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THE

Pefent State

OF THE

RIPUBLICK

O F

LETTER S.

Er January, 1728.

VOL. I.

-Fungar vice cotis, acutum
Relere quæ ferrum valet, exfors ipfa fecandi.

Horat.

LONDON:

Print for WILLIAM and JOHN INNYS,
at the Weft End of St. Paul's. MDCCXXVIII.

Price One Shilling.

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BOOKS printed for W. and IN NY S.

*N*
Ew Memoirs of Literature; conning an Ac-

count of New Books, printed bott Home and Abroad: With Differtations upon feveral bje&ts, Mifcellaneous Obfervations, &c. From Fan25, to Dec. 1727. incl.. In Six Volumes, 8vo. N. B.ny of them may be had feparate.

2. A Defence of the Validity of the Enfh Ordinations, and of the Succeffion of the Bishops the Church of England. Together with Proofs, juftifyg the Facts advanced in this Treatife. Written in Ench by the Rev. Father Peter Francis Le Courayer, Can Regular and Librarian of St. Genevieve at Paris. Taflated into English by Dan. Williams, Presbyter of thChurch of England. To which is prefix'd, a Letter fronhe Author to the Tranflator. The Second Edition, corced from feveral Errors, as alfo fome Omiffions, in t first Edition. 8vo. 1728.

3. A Defence of the Differtation on the alidity of the English Ordinations, against the fevel Answers made to it: With proper Vouchers for the ts advanced in that Work. By the Author of the Dirtation. In Two Volumes, 8vo. 1728.

4. A Treatife of Teftaments and Laft Wi; compiled out of the I.aws Ecclefiaftical, Civil and anon; as alfo out of the Common Laws, Cuftoms and atutes of this Realm. By Henry Swinburne, fometime Judge of the Prerogative Court of York. The Fifth Edion, corrected, and very much enlarged with all fuc Statutes, Decrees in Chancery, and Refolutions of Comon Law Cafes relating to this Subject, and which hav hitherto been published. With an exact Table to te whole. Folie. 1728.

5. A Moral Proof of the Certainty of a Fuire State. The Second Edition. 8vo. 1718.

6. Univerfal Arithmetick; or, A Treatife f Arithmetical Compofition and Refolution. To whih is added, Dr. Halley's Method of finding the Roots f Equation arithmetically. Written in Latin by Sir Iac Newton, and tranflated by the late Mr. Raphfon. Revised and corrected by Mr. Cunn. The Second Edition, very much corrected. 8vo. 1728.

7. An Enquiry into the Evidence of the Chriftian Religion. Suo, 1728.

THE

PREFACE.

TH

HE defign of informing the Curious, by a kind of Journal, of what paffes from time to time in the Republic of Letters, is fo universally approved, that it is needlefs to fay any thing here in favour of it. The first Effay of this nature was the Journal des Scavans, which was published in 1665 by Mr. Sallo, Ecclefiaftical Counsellor in the Parliament of Paris; and no fooner did it appear, but the learned men of feveral nations, charmed with fo ufeful and fo agreeable a project, teftified their approbation of it, fome by tranflating, others by imitating his Journals.

No country in the world furnishes greater plenty of good materials for fuch a work than England, as there is none where arts and fciences are cultivated with greater encouragement, or better fuccefs. Here the greatest men in the State, are often alfo the brightest ornaments of the Republic of Letters, and promote learning as much by their example, as by their protection. Where do we meet with fuch noA 2

ble

ble foundations as in our Univerfities? or where can a man study with fo great advantages in every respect? And where can merit hope to be rewarded with better preferments, either in Church or State? Nor can we, like other nations, complain of the want of liberty, which is the nurfing-mother of knowledge, and abfolutely neceffary both to the difcovery and progrefs of truth. Had Milton lived in our days, he would have had no occafion for writing his treatise de Typographia liberanda; for we are far enough from flavery in this respect. Every man may think as he pleases, and publifh his fpeculative opinions whatever they be, without the difficulty of obtaining a License from a partial or fuperftitious Cenfor, or ftanding in fear of an Inquififition and an Auto da Fé. So mild is our Goverment both in Church and State; as being fully convinced of this maxim, That truth needs neither force nor artifice to fupport it.

'Tis to this happy liberty, both of confcience and the prefs, fo much envied by our neighbours, that we owe thofe many excellent books which are daily printed in England. This has enabled us to make thofe difcoveries and improvements in almost every part of knowledge, which have gained fo great a reputation to the English writers abroad, that our language is now ftudied by foreigners as a learned one, No Englishman can wish this liberty abridged, but he who envies the glory of his country, and the advancement of learning and of truth.

To this liberty we are alfo indebted for the free importation and use of foreign books, by means of which we reap the benefit of all the improvements made by the learned in every part

of

of Europe. This renders fuch a Journal as I have been fpeaking of very ufeful, and almost neceffary to the curious, who cannot poffibly read, or even dip into all the new books that come

out.

The ingenious and learned Mr. La Roche, who for fome years past has written the Memoirs of Literature with general applaufe, having thought fit to difcontinue that ufeful work, it was to be wifhed that fome perfon fufficiently qualified would have undertaken it: But as no other offered, rather than fee it drop entirely, I have ventured to fupply his place; not perhaps without rafhnefs.

And indeed, when I reflect upon the great number of very different and important fubjects I fhall be obliged to handle; when I confider the judicioufnefs, the accuracy, and entertaining variety with which fome of the foreign Journals are written, I am afraid I have undertaken too hard a task; and nothing could hinder me from throwing it up, but the hope that my readers are as fenfible of the difficulty of it as I am, and that they will be the more indulgent to me, efpecially in my first attempts to pleafe them.

Befides, fome of the foreign Journals are the Work of a Society; and indeed it is hardly poffible that an undertaking of this nature should be well executed by a fingle hand. For which reafon I intreat the affiftance of all thofe who wish well to the progrefs of Learning, and beg they will favour me from time to time with extracts of curious books, with fuch original pieces, and accounts of new inventions and machines, or any other improvements even in mechanical arts, as are fit to be communicated to the pub

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