The following Papers, which I now commit to the Public, have lain by me unregarded these many Years. They were first undertaken at the Request of a Person, who at present shall be nameless. Since that Time I have been wholly diverted from Studies of this Nature, and my Thoughts have been employed about Subjects of a much greater Consequence, and more agreeable to my Profession: Insomuch, that I had nothing in my Mind less than the Publication of these Papers; but some Friends, who had perus’d them, were of Opinion, that they deserv’d to be publish’d, and that they might afford an agreeable Entertainment not without some Profit to the Reader. _These_ Motives prevailed upon me to give _them_ a second Care, and to bestow upon them so much Pains, as was necessary to put them in that State, in which they now appear. The first Piece that the Reader will meet with is, _A Critical ESSAY on Characteristic-Writings_: It treats of the Origin of those Writings: It points out the general Laws to be observ’d in such Compositions, and it contains some Reflexions on _Theophrastus’s_ and Mr. _de la Bruyere’s_ Performances in this Way. The Design of this at least is, I think, new. Mr. _Fabricius_ mentions a [A]Book, which, by its Title, shou’d bear some Relation to this Essay, but tho’ I have enquir’d after it pretty strictly, yet I never cou’d get a Sight of it, nor have I conversed with any Person that had perus’d it. [A: Georgii Paschii Professoris Kiloniensis Diatriba de philosophia Characteristica & Parænetica. 4to. _Kilonie._ 1705. Vid. Fabric. Bib. Græc. L. 3. p. 241.] The next Piece is a Translation of the _Moral Characters of Theophrastus_ from the _Greek_. This is not the first Time that _Theophrastus_ has appeared in a modern Dress. Mr. _de la Bruyere_ translated him into _French_: And this was the Foundation of those Characters, which he himself compos’d, and which gave Rise to those many Performances, that were afterwards attempted in the same Way. [B]Mr. _Menage_ has highly extoll’d this Translation. _Elle est_, says he, _bien belle, & bien françoise, & montre que son Auteur entend parfaitement le Grec. Je puis dire que j’y ay vu des Choses, que, peut etre, Faute d’Attention, je n’avois pas vues dans le Grec._ This is great; and it must be own’d that Mr. _Menage_ was a Man of very extensive Learning, and a great Master of the _Greek_ Tongue; but that his Judgment was always equal to his Knowledg of Words, will not be so readily allow’d. Besides, the Credit of the Books ending in _ana_ runs very low, and in particular the _Menagiana_ have been disown’d by Mr. _Menage’s_ own [C]Relations, as being injurious to the Merit and Memory of that great Man. And therefore it must still be left to the inquisitive and judicious Reader to determine, whether those Faults, which I have observ’d in Mr. _de la Bruyere’_s Translation are justly censur’d or not. [B: Menagiana. Ed. _Paris._ 1715. T. 4. p. 219.]