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effervefcence, and the earthy nitre which is formed thereby is precipitated as foon as it is formed; but fome vitriolated ponderous earth is precipitated with it at the fame time.

About fixty parts of water are required to diffolve one part of this nitrous fait, and that not without the affiftance of heat.

The evaporation of this folution produces cryftals moftly of an octahedral form, but with truncated corners.

This nitrous falt is not altered in the open air, but upon the fire it decrepitates and melts.

The common fort of marine acid, which always contains fome vitriolic acid, diffolves the aerated ponderous earth with effervefcence, but fomne vitriolated ponderous earth is precipitated from it.— The following experiment fhews, that the pure and concentrated marine acid diffolves this mineral, and forms with it a falt which is foluble in water.

Half an ounce of aerated ponderous earth was distilled together with one ounce of fal ammoniac; in which opera. tion fome concrete volatile alkali escaped from it: the undecompofed part of the falt was fublimed, and adhered to the upper part and fides of the retort; and the refiduum of this diftillation was en

tirely foluble in water. The folution evaporated produced a falt in the form of rhomboid cryftals. This falt remains unaltered in the open air. In the fire, by lofing the water of cryftallization, it becomes opaque and white, but it is not decompofed. The folution of this falt is the beft precipitant to difcover the pres fence of the vitriolic acid in the nitrous or marine acids.

VARIATION of the MAGNETIC NEEDLE, obferved at LAON by LeP. COTTE, in the Courfe of the Year 1787.

THE Magnetic Needle used for those obfervations had been mace by a Mr. Coulomb; and its fenfibility is fo great, that it hardly ever is found to ftand mo tionlefs. It was obferved to be agitated moft during the months of November and December; which agitation was remarked likewife in Germany.

The following Table contains the mean variatiqu for each hour, the number of obfervations made in the fame Hour, and the number of times in which the needle was found in fuch a degree of agitation as not to permit its variation being afcertamed,

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From this Table the author has deduced the following particulars: ft, That the Magnetic Needle recedes farther from the north after nine o'clock in the morn ing, and till about two in the afternoon;

and it returns back from three o'clock in the afternoon till fix in the morning. Some little deviation from this law hapmorning, and fix o'clock in the after. pens about feven or eight o'clock in the noon. The motion of the needle through out the year 1787 refembles exa&ly that different from that of the year before, of the preceding year, and is very little viz. 1785. 2dly, That the Magnetic Needle is lefs agitated in proportion as it comes nearer to the maximum of the weft variation, and its greateft agitation is obfervable at about the hours of eight or nine in the evening.

of the SCOURING DROPS to take off fpots of Greafe, Oil, &c. from Wool, Jen Cloth, Silk, &c.

A LIQUOR in small phials is fold in fome shops in London, under the name of Scouring Drops, which is exceedingly useful for removing spots of tallow, oil, &c. from woolien cloth, hats, filk, &c. and as this liquor is fold for a confiderable price, the following method of

making

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Quid fit turpe, quid utile, quid dulce, quid non.

The Parian Chronicle; or, The Chronicle of the Arundelian Marbles, with a Differtation concerning its Authenticity. 8vo. 5s. Walter.

17 Tis aftonishing, and not a little mortifying to the pride of human reafon, to obferve the credulity of mankind in former ages. Writers of all denominations did not fcruple to record the most improbable fictions; and their readers liftened to them with unfufpecting fimplicity. Nobody blames Homer for his poetical fictions; but those who have taken them for hiftorical truths have had more faith than judgement. How many have implicitly believed what the poets have related of the golden age; of gods, goddeffes, and demigods; of cyclops, dragons, centaurs, and giants with a hundred hands? Or if these things have been more generally regarded as fables, what fhall we fay of thofe, who have contended for the reality of incubi, fairies, witches, and apparitions? What fhall we fay, when we find ftories equally fabulous and incredible, relative to the nature and fagacity of animals, gravely related as unquestionable fats, by Ariftotle, Pliny, Plutarch, lian, and other refpectable writers? What fhall we fay of Livy, an author of the highest reputation, when he talks of the fea on fire, fhowers of ftones, of flesh, milk, and blood; of a child born with the head of an elephant, and a pig with a human face; of blood iffuing from ftatues; of cattle fpeaking; of a cow bringing forth a colt, and an infant in its mother's womb crying, Io

triumphe! How many travellers in later ages have entertained their readers with an account of countries and wonders which no mortal ever saw? How many pious devotees have repofed their confidence in the fancied reliques, the miracu lous powers, and the protection of faints who never exifted? In fhort, how has the world been impofed upon by pious frauds, by cheats and forgeries, in every province of literature?

When we reflect on these things, we cannot but lament the credulity of mankind, and applaud every judicious attempt to detect and expofe any of thofe impof tures, which have difgraced the world in antient and modern times.

It would be too hafty and dogmatical to affert, that the famous Chronicle of the Arundelian Marbles is an imposition upon the public. This is indeed a pofition, which the adventurous author now before us does not pofitively maint.in. We are however difpofed to think, as he does, that there can be no impropriety in examining its authority. The Marbles were brought into England at a time when the learned were not fo fcrupulous about what they received as the remains of antiquity. They were the property of a celebrated and much-respected nobleman, and were prefented to the Univerfi.y of Oxford by one of his illuftrious defcendants. At that period it would have Ggg 2

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been the height of rudeness and ingrati tude for any of that learned body to call their authenticity in queftion. But circumftances are now changed. The influence of the donors no longer exifts. The literati are more curious and inquifitive, and not difpofed to receive any thing on the authority of unfupported tradition. We shall therefore attend with the utmoft impartiality to the arguments advanced in the Differtation now before us. The reader however must observe, that it will be impoffible for us to do adequate juftice to the writer's train of reafoning by a mere fketch, to which we are neceffarily confined in this article.

The author, in the firft place, prefents his readers with the original infcription in Greek, as it is exhibited in the exceldent edition of Dr. Chandler. This is accompanied with Chandler's Latin verfion, and followed by an English tranflation with notes.

The first chapter of the fubfequent Differtation contains a general account of the Marbles. The Parian Chronicle, fays the author, is fuppofed to have been written 264 years before the chriftian æra. In its perfect ftate it contained a chronological detail of the principal events of Greece during a period of 1318 years, beginning with Cecrops, before Chrift 1582 years, and ending with the archonfhip of Diognetus, before Chrift 264. But the chronicle of the laft ninety years is loft; fo that the part now remaining ends at the archonship of Diotimus, 354 years before the birth of Chrift; and in this fragment the infcription is at prefent fo much corroded and effaced, that the fense can only be difcovered by very learned and induftrious antiquaries, or, more properly fpeaking, fupplied by their conjectures.

This Chronicle, and many other reliques of antiquity, were purchafed in Afia Minor, in Greece, or in the iflands of the Archipelago, by Mr. William Petty, who in the year 1624 was fent by Thomas Earl of Arundel for the purpose of making fuch collections for him in the Eat. They were brought into England about the beginning of the year 1627, and placed in the gardens belonging to Arundel-houfe in London.

Soon after their arrival they excited a general curiofity, and were viewed by many inquifitive and learned men; among others by Sir Robert Cotton, who prevailed upon Selden to employ his abilities in explaining the Greek inferiptions. Selden, and two of his friends, Patrick Young, or, as he styled

himself in Latin, Patricius Junius, and Richard James, immediately commenced their operations, by cleaning and examining the marble containing the Smyrnean and Magnefian league; and afterwards proceeded to the Parian Chronicle. The following year Selden published a finall volume in quarto, including about thirty-nine infcriptions copied from the Marbles.

In the turbulent reign of Charles I. and the subsequent Ufurpation, Arundel-house was often deferted by the illuftrious owners; and, in their absence, some of the Marbles were defaced and broken, and others either stolen, or used for the ordinary purposes of architecture. The Chronological Marble, in particular, was unfortunately broken and defaced. The upper part, containing thirty-one epochas, is faid to have been worked up in repairing a chimney in Arundel-house.

In the year 1667, the Hon. Henry Howard, afterwards duke of Norfolk, the grandfon of the firft collector, prefented thefe remains of antiquity to the University of Oxford,

Selden's work becoming very fcarce, bishop Fell engaged Mr. Prideaux to publish a new edition of the infcriptions, which was printed at Oxford in 1676. In 1732 Mr. Maittaire obliged the public with a more comprehenfive view of the Marbles than either of his predeceffors. Lastly, Dr. Chandler published a new and improved copy of the Marbles in 1763; in which he corrected the miftakes of the former editors; and in fome of the infcriptions, particularly that of the Parian Chronicle, fupplied the lacune by many happy conjectures.

In the fecond chapter our author immediately proceeds to confider the authenticity of the Chronicle; obferving, that the DOUBTS which have fometimes occurred to him on this fubject, arile from the following confiderations. I. The characters have no certain or unequivocal marks of antiquity. II. It is not probable that the Chronicle

was engraved for PRIVATE USE. III. It does not appear to have been engraved by PUBLIC AUTHORITY. IV. The Greek and Roman writers, for a long time after the date of this work, complain, that they had no chronological account of the affairs of antient Greece.

V. The Chronicle is not once mentioned by any writer of antiquity. VI. Some of the facts feem to have been taken from authors of a later date.

VII. Para

VII. Parachronisms appear in fome of the epochas, which we can fcarcely suppose a Greek chronologer in the hundred and twenty-ninth Olympiad would be liable to commit. VIII. The history of the difcovery of the Marbles is obfcure and unfatisfactory. LASTLY, The literary world has been frequently impofed upon by fpurious books and infcriptions; and therefore we should be extremely cautious, with regard to what we receive under the venerable name of antiquity.

I. The characters have no certain or unequivocal marks of antiquity.

Selden informs us, that all the letters, except П and Z, are exactly reprefented by the Greek types; that the former has the perpendicular line on the right hand, only half as long as the parallel line on the left, and the latter the form of the proftrate H. But, fays our author, thefe two characters F and I fo frequently occur, and are fo well known, that any modern fabricator of a Greek infcription, which he intends to impole upon the world as a relique of antiquity, would moft probably use them, in preference to the more common and ordinary forms. He adds, I am perfuaded that the antiquity of an infcription can never be proved by the mere form of the letters; becaute the most ancient characters may be as eafily counterfeited, as thote which now compofe our prefent alphabets.

That the learned reader may form a competent idea of the characters in the Chronicle, the author has compared them with thofe of other infcriptions, and given what is ufually termed a fac fimile.

It may be faid that there are feveral archaïims in this infcription, which are evident marks of antiquity: As, Ey Auxapuas Lycoreâ, su Flor in Paro, ap Mivas, &c. But what reafon, fays our author, could there be for introducing thefe archaifms into the Parian Chro.. nicle? We do not ufually find them in Greek writers of the fame age, or even thofe of the moft early date. The reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, when this infeription is faid to have been engraved, was not an age of rude antiquity with refpect to the Greek language. It was 600 years after the time of Homer and Hefiod, and 130 after that of Xenophon and Plato, when the Greek language was fpoken and written in its utmoit purity and elegance. We can fcarcely fuppofe, that even a ftone-cutter, in that refined age, would have been permitted to dis

grace a fuperb and learned monument with fuch barbarifms. I am almoft tempted to suspect, that these pretended archaïfins are owing to a mean affectation of antiquity, or to a corrupted dialect and pronunciation in later ages. They appear, I confefs, on other marbles; but for that very reafon they would be naturally adopted by the fabricator of a fuppofititious infcription. And the authen ticity of these infcriptions in which they appear must be established, before they can be produced in oppofition to the prefent argument.

In the third chapter the author proves, that it is fcarcely probable fuch an expenfive and cumberous work as the Chrohological Marble would have been executed by a private citizen, a philofopher, or an hiftorian at Paros, either for his own amufement, or for the benefit of his countrymen.

In confirmation of this point he fhews, by a variety of obfervations, that the fcheme of engraving a fyftem of chronology on marble was ufclefs and abfurd; and that writing on paper or parchment was the univerfal practice at that time.

Having produced the atteftation of feveral writers on this head, he fays, It is not however neceflary to prove, by the teftimony of ancient authors, that books

were written

on parchment, or paper made of the Egyptian papyrus, or any fuch materiais, before the date of the Parian Chronicle. This is fufficiently

evinced by the very existence of the wri

tings of Mofes, David, Solomon, and the Jewish prophets; the works of mer, Hefied, Anacreon, Pindar, Aichylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Hippocrates, Ariftophanes, Thucydides, Xenophon, Plato, Demofthenes, Ariftor, &c. and is ftill more incontestibly proved by the libraries which were col lected in preceding ages, or about that time; fuch as thofe of Polycrates in Samos, Pifftratus and Euclides at Athens, Nicocrates in Cyprus, Euripides the poet, Aristotle the philofopher, Clearchuis_at Heracea Pontica, and the most extenûve and magnificent library of Ptolemy Philadelphus in Egypt, founded in or before the year 284, which, in his time, is faid to have contained 100,000 volumes, and to have been enlarged by his fucceffors to the amount of almost 700,000. Not long afterwards a library was founded at Pergamus by Attalus and Eumenes, which, according to Plutarch, contained 200,000. Thefe are clear and decifive proofs, that the common mode of writing in the time

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To establish this propofition, the author observes, firit, that public infcriptions usually begin in this manher: H BOYAH KAI O AHMOE, "The fenate and the people," or in this form: ΕΔΟΞΕΝ ΤΗΙ ΒΟΥΛΗΙ ΚΑΙ ΤΩΙ ΔΗΜΩΙ, “It pleased the senate and the people." But the Parian Chronologer begins his infcription in a very different manner, as follows: Avygala, &c. “I have defcribed preceding times, beginning from Cecrops." Thefe are the words of a private man, fpeaking of his own performance in the firft perfon fingular, and do not in the leaft correfpond with thofe forms of expreflion which we generally find in infcriptions compofed by the order of the fenate or the people of

any country.

This argument cannot be much affeated by obferving, that the beginning of the infcription is obliterated; for it entirely depends on the words now remaining.

Secondly, The facts and dates which are mentioned in the Chronicle do not appear to have been extracted from any public records, or calculated to answer the purpofe of authentic documents. For in either view, it is moft probable the compiler would have preferved a regular feries of kings and archons. But this is not the cafe. Many eminent princes and magistrates are pafied over without no tice. The facts chiefly fpecified are not matters of general or national importance: and, in feveral inftances, the tranfactions of whole centuries are entirely

omitted.

Thirdly, The Parian infcription is fuch a one as we can hardly fuppofe the magiftrates or the people of Paros would have ordered to be engraved. Stately fepulchres, pillars, triumphal ares, and the like, were erected to perpetuate the glory of eminent men. The remembrance of events in which nations were interested, the fucceffion of princes, &c. were preferved in the fame manner. Leagues, decrets, and laws were likewile engraved on marble or brais, and fixed to a pillar, the walls of a tempie, or other public buildings; because such infcriptions were defigned for the infpec

tion of the people, as they effentially concerned their conduct, their property, their liberty, or their lives. But, our author afks, for whom could the Chronicle of Paros be intended? It contains no encomiums on any of the patriots, the heroes, or the demigods of the country, no decrees of the magistrates, no public records, no laws of ftate. On the contrary, it is a work of mere fpeculation and learning, in which the inhabitants of that ifland, efpecially the common people, had not the leaf intereft or concern.

Thefe words at the beginning, agxo»os su Пag, would naturally lead usto fuppofe, that the infcription related to Paros. And, if fo, it would have been natural for the author to have mentioned fome of the most important occurrences in the history of that island, which are diftinctly specified in this chapter. But, fays this acute and learned critic, what fcheme does our Chronologer purfue on this occafion? Does he record the events and revolutions of his own country? Does he mention any of the battles, fieges, and treaties of the Parians? any of their public inftitutions? any of their poets, patriots, or warriors? Does he mention Archilochus, who was honoured by his countrymen, and diftinguifhed as a poet in a general affembly of the Greeks?Not a fyllable on any of these fubjects! On the contrary, he rambles from place to place, and records the tranfactions of Athens, Corinth, Macedon, Lydia, Crete, Cyprus, Sicily, Perfia, and other foreign countries with which Paros had no connection.

In this view the infcription feems to have been as IMPERTINENT in the island of Paros, as a marble monument would be in this country, recording the antiquities of France or Spain, or one in Jamaica recording the revolutions of Eng

land.

Upon a fuppofition that the infcription is a forgery, it is easy to account for this extraordinary circumstance. A few chronological occurrences in the ancient hiftory of Paros would not have been fo interefting to the generality of readers, or fo valuable in the estimation of every lover of antiquities, or, in thort, so profitable to the compiler, as a general fyftem of Grecian chronology.

As this performance is a work of great importance, and written in a very mafterly manner, we fhal! purtue the fubject in our next Magazine.

(To be continued.)

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