fuade us, he certainly would perfuade us. I have given the encomium below in his own words * * The properties he defcribes to it are, Clartè, • nettetè, vivacitè, dans les tours, force, dèlicateffe, ⚫ fimplicitè, nobleffe, douceur, precifion, harmonie, <et même harmonie imitative, elle mêt à tout avec • affez de facilité dans la compofition, et jusques dans la traduction, quoi qu'avec plus de peine et de plus longs efforts.'-Vol. iii. p. 130... Thus the French Abbe has inftructed us in the beauties of his language, not in the old way, by dividing, defining, and analysing, (which, to be fure, he would think much below a man of his genius), but by multiplying words, very fine ones no doubt, as he thinks, but without any precife or determinate meaning. In the fame way, he examines the merit of Demofthenes, Efchines, and Cicero, as orators. CHA P. XVI. Of the Italian Language.-The words of it long and full-Of Vowels.-Few of their words terminated by Confonants. Their pronunciation therefore more flowing than either that of English or French. -They have accents fuch as the English. -Make therefore Poetry of blank verfe. -Have long and short fyllables, but no diphthongs, except one.-Their accents not fo violent as thofe in English,-do not obfcure the pronunciation of the other fvllables. It is a language better for mufic than any other now known. The words not loft in their mufic.-It is more reconcilable to the rhythm of the language, than the mufic even of the Greek Tragedy. -The grammar of their language more compleat than that of the English, particularly in their verbs; but no declenfion of nouns.-This appears to be the moft artificial part of language,—one part of Speech, it has more than the Latin, viz. the Article, has greater variety in its accents, and therefore in its poetry than the English.-Some ob/ervations upon language in general, arifing from the Italian language.-The tone of different languages diftinct from the pronunciation of the letters or words.-Very difficult to be acquired by a foreigner. THE HE laft modern language I fhall men tion is tin, as well as the French and Spanish, but, like them, much corrupted by a mixture of barbarous words more than the modern Greek, and by the lofs of the grammatical art. The found of it is extremely vocal, much more than either Greek or Latin, and more than either of its two fifter languages, the French or Spanish. The words of it are long, and, being fo vocal, found very fweetly, indeed I think too fweetly: For there is no aspiration in the language, not even of vowels; and VOL IV. T none of the words terminate in confonants, as I am informed, except their article in its different cafes, (for their article is not like the English, indeclinable: The cafes are, il, del, al, dal.) and except three prepofitions, in, con, per. They have therefóre this great advantage over the Latin in point of found, that not one of their words terminate with a mute confonant, or with the liquid M, which, as I have obferved, fhuts the mouth as much or more than any of the mutes; nay, they do not terminate any of the words which are of the growth of their language, and not foreign words, with the hiffing letter S. Sometimes indeed, when the vowel E ends the word, they elide it; and this not only in their verse, but in their profe. But they never do it, unless the preceding letter be fome one of the liquids, not M however; with which, as I have faid, they never close a word. Now, I think, this makes an agreeable variety in their ftile, being not unlike many of the elifions ufed in Greek. They have very few monofyllables, much fewer than the French, and very much fewer than the English, which is crouded, as I have ob ferved, with monofyllables; a thing that must neceffarily produce a ftop more or lefs in the pronunciation, betwixt the different words. Neither the French language, therefore, nor the English, can have that flow in fpeaking which the Italian has, nor be pronounced in the way that Milton mentions*, or, as Horace fays, the Greek language was pronounced, ore rotundo. But, however sweet or flowing the found of their language may be, they have loft what I call the mufic of language; I mean the antient accents, which the Latins, no doubt, had, as well as the Greeks, tho', perhaps, not fo perfect. And they have adopted, from the northern nations which. fettled among them, and whofe race, I am perfuaded, makes at prefent the greatest part of the inhabitants of Italy, fuch accents as we ufe; for that these accents were not used by the Greeks and Romans, I think is certain; not only from the filence See the paffage from Milton, quoted on p. 104. of this Volume. |