and decent, others unclean; fome chafte, others obfcene; fome are kind, others are affronting and reproachful, becaufe of the fecondary idea which custom has affixed to them. And it is the part of a wife man, when there is a neceffity of expreffing any evil actions, to do it either by a word that has a fecondary idea of kindness, or foftness; or a word that carries in it an idea of rebuke and feverity, according as the cafe requires. So when there is a neceflity of expreffing things unclean or obscene, a wife man will do it in the most decent language, to excite as few uncleanly ideas as poflible in the minds of the hearers.

Note 2. In length of time, and by the power of custom, words fometimes change their primary ideas, as fhall be declared and fometimes they have changed their fecondary ideas, though the primary ideas may remain fo words that were once chafte, by frequent ufe grow obscene and uncleanly; and words that were once honourable, may in the next generation grow mean and contemptible. So the word dame originally fignified a miftrefs of a family, who was a lady, and it is used ftill in the English law to fignify a lady; but in common ufe now-a-days it reprefents a farmer's wife, or a mistress of a family of the lower rank in the country. So those words of Rabfhaketh, Ifa. xxxvi. 12. in our tranflation, (cat their own dung, &c.) were doubtless decent and clean language, when our tranflators wrote them above a hundred years ago. The word dung has maintained its old fecondary idea and inoffensive sense to this day; but the other word in that fentence has by custom acquired a more uncleanly idea, and should now rather be changed into a more decent term, and so it fhould be read in public, unless it fhould be thought more proper to omit the fentence.*

For that reafon it is, that the Jewish rabbins have fupplied other chafte words in the margin of the Hebrew bible, where the words of the text, through time and custom are degenerated, fo as to carry any base

*So in fome places of the facred hiftorians, where it is written, every one that piffes against the wall, we should read every male.

and unclean secondary idea in them; and they read the word which is in the margin, which they call keri, and not that which was written in the text which they call chetib.

SECT. IV.

Of Words common and proper.

ORDS and names are either common or
Common names are fuch as

111. W proper.

ftand for univerfal ideas, or a whole rank of beings, whether general or fpecial. These are called appellatives; fo fish, bird, man, city, river, are common names; and fo are trout, eel, lobster, for they all agree to many individuals, and fome of them to many species: but Cicero, Virgil, Bucephalus, London, Rome, Etna, the Thames, are proper names, for each of them agrees only to one fingle being.

Note here first, that a proper name may become in fome fenfe common, when it hath been given to several beings of the fame kind; fo Cæfar, which was the proper name of the first emperor, Julius, became also a common name to all the following emperors. And tea, which was the proper name of one fort of Indian leaf, is now-a-days become a common name for many infufions of herbs, or plants, in water; as fage-tea, ale-hoof-tea, limon-tea, &c. So Peter, Thomas, John, William, may be reckoned common names alfo, becaufe they are given to many perfons, unless they are determined to fignify a fingle perfon at any particular time or place.

Note in the fecond place, that a common name may become proper by cuftom, or by the time or place, or perfons that use it; as in Great Britain, when we fay the King, we mean our present rightful fovereign King George, who now reigns; when we fpeak of the prince, we intend his royal highnefs Frederick Prince. F

near

of Wales if we mention the city when we are : London, we generally mean the city of London; when in a country town, we fay the parfon or the efquire, all the parish knows who are the fingle perfons intended by it; fo when we are speaking of the history of the New Teftament, and ufe the words Peter, Paul, John, we mean those three apoftles.

Note in the third place, that any common name whatfoever is made proper, by terms of particularity added to it, as the common words Pope, King, horse, garden, book, knife, &c. are defigned to fignify a fingular idea, when we fay the prefent pope; the King of Great Britain; the horfe that won the laft plate at New-Market; the royal garden at Kenfington; this book; that knife, &c.

IV.

SECT. V.

Of concrete and abftract Terms.

ORDS or terms are divided into abstract or concrete.

WOR

Abftract terms fignify the mode or quality of a being, without any regard to the fubject in which it is; as whitenefs, roundnefs, length, breadth, wisdom, mortality, life, death.

Concrete terms, while they exprefs the quality, do alfo either exprefs, or imply, or refer to fome subject to which it belongs; as white, round, long, broad, wife, mortal, living, dead: but these are not always noun a ljectives in a gramatical fenfe; for a fool, a knave, a philofopher and many other concretes are fubftantives, as well as folly, knavery, and philofophy, which are the abstract terms that belong to them.

V.

SECT. VI.

Of univocal and equivocal Words.

ORDS and terms are either univocal or

Wequivocal Univocal words are fuch as

fignify but one idea, or at least but one fort of thing; equivocal words are fuch as fignify two or more different ideas, or different forts of objects. The words book, bible, fith, house, elephant, may be called univocal words; for I know not that they fignify any thing elfe but thofe ideas to which they are generally affixed; but head is an equivocal word, for it fignifies the head of a nail, or of a pin, as well as of an animal: nail is air equivocal word, it is ufed for the nail of the hand or foot, and for an iron nail to faften any thing; poft is equivocal, it is a piece of timber, or a fwift meflenger. A church is a religious affembly, or the large fair building where they meet; aad fometimes the fame word means a fynod of bishops or of prefbyters, and in fome places it is the Pope and a general council.

Here let it be noted, that when two or more words figuify the fame thing, as wave and billow, mead and meadow, they are ufually called fynonymous words; but it feems very ftrange, that words, which are directly contrary to each other, fhould fometimes reprefent almoft the fame ideas; yet thus it is in fome few inftances, a valuable, or an invaluable ble fling; a fhameful, or a fhameless villian; a thick fkull, or a thin skull'd fellow, a mere paper skull: a man of a large confcience; little confcience, or no confcience; a famous rafcal, or an infamous one: fo uncertain a thing is human language, whofe foundation and fupport is cuftom.

As words fignifying the fame thing are called fyncnymous; fo equivocal words, or those which fignify feveral things, are called homonymous, or ambiguous and when perfons ufe fuch ambiguous words, with a defign to deceive, it is called equivocation.

Our fimple ideas, and especially the fenfible qualities, furnish us with a great variety of equivocal or ambi

guous words; for thefe being the first, and most natural ideas we have, we borrow fome of their names, to fignify many other ideas, both fimple and complex. The word fweet expreffes the pleasant perceptions of almost every fenfe; fugar is fweet, but it hath not the fame fweetness as mufic; nor hath mufic the sweetness of a rofe; and a sweet profpect differs from them all; nor yet have any of these the fame fweetness as difcourfe, counfel, or meditation hath; yet the royal Pfalmist faith of a man, we took fweet counfel together; and of God, my meditation of him fhall be fweet. Bitter is alfo fuch an equivocal word; there is bitter wormwood, there are bitter words, there are bitter enemies, and a bitter cold morning. So there is a fharpness in vinegar, and there is a fharpnefs in pain, in forrow, and in reproach; there is a fharp eye, a fharp wit, and a sharp fword but there is not one of these seven fharpneffes the fame as another of them, and a fharp east wind is different from them all.

There are alfo verbs, or words of action, which are equivocal as well as nouns or names. The words to bear, to take, to come, to get, are fufficient instances of it; as when we say, to bear a burden, to bear forrow or reproach, to bear a name, to bear a grudge, to bear fruit, or to bear children; the word bear is used in very different fenfes; and fo is the word get, when we fay, to get money, to get in, to get off, to get ready, to get a ftomach, and to get a cold, &c.

There is alfo a great deal of ambiguity in many of the English particles, as, but, before, befide, with, without, that, then, there, for, forth, above about, &c. of which grammars and dictionaries will fufficiently in

form us.

SECT. VII.

Various Kinds of equivocal Words.

T would be endless to run through all the varieties of words and terms, which have different fenfes

IT