58 of the Swedish Academy. 'fun. II. 



poseg of life, to equal any that ever existed. E- 

 very attempt to improve it ought, therefore, to be 



received with indulgence. 



In this point of view, the public has been in- 

 debted to Dr Johnson for what he has done in his 

 dictionary ; and although, that work frequently 

 misleads instead of ixiforming the reader, yet this 

 instead of bringing obloquy on the person who did 

 his best to serve the public, ought only to stimulate 

 others to correct those errors, and supply those de- 

 fects which escaped him. If every individual, in- 

 stead of acquiescing implicitly in these errors, 

 would candidly do this, we might hope In time to 

 derive great advantages from tlie joint attention of 

 the republic of letters ; but, so long as men of abi- 

 lities fliall voluntarily fliut their eyes, and discou- 

 rage their inferiors from exercising the powers of 

 their understanding on this subject, errors must 

 continue to multiply. Much Is to be expected 

 from the labours of Mr Croft, whose promised dic- 

 tionary of the Englifh language the public has 

 reason to expect with impatience. Yet even this 

 dictionary, being the work of an individual only, 

 must be deficient in many respects ; and after It 

 appears. It can only be corrected by having the ge- 

 neral attention of men of letters turned to this sub- 

 ject. To forward this object, we Ihall be well 

 pleased to Insert from time to time, a few specula- 

 tions on language in this miscellany. 



It Is many years since a standard dictionary for the 

 Italian langiiLge was jufclifljcd by the CACidcniia Bel- 

 la Crusca. A splendid dictionary of the Spanifh ~ 

 language lias been publifhed by the royal academy 



