880 Biographical Memoir of Br TJiomas Young. 



produce peculiarities by those destructions of light which re- 

 suit from the crossings of two pencils ; Young, however, had 

 the honour of opening the way in this career, and he commenced 

 the deciphering these hieroglyphics of optics. 



(To this succeeds an account of his discoveries in hierogly- 

 phics, which we presented to our readers in our 19th volume, 

 and on which now, therefore, we need not dwell.) 



The limits to which I am confined, do not allow me even to 

 quote the simple titles of many of the writings which Dr Young 

 published. The mere announcement of so rich and varied a 

 catalogue, is sufficient to establish the high character of our 

 learned associate. Who is there, in truth, but would suppose, 

 that we were giving the list of the labours of several academies, 

 and not those of a single person, when he heard the following 

 enumeration of distinct titles ; — Memoir on the forges, where 

 iron is wrought — Essays on music and painting — Researches on 

 the habits of spiders, and on the system of Fabricius — On the 

 stability of the arches of bridges — Upon the atmosphere of the 

 moon — Description of a new species of opercularia — Mathematical 

 theory of epicycloid al curves — On the restoration and translation 

 of certain Grecian inscriptions — On the means of strengthening 

 the frame-work of ships of the line — On the play of the heart 

 and arteries in the phenomena of circulation — Theory of tides 

 — On the diseases of the chest — On friction in the axis of ma- 

 chines — On the yellow fever — On the calculation of echpses — 

 Essay on grammar, &c. 



These labours, so numerous and varied, would seem to have 

 required the laborious and retired life of one of those geniuses 

 who is almost lost to those around him, and who, from their 

 early youth, detach themselves from all their cotemporaries, 

 and bury themselves in their studies. But far from this, Young 

 was what is usually called a man of the world. He was a fre- 

 quent ornament of the most brilliant circles in London. The 

 graceful elegance of his mind and manners, would have amply 

 sufficed to have conferred distinction in these ; but when we 

 moreover consider that in these numerous meetings there may 

 be some fifty subjects which, in their turn, are all discussed in 

 a few hours, the value of such a living library will be easily 

 perceived, where every one could at the moment find an accu- 



