Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1803-07-07
Frsm The Cbarisfon Courier.

- VITA e. LIN SotittoSuSS ~ AssSt"A1
its may feel in the value Of the principles
ON which they act and in the excellence
OF the cauie in which they have embarked,
they have fome reafon to trernble at the
talents Of thofe who oppofe them. The
writings againf them are really formida-
bic, and OF kind 70 extraordinary that
we fear it will be difficult to refift them.
Upon Us. we confefs, they have, in one
way at leaf, the effect which the mode OF
warfare Of fernando Costez had upon the
Mtxif1as. Thofe poor innocent, igno-
rant fouls, could NOT tell what fort of
things the guns and horles Of the Spani-
ards were, and we confefs that We are
often as unable to comprehend what thofe
writers, from the PRECEDENT himfelf inclu-
five, down to the humblef of his literary
retainers, near. Their Introduction of
new words and their adoption of lome
new rules of Grammar, we own, quite
confcund us. But we iubtcribc to the
merits of this mode Of writing even tho
we fhould fufer byit. The iujury which
the natural Rights Of Man 70 long fuffain-
cd from the reltraints of Religion, of Co.
vernmen,, ard Of law, being now 70 for
tunately done away, it would be unfair
to let the reftraints which Grammars ard
Didionarie, imPofe open genius, any
longer remain and we are as happy as
we ought to be that ihis new reform has
begun under the great and Respectable au.
ipices of that Gyeat Mar, Whole multifa-
ripus attainmcnts it is impoflble for US to
defcfibe, hncc We have not Immediately
at hand that volume of the Arabian
Nights Entertainments in which the mo-
delt Barber gives detail of his own qua.
li6cations, to the infinite modification of
the amorous gentleman he is called upon
to fhaye; out of about two or three hun
dred of which; a deep p6ilslpba; a ia,
gaeioas b0l'fiefan,; a prefoaad matbemafs
e,aa; (ubtk bg,eian; and an iylpired
5ott, are all we fhall mention at pretent,
or indeed recolle6f.
I" Liberty & Nraisht head Of hair for
ever" exclaims the man in the farce
Liberty ! ard above all things. Lber-
~ Of Speech !! And whas is liberty Of
of Speech, but the right 70 make als Of
any words we plesfe.. Noting would
fefve the tyrants Of Europe who, LETT no
thing untyrannized over, hut ghsy mea
fetter, or as they called II, ii bouoes 10
theit language, and indG ppsn other mea
udng only the words fixed by authority.
BENINr in Italy. ACADEMY of France,
and Da. JOHNSON, in England, were EN-
ployed in this grois att OF tyranny. And
a number Of fubordinate ilaves 70 he will
Of the European defpo5s were employed
in lnsking little petty laws to refrain che
liberty Of fpeech; thofc were called
grammarians and be hanged 10 them
the fully of yhofe works has 20 con;ratieu
cur minds that We a,c often unable to IN.
derftand the adm 'rab!e Innovations of ,he
difciples OF the Rights Of Man and in
fact, fhall foon, we fear, not be able to
underffand them at all.
For instance, reading a certain letter
of a certain Great man, when we came
to this sentence, " Tie people are the pro
per d<poffe of their own liberties" TAX
ing the word ds3sslffe in its old sense, We
Thought it meant that tier Liberties had
deposited the people somewhere or other.
Because, according to the old Iexicogra-
ply, tie word deposite meant the article
deposited :being at loss, and knowing
that all birds Of kind, pies, Jays, parrots.
sc. all have a language ineligible to
each OF er, we AS ei a 0 thy democrat,
who directly put US en- the right scent.
In short, we found that by some figure
of new Rhetoric, something perhaps
like the old synecdoche, the word sdepo.
sire was put for the word depository. So
that by this happy management he has
killed two birds with one stone, and made
Al L. IL I. Il.