"Th, in Thames, Thomas, thyme, asthma, phthisis, and their compounds, is pronounced like t."—Ib.

XXI. OF THE LETTER U.

The vowel U has three sounds which may be considered to be properly its own:—

1. The open, long, full, primal, or diphthongal u; as in tube, cubic, juvenile.

2. The close, curt, short, or stopped u; as in tub, butter, justice, unhung.

3. The middle u, resembling a short or quick oo; as in pull, pulpit, artful.

U forming a syllable by itself or U as naming itself is nearly equivalent in sound to you, and requires the article a, and not an, before it; as, a U, a union.

U sometimes borrows the sound of some other vowel; for bury is pronounced berry, and busy is pronounced bizzy. So in the derivatives, burial, buried, busied, busily, and the like.

The long or diphthongal u, commonly sounded as yu, or as ew in ewer,—or any equivalent diphthong or digraph, as ue, ui, eu, or ew.—when it follows r or rh, assumes the sound of slender o or oo; as in rude, rhubarb, rue, rueful, rheum, fruit, truth, brewer.

DIPHTHONGS BEGINNING WITH U.

U, in the proper diphthongs, ua, ue, ui, uo, uy, has the sound of w or of oo feeble; as in persuade, query, quell, quiet, languid, quote, obloquy.

Ua, an improper diphthong, has the sound—1. Of middle a; as in guard, guardian. 2. Of close a; as in guarantee, piquant. 3. Of obscure e; as in victuals and its compounds or kindred. 4. Of open u; as in mantuamaker.

Ue, an improper diphthong, has the sound—1. Of open u; as in blue, ensue, ague. 2. Of close e; as in guest, guesser. 3. Of close u; as in leaguer. Ue final is sometimes silent; as in league, antique. Ui, an improper diphthong, has the sound—1. Of open i; as in guide, guile. 2. Of close i; as in conduit, circuit. 3. Of open u; as in juice, sluice, suit.

Uo can scarcely be called an improper diphthong, except, perhaps, after q in liquor, liquorice, liquorish, where uor is heard as ur.

Uy, an improper diphthong, has the sound—1. Of open y; as in buy, buyer. 2. Of feeble y, or of ee feeble; as in plaguy, roguy.

TRIPHTHONGS BEGINNING WITH U.

Uai is pronounced nearly, if not exactly, like way; as in guai-a-cum, quail, quaint. Uaw is sounded like wa in water; as in squaw, a female Indian. Uay has the sound of way; as in Par-a-guay: except in quay, which nearly all our orthoepists pronounce kee. Uea and uee are each sounded wee; as in queasy, queer, squeal, squeeze. Uoi and woy are each sounded woi; as in quoit, buoy. Some say, that, as u, in these combinations, sounds like w, it is a consonant; others allege, that w itself has only the sound of oo, and is therefore in all cases a vowel. U has, certainly, in these connexions, as much of the sound of oo, as has w; and perhaps a little more.

XXII. OF THE LETTER V.

The consonant V always has a sound like that of f flattened; as in love, vulture, vivacious. In pure English, it is never silent, never final, never doubled: but it is often doubled in the dialect of Craven; and there, too, it is sometimes final.

XXIII. OF THE LETTER W.

W, when reckoned a consonant, (as it usually is when uttered with a vowel that follows it,) has the sound heard at the beginning of wine, win, woman, woody; being a sound less vocal than that of oo, and depending more upon the lips.

W before h, is usually pronounced as if it followed the h; as in what, when, where, while: but, in who, whose, whom, whole, whoop, and words formed from these, it is silent. Before r, in the same syllable, it is also silent; as in wrath, wrench, wrong. So in a few other cases; as in sword, answer, two.

W is never used alone as a vowel; except in some Welsh or foreign names, in which it is equivalent to oo; as in "Cwm Cothy," the name of a mountain in Wales; "Wkra" the name of a small river in Poland.—See Lockhart's Napoleon, Vol. ii, p. 15. In a diphthong, when heard, it has the power of u in bull, or nearly that of oo; as in new, now, brow, frown. Aw and ow are frequently improper diphthongs, the w being silent, the a broad, and the o long; as in law, flaw,—tow, snow. W, when sounded before vowels, being reckoned a consonant, we have no diphthongs or triphthongs beginning with this letter.

XXIV. OF THE LETTER X.

The consonant "X has a sharp sound, like ks; as in ox: and a flat one, like gz; as in example. X is sharp, when it ends an accented syllable; as in exercise, exit, excellence: or when it precedes an accented syllable beginning with a consonant; as in expand, extreme, expunge. X unaccented is generally flat, when the next syllable begins with a vowel; as in exist, exemption, exotic. X initial, in Greek proper names, has the sound of z; as in Xanthus, Xantippe, Xenophon, Xerxes"—See W. Allen's Gram., p. 25.

XXV. OF THE LETTER Y.

Y, as a consonant, has the sound heard at the beginning of yarn, young, youth; being rather less vocal than the feeble sound of i, or of the vowel y, and serving merely to modify that of a succeeding vowel, with which it is quickly united. Y, as a vowel, has the same sounds as i:—

1. The open, long, full, or primal y; as in cry, crying, thyme, cycle.

2. The close, curt, short, or stopped y; as in system, symptom, cynic.

3. The feeble or faint y, accentless; (like open e feeble;) as in cymar, cycloidal, mercy.

The vowels i and y have, in general, exactly the same sound under similar circumstances, and, in forming derivatives, we often change one for the other: as in city, cities; tie, tying; easy, easily.

Y, before a vowel heard in the same syllable, is reckoned a consonant; we have, therefore, no diphthongs or triphthongs commencing with this letter.

XXVI. OF THE LETTER Z.

The consonant Z, the last letter of our alphabet, has usually a soft or buzzing sound, the same as that of s flat; as in Zeno, zenith, breeze, dizzy. Before u primal or i feeble, z, as well as s flat, sometimes takes the sound of zh, which, in the enumeration of consonantal sounds, is reckoned a distinct element; as in azure, seizure, glazier; osier, measure, pleasure.

END OF THE FIRST APPENDIX.



APPENDIX II.

TO PART SECOND, OR ETYMOLOGY.

OF THE DERIVATION OF WORDS.

Derivation, as a topic to be treated by the grammarian, is a species of Etymology, which explains the various methods by which those derivative words which are not formed by mere grammatical inflections, are deduced from their primitives. Most of those words which are regarded as primitives in English, may be traced to ulterior sources, and many of them are found to be compounds or derivatives in the other languages from which they have come to us. To show the composition, origin, and literal sense of these, is also a part, and a highly useful part, of this general inquiry, or theme of instruction.

This species of information, though insignificant in those whose studies reach to nothing better,—to nothing valuable and available in life,—is nevertheless essential to education and to science; because it is essential to a right understanding of the import and just application of such words. All reliable etymology, all authentic derivation of words, has ever been highly valued by the wise. The learned James Harris has a remark as follows: "How useful to ETHIC SCIENCE, and indeed to KNOWLEDGE in general, a GRAMMATICAL DISQUISITION into the Etymology and Meaning of WORDS was esteemed by the chief and ablest Philosophers, may be seen by consulting Plato in his Cratylus; Xenophon's Memorabilia, IV, 5, 6; Arrian. Epict. I, 17; II, 10; Marc. Anton. III, 11;" &c.—See Harris's Hermes, p. 407.

A knowledge of the Saxon, Latin, Greek, and French languages, will throw much light on this subject, the derivation of our modern English; nor is it a weak argument in favour of studying these, that our acquaintance with them, whether deep or slight, tends to a better understanding of what is borrowed, and what is vernacular, in our own tongue. But etymological analysis may extensively teach the origin of English words, their composition, and the import of their parts, without demanding of the student the power of reading foreign or ancient languages, or of discoursing at all on General Grammar. And, since many of the users of this work may be but readers of our current English, to whom an unknown letter or a foreign word is a particularly uncouth and repulsive thing, we shall here forbear the use of Saxon characters, and, in our explanations, not go beyond the precincts of our own language, except to show the origin and primitive import of some of our definitive and connecting particles, and to explain the prefixes and terminations which are frequently employed to form English derivatives.

The rude and cursory languages of barbarous nations, to whom literature is unknown, are among those transitory things which, by the hand of time, are irrecoverably buried in oblivion. The fabric of the English language is undoubtedly of Saxon origin; but what was the particular form of the language spoken by the Saxons, when about the year 450 they entered Britain, cannot now be accurately known. It was probably a dialect of the Gothic or Teutonic. This Anglo-Saxon dialect, being the nucleus, received large accessions from other tongues of the north, from the Norman French, and from the more polished languages of Rome and Greece, to form the modern English. The speech of our rude and warlike ancestors thus gradually improved, as Christianity, civilization, and knowledge, advanced the arts of life in Britain; and, as early as the tenth century, it became a language capable of expressing all the sentiments of a civilized people. From the time of Alfred, its progress may be traced by means of writings which remain; but it can scarcely be called English, as I have shown in the Introduction to this work, till about the thirteenth century. And for two or three centuries later, it was so different from the modern English, as to be scarcely intelligible at all to the mere English reader; but, gradually improving by means upon which we need not here dilate, it at length became what we now find it,—a language copious, strong, refined, impressive, and capable, if properly used, of a great degree of beauty and harmony.

SECTION I.—DERIVATION OF THE ARTICLES.

1. For the derivation of our article THE, which he calls "an adjective," Dr. Webster was satisfied with giving this hint: "Sax. the; Dutch, de."—Amer. Dict. According to Horne Tooke, this definite article of ours, is the Saxon verb "THE," imperative, from THEAN, to take; and is nearly equivalent in meaning to that or those, because our that is "the past participle of THEAN," and "means taken."—Diversions of Purley, Vol. ii, p. 49. But this is not very satisfactory. Examining ancient works, we find the word, or something resembling it, or akin to it, written in various forms, as se, see, ye, te, de, the, tha, and others that cannot be shown by our modern letters; and, tracing it as one article, or one and the same word, through what we suppose to be the oldest of these forms, in stead of accounting the forms as signs of different roots, we should sooner regard it as originating in the imperative of SEON, to see.

2. AN, our indefinite article, is the Saxon oen, ane, an, ONE; and, by dropping n before a consonant, becomes a. Gawin Douglas, an ancient English writer, wrote ane, even before a consonant; as, "Ane book,"—"Ane lang spere,"—"Ane volume."

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.—The words of Tooke, concerning the derivation of That and The, as nearly as they can be given in our letters, are these: "THAT (in the Anglo-Saxon Thaet, i.e. Thead, Theat) means taken, assumed; being merely the past participle of the Anglo-Saxon verb Thean, Thegan, Thion, Thihan, Thicgan, Thigian; sumere, assumere, accipere; to THE, to get, to take, to assume.

'Ill mote he THE That caused me To make myselfe a frere.'—Sir T. More's Workes, pag. 4.

THE (our article, as it is called) is the imperative of the same verb Thean: which may very well supply the place of the correspondent Anglo-Saxon article Se, which is the imperative of Seon, videre: for it answers the same purpose in discourse, to say.... see man, or take man."—Diversions of Purley, Vol. ii, p. 49.

OBS. 2.—Now, between Thaet and Theat, there is a considerable difference of form, for ae and ea are not the same diphthong; and, in the identifying of so many infinitives, as forming but one verb, there is room for error. Nor is it half so probable that these are truly one root, as that our article The is the same, in its origin, as the old Anglo-Saxon Se. Dr. Bosworth, in his Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, gives no such word as Thean or Thegan, no such participle as Thead or Theat, which derivative is perhaps imaginary; but he has inserted together "Thicgan, thicgean, thigan, to receive, or take;" and separately, "Theon, to thrive, or flourish,"—"Thihan, to thrive,"—and "Thion, to flourish;" as well as the preterit "Theat, howled," from "Theotan, to howl." And is it not plain, that the old verb "THE," as used by More, is from Theon, to thrive, rather than from Thicgan, to take? "Ill mote he THE"—"Ill might he thrive," not, "Ill might he take."

OBS. 3.—Professor Hart says, "The word the was originally thaet, or that. In course of time [,] it became abbreviated, and the short form acquired, in usage, a shade of meaning different from the original long one. That is demonstrative with emphasis; the is demonstrative without emphasis."—Hart's E. Grammar, p. 32. This derivation of The is quite improbable; because the shortening of a monosyllable of five letters by striking out the third and the fifth, is no usual mode of abbreviation. Bosworth's Dictionary explains THE as "An indeclinable article, often used for all the cases of Se, seo, thaet, especially in adverbial expressions and in corrupt Anglo-Saxon, as in the Chronicle after the year 1138."

OBS. 4—Dr. Latham, in a section which is evidently neither accurate nor self-consistent, teaches us—"that there exist in the present English two powers of the word spelled t-h-e, or of the so-called definite article;" then, out of sixteen Anglo-Saxon equivalents, he selects two for the roots of this double-powered the; saying, "Hence the the that has originated out of the Anglo-Saxon thy is one word; whilst the the that has originated out of the Anglo-Saxon the, [is] another. The latter is the common article: the former the the in expressions like all the more, all the better—more by all that, better by all that, and the Latin phrases eo majus, eo melius."—Latham's Hand-Book, p. 158. This double derivation is liable to many objections. The Hand-Book afterwards says, "That the, in expressions like all the more, all the better, &c., is no article, has already been shown."—P. 196. But in fact, though the before comparatives or superlatives be no article, Dr. Latham's etymologies prove no such thing; neither does he anywhere tell us what it is. His examples, too, with their interpretations, are all of them fictitious, ambiguous, and otherwise bad. It is uncertain whether he meant his phrases for counterparts to each other or not. If the means "by that," or thereby, it is an adverb; and so is its equivalent "eo" denominated by the Latin grammarians. See OBS. 10, under Rule I.



SECTION II.—DERIVATION OF NOUNS.

In English, Nouns are derived from nouns, from adjectives, from verbs, or from participles.

I. Nouns are derived from Nouns in several different ways:—

1. By the adding of ship, dom, ric, wick, or, ate, hood, or head: as, fellow, fellowship; king, kingdom; bishop, bishopric; bailiff, or baily, bailiwick; senate, senator; tetrarch, tetrarchate; child, childhood; God, Godhead. These generally denote dominion, office, or character.

2. By the adding of ian: as, music, musician; physic, physician; theology, theologian; grammar, grammarian; college, collegian. These generally denote profession.

3. By the adding of r, ry, or ery: as, grocer, grocery; cutler, cutlery; slave, slavery; scene, scenery; fool, foolery. These sometimes denote state or habit; sometimes, an artificer's wares or shop.

4. By the adding of age or ade: as, patron, patronage; porter, porterage; band, bandage; lemon, lemonade; baluster, balustrade; wharf, wharfage; vassal, vassalage.

5. By the adding of kin, let, ling, ock, el, erel, or et: as, lamb, lambkin; ring, ringlet; cross, crosslet; duck, duckling; hill, hillock; run, runnel; cock, cockerel; pistol, pistolet; eagle, eaglet; circle, circlet. All these denote little things, and are called diminutives.

6. By the addition of ist: as, psalm, psalmist; botany, botanist; dial, dialist; journal, journalist. These denote persons devoted to, or skilled in, the subject expressed by the primitive.

7. By the prefixing of an adjective, or an other noun, so as to form a compound word: as, foreman, broadsword, statesman, tradesman; bedside, hillside, seaside; bear-berry, bear-fly, bear-garden; bear's-ear, bear's-foot, goat's-beard.

8. By the adoption of a negative prefix to reverse the meaning: as, order, disorder; pleasure, displeasure; consistency, inconsistency; capacity, incapacity; observance, nonobservance; resistance, nonresistance; truth, untruth; constraint, unconstraint.

9. By the use of the prefix counter, signifying against or opposite: as, attraction, counter-attraction; bond, counter-bond; current, counter-current; movement, counter-movement.

10. By the addition of ess, ix, or ine, or the changing of masculines to feminines so terminating: as, heir, heiress; prophet, prophetess; abbot, abbess; governor, governess; testator, testatrix; hero, heroine.

II. Nouns are derived from Adjectives in several different ways:—

1. By the adding of ness, ity, ship, dom, or hood: as, good, goodness; real, reality; hard, hardship; wise, wisdom; free, freedom; false, falsehood.

2. By the changing of t into ce or cy: as, radiant, radiance; consequent, consequence; flagrant, flagrancy; current, currency; discrepant, discrepance, or discrepancy.

3. By the changing of some of the letters, and the adding of t or th: as, long, length; broad, breadth; wide, width; high, height. The nouns included under these three heads, generally denote abstract qualities, and are called abstract nouns.

4. By the adding of ard: as, drunk, drunkard; dull, dullard. These denote ill character.

5. By the adding of ist: as, sensual, sensualist; separate, separatist; royal, royalist; fatal, fatalist. These denote persons devoted, addicted, or attached, to something.

6. By the adding of a, the Latin ending of neuter plurals, to certain proper adjectives in an: as, Miltonian, Miltoniana; Johnsonian, Johnsoniana. These literally mean, Miltonian things, sayings, or anecdotes, &c.; and are words somewhat fashionable with the journalists, and are sometimes used for titles of books that refer to table-talk.

III. Nouns are derived from Verbs in several different ways:—

1. By the adding of ment, ance, ence, ure, or age: as, punish, punishment; abate, abatement; repent, repentance; condole, condolence; forfeit, forfeiture; stow, stowage; equip, equipage; truck, truckage.

2. By a change of the termination of the verb, into se, ce, sion, tion, ation, or ition: as, expand, expanse, expansion; pretend, pretence, pretension; invent, invention; create, creation; omit, omission; provide, provision; reform, reformation; oppose, opposition. These denote either the act of doing, or the thing done.

3. By the adding of er or or: as, hunt, hunter; write, writer; collect, collector; assert, assertor; instruct, instructer, or instructor. These generally denote the doer. To denote the person to whom something is done, we sometimes form a derivative ending in ee: as, promisee, mortgagee, appellee, consignee.

4. Nouns and Verbs are sometimes alike in orthography, but different in pronunciation: as, a house, to house; a use, to use; a reb'el, to rebel'; a rec'ord, to record'; a cem'ent, to cement'. Of such pairs, it may often be difficult to say which word is the primitive.

5. In many instances, nouns and verbs are wholly alike as to form and sound, and are distinguished by their sense and construction only: as, love, to love; fear, to fear; sleep, to sleep;—to revise, a revise; to rebuke, a rebuke. In these, we have but the same word used differently.

IV. Nouns are often derived from Participles in ing; as, a meeting, the understanding, murmurings, disputings, sayings, and doings: and, occasionally, one is formed from such a word and an adverb or a perfect participle joined with it; as, "The turning-away,"—"His goings-forth,"—"Your having-boasted of it."



SECTION III.—DERIVATION OF ADJECTIVES.

In English, Adjectives are derived from nouns, from adjectives, from verbs, or from participles.

I. Adjectives are derived from Nouns in several different ways:—

1. By the adding of ous, ious, eous, y, ey, ic, al, ical or ine: (sometimes with an omission or change of some of the final letters:) as, danger, dangerous; glory, glorious; right, righteous; rock, rocky; clay, clayey; poet, poetic, or poetical; nation, national; method, methodical; vertex, vertical; clergy, clerical; adamant, adamantine. Adjectives thus formed, generally apply the properties of their primitives, to the nouns to which they relate.

2. By the adding of ful: as, fear, fearful; cheer, cheerful; grace, graceful; shame, shameful; power, powerful. These come almost entirely from personal qualities or feelings, and denote abundance.

3. By the adding of some: as, burden, burdensome; game, gamesome; toil, toilsome. These denote plenty, but do not exaggerate.

4. By the adding of en: as, oak, oaken; silk, silken; wheat, wheaten; oat, oaten; hemp, hempen. Here the derivative denotes the matter of which something is made.

5. By the adding of ly or ish: as, friend, friendly; gentleman, gentlemanly; child, childish; prude, prudish. These denote resemblance. The termination ly signifies like.

6. By the adding of able or ible: as, fashion, fashionable; access, accessible. But these terminations are generally, and more properly, added to verbs. See Obs. 17th, 18th, &c., on the Rules for Spelling.

7. By the adding of less: as, house, houseless; death, deathless; sleep, sleepless; bottom, bottomless. These denote privation or exemption—the absence of what is named by the primitive.

8. By the adding of ed: as, saint, sainted; bigot, bigoted; mast, masted; wit, witted. These have a resemblance to participles, and some of them are rarely used, except when joined with some other word to form a compound adjective: as, three-sided, bare-footed, long-eared, hundred-handed, flat-nosed, hard-hearted, marble-hearted, chicken-hearted.

9. Adjectives coming from proper names, take various terminations: as, America, American; England, English; Dane, Danish; Portugal, Portuguese; Plato, Platonic.

10. Nouns are often converted into adjectives, without change of termination: as, paper currency; a gold chain; silver knee-buckles.

II. Adjectives are derived from Adjectives in several different ways:—

1. By the adding of ish or some: as, white, whitish; green, greenish; lone, lonesome; glad, gladsome. These denote quality with some diminution.

2. By the prefixing of dis, in, or un: as, honest, dishonest; consistent, inconsistent; wise, unwise. These express a negation of the quality denoted by their primitives.

3. By the adding of y or ly: as, swarth, swarthy; good, goodly. Of these there are but few; for almost all the derivatives of the latter form are adverbs.

III. Adjectives are derived from Verbs in several different ways:—

1. By the adding of able or ible: (sometimes with a change of some of the final letters:) as, perish, perishable; vary, variable; convert, convertible; divide, divisible, or dividable. These, according to their analogy, have usually a passive import, and denote susceptibility of receiving action. 2. By the adding of ive or ory: (sometimes with a change of some of the final letters:) as, elect, elective; interrogate, interrogative, interrogatory; defend, defensive; defame, defamatory; explain, explanatory.

3. Words ending in ate, are mostly verbs; but some of them may be employed as adjectives, in the same form, especially in poetry; as, reprobate, complicate.

IV. Adjectives are derived from Participles, not by suffixes, but in these ways:—

1. By the prefixing of un, meaning not; as, unyielding, unregarded, unreserved, unendowed, unendeared, unendorsed, unencountered, unencumbered, undisheartened, undishonoured. Of this sort there are very many.

2. By a combining of the participle with some word which does not belong to the verb; as, way-faring, hollow-sounding, long-drawn, deep-laid, dear-purchased, down-trodden. These, too, are numerous.

3. Participles often become adjectives without change of form. Such adjectives are distinguished from participles by their construction alone: as, "A lasting ornament;"—"The starving chymist;"—"Words of learned length;"—"With counterfeited glee."



SECTION IV.—DERIVATION OF THE PRONOUNS.

I. The English Pronouns are all of Saxon origin; but, in them, our language differs very strikingly from that of the Anglo-Saxons. The following table compares the simple personal forms:—

Eng. I, My or Me; We, Our or Us. Mine, Ours, Sax. Ic, Min, Me or We, Ure or Us. Mec; User, Eng. Thou, Thy or Thee; Ye, Your You. Thine, or Yours, Sax. Thu, Thin, The or Ge Eower, Eow or Thec; Eowie. Eng. He, His Him; They, Their or Them. Theirs, Sax. He, His or Him or Hi or Hira or Heom or Hys, Hine; Hig, Heora, Hi. Eng. She, Her or Her; They, Their or Them. Hers, Theirs, Sax. Heo, Hire or Hi; Hi or Hira or Heom or Hyre, Hig, Heora, Hi. Eng. It, Its, It; They, Their or Them. Theirs, Sax. Hit, His or Hit; Hi or Hira or Heom or Hys, Hig, Heora, Hi.

Here, as in the personal pronouns of other languages, the plurals and oblique cases do not all appear to be regular derivatives from the nominative singular. Many of these pronouns, perhaps all, as well as a vast number of other words of frequent use in our language, and in that from which it chiefly comes, were very variously written by the Middle English, Old English, Semi-Saxon, and Anglo-Saxon authors. He who traces the history of our language, will meet with them under all the following forms, (or such as these would be with Saxon characters for the Saxon forms,) and perhaps in more:—

1. I, J, Y, y, i, ay, ic, che, ich, Ic;—MY, mi, min, MINE, myne, myn;—ME, mee, me, meh, mec, mech;—WE, wee, ve;—OUR or OURS, oure, ure, wer, urin, uren, urne, user, usse, usser, usses, ussum;—Us, ous, vs, uss, usic, usich, usig, usih, uz, huz.

2. THOU, thoue, thow, thowe, thu, tou, to, tu;—THY or THINE, thi, thyne, thyn, thin;—THEE, the, theh, thec;—YE, yee, yhe, ze, zee, ge, ghe;—YOUR or YOURS, youre, zour, hure, goure, yer, yower, yowyer, yorn, yourn, youre, eower;—You, youe, yow, gou, zou, ou, iu, iuh, eow, iow, geow, eowih, eowic, iowih.

3. HE, hee, hie, se;—His, hise, is, hys, ys, hyse, hus;—HIM, hine, hiene, hion, hen, hyne, hym, im;—THEY, thay, thei, the, tha, thai, thii, yai, hi, hie, heo, hig, hyg, hy;—THEIR or THEIRS, ther, theyr, theyrs, thair, thare, theora, hare, here, her, hir, hire, hira, hiora, hiera, heora, hyra;—THEM, thym, theym, thaym, thaim, thame, tham, em, hem, heom, hiom, eom, hom, him, hi, hig.

4. SHE, shee, sche, scho, sho, shoe, scae, seo, heo, hio, hiu, hoo, hue;—HER, (possessive,) hur, hir, hire, hyr, hyre, hyra, hera;—HER, (objective,) hire, hyre, hur, hir, hi. The plural forms of this feminine pronoun are like those of the masculine He; but the "Well-Wishers to Knowledge," in their small Grammar, (erroneously, as I suppose,) make hira masculine only, and heora feminine only. See their Principles of Grammar, p. 38.

5. IT, yt, itt, hit, hyt, hytt. The possessive Its is a modern derivative; His or Hys was formerly used in lieu of it. The plural forms of this neuter pronoun, It, are like those of He and She. According to Horne Tooke, who declares hoet to have been one of its ancient forms, "this pronoun was merely the past participle of the verb HAITAN, haetan, nominare," to name, and literally signifies "the said;" (Diversions of Purley, Vol. ii, p. 46; W. Allen's Gram., p. 57;) but Dr. Alexander Murray, exhibiting it in an other form, not adapted to this opinion, makes it the neuter of a declinable adjective, or pronoun, inflected from the masculine, thus: "He, heo hita, this"—Hist. of Lang., Vol. i, p. 315.

II. The relatives and interrogatives are derived from the same source, the Anglo-Saxon tongue, and have passed through similar changes, or varieties in orthography; but, the common relative pronoun of the Anglo-Saxons being like their article the,—or, with the three genders, se, seo, thaet,—and not like our who, which, and what, it is probable that the interrogative use of these words was the primitive one. They have been found in all the following forms:—

1. WHO, ho, hue, wha, hwa, hua, wua, qua, quha;—WHOSE, who's, whos, whois, whoise, wheas, quhois, quhais, quhase, hwaes;—WHOM, whome, quham, quhum, quhome, hwom, hwam, hwaem, hwaene, hwone.

2. WHICH, whiche, whyche, whilch, wych, quilch, quilk, quhilk, hwilc, hwylc, hwelc, whilk, huilic, hvilc. For the Anglo-Saxon forms, Dr. Bosworth's Dictionary gives "hwilc, hwylc, and hwelc;" but Professor Fowler's E. Grammar makes them "huilic and hvilc."—See p. 240. Whilk, or quhilk, is a Scottish form.

3. WHAT, hwat, hwet, quhat, hwaet. This pronoun, whether relative or interrogative, is regarded by Bosworth and others as a neuter derivative from the masculine or femine [sic—KTH] hwa, who. It may have been thence derived, but, in modern English, it is not always of the neuter gender. See the last note on page 312.

4. THAT, Anglo-Saxon Thaet. Tooke's notion of the derivation of this word is noticed above in the section on Articles. There is no certainty of its truth; and our lexicographers make no allusion to it. W. Allen reaffirms it. See his Gram., p. 54.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.—In the Well-Wishers' Grammar, (p. 39,) as also in L. Murray's and some others, the pronoun Which is very strangely and erroneously represented as being always "of the neuter gender." (See what is said of this word in the Introduction, Chap. ix, 32.) Whereas it is the relative most generally applied to brute animals, and, in our common version of the Bible, its application to persons is peculiarly frequent. Fowler says, "In its origin it is a Compound."—E. Gram., p. 240. Taking its first Anglo-Saxon form to be "Huilic," he thinks it traceable to "hwa, who," or its ablative "hwi," and "lie, like."—Ib. If this is right, the neuter sense is not its primitive import, or any part of it.

OBS. 2.—From its various uses, the word That is called sometimes a pronoun, sometimes an adjective, and sometimes a conjunction; but, in respect to derivation, it is, doubtless, one and the same. As a relative pronoun, it is of either number, and has no plural form different from the singular; as, "Blessed is the man that heareth me."—Prov., viii, 34. "Blessed are they that mourn."—Matt., v, 4. As an adjective, it is said by Tooke to have been formerly "applied indifferently to plural nouns and to singular; as, 'Into that holy orders.'—Dr. Martin. 'At that dayes.'—Id. 'That euyll aungels the denilles.'—Sir Tho. More. 'This pleasure undoubtedly farre excelleth all that pleasures that in this life maie be obteined.'—Id."—Diversions of Purley, Vol. ii, pp. 47 and 48. The introduction of the plural form those, must have rendered this usage bad English.



SECTION V.—DERIVATION OF VERBS.

In English, Verbs are derived from nouns, from adjectives, or from verbs.

I. Verbs are derived from Nouns in the following different ways:—

1. By the adding of ize, ise, en, or ate: as, author, authorize; critic, criticise; length, lengthen; origin, originate. The termination ize is of Greek origin, and ise is most probably of French: the former is generally preferable in forming English derivatives; but both are sometimes to be used, and they should be applied according to Rule 13th for Spelling.

2. Some few verbs are derived from nouns by the changing of a sharp or hard consonant to a flat or soft one, or by the adding of a mute e, to soften a hard sound: as, advice, advise; price, prize; bath, bathe; cloth, clothe; breath, breathe; wreath, wreathe; sheath, sheathe; grass, graze.

II. Verbs are derived from Adjectives in the following different ways:—

1. By the adding of ize or en: as legal, legalize; immortal, immortalize; civil, civilize; human, humanize; familiar, familiarize; particular, particularize; deaf, deafen; stiff, stiffen; rough, roughen; deep, deepen; weak, weaken.

2. Many adjectives become verbs by being merely used and inflected as verbs: as, warm, to warm, he warms; dry, to dry, he dries; dull, to dull, he dulls; slack, to slack, he slacks; forward, to forward, he forwards.

III. Verbs are derived from Verbs in the following modes, or ways:—

1. By the prefixing of dis or un to reverse the meaning: as, please, displease; qualify, disqualify; organize, disorganize; fasten, unfasten; muzzle, unmuzzle; nerve, unnerve.

2. By the prefixing of a, be, for, fore, mis, over, out, under, up, or with: as, rise, arise; sprinkle, besprinkle; bid, forbid; see, foresee; take, mistake; look, overlook; run, outrun; go, undergo; hold, uphold; draw, withdraw.



SECTION VI.—DERIVATION OF PARTICIPLES.

All English Participles are derived from English verbs, in the manner explained in Chapter 7th, under the general head of Etymology; and when foreign participles are introduced into our language, they are not participles with us, but belong to some other class of words, or part of speech.



SECTION VII.—DERIVATION OF ADVERBS.

1. In English, many Adverbs are derived from adjectives by the addition of ly: which is an abbreviation for like, and which, though the addition of it to a noun forms an adjective, is the most distinctive as well as the most common termination of our adverbs: as, candid, candidly; sordid, sordidly; presumptuous, presumptuously. Most adverbs of manner are thus formed.

2. Many adverbs are compounds formed from two or more English words; as, herein, thereby, to-day, always, already, elsewhere, sometimes, wherewithal. The formation and the meaning of these are, in general, sufficiently obvious.

3. About seventy adverbs are formed by means of the prefix, or inseparable preposition, a; as, Abreast, abroach, abroad, across, afar, afield, ago, agog, aland, along, amiss, atilt.

4. Needs, as an adverb, is a contraction of need is; prithee, or pr'ythee, of I pray thee; alone, of all one; only, of one-like; anon, of the Saxon an on; i.e., in one [instant]; never, of ne ever; i.e., not ever. Prof. Gibbs, in Fowler's Grammar, makes needs "the Genitive case of the noun need."—P. 311.

5. Very is from the French veray, or vrai, true; and this, probably, from the Latin verus. Rather appears to be the regular comparative of the ancient rath, soon, quickly, willingly; which comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Rathe, or Hrathe, of one's own accord."—Bosworth. But the parent language had also "Hrathre, to a mind."—Id. That is, to one's mind, or, perhaps, more willingly.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.—Many of our most common adverbs are of Anglo-Saxon derivation, being plainly traceable to certain very old forms, of the same import, which the etymologist regards but as the same words differently spelled: as, All, eall, eal, or aell; Almost, ealmaest, or aelmaest; Also, ealswa, or aelswa; Else, elles; Elsewhere, elleshwaer; Enough, genog, or genoh; Even, euen, efen, or aefen; Ever, euer, aefer, or aefre; Downward, duneweard; Forward, forweard, or foreweard; Homeward, hamweard; Homewards, hamweardes; How, hu; Little, lytel; Less, laes; Least, laest; No, na; Not, noht, or nocht; Out, ut, or ute; So, swa; Still, stille, or stylle; Then, thenne; There, ther, thar, thaer; Thither, thider, or thyder; Thus, thuss, or thus; Together, togaedere, or togaedre; Too, to; When, hwenne, or hwaenne; Where, hwaer; Whither, hwider, hwyder, or hwyther; Yea, ia, gea, or gee; Yes, gese, gise, or gyse.

OBS. 2.—According to Horne Tooke, "Still and Else are the imperatives Stell and Ales of their respective verbs Stellan, to put, and Alesan, to dismiss."—Diversions, Vol. i, p. 111. He afterwards repeats the doctrine thus: "Still is only the imperative Stell or Steall, of Stellan or Steallian, ponere."—Ib., p. 146. "This word Else, formerly written alles, alys, alyse, elles, ellus, ellis, ells, els, and now else; is, as I have said, no other than Ales or Alys, the imperative of Alesan or Alysan, dimittere."—Ib., p. 148. These ulterior and remote etymologies are perhaps too conjectural.



SECTION VIII.—DERIVATION OF CONJUNCTIONS.

The English Conjunctions are mostly of Anglo-Saxon origin. The best etymological vocabularies of our language give us, for the most part, the same words in Anglo-Saxon characters; but Horne Tooke, in his Diversions of Purley, (a learned and curious work which the advanced student may peruse with advantage,) traces, or professes to trace, these and many other English particles, to Saxon verbs or participles. The following derivations, so far as they partake of such speculations, are offered principally on his authority:—

1. ALTHOUGH, signifying admit, allow, is from all and though; the latter being supposed the imperative of Thafian or Thafigan, to allow, to concede, to yield.

2. AN, an obsolete or antiquated conjunction, signifying if, or grant, is the imperative of the Anglo-Saxon verb Anan or Unan, to grant, to give.

3. AND, [Saxon, And,] add, is said by Tooke to come from "An-ad, the imperative of Ananad, Dare congeriem."—D. of P., Vol. i, p. 111. That is, "To give the heap." The truth of this, if unapparent, I must leave so.

4. AS, according to Dr. Johnson, is from the Teutonic als; but Tooke says that als itself is a contraction for all and the original particle es or as, meaning it, that, or which.

5. BECAUSE, from be and cause, means by cause; the be being written for by.

6. BOTH, the two, is from the pronominal adjective both; which, according to Dr. Alexander Murray, is a contraction of the Visigothic Bagoth, signifying doubled. The Anglo-Saxons wrote for it butu, butwu, buta, and batwa; i. e., ba, both, twa, two.

7. BUT,—(in Saxon, bute, butan, buton, or butun—) meaning except, yet, now, only, else than, that not, or on the contrary,—is referred by Tooke and some others, to two roots,—each of them but a conjectural etymon for it. "BUT, implying addition," say they, "is from Bot, the imperative of Botan, to boot, to add; BUT, denoting exception, is from Be-utan, the imperative of Beon-utan, to be out."—See D. of P., Vol. i, pp. 111 and 155.

8. EITHER, one of the two, like the pronominal adjective EITHER, is from the Anglo-Saxon AEther, or Egther, a word of the same uses, and the same import.

9. EKE, also, (now nearly obsolete,) is from "Eac, the imperative of Eacan, to add."

10. EVEN, whether a noun, an adjective, an adverb, or a conjunction, appears to come from the same source, the Anglo-Saxon word Efen or AEfen.

11. EXCEPT, which, when used as a conjunction, means unless, is the imperative, or (according to Dr. Johnson) an ancient perfect participle, of the verb to except.

12. FOR, because, is from the Saxon preposition For; which, to express this meaning, our ancestors combined with something else, reducing to one word some such phrase as, For that, For this, For this that; as, "Fortha, Fortham, Forthan, Forthamthe, Forthan the."—See Bosworth's Dict.

13. IF, give, grant, allow, is from "Gif, the imperative of the Anglo-Saxon Gifan, to give."—Tooke's Diversions, Vol. i, p. 111.

14. LEST, that not, dismissed, is from "Lesed, the perfect participle of Lesan, to dismiss."

15. NEITHER, not either, is a union and contraction of ne either: our old writers frequently used ne for not; the Anglo-Saxons likewise repeated it, using ne—ne, in lieu of our corresponsives neither—nor; and our modern lexicographers still note the word, in some of these senses.

16. NOR, not other, not else, is supposed to be a union and contraction of ne or.

17. NOTWITHSTANDING, not hindering, is an English compound of obvious formation.

18. OR, an alternative conjunction, seems to be a word of no great antiquity. It is supposed to be a contraction of other, which Johnson and his followers give, in Saxon characters, either as its source, or as its equivalent.

19. PROVIDED, the perfect participle of the verb provide, becomes occasionally a disjunctive conjunction, by being used alone or with the particle that, to introduce a condition, a saving clause, a proviso.

20. SAVE, anciently used with some frequency as a conjunction, in the sense of but, or except is from the imperative of the English verb save, and is still occasionally turned to such a use by the poets.

21. SEEING, sometimes made a copulative conjunction, is the imperfect participle of the verb see. Used at the head of a clause, and without reference to an agent, it assumes a conjunctive nature.

22. SINCE is conjectured by Tooke to be "the participle of Seon, to see," and to mean "seeing, seeing that, seen that, or seen as."—Diversions of P., Vol. i, pp. 111 and 220. But Johnson and others say, it has been formed "by contraction from sithence, or sith thence, from sithe, Sax."—Joh. Dict.

23. THAN, which introduces the latter term of a comparison, is from the Gothic than, or the Anglo-Saxon thanne, which was used for the same purpose. 24. THAT, when called a conjunction, is said by Tooke to be etymologically the same as the adjective or pronoun THAT, the derivation of which is twice spoken of above; but, in Todd's Johnson's Dictionary, as abridged by Chalmers, THAT, the conjunction, is referred to "thatei, Gothic;" THAT, the pronoun, to "that, thata, Gothic; thaet, Saxon; dat, Dutch."

25. THEN, used as a conjunction, is doubtless the same word as the Anglo-Saxon Thenne, taken as an illative, or word of inference.

26. "THOUGH, allow, is [from] the imperative Thaf, or Thafig, of the verb Thafian or Thafigan, to allow."—Tooke's Diversions, Vol. i, pp. 111 and 150.

27. "UNLESS, except, dismiss, is [from] Onles, the imperative of Onlesan, to dismiss."—Ib.

28. WHETHER, a corresponsive conjunction, which introduces the first term of an alternative, is from the Anglo-Saxon hwaether, which was used for the same purpose.

29. YET, nevertheless, is from "Get, the imperative of Getan, to get."—Tooke.

SECTION IX.—DERIVATION OF PREPOSITIONS.

The following are the principal English Prepositions, explained in the order of the list:—

1. ABOARD, meaning on board of, is from the prefix or preposition a and the noun board, which here means "the deck of a ship" or vessel. Abord, in French, is approach, arrival, or a landing.

2. ABOUT, [Sax. Abutan, or Abuton,] meaning around, at circuit, or doing, is from the prefix a, meaning at, and the noun bout, meaning a turn, a circuit, or a trial. In French, bout means end; and about, end, or but-end.

3. ABOVE, [Sax. Abufan, Abufon, A-be-ufan.] meaning over, or, literally, at-by-over, or at-by-top, is from the Saxon or Old English a, be, and ufa, or ufan, said to mean "high, upwards, or the top."

4. ACROSS, at cross, athwart, traverse, is from the prefix a and the word cross.

5. AFTER, [Sax. AEfter, or AEftan,] meaning behind, subsequent to, is, in form, the comparative of aft, a word common to seamen, and it may have been thence derived.

6. AGAINST, opposite to, is probably from the Anglo-Saxon, Ongean, or Ongegen, each of which forms means again or against. As prefixes, on and a are often equivalent.

7. ALONG, [i.e., at-long,] meaning lengthwise of, near to, is formed from a and long.

8. AMID, [i. e., at mid or middle,] is from a and mid; and AMIDST [, i.e., at midst,] is from a and midst, contracted from middest, the superlative of mid.

9. AMONG, mixed with, is probably an abbreviation of amongst; and AMONGST, according to Tooke, is from a and mongst, or the older "Ge-meneged," Saxon for "mixed, mingled."

10. AROUND, about, encircling, is from a and round, a circle, or circuit.

11. AT, gone to, is supposed by some to come from the Latin ad; but Dr. Murray says, "We have in Teutonic AT for AGT, touching or touched, joined, at."—Hist. of Lang., i, 349.

12. ATHWART, across, is from a and thwart, cross; and this from the Saxon Thweor.

13. BATING, a preposition for except, is the imperfect participle of bate, to abate.

14. BEFORE, [i.e., by-fore,] in front of, is from the prefix be and the adjective fore.

15. BEHIND, [i.e., by-hind,] in rear of, is from the prefix be and the adjective hind.

16. BELOW, [i.e., by-low,] meaning under, or beneath, is from be and the adjective low.

17. BENEATH [, Sax. or Old Eng. Beneoth,] is from be and neath, or Sax. Neothe, low.

18. BESIDE [, i.e., by-side,] is probably from be and the noun or adjective side.

19. BESIDES [, i.e., by-sides,] is probably from be and the plural noun sides.

20. BETWEEN, [Sax. Betweonan, or Betwynan,] literally, by-twain, seems to have been formed from be, by, and twain, two—or the Saxon Twegen, which also means two, twain.

21. BETWIXT, meaning between, [Sax. Betweox, Betwux, Betwyx, Betwyxt, &c.,] is from be, by, and twyx, originally a "Gothic" word signifying "two, or twain."—See Tooke, Vol. i, p. 329.

22. BEYOND, past, [Sax. Begeond,] is from the prefix be, by, and yond, [Sax. Geond,] past, far.

23. BY [, Sax. Be, Bi, or Big,] is affirmed by Tooke to be "the imperative Byth, of the Anglo-Saxon verb Beon, to be."—Diversions of P., Vol. i, p. 326. This seems to be rather questionable.

24. CONCERNING, the preposition, is from the first participle of the verb concern.

25. DOWN, the preposition, is from the Anglo-Saxon Dune, down.

26. DURING, prep. of time, is from the first participle of an old verb dure, to last, formerly in use; as, "While the world may dure."—Chaucer's Knight's Tale.

27. ERE, before, prep. of time, is from the Anglo-Saxon AEr, a word of like sort.

28. EXCEPT, bating, is from the imperative, or (according to Dr. Johnson) the ancient perfect participle of the verb to except; and EXCEPTING, when a preposition, is from the first participle of the same verb.

29. FOR, because of, is the Anglo-Saxon preposition For, a word of like import, and supposed by Tooke to have come from a Gothic noun signifying cause, or sake.

30. FROM, in Saxon, Fram, is probably derived from the old adjective Frum, original.

31. IN, or the Saxon In, is the same as the Latin in: the Greek is [Greek: en]; and the French, en.

32. INTO, like the Saxon Into, noting entrance, is a compound of in and to.

33. MID and MIDST, as English prepositions, are poetical forms used for Amid and Amidst.

34. NOTWITHSTANDING, not hindering, is from the adverb not, and the participle withstanding, which, by itself, means hindering, or preventing. 35. OF is from the Saxon Of, or Af; which is supposed by Tooke to come from a noun signifying offspring.

36. OFF, opposed to on, Dr. Johnson derives from the "Dutch af."

37. ON, a word very often used in Anglo-Saxon, is traced by some etymologists to the Gothic ana, the German an, the Dutch aan; but no such derivation fixes its meaning.

38. OUT, [Sax. Ut, Ute, or Utan,] when made a preposition, is probably from the adverb or adjective Out, or the earlier Ut; and OUT-OF, [Sax. Ut-of,] opposed to Into, is but the adverb Out and the preposition Of—usually written separately, but better joined, in some instances.

39. OVER, above, is from the Anglo-Saxon Ofer, over; and this, probably, from Ufa, above, high, or from the comparative, Ufera, higher.

40. OVERTHWART, meaning across, is a compound of over and thwart, cross.

41. PAST, beyond, gone by, is a contraction from the perfect participle passed.

42. PENDING, during or hanging, has a participial form, but is either an adjective or a preposition: we do not use pend alone as a verb, though we have it in depend.

43. RESPECTING, concerning, is from the first participle of the verb respect.

44. ROUND, a preposition for about or around, is from the noun or adjective round.

45. SINCE is most probably a contraction of the old word Sithence; but is conjectured by Tooke to have been formed from the phrase, "Seen as."

46. THROUGH [, Sax. Thurh, or Thurch,] seems related to Thorough, Sax. Thuruh; and this again to Thuru, or Duru, a Door.

47. THROUGHOUT, quite through, is an obvious compond of through and out.

48. TILL, [Sax. Til or Tille,] to, until, is from the Saxon Til or Till, an end, a station.

49. TO, whether a preposition or an adverb, is from the Anglo-Saxon particle To.

50. TOUCHING, with regard to, is from the first participle of the verb touch.

51. TOWARD or TOWARDS, written by the Anglo-Saxons Toweard or Toweardes, is a compound of To and Ward or Weard, a guard, a look-out; "Used in composition to express situation or direction."—Bosworth.

52. UNDER, [Gothic, Undar; Dutch, Onder,] beneath, below, is a common Anglo-Saxon word, and very frequent prefix, affirmed by Tooke to be "nothing but on-neder," a Dutch compound = on lower.—See Diversions of Purley, Vol. i, p. 331.

53. UNDERNEATH is a compound of under and neath, low; whence nether, lower.

54. UNTIL is a compound from on or un, and till, or til, the end.

55. UNTO, now somewhat antiquated, is formed, not very analogically, from un and to.

56. UP is from the Anglo-Saxon adjective, "Up or Upp, high, lofty."

57. UPON, which appears literally to mean high on, is from two words up and on.

58. WITH comes to us from the Anglo-Saxon With, a word of like sort and import; which Tooke says is an imperative verb, sometimes from "Withan, to join," and sometimes from "Wyrthan, to be."—See his Diversions, Vol. i, p. 262.

59. WITHIN [, i.e., by-in,] is from with and in: Sax. Withinnan, Binnan, or Binnon.

60. WITHOUT [, i.e., by-out,] is from with and out: Sax. Withutan, -uten, -uton; Butan, Buton, Butun.

OBSERVATION.

In regard to some of our minor or simpler prepositions, as of sundry other particles, to go beyond the forms and constructions which present or former usage has at some period given them as particles, and to ascertain their actual origin in something ulterior, if such they had, is no very easy matter; nor can there be either satisfaction or profit in studying what one suspects to be mere guesswork. "How do you account for IN, OUT, ON, OFF, and AT?" says the friend of Tooke, in an etymological dialogue at Purley. The substance of his answer is, "The explanation and etymology of these words require a degree of knowledge in all the antient northern languages, and a skill in the application of that knowledge, which I am very far from assuming; and though I am almost persuaded by some of my own conjectures concerning them, I am not willing, by an apparently forced and far-fetched derivation, to justify your imputation of etymological legerdemain."—Diversions, Vol. i, p. 370.



SECTION X.—DERIVATION OF INTERJECTIONS.

Those significant and constructive words which are occasionally used as Interjections, (such as Good! Strange! Indeed!,) do not require an explanation here; and those mere sounds which are in no wise expressive of thought, scarcely admit of definition or derivation. The Interjection HEY is probably a corruption of the adjective High;—ALAS is from the French Helas:—ALACK is probably a corruption of Alas;—WELAWAY or WELLAWAY, (which is now corrupted into WELLADAY,) is said by some to be from the Anglo-Saxon Wa-la-wa, i.e., Wo-lo-wo;—"FIE," says Tooke, "is the imperative of the Gothic and Anglo-Saxon verb Fian, to hate;"—Heyday is probably from high day;—AVAUNT, perhaps from the French avant, before;—LO, from look;—BEGONE, from be and gone;—WELCOME, from well and come;—FAREWELL, from fare and well.



SECTION XI—EXPLANATION OF THE PREFIXES.

In the formation of English words, certain particles are often employed as prefixes; which, as they generally have some peculiar import, may be separately explained. A few of them are of Anglo-Saxon origin, or character; and the greater part of these are still employed as separate words in our language. The rest are Latin, Greek, or French prepositions. The roots to which they are prefixed, are not always proper English words. Those which are such, are called SEPARABLE RADICALS; those which are not such, INSEPARABLE RADICALS.

CLASS I—THE ENGLISH OR ANGLO-SAXON PREFIXES.

1. A, as an English prefix, signifies on, in, at, or to: as in a-board, a-shore, a-foot, a-bed, a-soak, a-tilt, a-slant, a-far, a-field; which are equal to the phrases, on board, on shore, on foot, in bed, in soak, at tilt, at slant, to a distance, to the fields. The French a, to, is probably the same particle. This prefix is sometimes redundant, adding little or nothing to the meaning; as in awake, arise, amend.

2. BE, as a prefix, signifies upon, over, by, to, at, or for: as in be-spatter, be-cloud, be-times, be-tide, be-howl, be-speak. It is sometimes redundant, or merely intensive; as in be-gird, be-deck, be-loved, be-dazzle, be-moisten, be-praise, be-quote.

3. COUNTER, an English prefix, allied to the French Contre, and the Latin Contra, means against, or opposite; as in counter-poise, counter-evidence, counter-natural.

4. FOR, as a prefix, unlike the common preposition For, seems generally to signify from: it is found in the irregular verbs for-bear, for-bid, for-get, for-give, for-sake, for-swear; and in for-bathe, for-do, for-pass, for-pine, for-say, for-think, for-waste, which last are now disused, the for in several being merely intensive.

5. FORE, prefixed to a verb, signifies before; as in fore-know, fore-tell: prefixed to a noun, it is usually an adjective, and signifies anterior; as in fore-side, fore-part.

6. HALF, signifying one of two equal parts, is much used in composition; and, often, merely to denote imperfection: as, half-sighted, seeing imperfectly.

7. MIS signifies wrong or ill; as in mis-cite, mis-print, mis-spell, mis-chance, mis-hap.

8. OVER denotes superiority or excess; as in over-power, over-strain, over-large.

9. OUT, prefixed to a verb, generally denotes excess; as in out-do, out-leap, out-poise: prefixed to a noun, it is an adjective, and signifies exterior; as in out-side, out-parish.

10. SELF generally signifies one's own person, or belonging to one's own person; but, in self-same, it means very. We have many words beginning with Self, but most of them seem to be compounds rather than derivatives; as, self-love, self-abasement, self-abuse, self-affairs, self-willed, self-accusing.

11. UN denotes negation or contrariety; as in un-kind, un-load, un-truth, un-coif.

12. UNDER denotes inferiority; as in under-value, under-clerk, under-growth.

13. UP denotes motion upwards; as in up-lift: sometimes subversion; as in up-set.

14. WITH, as a prefix, unlike the common preposition With, signifies against, from, or back; as in with-stand, with-hold, with-draw, with-stander, with-holdment, with-drawal.

CLASS II.—THE LATIN PREFIXES.

The primitives or radicals to which these are prefixed, are not many of them employed separately in English. The final letter of the prefix Ad, Con, Ex, In, Ob, or Sub, is often changed before certain consonants; not capriciously, but with uniformity, to adapt or assimilate it to the sound which follows.

1. A, AB, or ABS, means From, or Away: as, a-vert, to turn from, or away; ab-duce, to lead from; ab-duction, a carrying-away; ab-stract, to draw from, or away.

2. AD,—forming ac, af, al, an, ap, as, at,—means To, or At: as, ad-vert, to turn to; ac-cord, to yield to; af-flux, a flowing-to; al-ly, to bind to; an-nex, to link to; ap-ply, to put to; as-sume, to take to; at-test, to witness to; ad-mire, to wonder at.

3. ANTE means Fore, or Before: as, ante-past, a fore-taste; ante-cedent, foregoing, or going before; ante-mundane, before the world; ante-date, to date before.

4. CIRCUM means Round, Around, or About: as circum-volve, to roll round; circum-scribe, to write round; circum-vent, to come round; circum-spect, looking about one's self.

5. CON,—which forms com, co, col, cor,—means Together: as, con-tract, to draw together; compel, to drive together; co-erce, to force together; col-lect, to gather together; cor-rade, to rub or scrape together; con-junction, a joining-together.

6. CONTRA, or CONTRO, means Against, or Counter: as, contra-dict, to speak against; contra-vene, to come against; contra-mure, countermure; contro-vert, to turn against.

7. DE means Of, From, or Down: as, de-note, to be a sign of; de-tract, to draw from; de-pend, to hang down; de-press, to press down; de-crease, to grow down, to grow less.

8. DIS, or DI, means Away, or Apart: as, dis-pel, to drive away; dis-sect, to cut apart; di-vert, to turn away.

9. E, or Ex,—making also ec, ef,—means Out: as, e-ject, to cast out; e-lect, to choose out; ex-clude, to shut out; ex-cite, to summon out; ec-stacy, a raising out; ef-face, to blot out.

10. EXTRA means Beyond, or Out of: as, extra-vagant, syllabled ex-trav'a-gant, roving be-yond; extra-vasate, ex-trav'a-sate, to flow out of the vessels; extra-territorial, being out of the territory.

11. IN,—which makes also il, im, ir,—means In, Into, or Upon: as, in-spire, to breathe in; il-lude, to draw in by deceit; im-mure, to wall in; ir-ruption, a rushing in; in-spect, to look into; in-scribe, to write upon; in-sult, to jump upon. These syllables, prefixed, to English nouns or adjectives, generally reverse their meaning; as in in-justice, il-legality, im-partiality, ir-religion, ir-rational, in-secure, in-sane.

12. INTER means Between, or In between: as, inter-sperse, to scatter in between; inter-jection, something thrown in between; inter-jacent, lying between; inter-communication, communication between.

13. INTRO means In, Inwards, or Within: as, intro-duce, to lead in; intro-vert, to turn inwards; intro-spect, to look within; intro-mission, a sending-in.

14. OB,—which makes also oc, of, op,—means Against: as, ob-trude, to thrust against; oc-cur, to run against; of-fer, to bring against; op-pose, to place against; ob-ject, to cast against.

15. PER means Through or By: as, per-vade, to go through; per-chance, by chance; per-cent, by the hundred; per-plex, to tangle through, or to entangle thoroughly.

16. POST means After: as, post-pone, to place after; post-date, to date after.

17. PRAE, or PRE, means Before: as, pre-sume, to take before; pre-position, a placing-before, or thing placed before; prae-cognita, things known before.

18. PRO means For, Forth, or Forwards: as, pro-vide, to take care for; pro-duce, to bring forth; pro-trude, to thrust forwards; pro-ceed, to go forward; pro-noun, for a noun.

19. PRETER means By, Past, or Beyond: as, preter-it, bygone, or gone by; preter-imperfect, past imperfect; preter-natural, beyond what is natural; preter-mit, to put by, to omit.

20. RE means Again or Back: as, re-view, to view again; re-pel, to drive back.

21. RETRO means Backwards, Backward, or Back: as, retro-active, acting backwards; retro-grade, going backward; retro-cede, to cede back again.

22. SE means Aside or Apart: as, se-duce, to lead aside; se-cede, to go apart.

23. SEMI means Half: as, semi-colon, half a colon; semi-circle, half a circle.

24. SUB,—which makes suf, sug, sup, sur, and sus,—means Under, and sometimes Up: as, sub-scribe, to write under; suf-fossion, an undermining; sug-gest, to convey under; sup-ply, to put under; sur-reption, a creeping-under; sus-tain, to hold up; sub-ject, cast under.

25. SUBTER means Beneath: as, subter-fluous, flowing beneath.

26. SUPER means Over or Above: as, super-fluous, flowing over; super-natant, swimming above; super-lative, carried over, or carrying over; super-vise, to overlook, to oversee.

27. TRANS,—whence TRAN and TRA,—means Beyond, Over, To another state or place: as, trans-gress, to pass beyond or over; trans-cend, to climb over; trans-mit to send to an other place; trans-form, to change to an other shape; tra-montane, from beyond the mountains; i.e., Trans-Alpine, as opposed to Cis-Alpine.

CLASS III.—THE GREEK PREFIXES.

1. A and AN, in Greek derivatives, denote privation: as, a-nomalous, wanting rules; an-ony-mous, wanting name; an-archy, want of government; a-cephalous, headless.

2. AMPHI means Two, Both, or Double: as, amphi-bious, living in two elements; amphi-brach, both [sides] short; amphi-theatre, a double theatre.

3. ANTI means Against: as, anti-slavery, against slavery; anti-acid, against acidity; anti-febrile, against fever; anti-thesis, a placing-against.

4. APO, APH,—From: as, apo-strophe, a turning-from; aph-aeresis, a taking from.

5. DIA,—Through: as, dia-gonal, through the corners; dia-meter, measure through.

6. EPI, EPH,—Upon: as, epi-demic, upon the people; eph-emera, upon a day.

7. HEMI means Half: as, hemi-sphere, half a sphere; hemi-stich, half a verse.

8. HYPER means Over: as, hyper-critical, over-critical; hyper-meter, over measure. 9. HYPO means Under: as, hypo-stasis, substance, or that which stands under; hypo-thesis, supposition, or a placing-under; hypo-phyllous, under the leaf.

10. META means Beyond, Over, To an other state or place: as, meta-morphose, to change to an other shape; meta-physics, mental science, as beyond or over physics.

11. PARA means Against: as, para-dox, something contrary to common opinion.

12. PERI means Around: as, peri-phery, the circumference, or measure round.

13. SYN,—whence Sym, Syl,—means Together: as, syn-tax, a putting-together; sym-pathy, a suffering-together; syl-lable, what we take together; syn-thesis a placing-together.

CLASS IV.—THE FRENCH PREFIXES.

1. A is a preposition of very frequent use in French, and generally means To. I have suggested above that it is probably the same as the Anglo-Saxon prefix a. It is found in a few English compounds or derivatives that are of French, and not of Saxon origin: as, a-dieu, to God; i.e., I commend you to God; a-larm, from alarme, i e., a l'arme, to arms.

2. DE means Of or From: as in de-mure, of manners; de-liver, to ease from or of.

3. DEMI means Half: as, demi-man, half a man; demi-god, half a god; demi-devil, half a devil; demi-deify, to half deify; demi-sized, half sized; demi-quaver, half a quaver. 4. EN,—which sometimes becomes em,—means In, Into, or Upon: as, en-chain, to hold in chains; em-brace, to clasp in the arms; en-tomb, to put into a tomb; em-boss, to stud upon. Many words are yet wavering between the French and the Latin orthography of this prefix: as, embody, or imbody; ensurance, or insurance; ensnare, or insnare; enquire, or inquire.

5. SUR, as a French prefix, means Upon, Over, or After: as, sur-name, a name upon a name; sur-vey, to look over; sur-mount, to mount over or upon; sur-render, to deliver over to others; sur-feit, to overdo in eating; sur-vive, to live after, to over-live, to outlive.

END OF THE SECOND APPENDIX



APPENDIX III TO PART THIRD, OR SYNTAX.

OF THE QUALITIES OF STYLE.

Style, as a topic connected with syntax, is the particular manner in which a person expresses his conceptions by means of language. It is different from mere words, different from mere grammar, in any limited sense, and is not to be regulated altogether by rules of construction. It always has some relation to the author's peculiar manner of thinking; involves, to some extent, and shows his literary, if not his moral, character; is, in general, that sort of expression which his thoughts most readily assume; and, sometimes, partakes not only of what is characteristic of the man, of his profession, sect, clan, or province, but even of national peculiarity, or some marked feature of the age. The words which an author employs, may be proper in themselves, and so constructed as to violate no rule of syntax, and yet his style may have great faults.

In reviews and critical essays, the general characters of style are usually designated by such epithets as these;—concise, diffuse,—neat, negligent,—terse, bungling,—nervous, weak,—forcible, feeble,—vehement, languid,—simple, affected,—easy, stiff,—pure, barbarous,—perspicuous, obscure,—elegant, uncouth,—florid, plain,—flowery, artless,—fluent, dry,—piquant, dull,—stately, flippant,—majestic, mean,—pompous, modest,—ancient, modern. A considerable diversity of style, may be found in compositions all equally excellent in their kind. And, indeed, different subjects, as well as the different endowments by which genius is distinguished, require this diversity. But, in forming his style, the learner should remember, that a negligent, feeble, affected, stiff, uncouth, barbarous, or obscure style is always faulty; and that perspicuity, ease, simplicity, strength, neatness, and purity, are qualities always to be aimed at.

In order to acquire a good style, the frequent practice of composing and writing something, is indispensably necessary. Without exercise and diligent attention, rules or precepts for the attainment of this object, will be of no avail. When the learner has acquired such a knowledge of grammar, as to be in some degree qualified for the undertaking, he should devote a stated portion of his time to composition. This exercise will bring the powers of his mind into requisition, in a way that is well calculated to strengthen them. And if he has opportunity for reading, he may, by a diligent perusal of the best authors, acquire both language and taste as well as sentiment;—and these three are the essential qualifications of a good writer.

In regard to the qualities which constitute a good style, we can here offer nothing more than a few brief hints. With respect to words and phrases, particular attention should be paid to three things—purity, propriety, and precision; and, with respect to sentences, to three others,—perspicuity, unity, and strength. Under each of these six heads, we shall arrange, in the form of short precepts, a few of the most important directions for the forming of a good style.

SECTION I.—OF PURITY.

Purity of style consists in the use of such words and phrases only, as belong to the language which we write or speak. Its opposites are the faults aimed at in the following precepts.

PRECEPT I.—Avoid the unnecessary use of foreign words or idioms: such as the French words fraicheur, hauteur, delicatesse, politesse, noblesse;—the expression, "He repented himself;"—or, "It serves to an excellent purpose."

PRECEPT II.—Avoid obsolete or antiquated words, except there be some special reason for their use: that is, such words as acception, addressful, administrate, affamish, affrontiveness, belikely, blusterous, clergical, cruciate, rutilate, timidous.

PRECEPT III.—Avoid strange or unauthorized words: such as, flutteration, inspectator, judgematical, incumberment, connexity, electerized, martyrized, reunition, marvelize, limpitude, affectated, adorement, absquatulate. Of this sort is O. B. Peirce's "assimilarity," used on page 19th of his English Grammar; and still worse is Jocelyn's "irradicable," for uneradicable, used on page 5th of his Prize Essay on Education.

PRECEPT IV.—Avoid bombast, or affectation of fine writing. It is ridiculous, however serious the subject. The following is an example: "Personifications, however rich the depictions, and unconstrained their latitude; analogies, however imposing the objects of parallel, and the media of comparison; can never expose the consequences of sin to the extent of fact, or the range of demonstration."—Anonymous.

SECTION II.—OF PROPRIETY.

Propriety of language consists in the selection and right construction of such words as the best usage has appropriated to those ideas which we intend to express by them. Impropriety embraces all those forms of error, which, for the purpose of illustration, exercise, and special criticism, have been so methodically and so copiously posted up under the various heads, rules, and notes, of this extensive Grammar. A few suggestions, however, are here to be set down in the form of precepts.

PRECEPT I.—Avoid low and provincial expressions: such as, "Now, says I, boys;"—"Thinks I to myself;"—"To get into a scrape;"—"Stay here while I come back;"—"By jinkers;"—"By the living jingoes."

PRECEPT II.—In writing prose, avoid words and phrases that are merely poetical: such as, morn, eve, plaint, corse, weal, drear, amid, oft, steepy;—"what time the winds arise."

PRECEPT III.—Avoid technical terms: except where they are necessary in treating of a particular art or science. In technology, they are proper.

PRECEPT IV.—Avoid the recurrence of a word in different senses, or such a repetition of words as denotes paucity of language: as, "His own reason might have suggested better reasons."—"Gregory favoured the undertaking, for no other reason than this; that the manager, in countenance, favoured his friend."—"I want to go and see what he wants."

PRECEPT V.—Supply words that are wanting: thus, instead of saying, "This action increased his former services," say, "This action increased the merit of his former services."—"How many [kinds of] substantives are there? Two; proper and common."—See E. Devis's Gram., p. 14. "These changes should not be left to be settled by chance or by caprice, but [should be determined] by the judicious application of the principles of Orthography."—See Fowlers E. Gram., 1850, p. 170.

PRECEPT VI.—Avoid equivocal or ambiguous expressions: as, "His memory shall be lost on the earth."—"I long since learned to like nothing but what you do."

PRECEPT VII.—Avoid unintelligible, inconsistent, or inappropriate expressions: such as, "I have observed that the superiority among these coffee-house politicians proceeds from an opinion of gallantry and fashion."—"These words do not convey even an opaque idea of the author's meaning."

PRECEPT VIII.—Observe the natural order of things or events, and do not put the cart before the horse: as, "The scribes taught and studied the Law of Moses."—"They can neither return to nor leave their houses."—"He tumbled, head over heels, into the water."—"'Pat, how did you carry that quarter of beef?' 'Why, I thrust it through a stick, and threw my shoulder over it.'"



SECTION III.—OF PRECISION.

Precision consists in avoiding all superfluous words, and adapting the expression exactly to the thought, so as to say, with no deficiency or surplus of terms, whatever is intended by the author. Its opposites are noticed in the following precepts.

PRECEPT I.—Avoid a useless tautology, either of expression or of sentiment; as, "When will you return again?"—"We returned back home again."—"On entering into the room, I saw and discovered he had fallen down on the floor and could not rise up."—"They have a mutual dislike to each other."—"Whenever I go, he always meets me there."—"Where is he at? In there."—"His faithfulness and fidelity should be rewarded."

PRECEPT II.—Repeat words as often as an exact exhibition of your meaning requires them; for repetition may be elegant, if it be not useless. The following example does not appear faulty: "Moral precepts are precepts the reasons of which we see; positive precepts are precepts the reasons of which we do not see."—Butler's Analogy, p. 165.

PRECEPT III.—Observe the exact meaning of words accounted synonymous, and employ those which are the most suitable; as, "A diligent scholar may acquire knowledge, gain celebrity, obtain rewards, win prizes, and get high honour, though he earn no money." These six verbs have nearly the same meaning, and yet no two of them can here be correctly interchanged.

PRECEPT IV.—Observe the proper form of each word, and do not confound such as resemble each other. "Professor J. W. Gibbs, of Yale College," in treating of the "Peculiarities of the Cockney Dialect," says, "The Londoner sometimes confounds two different forms; as contagious for contiguous; eminent for imminent; humorous for humorsome; ingeniously for ingenuously; luxurious for luxuriant; scrupulosity for scruple; successfully for successively."—See Fowler's E. Gram., p. 87; and Pref., p. vi.

PRECEPT V.—Think clearly, and avoid absurd or incompatible expressions. Example of error: "To pursue those remarks, would, probably, be of no further service to the learner than that of burdening his memory with a catalogue of dry and uninteresting peculiarities; which may gratify curiosity, without affording information adequate to the trouble of the perusal."—Wright's Gram., p. 122.

PRECEPT VI.—Avoid words that are useless; and, especially, a multiplication of them into sentences, members, or clauses, that may well be spared. Example: "If one could really be a spectator of what is passing in the world around us without taking part in the events, or sharing in the passions and actual performance on the stage; if we could set ourselves down, as it were, in a private box of the world's great theatre, and quietly look on at the piece that is playing, no more moved than is absolutely implied by sympathy with our fellow-creatures, what a curious, what an amusing, what an interesting spectacle would life present."—G. P. R. JAMES: "The Forger," commencement of Chap. xxxi. This sentence contains eighty-seven words, "of which sixty-one are entirely unnecessary to the expression of the author's idea, if idea it can be called."—Holden's Review.

OBSERVATION.

Verbosity, as well as tautology, is not so directly opposite to precision, as to conciseness, or brevity. From the manner in which lawyers usually multiply terms in order to express their facts precisely, it would seem that, with them, precision consists rather in the use of many words than of few. But the ordinary style of legal instruments no popular writer can imitate without becoming ridiculous. A terse or concise style is very apt to be elliptical: and, in some particular instances, must be so; but, at the same time, the full expression, perhaps, may have more precision, though it be less agreeable. For example: "A word of one syllable, is called a monosyllable; a word of two syllables, is called a dissyllable: a word of three syllables, is called a trisyllable: a word of four or more syllables, is called a polysyllable."—O. B. Peirce's Gram., p. 19. Better, perhaps, thus: "A word of one syllable is called a monosyllable; a word of two syllables, a dissyllable; a word of three syllables, a trissyllable; and a word of four or more syllables, a polysyllable."—Brown's Institutes, p. 17.

SECTION IV.—OF PERSPICUITY.

Perspicuity consists in freedom from obscurity or ambiguity. It is a quality so essential to every kind of writing, that for the want of it no merit of other name can compensate. "Without this, the richest ornaments of style, only glimmer through the dark, and puzzle in stead of pleasing the reader."—Dr. Blair. Perspicuity, being the most important property of language, and an exemption from the most embarrassing defects, seems even to rise to a degree of positive beauty. We are naturally pleased with a style that frees us from all suspense in regard to the meaning; that carries us through the subject without embarrassment or confusion; and that always flows like a limpid stream, through which we can "see to the very bottom." Many of the errors which have heretofore been pointed out to the reader, are offences against perspicuity. Only three or four hints will here be added.

PRECEPT I.—Place adjectives, relative pronouns, participles, adverbs, and explanatory phrases near enough to the words to which they relate, and in a position which will make their reference clear. The following sentences are deficient in perspicuity: "Reverence is the veneration paid to superior sanctity, intermixed with a certain degree of awe."—Unknown. "The Romans understood liberty, at least, as well as we."—See Murray's Gram., p. 307. "Taste was never made to cater for vanity."—J. Q. Adams's Rhet., Vol. i, p. 119.

PRECEPT II.—In prose, avoid a poetic collocation of words. For example: "Guard your weak side from being known. If it be attacked, the best way is, to join in the attack."—KAMES: Art of Thinking, p. 75. This maxim of prudence might be expressed more poetically, but with some loss of perspicuity, thus: "Your weak side guard from being known. Attacked in this, the assailants join."

PRECEPT III.—Avoid faulty ellipses, and repeat all words necessary to preserve the sense. The following sentences require the words which are inserted in crotchets: "Restlessness of mind disqualifies us, both for the enjoyment of peace, and [for] the performance of our duty."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 166. "Double Comparatives and [Double] Superlatives should be avoided."—Fowler's E. Gram., 1850, p. 489.

PRECEPT IV.—Avoid the pedantic and sense-dimming style of charlatans and new theorists, which often demands either a translation or a tedious study, to make it at all intelligible to the ordinary reader. For example: "RULE XL Part 3. An intransitive or receptive asserter in the unlimited mode, depending on a word in the possessive case, may have, after it, a word in the subjective case, denoting the same thing: And, when it acts the part of an assertive name, depending on a relative, it may have after it a word in the subjective case. EXAMPLES:—John's being my friend, saved me from inconvenience. Seth Hamilton was unhappy in being a slave to party prejudice."—O. B. Peirce's Gram., 1839, p. 201. The meaning of this third part of a Rule of syntax, is, in proper English, as follows: "A participle not transitive, with the possessive case before it, may have after it a nominative denoting the same thing; and also, when a preposition governs the participle, a nominative may follow, in agreement with one which precedes." In doctrine, the former clause of the sentence is erroneous: it serves only to propagate false syntax by rule. See the former example, and a note of mine, referring to it, on page 531 of this work.

SECTION V.—OF UNITY.

Unity consists in avoiding needless pauses, and keeping one object predominant throughout a sentence or paragraph. Every sentence, whether its parts be few or many, requires strict unity. The chief faults, opposite to this quality of style, are suggested in the following precepts. PRECEPT I.—Avoid brokenness, hitching, or the unnecessary separation of parts that naturally come together. Examples: "I was, soon after my arrival, taken out of my Indian habit."—Addison, Tattler, No. 249. Better: "Soon after my arrival, I was taken out of my Indian habit."—Churchill's Gram., p. 326. "Who can, either in opposition, or in the ministry, act alone?"—Ib. Better: "Who can act alone, either in opposition, or in the ministry?"—Ib. "I, like others, have, in my youth, trifled with my health, and old age now prematurely assails me."—Ib., p. 327. Better: "Like others, I have trifled with my health, and old age now prematurely assails me."

PRECEPT II.—Treat different topics in separate paragraphs, and distinct sentiments in separate sentences. Error: "The two volumes are, indeed, intimately connected, and constitute one uniform system of English Grammar."—Murray's Preface, p. iv. Better thus: "The two volumes are, indeed, intimately connected. They constitute one uniform system of English grammar."

PRECEPT III.—In the progress of a sentence, do not desert the principal subjects in favour of adjuncts, or change the scene unnecessarily. Example: "After we came to anchor, they put me on shore, where I was welcomed by all my friends, who received me with the greatest kindness, which was not then expected." Better: "The vessel having come to anchor, I was put on shore; where I was unexpectedly welcomed by all my friends, and received with the greatest kindness."—See Blair's Rhet., p. 107.

PRECEPT IV.—Do not introduce parentheses, except when a lively remark may be thrown in without diverting the mind too long from the principal subject. Example: "But (saith he) since I take upon me to teach the whole world, (it is strange, it should be so natural for this man to write untruths, since I direct my Theses only to the Christian world; but if it may render me odious, such Peccadillo's pass with him, it seems, but for Piae Fraudes:) I intended never to write of those things, concerning which we do not differ from others."—R. Barclay's Works, Vol. iii. p. 279. The parts of this sentence are so put together, that, as a whole, it is scarcely intelligible.

SECTION VI.—OF STRENGTH.

Strength consists in giving to the several words and members of a sentence, such an arrangement as shall bring out the sense to the best advantage, and present every idea in its due importance. Perhaps it is essential to this quality of style, that there be animation, spirit, and vigour of thought, in all that is uttered. A few hints concerning the Strength of sentences, will here be given in the form of precepts.

PRECEPT I.—Avoid verbosity; a concise style is the most favourable to strength. Examples: "No human happiness is so pure as not to contain any alloy."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 270. Better: "No human happiness is unalloyed." "He was so much skilled in the exercise of the oar, that few could equal him."—Ib., p. 271. Better: "He was so skillful at the oar, that few could match him." Or thus: "At the oar, he was rarely equalled." "The reason why they [the pronouns] are considered separately is, because there is something particular in their inflections."— Priestley's Gram., p. 81. Better: "The pronouns are considered separately, because there is something peculiar in their inflections."

PRECEPT II.—Place the most important words in the situation in which they will make the strongest impression. Inversion of terms sometimes increases the strength and vivacity of an expression: as, "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."—Matt., iv, 9. "Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgements."—Psalms, cxix, 137. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."—Ps., cxvi, 15.

PRECEPT III.—Have regard also to the relative position of clauses, or members; for a weaker assertion should not follow a stronger; and, when the sentence consists of two members, the longer should be the concluding one. Example: "We flatter ourselves with the belief that we have forsaken our passions, when they have forsaken us." Better: "When our passions have forsaken us, we flatter ourselves with the belief that we have forsaken them."—See Blair's Rhet., p. 117; Murray's Gram., p. 323.

PRECEPT IV.—When things are to be compared or contrasted, their resemblance or opposition will be rendered more striking, if a pretty near resemblance in the language and construction of the two members, be preserved. Example: "The wise man is happy, when he gains his own approbation; the fool, when he recommends himself to the applause of those about him." Better: "The wise man is happy, when he gains his own approbation; the fool, when he gains the applause of others."—See Murray's Gram., p. 324.

PRECEPT V.—Remember that it is, in general, ungraceful to end a sentence with an adverb, a preposition, or any inconsiderable word or phrase, which may either be omitted or be introduced earlier. "For instance, it is a great deal better to say, 'Avarice is a crime of which wise men are often guilty,' than to say, 'Avarice is a crime which wise men are often guilty of.'"—Blair's Rhet., p. 117; Murray's Gram., p. 323.

END OF THE THIRD APPENDIX.



APPENDIX IV.

TO PART FOURTH, OR PROSODY.

OF POETIC DICTION.

Poetry, as defined by Dr. Blair, "is the language of passion, or of enlivened imagination, formed, most commonly, into regular numbers."—Rhet., p. 377. The style of poetry differs, in many respects, from that which is commonly adopted in prose. Poetic diction abounds in bold figures of speech, and unusual collocations of words. A great part of the figures, which have been treated of in one of the chapters of Prosody, are purely poetical. The primary aim of a poet, is, to please and to move; and, therefore, it is to the imagination, and the passions, that he speaks. He may also, and he should, have it in his view, to instruct and to reform; but it is indirectly, and by pleasing and moving, that such a writer accomplishes this end. The exterior and most obvious distinction of poetry, is versification: yet there are some forms of verse so loose and familiar, as to be hardly distinguishable from prose; and there is also a species of prose, so measured in its cadences, and so much raised in its tone, as to approach very nearly to poetic numbers.