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by mistake; and must be taken in exactly where it points upwards.

Give an example.

the

A. Thou art a man.

Q. What is an asterism? A. The asterism is marked thus (*) Q What is its use?

of a page.

A It directs to some note in the margin, or at the bottom Several of them set together, signify that something is wanting, defective, or immodest in that passage of the author.

Q. What is an index?

A. It is a hand with the fore-finger pointing, thus (17)
Q. What is its use?

A. It declares that passage to be very remarkable overagainst which it is placed.

Q. What is an obelisk? A. An obelisk is marked thus (†) Q. What is its use?

A. It is used like the index. In dictionaries, it denotes a word to be obsolete, unclassical, or out of use.

Q. What is a quotation?

A. A quotation is a double comma reversed, thus (") at the beginning of a line.

Q. What is its use?

A. It denotes that passage to be quoted or transcribed from some author in his own words.

Q. Why are particular words printed in the italic character? A. To inform the reader that the stress of the sentence lies therein, or that they are written to the praise or to the dispraise of some person. Besides, it is usual to print all proper names in this character.

OF BOOKS.

Q. How are books divided?

A. Books are usually divided into chapters, sections, paragraphs and verses.

Q. What are chapters?

A. Chapters contain the principal heads, subject, or argument of a book.

Q. What are sections?

A. Sections are the largest divisions of a chapter, in which the particular arguments of that chapter are distinctly divided, and treated of separately.

Q. By what mark are sections distinguished?

A. By this mark (§)

Q. What are paragraphs?

4. Paragraphs are certain large members or divisions of a

chapter, or of a section; containing a perfect sense of the subject treated of, and calculated for the advantage of the reader; because at the end thereof he may make a larger pause than usual at the end of a period.

Q. By what marks are paragraphs distinguished?

A. By this mark (¶)

Q. What is a verse?

4. In prose, it is the shortest division in a chapter, as is largely exemplified in the holy bible; but in poetical writings, it conveys unto us an idea of a certain number of sy llables artfully compacted in one line, to gratify the ear.

1040

CHAP. II.

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OF PROSODY.

Q. WHAT is Prosody?

A. Prosody teacheth the true pronunciation of syllables and words, according to their proper quantities, and tones or accents.

OF THE QUANTITIES OF WORDS.

Q. What mean you by the quantity of words?

A. The quantity of a word, or syllable, is that by which we measure the time allowed for the pronunciation thereof. Q. How is the quantity of a word divided?

A. It is divided into short and long.
Q. How is this short quantity known?
A. By a quick pronunciation; as 10t.
Q. How is the long quantity known?

A. By a slow pronunciation, or twice the time of a short quantity; as uote.

OF THE TONE OR ACCENT.

Q. What is an accent?

A. A tone or accent denoteth the rising or falling of the voice on a syllable, according to the quantity thereof. Q. How many accents are there?

A. There are three accents the long () or (4) the short: () and the common (').

Q. What is the long accent?

A. It admonishes us to pronounce the syllable slow; as, mind, or mind.

lōt

Q. What is the short accent?

A. It admonisheth us to pronunce the syllable quick; as,

Q. What is the common accent?

A. It hath no regard to the grammatical quantity of a syl

lable, but being placed over a vowel, denotes the tone or stress of the voice to be upon that syllable; as, plenty.

Note. These tones or accents are seldom noted by English writers, but only for difference sake, as to distinguish the substantive lead from the verb lead, or lead or else to fix the accents of words of more than one syllable, which though spelt alike have different significations, and the accent on different sylJables; as in the substantive cóntract, and the verb contract; or in the substantive mínute, and the adjective minute. But the long and the short are much used in Latin dictionaries and grammars, as also that which is called common, and the (A) are much in use amongst French writers.

CHAP. III.

OF ANALOGY.

Q. WHAT is Analogy?

A. Analogy teaches us how to know distinctly all the several parts of speech in the English tongue.

Q. How many parts of speech are there?

A. Eight: viz. noun, pronoun, verb, participle, adverb, conjunction, preposition, interjectiou.

OF A NOUN.

Q. How many kinds of nouns are there?
A. Two: a substantive and an adjective.

OF SUBSTANTIVES.

Q. What is a poun substantive?

A. It is the name of any being or thing, perceivable either by the senses, or the understanding; as, a horse, a book. Q. How many kinds of noun substantives are there? A. Two; proper and common.

Q. What is a substantive proper?

A. It is the name of some particular person, creature, place, or thing: as one man is called Thomas, another John: one horse is called jolly, and another whitefoot: one ship is called the lion, and another the sea horse: one place is called London, and another Bristol.

Q. What is a substantive common?

A. It is the name of every thing of the same kind and denomination; as, a man, a dog, a tree.

Q. How many things belong to a noun?

A. There belong to a noun these seven things: number, case, gender, person, article, declension, and comparison. OF NUMBER.

Q. What is number?

A. It is the distinction of one from many.
Q. How many numbers are there?

A. Two: the singular and the plural.

Q. How is the singular number known?

A. The singular number speaketh but of one; as, a book. Q. How is the plural number known?

A. The plural number speaketh of more than one; as, books Q Have all nouns two numbers?

A. No: some nouns, such as the proper names of places, have no plural: as, London, York, &c. as also lime, stime, &c. others have no singular; as, ashes, bellows, &c. and some few are used in both numbers; as sheep, swine, deer, &c. OF CASE.

Q. How many cases are there in a noun ?

A. Six cases, singularly and plurally.

Q. Which be they?

A. The nominative, the genitivo, the dative, the accusative, the vocative, and the ablative.

Q. What is gender?

OF GENDER.

A. Gender is the difference of nouns according to their sex.
Q. How many genders are there?

A. Three: the masculine, the feminine and the neuter.
Q. What nouns.are of the masculine gender?

A. All nouns of the male kind; as, a father, a son, a horse, a lion.

Q. What nouns are of the feminine gender?

A. All nouns of the female kind; as a mother, a daughter, a mare, a lioness.

Q. What nouns are of the neuter gender?

A. All nouns that are neither of the male or female kind; as, a stick, or a stone.

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Q. Have all nouns these distinctions?

A. There are some nouns, common to both sexes, which are called epicenes; as, a sparrow, a servant, a cat, a rabbit. Q. How is the sex or gender distinguished here?

A. By the help of some other distinguishing words: as a cock-sparrow, a hen-sparrow, a man-servant, a maid-servant, a he-cat, a she-cat, a male rabbit, a female-rabbit.

Note. There are some words, which though they be of the neuter gender, are often (by custom) used, as if they were of the masculine or feminine gender. For thus we say of the sun; his going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the end of it. ps. 19, 6. And of the church we say, she hath nourished her children, but they have rebelled against her.

OF PERSON.

Q. How many persons belong to a noun ?

A. There are three persons in both numbers: the first, who is always he that speaketh; the second, who is always

the person or thing spoken to; the third, who is always the person or thing spoken of

Q. Give an example.

A. Singular, 1. 1. 2. Thou or you. 3. He, she, it, this, and that. Plural, 1. We. 2. Ye or you. They, these, and

those.

Note. That all nouns are of the third person, except I, and thou or you; we, and ye or you.

OF THE ARTICLES.

Q. What is an article?

A. It is a word set before a substantive, for the clearer and more particular expressing of its case and signification. Q. How many articles are there?

4. Two: a, or an, and the.

Q. When is a, or an used?

A. A or an is used in a general and unlimited sense; as, a man (that is any man) shall be commended according to his wisdom. An organ (that is any organ) is the best of all other musical instruments.

Note. A is used before a consonant; an before a vowel.

Q. When is the article the used?

A. The is used to convey a certain idea of that thing or person spoken of; as, the man (or this very man) who teacheth the art of true spelling, has done me much good.

Note. Substantives proper, have naturally no article set before them; except when some word is understood; as. the Thames, that is, the river Thames : the Tyne, that is, the river Tyue; or else when it is used by way of eminence : as, the God of the Hebrews.

Q. Do the adjectives admit of any article before them?

A. They do; but it is by virtue of some substantive expressed or understood; as, a good servant, generally makes a good master. They gathered the good [fishes] into vessels, but cast the bad away. Matt. xiii. 48.

OF THE DECLENSION OF A NOUN.

Q. What is meant by the word declension?

A. Declension is the variation of a word by cases?
Q. How are nouns declined or varied by cases?

A. Thus:

Singular.

Nom. A book..

Gen. Of a book.

Dat. To a book.
Acc. The books.
Voc. O book:
Abl. From a book

Plural.

Nom. Books.
Gen. Of books.
Dat. To books.
Acc. The books.
Voc. O books.
Abl. From books.

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