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Junius was the pseudonym of a writer who contributed a series of letters to the Public Advertiser , from January 21, 1769 to January 21, 1772. The signature had been already used, apparently by him, in a letter of November 21, 1768. These and numerous other personal letters were not included in his Letters of Junius collection, published in 1772. The name was chosen in all probability because he had already signed Lucius and Brutus, and wished to exhaust the name of Lucius Junius Brutus the Roman patriot. It might also be derived from the Roman poet Juvenal, who was thought to also have the nomen Junius. Some say that he wrote under numerous other pseudonyms before, during and after the period between January 1769 and January 1772. He may also have written as Philo-Junius, a character who came to the rescue of Junius when it was clear that the public was misinterpreting his messages. There is weak evidence that he also wrote as Veteran, Nemesis and other anonymous correspondents of the Public Advertiser.
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