[ 217 ] 

 XXXVIII. Notices respecting Neiv Books. 



Evcyclopcedia Metrnpnliinna ; or. Universal Dictionary cf 

 ■ K,-!:<'i I' dgc, on 'in oiigi/ial Plan: comprising the twofold 

 yidi 'iitaqe oj a PhUo^opk'ical and Alphabetical Arrangement. 

 . Van i. ' 



Jl he »\<)rd Ency lopcedin is current amongst us, as the title of 

 yariuui dictionaries or science, uho;e professed object is to fur- 

 nish a roiupendiuiii of human knowledge, whatever may be their 

 plan ; — but to introduce anv greater met/iod into such a compen- 

 dium rhan what belongs to a mere adherence to alphabetical ar- 

 ranet-ment has never, we believe, been attempted until the ap- 

 pearance of the present work. 



In the Entyclopcedia MelropoUtana, (the first ])art of which is 

 now before us,) three great natural divisions have been adopted, 

 for the purpi se of rescuing the body of philosopliv and history 

 from the confusion of miscellaneous and incidental information j 

 viz. the Philosophical, the Historical, and the Miscellaneous ; 

 and the first of thesf' has Ijeen subdivided into the domain of 

 pure and that of mixed science — making, in all, four divisions. 

 Of each of these the editor.- propose to publish a jjortion in even' 

 part, to make, in all, 2r> volumes, the last of which is to be an 

 index to the whole. 



The work is preceded bv a general introduction or prelimi- 

 nary treatise or method, which lays before the reader a general 

 analysis of knowledge, or arbre encyclopedique, and states cer- 

 tain methodical principles on which the union of the sciences is 

 conceived to depend. This is, in truth, doing what tlie term 

 Encyclopaedia implies ought always to be done; namely, forming 

 a circle of science, all radiating as it were from one common 

 centre — whereas in other works of the like kind we have seen, at 

 the most, but segments of very different magnitude, and ill-as- 

 sorted position. 



The second division begins with a treatise on IMechanics, that 

 science standing at the head of the class called the mixed,- and 

 applied. V/e have not room to enter into tiie whole of its de- 

 tail : it appears, however, to i)e w^ll and cnreftdly written. It 

 is introduced by a short historical sketch of tlie rise and progress 

 of mechanics, as relating to solid bodies. ThtMi follows a ge- 

 neral view of Statics, their definitions and theorems, leading to 

 a consideration, first, of the simple mechanicid powers, the lever, 

 inclined plane, funicular machine, wheel and axle, jiulley, screw, 

 and wedge, and afterwards of their combinations : and in this 

 part is introduced an account of the recent experiments of Col. 



Paslev, 



