The Satirical works
of Petronius Arbiter in
Prefe and

Verse

EKnight delin.

M.V Gucht Sculp

THE

WORKS

OF

PETRONIUS ARBITER,

Tranflated by feveral Hands.
With a KEY by a Perfon of Honour,

AND ALSO

His LIFE and CHARACTER,

By Monfieur St. EVREMONT.

The Fourth Edition.

To which is added,

Some other of the ROMAN POETS, viz. Ca.
tullus, Tibullus and Propertius. And Translations
from the GREEK of Pindar, Anacreon and Sappho.
With a Poem on TELEMACHUS,

Ry the Duke of DEVONSHIRE;

And an ESSAY on POETRY, by
JOHN Duke of BUCKINGHAM.

The whole Adorn'd with CUTS.

LONDON, Printed for SA M. BRISCOE, and Sold by
W. Taylor in Pater-nofter-Row, W. Brand and 7. Kent, Temple-
Gate; J. Graves in St. James's-Street. 1714.

2=6-41 JA

PREFACE.

Oncerning the Difficulty of Tran-
flating this Author I shall say
nothing, tho' the French Tran
flator has bestow'd half his

Preface to enforce it, because if the Difficulty
was greater than the Undertakers could well
go through with, or vanquish with Reputa-
tion, the Infamy is not leffen'd, but their
Folly much magnify'd. Besides, this Ver-
fion has already been receiv'd with fuch fuc-
cefs, that the Bookfeller has thought it worth
his while to venture a new Impreffion, by fe-
veral Hands: In fhort, both the Profe and
Verfe is fo much improv'd, that this
may just-
by be faid to be wholly new; befides a Third
Part never before made English.

Having faid in few words all that was neceffary as to the Tranflation, I shall come to the main point of this Præludium, which is, to remove fome Reflections on the Original ;

A 2

and

and to give fome few Remarks upon its Author. There are fome People that are prepossess' d with a Prejudice against the Works of Petronius Arbiter, not from their own Reading, or Knowledge of the Matter, but from a fort of traditional Calumny, that the Devotees have rais'd against him. But fuch I defire to perufe the Life of Petronius without prejudice, and what I here fhall offer in his Defence against thofe Cenfures which unfair Criticks or grofs Ignorance have laid upon him.

We have nothing to fear from any Charge on the Defect of his Wit, and the Purity of his Stile, his Fame for that is but too well esta blish'd all Europe over, and his Party every where too numerous to apprehend an Attaque from that fide, for I may venture to affert, that Petronius is not much lefs admir'd now, than he was in ancient Rome; for our Age, by an admirable circulation of Temper, bas very much of that of the time in which our Author liv'd, and of which he has left us fo agreeable a Draught.

This general Inclination to Petronius is not confin'd to thofe learned Men of my Acquaintance, but reaches all fuch who have ever discover'd any just claim to Knowledge

and