be represented as acting, as possessing, or as being in various ways the object of what is done by others. These relations must be expressed; and this, in different languages, is accomplished in different ways. In Greek, in Latin, and in some other languages of antiquity, the effect is produced by a change of termination; but, in the modern languages of Europe, in general, by small words, usually called prepositions, because placed before the noun. But, agreeably to the view of derivation that has just been given, these terminations must have been originally separate words, which have at length been incorporated with the word to which they are joined, so as to be considered parts of it. By some, this has been thought to make the ancient languages more perfect; if, however, their harmony is greater, their perspicuity is commonly less; for how unsightly soever these little words may appear to the eye, or how inharmonious soever they may sound to the ear, they give a force and a clearness to the expression which could not otherwise be produced. The phrases, "My father's picture," and "The picture of my father," for which there is only one phrase in Greek or Latin, are by no means equivalent in English. The one implies that the picture is the property of my father; the other, that it is a likeness

66

Of the relations now mentioned, there is but one in English expressed by a change of termination. In addition to the meaning expressed by the word, it denotes possession or property, and is formed by an 's. It seems to have been the opinion of Addison, and some of his contemporaries, that this termination is a contraction of the word his joined to the noun; for in his writings there are several instances of such phraseology as the following: My paper is Ulysses his bow, in which every man of merit may try his strength." The strongest objection to this opinion is, that the termination existed as early as the word from which it is thus supposed to be derived. The word his is derived from the Anglo-Saxon pronoun hys, and that from the Gothic pronoun is, and each has the same meaning. The termination now written 's was in old English is or es ; it was common to the Saxon and other dialects of the Gothic; and in the German, which is thought more nearly to resemble the parent stock than does any other of the kindred branches, it is still used in many instances, as the termination of the possessive, or genitive case; thus, Nom. ein mann, a man; Gen. eines mannes, of a man; ein kind, a child; eines kindes, of a child. Here we must leave it, satisfied to know, that, in every instance of its application, it produces the effect already mentioned.

Of Adjectives.

As names of substances have been called nouns, so names of qualities have been denominated adjectives. This term is not descriptive of any thing peculiar in the nature of this class of words; it merely denotes the circumstance of one word's being added or joined to another, either to express one of its qualities, or its state, or situation. Thus in the phrases, a hard stone, a completed action, a country residence, the words hard, completed, and country, though differing entirely in the kind of thing which they signify, agree in this, that each is prefixed to a name, to express something which the name itself does not express. Hard expresses a quality of the stone; completed, not a quality, but a state of the action; and country, which when used by itself is denominated a noun, in this application of it, points out the situation of the residence. The first only, comes under the grammatical definition of an adjective; the second is a verb, and the third a noun adjectived.

In many languages adjectives have a peculiarity of termination corresponding to that of the number, gender, or case of the noun to which they are joined; but the simplicity of the English tongue admits not of such distinctions. The only change which this

E

part of speech undergoes, is that which denotes an increase of quality. Though the degrees of quality may, in some instances, continue to ascend one above another almost to infinity, yet such is the admirable simplicity of language, and such its adaptation to the expression of thought, that two changes have been found adequate to every purpose of comparison. These changes are, in our language, effected by adding to the radical form of the adjective, the syllables er and est; or by prefixing to it more and most.

Er is a Saxon word, which like our ere, signifies before. In its first application to names of qualities, it was probably used to denote priority in regard to time; but, as one event necessarily happens before another, so one person or thing may occupy a more prominent station, or may possess qualities more remarkable, or in greater abundance than others, and in either of these respects, may be reckoned before them; the same term might, without violence, be employed to denote precedence, or superiority in general. The word before, the synonyme of er, is often used in the for we say of a person who excels others in any thing he does, that he is before them. Erst is a word still in use, particularly in poetry. Thus, in the tragedy of Douglas, Lady Randolph says of her father, that after the death of her brother,

same manner;

"He grew reckless of the world, And never as he erst was wont, went forth

To overlook the conduct of his servants."

It is now generally used to signify formerly, but its original meaning was first; erste buch, is the German phrase for first book. In the composition of words we observe that a letter is dropped, inserted, or changed, as it may be thought necessary to improve the sound. If then, in the present instance, we drop the r, we have the termination of what is called the superlative degree of our adjective; and as er, when joined to an adjective, denotes that the person or thing to which we apply it, is before others, so est intimates, that it is first. In this we have an additional proof of the truth of what has been stated, respecting the affixes and prefixes of words; for the same effect that has been ascribed to er and est, is produced by prefixing to an adjective the words more and most; and the one or the other is preferred, according as the sound is more agreeable. Of the various words used as adjectives, those only have degrees of comparison, which denote qualities susceptible of increase; for though, as we have seen, a noun may become an adjective by being placed before another noun, it cannot be compared ; we say, a gold ring, a silver spoon, but we cannot say a golder ring, or a silverer spoon.