11-2-33 m. Gift 6-9-33 PREFACE. T% O give a fhort account of the rife and progress of this work, while it gratifies the curiofity of the reader, may at the fame time suggest some apology to thofe, who are difpofed to cenfure the vanity of the publication, or perhaps the prefumption, of attacking fo diftinguished a writer. It is therefore as follows. When the Authors of the Monthly Review for July 1765 gave a tranflation of the whole forty ninth chapter of Mr. Voltaire's Philofophy of History, as a fpecimen of that work, I perceived fo many falfhoods in it, small as its com→ pafs was, that I wrote out a detection of them in displeasure at fuch an attempt to mislead the world; and having done this, I transmitted it to London, with the view of its being made public, if some able judges there, to whose examination it was fubjected, should upon perufal approve it. For fo I hoped, that the Author himself might be taught, fhould it fall into his hands, to be more honeft and cautious in his future details from antient books; and at any rate, that others might be thereby guarded againft blind and implicit reliance on his accounts for the time to come, because it exhibited to them fome glaring inftances of misrepresentation in him. These perfons were fo far pleased with it, as to esteem it worthy of a place in a periodical miscel lany, and for this reafon procured its admiffion inte the Univerfal Museum for the month of December in that year, with the running titles which they appointed for it. Towards the end of the year 1767, again, when I first read the book, I formed a more extensive fcheme; even that of fhewing, the Author had, through it, been many times guilty of a grofs difregard to truth and candour, both in his recitals from Jofephus the Jewish hiftorian, and in his quotations or narratives from the facred writers, which I confidered as one good expedient for defeating the irreligious tendency of his compofitions, with all who made any pretenfions to fair and equitable procedure in their way of thinking; and the more requifite, that it could not be fuppofed he had confined his unjuft dealing with these authors to that work, but had taken like unjuftifiable liberties with them in other treatises, where he made any mention of them. And foon after, in profecution of this defign, I prepared fome remarks upon his injuries to Jofephus, for the fame monthly collection, into which they were alfo very readily received, by thofe who had the direction of it for January and February 1768. Thus I was going on with the execution of my plan, happy in the thought, as the Museum was reported to be in very great demand, that the obfervations were likely to fall in the way of large numbers, and among those, of fome who, however much they might need a caveat againft unreferved confidence in Mr. Voltaire as their guide upon religious fubjects, would be apt to neglect any volume prófeffedly written to fhew he was very difingenuous, and unfaithful : I. in his relations about fuch matters. But I foon found, that material mftakes, through which the fense would be destroyed or altered, would be unavoidable, on account of my diftance from the prefs, notwithstanding all reasonablecare and attention on the part of the editors.I likewise forefaw, that the animadverfions concerning his treatment of the fcriptures, would become too learned and critical for that channel of conveyance into the world, confidering the fashionable taste, among readers of Magazines, unless I would fatisfy myself with a more flight and fuperficial examination of fome points which occurred in the piece, than I esteemed neceffary for answering my end.-Finally, I loft in the fucceeding fummer, my long kind and much honoured friend Dr. Lardner, fajuftly famous through the Chriftian church, for his Credibility of the Gofpel History, and his Jewish and Heathen Teftimonies, and thereby, the great advantage of his judicious. perufal of my remarks, ere they were communicated to the public; as indeed fome of them were in his cuftody at his death, but fince that, were obligingly returned, at my defire, by his executor, a nephew in law, Mr. Jofeph Jennings. The effect of these things was, that I determined to break off publishing in that mifcellaneous and monthly performance, nay almost quit thoughts of doing it in any other shape. Having been, however, toward the conclufion of winter 1769, more fully convinced, partly by my own obfervation, and partly by converfation with others, who neither wanted difcernment nor opportunity for making remarks, of the mifchievous influence of Mr. Voltaire's writings upon the religious principles and manners of the age; understanding likewife that perfons at a distance, to whofe opinion I paid refpect, were perfuaded it would be a real and important fervice to mankind, to expose the more striking inftances of his errors,and mifrepresentations in matters relative to our Chriftian fyftem of faith; and, withal, confidering, that a new edition of his whole works had been lately advertised here her in Scotland, by which their baneful efficacy would be more generally diffused in this corner, where Providence has ordered my situation, I so far began to think it might be useful to execute the fcheme, which I had hitherto but in a comparative light entered upon, in a separate treatise, as to impart the idea to fome worthy friends at home, who all agreed to commend the intention as excellent, while one of them, more especially, animated and encouraged me, amidst fome hefitation, to the undertaking. Since that time, therefore, I have been more refolved upon this measure; mean while, I much enlarged the manuscript beyond its original fize. For, to omit other *additions, whereas from the beginning I had confined my animadverfions to the Philofophy of History, I hereon took notice of feveral paffages in fome + other of Mr. Voltaire's literary productions, which were liable to like exceptions; The additions in the first part, which treats of Mr Voltaire's injuries to Jofephus, may be perceived by any person who compares it with the papers printed in the Museum. + The other works of Mr. Voltaire, in which I have cenfured fome paffages, are, his Treatife on Toleration, his Philofophical Dictiona Ty, his Dialogues and Effays Literary and Philofophical, his Ignorant Philofopher, and his Letters on eminent Writers. |
