42 



Latin, Greek, and Hebrew* of the ancients ; and the English, 

 French, and German* of the moderns ; which, together, contain 

 most of the treasures of human learning. Next to these, we would 

 place the Arabic, Malay, and Chinese, in the East; and the Italian, 

 Portuguese, and Spanish in the West ; all of which are valuable, for 

 purposes of communication and commerce. 



If all nations spoke one and the same language, much of the time 

 now spent in the study of Glossology, would be saved. Several attempts 

 have been made to form a Universal Language, which should super- 

 sede all others ; particularly by Bishop Wilkins, of Chester, in Eng- 

 land, who, in 1668, published an " Essay towards a real character and 

 philosophical language." He very fancifully observes, " if Da signi- 

 fies God, then Ida must signify the opposite, or an idol; if dab be 

 spirit, odab will be body; if dad be heaven, odad will signify hell." 

 But in the present state of things, it is manifestly impossible to intro- 

 duce such a language, even were it perfect ; which is not the case 

 with any of those proposed. Our hope is, that the less important 

 languages will gradually sink into disuse ; while the leading tongues 

 approximate more closely to each other, till this evil finds a natural 

 remedy. Meanwhile, the resemblance of languages, serves to trace 

 the origin and affiliation of nations ; and these resemblances have been 

 carefully studied by many learned men, for that purpose. 



We shall treat farther of Glossology, under the divisions or branches 

 of General Grammar; Oriental Languages; European Languages; and 

 Barbarous Languages; into which branches, this department may, we 

 think, be naturally divided. 



CHAPTER I. 



GENERAL GRAMMAR. 



GENERAL Grammar is that branch of Glossology which explains the 

 structure and principles of language. The name is derived from the 

 French, grammaire, of the same meaning ; and this from the Greek, 

 yf>oi\ima.i a letter or epistle. It is found, by an extended comparison, 

 that most languages agree in their essential structure, and are governed 

 by certain laws or principles, which it is the object of General Gram- 

 mar to investigate and explain. Particular Grammar, as English or 

 French, applies these principles to some particular language, including 

 the art of speaking and writing it with propriety. These principles are 

 first derived from the general practice, or usage, in writing or speak- 

 ing any language ; and this usage, they afterwards serve to regulate. 

 Hence, the importance of studying them will at once be perceived, as 

 a guide to the right use of words in composition and conversation. 



The origin of Grammar, as a distinct branch of knowledge, is, as 

 we have already mentioned, ascribed to Aristotle, (p. 29). The Greeks 

 and Romans carefully studied their own language, but neglected all 

 others, calling them barbarous, and regarding them as unworthy of 

 notice. The first important work on General Grammar, was that 



