LITER 
But, unlefs we have an acquaintance with the hiftorical 
events of the age in which any great writer flourilhed, 
and a knowledge of what peculiar advantages he enjoyed, 
or of what peculiar difad vantages he laboured under, we 
are dellitute of a great additional fource of pleafure. For 
inftance, there are few lb totally devoid of talle, as to be 
unable to relilh the great and natural beauties of Hoiner, 
although they be ignorant of his life, and of the circum- 
ftances of the times in which he lived. But how greatly 
mult their furprife, pleafure, and admiration, increafe, 
when they are informed that the author of poems, which 
evince a molt luxuriant imagination combined with the 
greatelf knowledge of nature, and molt extenfive ac¬ 
quaintance with the manners of mankind, lived at a bar¬ 
barous period, when his native country, Greece, was torn 
by internal commotions ; and that he was a wanderer, and 
blind during a great part of his life. 
The literature of the greateft importance is that of the 
Greeks and Romans,!] nee to them alone we are indebted for 
our knowledge, however little, concerning the preceding 
ages ; with the exception of the Jewilh writers, who have 
related no more concerning the hiltory of other countries 
than was ablolutely necefi'ary from its connection with 
that of their own. The Grecian age commenced about 
the time of the Peloponnelian war, (a period no lei's ce¬ 
lebrated for its warriors than for its writers and artifts,) 
and terminated in the time of Alexander the Great. The 
Roman age includes the reigns of Julius and Auguftus 
Caefars; and, like the former age, was diftinguilhed alfo 
by its generals and conquerors. In each of thefe periods, 
the poet and hiftorian concurred in rendering immortal 
the victorious general, or the object of popular approba¬ 
tion. The hillorian exerted all his faculties, and employed 
all the arts of eloquence and high-colouring, in order to 
magnify the prowefs, or exaggerate the achievements, of 
him whofe aflions he admired, or whofe favour he willied 
to conciliate ; while the poet, afhiated by the fame mo¬ 
tives, rendered harmony of numbers and poetical licenfe 
fubfervient to the fame delign. The greatnel's of their 
fubjefts, their delire of fuperiority over each other, and 
perhaps the peculiar advantages of the periods at which 
they flourilhed, were moft probably the chief caufe of the 
animation which thofe writers in general polfeffed who 
flourilhed together at the above-mentioned ages; and 
which renders their perufal fuch an infinite fource of plea¬ 
fure to every one who poffefies a refined take and culti¬ 
vated imagination. Oil this account, all who have any 
pretentions to the characters of lovers of literature, are 
fuppofed to have at leak a competent knowledge of the 
productions of the belt orators, poets, hikorians, philo¬ 
sophers, &c. It is necefi'ary, for inkance, not to be to¬ 
tally ignorant of the works, beauties, or at leak fubjefts, 
of Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon, among the 
hikorians; Socrates, Plato, and Arikotie, among the phi- 
lofophers ; Demokhenes, AEfchines, and liberates, among 
the orators; Pindar, ZEfchylus, Euripides, Sophocles, 
Arikophanes, Menander, Anacreon, and Theocritus, 
among the poets; all of whom lived during the Grecian 
age. We have here omitted many others, of whom we 
ought to know fomething, fuch as Homer and Hefiod, 
becaufe they did not flourilh at the fame period with thofe 
whofe names we have mentioned. A knowledge, how¬ 
ever little, of the following writers, who flourilhed in the 
Roman Augultan age, is alfo necefi'ary to thofe who would 
be efteemed men of learning: viz, Catullus, Lucretius, 
Terence, Virgil, Horace, Tibullus, Propertius, Ovid, 
Phaedrus, Csefar, Cicero, Livy, Salluk, Varro, and Vi¬ 
truvius. 
This is not the place to give a critical analylis of the 
excellencies and defects of authors, fince that is already 
done, as far as the alphabet has extended, under each name 
refpeftively; nor has the kate of literature in various na¬ 
tions been neglefled in the geographical articles, as Chi¬ 
na, ENGbAND, France, &c. &c. belides the great mafs 
of information contained in our article Language, in the 
prefent volume. Our remarks, therefore, in this place 
A T U R E. 709 
will be of a different cak, as relating merely to arrange¬ 
ment; for the fources of knowledge are become fo co¬ 
pious, and 'learning has affumed fuch a variety of fhapes, 
that it requires a great portion of our time to learn even 
what it is that may be learned , and whence we are to ob¬ 
tain the details of each particular branch of univerfal fei- 
ence. This circumkance has produced a new fpecies of hif¬ 
torical writing,-called bibliography ; and the works on that 
fubject only would -fill a conliderable library. Moft of 
them, however, gave rather the hikory of the learned 
than the hikory of learning. In fome of them, indeed, 
the authors were arranged in a chronological order; but 
Hill it was the hiltory of men of letters rather than that 
of literature; and the gradual progrefs of learning was 
feldom traced. Some few exceptions are to be found, 
with refpeft to particular nations ; of which the Lettera- 
tura Italiana of Tirabofchi is an admirable inftance ; .and 
J. G. Meufel’s Leitfaden zur Gefchichte der Gelehrlam- 
keit, &c. is another. The plan of this latter excellent 
work (which we are furprifed has not been tranflated) we 
fliall follow in our prefent enquiry. He divides the hif- 
tory of literature into lix lections, or periods. 
I. From Mo/es to Alexander the Great ; a period of 1198 years. 
Before this period, all learning was oral, tranfmittc-d 
from father to fon in tales and longs; and fyftematical 
knowledge had yet no exiftence. Chaldasa, Egypt, and 
Paleftine, were the firft feats of learning, which was chiefly 
in the hands of the prielts. in the courle of this period, 
however, the fciences made a conliderable progrels, not 
only in Afia, but in Africa- and Europe. Among the 
promoters of learning, M. Meul'el places Samuel, David, 
and Solomon, in Judaea ; Pi flit rat us and- Pericles, at 
Athens ; Croefus, king of Lydia; and the Roman king, 
Numa Pompilius. The perlons whofe example and writ¬ 
ings had the greateft influence on the ftate of letters, were. 
Moles, Thoth, Zoroalter, Thales, and Pythagoras. The 
feats of learning were in Egypt, at Memphis, Heliopolis, 
and Thebes. At Babylon, an aftronomical Ichool, and a 
literary fociety, were formed by Belus. Samuel feems to 
have had a fchool of poets and muficians in Paleftine; and, 
from that age, various academies were founded in the 
Jewilh nation. The Greeks had l'chools at Athens, 
Smyrna, Phocaea, and Chios. Pythagoras founded fohools 
in Italy. The moft ancient library, which hiltory men¬ 
tions, is that of Ofymanduas, at Memphis. Piiiftratus 
was the firft who formed a public library at Athens; but 
the moft renowned was that of Polycrates, in the ille of 
Samos. 
With refpeft to philological learning; the Hebrew lan¬ 
guage, firft cultivated by Moles and brought to its golden 
age under David and Solomon, gave place after the Baby- 
lonilh captivity to the Chaldee ; which, as well as the Ara¬ 
maean or Syriac, is only a different dialect. To the fame 
general clafs belong the Phoenician, the Arabic, and the 
Ethiopic. The language of Egypt was twofold ; that of 
Upper Egypt, or the Sahidic, and that of Lower Egypt, or 
the Coptic. The Greek, which probably fp'ra-ng from 
the Phoenician, was fo enriched and refitted by Orpheus, 
Homer, and other writers, as to become the firft of tongues, 
and the foundation of-the Latin and moft other European 
languages. The learned throughout this period all wrote 
in their mother-tongue, according to the bell fpeakers. 
Grammar and criticifm were yet unknown. See the arti¬ 
cle Language. 
The firft hiftories were poetical tales, often blended 
with fable, and clothed in allegory. Mofes is reckoned 
the moft ancient writer whofe works are now extant. 
He had a fucceftion of Hebrew writers down to the capti¬ 
vity. The Egyptian biftory was compofed in hierogly¬ 
phics, only known to the prielts. The Phoenicians had 
early hikorians, as appears from Herodotus ; but only the 
name of Sanchoriiatlion is known to us. The Greek his¬ 
torians, during this period, were the moft notable 5 Hero¬ 
dotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, and Ctefias. The Olym¬ 
pic games ferved to fix their chronology. The Periplus 
