423 Obfcurity of the Word ' To ContraSi' in Murray's Grammar. [Dec. f, 



females who few very fine work, generally 

 acquire fliort light ; and, on the contrary, 

 thofe whofe ulual employment precludes 

 the puflibility of having the eye near the 

 ufual object of contemplation, become 

 long-fighted. 



It feems very evidejit that Mr. Bald- 

 win's idea is juft, tor the t'olluwing rea- 

 fou«. 



When a glafs of a flight concavity is 

 firft applied to a long fightcd perfon, or to 

 one who has been accuftomed to wear con- 

 vex glafles, the eye, wliich pofTefTes the 

 wonderful property "f adapting itlclf to 

 various diftances, and an intinitt variety of 

 circumftances, inllantly braces up, and by 

 its effort to fee clearly becomes more con- 

 vex ; and by perfevcrirg in ihe ufe of thefe 

 glaflts, the miifcley f this organ pr-'bahly 

 acquire the habi" of retainuig the convex- 

 ity thus obtained ; which may ftiil be in- 

 crtafed by the gradual aiopiion of deeper 

 concaves. 



If this reafoning is true, there can be 

 little doubt but that the application of 

 convex glafles to fhort-fighted perfons in 

 the e:uly ftages of that defe6l might alfo 

 be produftive of good efFcfts. 



Though I am vvell aware that the confi- 

 tlerati^n of this I'ubjeft lequiies moie in- 

 veftigation than I cao bellow upon it, yet 

 J could not, in ju!(ice to the ingemoiis 

 Mr. B.ildwm, refrain from prefer! ing his 

 clann lo adifcovery wi^ich prcmifes to be 

 no mean addition to our prcleiit (late of 

 information on (b very inttrefting a fub- 

 jeft. 



In hope, Sir, that fome perfon compe- 

 tent to the taflc will invcftigate this fui)- 

 jcft as tiioroiighly as its importance dt- 

 ferves, I remain, Sir, tec. 



Egkrton Smith. 

 Liverpool, iT-tb Nov., iSoj. 



To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



IN the following fentence from Murray 

 on Strength, "page. ?.65, Sen edition, 

 tiiere is an obicurlty, -.(lirmg; liom an im- 

 proper ufe of the verb to contta,n, a word 

 which do?s not in this pbce convey the 

 ideavvhich the author intencs: — "Though 

 it promote^ the- liicn;;th of a fenttnce lo 

 cor,trad a round-ab, ur me' hod ot expief- 

 hon " It is tr.ie, with a little confidiira- 

 tion, ard by c.mpaiinp; is cunneilion with 

 wbst follows, any perlon r.cquamled with 

 the fui-ijeil tn^y difcover the author's 

 meanir.g, but not wifinut fearcnidg tor it; 

 snd they who are to karn what does pro- 

 ni-te iQc llrcngth of a fentence, aie here 



In danger of drawing a wrong condufion. 

 Thr' padage proceeds thus : — "And lo lop 

 iff excrelcences, yet we (hovjld avoid the 

 extreme of pruning too cloicly : fbme 

 leaves fhould be left to ftielter and furround 

 the fruit." And it is with fome difficulty 

 that v»e trace its frgnificariun even in this 

 connection. The m ft general accepta ion 

 of theveib to which We allude is, 'to 

 acquire a habit ;' and is pofiticn in the 

 above palTage kerns on peiufal to convey 

 no other fcnfe. Thus this author, Ahom 

 we might almoft term infallibly correft, 

 by the improper choice of one word ^p- 

 pens to fay ihat " To acquire the hjbit 

 of a rotmd-aboiit method of exprtfllon 

 promotes the firength of a fentence," 

 whereas he intends a meaning the very re- 

 vcrfe. 



In another acceptation of (he verb we 

 may lay, ' To contiaft adilcourfe ;' ' To 

 contrai^f the rules of lynjax ;' and the idea 

 of abridging them immediaiely occurs to 

 the mind. Again, ' To contracf viciott* 

 habits }' < To contrafl errors of any kind," 

 explain their own niea.iing. But, ' To 

 contrafl a round-about method of expref- 

 fion' ii not equally cleT ; and which, be- 

 fidcs being liatile to a falfe court nnS ion, is 

 a great impropriety, whcie words fully 

 expieflTive of the real fenfe might have been 

 fekaed. 



The fubjeft of perfpicuity is not one of 

 the fsmiliar kind where a lefs degree of 

 precilion is reqyifite ; and if precifioii, if 

 perfpicuity in writing, be requifite, it 

 muli be more particularly fo in thofe 

 works where the lubjeif itlclf is treated 

 cf, and the rules itlating to it laid down, 

 the fiudcnt is otherwife in danger of con- 

 tracElirg nn error which it is impoitant he 

 fliould avoid. 



In the following psfiageon Perfpicuity, 

 page 14.1, there appears a violation of the 

 ziA rule. Speaking of the introduStiort 

 of L^tin wordi into our compofuion, the 

 author obferves, " In general, a plain, na- 

 tive ftyle is ni t rnly more intelligible to 

 all readers, bv.t by a proper manageuunt 

 of words it can bt- m^de fq lally ftrong ai^d 

 exprefTive with tiis Latinized EngHih, or 

 any foreign idioms." — It fhoukl be, " Is 

 not only rooie ii.trlliglble to all readers 

 thin this Lat/nizcd E'-glifh, or any foreign 

 idioms, but by a pioper management it 

 can ^e made equally ftrong and expref- 

 five." 



In thefe retp^^rks, Mr. Editor, yon, as 

 well as the author, 'viU acquit me of any 

 view but that of utility. It is imp'.rtant 

 that a work which has obtained (b diftin- 

 guiflied an eminence in the department of 

 educatton> 



