2 UNIVERSAL ERUDITION; 



ever he thinks proper. Sometimes we are told 

 that by the Belles Lettres is meant, " the know- 

 " ledge of the arts of poetry, and oratory; 

 " fometimes, that the true Belles Lettres are 

 " natural philofophy,geometry,and other efiential 

 " parts of learning ; and fometimes, that theycom- 

 <e prehend the art of war, by land and fea : in 

 " fhort, they are made to include all that we know, 

 " and whatever we pleafe; fo that in treating on 

 " the Belles Lettres, they talk of the ufe of the 

 " facraments, &c. * " In a word, it were an 

 endlefs talk to attempt to enumerate all the 

 parts of literature that different learned men 

 have comprehended under this title. The fame 

 indecifion is to be found in the term humanity 

 or clafflcal learning -, under which they include- 

 at pleafure, either more or lefs of the preparato- 

 ry parts of learning, as grammar, rhetoric, &c. 

 which are taught at ichools, or in colleges, to 

 fuch as are intended for the ftudy of the fuperior 

 fciences. In the midfl of this uncertainty, it 

 feems to be lawful for a private foreigner, who 

 dwells at two hundred leagues diilance from 

 Paris, and is much embarrafsed by fo many dif- 

 ferent refpeftable authorities, to fix for himfelf 

 the true import of the term , provided, however, 

 that he humbly acknowledge his error whenever 

 any matter of the French language (hall prove, 

 by well-eftablifhed ufage, that he is wrong. 



II. W4 



* Rollin'i method of teaching and ftudy ing the Belles 

 Lcttrei. 



