Author Description

Excerpt from Hand-Book of the English Tongue The publication of a New Book on the English tongue may seem to some to need a few words of explanation. With a strong preference for books ready made to his hand, the author has not been able to find any work that met the necessities of students desirous of becoming acquainted with the history of our Language, the principles of its grammar, and the elements of composition. The information needed was either not to be found at all, or was scattered over many volumes, and was mixed with much that was merely curious or speculative. Some books proved too mechanical; some too brief; others too full and discursive. No one book, nor all combined, gave precisely the help which the author found to be needed in training young men to speak and write the English tongue with accuracy, clearness, propriety, and force. The following points have been kept carefully in view: - The author has tried to aid the student to recognise words of Saxon and of classic origin, and to use both with propriety. He has given enough of the grammar of the Anglo-Saxon to enable the student to trace to their origin our English inflexions, and to read intelligently our older Writers: whose works are rich both in words and in thought. He has applied the science of Etymology to the practical purpose of distinguishing the meaning of words and parts of words, so that the student may write with precision. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair t