4 
204 
dedirine tpon the complements and the 
regimens is contrary to ufage, and that, 
in fine, if it was true, we ought not, 
either in Latm or French; to change 
active verbs into verbs paffive. 
The hiftory of Athens, during the reign 
of the fon of its moft crue] enemy, that 
of Alexander the Great, is found fcatter- 
ed among the Greek writers. DUTHEIL, 
in colleéting thefe different paflages, has 
“aluftrated rhem; he has alfo colle&ed all 
the fats which relate to the life and 
works of Protogenes, a celebrated painter, 
whofe work-fhop was refpected by 
Demetrius Poliorcetes, who rather chofe 
to raife the fiege of Rhodes, than to force 
that city by burning the quarter where 
the rival of Apeiles wrought - The 
refearches of DutuHrit have led him 
into the knowledge of the means of poli- 
tical economy which furnifhed the Athe- 
mians with a marine always formidable. 
He has not forgotten, in his labours, the 
Paralus; that fhip, which having efcaped- 
alone from the defeat of A gos-Potamus, 
was confecrated to civil and religious 
ceremonies. 
The fame writer, DUTHEIL, read 
fome fragments of 2 tranflation of Pe- 
tronius, an author difficult to tranflate, 
and ufeful to underftand, becaufe we find 
in his writings details of the private life 
of the Romans. 2 
A piece of poetry, by COLIN HARLE- 
“French National Infiitutes . 
[ Sept, 
Salute at Venice, and made the parallef 
of it with that ot the Dome des Invalides. 
The cupola of this dome is larger by twen- 
ty-eight decimetres, or eight feet fix in- 
ches, and more elevated by forty-nine de- 
cimeters, or fifteen feet, than that of the 
Venetian church. The wood work of 
the Invalides has: confumed 6484 pieces 
of oak timber ; that of the Sa/vte was 
conftruéted wich only 1369 pieces of deal, 
which is much lighter thaw oak. Thus 
»Manfard might have fpared; had he been 
acquainted with the procedings of Bal- 
daffaro Longhena, fculpror, and archireét 
of the Salute, 5135 pieces of timber. 
This economy would moreover have rez 
quired. lefs materials for the conftruétion 
of the pillars and of the tower of the 
dome, as well as faved am. expence of 
near nine thoufand livres. — 
The church of St. Auguftine, at Pla- 
centia, built by the Abbé Bagarotti, 
prefents alfo a method of carpentry, 
fimple, folid, and economical. Ray- 
MOND propofes to make it generally 
known. This mode of light carpentry 
has been lately revived, and employed 
with fuccefs, by Legrand and Molinos, 
in the Halle aux Blés, and in other public 
and private edifices. 
MonveEL read a fable, intitled, The 
Oftrich and the Bird of Paradife. This 
reading brought to the. recolleétion of 
the Clafs the lofs of LEMonnNYIER, Af- 
VILLE, was read, intitled, The Poet and fociate in the feétion of Poefy, who died 
bis Gardener ; a dialogue. 
Camus read the notice of a manu- 
fcript of the fifteenth century, contain- 
ing a chronological abridgement of uni- 
verfal hiftory. Its form is what is moft 
remarkable, being a vo/wmen or roll, con- 
fifting of many fxins of parchment, mak- 
ing a length of nineteen metres, or fixty 
feet, by feven decimetres, or two feet 
two inches.in width. The work is only 
ftuffed with noofenfe and fables; in 
drudging through which we are ftruck 
with the different poftions in which the 
lovers of reading found themfelves in 
the fifteenth century, compared withthat . 
of the readersof the eighteenth. The firft 
procured with trouble, and at a great ex- 
pence, a manufcript, which under the 
pompous title of an univerfal hiftory, 
* prefented only a bad chronicle; while 
the others, more happy, fays Camus, 
may get at a moderate price the dif- 
courfe of Boffuet on univerfal hiftory. 
- Lawnctes read fome tranflations of the 
Perfian Tales, and of the works of Saady. 
Raymonp read tothe Clafs a me- 
moir om the cupola of the Madona dellg 
lately, at the age of 72 years. Fables 
well conceived, written with facility, 
dialogued with zxarveté, are the firft of 
his titles to literary glory. “The fecond 
is, his faithful and elegant tranflation 
of Terence, a Latin writer, who firft 
invefted Thalia with decency, dignity, 
and a regular march. -LEMONNIER 
alfo happily tranflated Perfius, 
Qui dans fes vers obfcurs, mais ferrés S freffans 
Affeca a’ enfermer moins de mots que de fens. | 
He alfo wrote fome tales and dramatic 
pieces lefs known, with a literary badi- 
nage which formed his diftinétive cha- 
raéter. The fineffe natural to the coun- 
try which gave him_ birth, the ci-devant 
Normandy, added fomething pungent to 
the piain nature which reigns in his po- 
etry. Under the appearances of Jbon- 
komme, he concealed traits worthy of 
Marot and of Rabelais. Whentimorousor 
gloomy cenfors had power ever thought, 
one of them refufed his approbation te 
one cf the fables of LEMONNIER. In 
reprefenting a horfe expirmg under an 
oppréiive load, the poet fhewed how ill 
- princes underfiood their interefts who. 
burdened. 
