''Lexicon Technicum: or, Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences: Explaining not only the Terms of Art, but the Arts Themselves'' was in many respects the first alphabetical
encyclopedia
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
written in English. Although the emphasis of the ''Lexicon Technicum'' was on
mathematical
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
subjects, its contents go beyond what would be called
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
or
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
today, in conformity with the broad eighteenth century understanding of the terms "
arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...
" and "science," and it includes entries on the
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
and
fine arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
, notably on
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
,
commerce
Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...
,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
, and
heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
. However, the ''Lexicon Technicum'' neglects
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
,
antiquity,
biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
, and
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
.
Overview
The ''Lexicon Technicum'' was the work of a London clergyman,
John Harris (1666-1719). Its professed advantage over
French dictionaries of the arts and sciences was that it contained explanation not only of the terms used in the arts and sciences, but also of the arts and sciences themselves. Harris issued a three-page proposal for this work in 1702, and the first edition of the first volume was published in London in 1704. The first volume contains 1220 pages, 4 plates, and many additional diagrams and figures within the text. Like many early English encyclopedias, the pages are not
numbered; numbering may have been thought unnecessary as readers could search by its
alphabetical
Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the position of the characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet. It is one of the methods of collation. In mathematics, a lexicographical order is t ...
arrangement.
Volume 2, which was also alphabetized from A through Z, was first published in 1710. The second volume contains 1419 pages and 4 plates, with a list of about 1300 subscribers. A previously unpublished treatise on
acids
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
by
Sir Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the great ...
was included in its original
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
along with Harris's English translation, perhaps without the latter's permission or encouragement. A large part of the volume consists of mathematical and
astronomical
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies ...
tables, since Harris intended his work to serve as a small mathematical library. He provided tables of
logarithms
In mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. That means the logarithm of a number to the base is the exponent to which must be raised, to produce . For example, since , the ''logarithm base'' 10 o ...
,
sines
Sines () is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The municipality, divided into two parishes, has around 14,214 inhabitants (2021) in an area of . Sines holds an important oil refinery and several petrochemical industries. It is also a popular ...
,
tangents
In geometry, the tangent line (or simply tangent) to a plane curve at a given point is the straight line that "just touches" the curve at that point. Leibniz defined it as the line through a pair of infinitely close points on the curve. More ...
, and
secants, a two-page list of books, and an index of the articles in both volumes under 26 heads, filling 50 pages. The longest lists are for law (1700 articles),
surgery
Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
,
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
,
geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
,
fortification
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
,
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
, and music.
In his preface, Harris stated that he got less help from previous dictionaries than one would expect. While acknowledging some borrowing, Harris insisted that "much the greater part of what
he reader
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
will find here is collected from no Dictionaries, but from the best Original Authors I could procure." Harris's preface touted his coverage of mathematical subjects. He admitted the imperfection of his data on
stars
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
, noting that
Flamsteed
John Flamsteed (19 August 1646 – 31 December 1719) was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. His main achievements were the preparation of a 3,000-star catalogue, ''Catalogus Britannicus'', and a star atlas called ''Atlas Coe ...
had refused to assist him, but he vaunted his coverage of astronomy, especially his full coverage of Newton's theories of the
moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
and of
comets
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
. In botany he claimed to have given "a pretty exact botanick lexicon, which was what we really wanted before," using
Dr John Ray's method. To describe the parts of a
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
accurately, he supposedly "often" went on board himself. In law, he wrote, he abridged from the best writers and had the result "carefully examined and corrected by a Gentleman of known Ability in that Profession."
The specified aims of the book did not prevent Harris from including some highly opinionated asides, for example this definition conveying the poor view he took of
lawyers
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ...
: "Sollicitor, is a Man imploy'd to take care of, and follow Suits depending in Courts of Law, or Equity, formerly allowed only to Nobility, whose Menial Servants they were; but now too frequently used by others, to the damage of the People, and the increase of
Champerty and Maintenance
Champerty and maintenance are doctrines in common law jurisdictions that aim to preclude frivolous litigation:
*Maintenance is the intermeddling of a disinterested party to encourage a lawsuit. It is: "A taking in hand, a bearing up or upholdin ...
".
Harris wrote that he had wished to supply an index for each art and science as well as more plates on anatomy and ships, but the underwriters could not afford it, "the Book having swelled so very much beyond the Expectation."
A review of this work, extending to the unusual length of four pages, appeared in the ''
Philosophical Transactions
''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...
'' for 1704.
The ''Lexicon Technicum'' was long very popular, enduring through at least 1744 as the main rival of
Ephraim Chambers
Ephraim Chambers ( – 15 May 1740) was an English writer and encyclopaedist, who is primarily known for producing the '' Cyclopaedia, or a Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences''.
Biography
Chambers was born in Milton near Kendal, Westmor ...
's ''
Cyclopaedia''. The final publication of the two volumes of the ''Lexicum Technicum'' was in 1736. An anonymous one-volume supplement did appear in 1744, with 996 pages and 6 plates, but this work was allegedly "not well received," being perceived by contemporaries as a mere "booksellers speculation."
["Encyclopaedia," in '']Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'', 13th edition, vol. 19, p. 373. In any case, no new editions of the ''Lexicon Technicum'' were published thereafter.
Publication History
Unlike most multi-volume works, the several editions of volumes 1 and 2 were not synchronized until 1736. The first volume appeared in five editions, while the second volume appeared only in three editions. The first edition of volume 1 appeared in 1704; the second edition in 1708, the third edition in 1716, and the fourth edition in 1725. In contrast, the first edition of volume 2 appeared in 1710, and the second edition did not appear until 1723. The two volumes were not published together until 1736, constituting the fifth edition of the first volume and the third edition of the second volume. The supplement of 1744 was billed as volume 3.
We do not know the names of the editors who carried on Harris's work after his death in 1719.
Notes
References
* (See p. 373.)
*Bradshaw, Lael Ely, “John Harris’s ''Lexicon technicum'',” in ''Notable Encyclopedias of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: Nine Predecessors of the Encyclopédie'', ed. Frank A. Kafker (Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 1981), pp. 107–21.
*Collison, Robert, ''Encyclopaedias: Their History throughout the Ages'' (New York: Hafner, 1966).
External links
Sample page from the 1708 edition*
Lexicon technicum, or, An universal English dictionary of arts and sciences : explaining not only the terms of art, but the arts themselves' Vol. 1 (2nd ed)
''Lexicon technicum, or, An universal English dictionary of arts and sciences : explaining not only the terms of art, but the arts themselves''Vol. 2 (2nd ed)
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