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ourfelves Juftice, it must be allowed, we are not altogether infenfible of our Happinef; for I, with the highest Pleasure, affure Your Royal Highnefs, that in more than half the great Towns in England, and among all Ranks of People, I have been a conftant Eye and Ear-Witnefs of their univerfal Joy and Satisfaction with their prefent Condition; of their extraordinary Efteem and Regard for the Perfon, Title and Government of his prefent Moft Gracious Majefty, and their most exalted Hopes, and higheft Confidence in their future Sovereign: This good Difpofition, permit me, Great Sir, to fay, is the natural Confequence of encouraging the Studies of useful Arts and Sciences, Learning and Humanity; for thefe furnish the Prince with Notions and Principles of Wifdom, Religion, Virtue, and Liberty, and fecure the People from the Attacks of Ignorance, Barbarity, Superftition and Impofture; and in every Perfon they produce a rational and noble Propensity towards promoting the general Good of the Community, and the Promulgation of the Sciences among all Ranks and Orders of Men, and inculcate on their Minds Principles that will not fail to render them good Subjects: As this is the profeffed Defign of thefe Papers, I humbly prefume they will be acceptable to Your Royal Highnefs, and fhall for ever efteem it the highest Honour that I am permitted to offer them to Your Highness's Infpection. That Heaven may preferve his prefent Sacred Majefty to the lateft defirable Period of Life, and then Your Highnefs afcend the British Throne, and long reign the happieft, as well as the greateft, Monarch of the World, is the inceffant Prayer of,

SIR,

Your Royal Highness's

Maft dutiful, devoted,

And obedient bumble Servant,

B. MARTIN.

An ACCOUNT of the PLAN and DESIGN

A

of this MAGAZINE.

S the highest Attainments of the human Mind confift in useful Knowledge, the Perfection of our Nature can only refult from thence; and, in order to promote that in the greatest Degree, we must render the various Arts and Sciences as eafy of Accefs, or the Pathway to Knowledge as direct and plain, as poffible: And this, in fhort, is the Defign of our present Publication. To effect which, we fhall employ our Time and Abilities in the best manner we can, and therefore presume that the Public, who are ever candid and ingenuous, will want no other Inducement to a good Opinion, and favourable Reception of fuch an Undertaking.

But tho' the Merit of a Defign may be indifputable, yet the. manner of executing it is a Thing very material, and therefore we fhall here at large lay it before the Reader; fince it too often happens, that the Expectation of the Public is mightily raised by Title-Pages, Propofals, &c. but immediately fubfides upon reading a few firft Sheets of the Performance.

Our Purpose is to compile and present our Readers with a real and general Magazine of Arts and Sciences: Concerning which it is to be obferved,

First, That the Undertaking is in itself a Work entirely new; for though the Press has long groaned under the Weight of Magazines of various Complexions, not one of them has appeared with any Pretenfions of this Kind, most of them being calculated for Amusement only; and as to the reft, if the Words Arts and Sciences are found in their Title-Pages, you seek in vain for the Things themselves, in the Body of the Work; or if any Thing of that Sort appears, it is only by Peace-meal, in Bits and Scraps, disjointed and mangled, without Order or Connection, and therefore of no Use to any one. On the contrary, in our Magazine, we propose a compleat Body of real Arts and Sciences for

I diftinguish between those that are truly and really so, and those that are not: Since it is well known, that many Subjects have been ufhered into the World under the refpectable Names of Arts and Sciences, to the great Abuse and Delufion of Mankind. Thus, formerly, the blafphemous Jargon of Aftrology was dignified with thofe Epithets; and many other Subjects are deemed Sciences, but are falfely fo called, as they convey no real Knowledge to the Mind. Secondly, The Form of our Work is intirely new; for a Body of Arts and Sciences has never yet been attempted in any monthly periodical Publication, under the Title of a MAGAZINE. And this Form we rather chufe, not only as it fuits with the Humour and Tafte of the prefent Age, but also because it will be the easiest Way to communicaté Subjects of this Sort, and attended with lefs Expence and Trouble as well to the Publisher as the Reader; not only fo, but a whole Body of Arts and Sciences poured out on the Public at once, might not perhaps be quite so pleasing and acceptable, as when retailed out in monthly Portions; for now a Person cannot think one Half-fheet upon a Science in a Month too much, as he will have Time enough to read and digest that before another comes to Hand, even in the more abftrufe Arts, that require some Study and Attention: and since it will be in vain to crave for more than there can be Time to peruse and understand, it is prefumed, that what has been now faid, may be a fufficient Answer to an Objection that may poffibly be made against a monthly Publication,→ That it will be too flow, or tedious a Performance; but we shall make no Scruple to say, that admitting a Perfon has a good Genius, he will be allowed to make a great Proficiency, if he can make himself Master of the useful Arts and Sciences in the Compass of Ten Years.

Thirdly, There has been no compleat Syftem, or Body of Arts and Sciences fince the new Discoveries, and great Improvements in all the Branches thereof made in the laft and prefent Age,

The Face of Philofophy is entirely new, and a new Geometry has fucceeded the old, which occafions a general Renovation in all the Mathematical Sciences; the most substantial and folid Parts of Learning have therefore now a new Afpect, and wear quite a different Dress from what they used to appear in. A general System of the Sciences, attended with fo much Novelty and Utility, can

not

not now, we hope, but be very grateful to every Lover of Art and Friend to Learning.

Fourthly, The Novelty of our Method we may reasonably fuppose will be another Argument to recommend fince our Plan is to carry on the four great Claffes,of Science at once. Variety never fails to please in other Cafes, and here it must have all its Force, fince every Half-sheet of our Magazine will be pregnant with new Principles of Knowlege, and every Number will present the Reader with a gradual Progress of the Sciences, proceeding Hand-in-Hand; when he has confidered the Subject of one, he may apply himself to another, after that to a third and fourth, all different from each other, and each in particular such, we prefume, as will be worthy his Attention, and afford him Pleasure and Inftruction at the fame Time. After this, by Way of Relaxation and Amusement, in the fifth and fixth Half-fheet, we shall present him with fome of the choiceft Pieces of Learning, Wit, Humour, Poetry, News, &c. all which we judge will be fufficient to fill up the vacant Hours of each refpective Month.

Fifthly, Another great Inducement to this Undertaking is, the fatisfactory Prospect we have of making the Arts and Sciences more generally known and useful to Mankind; for Experience forbids us to expect, that a general Publication of the whole at once, would ever fall into fo great a Number of Hands as it probably may this Way, it is not confiftent with Prudence, in any Cafe, to overdo a Thing; People fhould be gradually conducted from one Apartment to the other in the Temple of Science; for fince one fimultaneous View of the Whole would rather tend to confufe than inftruct the Mind, and deter from, rather than invite to a particular Examination of the Parts: Things, though ever fo good in themselves, by too great and fudden a Profufion, instead of exciting a Curiofity and Inclination, would probably create an Averfion, if not a Naufea thereto. And therefore to avoid any Tendency to difcourage the Study of the Sciences, we have thought it by much the best Way, to proceed in the Method of our prefent Plan.

We proceed now to give some Account of the Subject-Matter of the Work:

I. The first Part will confift of a general Survey of the Works of Nature and Art, that is to fay, we shall take a particular View

of

of the feveral Phenomena of Nature, as they arise from the various
Subjects that fall under our Observations, in the Heavens, the
Air, the Earth, and Water, which we fhall represent, illuftrate
and explain, by the several Inftruments and Machines which Art
has invented, or can fupply for that Purpose, and that in the moft
eafy and natural Manner, so that the Truth and Reality of the
Nature and Caufe of those Appearances may be rendered quite ob→
vious to the Understanding; for in this Part, we shall propose no-
thing but what we may reasonably fuppofe all our Readers can
understand; and in order to do this more effectually, we shall pro-
pose it in the common Way of Experiments, fince it is found by
general Experience the best of all accommodated to convince the
Understanding, as it confifts in little more than an Appeal to the
common Sense of Mankind. We oftentimes express great Diffi-
dence with respect to our intellectual Faculties, but few People
are fo foolishly modeft as to diftruft their Senfes in Cafes where
Objects are proposed to them in a proper Manner; and fince
the Senfes are the general Inlets and Means of Knowledge,
and are formed as accurately and juft as perfect, in one Sex as the
other, therefore these philosophical Subjects must be, in this
Way, equally intelligible to both; confequently the LADIES may
be admitted to the Pleasure and Advantage of thefe Speculations
as well as Gentlemen, if not with more Reason, fince Gentlemen
have generally an Opportunity of coming to the Knowledge of
these Things, in a way different from that of the Fair Sex: And
therefore we have proposed it in Dialogues between a young Gen-
tleman and a Lady in the natural and easy Way of Conversation
by which Means we hope the Inftruction will be more eafily con-
veyed, and attended with much greater Pleasure than in the com-
mon, dry and tedious Dialogues, heretofore written on thefe Sub-
jects. Moreover, the Inftruments and Machines themselves will be
very particularly described, and many new ones introduced, with
their Advantages and Excellencies pointed out; alfo Copper-
Plates and Diagrams will be supplied where ever they are wanted
for Illuftration. Lafly, to render the Whole as compleat as pof-
fible, we shall frequently embellish the Subject with the most beau-
tiful Descriptions, Allufions, and Similies that can be found in
the most celebrated antient and modern Poets; fo that upon the
Whole,

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