the cultivation of learning, and the progress of the arts, have made our ancestors and ourselves acquainted.

From the countries which have supplied us with improvements, we have also drawn the terms belonging to them : thus music, sculpture, and painting, borrowed their terms from Italy the words used in navigation were received from the inhabitants of Flanders and Holland; the French have supplied the expressions used in fortification and military affairs the terms of mathematics and philosophy are drawn from the Greek and Latin; and from the Saxon, with a few remains of the original British or Celtic tongue, we have most of the words of general use, as well as those belonging to agriculture, and the mechanical arts. But although the English language has little simplicity to boast of, respecting its origin, yet in its grammatical structure it bears a close resemblance to the Hebrew, the most simple language of antiquity. Its words depart less from the original form, than those of other modern European tongues; and it is only by the different degrees of comparison that any changes take place in the adjectives. There is but one conjugation of the verbs, some of which, indeed, are not varied at all, and others have only two or three changes of termination. Almost all the modifications of time in the verbs, are expressed by the auxiliaries; and the verbs themselves preserve in many instances very nearly, and in some cases exactly, their radical form in the different tenses : the different powers also of these auxiliary verbs, are of great use in expressing the several moods. The article possesses a striking peculiarity, differing from that in most other languages, being indeclinable, and common to all genders. By this simplicity of structue, the English tongue is much easier to a learner than the French, Italian, Spanish, &c., in which the variations of the verbs in particular, are very numerous, complex, and difficult to be retained.

The

The English language is uniform in its composition, and its irregularities are far from being numerous. The distinctions in the genders of nouns are agreeable to the nature of things, and are not applied with that caprice which occurs in many other tongues, both ancient and modern. The order of construction is more easy and simple than that of the Greek and the Latin; and it has neither genders of adjectives, gerunds, supines, nor variety of conjugations. These peculiarities give the English a philosophical character; and as its terms are strong, expressive, and copious, few languages seem better calculated to facilitate the intercourse of mankind, as an universal medium of communication. A language which has been so much indebted to others, both ancient and modern, may for abundance of forcible terms and expressions, well be put in comparison with any other now spoken. Since the English tongue has been so much cultivated, and brought to its present excellence, no writer has had reason to complain that his ideas could not be adequately expressed, or clothed in a suitable and becoming dress: none has been obliged to write in a foreign language, on account of its superiority over his own. Whether we open the volumes of our divines, our philosophers, our historians, or our artists, we find them to abound with all the terms necessary to communicate their sentiments, observations, and discoveries, and to give their readers the most complete views of their respective subjects. Hence it appears, that the English language is sufficiently capacious for all the purposes of life, and can furnish proper and adequate expression to variety of argument, delicacy of taste, and fervour of genius; and to evince its sufficient copiousness to communicate to mankind every action, event, invention, and observation, in a full, clear, and elegant manner, it is only necessary to appeal to the authors most admired and esteemed by persons of correct. judgment. But the excellence of the English language,

is perhaps in few respects exhibited to such advantage as in the productions of the poets. Whoever reads the works of Shakespeare, Spenser, Milton, Dryden, and Pope, will be sensible that they employ a kind of phraseology that may be said to be sacred to the muses: it is distinguished from prose, not merely by the harmony of numbers, but by the variety of its appropriate terms and expressions. A considerable degree of beauty likewise results from the different measures employed in poetry. The Allegro and Penseroso of Milton, Alexander's Feast by Dryden, the Ode to the Passions by Collins, and the Bard of Gray, are as complete examples of versification, judiciously varied, according to the nature of the subjects, as they are specimens of exquisite sentiment, and original genius. One of the most beautiful figures in poetry, is the personification of inanimate objects: the genius of the English language enables the poet to give the most striking effect to this figure, as the genders of nouns are not arbitrarily imposed, but may be varied according to the nature of the subject. Thus, he may establish the most evident distinction between prose and verse, and communicate to his descriptions that spirit and animation, which cannot fail to strike every reader of taste. It must, however, be acknowledged, that it is chiefly to grave subjects, to the details of the historian, the arguments of the divine and the politician, the speculations of the philosopher, and the invention of the epic and tragic poet, that our language is best adapted. It has energy and copiousness, but it corresponds not so well with the mirth of the gay, or the pathos of the distressed, as some other languages. In describing the pleasantries of the mind, in the effusions of delicate humour, the sallies of wit, and the trifling levities of social intercourse, the French possesses a decided advantage: and in delineating the tender passions, the soothing of pity, the ardour of love,

it must yield the superiority to the softer cadences of the Italian.

It is but natural to indulge a favour for our native soil, and for every thing belonging to it; it is therefore no wonder that we should be partial to our own language: but this propensity ought not to blind our eyes to the defects of either. It cannot, therefore, be amiss to remark some of the chief imperfections of the English tougue. As many of the words which are not derived from the Greek and Latin, are monosyllables, and terminated in consonants, the pronunciation becomes rugged and broken, very unlike the regular easy flow of classic language. Many words are in themselves harsh and unmusical, and there are even some which the inhabitants of the South of Europe, accustomed to softer expressions, hardly ever learn to utter. It has been remarked, that in the English language, computed to contain thirty-five thousand words, there are not above a dozen which end in a, about two dozen in o, and in y not less than four thousand nine hundred; altogether forming but one-fifth of the language, terminating in vowels; while the remainder ending in consonants, must, to many nations, give it an air of roughness and want of melody.

The want of teminations in the verbs, rendering necessary. the introduction of auxiliaries, often obliges us to express ourselves by circumlocutions. There is no distinction in the persons of the plural number, nor in the tenses and persons of the passive voice, which frequently occasions ambiguity, so that foreigners in reading English are often at a loss, unless they give particular attention to the context, to understand the meaning of many of our sentences. Our accents are naturally fitted to give considerable variety to pronunciation; but the practice of placing the accents in some cases on the first syllable of a word, in a great degree destroys use, and leaves only an indistinct, hurried, and almost unintelligible sound, to the other syllables. None of the

their

modera

modern languages of Europe are so strongly marked by accents as the English; and their use is very evident in poetry, as they enable us to support with ease the varied numbers of blank verse. But, notwithstanding the zeal of some authors to show the excellence of English, with respect to the quantity of syllables, and to prove that it is in itself harmonious and musical, it must be acknowledged that Greek and Latin, have a great superiority over it, from the regular and constant distinction of long and short syllables. It is certainly true, that we have many syllables and words which are strictly long or short; but still the far greater number cannot well be said to be of any determinate quality.

Orthography, or the mode of spelling words, appears to have been in former times extremely vague and uncertain : it is not uncommon to find in our old writers, the same word spelt differently even in the same page. In the beginning of the last century, orthography began to be more attended to, and attempts were made, with considerable success, to rescue it from uncertainty; yet authors of eminence have differred much from one another in their modes of spelling, adjusting their practice to their several notions of propriety. But as the influence of their authority has had no effect upon general custom, such authors have not escaped the imputation of singularity and affectation. Many other means have been devised for estsablishing English orthography, on a proper foundation, but still without the desired effect at last, what many had wished, and many had in vain attempted, what seemed, indeed, to demand the united efforts of a number, was performed by the diligence and acuteness of a single man. Dr. Johnson's English Dictionary appeared; and as the weight of truth and reason is irresistible, its authority has nearly fixed the external form of our language, and from its decisions few appeals of impor tance have been made. The principles on which Johnson

founded