The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, issue…
"The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, issue…" by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge is a popular educational periodical written in the early 19th century. This issue offers an accessible miscellany of illustrated knowledge and moral reflection, likely focused on history, architecture, literature, natural history, and social improvement. The magazine ranges widely: it opens with a detailed account of Rome’s Colosseum, its scale, engineering,
and bloody spectacles, framed by Montaigne’s vivid observations and a moral critique of cruelty. It then analyzes the circulation of the Spectator and the impact of stamp duties; explains how to gauge a horse’s age by its teeth; and traces tobacco’s spread into Europe alongside clerical and royal attempts to suppress it. “The Week” blends folklore (St. Swithin) with a compact life of Petrarch and Byron’s tribute. An essay by Dr. Percival argues that a taste for nature refines the morals and elevates piety. A report on the District Society of Brighton describes a hands-on model of charitable visiting that promotes thrift through small savings, even proposing a simple home savings box. The literary close celebrates Milton’s Lycidas—its pastoral lament, vision of true fame, and Christian consolation—followed by brief reflections on preserving the memory of great men and on truthfulness in conversation. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
