636 Reirsfpe^ of French Literature. — Mifcellaneous. 



Mercury for his friend BoiflTy, fupported 

 that woiJc by means of his Contes Mo- 

 raux. At th's s)eriod he ref't'ed in the 

 hou'e of Madam-- Golf, in in Paris, and 

 hav ng one day the imprudence to recite a 

 fe.v I itirical veriVs in a compriny of ftx 

 perfons only, of wnich he himielt wasn't 

 tile au h r, he receivetl an ordtr next 

 mor. ing trcm the Duked'Aurr.ont, whofe 

 name had been made fiee with, either to 

 point out t e pcrl'on who had contipof d 

 the libel, or to repair to ihe Banille. He 

 accoiilingly fnlmittef^ to his (ate ; fur be- 

 ing dttei mined n. t to b;tray a fiiend, he 

 was impiiloned Mor a few days. Not- 

 wit!)ft ii.d.iig this I'.ifigreeable event, which 

 pliinly deinonfrates wh it kind of govern, 

 ment piev.iilfd at tint period in France, 

 Mainiontel ?,t length became a member of 

 tht! Fiench academy, and even hiliorio- 

 graph^r 'f France. 



♦'The ric Elemcntaire ile la S'atiftiqiie, 

 par DenisFravjois Donnant, Se 

 cieaiie-per^e'iie ile la Societe Ac^de- 

 mique des ScierXis dc Paris ; Membre de 

 rAihutiecdes Arts, du Conlcil d'Admi- 

 n.ftraion de la Soc etc d'Enc->uragement, 

 de la Societe de Statillique, &c." — E\i- 

 mentr-ry Theory of S>aeilHck«, &c. This 

 Is ihe fii A w H'k of the kind that ever ap- 

 pe-ircd in France, for until of iate the 

 term was unknown. The ohjcil of ihe 

 fcience heie rtfeircd to, conliits in treat- 

 ing of the phyfical, moral, and political 

 p";>«er of any countiy. 



M. D-nnant, the author, diviJes ftatif. 

 ticks into three principal branches, anj 

 this divifion appears vi-ry nect-dary for 

 me airangcment if fo rXteiifive a Itudy. 

 The firit bianch cmbrac-s w|jatf :ever con. 

 ceriis ibe balance, f viirtfieni fla'tsinany 

 given portion of the ■^oild, iucn as Eu- 

 rope, Aiii, &c. ; i: is merely calculaitd 

 to pre'ent a grand tolitction ot faits, and 

 exhibit genersl relults. The author, there- 

 fore, denominates it analytical Jtatij'- 

 ticks. 



The fccond comprehends refearche* on 

 the topfigraifhical Htuation, the nature of 

 the resources, the extent, and the deve- 

 loprpcnt of the ihengthof a whole coun- 

 try, furh as England, France, PrulTia, 

 Sec. Tiiis is cicnonnnated j'pecial Jiatif- 

 ticks. 



The third, in (hort, includes the facfs, 

 both pdniciiiar and general, which diftin- 

 gu.lli every I'pecific diviiior. oS a great 

 Itafe, I'ucii as a depirtniea>, a diftrici, a 

 county, ■* provinc.-", 5jc. ; which M. Don. 

 nnnt terms mUrnal Jlatijlicks . 



The author is at great pains to point 

 '^ " the elTcncial dhlinciion beiwi^eB the 



pnblicirt-, and what he is pleafed to term 

 x.\\<: fiavftician. It i* only necelVary for 

 the former, hef^js, to have a correal no- 

 tion t»! geography, political economy, 

 and dipljin.icy, while the latter, in addi- 

 tioi ;o thefe, ought to be ptiftftly verfed 

 in the k.-.owledgeof the conhituent branches 

 of the fociai holy. 



"Diolioni.a rt- UnivtiTei.Geographique, 

 StaiiHque, Hillorique, et PoU ique, de 

 la Fiance, con:enant la IJelciiption, la 

 Population, la Mmcialogie, I'Hyi'r.)- 

 gtipiie, le Commeice, les Produits N.^- 

 tiuel'.cs e: Iniu.hicls de cet Empire ; la 

 Genealogie de ceux qui ont g„.uverre ce 

 Pays depuis 400 avant i'Ere Vulgaire, 

 jtifqu' a ce Jour, avec les principa..x Eve- 

 nemens qui s'y font pafic' lous les cliffe- 

 rei s Rfcgnts e: Gouverniinens ; les C' u- 

 tutne», les In.tit„t;ons Civiles, hlilitaires, 

 et Ecclefi.^ftiques j dts Tableaux Compa- 

 Mtifs de la Frince Monarchiquf?, avec la 

 France en Republique ; tons \ h Grands 

 Homines celcbres ou taiiieux depuis plu. 

 fieurs fiedes, avec un-; Notice dcs Ouv- 

 rag,-s qu' il» ont (ublies; les Siegts, leg 

 Bataiilcs, 1; lieu oil elles fe font doniees, 

 le N »m des Generaux q'ui y ont com- 

 tname,' &c., &c. — A New Univcrfal, 

 Geographical, Statiliic 1, Hiftoi ical, and 

 Political, Hiftory of France, &c., &c. 



The title alone ol this work may ftrve 

 as a prolpe^liis j an anil) lis tlieretori 

 wtuld be ui'elefs ; and we fliill only addj 

 that it is intended t.) conlilt of five vo- 

 lumes, of which the firft and fecond alone 

 are piibliihed. Volume V. is to be dedi- 

 cated cr.tirely to the colonies. 



The followipg extract nnay ferve as a 

 ffitcimen of the work ; 



" Tnc people ot France were ahfdute- 

 ly flavts until th: time of Piiilip Auguf- 

 tus. The feijiieuis or lords were tyrants 

 until the reign of Louis XI-, a tyrai.t 

 hiinfelf, who aimed at n thing-but the ir~ 

 creafe ot she royal authority. 



" Fiancis I. gave birth to commerce, 

 navigation, ltt;ers, and the arts, which 

 pcriflhed with him. Henry IV., called the 

 Great, prepared to renew the reign of 

 Francis i., when he was affiflinited. The 

 Cardinal de Richelieu was ei.tirely occu- 

 pied w-th the talk of hiimbli.ig ihe I-ioure 

 or Auftria, Calvinifm, and the Grandees s 

 the Caidiiial de Mazarin ilreainid of no- 

 thing but maintriining hiuildt in his po.1 

 with ait and addrefs. 



" Thui the French remained difiing 

 many years devoid ot induitry, in the 

 mijit of dilordcrand ignorance, and tck 

 no part in any of the ^'^'.A dilcoveries or 

 memorable inventifr-'- "■ther naiJon«. 



The 



