[80] The phrase “of any” is here erroneous.  These words ought to have been omitted; or the author should have said—­“the least valuable of all his productions.”

[81] This word latter should have been last; for three works are here spoken of.

[82] With this opinion concurred the learned James White, author of a Grammatical Essay on the English Verb, an octavo volume of more than three hundred pages, published in London in 1761.  This author says, “Our Essays towards forming an English Grammar, have not been very many:  from the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to that of Queen Ann, there are but Two that the author of the Present knows of:  one in English by the renown’d Ben Jonson, and one in Latin by the learn’d Dr. Wallis.  In the reign of Queen Ann indeed, there seems to have arisen a noble Spirit of ingenious Emulation in this Literary way:  and to this we owe the treatises compos’d at that period for the use of schools, by Brightland, Greenwood, and Maittaire.  But, since that time, nothing hath appear’d, that hath come to this Essayist’s knowledge, deserving to be taken any notice of as tending to illustrate our Language by ascertaining the Grammar of it; except Anselm Bayly’s Introduction to Languages, Johnson’s Grammar prefix’d to the Abridgement of his Dictionary, and the late Dr. Ward’s Essays upon the English Language.—­These are all the Treatises he hath met with, relative to this subject; all which he hath perus’d very attentively, and made the best use of them in his power.  But notwithstanding all these aids, something still remains to be done, at least it so appears to him, preparatory to attempting with success the Grammar of our Language.  All our efforts of this kind seem to have been render’d ineffectual hitherto, chiefly by the prevaliency of two false notions:  one of which is, that our Verbs have no Moods; and the other, that our Language hath no Syntax.”—­White’s English Verb, p. viii.

[83] A similar doctrine, however, is taught by no less an author than “the Rev. Alexander Crombie, LL.  D.,” who says, in the first paragraph of his introduction, “LANGUAGE consists of intelligible signs, and is the medium, by which the mind communicates its thoughts.  It is either articulate, or inarticulate; artificial, or natural.  The former is peculiar to man; the latter is common to all animals.  By inarticulate language, we mean those instinctive cries, by which the several tribes of inferior creatures are enabled to express their sensations and desires.  By articulate language is understood a system of expression, composed of simple sounds, differently modified by the organs of speech, and variously combined.”—­Treatise on the Etymology and Syntax of the English Language, p. 1.  See the same doctrine also in Hiley’s Gram., p. 141.  The language which “is common to all animals,” can be no other than that in which AEsop’s wolves and weasels, goats and grasshoppers, talked—­a language quite too unreal for grammar.  On the other hand, that which is composed of sounds only, and not of letters, includes but a mere fraction of the science.