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F all the fine arts, painting only and fculpture are in their nature imita

OF

tive. A field laid out with taste, is not, properly speaking, a copy or imitation of nature, but nature itself embellished. Architecture deals in originals, and copies not from nature. Sound and motion may in fome measure be imitated by music; but for the most part mufic, like architecture, deals in originals. Language has no archetype in nature, more than mufic or architecture; unless where, like mufic, it is imitative of found or motion. In the defcription of particular founds, language fometimes happily furnisheth words, which, befide their customary power of exciting ideas, resemble by their foftness or harshness the found defcribed: and there are words, which, by the celerity or flownefs of pronunciation, have some resemblance

to

to the motion they fignify. This imitative power of words goes one step farther. The loftinefs of fome words, makes them proper symbols of lofty ideas: a rough subject is imitated by harfh-founding words; and words of many fyllables pronounced flow and smooth, are naturally expreffive of grief and melancholy. Words have a separate effect on the mind, abstracting from their fignification and from their imitative power. They are more or lefs agreeable to the ear, by the roundness, fweetness, faintnefs, or roughness, of their tones.

These are beauties, but not of the first rank: They are relished by those only, who have more delicacy of fenfation than belongs to the bulk of mankind. Language poffeffeth a beauty superior greatly in degree, of which we are eminently conscious when a thought is communicated in a strong and lively manner. This beauty of language, arifing from its power of expreffing thought, is apt to be confounded with the beauty of the thought expreffed; which beauty, by a natural tranfition of feeling among things intimately connected, is conGg 2 vey'd

vey'd to the expreffion, and makes it appear more beautiful *. But these beauties, if we wish to think accurately, must be carefully diftinguished from each other. They are indeed fo diftinct, that we fometimes are conscious of the highest pleasure language can afford, when the fubject expreffed is difagreeable. A thing that is loathfome, or a scene of horror to make one's hair stand on end, may be defcribed in the livelieft manner. In this cafe, the disagreeableness of the subject, doth not even obfcure the agreeablenefs of the description. The causes of the original beauty of language confidered as fignificant, which is a branch of the prefent fubject, will be explained in their order. I fhall only at prefent obferve, that this beauty is the beauty of means fitted to an end, viz. the communication of thought. And hence it evidently appears, that of several expreffions all conveying the fame thought, the most beautiful, in the fenfe now mentioned, is that

See chap. 2. part 1. fect. 4.

which in the most perfect manner anfwers its end.

The feveral beauties of language above mentioned, being of different kinds and distinguishable from each other, ought to be handled separately. I thall begin with those beauties of language which arise from found; after which will follow the beauties of language confidered as fignificant. This order appears natural; for the found of a word is attended to, before we confider its fignification. In a third fection come those fingular beauties of language that are derived from a refemblance betwixt found and fignification. The beauties of verse I propose to handle in the laft fection. For though the foregoing beauties are found in verfe as well as in profe; yet verfe has many peculiar beauties, which for the fake of perfpicuity must be brought under one view. And versification, at any rate, is a subject of so great importance, as to deserve a place by itself.

SECT.

SECT. I.

Beauty of language with respect to found.

Propose to handle this fubject in the following order, which appears the most The founds of the different letters

natural.

come first.

in fyllables.

Next, thefe founds as united

Third, fyllables united in words. Fourth, words united in a period. And in the laft place, periods united in a difcourfe.

With refpect to the first article, every vowel is founded by a fingle expiration of air from the wind-pipe through the cavity of the mouth; and by varying this cavity, the different vowels are founded. The air in paffing through cavities differing in fize, produceth various founds, fome high or fharp, fome low or flat. A fmall cavity occafions a high found, a large cavity a low found. The five vowels accordingly, pronounced with the fame extenfion of the

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