Dr. Ash is an exception: considering his dictionary as a collection of all kinds of words, scientific, technical, obsolete, colloquial, decent, or otherwise, it is doubtless the most complete extant; and so far as the mere number of words is an excellence, his work must be pronounced much superior to that of Johnson. It may fairly be questioned, however, whether such an indiscriminate admission of words, as Dr. Ash has thought proper to adopt, be not more injurious than useful. The dictionaries of Kenrick, Sheridan, Walker, with a comparative view of their respective merits, were before noticed. But as these were designed rather to promote English Orthoepy than the general interests of our language, the further consideration of them will not be attempted in this place.

It is worthy of remark, that the eighteenth century has produced a great extension of the knowledge and use of the English language, Within the last forty or fifty years this language has been gradually becoming more known among the learned of other countries, and its best models of composition more studied, Mr. Pope is said to have lamented that his writings were not likely to be much read, excepting by the inhabitants of one small island. Had he lived till the present day he would have seen better prospects opening to his literary ambition. To say nothing of the immense continent of North America, where the productions of that great poet will probably long be perused by many millions; and to place also out of the account the extensive foreign dependences of Great Britain, where English literature is likely,

in time, to flourish; it is an undoubted fact, that the language in which he wrote is incomparably more read and spoken on the continent of Europe, since his day, than ever before.

SECTION II.

FRENCH LANGUAGE.

The French language, during the last century, received modifications and improvements in a considerable degree similar to those which have already been noticed as belonging to the English. It was before remarked that this language was some time before the English in the progress of improvement. The reign of Lewis XIV has been commonly called the golden age of French literature, and the period of perfection in French style.. It is probable that this opinion is rather better founded than that which assigns the reign of queen Anne as furnishing the highest degree of refinement in English composition. The publication of the famous Dictionnaire de l'Academie Française, a great and splendid work in its day, formed an important æra in the history of the French language. The grand object of the association which compiled this dictionary, and presented it to the world, was to improve and fix their language; and there can be no doubt that the publication was, in a considerable degree, subservient to these purposes.

But to expect a living language to be absolutely stationary, is to expect that which borders on the region of impossibility. Accordingly, since the

completion of the grand national dictionary just mentioned, the French language has gained large accessions of words and phrases, and has received various kinds of melioration. The work of the academy has long been superseded by the private and better dictionary of M. Richelet, which has been honoured with high and general praise. But even the latter is far from embracing the numerous additional words with which learned philologists of that country have endowed their language. Still more recently a more full and accurate dictionary of the French language has been compiled by the abbé Feraud.

The large work of M. Court de Gebelin, on language, published a few years ago, contains an extensive and learned investigation of French Etymology, which has thrown new light on the structure and genius of that language. Indeed, within the last thirty years of the century under consideration, several French writers of high reputation, but of whom the author has too little knowledge to speak distinctly, have undertaken, with considerable success, to exhibit the beauties and defects of their native tongue, and to point out means for its further refinement.

The list of those writers who contributed, in the course of the last century, to enrich and polish the French language, is too large to be given at length, even if the information requisite for this purpose were possessed. Out of the great number, Fontenelle, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Buffon, deserve to be selected, as standing in the first rank. Since the date of their writings it may be doubted whether the language has gained any real refine

ments. If an air of metaphysical abstraction, and antithetic point, be more prevalent among some late popular writers of that country than formerly, it is believed no substantial improvements have been made in the vigour, the polish, the precision, and the chaste ornaments of French style.

At the commencement of the eighteenth century it is probable that there was no living language so generally understood, and so correctly spoken, among the learned of all civilised countries, as the French. It was then spoken as the most polite medium of intercourse at several of the courts of Europe, and the acquisition of it considered as an important part of liberal education. Since that time the knowledge and use of this language have greatly extended. It has, in fact, almost become, what the Latin once was, a univer, sal language. Perhaps it may be asserted that a larger portion of mankind, at the present day, understand and speak this language, than were ever before known to be acquainted with a living tongue *.

* Some remarks on modern improvements in the Spanish language would naturally follow this section, if the author were sufficiently acquainted with the nature and amount of these improvements to make even general remarks on them. It may not be improper, however, to mention that the Royal Spanish Academy of Madrid, founded in 1713, was instituted for the express purpose of cultivating and improving the national language. With this view, after spending many years in the requisite preliminary investigations; after devoting much attention to the selection of such words and phrases as were used by the best writers, and noting those which were either low, corrupt, or obsolete; that learned society published, in 1783, the Diccionario de la Lengua Castellana; a work which, though defective in etymological inquiries, and in several other respects, is yet by far the best extant.

SECTION III.

ITALIAN LANGUAGE.

During a great part of the seventeenth century the Italian language was in a state of comparative degeneracy. It abounded to an excess with metaphor and antithesis, allusion, and conceit; so that, instead of the simplicity which had before prevailed, affectation and obscurity became its distinguishing characteristics. This taste was too much countenanced and promoted by the writings of Marini, Tasso, and Chiabrera, which, though monuments of great genius, yet gave currency to false principles of composition. During this period the best models of ancient taste fell into neglect; and such were selected for imitation as favoured the glitter, the bombast, and the pedantry which were then in vogue. Of this the satires of Benedict Menzini, and of Salvator Rosa, and the discourses of Morone, Paoletti, and others, afford -sufficient proof.

Towards the close of the seventeenth century these perversions of taste began to decline, and the Italian literati assumed a style more simple, unaffected, and accurate than that which had been in fashion for more than a hundred years. Apostolo Zeno, a distinguished Venetian writer, was one of the first who introduced a natural turn of sentiment and expression into his writings, and recommended this manner to his countrymen. Gravina, about the same time, recalled the atten