82 Encyclopaedias 



Italian encyclopaedias. — Nuova enciclopedia italiana (14 vols. 1841-51). Re- 

 vised 6th edition (30 vols. 1875-99). One of the greatest achievements of the Fascist 

 regime was the preparation and rapid completion of the Enciclopedia italiana di 

 scienze, lettere ed arti (37 vols., Rome 1929-39; 2 vol. suppt. 1948). The philoso- 

 pher, Giovanni Gentile (1875- ), was chief editor. That encyclopaedia is 

 less important than the Britannica but very full, well documented and admirably il- 

 lustrated. 



There are many other encyclopaedias in other languages, Russian, Dutch, Danish, 

 Norwegian, Swedish, Portuguese, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese, etc., partly be- 

 cause the publication of an encyclopaedia has become an essential element of the 

 national aspirations of each country and of the linguistic aspirations of each 

 linguistic group. Some of these encyclopaedias are excellent, but there is no need 

 of mentioning them here, because they are of no use except to readers understanding 

 their particular language, and those readers are fully aware of their existence. 



However impartial the editors of encyclopaedias may be, they are bound to give 

 more importance to the topics concerning their own national or linguistic area and 

 that is all right if that natural partiality is not carried too far. The encyclopaedias 

 written in "small" ^ languages are particularly valuable for what concerns their 

 area which may be somewhat neglected in the encyclopaedias published in other, 

 larger, areas. 



In addition to the encyclopaedias already quoted, which however international 

 they may be, have a natural predilection for a national or linguistic area, there are 

 other encyclopaedias of which the area is primarily religious; that is, they are also 

 international or supranational, but in a difFerent way. Here are a few which I am 

 using constantly: 



Encyclopaedia of religion and ethics (13 vols., New York 1908-27). 



Catholic. — Dictionnaire de theologie catholique ( 15 vols., to "theologie," Paris 

 1903-43). Catholic encyclopaedia (16 vols., New York 1907-13). 



Jewish. — Jewish encyclopaedia (12 vols.. New York 1901-6). Encyclopaedia 

 judaica ( 10 vols, to "Lyra," Berlin 1928-34 ) in German, interrupted because of Ger- 

 man anti-Semitism. There is also an edition in Hebrew. 



Muslim. — Encyclopaedia of Islam (4 vols., suppt. 1 vol., Leiden 1908-38). Edi- 

 tions in English, German, French; also in Arabic and Turkish. 



Buddhist. — Hobogirin (Tokyo 1929 etc.), interrupted by the war (Introd. 3, p. 

 1889). 



For classical antiquity, see Pauly-Wissowa mentioned at the beginning of this 

 chapter. 



The indications given above on encyclopaedias are rudimentary, but amply suf- 

 ficient for ordinary usage. A scholar should never be ashamed to consult encyclo- 

 paedias but he should do so carefully. Such consultation is very often the best way 

 to begin an investigation. If one has to deal with a topic having national or linguis- 

 tic implications, it is well to consult in the first place an encyclopaedia covering 

 particularly that national or hnguistic area, but then to consult also encyclopaedias 

 covering other areas, rival areas. This gives one a preliminary view of that topic, 

 which is many-sided and sufficiently objective. 



A complete bibliography of encyclopaedias would be very long and difficult, and 

 not useful for our purpose. Even the exact and complete bibliography of a single 

 encyclopaedia, such as the Britannica or Brockhaus, would require much labor and 

 space. Most encyclopaedias contain articles on "encyclopaedias" and generally a 

 history of their own endeavor. There is a good unsigned article in the Britannica 

 (8,424-31, 1929). 



Up-to-date encyclopaedias are of very great service to scientists and scholars of 

 every kind for first aid on many subjects (chiefly on subjects with which they are 

 not familiar ) . Historians of science need not only the latest encyclopaedias but also 

 the old ones, as such offer one of the simplest means of recapturing the educated 



^ The word "small' is not used here in a bad sense. We call "small" languages those which 

 are used only by a relatively small population, and have no international currency. They may 

 be, and often are, "great" languages in other respects. Sarton: The tower of Babel (Isis 39, 

 3-15, 1948). 



