Synthesized answer
The preface establishes the dictionary's aim to help readers "secure their Money and preserve their Lives" from the "Canting Crew" [2]. By providing a lengthy historical and social context for beggars and gypsies, the preface likely shapes the reader's perception of the dictionary's subjects by framing them as ancient and universally present. The text suggests that beggars are "Ancient" and "Universality" is a characteristic of gypsies [1, 4]. It even links the origin of beggars to the antiquity of Christianity, implying a deep-rooted societal presence [1].
This historical and universal framing, coupled with the dictionary's stated purpose, would likely lead the reader to view the "Canting Crew" as an enduring and widespread phenomenon, thereby underscoring the importance and necessity of the dictionary for self-preservation. The preface highlights the "Antiquity of the one, and the Universality of the other" [1], positioning the subjects as perpetual elements of society that the reader needs protection against.
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
Corner of _Chancery-lane_ in _Fleet-street_, and _W. Davis_ at the _Black Bull_ in _Cornhill_. THE PREFACE. Before I present the Reader, with the following Dictionary of the _Beggers_ and _Gypsies Cant_, I think it not amiss to premise a few Words concerning the _Beggers_ and _Gypsies_ themselves, by way of an Historical Account, of the Antiquity of the one, and the Universality of the other. It makes not a little for the Honour of the _Beggers_, that their Original according to some Accounts, is no less Ancient than that of _Christianity_ it self; for in the Opinion of…
A NEW DICTIONARY OF THE Terms Ancient and Modern OF THE Canting Crew, In its several TRIBES, OF _Gypsies, Beggers, Thieves, Cheats_, &c. WITH An Addition of some Proverbs, Phrases, Figurative Speeches, _&c._ Useful for all sorts of People, (especially …
Doubt, Whether they partake more of the Nature of the Countries whence they rise, or of those through which they Pass? Nor is it also new to meet the _Beggers_ and the _Proverbs_ together, for the Fashion is as old as _Plautus_, who puts the Proverbs and the Jests in the Mouth of his _Slaves_. And in the Character of _Sancho Pancha_, _Cervantes_ has Trod in the same Steps; in the History of _Don Quixot_, _Sancho_ being distinguished no less by his _Proverbs_, than his _Asse_. And between the _Slaves_ and the _Beggers_, the Difference is no greater, than between _Fathers_ and their…
ither kind, the Odds is no greater than this, of giving a Nation a Clap, or of laying a brood of Bastards at it’s Door. Though _Holland_ has no Beggers, if the _Dutch_ themselves are not the greatest Beggers in the World; and _Switzerland_ has no Thieves, if the _Swiss_ who are altogether Soldiers, are not the greatest of Thieves. Yet, I say, neither the _States_ that are without _Beggers_, nor the _Cantons_ that are without _Thieves_, are notwithstanding either the one or the other, without _Gypsies_. So as what they want of _Beggers_ and _Thieves_ in point of Antiquity, the _Gypsies_…
ner. _Canting_, c. the Cypher or Mysterious Language, of Rogues, Gypsies, Beggers, Thieves, _&c._ _Canting-crew_, c. Beggers, Gypsies; also Dissenters in Conventicles, who affect a disguised Speech, and disguised Modes of Speaking, and distinguish themselves from others by a peculiar Snuffle and Tone, as the Shibboleth of their Party; as Gypsies and Beggers have their peculiar Jargon; and are known no less by their several Tones in Praying, than Beggers are by their whining Note in Begging. _Cap_, c. to Swear. _I’ll Cap downright_, c. I’ll Swear home. Or (in another Sense) _he may…
More questions about this book
- The text suggests a direct lineage: "as the _Slaves_ went off, the _Beggers_ came in their Place." Explain this historical transition and its implied cause-and-effect as if you were teaching someone who knows nothing about either slavery or the dissolution of abbeys, using a simple analogy to illustrate the shift in social structures.
- The author frames the maintenance of beggars as a "Rent-charge" for the "Freedoms" gained through Christianity's role in freeing slaves. Unpack this provocative economic and moral equation: what does it reveal about the author's perceived societal cost-benefit analysis of social welfare in their time?
- The author compares the universality of Gypsies to the "Foul Disease," noting how both are widely attributed to foreign origins by various nations. Explain what this specific analogy reveals about the common human tendency to externalize blame or "other" perceived social problems.
- If the author's premise is true—that freeing slaves inherently led to the creation of beggars—what are the broader implications for understanding social progress, and how might this perspective challenge modern notions of liberation or societal responsibility for the vulnerable?