Just Published, Parts I. to VI., each containing Eighty quarto pages, price 3s. 6d. each, to be continued Monthly: of

A NEW DICTIONARY

OF THE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

BY CHARLES RICHARDSON.

REVIEWS AND CRITICAL NOTICES.

"MR. PICKERING has just put forth a New Dictionary of the English Language, which, whether we regard its extraordinary cheapness, or the extraordinary labour and ability by which it is characterised, bids fair to rival all similar publications. The work is to be completed in Thirty Parts, each Part to contain Eighty 4to pages, with three columns of Diamond type upon each page; the meaning of each word is illustrated by a greater number of passages from standard English writers than is to be found in any similar work; and the reading necessary for the supply of this immense body, must have been the labour of years. A part of this Dictionary appeared, we find, in the Encyclopædia Metropolitana, and was spoken of by the Quarterly and other reviews, as the greatest lexicographical achievement of the age. In its complete form it will be, to judge from the sample before us, a work of unrivalled ability, labour, and utility."— Old England.

"The compiler, who has already approved his ability for this work by what he has contributed of it to the Encyclopædia Metropolitana, justly observes, that Dr. Johnson did not execute his own project, and that the desideratum of a Dictionary to exhibit, first, the natural and primitive signification of words, then give the consequential, and then the metaphorical meaning, and the quotations to be arranged according to the ages of the authors,' is, at the distance of nearly ninety years, still more to be desiderated now, than in 1747, when the learned lexicographer made his proposition to Lord Chesterfield. Mr. Richardson derives considerable aid from Horne Tooke's philological labours; and from the part before us, we would anticipate a useful and interesting work." -Literary Gazette.

"The arrangement is founded upon the plan which Dr. Johnson put forth as the proper mode of proceeding with his great undertaking, though he did not, in the execution, adhere to his own scheme. The task which our great philologer left unfulfilled has been performed by Mr. Richardson, with a patient labour in research and collection, which Johnson, we suspect, never possessed, and with means at his disposal, by the resuscitation of our ancient writers, which Johnson certainly never had. Judging from the specimen before us, the result will be to present the world with the most complete Dictionary that ever was published, as regards the etymology and primitive meaning of the words, the successive growth of their secondary significations, the gradual advance and changes of the language, the vast body of quotations from all authors, whether ancient or modern, and, in consequence, the skeleton history of the English language which it indirectly presents; it will, in short, be a work indispensable to every one who is curious in his mother tongue, and without which no library can be considered complete. Though we have limited our praise to the specimen before us, this was scarcely needed. The Dictionary has already appeared as the Lexicon in the Encyclopædia Metropolitana, where it excited considerable attention, and drew forth much praise. But in its independent from it will be increased by upwards of a third, be subject to a careful revision, be enriched by the author's additional knowledge, and simplified by his increased experience; thus combining, as it were, the freshness of a novelty with the mechanical advantage attendant upon a new edition."-Spectator.

"It would be impossible to speak of the value of this work within the short space of a literary notice; but thus much we can assure our readers, that in its plan it is novel, and more comprehensive than any of its predecessors; that the quotations from the earliest poets, chroniclers, divines, &c. arranged in chronological order, in illustration of different words, supply an admirable view of the progress of the English tongue; that

REVIEWS AND CRITICAL NOTICES CONTINUED.

reference is made to chapter and verse for every quotation given; that it is cheap; and that the publisher engages to deliver all parts beyond thirty free of expense. No library should be without it."-Christian Remembrancer.

"This laborious work, of which the two first Parts are before us, is understood to be completed in the manuscript; the subscriber, therefore, incurs no risk of disappointment from the non-accomplishment of the design. Of the care and diligence bestowed in getting up the New Dictionary we are prepared to speak in the highest praise. The paper is good, the type remarkably clear, the size convenient, in every respect becoming a work of national importance. The radical word with its derivatives, is placed at the head of the meaning, of the etymological derivation and of the quotations, by which their usages are illustrated. These quotations are selected and digested in the chronological order of the writers appealed to, so that one, with common sagacity, may trace the changes through which a word has passed down to its modern acceptation. The primitive signification is thus made to give a strength and clearness to our own perception of the word. We remember when it was the custom to characterize a dull heavy work by the remark, "I would as soon read a Dictionary through." We may now say, without drawing upon the truth, that we have a Dictionary surpassing in entertainment and knowledge most books. The deep research and extensive reading which have amassed this wealth of quotations, make us acquainted with stores of thought, hitherto buried in the dust of time, or accessible only to the favoured few. The divines, the poets, the dramatists, the philosophers, the historians, who have helped to build up the noble fabric of our language, are made in short but appropriate sentences, to give us their own literary portraits; and, if style be an index to character, and expression to thought, we have here a fine opportunity of comparing age with age, not only in its literary, but also in its intellectual features. We add, that no deeper stain could be marked upon our national reputation, than that such a work, so grand in its design, and so perfect in its execution, should meet with indifference, or even with partial success.”—Ĝlouc, Chron.

"The Fourth Division [Ency. Met.] is so much like an ordinary Encyclopædia in its scheme and contents, that it would not detain us a single moment were it not for the English Dictionary which is incorporated with it. It is an undertaking of immense labour; and, notwithstanding all the aid which may be derived from Johnson and other lexicographers, it cannot fail to prove an Herculean task. If the compiler persevere, and finish as he has begun, we have no doubt the English Dictionary will soon be called for in a separate form.”—British Critic, Oct. 1818.

"This is certainly one of the most interesting parts of the volume before us; we mean as to the Lexicon: it is apparently executed with care; possesses a considerable degree of novelty in the arrangement of the radicals and derivatives; and is rendered both amusing and instructive by the number of appropriate quotations from the earliest poets, chroniclers, and historians, down to the latest and most approved writers in the English language, with the exception of all living authors. The citations afford a very pleasing illustration of the progressive changes in the language, and the almost directly opposite signification which we now attach to some words, when compared with the import which they were at first intended to convey. We make one extract from an example taken at random, to manifest the nature of the arrangement of this instructive part of the work. We regret that it has not been kept distinct."-Monthly Review, June, 1819.

"We are inclined to consider the English language as having attained that fulness of maturity which leaves no wish for increase, but only anxiety for preservation. As helps to this, we have the various acceptations, in which every word has been used by approved writers, collected by Mr. Richardson, in a Dictionary, such as, perhaps, no other language could ever boast: and we have a new guide for the theory and use of languages, exemplifying his (Horne Tooke's) principles, by applying them to our own tongue.' Quarterly Review for March, 1827.

Alluding to the portions published in the Encyclopædia Metropolitana, the Reviewer of Dr. Webster observes

"Let the valuable contributions to an improved Dictionary by Mr. Richardson, in which he has embodied many of the principles of Tooke, be compared with the corresponding articles in the Dictionary of Dr. Johnson, and it will be seen how much lexicography owes to the Diversions of Purley."-Westminster Review, Jan. 1831.

WILLIAM PICKERING, PUBLISHER, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.

Nearly ready for Publication, in 4 vols. 8vo. (a few Copies on

OF Sir Thomas Browne, Dr. Johnson has observed: "It is not on the praises of others, but on his own writings, that he is to depend for the esteem of posterity; of which he will not easily be deprived, while learning shall have any reverence among men; for there is no science in which he does not discover some skill; and scarce any kind of knowledge, profane or sacred, abstruse or elegant, which he does not appear to have cultivated with success." Portions of his Works have passed through numerous Editions; and have several times been published collectively. The Edition of 1686, which is the most complete, was published under the title of "The Works of Sir Thomas Browne;" and it contains all which

had then been printed. Since that time, however, the "Posthumous Works" and " Christian Morals" have appeared; and besides these, the Library of the British Museum and the Bodleian at Oxford contain numerous unpublished manuscripts of the Author, which have now been collected and arranged, with the view of giving the public A COMPLete and UNIFORM EDITION of the writings of this distinguished author, together with his Family and Literary Correspondence, and Life; accompanied by copious notes and biographical illustrations.

The admirable memoir of Dr. Johnson forms the text of the Life, and in the form of Notes are added the particulars collected from Kippis and others, together with all that could be obtained by researches on the spot where the author resided, as well as in the various scenes of his earlier life. Then follows his Correspondence, accompanied by several Journals, which abound with interesting allusions to the incidents happening around him, as well as with observations on Natural History and other subjects; and occasionally are given Genealogical and Biographical Notices of the individuals whom he mentions, especially those of his own County.

His Works are arranged chronologically; with Bibliographical Notices. Care has been taken to select the best readings from a collation of various Editions and original Manuscripts; and the Editor has availed himself to the utmost of the Manuscripts most liberally thrown open for his use in the British Museum and the Bodleian Library at Oxford.

In illustration of the "Religio Medici," the celebrated Essay of Sir Kenelm Digby is given; with a selection from the Annotations of Keck, and the Notes of Moltkenius and Lefebvre, his German and French Editors: the "Pseudodoxia" contains some unpublished matter, and is illustrated by the notes of Dean Wren and others; and among the Tracts on Scientific, Philological, Topographical, and Miscellaneous subjects, are comprised several which have never hitherto appeared.

This Work is in great forwardness, and will be published, in the course of the ensuing season, by

WILLIAM PICKERING, CHANCERY LANE.

March, 1835.