SOS 



Inqu'iry csncern'.ng Gram. — Cjcl-roach. 



[oa. I, 



proofs " tliat any propnfals have been 

 made in fhe Chuic'n, or any pi "> deviled 

 by her, for iier'-ciirins; the Methourls, or 

 any otl.er Diffen.ers,' I n'ight ct.nrent 

 niyfelf with ("syiufi;, that no afl'crtion of the 

 kind'is to be ttund in my letter, which 

 only bims that " fome zealots feem deli- 

 roui of urgins: the Charcii to fuch a inta. 

 lure.'" Hut I do not fcruple to affirm, 

 that one \f\\o does not difcern a maikt-d 

 tendency to intolerance in the wri:ii)gs 

 and aCt ions of feveral of the prefent clergy 

 (and fome of no mean rank) mutt bf poflef- 

 led either of litle informaiion crof itrong 

 prejudices. Your's, &c. Polites. 



To the Edt'ior of the Mjnihly Magazine. 



SIR.. 



THERE are few fpeculations mrre 

 amuiing, and at the iame time, in 

 fome degree, mortifyin«;, than the differ- 

 ent notions of tile celebrity of in'^ividuals 

 en*ertai''ed in different sg-es and countries. 

 Biofttapliical recoids are full of examples 

 of local and temporary fame, which are 

 lort in utter obfcurity as foon the phce or 

 peri .d is change.H ; and an iLullriffimus on 

 one fide of a mounain or river is often 

 reduced to iioboJji on the ether fic'e. A 

 par graph in the '• Diary of Linnx'js," 

 piinliflicd by Di. Maton, lateiv ftruck me 

 as affording a remarkAi)ie inHance of this 

 partial eftimate. It is a quotation it^m a 

 ceifam Suhm, in Hijl. Lit. ASiis Nidro- 

 fii/if.hus infeita. " Of ihofe who have 

 gaii.ed .he praifeof the leuned world, fix 

 only are men.ioned as immortal, the highell 

 appellation thatcan be bclto>ivcd on philo- 

 fin'l'ers: Galileo, Nevulon, Ltlbnitz, Boer- 

 baave, Li/ine, and Gram.'''' With the 

 iirii five namis no man of reading can be 

 uiiacrjimiiied ; hut who is Gram ? This 

 queitioii I ha-, c :<(ked to a r.miber of per- 

 Jbn.<;, without being able to gain the.ieaft 

 infonnation of i\\t /txihimr-iortal. I take 

 it loi granted that he is a Ge man, but In 

 what iIcp.Triment he h*s acqiiired this ex- 

 tra^ rdir.ary celebrity I cani.ot guefs. If 

 any of your rc:!de. s ftiould happen to be 

 be ter informed, it would gratify me if 

 ihey wtniid comniuiicaie their knowledge 

 thiough the medium of your IVlaga/.ine ; 

 which might alio be the means of le- 

 fcuing the laid Gram from that deith 

 which, notivithrtanding his immortality, 

 fcems in danger of overwheiming him, at 

 Jeaft in this country. 



If, at the fame time. Tome intelligence 

 Were given concerning Mr. Suhm and the 

 ASia Nldrofictifia, it would make an acctf- 

 fion to my knowlidge. Your's, &c. 



Igno&amus. 



To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



PF.RMIT me, throur,h the medium of 

 vour valuable mifce'lany, to expre(s 

 a doubt, which fopie of your learned cor- 

 refpondents m<y perhaps exj^lain. 



Vire. Georg. II. i. 499, — Inrtead of 

 the common reading, 



Aut doluit miferans inopem, aut invidit ha- 

 benci, 



I piopofc i he following : 



Aut doluit miferiiis Jc inopem, aut ln»idit 

 hsbenti. 



Thefubjeft of this refleftion is a m^n 

 r^niingin the coun'ry, among vvhle me- 

 rits ftirely c<n.iot be reckoned, never feel- 

 ing for the poverty or niifery of a fellaw» 

 creaiuie. The in'.erpoiaiio". of ihtfe two 

 Ict'ers greatly impioves the fentimtnt; 

 as, by accepting them, tiie " ruris inccln''' 

 isen to ved with for'ituJe and equanimity 

 in adverfity, \n addition to the vir'ue in- 

 cluded in the latrer pirt of thi. fentence, 

 viz. •' nevei envying a mm richer or hap- 

 pier thin himlelf." 



If you cuuld fpae, in your next pub- 

 lication, a fpare lutficient f»ir the infertioa 

 of \\i\s bagatelle, you would oh. ige, Sir, 

 Your obedient Servant, 



CONATUS. 



Tc^ver-Hill, 

 ■^ttguji 16, 1805. 



To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



IN your laft Magazine, under the heaJ 

 " Gleanings in N,:t;iral Hiftory," ar- 

 ticle Cockroach, the queltion is put, 

 '« Whence can this apparently ridiculous 

 name be derived ?" 



It is well known that the fame, or a fi- 

 niilar infect is as abiindsnt, and as trou- 

 blelbme in Afia, as in America It is 

 alio well known, thitaJialefl of Portu- 

 guefe is the prevailing language in mo ft 

 of the maritime places of the Peninfuia 

 of India. The name of the iflfeil; in 

 that diale6l is carocha, from which our 

 fii it adventurers to the E .ft, particularly 

 failors, might, without much difficulty, 

 have made cockroach. The name is ap- 

 plied vulgarly in Portugal to the Gam- 

 mon black beetle ; but this, I believe, is 

 more properly called efcaravelho, proba- 

 bly from efcarbot, French, and all, per- 

 haps, originally from the Latin fcara- 

 bceiis. 



Strand, 

 Auguji, 1805. T. 



For 



