John Harris (ca. 1666-1719) was a fellow of the Royal Society of London. He is known for his masterpiece, Lexicon technicum (1704). As the first encyclopedia written in English, his work enjoyed considerable success and was frequently reprinted through the eighteenth century. My article examines Harrisʼs compilation method and publishing strategy. I aim to account for his success within its historical and intellectual context. The first section of the article addresses the early history of the Royal Society and the writings of its members, John Evelyn (1620-1706) and John Dryden (1631-1700). Under the influence of academies active in Florence and Paris, they argued that the modern English language had been corrupted by exaggerated expressions. To remedy the situation, they promoted plain style and unified usage of expressions. The next section focuses on Harrisʼs proposal, entitled Lexicon technicum magnum (1702), so as to interpret his strategy for publication. He used this proposal as a sample to show the typefaces and quality of papers to be used in his planned encyclopedia. He also declared that his compilation was to be sold by subscription in order to avoid financial risks. In addition, he was able to collect a large number of experiments from various dictionaries and journals and summarize them by plain explanation. Finally this article argues that Harris used his proposal in a very strategic way and reveals that he was heavily influenced by his predecessors not only in England but also in France and other European countries.
