found, is, that almost all the nations of the world have loft fight of this language of nature, and fubstituted fantastical and artificial notes in its room. As this is a fubject which has been involved in much obfcurity, I fhall endeavour to illuftrate the whole, by examining the different modes which have been adopted by different nations, with regard to that part of language, which confifts in the various tones or notes accompanying speech.

Languages may be divided into two claffes, accentual, and emphatical. The accentual are those, in which various notes, or inflexions of the voice, are affixed to words, either in their feparate ftate," or when united in fentences, without any regard to their meaning. The emphatical are thofe, in which all the various notes and changes of the voice, are wholly regulated by the meaning of the words, and

the sentiments which they contain. The accentual may again be fubdivided into two claffes. The one, where thofe variations of voice, or accents are wholly left to chance, without rule, without order, with-out proportion. The other, where the accents are fixed by certain rules, and their due relative proportions fettled by a kind of mufical scale. Of the former fort are almost all the languages spoken by the different nations of the world, who have left the mode of utterance to chance and custom, and never thought of reducing fpeaking to an art. Of the latter, we know only of two inftances fince the creation of the world, and those are the languages of old Greece and Rome. But to one of these three forts, may all the languages spoken upon earth be referred. In order to throw a clearer light upon this subject, it will be neceffary to trace these three different modes

modes of utterance to their fource. And first with regard to that which is certainly the most ancient, I mean the emphatical.

In the beginning, barbarous nations have Nature only for their guide, in their speech, as well as in every thing elfe. With them, therefore, all changes of the voice, and the different notes and inflexions used in uttering their thoughts, were the result of the acts and emotions of the mind, to each of which Nature herself has affigned its peculiar note. In this ftate the people all speak the emphatic language, and the variety of founds, of course, refult from the nature of the fentiments which they express. In a calm ftate of mind, the notes of the voice, in unifon to that ftate are little varied, and the words are uttered nearly in a monotone. When the mind is agitated by paffion, or under any emotion whatsoever, the tones expreffive of fuch paffion or emotion, fpontaneously

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taneously break forth, being unerring figns fixed to fuch internal feelings by the hand of Nature, common to all men, and univerfally intelligible, in the fame manner as the founds and cries uttered by the several tribes of animals. When they emerge out of barbarism, in proportion as they grow civilized, their language will partake of the changes made in their manners, and become confonant to them. But as in the progress towards improvement, the faculties of the mind by no means keep pace together, those of the fancy far outftripping the flow march of the intellect; the first changes will rather be fantastical, than rational, being produced by caprice, not judgment. These men having observed in their natural speech, that a variety of notes from an animated mind, afforded more pleasure to the ear, than the monotony of one in a tranquil ftate, will begin to intro

duce

duce a variety of notes into all fentences alike, whether expreffive of emotion or not. But not having the wisdom of Nature to guide them, in fuiting each tone to its fubject, both in kind and degree, they will be wholly unexpreffive; and not having the art of measuring founds, they will be void of proportion, and discordant. Thus the whole mafs of their speech becomes infected by these artificial, unmeaning founds, and their utterance shocks every ear that is not inured to it. As thefe founds are wholly fantastical, having no foundation in nature or reason, they will be found altogether different from each other in different places. From this principle we may trace that great diverfity of tones or brogues, which infects the fpeech of the different nations of the world; and not only fo, but of the different provinces of the fame nation, fpeaking one common language. Among t

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