of the present subject, will be explained in their order. I shall only at present observe that this beauty is the beauty of means fitted to an end, that of communicating thought; and hence it evidently appears, that of several expressions all conveying the same thought, the most beautiful, in the sense now mentioned, is that which in the most perfect manner answers its end.

The several beauties of language above mentioned, being of dif ferent kinds, ought to be handled separately. I shall begin with those beauties of language that arise from soun; after which will follow the beauties of language considered as significant; this order appears natural, for the sound of a word is attended to before we consider its signification. In a third section come those singular beauties of language that are derived from a resemblance betweer sound and signification. The beauties of verse are handled in the last section; for though the foregoing beauties are found in verse as well as in prose, yet verse has many peculiar beauties, which, for the sake of connection, must be brought under one view; and versification, at any rate, is a subject of so great importance as to deserve a place by itself.

SECTION I.

Beauty of Language with respect to Sound.

412. THIS subject requires the following order: The sounds of the different letters come first; next, these sounds as united in syllables; third, syllables united in words; fourth, words united in a period; and, in the last place, periods united in a discourse.

With respect to the first article, every vowel is sounded with a single expiration of air from the windpipe through the cavity of the mouth. By varying this cavity, the different vowels are sounded; for the air in passing through cavities differing in size, produceth various sounds, some high or sharp, some low or flat: a small cavity occasions a high sound, a large cavity a low sound. The five vowels accordingly, pronounced with the same extension of the windpipe, but with different openings of the mouth, form a regular series of sounds, descending from high to low, in the following order, i, e, a, o, u.* Each of these sounds is agreeable to the ear; and if it be required which of them is the most agreeable, it is perhaps safest to hold that those vowels which are the farthest removed from the ex

*In this scale of sounds, the letter i must be pronounced as in the word interest, and as in other words beginning with the syllable in; the letter e as in persuasion; the letter a as in bat; and the letter u as in number.

411. A superior beauty of language; apt to be confounded with what?-Remark o Demetrius Phalereus.-Beauty of language and of thought to be distinguished.—The sov eral boauties of language that are to be handled.

tremes will be the most relished. This is all I have to remark upon the first article: for consonants being letters that of themselves have no sound, serve only in conjunction with vowels to form articulate sounds; and as every articulate sound makes a syllable, consonants come naturally under the second article, to which we proceed.

A consonant is pronounced with a less cavity than any Vowel ; and consequently every syllable into which a consonant enters, must have more than one sound, though pronounced with one expiration of air, or with one breath, as commonly expressed; for however readily two sounds may unite, yet where they differ in tone, both of them must be heard if neither of them be suppressed. For the same reason, every syllable must be composed of as many sounds as there are letters, supposing every letter to be distinctly pronounced.

413. We next inquire how far syllables are agreeable to the ear. Few tongues are so polished as entirely to have rejected sounds that are pronounced with difficulty; and it is a noted observation, That such sounds are to the ear harsh and disagreeable. But with respect to agreeable sounds, it appears that a double sound is always more agreeable than a single sound: every one who has an ear must be sensible that the diphthong oi or ai is more agreeable than these vowels pronounced singly the same holds where a consonant enters into the double sound; the syllable le has a more agreeable sound than the vowel e, or than any other vowel.

any

of

Having discussed syllables, we proceed to words; which make the third article. Monosyllables belong to the former head; polysyllables open a different scene. In a cursory view, one would imagine, that the agreeableness or disagreeableness of a word with respect to its sound, should depend upon the agreeableness or disagreeableness of its component syllables, which is true in part, but not entirely; for we must also take under consideration the effect of syllables in succession. In the first place, syllables in immediate succession, pronounced each of them with the same or nearly the same aperture of the mouth, produce a succession of weak and feeble sounds; witness the French words dit-il, pathétique: on the other hand, a syllable of the greatest aperture succeeding one of the smallest, on the contrary, makes a succession which, because of its remarkable disagreeableness, is distinguished by a proper name, hiatus. The most agreeable succession is, where the cavity is increased and diminished alternately within moderate limits. Examples, alternative, longevity, pusillanimous. Secondly, words consisting wholly of syllables pronounced slow, or of syllables pronounced quick, commonly called long and short syllables, have little melody in them: witness the words petitioner, fruiterer, dizziness: on the other hand, the intermixture of long and short syllables is remarkably agreeable; for example, degree, repent, wonderful, altitude, rapidity, independent,

412. The order of the subject.-The vowel sounds. How pronounced. The consonant sound.

*

impetuosity. The cause will be explained afterwards, in treating of versification.

Distinguishable from the beauties above mentioned, there is a beauty of some words which arises from their signification: when the emotion raised by the length or shortness, the roughness or smoothness of the sound, resembles in any degree what is raised by the sense, we feel a very remarkable pleasure. But this subject belongs to the third section.

414. The foregoing observations afford a standard to every nation, for estimating, pretty accurately, the comparative merit of the words that enter into their own language; but they are not equally useful in comparing the words of different languages, which will thus appear. Different nations judge differently of the harshness or smoothness of articulate sounds; a sound, for example, harsh and disagreeable to an Italian, may be abundantly smooth to a northern ear; here every nation must judge for itself; nor can there be any solid ground for a preference, when there is no common standard to which we can appeal. The case is precisely the same as in behavior and manners; plain-dealing and sincerity, liberty in words and actions, form the character of one people; politeness, reserve and a total disguise of every sentiment that can give offence, form the character of another people: to each the manners of the other are disagreeable. An effeminate mind cannot bear the least of that roughness and severity which is generally esteemed manly, when exerted upon proper occasions; neither can an effeminate ear bear the harshness of certain words, that are deemed nervous and sounding by those accustomed to a rougher tone of speech. Must we then relinquish all thoughts of comparing languages in point of roughness and smoothness, as a fruitless inquiry? Not altogether; for we may proceed a certain length, though without hope of an ultimate decision. A language pronounced with difficulty even by natives, must yield to a smoother language; and supposing two languages pronounced with equal facility by natives, the rougher language, in my judgment, ought to be preferred, provided it be also stored with a competent share of more mellow sounds, which will be evident from attending to the different effects that articulate sound hath on the mind. A smooth gliding sound is agreeable, by calming the mind and lulling it to rest: a rough, bold sound, on the contrary, animates the mind; the effect perceived in pronouncing, is communicated to the hearers, who feel in their own minds a simi

*Italian words, like those of Latin and Greek, have this property almost universally English and French words are generally deficient. In the former, the long syllable is removed from the end, as far as the sound will permit; and in the latter, the last syllable is generally long. For example, Senator, in English; Senator, in Latin; and Senateur in French.

413. How far syllables are agrecable to the ear.-The agreeableness of words not dependent on that of the component syllables.-Effect of syllables in succession.-Various kinds of Duccessions.

lar effort, rousing their attention, and disposing them to action. I add another consideration: the agreeableness of contrast in the rougher language, for which the great variety of sounds gives ample opportunity, must, even in an effeminate ear, prevail over the more uniform sounds of the smoother language.* This appears all that can be safely determined upon the present point.

That the English tongue, originally harsh, is at present much softened by dropping in the pronunciation many redundant consonants, is undoubtedly true: that it is not capable of being further mellowed without suffering in its force and energy, will scarce be thought by any one who possesses an ear; and yet such in Britain is the propensity for dispatch, that overlooking the majesty of words composed of many syllables aptly connected, the prevailing taste is to shorten words, even at the expense of making them disagreeable to the ear, and harsh in the pronunciation.

["There is little reason to doubt that the guttural sounds formerly made a part of the most approved pronunciation of English. The analogy, in this respect, of the German, Swedish, Danish, and Saxon, the prevalence of these sounds in some of the provinces of England, and their general use in the Lowland part of Scotland, which certainly derived its language from England, concur to support this opinion. The expulsion of the guttural sounds from the polite pronunciation of English, whilst they are retained in all the other tongues of Saxon original, cannot be accounted for so plausibly as from the superior refinement of the English ear, to that of the other nations who employ languages descended from the same source.— Barron's Lect. vol. i. p. 35."]

415. The article next in order, is the music of words as united in a period. We may assume as a maxim, which will hold in the composition of language as well as of other subjects, That a strong impulse succeeding a weak, makes double impression on the mind: and that a weak impulse succeeding a strong, makes scarce any impression.

After establishing this maxim, we can be at no loss about its application to the subject in hand. The following rule is laid down by Diomedes. "In verbis observandum est, ne a majoribus ad minora descendat oratio; melius enim dicitur, Vir est optimus, quam Vir optimus est." This rule is also applicable to entire members of a period, which, according to our author's expression, ought not, more than single words, to proceed from the greater to the less, but from the less to the greater. In arranging the members of a period,

*That the Italian tongue is too smooth, seems probable, from considering that in versification, vowels are frequently suppressed, in order to produce à rougher and bolder tone.

414. A national standard for comparative merit of words that compose a languageAdvantage of smooth sounds; of rough sounds.-The Engish language less rough than formerly.

no writer equals Cicero: the beauty of the following examples, out of many, will not suffer me to slur them over by a reference:

Again:

Again:

Quicum quæstor fueram,

Quicum ine sors consuetudoque majorum,

Quicum me deorum hominumque judicium conjunxerat.

Habet honorem quem petimus,

Habet spem quam præpositam nobis habemus,

Habet existimationem, multo sudore, labore, vigiliisque, collectam.

Eripite nos ex miseriis,

Eripite nos ex faucibus eorum,

Quorum crudelitas nostro sanguine non potest expleri.

De Oratore, 1. i. sect. 52.

This order of words or members gradually increasing in length, may, as far as concerns the pleasure of sound, be denominated a climax in sound.

416. The last article is the music of periods as united in a discourse; which shall be dispatched in a very few words. By no other human means is it possible to present to the mind such a number of objects, and in so swift a succession, as by speaking or writing; and for that reason, variety ought more to be studied in these, than in any other sort of composition. Hence a rule for arranging the members of different periods with relation to each other, That to avoid a tedious uniformity of sound and cadence, the arrangement, the cadence, and the length of the members, ought to be diversified as much as possible: and if the members of different periods be sufficiently diversified, the periods themselves will be equally so.

SECTION II.

Beauty of Language with respect to Signification.

417. Ir is well said by a noted writer (Scott's Christian Life), "That by means of speech we can divert our sorrows, mingle our mirth, impart our secrets, communicate our counsels, and make mutual compacts and agreements to supply and assist each other." Considering speech as contributing to so many good purposes, words that convey clear and distinct ideas, must be one of its capital beauties.

In every period, two things are to be regarded: first, the words of which it is composed; next the arrangement of these words: the former resembling the stones that compose a building, and the latter resembling the order in which they are placed. Hence the beauties of language, with respect to signification, may not improperly be

415. Music of words in a period.-Maxim concerning strong or weak impulses succeedIng each other.-Arrangement of the members of a period.-Climax in sound. 416. Rule for arranging members of different periods in discourse.