1797-] 
ment of the manufcript copy of the com- 
plete works of Virgil, belonging to the 
- Royal Library in Paris, which was for- 
warded tu him in Holland. HEINsIus died 
at the Hague, Oct. 7, 1687. The fol- 
lowing year a catalogue of his books 
was publifhed for fale. Among the 
reft, was the aforelaid rmanuicript, under 
the title Virgilius cum Commentaris Ser- 
vit M.S..inpergameno. It appears, how- 
ever, that the manuicript was not fold, 
but configned, by Hinstus himfels, to 
the care of THEODORE Rycxiuvus. Tho 
faét is attefted by Perer Burman, 
_the younger, in his.edition of Virgil, pub- 
lithed in 1746. Ryckius had under- 
taken the charge of collecting this ma- 
nufcript with his difciple Masvicius 5 
but, dying foon afrer, the execution of 
his defign devolved upon the latter. 
Maftvicius did not proceed in the under- 
taking, but kept the manufcript in his 
poffeflion, which, on his deceafe, he be- 
qoeathed to his fons by whom it was 
fold to SamuetL Huusivs, contul at 
the Hague. On the death of Hulhus, 
the curators of the library of Leyden 
purchafed the manufcript in 1730. 
Sisce that. period it has remained in 
that. library. This manulcript is, next 
to the Florentine, the oldeft’ extant. 
The infpéétors of the National Library 
at Paris, have requefted the miniiter of 
the interior to write to Citizen Noel, 
miniiereplenipotentiary te the Batavian 
republic, toprocure its reftitution. 
Several valuable relics of antiquity have 
been lately difcovered at Piperno ( Priver- 
num) in Italy. Among thefe are fome 
mavuf{cripts and pieces of {culpture, the 
moft remarkable of which are two co- 
loffa] fatues,of the emperors Tiberius and 
Clandius, together with bufts of Marcus 
Aure.ius, the fecond Fauflina, and Mef- 
(Blina. They are of excellent work- 
manthip, and in a high flate of preferva- 
tion. 
Citizen CHARLEs CoquEeBERT has 
prefented the Philomathical Society in 
Paris, with fpecimens of feveral Chinefe 
weights. Ihey are made of copper, and 
bear a great re{emblance, in form, to the 
body of a viclin. Like that inftrumenr, 
- they are rounded off at the extremities, 
and indented on the fides, to admit the 
fingers. The faces are flat and parallel, 
and haye Chinefe characters engraven on 
the upper furface. They advance in a 
regular decimal progreflion, of whigh ci- 
tizen Coguebert has difcovered four dif- 
tinét feries, the units of which are.in the 
proportion of 1, 10,100, 16¢0,Inftead of 
Domeftic Literary and Scienthic Intelligences | 47% 
employing a combination of one, two, 
four, and eight units, or, after the new 
fyftem, of one, two, and five units, the 
Chinefe have a diftin&t weight for every 
intermediate number between one and 
ten. Thus they have weights of 1, 2, 
3) 4, 5. 6, 7, 8, 9; 10, 20, 30. 40, 5°, 99, 
&c. Of courfe, thofe weights which 
ftand related to eath other in the pro-~’ 
Portion of 6 to 7, 7 to 8, 8 to 9, 9 to 10, 
differ fo little in fize, that it would be 
impolfible to diftinguifh them without 
the help of the charaéters which are en 
graven upon the face. This is, confef. 
fediy, a defeét in the fyftem. OF the 
four different fertes exhibited to the fo- 
ciety, the higheft bears, in China, the 
name of £m, and is nearly of equal value 
with apound avoirdupois. The 4/7 con- 
tains ten times the number of units of 
the next inferior weight, which the Chi- 
wefe denominate /eang or /oam, and which 
the Europeans call ¢aé/, rare, or’ Chi- 
nefe ounce. This ounce is divided into’ 
ten ifen, which anfwers nearly ‘to our 
drackm. The t/en is again fubdivided: 
into ten fez. The Chinefe extend the 
decimal fubdivifion of their weights con- 
fiderably farther, They have diftiné 
names, which are all monofyllabic, for 
nine feries below the fer. Suppofing the 
in to ftand for unity, they have, 
D0), .O50);0.020..0;.0 ORO 2 iG 
om + os worn Se ope 
eS) Sie Hees 
The Chinefe weights, compared with 
the greateit precifion, and with the help 
of the beft inftruments, bear the follow- 
ing proportion to our weights; the’ siz 
is equal to one pound, 12 ounces, two 
drachms, 24 grains ; the /eang one ounce, 
one drachm, 60 grains; the t/e yo grains 
t3 the fen feven rains @.- Confe- 
quently the laft of this feries, the funy 
amounts to no more than, 0, grains, 
00000090708. ; 
The death of the celebrated Fissor, 
was attended with a circumfance which 
deferves to be noticed.  On'the firft’ ar- 
tack ef the diforder which terminated in 
his diffolution, he fubmitted to take the 
remedies proper for his cure for three or 
four-days. After that fhort interval, he 
peremptorily refufed to receive any me< 
dical affiftance till the evening prior to 
his deceafe, when he fent to requeft the 
attendance of his learned colleaoue; ‘Dr, - 
Opret, of Géneva. “This gentleman fe 
paired, with all promptitude; to vifit b 
fick friend ; but his fervices were foli- 
cited too late ; ‘Tifler’s- ftrength was to- 
3 Q2 ta! ly 
is 
—- 
