288 UNIVERSAL ERUDITION. 



the countries, and teach it to the youth of each 

 town or village through which they pals. The 

 printfellers fhops are loaded with maps, and the 

 walls of each houfe are covered with them. No 

 branch of learning feems to be fo famliar to 

 mankind as geography : and we mould there- 

 fore be inclined to fupprefs the analyfis of this 

 fcience, if it did not form an efiential article in 

 the fyftem of univerfal erudition, and if we did 

 not hope to mention fome matters relative to it 

 that are not very commonly known. 



II. Geography is a fcience that teaches the 

 knowledge of the terreftrial globe, or of the fur- 

 face of the earth ; of the fituation of countries, 

 cities, rivers, feas, &c. with the defcription of 

 each of them. There are here fome preliminary 

 and efiential diftincYions to be made. 



(i.) As our globe forms only a part of the 

 imiverfe, geography in like manner makes only 

 a part of cofmography. 



(2.) It is the bufinefs of geography to inform' 

 us of the fituation and natural productions of the 

 earth in each country or climate, which is alia 

 called phyfical geography. The civil and po- 

 litical arrangement of ftates or governments 

 does not properly belong to it, that rather ap- 

 pertains to ftatiftics -, though many of the bed 

 modern geographers have happily united thefe 

 two branches, by calling the latter political geo- 

 graphy. 



(3.) Geography is either mathematic or na- 

 tural The former considers the earth in the 



fame 



