A farrago of several pieces being a supplement to his poems, characters, heroick pourtraits, letters, and other discourses formerly published by him / newly written by Richard Flecknoe.

A Discourse of LANGUAGE: And particularly, of the ENGLISH TONGUE.

TIS Fabled, that Mercury god of Elo∣quence, distributing to every Nation their several Lan••uages; out of certain Va∣ses or Phiols, (in which, by Reason of their f••uidness they were contain'd) fly∣ing over England, and having exhausted all his store, was forc'd to compose them a Language out of the Remains of all the rest; of which (say they) the English Tongue is onely the Dregs and Lees; but a∣busively; for certainly, we having our choice of all, and being our own Mer∣curys, were Fools s••u'd we not chuse the best of every one.

'Tis certain, that our Language is but a mixture of other Languages: and as cer∣tain that all our Neighbour-••n••s are the ••ike; your French, Spanish a••d Italian

having a deep mixture of the Latin•• most of your Northern Nations of the Dutch, as the Oriental of the Arabick, or Sclavonian, there being but few Origi∣nal Languages in the world.

For ours, the best notion I can give you of it, is, That it is French Embrothered upon Dutch, with some few Additions of other Languages, (all our monosillables being Dutch, and our compounds, French and Latine,) the Dutch, or Saxon, first expelling the British-Tongue, then the French or Norman, usurping upon that; till at last, it became neither Dutch nor French, but somewhat of both, or a ••ungril of either.

Certainly for wit and facetiousness, we yield unto no other Nation, n••i••her for figurative speaking by Allusions and me∣taphor; they speaking but simply, whose words infold not some do••ble meaning, or somewhat beyond the bare words which they pronounce

Neither is it a dull sluggish Language, like the Dutch or Turkish, in which you shall never hear a witty j••st, or good con∣ceit, but is capable of as much quickness, wit, fancy, and conceit, as any other

Language, and the Nation is as well fitted for it too; only it is defective in superla∣tives and diminitives, and has not so ma∣ny complements as the French, nor so vast Hyperbolies, as the Italian, to say, scha∣vo di vestre seignorie; nor wish them die∣ci milli anni, whom they wish health unto; which is rather a commendation of the Nation, and a mark of their well-meaning and sincerity, that they can't dis∣semble, nor enlarge themselves so far be∣yond the Truth.

In fine, for copiousness and variety of expressions, it yields to none No Come∣dy being too light▪ nor Tragedy too grave for it; though by Reason of our scituati∣on, it has not that esteem nor vouge as the French, (for Example) who being scituated in the midst of Europe, and the concourse of all Nations, your Travellers are necessitated to learn their Language, under pain of being Tongue-tyed whilst they pass along.

Another Reason that makes our Lan∣guage the less esteem'd, is it's many mono∣sillables (derived from the Dutch) which makes it nothing so re∣sounding

as other Languages; (And strangers judge of the goodness of a Language, as they do of Bells▪ or Mu••••cal-Instruments only by the so••nd) 〈◊〉〈◊〉 the principal grace of words, b••ing 〈◊〉〈◊〉 the Cadence or Ending, where 〈◊〉〈◊〉 word for strength is able to sustain 〈…〉〈…〉 ours comes so faintly and weakly 〈◊〉〈◊〉 t'one is forc't to fall on t'other 〈…〉〈…〉 support.

Notwithstanding, if we 〈…〉〈…〉 take a little pains to smooth and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 our Language, as the Fren••h 〈…〉〈…〉 an does, by liquifying all 〈…〉〈…〉 pronounciation••, (as we 〈…〉〈…〉 pronouncing our harsh Dutch 〈◊〉〈◊〉) and would not stick so close to 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••••∣thography, but write as we sp••ak, and speak more clearly and distin••••••y 〈◊〉〈◊〉 we do; we need not envie oth••rs L••••∣guages, nor speak (as some do) 〈◊〉〈◊〉 co••∣temptibly of our own.

POSTSCRIPT OF THE STILE OR PHRASE.

FOR the Stile or Phrase, which is only the habit a Language is cloathed in; Ours follows much the Italian fashion; (Those learned men that had the ordering of our Language in former times, being most conversant with that Nation it seems) where note, that as there are two s••rts of Languages, your dead ones, or those which are past farther growth, (as the Hebrew, Greek, and Latine) and your living ones, or such who grow every day, as all our European ones so in every grow∣ing Language, there are two sorts of stiles, the Eru••ite, and the stile of the Time, or ••f the Mode; of which the first never chan∣ges,

because (e. g.) 'tis cast in the La∣tine mould, which alwayes remains the same; whilst that of the Time changes per∣petually, as the fashion of our Habit does; whence, whosoever would write for Last∣ingness, should write in the Erudite stiles; as Pictures we see drawn in Ancient At∣tire, remain alwayes fashionable and be∣coming; whilst those drawn in modern-habit (which changes every day) soon become obsolete and ridiculous. Besides, the Phrase or Stile (being as we have said) the habit of a Language, as the Apparel is of the Body, there is a certain becoming∣ness, and natural propriety in either; which in the Excess or Defect, is equally vitious; a certain mean betwixt the Switzers Puffs, or Bumbast, and Irish Trouse, neither too strait, nor too wide for the expression of our minds which who∣soever has, is abundantly Eloquent.