ADVERTISEMENT.

I PRESUME my readers to be acquainted with French, Latin, Italian and Greek: which are unfortunately the ufual boundaries of an English scholar's acquifition. On this fuppofition, a friend of mine lamented that, in my Letter to Mr. Dunning, I had not confined myself to the common English character for the Anglo-faxon and Gothic derivations.

In the present publication I fhould undoubtedly have conformed to his wishes, if I had not imagined that, by inferting the Anglo-faxon and Gothic characters in this place, I might poffibly allure fome of my readers to familiarize themselves with thofe characters, by an application of them to the few words of those languages which are here introduced: and thus lead the way to their better acquaintance with the parent language, which ought long ago to have made a part of the education of our youth. And I flatter myself that one of the confequences of my prefent inquiry will be, to facilitate and abridge the tedious and mistaken method of inftruction which has too long continued in our feminaries: the time which is at prefent allotted to Latin and Greek, being amply fufficient for the acquire

Q 2

acquirement alfo of French, Italian, Anglo-faxon, Dutch, German, Danish and Swedish. Which will not feem at all extraordinary, when it is confidered that the five last mentioned (together with the English) are little more than different dialects of one and the fame language. And though this was by no means the leading motive, nor is the prefent object of my inquiry; yet I think it of confiderable importance: although I do not hold the acquifition of languages in so very great estimation as the Emperor Charles the Vth did. Who, as Brantome tells us, "difoit " & repetoit fouvent, quand il tomboit fur la beautè des "langues, (felon l'opinion des Turcs)-qu' autant de lan"gues que l'homme fçait parler, autant de fois eft-il "homme."

Anglo

EПEA IITEPOENTA, &c.

CHAP. VII.

OF CONJUNCTIONS.

H.

I WAS afraid of fome fuch inftances as these, when I wished to postpone the whole consideration of this subject till after we had difcuffed the other received Parts of Speech. Because, in order to explain it, I must foreftall fomething of what I had to fay concerning Conjunctions. However, fince the queftion is started, perhaps it may be as well to give it here.

The truth of the matter is, that IF is merely a Verb. It is merely the Imperative of the Gothic and Anglo-faxon verb гIFAN, Lipan. And in thofe languages, as well as in the English formerly, this fuppofed Conjunction was pronounced and written as the common Imperative, purely rik, Lif, Gif. Thus

-"My

"My largeffe

"Hath lotted her to be your brother's mistreffe

"GIF fhee can be reclaim'd; GIF not, his prey *"

And accordingly our corrupted F has always the fignification of the English Imperative Give; and no other. So that the refolution of the conftruction in the instances you have produced, will be as before in the others.

RESOLUTION..

"His feelings be the fame with mine, GIVE THAT, I "wonder he can move, &c."

"The King may have forgotten your good deferts, "GIVE THAT in any way, he bids you name your griefs."

And here, as an additional proof, we may obferve, that whenever the Datum, upon which any conclufion depends, is a sentence, the Article THAT, if not expreffed, is always understood, and may be inferted after IF... As in the instance I have produced above, the Poet might have said, "Gif that he can be reclaimed," &c.

For the refolution is-" She can be reclaimed, Give "that; my largeffe hath lotted her to be your brother's

Sad Shepherd, Act II. Scene 1.

9

miftreffe.