Discourses on Davila. NO. XXIII.— CONTINUED. Utrumque muUitudo coula.utavcrai. THIS aflembly was liolden at Paris, in the be ginning of the year 1562. The Queen, ac cording to her ordinary maxims, employed her felfin holding the balance between the two par ties, and to hinderoue from prevailing over the other, for fear she should be the victim of the strongest. The greatest part of the magittrates concurred in her views ; some perluaded that it ■was imDoffible to restrain lo great a multitude, animated by a furious zeal for religion, and other* feeing with regret so much blood shed to no good purpose. They prepared that famous Editft of January, which granted to the Hugo nots, the liberty of conscience, and the liberty of holding their afl'emblies and preaching their ser mons, upon condition that they should meet with out arms, without the cities, in the fields> and in presence of the judges of the places. The pat U aments and other tribunals opposed, at firlt, the execution of this Edidl ; but it was finally regis tered, upon repeated letters of juflion, (Icaled commands to do a thing which they had refufed to do) of thfe King and council. 1 his was a thun derbolt to the chiefs of the Catholic party. To bring on aerifis, to force all the Catholics to join them, and to hinder the execution. of the Edict, the Duke of Guise, the Coiiftable, all the Cardi nals, except de Tournon, who was lately dead, the Jvlarihals de Briffac and Saint Andre quitted the court, to oppose themselves with all their forces to the Calviniftical party. * So near was liberty of conscience at that time, toa compleat and final eftablifhinent in France/ that nothing but this violent measure could have prevented it; even this retreat of all the Catholics would not have Suc ceeded, without another artifice. They fulhci ently forefaw, that as long as the good intelli gence subsisted between the Queen-mother and the King of Navarre, they fliould have no power to intermeddle in the government of the king dom, and that all their efforts would be in vain : they proposed therefore to break it. Convinced that the Queen-mother would never change her plan or her conduct, at least until the majority of her son ; they thought it would be more easy to gain upon the undemanding of the king of Navarre. Their recess enabled them to conduct with more secrecy this negociation, which requir ed time and address. D'Ejl, legate of the Pope, and Manriquez ambaflador of Spain, let into the secret and entrusted with the conduct of it, eau ly commenced the conferences, by the interposi tion of the confidents of the King of Navarre. This weak Prince, had, or pretended to hare, no longer the fame inclination for the Hugonots, since the colloquy at Poifly, where he had i emarked their variations upon the contested points of faith, and not having found in Theodore Beza, nor in Peter Martyr, the fame confidence as he thought, as they affedted when they dogmatized without, contradictors, he had consulted Doctor Bandotiin, equally versed in scriptures aod in controversy. This theologian had decided the King of Navarre, to re unite himfelf to the faith of the cnurch, and to adopt neither the profeffion of faith of theSwifl Protertants, nor the confeffion of Augf bourg. His acquiescence in the Edict of January was less from any inclination to the Hugonots, than from an opinion the consciences ought not to he restrained, and that toleration was an infal lible means of extinguishing the troubles of the kingdom. As soon as his confidents, already dis posed to serve the Catholic party, had inforihed the legate and ambaflador, that he was in this temper, these last failed not to take advantage of it, to open the negotiation. In order to unite to motives of conscience, personal advantages and temporal iuterefts, they proposed to him to di vorce his Queen Jane, with a dispensation from the Pope, because she was an Heretic, and to mar ry Mary, Queen of Scots, the niece of the Guise f, and widow of Francis lid, a Princess who united to the charm? of youth and beauty, the actual pofleffion of a great kingdom. The King of Na varre, attached to his children, rejected firmly this propoficion. They then brought upon the carpet, once more, the exchange of Sardinia, so often proposed in vain. This was the delicate point, which touched him th? molt sensibly. His hopes indeed, were not very strong ; but this negotiation not having been wholly broken off, Manriquez, the Spanish ambaflador, by his ordi nary artifice, renewed it with so much apparent seriousness, as to re-animate the dcfires and the confidence of rhe King of Navarre. Not content with giving him the strongest aflurances of the good dispositions of the Catholic King, he pro ceeded fofar as 10 treat of the means of exchange, and of the quality of the rents and fervices,which the King of Navarre should render the crown of Spain, as acknowledgments of its sovereignty. They debated these clauses and conditions as se riously, as if they were upon the point of signing the treaty. The character of the King of Na varre, and his inclination to embrace always the 1110 ft honorable and plausible measures, favored the designs of ihe Catholics. (To b; continued.) fro*l WEBSTER-i DISSERTATIONS on the ENGLISH IAN GUAGE. Of MODERN CORRUPTIONS inthe ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION. (CONCLUDED.) BUT whatever may be the practice in England or Ireland, there are few in America who have embraced it, as it is e *P Ulnc ° in Sheridan'sDiftionary. In the middle and southern Stales, there aie are a few, and those well bred people, who have gone far in attempting to imitate the fafhion of the day.* Yet tie ' Y the people, even in these States, remain as unfalhionable as ever and the eastern States generally adhere to their ancient cu om fpcaking, howei/er vulgar it may be thought by their neig 1 tors, i Suppose custom therefore to De the jus it norma, the rue o cor reft speaking, and in this country, it is diredly opposed to the plan now unde/ confederation. As a nation, we have a verv great interest in oppojing the in troduction ot any plan of uniformity with the Brui a ngttagc, even were the plan proposed perfedly unexceptionable 1 his point will be afterwards difcuHed more particularly; but I would observe here, that the author who his the most admirers and imi tators in th'.s country, has been censured in London, where his charaftens highly esteemed, and that too by men who are con fefTedly partial to his general plan. In the critical revic.v of Sheridan's Dictionary, 1781, there are the following exceptions to his standard. . . " Neverthelcfs our author must not be farprized if, in a matter, in its nature so delicate and difficult, as that concerning which he treats, a doubt (hould here and there arise, in the minds o t e most candid critics, with regard to the propriety of his determi nations. For inftanct, we would wish him to rcconfider, whe ther in the words which begin with super, luch as Juperjtition, 1 supersede, he is right in directing them to be pronounced /hooper. Whatever might be the cafe in Queen Ann's time, it doth not oc cur to us, that any one at present, above the lower ranks, tpeaks these words with the found of Jh ; or that a good reason can be given, for their being thus founded. Nay their being thus spo ken is contrary to Mr. Sheridan's own rule ; for he fays that the letter J always piefeivcs its own proper found at the beginning of words." Here we are informed by this gentleman's admirers, that, in some instances, he has imposed upon the world, as the standard of purity, a pronunciation which is not heard, except among the lower ranks gj people, and dire&ly opposed to his own rule. The reviewers might have extended their remarks to many other in stances, in which he has deviated from general pradlice and from every rule of the language. Yet at the voice of this gentleman, many of the Americans are quitting their former practice, and running into errors with an eagerness bordering on infatuation. Cuftoins of the court and stage, it is confeffed, rule without resistance in monarchies. But what have we to do with the cuf toins of a foreign nation ? Detached as we are from all the world, is itnot poflible tocircumfcribe the powerof cujlom, and lay it, i n some degree, under the influence of propriety ? We are sensible that in foreign courts, a man's reputation may depend on a gen teel bow, and ftis fortune may be loft by wearing an unfafhiona ble coat. But have we advanced to that stage of corruption, that our highest ambition is to be as particular in fafhions as other na tions ? In matters merely indifferent, like modes of dress, some degree of conformity to local ;uftom isncceflary but when this conformity requires a facrifice of any principle of propriety or moral re&itude, singularity becomes an honorable testimony of an independent mind. A man of a great foul would sooner imitate the virtues of a cottage, than the vices of a court; and would deem it more honorable to gain one ufeful idea from the humble laborer, than to copy the vicious pronunciation of a splendid court, or become an adept in the licentious principles of a Roches ter and a Littleton. It will not be disputed that Sheridan anci Scott have very faith fully published the present pronunciation of the English court and theatre. But if we may consult the rules of our language and consider them as of any authority ; if we may rely on the opinions of Kcnrick and the reviewers; if we may credit the bell inform ed people who have travelled in Great-Britain, this pra&ice is modern and local, and considered, by the judicious and impar tial, even of the Englifti nation, as a gross corruption of the pure pronunciation. Such errors and innovations should not be imitated, because they are found in authors of reputation. The works of such au thors (hould rather b'econfidered as lights to prevent out falling up on the rocks of error. There is no moie propriety in our imitating the practice of the Englilh theatie, because it is dcfcribed by the celebrated Sheridan, there is in introducing the manners of Rochejler or the principles of Bolingbroke, because these were emi nent characters ; or than there is in copying the vices of a Shylock, a Lovelace, or a Richard 111. because they aie well dcfcribed by the masterly pens of Shake[pear and Richardson. So far as the cor re&nefs and propriety of speech are considered as important, it is of as much confequencc to oppose the introdu&ion of that prac tice in this country, as it is to resist the corruption of morals, which ever attends the wealthy and luxurious stage of national re finements. Had Sheridan adhered to his own rules and to the principle of analogy ; had he given the world a confident scheme of pronun ciation, which would not have had, for its unliable basis, the fickle pra6lice of a changeable court, he would have, done infinite service to the language : Men of science, who wish to prefervethe regular conftru&ion of the language, would have rejoiced to find such a refpettjfble authority on the fide of propriety ; and the illit erate copiers of falhion must have reje&ed faults in speaking, which they could not defend. The corruption however has taken such deep root in England, that there is little probability it will ever be eradicated. The pra&ice must there prevail, and gradually change tha whole struc ture of the Latin derivatives. Such is the force of custom, in a nation where all fafliionable people are drawn to a point, that the current of opinion is irresistible; individuals must tall into the stream and be borne away by its violence ; except perhaps a few pliilofophcrs, whose fortitude may enable them to hold their sta tion, and whose fenfc of propriety may remain, when their pow er of opposition has cea-fed. But our detached situation, local and political, gives us the power, while pride,policy, and a regard for propriety and uni formity atnongourfelves, ftiould inspire us with a disposition, to oppose innovations, which have not utility for their object. We (hall find it difficult to convince Engliftimen that a corrupt taste prevails in the Britilh nation. Foreigners view the Ameri cans with a degree of contempt; they langh at our'manners, pi ty our ignorance, and as far as example and derifioncan go, ob trude upon us the customs of their native countries. But in bor rowing from other nations, we ftiould be exceedingly cautious to separate their virtues from their vices; their ufeful improvements from their falfe refinements. Stile and taste, in all nations, un dergo the fame revolutions, the fame progvfis from purity to cor ruption, as manners and government ; and in England the pro nunciation ot the language has ftiared the fame fate. The Augus tan era is past, and whethef the nation perceive and acknowledge the truth or not, the world, as impartial fpe£lators, observe and lament the declension of taste and science. The nation can do little more than read the works Tmd admire the beauties of the original authors, who have adorned the pre ceding ages. A few, ambitious of fame, or driven by necessity, croud their names into the catalogue of writers, by imitating fotne celebrated model, or by compiling from the produ£lions oi genius. Nothing marks taore strongly the dcclenfionof genius in England, than the multitude of plays, farces, novels and other catchpenny pieces, which fwcll the lift of modem publications 656 an<§ that host of compilers, who, in the Ta»e for felcQi ng beau, tics and abridging the labor of reading, disfigure the wovks of the* purest writers in thenation. Cicero did not waste his clients in barety reading and felefting the beauties of Dcmojlhcnes; and i n the days of Addifon, the beauties of Milton, Locke and Shahjpear were to be found only i n their works. But taste is corrupted by luxury ; utility is forgotten in pleasure ; genius is buried 111 diflj pation, or prostituted to exalt and to damn contending fa&ions, and toamufe the idle debauchees that surround a licentious ftagr.fl These are the reasons why we Ihould not adopt promiscuously their taste, their opinions, their manners. Customs, habits, and language, as well as government (hould be national. America (hould have her own diftinft trom all the world. Such is the po licy of other nations, and such mull be our policy, before the States can be either independent or refpe£hble. To copv foreign manners implicitly, is to revtrfe the order of things, and begin our political existence with the corruptions and vices which have marked the declining glories ot other republics. ♦ There are many people, and pet haps the moji of them in the capital towns, that have learnt a few common place words, such as foichin, nachur, virchue and half a dozen others, which they repeat on ail oc casions ; but being ignorant of the extent of the praflice, they are, in pronouncing mofi words, as vulgar as ever. + Itfhould be remarked that the late Preftdent of Pennsylvania, the Governor tf New-Jersey, and the Preftdent of New-York college, tuho are diflinguifhed for erudition and accuracy, have not adopted the En glish pronunciation. f N o t between different nations, hut in the fame nation. The man ners and fafhions of each nation should arise sut of their circumjluucei, their age, their improvements in commerce and agriculture. $ Sheridan, as an improver of the langnage, flands among the ftrfi writers of the Britijh nation, anddefervedly. His leflures on elocution and on readings his treatises on education, and for the mojl part his rhetorical grammar, are excellent and almofl unexceptionable perform ances. In these, hi encountered pradice and prejudices, when they were found repugnant to obvious Titles of propriety. But in this Dic tionary hefeems to have left his only defenfible ground, propriety, in pursuit of that phantom, falhion. He deserted his own principles, as the reviewers observe ; and where he has done this, every rational nun should defer t his standard. || From this description tnufl be excepted some arts which have for their-ohjeS, the pleasures of sense and imagination ; as muftc and paint ing-, andfciences which depend on fixed principles, and not opinion, at mathematics and philosophy. The former flourifk in the lajl fhjes of national refinement, and the latter are , always proceeding towards per fection by discoveries and experiment. Criticism afo jliwrifhes in Great- Britain : Men read and judge accurately, when original writers ceafc it adorn the sciences. Correß writers precede jvjl critifn. MASSACHUSETTS STATE LOTTERY THE Managers as the STATE LOTTERY, prcfent the Public, wich the First C'afs of the AUJfachufetts semi-annual State Lot tery, which will commence drawingin the Representatives' Chamber* in Boston, on the Seventeenth of March next, or fdor.cr, if the Tickets shall be disposed of. SCHEME. NOT TWO BLANKS TO A PRIZE. 2j,oC>o Tickets, at Five Dollars each, are 125,000 Dollars, to be paid in the following Prizes, lu'ojefl 10 a deduQion of twelve apian half per ccnt. for the ufc of the Com monwealth. Prizes. 1 of a 3 6 to . 3® 89 90 ISO 12a 161 203 75 8 5 8388 Prizes. 16612 Blanks, 25000. TICKETS may be had of the several Managers, who will pay the Prizes on demand—of the TREASURER of the Common wealth—of JAMES WHITE, at his Book-Store, Franklin's-Head o Court-Street, and at other places as usual. BENJAMIN AUSTIN, jon.") DAVID COBB, I SAMUEL COOPER, Managers. GEORGE R. MINOT, j JOHN KNEELAND, J Bojlon, July 28, 8790. PURSUANT to a Resolve or ast of Congress of the lothday. of May, 1780, relative to the dcftru&ion of Loan-Office Cer tificates by accident ; notice is hereby given to all whom it may concern, that on the 2d day of January 1780, the house occupied by the fublcriber in Market-Street, Philadelphia, took fire and was consumed, in which was lodged a number of Loan-Office certificates as pr. lift below, all which were destroyed by the said fire : Therefore if any person, hath any obje£lion why the said Certificates should not be renewed, agreeable to the resolves of Congress, they mud make them before the expiration of three months, from the date hereof. Invoice of Loan-Office Certificates dejlroyed in the house oj John Holker the zddiy oj January ! l Samuel Cooke, jun. New-York, 609 J » ditto. du. 6ot Dollars, 1200. 1778. March 13. No. 1636 1C73 In testimony whereof I Lave signed the present for pub lication. HOLKER. New-York, Juty 26th, 1790. John Francis, Late of New-York, refpe&fully informs the public, that he* has opened a Commodious Boarding Houfe r N°- 53' Fourth-Street, one door from Race-Street, WHERE Gentlemen may be accommodated with- CEKTEEL BOARDING AND LODGING, By the Week, Month, or Year, and on the moil moderate terms. Phila. Nov. 20, 1790. [2aw.3m.J rnwa. i\ov. 20, 1790. L 2 aw.3m.J |C?' SUBSCRIBERS in the City and State of Nsiu-Tork—and to the Eaflward as far as Bofiony willpleafz to pay their arrearages to Mr. P. Wetmore> at the Pofl-Office, New-York—who viill also receivt fubferiptionsfor the Gazette. > The price oj this paper is 3 dolls, pr. ann. and $d. [ingle niynbcr Dollars. 10000 13 3000 are 2000 1000 500 200 100 6& 40 30 29 10 8 Dollarfy 10000 6000 6000 6oos 5 000 6000 800® 4500 4000 3600 3220 200© 60680 j2500# Dols
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