of all the words may be quickly and clearly perceived
by the reader, and the whole be uttered as the sense requires.

In extended compositions, a sentence is usually less than a paragraph; a
paragraph, less than a section; a section, less than a chapter; a chapter,
less than a book; a book, less than a volume; and a volume, less than the
entire work.

The common order of _literary division_, then, is; of a large work, into
volumes; of volumes, into books; of books, into chapters; of chapters, into
sections; of sections, into paragraphs; of paragraphs, into sentences; of
sentences, into members; of members, into clauses; of clauses, into
phrases; of phrases, into words; of words, into syllables; of syllables,
into letters.

But it rarely happens that any one work requires the use of all these
divisions; and we often assume some natural distinction and order of parts,
naming each as we find it; and also subdivide into articles, verses,
cantoes, stanzas, and other portions, as the nature of the subject
suggests.

Grammar is divided into four parts; namely, Orthography, Etymology, Syntax,
and Prosody.

Orthography treats of letters, syllables, separate words, and spelling.

Etymology treats of the different _parts of speech_, with their classes and
modifications.

Syntax treats of the relation, agreement, government, and arrangement of
words in sentences.

Prosody treats of punctuation, utterance, figures, and versification.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.--In the Introduction to this work, have been taken many views of
the study, or general science, of grammar; many notices of its history,
with sundry criticisms upon its writers or critics; and thus language has
often been presented to the reader's consideration, either as a whole, or
with broader scope than belongs to the teaching of its particular forms. We
come now to the work of _analyzing_ our own tongue, and of laying down
those special rules and principles which should guide us in the use of it,
whether in speech or in writing. The author intends to dissent from other
grammarians no more than they are found to dissent from truth and reason;
nor will he expose their errors further than is necessary for the credit of
the science and the information of the learner. A candid critic can have no
satisfaction merely in finding fault with other men's performances. But the
facts are not to be concealed, that many pretenders to grammar have shown
themselves exceedingly