are, in fact, nothing but Adjectives, or qualities, though now often used without the Substantives, which are understood; and in that case, by an easy transition, they are raised to the rank of imaginary personages, and treated as if they were Substantives themselves. This, however, was not formerly so common; and in legal instruments, where language of three centuries old is employed, their Substantives are generally conjoined. Instead of the ordinary phrase, "He struck him," they say, "He, the said A. B. struck him, the said C. D," marking the persons to whom the Pronouns refer. This or that, as particularly specify an object, as its colour or its form; and I and you as distinctly discriminate between the speaker and the hearer.

The words A (or AN) and THE, though they have been usually considered as a part of speech distinct from every other, under the name of ARTICLES, are of the species last mentioned. The first is the numeral one with a particular application; and it is surprising that the latter should ever have been separated from the class of Pronouns. In all languages, when speaking of things, there is a necessity for limitation. A (which, to avoid hiatus, is written AN before a vowel) expresses that we speak of one such thing as the Substantive describes: it is the INDEFINITE ARTICLE. THE designates the person, or thing (or, it may be, the persons or things) of which, from other circumstances, we have some acquaintance; and it is, therefore, termed the DEFINITE ARTICLE. Those tongues which are supposed to want articles will, on examination, be found to possess these Defini

tives, either separately, in their prefixes, or in their terminations. "The Latin quis is evidently κaι os; and the Latin terminations us, a, um, no other than the Greek article os, n, ov."

From fifty to sixty other words, which could not be brought within the limits of any of the preceding divisions, have been formed into two separate classes, termed PREPOSITIONS and CONJUNCTIONS: so called, the former (pre-positus) because usually placed before Substantives; and the latter from their being used to conjoin words, or sentences. Both these classes have been individually examined by Mr. Horne Tooke in his "Diversions of Purley," and shewn to be merely either verbs or nouns, whose other parts, or compounds, are, in general, not to be found in the language; for which reason the task of fixing their accurate signification becomes the more laborious. Whether or not he has, in all cases, been equally successful, it is not here our business to enquire. It is sufficient for our present purpose that and, but, yet, -from, to, with, and the like, have significations of their own, independent of their connexion in the sentence where they are found; and this Mr. Tooke has clearly demonstrated. If, then, each has a meaning, and is capable of raising an idea in the mind, that idea must have its prototype in nature. It must either denote a state, or exertion, and is therefore a Verb; or a quality, and is in that case an Adjective; or it must express an assemblage of qualities, such as is observed to belong to some individual object, and is, on this supposition, the name of such object, or a Substantive.

The only class of words which remains to be noticed is that of INTERJECTIONS; and these must always belong to one or other of the divisions already mentioned. When the mind is overpowered by passion, or violence of feeling, unconnected words and broken sentences are uttered: but every such word, or sentence, is an Interjection, and has its meaning by completing the sentence with those words which are unexpressed. In English, a few sounds, as oh! fie! alas! &c. are particularly used for the expression of exclamation, arising from the impulse of astonishment, aversion, pain, or other emotions. But, beside these, any other word, or phrase, such as "Wonderful!" "How wretched!" &c. may become an Interjection; and in this it does not change its nature, but merely, from its disjointed and interjected situation in the page, marks the powerful influence of some overwhelming passion in the speaker's mind.

In this general sketch of the different kinds of words, we have enumerated ten divisions, viz. Substantives, Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs, Participles, Pronouns, Articles, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections. These, to be sure, might all be classed under the three heads of Names, Qualities, and Actions, that is, of Substantives, Adjectives, and Verbs; but they are the Parts of Speech generally recognised in English Grammars; and will serve as convenient subdivisions for our further remarks on the subject. We shall, therefore, reconsider them individually, in such order as we judge most conducive to the ease of explanation.

A SUBSTANTIVE (or Noun) is the name of a real or imaginary being, of a something, possessing qualities (one or more) by which its separate existence may be identified and characterized. This is an abstract definition; but it will be better understood when applied to the several species of Substantives. This class of words may be conveniently considered under three distinct heads:

1. REAL NOUNS, or Names of Things: as, sun, moon, lion, tiger.

2. VERBAL NOUNS, or Names of States or Actions: as love, hatred, hunting, fishing.

and 3. ABSTRACT NOUNS, or Names of Qualities: as whiteness, wisdom, courage,

The first designate objects that we conceive to have a permanent existence; the second give names to the fleeting states and changes of things; and the last denominate the qualities themselves by which objects, or actions, exhibit, each its separate existence, to the human mind.

The Names of Things, like the objects themselves, may be considered, either individually, or as belonging to a class consisting of many individuals. Thus, London, Etna, and the Danube, refer us, each to an

individual city, mountain, and river, of which we are otherwise supposed to have some knowledge; while the words city, mountain, and river, are general names which include the former as well as others of similar species. There are many cities, many mountains, and many rivers; but there is only one London, one Etna, and one Danube: these latter are termed PROPER NAMES, in contradistinction to COMMON NAMES, such as city, mountain, and river. Terms that refer to a number of individuals, considered as connected in one body, such as people, army, flock, &c. are called COLLECTIVE NOUNS, or NOUNS OF MULtitude.

The progress of knowledge is from general to particular, from loose to accurate; and hence the common precede the proper Names. The child has the general notion of a tree long before it learns to distinguish between an ash and an oak; and these names, though it may be now difficult to trace their origin, must have at first expressed qualities: for they were, and still occasionally are, used as adjectives, forming the compounds Ash-tree and Oak-tree. Even when arrived at this stage of nomenclature, we are still at a distance from individual designations. Every tree, though of the same species, or variety, differs in something from its fellow, and possesses some peculiarity by which it might be separately characterized: it may grow in a particular spot, or have been planted by a revered

ancestor.

To give distinctive names to every object in nature would be impossible, and if possible would be useless. The occasion for such distinctions is almost always local and temporary, and they are, in most cases, suf