the words in the Lord's Prayer come from the Saxon. You may now judge to what extent the Saxon prevails in the English tongue. Of the eight words that are not Saxon, six are from the Latin, one from the French, and one from the Hebrew, as seen in this view : The one French word might be added to the Latin column for deliver, though it comes into the English directly from the French, is Latin by extraction. This analysis, however, shows that the materials of the English language may be arranged into two great classes; namely, the Saxon and the Latin. These classes have reference to the origin of the words. Another view may direct our attention to the condition in which the words are. Some of the words are very short, others are somewhat long. Our has only three letters; kingdom has seven; and temptation has ten letters. Our is a word of one syllable; kingdom a word of two syllables; and temptation is a word of three syllables. Observing that all the words are Saxon, except the eight specified above, you will see that the Saxon words for the most part are short words, and words of one syllable. Of words, however, having more than one syllable, two kinds must be noticed. Take, as an instance, father and kingdom. Now father, though consisting of two syllables, is a simple word; while kingdom is a compound word. Hence arises another division. Words, whether of Saxon or of Latin origin, are either-1, simple; or 2, compound. The two compound words here presented, from the Lord's Prayer, may be resolved into their elements thus: forgive is made up of for and give, in German vergeben; deliver comes originally from de, down, from, and liber, free. Now observe, I do not put down the import of the component parts of forgive, for they are known. Words of Saxon origin are known to every Englishman. But I do assign their signification to the terms which combine to make up deliver, since those terms awaken no corresponding state of mind in the mere English student; and consequently, their equivalents in terms of Saxon origin must be given. In the progress of these lessons, you will be led to study the constituent elements of all our compound words. Here I wish to dwell on the fact, that the vocabulary of the English language consists generally of words derived-1, from the Saxon; 2, from the In order to possess a full and exact acquaintance with the Saxon treasures of our language, you must study that language historically; you must study it in its literature; and you must study the AngloSaxon in its productions, and in the laws of its structure. Apart from so prolonged a labour, you may here learn something on the subject, and at any rate acquire information, which, in general, will enable you to distinguish and recognise words which come from a Saxon source. I lay before you some results of the investigations made by the learned on this subject. The English language consists of about 38,000 words. Of these, about 28,000, or nearly five-eighths are of Anglo-Saxon origin. The majority of the rest are Latin and Greek; of which the former has the larger share. If we look not merely to the number of words, but to their kind, as well as to the share that Anglo-Saxon has had in the formation of our language, we shall see how important is this element of the English tongue. I. English grammar is almost exclusively occupied with what is of Anglo-Saxon origin. Our chief peculiarities of structure and of idiom are essentially Anglo-Saxon, while almost all the classes of words, which it is the office of grammar to investigate, are derived from that language. What few inflections we have are all AngloSaxon. The English genitive, the general modes of forming the plural of nouns, and the terminations by which we express the comparative and superlative of adjectives, er and est; the inflections of the pronouns; of the second and third persons, present and imperfect of the verbs; of the preterites and participles of the verbs, whether regular or irregular; and the most frequent termination of our adverbs (ly), are all Anglo-Saxon. The nouns, too, derived from Latin and Greek, receive the Anglo-Saxon terminations of the genitive and the plural, while the preterites and participles of verbs derived from the same sources, take the Anglo-Saxon inflections. As to the parts of speech; those which occur most frequently and are individually of most importance, are almost exclusively Saxon. Such are our articles and definitives generally, as an, a, the, this, that, these, those, many, few, some, one, none; the adjectives whose comparatives and superlatives are irregularly formed, and which in every language are amongst the most ancient, comprehensive in meaning, and extensively used; the separate words more and most by which we as often express the forms of comparison as by distinct terminations; all our pronouns, personal, possessive, relative, and interrogative; nearly every one of our socalled irregular verbs, including all "the auxiliaries" have, be, shall, will, may, can, must; all the adverbs most frequently employed; and the prepositions and conjunctions almost without exception. II. The names of the greater part of the objects of sense, in other words, the terms which occur most frequently in discourse, or which recall the most vivid conceptions, are Anglo-Saxon. Thus, for example, the names of the most striking objects in visible nature, of the chief agencies at work there, and of the changes the terms which, cæteris paribus (other things being equal), most vividly recall the objects or feelings they represent, are those which have been earliest, longest, and most frequently used, which are consequently covered with the strongest associations, the sign and the thing signified having become so inseparably blended that the one is never suggested without the other. And thus it is that of two synonymes (words having nearly the same meaning) derived respectively from Latin and the Anglo-Saxon, both equally well understood, the one shall impart the most vivid, and the other the most tame conception of the meaning. It is precisely for the same reason that the feelings with which we read beautiful passages in foreign poets are so faint and languid, compared with those which are exerted by parallel passages in Shakspeare, Milton, or Burns. Having thus furnished you with some criteria or means of ascertaining what words have their origin in the Saxon, or, as it is more correctly called, the Teutonic branch of our language, I must now request, that in all your studies, you will constantly ask yourself, whether each word you meet with, is, or is not, of Saxon derivation? Among English writers, no one has a larger portion of Saxon in his compositions than Dean Swift; and no one writes the language more correctly. I shall therefore make use of his writings in this part of my task. William Cobbett's works may be advantageously studied for the Saxon treasures which they contain. EXERCISES FOR PARSING. It is a miserable thing to live in suspense. To live in suspense, is to live the life of a spider. No wise man ever wished to be younger. An idle reason lessens the weight of good reasons. Complaint is the largest tribute paid to Heaven. Complaint is the sincerest part of our devotion. Praise is the daughter of present power. Every man desires to live long. No man is willing to be old. Kings are said to have long hands. Kings ought to have long ears. Vision is the art of seeing things invisible. Good manners is the art of making associates easy. Flattery is the worst and falsest way of showing our esteem. A fine gentleman has both wit and learning. The reader may exercise his ingenuity, as well as his grammar, while he discovers the explanation of a Riddle of the learned Dean's, which is appropriate to my subject. "We are little airy creatures All of different voice and features; One of us in glass is set, One of us you'll find in jet; T'other you may see in tin, And a fourth a box within; An excellent practice in composition is letter-writing. I shall therefore, occasionally, give a specimen of epistolary correspondence. And I advise my pupils to accustom themselves to express their thoughts in the form of letters. Let the letters be real; I mean, let them be written, not as exercises in composition, but on some to conjure withal. It is this language which has given us names for father, mother, husband, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter, child, home, kindred, friends. It is this which has furnished us with the greater part of those metonymies and other figurative expressions, by which we represent to the imagination, and that in a simple word, the reciprocal duties and enjoyments of hospitality, friendship, or love. Such are hearth, roof, fireside. The chief emotions, too, of which we are susceptible, are expressed in the same language, as love, hope, fear, sorrow, shame; and what is of more consequence to the orator and the poet, as well as in common life, the outward signs by which emotion is indicated, are almost all Anglo-Saxon; such are tear, smile, blush, to laugh, weep, sigh, groan. IV. Most of those objects, about which the practical reason of man is employed in common life, receive their names from the Anglo-Saxon. It is the language for the most part of business, of the countinghouse, the shop, the market, the street, the farm. V. Anglo-Saxon, also, are nearly all our national proverbs, in which, it is truly said, so much of the practical wisdom of a nation resides, and which constitute the manual or vade-mecum ("go with me;" that is, the pocket-book, or note-book) of "hobnailed philosophy." VI. A very large proportion (and that always the strongest) of the language of invective, humour, satire, and colloquial pleasantry, is Anglo-Saxon; also all the terms and phrases by which we most energetically express anger, contempt, and indignation. VII. It may be stated, as a general truth, that while our most abstract and general terms are derived from the Latin, those which denote the special varieties of objects, qualities, and words of action, are derived from the Anglo-Saxon. Thus, move and motion, very general terms, are of Latin origin; but those terms which express nice varieties of bodily action, are Anglo-Saxon. Sound is perhaps Latin, though it may be Anglo-Saxon; but to buzz, hum, clash, hiss, rattle, &c., are Anglo-Saxon. Colour is Latin; but white, black, green, yellow, blue, red, brown, are AngloSaxon. Crime is Latin; but murder, theft, robbery, to lie, to steal, are Anglo-Saxon. Member and organ, as applied to the body, are Latin and Greek; but ear, eye, hand, foot, lip, mouth, teeth, hair, finger, nostril, are Anglo-Saxon. Animal is Latin; but man, cow, sheep, calf, cat, are Anglo-Saxon. Number is immediately French, remotely Latin; but all our cardinal and ordinal numbers are Anglo-Saxon. With these facts before us we need not wonder that the orator and the poet are recommended to cultivate assiduously the AngloSaxon portion of the language. "The common people," it is said, "cannot understand words which are of classical origin." And this is a good reason for the advice. But it is not the only reason. The great object of the orator and the poet is to make their meaning felt; to stimulate the imagination, and thence excite emotion. They, therefore, seek the most special terms they can find. Again, the terms which, cæteris paribus (other things being equal), most vividly recall the objects or feelings they represent, are those which have been earliest, longest, and most frequently used, which are consequently covered with the strongest associations, the sign and the thing signified having become so inseparably blended that the one is never suggested without the other. And thus it is that of two synonymes (words having nearly the same meaning) derived respectively from Latin and the Anglo-Saxon, both equally well understood, the one shall impart the most vivid, and the other the most tame conception of the meaning. It is precisely for the same reason that the feelings with which we read beautiful passages in foreign poets are so faint and languid, compared with those which are exerted by parallel passages in Shakspeare, Milton, or Burns. Having thus furnished you with some criteria or means of ascertaining what words have their origin in the Saxon, or, as it is more correctly called, the Teutonic branch of our language, I must now request, that in all your studies, you will constantly ask yourself, whether each word you meet with, is, or is not, of Saxon derivation? Among English writers, no one has a larger portion of Saxon in his compositions than Dean Swift; and no one writes the language more correctly. I shall therefore make use of his writings in this part of my task. William Cobbett's works may be advantageously studied for the Saxon treasures which they contain. EXERCISES FOR PARSING. It is a miserable thing to live in suspense. To live in suspense, is to live the life of a spider. No wise man ever wished to be younger. An idle reason lessens the weight of good reasons. Complaint is the largest tribute paid to Heaven. Complaint is the sincerest part of our devotion. Praise is the daughter of present power. Every man desires to live long. No man is willing to be old. Kings are said to have long hands. Kings ought to have long ears. Vision is the art of seeing things invisible. Good manners is the art of making associates easy. Flattery is the worst and falsest way of showing our esteem. A fine gentleman has both wit and learning. The reader may exercise his ingenuity, as well as his grammar, while he discovers the explanation of a Riddle of the learned Dean's, which is appropriate to my subject. "We are little airy creatures All of different voice and features; One of us in glass is set, One of us you'll find in jet; T'other you may see in tin, And a fourth a box within; An excellent practice in composition is letter-writing. I shall therefore, occasionally, give a specimen of epistolary correspondence. And I advise my pupils to accustom themselves to express their thoughts in the form of letters. Let the letters be real; I mean, let them be written, not as exercises in composition, but on some |