only fix of these words, viz. Credible, Excufable, Impoffible, Incurable, Invisible, Noble; and one, made by himself, I believe, in imitation, Chaceable.

Chaucer ufes many more of these words than Gower did';: but in nothing like fuch quantities as have been since employed in our language..

F:

I understand you then to fay that the words in our language with the termination BLE, are merely the Potential Paffive Adjective: and that we have adopted this termination from the Latin, for the purpose of abbreviation. But the Latin Grammarians had no fuch notion of this termination. They have affigned no feparate office, nor ftation, nor title, to this kind of word. They have not ranked it even amongst their participles. They call these words merely Verbalia in: Bilis: which title barely informs us, that they have indeed fomething or other to do with the verbs; but what that fomething is, they have not told us. Indeed they are fo uncertain concerning the relation which these words bear to the verb;

8

that.

that most of the grammarians, Voffius, Perizonius, Goclenius, and others, tell us, that thefe Verbalia in Bilis fignify fometimes paffively and sometimes actively. And I am sure we use great numbers of words with this termination in English, which do not appear to fignify either actively or paffively.

Voffius fays-" Hujufmodi verbalia fæpius exponuntur paffivè, "interdum et active.”

Perizonius" Porro funt et alia unius forme vocabula, du"plicem tamen, tum activam, tum paffivam habentia fignifica" tionem; veluti Adjectiva in Bilis exeuntia. De quorum paf" 'fiva fignificatione nullum est dubium. De activa, hæc exempli "loco habe, &c."

And I think I could, without much trouble, furnish you with a larger catalogue of words in Ble, used in English, without a paffive fignification; than you have furnished of those with a paffive fignification.

And the French have a multitude befides, fuch as fecourable &c. which we have not adopted from them.

H.

All this is very true. But what fays Scaliger of these Verbals in Bilis ? Recentiores audacter nimis jam actus fignifi"cationem attribuere, idque frivolis fane argumentis. Auxere errorem pertinaciâ. Poeticâ licentiâ dictum eft Penetrabile, " active."

st

De caufis. lib. 4. cap. 98.

Scaliger fpeaks of their frivolous arguments; but I have never yet feen any attempt at any argument whatever on the fubject. They bring fome examples indeed of an active ufe of fome words in Bilis. From good authors they are very few indeed : From Virgil one word: two from Terence; one from Livy; one from Tacitus; one from Quintus Curtius; one from Valerius Maximus: they produce abundance from Plautus, who ufed fuch words as voluptabilis, ignorabilis, &c. And after the Latin language became corrupted; in its decay, we meet with heaps of them. It is in the terminations chiefly that languages become corrupted: and I fuppofe the corruption arifes from not having fettled or well understood the meaning and purpose of thofe terminations.

Had

Had the Latin Grammarians been contented with the old Stoic definition of Modus verbi cafualis, these verbals might very well have been ranked with their participles; but when they defined the participle to be a word fignificans cum tempore, thefe verbals were neceffarily excluded: and to retain the participle prefent, as they called it, they were compelled obftinately, against all reafon and evidence, to maintain that there was a fignification of Time, both in the Indicative and in its Adjective the prefent participle; although there was no termination or word added to the Indicative of the verb, by. which any Time could be fignified. With equal reafon might they contend, that the fame word with the termination, Bilis, was properly used to signify indifferently two almoft oppofite ideas; viz. To Feel, or, To be Felt; To Beat, or, To be Beaten : which would be just as rational, as that the fame word fhould be purposely employed in speech, to fignify equally the horse which is ridden, and the man who rides him. Words may undoubtedly, at fome times and by fome perfons, be fo abufed: And when any word and too frequently they are fo abufed. And when or termination becomes generally fo abused, it becomes ufelefs; and in fact ceases to be a word: for that is not a word, whose fignification is unknown. A few of these corruptions may be may affift borne in a language, and the context of the fentence the hearer to comprehend the fpeaker's meaning; but when the bulk of these terminations in a language becomes generally fo corrupted; that language is foon broken up and loft: and, to fupply the place of thefe corrupted words or terminations, men are forced to have recourfe again to other words or terminations which may convey diftinct meanings to the hearer.

Scaliger,

Scaliger, diftinguifhing properly between Ilis (he fhould have faid Bilis: for the в is important to this termination) and Ivus, inftances a fimilar diftinction and convenience in the Greek language, viz. αισθητον and αισθητικον. And this inftance ought to make an Englishman bluth for his countrymen; whofe ignorance commonly employs the correfponding word to KONTOV, SENSIBLE, in three different meanings; although (thanks to our old tranflators) we have now in our language, three diftinct terminations for the purpose of distinction: We have Senfeful;-Senfitive :-Senfible-Senfevole ;-Senfitivo;Senfibile;-Full of Senfe ;-which can feel;-which may be felt. Yet it is not very uncommon to hear perfons talk of→ "A Senfible man, who is very Senfible of the cold, and of any "Senfible change in the weather *."

I wish this were a folitary inftance in our language; but this abuse, like the corrupt influence of the crown, (in the language of parliament twenty years ago) has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished. Much of this abufe in our speech we owe to the French: whom however it would be

"If acts of parliament were after the old fashion penned by fuch only as perfectly knew what the Common Law was before the making "of any act of parliament concerning that matter, as alfo how far forth "former ftatutes had provided remedy for former mifchiefs and defects "difcovered by experience; then fhould very few queftions in law arife, " and the learned fhould not fo often and fo much perplex their heads to make atonement and peace, by conftruction of law, between INSENSIBLE and difagreeing words, fentences and provifoes, as they now "do." Coke. 2 Rep. Pref.

ungrateful