gradually decaying for the laft century; he thinks that it grows very faint in Italy; that it feems to be wholly extinguished in France; and that whatever sparks of it remain in other countries, they are confined to the closets of modeft men, and are not generally feep enough to have their proper influence.

Mr. Jones regrets that the nobles of our days feem to be infenfible of the value of learning, and the many advantages which the ftudy of polite letters would give to persons of emi nent rank and high employments; that they facrifice that leifure to unmanly pleafures, or ufelefs diverfions, which they might rationally spend in the ftudy of polite letters, and in improving their knowledge by converfing with the greatest statesmen, orators, and philofophers. He does juftice, at the fame time, to the character of one foreign nobleman: I take a fingular pleasure, fays he, in confeffing that I am indebted to a foreign nobleman for the little knowledge which I have happened to acquire of the Perfian language, and that my zeal for the poetry and philology of the Afiatics were owing to his converfation, and to the agreeable correfpondence with which he ftill honours me.'

Our Author justly obferves, that as learning in general has met with little encouragement in the prefent age, ftill lefs may be expected for that branch of it which lies fo far removed from the common path; and that if pains and want be the lot of a fcholar, the life of an Orientalift muft certainly be attended with peculiar hardships. In fupport of this remark, he cites the cafe of Meninfki, whofe labours immortalifed and ruined him he laments that the celebrated Hyde did not meet with fuitable encouragement to promote the projects he had formed for advancing the interefts of Oriental learning, and that the learned Gentius lived obfcurely in Holland, and died in mifery. Monf. D'Herbelot is indeed an exception, for he was not only entertained in Italy by Ferdinand the Second, duke of Tuscany, with that uncommon munificence which always diftinguished the family of Medici, but also enjoyed the fruits of his labour, in an honourable and eafy retirement, by means of the illuftrious Colbert; but this, adds Mr. Jones, is a rare example: the other princes of Europe have not imitated the duke of Tuscany; and Chriftian VII. was referved to be the protector of the Eastern mufes in the prefent age.' Thus Oriental learning has been neglected till their intereft and emolument, as our Author & justly obferves, pointed out to the nations of Europe the real and folid importance of a competent knowledge of the languages of the Eaft.

The Perfian tongue was, by an amazing revolution, introduced into India, fo that, at prefent, it is not only the language of the court, but also of the merchants in that part of

the world: hence the importance of the knowledge of the Perfian tongue to the Eaft-India Company, and confequently to Great Britain, muft appear in the moft ftriking light. There are important affairs to be tranfacted between us and nations to whom we were unable to convey our fentiments. The fervants of the Company daily received letters which they could not read; they at the fame time found it tedious, and even dangerous, to employ the natives as interpreters. Hence they difcovered the abfolute neceffity of applying themselves to the ftudy of the Perfian language. The treachery of Poniapa, the linguist to the English, during the war in the Carnatic in 1745, plainly demonftrated how neceffary it was for the India Company to have their own fervants acquainted with the languages of India, and particularly the Perfic.

Mr. Jones farther informs us in his preface, That with a view to facilitate the progrefs of Oriental literature, he had reduced to order the following inftructions for the Persian language, which he had collected feveral years ago; but would not prefent his Grammar to the public until he had confiderably enlarged and improved it.' He modeftly adds, that he has endeavoured to lay down the clearest and most accurate rules which he has illuftrated by felect examples from the most elegant writers. In this refpect undoubtedly he merits the highest praife and encouragement of the public. It must be allowed that he has contributed, in a great degree, to facilitate the acquifition of the Perfic, by giving a very clear and diftinct view of its genius and conftitution in the declenfion of nouns, pronouns, and verbs, and by illuftrating and confirming his rules by examples extracted from a variety of the best writers in that language. He has particularly shown the formation of the tenfes, and illuftrated their proper fignification by a number of examples from the beft Perfian writers, fo that his Grammar, on this account, muft prove very useful to every ftudent of that language.

He proceeds to give us a rational account of the feeming irregularities in the Perfian verbs. The imperative mood, which is often irregular in the modern Perfian was anciently formed from the infinitive by rejecting the termination eeden.

For originally, to ufe his words, all infinitives ended in

den, till the Arabs introduced the harsh confonants before that fyllable, which obliged the Perfians, who always affected a fweetnefs of pronounciation, to change the old termination. of fome verbs into ten, and, by degrees, the original infinitives grew quite obfolete: yet they ftill retain the ancient imperatives, and the aorifts which are formed from them.'

-The

The Perfians, in this refpect, feem to have followed the manner of the Greeks; for there are many Greek verbs which form their first and fecond futures from old presents, not used when the Greek language was refined and brought to a state of perfection. Thus vw, bibo, I drink, has its future wow from the old verb ποω; τo allo λαμβανω, capio, has ληψομαι and Aεanpa, from anẞw. Thus, in the ancient language of Perfia, there were very few irregularities. The imperative, which is often irregular in the modern Perfian, was anciently formed from the infinitive by rejecting, as our Author obferves, the termination eeden, and is ftill formed from the fame ancient infinitive, notwithstanding the modern infinitives differ a little in found from them. This should be particularly attended to by those who would learn this language in a rational and intelligible manner, as the greater part of the Munfhys, who may be their inftructors, are not only very ignorant of etymology, but alfo of grammar in general.

This remark on the formation of the Perfian imperatives from an obsolete verb, will also be useful to those who are cu rious in ancient dialects, and will enable them to trace out a confiderable part of the old Perfian language, which has the fame relation to the modern Perfic as the Saxon has to the English, and which, according to Mr. Jones, was fpoken in the days of Xenophon. This is the language into which the. fables of Pilpai were first tranflated from the Indian; but as we rejected the Saxon alphabet to admit the Roman; fo the Perfians, when they embraced the religion of Mahomet, adopted the characters in which the Koran was written, and incorporated into their language a multitude of words and phrafes.

In order to facilitate this irregularity in the Perfian language, Mr. Jones has divided the irregular verbs into thirteen clafles, putting the learner in mind that the old infinitive may be found by adding eeden to imperatives, and the aorifts by adding to them the perfonal terminations.

One of the chief beauties of the Perfian language confifts in the frequent use of compound adjectives, in the variety and elegance of which it furpaffes not only the German and Englifh, but even the Greek. Thefe compounds may be multiplied without end, according to the taste and pleasure of the writer, and they are formed either by a noun and the contracted participle, as heart alluring; or by prefixing an adjective to a noun, as Schushbui, sweet smelling; or, laftly, by placing

dal firib, or دل فریب ,dalfirib للغريب

one

i/i/

one fubftantive before another, as
checked.

گلعذار

gubyzar, rife,

Our Author hath obferved, with great propriety, that fince one of the nouns and a compound word is often borrowed from the Arabic, a man who withes to read and understand the 'erfian books, ought to have a competent knowledge of both languages: and he has given a lift of the most elegant compounds he could recollect, but informs us that he must exprefs moft of them in English by circumlocutions; for though we have fome compound epithets, which give a grace to our poetry, yet the genius of our language feems averfe to them.

In this collection of elegant compounds, Mr. Jones is more full and copious than any grammarian whom we have had an opportunity of confulting; and he merits due praife for his induftry and taste in the exhibition of them.

He has fubjoined a Perfian fable as a praxis for this Grammar; a literal tranflation of which he has given, with grammatical notes on fome parts of it: and it had undoubtedly been for the intereft of the learner, that he had added a gloffary or analyfis of the whole parts of fpeech contained in it. below

The Author profefies that he has carefully compared his work with every compofition of the fame nature that has fallen into his hands; and adds, though on fo general a fubject I must have made feveral obfervations which are common to all, yet I flatter myfelf that my own remarks, the difpofition of the whole book, and the paflages quoted in it, will fufficiently diftinguish it as an original production.'

In this declaration the learned Author has arrogated nothing to himself but what every candid and intelligent student of the Perfian language will chearfully allow him.

He informs us that his firft defign was to prefix to the Grammar an account of the Perfian language, from the time of Xenophon to our days; and to add a copious praxis of tales and poems extracted from the claffical writers of Perfia; but as those additions would have delayed the publication of the Grammar, he thought it more advisable to referve them for a feparate volume, which he promises to lay before the public in the courfe of this winter. Every learner of this language must be impatient for this collection, on account of the great fcarcity of Perfian books; and we are informed that it is no where more eagerly expected than by the ftudents of the University of Edinburgh, where a regular courfe of lectures is given on the Arabic and Perfian languages. The learned world will alfo be obliged to Mr. Jones for the General History of Afia, and an

account

The utility, - pay, the necessity, of this, nuush appear to
every
one who considers that the Learner is not
only at a loss for the meaning but also for the free
reading of the words contained in this praxise

account of the geography, philofophy, and literature of the Eaftern nations.

[To be concluded in our next.]

R---n.

ART. VII. Conclufion of our Account of Medical Observations and
Inquiries, Vol. IV, begun in our Review for December, 1771.

WE

E are now arrived at the XIXth article of this volume, which is, by fome mistake, printed as the XVIIIth; and the error continues through all the remaining numbers; but it is of no confequence. This article is entitled,

Remarks on the Ufe of Balfams in the Cure of Confumptions, by J. Fothergill, M. D. F. R. S.

An idea, fays Dr. Fothergill, that all balfams are healing, and that in all ulcers, not excepting thofe of the lungs, they are indicated, has fo greatly prevailed, that to doubt of its propriety, would seem to betray a want of phyfical knowledge. Yet I cannot but fufpect. nay more than fufpect, that this idea has been the means of precipitating too many of thefe unhappy invalids prematurely to their grave.'

To confirm the propriety of this apprehenfion, our Author begins with obferving what effects thefe remedies have when applied externally: he then traces out their effects when internally administered; and thus endeavours to form an impartial judgment of their real virtues. Art. XIX. A Defence of Sydenham's Method of treating the Measles. By Thomas Dickson, M. D.

This vindication of Sydenham's practice, with respect to blood-letting in the cure of the measles, is occafioned by an unjuft cenfure thrown out by Mead in his book De Variolis et Morbillis, c. vi. p. 89, 90.

Art. XX. A Defence of Sydenham's Hiftory of the Measles, againft
Morton. By Thomas Dickfon, M. D.

Morton, in the appendix to his Pyretologia, mentions a fatal epidemic measles which occurred in the autumnal months of the year 1672, and that about three hundred died weekly.Sydenham defcribes an epidemic meafles of the years 1670 and 1674, but takes no notice of any during 1672. It appears highly probable that Morton's is only a hearfay account, and not depending on his own proper obfervation; and that Sydenham has given the juft history of this epidemic, as it occurred at different periods.

The two following papers contain the hiftory of an unhappy cafe, in which the Cæfarean operation was determined upon as the laft dreadful resource.-The operation was performed; and the event was fatal. There are added a defcription and engravings of the deformed pelvis, and a general review of the subject as treated by preceding authors.