•3^ society of Arcadia. Oct. 17. 



ting colonies among the literati who were far from 

 Kome. By the first, youth is accustomed to imbibe 

 «arly the best stile j and, by the second, the same good 

 stile has been introduced and is preserved among 

 the most lively, and most illustrious geniuses of Italy. 

 There are above sixty of these colonies, in diiFerent 

 parts of Italy, and one even in Carinthia, in the 

 town of Lubiana. 



The colonies depend on the general afsembly in 

 some particular things j but are free to keep their 

 literary afsemblies when and where, and on what sub- 

 ject they please, and create their own magistrates, 

 and choose their censors. The authority the gene- 

 ral afsembly has reserved to itself over them, is to 

 ratify the choice of their new fhepherds, and deliver 

 their diplomas, without which they are not considered 

 as Arcadians ; to choose tlie vict custode of the colony 

 out of the two presented by the colony; to decide the 

 disputes which may srise in the colonies ; and the 

 approbation of the works which are intended lor the 

 prefs, with the Arcadian names, or the arms of the 

 colony, or that of the general afsembly. The arms or 

 emblem of Arcadia, is the seven reeds, or syringa, 

 wnich the colonies quarter with their own. 



As the institutors oi this pastoral society had de- 

 vised to conceal, under pastorcil names, the persons 

 who composed it, they likewise imagined to make 

 use cf the Olympiads of the ar.cient Greeks in their 

 date of time. Tnus, after the ourse of about fifteen 

 c-enturies, that the computation by Olympiads had 

 ceased, our literary society rcafsumed the use of it, 

 and destined the end of every Olympiad for the cele- 



