J2 Mr. Br and' j Obfervatkns on the Latin Terms 



Secondly, What I have to fay about derivatives not ufed in 

 Latin writers, will be contained in a fhort comment on a paffage in 

 the Academic Queftions of Cicero, where he afferts the rights and 

 privileges of thofe who treat on philofophical fubjecrs in a language 

 not yet enriched with proper terms, and exemplifies his principles 

 in the formation of a new derivative, an authority from which I 

 apprehend no appeal will be made. The tranflation of this paffage 

 is as follows. The original is placed at the end of this article *. 



Varro. * You will allow me the fame liberty which has always 



* been affumed by the Greeks, who have long purfued thefe re- 



* fearches ; that to imufual fubjects I may apply terms which never have 

 ' been in ufe. 



Aniens, * Certainly : but if our Latin language will not fur- 



* nifh them, you may have recourfe to the Greek, 



Varro. ' I am obliged to you ; but I will endeavour to exprefs 



* myfelf in Latin, confining myfelf to fuch terms of Greek deriva- 



* tion as are already naturalized among us, as philofophy, rhetoric, 

 6 phyfics, dialectics. I have therefore formed the new term ^ualitas, 



* to exprefs the fenfe of the Greek word YIqiqtm ; which even among 



* them is not a word of common ufe, but confined to the philofo- 



* pliers. In like manner, none of the terms of the logicians are 

 c found in the popular language ; and the fame is true of the terms 

 ■ of almoft all the arts : to new things new names muft be given, or 

 1 thofe of others transferred to them. If the Greeks take this liberty, 

 ' who have cultivated the fciences for ages, how much fir anger is the 



* reafon it fiould be granted to us, in our firfi attempt to treat upon them ! 



Cicero. ' It feems to me, that you will do a woik of utility to the 

 4 public, if you not only increafe the flock of our ideas, which you have aU 



* ready done, but alfo that of our words, 



Varro, 



