Cheval, chemife, chemin, chetif, chevreuil, cher, chenu, chien, toucher, &c. are corrupted from Cavallo, camiscia, camino, cattivo, cavriuolo, caro, canuto, cane, toccare, &c.

If

ont été cultivées plus elles fe font allongées. On ne leur a donné de l'agrément, de la cadence, de l'harmonie qu'aux depens de leur brieveté :"_ Proceeds to this confequence,-" Les Romains ne nous ont pas communi"qué les termes fimples, les liaisons du difcours : la plupart de ces termes « font plus courts en François qu'en Latin, & les Gaulois s'en fervoient avant que de connoitre l'Italie ou fes habitants." And then to fhew more ftrongly the spirit which animates him (a fpirit unworthy of letters and hoftile to the investigation of truth) adds-" Sommes nous füffifament in"ftruits, lorfque nous avons appris de nos Etymologiftes, que tel mot "François eft emprunté du Latin, tel autre du Grec, celui-ci de l'Espagnol, "celui-la du Teuton ou de l'Allemand? Mais les Latins ou les Allemands "de qui l'ont ils reçu? Ne femble-t-il pas que nos ayeux ne subsistoient que des emprunts, tandifque les autres peuples eftoient riches de leur propre fonds? Je ne puis fouffrir qu'on nous envoie mendier ailleurs, tan"difque nous l'avons chez nous."

Perhaps there was fomething of this jealoufy in Menage, when (not being able to agree with Sylvius, that CHEZ fhould be written Sus or Sur) hé afferts that "CHEZ vient de APUD d'où les Italiens ont fait APO, & les "Efpagnols CABE en prepofant comme nous un c.”

Mr. de Broffes however, fuperior to all little prejudices, fays" On voit "bien que CHEZ est une traduction de l' Italien CASA, & que quand on dit "CHEZ VOUS, c'est comme fi l'on difoit CASA VOI (MAISON de vous.) Et "encore ce dernier mot eft plutot dans notre langue une adverbe qu'une ་ particule; ainfi que beaucoup d'autres dont l'origine devient plus facile a "reconnoître. Mais quand ce font de pures Particules, il eft mal aisé de "retrouver la premiere cause de leur formation; qui fans doute a fouvent

" été

If the ingenious Abbé Girard had known what CHEZ really was, he would not have said (vrais principes, Disc. 11.) "CHEZ a pour fon partage particulier une idée d'habitation, "foit comme patrie, foit comme fimple demeure domesti"que." But he would have faid CHEZ is merely a corruption of CASA, and has all the fame meaning in French, which CASA has in Italian: and that is fomething more than patrie or demeure domestique; viz.-Race, Family, Nation, Sect, &c. [" Ancien patron de la CASE," fays M. de Buffy Rabutin in his Memoirs. Tom. 2. pag. 175.] Neither again would he have said—“ Il s'agit ici de la per

"été arbitraire & precipitée: comme je l'ai remarqué en parlant de petites "expreffions conjonctives, qui ne fervent qu'a former la liaison du difcours."

Formation mechanique des langues, Tom. II. Chap. 14. Art. 254.

The French Law Term Chezé, which has caused to that people so much litigation, and to their lawyers fo much controverfy (and which some of their authors would have written Chefné, because they fuppofed the land to have been formerly measured with a Chain; and others would have written choisé parce-que l'ainé choifit) is derived in like manner from CASA, and means no more than what we in English call the Home-ftead or Home-ftall, whofe extent is, of course, variable; but ought in reafon to go with the house,

If therefore the French Etymologifts thus ftumbled at CHEZE, it is no wonder they knew not what to make of CHEZ, whofe corruption had proceeded one step farther.

* S. Johnson (who was converfant with no languages, but English, Latin, and Greek) under the word AT, fays hardily, but not truly, that—" CHEZ " means fometimes application to, or dependance on."

5

"miffion

"mission que l'usage a accordée à quelques prepofitions "d'en regir d'autres en certaines occafions: c'eft, à dire, "de les fouffrir dans les complemens dont elles indiquent "le rapport; comme-Je viens DE CHEZ vous.” He would have seen through this grammatical mystery of one prepofition's governing another; and would have faid, that DE may be prefixed to the Subftantive CHEZ (id eft, CASA) in the fame manner as to any other fubftantive. For," Je. ❝ viens De CHEZ vous," is no other than-Je viens de CASA à vous: or (omitting the Segnacafo *) de CASA vous; or,

de CA vous †.

But

* That this omiffion of the Segnacafo is not a ftrained fuppofition of my own, we have the authority of Henri Eftiene (De la precell. du lang. Fran. p. 178.)

"Qui la maifon fon voifin ardoir voit,

"De la fienne douter fe doit..

"Et faut noter-la maison fon voifin-eftre dict. à la façon ancienne; lieu de dire-la maifon DE fon voifin."

So the Diction. della Crufca-" CASA.

; au

Nome dopo di cui vien lafciato

"talvolta dagli autori per proprietà di linguagio, l'Articolo e il fegnacafo.

"Sen' andarono a cafa i preftatori." Boccac.

+ Pourquoy fi fouvent de Diffylables font ils (les Italiens) des monofyllables; de casa, ca, &c.".

H. ESTIENE. De la precell.

Dicton, della Crufca." CA, accorciato da CASA."

So

But thus it is that when Grammar comes at length (for its application is always late) to be applied to a language; fome long preceding corruption causes a difficulty: ignorance of the corruption gives rife to fome ingenious system to account for these words which are confidered as original and not corrupted. Succeeding ingenuity and heaps of misplaced learning increase the difficulty, and make the error more obftinate, if not incurable.

B.

Do you acknowledge the prepofition to be an indeclinable word?

A

No.

H.

B.

Do you think it has a meaning of its own?

So Menage." Fermato l'ufo di quefto troncamento di ca per casa, "familiare a noftri antichi.-Sarae fimile all' uomo favio, il quale edifica la ca fua fopra la pietra. Vangel di San matteo volgare.-Vinegia, ne' quali paefi fi dice ca in vece di CASA." Silvano Rozzi. Many other instances are also given from Dante, Boccacio. Giovan Villani. Franco Sachetti, &c.

H. Yes

H.

Yes most certainly. And indeed, if prepofitions had no proper meaning of their own, why several unmeaning prepofitions *; when one alone must have answered the purpose equally? The cypher, which has no value of itself, and only ferves (if I may use the language of Grammarians) to connote and confignify, and to change the value of the figures, is not several and various, but uniformly one and the fame..

B.

I gueffed as much whilst you were talking of Conjunctions; and supposed that you intended to account for them both in the fame manner †.

H. You

Speaking of Prepofitions, Cour de Gebelin says, Gram. Univerf. page 238. "Mais comment des mots pareils qui femblent ne rien peindre, ne "rien dire, dont l'Origine eft inconnue, & qui ne tiennent en apparence a "aucune famille, peuvent ils amener l'harmonie & la clarté dans les · "tableaux de la parole & devenir fi neceffaires, que fans eux le langage " n'offriroit que des peintures imparfaites? Comment ces mots peuvent ils produire de fi grands effets & repandre dans le difcours tant de chaleur, "tant de fineffe ?"

In a Letter to Mr. Dunning, published in the year 1778, I afferted in a note (page 23), that-" There is not, nor is it poffible there fhould be, .

ર

" a word in any language, which has not a compleat meaning and fignifi"cation

Rr