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HE great and important object of bn guage is, to ex-

- prefs the various wants and afieC\ions of thofe by whom
In the ea rli ct flages of civ il foci etr, man is
contented with Cuch comforts as are eafi ly procured, am! the
operation ; of t he human mind are circumfcrihed within narrow limits . His vocabulary is co nfequently l'cant y, thou'.jh,
at th e fame tim e , it m ay b e fully ad equate t o every purpofe
.t o whi ch it is appli ed. Ilut as lu x ury and refin e111rnt :ulvance in their g rad ual progrds, the bnguag e of the commu nity beco mes nrnre co p i u u ~ and elega nt: it not only overlleps it s ancient b oundarie s, bu t l1 a!lcns t o l ay a lidc its :rn.
cicnt rudenefs and ba:barity. :M ateria l impro ve me n ts, howeve r, can not be int roLluced by any fucld en exertion ; they
rnufl. be the re ru!t of th at experience, which a le ngth of
ti me onl y can bellow.
Be fore the elegancies of literat ure can by claim to any
conliderable 01are of·attrntio11 , a fpirit of genera l ini provc.
ment mufl hav e begun to pervade the fiat e. A cco rdingly
we find that vigo ur and originality of th o ug ht have alway:;
preceded beauty" and accuracy of expreffioii . In the firll ct'.
forts of u ntuto\"t~d gen iu s, · th e harm ony of period3 is littl..::
r egarded ; fnch words as m oll: read il y occur to the re collec ti on of th e writer, are a lm o!l: inclil"criminate-ly adopted ; ancl
there are·g enerally arranged without muc h at t ention to elegrn ce or pro prie ty. · ·
Thu' if we tak e a retrolpeClive view of Eng lifl1 li te rature
at Do very remote period, we !hall often find the beauty o[
th e thought obfcurd by the meannels of the exp~e!J:ion. Its ~
p:ige s are frequ ently deformed With unc.outhn efs and vulga·rity. Nor is .it
·
· · · Lts..in_i

it is fpoken.

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' lNi'RODUCTORY.

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