240 Literary Journals. 



the aggregate of their transactions a catalogue 

 might be formed of several thousand volumes, most 

 of which include much matter highly interesting 

 to the philosopher, the artist, and the man of taste, 

 and may be considered as presenting a tolerable; 

 history of human knowledge during the period 

 which they embrace. 



This mode of recording and announcing the dis- 

 coveries and labours of science, though productive 

 of much good, is yet not without its disadvantages. 

 To understand the memoirs and acts which these 

 ponderous volumes contain^ usually requires a pro- 

 found knowledge of the subject. They are ad- 

 dressed by philosophers to philosophers. Hence, 

 though their circulation be more extensive in 

 modern times than formerly, they are, of necessity^ 

 even yet read by a chosen few. On this account 

 it is, that while the archives of societies are filled 

 with interesting and instructive memoirs, these 

 labours of the learned are seldom brought forth 

 from their obscure retreat, reduced to systematic 

 arrangement, and exhibited in a popular manner* 

 And for the same obvious reason it happens that 

 the transactions of literary societies display a repe- 

 tition of the same hints, experiments and discove- 

 ries, which, for want of being more generally 

 known, are often supposed, at each successive ex- 

 hibition, to be original. This latter evil, however^ 

 begins to be in some measure remedied, by adopt- 

 ing a more popular form for these publications, and 

 also by communicating, from time to time, to the 

 public, the most important portions of their con- 

 tents, in vehicles of more extensive circulation. 



Next to regular Rcviezvs, and the formal Me- 

 moirs and Transactions of literary and scientific 

 societies, it is proper to take notice of the numer- 

 ous periodical works, under the name of Maga- 

 zines, 8:c. with which the republic of letters has 



