LIFE OF Jofeph Addison, Efq; Extracted from N° III. and IV. The LIFE of Dr. LANCELOT LONDON: Printed for N. PREVOST, against Southampton- English 14108 PREFACE. S EVERAL of our learned Subscribers having intimated to us, that the Life we compiled of the celebrated Mr. Addison would be of service to those who have that Author's Works, 'tis chiefly in compliance with their advice that we publish the present edition of it. 'Tis to the learned and ingenious Mr. Bayle that we owe this method of Biography, in which cast two Lives only (such excepted as are published in our General Dictionary) have appeared in English, viz. those of Hales and Chillingworth (1). But notwithstanding the advantages of this manner of writing, yet some persons object against it, as being unconnected, desultory, and perpetually breaking the. thread of the narration. This objection, however plausible, will not be found A 2 (1) Both by Mr. Des Maizeaux. found of any weight, especially against historical and critical Dictionaries. For an author who purposes to give the life at length, in the common way, of a person, how confpicuous soever, is frequently obliged to introduce a great number of particulars, infinitely less curious than those for which the Object of his writing is chiefly diftinguished; by which means much of the reader's time is spent in running over a great number of less confiderable incidents. But the Biographer, who writes in Mr. Bayle's manner, first draws the analysis or outlines, as it were, of the life, and of this he forms his Text, for the use of those whose time may be precious, or who only defire a general account of persons. But then, as so succinct a narrative alone is not satisfactory to a great number of readers, our Biographer selects such particular circumstances in the person's life, as are very curious, important, and diftinguish him from other men; and omitting all the rest, he throws these into the form of Notes or Remarks, which |