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THE

QUINTESSENCE

O F

English POETRY:

Or, a COLLECTION of all the BEAUTIFUL PASSAGES

IN OUR

POEMS and PLAYS: From the Celebrated SPENCER.

The WHOLE Inftructive, Moral, and Humour-
ous; and adapted to all Degrees of Mankind:
Alphabetically digefted under proper Heads, in
Chronological Order of Time.

Collected from many hundred Volumes
Several "MINENT HANDS.

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

published.

In THREE VOLUNT

VOL II.

LONDON:

Printed for O. PAYNE at Horace's-Head in Pope's
Head-Alley, oppofite the Royal-Exchange.
M DCC XL

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PREFACE,

Containing an Hiftorical 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 also arifing from fuch collections, may have had no small share 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; efpecially when thofe immortal fruits carry with them the neceffity of charming, infpiring, forming all hearts, and, like fcattered rays collected in one

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