A Vindication of the Press

These are the Uses of Writings in the Church and the State, with Answers to such Objections as may be made against them, not to mention particularly in respect to the former, the Writings of the Fathers, and even of some Heathen Philosophers, such as Seneca, &c. And besides the valuable Performances of our most eminent Divines in all Ages, as Dr. Taylor, Bishop Usher, Tillotson, Beveridge &c. and The whole Duty of Man, &c. in our private Devotions. I now proceed to the Uses in Arts and Sciences.

How much Posterity will be oblig'd to the Great Sir Isaac Newton and Doctor Flamstead for their Mathematical Writings, is more easy to imagine than the Improvements which may be made from thence; there's a great deal of Reason to believe, that if a future Age produces a Successor to Sir Isaac, (at present I take it, there's none in the World) that not only the Longitude at Sea will be discover'd, but the perpetual Motion, so many Ages sought after, found out.

How much are the Gentlemen of the Law oblig'd to my Lord Littleton's Institutes and Coke's Commentaries thereupon? Writing in this Profession is esteem'd so Essential, that there's seldom a Judge quits the Stage of Life, without a voluminous Performance, as a Legacy to the World, and there's rarely a Term without some Production of the Press: The Numbers of these Writings are very much augmented by the various Reports of Cases from Time to Time made; and these seem to be entirely necessary by way of Precedent, as a discreet and cautious Justice will not take upon him to determine a Cause of difficulty without the Authority of a Precedent.

And in the Practice of Physick, are not the present Professors infinitely obliged to the Discoveries and Recipes of Aristotle, Galen, &c? How much the World is oblig'd to the Declamations of Tully, Cicero, for Oratory; to the famous Writings of Milton for the Foundation of Divine Poetry; Poetry in general is improv'd from the Writings of Chaucer, Spencer, and others; Dramatick Entertainments perfected by Shakespear; our Language and Poetry refin'd by Dryden; the Passions rais'd by Otway; the Inclination mov'd by Cowley; and the World diverted by Hudibras, (not to mention the Perfections of Mr. Addison, and several others of this Age) I leave to the Determination of every impartial Reader.

'Tis by Writing that Arts and Sciences are Cultivated, Navigation and Commerce (by which alone Wealth is attain'd) to the most distant parts of the World Improv'd, Geography Compleated, the Languages, Customs and Manners of Foreign Nations known; and there is scarce any one Mechanick calling of Note or Signification, but Treatises have been written upon, to transmit the valuable Observations of Ingenious Artificers to the latest Posterity.

There might be innumerable Instances given of the Advantages of Writings in all Cases, but I shall satisfy my self with the particulars already advanc'd, and proceed to such Objections, as I am apprehensive may be made relating to the Writings last mentioned. First, it may be Objected that the numerous Writings tend more to confound the Reader, than to inform him; to this I answer, that it is impossible there can be many Writings produced, but there must be some valuable Informations communicated, easy to be Collected by a judicious Reader; tho' there may be a great deal superfluous, and notwithstanding it is a considerable Charge to purchase a useful Library, (the greatest Grievance) yet we had better be at that Expence, than to have no Books publish'd, and consequently no Discoveries; the same Reason may be given where Books in the Law, Physick, &c. are imperfect in some Part, and tend to the misleading Persons; for of two Evils the old Maxim is, always chuse the least. The only Objection that I do not take upon me to Defend, is, that against Lewd and obscene Poetry in general; (for sometimes the very great Wit may make it excuseable) which in my Opinion will admit of but a slender Apology in its Defence.

The use of Writing is Illustrated in the following Lines, which conclude my first Head of this Essay.

 
By ancient Writing Knowledge is convey'd,
Of famous Arts the best Foundation laid;
By these the Cause of Liberty remains,
Are Nations free'd from Arbitrary Chains,
From Errors still our Church is purified,
The State maintained, with justice on its Side.
 

I now advance to my second Particular, Criticism.

The fatal Criticism or Damnation which the Writings of some Authors meet with thro' their Obscurity, want of Friends and Interest in the World, &c. is very discouraging to the Productions of Literature: It is the greatest difficulty immaginable, for an obscure Person to Establish a Reputation in any sort of Writing; he's a long time in the same Condition with Sisyphus, rolling a heavy Stone against an aspiring Mount which perpetually descends again; it must be to his benign Stars, some lucky Subject suiting the Humour of the Times, more than the Beauty of his Performance, which he will be oblig'd for his Rise: And in this Age Persons in general, are so Estrang'd from bare Merit, that an Author destitute of Patronage will be equally Unsuccessful to a Person without Interest at Court, (and you'll as rarely find the Friendship of an Orestes, as the Chastity of Penelope) When a Man of Fortune has no other Task, than to give out a stupid Performance to be of his own Composing, and he's immediately respected as a Celebrated Writer: And if a Man has the good Fortune to hit the capricious Humour of the Age; after he has attained a Reputation with the utmost Difficulty, he's sure to meet with the severest Treatment, from a herd of Malicious and Implacable Scriblers.

This was the Case of the late Mr. Dryden, a Man for Learning and universal Writing in Poetry, perhaps the Greatest that England has produc'd; he was Persecuted by Envy, with the utmost Inveteracy for many Years in Succession: And is the Misfortune at this Juncture of Mr. Pope, a Person tho' Inferior to Mr. Dryden, yet speaking Impartially has few Superiors in this Age: From these Considerations it is Evident, (tho' it seems a Paradox) that it is a Reputation to be Scandaliz'd, as a Person in all Cases of this Nature is allow'd some Merit, when Envy attacks him, and the World might not be sensible of it in General, without a publick Encounter in Criticism; and many Authors would be Buried in Oblivion were they not kept alive by Clamours against their Performances.

The Criticks in this Age are arriv'd to that consummate Pitch of ill-nature, that they'll by no means permit any Person the favour to Blunder but their mighty selves, and are in all respects, except the Office of a Critick, in some measure ill Writers; I have known an unnatural Brother of the Quill causless condemn Language in the Writings of other Persons, when his own has really been the meanest; to Accuse others of Inconsistency with the utmost Vehemence, when his own Works have not been without their Æra's, and to find fault with every Line in a Poem, when he has been wholly at a loss to Correct, or at least not capable of Writing one single Page of it.

There are another sort of Criticks, which are equally ill-natur'd to these I have mention'd, tho' in all other respects vastly inferior to them: They are such as no sooner hear of a Performance compos'd by a Juvenile Author, or one not hitherto known in the way of Writing he has undertaken; but immediately without reading a Line give it a Stamp of Damnation; (not considering that the first Performance of an Author in any way of Writing done carefully, is oftentimes the best) and if they had thoroughly perus'd it, they were no ways capable of Judging of either the Sense, Language, or Beauty of any one Paragraph; and what is still worse, these ignorant Slanderers of Writings frequently take what other Persons report for Authority, who know as little, or perhaps are more Ignorant than themselves, so little Regard have they to the Reputation of an Author.

And sometimes you'll find a pert Bookseller give himself the Airs of Judging a Performance so far, as to Condemn the Correctness of what he knows nothing of these there's a pretender to Authorship in the City, who Rules the young Fry of Biblioples about the Royal-Exchange.

But the Booksellers in general, (tho' they commonly Judge of the Goodness of Writings, by the greatness of the Sale,) are Very sensible that their greatest Security in respect to the Performance of any Work, is the Qualification of the Person that Composes it, the Confidence they can Repose in him; his Capacity, Industry and Veracity; And the Author's Reputation is so far concern'd in a Performance, which he owns that the Bookseller will sooner rely upon that, than his own Judgment.

To descend still to a lower Order of Criticks, you'll find very few Coffee-Houses in this opulent City without an illiterate Mechanick, Commenting upon the most material Occurrences, and Judging the Actions of the greatest Councils in Europe, and rarely a Victualing House, but you meet with a Tinker, a Cobler, or a Porter, Criticizing upon the Speeches of Majesty, or the Writings of the most celebrated Men of the Age.

This is entirely owing to Party, and there is such a Contagion diffuses it self thro' the greatest Part of the World at this Time, that it is impossible for a Man to acquire a universal Character in Writing, as it is inconsistent for him to engage in Writings for both Parties at one and the same Time, (whatever he may do alternately) without which such a Character is not attainable; and these contending Parties carry Things to that Extremity, that they'll by no means allow the least Merit in the most perfect Author, who adheres to the opposite Side; his Performances will be generally unheeded, if not blasted, and frequently damn'd, as if, like Coelus, he were capable of producing nothing but Monsters; he shall be in all Respects depress'd and debas'd, at the same time an illiterate Scribler, an auspicious Ideot of their own (with whose Nonsense they are never sated) shall be extoll'd to the Skies: Herein, if a Man has all the Qualifications necessary in Poetry, as an Elegance of Style, an Excellency of Wit, and a Nobleness of Thought; were Master of the most surprizing Turns, fine Similies, and of universal Learning, yet he shall be despis'd by the Criticks, and rang'd amongst the damn'd Writers of the Times.