The Sun.
London, England, 1833-12-20 00:00:00

2, Catherine-street, London.
THE ATHENIEUM,
LONDON JOURNAL of LITERATURE,
SCIENCE, and the FINE ARTS.
(Published every Saturday)—Price Fourpence.
[EXTRACT FROM THE ADDRESS OF THE PROPRIETORS.]
It has been the fashion of those who would neither un-
dertake the labour nor hazard the cost of making the
reader acquainted with the progressive development of
the universal mind, to persuade themselves that English-
men were like the snail in the Hindu proverb, who,
seeing nothing beyond its shell, believed it to be the finest
palace in the world—we have ever thought and acted
differently. The literary world, in our opinion, is as
eager for an interchan:;e of knowledge as our traders for
an interchange of manufactures ; and it is our ambitious
hope that, ultimately, the ATHEN/EUM will become the
literary mart where all nations must offer tribute of their
wisdom—therefore it was that, in the late dearth of sound
English literature, we availed ourselves of the opportunity
to make the reader acquainted with what our Continental
❑eighbours were thinking and doing. One circumstance,
however, weighed against us: there was, unfortunately,
no point from which we could start—all was unknown.
The review of a foreign work, however comprehensive,
was but an isolated thing, and not a part of a whole;
the English public knew little relating to the author or
the work ; still less of the author or his work, in relation

to the general literature of his country. We have there-
fore made arrangements for giving in EXTRA SHEETS
of the ATHENAEUM, successive Series of Papers on
THE LITERATURE of the NINETEENTH CEN-
TURY, with ANECDOTES CRITICAL and BIO-
GRAPHICAL—
Each series to be devoted to the literature of one nation,
and to be written by a distinguished native of that country
(with the exception of Turkish Literature by Von Ham-
mer.). It is believed that the FIRST of the Series on

GERMAN LITERATURE will be ready for publication
EARLY in JANUARY. It will be continued, at inter..
vals of about a fortnight until complete,—then French,
Italian, Spanish, American, Turkish, Persian, &c., all

in preparation, will follow in due course. To each
series the name of the writer will be prefixed ; and it
will then appear that no cost has been spared to secure the
co operation of the most distinguished writers in Europe.
It is intended that each series shall be full and
comprehensive—in proof, the articles on German
Literature will equal in extent an octavo volume;
Franee but little less; Spain, Italy, America, each perhaps
equil to half a volume ; the Northern and Eastern Nations
according to their relative importance. It must not be
supposed that such a series will be as interminable as an
Encyclopedia—AN EXTRA HALF SHEET OF THE ATHZ-
NALTIK is somewhat more capacious than the reader may
at first imagine; four of them can conveniently swallow
up an ordinary, and five or six an extraordinary, octavo
volume.

And now, whether we have wisely calculated on the
wants and wishes of the English literary public, time
only can determine. The proposed series, with transla-
tions, printing, and paper, cannot cost us less than two,
and will probably exceed three, thousand pounds; but not
one fat thing to subscribers, the whole being a gratuitous
addition to the present paper.
Wir The Atheneum may be had b?/ order of all booksellers.