The third fyllable of decemviri, centumviri, and other

fimilar words, in the Roman history, is likewife fhort.

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† Apollonius Tyaneus. The Life of Appollonius by Philoftratus is evidently a fiction, written with a view to difcredit the miracles and doctrines of Jefus Chrift.

Veronica is formed out of two words, vera icon, which fignify a true image. The Roman catholics tell us, that when our Saviour was going to be crucified, a pious woman lent him a handkerchief to wipe his face. A handkerchief is ftill preferved

Though fome people may think it a matter of very little confequence, to pronounce a number of Greek and Roman names, with the precision of a claffical fcholar; yet furely it would be Shocking to hear, I do not fay a polite lady, but, -a gentleman, who has any pretenfions to a liberal education, calling Herodotus Herodotus, Thucydides Thucydides, and Archimedes Archimědes; or adopting the pronunciation of a common failor, who, when he speaks of the ships in the royal navy, talks of the Amphion, the Tifiphōne, and the Terpfichōre; and, in his familiar jargon, converts Æolus into Alehouse, Polyphemus into Poll Famous, and Agamemnon into Eggs and Bacon; or transforms Belle Poule, into Belly Pooly, Bienfaifant into Bonny Pheafant, and L'Oiseau into the Horse-shoe.

It is ridiculous to imagine, that any apology can be made for fuch abfurdities; or that there is any pedantry, or affectation, in fpeaking with propriety.

ferved in St. Peter's church at Rome, which, they pretend, ftill retains the original impreffion of our Saviour's countenance. Superftition, credulity, and folly, afterwards converted this miraculous picture into a real perfon; and pope Urban VIII. built an altar to St. Veronica! Middleton's Let. from Rome.-The fecond fyllable of this word is vulgarly pronounced, as a short dyllable.

APPENDIX.

I.

PERSONIFICATION.

PERSONIFICATION is a poetical or rheto

rical figure, by which inanimate objects are represented as persons.

EXAMPLES.

Wisdom hath length of days in her right hand.

Nature cries aloud through all her works.

The deep uttered his voice.

Prov. iii. 16.

Addison.

Hab. iii. 10.

Young.

Addifon.

Gay.

Joy has her tears, and transport has her death.

Th' unwearied fun, from day to day,

Does his Creator's pow'r difplay.

When envy reads the nervous lines,

She frets, he rails, fhe raves, he pines.

In these paffages, wisdom, nature, the deep, joy, tranfport, the fun, and envy, are properly

perfonified;

perfonified; because they are accompanied with perfonal attributes: as, right-hand, cries, voice, tears, death, unwearied, reads, frets, &c.

When the paffage, in which this figure occurs, contains any expreffion, or circumstance, which is inconsistent with a personal character, the use of the pronoun, in the masculine or feminine gender, is improper. Many writers are extremely inaccurate in this particular. The French, as their language has no neuter gender, cannot perfonify, or make any distinction, in this respect, between the poetic and the vulgar ftyle. And, as they have no pronoun equivalent to our word it, they ufe il or elle, that is, he or she; and thus abfurdly apply the masculine, or the feminine gender, to a piece of paper, a hair, or a straw. This ufe of il and elle has led fome injudicious tranflators of French books into unneceffary, and fometimes abfurd, perfonifications.

In the Old and New Teftament there are many paffages, in which, though his and her are applied to inanimate things, a personification, for the reason already affigned, would be abfurd: as,

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