"The NUTTALL ENCYCLOPÆDIA" is the fruit of a project to provide, in a
concise and condensed form, and at a cheap rate, an epitome of the kind
of information given in the larger Encyclopædias, such as may prove
sufficient for the ordinary requirements, in that particular, of the
generality of people, and especially of such as have not the means for
purchasing or the leisure for studying the larger.
An Encyclopædia is now recognised to be as indispensable a book of
reference as a dictionary; for while the latter explains and defines the
vehicle of _thought_, the former seeks to define the subject-matter. Now
the rapid increase in the vocabulary of a nation, which makes the
possession of an up-to-date dictionary almost one of the necessaries of
life, is evidently due to the vast increase in the number of _facts_
which the language has to describe or interpret; and if it is difficult
to keep pace with the growth in the language, it is obviously more
difficult to attain even a working knowledge of the array of facts which
in this age come before us for discussion. No man can now peruse even a
daily newspaper without being brought face to face with details about
questions of the deepest interest to _him_; and he is often unable to
grasp the meaning of what he reads for want of additional knowledge or
explanation. In short, it becomes more and more a necessity of modern
life to know something of everything. A little knowledge is not dangerous
to those who recognise it to be little, and it may be sufficient to
enable those who possess it to understand and enjoy intelligently what
would otherwise only weigh as a burdensome reflection upon their
ignorance. Even a comparatively exhaustive treatment of the multitudinous
subjects comprehended under the term universal knowledge would demand a
library of large volumes, hence the extent and heavy cost of the great
Encyclopædias. But it is doubtful whether the mass of information
contained in those admirable and bulky works does not either go beyond,
or, more frequently than not, fall short of the requirements of those who
refer to them. For the special student there is too little, for the
general reader too much. Detailed knowledge of any subject in this age of
specialisation can be acquired only by study of the works specifically
devoted to it. What is wanted in a popular Encyclopædia is succinct
information--the more succinct the better, so long as it gives what is
required by the inquiry, leaving it to the authorities in each subject to
supply the information desired by those intent on pursuing it further.
The value of an Encyclopædia of such small scope must depend, therefore,
upon the careful selection of its materials, and in this respect it is
hoped the one now offered to the public will be found adequate to any
reasonable demands made upon it. If the facts given here are the facts
that the great majority are in search of when they refer to its pages, it
may be claimed for "The Nuttall Encyclopædia" that, in one respect at all
events it is more valuable for instant reference than the best
Encyclopædia in many volumes; for "The Nuttall" can lie on the desk for
ready-to-hand reference, and yields at a glance the information wanted.
Within the necessary limits of a single volume the Editor persuades
himself he has succeeded in including a wide range of subjects, and he
trusts that the information he has given on these will meet in some
measure at least the wants of those for whom the book has been compiled.
To the careful Newspaper Reader; to Heads of Families, with children at
school, whose persistent questions have often to go without an answer; to
the Schoolmaster and Tutor; to the student with a shallow purse; to the
Busy Man and Man of Business, it is believed that this volume will prove
a solid help.
The subjects, as hinted, are various, and these the Editor may be
permitted to classify in a general way under something like the following
rubrics:--
1. Noted people, their nationality, the time when they flourished, and
what they are noted for.
2. Epochs, important movements, and events in history, with the dates and
their historical significance.
3. Countries, provinces, and towns, with descriptions of them, their
sizes, populations, etc., and what they are noted for.
4. Heavenly bodies, especially those connected with the solar system,
their sizes, distances, and revolutions.