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AFFECTED METHODS OF SPELLING.

389 of monkish gibberish that he called Latin, he hath, in order to satisfy the world of the vast importance and utility of his work, instead of Eve, written Chauva, and for Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, given us Jesahiahu, Irmeiahu, Jechezechel. But I know not how it hath happened that in this he hath had no imitators among men of letters. Probably, upon the trial, people have discovered that they were just as much edified by the old names as by the

new.

Again, why this reformation should be confined almost entirely to proper names, for my part, I can discover no good reason. Appellatives are doubtless entitled to a share. Critics of this stamp ought, for example, boldly to resolve, in spite of inveterate abuses and plebeian prejudices, never, whilst they breathe, either to write or to pronounce the words pope, popery, and popedom, but instead of them pape, papery, and papedom; since, whether we derive these words immediately from the French, the Latin, or the Greek, still it appears that the o is but a base usurper of a place which rightfully belongs to the a. The reason assigned for saying Koran, and not Alcoran, is truly curious. Al, say they, is the Arabic article, and signifies the; consequently if we should say the Alcoran, we should fall into a gross perissology. It is just as if we said the the book. A plain illiterate man would think it sufficient to reply: what though al signifies the in Arabic? it hath no signification in English, and is only here the first syllable of a name which use hath appropriated, no matter how, to a particular book. But if ye who are such deep scholars, and wonderful improvers of your mothertongue, are determined to exclude this harmless syllable from Alcoran, act at least consistently, and dismiss it also from alchymy, alcove, alembic, algebra, almanac, and all the other words in the language that are derived in the same way, and from the same source. Indeed, it is not easy to say where ye will stop; for if ye attend to it, ye will find many words of Latin or French origin, which stand equally in need of reformation.

It is necessary to add, that if the public give way to a humour of this kind, there will be no end of innovating. When some critics first thought of reforming the word bashaw, one would have it bassa, another pacha, and a third pasha; and how many more shapes it may yet be transformed into it is impossible to say. In regard to foreign names of persons, offices, eras, and rites, it would be obliging in writers of this stamp, to annex to their works a glossary, for the sake of the unlearned, who cannot divine whether their new-fangled terms belong to things formerly unknown, or are no more than the old names of things familiar to them, newly vamped and dressed. Surely, if anything deserves to be branded with the name of pedantry, it is an ostentation of erudition, to the reproach of learning, by affecting singularity in trifles.2

1 i. e., unnecessary multiplication of words.

2 The abuse so ably exposed by Campbell, has not abated since his day. Every traveller who has been six weeks abroad seems to think himself at liberty to set at

XXV. JAMES BEATTIE.

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BEATTIE was born at Laurencekirk, in the county of Kincardine, in 1735. Though poor, he contrived to get admission into Marischal College, Aberdeen, where he went through the usual four years' curriculum. After officiating as schoolmaster in a small town in his native county, he was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy in the college where he had himself been educated. A lover of truth, he was like many others at the time scandalized with the principles of Hume, whom he attacked with extreme violence in his Essay on Truth." His work was, however, well received by the public, and as it was followed speedily by his "Minstrel," he became highly famous, and received many flattering remarks of popularity. On his visit to London, George III. admitted him to a personal interview, and bestowed on him a pension of L.200. The misfortunes of his family embittered his last days, and after some years spent in deep distress, he died in 1799. Beattie's fame rests upon his " Minstrel," one of the most pleasing poems in the language; his "Essay on Truth" has been long consigned to oblivion, but his Essays" contain many highly beautiful passages. He can make no pretensions to depth; but his style is clear, and his manner is more interesting and lively than is usual in works of a philosophical nature.

66

ON THE LOVE OF NATURE.-(" ESSAYS.")

Homer's beautiful description of the heavens and earth, as they appear in a calm evening by the light of the moon and stars, concludes with this circumstance, " and the heart of the shepherd is glad." Madame Dacier, from the turn she gives to the passage in her version, seems to think, and Pope, in order perhaps to make out his couplet, insinuates that the gladness of the shepherd is owing to his sense of the utility of those luminaries. And this may in part be the case, but this is not in Homer; nor is it a necessary consideration. It is true that, in contemplating the material universe, they who discern the causes and effects of things must be more rapturously entertained than those who perceive nothing but shape and size, colour and motion. Yet, in the mere outside of nature's works, if I may so express myself, there is a splendour and a magnificence to which even untutored minds cannot attend without great delight.

nought the orthography of the language. In ordinary school-books, fortunately, only one effort has as yet been made at imitating this German innovation: in that work the well-known Magellan is transmuted into Magalhaens; Constance appears as Constanz, Nimeguen as Nimegen, and so in a hundred other cases. As innovations are seldom confined to one department, the same work, in disregard of grammar, speaks of Baffin Bay instead of Baffin's Bay, and will itself probably appear in a new edition as Anderson Geography.

1 The couplet, part of a passage which has been the subject of much controversy, is,

"The conscious swains. rejoicing in the sight.
Eye the blue vault, and bless the useful light."

ON THE LOVE OF NATURE.

391

Not that all peasants or all philosophers are equally susceptible of these charming impressions. It is strange to observe the callousness of some men, before whom all the glories of heaven and earth pass in daily succession, without touching their hearts, elevating their fancy, or bearing any durable remembrance. Even of those who pretend to sensibility, how many are there to whom the lustre of the rising or setting sun, the sparkling concave of the midnight sky, the mountain forest tossing and roaring to the storm, or warbling with all the melodies of a summer evening; the sweet interchange of hill and dale, shade and sunshine, grove, lawn, and water, which an extensive landscape offers to the view; the scenery of the ocean, so lovely, so majestic, and so tremendous, and the many pleasing varieties of the animal and vegetable kingdom, could never afford so much real satisfaction as the steam and noise of a ball-room, the insipid fiddling and squeaking of an opera, or the vexations and wranglings of a card-table. But some minds there are of a different make, who, even in the early part of life, receive from the contemplation of nature a species of delight which they would hardly exchange for any other; and who, as avarice and ambition are not the infirmities of that period, would, with equal sincerity and rapture, exclaim

"I care not, Fortune, what you me deny;
You cannot rob me of free Nature's grace;
You cannot shut the windows of the sky,

Through which Aurora shows her brightening face;
You cannot bar my constant feet to trace

The woods and lawns by living streams at eve:

Let health my nerves and finer fibres brace,

And I their toys to the great children leave;

Of fancy, reason, virtue, nought can me bereave."1

Such minds have always in them the seeds of true taste, and frequently of imitative genius. At least, though their enthusiastic or visionary turn of mind, as the man of the world would call it, should not always incline them to practise poetry or painting, we need not scruple to affirm that, without some portion of this enthusiasm, no person ever became a true poet or painter. For he who would imitate the works of nature must first accurately observe them, and accurate observation is to be expected from those only who take great pleasure in it.

To a mind thus disposed, no part of creation is indifferent. In the crowded city and howling wilderness, in the cultivated province and solitary isle, in the flowery lawn and craggy mountain, in the murmur of the rivulet, and in the uproar of the ocean, in the radiance of summer and gloom of winter, in the thunder of heaven and in the whisper of the breeze, he still finds something to rouse or to soothe his imagination, to draw forth his affections, or to employ his

'Castle of Indolence. Canto ii., stanza 3.

understanding. And from every mental energy that is not attended with pain, and even from some of those that are, as moderate terror and pity, a sound mind derives satisfaction; exercise being equally necessary to the body and the soul, and to both equally productive of health and pleasure. This happy sensibility to the beauties of nature should be cherished in young persons. It engages them to contemplate the Creator in His wonderful works; it purifies and harmonizes the soul, and prepares it for moral and intellectual discipline; it supplies a never-failing source of amusement; it contributes even to bodily health; and, as a strict analogy subsists between material and moral beauty, it leads the heart by an easy transition from the one to the other, and thus recommends virtue for its transcendent loveliness, and makes vice appear the object of contempt and abomination.

An intimate acquaintance with the best descriptive poets, Spenser, Milton, and Thomson, but, above all, with the divine Georgic, joined to some practice in the art of drawing, will promote this amiable sensibility in early years; for then the face of nature has novelty superadded to its other charms, the passions are not preengaged, the heart is free from care, and the imagination warm and romantic.

1 Virgil's descriptive poem.

PERIOD FOURTH.

FROM THE FRENCH REVOLUTION TO THE PRESENT TIME.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

1. The formal style which prevailed in the literature of the eighteenth century was, as has been already seen, the natural result of the habits of thought which were, during that period, established in the nation; and hence the same formality pervaded everything else on which the manners of the age could be impressed. The form and style of a work had, in fact, become of more importance than the matter; and upon them the author's attention was mainly concentered. The principles of literary composition became an important object of study, and everything was carefully reduced to rule. A writer was expected to proceed in his work according to some recognised and approved form; and any irregularity, any deviation from established rules, was sure to expose him and his writings to the censure and condemnation of the critics. Such a system evidently admitted of no passionate outbursts of feeling; of no lofty flights of imagination; of no strange novelties in thought or language; for all these were irreducible to rule, and were therefore carefully to be eschewed. The same principle was followed in judging of the works of previous authors; and hence, while the merits of Shakspere were freely admitted, it was considered a serious deduction from them that his works were irregular,-not formed according to the strict rules of dramatic art. From this constant attention to rule, there naturally resulted a very considerable degree of uniformity in the literary productions of the age, and at no period probably is our literature less characterized by individuality than in the first half of the eighteenth century. Without some alteration in the standard of excellence, it was impossible that any progress could be made; if regularity and decorum were to be considered the beau ideal of perfection, then nothing remained but an imitation of Pope and Addison, whose writings have in these respects never been excelled. Efforts were accordingly made at various periods during the progress of the century to break through the trammels of form which had so long fettered genius, and to adopt another standard of excellence; but though these have given a marked individuality of character to the works of those authors who were adventurous enough to make the attempt, they did not succeed in effecting any radical change in the prevalent style. The most important change was that introduced by Johnson. The language of

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