b o o k Wednefdays, and Saturdays, Ovid’s Metamorphofis, and con-
. _ ' ■ nedts mythology with antient hiftory and geography. Mr.
Tfherbotaref, extraordinary profeffor of logic and morality,
and under-librarian to the univerfity, four hours in the
week, comments upon Heineccii element a pbilofopbia rational®
et moralis, as well in the original Latin, as in the Ruffian *
tranflation, for the benefit of thofe who are unacquainted
with the Latin tongue. Mr. Urbanfki gives inftrudtions in
rhetoric from the compendium of Burgius, both in theory
and practice. Mr. Holberftof explains Count Teffin’s Letters
to a young-prince ■+.
The account of the Greek man-ufcrips in the library of
the Holy Synod at Mofcow, prefented to me by the director,
bore the following title: “ Notitia codicum manufcriptorum
“ Graecorum Bibliothecarum Mofquenfium fandlijjimae Jynoä
xf Eccleßae ortbodoxae Graeco-RuJp,cae, cum variis anecdotic,
“ tabulis aneis et indicibus locupletißmis. Edidit Cbrißianus
■“ Fredericus Mattbaei, Gymnafiorum Univerßtatis Mofquenßs
u Rector. Mofquae, typis Univerßtatis, Anno 17 76.” folio.
T h e author is Christian Frederic Matthaei, a learned German,
who was educated atLeiplic under the celebratedErneiti, and
being drawn to Mofcow by the liberality of the emprefs, was
appointed a profeffor of this univerfity. Soon after his arrival
in-this city, he turned his firft attention to the ftate o f Greek
learning in this country; and being informed that the library
of the Holy Synod contained a large and curious col-
leCtion of Greek manufcripts, the greateft part o f which had,
at the faggeftiom of the patriarch Nicon, and at the expenoe
of Alexey Michaelovitch, been collected by the monk Arfe-
* Iis praecipue, qui linguse Latinae funt f Th e prefent king o f Sweden when
ignarij nee fua itudia academica in univer- ¡prince. royaU
fitate ulterius profequi poituni,
nius
nius from the monaftery of Mount Athos, he immediately c h a p ..
explored this literary treafure. . .
And as a catalogue of thefe manufcripts, publiihed by
Athanafius Schiada, at the order of Peter the Great, was exceedingly
inaccurate, Matthaei, who had difplayed his
erudition by feveral excellent editions * of the Claffics,
was encouraged by Prince Potemkin the great patron of
antient literature who paid all the expence of the publication,
to undertake this work upon a more extenfive plan-.
Accordingly, in 17 76 , the learned editor gave to the public
this firft part of the performance, in which he has laid down,
a very accurate and circumftantial detail of fifty- one manufcripts,
accompanied with many judicious remarks and critical
inquiries; he defcribes the materials upon which each-
manufcript is written; he mentions the number of pages, the
age, the writer, the former poffeffors ; the contents, the firft
and lall word. The author propofes to. continue the publication
at different intervals until he has finilhed the account.
But as it would require many years thus minutely to detail
and defcribe all the manufcripts, whofe number amounts to
502 ; the learned author has, in the mean while, favoured,
the publick with a complete catalogue, in a lefs circumftan-
tial manner, under the following title : “ Index codicum
“ manufcriptorum Graecorum Bibliothecarum Mofquenfum
“ fandlijjimae Synodi ecclefae ortbodoxae Graco-RuJJicae: edidit
“ Chrifianus Fridericus Mattbaei. Petropoli, typis Academiae
“ Scientiarucn, 1780.” 4to. To this index is prefixed a very
fatisfaCtory and eomprehenfive introduction ; in which, after
having informed us that he compiled it for the ufe of
prince Yufapof, an enthufiaft in Greek literature, lie enters-
* The late ingenious Mr. Harris has enumerated the editions publiihed by Mi-- Mat*.
th * V Ihiloi'. InpiirieB, p, 564.
3 into