John Mills (encyclopaedist)

John Mills (c. 1717 – c. 1794) was an English writer on agriculture, translator and editor. Mills and Gottfried Sellius are known for being the first to prepare a French edition of Ephraim Chambers's Cyclopaedia for publication in 1745, which eventually resulted in the Encyclopédie published in France between 1751 and 1772.

As writer on agriculture, Mills is credited for publishing the earliest complete treatise on all branches of agriculture. His chief work, A New System of Practical Husbandry, in 5 volumes, appeared in 1767. It combines the results of the experience and observations of such writers as Evelyn, Duhamel, John Worlidge, and Jethro Tull, and was highly commended. Mills was a warm advocate of small farms.

Biography

Mills was a person of considerable eminence in the 18th century, though little definite is known because no record exists of his life. From his manner of expression, it is possible he may have lived his early life in foreign countries a long time, Mills married a French woman, and they had two children; one baptised in Paris on 27 April 1742 and another born in May 1743. Mills was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society with Benjamin Franklin as one of his sponsors.

Work

Mills was credited for his comprehensive knowledge of agriculture, and of the cultivation and use of the ground. This work became quite renowned, and four editions were published between 1738 and 1742. An Italian translation of this work appeared from 1747 to 1754. In France a member of the banking family Lambert began translating Chambers into French, but in 1745 John Mills and Gottfried Sellius were the first to actually prepare a French edition of Ephraim Chambers's Cyclopaedia for publication, which they entitled Encyclopédie.

Early in 1745 Mills and Sellius published a prospectus for the Encyclopédie to attract subscribers to the project. This four-page prospectus was illustrated by Jean-Michel Papillon, and accompanied by a plan (see image), stating that the work would be published in five volumes from June 1746 until the end of 1748. The text was translated by Mills and Sellius, and it was corrected by an unnamed person, who appears to have been Denis Diderot.

The prospectus was reviewed quite positively and cited at some length in several journals. The Mémoires pour l'histoire des sciences et des beaux arts journal praised the project as "voici deux des plus fortes entreprises de Littérature qu'on ait faites depuis long-tems" (here are two of the greatest efforts undertaken in literature in a long time). The Mercure Journal in June 1745 wrote a 25-pages article specifically praising Mill's role as translator; the Journal introduced Mills as an English scholar who had been raised in France and who spoke both French and English as a native. The Journal reports that Mills had discussed the work with several academics, was zealous about the project, had devoted his fortune to support this enterprise, and was the sole owner of the publishing privilege.

However, the co-operation fell apart later in 1745. André le Breton, the publisher commissioned to manage the undertaking, cheated Mills out of the subscription money, claiming, for example, that Mills' knowledge of French was inadequate. In a confrontation, le Breton physically assaulted Mills. Mills took le Breton to court, but the court decided in le Breton's favour. Le Breton replaced Mills with Jean Paul de Gua de Malves, who in turn was later replaced by Denis Diderot. Soon after the court ruling, Mills left for England.

The History of the Roman Emperors, from Augustus to Constantine, 1755

thumb|The History of the Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine, 1755

Mills re-emerged from the shadow in 1755 as the translator of The History of the Roman Emperors, from Augustus to Constantine. This work was originally written in 10 volumes by Jean-Baptiste Louis Crévier, who was Professor of Rhetoric in the Collège de Beauvais in Paris. Mills had translated from the French the first two volumes, when in 1755 a review of this work was published in The monthly review of literary journal. The review introduced Mills as the translator, with the following phrase:

:Mr. Mills, and his other works, we are alike strangers to; but have been informed he has published some tracts, with reputation, abroad; and that he was the first undertaker and promoter of the translation of Chambers's Cyclopædia into French...

In Robert Watt's Bibliotheca Britannica (1824, p. 670) this translation was credited to another John Mills Esq., but this description clearly indicates we are dealing with one and the same person. The 1755 review was critical about Mill's translation skills, and stated:

:...If he is an Englishman, which, but for his name, we should doubt, from his manner of expression, it is possible he may have lived so long in foreign countries, as to have somewhat lessened his acquaintance with his vernacular language: for we have met with few writers that have shewn themselves less masters of its purity, Mr. Johnson has judiciously observed, that "the great pest of speech is frequency of translation. No book was ever turned from one language to another, without imparting something of its native idiom; this is the most mischievous and comprehensive innovation; single words may enter by thousands, and 'the fabric of the tongue continue the fame; but new phraseology changes much at once, it alters not the single stones of the building, but the order of the columns." Mills explained in the preface, that "Duhamel and his correspondents have set the world an example which has long been wanted, and greatly desired by all who have the good of their country at heart, and are in the least sensible of the importance of Agriculture. They have given us a series of experiments in this most useful art, continued for several years together, with accuracy and judgment, and related in a clear, distinct, manner."

According to Mills the work of Duhamel is noted for it empirical origin. Theory alone can avail but little in agriculture, Mills declared, referring to the following observation by Francis Home:

:Agriculture does not take its rise originally from reason, but from fact and experience. It is a branch of natural philosophy, and can only be improved from a knowledge of facts, as they happen in nature. It is by attending to these facts that the other branches of natural philosophy have been so much advanced during these two last ages. Medicine has attained its present per section, only from the history of diseases and cafes delivered down. Chemistry is now reduced to a regular system, by the means of experiments made either by chance or design. But where are the experiments in Agriculture to answer this purpose ? When I look round for such, I can find few or none. There then lies the impediment in the way of Agriculture. Books in that art, we are not deficient in: but the book which we want, is a book of experiments.

Only after reading the three first volumes of Experiments published by M. Duhamel, Francis Home declared: "They are distinct, exact, conclusive so far as they have gone, and stand a model for experiments in Agriculture. What a shame for Great Britain, where Agriculture is so much cultivated, to leave its exact value to be determined by foreigners!"

Mills further stated Blackwell's loose papers were deficient, and he had to recourse to the Ancients. A review of this work by Tobias Smollett in The Critical Review: Or, Annals of Literature stated, that "it is impossible for us to ascertain the particular passages of this publication that belong to Mr. Mills; but we will venture to say, upon the whole, that this volume, both in point of composition and language, is not inferior to its two elder brothers."

A new and complete system of practical husbandry, 1762–1765

John Mills wrote A new and complete system of practical husbandry, in five volumes, which were published between 1762 and 1765. The full titles of this work was:

thumb|Title page of A new and complete system of practical husbandry by John Mills, 1767

: A new and complete system of practical husbandry, containing all that experience has proved to be most useful in farming, either in the old or new method, with a comparative view of both, and whatever is beneficial to the husbandman, or conducive 'to the ornament and improvement of the country gentleman's estate;

The five volumes of a new and complete system of husbandry, by Mills, is the first publication on agriculture that presents all the branches of the art within the compass of one work. John Worlidge began the attempt, but failed in the comprehension that is required. In return Mills's main work A New and Complete System of Practical Husbandry was translated into German, and had its influence in the main land.

The British The Complete Farmer: Or, a General Dictionary of Husbandry 3rd ed. (1777). The Complete Farmer, listed John Mills in the subtitle of this work among the foremost authorities in the field of Husbandry of his time. Other people mentioned in this context were Carl Linnaeus, Louis François Henri de Menon, Hugh Plat, John Evelyn, John Worlidge, John Mortimer, Jethro Tull, William Ellis, Philip Miller, Thomas Hale, Edward Lisle, Roque, and Arthur Young.

In the 19th century Donaldson (1854) in his Agricultural Biography, credited Mills' Practical Husbandry for being the "first publication on agriculture that presents all the branches of the art within the compass of one work. 'Worlidge began the attempt, but failed in the comprehension required." However, by then most of the work of the proponents of "horse-hoeing husbandry" had become obsolete, due to the rapid progress of agriculture in those days. Specifically Mills' Practical Husbandry was used as reference until the 1820s. Other of his works have also been credited until in our days. For example The Management of Bees, was called "one of the bee books which are worth reading over and over again." And the An Essay in the Weather Mills is considered unmatched for a long time "despite two centuries of philosophical work."

Selected publications

Thomas Blackwell, John Mills (historical writer.) Memoirs of the court of Augustus. Continued and completed by John Mills. A. Millar. 1753–63
Jean-Baptiste Louis Crévier. The History of the Roman Emperors, from Augustus to Constantine, by Mr. Crevier, professor of rhetoric in the college of Beauvais. Translated from the French by John Mills. (10 volumes) 1755; Vol 1; Vol. 9
Duhamel du Monceau. A Practical Treatise of Husbandry. J. Whiston and B. White, London 1759. Translated from the French by John Mills.
John Mills. A New and Complete System of Practical Husbandry. London 1762–1765 (5 volumes): volume 1; Volume 2 Volume 3; Volume 4; Volume 5 ; German translation Volume 5, 1769
John Mills. An Essay on the Management of Bees. London 1766
Gustavus Adolphus Gyllenborg. The Natural and Chemical Elements of Agriculture. Translated from the Latin by John Mills, 1770.
John Mills. An Essay on the Weather. London 1770; Dutch translation, Amsterdam, 1772.
John Mills. Essays moral, philosophical and political. S. Hooper, 1772
John Mills. A Treatise on Cattle. 1776

References

External links

The Encyclopédie – BBC Radio 4 broadcast (2010-10-26, 21:30)
Die Encyclopédie von Diderot und d'Alembert: Am Anfang steht die Idee by Ulrike Spindler at historicum.net, 2010

Attribution