Encyclopedia Americana - A Popular Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature, History, Politics and Biography, Brought Down to the Present Time; Including a Copious Collection of Original Articles in American Biography #270610

In comparison with the present state of the world, how small was the theatre on which the gods of Grecian fable and the heroes of Grecian his tory. Performed their parts in that interesting drama! During the period of Roman history, it is true, the field of civilization had become much more enlarged; but, in our own times, it has extended over both hemi spheres, and science gathers contributions from every quarter of the globe. It. Is therefore become necessary, that every well-informed man, who would keep his relative place during this advance of society, should possess himself of many kinds of knowledge, which might have been dis peased with in former periods; the different sciences and arts, closely connected as they have ever been, having now more common bonds of union than in any preceding age. Considerations of this nature induced the German editors to project a work, which should furnish the general reader with all the information, that should be necessary to make him acquainted with the events and discoveries of interest, which did not happen to fall within the range of his particular studies.