certain fymbols, which were inade to represent certain invifible objects, to which, in fome particulars, fuch fymbols were fuppofed to bear fome refemblance. An eye was the symbol of knowledge; a circle, of eternity, as having neither beginning nor end. The figures of animals were also much employed in this kind of writing, on account of some quality with which they were fuppofed to be endowed, and in which they refembled the object fignified. Thus, imprudence was represented by a fly; wifdom by an ant; and victory by a hawk. Thefe hieroglyphics flourished moft in ancient Egypt (as did all other learning at that time), where the knowledge of these characters was reduced into a regular art: and many fpecimens of them are still extant in relics of Egyptian antiquities. Hieroglyphics, though an improvement upon the former mode of writing, was a very imperfect one, and often confused and perplexed its most skilful professors.

In a few fucceeding ages, hieroglyphics gave place to fimple arbitrary marks, which were introduced to represent objects, without having the leaft refemblance or affinity to the objects reprefented. The Chinese ftill ufe characters of this nature they have no alphabet of letters, but every fingle mark or character fignifies one perfect idea or object. The number of these characters are therefore great :—near feventy thousand. To be perfectly acquainted with them, conftitutes the business of a whole life; which must be an infurmountable obstacle to the improvement of science. Our common figures, 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. afford us an example of this fort of writing; where each figure or character conveys the idea of the number for which it stands as clearly and intelligibly as the words themselves, ofte, two, three, &c., But when marks or characters come to be used for all our ideas, in exclusion to an alphabet of letters, they then, from their number, become inconvenient, al no. Jesa

The next improvement in the art of writing was by the invention of figns of marks, which flood, not directly for the objects themfelves, but for the words or names whereby

they

they were distinguished. This was an alphabet of fyllables. An alphabet of this kind is ftill in ufe in Ethiopia, and fome countries of India.

But the noble and fublime difcovery of an alphabet of letters fuperfeded every other improvement in this art. Who was the first in this invention is uncertain. An alphabet of letters was, however, brought into Greece by Cadmus, the Phonician, who was contemporary with king David. This alphabet confifted of only fixteen letters: the reft were added afterwards, as figns for proper founds were found to be wanting. The Phoenician, Hebrew, Greek, and Roman alphabets are so much alike in the figures and names of the letters, as plainly to evince they were originally derived from the fame.

By the use of the alphabet, we are now, therefore, enabled to exprefs our ideas with the fame clearness and precision, as in converfation.

The English alphabet confifts of twenty-fix letters: A, a; B, b; C, c; D, d; E, e; F, f; G, g; H, h; I, i; J, J; K, k; L, l; M, m; N, n; O, o; P, p; Q, q; R, r; S, f, s; T, t; U, u; V, v; W, w; X, x; Y, y; Z, z; and is divided into vowels and confonants, mutes and semi-vowels.

The names of the twenty-fix letters are as follow: a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, ja, ka, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, efs, tee, u, vee, double u, ex, y, zad.

The vowels are fix in number, viz. a, e, i, o, u, y; all the reft are confonants.

The mutes are thofe letters which are begun, when they are fpelled, by a confonant: as, b, bee; c, cee; d, dee, &c.; those which are begun with a vowel are called femi-vowels: as, l, el; m, em ; n, en ; r, ar ; s, ess, &c. ; l, m, n, r, are also called liquids.

When two vowels meet together, they are called a diphthong: of these there are thirteen, viz. ai, ei, oi, ui, ax, eu, ou, ec, 00, ea, eo, oa, and ie.

When three vowels meet, they are called a triphthong: as in the word beauty.

With regard to the found of thefe double vowels, there are no rules, that can be given, which will hold good in all cafes, as words are founded according to the caprice or affectation of the age, or the fpeakers: a knowledge of them muft, therefore, be acquired by experience and obfervation.

And concerning the found of fingle letters, the following rules are all that can fafely be depended upon.

C is pronounced hard like k, before a, o, u ; and soft like s, before e, i, and y',

G is also founded hard before a, o, u; fometimes hard, and fometimes foft, before i andy; and generally foft before e.

E is moftly filent at the end of a word; but in that case it lengthens the foregoing vowel; as, bid, hide; and that fometimes in the middle of a word; as ungrateful. But fometimes it only foftens a preceding g, as in lodge, judge."

His only an afpiration of the breath, and sometimes at the beginning of a word is not founded at all: as, an hour, an koneft man.

00

W is either a vowel or a diphthong; its proper found is the fame as in the Italian, ou in the French, or oo in the English. Sometimes it is not founded at all after o, fometimes like au. X is a double confonant, compofed of a hard c or k, and s; and at the beginning of a word moftly founded like x.

Y has exactly the fame found as i; and is only a fubftitute for it at the end of a word, or before i; as, cry, flying. It is a perfect vowel; and when used as a confonant at the beginning of a word, it answers to the ancient Saxon i; as, yew, 'iw'; young, "iong.'

Z is a double confonant; it founds as much coarser and thicker than s, as v does than ƒ.

Jand, though confounded by fome old writers with i and, are entirely different letters; the former having the found of a foft g, and the latter that of a coarfer f. The former is called ja, and the latter vee.

SECT.

SECT. II.

OF SYLLABLES.

A SYLLABLE is a conftituent part of a word, or a whole word; it confifts of one or more letters, and is formed by a fingle impulfe of the voice."

Spelling is the art of rightly naming the letters fingly that conflitute a word, and dividing them into fyllables.

The art of fpelling perfectly is not to be acquired (particularly in the English) but by practice: but a few rules for the dividing of fyllables may poffibly be of fervice.

1. A fyllable in the beginning, or middle, of a word ends in a vowel, except fuch vowel be followed by x, or two or 'more confonants: as in re-li-gi-on.

2. When two or more confonants follow a vowel, which is pronounced thort, they must be feparated; and one, at leaft, 'always belongs to the preceding fyllable: as in ab-fi-nence.

3. When two or more confonants follow a vowel, which is pronounced long, they fometimes belong to the following Tyllable: as, di-grefs.

4. A particle, though placed immediately before a vowel, is feldom divided: as, un-e-qual.

5. A mute with a liquid following are feldom divided; but a liquid or a mute, with a mute following, are moftly divided. 6. When le or re follow a mute they are never divided. These are the fundamental rules for the dividing of fyllables: but fome grammarians recommend them to be divided as they are founded in a juft pronunciation.

SECT. III.

OF THE NINE PARTS OF SPEECH.

WHEN mankind had arrived at fome perfection in the art of writing, they foon discovered the propriety of reducing

T. I

5

language

language into different forms of words; or, as they are commonly called, parts of fpeech.

In English we have nine forms of words, or parts of fpeech. 1. The ARTICLE-placed before nouns to help to determine their fignification: as, a man, the man.

2. The SUBSTANTIVE, or noun--which is the name of any object whatever, of which we have any idea: as, a man, a horfe, a fpirit, grief, love.

3. The PRONOUN-ufed as a fubftitute for the noun: as, he, she, it,

4. The ADJECTIVE-added to the noun to denote its quality as, an honeft man, a white horse, an evil spirit.

:

5. The VERB-which fignifies a state of existence, acting, or fuffering: as, "the centinels flept, the enemy entered, and the fort was taken.”

6. The ADVERB-ufed to qualify or enforce the meaning of other words. It is added fometimes to a verb: as, he reads well. Sometimes to an adjective: as, "an exceeding high mountain." Sometimes to another adverb: as, " moft divinely fair."

7. The PREPOSITION-placed between words to connect them together: as, "the path to fame lies through the road to danger."

8. The CONJUNCTION-ufed to connect fentences, as prepofitions connect words: as, "fear God and honour the King." 9. The INTERJECTION-ufed to exprefs the furprise or affection of the fpeaker: as, O! alas!

Thefe are the nine parts of fpeech in the English tongue s every word in which is reducible to one of thefe parts.

The ARTICLE is placed before fubftantives to fhew how far their fignification extends.

There are in English only two articles; a and the. A is called the indefinite, and the the definite article.

The indefinite article a is changed into an when the next word begins with a vowel, or a filent h before the vowel; except fuch vowel be y or w. This article, as its name imports, is ufed in an indefinite and undetermined fenfe: as, a

man,