HINTS OF PREFACES FOR CLARISSA
[1]
Prefatical Hints. Partly taken from Letters to the Warrington Lady,Letter VI.
As Religion is too often wounded thro' the sides of its Professors,whether all good Men or not; so is Virtue, where Women are thought toomeanly of, and depretiated. The Author of the following Work, beingconvinced of the Truth of this Observation, has endeavoured in it toexalt the Sex. He has made his Heroine pass thro' many Persecutions fromher Friends, and ardent Trials from her Lover; yet in the first to keepher Duty in her Eye, and in the latter to be proof against the mostinsidious Arts, Devices, and Machinations of a Man, who holds, as Partsof the Rake's Credenda, these two Libertine Maxims; That no Woman canresist _Opportunity_ and _Importunity_, especially when attacked by aMan she loves; and, That, _when once subdued, she is always subdued_;and who sets out with a Presumption, that in the Conquest of such a Ladyhe shall triumph over the whole Sex, against which he had vowed Revengefor having been used ill, as he thought, by one of it.
The Lady's Sufferings and Distresses are unequalled. Like pure Gold,tried by the Fire of Affliction, she is found pure. She preserves herWill inviolate, her Sincerity unimpeachable, her Duty to those who donot theirs by her, intire--Is patient, serene, resigned; and, from thebest Motives, aspires to a World more worthy of her, than that she longsto quit.
The Christian System, in short, is endeavoured in her Conduct to berecommended and enforced. This Life she looks upon as a Life ofProbation only. She prepares for a better. Her Preparation isexemplarily set forth, and expatiated upon. She has her perfidious Loverfor her Vindicator. He engages all his own Relations, who adore her(while hers, influenced by wicked Reports, persecute her) to plead forhim; and that she will accept of him upon her own Terms.
Here is her Triumph. Yet not glorying in it herself; but, on reasonableand just Motives, rejecting him; Motives, that every virtuous Heart mustapprove of. Yet believing that she shall not long live, in the trueChristian Spirit of Forgiveness, wishes and prays for his Reformation.She as nobly forgives, and prays for, and endeavours to give posthumousComfort to, her persecuting Relations; wounding all of them deeper bythe Generosity of her Forgiveness, than if they were to suffer the mostcruel Deaths.
While it is one of the latent Morals of this Work, that Women, inchusing Companions for Life, should chuse companiable Men; should chusefor Men whose Hearts would probably be all their own, rather than toshare with Scores perhaps the volatile mischievous one of a Libertine:In short, that they should chuse for _Mind_ and not for _Person_; andnot make a Jest of a good Man, in favour of a bad, who would make a Jestof them, and of their whole Sex. / /
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"May my Story," says our Heroine, Vol. ____ p. ____ "be a Warning to allmy Sex, how they perfer a Libertine to a Man of true Honour; and howthey permit themselves, where they mean the best) [sic] to be misled bythe specious, but foolish Hope of subduing _rivetted Habits_, and, as Imay say, of _altering Natures_. The more foolish, as Experience mightconvince us, that there is hardly one in ten, of even tolerably happyMarriages, in which the Wife keeps the Hold in the Husband's Affections,which she had in the Lover's. What Influence then can she hope to haveupon the Morals of an avowed Libertine, who marries perhaps forConveniency; who despises the Tie; and whom it is too probable thatnothing but Age or Sickness, or Disease (the Consequence of ruinousRiot), can reclaim." There cannot be a more pernicious Notion, than thatwhich is so commonly received, That a reformed Rake makes the bestHusband. This Notion it was the Intent of the Author of Clarissa toexplode.
The Authors of Novels and Romances, who always make their Heroes andHeroines contend with great Distresses (the more romantic, with them,the better) seem to think they have done every-thing, when they havejoined the Lovers Hands; and this is called a _happy Ending_ of theStory. But, alas! it is then, too generally, that the Lovers have thegreatest Difficulties to encounter with, as they then see each other innearer and truer Lights.
And I have moreover always thought, that these sudden Conversions haveneither Art, nor Nature, nor Probability in them; and that they are,besides, of very bad Example. To have a Libertine, for a Series ofYears, glory in his Wickedness, and to think he had nothing to do, but,as an Act of Grace and Favour, to hold out his Hand to receive that ofthe best of Women, whenever he pleased, and that Marriage would be asufficient Amends for his Villainies, I could not bear that, nor wishedI, that the World should think it Amends.
I had given in the Story of Pamela what is called a happy Issue. It was,however, owing to her implicit Submission to a lordly and imperiousHusband, who hardly deserved her, that she was happy; a Submission whichevery Woman could not have shewn. And yet she had a too well groundedJealousy to contend with afterwards; which, for the time, tore her Heartin pieces. Nor was Mr. B's Reformation secured, till religiousConsiderations obtained place, on seeing the Precipice he was dancingupon with the Countess. _For we must observe_, that Reformation is notto be secured by a fine Face, by a Passion that has Sense for itsObject; nor by the Goodness of a Wife's Heart, if the Husband have not agood one of his own; and that properly touched by the divine Finger.
The Author of this Piece was willing to try to do something in this way,that never before had been done. The Tragic Poets have seldom made theirHeroes _true_ Objects of Pity; and very seldom have made them in theirDeaths look forward to a better Hope. And thus, when they die, they seem_totally_ to perish. Death in _such_ Instances must be terrible. It mustbe considered as the greatest Evil. But why is Death set in suchshocking Lights, when it is the common Lot? / /
* * * * *[3]
The Heroine of this Piece shews, that she has well considered this greatPoint, when she says--"What is even the long Life, which in high Healthwe wish for? What but, as we go along, a Life of Apprehension, sometimesfor our Friends, oftener for ourselves? And at last, when arrived at theold Age we covet, one heavy Loss or Deprivation having succeededanother, we see ourselves stript, as I may say, of every one we loved;and find ourselves exposed, as uncompaniable poor Creatures, to theSlights, the Contempts, of jostling Youth, who want to push us off theStage, in Hopes to possess what we have. And, superadded to all, our ownInfirmities every Day increasing; of themselves enough to make the Lifewe wished for, the greatest Disease of all."
Such are the Doctrines, such the Lessons, which are endeavoured to beinculcated in the following Sheets by an Example in natural Life. Themore unfashionable, the more irksome, these Doctrines, these Lessons,are to the Young, the Gay, and the Healthy, the more necessary are theyto be inculcated. Religion never since the Reformation was at so low anEbb as at present: And if there be those, who suppose this Work to be ofthe Novel Kind, it may not be amiss, even in the Opinion of such, totry whether, by an Accommodation to the light Taste of the Age aReligious Novel will do Good.
But altho' the Work, according to the Account thus far given of it, maybe thought to wear a solemn Aspect, and is indeed intended to be of theTragic Species, it will not be amiss to acquaint our youthful Readers,that they will find in the Letters of the Gentlemen, and even in many ofthose of one of the Ladies, Scenes and Subjects of a diverting Turn; oneof the Men humorously, yet not uninstructively, glorying in his Talentsfor Stratagem and Invention, as he communicates to the other, inConfidence, all the secret Purposes of his Heart.
Not uninstructively, we repeat; for it is proper to apprise the seriousReader, and such as may apprehend Hurt to the Morals of Youth from theirPerusal of the more freely written Letters, that the Gentlemen, tho'professed Libertines as to the Fair Sex, are not, however, Infidels orScoffers; nor yet such as think themselves freed from the Observance ofthose other moral Obligations which bind Man to Man. / /
[4]
The Reader is referred to the Postscript, at the End of the last Volume,for what may be further necessary to be observed in relation to thisWork.
Judges will see, that, long as the Work is, there is not one Digression,not one Episode, not one
Reflection, but what arises naturally from theSubject, and makes for it, and to carry it on.
Variety of Styles and Circumstances.
The Two first Volumes chiefly written by the Two Ladies. Two next....................................by Lovelace. Three last.....................by the reforming Belford.
Whence different Styles, Manners, &c. that make Episodes useless.
~_Clarissa an Example to the Reader: The Example not to be taken from theReader._~
The vicious Characters in this History are more pure, Images morechaste, than in the most virtuous of the Dramatic Poets.
Clarissa is so ready to find fault with herself on every Occasion, thatwe cannot consent, that a Character so exemplary in the greater Pointsshould suffer merely from the Inattention of the hasty Reader. Let ustherefore consider of some of the Objections made against her Story: Andyet we may venture to assert, that there is not an Objection that iscome to Knowlege [sic], but is either answered or anticipated in theWork.
Obj. I. _Clarissa has been thought by some to want Love_--To beprudish--To be over-delicate.
Those who blame Clarissa for Over-niceness, would most probably havebeen an easy Prey to a Lovelace.
One Design in her Character is to shew, that Love ought to be overcome,when it has not Virtue or Reformation for its Object.
Many Persons readier to find fault with a supposed perfect Character,than to try to imitate it: To bring it down to their Level, rather thanto rise to it.
Clarissa an Example _to_ the Reader: The Example not to be taken _from_the Reader.
Obj. II. _Lovelace could not be so generous, and so wicked._ CommonExperience confutes this Objection.
Obj. III. _There could not be such a Tyrant of a Father: Such aninsolent and brutal Brother: Such an unrelenting Sister: Such a passiveMother_--Every-body is not of this Opinion. It were to be wished, thatthis Objection were unanswerable.
Obj. IV. _The History is too minute._ Its Minuteness one of itsExcellencies.
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Attentive Readers have found, and will find, that the Probability of allStories told, or of Narrations given, depends upon small Circumstances;as may be observed, that in all Tryals for Life and Property, the/ /Meritsof the Cause are more determinable by such, than by the greater Facts;which usually are so laid, and taken care of, as to seem to authenticatethemselves.
Cannot consent, that the History of Clarissa should be looked upon as amere Novel or Amusement--since it is rather a History of Life andManners; the principal View of which, by an Accommodation to the presentlight Taste of an Age immersed in Diversions, that engage the Eye andthe Ear only, and not the Understanding, aims to investigate the greatDoctrines of Christianity, and to teach the Reader how to die, as wellas how to live.
Step by Step, Difficulties varied and enumerated, that young Creaturesmay know, that tho' they may not have all her Trials, how to comportgradatim.
If provoked and induced as she was, yet so loth to leave her Friends,and go off with her Lover, what Blame must those incur, who take such aStep, and have not her Provocations and Inducements!
Obj. V. _Why did she not throw herself into Lady Betty's Protection?_
For Answer, see Vol. III, p. 152, and before: Also p. 158, 159, thatLady's writing to her, and not inviting her to her. See also theirDebate, p. 159, 160.--Miss Montague wishes to see her at M. Hall; but itis after she should be married. See further, her Observations on MissMontague's not excusing her self for not meeting her on the Road; yetClarissa's Willingness to say something for L. / /
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[6]
On the contrary, it will be found, that they every-where disclaim theImpiety of such as endeavour to make a Religion to their Practices; and each upon himself, andvery often make such Reflections upon each other, and, / upon his Actions,as reasonable Beings, who disbelieve not a future State of Rewards andPunishments (and who one Day propose to reform) must sometimes make--oneof them actually reforming, and antidoting the Poison spread by thegayer Pen, and lighter Heart, of the other.
And yet that other (altho', in unbosoming himself to a select Friend, hediscover Wickedness enough to intitle him to general Hatred) preserves aDecency as well in his Images, as in his Language, which is not alwaysto be found in the Works of some of the most celebrated modern Writers,whose Subjects and Characters have less warranted the Liberties theyhave taken.
The Writer chose to tell his Tale in a Series of Letters, supposed to bewritten by the Parties concerned, as the Circumstances related passed:For this Juncture afforded him the only natural Opportunity that couldbe had, of representing with any Grace those lively and delicateImpressions, which _Things present_ are known to make upon the Minds ofthose affected by them. And he apprehends, that in the Study of humanNature the Knowlege [sic] of those Apprehensions leads us farther intothe Recesses of the human Mind, than the colder and more generalReflections suited to a continued and more contracted Narrative.
On the Contents.
Obj. _Contents will anticipate the Reader's Curiosity._
The Curiosity not so much the View to excite, as the Attention to theInstruction. When the Curiosity is partly gratified, there will be themore room for the Attention. Rather instruct, than divert or amuse.
The Reader will remember, that the Instructions, Lessons, and Warnings,both to Parents and Children, for the sake of which the Whole waspublished, cannot appear in a Table of Contents, that means only topoint out the principal Facts, the Connexion of the Whole, and to setbefore the Reader as well the blameable as the laudable Conduct of theprincipal Characters, and to teach them what to pursue, and what toavoid, in a Piece that is not to be considered as an Amusement only, butrather as a History of Life and Manners. / /
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Drawn up with a View to obviate such of the Objections as have been madeto particular Characters and Passages, thro' want of Attention to theStory.
--In such as have pursued the Story with too much Rapidity to attend tothe Connexion, and to the Instruction aimed to be given, and to theExample proposed to be set.
So many important Lessons, as to Life and Manners, in the Work, that theReader may be intrusted with the Contents. / /
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[8]
Rev. Mr. Skelton.
They who read Romances and Novels, being accustomed to a Variety ofIntrigues and Adventures, thro' which they are hurried to theCatastrophe; when they take up Clarissa, not considering that it isanother kind of Work, or rather a new Species of Novel, are apt to thinkit tedious, towards the Beginning especially, because they have not thesame Palate for natural Incidents, as for imaginary Adventures; for theWorkings of private and domestic Passions, as for those of Kings,Heroes, Heroines; for a Story English as to its Scenes, Names, Manners,as for one that is foreign: But a Reader of true Taste and Judgment willlike it infinitely better, because it comes home to the Heart, and tocommon Life, in every Line; because it abounds with a surprising Varietyof Strokes and Paintings, that seem to be taken from real Life, and ofMaxims and Reflections too just, and too useful, to be passed overunnoticed or unremembred [sic] by a Reader of Experience. These,together with the masterly Management of the Characters, serve better toentertain, while they instruct, a judicious Reader, than a Croud of mereimaginary Amours, Duels, and such-like Events, which abound with Leavesand Flowers, but no Fruits; and therefore cannot be relished but by avitiated Taste, by the Taste of a Chameleon, not of a Man. Two or threeHours furnish Matter for an excellent Play: Why may not Two or ThreeMonths supply Materials for as many Volumes? Is the History ofThucydides less entertaining or instructive, because its Subject isconfined to narrow Bounds, than that of Raleigh, which hath the Worldfor its Subject? Is Clarissa a mere Novel? Whoever considers it as such,does not understand it. It is a System of religious and moral Preceptsand Examples, planned on an entertaining Story, which stands or goesforward, as the excellent Desig
n of the Author requires; but neverstands without pouring in Incidents, Descriptions, Maxims, that keepAttention alive, that engage and mend the Heart, that play with theImagination, while they inform the Understanding. / /
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[9]
Rev. Mr. Spence.
It is the more necessary to say something, by way of Preface, of thefollowing Work; because it is a Work of a new kind among us.
The Writers of _Novels_ and _Romances_ have generally endeavoured topick out the most pleasing Stories; to pass over the dry Parts in them;and to hurry the Reader on from one striking Event to another. Their_only_ Aim seems to be that of making a Tissue of Adventures, which bytheir Strangeness and Variety are meant only to surprise and please.Nature they have not much in View; and Morality is often quite out ofthe Question with them.
Instead of following this way of writing, the Author of Clarissa hasattempted to give a plain and natural Account of an Affair that happenedin a private Family, just in the manner that it did happen. He has aimedsolely at following Nature; and giving the Sentiments of the Personsconcerned, just as they flowed warm from their Hearts.
The best way to do this he thought was to carry on the Story, not in thenarrative way, as usual; but by making them write their own Thoughts toFriends, soon after each Incident happened; with all that Naturalnessand Warmth, with which they felt them, at that time, in their own Minds.
This must necessarily lead the Work into a great Length: For as his Aimwas to give a true and full Picture of Nature, the whole Course of theAffair is represented; frequently, even to the most minute Particulars:And as they are related by Persons concerned, you have not only theParticulars, but what they felt in their own Minds at the time, andtheir Reflections upon them afterwards: Beside, that Letters always givea Liberty of little Excursions; and when between Intimate Friends,require an Opening of the Heart, and consequently a Diffuseness, thatthe narrative Style would not admit of.
The chief Intent of the Work was, to draw off the Ladies, if possible,from the distinguishing Fondness many of them are too apt to entertainfor Rakes; and to shew them, that if they put themselves into the Powerof a Rake, they are sure of being ill used by him.
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To this End the Author has chosen out a Story, which is as strong aProof of it as can well be. A Lady of particular good Sense, Breeding,and Morals, is so ill used by her Family, in order to oblige her tomarry a Man she cannot like, that they drive her at last into the Handsof a Rake, who professes the most honourable Passion for her. From theMoment she is in his Hands, he is plotting how to ruin her: HerInnocence is above all his Art and Temtations [sic]; so that he isforced to use other, and yet viler Means. In spite/ /of all herVirtue, her Person is abused. She resents it, as she ought; and escapesfrom him: But, worn out with a continued Series of ill Usage (from herown Family, as well as from the Villain, and his Adherents), shecontinues languishing; and at last dies forgiving all her Enemies.
To give this the greater Strength, the Lady is represented as superiorto all her Sex; and the Rake of a mixt Character, and not so bad asseveral of his. She likes the Man; but has no violent Passion for him:He loves her above all Women; and yet is resolved most steadily topursue her Ruin. All her Calamities with him are occasioned, atfirst,[34] by going scarce sensibly out of the Bounds of her Duty; andafterwards, by being betrayed into an Action[35], which she did notintend; and which, had she intended [it] [sic], under her Circumstances,was scarce to be blamed. When in his Hands, her Virtue is invincible:She is perpetually alarmed, and her Prudence is ever on the Watch. Andyet she falls a Prey to his Villainy; and from being the Glory of herSex, becomes an Object of our Compassion. If a Clarissa thus fell, whatmust the rest of Women expect, if they give greater Encouragements toyet more abandoned Men?
There are other Side-Morals (and particularly that very instructive oneto Parents, not to insist too rigidly on forcing their ChildrensInclinations); but this is the direct Moral of the whole Story: "That aWoman, even of the greatest Abilities, should not enter into any, eventhe most guarded, Correspondence with a Rake; and that if she once fallsinto his Power, she is undone."
To enforce this Moral, it was necessary to Paint out all the Distressesof the Sufferer; and to make her suffer to the End: In doing which, theAuthor, I dare say, has given several Pangs to his own Heart, as well asto the Hearts of his Readers. But these should be looked upon like theIncisions made by a kind Surgeon; who feels himself for every Strokethat he gives; and who gives them only out of Humanity, and to save hisPatients.
Indeed, as the Patients here are the Ladies, the Suffering must be thegreater; to the Author, as well as to them: But had they not bettersuffer, from these generous Tendernesses of their own Hearts, than fromthe Villainies of such Enemies, as they are here warned to avoid? TheirTears look beautifully, when they are shed for a Clarissa; but theywould be a killing Sight to one, were they to be shed for themselves,upon falling into Distresses like hers.
[11]
I do not wonder, that in reading this Story, many of them should wish,that it might have ended less unfortunately. It is agreeable to theTenderness and Goodness of their Hearts. The Author, no doubt, wished sotoo: But that could not be brought about, without taking away the Moral,or, at least, very much weakening the Force of it. The Business of thisWork is to shew the Distresses of an almost innocent Sufferer, and theVillainies of a debauched Man, who wanted chiefly to pride himself inthe Conquest of her. It/ /is all but one Story, with one Design; andthe making the Lady fortunate in the End, would have varied the Fact,and undermined his Design. In a Picture that represents any melancholyStory, a good Painter will make the Sky all dark and cloudy; and cast aGloom on every thing in it: If the Subject be gay, he gives a Brightnessto all his Sky; and an Enlivening to all the Objects: But he will neverconfound these Characters; and give you a Picture that shall be sad inone half of it, and gay in the other. In this Work the Design is as muchone, and the Colouring as much one, as they can be in a Picture; and toconfuse either, would be the most ready way to spoil both.
Clarissa takes but one false Step in the whole Piece. She is impelledtoward it, in general, by the strange Behaviour of her Family; andbetrayed into it, at the time, by the strange Contrivances of herDeceiver. But this single Step was of the utmost Consequence. It flingsher into the Power of the most dangerous of Men; and that makes all theRemainder of her Life melancholy and distressed. This is the Lesson:And if it be a good one, the Force of it ought not to be weakened by herRecovering from all her Distresses, and growing quite happy again; whichindeed would not only weaken, but intirely take away, all the Force thatwas intended to be given to it.
Yet if Clarissa be unfortunate, she is not miserable. She preserved herInnocence thro' all her Trials, after that one false Step: When she hadno Comfort to expect in this World, she turns her Hopes and Confidencetoward Heaven: Her Afflictions are soon ended, for the Course of thiswhole Affair (taking it from the very Beginning) is included within theBounds of one Year: And she departs with Pleasure from a Life full ofTrouble, to be rewarded without End. So that, tho' we are warned byClarissa's Example, we have no Reason to be concerned at herDissolution: Much more noble, and more to be admired, in her Steadiness,and just Conduct, then, than when she was caressed by all her Relations,in the Bloom of her unviolated Innocence, and busied in all the littleendearing Offices of her good Nature, and good Sense. / /
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[12]
All the Objections to the Design and Conduct of the History of =Clarissa=,which have seemed to carry any Weight in them, being, we presume,obviated in the PS. to this Work, we apprehend it will be only expectedfrom us, on this Second Publication, that we exhibit some Particulars,which may help to shew the superiority of its Moral to any of the Moralsof those Works of Invention, which have been offered to the Public underthe Name of =Novel=, or =Romance=.
Now what a Romance usually professes to entertain us with, may b
econsidered under Three General Heads; _Ridicule_; or, _SeriousAdventures_; or, lastly, a _Mixture of both_.
It must be owned, that there are some Works under the First of theseHeads, which have their Excellencies; Tho' we may be permitted to doubt,whether _Ridicule_ is a proper Basis (without the Help of more solidButtresses) whereon to build Instruction, whatever Delight it mayadminister to the Reader.
As to those Authors who have given us the _Serious_; some of them makeuse of a Style as horrid as their Matter: We may be excused mentioningtheir Names, in this Place, since, without Self-flattery, we may say, wedisdain to appear on the same Page with them. We shall only observe ingeneral, that they are far from being clear of the strained Metaphors,and unnatural Rants, of the old Romances, whose enormous Volumes wouldbe enough to terrify a Reader who sought only for Amusement, and not forEmployment of his better to be employed Hours.
Between these two Extremes that something useful to the Cause ofReligion and Virtue should be struck out, was the Author of Clarissa'sIntent. Such an Intent has Two manifest Advantages over all other Works whichof Invention ~that~ have yet appeared.
The First of these is, That, by the Work now presented to our FairReaders, they may be instructed to render themselves superior to that_extravagant_ Taste in Courtship, which was the prevailing Mode in Twoor Three preceding Centuries; and from which the present, we are sorryto say, is not absolutely free.
The Second, That, by containing their Views _within the Bounds_ ofNature and Reason, they may be sweetly, but insensibly, drawn topreserve a proper Dignity of Behaviour, whereby to awe the Presumptionof the Bold and Forward: So that, while we behold them as Angels ofLight, they would be pleased not to give too convincing Evidence oftheir _Fall_ from that to a lower Character; a detestable one too, whichwill in a short time sink them as much in the Esteem of their flatteringAdmirers, as those very Deceivers had before persuaded them, that theywere elevated above the common Lot of Mortality.
The Choice the Author has made, in this and a former Performance, ofdelivering the Sentiments of his Characters in their own Words, by wayof Letters, has also Two principal Advantages, which we beg leave tospecify. / /
[13]
In the First place, By this means every one is enabled to judge at firstSight, whether the respective Persons represented express themselves ina Style suitable to their Characters, or not, and may thus become arational Critic on the Merit of the Piece.
Secondly, Those Characters sink deeper into the Mind of the Reader, andstamp there a perfect Idea of the very Turn of Thought, by which theOriginals were actuated, and diversified from each other. This mustgreatly add to the Pleasure of reading, when a Gentleman or Lady canreadily say, upon hearing a single Paragraph, "This is the accomplished=Clarissa=; This the spirited and friendly Miss =Howe=; This thesupercilious Pedant =Brand=; This the humane and reclaiming =Belford=; Thisthe daring, learned, witty, and thence dangerous Libertine =Lovelace=:"And so of the rest.
We need not insist on the evident Superiority of this Method to the dryNarrative; where the _Novelist_ moves on, his own dull Pace, to the Endof his Chapter and Book, interweaving impertinent Digressions, for fearthe Reader's Patience should be exhausted by his tedious Dwelling on oneSubject, in the same Style: Which may not unfitly be compared to thedead Tolling of a single Bell, in Opposition to the wonderful Variety ofSounds, which constitute the Harmony of a Handel.
As the major Part of such Works as these might be _omitted_, to thegreater Emolument of the Reader, if not of the Writer; so we have thePleasure to acquaint the Public, that the contrary is true of the Workbefore us: For the Author has in this Edition _restored_ severalPassages, which, for Brevity, were omitted in the former. Such are theInstructions in Vol. III. p. ... given by Mr. Lovelace to his FourFriends on their first Visit to his _Goddess_, as he justly calls her,comparing her with the wretches he had so long been accustomed to: Whichinstructions are highly humorous and characteristical, and by being laidopen may suggest proper Cautions to all who are likely to be engaged injustly suspected Company. Several other Inlargements and Alterationsthere are, which tend further to illustrate his Design, and to make itmore generally useful. And as these will be presented to the Publicwithout any additional Price, it is hoped they will come recommended onthat score also, as well as for their evident Importance, whenattentively perused; which it is presumed the whole Work should be, ascontaining Documents of Religion and Morality, which will probably liehid to a careless or superficial Examiner: And this we speak of thoseParts principally, which have least _Entertainment_, in the vulgar senseof the word.
An Objection remains to be answered; which is so minute, that it istherefore condemned to this last and lowest Place. / /
[14]
"Clarissa is too delicate."--The Author readily acknowleges [sic], thattoo delicate she is for the Hearts of such as, by Conformity to theloose Manners of the present Age, have confounded Purity with Prudery.But, for all this, it may be hoped, that the latter will ratherendeavour to raise their Affections to =Clarissa's= virtuous Standard,than by striving to impeach her Character, effectually debase, if notviolently tear up, the decisive Standard of Right and Wrong.
The just Detestation that injured Lady had of Lovelace's vile Attempt tocorrupt her Mind as well as Person, was surely a sufficient Argumentagainst uniting her untainted Purity (surely we may say so, since theViolation reached not her Soul) in Marriage with so gross a Violator;and must for ever continue in Force, till the eternal Differences ofVice and Virtue shall coalesce, and make one putrid Mass, a Chaos in theMoral and Intellectual World.
We have a remarkable, and in some Degree a parallel Case in Scripture;where we find, that the Rape of _Dinah_ was revenged, cruelly revenged,by the Sons of Jacob. _Dinah_, like =Clarissa=, had Proposals of Marriagemade to her by the Ravisher. But these were not thought sufficient toexpunge the Stain upon a Person of that Family, from which was toproceed the =Son= of Him whose eyes are purer than to behold Iniquity.Therefore a Massacre was made of the King Hamor, and his son Shechem;and their People were led into Captivity. The Answer of Simeon and Levito their Father's Complaint of Cruelty was only this: _Should he dealwith_ =our Sister=, _as with an_ =Harlot=?
The only Use we intend to make of this Passage is, to shew that it is nonew thing, that a Violation of this sort should be desperately resented,as this was by the resolute =Morden=; however _new_ it may be, that ayoung Lady should disdain the Villain, who had betrayed her Person, andsoon after laid her Hopes, and the Hopes of all her flourishing Family,in the Dust of the Grave.