bray of an ass, the whinny of a horse, the kaw of the crow, the cooing of doves, the croak of the raven, the name of the cock, from the noise made by that bird, whence its name, it is faid, is almost universal in all languages; and many others of the like kind. Such words contain a power of expreffion from a natural refemblance, which can never belong to figns merely inftituted. After these mimical words, whose whole founds are nearly the fame with those formed by the feveral animals from which they were taken, there is another class which bears a fainter resemblance, merely from fome letters contained in them, which were borrowed from the animal world. Thus among the vowels the aw was borrow

1

3

ed from the crow, the a from the goat, the

2

3

the a from the sheep, the o from the dove,

2

the o from the ox, the ow from the dog, &c. Of the confonants, we borrowed the

B from

B from the sheep, K from the crow, M from the ox, R from the dog, S from the ferpent, th from the goose. We have also founds refembling those made by inanimate objects. Thus F is like the found of winds blowing through certain chinks. V is the noise made by some spinning wheels when rapidly moved. Sh is the found made by fquibs and rockets previous to explosion. S by the flight of darts. Ng by a bell. These also may be referred to the imitative or mimical class.

All founds too made by the collifion of bodies, find letters in the alphabet peculiarly fitted to be their representatives. These founds are strong and weak, clear or obtufe, long or short; and these properties have been already fhewn to exist in the letters, according to their feveral claffes. Thus the mutes and short vowels are best fitted to exprefs fhort founds; the femivowels

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vowels and long vowels, such as are of any continuance: the pure femivowels the clear, the mutes the obtufe founds: the afpirated letters the ftrong, the fimple the weaker founds. Thus the words pat, tap, flap, expreffing fhort and quick sounds, end in mutes preceded by short vowels; whereas the toll of the bell, expreffive of a continuing found, confifts of a long vowel and a femivowel. To this clafs alfo may be referred the murmuring, purling, bubbling, gurgling of waters. All words of thefe fe veral kinds being reprefentatives of ideas that come into the mind through the ear, may have a natural refemblance to their archetypes from a fimilarity of found: but there is alfo an expreffive power in words which represent ideas that come into the mind through the other fenfes, and which, though from the nature of things they cannot have the leaft fimilarity to those ideas,

yet

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yet have a certain congruity with them, which makes them fitter to represent those ideas than words of a different conftruction. To confirm this by examples. The words beginning with the confonants ftr, fignify force, and generally exertion of force. As ftrong, ftrength, ftrive, ftride, struggle, ftrain, stretch, ftrenuous, ftress, ftrut, &c.

Here we are to observe that in this combination of confonants, the first letter is formed by the sharp force of the breath in a hiffing found, which is interrupted by a pure mute, that borrows its found not from a vowel but the femivowel " with which it unites itself with difficulty, and therefore occafions the harsh found of that roughest and strongest of our confonants to be heard in its full force. This powerful found therefore, which requires a strong exertion of the organs of speech, is well fuited to express ideas of force exerted.

When

When the r is omitted, and ft only be gins a fyllable, it is ftill expreffive of ftrength, but in a lefs degree, and without so much exertion. As, ftand, ftay, steady, fteadfast, stout, sturdy, stick, stiff, stop, stubborn.

Thr- marks a violent motion; as in the words throw, thruft, throb, throng, &c. In this combination the confonant th formed by an effort of the thickened breath, pushes out the found of the r with uncommon force.

Sw marks a filent agitation, or a gentler and more equable motion. As in the words fwim, fwing, fwift, &c. Here motion is marked by the letter s formed by the breath, but it has not the sharp hiffing found as in the former cafe, when it preceded the mute t, flowing here eafily into the vowel w, which melting alfo into another vowel, and form