the leaft qualified hands. So that, if the choice had been left to me, I would rather have trufted the refinement of our language, as far as it relates to found, to the judgement of the women, than of illiterate court fops, half-witted poets, and univerfity-boys. For it is plain, that women, in their manner of corrupting words, do naturally difcurd the confonants, as we do the vowels. What I am going to tell your Lordship appears very orifling: that more than once, where fome of both fexes were in company, I have perfuaded two or three of each to take a pen, and write down a number of letters joined together, just as it came into their heads; and, upon reading this gibberish, we have found that which the men had wrote, by the frequent encountering of rough confonants, to found like High-Dutch; and the other, by the women like Italian, abounding in vowels and liquid. Now though I would by no means give ladies the trouble of advising us in the reformation of our lan guage, yet I cannot help thinking, that fince they have been left out of all meetings, except parties at play, or where worfe defigns are carried on, our converfation hath very much degenerated. In order to reform our language, I conceive, my Lord, that a free judicious choice fhould be made of fuch perfons, as are generally allowed to be beft qualified for fuch a work, without any regard to quality, party, or profeffion. Thefe, to a certain number at leaft, fhould affemble at fome appointed time and place, and fix on rules by which they defign to proceed. What methods they will take, is not for me to prefcribe. Your Lordship, and other perfons in great employment, might pleafe to be of the number: and I am afraid, fuch a fociety would want your inftruction and example as much as your protection; for I have, not without a little envy, observed of late the style of fome great great minifters very much to exceed that of any ther productions. The perfons who are to undertake this work will have the example of the French before them to imitate, where thefe have proceeded right, and to avoid their mistakes. Befides the grammar-part, wherein we are allowed to be very defective, they will obferve many grofs improprieties, which, however authorised by practife, and grown familiar, ought to be discarded. They will find many words. that deferve to be utterly thrown out of our language, many more to be corrected, and perhaps not a few long fince antiquated, which ought to be reftored on account of their energy and found. But what I have moft at heart, is, that fome method should be thought on for afcertaining and fix. ing our language for ever, after fuch alterations are made in it as fhall be thought requifite. For I am of opinion, that it is better a language fhould not be wholly perfect, than that it fhould be perpetually changing; and we must give over at one time or other, or at length infallibly change for the worfe, as the Romans did, when they began to quit their fimplicity of ftyle for affected refinements, fuch as we meet in Tacitus and other authors; which ended by degrees in many babarities, even before the Goths had invaded Italy. The fame of our writers is ufually confined to thefe two iflands, and it is hard it fhould be limited in time as much as place, by the perpetual variations of our fpeech. It is your Lordship's obfervation, that if it were not for the Bible and CommonPrayer Book in the vulgar tongue, we should hardly be able to understand any thing that was written among us an hundred years ago; which is certain ly true for thofe books, being perpetually read in churches, have proved a kind of standard for language, especially to the common people. And I doubt, whether the alterations, fince introduced, : have added much to the beauty or ftrength of the English tongue, though they have taken off a great deal from that fimplicity, which is one of the greateft perfections in any language. You, my Lord, who are fo converfant in the facred writings, and fo great a judge of them in their originals, will agree, that no tranflation our country ever yet produced, hath come up to that of the Old and New Testament and by the many beautiful paffages, which I have often had the honour to hear your Lordship cite from thence, I am perfuaded, that the tranflators of the Bible were mafters of an English ftyle, much fitter for that work than any we fee in our prefent writings; which I take to be owing to the fimplicity that runs through the whole. Then, as to the greatest part of our liturgy, compiled long before the tranflation of the Bible now in use, and little altered fince; there feem to be in it as great ftrains of true fublime eloquence, as are any where to be found in our language; which every man of good tafte will obferve in the communion-fervice, that of burial, and other parts. But when I fay, that I would have our language, after it is duly corrected, always to laft, I do not mean that it fhould never be enlarged. Provided that no word, which a fociety fhall give a fanction to, be afterwards antiquated and exploded, they may have liberty to receive whatever new ones they fhall have occafion for; because then the old books will yet be always valuable according to their intrinfic worth, and not thrown afide on account of unintelligible words and phrafes, which appear harsh and uncouth, only becaufe they are out of fashion. Had the Roman tongue continued vulgar in that city till this time, it would have been absolutely neceffary, from the mighty changes that have been made in law and religion, from the many terms of art required in trade and in war, from the new inventions that have happened in the world, from the VOL. V. E e vaft vaft fpreading of navigation and commerce, with many other obvious circumftances, to have made great additions to that language; yet the ancients would ftill have been read and understood with pleafure and cafe. The Greek tongue received many enlargements between the time of Homer and that of Plutarch; yet the former author was probably as well understood in Trajan's time as the latter. What Horace fays of words going off and peribing like leaves, and new ones coming in their place, is a misfortune he laments, rather than a thing he approves; but I cannot fee why this fhould be ablolutely neceffary, or, if it were, what would have become of his monumentum aere perennius ? Writing by memory only, as I do at prefent, I would gladly keep within my depth; and therefore hall not enter into further particulars. Neither do I pretend more than to fhew the ufefulness of this delign, and to make fome general obfervations, deaving the rest to that fociety, which I hope will owe its inftitution and patronage to your Lordship. Befides, I would willingly avoid repetition, having about a year ago communicated to the public much of what I had to offer upon this fubject, by the hands of an ingenious gentleman, who for a long time did thrice a week divert or instruct the kingdom by his papers; and is fupposed to pursue the fame defign at prefent under the title of Spectator. This author, who hath tried the force and compafs of our language with fo much fuccefs, agrees entirely with me in moft of my fentiments relating to it; fo do the greatest part of the men of wit and learning, whom I have had the happiness to converfe with; and therefore I imagine that fuch a society would be pretty unanimous in the main points. Your Lordship muft allow, that fuch a work as this brought to perfection, would very much contribute to the glory of her majesty's reign; which ought to be recorded in words more durable than brafs, brafs, and fuch as our pofterity may read a thoufand years hence with pleafure as well as admirațion. I always difapproved that falfe compliment to princes, that the most latting monument they can have, is the hearts of their fubjects. It is indeed their greatest prefent felicity to reign in their fubject's hearts; but thefe are too perishable to preferve their memories, which can only be done by the pens of able and faithful hiftorians. And I take it to be your Lordfhip's duty, as Prime Minifter, to give order for infpecting our language, and rendering it fit to record the hiftory of fo great and good a princefs. Betides, my Lord, as difinterested as you appear to the world, I am convinced, that no man is more in the power of a prevailing favourite paffion than yourfelf; I mean the defire of true and lasting honour, which you have borne along with you through every ftage of your life. To this you have often facrificed your intereft, your cafe, and your health: For preferving. and increafing this, you have expofed your perfon to fecret treachery and open violence. There is not perhaps an example in history of any minifter, who in fo fhort a time hath performed fo many great things, and overcome fo many difficulties. Now, though I am fully convinced, that you fear God, honour your Queen, and love your country, as much as any of your fellow-fubjects, yet I muft believe, that the defire of fame hath been no inconfiderable motive to quicken you in the purfuit of thofe actions which will beft deferve it. But at the fame time I must be fo, plain as to tell your Lordfhip, that if you will not take fome care to fettle our language, and put it into a state of continu. ance, I cannot promife that your memory fhall be preferved above an hundred years, farther than, by imperfect tradition. As barbarous and ignorant as we were in former centuries, there were more effectual care taken by Ee 2 our |