268 Encyclopedias and Scientific Dictionaries. 



to be considered as decidedly superior to that from 

 which the greater part of it was copied." 



In 1783 some of the literati of France, not satis- 

 fied either with the plan or the execution of the 

 grand Encyclopedic, which had attracted so much of 

 thepublic attention, commenced a new work under 

 the title of the Encyclopedic Methodique. This 

 has been, with some propriety, called a Dictionary 

 of Dictionaries. It is entirely on a new r plan, and 

 was lately finished, having reached the wonderful 

 extent of two hundred volumes in quarto. It is 

 scarcely necessary to say that this last work, exe- 

 cuted by many of the persons who were engaged 

 in the preceding, bears, like that, an anti-religious 

 complexion; and that, while it displays much 

 genius, learning, industry, and perseverance, its 

 general tendency is highly unfavourable to the 

 interests of virtue and piety. 



Some years before the close of the eighteenth 

 century, a Dictionary of Arts and Sciences was 

 undertaken by Varrentrapp and Wenner, learn- 

 ed and enterprizing booksellers at Frankfort, in 

 Germany. This work, under the title of AUgemeine 

 Encyclopedic, der Kiinste und Wisse?ischafte?i, has 

 already reached to a considerable extent, but is 

 not yet completed. It has been said, by persons 

 acquainted with the German language, to be, on 

 the whole, so far as it has gone, the best Encyclo- 

 pedia yet published. 



Several other compilations, intended to embrace 

 the circle of arts and sciences, were made in dif- 

 ferent parts of Europe, in the course of the last 

 century. Some of these were translations or 

 abridgements of those already mentioned, while 

 others had better claims to originality. But too 



u Besides other new matter, Mr. Dobson's edition contains much im^ 

 portant information respecting the United States not contained in the work, 

 as it came from the British press. 



