A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies Part 1

A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies.

by Unknown.

INTRODUCTION.

I AM very much concerned when I see young gentlemen of fortune and quality so wholly set upon pleasure and diversions, that they neglect all those improvements in wisdom and knowledge which may make them easy to themselves and useful to the world. The greatest part of our British youth lose their figure, and grow out of fas.h.i.+on, by that time they are five and twenty. As soon as the natural gaiety and amiableness of the young man wears off, they have nothing left to recommend them, but _lie by_ the rest of their lives among the lumber and refuse of the species. It sometimes happens, indeed, that for want of applying themselves in due time to the pursuit of knowledge, they take up a book in their declining years, and grow very hopeful scholars by the time they are threescore. I must therefore earnestly press my readers, who are in the flower of their youth, to labour at those accomplishments which may set off their persons when their bloom is gone, and to _lay in_ timely provisions for manhood and old age. In short, I would advise the youth of fifteen to be dressing up every day the man of fifty, or to consider how to make himself venerable at threescore.

Young men, who are naturally ambitious, would do well to observe how the greatest men of antiquity made it their ambition to excel all their contemporaries in knowledge. Julius Caesar and Alexander, the most celebrated instances of human greatness, took a particular care to distinguish themselves by their skill in the arts and sciences. We have still extant several remains of the former, which justify the character given of him by the learned men of his own age. As for the latter, it is a known saying of his, that he was more obliged to Aristotle, who had instructed him, than to Philip, who had given him life and empire. There is a letter of his recorded by Plutarch and Aulus Gellius, which he wrote to Aristotle upon hearing that he had published those lectures he had given him in private. This letter was written in the following words, at a time when he was in the height of his Persian conquest:

ALEXANDER _to_ ARISTOTLE, _greeting_.

"You have not done well to publish your books of select knowledge; for what is there now, in which I can surpa.s.s others, if those things which I have been instructed in are communicated to every body? For my own part, I declare to you, I would rather excel others in knowledge than in power."

"_Farewel._"

We see by this letter, that the love of conquest was but a second ambition in Alexander's soul. Knowledge is indeed that, which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another. It furnishes one half of the human soul. It makes life pleasant to us, fills the mind with entertaining views, and administers to it a perpetual series of gratifications. It gives ease to solitude, and gracefulness to retirement. It fills a public station with suitable abilities, and adds a l.u.s.tre to those who are in possession of them.

Learning, by which I mean all useful knowledge, whether speculative or practical, is in popular and mixt governments the natural source of wealth and honour. If we look into most of the reigns from the conquest, we shall find that the favourites of each reign have been those who have raised themselves. The greatest men are generally the growth of that particular age in which they flourish. A superior capacity for business, and a more extensive knowledge, are the steps by which a new man often mounts to favour, and outs.h.i.+nes the rest of his contemporaries. But when men are actually born to t.i.tles, it is almost impossible that they should fail of receiving additional greatness, if they take care to accomplish themselves for it.

The story of Solomon's choice does not only instruct us in that point of history, but furnishes out a very fine moral to us, namely, that he who applies his heart to wisdom, does, at the same time, take the most proper method for gaining long life, riches, and reputation, which are very often not only the reward, but the effects of wisdom.

MUSEUM FOR YOUNG GENTLEMEN AND LADIES.

NOTES AND POINTS

USED IN _Writing and Printing._

Before I begin to lay down rules for reading, it will be necessary to take notice of the several points or marks used in printing or writing, for resting or stopping the voice, which are four in number, called

1. The Comma (,) 3. Colon (:) 2. Semicolon (;) 4. Period (.)

These points are to give a proper time for breathing when you read, and to prevent confusion of sense in joining words together in a sentence. The _Comma_ stops the reader's voice till he can tell _one_, and divides the lesser parts of a sentence. The _Semicolon_ divides the greater parts of a sentence, and requires the reader to pause while he can count _two_. The _Colon_ is used where the sense is complete, and not the sentence, and rests the voice of the reader till he can count _three_. The _Period_ is put when the sentence is ended, and requires a pause while he can tell _four_.

But we must here remark, that the _Colon_ and _Semicolon_ are frequently used promiscuously, especially in our bibles.

There are two other points, which may be called marks of affection; the one of which is termed an _Interrogation_, which signifies a question being asked, and expressed thus (?); the other called an _Admiration_ or _Exclamation_, and marked thus (!). These two points require a pause as long as a period.

We have twelve other marks to be met with in reading, namely,

1. Apostrophe (') 7. Section (-- ) 2. Hyphen (-) 8. Ellipsis (--) 3. Parenthesis ( ) 9. Index ( [index] ) [hand pointing rightwards]

4. Brackets [ ] 10. Asterisk (*) 5. Paragraph ( ) 11. Obelisk () 6. Quotation (") 12. Caret (^)

_Apostrophe_ is set over a word where some letter is wanting, as in _lov'd_. Hyphen joins syllables and words together, as in _pan-cake_. _Parenthesis_ includes something not necessary to the sense, as, _I know that in me_ (that is in my flesh) _liveth_, &c.

_Brackets_ include a word or words mentioned as a matter of discourse, as, _The little word_ [man] _makes a great noise_, &c.

They are also used to enclose a cited sentence, or what is to be explained, and sometimes the explanation itself. _Brackets_ and _Parenthesis_ are often used for each other without distinction.

_Paragraph_ is chiefly used in the bible, and denotes the beginning of a new subject. _Quotation_ is used to distinguish what is taken from an author in his own words. _Section_ shews the division of a chapter. _Ellipsis_ is used when part of a word or sentence is omitted, as p--ce. _Index_ denotes some remarkable pa.s.sage.

_Asterisk_ refers to some note in the margin, or remarks at the bottom of the page; and when many stand together, thus ***, they imply that something is wanting, or not fit to be read, in the author. The _Obelisk_ or _Dagger_, and also parallel lines marked thus (||), refer to something in the margin. The _Caret_, marked thus (^), is made use of in writing, when any line or word is left out, and wrote over where it is to come in, as thus,

_had_ _A certain man two sons:_ ^

Here the word _had_ was left out, wrote over, and marked by the _Caret_ where to come in.

It may also in this place be proper to mention the crooked lines or _Braces_, which couple two or three words or lines together that tend to the same thing; for instance,

/ | a long | The vowel _a_ has < a="" short=""> Sound | a broad | /

This is often used in poetry, where three lines have the same rhyme.

The other marks relate to single words, as _Dialysis_ or _Diaeresis_, placed over vowels to shew they must be p.r.o.nounced in distinct syllables, as _Raphael_. The _Circ.u.mflex_ is set over a vowel to carry a long sound, as _Euphrates_. An _Accent_ is marked thus (a), to shew where the emphasis must be placed, as _neglect_; or to shew that the consonant following must be p.r.o.nounced double, as _homage_. To these may be added the long () and short (?) marks, which denote the quant.i.ty of syllables, as water.

RULES FOR READING.

When you have gained a perfect knowledge of the sounds of the letters, never guess at a word on sight, lest you get a habit of reading falsely. p.r.o.nounce every word distinctly. Let the tone of your voice be the same in reading as in speaking. Never read in a hurry, lest you learn to stammer. Read no louder than to be heard by those about you. Observe to make your pauses regular, and make not any where the sense will admit of none. Suit your voice to the subject. Be attentive to those who read well, and remember to imitate their p.r.o.nunciation. Read often before good judges, and thank them for correcting you. Consider well the place of emphasis, and p.r.o.nounce it accordingly: For the stress of voice is the same with regard to sentences as in words. The emphasis or force of voice is for the most part laid upon the accented syllable; but if there is a particular opposition between two words in a sentence, one whereof differs from the other in parts, the accent must be removed from its place: for instance, _The sun s.h.i.+nes upon the just and upon the unjust_. Here the emphasis is laid upon the first syllable in _unjust_, because it is opposed to _just_ in the same sentence, without which opposition it would lie in its proper place, that is, on the last syllable, as _we must not imitate the unjust practices of others_.

The general rule for knowing which is the emphatical word in a sentence, is, _to consider the design of the whole_; for particular directions cannot be easily given, excepting only where words evidently oppose one another in a sentence, and those are always _emphatical_. So frequently is the word that asks a question, as, _who, what, when,_ &c. but not always. Nor must the emphasis be always laid upon the same words in the same sentence, but varied according to the princ.i.p.al meaning of the speaker. Thus, suppose I enquire, _Did my father walk abroad yesterday?_ If I lay the emphasis on the word _father_, it is evident I want to know whether it was _he_, or _somebody else_. If I lay it upon _walk_, the person I speak to will know, that I want to be informed whether he went on _foot_ or rode on _horseback_. If I put the emphasis upon _yesterday_, it denotes, that I am satisfied that my father went abroad, and on foot, though I want to be informed whether it was _yesterday_, or some time before.

RULES TO READ VERSE.

There are two ways of writing on a subject, namely, in _prose_ and _verse_. _Prose_ is the common way of writing, without being confined to a certain number of syllables, or having the trouble of disposing of the words in any particular form. _Verse_ requires words to be ranged so, as the accents may naturally fall on particular syllables, and make a sort of harmony to the ear: This is termed _metre_ or _measure_, to which rhyme is generally added, that is, to make two or more verses, near to each other, and with the same sound; but this practice is not absolutely necessary; for that which has no rhyme is called _blank verse_.

In metre the words must be so disposed, as that the accent may fall on every _second_, _fourth_, and _sixth_ syllable, and also on the _eighth_, _tenth_, and _twelfth_, if the lines run to that length.

The following verse of ten syllables may serve for an example:

_The monarch spoke, and strait a murmur rose._

But _English_ poetry allows of frequent variations from this rule, especially in the first and second syllables in the line, as in the verse which rhymes with the former, where the accent is laid upon the first syllable.

_Loud as the surges, when the tempest blows._

But there are two sorts of metre, which vary from this rule; one of which is when the verse contains but seven syllables, and the accent lies upon the _first_, _third_, _fifth_, and _seventh_, as below:

_Could we, which we never can, Stretch our lives beyond their span; Beauty like a shadow flies, and our youth before us dies._

The other sort has a hasty sound, and requires an accent upon every third syllable; as,

_'Tis the voice of the sluggard, I hear him complain, You have wak'd me too soon, I must slumber again._

You must always observe to p.r.o.nounce a verse as you do prose, giving each word and syllable its natural accent, with these two restrictions: _First_, If there is no point at the end of the line, make a short pause before you begin the next. _Secondly_, If any word in a line has two sounds, give it that which agrees best with the rhyme and metre; for example the word _glittering_ must sometimes be p.r.o.nounced as of three syllables, and sometimes _glitt'ring_, as of two.

_The_ USE _of_ CAPITALS, _and the different_ LETTERS _used in_ PRINTING.

The names of the letters made use of in printed books are distinguished thus: The round, full, and upright, are called _Roman_; the long, leaning, narrow letters are called _Italic_; and the ancient black character is called _English_. You have a specimen as follows, viz.

[Ill.u.s.tration: the word Angel in "Roman", Italic, and Fraktur (which they call "Old English")]