sement, and not for
Employment of his better to be employed Hours.

Between these two Extremes that something useful to the Cause of
Religion and Virtue should be struck out, was the Author of Clarissa's
Intent. Such an Intent has Two manifest Advantages over all other Works
which
of Invention ~that~ have yet appeared.

The First of these is, That, by the Work now presented to our Fair
Readers, they may be instructed to render themselves superior to that
_extravagant_ Taste in Courtship, which was the prevailing Mode in Two
or Three preceding Centuries; and from which the present, we are sorry
to say, is not absolutely free.

The Second, That, by containing their Views _within the Bounds_ of
Nature and Reason, they may be sweetly, but insensibly, drawn to
preserve a proper Dignity of Behaviour, whereby to awe the Presumption
of the Bold and Forward: So that, while we behold them as Angels of
Light, they would be pleased not to give too convincing Evidence of
their _Fall_ from that to a lower Character; a detestable one too, which
will in a short time sink them as much in the Esteem of their flattering
Admirers, as those very Deceivers had before persuaded them, that they
were elevated above the common Lot of Mortality.

The Choice the Author has made, in this and a former Performance, of
delivering the Sentiments of his Characters in their own Words, by way
of Letters, has also Two principal Advantages, which we beg leave to
specify. / /

[13]

In the First place, By this means every one is enabled to judge at first
Sight, whether the respective Persons represented express themselves in
a Style suitable to their Characters, or not, and may thus become a
rational Critic on the Merit of the Piece.

Secondly, Those Characters sink deeper into the Mind of the Reader, and
stamp there a perfect Idea of the very Turn of Thought, by which the
Originals were actuated, and diversified from each other. This must
greatly add to the Pleasure of reading, when a Gentleman or Lady can
readily say, upon hearing a single Paragraph, "This is the accomplished
=Clarissa=; This the spirited and friendly Miss =Howe=; This the
supercilious Pedant =Brand=; This the humane and reclaiming =Belford=; This
the 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 dry
Narrative; where the _Novelist_ moves on, his own dull Pa