¡I 1,4 52 THE IMPROVEMENT OP THE MIND. languages are such as cease to be spoken in any nation ; and even these are more easy to be taught (as far as may be) in that method wherein living languages are best learnt, that is, partly by rule, and partly by rote or custom. And it may not be improper in this place to mention a few directions for that purpose. I. Begin with the most necessary and most general observa- tions and rules which belong to that language, compiled in the form of agrammar ; and these are but few in most languages. , The regular declensions and variations of nouns and verbs, should be early and thoroughly learnt by heart, together with twenty or thirty of the plainest and most necessary rules of syntax. But let it be observed, that in almost all languages, some of the very commonest nouns and verbs have many irregularities in them ; such -are the common auxiliary verbs to be, and to have, to do, and lobe done, 4e. The comparatives and superlatives of the words good, bad, great, much, small, little, Bic. and these should be learnt among the first rules and variations, because they continuallyoccur. But as to other words which are less frequent, let but few of the anomalies or irregularities of the tongue be taught among the general rules to young beginners. These will better come in afterwards to be learnt by advanced scholars in a way of notes on the rules, as in the Latin Grammar called the Oxford Grammar, or in Ruddiman's Notes on his Rudiments, &c. Or they may be learnt by examples alone, when they do occur ; or by a larger and more complete system of grammar, which descends to the more particular forms of speech ; so the heteroclitenouns of the Latin tongue, which are taught in the school -book called QuaGenus, should not be touch- ed in the first learning of the rudiments of that tongue. II. As the grammar by which you learn any tongue should be very short at first, so it must be written in a tonguewith which you are well acquainted, and which is very familiar to you. Therefore I much prefer even the common English Accidence (as it is called) to any grammar whatsoever written in Latin for this end. The English accidence has doubtless many faults ; but those editions of it which were printed since the year 1728, under the correction of a learned professor, are the best or the Eng- lish Rudiments of the Latin Tongue, by the learned North Briton Mr..Ruddiman, which are perhaps the most useful books of this kind which I am acquainted with ; especially because I would not depart too far from the ancient and common forms of teaching, which several good grammarians have done, to the great detriment of such lads as have been removed to other schools. The tiresome and unreasonable method of learning the
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