were there room for it in this place.]

But to leave these Pedagogues to huff and swagger in the heighth of
all their Arrogance. I cannot but think it great Pity, that in our
Considerations, for Refinement of the _English_ Tongue, so little
Regard is had to Antiquity, and the Original of our present Language,
which is the _Saxon_. This indeed is allow'd by an ingenious Person,
who hath lately made some Proposals for the Refinement of the
_English_ Tongue, _That the old _Saxon_, except in some few Variations
in the Orthography, is the same in most original Words with our
present _English_, as well as with the _German_ and other _Northern_
Dialects; _which makes it a little surprizing to me, to find the same
Gentleman not long after to say, _The other Languages of _Europe_
I know nothing of, neither is there any occasion to consider them:
_because, as I have before observ'd, it must be very difficult to
imagin, how a Man can judge of a thing he knoweth nothing of, whether
there can be occasion or no to consider it. I must confess I hope
when ever such a Project shall be taken in hand, for _correcting_,
_enlarging_, and _ascertaining_ our Language, a competent Number
of such Persons will be advised with, as are knowing, not only in
_Saxon_, but in the other Languages of _Europe_, and so be capable of
judging how far those Languages may be useful in such a Project. The
want of understanding this aright, wou'd very much injure the Success
of such an Undertaking, and the bringing of it to Perfection; in
denying that Assistance toward adjusting the Propriety of Words, which
can only be had from the Knowledge of the Original, and likewise in
depriving us of the Benefit of many useful and significant Words,
which might be revived and recalled, to the Increase and Ornament of
our Language, which wou'd be the more beautiful, as being more genuine
and natural, by confessing a _Saxon_ Original for their native Stock,
or an Affinity with those Branches of the other _Northern Tongues_,
which own the same Original.

The want of knowing the _Northern Languages_, has occasion'd an unkind
Prejudice towards them: which some have introduced out of Rashness,
others have taken upon Tradition. As if those Languages were made up
of nothing else but Monosyllables, and harsh sounding Consonants; than
which nothing can be a greater Mistake. I can speak for the _Saxon_,
_Gothick_, and _Francick_, or old _Teutonick_: which for aptness of
compo