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THE INTRODUCTION.
I AM very much concerned when I see young gentlemen of fortune and quality so wholly set upon pleasure and diversions, that they neglect all those improvements in wisdom and knowledge which may make them easy to themselves and useful to the world. The greatest part of our British youth lose their figure, and grow out of fashion, by that time they are five and twenty. As soon as the natural gaiety and amiableness of the young man wears off, they have nothing left to recommend them, but lie by the rest of their lives among the lumber and refuse of the species. It sometimes happens, indeed, that for want of applying themselves in due time to the pursuit of knowledge, they take up a book in their declining years, and grow very hopeful scholars by the time they are threescore. I must therefore earnestly press my readers, who are in the flower of their youth, to labour at those accomplishments which may set off their persons when their bloom is gone, and to lay in timely provisions for manhood and old age. In short, I would advise the youth of fifteen to be dressing up every day the man of fifty, or to consider how to make himself venerable at threescore.
Young men, who are naturally ambitious, would do well to observe how the greatest men of antiquity made it their ambition to excel all their contemporaries in knowledge. Julius Cæsar and Alexander, the most celebrated instances of human greatness, took a particular care to distinguish themselves by their skill in the arts and sciences. We have still extant several remains of the former, which justify the character given of him by the learned men of his own age. As for the latter, it is a known saying of his, that he was more obliged to Aristotle, who had instructed him, than to Philip, who had given him life and empire. There is a letter of his recorded by Plutarch and Aulus Gellius, which he wrote to Aristotle upon hearing that he had published those lectures he had given him in private. This letter was written in the following words, at a time when he was in the height of his Persian conquest:
ALEXANDER to ARISTOTLE, greeting.
"You have not done well to publish your books of select knowledge; for what is there now, in which I can surpass others, if those things which I have been instructed in are communicated to every body? For my own part, I declare to you, I would rather excel others in knowledge than in power."
"_Farewel._"
We see by this letter, that the love of conquest was but a second ambition in Alexander's soul. Knowledge is indeed that, which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another. It furnishes one half of the human soul. It makes life pleasant to us, fills the mind with entertaining views, and administers to it a perpetual series of gratifications. It gives ease to solitude, and gracefulness to retirement. It fills a public station with suitable abilities, and adds a lustre to those who are in possession of them.
Learning, by which I mean all useful knowledge, whether speculative or practical, is in popular and mixt governments the natural source of wealth and honour. If we look into most of the reigns from the conquest, we shall find that the favourites of each reign have been those who have raised themselves. The greatest men are generally the growth of that particular age in which they flourish. A superior capacity for business, and a more extensive knowledge, are the steps by which a new man often mounts to favour, and outshines the rest of his contemporaries. But when men are actually born to titles, it is almost impossible that they should fail of receiving additional greatness, if they take care to accomplish themselves for it.
The story of Solomon's choice does not only instruct us in that point of history, but furnishes out a very fine moral to us, namely, that he who applies his heart to wisdom, does, at the same time, take the most proper method for gaining long life, riches, and reputation, which are very often not only the reward, but the effects of wisdom.
MUSEUM FOR YOUNG GENTLEMEN AND LADIES.
These points are to give a proper time for breathing when you read, and to prevent confusion of sense in joining words together in a sentence. The Comma stops the reader's voice till he can tell one, and divides the lesser parts of a sentence. The Semicolon divides the greater parts of a sentence, and requires the reader to pause while he can count two. The Colon is used where the sense is complete, and not the sentence, and rests the voice of the reader till he can count three. The Period is put when the sentence is ended, and requires a pause while he can tell four.
But we must here remark, that the Colon and Semicolon are frequently used promiscuously, especially in our bibles.
There are two other points, which may be called marks of affection; the one of which is termed an Interrogation, which signifies a question being asked, and expressed thus (?); the other called an Admiration or Exclamation, and marked thus (!). These two points require a pause as long as a period.
We have twelve other marks to be met with in reading, namely,
1. Apostrophe (') 7. Section (§) 2. Hyphen (-) 8. Ellipsis (--) 3. Parenthesis ( ) 9. Index ( [index] ) [hand pointing rightwards] 4. Brackets [ ] 10. Asterisk (*) 5. Paragraph ( ) 11. Obelisk ([dagger]) 6. Quotation (") 12. Caret (^)
Apostrophe is set over a word where some letter is wanting, as in lov'd. Hyphen joins syllables and words together, as in pan-cake. Parenthesis includes something not necessary to the sense, as, I know that in me (that is in my flesh) liveth, &c. Brackets include a word or words mentioned as a matter of discourse, as, The little word [man] makes a great noise, &c. They are also used to enclose a cited sentence, or what is to be explained, and sometimes the explanation itself. Brackets and Parenthesis are often used for each other without distinction. Paragraph is chiefly used in the bible, and denotes the beginning of a new subject. Quotation is used to distinguish what is taken from an author in his own words. Section shews the division of a chapter. Ellipsis is used when part of a word or sentence is omitted, as p--ce. Index denotes some remarkable passage. Asterisk refers to some note in the margin, or remarks at the bottom of the page; and when many stand together, thus ***, they imply that something is wanting, or not fit to be read, in the author. The Obelisk or Dagger, and also parallel lines marked thus (||), refer to something in the margin. The Caret, marked thus (^), is made use of in writing, when any line or word is left out, and wrote over where it is to come in, as thus,
The other marks relate to single words, as Dialysis or Diæresis, placed over vowels to shew they must be pronounced in distinct syllables, as Raphaël. The Circumflex is set over a vowel to carry a long sound, as Euphrâtes. An Accent is marked thus (á), to shew where the emphasis must be placed, as negléct; or to shew that the consonant following must be pronounced double, as hómage. To these may be added the long (¯) and short ([breve]) marks, which denote the quantity of syllables, as water.
RULES FOR READING.
When you have gained a perfect knowledge of the sounds of the letters, never guess at a word on sight, lest you get a habit of reading falsely. Pronounce every word distinctly. Let the tone of your voice be the same in reading as in speaking. Never read in a hurry, lest you learn to stammer. Read no louder than to be heard by those about you. Observe to make your pauses regular, and make not any where the sense will admit of none. Suit your voice to the subject. Be attentive to those who read well, and remember to imitate their pronunciation. Read often before good judges, and thank them for correcting you. Consider well the place of emphasis, and pronounce it accordingly: For the stress of voice is the same with regard to sentences as in words. The emphasis or force of voice is for the most part laid upon the accented syllable; but if there is a particular opposition between two words in a sentence, one whereof differs from the other in parts, the accent must be removed from its place: for instance, The sun shines upon the just and upon the unjust. Here the emphasis is laid upon the first syllable in unjust, because it is opposed to just in the same sentence, without which opposition it would lie in its proper place, that is, on the last syllable, as we must not imitate the unjust practices of others.
The general rule for knowing which is the emphatical word in a sentence, is, to consider the design of the whole; for particular directions cannot be easily given, excepting only where words evidently oppose one another in a sentence, and those are always emphatical. So frequently is the word that asks a question, as, who, what, when, &c. but not always. Nor must the emphasis be always laid upon the same words in the same sentence, but varied according to the principal meaning of the speaker. Thus, suppose I enquire, Did my father walk abroad yesterday? If I lay the emphasis on the word father, it is evident I want to know whether it was he, or somebody else. If I lay it upon walk, the person I speak to will know, that I want to be informed whether he went on foot or rode on horseback. If I put the emphasis upon yesterday, it denotes, that I am satisfied that my father went abroad, and on foot, though I want to be informed whether it was yesterday, or some time before.
RULES TO READ VERSE.
There are two ways of writing on a subject, namely, in prose and verse. Prose is the common way of writing, without being confined to a certain number of syllables, or having the trouble of disposing of the words in any particular form. Verse requires words to be ranged so, as the accents may naturally fall on particular syllables, and make a sort of harmony to the ear: This is termed metre or measure, to which rhyme is generally added, that is, to make two or more verses, near to each other, and with the same sound; but this practice is not absolutely necessary; for that which has no rhyme is called blank verse.
In metre the words must be so disposed, as that the accent may fall on every second, fourth, and sixth syllable, and also on the eighth, tenth, and twelfth, if the lines run to that length. The following verse of ten syllables may serve for an example:
The mónarch spóke, and stráit a múrmur róse.
But English poetry allows of frequent variations from this rule, especially in the first and second syllables in the line, as in the verse which rhymes with the former, where the accent is laid upon the first syllable.
Lóud as the súrges, whén the témpest blóws.
But there are two sorts of metre, which vary from this rule; one of which is when the verse contains but seven syllables, and the accent lies upon the first, third, fifth, and seventh, as below:
