ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BOOKS. 417 



powers of arrangement regardless of his will, yet amiably inviting his attention. 

 But his urban residence, the library, he arranges as the master of it, according 

 to his own convenience, to correspond with his own necessities and to illustrate 

 his tastes. The character of the library is therefore determined by the principles 

 of art, not nature. 



The general library, therefore, is a picture of a generous intellect, well stored, 

 well ordered, and open to enlargement in all directions. 



Its comjjartments represent the grand natural divisions of knowledge. 



Its classilication should be in an ascending and advancing series. 



Its treasures, like those of memory, should be preserved in the natural order 

 of time, and the natural order of space should be ancillary and complementary, 

 wherever applicable. 



These are the maxims by which the cataloguing of the library of the American 

 Philosophical Society has been governed. Eight principal classes carry from the 

 universal to the special, from the abstract to the concrete, from the inorganic to 

 the organic, and from matter to mind. Each class begins with the theory of it.« 

 subject and follows with its practice. Excepting the first, which represents tho 

 abstract conception of knowledge itself with its universal applications, each 

 class advances tlie theme beyond a point at which the class preceding leaves it. 

 More scientific names might be invented for these classes, but only by having 

 recourse to a pseudo-classical, harsh, unknown compound terminology, and 

 therefore the names which have been adopted are those best known and in 

 common use, as follows : 



1. GENERAL SCIENCE. 



1. Encyclopaedias, &c. 1^. Learned Societies. 1^ Catalogues of Libraries. 



2. THE MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES. 



2. Mathematics. 2^. Astronomy, &c. 2^. Geodesy, &c. S''. Physic*. 



3. THE INORGANIC SCIENCES. 



3. Chemistry. 3'. Mineralogy. 3^. Mining. 3*. Geology nnd Pabrontology. 



4. THE ORGANIC SCIENCES. 



4. Biology. 4^. Botany, &:c. 4^. Zoology, &c. 4*. IMcdicine, &c. 



5. THE HISTORICAL SCIENCES. 



5. Chronology. 5'. Ethnology. 5". Archaeology. 5*. History. 



G. THE SOCIAL SCIENCES. 



6. Sociology. 6^. Manufactures. G''. Commerce. C, War. G^ La^r. 



7. THE SPIRITUAL SCIENCES. 



7. Language 7^. Belles-Lettres. 7^. Fine Arts. 7*. Logic, Sec. 



T". Education, &c. 7''. Religion. 



8. PERSONAL SCIENCE. 



8. Biography. 



The divisions of the eight classes arc naturally made by separating the pure 

 i?ciences from their applications, and by grouping the latter according to their 

 relationships. Thus the mathematical sciences are divided into — Mathematics 

 pure (2^); mathematics applied to astronomy (2^) ; mathematics applied to 

 geodesy (2^); mathematics applied to mechanics and physical questions gener- 

 ally (21) 



27 8 



