rifon of our own language with more cultivated languages. And this it does eminently in the prefent inftances of the Past Participle and the Noun adjective. For, fince we can and do use our Noun itself unaltered, and our Paft Tense itself unaltered, for the fame purpose and with the fame meaning, as the Greek and Latin use their Adjective and their Participle; it is manifeft that their Adjective and Participle are merely their Noun and. Paft Tenfe, Adjectived. ΕΠΕΛ ЕПЕА ПТEPOENTA, 8cc. CHAP. VIII. THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. F. WELL. Now for your four Abbreviations: which, you fay, we have adopted from those other languages. H. That which I call the Potential Paffive Adjective is that which our antient writers firft adopted; and which we have fince taken in the greatest abundance: not led to it by any reafoning, or by any knowledge of the nature of the words; but by their great practical convenience and usefulness. I mean fuch words as the following, whofe common termination has one common meaning. Thefe words, and fuch as thefe, our early authors could not poffibly tranflate into English, but by a periphrafis. They therefore took the words themselves as they found them: and the fame practice, for the fame reason, being followed by their fucceffors; the frequent repetition of these words has at length naturalized them in our language. But they who first intro duced duced these words, thought it neceffary to explain them to their readers and accordingly we find in your manufcript New Teftament, which (whoever was the Tranflator) I fuppofe to have been written about the reign of Edward the third * in that manufcript we find an explanation accompanying the words of this fort which are used in it. And this circumftance fufficiently informs us, that the adoption was at that time but newly introduced. 66 "I do thankingis to God up on the unenarrable, or, that may not be told, gifte of hym." 2 Corinthies. cap. 9. 66 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." Modern Verfion. Verse 15. "Whom whanne ye han not feyn ye louen, in to whom alfo "now ye not feynge bileuen, forfoth ye bileuynge fhulen haue ioye with outeforth in gladneffe unenarrable, that may 46 not be teld out." 1 Petir. cap. 1. "Whom having not feen, ye love; in whom, though now ye "fee him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable." Modern. Verfe 8. * I fuppofe it to be about this date; amongst other reafons, because it retains the Anglofaxon Theta, the ambiguous 3, and the 1 without a point over it. Lut I am not fufficiently converfant with manufcripts to fay when the use of these characters ceased. "From "From hennesforth brithren, Whateuer thingis ben fothe, "whateuer thingis chaift, whateuer thingis iuft, whateuer thingis holi, whateuer thingis amyable, or, able to be louyd." Philippenfis. cap. 4. 66 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever "things are honeft, whatsoever things are juft, whatsoever "things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely." Modern. Verse 8. "The whiche is not maid up the lawe of fleshly maundement: but up vertu of lyf infolible, or, that may not be "undon." Ebrewis. cap. 7. "Who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment, "but after the power of an endless life." Modern. Verse 16. "Forfothe wifdom that is fro aboue, first fotheli it is chaft, "aftirwarde pefible, mylde, Swadibile, that is, ef for to trete "and to be tretid." 946 James. cap. 3. "But the wifdom that is from above, is firft pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated." Modern. Verse 17. Gower, in his Conf. Amant. (written, as he informs, in the fixteenth year of Richard the fecond) has taken very little advantage of this then newly introduced abbreviation. He ufes |