surely merits this slight tribute of admiration from an Editor of
Johnson's works, with whom a Translation of the Rhetoric was long a
favourite project.




No. 62. SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 1753.

_O fortuna viris, invida fortibus
Quam non aequa bonis praemia dividis._ SENECA.

Capricious Fortune ever joys,
With partial hand to deal the prize,
To crush the brave and cheat the wise.

TO THE ADVENTURER.

Fleet, June 6.

SIR,

To the account of such of my companions as are imprisoned without being
miserable, or are miserable without any claim to compassion, I promised
to add the histories of those, whose virtue has made them unhappy or
whose misfortunes are at least without a crime. That this catalogue
should be very numerous, neither you nor your readers ought to expect:
_rari quippe boni_; "the good are few." Virtue is uncommon in all the
classes of humanity; and I suppose it will scarcely be imagined more
frequent in a prison than in other places.