MEMOIRS, a term, in its application to a particular species of writing, of French origin, and in appearance properly signifying, as its obvious etymology would denote, a narrative or account mainly or primarily intended for no higher purpose that that of simply recording the facts it embraces, or addressing the one faculty of the memory. Perhaps the modern memoirs may be held to answer pretty nearly to what the Romans understood by Commentarii or Commentaria (sea the meanings of this word in Facciolati,` Lexie.' ), unless when that title was given, in genuine or affected modesty, to writings of a more artificial character than that to which it rightly belonged. The philo sophical ends, and the gratification of the imagination and the taste, aimed at in what ie properly called a history, are not therefore to he looked for in memoirs, which, when they relate to historical subjects, are in truth not so much history as materials for history. A common description of French works of this kind is Mdmoires pour servir ' (that is, a l'histoire). Most frequently too, but not universally, coneeenteL Very often the work is purely biographical, and not higerioal at all : and sometime* materials for biography only, and not a biographical work In the proper sense of the term. Sometimes it is
neither historical nor biographical, but merely a discourse or statement on some point in science or literature ; of this kind aro the published memoirs of many academies (' Islamoires de l'Acadimie des Inscriptions,' for instance), and other literary or scientific societies. It may be noted, fiat when liorace Walpole wrote his amusing account of the last ten year* of the reign of George II., probably soon after the middle of the last century, the word ' Ilemoires; which is the title he has given his work, was still so far from being completely naturalised among us, that he has retained the French spelling. We have, however, several English memoirs—such for Instance as 'Memoirs; of the lteigne of King Charles I., by Sir Philip Warwick, 1701; ' Memoirs concerning the Affairs of Scotland,' by George Lockhart, 1:sq., 1714 ; ' memoirs of John Ker, of Kensland: by himself, 1726, &c. The French language is particularly rich in those kinds of historical and biographical materials which are expressed by the term Ihimoires.
[Aerecrre.]