INTRODUCTION.

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IT has been a que&longs;tion for &longs;ome time pa&longs;t,
what would be the be&longs;t means to fix the
Engli&longs;h language. Some have thought of
Dictionaries, others of In&longs;titutes, for that
purpo&longs;e. Swift, I think it was, who proposed,
in his letters to the Earl of Oxford,
the forming an academy of learned men,
in order by their ob&longs;ervations and rules,
to &longs;ettle the true &longs;pelling, accentuation,
and pronunciation, as well as the proper
words, and the pure&longs;t, mo&longs;t &longs;imple, and
perfect phra&longs;eology of language. It has
always appeared to me, that if &longs;ome great
ma&longs;ter of &longs;tile &longs;hould ari&longs;e, and without
regarding &longs;entiment, or &longs;ubject, give an

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example of good language in his composition,
which might &longs;erve as a model to
future &longs;peakers and writers, it would do
more to fix the orthography, choice of
words, idiom of phra&longs;e, and &longs;tructure of
&longs;entence, than all the Dictionaries and Institutes
that have been ever made. For
certainly, it is much more conducive to
this end, to place before the eyes what is
good writing, than to &longs;ugge&longs;t it to the
ear, which may forget in a &longs;hort time all
that has been &longs;aid.

It is for this rea&longs;on, that I have undertaken
this work; and that it may attain
the end the more perfectly, I &longs;hall consider
language only, not in the lea&longs;t regarding
the matter of the work; but as musicians,
when they are about to give the
mo&longs;t excellent melody, pay no attention
to the words that are &longs;et to mu&longs;ic; but
take the mo&longs;t unmeaning phra&longs;es, &longs;uch as
&longs;ol, fa, la; &longs;o here, culing out the choice&longs;t
&longs;lowers of diction, I &longs;hall pay no regard
to the idea; for it is not in the power of
human ingenuity to attain two things perfectly
at once. Thus we &longs;ee that they mistake
greatly, who think to have a clock
that can at once tell the hour of the day,
the age of the moon, and the day of the

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week, month, or year; becau&longs;e the complexness
of the machine hinders that perfection
which the &longs;implicity of the works
and movements can alone give. For it is
not in nature to have all things in one.
If you are about to chu&longs;e a wife, and expect
beauty, you mu&longs;t give up family and fortune;
or if you attain the&longs;e, you mu&longs;t at
lea&longs;t want good temper, health, or &longs;ome
other advantage: &longs;o to expect good language
and good &longs;en&longs;e, at the &longs;ame time, is
ab&longs;urd, and not in in the compa&longs;s of common
nature to produce. Attempting only
one thing, therefore, we may entertain
the idea of hitting the point of perfection.
It has been owing to an inattention to this
principle, that &longs;o many fail in their attempts
at good writing. A Jack of all
Trades, is proverbial of a bungler; and we
&longs;carcely ever find any one who excels in
two parts of the &longs;ame art; much le&longs;s in
two arts at the &longs;ame time. The &longs;mooth
poet wants &longs;trength; and the orator of a
good voice, is de&longs;titute of logical rea&longs;on
and argument. How many have I heard
&longs;peak, who, were they to attempt voice
only, might be re&longs;pectable; but undertaking,
at the &longs;ame time, to carry &longs;en&longs;e along
with them, they utterly fail, and

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become contemptible. One thing at once,
is the be&longs;t maxim that ever came into the
mind of man. This might be illu&longs;trated
by a thou&longs;and examples; but I &longs;hall not
trouble my&longs;elf with any; as it is not &longs;o
much my object to convince others as to
&longs;hew the motives by which I my&longs;elf am
governed. Indeed, I could give authority
which is &longs;uperior to all examples;
viz. that of the poet Horace; who, speaking
on this very &longs;ubject of excellence in
writing, &longs;ays, Quidvis, that is, whatever
you compo&longs;e, let it be, &longs;implex duntaxit
& unum: that is, &longs;imple, and one thing
only.

It will be needle&longs;s for me to &longs;ay any
thing about the critics; for as this work
is intended as a model or rule of good
writing, it cannot be the &longs;ubject of criticism.
It is true, Homer has been criticised
by a Zoilus and an Ari&longs;totle; but
the one contented him&longs;elf with pointing
out defects; the other, beauties. But
Zoilus has been cen&longs;ured, Ari&longs;totle praised;
becau&longs;e in a model there can be no
defect; error con&longs;i&longs;ting in a deviation from
the truth, and faults, in an aberration from
the original of beauty; &longs;o that where there
are no faults there can be no food for

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critici&longs;m, taken in the unfavourable &longs;en&longs;e
of finding fault with the productions of an
author. I have no objections, therefore,
to any prai&longs;e that may be given to this
work; but to cen&longs;ure or blame mu&longs;t appear
ab&longs;urd; becau&longs;e it cannot be doubted
but that it will perfectly an&longs;wer the end
propo&longs;ed.

Being a book without thought, or the
&longs;malle&longs;t degree of &longs;en&longs;e, it will be u&longs;eful to
young minds, not fatiguing their understandings,
and ea&longs;ily introducing a love
of reading and &longs;tudy. Acquiring language
at fir&longs;t by this means, they will afterwards
gain knowledge. It will be u&longs;eful especially
to young men of light minds intended
for the bar or pulpit. By heaping too much
upon them, &longs;tile and matter at once, you
&longs;urfeit the &longs;tomach, and turn away the
appetite from literary entertainment, to
hor&longs;e-racing and cock-fighting. I &longs;hall
con&longs;ider my&longs;elf, therefore, as having performed
an acceptable &longs;ervice to all weak
and vi&longs;ionary people, if I can give them
&longs;omething to read without the trouble of
thinking. But the&longs;e are collataral advantages
of my work, the great object of which
is, as I have &longs;aid before, to give a model of
perfect &longs;tile in writing. If hereafter any

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author of &longs;upereminent abilities, &longs;hould
chu&longs;e to give this &longs;tile a body, and make
it the covering to &longs;ome work of &longs;en&longs;e, as
you would wrap fine &longs;ilk round a beautiful
form, &longs;o that there may be, not only
ve&longs;tment, but life in the object, I have no
objections; but &longs;hall be rather &longs;atisfied with
having it put to &longs;o good a u&longs;e.