of
distinguishing, which unquestionably prove that the race of mankind
among whom these languages arose was characterized by a remarkable
correctness and subtlety of thought. Nor can any modern European, who
forms in his mind a lively image of the classical languages in their
ancient grammatical luxuriance, and compares them with his mother
tongue, conceal from himself that in the ancient languages the words,
with their inflections, clothed as it were with muscles and sinews, come
forward like living bodies, full of expression and character, while in
the modern tongues the words seem shrunk up into mere skeletons"{166}.

{Sidenote: _Words in '-ess'_}

Whether languages are as much impoverished by this process as is here
assumed, may, I think, be a question. I will endeavour to give you some
materials which shall assist you in forming your own judgment in the
matter. And here I am sure that I shall do best in considering not forms
which the language has relinquished long ago, but mainly such as it is
relinquishing now; which, touching us more nearly, will have a far more
lively interest for us all. For example, the female termination which
we employ in certain words, such as from 'heir' 'heiress', from
'prophet' 'prophetess', from 'sorcerer' 'sorceress', was once far more
widely extended than at present; the words which retain it are daily
becoming fewer. It has already fallen away in so many, and is evidently
becoming of less frequent use in so many others, that, if we may augur
of the future from the analogy of the past, it will one day altogether
vanish from our tongue. Thus all these occur in Wiclif's Bible;
'techeress' as the female teacher (2 Chron. xxxv. 25); 'friendess'
(Prov. vii. 4); 'servantess' (Gen. xvi. 2); 'leperess' (=saltatrix,
Ecclus. ix. 4); 'daunceress' (Ecclus. ix. 4); 'neighbouress' (Exod. iii.
22); 'sinneress' (Luke vii. 37); 'purpuress' (Acts xvi. 14); 'cousiness'
(Luke i. 36); 'slayeress' (Tob. iii. 9); 'devouress' (Ezek. xxxvi. 13);
'spousess' (Prov. v. 19); 'thralless' (Jer. xxxiv. 16); 'dwelleress'
(Jer. xxi. 13); 'waileress' (Jer. ix. 17); 'cheseress' (=electrix, Wisd.
viii. 4); 'singeress', 'breakeress', 'waiteress', this last indeed
having recently come up again. Add to these 'chideress', the female
chider, 'herdess', 'constabless', 'moveress', 'jangleress', 'soudaness'
(=sultana), 'guideress', 'charmeress' (all in Chaucer); and others,
which however we may have now let them fall, reached