-- He
therefore finds himself under a restraint, which is a great enemy
to wit and humour. -- These are faculties which never appear in
full lustre, but when the mind is perfectly at ease, and, as an
excellent writer says, enjoys her elbow-room.
He proceeded to explain his assertion that the English language
was spoken with greater propriety at Edinburgh than in London. He
said, what we generally called the Scottish dialect was, in fact,
true, genuine old English, with a mixture of some French terms
and idioms, adopted in a long intercourse betwixt the French and
Scotch nations; that the modern English, from affectation and
false refinement, had weakened, and even corrupted their
language, by throwing out the guttural sounds, altering the
pronunciation and the quantity, and disusing many words and terms
of great significance. In consequence of these innovations, the
works of our best poets, such as Chaucer, Spenser, and even
Shakespeare, were become, in many parts, unintelligible to the
natives of South Britain, whereas the Scots, who retain the
antient language, understand them without the help of a glossary.
'For instance (said he), how have your commentators been puzzled
by the following expression in the Tempest -- He's gentle and not
fearful: as if it was a paralogism to say, that being gentle, he
must of course be courageous: but the truth is, one of the
original meanings, if not the sole meaning, of that word was,
noble, high-minded; and to this day, a Scotch woman, in the
situation of the young lady in the Tempest, would express herself
nearly in the same terms -- Don't provoke him; for being gentle,
that is, high-spirited, he won't tamely bear an insult.
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