OBS. 6.—­The gender of words, in many instances, is to be determined by the following principle of universal grammar.  Those terms which are equally applicable to both sexes, (if they are not expressly applied to females,) and those plurals which are known to include both sexes, should be called masculine in parsing; for, in all languages, the masculine gender is considered the most worthy,[159] and is generally employed when both sexes are included under one common term.  Thus parents is always masculine, and must be represented by a masculine pronoun, for the gender of a word is a property indivisible, and that which refers to the male sex, always takes the lead in such cases.  If one say, “Joseph took the young child and his mother by night, and fled with them into Egypt,” the pronoun them will be masculine; but let “his” be changed to its, and the plural pronoun that follows, will be feminine.  For the feminine gender takes precedence of the neuter, but not of the masculine; and it is not improper to speak of a young child without designating the sex.  As for such singulars as parent, friend, neighbour, thief, slave, and many others, they are feminine when expressly applied to any of the female sex; but otherwise, masculine.

OBS. 7.—­Nouns of multitude, when they convey the idea of unity or take the plural form, are of the neuter gender; but when they convey the idea of plurality without the form, they follow the gender of the individuals which compose the assemblage.  Thus a congress, a council, a committee, a jury, a sort, or a sex, if taken collectively, is neuter; being represented in discourse by the neuter pronoun it:  and the formal plurals, congresses, councils, committees, juries, sorts, sexes, of course, are neuter also.  But, if I say, “The committee disgraced themselves,” the noun and pronoun are presumed to be masculine, unless it be known that I am speaking of a committee of females.  Again:  “The fair sex, whose task is not to mingle in the labours of public life, have their own part assigned them to act.”—­Comly’s Gram., p. 132.  Here sex, and the three pronouns which have that word for their antecedent, are all feminine.  Again:  “Each sex, dressing themselves in the clothes of the other.”—­Wood’s Dictionary, v. Feast of Purim.  Here sex, and the pronoun which follows, are masculine; because, the male sex, as well as the female, is here spoken of plurally.

OBS. 8.—­To persons, of every description, known or unknown, real or imaginary, we uniformly ascribe sex.[160] But, as personality implies intelligence, and sex supposes some obvious difference, a young child may be spoken of with distinction of sex or without, according to the notion of the speaker; as, “I went to see the child whilst they were putting on its cloaths.”—­Priestley’s