MANUAL of moral, philosophical, and critical
compositions in the popular form of Essays;
exempted from the faults of many of the origi-
nal authors, and without a single passage to shock
the most delicate mind. We have never allowed
ourselves to add a new idea, though we have oc-
casionally taken the liberty to correct or alter
expressions which were either obsolete, vulgar, or
incorrect. We refer the reader to the Table of
Contents for the entertainment laid before him,
and here add a list of the Authors.

CONTENTS.

ESSAY

1. On Miscellanies-Lord Shaftesbury's

Miscellaneous Reflections, chap. 1

2. On Truth-Bacon's Essays

3. On

Page

1

7

10

13

16

Patience Lord Clarendon's

Essays .

4. On Envy-Bacon's Essys

5. Of Studies-The same

7. Industry-Lord Clarendon's Essays

8. Youth and Age-Lord Bacon's

Essays .

9. Suspicion-The same

10. Praise-The same

19

31

34

37

39

Miscellaneous

42

12. Talent for Humour and Peculiarities

of the English Nation-from Sir

Wm. Temple's Essay on Poetry .

13. Delays-Lord Bacon's Essays .

14. Obscurity- Cowley's Miscellaneous

Writings ..

15. Courage-Norris's Essays

83

18. Nature in Man Lord Bacon's

-

88

95

19. Liberty-Lord Clarendon's Essays

20. Nature and Effect of Poetry-Sir

Wm. Temple's Essay on Poetry

21. On the Poetic Spirit-The same

22. Value of Life-Collier's Essays 100

23. Social Affections-Lord Shaftesbury's

Essays on Wit and Humour, part

3. sect. 3.

24. Conjugal Love-Museum or Literary

and Historical Register for 1746,

p. 490 .

25. Dramatic Poets-Dryden's Essay on

Dramatic Poetry ¿

26. Seriousness-Norris's Essays.

27. Health-Sir Wm. Temple's Essay on

Health and long Life

28. Improvement of Time Norris's

Essays .

29. Taste-Burke on the Sublime and

Beautiful .

30. Different Characters of Mankind-

Melmoth, Letters of Sir T. Fitz-

osborne, Letter 38

31. Despair-Collier's Essays .

106

113

118

124

128

35. On the Benefits of Instruction and

Practice in promoting bodily and

mental Improvement Lord

Shaftesbury's Advice to an Author 189

36. Refinement in the Arts Hume's

Essays .

37. Pleasure-Collier's Essays, 17

38. Universality of Knowledge - Locke

Conduct of the Understanding

39. Reading-The same .

40. On the true Use of Retirement-

Lord Bolingbroke's Reflections

on Exile

193

201.

208

212

. 216

41. Wit-Sir R. Blackmore's Essays 289

42. On the excellency of the British

Constitution-Bishop Atterbury's

Works

233

13. Beautiful Objects, small-Burke on

the Sublime and Beautiful . . 236

44. Minos, a Fable-Museum or Lite-
rary and Historical Register for

45. On Generosity - Melmoth, Fitz-

osborne's Letters, 26

242

ESSAY

Page

46. Love of Life increasing with Age-

Goldsmith's Citizen of the World,

Essay 72.

245

250

47. Practice and Habits-Locke

48. The Danger of Procrastination-Cow-

ley's Miscellaneous Writings 256

49. On Essay Writing-Sir R. Black-
more's Essays.

VOL. II.

50. On Posthumous Publications-Cow-
ley's Miscellaneous Writings.

51. A Word to Modern Critics-Dryden's
Preface to the State of Innocence

52. On the Use of Letters-Lord Lyttle-
ton's Dialogues of the Dead,
Cadmus and Hercules

53. On the Character of Poets-Gold-
smith's Citizen of the World

54. Confidence-Collier's Essays

263

.

1

55. Ideal Beauty-Dryden's Parallel of
Poetry and Painting

8

11

33

39

47

56. Advantage of Restraint, a Tale-
Museum for 1747, p. 128 .

57. Polite Philosophy- Polite Philoso-
pher, Dodsley's Fugitive Pieces.

58. Egotism-The same

59. The Society of Women the best
School of Politeness-The same 53