A Brief History of the English Language #251501

In Part V some advantageous changes in order have been made. The most noticeable Of these is in treating the weak verbs before the strong. This order, while not adopted in the larger work, is quite in accord with the plan of both; namely, to give prominence to those elements of the lan guage which have been most stable and most important. The weak verbs were not only more numerous than the strong in the oldest period, but have increased in number and influence at the expense of the latter. Besides, the present arrangement not only emphasizes the more regular weak class, but also brings together all the less regular classes, an advantage in itself.