a quality, but a state of the action; and country, which when used by itself is denominated a noun, in this application of it points out the situation of the residence. The first only, comes under the grammatical definition of an adjective; the second is a verb, and the third a noun adjective.

In many languages, adjectives have a peculiarity of termination corresponding to that of the number, gender, or case of the noun to which they are joined ; but the simplicity of the English tongue does not admit of such distinctions. The only change which this part of speech undergoes, is that which denotes an increase of quality. Though the degrees of quality may, in some instances, continue to ascend one above another almost to infinity, yet such is the admirable simplicity of language, and such its adaptation to the expression of thought, that two changes have been found adequate to every purpose of comparison. These changes are, in our language, effected by adding to the radical form of the adjective, the syllables er and est; or by prefixing to it more and most.

Er is a Saxon word, which like our ere, signifies before. In its first application to names of qualities, it was probably used to denote priority in regard to time; but, as one event necessarily happens before another, so one person or thing may occupy a more prominent station, or may possess qualities more remarkable, or in greater abundance than others, and in either of these respects, may be reckoned before them,

the same term might, without violence, be employed to denote precedence, or superiority in general. The word before, the synonyme of er, is often used in the same manner; for we say of a person who excels others in any thing he does, that he is before them.

Erst is a word still in use, particularly in poetry. Thus, in the tragedy of Douglas, Lady Randolph says of her father, that after the death of her brother,

"He grew reckless of the world,

And never as he erst was wont, went forth
To overlook the conduct of his servants."

It is now generally used to signify formerly, but its original meaning was first; erste buch, is the German phrase for first book. In the composition of words we observe that a letter is dropped, inserted, or changed, as it may be thought necessary to improve the sound. If then, in the present instance, we drop the r, we have the termination of what is called the superlative degree of our adjective; and as er, when joined to an adjective, denotes that the person or thing to which we apply it, is before others, so est intimates, that it is first. In this we have an additional proof of the truth of what has been stated, respecting the affixes and prefixes of words; for the same effect that has been ascribed to er and est, is produced by prefixing to an adjective the words more and most ; and the one or the other is preferred, according as

the sound is more agreeable. Of the various words used as adjectives, those only have degrees of comparison, which denote qualities susceptible of increase; for though, as we have seen, a noun may become an adjective by being placed before another noun, it cannot be compared; we say, a gold ring, a silver spoon, but we cannot say a golder ring, or a silverer

spoon.

Of Pronouns.

To a few words in most languages, the term pronoun has been applied, as they are believed to be unknown in the earlier periods of a language, and are introduced as the substitutes of names, when the speech of a nation has attained some degree of refinement. That such words as he, she, it, and they, are substitutes of nouns, we readily admit; because they obviously supply the place of nouns, and are only used with propriety, when they refer to some name in a preceding part of a sentence: and though it would be awkward to repeat names, as often as the want of these pronouns would render it necessary, it would be practicable without them to express our thoughts. Thou, and ye or you, seem to have less the character of substitutes, and I and we scarcely at all; for in using the two former, we frequently use the name of the person or persons addressed, at the same time; but it

is less common to join the name with either of the two latter. It is not improbable, however, that all the words now denominated pronouns, were originally a species of adjectives, not expressing qualities, but indicating merely the circumstances of the parties in discourse or writing, as the persons speaking, spoken to, or spoken of. In support of this view it may be observed, that in law papers, in which the phraseology is not generally abridged, but in which, to avoid errors, every thing is fully expressed, it is common to use both the noun and pronoun. Thus, "I, A. B. give, and bequeath to you C.D.," &c. But the natural desire of shortening expression, would lead men to discover, that what was generally joined to the name to point it out, as in a particular relation with regard to others, might be used without the name, and consequently considered as its substitute.

If this be admitted with regard to those words which are generally called personal pronouns, it cannot be refused with regard to the other classes; for grammarians, finding that such words as, this, that, these, those, each, every, either, some, any, one, all, such, other, &c. did not come under their definition of adjectives, as expressing qualities of nouns; and that though sometimes used without the addition of the name which they were meant to define, they did not properly stand for the noun, and of course were not pronouns, have given them the name of adjective pro,

nouns.

According to the definition of the word adjective already given, any word may be called by this name, which serves either to express a quality of a noun, or in any way to limit or to ascertain the extent of its signification. This is the office of a or an, and the, usually called articles, though in the purpose for which it is employed, a or an differs but little from one, and the from this or that. A book, means an individual book, so does one book; the book, means a particular book, so does this book; the difference is merely in the degree of emphasis or particularity, that is intended to be expressed. In confirmation of this view, it may be observed that in Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, as well as in some other languages, both ancient and modern, there is no word corresponding to our a or an; and those who speak or write these languages, when wishing to signify an individual of a kind, are obliged to use the numeral corresponding to our word one. The Latin language has not a word corresponding to our the, and hence has been said to have no articles. This is certainly an imperfection, and renders that language much less precise than those that possess such little words. By the use of articles we can express in English four different meanings, for which there is but one phrase in Latin; thus a son of a king, a son of the king, the son of a king, the son of the king, could only be expressed in Latin by the words filius regis. In having both a and one, our language is in some in