CHAMBERS' Cyclopedia, published in 1728, is largely a sys-
tematic compilation of accumulated knowledge. And that is
perhaps what a cyclopedia should be. It has no point of view
of its own; the lexicographer makes no effort to be any more
than a recorder of the accepted ideas and facts of his time.
In that respect it differs from L'Encyclopédie which was
published some two decades later and was at first intended
to be little more than a French adaptation of Chambers'.
L'Encyclopédie is not merely a record of civilization, it is
also a critique. Undoubtedly it laid the intellectual founda-
tion for the French Revolution. But in another respect
Chambers' Cyclopedia may be considered a forerunner of
L'Encyclopédie. Aside from its attack on Church and State,
L'Encyclopédie is chiefly concerned with science. "Scientific
research is its very essence." ¹ In its very title, Encyclopédie
ou dictionnaire raisanné des sciences, des arts et des métiers
par la société des gens de lettres, science comes first. Cham-
bers too is much concerned with science. He is almost will-
ing to compare his age with that of Augustus because of
its great progress in experimental science. ² And his Cyclo-
pedia he calls a "Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences."
To be sure both Diderot and D'Alembert were far greater