MAGAZINE. 
(forms, can neither obfcure nor diminiflt. The prefent 
time abounds with men of accurate taite, of critical laga- 
city, of rich and various information, and of fplendid 
genius; and.it was thought that an attempt to colleift 
their fcattered rays would tend to cherilh the blaze of li¬ 
terature by general communication. With this view, foon 
after the death of Porfon, (namely in April 1810,) ap¬ 
peared the Classical Journal, the plan of which is as 
follows: i. Critical Onfervations on Claffical Authors, 
s. Criticifnis on new Editions of the Claffics, and on Pub¬ 
lications relating to Greek, Latin, and Oriental, Literature. 
3. Difquilitions on Clalfical and Literary Subjects. 4. 
Philological and Literary Anecdotes. 5. Claflical and 
Oriental Antiquities. 6. Biblical Criticifnis and Differta- 
tions. 7. Grammatical and Etymological Refearches. 8. 
Bibliographical Intelligence. 9. Collations of Greek and 
Latin Manufcripts. 10. Greek and Latin Original Poetry. 
11. Prize Poems, and other Academical Exercifes. 12. 
Republications of fcarce and valuable Trails on Critical 
and Philological Subjects, and of important Articles in 
Continental Journals. This publication continues with 
good fuccefs. 
The fuperiority of the moderns over the ancients con- 
fifts not fo much in the extent of their knowledge (though 
that alfo is confiderable) as in the degree of its diffufion. 
Among the Greeks, by far the molt civilized and philo- 
fophical people which antiquity has to boaft of, know¬ 
ledge was confined to the fchools, or fcarcely ventured to 
(how herfelf abroad. A few individuals engrolfed all the 
learning of the age, while the great mafs of the people 
were funk in the molt deplorable ignorance. In modern 
Europe, on the contrary, fcience is fcattered with a much 
more liberal hand over the whole population. All the 
upper and middle ranks enjoy the blelTing of a liberal edu¬ 
cation ; and in Britain, and feme other countries, thefe 
conffitute a confiderable proportion of the people. Im¬ 
provements in any art, or fcience, are no fooner made in 
any country than they are fought for with avidity in every 
other, and foon make their way over the whole civilized 
world. This rapid diffufion of knowledge is no doubt 
owing to the art of printing, which enables us to multiply 
copies of books with fo much eafe; an art to which mo¬ 
dern Europe is more indebted for her fuperiority to former 
ages than any other. But the immediate inltruments em¬ 
ployed for the diffufion of fcientific and ufeful knowledge 
are the periodical publications which exift in fuch num¬ 
bers in Great Britain, France, and Germany, and which 
make it their profelfed object to fcatter every difeovery 
over the whole extent of their circulation. During the 
15th and 16th centuries, when periodical journals did not 
exift, literary men had no better means of conveying in¬ 
formation to one another than epiitolary correfpondenee. 
And, if we look into the voluminous epiftles of Erafmus, 
and of his contemporaries, we may form fome idea of the 
great portion of time which was taken up in this irkfome 
•and unprofitable employment ; which, after all, could an- 
fwer the intended purpofe but imperfeflly, and convey the 
requifite information to a (ingle individual only, and to 
the frnall circle of his friends. An author could only ap¬ 
pear before the public, when he had a complete theory to 
communicate. No (ingle difeovery was of lufficient im¬ 
portance to occupy a whole volume. Hence the frequency 
of two or more individuals being occupied with the fame 
purfuits, publifhing on the fame fubjeiff, and making the 
fame difeoveries, without any knowledge of what was done 
by each other. The labours of fcience were not luftici- 
ently fubdivided ; and labourer after labourer was apt to 
move on in the fame beaten and unprofitable track. Perio¬ 
dical works fave the irkfome talk of multifarious epifto- 
lary correfpondenee. Every difeovery is publilhed as 
foon as made, fruitlefs labour is l'pared, and emulation is 
kept up and increafed by the mutual difeoveries of dif¬ 
ferent individuals, by the jarring of opinions, and the 
clalhing of different interefts. The firlt periodical work 
of fcience which made its appearance in Britain was the 
Philofophical Tran factions, begun in 1665, and continued 
for many years, in numbers., publilhed monthly, quarterly, 
or annually, as materials were more or lefs copioufiy fup- 
plied. About the middle of the 18th century the Philo¬ 
sophical Tranfaftions altered their form, and came to he 
publilhed only in volumes. From that period they have 
confuted entirely of original papers, and have taken no 
notice of the difeoverits made by foreigners, nor of the 
fcientific books which have made their appearance in dif¬ 
ferent countries. Thus Britain no longer poffeffed a pe¬ 
riodical philofophical journal. The firlt philofophical 
journal, exactly limilar to feveral which had already ex- 
ilted for fome time on the continent, was begun by Mr. 
William Nicholfon in 1797, under the title of “ A Journal 
of Natural Philofophy, Chemittry, and the Arts.” The 
editor of this journal was well qualified for the office which 
he undertook. The journal for feveral years was excel¬ 
lent, and fully entitled to ftand a comparifon with any 
periodical work of the kind which had ever appeared. 
But, owing probably to the quarto form in which it was 
for (bme tjme publilhed, it never acquired fo extenfive a 
circulation as might have been expected from its value. 
For fome years paff, if report fays true, it has not, been 
the property of the original editor, but of a bookfeller 
and in reality edited not by Mr. Nicholfon, but by fome 
unknown perfon employed by the bookfeller. Soon after 
the commencement of Nicholfon’s Journal, a rival publi¬ 
cation appeared under the name of the Philofophical Ma¬ 
gazine, edited by Mr. Tilloch, a printer from Glalgow, 
and publilher of the evening newlpaptr called the Star. 
It was of a more mifcellaneous nature than Nicholfon’s 
Journal, and perhaps never contained fo much original 
matter; but its circulation was from the commencement 
more extenfive than that of Nicholfon’s Journal; and this; 
we are informed, continues at prefent to be the cafe. Be- 
lides thefe two philofophical journals, which perhaps have 
the molt extenfive circulation, there are two others of a 
fimilar kind publilhed in London ; one monthly, the other 
quarterly; but neither of them contains original papers. 
The firlt is the Repertory of Arts, Manufactures, and 
Agriculture. It conftfts chiefly of the fpecifications of 
patents granted for new inventions, publilhed without va¬ 
riation from the Patent Office; and contains befides a few 
additional papers in each number copied from the Philo¬ 
fophical Tranfaftions, or from fome other of the Britiffi 
or French fcientific journals. The quarterly journal is 
entitled, “ Retrofpeft of Philofophical, Mechanical, Che¬ 
mical, and Agricultural, Difeoveries ; being an Abridg¬ 
ment of the Periodical and other Publications, EngliiU 
and Foreign, relative to Arts, Chemiftry, Manufactures,. 
Agriculture, and Natural Philofophy.” This, as the title 
implies, is merely an abridgment of the other three Englilh 
philofophical journals, of the Tranfatlions publifhed by 
the different Britilh Societies, and of one or two French 
periodical works. In this line, then, there appeared to 
be an opening for a new Magazine; accordingly, in Jan, 
1813, appeared Annals of Philosophy, Chemistry, 
Agriculture, and the Arts ; which contains every 
month much valuable and original matter by the editor. 
Dr. Thomlon. 
We Ilia 11 mention a few more Magazines, ancient and 
modern.'—The Comedian, or Philofophical Enquirer, be¬ 
gan in April 1732, and has been dropped long ago.—• 
The Weekly Magazine began alfo in 1732, and ceafed at 
the end of that year.—The Univerfal Magazine commenced 
in the year 1747.—Within our own remembrance we have 
feen the rife and fall of the Weffinijilter Magazine, which 
was extremely well conducted ; of the Town and Countrv, 
the Britilh, the Grand, the Literary, the Free Mafon’s, the 
General, the Royal, and many others; particularly the Athe¬ 
naeum, which came out in 1806, and continued about one 
year only, but deferved a better fate.—The European, 
which maintains a good reputation, was fet on foot in the 
year 1782. 
The Britannic Magazine began in June 1793, and 
was 
