Conducible Inclinable

And the French have a multitude besides, such as secourable, &c. which we have not adopted from them.

H. All this is very true. But what says Scaliger of these verbals in bilis ?...." Recentiores audacter "nimis jam actus significationem attribuere, idque "frivolis sane argumentis. Auxere errorem per"tinaciâ. Poeticâ licentiâ dictum est penetrabile, "active." De causis, lib. 4, cap. 98.

Scaliger speaks of their frivolous arguments; but I have never yet seen any attempt at any argument whatever on the subject. They bring some examples indeed of an active use of some 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 used such words as voluptabilis, ignorabilis, &c. 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 suppose the corruption arises from not having settled or well understood the meaning and purpose of those terminations.

Had the Latin grammarians been contented with the old Stoic definition of modus verbi casualis, these verbals might very well have been ranged with their participles; but when they defined the principle to be a word significans cum tempore, these verbals were necessarily excluded: and to retain the participle present, as they called it, they were compelled obstinately, against all reason and evidence, to maintain that there was a signification of time, both in the indicative and in its adjective the present participle; although there was no termination or word added to the indicative of the verb, by which which any time could be signified. With equal reason might they contend, that the same word with the termination, bilis, was properly used to signify indifferently two almost opposite ideas: viz. to feel, or, to be felt; to beat, or, to be beaten: which would be just as rational, as that the same word should be purposely employed in speech, to signify equally the horse which is ridden, and the man who rides him. Words may undoubtedly, at some times and by some persons, be so abused: and too frequently they are so abused. And when any word or termination becomes generally so abused, it becomes useless; and in fact ceases to be a word for that is not a word, whose signification is unknown. A few of these corruptions

may be borne in a language, and the context of the sentence may assist the hearer to comprehend the speaker's meaning; but when the bulk of these terminations in a language becomes generally so corrupted; that language is soon broken up and lost and to supply the place of these corrupted words or terminations, men are forced to have recourse again to other words or terminations which may convey distinct meanings to the hearer.

Scaliger, distinguishing properly between ilis (he should have said bilis: for the в is important to this termination) and ivus, instances a similar distinction and convenience in the Greek language, viz. αισθητον and αισθητικον. And this instance ought to make an Englishman blush for his countrymen; whose ignorance commonly employs the corresponding word to iontov, SENSIBLE, in three different meanings; although (thanks to our old translators) we have now in our language, three distinct terminations for the purpose of distinction: we have senseful....sensitive ;....sensible ;....sensevole ;....sensitivo ;....sensible ;....full of sense ;.... which can feel;....which may be felt. Yet it is not very uncommon to hear persons talk of...." A sen"sible man, who is very sensible of the cold, and "of any sensible change in the weather(*)."

(*)" If acts of parliament were after the old fashion penned "by such only as perfectly knew what the common law was "before the making of any act of parliament concerning that "matter, as also how far forth former statutes had provided "remedy for former mischiefs and defects discovered by expe"rience; then should very few questions in law arise, and the "learned should not so often and so much perplex their heads

I wish this were a solitary instance 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 abuse in our speech we owe to the French: whom, however, it would be ungrateful in us to reproach with it; because I believe we owe likewise to these same French, all the benefit of all these abbreviations which we have borrowed: for though it is true that they proceed originally from the Latin; yet we have them mediately through the Italian and the French. And we ought to be contented, as the French also ought with their revolution, to take the good and the bad together. Especially if, as in both cases, the good preponderates beyond all comparison over the bad: and more especially still, if we may retain the benefit, and avoid the future mischief.

The words in ble which you have opposed to me, we have taken from the French, who took them corruptly from the Italian. And it happened in this manner. Our Anglo-Saxon full, which with Germans is vol, became the Italian vole: and there. was something in the sound of vole so pleasing to an Italian ear; that many of their authors (led by their ears and not by their understanding, without any occasion for it, deciding on its propriety by

"to make atonement and peace, by construction of law, between "INSENSIBLE and disagreeing words, sentences and provisoes, as they now do." Coke, 2 Rep. pref.

the sound and not by the signification) added it as a termination to many of their words; not only where the signification suited, but often where it did not and amongst others, Cardinal Bembo in particular is much and justly ridiculed, for his very injudicious and wholesale application of this termination(").

Hence the Italian words,

Abominevole

Accordevole

Aggradevole

Amichevole

Capevole
Caritatevole

(y)" A fin de ne rien laisser en arriere, tant qu' il me sera "possible, je leur repondray a ce en quoy ils semblent avoir " quelque couleur de pretendre leur langue avoir de la gentillesse ❝ que la nostre n'ha point. Ils disent donc qu'ils ont quelques "terminaisons de noms fort plaisantes et gentiles, desquelles nous ❝ sommes destituez. Et la principale de celles qu'ils mettent "en avant, c'est des mots qui finissent en ole : comme piacevole, "favorevole. Ie confesse que ceste terminaison est belle: mais ❝ je di qu'une chose belle perd sa grace quand on en abuse. "Or qu'ainsi soit que quelquesuns en abusent, il appert par la "controverse qui est entre eux touchant le mot capevole, et "quelques autres. Car tous reçoivent bien favorevole, piacevole, "amorevole, laudevole, honorevole, biasmevole, solazzevole, et "plusieurs semblables: mais quant a capevole, et quelques "autres, ils ne sont pas reçeus de tous. Car aucuns disent "qu' en ce mot capevole on abuse de ceste terminaison ole, et "qu'il faut dire capace. Or quant a capevole je sçay bien que "leur Bembo en use au premier livre du traittéę intitulé Le "Prose. Mais on peut dire qu'il ne s'en faut pas fier a luy : pource qu'il usoit tant des mots ayans ceste terminaison "qu'il s'en rendoit ridicule.

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"Or est il certain que comme Bembo usoit trop de ces mots, "de sorte qu'il rendoit leur beauté ennuyeuse, et luy faisoit "perdre sa grace; quelques autres aussi ont faict, et aucuns "encore aujourdhuy font le mesme."

Henry Estiene, De la precellence, &c. pag. 54.