and Ridicule the reigning Folly of Romantick Chivalry, and freeing the
Minds of the People from that fashionable Delusion, he broke the Force
of as strong an Enchantment, and destroy'd as great a Monster as was
ever pretended to be vanquish'd by their imaginary Heroes. And many
more Books on other moral Subjects have been compos'd with much Wit
and Vivacity in our own and foreign Countries, to expose Vice
and Folly, and promote Decency and Sobriety of Manners. But the
Productions of this Nature, which have of late appear'd in this
Nation, whether we regard the just and generous Sentiments, the
fertile Invention, the Variety of Subjects, the surprizing Turns of
Wit and facetious Imagination, the genteel Satire, the Purity and
Propriety of the Words, and the Beauty and Dignity of the Diction,
have surpass'd all the Productions of this kind, that have been
publish'd in any Age or Country. The Reader no doubt is before-hand
with me, and concludes, that I mean the _Tatler_ and _Spectator_,
which for the greatest Part, have all the Perfection of Writing, and
all the Advantages of Wit and Humour, that are requir'd to entertain
and instruct the People: And it must chiefly be owing to the great
Depravity of Manners in these loose and degenerate Times, that such
worthy Performances have produc'd no better Effects.

But this excellent and amiable Qualification of the Mind is too apt to
be abus'd and perverted to ill purposes. Instead of being ingag'd on
the Side of Vertue, and us'd to promote just Notions and Regularity of
Life, it is frequently employ'd to expose the most Sacred Things,
to turn Gravity and reserv'd Behaviour into Ridicule, to keep in
Countenance Vice and Irreligion, and with a petulant and unrestrain'd
Liberty, to deride the Principles and Practices of the wisest and best
of Men. The Conversation of ingenious Libertines generally turns upon
Reveal'd Religion and the venerable Teachers of it; or on those of