judgment, _independent of grammar rules_, is to be
his guide in speaking and writing correctly. Hence, many of them
exclude from their systems, all exercises in what is called _false
Syntax_. But these profound philological dictators appear to have
overlooked the important consideration, that the great mass of
mankind, and especially of boys and girls in common schools, _can
never become philosophers;_ and, consequently, can never comprehend
and reduce to practice their metaphysical and obscure systems of
grammar. I wish to see children treated as _reasoning_ beings. But
there should be a medium in all things. It is, therefore, absurd to
instruct children as if they were already profound philosophers and
logicians.

To demonstrate the utility, and enforce the necessity, of exercising
the learner in correcting _false Syntax_, I need no other argument
than the interesting and undeniable fact, that Mr. Murray's labors,
in this department, have effected a complete revolution in the
English language, in point of verbal accuracy. Who does not know,
that the best writers of this day, are not guilty of _one_
grammatical inaccuracy, where those authors who wrote before Mr.
Murray flourished, are guilty of _five_? And what has produced this
important change for the better? Ask the hundreds of thousands who
have studied "Mr. Murray's exercises in FALSE SYNTAX." If, then,
this view of the subject is correct, it follows, that the greater
portion of our philosophical grammars, are far more worthy the
attention of literary connoisseurs, than of the great mass of
learners.

Knowing that a strong predilection for philosophical grammars,
exists in the minds of some teachers of this science, I have thought
proper, for the gratification of such, to intersperse through the
pages of this work under the head of "PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES," an
entire system of grammatical principles as deduced from what appears
to me to be the most rational and consistent philosophical
investigations. They who prefer this theory to that exhibited in the
body of the work, are, of course, at liberty to adopt it.

_In general, a philosophical theory of grammar will be found to
accord with the practical theory embraced in the body of this work.
Wherever such agreement exists, the system contained in these NOTES
will be d