THE QUINTESSENCE OF English POETRY: Or, a COLLECTION of all the BEAUTIFUL PASSAGE's IN OUR POEMS and PLAYS: From the Celebrated SPENCER. The WHOLE Inftructive, Moral, and Humour- Collected from many hundred Volumes To which is prefix'd, An Alphabetical Catalogue of AUTHORS, POEMS, and PLAYS quoted in the Collection. Alfo an Hiftorical tical Review of all the ESSAYS of this Kind publifhed. In THREE VOLUM VOL II. LONDON: Printed for O. PAYNE at Horace's-Head in Pope's PREFACE, Containing an Historical and Critical Review of all the Collections of this Kind that were ever published. HE fuppofed ease of digefting the fine thoughts of our poets under their proper heads, has, no doubt, given birth to the feveral undertakings of this kind that have appeared in publick; and, probably, to many others of the fame nature, which still fleep, or have expired in manufcript. The advantage alfo arifing from fuch collections, may have had no fmall fhare in inducing feveral to make them publick: For with what fuccefs may not an author flatter himself, who fupplies his reader with the fruits of a long application, at the expence of little time and pains; especially when thofe immortal fruits carry with them the neceffity of charming, infpiring, forming all hearts, and, like fcattered rays collected in one A 2 point |
