In the Icelandic language, the word run signifies a letter, and the word runa a furrow, or line. Upon a vast number of inscriptions, some upon rocks, some upon stones of a defined shape, is found an Alphabet different from the Greeks, Latins, and Hebrews, and also unlike that of any modern nation. In this Alphabet there is a marked deficiency of curved or rounded lines, and an exclusive preponderance of straight ones. These letters are called Runes, and the Alphabet which they constitute is called the Runic Alphabet. Sometimes, by an extension of meaning, the old Norse language, wherein they most frequently occur, is called the Runic language. This is as incorrect as to call a language an Alphabetic language. To say the Runic stage of a language, is neither inaccurate nor inconvenient. The Runic Alphabet, whether borrowed or invented by the early Goths, is of greater antiquity than either the oldest Teutonic or the Mœso-Gothic Alphabets. The reduplication of the Consonant following to express the shortness (dependence) of the preceding Vowel, is as old as the Classical Languages: daλáooa, terra. It was the prac tice in the Anglo-Saxon as well as in the English Language : "And tatt he loke well patt he An boc-staff write twiggess* In this practice the current rule is recognized: "Monosyllables and words accented on the last syllable, ending with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double that consonant when they take another syllable beginning with a vowel; as, Wit, witty; begin, beginner. The reduplication of the consonant is necessary to express the shortness of the preceding vowel. See § 120. GRAMMAR. § 130. GRAMMAR, Greek ypáμua, a letter, as a Science, is a system of Principles common to all languages. These principles relate to Articulate Sounds; to Letters; to Syllables; to Words; to Sentences. * Write one letter twice. Grammar, as an Art, is a system of Rules for the practical application of these principles to language. These principles are deduced from the Analysis of language, and are applied in its Synthesis. A principle in science is a rule in art; the two should not be confounded. "The two ideas of Science and Art differ from one another Is the understanding differs from the will, and as the indicative mode in Grammar differs from the imperative. The one deals in facts, and the other in precepts. Science is a collec tion of truths; art is a body of rules, or directions for the conduct. The language of Science is, This is, or This is not; This does or does not happen. The language of Art is, Do this; Avoid that."-Mill's Essays on some Unsettled Questions in Political Economy, p. 124. ENGLISH GRAMMAR. § 131. ENGLISH GRAMMAR, as a Science, is a system of principles and a collection of facts peculiar to the English language, together with those which are common also to other languages. English Grammar, as an Art, is a system of rules for the practical application of these principles to the English language. In the Study of English Grammar, the end aimed at is, I. An acquaintance with those facts and principles which pertain to the science; II. A familiarity with the application of those principles to practice. He who, in his practice in writing and speaking, applies these principles, thus making Science the minister of Art, speaks and writes the English language correctly. M PART IV. ETYMOLOGICAL FORMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. CHAPTER I. CLASSIFICATION OF THE PARTS OF SPEECH DEFINITIONS. $132. ETYMOLOGY, from the Greek ervpov, an etymon, and λóyos, an account, is an account of the etymon, the true, literal, and exact force of a word. Hence, by extension, it is an account of the different kinds of words, of their formation or derivation, and of their inflection. It treats of the Classification, Inflection, and Derivation of words. When used in the limited sense of the word, it is the etymology of the Grammarian. When used in the wide sense, it may be called Historical etymology. In both senses it takes cognizance of the changes of form which words undergo. See § 334. CLASSIFICATION is the division of words into their different sorts or parts of speech. INFLECTION is the change of form which words undergo in order to express different relations; as the change of termina tion of a verb to indicate its relation to persons; as, Speak, speakest; or the change of termination of a noun in declension; as, John, John's. See § 169. DERIVATION treats of the origin, primary signification, and transition of words. Derivation and Etymology are sometimes used as convertible terms. See § 334. A PROPOSITION is a sentence containing an assertion; as, "Man is mortal." Every proposition has three parts or elements: 1. The thing spoken of, called the Subject. 2. That which is said of it, called the Predicate. 3. That which connects the subject and the predicate, called the Copula. Man in the sentence above is the subject, mortal the predicate, and is the copula. But the copula and the predicate are often single word; as when we say "man dies." In this case the word "dies," for grammatical purposes, is equivalent to "is mortal," and can be resolved into it. expressed by a § 133. I. A word which can by itself form either the Subject or the Predicate of a Proposition, and which is also the name of an object, is called a SUBSTANTIVE or NOUN ; as, Boston, man, virtue. "Man is mortal." In this simple proposition man is the Subject. "I also am a man." In this proposition man is the Predicate. II. A word which can not by itself form the Subject of a proposition, but can by itself form the Predicate of a proposition, and can stand immediately before a substantive to express some property, is called an ADJECTIVE; as, "mortal man;" "man is mortal." In this proposition mortal is the Predicate. For the Articles, see § 197. III. A word which can be used instead of a noun as the Subject or the Predicate of a proposition, is called a PRONOUN, "The man is happy; he is benevolent." Here he is used instead of man, as the Subject of the proposition. "I am he." Here he is the Predicate of the proposition. IV. A word which can by itself form the Copula of a proposition, or which can by itself form the Copula and the Predicate of a proposition, and can express an assertion, is called a VERB; as, "Man is mortal;" "man dies." Here is forms the Copula of the first proposition, and dies is dying, the Copula and the Predicate of the second. See § 439. V. A word which can not by itself form a part of a simple proposition, but which can combine with verbs and adjectives to modify their meaning, is called an ADVERB; as, "He reads correctly;" "he was exceedingly careful." VI. A word which by itself can not form a part of a simple proposition, but which can combine with nouns and pronouns to express some relation, is called a PREPOSITION; as, "He went from New York to Boston." VII. A word which can connect two propositions without making a part of either, is called a CONJUNCTION; as, "The sun shines and the sky is clear." VIII. A word which can neither form a part of a proposi tion nor connect two different propositions, but is thrown in to express some sudden thought or emotion, is called an INTERJECTION; as, ah; pish. § 134. The Parts of Speech have, by some Grammarians, been divided into, 1. Essential words, namely, such as express a Notion or Idea, which are the Substantive, the Adjective, the Verb, and the Adverbs derived from those parts of speech. 2. Formal words, namely, such as express the different relations of the Idea, which are the Pronoun, the Numeral, the Preposition, the Conjunction, and the Adverbs derived from those parts of speech, and the verb to be. The Interjection, not expressing either an idea or its relation, can not strictly be considered as a part of speech. § 135. Moreover, by other Grammarians, words have been divided into Primary and Secondary. The First Class, namely, the primary, consists of Nouns and Verbs, words which are so necessary to the communication of ideas that no complete sentence can be formed without the use of both, unless when a substitute is used for a noun. Thus, flowers fade, is a complete sentence, containing a noun and a verb; remove either of them, and the proposition is destroyed. From the importance of these words, they are denominated the Primary Parts of Speech. The Second Class consists of words of Secondary or Subordinate importance, or of such as are dependent on other words in construction. 1. Words which express the quali ties of things, and which, therefore, are attached to the names of those things. These are called Adjectives or Attributives. 2. Words which supply the place of other words and of sentences, which are called Pronouns or Substitutes. 3. Words which modify the sense of other words by expressing the manner of action or degree of quality. These are called Ad |