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logy of words borrowed from the Greek and Latin, &c. 
That it does not matter what characters are ufed to ex- 
prefs founds in writing,- provided one knows-the relation 
between thole characters and the founds they reprefent; 
that, by a neceffary confequence of fuch change, the lan¬ 
guage would, in time, be all altered, and we fnould lofe 
the ufe of our old authors; as ours, in their turn, would 
likewife become unintelligible. What is alleged for the 
new orthography is, its being more commodious, natu¬ 
ral, eafy, fhort, &c. Some authors take a middle courfe 
between the two extremes, retrenching the letters where 
they are abfolutely ufelefs, as the s in a multitude of 
words ; and yet ftudioufly retaining all the letters on 
which the etymology has any dependence. 
In the Englijh, the orthography is more vague and un- 
afcertained than in any other language with which we are 
acquainted. Every author, and aimoft every printer, has 
his particular fyftem ; nay, it is fcarcely fo well with us as 
that: we not only differ from one another, but there is 
fcarcely any one t[iat is confident with himfelf. 
Many fchemes have been propofed for the emendation 
and fettlement of the Englilh orthography, which, like 
that of other nations, being formed by chance, or ac¬ 
cording to the fancy of the earlieft writers in rude ages, 
was at firft very various and uncertain, and is yet fuffi- 
ciently irregular. Of thefe reformers, fays Dr. Johnlon, 
fome have endeavoured to accommodate orthography bet¬ 
ter to the pronunciation, without confidering that this is 
to meafure by a fhadow, to take that for a model or ftandard 
which is changing while they apply it. Others, lefs ab- 
furdly indeed, but with equal unlikelihood of fuccefs, 
have endeavoured to proportion the number of letters to 
that of founds, that every found may have its own cha- 
raCler, and every charaCler a fingle found. Such would 
be the orthography of a new language to be formed by a 
fynod of grammarians upon the principles of fcience. 
But who can hope to prevail on nations to change their 
practice, and make all their old books ufelefs ? or what 
advantage would a new orthography procure equivalent to 
the eonfufion and perplexity of fuch an alteration ? Some 
of thele fchemes are exhibited by our learned lexicogra¬ 
pher, which, he fays, may be ufed according to the di- 
verfities of genius, as a guide to reformers, or terror to 
innovators. One of the firft who propofed a fcheme of 
regular orthography was fir Thomas Smith, fecretary of 
ftate to queen Elizabeth, a man of real learning, and much 
praftifed in grammatical difquifitions. After him another 
mode of writing was offered by Dr. Gill, the celebrated 
mafterofSt. Paul’s fchool in London. Dr. Gill, in his 
work entitled “ Nature and Properties of Bees, 1634,” 
was followed by Charles Butler, a man who did not want 
an underftanding which qualified him for better employ¬ 
ment. In the time of Charles I. there was a very preva¬ 
lent inclination to change the orthography ; as appears, 
among other books, in fuch editions of the works of 
Milton as were publifhed by himfelf. Of thefe reformers, 
every man had his own fcheme; but they agreed in one 
general defign of accommodating the letters to the pro¬ 
nunciation, by ejecting fuch as they thought fuperfluous. 
Some of them would have written thefe lines of Milton 
thus: 
•- All the erth 
Shall then be paridis, far happier place 
Than this of Eden, and far happier dais. 
Bifliop Wilkins afterwards, in .his great work of the 
jahilofophical language, propofed, without expeCling to 
be followed, a regular orthography, by which the Lord’s 
Prayer is to be written thus : “ Yiir Fadher hifitlh art in 
heven halloed bi dhyi nam, dhyi cingdym cym, dhy will 
bi dyn in erth az it iz in heven, See." 
We have fincehad no general reformers; but fome in¬ 
genious men have endeavoured to deferve well of their 
country, by writing honor and labor for honour and la¬ 
bour, red for read in the preter tenle, J'ais for Jays, repeie 
Vol. XVII. No. 1217. 
for repeat, explane for explain, and declame for declaim. Of 
thefe it may be faid, that, as they have done no good, they 
have done little harm; both becaul'e they have innovated 
little, and becaufe few have followed them. Thus far Dr. 
Johnfon. See alfo Temple’s Sketches, Sk. vii. 
A popular grammarian, after obferving that the ortho¬ 
graphy of the Engliih language is attended with much un¬ 
certainty and perplexity, luggefts, that a confiderable part 
of this inconvenience may be remedied by attending to 
the general laws of formation ; and for this end he pre- 
fents the reader with a view of fuch general maxims, in 
fpelling primitive and derivative words as have been 
almoft univerfally received. But, as his valuable work is 
in almoft every one’s hands, we (hall, content ourfelves 
with referring to it. "See Murray’s Englifti Grammar, 
vol. i. p. 56. 
The orthography of a great number of Englifti words is 
very far from being fixed and uniform, even among wri¬ 
ters of diftimSlion, and in the beft modern publications. 
It would therefore be extremely delirable to have a gene¬ 
rally-approved and authoritative ftandard, which might 
ferve as a directory to the doubtful, and as a kind of teft 
for deciding differences that occur in this department of 
grammar. The celebrated Dictionary of Dr. Johnfon has 
occupied, and not without a very general conceftion, this 
diftinguilhed rank in literature ; and yet lome few of his 
deciiions appear to be unwarranted by the principles of 
etymology and analogy. .Of this dictionary, Dr. Nares, in 
his “ Elements of Orthoepy,” expreffes a very high opi¬ 
nion, obferving, that it has nearly fixed the external form 
of our language. He adds, “ Indeed, fo convenient is it 
to have one acknowledged ftandard to recur to ; fo much 
preferable, in matters of this nature, is a trifling degree 
of irregularity to a continued change, and fruitlefs pur- 
fuit of unattainable perfection ; that it is earneftly to be 
hoped that no author will henceforth, on light grounds, 
be tempted to innovate.” Neverthelefs, Mr. L. Murray 
has very juftly obferved, that this dictionary contains 
fome orthographical inconfiftencies that ought to be 
rectified ; and that if thele, and fimilar irregularities, 
were corrected, by fpelling the words analogically, ac¬ 
cording to the firft word in each part of the fieries, and 
agreeably to the general rules of fpelling, the dictionary 
would doubtlefs, in thefe refpeCts, be improved. Such a 
work, on the plan of that of Dr. Johnfon, with neceflary 
corrections and additions, has been lately undertaken, and 
we think with good fuccefs, by the Rev. H. J. Todd, 
M. A. and F. S. A. but the price of this edition will be 
very high ; namely, eleven or twelve parts, at a guinea each. 
ORTHOL'OGY, [op 9 o;, right, and Aoya?, a word.] 
Right defeription of things.—The natural, and as it were 
the homogeneal, parts of grammar be two; orthology, and 
orthography : in both which parts of it God hath had a 
fpecial hand, as even by the Heathen themfelves is ac¬ 
knowledged : in the firft of them, orthology ; in teaching 
men the right impofition of names,: in the fecond of 
them, orthography ; in teaching them the rare invention 
of letters. Father by's Atheom. 
ORTHOPNCE'A, f. [Greek; from ocSo?, ftraight, ereCt, 
and nvtu, to breathe.] A diforder of the lungs, in which 
refpiration can be performed only in an upright pofture.— 
His difeafe was an afth'maoft turning to an orthopncea ; the 
caufe,a translation of tartarous humours from hisjoints to 
his lungs. Harvey on Confumptions. 
ORTHOPO'GON, f. [from the Gr. opSoj, ftraight, and 
m-uycov, a beard.] In botany, a genus of graffes, propofed by 
Mr. Brown, Prodr. Nov. Holl. i. 194. It is diftinguilhed 
from Panicum merely on account of the nearly-equal fize 
of the calyx-valves, the outermoft of which has a longer 
awn than the other ; and on account of the fmoothnefs or 
evennefs of all the awns. See Panicum. 
ORTIIQ'SIA, or Ortosia, a town of Syria, in the 
pachalic of Tripoli, on the coaft of the Mediterranean : 
twelve miles north-eaft Tripoli. Lat. 34. 47. N. Ion. 
35 - 5 °- E. 
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ORTHOS- 
