Wherefore else have I made Choice of some of our Learned and Wealthy Bishops for the Patrons of these Discourses, which I foresaw would be grateful to their nice and critical Palates? Wherefore else have I been so profuse of such Compliments on their Lordships, as I was sure, they would take great Pleasure in? Wherefore else, My Lord, do I inscribe this to your Right Reverend Name, but that I expect your Approbation of it, and hope for a Recompence, equal to the Honour, that is here done you.
Some, who are envious, My Lord, of my good Fortune in Episcopal Patrons, will not believe that I have receiv'd so much as one Purse of Gold for any of my Dedications; but I would have such Malignants to know, that the less I have receiv'd, the more there is behind: And I can moreover assure them, that their Lordships have it in their Heads and their Hearts too, highly to advance me in the World; and if their Endeavours for my Promotion fail not, I shall be a very Great Man.
Such primitive Doctrine, My Lord, as I have reviv'd, must, in the Judgment of our Bishops, be deserving of their distinguish'd Favours: And if they should Design for me such a mystical Crown of Glory, as the Gentile Priests help'd some of the Fathers of the Church to; I profess without Dissimulation, that, for all my Love to Mysteries, it will be more than I am ambitious of: But if the Honour is forc'd on me, it will be my Duty to their Lordships, to sound an allegorical Trumpet of their Fame, that their Names, which, might otherwise be soon forgotten, may be everlastingly remember'd for their Love and Good-will towards me.
But the chief Foundation, My Lord, of my Merits lies, they say, in my Treatment of the Miracles of our Saviour, after the Manner you handled a Scripture-Prophecy, of a Man's kicking a Serpent on the Pate, for biting him by the Heels: And if your Lordship got a Welsh-Bishoprick upon it, what may not I expect for my more meritorious Works of the same kind? The Great Mr. Scheme has celebrated your Praise for that Effort of your Wit: And I must needs say, to your Lordship's Applause, that were not your Thoughts unhappily shackled with Interest and Subscriptions, (an Unhappiness you sadly lament!) you would endeavour to make as pleasant Work with the Letter of the Old, as I can do with that of the New Testament.
I have not here Room, My Lord, for a sufficient and deserv'd Encomium on your Use and Intent of Prophecy; therefore must be content to say of it, in short, that it is a most curious Piece of, what the Fathers call, Engastromuthism; or such a singular Specimen of a Webb, spun out of a Man's own Bowels, as one of fewer Brains in his Head can hardly equal.
It was wisely done of your Lordship to caution your Readers against taking your Book for an Answer to Mr. Grounds; otherwise it had not been impossible, but some others as well as the Worshipful Benchers of the Temple might have mistaken the Use and Intent of it.
After I had gone thro' your beautifully-printed Work, I wish'd, My Lord, for another Decoration of it, that some Annotations out of the Fathers had been subjoin'd to it. How would your Notions then and Theirs about Prophecy have stood as a Foil to each other! How should I then have admired the Difference between a Rich Bishop and a Poor Father as to Wit and Sense! How should I then have contemplated the Usefulness of Ecclesiastical Wealth in our Clergy for the Understanding of the Inspirations of the poor old Prophets!
When your Lordship is call'd upon for another Edition of your Book, vouchsafe me the Favour of making some marginal Remarks on it, which shall not be without their good Use. As you know, savoury Sawce makes some sort of Food go down the better; so a little more of that Salt, which Mr. Scheme has too sparingly sprinkled on your Work, will give your Readers, a right Relish of it: But whether I am indulg'd this Favour or not; I than take another opportunity, according to Promise elsewhere made, of testifying to the World, how much I am,