3 79^' grammatical disquisitiotts. *4 < 



discufsion. All that can be with propriety attempt-: 

 ed, is to select a few cases hy way of illustration, 

 that may serve as exercises for those who wifli to 

 acquire definite ideas on this interesting subjects 



Of nouns. 

 The names of the different objects of perception^, 

 form nearly half the words of every language ; and, 

 as nearly the same objects occur in all nations, words 

 denoting the most common objects in nature are 

 found in almost all languages, A man, a tree, a 

 rock, water, earth, fire, and so on, are known every 

 where, and have in every language an appropriated 

 name. These names, therefore, must constitute a ra- 

 dical part of universal grammar. Wherever grammar 

 has been attended to at all, this clafs of words has 

 been discriminated, and a name has been appropria- 

 ted in all civilized nations to denote them. The La- 

 tins, with much propriety, distinguifhed this clafs of 

 words by simply calling them names ; so that the 

 very word itself serves instead of a difinit'on : in 

 Englifli we call the same clafs of words nouns, a 

 word which, till it be particularly explained, conveys 

 no idea at all to a mere Englifh scholar. Here, at 

 the very threfliold of our enquiry, we meet with a ma- 

 terial difference in the two languages. 



The Latins, however, included more under that 

 title than with propriety belonged to it. They in- 

 cluded not only the objects themselves, but the qua- 

 lities also which might be accidentally combiiied with 

 these objects. They, therefore, divided this clafs 

 of words into two parts ; the first they called names 



VOL. X. H H f 



