1S06.] Progress of Afironomy in 1805, by Lalande. 327 



cing a larije volume to a few pages, with- 

 out depriving the liillury of its interelt. 

 Bolton has faid of Flurus, that the htera- 

 ry world would experience a more fevere 

 lofs in the privation of liis abridgements, 

 than in crowds of folio volumes. 



J^UTROPiL'S was another who pofleffed 

 the art of compreliing objects and de- 

 fcribing characters, lie has compiled a 

 very brief Chronological Table of the 

 principal occurrences, ci\il and military, 

 •which had taken place from the founda- 

 tion of the Iloman empire to the reign 

 of the Emperor Valcns, whofe hilloriogra- 

 pher he was. Paulas Uiacomes of Aqui- 

 ieia wrote a Continuation of Eutropius. 



Four volumes by Fhoxtinus, on the 

 ftratagems of war, are conipofed on an 

 excellent plan. Each book is divided 

 into chapters, forming, fucceflively, an 

 entire new fyftein, •xtraWed from the 

 experimental difcovcrit s of the molt ex- 

 perienced Generals then known. 



\'eceti rs has left us a military treatife, 

 founded on the Memoiis of Cato, Celfus, 

 Trajan, Adrian, and Frontinus, of all 

 whom, except the latter, no veltige re- 

 mains. Vegetius was a civilian, ignorant 

 of military terms, and conftantiy per- 

 plexes his reader by confounding the 

 old with the exifting difcipline, as 

 well as that which he fuppofes may 

 in future be adopted. His Ityle is tinc- 

 tured with the prevailing difordcr of the 

 times, and oft^n becomes tedious in the 

 extreme. No writer perliaps e\cr had 

 fo maiiy commentator?. 



The Roman Kepubiic cxaftcd from 

 their Generals and Confuls written me- 

 nu irials, to be addrclfed to the .'senate, 

 declaratory of their opeiations. Ihcfe 

 otficial reports were depoiited in the ar- 

 chives of the empire, and afterwards en- 

 truded to perfons liigh in the offices of 

 the ftate, who formed them into hilturies. 

 •Scylla, Luculius, Julius Cffifar, were the 

 narrators of their own exploits. Ac- 

 cording to tlic form of ancient govern- 

 ment, power was maintained by the 

 jfraccs of perfualion as eHetkially as it 

 now is by the awe of authority. A great 

 urator and a gieal mail were lynoiiy- 

 inous. llillory, tiierefore, came fromthe 

 hands ot' fuch writers with every impiei- 

 iion of dignity. Eh^quciice was the moll 

 imporlant of all ancient lludies, becaufe 

 no public iitiiation could be held, uniup- 

 Jiorted l;y the fubtleties of public decla- 

 mation. Ibnce thofe lenfithered ha- 

 rangues which we meet with in hiltory, 

 «nd condemn, without reflecting on the 

 ilitiei'ciicc beiweeu ancient Uiaunei°i> ajid 



education and our own. We alfo find 

 with i'urprize that political economy 

 forms no part of their Itate plans, though 

 it is>vith us ait object of the firlt conlide- 

 ration, and purfucd with unceafing indul- 

 try. This fpecies of philofophy, fo pro- 

 minent in European annals, was altoge- 

 ther unknown to the ancients ; but it 

 has, hnce the fall of the Iloman Empire, 

 been gradually dill'ciuinated in the world 

 through fucceeding centuries. On mili- 

 tary ta6rics, however, they have been 

 abundantly explanatory. Yet it mull be 

 confeii'ed, that, a lapie of fo many ages 

 confidered, and fo many eventful revolu- 

 tions, added to tiie great change time h;is 

 made in our cuftoms and ideas, a fort of 

 confulion arifes in our minds when we 

 perufe thefe details, and our judgment 

 helitates when it ought to be fatisfied. 



The Greeks have Itill added to our 

 embarraflinent, by a jealous anxiety to 

 preferve their languaj^e from ^vhat they 

 termed foreign barbarifins. Their ftyle 

 is elegant, and calculated to pleafe the 

 car, but it puzzles the underllanding. 

 They have given to the iloman taCtics 

 all thofe terms by which they dillinguiflw 

 ed their own, although their forms diifer- 

 ed very materially — [To be continued in 

 our ntxt.l^ 



For the Monthlij Magazine. 

 HISTOKY of A%'i was oyi\ for 1805, by jjf 



ROME DE LALANDE. 



THE meteorology of this year has 

 been extraordinary on account of 

 the ^ ariations of temperature. It froze 

 in the montli of March, in June, and in 

 September. On the 17th and 18th of 

 December the cold was fo intenfe as to 

 freeze the Seine at Paris, and on the Sill 

 we had the temperature of i'pring. 



At eight o'clock in the evening of the 

 7th of December the heat was fo excef- 

 live at Ballc, that you would have ima- 

 gined yourlelf at tlie mouth of a fur- 

 nace ; and this lafted for three hours. 



On the 13th of December there was 

 a hurricane, which dellroyed a grCat 

 number of Ihips. 



Peihaps the Aurore Borcrdes, which 

 are to nearly related to electricity, and 

 are continual in the regi(nis of ihe north, 

 may occaliijii tlie (torms which deter- 

 mine the winds, and contribute to thefe 

 inconceivable variations of the feafons iu 

 the countries of Europe. 



A phenomenon occurred this year 

 which furnilhed me with occafioii of ac- 

 counting for hunicar.es. On the 4th of 

 July there was at Ueilfurt one of thofe 

 extviiurdiiiary 



