two, or three of the Greek tragedians, and Aristophanes. Thucydides is seldom omitted. The other historians, and the orators, are also included, according as the student's line of reading has been. Of Latin authors, besides the poets of the Augustan age, Livy, Tacitus, Cicero, Juvenal, and Lucretius, are the most usual. In the books that he names, he is expected to be well and accurately versed. And although great encouragement is given to an enlarged range, yet a hasty and unscholarlike manner of reading, however extensive it may be, will not obtain reward, and is in fact much discountenanced.

Besides the questions proposed viva voce, many others in the different branches of the examination are put, and answered on paper, while other things are going on. And in this manner also the candidate's knowledge of Latinity is tried.

• The examiners are sworn officers, appointed for two years; they are four in number, and must all be present, unless prevented by sickness or some very urgent cause.

It will be evident from the statement here given, that the students are prepared to pass this examination, not by solemn public lectures, delivered to a numerous class from a professor's chair, but by private study in their respective colleges.'

Such is the arduous but honorable course of intellectual discipline, which has been pursued by those eminent scholars, philosophers, orators, and statesmen, whose names have shed an unfading lustre upon the land of our fathers. Such too, is the discipline, which will eagerly be submitted to by those high-minded young men in our own universities, who are ambitious that their own country shall not be excelled, either in science or literature, by any nation on the globe. And if, by emulating such illustrious examples, they shall be fired with the same ardor to secure an honorable fame both for their country and themselves, they will not be obliged to cover up a disgraceful ignorance with the poor apology, which the Roman poet was compelled to make for his countrymen, when he felt conscious, that they could not attain to Grecian excellence in the elegant and useful arts and sciences, but must confine themselves to being politicians and warriors only

Excudent alii spirantia mollius æra ;
Orabunt caussas melius, cœlique meatus
Describent radio, et surgentia sidera dicent;

Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento.

No: the high minded youth of America will not content themselves with the praise of being practical artisans, or economists or politicians alone; they will eagerly aspire to the proud distinction that ever awaits genius, when under the guidance of a pure taste; which, as it is the highest exercise of that first of our powers, the judgement, upon the most difficult and delicate of all the subjects

of mental contemplation, may be justly considered as the summit of intellectual excellence.

The REFERENCE BIBLE, containing an accurate copy of the common English Version of the old and new Testaments: with References and a Key Sheet of Questions, Geographical, Historical, Doctrinal, Practical, and Experimental, accompanied with valuable Chronological Harmonies of both Testaments; correct and elegant Maps, and highly useful Tables of scripture Names, scripture Geography, scripture Chronology, scripture References, &c. The whole designed to facilitate the acquisition of scriptural knowledge in Bible Classes, Sunday Schools, Common Schools, and private families. By Hervey Wilbur, A. M. Boston.

It is beginning to be known, and ought to be deeply regretted, that mechanical rather than intellectual habits are formed in many schools intended to educate the young. Children often learn to distinguish the forms and the names of letters, to combine them in syllables, and articulate the words thus formed, without attaching any meaning to sentences, paragraphs, and pages, over which the eye wanders. These habits where they exist are insuperable barriers to a thirst for knowledge, or an expansion of the mind. Their influence is most pernicious when brought to the sacred scriptures. Any attempts to prevent such habits, or to diminish their deleterious influence we shall ever hail with joy. Such appears to have been the primary object of the Reference Bible. The editor has marked his margin, or rather the indentation of the verses, with letters of reference, not to collateral texts of scripture, but to a key sheet of questions, which are few and general, yet well adapted to excite in the youthful mind attention, and promote habits of reflection. We might not have asked some of those questions, and very different answers would undoubtedly be given by different persons, where many of the reference letters are applied, but as they were intended for an index to reflection, they will answer an important purpose; if they attract attention to the truth, whether it be always consonant to the editor's views or not.

That our readers may the better understand the plan, we shall insert a few of the questions, and their application. Before this passage, The path of the just is as the shining light which shineth more and more unto the perfect day,' we find a capital A inserted. We look at the Key page, which is judiciously made to turn out, that it may be seen in connection with any passage, and we find this question propounded. What analogies between sensible and spirit-.

ual things may here be traced?' The mind is at once pleased and interested with the employment of tracing this beautiful analogy.

We open the inspired volume where Judah is pleading the cause of Benjamin before Joseph, and find a capital E inserted. We consult the key page for the corresponding letter, and find annexed to it this question, 'What particular strain of ELOQUENCE can you point out in this paragraph? We at once contemplate the classical beauties of the passage. The same effect is produced when we see a capital S inserted before passages like the following— God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.' 'Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand. Behold the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the ballance.' With that S we find the questions asked, What sublimity of thought, or of language, is here? What inference follows?

Among the reference letters often recurring we find the small d, this has several questions annexed to it. What duty is here enjoined? On whom? Is it taught by precept, example, or inference? How enforced? This letter found before the passage, 'Enter into thy closet, and pray to thy father,' &c., would be answered that secret prayer is here enjoined, that it is obligatory on all; that it is here taught by precept, and enforced by the assurance that God will reward the devotion which flows from love and obedience to him. When d is found before the account of Christ's retirement for secret prayer, the same duty is inculcated, but in this instance by example.

The asterisk is sometimes inserted with a letter, and renders it emphatic, for instance, before the golden rule, or the duty of love for enemies, d* is inserted, denoting the propriety of profound attention.

The number of letters of reference, though small, affords a very good analysis of general scripture truth. They are more easily remembered as they belong to the prominent word in the questions. A for analogies, b blessing, c character, d duty, t doctrinal truth, f facts, m miracle, o oriental custom, p prohibition, v vision, &c.

We think it will be obvious to every one, that mental habits of inestimable value must be formed and invigorated by such a process of perusing the sacred scriptures.

The useful tables which accompany the Reference Bible, and which are to be had in a detached form, have been already mentioned in this journal. [See notice in No. 4.]

The cheap edition of the Reference Bible, intended for general circulation, is printed on paper of too inferior a quality for such a

work. But the other editions are on paper and in a style of typography highly creditable to the American press, especially to the mechanism of the power press, where it is executed. We have seen no edition of the scriptures, published in this country, which will not suffer by a comparison with this duodecimo edition. We sincerely hope this work will have a widely extended and lasting circulation.

Strictures on Murray's Grammar,

(Continued from p. 309.)

THE object we have in view, in these essays, is merely to point out the more glaring inconsistencies of Murray's grammar. We are therefore obliged to confine our remarks to the leading points in his second division of grammar, Etymology.

Murray says there are in English nine sorts of words, or, as they are commonly called, parts of speech.' We shall not dispute about terms; although it would be a fair question to ask, if there are not as many parts of speech as there are words used in speaking; or, indeed, if a letter is not a part of speech, so that, properly speaking, we have twenty-six parts of speech. We do not wish to cavil unnecessarily, nor shall we, with Horne Tooke and others, resolve all the classes of words, into one. We are willing to allow several, and shall, in our remarks upon them, endeavor to follow the order our author has adopted.

The Article.

'An article is a word prefixed to substantives to point them out, and to show how far their signification extends. Again There are but two articles, A and the. A becomes an before a vowel or a silent h.'

It was not difficult to find words in English resembling the nouns, verbs, adjectives, &c. of the ancient languages; but this was not enough for the first English grammarians, they must find in English as many sorts of words as were said to exist elsewhere. Something called an article was found in Greek, and suspected to exist in Latin. O, the Greek article is equivalent to hic in Latin, and hic, in Latin, is this, (in some dialects thic,) in English. But this Murray calls a pronoun. The, his article, is a contraction of this, once spelled thae and afterwards the. The has been pressed into the service and made an article; while this has been denied the (or this or that) honor; for two words that are entitled to form a separate class are certainly highly distinguished.

Now we venture to say that in every important case this, that, these and those may be substituted for the without altering the sense. Mr. Murray says that the in the sentence Nathan said unto David, thou art the man,' is peculiarly emphatical. But thou art this or that man is equally so.

An article, (our author says,) is a word prefixed to substantives, this and that, these and those, one, two, three, and every other numeral and ordinal adjective, are prefixed to nouns, in the same way, to point them out,' and even to show how far their signification extends, for they effectually limit the signification of the noun. The man, this man, that man, forty men, seventh man. The words in Italic are all artiThus we have disposed of

cles, if Murray's definition be correct. one article.

Not satisfied with one (that is an) article, our grammarian must have two. An is a contraction of one. An is generally contracted into a before words beginning with a consonant, and a does not become an, as Mr. Murray asserts; for, at no very remote period of our literature, an was used before all words. One is sometimes spelled ane, hence an. A book is one book. The article un which the French grammarians have impressed into the class of articles, is also their numeral adjective. How a numeral adjective can be called indefinite is hard to conceive. Is one or ten an indefinite number?

The fact is a, an, and the, are as good adjectives as any in our language; and had there not been an article in the Greek Grammar, these words would have been left among the adjectives in ours.

The Substantive.

'A substantive or noun is the name of any thing that exists, or of which we have any notion.'

Why the term substantive should be preferred to noun, or, what is better, name, we know not. Substantive carries with it the notion of substance; but many nouns are unsubstantial. Noun or name has no such objection. We think the definition would be less mystical if it merely said, a noun is the name of any thing, or, to save tautology, 'The first class of words are names.' It is as well to say nothing about existence, for some nouns imply nonexistence. Then comes the following distinction.

'Substantives are either

proper or common.'

'Proper nouns are names appropriated to individuals.' 'All nouns in the singular must be individual names, hence our author adds, 'common nouns may also be used to signify individuals by the addition of articles or pronouns!' That is, proper nouns are common nouns and common nouns are proper nouns. But this is not the best of it. He says 'Common nouns stand for kinds, containing many