T79*' grammatical diiqvisitiont. 31 1 



rams well adapted for propagating fine wool, and some 

 *wes, which, covered two years hence by Don, wili 

 give me a yet nearer approximation. A. Y. 



GRAMMATICAL DISQUISITIONS. 

 Continued from p. 245. 

 On the supposed Engl'ijh genitive case. 

 Language, in whatever way the idea of it was first 

 communicated to man, has evidently been modelled 

 by him, so as to suit his circumstances. Necefsity 

 has often whetted his invention, and given rise to 

 new words, as new ideas dawned upon the mind ; in 

 the choice cf which words, chance, rather than philo- 

 sophical principles, has influenced him. In all situa- 

 tions he must have felt a great want pf words, which 

 might be employed as names to distinguilli the vari- 

 ous objects of perception, for the want of which he 

 would be forced to adopt many contrivances to afsist 

 him in conversation. To develope all these contri- 

 vances would afford matter of curious speculation; 

 but this is beside our present purpose. 



Particular words, appropriated as the name ot ge- 

 neral clafses ef objects, would be adopted at an eariy 

 period : and we find such terms in all languages that 

 have hitherto been discovered. Such as animal, ve- 

 getable, 8tc. 



Names also, at an early period, would be afsigned 

 to the greater subdivisions of these clafses, as ?nan, 

 horse, tree, plant, 81.C. 



Individuals also, among such of those clafses as 

 ■were most under the eye of man, would obtain parti- 



