in the undertaking. While England and English scholars were apparently but too well satisfied with the labors of Johnson, and extolled his dictionary as the chef-d'œuvre of the age, our author, who had already distinguished himself by several scholar-like productions in philology, viewed the matter in a somewhat different light. While he accorded all due praise to the corypheus of English literature, and appreciated the excellence of his dictionary in many points, he saw that in other respects it was defective or erroneous, and that much was needed to be supplied and amended for the perfection of such a work. Multitudes of additional terms demanded a place in the vocabulary, and numerous others required new and more logical definitions; to say noth ing of the pleasure or profit of tracing the origin of words embraced in so rich and varied a tongue as the English. Not only was this the case in regard to the language as it existed in the days of Johnson; but much more so, after the expiration of so long a period, when increased knowledge and discovery had introduced into the language thousands of words unknown before, or known only with different ideas attached to them. Dr. Webster brought to the task the requisite learning, taste, and power of philosophical analysis, and was carried forward in his labors of twenty years, by an enthusiasm which submits to any extremity of toil and self-denial, in the hope of realizing the ideal which the mind has formed. He appears to have been properly conscious of his "manifest destiny," and was cheered under the severity of his exertions, and the incredulity or contempt which he was called to encounter, by the belief that he should at last produce a work, which his own age and posterity would duly appreciate. The result was the publication of the American Dictionary of the English Language, in

two vols. quarto, in 1828, than which a more valuable contribution to the literature of his native tongue was rarely, if ever, made by one man. That it was not perfect is freely acknowledged, and that no such work can be made perfect is equally certain; but it was, what no other publication could assume to be, an ample and learned dictionary of the language-of the language as it prevailed at that time, in its advanced state, diffusing its beauties of style and treasures of thought over a large part of two continents.

The author's extended and profound researches into his vernacular tongue, were not in vain. His book was received with favor both by the learned and the community at large. It was extensively adopted as a standard of the language, and its authority soon ranked among the highest, if not over the highest of its predecessors. The author lived to see it as revised from time to time, increasing in reputation and use, its merits acknowledged at home and abroad, and exerting every where an auspicious influence on the cause of literature. It is not too much to say, that it is now not only the first defining dictionary of the language in point of excellence, but the dictionary, the one needed, and generally recommended as of standard authority. Whoever inquires for the best work of this kind, whether in the booksellers' shops of London, or in the book markets of the United States, will be at once directed to the American Dictionary, either in the original quarto, or in the abridged octavo form, according to the size required.

That Dr. Webster improved upon Johnson, quite as much as Johnson did upon Bailey and his predecessors, will be conceded, we think, by all who have inquired into the subject. The more accurate and extended definitions of the English lexicographer he often adopted, for they could not be made better. But

he defined by synonyms far less than Johnson. His etymological inquiries were of signal service to him, in ascertaining the primary physical senses of words, from which the secondary senses branch off in orderly succession. He tells us in deed in his Preface, that he was driven to his investigations into the origin of words and the filiation of languages, by the impossibility of forming accurate and consistent definitions, without previously ascertaining the common bond which held the several meanings of a word together, the fundamental idea which pervades them all, or from which some of them have been deflected by accidental causes. He was led in this way, and by the logical character of his early studies in the school of Blackstone, to form an ideal of a definition which was far more exact than that of any other English lexicographer; and it is this feature which has given to his dictionary, notwithstanding some abatements, its decided preeminence over every other, in the estimation of the public, both in this country and in England. In addition to this, he rendered very important service to the cause of lexicography, by introducing, for the first time, the most essential terms of science and art, now so extensively employed in periodicals and other literary works, as to require an explanation for the benefit of the general reader, as well as for the refreshment of the memories of the learned. Thus he gave to the world a dictionary containing twelve thousand words, and between thirty and forty thousand definitions, not to be found in any similar work in our language, and very greatly increased the number of additional terms, by his subsequent revisions. We have, therefore, in his work an admirable foundation on which to build a superstructure of continually increasing excellence. It ought, like the French Dictionary of the Academy,

to be made the subject of successive revisions, from time to time, which shall remove every error that may be detected, and enable it to keep pace with the steady advancement of our language, in the various departments of literature, science, and the arts.

That the present is a period at which such a revision was peculiarly desirable, will be obvious if we consider the progress which has been making in this country and Great Britain, on all subjects of a literary and scientific nature, during the last ten or fifteen years. The English mind, on both sides of the Atlantic, has been putting itself forth with an energy and compass of thought, never perhaps equaled at any former period. Science has made greater advances, art effected more extensive revolutions, speculation set up higher pretensions, discovery been reduced more completely to a system, and intelligence diffused more widely than ever before, thus adding new combinations of thought; while the facilities of traveling have brought the world together, and placed the intellect of both countries in the closest contact with the philosophy, politics, and literature of the most enlightened nations of the globe.

These powerful influences have been acting with correspondent force on our language. The characteristics of the age are impressed on the medium through which its thoughts are conveyed. Terms belonging to old theories have been revived or modified, in order to illustrate new doctrines. An immense number of words have been invented or borrowed from other languages, to explain new systems. Terms in familiar use have taken on them additional or peculiar significations, to mark nicer distinctions, or to accord with altered views. The classifications of science have to a great extent, been broken up and remodeled with a change of nomenclature. A

host of literary authors has arisen, among whom are men of peculiar habits of thought, or unwonted sources of illustration, who, by their commanding genius, have given a new cast to the literature of the age. Thus, besides the thousands of words which have been added to the various departments of science and art; a multitude of others, neither technical nor scientific, have made themselves room and a place in the language. The general result of these changes, though with some drawbacks, has been highly beneficial. They are the record of signal advances of the English intellect. Our language is becoming, on the whole, not only more copious in its vocabulary, more rich in its descriptive terms, more picturesque in its representations, more vivid in its colorings; but also more logical and ex• act, more nice in its discrimination of the various shades of thought, more free and bold in its constructions, and more thoroughly fitted to express the whole mind of a great, enlightened, and energetic people.

Connected with this progress, we may notice another change of the highest importance to the perfection of our language. It is the prevalence of much greater exactness in regard to definitions. Any one who examines our books of natural science as they were forty years ago, and compares them with correspondent works of the present day, will be struck with the improvement in this respect. The loose, vague, descriptive mode of identifying objects which then prevailed, has been exchanged for definite and discriminating statements, for a lucid exhibition of the various distinctive properties, by which the object in question may be known and recognized. In this respect, our men of science have gained much from the French naturalists, and may gain still more, by a careful imitation of these admirable models. A greater exactness of definition is beginning to prevail, in

most other branches of knowledge. The translation of several lexicons and grammars from the German language, and the consequent extension of the severe system of German philology, have elevated the views of many, especially among the learned. It is beginning to be generally felt that the definition of a word by synonyms, is no definition at all,-that such a description must be given as exhausts the characteristic properties of the thing described, and distinguishes each word, as far as possible, in all its senses, from every other term which may resemble it in meaning. Nothing can be more desirable than to see this attention to the exact import of language carried, in its full extent, throughout every department of life. "Accuracy of definition is essential to accuracy of thought." In respect to most minds, in every community, it is emphatically true, as remarked by Mirabeau, that "words are things." Every reflecting man knows, that multitudes are made the dupes of demagogues, by an artful use of terms and phrases which are the watchwords of party. It is a lamentable fact, that the most important moral distinctions are often overlooked or disregarded, for want of that clearness of perception which springs from accuracy in the use of language. Every good man mourns over the ruinous contentions in the church, the exhausting controversies between rival theologians, and the personal animosities between brethren of a common faith, which have sprung from careless and ambiguous phraseology,-from the want of meeting each other fairly on the ground of exact definition. The same effect has also proceeded from undue attachment to certain favorite forms of expression, and from undue dislike of others which have become the objects of jealousy or dread. Every advance, therefore in respect to correctness of definition, as it promotes correspondent progress in

general correctness of thought, must be regarded as a great and lasting benefit to the people among whom it obtains.

To record these advancements of our language, and to aid in reducing definition more completely to a science, is the appropriate office of a dictionary like this. For this purpose, a revision was necessary, extending to every department embraced within its limits. Such a revision our readers are aware was commenced some years ago, the results of which are now laid before us, in the volumes whose titles have been placed at the head of this paper. Their appearance, so long promised, and delayed only from the magnitude of the enterprise and the desire to satisfy every reasonable expectation, has been looked for by the public, with a lively interest. Nineteen years have elapsed since the first publication of the American Dictionary, and although the venerable author did all for its subsequent improvement, that could be fairly expected from one of his advanced years, it is obvious from what has been said above, that a minute, protracted, and searching revision of the work was due to the public. We rejoice that Prof. Goodrich, the editor, has been willing to apply his industry and learning in the present form, making the work of Dr. Webster, rather than any new design, the foundation of his labors. He has taken the only method, it is believed, in which we can obtain such a dictionary of our language as we need; and that is, to retain all the real and desirable improvements of the past, to shape and modify the work, from time to time, in agree. ment with the process of successive changes, and to superinduce what ever may have been incorporated into the language, as a permanent integral part. This the editor has attempted to do, and of his perform ance we design at present to give a succinct account.

The labors of Prof. Goodrich have been bestowed conjointly on the large dictionary of Dr. Webster and the octavo abridgment of it by Joseph E. Worcester, LL. D., which has been extensively circulated throughout our country. The former work, as here presented, consists of a royal quarto volume containing every thing embraced in the first edition, with the addition of a very large amount of highly valuable matter, which has been introduced into the work, in the successive revisions to which it has been subjected. All this, by the use of a smaller type and greater compression, has been brought within the compass of a single volume of fourteen hundred and fortynine pages. The abridgment is a royal octavo of twelve hundred and eighty-nine pages, containing all the words, and the most important etymologies to be found in the quarto edition. "The definitions," as we are told in the Preface," remain unaltered, except by an occasional compression in their statement. the significations of words, as exhibited in the larger work are here retained, but the illustrations and authorities are generally omitted. In doubtful or contested cases, however, they are carefully retained." The revision, as stated above, has been extended equally to this and the quarto edition, and the results embodied in each, in due proportion, including all the additions and improvements made by Dr. Webster, in his successive revisions, down to the period of his death, enlarging the abridgment by a very great amount of the most interesting and important matter, and rendering it "on a reduced scale, a clear, accurate, and full exhibition of the American Dictionary, in all its parts."

All

No one, not even a professed reviewer, can be expected to read through a dictionary, of which the abridgment alone, if printed in the type and size of this review, would

fill nearly seven octavo volumes. We have endeavored, however, by an extended and careful examination, to acquaint ourselves fully with the improvements made by Prof. Goodrich. We have collated the revised edition with the old one, in almost every part of the volume, and as the result of the task, we feel a perfect conviction, that he has given to the work, a completeness, fullness, and accuracy, hitherto unattained in a work of this kind. The additions and emendations strike us as being singularly to the purpose, and adapted to satisfy the demands of an inquiring and advancing age. The great mass of words,-the old and familiar terms of the language, -have received sufficient attention, any new senses they may have acquired being carefully marked, while words of special interest, as connected with the exciting discussions of the present times, and with the principles of science and art more recently developed, have been more minutely defined and illustrated. A vast accession of materials, and a very great amount of labor and talent, have evidently been brought in, to render the work more complete as a standard of the English tongue, and as a depository of all its legitimate terms, with their appropriate meanings. In this revision the editor has spent nearly three years, with the addition of more than two years of labor by each of the gentlemen who assisted him. That his qualifications for the task were of a high order, none will doubt, who are acquainted with his clear, prompt, and highly practical intellect, with his ardor of mind and habits of industry, and with the course of his studies from early life, and especial. ly during the last thirty years, the whole of which may be said to have been devoted to the culture of language. His relationship, as son-inlaw, to Dr. Webster, may be supposed also to have given him important advantages for the work in question;

since from a full knowledge of the lexicographer's views, and a natural participation in his feelings, he would have the strongest motives to carry out the original plan of the work, and labor for its accomplishment to the extent of his power. How much may be accomplished during such a length of time, with the editor's rapidity of comprehension and thorough habits of study, and with able helpers, may be readily imagined. We should certainly be apt to expect correspondent improvements, and if we mistake not, they appear in the work.

Some of these we will now briefly notice in detail.

The addition of Synonyms to the abridgment, we deem a happy feature of the work. The space which they occupy is inconsiderable, while their utility is not small. To persons engaged in literary composition, oratory, or teaching, it is often desirable to have at hand a list of terms that are synonymous, or nearly synonymous in meaning. Their use relieves the page of the writer or the address of the speaker, from a tedious sameness that might otherwise be felt. The appearance of richness and variety in the expression, is always acceptable to the reader or hearer. As a matter, then, of easy reference, in a general dictionary, this arrangement can not but be appreciated. In such a shape we believe it is no where else found. Works in some respects similar have been constructed, as Carpenter's, and Perry's, for instance; but either for different purposes, or in less convenient forms. The plan of this portion of the work, as the editor states in his Preface, is the following. "Under each of the important words, all others having the same general signification are arranged together, except in cases where they have been previously exhausted in framing the definitions." Out of the list, a selection may be made at the option of those who may need