THE ANALYTICAL REVIEW, OR HISTORY OF LITERATURE, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN, ON AN ENLARGED PLAN. CONTAINING SCIENTIFIC ABSTRACTS OF IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING WORKS, PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH; A GENERAL ACCOUNT OF SUCH AS ARE OF LESS CONSE. NOTICES, OR REVIEWS OF VALUABLE FOREIGN BOOKS; AND THE LITERARY INTELLIGENCE OF EUROPE, &c. "At hæc omnia ita tractari præcipimus, ut non, Criticorum more, in laude et VOL. III. FROM JANUARY, TO APRIL INCLUSIVE, 1789. LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, NO. 72, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD. M DCC LXXXIX. ASB Greve Schust r THE ANALYTICAL REVIEW, For JANUARY, 1789. ART. I. Udsigt over den gamle Manuscript Samling i det ftore kongelige Bibliothek, ved John Erichfen, Deputeret i Rentekammeret, Conferents Road og Bibliothecarius ved det store Kongel. Bibliothek. Kiöbenhavn hos N. Möller Hofbogtrycker. 1786. 800.-A View of the ancient Collection of MSS in the King's Great Library; by John Erichsen, a Lord of the Exchequer, First Librarian to his Majesty. Copenhag. 1786. Printed by Nicol. Moller, Printer to the King. THIS is a valuable work, which will be confulted as long as just taste, and a love of literature, shall continue to infpire the Scandinavian votaries of the Muses. The author, whose extenfive knowledge, unremitting zeal in public business, and diftinguished patriotisim, displayed in all his actions, gives the following account of this last production of his literary retirement. " A fevere distemper, says he, urged me to seek repose from public business. This gave birth to the present undertaking, by which I relieved the listlessness of retirement. A fervant of the ftate, continues he, who derives a suitable support from that ftate, is in confcience bound to lay before the public an account of every moment which otherwise he ought to have employed in the more active discharge of his duty." The vast collection of manuscripts in the king's great library *, of which we propose to give a short account, originated and * The King of Denmark has two libraries. The one is called the great library, founded by Frederick 111. the other, the king's manual, or private library, founded by Frederick v. The present royal family of Denmark have diftinguished themselves in support of every branch of useful and ornamental literature. The King, in particular, has, by an express order, thrown open his great library for the use and infpection of every gentleman, who indulges a wish to be admitted: in consequence of which, apartments are fitted up in the most convenient taste for the use of readers. But the liberality of this prince has carried him still farther. Characters of note are permitted VOL. III. B and increased in the subsequent manner. When this library began in the reign of Frederick III, the greatest part of the Mss confifted of chemistry and alchymy: for as Christian Iv. and Frederick III. loved and patronised the arts and sciences in general, it is not to be wondered at that they paid a particular attention to the study of alchymy and chemistry, which almost wholly engrossed the taste and philofophical ardour of those times. The library was augmented by degrees, from the collections of Peter Scavenius, Lars Ulefeld, Joachim Gersdorf, and Just Hoegh, all noblemen, whose literary and political talents are justly celebrated. Scarcely any acquifition of confequence, however, was made, till, in the year 1721, it was enriched by the library of Chriftian Reitzer, the works of Otto Sperling, and an immense variety of state papers and public transactions. In the line of claffics, or Mss confifting of Greek and Latin philology, hardly any existed worth naming, previous to the reign of Christian VI, when the celebrated Johan Grammius, in pursuance of the orders of that monarch, purchased at the fale of the library belonging to count Dannefkiold Samfoe, the whole of that fuperb collection of invaluable mss, which Frederick Roftgaard had collected during his literary travels throughout England, France, Italy, Holland, and Germany. In the year 1734 an addition was alfo made of the Mss which were found in the ducal library of Gottorp, which the Danes had taken poffeffion of in the late war with Sweden. This library (the great library) had few Mss on the subject of domestic history, till the years 1751 and 1752, when a great number were purchased out of the library which had belonged to Johan Vofs, or Fofs. Soon after, the heirs of Johan Grammius made a present of his valuable and well-chofen Mss, to the amount of 299.-At this period, the fucceflor to Grammius as librarian, wholly difregarding the duties of his office, neglected every opportunity which presented itself of purchasing Mss for the use of the library, notwithstanding the order of his majefty for that purpose. Hence, in the course of twenty-fix years, the library could boast of no one acquifition, except those oriental Mss which were collected by a society of learned men, whom Frederick v. had fent to Arabia and Egypt. This addition however was made, it would seem, without the least hint, countenance, or affistance from the librarian. to carry home with them fuch Mss or printed books as they chuse; and, in order to render the whole as complete as possible, it is encted, that a copy of every book printed throughout his dominions, from the earliest period of book-printing to the present time, shall be bought for the use of this learned repofitory. Such * Such was the inattention of that gentleman to the encrease of the charge that had been committed to him, that, notwithstanding the existence of an edict, which expressly commands that three copies of every book printed in Copenhagen, should be delivered by the printer, for the use of the royal library, it is well known that this act, through his indolence, not to ufe a harsher term, was seldom or ever carried into execution. At the fame time, as if he wished to dry up every stream that flowed from this literary fount, he took the greatest care that neither printed works nor manuscripts should be taken out of it, or even perused by any person, without his orders. In consequence of this, many diftinguished writers, who were defirous of perusing the library, were put to the disagreeable neceffity of procuring an express order from his majesty for that purpose, directed to the librarian, who had the audacity to refuse the books which those gentlemen defired. To this circumstance it is to be ascribed, that the editors of the Greek and Roman classics introduced into the Danith schools, by the royal committee of education in Denmark, were obliged to copy the editions which a Hackius, an Heyne, a Grævius and a Burman had previously given to the public, without having it in their power to collate those va-luable mss, which are presented to our view from pag. 56 to 78, which include no less than eleven copies of different works of Cicero, five copies of Virgil, three ditto of Horace, fix ditto of Lucan, two ditto of Persius, five ditto of Juvenal, two ditto of Solinus, four of Justin, four ditto of Sallust, &c. befides others of Seneca, Boetius, Livy and Tacitus, many of which are very ancient. The result of this behaviour was, that, the high regard which the learned of Europe had heretofore paid to this library, during the time that Johan Grammius was librarian, and the high sense of its encreasing utility, began visibly to decline: so that had Mölman lived much longer, it is thought he would have survived this precious collection. Toward the close of the year 1777, two libraries, of no fmall importance, were disposed of by public fale. The one belonged to Thorkel Klevenfeld, and the other to Jacob Langebeck, both rich in Mss exceeding scarce and valuable. Many of them, being original records, contained the most important points relative to the affairs of Europe, during the last two centuries. Notwithstanding this, not a fingle paper was purchased for the use of the royal library. As the fciences, however, had already felt the fostering influences of P. Frederic Suhm, one of the lords of his majesty's bed-chamber, on this occafion, they experienced a frech instance of his affection. This truly great character purchased a great number of * See The Nya Opfostrings-tidningar. Stockholm 1787. |