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A

GENERAL VIEW

OF THE

SCIENCES AND ARTS:

EQUALLY ADAPTED TO

DOMESTIC AND TO SCHOOL EDUCATION.

By W. JILLARD HORT,

cr

AUTHOR OF THE NEW PANTHEON," &c.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR

LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME AND BROWN,,

PATERNOSTER-ROW.

1822.

3986. f. 44

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INTRODUCTION.

A

GENERAL view of the Sciences and Arts cannot but be both useful, and agreeable, to young persons, before they enter upon the study of them individually. Few, indeed, comparatively speaking, have time, opportunity, and ability to gain a complete knowledge of them all, and therefore such a view may be acceptable and beneficial to most. So great a progress has human intellect made in the Sciences and Arts which bless and embellish society, and so uni-, versal is their study become, that to be entirely ignorant of any one of their extensive circle, bespeaks want of education, want of good taste, want of generous emulation.

To give a concise, yet comprehensive account of them, is the purport of the following work. The plan is borrowed from that of Walker, set forth in his work entitled Archives of Science.

In studying the system of nature, that vast plan traced by the infinite wisdom, and accomplished by the unbounded power of the great First Cause, those objects should first be considered, which appear to be independent of any

others; namely, matter viewed generally, as to its motions and qualities; then, its chief forms of extension, the celestial orbs, the earth considered as a planet, and the laws which regulate them; next, the earth considered in a nearer and more particular view; the structure and history of those beings that occupy its surface, and the laws that regulate their existence; regarding man, as the chief of them, and considering the impressions which he receives from the various mineral, vegetable, and animal substances by which he is surrounded; with the ideas, emotions, and passions, they excite or generate in his mind; next, the various signs by which those impressions are communicated, and the mode of combining them; the effects that the use of those signs produces upon the conduct of individuals, and the deductions we form from the particular results of that conduct.

The description of the chief forms of matter, such as the celestial bodies, the earth considered as a planet, and of the laws which regulate them, is termed, General Physics, and comprehends the branches, named Astronomy and Cosmography, the former regarding the more distant orbs; the latter, our globe, as one of a system. The history of the earth more particularly considered, of the structure and habits of those beings which exist upon its surface, and the laws that regulate their existence, is termed Particular Physics, and comprehends Geography, Natural History; the anatomy of minerals, vegetables, and animals, as well as the remaining branches of Natural Philosophy; with Chemistry and Physiology. The re

lation of the various signs by which the impressions that man receives from various surrounding objects, are communicated, and the different modes of combining them, comprehend literature and the Fine Arts. The detail of the effects produced by the use of those signs, and the deductions drawn from those various results, comprehend History, Biography, and Morals.

Following this scheme generally, but not exactly, we shall proceed to present to the youthful mind, a general view of the Sciences, and the Arts depending upon them. May this grand spectacle excite admiration and reverence towards that glorious unoriginated Being, who is the source of all existences, of all properties and qualities; of all vitality, of all intelligence.

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