ice, to select his _principles_ chiefly from that
work; and, moreover, to adopt, as far as consistent with his own views,
the language of that eminent philologist. In no instance has he varied
from him, unless he conceived that, in so doing, some practical
advantage would be gained. He hopes, therefore, to escape the censure so
frequently and so justly awarded to those unfortunate innovators who
have not scrupled to alter, mutilate, and torture the text of that able
writer, merely to gratify an itching propensity to figure in the world
as authors, and gain an ephemeral popularity by arrogating to themselves
the credit due to another.

The author is not disposed, however, to disclaim all pretensions to
originality; for, although his principles are chiefly selected, (and who
would presume to make new ones?) the manner of arranging, illustrating,
and applying them, is principally his own. Let no one, therefore, if he
happen to find in other works, ideas and illustrations similar to _some_
contained in the following lectures, too hastily accuse him of
plagiarism. It is well known that similar investigations and pursuits
often elicit corresponding ideas in different minds: and hence it is not
uncommon for the same thought to be strictly _original_ with many
writers. The author is not here attempting to manufacture a garment to
shield him from rebuke, should he unjustly claim the property of
another; but he wishes it to be understood, that a long course of
teaching and investigation, has often produced in his mind ideas and
arguments on the subject of grammar, exactly or nearly corresponding
with those which he afterwards found, had, under similar circumstances,
been produced in the minds of others. He hopes, therefore, to be
pardoned by the critic, even though he should not be willing to reject a
good idea _of his own,_ merely because some one else has, at some time
or other, been blessed with the same thought.

As the plan of this treatise is far more comprehensive than those of
ordinary grammars, the writer could not, without making his work
unreasonably voluminous, treat some topics as extensively as was
desirable. Its design is to embrace, not only all the most important
principles of the science, but also exercises in parsing, false syntax,
and punctuation, sufficiently extensive for all ordinary, practical
purposes, and a key to the exercises, and, moreover, a series of
illustrations so full and intelligible, as _comp