Of the Origin and Progress of Language (Volume 6) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1792. Excerpt: ... CHAP. III. Stile divided into the words and the composition of the words.--The 'words ornamented by Tropes, composition by Figures. The stile of Demosthenes simple with respecl to the words; but the composition artificial.--He excelled in two stiles diametrically opposite to one another; the plain and fimpte, the artificial and elaborate.--Os his excellence in the first, his speech against Olympiodorus is a proof.--The difficulty of excelling in that composition, --The stile os his public orations perfectly different.--This artificial stile not the file of conversation., nor os the decrees of the senate and people.--It is made by figures of composition, not by metaphorical or poetical words.--These Figures of three kindst the Figures of the syntax, of the fense, and of the sound.--The Figures of syntax very few in Demosthenes.--His Figures of the fense not such as Cicero uses.--Not so im moderate in hu use of Figures of the found as Ijocrates is.--higures of found are produced by a certain similarity of sound, which Jirikes the ear.--The Halicarnafstan mentions several of them, among 0thers Antithesis, a figure aljo of the fense.--Of the peculiarities of Demosthenes'/ flile: --First, the arrangement of the words.--That in his public orations very different from the file of Lyfias, or his. own file in private causes--Examples of the inversion of the natural order.--Shewn that this may be done in some degree in English.--This artificial composition makes the file of Demostenes obscure to one who is not a good Greek scholar--Dr. Johnson s judgment of the file of Demosthenes.--// could not be obscure to the people of Athens.--Wherein the artifice of this composition consists.--Example of it, with a con eclion of the text.--The use of accustoming one's self to s...