ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 253 



grammar from a simple literary one, and to set it down as 

 deficient. 19 



All the accidence of words as sound, measure, accent 

 likewise belong to grammar; but the primary elements of 

 simple letters, or the inquiry with what percussion of the 

 tongue, opening of the mouth, motion of the lips, and use 

 of the throat, the sound of each letter is produced, has no 

 relation to grammar, but is a part of the doctrine of sounds, 

 to be treated under sense and sensible objects. 18 The gram 

 matical sound we speak of regards only sweetness and harsh 

 ness. Some harsh and sweet sounds are general; for there 

 is no language but in some degree avoids the chasms of con 

 curring vowels or the roughness of concurring consonants. 

 There are others particular or respective, and pleasing or 

 displeasing to the ears of different nations. The Greek lan 

 guage abounds in diphthongs, which the Roman uses much 

 more sparingly, and so of the rest. The Spanish tongue 

 avoids letters of a shrill sound, and changes them into let 

 ters of a middle tone. The languages of the Teutonic stock 

 delight in aspirates, and numerous others which we have 

 not space to cite. 



But the measure of words has produced a large body of 

 art; viz., poetry, considered not with regard to its matter, 

 which was considered above, but its style and the struct 

 ure of words; that is, versification; which, though held as 

 trivial, is honored with great and numerous examples. Nor 

 should this art, which the grammarians call prosodia, be 

 confined only to teaching the kinds of verse and measure; 

 but precepts also should be added, as to what kind of verse 



12 Considerable pains have been bestowed upon this subject by various 

 authors; an account whereof is given by Morhof in his &quot;Polyhistor. &quot; See 

 torn. i. lib. iv. cap. 3, 4, 5; or more particularly, Abraham Mylii &quot;De Linguae 

 Belgicse cum aliis Linguis Communitate&quot; ; Henrici Schsevii &quot;Dissertationes Phi- 

 lologicse de Origine Linguarum et quibusdam earum attributis&quot; ; Thorn. Hayne 

 &quot;De Linguis in genere, et de variarum Linguarum Harmonia,&quot; in the appen 

 dix to his &quot;Grammaticfe Latinse Compendium,&quot; and Dr. &quot;Wallis s &quot;Grammatics 

 Linguae Anglicanse.&quot; Ed. 



13 This is the subject which J. Conrad. Amman has prosecuted with great 

 diligence, in his &quot;Surdus loquens,&quot; and &quot;Dissertatio de Loquela&quot; ; first printed 

 at Amsterdam in 1692, and the last in 1700. Shaw. 



