tence, though lefs ftrictly, and at the fame time expreffing an oppofition in the sense. The Interjection alas! expreffes, the concern and regret of the fpeaker; and though thrown in with propriety, yet might have been omitted, without injuring the conftruction of the fentence, or destroying the fenfe. TH ARTICLE. HE ARTICLE is a word prefixed to fubftantives, to point them out, and to fhew how far their fignification extends. In English there are but two articles, a, and the: a becomes an before a vowel, y and w [2] excepted; and before a filent b preceding a vowel. A is used in a vague fenfe to point out one fingle thing of the kind, in other refpects indeterminate: the determines what particular thing is meaned. A fubftantive, without any article to limit it, is taken in its wideft fenfe: thus man means all mankind; as, "The proper ftudy of mankind is man.' Pope. [2] The pronunciation of y, or w, as part of a diphthong at the beginning of a word, requires fuch an effort in the conformation of the parts of the mouth, as does not eafily admit of the article an before them. In other cafes the article an in a manner coalefces with the vowel, which it precedes: in this, the effort of pronunciation separates the article, and prevents the disagreeable consequence of a fensible hiatus. Where 7 Where mankind and man may change places, with out making any alteration in the fenfe. A man means fome one or other of that kind, indefinitely; the man means, definitely, that particular man, who is fpoken of the former therefore is called the Indefinite, the latter the Definite, Article [3]di the death." FIND I [3]" And I perfecuted this way unto the deat Acts xxii. 4 The Apoftle does not mean anyparticular fort of death, but death in general: the Definite Article therefore is improperly afed. It ought to be unto death, without any Article: agreeably to the Original, ax Java. See alfo 2 Chron. xxxii. 24. "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." John xvi. 13. That is, according to this tranflation, into all Truth whatsoever, into Truth of all kinds: very different from the meaning of the Evangelift, and from the Original, as was aandtav, into all the Truth; that is, into all Evangelical Truth. "Truly this was the Son of God." Matt. xxvii. 54. and Mark xv. 39. his translation supposes, that the Roman Centurion had a proper and adequate notion of the character of Jefus, as the Son of God in a peculiar and incommunicable fenfe: whereas, it is probable, bath from the circumstances of the Hiflory, and from the expression of the Original, (40; Or, a Son of God, or, of a God, not: yes, the Son) that he only meaned to acknowledge him to be an extraordinary perfon, and more than a mere man; according to his own notion of Sons of Gods in the Pagan Theology: This is alfo more agreeable to St. Luke's account of the fame confeffion of the Centurion : ¡“Certainly this was inatos, a righteous man; not & Aixas, the Just One. The fame may be obferved of Nebuchadnezzar's words, "Dan. iii. 25. "And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God:"-it ought to be expreffed by the Indefinite Article, like a Son of God; ་་ ་་་ as Theodotion very properly renders it: that is, like an Angel; according to Nebuchadnezzar's own account of it in the 28th verfe: “Bleffèd be God, who hath fent his Angel, and delivered his fervants.” See alfo Luke xix 9. 2, Example: Example: "Man was made for fociety, and ought to extend his good will to all men: but a man will naturally entertain a more particular kindnefs for the men, with whom he has the most frequent intercourfe; and enter into a ftill clofer union with the man, whofe temper and difpofition fuit beft with his own." It is of the nature of both the articles to determine or limit the thing spoken of: a determines it to be one fingle thing of the kind, leaving it ftill uncertain which; the determines which it is, or, of many, which they are. The first therefore can only be joined to Subftantives in the fingular number [4]; the last may also be joined to plurals. « Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" Pope. It ought to be, the wheel; ufed as an inftrument for the particular purpose of torturing Criminals as Shakespear; "Let them pull all about mine ears; prefent me "God Almighty hath given reafon to a man to be a light unto = him." Hobbes, Elements of Law, Part I. Chap. v. 12. It should = rather be," to man," in general. These remarks may ferve to fhew the great importance of the proper ufe of the Article; the near affinity there is between the Greek Article and the English Definite Article; and the excellence of the English Language in this refpect, which by means of its two Articles does most precifely determine the extent of fignification of Common Names: whereas the Greek has only one Article, and it has puzzled all the Grammarians to reduce the use of that to any clear and certain rules. [4] "A good character should not be rested in as an end, but employed as a means of doing still further good." Atterbury, Serm. II. B 3. Ought There There is a remarkable exception to this rule in the use of the Adjectives few and many, (the latter chiefly with the word great before it,) which, though joined with plural Subftantives, yet admit of the fingular Article a: as, a few men, a great many men :· "Told of a many thousand warlike French:"A care-craz'd mother of a many children." Shakespear. The reafon of it is manifest from the effect, which the article has in these phrases: it means a fmall or great number collectively taken, and therefore gives the idea of a Whole, that is, of Unity [5]. Thus likewife a hundred, a thousand, is one whole number, an aggregate of many collectively taken; it not to be a mean?" I have read an author of this tafte, that com. pares a ragged coin to a tattered colours." Addifon, Dial. I. on Medals. [5] Thus the word many is taken collectively as a Substantive: "O Thou fond Many! with what loud applause Didft thou beat heav'n with bleffing Bolingbroke, Before he was what thou wouldst have him be!" Shakespear, 2 Hen. IV. But it will be hard to reconcile to any Grammatical propriety the following phrafe: "Many one there be, that fay of my foul; There is no help for him in his God." Pfal. iii. 2. "How many a mejage would he send!" Swift, Verfes on his own Death. "He would send many a message, is right but the question be feems to destroy the unity, or collective nature, of the Idea; and therefore it ought to have been expreffed, if the measure would have allowed of it, without the article, in the plural number; many messages." Богу and and therefore ftill retains the Article a, though joined as an Adjective to a plural Substantive; as, a hundred years [6]. "For harbour at a thousand doors they knock'd; Not one of all the thoufand, but was lock'd." Dryden. The Definite Article the is fometimes applied to Adverbs in the Comparative and Superlative degree; and its effect is to mark the degree the more ftrongly, and to define it the more precifely: as, * The more I examine it, the better I like it. I like this the leaft of any." SUBSTANTIVE. SUBSTANTIVE, or NOUN, is the Name of a thing; of whatever we conceive in any way to fubfift, or of which we have any notion. A Subftantives are of two forts; Proper, and Common, Names. Proper Names are the Names appropriated to individuals; as the names of perfons and places: fuch are George, London. Common Names ftand for kinds, containing many [6]" There were flain of them upon a three thousand men:" that is, to the number of three thousand, 1 Macc. iv. 15. "About an eight days:" Luke ix. 28. But the expreffion is obfolete, or at leaft vulgar; and, we may add likewife, improper: for neither of these numbers has been reduced by use and convenience into one collective and compact idea, like a hundred, and a thousand; each of which, like a dozen, or a score, we are accustomed equally to confider on certain occafions as a fimple Unity. |