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POLISH LEGIONS POLITICAL ECONOMY. 



POLISH HISTORY, LANGUAGE AND LITE- 

 RATURE. See Poland. 



POLISH LEGIONS. The unfortunate result 

 of the glorious revolution in Poland in 1794, and 

 the third partition of that unhappy country, in 1795, 

 filled Europe with Polish refugees, who eagerly 

 joined the armies of republican France. In October, 

 1796', general Dombrowski laid before the directory 

 a plan for raising a legion of Polish patriots, to serve 

 under the French general against the common ene- 

 mies of France and Poland. The directory recom- 

 mended him to lay his plan before the Cisalpine 

 republic, and, with the approbation of general 

 Bonaparte, the government of that republic agreed 

 (Jan. 7, 1797) to take a body of Poles into pay, 

 who were to be allowed to retain their national cos- 

 tume, but adopted the French cockade. By April, 

 the number under Dombrowski amounted to 5000. 

 They served in Italy against the Austrians and Rus- 

 sians, and distinguished themselves on various occa- 

 sions. After Bonaparte became consul, two legions 

 were taken into French service, that of Italy, under 

 Dombrowski, and that of Germany, under Kniazie- 

 wicz. The latter was mainly instrumental in gain- 

 ing the victory of Hohenlinden. After the peace 

 of Luneville, both legions were sent to Italy, and 

 amounted to 15,000 men. Their services being no 

 longer needed, and the situation of France, in re- 

 gard to the powers that had swallowed up Poland, 

 being changed, all the promises which had been 

 made to the Polish patriots were forgotten : they 

 were obliged to serve in St Domingo, Spain, &c. 

 The Polish legions had, however, contributed to 

 keep up a national existence for Poland, after the 

 Polish state had ceased. A civil committee, the 

 shadow of the Polish government, was kept sitting 

 either at Paris or in Italy, strictly observing the 

 minutest rules of the diet, in order that the consti- 

 tutional character of their acts might not be ques- 

 tioned. They literally, therefore, formed a nation 

 sans patrie, constantly looking forward to the re- 

 compense which they had been encouraged by 

 France to hope for the re-establishment of Poland; 

 and it is an interesting fact, that, whenever the 

 thanks of the French nation were voted to the gal- 

 lant legion, Dombrowski invariably, in his answer, 

 reminded the French government of its engagements 

 towards Poland. Their expectations were at last, 

 in some degree, realized in 1807 and 1808, when 

 Napoleon constituted the grand-duchy of Warsaw 

 (with 4,000,000 inhabitants), composed of Polish 

 provinces, torn from the clutches of Austria and 

 Prussia. Frederic Augustus, king of Saxony, was 

 named grand-duke. See the article Poland ; see, 

 also, Chodzko's Histoire des Legions Polonaises en 

 Italic; 2 vols., Paris, 1829. 



POLITIANUS, ANGELUS ; a learned and elegant 

 scholar of the fifteenth century, born in 1454, at 

 Monte Pulciano, in the Florentine territories, 

 whence he derived the appellation by which he is 

 more usually known than by that of Cinis, his family 

 name. The first production which brought him into 

 notice was a Latin poem on the tournament of Giu- 

 liano de' Medici. He assumed the ecclesiastical 

 habit, and acquired by his accomplishments the 

 favour of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who made him 

 tutor to his children, and presented him witli a 

 canonry in the cathedral of Florence, which he held 

 with the professorship of the Greek and Latin lan- 

 guages. Among the most esteemed of his writings 

 are an Account of the Conspiracy of the Pazzi ; a 

 Latin translation of Herodian ; and a Collection of 

 Greek Epigrams; besides some miscellaneous works 

 in prose and verse, and a drama on the story of 

 Orpheus, printed in 1475. This latter piece was 



set to music, of which science lie was so passionately 

 fond, that his death is said to have been accelerated 

 by his propensity. An unfortunate attachment to a 

 lady nt distinguished rank had brought on a severe 

 illness, which was so much increased by his starting 

 out of bed, in a fit of enthusiasm, to celebrate her 

 beauties on his lute, that his death was the conse- 

 quence, in 1494. 



POLITICAL ECONOMY is the science which 

 treats of the general causes affecting the production, 

 distribution and consumption of things having- an 

 exchangeable value, in reference to the effects of 

 such production, distribution and consumption, upon 

 the national wealth and welfare. The definition of 

 this science has been a subject of some discussion. 

 That of Mr Malthus gives it a wider range than is 

 conceded to it by Mr M'Culloch, extending it to 

 the investigation of the production and consumption 

 of all that man desires, as useful and agreeable, 

 according to which definition Mr M'Culloch says it 

 would include all other sciences, so that " the best 

 encyclopaedia would really be the best treatise on 

 political economy." But Mr M'Culloch's definitiou 

 is liable to the same objection, if taken in its full 

 literal sense ; for he calls it " the science of the 

 laws which regulate the production, distribution and 

 consumption of those material products which have 

 an exchangeable value, and which are either neces- 

 sary, useful or agreeable." This definition would 

 evidently, if taken in its full breadth, comprehend 

 a very large portion of the encyclopaedia. But 

 though Mr Malthus considered the science as com- 

 prehending all those things which men desire as 

 useful or agreeable, yet he undoubtedly intends to 

 limit it to certain views of this great variety of sub- 

 jects. But the definitions, both of Mr Malthus and 

 Mr M'Culloch, seem to be too broad. Political 

 economy refers only to the general causes affecting 

 the productive faculties and means of a nation, 

 meaning by productive faculties and means the 

 capacity and resources tor producing things that 

 have an exchangeable value. Thus the constitution 

 of government, the laws, the judicial, social and 

 economical institutions, the schools, the religion, 

 morals, soil, geographical position, climate, arts, 

 indeed all the circumstances in the character and 

 condition of a people, as far as they have a general 

 effect on the public wealth ; in other words, the 

 production, distribution and consumption of com- 

 modities, are subjects of this science. It is, accord- 

 ingly, a science of a lofty and liberal character, not 

 identified with that of politics, but very nearly allied 

 to it, and, indeed, one of its branches ; for a man 

 would be but ill qualified to legislate for a state, 

 who should be ignorant of the general laws affect- 

 ing its productive capacity. This being the charac- 

 ter of the science, it is not a little remarkable that 

 it has not been more honoured and more generally 

 studied, as a distinct field of inquiry ; for it has 

 necessarily been studied and practically applied by 

 all statesmen and rulers, from the beginning of time, 

 since the effect of all measures of the government, 

 and all causes, upon the condition of a community, 

 must have been objects of consideration, from the 

 dawn of human reflection, though the notions of 

 men may have been very crude, and often errone- 

 ous, upon this as upon all other sciences. Men 

 very early studied the human body, and even form- 

 ed something like a science to account for its func- 

 tions ; but correct notions of anatomy are of com- 

 paratively recent origin . The science of chemistry 

 is still more recent. That of political economy, 

 like others, has had its stages of progress, and some 

 of its professors consider it now to be placed upon 

 as firm a basis, and reduced to a system of rules as 



