[figure description] Page 150.[end figure description]

THE preceding pages were written several
years ago; during which time
the Captain has continued his travels: and
having been favoured with his journal,
I have occa&longs;ionally made extracts, and put
them in the form of a continued hi&longs;tory.
Whether I &longs;hall publi&longs;h any more, will
depend on the reception of this.

I had fir&longs;t begun this work in ver&longs;e,
and have a volume by me, about two parts
in three as large as Butler's Hudibra&longs;s;
from which compo&longs;ition, I have extracted
this; thinking it might be more acceptable
in pro&longs;e. When I vi&longs;it this city next, I may
produce that in ver&longs;e, and let the people
take their choice.

It is a happine&longs;s to a man to be able
to amu&longs;e him&longs;elf with writing. For
it is not every one that can play upon
the violin, or the flute; and the

[figure description] Page 151.[end figure description]

fingers mu&longs;t be employed &longs;ome way. I
may be blamed in not chu&longs;ing &longs;ome subject
worthier of my &longs;tudies, and requiring
a profound re&longs;earch. It might profit the
world more; but it would amu&longs;e my&longs;elf
le&longs;s. Omnis labor improbus; all toil is
grievous. However, I have not been
wholly inattentive to &longs;everer &longs;tudies. I
have &longs;everal law tracts by me; for which
I mean, in due time, to &longs;olicit a subscription.
Nonum prematur in annum, in every
work of moment, ought to be ob&longs;erved.

There are &longs;ome light things which I
may in the mean time throw out; a comparison
of Thucydides with Livy; thoughts
on the Egyptian hieroglyphics; on the
Carthaginian commerce; a compari&longs;on
of the French and Engli&longs;h eloquence; a
&longs;upplement to Buffon, containing a description
of &longs;everal genera of animals, not
taken notice of by him; hints for the improvement
of the micro&longs;cope; on the u&longs;e
of the Ma&longs;oretic points; on the recent
origin of the earth; on the criminal code
of the Siame&longs;e, &c.

If the world will excu&longs;e the&longs;e, I will give
them my word for it, they &longs;hall be troubled
little more; for except the examining
my law tracts, I &longs;hall drop my pen,

[figure description] Page 152.[end figure description]

finding it, as I advance in life, more advi&longs;eable
to apply my&longs;elf to making money. What
things have been written, and are now
lying by me, may occa&longs;ionally &longs;ee the
light.

It is a good deal owing to my &longs;olitary
re&longs;idence in the we&longs;tern country, at a distance
from books and literary conversation,
that I have been led to write at all.
It was nece&longs;&longs;ary to fill up the inter&longs;tices
of bu&longs;ine&longs;s. If I &longs;hould remain in that
country, the &longs;ame circum&longs;tances may lead
me to write &longs;till. If I &longs;hould remove to
this city, or the &longs;eat of the federal government,
I &longs;hall avoid the tedium by other
means.

I wi&longs;h the pre&longs;ent book, to &longs;ell for at
lea&longs;t as much as will defray the expence
of printing; for I have no inclination to
lo&longs;e by it. If I had a little time to &longs;tay
in town, I could give it &longs;ome celebrity by
extracts, and remarks upon it; publi&longs;hing
for and again&longs;t. For it is of no con&longs;equence
how a book is made famous, provided that
it is famous.

The truth is, as I have &longs;aid, I value this
book for little but the &longs;tile. This I have
formed on the model of Xenophen, and
Swift's Tale of a Tub, and Gulliver's

[figure description] Page 153.[end figure description]

Travels. It is &longs;imple, natural, various, and
forcible. I hope to &longs;ee it made a &longs;chool
book; a kind of cla&longs;&longs;ic of the Engli&longs;h
language.

In looking over it, I find in the whole
work, but one word I would alter; it
is near the beginning; where I &longs;ay figure
on the &longs;tage, in&longs;tead of appear, or
make a figure on the &longs;tage. I have carefully
avoided the word unfounded in&longs;tead of
groundle&longs;s, a word in vogue, among members
of Congre&longs;s e&longs;pecially. The word
commit, is good, but being lately introduced,
and too much hackneyed, I have
not u&longs;ed it.

Language being the ve&longs;tment of thought,
it comes within the rules of other dre&longs;s;
&longs;o that as &longs;lovenline&longs;s, on the one hand,
or foppery, on the other, is to be avoided
in our attire; &longs;o al&longs;o in our &longs;peech, and
writing. Simplicity in the one and the
other, is the greate&longs;t beauty.

We do not know at what time the Greek
language began to be written as it was by
He&longs;iod or Homer. But we find it to have
continued with little or no change, from
that time to the late&longs;t writers among the
Byzantine hi&longs;torians, a period of more
than 3000 years. The Roman language

[figure description] Page 154.[end figure description]

is con&longs;idered as improving from the time
of Ennius to the Augu&longs;tine age. The language
of the orators, poets, and hi&longs;torians
of that time is the &longs;tandard. It was not
&longs;o much in the u&longs;e of particular words, as
an affectation in the thought, that Seneca
is cen&longs;ured as corrupting the language
of the Romans. But Tacitus, after
him, writes in a pure &longs;tile; and I have
found but one conceit in expre&longs;&longs;ion, in his
whole hi&longs;tory: meaning to give the geography
of a country of a certain tribe of
the Germans; they are, &longs;ays he, separated
from the Sequani by mount Jura, from
the — by the lake —, from the —
by the river —, and from the Atabani
by mutual fear. I do not find &longs;o much
fault with the &longs;tile of Pliny, as the heaviness
of his thoughts and expre&longs;&longs;ions. However,
the Latin &longs;tile of writing retained its
propriety and other excellencies tolerably
well, till the monks got po&longs;&longs;e&longs;&longs;ion of it,
and brought it down to a jargon that is
now exploded; and we recur to the pure
originals of Horace, Virgil, Cicero, and
Sallu&longs;t.

The French language is corrupting fa&longs;t;
and not in the u&longs;e of words, but in the
affectation of &longs;urpri&longs;e, in the &longs;tructure of

[figure description] Page 155.[end figure description]

the &longs;entence, or the turn of the expression.
Mirabeau was free from this; but
not the Abbe Raynal. To give an example:
meaning to &longs;ay, which he might have
done in a &longs;imple manner, that about this
time the Engli&longs;h ca&longs;t their eyes upon Goa,
as a place where, &c. &longs;tating the advantages
of &longs;uch a port; he begins by telling
you, that the Engli&longs;h had occa&longs;ion for &longs;uch
a port, which, &c. enumerating the advantages;
and after this, with &longs;urprize
comes upon you, and tells you, they wanted
Goa. Enfin, &longs;ays he; that is, in fine
they wanted Goa.

The Engli&longs;h language is undoubtedly
written better in America than in England,
e&longs;pecially &longs;ince the time of that literary
dunce, Samuel John&longs;on, who was totally
de&longs;titute of ta&longs;te for the vrai naturalle, or
&longs;implicity of nature.

The language of the Scots writers is
cha&longs;te, but the &longs;tructure of the &longs;entence
of the academic Dr. Robert&longs;on, especially
offends in this particular; his uniformity
of period &longs;triking the ear with
the &longs;ame pul&longs;e, as the couplets of our
rhyme in Dryden and Pope. Hume is
before him in this re&longs;pect, writing as naturally
as a man &longs;peaks; his &longs;tile ri&longs;ing

[figure description] Page 156.[end figure description]

and falling with the &longs;ubject, as the movements
of the mind them&longs;elves.

I am quite out of patience with this postscript.
I have written it, the Printer informing
me that he had a few pages of the la&longs;t
&longs;heet to fill, which mu&longs;t be left blank unle&longs;s
I had &longs;omething more; but as I am in a
hurry about &longs;ome &longs;mall matters, and have no
di&longs;po&longs;ition to write, I believe I &longs;hall conclude,
and let him leave the remainder
blank, or put in a paragraph of his own,
if he chu&longs;es it.

It ju&longs;t &longs;trikes me to add, that I am this
moment come from being admitted a Counsellor
in the &longs;upreme court of the United
States; having written the preceding part
of this po&longs;t&longs;cript ju&longs;t before the court &longs;at.

In con&longs;equence of my admi&longs;&longs;ion in this
honourable court, I feel my&longs;elf in&longs;pired
with a con&longs;ciou&longs;ne&longs;s of new dignity, and
am determined to relinqui&longs;h the indulgence
of all the&longs;e light amu&longs;ements, and
apply my&longs;elf for the future to fathom the
profound depths of the legal oceans and
rivers.

Vale,
Valete,
Camenæ.

Previous section

Next section