610 
) 
work of an authorefs already.known to 
the juvenile part of the public. 
‘© The Tour through Afia Minor, and 
the Greek Ilands ; for the Infiruction and 
Amufement of Youth,” by C. WILKIN- 
SON, feems a very judicious compilation. 
It may be read both with entertainment 
and advantage. 
“< The Elements of the Latin Tongue, 
with all the Rules in Euglfb,’’ by Mr. 
ARMSTRONG, has no particular advan- 
tages, that we have perceived, over other 
grammars. We therefore give the prefe- 
rence to its predeceffors. 
The fame remark, with a little varia- 
tion, will apply to the firft volume of the 
€* Hiftorical Dialogues for young Perjons.” 
“< The Sunday Sckool Mifcellany,” be- 
fide an eflay on fuch inftitutions in gene- 
ral, contains anecdotes and dialogues 
adapted te the capacities of the children 
who ufually attend them. As fuch we 
recommend it. 
MISCELLANIES. 
Among the moft entertaining of the 
mifcellaneous works we rank ¢ Te Spirit 
of the French Anas,” in three vols. 12mo, 
Ana, initfelf, isa word of no direét or | 
apprepriate meaning, but merely a Latin 
termination of noun-adjectives plural cf 
the neuter gender. Wolfius, who has 
given us the hiftory of fuch books in his 
Preface to the Cafauboniaza, oblerves, 
that, though this is a new kind of title, — 
yet the thing itfelf is of remote antiqui- 
ed 
ty: that the beoks of Xerophon con- 
cerning the fayings and aétions of So- 
crates, form a Socratiana; and that the 
apothegms of the Philofephers, colleed 
by Di. genes Laertius, the fentences of 
_ Pythagoras, thofe of Epictetus, the works 
of Athenzus, Stobzus, ana fevera! others, 
deferve a fimilar title. The Scaligeraza, 
it fhould feem, was the firk woik of the 
kind which appeared, followed by the 
majority of thofe from which fele¢tions 
are here made down to Arleguiniaza.— 
The charaéter and contents of thefe Anas 
are, perhaps, too generally known to need 
Gefcription here. ‘They confit principally 
of the various memorabilia compied and 
publifhed by the friends of iluitrious 
{cholars on the continent, as tributes to 
their memories: but in the original works 
jefis and ftories are fometimes found of 
tooludicrous a na‘ure; critici{m is occa- 
fionally perverted, and fome things in- 
ferted whica both eandour and cecency 
ought io have fupprefled. With refpect 
to the plan on which the fele¢tion here ot- 
fered to the public has been conducted, 
the editor flates; that chocfing frem the 
=~ 
Retrofped of Domeftic Literaturé.— Mifcellanies. 
various Azas thofe paffages which feemed 
to him to poffefs the moft general tendency 
to amufe orinftruG@ ; adding notes, where 
the articles could be ufetully expanded or 
illuftrated, comprefing fome  paflages 
without weakening their fenfe, and ad- 
ding: literary and biographical fketches of 
the authors, whofe names are affixed fe- 
verally to each Ava, are the only attempts 
by which he has prefumed to exceed the 
laborious and cautious province of a 
tranflator and compiler. A fpecimen of 
the biographical {ketches is here extrated 
from that on the Life and Writings.of M. 
Fureti¢re :— 
‘s Antony Furetiéve was a native of 
Paris, and having had a liberal education, 
he applied bimfelf to the tiudy of the ci- 
vil and canon laws. His merit in the 
profeffion procured to him the abbey of 
Chalivoy and the priory of Chuines. He 
was an illvftrious member of the French 
‘Academy, to which he did honour by his 
various and learned publications. The 
literary labour which chiefly diftinguifhed ' 
M. Furetiére was his Univerfal Dictionary 
of the French Language, in which he 
explains all terms that relate to the arts 
and fciences. He died in 1668, in the 
68th year of his age. His Diétionary 
“was not edited till after his death: itis in 
two volumes, folio. Bafnagede Beanvai 
gave an edition at Amftcrdam, in 1725, 
in four volumes, folio. This Dictionary 
is the foundation of one publifhed at Paris, 
1771, in eight volumes, folio, which was - 
entitled Didionnaire de Trevoux. A 
treatife, called A Narrative of the Diffen- 
tions in the Empire of Eloquence, fhewed 
tothe public eye that M. Furetiere could 
join the folidity of laborious inveftigation 
with the fprighthnefs of wit and vivacity. 
His fatiric humour occafioned him to har- 
rafs himfelf and the men of letters, his 
contemporaries, with various difputes, 
of which in his latter days he. had the 
fenfe to be afhamed ; and preferved can- 
dour enough to make ample con/effion of 
his errors and petulance.”’ ‘ 
The iele&tion of anecdotes, as far we 
have feen, is at once harmlefS and amuf- 
ing, and their variety, perhaps, contri- 
butes to their entertainment. Some of 
them are of the chit-chat, and others of 
the icarned kind; repartee, bi-graphy, 
potitics, and abftrufe fcience, attract at. 
teption alrernately; fo zhat almoft every 
reader will ind fomething or ether that 
may fuit his tate. The following anec- 
doies »re, pe-h ‘ps, among the belt :— 
Anecdote of La Fontaine (vol. i. p. 264.) 
‘* Every perfon 1s a¢quainted with the ab- 
fence 
