Chapter II: Preface (2)

Example; Some may still imagine _the_ signification of _an_ article or _a_ letter, and perhaps more compound names to be indefinable, and the article to be useless; tho’ _the_ definitions here given thereof evidently shew _the_ contrary; and the Greeks and Romans not only made use of the genders ο, η, το, and hic, hæc, hoc, but also of a declining article at the end of nouns, as the Welsh did _un_ and _yr_, which last before a consonant sunk into y _the_, inflecting with the following radical consonant; and other nations have made use of the article. _To_ dispute the utility of the article seems therefore absurd, but it may be _a_ dispute, whether either determine _any_ particular individual, or only some third person alluded to, pointed at, meant or spoken of in discourse, or in the line of possession; ο, η, το, hic, hæc, hoc, this, that, yr, un, le, ein and der expressing as much.

Of Nouns Substantive.

A Noun Substantive denotes a substance, as a spirit, an animal, a vegetable, or any other thing that may be conceived to subsist, as _agreeableness_, _agility_, _acceleration_; which, tho’ their qualities, _agreeable_, _agile_, _accelerate_, are indefinite or indeterminate, yet by the signs, _ness_, _ty_, _ion_, signifying substances, properties, and the sun’s motion, acquire such a determinate meaning as to become substantives, and to shew their meaning without being joined with any other word. And all names, whether of substances, qualities, or other things, to which the articles _an_ or _the_, or any other substantive signs are joined or set in apposition, are nouns substantive.

There are in the English language more substantive names than seem to be necessary for an universal language, besides the synonymas of various other dialects, which are incongruous in sense, with the hieroglyfic signs, and tend to darken and confound the natural sense and sounds of names and things. Tho’ the English vocables are explained elsewhere, we shall here take notice of some peculiarities of that nature in the English substantives.

Bl-ab, b-abe; ebb, gl-ebe; rib, tr-ibe; kn-ob, gl-obe; t-ub, t-ube; where the final _e_ should be dropped, and the remaining vowel marked with a grave accent, as tub, tùb.

B-ack, b-ake; b-eck, b-eke; l-ick, like, link; p-ock, p-oke, m-uck, p-uke. These might be wrote as lic, lìc.

Ax, sex, ra-dix, ox, ux, as acs or ach as formerly. Ach, be-ach, spe-ech, st-ich, l-och, n-och, touch.

M-atch, l-etch, itch, b-otch, sm-utch.

H-ac, ar-se, ace, dice, d-oce, d-uce.

H-ag, l-eg, g-ig, l-og, h-ug.

Age, b-adge, coll-ege, edge, se-ige, br-idge, d-oge, l-odge, subterf-uge, b-udge.

Aight, eight, f-ight, f-ought, o-ught. These eight last classes are made use of to express the three subsisting sorts of actions, viz. the local or inanimate, the generative and energic, when the first might be expressed by c, the second by g, and the third by ch, as, ac, àc, and aç with a cedille, that is, the acute, the grave, and soft or feminine; ag, àg, āg for the short, long, and soft of the generative species of motion; and ach, àch, and āch, the last to be sounded like the Welsh ch or the English _wh_ in what or where, for the acute, grave, and gutteral of energies and animal motions; so that these three letters, which the Welsh inflect so as to express the cases and genders by the difference of acute, grave, and gutteral, might very well serve for all the uses of the eight last classes of names, should the whole be deemed necessary. But, those of the third, fifth, eighth, and ninth classes are compound sounds expressed by a combination of characters, which ought not to be kept together but in terminations; they having been corruptly introduced into languages by the Greeks and Romans, in order to express qualities and pleasant sounds contrary to the nature of things.

Bre-ad, bl-ade, br-ed, br-eed, ma-id, si-de, c-od, c-ode, b-ud, pr-ude, should be wrote and accented as ud, ùd.

St-af, st-ave, be-ef, be-eve, l-ife, ol-ive, beho-of, beho-ove, c-ave, might be made staff and stàf, as formerly.

An-im-al, male, h-ell, h-eel, circ-le, Apr-il, v-ill, b-ile, car-ol, par-ole, c-ull, b-ull, m-ule, might be wrote and accented al, àl, el, èl, il, ìl, not eel, ol, òl, ul, ùl; or as the Welsh and Spanish aspirate ll.

H-am, l-ame, sarc-asm, anth-em, th-eme, apoth-egm, cla-im, cl-ime, quiet-ism, wisd-om, h-ome, mikrocosm, ch-um, h-ume, usm. Here the final e might be dropped, and the Greek compounds have no particular meaning; all being alike expressive of the forms of substances and things.

Me-an, m-ane, g-ang, p-en, obsc-ene, chall-enge, p-in, p-ine, th-ing, mo-ti-on, t-ong, b-un, b-ung. These signify various existences and things, and are properly accented; but the final e might be exchanged in writing, for the grave accent, màn.

Attend-ance, abstin-ence, prov-ince, sc-once, d-unce. These may do as to orthography and accent, and signify the ens or essence of various things, as, ance of earthly substances, ens those of water, ince of things in general, once of motion, and unce of man, as in dunce or di-unce a privative of the human essence.

Ant, ag-ent, m-int, f-ont, h-unt, signify the possession of the earth and water or property, properties in general, the property of motion and human property, that is of hunting or driving to and fro in the possessions.

G-ap, g-ape, sle-ep, p-eep, tr-ip, tr-ipe, h-op, h-ope, s-up, d-upe, shap, ship, shop. Here the grave accent might serve for the final e; the meaning thereof being the division generally of matter into substances or parts, except the terminations shap, ship, and shop, signifying from high or high.

Cell-ar, c-are, be-er, p-er, or pear, f-ir, fire, clam-or, st-ore, c-ur, cens-ure, am-our or am-ur, here the final e might be dropped; and ar signifies upon, àr earth, er since, èr water, ir high or to, ìr fire, or from, òr an extension of possession, or a circle, ur or wr a man.

Lam-as, ass, g-aze, ash, be-ast, actr-ess, sque-ese, fl-esh, ap-ish-ness, apt-ness, ch-est, bl-iss, s-ize, f-ish, l-ist, m-oss, d-oze, osh, c-ost, b-uss, f-uze, bush, b-ust, might be all expressed and accented as, as, às, ash, ast to express the affirmations and energies of affections, properties, and things.

P-at, p-ate, p-et, def-ete, b-it, b-ite, kn-ot, m-ote, c-ut, mute, p-ath, t-eeth, fa-ith, m-oth, mo-uth. These express the identity and property of different parts or things, and the final e might be exchanged for the grave accent.

Abili-ty, agili-ty, ami-ty, du-ty, antipa-thy, apa-thy, sympa-thy. These signify different general properties and qualities of things.

Aristocra-cy, oligar-chy, ordina-ry, mason-ry, orator-y, lecher-y, grocer-y, orthodox-y, ha-y, ho-y. The cy and chy signify different qualities, and the y is the Welsh _the_.

Ma-w, me-w, mo-w, and s or es for substantives of a plural nature. This w signifies different springs.

Substantives are distinguished by grammarians into appellatives or general names of things common to many individuals, as _man_, _river_, _month_, _wind_; and proper names, appropriated only to individuals, as, _George_, _Britain_, _London_, _October_, _Libs_, which admit of neither articles or plurality of numbers. But all words, excepting one or an, according to their natural meaning seem to me to be appellative and capable of being applied to things of a plural nature, were their primitive sense understood, as for instance, _George_, which originally signified _a chief of the circle nation_, as an appellative name of a magistrate, in the same manner as King, Prince, Duke, or any other; but when its original meaning was lost, and it came to be adopted as a Christian name by different families, it was thence supposed to be a mere arbitrary term, imposed as the name of an individual; and so as to Britain, London, October, Libs, Thames, Avon, which were originally appellatives or common expressions for _the sea coast_, _long towns_, _the eighth month from the spring_, _the west south-west, or Libian wind_, _the limits of the Iceni_, and _Rivers_. So that these names, so long as their original meanings were understood, were as much appellative or common expressions, as man, river, month, wind, or any other common names, and as capable too of a plural or singular sense, in concord with the articles or demonstrative pronouns; as, _a_, _the_, _this_, or _that_, chief of the circle nation or long town, &c. Hence the distinction of common and proper names seems to be frivolous and unnecessary.

All substantives were originally appellative and plural, and the articles and demonstrative pronouns were set in apposition or as terminations thereto, to determine their singular nature as well as the identity of the individual. But as they are now mostly understood as the signs of single things, the English method of adding s or es as a plural termination, should be generally followed as the best method; unless substantives and their articles should be restored to their original sense and use; but in either case the particles, an or en, as terminations of plural names, when the sense will admit of their being singular, and en does not express the male and female of the same kind, as men does both man and woman, seem to be improper. Nor is it best so to continue the use of such plurals, as mice, lice, teeth, feet, geese, but rather mus, lus, toth, fot, gus, which are so in their nature, as expressing the little eaters, the little family, the grinders, the movers and the water nation. It is however certain that the numbers of nouns are in their nature but two, singular and plural, one and two or many, but whether they are expressed by one or an, and two or as and es seems not to be very material, tho’ as and es were the primitive signs, as, _as_ signified the masculine gender, and _es_ the feminine. And numbers and genders ought to be the same.

There were originally no other distinction of genders of nouns than the masculine and feminine, and which were distinguishable only by the signification of vocables; and whatever other arbitrary modes and distinctions as to genders of nouns and their declensions or inflections have been arbitrarily made by other nations, the English still in fact adhere to the original masculine and feminine genders, the only distinction of nature, _as_ and _es_; for were the meaning of substantives precisely understood, they would all appear to be either masculine or feminine, at least, as relative to man and woman, or according to their active and passive, or hard and soft sounds. Nor do the English adjectives or pronouns vary as to genders, numbers, or cases, as has been supposed; but naturally agree in concord, without any variation or inflection thereof, from their primitive state.

Indeed if the Welsh modes of inflection derive their origin from the original language, which was musical, and vocables could be reduced to their true primitive state, perhaps it might be the best way, but as that might be impracticable or too arduous a task, we may as well stick to our old English voices, which deviate so very little from the primitive language.

And, as to any variation of cases or the declension of nouns, the English still remains in the primitive state of language without any; their prepositions being fully expressive of the situation and direction of actions and things, and those of other nations being altogether arbitrary and calculated more for the sake of variety and preservation of vocables, than from any necessity, as their prepositions and vocables might in their primitive state be as expressive, and agree in concord, like the English, which has no other state or case, than that in which names were originally formed, or the nominative, as will appear to any one, that will be at the trouble of a deliberate consideration of the origin, frame, and construction of the English language, whatever may have been advanced by our modern grammarians, as to the variation of the genitive or possessive case.

Of Pronouns or general Personates.

Pronouns, so called from their being supposed to be mere substitutes of nouns, ought according to their signification to be deemed either substantives or adjectives; for as general signs they serve to personate, demonstrate, relate, and interrogate persons, things, and parts of discourses; and being all demonstrative and interrogative, they are properly distinguishable only into the following sorts, viz.

Personals. Possessives. Relatives.

1. I, me, myself; my - own, mine; one, any, none.

2. Thou or you, thee, thyself; thy - thine; this, each, every,
either.

3. He, she, it, him, her, her, its - hers; that, some, another,
himself, herself; such.

4. We, us, ourselves; our - ours; who, whose, whom.

5. Ye or you, yourselves; your - yours; which.

6. They, them, themselves; their - theirs; what.

Tho’ the English, Welsh, Greek, and Latin pronouns are, with the other parts of speech, all defined in the vocabulary at the end of this essay, it may not be improper here to observe in general, as to their signification, that the first personal pronoun substantively, and not substitutionally signifies man as an indefinite line placed alone or by himself in the centre of things before his extension or division into U the male and female spring; the 2d, the-o-U or y-o-U, the _off man_ or woman; 3d, man extended into T, or in his race and possessions; and hi and shi, the male and female forms and existences; 4th, mankind; 5th, the first and second female persons; 6th, all mankind, persons, and things, except the first second and third persons singular. The possessives express all things to be _in man_, as one universal possessor; and to relate to his descendents as their qualities and properties. The relative and interrogative _which_ is a compound of wch-ich signifying the above action, as _ich_ means the first act of motion or creation, and uch man’s utmost return of that act or spring upwards. And so used as a general relative and interrogative of all actions, as _who_ is of persons, and _what_ of things, and as to the rest they are particularly explained in the vocabulary.

The personal pronouns and such of the possessives and relatives as will not join with substantives in construction, are substantives, and the rest are adjectives; and pronouns like other English nouns, have no variation or declension of person, number, gender, or case, but each is an original, distinct name. So that to attempt any further distinction of pronouns, like all other unnecessary distinctions, would tend to the confusion, rather than the illustration of language, and they perhaps might be better distinguished by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or their original signification of 1st, 2d, 3d, persons singular and plural; tho’ such names as have no foundation in nature, may require more arbitrary rules towards their explanation.

Of Nouns Adjective and Participle.

Adjective and participle nouns are _added_ to substantives and propositions, as expressive of the attributes or qualities, affections, and accidents of things, as in the following example; The _preying_ beast was _daring_; the astonished guese are _fled_, _lost_, or _stolen_; and he is still _pursuing_ a fled, lost, or stolen gus, in order to make a _sweet_ morsel of its garbage; but all such sensations are _nauseous_ to human nature. But qualities were originally expressed by the verbal actives, with few particles, and the compounded sorts were adjected thereto.

And qualities being the effects of light, heat, and motion, flowing upon, warming or penetrating bodies differently modified in various degrees, and the sensations thence produced in us, as those of colours, tastes, sounds and feeling, rather than any internal offences or properties of matter or substances, adjectives assert or express their subsistence as the attributes of various substances and things, as the following specimen of English adjectives shews.

There are no adjectives terminating in b except _ib_, which signifies life to beings, as in glib _liquid_, and bib to _drink_; for ab, eb, ob, ub, signifying from or out of life, would be improper to express life to things, as descending upon, and penetrating them, so as to give them motion, growth, generation, and sensation. Nor is there any adjective terminating in the letter p, it being expressive only of the parts of matter, as divisor of a, e, o, and t.

Ac, ec, ic, oc, uc, and their softer inflections, are expressive of the different modes of motion, as local, generative, and energic actions and their contraries, as in, weak, _our action_, black, _shut from the light_, slack and lag, _a low or earthly action_, meek, _a feminine action_, epic, _an action past_, like _the first action of light_, high, _man acting_, light, _its active property_, coasting, _acting along the edge or lower part of the possessions_, big, _a thing swoln with heat_, nigh, _acting in_, mock, _the motion of the cheek_, strong, _the property of the sun’s motion below_, much, _the upper parts_.

Ad, ed, id, od, ud, signify an addition and division of qualities emanating on men, animals, and substances of earth and water, as in bad, _an earthly life_, broad, _an addition of country_, dead, _matter without the addition of quality_, sad, _a low addition or quality_, glad, _that of being high_, mad, _the addition of being dumb_, or, _a brute_, red, _a diminution of the colour of light_, aged, _a past or diminished action_, cold, _the passive quality of being deprived of the sun’s action_, blind, _deprived of animal light_, mid, _dividing the center of existence_, insipid, _a thing deprived of the internal taste_, arid, _the earth deprived_, calid, _deprived of a covering from the heat_, tid, _property diminished_, acid, _deprived of action_, acrid, _depraved action of fire_, wild, _deprived of volition_, odd, _deprived of or out of the circle of possession_, ward, _the spring or the division of man and woman_, rude, _the privation of truth_, crude, _a rude action_.

Af, ef, if, uf, with the inflections ave and ive, affirm the various state and situation of men and things in life, as, deaf, _he is deprived of sense_, safe, _he is standing_, slavish, _he is low_, brave, _he is a warm or spirited being_, chief, _he is the first_, active, _it is the property of action_, dative, _he or it is giving to_, accusative, _it is acting at us_, abusive, _he is from us_, captive, _he is taken_, abortive, _he is from the border of possessions_, adjective, _it is cast to_, gruff, _he is an angry man_, bluff, _he is an hairy man_.

Al, el, il, ol, ul, express the qualities of earth and water, as to the parts of extension and place, the ilation of the sun’s light thereon, all extension and human intelligence, as in, actual, _upon or in the state of action_, aerial, _in the state of air_, adverbial, _in the state of an adverb_, real, _upon the return of matter_, usual, _upon the state of us_, genial, _in the state of generation_, bestial, _upon the property of the lower beings_, annual, _upon the return of the year_, able, _from hell_, or _being deprived of light_, ample, _an extensive place_, genteel, _the first race_, level, _the place of the female extension_, single, _acting in a place_, little, _an extension of the rays of light_, agile, _the acting light_, chill, _without light_, civil, _a race living together_, evil, _privation of light_, idle, _about a place_, oll or all, _a circle extended_, whole, _man’s place of action_, full, _man enlightened_, artful, _the light of man upon properties_, dull, _without human light_.

Am, im, om, um, are expressive of the different forms, modes, and existences of the circumambient bodies, as lame, _the mode of crawling_, warm, _man covered about_, dim, _without extension_, firm, _the fire about_, some, _the things seen and sounded_, dumb, _an earthly being_.

An, en, in, on, un, signify existences of earth, water, and motion in general, and of man, as, mean, _me in earth_, human, _an earthly one_, sane, _sound one_, profane, _from purity_, clean, _an action of light upon matter_, ashen, _the lower one_, oak being the higher, even, _springing_, serene, _the stars in_, divine, _God in_, supine, _the low and up in_, benign, _being in_, twain, _two in_, one or un, _the spring or man in_, alone, _in the state of one_, none, _no one in_, boon, _the food one_, wrong, _a man from acting upright_, dun, _the daily one_, young, _the growing one_.

Ar, er, ir, or, ur, are properties of earth, water, fire, extension, and human nature, as in clear, _the action of light upon_, dear, _upon thee_, near, _the not upon_, bitter, _the biting water_, eager, _water from action_, tender, _thin water_, dire, _he is hot_, intire, _in possession_, sore, _from the lower_, future, _the man in embrio to be born_, pure, _a man’s part_, immature, _too soon at man_.

As, es, is, os, us, affirm the different qualities of mankind and things, as, base, _a low or earthy thing_, adverse, _a spring downwards_, diverse, _a divided spring_, worse, _a low man_, aguish, _it is from a spring_, apeish, _he is a son_, wise, _he is man_, actuose, _it is all active_, close, _it is all shut_, globose, _it is all round as a ball_, jocose, _it is all joy_, noise, _it is all nose_, as voice is all vocal, or the sound of the cheeks, upish, _he is up_, abstruse, _from our property_, astonish, _it is the tone of an ass or brutes_, babish, _that of a baby_, copious, _a copy of man_, ingenious, _internally generated in us_.

At, et, it, ot, ut, with their inflections and compounds signify property or in possession and existence, as, great, _the action of fire at or upon the possessions_, last, _upon the lowest possession_, agast, _acting upon the lowest possession_, past, _a thing in the lowest possession or existence_, vacant, _a thing without possession or property_, radiant, _a division of rays upon the possessions_, sweet and secret, _female properties_, absent, _without possession or property_, agent, _acting in possession_, fit, _it is property_, apt, _a proper thing_, first, _the fire of life to the lower possessions_, instinct, _in action within_, white, _the upper property_, or _the firmament_, hot, _the action of the sun on things_, absorpt, _without a part of the circle of possession_, both, _man and woman_, moist and most, _things on the ground_, abrupt, _from the earth up into the possessions_, just, _the property of mankind_, curst, _a man’s action of the lower property_, occult, _actions without the property of light_, ancient, _one first in possession_, decent, _fair in possession_, acute, _a springing property_.

Y, ly, ty, thy, are expressive of properties, existences, and qualities generally, as in, any _the one in action or possession_, many, _the more in action or possession_, dry, _the thing without water_, airy, _the air_, ashy, _the ash_, barrenly, _the barren race_, brotherly, _the brother race_, happy, _the hap_, holy, _the high all_, sappy, _the sap_, forty, _the four tyes, times, rounds or tens_, swarthy, _the men of lower property_, wry, _from upright_; and thus are definable all other English, Greek, Welsh, and Latin adjectives. These have been taken at random, and the Greek and Latin terminations of adjectives being all in as, es, eis, os, òs, oos, ous, us, on, and er, are mere affirmatives, by the sight, sound, spring, and motion of things.

So that adjectives and participles are names, which imply assertions and attributes, as those of qualities, affections, and properties of substances and things generally; but making no compleat sense, nor determining any particular thing without being joined to another word as _a daring_, _a daring man_. In the English language they are not varied in respect to genders, numbers, cases, or otherwise, except as to the degrees of comparison.

The three degrees of comparison mentioned by grammarians, are the positive, comparative, and superlative; the positive is the state in which the name was originally put; the comparative is formed by adding _er_, a spring beyond the original state, to the quality, where they will agree in concord, as, deep, _deeper_, _deepest_, high, _higher_, _highest_, sweet, _sweeter_, _sweetest_; _est_ signifying a spring beyond the limits of the possessions; forming the superlative degree; but where those syllables will not so agree with the names and in participles, as in _aerial_, _ingenious_, _copious_, _daring_, _loving_, _loved_, the comparative must be formed, by setting _more_, that is, mo-er a great spring, in apposition to the name; and the superlative by the addition of _most_, signifying a spring beyond the limits of the possessions.

Of Prepositions

A Preposition is a substantive part of speech set before other names, most commonly substantives, either in apposition, as, _before a noun_, or in composition, as, _preposition_, to denote the situation or place of action, or rest of the things, to which they are joined; at the same time implying their similar relations or kindred; and connecting the names of substances, as, _from_ this book, _with_ the pen of the writer; or _from thence_, it may be inferred that prepositions are of themselves significant of things. But the use of prepositions or the names of cases are best understood from the following explanation thereof.

It is observable that O is an universal expression for the circle of motion and extension; that i signifies a perpendicular line or man placed in its center; and that this line, with a traverse one, expressed by T or ⊥ and signifying mankind and other beings and things as extended, and the properties of man denote the nominative case, or that in which they were first named; and all the other cases, as they happen upon, up or down, or to or from either of these lines, are distinguished as in the following example.

These prepositions are definable as follows.

In, with, within, to, into, unto, at, towards. In, signifies man placed in the center of existences, as a middle being, partaking of, and connecting matter with spirit; with is the spring of i into male and female, and T their possessions inflected; within is the same in the circle of possession: to is T-O, the property of motion from T to the circle of motion; into the same within the possessions; unto, at, and towards, the same towards man or the line of possession; afore, before, against, signify things or parts in and out of the borders of possession.

After, behind, since, according to. After is off T or the border of possession; behind is to be after man in possession; since, having been in possession; according to, agreeing together in acting; between, betwixt, among, amongst, for, from, about; for, the parts or things of the circle of possession; about and from the parts or things within the circle of possessions of men; between and betwixt, the line i dividing the possessions; among and amongst, the things about the circle of possession. Above, up, on, upon; above, the upper spring of the human sight; up, the spring part, on and upon the sky.

Under, below, beneath, down. Under, not sprung within or up the possessions; down, not sprung in; below, from being up; beneath, to be not in possession.

Out, of, from, out of, without. Out, from the possessions of men and things; of, the things within the borders; from, the surrounding parts therein; without, out of possession.

By, through, over, over and above, besides, beyond, except, until. By, the part; besides, below the part; beyond, by the upper covering; thro’, from the possessions; over, from the spring of sight; except, acting out of the possession part; until, during the spring or possession of light; the two last names serve also for conjunctions.

CONJUNCTIONS.

A Conjunction is an active part of speech, that connectively or disjunctively joins together words and sentences, as the names of actions, as prepositions do those of substances. They have been divided by grammarians into various sorts; tho’ the only significant distinction seems to be into copulatives, connectives, and disjunctives, as the two former sorts absolutely connect and coalesce both the sentences and their meaning, or when the expression is only of mere local or inanimate motion, barely move on, connect, and continue the sentence or discourse, without any compatibility of meaning; and the latter sorts conditionally, exceptionably, or interrogatively do the same. Of the first class are, and or ond, _on in division or discourse_, but, _be it as or by man and things soon_, yet, _it is or springs_, also, _on so_, likewise, _the same way_, still, _light on things_, altho’, _upon to_, notwithstanding, _not opposing the former action_, however, _be the spring of action as it may_, nevertheless, _without any spring_, as, _the earth seen_, as well as, _its surface or under it out of sight_, for, _the part in the circle_, therefore, _the parts and spring within the circle_, wherefore, _the parts in which circle_, because, _by our own actions_, that, _towards possession_. And the disjunctives are the following; or, _the promiscuous things within the circle of possession_, either, _action or matter_, nor, _not the things promiscuously within the circle of possession_, neither, _no action or rest_, till or untill, _during the spring of light on the possessions_, whilst or while, _the action of the upper light on the possessions_, if, _life or is it life?_ unless, _my spring out_, except, _acting from the parts of possession_, besides, _by the side_; and with which sense the Welsh, Greek and Latin conjunctions correspond, as appears by an analysis thereof at the end of this essay.

An example of their use and construction.—Was it pride _and_ folly, _or_ avarice and envy, that caused the confusion of human speech? It was _neither_ the one or the other, _but_ the effect of some supernatural cause, _as_, the scripture informs us. _Nor_ is it probable, that so great a deviation could have naturally happened; _unless_ there was some very great wilful perversion of the original language, _whilst_ mankind were contending for possessions _as well as_ power. _Nevertheless_ the first language is _still_ recoverable, _notwithstanding_ its many divisions and great disguise, _if_ the subject be adverted, after a right method. And _altho’_ it may be _also_ attended with some labor to mankind, _except_ those already skilled in languages, _yet_ it may be attained by any English reader, that will endeavour it, _for_, _however_ languages may differ, as to the manner of combination or construction of names and sentences, they are certainly one and the same in their principles, and _likewise_ in their particles; _because_ the letters and particles of all languages appear by this essay to be still the same. _Besides_, as human speech derives its origin from a supernatural cause, its various dialects cannot differ as to their materials. _Wherefore_ then so many different opinions concerning these matters, _but_ from our own remissness? Let us _therefore_ exert our faculties in the laudable undertaking of recovering the first universal language, _that_ we may be thereby restored to our senses, which seem to be equally perverted.

VERBS.

Verbs are either simple or compound. The simple are those springs or energic signs in human speech, which, mark the relation and connection of the subject and attribute of a proposition; and affirm or deny the agreement or disagreement betwixt things, as, man _is_ an animal. Compound or concrete verbs also include adjectives and participles; or the qualities and attributes of the subject of a proposition, as, man _thinks_ or think is; sometimes only the subject, as _mae_, _eimi_, _I am_, or _sum_; and frequently the subject, affirmation and attribute, as, _walketh_, man is upon action. In some dialects verbs have been so modified, as to denote or imply the modes, times, persons, genders, and numbers of the things affirmed; and nominally distinguished, as verbs active, passive, neuter, personal, impersonal, regular, irregular, auxiliary, and substantive; tho’ according to their real use and signification, all verbs seem to be substantive and auxiliary, and either singly, or conjunctively, with adjectives or participles, formed into attributive or compound verbs, express all modes of actions and affirmations, as appears by the following instances; sum, I am, or, _it is man’s existence_, es, the second person created or the feminine gender, est, the second, first, and a third person born of the first and second, fui, _I have lived or been_, fuisti, _thou hast lived or been_, fuit, he the person born, hath lived or been; amo, I love or _am for a woman_, the first person, amas, the feminine the second person, amat, the third person produced, the third person, am-avi for ui in fui, _he has loved or been loved_, the past tense; doceo, I teach or _give the lowering action to man_, the first person, doc-es, the second person or feminine gender, doc-et the third proceeding from the other two, doc-ui, as in fui, I have lived or been taught, the past tense; lego I read or _recall_, the first person, leg-is the second, leg-it the third, and leg-i, _man read_ the past; audio, I hear, or, _spring the passive sense_, au-di-is, au-di-it and au-di-vi, I have lived or been heard; and the conjugating particles seem to be the degrees of comparison, as, a, e, i, or as, es is, male, female, mankind, or earth, water and fire, or motion and existences in general; and the persons of U _man_, and thence all things of the masculine gender the first person, as, es, or is signifying the feminine in different degrees and qualities, the second, and at, et, it, the rest of mankind and things, the third person, am-us, em-us, im-us, all men of the male kind of the first person plural, atis, etis, itis, all except the first person singular of the second, and ant, ent, int, all mankind and things in different degrees, except the first and second person singular, of the third person plural; and thus may be explained all the Latin and Greek modes of conjugating verbs.

Verbs are farther distinguished by grammarians into active, passive, and neuter, as being expressive of actions, passions, or neither the one or the other, but mere being or existing, as, _I love_, _am loved_, _live_, _walk_, _or stand_; tho’ according to the signification of words, there does not seem to be any real ground for the latter distinction, for _to love_, _to be loved_, _to live_, _sleep or rest_, must signify either actions, active passions and energies, or their privation and passiveness. So that the distinction in this respect might be more properly made into active and passive only, agreeable to the masculine and feminine, the only proper distinction of nouns as to genders; all actions, substances, and things, at least, as having relation to mankind, being either masculine or feminine, and the distinctions made by the Greeks and Romans being mostly arbitrary and contrary to the meaning of words which ought to determine the genders of nouns.

Verbs have a designation of person, corresponding with the personal pronouns; of number with the singular and plural of nouns, of tenses as representing present, past, and future actions and things; and of modes or the manner in which they ought to be expressed. But whatever necessity there may be for a great variety of modes and tenses in dialects, constructed upon arbitrary principles, it does not appear that any more than one is needful for a natural language, or that the modes of conjugating verbs or any other, are in fact expressible by human speech any otherwise than by the whole form or order of inflection and things. And tho’ present, past, and future, seem to be necessary expressions, according to our present mode of conception, yet they are not in reality any representation of time, but of our manner of dividing or reckoning the changes of motions or number of actions in extension, which in the eternal state of spirits, or perhaps in a vacuum, might be deemed as one intire action or the present tense.

Simple verbs or affirmatives are all substantive and incapable of being inflected themselves, but serve as auxiliaries in the affirmations and inflections of compound verbs, tho’ alone, without the assistance of compound verbs sufficient to express every mode of affirmations, of actions and things, and fully correspond with the nouns and pronouns, as for instance, _I am doing_, _have done_, _may_, _can_, _will_, _shall_, _must_, or ought to do; thou, _art doing_, hast done, &c; he, she, a man, or, John _is doing_, _hath done_, _speaks_, _speaketh_, &c. We _are_ or _were doing_, _have done_, &c; besides, _id_, _ed_, with their inflections ith and eth, and also _is_, added as affirmations in the third person singular to compound verbs; which express attributes, affirmations, and persons, and sometimes the subject and number, tho’ the number is commonly implied by the noun or pronoun. In the following specimen of conjugating verbs, the persons, number, and actions or tenses are expressed by different words, with very few variations of terminations.

The Modes of Conjugating VERBS.

Numbers. Persons.
The present,

Absolute. Conditional.

1 { I { am, be, have, do, } may, can, would,
{ { love, teach, read, } should, or ought,
{ { hear. } to be, have, do, love,
{ { } teach, read, hear.
{
{ { are, be, have, }
Singular. 2 { you { do love, }
{ { teach, read, hear. }
{
{ { is, hath, doth, }
{ he { loveth or loves, }
3 { { teaches, reads, }
{ { hears. }

{ { are, be, have, do, }
1 { we, { love, teach, }
{ { read, hear. }
Plural. 2 { ye,
3 { they,

past,

Absolute. Conditional.

1 { I } was, have been, } might, could, would,
{ } had, did, } should, ought to have been,
{ } loved, taught or } had, done, loved, taught or
{ } teached, read, heard. } teached, read, heard.
{
{
Singular. 2 { you
{
{
{ { was, or hath been, }
{ he { had, done, loved, }
3 { { taught, read, heard. }
{

{ { were, or have been, }
1 { we, { had, done, loved, }
{ { taught, read, heard. }
Plural. 2 { ye,
3 { they,

and future tenses.

Absolute. Conditional.

1 { I } shall, will or must } shall, will, or must
{ } be, had, done, loved, } have been, had,
{ } taught, read, heard. } done, loved, taught,
{ } } read, heard.
{
{
Singular. 2 { you
{
{
{
{ he
3 {
{

{
1 { we,
{
Plural. 2 { ye,
3 { they,

Imperative.

1 Let me be, have, do, love, } Let us be, have, &c.
teach, read, hear. }
}
Singular. 2 Be, have, do, love, } Be, have, &c. ye Plural.
teach, read, hear, thou }
}
3 Let him be, have, do, } Let them be, have, &c.
love, teach, hear. }

Infinitive. Participle.

To be, have, do, love, Being, having, doing,
teach, read, hear. loving, &c. present.

To have been, had, done, Been or having,
loved, taught, read, heard. had, &c. past.

The feminine or endearing inflections of the second persons _thou_ and _ye_ have been omitted, as needless, since they all agree with the pronouns _you_ and _ye_, and the only changes are from are and be to _art_ and _beest_, have to _hast_, were to _wert_, shall and will to _shalt_ and _wilt_, and might to _mightest_, and do to _dost_; but to make use of them in the masculine gender, would be depreciating it. And the participle perfect, being superfluous, it has been likewise omitted; for as _ing_ the present is compleat, so is _ed_ for the past or the privative of springs or actions.

The signification of the conjugating verbs in the four languages is as follows, viz. 1. Am, mae, ειμι, sum, _in full form of existence_; be, fi, φυω, fio, _I live_; can, dichon, δυναμαι, possum, _in act_ or able to act; may, amhay, ωμει, sim, _about acting_; would, could, should, might, ought, buasun, ειην, essem, _the will or act sprung or past_; shall, will, must, byddaf, εσομαι, ero, _the lower acting up, the spring of human light, the lower things sprung up_; was oeddun, ῆν, eram, _man or spring past_; have been, bum, ῆμην, fui, _acted in life_. 2. Are, ere, or art, beest, wit, or idwit, εις, es, _the lesser spring, and it is the spring of life_. 3. Is, it is, fi, id, idiu, εστι, est, _it is seen, sounded, smelt_, &c; hath, _it acts_; had or ha-ed, _action past_; hadst, _a female action past_; do or dost, _motion past_. 4. Are, ym, εσμην, sumus, _men in the spring_; were, buasom, εμεθα, eramus, _men sprung_. Let, bydd, εστο, esto, _extend_ or take thy place; to be, bod, ειναι, esse, _the property of motion to beings_, which converts substantives into adjectives; ing, _in action_; it is not, nid, ουκ εστι, non est, _there is no motion_.

All English verbs which vary from this mode of inflection being erroneous and irregular, ought not to be established by grammatical rules, but restored to the primitive state in the present tense, and marked in the past tense with the proper accent; or if it should appear to be necessary, to add proper conjugations. But as verbs lose their qualities or active state in the past tense, the English verbs ending in d and t in the past tense, have been very properly diminished and substantived, and accordingly contracted in their sounds, of ed to that of d and t, as taught from teached, when the ch was accented hard, and a like the German a or o, felt for feeled, checkt for checked, slept for sleeped, left for leaved, gilt for gilded, bled for bleeded, fed for feeded, had for haed, fed for feeded, fled for flyed, sold for selled, and such others as are so contracted without any other variation, that are capable of a past tense, except, _let_, _put_, _do_, _think_, and other imperatives, which can form no perfect past tense, without the aid of the auxiliary verb _have_, to express some degree of human energy or return to the creative fiat. And as all other tenses seem to be arbitrary and indefinite, the best way of expressing the minuter divisions of actions must be by adverbs or numerals.

And as there is no sort of foundation or necessity for the participle perfect, the best way of correcting those verbs which are supposed to be irregular therein, would be to drop it as superfluous, and fully as well expressed by the past tense, as help, helped, without holpen, cleave, cleaved, or cleft, instead of cleave, clave, clove and cloven, hang hanged, for hang hung. And as to the forming a regular past tense, by reducing irregular verbs to their primitive state in the present tense, the following may perhaps be no improper observation, viz. _all_ in fall, before the corrupt sound of the northern a, as that of o, was, as it ought to be, accented, like _ale_ in pale, and marked with a long accent, as signifying _from high_; its past tense accented short, as _all_ in shall; and wrote _fall_ and not fell; the e not having then taken the place of a, nor a, that of o; shake, signifying _a passionate action of a subject_, is properly accented and wrote in the present tense, but its past tense having partaken of the northern accent, it then came to be wrote and accented _shook_, instead of _shaked_, which, notwithstanding its long establishment by vulgar custom ought to be rectified accordingly; and so as to swear, heave, freeze, abide, strike, dig, and various other instances, where the e has assumed the place of a, a of o, o of a, e, i, or u, of i, or any other change of vowels from the present, to form the past tense; except such as _do_ and _did_, which are different words, and of themselves incapable of any inflection. And the English terminations _an_ and _en_, borrowed from the northern dialects, add nothing to the meaning of our names, but the English, or Engli-Saxon names, are of a southern or Celtic origin, and as fully expressive of the meaning to which they are applied without them; except where they are added to form the singular number, or to active names as substantiving articles, as in all other Celtic dialects.

ADVERBS.

Adverbs are certain energic or active particles or _additional_ verbs added to, or joined with other names in propositions, to denote the degrees and manner of things, as to quantity, situation, quality, motion, and rest. Of quantity, as less, lesser, least, much, more, most, great, greater, greatest, long, longer, longest, short, shorter, shortest, broad, broader, broadest. Of situation or place, as where, whither? up, down, above, below, high, higher, highest, here, there, yonder, far, farther, farthest, within, without, upwards, downwards, forwards, backwards, and such as are expressive of the situation of bodies in motion, or at rest. Of qualities, as wisely, knowingly, sensibly, decently, likely, fairly, warmly, foolishly, beastly, coldly, hardly, and such as express intentional qualities. Of motion and rest; as comprehending affirmatives, interrogatives, interjectories, and those improperly called adverbs of time, as, when? now, anon, then, yesterday, to-day, to-morrow, henceforwards, ever, never, how often? often, oftener, oftenest, once, twice, thrice, seldom, however, away, begone, adieu, speedily, slowly, verily, yes, yea, no, why, however, perhap, alternately, as, alack, ha, alas, ho, oh.

There are no other sorts of adverbs, expressive of the order, time, or manner of things, as appears by the definition of those of the four languages in the vocabulary; nor does it thence appear that there is in fact above three sorts of adverbs, namely, quantity or extension or bulk of bodies; quality or an illation of light, heat and motion thereon, and penetrating the same, expressed by _ly_, as _ty_ does extension in substantiving qualities; and motions energic, animate, and local, with the contraries, as privation, rest, and matter. And the degrees, like adjectives, are compared by adding _er_ and _est_, as comparative and superlative, to the positive or the state or degree of beings and things in act, or putting _more_ or _most_ in apposition thereto.

The degrees of distance and situation, are reckoned like prepositions, upon lines, upright, across, or slantways, extended from the centre of action or existence in our system where man is supposed to stand; or upon man as a mikrocosm standing up with arms extended; his head representing the unseen celestial system, being the superlative degree upwards, the extent of his sight or the sky, the comparative, his body or the world, the positive, upwards, downwards, and crosswise, his limbs below the parts of generation, as representing the parts below the earth’s surface or growth part, the comparative downwards, and beyond it the superlative, the extent of view, the comparative sideways, and beyond it the superlative, as appears by the definition of Adverbs in the vocabulary. And tho’ interjections are supposed to add nothing to the sentence, they certainly express the sorts and degrees of energy with which the whole is affirmed.

SYNTAX.

Having thus explained the several parts of a rational grammar, it now remains only to lay down some general rules for their construction, into simple and compound sentences, according to their natural concord, government, and arrangement.

All the parts of speech, which were originally only particles of one or two letters, having naturally coalesced and united, in more complex names, and words or propositions, without the assistance of art, so in all languages, like the English, in which respect both the simple and complex names still retain their primitive state, without any loss of their natural powers of construction, by any arbitrary addition or combination of artificial signs or modes of concord, like the Greek and Latin, the parts both simple and complex being precisely understood, will still be governed by their meaning, and naturally coincide in sentences, in the same manner as the ideas of a person unacquainted with the artificial rules of logick, are by their natural relation logically connected and formed into regular thesises, hypothesises and synthesises. As for instance; a person, who perfectly knows the meaning of the parts, can in his mind form and express the following sentences; two and two of any thing are, _is_ or is to be sounded four, and not three; and should they happen to be horses, whether with or without shoes, they must be the horses of some man, rather than those of a cow; but if they are delivered, in whatever place they stand, it must be to and from some place, and by and to some body, or if they should only be called, it ought to be done by their right names. Or; supposing Adam, _i_, or any one know myself or himself to be the first man, inhabiting space, and that his length and breadth of extension, was at all times or upon all motions, and as much more, as he or i might by the extension of the arms acquire, without dispossessing another, were our own property, i might, as the first existence and proprietor here of the kind, call myself the first, one, or i. If I had a wife and a son, who had a wife and a son, and had been taught to tell seven in English, with their precise meaning, I might as my next relation, as well as the second person in existence, name my wife two or thou, my son, as the third in being and possession, I might name he, him, or three, which make up the number of the singular stock; and as to the plural number or stock, the first and second person of the singular, and the son which sprung from them, with his son being four in number, and the first spring of the second stock might be named _we_, as the first person plural; the two wives _ye_, the second persons plural of the kind or genders; and all other persons excepting those of the singular number, as the grandson and his offspring, the sixth person from the first or the third in the second generation or plural number, _they_. Then if the first man or any other perfectly understood the meaning of all other names and energies, which appear to be as equally related to the nature of things as these, he could have no difficulty of putting them together according to true concord, as the meaning and signification would not permit him to err; nor indeed is the English to be taught by any other significant rules. The parts of speech being precisely understood, the best way then of acquiring the right English construction, is carefully to observe the manner and style of the best English writers, and to procure an habit thereof by reading and writing, rather than be perplexed by innumerable tedious and unmeaning rules of phrases, sentences, distinctions, and variations of names, from their natural order; for which there is no sort of foundation in the English, or any other language of nature.

But since the English language is that here proposed as an universal one, it may not however be improper to take some little farther notice of the rules of English Syntax. In all languages to form a right sentence the words must agree in construction with one another, as to case, number, gender, and person, either according to the natural order of things, or some arbitrary mode of concord and government, by a variation of the terminations substituted in lieu thereof in particular languages. But the English doth so only from the sense of the words, without any variation of terminations, except that es or s signifying the feminine gender, is sometimes added to form the plural number of substantives, and the substantive verb _is_, or the pronouns _it_, _with_ its inflections, to form the third person singular of verbs, and as and es in some instances, to express the masculine and feminine genders.

And though it has no other case but the nominative, or any variation of cases at all, yet all English verbs agree with the substantives in number and person, without any exception; and the state or situation of substantives are expressed by prepositions set in apposition thereto in the same manner as the articles; nor have the adjectives any variations, besides the degrees of comparison; and yet both they and participles agree with the substantives in gender, number and case; and when two substantives of different sorts of things come together, the place, state, or case of the last is expressed by the preposition _of_ or-’s, signifying _of his_; unless the latter substantive is of the same sort with, or explains the former; in which case they are both of the same case, state, or situation. Conjunctions, adverbs, and relatives, serve to connect sentences, as prepositions do words. The relatives _who_, _what_, and _which_, and all other English names as well as things, must agree with the antecedents as their originals, whether persons, actions, or substantives. When two verbs come together, the latter is to be in the infinitive mode.

VOCABLES.

_An additional vocabulary of primitive nouns defined, with a
separate explication of pronouns, adverbs, conjunctions, and
prepositions; which compleats what has been already published,
of the English, Welsh, Greek, and Latin primitive names, and
fully explains the nature and origin of all the vocables and
parts of those several languages._

ABHOR, DETEST, HATE; CASHAU, TROI YMAITH; MUDASOMAI, STUGEO, AVERSOR, ODIO HABEO. These signify to turn from one with a scornful note of exclamation, or scornful motion or manner.

ABLE; GALLU, DICHONI; DUNAMAI, POSSUM. To be up or high in existence.

ACCEPT, TAKE, SNATCH; CYMERYD, DERBYN, CIPIO; DECHOMAI, LAMBANO, ARPASO; ACCIPIO, CAPIO, RAPIO. To enter into possession of places and things.