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much better to fay, "Avarice is a crime, of which wife "men are often guilty," than to fay, " Avarice is a "crime, which wife men are often guilty of." This is

a phrafeology, which all correct writers fhun.

A complex verb, compounded of a simple verb and a fubfequent prepofition, is also an ungraceful conclufion of a period; as bring about, clear up, give over, and many others of the fame kind; inftead of which, if a fimple verb be employed, it will terminate the fentence with more ftrength. Even the pronoun it, especially when joined with fome of the prepofitions, as with it, in it, to it,. cannot without violation of grace be the conclufion of a fentence. Any phrafe, which expreffes a circumftance only, cannot conclude a fentence without great inelegance. Circumstances indeed are like unfhapely ftones in a building, which try the skill of an artist, where to place them with the least offence. We fhould not crowd too many of them together; but rather interfperfe them in different parts of the fentence, joined with the principal words, on which they depend. Thus, for inftance, when Dean Swift fays, "What I had the hon"or of mentioning to your Lordship fometime ago in "converfation, was not a new thought ;" thefe two circumftances, fometime ago and in converfation, which are joined, would have been better feparated thus ; "What I had the honor fome time ago of mentioning. to your Lordfhip in converfation."

The fixth and last rule concerning the ftrength of a fentence is this, in the members of it, where two things are compared or contrafted; where either refemblance or oppofition is to be expreffed; fome resemblance in the language and conftruction ought to be obferved. The following paffage from Pope's preface to his Homer beautifully exemplifies this rule. Homer was "the greater genius; Virgil the better artist; in the "one we admire the man; in the other the work. "Homer hurries us with a commanding impetuofity; "Virgil leads us with an attractive majefty. Homer "fcatters with a generous profufion; Virgil bestows "with a careful magnificence. Homer, like the Nile,

pours out his riches with a fudden overflow; Virgil, "like a river in its banks, with a conftant stream.. "When we look upon their machines, Homer feems "like his own Jupiter in his terrors, fhaking Olympus, "fcattering lightnings, and firing the heavens. Vir"gil like, the fame power in his benevolence, co unfelling with the Gods, laying plans for empires, and ordering his whole creation." Periods, thus constructed, when introduced with propriety, and not too frequently repeated, have a fenfible beauty. But, if fuch a conftruction be aimed at in every fentence; it betrays into a difagreeable uniformity, and produces a regular jingle in the period, which tires the car, and plainly dif« covers affectation.

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STRUCTURE OF SENTENCES.

HARMONY.

HAVING

confidered fentences with

regard to their meaning under the heads of Perfpicuity, Unity, and Strength; we shall now confider them with respect to their found.

In the harmony of periods two things are to be confidered. First agreeable found or modulation in general without any particular expreffion. Next the found fo ordered, as to become expreffive of the fenfe. The first is the more common; the fecond the fuperior beauty.

The beauty of mufical conftruction depends upon the choice and arrangement of words. Thofe words are most pleasing to the ear, which are compofed of smooth and liquid founds, in which there is a proper intermixture of vowels and confonants without too many harsh confonants, or too many open vowels in fucceffion. Long words are generally more pleafing to the ear, than monofyllables; and thofe are the moft mufical, which are not wholly compofed of long or fhort fyllables, but of an intermixture of them; fuch, as delight, amufe, velocity, celerity, beautiful, impetuofity. If the words, however, which compose a sentence, be ever so well chofen and harmonious; yet, if they be unfkilfully ar

ranged, its mufic is entirely loft. As an inftance of a mufical fentence, we may take the following from Mil"We shall conduct you to a hill fide, laborious "indeed at the firft afcent; but elfe fo fmooth, fo

ton;

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green, fo full of goodly profpects and melodious "founds on every fide, that the harp of Orpheus was "not more charming." Every thing in this fentence confpires to render it harmonious. The words are well chofen; laborious, smooth, green, goodly, melodious, charming; and fo happily arranged, that no alteration can be made without injuring the melody.

There are two things, on which the music of a fentence principally depends; thefe are the proper diftribution of the feveral members of it, and the clofe or cadence of the whole.

First, the diftribution of the feveral members should be carefully regarded. Whatever is easy to the organs of fpeech, is always grateful to the ear. While a period advances, the termination of each member forms a paufe in the pronunciation; and these pauses fhould be fo distributed, as to bear a certain musical proportion to each other. This will be beft illuftrated by examples. "This difcourfe concerning the "eafinefs of God's commands does all along fuppofe "and acknowledge the difficulties of the first entrance

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upon a religious courfe; except only in those perfons

who have had the happiness to be trained up to re

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ligion by the eafy and infenfible degrees of a pious "and virtuous education." This fentence is far from being harmonious; owing chiefly to this, that there is but one pause in it, by which it is divided into two members; each of which is fo long, as to require a confiderable ftretch of breath in pronouncing it. On the contrary let us obferve the grace of the following paffage from Sir William Temple, in which he speaks farcaftically of man. "But, God be thanked, his "pride is greater, than his ignorance; and, what "he wants in knowledge, he fupplies by fufficiency. When he has looked about him as far, as "he can, he concludes there is no more to be feen; "when he is at the end of his line, he is at the bottom "of the ocean; when he has fhot his beft, he is fure

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none ever did, or ever can fhoot better, or beyond it. His own reafon he holds to be the certain measure of "truth; and his own knowledge of what is poffible in "nature." Here every thing is at once easy to the breath, and grateful to the ear. We must however obferve that, if compofition abound with fentences, which have too many refts, and thefe placed at intervals apparently measured and regular, it is apt to favor of affectation.

The next thing, which demands attention, is the close or cadence of the period. The only important rule, which can here be given, is this, when we aim at dignity or elevation, the found fhould increafe to the last;

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