KAMENZ, chief town of a department in the circle of Bautzen, Saxony, is situated on the Black Elster, about 21 miles north-east of Dresden. It is the seat of a local court, and has a handsome new town-house and a library. The hospital is dedicated to the memory of Lessing, who was born here in 1729. A colossal bust of the poet was placed opposite the Wend church in 1863; and a monument was raised to him on a neighbouring hill in 1864. The industries of Kamenz include wool-spinning, and the manufacture of cloth, crockery, and stoneware. In 1875 the inhabitants numbered 6785, including the garrison.

Till the 16th century Kamenz was known by the name Dreikret-cham. In 1318 it passed by purchase to the margrave of Brandenburg; in 1319 it went to the king of Bohemia; and in 1635, after suffering much in the Hussite auα Thirty Years’ wars, it came into Art of Thinking, which appeared in 1761, was followed in 1762 by Elements of Criticism, an ingenious and in some respects suggestive discussion of the principles of taste, but in many ways imperfect and unsatisfactory. In 1774 he published, in two volumes, Sketches of the History of Man, a somewhat heterogeneous medley of opinions and speculations on a great variety of subjects, but containing many shrewd suggestions and much curious observation. The works of Kames as a whole are more remarkable for superficial fertility and varied learning than for real originality, and his reasoning is clever and ingenious rather than subtle and comprehensive. His style is loose, frequently incorrect and awkward in construction, and abounds in expressions which border on slang.

See Life of Lord Kames, by A. F. Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee, in 2 vols., 1807