mentioned because, in our modern English, we have totally cast off all the letters of the discriminating termination of the third person singular of the indicative of those verbs.

Sir Walter Raleigh, in his History of the World, instead of BLOW, Uses BLOWTH (the third person singular of the indicative of Blopan, florere) as the common expression of his day.

"This first age after the flood was, by ancient historians, called Golden. Ambition and covetousness being as then but green and newiy grown up; the seeds and effects whereof were as yet but potential, and in the BLOWTH and bud."

Part 1. book 1. chap. 9. sect. 3. pag. 107. edit. 1677.

"This princess having beheld the child; his form and beauty, though but yet in the BLOWTH, so pierced her compassion, as she did not only preserve it, and cause it to be fostered; but commanded that it should be esteemed as her own."

Part 1. book 2. chap. 3. sect. 3. pag. 148.

HARM. Our modern word HARM was in the AngloSaxon Ypm or Iepm, i. e. Whatsoever Harmeth or Hurteth: the third person singular of the indicative of ỳɲman, or eɲman, lædere.

["Di alirde of heopa YRMƉE."-Elfric. de Veteri Testamento, p. 12. See above, See above, in p. 53.]

"Kanutus, yet that hopes to win what he did lose,

Provokes him still to fight: and falling back where they
Might field-ROOMTH find at large their ensigns to display,'
Together flew again."

Poly-olbion, song 12.

"Besides I dare thus boast, that I as far am known

As any of them all, the South their names doth sound;
The spacious North doth me: that there is scarcely found

A ROOMTH for any else, it is so fill'd with mine."

Ibid. song. 26.

ALE, was in the Anglo-Saxon Alod, i. e. Quod accendit, inflammat: the third person singular of the indicative of Ælan, accendere, inflammare.

Skinner was aware of the meaning of this word, though he knew not how it was derived. He says of ALE" Posset et non absurde deduci ab A.-S. Elan, accendere, inflammare: Quia sc. ubi generosior est (qualis majoribus nostris in usu fuit) spiritus et sanguinem copioso semper, sæpe nimio, calore perfundit."

[CREW Ge-næp, Le-ɲæpud.-Ræpud, Rout. Dutch, CROWDS Rot and Rotting. A.-S. Eɲead and Eɲuð. Leɲæðuð fæða.—R. 7. Cot. 13. Mixta, sive undique collecta, acies."-Lye.

"They saw before them, far as they could vew,
Full many people gathered in a CREW."

Faerie Queene, book 5. cant. 2. st. 29.]

KNAVE (A.-S. Enara) was probably Nafað, i. e. Nehafað, Lenafað; qui nihil habet: the third person singular of Nabban, i. e. Ne-haban. So Lenæf, Lenæfð, Næfiz, Nærga, are in the Anglo-Saxon, mendicus, egens. In the same manner Nequam is held by the Latin etymologists to mean Ne-quicquam, i. e. One who hath nothing; neither goods nor good qualities. For-" Nequam servum, non malum, sed inutilem significat." Or, according to Festus--" Qui ne tanti quidem est, quam quod habetur minimi.”

Of the same sort the Anglo-Saxons had likewise many other abstract terms (as they are called) from others of their verbs of which we have not in our modern language any trace left. Such as Lpy, the third person.

singular of the indicative of Lɲetan: Duzu, the third person singular of the indicative of Dugan, &c.

Chaucer indeed has used GRYTH.

"Christ said: Qui gladio percutit,

Wyth swerde shall dye.

He bad his priestes peace and GRYTH."

Plowmans Tale, fol. 94. pag 1. col. 2.

And from Duzuð we have Doughty still remaining in the language*.

But I think I need proceed no further in this course: and that I have already said enough, perhaps too much, to shew what sort of operation that is, which has been termed ABSTRACTION.

* [Þýně, nocumentum, læsio, oppression; third person singular of bynan, opprimere.

Dude, past participle of Þýðian.

"Se Chaldea cinine com pa to his eapde mid þære HUƉE and þæɲe hepe lafe."—Elfric. de Veteri Testamento, p. 16.]

[To these may also be added, Fixod and fixnode, Duntað and huntnode, bæftneð, hæftnode, Vergað, Izzað, Leozuð. "Ic pille gan on Fixod." "I will go a-fishing."-John 21. 3. "On hærenede pæɣ." "Was in custody."-Chron. Sax. 1101.

་་

"Gone out a-plundering."-Ib. an. 894.

ED.]

ΕΠΕΑ ΠΤΕΡΟΕΝΤΑ,

&c.

CHAPTER VI.

OF ADJECTIVES.

F.

YOU imagine then that you have thus set aside the

doctrine of Abstraction.

Will it be unreasonable to ask you, What are these Adjectives and Participles by which you think you have atchieved this feat? And first, What is an Adjective? I dare not call it Noun Adjective: for Dr. Lowth tells us, pag. 41, "Adjectives are very improperly called Nouns, for they are not the names of things."

And Mr. Harris (Hermes, book 1. chap. 10.) says"Grammarians have been led into that strange absurdity of ranging Adjectives with Nouns, and separating them from Verbs; though they are homogeneous with respect to Verbs, as both sorts denote Attributes: they are heterogeneous with respect to Nouns, as never properly denoting Substances."

You see, Harris and Lowth concur, that Adjectives are not the names of things; that they never properly denote substances. But they differ in their consequent arrangement. Lowth appoints the Adjective to a separate station

by itself amongst the parts of speech; and yet expels the Participle from amongst them, though it had long figured there whilst Harris classes Verbs, Participles, and Adjectives together under one head, viz. Attributives*.

H.

These gentlemen differ widely from some of their ablest predecessors. Scaliger, Wilkins, Wallis, Sanctius, Scioppius, and Vossius, considerable and justly respected names, tell us far otherwise.

Scaliger, lib. 4. cap. 91. "Nihil differt concretum ab abstracto, nisi modo significationis, non significatione."

Wilkins, Part 1. chap. 3. sect. 8. "The true genuine sense of a Noun Adjective will be fixed to consist in this; that it imports this general notion, of pertaining to."

Wallis, pag. 92. "Adjectivum respectivum est nihil aliud quam ipsa vox substantiva, adjective posita.”

Pag. 127. "Quodlibet substantivum adjective posi tum degenerat in adjectivum.”

Pag. 129. "Ex substantivis fiunt Adjectiva copiæ,

addita terminatione y &c.

Sanctius,

* Harris should have called them either Attributes or Attributables. But having terminated the names of his three other classes (Substantive, Definitive, Connective) in Ive, he judged it more regular to terminate the title of this class also in Ive having no notion whatever that all common terminations have a meaning; and probably supposing them to be (as the etymologists ignorantly term them) mere protractiones vocum: as if words were wiredrawn, and that it was a mere matter of Taste in the writer, to use indifferently either one termination or another at his pleasure.