THE PREFACE, THE English Language hath been much cultivated during the laft two hundred years. It hath been confiderably polished and refined; its bounds have been greatly enlarged; its energy, variety, richness, and elegance, have been abundantly proved, by numberless trials, in verfe and in profe, upon all fubjects, and in every kind of ftyle: but, whatever other improvements it may have received, it hath made no advances in Grammatical Accuracy. HOOKER is one of the earlieft writers, of confiderable note, within the period above-mentioned: let his writings be compared with a a the beft of thofe of more modern date; and, I believe, it will be found, that in correctnefs propriety, and purity of English ftyle, he hath hardly been furpaffed, or even equaled, by any of his fucceffors. It is now about fifty years, fince Doctor SWIFT made a public remonftrance, addreffed to the Earl of OXFORD, then Lord Treasurer, concerning the imperfect State of our Language; alledging in particular, that in many inftances it offended against every part of "Grammar. ", SWIFT muft be allowed to have been a good judge of this matter; to which he was himself very attentive, both in his own writings, and in his remarks upon those of his friends: he is one of the moft correct, and perhaps the beft, of our profe - writers. Indeed, the juftness of this complaint, as far as I can find, hath never been queftioned; and yet no effectual method hath hitherto been taken to redress the grievance, which was the object of it. But let us confider, how, and in what extent, we are to understand this charge brought against the English Language: for the Author feems not to have explained himself with fufficient clearness and precifion on this head. Does it mean, that the English Language, ast it is fpoken by the politeft part of the nation, and as it ftands in the writings of our moft approved authors, often offends against every part of Grammar? Thus far, I am afraid, the charge is true. Or does it further imply, that our Language is in its nature irregular and capricious; not hitherto fubject, nor eafily reducible, to a Syftem of rules? In this refpect, I am perfuaded, the charge is wholly without foundation." The English Language is perhaps of all the prefent European Languages by much the most fimple in its form and conftruction. Of all the antient Languages extant That is the most simple, which is undoubtedly the moft antient; but even that Language itself does not equal the English in fimplicity. The words of the English Language are perhaps fubject to fewer variations from their original form, than thofe of any other. Its Subftantives have but one variation of Cafe; nor have they any diftinction of Gender, befide that which nature hath made. Its Adjectives admit of no change at all, except that which expreffes the degrees of comparifon. All the poffible variations of the original form of the Verb are not above fix or feven; whereas in many Languages they amount to fome hundreds: and almoft the whole bufinefs of Modes, Times, and Voices, is managed with great ease by the affiftance of eight or nine commodious little Verbs, called from their ufe Auxiliaries. The Conftruction of this Language is fo eafy and obvious, that our Grammarians have thought it hardly worth while to give us any thing like a regular and fyftematical Syntax. : The English Grammar, which hath been laft prefented to the public, and by the Perfon beft qualified to have given us a perfect one, comprises the whole Syntax in ten lines for this reason; because our Language has fo little inflexion, that its construction neither re"quires nor admits many rules. In truth, the easier any subject is in its own nature, the harder is it to make it more easy by expla nation; and nothing is more unneceffary, and at the fame time commonly more difficult, than to give a formal demonftration of a propofition almoft felf-evident. It doth not then proceed from any peculiar irregularity or difficulty of our Language, that the general practice both of speaking and writing it is chargeable with inaccuracy. It is not the Language, but the Practice, that is in fault. The truth is, Grammar is very much. neglected among us: and it is not the difficulty of the Language, but on the contrary the |