THE

PUBLISHER

TO THE

READER.

THOUGH it may well seem needless to provide a particular preface for these Three First Dialogues, as we have been largely preceded by what is already noted in general in the Palæopolite’s original: "Palæopolite"; likely referring to the author's pseudonym, meaning "citizen of the ancient city." Epistle to his Friend; yet because the other two dialogues did not leave my hands without a somewhat larger preamble, I have thought it appropriate to preface these with a brief commendation.

Briefly then, the subject of the first of these three dialogues is the Attributes of God; the subject of the latter two is the Adjusting of the Phenomena of the World to the Goodness of his Providence. These are arguments that will easily attract the attention of the curious, and I believe they are handled with such clarity, such full comprehension, and such careful circumspection that they will also satisfy the ingenious original: "Ingenuous"; in this context, it refers to people who are honorable, open-minded, or intellectually well-bred..

However, those who are determined to find flaws will easily imagine they see them even where they do not exist. The main goal of the author in handling the Attributes of God seems to be to navigate with such caution and judgment as to avoid lessening the Majesty of the Godhead by a pretense of making his Nature so universally intelligible The text cuts off here; the catchword indicates the next word is "telligible."—