で

The Adverbs, moft, often, are added to the adjective excellent, and to the verb pervert, to show the circumftance belonging to them; namely, that of the highest degree to the former, and that of frequency to the latter concerning the degree of which frequency also a question is made, by the adverb how added to the adverb often.

The Prepofitions of, to, on, by, far, placed before the fubftantives and pronouns, speech, man, him, &c. connect them with other words, fubftantives, adjectives, and verbs, as, power, peculiar, bestowed, &c. and fhow the relation which they have to thofe words; as the relation of fubject, object, agent, end; for denoting the end, by the agent, on the object; to and of denote poffeffion, or the belonging of one thing to another,

The Conjunctions and, and but, connect the three parts of the fentence together; the first more closely, both with regard to the fentence and the fenfe; the fecond connecting the parts of the fentence, though less ftrictly, and at the fame time expreffing an oppofition in the fenfe.

The Interjection alas expreffes the concer and regret of the fpeaker; and though thrown in with propriety, yet might have been omitted, without injuring the conftruction of the fentence, or deftroying the fenfe.

ARTICLE.

THE ARTICLE is a word prefixed to fubftan

tives, to point them out, and to fhow how far their fignification extends.

In English there are but two articles, a, and, the: a becomes an before a vowel, y and w (1) excepted; and before a filent h preceding a vowel.

A is used in a vague fenfe to point out one fingle thing of the kind, in other refpects indeterminate the determines what particular thing is meaned.

(1) The pronunciation of y, or w, as part of a diphthong at the beginning of a word, requires fuch an effort in the conformation of the parts of the mouth, as does not easily admit of the article an before them. In other cafes the artiele an in a manner coalefces with the vowel which it precedes in this, the effort of pronunciation feparates the article, and prevents the disagreeable confequence of a senfible hiatus.

A fubftantive, without any article to limit it, is taken in its wideft fenfe: thus man means all mankind; as,

The proper ftudy of mankind is man.,,

Pope. Where mankind and man may change places, without making any alteration in the fenfe. A man means fome one or other of that kind, indefinitely; the man means, definitely, that particular man, who is spoken of: the former therefore is called the Indefinite, the latter the Definite, Article (1).

Aas

(1) " And I perfecuted this way unto the death.” xxii. 4. The Apofle does not mean any particular fort of death, but death in general : the Definite Article there. fore is improperly used. It ought to be unto death, without any Article : agreeably to the Original. See also 2

Chron. xxxii. 24.

« When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." John xvi. 13. That is, according to this translation, into all Truth whatfoever, into Truth of all kinds : very different from the meaning of the Evangelift, and from the Original, into all the Truth; that is, into all Evangelical Truth.

Truly this was the Son of God." Matt. xxvii. 54. and Mark, xv. 39. This tranflation fuppofes, that the Roman Centurion had a proper and adequate notion of the cha rader of Jefus, as the Son of God in a peculiar and in

Example: Man was made for society, and ought to extend his good will to all men: but a man will naturally entertain a more particular kindness for the men, with whom he has the most

66

communicable fenfe: whereas, it is probable, both from the circumftances of the Hiftory, and from the expreffion of the Original, (a Son of God, or, of a God, not the Son,) that he only meaned to acknowledge him to be an extraordinary person, and more than a mere man; according to his own notion of Sons of Gods in the Pagan Theology. This is alfo more agreeable to St. Luke's account of the fame confeffion of the Centurion : Certainly this was The fame may be a righteous man; not, the Juft One. obferved of Nebuchadnezzar's words, Dan. iii, 25. " And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God:" it ought to be expreffed by the Indefinite Article, like a Son of that is, God; as Theodotion very properly renders it : like an Angel; according to Nebuchadnezzar's own account of it in the 28th verse : Bleffed be God, who hath sent his Angel, and delivered his fervants. ›› See alfo Luke,

xix. 9.

"Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?' Pope. It ought to be, the wheel; ufed as an inftrument for the particular purpose of tortuting Criminals as Shakspeare ; Let them pull all about mine ears; prefent me Death on the wheel, or at wild horfes heels. "God Almighty hath given reason to light unto him. » Hobbes, Elements of Law, Part I. Chap. v. 12. It should rather be, to man," in general, These remarks may ferve to show the great importance

a man to be a

frequent intercourfe; and enter into a ftill clofer union with the man, whofe temper and difpo fition fuit beft with his own."

It is of the nature of both the articles to determine or limit the thing spoken of: a determines it to be one fingle thing of the kind, leaving it fill uncertain which; the determines which it is, or, of many, which they are. The firft therefore can only be joined to Subftantives in the fingular number (1); the laft may alfo be joined to plurals.

the

There is a remarkable exception to this rule in the use of the Adjectives few and many, ( latter chiefly with the word great before it,)

of the proper use of the Article; the near affinity there is between the Greek Article and the English Definite Article; and the excellence of the English Language in this resped, which by means of its two Articles does moft precisely determine the extent of fignification of Common Names: whereas the Greek has only one Article, and it has puzzled all the Grammarians to reduce the use of that to any clear and certain rules.

" I

(1) A good character fhould not be refted in as an end, but employed as a means of doing ftill further good. Atterbury, Serm. II. 3. Ought it not to be a mean? have read an author of this tafte, that compares a ragged Addison, Dial. I. on Medals.

coin to a tattered colors.

which,