352 An Examination of Dr PARR'S Observations 



In HORACE, Sat. i. v. 59. it conveys the idea of " muddiness" 



" At qui tantulo eget, quanto est opus, is neque limo 

 Turbatam haurit aquam." 



But suppose it even did convey the idea of " obstructing," 

 should we thence infer that sublimis was employed to denote 

 " raised" above the " obstructing cause ;" and hence, as a conse- 

 quence, the notion of " soaring indefinitely ?" In tracing the 

 gradual and successive transitions in the meaning of words, every 

 link in the chain of the different relations should be distinctly 

 traced, otherwise, if we supply them by the mere effort of ima- 

 gination, we may rest assured there is something wrong in the 

 process. For every effect there must be an adequate cause ; 

 and the mind must have some object in its view to carry it from 

 the " obstructing clay" to the regions above. Has Dr PARR 

 mentioned a single instance of any object, remarkable by its fi- 

 gure, magnitude, or any extraordinary property, emerging from 

 tenacious clay, soaring to the regions of infinity, and drawing the 

 astonished gaze of the world to witness its sublime ascent ? or, 

 have any of the writers, who have attempted to explain the na- 

 ture of the sublime, produced an example that could in any 

 shape lend the least colour to his theory ? Not one. Nature 

 exhibits nothing of the kind ; and as the application of the terms 

 of language is chiefly borrowed from the appearance of natural 

 objects, we may thence conclude, that the Doctor's theory is fan- 

 ciful and unsatisfactory. 



Dr PARR'S main argument, however, rests upon the meaning 

 he supposes the preposition sub conveys of elevation, when com- 

 pounded with another word ; for, " when standing alone," he al- 

 lows, it never has the sense of " up." " An objector," he re- 

 marks," might start up and say, How is u that, in the Latin 

 language, sub means " under," and " above" or " up ?" I admit 

 the fact (says he), but contend that the same letters, with the same 



