ART. XVIII. Sequel to the English Reader; or elegant Selections in Prose and Poetry, designed to improve the highest Class of Learners in reading, to establish a Taste for just and accurate Composition, and to promote the Interests of Piety and Virtue. By LINDLEY MURRAY. 2d edition. Svo, pp. 400. WE have already borne our testimony to the high merit of Mr. Murray, as an acute grammarian, and as blending in his various works, with uncommon happiness, a delicate and correct taste both in literature and morals. We are glad, though not surprised, to see that the public has demanded a new edition of the respectable work now before us. On comparing the present with the former impression, we find that a few additional pieces have been inserted into the body of the work, and that an appendix has been subjoined, containing short biographical notices of all the deceased au thors who have contributed to form the English Reader" itself, the "Introduction to the English Reader," and the present meritorious volume. CHAPTER VII. MODERN LANGUAGES. RT. I. A complete Analysis of the German Language; or, a philological and grammatical View of its Construction, Analogies, and various Properties. By Dr. RENDER. 8vo. pp. 351. IT is difficult to write a good grammar, nd easy to write an ordinary one. Lowth nd Johnson failed in the attempt to fursh a classical English grammar: ignot of the northern languages they could t appreciate many of our idiomatic alogies, and have attempted to legiste for English style by laws inferred om the practice of Greek and Latin thors. If Dr. Render does not rank ove them, he may at least plead the perior difficulty of writing in an acaired and concerning a foreign lan tage. This grammar is respectable, but not scellent. We see nothing that can enthe it to supersede the long previous ork of Wendeborn; neither do we see ason for disusing the new in favour of e old crutch: one may limp along with ther, and better perhaps with both or the repetition of rules in a new form lways tends to imprint them in the meory. Dr. Render is peculiar in repreeating the double ess of the Germans yz and not by ss. He sometimes overoks an impurity, as page 57 Abbey for by, page 274 losz for los, page 276 Herls for Herle, page 278 Leichnamme for Leichname, the second and fourth of which instances must be errors of the amanu ensis, and not of the printer. Among the observations on prosody it ought to have been stated that the Germans exact an observation of masculine and feminine names in their poetry. This is also French law; but it is unknown to the English language, and therefore required mention. There is a certain parade of philosophy in this grammar which is not in good taste. The theory and history of language have received no accessions of knowledge from the introducing dissertations, or interwoven commentaries. Something is added to the correcter appretiation of some of our current transiations from the German. An anthology is appended, or rather interspersed, of various pieces in prose and verse adapted form that exercise of version and rever sion, which sir William Jones, after the example of the ancient rhetoricians, has recommended as the most important discipline of the student of language. RT. II. English Parsing; comprising the Rules of Syntax, exemplified by appropriate Lessons under each Rule; with an Index containing all the Parts of Speech in the different Lessons unparsed. By JAMES GILES, Master of the Free School, Gravesend. 12mo. pp. 136. THE manner in which this little work executed will best be understood by a hort specimen. "RULE 20. "The conjunction disjunctive hath an effect Contrary to that of the conjunction copulaive, for as the verb, noun, or pronoun, is eferred to the preceding terms taken sepaately, it must be in the singular number." Ignorance is a common substantive, third person, singular number, nominative case, and comes before the verb "has caused." (RULE) "The nominative case comes before the verb." Or is a disjunctive conjunction. Negligence is a common substantive, third person, singular number, nominative case, and or connects "ignorance and negligence." (RULE) Conjunctions connect the same moods and tenses of verbs, and cases of nouns and pronouns." "Has caused is a regular verb active or tran"Ignorance or negligence has caused this sitive, indicative mood, perfect tense, third stake. " LESSON 1. person singular, and agrees with its nomi native case, ་ ignorance or negligence." (RULE)"The conjunction disjunctive hath an effect contrary to that of the conjunction copulative, for as the verb, noun, or pronoun, is referred to the preceding terms taken separately, it must be in the singular number." This is an adjective pronoun, of the demon strative kind, third person, singular number, and agrees with its substantive, "mistake " (RULE) "The adjective pronouns, this and that, must agree in number with their substantives." Mistake is a common substantive, third person, singular number, objective case, and is governed by the verb, "has caused." (RULE) "Active or transitive verbs govern the objective case," Mr. Giles has, with as little variation as possible, taken all his rules from Lind. ley Murray's very excellent Grammar, and has followed his mode of parsing as closely as the nature of the work would allow, these lessons being intended as an introduction from his Grammar to his English Exercises. We are of opinion that this book may be used by teachers with great advantage. ART. III. An English Spelling-book, with reading Lessons adapted to the Capacities of Children: in three Parts, calculated to advance the Learners by natural and easy Grada. tions; and to teach Orthography and Pronunciation together. By LINDLEY MURRAY. 12mo. pp. 216. WE have on more occasions than one borne testimony to the great merit of Mr. Lindley Murray as an able grammarian, and are very glad to meet with him again in our annual sur vey. We have looked over his present book with considerable attention, and find in it much to commend. The volume is divided into three parts: the first, which may be had separately, treats of the letters, and easy monosyllables, and contains corresponding reading lessons. In this division an excellent tabular view is given of the elementary vowel and consonantal sounds, and the similar sounds, such as b and p, d and t, are also arranged by themselves in a second table, with proper examples. To this succeeds a list of diphthongs, with copious examples of their force and correspondence with the various simple sounds. Chapter 7 exemplifies the silent consonants that occur in monosyllables, and chapter 8 the hard and soft sounds of the double and single consonants. These, with an explanation of the stops and points, and various monosyllabic reading lessons, compose the first the most frequent vulgarisms of pronun ciation. The 15th chapter contains a complete analysis of the various sounds of the letters when in combination. Chapter 16 relates to the silent letters, and chap. ter 17 (the last) treats of the rules of spelling. We have met with a few oversights in different parts of the work, but our principal objections are to the first sec tion of the last chapter, and such preced ing portions of the volume as depend upon it. This section contains the rules for the division of syllables. There are two principal uses of the ! division of words into syllables; first, to enable the learner to spell accurately; secondly, to assist him in acquiring the true pronunciation: but besides these advantages, a judicious syllabic analysis may be made to illustrate and deeply impress on the memory of the learner va rious grammatical facts, and familia rize him with the principal rules in compounding words. It is, in our opinion, upon these principles that the syllabic divisions ought to be formed; but Mr. Murray's rules are for the most part ei ther arbitrary, or proceed on certain supposed mutual relations of consonants and vowels, which not being of universal application render various exceptions ne cessary, and are productive of needless intricacy. The first rule is-"A single consonant between two vowels must be joined to the latter syllable." Why? The only use of such a rule would be its univer sality; but Mr. Murray is obliged to allow the letter x to be an exception, as well as certain compound words, among which by a strange inadvertence he places the word pri son er as analogous dis use, up on, &c. Rule 5. "When three or more cononants not proper to begin a syllable neet between two vowels, such of them. s can begin a syllable belong to the latr, the next to the former syllable." In onsequence of this rule we have the aritrary and erroneous divisions, but cher, aughter, instead of butch er, slaught Indeed the incongruity of this rule so evident, that Mr. Murray himself not adhered to it; for he writes pro perly scorch es, instead of, according to his own rule, scor ches, though in the very preceding word he writes hor ses for hors es. We would therefore recommend to Mr. Murray before he publishes a new edition, which we doubt not will be speedily called for, to re-consider his rules for the division of syllables, and make the corresponding corrections in such parts of the book as depend upon them. With these alterations, it will command our entire approbation. W CHAFTER VIII. .. BIOGRAPHY AND CORRESPONDENCE. THERE is no species of literature which has been received of late with such dis tinguished favour by the public as biography; nor is this to be wondered at, for it gratifies at once both the most laudable and the most perverse curiosity. In con templating the character of an eminent man, it is delightful to observe the first germination and gradual developement of the seed of greatness, to behold it raise its slender growth in the shade of obscurity and retirement, nourished by the dew of instruction, strengthened by the blasts of discipline; winning, without violence, but by irresistible perseverance, its silent way through every obstacle; gradually overtopping the weeds and undergrowth by which it was concealed from the hasty and incurious glance, and, at length, rearing its shapely canopy of boughs far above its surrounding rivals, verdant with leaves, glowing with blossoms, luxuriant with fruit. magnificent in the summer of its prosperity, sturdy and unmoved by the wintry storms of adversity, the pride of the neighbourhood in its vigour, and venerable even in its latest decay. It rarely, however, falls to the lot of the biographer to ce Jebrate a truly great and uniformly consistent character; for the distinguishing excellence is almost always found to stint and starve the growth of the other virtues and talents. But if the satisfaction derived from the contemplation of such mingled characters, is considerably lessened by their faults and errors, yet their moral value, as examples and warnings, is proportionably increased. An able and faithful his torian may apply them to admirable use; and both rouse the emulation of his readers by the great qualities of his hero, and excite, with double energy, their abhor. rence of vice, by displaying errors and virtues in full contrast in the same cha racter. The modern fashion of writing biography, is to render the person celebrated as much as possible his own historian, by the publication of his private correspon dence; a method which, although possessed of some peculiar advantages, is at the same time liable to many objections. In the first place it is a strong inducement to misjudging or unprincipled persons to violate the confidence of epistolary cor respondence, and publish to the world the unguarded and unpremeditated effusion of friendship; in consequence of which, the literary, and even moral, character of the writer may be unjustly, yet plausibly, brought into jeopardy; and much unes siness may be given to persons incidentally mentioned or alluded to. It is also pampering a base appetite for private scandal and anecdote, and for an impertinent inquisitiveness into circumstances which strangers have no right to know. The letter which one friend receives from another is always communicated under at implied condition, if not of absolute secrecy, yet at least of discretion, in the selec tion of persons to whom it is confided; and, to violate such a trust, requires a much more ample justification, than many editors can allege in their own behalf. |