S tj P ]^ L t M E Jf T ARY NUMBER 



TO THE FORTY-SECOND volume oiF the 



IXo. 293.] JANUARY 30, 1817. [Price 2». 



[ SUPPLEMENT 



J TO THE 



Fourth and Fifth Edi'ions 



"*" ' ' " , OF THE 



^CititbPMDlA BRITANNIC A. 

 .ijwoi? Qnarto, 11. 58. per Part. 



[The T.s CYCLOP JED t\ Britannica lias 

 confprieil as much honour on the lite- 

 rature of Seotlaiid, as the gront Parisian 

 Encyclopaedia on the literature of 

 . Franco, Both paved the way for a new 

 . 'face of hooks, — the one in shape, and 

 iiie other in title. London had its va- 

 rious Dictionaries of Arts and Sciences; 

 ^J)u^ these have siiicc, in imitation of the 

 ^reat Scottish work, been converted, 

 ftom unwieldy folios, into elegant 



■ wiartos; anti the old title has been 

 ^hanged, i-la-mode Franraise, into that 



• ypf Cydopa-dia and Encyclopaedia. Pei- 

 *.liaps no work of its bulk and pric; ever 



■ .''JkttBined so extensive a circulation ag 

 - _2fl« Encyclopajdia Britannica. It is 



~^ell known that the first enlarged edi- 

 . tion made the fortunes of all concerned 

 ^ it ; and that its treatises were received 

 as elementary systems of most popu- 

 lar subjects of study. It became, in 

 truth, a species of itinerant University, 

 reflectins; the true picture of the state 

 of kmwle Jf^e among the laborious pro- 

 fessois of the most enlightened Univer- 

 ^»Tty in the world. It was accordingly 

 jVeceived every where as a book of au- 

 -.'jhority, and so numerous are the reading 

 :* public, to which j-uch a work was espe- 

 cially addressed, that not less than 

 thirty thousand copies have, within as 

 many years, been distributed through 

 the civilized world. The rival spirit of 

 tiiterprise which, fortunately for the 

 public, animates the great publishing 

 booksellers of tlie^/.s( and second capi- 

 tal* of the empire, and which we are 

 sorry to observe is co dormant in the 

 third capital, led the opulent pro|)rietors 

 of Dr. Rces' edition of Chambers to 

 determine on a parallel to the great 

 Scottish work, by republishing it in 

 qaarto; and, though this v'ast under- 

 takiijg exceeds iu bulk and brilliancy 

 the northern work as much as London 

 exceeds Edinburgh, yet there is in the 

 iicotiiiih series a tried degree of merit, 

 and a compactness of size and price, 

 MuMTHLY Mao. I^o. 293. 



vvbich will long entitle it tothepref*r< 

 cnre of numerous purchaser.*. To se- 

 cure this preference, and confer on the 

 Eiicydopadia Britannica recommenda- 

 tioris all its own,- the proprietors have 

 dclermined to print a Supplement ,to 

 tlic-ir last or fifth Edition, consisting 

 l);irlly of new and improved articles, 

 which the progress of discovery aud 

 experiment rendered necessary ; aud 

 partly of brief histories of the respec- 

 tive branches of knowledge, rendered 

 luminous and interesting by the known 

 ability of the author.s engaged to writ« 

 them. Portions of two. of these histo- 

 ries have appeared ; one by Professsr 

 DuGALD Stewart, on his well-knowja. 

 subject, thu Hwnan Mind ; and the ottiejr 

 by Professor Joii.n Pla\fair, as 

 justly celebrated for his intellectual 

 eneigies in the Mathematics and Natural 

 Philosophy. From the first parts of tlie 

 Histories of these distinguished writers 

 we have selectee! various passages, not 

 only as specimens of superior composi- 

 tion, but of original views on subject 

 so often discussed. The works at larg« 

 will recommend themselves to the at- 

 tention of the public, and, when th« 

 continuations to the present time hav« 

 appeared, we shall hasten, in like man* 

 ner, to gratify our readers by specimens, 

 which are likely to prove at least a» 

 original and interesting,] 



Professor Stewart's History of tht 

 Frugrets of Metaphyiical, Ethical, tnd 

 Foiutcal Philosophy, since the revival 

 of Letters in Europe, 



MACHIAVEL. 



IN the inean time, a powerful obstacle 

 to the progress of practical tnorality 

 and of sound policy, was superadded to 

 those previously existing in Catholic coun. 

 tries, by the rapid growth and extensive 

 influence of the Machiavellian scliool. Thte 

 founder of iliis new sect (or, to speak 

 more correctly, the systeinatizer and 

 apostle of its doctrine) was born as earlV 

 us 14G9, that is, about ten years beforii 

 Luther; and, like that reformer, ac- 

 quired, by the commanding superiority 

 of his genius, an astonishing ascendant 

 (though of a very different nature) over 

 the ujinds of bis followers. No writer, 

 certainly, either in ancient or in modern 

 4 £ tiuie». 



