This remark applies with peculiar justice and force to modern works
of voyages and travels. A very extensive catalogue, therefore, must contain
a large portion of bad or indifferent books, which are not worth the
purchasing, the consulting, nor the perusing; consequently, if such works
appear in a catalogue drawn up for the purpose of guiding those who purpose
to travel in particular countries, to write on the subject of them, or
merely to read respecting them for the sake of information, it is plain
that such a catalogue cannot be trusted as a safe and judicious guide; as
if the persons consulting it select for themselves, there is an equal
chance of selecting useless books as good ones; and if they attempt to
peruse all, they must waste a great deal of time.
It may be said, however, that this objection can easily be obviated, by
distinguishing such works as are bad or indifferent from such as are good,
either by a short notice, or by a particular mark. The first plan
necessarily must increase the size of the catalogue; and it really appears
a piece of superfluous labour to introduce works not worthy to be perused,
and then, either by a notice or mark, to warn the reader from the perusal
of them. Is it not much more direct to omit such works altogether?
As the object in view in the present catalogue is to render it useful to
the generality of readers, and not valuable to the bibliographer, those
works are omitted which have no other recommendation but their extreme
scarcity.
Pages:
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907