low expreffions, and to words and phrafes, lefs fignificant of the ideas, we intend to convey. Style may be pure, that is it may be ftrictly English without Scotticifms or Gallicifms, or ungrammatical expreffions of any kind, and yet be deficient in propriety. The words may be illy selected; not adapted to the fubject, nor fully expreffive of the author's meaning. He took them indeed from the general mafs of English words; but his choice was made without skill. But ftyle cannot be proper without being pure; it is the union of purity and propriety, which renders it graceful and perfpicuous.

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The exact meaning of precifion may be learnt from the etymology of the word. It is derived from " præ"cidere," to cut off; and fignifies retrenching all fuperfluities, and pruning the expreflion in fuch manner, as to exhibit neither more, nor lefs, than the ideas, intended to be conveyed.

Words, employed to exprefs ideas, may be faulty in three refpects. They may either not exprefs the ideas, which the author means, but fome others, which are only related; or they may exprefs thofe ideas, but not completely; or they may exprefs them together with something more, than he intends. Precifion is oppofed to these three faults; but particularly to the laft, into which feeble writers are very apt to fall. They employ a multitude of words, to make themfeves understood, as they think, more distinctly; but they only confound the

the expreffion is preBut, if from a defire

reader. The image, as they place it before you, is always feen double. When an author tells us of his hero's courage in the day of battle; cife, and we understand it fully. of multiplying words he praise his courage and fortitude; at the moment, he joins these words together, our idea begins to waver. He intends to exprefs one quality more ftrongly; but he is in fact expreffing two. age refifts danger; fortitude fupports pain. The occafions of exerting these qualities are different; and, being led to think of both together, when only one of them fhould engage attention, our view is rendered unfteady, and our conception of the object indistinct.

Cour

The great fource of a loofe ftyle, the oppofite of precifion, is the injudicious ufe of words, called fynonymous. Scarcely in any language are there two words, that convey precifely the fame idea; and a perfon, perfectly acquainted with the propriety of the language, will always be able to obferve fomething, by which they are diftinguished, In our language many inftances may be given of difference in meaning among words, reputed fynonymous; and, as the fubject is important, we fhall point out a few of them.

Surprifed, aftonifhed, amazed, confounded. We are furprised at what is new or unexpected; we are astonished at what is vaft or great; we are amazed at what is incomprehenfible; we are confounded by what is fhocking or terrible.

Pride, vanity. Pride makes us esteem ourselves ; vanity makes us defire the esteem of others..

Haughtiness, difdain. Haughtinefs is founded on a high opinion of ourselves; difdain on a low opinion of others.

To weary, to fatigue. Continuance of the fame thing wearies us; labor fatigues us. A man is wearied by ftanding; he is fatigued by walking.

To abhor, to deteft. To abhor imports fimply ftrong diflike; to deteft imports likewise strong disapprobation. We abhor being in debt; we deteft treachery.

To invent, to difcover. We invent things, which are new; we discover what was hidden. Galilæo invented the telescope; Harvey discovered the circulation of the blood.

Entire, complete. A thing is entire, when it wants none of its parts; complete, when it wants none of the appendages, which belong to it. A man may occupy an entire houfe; though he have not one complete a

partment.

Enough, fufficient. Enough relates which we wish to have of a thing. to the ufe, that is to be made of it.

to the quantity,

Sufficient relates

Hence enough

commonly fignifies a greater quantity, than fufficient does. The covetous man never has enough; though he has, what is fufficient for nature,

These are a few among many inftances of words in our language, which by careless writers are apt to be mistaken for fynonymous. The more the distinction in the meaning of fuch words is regarded, the more accurately and forcibly fhall we fpeak and write.

STRUCTURE OF SENTENCES.

A Proper conftruction of fentences is of fuch impor

tance in every species of compofition, that we cannot be too ftrict or minute in our attention to it. For, whatev er be the fubject, if the fentences be conftructed in a clumfy, perplexed, or feeble manner; the work cannot be read with pleafure, nor even with profit. But by attention to the rules, which relate to this part of style, we acquire the habit of expreffing ourselves with perspicuity and elegance; and, if a disorder happen to arise. in some of our fentences, we immediately fee where it lies, and are able to rectify it.

The properties most essential to a perfect sentence are the four following. I. Clearnefs. 2. Unity, 3. Strength. 4. Harmony.

Ambiguity is oppofed to clearnefs, and arifes from two causes; either from a wrong choice of words, or a wrong collocation of them. Of the choice of words as far, as regards perfpicuity, we have already fpoken. O£

the collocation of them we are now to treat. From the nature of our language a capital rule in the arrangement of our fentences is, that words or members, most nearly related, should be placed as near to each other, as poffible, that their mutual relation may clearly ap pear. This rule is frequently neglected even by good writers. A few inftances will fhow both its importance and application.

In the position of adverbs, which are used to qualify the fignification of fomething, which either precedes or follows them, a good deal of nicety is to be observed. "By greatness," fays Addison, “ I do not only mean "the bulk of any fingle object, but the largenefs of a "whole view." Here the place of the adverb only makes it limit the verb mean. "I do not only mean." The queftion may then be asked, What does he more than mean? Had it been placed after bulk, ftill it would have been wrong, for it might then be asked, What is meant befide the bulk? Is it the color, or any other property? Its proper place is after the word object: "By

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greatness I do not mean the bulk of any fingle object "only;" for then, when it is asked, What does he mean more, than the bulk of a fingle object; the answer comes out precisely, as the author intends, "the large"nefs of a whole view," "Theifm," fays Lord Shaftsbury, "can only be opposed to polytheism or athe"ifm." It may be asked then, is theifm capable of no