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merly held, but admits his alteration of the confonants, never writing either Mahomet or Mohammed, but Mahommed. In regard to fuch foreign names of perfons, offices, eras, and rites, it would be obliging in writers of this stamp, to annex to their works a gloffary, for the fake of the unlearned, who cannot divine whether their newfangled terms belong to things formerly unknown, or are no more than the old names of things familiar to them, newly vamped and dreffed. Surely, if any thing deserves to be branded with the name of pedantry, it is an oftentation of erudition, to the reproach of learning, by affecting fingularity in trifles.

I SHALL juft mention another fet of barbarifms, which alfo comes under this clafs, and arifes from the abbreviation of polyfyllables, by lopping off all the fyllables except the firft, or the first and fecond. Inftances of this are, hyp for hypochondria, rep for reputation, ult for ultimate, penult for penultimate, incog for incognito, hyper for hypercritic, extra for extraordinary. Happily all thefe affected terms have been denied the public fuffrage. I fcarcely know any fuch that have eftablithed themfelves, except mob for

mobilé,

mobile. And this it hath effected at laft, notwithstanding the unrelenting zeal with which it was perfecuted by Dr. Swift, wherever he met with it. But as the word in question hath gotten ufe, the fupreme arbitrefs of language, on its fide, there would be as much obftinacy in rejecting it at prefent, as there was perhaps folly at first in ushering it upon the public ftage.

As to the humour of abbreviating, we need fay very little, as it feems hardly now to fubfift amongst us. It only arofe in this ifland about the end of the last century, and when, in the beginning of the prefent, it affumed to figure in converfation, and even fometimes to appear in print, it was fo warmly attacked by Addison and Swift, and other writers of eminence, that fince then it hath been in general difgrace, hardly daring

• As I am disposed to think that, in matters of this kind, the Public is rarely in the wrong, it would not be difficult to affign a plaufible reafon for this preference. First, the word mobilé, from which it is contra&ed, can scarcely be called English, and, I suspect, never had the fanction of the public voice. Secondly, there is not another word in the language that expreffeth precisely the fame idea, a tumultuous and feditious rout : the word mobility, adopted by fome writers, is a grofs mifapplication of a philofophical term, which means only fufceptibility of motion; lattly, the word mob is fitter than either of thofe for giving rife, according to the analogy of our tongue, to fuch convenient derivatives as to mob, mobbed, mobbish, mobber.

to

to appear in good company, and never showing itfelf in books of any name.

THE two claffes of barbarifins laft mentioned, comprehending new words, and new formations from words ftill current, offend against use, confidered both as reputable and as national. There are many other forts of tranfgreffion which might be enumerated here, fuch as vulgarifins, provincial idioms, and the cant of particular profeffions. But these are more commonly ranked among the offences against elegance, than among the violations of grammatical purity, and will therefore be confidered afterwards.

SECTION II.

The Solecifm.

I NOW enter on the confideration of the fecond way by which the purity of the ftyle is injured, the folecifm. This is accounted by grammarians a much greater fault than the former, as it difplays a greater ignorance of the fundamental rules of the language. The fole aim of grammar is to convey the knowledge of the language; confequently, the degree of grammatical demerit in every blunder, can only be ascertain

ed

ed by the degree of deficiency in this knowledge which it betrays. But the aim of eloquence is quite another thing. The speaker or the writer doth not purpose to display his knowledge in the language, but only to employ the language which he speaks or writes, in order to the attainment of fome further end. This knowledge he useth folely as the inftrument or means by which he intends to inftruct, to please, to move, or to perfuade. The degree of demerit therefore, which, by the orator's account, is to be found in every blunder, must be ascertained by a very different measure. Such offence is more or lefs heinous, precifely in proportion as it proves a greater or fmaller obftruction to the fpeaker's or writer's aim. Hence it happens, that when folecifms are not very glaring, when they do not darken the fenfe, or fuggeft fome ridiculous idea, the rhetorician regards them as much more excufable than barbarifms. The reafon is, the former is accounted folely the effect of negligence, the latter of affectation. Negligence in expreffion, often the confequence of a noble ardour in regard to the fentiments, is at the worst a venial trefpafs, fometimes it is even not without energy; affectation is always a deadly fin against the laws of rhetoric.

Ir ought alfo to be obferved, that in the ar ticle of folecifms, much greater indulgence is given to the speaker than to the writer; and to the writer who propofeth to perfuade or move, greater allowances are made, than to him who propofeth barely to inftruct or pleafe. The more vehemence is required by the nature of the fubject, the lefs correctnefs is exacted in the manner of treating it. Nay, a remarkable deficiency in this refpect is not near so prejudicial to the scope of the orator, as a forupulous accuracy, which bears in it the fymptoms of study and art. Efchines is faid to have remarked, that the orations of his rival and antagonist Demofthenes, fmelled of the lamp; thereby intimating that their style and compofition were too elaborate. If the remark is juft, it contains the greateft cenfure that ever was paffed on that eminent orator. But, as the intermediate degrees between the two extremes are innumerable, both doubtlefs ought to be avoided.

GRAMMATICAL inaccuracies ought to be avoided by a writer, for two reafons. One is, that a reader will much fooner difcover them than a hearer, however attentive he be. The other is, as writing implies more leifure and

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