It has therefore been the univerfal Practice of all polite Nations, to make the Study of Letters the firft Bufinefs of Life. And because this Accomplishment is neceffary to all Perfons, and but few, comparatively fpeaking, have the Advantage of a learned Education to any confiderable Proficiency, Dictionaries have in all Languages been compiled, to which, as to Storehoufes, fuch Perions may have Recourfe, as often as any thing occurs in Converfation or Reading, with which they are unacquainted, or when they themselves would fpeak or write Properly and Intelligibly. And as fuch Helps have been thought ufeful in all civilized Nations, they appear more eminently neceflary in the English Tongue, not only because it is, perhaps, the moft copious Language of any in Europe, but is likewife made up of fo great a Variety of other Languages, both Ancient and Modern, as will plainly appear to any one who fhall perufe the following Dictio mary. Of the Reaton of which Mixture, and by what Accidents it was brought about, I fhall give the following Account. ..That Languages are liable to Changes and Alterations (befidès that ancient Confufion of Tongues at the Building of the Tower of Babel) there have been too many Inftances to require any Proof. The Caufes of Change in Languages are, in general, Three: Firft, Commigrations or Conquefts of Nations, by which, in Tract of Time, there fucceeds a Coalition of the Languages of the Conquerors with the Conquered. So the Italian Language Sprang from the Latin, being mixed with German-Gothic: The Spanish from Latin, mixed with Gothic-German, Arabic, or Morifco The French from the Latin, German, and ancient Gat lish or Gallic. Secondly, From Commerce, by which Offices, Dignities, the Names of Wares, and Terms of Traffick, are introduced, which we commonly take with the Wares from the Perfons of whom we have them, and new form them according to the Genius of our own Tongue... Thirdly, From the Esteem and valuable Properties of any particular Language, by which we endeavour to imitate this or that Tongue, as the more Learned, Elegant, Copious, or Expreffive. So learnèd Men all over Europe eftcem the Latin and Greek Tongues, as the Treafuries of all Science; Christian Divines reverence the Hebrew and Greek; the Turks and Mahometans the Arabic, as the Miftrefs of Religion; the Dutch, Germans and 2nd English, the French, for its Softness and Smoothness of Expreffion; the Danes and Swedes the Teutonic, as more Copious. La Tongue be once efteemed more learned, from thence the Leamed commonly borrow Technical Words, or Words of Arts asin Phyfick, Philofophy, Mathematicks, and others, from the Greek. If it be efteem'd more elegant or fine in Pronunciation, then Courtiers, who are apt to dislike any thing that is common, and the Product of their own Country, and to delight in what is Foreign, borrow a great many Words of Complaifance and Addrefs. ,, First, The ancient Language of Britain is generally allow'd to have been the fame with the Gaulic or French, (this Ifland, in all probability, having been firft peopled from Gallia) as both Cefer and Tacitus affirm, and prove, by many strong and conclufive Arguments, as by their Religion, Manners, Customs, and the Nearness of their Situation. But now we have very small Remains of the ancient Briti Tongue left in England, except in Wales and Cornwall; which will not appear strange when what follows is confidered. " Julius Cafar, fome Time before the Birth of our Saviour, in the Time of King Caffivelane, made a Defcent upon England, tho' he rather difcover'd it than made a Conqueft of it; but about the Year of Chrift 45, in the Time of Claudius, Aulus Plautius was fent over with fome Roman Forces, by whom, and P. Ofte rius Scapula, Codigunus, and Caractacus, two Kings of the Britans, were feverally overcome in a Battle. A Roman Colony was planted at Malden in Effex, and the Southern Parts thereof reduced to the Form of a Roman Province; and after that, the Whole was conquered, as far as to the Friths of Dumbarton and Edinburgh, by Agricola, in the Time of Domitian; and the Remains of the unconquered Britons retired to the Weft Part, call'd Wales, carrying their Language with them over the Mountains, where they have preferv'd it to this Day. Britain being thus become a Roman Province, tho' ftill suffer'd to be governed by Kings of its own, as Vice-Roys under the Roman Emperors, the Roman Legions refiding in Britain for the Space of above two hundred Years, undoubtedly diffeminated the Latin Tongue; and the People being alfo governed by Laws written in Latin, muft neceflarily make a Mixture of Languages. This feems to have been the firft Mutation the Language of Britain fuffered: However, fo tenacious were our Forefathers of their Native Language, that it over-grew the Roman. Thus Thus the British Tongue continued for fome Time mix'd with Provincial Latin, till the Roman Legions being called home, upon account of inteftine Troubles, about the Year 433, the Scots and Picts, taking the Advantage of their Abfence, harrass'd the Northern Parts of Britain; against whom King Vortigern, about the Year 440, call'd in the Affiftance of the Saxons, a Great and Potent Nation among the Germans, in the Dukedom of Holftein, but greater by the Aggregation of many People under their Name and Service, as the Jutes from Jutland, and the Angles from Slefwick: who coming hither under the Conduct of Hengift and Horfa, having overcome the Pics and Scots in a pitch'd Battle, near Stamford in Lincolnshire, were afterwards rewarded for this Victory with the Ifle of Thanet, and after that with the whole County of Kent, where they governed for about 350 Years, under the Titles of Earls of Kent; but they growing powerful, began af-. terwards to quarrel with their Landlords, whom by Degrees they difpoffefs'd of all the Country on this Side the Severn, parcelling it out into feven Kingdoms, called the Saxon Heptarchy, deftroying the British Tongue, then mix'd with the Provincial Latin, together with the Inhabitants, by a long and deftructive War, the Remains of them being again oblig'd to retire with the British Tongue over the Mountains of Wales. So the British Language being in a manner quite extinct in all other Parts of Britain, the Saxon Language became the Language of the Country, and fo continued till near the Year 800, when the Danes infefted England, and made Settlements in the North and Eaft Parts of Britain, and at Length, in about zoo Years, arriv'd at the fole Government of it; but their Government, lafting only about 26 Years, made not fo confiderable a Change in the English Saxon, as the next Revolution. Then about the Year 1067, William Duke of Normandy, commonly called William the Conqueror, came over to Britain; and, having vanquifhed Harold the Danish King, made an entire Conquest of Britain: And as a Monument of their Conqueft, the Normans endeavoured to yoke the English under their Tongue, as they had under their Command, by compelling them to teach their Children in their Schools nothing but the French, by publishing their Laws in French, and by enforcing them moft rigoroufly to plead and be impleaded in that Tongue, for the Space of about 350 Years; by which means the Language of Britain became a Dialect of the English, Saxon and Norman French, which now are the Ground-work or Fundamentals of the prefent Language of Great Britain. Having thus fhewn how the ancient Britifb Language was in a manner extirpated by the Romans, Danes, and Saxons, and fuc fucceeded by the Saxan, and after that, the Saxon blended with The Service of God, called Religion, they called Ean-yayehey, as the only Affu tance and faft Anchor-hold of our Souls Health. The Glacfone Tidings of Salvation, which the Greeks call 'Evayyının, they called Our Saviour, in French Savieur, of Salvator, Lat. they called Al-hael, i. e. Al- The Pharifees, Sunden-halgens, i. e. Religious Men, which had fundred and fe- The Scribes, Boc-Qen, i. e. Book-Men. The Sacrament, aligdom, i. e. Holy Judgment. Fertility, Eon der Wele, i. e. the Wealth of the Earth. The Judgment, Dome yettle, i. e. the Settling of Doom. A Parliament, Witten-mot, i. e. an Affembly of Wife Men, Conférence, Inpro, i. e. that which they did inwardly wot or know certainly. Allo the Names they gave to their Months were fignificant; as, JANUARY [Wilye-Mana S, Sax. i. e. Wolf-Month] becaufe in that Month the FEBRUARY [Sprout-Kele, Sax is es: Cole-Wort or Spring-Wort] because then MARCH [Lenct-Mona S, Sax. i.e. the Lengthening Month] because then the APRIL [Ooytoɲ-Mona 8) Sax.] because their Eafter generally fell in April., JUNE [Mede-Mona S, Sax. i. e. Meadow-Month] because then their Cattle were JULY [Dey-Mona S, Sax, i. e. Hay-Month], because then they generally cut AUGUST [Aɲn Mona S, Sax: i. e. Barn-Month] because they then filled their SEPTEMBER [Denyt-Mona S, Sax. 11 c.Grift-Month] beause they carried OCTOBER [Wynona S, Sax. ie. Wine-Month because then Grapes were NOVEMBER [Wynde-Mona S, Sax. i. e. Windy Month because of the high DECEMBER [Wyngeji-Mona D, Saxs i, e. Winter-Month, because of the Cold I fhall only add one Piece of Saxon Antiquity more, and fo proceed, which is the Lord's Prayer in the Saxon Language, written about the Year of Chrift 900, by Alfred Bishop of Durham, Vren Kaben Sic and in eornay pic gehalgluv in noma Our Father which art in Heavens be hallowed thine Name To cŷmes Sin nic ricin pilla fue ty in peopnay an come thy Kingdom be they Will fo as in Heavens and Th Eon So. Vjen hlay oyen pipelic yel vý to say and yoɲin Earth. Our Loaf fuperfubftantial give us to Day and forgex vr reylda uɲna yue pe forgeɣan, ycylogum vɲum and give us Debts. our so we forgive Debts ours, and no inlea vy18 in cuyenung, Al gernig vnich nom le do not lead us into Temptation, but deliver every one from Evil Amen. Amen. By thefe Inftances it does appear, that the English Saxon Lan guage, of which the Normans defpoiled us in great Part, had its Beauties, was fignificant and emphatical, and preferable to what they impofed upon us. This may fuffice for the Mutation of our Language upon the firft Cause of it, which was Conqueft: I now proceed to the other Two. Secondly, As to Commerce, the Britains having been of a long Time a Trading Nation, as it generally happens, we have had many Words, introduced by that Means; and befides, Britain having been a confiderable Time under Subjection to the See of Rome, in Ecclefiaftical Affairs, the Italians coming over hither to manage the Pope's Concerns, and others for Church Dignities, and many Britains going hence to Rome on Account of Ecclefiaftical Suits, Priesthoods, Abbacies, and Bifhopricks, must unavoidably introduce fome Italian Words among us. Thirdly, As to the particular Properties of a Language, our Tongue has undergone no fmall Mutation, or rather has received no fmall Improvement upon that Account; for as to the Greek and Latin, the Learned have, together with the Arts and Sciences (now rendered very familiar among us) introduced abundance, nay almost all the Terms of Arts in the Mathematicks, Philofophy, Phyfick, and Anatomy, with many others from them; and many more have we entertained from the Latin, French, &c. for the fake of Neatnefs and Elegancy. So that at this Day our Language, which 1800 Years ago was the ancient British or Weth, is now a Mixture of Saxon, Teu |