P R E F A C E.

dual correction. Much less ought our written language to comply with the corruptions of oral utter-ance, or copy that which every variation of time or place makes different from itself, and imitate thosechanges, which will again be changed, while imitation is employed in observing them.

This recommendation of steadiness and uniformity does not proceed from an opinion, that particularcombinations of letters have much influence on human happiness ; or that truth may not be successfullytaught by modes of spelling fanciful and erroneous : I am not yet so lost in lexicography, as to forgetthat words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven. Language is only theinstrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas : I wish, however, that the instrument mightbe less apt to decay, and that signs might be permanent, like the things which they denote.

In settling the orthography, I have not wholly neglected the pronunciation, which I have directed,by printing an accent upon the acute or elevated syllable. It will sometimes be found, that the accentis placed by the author quoted, on a different syllable from that marked in the alphabetical series ; it isthen to be understood, that custom has varied, or that the author has, in my opinion, pronouncedwrong. Short directions are sometimes given where the sound of letters is irregular; and if they aresometimes omitted, defect in such minute observations will be more easily excused, than superfluity.

In the investigation both of the orthography and signification of words, their Etymology was neces-sarily to be considered, and they were therefore to be divided into primitives and derivatives. Aprimitive word, is that which can be traced no further to any English root; thus circumspect, circumvent,circumstance, delude, concave , and complicate, though compounds in the Latin , are to us primitives.Derivatives are all those that can be referred to any word in English of greater simplicity.

The derivatives I have referred to their primitives, with an accuracy sometimes needless; for whodoes not see that remoteness comes from remote, lovely from love, concavity from concave, and demon-strative from demonstrate? but this grammatical exuberance the scheme of my work did not allow meto repress. It is of great importance, in examining the general fabrick of a language, to trace one wordfrom another, by noting the usual modes of derivation and inflection; and uniformity must be preservedin systematical works, though sometimes at the expence of particular propriety.

Among other derivatives I have been careful to insert and elucidate the anomalous plurals of nounsand preterites of verbs, which in the Teutonick dialects are very frequent, and, though familiar to thosew ho have always used them, interrupt and embarrass the learners of our language.

, A *‘ c languages from which our primitives have been derived are the Roman and Teutonick: undeiHe Roman I comprehend the French and provincial tongues; and under the Teutonick range the Saxon,German, and all their kindred dialects. Most of our polysyllables are Roman, and our words of onesyllable are very often Teutonick.

In assigning the Roman original, it has perhaps sometimes happened that I have mentioned only the-Latin, when the word was borrowed from the French ; and considering myself as employed only inthe illustration of my own language, I have not been very careful to observe whether the Latin worde pure or barbarous, or the French elegant or obsolete.

. ° r the Teutonick etymologies I am commonly indebted to Junius and Skinner, the only namesw lc ^ J*. ave forborn to quote when I copied their books; not that I might appropriate their labours orusurp their honours, but that I might spare a general repetition by one general acknowledgment. Ofese, w om I ought not to mention but.with the reverence due to instructors and benefactors, Juniusappeals to have excelled in extent of learning, and Skinner in rectitude of understanding. Junius wasaccurately skilled in all the northern languages, Skinner probably examined the ancient and remoteria ects only by occasional inspection into dictionaries ; but the learning of Junius is often of no otheruse t an to show him a track by which he may deviate from his purpose, to which Skinner alwayspresses forward by the shortest way. Skinner is often ignorant, but never ridiculous : Junius is alwaysu o nowledge ; but his variety distracts his judgment, and his learning is very frequently disgracedby his absurdities. * J & & J &

, vota ™ s of the northern muses will not perhaps easily restrain their indignation, when they find .e name of Junius, thus degraded by a disadvantageous comparison; but whatever reverence is due tois 1 lgence, or his attainments, it can be no criminal degree of censoriousness to charge that etymo-ogis with want of judgment, who can seriously derive dream from drama, because life is a drama,