272 Dr Muneke's Remarks on an Account of the 



turalists and Physicians at Hamburgh, is, amongst all its inte- 

 resting matters, blended with so many deformities, that it may 

 not only be useful in general to correct them, but it must be 

 even a satisfaction to Englishmen to be possessed of better infor- 

 mation. Taking this account on the whole, it is a true and 

 correct one ; but we are sorry to find it disfigured by palpable 

 errors, arising from prejudice or misconception, or want of good 

 information, or, the triajuncta inuno. 



Before I proceed, I must beg to direct the attention of the 

 reader to Mr Johnston's translation of natur for seller by culti- 

 vators ; this is erroneous. Forschen signifies to search, to 

 seek, to inquire, to pry, to investigate, to examine, and, by 

 dint of these combined efforts, to improve ; the German deno- 

 mination consequently implies the progress of science by dili- 

 gent inquiry, whereas the English adopted by Mr Johnston 

 implies only or more of a stationary plodding. I hope it may 

 not be considered superfluous thus to correct this false descrip- 

 tive denomination of the naturalists, which might otherwise 

 lead to a false conception of their object. I shall now proceed, 

 having disposed of the head, to the body of the account. 



I do not really mean to be harsh, (to make use of one of Mr 

 Johnston's own phrases,) but cannot help remarking, that it 

 must be considered a breach of hospitality to stigmatize the in- 

 habitants of a town who have almost unanimously exerted them- 

 selves towards contributing to the most attentive and cordial 

 reception of the assembled learned men, in the manner the nar- 

 rator has done : " a luxurious people, of whom it may be truly 

 said their god is their belly, (I suppose he meant to say their 

 belly is their god,) &c. &C. 11 Are we then to learn from a sub- 

 ject of the first commercial country in the world, that commer- 

 cial industry and activity is to be treated with sarcasm and con- 

 tempt ? According to my humble opinion, the mercantile pro- 

 fession is of full as much importance and as estimable as the 

 learned ; and what progress could science and the arts have 

 made without the aid of commerce and navigation, and without 

 the capital procured by commercial industry ? Mr Johnston 

 might have also learned, by application to proper channels and 

 authorities, that Hamburgh, without being an university or seat 

 of learning, may boast of having produced within its walls, men 

 of European celebrity, as Klopstock, Reimarus, Fabricius, 



