# Supplement to the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica/Preface

PREFACE.
As the Encyclopædia Britannica differed considerably from every work of the kind by which it was preceded, it may be useful, briefly to notice the more important of those works, before giving any account of that Encyclopædia and the improvements it has successively received, or of this Supplement to its later editions.
Though the term Encyclopædia is of Grecian origin, the works to which it has been applied belong all to the modern world. Pliny’s Natural History has been sometimes called the Encyclopædia of the Ancients; and he tells us himself, in his preface, that it embraces all that the Greeks included under that term; but it is only in the compass and variety of its contents that it can be said to resemble the modern Encyclopædias. Its method is that of a work chiefly descriptive; it being no part of the author’s plan to examine and classify the objects of inquiry according to their scientific relations; or to point out the place they ought to hold in the Circle of Knowledge. The object which the compilers of the first Encyclopædias proposed to themselves, was, to reduce every thing comprehended within that Circle to a systematic form; and their works accordingly consisted of a series of Systems, intended to exhibit an orderly Digest of all, or of some of the most important branches of Knowledge and Art. Such seems to have been the object of various works, published under the title of Encyclopædias, during the latter half ​of the sixteenth, and first half of the seventeenth century; and if we are to look for any earlier exemplars, it must be among the unpublished remains of the Arabian writers of the middle ages. One of the most celebrated of them, Alfarabius, the great ornament of the School of Bagdad in the tenth century, is mentioned as the author of an Encyclopædia, seemingly of this description. The only notice of it that has yet appeared, is that given by Casiri, in his curious and valuable account of the works of the Arabian authors, preserved in manuscript in the library of the Escurial at Madrid. He describes it as a treatise, “ubi Scientiarum Artiumque liberalium Synopsis occurrit, una cum accurata et perspicua earum notitia definitione, divisione, methodo;” mentioning, at the same time, that it is inscribed with the title of Encyclopedia.
The most noted and valuable of the early Encyclopædias was that of John Henry Alstedius, a Professor of Philosophy and Calvinistic Divinity, first at Herborn in the county of Nassau, afterwards at Weissembourg in Transylvania; and who is said to have been the author of about sixty other works, though he died at the age of fifty, in 1638. His Encyclopædia, by which alone his name is remembered, appeared in 1630, in two large folio volumes. A smaller and less comprehensive work of the same kind, published by him ten years before, served as the groundwork of this more extensive undertaking; in which he professedly aimed at the formation of a complete Encyclopædia. It consists of thirty-five books, of which the first four are introductory; containing an explanation of the nature and requisites of the various studies which form the subjects of the rest. Then follow successively, six books on Philology; ten on speculative, and four on practical Philosophy; three on Theology, Jurisprudence, and Medicine; three on the mechanical Arts; and five on History, Chronology, and Miscellaneous subjects. This work continued to be held in considerable estimation, till the close of that century. Leibnitz mentions it, in the early part of the next, ​in respectful terms; accompanied, however, with an earnest wish, that some of the learned would either join in remodelling and improving it, or in forming another work of the same kind. His observations show, that he had reflected much on the nature of such an undertaking; and that he considered an Encyclopædia as a species of publication calculated to be eminently useful to mankind.
After what has been said of the early Encyclopædias, it is scarcely necessary to observe, that though the term Encyclopædia is now familiarized to us as the appellative for Dictionaries of Science and general Knowledge, the works to which it was first applied were by no means constructed in the form of Dictionaries. It was long before the idea occurred, that the whole Circle of Knowledge might be comprehended, and discussed, in a work digested in that convenient method; or that any thing could be done towards fulfilling the objects aimed at in these Encyclopædias, if it were adopted. Nearly a century elapsed from the publication of Alstedius’s Encyclopædia, before any considerable attempt was made to present the world with an Encyclopedical Dictionary.
Dictionaries of technical terms, and Dictionaries explaining the rudiments of particular sciences, had been long in use throughout Europe; but the first work of the kind professing to embrace a detailed view of the whole body of the Sciences and Arts was the Lexicon Technicum of Dr Harris. This work was published at London in 1710, and is generally regarded as the first great advance to the form and objects of the more modern Encyclopædias. But, though professing to be “an Universal Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences, explaining not only the terms of art, but the arts themselves,” its explanations were mostly confined to the mathematical and physical sciences; with respect to which, it has always been allowed, that it was fully on a level with the knowledge of that age.
​In 1728, the Cyclopædia of Mr Chambers was given to the Public; and its appearance constitutes an era in the history of Encyclopedias; as exemplifying the first attempt that had yet been made at once to arrange Knowledge by the Alphabet, and to exhibit a view of its relations and dependencies. Mr Chambers sets out with stating, that his predecessors did not seem to have been aware, that “a Dictionary is, in some measure, capable of the advantages of a continued discourse;” and therefore, he adds, “we see nothing like a whole in what they have done.” In order to remedy this defect, and to unite the objects of an Encyclopædia with those of a Dictionary, he proposed to “consider the several matters, not only in themselves, but relatively, or as they respect each other; both to treat them as so many wholes, and as so many parts of some greater whole.” But he still followed the method of splitting the Sciences into parts, corresponding to the terms and topics in each which required elucidation; so that it was not by connected views of these great branches of knowledge, introduced under their general denominations, that he proposed to exhibit those “wholes” by which he was desirous that his Dictionary should be distinguished. He endeavoured to accomplish this, by references from the more general to the less general heads of science, and from these again to the former; conformably to an elaborate Scheme of the divisions and subdivisions of Knowledge prefixed to the work. That something was done, by this plan, to point out the links among connected subjects, disjoined by the Alphabet, and to make its fortuitous distributions subservient to continued inquiry, cannot be questioned; but the inconveniences and defects occasioned by the dismemberment of the Sciences, could not possibly be remedied by any chain of references however complete. The Sciences can only be studied with effect, by being viewed in their appropriate state of unity and coherency; and the term Encyclopædia cannot be applied, with propriety, to any work in which that method of considering them is not observed. Useful purposes may no doubt be served, by explaining the elements of a Science, in the order of the Alphabet; but it seems abundantly clear, that a work intended to include and to delineate the whole Circle of Knowledge, must fall greatly short of its professed object, if it fails to embody the truths of Science in a systematic form. In some other respects, Mr ​Chambers’s notions of what was required by the nature of his undertaking were confined and arbitrary; as in thinking, that an Encyclopædia should only contain the conclusions, without any of the demonstrations of mathematical, or experimental details of physical science. But, with all its defects, whether of plan or execution, his work must be considered as the production of a mind of no ordinary reach and vigour; as well as one of the greatest and most useful literary undertakings ever accomplished by a single hand. How much has it not done through its numerous editions, and the other works of the same kind to which it gave rise, to stimulate the curiosity, to enlarge the inquiries, and to diversify the knowledge of the mass of mankind!
The popularity of the Cyclopædia remained undisturbed by any rival work, for a considerable period; but the success with which it was frequently republished, and the progress of knowledge in some departments in treating of which it was from the first defective, by holding out a prospect of encouragement to newer undertakings, led at length to a series of Universal Dictionaries, modelled upon its plan. The title which Mr Chambers chose, in preference to the more classical one of Encyclopædia, was however laid aside; nor was the latter assumed, in any British work of this class, till the appearance of the Encyclopædia Britannica.
The first of the works alluded to, was Barrow’s New and Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, consisting of a folio volume, published in 1751; to which a supplemental volume was added in 1754. Its only claims to public notice were founded upon an enlarged number of articles on mathematical subjects, on the mechanical arts, and on naval affairs; to make room for which, church history and the scholastic parts of Chambers’s work were excluded. A garbled translation of D’Alembert’s preliminary Discourse to the French Encyclopédie, was prefixed, in two portions, to these two volumes, without the slightest acknowledgement or notice of the original.
This was followed in 1754, by a New and Complete Dictionary of Arts and ​Sciences, comprised in four large octavo volumes; commonly, from the name of the publisher, referred to under the title of Owen’s Dictionary. The title page bears, that it was written “by a Society of Gentlemen.” It is distinguished by the general brevity of its articles; a quality, which enabled its Compilers to widen its range in the departments of geography, commerce, and natural history. Prefixed to it, there is a new Scheme of the divisions of Human Knowledge, intended to serve as the basis of its articles and references; and which is announced, as “more simple and natural, and likewise fuller and better distributed,” than that either of Chambers or of D’Alembert; but which may be fairly characterized as an exceedingly confused and illogical performance, and as exemplifying an extremely arbitrary use of philosophical terms.
In 1766, was published, in three folio volumes, The Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; a work compiled under the joint direction of the Reverend Henry Croker, Dr Thomas Williams, and Mr Samuel Clark; the theological, philosophical, and critical branches being supplied, or edited, by the first; those of anatomy, medicine, and chemistry, by the second; and the mathematical by the last. The division of labour among these different hands, does not appear to have contributed much to the excellence of their respective departments; for the character of the whole, with a few exceptions, is that of mere compilation. In point of method, this work has still less claim to praise; for its authors either did not perceive, or disregarded the use of that Encyclopedical chain of references, by which Chambers and some of his successors, have endeavoured to remedy the defects arising from the division of subjects naturally connected, under a multiplicity of separate heads. A part of D’Alembert’s Discourse was here also appropriated as an Introduction, without any notice of the quarter from whence it was derived.
Besides these Dictionaries, all of them founded in the main, upon the plan of Chambers, there appeared before any of them, an Encyclopedical work, of a somewhat different title as well as structure; namely, An Universal History of Arts and Sciences, or a comprehensive illustration of all Sciences and of all Arts, by Dr De Coetlogon; a native of France, naturalized in England. This work, which appears to have early sunk into obscurity, was published in 1745, in two folio volumes. Though its title affords no indication that it was ​compiled in the form of a Dictionary, its subjects are, nevertheless, treated in alphabetical order; and each Science and Art is discussed in a general treatise;—a part of its plan, which probably suggested a distinguishing feature, to be afterwards mentioned, in that of the Encyclopædia Britannica.
On the Continent, as well as in England, the Cyclopædia of Chambers gave a new impulse to the desire for such publications. Before the middle of the century, it had been translated into the Italian language; and had, in France, become the foundation of the Encyclopédie,—the most extensive and celebrated undertaking of the kind, that had yet appeared in the world. This great work, originally intended to consist of ten, was ultimately enlarged to seventeen folio volumes; of which the first was published in 1751, the last in 1765. It is well known to those who are conversant with its history, that it was founded upon a French translation of Chambers’s Cyclopædia, at first designed for separate publication. This translation was undertaken in 1743, and completed in 1745, by an Englishman of the name of Mills, assisted by a native of Dantzic, named Sellius. Soon after, a scheme was formed for publishing an Encyclopædia, upon a more extensive scale than that of Chambers; and the manuscript translation of his work was put into the hands of its intended Conductors, as the ground-work of the undertaking. It is not, perhaps, so generally known, that the Abbe de Gua was the author of this design; and that it was only in consequence of a dispute between him and the Booksellers concerned, that the execution of it was committed to D’Alembert and Diderot. While both these authors concur in bestowing the highest encomiums upon the Encyclopedical method which Chambers exemplified in his Dictionary, they represent his execution as that of a servile compiler and copyist, particularly from French writers; observing, that the project of publishing the translation of his work was abandoned, because it was discovered, that the public would thereby get little, ​of which they were not already possessed in another form. They at the same time acknowledge, that without the aids derived from the manuscript translation, which was distributed in parts among their Colleagues, it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, to procure the co-operation necessary to the composition of the Encyclopédie. “Il n’y a presqu’aucun de nos Collegues,” says Diderot, “qu’on eût déterminé à travailler, si on lui eût proposé de composer à neuf toute sa partie ; tous auroient été effrayés, et l’ Encyclopédie ne se feroit point faite.”
The plan of the work was confessedly modelled upon that of Chambers, which its Editors represent as having obtained the suffrages of the learned throughout Europe; but which unquestionably leaves vacuities under many heads of Science, but ill supplied by a system of references. Seeking no distinction, therefore, from novelty of method, they rested its claims to public favour, upon the great extension of all its departments; upon the various attainments and the literary eminence of its Contributors; and, above ail, on the philosophical spirit which animated their labours. It would be altogether foreign to the purpose of these notices, to enter into any details concerning the literary history of this celebrated work, or the irreligious and revolutionary designs with which its Conductors have been charged. In respect to its completeness as a repertory of knowledge, it may be observed, that the popular departments of biography and history are excluded from its plan; and, with regard to its literary merits, that though it unquestionably contains articles of great excellence, in many of its departments, there is yet everywhere a large alloy of useless matter, dressed out in a vague, diffuse, and declamatory style. As ex​emplifying the first attempt that had yet been made, in any age or country, to combine the talents of a number of literary and scientific men, some of them occupying the highest stations in the Republic of Letters, in the composition of a Digest of Human Knowledge, upon a scale commensurate to the magnitude and importance of the object, this Encyclopædia must always, however, be viewed as fixing a remarkable era in the history of that important class of publications.
One proof of its influence in recommending such undertakings as worthy the co-operation of the highest class of literary men, may, perhaps, be found, in Dr Goldsmith’s project for publishing “An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences,” with the promised assistance of many of the most distinguished writers of that day. This plan was unfortunately frustrated by his untimely death; and it is matter of regret, that his Prospectus, described by his biographer as “giving a luminous view of his design,” was not permitted to reach the Public.
A few years after the conclusion of the French Encyclopédie, the Encyclopædia Britannica began to be published. The first edition, consisting of only three quarto volumes, was completed at Edinburgh, in the year 1771. Compared with other works of the same kind, previously published in England, it had no superiority in point of execution; but it was certainly distinguished by a far happier and more philosophical plan. Instead of attempting to communicate a knowledge of the Sciences by a number of articles, corresponding to the technical terms and heads of inquiry respectively belonging to them, its Compilers proceeded upon the assumption, that as the Sciences consist of connected serieses of principles and conclusions, it was necessary to treat them compendiously in the form of systems, under their general denominations; the technical terms, and subordinate heads, being also explained, when something more than a reference to the proper part of each system was required, in the order of the alphabet. This was illustrated upon a wider scale, and with more maturity of method, in the subsequent editions; and, though not always followed out with perfect order ​and consistency, yet to an extent, exemplifying a great and beneficial improvement, in the arrangement of Encyclopedical Dictionaries. All the more important objects of an Encyclopædia, were thus made attainable, in a work constructed in the form of a Dictionary;—a form freed from the inconveniences which must ever attend the methods pursued in the first Encyclopædias, by the number of its heads of explanation and reference; and which admits of an easy incorporation of any variety of details that may appear conducive to the diffusion of knowledge.
The Editor of the first edition of this Encyclopædia, of which he was also the principal compiler, was Mr William Smellie; by profession a Printer, and then well known as a man of considerable ability and attainments. It has been said, “that the plan of the work was devised by him;” and he was more likely, certainly, to have suggested it, than any other person known to have been connected with the undertaking. The plan, however, was not altogether so original as it was represented. It had been partially exemplified, as has been already hinted, many years before, by Dr De Coetlogon, in his Universal History of Arts and Sciences. “I have divided Philosophy,” says this author, in delineating the arrangement of his work, “into Ethics, Logic, and Metaphysics, treating each branch under its proper head; subdividing the fourth, Physics, into several others; each making a whole treatise by itself.” In this method, we have the basis of the plan in question; and it seems highly probable, that the primary idea of it was derived from this unnoticed quarter.
In the second edition, published between 1778 and 1783, the work was extended to ten volumes; and it was farther distinguished by the addition of two departments, not hitherto embraced by any similar publication—Biography and History. In the French Encyclopédie, though there were occasional notices of remarkable persons in the articles on the history of philosophy and science, there was no series of separate lives; and no place whatever was assigned to civil history. The Supplement to that work professed to include history in its plan; but its his​torical details were introduced, for the most part, under the names of kings and rulers; and thus presented no connected views of the history of states. The introduction of history, in any form, in such a work, is censured by M. De La Harpe as a great impropriety. “L’histoire n’est point,” says he, “une acquisition de l’esprit ; ce n’est pas dans une Encyclopédie qu’on doit la chercher.” The reason here assigned for the exclusion of history is altogether arbitrary; and would exclude equally many other details to which M. De La Harpe makes no objection. It derives no countenance either from the practice of the first Encyclopedists, or from the opinions of the most enlightened of those who have adverted to their labours; for the Encyclopædia of Alstedius contains a general view of the history of the world; and Leibnitz, in pointing out the defects of his work, mentions the historical department as requiring great enlargements. M. De La Harpe ought, besides, to have recollected, that the basis of the modern Encyclopædia is that of an Universal Dictionary; requiring the incorporation of every branch of knowledge that the wishes of the Public may point out as necessary to its completeness. There can be no doubt, that the success of the Encyclopædia Britannica was materially promoted, by the extension of its plan to the departments in question; and that any work of the kind, which should now exclude them, would greatly circumscribe the sphere of its usefulness.
As the plan of this Encyclopædia was completed, in its general outline at least, in the second edition of the work, a few observations will suffice to indicate its subsequent improvements.
Till the appearance of the third edition, its method, and the comprehensiveness of its range, had constituted its chief recommendations; but, in this edition, which was completed in eighteen volumes in 1797, it rose, in several of its departments, ​greatly above its former level; and in that of Physical Science in particular, it acquired, through the valuable assistance of Professor Robison, a high degree of scientific eminence. His accession did not, however, take place till the work was advanced to the thirteenth volume; a little before which period, it had been committed, owing to the death of the Editor, Mr Colin Macfarquhar, to the direction of the Reverend Dr Gleig. In a Supplement of two volumes, also executed under his direction, Professor Robison completed that series of articles, which he had commenced in the principal work; the whole, to use the words of a very competent judge, “exhibiting a more complete view of the modern improvements of Physical Science, than had ever before been in the possession of the British Public.”
The division of the editorial labour between two successive Editors, though both were well qualified for the task, was a circumstance very unfavourable to unity and consistency of design and execution. In the fourth edition, which was completed in twenty volumes, in 1810, under the undivided and able superintendence of Dr James Millar, the work assumed a form more consistent with the principles of its plan than it had yet done in any preceding edition; and it was enriched with a number of new articles in various departments of Science and Learning; among which, those of Professor Wallace in the department of pure mathematics hold a distinguished place. This edition would have been rendered still more valuable, had its Editor been at liberty to avail himself fully of Professor Robison’s articles in the supplemental volumes to the third; but this was prevented, by a temporary separation of the right of property in these volumes, from that in the principal work.
Another impression having been called for, almost immediately after the fourth was finished, the fifth edition was, in consequence, issued without any material change. The sixth, lately completed, has the advantage of references to many of the articles contained in the present work; which stands in the same relation to the three last editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica.
​While the fifth edition was in progress, the work fortunately became the property of its present owners. The formation of an Encyclopædia suitable in all respects to the knowledge, taste, and attainments of the age, and therefore to be composed by men of known acquirements in the various branches of Science and Literature, had been long meditated by Mr Constable; and it was in this spirit that, after becoming the principal proprietor of the Encyclopædia Britannica, he conceived the design of a Supplement, of such extent as to afford scope for large additions and improvements; and of such a complexion, as should recommend it to the general attention and assistance of the Literary world. This latter object was happily aided by the co-operation of two illustrious Philosophers; who, duly appretiating the utility of the undertaking, and the liberal and enlightened spirit in which it was conceived, agreed to contribute jointly an Historical Account of the progress of the Sciences, calculated both to supply a desideratum in our domestic literature, and to form a fit Introduction for such a work.
The charge of superintending this Supplement having been committed to the present Editor, it became necessary for him, to subject the extensive publication to which it was to be appended, with the contents of which he had previously but little acquaintance, to an accurate examination throughout. He is happy to acknowledge, that he was materially assisted in this laborious survey by an eminent friend, whose profound knowledge in the mathematical and physical sciences rendered his observations of the greatest value; and whose contributions, in these departments of the present work, display the same originality, ingenuity, vigour of thinking, and extent of information by which his name is so much distinguished in the annals of Science.
A difficult and embarrassing task remained to be performed, after the labour of this survey was surmounted. The omissions with which the fourth edition of the Encyclopædia was originally chargeable, presented a long list of particulars and topics that might be made the subjects of articles and treatises; the subsequent progress of discovery, of inquiry, and of events, furnished another; and it was necessary to make a selection from the whole;—determining, at the same time, in what cases subjects already treated were to be considered anew, and the proper form of the additions, in those cases where the defects were such as might be supplied in that way. In making these selections and adjustments, there were vari​ous circumstances requiring throughout a simultaneous attention. Besides always keeping in view the limits assigned to the work, it was necessary to attend to the comparative strength or weakness of the Encyclopædia in the several departments of knowledge which it embraces; to the comparative importance, novelty, and interest of the various topics presenting themselves for discussion; and to the modes of thinking, the prevailing subjects of speculation and inquiry, and the spirit of the times. There may be room enough to question the judgment and intelligence with which all this has been done; but the Editor hopes it will, at any rate, be allowed, that he has committed no great mistake, with respect to the nature of the duties and considerations by which it was proper for him to be guided in the adjustment of his plan; and he can only say, that he has used his best endeavours to regulate the work in compliance with what they seemed to him to require and prescribe. He will have occasion again to recur to them, in the following Outline of its contents; and he has the satisfaction of thinking, that even this Outline, but much more the examination of the work itself, will show, that it possesses claims to Public attention which cannot be impaired by any defects connected with his own responsibility. It will appear, that it has been composed by a numerous body of learned and ingenious men; most of them well known to the world; many of them ranking among the most illustrious ornaments of the Science and Literature of the present age. It will further appear, that it has been executed in a way calculated to render it extensively useful, independently of its connection with the work to which it is appended;—in a word, that it contains great and important additions to the stock of knowledge, in almost every department of Science and Learning,
In presenting an Outline of the contents of the work, it is not intended either to enumerate every article particularly worthy of notice, or to state fully the objects of those actually mentioned. Neither is it intended to mention the names of all its Contributors. All that is intended is, to give the reader a general view of the subjects and information which it embraces; and this the Editor shall attempt in a methodical form, but without aiming at an exact classification of all the subjects that may be noticed. In the Table at the end of the last volume, there will be found a complete enumeration, in alphabetical order, of Articles and Treatises; and in that annexed to this Pre​face, a full list of their Authors; arranged in the alphabetical order of the Signatures by which their respective contributions are distinguished.
The Articles belonging to the Sciences and Arts obviously claim the first place, as well as the fullest description, in this Outline. In noticing them, the Editor shall first advert to those which range under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences; next, to those on the Arts and Manufactures dependent on, or connected with these Sciences; and lastly, to those relating to the Philosophy of the Mind, and Political Philosophy.
As the Encyclopædia is more complete in the department of Pure Mathematics than in many other branches of knowledge, it would have been improper, though much was still found wanting, to assign any considerable portion of the present work to that department. Room has, however, been made for several Mathematical articles.
Arithmetic forms the subject of an article of considerable extent; containing, not a mere statement of rules, but a philosophical exposition of the principles of numerical processes, and of the steps by which mankind advance in the acquisition of the art of computation. This article was written by Professor Leslie; to whose assistance, in a preparatory stage of the work, the Editor has already had occasion to allude; and to whom the present department is farther indebted for the articles Angle, and Trisection of an Angle. The doctrine of Equations, already partly discussed in the Encyclopædia, under Algebra, is here reconsidered in a distinct article; containing a view of the present state of knowledge upon the subject, and some new solutions of problems hitherto attended with difficulty; particularly in that part of it which relates to Gauss’s theory of Binomial Equations. This important article was contributed by Mr Ivory. Under the term Differential Calculus, Sir Edward Ffrench Bromhead has given a systematic view of the subject in its latest form. Under the term Fluents, or Integrals, the fluents of such expressions as are the most likely to occur in the solution of physical problems, are arranged in the form of a Table, by Dr Thomas Young; to whose profound and accurate knowledge, rare erudition, and other various attainments, this work is largely indebted in almost every department which it embraces.
​In connection with these algebraical articles, the treatise on Annuities and Assurances on Lives, by Mr Joshua Milne, may be mentioned; in which, however, its experienced author, by a useful division of his subject, has addressed himself as well to those who have not, as to those who have, an acquaintance with Algebra.
The articles in Natural Philosophy are numerous and various; extending through every head of that great division of Physical Science.
To the head of Mechanics, may be referred the valuable article Bridge, by Dr Young, and that on Weights and Measures by the same author; both containing the substance of all the more recent discussions in regard to the principles involved in their respective subjects. The article Pendulum, written by M. Biot, belongs also to this head. Besides explaining the laws of the motion of this instrument, it describes, at considerable length, the principal purposes to which it has of late been applied in the physical sciences.
Capillary Attraction, and the Cohesion of Fluids, subjects shortly explained in the general treatise under the head of Hydrodynamics, in the Encyclopædia, have been resumed in this work, for the purpose of fuller discussion, and the statement of some later views and experiments. The article on the first of these subjects was contributed by Mr Ivory; that on the other by Dr Young; who has also, in an article on Hydraulics, written as a supplement to the general treatise just mentioned, explained the later attempts to improve the theory of this branch of science. The articles on Breakwaters, and on Docks, may be mentioned as contributions to the division of Natural Philosophy now in view; because relating to works whose construction depends on hydrostatic and hydraulic principles. ‘The first is particularly valuable, as containing an accurate account of the two greatest works of the kind in existence—the one at Cherbourg, the other in Plymouth Sound; the latter, now nearly completed, constituting one of the many durable monuments of the great professional genius and resources of the late eminent Engineer, Mr Rennie. For this article, and many others, the Editor is indebted to the distinguished assistance of Mr Barrow; who has enriched the work with much valuable and various information, that could not have been obtained in so satisfactory a form, if at all, from any other quarter.
​The extensive branch of Pneumatics has been elucidated in a number of articles, containing many new facts and views; most of them contributed by Professor Leslie. Under the article Acoustics he has examined the later experiments and opinions as to the theory of Sound. Though the Encyclopedia contains an account of the invention and construction of Balloons, it was judged proper to resume the consideration of these machines, in order to afford an opportunity of tracing the progress of discovery with greater precision, and of explaining the calculation of their ascent and stability. This has been done in the article Aeronautics, where, also, the more remarkable of the later aërial voyages are described. With a view, in like manner, more fully to explain the successive steps which led to the discovery of atmospheric pressure, and to state and examine the various formulas that have been proposed for determining heights by the Barometer, there have been given two articles on that instrument, and its uses in measuring elevations. The connected subjects of Climate, Cold, Dew, and Meteorology, rank under Pneumatics, in so far as they can be considered as belonging to Natural Philosophy; but the phenomena to which they relate depend upon principles which place them, partly, within the province of Chemistry. In the very valuable series of articles here given upon these subjects, the author has accordingly drawn his reasonings and illustrations from either department. The last of them contains a copious explanation, of the theory and applications, of all the different instruments capable of being employed in Meteorological Observations; a portion of it calculated to be eminently useful to those engaged in such observations, or in directing the proper preparations for making them. Besides the above articles by Professor Leslie, there are some others, by different writers, on subjects connected with the present head. Such are the articles on Blowing Machines; on the application of the Steam-Engine to the propulsion of Vessels; and on the new Steam-Engine proposed by Mr Perkins.
Of the numerous discoveries made during the present century relative to the theory of Colours, and the Double Refraction and Polarisation of Light, an account will be found, in two articles on those interesting branches of Optics, by Dr Young and M. Arago. There is also an instructive article, written by Professor Leslie, containing an historical review of those optical controversies and discoveries which, after the long intermission consequent on the death of Newton, terminated in the construction of the Achromatic Telescope.
​Astronomy forms the subject of one of the most extensive treatises in the Encyclopædia, nd nothing has been added, in the present work, upon the descriptive and more popular parts of the science; but its higher branches have received some important illustrations. Under the head of Physical Astronomy, there is a general view, by the late Professor Playfair, of the laws which regulate the celestial motions, as discovered by Newton and the philosophers who have succeeded him. Under Attraction, Mr Ivory has given, in a series of distinct propositions, a complete theory, as remarkable for its simplicity and elegance as for its depth, of all that has been discovered relating to the attractions of Elliptical Spheroids. The subject of the Tides, though ably discussed in the Encyclopædia, has been resumed, with great advantage to science, in an article by Dr Young; who has here extended the theory, to the effects of hydraulic resistances of various kinds, which had not been computed by any preceding inquirer.
Electricity and Galvanism also form copious articles in the Encyclopædia; but it was necessary to give a more correct and determinate view of the theoretical parts of both subjects, than is contained in these articles; and also to add such additional facts as have been brought to light by subsequent experiments. This has been done in two supplemental articles, written by M. Biot; of whom it is but justice to mention the alacrity with which his assistance has been given to a work, where his contributions could not appear in the language in which they were written, and to aid which, he could have no other motive but a love for science, and a desire to improve the means of diffusing it in every country of the world.
In passing from the great division of Natural Philosophy, to the other branches of Physical Science, the Editor may state generally, that in these also, the work contains much new and valuable information, contributed by some of their most distinguished cultivators.
With respect to Chemistry, it has the advantage of an instructive historical account of that important science, deduced from the early ages to the close of the last century. This forms one of those Discourses on the History of the Sciences, with which several volumes of the work are prefaced; and it is the only one of the series that has been completed. It was written by Mr Brande, who also contributed a systematic view of the present state of the science; rendered necessary by the ​great extension and improvement of Chemical knowledge, since the period when the corresponding article in the Encyclopædia was compiled. Farther, in conformity with the plan of that work, two subordimate heads of the science, requiring a fuller explanation than they could conveniently receive in the general treatise, are here discussed in separate articles. The first relates to the great doctrine of definite proportions in chemical combinations, which is explained under the head of Atomic Theory; the other, to the analysis of chemical substances and compounds, for the purpose of discovering their constituent principles, which is treated under Decomposition, Chemical. For these elaborate articles, and several others of great practical utility, in the department of the Chemical Arts and Manufactures, the work is indebted to Dr Thomas Thomson.
Every branch of Natural History has received contributions in the present work. Under Mineralogy, there is a systematic view of that branch, founded upon an arrangement derived from the external characters of minerals, lately instituted by Professor Mohs of Freiberg; an arrangement which receives additional credit from its adoption by the distinguished Mineralogist by whom it is here illustrated—Professor Jameson. Besides Mineralogy, properly so called, this article includes a brief summary of Geology; one of the most interesting topics of geological inquiry, that which relates to Organic Remains, being, however, reserved for a separate article; also written by Professor Jameson.
Botany is treated in a very instructive article by Sir James Edward Smith; in which, referring to the Encyclopædia for the details of systematic arrangement, he takes a general view of the progress of the science; of the different modes in which it has been cultivated; of the philosophy of its methods; and of the comparative advantages of the artificial and natural systems of Classification. The study of Plants is farther elucidated, in two articles upon their structure and functions; both of them written by Mr Ellis, and possessed of every recommendation that a thorough knowledge of the subject and luminous arrangement can impart. These articles are given under the heads of Anatomy, Vegetable, and Vegetable Physiology.
As the Zoological department of the Encyclopædia is founded chiefly upon the Linnæan classification of the animal kingdom, it was intended, both to add the recent discoveries, and to introduce an arrangement more agreeable to the ​views of later Naturalists; but, owing to the illness of Dr Leach, by whom the earlier parts of the plan were executed, it has not been completed in all its extent. Some of the later heads, undertaken by him, have been treated by the Reverend Dr Fleming; and, besides the systematic articles, a few of a more popular kind have been contributed by Dr Roget.
That great branch of descriptive science, which, under the name of Physical Geography, draws its materials from all the various divisions of Natural History, in order to present a systematic view of the globe, its productions and inhabitants, is here treated, in a compendious form, by Mr Maclaren; to whom the work is indebted for some very valuable contributions in the department of Statistics.
Medicine, and the sciences subservient to that study, have been duly attended to in the formation of the work. Under Anatomy, there is a new outline of the subject, written by the late Dr Gordon. Physiology is fully treated in the Encyclopædia, in as far as concerns the principal facts relative to the functions of animal life; but there seemed to be wanting a comprehensive view of the general laws to which they are reducible; a defect which has been ably supplied, in this work, by Dr Roget. The progress made of late years in the important art of Surgery, and some modes of practice omitted in the Encyclopædia, are detailed, in a supplemental article, by Mr Cooper; and the present state of opinion, in the medical world, with respect to Vaccination, will be found in the article under that head. Other three articles upon the subjects of Bathing, Dietetics, and Food—the first by Dr Young, the two last by Dr Duncan, junior, complete the list of contributions in this department.
A number of articles have been assigned to the extensive department of Arts and Manufactures; and, though some of them refer to the Encyclopædia for such details as did not require any material alteration, the greater part may be described as complete treatises on their respective subjects. A simple enumeration of the more important will, therefore, suffice for the present purpose.
Among those relative to the Mechanical Arts and Manufactures are, Anchor-making, Assaying, Blasting, Block-Machinery, Boring, Brass-making, Cannon-making, Carpentry, Coining, Cotton-manufacture, Cutlery, Joinery, Iron-making, Lithography, Printing, Road-making, Steel Plate Printing, and Stone-Masonry, ​including Stone-Cutting. The articles on Assaying and Coining were written by Mr Mushet; Carpentry partly, and Road-making by Dr Young; Boring and Cannon-making by Mr Cadell; Cotton-manufacture by Mr Bannatyne; Joinery and Stone-Masonry by Mr Tredgold; and Printing by Mr Stark; to whose promptitude and skill, in his professional connection with this work, the Editor feels himself in no small degree indebted.
The list of articles on the Arts and Manufactures connected with Chemistry, and other branches of General Physics, includes the following: Agriculture, Alum, Ammoniac-Sal, Baking, Bleaching, Brewing, Brick-making, Distillation, Gun-Powder, Horticulture, Lighting (treated under Gas-Lights and Lamps), and Wine-making. The first of these was written by Mr Cleghorn, an extensive Contributor in the departments of Statistics and Topography; the next seven by Dr Thomas Thomson; Horticulture by Mr Neill; and Gun-Powder and Wine-making by Dr Macculloch.
The last general head of the first division of this Outline, is that comprehending the articles relative to the Philosophy of the Mind, and Political Philosophy.
Most of the topics ranging under the first of these branches have been treated in the Encyclopædia; and, though several of them might be recast with advantage in another mould, this could not have been done in the present work, without the exclusion of subjects, in regard to which, greater additions have been made to the stock of positive knowledge. Articles have, however, been given on a few subjects, which seemed to require notice, either on account of the new lights which recent inquiries have reflected upon them, or of their practical utility.
The subject of Beauty, the discussion of which involves much of the theory of Taste, and the analysis of a numerous order of the most delightful emotions of which our nature is susceptible, is examined at considerable length, in an article written by Mr Jeffrey. The analytical part of it is preceded by a rapid, but discriminating survey of the doctrines maintained by preceding inquirers; and, though the theory which it is the author’s object to establish, is substantially the same with that of Mr Alison, it is treated and illustrated in a form and manner so original and so striking, as to entitle this article to be characterized, as one of the most masterly and brilliant disquisitions in the whole compass of our philosophical literature.
​Though Education is copiously treated in the Encyclopædia, the subject has been resumed in this work, with a view to a philosophical investigation of the great objects at which Education ought to aim, and the means of attaining them; an inquiry ably prosecuted in Mr Mill’s article on that subject. The art of educating the Deaf and Dumb—one of the most pleasing results of this branch of philosophy, is fully explained in another article, written with his accustomed clearness and elegance, by Dr Roget.
Besides these articles, there is an examination of that new philosophy which pretends, not only to furnish an entirely original classification of our mental faculties and principles of action, but to point out certain external indications, in the bone of the head, of the state of energy and activity in which they exist. This is given, by the author just named, under the term Cranioscopy; a term which has been lately exchanged, by the disciples of this School, for that of Phrenology.
Political Philosophy has been hitherto but little attended to in the formation of Eneyclopædias. Various circumstances, however, have of late years conspired so much to exalt the importance and interest of the subjects about which it is conversant, that they could not now be neglected in a work professing to furnish a general digest of useful knowledge, without exposing it to the charge of defectiveness in a most essential department. These subjects seem, indeed, to have peculiar claims to attention in such publications; for the inquirer in this department is but too often left to such information as can be procured in mere occasional and party productions;—in works where it is seldom attempted, either to pursue a scientific mode of discussion, or to reduce the scattered elements of knowledge into a systematic form. Hence the propriety of political investigations, in works planned for the purpose of methodizing and diffusing useful knowledge; where, though prejudice and predilection cannot of course be excluded, all the general topics of political science are far more likely to be treated in a philosophical spirit and form, than in most of the other vehicles of political information.
The defects of the Encyclopædia Britannica in almost all the branches of this department, left ample room, and, as the present Editor thought, a strong call to supply what was wanting there, in this publication; and he hopes it will be found, in one at least, if not all of these branches, far more complete than any work of ​the kind existing; yet, without detriment to any other science or subject as to which information was here reasonably to be expected. The political articles contained in it may be considered as belonging to General Politics, to Political Economy, and to Political Arithmetic.
To the first head may be referred the articles Balance of Power, Government, Jurisprudence, Law of Nations, Liberty of the Press, and Prison Discipline; all of them, but the first, written by Mr Mill; whose contributions in this and the other departments where his assistance has been given, display a reach and depth of thinking, and a power of analytical reasoning, that must command the respect even of those who may sometimes be disposed to dispute his principles, or to dissent from his conclusions. Most of the great problems respecting the ends of government and legislation, and the means of preserving political, civil, and national rights, are discussed by him, in the articles just mentioned, in a form severely methodical, and in a spirit which seeks neither aid nor ornament from the artifices of rhetoric.
It is observed by M. Cuvier, in his Historical Report on the progress of certain branches of physical science in France, since the era of the Revolution, that the evils which the ruinous system of Assignats produced in that country, were, in some degree, compensated by the improvements in the arts to which it gave rise. Compensations of a far higher order have, in this country, attended the evils occasioned by measures affecting the soundness of its Currency; for they have served to exercise the science of Political Economy in discussions, which have elicited new principles, afforded new explanations, and raised the truths which it unfolds to a degree of importance in the eyes of statesmen and legislators, of which the world is at length likely to experience the benefits. The space allotted to this science, in the plan of the present work, has been accordingly measured out, with a due regard to the interest which it has excited, and to its intrinsic utility; and here, also, the reader will receive the information which it presents to him, from contributions of eminent ability; some of them ​written by those who, next to the immortal founder of the science, are universally considered as its greatest benefactors.
Taking them in alphabetical order, the following are the most important of these contributions: Banking, by Mr Buchanan; Banks for Savings, Beggar, Benefit Societies, Colony, by Mr Mill; Commerce, by Mr Lowe; Corn Laws, Cottage System, by Mr M‘Culloch ; Economists, by Mr Mill; Emigration, by Mr Buchanan; Exchange, by Mr M‘Culloch; Funding System, by the late Mr Ricardo; Interest, Money, Political Economy, by Mr M‘Culloch; Poor Laws, by the Reverend Mr Sumner; Population, by the Reverend Mr Malthus; and Taxation, by Mr M‘Culloch.
It will appear from this enumeration, that the science of Political Economy is here examined as a whole, in a general treatise; while a number of articles are devoted to subordinate topics, requiring separate elucidation. As nothing was more wanted for the purposes of the student, than a succinct and systematic exposition of the leading doctrines of the science, the general article by Mr M‘Culloch cannot fail to be regarded as a valuable addition to the means of diffusing the knowledge of its principles. His other articles are marked by the same clear and searching view of the whole field of inquiry, and the same depth and skill in the application of general principles, which eminently distinguish that treatise. They contain a forcible exposition of the new doctrines concerning rent, value, wages, and profits; while they also furnish full statements of the doctrines to which they are opposed. In copious references to the history of opinions and of measures, and in illustrative Tables, formed with the greatest attention to accuracy, they have recommendations of especial value in an Encyclopædia. The prejudices and clamours that have been opposed to the important and fruitful doctrine more particularly connected with the name of Mr Malthus, must be considered as greatly enhancing the value of the correct and comprehensive summary of the facts and reasonings by which it is established, here given, in their latest form, from his own pen. Closely connected with this subject is that of the article by Mr Sumner, which contains a clear and sound view of all the questions discussed in it. The articles in this department may be described generally, as furnishing a pretty complete view of all the great questions that have been agitated in modern times, relative to the creation, distribution, and con​sumption of wealth; the theory of, and trade in money; the means employed for raising supplies for public expenditure; the effects of subjecting the food of the people to artificial regulation; the causes which regulate the increase and decrease of their numbers; the causes and effects of pauperism and mendicity; and the expedients that have been adopted or proposed for the relief, removal, or mitigation of those evils.
In the branch of Political Arithmetic, there are two articles, by the able Calculator already mentioned as the author of the article on Annuities. The first, on Bills of Mortality, explains the history, formation, and uses of these important registers; the other, on the Law of Mortality, explains the principle which governs the waste of human life, and furnishes the means of calculating the probable length of its duration at any given age.
After the primary division of the Sciences and Arts, the three connected provinces of Geography, Statistics, and Topography, occupy the largest portion of the present work. The observations and inquiries made during the last twenty years have produced a great accession of new information in all of them. During that period, the obscure districts of central Africa, the interior regions and vast rivers of the American continent, the numerous islands which compose the two new divisions of the world in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and the icy seas which involve the Poles, have been visited by various expeditions of discovery, which have contributed essentially to rectify and extend our geographical knowledge. During that period too, great changes have taken place in the political geography and condition of states. Many transfers of territory and dominion have been witnessed in the old world, and a number of independent communities have arisen in the most depressed quarters of the new;—in quarters, where liberty, it is to be hoped, will ere long be established upon a solid basis, and fresh scenes of exertion opened to the expansive and illimitable powers of British industry and enterprise. The means of information respecting the internal and relative circumstances of nations, have also been much enlarged during that period. It has produced two authoritative enumerations of the population of our own country; and a variety of publications, domestic and foreign, replete with instructive details in all the branches of statistical inquiry. These various considerations seemed to require, ​that a considerable portion of the work should be devoted to this useful and interesting class of subjects.
All the great divisions of the Globe recognized by the older geographers, excepting Asia, which is largely surveyed in the Encyclopædia, together with the new divisions of Australasia and Polynesia, have been treated in general articles; embracing the latest information belonging to such heads. Another general article has been employed upon the history of discovery in the Polar Seas, and the problem as to the existence of a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean;—a problem which has acquired great additional interest, from the noble attempts lately made by this country to solve it, and to subject the terrors of the arctic zone to her courage and her genius.
In the general article on Europe, by Mr Maclaren, there is a comparative view of the extent, population, and resources of all the different European states. The account of Africa, by Mr Murray, contains much learned and ingenious inquiry as to the knowledge of it possessed by the Ancients, and the Arabian writers; as well as concerning the long agitated question of the termination of the Niger;—a question happily decided since that article was written; as the reader will find, by turning to the interesting particulars detailed under the word Zaire. To the writer of these particulars, himself a distinguished promoter of geographical discovery, the work is indebted for three of the general articles above alluded to; those namely on Australasia, Polynesia, and the Polar Seas.
Besides the general comparative view of the European States, there are separate articles on most of them; in the composition of which, the greatest attention has been paid, by their respective writers, to all the latest and best sources of information. Exclusive of those which relate to the British Empire, the most important are the articles on Austria and France, by Mr Lowe; those on Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, and Russia, by Mr Jacob; those on Greece, and the Ionian Islands, by Mr Maclaren; and the very interesting and instructive article on Spain, by the Reverend Mr Blanco White; himself a native of that unfortunate Country.
With respect to the British Empire, the Statistics of its three great members—England, Ireland, and Scotland, are copiously detailed under these, and some other ​heads; and there are, besides, Topographical articles on each of their respective counties. In the numerous Reports presented to Parliament, the British Statist has means of information, no where possessed in a form so authentic and satisfactory, in regard to any other Country. Great use has been made of these invaluable documents by the intelligent writers of the articles alluded to; of which, that on England, by Mr Lowe, is necessarily the most extensive and various. The Fisheries form a separate article, written by Mr Barrow; and various other branches of national industry have been already mentioned, as the subjects of articles, in the list of those regarding Arts and Manufactures. The Navy too makes a distinct head of inquiry; under which is comprised an account of every thing appertaining to our ships of war, as well as to the appointment, rank, duties, and pay of those employed in them; forming, with the articles on the office of Lord High Admiral, on the Court of Admiralty, on the Dock-Yards, and on the Telegraph, a far more correct and complete view of this great bulwark of the nation, and favourite instrument of her power, than is to be found in any other publication.
The County articles contain much useful information concerning rural affairs, and the progressive numbers, and employments of the people. Two topographical articles, of a different kind, are employed on two Scottish national works,—the Caledonian Canal, and the Bell-Rock Light-House; both written by an experienced Engineer, Mr Stevenson.
Next to Europe and its Islands, the vast regions of the American Continent have been most largely described in this work. Under the term United States, there is an excellent general view of these great and prosperous communities, written by Mr Maclaren. The other articles of most importance are those on Brazil, Buenos Ayres, Canada, and the Caraccas, by Mr Buchanan; and those on the Floridas, New Granada, Guatimala, Guiana, Louisiana, Mexico, and Peru, by Mr Jacob; who has carefully and skilfully availed himself of the many valuable details contained in the publications of Baron Humboldt, and of some other sources of information ​but little known or examined by English readers. The articles on New Granada, Mexico, and Peru, may be particularly mentioned, as furnishing a very instructive and interesting view of those magnificent regions.
Several articles have been given on those parts of Asia and its Islands, as to which any new information of importance has been laid before the Public. Of these, the only one requiring particular notice is the account of China, by Mr Barrow. Notwithstanding the voluminous publications of the Jesuits, the era of accurate information concerning this vast Empire, can only be said to have commenced with Lord Macartney’s embassy to Pekin. It was only then, in particular, that correct ideas begun to be formed of the structure of its extraordinary language; of which, the knowledge that has been since acquired by several of our countrymen, has enabled them to sift its mysterious literature, and to dispel many illusions which had hitherto prevailed. One of the most curious and valuable portions of the present article, is that employed in explaining the nature of this language, and the construction of its written character; but the author has taken a comprehensive view of the whole field of inquiry included in his subject; illuminating every part of it with the information derived from a thorough knowledge of all the published authorities, enlarged and rectified by personal observation.
With the exception of a general survey of the Barbary States, by Mr Murray, the only African country forming a separate article is Egypt. This article comprises the substance of what is to be found in the latest publications concerning that country; but is far more remarkable, from containing, besides other learned inquiries, the rudiments of a Hieroglyphical Vocabulary; founded upon the analysis of the famous triple inscription on the stone of Rosetta, now deposited, among some other precious remains of ancient Egypt, in the British Museum. It was in this article, indeed, that Dr Young first gave to the Public an extended view of the results of his successful interpretation of the hieroglyphical characters used in that inscription; unquestionably one of the most remarkable achievements of modern scholarship, and which has furnished a key to the mysteries of Egyptian literature, sought for in vain by the learned of the ancient world.
The additions made to History and Biography have been limited to accounts ​of recent events, and mostly of recent lives. To have reconsidered portions of History already examined in the Encyclopædia, whatever defects there might be in the materials, or mode of treating them; or, to have attempted any material enlargement of the Biographical department, with respect to distant ages, would have occasioned encroachments upon the space necessary for inquiries more strongly called for by the objects of the work. The historical information is given chiefly in connection with the geography and statistics of the different states; and may be described, generally, as embracing all the great events and transactions of the last twenty years. For the particular history of the European states, during that period, the reader must turn to the articles under their respective names; but, under the head of Great Britain, he will find a general view of the events and results of the mighty contest in which the greater powers were engaged, from the period of the rupture of the treaty of Amiens, down to the memorable era of the battle of Waterloo. With respect to the other quarters of the world, there is an account of our wars in India, under that word; of the late war with the United States, in the general historical article just mentioned; and of the revolutions and subsequent occurrences in the Spanish American Colonies, in the articles on these countries, already noticed in this Outline.
Though some Biographical articles have been inserted, for the purpose of supplying what seemed palpable omissions in the Encyclopædia, the greater part are accounts of persons who have died during the last thirty years. The number amounts in all to about one hundred and sixty; and the subjects of them have been selected, for the most part, on account of their eminence in Science or Literature.
Of these articles, a large proportion of such as relate to men of science have been contributed by Dr Young. Valuable in many respects, as accounts of such men, written by one so deeply versed in all that they have done and taught, could not fail to be, they are recommended in a particular manner, for the purposes of a work of reference, by their accurate bibliographical notices and lists of even the smallest pieces, written by the persons whom they commemorate. Dr Young’s assistance in this department was not confined to any particular class of lives; and his account of Porson, whose acquaintance he enjoyed “for the last twenty years of his life,” is perhaps the most interesting and discriminating that has yet been published of that illustrious scholar. The work is enriched with several other accounts of ​distinguished men, derived from long personal knowledge of them, and other sources of genuine information not accessible to every eye. Among these may be mentioned the account of Dr Adam, by Professor Pillans; of Dr Adam Ferguson and Mr Home, by the Reverend Dr Lee; of Mr Fox, by Mr Allen; of Professor Playfair, by Mr Jeffrey; of Mr Rennie, by Mr Barrow; and of Mr Watt, obtained from a quarter which justifies the Editor in pointing it out, as the most complete and authentic yet published of that distinguished benefactor of the useful arts.
The list of articles not properly belonging to any of the preceding departments, and which may, therefore, be ranked in the class of Miscellaneous Literature, is not very numerous. It however embraces several, on subjects of considerble interest, which have either been omitted in the Encyclopædia, or have not been treated there in a suitable manner, and with the advantages of the knowledge now possessed in regard to them. Such are the articles on the Fine Arts, Bibliography, Chivalry, the Drama, Languages, Romance, and War.
The object of the able article, written by Mr Hazlitt, under the first of these heads, is to point out the principle of excellence in the Arts; particularly in those of Painting and Sculpture; and to inquire into their progress, and the means proposed for their advancement in this country. Great and valuable additions have, of late years, been made to the stock of knowledge, in that branch of philological leaning which relates to the history and affinities of Languages. The discoveries in this field have opened up sources of information as to the early history of the human race, which no other researches or monuments could possibly supply. It is to the philologers of Germany that this branch of learning is more especially indebted; and the reader will find the results of their inquiries, and of those of our countrymen who have seconded their labours, in the elaborate article on Languages, written by Dr Young. Of the articles on the interesting subjects of Chivalry and Romance, and on the more extensive and classical theme of the Drama, it is enough to say, that they are the productions of Sir Walter Scott. If they cannot increase, they certainly will not detract from the lustre of that celebrated name, in whatever literary capacity it may be pronounced. The article on War, by Major Hamilton Smith, contains a skilful exposition of the rules applicable to all the different kinds ​of military operations; with copious illustrations from the great movements and events of the late continental campaigns.
The Editor cannot conclude this Outline of the contents of the work, without some further mention of those Discourses on the History of the Sciences, from which it derives such peculiar recommendations.
The striking figure used by Lord Bacon, in mentioning the want of a general history of philosophy, to illustrate the nature and magnitude of that want, is known to all the world. Much has been done, since his time, to supply the information on this head which he thought so indispensible to the completion of the Circle of Learning; but very little has been done to furnish it in a form calculated to promote its general diffusion. The brilliant Sketch contained in D’Alembert’s Discourse prefixed to the Encyclopédie, forms but a small part of that celebrated performance; the greater part of it being occupied with a theoretical view of the origin of the sciences, and of their encyclopedical arrangement. Though sufficient for the display of his own various attainments, the scale of his historical notices was much too limited to admit of any satisfactory views of the opinions, even of the small number of “those great lights of the world by whom the torch of science has been successively seized and transmitted.” On the other hand, the works of the professed Historians of Philosophy are much too extensive and minute for general perusal, The proper medium seems to have been attained, in the noble Discourses by Mr Stewart and Mr Playfair, prefixed to these volumes. Nor is this their only excellence in point of plan. Those who are best acquainted with, and most competent to decide upon the merits of the other ​histories of philosophy, will perhaps be the most ready to acknowledge the superior skill with which the consecutive heads of inquiry have been arranged in these Discourses. They will not be less ready to acknowledge, that the originality and depth of the reflections and reasonings contained in them, is as conspicuous as the majesty and beauty of the language in which they are expressed.
That these splendid Discourses have not been completed, must be matter of regret to the Public, as it certainly is to those more immediately connected with this work. The completion of Mr Playfair’s, it is well known, was prevented by his death. The fine parallel between Newton and Leibnitz, which occupies the last pages of what has been printed of the Second Part of his Discourse, was corrected only a few days before that event; and it shows how strong and clear, to its very extinction, was that light, which had so long diffused its radiance over the paths of science. Mr Stewart’s plan has been fully executed, in so far as concerns the history of Metaphysical Knowledge; but that of Moral and Political Philosophy during the eighteenth century, at the commencement of which, the First Part of his Discourse closes, is unfortunately wanting. He has himself addressed the Public on this subject, in the Advertisement prefixed to his Second Part; but, notwithstanding the demands upon his time there alluded to, he would not have failed to attempt the accomplishment of his design, had his health been sufficiently stable to allow him to fulfil his own views and wishes in regard to it.
In closing this Outline, the Editor begs, that no one will ascribe the terms of commendation which occasionally occur in it, to any presumptuous idea, that they could be of any consequence, either to those to whom they apply, or to the Public. He conceived that it was his duty to give some account of the plan and contents of the work; and in doing so, he has only exercised the privilege allowed to the humblest historian, of representing the persons and things that come under his review, in the light in which they appear to his own understanding.
After the full view that has been given of the work, and the principles upon which it has been formed, there remain only a very few points requiring any farther remark or explanation.
​One of these is the apparent disproportion between the space allotted to the last, as compared with that occupied by the first half of the Alphabet. With respect to this, the Editor must observe, that the Letters in that half, with one or two exceptions, are not nearly so productive of articles as those in the first half; that several of them are almost entirely barren; that a considerable part of each volume, except the last, is occupied with a preliminary Discourse; and finally, that it is scarcely possible to adjust the earlier parts of a work of this kind to a scale exactly suited to the whole.
It may also be thought, that the articles are sometimes of a disproportionate length; and the Editor certainly does not mean to say, that every subject occupies exactly that space, which a due regard to all the circumstances regulating the plan of the work would prescribe. In truth, if an Encyclopædia is to be composed of original articles, written by men of eminence, who have made a particular study of the subjects upon which they are required to write, or who have particular means of information concerning them, it will always be found difficult, if not impossible, to limit each contribution to the space required by the general plan. But the Editor makes this observation, rather to obviate cavils, than as thinking any apology of the kind much called for in relation to the present work; for, though distinguished in an eminent degree by the literary rank of its Contributors, he is inclined to think, that it is less liable to criticism, in the particular alluded to, than any similar work that could be named.
Another point requiring some explanation, is the want of several articles, to which there are references in the work. This has arisen, partly from disappointments incident to every undertaking of the kind, and from which no diligence, however great, will ever secure an exemption; and partly from discovering, as the work advanced, that the subjects referred to could not be treated, without excluding others of more interest and importance. They who are disposed either to censure omissions, or to object to particular articles as superfluous, would do well to recollect, that in order to form a fair judgment, it would be necessary, in every such case, to attend to all the particulars requiring to be considered in adjusting the plan of the work; that the formation of such a plan is evidently a business of selection, and consequently of discretionary choice; and, that an Editor’s arrangements are liable to be varied by circumstances which he cannot possibly control.
​The plan of announcing the names of Contributors, in connection with their respective articles, was first adopted, and was pretty extensively followed in the French Encyclopédie; though not always, it would appear, with perfect good faith; for towards its close, in particular, it is said to have been a common stratagem, to announce certain articles as the productions of authors predeceased. In no work of the kind has this plan been so steadily and extensively followed as in the present Supplement; and there can be no doubt, that it has contributed essentially to its character and success. It was a favourite object with its intelligent Projector, and the Editor readily entered into his views, being thoroughly satisfied that the Public would approve and profit by them. Yet he must say, that it is a plan attended with some embarrassments; and likely always to stand somewhat in the way of that rapidity and regularity in the publication of such works, which is so much desired both by Booksellers and by the Public; as well as to add considerably to the difficulty of adjusting their contents to a regulated scale.
The time is long past when it was thought necessary to recommend works of this kind by a formal exposition of their utility. Their numbers, and the encouragement given to them, afford a strong proof, both of the favourable state of the human mind in regard to the desire for information, and of the means of administering to that desire in an efficient manner. Works of fiction, and periodical miscellanies of various kinds, are the only other publications which rival Encyclopædias in the extent of their circulation; but the success of these must be allowed to be greatly owing to the love of amusement, to the relish for literary novelties, and to the feelings connected with political discussion; whereas Encyclopædias have no such stimulants, and if successful at all, they must owe their success entirely to the means they furnish for informing and enlightening the understanding. Their utility, in a word, seems sufficiently proved, by the mere fact of their existence and extensive dissemination.
The contrary opinion has, however, been countenanced by names of great distinction in our Literature, and appears still to linger among some of the learned. ​“Mr Gray,” says Mr Mathias, in the Postscript to his edition of the works of that eminent Poet and Scholar, “always considered, that the Encyclopædias, and Universal Dictionaries of various kinds, with which the world now abounds so much, afforded a very unfavourable symptom of the age in regard to its literature; as no real or profound learning can be obtained but at the fountain-head, Dictionaries like these, as he thought, only served to supply a fund for the vanity, or for the affectation of general knowledge; or for the demands of company and of conversation; to which, he said, such works were fully competent.” No British Encyclopædia had appeared before Mr Gray’s death, of any considerable extent, or which, in point of execution, could be said to rank above the level of mere compilation; but the French Encyclopédie, which had been in the course of publication for a long time, and was completed some years before that event, had early attracted the notice of the learned throughout Europe; and, with all its defects, it unquestionably contains much, that might have occurred to Mr Gray, as fitted to minister to intellectual exercises of a higher order, than those to which he so arbitrarily limited the reach of such undertakings. There cannot be a doubt, besides, that much was done by our earlier Encyclopædias, limited as their scale was, to render knowledge more generally accessible and acceptable, and to give it a wider diffusion among the body of the people, than it had obtained before. The success of these works ought, therefore, to have been hailed and commended as a favourable, not an unfavourable symptom of the intelligence of the age. The passage just quoted would, indeed, warrant the suspicion, that Mr Gray considered knowledge as the exclusive appanage of the learned, and that the Republic of Letters must be viewed as in an unsound state, when the Citizens are admitted to any communion with their Superiors.
It is at any rate clear, that this eminent person had formed a very incorrect idea of the nature and ends of the publications which he censured. Encyclopædias may bring the means of liberal knowledge—of knowledge, accurate, and well digested, within the reach of thousands who would never otherwise have possessed such means, in so desirable a form. This is their object, their office, and their praise; and no one ever supposed, that they were to supersede the necessity of recurring to ​other sources of information, upon subjects where “profound learning” is wished to be attained. Nor is there any risk of such works intercepting the resort to others, where the desire for information exists in the requisite degree of ardour. They may stimulate curiosity, and nourish a love for study, m minds that might otherwise remain passive or inert; but they will never induce a feeling of satisfaction with deficient information, where it is incomplete, in minds that would have otherwise grasped at larger and richer acquisitions.
There never was, at any time, but one objection specially applicable to this class of publications;—that, namely, of breaking the Sciences into fragments, scattered fortuitously among the Letters of the Alphabet; and it must ever reflect credit on the Encyclopædia Britannica, to have been the first that fully remedied a defect which had been deemed inseparable from such undertakings. Since that period, some of the most valuable of the systematic treatises, with which the Sciences have, in this Country, been enriched, have appeared in Encyclopædias; and have in that way obtained a far wider and more beneficial circulation than they could ever otherwise have reached.
These works, indeed, have a cosmopolitan character, which, in an improving state of society, recommends them equally to every rank, from the Mechanic to the Peer. The history of Letters affords no example of any association for the advancement of the Sciences, so truly useful, and so free from all paltry cabals, and degrading influences, as those through which such publications are formed. Nor are there any other undertakings of a literary nature, in which the talents of so many individuals of different parties, and of all varieties of intellectual pursuit and attainment, can be so happily and efficiently combined, in the common cause of Science and Learning.
Edinburgh, March, 1824. MACVEY NAPIER.
* ↑ Casiri, Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis, T. I. p. 189.
* ↑ For a list of them, see the Bibliotheca Realis Philosophica of Lipenius, T. I. 436-7.
* ↑ Niceron, Mémoires des Hommes illustres, T. XLI. p. 300.
* ↑ His own definition of such a work is as follows:—“Encyclopædia est systema omnium systematum, quibus res, homine dignæ, methodo certâ explicantur.” Encyclop. T. I. p. 49.
* ↑ “Operæ pretium esset, Encyclopædiam Alstedii perfici et emendari. Defuit viro optimo non labor, non judicium, sed materia, sed nostri temporis felicitas.”—“Itaque vellem ut aliquot Eruditorum et bene animatorum studio componeretur opus Encyclopædiæ, qualem olim tentavit Alstedius; sed quæ nunc tota refundenda est, ob innumera maximi momenti, quæ ab eo tempore accessere.” Leibnitii Opera, T. V. p. 183–405.
* ↑ The first of the two folio volumes of which it consists, was published in 1706. Before 1741, when a Supplement to it was published, it had passed through five editions.
* ↑ The Cyclopedia consisted of two folio volumes, of which there were five editions published in the short period of eighteen years. A Supplement, also consisting of two folio volumes, chiefly compiled by Dr Hill, was published in 1754.
* ↑ Besides seventeen volumes of Text, it has eleven of Plates and Descriptions; of which the first was published in 1762, the last in 1772.
* ↑ Mémoire pour P. J. F. Luneau De Boisjermain, Souscripteur de l’Encyclopédie, p. 2. 4to. Paris, 1771.
* ↑ Nouv. Mem. de l’Académie Royale des Sciences de Berlin, pour l’an. 1770, p. 52.—Biographie Universelle, Tom. XVIII. Art. Gua De Malves.
* ↑ Encyclopédie, Art. Encyclopédie, Tom. V. p. 645.
* ↑ ——— “C’est principalement par l’esprit philosophique que nous tacherons de distinguer ce Dictionnaire.” D’Alembert, Preface du troisième volume de l’ Encyclopédie.
* ↑ The severest censure ever pronounced in regard to its general merits and consistency as a Digest of Knowledge, is that contained in the following singular passage from the pen of Diderot, its principal Editor:—“Ici nous sommes boursouflés et d’un volume exorbitant ; là maigres, petits, mesquins, secs et décharnés. Dans un endroit, nous ressemblons à des squeletes ; dans un autre, nous avons un air hydropique ; nous sommes alternativement nains et géants, colosses et pigmées ; droits, bien faits et proportionnés ; bossus, boiteux et contrefaits. Ajoûtez à toutes ces bisarreries celle d’un discours tantôt abstrait, obscur on recherché, plus souvent négligé, trainant et lâche ; et vous comparerez l’ouvrage entier au monstre de l’art poetique, ou même à quelque chose de plus hideux.” Encyclopédie, Art. Encyclopédie. T. V. p. 641.
* ↑ ——— “He had engaged all his literary friends, and the members of The Club, to contribute Articles, each on the subject in which he excelled; so that it could not but have contained a great assemblage of excellent disquisitions.’ Life (p. 112), prefixed to the first volume of his Works.
* ↑ Kerr’s Memoirs of William Smellie, Vol. I. p. 361.
* ↑ The Supplement to the Excyclopédie was published in 1776–7, in four volumes folio, exclusive of a volume of Plates and Descriptions. This Supplement was followed, in 1780, by an Index to the whole, in two folio volumes.
* ↑ Cours de Littérature, Tom. XV. p. 74.
* ↑ Leibnitii Opera, T. V. p. 184.
* ↑ We are told by his biographer, that Mr Smellie “refused to take a share of the work, and to superintend the construction of the second edition, because the other persons concerned, it has been said, on the suggestion of a distinguished nobleman, insisted upon the introduction of a system of general biography.” Kerr’s Memoirs of William Smellie, Vol. L. p. 363. The present Editor has been informed that the Duke of Buccleuch was the nobleman here alluded to.
* ↑ Mr Macfarquhar was a Printer, and one of the original proprietors of the work. Dr Gleig, who knew him well, speaks of him, in the Preface to the third edition, as being “eminently qualified for superintending the publication of an Encyclopædia.” The second edition, it is believed, was chiefly conducted by him.
* ↑ See Dr Young’s Article on Professor Robison, in this Work.
* ↑ “Elle a laisse à l’art du papetier des perfectionnemens durables, et sur-tout l’emploi de l’acide muriatique oxigéné pour le blanchiment de la pate. C’est meme à elle gue l’on doit en grande parte le nouvel emploi des caractères stéréotypes, qui augmenteront les bienfaits de l’imprimerie, en faisant pénétrer les conceptions du génie jusque dans les plus pauvres chaumiéres.” Rapport Historique sur les Progrès des Sciences Naturelles, p, 292.
* ↑ The Population of the British Empire, as ascertained by the Census of 1821, is given under the article Population, among the Addenda, subjoined to the sixth volume. In the Table annexed to the article Taxation, Vol. VI. p. 644, there will be found a much later view and analysis of the Revenue of the Empire, than is contained in the article on England.
* ↑ Mention has been already made of the Discourse on the History of Chemistry, written by Mr Brande; and the general objects of the whole, and the order in which it was proposed they should appear in the work, have been detailed in the Original Advertisement. That order was afterwards altered, conformably to an arrangement mentioned in a subsequent Advertisement, prefixed to the third volume. It was at one time imagined, that when the work came to be bound up, the Discourses of Mr Stewart and Mr Playfair might be placed in its successive volumes, in the order of their Parts; but their inequalities in point of size have rendered it necessary, that they should remain in the order in which they were published. Mr Stewart alludes (Dissertation, Part First, p. 12) to a translation of D’Alembert’s Discourse as intended to be annexed to those prefixed to this work; but this part of the plan was, on due consideration, abandoned as unnecessary.
* ↑ See the Advertisement prefixed to the Fourth Volume of this work.
* ↑ See Volume Fi,th of this work.
* ↑ ———“C’étoit alors la tactique de mettre sur le compte des morts les diatribes les plus hardies. Biographie Universelle, Tom, X. Art. Damilaville.
* ↑ Gray’s Works, by Mathias, Vol. II. p. 598.