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vi Sciences, comprised in four large octavo volumes; commonly, from the name of the publisher, referred to under the title of Owen’s Dictionary. The title page bears, that it was written “by a Society of Gentlemen.” It is distinguished by the general brevity of its articles; a quality, which enabled its Compilers to widen its range in the departments of geography, commerce, and natural history. Prefixed to it, there is a new Scheme of the divisions of Human Knowledge, intended to serve as the basis of its articles and references; and which is announced, as “more simple and natural, and likewise fuller and better distributed,” than that either of Chambers or of D’Alembert; but which may be fairly characterized as an exceedingly confused and illogical performance, and as exemplifying an extremely arbitrary use of philosophical terms.

In 1766, was published, in three folio volumes, The Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; a work compiled under the joint direction of the Reverend Henry Croker, Dr Thomas Williams, and Mr Samuel Clark; the theological, philosophical, and critical branches being supplied, or edited, by the first; those of anatomy, medicine, and chemistry, by the second; and the mathematical by the last. The division of labour among these different hands, does not appear to have contributed much to the excellence of their respective departments; for the character of the whole, with a few exceptions, is that of mere compilation. In point of method, this work has still less claim to praise; for its authors either did not perceive, or disregarded the use of that Encyclopedical chain of references, by which Chambers and some of his successors, have endeavoured to remedy the defects arising from the division of subjects naturally connected, under a multiplicity of separate heads. A part of D’Alembert’s Discourse was here also appropriated as an Introduction, without any notice of the quarter from whence it was derived.

Besides these Dictionaries, all of them founded in the main, upon the plan of Chambers, there appeared before any of them, an Encyclopedical work, of a somewhat different title as well as structure; namely, An Universal History of Arts and Sciences, or a comprehensive illustration of all Sciences and of all Arts, by Dr De Coetlogon; a native of France, naturalized in England. This work, which appears to have early sunk into obscurity, was published in 1745, in two folio volumes. Though its title affords no indication that it was