Volume 1

The origin of laws, arts, and sciences, and their progress among the most ancient nations / Translated from the French, vol. III by R. or A. Spearman. Of the President de Gouguet ... Adorned with cuts.

  • Goguet, Antoine-Yves, 1716-1758.
Date:
1761
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The origin of laws, arts, and sciences, and their progress among the most ancient nations / Translated from the French, vol. III by R. or A. Spearman. Of the President de Gouguet ... Adorned with cuts. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    vi: Status, Diodorus, Vitruvius, Strabo, Seneca, Pliny, and Plu¬ tarch, inform us of every thing that was known in their times, or before them, in arts, fciences, and politics. If from the bright days of Athens and Rome, to the reftoration of learning in Europe, no additions had been made to human knowledge, neither was any thing loft that had been before dis¬ covered. The minds of men might be Somewhat clouded, and their tafte depraved ; but the fundamental principles, the ele¬ ments of the arts and fciences, were never annihilated, or need¬ ed to be again invented. No ufeful or important difcovery, nothing, in a word, that was worth preferving, was entirely loft. Every thing that was interefting to the good and happinefs of Society, has been let down to us by the chain of uninterrupted tradition *. It is not even extremely difficult to trace the ftream of knowledge to its Source, and difcover the date and origin of the greateft part of the arts and fciences. We may at leaf! follow this track a considerable way, and form a pret¬ ty juft eftimate of the progrefs and extent of knowledge in every age. The firft æra which is the Subject of the firft part of this work, begins at the deluge, and ends at the death of Ja¬ cob f. * We have a very bad work of Pancirolus’s, inti tied, Return memory bnium Jive defer dit arum, &c. This is, in general, a very crude indigefted compilation, in which he (ticks at nothing. The falfeft fafts and mod ridiculous tales are adopted for truths. This work is an example of the greateft negligence, joined to the ftrongclt itch of making a book In what Pancirolus fays of certain arts, which, according to him, were known to the ancients, and have been fince loft, there are almoft as many miftakes and puerilities as words. The arts which he fpeaks of, either never exift- ed, or they exift to this day, and in a more perfect ftate than ever. ]t would be eafy to demonftrate this, if the work was worth the trouble I (hall add, that if we feem to have loft fome of the ancient arts, it is becaufe they have been fuperfeded by more ufeful inventions, and more commo¬ dious methods. Gunpowder and artillery, for example, have made the moft part of the military machines of the ancients to be neglefted. The fame may be faid of feveral other arts, which are fallen into difufe, either from new difeoveries with which the world has been enriched, or becaufe thefe arts have been of little importance to fociety. See part 2. b. 2. feét. j. c 2 . + Jhis æra comprehends the ages which the Greeks name unknown tvres, becaufe what little they knew of them fcarce deferved the name of bmory, *•