Astronomy and Physiology in the “Encyclopædia Britannica”

Abstract

ASTRONOMY. THE treatment of a particular department of knowledge in a comprehensive work is less illuminating than might at first be imagined. One's first idea is that one might learn from it the conspicuousness of that department in the whole field of thought. Actually, all that it can reveal on that matter is the editor's opinion. As a text-book, a popular handbook, or a source of inspiration, it is equally unsatisfactory. Disconnected, heterogeneous in diction, style, and direction of approach, abounding in repetitions, it has all the potential faults and few of the virtues of those mediums of expression. The value and significance of the treatment are to be found in the individual article rather than the ensemble.