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respect to any causes that might interrupt it; calm, with regard to a disturbed situation going before, or following it.

A good man enjoys tranquillity, in himself; peace, with others; and calm, after a storm.

Tyranny, Oppression,

Are not exactly synonymous. When Caligula wished the whole Empire had but one head, that he might have the pleasure of cutting it off, he expressed a tyranny the most diabolical. When one of our kings, to extort money from a wretched Jew, caused him to have a tooth drawn every day till the sum was paid, which he insisted on the man's lending him, oppression was the true word for such pro ceeding.

Vule, Valley, Dale, Dingle, Dell.

Of these nearly synonymous substances, the first upon the list seems the first in rank, the others imply smaller space. Our ideas connect something delightful to the first word, something sublimer to the second.-A dale is deep but not extensive.-A dingle is an unexpected little valley in a flat country. A dell is that dingle ornamented.

Vesture,

Vesture, Clothes, Raiment,

Are synonymous in books, but not in conversation. Raiment is an old-fashioned word, and clothes is the word most in use; whence the first and last are totally excluded in conversation, except the discourse turns upon very serious subjects.

War, Hostility,

Are not strictly synonymous.

War is indeed a

state of hostility; but there may be hostilities unal

lowed by the laws of war.

Warmth, Heat,

Are allied in affinity, yet not synonymous. The heat of passion, the warmth of affection.

To Weary, to Fatigue.

The continuance of the same thing wearies us; labour fatigues us.

Wisely, Judiciously, Discreetly, Prudently.

If Doctor Johnson's notion of sex in words be just, the two first of these naturally belong to men, the two last to women; who seldom have occasion to act wisely and judiciously, although by managing

prudently

prudently and discreetly they may lighten the load of life to mortal man.-. Prudence and discretion are domestic virtues; wisdom and judgment are requisites in a statesman, a soldier, and a scholar.

With, By.

With expresses a more close and immediate con-We kill a man nection; by, a more remote one.—

with a sword; he dies by violence. The criminal is bound with ropes by the executioner.

Zone, Girdle, Circuit, Boundary, Limit.

We say the limits of an empire; the boundaries of a parish; the circuit of the globe.—A lady's girdle be jestingly called her zone, a term applied to circles on the globe.

may

145

PART IV.

LANGUAGE.

1. ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE.

VARIOUS. theories have been formed to account for the origin of language. The only rational and satisfactory method is, to refer the origin of speech to the great Creator himself.

To whatever part of the globe we direct our view, we shall find additional reasons to conclude, that all the languages now spoken in the world were derived originally from one and the same source, notwithstanding their apparent difference and variety. When we remark certain words in Latin, that resemble others in Greek, we are not surprised, considering the intimate connection which subsisted between the two nations, and the evident derivation of the former from the latter. It is natural to suppose that the modern tongues were derived from the ancient, which were spoken in the same country. Thus

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all the present languages and dialects of Europe, amounting to about twenty-seven, may be traced to the Latin, German, and Sclavonian.

2. ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF
LETTERS.

To fix the fleeting sounds as soon as they are breathed from the lips, and to represent ideas faithfully to the eye as soon as they are formed in the mind, by certain determinate characters, are the wonderful properties of letters. The pictures of the Mexicans, and the hieroglyphics of the Egyptians, were without doubt very ingenious devices; but it comes not within the province of the art of painting to represent a succession of thoughts; and its operations are very tedious and circuitous. The great excellence of letters consists in their simplicity; by a small number of characters repeated and variously combined, all words are expressed with equal precision and facility. They possess a decided advantage over all other artificial vehicles of thought, by communicating with the utmost ease the various conceptions of the mind.

We cannot fail to observe the great variety in the modes of writing, which prevail in different parts of the world. Some nations, as the Chinese, place their

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