CVII. Three things that are best kept closed: the mouth, the fist, and the thought.

CVIII. Three things that are best kept open: the ear, the eye, and the understanding.

CIX. There are three companions for a devil: pride, envy, and violence, (cupidity.)

cx. The three points of goodness: wisdom, fortitude, and love; and, where the three are not together, no good qualities can be expected.

POETICAL TRIADS.

1. The three primary requisites of poetical genius: an eye, that can see nature; a heart, that can feel nature; and a resolution, that dares follow nature*.

II. The three final intentions of poetry: increase of goodness, increase of understanding, and increase of delight.

III. The three properties of a just imagination: what may be, what ought to be, and what is seemly to be.

IV. The three indispensibilities of poetical language: purity, copiousness, and ease.

v. Three things, that ought to be well understood in poetry: the great, the little, and their correspondence.

VI. Three things to be avoided in poetry: the mean, the obscure, and the extravagant.

VII. Three things to be chiefly considered in poetical illustration: what shall be obviously seen, what shall be instantly admired, and what shall be eminently characteristic.

VIII. The three dignities of poetry: the true and wonderful united, the union of the beautiful and the wise, and the union of art and nature.

IX. The three advantages of poetry: the praise of goodness, the memory of what is remarkable, and the invigoration of the affections.

* It would be difficult,-perhaps impossible,-to define genius more correctly than it is here done. The celebrated definition of Dr. Johnson, who calls it "a mind of large general powers, accidentally determined to some particu“lar direction," is evidently inferior. And even Cicero, when he says, it is “ naturâ ipsû valere, et mentis viribus excitari, et quasi quodam divino spirítu "aflari," may be said rather to describe its effects, than to define its quali ties, as is done in this Triad-ED.

x. The three purities of poetry: pure truth, pure language, and pure conception.

XI. Three things that poetry should thoroughly be: thoroughly learned, thoroughly animated, thoroughly natural.

EXCERPTA.

As the paramount object of this Miscellany is to excite amongst strangers, as well as to foster at home, an attachment to the language, history, and literature of Wales, nothing, that can conduce to the attainment of that desirable end, ought to be omitted in the arrangement of the work. On this account, the conductor of the CAMBRO-BRITON has never failed to avail himself of such new suggestions, as have accidentally presented themselves, and in the adoption of which he has endeavoured, as far as his limited space would allow him, to study that variety, which is, perhaps, essential to the interest, and, consequently, to the success of a publication like this. Yet, in the prosecution of this plan he has, at the same time, thought it advisable, except in one or two instances, to class the particular subjects under certain general and appropriate heads,-an arrangement, which appeared to promise to his work a degree of order and uniformity in its exterior appearance, not incompatible with the diversity of its

contents.

It is upon the same general principle,-which it has been deemed necessary to take this opportunity of explaining,-that the head, prefixed to this article, has been adopted, and under which it is meant occasionally to select such detached essays or dissertations of merit, connected with the design of the CAMBROBRITON, as have already appeared in other works, and especially in those, that have been published periodically. But, it does not fall within this plan to make any selections from publications, exclusively devoted to Welsh subjects, but merely to unite in one work those scattered compositions, which, however interesting to the lovers of Welsh literature, are, for the most part, buried and forgotten amidst a mass of miscellaneous matter, more attractive to the general reader.

The following letter, which forms the commencement of this plan, will necessarily be prized for its own merit, and must acquire an additional value, when regarded as the production of the first Welsh scholar of the present day. The work, from which

it has been extracted, contains several other communications under the same signature, all of which (si fata sinant) it is in contemplation to transfer to these pages. And, with reference to the particular subject of the present letter, it is farther requisite to observe, that it may be considered, in some respects, as a continuation of the Essays on the Welsh Language, already begun in the CAMBRO-BRITON, and the more formal resumption of which is, in consequence, reserved for another number. As some similarity of meaning may appear between the general head COLLECTANEA, previously adopted, and that prefixed to this article, it should be remarked, that the former, as before mentioned, will contain such compositions only, as have never been published, while the latter will be confined, according to the foregoing explanation, to printed productions.

WELSH CONSONANTS-VERBS-NAMES OF THE DEITY. "To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine*."

“SIR,-In looking into the new edition of Chambers's Cyclopœdia, some time ago, I casually met with a remark upon a subject, which had relation to language, wherein the Welsh and Dutch were pointed out, as abounding more with consonants than most, if not all, of the European tongues. I well knew, that such a statement was proverbial as a vulgar prejudice; but I became a little angry at finding it had obtained a place in one of the first philosophical dictionaries of the present age, and, not being able to efface the impression from my mind, I had recourse to the finding of a tolerably exact arithmetical certainty, as to the fallacy of such an observation. The method, adopted as the most eligible, was to fix upon the mean number of vowels to a hundred consonants in different languages, and to exhibit the result in a table. As the conclusion, to be drawn from it, tends to establish a point, if not of importance, at least of some curiosity, you may be induced to give it insertion in your valuable repository.

"Proportion of vowels to one hundred consonants in different

"As the French and the English differ so considerably, in pronunciation, from what they appear in orthography, the following comparison shews the reduced number of the vowels.

"The English is very variable with respect to the proportion of vowels and consonants; that of the consonants is much greater in the Scriptural style than in elegant writing, and more especially that which is scientific, from its containing more words derived from the learned languages. In the Bible the compass of variation, in the number of vowels, is generally from about 68 to 50; but the medium may be settled at 56 to 100 consonants. In polished writing the medium number of vowels may be fixed at 56; and the mean between the two styles will be 61, the number inserted in the foregoing table. The compass of variation in the Greek is considerable. I have found 150 vowels to 100 consonants, and, frequently, as low as 86. The other languages are pretty close to the average number given in the table: the Welsh seldom deviates three vowels from the mean number.

"Having brought forward the above calculation in defence of the Welsh language, and, as it completely falsifies the popular opinion, I may be excused, if I should, in the moment of triumph, recount some other excellencies, which are to be found in it.

"The following enumeration will give some idea of its copiousness, with respect to the composition of words. It has seven * prefixes,-eleven terminations of verbs in the infinitive mood, -fifty-four terminations of nouns,-nineteen of adjectives,twenty-one plurals †, and nine diminutive terminations.

"This gives a total of compositive particles, greater than that of all the other languages in the above table, if they were put together. In the Welsh they are general in their application too, of which there is nothing similar in the others; but, what is more than all, they are real words, nouns or verbs, in their unconnected state; and such another example, I may venture to say, cannot be produced. The various inflections of verbs likewise, if separated from the verb they characterize, are still simple verbs,

* If this word be not an error of the press, it can only have been used in a limited acceptation, as the uumber of prefixes in the Welsh tongue is much greater. See CAMBRO-BRITON, No. 13. p. 2.-ED.

+ See CAMBRO-BRITON, NO. 13. p. 4.--ED.

describing the time and action, which was meant to be conferred on the verb, to which they might have been affixed.

"I have computed, that there are about 8000 simple verbs in the Welsh tongue, to each of which may be put twenty different prefixes, to give some particular characters of time or action. This encreases the number to 160,000; and these may be conjugated five various ways generally by inflection, as in the learned languages, or by auxiliaries as in the English; and this makes the real number of Welsh verbs, if there were occasion for so many, to amount to 800,000. The ancient bards had this amazing store before them to use at pleasure: therefore, those, who would understand their works, must also have it in view. I might proceed, by pointing out similar instances with regard to other kinds of words; but the subject shall be closed for the present with giving a list of our ancient names of the Deity, omitting such, as are connected with, or taken from, the Scriptures and the Christian Religion, which names we have in common with others, who call themselves Christians.

"Bardic Names of the Deity." "Arglwydd.. Supreme free will; the Lord.

Celit...

The Mystery-the One in Secret.

Culwydd...... The Centre of free will.

The Separate Being.

That comes or pervades.

The Renovator, the Former;-the Lord.
That exists, the Being;-God.

That proceeds existing.

The Powers of Harmony-the Creative Powers.
Harmony-Intelligence-Spiritual Intellect.
That pervades, or that is subtile.

The pervading or subtile One.

That is ever, or supreme; the Lord.

* Mr. Owen Pughe, in his Dictionary, states this word to be written according to the Silurian dialect. Arlwydd is another word for Lord, but in re ference to temporal dignities only -ED.

This epithet of the Supreme Being is, no doubt, derived from the Welsh Celu, to conceal, which is also, in all probability, the root of the Latin Cœlum, as observed on a former occasion. See Vol. i, p. 374.-ED.

This word is also used in Hebrew, in application to the Divine Essence. -ED.

§ For a similar use of this word, in the Hebrew tongue, sce the last Number of the CAMBRO-BRITON, p. 68, in the note.-ED.