80 Literary Journals. [Chap. XXI. 



brought forth from their obscure retreat, reduced 

 to systematic arrangement, and exhibited in a 

 popular manner. And for the same obvious rea- 

 son it happens that the Transactions of literary 

 societies display a repetition of the same hints,, 

 experiments and discoveries, which, for want of 

 being more generally known, are often supposed, 

 at each successive exhibition, to be original. 

 This latter evil, however, begins to be in some 

 measure remedied, by adopting a more popular 

 form for these publications, and also by commu- 

 nicating from time to time to the public the 

 most important portions .of their contents, in ve- 

 hicles of more extensive circulation. 



Next to regular Rcvieios, and the formal Me- 

 moirs and Transactions of literary and scientific 

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

 rous periodical works, under the name of Afaga- 

 zines. Sac, with which the republic of letters has 

 abounded in modern times. The astonishing 

 number and the extensive circulation of these 

 v/orks^ are certainly among the peculiar charac- 

 teristics of the age, and mark an important era in 

 the history of learning. 



The first publication ever made under the title 

 of a Magazine was in the year 1731, by Edward 

 Cave, of London, who then commenced the Gen- 

 tleman's MagsTizine, which has been continued to 

 the present time. Several periodical works had 

 before appeared under different names j but they 

 were chiefly confined to political transactions, and 

 to foreign and domestic occurrences of various 

 kinds, without paying much attention to literary 

 objects. Indeed, this was the case with Mr. 



