Page:The battle of the books - Guthkelch - 1908.djvu/243

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SECOND DISSERTATION
169

from him, had but given me leave to say in his name, that he had been misinformed; all this story, and all the errors of his edition had slept quiet in their obscurity.

About nine months after my Dissertation was printed, the editor of Phalaris obliged the world with a second piece, called Dr Bentley's Dissertations examin'd. He has begun that elaborate work with stating an account of this story in opposition to what I had said of it: and that he does upon the credit and testimonies of the bookseller and the collator, and of a third informant, who overheard some discourse of mine. I will give a clear and full answer to every part of their depositions; and I question not but to make it plain, that the Examiner has been imposed on, not only by the author of Phalaris's Letters, but by others that are every way of lower qualifications than he.

The bookseller avers, "that he was employed by the Hon. Mr Boyle, and by him only, to borrow the MS. of Phalaris from Dr. Bentley. And after about nine months solicitation, (says he,) it was delivered into my custody, without any time limited for the