'A#2p5~ JSASP DISSERTATIONS ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE : WITH NOTES, HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL, To which Is added, BY WAV o* APPENDIX "' AN ESSAY ON A REFORMED MODE OF SPELLING, WITH v*. FRANKLIN'S ARGUMENTS ON THAT SUBJECT, BY NOAH WEBSTER, JUN. ESQUIRE. PRIMA DISCENTltTM EIBMENTA, IN Q.UIBUS ET IPSIS PARUM EI.ABORATUR. PRINTED AT BOSTON, FOR THE AUTHOR, BY ISAIAH THOMAS AND COMPANY, WDCCJLXXXIX, HIS EXCELLENCE, rnilm, tp&jf; LL. D. F.R.S. LatePREsiDKNTof the COMMON WEALTH of PENNSYLVANIA, The following DISSERTATIONS Are mofl refpe&fully Infcribed, By His Excellency's Moil obliged and moil obedient Servant, DEDICATIONS are dually dcfigned to flatter the Great, to acknow- lege their fervices, or court their favor and influence. But very different mo tives have led me to prefix the venerable name of FRANKLIN to this publication. RESPECT for his Excellency's talents and exertions, as a great Philofopher and a warm Patriot, I feel in common with all the lovers of fcience and freedom, but my peculiar admiration of his chara<5ler ? arifes from confidering it as great in things. A 2 His 6S4359 iv D E D 1 C A T I O N. His Excellency has not labored to perplex himfelf and confound his coun trymen with ingenious theories in ethics, and unintelligible fpeculations in theology and metaphyfics. He has not compiled volumes to prove or difprove the proba bility of univerfal falvation, or the eternal duration of future punifhments $ content with a plain doftrine, taught by philofo- phy and common fenfe, and confirmed by chriftianity, that virtue and happinefs, vice and punifliment, are infeparably con- ne&ed, and that " if we do well here, we fhall fare well hereafter." In the moft elevated Rations of life, his Excellency has never beer* above a conftant applica tion to fome ufeful bufinefs j thus comply ing with that precept of the fourth com mand, " fix dqysjhalt tfwu labor and -do all thy work" which. is as pofitive an injunc tion, and as binding upon all men, as the fir ft article, " remember the Sabbath Jay, to it holy DEDICATION. V IN his philofophical refearches, he has been guided by experiment, and fought for pratfical truths. Ih the world, he has been induftrious to colleft fafls, (which compofe all our knowlege) and apply them to the moft ufeful purpofes of gov ernment, agriculture, commerce, manu- fa&ures, rural, domeftic ^nd moral econ omy. In communicating his ideas he does not facrifice truth to embelliftiment. His ftile is plain and elegantly neat 5 and his remarks are not fo general as to leave his ideas indefinite and obfcure. His pen follows his thoughts, and confequently leads the reader, without ftudy, into the fame train of thinking. In (hort, he writes for the child as well as the philofopher, and always writes well, becaufe he never takes pains to write. VIOLENTLY attached to no political party, he labors to reconcile contending fa6lions in government. Convinced, by the experience of a long life, that all men are liable to err, and acknowleging " that he has often found himfelf miftaken, and A3 had Vi DEDICATION. had occafion to change his opinions/' he Confentsto meafures which his judgement tells him are theoretically wrong, when the voices of a majority declare them to be 'praBlcally right. HE never attempts to ufurp the divine prerogative of controling opinions 5 never charges another with ignorance, knavery and lolly, nor endeavors to ftab his repu tation., for not fubfcribing a particular creed ; much lefs does he ever aflume a dictatorial authority, and fentence to final damnation, thofe who have the fame chance of being right as himfelf, and whofe conduft, whatever may be their opinions, is regulated by the rules of mo ral and focial virtue. FOR thefe reafons, as well as for the age, the eminent rank and public merits of this illuftrious defender of American freedom, I revere a charafter equally known and re- fpefted in this and foreign countries. HARTFORD, May, 1789, PREFACE, PREFACE. Y O U N G gentlemen who have gone through a courfe of academical ftudies, and received the uiual honors of a Univerfity, are apt to contract a fingular ftiffnefs in their convention. They read Lowth's Introduction, or fome other grammatical treat- ife, believe what they read, without examining the grounds of the writer's opinion, and attempt to ihape their language by his rules. Thus they enter the world with fuch phrafes as, amean^ averje from, if be have, he has gotten^ and others which they deem correct ; they pride themfelves, for fome time, in their fuperior learn ing and peculiarities ; till further information, or the ridicule of the public, brings them to ufe the language of other people. SUCH has been my progrefs, and that of many of my cotemporaries. After being fome years in that excel lent fchool, the world, I recommenced my ftudies, en deavored, not merely to learn, but to underfhmd, the books only as a fmgularity, and people in pra&iee pay no regard to it. The people are right, and a critical inveftigation of the fubjeft, warrants me in faying, that coinmon practice, even among the unlearned, is gener ally defenfible on the principles of analogy, and th$ ftrufture of the language, and that very few of the al terations recommended by Lowth and his followers, can be vindicated on any better principle than fome Latin rule, or his own private opinion. SOME compilers have alfo attempted to introduce $ potential mode, where they arrange thofe phrafes that have the auxiliary verbs, as they are called, can, may, &c But all the helping verbs are principal verbs, and the verb following them i$ generally in the infinitive. / tan go, he may write, we Jball fee, &c. are only a cufto- mary ellipfis of / can to go, be may to write, we Jball to fee ; and are no mor.e a potential mode than / dare go^ we (aw him rife. IN the indeclinable parts of fpeech, all authors were iniftaken, till Mr. Home Tooke explained them : Our conjuc~tions are moftly verbs in the imperative mode : Our adverbs and prepofitions are moftly verbs, nouns and adjedives, either feparate or Combined ; and the proper definition of adverb and prepoiition, is, " a word, or union of words, without the ordinary rules of gov ernment." Becaufe is a compound of the verb be^ in the imperative, and the noun caufe ; otherwise is mere ly a corruption of other ways ; wherefore is a corruption of the Roman qua-re^ with the addition of for ; wifely is, nothing more than the two adjectives wije like. 80 that in many cafes, the want of a ipace between two words, or of the ufuai rules of government, is the only cireum- flance that diftinguifhes them from ordinary nouns and verbs j that is, the only thing that makes them adverbs or prepofitions ; fuch as, becauje^ always^ beyond, before^ be-* bind, forward, backward. In (hort, had the Engliill .never been acquainted with Greek and Latin, they would P R A C E, ifc would never have thought of one half the distinctions and rules which make up our Englifh grammars. THE object of grammar, in a living language, is usu ally mifun.derftood. Men often fuppofe they must Jearn their native language by grammar ; whereas they learn the language first, and grammar afterwards. The principal bufmeis of a compiler of a grammar is, to fep- arate local or partial practice from the general cujlom of fpeaking ; and reject what is local> whether it exists a- mong the great or the fmall, the learned or ignorant, and recommend that which is univerfaj, or general, or which conforms to the analogies of structure in a Ian-* guage. Whether the words means 9 pains, news, ought *o have been ufed originally in the fmgular form ; or (heep, deer^ bofe, in the plural \ or in other words, whether *he language is well made, or might in fome instances "be mended, are questions of little confequence now j it ;s our bufmefs to find what the Englilh language w, an4 *iot, how it might have been made. The moft difficult tafk now to be performed by the advocates of pure Eng- lijky is to reftrain the influence of men, learned in Greek and Latin, but ignorant of their own tongue ; who have laboured to reject much good Englifh, becaufe they have not understood the original construction of the language. Should the following Diflertations produce this effect, in the fmalleft degree, they may render ff- fential fervice to our native tongue, THESE Diflertations derive their origin from accci- dental circumstances, the hiitory of which is briefly this* The rieceffity of fecuring the copy right of the Gram matical Institute in the different states, feconded by a deiire of being acquainted with my own country, in duced me to iufpend my profeffionul purfuits, and vifit the Southern States. While I was waiting for the regular Sefnons of the Legislatures, in thofe {tales which had not pasTed laws for protecting literary prop erty, I amufed my felt in writing remarks on the Eng- li/h Language, without knowing to what purpofe they tvould be applied. They were begun in Baltimore i$ the r PREFACE. the fammer of 1785 ; and at the perfuafion of a friend, and the confent of the Rev. Dr. Allifon, whofe polite- nefs deferves my grateful acknowlegements, they were read publicly to a fmall audience in the Prefby- terian Church. They were afterward read in about twenty of the large towns between Williamfburg in Virginia, and Portfmouth in New Hampshire. Thefe public readings were attended with various fuccefs ; the audiences were generally fmall, but always refpect- able ; and the readings were probably more ufeful to tnyfelf than to my hearers. I every where availed my* felf of the libraries and converfation of learned men, to correct my ideas, and collect new materials for a treatife, which is now prefented to the public. THERE are few men who do not at times find themfelves at a lofs, refpecting the true pronunciation of certain words. Having no principles or rules, by which they can folve queftions of this kind, they imi tate fome gentleman, whofe abilities and character enti tle his opinions to refpect, but whofe pronunciation may be altogether accidental or capricious. WITH refpect to many words, I have been in the fame uncertainty j and ufed formerly to change my pronunciation, in conformity to the practice of ther laft man of fuperior learning whom 1 heard fpeak. My enquiries have been directed to inveftigate fome principles, which will remove all difficulties in pronun ciation ; the refult of which is a full fatisfaction in my own mind as to almoft every particular word. Whether the principles will prove equally fatisfactory to others, it is impoffible now to determin. Moft of the varieties in pronunciation are mentioned in the fecond and third Diflertations ; thofe which are not, the reader will be enabled to adjuft on the principles there unfolded. IT will beobferved, that many of the remarks in this publication are not new. This will be no objection to the main delign ; as fome remarks which are found in other philological treatifes, are neceiTary to the general plan r K. *' A C E. xi plan of this. A great part however of my opi ions are new, and many of them directly oppofed to he rules laid down by former writers. IN the fmgularityoffpelling certain words, I am au thorized by Sidney, Clarendon, Middleton, Blackftone, Aih, or other eminent writers, whofe authority, being fupported by good principles and convenience, is deem ed fuperior to that of Johnfon, whofe pedantry has cor rupted the purity of our language, and whofe principles would in time deftroy all agreement between the fpell- ing and pronunciation of words. I once believed that a reformation of our othography would be unneceflary and impracticable. This opinion was hafty 5 being the refult of a flight examination of the fubject. I now believe with Dr. Franklin that fuch a reformation is practicable and highly neceffary. IT has been my aim to fupport my opinions by nu merous and refpectable authorities. In fome cafes, an author is quoted, but not the chapter or page. This was owing to neglect in firft tranfcribing paflages, which was often done, without any defign to ufe the quotations as authorities in the prefent work ; and the paflages could not afterwards be found without great trouble, and fometimes the author could not be a fec- ond time procured. In a very few inftances, a quota tion has been taken at fecond hand on the credit of a faithful writer j but never when I could obtain the original work. Many other ancient anthors would have been confulted, had it been practicable ; but the moft valuable of thefe are very fcarce, and many of them I have not heard of in America. It is to be lamented that old authors are neglected, and modern libraries compofed of abridgements, compilations, fhort eflays, &c. which are calculated only for communicating fome general information and making fuperfkial fcholars, to the prejudice of profound learning and true fcience.* The * " a fungous growth of Novels and pamphlets, the meaner pro- dilutions of the French and Engliih preflesj in which it is to be feared (the reader) rarely finds any rational pleasure, and more rarely ftill, any lolid improvement:,"- -Hurris. Hermes. 424. *H PREFACE. The American ftudent is often obliged, and too often difpofed, to drink at the ftreams, inftead of mounting to the fources of information. FOR the remarks on Englifh Verfe in the fifth Dif- fertation, I am much indebted to the celebrated author of M'Fingal, a gentleman who has " drank deep of the Pierian Spring," and who is equally diftinguimed for wit, erudition, correct tafte, and profeflional knowlege. ^ IN explaining the principles of the language, I have aimed at perfpicuity, with a view to render the work ufeful to all claffes of readers. The Notes at the end are defigned to illuftrate fome points by authorities or arguments that could not be properly arranged in the text ; and to throw fome light on ancient hiftory. To the curious enquirer, thefe may be as entertaining as the DhTertations themfelves. In two or three inftances, I have found occafion to change my opinion, fince the publication of the Inftitute ; but a future edition of that work will be conformed to the criticifms in thefe Dif* fertations. To thofe who afk where a writer was born and edu cated, before they can afcertain the value of his writings, 1 can only obferve, it is expected this publication will fare like all others. Men every where fuppofe that their own ftate or country has fome excellence that does not belong to their neighbors ; and it is well, if they do not arrogate a fuperiority in every refpect. Thry think their own colleges the beft ; their profefftonal men the molt learned, and their citizens the moft liberal and polite. I have been witnefs to numberlefs remarks and infinuations of this kind in almoft every ftate .in the union ; and after perfonal obfervatipn, can affirm that they generally proceed from grofs ignorance, or unpar donable prejudice. But it is very natural for men to think and fay all thefe things of home, when they have little or no knowlege of any thing abroad* CONVINCED that a writer is apt to overlook his own miftakes, when they are very obvious to a reader, I have Submitted thefe DiilertiUions to the criticifm of good judges PREFACE, XUI judges of the fubje&, with full liberty of altering, amend ing and expunging any part of the work ; by which means feveral paflages have been omitted and others corrected. Still there may be faults in the book ; and as truth is the objeft of nay enquiries, whenever the friendly critic mall point out any errors, either in fa or opinion, it will be my pride and pleafure to acknow- lege and correct them. Many years experience has taught me that the public, when well informed, ufually form a very juft opinion of a man and his writings, and I am perfectly difpofed to acquiefce in their decifion. P. S. SEVERAL Eifays, on more important fubjecls, intended for an Appendix to this work, are necefiarily rcferved for a future volume. CONTENTS. C O N T E N T S. DISSERTATION I. I NTRODUCT1ON, 17 Advantages ot national imiiormitv in language, 19 Tin* Knglifli language the patent ol the American, 21 Ablurdity of copying the change* of language in v -KM! IM itain, 4 The only good principles on which any permanent imifoimity can be cilablifhed, 17 Eughfli writers who arc the bell models of flile, 31 \ViiU-is who have corrupted itile, 32 Hilloiy of the F.ngliHi Language, 40 Of the ancient Celtic, 41 Of the Armoric, 48 C)l ilie old Irifh, 49 Ol the Teutonic or Gothic, 53 Ol the Norman French, 50 Ol the lan^ua^c in Chaucer's tune, y) Re- in arks, 61 ( )! the Saxon origin of the Englifh tongue, 61 Of (he poverty and copioufucls of languages, 63-64 Of the difference in the French and Englifli man ner o! f; eaking, 67 Oi the irregular ortliography of the Englifli language, 70 DISSERTATION II. mcnts of the language unfolded, 8l Rules ot pronunciation, oi Ot accent, 95 Diiterenccs of pronunciation and controverted points examined, 103 How i lie manner of fpeaking may be affefted by the laws of property, &c. *o6 DISSERTATION III. anation of controverted points, continued, 131 Of modern corruptions in the hnglifh pronunciation, 146 DISSERTATION IW Remarks OD the formation of language^ 181 A iketch CONTENTS. xv A {ketch of Mr. Home Tooke's new and ingenious f ^ tt explanation of the particles, 186 Examination of particular phrafes, aoi Noun, 201 Verb, 222 Mode, 231 Number and pcrfbn, 23 a Auxiliaries, 234 Criticifms on the ufe of what is called the future tenfe, 236 i . On the ufe of what is called the Subjunc tive Mode, 240 Of the participial noun, 279 Particles, 234 State of the language in America, 287 DISSERTATION V. Of the conftrution of Engliih vcrfe, 291 Paufes, 299 Expreffion, 305 Of reading verfe, NOTES, HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL. Etymological reafons for fuppofmg the European languages to be defceuded from one common ftock, 3*3-35* Other arguments, 35-353 The affinity between the ancient Irifh language and the Punic, 353 Reafons for fuppofmg the Irifhto be derived from the Phenician or Hebrew, 354 Specimen and ftate of the Engiilh Language in the reign of Richard II. 357 Strictures on the ftile of Sir William Temple, 364 - of Dr. Robertfon, 365 : - of M r. G ibbon, ' 36 7 APPENDIX. An Efiay on the neceflity, advantages and practica bility of reforming the mode of fpelling, 391 Dr. Franklin's arguments on the fubjcft, 408 DIRECTIONS. DIRECTIONS. 't H E founds of the vowels, marked or referred to in the fecond and third Diflertations, are according to the Key in the Firft Part of the Inftitute. Thui : Firft found, a late, e feet. 1 nightj note, u tune, Iky, Second hat, let, tin, tun, glory, Third, law, fraud Fourth, alk, father, Fifth, not, what, Sixth, prove , room, The capitals, included in brackets [ ] * n & e text ; are references to the Note* at \hc end, DISSERTATIONS ft ON "THE DISSERTATION I. I. Introduction. II. Hiftory of the Englijb Language. III. Remarks. INTRODUCTION; REGULAR ftudy of lan guage has, in all civilized countries, formed a part of a liberal education. The Greeks, Romans, Italians and French fucceffively im proved their native tongues, taught them in Academies at home, and rendered them entertaining and ufeful to the foreign ftu- tlent. B TH* 18 DISSERTATION 1. THE .Englifh tongue, tho later in its progrefs towards perfection, has attained to, a, CQilMerable degree of purity, ftrength .aud-elegaftcej and been employed, by an afiiive and 1 'icientific nation, to record al~ moil all the events and difcoveries of an cient and modern times. THIS language is the inheritance which the Americans have received from their Britifh parents. To cultivate and adorn it, is a taik referved for men who fhall un- deriland the connection between language and logic, and form an adequate icTba of the influence which a uniformity of fpeech may have on national attachments. IT will be readily admitted that the pleafures of reading and converfing, the advantage of accuracy in bufmefs, the ne- eeffity of clearnefs and precifion in com municating ideas, require us to be able to fpeak and write our own tongue with eafe and correftnefs. But there are more im portant reafoijs, why the language of this country fhould be reduced to fuch fixed principles, as may give its pronunciation and conftruftion all the certainty and uni formity which any living tongue is capa ble of receiving. THE DISSERTATION I. 19 THE United States were fettled by f rants from different parts of Europe. ut their descendants moftly fpeak the feme tongue -, and the intercourfe among the learned of the different States, which the revolution has begun, and an Ameri can Court will perpetuate, muft gradually deftroy the differences of diale6l which our anceftors brought from their native coun tries. This approximation of dialefts will be certain ; but without the operation of other caufes than an intercourfe at Court, it will be flow and partial. The body of the people, governed by habit, will ftill retain their refpeftive peculiarities of fpeaking ; and for want of fchools and proper books, fall into many inaccuracies, which, incorporating with the language of the ftate where they live, may impercepti* bly corrupt the national language. Noth ing but the eftablilhment of fchools and fome uniformity in the ufe of books, can annihilate differences in fpeaking and pre- ferve the purity of the American tongue. A famenefs of pronunciation is of confid- erable confequence in a political view - y for provincial accents are difagreeable to ftran- gers and fometimes .have an unhappy ef- fet upon the focial affedlions. All men have local attachments, which lead them B 2 to 20 DISSERTATION. I to believe their own practice to be the leaft exceptionable. Pride and prejudice incline men to treat the practice of their neigh bors with fome degree of contempt. Thus fmall differences in pronunciation at firft excite ridicule a habit of laughing at the fingularities of ftrangers is followed by dif- reipecl and without refpeft friendship is a name, and focial intercourfe a mere cer emony. THESE remarks hold equally true, with refpe<5t to individuals, to fmall focieties and to large communities. Small caufes, fuch as a nick-name, or a vulgar tone in fpeak- ing, have a6tually created a diiibcial fpirit between the inhabitants of the different ftates, which is often difcoverable in pri vate bufinefs and public deliberations. Our political harmony is therefore con cerned in a uniformity of language. As an independent nation, our honor requires us to have a fyftem of our own, in language as well as government. Great Britain, whofe children we are, and whofe language we fpeak, jfhould no longer be cur ftandard ; for the tafte of her writers is already corrupted, and her language on the decline. But if it were not fo, fhe is at DISSERTATION I. 21 at too great a diftance to be our model, and to inftruft us in the principles of our own tongue. IT muft be confidered further, that the Englifh is the common root or ftock from which our national language will be de rived. All others will gradually wafte a- way and within a century and a half. North America will be peopled with a hundred millions of men, all fpeaking the fame language. Place this idea in compar- ifon with the prefent and poffible future bounds of the language in Europe con- fider the Eaftern Continent as inhabited by nations, whofe knowlege and inter- courfe are embarrafled by differences of language ; then anticipate the period when the people of one quarter of the world, will be able to affociate and converfe to gether like children of the fame family.* Compare this profpeft, which is not vifion- ary, with the ftate of the Englifh language in Europe, almoft confined to an Ifland and to a few millions of people 5 then let reafon * EVE N fuppofing that a number of republics,kingdoms or empires, fliould within a century arifeand divide this vaft territory ; ftill the fubjefts of all will ibcak the fame lan guage, and the confequence of this uniformity will be an intimacy of locial intercourfe hitherto unknown, and a boundlcfs diffufion of knowlege. 22 DISSERTATION L reafon and reputation decide, how far A*i merica fhould be dependent on a tranfat- lantic nation, for her ftandard and im~ provements in language. LET me add, that whatever predile6lion the Americans may have for their native European tongues, and particularly the Britiih defendants for the English, yet feveral circuraftances render a future fepa-^ ration of the American tongue from the Englifh, neceffary and unavoidable. The vicinity of the European nations, with the uninterrupted communication in peace, and the changes of dominion in war, are gradually afiimilating their refpeclive lan guages. The Englilh with others is fuf- fering continual alterations. America, placed at a diflance from thofe nations, will feel, in a much lefs degree, the influ ence of the affimilating caufes ; at the fame time, numerous local caufes, fuch as a new country, new aflbciations of people, new combinations of ideas in arts and fci- ence, and fome intercourfe with tribes wholly unknown in Europe, will introduce new words into the American tongue. Thefe caufes will produce, in a courie of time, a language in North America, as dif ferent from the future language of Eng land, DISSERTATION I. 23 ?and, as the modern Dutch, Danifh and Swedifh are from the German, or from one another : Like remote branches of a tree fpringing from the fame ftock ; or rays of light, fhot from the fame center, and diverging from each other, in proportion to their diftance from the point of fepa- ration. WHETHER the inhabitants of America can be brought to a perfeft uniformity in the pronunciation of words, it is not eafy to predift ; but it is certain that no attempt of the kind has been made, and an experi ment, begun and purfued on the right principles, is the only way to decide the queftion. Schools in Great Britain have gone far towards demolifhmg local dia- alefts commerce has alfo had its influ ence and in America thefe caufes, ope rating more generally, muft have a pro portional effeft. IN many parts of America, people at prefent attempt to copy the Engliih phrafes and pronunciation an attempt that is favored by their habits, their prepoffei- lions and the intercourfe between the two countries. This attempt has, within the period of a few years, produced a multi tude i4 DISSERTATION I. tude of changes in thefe particulars, ef* pecially among the leading claffes of peo ple. Thefe changes make a difference be tween the language of the higher and com mon ranks $ and indeed between the fame ranks in different ftates ; as the rage for copying the Englifh, does not prevail e- qually in every part of North America. BUT befides the reafons already affigned to prove this imitation abfurd, there is a difficulty attending it, which will defeat the end propofed by its advocates 5 which is, that the Englifh themfelves have no ftandard of pronunciation, nor can they ever have one on the plan they propofe. The Authors, who have attempted to give us a ftandard, make the praftice of the court and ftage in London the fole criteri on of propriety in fpeaking. An attempt to eftablifh a ftandard on this foundation is both itnjujl and idle. It is unjuft, be- caufe it is abridging the nation of its rights; The general practice of a nation is the rule of propriety, and this praftice fhould at leaft be confulted in fo important a matter, as that of making laws for fpeaking. While all men are upon a footing and nQ Angularities are accounted vulgar or ridic ulous, every man enjoys perfeft liberty. But DISSERTATION I. 25 But when a particular fet of men, in ex alted ftations, undertake to fay, " we are the ftandards of propriety and elegance, and if all men do not conform to our prac tice, they fhali be accounted vulgar and ignorant," they take a very great liberty with the rules of the language and the rights of civility. BUT an attempt to fix a ftandard on the praftice of any particular clafs of people is highly abfurd : As a friend of mine once obferved, it is like fixing a light houfe on a floating ifland. It is an attempt to^#v that which is in itfelf variable ; at leaft it muft be variable fo long as it is fuppofed that a local practice has no ftandard but a local practice - y that is, no ftandard but it felf. While this dodtrine is believed, it will be impoffible for a nation to follow as faft as the ftandard changes for if the gentlemen at court conftitute a ftandard* they are above it themfelves, and their praftice muft fhift with their paflions ani their whims. BUT this is not all. If the praftice of a few men in the capital is to be the ftand ard, a knowlege of this muft be commu nicated to the whole nation. Who fliall do fcS DISSERTATION L do this ? An able compiler perhaps at tempts to give this praftice in a diftiona- ry ; but it is probable that the pronunci ation, even at court, or on the ftage, is not uniform. The compiler therefore muft follow his particular friends and patrons ; in which cafe he is fure to be oppofed and the authority of his ftandard called in queftion ; or he muft give two pronunci ations as the ftandard, which leaves the ftudent in the fame uncertainty as it found him. Both thefe events have actually tak en place in England, with refpeft to the moft approved ftandards ; and of courfe no one is univerially followed. BESIDES, if language muft vary, like fafhions, at the caprice of a court, we muft have our ftandard diftionaries republifhed, with the fafhionable pronunciation, .at leaft once in five years ; otherwife a gentleman in the country will become intolerably vul gar, by not being in a fituation to adopt the fafhion of the day. The new editions of them will fuperfede the old, and we fhall have our pronunciation to re-learn, with the polite alterations, which are generally corruptions. SUCH are the confequences of attempt ing to make a local practice titftjl&ndard of language DISSERTATION I. 27 language in a nation. The attempt muft keep the language in perpetual fluctuation, and the learner in uncertainty. IF a ftandard therefore cannot be fixed on local and variable cuftom, on what fhall it be fixed ? If the moft eminent fpeakers are not to direft our praftice, where fhall we look for a guide ? The anfwer is ex tremely eafy ; the rules of the language it- felfy and the general practice of the nation^ conftitute propriety in fpeaking. If we examine the ftrafture of any language, we fliall find a certain principle of analogy running through the whole. We fhall find in Englifh that fimilar combinations of letters have ufually the fame pronuncia tion j and that words, having the fame ter minating fyllable, generally have the accent at the fame diftance from that termination. Thefe principles of analogy were not the refult of defign they muft have been the effeft of accident, or that tendency which a]l men feel towards uniformity.* But the * THIS difpofition is taken notice of by Dr. Blair, Left. 8. Where he obferves, "thattho the formation of abftra& or general conceptions is fuppofed to be a difficult operation of the mind, yet fuch conceptions muft h,ave entered into the firft formation of languages" " this invention of ab- terms requires no great exertion of metaphyfical ca^ pacity'*-*- 28 DISSERTATION L the principles, when eftablifhed, are pro- duftive of great convenience, and become an authority fuperior to the arbitrary deci- iions of any man or clafs of men. There is one exception only to this remark : When a deviation from analogy has become the univerfal praftice of a nation, it then takes place of all rules and becomes the ftandard of propriety. THE two points therefore, which I con ceive to be the bafis of a ftandard in fpeak- ing, are thefe; tmiverfalundifputed practice, and the principle of analogy. Univerfal practice is generally, perhaps always, a rule of propriety $ and in difputed points, where people differ in opinion and prac tice, analogy fhould always decide the con- troverfy. THESE are authorities to which all men will fabmit they are fuperior to the o- pinions pacity" Men are naturally inclined to call all thofe ob- jefts which refemble each other by one common name \Ve may daily obferve this praftifed by children, in their firft attempts towards acquiring language." I CANNOT, with this great critic, call the procefs by which Jimilar objets acquire the fame name, an aft of abjlraElio-U) or the name an abftraEl term. Logical diftin&ions may lead us aft ray. There is in the mind an inftinttive difpofition^ or principle of affodation, which will account for all common names and the analogies in language. DISSERTATION L 29 pinions and caprices of the great, and to the negligence and ignorance of the mul titude. The authority of individuals is always liable to be called in queftion but the unanimous confent of a nation, and a fixed principle interwoven with the very conftruftion of a language, coeval and co- extenfive with it, are like the common laws of a land, or the immutable rules of mo rality, the propriety of which every man, however refraftory, is forced to acknowl- ege, and to which moft men will readily fubmit. Fafliion is ufually the child of caprice and the being of a day ; principles of propriety are founded in the very nature of things, and remain unmoved and un changed, amidft all the fluctuations of hu man affairs and the revolutions of time. IT mult be confefied that languages are changing, from age to age, in proportion to improvements in fcience. Words, as Horace obferves, are like leaves of trees ; the old ones are dropping off and new ones growing. Thefe changes are the neceflary confequence of changes in cuftoms, the in troduction of new arts, and new ideas in the fciences. Still the body of a language and its general rules remain for ages the fame, and the new words ufually conform to jo DISSERTATION L to thefe rules ; otherwife they ftand as ex ceptions, which are not to overthrow the principle of analogy already eftablifhed. when a language has arrived at a certain ftage of improvement, it muft be ftationary or become retrograde ; for im provements in fcience either ceafe, or be come flow and too inconfiderable to affeft materially the tone of a language. This ftage of improvement is the period when a nation abounds with writers of the firft clafs, both for abilities and tafte. This period in England commenced with the age of Queen Elizabeth and ended with the reign of George II. It would have been fortunate for the language, had the ftile of writing and the pronunciation of words been fixed, as they ftood in the reign of Queen Ann and her fucceffor. Few improvements have been made fmce that time 5 but innumerable corruptions in pronunciation have been introduced by Garrick, and in ftile, by Johnfon, Gibbon and their imitators.* THE *THE progrefs of corruption in language isdefcribed with precifion, and philofophical reafons afiigned with great judgement, by that celebrated French writer, CondillaCj in .his Origin of Human Knowledge. Part 2. " IT is nearly the fame here as in phyfics, where motion, the fource of life, becomes the principle of deitruftion, When DISSERTATION I. 31' THE great Sidney wrote in a pure ftile 5 yet the beft models of purity and elegance, are the works of Sir William Temple, Dr. Middleton, When a language abounds with original writers in every kind, the more a perfon is endowed with abilities, the more difficult he thinks it will be to furpafs them. A mere e- quality would not fatisfyhis ambition ; like them he wants the pre-eminence. He therefore tries a new road. But as every ilile analagous to the chara&er of the language and to his own, has been already ufed by preceding writers, he has nothing left but to deviate from analogy. Thus in order to be an original, he is obliged to contribute to the ruin of a language, which, a century fooner, he would have helped to improve. " THO fuch writers may be criticized, their fuperior abilities muft ftill command fuccefs. The eafe theie is in copying their defe6ts ? foon perfuades men of indifferent ca pacities, that they fhall acquire the fame degree of reputa tion. Then begins the reign of drained and fubtle con ceits, of affe&ed antithefes, of fpecious paradoxes, of frivo lous and far-fetched expreflions, of new-fangled words, and in fhort, of the jargon of perfons, whofe underftand- ings have been debauched by bad metaphyfics. The pub lic applauds ; foolifh and ridiculous writings, the beings of a day, are furprifingly multiplied ; a vicious tafle infefts the arts and fciences, which is followed by a vifible decreafe of men of abilities." ONE would think that Condillac had defigned here to give a defcription of the. prefent tafte of the Englifli writers, and a flate of their literature. THE foregoing fentiments feem to have been borrowed from Velleius Paterculus. Hift. Rom. L. i. Cap. 17. THE famepailage is copied by Sig. Carlo Denina, Profeflbr ef Eloquence and Belles Lettres in the Univeifity of Turin,. in 3* DISSERTATION L Middleton, Lord Bolingbroke, Mr. Addi- fon and Dean Swift. But a little inferior to thefe, are the writings of Mr. Pope, Sir Richard Steele, Dr. Arbuthnot, with fome of their cotemporaries . Sir William Black-* ftone has given the law ftile all the ele gance and precifion of which it is capable. Dr. Price and Dr. Prieftley write with pu rity, and Sir William Jones feems to have copied the eafe, fimplicity and elegance of Middleton and Addifon. BUT how few of the modern writers have purfued the fame manner of writing ? Johnfon's ftile is a mixture of Latin and Englifh ; an intolerable compofition of Latinity, affefted fmoothnefs, fcholaftic ac curacy and roundnefs of periods . The ben* efits derived from his morality and his eru dition, will hardly counterbalance the mi- chief done by his manner of writing. The names of a Robertfon, a Hume, a Kome and a Blair, almoft filence criticifm ; but I muft repeat what a very learned Scotch gentleman once acknowleged to me, " that in his " Revolutions of Literature," page 47 ; and if I mif- take not, the fentiments are adopted by Lord Kaims, in his Sketches of the Hiftory of Man. SIMILAR reafons maybe afligned for the prevalence of an affe&ed and vitious pronunciation. DISSERTATION I. 33 t4 that the Scotch writers are not models of the pure Englifti ftile." Their ftile is generally ftiff, fometimes very awkward, and not always correft.* Robertfon la bors his ftile and fometimes introduces a word merely for the fake of rounding a period. Hume has borrowed French id ioms without number; in other refpefts he has given an excellent model of hiftori- cal ftile. Lord Kaims' manner is ftiff; and Dr Blair, whofe ftile is lefs exception able in thefe particulars, has however in troduced, into his writings, feveral foreign idioms and ungrammatical phrafes. The Scotch writers now ftand almoft the firft for erudition ; but perhaps no man can. write a foreign language with genuin pu rity. GIBBON'S harmony of profe is calculated to delight our ears ; but it is difficult to comprehend his meaning and the chain of his. * DR. Withe rfpoon is an exception. His ftile is eafy, fimple and elegant. I conlider Dr. Franklin and Dr Witherfpoon as the two bed writers in America. The words they ufe, and their arrangement, appear to flow fpon- taneoufly from their manner of thinking. The vaft fuperi- ority of their flilesover thofe of Gibbon and Gilliesy. is o\v- ing to this circumftance, that the two American writers have beftowed their labor upon ideas, And the Engl-fh hif- upon tvcrds, c 34 DISSERTATION I. his ideas, as faft as we naturally read ; and almoft impoffible to recolleft them, at any fubfequent period. Perfpicuity, the firft requifite in ftile, is fometimes facrificed to melody ; the mind of a reader is conftantly dazzled' by a glare of ornament, or charmed from the fubjeft by the mufic of the lan guage. As he is one of the^Sr/?, it is hop ed he may be the lajl^ to attempt the grati fication of our ears, at the expenfe of our under/landing. SUCH however is the tafte of the age ; fimplicity of ftile is neglefted for orna ment, and fenfe is facrificed to found.* ALTHO *THE fame tafte prevailed in Rome, under the Empe rors, when genius was proftituted to the mean purposes of flattery. "It muft be acknowleged indeed, that after the diffolutionof the Roman republic, this art began to be pervert ed by being too much admired. Men grew exceflively fond of the numerous ftile, and readily facrificed the ftrength and energy of their diicourfe to the harmony of their language, Pliny the younger often complains of this contemptible af- feftation : And Quintilian f peaks of certain profe writers in his time, who boafted that their compofitions were fo ilriclly numerous, that their hearers might even beat time to their meafures. And it fhould leem that even in Tully's time, this matter was carried to excefs ; fince even then the orators dealt fo much in numbers, that it was made a quef- tion, wherein they differed from the Poets.". Mafon's Effay on the Power and Harmony of Prolaic Numbers* Introduction, page 4. THIS was an abufe of the art. Melody fhould be fludi- cd ; but not principally. DISSERTATION I. 35 ALTHO ftile, or the choice of words and manner of arranging them, may be neceffarily liable to change, yet it does not follow that pronunciation and orthography cannot be rendered in a great meafure per manent. An orthography, in which there would be a perfe6t correfpondence between the fpelling and pronunciation, would go very far towards effecting this defireable objecl. The Greek language fuffered littl or no change in thefe particulars, for about a thoufand years > and the Roman was in a great degree fixed for feveral centuries. RAPID changes of language proceed from violent caufes ; but thefe Caufes cannot be fuppofed to exift in North America. It is contrary to all rational calculation, that the United States will ever be conquered by any one nation, fpeaking a different lan guage from that of the country. Remov ed from the danger of corruption by con- queft, our language can change only with the How operation of the caufes before- mentioned and the progrefs of arts and fciences, unlefs the folly of imitating our parent country fhould continue to govern. us, and lead us into endlefs innovation. This folly however will lofe its influence gradually, as our particular habits of re- C 2 fpeft 3 6 DISSERTATION I. fpeft for that country fhall wear away, and our amor patria acquire ftrength and in- fpire us with a fuitable refpeft for our own national character. WE have therefore the faireft opportu nity of eftablifhing a national language, and of giving it uniformity and perfpicui- ty, in North America, that ever presented itfelf to mankind. Now is the time to be gin the plan. The minds of the Ameri cans are roufed by the events of a revolu tion ; the neceffity of organizing the polit ical body and of forming conftitutions of government that fhall fecure freedom and property, has called all the faculties of the mind into exertion; and the danger of lofing the benefits of independence, has difpofed every man to embrace any fcheme that fhall tend, in its future operation, to reconcile the people of America to each other, and weaken the prejudices which oppofe a cordial union. MY defign,in thefe differtations,is critical ly to inveftigate the rules of pronunciation jtn our language > to examin the paft and prefent practice of the Englifh, both in the pronunciation of words and conftru6lion of fentences ; to exhibit the principal dif ferences DISSERTATION I. 37 ferences between the praftice in England and America, and the differences in the feveral parts of America, with a view to reconcile them on the principles of univer- falprattice and analogy. I have no fyftem of my own to offer ; my fole defign is to explain what I fuppofe to be authorities, fuperior to all private opinions, and to ex- amin local dialecls by thofe authorities. MOST writers upon this fubjeft have fplit upon one rock : They lay down cer tain rules, arbitrary perhaps or drawn from the principles of other languages, and then condemn all Englifh phraies which do not coincide with thofe rules. They feem not to confider that grammar is formed on language, and not language on grammar. Inftead of examining to find what the Eng lifh language is, they endeavor to fhow what it ought to be according to their rules. It is for this reafon that fome of the criti- cifms of the moft celebrated philologers are fo far from being juft, that they tend to overthrow the rules, and corrupt the true idiom, of the Englifh tongue. Several ex amples of this will appear in the courfe of thefe DhTertations. To learn the Englifh language in its pu rity, it is necefiary to examin and com- C 3 pare 3 8 DISSERTATION I. pare the beft authors from Chaucer to the prefent time. In executing the following work, the moft approved compilations have been confulted, and the opinions of the learned authors confidered as refpeft- able, not as decifive, authorities. The lan guage itfelf has been examined with great induihy, with a view to difcover and de fend its principles on the beft grounds, analogies in ftruffure^ and immemorial uf age. I have had recourfe to the works of au thors who wrote prior to Chaucer, and have even borrowed fome light upon this fubjeft, from the early ages of Gothic ig norance. Believing, with the author of " Diverfions of Purley," that the peculiar ftrufture of our language is Saxon, and that its principles can be difcovered only in its Teutonic original, it has been my bufinefs, as far as the materials in my pofleflion would permit, to compare the Englifh. with the other branches of the fame ftock, particularly the German and the Danifh. Thefe refearches have thrown light upon the meaning and conftruftion pf particular phrafes, and enabled me to vindicate fome expreffions in the language which are often ufed, but generally con- by grammarians. MY DISSERTATION L 39 MY knowlege of the praftice of fpeak- ing in different parts of America, is deriv ed from perfonal obfervation. My knowl ege of the paft and prefent ftate of the lan guage in England, is taken from the writ ers who have treated exprefsly of the fub- jeft.* The authorities neceflary to prove particular points will be quoted, as occalion ihall require. THE tafkof examining words cannot be agreeable to a writer, nor can his criticifms be very entertaining to the reader. Yet this tafk I have impofed upon myfelf ; for I believe it the only method to correft common miftakes. A general rule may be fufficient for a claffical fcholar, who makes it his bufinefs to apply the rule to all cafes : But moft readers muft have their particular errors laid before their eyes, or they will not difcover them. To offer to correft the miftakes of others, is alfo a hazardous tafk, and commonly ex- pofes a man to abufe and ill will. To avoid this I can only fay, that my motives for the undertaking were not local nor perfonal -, my enquiries are for truth, and my criticifms, it is hoped, will be marked with candor. BUT * WALL is, Johnfon, Kenrick, Stieridarij with a multitude of inferior compilers. 40 DISSERTATION I. BUT before I proceed to explain the principles of pronunciation, it is neceffary to give a fketch of the hiftory of our lan guage from the earlieft times, and endeavor to difcover from what fources it is derived. HISTORY of the ENGLISH LANGUAGE. THE firft correct accounts we have of Britain were given by Julius Cefar, who in vaded and conquered the fouthern parts of the ifland, about fifty four years before the Chriftian era.* Tacitus, in his Life of Julius j4gricola, has defcribed the natives of the ifland, and given it as his opinion, that they came from Gaul (now France.) The inhabitants of Caledonia, now Scot land, in the color qf their hair and fize of their limbs, refembled the Germans. Some appearances in the people of the more fouthern * HE found the inhabitants of the maritime towns fome- v/hat civilized,* and in their manners refembling the Gauls, with whom they had fome commercial intercourfe. It is probable that the Britons came originally from the conti nent, frpm v/hich their ifland is feparated by a (trait of no great extent. * Ex his omnibus, long efunt humaniflimi, qui Cantium incolunt : Quas regio eft maritima omnis ; nequ: imiltuiri a Gallica differunt coniuetudinc.'N -Cefar De Bello Gilt lice. Lib. ,5, DISSERTATION I. 41 fouthern parts of the ifland, and their po- fition with refpeft to Spain, indicated their defcent from the ancient Iberi. But thofe who inhabited the (hores, oppofite to France, refembled the Gauls, in their re ligious ceremonies, their courage, and par ticularly in their language : " Sermo haud rnultum diverfus."* IT is an uncontroverted point, that the primitive language of Britain was the fame as that of Gaul.-f- This language was denominated the Celtic, from the Gel~ t&, or Kelt of their conquered nations ; and the intrxxluftion of their own tongue among them was confidered as a neceffary ftep towards removing prejudices, facilitat ing an intercourfe with their provinces, and reconciling * THIS is faid upon the hypothefis, that the ancient Cel- ir-c or Britifh had a common origin with the Hehrew, Phenu anj Greek. For proof* of this, Tee the notes at the en4. DISSERTATION I. 45 reconciling diftant nations to the Roman government. JULIUS CESAR found the Gauls and Britons at peace, united by a fimilarity of manners and language, and by a famenefs of intereft. His conqueft of their coun tries made fome inroads upon their lan guage. But altho the Romans had pof- feffion of thefe countries more than four hundred years, during which time Roman garrifons were ftationed in Gaul and Brit ain, the young men of both countries were drafted into the Roman fervice, and many Britifh youth went to Rome for an educa- tion,ftill the native Celtic language remained without material alteration. It is obvious indeed that many of the higher claffes of people were acquainted with Latin,, and there are traces of that language ftill found among the Welfh, the descendants of the ancient Britons. But the body of the peo ple, either for want of opportunity to learn the Latin, or thro an inveterate hatred of their conquerors, continued wedded to their native tongue. This would have ftill been the language of France and England, had it not fuffered more violent ihock,s than by the Roman conquefts. BUT 46 DISSERTATION I. BUT in the fifth century, the fouthern parts of Europe began to be alarmed by the invafion of the Goths, Vandals, Huns and other fierce barbarians from the North. For three centuries, all the fertile prov inces of the Roman empire were ravaged by thefe hardy invaders, the moft of whom fettled in the countries which they con quered. THESE nations, mixing with the natives of the country where they fettled, changed or corrupted the primitive language. From the jargon of Celtic and Roman, blended with the language of the Franks, Nor mans, Burgundians, &c. fprung the mod ern French. From the mixture of Latin, with the language of the Huns, Lombards, &c. fprung the prefent Italian. From a fimilar compofition of Latin, with the lan guage of the Vifigoths and other northern tribes, and fome remains of the Mooriih language, left in Spain by the Saracens, are formed the modern Spaniih and Por- tuguefe. IN the general defolation, occasioned by thefe conquefts, the ifland of Britain did not efcape. The Saxons, a tribe of north ern nations, which inhabited the coun try DISSERTATION I. 47 try now called Denmark, or the fhores of the Baltic, now within the Empire of Germany, invaded Britain, foon after the Roman legions had been -called home to defend the Empire againft other tribes of barbarians. It is faid the Saxons were at firft invited to affift the Britons againft the inroads of the Pifts or Scots, and that hav ing defeated the invaders, they were tempt ed, by the fertility of the foil, to remain in the ifland, and afterwards took pofleffion of it for themfelves. BUT whatever was the firft caufe of their leaving their native country, it is certain, that numerous bodies of adventurers, at different times, went over and feated them felves in the ifland. They did not ceafe till they had poffeffed themfelves of all the fertile and cultivated parts of England. The univerfality of the conqueft is deni- onftrated by the total change of language ; there being no more affinity between the* Saxon or Englifh, and the ancient Britifh, than between any two languages of Eu rope. THE Britifh however was not loft. The brave inhabitants, who furvived the liber ty of their country, and could not brook the 48 DISSERTATION t the idea of living with their conquerors* retired to the countries within the moun tains on the weft of the ifland, now called Wales and Cornwall, where they maintain ed their independence for many centuries, and where their language is ftill preferved, The Welfh and the Cornifh therefore are the pureft remains of the primitive Celtic language. To thefe we may add the Arnioric, or language of the Bas Breton, on the coaft of France -, the inhabitants of which are genuin defendants of the old Britons. The time and occafion of this fettlement in France are not certain. Perhaps a body of Britons were driven thither by the Sax on conqueft of England ; or what is more probable, as it is a tradition among the people, the Armoricans are the pofterity of Ibme Britifh foldiers, who had been in the Roman army when it was called to It aly to defend the empire, and on their re-* turn, being informed that the Saxons had taken pofleflion of their native country, feated themfelves on the oppofite coaft of France.* BUT Introd. to Hift. of England* DISSERTATION I. 49 BUT whatever was the caufe of the fet- xlement, the language of the people is the old Britifti or Celtic ; for altho they muft have been feparated from their country men about twelve or fourteen hundred years, yet there is fuch an affinity ftill be tween the Welfh and the Armoric, that the Welfh foldiers, who patted thro Brit tany in a late war,* could converfe famil iarly with the inhabitants. If any other proof than this were necefTary to convince the reader, we might mention the name of this province, Brittany, and produce a long catalogue of Armoric words, collated with the Welfh and Cormfli. ONE would think that the Irifti,by reafon of their vicinity to England, would have fpoken the fame language - y yet it is found that the old Irifh tongue has very little af finity with the Welfh. Sir William Tem ple affertsf that the Erie, or Caledonian, language, and the old Irilh, which are rad ically the fame, and fpoken alfo on the Ifle of Man, have no affinity with any other language now fpoken. But the celebrated Lluyd * AT the conqueft 6F Belifle, See the Preface, to Mal let's North. Antiq. page 23. t WORKS. Vol. 3. Introd. to Hift. Eng, D 50 DISSERTATION L Lluyd and others, who have been more critical in their inveftigations of this fub- jet, maintain that the Irifh has a real af finity with the Cambrian or Britilh. They further fhow that many names of places in S. Britain, the meaning of which is loft in the Welfh, can be explained only by words now extant in the Irifh and Erie. This is a fufficient proof of a common origin.* BUT on this point hiflorians are divided in opinion. Some fuppofe that the north of * INDEED a good reafon may be given for the apparent difference in the feveral branches of the old Celtic. In this language, words are declined by changing the initial letters, r>r by prefixing an article with an apoftrophe. By thefe means, words are fo altered, that a fuperficial obferver may confound the radical letters, with thofe which are added for the fake of exprelTing cTifferent relations. Thus the Brit- ifh word pen fignifies, a head ',pengur r a man's head ; iben, his head ; i ph,en, her head ; y*m when., my head. This by the way is no contemptible evidence that the Britifh was derived from the Phenician or Hebrew, in the latter of which, words are declined by prefixes, as well as fuffixes. FOR the difference between the Irifh and Britifh, Lluyd aftigm, other reaions. The anccitors of the Irifh and High land Scots, who were called Guydelians, might have been the original Celts, who firft inhabited Britain ; and the Cymri or Welfh, another race, or a branch of the Celtic Cimbri, might, either by colonization orronqueft, take pof- feflion of Britain, and introduce a very different dialect of n iu favor of particular law-phrafcs or technical terms, which, $6 DISSERTATION t THIS proves that the Norman French was fpoken only by the nobility, who were jnoftly of Norman extraftion, and by the higher orders of men in office, at court, or in the cities. The body of the people, de- fcendants of the Saxons, ftill retained their primitive tongue,* During this period, when French was the polite, and Saxon the vulgar language of the Englifli, the Latin was alfo underftood by the learned f who were moftly the regular and fecular clergy. On the revival of literature in Europe, Latin was ftudied with claffical correftnefs, and the number and excellence of the Greek and Roman authors, with the elegance of the languages, have recom mended them to the attention of fucceeding generations. The records of parliament and of judicial proceedings were kept m Latin, by long ufe^ had acquired peculiar force and propri-* Sty, and whofe place could not be \vell Supplied by Englifh. words or phrafes. Hence the number of French words ufed in law proceedings* * WE have the teftimony of Robert, Earl of Gloucefter (who wrote under Henry III. and Edward I.) to this pur- pofe. Page 364. *< Vor bote a man couth French, me tolth of hym well lute, ** Aclowe men holdeth to Englyfs and to her kunde fpeeche yute. " For but a man knoweth French, men told of him well lit- tie, and lowe men holdeth to Englifh and to their native tongue. - That is, unlefs a jnan could fpeak French h# tvas iittk eileemed^ DISSERTATION L # Latin, from the thirty fixth of Edward IIL to the fourth of George II. * when, by aft of parliament, the Englijk was ordered to be the language of the Englijh laws and public records. Of thefe three languages* the Saxon, the Norman French and the Latin, our prefent Engliih is cornpofed. THE incorporation of the Roman and other foreign tongues with the Englifh* took place principally under the firft Nor man kings. It was attended with fome difficulty, and Chaucer has been cenfured by his cotemporaries for introducing cart loads of French words into his writings.^ LANGUAGE is the effeft of neceffity, and when a nation has a language which is competent to all their purpofes of com municating ideas, they will not embrace new words and phrafes. This is the rea- fon why the yeomanry of the Englifh na tion have never adopted the improvements of * 173*' f "Ex hac msrlefano novetatis pruritu, B'elgae Qallicay Voces pafiim civitate fuadonando patrii fermonis puritatem nuper non leviter inquinarunt, et Chaucerus Poeta, peflima cxemplo, integris vocum plauftris ex tadem Gallia in noftram linguam invents, earn, nimis antea a Normannorum victoria adulteratam, omni fiye nativa gratia et nit ore fpoliavit," Etymol, L, A, 5 3 DISSERTATION L of the Englifh tongue. The Saxon competent to moft of the purpofes of an agricultural people 5 and the clafs of men who have not advanced beyond that ftate, which in faft makes the body of the na tion, at leafl in America, feldom ufe any words except thofe of Saxon original. BUT as men proceed in the progrefs of fociety, their ideas multiply, and new words are neceflary to exprefs them. They muft therefore either invent words, or combine thofe before ufed into compounds, or bor row words of fuitable import from a for eign language. The latter method was principally purfued by the Englifh. The learned of the nation fpoke and wrote Lat in, which had been the language of a po lite and improved nation, and confequent- ly abounds with terms in the various arts and fciences. When the Englifh found their native tongue deficient, they had re- courfe to the Roman or Greek, where they were immediately fupplied with words, ex- preflive of their new ideas, and eafily con forming to the genius of the Englifh lan guage. THE Englifh retained its Saxon appear ance till the twelfth century.[C] From this period DISSERTATION i; 59 period to Chaucer, who wrote in the reign of Edward III. about the year- 1360 or 70, the changes were flow and gradual. Chau cer was a man of a very liberal education ; well verfed in the Greek and Roman au thors -, and his mind had been improved by his travels. His genius and acquirements led him to ftray from the common ftile of writing, and enrich his verfe with the ele gance of the Provencal language, at that time the moft polifhed in Europe.* His abilities, his reputation, and his influence at court, enabled him, in oppofition to his adverfaries, to introduce many beau ties and much energy intoour language.[D) FROM Chaucer to Addifon our language was progreflively refined, and enriched with a variety of words, adequate to all its ufes among a people highly improved. The French language has furnifhed us with military terms ; the Dutch with iea phrafes; the Greek and Roman with words proper to form and polifli the poetical, hiftorical and rhetorical fliles, and with terms in mathe matics, philofophy and phyfic $ the mod ern *RAiMONDlV.of Aragon, count of Provence, rendered his Court a temple of the mufes, and to this reforted the lovers of the Belles Lettres from every part of Europe. A- bout the year 1300, a taile for the Provencal language and poetry was imbibed in Italy, and foon after in England,* Denina, Chap. 44. So DISSERTATION t ern Italian has fupplied us with terms lit inufic, painting and fculpture ; and in the Saxon, the ground- work of the whole, the yeomanry find all the words for which they have any ufe in domeftic life or in the agricultural and moft fimple median* ical employments* IN this progrefs, the language has not only been enriched with a copious fupply of words, but the accent of words has gen* erally been eftablifhed in fuch a manner as to render pronunciation melodious* The fpoken language is alfo foftened, by an omiffion of the harfh and guttural founds which originally belonged to the language, and which are flill retained by the Ger* mans, Scotch and Dutch. At the fame time, it is not, like the French, enervated by a lofs of confonants. It holds a mean between the harfhnefs of the German, and the feeblenefs of the French. It has more fmoothnefs and fluency than the northern languages, and lefs mufic in its vocal founds, than the Spanifh and Italian. As the Englifh have attempted every branch of fcience, and generally proceeded farther in their improvements than other nations, fo their language is proportionably copi ous and expreffive. REMARKS. f DISSERTATION L REMARKS, HAVING given this general hiftoryand the prefent ftate of the language, I proceed to ibme remarks that naturally refult from the fubje6l. i. THE primitive language of the Eng- lifh nation was the Saxon, and the words derived from that, now conftitute the ground-work of modern Englifh. Hence all the rules of inflection, and moft of the rules of conftruftion, are Saxon. The plu ral terminations of nouns, the variations of the pronouns, the endings which mark the comparifon of adjeftives, and the in- fleftions of the verbs, are wholly of Teu tonic origin. For this reafon$ the rules of grammatical conftruftion and the pro priety of particular phrafes, can be afcer- tained only by the ancient Saxon, and the modern Englifh writings. The Greek and Roman languages were conftrufted on dif ferent principles, which circumflance has not been fufficiently attended to, by thofe who have attempted to compile Englifh Grammars. The confequence is, that falfe principles have been introduced and taught as the rules of the Englifh lan guage, 6* DISSERTATION L guage, by which means very eminent writ ers have been led into miftakes. 2. IT has been remarked that the com mon people, defendants of the Saxons, life principally words derived from the na tive language of their anceftors, with few derivatives from the foreign tongues, for which they have no occafion. This faft fuggefts the impropriety of writing fer- mons, or other difcourfes defigned for gen eral ufe, in the elevated Englifti ftile. To adapt a ftile to common capacities, the language fhould confift, as much as poffi- ble, of Saxon words, or of Latin and French derivatives which are introduced into fa miliar difcourfe. The modern tafte for in troducing uncommon words into writings, for rounding periods, and rifmg in to' what is falfely called the elegant and fublime ftile, has had an unhappy effe6t in rendering language obfcu^e or unintelligible.* 3. THE * A REMAFKAPLE example ofthiskind of flile, we have in Elphinflone's principles of the Englifh Language. The author has taken great pains to be obfcure, and has iuccceded to admiration. OF this kind of ftile, the reader may fee afpecimen in the following paffage, t taken fronqi Young's fpint of Athens. Page 6. DISSERTATION I. 63 3. THE number and perfe&ion of the languages from which the Englifh is col- lefted, muft account for its copioufnefs and the multitude of fynonimous words with which it abounds. A PRIMITIVE unmixed language rarely contains two words of the* fame fignifica- tion. On the contrary, rude nations often ufe one word to exprefs feveral ideas, which have fome refemblance or analogy to each other, in the conftitution of things. FROM "SuRELY, in every mind, there Is an emulation of virtuous fuperiority, which, however fortune or the meaner paflions may hebitate its powers, (till, at every example of fucccfs in the particular objeft of its predile&ion, glows into a mo mentary flame, which from frequent refufcitation may ac quire a (lability and ftrength fufficient to reach at the at tainment of what, at firft, was regarded folely as matter of admiration ; the idea of imitation which hath thus enraptur ed the fancy, may in times of perilous crifis fomewhat ele vate the mind and influence the conduct ; and if (uch ever may be the effeft, what other lecture can ballance the utili ty of that, which thus animates the man, and urges him to , noble and difinterefted fervices in a good, great and public *- caufe." THE author could hardly have invented an arrangement, better calculated to obfcure his meaning. IT is faid ofMoltere, that before he would fuffer a new play of his to be afted, he read it to an old woman, and judged, by the effeft it had upon her, what reception it would meet with on the ftage. It is a pity, fome modern do not copy the example. 64 DISSERTATION L FROM the poverty of a language pro ceed repetitions of the fame word, to ex- prefs an idea with particular force, or in the fuperlative degree. Hence the Hebraifms, as they are called, of the Bible ; to rejoice with joy ; to fear with great fear. This mode of fpeaking is frequent among all nations whofe languages are imperfeft. BUT the Englilh, on the other hand, a- bounds with fynonimous terms, fo that a repetition of words is generally unnecefTary, even when there is a neceffity of repeat ing the idea in the fame fentence. THIS copioufnefs, while it affords great advantages to a judicious writer, may alfo be abufed,, and become the caufe of a pro lix verbofe ftile. Inftances of this feult occur in almoft every author ; it is one of the greateft, as well as moft frequent faults in writing, and yet has fcarcely been cenfured by critics.* THERE are indeed but few inftances in which two or three words exprefs precifely the " * DR. Blair has made a few excellent remarks on this fault, under the article Precifion, Lefture 10. I do not re- * member to have ieea any other criticifms upon this Tub- DISSERTATION I. 65 the fame idea; but there are many inftances of words conveying nearly the fame fenfe which are thrown together by carelefs writers without the leaft occafion. Take for example a paflage of Mr. Addifon'-s Cato : So the pure, limpid ftream, when/0w/ with Jlains Of rufliing torrents and defcending ra ins, Works itfelf dear and as it runs refines^ Till by degrees the floating mirror (nines.** PURE and limpid are here too nearly fy~ nonimous to be applied to the fame objeft. The fame objection lies to the ufe of ''foul with /tains" Between working clear and refining^ there is perhaps no difference in idea : And the arrangement in the fecond line is obje6lionable, for the confequence is placed before the caufe ; rujhing torrents being the confequence of defcending rains. Such an aflemblage of fynonimous words clogs and enfeebles the expreffion, and fa tigues the mind of the reader. Writers of an inferior clafs are particularly fond of crouding together epithets. If they would defcribe a man they hate, he is a low, vile, mean, defpicable, contemptible fellow. If they would defcribe a man of an amiable character, he is the moft kind, humane, lov- tender y affectionate being imaginable. E Epithets, 66 DISSERTATION L Epithets, fo liberally beftowed, confufe our ideas and leave the mind without any dif- tinft knowlege of the chara&er. [E] To a copioufnefs of language, on the other hand, may be afcribed the decline of alion in fpeaking, and the want of an imation. When nations have but few words to exprefs their ideas, they have re- courfeto figures, to fignificant tones, looks and geftures, to fupply the defeft. Hence the figurative language of the Orientals of antiquity ; hence the imagery of the Cale donian Bard ,* the bold metaphorical lan guage of the American natives, and the expreffive tones and gefliculations that at tend their fpeaking. To this caufe alfo muft we afcribe the mufic of the Greek language, and the ac tion which accompanied the rehearfals on the ftage. What was the effeft of necefli- ty at firft, became afterwards a matter of art. This was the origin of the panto mime. Modern operas are alfo an imita tion of the ancient mufical rehearfals of the theater.-f- BUT * OSSIAN. f SEE Blair, Lelure 6, and Condillac, in his Efiay on A he Origin of Human Knowlege, The dancing of David y an the only form of the future, cannot convey fuch diftinft mean ings, as promife and event > unlefs accompa nied with fome expreffive tone or gefture. A Frenchman therefore, to exprefs the force of the Englifh, / will pay, muft fupply the want of a diftinft word by aftion, or have recourfe to a circumlocution. The fame remark holds with refpeft to would and Jhouldy which, in a variety of combinations, retain diftinft fignifications. THE French has properly but one word, plume, for the three Englifli words, feather, pen DISSERTATION I. 69 pen and quill. Its verbs have not fuch a variety of combinations to exprefs the pre- cife time of an aftion as the Englifh. J'e- cris is the only phrafe for the Englifh, I write and I am writing, which have diftinft ufes ; and Ldo not know whether there is any phrafe ufed in French which will ex- aftly correfpond with the Englifh phrafes anfwering to the inceptive verb of the Ro mans, / am going to write, or, am about writing.* THIS folution of a difficulty, which has occurred to many people, in comparing the manners * I CANNOT think the French devenir prefixed to a verb anfwers exaftly to both thefe Engiiih forms. The defi ciency of the French in this refpeft, may be obferved in the following paflage : " S'IL eft vrai que vous aimiez la juftice, & que vous a(- liez en Crete pour apprendre les loix du bon roi Minos, n'- endurciflfez point votre cceur contre mes foupirs & centre mes larmes." Telemaque, Liv. 4. IF we tranflate the paflage thus : "If it is true that you love juftice and go to Crete," &c. we lofe the force of the verb attiez ; for the fenfe is evidently, are going, are now on your journey. " If it is true that you Love juftice and are. going to Crete," &c. I N French the verbs aimiez and alliez are both in the fame tenfe, and have the fame form of conftruftion ; in Engiiih the verbs (hould be in the fame tenfe,buthave different forms of conftru&ion. In French the force of alliez is collected from the fenfe of the paffage ; but in Englifh, it is exprdled by a particular conftru&ion. E 3 70 DISSERTATION I. manners of the Englifh and French, may not be the true one ; but it appears ration al. Other caufes allo have a material influence upon eloquence, particularly the form of government and the ftate of focie- ty. In thefe refpefts England and France may not be fo favorable to the cultivation of oratory, as were the republics of Greece and Rome. But if a free government is the beft foil for the growth of eloquence, why fhould it flourifh in France rather than in England, which is faid to be the faft with refpeft to pulpit eloquence ? The genius of the nation may have its effeft ; but it is prefumed, the ftate of the lan guage may be confidered as an auxiliary caufe, if not a principal. FROM the foregoing hiftory of the lan guage, we learn the caufes of its incorreft orthography. The Saxon charafters, fome of which were Roman, both in fhape and power, while others were peculiar to the language, continued in ufe till the four teenth century. Thefe were afterwards laid afide for the Old Englifh characters , as they are ufually called -, which were introduced with the art of printing from Germany,* and *ON the firfl invention of printing, letters were cut in wood and fixed. They were afterwards engraved upon metal, . DISSERTATION I. 71 and continued in ufe, till within a century. But both the Saxon and German letters were much inferior to the Roman in the fimplicity and elegance of their form ; for which reafon moft of the European na tions have rejedled their primitive charac-* ters and adopted the Roman.* IN changing the charafters of an alpha bet, as well as in exprefling the founds of one language by letters of an other, fome difficulty will often arife from the want of a perfeft correfpondence between the true founds of letters in both. Altho there is, and muft be, a great uniformity in the ar ticulate founds of all men, yet there are al- fo differences peculiar to each nation, which others have not proper charafters to ex- prefs. THUS the Romans, when they would exprefs the found of the Greek 6 and of 7, for want of fuitable charafters, wrote tb metal, flill fixed. The third ftage of improvement was the cafling of moveable types. It is probable that this was a work of labor and expenfe ; and it muft have been a long time, before they cafl more than one kind of character. Hence the German chara&er was ufed in England. *THE Germans and Dutch ?,re exceptions: They ufe their old characters in their own language ; but they ufe the Latin eharacl^r and language in works of fcience. 72 DISSERTATION I. th and ch. We conclude from this cir- cumftance, that the Greek iound of the former was that of t followed by an afpi- rate, and the latter, that of k with an af- pirate. Yet it is very probable that the founds were guttural in Greek, and not exactly reprefented by the Latin combina-* tions th and cb. i THUS two Saxon charafters are repre fented in modern Englifh, by the Latin combination th, as in think, thou. Thefe Saxon charafters were fingle letters and had diftin6t powers. We preferve the dif- tinftion of founds to this day, but are fub- jeft to the inconvenience of having no mark by which the eye can difcern that diftinftion. ON the other hand,yZ> was ufually writ* ten by the Saxons^, as fee aft, (haft ;fceam y fhame > feed, fhall. What was the pro nunciation of fc cannot be determined ; but it is evident that each letter had a dif- tinft found. It is mofl probable that be fore a, o, and u,fc were pronounced^, or c might have had the force of ch in choofe. It is very clear that c had this found be fore e and / ; for the Saxon words in which cb now precede e or /', were formerly fpelt with DISSERTATION I. 73 with c only ; as child horn the Saxon cild\ chill from cele , chink from cinnon y to gape ; chick from Vf. If therefore c before e and / had the force of ch^fceaft muft have been pro- nouncedfcbeafty which would ealily be loft- ened down and contraded intojhaft. BUT whatever was the found ofjc in the Saxon, the found derived from it is now fimple, and has no fingle charafter to rep- refent it in our language ; for the proper founds of f and h combined, do not form the found which we invariably annex to Jb. By not retaining the primitive Saxon c afteryj we have probably loft the pronun ciation and introduced an irregularity. IT is not certain howevA- that a change of the. alphabet was prior to the change of pronunciation ; for the latter might have produced the former. But the effe6l is certain 5 we have a fimple found without a proper character, which is always an im- perfeftion.* WE have therefore in Englifti the two founds of thy the afpirate in think, and the vocal in this, both of which are fimple con- fonant THIS may be (applied by uniting the two charaftersy and h in one, and naming the combination EJh. 74 DISSERTATION I. fonant founds, peculiar to the language, and derived frorq. two Jingle characters . Each ought ftill to be reprefented by a dif- tinft fingle letter. Sh, on the other hand, exprefs a fimple found, derived from two feparate Saxon confonants, which muft have been originally pronounced as two letters. Thefe irregularities muft have been partly owing to a change of alpha bet* OTHER irregularities have been occa- fioned by an injudicious application of the letters of one alphabet to the founds of an other language. THE Roman c fome writers fuppofe was hard, like k y before all the vowels and diph thongs. It certainly was fo before all except e and / ; where, there is reafon to fuppofe, it had the found of ch or ts. It is very ev ident that it had not the found of -f y which we now annex to it in civil, cellar. When the Roman alphabet, therefore, took place of the primitive Engliih characters, the Greek k fhould have been always written before * THE Germans, who invented printing, had not propci types for the two Saxon or Engliih characters ; they there fore made ufe of th as a (ubftitute for both, which defeft we have not yet fupplicd. DISSERTATION I. 75 before a, 0, u, as in cat, cord, cup ; and / before e and /. Or c fhould have been, called ke, limited to one found, and always ufed inftead of k. If our anceftors had re tained the Roman pronunciation of c be fore r~and /, they would probably have fpelt cera, civilis, chera, chivilis* ch having its Englifh found of tfh, as in charm. But if they pronounced thefe words as we do, they fhould have fubftituted/ fera.Jivilis. In fhdrt, they fhould have limited every charafter to one found ; in which cafe, one of the three letters, phi, it is probable that/ would have been whol ly ufed in derivatives where the phi occurred. I fufpeft that ph in Latin mufl have been originally more ftrongly afpirated than/; but the tranfition from the found of the one to that of the other was eafy,and the diftinftion was grad ually loft. DISSERTATION I. 77 ceptible caufes, common to all languages, in all ages, has alfo been gradually chang ing the fpelling and pronunciation. IN Chaucer's time, the infinitive mode and plural number of verbs, in the prefent tenfe, ended often in en - y as loven, for to love or they love. But loveth was fome- times ufed in the plural, and n began to be omitted in the infinitive. The French termination ejje, as in Goddeffe, richeffe, was ufed, and the final e was often pronounced. The plural number of nouns ufually end ed in es y as houndes ; and in the fame man ner terminated the genitive cafe. Nouns now ending in y, ended then in ie, asjlorie > y was ftill prefixed to participles, as ybent ; and y was often ufed where we now write g, as yeve for give. FROM that period the orthography was ftill varying, at leaft in fome particulars, till the beginning of the prefent centu ry. The group of eminent writers who were cotemporary with Swift, gave great ftability to the fpelling ; yet fome good au thorities differ from them in feveral points. Johnfon, who has been ufually followed by fucceeding compilers of dictionaries, pre- ferves the u in honour, favour, and fimilar words ; 78 DISSERTATION L words ; as alfo the final k in publick, &c< Afh, followed by many writers, very prop erly reftores thefe words to the Roman fpell- ing, by omitting the u and k. Excepting thefe particulars, the orthography of our language is nearly fixed. THE pronunciation has been neglefted till a few years ago ; when Sheridan and Kenrick, with feveral compilers of lefs note, attempted to give us a ftandard. Unluck ily they have all made the attempt on falfe principles ; and will, if followed, multiply the anomalies, which already deform the language and embarrafs the learner.* THE language, is compofed of a va riety of materials, and it requires fome labor to adjufl the parts and reduce them to order. To accomplifh this purpofe, we muft fearch for fuch principles of analogy as ftill exift in its conftruftion, and make them the pillars of a regular fyftem . Where fuch principles cannot be found, let us examin * WE may except Kenrick, who has paid fome regard to principles, in marking the pronunciation, 1 DISSERTATION L 79 examin the opinions of the learned, and the practice of the nations which fpeak the pure Englifh, that we may determine by the weight of authority, the common law of language, thofe queftions which do not come within any eftablifhed rules, DISSERTATION DISSERTATION L (y/A? Engtijh Alphabet. Rules kf Pronun ciation* -Differences of Pronunciation and controverted Points examined. Oftbe ENGLISH ALPHABET. ROM a general hiftory of the Enghfh language, and fome remarks upon that fubjeft, I proceed to exam- in its elements, or the pow ers of the letters which compofe our alphabet* THERE are in Engliili, twenty five char- afters or letters which are the reprefenta- tives of certain founds, either fimple or combined ; a, b, c, d, e, f, g, i, j, k, 1, m, n, o, p, q, r, f, t, u, v, w, x, y, z. The Englifh have alfo the character , which E marks 82 DISSERTATION IL marks an afpiration or ftrong breathing but has very little found of its own. [G] LETTERS, according to the founds they represent, or the purpofes they ferve, are very naturally divided into three kinds > vowels, dipthongs, and confonantt. IN order to obtain clear ideas of our alphabet, let us attend to the following definitions ; 1. A VOCAL found, formed by opening the mouth, and by a fmgle pofition of the organs of fpeech, is a fimple found or vow el. Moft of the vowels in Englifh are ca pable of being prolonged at pleafure, with out varying the pofition of the organs. 2. No more than one fimple found can be formed by one aperture of the mouth, and one pofition of the organs of fpeech. The only difference that can be made with the fame pofition of the* organs, is, to pro long and fhorten the fame found. 3. Two fimple founds, clofely united in pronunciation, or following each other fo rapidly that the diftinftion is fcarcely per ceptible, form a dipthong. In pronoun cing DISSfektAtiON li. 83 ciiig a dipthong, two pofitions of the parts of the mouth are required. 4. THOSE letters which are hot marks of articulate founds, but reprefent indiftinft founds, formed by fome contaft of the parts of the mouth, or by compreffing thofe parts, check all found, are denominated confonants. BY the firft definition we afcertain the number of vowels in Englifh. In pro- 1431162. nouncing each of the letters a, a, a, e, o, o, u, we obferve but one pofition or aperture of the mouth ; the founds are therefore fim- ple, and the letters are called vcivets. *the fix firft founds are capable of being pro longed at pleafure* BY the fecond definition, we -determine which founds are the fame in quality, and different only in the time of being pro nounced. Thus / in Jit has the fame qual ity of found as e \i\feet, for both are pro nounced with the fame difpofition of the organs ; but the firft is the fhorteft artic ulation of the found, and the laft, a long or grave articulation. The other vowels have alfo their fhort or abrupt founds ; a in late F 2 has 8 4 DISSERTATION II. has its fhort found in let ; a in cart has its fhort found in carry j a in fall has its fhort found in folly \ GO in fool its fhort found in full. O is fometimes fhortened in common parlance, as in coif -, but the diftinftion between o in coal and colt, feems to be accidental or caufed by the final con- fonant, and not fufficiently fettled or im portant to require a feparate confideration, BY the third definition we are enabled to afcertain the dipthongs in our lan guage. The letters /, u and y are ufually clafled among the vowels ; but the firft or long found of each requires, in pronuncia tion, two pofitions of the organs of fpeech, or rather a tranfition from the pofition neceflary to fcym one fimpl$ found, to the pofition neceflary to form another fim- ple found. We begin the found of / near ly with the fame aperture of the glottis, as we do the broad a or aw : The aperture however is not quite fo great : We rapidly clofe the mouth to the pofition ,where we pronounce ee, and there flop the found. This letter is therefore a dipthong. T has no property but what belongs to /. 17 ALSO is not ftriftly a vowel ; nor is it> as it is commonly represented, compofed of DISSERTATION II. 85 of e and oo. We do not begin the found in the pofition necefiary to found ee, as is obvious in the words falute^falubrious^ rev olution ; but with a greater aperture of the mouth and with a pofition perfeftly eafy and natural. From that pofition we pafs to the pofition with which we pronounce oo, and there cloie the found, IT muft however be obferved that \vhen thefe letters, /', #, are followed by a confo- nant, the two founds of the dipthong are not clearly diftinguifhable. We do not, mjight, hear the found of ee -, nor the found of oo in cube. The confonant compreffes the organs and clofes the found of the word fo fuddenly, that the ear can diftin- guifh but a fimple vocal found : And not- withftanding thefe letters are dipthongs, when confidered by themfelves, yet in com bination with confonants, they are often marks of fimple founds or vowels. THE fhort found of / and y, is merely fliort ee. The found of u in tun, is a fep- arate vowel, which has no affinity to any other found in the language. THE found of oi or oy is dipthongal, compofed of the third or "broad a, and'*r. The 86 DISSERTATION It The found of ou or ow is alfo dipthonga}, compounded of third a and oo. The found however does not require quite fq great an aperture of the mouth as broad a ; the por fition 13 more natural, 3nd the articulation requires lef exertion. THE union of a and w in law, has beeu very erroneoafly confidered a dipthong. Whatever might have been the ancient pronunciation pf thefe letters (and it is probable that good reafons operated to produce their union) they now exhibit but one fimple vocal found. The fame may be obferved of ee, oo, au, at, cp, ei, ie, eo y oa, and perhaps fome other combinations, each pf which aftually exhibits the found of one letter qnly, which found is as ftmpls as that of a or five of them are expreffed or marked by double letters. We annex two founds to th ; one tojh ; one to ng ; and one lojl or Jity as may be heard in the following words $ ' DISSERTATION II. 89 think, this, fhall, bring, confufion or plealure. Thefe characters fhould be call ed, etb, e/h, eng, ezh ; and th fhould have two names, the afpirate as in tbink^ and the vocal as in this ; the latter found might be diftinguiftied by a fmall mark drdwn thro 'th. This improvement is fo obvious and eafy, and would be fo con venient for the learners of the language, that I muft believe it will foon be intro duced. THE confonants may be divided into wutes zn&femi e uG f wels. When a confonant compreffes the lips, or the tongue and roof of the mouth, fo clofely as to check all found, it is called a perfect mute : Such are p, k> and t, as may be perceived by pronouncing the fyllables, ep, ek> et. When the com- preffion of the organs is more gentle and does not flop all iound immediately, the letters are called mutes - 3 fuch are b, d> and g, as may be perceived by pronouncing the fyllables, eb, ed*> eg. V/hen a confonant has an imperfeft found, or hiffing, which may be continued, after a- contaft of the organs, it is denominated a femivowel. Of this kind are ef, el, em, en, er, es, ev, ez, eth,* eth,* efh, ezh, ing. Of thefe, four arc and afpirate. 90 DISSERTATION II. are afpJrates, ef, es, eth, and efti. The oth ers are vocal, having an imperfeft found. THE whole may be thus arranged. Perfel mutes p, k, t. Mutes b, d, g. vocal, 1 1, m, n, r, v, z, th, Semivowels - 5- zb,ng, afpirate, J f, f, th, ih. THEY may alfo be claffed according to the manner in which they are formed by the organs : Thus, thofe formed By the lips, are called labials b, p, f, v. By the teeth, are called dentals-*-d, t, th, z, f, fh,zh. By the palate,, are called palatine g, k, 1, r. By the nofe, are called nafal m, n, ng. ON the fubjeft of the alphabet, I have this remark further ; that for want of a proper knowlege of the powers of Jh and th y fome material errors in printing have obtained in common practice. Sh are u- fually united in printing, and generally with propriety, for the combination repre- fents a fimple confonant. But in feveral compound words/ and b have been im properly united, where one is filent or where each retains its own power, as in, dishonqr, DISSERTATION II, 9> Dishonor, dishoneft, dishabille, hogs head, houfehold, falfehood, and fomc others. The union of Jh in thefc words, is embarraffing, efpecially to children, who are led to pronounce them dtjh-onor y difo- enejl. This error ftill prevails in printing, except in the laft mentioned word, which is fbmetimes corre&ly printed falfehood. TH, tho not united in character, have a tendency to produce, in fome words, a wrong pronunciation. For inftance, we are very apt to fay Wren-tham inftead of Wrent-ham. Hotham is alfo ambiguous ; there is nothing in the orthography to di- reft us, whether to pronounce it. Hot-bam or Ho-tham y altho cuftqm decides in favor pf the latter. THESE remarks fhow the propriety of attending to our orthography, and of at tempting to remove caufes of error, when it can be done without much trouble or danger of giving oifence, RULES */ PRONUNCIATION. HAVING briefly explained the Englifli alphabet, I proceed to the rules of pronun ciation, IN 92 DISSERTATION II. IN pronunciation, two things demand our notice - y the proper founds of the vow els and confonants, and the accent. IN pronouncing both vowels and confo- nants, the general rule is, thatfimilar com- binaiions of letters Jhould be pronounced alike, except 'when general cujiom has decided other- wife. Thus if / in the words, bind) find, mind) has its firft found, it ought to have the fame found in other fimilar combina tions, kind) blind) grind. This is the rule of analogy r , the great leading principle that fhould regulate the conftrudtion of all lan guages. But as languages are not formed at once by fyftem, and are ever expofed to changes, it muft necefTarily happen that there will be in all languages, fome ex ceptions from any general rule ; fome de partures from ths principle of uniformity, THE praUce of a nation, when univer- fal or ancient, has, in moil cafes, the force and authority of law \ it implies mutual and general confent, and becomes a rule of propriety. On this ground, fome devia tions from the analogy of conftruftion and pronunciation muft be admitted in all languages. Thus from the analogy al ready mentioned, w/Wis an exception ; for general DISSERTATION II, 93 general pra6lice has determined that / fhould, in this , word, have its fecond or fhort found.* Whether this deviation was admitted at firft to diftinguifh this word from the verb to wind) or whether there were other good reafons which cannot now be explored, or whether it was merely the work of ignorance or accident, it is un~ neceflary to enquire - y the common con- fent of a nation is fufficient to ftamp it with propriety. ANOTHER rule in Englifh, which admits of no exception, is, when the accent falls on a vowel, it is long, as o in ho'-ly ; but when the accent falls on a confonant, the preceding vowel is fhort, as mflaf-ter. IT is alfo a general rule, that when a confonant clofes a fyllable, the preceding vowel is fhort, as in fan-cy, habit ; altho this rule has its exceptions, as Cam-bridge, dan-ger y and perhaps man-ger. FROM this rule, the Englifh except alfo angel, ancient. In this all the ftandard au thors * ON the ftage, it is fometimes pronounced with i long, either for the fake of rhime, or in order to be heard. Mr, Sheridan marks it both ways ; yet in common difcourfc h<5 it with i foort, as do the nation in general. 94 DISSERTATION II; thors agree, except Kenrick arid Burn,' Who mark a in ancient both lorig and fhort. The Englifh pronunciation is followed in the middle and fouthern ftates; but the eaftern univerfities have reftored thefe words to the analogy of the language, and give a its fecond found. It is prefumed that no reafon can be given for making thefe words exceptions to the general rule, but prac tice ; and this is far from being univerfal, there being many of the beft fpeakers in America, who give a, in the words men tioned, the fame found as in anguijh, annals, angelic, antiquity. THE praftice of the eaftern univerfities therefore fhould be encouraged, rather than difcountenanced ; as it diminifhes the num ber of anomalies. I fhall only remark fur ther, that a in thefe words muft formerly have had its third or fourth found ; which is evident from the old orthography ; for angel, at leaft, was fpelt like grant, com mand, &C. aungel, graunt, commaund. In giving a its firft found therefore, the mod ern Engliili have not only infringed the rule of analogy, but have deviated from former praftice. IN the word chamber, a has its fourth found. It is neceflary to remark this ; as there DISSERTATION II. 95 thefe are many people in America, who give a its firft found, which is contrary to analogy and to all the Englifh authorities. WITH regard to accent, that particular ftrefsof voice which fliguld diftinguifh fome fyllable of a word from others, three things are to be confidered ; the importance of the fyllable ; the derivation of the word ; and the terminating fyllable. THE importance of a fyllable is difcov- ered by refolving a word into the parts which compofe it, or reducing it to its radicals. Thus fenfible is derived from fenfus in Latin or Jenje in Englifh. The firft fyllable therefore is that on which the meaning of the word principally depends ; the others being an acceflary termination. THE firft fyllable then is the moft im portant and requires the accent. For the fame reafon, admire, compare, deflrcy^ &c. have the accent on the fecond fyllable in preference to the firft 5 the laft fyllables being all derived from verbs, and the firft being mere particles.* ANOTHER * The moft fignificant words, and confequcntly the moO: important, are nouns and verbs ; then follow adje&ivcs, pronouns, auxiliary verbs and participles, Particles are the Icaft. important. 96 DISSERTATION It ANOTHER rule for laying tfie accent of words arifes from derivation. Thus all words that take the terminations wg,fal> lefs> nefs, ed, eft, ijl, ly, retain the accent on the fyllable where it is laid in their primi tives; as proceed^ proceeding^ wonder ; wonder* ful, &c. BUT the moft important article to be confidered in the accentuation of words, is the terminating fyllable. From the differ ent terminations of words arife various a- nalogies, the rnoft of which are enumerat ed in the firft part of my Inftitute. The principle which has operated to produce thefe analogies, is the eafe of fpeaking or the harmony of enunciation. Confequent- ly this principle muft take place of all oth ers ; and we find that it frequently inter feres with the two foregoing rules, and reg ulates pratice in oppofition to both. THE general rule, grounded on this principle, is, that words, having the fame terminating fyllable, have the accent at the fame diftance from that termination. Thus all words ending in tion, fan, don, cial, dan, have the accent on the laft fyllable but one ;* and this without any regard to derivation * I CONSIDER fliefe terminations as Tingle fyllabl3. II. derivation or to the number of fyllables in the word. THUS moft words in ty, if they confift of more fyllabtes than two, have the ac cent on the antepenult ; as probity, abfurd- ity, probability. I recolleft but t\vo excep tions, viz. commonalty y admiralty ; the accent of which is laid upon the firft fyllable, as in their primitives.* BUT let us obferve the force of the laft rule, in oppofition to the others. Mortal has the accent on the firft fyllable. Here the firft rule takes place, for the firft fylla ble, having mors, death, for its root, is the moft important. But the derivative, mor tality ', conforms to the analogy of words ending in ty and has the accent on the laft fyllable but two. That the eafe or har mony of pronunciation, is the caufe of this change of accent, will be evident to any perfon who fhall attempt to pronounce words of this clafs, with the accent on any other fyllable than the antepenult. MOST * Such is the tendency of people to uniformity, that the commonalty , for the moft part, form the word regularly, and pronounce it commonality. Analogy requires that both theie words fhould end in ity ; but cultcm. has eflablifhed them as exceptions, G 98 DISSERTATION II, MOST of thefe rules admit a few excep tions > which are to be learnt by prafticc. Cuftom has made fome inroads upon the rules of uniformity, and caprice is ever bufy in multiplying anomalies. Still, rules will be of great fervice in ,afcer taming and fixing our language $ for tho they may not root out old errors, they may prevent the introduction of others. BUT befides the principal accent, there is, in moft polyfyllables, an inferior accent laid on the third or fourth fyllable from the principal. Indeed in fome words, the two accents are fo nearly equal, as to be fcarcely diftinguifhable. IT is denied by fome critics that there are more accents than one, in any word. But the compofition of words, and the eafe of fpeaking, both require a plurality of accent in a very great number of inllances ; and our ears inform us that fuch a plu rality aftually exifts in pra&ice. If a man will aflert that in fuch words as defegnation, exaltation^ there is but one fyllable diftin- guifhed from the others by a fuperior ftrefs of voice, he muft deny the evidence of fenfe, and would not liften to argument. I MUST DISSERTATION II. 99 I MUST however remark that moft, if not all fyllables, derived from fome impor tant word, have fome degree of accent :* So that in compounds, there are ufually as many accents as radicals. Thus mfan&i-* fy, which is compofed of two radicals, fantfus and fa, we obferve two accents ; the ftrongeft on the firft fyllable. The fame may be obferved in magnanimity, from magnus and animus ; in promogeniture, &c. except that in thefe the principal accent is on the third fyllable. NOTWITHSTANDING it is a general rule, that there are as many accents in a word, as radicals, yet one of them at leaft is fre quently removed from the principal fylla ble, by the analogy of termination, which prevails over all other reafons. Thus in mathematics, the two accents lie on the proper fyllables ; but in mathematician, the laft accent is removed to a lefs important place. In imperceptible, the principal ac cent, *FROM this remark we mud except fome derivatives from the Greek ; as geography, philology, antithefis, hy- pothefis, &c. which have but one accent. Etymology re quires thefe words to be accented on the firft and third fyH a * bles ; but the genius of the language, or the analogy of termi nation has prevailed over etymological reafons. Etymology however refumes her rights in the derivatives* geaoraphifal, philological,, &c, where each radical fyllable is diitmgwfhed oy an accent, Gz loo DISSERTATION It cent, with propriety, lies on the third fylla- ble, which being derived from a verb (ca- fio) is the moft important. The particle //, being the privative, or that fyllable which changes the meaning of the whole word from affirmative to negative, becomes important and has fome degree of accent. But in the derivative imperceptibility, while the firft: and third fyllables retain an accent, the analogy of termination carries the prin cipal accent to the fifth fyllable, which is adventitious and lefs important than the others.* IN many compounds, as, earth-quake, rain-bow y each fyllable is pronounced with the ftrefs that belongs to accented fyllables ; and there is little or no diftinftion of ac cent. The reafon is obvious : There is no difference in the importance of the fyl lables ; both are equally neceflary to con vey the idea. By giving one fyllable the whole * To prove the utility of accent in marking the fignifica- tion of words, it is only neceffary to advert to the two words omiffton and commiffion. Thefe words have the ac cent on the iecond lyllable ; but when we ufe them by way of contrail, we lay a ftrong accent on the firft iyllable of each, by which the oppofition of fenie is diitinguifhed. ' Sins of o' million and com 7 million." Thus when we uie the word re^ain^ we often lay an accent on re almorl equal to that on gain ; becaufe the fenfe of the word depend* much, or rather wholly, on the particle* DISSERTATION II. ior whok accent, fuch a word lofes its original meaning, or at leaft its force, as may be obferved in the word huffy, a corruption of houfe- murcy. This is an error. The true found of the fhort e, as in lef, is the correft and elegant pronunciation of this letter in all words of this clafs, THERE * To remedy the evil, in Tome degree, this letter is named er, in the Inftitute. In a few inflances this pronunciation ' is become general among polite fpeakers, as clerks, fer 106 DISSERTATION II. THERE is a vulgar fingularity in the pronunciation of the eaftern people, which is very incorreft, and difagreeable to ftran- gers ; that of prefixing the found of / fhort or e> before the dipthong ow ; as kio*w> piower orpeower. This fault ufually occurs after f y c hard, or thofe other confonants which are formed near the feat of ee in the mouth, or in paffing from which to the fucceeding vowel, the organs naturally take the pofi- tion neceflary to pronounce ee. But the moft awkward countryman pronounces round, ground > &c. with tolerable propriety. THIS, with fome other peculiarities which prevail among the yeomanry of New Eng land, fprings from caufes that do not exift, in the fame degree, in any other part of A- merica, perhaps not in the world. It may furprize thofe who have not turned their thoughts to this fubjeft, that I fhould af- cribe the manner of fpeaking among a peo ple, to the nature of their government and a diftribution of their property. Yet it is an undoubted faft that the drawling nafal, manner of fpeaking in New England arifes almoft folely from thefe caufes. PEOPLE of large fortunes, who pride themfelves on family diftinftions, poffefs a certain DISSERTATION I. 107 certain boldnefs, dignity and independence in their manners, which give a correfpond- ent air to their mode of fpeaking. Thofe who are accuftomed to command flaves,form a habit of expreffing themfelves with the tone of authority and decifion. IN New England, where there are few flaves and fervants, and lef's family diftinc- tions than in any other part of America, the people are accuftomed to addrefs each other with that diffidence, or attention to the opinion of others, which marks a ftate of equality. Inftead of commanding, they advife ; inftead of faying, with an air of de cifion, you muft ; they afk with an air of doubtfulnefs, is it not be ft ? or give their opinions with an indecifive tone , you bad better, I believe. Not pofleffing that pride and confcioufnefs of fuperiority which at tend birth and fortune, their intercourfe with each other is all condufted on the i- dea of equality, which gives a fingular tone to their language aud complexion to their manners, THESE remarks do not apply to the com mercial towns ; for people who are con- verfant with a variety of company lofe moft of their fingularities, and hence well bred people DISSERTATION If. people referable each other in all countries, But the peculiar traits of national charac ter re round in the internal parts of a country, among that clafs of people who do not travel, nor are tempted by an inter- courfe with foreigners, to quit their own habits.* SUCH are the caufea of the local peculi arities in pronunciation, which prevail a- mong the country people in New England, and which, to foreigners, are the objects of ridicule. The great error in their man ner of {peaking proceeds immediately from not opening the mouth fufficiently. Hence words are drawled out in a carelefs lazy manner, or the found finds a paffage thro the nofe. NOTHING can be fo difagreeable as that drawling, whining cant that diftinguifh- es a certain clafs of people ; and too much pains cannot be taken to reform the prac tice. * HENCE the furprifing fimilarity between the idioms of the New England people and thole of Chaucer, Shake- fpear, Congreve, &c. who wrote in the true Englifh flile. It is remarked by a certain author, that the inhabitants of iflands beft preferve their native tongue. New England has been in the lituation of an i (land ; during 160 years, the people except in a lew commercial towns, have not been expoied to any of the caufes which effect great changes in lari^uajs and manners. DISSERTATION IL 109 tice. Great efforts fhould be made by teachers of fchools, to make their pupils o- pen the teeth, and give a full clear found to every fyllable. The beauty of fpeaking confifts in giving each letter and fyllable its due proportion of found, with a prompt articulation. THUS in order to pronounce cow, power, or gown with propriety, the pupil ihould be taught, after placing the organs in the pofition required by the firft cqnfbnant, to open his mouth wide, before he begins the found of ow : Otherwife in pafling from that pofition to the aperture neceifary to pronounce ow, he will inevitably articulate ee, keow. A SIMILAR method is recommended to thofe polite fpeakers who are fo fond of imitating the Englifh ftage pronunciation as to embrace every fmgularity, however difagreeable. I refer to the very modern pronunciation of kind, Jky, guide, &c. in which we hear the fhort e before /> keind y or kyind, Jkey, &c. This is the fame barba rous dialeft, as the kevw and /kyiy gyide, &c. We may with equal propriety prefix e to the dipthong ow, or to o in folly or to oo in fool, or to any other vowel. It is prefumed that the bare men tion of fuch barbarifms will be fufficient to reftrain their progrefs, both in New Eng land and on the Britifh theater. SOME of the fouthern people, particu* larly in Virginia, almoft omit the found of r as in ware, there. In the beft Englifli pronunciation, the found of r is much fofter than in fome of the neighboring languages, particularly the Irifh and Span- ifli ; and probably much fofter than in the ancient Greek. But there feems to be no good reafon for omitting the found alto gether ; nor can the omiflion be defended on the ground, either of good prafHce or of rules. It feems to be a habit cont rafted by careleffnefs. IT is a cuftom very prevalent in the middle ftates, even among fome well bred people, to pronounce off\ foft, drop, crop* with the found of a, aj}\ faff, drap* crap. This DISSERTATION II. m This feems to be a foreign and local di~ ale6t ; and cannot be advocated by any perfon who underilands correft Eng- lifh. [L] IN the middle ftates alfb, many people pronounce a / at the end of once and twice^ meet and twicet. This grofs impropriety would not be mentioned, but for its prev alence among a clafs of very well educated people ; particularly in Philadelphia and Baltimore. FOTCH for fetch is very common, in fev- eral ftates, but not among the better claff- es of people. Cotched for caught is more frequent, and equally barbarous. SKROUD and Jkrouge for croud> are fome- times heard among people that fliould be afhamed of the leaft vulgarifm. MOUGHT for might is heard in moft of the ftates, but not frequently except in a few towns. [M] HOLPE for help I have rarely heard ex cept in Virginia. Tote is local in Virgin ia and its neighborhood. In meaning it is nearly equivalent to carry. I have tak 112 DISSERTATION it en great pains to difcover the etymology of the local terms ufed in the feveral ftates 5 but this word has yet eluded my diligence.* CHORE, a corruption of char, is an Eng* lifli word, ftill ufed in many parts of England, as a char -man y a char^t&omariy but in America^ it is perhaps confined to New England. It fignifies fmall domef* tic jobs of work, and its place cannot be fupplied by any other fingle word in the language. THESE local words, and others of lefs note, are gradually growing into difufe, and will probably be loft : Except fuch as are neceffary in fome particular occupa tion. THE pronunciation of w for v is a pre vailing praftice in England and America : It is particularly prevalent in Bofton and Philadelphia. * I HAVE once met with the word in Chaucer's Plow man's Tale 20 14. " THE other fide hen pore and pale, And peple yput out of prefc, And iemin caitiffs fore a cale, And er in one without encreafe ; Iclepid Lollers and Londlefe j "Who totetb on 'hem thei ben untall j They ben arayid all for pece, But faUhed foule mote it bef All." DISSERTATION IL nj Philadelphia.* Many people fay weal, mtoferdyferd, as to change heard into herd. ^ \ BEAR.D is fometimes, but erroneoufly, pronounced beerd. General praflice, both in England and America, requires that e fliould be pronounced as in were, and I know of no rule oppofed to the pr a6lice. DEAF is generally pronounced deef. It is the univerfal practice in the .eaftem ftates ; and it is general in the middle and fouthern ; tho fome have adopted the Eng- lifh pronunciation, def. The latter is evi dently a corruption ; for the word is in analogy with leaf andjheafy and has been from time immemorial. So in Sir William Temple's works, Virg. Eel. -" WE fmg-not to the deaF, An anfwcr comes from every trembling leaf." LEAP kingdom of Mercia ; and a few from the northern counties* To (how the falfehood of the charge, with rcfpea to the language, it may be afierted with truth, that there is not the leaft affinity between the language of the New England nle and the fpecimens of the DeVonftiirc dialeft, given e Englifli Magazines. DISSERTATION II. 129 LEAF and dtaf, with a different orthog raphy, are repeatedly made to rhime in Chaucer's works ; as in the Wife of Bath's Prologue, L. 6217, " Fofc that I rent out of his book a lefe, That of the (broke myn ere wex al defe.** So alfo line 6249. THIS was the orthography of his time ? and an almoft conclufive evidence that deaf was pronounced deef* This pronuncia tion is generally retained in America, and analogy requires it* THIS differtation will he clofed with one obfervation, which the reader may have made upon the foregoing criticifms : That in many inftances the Americans flill ad here to the analogies of the language, where the Englifh have infringed them. So far therefore as the regularity of conftruftion is concerned, we ought to retain our own praftice and be our own ftandards. The Englifh praftice is an authority ; but con- fidering the force of cuftorrl and the caprice of fafhion, their practice muft be as liable to * THE digraph ea feems not to have been much ufed in that age ; forfpcak authors vrrotefpske ', for el far, den ; for lea/, Iffs. I DISSERTATION IL to changes and to errors, as the of a well educated yeomanry, who are gov erned by habits and not eafily led aftray by novelty. In the infiances where we have adhered to analogy, no confideration can warrant us in reiigning our praftiee to the authority of a foreign court, which, thro mere affeftation, may have embraced many obvious errors. In doubtful cafes, to pay a fuitable deference to the opinions of oth ers, is wife and prudent ; but to renounce an obvious principle of propriety becaufe others have renounced it, is to carry our compilaifance for the faults of the great> much farther than we can juftify, and in a nation, it is an ad of iervility that wants a name. DISSERTATION DISSERTATION III. $ Examination of controverted Points, continu ed. Of modern Corruptions in the EngHJh Pronunciation. EXAMINATION of CONTROVERT- ED POINTS, continued. N the preceding diiTertation I have endeavored to fettle a number of controverted points and local differences in pronunciation, on the moft fatisfaftofy principles hitherto difcovered. I now proceed to fome other differences of confequence to the language, and particularly in America. GOLD is differently pronounced by good fpeakers, and differently marked by the ftandard writers. Two of them give us I 2 goold DISSERTATION lit y as the ftandard, and three, gold or goo Id. But we may find better principles than the opinions or praftice of individu als, to direft our judgement in this particu lar. The ward indeed has the pronuncia tion,^^, in fome of the collateral branch es of the Teutonic, as in the Danifh, where it is fpelt guld. But in the Saxon, it was written gold., and has been uniformly writ ten fo in Englifh. Befides, we have good reafon to believe that it was, in early times, pronounced gold, with the firft found of o f for the poets invariably make it rhime with dd> behold^ and other words of limilar found* Thus in Chaucer : WITH nayles yelwe, and bright as any gold* He hadde a here's flkin, cole blake for old." Knight's Taks, L. 2143. IN Pope : "Now Europe's laurels- on- their brows behold, But ftain'id with blood, or ill exchang'd for gold." EflUy on Man, Book 4. THE rhime is here a prefumptive proof that the poets pronounced this word with fhe firft found of 0, and it is a fubftantial jreafon why that pronunciation fhould be preferred. But analogy is a ftill ftronger f eafon > for bold, told, fold, and I prefume every DISSERTATION III. 133 every fimilar word in the language, has the firft found of 0. Thefe are good reafons why gold ihould have that found ; reafons which are permanent, and fuperior to any- private opinions. SIMILAR reafons, and equally forceable, are oppofed to the modern pronunciation of 'wound. I fay modern ; for in America but this will not warrant the innovation, without ex tending * SHERIDAN has repeated with approbation, a cele brated laying of Dean Swift, who was a fiickler for analogy, in pronouncing uindlikemind, bind, with the firfl found of * i. i. The Dean's argument was, " I have a great mind to find a why ycna pronounce that word zvind." I would beg leave> to afk this gentleman, who dire6ts us to fay woond, if any good reafon can bs, foond why he founds that word woond ; and whether he expefe a rational people, will be boond to. follow the roond of court improprieties ? We acknowlegc that mind is a deviation from analogy and a corruption ; but who pronounces it otherwife ? Pra6Hce was almoft wholly again fl Swift, and in America at learb, it is as generally in favor of the analogy oi' wound. A partial or local praclicc a may b brought to fupport analogy, but fhould be na au thority in deflroying it. DISSERTATION III, 137 tending it tofcene, frepter y and many oth ers. Will the advocates write and pro* nounce the latter Jkene, Jkepter ? If not, they ftiould be fatisfied with analogy and former praftice. It is remarkable howev er, that notwithftanding the authority of almoft all the modern diftionaries is in favor of ikeptic, no writer of reputation, whofe works I have feen, has followed the fpelling. The old orthography, fceptic* ftill maintains its ground. SAUCE with the fourth found of a is ao counted vulgar ; yet this is the ancient, the correft, and the moft general pronun ciation. The aw of the North Britons is much affe&ed Qfiattifaivce, bawnt^ vawnf; yet the true found is that of aunf, jaunt L , and a change can produce no poffible ad* vantage. THE words advertifement and cbaftifement #re differently accented by the flandard authors, and l)y people on both fides of the Atlantic. Let us find the analogy. The original words, advertife and chaftife, are verbs, accented uniformly on the laft fyl- lable. Let us fearch thro the language for verbs of this defcription, and I prefume we ihall not find another inftance, where, in nouns 138 DISSERTATION III. nouns formed from fuch verbs, by the ad dition of menty the feat of the accent is changed. We find amufement, refinement, .refreshment, reconcilement, and many, perhaps all others, preferve the accent of their primitives ; and in this analogy we find the reafon why chaftifement and adver- tifement fhould be accented on the laft fyl- lable but one. This analogy is a fubftan- tial and permanent rule, that will forever be fuperior to local cuftoms.* SIMILAR remarks maybe made refpeft- ing acceptable, admirable, dijputable, compar able, which our polite fpeakers accent on the firft fyllable. The firft is indeed ac cented on the fecond fyilable, by moft au thors, except Sheridan, who ftill retains the accent on the firft. IT was an old rule of grammarians, that the genius of our language requires the ac cent to be carried as far as poffible to wards the beginning of the word. This is feldom or never true j on the contrary, the rule is direftly oppofed to the melody, both of poetry and profe. Under the in fluence, * GOVERNMENT, management, retain alfo the accent of their primitives ; and the nouns teftamcnt t compliment^ &c form another analogy. DISSERTATION III. 139 fluence, however, of this rule, a long cat alogue of words loft their true pronuncia tion, and among the reft, a great number of adjeftives derived from verbs by an ad dition of the termination able. Some of thefe are reftored to their analogy ; others retain the accent on the firft fyllable. NOTWITHSTANDING the authority of Sheridan, I prefume few people will con tend for the privelege of accenting accept able on the firft fyllable. How the organs of any man can be brought to articulate fo many confonants in the weak fyllables, or how the ear can relifh fuch an unnatu ral pronunciation, is almoft inconceivea- ble. In fpite of the pedantry of fchol- ars, the -cafe, and melody of fpeaking, have almoft wholly banifhfcd the abfurd prac tice, by reftoring the accent to the fecond fyllable. BUT with refpet to .admirable, compara ble and dif put able i the authors who are deemed authorities are divided ; fome are in favor of the accent on the firft fyllable, and others adhere to analogy. SETTING afide cuftom, every reafon for accenting thefe words on the firft fyliable, apply with equal force to advifeable^ inclineable^ DISSERTATION III. inclineable, requireable, and a hundred oth ers. They are all formed from verbs ao cented on the laft fyllable, by annexing the fame termination to the verb, and they are all of the fame part of fpeech. Let us exam-* in them by the rules for accentuation, laid down in the preceding diflfertation. THE primitive verbs of this clafs of words are ufually compounded of a parti cle and principal part of fpeech ; as ad-mi~ ro, com-paro y re~qu vor of analogy. The people at large fay admi'reabk) dlfpu'teable^ ccmpa'reable ; and it would be difficult to lead them from this eafy and natural pronunciation, to em brace that forced one of admirable^ &c* The people are right, and, in this particu lar, will ever have it to boaft of, that among the unlearned is found the purity of Eng- lifh pronunciation, OF this elafs of words, there are a few which feem to be corrupted in univerfal pra6lice ; as reputable. The reafon why the accent in this word is more generally con firmed on the firft fy liable, may be this > there is but a fmgle cqnfonant between the firft and fecond fyllable, and another be tween the fecond and third ; fo that the pronunciation of the three weak fyllables is by no means difficult. This word therefore, in which all authors, and as far as I know, all men, agree to lay the accent on the firft fyllable, and the orthography of which ren ders the pronunciation eafy, muft perhaps be admitted as an exception to the general rule.* * IT is regretted that the acfjeftives, indi/bhtblt, irreparable derived immediately from the Latin, indi/olubilis, ir- 142 DISSEPvTATION IIL or acceffbry* are differently cented by the beft writers and fpeakers But the eafe of fpeaking requires that they fhould follow the rule of derivation, and retain the accent of the primitive, accefiary. THE fafhionable pronunciation of fuch words as immediate,, minifterial, commodious, is liable to particular exceptions. That / has a liquid found, like y, in many words in our language, is not difputed ; but the, claffes of words which will admit this found, ought to be afcertained. It appears to me that common praftice has determin ed this point. If we attend to the pronun ciation of the body of people, who are led by their own eafe -rather than by a nice regard to fafhion, we fliall find that they make reparafiitts, and not from the Englifh verbs, diflblvc, repair. Yet diffolvable, indiffolvable, repairable, and impair obit) arc better words than inJiffolabk, reparable, irreparable. They not only preferve the analogy, but they are more purely Englifh words ; and I have been witnefs to a circumftance which alone ought to determine their excellence and give them currency : People of ordinary education have found difficulty in underftanding fuch derivatives as irreparable. indiffuliblz ; but the moment the words impair able, indif- Jolveable are pronounced, they are led to the meaning by a previous acquaintance with the words repair and dijjolve. Numbciicfs examples of this \vill occur to a perfon of ob- fervaticn, fufficicnt to make him abhor and rejeft the pe dantry of authors, who have labored to ftrip their native tongue of its primitive Englifh drei's, and load it with fan- taflic ornaments. DISSERTATION III. 143 make / liquid, or give it the found of y con fonant, after thofe confonants only, which admit that found without any change of their own powers. Thefe confonants are /, ;/, v y and the double confonant x ; as valiant, companion, behavior, flexion. Here y might be fubftit&ted for /> without any change, or any tendency to a change, of the preceding confonant , except perhaps the change of Ji inflexion into/6, which is a general rule in the language, as it is to change ti and ci into the fame found.* BUT when / is preceded by d, change it into y, and we cannot pronounce it with our ufual rapidity, without blending the two letters into the found of j, which is a compound of dzh ; at leaft it cannot be ef- fe6led without a violent exertion of the fpeaker. Immedyate is fo difficult, that ev ery perfon who attempts to pronounce it in that manner, will fall into immejate. Thus commodious* comedian, tragedian, are very politely pronounced commojus, come- jan, trajejan. Such a pronunciation, chang ing the true powers of the letters, and in troducing a harih union of confonants, dzh, * FLEXION refolved into its proper letters would be Jlekfon, that isfakfiun \ and f.t,ks-\un would give the iarna lound. H4 DISSERTATION III. dxh, in the place of the fmooth found of dia, muft be confidered as a palpable cor* ruption* WITH refpeft to the terminations tat, Ian, &c. after r, I muft believe it impoffi-* ble to blend thefe letters in one fyllable. In the word minifterial, for example,* I can not conceive how ial can be pronounced yal, without a paufe after the fyllables, mintfter-. Sheridan's manner of pronoun cing the letters ryan, ryal, in a fyllable, ap pears to be a grofs abfurdity : Even allow ing y to have the found of e, we muft of neceffity articulate two fyllables. BUT fuppofing the modern pronuncia tion of immediate to be liable to none of thefe exceptions, there is another objeftion to it, arifing from the conftruftion of our poetry. To the fhort fyllables of fuch words as every ', glorious, different, bowery, commodious, harmonious, happier, ethereal, immediate, experience, our poetry is in a great meafure indebted for the Daffyl, the Amphibrach, and the Anapceft, feet which are neceflfary to give variety to verification, and the laft of which is the moft flowing, melodious and forceable foot in the lan guage. By blending the two fhort fylla bles DISSERTATION III. 145 bles into one, we make the foot an Iambic ; and as our poetry confifts principally of iambics, we thus reduce our heroic verfe to a dull uniformity., Take for example the following line of Pope. THAT fees immediate good by prefent fenfe" IF we pronounce it thus : THAT fees | inline | jate 1 good | by pref j ent lenfe ; the line will be compofed entirely of Iam bics. But read it thus : THAT fees | mime |di-ate good [ by pref | ent fenfe ; and the third foot, becoming an anapseft^ gives variety to the verfe* IN the following line ; " SOME happier ifland in the watery wafte :" If we read happier and 148 DISSERTATION III. ture, natyure 5 an&fuperior,Jyuperior : From the difficulty of pronouncing which, we naturally fall into the found of dzh, tjh y and Jh : Thus education becomes edzhy- cation or education ; nature becomes natfoure or nachure ; and fuperior becomes Jhupe rior. How long this practice has prevailed in London, I cannot afcertain. There are a few words, in which it feems to have been univerfal from time immemorial; as, />/ &c. has the found of yu ; but thefe are all of Latin origin, and can be no proof that u had, in Saxon, the found of eyv or yu. THE whole argument is founded on a mif- take. U in pure Englifh has not the found of ew ; but a found that approaches it $ which is defined with great accuracy by the learned Wallis, who was one of the firft correft writers upon Englifh Grammar, and w r hofe treatife is the foundation of Lowth's Introduction and all the beft fubfequent compilations. -f THIS writer defines the Englifh letter u in thefe words, " Hunc fonum Extranei fere "aflequenter, fi dipthongun} iu co- nentur *RHET. Gram. 33, t'His grammar was written in Latin, in the reign of Phai les lid. 1 he work is lo icaice, that 1 have never beep able to find but a fingle copy. The author was one of the founders of the Royai Society, DISSERTATION III. 151 nentur pronunciare 5 nempe / exile liters #, vel w preponentes ; (ut in Hifpanorum ciudad, ci vitas.) N on t amen idem eft omnino fonus iquamvis, adillumproxime, accedat ; eft enim iu fonus compofitus, at Anglorum et Gallorum u fonus fimplqx."* Gram. Ling. Angl. Set. 2, THIS is precifely the idea I have ever had of the Englifh u ; except that I cannot al low the found to be perfectly iimple. If we attend to the manner in which we be gin the found of u in flute, abjure^ truth > we fhall obferve that the tongue is not preffed to the mouth fo clofely as in pronouncing e ; the aperture of the organs is not fo fmall ; and I prefume that good fpeakers, and am confident that moft people, do not pronounce thefe words JJcute, abjeure, treuth. Neither do they pronounce \hzmjhote, ab- joore, trooth ; but with a found formed by an eafy natural aperture of the mouth, between iu and oo ; which is the true Englifh found. This found, however obfcured by affefta- tion in the metropolis of Great Britain and the THIS found of M, foreigners will nearly obtain, by at tempting to pronounce the dipthong iu ; that is, the narrow before u or w ; fas in the Spanifri word ciudad, a city.) Yet the found (ot u) is not exa&ly the lame, altho it apr proaches very near to it ; for the found of iu is compound ; V/hereas the u of the Englifh and French is a fimplc found," DISSERTATION III. the capital towns in America, is ftill pre* ferved by the body of the people in both countries. There are a million defcend- ants of the Saxons in this country who re tain the found of u in all cafes, precifely according to Wallis's definition. Aik any plain countryman, whofe pronunciation has not been expofed to corruption by mingling with foreigners, how he pro nounces the letters, f, r, u, th, and he will not found u like cu> nor 00, but will exprefs the real primitive Englifh u. Nay, if peo ple \vifh to make an accurate trial, let them aireft any child of feven years old, who has had no previous inftruftion refpe<5ting the matter, to pronounce the words fait* tumult^ due* &c. and they will thus afcer- tain the true found of the letter, Children pronounce u in the moft natural manner ; whereas the found of iu requires a confid- erable effort, and that of 00, a forced pofi- tion of the lips. Illiterate perfons there fore pronounce the genuin Englifti u, much better than thofe who have attempted to. fhape their pronunciation according to the polite modern practice. As fmgular as this affertion may appear, it is literally true. This circumftance alone would be fufficient to prove that the Saxons never pronounced u like yu } for the body of a jiation* DISSERTATION III. i 5 j nation, removed from the reach of con* queft and free from a mixture of foreign ers, are the fafeft repositories of ancient cuftoms and general praftice in fpeaking, BUT another ftrong argument againft the modern practice is, that the pretended dipthong, iu or yu, is heard in fcarcely a fmgle word of Saxon origin. Almoft all the words in which d y t ahdy* are convert ed into other letters, as education^ due, vir- tue^ rapture,, fuperior, fupreme^ &c. are de rived from the Latin or French - y fo that the praflice itfelf is a proof that the prin ciples on which it is built, are falfe. It is pretended that the Englifh or Saxon found of u requires the pronunciation, edzhuca- tion y natjhure,> and yet it is introduced aU moft folely into Latin and .French words. Such an inconfiltency refutes the reafpning and is a burlefque on its advocates. THIS however is but a fmall part of the mconfiftency. In two other particulars the abfurdity is ftill more glaring. i. THE modern refiners of our language diftinguiili two founds of u long ; that of yu and oo -, and life both without any re-r to Latin or Saxon derivation. Thq 154 DISSERTATION III. diftinftion they make is founded on a cer tain principle > and yet I queftion whether one of a thoufand of them ever attend ed to it. After moft of the confonants, they give n the dipthongal found of eu -, as in blue, cube, due, mute ; but after r they almoft invariably pronounce it oo ; as rule, truth, rue, rude, fruit. Why this diftinc- tion ? If they contend for the Saxon found of u, why do they not preferve that found in true, rue, 'truth, which are of Saxon o- riginal ; and uniformly give u its Roman found, which is acknowleged on all hands to have been co, in all words of Latin original, as rule, mute, cube ? The fact is, they mit- take the principle on which the diftintion is made ; and which is merely accidental, or arifes from the eafe of fpeaking, IN order to frame many of the confonants, the organs are placed in fuch a pofition, that in paffing from it to the aperture nec- effary to articulate the following vowel or dipthong, we infenfibly fall into the found of ee. This in particular is the cafe with thofe confonants which are formed near the feat of e\ viz. k and g. The clofing of the organs forms thefe mutes ; and a very f mall opening forms the vowel e. In pafl- ing from that iofe comprefjion qccafioned DISSERTATION HI. 155 by k and g, to the aperture neceflary to form any vowel, the organs are neceffarily placed in a fituation to pronounce ee. From this fingle circumftance, have originated the moft barbarous dialefts or fingularities in fpeaking Englifli, which offend the ear, either in Great Britain or America. THIS is the origin of the New England keowy keoward ; and of the Englifh keube^ ackeufe^ keind and geuide. THERE is juft the fame propriety in one pra6lice as the other, and both are equally harmonious. FOR fimilar reafons, the labials, m and />, are followed by e : In New Eng land, we hear it in meow, peower, , and in Great Britain, in meute y peure. With this difference however, that in New Eng land, this pronunciation is generally con fined to the more illiterate part of the peo ple, and in Great Britain it prevails among thofe of the firft rank. But after r we never hear the found of e : It has been be fore obferved, that the moft awkward coun tryman in New England pronounces round^ . ground^ brown, as correftly as men of the firfl education ; and our fafhionable fpeak- ers pronounce u after r like oo. The rea-? fQU 156 DISSERTATION III. fon is the fame in both cafes : In pronoun cing r the mouth is neceflarily opened (or rather the glottis) to a pofition for articu- latifig a broad full found. So that the vul gar fmgularities in this refpeft, and the po lite refinements of fpeaking, both proceed from the fame caufe -, both proceed from an accidental or carelefs narrow way of articulating certain combinations of letters; both are corruptions of pure Englifh ; e- qually difagreeable and indefenfible. Both may be eafily corrected by taking more pains to open the teeth, and form full bold founds, 2. BUT another inconfiftency in the modern practice, is the introducing an e* before the fecond found of u as in tun ; or rather changing the preceding confonant ; for in nature^ rapture^ and hundreds of other words, t is changed into tjh ; and yet no perfon pretends that u, in thefe words, has a dipthongal found. On the other hand, Sheridan and his copier, Scott, have in * *LOWTH condemns fuch a phrafe as, < the introducing an c" and fays it fhould be, " the introducing of' an e." This is but one inflance of a great number, in which he has re- je6led good Englifh. In this fituation, introducing is a parr ticipial noun ; it may take an article before it, like any other noun, and yet govern an objcclive, like any tranfitive verb. This is the idiom of the language: but in mofl cafes, the y/rit$r may ufe or omit of, at pleafure< DISSERTATION III. 157 in thefe and fimilar words marked u for its fliort found, which is univerfally acknowl- eged to be fimple. I believe no perfon ever pretended, that this found of u con tains the found of e or y 3 why then fhould we be direfted to pronounce nature, nat* yur ? Or what is equally abfurd, natjhur ? On what principle is the t changed into a compound confonant ? If there is any thing in this found of u to warrant this change, does it not extend to all words where this found occurs ? Why do not our flandard writers direft us to fay tfhun for tun, and tJJmmble for tumble ? I can conceive no rea fon which will warrant the pronunciation in one cafe, that will not apply with equal force in the other* And I challenge the advocates of the practice, to produce a reafon for pronouncing natjhur, raptjhur, captjkur, which will not extend to author ize, not only tjhun, tjhurn, for tun, turn, but tf&tfatjhal IQV fatal, and immortfhal for im~ mortal* Nay, the latter pronunciation is actually heard among fome very refpecta- ble imitators of faihion ; and is frequent among * I MUST except that reafon, which is always an invinc ible argument with weak people, viz. It is the praftice of fome great men." This common argument, which is unan- fwerable, will alfo prove the propriety of imitating all the polite and deteftable vices of the great, which are now un known to the little vulgar of this country. 158 DISSERTATION HL among the illiterate, in thofe ftates where the f/kus are moft fafhionable. How can. it be otherwife ? People are led by imita tion -, and when thofe in high life embrace a fingularity, the multitude, who are un acquainted with its principles or extent, will attempt to imitate the novelty, and probably carry it much farther than was ever intended. WHEN a man of little education hears a refpe6lable gentleman change t into t/b in nature, he will naturally be led to change the fame letter, not only in that word, but wherever it occurs. This is already done in a multitude of inftances, and the prac tice if continued and extended, might e-* ventually change /, in all cafes, into tjb. I AM fenfible that fome writers of nov els and plays have ridiculed the common pronunciation of creaiur and nutur^ by in troducing thefe and fimilar words into low charafters, fpelling them creater^ nater : And the fupporters of the court pronunci ation allege, that in the vulgar practice of fpeaking, the letter e is founded and not u : So extremely ignorant are they of the na ture of founds and the true powers of the Englifh letters* The faft is, we are fo far from DISSERTATION III. from pronouncing e in the common pro nunciation of natur, creatur, &c. that e is always founded like fhort u, in the unac cented fyllables of over, fiber, banter, and other fimilar words. Nay, moft of the vowels, in fuch fyllables, found like / or u fhort.* Liar, elder, faftor, are pronoun ced liur, eldur, faffur, and this is the true found of u in creatur ^ nature ', rapture -, legif- lature, &c. I WOULD juft obferve further, that this .pretended dipthong iu was formerly ex- prefled by ew and eu, or perhaps by eo y and was confidered as different from the found of u. In modern times, we have, in many words, blended the found of u with that of ew y or rather ufe them promifcuoufly. It is indifferent, as to the pronunciation, whether we write fuel or fewel. And yet in this word, as alfo in new, brew, &c. we do not hear the found of e, except among the Virginians, who affeft to pronounce it diftinftly, ne-ew, ne-oo, fe-oo. This af- feftation is not of modern date, for Wai- lis * ASH obferves, that {t in unaccented, fhort and insignifi cant fyllables, the founds of the five vowels are nearly coin cident. It muft be a nice ear that can diftinguifh the dif ference of found in the concluding fyllable of the following words, altar, alter, manor, murmur, iatyr." - Gram, 'Difi, pref, to Die. p. i, i6o . DISSERTATION ill. Us mentions it in his time and reprobates it. " Eu, ew, eau, ibnanter per e clarum et *w -, ut in neuter, jew, beauty. Quidem ta- men accutius efferunt, acfi fcriberentur niew ter y flew, bieuty. At prior pronunci^ atio redlior eft." Gram. Ling. Ang, HERE this author allows thefe combina tions to have the found of yu or iu ; but difapproves of that refinement which fome affeft, in giving the e or / fhort its diftinft found. THE tnie found of the Englifh u, is nei- ther ew, with the diftinft founds of e and oo -, nor is it oo ; but it is that found which every unlettered perfon utters in pronoun cing foil tude * rude, threw, and which cannot eafily be miftakeii* So difficult is it to a^ void the true found of u, that I have never found a man, even among the ardent ad mirers of the ftage pronunciation, who does not retain the vulgar found, in more than half the words of this clafs which he iifes. There is fuch a propenfity in men to be regular in the conftruftion and ufe of language, that they are often obliged, by the cuftoms-of the age, to ftruggle a- gainft their inclination, in order to be wrong, and ftill find it impoffible to be u- niform in their errors. THE DISSERTATION III. 161 THE other reafon given to vindicate the polite pronunciation, is euphony. But I muft fay with Kenrick,* I cannot difcover the euphony ; on the contrary, the pro-* nunciation is to me both difagreeable and difficult* It is certainly more difficult to pronounce two confonants than one. G&, or, which is the fame thing, t/h y is a more difficult found than t ; and dzh, ory, more difficult than d. Any accurate ear may difcover the difference in a fingle word, as in natur^ nachur. But when two or three words meet, in which we have either of thefe compound founds, the difficulty be comes very obvious ; as the nachural fea~ churs of indhnjual:* The difficulty is in-* creafed, when two of thefe churs andjurs oc cur in the fame word. Who can pro nounce * FOR my part I cannot difcover the euphony ; and t)ir> the contrary mode be reprobated, as vulgar, by certain mighty fine fpeakers, I think it more conformable to the general fcheme of Englifh pronunciation ; for tho in order to make the word but two fyllables, z and te may be requir ed to be converted into ch, or the i and into yj when the preceding fyllable is marked with the accute accent as in queftion, minion, courteous, and the like ; there feems to be little reafon) when the grave accent precedes the t, as in /?- tur?, creature, for converting the t into ch ; and not much more for joining the t to the firft fyllable and introducing the y before the fecond, as nat-yure. Why the t when followed by neither '-i nor g, is to take the form of ch, I cannot con-* ceive : It is, in my opinion, a fpecies of affectation that fhould bs difcountenanced. -Kenridc. Rhct. Gram, pajfl 32. Die. L DISSERTATION III. nounce thefe words, " at this jun&flmr it *w%scbnje5tfbured" or cc the act palled in a tjhumultjhuous legijlatfiur" without a paufe, or an extreme exertion of the lungs ? If this is euphony to an Englifli ear, I know not what founds in language can be difa- greeable. To me it is barbaroufly harfli and unharmonious. BUT fuppofing the pronunciation to be relifhed by ears accuftomed to it (for cuf- tom will familiarize any thing) will the pleafure which individuals experience, bal ance the ill effefts of creating a multitude of irregularities ? Is not the number of a- nomalies in our language already fufficient> without an arbitrary addition of many hun dreds ? Is not the difference between our written and fpoken language already fuffi- ciently wide, without changing the founds of a number of confonants ? IF, we attend to the irregularities which have been long eftablifhed in our language, we fhall find moft of them in the Saxon branch. The Roman tongue was almoft perfectly regular, and perhaps its orthog raphy and pronunciation were perfectly correfpondent. But it is the peculiar mif- fortune of the falhionable pralice of pro nouncing It!. nouncing d^ t, and f y before u, that it de- ftroys the analogy and regularity of the Roman branch of our language ; for thofd confonants are not changed in many words of Saxon original. Before this affectation prevailed, we could boaft of a regular or thography in a large brandh of our Ian-* guage ; but now the only clafs of words, which had preferred a regular conftruftion , are attacked* and the correfpondence be tween the fpelling and pronunciation^ de- ftroyed, by thofe who ought to have been the firft to oppofe the innovation,* SHOULD this praftice be extended to all words, where d, t and/ precede u y as it muft before it can be confident or defenfi^ ble, it would introduce more anomalies into our tongue, than were before eftab-* lifhed; * WELL might Mr. Sheridan aflert, that " Such indeed is the ftate of our written language, that the darkeit hiero glyphics, or moft difficult cyphers which the art of man has Hitherto invented, were not better calculated to conceal the lentiments of thofe who ufed them, from all who had not the key, than the liiate of our fpellihg is to conceal the true pronunciation of our words, from all, except a few well educated natives." Rhet, Gram. p. 22. Die. But if thefe well educated natives would pronounce words as they ought, one half the language at leait would be regular. The Latin derivatives are moltly regular to the educated and uneducated of America ; and if is to be hoped that the mod- ciri hieroglyphical obfcurity will forever be confined to few well educated natives in Great Britain* La 1 64 DISSERTATION III. lifhed, both in the orthography and con- ftruftion. What a perverted tafte, and what a fingular ambition muft thofe men poffefs, who, in the day light of civiliza tion and fcience, and in the fliort period of an age, can go farther in demoliihing the analogies of an elegant language, than their unlettered anceftors proceeded in cen turies, amidft the accidents of a favage life, and the Ihocks of numerous invafions ! BUT it will be replied, Cuftom is the leg- {/later of language y and cuftom authorizes the practice I am reprobating. A man can hardly offer a reafon, drawn from the prin ciples of analogy and harmony in a lan guage, but he is inftantly filenced with the decifive,y#j et nor ma loquendi.* WHAT *"OuEM penes arbitrium eft, et jus et normal loquen- cli." Horace. - u Nothing," fays Kenrick, " has contrib uted more to the adulteration of living languages, than the too extenfive acceptation of Horace's rule in favor of cuf tom. Cuftom is undoubtedly the rule of prefent praftice ; but there would be no end in following the variations dai ly introduced by caprice. Alterations may fometimes be uieful may be neccffary ; but they fhould be made in a manner conformable to the genius and coriflrutlion of the language. Modus eft in rebus. Extremes in this, as in all other cafes, are hurtful. We ought by no means to fhut the door againft the improvements of our language ; but it were well that fome criterion were eftablifhed to diflin- guifh between improvement and innovation." Rhet. Gram, page 6, Dit. DISSERTATION III. 165 WHAT then is cuftom ? Some writer has already anfweredthis queftion; C Cuf tom is the plague of wife men and the idol of fools." This was probably faid of thofe cuftoms and fafhions which are capricious and varying ; for there are many cuftoms, founded on propriety, which are perma nent and conftitute laws. BUT what kind of cuftom did Horace defign to lay down as the ftandard of fpeak- ing ? Was it a local cuftom ? Then the keow of New England ; the oncet and twicet of Pennfylvania and Maryland ; and the keind andjkey of the London theaters, form rules of fpeaking. Is it the praftice of a court, or a few eminent fcholars and ora tors, that he defigned to conftitute a ftand ard ? But who (hall determine what body of men forms this uncontrollable legif- lature r Or who lhall reconcile the differ ences at court ? For thefe eminent orators often difagree. There are numbers of words in which the moft eminent men dif fer : Can all be right ? Or what, in this cafe, is the cuftom which is to be our guide ? BESIDES thefe difficulties, what right have a few men, however elevated their fta- tion> to change a national practice ? They L 3 may DISSERTATION in, may fay, that they confult their own ears, and endeavor to pleafe themfelves. This is their only apology, unlefs they can prove that the changes they make are real im provements. But what improvement is there in changing the founds of three o four letters into others, and thus multiply v ing anomalies, and encreafmg the difV ficulty of learning a language ? Will not the great body of the people claim the privilege of adhering to their ancient ufa- ges, and believing their practice to be the imoft correft ? They moft undoubtedly will. IF Horace's maxim is ever juft, it is on ly when cuftom is national $ when the Eraftice of a nation is uniform or general. n this c$fe it becomes the common law of the land, and nt> one will difputc its pro priety. But has any man a. right to devi ate from this practice, and attempt to e- ftablifh a fingular mode of his own ? Have two or three eminent ftage players au thority to make changes at pleafure, and palm their novelties upon a nation under the idea of cuftom ? The reader will pardon pie for tranfcrib.ing here the opinion of the celebrated Michaelis, one of the moft learn- ed philologers of the prefent century. "It is DISSERTATION III. 167 is not," fays he, "for a fcholarto give laws nor profcribe eftablifhed expreffions : If he takes fo much on himfelf he is ridiculed, and defervedly -, it is no more than a juil mortification to his ambition, and the pen alty of his ufurping on the rights of the people. Language is a democratical ftate, where all the learning in the world does not warrant a citizen to fuperfede a receiv ed cuftom, till he has convinced the whole nation that this cuftom is a miftake. Schol ars are not fo infallible that every thing is to be referred to them. Were they allow ed a decifory power, the errors of language, I am fare, inftead of diminifhing, would be continually increafmg. Learned heads teem with them no lefs than the vulgar j and the former are much more imperious, that we fhould be compelled to defer to their innovations and implicitly to receive every falfe opinion of theirs/'* YET this right is often aflumed by in dividuals, who diftate to a nation the rules of.fpeaking, with the fame imperioufnefs as a tyrant gives laws to his vaifals i And, ftrange * SEE a learned DifTertation on the influence of o- pinions on language and of language on opinions, which gained the prize of the Pruffian Royal Academy in 1759. .By Mr. Michaelis, court councellor to his Britannic Maj~ pfty, and director of the Royal Society of Goitingen," i6S DISSERTATION III. ftrange as it may appear, even well bred people and fcholars, often furrender their right of private judgement to thefe literary governors. The ipfe dixit of a Johnfon, a Garrick, or a Sheridan, has the force of law ; and to contradift it, is rebellion. Aik the moft of our learned men, how they would pronounce a word or compofe 3 fen- tence, and they will immediately appeal to fome favorite author whole decilion is fi nal. ^Thus diftinguifhed eminence in a writer often becomes a pafiport for innu merable errors, THE whole evil originates in a fallacy. It is often fuppoied that certain great men are infallible, or that their practice confti- tutes cuftom- and the rule of propriety. But on the contrary, any man, however learned, -is. liable to miftake ; the moft learned, as Michaelis obferves, often teem with errors, and not unfrequently become attached to particular fyftems, and imperi ous in forcing them upon the world.* It is not the particular whim of fuch men, that conftitutes cuftom > but the common practice '* THE vulgar thus by imitation err, As oft the learn'd by being fingular. $o much they {corn the croud, that if the throng, By chance o right, they purpcfely go wrong." DISSERTATION III. 169 practice of a nation, which is conformed to their general ideas of propriety. The pronunciation of keow, keind^ drap^ juty y natjhur, &c. are neither right nor, wrong, becaufe they are approved or cenfured by particular men ; nor becaufe one is local in New England, another in the middle ftates, and the others are fupported by the court and ftage in London. They are wrong, becaufe they are oppofed to nation al praftice ; they are wrong, becaufe they are arbitrary or carelefs changes of the true founds of our letters ; they are wrong, becaufe they break in upon the regular conftru6lion of the language ; they are wrong, becaufe they render the pronunci ation difficult both for natives and foreign ers ; they are wrong, becaufe they make an invidious diftinftion between the polite and common pronunciation, or elfe oblige a nation to change their general cuftoms, without prefenting to their view one na tional advantage. Thefe are important they are permanent confiderations ; they are fuperior to the caprices of courts and theaters ; they are reafons that are inter woven in the very ftruflure of the lan guage, or founded on the common law of the nation ; and they are a living fat- ire upon the licentioufnefs of modem fpeakers, DISSERTATION III. fpeakers, who dare to flight their author* ity. BUT let us examin whetljp the praftice I am cenfuring is general or not ; for if not, it cannot come within Horace's rule. If we may believe well informed gentle men, it is not general even in Great Brit ain. I have been perfonally informed, and by gentlemen of education and abilities, one of whom was particular in his obferv- ation, that it is not general, even among the rtioft eminent literary characters in London. It is lefs frequent in the interi or counties, where the inhabitants flill fpeak as the common people do in this country. And Kenrick fpeaks of it as an affectation in the metropolis which ought to be difcountenanced. BUT whatever may be the practice in England or Ireland, there are few in Amer ica who have embraced it, as it is explained in Sheridan's Dictionary. In the middle and fouthern ftates, there are a few, and thofe well bred people, who have gone far in attempting to imitate the faihion of the day.* Yet the body of the people, even in * THERE are many people, and perhaps the moftof them. fo the capital towns. that have learnt a few common place words, DISSERTATION III 17* in thefe ftates, remain as unfafhionable as ever ; and the eaftern ftates generally acU here to their ancient cuftom of fpeaking, however vulgar it may be thought by their neighbors.* Suppofe cuftom therefore to be the jus et norn^a, the rule of correft fpeaking, and in this country, it is dire6tly oppofed to the plan now under confiflera-* tion. As a nation, we have a very great in-* tereft in oppofing the introduftion of any plan of uniformity with the Britifh lan guage, even were the plan propofed per fectly unexceptionable. This point will be afterwards difcufied more particularly ; but I would obferve here, that the author who has the moft admirers and imitators in this country, has been cenfured in Lon don, where his character is highly efteem- ed, and that too by men who are confefT- edly partial to his general plan. In the critical review of Sheridan's Diftionaryj 1781, words, fuch as forchin, nackur, virchue and half a dozen others, which they repeat on all occafions ; but being igno rant of the extent of the practice, they are, in pronouncing moil words, as vulgar as ever. *!T fhould be remarked that the late Prefident of Pennfyl- vania, the Governor of New Jerfey, and the Prefident of New York college, who are diftinguifhed for erudition ani accuracy, have not adopted the Englifh pronunciation. 172 DISSERTATION III. 1781, there are the following exceptions to his ftandard. " NEVERTHELESS our author muft not be furprized if, in a matter, in its nature fo delicate and difficult, as that concerning which he treats, a doubt fhould here and there arife, in the minds of the moft can did critics, with regard to the propriety of his determinations. For inftance, we would wifh him to reconfider, whether, in the words which begin withfuper, fuch as fuperftition> fuperfede, he is right in direct- ing them to be pronounced Jkooper. What ever might be the cafe in Queen Ann's time, it doth not occur to us, that any one at prefent y above the lower ranks, fpeaks thefe words with the found of Jh ; or that a good reafon can be given, for their being thus founded. Nay their being thus fpo- ken is contrary to Mr. Sheridan's own rule - 9 for he fays that the letter/ always preferves its own proper found at the beginning of words." HERE we are informed by this gentle man's admirers, that, in fome inftances, he has impofed upon the world, as the ftand ard of purity, a pronunciation which is not heard, except among the lower ranks ofpeo* DISSERTATION III. 173 pie, and direftly oppofed to his own rule. The reviewers might have extended their remarks to many other inftances, in which he has deviated from general practice and from every rule of the language. Yet at the voice of this gentleman, many of the Americans are quitting their former prac tice, and running into errors with an ea- gernefs bordering on infatuation. CUSTOMS of the court and ftage, it is confefled, rule without refiftance in mon archies* But what have we to do with the cuftoms of a foreign nation ? Detached as we are from all the world, is it not pof- fible to circumfcribe the power of cuftom, and lay it, in fome degree, under the influ ence of propriety^? We are fenfible that in foreign courts, a man's reputation may de pend on a genteel bow, and his fortune may be loft by wearing an unfalhionable coat. But have we advanced to that ftage of corruption, that our higheft ambition is to be as particular in faihions as other nations ? In matters merely indifferent, like modes of drefs, fome degree of con formity to local cuftom is neceflary ;* but when * NOT between different nations, but in the fame nation* The manners and fafnions of each nation (hould arife out of their circum fiances, their age, theic improvements in commerce and agriculture. X 7 4 DISSERTATION Iff* when this conformity requires a facrificd of any principle of propriety cr moral rec^ titude, fmgularity becomes an honorable teftimony of an independent mind. A man of a great foul would fooner imitate the virtues of a cottage, than the vices of a court ; and would deem it more honor able to gain one ufeful idea from the hum ble, laborer, than to copy the vicious pro-* nunciation of a fplendid court, or become an adept in the licentious principles of a Rochefter and a Littleton. IT will not be difputed that Sheridan and Scott have very faithfully publifhed the prefent pronunciation of the Englifh court and theater* But if we may confult the rules of our language and confider them as of any authority ; if we may rely on the opinions of Kenrick and the re viewers ; if we may credit the beft inform ed people who have travelled in Great Brit ain, this practice is modem and local, and cionfidered, by the judicious and impartial, even of the Englifh nation, as a grofs cor-* ruption of the pure pronunciation. SUCH errors and innovations fhould nof be imitated, becaufe they are found in au thors of reputation,- The works of fuch authors DISSERTATION III. 17- authors fnould rather be confidered as lights to prevent our falling upon the rocks of error. There is no more propri ety in our imitating the praftice of the Englifh theater, becaufe it is defcribed by the celebrated Sheridan, than there is in introducing the manners of Rochefter or the principles of Bolingbroke, becaufe thefe were eminent characters ; or than there is in copying the vices of a Shylock, a Love lace, or a Richard III. becaufe they are well defcribed by the maflerly pens of Shake- fpear and Richardfon. So far as the cor- reftnefs and propriety of fpeech are con- lidered as important, it is of as much con- fequence to oppofe the introduction of that pra6lice in this country, as it is to refill the corruption of morals, which ever attends the wealthy and luxurious ftage of nation al refinements. HAD Sheridan adhered to his own rules and to the principle of analogy ; had he given the world a confiftent fcheme of pro nunciation, which would not have had, for its uriftable bafis, the fickle praftice of a changeable court, he would have done infinite fervice to the language : Men of fcience, who wifh to preferve the regular eonftrucUon of tfre language, would have rejoiced 176 DISSERTATION IIL rejoiced to find fuch a refpeclable authori ty on the fide of propriety ; and the illit-* erate copiers of fafhion muft have rejefted faults in fpeaking, which they could not defend,* THE corruption however has taken fuch deep root in England, that there is little probability it will ever be eradicated. The practice muft there prevail, and gradually change the whole ftrulure of the Latin derivatives. Such is the force of cuftom, in a nation where all falhionable people are drawn to a point, that the current of opinion is irrefiftible ; individuals muft fall into the ftream and be borne away by its violence ; except perhaps a few philof- ophers, whofe fortitude may enable them to hold their ftation, and whofe fenfe of pro priety may remain, when their power of oppolition has ceafed. Bur * SHERIDAN, as an improver of the language, ftands a* flnong the firft writers of the Britifh nation, and deferved- Jy. His Leftures on Elocution and on Reading, his Trea- tifes on Education, and for the moft part his Rhetorical Grammar, are excellent and almoft unexceptionable per formances. In thefe, he encountered practice and preju dices, when they were found repugnant to obvious rules of propriety. But in his Dictionary he feems to have left his only defenfible ground, propriety, in purfuit of that phantom, fafliion. He deferted his own principles, as the Reviewers obferve ; and where he has done this, every rational man Ihould defert hisftandard* 'DISSERTATION III. 177 our detached fituatiori, local and political, gives us the power,, while pride, policy, and a regard for propriety and uni formity among ourfelves, Ihould infpire us with a difpofition, to oppofe innovations, which have not utility for their objeft. WE fhal.1 find it difficult to convince Englishmen that a, corrupt tafte prevails in the Britifli nation* Foreigners view the Americans with a degree of contempt 5 they laugh at our manners, pity our igno rance, and as far as example and derifion can go, obtrude upon us the cuftoms of their native countries. But in borrowing from other nations, we fliould be exceed* ingly cautious to feparate their virtues ftxprn their vices 3 their ufeful improve ments from their falfe refinements. Stile and tafte, in all nations, undergo the fame revolutions, the fame progrefs from purity to corruption, as "manners and govern ment and in England the pronunciation. of the language has fhared the fame fate. The Auguftan era is paft, and whether the nation perceive and acknowlege the truth or not, the world, as impartial fpec- tators, obferve and lament ;the declenfion of tafte and fcience. M THE j;8 DISSERTATION III- THE nation can do little more than read the works and admire the beauties of the original author who have adorned the preceding ages. A few, ambitious of fame, or driven by neceffity, croud their names into the catalogue of writers, by imitating fome celebrated model, or by compiling from the produflions of genius. Nothing marks more ftrongly the declenfion of ge nius in England, than the multitude of plays, farces, novels and other catchpenny pieces, which fwell the lift of modern pub lications > and that hoft of compilers, who, in the rage for felefting beauties and a- bridging the labor of reading, disfigure the works of the pureft writers in the na tion. . Cicero did not wafte his talents in barely reading and felefting the beauties of Demofthenes ; and in the days of Addiibn, the beauties of Milton, Locke and Shake- fpear were to be found only in their 'works. But tafte is corrupted by luxury ; utility is forgotten in pleafure ; genius is buried in diffipation, or proftituted to exalt and to damn contending fations, and to a- mufe the idle debauchees that furround a licentious ftage.* THESE * FROM tliis dcfcription muft be cxceptcd fome arts \vhichhavc for their object, the ple.afures of icnfc and im agination 3 DISSERTATION III. 179 THESE are the reafons why we fhould not adopt promifcuoufly their tafte, their opinions, their manners* Cuftoms, habitSj and language^ as well as government ihould be national. America fliould have her own diftinft from all the world. Such is the policy of other nations, and fuch muft be our policy, before the ftates can be ei-> ther independent or refpeftable. To copy- foreign manners implicitly, is to reverie the order of things, and begin our politi-* cal exiftence with the corruptions and vices which have marked the declining glories of other republics. agination ; asmufic and painting land fcicnccs which depend on fixed principles, and not on opinion, as mathematics and philofophy. The former flourish in the lait ftages of national refinement, and the latter arc always proceeding towards perfection, by difcoverics and experiment. Criti- ciirn allb flourifhes in Great Britain : Men read and judge accurately, when original writers ceafe to adorn the ici- Correct writers precede juft criticifm* DISSERTATION M 2 DISSERTATION IV. Of the Formation of Language. Home 'Tookes theory of the Particles, Examin** dtion of particular Pbrafes. FORMATION of LANGUAGE. fentences* AVING difcufled the fub- je6l of pronunciation very largely in the two preced ing Diflertations, I fhall now examin the ufe of words in the conjlruffion of SEVERAL writers of eminence have at tempted to explain the origin, pr9grefs and ftrufture of languages, and have han dled the fubjeft with great ingenuity and profound learning ; as Harris, Smith, Bea- tie, Blair, Condillac, and others. But the M 3 difcovery DISSERTATION IV, difcovery of the true theory of the con-' ftruftion of language, feems to have been refervcd for Mr. Home Tooke, author of the g*> yfy y e f> anc ^ yew* Chaucer ufed y in , itead of g* which, in the Saxon, fignified to grant or allow. The word in its parity is thaf ox thof-j and fo it is pronounced by many of the common people in -England, and by fome in America. /?, fltberiy &c. and the common people in New England ftill pronounce it fin, fen or fence. Of all thefe, fin or fen, which is fo much ridiculed as vulgar, comes near- eft to the originaiy<^72.* This explanation of * FOUR hundred years ago, the purefl author wrote ft/i Grfin which is now deemed vulgar; Sl-N DISSERTATION IV. 191 of face unfolds the true theory of lan guages, and proves that all words are o- riginally derived from thofe which are firft ufed to exprels ideas of fenfible objects. Mankind, inftead of that abftraft fenfe which we annex tofmce? if we have any idea at all when w r e ufe it, originally faid, feen the fan rofe, it has become warm ; that is, after the fun rofe, or that circumftance beingy^;/ or paft. We ufe the fame word now, with a little variation ; but the ety mology is loft to moft people, who {till em ploy the word for a precife purpofe, intel ligible to their hearers. BUT has two diftinQ: meanings, and two different roots. This is evident to any per- fon who attends to the manner of ufmg the word. We fay, "But to. proceed 3" that is, ihore or further. We fay alfo, ec All left the room, but one ;" that is, except one. Thefe two fignifications, which are eonftantly and infenfibly annexed to the word, will perhaps explain all its ufes ; but cannot be well accounted for, without lap- pofing it to have two etymologies. Hap pily the early writers furnilh us with the means " SIN thou art right Arijuge, how may it b?, That chou wolt foiTren hmocc-ruc 'o JpIU, Ana wicked folk to rcgn; in pr< 1 ' ' ^ j. ' " - 192 DISSERTATION IV. means of folving the difficulty. Gawen Douglafs the poet, was cotemporary with Chaucer, or lived near his time, was Biihop of Dunkeld in Scotland, and probably wrote the language in the purity of his age and country. As the Scots in the Low Lands, are defendants of the Saxons, in common with the Englifli, and from their local fituation, have been lefs expofed to revolutions, they have preferved more of the Saxon idiom and orthography than their fouthcrn brethren. In Douglafs we find two different words to exprefs the two different meanings, . which we now annex: to one 5 viz. hot and but. The firft is ufed in the fenfe of more* further or addition ; and the laft in the fenfe of except or take away. " EOT thy work fhall endure in laude and glorie, But fpot or fait condigne eterne memorie." The firft Mr. Home derives from botan, to boot) to give more ; from which our Eng- lifh word boot, which is now for the molt part confined to jockies, is alfo derived ; and the other from be utan* to be out or away. That thefe etymologies are juft is * OUT was originally a verb. So in the firft line of the celebrated Chevy Chace. DISSERTATION IV. 193 Is probable, both from old writings and from the prefent diftinft ufes of the word but. This word therefore is the blending or corruption of hot and beut, the Impera tives of two Saxon verbs, botan and be AND " The Perfe oiot of Northombarlande, And a vow to God naade he," &c. I HAVE, in one or two inflances, obferved the ufe of it ftill among the lower clafles of people, in this country ; and I find outed in Tome good writers, as late as Charles I. * MR. Home remarks that the French word mats was formerly ufed in the fenfe of more, or bot. The Englifh \vord more was formerly often fpelt mo " TELLE me anon withouten wordes wo.'* Chaucer, Prol. to Cant. Tales, Sio. Is it not poflible that TWO or wore and the French mais may be radically the fame word ? THE following pafiagc will confirm the foregoing ex planation of beutan. It is taken from the Saxon verfion of r.he Goipels. - Luke, .chap. i. v. 74. of the original. we butdn ege of ure feonda handa alyfede, hira "heowrian." THIS verfion of the Gofpelsxvas doubtlefs as early as the tenth or eleventh century. In Wickliffs verfion, made about three centuries later, the paflage ftaiids thus t " That we without drede, dclyvewd fro the hand of ourc encmyes, ferve to him.*' Where we find butan and without are fy- nonimous. THE wor;l hot or bate is ftill retained in the law language, fire-bet^ houjk-bote ; wficre it is equivalent to enough or N i 9 4 DISSERTATION IV. AND is probably a contraftion of anan, to give, the verb before mentioned ; and ad, the root of the verb add, and fignifying feries or remainder. An ad, give the remain der. THE word with, commonly called a prepofition, is likewife a verb. It is from' the Saxon withan, to join ; or more prob ably from wyrth, to be, or the German werden, devenir, to be. The reafon for this latter conjefture, is that we have pre- ferved the Imperative of wyrth or werden, in this ancient phrafe, " woe worth the day ;" that is, woe be to the day. The German verb, in its inflexions, makes ivirft and wurde -, and is undoubtedly from the fame root as the Danifh varer, to be. But whether with has its origin in withan, to join, or in werden, to be, its fenfe will be nearly the fame ; it will ftill convey the idea of connexion. This will plainly ap pear to any perfon who confiders, that by is merely a corruption of be, from the old verb beon -, and that this word is ftill ufed to exprefs connexion or nearnefs ; " He lives by me ;" " He went by me ;" that is, he lives be me. THIS verb be was formerly ufed in this phrafe ; be my faith, be my troth j that is, by DISSERTATION IV. 195 y as in Ch^vy Chace.* We ftill find the fame verb in a multitude of com*- pounds, be-come, be-yond, be-tween, be-fide, be-fore. Thus we fee what are called prep- ofitions, are mere combinations or corrup tions of verbs \ they are not a primitive part of language, and if we refolve this phrafe, be 'went beyond me, we fhall find it compofed of thefe w r ords, be. 'went, be, gone, me ; yond being nothing but the participle of go. WILL my grammatical readers believe me, when I allert that the affirmation ^#, or yes, is a verb P That it is fo, is undenia ble. The Englifh yea, yes, and the Ger many^, pronounced yaw, are derived from a verb in the Imperative Mode ; or rather, they are but corruptions of aye, the Im perative of the French avoir, to have. The pure word aye, is ftill ufed in Englilh. The affirmation yea or yes, is have, an ex- preffion of afTsnt, have what you fay. ^ THAT * So in Mandeville's works. " And fight as the fchip men taken here avys here, and govern herri be, the lode iterre, right To don fchip men bezonde the parlies* be the iterre of the Southe, the which apperethe not to us/ 3 f The French oiti is faid to be a derivative or participle of the verb ouir to hear. The mode of altent therefore is by -'orJ htard ; as what you fay is heard ', a mode equally wii,l\ the Englilh. N 2 196 DISSERTATION IV. THAT all the words, called adverbs, are abbreviations or combinations of nouns, verbs and adjeftives, cannot perhaps be proved ; for it is extremely difficult to trace the little words, when, then, there, here, &c. to their true origin.* But ex cepting a few, the whole clafs of words, denominated adverbs, can be refolved into other parts of fpeech. The termination ly, which forms a large proportion of thefe words, is derived from the Saxon liche, like. " AND as an angel heavcn/fc^ ftie fung/' Chaucer, Cant. Tales, 1057. WE have in a few words retained the o- riginal pronunciation, as Godlike -, but in ftri6tnefs of fpeech, there is no difference between Godlike and Godly. -^ NOTWITHSTANDING * IT is moft probable that many of the Englifh words beginning with zvh are from the lame original as the Latin qui, quae, quod ; and both coeval with the Greek. Qui and who ; quod and what ; are from the fame root, and a blending of the Greek xxi o and x&t on. This fuppofition is ftrongly fupported by the ancient Scotch orthography of what, where, &c. which was quhat, quhar. f TttE termination fy, from lie he, added to ad.jccT.ives, forms the part of fpeech called adverbs ; as graft, greatly ; gracious^ gracioujly. But when this termination is added to a noun, it forms an adjective, as God, Godly ; heaven,/ heavenly ; and thefe words are alfo ufed adverbially ; for they will not admit the addition of another ly. Godlify, which I DISSERTATION IV. NOTWITHSTANDING it is evident that conjunctions, prepofitions, and adverbs are not original and necefiary parts of fpeech, yet as fpecies of abbreviations, or com pound terms to exprefs affemblages of i- deas, they may be confidered as very ufe- ful, and as great improvements in lan guage. Every perfon, even without the leaft knowlege of etymology, acquires a habit of annexing a certain idea, or cer tain number of ideas to unlefs, left, yes, be tween, and the other particles ; he ufes them with precifion, and makes himfelf underftood by his hearers or readers . Thefe words enable him to communicate his i- deas with greater facility and expedition, than he could by mere names and affirma tions. They have loft the diflinguifhing charafteriftics of verbs, perfon, time, and inflexion. It is therefore convenient for grammatical purpofe*s, to afiign them dif- tinft places and give them names, accord ing to their particular ufes. Such of thefe old verbs as exhibit fome connexion be tween the members of a difcourfe, may be properly denominated conjqn&ions. Oth ers, that are uied to (how certain relations between which has been fometimes uied, that is, Gcdttkclih, and other fimilar words, are not admiiiible, on any principle! whatever. N 3 198 DISSERTATION IV. between words and are generally prefixed to them, may be well called prepofitions.- A third fpecies, which are employed to qual ify the fenfe of other words, may, from their pofition and ufes in a difcourfe, be denominated adverbs. But the foregoing inveftigation is necefTary to unfold the true principles on which language is con- ftru&ed, and the philofophical enquirer is referred for a more general view of the iubjel, to Mr. Home Tooke's Di but cuftom has for this purpofe prefixed the word do or to y which, in its primitive fenfe, is to al y move* or make.* Thus I do love, or do fear, are merely, I aff y love, or aft if ear \ and to love and to fear in the Infinitive, are aft^ love,, and at, fear. To confirm thefe remarks, let it be con- fidered that formerly do and did were al- moft invariably ufed with the verb j as J dofear^ he did love \ and the omiffion of thefe words in affirmative declarations is of a modern date. They are ftill prefer v- ed in particular modes of exprelfion $ as in the negative and interrogative forms, and in emphatical affertions. THE prefent hypothefis will derive ad ditional ftrength from another circum- ftance. Grammarians allege that the ter mination of the regular preterit tenfe, ed y is a corruption of did. If io, it feems to have been originally optional, either to place ' * DO and to are undoubtedly from the fame root ; d and i being convertible letters. 200 DISSERTATION IV. place the word did, which exprefled the ac+ tion of the objeft, before or after the name. Thus, he feared, is refolvable into he fear did, and mufl be a blending of the words in a hafty pronunciation. But it was air fo a practice to fay he did fear, which ar rangement is not yet loft nor obfcured ; but in no cafe are both thefe forms ufed, he did feared*, a prefumptive evidence of the truth of the opinion, that id is a contraction of did. Indeed I fee no objection to the opinion but this, that it is not eafy on this fuppofi- tion, to account for the formation of did from do. Jf did is itfelf a contraftion of doed, the regular preterit, which is probable, whence comes ed in this word ? To derive ed in other words from did is eafy and nat ural ; but this leaves us fhort of the pri mary caufe or principle, a$d confequently in fufpenfe, as to the truth of the opinion. Yet whatever may be the true derivation of the regular ending of the paft time an4 perfeft participle of Englifh verbs, the ufe pf do, did and to before the verb, is a ftrong evidence, that at leaft one clafs of affirma tions are formed by the help of names, with prefix to denote the aftion of the objedts exprefled by the names. I fear, therefore, is a phrafe, compofed of the pronoun /, and the noun fear $ and the affirmation^ cpntaiue4 DISSERTATION IV. 20* contained in the phrafe, is derived ^ from the fmgle circumftance of the pofition of the name after /. I fear is^a modern fub- ftitute for / do fear ; that is, / acl.fear $ all originally and ftriftly nouns. But by a habit of uniting the perfonal name I with the name of the paffion jfezr, we inftantly recognize an affirmation that the paffion is exerted ; and do y the primitive name has become fuperfluovis, EXAMINATION of PARTICULAR PHRASES. HAVING made thefe few remarks on the formation of our language, I ihall proceed to examin the criticifms of gram marians on certain phrafes, and endeavor to fettle fome points of controverfy with refpeft to the ufe of words ; and alfo to detefl .fome inaccuracies which prevail in NOUNS. WRITERS upon the fubjeft of propri ety in our language, have objected to the Vie of means, with the article a and the de finitive pronouns fingular, this and that. The 202 DISSERTATION IV. The obje&ion made is, that as this word ends in s y it muft be plural, and cannot be joined in conftru6lion with words in the fmgular. This objection fuppofes that all nouns ending with s are plural 5 but this would perhaps prove too much, and make it neceffary to confider all nouns, not end ing in s y as fmgular, which cannot be true, even on the principles of thofe who bring the objeftion. The fuppofition in both cafes would be equally well founded. IT appears to me however, that the fenfc of the word, and particularly the univerfal pra6lice of the Englifh nation, ought to have induced the critical grammarian, who wifhed to reduce the language to fome cer tainty, to fupprefs the objeftion. The word means, applied to a fmgle inftrument of aftion, or caufe, conveys &fingle idea -, and I prefume, was generally ufed for this purpofe, till Bifhop Lowth queftioned the propriety of the practice ; at leaft mean is icarcely ufed as a noun, in any author from Chaucer to Lowth. On the contra ry, the beft writers have ufed means either in the fmgular or plural number, accord ing as they had occafion to exprefs by it an idea of one caufe or more. DISSERTATION IV. 203 " BY this means, it became every man's intereft, as well as his duty to prevent all crimes ." Temple, Works, vol. 3 . p. 1 3 3 . " AND by this means I fhould not doubt," &c. Wilkins Real Charader, book i. "AND finding themfelves by this means. to be fafe." Sidney on Gov. chap. 3. feft. 36. " Fon he hopeth by this means to acquit himfelf." Rawley's Sylva Sylvarum. " AND by that means they loft their bar rier." Moyle on the Lacedem. Gov. " CLOD i us was now quaeftor and by that means a fenator." Middleton L. of Cic. vol. i. p. 261. or gloves. Cuf- tom, however, has fanftioned the ufe of it before the words juft enumerated, and therefore a pair of tongs, &c. muft be ad mitted as good EngKlh.-f THERE are many other words in our language which have the plural termina tion ; as billiards, ethics, metaphyjics, math-* ematics, meajles, hvfterics, and many others ^ which * SOME of thefe articles, in other languages, have names in the fmgular number, as in Latin, J creeps, pincers ; forftx, fheers or fciffors ; follis, bellows. In Yrcnch,JcuJtct is fm gular, and pincettes, plural. A bellows is fometimcs heard in nglifli, and is perfectly correft. + WILL the fame authority juftify our farmers in prefix^ ing pair to a fett of bars> and other people, in prefixing it to flairs^ \vhen there are five or fix of the former, and perhaps twenty of the latter? A pair of bars, a pair of J 'airs, in flriftnefs of fpeech, are very abfurd phrales ; but perhap? it is better to admit fuch anomalies, than attempt to change univerial and immemorial prafticc. DISSERTATION IV. tif which properly belong to the fmgular number.- Ethics is afcience> is better Eng- iifh than ethics are. ON the other hand, there are many words, which, without ever taking the plu ral termination, often belong to the plural. Sheep, deer and hofe, are often mentioned as belonging to this defcription. To thefe we may add many names of fifli ; as trout > falmon, carp, tench and others, which are in fact names of fpecies > but which apply e^ qually to the individuals of the ipecies. We fay a trout, or Jive trout , but never Jive t routs. - POSSESSIVE CASE. IN many inftances we find two or three words ufed to defcribe or defignate a par ticular perfon or thing ; in which cafe they are to be confidered as a fingle noun or name, and the fign of the pofleffive annex ed to the laft $ as, " the King of Frances army." ^ "FLETCHER ofSaltonsplan of a militia dif fers little from that of Harrington."* Home, Sketch 9. ARTICLE *" TH E King of England's court, toto nempc ill? aggregate, The King of England^ tamquam uni fubflantivo potponitu.x litera forinativa s" Wallis, 216 DISSERTATION IV, ARTICLE. MOST grammarians have given the ar ticle the firft rank among the parts of fpeech. To me this arrangement appears very incorrect 5 for the article is a mere appendage of the noun, and without it cannot even be defined. The noun is the primary and principal part of fpeech, of which the article, pronoun and adjeftive are mere adjun6ts, attendants, or fiibftitutes, and the latter therefore (hould follow the former in grammatical order and definition. UNDER this head I will introduce a few obfervations on the ufe of a. Grammari ans have fuppofed that a, in the phrafes a going, a hunting, is a. corruption of the prep- ofition on ; a fuppofition, which, if we at tend to the fenfe of the phrafes, appears highly abfurd, but which etymology, in a great meafure, overthrows. IN the firfl place, the prepofition is not among the original parts of language - y its ufe, and confequently its formation, are not neceffary among rude nations ; it is a part of fpeech of a late date in the progrefs of language, and is itfelf a derivative from other DISSERTATION IV. 217 other words. I have, in another place,* given fome reafons to prove an to be an abbreviation of the numeral one, or top one. It is very evident that on is a contraction of upon, which was formerly written up* -pone ; and there are good reafons for be lieving the latter to be derived from top me. In addition to the authorities quoted in the Inftitute, an example or two from Chaucer will almoft place the queftion be^ yond a doubt. fc THERE lith on i>p myn hed.'* Cant. Tales, 4288. That is, there lieth one upon my head ; where up is ufed for upon, as it is in other places. No ijiore, up pains of lefing of your hed." Ibm. 1709. That is, upon pain of lojing your head. THE word up is undoubtedly but a cor-, ruption of /0/>, or a noun derived from the fame root, and this hypothecs is fupport- ed by the true theory of language ; which is, that rude nations converfe moftly by names. Up myn hed, is top mine head. An improvement of this phrafe would be the ufe ? SECOND part- of the Grammatical Inftitute. Tit. Notes, DISSERTATION IV. life of one, ane or an, to afcertain particu lar things ; uppone y upon. In the progrefs of language, thefe words would be con- trafted into on> which we denominate a prepofition. I AM very fenfible that Chaucer ufed on in the manner mentioned by Lowth ; on live for alive ; on hunting ; on hawking ; which would feem to warrant the fuppofi- tion of that writer, that a is a contraction of on, confidering on originally as a prepo- fition. But it is contrary to all juft ideas of language to allow fuch a primitive part of fpeech. On the other hand, Chaucer ufes on for other purpofes, which cannot be explained on Lowth's hypothefis. <{ His bredc, his ale, was alway after on." Cant. Tales, 343. So alfo in line 1783. In this example on is allowed on all hands to be a contrac tion of one ; after one (way, manner) that is, alike, or in the fame manner. cc THEY were at on ;" line 4195. They were at one - y that is, together or agreed. " EVER in on ;" line 1773, and 3878 ; ever in one (way, courfe, &c.) that is, con tinually. IF DISSERTATION IV. 219 IF therefore we fuppofe on to be merely a corruption of one, we can eafily explain all its ufes. On hunting, or contraftedly, a hunting, is one hunting. On live, on life, or alive* is merely one life. This form of cxpreffion is very natural, however child- ifh or improper ittnay appear to us. It feems very obvious to refolve ajhore, abed, into onjhore, on bed ; but even Lowth him- felf would be puzzled to make us believe that adry, athirft, came from on dry, on thirjl ; and Wallis would find equal difficulty to convince us that they came from at dry, at Mr ft. If we fuppofe a to be a contraflion of one, or the Saxon ane or an, the folution of all thefe phrafes is perfectly eafy, and correfponds with Home's theory of the particles. For if rude nations converfe without particles, they muft fay go Jhore y or go onefiore ; he is bed, or he is one bed ; be is dry, or one dry ; I am thirjl, or lam one thir/l. Indeed every perfon who will at tend to the manner of fpeaking among the American favages, muft believe this expla nation of the phrafes to be probably juft. THAT on was formerly ufed both as a prepofition and an adjeftive, is acknowleg- ed by the Editor of the Britifh Poets } * but * Cu AUGER'S Wo rks, Gloflary, p. 151. 220 DISSERTATION IV: but its ufes in all cafes may be eafily ex plained on the fmgle principle before men* tioned. THIS hypothefis however will be con firmed by the faft, that the Englifh article #, " is nothing more than a corruption of the Saxon adjeftive, ane or an (one) before a fubftantive beginning with a confonant." Editor of Chaucer's works, doff. p. 23, And the article a and the numeral one have ftill the fame fignification. That ane or an, and one are originally the fame, is a ppint not to be controverted. We have therefore the ftrongeft reafon to believe that a in the phrafes a golng^ a hunting^ afifoing is derived from one. On y as a contraction of upon, has, in modern language, a differ ent fenfe, and cannot be well fubftituted for a -, for on golng^ onffiing, have an awk ward appearance and will not obtain in the language, to the exclufion of a going* a fijhing. The vulgar praftice is more correct than Lowth's cbrreftion, and ought by no means to be rejected. " O LET my life, if thou fo many deaths a coming find, With thine old year its voyage take.-'' Cowley's Ode to the New Year. BUT thefe fantaflic errors of our dream, Lead us to folid wrong ; We pray God, our friend's torments to prolong, DISSERTATION IV. And wifh uncharitably for them, To be as long a dying as Methufalem." Cow ley. IF the foregoing opinion of the origin of a in fuch phrafes, fliould not be deemed fatisfaftory, we may perhaps afcribe its or igin to a mere cuftom of forming expletive founds in the tranfition from one word to another.* THE following phrafes, three Jbillings a piece, a day, a head, a bujhel, it is faid are elliptical forms of fpeech > fome prepofi- tion being implied, as, for or by. This aflertion ean proceed only from an imper- fe6l view of the fubjeft. Unlefs gramma* rians can prove that fome prepofition was formerly ufed, which is now omitted, they cannot prove that any is implied, nor fhould they have recourfe to implication to find a rule to parfe the phrafes. The truth is, no fuch prepofition can be found, nor is their need of any. A* in this form of fpeech, *THE Editor of Chaucer's Works before mentioned, remarks, " that a, in compofition with words of Saxon o- riginal, is an abbreviation of af or of, at, on or in ; and oft en a corruption of the prepofitive particle ge or y." Ac cording to this writer, a is any thing and every thing ; it has fo many derivations and ufes, that it has no certain derivation or meaning at all. In the phrafe a coming, a feems now to be a mere expletive ; but otherwife a, one, and an have the lame meaning in ail cafes, 222 DISSERTATION IV. fpecch, carries the full meaning of the Lat in -per, and the fubftitution of the latter, for want, as it is faid, of an Englifh word, in the phrafes, per day, per head, per pound \ is a burlefque upon the Englifh. to this day. We fee continually a wretched jar gon of Latin and Englifh in every mer chant's book, even to the exclufion of a pure Englifh phrafe, more concife, more correft, and more elegant. It is to be wifhed that a might be reftored to its true dignity, as it is ufed by fome of the purefl Engtifh writers. " HE had read almoft conftantly, twelve or fourteen hours a day " that is, one day. Bollmgbroke on Hiftory, letter 4. cc To the fixteen fcholars twenty pounds a piece" Cowley. THIS is pure elegant Englifh, and the common people have the honor of preferv- ing it, unadulterated by foreign words. VERB, THE moft difficult branch of this fub~ je6l is the verb. Next to the noun, this is the moft important part of fpeech, and as it includes all the terms by which we exprefs DISSERTATION IV. 223 cxprefs aftion and exiftence, in their num- berlefs varieties, it muft, in all languages, be very comprehenfive. THE Englifh verb fuffers very few in flections or changes of termination, to ex- prefs the different circumftances of perfon, number, time and mode. Its inflections are confined to the three peribns of the fmgular number, in the prefent tenfe, in dicative mode, and the firft and fecond per- fons of the part tenfe ; unlefs we confider the irregular participles as *B fpecies of in- fleftion belonging to the verb. All the other varieties of perfoii, number, time and mode, are expreffed by prefixing other words, by various combinations of words, or by a particular manner of utterance. THIS fimplicity, as it is erroneoufly call ed, is faid to render our language eafy of acquifition. The reverfe however of this is true ; for the ufe of auxiliaries or com binations of words,* conftitutes the moft perplexing branch of grammar ; it being much eafier to learn to change the ter mination of the verb, than to combine two, three or four words for the' fame purpofe. GRAMMARIANS 224 DISSERTATION IV. GRAMMARIANS have ufually divided the Englifh verbs into aftive^ pa/five and neu* tzr. "Ati is intnmfuive ; ts j tranfitive. p 226 DISSERTATION IV. paft, as loved, 'wrote. The ufual divifioii of tenfes, or combinations of words cor- refponding to the Latin tenfes, is not whol ly accurate. The definition of the fecond tenfe, in the ordinary arrangement of them in Latin grammars, may be correft, as it relates to the Roman tongue ; but does not apply to the Englifh tenfe, which is com monly called by the fame name, the Im~ perfect. The Latin words movebam, lege- bam, are tranflated / moved, I read. Now the Englifti words exprefs aftions perfectly paft) and therefore the time or tenfe cannot be juftly denominated imperfect. If the Latin words expreffed, in the Roman tongue, ac tions imperfectly pajl, they fhould be ren dered by us, / was moving, was reading, which convey ideas of aftions, as taking place at fome preceding period, but not then paft. In this fenfe, the name of the tenfe might have been ufed with propriety. But the Englifh form of expreffion, be moved, conveys the idea of an a6lion com pletely paft, and does not fall within the definition of the Latin Imperfect. IT is furprizing that the great Lowth ftiould rank this form of the verb, they moved, under the head of indefinite or unde termined time i and yet place this form, have DISSERTATION IV. 227 have moved, or what is called the perfeft tenfe, under the head of definite or -deter mined time. The truth is, the firft is the moft definite, 1 have loved, or moved, ex- preffes an aftion performed and complet ed, generally within a period of time not far diftant ; but leaves the particular point of time wholly indefinite or undetermined. On the other hand, I loved is neceflarily employed, when a particular period or point of time is fpecified. Thus it is correct to fay, / read a book yejlerday, lajl week, ten years ago, &c. but it is not grammatical to fay, I have read a book yejier day, la ft week, &c. fo that, direftly contrary to Lowth's rule, I moved, is the definite, and I have mov ed, the indefinite time. GREAT inaccuracy is likewife indulged in the ufual defcription of the Englifh fu ture tenfe. There is no variation of the verb to exprefs a future action ; to remedy this defeft, the Englifh ufey7W/ and Habebo, J'aurai, I fhall have. Habebimus, nous aurons, we fhall have. Habebis, tu auras, thou wilt have. Habebit, il aura, he will have. Habebitis, vous aurez, you will have. Ilabebunt, ils auront, they will have, ON the other hand, a promife in the firft perfon expreffed in Englifh by willy and a promife or command in the fecond and third, expreffed by Jball, feem, in thefe lan guages, to be communicated by other words or a circumlocution. IN ftriftnefs of fpeech therefore, w r e have no future tenfe of the verb in Englifh j but we ufe auxiliaries, which, in the pref- ent tenfe, exprefs a prediction of an aftion, or a difpofition of mind to produce an ac tion. Thefe auxiliaries, united with the verb or affirmation, anfwer the purpofes of the future tenfes of verbs in other lan guages -, and no inconvenience can arife from calling fuch a combination a tenfe. MODE DISSERTATION IV. 231 MODE, MOST languages are fo conftru&ed, that the verbs change their terminations for the purpofe of expreffing the manner of being or aftion. In this particular, the Englifh is fmgular > there being but one inflection of a tingle verb, which can be faid to be peculiar to the conditional or fubjunftive mode.* In all other refpefts, the verbs in the declaratory and condition al modes are the fame j and the condition is known only by fome other word prefix ed to the verb. IT is aftoniftiing to fee how long and how ftupidly Englifh grammarians have followed the Latin grammars in their di- vifions of time and mode ; but in particu lar the latter. By this means, we often find may* can, Jhould and mujl in a conditional mode, when they are pofitive declarations and belong to the indicative. All uncon ditional declarations, whether of an aftion, or of a right, power or neceflity of doing an aftion, belong to the indicative - y and the diftinlion between the indicative and po tential is totally ufelefs. Should is com monly * IF I zutre 9 thou zoert> he zucre, in the prefent hypothetical tenfe qf the fubjunclive mode, arc not uied in the indicative. 232 DISSERTATION IV. monly placed in the imperfeft time of the fubjundive -, yet is frequently ufed to ex- prefs an unconditional obligation, as he Jkould go ; and belongs to the prefent time of the indicative, as much as he cugkt, or the French ilfaut or il doit, WOULD is fometirnes employed in a de claratory fenfe to exprefs a prefent volition, and then belongs to the indicative. In the paft time, Jhould^ would \ might 5 could r , often exprefs unconditional ideas, and belong to the indicative. In fhort, the ufual ar rangement of the Englifti verbs and auxil iaries in our grammars is calculated to per plex and miflead a learner; and I have never found a foreigner who could ufe them with tolerable propriety. NUMBER and PERSON. UNDER this head, I fhall remark on a fingle article only, the ufe of you in the fingular number, with a plural verb. The ufe of the plural ncs and you have , this is true, but the verb, in thefe in- ftances, becomes fmgular ; and both the pronoun and verb ihould be placed in the fingular number. IN the union of you with a plural verb in the prefent time, we are all unanimous; but in the paft time, there is a difference between books and common praftice in a fingle inftance. In books, you is common ly ufed with the plural of the verb be, you were ; in converfation, it is generally fol lowed by the fmgular, you was. Notwith- ftanding the criticifms of grammarians, the antiquity and univerfality of this prac tice muft give it the fanclion of propriety; for what but practice forms a language ? This practice is not merely vulgar ; it is general 234 DISSERTATION IV. general among men o erudition who do not affeft to be fettered by the rules of grammarians, and fome late writers have indulged it in their publications. I.fliould therefore infieft the verb be in the paft time after this manner ; I was, thou waft, or you was, he was, &c. Whatever objeftions may be raifed to this inflection, it is the language of the E?2glijh y and rules can hard ly change a general praftice of fpeaking $ nor would there be any advantage in the change, if it could be effe6led. AUXILIARIES. THERE are feveral verbs in Englifh, which, from the neceffity of their union with other verbs, have obtained the name of auxiliaries. Originally they were principal verbs, with regular Saxon infinitives, and the ufual inflections ; as may be obierved by any perfon, who has the fmalleft acquaint ance with the modern German, which re tains more of the ancient ftrufture, than any other branch of the primitive language. THE verbs, called auxiliaries or helpers, are do, be> have, foall, will, may, can, muft. The three firft are often employed alone, and are therefore acknowleged to be fome- times principal verbs. That the others were . PISSERTATION IV. were fo, will be made obvious by a fpedU men from the German, with the corref* ponding Englifh. German, Engtijh, Inf, Wollen, to will. Ind.Pref. Ich will, I will. Wir wollen,* we will. Imper. Ich wolte, I would. Preterit. Ich habe gewolt, I have wouldjOi willed. Plup, Ich hatte gewolt, I had would. Put. Ich werde wollen, I lhall will, Imp. Wolle du, will thou. Subj, Ich wolle^ (if) Iwould^&c. Inf. Wollen, to will. Gewolte haben, to have would, or willed. Wollend, willing. Gewollte, having would, or willed, to fhall, is inflected in the fame manner. Koennen, to can, or be able, is inflefted much in the fame manner. Ich kann^ I can, &c. Imperfeft, Ich konnte, I could. Preterit, Ich habe gehonnt y I have could (or -been able.) Participle, K&n- nendy canning, being able. Thus mcegen, to may, * IT has been before obferved, that the common people }iavc not wholly left this pronunciation, taollj to this da\-. 236 DISSERTATION IV. may, makes, in the paft tenfes, Ich mochte, I might or mought, as the vulgar fome- times pronounce it ; Ich babe gemocht, I have might. Miift alfo, which in Englifh has loft all inflection, is varied in the Ger man ; mujjerij to muft, or be obliged ; Im- perfeft, Ich mufte, I muft, or was obliged. BUT whatever thefe verbs may have once been, yet from their lofs of feveral inflec tions and the participles, with thpr fingu- lar ufe in combination with other verbs, they may very well be denominated auxili ary verbs. Their true force in Englifli fhould be afcertained and explained in grammars for the benefit of karners, and particularly for the afliftance of foreign ers -* yet in refolving fentences, each fhould be confidered as a verb Qr diftinft part of fpeech. FOR want of a clear and accurate knowl- ege of the Englifh auxiliaries, foreigners are apt to fall into material errors in con- ftru6ting fentences. The moft numerous errors appear in the ufe of will andjha!/, and their inflections. The Scots and I- rilh, even of the iirft rank, generally ufe * SEE the fecond part of the Grammatical Inftitute, Ap pendix, DISSERTATION IV. for flail in the firft perfon ; by which means, they fubftitute a promife for an in tended prediction. Several errors of this kind have efcaped the notice of the mofl celebrated writers. cc WITHOUT having attended to this, we will be at a lofs in underftanding feveral paflages in the claffics, which relate to the public fpeaking, and the theatrical enter tainments of the ancients." - Blair's Lec tures, p. 48. Philad. edit. to be in the prefent time ; but this would make him write nonfenfe ; for the events were future at the time of writing. The firft part of the fentence, to make fenfe, muft be confidered as elliptical, " if life and health enough Jhall or jlould fall to my fhare ;" in the lall part therefore be Ihould be fubilituted for am, if I foall he able : 250 DISSERTATION IV. Me : This would make the whole fentence correft and confiftent. Two Gent, of Verona, a6l 2. f. 10. " BUT if thou linger in my territories." - Same, aft 3. f. 2. T07TOJ> T^f j3cttfi quidem fuerit domus digna ; and fo throughout the whole New Teftament. WILL any perfon pretend to fay that the verbs bring* ajk and be* in the foregoing fages, are prefent time ; or that remem- ereft is not bad Englifh ? The elliptical future, If thou be, if he ajk y &c. is correft Englifh, but fhould by no means be con founded * IN Tome inflances, the time is prefent, and the ellipfis may be fupplied by may or fame other auxiliary. DISSERTATION IV. 257 founded with the prefent tenfe, which, in Englifh, has but bne form. I DO not deny that good authors have ufed this form, after conjunctions, in the prefent time ; but I deny that the genius of the language requires it, that it is agree able to the ancient or modern elegant lan guages, and that it has been or is now the general praftice, WITH refpecl to the ancient pratice, examples fufficient have been already pro duced, to (how that authors have confider- ed the prefent of the indicative, after con- jun6lions, denoting uncertainty or doubt, as at leaft correft ; and the prefent prac tice in fpeaking is wholly on this fide of the argument. WITH refpeft to the Roman and Greek languages, I believe examples enough may be brought to prove, that the fubjunAive mode after the conditional conjunctions or adverbs, was not generally ufed, except when the idea was fuch as we fhould ex- prefs by may^ might, JJwuld, let, or fome oth er auxiliary before the verb. " Quid eft autem, quod deos vener 'emur propter admi- rationem ejus naturae, in qua egregium ni- R hil 258 DISSERTATION IV. hil videmus ?" " Ut, quos ratio non pof- fet, eos ad officium religio duceret? Cic ero, De nat Deorum, 1. i. 42. To render veneremur and duceret into Englifh, jhould may be prefixed to adore y and might to lead. AT any rate, the conditional conjunc tions do not all, nor generally require the fubjunftive mode : " Quae, Ji mundus eft Deus, quoniam mundi partes funt, Dei membra parim ardentia, partim refrigera- ta dicenda funt." Ibm. 1. i. 10. " Si Di poffunt efle fine fenfu," &c. The indicative after this conjunction occurs frequently in the beft Roman authors. IN Greek the cafe is nearly the fame. Several inftances of the indicative after the conditional conjunfticn (if) have already been quoted from fcripture ; and fimilar inftances without number may be produc ed from profane writers. tri^TTiw tr f/JC-ar, xat aptx, ptv or* ft Ti 7Ti(TctTai M^^ot, ftr ITf^crar TO ^ KIT t iv TrXziov rp^Tfu/xa i" - Xenoph. de Cyri. Inft. 1. 2. p. 80. Lond. Ed. HERE the verb &" is in theprefent tenfe of the indicative, after a conjunftion de noting DISSERTATION IV. 259 noting condition or doubt ; " if the affair it fo if fuch is the true ftate of affairs, Cyrus, what better method can be taken (fupoO than to fend to the Perfians, and in form them that if any accident happen to the Medes (fo we fhould render Trao-ofc, which is in the future) calamity will fall upon the Perfians alfo, and let us afk for a greater force." IN French, the conditional conjunftions do not require the fubjunftive mode. " Si ma prediction eft faufie, vous ferez libre de nous immoler dans trois jours/' Telem- aque, liv. i. cc S'il eft vrai quevous aimi- ez la juftice." Liv. 4. If my prediftion is falfe if it is true are correft modes of ' fpeaking in French. No argument there fore in favor of the ufe of the Englifh fub- jun6tive, can be drawn from the analogy of other languages, BUT this fubjunftive form is not agree able to the ftrufture of the language. It has been demonstrated that our conjunc tions are moftly old Saxon verbs in the imperative mode. Let us refolvc fome fentences where the fubjunftive form is ufed 5 for example, the paffages before quoted. R2 "IF 260 DISSERTATION IV. cc IF he have any knowlege of aftual ex- iftence, he muft be fatisfied." Prieftley's Letters. RESOLVED" He have any knowlege of aftual exiftence, (if) give that, he muft be fatisfied." Is this Englilh ? " IF thou be the fon of God, command that thefe ftones be made bread." Matth. iv .3. RESOLVED " Thou be the fon God ? give that, command," &c. " THO he flay me, yet will I truft in him." RESOLVED cc He flay me, grant it, yet will I truft in him." This is the literal conftru6tion of thofe fentences ^ the two firft are prefent time, the laft, which is future, is merely elliptical, IF therefore, I be^ he have, are good Eng- lifh in the prefent tenfe of the indicative, the foregoing are correft expreflions 5 if not, they are incorreft ; for every fuch con ditional fentence is relblvable into two or more declaratory phrafes. Let us fubfti- tute the Latin derivative, which precifely anfwers DISSERTATION IV. -61 anlwers to if, viz. fuppofe ; thus, in place of "if thou be the fon of God," write, "fuppofe thou be the fon of God," does not every ear acknowlege the impropriety ? The only difference between the two ex- preffions is this ; if is a Saxon verb in the imperative mode, and fuppofe^ a Latin one in the fame mode. WITH reipeft to He, it may be faid very juftly, that it was anciently ufed after the conjunctions in almoft all cafes. But it muft be obferved alfo, it was ufed without the conjunctions. Be, from the Saxon be- on, is the true radical verb, ftill preferved in the German, Ich bi?2, I be, du hi ft, thou beeft, in tlie indicative. The old Englifh writers employed be in the fame mode and tenfe. car, wr f*) sj^oflir "> and fo in the other inftances. The Greek is correct ; " thofc two* ing wives ag not having them.'* The tranflation is agreeable enough to the Engliih idiom ; but the verbs represent the prefent time, 266 DISSERTATION IV. when I was a fox hunter, I fhould not re- fign my manhood for a maintenance." Sped. No. 14. " I confefs I have not great tafte for po etry ; but if I had, I am apt to believe I ihould read none but Mr. Pope's."* Shenftone on Men and Manners. WHATEVER thefe verbs may be in de claratory phrafes, yet after the conditional conjunctions //"and tho, they often exprefs prefent ideas, as in the foregoing examples. In fuch cafes, this form of the verb may be denominated the hypothetical prefent tenfe. This would diftinguifh it from the fame form, when it exprefles uncertainty in the pall time ; for this circumftance mult not be pafTed without notice. Thus, "If * A SIMILAR ufe of the verb occurs after wijh; " / wifk I had my eftate now in poffeffion ;" this would be expreffed in Latin. Utinam me kabere, ufmg the prefent of the infin itive, or Utinam ut habe.rem ; but this Imperfect tenfe of the Subju&ive, both in Latin and French, is ufed to convey the lame ideas as Englifh verbs after if; if I had, fi habtrcm, ft jaurois. and whatever may be the name annexed to this form of the verb, it cannot, in the foregoing fenfe, have any reference to pad time. THE common phrafes, / had rather, he, had better t are faid to be a corruption of / would rather, he would better) rapidly pronounced, I'd rather. I am not fatisfied that this is a juil account of their origin ; would will not fupply the place of had \ n all cafes. Ac any rate, the phrafes have become good EngUih. DISSERTATION IV. 267 " If he had letters by the laft mail/' de notes the fpeaker's uncertainty as to a paft faft or event. But, " if be had a book, he would lend it," denotes a prefent certainty that he has it not. The times referred to are wholly diftinft. As the pra6lice of all writers and good fpeakers, and even of the vulgar, is nearly uniform in the diftinftion here mentioned, it is needlefs to produce more examples for illuftration. One verb however deferves a feparate confideration ; which is be. In the uie of this verb in the hypothetical fenfe, there is a difference between good authors and common parlance ; the firft write were, but moft people in converfa- tion fay, was. Thus, " EVERY rich man has ufually fome fly way of jelling, which would make no great figure, were he not rich." Spel. No. 2. C{ HE will often argue, that if this part of our trade were well cultivated, we fhould gain from one nation/' &c.- Same. cc WERE I (if I were) a father, I fhould take a particular care to prefcrve rny chil dren from thele little horrors of imagina tion." came. No. 12. "NOR 268 DISSERTATION IV. ** NOR think, tho men were none, That heaven would want fpe&ators, God want praife.' 1 Milton, P. L. WHAT then he zaas y oh, were, your Neftor now.'* Pope, Iliad, b. 7. 189. in the firft and laft examples, fhould be the infinitive, to be ; and in the fecond, the prefent time, />. Had proper attention been paid to our lan guage, fo many palpable miftakes would not have crept into praftice, and into the mofl DISSERTATION IV. *;j moft 'correft and elegant writings. Dn Reid is perhaps the only writer who has generally avoided this error. THE Greek and Roman writers Were hot guilty of fuch miftakes. Either the vari eties of inflection in their languages, or fuperior care in the writers, made them attentive to the nice diftinftions of time. In the following paffage, the tranflators of the Bible, by adhering clofely to the orig^ inal, have avoided the common error before mentioned. " I KNEW thee that thou art an hard man." Matth. xxv. 24. " Ehw o1 o-xAnpor ai/OfjwTTor ;" literally, having known that thou art an hard man. So alio ver. 26, " Thou wicked and flothful fervant, thou kneweft that I reap, where I fowed not ," u r&ir o7 &PI." Had thefe pafTages been tranflated into the carelefs ftile of modern converfa- tion, and even of many excellent writings, they would have flood thus " I knew thee that thou waji an hard man" " thou kneweft that I reaped where I fow not." But the general character and conduct pf the perfon mentioned in this parable, are fuppofed to exift at all times while he is iiving ; and this general nature of the faft S 2 requires 276 DISSERTATION IV. requires the verb to be in the prefent time. To confirm this remark let the fentences be inverted ; " thou art an hard man, I knew thee to be fuch, or I knew it." cc I reap where I fowed not, thou kneweft that." This is an indubitable evidence of the ac curacy of the tranflation.* AN I * A PASSAGE in Dr. Middleton's Life of Cicero, is re markably accurate ; The celebrated orator, L. Caflius, died of the fame difeafe (the pleurify,) which might proba bly be then, as I was told in Rome it is now, the peculiar diftemper of the place." Was refers to time completely paft ; but is declares a fact that exifts generally, at all times ; the verb is therefore in the prefent tenfe, or as Harris terms it,f the aorift'of the prefent. So alfo in Dr. Reid's Effays, X r ol. i. p. 18. Thofe philofophers held, that there are three firft principles of all things ;" which is correct Bng- lifh. " Ariftotle thought every object of human under- Handing enters at firft by the fenfes." - Page no. The fol lowing paifage is equally correct. " There is a courage depending on nerves and blood, which was improved to the higheft pitch among the Greeks." 'Gillies, Hift. of Greece, vol. i. p. 248. This courage is derived from the conftitution of the human body ; it exifts therefore at all times ; and had our author faid, " there was a courage de pending on nerves and blood, which the Greeks improved to the higheft pitch," the fenfe would have been left im perfect. Here then xve fee the indefinite ufe of this form of the prefent tenfe ; for were the verb is, in the foregoing example, limited to time now prefent^ it would make the au thor write nonfenfe ; it being abfurd to fay, " the Greeks 2000 years ago improved a courage which exifts only at the prefent time." So that verbs, in the prefent tenfe, exprefs facts that have an uninterrupted exiftence in pa/! 9 prefent, and future time. t HERMES, page 123. DISSERTATION IV. 277 AN inverfion of the order of the fentence in the paflages firft quoted, will {how the common error in a moft finking light. " THERE was a God, two young men have made that difcovery." "Men did God acceptable fervice, by abftrafting them- felves, &c. they have been taught this ; it was their duty, they have been taught this/' c< The taxes we bad to pay to government, if thefe were the only ones." This will not make fenfe to a man who has taxes Jlill to pay ; the writer's had to pay will not dif- charge the public debt. But it is unne~ ceflary to multiply examples and arguments; the reader muft be already convinced that thefe errors exift, and that I ought not to have been the firft to notice them. SOMETIMES this hypothetical tenfe is ufed with an infinitive for the future. In the following paffage it feems to be correct. without the Jlatute being particularly pleaded." Blackftone Com ment, vol. i. p. 86. THE prepofition without here governs the phrafe following, which might other- wife be properly arranged thus, without . the particular pleading of the Jlatute^ or without pleading the Jlatute particularly. But as the fentence fl^nds, there is nothing to fhow the true conilruflion, or how the fentence may be refolved : Being audflead- sd both ftand ^s participles ; whereas the conftruftion DISSERTATION IV. 281 conftruftion requires that they fhould be confidered as {landing for a noun - y for without does not govern Jlatute ; without the ftatute, is not the meaning of the writer. But it governs pleading, or refers immediately to that idea or union of ideas, exprefled t>y be ing particularly pleaded. As thefe laft words reprefent a noun, which is immediately governed by the prepofition, without* the ' word Jlatute fhould have the fign of the pofleffive, as much as any word iu the gen itive cafe, 'without the Jlatute s being particu-. larly pleaded ; that is, without the particu lar pleading of the Jlatute by the parties ; for in order to make grammar or fenfe, ftatute muft be in the poffeffive. To confirm thefe remarks, I would juft add, that when we fubftitute a pronoun in fuch cafes, we always ufe the poffeffive cafe. Suppofe the word Jlatute had been previ- oufly ufed, in the fentence ; the writer then would have ufed the pronoun in the clofe of the fentence, thus > "without its being particularly pleaded ;" and I prefume that no perfon will contend for the propriety of, " without it being pleaded.'' So we fhould fay, Lowth reprobates as ba in. Nay, it is more than probable that who was once wholly ufed in afking quef- tions, even in the objetive cafe ; who did he marry ? until fome Latin ftudent began to fufpeft it bad Englifh, becaufe not a- greeable to the Latin rules. At any rate, whom do you fpeak to ? is a corruption, and all the grammars that can be formed will not extend the ufe of the phrafe be yond the walls of a college. THE foregoing criticifms will perhaps illuftrate and confirm an aflertion of Mr. Home Tooke, that " Lowth has rejected much good Englifh." I fhould go farther and aflert that he has criticized away more phrafes of good Englifh, than he has cor rected of bad. He has not only miftaken the true conftruftion of many phrafes, but he has rejefled others that have been ufed generally by the Englifh nation from the earlieft times, and by arbitrary rules, fub- ftituted phrafes that have been rarely, or never ufed at all. To deteft fuch errors, and reftrain the influence of fuch refpeft- able names, in corrupting the true idiom of our tongue, I conceive to be the duty of every friend to American literature. 288 DISSERTATION IV* ON examining the language, and com* paring the pra6tice of fpeaking among the yeomanry of this country, with the ftile of Shakefpear and Addifon, I am conftrained to declare that the people of America, in particular the Englifh defendants, fpeak the moil pure Englijh now known in the world. There is hardly a foreign idiom in their language 5 by which I mean, a fhrafe that has not been ufed by the be ft Englifh writers from the time of Chaucer. They retain a few obfolete words y which have been dropt by writers, probably from mere affectation, as thofe which are fubfti- tuted are neither more melodious nor ex- preffive. In many inftances they retain correft phrafes, inftead of which the pre tended refiners of the language have intro duced thofe which are highly improper and abfurd. LET Ehglifhmen take notice that when I fpeak of the American yeomanry, the latter are not to be compared to the illit erate peafantry of their own country. The yeomanry of this country confift of fub- ftantial independent freeholders, matters of their own perfons and lords of their own foil. Thefe men have confiderable educa tion. They not only learn to read, write and DISSERTATION IV. 289 and keep accounts $ but a vaft proportion of them read newfpapers every week, and befides the Bible, which is found in all families, they read the beft Englifh. fer- mons and treatifes upon religion, ethics* geography and hiftory ; fuch as the works of Watts, Addifon, Atterbury, Salmon, &c. In the eaftern ftates, there are public fchools fufficient to inftru6t every man's children, and moft of the children are actually benefited by thefe inftitutions; The people of diftant counties in Eng land can hardly underftand one anoth er, fo various are their dialects ; but in the extent of twelve hundred miles in A- merica, there are very few, I queftion whether a hundred words, except fuch as are ufed in employments wholly local, which arc not univerfally intelligible. BUT unlefs the rage for imitating for eign changes can be refcrained, this agree - ble and advantageous uniformity will be gradually deftroyed. The ftandard writ ers abroad give us local praftice, the mo mentary whims of the great, or their own arbitrary rules to direct our pronuncia tion ; and we, the apes of fafMon, fubmit to imitate any thing we- hear and fee. Sheridan has introduced or given fanftion T t 290 DISSERTATION IV. to more arbitrary and corrupt changes of pronunciation, within a few years, than had before taken place in a century , and in Perry's Dictionary, not to mention the errors in what he moft arrogantly calls his " Only fare Guide to the Englifh Tongue," there are whole pages in which there are fcarcely two or three words marked for a juft pronunciation. There is no Diftion- ary yet published in . Great Britain, in which fo many of the analogies of the language and the juft rules of pronuncia tion are preferved, as in the common prac-< tice of the well informed Americans; who have never confulted any foreign ftandard : Nor is there any grammatical treatife, ex cept Dr.\ Prieftley's, which has explained the real ioiorns of the language, as they are found in Addifon's works, and which re main to this day in the American pra6lice of fpeaking. THE refult of the whole is, that we fhould adhere to our own praftice and gen eral cuftoms, unlefs it can be made very obvious that fuch praftice is wrong, and that a change will produce fome confider- able advantage. DISSERTATION P DISSERTATION V. Of the Conjlruftion ofEnglifi Verfe.Pdufes* -*-ExpreJ)ion. Of reading Verfe* Of the CONSTRUCTION */ ENGLISH VERSE. S poetry has ever been bered among the fine arts, and has employed the pens of the firft geniufes in all nations, an inveftigation of the fubjeft muft be gratify-^ ing to readers of tafte. And it muft be the more agreeable, as it has been much neglefted, and the nature and conftrutStion of Englifh verfe have frequently been mif- underftood. MOST profodians who have treated par ticularly of this fubjeft, have been guilty of a fundamental error, in confidering the T 2 movement 292 DISSERTATION V. movement of Englifh verfe as depending on long and fliort fyllables, formed by long and fhort vowels. This hypothefis has led them into capital miftakes. The truth is, many of thofe fyllables which are confid- ered as long in verfe, are formed by the fhorteft vowels in the language > *&ftrength y health^ grand. The doftrine, that long vowels are requifite to form long fyllables in poetry, is at length exploded, and the principles which regulate the movement of our verfe, are explained ; viz. accent and emphafis. Every emphatical word, and ev ery accented fyllable, will form what is called in verfe, a long fyllable. The un accented fyllables, and unemphatical mon- ofyliabic words, are confidcred as fhort fyl-* lables. BUT there are two kinds of emphafis 5 a natural emphafis, which arifes from the importance of the idea conveyed by a word ; and an accidental emphafis, which arifes from the importance of a word in a par ticular fituation, THE firft or natural emphafis belongs to all nouns, verbs, participles and adjeftives, and requires no elevation of voice j as, " NCJT balffofwift the trembling doves can/j." THE DISSERTATION V. 293 THE laft or accidental emphafis is laid on a word when it has fome particular meaning, and when the force of a fentence depends on it ; this therefore requires an elevation of voice ; as, " PERDITION catch my foul but I do love tlree." So far the profody of the Englifh lan guage feems to be fettled ; but the rules laid down for the conftruftion of verfe, feem to have been imperfect and difputecL WRITERS have generally fuppofetl that our heroic verfe confifts of five feet, all pure Iambics, except the firfi foot, which they allow may be a Trochee. In confe- quence of this opinion, they have expunged letters from words which were necefiary $ and curtailed feet in fuch a manner as to disfigure the beauty of printing, and in many inftances, deftroyed the harmony of our beft poetry. THE truth is, fo far is our heroic verfe from being confined to the Iambic meafure, that it admits of eight feet, and in fome inftances of nine. I will not perplex my readers with a number of hard names, but proceed to explain the feveral feet, and T 3 fliov/ 294 DISSERTATION V. {how in what places of the line they are ad- miffible. AN Iambic foot, which is the ground of Englifh numbers, confifts of two fyllables, the firft foort and the fecond long. This foot is admitted into every place of the line. Example, all Iambics. " Where flaVes once more their native land behold. No fiends torment, no chriftians thirft for gold." Pope, THE Trochee is a foot confifting of two fyllables, the firft long and the fecondyZw/. Example. " Warms m the fun, refrefhes in the breeze, Glews m the ftars, and bloflbms in the trees." Pope. THE Trochee is not admiffible into the fecond place of the line j but in the third and fourth it may have beauty, when it creates a correfpondence between the found and fenfe. "EvE rightly calFd motlier of all mankind." a make it" THIS foot is hardly admiffible in the folemn or fublime ftile. Pope has indeed admitted it into his Effay on Man : " WHAT can ennoble fots qr flaves or coward?, Alas ! not all the blood of all the Howards." AGAIN : To figh for ribbands, if thou art f 6 filly, o Mark how they grace Lord Umbra or Sir Billy." But thefe lines are of the high burlefque kind, and in this llile the Amphibrach clofes lines with great beauty. THE Tribrach is a foot of three fyllables^ all fhort ; and it may be ufed in the third and fourth places. " AND rolls Impetuous ft the fubje<3: plain." OR thus : " AND thunders down impetK, S, are den tals : G, Chj H, K^ C, are gutturalsand therefore if the Hebrew word or found begins with, or is made of, any one of the labials, any of the reft of the fame or- tan will anfwer it in the derivative languages. The tine is to be obferved in ufing the dental and the gut tural letters. For in tracing out the origin of words, we are more to regard the found of them than their lit eral form and compofition ; wherein we find words very often, by the humors and fancy of people, tranf- pofed and altered from their native founds, and yet in their fignification they very well fit their original pat terns. I (hall only exemplify in the letters M, B y and V, which are of one organ, that is, are formed by one inftrument, the lip ; and therefore are promifcuoufly ufed the one for the other, in pronouncing words of one language in another. The Hebrew B is generally pro nounced as a /^corifonant. And the Iri(h alfo, moft commonly in the middle of a word, pronounce M as a W 7- 322 NOTES, HISTORICAL P; as we find the ancient Britons to have made ufe of F, or rather F, which they pronounce as ^ for M and B in many Latin words ; as, BRITISH. Nlfer Colo/ft Gefeill Rhufain Scrifenu ilyfr Rhwyf Dofi Rhyfela Pluf Cadfan Dyfed Llif &c, LATIN. BRITISH. LATIN. Animal Anifail Numerus TTurma Tyrfa Columna Terminus Terfyn Gemelli Calamus Calaf Roma Prhrtui Pnf Scribo Arnnis Afon Liber Arma Arfau Remus Firmus Pfyrf Domo Monumcntum Flrmomentum Monfent Pfurfafen Rebello Pluma Lamentor Llefain Catamanus Elementum Elfen Dirneta Memorare Myfyrio Lima Hyems Gauaf Lamina Clamare Llafaru " WE are not to wonder at this analogy of founds in the primitive diftirtction of languages. For before the ufe of writing, which has eftablimed the correct form of words, people were only guided by the ear in taking the found of words, and they pronounced and uttered them again as the organs of their voice were bert fitted for it ; and it happening that the aptitude and difpofi- tion of thofe organs, peculiar to fome people and coun tries, were various (as we fincl to this day fome nations cannot fhape their voice to exprefs all the founds of an other's tongue,) it accordingly affected and inclined fome parties of people to fpeak the fame confonants harder or fofter, to utter the fame vowels broader or narrower, longer or fliorter, as they found themfelves beft difpofed to do. And thereupon cuftom prevailing tvith particular fets of people, to continue the ufe of fuch different pronunciation as they affected, the words fo varied came at length to take on them different forms, and AND CRITICAL. snd to be efteemed and taken as parts of different lan guages, tho in their origin they were one and the fame.* Hebrew. Derivatives. Engtijh. "AUCH Awch Brit. The edge of a fword Even Maen A ftone Agam or Leagam Lagam Corn. A pool or lake Ivah Deis-yfu Br. To defire Auor Awyr Ivightned air Ano Yno Then Achei Achau Brethren or kindred Aedenei Gwadnaii Thefoles of the feet Calal Cyllell To wound or pierce Domen Tomen, Muek or dung Gehel _ Coal Sal Sal Br. Vile or of no account Kndal Gadael To forfalce or defift Aggan Angeion 'Greek A veflel or earthen pot Alaph 'Alpha To find Bama Bomos An altar Hag Agios Holy Hadar C Cadair 1 Katha Br. Irijb Honor or reverence Hia Yhi Br. She Goph Corph A body, corpfe Deraich J Braich I Raich An arm Dad * IT is commonly dbferved, that different climates, airs and aliments^ do very much diverlify the tone of the parts and mufcles of human bod ies ; on fome of which the modulation of the voice much depends. The peculiar moifture of one country, the drought of another (other caufes from food, Sec. concurring) extend or contract, fwell or attenuate, the organs of the voice^ that the found made thereby is rendered either fhriil or hoarfe, foft or hard, plain or lifping, in proportion to that contraction or extension. And hence it is, that the Chinefe and Tartars have fome founds in their language, that Europeans can Icarcely imitate : And it is well known in Europe itfelf, that an Englishman is noc able agreeably to converfs with a ftranger, even in one and the fame Latin j nay, even in England, it is noted by Mr. Camden and Dr. Full- t-T, that the natives of Carleton Curlew in Lekefterfhire, by a ceT^. ; .n peculiarity of the place, have the turn of their voice very different ftom :hofe of the neighboring villages. W 2 324 NOTES, HISTORICAL Hebrew, Derivatives. Englijb. Dad Diden Er. The dug or udder Ager Aggero Lat. To heap together Elah -Illi, fflafe They, mafc. &fenr. Angil Axilla The arm pit Dapfh Daps Cheer or dainties Hen En ! ecce ! Lo ! behold ! Phar Phero Greek To bear or carry Harabon Arrhabon A pawn or pledge Phalat Phulatto To keep or defend Pathak Peitho To perfuade Gab Gibbus Lat. Bent or crooked Dur Duro To endure Laifh Lis Greek A lion Deka Deko To bite Ephach Ophis A ferpent Dath Deddf Br. A law Denah Dyna This, that, there k is Hiflah J Ys taw I Diflaw Be Client Cala Claf To be fick Clei Cleas Irijh Jewels, ornaments Devar Deveirim To fpeak Ein Ynys Br. Ifland f A man Armor. Hama iYmenyn Br. Butter Im Irijh Ivo Nava His enemy Beala Mealam To be wafted Vock C Vacuus |Gwac Lai. Br. Empty Aita Ydyw Is, or are Bar Bar Irijh Son Bareh Bara Br. Meat, or visuals Beram Verutn Lat. But, neverthelefs Beth Bwth Br. A houfe, booth S* She Irijb He, or him Gaha lachau Br. To heal, or cure Gad Cad An army Botei* A N x> CRITICAL. 3*3 Hebrew. Derivatives. Boten Potten Gever Gwr Hada Edo Boa Bad Aniah Ama Charath Charatto Maas Mifeo Semain Semaino Aaz 'Aix AJeth Alaeth Elil Ellylly Allun Llwyn Amunath Amynedd Ap Wep Itho Iddo Atun Odyn Atha Aeth Ifche Yflii Emaeth Ymaith Barach Parch Gobah Coppa Geven Cefrf Gedad Gwiwdod Gaiaph Cau Evil , Bcafch ~ Babel Baroth Gaak Dum Dufch Hebifch Hua Haras W Englljh. Br. The belly A man Greek To cherifh To come Sadnefs To infculp I hate I fhew A goat Br. A curfe Idol A grove of oaks Conftancy Face With him A furnace Went, or came To burn From him To efteem, or blefs The top A ridge, or back Excellency To (hut, or inclofe Evil Bafe To babble, cabal ; and hablar in Spanifh, to fpeak ; Lat. fabula ; Fr. fariboles, idle talk Broth Gay Dumb Todafh To abafh He, mafc. gend. To harafs Ghittah 3 z6 NOTES, HISTORICAL Hebrew. Derivatives*. Engli/h. Chittah . Wheat Mefurah . A meafure Sahap To fweep Charath To write Saar . A fhower Aanna . To annoy Phaser Fair Pheret A part, or portion Pliaerek _. Fierce Eretz Earth; Sax. hertha Sad . Side Spor A fparrow Kinneh . A cane Kera ; To cry Shekel Skill Rechus Riches Kre . A crow Pafa _ To pafs Halal A hole Catat To cut Rages , . To rage Ragal _ To rail, or detract Maguur Madhevi Magwyr Myddfai Habitation Diftempers Doroth Toreth Generations, encreafe Dal Tai Tail and high Havah Yfu Was, or has been Mahalac Male A pathway, or a balk Hilo Heulo Shining. Jpollo, S&L Tor C Toar Irijb. I Terfyn JSr. A boundary, or limit Siu Syw Refplendent Achalas Achles Defence, Achilles f Machno Places of defence of old Machaneh < and in the co. of Mont I Mechain gomery. Penmachno Chprau Crau Holes % ' *- Chcrefh AND CRITICAL. 3*7 Hebrew* Derivatives. * Englijh. Chorefh Cors Br. A place full of fmall wood or reeds Nodah Nodi To make known, or note Jadha 5 Addef i 'Oida Greek To know Hathorath Athrawiaeth Br. Difcipline Jch Eich Your, or your own Jared I wared Defcended Cha Chwi You Jain Gwin Wine Toledouth Tylwyth Generations Lus Llyfu To go away, or avoid Caolath Colled Alofs Hounil Ynnill Gain Jefter Yftyr Confideration Jadadh Gwahodd To invite Cafodoth Cyfoeth Honours, or wealth Cis Cift Ached Bar J Far lat. i Bara Br. Bread corn Shevah . , . Seven Dakar A^ dagger Hinnek . .... To hang Shelet -T- - a A fhield Hever _ Over, or above Shibbar To fhiver, or quake Jiled i *A child Choebel - A cable Parak .-. To break Gannaf , A knave, or a thief Coll .1 All Hannah , To annoy, or hurt Eth J Etos Greek 1 ^Etas Lat. A year, or age San Coena A fupper Nabal Nebulo A churl Mot * JUD leka, thou art my fon. Pfalm ii. 7. 325 NOTES, HISTORICAL Hebrew. Derivatives. Mot Motus Lot. Bath Batos Greek Eden Edone Kolah Kleio Sas Ses Phac Phake Skopac Scopo Jounec Jevangc Br. Hamohad Am mod Parad Pared Keren Corn Kefci Cefail Me-Ab Mab Luung Llyngcu Temutha Difetha Ceremluach Cromlech Hamule Ami Mah ? Mae? Magal Maglu Makel Magi Meria Mer Mout Mudo Meth Methu Mar Maer Marad Brad Nafe Nef Taphilu Taflu Hanes Hanes Nevath Neuadd JifTal Ifel or Ifelu Naoaph Nvvyf Nadu Nadu Sethar Sathru Heber Aber IN ucchu Nychu Nuu Nhwy Naodhad Nodded Englljk. Motion A thorn Pleafure To praife A moth Lentil To fpeculatQ A fuckling Covenant A partition A horn The armpit Son, or from a father To fwallow Peftru&ion A facrincing ftone Plenty, or fiore What ? where ? how ? To betray Aftaff. Fat, or rnarrow To remove To die, or fail A lord * Rebellion Joyful To caft To fignify Habitation To throw down Luft They moan To throw under fee$ A ford, or paflage Being imitten They, or thofe To efcape Gadah * MEREDUTII is the fame with Mfrad, a Britift name. AND C R I T 1 C A L. 329 Helreiv , Derivatives. Englijk. Gadah Gadaw Br. To pafs by Niued. Niweid. Tofpoil Goloth Golwyth Burnt offerings Mohal Moel Top of a hill Galas Glwys Pleafaat Hafern Afen A rib, or bons Garevath Gwarth. Shame Taphug Diffyg Want, or defecT: Phoreth Ffrwyth Fruit, or effet Pach Bach A crooked flick Pinnouth Pennaeth Chief, or uppermoft Phinnah Ffynnu To profper Path Peth A part or portion Phiiegefli Ffiloges A concubine Caton Cwttyn Short and little Cir Caer A walled town Reith Rhith Appearance Tireneh Trin To feed and look after Ragah Rhwygo To tear, rag Rafah Ras and Rhad Grace, or good will Semen Saim Fat, or oil Saraph Sarph A ferpent Sac . Sach A *fack Phuk VFfug \ Fucus l,at. Difguife Phaerek Ferocia Fiercenefs Pinnah Pinna Battlement Pigger Piger fuit Lazy Naca Neco To Hay Ad Ad Unto Nut Nuto To nod Parag Trecho Greek To run to, or come at Bala Palai Some time ago Hannak J 'Agcho 1 Tagu Br. To ftrangle Naar Nearos Greek New or lately Agab i 'Agapao To love Pacha * IT hag thJ3 found In mo of the ancient tongues. 330 NOTES, HISTORICAL Hebrew. Derivatives. Englijh. Pacha Pege Greek A fountain Parafh Phrafo To declare, phrafe Kol Kale6G.Galw5. To call Mafhal Bafileuo Greek To reign Shareka Syrinx A fyringe Bekarim Pecora Lat. Cattle Ahel Aula A hall Carpas Carbafus Fine linen, or lawn ./Em ./Eftes La.TesBr. Heat, or hot weather Gibar Guberno Lat. To govern Parah Vireo To look green Ki Quia Wherefore Glam Glim Of old Golem Glomus A clew of thread Amam Ymam Mother, mamma Coaphar Gwobr Reward Cala Caula Lat. A meepfold Sarch Serch Br. Luftfui Goliath Glwth Abed Pathehen Puttain A whore Burgad Bwrgais A burgefs Terag Drwg Bad, or evil Dafgar Dyfgl Adifh Shiovang Siongc Honorable Anas Annos To inftigate Tarn Dim Nothing Pherch Y ferch A daughter Tetuva Edifar Penitent Leamor Ar lafar Saying Cafas Ceifio To fearch Cark Carchar To bind ; Lat. career Kain Cammu To bend CafFa CyfF A beam Cevel Ar gyfyl Near Dumga Dammeg A fimile Tor and Sor Tarw A bull ; Lat. taurus Turna Teyrn A prince, tyrant Manos Myddyn A mountain * If v AND CRITICAL, 33* Hetreiv. Derivatives. Englljk. Malas Melys Sweet Palac Bane Plygu Maine To fold A bench Malal Malu TO grind Marak Marc A note Cadif Gwadu To tell a lie Tohum Eyfn Depth Colar Coler A neckband, collar Corontha Coron A crown Berek Breg A breach Bagad Bagad A great many Arach Arogli To fmell Nagafh Yn agos * To approach Ciliah Ceilliau Stones Gevr Cawr A giant Kec Ceg A mouth Kim Cwyno To lament Natfar Dinyftr Deftru&ion, or ruin Pinnah Pinagl Pinnacle Mahalal Mawl or Moli To praife Hedel Hoedl Life Halal Haul Sun Gavel Gafael Tenure Lafhadd Glafaidd Blueifli Gerem Grym, grymmus Bony or ftrong Mafac Cym-myfcu To mingle Gana Canu To fmg ; Lat. cano Celimah Calumnia Lat. Reproach Netz Nifus Endeavor Ptfel Pfiled To make bear Shufhan Soufon Lilly Shecan Sceneo To dwell in tabernacles Kalal Gwael Br. Vile Taffi Diffoddi To extinguifh Tfelem Delw An image Hoberi Obry Men over againfl Aen.-adon Anudon Difclaimins$ God, or perjury." HERE NOTES, HISTORICAL HERE are about fifty Englifh words, which, from their near refemblance to the Hebrew, both in found and fignification, muft have been borrowed from the latter in modern ages, or been preferred thro fucceflive generations from Heber to the prefent times. But they could not have been introduced into Englifh in modern ages, for many of them are found in the other branches of the Gothic, the German, Danifti and Svvediih ; and it can be proved that they exifted in the original Gothic or northern language. For example, our word earth is found in Hebrew, and in all the dia lects of the Gothic. Hebrew, ert or ertz ; Welfli, d'aira ; Greek, era ; Latin, terra 5 Gothic, airtbai ; an cient German, ertb or berth - } Saxon, eartho ; Low Dutch, aerden ; High Dutch, erden ; Swifs, erden - y Scotch, airtb ; Norwegian or Norfe, iorden ; Danifh, iorden ; Swedifh, iordenne ; Irelandic, iordu. In the pronunciation of thefe words there is little difference, except fuch as is common to the feveral languages. The ancients afpi- rated their words more frequently than the moderns 5 hence the old Germans pronounced the word with b, as appears by a paffage in Tacitus, De Mor. Germ. 40. " Nee quidquam notabile in fmgulis, nifi quod in com mune Herthum, id eft terram^ matrem colunt." The modern nations of the north generally write and pro nounce d where we write tb ; as erden ; and the / of the Norwegians anfwers to our e or _y, fo that iorden is pro nounced yorden ; and it is remarkable that many of the common Englifh people (till pronounce earth^ yerth. THE Hebrevvr turna is found in the Britifh teyrn, fig- nifying a prince or ruler. This word is the root of the Greek turannos, the Latin tyrannus^ the Britifh .dyrnas^ a kingdom or jurifdi^tion, which is flill preferved in the modern Welfh deyrnas ; and we fee the word in the name of the celebrated Britifh commander, Vortighern. Our word tyrant is derived from it, but it is always ufed jn a bad fenfe. IN the Hebrew reclms or rekus^ we have the origin of the Englifh rich, riches^ and the termination rick in A N C R 1 T I C A L. 333 in bifhop-r/V/f, and anciently, in king-r/V/f ; the Word originally denoting landed property, in which wealth was fuppofed to confift, and afterwards jurifdittion. From the fame word are derived the Ariglo Saxon rye ; the Franco Theotife, rihhi ; the Cimbric, r'tckle. ; the an cient Irifh or Gaedhlig, riogda ; the Low Dutch, rijcke 5 the Frific, rick ; the German, retch ; the Swifs, rijch ; the Danifh, rige ; the Norwegian, rlga ; the Swedifh, ricke ; the French, riche, and the Spanifh, riccos, a gen eral name for nobility, or wealthy proprietors of land, THE word Caer feems to have beefa a very ancient name for a city or town. We probably fee this word in a great number of Welih names, Carmarthen^ Car narvon, Carlifle, &c. This word feems alfo to be the origin of Cairo, in Egypt ; Carthage or town of the horfe ;* the ctrthe of the Numidians, and the Caere of the Etrufcan. " Inde Turnus Rutilique, diffifi rebus, ad florentes Etrufcorum opes Mezentiumque eorum regem, confugiunt ; qui Caere, opulento turn oppido imperitans haud gravatim focia arma Rutulis junxit." - Liv. lib. i. 2* Here we hear of the word before the foundation of Rome* BUT the affinity between the Hebrew and Britifh is much more obvious, than that between the Hebrew and Englifh. There are about one hundred and eighty Britifh words in the foregoing table, which are clearly the fame as the Hebrew ; and there is no way to ac count for the fact, but by fuppofing them to be all de^ rived from the fame primitive tongue. THE refemblance between the Wclfh, Latin and Englifti may be obferved in the following. Weljh. Latin. Englijh. Y'fgol fchola fchooi Y'fpelio fpolio fpoil Y'fprid * THE armorial enfign of Carthage v.-as a korfe* 334 NOTES, HISTORICAL Weljh. Latin. Engtijh. Y'fprid fpiritus fpirit Y'ftad flatus ftate Y'ftod ftadium furlong. THE old Britons however might have borrowed thefe words from the Romans, during their government of the liland ; as the Englifh did many of theirs at a later period. THE fame remark will not apply to the following : Weljh. Latin. Irijb. Englijh. Guin vinum fin wine Guyl vigiliae feil . watch Gur vir fcarr man Guynt ventus wind Gual Vallum wall Gofper vefper fealkor guefpor Guedhar weather Guerth virtus worth Guylht wild IN this table, we fee the different nations begin the fame word with a different confonant. The ancient Latin v was pronounced as our w ; vinum, winum ; hence the Englifh wine. So in the following : Latin. Engltjb. Latin. Englijk* Via way Vefpa wafp Venio,ventum went Volvo wallow Vellus wool Volo will.* THAT * IT is remarkable that the Germans pronounce this word ivdhn y and luill, Irke the Roman i'olc y pronounced woto. Many oJd people in America retain this pronunciation to this day ; I wall, or wool, for will. THE Roman pronunciation of *v is ftill preferved in England and A- nn^rit?. 5 veal, weal ; "jcjjd y weflel j and 10 is often changed into t> orf j ivine, vine, ot even fine. TH^ Romans often pronounced t where we ufe d\ as traho t draw. AMI* CRITICAL. 335 THAT the Welfh mould pronounce gu, where we pronounce w, may feem ftrange ; yet fuch is the facl, and an anatomift will readily affign the reafon. The French, in the fame manner, ufe g where we write and pronounce w. Englijk. War Warrant Ward Wife Wile Wage Wicket William Wales French* guerre garrant gard guife guile gage guicket Guillaum Gales, Gaul, Gallia.* A NUMBER at leaft of the words in the foregoing ta bles, muft have exifted in the feveral languages from the earlieft times ; and therefore muft have been derived from the fame flock. IN the following words, we trace the common origin of the Greek and Gothic languages. Greek. Engtijb. Greek. Englljh. Kardia 7 Kear J Kio heart hie Pur Flatus Xeras fire plate fear Kaleo Koilas Kedas Kerdas hail, call hollow heed, care hire Mignuo Eileo Kairo Gonu mingle heal % hail cheer knee Keras Axine horn, herald ax Knix Zeteo gnat feek Ophrun frown THE *!N teaching Englifh to a Spaniard, I found that In attempting to pronounce words beginning with TV, he invariably bsjan with the found! ** u > wHf ne would pronounce vutlL 336 NOTES, HISTORICAL THE reader will find no difficulty in believing thefe words to be from the fame root, when he is told that the Greeks and the northern nations of Europe pro nounced with a ftrong guttural afpirate ; and that k a- iriong the Greeks was often a mere afpirate, like b. Thus the Romans often pronounced c ; for which rea- fon that letter is often omitted, and h fubftituted in modern Englifli. Curro and hurry are the fame word; and fo are cornu and born -, Carolus and Harold. Greek. Latin. EngUJb. 'Oinos vinum wine Damao domo tame Zeugos jugum yoke Upper fuper upper Gnoo ? nofco 1 , Ginofko 5 cognofco J SOME old people Mill pronounce the k in know. IN the following, the Welfh differ from the Greek irt the prepofitives or initial mutes ; but they are clearly from the fame root. Greek. Weljh. Englifi. Stoma faman mouth Ikanos digon fufficient Arke d'erke beginning Airo d'uyrey arife Platun Ihydon broad Papyrun bruyn rufhes Treko rhedeg run Petalon dalen loaf.* IN the following words, the Welfh are nearer the Greek than the Latin ; yet all came from one flock. Greek, * THIS woia is found m moft of the branches of the Gothic. AND CRITICAL. Grttk. Weljh. Latin. Englifi. Helios heil fol fun Hypnos hyn, heppian fommis ileep Halon halen fal fait Hamokis hamal fi mills like Bounos ban mons mountain Kleas klad. Comifa klas laus praife Pepto pobo coquo cook Hyle hely fylva woods Krios kor aries ram. THESE words are iricoriteftibly the fame, with mere dialectical variations. All are branches of the fame flock, yet neither can claim the honor of being that ftock. BUT the rridft curious etymological analyfis ever exhibited perhaps in any language, is that found in Gebelin's works. Take the following fpecimens. IN the primitive language (of Europe) the monofyl- lable tar, ter, tor or tro, for it appeared under thefe forms, figninedyir^. It was compofed of / and ar or d y ar, roughnejs, rapidity* Hence tar exprefled the idea of force* with the collateral ideas of violence, rigor, grandeur, &c. From tar are derived, taunts, a bull ; torrent^ target, trunk, truncare^ to cut off ; terror^ trepan y tare^ detriment, trancher, to cut ; retrench ; tardus, tardy^ retard, iergum, becaufe things heavy, that require force, were carried upon the back ; intrigue, for it implies difficulties ; trop, too much, troop, ter, trois, which o- riginally fignified a multitude ; for many favage na tions have names only for the three firft numbers ; force, tres, very ; treffes, a braid or plait of hair in three divifions ; triangle, tribunal, tribe, attribute, contribute, &c trident, trillion, trio, trinity, entre, enter, taken from a re - lation of three objects, om between two, makes a third ; hence internal, external, trovers, acrofs ; tradition, pafT- ing from one to another ; traffic, trahir, to draw ; trai- Ur, trepidation^ intrepid. From tra, between, and es, it X is, 338 NOTES, HIS TO RFC A L is, came the Celtic, treb, a narrow pafs, iftralt, Jlrift, Fr. etroit, aftrihgent, detvoit, ftrait ; dilirefs, Jlrengtb. The compounds are numerous. Intrinfic, entrails, in troduce^ Extraneous, extravagant, transcendent, transfer, transform, tranfgrefs, tranfaft, tranjlate, tranfmit, tranjmi- grate, tranjmutatidn, &c. POLTROON is from polhx, a thumb, and truncare, to cut off 5 for cowards ufe to cut their thumbs to a- void fervice. * T E M. TEM fignitled river, water. Hence tempera in Lat- m fignined to plunge into water. We to this day fay to temper iron orjleel. To temper, is to moderate. From this root come temperance, temperature, and a numerous catalogue of dther words. The river Thames derives its name from the fame root. V A, to go, radical. FROM . es es bjft eftas,eres cs, eftas Heis,be eft eft eft-es. efta, es he, efla We are, be Tuhius fomme^ find eftamosjfo- fomos, efta- mds riiOs You are; be eftis etes feyd eftais, fois foys, eftoys They are, be funt font -find eilan, Ton |am, eftam IT is indifputabJe that hAve, in all thef$ languages, is from the fame root. Butj there feenr to have been anciently two fubftantive verbs, or perhaps three, from which modern nations .have borrowed ; viz, the Greek: v or ( w-> or the Latin eft, from which mod of the foregoing are derived ; the Teutonic beon, .'whence the Germans have their bin and btfl, and the Englifh their be arkl b&ft ; and an old Gothic or Teutonic word, u)eor than, whence the Danes have derived their vjsrer, and the Englifh and Germans their were arid werden. In the old Englifh phrafe, " woe worth the day,'* we fee thd fame verb. HAVING ftatcd my reafons and authorities for be- Ueving all the European languages defcended from one parent tongue, I will here fubjoia the Lord's Prayer, in feveral * THE French and Spanilh rarely or never afpirate an A } and ia rhis v;oird they hsve omitted it moftly in Wiixinjj^ 346 NOTES, HISTORICAL feveral languages of Celtic and Gothic origin. The affinity between all the branches of the Gothic is very vifible ; the affinity likewife between all the branches of the Celtic is very obvious, except the ancient Irifh* The Cantabrian and Lapland tongues have little re- femblance to either of the flocks or their branches. Very GOTHIC. 1 i 2. Old SA*- ON, or AN 2. FRANCIC, or FRANCO- 3. ClMBRIC, or Old ICE GLO-SAXON. THEO- rise. LANDIC. JL JU i i i 1 <- hi oo 4* M N U, M N>, G* . * * * W W Cd ^ 55 fo 2 t* O O 2 s t*5 W ^ " ? W O > ^ g > s s ** H O S 55 S ff r f f f 2J " > 5! *- tJ ^ O 1-4 g - ~ - O rt O > > 5? S8 55 W 5 g ? 55 s s t C*-;-ri'-S 1 i* 8 ^ 5^ p' > w ^ o **t sr s g. ? s S 2 . 5 o. O .> o ? c GO g ^ CQ *p ^ C O *D o -^ ^rr I 5 A K D CRITICAL, Very little affinity is difcoverable between the original Gothic and Celtic or their derivatives ; yet this is not a proof that they were ab origme diftinft languages; for the words in this prayer are few, and it has been prov ed that there are many words common to both thofc ancient tongues. CELTIC. . The Ancient 2. The Ancient 3. The Ancient GAULISH, BRITISH. " IRISH. *"4 tO CO si X r 6 s < * ! SPECIMEN 342 NOTES, HISTORICAL SPECIMENS of the GOTHIC LANGUAGES. The ancient Gothic of Ulpbt/as. ATTAunfarthuinhiminam. i, Veihnai namo^thein. 2. Quimai thiudinafius theins. 3. Vairthai vilja theins, fue in himinajah ana airthai. 4. Hlaif unfarana thana fipteinan gif uns himmadaga. 5. Jah aflet uns thatei fculans fijaima fua fue jah veis afietam thaim fkulain imfaraim. 6. Jah ni bringais uns in fraiftubnjai. 7. Ak Jsufei uns af thamma ubilin. Amen. [From Chamberlayn's ratio Dominica in diverfas ommumfcre Gentium The ANCIENT LANGUAGES derived from the GOTHIC j. ii. in. Anglo Saxon, jr. Franco j or old Icelandic. FADER uor, fom eft i him- lum. i. Halgad warde thit nama. 2.Tilkomme thitt rikie. 3. Skie thin vilie, fo fom i himmaiam, fo och po iordanne, 4. Wort dachii- cha brodh gif os i dagh. 5. Ogh for- lat os uora ikul- dar, fo loin ogh vi for late them os fkildighe are. 6, Cghinledcsikkic ifretaifam. 7. U- tan frels os ifni ondo. Amen. [rrcrr Chamhevlayn, [From Cbamberlayn, [From Chamberlayn t ? i6.j p. 6j.l p. $4%] SPECIMEI-;^ UREN Fader, FATER unfer thicarthinheof- thu thar bid in iias. i. Sie ge- himile. i. Si ge- halgud thin ao- heilagot thin na- r.ia. 2. To cy- mo. 2. Qiieme ineth thin rye. thin rihhi. 3. Si 3. Sie thin willa thin willo, fo her fue is in heoinas, in himile ift o fi and in eortho. her in erdu. 4. 4. Uren hlaf of- Unfarbrottagal- erwiftlic fel us to ihhazgibunshu- daeg. 5. And itu. 5.1'nti furlaz forgefe us fey Ida unsnufara feuldi uina, fue wefor- fouuir furlazam- gefan fcvldgum es unfaron fcui- urum. 6, And digon. 6. Jnti ni no inlead ufig in gileiteft uniih in cuftnung. 7 Ah coftunga. 7. U- ^eiiig Uiichfrom zouh arloii unfi n:c. Amen. fo nubile. A men. A x D C R. I T I C A L, 34 J SPECIMENS of the CELTIC LANGUAGES. I AM not able to produce any fpecimen of the Cel tic, at leaft any verfion of the Lord's Prayer, which can be oppofed in point of antiquity to the Gothic fpecimen frooi Ulphilas, who flourifhed A. D. ^65. As the Celts were fettled in thcfe countries long before the Goths, and were expofed to vari ous revolutions before their arrival, their language has, as might be expected, undergone greater and earlier changes than the Gothic ; fo that no fpeci men of the old original Celtic is I believe, now to be found. ANCIENT liAtiGV AGES* derived from the CELTIC, I. II. in. Anc. Gaul- ijh. OF this language I cannot find any fpeci men which can be de pended on, Cambrian, or An cient BriiHh. ETEN Taad rhuvn wytyn y neofo- edodd. i. Sqntfiddicr yr henvit tau. 2. JDevedy dyrnas dau. 3. Gunekr dy wollys ar ryddayar tnegis ag yny nefi. 4. Epi bar a beunyddvuL dyro inni beddivu. 5. Ammad~ deu ynny cpi deledion, mevis aj i maddevu in deledvvir n'waw. 6. Signa thowys ni in brofedigaeth. y. A^- joyn gwared m rbag drug. Amen. [^rorn Chambcrl. p. 47.] Ancient Irifh, or Gaedhlig. OUR Narme a- taarneamb. i.Bea- nich a tainit}. 2. Gt diga de rlogda. 3. Go dent a du hoillair talm in marte ar ne^ amb. 4. Tabair de-* im amugb ar na~ ran limbali. 5. Au- gus mai duln ar fi~ acb a m b a II maa mbla arfiacba. 6. Afr/?/g fen amarlbb . *j. A<.b Jaarfa jm o d:h, Amen. [From Dr. A nth. R.iy- the liiuovy ot iieiaiie thy name. 2. Thy kingdom come. 3. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. 4. Give us this day, our daily bread. 5. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. 6. And lead us not into temptation. 7. But deliver us from evil. Amen. u. Broad Scotch. URE Fader, whilk art in heyin. i . Hallouit be thy naim. 2. Thy kingdum cum. 3. Thy wull be dun in airth, as it is in hevin. 4. Gie ufs this day ure daily breid. 5. And forgive ufs ure debts, afs we forgien ure debtouris. 6. And leid ufs na* into temptation. 7. Bot deliver ufs frae evil. Amen. [From the Englifh Te^ament.j [From a Scotch Gentleman.] III. IV. Low Butch, or Eelgk. Frific^or FriczclandTcngue. ONSE Vader, u'e daer fcijt in de hemelen. I. U- >ven naem worcle ghehey- light. 2. U rijcke kome. 3. Uwen wille ghefchiede pp der aerden, gelijck in Und vergib uns u n fere fchulden, \vie wir unferu fchuldlgern verge- ben. 6. Und fuehre uns nicht in Verfuchung. 7. Sondern erloefe uns von dem vbcl. Amen. [from the common German New T eftament, printed at London. II. High Dutch of the Suevlan DiakZt. FATTER aufar dear du bifcht em hemmal. i. Gehoyleget wearde dain nam. 2. Zuakomme dain reych. 3. Dain will gfchea ufF-earda as em hemmal. 4. Aufar deglich brau4 gib as huyt. 5. Und fer- giab as aufre fchulda, wia wiar fergeaba aufara fchul- digearn. 6. Und fuar as net ind ferfuaching. 7. Sondern erlais as fom iba|, Amen. [From Chaml>erlayn''s Oratiy Dp wmk a, p. 64. J HI. The Siv VA 1 TER unfer, der du bift in hiinlen. i. Geheyligt werd dyn nam. 2. Rukumm uns dijn rijch. 3. Dyn will gefchahe, wie im him mel, alfo auch ufF erden. 4. Gib uns hut unfer taglich brot. 5. Und vergib uns unfere fchulden, wie anch v;ir vergaben unfern fchulderen. 6. Und fuhr UQS nicht in verfuchnyfs. . 7. Sunder erlos uns vqn dem bofen, [From Chamberlayn, ?. 65.] D CRITICAL. 347 SPECIMENS of the CELTIC LANGUAGES, III. MODERN LANGUAGES derived j ram tbs ANCIENT IRISH. Gaidhlig." AR nM'qir ata ar ne- amb. i . Nao?nbthar halnrn. 2. Tigeadh do riogbacbd. 3. Deuntar do tboil ar an ttal- amh^ mar do nltbear ar ne- amh. 4. Ar naran laeatb- amhall tabhair dhuinn a niu. 5. Agus maltb dhuinn ar mar mbaiibmid- dar bhfeitbeambnuibb fiin. 6. Agus na leigfinn a ccatbughadh. 7. Acbd faor Jinn o olc. Amen. [From Bifhop Bedel's Irifh Bible. Lona. 1690. 8vo.] II. Erfe, or Gaidhjig Alban- naich. AR n* Atbair ata air m~ amb. I . Gn naombaichear t tinm. 2. Tigeadb do r'wg- hacbd. 3. Deantbar do thai I air an td amb mar a nit'iear air neamh. 4. Tabhair dbuinn an dm ar n aran laltbeilL 5. Agus maltb dhuinn arf.acba ambuill mar mhaithmid d*ar luebd-fiacb- aibb.* 6, Agus na lag am bualrcadh finn 7. Ach Jao? Jinn o olc. Amen, * Feichnelnibh. [From the New Teftament in the Erie Lunguu b c.J III. Manks, or Language of the Ifle of Man. AYR tf/Vz, fayns niau. I. Cajbfrickefy row dt'ennym. 2. Dy jig dty reeriaughi. ^..Dfaigney dy row jeant er y thalao^ ?n\r ts ayns man. 4. Cur d oin nyn arran, jiu as gagblaa. 5. As leib dooin nyn logh- tyn^ nyr ta Jhin lab dauefyn ta jannoo logh- . tyti nyrf oc. 6. As ny leeidfljin aym mio- iagh. 7. Agh livrey Jkin viib clL [From the Liturgy in Manks. printed at London, 1765. Svo.J NOTES, HISTORICAL SPECIMENS of the GOTHIC LANGUAGES. III. MODERN LANGUAGES .derived from, the AN CIENT SCANDINAVIAN, or ICELANDIC, called (by fame writers) CIMBJRJC, or CIMBRO GOTHIC, I. Icelandic. FADER yor thu Torn ert ahimnum. i.Helgeftthitt nafn. 2. Tilkome thitt ri- ike. 3. Verde thinn vilie, fo a jordu, fern a himne. 4. GiefT tbu ofs i dag vort daglegt braud. 5. Og fier- gieff ofs vorar fkulder, fq fern vier fierergiefum vo- rum fkuMinautum. 6. Og inleid ofs ecke i freillne. 7. Heldr frelfa thu ofs fra. illu. Amen. II. , or Norfe. WOR Fader du fom eft y himmelen. i. Gehailiget woareditnafn. 2.Tilkom- maosrigadit. 3. Dinvvil- ia geflcia paa iorden, fom handler udi himmelen. 4. GifFofs y tag wort dagliga brouta. 5. Och forlaet os wort fkioldt, fom wy for- lataworaikioldon. 6. Och lad os icke homma yoi friftelfe. 7. Man frals 05 fra onet. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 70. j [From Chamberlayn, p. III. Damfi. VOR Fader i himmelen. 1. Helligt vordc ditnavn. 2. Tilkomme dit rige. 3. Vorde din villie, paa iorden fora i himmelen. 4. GifF ofs i dag vort daglige bred. 5. Oc forlad ofs vor fkyld, foot wi forlade vore fkyl- clener. 6. Oc leede ofs jcke i friilelfe. 7. Men frels os fra ont. Amen. [Fjflft hamberlayn, p. 70.] IV. Swcdijh, FADER war fom aft i himmelen. 3. Helgat war- de titt nampn. 2. Till komme titt ricke. 3. Skei tin willie faa paa lordenne, fom i himmelen. 4. Wart dagliga brodjgiffofs i dagh. 5. Och forlat os wara fkul- der fa fom ock wi forlaten them ofs fkildege aro. 6. Och inleed ofs icke i fref- telfe. 7. Ut an frals ofs j fra ondo. Amen. [From Chamberlayn, p. 70.] AND CRITICAL, 344 SPIGIMENS of the FIN* and LAPLAND TONGUES, ii ii. The Lapland Tongue. ATKA mijamjuco he a/" imnfifne* i. Ailis zladdai tu nam. 2. Zweigubatta tu ryki. 3. Ziaddus tu willio* naukuchte almejne nau el ed- na manna I. 4. Wadde mi- jai udnt mij an fart pafwen, laibebm. 5. Jah andagajlo- ite mi jemljan Juddoid^ nau- kucbte mije andagajioitebtku- di mije welgogas lun. 6. Jah JiJ/alaidi mijabni. 7. /EU tocko kteckz&lkbma pa- haft. Amen* The Finn Languag& ISA meiddnjoca olet tat- wajja. I. Pyhitetty olcanfi- num nimes. 2 Lakes tulcon finum waldacundas. 3. O/- con finun tahtos niin maafe cuin taiwafa. 4. Anna meile tanapaiwana meidan joca paiwainen leipam. 5* Sa an- na meille meidan fyndim an- dexi nuncuin mekin andex annam meidan welwottiftem. 6. Ja alajohdata meita kiu- fauxen. 7. Mutta paajla meita pahafta. Amen* [From Chambcrlayn, p. 8a.] [From Chamberlayn, p. 83. J ^SPECIMEN of the CANTABRIAM or BISCAYAN LANGUAGE, yfr// preferred in SPAIN. The Bafque. CURE Aita kerutean cartna. i. Erabilbedi fainduqui furejcena. 2. E- ihorbedi fure erejjuma. 3. Eguinbedi fure borondatea $eru an becala turre*an ere. 4. Emandie^agucu egun gure eg- unoroxco cguia. 5. Eta barkhadietcsit-* gut anfwering to the Venus of the Greeks. In fome languages it is called Freytag. See Mallet's North. Antiquities. , ''~^c I WILL juft add, it is a weighty argument in favor of the truth of the Scripture hiftory, and of the opinioa here advanced of the common origin of languages, that in all the ancient and modern European alphabets, the letters are of a (imilar figure arid power, and arranged nearly in the fame order.* The true Greek letters were only the Cadmean letters reverfed : This reverfal took place early in Greece, when the ancient Phenician and Hebrew order of writing from right to left, was changed for the modern order, which is from left to right. The Hebrew or Phenician Alphabet was clear ly the parent of the Greek, Roman and Gothic. [B, page 52.] THE reader will pleafe to accept the following fpecimen, which will convey an idea of the whole. Punic. YTH al o mm ua lon- uth ! iicora- thifli me com fythchimlach chunyth mum ys tyal mye- thi barii im fchi. Irljh. IATH all o nimh uath lon- naithe ! focru- idhfe me com fith chimi lach chuinigh ! mu- ini iftoil miocht beiridh iar mo fcith. Englifi. OMNIPOTENT, much dreaded Deity of this country ! af- fwage my troubled mind ! Thou, the fupport of feeble cap tives ! being now ex- haufted with fatigue, of thy free will, guide me to my children, IN and * THE Runic excpptecL The Runic letters were fixteen in number, d introduced very early into the North ;; but they went cto dlluf? e tenth or eleventn centurv, Y 354 NOTES, HISTORICAL IN this example the affinity between the Punic and Irifh is Unking , and the faaie runs thfo the whole fpeech. p THAT Ireland received colonies from Spain or Car thage is probable from other circumftances. The I- rifh hiftorians fay their anceftors received letters from the Phenicians ; and the Irifh language was caJled Bearni Feni, the Phenician tongue. Cadiz in Spain was firft fettled by Phenicians 5 and cadas in Iri(h fig- nifies friendjhip. THE Irifh feems to be a compound of Celtic arid Pu nic ; arid if Ireland was peopled originally from Car thage, and received colonies from thence, the event xiiuft have been fubfequent tcr the firft Punic war ; for this was the period when the Carthaginians adopted the Roman letters, and there is no infcription in Ire land in the Phenician character. TH E Hebrew was the root of the Phenician and the Punic. The Maltefe .is evidently a branch of the Punic ; for it approaches nearer to the Hebrew and Chaldaic, than to the Arabic. For this aflertion we have the authority of M. Mams, profeflbr of the Greek and o- riental languages in the Ludovician univerfity of Gief- fen, who had his accounts from Ribier^ a miflionary Jefuit and native of Malta. This fact will account for the correfpondence between the Irifh and the Maltefe, in feveral particulars. In Maltefe, Alia fignifies God\ in Irifh, All is mighty. Baol in Maltefe, and Bel or Bat in Irifh, fignify Chief Deity ex Sun. In Maltefe, ardu is end or fummit ; in Irim, ard^ arda^ are billy high. Thefe words are probably from the fame root as the Latin ardutts^ and the Englifh bard, implying labor. Bandla in Maltefe, is a cord ; in Irifh, bann is fufperi- fion. In Maltefe, gala is the fail of a fhip ; and in I- ri(h, gal is a gale of v;ind. Thefe Maltefe words are taken from a Punica Maltefe Diclionary, annexed to a treatife, Delia lingua Punica prefentamente ufitate da Maltefe, by G. Pietro Francifco Agius de Solandas. THERE A N a CRITICAL. , 353 THERE is alfo a correfpondence between the Irifh and Punic, in the variation of their nouns, as may be obferved in the following example. Punic. Irijh. Nom. A dar, the houfe, an dae, the houfe, &c. Gen, Mit a dar, of the houfe mend na dae Dat. La dar, with or to the houfe la dae Ace. A dar, the houfe an dae Voc. Y'a dar, O houfe a dae Abl. Fa dar, with or by the houfe fa dae IN feveral particulars the Irifh bears' a clofe affinity to the Hebrew and Greek. It was the cuftom with the Hebrews, and it Mill remains with them, to face the eaft in the act .of devotion. From this practice it pro ceeded, that the fame word which fignified right hand, iignined alfofouth ; the fame with left hand and north 5 before and eaft \ behind and weft. This is the cafe alfd m the Irifh language. Hebrew. Irijh. Jamin,^ right hand, fouth deas, the fame Smol, left hand, north thuaidh, the fame Achor, behind, weft tar, the fame Cedem, before, eaft bir and oithear, the fame, or rifingfun. Latin, criens. THAT the Greeks had an intercourfe with the iilands of Britain and Ireland, or fent colonies thither, is not impoflible ; and Dr. Todd, not many years ago, difcov- ered, at Colchefter, in Effex, an altar dedicated to the Tyrian Hercules, with an inicription in Greek capitals, HPAKAHS TYPED AEIO AOKA APXIEPIA. THERE is a place in Ireland called Airchil. And it is a remarkable fac-1, that fome fragments of old Iitli laws, * VENJAMIX is fon of the right hand. Y a 256 NOTES, HISTORICAL laws, which, for a long time, puzzled the antiquaries of the nation, are found to be written in a very ancient language, and in the manner which the Greeks called Bottftrophedon ; that is, from right to left, and from left to right, in the manner that oxen plow. This was fuppofed to be an improvement on the Hebrew and Phenician order of writing all the lines from right to left, which Cadmus introduced into Greece. This manner of writing in Greece was prior to Homer, and if the Irifh copied from the Greeks, which is not im- pofllble, the fact would prove a very early fettlement of Ireland by Greek colonies or their descendants. See Leland's Hift. of Ireland, Prelim. Dif. ALL thefe circumftances corroborate the opinion that the Celts came originally from the eafl, and formed fet- tlements on the fhores of the Mediterranean and At lantic. The affinity between the Phenkian, the Punic,- the Maltefe, the Irifh and the Britifh languages, dif- coverable in a great number of words, makes it proba ble, that after colonies were fettled at Carthage and at Cadiz, fome commercial intercourfe was carried on be tween them and the nations at the head of the Medi terranean, and that an emigration from Spain might people Ireland before any fettlements had been made there by the GaiUs or Britons. It is however more probable that the Punic words in the Irifh language might have been introduced into that ifland by fubfe- quent colonization. At any rate, from the Hebrew, Chaldaic, or Phenician, or the common root of thefe languages, proceeded the Punic, the Maltefe, the Iberi an or Spanifh, the Gaulilh, the Britim, and the Irifh. The order I have mentioned is obvious and natural ; and hiftory /urnifhes us with fome facts to ftrengthen the fuppofition. [C, page 58.] BISHOP Hickes, in his Saxon Grammar, which is a vail treafure of valuable learning, has preferved a fpeci- AND CRITICAL. 357 men of the language and of the opinions of the Eng- lUh refpefting it, in an extract from a manuicript of one Ranuiphus Higdenus, de Incolarum linguis, tranilat- ed by John Trevila in 1385, and the ninth of Richard II. Trevifa's ftile bears fome affinity to that of Chau cer, with whom he was cotemporary. "As it is knowne how rneny maner peple beeth in this land : There beeth alfo fo many dyvers longages and tongues. Nathlefs, Walfchemen and Scotts, that hath nought medled with other nations, hokteth wel nyh his firfte langage and fpeeche : But yif the Scottes that were fometime confiderat and woned with the Picts draw fome what after hir i fpeeche : But yif the Flemynges that woneth in the wefte fide of Wales haveth left her ftrange fpeeche and fpekethlSexon like now. Alfo Englishmen, they had from the begynnynge thre maner fpeeche,north- erne, fowtherne, and middel fpeeche in the middle of the Jande, as they come of thojnaner peple of Germania, Nathlefs by comyxtion and mellynge 2; f;rft with and afterwards with Normans, in meny the contray la gageis apayred 3 and fom ufeth ftrong wlafferynge^ chit- erynge,4 hartynge4 and gartynge,^ griibayting ;4 this apayryng 5 of the burthe of the tunge is becaufe of tweie thinges : oqn is for children in fcole, agenft the ufage and maner of all other nations, beeth compelled for to leve hire owne langage, and for to confture hir leflbns and here 6 thinges in Frenche and fo they hav eth fethe 7 Normans came firfte into England. Alfo gentilmen children beeth taught to fpeke Frenche from the tyme that they beeth rokked in hire cradle and con- neth 8 fpeke and play with a childes brache and upland- iifche meng will Ijkne hymfelf to gentilmen and fond- eth 10 with the greet befynefie for to fpeke Frenche for to I. THEIR. 2t Mixture; an old French word, now written me'sr^e* 3 corrupted. 4 Thefe words reprefent barbarity and roughnefs in ipeajc- jng. 5 Corrupcion of the native tongue. 6 hear 7 fince 8 know.. The Germans preferve the verb k&nnen y to be able. The pronouns hir and hire for their, ftill remain in the German ibr. 9 Country-people, fo called froin diyir living on the mountains or high lands 5 hence cuiitindljb. 10 at tempt * 35B NOTES, HISTORICAL to be told of. [Trevifa, the translator remarks here ^ " This maner was moche ufed to, for firft deth,u and is lithe 12 fum del 13 changed. For John Cornwaile, a maifter of grammer, changed the lore 14 in grammer fcole and conftru&ion of Frenche into Englifhe- And Richard Peneriche lerned the manere techynge of him as other men, of Penriche. So that now the yere of our Lorde a thoufand thi e himdred and four fcore and iyve and of the fecond king Richard after the conquefr, nyne ; and alle the grammar fcoles of England chil dren lernetri Frenche and conftrueth and lerneth an tnglidie and haveth thereby advantage in oon fide, and difadvantage in another fide. Here 15 advantage is that they lerneth hir grammer in lafle tyme, than chil dren were*wonned to doo. Difadvantage is, that now children of grammer fcole conneth na more Frenche than can hir lift bee!e^i6 and that is harme for hem an they fchullei^ pafTe the fee and travaille in ftrange londes and in many other places. Alfo gentilmen hav- . eth now moehe left for to teche here children Frenche."] ' Ranulpbus. Hit feemeth a great wonder how Englifhe men and her 18 own longage and tongue is fo dyverfe of fown in this oqn ilande, and the longage of Norman- die is comlynge 19 of another lande and hath oon maner foun among all men that fpeketh hit arigt in England. [Trevifa's remark u Neverthelefs there is as many diverfe maner Frenche in the reeme2o of France, as is dyvers maner Engli(he in the reeme of England."] .&. Alfo of the atbrefaid Saxon tonge that js eleledii athree and is abide fcarceliche22 with few uplandilhe men, is great wonder. For men of the eft with men of the wcit is as it were under the fame partie of hevene accordeth more in fownynge of .fpeeche than men of the north with men of the louth. Therefore it is thut Mercii, femnt with cngernefs. n time. 12 JJthe is the origin of fince. 1") Del jj^n'.iies *f-art or division ; it is from the verb det'ler to divide, an,d the' roc L of tht- En^liih word deal. JJaler\s pteierved in the Daniili, 14 icarning. 15 their. 16 In the original theie words are obfcure. jylhis is fro.-,' the verb Jo/ien, implying obligation, duty. 18 thif. 39 foici^n j Lat. aj^eva. 2Q rt^im. 3,1 divided, 2 Scarcely. $ hardly e .'J AND CRITICAL. 359 Mercii, that beeth men of myddel England, as it were, parteners of the endes, underflandeth bettrie the fide Ion- gages than northerne and foutherne underftandeth either other. All the longage of the Northumbers and fpe- cialliche at York, is fo fcharp, flitting and frotynge and unfchape that the foutherne men may that longage unnethe23 underftande. I trow that is becaufe that they beeth nyh to ftrange men and nations, that fpeketh ftrongliche, and alfo becaufe the kinges of Englande woneth24 alway fer25 from that contray, for they beeth more turned to the fouth contray, and yif they goeth to the northe contray, they goeth with great helpe and ftrengthe. The caufe why they beeth more in the fouthe contray than in the northe, for it may be better corn londe, more peple, more noble cities, and more profitable havenes."* ON this pafiage we may make the following re marks : i. THAT the third perfon fingular of the verb is in variably ufed with plural as well as fingular nouns ; they beeth^ haveth. Whereas in Chaucer and Mandeville the fame perfon ends generally in en ; theyfeyn for they fay. THE fame third perfon was ufexl for the imperative, by the beft Englifh writers. " AND foft take me in your armes tvrey, JFor love of God, and bearkenetb what I fey." Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 2783. " AND at certyn houres, they feyn to certyn offices, maketh pees 3" that is, makepeace. Mandeville, p. 281. 2. THAT 33 hardly. 24 dvvelleth. 25 far. * I TIN D in an c< Eflay on the language and verification of Chaucer" prefixed to Bell's edition of his works, part of thib extrad copied from a Harlein manuicript, faid to be more correft than the manufcript from which Dr. Hickes copied it. But on comparing the extracts in both, J tut Verbal 4;fferences j the fenie of both is the fame. 360 NOTES, HISTORICAL / 2. THAT yifis ufed for if; a proof that if is a verb, a contraction of giforyif(for they were ufed promif- cuoufly) the imperative of gifan^ to give.* 3. THAT the fubjun&ive form of verbs was not ufe4 after if\ and y if they goetb to the norths contray. 4. THAT there were three principal diale&s in th$ Englilh ; the>z0rf/?mz, which wa's corrupted by the Scots and Pi6b, and from which the prefent Yorkshire lan guage is derived ; the middle, which came from Ger many and retained its primitive purity, and is the true parent of modern Engljih ; and the joutkern, by which is nreant, either the language of t^ie (outhern parts which was corrupted by an intercourfe with foreigners; or what is more probable, the language fpoken in Dev- cnfhire, and on the borders of Cornwal, which wa$. mixed with the old Britifti, and is now almoft unintel ligible. 5. THAT the conquefts of the Danes and Norman^ had corrupted the pure language of the Saxons. 6. THAT * IN a charter of fldward III. dated 134?, yevcn is ufed for given. Tave for gave is ufed by Chaucer. Knight's 1 ale, line 2737. " And yamc hem giftes after his degreet 11 In 'a charter of Edward the Confeffbr, gifis ufed in its Saxon purity. In the fame charter, BiJJop his land, ir, ufed for a genitive. The Scotch wrote x for y ; zir for yet $ zeres toi- years. Douglafs. -I do not find, at this period, tHe true Saxon genitive in ufe : The BiJJop bh land, is deemed an error. This mode of fpeak- ing has however prevailed, till within a few years, atid ftill has its advo cates. But it is certain the Saxons had a proper termination for the genitive or poiTdfive, which is preserved in the two firft declenfions of the German. of the decJenfidn of nouns among the Saxons, A WORD. Stag. Flu. Nom. Word word Gen. Wordes worda Dat. Worde Wordum Ace. Word word Voc. Eala thu word eaia ge word Worde, vordum *. Hickes Sax. Gram A N p C R I T I C A L, 361 6. THAT this corruption proceeded principally from the teaching of French in fchools. 7. THAT country people, (uplandifh men) imitated the jpradice of the polite, and learnt French, as many to be toldrf. 8. THAT Cornwall and others, in Trevifa's time, Had begun to reform this practice. 9. THAT French had almoft baniflied the native Saxon from the polite part of the nation, and that the tiplandijh or weitern people alone retained it uncorrupted, 10. THAT the Kings of England refided principally in the fouthern parts of the kingdom, where the land was moft fertile, beft cultivated, moft populous, and molt advantageous for commerce, [D, page 59.] CHAUCER's particular patron was John of Gaunt, Duke of Laneafter. He married Philippa, the fitter of Lady Swinford, who before her marriage and after her huiband's death, was one of the Duke's family. "CRETE well Chaucer when you mete Of dittees and of fonges glade, The which he - made The londe fulfilled is over all." . Gower. QOWER is faid to have been Chaucer's preceptor* * c MY maifter C<2tt^r-chiefe poet of Bretayne Whom all this lond fhould of right prefetre, Sith of our language he was the lodejiarre t That made firft to dyftyUe-and rayhe The gold dew dropys of fpeche and eloquence Into our tungue through his excellence." Lydgate. CHAUCER'S merit in improving the Englifh lan guage is celebrated by other poets of his time Occleve, Douglas 362 NOTES, HISTORICAL Douglas and Dunbar. They call him \hefoure of elo quence^ the fader in ]cience y and the firfle fyndtr of our fayrc langage. HE died in 1400. IT muft however be remarked that Chaucer did not import foreign words, fo much as introduce them into books and give them currency in writing. It muft fur ther be obferved that when I fpeak of the incorporation of Latin words with the Englifh, I would not be under- ilood to mean that words were taken directly from the Roman tongue and anglicifed. On the other hand, they moftly came thro the channel of the Norman or Provencal French ; and perhaps we may call them, with propriety French words ; for they had loft much of their Roman form among the Gauls, Franks anc| Normans. THE moft correct account I have feen of the ftate of the language in the nth, iath, I3th and i4th centu ries, is in the firft volume of Bell's edition of Chaucer. WE Jiaye the authority of Ingulphus, a hiftorian of credit, for alleging that the French began to be fafhion- able in England, before the conqueft. Edward the ConfeiTor refided many years in Normandy, and im bibed a predilection for the French manners and lan guage. On his acceffion to the throne of England, ir* 1043, he promoted many of his Norman favorites to the lirft dignities in the kingdom ; under the influence of the king and his friends, the Englifh began to imi tate the French fashions. BUT the conqueft in 1066, completed the change. The court of William confifted principally of foreigners who could fpeak no language but French. Moft of the high offices and rich livings in the kingdom were filled with Normans, and the caftles which, by order of the conqueror, were built in different parts of the country, were A N D C R I T I C A L, 363 were garrifoned by foreign foldiers, in whom the king might moft fafely confide.* Public bufmefs was tranf- acted in the French, and it became difhonorable or a mark of low breeding, not to underftand that language. Indeed under the firft reigns after the conqueft, it was a difgrace to be called an Engtijbman. In this deprefled flate of the Ene^lifh, their language could not fail to be neglected by the polite part of the nation. BUT as the body of the nation .did not underftand French, there muft have been a conftant effort to root it out and eftablifh the English. The latter however gained ground {lowly during the two firfl centuries of the revolution. But in the reign of king John, Nor mandy, which had been united with England under the Norman princes, was taken by the French, 1205, and thus feparated from the Britilh dominions. In the next reign (Henry III.) fqme regulations were made between the two kingdoms, by which the fubjects of ei ther were rendered incapable of holding lands in the other. Thefe events muft have retained, in fome degree, the intercourfe between the two kingdoms, and given the Englifh an opportunity to aflume their own native character and importance* In this reign the Englifh began to value themfelves upon their birth, and a knowlege of the Englifh language was a recommend ation, tiio not a requiSte, in a candidate for a benefice. IT appears alfo by the paflage of Higden before quot- ^d, that the practice of conftruing Latin into French, in the fchools, had clofed before his time. This, with the other caufes before afligned, contributed to root out the French, and make the Englifh reputable ; and in the reign of Edward III. produced the acl, mentioned in the text, in favor of the Englifh. This act did not produce a total change of practice at once ; for we rind the proceedings in parliament were publifhed in French for * CUSTODES in caftellis ftrenuos viros $x Gall's coMocavit, et opn- Jenta beneiicia, pro quibus iabores et pericula Jibcnter tolera rent, diitn- bait. Oideric. Vital, lib. 4. 364 NOTES, HISTORICAL for fixty years after the pleas in courts were ordered to be in Englifh, and the ftatutes continued in French a- bout 120 years after the aft, till the firft of Richard III. IT may be obferved that the royal aflent to bills was in fome iriftances given in Englifh during the reign of Henry VI. Be it ordained as it is ajked : Be it as it is (ixtd.* But the royal aflent is now declared in French. [E, page 66 and 34.] SIR William Temple's ftile, tho eafy and flowing, is too difFufe : Every page of his abounds with tautol ogies. Take the following fpecimen from the nrfl page that prefents itfelf on opening his third volume. the furvey of thefe difpofiticns in mankind and thefe conditions of government, it feems much more reafonable to pity than to envy \hvfvrtvnet and dignities of princes or great minifters offlate ; and to leffen and excufe their venial faults, or at leaft their mif- fortunes, rather than to encreafe and make them ivorfe by ill colors and reprefentations." - Of Pop. Dif. FORTUNES and dignities might have been better Cxprefled by elevated rank or high Rations ; great is fu- perfluous, and fo are leffen and make them worfe^ and ei ther colors or reprefentations might have been omitted. *' THE 6rft fafety of princes zndjtates lies in avoiding all councils or defigns of innqvation, in ancient and fftab- lijhed forms and laws, efpecially thofe concerning liberty, property and religion (which are the poiTefiions men will ever have moll at heart ;) and thereby leaving th channel of known and common juftice clear and undtf- iurbed." Several words might here be retrenched, and yet leave the atjthqr's meaning more preciie and in telligible. This is the principal fault in Temple's ftije, "Bur * THE word ax for ajk is not a modern corruption. It was an ancieai dialed, ind not yulgar* A i* B C R I T~I C A L. 365 **BuT men, accuftomed to the free and vagrant life of hunters, are incapable of regular application to la bor ; and confider agriculture as nfecondary and inferior occupation." Robertfon's Hift. Amer. book 4. SUPPOSING Jecondary and inferior not to be exaclly fynonimous, in this fenteince <>ne would have anfwered the purpofe. AGRICULTURE, even when the ftrength of mart is feconded by that of the animals which he has fubjetted. to the yoke, and his power augmented by the uje of the 'Various mftruments with which the difcovery of metals has furnimed him, is dill a work of great labor." - The fame. THIS fentence is very exceptionable. Is agriculture^ a work ? Can fo definite a term be applied to fuch a general idea ? But what a group of ufelefs words follow ! It was not fufficient to fay, the Jlrength of man feconded by that of animals, but the kinds of animals muft be fpe- cified ; viz. fuch as he has fubjetted to the yoke $ when every perfon knows that other animals are never ufed ; and confequently the author's idea would have been fufficiently explicit without that fpecification. In the fubfequent claufe, the words, his power augmented by the ufe of the various injlruments of metal, would have been explicit ; for the difcovery of metals muft have been im plied. Such expletive words load the mind with a chain of particular ideas which are not effential to the cfcfcourfe. " AND if any one of thefe prognoses is deemed unfavorable, they inftantly abandon the purfuit of thofe meafures, on which they are mojl eagerly beniS* The fame. HERE is an awkward concluHon of the period, and afcribeable to a too nice regard for grammatical rules. They are moft eagerly bent on, would perhaps have beett better 2,66 NOTES, HISTORICAL better ; but a different conftru&ion would have been ftill lefs exceptionable. There is however a greater fault in the conftruclion. By employing tbofe and moft eagerly, the idea is, that favages, on the appearance of unfavorable omens, would abandon tbofe meafures only, on which they are moft eagerly bent, and not others that they might be purfuing with lefs earneftnefs. Why could not the author have faid in plain Englim " they inftantly abandon any meafure they are purfu ing." THIS writer's ftile likewife abounds with fynoriims ; V&ftrtngthen and confirm, quicken and animate ; whea one term would fully exprefs the meaning. " Strong liquors awake a favage from his torpid flate -give a brifker motion to hisfpirits, and enliven him more thor oughly than either dancing on gaming.'* Book 4. What a neecilefs repetition of the fame idea ! The au thor is alfo very liberal in the ufe of all " all the tranfports and frenzy of intoxication." " War, which Between extenfive kingdoms, is carried on with little an- imbfity, is profecuted by fmall tribes, with all the ran cor of a private quarrel. " IN Ihort, theftiieof Dr, Robertfon, the great, the philofophic hiftorian, is too labored. The mind of the reader is kept conftantly engaged in attending to the ftrufture of the periods ; it is fatigued with words and drawn from the chain of events. THE ftile of Kaims, tho not eafy and flowing, is precife, and generally accurate. The ftile of Blair's Lectures is lefs correct than that of his Sermons ; but at the fame time, lefs formal in the ftru&ure of the pe riods. THESE remarks, the reader will obferve, refpeft ftile only ; for the merit of Robertfon, as a judicious and faithful hiftorian ; and of Kaims and Blair, as critics, is above praife or cenfure. A N D c R i T i e A L; 357 . IN no particular is the falfe tafte of the English more obvious, than in the promifcuous encomiums they have beftowed on Gibbon, as a hiftorian. His work is not properly a " Hiftory of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire j" but a "Poetico-Hiftorical Defcrip- tion of certain Perfons and Events, embellifhed with fuitable imagery and epifodes, defigned to ihow the au thor's talent in felefting words, as well as to delight the ears of his readers." In ftiort, his hiftory fhould be entitled, " A Difplay of Words ;" except fome chapters which are excellent commentaries on the hiftory of the Roman Empire. THE general fault of this author is, he takes more pains to form his fentences, than to collect^ arrange and exprefs the facls in an eafy and perfpicuous manner. In confequence of attending to ornament, he feems to forget that he is writing for the information of his read er, and -when he ought to inftruft the ?nind t he is only pkafing the ear. Fully poflefled of his fubjecl:, he de- fcribes things and events in general terms or figurative language, which leave upon the mind a faint evanefcent impreilion of fome indeterminate idea ; fo that the reader, not obtaining a clear precife knovvlege of the fa&s, finds it difficult to underftand, and impoffible to recollect, the author's meaning. Let a man read his volumes with the moft laborious attention, and he will find at the clofe that he can give very little account of the " Roman Empire ;" but he will remember per fectly that Gibbon is a moft elegant writer. HISTORY is capable of very little embelllfhrnent ; tropes and figures are the proper inftruments of eloquence and declamation ; fafls only are the fubjects of hiftory, Reflections of the author are admitted ; but thefe ftiould not be frequent j for the reader claims a right to his own opinions. The juftnefs of the hiftorian's remarks may be called in queftion fafts only are inconteftible. The plain narative of the Scripture 'hiftorians^ and of Herodotus, with their dialogues and digrefTions, is as far 3 63 NOTES, HISTORICAL far fuperior, confidered as pure hiftory, to the affecled glaring brilliancy of ftile and manner, which runs thro Gibbon's writings, as truth is to ficliori ; or the ver- million blufh of nature and innocence, to the artificial daubings of famion. The iirft never fails to affect the heart the laft can only dazzle the fenfes. ANOTHER Fault in Gibbon's manner of writing, is^ the ufe of epithets or titles inftead of names. " The Caefar, the conqueror of the eaft, the protector of the church, the country of the Caefars, the fon of Leda," and innu- inerable fimilar appellations are employed, inftead of the real names of the perfons and places ; and frequently at fuch a diftance from any mention of the name, that the reader is obliged to turn over a leaf and look for an explanation. Many of the epithets are new j cuftom has not made us familiar with them ; they have never been fubftituted,by common confent, for the true names; the reader is therefore furprized with unepe6ted ap pellations, and conftantly interrupted to find the perfons or things to which they belong. I AM not about to write a lengthy criticifm on this author's hiftory ; a few paflages only will be felected as proofs of what I have advanced. "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol. 3* oft. chap. 17 : In explaining the motives of the Emperors for removing the feat of government from Rome to the Eaft, the author fays " Rome was infenfibly confounded with the de pendent kingdoms which had once acknowleged her fupremacy ; and the country of the Cafars was viewed with cold indifference by a martial prince, born in the neighborhood of the Danube, educated in the courts and armies of Afia, and inverted with the purple by the legions of Britain." By the author's beginning one part of the fentence with Rome y and the other with the country of the Cesfars, the reader is led to think two dif ferent places are intended, for he has not a fufpicion of a tautology.-, or at leafl he fuppofes the author ufes the country of the Ctfars in a more extenfive fenfe than Rome* A N f> CRITICAL. 569 " &omf. He therefore looks back and reads perhaps half a page with a clofer attention, and finds that the writer is fpeaking of the feat of empire^ and therefore can mean the city of Rome only. After this trouble he is difpleaf- ed that the author has employed five words to fvvell and adorn his period. This however is not the only diffi^ culty in underftanding the author. Who is the martial prince ? In the preceding fentence, Diocletian is men tioned, as withdrawing from Rome ; and in the fentence following, Conftantine is faid to vifit Rome but feldom. The reader then is left to collect the author's meaning, by the circumftances of the birth, education and elec tion of this martial prince. If he is poflefTed of thefe facts already > he may go on without much tFouble. THE author's affectation of ufing the purple for the crown or imperial dignity, is fo obvious by numberlefs repetitions of the word, as to be perfectly ridiculous. " IN the choice of an advantageous fituation, he pre ferred the confines of Europe and Afia ; to curb, with a powerful arrn^ the barbarians who dwelt between the Danube' and Tanais ; to watch, with an eye of jealoufy, the conduct of the Perfian monarch." Here the mem bers of the fentence in Italics, are altogether fuperflu- ous ; the author wanted to inform his reader, that Dio- clefian defigned to curb the barbarians and watch the Perfian monarch ; for which purpofe he chofe a favor able fituation ; but it was wholly immaterial to the fubject to relate in what manner or degree, the empe^ ror meant to exert his arm or his jealoufy. Nay more, thefe are circumftances which are not reduceable to any certainty, and of which the writer and the reader can have no precife idea. "WiTH thefe views, Dloclefian had felected and embellifhed the refidence of Nicomedia" Is Nicomedia a princefs, whofe refidence the emperor felected and embellifhed ? This is the moft obvious meaning of the fentence. But Nicomedia, we learn from other paffa- 3 ges, 370 NOTES, HISTORICAL ges, was a city, the refidence itfelf of the emperor. Yet the author could not tell us this in a few plain words, without fpoiling the harmony of the phrafe ; he chofe therefore to leave it obfcure and ungrammatical. " BUT the memory of Dioclefian was juftly abhor red by the Proteflor of the Church ; and Conjiantine was not infcnfible to the ambition of founding a city, which might perpetuate the glory of his own name." Who is the protestor of the church ? By Conftantine's being mentioned immediately after, one would think he can not be the perfon intended ; yet on examination, this is found to be the cafe. But why this feparate appel lation ? it feems the author meant by it to convey this idea ; That Dioclefian was a perfecutor of the church, therefore his memory was abhorred by Conftantine who was its protector ; the caufe of Conftantine's abhorrence 'is implied, and meant to be unfolded to the reader, in a iingle epithet. Is this hiftory ? I muft have the lib erty to think that fuch terfenejs of ftile, notwithstanding the authorities of Tacitus and Gibbon, is a grofs cor ruption and a capital fault. IN defcrlption, our author often indulges a figurative poetical manner, highly improper. " THE figure of the imperial city (Conftantinople) may be reprefented under that of an unequal triangle. The obtufe point, which advances towards the eaft, and the fhores of Afia, meets and repels the waves of the Thracian Bofphorus." Here the author foars on poetic wings, and we behold the obtufe point of a triangle, marching eaftward, attacking and repulfing its foes, the waves of the Bofphorus ; in the next line, the author fmks from the heights of Parnaflus, and creeps on the plain offimplenarative " The northern fide of the city is bounded by the harbor." " ON thefe banks, tradition long preferved the mem ory of the fylvan reign of Amycus, who defied the fort- AND CRITICAL. 371 ef Leda to the combat of the Ceftus." The authop takes it for granted that his reader is acquainted with all the ancient fables of Greece and Rome. Such allufrms to fads or fables make a wretched figure in fober hif- tj>ry* THE author, after the manner of the poets, admits epifodes into his defcriptions, by way of variety and embellimment. He, begins a defcription of Conftanti- nople j to do juftice to the city, he muft deicribe its fit- uation ; he therefore gives an account of the Thraciars Bofphorus, the Propontus and' Hellefpont, interfperfed with ancient fables, and adorned with poetical imagery. When he arrives at the mouth of the Hellefpont, his fancy leads him to the feat of ancient Troy, and he cannot pafs it, without telling us from Homer, where the Grecian armies were encamped; where the flanks of the army were guarded by Agamemnon's brav- eft chiefs ; where Achilles and his myrmidons oc cupied a jpromontory ; where Ajax pitched his teat ; aud where his tomb was ereited after his death. After indulging his fancy on this memorable field of heroic actions, he is qualified to defcribe Conftantinople. BUT it is needlefs to multiply examples ; for fimilar - faults occur in almoft every page. Moil men, who have read this hiftory, perceive a difficulty in urider- flanding it 5 yet few have attempted to find the reafon ; and hardly a man has dared to ceaiure the ftile and manner. To what caufe then mail we afcribe the almoft u- nanimous confent of the Englifh and Americans, in lavishing praifes upon Gibbon's hiiiory ? In fome meaf- ure * So Gillies, in his Hift. of Greece, chap. II. talks about the death of the "friend of Achilles ;" but leaves the. reader to difco.ver the per- fon not having once mentioned the nAme ofPatroclus. I vvou!d obferve further that fuch appellations as the Jon cf Leda are borrowed from the Greek ; but wholly improper in our language, i he Greeks had a dii- tmcl ending of the name of the father to fi^nify fon or defcendants j as Herac/iaa. This form of the noun was knewn and had a definite mean ing in Greece j but in Engliih the idiom is awkward and erab* % 2 NOTES, HISTORICAL tire doubtlefs to the greatnefs of the attempt, and the want of an Englifh hiftory which fhould unfold the fe- ries of events which connects ancient and modern times. The man who mould light a lamp, to illuminate the dark period of time from the fth to the i5th century, would deferve immortal honors. The attempt is great j it is noble ; it is meritorious. Gibbon appears to have been faithful, laborious, and perhaps impartial. It is his ftile and manner only I am cenfuring ; for thefe are exceedingly faulty. For proof of this I appeal to a fingle fact, which I have never heard contradicted ; that a man who would comprehend Gibbon, muft read with painful attention, and after all receive little im provement. THE encomiums of his countrymen proceed from falfe tafte i a tafte for fuperfluous ornament. Men are difpofed to lefTen the trouble of reading, and to fpare the labor of examining into the caufes and confequences of events. They choofe to pleafe their eyes and ears, rather than feed the mind. Hence the rage for a- IridgementS) and a difplay of rhetorical embellishments* Hence the eclat with which "Millet's Elements of General Hiftory," is received in the world. This work is no more than an Index to General Hiftory ; or a recapitulation of the principal events. It is calculat ed for two clafles of people ; for thofe who, having read hiftory in the original writers, want to revife their ftudies, without a repetition of their firft labors ; and for thofe who have but little time to employ in read ing, and expeft only a general and fuperficidl knowlege of hiftory.* But a man who would know the mi nute fprings of action ; the remote and collateral, as well as the direct caufes and confequences of events ; and the nice (hades of character which diftinguim emi nent men, with a view to draw rules from living ex amples ; fuch a man muft pafs by abridgements as tram ; he muft have recourfe to the original writers, or to collections of authentic papers. Indeed a collection cf *R2ADsof the'laft okfcriptioa are the moft-aamerous* AND CRITICAL; 373 all the material official papers, arranged in the order of time, however dry and unentertaining to moft readers, is really the befl, and the only authentic hiftory of a coun try. The philofopher and ftatefman, who wifh to fub- ftitute fact for opinion, will generally fufpecl: human teftimony ; but repofe full confidence in the evidence of papers, which have been the original inftruments of public tranfa&ions, and recorded by public authority. THESE ftrihires are contrary to the opinions of xnoft men, efpecially as they regard the ftile of the au thors mentioned,, Yet they are written with a full conviction of their being well founded. They pro ceed from an earneft defire of arrefting the progrefs of falfe tafte in writing, and of feeing my countrymen called back to nature and truth. POSTSCRIPT. THE foregoing remarks were written before I had feen the opinions of that judicious and elegant writer, Eaft Apthorp, M. A. vicar of Croydon, on the fame hiftory. The following paffage is too direclly in point to be omitted. It is in his " Second Letter on th^ Study of Hiftory," U I WAS difappointed in my expectations of inftruc- tion from this book (Gibbon's Hiftory) when I dif- cerned that the anthor had adopted that entertaining but fuperficial manner of writing hiftory, which was firft introduced by the Abbe de Vertot, whofe Hiftory of the Revolutions in the Government of the Roman Republic, is one of thofe agreeable and feducing mod^ els which never fail of producing a multitude of imita tions. There is, in this way of writing, merit enough to recommend it to fuch readers, and fuch writers, as propofe to themielves no higher aim, than an elegant literary amufement : It piques their curionty, while it gratifies their indolence. The hiftorian has the advan* itt this way, of palling ovej fuch events and 3 374 ND T E S, 'HI S T O R I C A L tutions as, however effential to the fcience of hiftory, are lefs adapted -to fhine in the recital. By fupprefiing fads and violating chronology ; by fele&ing the mod pleafing incidents and placing them in a finking point of view, by the coloring and drapery of ftile and com- poiition, the imagination is gratified with a gaudy fpecracle of triumphs and revolutions paffing in review before it ; while the rapid fuccefTion of great events affords a tranfient delight, without leaving ufeful and lafting imp! effions either on the memory or judge ment ; or fixing thofe principles which ought to be the refult of hiltonc information. " NOR is it the worft confequence of this flight and. modifh way of compiling hiftory, that it affords to fu- pine and unrefle&ing readers a barren entertainment, to fill up the vacant hours of indolence and diflipation. The hiftorian who gives himfelf the privilege of muti lating and feledting, and arranging at difcretion the rec ords of paft ages, has full fcope to obtrude on his care- Jefs readers any fyftem that fuits with his preconceived opinions or particular views in writing." " The oaly legitimate ftudy of hiftory is in original hijfarians," THE fame writer complains of a decline of literature in Great Britain, fixing the " fettlement that followed the revolution," as the era of true fcience and great- nefs. He remarks that the "aim of modern writers ieems to be to furnifh their readers with fugitive amufe- ment, and that ancient literature is become rather the ornament of our libraries, than the accomplimment of our minds ; being fupplanted by the modifh produc tions which are daily read and forgotten/' [F, page 76.] FOR proof of what I have advanced refpeting the found of c in Rome, 1 would obferve, that the genitive cafe of the ririt declenfion in Latin anciently ended in f/j which was probably copied from the Greeks ', fof it A K D C R T I C A L. 37$ it is very evident the Latin doniccm pabsres efunt dc puMico A N B C R I T 1 C A L. $a!atitim. Now cb in Englifh have a compound found,, which begins with that of f,and hence ti and ci in Englifh have taken the found of ch or Jh. It is evident there fore that c before * had a great affinity to ti ; an affinity which is ftill preferved in the Italian language. Thefe circumftances give us reafon to believe that ci and //' ir> tondicio and palatium^ were both pronounced cht^ condi^ chiO) palachium* This found of ci agrees perfectly well with the Saxon found in '/ text, page 72. [G, page 82.] I SHALL not enter into a particular difcuffion of the queftion, whether h is a mark of found or not. By Jts convertibility with k and c in the ancient languages, we have reafon to conclude that it once had a guttural found, and the pronunciation of fome northern nations of Europe confirms 'the opinion. But it appears in modern Englifh to have no found by itfelf ; it however affects, in fome degree, the found of the vowel to which Jt is prefixed, by preyioufly opening the mouth wider than is neceiTary to articulate the vowel. Thus in band we hear no found but qf and ; yet in pronouncing hand we open the throat wider, and emit the breath with violence befpre we begin the found, which makes an obvious difference in pronouncing the words and and hand ; and perhaps this diftinc>ion is perceiveable as far as the words can be hearcj. The fame may be faid of tb in think. THE inftance of a man who loft a dinner by telling his fervant to eat it, when he meant to tell him to heat it, affords a ufeful leffon to thofe who are difpofed 19 treat the letter h with too much negleft, [H, page 85.] THAT / ftiort is the fame found as te we have the authority of one of the firft and belt Englilh grammari- 378 NOTES, HISTORICAL ans. " Hunc fonum, (ee) quoties correptus eft, AngH per /breve, exprimunt ; quum vero producitur, fcribunt ut plurimum per ee y non raro tamen per ie ; vel etiam per ea ; ut, //,//,/**/, ///,/*W, near," &c. Wallis, Gram. Sea. 2. ASH confirms the opinion. " Ee has one found, as -in fee, thee^ and coincides with the narrow i." Gram. DifT. pref. to his Die. KENRICK'S arrangement of the long and fart vow els is exa6tly fimilar to mine. SHERIDAN entertains a different opinion refpe&ing the fhort i and e. He confiders them as diftincl: vow els, incapable of prolongation. Rhet. Gram. pref. to his Dic~L page 16. In this he differs from molt other writers upon the fubjecl-, who have attended to the philofophical diftin6tions of founds. This appears to be an inaccuracy in his diftribution of the vowels 3 al- tho it cannot affect the practice of fpeaking. THE found of the Roman /, it is agreed on all hands, was that of the Engliih ee. It retains that found Itiil in the Italian, French and Spanifti, which are immedi ately derived from the Latin. It had its long and fhort founds in Latin ; as in vidi t homini ; the firft pronoun ced veedee, and the laft homing as we now pronounce i infill. The French preferve the long found, and lay it down as a general rule, that / is pronounced like the Englifh ee : Yet in difcourfe they actually morten the found, and mfentimens^ rcffentiment^ &c, pronounce 2 as we do in civil. In the French motif ^ i is long like ee ; in this and all fimilar terminations, we ihorten the found, moth. Mr. Sheridan, in this particular, is evi dently fingular and probably wrong. THAT e in let is but the fiiort abrupt found of a in late, is not fo clear ; but to me is evident. There is little or no difference in the pofition of the organs with which . A N D C R I T I C A L. 379 we pronounce both vowels. The Roman, Ital ian, Spanifh and French e is confidered as the repre- fentative of the Englifh a in late, made ; and yet in common difcourfe, it is (hortened into the found of* in let) men : Witnefs, legere, avec, emmene, bueno, enten dido : We obferve the fame in Englifh 5 for/aid, any, many, which are pronounced fed, enny, menny, exhibit the fame vowel or fhort a ; the e being the abrupt found of at infaid. 1 mud therefore differ from Mr. Sheridan, and ftill believe that e in let, and z in fit, are capable of prolongation. Children, when, inftead of a comparifon, they would exprefs the fuperlative by an emphafis, fay leetle inftead of little ; which is a mere prolongation of i fhort. MR. Sheridan, in my opinion, is guilty of an error of greater confequence, in marking the two qualities of found in bard and bad with the fame figure. He dif- tinguiihes the different qualities of found in pool and full, and in not and naught ; and why he Ihould omit the diftincliion of found in bard and bad, ajk and man, is to me inconceiveable. The laft diftin&ion is as ob vious as the others which he has marked j and the de- feel: of his fcheme muft lead a foreigner into miftakes. His fcheme is fmgular ; Kenrick, Ferry and Burn all make a diftinclion in the time of pronouncing a in ajk aiid at ; and even Scott, who copies Sheridan's pro nunciation ahnoft implicitly, ftill makes the fame dif- tinciion. [I, page 87.] w NON multum differt hie fonus (w) ab Anglorum 00, Gallorum on, Germanorum u pingui, rapidiflime pronunciatis ; adeoque a quibufdam pro vocali fuit ha- bita, cum tamen revera conjonajit, quanquam ip(i vooali admodum fit affinis." Waliis. u lr is. indeed on the celerity of utterance, that all fhe difference, in many cafes, between confonants and vowels NOTES, HISTORICAL vowels depends ; as in w and y y in Englifh ; which, being difcharged quickly, perform the office of confo- nants, in giving form only to the fucceeding vowel j but when protracted or drawled out, acquire a tone and become the vocal oo and ee." ^Kenrick, Rhet. Gram. p. 4. PERRY has adopted this opinion and contends warm ly that w is a confonant. If w is a vowel, fays he, then wool) wo/fa will be pronounced oo-ool^ oo-olf^ or 00/, olf. I am fenfible that in the beginning of words, w has not precifely the power of oo ; but it is not clear from this facl: that it has the properties of a confonant. Place a vowel before w y as, ow, and there is no compreffion of the lips or other parts of the mouth, to obftruft the.- found, as there is produced by b or m, in eb and em. IN oppofition to the authorities mentioned, Sheridao, ranks w among the vowels, and fuppofes it to form dipthongs with the other vowels, as in well, //'//, &c. It appears to me to be a letter rather of an ambiguous nature, pf which we have others in. the language. JJ, page 88.] IT has been remarked that by old authors y was oft en ufed for g ; yeve for give ; foryete for forget. % Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1884. I HAVE obferved that fome foreigners pronounce ycar y in the fame manner nearly as they do ear ; and yeaft is commonly pronounced eaft. This pronuncia tion would eafily lead a man into the fuppofition that y is merely ee fliort. But the pronunciation is vicious. I OBSERVE alfo that Mr-. Sheridan fays, "ye has the found of e long in ye ; of a long in yea \ of e long in year^ yean ; and of e fhort in yearn^ yell, &c. This con* firms my opinionj and is, a proof that he does not pro nounce y at all. A N * CRITICAL $S* IF y has the found of e in year, then e has founcf$ or there are in the word, two founds of *, which no erfon will undertake to afTert. The difpute however is eafily fettled. I have learnt by attending to the con* verfation of well bred Englifhmen, that they do not pronounce y at all in year and many other words. They fay ear, e> for year^ ye ; and the found of *?, they erro- neoufly fuppofe to be that of y. In America, y has in thefe words, the confonant found it has in young ; and the Englilh pronunciation muft in this inftance be faulty. [K, page 103.] " NOW the harmony of profe arifes from the fame principle with that which conftitutes the harmony of* verfe ; viz. numbers ; or fuch a difpofition of the words as throws them into juft metrical feet, but very differ* ent from thofe which conftitute any fpecies of verfe." Eflay on the Power of Numbers, &e. page 4. Introd, "A GOOD ftile is both exprejflve and harmonious* The former depends on the happy choice of the words to convey our ideas ; the other on the happy choice of numbers in the difpofition of the words. The lan guage of fome is expreflive, but unharmonious ; that is, the writer's words ftrongly convey his fentimentSj but the erder in which they are placed creates a found unpleafant to the ear. The ftile of others is harmoni ous but not expreflive ; where the periods are well turned and the numbers well adapted, but the fenfe obfcure. The former fatisfies the mind, but offends the? ear ; the latter gratifies the ear, but difgufts the mind, A good ftile entertains and pkafcs both," tyc -Ibm, 2d. Part, page 17. THE author proceeds to illuftrate his do&rines by fhowing in what the harmony of profe confifts. He remarks that the words fhould in fome degree be ars echo to the fenfe, in profe as well as verfe, H NOTES, HISTORICAL HE proceeds" Every fentence may be conceived as divifible into diftin6t and feparate claufes ; every claufe^ where there is an apparent cefTation of the voice, mould always end with a generous foot ; and all the preced ing numbers be fo intermixt, that the fhort ones be du ly qualified by the fucceeding long ones ; referving the beft and molt harmonious number for the cadence." To fhow how much depends on the proper arrange ment of words, he quotes the following inftance " A divine, fpeaking of the Trinity, hath this expreflion It is a myftery which we firmly believe the truth of, and humbly adore the depth of." Here the language is expreflive, but not harmonious ; not merely becaufe the claufes end with the particle of\ but becaufe they a- bound with feeble numbers, Pyrrhics and Trochees* Let us change the difpofition of the feet " It is a myf tery, the truth of which we firmly believe, and the depths of which we humbly adore." The difference in the melody is very perceiveable. The force and mufic of the laft difpofition is increafed by the Iambics and Anapaeits. THE moft forceable feet, and thofe beft adapted t& fublime and ferious fubjecls, are thofe which contain the moft long fyllables, or end in a long fyllable ; as the Iambic, the Spondee, the Anapseft. The weak feet are thofe which have the moft fhort fyllables or end in a fhort fyllable ; as the Pyrrhic, the Trochee, the Tribrach. THE want of proper meafures, or a mixture of weak and ftrong fyllables, is very remarkable in a paflage of the Declaration of Independence. " We muft there fore acquiefce in the neceflity, which denounces our reparation, and hold them, as we hold the reft of man kind, enemies in war, in peace^ friends." The three laft fyllables form, if any thing, a Bacchic ; the firft fylla ble, fhort, and the two others, long. But in a juft pro nunciation, the foot is neceflarily broken by a paufe af ter AND CRITICAL. 383 ter peace. This interruption, and the two long fylla- bles, render the clofe of the fentence extremely heavy. The period is concife and expreflive, as it (lands ; but the arrangement might be much more harmonious " Our enemies in war ; In peace, our friends." Here the meafure and melody are perfect ; the period clofing with three Iambics, preceded by a Pyrrhic. [L, page 1 1 r.j IN a. Scotch Ballad, called gdom o Gordon^ we find the word dreips for drops. "AND clear, clear was hir zellow hair Whereon the reid bluid dreips" But it was often fpelt drap^ agreeable to the pronuncia tion. See Edward. Rel. An. Poet. 53. THE dialed! in America is peculiat to the defcend- ants of the Scotch Irifh. [M, page in.] MOUGHT is the paft time or participle of an old Saxon verb mowe or mowen^ to be able. It anfwered to thepoffe of the Romans, and thepouvotr of the French. This verb occurs frequently in Chaucer. *' BUT that fcience is fo fer us beforne, We motuen-not, altho we had it fworne, It overtake, it (lit away fo faft, It wo! us maken beggers at the laft." Cant. Tales, 1. 16, 148, Bell's edit. "To mowen fuch a knight done live or die." Troil and Cref, 2. 1594. That is, to be able to make fuch a knight live 01 die. " AN D nought I hope to winne thy love, Ne more his tonge could faye." Sir Cauline, an old Ballad, 1. 163. NOTES, HISTORICAL " THX thought they herd a woman wepe, But her they mougbt not fe." Adam Bell, &c. part 3. 1. 2. in Rel. of An. " So mougbt thou now in thefe refined lays Delight the dainty ears of higher powers. And fo mougbt they in their deep Fcanning fklll^ Allow and grace our Coin's flowing quill." Spenfer, Hobbynall. THERE feerri to have been among our Saxon ancef- tors two verbs of nearly or exactly the fame fignifica- tion, may and might -, and mowe- and mwght. There is fome reafon to think they were not fynonimous ; that may was ufed to exprefs pojjibility^ as / may go next week ; and mowe to exprefs pouter^ as they mow&n go y they are able to go. But it is not certain that fuch a dif- tinclion ever exifted. The Germans ufe moegen> in/ the infinitive ; mag, in the indie, pref. meege^ in the fubj. pref. in the imperfect of the ind. mockte ; and in the imp. of the fubj. machte. The Englifh ufe may ami might folely in their writings ; but mought is ftill pronounced in fome parts of America. HOLPE or holp was not obfolete when the Bible was laft tranflated, in the reign of king James ; for it occurs in feveral places in that v translation. It occurs frequently in old authors. *f UNINOLY they flew him, that holp them oft ait nede.'* Skelton El. on Earl of Northum. 1. 47. IN Virginia it is pronounced hope* " Shall I hope you, Sir." BUT we muft look among the New England com mon people for ancient Englifh phrafes ; for they have been 160 years fequeftefed in fome meafure from the world, and their language has not fuflfered material changes from their firft fettlement to the prefent time. Hence moft of the phrafes, ufed by Shakefpear, Con- greve, and other writers who have defcribed Englifh manners and recorded the language of all clafTes of peo ple, AND CRITICAL. 385 pie, are ftill heard iri the common difcourfe of the New England yeomanry. ^ . , THE verb be, in the indicative, prefent tenfe, which Lowth obferves is almoft obfolete in England, is Hill ufed after the ancient manner, I be, we be, you be, they be. The old plural koufen is ftill ufed for houfes. The old verb wol for will, and pronounced wool^ is not yet fallen into difufe. This was the verb principally ufed in Chaucer's time, and it now lives in the pureft branch of the Teutonic^ the German. - FOR many years, I had fuppofed the word dern in the fenfe of great or fever e^ was local in New England. Perhaps it may not now be ufed any where elfe ; but it was once a common English word. Chaucer ufes it in the fenfe offecret, earneft^ &c "THIS clerk was cleped Hende Nicholas Of dsrtiE love he could and of folas." Mil. Tale, 1. 3200. ** YE moftcn be ful derne as in this cafe." Ibm. 3297. THE word is in common ufe in New England and pronounced darn. It has not however the fenfe it had formerly ; it is now ufed as an adverb to qualify an ad jective, as darnjweet ; denoting a great degree of the quality. THE New England people preferve the ancient ufc of there and here after a word or fentence, defignating the place where ; as this here^ that there. It is called vul gar in Englifh ; and indeed the addition of here or there is generally tautological. It is however an ancient prac tice ; and the French retain it in the pure elegant lan guage of their country ; ce pays la, celu'i la, cet nimme ui ; where we obferve this difference only between the French and Englilh idioms, that in French, the adverb follows the noun, thai country ihere^ this man here ; A a whereas 386 NOTES, HISTORICAL whereas in Englifl^ the adverb precedes the noun, that there country ', this here ?nan. This form of fpeech feems to have been coeval with the primitive Saxon, otherwife it would not have prevailed fo generally among the com mon people. * IT. has been before remarked that the word ax for afk was ufed in England, and even in the royal aflent to als of parliament, down to the reign of Henry VI. " AN D to her huflband bad hire for to fey If that he axed after Nicholas." - % Chau. Mil. Tale, 3412. " THIS axetb hafte and of an haftif thing Men may not preche and maken taryingi" Ibm. 3545. THIS word to ax is ftill frequent in New England. I DO not know whether our American fportfmen ufe the word, ferret^ in the fenfe of driving animals from their lurking places. But the word is ufed in fome parts of New England, and applied figuratively to many tranfactions in life. So in Congreve : " WHERE is this apocryphal elder ? I'll ferret him." *-Old Bach, ad 4, fc. 21. SOMETIMES, but rarely, we hear the old imperative of the Saxon thaftan^ now pronounced thof. But it is generally pronounced as it is written, tha. It is remark ed by Home, that fhofis ftill frequent among the com mon people of England. GIN or gyn for given is ftill ufed in America ; as 3ifhop Wilkins remarks, it is in the North of Eng land. in the fenfe of unkfs, is as frequent as anv word in the language, and even among the learned. It A N D C R I T I C A L, 387 It is commonly accounted inelegant, and writers have lately fubftituted unlefs : But I do not fee the propriety of difearding without, for its meaning is exactly the fame as that oiunlejs. It is demonftrated that they are both the imperatives of old verbs. Without^ is be out, be a- way ; and unlefs is difmifs, or be apart, Inftead of the imperative Chaucer generally ufes the participle, witk- outen, being out. THE beft writers life without in the fehfe of unlefs. AND if he can't be cured without I fuck the poi- fon from his wounds, Fm afraid he won't recover his fenfes, till I lofe mine." Cong. Love for Love, act 4. fc. 3. "'TWERE better for him, you had not been his confeilbr in that affair, without you could have kept his counfel clofer." -Cong. Way of the World, aft 3. fc. 7. THE beft fpeakers ufe the word in this manner, in common difcourfe, and I muft think, with propriety. PEEK is alfo ufed corruptedly for peep. By a fimi- lar change of the laft confonant, chirk is ufed for chirp, to make a cheerful noife. This word is wholly loft, ex cept in New England. It is there ufed for comfortably^ bravely^ cheerful ; as when one enquires about a fick perfon, it is faid, he is chirk. Chirp is ftill ufed to ex- prefs the fmging of -birds, but the chirk of New Eng land is not underrlood, and therefore derided. Four; hundred years ago it was a polite term. . " AMD kifleth hire fwete, and chirkttb as a fparws With his lippes." Chaucer, Somp. TaJe, 7386. IN the following it is ufed for a difagreeable noifs. ** At n full of dirking was that fory place." Knight's Taie, 2006. A a z 88 NOTES, HISTORICAL al fo ful eke of cbirkings And of many other wlrkings." Houfe of Fame, 85?. SHET for Jhut is now become vulgar ; yet this is the true original orthography and pronunciation. It is frQin the Saxon fcitten, and I believe was always fpelt jhette or fat, till after Chaucer's time, for he was a cor- re& writer in his age, and always fpelt it in that manner. " VOIDETH your man and let him be thereout, Andjbei the dore." - % Chau. Yem. Tale, 16, 605. and X ; yet thefe words are pronounced, and ought ever to have been fpelt, Fillipyfyzzic or/zz/V, karatter^ far us. \ BUT fuch is the ftate of our language. The pronun ciation of the words which are ftri&ly Englijh^ has been gradually changing for ages, and fince the revival of fcience in Europe, the language has received a vaft ac* ceflton of words from other languages, many of which retain an orthography very ill fuited to exhibit the true pronunciation. THE queftion now occurs ; ought the Americans to retain thefe faults which produce innumerable in- conveniencies "TA'KEy ma-ke > o-ite 3 bo-fsc ) Jio-ne y 'wil-le t &c. difTylhba blim fue- jfunt, quasnunc habenterpro monoiyllabis." Wallis. f THJ: words number, chamber, and many others in Englifh are from the French nombre, cbambre, &c. Why was the fpeiling changed ? or rather why is the fpelling of lujire, metre, theatre, not changed ? The cafes are precifely fiiniiar. The Eugli/hman who firft wrote number for votnbre, had no greater authority to make the change, rhan any modern writer ha* to fpell luftre, metre in a iinaiiar manner, lufier, meter. The change in the firit initance was a valuable one ; it conformed the fpdling t.> the pronunciation, and I have taken the liberty, in ail my writings., t* - the principle in liifler y mtUr t tr.iter, tke#ter t Jfp#Jhe( 9 fcc. 394 APPEND! X. conveniences in the acquilition and ufe of the lan guage, or ought they at once to reform thefe abufes, and introduce order and regularity into the orthogra phy of the AMERICAN TONGUE ? LET us confider this fubje& with fome attention. SEVER AL attempts were formerly made in England to jreftify the orthography of the language.* But I ap prehend their fchemes failed of fuccels, rather on ac count of their intrinfic difficulties, than on account of any necefTary impracticability of a reform. It was propofed, in moft of thefe fchemes, not merely to throw out fuperfluous and filent letters, but to introduce a num ber of new characters. Any attempt on fuch a plan muft undoubtedly prove unfuccefsful. It is not to be expect ed that an orthography, perfectly regular and fimple, fuch as would be formed by a u Synod of Grammari ans on principles of fcience," will ever be fubftituted for that confufed mode of fpelling which is now e(tab- Jifhed. But it is apprehended that great improvements may be made, and an orthography almoft regular, or fuch as fhall obviate moft of the prefent difficulties which occur in learning our language, may be intro duced and eftabUihed with little trouble and oppoii- tion. THE principal alterations, neceflary to render our, orthography fufficiently regular and eafy, are thefe : I. THE omiiTiorf of all fuperftuous or filent letters; as a in bread. Thus bread, head, give, breaft, built, meant, realm, friend, would be fpelt, bred, bed, giv, breft, bilt, ment, relm,frend. Would this alteration produce any inconvenience, any embarrafTinent or expenfe ? By no means. * THE firft by Sir Thomas Smith, fecretary of ftate to Queen Eliza beth : Another by Dr. Gill, a celebrated matter of St. Paul's fchool in London: Another by Mr. Charles Butler, who went Ib far as to print his book, in his propofed orthography : Several in the time of Charles the firft j and in the prefent age, Mr. Elphinltyne has published a treatiis in a very ridiculaus orthography. APPENDIX. 395 nieans. On the other hand, it would leflen the trouble of writing, and much more, of learning the language ; it would reduce the true pronunciation to a certainty ; and while it would aflift foreigners and our own chil dren in acquiring the language, it would render the pronunciation uniform, in different parts of the coun try, and almoft prevent the poflibility of changes. 2. A SUBSTITUTION of a chara&er that has a cer tain definite found, for one that is more vague and indeterminate. Thus by putting ee inftead of ea or u, the words mean, near,fpeak, grieve, zeal, would become m-een, ncer,fpcek, greev, zeel. This alteration could not occafion a moments trouble ; at the fame time it would prevent a doubt refpeting the pronunciation ; whereas the ea and ie having different founds, may give a learner much difficulty. Thus greef mould be iubftituted for grief ; kee for key ; beleev for believe , lof for laugh ; dawter for daughter ; plow for plough ; tuf for tough ; proov for prove ; blud for blood ; and draft for draught. In this manner ch in Greek deriva tives, fhould be changed into k ; for the Englifh ch has a foft found, as in cherijh ; but k always a hard found. Therefore character, chorus, cholic, architecture, (hould be written karatter, korus, kolic, arkiteRure ; and were they thus written, no perfon could miftake their true pronunciation. THUS ch in French derivatives mould be changed into jh ; machine, cbaife, chevalier, (hould be written majheen, fiaze, Jkevaleer ; and pique, tour, oblique, fhould be written peek, toor, obkek. 3. A TRIFLING alteration in a character, or the addition of a point would diflinguim. different founds, without the fubftitution of a new character. Thus a very fmall ftroke acrofs th would diftiaguifli its two founds. A point over a vowel, in this manner, a, or c, or t, might anfwer all the purpofes of different let- And for the dipthong ow, let the two letters be united APPENDIX, united by a fmall ftroke, or both engraven on the fama piece of metal, with the left hand line of the w united to the o. THESE, with a few other inconfiderable alterations, would anfwer every purpofe, and render the orthogra phy fufficiently correct and regular. THE advantages to be derived from thefe alterations are numerous, great and permanent. 1. THE fimplicity of the orthography would facili tate the learning of the language. It is now the work of years for children to learn to fpell ; and after all, the bufmefs is rarely accomplimed. A few men, who* are bred to fome bufmefs that requires conftant exer- cife in writing, finally learn to fpell rnoft words with out hefitation ; but mod people remain, all their lives, imperfect matters of fpeliing, and liable to make mif- takes, whenever they take up a pen to write a fhort* fiote. Nay, many people, even of education and fam- ion, never attempt to write a letter, without frequently con fulting a dictionary. BUT with the propofed orthography, a child would learn to fpell, without trouble, in a very fhort time, and the orthography being very regular, he would ever af terwards find it difficult to make a miftake, It would, in that cafe, be as cjif&cult to fpell wrong^ as it is now to fpell right. BESIDES this advantage, foreigners would be able to acquire the pronunciation of Englilh, which is now fo difficult and embarraflmg, that they are either whol ly difcouraged on the rirft attempt, or obliged, after many years labor, to reft contented with an imperfeft fcnowlege of the fubjet. 2. A CORRECT orthography would render the pro nunciation of the language, as uniform as the fpeliing; ir\ APPENDIX. 39? In books. A general uniformity thro the United States, would be the event of fuch a reformation as I am here recommending. All perfons, of every rank, would fpeak with fome degree of precifion and uni formity.* Such a uniformity in thefe ftates is very de- fireable ; it would remove prejudice, and conciliate mu tual affe&ion and refpeft. 3. SUCH a reform would diminifh the number of letters about one fixteenth or eighteenth. This would fave a page in eighteen ; and a faving of an eighteenth in the expenfe'ef books, is an advantage that fhould not be overlooked. 4. BUT a capital advantage of this reform in thefe dates would be, that it would make a difference be tween the Englifh orthography and the American. This will ftartle thofe who have not attended to the fubjeft ; but I am confident that fuch an event is an cbjecl of vaft political confequence. For, THE alteration, however fmall, would encourage the publication of books in our own country. It would render it, in fome meafure, neceffary that all books fhould be printed in America. The Englifh would never copy our orthography for their Own ufe ; and confequently the fame impreffions of books would not anfwer for both countries. The inhabitants of the prefent generation would read the English im preffions ; but pofterity, being taught a different fpelling, would prefer the American orthography. BESIDES this, a national language is a band of #/?-* iional union. Every engine fhould be employed to ren~ der the people of this country national ; to call their attachments home to their own country ; and to in- fpire them with the pride of national charailer. How-? ever * I ONCE heard Dr. Franklin remark, " that thofe people fpeli be&^ v.-ho do not know how to ipell ;" that is, they fpell as their ears dictate, without being guided by rules, aad thus fall into a rtgular orthography. 398 APPENDIX; ever they may boaft of Independence, and the freedom of their government, yet their opinions are not fuffi- ciently independent ; an aftoniming refpecl: for the arts and literature of their parent country, and a blind imitation of its manners, are ftill prevalent among the Americans. Thus an habitual refpeft for another country, deferved indeed and once laudable, turns their attention from their own interefts, and prevents their receding themfelves. OBJECTIONS. i. "THIS reform of the Alphabet would oblige people to relearn the language, or it could not be in troduced." But the alterations propofed are fo few and fd fim- ple, that an hour's attention would, enable any perfon to read the new orthography with facility ; and a week's practice would render it fo familiar, that a per fon would write it without hefitation or miftake. Would this fmall inconvenience prevent its adoption ? Would not the numerous national and literary advan tages, refulting from the change, induce Americans to make fo inconiiderable a facrifke of time and attention ? I am perfuaded they would. BUT it would not be neceflary that men advanced beyond the middle ftage of life, ihould be at the pains to learn the propofed orthography. They would, without inconvenience, continue to ufe the prefent. They would read the new orthography, without diffi culty ; but they would write in the old. To men thus advanced, and even to the prefent generation in gener al, if tftey mould not wifh to trouble themfelves with a change, the reformation would be almoft a matter of indifference. It would be fufficient that children fhould be taught the new orthography, and that as faft as they come upon the ftage, they Ihould be furnifhed with APPENDIX. 399 with books in the American fpelling. The progrefs of printing would be proportioned to the demand for books among the rifing generation. This progreffive introduction of the fcheme would be extremely eafy ; children would learn the propofed orthography more eafily than they would the old ; and the prefent gener ation would not be troubled with the change ; fo that none but the obninate and capricious could raife ob jections or make any oppofition. The change would be fo inconliderable, and made on fuch fimple princi ples, that a column in each newfpaper, printed in the new fpelling, would in fix months, familiarize moft people to the change, fhow the advantages of it, and imperceptibly remove their objections. The only fteps neceffary to enfure fuccefs in the attempt to introduce this reform, would be, a refolution of Congrefs, order ing all their acts to be engrofled in the new orthogra phy, and recommending the plan to the feveral univer- fities in America ; and alfo a refolution of the univerfi- ties to encourage and fupport it. The printers would begin the reformation by publifliing fhort paragraphs and fmall tracts in the new orthography ; fchool books would firft be published in the fame ; curiofity would excite attention to it, and men would be gradually rec onciled to the plan. 2. "THIS change would render our prefent books ufelefs." THIS objection is, in fome meafure, anfwered under the foregoing head. The truth is, t it would not have this effect. The difference of orthography would not render books printed in one, illegible to perfons ac quainted only with the other. The difference would net be fo great as between the orthography of Chaucer, and of the prefent age ; yet Chaucer's works are ftili read with eafe. 3. "THIS reformation would injure the language by obfcuring etymology." THIS 4co APPENDIX. THIS objection is unfounded; In general, it is riot true that the change would obfcure etymology j in a few inftances, it might ; but it would rather retfore the etymology of many words ; and if it were true that the change would obfcure it, this would be no objec tion to the reformation. IT will perhaps furprize my readers to be told that, >n many particular words, the modern fpelling is lefs correct than the ancient. Yet this is a truth that re flects dishonor on our modern refiners of the language. Chaucer, four hundred years ago, wrote bilder for build er ; ckdly for deadly ; erneft for earneft ; erly for early ; Ireji for breaft ; bed for bead j and certainly his fpelling was the moft agreeable to the pronunciation.* Sidney wrote bity examin^ futable^ with perfect propriety. Dr. Middleton wrote explane* genuin^ revile, which is the moft eafy and correct orthography of fuch words ; and alfo lufter, theater^ for luftre^ theatre. In thefe and many other instances, the modern fpelling is a corrup* tion ; fo that allowing many improvements to have been made in orthography, within a century or two, we muft acknowlege alfo that many corruptions have been introduced. IN anfwer to the objection, that a change of orthog raphy would obfcure etymology, I would remark, that the etymology of moft words is already loft, even ta the learned ; and to the unlearned, etymology is never known. Where is the man that can trace back our Englifh words to the elementary radicals ? In a few in- ftances, the ftudent has been able to reach the primi tive roots of words ; but I prefurrte the radicals of one tenth of the words in our language, have never yet been difcovered, even by Junius, Skinner, or any other etymologift. Any man may look into Johnfon or Am, and find that flejb is derived from the Saxon floce ; child from did j flood from fad ; lad from leode ; and loaf from r * IN Chaucer's life, prefixed to the edition of his works 1602, I fini i't and prove fpelt aimoft correctly, moove and froove. APPENDIX. 401 from laf or blaf. But this difcovery will anfwer no other purpofe, than to fhow, that within a few hundred years, the fuelling of fome words has been a little chang ed : We mould ftill be at a vaft diftance from the primitive roots. IN many inftances indeed etymology will affift the learned in underftahding the compofition and true fenfe of a word j and it throws much light upon the progrefs of language. But the true fenfe of a complex term is not always, nor generally^ to be learnt from the fenfe of the primitives or elementary words. The current meaning of a word depends on its ufe in a nation. This true fenfe is to be obtained by attending to good au thors, to dictionaries and to practice, rather than to de rivation. The former mu/l be right - y the latter may lead us into err&r. BUT to prove of how little confequence a knowlege of etymology is to mod people, let me mention a few words. The word fmcere is derived from the Latin, fine cera'y without wax ; and thus it came to denote purity of mind. I am confident that not a man in a thoufand ever fufpe&ed this to be the origin of the word ; yet all men, that have any knowlege of our lan guage, ufe the word in its true fenfe, and understand its cuftomary meaning, as well as Junius did, or any other ctymologift. TEAov yes is derived from the imperative of a verb, avoir to have, as the word is now fpelt. It fignifies therefore have, or poffefs^ or take what you afk. But does this explication affift us in ufmg the word ? And does not every countryman who labors in the field, un- derftand and ufe the word with as much precifion as the profoundeft philofophers ? THE word temper is derived from. an old root, tern, which fignified water. It was borrowed from the acl: of cwlin& or moderating heat. Hence the meaning of B b temperate^ 4-i APPENDIX, temper ate., temperance, and all the ramifications of the o~ v riginal flock. But does this help us to the moderri current fenfe of thefe words ? By no means. It leads tis to understand the formation of languages, and iri Vvhat manner an idea of a vifible action gives rife to a correfpondent abftract idea ; or rather, how a word, from a literal and direct fenfe, may be applied to ex- prefs a variety of figurative and collateral ideas. Yet the cuftcmary fefife of the word is known by practice, and as well u'nderftood by an illiterate man of tolerable capacity, as by men of fcience. TH E word always is compounded of all and ways ; it had originally no reference to time ; and the ety mology or composition of the word would only lead us into error. The true meaning of. words is that which a nation in general annex to them. Etymology therefore is of no ufe but to the learned ; and for them it will ftill be preferved, fo far as it is now underftood, in dictionaries and other books that treat of this partic ular fubjeK 4. " TrtE diflin&ion between words of different meanings and fimilar found would be deftroyed." " THAT diftinftion," to arifwer in the words of the great Franklin, " is already deftroyed in pronunciation." Does not every man pronounce all and awl precifely alike? And does the famenefs of found ever lead a hearer into a milhke ? Does not the conftmftion ren der the diilinction eafy and intelligible, the moment the words of the fentence are heard ? Is the word hiew ever miflaken for new, even in the rapidity of pronouncing an animated oration ? Was peace ever in i flak-en for piece ; pray for prey ; flour for flower ? Never, I prefuma^ is this fimilarity of found the oc- caiion of miftakes. IF therefore an identity of 'found, even in rapid fpeak- produces no inconvenience, how much left wouM an APPENDIX, 403 ^n identity of /pelting) when the eye would have leifure to furvey the conftru&ion ? But experience, the crite rion of truth, which has removed the objection in the nrft cafe, will alfo aflift us in forming our opinion in the laft. THERE are many words in our language which^ with the fame orthography, have two or more dijlintt meanings. The word wind, whether it iignifies to mave round) or air in motion^ has the fame fpelh 'ng ; it exhib its no diftinclioi* to the eye of a iilent reader ; and yet jts meaning is never miftaken. The connrudioii fhows at fight in which fenfe the word is to be under- ftood. Hail is ufed as an expreffion of joy, or to fig- nify frozen drops of water, falling from the clouds. Rear is to raife up, or it figniiies the hinder part of an army. Lot lignifies fortune or deftiny - 9 a plat of ground ; or a certain proportion or ihare ; and yet does this diverfity, this contrariety of meanings ever pccafion the leaft difficulty in the ordinary language of books ? It cannot be maintained. This diverfity is Found in all languages ;* and altho it may be confiderec! as a defect, and occallon fome trouble for foreign learn ers, yet to natives it produces no fenfibte inconve nience. , 5. " IT is idle to conform the orthography of words to the pronunciation, becaufe the latter is continually changing." . THIS is one of Dr. Johnfon's objections, and it is very unworthy of his judgement. So far is this circum- ftance from being a real objection, that it is alone a fuf- ficient reafon for the change of fpelling. ,\ On his prin- dple of fixing the orthography^ while the pronunciation is changing^ any fpoken language muf>, in time, lofe all re lation to the written language ; that is, the founds of words would have no affinity with the letters that com- pofe the Roman language 7/&r had four or five different meanings ; it ^ fignified free, the inward bark of a tree, a iotkt Ibmctiracs an tti ?JlO 4p4 APPENDIX. pofe them. Jivfome infhnces, this Is now the cafe ; anct no mortal would fufpeffc from the fpeliing, that neigh- Icur, wrought^ are pronounced nabur^ rawt. On this principle, Dr. Johnlbn ought to have gone back fome centuries, and given us, in his didlionary, the primitive Saxon orthography, wol for will ; ydilneffe for idienefs ; lycn fcr eyes ; cche for each, &c. Nay, he fhould have gone as far as poffible into antiquity, and, regardlefs of the changes of pronunciation, given us the primitive radical language in its purity. Happily for the lan guage, that doctrine did not prevail till his time ; the fpeliing of words changed with the pronunciation ; to thefe changes we are indebted for numberlefs improve ments; and it is hoped that the progrefs of them, in con formity with the national practice of fpeaking, will not be obstructed by the erroneous opinion, even of Dr. Johnfon. How much more rational is the opinion of Dr. Franklin, who fays, " the orthography of our lan guage began to be fixed too foon." If the pronuncia tion muft vary, from age to age, (and fome trifling changes of language will' always be talcing place) com mon Tcrvfe would dictate a correfpondent change of fpeliing. Admit Johnfon's principles ; take his pedant* ic orthography for the ffondard ; let it be clofely ad hered to in future ; sad the flow changes in the pro nunciation of our national tongue, will in time make as great a difference between our written zndfpohn lan guage, as there is between the pronunciation of the prefent Englifh and German. The fpeliing will be no irore a guide to the pronunciation, tharr the orthogra phy of the German or Greek. This event is actually taking place, in confequence of the ftupid opinion, ad vanced by Johnfon and other writers, and -generally embraced by the nation. ALL thefe objections appear to me of very mcorificl- errtbie weight, when oppofed to tti^great, fubftantial and permanent advantages to be derived from a regulaf national orthography. APPENDIX, SENSIBLE I am how much eafier it is to propofe im provements, than to Introduce them. Every thing new Sarts the idea of difficulty ; and yet it is often mere nov elty that excites the appearance ; for on a flight exam ination of the propofal, the difficulty vanishes. When we firmly believe a fcheme to be practicable, the -work is half accomplifhed. We are more frequently deter red by fear from making an attack, than repulfed in the encounter. HABIT alfo is oppofed to changes ; for it renders evezi our errors dear to us. Having furmcunted all difficul ties in childhood, we forget the labor, the fatigue, and the perplexity we fuffered in the attempt, and imagin the progrefs of our ftudies to have been fmooth and ea~ fy.* What feems intrinfically right, is fo merely thro habit. INDOLENCE is another obftacle to improvements. The moft arduous talk a reformer has to execute, is to make people think ; to rouie them from that lethargy, which, like the mantle of ileep, covers them in repofe and contentment. BUT America is in a dtuation the mod favorable for great reformations ; and the prefent time is, in a fjngu- lar degree, aufpicious. The minds of men in this country have been awakened. New fcenes have been, for many years, prefenting new occafions for exertion ; unexpected diftreffes have called forth the powers cf invention ; and the application of new expedients lias demanded every poffible exercife of wifdom and talents. Attention is roufed j the mind expanded ; and the in tellectual * THUS moft people fuppofe the prefent mode cf fpellin to be real!/ the eaficft and befl. This opinion is derived from habit ; the new inoi,;: of fpeJling propoted would fave three fourths of the labor now bcltov."d ; i learning to write ouv language. A child would learn to fpell is well in one_year, as he can now in four. This is not a fuppofition it is ;.ii a; ^ iertion capable of proof j and yet people, never knowing, or havi" got the labor of learning, Tuppofe the prefent mode to i>c tin; earn* IT. NO perfon, but one who has taught children, has any idea of' the di.Ti C.q!ty of learning to fpell and pronounce our language in its pie&nt 406 APPEND! X; telleclual faculties invigorated. Here men are prepare^ to receive improvements, which would be rejected by nations, whofe habits have not been fhaken by fimilar events. the time, and this the country, in which we may expect fuccefs, in attempting changes favorable to language, fcience and government. Delay, in the plan here propofed, may be fatal ; under a tranquil general government, the minds of men may again fmk into in dolence'; a national acquiefcence in error will follow; and pofterity be doomed to rtruggle with difficulties, which time and accident will perpetually multiply. LET us then feize the prefent moment, and eftablifh a national language^ as well as a national government. Let us remember that there is a certain refpect due to the opinions of other nations. As an independent people, our reputation abroad demands that, in all things, we (liquid fce federal ; be national ; for if we do not refpect our/elves^ we may be allured that other nations will not refpect us. In fhort, let it be impreffed upon the mind of every American, that to neglect the means of commanding refpect abroad, is treafon againft the character, and dignity of a brave independent people. To excite the more attention tp this fubject, I will here fubjoin what Dr. Franklin has done and written to effect a reform in our mode of fpelling. This fag? philofopher has fuffered nothing ufeful to efcape his notice. He very early difcovered the difficulties that attend the learning of our language ; and with his u- fual ingenuity, invented a plan to obviate them. If any objection can be made to his fcheme,* it is the fubftitu- tion of new characters, for M, Jh y ng, &c. whereas a fmall ftroke, connecting the letters, would anfwer all the purpofes of new characters ; as thefe combination's \vould thus become fmgle letters, with precife definite founds and fuitable names. A * 3eE his Miscellaneous Works, p. 470. Ed.Lond. 1779* APPENDIX. A SPECIMEN of the Doctor's fpelling cannot be here given, as I have not the proper types ;* but the argu ments in favor of a reformed mode of fpelling iliali be given in his own words. COPY of a Letter from Mifs S , to Dr. FRANKLIN", who bad fent her his Scheme of a Reformed Ahbabit. Dated, Kenfmgton (England) Sept. 26, 1768, DEAR SIR, I .HAVE tranfcribed your alphabet, &c. which I think might be f fervice to thofe who wifh to acquire an accurate pronunciation, if that could be fixed ; but I fee many inconveniences, as well as difficulties, that would attend the bringing your letters and orthography into common ufe. All our etymologies would be loit ; confequently we could not afcertain the meaning or* many words ; the diftindtion too between words of dif ferent meaning and fimilar. found would be ufelefs,f un~ lefs we living writers publiih new editions. In (horr, I believe we muft let people fpell on in their old way, and (as we find it eaiieft) do the fame ourfelves. With eafe and with fmcerity I can, in the old way, fubfcribjs myfelf, Dear Sir, Your faithful and affectionate Servant, M, S. J)r, Franklin* Dr. * THIS indefatigable gentleman, amid ft all his other employments, public and private, has compiled a Dictionary on his fcheme of a Re form, and procured types to be caft for printing it. He thinks hin;ie!r' too old to purfue the plan j but has honored me with the offer of the inanufcript and types, and exprefled a ftrong deiire that 1 mould uu -k,-- take the tafk. Whether this project, fo deeply interefting to this Coun try, will ever be effected j or whether it will be defealed by indolence and prejudice, remains for my countrymen to determine. ) THIS lady overlooked the other fide of the queftion 5 viz. that by a reform of the fpelling, words now fpelt alike and pronounce would be diftinguifhed by their letters ^ for the nouns al-^je anJ uc woui-i be dillinguifhed from the verbs, which would be fo in many inftances. See the aniwer below. A P B E N D I X, Dr> FRANKLIN'S Anfwer to Mifs S -. i DEAR MADAM, THE objelion you make to re&ifying our alphabet,