till we have used them, we cannot tell whether they are the one or the other. Thus, when we speak of “ a cut on the finger," cut is a noun, because it is a name; but when we say, Harry cut his finger," then cut is a verb, because it tells something about Harry. Words like bud, cane, cut, comb, cap, dust, fall, fish, heap, mind, name, pen, plaster, punt, run, rush, stone, and many others, can be used either as nouns or as verbs. Again, fast, quick, and hard may be used either as adverbs or as adjectives; and back may be employed as an adverb, as a noun, and even as an adjective. Shakespeare is very daring in the use of this licence. He makes one of his characters say, "But me no buts!" In this sentence, the first but is a verb in the imperative mood; the second is a noun in the objective case. Shakespeare uses also such verbs as to glad, to mad, such phrases as a seldom pleasure, and the fairest she. Dr Abbott says, "In Elizabethan English, almost any part of speech can be used as any other part of speech. An adverb can be used as a verb, ‘they askance their eyes'; as a noun, 'the backward and abysm of time'; or as an adjective, a seldom pleasure.' Any noun, adjective, or neuter verb can be used as an active verb. You can 'happy' your friend, 'malice' or 'fool' your enemy, or 'fall' an axe upon his neck." Even in modern English, almost any noun can be used as a verb. Thus we can say, "to paper a room"; "to water the horses"; "to black-ball a candidate"; to "iron a shirt" or a prisoner"; "to toe the line." On the other hand, verbs may be used as nouns; for we can speak of a work, of a beautiful print, of a long walk, and so on.

CHAPTER IV.

SPECIMENS OF ENGLISH OF DIFFERENT PERIODS.

1. Vocabulary and Grammar.-The oldest English or AngloSaxon differs from modern English both in vocabulary and in grammar—in the words it uses and in the inflexions it employs. The difference is often startling. And yet, if we look closely at the words and their dress, we shall most often find that the words which look so strange are the very words with which we are most familiar-words that we are in the habit of using every day; and that it is their dress alone that is strange and antiquated. The effect is the same as if we were to dress a modern man in the clothes worn a thousand years ago: the chances are that we should not be able to recognise even our dearest friend.

2. A Specimen from Anglo-Saxon.-Let us take as an example a verse from the Anglo-Saxon version of one of the Gospels. The well-known verse, Luke ii. 40, runs thus in our oldest English version:

Sóplíce daet cild weox, and waes gestrangod, wisdómes full; and Godes gyfu waes on him.

Now this looks like an extract from a foreign language; but it is not it is our own veritable mother-tongue. Every word is pure ordinary English; it is the dress-the spelling and the inflexions that is quaint and old-fashioned. This will be plain from a literal translation :—

Soothly that child waxed, and was strengthened, wisdoms full (=full of wisdom); and God's gift was on him.

3. A Comparison. This will become plainer if we compare the English of the Gospels as it was written in different periods of our language. The alteration in the meanings of words, the changes in the application of them, the variation in the use of phrases, the falling away of the inflexions-all these things become plain to the eye and to the mind as soon as we thoughtfully compare the different versions. The following are extracts from the Anglo-Saxon version (995), the version of Wycliffe (1380) and of Tyndale (1526), of the passage in Luke ii. 44, 45:

:

The literal translation of the Anglo-Saxon version is as follows:

(They) weened that he on their companionship were (=was), when came they one day's faring, and him sought betwixt his relations and his couth (folk = acquaintances).

When they him not found, they turned to Jerusalem, him seeking.

4. The Lord's Prayer. The same plan of comparison may be applied to the different versions of the Lord's Prayer that have come down to us; and it will be seen from this comparison that the greatest changes have taken place in the grammar, and especially in that part of the grammar which contains the inflexions.

swa on heofone be wrought, eek in erthe, as in

TYNDALE'S
VERSION.

Our Father,

which
heaven;

art in

Halowed be

thy name;
Let thy king.
dom come;

Thy will be fulfilled as well in earth as it is in heven.

Geve us this ur dayly

Ur ilk day Give to us this!
brede give us to day ouré breed day
ovir othir sub-bred,
staunce,

day.

Forgive thou

all us dettes urs,

swa we forgeofen als we forgive till

And forgive to

us our dettis, as

we

oure dettouris.

And forgeve us

oure dettes as we

ters.

tion,

cioun ;
But delyvere

power, and the glorye, for ever. Amen.

It will be observed that Wycliffe's version contains five Romance terms substaunce, dettis, dettouris, temptacioun, and delyvere.

5. Oldest English and Early English.-The following is a short passage from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, under date 1137 first, in the Anglo-Saxon form; second, in Early English, or - as it has sometimes been called-Broken Saxon;

third, in modern English. The breaking-down of the grammar becomes still more strikingly evident from this close juxtaposition.

(i) Hí

(ii) Hi

swencton
swencten

Þá wreccan menn

the wrecce men

(iii) They swinked (harassed) the wretched men

6. Comparisons of Words and Inflexions.-Let us take a few of the most prominent words in our language, and observe the changes that have fallen upon them since they made their appearance in our island in the fifth century. These changes will be best seen by displaying them in columns :—

7. Conclusions from the above Comparisons. We can now draw several conclusions from the comparisons we have made of the passages given from different periods of the language. These conclusions relate chiefly to verbs and nouns; and they