[40] See "A Yorkshire Dialogue in its pure natural dialect;" printed at York, 1684.
[41] A learned writer has published, in the Transactions of the Society of Scotish Antiquaries, a Dissertation on the Scoto-Saxon Dialect; of which, as the work is not in every body's hands, the reader may not be displeased with a short account. The author maintains this proposition; that the Scoto-Saxon dialect was, at the time of the union of the two nations, equal in every respect, and in some respects superior, to the Anglo-Saxon dialect. He lays it down as a principle, that three things constitute the perfection, or rather the relative superiority, of a language: richness, energy, and harmony. He observes, that a language is rich in proportion to the copiousness of its vocabulary, which will principally depend, 1. on the number of its primitive or radical words; 2. on the multiplicity of its derivations and compounds; and, 3. on the variety of its inflections. In all, or almost all of these respects, he shows the superiority of the Scotish dialect of the Saxon to the English. The Scots have all the English primitives, and many hundreds besides. The Scots have derivatives from diminution, which the English entirely want: e. g. hat, hatty, hattiky; lass, lassie, lassiky. The degrees of diminution are almost unlimited: wife, wifie, wifiky, wee wifiky, wee wee wifiky, &c. Both the English, and Scots, dialects are poor in the inflections; but the Glossary to Douglas's Virgil will shew that the Scotish inflections are both more various, and less anomalous, than the English. Energy is the boast both of the English, and the Scotish, dialects; but, in this author's opinion, the Scotish poetry can furnish some compositions of far superior energy to any cotemporary English production. With respect to harmony, he gives his suffrage likewise in favour of the Scotish dialect. He observes, that the sh rarely occurs; its place being supplied by the simple s, as in polis, punis, sal, &c. The s itself is often supplied by the liquids m or n; as in expreme, depreme; compone, depone. Harsh combinations of consonants are avoided: as in using sel, twal, neglek, temp, stown or stawn, for self, twelve, neglect, tempt, stolen. Even the vowel sounds are, in this author's opinion, more harmonious, in the Scots, than in the English, dialect; as the open a, and the proper Italic sound of i. For further elucidation of this curious subject, the Dissertation itself must be referred to, which will abundantly gratify the critical reader. It is proper here to observe, that the remarks of this writer are the more worthy of attention, that he is himself an excellent Scotish poet, as the compositions subjoined to his Dissertation clearly evince. Three Scotish Poems, with a previous Dissertation on the Scoto-Saxon Dialect, by the Rev. Alexander Geddes, LL.D., Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. i., p. 402.
[42] In the quarto of 1728, the following note is subjoined to the first scene of the Gentle Shepherd:—"This first scene is the only piece in this volume that was printed in the first: having carried the pastoral the length of five acts, at the desire of some persons of distinction, I was obliged to print this preluding scene with the rest."
[43]
When the sentiments are drawn from nature, it is not surprising
that, where the subject is similar, there should be a concurrence
of thought between two genuine poets, who never saw each other's
works. How similar is the following passage of the 10th satire of
Boileau to the imagery of this beautiful family picture!
Quelle joie en effet, quelle douceur extreme
De se voir caresser d'une epouse qu'on aime;—
De voir autour de soi croitre dans la maison,
Sous les paisibles loix d'une agréable mere
De petits citoyens dont on croit être pere!
Quel charme au moindre mal qui nous vient menacer
De la voir aussitot accourir, s'empresser, &c.
[44] So little has Ramsay borrowed from the ordinary language of pastoral, which is generally a tame imitation of the dialogue of Virgil and. Theocritus, that in the whole of the Scotish poem there are (I think) only three passages that bring to mind those common-places which, in the eclogues of Pope, we find almost in every line:
The bees shall loath the flower, and quit the hive,
The saughs on boggie-ground shall cease to thrive,
Ere scornful queans, &c. Act 1, Scene 1.
I've seen with shining fair the morning rise,
And soon the sleety clouds mirk a' the skies.
I've seen the silver spring a while rin clear,
And soon in mossy puddles disappear.
The bridegroom may rejoice, &c. Act 3, Scene 3.
See yon twa elms that grow up side by side,
Suppose them, some years syne, bridegroom and bride; &c.
Act 1, Scene 2.
[45] Aikin's Essays on Song-Writing, p. 33.
[46] Beattie's Essays, p. 652. Ed. 1776.
[47] Poetical Remains of James 1st of Scotland; p. 189.
[48] Blair's Lectures on Rhetoric, vol. iii. p. 126.
[49] Ancient Scotish Poems. Vol. I. London, 1786.