Page:The battle of the books - Guthkelch - 1908.djvu/292

 no reason to be afraid of their resentments. It does not appear to me, that Mr B. has any commission to threaten thus in their name: and if he has not, his making use of their authority is a sort of libel upon them, which would represent a great body of learned men as the partakers and patrons of the faults of his book. I have a true honour and great esteem for that noble and flourishing society which is supposed to be meant here; and I should think I did them a great injury to suspect they will interpose in Phalaris's behalf. For when a cause cannot be defended, the numbers of those that engage in't make it only the more scandalous.

But since Mr B. has been so free as to threaten a reply, even before he sees what I say in my defence; though I will not prescribe to so great a genius any method of his answer, yet I think I may make bold to tell him what I shall look upon to be no answer.

1. If he pretends that he did not maintain that his Phalaris is genuine; but only that my arguments do not prove him to be otherwise, I shall look upon this as a shuffle, and no answer at all. For if he suspects whether he's genuine, and yet allows none of my