river-side1 what ,cost and ,care   
soever be bestow'd to remove the        
,nastiness almost as fast as it is made1
 it is impossible ,london should be more
 cleanly before it is less flourishing4 
,now would ,i ask if a good ,citizen1 in
 ,consideration of what has been said1  
might not assert1 that dirty ,streets   
are a necessary ,evil inseparable from  
the ,felicity of ,london1 without being 
the least ,hindrance to the ,cleaning of
 ,shoes1 or ,sweeping of ,streets1 and  
consequently without any ,prejudice     
either to the ,blackguard or the        
,scavengers4  ,but if1 without any      
,regard to the ,interest or ,happiness  
of the ,city1 the ,question was put1    
,what ,place ,i thought most pleasant to
 walk in8 ,no body can doubt but before 
the stinking ,streets of ,london1 ,i    
would esteem a fragrant ,garden1 or     
shady ,grove in the ,country4 ,in the   
same ,manner1 if1 laying aside all      

worldly ,greatness and ,vain ,glory1 ,i 
should be ask'd1 where ,i thought it was
 most probable that ,men might enjoy    
true ,happiness1 ,i would prefer a small
 peaceable ,society1 in which ,men1     
neither envy'd nor esteem'd by          
,neighbours1 should be contented to live
 upon the ,natural ,product of the ,spot
 they inhabit1 to a vast ,multitude     
abounding in ,wealth and ,power1 that   
should always be conquering others by   
their ,arms ,abroad1 and debauching     
themselves by ,foreign ,luxury at ,home4
  ,i own1 ,sir1 it is my ,opinion1 and  
,i have endeavour'd to prove1 that      
,luxury1 tho' depending upon the ,vices 
of ,man1 is absolutely necessary to     
render a great ,nation formidable1      
opulent and polite at the same ,time4   
,but before you pass any ,judgment upon 
me for this1 give me ,leave to put you  
in ,mind of ,two ,things1 which ,i take 
to be undeniably true4 ,the ,first is1  
that the ,kingdom of ,christ is not of  
this ,world2 and that the last-named is 

the very ,thing a true ,christian ought 
to renounce3 ,i mean1 that when we speak
 of the ,world in a figurative ,sense1  
as the ,knowledge of the ,world1 the    
,glory of the ,world2 or in ,french1 ,le
 beau ,monde1 le grand ,monde2 and when 
in a ,man's ,praise we say1 that he     
understands the ,world very well2 that1 
,i say1 when we use the ,word in this   
,manner1 it signifies1 and we understand
 by it that same ,world which the       
,gospel gives us so many ,cautions and  
pronounces so severely against4 ,the    
,second is1 that ,i have wrote in an    
,age and a ,nation1 where the greatest  
,part of the ,fashionable1 and what we  
call the better ,sort of ,people1 seem  
to be far more delighted with ,temporal1
 than they are with ,spiritual          
,enjoyments1 at the same ,time that they
 profess themselves to be ,christians2  
and that whatever they may talk1 preach 
or write of a ,future ,state and eternal
 ,felicity1 they are all closely        
attach'd to this wicked ,world2 or at   

least1 that the ,generality1 in their   
,actions and ,endeavours1 seem to be    
infinitely more sollicitous about the   
one1 than they are about the other4  ,if
 you will consider these ,two ,things1  
you'll find1 that ,i have supposed no   
,necessity of ,vice1 but among those by 
whom worldly ,greatness is in ,esteem   
and thought necessary to ,happiness4    
,the more curious and operose           
,manufactures are1 the more ,hands they 
employ2 and that with the ,variety of   
them1 the ,number of ,workmen must still
 encrease1 wants no ,proof4 ,it is      
evident likewise1 that ,foreign         
,traffick consists in changing of       
,commodities1 and removing them from one
 ,place to another4 ,no ,nation1 that   
has no ,gold or ,silver of their own    
,growth1 can purchase our ,product long1
 unless we1 or ,some body else1 will buy
 theirs4 ,the ,epithets of polite and   
flourishing are never given to          
,countries1 before they are arriv'd at a
 considerable ,degree of ,luxury2 and a 

flourishing ,nation without it1 is      
,bread without ,corn1 a ,perriwig       
without ,hair1 or a ,library without    
,books4  ,assertions as these1 an       
indulgent ,reader will say1 might yet be
 borne with2 and ,hypocrites1 by putting
 false ,glosses on ,things1 and giving  
favourable ,constructions to their      
,actions1 might persuade the ,world1    
that to make this necessary             
,consumption1 they labour'd for the     
,publick ,good2 that they fed on ,trouts
 and ,turbots1 ,quails and ,ortolans1   
and the most expensive ,dishes1 not to  
please their dainty ,palates or their   
,vanity1 but to maintain the ,fishmonger
 and the ,poulterer and the many        
,wretches1 who1 for a miserable         
,livelyhood1 are daily slaving to       
furnish them4 ,that they wore gold      
,brocades1 and made new ,cloaths every  
,fortnight1 not to gratify their own    
,pride or ,fickleness1 but for the      
,benefit of the ,mercer1 the ,merchant1 
and the ,weaver1 and the ,encouragement 

of ,trade in general4 ,that the         
,extravagancy of their ,tables1 and     
,splendor of ,entertainments1 were only 
the ,effects of an ,hospitable ,temper1 
their ,benevolence to others1 and a     
generous ,disposition3 ,that ,pride or  
,ostentation had no ,hand in these      
,things1 nor yet in the laying out of   
the immense ,sums for the ,elegancy and 
,magnificence of ,equipages1 ,gardens1  
,furniture and ,buildings4 ,all these   
,things1 ,i dare say1 you would let     
pass2 but if you should hear a ,man say1
 that this ,consumption depends chiefly 
upon ,qualities1 we pretend to be       
asham'd of1 it would be offensive to    
you2 and if he should maintain1 that1   
without the ,vices of ,man1 it would be 
impossible to enjoy all the ,ease1      
,glory1 and ,greatness1 the ,world can  
afford1 and which1 in short1 we are fond
 of1 you would think his ,assertion to  
be a terrible ,paradox4  ,many ,people  
would believe1 that ,hunger1 tho' they  
never felt the ,extremities of it1 is1  

in order to live1 as requisite to a     
,man1 as it is to a ,cormorant1 or to a 
,wolf2 and that without ,lust1 if you   
give it a softer ,name1 our ,species    
could not be preserv'd1 any more than   
that of ,bulls or ,goats4 ,but not ,one 
in a ,thousand can imagine1 tho' it be  
equally demonstrable1 that in the ,civil
 ,society the ,avarice of ,some and the 
,profuseness of ,others1 together with  
the ,pride and ,envy of most            
,individuals1 are absolutely necessary  
to raise them to a great and powerful1  
and1 in the ,language of the ,world1    
polite ,nation4 ,it seems still to be a 
greater ,paradox1 that natural as well  
as moral ,evil1 and the very ,calamities
 we pray against1 do not only contribute
 to this worldly ,greatness1 but a      
certain ,proportion of them is so       
necessary to all ,nations1 that it is   
not to be conceiv'd1 how any ,society   
could subsist upon ,earth1 exempt from  
all ,evil1 both natural and moral4  ,yet
 these ,things are asserted1 and1 ,i    

think1 demonstrated in ,the ,fable of   
the ,bees4 ,the ,book has run through   
several ,impressions1 and met with      
innumerable ,enemies3 ,nothing was ever 
more reviled from the ,pulpit as well as
 the ,press4 ,i have been call'd all the
 ugly ,names in ,print1 that ,malice or 
ill ,manners can invent2 but not one of 
my ,adversaries has attempted to        
disprove what ,i had said1 or overthrow 
any one ,argument1 ,i made ,use of1     
otherwise than by exclaiming against it1
 and saying that it was not true3 which 
to me is a ,sign1 that not only what ,i 
have advanced is not easy to refute1 but
 likewise1 that my ,opposers are more   
closely attach'd to the ,world1 than    
even ,i my self had imagined them to be4
 ,otherwise it is impossible1 but1      
perceiving this ,difficulty1 some of    
them would have reason'd after the      
following ,manner1 viz4 ,since this     
worldly ,greatness is not to be attain'd
 to without the ,vices of ,man1 ,i will 
have ,nothing to do with it2 since it is

 impossible to serve ,god and ,mammon1  
my ,choice shall be soon made3 ,no      
temper ,i ,pleasure can be worth running
 the ,risque of being eternally         
miserable2 and1 let who will labour to  
aggrandise the ,nation1 ,i will aim at  
higher ,ends1 and take ,care of my own  
,soul4  ,the ,moment such a ,thought    
enters into a ,man's ,head1 all the     
,poison is taken away from the ,book1   
and every ,bee has lost his ,sting4     
,those who should in ,reality prefer    
,spirituals to ,temporals1 and be seen  
to take more ,pains to attain an        
everlasting ,felicity1 than they did for
 the ,enjoyment of the fading ,pleasures
 and transient ,glorie of this ,life1   
would not grudge to make some           
,abatements in the ,ease1 the           
,conveniencies1 and the ,comforts of it1
 or even to part with some of their     
,possessions upon ,earth1 to make sure  
of their ,inheritance in the ,kingdom of
 ,heaven4 ,whatever ,liking they might  
have to the curious ,embellishments and 

elegant ,inventions of the ,voluptuous1 
they would refuse to purchase them at   
the ,hazard of ,damnation4 ,in ,judging 
of themselves they would not be such    
easy ,casuists1 nor think it sufficient 
not to act contrary to the ,laws of the 
,land1 unless they likewise obey'd the  
,precepts of ,christ4 ,no ,book would be
 plainer or more intelligible to them   
than the ,gospel2 and without consulting
 either ,fathers or ,councils1 they     
would be satisfied1 that mortifying the 
,flesh never could signify to indulge   
every ,appetite1 not prohibited by an   
,earthly ,legislator4  ,what ,skill1    
pray1 would it require in ,controversy1 
to be convinced1 that to yield to all   
the ,allurements1 to comply with every  
,mode and ,fashion1 and partake of all  
the ,vanities of the ,world1 was the    
very ,reverse of ,renouncing it1 if     
,words had any ,signification at all8   
,here lies the ,difficulty2 and here is 
the true ,cause of the ,quarrel1 and all
 the ,spite and ,invectives against ,the

 ,fable of the ,bees and its ,author4   
,my ,adversaries will not be stinted1 or
 abate an ,ace of the wordly ,enjoyments
 they can purchase1 because the whole   
,earth was made for ,man2 ,libertines   
say the same of ,women1 and with equal  
,justice2 yet relying on this pitiful   
,reason1 they will eat and drink as     
deliciously as they can3 ,no ,pleasure  
is denied them1 forsooth1 that is used  
with ,moderation2 and in ,cloaths1      
,houses1 ,furniture1 ,equipages and     
,attendance1 they may live in perfect   
,conformity with the most vain and      
luxurious of the fashionable ,people2   
only with this ,difference1 that their  
,hearts must not be attach'd to these   
,things1 and their grand ,hope be in    
,futurity4 ,this notable ,proviso being 
once made1 tho' in ,words only1 all is  
safe2 and no ,luxury or ,epicurism are  
so barefac'd1 no ,ease is so effeminate1
 no ,elegancy so vainly curious1 and no 
,invention so operose or expensive1 as  
to interfere with ,religion or any      

,promises made of ,renouncing the       
,world2 if they are warranted by        
,custom1 and the ,usage of others1 who  
are their ,equals in ,estate and        
,dignity4  ,oh rare ,doctrine6 ,oh easy 
,christianity6 ,to be moderate in       
numberless ,extravagancies1 ,terence    
would tell them was as practicable as   
cum ratione insanire3 ,but if we grant  
the ,possibility of it1 how shall we    
know and be convinced that they are     
sincere2 that their ,hearts and ,desires
 are so little engaged to this vile     
,earth1 as they pretend2 or that the    
,thoughts of a ,world to come are any   
,part of their real ,concern1 when we   
have ,nothing but their bare ,word for  
it1 and all other ,appearances are      
unanimous1 and the most positive        
,witnesses against them8  ,i know1 that 
my ,enemies won't allow1 that ,i wrote  
with this ,view2 tho' ,i have told them 
before1 and demonstrated1 that ,the     
,fable of the ,bees was a ,book of      
exalted ,morality2 they refuse to       

believe me2 their ,clamours against it  
continue2 and what ,i have now said in  
,defence of it1 will be rejected1 and   
call'd an ,artifice to come off2 that it
 is full of dangerous1 wicked and       
,atheistical ,notions1 and could not    
have been wrote with any other ,design  
than the ,encouragement of ,vice4       
,should ,i ask them what ,vices they    
were2 ,whoring1 ,drinking1 ,gaming2 or  
desire them to name any one ,passage1   
where the least ,immorality is          
recommended1 spoke well of1 or so much  
as conniv'd at1 they would have ,nothing
 to lay hold on but the ,title ,page4   
,but why then1 will you say1 are they so
 inveterate against it8 ,i have hinted  
at it just now1 but ,i will more openly 
unfold that ,mystery4  ,i have1 in the  
,book in ,question1 exposed the real    
,pleasures of the ,voluptuous1 and taken
 ,notice of the great ,scarcity of true 
,self-denial among ,christians1 and in  
doing this ,i have spared the ,clergy no
 more than the ,laity3 ,this has highly 

provoked a great many4 ,but as ,i have  
done this without the least             
,exaggeration1 meddled with ,nothing1   
but what is plainly known and seen1 and 
always said less than ,i could have     
proved1 my ,adversaries were obliged to 
dissemble the ,cause of their ,anger4   
,what vex'd them the more was1 that it  
was wrote without ,rancour or           
,peevishness2 and1 if not in a pleasant1
 at least in an open good-humour'd      
,manner1 free1 ,i dare say1 from        
,pedantry and ,sourness4 ,therefore     
,none of them ever touch'd upon this    
,point1 or spoke one ,syllable of the   
only ,thing1 which in their ,hearts they
 hate me for4  ,here1 ,sir1 ,i must     
trouble you with a ,parable1 in which   
are couch'd the ,prevarications and     
false ,pretences with which the         
,generality of the ,world would cover   
their real ,inclinations and the ,ends  
of their ,wishes4 ,may it prove as      
diverting to you as the ,matter is      
really instructive4  ,in old ,heathen   

,times there was1 they say1 a ,whimsical
 ,country1 where the ,people talked much
 of ,religion2 and the greatest ,part1  
as to outward ,appearance1 seem'd really
 devout3 ,the chief moral ,evil among   
them was ,thirst1 and to quench it1 a   
,damnable ,sin2 yet they unanimously    
agreed1 that ,every one was born        
,thirsty more or less4 ,small ,beer in  
,moderation was allow'd to ,all2 and he 
was counted an ,hypocrite1 a ,cynick1 or
 a ,madman1 who pretended that ,one     
could live altogether without it2 yet   
those1 who owned they loved it1 and     
drank it to ,excess1 were counted       
,wicked4 ,all this while the ,beer it   
self was reckon'd a ,blessing from      
,heaven1 and there was no ,harm in the  
,use of it2 all the ,enormity lay in the
 ,abuse1 the ,motive of the ,heart1 that
 made them drink it4 ,he that took the  
least ,drop of it to quench his ,thirst1
 committed a heinous ,crime1 whilst     
others drank large ,quantities without  
any ,guilt1 so they did it              

indifferently1 and for no other ,reason 
than to mend their ,complexion4  ,they  
brew'd for other ,countries as well as  
their own2 and for the ,small ,beer they
 sent abroad1 they receiv'd large       
,returns of ,westphaly-,hams1           
,neats-,tongues1 ,hung-,beef1 and       
,bolonia-,sausages1 ,red ,herrings1     
,pickled ,sturgeon1 ,cavear1 ,anchovies1
 and every ,thing that was proper to    
make their ,liquor go down with         
,pleasure4 ,those who kept great ,stores
 of ,small ,beer by them1 without making
 use of it1 were generally envied1 and  
at the same ,time very odious to the    
,publick2 and ,no body was easy that had
 not enough of it to come to his own    
,share4 ,the greatest ,calamity they    
thought could befall them1 was to keep  
their ,hops and ,barley upon their      
,hands2 and the more they yearly        
consumed of them1 the more they reckon'd
 the ,country to flourish4  ,the        
,government had made very wise          
,regulations concerning the ,returns    

that were made for their ,exports2      
encouraged very much the ,importation of
 ,salt and ,pepper1 and laid heavy      
,duties on every ,thing that was not    
well season'd1 and might any ways       
obstruct the ,sale of their own ,hops   
and ,barley4 ,those at ,helm1 when they 
acted in ,publick1 shew'd themselves on 
all ,accounts exempt and wholly divested
 from ,thirst2 made several ,laws to    
prevent the ,growth of it1 and punish   
the ,wicked who openly dared to quench  
it4 ,if you examin'd them in their      
private ,persons1 and pry'd narrowly    
into their ,lives and ,conversations1   
they seem'd to be more fond1 or at least
 drank larger ,draughts of ,small ,beer 
than others1 but always under ,pretence 
that the ,mending of ,complexions       
required greater ,quantities of ,liquor 
in them1 than it did in those they ruled
 over2 and that what they had chiefly at
 ,heart1 without any ,regard to         
themselves1 was to procure great ,plenty
 of ,small ,beer among the ,subjects in 

general1 and a great ,demand for their  
,hops and ,barley4  ,as ,no body was    
debarr'd from ,small ,beer1 the ,clergy 
made use of it as well as the ,laity1   
and some of them very plentifully2 yet  
all of them desired to be thought less  
,thirsty by their ,function than others1
 and never would own1 that they drank   
any1 but to mend their ,complexions4 ,in
 their ,religious ,assemblies they were 
more sincere2 for as soon as they came  
there1 they all openly confess'd1 the   
,clergy as well as the ,laity1 from the 
highest to the lowest1 that they were   
,thirsty2 that ,mending their           
,complexions was what they minded the   
least1 and that all their ,hearts were  
set upon ,small ,beer and ,quenching    
their ,thirst1 whatever they might      
pretend to the ,contrary4 ,what was     
remarkable is1 that to have laid ,hold  
of those ,truths to any one's           
,prejudice1 and made use of those       
,confessions afterwards out of their    
,temples1 would have been counted very  

impertinent2 and ,every body thought it 
a heinous ,affront to be call'd         
,thirsty1 tho' you had seen him drink   
,small ,beer by whole ,gallons4 ,the    
chief ,topicks of their ,preachers was  
the great ,evil of ,thirst1 and the     
,folly there was in quenching it4 ,they 
exhorted their ,hearers to resist the   
,temptations of it1 inveigh'd against   
,small ,beer1 and often told them it was
 ,poyson1 if they drank it with         
,pleasure1 or any other ,design than to 
mend their ,complexions4  ,in their     
,acknowledgments to the ,gods1 they     
thank'd them for the ,plenty of         
comfortable ,small ,beer they had       
received from them1 notwithstanding they
 had so little deserv'd it1 and         
continually quench'd their ,thirst with 
it2 whereas they were so thorowly       
satisfy'd1 that it was given them for a 
better ,use4 ,having begg'd ,pardon for 
those ,offences1 they desired the ,gods 
to lessen their ,thirst1 and give them  
,strength to resist the ,importunities  

of it2 yet1 in the ,midst of their      
sorest ,repentance1 and most humble     
,supplications1 they never forgot ,small
 ,beer1 and pray'd that they might      
continue to have it in great ,plenty1   
with a solemn ,promise1 that how        
neglectful soever they might hitherto   
have been in this ,point1 they would for
 the ,future not drink a ,drop of it    
with any other ,design than to mend     
their ,complexions4  ,these were        
standing ,petitions1 put together to    
last2 and having continued to be made   
use of without any ,alterations for     
several ,hundred ,years together1 it was
 thought by ,some1 that the ,gods1 who  
understood ,futurity1 and knew1 that the
 same ,promise they heard in ,june1     
would be made to them the ,january      
following1 did not rely much more on    
those ,vows1 than we do on those waggish
 ,inscriptions by which ,men offer us   
their ,goods1 ,to ,day for ,money1 and  
to ,morrow for ,nothing4 ,they often    
began their ,prayers very mystically1   

and spoke many ,things in a spiritual   
,sense2 yet they never were so abstract 
from the ,world in them1 as to end ,one 
without beseeching the ,gods to bless   
and prosper the ,brewing ,trade in all  
its ,branches1 and1 for the ,good of the
 ,whole1 more and more to increase the  
,consumption of the ,hops and ,barley4  
,this ,parable likewise has been very   
displeasing to my ,enemies1 yet they    
never complain'd of it1 nor ever shew'd 
their ,resentment against those         
,passages1 where their ,frailties were  
most exposed4 ,but the true ,grievance  
not being to be named1 their next ,care 
was to hinder the ,spreading of my      
,animadversions upon them2 that what ,i 
had said might not be read by ,many2 and
 accordingly1 giving the ,book an ill   
,name1 and making some imperfect        
,quotations from it1 they procure1 as ,i
 have said before1 the ,grand ,jury's   
,presentment against it4 ,but this being
 now-a-,days the wrongest ,way in the   
,world to stifle ,books1 it made it more

 known1 and encreas'd the ,sale of it4  
,this made some hot ,people raving mad2 
and now ,i began to be attack'd with    
great ,fury from all ,quarters2 but as  
,nothing has appeared yet1 that might   
not be easily answer'd from ,the ,fable 
of the ,bees it self1 or the            
,vindication ,i have spoke of before1 ,i
 have not hitherto thought fit to take  
,notice of any4  ,it was wrote for the  
,entertainment of idle ,people1 and     
calculated for ,persons of ,education1  
when they are at ,leisure and want      
,amusement2 and therefore to ask ,men of
 ,business1 or that have any ,thing else
 to do1 to read such an incoherent      
,rhapsody throughout1 would be an       
unreasonable ,request2 at least1 the    
,author himself ought to be more modest 
than to expect it3 ,yet ,i must beg     
,leave to say1 that whoever has not done
 this1 ought not to be so magisterial in
 his ,censures1 as ,some have been on   
,passages the most justifiable in the   
,world4 ,it is impossible to say every  

,thing at once2 and yet ,every body1 who
 has a ,book before him1 has the        
,liberty of opening and shutting it1    
when and where he pleases4 ,there are   
many ,things1 which we entirely approve 
of1 ,part of which we disliked1 before  
we were acquainted with the whole2 and  
we ought always to consider1 that       
,authors often reserve some ,places on  
,purpose to clear up and explain others1
 that are difficult and obscure3 ,even  
when we meet with a ,thing really       
offensive and no ways to be maintain'd1 
unless we read a ,book through1 we do   
not know but the ,author has excepted   
against that very ,passage himself2     
perhaps he has retracted1 or begg'd     
,pardon for it4  ,it is hardly possible1
 that a ,man of ,candour and any        
tolerable ,judgment1 who seriously      
considers the ,book1 can be offended at 
it4 ,in the ,first ,place1 he will find1
 that what ,i call ,vices are the       
,fashionable ,ways of ,living1 the      
,manners of the ,age1 that are often    

practis'd and preach'd against by the   
same ,people3 ,those ,vices1 that the   
,persons who are guilty of them1 are    
angry with me for calling them so3 ,the 
,decencies and ,conveniencies1 which my 
,adversaries are so fond of1 and which1 
rather than forsake and part with1 they 
would take ,pains to justify4 ,in the   
,second1 ,that ,i address myself to the 
,voluptuous1 whose greatest ,delight is 
in this ,world2 and1 that when ,i speak 
to ,others1 that would be contented     
without ,superfluities1 and prefer      
,virtue and ,honesty to ,pomp and       
,greatness1 ,i lay down quite different 
,maxims3 ,that what ,i have said1 ,page 
#beh1 is true1 viz4 ,tho' ,i have shewn 
the ,way to ,worldly ,greatness1 ,i     
have1 without ,hesitation1 preferr'd the
 ,road that leads to ,virtue4  ,should  
it be objected1 that ,i was not in      
,earnest1 when ,i recommended those     
mortifying ,maxims1 ,i would answer1    
,that those1 who think so1 would have   
said the same to ,st4 ,paul1 or ,,jesus 

,,christ himself1 if he had bid them    
sell their ,estates and give their      
,money to the ,poor4 ,poverty and       
,self-denial have no ,allurements in    
,sight of my ,enemies2 they hate the    
,aspect and the very ,thoughts of them1 
as much as they do me2 and therefore1   
whoever recommends them must be in      
,jest4 ,no ,mathematical ,demonstration 
is more true1 than that to prohibit     
,navigation1 and all ,commerce with     
,strangers1 is the most effectual ,way  
to keep out ,vice and ,luxury3 ,it is   
almost as true1 that ,citizens1 and ,men
 of ,worth1 who defend their own1 and   
fight pro ,aris  ,focis1 when once      
disciplin'd and inur'd to ,hardship1 are
 more to be depended upon than hired    
,troops and mercenary ,soldiers4 ,let a 
,man preach this in ,london1 and they'll
 say he is craz'd4 ,but if ,men won't   
buy ,virtue at the ,price it is only to 
be had at1 ,whose ,fault is that8  ,i   
knew what ,people ,i had to deal with2  
and when ,i spoke of the ,spartans and  

their ,frugality1 and how formidable    
they were to their ,enemies1 ,i said    
then1 that such a ,way of ,living1 and a
 ,glory to be obtain'd by so austere a  
,self-denial1 were not the ,things which
 ,englishmen wanted or desired4 ,there  
are ,twenty ,passages in the ,book to   
the same ,purpose2 but from this alone  
it is manifest1 that1 unless ,i was a   
,fool1 or a ,madman1 ,i could have no   
,design to encourage or promote the     
,vices of the ,age4 ,it will be         
difficult to shew me an ,author1 that   
has exposed and ridicul'd them more     
openly4 ,breaches of the ,law ,i have   
treated in a more serious ,manner2 and  
tho' it has been insinuated1 that ,i was
 an ,advocate for all ,wickedness and   
,villany in ,general1 there is no such  
,thing in the ,book4 ,i have said       
indeed1 that we often saw an evident    
,good spring up from a palpable ,evil1  
and given ,instances to prove1 that1 by 
the wonderful ,direction of unsearchable
 ,providence1 ,robbers1 ,murderers1 and 

the worst of ,malefactors were sometimes
 made instrumental to great             
,deliverances in ,distress1 and         
remarkable ,blessings1 which ,god       
wrought and conferr'd on the ,innocent  
and ,industrious2 but as to the ,crimes 
themselves1 ,i have never spoke of them1
 but with the utmost ,detestation1 and  
on all ,occasions urg'd the great       
,necessity of punishing all1 that are   
guilty of them1 without ,favour or      
,connivance4  ,that ,honesty is the best
 ,policy1 even as to ,temporals1 is     
generally true2 but it does not so often
 raise ,men to great ,wealth and ,power 
as ,knavery and ,ambition2 and          
,opportunity is a great ,rascal4        
,attorneys1 ,money-,scriveners1 ,bankers
 and ,brokers1 as well as ,factors of   
all ,sorts1 may1 without doubt1 be as   
honest in their ,callings as ,men of any
 other2 but it is evident in all        
,trades1 that the greater the ,trust is 
to be reposed in ,persons1 and the more 
their ,transactions are ,secrets and    

such as they can only be accountable for
 to ,god and their ,conscience1 the more
 ,latitude they have of being ,knaves   
without being discover'd4 ,should now a 
,man of a ,business1 where he has great 
,opportunity of defrauding others with  
,impunity1 be a cunning ,sharper1 a     
covetous ,miser1 and a wicked           
,hypocrite2 can it be a ,question1      
whether he is not more likely to get a  
great ,estate1 with the same setting out
 in a few ,years1 than a charitable1    
religious ,man1 whose chief ,care is not
 for this ,world1 in the same or any    
other ,calling1 equally beneficial to   
fair ,dealers8 ,i am not ignorant of    
what may be said against me1 about      
,god's ,blessing1 and on whom it is most
 likely to fall4 ,the ,dispositions of  
,providence are unfathomable1 and the   
,distribution of what we call ,good and 
,evil in this ,world1 is a ,mystery not 
to be accounted for by the ,notions we  
have of ,god's ,justice1 without having 
,recourse to a ,future ,state2 therefore

 ,i need not to take this in            
,consideration here4 ,the ,question is  
not1 which is the readiest ,way to      
,riches1 but whether the ,riches        
themselves are worth being damn'd for4  
,there never was yet1 and it is         
impossible to conceive1 an opulent      
,nation1 without great ,vices3 ,this is 
a ,truth2 and ,i am not accessary to its
 being so1 for divulging it4 ,when ,i   
have shewn the ,necessity of ,vice1 to  
render a ,society great and potent1 ,i  
have exposed that ,greatness1 and left  
it to them1 the ,members of it1 whether 
it is worth buying at that ,price2 and  
,i defy all my ,enemies to shew me1     
where ,i have recommended ,vice1 or said
 the least ,tittle1 by which ,i         
contradict that true1 as well as        
remarkable ,saying of ,monsieur ,baile4 
,les utilits du vice n'empchent pas qu' 
il ne soit mauvais4 ,vice is always bad1
 whatever ,benefit we may receive from  
it4--,but ,i have been strangely        
treated4  ,should a thriving ,youth in  

,athletick ,health1 almost arriv'd at   
,manhood1 industriously waste his ,flesh
 for no other ,purpose1 than to weigh   
less1 ,i would 'count him a ,fool for   
his ,pains2 because he runs the ,risque 
of doing himself great ,injury4 ,but he 
must ride2 the ,match is made2 he has a 
,master to oblige1 and he is undone it  
he refuses3 ,so he is managed           
accordingly against the ,time4 ,if ,i   
had a ,mind to expose this ,practice1   
and1 laying open the whole ,regimen ,men
 are to go through in order to waste1   
acquaint the ,world with the sharp      
,liquors they take1 how they are purged1
 sweated1 stinted in their ,food1 and   
debarr'd from their natural ,rest2 ,if1 
,i say1 ,i had a ,mind to do this1 and  
ridicule the ,expedient1 ,i don't see   
where would be the ,harm4 ,as to the    
,thing it self1 ,no body would doubt1   
but drinking ,vinegar1 ,physicking1     
,watching1 and ,starving1 would be a    
more proper ,means to lose ,flesh1 than 
good ,nourishment three ,times a ,day1  

and comfortable ,sleep at ,night4 ,but  
the ,question is1 whether ,weighing     
less1 or the ,riding it self1 be of that
 ,importance1 that a ,man would undergo 
so much for it2 and ,i believe1 most    
,people1 far from following this        
,method1 would content themselves with  
admiring and laughing at the ,folly of  
it4 ,but it would be barbarous to say1  
that ,i had prescrib'd it1 when ,i had  
openly declared against it4 ,but what   
,name would you give it1 if the ,jockeys
 themselves1 continuing their former    
,practice1 should in ,revenge1 that ,i  
had expos'd it1 pretend seriously to    
exclaim against me for broaching a      
destructive ,doctrine1 that would       
endanger the ,health1 and spoil the     
,growth of young ,people1 and to prove  
their ,assertions1 quote as many of my  
own ,words as would serve their         
,purpose1 and no more8  ,i take this to 
be a pretty near ,resemblance of my     
,case3 ,omne ,simile claudicat4 ,but it 
is not sufficient for me to say1 that ,i

 am innocent1 any more than it is for my
 ,enemies to cry out1 that ,i am guilty3
 ,men of ,sense can not be long imposed 
upon by either3 ,it is the ,book we must
 stand or fall by at last2 and it is to 
this ,i refer all judicious as well as  
impartial ,readers4 ,they will soon find
 out the true ,cause of the ,malice1 and
 all the ,clamours against me1 and that 
my laying open the luxurious ,lives of  
some ,men2 my shewing the great         
,scarcity of ,self-denial among         
,christians as well as others1 and1 in  
short1 my reprehending1 lashing and     
ridiculing ,vice and ,insincerity1 have 
procured me infinitely more ,enemies    
than all the pretended ,encouragement to
 ,vice and ,immorality they can meet    
with2 and if1 after perusing the whole1 
all ,persons of ,candour1 and ,capacity 
to read ,books of that ,nature1 are not 
fully convinced of this1 may ,i be      
despised for ever1 and forfeit the good 
,opinion of all ,men ,i value4 ,but     
still the ,title1 ,private ,vices1      

,publick ,benefits3 ,the hearing and    
seeing of it1 ,i shall be told1 must be 
offensive to those1 who don't read the  
,book1 and will never vouchsafe to look 
into it4  ,pray1 ,sir1 let us examine   
this4 ,it is evident1 that the ,words   
,private ,vices1 ,publick ,benefits make
 not a compleat ,sentence according to  
,grammar2 and that there is at least a  
,verb1 if not a great deal more wanting 
to make the ,sense perfect4 ,in the     
,vindication of ,the ,fable of the      
,bees1 ,i have said1 that ,i understood 
by it1 that ,private ,vices1 by the     
dexterous ,management of a skilful      
,politician1 might be turn'd into       
,publick ,benefits4 ,there is ,nothing  
forc'd or unnatural in this             
,explanation2 and ,everybody ought to   
have the ,liberty of being an           
,interpreter of his own ,words4 ,but if 
,i wave this ,privilege1 the worst      
,construction that can be put upon the  
,words is1 that they are an ,epitome of 
what ,i have labour'd to prove          

throughout the ,book1 that ,luxury and  
the ,vices of ,man1 under the           
,regulations and ,restrictions laid down
 in the ,fable of the ,bees1 are        
subservient to1 and even inseparable    
from the ,earthly ,felicity of the      
,civil ,society2 ,i mean what is        
commonly call'd ,temporal ,happiness1   
and esteem'd to be such4  ,as to those  
who1 without reading the ,book1 may be  
corrupted by the ,sight1 or by the bare 
,sound of the ,words ,private ,vices1   
,publick ,benefits1 ,i confess1 ,i don't
 know what ,provision to make for them4 
,people who judge of ,books from their  
,titles1 must be often imposed upon4    
,there is neither ,blasphemy nor        
,treason in the ,words1 and they are far
 enough from ,obscenity3 ,if any        
,mischief is to be fear'd from them1    
,drink and be ,rich1 a ,title that has  
been bawl'd about the ,streets1 must be 
far more dangerous4 ,this latter is a   
direct ,precept1 a pernicious1 as well  
as deceitful ,doctrine1 comprised in a  

full ,sentence1 wrote in the ,imperative
 ,mood4 ,what strange ,consequence would
 it be of1 especially among the ,poor1  
if1 relying on the ,wisdom of this      
,title1 and taking it for wholesome     
,advice1 ,people should act accordingly1
 without any further ,examination8  ,the
 true ,reason why ,i made use of the    
,title1 ,private ,vices1 ,publick       
,benefits1 ,i sincerely believe1 was to 
raise ,attention3 ,as it is generally   
counted to be a ,paradox1 ,i pitch'd    
upon it in ,hopes that those who might  
hear or see it1 would have the          
,curiosity to know1 what could be said  
to maintain it2 and perhaps sooner buy  
the ,book1 than they would have done    
otherwise4 ,this1 to the best of my     
,knowledge1 is all the ,meaning ,i had  
in it2 and ,i think it must have been   
,stupidity to have had any other4  ,if  
it be urged1 that these ,benefits are   
worldly1 ,i own it2 and ,every body may 
see1 in whose ,sense ,i call them so2 in
 the ,language of the ,world1 the ,age  

and the ,time ,i live3 ,this one of my  
,adversaries perceived plainly1 and     
endeavoured to take ,advantage of it    
against me1 by saying1 that ,nothing    
could be a real ,benefit1 that did not  
conduce to a ,man's eternal ,happiness2 
and that it was evident1 that the       
,things1 to which ,i gave that ,name1   
did not4 ,i agree with him1 that a      
,man's ,salvation is the greatest       
,benefit he can receive or wish for2 and
 ,i am persuaded1 that1 speaking of     
,things ,spiritual1 the ,word is very   
proper in that ,sense2 the same may be  
said of the ,words ,profit1 ,gain1 and1 
if you please1 ,lucre2 but ,i deny1 that
 without any ,addition1 this is the     
common ,acceptation of them2 in which1  
,i hope1 ,i may have the ,liberty to    
make use of ,words with the ,rest of my 
,fellow-,subjects4 ,all temporal        
,privileges and worldly ,advantages     
whatever1 are call'd ,benefits1 and a   
,thousand ,things are beneficial to the 
,body1 that have ,nothing to do with the

 ,soul4 ,so a ,felon may have the       
,benefit of the ,clergy2 such are       
,benefit-,tickets2 and so a ,man may go 
in the ,country for the ,benefit of the 
,air4 ,i would ask this wise ,gentleman1
 when he reads1 that a ,play is to be   
acted for the ,benefit of such a one2   
which he thinks it is1 the ,money the   
,person receives1 or the ,performance it
 self1 that contributes most to his     
eternal ,happiness4  ,but ,i am more    
cautious and exact1 than my ,enemies    
imagine3 ,if ,i would have made my      
,readers to understand1 that the ,vices 
of ,men often prove of worldly          
,advantage to those who commit them1    
tho' it is very true1 yet in this ,case1
 ,i would not have used the ,word       
,benefit in so general a ,manner3 for as
 ,nothing is of greater ,concern to     
every individual ,person1 than his      
future ,welfare1 ,nothing can be        
,beneficial to him1 in an unlimited     
,sense1 that might destroy1 or any ,ways
 interfere with his eternal ,happiness3 

,but this eternal ,happiness cannot at  
the soonest commence till after this    
,life2 and when a ,man is dead1 he      
ceases to be a ,member of the ,society1 
and he is no longer a ,part of the      
,publick2 which latter is a collective  
,body of living ,creatures1 living upon 
this ,earth1 and consequently1 as such1 
not capable of enjoying eternal         
,happiness4 ,a ,miser may go directly to
 ,hell1 as the ,reward of his ,avarice  
and ,extortion1 at the same ,time1 that 
the great ,wealth he leaves1 and the    
,hospital he builds1 are a considerable 
,relief to the ,poor1 and consequently a
 ,publick ,benefit4  ,if a ,man should  
affirm1 that the ,publick is wholly     
incapable of having any ,religion at    
all1 it would1 perhaps1 be shocking to  
some ,people2 yet it is as true1 as that
 the ,body ,politick1 which is but      
another ,name for the ,publick1 has no  
,liver nor ,kidneys1 no real ,lungs nor 
,eyes in a literal ,sense4 ,mix'd       
,multitudes of ,good and ,bad ,men1 high

 and low ,quality1 may join in outward  
,signs of ,devotion1 and perform        
together what is call'd ,publick        
,worship2 but ,religion it self can have
 no ,place but in the ,heart of         
,individuals2 and the most a ,legislator
 can act in ,behalf of it in a          
,christian ,country1 is1 first1 to      
establish it by ,law2 and1 after that1  
every way to secure and promote the     
,exercise of it on the one ,hand2 and1  
on the other1 to prohibit and punish    
,wickedness1 and all ,manner of         
,impiety1 that can fall under the       
,cognizance of ,magistrates4 ,but thus  
much ,i think to be necessary in the    
,civil ,administration of all           
,governments1 for the temporal ,interest
 of the ,whole1 before true             
,christianity comes in ,question1 which 
is a private ,concern of every          
,individual3 ,and tho' ,i have not every
 where taken ,notice of this1 when ,i   
have been soothing the ,voluptuous1 yet 
when it has come directly in my ,way1 ,i

 have earnestly recommended to all      
,magistrates the ,care of ,divine       
,worship1 even when my greatest ,regard 
has been for the ,wealth and ,greatness 
of ,nations1 and the ,advancement of    
worldly ,glory2 which good ,christians  
ought to have little to do with4 ,of    
which you may see an undeniable ,proof  
in ,page #ceb1 where speaking of the    
,instructions the ,children of the ,poor
 might receive at ,church2 ,from which1 
,i say1 or some other ,place of         
,worship1 ,i would not have the meanest 
of the ,parish1 that is able to walk to 
it1 be absent on ,sundays1 ,i have these
 ,words3 ,it is the ,sabbath1 the most  
useful ,day in ,seven1 that is set apart
 for ,divine ,service  ,religious       
,exercise1 as well as ,resting from     
bodily ,labour2 and it is a ,duty       
incumbent on all ,magistrates1 to take a
 particular ,care of that ,day4 ,the    
,poor more especially1 and their        
,children1 should be made to go to      
,church on it1 both in the ,fore- and   

the ,afternoon1 because they have no    
,time on any other4 ,by ,precept and    
,example they ought to be encourag'd to 
it from their ,infancy4 ,the wilful     
,neglect of it ought to be 'counted     
scandalous2 and if down-right           
,compulsion to what ,i urge1 might seem 
too harsh1 and perhaps impracticable1   
all ,diversions1 at least1 ought        
strictly to be prohibited1 and the ,poor
 hinder'd from every ,amusement abroad1 
that might allure or draw them from it4 
,i return to my ,subject4 ,how shocking 
to ,some1 and ridiculous to others1 the 
explanatory ,part of the ,title ,i      
mention'd1 may have been1 yet it is     
irrefragrably true2 and there are       
various ,ways1 by which ,private ,vices 
may become ,publick ,benefits1 ,ways    
more real and practicable1 than what1   
some ,time ago1 was offer'd by that     
serious ,divine1 whose ,religion and    
,piety are so amply set forth in that   
undisguised ,confession of his ,faith1  
,the ,tale of a ,tub4 ,people may       

wrangle about the ,definition of ,luxury
 as long as they please2 but when ,men  
may be furnish'd with all the           
,necessaries for ,life from their own   
,growth1 and yet will send for          
,superfluities from ,foreign ,countries1
 which they might 7as many actually do7 
live comfortably without1 it certainly  
is a ,degree of ,luxury1 if there be    
such a ,thing as ,luxury in the ,world4 
,now1 if a ,legislator1 who is to take  
,care of the ,welfare1 and consequently 
the ,defence1 as well as the            
,tranquility of the ,publick1 perceiving
 this vicious ,inclination and ,longing 
after ,superfluities1 made use of it as 
a ,means to provide for the ,publick    
,safety1 and actually raised ,money by  
,licensing the ,importation of such     
,foreign ,superfluities2 might it not be
 said1 that1 by such skilful            
,management1 ,private ,vices were turn'd
 into ,publick ,benefits8 ,and is this  
not done1 when heavy ,duties are laid on
 ,sugar1 ,wine1 ,silk1 ,tobacco1 and a  

,hundred other ,things less necessary1  
and not to be purchas'd but with        
infinite ,toil and ,trouble1 and at the 
,hazard of ,men's ,lives8 ,if you tell  
me1 that ,men may make use of all these 
,things with ,moderation1 and           
consequently that the ,desire after them
 is no ,vice1 then ,i answer1 that      
either no ,degree of ,luxury ought to be
 call'd a ,vice1 or1 that it is         
impossible to give a ,definition of     
,luxury1 which ,every body will allow to
 be a just one4  ,but ,i'll give you    
another ,instance1 how palpable and     
gross ,vices may be1 and are turn'd into
 ,publick ,benefits4 ,it is the         
,business of all ,law-givers to watch   
over the ,publick ,welfare1 and1 in     
order to procure that1 to submit to any 
,inconveniency1 any ,evil1 to prevent a 
much greater1 if it is impossible to    
avoid that greater ,evil at a cheaper   
,rate4 ,thus the ,law1 taking into      
,consideration the daily ,encrease of   
,rogues and ,villains1 has enacted1 that

 if a ,felon1 before he is convicted    
himself1 will impeach two or more of his
 ,accomplices1 or any other             
,malefactors1 so that they are convicted
 of a ,capital ,crime1 he shall be      
pardon'd and dismiss'd with a ,reward in
 ,money4 ,there is no ,doubt but this is
 a good and wise ,law2 for without such 
an ,expedient1 the ,country would swarm 
with ,robbers and ,highwaymen ,ten-times
 more than it does2 for by this ,means  
we are not only deliver'd from a greater
 ,number of ,villains1 than we could    
expect to be from any other2 but it     
likewise stops the ,growth of them1     
breaks their ,gangs1 and hinders them   
from trusting ,one another4 ,for ,three 
,rogues1 acting separately1 cannot do so
 much substantial ,mischief on all      
,occasions1 as when they act in         
,company4 ,all this while it is evident1
 that in this ,case the ,law has only   
,regard to the ,publick ,good1 and1 to  
procure that1 sets aside all other      
,laws1 and proceeds rather contrary to  

the ,common ,notions we have of         
,justice2 which1 according to the       
,civilians1 consists in a constant and  
perpetual ,desire of giving every one   
his ,due3 ,for instead of ,hanging1     
which is a ,felon's ,due1 it pardons    
him2 and for ,fear he should have some  
,goodness left1 and that natural        
,compassion might make him unwilling to 
destroy his dearest ,friends1 and       
perhaps his ,brother1 with his ,breath1 
the ,law invites him to it by a large   
,sum of ,money1 and actually bribes him 
to add to the ,rest of his ,crimes that 
,piece of ,treachery to his ,companions1
 whom he had sworn ,fidelity to1 and    
perhaps drawn into the ,villany4  ,it is
 in vain to tell me1 that this          
,impeaching of his ,companions is no    
,crime in a ,felon1 but a ,duty which he
 owes his ,country2 and that ,i don't   
know but it is the ,effect of his       
sincere ,repentance1 which makes him    
look upon this open ,confession as the  
only ,attonement he is able to make the 

,publick for all his ,offences against  
it4 ,those who would impeach ,others    
from a ,motive of ,conscience1 and a    
,sense of their ,duty1 were not the ,men
 the ,legislature had in ,view4 ,when   
that ,law was made1 it was well known1  
from what was observed of ,thieves1     
,pickpockets1 and ,house-breakers1 that 
those ,common ,villains will do any     
,thing to get ,money1 and still more to 
save ,life1 when they are conscious that
 it is forfeited4 ,the ,knowledge of    
this was the ,foundation of that ,law4  
,for the ,worst of ,rogues have         
,friendship and ,affection for one      
another2 and ,constancy1 ,faithfulness1 
and ,intrepidity are 'counted valuable  
,qualities among them1 as well as among 
other ,people4 ,one ,villain who betrays
 another merely for ,money1 and without 
,necessity1 thinks himself to be guilty 
of a bad ,action2 and among the many    
,hundreds of ,rogues1 who have impeach'd
 and hang'd their ,companions1 ,i don't 
believe there ever was one1 who made    

himself a ,witness against an           
,associate1 with whom he was not at     
,enmity before1 if he could have got the
 same ,temporal ,advantage by holding   
his ,tongue4  ,this shews the           
,usefulness of such a ,law1 and at the  
same ,time the ,wisdom of the           
,politician1 by whose skilful           
,management the ,private ,vices of the  
,worst of ,men are made to turn to a    
,publick ,benefit4 ,there are ,men who  
are of ,opinion1 that no positive ,evil 
may be done or commanded1 that ,good may
 come of it1 on any ,account whatever3  
,should any one of these be in doubt    
whether there is not some               
,reasonableness or other ,merit in this 
,law1 besides its contributing to the   
,welfare of the ,society2 ,i would ask  
him1 if it would not be an unpardonable 
,folly1 nay a wicked ,action in any     
,legislature1 to enact1 that a most     
abandon'd ,wretch1 who has been guilty  
of many ,capital ,crimes1 should1       
without having shewn any ,remorse1 not  

only be pardon'd1 but likewise with a   
,reward in ,money be let loose again    
upon the ,publick2 if what is design'd  
by such an extraordinary ,conduct1 to   
wit1 the ,decrease of ,thefts and       
,villanies1 might be obtain'd by any    
other ,method1 less clashing with the   
common ,notions we have of ,justice3    
,which being undeniably true1 the only  
,reason that can be given1 why ,enacting
 this is neither ,wickedness nor ,folly1
 is ,necessity1 and the ,publick        
,benefit1 which is expected from it4    
,if ,all ,i have said hitherto in       
,defence of the ,fable of the ,bees1 and
 what ,i have quoted from it1 have not  
alter'd the ,opinion you seem to have   
had of the ,book1 ,i believe it is in   
vain to say any more3 ,other ,readers1  
,i hope1 will be less obdurate1 and     
convinced by this ,time1 that it was not
 wrote for the ,encouragement of ,vice  
and to debauch the ,nation2 which is all
 ,i want2 for as to the ,performance1   
whether good or bad1 ,i shall say       

,nothing about it1 whatever ,i think4 ,i
 sincerely believe1 ,sir1 that most     
,authors 7whatever they say to the      
,contrary7 have a better ,opinion of    
their ,works than they deserve2 and ,i  
fancy1 that most ,people believe so too3
 ,therefore whether it is well or ill   
wrote1 as to the ,diction1 ,manner1 and 
whatever regards the ,composition1 is   
what ,i would never have troubled my    
,head about1 tho' it had been more      
generally condemn'd than it has been4   
,the ,censurers of the ,book themselves1
 who have publickly attack'd it1 are not
 unanimous about the ,merit of it2 and  
,two of them1 who have both wrote       
against it by ,name1 differ very widely 
in their ,opinion concerning this       
,composition4 ,a noted#bd ,critick1 who 
seems to hate all ,books that sell1 and 
no other1 has1 in his ,anger at that    
,circumstance1 pronounced against ,the  
,fable of the ,bees in this ,manner3 ,it
 is a wretched ,rhapsody2 the ,wit of it
 is low2 the ,humour of it contemptibly 

low1 and the language often barbarous4  
,but a ,reverend ,divine1 who has wrote 
a long ,preface against the same ,book1 
seems not to have disliked the          
,performance of it1 nor to wonder at the
 quick ,sale of it1 which he ascribes in
 a great ,measure#be to the free1 easy  
and lively ,manner of the ,author4 ,from
 this ,contrariety of ,opinions1 ,i     
shall infer ,nothing more1 than that1 if
 ,men would be truly inform'd of the    
,book1 it is not safe to trust to the   
,reports which are spread of it4 ,what  
,pity it is1 you did not know this      
before you wrote your ,minute           
,philosopher6        #bd ,mr4 ,dennis4  
#be ,dr4 ,fiddes's ,treatise of         
,morality1 ,pref4 ,page ,,xix4  ,there  
are few ,men1 even among the most able1 
who can judge of ,books impartially4 ,we
 are often influenc'd by our ,love1 or  
our ,hatred1 before we are aware of it  
our selves4 ,i have met with several    
good ,judges of ,books1 who disliked1   
and spoke very slightingly of your      

,alciphron2 and ,i found1 the chief     
,reason was1 because you attack'd all   
,free ,thinkers1 without ,exception4    
,but ,i declare1 that ,i think your     
,book1 for the ,generality1 to be well  
wrote2 tho' you have us'd me most       
unmercifully1 and not acted1 if you had 
read ,the ,fable of the ,bees1 like an  
honest ,man4 ,when a ,person has a      
handsome ,face1 ,i can't be so stupid as
 to believe him ugly1 because he has    
us'd me ill4 ,i differ from ,my ,lord   
,shaftesbury entirely1 as to the        
,certainty of the ,pulchrum  ,honestum1 
abstract from ,mode and ,custom3 ,i do  
the same about the ,origin of ,society1 
and in many other ,things1 especially   
the ,reasons why ,man is a ,sociable    
,creature1 beyond other ,animals4 ,i am 
fully persuaded1 ,his ,lordship was in  
the ,wrong in these ,things2 but this   
does not blind my ,understanding so far1
 as not to see1 that he is a very fine  
,author1 and a much better ,writer than 
my self1 or you either4 ,if that noble  

,lord had been a much worse ,author1 and
 wrote on the ,side of ,orthodoxy and   
the ,church1 ,i fancy1 you would have   
thought more favourably of his          
,capacity4 ,i have seen what you have   
cited from him1 and the ,manner you have
 done it in4 ,but what ,proportion does 
that bear to ,three large ,volumes1 and 
the many admirable ,things he has said  
against ,priestcraft1 and on the ,side  
of ,liberty and ,human ,happiness4 ,upon
 the ,whole1 ,i dare say1 that your     
,minute ,philosopher will meet with very
 few ,readers1 among those that have    
read1 and are not lash'd in the         
,characteristicks1 who will think1 that 
,my ,lord ,shaftsbury deserves one      
,tenth ,part of the ,indignity and      
,contempt1 which you treat ,cratylus    
with4  ,men may differ in ,opinion1 and 
both mean well4 ,you1 ,sir1 think it for
 the ,good of ,society1 that human      
,nature should be extoll'd as much as   
possible3 ,i think1 the real ,meanness  
and ,deformity of it to be more         

instructive4 ,your ,design is1 to make  
,men copy after the beautiful ,original1
 and endeavour to live up to the        
,dignity of it3 ,mine is1 to enforce the
 ,necessity of ,education1 and mortify  
,pride4 ,i was very much delighted with 
what you say in your ,first ,dialogue of
 ,apple-trees and ,oranges2 the         
different ,productions of the first1 and
 the ,culture of the other4 ,the        
,allegory is very ingenious1 and the    
,application just2 but ,i don't think1  
that the ,conclusion1 which must be     
drawn from it1 will be of great ,use to 
you4 ,page #ea4 ,euphranor asks         
,alciphron1 ,why may we not conclude by 
a ,parity of ,reason1 that ,things may  
be natural to ,human ,kind1 and yet     
neither found in all ,men1 nor          
invariably the same1 where they are     
found8 ,i answer1 ,they may4 ,but if all
 the ,knowledge and ,accomplishments1   
which ,men can attain to1 are to be     
look'd upon as natural1 and peculiar to 
the whole ,species1 it must be the same 

with ,vice and ,wickedness1 as it is    
with ,virtue and the ,liberal ,arts2    
and1 what ,i never could have imagin'd  
before1 it must be as natural for a ,man
 to murder his ,father1 as it is to     
reverence him2 and for a ,woman to      
poison her ,husband1 as it is to love   
him4  ,if you would but look into the   
,reasons1 ,sir1 ,i have given for       
distinguishing between what is natural1 
and what is acquired1 you would not find
 any ill ,intention in that ,practice4  
,many ,things are true1 which the       
,vulgar think ,paradoxes4 ,believe me1  
,sir1 to understand the ,nature of      
,civil ,society1 requires ,study and    
,experience4 ,evil is1 if not the ,basis
 of it1 at least a necessary ,ingredient
 in the ,compound2 and the temporal     
,happiness of ,some is inseparable from 
the ,misery of others4 ,they are silly  
,people who imagine1 that the ,good of  
the ,whole is consistent with the ,good 
of every ,individual2 and the best of us
 are insincere4 ,every body exclaims    

against ,luxury2 yet there is no ,order 
of ,men which is not guilty of it2 and  
if the ,lawgivers are not always        
endeavouring to keep up all ,trades and 
,manufactures1 that supply us with the  
,means and ,implements of ,luxury1 they 
are blamed4 ,to wish for the ,encrease  
of ,trade and ,navigation1 and the      
,decrease of ,luxury at the same ,time1 
is a ,contradiction4 ,for suppose1 that 
the ,legislature1 by the ,help of the   
,clergy1 could introduce a general      
,frugality in this ,nation1 we could    
never keep up our ,traffick1 and employ 
the same ,hands and ,shipping1 unless   
they could likewise persuade the        
,nations1 we deal with1 to be more      
profuse than now they are1 that they    
might take off from our ,hands so much  
more of the ,implements of ,luxury1 as  
our ,consumption of them should be less 
than it had been before4  ,the very same
 ,things1 which are ,blessings in ,one  
,year1 are ,calamities in another4 ,in  
every ,nation1 those who are employ'd in

 ,gardening and ,agriculture1 are taught
 by ,experience to manage their         
,affairs1 as is most suitable to the    
,climate and the ,certainty or          
,irregularities of the ,seasons4 ,if    
there were no ,blasts in ,england1 nine 
,tenths of the ,apple-trees would be    
superfluous4 ,ask the ,gardeners about  
,london1 whether they don't get more by 
a middling ,crop1 than a plentiful      
,product2 and whether ,half of them     
would not be ruin'd1 if every ,thing    
they sow or plant should come to        
,perfection3 ,yet ,every body wishes for
 ,plenty and ,cheapness of ,provisions3 
,but they are often ,calamities to a    
great ,part of the ,nation4 ,if the     
,farmer can't have a reasonable ,price  
for his ,corn1 he can't pay his         
,landlord4 ,we have often had the good  
,fortune of having great ,plenty1 when  
other ,nations have wanted4 ,this is a  
real ,gain3 ,but when all our           
,neighbours are sufficiently provided1  
and we can no where export our ,corn    

with ,profit1 ,two plentiful ,years1 one
 after an other1 are a greater          
,detriment to the ,publick by far1 than 
a middling ,scarcity4 ,a benevolent     
,man1 who has a favourable ,opinion of  
his ,kind1 would perhaps imagine1 that  
,labourers of all ,sorts would go to    
their ,work with greater ,alacrity1 and 
bear the ,fatigue of it with more       
,chearfulness1 in plentiful ,years1 than
 when ,corn is at a high ,price1 and    
with all their ,industry they can hardly
 procure ,food for their ,families4 ,but
 the ,contrary is true2 and ask all     
considerable ,dealers1 of ,experience1  
who for many ,years have employ'd a     
great ,number of ,hands in the ,woollen 
,manufacture1 in ,hard ,ware1 or        
,agriculture1 and they will tell you    
unanimously1 that the ,poor are most    
insolent1 and their ,labour is least to 
be depended upon1 when ,provisions are  
very cheap2 and that they never can have
 so much ,work done1 or their ,orders so
 punctually comply'd with1 as when      

,bread is dear4  ,your ,crito and       
,euphranor are very good ,characters2   
but what ,i admire the most in them1 is 
the consummate ,patience in keeping     
,company1 and bearing for a whole ,week 
together1 with two such insupportable1  
out of the way ,rascals1 as you have    
represented ,alciphron and ,lysicles to 
be4 ,i believe with you1 that among the 
,vain and ,voluptuous1 there are        
,abundance of superficial ,people1 who  
call themselves ,free ,thinkers1 and are
 proud of being thought to be           
,unbelievers1 without having laid the   
,foundation of any ,philosophy at all4  
,but there never were ,two such         
,creatures in the ,world as those whom  
you have made the ,champions for        
,free-thinking4 ,i don't speak as to    
their ,irreligion and ,impiety1 or their
 ,incapacity of maintaining what they   
loudly assert2 for such there are many  
among ,rakes and ,gamesters4 ,but the   
,knowledge1 good ,sense and             
,penetration1 which your ,libertines    

display at some ,times1 are inconsistent
 with the ,ignorance1 ,folly and        
,stupidity they shew at others4 ,it is  
impossible that ,men of ,parts1 and the 
least ,spirit1 how much soever they were
 in the ,wrong1 could see themselves    
defeated1 banter'd and exposed with so  
much ,tranquility and ,chearfulness2 and
 ,i can't conceive how any1 but         
egregious ,coxcombs1 without ,sense of  
,shame1 could behave as ,alciphron and  
,lysicles do throughout your ,dialogues4
 ,they are ,fellows without ,feeling or 
,manners4 ,if among ,gentlemen there are
 abandon'd ,wretches1 who harbour       
,sentiments so abominable and openly    
destructive to ,society1 as several are 
which they advance1 ,i am very well     
assured1 that no well-bred ,men would   
vent them before ,strangers in so       
shocking a ,manner as they do4 ,no      
,mortal ever saw such ,disputants       
before2 they always begin with          
swaggering and boasting of what they'll 
prove2 and in every ,argument they      

pretend to maintain1 they are laid upon 
their ,backs1 and constantly beaten to  
,pieces1 till they have not a ,word more
 to say2 and when this has been repeated
 above half a ,score times1 they still  
retain the same ,arrogance and mal--pert
 ,briskness they were made to set out   
with at first2 and immediately after    
every ,defeat1 they are making fresh    
,challenges1 seemingly with as much     
,unconcern and ,confidence of ,success1 
as if ,nothing had pass'd before1 or    
they remember'd ,nothing of what had    
happened4 ,such an ,undauntedness in    
assaulting1 and ,alacrity in yielding1  
as you have made them display1 never met
 in the same ,individuals before4  ,i   
know1 ,sir1 that in drawing those       
,characters1 you design'd them for      
,monsters to be abhorr'd and detested2  
and in this you have succeeded to       
,admiration1 at least with me2 for ,i   
can assure you1 that ,i never saw any   
two ,interlocutors in the same ,dialogue
 or ,drama1 whose ,behaviour and        

,principles ,i execrate more heartily1  
than ,i do theirs4 ,and if you would    
read the ,fable of the ,bees            
impartially1 you would be convinced of  
this1 from my ,description of the       
,company ,i would chuse to converse     
with4 ,upon1 such a ,condescension1 ,i  
would likewise demonstrate to you1 how  
you and ,i might assist and be useful to
 one another1 as ,authors4  ,you allow1 
that there are vicious ,clergymen1 who  
are unworthy of their ,function4 ,i     
foresee1 that ,some of these1 who have  
neither ,crito's ,learning1 nor         
,euphranor's good ,sense1 will make use 
of your ,alciphron for an evil ,purpose4
 ,having by their bad ,courses made     
themselves contemptible to all who know 
them1 they will endeavour to stop the   
,mouths of all ,opposers1 by barely     
naming the ,minute ,philosopher2 and    
having1 by the ,credit of that ,book1   
repell'd the ,censure they had deserv'd1
 insult the ,laity1 and lay claim to the
 ,honour and ,deference1 which ought    

only to be paid to worthy ,divines4     
,these ,i will take in ,hand1 and       
convince1 that you have not wrote to    
justify those ,ecclesiasticks1 who by   
their ,practice contradict the ,doctrine
 of ,christ2 and that they misconstrued 
your ,intentions2 who leading vicious   
,lives themselves1 demanded the same    
,respect from ,others1 which you only   
affirm to be due to ,clergymen of ,merit
 and good ,morals4 ,and as ,i would     
handle these1 so you1 in like ,manner1  
would take to ,task those vile          
,profligates1 who1 copying after your   
,originals1 should at any ,time         
endeavour to shelter themselves under my
 ,wings4 ,should ever a second ,lysicles
 pretend to prove1 that the more        
,mischief ,men did1 the more they acted 
for the ,publick ,welfare1 because it is
 said1 in ,the ,fable of the ,bees1 that
 without ,vices1 no great ,nation can be
 rich and flourishing1 you would laugh  
at his ,folly2 and if1 for the same     
,reason1 he urged1 that ,rapes1 ,murder1

 ,theft1 and all ,manner of ,villanies  
ought to be applauded1 or at least      
pass'd by with ,impunity1 you would     
demonstrate to him1 how immensly far my 
,design was from screening ,criminals1  
and shew him the many ,passages1 where  
,i insist upon it1 that impartial       
,justice ought to be administer'd1 and  
that even for the ,welfare of           
worldly-minded ,men1 ,crimes should be  
severely punish'd4 ,you would inform him
 likewise1 that ,i thought ,nothing more
 cruel1 than the ,lenity of ,juries1 and
 the ,frequencies of ,pardons1 and not  
forget to tell him1 that my ,book       
contained several ,essays on ,politicks2
 that the greatest ,part of it was a    
,philosophical ,disquisition into the   
,force of the ,passions1 and the ,nature
 of ,society1 and that they were silly  
,people1 who made any other             
,construction of it4  ,i observe in your
 fifth ,dialogue1 that you think the    
,multitudes among ,christians to have   
better ,morals1 than they were possess'd

 of among the antient ,heathens4 ,the   
,vices of ,men have always been so      
inseparable from great ,nations1 that it
 is difficult to determine any ,thing   
with ,certainty about that ,matter4 ,but
 ,i am of ,opinion1 that the ,morals of 
a ,people in general1 ,i mean the       
,virtues and ,vices of a whole ,nation1 
are not so much influenced by the       
,religion that is profess'd among them1 
as they are by the ,laws of the         
,country1 the ,administration of        
,justice1 the ,politicks of the ,rulers1
 and the ,circumstances of the ,people4 
,those who imagine1 that the ,heathens  
were encouraged and led to criminal     
,pleasures by the bad ,examples of the  
,deities they worship'd1 seem not to    
distinguish between the ,appetites      
themselves1 the strong ,passions in our 
,nature1 that prompt ,men to ,vices1 and
 the ,excuses they make for committing  
them4 ,if the ,laws and ,government1 the
 ,administration of ,justice1 and the   
,care of the ,magistrates were the same1

 and the ,circumstances of the ,people  
were likewise the same1 ,i should be    
glad to hear a ,reason1 why there should
 be more or less ,incontinence in       
,england1 if we were ,heathens1 than    
there is1 now we are ,christians4 ,the  
real ,cause of ,fornication1 and        
,adultery1 the ,root of the ,evil1 is   
,lust4 ,this is the ,passion1 which is  
so difficult to conquer1 whilst it      
affects us4 ,there are many ,christians1
 no doubt1 who subdue it by the ,fear of
 ,god1 and ,punishment hereafter2 but ,i
 believe1 that the ,heathens1 who       
triumph'd over this ,passion1 from a    
,regard to ,virtue1 were as considerable
 in ,number4 ,among the nominal         
,christians1 there are not a ,few1 who  
forbear indulging this ,passion1 from   
worse ,principles4 ,i believe it was the
 same with the ,heathens4 ,however1 in  
,great-,britain there are ,thousands    
that abstain from unlawful ,pleasures1  
who would not be so cautious1 if they   
were not deterr'd from them by the      

,expence1 the ,fear of ,diseases1 and   
that of losing their ,reputation4 ,these
 are three ,evils1 against which all the
 bad ,examples of the ,gods can bring no
 ,remedy4  ,in all ,ages1 ,men have     
display'd ,virtues and ,vices1 which    
their ,religion had ,nothing to do with2
 and in many ,actions1 and even the most
 important ,affairs1 they are not more  
influenced by what they believe of a    
,future ,state1 than they are by the    
,name of the ,street they live in4 ,when
 ,people shew great ,attachment to the  
,world and their ,pleasure1 and are very
 cool1 and even neglectful in ,religious
 ,duties1 it is ridiculous to ascribe   
their good ,qualities to their          
,christianity4 ,you'll give me ,leave1  
,sir1 to expatiate a little upon this   
,head1 and illustrate my ,meaning in a  
,character or two1 which ,i am going to 
draw4  ,lepidus1 a ,man of good ,sense1 
is a ,batchellor1 and never intends to  
marry4 ,he is far from being chast1 but 
cautious in his ,amours4 ,he is a ,lover

 of ,mirth and ,gaiety1 hates ,solitude1
 and would rather take up with almost   
any ,company1 than be alone4 ,he keeps a
 very good ,table2 no ,man treats with a
 better ,grace2 and seems never to be   
better pleased1 than when he is         
entertaining his ,friends4 ,he has a    
very great ,estate1 yet at the ,year's  
,end he lays up but little of his large 
,revenue4 ,notwithstanding this1 he     
lives within ,compass1 and would think  
,nothing more miserable1 than not to be 
rich4 ,he is a ,man of ,honour1 and has 
a high ,value for ,reputation4 ,he is of
 the establish'd ,church1 and commonly  
goes to it once every ,sunday2 but never
 comes near it at any other ,time4 ,once
 likewise every ,year1 either at ,easter
 or ,whitsuntide1 he takes the          
,sacrament4 ,for the ,rest1 ,pleasure   
and ,politeness are his chief ,study3   
,he seems to be little affected with    
,religion1 and seldom speaks of it1     
either for or against it4 ,now1 if a    
,man1 having well weigh'd and examin'd  

this ,character1 was ask'd what he      
thought of ,lepidus1 as to his          
,principle1 and the ,motives of his     
,actions1 and he should give it as his  
,opinion1 that this ,sociableness1 this 
generous and debonnair ,temper of       
,lepidus were owing to his being a      
,christian1 and not a ,heathen or a     
,freethinker1 it might be call'd a      
charitable ,construction1 but ,i could  
never think it well judg'd4 ,but be that
 as it will1 if a ,crito or an          
,euphranor had a ,mind to advance such  
an ,opinion1 and stand to it1 ,i am     
fully persuaded1 that it would be easy  
for them to say so much in ,behalf of   
it2 that it would not only be difficult 
to disprove it1 but likewise a very     
odious ,task to set about it4  ,nicanor 
is a very sober ,man2 hardly ever drinks
 to ,excess2 yet he is never without    
,wine of several ,sorts1 and is very    
free with it to his ,friends1 and all   
who come to see him4 ,but whatever his  
,company may do1 he always fills very   

sparingly for himself1 and seldom drinks
 above half a ,pint at a ,sitting4 ,he  
never goes to a ,tavern but about       
,business2 and when he is alone1 ,small 
,beer or ,water are the ,liquors he     
chuses4 ,nicanor1 who was always an     
industrious ,man1 is become rich by his 
,trade1 yet as indefatigable as ever1   
and seems to know no greater ,pleasure  
than the getting of ,money4 ,he is not  
void of ,ambition2 is ,deputy of the    
,ward he lives in1 and hopes to be an   
,alderman before he dies4 ,once in his  
,life he was drunk1 but that was in     
driving a ,bargain1 by which he got     
,five ,hundred ,pound in one ,morning4  
,let us suppose1 that this ,character   
being likewise look'd into1 a ,man      
shou'd take it into his ,head to affirm1
 that the ,industry and ,desire after   
,wealth of ,nicanor were owing to his   
,love of ,wine1 ,one would imagine1 that
 it would not be difficult to refute    
this ,man1 and to prove1 that what he   
advanced was a wrong ,judgment1 if not a

 ridiculous ,surmise4  ,for if ,nicanor 
loved ,wine1 he would drink more of it4 
,he is rich enough to buy it1 nay he has
 ,plenty of it1 tho' he hardly ever     
touches it1 when he is by himself4 ,he  
grudges it not to ,others2 and it is    
incredible1 that if he loved ,wine1 he  
should only fill ,thimbles full for     
himself1 whilst he saw ,others drink    
,bumpers to his ,cost with ,pleasure4   
,you will think perhaps1 that ,i have   
said too much already1 to prove a ,thing
 that is as clear as the ,sun4 ,but if  
it was as reputable1 and 'counted as    
necessary to real ,happiness to love    
,wine1 as it is to be ,religious2 and a 
,man of ,euphranor's ,capacity had a    
,mind to be ,nicanor's ,advocate1 and   
maintain1 that the ,love of ,wine was   
the ,motive of his ,industry1 in ,spight
 of all the ,appearances to the         
,contrary2 if1 ,i say1 a ,man had a     
,mind to maintain this1 and had         
,euphranor's ,capacity1 he might make a 
great ,shew for his ,client1 without the

 ,learning of ,crito1 and would         
certainly baffle his ,adversaries1 if he
 had such pliable ones as ,alciphron and
 ,lysicles to deal with4 ,come1 would   
,euphranor say1 answer me1 ,alciphron2  
is it not demonstrable1 that the more   
,money a ,man has1 the more able he is  
to buy ,wine4 ,alciphron would answer1  
,i cannot deny that2 and here the       
,dialogue would begin4 ,euphr4 ,when    
there are plain ,evidences that a ,man  
has been drunk1 would you deny it to be 
true8 ,alciph4 ,i would never speak     
against ,matter of ,fact4 ,euph4 ,would 
you pretend to prove from a ,man's      
having been drunk1 that he does not love
 ,wine8 ,alciph4 ,i own ,i would not4   
,euph4 ,you1 who are a ,free ,thinker1  
and have enquir'd so minutely into      
,human ,nature1 do you think there is a 
,capacity in ,man1 by which he can dive 
into the ,hearts of others1 and know    
their most secret ,thoughts with        
,certainty8 ,alciph4 ,i don't think     
there is4 ,euph4 ,when ,actions are good

 and laudable in themselves1 and there  
are two different ,motives from which   
they might proceed1 the one very        
honourable1 and the other scandalous2   
which is it most charitable1 to ascribe 
these ,actions to the first ,motive1 or 
the latter8 ,why do you hesitate1       
,alciphron8 ,would not a polite ,man1   
speaking to another's ,face1 say1 that  
he thought his ,actions proceeded from  
that ,motive which does the most ,honour
 to him8 ,alciph4 ,i should think so4   
,euph4 ,o ,alciphron6 from your own     
,concessions ,i can prove to you1 how we
 ought to judge of ,nicanor2 and that it
 is highly injurious to ascribe his     
,industry1 and the ,pains he takes to   
get ,money1 to any ,thing but his ,love 
of ,wine4 ,the ,minute ,philosophers may
 say what they please2 but ,wine is not 
to be bought without ,money2 and you    
have own'd your self1 that the more     
,money a ,man has1 the more he is able  
to buy ,wine4 ,these ,things are        
self-evident3 ,what a ,man chuses1 who  

is at ,liberty to do what he pleases1 he
 must prefer to that which he chuses    
not2 and why should ,nicanor drink ,wine
 any more than he would eat ,cheese1 if 
he did not love it8 ,that he drinks it1 
is plain2 all his ,friends and          
,acquaintance can testify it2 they have 
been ,eye-witnesses to it2 therefore he 
loves it4 ,and that he must love it     
beyond ,measure1 is plain2 for he has   
forfeited his ,reason for the ,sake of  
it1 and has drank ,wine till he was     
drunk4 ,alciphron being silenced by the 
,force of these ,arguments1 ,lysicles   
perhaps would say1 that he could not    
give up this ,point as ,alciphron had   
done2 but that he was not prepar'd to   
speak to it now1 and therefore desired1 
that they might break off the           
,discourse4 ,thus ,euphranor would      
triumph over his ,adversary1 and the    
,dialogue would end4  ,duely to weigh   
these ,two ,characters1 it is plain1    
that ,nicanor was an abstemious ,man2   
that the ,motives which spurred him on  

to ,industry1 were his ,love of ,money1 
and ,desire after worldly ,greatness4   
,considering the small ,delight he      
always seem'd to take in strong         
,liquors1 and his known ,thirst after   
,gain1 it is impossible to account      
rationally for his excessive ,drinking  
one ,morning1 than by ascribing it to   
his darling ,passion1 the ,love of      
,lucre1 which made him venture to lose  
his ,sobriety rather than the ,advantage
 which he expected from the ,bargain he 
was driving4 ,therefore it is plain from
 this ,character1 that the ,love of     
,wine1 whether it was1 counted blameable
 or praise-worthy1 had no ,influence    
upon ,nicanor's ,actions1 and           
consequently that1 tho' it had been less
 than it was1 it would never have       
diminish'd his ,industry4  ,in ,lepidus 
we see a fond ,admirer of ,company1 and 
a discreet ,lover of himself1 who would 
enjoy as much of the ,world as is       
possible1 without forfeiting the good   
,opinion of it3 ,and a rich ,man1 of an 

even ,temper1 might perform all this in 
a ,christian ,country1 from no better   
,principles than ,pride and worldly     
,prudence1 tho' he had very little or no
 ,religion4  ,all ,this an hasty and    
inconsiderate ,reader will call ,folly1 
and tell me1 that ,i am fighting with my
 own ,shadow2 and that1 from the        
,character of ,nicanor1 no ,mortal would
 imagine1 that his ,industry and ,desire
 after ,wealth could proceed from1 and  
be owing to his ,love of ,wine3 ,but ,i 
insist upon it1 and you must allow it1  
,sir1 that there would be no greater    
,absurdity in an ,attempt of proving    
this1 than there would be in ascribing  
the ,sociableness and generous          
,behaviour of ,lepidus to his being a   
,christian4 ,all ,men who are born of   
,christian ,parents1 and brought up     
among ,christians1 are always deem'd to 
be such themselves1 whilst they         
acquiesce in1 and not disown the ,name3 
,but unless ,people are palpably        
influenc'd by their ,religion1 in their 

,actions and ,behaviour1 there is no    
greater ,advantage in being a           
,christian1 than there is in being a    
,mahometan or a ,heathen4 ,if a ,person 
was made free of a ,company which       
presided over ,artizans1 in a toilsome  
laborious ,trade1 and he neither had    
serv'd his ,time to it before1 nor ever 
followed it afterwards1 it could not be 
said of such a ,person1 whatever other  
,use he might make of his ,freedom1 that
 he actually was1 or had been1 of that  
laborious1 toilsome ,employment4 ,a ,man
 who was baptiz'd in his ,infancy1 may  
comply with all the outward ,forms of   
his ,religion2 and1 if he loves his     
,reputation1 never be guilty of any     
notorious ,wickedness4 ,but if all this 
,while1 which is not impossible1 his    
,heart is closely attach'd to this      
,world2 if he has a far greater ,value  
for ,sensual1 than he has for ,spiritual
 ,pleasures1 and persists in a ,course  
of a voluptuous ,life for many ,years1  
without ,repentance3 ,a ,man1 ,i say1   

who does this1 cannot be a more real    
,christian1 tho' he conform'd to all the
 ,rites and ,ceremonies1 and bore a     
great ,sway in the ,vestry1 than a      
,linnen-,draper could be a real         
,blacksmith1 tho' he was free of the    
,blacksmiths ,company1 and was a        
,livery-,man amongst them4  ,that weak  
silly ,people may form such wrong       
,judgments1 as ,i have hinted at1 from  
no worse ,cause1 than ,want of          
,capacity1 and mere ,folly1 ,i am       
willing to believe4 ,but when ,i see    
,men of very good ,sense1 and           
considerable ,knowledge1 guilty of it1  
,i can't help thinking1 that they do it 
with ,design1 and because they find     
their ,interest in it4 ,this is certain1
 that when once it is taken for granted1
 that to be a ,christian1 it is         
sufficient to acquiesce in being call'd 
so1 and attend the outward ,worship of  
some ,sect or other1 it saves the       
,clergy a vast ,deal of ,trouble1 from  
,friends as well as ,foes4 ,for to quiet

 and satisfy all scrupulous             
,consciences1 is as great a ,drudgery as
 it is to write in ,defence of          
,miracles4  ,the ,reason1 ,sir1 why ,i  
have said so much on this ,head1 is1    
that among those who outwardly shew the 
greatest ,zeal for ,religion and the    
,gospel1 ,i see hardly ,any who teach   
us1 either by ,precept or ,example1 the 
,severity of ,manners which             
,christianity requires4 ,they seem to be
 much more sollicitous about the ,name1 
than they are about the ,thing it self2 
as if1 when ,men would but own          
themselves to be ,christians1 it was no 
great ,matter for the ,qualifications   
which must make them so4 ,when of late  
,i have cast my ,eyes upon the          
,behaviour of some ,people1 who shall be
 nameless1 it has put me in ,mind of the
 ,free-,masons4 ,these1 you know1 are   
divided in several ,companies2 each     
,company have a ,lodge of their own2    
every ,lodge has a ,master2 over all    
these ,masters again1 there is a ,grand 

,master4 ,some of them meet once a      
,month2 others not so often2 they       
pretend to ,mysteries1 and eat and drink
 together2 they make use of several     
,ceremonies1 which are peculiar to      
themselves1 with great ,gravity2 and    
with all this ,bustle they make1 ,i     
could never learn yet1 that they had any
 ,thing to do1 but to be ,free-,masons1 
speak well of the ,honour of their      
,society1 and either pity or despise all
 those who are not ,members of it3 ,out 
of their ,assemblies1 they live and     
converse like other ,men3 ,and tho' ,i  
have been in ,company with several of   
them1 ,i profess1 unless ,i am told it1 
,i can never know1 who is a             
,free-,mason1 and who is not4  ,i know1 
,sir1 you love ,allegory2 and on that   
,score1 ,i have been extremely delighted
 with what you say1 ,page #ccb1 of your 
first ,volume2 where you justly ridicule
 and expose those ,libertines1 who      
pretend to be ,patriots for ,liberty and
 ,property4 ,i beg ,leave1 for the      

,benefit of other ,readers1 to          
transcribe the ,passage4 ,when ,i hear1 
says ,crito1 these two ,words in the    
,mouth of a ,minute ,philosopher1 ,i am 
put in ,mind of the ,teste di ,ferro at 
,rome4 ,his ,holiness1 it seems1 not    
having ,power to assign ,pensions1 on   
,spanish ,benefices1 to ,any but        
,natives of ,spain1 always keeps at     
,rome ,two ,spaniards1 call'd ,teste di 
,ferro1 who have the ,name of all such  
,pensions1 but not the ,profit1 which   
goes to ,italians4 ,as we may see every 
,day1 both ,things and ,notions placed  
to the ,account of ,liberty and         
,property1 which in ,reality neither    
have1 nor are meant to have any ,share  
in them4 ,what6 is it impossible for a  
,man to be a ,christian1 but he must be 
a ,slave2 or a ,clergyman1 but he must  
have the ,principles of an ,inquisitor8 
,this is very  propos1 and admirably    
well applied4 ,i thank you for it4 ,i   
know ,abundance of ,divines1 who seem to
 be very fond of the ,world1 and are    

always grasping at ,wealth and ,power2  
and whenever ,i hear ,any of these      
mention their ,concern for ,religion1   
and the ,spiritual ,welfare of ,others1 
as they often do1 ,i shall always think 
on ,crito's ,story1 laugh heartily1 and 
say no more4 ,for if ,i should imitate  
him1 in exclaiming every ,time ,i saw   
both ,things and ,notions placed to the 
,account of ,religion and the ,spiritual
 ,welfare of ,others1 which1 in         
,reality1 neither have1 nor are meant to
 have any ,share in them1 ,i should     
never be able to follow any other       
,business1 than to cry out1 ,what6 is it
 impossible1 that the ,christian        
,religion should be taken ,care of1     
unless ,ecclesiasticks ride in ,coaches 
and ,six2 or the ,spiritual ,welfare of 
the ,laity1 without ,temporal ,dominion 
and an extravagant ,power in the        
,clergy8  ,my ,allegory1 you see1 ,sir1 
is but a ,copy of yours1 and therefore  
cannot have the same ,merit4 ,how you   
will like it ,i can't tell2 but ,i      

fancy1 that most of my ,readers besides1
 will be of ,opinion1 that if his       
,holiness makes no greater ,advantage by
 his ,teste di ,ferro at ,rome1 than the
 ,cause1 which you espouse1 is like to  
get by yours here1 it will hardly be    
worth his while to keep them any longer4
  ,here1 ,sir1 ,i shall take my ,leave  
of you1 in full ,expectation1 that1 in  
what relates to me1 ,i shall find great 
,alterations in your next ,edition4 ,to 
furnish you with as many ,materials for 
this ,purpose as ,i can conveniently1 ,i
 shall fill what ,room ,i have left with
 another ,quotation from ,the ,fable of 
the ,bees1 beginning ,page #daj4 ,if my 
,paper would have held out1 and ,i could
 have added a ,page or two more1 you    
would have seen how wickedly ,i have    
been misrepresented in what ,i say about
 the ,fire of ,london4  ,it is certain1 
that the fewer ,desires a ,man has1 and 
the less he ,covets1 the more easy he is
 to himself3 ,the more active he is to  
supply his own ,wants1 and the less he  

requires to be waited upon1 the more he 
will be beloved1 and the less ,trouble  
he is in a ,family3 ,the more he loves  
,peace and ,concord1 the more ,charity  
he has for his ,neighbour3 ,and the more
 he shines in real ,virtue1 there is no 
doubt1 but that in ,proportion he is    
acceptable to ,god and ,man4 ,but let us
 be ,just4 ,what ,benefit can these     
,things be of1 or what ,earthly ,good   
can they do1 to promote the ,wealth1 the
 ,glory and ,worldly ,greatness of      
,nations8 ,it is the ,sensual ,courtier1
 that sets no ,limits to his ,luxury2   
the ,fickle ,strumpet that invents ,new 
,fashions every ,week2 the ,haughty     
,dutchess1 that in ,equipage1           
,entertainments1 and all her ,behaviour1
 would imitate a ,princess2 the ,profuse
 ,rake and lavish ,heir1 that scatter   
about their ,money without ,wit or      
,judgment1 buy every ,thing they see1   
and either destroy or give it away the  
next ,day2 the ,covetous and perjur'd   
,villain1 that squeez'd an immense      

,treasure from the ,tears of ,widows and
 ,orphans1 and left the ,prodigals the  
,money to spend4 ,it is these that are  
the ,prey and proper ,food of a         
full-grown ,leviathan2 or1 in other     
,words1 such is the calamitous          
,condition of ,human ,affairs1 that we  
stand in ,need of the ,plagues and      
,monsters ,i named1 to have all the     
,variety of ,labour perform'd1 which the
 ,skill of ,men is capable of inventing1
 in order to procure an ,honest         
,livelihood to the vast ,multitudes of  
,working ,poor1 that are required to    
make a large ,society3 ,and it is ,folly
 to imagine1 that great and wealthy     
,nations can subsist1 and be at once    
,powerful and ,polite1 without4  ,i     
protest against ,popery as much as ever 
,luther or ,calvin did1 or ,queen       
,elizabeth herself2 but ,i believe from 
my ,heart1 that the ,reformation has1   
scarce been more instrumental in        
rendring the ,kingdoms and ,states1 that
 have embraced it1 flourishing beyond   

other ,nations1 than the silly and      
capricious ,invention of ,hoop'd and    
,quilted ,petticoats4 ,but if this      
should be denied me by the ,enemies of  
,priestly ,power1 at least ,i am sure1  
that1 bar the brave ,men1 who have      
fought for and against that ,lay-,man's 
,blessing1 it has from its first        
,beginning to this ,day1 not employ'd so
 many ,hands1 honest industrious        
labouring ,hands1 as the abominable     
,improvement on ,female ,luxury1 ,i     
named1 has done in ,few ,years4         
,religion is one ,thing1 and ,trade is  
another4 ,he that gives most ,trouble to
 ,thousands of his ,neighbours1 and     
invents the most operose ,manufactures  
is1 right or wrong1 the greatest ,friend
 to the ,society4  ,what a ,bustle is   
there to be made in several ,parts of   
the ,world1 before a fine ,scarlet1 or  
,crimson ,cloth can be produced8 ,what a
 ,multiplicity of ,trades and           
,artificers must be employ'd8 ,not only 
such as are obvious1 as ,wool-combers1  

,spinners1 the ,weaver1 the             
,cloth-worker1 the ,scowrer1 the ,dyer1 
the ,setter1 the ,drawer1 and the       
,packer2 but others that are more       
remote1 and might seem foreign to it2 as
 the ,mill-wright1 the ,pewterer1 and   
the ,chymist1 which yet are all         
necessary1 as well as a great ,number of
 other ,handicrafts1 to have the ,tools1
 ,utensils1 and other ,implements       
belonging to the ,trades already named3 
,but all these ,things are done at      
,home1 and may be perform'd without     
extraordinary ,fatigue or ,danger2 the  
most frightful ,prospect is left behind1
 when we reflect on the ,toil and       
,hazard that are to be undergone        
,abroad1 the vast ,seas we are to go    
over1 the different ,climates we are to 
endure1 and the several ,nations we must
 be obliged to for their ,assistance4   
,spain alone1 it is true1 might furnish 
us with ,wool to make the finest ,cloth2
 but what ,skill and ,pains1 what       
,experience and ,ingenuity are required 

to dye it of those beautiful ,colours6  
,how widely are the ,drugs and other    
,ingredients dispers'd through the      
,universe1 that are to meet in one      
,kettle4 ,allom1 indeed1 we have of our 
own2 ,argol we might have from the      
,rhine1 and ,vitriol from ,hungary2 all 
this is in ,europe2 but then for        
,saltpetre in ,quantity1 we are forc'd  
to go as far as the ,east-,indies3      
,cochenille1 unknown to the ,ancients1  
is not much nearer to us1 tho' in a     
quite different ,part of the ,earth2 we 
buy it1 'tis true1 from the ,spaniards2 
but not being their ,product1 they are  
forc'd to fetch it for us from the      
remotest ,corner of the ,new ,world in  
the ,west-,indies4 ,whilst so many      
,sailors are broiling in the ,sun1 and  
swelter'd with ,heat in the ,east and   
,west of us1 another ,set of them are   
freezing in the ,north1 to fetch        
,potashes from ,russia4  ,when we are   
thoroughly acquainted with all the      
,variety of ,toil and ,labour1 the      

,hardships and ,calamities1 that must be
 undergone to compass the ,end ,i speak 
of1 and we consider the vast ,risques   
and ,perils that are run in those       
,voyages1 and that ,few of them are ever
 made1 but at the ,expence1 not only of 
the ,health and ,welfare1 but even the  
,lives of ,many3 ,when we are acquainted
 with1 ,i say and duely consider the    
,things ,i named1 it is scarce possible 
to conceive a ,tyrant so inhuman and    
void of ,shame1 that beholding ,things  
in the same ,view1 he should exact such 
terrible ,services from his innocent    
,slaves2 and at the same ,time dare to  
own1 that he did it for no other        
,reason1 than the ,satisfaction a ,man  
receives from having a ,garment made of 
,scarlet or ,crimson ,cloth4 ,but to    
what ,height of ,luxury must a ,nation  
be arriv'd1 where not only the ,king's  
,officers1 but likewise his ,guards1    
even the ,private ,soldiers1 should have
 such impudent ,desires6  ,but if we    
turn the ,prospect1 and look on all     

those ,labours1 as so many voluntary    
,actions1 belonging to different        
,callings and ,occupations1 that ,men   
are brought up to for a ,livelihood1 and
 in which ,every one works for himself1 
how much soever he may seem to labour   
for ,others3 ,if we consider1 that even 
the ,sailors1 who undergo the greatest  
,hardships1 as soon as one ,voyage is   
ended1 even after a ,ship-wreck1 are    
looking out and solliciting for         
,employment in another3 ,if we consider1
 ,i say1 and look on these ,things in   
another ,view1 we shall find1 that the  
,labour of the ,poor is so far from     
being a ,burthen1 and an ,imposition    
upon them1 that to have ,employment is a
 ,blessing1 which1 in their ,addresses  
to ,heaven1 they pray for2 and to       
procure it for the ,generality of them1 
is the greatest ,care of every          
,legislature4   ,,finis4                
,,publications ,,of ,,the ,,augustan    
,,reprint ,,society  ,,first ,,year     
7#aidf-dg7  ,numbers #a-f out of print4 

,,second ,,year 7#aidg-aidh7   #g4 ,john
 ,gay's ,the ,present ,state of ,wit    
7#agaa72 and a section on  ,wit from    
,the ,english ,theophrastus 7#agjb74    
#h4 ,rapin's ,de ,carmine ,pastorali1   
translated by ,creech 7#afhd74   #i4 ,t4
 ,hanmer's 787 ,some ,remarks on the    
,tragedy of ,hamlet 7#agcf74  #aj4      
,corbyn ,morris' ,essay towards ,fixing 
the ,true ,standards of ,wit1 etc4      
7#agdd74  #aa4 ,thomas ,purney's        
,discourse on the ,pastoral 7#agag74    
#ab4 ,essays on the ,stage1 selected1   
with an ,introduction by ,joseph ,wood  
,krutch4   ,,third ,,year 7#aidh-aidi7  
#ac4 ,sir ,john ,falstaff 7pseud471 ,the
 ,theatre 7#agbj74  #ad4 ,edward        
,moore's ,the ,gamester 7#agec74  #ae4  
,john ,oldmixon's ,reflections on ,dr4  
,swift's ,letter to ,harley 7#agab72 and
 ,arthur ,mainwaring's ,the ,british    
,academy 7#agab74  #af4 ,nevil ,payne's 
,fatal ,jealousy 7#afgc74  #ag4         
,nicholas ,rowe's ,some ,account of the 
,life of ,mr4 ,william ,shakespeare     

7#agji74  #ah4 ,of ,genius1 in ,the     
,occasional ,paper1 ,vol4 ,,iii1 ,no4   
#aj 7#agai72 and ,aaron ,hill's ,preface
 to ,the ,creation 7#agbj74   ,,fourth  
,,year 7#aidi-aiej7  #ai4 ,susanna      
,centlivre's ,the ,busie ,body 7#agji74 
#bj4 ,lewis ,theobold's ,preface to ,the
 ,works of ,shakespeare 7#agcd74  #ba4  
,critical ,remarks on ,sir ,charles     
,grandison1 ,clarissa1 and ,pamela      
7#aged74  #bb4 ,samuel ,johnson's ,the  
,vanity of ,human ,wishes 7#agdi7 and   
,two ,rambler papers 7#agej74  #bc4     
,john ,dryden's ,his ,majesties         
,declaration ,defended 7#afha74  #bd4   
,pierre ,nicole's ,an ,essay on ,true   
and ,apparent ,beauty in ,which from    
,settled ,principles is ,rendered the   
,grounds for ,choosing and ,rejecting   
,epigrams1 translated by ,j4 ,v4        
,cunningham4   ,,fifth ,,year 7#aiej-ea7
  #be4 ,thomas ,baker's ,the ,fine      
,lady's ,airs 7#agji74  #bf4 ,charles   
,macklin's ,the ,man of the ,world      
7#agib74  #bg4 ,frances ,reynolds' ,an  

,enquiry ,concerning the ,principles of 
,taste1 and of the ,origin of ,our      
,ideas of ,beauty1 etc4 7#aghe74  #bh4  
,john ,evelyn's ,an ,apologie for the   
,royal ,party 7#afei72 and ,a ,panegyric
 to ,charles the ,second 7#affa74  #bi4 
,daniel ,defoe's ,a ,vindication of the 
,press 7#agah74  #cj4 ,essays on ,taste 
from ,john ,gilbert ,cooper's ,letters  
,concerning ,taste1 #crd edition        
7#ageg71  ,john ,armstrong's            
,miscellanies 7#aggj74   ,,sixth ,,year 
7#aiea-aieb7  #ca4 ,thomas ,gray's ,an  
,elegy ,wrote in a ,country ,church     
,yard 7#agea72 and ,the ,eton ,college  
,manuscript4  #cb4 ,prefaces to         
,fiction2 ,georges de ,scudry's ,preface
 to ,ibrahim 7#afgd71 etc4  #cc4 ,henry 
,gally's ,a ,critical ,essay on         
,characteristic-,writings 7#agbe74  #cd4
 ,thomas ,tyers' ,a ,biographical       
,sketch of ,dr4 ,samuel ,johnson        
7#aghe74  #ce4 ,james ,boswell1 ,andrew 
,erskine1 and ,george ,dempster4        
,critical ,strictures on the ,new       

,tragedy of ,elvira1 ,written by ,mr4   
,david ,malloch 7#agfc74  #cf4 ,joseph  
,harris's ,the ,city ,bride 7#afif74    
#cg4 ,thomas ,morrison's ,a ,pindarick  
,ode on ,painting 7#agfg74  #ch4 ,john  
,phillips' ,a ,satyr ,against           
,hypocrites4  #ci4 ,thomas ,warton's ,a 
,history of ,english ,poetry4  #dj4     
,edward ,bysshe's ,the ,art of ,english 
,poetry4     ,william ,andrews ,clark   
,memorial ,library3 ,university of      
,california  ,,the ,,augustan ,,reprint 
,,society  ,general ,editors   ,h4      
,,richard ,,archer ,wm4 ,andrews ,clark 
,memorial ,library  ,r4 ,c4 ,,boys      
,university of ,michigan  ,,ralph       
,,cohen ,university of ,california1 ,los
 ,angeles  ,,vinton ,a4 ,,dearing       
,university of ,california1 ,los        
,angeles  ,corresponding ,secretary3    
,,mrs4 ,,edna ,c4 ,,davis1 ,wm4 ,andrews
 ,clark ,memorial ,library  ,,the       
,,society exists to make available      
inexpensive reprints 7usually facsimile 
reproductions7 of rare seventeenth and  

eighteenth century works4 ,the editorial
 policy of the ,society remains         
unchanged4 ,as in the past1 the editors 
welcome suggestions concerning          
publications4 ,all income of the        
,society is devoted to defraying cost of
 publication and mailing4  ,all         
correspondence concerning subscriptions 
in the ,united ,states and ,canada      
should be addressed to the ,william     
,andrews ,clark ,memorial ,library1     
#bbje ,west ,adams ,boulevard1 ,los     
,angeles #ah1 ,california4              
,correspondence concerning editorial    
matters may be addressed to any of the  
general editors4 ,the membership fee is 
#c4jj a year for subscribers in the     
,united ,states and ,canada and #ae_/-  
for subscribers in ,great ,britain and  
,europe4 ,british and ,european         
subscribers should address ,b4 ,h4      
,blackwell1 ,broad ,street1 ,oxford1    
,england4                       99      
99      99      99      99              
,publications for the seventh year      

#aieb-aiec  7,at least six items1 most  
of them from the following list1 will be
 reprinted47  ,selections from the      
,tatler1 the ,spectator1 the ,guardian4 
,introduction by ,donald ,f4 ,bond4     
,,bernard ,,mandeville3 ,a ,letter to   
,dion 7#agcb74 ,introduction by ,jacob  
,viner4  ,m4 ,c4 ,,sarbiewski3 ,the     
,odes of ,casimire 7#afdf71             
,introduction by ,maren-,sofie          
,roestvig4  ,an ,essay on the ,new      
,species of ,writing ,founded by ,mr4   
,fielding 7#agea74 ,introduction by     
,james ,a4 ,work4  ,,thomas ,,morrison3 
,a ,pindarick ,ode on ,painting 7#agfg74
 ,introduction by ,frederick ,w4        
,hilles4  ,,john ,,phillips3 ,satyr     
,against ,hypocrits 7#afee74            
,introduction by ,leon ,howard4         
,prefaces to ,fiction4 ,second series4  
,selected with an introduction by       
,charles ,davies4  ,,thomas ,,warton3 ,a
 ,history of ,english ,poetry3 ,an      
,unpublished ,continuation4             
,introduction by ,rodney ,m4 ,baine4    

,publications for the first six years   
7with the exception of ,,nos4 #a-f1     
which are out of print7 are available at
 the rate of #c4jj a year4 ,prices for  
individual numbers may be obtained by   
writing to the ,society4                
99      99      99      99      99      
,,the ,,augustan ,,reprint ,,society    
,,william ,,andrews ,,clark ,,memorial  
,,library #bbje ,,west ,,adams          
,,boulevard1 ,,los ,,angeles #ah1       
,,california  ,make check or money order
 payable to ,,the ,,regents ,,of ,,the  
,,university ,,of ,,california4