PICKERING'S PUBLICATIONS. ALDI ANGLVS DISCIP Now ready for delivery, in 2 vols. 4to. price Five Guineas, A NEW DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. BY CHARLES RICHARDSON. This work consists of two large quarto volumes, upon the compo- REVIEWS AND CRITICAL NOTICES. "MR. PICKERING has just put forth a New Dictionary of the English "The compiler, who has already approved his ability for this work by what 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."-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 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 characterise 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."-Gloucestershire Chronicle. "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. Pickering's Publications, The late Earl of Bridgewater left by his Will £8000 to the President of the Royal Society, to be given to such Person or Persons, as he might appoint for writing a Work" On the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God as manifested in the Creation." Agreeably to this bequest, the President of the Royal Society, with the Advice of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, and of the Earl's Executors, directed that Sum to be divided among the Authors of the following Treatises. 2 vols. 8vo. fourth edition, 16s. I. BY THE REV. THOMAS CHALMERS, D.D. On the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as manifested in the Adaptation of External Nature to the Moral and Intellectual Constitution of Man. 8vo. fourth edition, 9s. 6d. II. BY JOHN KIDD, M.D. F.R. S. The Adaptation of External Nature to the Physical Condition of Man. 8vo. fifth edition, 9s. 6d. foolscap 8vo. 5s. III. BY THE REV. WILLIAM WHEWELL, M. A. F. R.S. Astronomy and General Physics considered with reference to Natural Theology. 8vo. third edition, with numerous wood-cuts, 10s. 6d. IV. BY SIR CHARLES BELL, K.H F.R.S. The Hand, its Mechanism and Vital Endowments, as evincing design. 2 vols. 8vo. second edition, with nearly five hundred wood-cuts, ll. 10s. V. BY PETER MARK ROGET, M. D. Animal and Vegetable Physiology, considered with reference to Natural Theology. In 2 vols. 8vo. second edition, with additions and eighty-eight plates. 11. 15s. VI. BY THE REV. WILLIAM BUCKLAND, D.D. F. R.S. On Geology and Mineralogy. The Supplementary Notes, and Additional Plate to the First Edition, may be had separate, price ls. 6d. 2 vols. 8vo. second edition, with plates, 11. 10s. VII. BY THE REV. WILLIAM KIRBY, M. A. F. R. S. On the History, Habits, and Instincts of Animals. 8vo. second edition, with wood-cuts, and a map, 15s. VIII. BY WILLIAM PROUT, M.D. F.R.S. Chemistry, Meteorology, and the Function of Digestion, considered with reference to Natural Theology. 57, Chancery Lane. |