composition, without regard to the quantity or syllabes. This would ask a larger time and field than is here given for the examination; but since I am assigned to this province, that it is the lot of my age, after thirty years' conversation with men, to be elementarius senex, I will promise and obtain so much of myself, as to give, in the heel of the book, some spur and incitement to that which I so reasonably seek.1 Not that I would have the vulgar and practised way of making, abolished and abdicated (being both sweet and delightful, and much taking the ear) but to the end our tongue may be made equal to those of the renowned countries Italy and Greece, touching that particular. And as for the difficulty, that shall never withdraw, or put me off from the attempt: for neither is any excellent thing done with ease, nor the compassing of this any whit to be despaired: especially when Quintilian hath observed to me, by this natural rhyme, that we have the other artificial, as it were by certain marks and footings, first traced and found out. And the Grecians themselves before Homer, as the Romans likewise before Livius Andronicus, had no other meters. Thus much therefore shall serve to have spoken concerning the parts of a word, in a letter and a syllabe. It followeth to speak of the common affections, which unto the Latins, Greeks, and Hebrews, are two; the accent and notation. And first, 1 I will promise and obtain so much of myself, as to, &c.] “It may be considered as a loss to posterity, that it does not appear, he (Ben Jonson) ever performed the promise here made, with respect to adjusting the quantity of syllabes." Preface to Ward's Essays upon the English Language, p. 5. WHAL. CHAP. VII. OF THE ACCENT. HE accent (which unto them was a tuning of the voice, in lifting it up, or letting it down) hath not yet obtained with us any sign; which notwithstanding were most needful to be added; not wheresoever the force of an accent lieth, but where, for want of one, the word is in danger to be mis-tuned; as in abásed, excessive, besóted, obtáin, ungodly, surrender. But the use of it will be seen much better by collation of words, that according unto the divers place of their accent, are diversly pronounced, and have divers significations. Such are the words following, with their like; as differ, defér; désert, desért; présent, presént; In original nouns, adjective or substantive, derived according to the rule of the writer of analogy, the accent is intreated to the first; as in fatherless, motherless, péremptory, háberdasher. Likewise in the adverbs, brotherly, sisterly. All nouns dissyllabic simple, in the first, as bélief, honour, crédit, silver, súrety. All nouns trisyllabic, in the first; countenance, jeopardy, &c. All nouns compounded in the first, of how many syllabes soever they be; as ténnis-court keeper, chimney-sweeper. Words simple in able, draw the accent to the first, though they be of four syllabes; as sóciable, tolerable. When they be compounded, they keep the same accent; as insociable, intolerable. But in the way of comparison, it altereth thus: some men are sóciable, others insociable; some tôlerable, others intolerable: for the accent sits on the syllabe that puts difference; as sincerity, insincerity. Nouns ending in tion, or sion, are accented in antepenultima; as condition, infusion, &c. In ty, à Latinis, in antepenultimâ; as vérity, chárity, simplícity. In ence, in antepenultimâ; as péstilence, abstinence, sústenance, consequence. All verbs dissyllabes ending in er, el, ry, and ish, accent in primâ; as cóver, cancel, cárry, búry, lévy, rávish, &c. Verbs made of nouns follow the accent of the nouns; as to blanket, to básquet. All verbs coming from the Latin, either of the supine, or otherwise, hold the accent as it is found in the first person present of those Latin verbs; as from ánimo, ánimate; célebro, célebrate. Except words compounded of facio; as liquefácio, liquefie. And of statuo; as constítuo, constitúte. All variations of verbs hold the accent in the same place as the theme, I ánimate, thou ánimatest, &c. And thus much shall serve to have opened the fountain of orthography. Now let us come to the notation of a word. CHAP. VIII. THE NOTATION OF A WORD, S when the original thereof is sought out, and consisteth in two things, the kind and the figure. The kind is to know whether the word be a primitive, or derivative: as are primitives; are derivatives. man, love, manly, lover, The figure is to know whether the word be simple, or compounded; as learned, say, are simple; unlearned, gain-say, are compounded. In which kind of composition, our English tongue is above all other very hardy and happy, joining together, after a most eloquent manner, sundry words of every kind of speech; as mill-horse, lip-wise, self-love, cut-purse, never-the-less. These are the common affections of a word: the divers sorts now follow. A word is of number, or without number. Of number that word is termed to be, which signifieth a number singular, or plural. Singular, which expresseth one only thing; as tree, book, teacher. Plural, when it expresseth more things than one; as trees, books, teachers. Again, a word of number is finite or infinite. Finite, which varieth his number with certain endings; as man, men; run, runs ; Infinite, which varieth not; as both in the singular and plural. Moreover, a word of number is a noun or a verb. But here it were fit we did first number our words, or parts of speech, of which our language consists.i CHAP. IX. OF THE PARTS OF SPEECH. N our English speech we number the same parts with the Latins. Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Participle, Adverb, Conjunction, Præposition, Interjection. Compositio. Sæpè tria coagmentantur nomina; ut, a foot-ball player, a tenniscourt-keeper. Sæpissimè duo substantiva; ut, hand-kerchief, rain-bow, eye-sore, table-napkin, head-ach, repaλaλyía. Substantivum cum verbo; ut, wood-bind. Pronomen cum substantivo; ut, self-love, piλavría; self-freedom, αυτονομία. Verbum cum substantivo; ut, a puff-cheek, pvoryváłos. Drawwell, draw-bridge. Adjectivum cum substantivo; ut, New-ton, vɛaroλis. Handi-craft, χειροσοφία. Adverbium cum substantivo; ut, down-fall. Adverbium cum participio; ut, up-rising, down-lying. |