{en-sy'-kloh-pee'-dee-uh} Derived from the Greek enkyklios paideia for a "circle of learning," the term encyclopedia is now applied to any work of one or more volumes with articles, usually in alphabetical order, on all branches of knowledge, or on all aspects of one subject. The purpose of the modern encyclopedia is to condense current and essential information and make it accessible to the nonspecialist. HISTORY The modern encyclopedia has evolved from works vastly different from those which are now called encyclopedias, and it has gone through many modifications. Early Developments Plato's nephew and disciple, Speusippus, devised an encyclopedialike work (c.370 BC) to record permanently the master's lectures on natural history, mathematics, and philosophy. The Greeks believed that unification and exploitation of knowledge, and improvement of thinking, were primary objectives of education. In contrast, Cato's Praecepta ad filium (c.183 BC), reflecting Roman pragmatism, was a self-tutorial work, conceived to develop skills and knowledge in practical fields. The earliest truly encyclopedic work was \TPliny the Elder\t's prodigious Historia naturalis (AD 77), a series of anthologies concerned with topics such as botany, metallurgy, and cosmography. Learned and monumental compilations in increasingly elaborate classificatory frameworks dominated the field from ancient times to the invention of movable type in the 15th century. These works were written in Latin and were limited to a scholarly audience. They range from Marcus Terentius \TVarro\t's Disciplinarium libri IX (c.50 BC) to the works of \TBoethius\t, \TCassiodorus\t, and \TIsidore of Seville\t (with parallel efforts in Arabia and China). They culminate in \TVincent of Beauvais\t's Speculum majus (The Greater Mirror), completed in 1244. This enormous collection of major writings remained the world's principal encyclopedia for several hundred years. Brunetto Latini's Li livres dou tresor (c.1266), however, represented a significant breakthrough because it was written in French and directed to the Italian upper class. This first attempt to reach a secular rather than an exclusively scholarly market was extremely successful, and subsequent editions appeared as late as the 1530s. 16th to 18th Century In the mid-16th century, encyclopedic dictionaries edited by Charles Estienne (1504-64) became popular, proving that readers generally preferred the alphabetic arrangement. Had it not been for the German writer Paul Scalich, the term encyclopedia might never have been firmly established. Scalich's Encyclopaedia, seu Orbis disciplinarum . . . (Encyclopedia, or Knowledge of the World of Disciplines . . ., 1559) brought the term back into prominence. Among 17th-century dictionaries that were akin to modern encyclopedias was Louis Moreri's Le Grand Dictionnaire historique (1674), which went through 20 editions and expanded from a single volume to a 10-volume edition by 1759. More attuned to public need than its predecessors, it included geographical and biographical entries, alphabetically arranged and in the vernacular. Other encyclopedists in England, Germany, and elsewhere used Moreri's encyclopedia as a model. John Harris (c.1666-1719) compiled the first comparable work in the English language. His Lexicon Technicum, or an Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1704) eliminated biographical entries and downgraded lexicographical elements. Mathematics, physics, and technology were given much attention; bibliographies, engraved plates, and practical advice were incorporated in the text. A second and even more influential English encyclopedia was Ephraim Chambers's Cyclopaedia; or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1728), based on a Baconian classification that covered 47 arts and sciences. With its cross-references and headings, this was the first encyclopedia closely to resemble the modern form. Chambers's effort inspired foreign imitators, among them the significant and justly celebrated \Lencyclopedi\le. During this same period, precursors of the one-volume encyclopedia appeared in Germany. These included Johann Hubner's Reales Staats- und Zeitungs-Lexikon (1704), J. Mencke's Compendioses Gelehrten-Lexikon (1715), and C. G. Jocher's Allgemeines Gelehrtenlexikon (1750-51). French contributions at this time were of a different nature. Pierre \TBayle\t's Dictionnaire historique et critique (1697) offered no new structural features; its importance lay in its skeptical tone. It was restricted to biographical articles that included critical commentary as well as standard vitae. The Encyclopedie This nonconformist attitude pervaded the Encyclopedie, which, in its earliest version, was a translation of the Chambers Cyclopaedia into French (1743-45). At first, Andre Le Breton, the Parisian publisher, acquired the necessary royal privilege and issued a prospectus for a five-volume edition. Disagreements with translators led to a cancellation of the original plan, and the privilege to publish a lengthier and more ambitious work was obtained. Finally, the first volume of the Encyclopedie appeared in 1751 under the coeditorship of Denis \TDiderot\t and Jean d'\TAlembert\t. This famous set continued publication despite buffeting by controversy about its rationalist and deist bias, attacks by the church, and banning by Louis XV. The Encyclopedie succeeded because it was a genuinely progressive work. Its structure was based on Francis \Tbacon\t's classification of universal knowledge. Use of this, the most complete and systematic inventory of areas of knowledge and human achievement at that time, assured representation of topics across the entire spectrum of knowledge. Articles were written, not by unknowns, but by leading figures of the French Enlightenment such as Rousseau, Turgot, Montesquieu, and Voltaire. Applied sciences and arts were included, reversing the earlier practice of rejecting utilitarian subjects. Finally, though the Encyclopedie was laced with Enlightenment opinion, it was not dogmatic. Its attitude was tolerant, liberal, and above all, rational. The Britannica The other major encyclopedia of the 18th century was the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1768-71), which has the longest history of any current encyclopedia. It was begun by three Scots, Andrew \Tbell\t, Colin MacFarquhar, and William Smellie, who combined the traditional classificatory and dictionary arrangements. Up to that time, the alphabetical sequence of subjects in dictionaries had fragmented knowledge and had resulted in overly brief coverage of important topics. On the other hand, the subject arrangement had intimidated nonspecialists, and the sequence of topics had been dictated by compilers' preferences. For example, the Arabic encyclopedias placed food and women at the end, the German gave prime space to science and technology, and the French favored philosophy and mathematics. The Britannica's solution was to include 45 major subjects but to apportion their treatment within a single alphabetical sequence of main and subordinate articles. The classification thereby guided editorial determination of content without interfering with or manipulating the reader's selection of subject matter. The first edition was in many respects disappointing. Biographies were omitted, some articles were disproportionately long, and folk wisdom was not distinguished from fact. The second edition, however, included improvements such as the addition of living biographies, maps, and bibliographies for major articles. The ninth (1875-89) and eleventh (1910-11) editions achieved a pinnacle of style and substance. 19th Century to the Present In the 19th century, the encyclopedia took firm hold as a popular form of publication. The Industrial Revolution, the rise of the middle class, and the revolution in human expectations had joined with advances in printing technology to transform the making of encyclopedias into a potentially profitable business. Among successors to the Britannica in England were two very ambitious enterprises, the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana (1817-45) and Penny Cyclopaedia (1833-43). The Metropolitana was conceived by the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Beautifully illustrated, supported by authoritative writers, and based on a well thought out and comprehensive classification scheme encompassing many disciplines, the project failed for three main reasons: it abandoned alphabetical arrangement of content; it took 28 years to produce a first edition, by which time much of its material had become obsolete; and it had to compete with the Britannica. The Penny Cyclopaedia was intended to "impart useful information to all classes of the community, particularly to such as are unable to avail themselves of experienced teachers, or may prefer learning by themselves." This effort also failed. The English could not count upon translation of their work into other languages because French, not English, was the language read by most cultured Europeans and Russians. Also, the publishers' belief that factory laborers would be eager to educate themselves during their free time was too optimistic. In 19th-century Germany, three encyclopedias rose to prominence. In 1808, Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus (1772-1823) acquired the rights to the Frauenzimmer-Lexikon, a women's encyclopedia compiled by G. R. Lobel in 1796. The resultant Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon set a pattern with its simple, popular, brief articles and its reliability, authority, currency, and generous scope of coverage. Brockhaus was deficient only in science and technology. In these areas, Joseph Meyer's Der Grosse Konversations-Lexikon (1840-52) excelled. Finally, the Herder Konversations-Lexicon (1853-57) was published to serve the special requirements of Catholic Germans. In France, Pierre \TLarousse\t and Augustin Boyer founded the Librairie Larousse & Boyer in 1852 and published the Grand dictionnaire universel du XIX siecle (1865-76), a composite dictionary-encyclopedia that, in one version or another, is still published today. Ferdinand Camille Dreyfus launched La grande encyclopedie between 1886 and 1902. The Encyclopedia Americana was begun as an English-language adaption of the seventh edition of Brockhaus, produced by Francis Lieber between 1829 and 1833. It was the first general encyclopedia to bear an American imprint. Chambers's Encyclopaedia (1960-68 also used the Brockhaus Konversations Lexikon as a model. Similar activity occurred in Eastern Europe with the issuance of the Polish Encyklopedia Powszechna (1858-68) and the Russian Entsiklopedichesky Slovar (1895). The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Bolshaya Sovetskaya Entsiklopedya), modeled after the Meyer Grosse Konversations-Lexikon, appeared (1926-47) in 65 volumes. Its second edition was translated into English (31 vols., 1973-82). Two European encyclopedias, both compiled under totalitarian regimes, have been universally acclaimed: the Spanish "Espasa" or Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana (1905-70) for its elegance, superior graphics, and thorough treatment of the arts; and the Italian Enciclopedia italiana di scienze, lettere ed arti (1929-39) for its authoritative articles, especially its biographies and coverage of art. TYPES OF ENCYCLOPEDIAS Three types of encyclopedia exist: the encyclopedia in name only, the special encyclopedia, and the general encyclopedia. Publications such as the Encyclopedia of Associations (a directory) or the Modern Plastics Encyclopedia (a catalog) are in the first category. Special encyclopedias include those which are collections of specially-commissioned essays on a specialized subject (The Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy, for example); or alphabetically arranged articles on a general subject. These latter include such works as the Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, and The Encyclopedia of Religions. All provide more exhaustive coverage of a special subject than can be found in most general encyclopedias. In contrast, the general adult encyclopedia attempts to present the entire realm of knowledge, from the arts and sciences to current critical issues, to data on significant places and persons. An important distinction within the field of adult general encyclopedias is that involving the length of articles. A "short entry" encyclopedia attempts to provide enough information within each article--or within a group of articles linked by cross references--to give the reader a sense of the scope of the subject, its importance, its history, and its current status. A bibliography supplies a listing of books for further research. Long-entry encyclopedias offer far more extensive coverage within an article; in some cases, a single article may reach book length. Contemporary long-entry works include the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Encyclopedia Americana. The Academic American Encyclopedia (1980) is a short entry set. The Columbia Encyclopedia (1935) is a short entry work in one volume. Although several encyclopedic works for children had been published in previous years, the first major children's encyclopedia was The Children's Encyclopedia, prepared under the editorship of English writer Arthur Mees in 1908. In 1910 a U.S. version of the Mees work, The Book of Knowledge, appeared; a totally reworked edition, The New Book of Knowledge, was first produced in 1966. American encyclopedias for older children include World Book (1917), Compton's (1922), and Merit Students Encyclopedia (1967). Advanced communications technologies promise to increase the versatility and accessibility of encyclopedias and revolutionize their production. The computer makes storage and indexing of very large quantities of information economically feasible. Revision can occur continuously, with articles being typed directly into computers and stored in an electronic database. When the computer is linked to a photocomposition machine, no further text input is necessary in order to convert the new articles into typeset pages (see \Tprinting\t). The CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), used to store text, images, and sound in digital form, is the ideal electronic format for encyclopedias. It permits rapid identification of the interrelations between subjects, with almost instantaneous access to texts. New CD-ROM versions of encyclopedias will offer video and still pictures, graphics, and sound, along with conventional texts. Certain characteristics have become associated with successful encyclopedias: 1. alphabetical arrangement, supported by an exhaustive analytical index of persons, places, and subjects, and cross-references within the text; 2. major articles signed by subject authorities; 3. subject specialists employed in the editorial office; 4. representation of all major areas of knowledge and important issues and events; 5. objective and balanced consideration of opposing opinions whenever conflicting viewpoints have demonstrable value; 6. continuous revision with at least 10 percent annual turnover of content; 7. inclusion of significant and famous living persons; 8. direct and lively language that can be comprehended and enjoyed by the nonspecialist; 9. bibliographies for key articles; 10. art reproductions, maps, photographs, diagrams, and other graphics, with many in full color; 11. a physical format that can stand up to sustained use, combined with an attractive and readable typography; 12. provision of yearbooks, supplements, or other updating means to preserve currency for at least four years after purchase. Perhaps the encyclopedia has endured because, despite its flaws and limitations, it provides a more satisfactory solution to its special challenge--the synthesis and summary of useful knowledge--than do competing forms. As Blaise Pascal observed, "Since we cannot know all that is to be known of everything, we ought to know a little about everything." Richard Sweeney Halsey Bibliography: Brewer, A.M., ed., Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Other Word-Related Books, 2 vols., 4th ed. (1987); Darnton, Robert, The Business of Enlightenment: A Publishing History of the Encyclopedia, 1175-1800 (1987); Katz, William A., Introduction to Reference Work, vol. 1, 7th ed. (1987); Kister, Kenneth F., Kister's Concise Guide to the Best Encyclopedias (1988); McArthur, Tom, Worlds of Reference: Learning and Language from the Clay Tablet to the Computer (1988). See also: \Tdictionary\t.