Lewis Baboon turned honest, and John Bull politician. Being the fourth part of Law is a bottomless-pit. Printed from a manuscript found in the cabinet of the famous Sir Humphry Polesworth: and publish'd, (as well as the three former parts and appendix) by the author of the New Atalantis:
Arbuthnot, John, 1667-1735.
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THE PREFACE.

WHEN I was first call'd to the Office of Historiographer to John Bull, he ex|press'd himself to this purpose: Sir Humphry, I know you are a plain Dealer; it is for that Reason I have chosen you for this important Trust; speak the Truth, and spare not. That I might fulfil those his honourable In|tentions, I obtain'd Leave to repair to, and at|tend him in his most secret Retirements; and I put the Journals of all Transactions into a strong Box, to be open'd at a fitting Occasion, after the manner of the Historiographers of some Eastern Monarchs: This I thought was the safest way; tho' I declare I was never afraid to be chop'd by my Master for telling of Truth. It is from those Journals that my Memoirs are compil'd: There|fore let not Posterity, a thousand Years hence, look for Truth in the voluminous Annals of Pedants, who are entirely ignorant of the secret Springs of great Actions; if they do, let me tell them, they will be Nebus'd. With incredible Pains have I endeavour'd to copy the several Beauties of the an|cient Page  [unnumbered] and modern Historians; the impartial Tem|per of Herodotus, the Gravity, Austerity, and strict Morals of Thucidides, the extensive Know|ledge of Xenophon, the Sublimity and Grandeur of Titus Livius, and to avoid the careless Stile of Polybius: I have borrow'd considerable Orna|ments from Dionysius Halicarnasseus and Dio|dorus Siculus: The specious Gilding of Taci|tus I endeavour'd to shun. Mariana, Davila, and Fra. Paulo, are those amongst the Moderns whom I thought most worthy of Imitation; but I cannot be so disingenuous, as not to own the infi|nite Obligations I have to the Pilgrim's Progress of John Bunyan, and the Tenter Belly of the Reverend Joseph Hall. From such Encourage|ment and Helps, it is easy to guess to what a de|gree of Perfection I might have brought this great Work, had it not been nip'd in the Bud by some illiterate People in both Houses of Parliament, who envying the great Figure I was to make in future Ages, under Pretence of raising Money for the War, have padlock'd all those very Pens that were to celebrato the Actions of their Heroes, by silencing at once the whole Ʋniversity of Grub|street. I am perswaded, that nothing but the Prospect of an approaching Peace could have en|courag'd them to make so bold a step. But suffer me, in the Name of the rest of the Matriculates of that famous Ʋniversity, to ask them some plain Questions: Do they think that Peace will bring along with it the Golden Age? Will there be ne|ver a Dying-Speech of a Traitor? Are CethegusPage  [unnumbered] and Cataline turn'd so tame, that there will be no opportunity to cry about the Streets, Dan|gerous Plot? Will Peace bring such Plenty, that no Gentleman will have occasion to go upon the Highway, or break into a House? I am sorry that the World should be so much impos'd upon by the Dreams of a False Prophet, as to imagine the Millennium is at hand. O Grubstreet! thou fruitful Nursery of tow'ring Genius's! how do I lament thy Downfall? Thy Ruin could never be meditated by any who means well to English Li|berty: No modern Lycaeum will ever equal thy Glory, whether in soft Pasiorals, thou sung the Flames of pamper'd Apprentices and coy Cook-Maids, or mournful Ditties of departing Lovers; or if to Maeonian Sirains thou rais'd thy Voice, to record the Stratageies, the arduous Exploits, and the nocturnal Scalade of needy Heroes, the Terror of your peaceful Citizen, describing the powerful Betty, or the artful Picklock, or the secret Caverns and Grotto's of Vulcan sweat|ing at his Forge, and slamping the Queens Image on viler Metals, which he retails for Beef, and Pots of Ale; or if thou wert content in simple Narrative to relate the cruel Acts of implacable Revenge, or the Complaints of ravish'd Virgins, blushing to tell their Adventure before the listen|ing Crowd of City Damsels, whilst in thy faith|ful History thou intermingles the gravest Coun|sels and the purest Morals: Nor less acute and piercing wert thou in thy Search and pompous De|scription of the Works of Nature, whether in pro|per Page  [unnumbered] and emphatick Terms thou didst paint the blazing Comets fiery Tale, the stupendous Force of dreadful Thunder and Earthquakes, and the unrelenting Inundations. Sometimes, with Ma|chiavelian Sagacity, thou unravellest the Intrigues of State, and the traiterous Conspiracies of Rebels giving wise Counsel to Monarchs. How didst thou move our Terror and our Pity with thy passionate Scenes, between Jack-catch and the He|roes of the Old-Baily! How didst thou describe their intrepid March up Holborn-Hill! Nor didst thou shine less in thy theological Capacity, when thou gavest ghostly Counsel to dying Felons, and recorded the guilty Pangs of Sabbath-breakers! How will the noble Arts of John Overton's Pain|ting and Sculpture now languish! where rich In|vention, proper Expression, correct Design, divine Altitudes, and artful Contrast, heighten'd with the Beauties of Clar-Obscur, embellish'd thy cele|brated Pieces to the Delight and Astonishment of the judicious Multitude! Adieu persuasive Elo|quence! the quaint Metaphor, the poinant Irony, the proper Epithet, and the lively Simile, are fled to Burleigh on the Hill: Instead of these, we shall have I know not what — * The Illiterate will tell the rest with Pleasure! I hope the Reader will excuse the Digression, due by way of Condolance to my worthy Brethren of Grub|street, for the approaching Barbarity that is like|ly to overspread all its Regions, by this oppressive and exorbitant Tax, It has been my good For|tune Page  [unnumbered] to receive my Education there; and so long as I preserv'd some Figure and Rank amongst the Learned of that Society, I scorn'd to take my Degree either at Utrecht or Leyden, though I was offer'd it gratis by the Professors there.