by an excellent writer, who pofleffed, if any man ever did, the true genius of the English tongue *. I cannot however forbear urging one obfervation borrowed from that author. Several 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 that account, the vowel is in common fpeech generally fuppreffed, and the confonant is added to the foregoing fyllable. Hence the following rugged founds, drudg'd, difturb'd, rebuk'd, fledg'd. It is ftill lefs excufeable to follow this practice in writing;s for the hurry of speaking may excufe what is altogether improper in, a compofition of any value. The fyllable ed, it is true, makes but a poor figure at the end of a word: but we ought to fubmit to that defect, rather than multiply the number of harth words, which, after all that has been done, bear an over proportion in our tongue. The author above mentioned, by fhowing a good example, did all in his power to reftore that fyllable; and he well deserves to be imitated. Some exceptions however I would make. A word which fignifies labour, or any thing harfh 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 making the word harsh. Examples, betray'd, carry'd, deftroy'd, employ'd..

The article next in order, is to confider the mu fic of words as united in a period. And as the arrangement of words in fucceffion fo as to afford the greateft pleasure to the ear, depends on principles pretty remote from common view, it will be ne

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

ceffary to premise fome general obfervations upon the effect, that a number of objects have upon the mind, when they are placed in an increafing or decreafing feries. The effect of fuch a feries will be very different, according as refemblance or contrast prevails. Where the members of a feries vary by fmall differences, refemblance prevails; which, in afcending, makes us conceive the fecond object of no greater fize than the firft, the third of no greateri fize than the fecond, and fo of the reft. This diminifheth in appearance theb fize of the whole; Again, when beginning at the largest object, we

leaft,

proceed gradually to the refemblance makes

i

us imagine the fecond as large as the firft, and the third as large as the fecond; which in appearance magnifies every object of the feries except the firft. On the other hand, in a feries varying by great differences, where contraft prevails, the effects are directly oppofite. A large object fucceeding a fmall one of the fame kind, appears by the oppofition larger than ufual and a small object, for the fame. reafon, fucceeding one that is large, appears lefs than ufual* Hence a remarkable pleasure in viewing a feries afcending by large intervals; directly oppofite to what we feel when the intervals are fmall. Beginning at the fmalleft object of a feties where contraft prevails, this object has the fame effect upon the mind as if it flood fingle without making a part of the feries. But this is not the cafe of the fecond object, which by means of contraft, makes a much greater figure than when view ed fingly and apart; and the fame effect is perceived in afcending progreflively, tilbwe arrive at the last object. The direct contrary effect is produced in defcending; for in this direction, every object, except the first, makes a lefs figure than when

* See the reafon, chap. 8.

viewed feparately and independent of the feries. We may then lay it down 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 fcarce any impreffion.

After eftablishing 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 applicable not only to fingle words, but equally 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 arrang ing 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 exiftimationem, multo fudore, labore, vigiliifque, collectam5630

Again:

Eripite nos ex miferiis,

Eripite nos ex faucibus eorum,

Quorum crudelitas, noftro fanguine non poteft

expleri.

De oratore, l. 1. § 52.

De ftructura perfectæ orationis, I. z.

This order of words or members gradually increafing in length, may, fo far as concerns the pleasure of found fingly, be denominated a climax in found.

The laft article is the mufic of periods as united in a difcourfe; which fhall be difpatched in a very few words. By no other human means is it poffible to prefent to the mind, fuch a number of objects and in fo fwift a fucceffion, as by fpeaking or writing. And for that reafon, variety ought more to be studied in these, than in any other fort of compofition. Hence a rule regarding the arrangement of the members of different periods with relation to each other, That to avoid a tedious uniformity of found and cadence, the arrangement, the ca dence, and the length of thefe members, ought to be diverfified as much as poffible. And if the members of different periods be fufficiently diverfified, the periods themselves will be equally fo.

SECT. II. Beauty of language with respect -to fignification, som li

IT is well faid by a noted writer, "That by

means of fpeech we can divert our forrows, "mingle our mirth, impart our fecrets, commu"nicate our counfels, and make mutual compacts. "and agreements to fupply and affift each other." Confidering speech as contributing thus to fo many good purposes, it follows, that the chufing words which have an accurate meaning, and tend to convey clear and diftin&t ideas, must be one of its capital beauties. This caufe of beauty, is too extenfive to be handled as a branch of any other fubject. To afcertain with accuracy even even the pro proper meaning of words, not to talk of their figurative power, would require a large volume; an ufeful work in

*Scot's Chriftian life.

deed;

deed; but not to be attempted without a large stock of time, ftudy, and reflection. This branch therefore of the fubject I must humbly decline. Nor do I propofe to exhaust all the other beauties of language with refpect to fignification. The reader, in a work like the prefent, cannot fairly expec more than a flight sketch of those that make the greatest figure. This is a talk which I attempt the more willingly, as it appears to be connected with fome principles in human nature; and the rules I fhall have occafion to lay down, will, if I judge aright, be agreeable illuftrations of these principles. Every subject must be of importance that tends in any meafure to unfold the human heart; for what other fcience is more worthy of human beings?

The prefent fubject is fo extensive, that, to prevent confufion, it must be divided into parts; and what follows fuggefts a divifion into two parts. In every period, two things are to be regarded, equally capital; firft, the words of which the period is compofed; next, the arrangement of these words. The former resemble the ftones that compose a building; and the latter refembles the order in which these stones are placed. Hence the beauty of language with refpect to its meaning, may not improperly be diftinguished into two kinds. The first confifts in a right choice of words or materials for constructing the period; and the other confifts in a due arrangement of thefe words or materials. I fhall begin with rules that direct us to a right choice of words, and then proceed to rules that concern their arrangement.

And with refpect to the former, communication of thought being the principal end of language, it is a rule, That perfpicuity ought not to be facrificed to any other beauty whatever. If it should be doubted whether perfpicuity be a pofitive beauty, it

cannot