To hold, fignifying to use, and applied to language; to give into, fignifying to adopt, in the figurative fenfe of that word; are other expreffions frequently employed by this author, and of late by feveral others, which fall under the fame cenfure. Even our celebrated tranflator of the Iliad hath not been clear of this charge. Witness the title he hath given to a small differtation prefixed to that work. "A view," he calls it, "of the epic poem," in which short title there are no lefs than two improprieties. First, the word poem, which always denotes with us, a particular performance, is here ufed, agreeably to the French idiom, for poetry in general, or the art which characterises the performance; fecondly, the definite article the is employed, which, though it be always given to abstracts in French, is never fo applied in English, unless with a view to appropriate them to fome subject. And this, by the way, renders the article with us more determinative than it is in French, or perhaps in any other tongue. Accordingly, on the first hearing of the title above mentioned, there is no English reader who would not fuppofe, that it

Accordingly Boffu hath ftyled his performance on the fame fubject, Traité du poëme epique. It is this title, I fuppofe, which hath mifled the English poet.

·were

were a critical tract on fome particular epic poem, and not on that fpecies of poefy.

ANOTHER error of the fame kind is the latinifm. Of this, indeed, the examples are not fo frequent. Foppery is a fort of folly much more contagious than pedantry; but as they refult alike from affectation, they deserve alike to be profcribed. An inftance of the latter is the word affection, when applied to things inanimate, and fignifying the state of being affected by any caufe. Another inftance is the word integrity, when used for entireness. But here, I think, a diftinction ought to be made between the familiar ftyle and that of philofophical difquifition. In the latter, it will be reasonable to allow a greater latitude, especially in cafes wherein there may be a penury of proper terms, and wherein, without fuch indulgence, there would be à neceffity of recurring too often to periphrafis. But the less, even here, this liberty is used, it is the better.

To these properly fucceeds, that fort of the vulgarism †, in which only a low and partial use can

+ I fay that fort of the vulgarism, because, when the word is in no acceptation in good ufe, it is a fort that partakes of the "barbarifm; but when a particular application of a good word is current only among the lower claffes, it belongs to the impropriety.

нь з

be

my

be pleaded in fupport of the application that is made of a particular word. Of this you have an example in the following quotation: ""Tis humble request you will be particular in fpeaking to the following points ." The prepofition ought to have been on. Precifely of the fame ftamp is the on't for of it, fo much used by one clafs of writers. The pronoun it is by a like idiom made fometimes to follow neuter verbs, as in the following paffage : "He is an "affertor of liberty and property; he rattles it "out against popery and arbitrary power, and "prieftcraft and high church ||."

THE auxiliaries fhould, fhould have, and should be, are fometimes ufed in the fame improper manner. I am not fenfible of the elegance which Dr. Priestley seems to have difcovered in the expreffion-" The general report is that he should "have faid"-for" that he faid." It appears to me not only as an idiomatical expreffion, but as chargeable both with pleonafm, and with ambiguity. For what a man faid, is often very different from what he should have faid.

I SHALL finish all that I propofe to offer on the idiotifm, when I have obferved, that thefe

Guardian, No. 57.

Swift's Project for the Advancement of Religion.

4

remarks

remarks are not to be extended to the precincts of fatire and burlefque. There indeed a vulgar, or even what is called a cant expreffion, will fome- . times be more emphatical than any proper term whatfoever. The fatirist may plead his privilege. For this reason the following lines are not to be confidered as falling under this criticism,

Whether the charmer finner it, or faint it,

If folly grows romantic, I muft paint it *.

1 remains to give fome inftances wherein found and fenfe both concur in mifleading us. Of this the word enough is an example, which is frequently confounded with enow, and used for it. Both denote fufficiency, the former in quantity or in degrees of quality, the latter in num ber. Thus we fay properly, "We have "We have courage

66

enough, and ammunition enough; but we have "not men enow.”

THE derivatives falfenefs, falfity, falsehood, from the root false, are often by mistake employed for one another, though in the best use they are evidently distinguished. The firft falfeness is properly used in a moral fenfe for want of veracity, and applied only to perfons; the other two are

B. II. applied only to things. Falfity denotes that quality in the abstract, which may be defined contrariety to truth. Falsehood is an untrue affertion. The word negligence is improperly used in the following paffage: "The negligence of this "leaves us exposed to an uncommon levity in our "ufual converfation .". He ought to have faid neglect. The former implies the habit, the latter denotes the act; perhaps in this cafe I should fay the inftance; for an act of a habit of not doing, hath itself the appearance of impropriety.

PRECISELY of the fame kind is the mifappli cation of the word confcience in this quotation. “The conscience of approving one's felf a bene"factor to mankind, is the nobleft recompence "for being fo." Properly the consciousness; the former denotes the faculty, the latter a particular exertion.

THIS impropriety is reverfed in the citation following: "I apprehend that all the fophifm, "which has been, or can be employed, will not "be fufficient to acquit this fyftem at the tri"bunal of reafon §." For fophifm he should have faid fophiftry; this denotes fallacious rea§ Bol. Ph. F. 20. foning,

+ Spec. No. 76. I Spect. No. 588.