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Show S P ok I From this uncertain pronunciation arife in a great part the various dlalle'&i'ecc)if'd;i C{ag‘(igot%?:ry'b‘yh‘charbitrar g abi i g} m zfi‘ book a different lef an will always be obferved to grow fewer reprefentation of founds by letters, proceeds that diverfity of {pe lclllgé remains CranaIO angUce r dbr'ref edrcc)ly o perplexe whic nation ever o and I fuppofe in the firft book ‘med dilmiiie afterwar b neve ca ted incorpor onc bein that malous formations fr fr dt bre dea fr in dar g Sro fr ngt fer lon i fro t Jen ve vat der th ar Of this kin eroad,tflri)mmdr;,r : drought Qui and fromg/az'gb te exempta juvat [pinis de pluribu una beight, which Milton to chang all woul 1n zeal for analogy, writes bnglb';an be too much to chang one i nothing er dfl fo an e n o o p il io ri ca f ar This uncertainty is moft frequent in the vowels, whi t th h u m r ev i bu c i o p r ev i on no ently modified, by accident or affectation fr g u n l on o i c d d th i e f b t i ar re tl li ft og mo et t o them, as is well k another if Eng th i de { le re im it ba ba o fpo bu hy ra ho or i Such defes are not errou un- ai re t te mi pe b mu or re th e the aw th wa e ne ca fanguage, that critici by ignorance, as.'the pro e ra de o nt id ac b er al be f ew li ha d wo touched ; but man to be varioufly written, a nunciation of the vulgar has been weakly followed; and fome ftill continu authors differ in their care or fkill : of thefe it was proper to enquire the true orthography, which I hav always confidered as depending on their derivation, and have therefore referred them to their original lan thu in La th o aft at an in an nc Fr th aft te ha nt en tm ha en t ha en wri thu ge gu entire is chofen rather than ntire, becaufe it paffed to us not from the Latin integer, but from the Frenc entier Of many words it is difficult to fay whether they were immediately received fro French the Latin or th fince at the time when we had dominions in France, we had Latin fervice in our churches It is however, my opinion, that the French generally fupplied us; for we have few Latir words, among th terms of domeftick ufe, which are not French ; but many French, whic are very remote from Latin Even in words of which the derivation is apparent, I have been often obliged to facrifice uniformity t cuftom; thus I write, in compliance with a numberlefs majority, convey and inveigh, deceit and receipt fancy and phantom ; fometimes the derivative varies from the primitive, as explain and explanation, repeat and repetition Some combinations of letters having the fame power, are ufed indifferently without any difcoverabl reafon of choice, as in choak, choke; foap, fope; fewel, fuel, and many others which I have fometimes in {erted twice, that thofe who fearch for them under either form, may not fearch in vain In examining the orthography of any doubtful word, the mode of fpelling by which it is inferted in th feries of the dictionary, is to be confidered as that to which I give, perhaps not often rafhly, the preference I have left, in the examples, t every author his own pratic unmolefted that the reader ma balance fuffrages, and judge between us: but this queftion is not always to be determined by reputed o by real learning; fome men, intent upon greater things, have thought little on founds and derivations fome, knowing in the ancient tongues, have negle¢ted thofe in which our words are commonly to be fought ‘Thus Hammond writes feciblenefs for feafiblenefs, becaufe I fuppofe he imagined it derived immediatel from the Latin; and fome words fuch as dependant dependent; dependance dependence, vary their fina dyllable, as one or another language 1s prefent to the writer In this part of the work, where caprice has long wantoned without controul, and vanity {fought praif by petty reformation, I have endeavoured to proceed with a {cholar's reverence for antiquity, and a grammarian's regard to the genius of our tongue I have attempted few alterations; and among thofe few perhaps the greater part is from the modern to the ancient pratice; and I hope I may be allowed to re commend to thofe, whofe thoughts have been perhaps employed too anxioufly on verbal fingularities, no to difturb, upon narrow views, or for minute propriety, the orthography of their fathers. It has bee ‘afferted that for the law to be known is of more importance than to b not made without inconvenience, even from worfe to better right Change fays Hooker i - There is in conftancy and ftability a genera and lafting advantage, which will always overbalance: the flow improvement of gradual -correétion MUC |