1797: | 
the neceffity of which appears to have 
been acknowledged, even at that time. 
Long, indeed, prior to the French revo- 
lution, enlightened men, of all countries, 
have exprefied withes to the fame effect. 
The inconvenience of a diverfity of mea- 
{ures is now generally felt and acknow- 
ledged; it is a real fetter upon com- 
merce, conftantly imcreafing im propor- 
‘tion to the increafe of trade ina country. 
it may alfo be-afferred, generally, that an 
uniform eftablifhment of new meafures 
is not only defirable on the {core of con- 
venience, but that it 1s a real facility af- 
forded to induftry, anda new communica- 
tion opened between all the parts of a ftate, 
fimilar to the advantages of a new road, 
or anew canal. The new French fyftem 
has moreover the advantage of fimplify- 
ing the mode of inftruction in arithmetic. 
This fyttem is the refult of the medi- 
tations of the men the moft celebrated in 
France for their attainments in mathe- 
matical and phyfical {cience. The com- 
million to whom this work was delegated, 
confifted, at firt, of MonGce, MEUNIER, 
Lavoisier, Haut, Borda, CouLon, 
BRIssOoN, VANDERMONDE, MECHAIN, 
DELAMBRE, CONDORCET, Le 
GRANGE, end Laprziace. To thefe 
were afterwards added, BERTHOLLET, 
HassENFRA?Z, and Prony. Many 
of the reprefentatives of the people alfo 
took a part in the labours of this com- 
milfion, < 
When the refolution was taken to 
eftablith an uniformity of meafures, it was 
alfo determined, that the new fyftem 
fhould comprife every perfection of 
which it was fufceptible. From this 
Motive, and with a view to the greateft 
pofible fimplicity, it was decided, that 
the relations of the new meafures fhould 
be decimal, and that new names fhould 
be invented to indicate thofe relations. 
Thus all the new meafures of capacity, 
for inftance, are decuple, centuple, fub- 
decuple, fub-centuple, one of another, 
and the name of each, at once, indicates 
that it is a meafure of capacity, and that 
it has a certain relation with every other 
meafure of the fame {pecies. 
The ten-millionth part of a quarter of 
.a meridian of the earth is taken as the 
bafis of the whole fyftem, thus fixing the 
quantum of the new meafures invariably ; 
fo that if every fpecies of ftandard mark 
Should hereafter be deftroyed, a new one 
may be conftructed, by meaturing anew 
a quarter of the meridian*. 
* This advantage is not confined folely to 
mug new meafures, for as foon as the length of 
New French 
Wreafures. £33 
The advantage ef decimal relations, 
between meafures, is inconteftibly very 
eréat;as a glance of the eye ‘will, 1 
many cales, fuffice to perform opera- 
tions which. m ¢he common practice, 
would require multiplication or divifiea. 
For example, knowing the value of a 
bufhel of any commodity, if you would 
know the value of a dtrom (another 
Freach wooden meafure) of the fame 
commodity, you muft perform a queftion 
in divifion; bat knowing the value of the 
hectoliire, you will know, at the fame 
inftant, the value of any other meature, 
greater or lefs. Thus, whatever would 
coft 4525 francs the edoliire, will coft 
fr. 45.25, that’is to fay, 45 francs, 25 
centimes, the //zre;—which is perceived 
without any cperation of the pen. 
Yo exprefs certam weights, four dif- 
ferent numbers are now made ufe of; a 
number of pounds, a number of ounces, 
anumber of drachims, and a number of 
grains. The fame method 1s praétiled 
in lengths, In the new fyftem, 
however, every weight, length, capacity, 
is always expreffed by a fingle number; 
fo that complex rules are hereby baniihed 
from arithmetic. Thus, a weight of 3 
pounds, 14 ounces, 5 drams, ard 6. 
grains, is exprefied by the fingle number 
of er. 1917.,79. 
The decimal divifion will alfo factiitate 
the ufe (otherwife fo advantageous) of 
tables of logarithms; a ufe which cannot 
otherwife become very prevalent, on ac- 
count of the neceflity of reducing vul- 
gar fractions into decimal fraétions. 
In the judgment of philofophy, one of 
the moft impertant difcoveries of modern 
times, is that of the utility of methotical 
nomenclatures*. Locke and Condillae 
have fhown us the influence which the 
mechanifm of languages has on the ope- 
rations of the mind; how a well-con- 

ET 
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a quarter of the earth’s meridian fhall, by this 
operation, be divided into determinate toifes, 
or feet, the length of the toife, or foot, will 
thenceforward become fixed, and ceafe to be 
arbitrary. 
* There exifted in tanguages certain me- 
thodical nomenclatures, before all their adyan- 
tages were forefeen, or even guefied at; being 
adopted, fo to fpealz, by igfinét. Such is the 
mariners compafs In this, we find four 
words fuffcient to form the names of thirty-two 
winds, each name furnifhing a clear idea of the 
wind which it reprefents. If we imagine an 
unmethodical nomenclature, in lieu of t' is, con- 
fitting of thirty-two ifolated name:, it wou'd 
be requifite to Jearn the whole by hea.t, and 
be habitually in the pra€tice of them, ere the 
leapner could attain a {pecifig idea of each. 
siructed 
