or
no other reason. Dr. Lowth says, "The nature of our language, the accent
and pronunciation of it, inclines [incline] us to contract even all our
regular verbs: thus _loved, turned_, are commonly pronounced in one
syllable _lov'd, turn'd_: and the second person, which was originally in
three syllables, _lovedest, turnedest_, is [say _has_] now become a
dissyllable, _lovedst, turnedst_."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 45; _Hiley's_, 45;
_Churchill's_, 104. See also _Priestley's Gram._, p. 114; and _Coar's_, p.
102. This latter doctrine, with all its vouchers, still needs confirmation.
What is it but an idle conjecture? If it were _true_, a few quotations
might easily prove it; but when, and by whom, have any such words as
_lovedest, turnedest_, ever been used? For aught I see, the simple _st_ is
as complete and as old a termination for the second person singular of an
English verb, as _est_; indeed, it appears to be _older_: and, for the
preterit, it is, and (I believe) _always has been_, the _most_ regular, if
not the _only_ regular, addition. If _sufferedest, woundedest_, and
_killedest_, are words more regular than _sufferedst, woundedst, killedst_,
then are _heardest, knewest, slewest, sawest, rannest, metest, swammest_,
and the like, more regular than _heardst, knewst, slewst, sawst, ranst,
metst, swamst, satst, saidst, ledst, fledst, toldst_, and so forth; but not
otherwise.[246] So, in the solemn style, we write _seemest, deemest,
swimmest_, like _seemeth, deemeth, swimmeth_, and so forth; but, when we
use the form which has no increase of syllables, why is an apostrophe more
necessary in the second person, than in the third?--in _seemst, deemst,
swimst_, than in _seems, deems, swims_? When final _e_ is dropped from the
verb, the case is different; as,

"Thou _cutst_ my head off with a golden axe,
And _smil'st_ upon the stroke that murders me."--_Shakspeare_.

OBS. 22.--Dr. Lowth supposes the verbal termination _s_ or _es_ to have
come from a contraction of _eth_. He says, "Sometimes, by the rapidity of
our pronunciation, the vowels are shortened or lost; and the consonants,
which are thrown together, do not coalesce with one another, and are
therefore changed into others of the same organ, or of a kindred species.
This occasions a farther deviation from _the regular form_: thus, _loveth,
turneth_, are contracted into _lov'th, turn'th_, and these, for easier
pronunciation, _immediately_ become _loves, turns_."--_Lo