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by the fenfe, we feel a very remarkable pleasure. But this fubject belongs to the third fection.

The foregoing obfervations afford a standard to every nation, for eftimating, pretty accurately, the comparative merit of the words that enter into their own language: but they are not equally useful in comparing the words of different languages; which will thus appear. Different nations judge differently of the harshness or smoothnefs of articulate founds 3 a found, for example, harfh and disagreeable to an Italian, may be abundantly fmooth to a northern ear here every nation muft judge for itself; nor can there be any folid ground for a preference, when there is no common ftandard to which we can appeal. The cafe is precifely the fame as in behaviour and manners: plain-dealing and fincerity, liberty in words and actions, form the character of one people; politenefs, referve, and a total difguife of every fentiment that can give offence, form the character of another people: to each the manners of the other are difagreeable. An effeminate mind cannot bear the leaft of that roughness and feverity which is generally esteemed manly, when exerted upon proper occafions: neither can an effeminate ear bear the harshness of certain words, that are deemed nerv-. ous and founding by thofe accustomed to a rougher tone of speech. Muft we then relinquish all thoughts of comparing languages in point of roughnefs and fmoothness, as a fruitlefs inquiry? Not altogether; for we may proceed a certain length, though with out hope of an ultimate decifion. A language pronounced with difficulty even by natives, muft yield to a fmoother language and fupppofing two languages pronounced with equal facility by natives, the rougher language, in my judgment, ought to be

preferred,

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preferred, provided it be alfo ftored with a compe tent fhare of more mellow founds; which will be evident from attending to the different effects that articulate found hath on the mind. A smooth gliding found is agreeable, by calming the mind, and lulling it to reft: a rough bold found, on the contrary, animates the mind: the effort perceived in pronouncing, is communicated to the hearers, who feel in their own minds a fimilar effort, roufing their attention, and difpofing them to action. I add another confideration: the agreeableness of contrast in the rougher language, for which the great variety of founds gives ample opportunity, muft, even in an effeminate ear, prevail over the more uniform founds of the finoother language.* This appears all that can be fafely determined upon the prefent point. With refpect to the other circumftances that conftitute the beauty of words, the ftandard above mentioned is infallible when applied to foreign languages as well as to our own for every man, whatever be his mother-tongue, is equally capable to judge of the length or fhortnefs of words, of the alternate opening and clofing of the mouth in fpeaking, and of the relation that the found bears to the fenfe: in these particulars, the judgment is fufceptible of no prejudice from cuftom, at least of no invincible prejudice.

That the English tongue, originally harsh, is at prefent much foftened by dropping in the pronunciation many redundant confonants, is undoubtedly true that it is not capable of being further mellowed without fuffering in its force and energy, will fcarce be thought by any one who poffeffes an ear; and yet fuch in Britain is the propenfity for dispatch, that

That the Italian tongue is too fmooth, feems probable, from con fidering, that in verlification, vowels are frequently fuppreffed, in order to produce a rougher and bolder tone.

that, overlooking the majefty of words compofed of many fyllables aptly connected, the prevailing tafte is to fhorten words, even at the expenfe of making them disagreeable to the ear, and harsh in the pronunciation. But I have no occafion to infift upon this article, being prevented by an excellent writer, who poffeffed, if any man ever did, the true genius of the English tongue.* I cannot however forbear urging one obfervation, borrowed from that author: feveral tenfes of our verbs are formed by adding the final fyllable ed, which, being a weak found, has remarkably the worse effect by poffeffing the most confpicuous place in the word: upon which account, the vowel in common fpeech is generally fuppreffed, and the confonant added to the foregoing fyllable; whence the following rugged founds, drudg'd, disturb'd, rebuk'd, fledg'd. It is ftill lefs excufable to follow this practice in writing; for the hurry of speaking may excufe what would be altogether improper in compofition: the fyllable ed, it is true, founds poorly at the end of a word; but rather that defect, than multiply the number of harfh words, which, after all, bear an over-proportion in our tongue. The author above mentioned, by fhowing a good example, did all in his power to restore that fyllable: and he well deferves to be imitated. Some exceptions however I would make. A word that fignifies labour or any thing harsh or rugged, ought not to be fmooth; therefore forc'd, with an apoftrophe, is better than forced, without it. Another exception is where the penult fyllable ends with a vowel; in that cafe the final fyllable ed may be apoftrophized without mak ing

*See Swift's propofal for correaing the English tongue, in a letter to the Earl of Oxford.

i

ing the word harfh: examples, betray'd, carry'd,

deftroy'd, employ'd. The article next in order, is the mufic of words as united in a period. And as the arrangement of words in fucceffion fo as to afford the greateft pleafure to the ear, depends on principles remote from common view, it will be neceffary to premise fome general obfervations upon the appearance that objects make, when placed in an increafing or decreafing feries. Where the objects vary by fmall differences, fo as to have a mutual refemblance, we in afcending conceive the fecond object of no greater fize than the first, the third of no greater fize than the fecond, and fo of the reft; which diminifheth in appearance the fize of every object except the firft: but when, beginning at the greatest object, we proceed gradually to the least, resemblance makes us imagine the fecond as great as the first, and the third as great as the fecond; which in appearance magnifies every object except the firft. On the other hand, in a feries varying by large differences, where contraft prevails, the effects are directly oppofite; a great object fucceeding a small one of the fame kind, appears greater than usual; and a little object fucceeding one that is great, appears less than ufual.* Hence a remarkable pleafure in viewing a feries afcending by large differences; directly oppofite to what we feel when the differences are fmall. The least object of a feries afcending by large differences has the fame effect upon the mind, as if it flood fingle without making a part of the feries: but the fecond object, by means of contraft, appears greater than when viewed fingly and apart; and the fame effect is perceived in afcending progreffively, till we arrive at the laft object. The oppofite

* See the reafon, chap. 8.

oppofite effect is produced in defcending; for in this direction, every object, except the firft, appears lefs than when viewed feparately and independent of the feries. We may then affume as a maxim, which will hold in the compofition of language as well as of other fubjects, That a ftrong impulfe fucceeding a weak, makes a double impreffion on the mind and that a weak impulfe fucceeding a strong, makes scarce any impreffion.

After establishing this maxim, we can be at no lofs about its application to the fubject in hand. The following rule is laid down by Diomedes. "In verbis obfervandum eft, ne a majoribus ad minora defcendat oratio; melius enim dicitur, Vir eft optimus, quam, Vir optimus eft."

This rule is alfo applicable to entire members of a period, which, according to our author's expreffion, ought not, more than fingle words, to proceed from the greater to the lefs, but from the lefs to the greater. In arranging the members of a period, no writer equals Cicero: the beauty of the following examples out of many, will not fuffer me to flur them over by a reference.

Quicum quæftor fueram,

Quicum me fors confuetudoque majorum,

Quicum me deorum hominumque judicium conjunxerat.

Again :

Habet honorem quem petimus,

Habet fpem quam præpofitam nobis habemus,

Habet exiltimationem, multo fudore, labore, vigiliif

que, collectam.

* De flru&tura perfectæ orationis, 1. 2.

+ See Demetrius Phalereus of Elocution, fet. 18,

Again:

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