Nunc etiam Celebrant, quotiesque revolvitur Annus
Te memorant, Patrium Gens tota tuetur Honorem,
Et cingunt viridi redolentia tempora Porro.
And now, tho' I am very well satisfied with this Performance, yet, according to the usual Modesty of us Authors, I am oblig'd to tell the World, it will be a great Satisfaction to me, knowing my own Insufficiency, if I have given but some Hints of the Beauties of this Poem, which are capable of being improv'd by those of greater Learning and Abilities. And I am glad to find by a Letter I have receiv'd from one of the Literati in Holland, That the learned Huffius, a great Man of our Nation, is about the Translation of this Piece into Latin Verse, which he assures me will be done with a great deal of Judgment, in case he has enough of that Language to furnish out the Undertaking. I am very well Appris'd, That there has been publish'd Two Poems lately, Intituled, The Second and Third Parts of this Author; which treat of our little Hero's rising from the Dead in the Days of King Edgar: But I am inform'd by my Friend the Schoolmaster, and others, That they were compos'd by an Enthusiast in the last Century, and have been since Printed for the Establishment of the Doctrine of Monsieur Marion and his Followers, and the Resurrection of Dr. Ems.
I hope no Body will be offended at my asserting Things so positively, since 'tis the Priviledge of us Commentators, who understand the meaning of an Author Seventeen Hundred Years after he has wrote, much better than ever he cou'd be suppos'd to do himself. And certainly, a
Critick ought not only to know what his Authors Thoughts were when he was Writing such and such Passages, but how those Thoughts came into his Head, where he was when he wrote, or what he was doing of; whether he wrote in a Garden, a Garret, or a Coach; upon a Lady, or a Milkmaid; whether at that Time he was scratching his Elbow, drinking a Bottle, or playing at Questions and Commands. These are material and important Circumstances so well known to the True Commentator, that were Virgil and Horace to revisit the World at this time, they'd be wonderfully surpris'd to see the minutest of their Perfections discover'd by the Assistances of Modern Criticism. Nor have the Classicks only reap'd Benefit from Inquiries of this Nature, but Divinity it self seems to be render'd more intelligible. I know a Divine, who understands what St. Paul meant by Higher Powers, much better than that Apostle cou'd pretend to do; and another, That can unfold all the Mysteries of the Revelations without Spectacles.
I know there are some People that cast an Odium on me, and others, for pointing out the Beauties of such Authors, as have, they say, been hitherto unknown, and argue, That 'tis a sort of Heresie in Wit, and is like the fruitless Endeavours of proving the Apostolical Constitutions Genuine, that have been indisputably Spurious for so many Ages: But let these Gentlemen consider, whether they pass not the same Judgment on an Author, as a Woman does on a Man, by the gayety of his Dress, or the gaudy Equipage of his Epithets. And however they may call me second-sighted, for discerning what they
are Blind to, I must tell them this Poem has not been altogether so obscure, but that the most refin'd Writers of this Age have been delighted with the reading it. Mr. Tho. D'Urfey, I am told, is an Admirer, and Mr. John Dunton has been heard to say, more than once, he had rather be the Author of it than all his Works.
How often, says my Author, have I seen the Tears trickle down the Face of the Polite Woodwardius upon reading some of the most pathetical Encounters of Tom Thumb! How soft, how musically sorrowful was his Voice! How good Natur'd, how gentle, how unaffected was the Ceremoniale of his Gesture, and how unfit for a Profession so Merciless and Inhumane!
I was persuaded by a Friend to write some Copies of Verses and place 'em in the Frontispiece of this Poem, in Commendation of My self and my Comment, suppos'd to be compos'd by AG. FT. LM. RW. and so forth. To their very worthy and honour'd Friend C. D. upon his admirable and useful Comment on the History of Tom Thumb; but my Bookseller told me the Trick was so common, 'twou'd not answer. Then I propos'd a Dedication to my Lord such an One, or Sir Thomas such an One; but he told me the Stock to be rais'd on Dedications was so small now a Days, and the Discount to my Lord's Gentleman, &c. so high, that 'twou'd not be worth while; besides, says he, it is the Opinion of some Patrons, that a Dinner now and then, with, Sir, I shall expect to see you sometimes, is a suitable Reward for a publick Compliment in Print. But if, continues my Bookseller, you have a Mind it