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THE 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 PRACTICAL RULES 
 
 ACQUIRING A KNOWLEDGE 
 
 ENGLISH GRAMMAR, 
 
 WITH REMARKS ON THE PRINCIPLES OP SYNTAX AND 
 COMPOSITION. 
 
 BY WILLIAM CRAMP, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "JUNIUS DISCOVERED." &c. 
 
 Though Grammar be usually amongst the first things taught, it is always one 
 of the last understood."— Tooke. 
 
 LONDON:: 
 RELFE AND FLETCHER, 17, CORNHILL. 
 
 1838. 
 
A< 
 
 Ct 
 
 t; 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 j. unwin, st. peter's alley, 
 
 CORNHILL. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Knowledge is the birthright of man; but the means 
 and opportunities of acquiring it are available only to a 
 very limited extent by the subordinate classes of society. 
 These privations might be lamented, if the happiness of 
 those who toil depended on a participation of that mental 
 and refined pleasure which scientific pursuits afford. The 
 lowly, however, are often bappy in their ignorance, 
 because, in their rude and uncultivated state, their desires 
 are circumscribed, and they feel less acutely the miseries 
 of want and dependence. But there are many whose 
 avocations are less constant and less laborious — many who 
 have raised themselves by industry to comparative ease 
 and affluence, and on the correctness of whose opinions 
 the stability and good order of civilized society chiefly 
 depend. These have sufficient leisure to cultivate their 
 minds ; and it is a duty they owe to themselves— to their 
 dependents — and to their country — to claim their right to 
 a share of that stock of knowledge which the industry of 
 past ages has accumulated for the common benefit of 
 posterity. ^ 
 
 But there is a preliminary and indispensable acquire- 
 ment to be secured, before the treasures of science and 
 learning can be opened to their view. Written Lan- 
 guage must be understood; and it is not only necessary 
 to become acquainted with those mute signs by which 
 
 a2 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 thought is arrested in its fleeting progress, but every 
 reader should also obtain a competent knowledge of the 
 fundamental principles which regulate and determine the 
 propriety of artificial language. 
 
 Hence Grammar is a subject of more importance than 
 most persons are willing to admit; and though it has not 
 the attractions which many other studies possess, still it 
 would perhaps be difficult to name a science more extensive 
 in its application, or more generally useful in directing the 
 conduct of the understanding. Even those who appear 
 to pay least attention to the arbitrary rules by which lan- 
 guage is often controlled, are nevertheless compelled to 
 observe the fundamental laws of speech; and though they 
 may affect to despise a knowledge of the use of words, 
 they too often betray their solicitude for grammatical 
 accuracy j by their hesitation and confusion — for they feel, 
 though they do not perhaps know, that Speech is the 
 Index of the Mind. 
 
 It concerns every one, therefore, who is called upon to 
 judge and act for himself, to possess the means by which 
 alleged improprieties of diction may be corrected. This 
 art grammarians profess to teach ; but do the works of 
 those writers always afford the means by which the learner 
 may be enabled to decide for himself, on subjects which, 
 perhaps, no individual has a right to determine for another? 
 In answering this important question, we shall, hereafter, 
 have occasion to claim the indulgence of the candid 
 reader. 
 
 The primary object of this treatise on language is to 
 render the principles of grammar easy, and the rules of 
 syntax practically useful, to those who have in early life 
 neglected the theory of speech. There are many, we feel 
 convinced, who would willingly devote some portion of 
 their leisure to the study of grammar, if the knowledge to 
 be derived from works on that subject proved commen- 
 surate with the attention the science necessrilya demands; 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 but there are few grown persons who will not rather 
 depend on their own judgment, than voluntarily submit to 
 learn the lessons of grammarians. 
 
 To blend the philosophy of language with the best 
 instructions of the best teachers is perhaps the surest 
 means of attracting the attention of the self-educated 
 reader. Such students do not wish to be taught, they 
 desire only to be informed; and it may be presumed that 
 one who has experienced similar difficulties knows better 
 the kind of information they require than more learned 
 writers on the subject. Whether we have supplied such 
 information must be left to the decision of that class of 
 our readers. 
 
 The liberty we have taken with the writings of the 
 learned, will probably subject us to still severer criticism; 
 but we ask no favour for the errors we have committed. 
 The works of writers on language are the fittest for the 
 selection of grammatical inaccuracies, for grammarians at 
 least ought to attend to the rules they inculcate. It was 
 not, however, from any invidious motive, but from a 
 principle of justice, that we in general gave their blunders 
 the preference to those of less reputable writers. 
 
 But there is one class of readers whose disapprobation 
 we may expect, and whose commendation would be no 
 proof of the practical utility of this volume. — We mean 
 those persons who learn the principles of a science, as 
 many learn the words of an Italian song, merely that they 
 may be able to repeat a given number of sounds, without 
 caring to understand the meaning of the writer. Such 
 readers are impatient to became learned at an easy rate, 
 and esteem that instruction the best which is soonest com- 
 mitted to memory. They are unwilling to bestow the 
 thought and attention which an abstruse subject demands, 
 and without which scientific practical knowledge can never 
 be acquired. It matters not, therefore, what system of 
 grammar such persons adopt; for as they are too indolent 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 or too incapable, to think for themselves, they must after 
 all be contented to imitate the phraseology of others. 
 
 But if the hitherto superficial reasoner should be inclined 
 to apply himself seriously to the study of this indispensable 
 science, he may still ask, "Must we be constantly thinking 
 of our grammar whenever we speak or write?" It may be 
 answered, certainly not. This mistaken notion has 
 perhaps made more bad speakers and bad writers than a 
 total want of a knowledge of grammar. The subject, and 
 what he intends to say concerning it, ought solely to occupy 
 the attention of the speaker or writer during the time he 
 is employed in forming his sentences. Those who write 
 best are probably those who think least about the choice 
 of words or the structure of sentences while they are com- 
 posing. The mind will in general suggest the preferable 
 words and phrases; and the writer, having previously 
 acquired a competent knowledge of the principles of 
 language, will be prevented from committing gross impro- 
 prieties. The practice of grammar is chiefly useful in 
 enabling any one to ^correct errors that have been com- 
 mitted in speaking or in writing. Those, therefore, who 
 understand the theory of language, have acquired the 
 means of applying the rules by which grammatical accuracy 
 is regulated. But it is not essential that those rules 
 should be "learnt by heart;" the anomalies only require to 
 be committed to memory. 
 
 In the arrangement of the Etymological Chapters of 
 this volume, the syntax and construction of each part of 
 speech have been connected with the etymology of the 
 word. Whatever was considered useful to the uninformed 
 student, has also been included ; and an illustration or two 
 containing words classed under each particular part of 
 speech have been added, in order that those who wish to 
 acquire the science may have the means at hand of ascer- 
 taining the progress they make in the knowledge of words. 
 These lessons (if they must be so called,) are progressive, 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 and may be repeated as the learner proceeds with the 
 subsequent chapters. The selections are such as will not, 
 it is hoped, displease even our better informed readers. 
 
 As regards the philosophy of this volume, we cannot 
 reasonably expect a uniformly favourable opinion. Some 
 may think that the remarks contain too much of the theory 
 of language, and that the author has too often indulged in 
 controversial disquisitions; but before his readers form 
 their decided opinion upon these points, they are requested 
 to examine whether the philosophy of the language has not 
 been made subservient to the practical utility of the rules 
 of grammar, and whether the controverted questions do 
 not merit the calm consideration of all who desire to be 
 informed on this subject. 
 
 It would have been easy for the writer to have given a 
 greater appearance of originality to this treatise, by 
 adopting as his own the valuable extracts which he has 
 selected from the works of his predecessors, but he feels 
 well assured that such remarks will have more weight in 
 their original language. Whenever it has been possible 
 to trace the author, the benefit of his assistance has been 
 acknowledged. This could not be always attended to in 
 selecting the rules of syntax. These have long been con- 
 sidered the property of every writer on language, therefore 
 whenever they have been clearly expressed, they have 
 frequently been taken verbatim from grammarians. 
 
 As the principal design of this work is to instruct the 
 English scholar, it would justly be considered inconsistent 
 to refer for proofs and examples to the learned languages, 
 or to aim at a display of deep research. That the latter 
 might have been accomplished by one with very little pre- 
 tensions to learning our classical readers will admit, for 
 the author has found some difficulty in avoiding any 
 appearance of this parade of learning. His constant en- 
 deavour has been to simplify and render intelligible an 
 abstruse science, and if possible to shew that a knowledge 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 of English Grammar is not necessarily dependent on a 
 previous knowledge of the structure or the grammar of 
 any other language. 
 
 We here feel it necessary to offer some excuse to our 
 scientific readers for controverting opinions that have been 
 universally received, and that are by grammarians con- 
 sidered indisputably established. 
 
 It is the general opinion that " the province of the 
 grammarian is not to dictate what usages ought to be, but 
 simply to discover what they are." 
 
 This apology for not investigating the propriety of estab- 
 lished usages may serve the compiler of Greek and Latin 
 grammars. The dead languages must be learned with all 
 their imperfections, since the anomalies are now a legitimate 
 portion of those languages. But the circumstances are 
 very different with a living language like our own — a 
 language that has been progressively improving since its 
 infancy, in spite of the restrictions of the learned. Here 
 the grammarian has a higher duty to perform. He is 
 regarded as the arbiter of taste in deciding doubtful and 
 discordant idioms — as the dictator of propriety, and as 
 the promulgator of the established laws of language. It 
 is true he cannot enforce obedience, but it is his duty to 
 resist useless innovations; and such resistance, seconded 
 by sound argument and philosophical research, will seldom 
 fail to overcome the prejudice of custom, and, though slow 
 in its operation, must ultimately prevail. 
 
 The rules of grammar owe their origin to written 
 language. It was not till mankind began to use signs for 
 sounds that the necessity of a strict conformity between 
 the signs and the ideas intended to be expressed by them 
 became obvious. In oral language the tone or the gesture 
 of the speaker often supplied the deficiences and inac- 
 curacies of speech, but in written discourse it became 
 essential to attend to the grammatical structure of sen- 
 tences. Hence originated among our first writers the 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 office of the critic and grammarian. Those idioms which 
 from their purity and general use were best understood 
 were taken as a standard of propriety, and considered as 
 forming a legitimate portion of the national dialect, in 
 contradistinction to the anomalies of the ignorant, and the 
 dialects of the remote and less cultivated provinces, and 
 thus the language of the learned at first superseded that of 
 the uneducated and vulgar. The established phraseology 
 of our best writers, therefore, must ever be regarded with 
 respect, even by those who may be disposed to question 
 their unlimited authority, for it cannot be denied that our 
 authors are the guardians of our language, and are 
 amenable to ordinary criticism only when by their example 
 they give currency and permanent existence to gram- 
 matical improprieties. The anomalies of speech may be 
 tolerated, but they cannot be, or at least they ought not to 
 be, recommended; for when the union of right and wrong 
 is attempted every effort to explain the consistency of the 
 contradiction adds only to the difficulty of comprehending 
 the commentator. 
 
 The elements of artificial speech are arbitrary, and so 
 are the forms or idioms of a language. Every one is at 
 liberty to use what particular signs he may think proper in 
 recording his own thoughts, and to accept or reject any 
 form of words which may be suggested by another. Even 
 the Roman tyrant admitted his inability to force a new 
 word upon the people, though in other respects he was 
 master of their wills, and their lives and liberties were at 
 his disposal. But there is a more powerful inducement 
 than the mandate of a sovereign, which will always ensure 
 a cheerful submission to improvements in speech, and 
 which among the rudest people at first gave currency to 
 the elements of their language — it is the common 
 interest of those who have occasion constantly to com- 
 municate their wants and their opinions, to establish by 
 tacit consent a uniform manner of expression, and to 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 avoid as far as possible the use of ambiguous words or 
 phrases. 
 
 Custom or use is said to give law to language, and 
 has long been considered by the learned as the only stand- 
 ard of propriety. He, therefore, who opposes the errors 
 of popular usage, or questions the correctness of 
 fashionable phraseology, will perhaps be treated 
 little better than as an outlaw in the republic of letters — 
 still as a disinterested inquirer, having no theory of his 
 own to establish, and willing to admit the theories of others 
 as far as they are comprehensible, the author may claim 
 indulgence if he question the wisdom and justness of a 
 decree which the law-makers themselves do not seem to 
 understand. 
 
 What (we have often asked) is " Reputable Usage?" 
 Not, says an eminent critic, the usage of the multitude, 
 nor the usage of the learned, much less the usage of the 
 court, but a sort of compound ratio of all three. And this 
 " compound ratio" as yet undefined, is nevertheless to be 
 taken as the standard of propriety. Another writer 
 declares that " Language is a species of fashion, and that 
 every anomaly stands upon the same basis — custom having 
 prescribed for it a particular rule." In addition to these 
 authorities we are compelled to admit that writers on 
 language invariably coincide in their opinions on this point; 
 and grammarians, in particular, strongly inculcate implicit 
 obedience to usage, unless in cases which custom has left 
 dubious. 
 
 It is not the desire to be thought capable of contro- 
 verting the opinions of great men, deservedly esteemed for 
 their talents and learning, nor any vainer motive, which 
 induces the writer of this volume to oppose the universal 
 assent of grammarians to a long established maxim. It is 
 the firm conviction that the dictum is unphilosophical and 
 dangerous — that it is the chief cause of the many difficulties 
 which the study of language presents, and affords an un- 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 answerable excuse for the little attention that is often paid 
 to the more valuable instructions of grammarians. For 
 who will spend much time in acquiring the rudiments of a 
 science, the principles and rules of which are ever varying, 
 since the knowledge of what is right must depend upon 
 the capricious decisions of those who pretend to under- 
 stand the precise limits of " Reputable Usage.'' 
 
 But it may be asked, what then is the legitimate standard 
 of propriety in language? Or rather, what is grammar? 
 We shall answer without hesitation, because we can appeal 
 to the experience of every intelligent writer, and to the 
 practice of every grammarian, whenever he has been able 
 to see clearly, and to correct with certainty, any impro- 
 priety of long established usage. 
 
 Grammar is the strict agreement between 
 the signs and the ideas which such signs are 
 intended to express. It was this concordance that 
 first gave law to language, and currency to original forms 
 of speech ; and it is to maintain this conformity between 
 words and ideas that the rules of grammar are so useful. 
 It is to the mind, and not to the vox populi, which the 
 grammarian appeals when he is able to prove any gram- 
 matical inaccuracy; it is only when a difficulty occurs, that 
 custom is allowed to have the supremacy. 
 
 The authority of reputable usage is perhaps less re- 
 stricted in determining the propriety of single terms, than 
 it is in regulating the laws of construction. An increase 
 of knowledge necessarily demands an increase of means 
 for the communication of that knowledge. In the progress 
 of civilization new words are constantly required to 
 express new ideas; and when ingenuity fails to invent 
 suitable expressions a modification of some established 
 term frequently supplies the deficiency; but even in 
 establishing the arbitrary elements of language, the funda- 
 mental principle of grammar is attended to by the learned, 
 the fitness of the new term is ascertained by referring to 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 its etymon or derivation, and its propriety is estimated by 
 the conformity which exists, or is supposed to exist, 
 between the sign and the object it is intended to represent. 
 If there be no real nor any imaginary resemblance dis- 
 cernable, nor any circumstance to fix the meaning of the 
 expression, it is generally left to the use of those who are 
 contented to adopt the vague phraseology of the illiterate. 
 
 Sometimes, however, from frequent application and 
 general use, an indefinite word acquires at length a precise 
 signification, and, when sanctioned by authority, is, after a 
 time, incorporated in the language. So far does reputable 
 usage ennoble that which was at one time justly condemned 
 as belonging to the jargon of the vulgar. 
 
 The authority which gives currency to single terms is 
 also sufficient to sanction any improvement in the idioms 
 of a language, but the laws of construction must ever be 
 subservient to the principles of Universal Grammar. 
 Nothing therefore, in our humble opinion, can justify an 
 illogical departure from established grammatical usage. 
 Why grammarians should wish to substitute custom for the 
 unerring laws of the human mind, in determining the pro- 
 priety of contradictory idioms, will perhaps be sufficiently 
 shown in the subsequent pages of this work. 
 
 It would not become the author to speak in extenuation 
 of the defects of this volume, yet it will be readily admitted, 
 by those best acquainted with works of this kind, that 
 considerable difficulty must be experienced by him who 
 endeavours to condense into one volume the Theory and 
 Practice of an art so extensive in its details as that of 
 Grammar. This difficulty suggested the plan of combining 
 a technical Dictionary with the Index ; and it is hoped 
 that the form in which the notes are there given will be 
 more acceptable to the reader than that usually adopted. 
 
 Among those who have assisted to render this volume 
 deserving the notice of the public, the author may be 
 allowed to distinguish James Henry Hurdis, Esq., 
 
PREFACE. Xll 
 
 of Newtek , a gentleman ever willing to devote his highly 
 cultivated talents, either to the service of the public, or 
 to promote the welfare of a private individual. The 
 engravings are intended to illustrate parts of the sub- 
 ject that appeared to require attraction, but if they fail 
 to instruct, they cannot fail (as specimens of art,) to be 
 admired, and will give a value to this volume which its 
 intrinsic merit may not perhaps entitle it to receive. 
 
SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Abergavenny, the Earl of, Eridge 
 
 Castle 
 Amherst, Lord, Montreal 
 Austin, Rev. J., Che vening Rectory 
 Austin, Thomas, Esq., Reppington 
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 Auber, Rev, , Sevenoaks 
 
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 Abbott, Mr., Lewes 
 Adams, R. E. Esq., Sevenoaks 
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 Attree, Mr. John, Ringmer 
 
 Burlington, the Earl of, Belgrave-sq« 
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 Blaauw, W. H. Esq., Beechlands, 
 
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 Bingham, Rev. R., Prebendary of 
 
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 Baxter, Mr. John, Lewes 
 Baxter, Mr. W. E., Lewes 
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 Billingshurst, Mr. E., Brighton 
 Bingham, Mr. C. E., London 
 Bingham, Mr. S. L., Durham-upon- 
 
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 Chichester, the Earl of, Stanmer 
 Chatterton, Sir W., Bart., Newick 
 Conroy, Sir John, Bart., Kensington 
 
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SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
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 Fitzroy, Hon. H., Chapel-street 
 Fitzhugh, Rev. W. A., Streat 
 Freeman, Mrs., Dorset Gardens, 
 
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 Figg, W. Esq., Lewes 
 Fuller, Mr. W., 60, Jermyn- street 
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 Fuller, Mr. Thomas, Newick 
 
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 Giraud, R. H. Esq., Furnival's Inn 
 Giraud, Mr. C. E., Sevenoaks 
 Gourd, Mr. T., Horsted Keynes 
 Graveley, Mr. T., Cowfold 
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 Glendinning, A. Esq., Ash Grove 
 
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 ton-street 
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XVI 
 
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THE 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " Language is an art, whose influence extends over all the others, and in 
 which, finally, all science whatever must centre." — Horne Tooke. 
 
 When we consider how inseparably Language is con- 
 nected with man's happiness, and how much the successful 
 development and improvement of his intellectual faculties 
 depend on its resources, we may, without impropriety, 
 inquire why the study of so important a science as grammar 
 should be so generally neglected. Few acquire a competent 
 knowledge of its rules, — a slight acquaintance being all that 
 is usually considered essential by those who wish to speak 
 correctly, and when this object has been attained, the study 
 of language is too often abandoned in disgust. 
 
 What, then, is the nature of this science, so repulsive to 
 many, so imperfectly understood even by its professors? 
 What are the advantages any one may expect to derive from 
 the study of grammar? — and can the subject be rendered 
 agreeable to the student by more efficient means than those 
 hitherto adopted? These are questions to which we shall 
 direct our attention; and should we fail in our purpose to 
 render the subject more intelligible, our efforts may still be 
 attended with advantage, for the hints of the unlearned some- 
 times supply materials for the learned to work upon. 
 
Z PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 A modern writer asserts, "The success with which the 
 principles of any art or science are investigated, is generally 
 proportioned to the number of those whose labours are 
 directed to its cultivation and improvement." This obser- 
 vation may be very true, if it be limited to those who really 
 investigate the principles of a science ; but if we include all 
 who write upon any particular subject, the proportion of 
 success may indeed be questioned. Grammar is one proof 
 of the inverse proportion of labour to the success of its 
 application. The writers on language are many; their dis- 
 coveries few. The subject has been often handled, but 
 seldom investigated, unless the repetition of rules, enforced 
 by new authorities, can be called investigation. But what 
 has authority to do with the rules of grammar? Usage may 
 sanction inaccurate language, but the most reputable usage 
 cannot alter the nature of the science. Its fundamental 
 principles are unchangeable. Grammar should teach the 
 correct use of words. Its rules should not be annulled by 
 exceptions, nor should errors be palliated by quoting prece- 
 dents from classical writers. This servile compliance with 
 usage is the cause of the many difficulties which occur in 
 acquiring a knowledge of grammar. Its principles are ren- 
 dered obscure and uncertain, when the grammarian, instead 
 of exposing erroneous phraseology, employs his pen in its 
 defence; and until this method of treating the subject be 
 exploded, there can be little hope of much permanent im- 
 provement in our language. For when authority is per- 
 mitted to supersede the principles of science, the most 
 effectual barrier is fixed against the progress of improvement. 
 Authority in language ought to extend no further than to 
 the choice of words and phrases, in reference to their just 
 application; and when this point has been established, the 
 construction and modification of terms should conform to 
 the principles of grammar. 
 
 It is, however, confessed, that the structure of language, 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. o 
 
 ike the materials of which it is composed, is, in a great 
 degree, arbitrary, and depends upon the order in which 
 different nations are accustomed to think; as long, therefore, 
 as the peculiar idioms and established phraseology of a par- 
 ticular people are perspicuous, they cannot be deviated from 
 with propriety. But the decisions of grammarians, deter- 
 mined by the dictation of usage, should not be like the laws 
 of the Medes and Persians, which altered not. The rules of 
 grammar should be subject to revision, whenever they are 
 found inconsistent with the principles of right thinking ; and 
 the science should be made subservient to the mind, whence 
 alone it takes its origin. 
 
 A writer on grammar has, nevertheless, to contend against 
 many difficulties. He is called upon to give proofs of his 
 ability in the frequent exercise of the rules he inculcates. 
 The prejudice of habit, the caprice of fashion, and the autho- 
 rity of the best writers, conspire against his precepts. Axioms, 
 founded on rational principles, are sometimes contemned, 
 because they are not understood; while the idle and half- 
 educated prefer imitation to originality, and adopt, without 
 questioning, the errors of their instructors. 
 
 "It is not," says Mr. Locke, "worth while to be con- 
 cerned what he says or thinks, who says or thinks only as he 
 is directed by another." Every attempt to exercise the 
 judgment of such a learner is considered as a tax upon his 
 exertion, and he resents the imposed condition as if it were 
 an insult to his understanding. It is not for such that we 
 have undertaken the task before us. Knowledge can never 
 be acquired by rote ; — the reasoning faculties must be 
 employed, if men desire to profit by and remember what they 
 learn. 
 
 The practice of grammarians has been to conceal those 
 difficulties which they could not explain. They have dwelt, 
 with tedious prolixity, upon the elementary principles of the 
 science, while they have left the most useful branch of it 
 
 b 2 
 
4 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 comparatively unexplored. They content themselves with 
 repeating, that language is the medium by which the mind 
 communicates its thoughts; they confine themselves to 
 general definitions, but they are cautious how they descend 
 to critical investigation. " Sensible and learned men," says 
 Mr. Brenan," conceal the truth, through a fear that too 
 much knowledge may divert the pupil from a proper steadi- 
 ness to the observance of rules." What is this but a tacit 
 acknowledgment that the rules are founded in error, and will 
 not bear the investigation which science, properly so called, 
 should at all times be ready to undergo? Will such an 
 apology satisfy the reader? Let him mark the consequences 
 of this injudicious forbearance: "These scrupulous teachers," 
 says the same spirited writer, "give directions that positively 
 mislead, fill the mind with wrong notions, and throw a most 
 prejudicial taint of doubt and error upon the future reason- 
 ings of the learner." 
 
 The science of grammar must be learned by studying lan- 
 guage, in connection with the operations of the mind, for 
 therein only are its principles to be found. Whatever know- 
 ledge men acquire of the nature and use of words has been 
 deduced from this source. It is well known that a good 
 memory, and frequent opportunities of mixing in the best 
 society, will teach any one to speak grammatically. It will 
 do more. It will make some appear to reason correctly, 
 who have no other pretensions to abilities than an aptitude 
 to remember the sayings of others. They have perhaps 
 heard or read certain phrases and arguments, and they adopt 
 them, without observing their propriety, or examining their 
 correctness. But when such persons are called upon to 
 express their own thoughts, they feel the want of a know- 
 ledge of the rules and principles of grammar. 
 
 The facility with which men are able to receive and impart 
 knowledge depends greatly upon the clear conceptions they 
 have of the signs used for this purpose. The precise mean- 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 5 
 
 ing of words, and their proper order and distribution in a 
 sentence, should be carefully attended to by the young 
 student. The importance of these fundamental principles 
 may be inferred from the remarks of an elegant writer on 
 composition: — 
 
 " All that regards the study of eloquence and composition 
 merits the higher attention, upon this account, — that it is 
 intimately connected with the improvement of our intel- 
 lectual powers. For when we are employed, after a proper 
 manner, in the study of composition, we are cultivating 
 reason itself. True rhetoric and sound logic are very nearly 
 allied. The study of arranging and expressing our thoughts 
 with propriety, teaches to think as well as to speak accurately. 
 By putting our sentiments into words we always conceive 
 them more distinctly. Every one who has the slightest 
 acquaintance with composition knows that when he ex- 
 presses himself ill on any subject, when his arrangement is 
 loose, and his sentences become feeble, the defects of his 
 style can, almost on every occasion, be traced back to his 
 indistinct conception of the subject ; so close is the connec- 
 tion between thoughts and the words in which they are 
 clothed." 
 
 We shall conclude these preliminary remarks with a quo- 
 tation from Mr. Murray, on the utility and importance of 
 the study of grammar : — 
 
 " As words are the signs of our ideas, and the medium by 
 which we perceive the sentiments of others, and communi- 
 cate our own, and as signs exhibit things which they are 
 intended to represent, more or less accurately, according as 
 their real or established conformity to those things is more 
 or less exact, it is evident that in proportion to our know- 
 ledge of the nature and properties of words, of their relation 
 to each other, and their established connection with the ideas 
 to which they are applied, will be the certainty and ease with 
 which we transfuse our sentiments into the minds of one 
 
6 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 another; and that without a competent knowledge of this 
 kind, we shall frequently be in hazard of misunderstanding 
 others, and of being misunderstood ourselves. It may, 
 indeed, be justly asserted, that many of the differences in 
 opinion among men, with the disputes, contentions, and 
 alienations of heart, which have too often proceeded from 
 such differences, have been occasioned by a want of proper 
 skill in the connection and meaning of words, and by a 
 tenacious misapplication of language/' 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 ORTHOGRAPHY. 
 
 " The conversation of men of rank and eminence regulates pronunciation : 
 authors of reputation are our standard for all that concerns the con- 
 struction and application of words." — Campbell. 
 
 Grammar is usually divided into four parts — Ortho- 
 graphy, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody. 
 
 Orthography and prosody treat of the nature and 
 power of elementary sounds, and comprise rules for spelling 
 and pronunciation. As these parts of grammar have been 
 minutely investigated by others, and as every thing really 
 useful in them may be soon learned, and easily understood, 
 we shall confine ourselves to a few observations on modern 
 refinement and improvement in orthography and pronun- 
 ciation. 
 
 Writers on language repeatedly complain that the cha- 
 racters of the alphabet are both redundant and defective, yet 
 they do not attempt to lay aside the redundant letters, nor 
 supply a suitable number of characters for the elementary 
 sounds. They acknowledge that the art of pronunciation 
 might by these means be greatly facilitated and improved; 
 but they have no authority to justify a deviation from long 
 established usage. They are perhaps alarmed at the tem- 
 porary inconvenience such changes might produce. The 
 experiment is, notwithstanding, well worth the trial; and 
 the man who, by his popularity and talent, could add a few 
 new letters to the alphabet, would render an essential and 
 lasting benefit to posterity. Precedents for such improve- 
 ment might be quoted from the Greek and other languages. 
 
 Volumes have, from time to time, been published respect- 
 
O PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 ing the precise powers of the elementary sounds. One 
 specimen will perhaps content the reader: — 
 
 Consonants. — "Here, then, are three things to be dis- 
 tinguished. — 1st. The perfect mute, having no sound of any 
 kind. 2ndly. The perfect consonant, having not only a pro- 
 per but continued sound. And 3rdly. Between these 
 extremes we find the letter b having a proper sound, but so 
 limited, that in respect to the perfect consonant it may be 
 termed a mute, and in relation to the perfect mute may 
 properly be termed imperfect." 
 
 Can we feel surprised that many should experience a dis- 
 gust for grammar, when such are its introductory lessons? 
 
 " It is the nature of a consonant to require the assistance 
 of the organs of speech to give it utterance. 
 
 " A vowel is a simple sound, formed by a continued 
 effusion of the breath, and a certain conformation of the 
 mouth, without any alteration of the position or any motion 
 of the organs of speech, from the moment the vocal sound 
 commences till it ends. 
 
 " A consonant may be defined to be an interruption of 
 the effusion of vocal sound, arising from the application of 
 of the organs of speech to each other." 
 
 Orthography, as the term implies, includes rules for 
 spelling, though this part of grammar is chiefly occupied in 
 nice distinctions between the nature and powers of letters. 
 
 Spelling is the art of expressing words by their proper 
 letters, and the best and only sure rule for dividing the 
 syllables in spelling is to divide them as they are naturally 
 divided, in a right pronunciation, without regard to the 
 derivation of words, or the possible combination of conso- 
 nants at the beginning of syllables. 
 
 Every attempt to improve the English language must be 
 ineffectual, while reason and common sense stoop to the 
 dictates of fashion and caprice. The orthography and pro- 
 nunciation of to-day, though perfectly consistent with ana- 
 logy, may be denounced as vulgar and inaccurate to-morrow, 
 if a popular character chance to deviate from established 
 usage. The servile multitude are too apt to imitate the 
 senseless eccentricities of some idol, and to be proud of a 
 resemblance that might justly expose them to ridicule and 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. \) 
 
 contempt. " Words," says an eloquent writer, " most fre- 
 quently in use are most liable to be contracted, and they 
 contract more rapidly in the mouth of the illiterate vulgar, 
 and mincing courtiers and insects of fashion, than in the 
 mouth of the learned professional man, and in the middle 
 class of the people. Extremes, it is often said, meet; and 
 when my ears were lately saluted with such pronunciations 
 as Lunnun for London; gemmen (or something more like it 
 than gentleman,) from the mouth of a royal duke, I could 
 not help reflecting how very nearly high life and low life — 
 the court and Wapping, or Petticoat-lane — are related." 
 
 It is a certain indication of a weak and frivolous mind to 
 seek distinction by imitating, or by introducing novel terms 
 or phrases, or by altering, unnecessarily, the established 
 pronunciation of a language. Words are the means by \ 
 which men's thoughts are interchanged, and, like other f 
 means, their beauty and perfection consist in their simplicity, 
 and uniform application. 
 
 Mr. Walker, in his " Critical Pronouncing Dic- 
 tionary," has endeavoured to expose this fashionable ab- 
 surdity ; and it is much to be regretted that the excellent 
 remarks, interspersed throughout that work, are not better 
 known. We quote one example of the triumph of common 
 sense, as recorded by that writer. 
 
 Authority. This word is sometimes pronounced as if 
 written autority. This affected pronunciation is traced to a 
 gentleman who was one of the greatest ornaments of the law, 
 as well as one of the politest scholars of the age, and whose 
 authority has been sufficient to sway the bench and the bar, 
 though author, authentic, theatre, theory, &c, and a thousand 
 similar words, where the th is heard, are constantly staring 
 them in the face. 
 
 The public ear is not, however, so far vitiated as to ac- 
 knowledge this innovation ; for though it may with security, 
 and even approbation, be pronounced in Westminster Hall, 
 it would not be quite so safe for an actor to adopt it on the 
 stage. 
 
 I know it will be said that autoritas is better Latin ; that 
 the purer Latin never had the h ; and that our word, which 
 is derived from it, ought on that account to omit it. But it 
 
10 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 may be observed that, according to the best Latin critics, the 
 word ought to be written auctoritas, and that, according to 
 this reasoning, we ought to write and pronounce auctority 
 and auctor ; but this, I presume, is farther than these inno- 
 vators would choose to go ; — the truth is, such singularities 
 of pronunciation should be left to the lower class of critics, 
 who, like coxcombs in dress, would be utterly unnoticed, if 
 they were not distinguished by petty deviations from the rest 
 of the world. 
 
 We are persuaded that many of the existing improprieties 
 of speech would be corrected if grammarians and writers on 
 language did their duty by pointing out the inaccuracies, and 
 were not quite so fond of quoting si volet usus.* May we 
 not suspect they compromise their ignorance of the funda- 
 mental principles of the science by granting a licence in 
 favour of popular usage, and, more particularly, since they 
 often acknowledge such usage to be at variance with perspi- 
 cuity and correctness. What can we think of the propriety 
 of a precept which forbids a man to do right as long as the 
 majority of mankind persist in doing wrong ? yet this is the 
 spirit in which most English grammars are compiled. 
 
 The arbiters of polite pronunciation appear to delight in 
 unmeaning deviations from correct and well established 
 usage : those anomalies and defects which render the ac- 
 quirement of the English language so difficult are held sacred, 
 while the most unwarrantable violations in orthography and 
 diction are tolerated because " fashion will have it so/' We 
 are told that again and against should be pronounced agen 
 and agenst ; haunt and taunt, hant and tant ; that docile 
 should be pronounced dossel ; and many similar alterations 
 are recommended in the works of modern orthoepists. It 
 might be urged, in answer to these innovations, that the 
 dipthongs ai and au are what grammarians call proper 
 
 * Mr. Tooke is an exception : speaking of the author of this maxim, he 
 remarks — " I do not think him of any authority whatever upon this occasion. 
 He wrote divinely, and so Vestris danced ; but in this, our enquiry, we are 
 not poets nor dancers, hut anatomists." 
 
 " The polished attendants on a throne," says Mr. Walker, " are as apt to 
 depart from simplicity in language as in dress and manners, and novelty, 
 instead of custom, is too often the jus et norma loquendi of a court." 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 11 
 
 dipthongs, in, which both the vowel sounds should be heard, 
 as in pain, gain, main, laudable. Whatever exceptions may 
 exist should therefore be accounted as so many defects in the 
 language, the orthography being at variance with the pronun- 
 ciation : these improprieties might be obviated, either by 
 new modelling the words, or by restoring the original sound 
 to the letters. But our modern critics pursue a very 
 different course. They take for a guide what they are pleased 
 to call " reputable usage ;" and though, in many instances, 
 they confess its insufficiency and danger, yet they persist in 
 recommending it ; hence the orthography and pronunciation 
 of the English language is becoming daily more fluctuating, 
 incongruous and defective. 
 
 This puerile fondness for error is often apparent in the 
 absurd precision which many writers observe when they 
 quote from the works of our earlier authors : they seem to 
 feel a pride in giving the passage verbatim, though the 
 intention of referring to it was to serve some more useful 
 purpose than merely to gratify a silly curiosity, or to show 
 how strangely our ancestors spelled and wrote. It may be 
 asked of those who defend this practice, whether there is any 
 thing wonderful in the change which a few centuries have 
 produced in a science so fluctuating as language, and more 
 particularly as regards that part of the science which depends 
 so much on whim and fashion ? Those critics who, with a 
 secret complacency, contrast their improved compositions 
 with the rude specimens of their forefathers, will probably" 
 in their turns be ridiculed by succeeding generations. But 
 if they would have their writings descend uncorrupted to 
 posterity, let them endeavour to fix the elementary sounds 
 to appropriate characters ; for this is the first step towards 
 establishing a permanent language. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 ETYMOLOGY. 
 
 " The essential parts of speech are the same in all languages. There must 
 always be some words which denote the names of objects, or which mark 
 the subject of discourse ; others which denote the qualities of those 
 objects, and express what we affirm concerning them ; and other words 
 which point out their connections and relations." — Blair. 
 
 Before any one can apply the rules of syntax, or correct 
 errors in composition, it is indispensably necessary that he 
 should acquire, as far as possible, a knowledge of those 
 differences which have induced grammarians to class words 
 under the several denominations called parts of speech. 
 
 Etymology explains the nature of the different sorts of 
 words, and treats of their modifications and derivations. 
 
 The parts of speech are variously reckoned ; but the 
 following is the usual distribution : — the article, the noun, 
 the adjective, the pronoun, the verb, the adverb, the preposition, 
 the conjunction, and the interjection. 
 
 When mankind converse, their discourse is always con- 
 cerning the existence of properties, actions, states, or relations 
 
 Of NOUNS. 
 
 The article limits, or points out the noun. The noun 
 denotes the subject, or some object connected with the 
 subject. The adjective expresses a quality belonging to a 
 noun. The pronoun is used instead of a noun. The verb 
 indicates the existence, or the action or state of a noun. The 
 adverb either qualifies an adjective or another adverb, or it 
 more correctly defines the action or state attributed to the 
 noun. The preposition connects, and shows what relation one 
 noun bears to another. The conjunction joins two or more 
 words or sentences together which refer to the same noun, or 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 13 
 
 it qualifies the clause or sentence which it connects. The > 
 interjection is no part of artificial language, though it is often / 
 used by poets and sentimentalists. 
 
 The verb is usually denominated "the chief word" in a 
 sentence ; but, as the noun denotes the subject of our 
 thoughts, it may be considered of equal importance. The 
 propriety of this remark will be more evident when we 
 come to examine the nature of the verb, a part of speech 
 which has hitherto been confounded with the predicate, and 
 is seldom distinguished from it when they are united into 
 one term. 
 
 Before we enter upon the analysis of the several parts of 
 speech, we shall hazard some general observations on the 
 nature and properties of words, and, in doing this, it will 
 be necessary to refer to a science which has hitherto been 
 too little consulted by writers on grammar. 
 
 The connection between ideas and the signs which repre- 
 sent them is so inseparable, that the rudiments of Logic* 
 appear essential in acquiring a correct knowledge of the 
 nature and properties of words ; but while that science has 
 been treated of by men of learning and abilities, the principles 
 of language, and the rules of grammar, have too often been 
 
 * We refer to those parts of logic which, treat of the connection between 
 terms and ideas, and of the nature and formation of propositions, and not to 
 the art of syllogizing ,- for we perfectly agree with Dr. Campbell, that " the 
 rules are cumbersome to the memory, and unnecessary in practice. No one 
 was ever made a reasoner who needed their aid. Ostentatious and artificial, 
 they give that which is shallow the appearance of profundity." 
 
 This writer has been considered singular in his opinion, but if we look into 
 the writings of Mr. Locke, we shall find that he entertained nearly the same 
 view of the subject. " Nobody is made any thing by hearing of rules, or 
 laying them up in his memory ; practice must settle the habit of doing, 
 without reflecting on the rule ; and you may as well hope to make a good 
 painter or musician extempore, by a lecture and instruction in the arts of 
 music and painting, as a coherent thinker or strict reasoner by a set of rules 
 showing him wherein right reasoning consists." 
 
 Nor does Dr. Watts, in his work on logic, appear to speak very highly of 
 the advantages of those artificial means which teach men to reason by mode 
 and figure. His testimony of the insufficiency of logic as an art may be con- 
 sidered 'of more weight than any arguments which might be adduced in 
 favour of Dr. Campbell's opinion. " The light of nature, a good judgment, 
 and due consideration of things, tend more to true reasoning than all the 
 trappings of moods and figures." — Watts' Logic, part iii., ch. 2, § 3. 
 
14 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 left to the decision of men of ordinary endowments and 
 capacities. Should these studies ever become united, there 
 may then be some chance that the principles of both will be 
 acquired with pleasure, and their practical advantages some- 
 what better understood. 
 
 It is a favourite maxim with the higher class of writers on 
 grammar, that the noun and verb are the only essential parts 
 of speech ; but they do not demonstrate in what manner a 
 communication of ideas could be effected by these means. 
 They should give a specimen of intelligible composition, con- 
 sisting entirely of nouns and verbs, and not have recourse to 
 those words which they profess to consider as only convenient, 
 but not indispensable. If the verb be simply a word which 
 affirms, and not the attribute which is affirmed of the noun, 
 we do not hesitate to pronounce such a theory impracticable. 
 But while grammarians mistake the predicate for the verb, 
 because affirmation is frequently conjoined with the attribute, 
 they may indeed deceive themselves and others in the belief 
 that language might consist only of nouns and verbs. Per- 
 mitting, however, the indulgence of this misconception, let 
 us inquire in what manner they prove the subordinate utility 
 of the other parts of speech. 
 
 "The pronoun" says Dr. Crombie, "is clearly a substi- 
 tute for the noun ; it cannot, therefore, be deemed essential. 
 The adjective, expressing merely the property or quality in 
 concreto without affirmation, may be dispensed with, the 
 connection of a substance with a quality or property being 
 expressible by the noun and verb. Thus, a good man is 
 equivalent to a man with, or join, goodness. Adverbs, which 
 have been termed attributes of the second order, are nothing 
 but abbreviations, as here for in this place, bravely for brave- 
 like ; these, therefore, cannot be considered essentials in 
 language. In the same manner it might be shewn that all 
 parts of speech, noun and verb excepted, are either substi- 
 tutes or abbreviations, convenient indeed, but not indis- 
 pensably requisite." 
 
 We will not ask. whether the foregoing illustrations are 
 proofs of the hypothesis, which the writer maintains, but we 
 will proceed to examine the truth of that proposition which 
 has hitherto misled some of our most reputable philologists. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 15 
 
 The pronoun appears the least essential part of speech \ 
 but let any one, who has occasion to speak of himself, sub- 
 stitute his proper name instead of the pronoun 7", and, in 
 most cases, he would fail to make himself understood ; but 
 the utility, if not the indispensable necessity, of personal 
 pronouns is evident from the fact that the proper names of 
 individuals who converse are not always known, and, if pro- 
 nouns were abolished, the preliminary of fixing names must 
 be settled before strangers could carry on a conversation. The 
 indispensable use of adjectives and definitives can, however, 
 be more clearly demonstrated. 
 
 "If it were possible," says Mr. Locke, " that every par- 
 ticular thing should have a distinct particular name, it would 
 be useless, because it would not serve to the chief end of lan- 
 guage. Men would in vain heap up names of particular things 
 that would not serve them to communicate their thoughts. 
 Men learn names, and use them in talk with others, only 
 that they may be understood, which is then only done when 
 by use, or consent, the sound I make by the organs of speech 
 excites in another man's mind who hears it the idea I apply 
 to it in mine. This cannot be done by names applied to 
 particular things, whereof I alone having the ideas in my 
 mind, the names of them could not be significant or intel- 
 ligible to another who was not acquainted with all those very , 
 particular things which had fallen under my notice." 
 
 "Now from this necessity of general terms," observes 
 Mr. Tooke, " follows immediately the necessity of the 
 article* whose business it is to reduce their generality, and 
 upon occasion, to enable us to employ general terms for 
 particulars. 
 
 The origin of the composition of ideas may be traced to 
 that act of the mind by which it is enabled to attribute 
 qualities or circumstances to nouns. Every simple propo- 
 sition, whether true or false, is the result of comparison. 
 Thus a man is called 'good or bad, in proportion as his 
 conduct corresponds to the abstract notions of the speaker, 
 in reference to the import of the terms goodness and badness ; 
 
 * Notwithstanding this concession, Mr. Tooke adopts the principle that 
 the noun and verb are the only necessary parts of speech. 
 
16 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 he may possess the quality ascribed to him but he cannot be 
 said to be that quality; for this, in every case where the 
 terms were not synonymous, would imply a gross absurdity — 
 as man is goodness, woman is gentleness. 
 
 When we say virtue is happiness — vice is misery, — we 
 speak figuratively, but not correctly, for happiness is the 
 result of virtue, and misery the consequence of vice ; but if 
 we affirm that virtue is amiable, and vice detestable, we speak 
 correctly, for amiable and detestable are the names of attributes 
 predicated as existing in the nouns, and these qualities not 
 being made the subjects of affirmation, the mind does not 
 recognise them as existing distinct from their substantives, 
 but as inherent, and forming a part of the ideas represented 
 by the words virtue and vice. 
 
 Our knowledge of the nature of any object of thought can 
 extend no farther than to the perception of the several attributes 
 connected with such object, for we know and distinguish 
 things only by their qualities. The composition of terms is 
 the consequence of the composition of ideas, and thence the 
 true source of abbreviation. The imperfection of language 
 is, however, so great, that several terms are sometimes re- 
 quired, in order to express a complex idea ; — as, " a man 
 that has not music in his soul/' " a truly benevolent mind," 
 " a virtuous woman." 
 
 It is no argument against this subserviency of terms to 
 ideas to say that single words which represent complex ideas 
 may be resolved into more simple terms, each of which may 
 represent a distinct idea, for the object denominated by the 
 single term requires the whole of the simple terms to complete 
 the sign by which that particular idea is to be represented: — 
 thus, a holy man and a saint are equivalent names; "one who 
 dies for religion " is a martyr ; and " a cruel and oppressive 
 ruler " is a tyrant. 
 
 Now Mr. Tooke affirms that the composition of ideas is 
 merely a contrivance of language, and that the only compo- 
 sition is in the terms. This opinion is so contrary to the 
 experience of every one who has attentively considered the 
 operations of the human mind, and the ideas with which it 
 is impressed, that it would not deserve notice if it were not 
 used by the author as an argument in favour of his Theory 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 17 
 
 of Language. It will be seen that Mr. Tooke considers ideas 
 to be subservient to terms, whereas the converse of the pro- 
 position is generally admitted, for " Language signifies the 
 expression of our ideas by certain articulate sounds, which 
 are used as the signs of those ideas." 
 
 There are very few words which represent pure and un- 
 compounded ideas, but this does not prove that the composi- 
 tion of ideas is the result of abbreviation of terms ; for the 
 names of complex ideas are as necessary in recording our 
 thoughts as are the names of those simple ideas from which 
 the complex are derived. 
 
 Mr. Tooke affirms that " the only composition is in the 
 terms, and that it is as improper to speak of a complex idea 
 as it would be to call a constellation a complex star, and that 
 they are not ideas, but merely terms which are general and 
 abstract." 
 
 In answer to the assertions of Mr. Tooke, we may remark 
 that the words constellation, mob, city, &c, are the repre- 
 sentatives of as distinct single objects of thought as the terms 
 star and man, and it would be as absurd to call a mob a com- 
 plex man, or a city a complex house, as it is to deny that 
 constellation and city are the names of complex single ideas. 
 For the word mob, or constellation, or city, represents the 
 whole as a collection, without reference to the individuals 
 which compose that collection. Hence the difference of 
 agreement in nouns of multitude : when the complex idea is 
 present in the mind of the speaker, the verb is singular, and 
 agrees with the abstract noun which represents the idea, 
 formed by viewing a collection of individuals as a whole or 
 entire object. But it is by this kind of sophistry that Mr. 
 Tooke has attempted to impose upon his readers. 
 
 " All words/' says Mr. Tooke, " are the names of things ; 
 for that is not a word which is not the name of a thing ; but 
 a noun substantive is the name of a thing, and nothing more." 
 If this reasoning be correct, then, the interjections are names 
 of things, — for they are both sounds and signs ; yet few will 
 allow that they represent objects of thought, even when 
 they are artificially employed ; therefore, they (although signs 
 significant of emotions) are not the names of things, nor do 
 the words by which they are expressed denote distinct ideas. 
 
 c 
 
18 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Let us proceed to examine how Mr. Tooke makes the 
 adjective " a noun and something more." 
 
 "Good represents all the ideas signified by the term good- 
 ness ; and all the difference between a substantive (as 
 goodness) and its corresponding adjective (good) is, that by 
 some small difference of termination, we are enabled, when 
 we employ the sign of an idea, to communicate at the same 
 time to the hearer that such sign is then meant to be added 
 to another sign, in such a manner as that the two signs to- 
 gether may answer the purpose of one complex term, and 
 this contrivance is merely an abbreviation in the sorts of 
 words, to supply the want of an abbreviation in terms. " 
 
 Now this contrivance, which Mr. Tooke seems to think 
 so lightly of, is just sufficient to signify that the noun adjec- 
 tive means something less* as well as something more than it 
 did when it stood only for the name of a thing, for it takes 
 away the notion of the separate existence of the attribute, 
 and by thus lessening its force of signification, renders it fit 
 to be associated with a noun, and the noun and its attribute 
 supply the want of a complex term ; and what but the com- 
 position of ideas, and the impossibility of finding a distinct 
 name for every individual object of perception, has produced 
 this necessity for adjectives in language. 
 
 The example given by Mr. Tooke, in proof that an adjec- 
 tive and its noun are equally names of things, and convey 
 distinct ideas to the mind, will perhaps convince the reader 
 of the error of such an opinion. 
 
 Ex. — " A holy man. Here is a difference of termination 
 in one sign, holiness, to show us that it is to be joined to 
 another sign, man, and that these two together are to serve 
 the purpose of one complex term. In this last instance our 
 language enables us to exchange them both for one complex 
 term, which we cannot do with good man, and instead of a 
 holy man to say a saint." 
 
 We need scarcely here repeat, that whatever words are 
 used to define a noun, these, with the noun, are equivalent 
 to a complex term, and are to be taken as the sign of a 
 complex idea. 
 
 * " Quodlibet suhstantivum adjective positum df.gf.nkuat in adjeotivum." 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 19 
 
 Mr. Tooke proceeds: — " In some cases our language is so 
 deficient as not to enable us to use either of these methods, 
 when we want to express a certain collection of ideas to- 
 gether, and we then have recourse sometimes to prepositions, 
 and sometimes to another expedient. If we speak, we do it 
 by joining the terms close in pronunciation; if we write, we 
 do it by using a mark of junction, thus -, which mark is 
 not a word, nor a letter, because it is not a sign of a sound, 
 but is itself what a word should be, the immediate sign of an 
 idea, with this difference, that it is conveyed to the eye only, 
 not to the ear." 
 
 Mr. Tooke here affirms that the hyphen, which is a sign 
 only to the eye, is nevertheless the representative of an idea; 
 now we all know that the hyphen is used merely to show 
 that one word is to be joined to another, and that two or 
 more terms so united form a complex term : but this sign of 
 our intention or desire to have such terms united, is not the 
 sign of an idea, and it is only necessary when we communi- 
 cate our thoughts to others in writing. 
 
 The predicating verb, or that word which simply affirms, 
 is also a mere sign. It is neither the name of a thing, nor 
 the representative of an idea; yet it is so essential to the 
 communication of thought, that grammarians denominate it 
 the "chief word" in every sentence. There can be no propo- 
 sition without the sign of affirmation, but it does not follow 
 that a distinct word is necessary when this sign is required. 
 The juxta-position of the noun and the attribute, or a modi- 
 fication of the latter, is often sufficient, and this union of the 
 sign with a noun denotes activity, or state of being, and has 
 given rise to that numerous class of words called verbs, so 
 called because the force of affirmation is often included in 
 the attribute, as he walks, for he is walking ; the horse trots, 
 for the horse is trotting. 
 
 Some grammarians," says Dr. Jones, " overlooking the 
 force of juxta-position, and judging of the importance of the 
 substantive verb from its frequent use in modern speech, 
 have hence supposed it absolutely necessary to the existence 
 of language, and that no proposition can be communicated 
 without it. But if those critics had been conversant with, 
 and drawn their inferences from, the more ancient lan- 
 
 c 2 
 
20 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 guages, they would not have advanced such a groundless 
 assertion. In Hebrew the substantive verb is comparatively 
 of rare occurrence, and its place is supplied by the colloca- 
 tion of the terms to be connected, a principle in itself 
 extremely simple, and suggested by the great law of the 
 human mind. In those derived immediately from the 
 Hebrew, it is used oftener, yet not so often as in modern 
 tongues ; and I know not whether it be a fact, capable of 
 proof, that the earlier Greek writers, whose situations enabled 
 them to be conversant with the Egyptian or the Asiatic 
 tongues, are less frequent in its use than the later Greeks. 
 But, be this as it may, it appears to be certain that the 
 usual collocation of the substantive verb, either in the begin- 
 ning or end of a clause, and not in the middle, arose from a 
 desire of keeping together words that are related as subject 
 and predicate." 
 
 From this we perceive that the word which denotes affir- 
 mation is not so essential for the communication of thought 
 as those terms expressing objects and attributes, and this is 
 the case with all those words which are merely signs, or have 
 no determinate meaning, being known only by their use. 
 
 " No simple word," says Mr.Tooke, " can imply assertion. 
 Till one single thing can be found to be a couple, one single 
 word cannot make an ad-sersion, or an c^-firmation, for 
 there is joining in that operation, and there can be no 
 junction of one thing." 
 
 Mr. Tooke appears to have fallen into the error of gram- 
 marians, and has included the predicate or attribute with the 
 sign that unites it with the subject; but surely a very slight 
 knowledge of the structure of language, or the rules of logic, 
 will inform us that the copula frequently implies nothing 
 more than mere assertion ; nor can this sign mean a couple 
 when it merely unites two terms, which the mind had 
 previously associated in the composition of its ideas.* 
 
 But the verb to be sometimes implies existence, and it is 
 then the sign of that idea, and represents while it affirms that 
 
 * This property of the verb to be has been noticed by grammarians. " It 
 appears" says Mr. Lewis, " that this verb, when placed after or before a 
 noun or pronoun, only places it in a situation or makes it capable of being 
 joined to something else. " 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 21 
 
 attribute in the subject. " What is is," says Mr. Locke, 
 " and it is impossible for the same thing to be, and not to be." 
 
 In this example the copula implies existence, as well as 
 affirmation, and may be supplied by that verb, viz. " What 
 exists, exists, and it is impossible for the same thing to exist, 
 and not to exist; but this exchange cannot take place when 
 the predicating verb is used merely as a copula, and the 
 notion of existence is not included. 
 
 "By removing the sign," says Mr. Harris, "by which 
 assertion is implied, the verb is destroyed." This proves 
 that the essence of the verb consists in affirmation. The 
 attribute is called a participle, when it is distinct from the 
 verb, and when it includes the notions of time and activity. 
 This can only be the case when the sign of affirmation is 
 also expressed, as he is tired, they are travelling. When the 
 attribute is joined to a noun it becomes an adjective, as 
 tired horses, wearied travellers. 
 
 The constant effort of the mind, while communicating its 
 thoughts, is to express its ideas by signs, significant of the 
 combinations of objects and their attributes as they exist in 
 the mind, and to form complex terms for complex ideas; 
 but in order to explain the different combinations, and the 
 relation which one idea bears to another, or one collection of 
 ideas to another collection, certain words are necessary, the 
 most essential of which is the sign of affirmation ; next to this 
 in importance, in the construction of sentences, are the pre- 
 positions and conjunctions; but as grammarians have not 
 attempted to show how these words may be dispensed with, 
 we shall, for the present, decline the task of proving their 
 indispensable utility. 
 
 Adverbs follow the same rule as adjectives. They are 
 added to other words to increase or diminish the signification, 
 and thus supply the want of more appropriate complex 
 terms. They denote, more accurately, the degrees of qualities, 
 and the manner of action, and could not be dispensed with 
 unless new words, or an increase of termination pointed out 
 the addition made to or the modification of the original 
 idea. 
 
 Some authors imagine that because adverbs may be ex- 
 pressed by a circumlocution, or be resolved into other parts 
 
22 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE, 
 
 of speech, they are not therefore essential to language. But 
 independently of the adverbial signification of the phrases, 
 "in a high degree/' "in a bravelike manner," we find the 
 noun and its attributes attended by a preposition, and this 
 sufficiently demonstrates that the indeclinable parts of speech, 
 or equivalent phrases, are essential to language. 
 
 Mr. Tooke has laid great stress on the manner of signifi- 
 cation, and intimates that we are to acquire our knowledge 
 of the meaning and nature of words by attending to their 
 manner of signification. But he should have explained what 
 is meant by the manner of signification, and wherein it 
 differs from the signification itself. 
 
 The manner of signification, if it mean any thing, appears 
 to amount to this, — a modification of an idea necessarily 
 requires a modification in the term which represents that 
 idea, and that the composition and modification of terms is 
 the result of the composition and modification of ideas. For 
 abbreviation in language, "for the sake of despatch," occurs 
 only when some word or words are omitted, being (to use a 
 grammarian's phrase) understood ; but this is a very different 
 kind of abbreviation from that which arises from the com- 
 plexity of ideas, where a complex idea includes many simple 
 ideas, and is sometimes represented by a single word. 
 
 Mr. Tooke was right in his observation, that all words were 
 not immediately the signs of things or of ideas; but he seems 
 to have erred greatly when he denied the necessity of the 
 several parts of speech. Many words in common use are 
 abbreviations, while some are signs of other words, used for 
 the sake of despatch. Yet attributes require appropriate 
 terms, significant of their limited force, and their peculiar 
 manner of signification. Such words are comprehended 
 under verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Definitives answer the 
 purpose of proper names, and pronouns are put for other 
 words. 
 
 Our perceptions steal upon us so early in life, and are so 
 soon associated with words, that it is with difficulty we per- 
 suade ourselves there is no necessary connection between 
 ideas, and the signs which represent them. To give names 
 to individual objects was probably the first step towards 
 establishing a primitive language; but a mere catalogue of 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 23 
 
 names would not be sufficient to enable a man to communicate 
 his thoughts; other signs are indispensably necessary; and 
 those who tell us that " if we had a distinct name for every 
 individual object of sensation or thought, language would 
 then be composed purely of proper names," should show us 
 how these names could be arranged, so as to render their 
 several relations distinct and intelligible. Until this has 
 been accomplished we may reasonably infer that the asser- 
 tions of Mr. Tooke and others on this point are unfounded, 
 and tend only to mislead those who wish to acquire a cor- 
 rect knowledge of the principles and structure of language. 
 We shall, therefore, adhere to the established classification 
 of words, and proceed to notice, severally, the parts of speech, 
 in the order which they have been given at the commence- 
 ment of this chapter. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE ARTICLE. 
 
 " Without the article, or some equivalent invention, men could not com- 
 municate their thoughts at all." — Horne Tooke. 
 
 " The use of the articles a and the in English is to convert general terms 
 into particular ones. This idea of particularity, as a quality or property 
 of a noun, ia one of the primary ideas suggested by these articles, and 
 the other is that of its appertaining to some particular noun sub- 
 stantive, without which it is not intelligible." — Darwin. 
 
 A slight acquaintance with the principles of language 
 will convince any one how vague the usual description of 
 this part of speech is when confined to the terms a and the. 
 " Articles," says Mr. Murray, " are words put before nouns, 
 to point them out, and to show how far their signification 
 extends." 
 
 This definition applies to all words which restrict or point 
 out a noun, and individuation cannot therefore be considered 
 exclusively the characteristic distinction of articles. The 
 specific properties of these words remain undefined. 
 
 " Had we a distinct name for every individual object of 
 sensation or thought, language would then be composed 
 purely of proper names, and thus become too great a load for 
 any memory to retain. Language, therefore, must be com- 
 posed of general signs, that it may be remembered; and as 
 all our sensations and perceptions are of single objects, it 
 must also be capable of denoting individuals. Now, what- 
 ever mode be adopted to render general terms significant of 
 individual objects, or whatever auxiliaries be employed for 
 this purpose, the general term, with its individuating word, 
 must be regarded as a substitute for a proper name. Thus, 
 man is a general term, to denote the whole of a species; if I 
 say "the man," "this man," "that man," it is obvious that 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 25 
 
 the words the, this, and that, termed definitives, serve with 
 the general term, as a substitute for the proper name of the 
 individual."* 
 
 From the preceding observations we learn that articles 
 supply the place of proper names; but grammarians, over- 
 looking the economy of words, have excluded many from 
 this class, because the terms imply a more extensive mean- 
 ing than the simple definitives a and the. 
 
 The necessity of articles, or some equivalent invention, is 
 generally admitted by Etymologists, though, at the same 
 time, they deny the article to be a necessary part of speech. 
 
 "The visible and individual substances of nature," says 
 Mr. Harris, " are infinitely more numerous than for each to 
 admit of a particular name. To supply this defect, when 
 any individual occurs which either wants a proper name, or 
 whose proper name is not known, we ascertain it as well as 
 we can, by referring it to its species, or if its species be 
 unknown, then at least to some genus. "f 
 
 But this reference is not sufficient, for to whatever species 
 or genus the object may be referred, it still wants an essential 
 characteristic, by which it may be known from every other 
 of its kind ; therefore when a general term is used to denote 
 an individual, it is necessary first to attach some circumstance 
 or quality to that particular object, by which it may be 
 identified; this property or quality being affixed, the definite 
 article will recal the circumstance, and will afterwards serve 
 as a proper name to distinguish that particular individual 
 from others of its kind. For the article causes a review in 
 the mind, and refers to something previously known con- 
 cerning the object represented by the general term. 
 
 The use of the articles a and the has been thus explained 
 and exemplified by Mr. Harris: — 
 
 "A respects our primary perception, and denotes indivi- 
 duals as unknown; the respects our secondary perception, 
 and denotes individuals as known. To explain by an example 
 — I see an object pass by which I never saw till now. What 
 do I say? — There goes a man with a long beard. The man 
 departs, and returns a week after; what do I say then? — 
 
 * Dr. Crombie, — Etymology and Syntax of the English Language, p. 18. 
 t Hermes, book ii. chap. 1. 
 
26 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 There goes the man with the long beard. The article only 
 is changed, the rest remains unaltered. Yet mark the force 
 of this apparently minute change: — The individual once 
 vague is now recognized as something known, and that 
 merely by the efficacy of this latter article, which tacitly 
 insinuates a kind of previous acquaintance, by referring the 
 present perception to a like perception already past."* 
 
 The indefinite articlef may be considered as a name appli- 
 cable to each individual of a class or species, but attached to 
 none. It applies to no particular object, comprehended 
 under the general term. It cannot, therefore, identify the 
 individual, since it refers to no peculiar property of the 
 noun; for every tree may be called a tree, and every plant a 
 plant, when the general notion of its genus or species is 
 alone considered. But every tree is not understood when 
 we say the tree, nor is every plant the plant, for the mind is 
 directed by the article the to some particular individual of 
 the species, which the speaker has previously denned, or is 
 about to particularize by a subsequent definition, as— 
 
 " The man that hath no music in himself, 
 
 And is not moved with concord of sweet sound, 
 Is fit for treasons. 
 
 Here the words in italics define the noun, and justify the 
 application of the definite article. 
 
 The indefinite article is so called because it does not 
 define the noun, nor does it refer the mind to any particular 
 individual of the class, which the general term, in its unli- 
 mited application, comprehends. In the example adduced 
 by Mr. Harris, we find that the man and his beard had both 
 been recognized, and therefore the definite article (the) is 
 properly used before the two nouns; for there goes the man 
 with a long beard, would imply that the man had been pre- 
 viously known by some other circumstance, and that the 
 beard was a new object, or primary perception. But let us 
 
 * Hermes, book ii. chap. 1. 
 
 t "It is the nature of both the articles to determine or limit the thing 
 spoken of. A determines it to be one single thing of the kind, leaving it 
 still uncertain which ; the determines which it is, or of many which they 
 are." — Murray. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 27 
 
 illustrate the properties of both articles by another example, 
 — "A critic is like a dog at a feast/' 
 
 In this example the three nouns are spoken of indefinitely, 
 and the general terms are only so far limited by the article 
 that they may represent individuals, and not the classes to 
 which those individuals severally belong; nor will the ad- 
 dition of adjectives render their individuality determinate. 
 
 Ex. 2.— A true critic is like a hungry dog, at a sumptuous 
 feast. 
 
 Here the general terms are limited to distinct classes by 
 the adjectives, but the individuals are still undefined. The 
 particular critic, dog, and feast, are unknown. They have 
 received no particular names, nor have any circumstances 
 been attached to them by which they may be distinguished 
 from other individuals of the same classes, possessing the 
 like qualities. Nor will the definite article identify the pre- 
 cise individuals. 
 
 Ex. 3. — The critic is like the dog at the feast. 
 
 Here the definitions or peculiar characteristics of the 
 nouns are still wanting, and the particular objects are there- 
 fore not recognized. For it may be asked, — what critic? 
 what dog? what feast? This leads us to conclude that the 
 article the merely supplies the place of the definitive/either 
 expressed or understood, and in this respect it bears a 
 striking analogy to the personal and other pronouns. 
 
 The article a separates a noun indefinitely from its class, 
 and without any distinct reference to number, as a plant, a 
 tree, a man. The expressions, one plant, one tree, one man, 
 include the idea of quantity, and would therefore be felt to 
 express more than the speaker intended. The numeral adjec- 
 tive one, is however occasionally employed in the indefinite 
 manner of the article, and without having any distinct 
 reference to numbers, as " Whachum, according to Sir Roger 
 L'Estrange, was one Thomas Jones, a foolish Welshman. 
 According to another commentator, he is said to have been 
 one Richard Green." This use of the numeral, however, 
 cannot be recommended for its elegance. Dr, Crombie has, 
 with his usual ability, demonstrated the difference between 
 the numeral adjective one, and the articles a or an. 
 
 " Though our words," says the learned writer, " are 
 
28 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 general, all our perceptions are individual, having single 
 existences for their objects. It is often necessary, however, 
 to express two, three, or more of these individual existences, 
 and hence arises the use of that species of words which have 
 been called numerals, that is, words denoting number. To 
 signify unity, or one of a class, our forefathers employed ae 
 or ane, as ae man, ane ox. When unity, or the number one, 
 as opposed to two or more, was to be expressed, the emphasis 
 would naturally be laid on the word significant of unity ; and 
 when unity was not so much the object as the species or 
 kind, the term expressive of unity would naturally be unem- 
 phatical; and hence ae, by celerity of pronunciation, would 
 become a, and ane be shortened into an. The words a and 
 an are now termed indefinite articles; it is clear, however, 
 they are truly numerals, belonging to the same class with 
 two, three, four, &c. , or, perhaps, more properly, these 
 numerals may be considered as abbreviations, for the re- 
 peated expression of the term one. By whatever name 
 these terms a, an, may be designed, it seems evident that 
 they were originally synonymous with the name of unity, or 
 rather themselves names of unity, emphasis only distinguish- 
 ing whether unity or the species were chiefly intended. 
 Hence a or an cannot be joined with a plural noun." 
 
 " Some grammarians, indeed, have asserted, that in every 
 example where a or an occurs, the term one may be substi- 
 tuted in its stead, without, in the least degree, injuring the 
 sense. As far as the primary idea denoted by these words 
 is concerned, this opinion is doubtless incontrovertible, for 
 they each express unity; but with regard to the secondary 
 or implied ideas which these terms convey, the difference is 
 obvious. An example will illustrate this, — If I say, Will 
 one man be able to carry this burden so far? I evidently 
 oppose one to more, and the answer might be, No ; but two 
 men will. Let us substitute the term a, and say, Will a man 
 be able to carry this burden? Ts the idea nowise changed 
 by this alteration? I apprehend it is, for the answer might 
 naturally be, No, -but a horse will. I have here substituted 
 a for one, the converse will equally show that the terms are 
 by no means mutually convertible or strictly synonymous. 
 If, instead of saying ' A horse, a horse, a kingdom for a 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 29 
 
 horse !' 1 should say, ' one horse, one horse, one kingdom 
 for one horse;' the sentiment, I conceive, would not be 
 strictly the same. In both expressions the species is named, 
 and in both one of that species is demanded, but with this 
 difference, that in the former the name of the species is the 
 emphatic word, and it opposes that species to every other ; 
 in the latter, unity of object seems the leading idea — ' one 
 kingdom for one horse.' In this respect our language 
 appears to me to have a decided superiority over those lan- 
 guages where one word performs the office of what we term 
 an article, and at the same time denotes the idea of unity. 
 Donner moi un livre, means either give me one book, i.e. not 
 two or more books, or give me a book, that is, a book, not 
 something else."* 
 
 A noun appellative, without an article to restrict its signi- 
 fication, represents the whole class, without referring to the 
 individuals comprehended under the general term, as " Lan- 
 guage consists of intelligible signs." But when a proper name, 
 or an equivalent adjective, is added to an appellative, the 
 article is no longer required, as " English language consists 
 chiefly of general terms." Usage, however, permits the 
 article the to be placed before the adjective; but as there is 
 but one English language, properly so called, the article is 
 superfluous, unless the noun be thought to require an addi- 
 tional term to render it more emphatic, or to distinguish the 
 English language from its dialects. The adjective, English, 
 serves as a definitive to language; but should the same lan- 
 guage be again mentioned, the article the would sufficiently 
 define it, as " English language is chiefly composed of 
 general terms, and in this respect the language differs but 
 little from other languages." The generally refers to some 
 known object, or to some definitive, either expressed or 
 understood ; by definitive, we mean that word, or combina- 
 tion of words, by which a noun is separated and distinguished 
 from every other of its species: for example, " It is by no 
 means the same thing to assert that pleasure is a good, or 
 the good; the first only makes it a common object of desire, 
 upon a level with many others which daily raise our wishes ; 
 
 * Etymology and Syntax, pp. 53, 54. 
 
30 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 the last supposes it that supreme and sovereign good — the 
 ultimate scope of all our actions and endeavours."* 
 
 When no particular object, therefore, is referred to by 
 the speaker, the indefinite article limits the signification of 
 the general term to an individual. Individuation is the 
 extent of its use, though its primary meaning may be that 
 of unity. It separates, but does not particularise, the noun 
 to which it is attached, while the both separates and limits 
 the noun, and often supplies the place of a proper name. 
 
 Both the articles may be applied to the same appellative 
 in a compound sentence, but the indefinite can be used only 
 once, and not after the noun has been associated with any 
 circumstance, by which it may be known from others of its 
 kind. 
 
 Ex.- — A hare ran across a field, belonging to a farmer; 
 but the hare had scarcely quitted the field before the farmer 
 entered it, with a gun in his hand : the gun was loaded, and 
 the hare would probably have been killed had it loitered in 
 the field. 
 
 Attempts have been made by some grammarians to class 
 under the term definitive all words which are used to define 
 nouns; — the words one, two, three, all, every, few, both, each, 
 either, neither, whether, or, other, several, some, many, first, 
 second, third, former, latter, this, that, are by them called 
 definitives, because when these words are placed before 
 nouns they serve to define or point them out; but if this 
 arrangement were adopted, we see no reason why adjectives, 
 and participles used as adjectives, should be excluded from 
 the class of definitives; for these words are employed to 
 describe nouns, and to limit the signification of general 
 terms. 
 
 An eminent writer has remarked, that "It would be 
 advantageous if all words modifying nouns were classed 
 under adjectives;" but the primary and more important use 
 of adjectives appears to preclude the practicability of such an 
 arrangement,, 
 
 The peculiar force and advantages of the articles a and the 
 have been pointed out by Dr. Hugh Blair, in his Lectures 
 
 * Hermes, book i. chap. . 1 . 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 31 
 
 on Rhetoric, and the following extract from that work will 
 convince the reader that, in this respect at least, our lan- 
 guage excels the Latin: — 
 
 " Articles contribute much to the clearness and precision 
 of language. In order to illustrate this, remark what dif- 
 ference there is in the meaning of the following expressions, 
 in English, depending wholly on the different employment 
 of the articles : — ' The son of a king, — the son of the king, — 
 a son of the king's.' Each of these three phrases has an 
 entirely different meaning, which I need not explain, because 
 any one who understands the language conceives it clearly at 
 first hearing, through the different application of the articles 
 a and the. Whereas, in Latin, ' Filius regis,' is wholly unde- 
 termined ; and to explain in which of these three senses it is 
 to be understood (for it may bear any of them), a circumlo- 
 cution of several words must be used. In the same manner, 
 'Are you a king?' ' are you the king?' are questions of quite 
 separate import, which, however, are confounded together in 
 the Latin phrase, 'Esne tu rex.' 'Thou art a man' is a 
 very general and harmless position ; but ' thou art the man' 
 is an assertion capable, we know, of striking terror and 
 remorse into the heart.' "* 
 
 SYNTAX OF ARTICLES. 
 
 The indefinite article is used before nouns in the singular 
 number only, as a woman, an angel, or before a noun of mul- 
 titude, when the individuals represented by the term are 
 collectively considered, as an army, a herd, a score, a thou- 
 
 The definite article is used before nouns in the singular or 
 in the plural number, as the army, the armies, the man, the 
 men. 
 
 A noun appellative, without an article to limit its signifi- 
 cation, applies to the species only, and not to any individual 
 or individuals, otherwise than as belonging to such species, 
 as " Men are more courageous than women." 
 
 * Blair — Structure of Language, Lect. viii. 
 
32 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 "The natural associators with articles," says Mr. Harris, 
 '■ are all those common appellatives which denote genera or 
 species of beings. It is these which, by assuming a different 
 article, serve either to explain an individual upon its first being 
 perceived, or else to indicate, upon its return, a recognition, 
 or repeated knowledge. Those are the men, means, those are 
 individuals of which we possess some previous knowledge. 
 Those are men, — the article apart means no more than they 
 are so many vague and uncertain individuals; just as the 
 phrase, a man, in the singular, implies one of the same 
 number." 
 
 Remarks on the use of the Indefinite Article. 
 
 Many writers repeat the indefinite article when words 
 joined by a conjunction require a different form of the 
 article. Instead of saying, " Mary is an amiable and vir- 
 tuous woman," it would be considered more correct to say, 
 " Mary is an amiable and a virtuous woman." The last 
 form of expression is also more emphatic. 
 
 But when adjectives or nouns refer to the same individual, 
 and the construction does not require a change in the form 
 of the definitive, it is better to omit the article before the last 
 noun or adjective, — as "A wise and prudent man," — The 
 secretary and treasurer of the institution," — " The great 
 moralist and philosopher." 
 
 A rather unphilosophical method has been recommended 
 by Dr. Irving, and other grammarians, in cases of impro- 
 priety arising from ellipsis of the article : — 
 
 " Sometimes," says that writer, " the ellipsis is improperly 
 applied to nouns of different numbers, as — a beautiful field 
 and trees. In this case, we should use another adjective, as 
 — a beautiful field, and fine trees; or put the nouns in the 
 same number, and say — beautiful fields, and fine trees." 
 
 But it may be asked, What if the trees be not fine? or 
 suppose the speaker has neither intention nor motive for 
 describing them? or how can a field, with the least shadow 
 of propriety, be made plural? This rule of grammar is as 
 false in principle as it is in fact. A beautiful field with trees, 
 obviates the difficulty. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 33 
 
 The indefinite article sometimes has the meaning of each 
 or every, as ten shillings a bushel, i.e. each bushel; once a 
 year, i.e. every year. 
 
 The utility of this article as a definitive may be perceived 
 in the following example: — 
 
 " If miracles were again to be wrought in favour of 
 humanity, the most beneficial would be a common faith and 
 common language." It should be, a common language, i.e. 
 a universal language. 
 
 "The use of a" says Mr. Tooke, " after the word many, 
 is a corruption for of, and has no connection whatever with 
 the article a, i.e. one. Instead of this corrupt a, after many 
 was formerly written of, without the corruption, as — 
 
 'Ye spend a great many of words in vain/ 
 ' I have spoken a many of words,' 
 
 and innumerable instances may be produced of the same 
 manner of expression. As for the collective nature of the 
 idea that is confined to the word many: — many is indeed a 
 collective term, and may therefore be preceded by the article 
 a; but message is not a collective term, therefore many a 
 message is not right. It should be a many of messages." 
 
 Notwithstanding the observations of Mr. Tooke, the phrase 
 appears to be correct, and perhaps the only one that could 
 express, in so few words, the meaning of many messages sent 
 singly. The derivation of many, from miscere, to mix, to 
 mingle, tends rather to obscure the meaning of this idiom, 
 for the messages are neither mixed nor mingled, but sent 
 one by one, and distinct from each other, and are thus 
 scantled out by the writer, when he ingeniously places the 
 indefinite article between the collective term many and the 
 singular noun message; nor are the ideas of mixed, associated, 
 or company, implied by many, but the collective quantity is 
 alone referred to. 
 
 Mr. Murray's observations on this idiom are to the pur- 
 pose: — " The indefinite article is sometimes placed between 
 the adjective many and a singular noun, as — 
 
 ' Full many a gem, of purest ray serene, 
 The deep unfathomed caves of ocean bear; 
 Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 
 And waste its sweetness on the desert air.' 
 
34 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 In these lines, "many a gem," and "many a flower," 
 refer to many gems, and many flowers, separately, not 
 collectively, considered. 
 
 As the modification of the indefinite article is intended to 
 assist pronunciation, it should occur in those cases where 
 euphony requires it. 
 
 A is now used before all words beginning with a conso- 
 nant, and h aspirated, and likewise before words beginning 
 with u, pronounced long, and the dipthongs eu, ew, sounded 
 you; also before the word one, as a man, a heart, a union, 
 a university, a European, a ewe, and such a one. 
 
 It has been justly remarked, that sometimes a virtual 
 consonant exists at the beginning of a word, without being 
 written, as in union and once, where the ear catches the 
 initial sound of y and w, as younion and wunce. Before 
 such words it is customary to drop the final letter of the 
 article, at least in pronunciation, and there can be no good 
 reason for not writing — a union, a once beloved monarch. 
 
 An is used before all vowels, except in the cases before 
 mentioned, as — an essay, an island, an uproar. This primi- 
 tive form of the article is also retained before words begin- 
 ning with silent h, as — an hour, an honest man; and also 
 before the h aspirated, when the accent is on the second 
 syllable, as — an heroic action, an historical picture. 
 
 Remarks on the use of the Definite Article. 
 
 The definite article is sometimes used before an adjective, 
 to denote an individual eminently distinguished for some 
 particular quality, as— Aristides the just, John the divine, 
 Charles the bad ; or to denote a class of individuals expressed 
 by an adjective, used as a general term, as — the just; but if 
 the adjective be not construed, as a general term, the noun 
 understood is in the singular number, as — the just man. 
 
 " The gods love the modest, but hate the arrogant." In 
 this example the adjectives, modest and arrogant, with the 
 article, are equivalent to " modest men," " arrogant men," 
 and are thus construed in the original. 
 
 The definite article is often used before a general term, to 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 35 
 
 distinguish an individual from others of the same name, as — 
 John the baptist, John the evangelist, King Charles the 
 martyr, Bruce the traveller. The epithets in these examples 
 distinguish the individuals from others of the same name, 
 and not from individuals of the same kind; as — the traveller 
 distinguishes Bruce from other Bruces, not from other 
 travellers, for in this case the proper name is sufficient. 
 
 The definite article frequently indicates a general reference, 
 and denotes the character of a species, rather than a parti- 
 cular individual, as may be seen in the following examples: — 
 
 " It is precisely the sort of work we should have expected 
 from the author, in which the learning of the scholar and the 
 fancy of the novelist blend to illustrate the genius of the 
 poet." That is, the learning of a scholar and the fancy of 
 a novelist blend to illustrate the genius of a poet. 
 
 The is also used indefinitely, when an individual is taken 
 to represent a species, as — 
 
 "The poet, the moralist, and the divine, speak in the 
 praise of virtue." That is, poets, moralists, and divines, 
 speak in the praise of virtue. 
 
 In the following example, also, the definite article has a 
 more general reference than when it is applied to a known 
 individual: — 
 
 Read the grammar throughout often ; consult it on every 
 difficulty. 
 
 The particular grammar here alluded to is that used by 
 the student, and the definite article might have been sup- 
 plied by the more expressive definitive, your, — read your 
 grammar often. 
 
 Appellative nouns, restricted by this article, are occasionally 
 used emphatically, to denote individuals, as — the city, means 
 London; the speaker, a high officer in the British parlia- 
 ment. Thus, among the Greeks, the poet meant Homer, 
 and the stagerite meant Aristotle ; not that there were not 
 many poets beside Homer, and many stagerites beside 
 Aristotle, but none equally illustrious for their poetry and 
 philosophy. 
 
 The is used emphatically before adverbs in the compara- 
 tive and superlative degree, as — the wiser the better; this is 
 the best. Sometimes this article is used figuratively before 
 
 d2 
 
36 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE., 
 
 proper names, to denote indefinitely a class of individuals, 
 as — Goldsmith is a very pretty poet, but not to be com- 
 pared to the Popes, the Drydens, and the Otways. It is 
 occasionally put for a pronoun possessive, as — 
 
 " Ambition, half convicted of her folly, 
 
 Hangs down the head, and reddens at the tale." 
 
 Blair. 
 
 We shall conclude our observations on the articles, with a 
 few examples of inaccurate construction, chiefly selected 
 from Dr. Lowrh's Introduction to English Grammar: — 
 
 Ex. — " And I persecuted this way unto the death." — 
 Acts xxii. 4. 
 
 The apostle does not mean any particular sort of death, 
 but death in general; the definitive article, therefore, is im- 
 properly used. It ought to be — unto death — without any 
 article, agreeably to the original axpi $avarn. 
 
 But when a particular death, or the death of an individual, 
 is spoken of, an article is properly employed, as — " the 
 death of a traitor;" " the death of the righteous." 
 
 Ex. — " But Pythias were unjust, did he let Damon suffer 
 a death that the tyrant prepared only for Pythias." 
 
 Ex. — "When he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide 
 you into all truth." — John xvi. 13. 
 
 This translation signifies into all truth whatsoever, — into 
 truth of all kinds; very different from the meaning of the 
 Evangelist, and from the original, eig uxxaav tk]v aXrjdeiay, into 
 all the truth; that is, into all evangelical truth. 
 
 In the following passage, the distinction made by the 
 article between a particular truth, and truth in general, is still 
 more obvious. 
 
 Ex. "Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 
 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth."— John xviii. 38,39.* 
 
 Pilate alludes to truth as opposed to falsehood, and not to 
 the particular doctrine pre-eminently distinguished by the 
 name of the truth. 
 
 * Hag 6 &v k- THS AAH6EIA2, d/c«et /u« rfjg 0wvi/e. — Aiyu 
 ahru) 6 UiXarog TV k^iv AAH0EIA. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 37 
 
 Ex. — Truly this was the son of God. — Matt, xxvii. 54, 
 and Mark xv. 39. 
 
 " This translation supposes that the Roman centurion had 
 a proper and adequate notion of the character of Jesus, as 
 the son of God, in a peculiar and incommunicable sense; 
 whereas, it is probable, both from the circumstance of the 
 history, and from the expression of the original, that he only 
 meant to acknowledge him to be an extraordinary person, 
 and more than mere man, according to his own notion of 
 sons of gods in the Pagan theology. This is also more 
 agreeable to St. Luke's account of the same confession of the 
 centurion, — " Certainly this was Sacaio, — a righteous man," 
 not 6 AtKaio, — the just one. The same may be observed of 
 Nebuchadnezzar's words, (Dan. iii. 25.) — " And the form of 
 the fourth is like the son of God;" it ought to be by the 
 indefinite article, — like a son of God, b^ioia via) Qeu ; that is, 
 like an angel, according to Nebuchadnezzar's own account of 
 it, in the 28th verse, — " Blessed be God, who hath sent his 
 angel, and delivered his servants." See also Luke xix. 9. 
 
 " These remarks may serve to show the great importance 
 of the proper use of the article ; the near affinity there is 
 between the Greek article and the English definitive article; 
 and the excellence of the English language in this respect, 
 which, by means of its articles, does most precisely deter- 
 mine the extent of signification of common nouns; whereas 
 the Greek has only one article, and it has puzzled all the 
 grammarians to reduce the use of that to any clear and 
 certain rules." 
 
 "The perpetual use of the article," says Dr. Darwin, 
 " besides converting general terms into particular ones, con- 
 tributes much to the force and beauty of our language, from 
 another circumstance, — that abstracted ideas become so 
 readily personified, simply by the omission of it, which per- 
 haps renders the English language better adapted to poetry 
 than any other, ancient or modern." The following proso- 
 popseia from Shakespeare is thus beautiful — 
 
 " She let concealment like a worm i' ' the' bud 
 Feed on her damask cheek." 
 
 And the following line, translated from Juvenal by Dr. 
 
38 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Johnson, is much superior to the original, owing to the easy 
 personification, of worth and poverty, and the consequent 
 conciseness of it : — 
 
 " Difficile emergunt, quorum virtutibus obstat 
 Res angusta domi." — 
 
 " Slow rises worth by poverty depressed." 
 
 To these examples, given by Dr. Darwin, may be added 
 the following, in which, also, by the omission of the article, 
 adjectives are converted into nouns: — 
 
 " The wise and active conquer difficulties, 
 By daring to attempt them : sloth and folly 
 Shiver and shrink at sight of toil and hazard, 
 And make th' impossibility they fear." 
 
 Illustration of the use of the Definite Article. 
 
 As there are only two articles in the English language (an 
 being considered a mere modification of a,) a rule is not 
 requisite to distinguish these words from the other parts of 
 speech : — 
 
 THE MEDLEY OF THE GRAVE. 
 
 " Here are the wise, the gen : rous, and the brave ; 
 The just, the good, the worthless, the profane ; 
 The downright clown, and perfectly well-bred ; 
 The fool, the churl, the scoundrel, and the mean ; 
 The supple statesman, and the patriot stern ; 
 The wrecks of nations, and the spoils of time ; 
 With all the lumber of six thousand years." 
 
 Blair. 
 
 Illustration of the Indefinite Article. 
 
 BUTLER'S DESCRIPTION OF HUDIBRAS' TALENTS AS 
 A LOGICIAN. 
 
 " He was in Logic a great critic, 
 Profoundly skilled in analytic ; 
 He could distinguish and divide 
 A hair 'twixt south and south west side ; 
 On either which he would dispute, 
 Confute, change hands, and still confute ; 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 39 
 
 He'd undertake to prove, by force 
 
 Of argument, a man's no horse ; 
 
 He'd prove a buzzard is no fowl, 
 
 And that a lord may be an owl, 
 
 A calf an alderman, a goose a justice, 
 
 And rooks committee men and trustees ; 
 
 He'd run in debt by disputation, 
 
 And pay with ratiocination : — 
 
 All this by syllogism true, 
 
 In mood and figure he would do. 
 
 Canto i. v. 65—80. 
 
 These and other illustrations of the parts of speech are 
 given for such readers as may be yet unacquainted with the 
 classification of words. The foregoing illustrations will fur- 
 nish examples to familiarize, not only the articles, but also 
 nouns and adjectives, which, in the first quotation, are nearly 
 the only kinds of words employed with the definitive. 
 
 Before the practical part of grammar can be well under- 
 stood, it is indispensably necessary to acquire a facility in 
 distinguishing the different sorts of words. These extracts, 
 therefore, may serve as progressive parsing lessons, for those 
 who feel themselves deficient in this particular. 
 
 In the first illustration, here and perfectly are adverbs; 
 are, the verb, in the plural; and is a copulative conjunction; 
 of and with are prepositions. These words being known, the 
 nouns and adjectives will be readily distinguished, by those 
 who have perused the preceding chapter. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE NOUN. 
 
 A noun is the simple or complex, — the particular or general, — sign or 
 name of one or more ideas." — Horne Tooke. 
 
 A noun, or substantive, represents some individual con- 
 ception, and is either the name of an object which exists, or 
 the sign of an idea, resulting from the operations of the 
 human mind, as — man, life, immortality, virtue, army, par- 
 liament. 
 
 Every theme of men's thoughts, — whether it be an object 
 capable of affecting the senses, a mere creation of the 
 imagination, or a conception arising from abstract reason- 
 ing, — belongs to this class of words, as—jire, dragon, goodness, 
 temperance, reading, walking; to act, to work. A noun may- 
 be also known by making sense of itself. 
 
 " A noun may be considered to be at once the name of a 
 thing, and the sign of the idea. But these may be separated. 
 It may denote a thing without a correspondent idea, as 
 when we repeat that which we do not understand; or it may 
 denote an idea without a corresponding thing; such, for 
 instance, are abstract terms, representing ideal not positive 
 objects; such also are those words which express creatures 
 of the imagination." 
 
 From this it appears that nouns are the names of objects, 
 whether such objects have a real or imaginary existence. 
 They are likewise the arbitrary signs of ideas. 
 
 Nouns represent either simple or complex ideas ; but in 
 language they are. considered merely as the names of things, 
 whether the ideas they stand for are simple, compound, 
 complex, or collective. 
 
 Nouns are either proper or common. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 41 
 
 A proper name is the sign by which an individual is dis- 
 tinguished from the rest of the species to which it belongs, 
 as London, Thames, England. 
 
 A common name is applicable to every individual of the 
 class which it denotes, and is the sign of that idea, as river, 
 city, island, country. 
 
 There is this difference between a proper name and an 
 appellative, the former serves as a definitive, while the latter 
 always denotes the subject of our thoughts. Thus, London 
 is a large city, i.e. London City, where city is the theme and 
 not the individuating word London. 
 
 After a proper name has long been associated with a 
 general term, the latter is commonly omitted, as London, 
 Thames, England. The appellative is, however, sometimes 
 added, as London city, Thames river. As these nouns are 
 in apposition, they will not admit the sign of the possessive 
 case. The city of London, the river of Thames, are inac- 
 curate phrases, for the city is London, and not a city 
 belonging to London. The inaccuracy is perceived when 
 the relation is rendered more conspicuous, as London's city, 
 Thames' river. But if we say the people of England, no 
 impropriety is perceived, for people and England are distinct 
 objects; and though the latter noun is used as a definitive, 
 still it is not in apposition, but is equivalent to an adjective, 
 and may be supplied by its derivative, — the English people. 
 
 A name can no longer be strictly called proper when it 
 represents more than one individual, at least it cannot serve 
 the purpose for which proper names are given. When 
 several persons are called by the same name, some circum- 
 stance or epithet is necessary to distinguish one person of 
 that name from others of the same name, as John Smith, 
 the elder. 
 
 Substantives become adjectives when they are joined to a 
 noun, to qualify or define it, as — an oak tree, a gold watch, 
 a silver spoon. 
 
 Adjectives become nouns when used as names of classes 
 of species, collectively considered, as — the English, the 
 valiant, the wise, and the good. 
 
 "The oak, the pine, and the ash, are names of whole 
 classes of objects, each of which includes an immense num- 
 
42 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 ber of undistinguished individuals. Here, then, it appears 
 that though the formation of abstract or general conceptions 
 is supposed to be a difficult operation of the mind, such 
 conceptions must have entered into the very first formation 
 of language. For if we except only the proper names of 
 persons, such as Csesar, John, Peter, all the other sub- 
 stantive nouns which we employ in discourse are the names, 
 not of individual objects, but of very extensive genera or 
 species of objects, as — man, lion, house, river, &c. We are 
 not, however, to imagine that this invention of general or 
 abstract terms requires any great exertion of metaphysical 
 capacity, for by whatever steps the mind proceeds in it, it is 
 certain that when men have once observed resemblances 
 among objects, they are naturally inclined to call all those 
 which resemble one another by one common name, and of 
 course to class them under one species." — Blair. 
 To nouns belong gender, number, and case. 
 
 Gender. 
 
 The simplicity of the rules for denoting the genders of 
 nouns in English is an advantage few languages possess. 
 " The English and the Chinese are the only languages," says 
 Blair, " in which the distinction of gender is properly and 
 philosophically applied in the use of words, and confined, as 
 it ought to be, to mark the real distinctions of male and 
 female." 
 
 All nouns in English denoting males are masculine, those 
 which represent females are feminine, and all inanimate sub- 
 jects are neuter. Any departure from these rules is a breach 
 of the true principles upon which language is founded, and 
 tends only to cause misconception and error. For, surely, 
 nothing can be more absurd than to apply, on ordinary 
 occasions, the ideas of masculine and feminine to inanimate 
 objects, when common sense declares such nouns are neuter. 
 The ancients, who worshipped "stocks and stones," had 
 some excuse for this practice. They believed that the sun 
 was Phoebus, and that the moon was sister to that god, and 
 therefore they might, with some propriety, call the one a he, 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 43 
 
 and the other a she; but when we say of the sun, he is rising, 
 or of the moon, she is waning, it not only causes a confusion 
 in our ideas, but approaches very near to the style of the 
 most illiterate, who commonly make hes and shes of things 
 which a heathen would have blushed to rank among his 
 gods. 
 
 We cannot, therefore, agree with the grammarian who 
 affirms that the practice of assigning anomalous genders to 
 nouns, ''forms a singular and striking beauty in our language." 
 In prose it generally mars the sense, the mind being diverted 
 from the real subject while contemplating an imaginary 
 creation. "It is evident that neither reason nor nature has 
 any share in this matter, and that in assigning sex to inani- 
 mate things, the determination is purely fanciful." A few 
 examples will sufficiently demonstrate the absurdity of such 
 deviations from reason and common sense. 
 
 " It was reserved for Bacon to proclaim aloud to the ear 
 of Science that she could only hope to be regenerated by 
 first sacrificing herself on the altar of Truth, and that if ever 
 she took an upward flight, she must pass the fiery ordeal, 
 and rise like a Phoenix from her own ashes." 
 
 This may be considered fine writing, but the sense of 
 incorporating all the sciences into one, and forming a crea- 
 ture who was to listen to the voice of Bacon, — to attend to 
 his instructions, and ultimately to sacrifice herself at the altar 
 of Truth, that she might rise from her ashes like a Phoenix, — 
 is too unintelligible to pass for a poetical effort of the imagi- 
 nation, and is altogether inconsistent with the sobriety of 
 philosophical disquisition. 
 
 The following examples are from Dr. Campbell's Philo- 
 sophy of Rhetoric : — 
 
 Ex. — "The sphere of demonstration is narrow, but her 
 sway despotic ; her rival, with less power, has the empire of 
 the world. Society would perish without her, and human 
 nature become extinct." 
 
 The sphere of demonstration is, in this sentence, converted 
 into a female; and if the meaning of the writer has been 
 obscured by the personification, he has perhaps a still greater 
 claim to sublimity of expression. " For obscurity," says 
 Dr. Blair, *' is not unfavourable to the sublime. Though it 
 
44 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 render the object indistinct, the impression may be great; 
 for it is one thing to make an idea clear, and another to 
 make it affecting to the imagination, and the imagination 
 may be strongly affected, and, in fact, often is so, by objects 
 of which we have no clear conception." 
 
 Ex. — " The natural division of man is into soul and body. 
 Analogous to this are the sense and expression of discourse; 
 in other words, the thought and the symbol by which it is 
 communicated. It is by the sense that rhetoric holds 
 of logic, and by the expression that she holds of grammar." 
 
 Which of the sciences is here made feminine, or what the 
 meaning of the last sentence, we do not pretend to unriddle. 
 It is sufficient for our purpose to show that logic or 
 rhetoric is personified, and that confusion and obscurity are 
 the consequences. 
 
 " I have attempted," says Campbell, " to explain what 
 that use is which is the sole mistress of language, and to 
 ascertain the precise import and extent of these her essentia] 
 attributes, — reputable, national, and present; and to give the 
 directions proper to be observed in searching for the laws of 
 this empress" 
 
 In one part of the foregoing sentence "use" is called a 
 mistress, in another an empress. 
 
 To show the facility which writers possess in personifying 
 neuter nouns, we may quote another instance from a modern 
 writer on language : — 
 
 " Whatever may be -the future decision of usage — that 
 great arbitress of all language (for at present she is divided,) 
 Harris's arrangement seems more comformable to the strict 
 meaning of the words, as well as to Priestley's own rule, 
 than that which the latter recommends." 
 
 We have remarked that the homage granted by gram- 
 marians to usage — " the great arbitress of language," — is 
 conferred only when some difficulty in composition compels 
 the writer to decline its investigation; but when the error is 
 palpable, and can be exposed, then usage — " the great arbi- 
 tress," — is treated with very little ceremony. 
 
 Dr. Blair, in his excellent lectures, observes, " that per- 
 sonification is the boldest of all rhetorical figures; it is the 
 style of strong passion only, and therefore never to be 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 45 
 
 attempted unless when the mind is considerably heated and 
 agitated. A slight personification of some inanimate thing, 
 acting as if it had life, can be relished by the mind, in the 
 midst of a cool description, and when its ideas are going on 
 in the ordinary train. But it must be in a state of violent 
 emotion, and have departed considerably from its common 
 tract of thought, before it can so far realize the personifica- 
 tion of an insensible object, as to conceive it listening to 
 what we say, or making any return to us." 
 
 The poet may be allowed the licence of personifying what 
 he thinks proper : his art teaches him to deal in fiction, and 
 to please the imagination at the expense of reason. Orators, 
 too, who wish to embellish their language, that they may 
 awaken the passions, or conceal the truth, may be indulged 
 the use of tropes and metaphors ; but let these " flights of 
 fancy" be confined, as nearly as possible, within the limits 
 of their proper spheres. Let not science and philosophy be 
 incumbered by such vagaries, nor let the purity of the 
 English language be infringed by allowing, in ordinary dis- 
 course, so gross a violation of truth and consistency; for, be 
 it remembered, that, " by following the order of nature in 
 the distribution of gender, our language is rendered, in this 
 respect, both simple and animated;" and it should also be 
 borne in mind that the majority of mankind do not aspire 
 to that subtle kind of reason which can discern, even in 
 things without sex, a distant analogy to that great natural 
 distinction. 
 
 The genders of nouns are distinguished in the English 
 language : 
 
 First. By different words, as — boy, girl, brother, sister. 
 
 Secondly. By difference of termination, as — lion, lioness, 
 actor, actress. 
 
 Thirdly. By prefixing a noun, pronoun, or adjective, to 
 the appellative noun, as — a man servant, a maid servant, a 
 he goat, a she goat, male descendants, female descendants. 
 
 It has been justly observed, that nouns with variable 
 terminations contribute to conciseness and perspicuity of 
 expression. We have only a sufficient number of them to 
 make us feel our want ; for when we say of a woman, she is 
 
46 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 a philosopher, an astronomer, a builder, a weaver, we perceive 
 an impropriety in the termination, which we cannot avoid ; 
 but we can say, that she is a botanist, a student, a witness, a 
 scholar, an orphan, a companion, because these terminations 
 have not annexed to them the notion of sex. Dr. Crombie's 
 remarks on this imperfection in the English language contain 
 nearly every thing that it will be necessary to add concerning 
 the genders of nouns. 
 
 " It is to be observed, however, that the masculine term 
 has a general meaning, expressing both male and female, and 
 is always employed when the office, occupation, profession, 
 &c, and not the sex, of the individual, is chiefly to be ex- 
 pressed, and that the feminine term is used in those cases 
 only when discrimination of sex is indispensably necessary. 
 This may be illustrated by the following examples : if I say, 
 ' the poets of this age are distinguished more by correctness 
 of taste than sublimity of conception,' I clearly include in 
 the term poet, both male and female writers of poetry : if I 
 say she is the best poetess in this country, I assign her the 
 superiority over those only of her own sex : if I say she is 
 the best poet in this country, I pronounce her superior to all 
 other writers of poetry, both male and female." " Spinning/' 
 says Lord Karnes, in his Sketches, "is & female* occupation, 
 and must have had a female inventor." If he had said a 
 female inventress, the expression would have been pleonastic : 
 if he said, "must have had an inventress," he would not 
 have sufficiently contrasted the male and the female, he 
 would have merely predicated the necessity of an inventress. 
 He, therefore, properly adopts the term inventor, as appli- 
 cable to each of the sexes, limiting it to the female by the 
 appropriate term. 
 
 When distinction of sex is necessary, for the sake of 
 perspicuity, or where the sex, rather than the general idea, 
 implied by the term, is the primary object, a modification of 
 
 * An occupation can have no sex. The adjective is here improperly- 
 used for the definitive, a female's occupation ; but an inventor may be 
 male or female ; therefore a female inventor is correct. We have seen a 
 similar error publicly exhibited near London, " A female school," instead of 
 a school for females. School is a neuter noun, and no one can with pro- 
 priety venture to call it a she, or attach to it the notion of sex. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 47 
 
 the noun must be employed to express the female, thus : " I 
 hear that some authoresses are engaged in the work." 
 
 If we perceive an impropriety in the terms, when we say 
 of a woman, she is a philosopher, or a mathematician, it is, 
 perhaps, because the notion of a particular gender was origi- 
 nally associated with these appellations. Hence we may 
 infer, that women were formerly otherwise employed than in 
 studying the laws of nature or solving the problems of Euclid ; 
 neither have we yet discovered an appropriate term for a 
 female professor of political economy. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Appellative nouns being employed to denote genera or 
 species, and these orders comprising each many individuals, 
 hence arises that accident of a common noun, called number, 
 by which we signify whether one or more individuals of any 
 genus or species be intended. 
 
 Appellative nouns have two numbers; the singular, which 
 speaks of one as plant, the plural, which speaks of more than 
 one, as plants. The general rule for the formation of the 
 plural of appellative nouns is to add s to the singular, as 
 — horse, horses. Compound words, used to denote quan- 
 tities, are made plural by adding s to the final syllable, as 
 — handful, handfuls ; cartload, cartloads ; spoonful, spoon- 
 fuls. The apparent inaccuracy in some of these terms arises 
 from the force of signification which the component parts of 
 the compound words retain. Thus some persons are induced 
 to write spoonsful, barrowsful, &c. 
 
 The exceptions to the general rule for the formation of 
 the plural of nouns are — 
 
 I . Nouns ending in ch, sh, ss, or x, form their plurals by 
 adding es to the singular, as — peach, peaches ; lash, lashes ; 
 loss, losses ; fox, foxes. 
 
 The reader will readily perceive the necessity for this 
 deviation from the general rule. The plural of such nouns 
 cannot be distinguished from the singular, unless a distinct 
 syllable be added. 
 
48 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Nouns ending in ch hard, are formed by adding s only to 
 the singular, as monarch, monarchs. 
 
 2. Nouns ending mforfe, are made plural by changing 
 f orfe into ves, as half, halves ; life, lives. 
 
 3. Nouns ending in o, preceded by a consonant, are 
 made plural by adding es to the singular, as hero, heroes ; 
 except junto, canto, tyro, grotto, portico, solo and quarto, 
 which are formed by adding s to the singular, as junto, juntos. 
 
 Nouns ending in a vowel, preceded by another vowel, 
 form their plurals regularly, as — folio, folios ; die, dies. 
 
 4. Nouns ending in y, preceded by a consonant, change 
 the y into ies, as — cherry, cherries. If a vowel precede the y, 
 the plural is formed by adding s only, as day, — days ; and 
 there is no good reason why all nouns in y should not be 
 formed regularly ; the exceptions cause many errors in 
 orthography, as — vollies, attornies, Anthonies, Henries. 
 
 Nouns ending in ff, form their plurals by adding s, as — 
 muffs, puffs, skiffs, cliffs. 
 
 5. The following nouns form their plurals in en, as — man, 
 men ; ox, oxen ; child, children ; woman, women ; brother 
 makes brethren, when persons of the same society or pro- 
 fession are designated. Nouns, expressive of whatever 
 nature or art has made double or plural, have no singular, 
 as — lungs, scissors, bellows, ashes. " Many of those words 
 which have no singular, denote things consisting of two parts, 
 and, therefore, have a plural termination. Hence the word 
 pair is used with many of them, as — a pair of colours, a pair 
 of drawers." 
 
 Some nouns have no plural; 1st, Those which denote 
 things measured or weighed, as — sugar, tea, wheat ; unless 
 when they express varieties, as — sugars, teas, wheats. Here 
 not the unlimited appellative noun is signified, but different 
 species or classes of the appellative are referred to, and in 
 this sense the nouns are used plurally. 2ndly. Names of 
 abstract and also of moral qualities, as — hardness, softness, 
 prudence, envy, benevolence, have no plural. Several nouns 
 in this class ending in y, when they do not express the 
 quality or property in the abstract, but either its varieties or 
 its manifestations, are used plurally. Thus we say, levities, 
 affinities, gravities, &c. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 49 
 
 There may be different degrees and different exhibitions 
 of the quality, but not a plurality. 
 
 "Where displays of the mental quality are to be expressed, 
 it is better in all cases to employ a periphrasis. Thus, 
 instead of using, with Hume, the plural, insolences, the ex- 
 pression, acts of insolence, would be preferable." 
 
 Proper names admit the plural form when they are used 
 to denote classes, or the names of families, as the Caesars, 
 the Scipios, the Smiths, the Townsends, the Howards. In 
 this sense the proper name ceases, strictly speaking, to be a 
 definitive, and hence the necessity for surnames. 
 
 Nouns from the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, and other 
 languages, retain their original plurals, as — cherub, cherubim, 
 phenomenon, phenomena, crisis, crises, beau, beaux. 
 
 Some nouns are entirely anomalous, as — die, dice, penny, 
 pence. Dice is commonly used both for the singular and 
 the plural, and may be considered as belonging to the next 
 class of nouns. Even our best writers occasionally disre- 
 gard this useless anomaly. " When a dice,' 1 says Campbell, 
 " is thrown out of the hand, we know its gravity will make 
 it fall, and that its cubical figure will cause but one side to 
 face upwards. This we know from experience ; but there is 
 no principle which can lead me to conclude that one side 
 rather than another will be turned up, unless the die be 
 falsely loaded for the purpose of cheating." 
 
 Penny makes pennies when distinct coins are spoken of, 
 and pence when their value is denoted in computation. 
 
 The last exception, or, to speak more correctly, anomaly, 
 is, that some words are used alike in both numbers, as — deer, 
 sheep, swine. 
 
 Writers not having precise ideas to attach to the terms, 
 mathematics, metaphysics, politics, ethics, and some other 
 plural nouns, use them indiscriminately, and this inattention 
 to precision causes much inaccuracy in the grammatical 
 structure of sentences. 
 
 The word, means, is a striking instance of the respect paid 
 to authority and popular usage, in opposition to the dictates 
 of common sense and the fundamental principles of grammar. 
 If the word, means, had been uniformly used by our best 
 writers, as a noun singular, this would be no argument for 
 
50 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 continuing the practice ; for every time it is improperly 
 applied, the thought and the term are at variance, and the mind 
 is too often diverted from the subject of the sentence ; yet a 
 teacher of language will say that it is idle and fastidious to 
 propose a change : thus we are taught to continue an ac- 
 knowledged inaccuracy, because classical writers have set us 
 the example ; but for a writer of no ordinary abilities openly 
 to sanction such abuses, is more mischievous than quoting a 
 thousand authorities in favour of the abuse. The business 
 of the grammarian is to point out the right road, and to leave 
 to the choice of the reader to take the wrong if he thinks 
 proper. Dr. Crombie concludes his remarks on this word 
 with the following pertinent observations : — 
 
 " As a general rule for the use of means, as either singular 
 or plural, it might render the construction less vague, and 
 the expression therefore less ambiguous, were we to employ 
 it as singular when the mediation or instrumentality of one 
 thing is implied, and as plural when two or more mediating 
 causes are referred to." 
 
 Ex. — " He was careful to observe what means were em- 
 ployed by his adversaries to counteract his schemes. Here 
 means is properly joined with a plural verb, several methods 
 of counteraction being signified." 
 
 " The king consented, and by this means all hope of suc- 
 cess was lost. Here only one mediating circumstance is 
 implied, and the noun is therefore used as singular." 
 
 "While for the sake of perspicuity we offer this general 
 rule, we cannot but remark that, though the term mean is 
 at present, by general usage, confined to the expression of a 
 middle between two extremes, we are inclined to concur with 
 the learned Dr. Lowth, and to recommend a more extended 
 use of the noun singular. A means is a form of expression 
 which, though not wholly unsupported by analogy, is yet re- 
 pugnant to the general idiom of our language, and seems 
 so ill adapted to denote the operation of a single cause, that 
 we should be pleased to see it dismissed from use. If we 
 say, ' this was one of the means which he employed to effect 
 his purpose/ analogy and metaphysical propriety concur in 
 recommending a mean, or one mean, as preferable to a means. 
 News, alms, riches, pains, have been used as either singular 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 51 
 
 or plural, but we never say ' one of the news/ • one of the 
 alms/ ' one of the riches/ ■ one of the pains/ as we say ' one 
 of the means/ we may therefore be justified, notwithstanding 
 the authority of general usage, in pronouncing "a means" a 
 palpable anomaly/ 5 — Crombie. 
 
 The word news is sometimes construed as a plural, but 
 more generally as a singular noun. It would be more cor- 
 rect, as well as useful, to consider this noun as singular 
 when only one article of intelligence is communicated, and 
 as plural when several new things are reported, as — "no 
 news so bad as this at home /' " the news of the day engage 
 the attention of the idle/' 
 
 Dr. Crombie observes that a celebrated grammarian has 
 pronounced the noun, pains, to be in all cases plural ; but, 
 says Dr. Crombie, this assertion might be proved erroneous 
 by numberless examples. Now, the examples given do not 
 prove the assertion to be erroneous, for they only prove that 
 the plural noun, pains, has been used as a singular, but the 
 sentences quoted do not demonstrate the propriety of the 
 preference. 
 
 Pains mean repeated efforts (collectively considered) of the 
 mind or body, but should in no case be applied to signify a 
 single exertion of either. 
 
 When the word pains is followed by a verb in the singular 
 number, it is considered as a collective noun, the words 
 amount, aggregate, or such other term, being understood as 
 the nominative, as — the pains they had taken was very 
 great, i. e. not great in number, but in the aggregate, col- 
 lectively considered. 
 
 A proof that pains is sometimes used as a collective noun, 
 may be adduced from the use of much before the term. 
 
 Ex. — Much pains has been bestowed upon the work. 
 
 Nouns in the plural, used without an article to limit their 
 signification, resemble nouns of multitude, and are similar 
 to those anomalies which do not admit the distinction of 
 number. 
 
 Nouns of multitude depend for their signification chiefly 
 on the idea in the mind of him who uses them. If the 
 collective idea be dwelt on, and be the subject of the 
 attribute, the noun is construed as singular, as — the mob 
 
 e 2 
 
52 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 was large— the army has been defeated; but if the indi- 
 viduals which compose a collective noun be referred to, then 
 the noun is considered plural, as — the committee have 
 agreed. It will be observed that collective nouns, used as 
 plurals to denote the individuals which constitute such par- 
 ticular associations, are generally employed figuratively, as — 
 the House of Commons, for the members of that assembly. 
 
 Case. 
 
 Case denotes the relation the noun bears to the predicate, 
 or the relation which one noun bears to another in a sen- 
 tence, as — Dryden translated Virgil's poems ; in this 
 sentence, Dryden is the nominative, Virgil's the possessive 
 or genitive, and poems the objective case. 
 
 In the analysis of every sentence there will be found some 
 noun, pronoun, or phrase, equivalent to a noun, either ex- 
 pressed or understood, which may be considered as the 
 subject of the assertion, and to which "that which is asserted" 
 pertains. This noun, or phrase, is the nominative case ; it 
 governs the verb in number and person, and is thus dis- 
 tinguishable from every other noun in the sentence, as — 
 the horse draws the carriage. Here the act of drawing is 
 attributed to the horse, and horse is therefore said to be in 
 the nominative case. But there is another noun in the sen- 
 tence connected with the nominative and its attribute ; it is 
 the object acted upon by the nominative, but concerning 
 which nothing is expressly affirmed. Carriage is therefore 
 said to be in the objective case. 
 
 But if carriage be taken as the principal noun, or subject 
 of affirmation, it then becomes the nominative, or governing, 
 case of the sentence, as —the carriage is drawn by the horse. 
 Here the state or condition in which the carriage is placed 
 by the horse, and not the act of drawing, is the predicate ; 
 and this state or condition is attributed to the carriage ; the 
 agent, therefore,, is connected to the predicate by a prepo- 
 sition, and is said to be governed in the objective case. 
 
 But the relations which subordinate nouns bear to each 
 other in a sentence would, if denoted by change of termi- 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 53 
 
 nation, give rise to an unlimited number of cases. In 
 English this inconvenience is obviated, either by position or 
 by the use of prepositions, which denote the several relations 
 of nouns connected with the subject and its attribute. 
 
 Dr. Darwin, speaking of the cases of Greek and Latin 
 nouns, observes, that " When to the variation of the termi- 
 nations of nouns in the singular number are added those 
 equally numerous of the plural, and the great variety of 
 these terminations correspondent to the three genders, it is 
 evident that the prepositions of our own and modern lan- 
 guages, instead of the changes of termination, add to the 
 simplicity of these languages, and to the facility of acquiring 
 them." 
 
 The only case in English which admits of modification is 
 that which denotes possession, and in which case the mo- 
 dified noun is used as a definitive to some other noun, as — 
 the people's rights; the king's prerogative. 
 
 The sign of the genitive case was for a long time con- 
 sidered to be an abbreviation of the pronoun his, as — " the 
 man his duty;" "the scholar his task;" but modern gram- 
 marians contend this cannot be correct, because, although 
 we may say — the man his duty, we cannot, with equal pro- 
 priety, say — the woman his duty. But these writers seem 
 to overlook the true character of this sign. The possessive 
 pronouns his, hers, represent the nouns, and the relation of 
 property also; they are, therefore, signs of complex ideas. 
 But when it is necessary to mention the name of an indivi- 
 dual, represented by a possessive pronoun, the pronoun 
 becomes redundant, and the relation of property is all that 
 remains to be expressed. Hence the impropriety of the 
 primitive mode of expression, — "for Christ his sake;" "■ the 
 children their bread." This tautology appears to have been 
 at first obviated by uniting the pronoun masculine to the 
 noun, by which means the repetition of the notion of gender, 
 number, and person, was prevented, and the abbreviation 
 served simply to denote the relation of property or posses- 
 sion. The present mode of distinguishing the genitive may 
 be considered an abbreviation of the original termination. 
 
 By the modification, therefore, of the adjective pronoun, 
 it no longer conveys the notion of gender or number, and it 
 
54 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 is thus rendered capable of being affixed or added to any 
 noun, simply to denote the relation of property or possession. 
 We may further remark, that " the man's duty," and the 
 duty of the man, are equivalent expressions, yet no one 
 expects the preposition of, which is a substitute for the sign's, 
 should convey the notion of sex, or agree in gender, with 
 the noun to which it belongs. It may also be observed that 
 the pronoun his was formerly used before neuter nouns, and 
 this strongly confirms the opinion once entertained of this 
 abbreviation. 
 
 There is yet another case distinct from the nominative, at 
 least as regards its power of governing the verb : — this is the 
 vocative case; being, in its nature, interjectional, it simply 
 names the object addressed, as — " sir;" '* men and brethren ;" 
 "my lord;" "madam." 
 
 Ex. — "Awake, awake, put on thy strength, Zion, put 
 on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem." 
 
 Grammarians, indeed, say, that the verb agrees with these 
 vocatives in number and person; but where there is no 
 government there can be no concord; besides, the verb in the 
 imperative mood (awake) is, in fact, the object commanded, 
 and not an attribute predicated of Zion, — " I command thee 
 (O Zion) to awake." 
 
 Ex. — " My Lord, — your lordship may be surprised at the 
 liberty I take in writing to you." — Pope. 
 
 In this example, " my lord," and " your lordship," mean 
 the same person, but the latter is in the nominative, or 
 governing case, and the verb and pronoun agree with it. 
 The former is in the vocative, and has no power in regulating 
 the construction of the sentence. These cases are, therefore, 
 essentially different; for, "my lord," taken as the nomina- 
 tive, would imply a person spoken of, and not a person 
 spoken to, and the verb and pronoun must then agree with 
 it in the third person. 
 
 The nominative or governing cases of the first and second 
 persons are always pronouns, and when nouns are used with 
 these, they are said to be in apposition; but these nouns do 
 not govern the verb. 
 
 Ex. — " Now, I, Paul, myself, beseech you." Here the 
 verb agrees with the pronoun /, though "Paul" and "myself" 
 represent the same person as the nominative. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 55 
 
 SYNTAX OF NOUNS. 
 Concord and Government. 
 
 Concord and Government are so closely connected 
 with the syntax of nouns, that the distinction between 
 these terms may be most conveniently noticed in this 
 chapter. 
 
 Government is that power which one word has over 
 another, to determine its gender, number, person, case, or 
 mode. The word that yields to this power is said to agree 
 with the word that governs it, and this agreement is called 
 
 CONCORD. 
 
 Rule 1. Two or more nouns, denoting the same indi- 
 vidual, are in the same case, — David, son of Jesse, king of 
 Israel; Hume, the historian; Johnsons, the Bookseller s. 
 
 In these examples the additional nouns express or explain 
 the principal nouns more fully, and are said to be in apposi- 
 tion to those nouns. 
 
 In the last example the sign of the genitive may be 
 properly omitted after the second noun, as that term is 
 explanatory, and serves as an adjective to its noun in 
 apposition, as — Johnson's, the bookseller. 
 
 Rule 2. A noun in the nominative case governs the 
 verb ; that is, the nominative requires the verb to agree with 
 it in number and person, as — the storm is past; the sun 
 shines ; the husbandmen return. Here the verbs — is, shines, 
 return, are in the same number and person as their several 
 nominatives. 
 
 The place of the nominative is before the verb. The word 
 that governs maybe discovered by asking, who? or what? 
 with the verb and its attribute, as — What is past? — the 
 storm. What shines? — the sun. Who return? — the hus- 
 bandmen. The words that answer to the questions are the 
 nominatives to the verbs. 
 
 This rule is violated in such examples as these, — " I likes," 
 "Thou loves," "he need," "you was." "In reference to 
 this last example," says Dr. Crombie, " the reader should 
 observe that you is plural, whether it relate to only one 
 individual or to more, and ought, therefore, to be joined with 
 
56 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 a plural verb." As we do not admit the force and conclu- 
 siveness of Dr. Crombie's argument, we shall risque a few 
 remarks on the subject of this troublesome anomaly. 
 
 It may be observed, then, that " you was" might indeed 
 be called a solecism, if the pronoun did not serve for both 
 numbers ; but in this case the pronoun is analogous to the 
 substantives swine, deer, sheep; and when the pronoun 
 denotes an individual, and the verb is in the singular, it is 
 not a solecism to say "you was." But, "you were" is a. 
 solecism when it is applied to a single object, because the 
 verb is said to be changed to the plural, to agree with its 
 nominative; but the nominative is singular, and by this 
 change also the necessary distinction between a single and a 
 plural subject is destroyed. It is a weak and fallacious argu- 
 ment in support of this anomaly to say, that if we use the 
 pronoun " you" as singular, we must use the second person 
 of the verb "wast." The change in the verb to denote the 
 first and second person is unnecessary, when appropriate 
 pronouns are employed, and it can be considered correct 
 only when the original pronoun is used. This agreement, 
 from long association, may be thought necessary; but when 
 the pronoun is alike in both numbers, a different form of 
 the verb is requisite, to distinguish the singular from the 
 plural. To produce one exception, to show the propriety of 
 another, is no proof of the correctness of either. No sub- 
 stitute but "you are" has been offered for " thou art." But 
 this is not the case with " thou wast." Here there is a 
 choice, and the question is which is the best grammar? 
 
 Now, when any particular form of expression becomes 
 obsolete, the people are at liberty to choose any equivalent 
 phrase or term for the one which has for some cause been 
 set aside. Where usage differs, the minds of thinking men 
 generally determine the preference, and, by adopting that 
 mode of expression which is most in unison with the ideas 
 intended to be represented, establish, by their authority, the 
 correct phraseology. It is this sense of propriety, in reflect- 
 ing minds, that preserves the grammar of a language; and it 
 is this sense of propriety that at first suggested "you was," 
 as a substitute for the formal expression, "thou wast;" and 
 which substitute would be now universally employed by 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 57 
 
 writers, if it were not for the constraint the mind imposes 
 on itself, in order to submit to fashion, supported by the 
 arbitrary law of the grammarian. For the truth of this last 
 assertion we appeal to the experience of the reader. 
 
 Rule 3. An infinitive mood is sometimes the nomina- 
 tive to the verb, as — "to promise is easy, to perform and to 
 satisfy are often difficult." 
 
 Rule 4, A phrase or part of a sentence may be the 
 nominative to the verb, as — 
 
 "To be ever active in laudable pursuits, is the distinguishing 
 characteristic of a man of merit." 
 
 "As far as regards his interest, he will be sufficiently care- 
 ful not to offend." That is, as far as it, or as far as offending, 
 regards his interest, he will be sufficiently careful not to offend. 
 
 As far as is an adverbial phrase, therefore as cannot, as 
 Dr. Crombie and other grammarians suppose, be intended 
 to supply the place of a nominative. The derivation which 
 refers the reader for the meaning of as to the pronoun it, 
 that, or which, is worse than useless, for in no instance does 
 as now serve as a pronoun. 
 
 Rule 5. A noun of multitude governs the verb in the 
 singular or in the plural, according as the notion of unity or 
 plurality is suggested by the attribute. When the noun re- 
 presents an object formed by the union of several individuals, 
 and the attribute refers to that individual as a whole, the 
 verb will be singular, as — a committee is appointed; the 
 parliament is dissolved. But when the individuals are 
 referred to separately, the noun governs the verb in the plural, 
 as — the committee are deliberating. The verb, therefore, 
 shews whether the thing or the persons are referred to. It 
 is often much better to use a periphrasis when the individuals 
 composing a noun of multitude are the subject of the verb, 
 as — the members of the committee are deliberating. 
 
 This rule affords another instance of the insufficiency of 
 usage as the standard of propriety. Here the grammarian is 
 compelled to admit, that the mind must decide which form 
 of expression ought to have the preference. The verb is to 
 agree with the noun of multitude according to the sense. 
 
 Ex. — The assembly which was composed of honourable 
 men rejected the petition. 
 
58 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Ex. — The assembly who rejected the petition were honour- 
 able men. In the first example the verb agrees with the 
 neuter noun, assembly. In the last example the verb agrees 
 with the noun men or members who composed the assembly. 
 It would not be correct to say "the assembly who rejected 
 the petition were composed of honourable men." Because 
 the assembly, and not individuals who composed it, is the 
 subject of the predicate. The assembly which rejected the 
 petition was composed of honourable men. 
 
 Rule 6. One noun governs another in the genitive when 
 possession or property is intended to be expressed, as — the 
 miser's gold; the King's ministers. 
 
 The governing noun is either the nominative or objective 
 of the verb, and the name of the possessor is used as a defini- 
 tive, serving, in this respect, as an adjective to the principal 
 noun. The nouns thus employed form a complex term, and 
 denote an individual possessed by the definitive noun ; and, in 
 this respect, the genitive differs from the common adjective; 
 for qualities are possessed by or belong to the nouns, which 
 they assist to define. So the quality, whiteness, is said to 
 belong to snow, but the definitive, miser's, does not belong 
 to gold, but that substance is particularised as being the pro- 
 perty of the miser. Still the noun, miser's, is used adjectively, 
 and does not represent the object as a distinct individual. 
 
 And this is the reason why little explanatory circumstances 
 are particularly awkward between a genitive case and the word 
 which usually follows it, as — she began to extol the farmer's, 
 as she called him, excellent understanding. It ought to be, 
 "the excellent understanding of the farmer, as she called him." 
 
 When neither possession nor property is implied, we say 
 horse-shoe, dog-collar, &c; but when the idea of pertaining 
 to is added to the noun, the possessive case is employed, 
 as — the horse's shoe, the dog's collar. 
 
 Yet where ambiguity cannot arise, reference is sometimes 
 made to the genitive, as representing the noun itself; but in 
 this case the sign of the genitive is generally exchanged for 
 the preposition of,, which connects the subordinate noun. 
 
 Ex. — "They flew to arms, attacked the house of Northum- 
 berland, and put him to death." Here the pronoun him does 
 not, of course, refer to the " house of Northumberland," which 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 59 
 
 was the object of the preceding clause, but to the definite 
 noun, divested of its characteristic as an adjective, and con- 
 sidered as the name of a distinct individual. But Northum- 
 berland's House, and "the house of Northumberland," denote 
 the same object, and neither can, with propriety, be referred 
 to as the object represented by the pronoun (him). By 
 employing the preposition, however, the mind more readily 
 divests itself of the subordinate character of the noun, and 
 ambiguity does not so frequently occur. But in some cases 
 even this contrivance will not sufficiently conceal the impro- 
 priety. 
 
 Ex. — The reader of Caramuel {who, together with Cam- 
 penella, may be found in the Bodleian Library,) will not be dis- 
 appointed in him, but most egregiously by him," — H. Tooke. 
 
 The relative (who) refers to " Caramuel," and not to 
 "the reader of Caramuel;" but the latter is the noun first 
 suggested to the reader. 
 
 The following sentence, though pronounced by Mr. Cobbett 
 as ungrammatical, is strictly correct: — 
 
 "This determination led me to Metissa, the daughter of 
 Chrysophilus, who was, at least, without deformity." — 
 Johnson. 
 
 The relative refers to Metissa, who is the only person 
 mentioned in the sentence; the name of Chrysophilus is 
 used as a definitive to the appellative noun (daughter), and 
 forms a part of the complex term, used in apposition with 
 Metissa. 
 
 " When the noun," says Mr. Cobbett, " which is in the 
 possessive case, is expressed by a circumlocution, that is to 
 say, by many words, in lieu of one, the sign of the possessive 
 case is joined to the last word, as — ' John, the old farmer's 
 wife;' 'Oliver, the spy's evidence.' It is, however, much 
 better to say, 'the wife of John the old farmer;' 'the evi- 
 dence of Oliver the spy.'" 
 
 But Mr. Cobbett has not shown why it is much better to 
 say — the wife of John, the old farmer; nor did he seem 
 aware that his examples are complete nonsense. For how 
 can John be the old farmer's wife, or how can Oliver be his 
 own testimony. If Mr. Cobbett had said, Joan the old 
 farmer's wife, his readers would have understood him. 
 
60 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 The circumlocution of which Mr. Cobbett speaks, is " the 
 old farmer/' used in apposition with John, to limit that 
 proper name; but this explanatory cognomen does not neces- 
 sarily require the sign of the genitive, unless it be placed 
 before the principal noun; but John is expressly intended as 
 a definitive to wife, and the sign of the possessive case is 
 indispensable, as — "John's, the old farmer's, wife; or, to avoid 
 the repetition of the genitive — "the wife of John the old 
 farmer." By this last arrangement the noun in apposition 
 is governed only by John, and is not subject to the govern- 
 ment of the principle noun, being thus properly confined to 
 the purpose for which it was intended. 
 
 If Mr. Cobbett, in copying Dr. Lowth's remark, had 
 quoted the doctor's example also, he would not have been 
 chargeable with the blunder he has committed. 
 
 " When the thing to which another is said to belong is 
 expressed by a circumlocution, or by many terms, the sign of 
 the possessive case is commonly added to the last term, as — 
 " the king of Great Britain's soldiers." — Lowth. 
 
 In this example " the king of Great Britain" is a complex 
 term, to denote an individual, and the nouns king and 
 Britain, which compose the term, are not in apposition ; the 
 sign of the genitive cannot, therefore, belong to both sub- 
 stantives. Thus, we cannot say, with propriety, "Solomon's, 
 the son of David, king of Israel's Proverbs;" but " Solomon, 
 the son of David, king of Israel's Proverbs ;" or, as in the 
 original, "The Proverbs of Solomon, king of Israel." 
 
 " When," says Dr. Crombie, " I say, neither life nor death 
 shall separate us from the love of God, it may mean either 
 the love which we owe to God, or the love which he bears 
 to us; for God's love may denote either the relation which 
 the affection bears to its subject, or that which it bears to 
 its object. If the latter be the meaning intended, the 
 ambiguity may he prevented, by saying — love to God." 
 
 We do not think Dr. Crombie was required to exercise his 
 own or his reader's patience, by striving to explain a phrase 
 which ought to need no explanation; for if writers say one 
 thing, and mean another— if they say God's love, and mean 
 the creature's love, a grammarian is not bound to countenance 
 their blunders; for "language should be not such as the 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 61 
 
 reader may understand, if he will take the trouble to examine 
 it carefully, but such as he cannot even without effort fail to 
 comprehend." 
 
 When no direct reference is made to property or posses - 
 sion, the noun assumes the nature of an adjective, denoting 
 a quality belonging to the subject, as — a summer-day, a 
 horse-shoe, a dog-collar. 
 
 " The English genitive," says Mr. Murray, " has often an 
 unpleasant sound, so that we daily make more use of the 
 particle of to express the same relation." The sound in this 
 case is not unpleasant to the ear, but to the mind. The 
 English genitive suggests the notion of property or posses- 
 sion more vividly than the particle of, and hence the harsh- 
 ness complained of by Mr. Murray. This writer has remarked, 
 that "the preposition of, joined to a substantive, is not 
 always equivalent to the possessive case. It is so only when 
 the expression can be converted into the regular form of the 
 possessive case. We can say — the reward of virtue, and 
 virtue's reward ; but though it is proper to say— a crown of 
 gold, we cannot convert the expression into the possessive 
 case, and say — gold's crown." And the reason is clear, for, 
 in this case, the noun, "gold," is used as an adjective, and the 
 preposition serves merely to connect it with the noun. So 
 we sometimes say — a man of activity, but cannot, with the 
 least propriety, say — activity's man, because the preposition 
 and the noun are equivalent to the adjective, active, and do 
 not denote that "man" is the property of activity, but that 
 " activity" is the property of the man; and this will, perhaps, 
 explain the origin and distinct character of this class of 
 adjectives. 
 
 "When a single subject is expressed, as the common 
 property of two or more persons, the last only takes the sign 
 of the genitive, as — this is John, William, and Richard's 
 house; that is — this is the house of John, William and 
 Richard." 
 
 "But when several subjects are implied, as severally belong- 
 ing to various individuals, the names of the individuals are 
 all expressed in the genitive case, as — these are John's, 
 William's, and Richard's houses. In such examples as 
 these, the use of the genitive involves an ambiguity, which it 
 
62 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 is sometimes difficult to prevent. " Instead of saying — 
 John, William, and Richard's house, or John's, William's, or 
 Richard's, house, I should prefer — a house belonging in com- 
 mon, or severally, (as the meaning may be) to John, William, 
 and Richard." 
 
 The double genitive is, in general, improperly employed. 
 In all cases it would be better to use another form of expres- 
 sion : thus, instead of saying — " this is a picture of my 
 friend's," it would be less ambiguous, and, therefore, more 
 grammatical, to say — "this is a picture belonging to my 
 friend." Instead of — " a discovery of Sir Isaac Newton's," 
 it should be — " a discovery by Sir Isaac Newton, or made 
 by Sir Isaac Newton." 
 
 " As the double genitive involves an ellipsis, and implies 
 part of a whole, or one of a plurality of subjects, I think the 
 use of it should be avoided, unless in cases where this plu- 
 rality may be implied : thus, we may say — ' a kinsman of 
 the traitor's waited on him yesterday/ it being implied that 
 the traitor had several or many kinsmen. The expression is 
 equivalent to a kinsman of the traitor's kinsman. But if the 
 subject possessed were singular, or the only one of the kind, 
 I should recommend the use of the simple genitive : thus, if 
 he had only one house, I should say — this is the house of 
 the traitor, or this is the traitor's, and not this is a house of 
 the traitor's." — Crombie. 
 
 The possessive case is distinguished from the plural num- 
 ber of nouns by an apostrophe, as — books, book's. When 
 the noun ends in ss the apostrophe only -is employed, 
 as — for goodness' sake ; also in the genitive plural, ending 
 in s, as — the commons' vote; the peers' dissent; the s 
 is occasionally omitted, for the sake of euphony, as — for 
 conscience' sake. 
 
 Rule 7- A noun governed by a verb, participle, or pre- 
 position, is in the objective case, as — Judas betrayed Christ ; 
 Peter, having denied Christ, went out and wept bitterly ; 
 they led him unto Pilate. When the relation is denoted by 
 the attribute and verb, the objective noun is distinguished 
 from the nominative by its place in the sentence, as — the 
 lion killed the man. The noun " man " being placed after 
 the verb, distinguishes that noun from the nominative or 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 63 
 
 subject, and shews the case or relation it bears to the attri- 
 bute as its object. 
 
 But enough has at present been said of the syntax of 
 nouns, since the subject of concord and government must 
 necessarily be referred to, when the construction of the re- 
 maining parts of speech is examined, and more particularly 
 that of the verb, to which this rule of syntax may be thought 
 more properly to belong. 
 
 "A noun," says Mr. Lewis, "may be distinguished by 
 placing before it the words, I think of, or / think of a ; and 
 though we cannot say, the good sobriety, yet we can say, / 
 think of sobriety , without any violation of good sense. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF NOUNS. 
 
 On the importance of Grammar. 
 
 "The structure of language is extremely artificial; and there 
 are few sciences in which a deeper or more refined logic is 
 employed than in grammar. It is apt to be slighted by su- 
 perficial thinkers as belonging to those rudiments of knowledge 
 which were inculcated upon us in our earliest youth. But 
 what was then inculcated before we could comprehend its 
 iwinciples, would abundantly repay our study in maturer 
 years ; and to the ignorance of it must be attributed many 
 of those fundamental defects which appear in writing." — 
 Blair. 
 
 Immortal gods, I crave no pelf, 
 I pray for no man but myself; 
 Grant I may never prove so fond 
 To trust man on his oath or bond, 
 Or a harlot for her weeping, 
 Or a dog that seems a sleeping, 
 Or a keeper with my freedom, 
 Or my friends if I should need 'em. 
 
 Shakespeare. Timon of Athens. 
 
 "It is certainly as easy to be a scholar as a gamester, or 
 many other characters, equally illiberal and low. The same 
 
64 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 application — the same quantity of habit will fit us for one 
 as completely as for the other ; and as to those who tell us, 
 with an air of seeming wisdom, that it is men and not books 
 we must study to become knowing, this I have always 
 remarked, from repeated experience, to be the common con- 
 solation and language of dunces." — Harris. Hermes, book hi. 
 chap. v. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 ADJECTIVES. 
 
 "'The true genuine sense of a noun adjective will be fixed to consist in this, 
 that it imports the general notion of pertaining to." — Wilkins. 
 
 Adjectives represent certain qualities or attributes, and 
 are the concrete names of modes treated of by logicians. 
 
 " A mode is that which cannot subsist in and of itself, but 
 is always esteemed as belonging to and subsisting by the help 
 of some substance, which, for that reason, is called its sub- 
 ject."* 
 
 An adjective, therefore, expresses a quality as subsisting 
 in a noun, and does not represent the quality as having a 
 distinct or separate existence, — as, good, wise, solid, virtuous. 
 But when these qualities are considered without reference to 
 the subjects which possess them, the terms which represent 
 those ideas are called abstract nouns, — as, goodness, wisdom, 
 solidity, virtue. 
 
 Dr. Crombie defines an adjective to be "that part of 
 speech which denotes any substance or attribute, not by 
 itself, but as conjoined with a subject, or pertaining to its 
 character. This conjunction is generally marked by changing 
 the termination of the simple name of the substantive or 
 attribute, as — fool, foolish ; wax, waxen. Sometimes no 
 change is made, and the simple name of the substantive or 
 attribute is prefixed to the name of the subject, as — sea fowl, 
 race horse, corn field. In writing these and similar expres- 
 sions, the conjunction is sometimes marked by a hyphen, 
 as — sea-fowl, river-fish, wine-vessel." From this it will be 
 
 * Dr. Watts — Logic, part i. ch. ii. sec. 3. 
 F 
 
66 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 seen that the juxta position of two nouns suggests that one 
 denotes a quality of the other ; and hence the former, losing 
 its own independent meaning, assumes the dependent cha- 
 racter of an adjective. 
 
 Mr. Tooke erred greatly when he affirmed that gold, brass, 
 and silk, when conjoined with appellative nouns, were still 
 the names of things, and denoted substances. Gold and 
 brass, when not used adjectively, are the names of metals, 
 and silk the name of that substance ; but when these appella- 
 tives are used as adjectives, they denote the qualities only of 
 those nouns to which they are joined. Mr. Tooke also asks 
 whether golden, brazen, and silken, do not convey to the 
 hearer's mind, and denote the same thing, as gold, brass, and 
 silk. After amusing his reader for some time by trying to 
 convince him that no difference exists between gold and 
 golden, and . asserting that they are both substantives, he at 
 length admits the fact that a noun with its attribute is a com- 
 plex term, but he does not attempt to explain in what respect 
 the noun and the attribute differ in their nature, or in the 
 extent of their signification. 
 
 Impressed with the notion that all words were nouns, or 
 names of things, Mr. Tooke could perceive no difference 
 between wood and wooden; he also affirms that " a perverse 
 nature " and f a natural perversity " mean precisely the same 
 thing. It may be maintained (notwithstanding the high au- 
 thority of Mr. Tooke's name) that the adjectives perverse 
 and natural denote species of different things — a species of 
 disposition (for this is, we presume, what Mr. Tooke means 
 by the vague expression — nature) and a species of perversity, 
 namely, a natural perversity. 
 
 Mr. Tooke was accustomed to confound his acquaintance 
 by a subtilty of reasoning, and by a peculiar and confident 
 manner in the delivering of his opinions, which frequently 
 left his opponent nothing to say in reply to his arguments or 
 assertions. This was, perhaps, done more for the sake of 
 amusement than to gratify his vanity by a display of the 
 acuteness of his intellectual powers. The same habit prevails 
 in his treatise on language ; and since the publication of that 
 work, few grammarians have ventured to dissent from any of 
 his opinions : the consequence has been that his valuable 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 67 
 
 discoveries have never been rendered so practically useful in 
 the science of grammar as they might otherwise have been. 
 
 •The manner in which substantives may be converted into 
 adjectives has been thus shewn and exemplified by Mr. 
 Harris : — " When we say, — the party of Pompey ; the style 
 of Cicero ; the philosophy of Socrates, — in these cases the 
 party, the style, and the philosophy, spoken of, receive a 
 stamp and character from the persons whom they respect ; 
 those persons, therefore, perform the part of attributes ; that 
 is, stamp and characterise their respective subjects. Hence, 
 then, they actually pass into attributes, and assume, as such, 
 the form of adjectives ; and thus it is we say, — the Pompeian 
 party ; the Ciceronian style ; and the Socratic philosophy. 
 It is, in like manner, for a trumpet of brass, we say a brazen 
 trumpet ; for a crown of gold, a golden crown, &c. Even 
 pronominal substantives admit the like mutation ; thus, in- 
 stead of saying, the book of me, of thee, and of him, we say, my 
 book, thy book, and his book ; instead of saying, the country 
 of us, of you, and of them, we say, our country, your country, 
 their country, which words may be called so many pronominal 
 
 " In English," says Mr. Tooke, " instead of adjectiving 
 our own substantives, we have borrowed, in immense num- 
 bers, adjectived signs from other languages, without borrowing 
 the unadjectived signs of those same ideas, because our au- 
 thors frequently found they had occasion for the former, but 
 not for the latter ; and notwithstanding the nature of the 
 language, or the nature of the very benefit they were receiving, 
 they did not, as they might and should have done, improve 
 their own language by the same contrivance within itself, but 
 borrowed from other languages abbreviations ready made to 
 their hands. Thus they have incorporated into English — 
 
 FOR THE THE FOREIGN 
 
 SUBSTANTIVE. ADJECTIVE. 
 
 Child .... Infant, infantine 
 Boy .... Puerile 
 
 Man . .. .Virile, human, masculine, male 
 Woman . .Female, feminine, effeminate 
 Mind . . . .Mental, magnanimous, pusillanimous, unanimous 
 &c, &c. &c, &c. 
 
 f 2 
 
68 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 In the copious list of these borrowed adjectives, given by 
 Mr. Tooke, it will be found that they chiefly denote qualities 
 derived from nouns which have no corresponding verbs in 
 the language, and that the notions attached to them are de- 
 rived immediately from the nouns. Will not this lead to 
 the conclusion that substantive nouns are the roots of adjec- 
 tives ? and also that the mind must form an abstract idea of 
 every quality before it can join that quality to a noun ? 
 Hence some grammarians have concluded that there is not 
 any accident whatever which has not a grammatical substan- 
 tive for its sign, when it is not attributed ; nor is there any 
 substance whatever which may not have a grammatical ad- 
 jective for its sign, when there is occasion to attribute it. 
 
 Participial adjectives are derived from verbal nouns : they 
 are distinguished from participles as pertaining to nouns, and 
 as being the means by which such nouns are characterised 
 and defined, as — " a flattering tongue," " a contented spirit." 
 The adjectives here lose their power as participles, and indicate 
 a person possessed of an habitual quality. Some adjectives, 
 having this participial termination, are derived from substan- 
 tives, and have no corresponding verbs in the language, as — 
 a wretched being ; a winged insect ; an aged horse. Mr. 
 Tooke, in his remarks on certain adjectives which he terms 
 official mood passive adjectives, observes, that " the words 
 of this sort which we have hitherto adopted are barely these 
 — legend, reverend, dividend, prebend, memorandum. We can 
 hardly be said to have adopted deodand, multiplicand, sub- 
 trahend, and credenda ; i. e., which ought to be given to 
 God ; which ought to be multiplied ; which ought to be 
 subtracted ; which ought to be believed. The first of these, 
 legend, which means ' that which ought to be read/ is, from 
 the early misapplication of the term by impostors, now used 
 by us as if it meant ' that which ought to be laughed at,' 
 and so it is explained in our dictionaries. How soon 
 reverend, i. e. which ought to be revered, will be in the 
 same condition, though now with great propriety applied to 
 our judges and clergy, will depend upon themselves. Divi- 
 dend, that which ought to be divided, is perpetually abused, 
 while each man calls the share of the dividend which he has 
 received his dividend, though he means to keep it all him- 
 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 69 
 
 self. Memorandum alone stands clear from abuse and free 
 from danger, that which ought to be remembered." 
 
 Numeral adjectives are such as denote number ; they are 
 either cardinal, as — one, two, three ; or ordinal, as — first, 
 second, third. 
 
 The only modification which the adjective admits in 
 English is to denote the degrees of a quality, as — white, 
 whiter, whitest ; tall, taller, tallest. 
 
 The degrees of comparison are three; — the positive, the 
 comparative, and the superlative. 
 
 " In all qualities susceptible of intension or remission, the 
 number of degrees, from the lowest to the highest, may be 
 accounted infinite. Hardness (for example), gravity, magni- 
 tude, genius, wisdom, folly, are severally diversified by an 
 infinitude of gradations, which it would elude the capacity of 
 any language to discriminate : to denote these degrees is, 
 therefore, utterly impracticable, as it is wholly unnecessary." 
 — Crombie. 
 
 The positive simply expresses the quality, as — white. 
 
 The comparative degree denotes an increase of the quality, 
 as — whiter. 
 
 The superlative signifies the highest state of the quality, 
 as — whitest. 
 
 The comparative is formed by adding r, or er, to the posi- 
 tive, as — long, longer ; tall, taller. 
 
 The superlative is formed by adding st, or est, as — longest ; 
 tallest. 
 
 Some adjectives are formed irregularly, as — good, better, 
 best; bad, worse, worst. These adjectives are generally of 
 frequent occurrence, and this may partly account for their 
 irregularity : like the substantive verb, they probably origi- 
 nate from different roots. 
 
 " Terminational comparison, as well as that denoted by 
 more and most, does not, as some of our grammarians teach, 
 increase or diminish the signification ; it always increases it. 
 In shorter and shortest, the property of shortness is always 
 increased, not made less ; the property of a thing is dimi- 
 nished by less or least." — Grant. 
 
 The termination ish denotes a degree of a quality less than 
 that denoted by the positive, as — bluish. 
 
 The terminations which mark the degrees of comparison 
 
70 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 are equivalent to the adverbs more and most, as — wiser, 
 more wise ; wisest, most wise. 
 
 Words of one, and sometimes of two, syllables are com- 
 pared by using the terminations. Words of two, and more 
 than two syllables, by the adverbs more and most, as — 
 correct, more correct, most correct ; fortunate, more fortu- 
 nate, most fortunate. 
 
 Some adjectives, from the nature of the qualities they 
 represent, will not admit degrees of comparison, as — eternal, 
 infinite, universal ; such also as refer to figure, as — circular, 
 square, triangular, straight; and many others which denote 
 the highest or lowest possible degree of a quality, as — chief, 
 supreme, perfect. 
 
 There are some writers who question the propriety of ad- 
 mitting three degrees of comparison ; but since the adjective 
 is used to distinguish appellative nouns, the positive may be 
 considered as denoting an indefinite degree* of a quality, 
 compared with the abstract notion of that quality as it exists 
 in the mind. A common standard of any quality may be 
 supposed to be taken as appropriate to the individuals of a 
 species : thus, mountains are high, contrasted with plains ; 
 but compared with individuals of their own kind, those only 
 are called high which exceed the mean height : thus, also, a 
 man, compared with the ordinary stature of men, and found 
 to exceed it, would be denominated a tall man ; but should 
 two men, possessing this quality in different degrees, be com- 
 pared, there would be a direct comparison of the quality as 
 to its extent in reference to the common standard. For 
 example — a man five feet ten inches is a tall man, and so 
 also is a man six feet in height a tall man, but when the ex- 
 hibitions of the quality in these two individuals are compared 
 and referred to the ordinary stature, the disparity in the 
 heights is determined, and the excess is denoted, by modi- 
 fying the positive term, as — tall, taller ; but when more than 
 two individuals, possessing the like quality in different 
 degrees, are compared, the one which exceeds the rest is 
 
 * The very nature of the adjective implies compai-ison ; for it is by com- 
 paring one object with another that we are enabled to predicate the existence 
 of qualities in nouns : thus, one man is rich, another tall, and a third 
 valiant, compared with the wealth, stature, or valour, possessed by men in 
 ffeneraL 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 71 
 
 denominated the tallest, but if one should exceed the usual 
 stature in an extraordinary degree, and the comparison be 
 simply made between his and the ordinary height of men, 
 then an appropriate adverb is employed to modify the adjec- 
 tive, as — very tall, extremely tall, &c. This has been called, 
 by some grammarians, the superlative of eminence ; we 
 might as justly denominate "much taller" the comparative of 
 eminence, and " rather tall " the positive of eminence * for 
 what becomes of the superlative of eminence in such compari- 
 sons as these — John is very tall, Harry is much taller, but 
 Richard is the tallest. 
 
 When nouns of different species are compared, there can 
 be no precise standard to which the degrees of comparison 
 can be referred ; thus — a lion is larger -than a mouse ; an 
 elephant is larger than a lion, and is esteemed the most saga- 
 cious of all animals ; where it may be observed that if there 
 be a superlative of eminence, it is in those cases which ex- 
 press the ne plus ultra of a quality. 
 
 Mr. Lennie has assigned gender, number, and case, to 
 adjectives, and would have the reader comprehend that sex, 
 and case, and number, make part of the notion of qualities 
 This supposed agreement between nouns and adjectives 
 (which it is necessary to observe in the Latin and some 
 other languages) is so contrary to common sense, and so 
 totally inconsistent with the character of the English lan- 
 guage, that it would be scarcely worthy of notice, if it were 
 not to caution those who are desirous to understand the 
 nature of speech to beware of such instructors. "Adjectives," 
 Dr. Epps justly observes, "have no changes to point out 
 genders, numbers, and cases. The reason of this is that ad- 
 jectives are used to point out something particular in the 
 person, place, or -thing, of which the noun is the name, not 
 in the gender, number, or case, which are pointed out by 
 changes of the noun itself. Thus — wise man, wise woman ; 
 here the nouns change, but the adjectives do not, because 
 the particular thing, wisdom, is common not only to the 
 man, but to the woman." The only approximation to agree- 
 ment in number and gender is either in the adjective 
 pronouns this, that, and other, or in words derived from appel- 
 latives, appropriated to a particular sex, as — this book, these 
 
72 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 books ; a sluttish woman, a slovenly man. But the quality 
 denoted by the adjectives, sluttish and slovenly, is the same 
 quality, whether ascribed to the male or to the female. 
 
 Syntax of Adjectives. 
 
 Rule I. Every word used as an adjective belongs to 
 some noun, either expressed or understood. 
 
 Ex. " Few think these mad, for most, like these, 
 
 Are sick and troubled with the same disease." 
 
 The noun to which an adjective belongs may be ascer- 
 tained by asking the question, who or what, with the adjec- 
 tive, as — few what? — persons; these what? — these persons 
 or people, &c. 
 
 Rule II. Adjectives are generally put before the nouns 
 they qualify. 
 
 Ex. — A. faithful friend is tried in adverse fortune. 
 
 Ex. — "The Bible, for the size of it, is the most accurate 
 grammatical composition that we have in the English lan- 
 guage." — Murray. 
 
 Ex. — " My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent." — 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 Rule III. Adjectives are sometimes placed after the 
 nouns to which they belong, either for the sake of variety or 
 emphasis, or to admit, more conveniently, some modifying 
 term or phrase. They also follow nouns when, by ellipsis, 
 the relative and verb are omitted. 
 
 Ex. " The present time's so sick, 
 
 That present medicine must be ministered, 
 Or overthrow, incurable, ensues." 
 
 King John, act v. sc. 1. 
 
 Ex. — "A man wise in his own conceit, i.e. who is wise in 
 his own conceit." 
 
 Rule IV. Double comparatives, or double superlatives, 
 are improper; and- although they were formerly admitted 
 and sanctioned by reputable writers, they were nevertheless 
 as ungrammatical then as they are justly pronounced to be 
 so now. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 73 
 
 Ex.—" Your wisdom should show itself more richer." — 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Most, whether it precedes or follows the adjective, is a 
 sign of the superlative, in the same manner as more is a sign 
 of the comparative, degree, as — outmost, furthermore, fur- 
 thermost. 
 
 The definitive article cannot be correctly used before 
 superlatives, unless it be to denote what, in the Latin, is 
 expressed by quam maxime, or the highest possible degree of 
 a quality. 
 
 Ex. — "This distinction is the most precise and the most 
 worthy of attention." — Crombie. 
 
 There cannot, strictly speaking, be more than one thing 
 most precise, or most worthy, of the same kind; still the 
 article may be used for the sake of emphasis. 
 
 Rule V. Adjectives, which do not admit either increase 
 or diminution, cannot be compared, as — universal, infinite, 
 chief. 
 
 Ex. — ■ ' As no one has exercised the powers of speech with 
 juster and more universal applause than youself." — Harris. 
 
 It should be "more general applause." 
 
 Ex. — " Being connected with that politer literature." — 
 Harris. 
 
 There can be no degrees of politeness in polite literature; 
 the comparative is affectedly employed, instead of the posi- 
 tive, and the sentence is thus rendered ungrammatical. It 
 should be "being connected with polite literature." The 
 affectation noticed in this last example is a very common 
 refinement among polite writers. 
 
 Ex. — "This deserves most particular notice." — Brenan. 
 
 The adverb, most, in this example, is redundant. 
 
 Ex. — " Our chief est courtier, cousin, and our son." — 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 Ex. — " With whom it was his chief est boast to say he 
 had been acquainted." — Sir W. Scott. 
 
 Chief is equivalent to highest, and does not admit the 
 inflections of comparison: — " It was his chief boast to say 
 he had been acquainted. 
 
 Rule VI. Adjectives are often improperly used for 
 adverbs, as — scarce ever, exceeding great, exceeding strong; 
 
74 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 excessive good, extreme dear, excellent well; instead of — 
 scarcely ever, exceedingly great, &c. 
 
 Ex.—" The passions are the natural spurs to volition or 
 action, and so need only to be right directed." — Campbell. 
 
 It should be rightly directed, i.e. properly directed. 
 
 Dr. Crombie, after having vindicated, or at least palliated, 
 this grammatical inaccuracy, admits — that exceedingly strong, 
 exceedingly good, are the preferable phraseologies. It is 
 thus that grammarians assist to perpetuate error, and to 
 increase the difficulties of a science, which it is their duty to 
 simplify and defend against the corruptions of popular usage. 
 The only instances in which the adjective form is to be pre- 
 ferred to the adverbial, is when the word to which the adverb 
 belongs ends in the same syllable, as — exceedingly lovely ; 
 or when an adjective, ending in hj, is used as an adverb, as — 
 wily, wilily; but even in these cases the inaccuracy may 
 generally be avoided by using another adverb, or an equiva- 
 lent phrase, as — "very lovely," "in a crafty manner." 
 
 There is another case in which an adjective appears to be 
 improperly used for an adverb. 
 
 Ex. — " Etymology is that part of grammar by which we 
 are instructed relative to the origin, kinds, and properties, of 
 words." — Lewis. 
 
 Relative is an adjective, and cannot properly qualify the 
 verb, The phrase, " relative to," might have been obviated 
 by using the participial preposition, concerning, — " by which 
 we are instructed concerning the origin kinds and properties 
 of words." 
 
 The comparative is used when only two things are com- 
 pared. The superlative, when one thing, or an aggregate 
 number of things, are compared with the class to which they 
 belong, or to which we refer them. 
 
 Ex. — "Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend 
 which is the mightier." 
 
 Ex. — Socrates was the wisest of the Athenians. 
 
 Ex. — Methuselah was the oldest man ; Solomon was the 
 wisest. 
 
 Rule VII. The comparative of adjectives is followed by 
 than when opposition is signified, and by of when selection is 
 implied. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 75 
 
 Ex. — Sorrow is better than laughter ; Heraclitus was 
 therefore the wiser of the two philosophers. 
 
 The simplicity and excellence of the English language is 
 obvious in the etymology and syntax of its adjectives. 
 
 " In the Latin and Greek languages," observes Dr. Darwin, 
 " adjectives possess a great variety of terminations. Some 
 of these, when declined through all their ca3es, and genders, 
 and numbers, in their positive, comparative, and superlative 
 degrees, enumerate fifty or sixty terminations ; all which, 
 to one who wishes to learn those languages, are so many 
 new words, and add much to the difficulty of acquiring them." 
 
 An adjective may be known by its admitting or requiring 
 an appropriate substantive with it, to complete the con- 
 struction, as — few are happy, i.e. few persons. 
 
 Illustrations of Adjectives. 
 
 THE IMMATERIALITY OF THE GLOBE. 
 
 These, our actors, 
 As I foretold you, were all spirits, and 
 Are melted into air, — into thin air, — 
 And like the baseless fahrick of this vision, 
 The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
 The solemn temples, the great globe itself, 
 Yea all which it inherit, shall dissolve, 
 And like this unsubstantial pageant, faded, 
 Leave not a rack behind. 
 
 Tempest, act IV. 
 
 Consequences of the want of perspicuity in a writer. 
 
 If we are obliged to follow a writer with much care, to pause 
 and to read over his sentences a second time, in order to com- 
 prehend them fully, he will never please us long. Mankind 
 are too indolent to relish much labour. They may pretend to 
 admire the authors depth, after they have discovered his 
 meaning ; but they will seldom be inclined to take up his 
 work a second time." — Blair. 
 
 In these illustrations the words printed in italic are adjec- 
 tives, and they pertain to some noun, either expressed or 
 understood ; Thus, baseless denotes a quality belonging to 
 
76 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 fabric ; cloud-capped, that which pertains to or distinguishes 
 towers. The adjective all, requires the noun ". things" to com 
 plete the subject, and the word long, limits the signification of 
 the noun understood, as — " a long time/' 
 
 The force and beauty of the adjectives, baseless and cloud- 
 capped, in the illustration from Shakespeare, has been noticed 
 by Mr Brenan in his chapter on synonymous words. We 
 quote his suggestion and remark, for the consideration of 
 those who are too fond of latinized English, and we would 
 remind the unpractised writer, that if the Latin derivatives 
 are to be preferred for their sound, the English synonyms 
 are generally superior in their force of signification. 
 
 "Should any foolish pedant annoy you about the superior 
 beauties of the classical languages, desire him to translate into 
 Latin or Greek "cloud-capped towers" or " baseless fabric." 
 He may with many words give the sense in a round about way, 
 but as to energy and conciseness, they are confined to the 
 English." — Brenan, Composition and Punctuation, chap. xi. 
 p. 207. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE PRONOUN. 
 
 The personal pronouns give information which no other words* are capable 
 of conveying ; but the other pronouns may, in general, have their place 
 supplied by the words or clause3 to which they relate." — M'Culloch. 
 
 There are no words that have a juster claim to originality 
 and indispensable use in language than personal pronouns. 
 Even those who deny their necessity are compelled to admit 
 their utility. "The rude savage/' says Dr. Crombie, "could 
 not converse with his fellow without some sign to discriminate 
 the person speaking from the person addressed ; and if 
 visible signs (as is probable) would be first adopted we may 
 reasonably presume, on several grounds, that these would 
 soon give place to audible expressions." Notwithstanding 
 this opinion, Dr. Crombie insists that nouns and verbs are 
 the only indispensable parts of speech. The maxim — alterum 
 est quod loquimur, alterum de quo loquimur, may indeed be 
 serviceable in a treatise on logic, as distinguishing the subject 
 from the predicate, but it cannot apply to the component 
 parts of speech. It tends only to perplex those who wish 
 to understand the cause and origin of the different kinds 
 of words. 
 
 A pronoun is a word used for a noun, to avoid the too 
 frequent repetition of the same word. 
 
 Pronouns are either personal or definitive. 
 
 A personal pronoun denotes an individual, and necessarily 
 includes the proper name or definitive by which that par- 
 
 * Yet this writer asserts that the noun and verb are the only indispensable 
 parts of speech. 
 
78 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 ticular object is distinguished from others comprehended 
 under the general term. The pronoun, therefore, does not 
 supply the place of any noun, neither does it refer to the 
 proper name only, but it refers to both ; — to the proper 
 name, or other definitive, as denoting the individual, and to 
 the general term, as denoting the class to which the indivi- 
 dual belongs. The pronoun / denotes the person speaking, 
 thou the person spoken to, and the pronouns he, she, and 
 it, the person or object spoken of. Pronouns, as Mr. Lewis 
 has observed, represent not only that single word which, in 
 every specific description, is called a noun ; but they repre- 
 sent, also, the adjectives, and all the adjectives and definitives 
 which are connected with such noun ; thus, in the example, 
 " a holy man is called a saint," and he is an object of religi- 
 ous veneration ; the word he is used instead not only 
 of man, or a man, but instead of a holy man. And if it 
 were necessary to use the noun instead of the pronoun we 
 should likewise be obliged to use also the definitive and the 
 adjective. 
 
 A definitive pronoun is a substitute for a definitive, and 
 requires an appellative noun to be added to complete its 
 signification, as — his, my, her, its, &c. These, by a slight 
 modification, are made to include both the definitive and 
 general term, as — mine, thine, ours, yours, theirs, &c. 
 
 "That there is a near relation," says Mr. Harris, "between 
 pronouns and articles the old grammarians have all acknow- 
 ledged, and some words it has been doubtful to which class 
 to refer. The best rule to distinguish them is this, — the 
 genuine pronoun always stands by itself, assuming the power 
 of a noun, and supplying its place. The genuine article never 
 stands by itself, but appears at all times associated to some- 
 thing else, requiring a noun for its support, as much as 
 attributes and adjectives." 
 
 After discriminating so clearly the properties of a definitive 
 and a pronoun, it is rather surprising Mr. Harris did not 
 arrive at the source whence the distinction originated, and 
 that he did not ascribe to the difference of nouns the cause 
 of the difference existing in their substitutes. 
 
 Though pronouns are commonly considered as "words 
 used instead of nouns, to avoid the repetition of the same 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 79 
 
 word/' yet it is evident that the pronouns / and thou imply 
 something more than the nouns which they represent ; for if 
 the nouns were substituted, the subjects would be of the 
 third person, and no longer represent the person speaking, or 
 person spoken to, but the person spoken of, and the verb would 
 agree with the nouns in the third person. 
 
 Dr. Crombie has noticed this peculiarity, and his remarks 
 are so much to the purpose that we need make no apology 
 for laying them before the reader: — 
 
 ' ' I have said that pronouns are employed to prevent the 
 tiresome repetition of names. It is not, however, to be hence 
 inferred that even the repetition of the name would in all 
 cases answer the same purpose, or denote the subject with the 
 same precision as the pronoun. For as there is hardly any 
 name, strictly speaking, proper or peculiar to one individual, 
 the employment of a name belonging to more persons than 
 one would not so clearly specify or individuate the object as 
 the appropriate pronoun. Hence it would be often necessary 
 to subjoin to the name some distinctive circumstances, to 
 discriminate the person intended from others of that name, 
 or the speaker would be obliged to point to the individual, if 
 he happened to be present. Nay, though the person or subject 
 designed might be thus sufficiently ascertained, it is easy to 
 see that the phraseology would have nothing of that simpli- 
 city and energy which accompany the pronoun. If, instead 
 of saying ' I am the God/ we should say, ' the Lord is the 
 God/ or instead of ' thou art the man/ — 'David is the man/ 
 the energy of expression would be entirely destroyed. If 
 any person speaking of himself, should distinguish himself 
 from others of the same name, by subjoining the necessary 
 discriminating circumstances, so as to leave no doubt in the 
 mind of the hearer, it is obvious that this phraseology would 
 not only be inelegant, but also feeble and unimpressive. To 
 be convinced of the truth of this observation it is only 
 necessary to compare the exanimate, stiff, and frequently 
 obscure diction of a common card, with the freedom perspi- 
 cuity and vivacity of a letter." 
 
 Not only the utility, but the necessity, of pronouns, or 
 some equivalent signs, is evident from the fact that the name 
 of the speaker or the name of the person addressed may be 
 
80 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE- 
 
 unknown ; and so also may be the name of the person or thing 
 spoken of, as — when it is asked, who or what is it? The pro* 
 noun it stands in the place of the name of the unknown or 
 undefined person or object ; and it may be here remarked, 
 that the neuter pronoun it, when thus applied to persons, is 
 more correct than he or she, because the word person 
 is intended, and the sex being unknown, the use of the other 
 pronouns would be absurd. 
 
 The personal pronouns are, /, thou, he, she, it* and their 
 plurals we, ye, or you, they. The pronouns thou and ye are 
 nearly obsolete, the pronoun you supplying the place of 
 singular and plural, nominative and accusative. 
 
 " You, formerly was confined to the objective case, and ye 
 exclusively used for the nominative." — Murray. 
 
 The pronouns /, thou, he, she, we, and they, are changed 
 when they represent a noun in the objective case, as — me, 
 thee, him, her, and them. 
 
 The possessive pronouns are definitives and do not make 
 sense of themselves, but require to be joined to a noun to 
 complete the signification. They are my, thy, his, her, (the 
 same as the objective,) its, our, your, their. 
 
 Those writers who give mine, thine, hers, ours, yours, and 
 theirs, as the possessive cases of their several pronouns, 
 appear to overlook the extent of signification applied to these 
 modifications of the corresponding definitives ; for the pro- 
 nouns mine, thine, hers, include not only the possessive noun, 
 but the subject noun also, as — this book is mine, i. e. my 
 book ; here the pronoun my stands in the place of the 
 owner's name, and is the true possessive pronoun, or word 
 put in the place of a noun in the possessive case. The pro- 
 nouns my, thy, &c, do not, as Dr. Crombie affirms, express 
 the subject, but only that part of the subject which distin- 
 guishes an individual from others of its kind, the name of 
 the possessor, or a pronoun in the same case, being used as 
 a definitive to the subject noun, as— my book, thy book, her 
 
 * The pronoun it is generally used for irrational or inanimate objects, and 
 some grammarians scruple to class it among the personal pronouns, but since 
 this pronoun is sometimes employed to represent persons as well as things, 
 it may, without much impropriety, be permitted to retain its place among 
 personal pronouns. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 81 
 
 book, their book. It is true the words mine, thine, hers, 
 theirs, sound better in a grammar when ranged with the pro- 
 nouns / and me, thou and thee, she and her, they and them, 
 because they seem to correspond with the definition of a 
 pronoun ; but it should be remembered that a noun in the 
 possessive case does not make sense of itself, but requires to be 
 joined to another word, as — this is the king's ; whereas mine, 
 thine, hers, theirs, include the subject and its definitive, and 
 may properly be denominated pronouns, for they stand for 
 individuals, and the names of the individuals the nouns belong 
 to also. 
 
 Mr. Cobbett says the nouns denoted by the pronouns ours, 
 yours, theirs, &c, are understood (subauditur) , and he misleads 
 his reader by adducing this illustration — " this is hers, that 
 is to say, her property, her hat, or whatever else." 
 
 In the pronoun hers, thesubject noun is not only understood, 
 but it is included in the same manner as adjectives and defi- 
 nitives are included in the nominative and objective cases of 
 personal pronouns ; but in the pronoun her, the subject 
 noun, when omitted, must be supplied by the mind to com- 
 plete the sense. The first abbreviation (hers) is employed 
 to diminish the force of signification, the last (her, without 
 its noun) for the sake of dispatch. 
 
 " The notion," says Mr. M'Cullock, " that pronouns have 
 been invented to prevent the too frequent iteration of nouns, 
 seems erroneous. Even supposing the pronoun fit to stand 
 as the representative of the noun in every case (which it ob- 
 viously is not), it must be expressed as often as the noun of 
 which it is the representative : and in what respect is the 
 repetition of one class of words preferable to the repetition 
 of another ?" 
 
 This question can be satisfactorily answered only by re- 
 ferring to that leading principle in the formation of language 
 
 THAT WORDS SHOULD EXPRESS IDEAS AS NEARLY AS 
 
 POSSIBLE WITH THE SAME FORCE, AND IN THE SAME 
 MANNER OF SIGNIFICATION, AS THOSE IDEAS HAVE BEEN 
 
 conceived in the mind. Hence the origin of the different 
 sorts of words. 
 
 For the purpose of denoting emphatically the relation of 
 possession or property, the word own is frequently joined to 
 
 G 
 
82 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 the possessive cases of pronouns, as — my own, their own ; 
 and to mark the person with emphasis, the pronouns are 
 compounded with self, as — myself, himself, yourselves, them- 
 selves. These pronouns also often represent that abstract 
 notion which man forms of himself when he is the subject of 
 his own thoughts, or when the mind contemplates its own 
 operations. In the following example the pronoun yourself 
 is used for both these purposes : — 
 
 " Nay, we speak it with sorrow, even you yourself, whom we 
 should least suspect of all mankind, can hardly acquit yourself 
 of having given us some cause of complaint." — Spectator. 
 
 So also a man is said to accuse himself — he being the 
 accuser, and himself the culprit. But let not the reader 
 imagine that we wish to defend the opinion that man is 
 essentially composed of two distinct beings, or that such a 
 chimera as an abstract man actually exists ; the proofs of 
 these hypotheses must be left to metaphysicians : all that 
 we aim at is to show that a man sometimes finds it conve- 
 nient and agreeable to speak of himself and that language 
 furnishes the means by which he may be enabled to do so. 
 
 Pronouns of the third person singular admit the distinction 
 of gender, but rather for convenience than from necessity ; 
 for by means of this distinction a greater latitude is given to 
 the use of the several pronouns. We concur with Dr. 
 Crombie in his opinion on this point, and shall close our 
 observations on the personal pronouns by quoting the words 
 of that writer, in preference to giving the substance of his 
 remarks as our own ; — 
 
 " The pronouns of the first and second persons are either 
 masculine or feminine ; the reason is, says Mr. Harris, 
 because the sex of the speaker and of the person addressed 
 is generally obvious. This explanation, which has been 
 adopted by most grammarians, appears to me unsatisfactory 
 and erroneous. Others have said that the pronouns of the 
 first and second persons have no distinction of sex, because 
 all distinction of this kind is foreign to the intention of the 
 speaker, who, when he uses the pronoun I, means the person 
 who speaks, be it man or woman ; and when he employs the 
 pronoun thou, means the person addressed, without any 
 regard to the sex of the individual. This matter seems suifi- 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 83 
 
 ciently plain : language, to be useful, must be perspicuous 
 and intelligible, exhibiting the subject and its attributes with 
 clearness and precision. If it should be asked why the pro- 
 noun of the third person has three varieties, Mr. Harris 
 would answer, 'to mark the sex/ If it were inquired, 
 whence arises the necessity of marking the sex, he would 
 answer, and very justly, * in order to ascertain the subject of 
 discourse.' It is obvious, therefore, that to note the sex is 
 not the primary object, and that the principal aim of the 
 speaker is to discriminate and mark the subject. The pro- 
 nouns of the first and second persons have no variety of 
 form significant of sex, because the speaker and the person 
 addressed are evident without it. Mr. Harris, therefore, 
 should have said that the pronouns in question have no dis- 
 tinction of gender, not because the sex of the speaker and of 
 the person addressed, but because the persons themselves, 
 are in general obvious without the aid of sexual designation. 
 The intention of the speaker is not to denote the sex, but 
 the person spoken of, whether male or female ; to ascertain 
 which person, if absent, the discrimination of sex is generally 
 necessary. The sex, therefore, enters not as an essential, 
 but as an explanatory circumstance, — not as the subject of 
 discourse, but to distinguish the subject. Where the person 
 is present, and is either the speaker or the person addressed, 
 discrimination of sex becomes unnecessary, the pronoun 
 itself marking the individuals. When the person or subject 
 of discourse is absent, the distinction of sex serves frequently 
 to determine the subject. Hence the pronoun of the third 
 person has three varieties, — he for the masculine, she for the 
 feminine, and it for the neuter." 
 
 Relative Pronouns. 
 
 As all pronouns refer to some noun either expressed or 
 understood, the characteristic of reference to an antecedent, 
 appropriated to this class, does not comprehend any essential 
 property by which relative pronouns may be distinguished. 
 
 It has been observed that " relatives partake the nature of 
 conjunctions, both as they are the instruments of linking the 
 
 g 2 
 
84 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 members of sentences together, and as they have no inde- 
 pendent signification of their own." 
 
 But it appears hitherto to have escaped the notice of 
 grammarians that relatives, like many conjunctions, lessen 
 the force of affirmation in the members or clauses which 
 they connect, and leave the leading proposition of a com- 
 pound sentence more emphatic and distinct ; for example — 
 The man hath no music in himself, and he is not moved with 
 concord of sweet sounds, and he is fit for treasons. Here 
 are three distinct assertions ; but in the original there is but 
 one, the force of affirmation being qualified by the relative. 
 
 Ex. The man that hath no music in himself, 
 
 And (that) is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, 
 is fit for treasons. 
 
 The first and second clause are definitive, and do not 
 require a direct assertion. The same power is observable in 
 other pronouns. 
 
 Ex. — I desire to know whether you have finished your 
 task. 
 
 The pronoun whether (equivalent to a conjunction) quali- 
 fies the last clause, and the sentence, though containing two 
 verbs, expresses but one affirmation. 
 
 The pronouns called relative are who, which, that, and 
 the compound relative what. 
 
 The pronoun who is either masculine or feminine, and 
 refers to persons only ; the pronoun which is neuter ; that is 
 common to the three genders ; what is equivalent to the de- 
 monstrative that, and the relative which; — this is what I 
 sought, i.e. that which J sought. The pronoun who is varied 
 to denote the case of the noun for which it stands, as — 
 nominative who, possessive whose, objective whom ; which is 
 the same in the nominative and objective ; whose is com- 
 monly, and without inconvenience, used for the possessive 
 of which ; where obscurity is apprehended, the periphrasis of 
 which should be employed. By the use of this licence, one 
 word is substituted for three, as — " philosophy, whose end is 
 to instruct us in the knowledge of nature ; that is, philoso- 
 phy, the end of which is to instruct us. 
 
 The pronouns who, which, and what are used as interroga- 
 tes . 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 85 
 
 Ex. — Who first seduced them to this foul revolt ? 
 
 Mr. Harris observes that, even when these pronouns 
 become interrogatives, they do not lose their character as 
 relatives, The difference is that, without an interrogation, 
 they have reference to a subject which is antecedent, definite, 
 and known ; with an interrogation, to a subject which is 
 subsequent, indefinite, and unknown, and which it is expected 
 that the answer should express and ascertain. 
 
 In interrogative sentences the tone or emphasis distin- 
 guishes whether the subject represented by the relative be 
 known or unknown. The emphasis is indicated in writing 
 by the note of interrogation. 
 
 Adjective Pronouns. 
 
 Adjective pronouns are used as definitives whenever they 
 require a noun to complete their signification. In this 
 respect (as well as in limiting general terms) they resemble 
 adjectives. 
 
 Ex. — Every man should act honestly towards his neigh- 
 bour. 
 
 Ex. — Do to other men as you would have others do to 
 you. 
 
 Ex. — All are not just because they do no wrong. 
 
 The words usually assigned to this class of pronouns are — 
 
 my your both some such no 
 
 thy their either every latter thus 
 
 his this neither other former few 
 
 her that whether any another many 
 
 our each all one none several 
 
 " One method," says Mr. Harris, " of expressing parti- 
 culars is that of proper names. This is the least artificial, 
 because proper names, being in every district arbitrarily 
 applied, may be unknown to those who know the language 
 perfectly well, ancl can hardly, therefore, with propriety, be 
 considered as parts of it. The other, and more artificial 
 method, is that of definitives or articles, whether we assume 
 
86 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 the pronominal, or those more strictly so called. And here 
 we cannot enough admire the exquisite art of language, 
 which, without wandering into infinitude, contrives how to 
 denote things infinite; that is to say, in other words, which, 
 by the small tribe of definitives, properly applied to general 
 terms, knows how to employ these last, though, in number, 
 infinite, to the accurate expression of infinite particulars." 
 
 To explain what has been said by a single example : — "Let 
 the general term be man. I have occasion to apply this 
 term to the denoting of some particular. Let it be required 
 to express this particular, as unknown, I say, a man ; known, 
 I say, the man : indefinite, any man ; definite, a certain man • 
 present and near, this man; present and distant, that man; 
 like to some other, such a man; an indefinite multitude, many 
 men; a definite multitude, a thousand men; the ones of a 
 multitude, taken throughout, every man; the same ones, 
 taken with distinction, each man; taken in order, first man, 
 second man; the whole multitude of particulars, taken col- 
 lectively, all men; the negation of this multitude, no man." 
 — Harris. Hermes, book iii. chap. 3. 
 
 With this view of the definitive, we conclude the etymo- 
 logy of pronouns. 
 
 Syntax of Pronouns. 
 
 Rule 1. Pronouns agree in gender, number, case, and 
 person with the nouns they are intended to represent. 
 
 Ex. — " Answer a fool according to his folly lest he be 
 wise in his own conceit." — Proverbs xxvi. 4. 
 
 Ex. — "As to the book itself, it can say this in its behalf, 
 that it does not merely confine itself to what its title pro- 
 mises." — Harris. 
 
 The frequent repetition of the pronoun in this example is 
 scarcely perceived, but if the noun had been used the recur- 
 rence of the more emphatic term would not only have been 
 irksome, but would have rendered the other terms of the 
 sentence less forcible. For example : — 
 
 As to the book, the book's self, the book can say this in the 
 book's behalf, that the book does not merely confine the book's 
 self to what the book's title promises. 
 
 Pronouns, therefore, are used to avoid the force of signifi- 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 87 
 
 cation which is attached to the noun, and not merely to 
 avoid the repetition of the same word, for it is evident that 
 the same pronoun may be repeated in cases where the repe- 
 tition of the noun would be considered inelegant. The noun, 
 however, should be repeated as often as the subjects are 
 changed in a sentence, or whenever perspicuity requires the 
 repetition. 
 
 Ex. — "The bodies which we daily handle make us per- 
 ceive that whilst they remain between them, they do by an 
 insurmountable force hinder the approach of our hands that 
 press them." — Locke. 
 
 The pronoun them has no antecedent, and as both the sub- 
 jects of the sentence are in the plural number, the pronouns 
 should have been used more sparingly. — Thus, 
 
 The bodies which we daily handle make us perceive that 
 whilst they remain between our hands, they do by an insur- 
 mountable force hinder the approach of our hands that press 
 them. 
 
 "When I see too many its in a page" says Mr. Cobbett, 
 " I always tremble for the writer." — We are surprised that 
 Mr. Cobbett did not detect and quote in justification of his 
 fears, the following illustration from the pen of Dr. Lowth, 
 for Mr. Cobbett seems to have studied Dr. Lowth's Intro- 
 duction carefully, and with no small advantage. 
 
 Ex. — "In English the preposition is more frequently 
 placed after the verb, and separates it from it like an adverb, 
 in which situation it is no less apt to affect the sense of it, 
 and to give it a new meaning, and may still be considered as 
 belonging to the verb, and a part it." — Lowth. 
 
 This example may serve to exercise the ingenuity of the 
 inexperienced grammarian, by supplying the appropriate 
 nouns in the places of the neuter pronoun. 
 
 Each personal pronoun has a corresponding plural, because, 
 
 1st. There may be many persons at once of the same 
 sentiment, and the person speaking includes these under the 
 pronoun we. 
 
 2ndly. An address may be made to many, as well as to one, 
 the pronoun ye or you denotes the plural. 
 
 3rdly. The subject of discourse often includes many, and 
 the individuals are denoted by the appropriate pronoun they. 
 
88 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 In the arrangement of pronouns in a sentence the pronoun 
 of the second person is generally placed before the pronoun 
 of the third; but the pronoun of the first person ought always 
 to be placed last. 
 
 Ex. — You and he have quarrelled, i.e. ye have quarrelled; 
 he and I are friends, i.e. we are friends. 
 
 It was Mr. Cobbett's ignorance of the principles of gram- 
 mar that caused him to condemn this construction. The first 
 person is preferred to the second, and the second to the 
 third, because the first person plural can represent the three 
 persons singular, and the second person plural can include 
 the third person singular ; whereas neither the second nor 
 the third person plural can include the first person singular, 
 nor can the third person plural include the second person 
 singular. 
 
 The neuter pronoun "it" is used to denote a. person when 
 the sex of the individual is either unknown or not referred to. 
 
 Ex. — Who is it ? — It is the person who called yesterday. 
 
 The same pronoun is also used as an expletive to introduce 
 a plural subject, whether the nouns represent persons or 
 things. 
 
 Ex.— "Tis they that give the great Atrides* spoils." — 
 Prior. 
 
 Ex. — "Tis these that early taint the female soul." — 
 Pope. 
 
 Dr. Crombie justly observes that "when a question is 
 asked, the subject of which is totally unknown, there must 
 be some indefinite word employed to denote the subject of 
 the interrogation. The word which we use for this purpose 
 is it, as — 'who is it;' ' what is it.' This being the case, there 
 can be no impropriety in repeating, in the answer, the indefi- 
 nite term employed in the question. We may, therefore, 
 reply, 'it is I;' ' it is he ;' ' it is she/ " 
 
 " Now if the term be admitted in questions and answers, 
 where the subject may be either male or female, and of the 
 first, second, or third person, it surely is admissible in those 
 cases also where the subject is in the plural number; nay, to 
 use in answer any other word to express the subject than 
 that by which it is signified in the question, would be, in all 
 cases, if not productive of ambiguity, at least less precise. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 89 
 
 Who is it ? says the master to his servant, hearing a voice in 
 the hall. It is the gentlemen who called yesterday, replies the 
 servant. Who sees not that, "they are the gentlemen," 
 would be an answer less accordant* with the terms of the 
 question, and would less clearly show that " the gentlemen," 
 and "the subject of inquiry/' both being denoted by one term, 
 are one and the same? Had the master known that it was 
 the voice of a gentleman, and that there were more than one, 
 and he accordingly said, "who are they?" the answer would 
 have properly been, "they are the gentlemen," But when 
 the question is, "who is \t?" I apprehend the only apposite 
 answer is, " it is the gentleman," the identity of the terms (it 
 being repeated) clearly evincing the identity of the subject in 
 the question and in the answer; in other words, that the sub- 
 ject of inquiry, and the subject of the answer, are one and 
 the same."f 
 
 The plural pronoun we is often employed to denote an 
 individual, instead of the personal pronoun /. The writer 
 of these pages has frequently had recourse to this excusable 
 licence, because the pronoun we appeared to him less obtru- 
 sive, and less likely to withdraw the attention of the reader 
 from the subject, than the egotistic pronoun /. Under this 
 impression we shall not hesitate to continue the practice. 
 
 The pronoun thou, and consequently the pronoun thee, are 
 now rarely employed on ordinary occasions. 
 
 " Thou," says Dr. Ash, in his Grammar, " is used to 
 denote the greatest respect, as — O thou most high; and, 
 likewise, to denote the greatest contempt, as — thou worth- 
 less fellow. 
 
 It was probably some remark of this kind which assisted 
 to bring the useful pronoun thou into contempt : — Mankind 
 are too apt to credit the assertions of the learned, and to be 
 overawed by the authority of a great name. The respect and 
 contempt attributed by Dr. Ash to the pronoun is implied in 
 
 * And therefore less grammatical. Phraseologies established by univer- 
 sal usage are not, as Dr. Crombie asserts, unexceptionable because they are 
 universal, but because such phraseologies are in general (if not always) 
 grammatical idioms. It is their perspicuity and accuracy that cause them 
 to be universally adopted. 
 
 f Crombie. — Etymology and Syntax, pp. 86, 87. 
 
90 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 the attributes highest and worthless. The pronoun is merely 
 emphatic. 
 
 But the agreement which grammarians require to be 
 observed between this pronoun and the verb, and which the 
 mind perceives to be unnecessary and formal, is perhaps the 
 chief cause of its disuse, For, except in the irregular verb 
 "to be," the variation of the second person of the verb might 
 be dispensed with. But custom has so long associated the 
 termination with the pronoun, that it will be difficult to 
 persuade a scholar that " thou love" is as grammatical as 
 " thou lovest." In fact, the former is better grammar; for 
 the syllable est, in the latter, is redundant. 
 
 The last, it is true, is conformable to usage, but the first 
 would be in strict conformity with the principles of con- 
 struction. We would, however, remind the reader that these 
 remarks are not intended as practical, but as theoretical ; for, 
 having shown, in another place, the inconvenience of using 
 the pronoun you for both numbers, we have added these 
 observations to prove that the abuse is not necessary. 
 
 The pronouns my, thy, her, our, your, their, his and its, 
 do not express the subject, but the subject's possessor. They 
 are the possessive cases of their several personal pronouns. 
 
 The pronouns mine, thine, hers, ours, yours, theirs, belong 
 to a class sui generis, and they cannot, with propriety, be 
 included in the declensions of personal pronouns. The 
 possessives his and its end in s, and have not received the 
 additional modification by which others of this class are 
 distinguished, when they include, in their signification, the 
 subject noun. 
 
 Mine and thine were formerly used for my and thy before 
 words beginning with a vowel. 
 
 The pronoun her is used both as the possessive and as the 
 objective case of the nominative, she. 
 
 Rule II. The relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent 
 in gender, number, and person. The relative is in the same 
 case the noun would be in if used in its stead. 
 
 Ex. — " He who renders full justice to his enemy shall have 
 friends." 
 
 Who is the nominative case to the verb renders, and agrees 
 with its antecedent pronoun he in gender, number, and person. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 91 
 
 Ex. — Arrangement prevents trouble, which is always a 
 consequence of confusion. 
 
 The relative which is the nominative to the verb "is," 
 and refers to trouble, as its antecedent, in the objective case. 
 
 Mr. Cobbett asserts that the relative can never be the 
 nominative or subject of the verb. It does not require 
 much grammatical knowledge to detect the inaccuracy of this 
 opinion. The last example sufficiently contradicts Mr. 
 Cobbett's assertion. But in cases where ambiguity might 
 arise, the noun should be repeated. 
 
 The relative that is used sometimes either for who or 
 which. 
 
 Ex. — "The poor man who envies not the rich, who pities 
 his companions of poverty, and can spare something for him 
 that is still poorer, is, in the realms of humanity, a king of 
 kings." 
 
 The pronoun that refers to him, and the relative is the 
 nominative to the substantive verb. 
 
 Ex. — " The sweetest attribute of humanity, and that which 
 affords the most solid and permanent satisfaction in social 
 intercourse, is good nature." 
 
 The relative which is the nominative to the verb " affords," 
 and refers to the antecedent " attribute." The antecedent 
 is also the noun belonging to the demonstrative that. The 
 parenthetical clause is elliptical: — "That is the attribute, 
 which attribute," &c, and not "which sweetest attribute 
 of humanity." This double relative is called by grammarians 
 the compound relative, when it is expressed by the single 
 term what. 
 
 What has a less determinate signification than "that 
 which," and cannot, with propriety, always supply the place of 
 those pronouns. 
 
 In the above example it might be used, but it would, 
 perhaps, be considered less elegant. 
 
 Ex. — " Happy are they whose amusement is knowledge, 
 and whose supreme delight is the cultivation of the mind." 
 
 The relative whose, in this example, represents a noun, 
 pertaining to another noun, as its possessor. The relative is, 
 therefore, put in the possessive case. It may be observed 
 that the pronoun they, in this example, is incorrect, as the 
 
92 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 persons the pronoun represents are indefinite, and the relative 
 clause merely contains the description of those persons who are 
 happy. It should be — happy are those whose amusements, &c. 
 
 Rule III. The relative is the nominative case to the 
 verb when no nominative comes between it and the verb. 
 
 Ex. — True philosophy, which is the ornament of our 
 nature, consists more in the love of our duty, and in the 
 practice of virtue, than in great talents and extensive know- 
 ledge. 
 
 When a nominative comes between the relative and the 
 verb, the relative is governed by some word in its own 
 member of the sentence. 
 
 Ex. — He who preserves me, to whom I owe my being, 
 whose I am, and whom I serve, is eternal. 
 
 " In the several members of the last sentence the relative 
 performs a different office. In the first member it marks 
 the agent, in the second it submits to the government of the 
 preposition, in the third it represents the possessor, and in 
 the fourth the object of an action, and therefore it must be 
 in the three different cases correspondent to those offices." — 
 Murray. 
 
 Rule IV. When the relative is preceded by two nomina- 
 tives, it will govern the verb according to the antecedent it 
 represents. 
 
 Ex. — I am he who is condemned, but i" who have been 
 condemned, am not the guilty person. 
 
 The order of the clauses will determine the person or 
 concord of the verb. 
 
 Ex. — I am the man who commands you. 
 
 Ex. — I am the man who command you. 
 
 Of these two examples the first is correct, the last is not. 
 It should be, "I who command you am the man." 
 
 " The construction " observes Dr. Crombie, " is by no 
 means arbitrary." If we say, "lam the man who commands 
 you," the relative clause, with the antecedent man, form 
 the predicate, and the sentence is equivalent to " I am your 
 commander/' If we say "I am the man who command 
 you," the man simply is the predicate, and " I who command 
 you," the subject, thus " I who command you," or " I your 
 commander am the man." 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 93 
 
 Ex. — I am verily a man who am a Jew. 
 
 The relative stands in the place of the speaker as represen- 
 ting the man the speaker is describing, and the verb should 
 be of the third person, "aman who is a Jew." 
 
 The relative that is used when the verb refers to persons 
 and things. 
 
 Ex. — The woman and the estate that became his portion, 
 were too much for his moderation. 
 
 "There are cases/' says Mr. Murray, "wherein we cannot 
 conveniently dispense with this relative as applied to person;" 
 but neither Mr. Murray, nor has any other grammarian 
 attempted to explain the cause of this singularity. 
 
 Ex. — Who, that has any sense of religion, would have 
 argued thus? 
 
 The relative that has the power of a conditional conjunc- 
 tion, and is not simply the nominative to the verb. 
 
 Ex. — Who (if that man has any sense of religion,) would 
 have argued thus? 
 
 The conditional clause connected by the relative may be as 
 conveniently added by using the present participle of the 
 verb without the relative. 
 
 Ex. — Who, having any sense of religion, would have 
 argued thus? 
 
 The relative that is used in preference to who, after the 
 words '■ same" and " all." Custom has decided this prefer- 
 ence, since both are grammatical and equally perspicuous. 
 
 The relative is sometimes made to refer to one of the 
 terms of a complex noun, and as the term or phrase the 
 relative refers to is the one used definitively or adjectively, 
 the mind in general perceives an impropriety. This idiom is 
 often the cause of ambiguity, and should if possible be avoided. 
 
 Ex. — The object of this work, which is entirely new, is to 
 comprise. 
 
 The mind perceives that " work," only, is the antecedent 
 to the pronoun, and not the whole subject of the leading 
 sentence, but this is not always so evident. 
 
 Ex. — " For this very remarkable success I am chiefly 
 indebted to my anxiety for plain explanation, which I am 
 highly gratified to perceive is every day gaining strength and 
 popularity." — Brenan. 
 
94 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 The logical or rather grammatical structure of this sentence, 
 would induce the reader to suppose that the author's anxiety 
 for plain explanation is every day gaining strength and popu- 
 larity. The absurdity of this assertion alone makes the 
 reader look for another meaning, when he discovers that the 
 subordinate noun and its adjective, "plain explanation/' con- 
 nected with the principle noun to form the subject is the 
 only part of the phrase to which the writer refers. 
 
 This construction sometimes obtains in the use of the 
 personal pronouns. 
 
 Ex. — "Had the opinion of my censurers been unanimous, it 
 might have overset my resolution; but since I find them at 
 variance with each other I can without scruple neglect them, 
 and follow my own imagination." — Johnson. 
 
 A remarkable instance of the liability to error arising 
 from this mode of expression, occurs in the writings of 
 Dr. Watts. 
 
 " If the question be proposed whether excess of wine can 
 be hurtful to him that drinks it, and the sophister should 
 prove that it revives his spirits, it exhilerates his soul, it gives 
 a man courage, and makes him strong and active, and then 
 he takes it for granted that he has proved his point." 
 
 The fallacy of this mode of reasoning is detected by the 
 grammarian, for he perceives that the subject in the subse- 
 quent part of the sentence is changed; for what is there 
 stated refers simply to "wine," and not to the "excess 
 of wine," as proposed by Dr. Watts in the question. 
 
 Rule V. — When the relative refers to a noun of multitude, 
 that represents a collection of individuals taken as a whole, 
 the pronoun "which," should be employed, and the verb it 
 governs should be in the singular number. 
 
 Ex. — The crowd which was assembled in the street, was 
 dispersed by the constables. 
 
 But if the relative who be employed, the individuals are 
 separately referred to, and the verb agrees with the noun in 
 the plural. 
 
 Ex. — "The crowd who were assembled in the street 
 pelted the constables." — i. e. they, the persons, pelted the 
 constables, not it pelted. 
 
 This rule is opposed to the opinion of Mr. Cobbett, who 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 95 
 
 says that "the crowd which was," and "the crowd who was," 
 are equally proper. 
 
 Whose, is employed as the possessive case of which. 
 
 Ex. — " In our ancient law books, a farding-deale of land 
 means the fourth part of an acre, whose rent was in Richard 
 the second's time so restrained, that for a farding-deale of 
 land they paid no more than one penny."- — Horne Tooke. 
 
 It may be remarked that in this example the personal 
 pronoun they is used in the vague sense of the French 
 pronoun on. 
 
 The relative pronouns have a less definite signification 
 when united to the adverbs so and ever, 
 
 /'Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary 
 that he hold the catholic faith." 
 
 Ever united to a relative is equivalent to the definitive any, 
 whoever, which ever, that is, any who, any which. 
 
 Ever, united to the adverb when has the meaning of the 
 adverb always. This may be seen by the following example. 
 
 Ex. — Always when you are examining a sentence, you 
 will take into your view the words that are left out. i. e. 
 Whenever you are. 
 
 Rule VI. The demonstratives this and that, agree with 
 their nouns in number, — as this man, these men ; that nation, 
 those nations. 
 
 The phrases — these kind of people, those sort of books, are 
 therefore incorrect. 
 
 "It is not always easy," says Mr. Murray, "to say whether 
 a personal pronoun or demonstrative is preferable in certain 
 constructions." 
 
 Ex. — We are not unacquainted with the calumny of them, 
 (or those,) who openly make use of the warmest professions. 
 
 This doubtful point, so troublesome to many writers, has 
 been decided by Dr. Epps, whose remarks are too well sup- 
 ported by the principles of universal grammar to admit of 
 contradiction. 
 
 "There is an advantage which arises from considering 
 these words as definitives, as by so doing we shall be prevented 
 from falling into an improper use of the pronoun 'them," 
 the objective case of the personal pronoun 'they.' Some 
 writer says 'we ought to have great respect for them who are 
 
96 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 wise and good.' This them should be those, and for this rea- 
 son, that, in the sentence, no persons for whom them can 
 stand^have been mentioned. These persons are to be defined, 
 and therefore we should say ' those/ or, in other words, we 
 should use the definitive to which the noun is added ; or, if 
 not, is understood. However, we say ' some persons are wise 
 and good ; I love them. Here, them is correct, because 
 the persons are defined before hand, and therefore the pronoun 
 may stand in their place, but it cannot stand in the place of 
 nouns which have not been mentioned. This affords a 
 striking difference between the pronoun and the definitive." 
 Epps. 
 
 The demonstrative pronoun this, refers to a present, near, 
 or last mentioned subject ; that, to an absent, more distant, 
 or first mentioned one. In the following example they are 
 incorrectly applied. 
 
 Ex, — "That national use might be opposed to foreign 
 scarcely needs illustration; for the introduction of extraneous 
 words or idioms from other languages, and foreign nations, is 
 a greater transgression than the adoption into pure English 
 of provincial terms, and cant phrases. This, is the error of 
 the learned, that, of the vulgar." — Campbell. 
 
 " The introduction of foreign idioms," being the first men- 
 tioned subject, and the error of the learned, the demonstrative, 
 that should have been employed, or the words learned and 
 vulgar should have exchanged places. " This is the error of 
 the vulgar, that of the learned." 
 
 The adjectives/onwer and latter, and the phrases "the one" 
 and "the other," are also used as demonstratives. 
 
 Ex. — " When a speaker addresses the understanding, he 
 proposes the instruction of his hearers by explaining some- 
 thing unknown to them, or by proving some position they 
 doubt. His purpose is to dispel ignorance, or to vanquish 
 error. In the one his aim is their information, in the other 
 their conviction. Accordingly, the predominant quality of 
 the former is perspicuity, the latter argument. By that we 
 are made to know, .by this to believe." — Campbell. 
 
 Ex. — " Homer was the greater genius, Virgil the better 
 artist ; in the one we most admire the man, in the other the 
 work." — Pope. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 97 
 
 Mr. Brenan condemns the use of these convenient demon- 
 stratives, and asserts that the one and the other are " sheer 
 nonsense;" but is Mr. Brenan's practice consistent with his 
 criticism ? 
 
 Ex. — "As the colon retreated its half-brother declined so 
 much in importance, that we are now independent of both 
 one and the other." — Brenan. 
 
 Mr. Brenan's language is both redundant and defective, and 
 at the same time inconsistent with his avowed opinion. It 
 is redundant because the pronoun "both" includes the one 
 and the other. It is defective in the omission of the article 
 before one, and its inconsistency is evident from what has 
 already been quoted respecting the author's objections to the 
 terms he himself uses in the foregoing example. 
 
 The demonstratives, former and latter, are ambiguously 
 employed in the following example. 
 
 Ex. — " Language consists of intelligible signs, and is the 
 medium by which the mind communicates its thoughts. It 
 is either articulate or inarticulate; artificial or natural. The 
 former is peculiar to man, the latter is common to all animals." 
 Crombie. 
 
 The " former" refers to articulate and artificial, the "latter" 
 to inarticulate and natural; but there are few readers, ignorant 
 of these distinctions, would so understand the meaning of 
 the writer. The sentence thus corrected renders the passage 
 intelligible. 
 
 Ex. — Language consists of intelligible signs, and is the 
 medium by which the mind communicates its thoughts. It is 
 either articulate and artificial, or inarticulate and natural. The 
 former is peculiar to man, the latter is common to all animals. 
 
 Rule VII. The adjective pronouns each, every, either, 
 neither, whether, agree with nouns in the singular number. 
 
 Ex. — Each man was rewarded. Each of these deserves a 
 certain degree of attention, 
 
 Ex. — Every man must account for himself. 
 
 Ex. — It is either day or night. 
 
 Ex. — Neither of my friends was there. 
 
 Ex. — Whether is greater, the gold or the temple? 
 
 The pronoun either, from an affectation of refinement, is 
 sometimes used instead of each. 
 
 H 
 
98 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Ex. — And leaning from the front window with a pistol in 
 either hand. 
 
 The writer meant to say the person had a pistol in each 
 hand. Either refers to one object, each to several. The 
 pronouns either, neither, and whether, are also used as con- 
 junctions. 
 
 All is used with a noun singular when it refers to quantity, 
 and with a plural noun when it refers to number. The con- 
 struction of the following sentence, therefore, though written 
 by a grammatist is incorrect. 
 
 Ex. — "For to all is a knowledge of his own language 
 necessary." — Kenny. 
 
 It should be " their own language," or rather— For to every 
 one is a knowledge of his own language necessary. 
 
 The former and the latter are sometimes used to denote 
 the definitives and the subject noun, in the same man- 
 ner, and by the same means, as the possessive cases of the 
 personal pronouns our, your, denote their subjects by the 
 addition of s. The apostrophe, or sign of the genitive, is 
 unnecessary, and a departure from analogy. 
 
 Ex. — " The participle is distinguished from the adjective 
 by the former's expressing the idea of time, and the latter's 
 denoting only a quality." — Murray. 
 
 None, which originally signified no one, is now used as 
 plural when it refers to number. 
 
 Ex. — None of them are varied to express the gender. 
 
 Ex. — None of them has attempted to show by what steps 
 they proceed. It should be have attempted. 
 
 "Any, the diminutive of ane or one, involves, in common 
 with a or an, the idea of unity; but it is used still more 
 indefinitely, being employed to denote whatever one of a num- 
 ber it be." Many, few, several, some, denote number inde- 
 finitely: many is opposed to few. 
 
 Ex. — Many are called, few are chosen. 
 
 "Both signifies two persons or things taken together." 
 
 Ex. " We, Hermia, like two artificial gods, 
 
 Have, with our needle, created both one flower, 
 
 Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion; 
 
 Both warbling of one song, both in one key, 
 
 As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds, 
 
 Had been incorporate." Shakespeare. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 99 
 
 Other is a definitive, and requires to be joined to a noun 
 to complete the subject; it is used before singular and plural 
 nouns. 
 
 Ex. — " Milton uses the same manner of expression in a 
 few other places of his Paradise Lost, and more frequently in 
 his poems." — Lowth. 
 
 The pronoun other should also have been used before the 
 word " poems," for the Paradise Lost was one of Milton's 
 Poems. Dr. Lowth's construction implies that it was a 
 prose production. 
 
 We shall conclude the syntax of pronouns with a short 
 extract from Dr. Lowth's Introduction, on the importance 
 of the relative and other pronouns. "The accuracy and 
 clearness of the sentence depend very much upon the proper 
 and determinate use of the relative, so that it may readily 
 present its antecedent to the mind of the hearer or reader, 
 without any obscurity or ambiguity. The same may be 
 observed of the 'pronoun and the noun, which, by some, are 
 called also the relative and antecedent." 
 
 A pronoun may be known by its being the representative 
 of a noun, either expressed or understood. 
 
 Illustration of Pronouns. 
 
 The Closing Scene of a Worldly and Selfish Character. 
 
 " The obsequies of the dead were like the living character 
 of the woman, cold, formal, and artificial. The sexton and 
 his assistants had hardly commenced replacing the stone 
 which covered the entrance of the vault, when a knot of 
 elderly men set the example of desertion, by moving away 
 in a body from the spot. As they picked their footsteps 
 among the graves, and over the frozen ground of the church- 
 yard, they discoursed idly together of the fortunes and age of 
 the woman of whom they had now taken their leave for ever. 
 The curse of selfishness appeared even to have fallen on the 
 warning which so sudden an end should have given to those 
 who forgot they tottered themselves on the brink of the grave. 
 They spoke of the deceased, as of one who had failed to awaken 
 
 h 2 
 
100 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 the charities of our nature; and though several ventured con- 
 jecture as to the manner in which she had disposed of her 
 worldly possessions, no one remembered to lament that she 
 had not longer continued to enjoy them. From this theme 
 they soon wandered to themselves, and the whole party 
 quitted the churchyard, joking each other on the inroads of 
 time, each man attempting to ape the elastic tread of youth, 
 in order not only to conceal from his companions the ravages 
 of age, but with a vain desire to extend the artifice so far, if 
 possible, as. to deceive himself." — Cooper. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE VERB. 
 
 " All those attributives which have the complex power of denoting both an 
 attribute and an assertion make that species of words which grammarians 
 call verbs." — Harris. 
 
 " Of the whole class of words" says Blair, "that are called 
 attributive, indeed of all the parts of speech, the most com- 
 plex, by far, is the verb. It is chiefly in this part of speech, 
 that the subtle and profound metaphysic of language appears, 
 and therefore in examining the nature and different varia- 
 tions of the verb, there might be room for ample discussion." 
 
 Mr. Cobbett thought " it impossible to give a short and 
 precise description of this part of speech, because there are 
 so many properties and circumstances, so many and such 
 different powers and functions belonging to it." 
 
 Now, there is only one property or circumstance, power 
 or function, that characterises the grammarians' verb, and 
 this property is its power of predicating the existence of an 
 attribute, for when any word ceases to have this power, it is 
 no longer considered by grammarians to be a verb. Almost 
 every writer, who has carefully examined the structure of 
 language, admits that this power of affirmation is the only 
 criterion by which a verb may be known, and that the essence 
 of the verb consists in affirmation. 
 
 But it is contended that in making a verb a mere sign it is 
 degraded from its rank, and confounded with a species of 
 words which are not even necessary to the communication 
 of thought. In answer to this objection, it may be urged 
 that words are not always to be valued in proportion to the 
 extent of their meaning, for their value may arise from the 
 importance of their use; thus, the verb, or sign of affirmation, 
 
102 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 is as indispensable in communicating our thoughts, as is the 
 noun which denotes the subject, or the term which denotes 
 that which is affirmed of the subject, for without the affirma- 
 tive sign, either expressed or understood, there can be no 
 complete sentence or proposition ; but as light would not be 
 less valuable if it could be proved to be a mere phenomenon, 
 so this word cannot be " degraded" even when divested of its 
 meaning. 
 
 The verb, however, is rarely used without conveying the 
 notion of an attribute, and this has induced grammarians in 
 general to include the attribute in their definition of a verb, 
 and some writers have, in theory, gone so far as to make the 
 attribute the essential characteristic. 
 
 Mr. Murray says, " A verb is a word which signifies to be, 
 to do, or to suffer." He afterwards remarks, " In our defi- 
 nition of the verb, as a part of speech, which signifies to be, 
 to do, or to suffer, &c. we have included every thing either 
 expressly or by necessary consequence that is essential to its 
 nature, and nothing that is not essential to it. This definition 
 is warranted by the authority of Dr. Lowth, and many other 
 respectable writers on grammar." 
 
 If Mr. Murray had said that his definition was warranted 
 by the nature of the verb, and consistent with his own in- 
 structions and practice, when he analyses a sentence, we 
 should have paid more respect to his opinion ; but as we con- 
 sider great names of no weight when opposed to the laws of 
 language, and as we are convinced that the rules of every 
 science are independent of authority, we venture to controvert 
 the propriety of this definition, for Mr. Murray has omitted 
 the very property which alone qualifies this word to be what 
 he himself calls it " The chief word in every sentence." 
 
 The proofs which Mr. Murray advances against the 
 opinions of those who consider assertion as the essence of the 
 verb are, that " The participle and infinitive, if included in it, 
 would prove insuperable objections to their scheme, as they 
 have, without hesitation, denied the former a place in the 
 verb, and declared the latter to be merely a verbal noun. 
 
 Now the participles are modifications of the infinitive or 
 verbal noun, and they are, in fact, the words which signify 
 being, doing, and suffering (to be, to do, and to suffer,); but 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 103 
 
 although these words answer precisely to Mr. Murray's defini- 
 tion of a verb, Mr. Murray, notwithstanding, rejects them, and 
 confines the term "verb" to those modifications of the attribute 
 which affirm, and yet he denies assertion to be the essential 
 characteristic of this part of speech. What consistency can 
 be found in such a theory, or how are such instructions to 
 be comprehended? 
 
 " A verb," says Dr. Crombie, "has been defined to be that 
 part of speech which signifies to be, to do, or to suffer ; or, 
 more correctly, that part of speech which predicates some 
 action, passion, or state of its subject Its essence consists 
 in affirmation, and by this property it is distinguished from 
 every other part of speech." 
 
 "The verb to be frequently denotes pure affirmation, as 
 — God is good, where the verb, or copula, as it has been 
 termed, serves to predicate of the Deity, the attribute denoted 
 by the following word." Here it expresses mere affirma- 
 tion. Sometimes it predicates pure and absolute existence, 
 as — God is, that is, — God exists. In the following example 
 it occurs in both senses. 
 
 Ex. — We believe that thou art, and that thou art the 
 re warder of them who diligently seek thee. 
 
 Notwithstanding Dr. Crombie's clear explanation of the 
 nature of the verb, he still adheres to the usual definition. 
 
 " As nouns denote the subjects of our discourse, so verbs 
 predicate their accidents or properties. The former are the 
 names of things, and the latter what we say concerning them." 
 
 This is making no distinction between the attribute and 
 the verb, and the writer contradicts his approved definition, 
 for when the verb denotes pure affirmation, as — God is just, 
 the adjective "just" denotes what we say of the subject, but 
 this attribute has no pretention to the character of a verb, 
 the word is maintains its rank unincumbered by any other 
 meaning than that of simple affirmation. 
 
 Mr. Tooke denies affirmation to be essential to the verb, 
 and he also declares that no single word can imply assertion. 
 This last opinion has already been proved by Dr. Crombie 
 to be erroneous ; and we suspect, notwithstanding Mr.Tooke's 
 decided tone, that he knew very little of the nature of the 
 verb. It is true he promised to explain the character of 
 
104 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 this important part of speech, but when he arrived at the 
 question — what is a verb? he artfully evaded the discussion. 
 The little he has incidentally said upon the subject is 
 neither new, nor much to the purpose. 
 
 "The infinitive, says this writer, appears plainly to^be what 
 the Stoics called it, the very verb itself, pure and uncom- 
 pounded, with the various accidents, of mood, of number, of 
 gender, of person, and, in English, of tense, which accidents 
 are in some languages joined to the verb by variety of termi- 
 nation, and in some by an additional word, signifying the 
 added circumstance." 
 
 The infinitive mood is an abstract noun and does not 
 affirm ; it simply denotes, or names, an action or state of 
 being; it is not therefore the word or verb of a sentence. 
 
 Mr. Lewis defines a verb to be a word which, when placed 
 after a noun or pronoun, expresses something respecting it, 
 and when placed before it either commands or asks a question. 
 This does not inform the reader what a verb is, it merely 
 directs him to the part of a sentence, where verbs are usually 
 to be found. In another part of his grammar, Mr. Lewis 
 alludes to the essential characteristic of a verb, — "Any num- 
 ber of words, says he, thrown together by accident, convey 
 a distinct sense or meaning in themselves, or, separately, 
 excite certain ideas in the mind, but they do not inform us 
 of the intentions and views of the speaker in using them, for 
 it is the proper object of speech to communicate. In short, 
 words so thrown together want the dictum; they want that 
 which marks the intention of the speaker,— the word which 
 is emphatically called the word, that is, the verb." 
 
 Notwithstanding these pertinent observations, it is evident 
 that Mr. Lewis confounds this dictum or sign of affirmation 
 with the attribute, for he says, — " The verb represents the 
 thing or action affirmed or denied of the subject." 
 
 "Verb," says Dr. Russell, " means said of a thing." 
 
 This definition, it will be seen, arises from the notion that 
 a verb is "what we say concerning the subject;" but we say 
 of many things that they are black or white, right or wrong; 
 and every one knows that such words are not verbs ; they are 
 not even participial adjectives. It is true, that what are 
 called verbs may be formed from these qualities, by prefixing 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 105 
 
 the sign which gives to a word an active signification ; but the 
 ideas such words are intended to express are very different 
 from those which we attach to the names of the simple quali- 
 ties. Thus from wrong may be formed the verbal attribute 
 to wrong, and when this attribute is " said of a thing," as — 
 " he wrongs his friend," the word is so far a verb as it serves 
 to express the affirmation ; but that which is affirmed, " the 
 act of wronging," is not the verb, but the attribute, or active 
 participle. 
 
 " Some attributes," says Mr. Harris, (who appears to have 
 understood the true character of the verb better than his 
 great opponent Mr. Tooke, or any of the little critics who 
 have echoed Mr. Tooke's opinions,) "have their essence in 
 motion, such are — to walk, to fly, to strike, to live. Others 
 have it in the privation of motion, such are — to stop, to 
 rest, to cease, to die. And, lastly, others have it in subjects 
 which have nothing to do with either motion or its privation, 
 such are the attributes of great and little, white and black, 
 wise and foolish; and, in a word, the several quantities, and 
 qualities of all things. Now these last are adjectives, those 
 which denote motions or their privation are either verbs or 
 participles, and these attributes having the complex power 
 of denoting an attribute and an assertion, make that species 
 of words which grammarians call verbs." 
 
 Mr. M'Culloch, a modern writer on grammar, professes 
 to take an original view of this intricate part of speech ; but, 
 although he at first considers affirmation as the sine qua non 
 of a verb, still, like his predecessors, he confounds that essen- 
 tial characteristic with the predicate, and ultimately makes 
 " that which is said of the subject" to be the verb. 
 
 " Verb," says the writer, " is the name given to all words 
 whose office is to predicate or assert, as — strikes, walks, is." 
 
 " As the noun is the word in a sentence which names the 
 thing about which we speak, so the verb is the word which 
 asserts or declares what we say concerning it." 
 
 " The verb, in common with the adjective, expresses the 
 quality or property of a noun; but these parts of speech are 
 quite distinct, the adjective merely expresses quality, as con- 
 joined with the noun it affirms nothing; but the verb always 
 affirms." 
 
106 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 "Nouns and verbs are the only indispensable parts of 
 speech; the one to express the subject spoken of, and the 
 other the predicate or what is affirmed of it." 
 
 This is a direct contradiction, for the author has affirmed 
 that the adjective is a part of speech quite distinct from the 
 verb, and now he repeats that the noun and verb are the 
 only indispensable parts of speech ? The fact is, the adjective 
 differs essentially from those attributes which admit the force 
 of affirmation, therefore adjectives are as indispensable as 
 either the noun or the verb. 
 
 It matters not by what contrivance adjectives are supplied, 
 whether it be by using a noun adjectively, as — sea water, or 
 more awkwardly by employing a preposition, as — a man of 
 wealth, instead of a more appropriate term, a wealthy man, 
 in every instance the name of the quality in concreto differs 
 both in the extent of its signification and in its application, 
 from the correspondent abstract noun; for the adjective 
 and its noun do not denote distinct objects of perception 
 when thus associated, but they unite and represent a par- 
 ticular individual. 
 
 "A verb," says Mr. Lennie, " is a word that affirms some- 
 thing of its nominative, or " — 
 
 "A verb is a word which expresses being,, doing, or 
 suffering." 
 
 This author, as if conscious of the contradiction contained 
 in his definitions, has had the former printed in a smaller 
 type, he might however have given the approved definition 
 the preference. 
 
 " A verb," says Mr. Walker, "is a part of speech sig- 
 nifying existence, or some modifications thereof, as — action, 
 or passion." 
 
 But the verb only predicates existence, action, or passion ; 
 the word representing either of these attributes is the 
 predicate. This definition is therefore perplexing and in- 
 accurate. 
 
 Dr. Lowth, being the authority of most English gramma- 
 rians, has the merit of the definition, that — a verb is a word 
 which signifies to be, to do, and to suffer. Grammarians say 
 truly, that the verb signifies being and doing, for the verb 
 is the sign by which abstract names of actions and states 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 107 
 
 of being are united as attributes to other nouns, but the 
 sense in which grammarians use the verb " to signify," is 
 equivocal, and as regards their meaning misapplied. For 
 they generally suppose that a verb means "to be, to do, or 
 to suffer;" but they find it more convenient to say that verbs 
 signify these attributes. 
 
 " That the participle is a mere mood of the verb," says 
 Dr. Lowth, "is manifest if our definition of a verb be ad- 
 mitted, for it signifies being, and doing, and suffering, with 
 the designation of time superadded. But if the essence of 
 the verb be made to consist in affirmation, not only the par- 
 ticiple will be excluded from its place in the verb, but the 
 infinitive itself also, which certain ancient grammarians of 
 great authority held to be alone the genuine verb, denying 
 that title to all the other moods." 
 
 These objections by Dr. Lowth have been noticed in the 
 preceding remarks on Mr. Murray's definition of a verb. 
 The present participle is a mood of the abstract noun, and 
 as such may be attributed to its subject. It denotes an 
 existing action, and necessarily implies present time. The 
 genuine verb of Dr. Lowth's great authorities is the abstract 
 verbal noun : it will neither admit of a nominative, nor the 
 force of affirmation, nor does the infinitive under any circum- 
 stances lose its independent character as a noun. 
 
 Dr. Ash, a grammatical follower of Dr. Lowth, varies the 
 original definition, and calls a verb a word which signifies the 
 action or being of a person or thing, as — the man calls ; the 
 city stands-, the tree falls; I am. 
 
 Dr. Johnson has not defined the verb in his Grammar, 
 but in his Dictionary he has quoted a rather better definition 
 than is usually given. 
 
 Verb, — a part of speech signifying existence or some 
 modification thereof, as — action, passion ; and, withal, some 
 disposition or intention of the mind relating thereto, as of 
 affirming, denying, interrogating, commanding. 
 
 " Besides words which are names of ideas in the mind, there 
 are a great many others that are made use of to signify the 
 connection that the mind gives to ideas or propositions one 
 with another. The mind, in communicating its thoughts to 
 others, does not only need signs of the ideas it has then before 
 
108 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 it, but others also to show, or intimate, some particular 
 action of its own, at that time relating to those ideas. This 
 it does several ways, as — is, and is not, are the general marks 
 of the mind affirming or denying. But besides affirmation 
 or negation, without which there is in words no truth or 
 falsehood, the mind does, in declaring its sentiments to others, 
 connect not only the parts of propositions, but whole sen- 
 tences, one to another, with their several relations and depen- 
 dencies, to make a coherent discourse." — Locke. 
 
 "A verb," says Dr. Blair, " is so far of the same nature with 
 the adjective, that it expresses like it an attribute or property 
 of some person or thing. But it does more than this : for, in 
 all verbs, in every language, there are'no less than three things 
 implied at once : — The attribute of some substantive, an affir- 
 mation concerning that attribute, and time. Thus, when I 
 say — the sun shineth, shining is the attribute ascribed to the 
 sun, the present time is marked, and an affirmation is inclu- 
 ded that this property belongs to the sun; the participle 
 shining is merely an adjective which denotes an attribute or 
 property, and also expresses time, but carries no affirmation. 
 The infinitive mood to shine, may be called the name of the 
 verb; it carries neither time nor affirmation, but simply 
 expresses that attribute, action, or state of things, which is to 
 be the subject of the other moods and tenses. Hence, the 
 infinitive often carries the resemblance of a substantive noun, 
 and in English is sometimes constructed as such, as — to 
 write well is difficult; to speak eloquently is still more diffi- 
 cult. But as through all the other tenses the affirmation 
 runs, and is essential to them, the affirmation seems to be 
 that which chiefly distinguishes the verb from the other parts 
 of speech, and gives it its most conspicuous power. Hence 
 there can be no sentence, or complete proposition, without 
 a verb either expressed or implied : for whenever we speak 
 we always mean to assert that something is, or is not, and 
 the word which carries this assertion or affirmation is a verb. 
 From this sort of eminence belonging to it, this part of 
 speech hath received its name, verb, from the Latin verbum, 
 or the word by way of distinction." 
 
 The preeminence ascribed by this writer to the verb arises 
 entirely from its property of predicating, and not from the 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 109 
 
 active or passive signification of the attribute. For being, 
 doing, or suffering, may be expressed by joining the active or 
 past participle to a noun, as — an existing circumstance, a 
 working man, a wounded soldier. 
 
 The difficulty hitherto felt in comprehending this intricate 
 part of speech appears to have arisen chiefly from the man- 
 ner in which it has been explained. For grammarians have 
 made no distinction between the word or sign which affirms, 
 and the word which denotes that which is affirmed. They 
 have treated them as idem et alter, and by endeavouring to 
 prove that the verb and the predicate are the same, they have 
 rendered the definitions vague, and their explanations unin- 
 telligible. 
 
 As the structure of language is so connected with the 
 verb, the following remarks on the nature of a proposition 
 may be advantageously perused by many, as preliminary to 
 any further observations respecting the essential characteris- 
 tic of this important part of speech. The reader who has not 
 had the advantage of a liberal education will also be enabled 
 to understand, more accurately, the terms used by gramma- 
 rians, when those writers treat of the nature of the verb ; he 
 will, at the same time, perceive the principle which regulates 
 the construction of sentences. 
 
 A proposition is a sentence wherein two or more ideas 
 or terms are joined or disjoined by one affirmation or nega- 
 tion, as — Plato was a philosopher; every angle is formed by 
 two lines meeting; no man living on earth can be completely 
 happy. 
 
 There are three things which go to the nature and consti- 
 tution of a proposition, (viz.) the subject, the predicate, and 
 the copula. 
 
 The subject of a proposition is that concerning which any 
 thing is affirmed or denied, so — Plato, angle, man living on 
 earth, are the subjects of the foregoing propositions. 
 
 The predicate is that which is affirmed or denied of the 
 subject; so philosopher is the predicate of the first proposi- 
 tion; formed by two lines meeting is the predicate of the 
 second; capable of being completely happy is the proper pre- 
 dicate of the third. 
 
 The subject and predicate of a proposition, taken together, 
 
110 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 are called the matter of it, for these are the materials of 
 which it is made. 
 
 The copula is the form of a proposition; it represents the 
 act of the mind affirming or denying, and it is expressed 
 by these words — am, art, is, are, &c, or, am not, art not, is 
 not, are not, &c. 
 
 It is not a thing of importance, enough to create a dispute, 
 whether the words no, none, not, never, &c. which disjoin 
 the idea or terms in a negative proposition, shall be called a 
 part of the subject of the copula, or of the predicate. Some- 
 times, perhaps, they may seem most naturally to be included 
 in one, and sometimes in another of these, though a propo- 
 sition is usually denominated affirmative or negative by its 
 copula. 
 
 Where each of these parts of a proposition is not ex- 
 pressed distinctly in so many words, yet they are all under- 
 stood, and implicitly contained therein, as — Socrates disputed, 
 is a complete proposition, for it signifies — Socrates was dis- 
 puting. So, I die, signifies I am dying. I can write, i.e. I 
 I am able to write. In Latin and Greek one single word is 
 many times a complete proposition. 
 
 These words — am, art, is, &c. when they are used alone, 
 without any other predicate, signify both the act of the mind, 
 judging which includes the copula, and signify also actual 
 existence, which is the predicate of that proposition. So, 
 Rome is, signifies Rome is existent. There are some strange 
 monsters, that is, some strange monsters are existent. Car- 
 thage is no more, i.e. Carthage has no being. 
 
 The subject and predicate of a proposition are not always 
 to be known and distinguished by the placing of the words in 
 the sentence, but by reflecting duly on the sense of the words, 
 and on the mind and design of the speaker or writer; as — 
 if I say, " In Africa there are many lions," I mean, many 
 lions are existent in Africa. Many lions is the subject, and 
 existent in Africa is the predicate. "It is proper for a 
 philosopher to understand geometry;" here, the word proper 
 is the predicate, and all the rest is the subject, except is, the 
 copula. 
 
 The subject and predicate of a proposition ought always 
 to be two different ideas, or two different terms, for where 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. Ill 
 
 both the terms and ideas are the same it is called an identi- 
 cal proposition, which is mere trifling, and cannot tend to 
 promote knowledge, such as — a rule is a rule, or a good man 
 is a good man. 
 
 But there are some propositions wherein the terms of the 
 subject and predicate seem to be the same, yet the ideas are 
 not the same ; nor can these be called purely identical or 
 trifling propositions, such as — home is home, that is, home 
 is a convenient or delightful place. Socrates is Socrates still, 
 that is, the man Socrates is still a philosopher. The hero was 
 not a hero, that is, the hero did not show his courage. What 
 I have written I have written, that is, what I wrote I still 
 approve, and will not alter it. What is done is done, that 
 is, it cannot be undone. It may be easily observed in these 
 propositions the term is equivocal, for in the predicate it has 
 a different idea from what it has in the subject. 
 
 "There are also some propositions wherein the terms of the 
 subject and predicate differ, but the ideas are the same; and 
 these are not merely identical or trifling propositions, as — 
 impudent is shameless, a billow is a wave, or fluctus (in 
 Latin) is a wave, a globe is a round body. In these propo- 
 sitions either the words are explained by a definition of the 
 name, or the ideas by a definition of the things, and there- 
 fore they are by no means useless when formed for this 
 purpose." — Watts' Logic, part ii. chap. 1 . 
 
 Having endeavoured, in this chapter, to show the true 
 character of that part of speech called by grammarians " the 
 verb," and that its essential property consists in affirmation, 
 we shall henceforth consider those words verbs that possess 
 this property, whether such words include the attribute, or 
 simply denote affirmation, and in doing this we shall be 
 better able to adhere to the usual practice of grammarians. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE AUXILIARY VERBS. 
 
 The verbs of this class have been called Auxiliaries by 
 some grammarians, " because they help to conjugate other 
 verbs." 
 
 From this we are led to believe that their use extends no 
 further than to the tables of verbs, given by grammarians. 
 Other writers say that these verbs, "denote the time of the 
 verb," but they have not shown how the time of one verb 
 can indicate the time of another verb, nor that each verb 
 does not denote its own time. We shall endeavour to show, 
 in this chapter, that every word which affirms necessarily, 
 denotes present or past existence, and consequently implies 
 present or past time, and that these verbs are called auxiliary 
 because, having lost their original force of signification, they 
 are used nearly in the character of adverbs. 
 
 The verb, " to be" is not only the most extensively useful, 
 but is also the earliest of the auxiliaries, and is thus conju- 
 gated. 
 
 INDICATIVE MOOD. 
 
 Present Tense. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 I am We are 
 
 Thou art Ye or you are 
 
 He, she, or it is They are 
 
 Past Tense. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 I was We were 
 
 Thou wast Ye or you were 
 
 He, she, or it was They were 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 113 
 
 Present Participle. Past Participle. 
 
 Being Been 
 
 INFINITIVE MOOD. 
 
 To be. 
 
 The more regular form of the verb has been retained when 
 a condition is implied by a conjunction, or otherwise, as — 
 
 Present Tense. 
 
 Singular, Plural. 
 
 If I be If we be 
 
 If thou be If ye or you be 
 
 If he, she, or it be If they be 
 
 Past Tense. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 If I were If we were 
 
 If thou wert If ye or you were 
 
 If he were If they were 
 
 This is denominated the subjunctive mood. By a strange 
 anomaly the plural of the past indicative is used both for the 
 singular and the plural of the past subjunctive, and also for 
 all the persons. This, however, proves that it is not essential 
 to distinguish number and person by modifying the verb, and 
 from a slight examination the distinction of mood will be 
 found useless, because the condition is expressed either by a 
 distinct sign, or by a change of position in the noun and 
 verb. " If I am," and " If I be," differ not in meaning, but 
 in their conformity or nonconformity with usage. 
 
 The irregularity of this verb is perhaps one cause why its 
 use has been so imperfectly understood. The third person 
 singular of the two tenses, the participles, and the infinitive 
 mood, are the only essential parts of the verb. The modifi- 
 cations of an attribute, merely to denote number and person, 
 are unnecessary, because in English the subject is expressed, 
 or distinctly understood. The various forms of the present 
 of this verb, be, am, art, is, are, have but one use, and but 
 
114 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 one meaning, they simply affirm and imply the existence of 
 qualities, actions, or states of nouns. But we beg the reader 
 to understand that we do not point out these redundancies 
 by way of suggesting any improvement which might be made 
 in the form of this difficult part of speech, we do it merely 
 to show what changes are essential in the modification of the 
 verb. 
 
 " In philosophical strictness," observes Mr. Murray, " both 
 number and person might be entirely excluded from every 
 verb. They are in fact the properties of substantives, not a 
 part of the essence of the verb." 
 
 The only exception to this important principle occurs in 
 the third person singular, present tense, indicative mood. 
 There a distinction is necessary, not because the verb should 
 agree with its nominative, but to distinguish the manner of 
 expressing the attribute, as — John smites Charles, for without 
 some modification, the indicative mood could not in such 
 cases be distinguished from the imperative, and both would 
 then be expressed, by — John smite Charles. The force of 
 affirmation is therefore expressed by the sign s, and not by 
 the mere position of the noun and the verb. 
 
 The most simple and essential attribute of a noun is its 
 existence, and this is implied by the copula when no other 
 attribute is predicated of a noun. Hence the origin of the 
 substantive verb, to be; but when another attribute is predi- 
 cated, that quality, and not the attribute of existence, is 
 affirmed, for a simple proposition contains but one affirma- 
 tion, and implies but one attribute. 
 
 The existence of nouns and their attributes may be actual, 
 and the verb which thus predicates their existence necessarihj 
 implies present time, as — am, is, are. 
 
 The duration of the existence of attributes or objects may 
 be expired, and then existence can no longer be spoken of as 
 actual, but as past, and the verb which denotes this past 
 existence requires a modification, and the sign necessarily 
 denotes past time, as — was, been; or, 
 
 The existence of an attribute may be spoken of s contin- 
 gent, and thus necessarily require a sign or modification to 
 denote futurity, as — to be. 
 
 Since existence may be predicated, as either present, past, 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 115 
 
 or future, it follows, that the existence of any other attribute 
 may be predicated in like manner, admitting, also, the various 
 modifications implied by the auxiliary verbs, as— he is writing, 
 he was Writing, he is to write. 
 
 Time and manner are not attributes of the noun, but should 
 be regarded as adjuncts of the predicate, whether expressed 
 or implied. " Actions and states of being may be predicated 
 as either certain or contingent, free or necessary, possible 
 or impossible, obligatory or optional; in short, they may 
 take place in a variety of ways. They may be spoken of as 
 diversified in their modes of production. Hence arises 
 another accident of verbs called a mood, expressing the mode 
 or manner of existence. In English there is only one mood — 
 the indicative. Conditionally, power, contingency, certainty, 
 liberty, and duty, are denoted by auxiliary verbs." — Crombie. 
 
 The attempt to form a subjunctive by modifying a few of 
 the persons in the present and past tenses is as awkward as 
 it is useless ; for if one person of a tense require a repetition 
 of the subjunctive sign, why not give it to all, and to every 
 tense when conditionality is implied. The only modification 
 that the original tenses can admit of is the addition of an 
 adverb denoting time, but this is usually accomplished by 
 the auxiliaries and participles. 
 
 Auxiliary verbs admit of two tenses, the past and the 
 present, for the conditionality may be spoken of as pre- 
 sent or past ; but the attribute joined to these verbs being 
 contingent, always denotes the future action or state of being, 
 as — I will write, i.e. I will to write, or I am willing to 
 write. I may depart, i.e. I have liberty to depart. I can 
 stay, i.e. I am able to stay. 
 
 The auxiliary verbs require to be joined to a principal 
 attribute before a complete sentence can be formed — I may, 
 I must, I ought, they shall, &c, or, I can have, I might have 
 had, &c, are incomplete sentences. The auxiliaries are now 
 chiefly used as adverbs,* to modify the past or future existence 
 
 * Numerous examples might be quoted in proof of the use of auxiliaries 
 as adverbs — " I may have stepped beyond the exact line of palatable license," 
 is equivalent to, — I perhaps have stepped beyond the exact line of palatable 
 license. 
 
 i 2 
 
116 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 of some principal attribute. Some are regular verbs, and 
 consequently have the participles, and the infinitive mood. 
 
 The force of affirmation is in the auxiliary, because the 
 will, power, liberty, &c, may exist, or may have existed, and, 
 therefore, they can admit the predicating sign, but the exis- 
 tence of that which is probable, or even certain, cannot be 
 predicated as existing or actual, without implying a contra- 
 diction, and, therefore, the word denoting future action or 
 state of being will not admit the force of affirmation, as — 
 to be, — to move, &c. This form of the verb has been de- 
 nominated the infinitive mood, or name of the verb. 
 
 We confess that we never have well comprehended the 
 meaning of this term, infinitive, as applied to the verb. * 
 
 We can easily conceive that the infinitive mood is a verbal 
 noun, though modified by the preposition ; for this does not 
 alter the independent character of the word, any more than 
 good would alter the independent character of a substantive ; 
 it only adds some quality to the word by which it may be 
 known from another noun of the same name ; we also per- 
 ceive that the infinitive mood will not admit the sign of affir- 
 mation, but merely pointing out these peculiarities does not 
 explain why the infinitive mood should be called the verb, 
 nor does this definition show wherein the infinitive mood dif- 
 fers from the present participle, which is the name of the 
 existing action, or from the abstract noun of which the infini- 
 tive is merely a modification, as — I act, or do an act ; I am 
 acting, or doing an act ; I am to act, or to do an act. The 
 attribute is the same, but the time of future action is denoted 
 by a preposition, and with this modification the future action 
 may be predicated, as — I intend to walk ; I mean to ride. 
 
 What grammarians have, hitherto, called the passing or 
 finished time, the imperfect or perfect time, is nothing else 
 but the passing or finished action ; the imperfect or perfect 
 action, or state, and these when predicated necessarily denote 
 the times pointed out by the several modifications of the 
 attribute ; hence, the adverb, denoting the precise time of the 
 action or state of being, is seldom employed. The obscurity 
 
 * " Some are contented to call to a mark of the infinitive mood ; but how 
 or why it is so they are totally silent." — Tooke. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 117 
 
 and confusion in the explanations of this property of the 
 verb may be ascribed to the erroneous opinion that time is 
 purposely denoted by the tenses of the verb. 
 
 We shall now proceed with the conjugations of the remain- 
 ing auxiliary verbs — have, do, shall, will, may, can, ought, 
 let, and must.* 
 
 To do. 
 INDICATIVE MOOD. 
 
 Present Tense. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 I do We do 
 
 Thou doest or dost Ye or you do 
 
 He, she, or it does They do 
 
 Past Tense. 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 I did We did 
 
 Thou didst Ye or you did 
 
 He, she, or it did They did 
 
 Present Participle. Past Participle. 
 
 Doing Done 
 
 INFINITIVE MOOD. 
 
 To do. 
 
 To have. 
 INDICATIVE MOOD. 
 
 Present Tense. 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 I have We have 
 
 Thou hast Ye or you have 
 
 He has They have 
 
 * Do is a regular verb, but when used as an auxiliary it denotes emphasis 
 or a modification of the principal attribute, as— he does know the truth ;— 
 does he confess ? — he did not repent. 
 
 " To do is used for any verb to save the repetition of the word, as— I 
 shall come, but if I do not, go away, that is, if I come not." 
 
118 philosophy of language. 
 
 Past Tense. 
 
 Singula?*. Plural. 
 
 I had We had 
 
 Thou hadst Ye or you had 
 
 He had They had 
 
 Present Participle. Past Participle. 
 
 Having Had 
 
 x b 
 
 INFINITIVE MOOD. 
 
 To have. 
 
 To have is also a regular verb, and signifies possession, 
 as — he has the book ; they had the property. It is used as 
 an auxiliary to itself, as — I have had the book. They had 
 had the property. The use of this verb will be best seen 
 when we come to examine the properties of a regular verb. 
 
 
 Will. 
 
 INDICATIVE MOOD. 
 
 
 Present Tense. 
 
 Singula? . 
 I will 
 Thou wilt 
 He will 
 
 Plural. 
 We will 
 Ye or you will 
 They will 
 
 
 Past Tense. 
 
 Singular. 
 I would 
 Thou wouldst 
 He would 
 
 Plural. 
 We would 
 Ye or you would 
 They would 
 
 There can be little doubt but the regular verb to will, was 
 originally used instead of this auxiliary, and that the future 
 action or state of the noun was denoted by the preposition 
 to, the sign of the infinitive, as — I will to come. 
 
 That the meanings of most of these auxiliaries are obscure 
 has been proved by the several unsuccessful attempts to fix 
 their precise significations. When the root of any word 
 becomes obsolete by the introduction of a synonymous term, 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 119 
 
 or by an elliptical manner of expression, the derivatives of 
 the original term often become corrupted in meaning, and 
 are used in a vague or indeterminate manner, either as signs, 
 or modifications of more significant words. This appears to 
 be the case with auxiliary verbs. They are for the most 
 part modifications of words which no longer exist in the lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Dr. Johnson's definitions of shall and will have been 
 called perspicuous. Whether they explain the meaning 
 of those words the reader can decide. 
 
 "I shall love. It will be so that I must love. I am re- 
 solved to love. Shall I love. Will it be permitted me to 
 love ? Will it be that I must love. Thou shall love. I 
 command thee to love. It is permitted thee to love. It 
 will be that thou must love. Shalt thou love. Will it be 
 that thou must love. Will it be permitted thee to love. 
 He shall love. It will be that he must love. It is com- 
 manded that he love. Shall he love? Is it permitted him 
 to love?" 
 
 The plural persons follow the signification of the singular. 
 
 " I will come. I am willing to come. I am determined to 
 come. Thou wilt come. It must be that thou must come, 
 importing necessity ; or it shall be that thou shalt come, 
 importing choice. Wilt thou come? Hast thou determined 
 to come, importing choice. He will come. He is resolved 
 to come, or it must be, that he must come, importing choice 
 or necessity." 
 
 An Irish gentleman has lately published his opinions 
 respecting the import of shall and will. One example will 
 suffice the English Scholar: — 
 
 '■ Pray tell me what you mean by / think I shall, which 
 you arid learned men, likewise, so often say? Is it not a 
 kind of double doubting : — something like I think of think- 
 ing? Does it not appear to you more correct to say — / 
 think I will?** 
 
 In answer to this, we ask Mr. Brenan what sense there is 
 in " / think I will ;" for surely every one who is capable of 
 knowing his own mind knows whether he will, though he 
 may doubt whether he shall, do a thing. It is true, an 
 Irishman says, I think I will die of this disease; but an 
 
120 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Englishman being, perhaps, not quite so willing to die, 
 would say — I think I shall die of this disease, i.e. I fear the 
 disease is such as must, or ought, to produce that consequence, 
 — I will not die, but I think the disease will kill me. 
 
 Nearly the whole of Mr Brenan's observations on these 
 words, " shall and will," is in opposition to their original 
 meaning, and at variance with their application, by correct 
 and well educated English writers. No man in his senses 
 fears what he wills, though he may fear what is willed by 
 another. The expression, oh assist me, I fear I willbe drowned, 
 is an Irishism, and therefore inexcusable from the lips of an 
 Englishman. An Englishman fears that the water will 
 drown him, or that he shall be drowned by the water. 
 
 Shall and will have, however, been so often misapplied, 
 that considerable difficulty occurs when any one attempts to 
 fix their precise signification. Still, perhaps, they retain a 
 sufficient portion of their original meaning to enable the 
 grammarian to decide when they are properly used. 
 
 Will denotes power, inclination, and determination to act, 
 and if these exist in the agent, we say, — I will, thou wilt, 
 he will. The inclination and resolution in the second per- 
 son, and the third, are either known or presumed, as — wilt 
 thou ? — yes, I know thou wilt. 
 
 But if the power, inclination, or determination of the 
 agent, be subject to the will of another, the agent is spoken 
 to, or of, as being impelled to the performance of the action 
 without any reference to his will, as — thou shalt ; he shall. 
 
 Ex. — "Nature has willed that its parts shall always 
 remain subordinate to the whole." 
 
 Here, will (used as a regular verb,) implies determination; 
 shall, employed as an auxiliary, implies compulsion. 
 
 The same distinction obtains when we speak in the first 
 person, as — " I shall die." Here the state or condition is 
 supposed to be inevitable, not voluntary. 
 
 Shall and will are also used to denote intention, as — I 
 shall go to town to-morrow, and my wife will accompany 
 me : — or shall accompany me, if by chance the will of the 
 husband predominates. Hence, shall and will, in many 
 cases, seem to promise and foretel, as — I will assist him; 
 they shall perish. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 121 
 
 Shall. 
 INDICATIVE MOOD. 
 
 Present Tense. 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 I shall We shall 
 
 Thou shalt Ye or you shall 
 
 He, she, or it shall They shall 
 
 Past Tense. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 I should We should 
 
 Thou shouldst Ye or you should 
 
 He, she, or it should They should 
 
 " This verb," says Dr. Crombie, " is unquestionably a deri- 
 vative from the Saxon sceal, / owe, or J ought, and was origi- 
 nally of the same import. ' I shall/ denoted 'it is my duty/ 
 and was precisely synonymous with debeo in Latin. Chaucer 
 says, ' The faith I shall to God/ that is, ' the faith I owe to 
 God/ ' Thou shalt not kill/ ' or thou oughtest not to kill/ In 
 this sense shall is a present tense, and denoted present duty 
 or obligation. But as all duties, and all commands, though 
 present in respect to their obligation and authority, must be 
 future in regard to their execution, so by a natural transition, 
 observable in most languages, this word, significant of present 
 duty came to be a note of future time." 
 
 In the learned languages, and many of the modern, the 
 present duty, will, or obligation, is united with the contin- 
 gent attribute, and when the verbs are thus united they 
 constitute what are called the future and conditional tenses 
 of verbs; but in the English the obligation which exists and 
 is present, is denoted by shall, and the performance of the 
 duty, which is future, is expressed by the root of the verb, 
 whether the verbal noun representing such performance be 
 expressed or understood. " The faith I shall to God," is 
 equivalent to, the faith I ought to render to God. The 
 obligation is present, but the performance of the duty is to 
 come. 
 
122 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE, 
 
 Ought. 
 INDICATIVE MOOD. 
 
 Present Tense. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 I ought We ought 
 
 Thou oughtest Ye or you ought 
 
 He, she, or it ought They ought 
 
 Ought implies present duty or obligation. The past tense 
 is denoted by the past participle of the principal attribute, 
 as — I ought to have written. 
 
 The preposition cannot be omitted after this word, as, in 
 those cases where the meaning of the auxiliary is less deter- 
 minate, we connot say, " I ought write/' I ought have 
 written ; but I ought to write, I ought to have written. 
 On the other hand the auxiliary should, will not admit the 
 preposition, because no definite meaning belongs to the 
 word. I should to write, I should to have written, are as 
 ungrammatical, as — I ought write, I ought have written. 
 
 We cannot agree with Dr. Crombie, who assigns a past 
 tense to this verb. Past duty is denoted by the regular 
 verb, " I owed;" but ought, though derived from owe, always 
 denotes an existing duty or obligation, whether the power to 
 discharge that duty exists or not, for that which has not been 
 paid is still owing, though the possibility of paying be hopeless. 
 " I ought to have been more grateful to my benefactor while 
 he lived, and I ought now to observe his precepts." Ought, 
 in the first member of this sentence denotes, an existing duty 
 unperformed; in the last clause an existing obligation. The 
 duty and the obligation are spoken of as still having exis- 
 tence, though the opportunity to be grateful is past, and the 
 observance of the benefactor's precepts is yet to come. 
 
 Let. 
 Let is a perfect verb, though often used as an auxiliary in 
 imperfect sentences, as — let me depart, that is, I desire 
 you to let me depart. 
 
RTEGUIiAll, IMU-. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 123 
 
 Must. 
 
 Must implies necessity to do, or to suffer, any action or 
 state, and always denotes the existence of such necessity ; it 
 cannot, therefore, be applied to the past or future existence 
 of the idea the word represents. 
 
 Conjugation of Verbs. 
 
 " To conjugate, in its usual acceptation, means to join 
 together, and, as used by grammarians, it means to place 
 under one view all the variations in the form of the verb, 
 beginning with the infinitive mood, and ending with the 
 participle." — Cobbett. 
 
 The attribute usually chosen by grammarians to exemplify 
 the modifications of the verb is " love." * Why this desire 
 has been so pertinaciously adhered to would be a more diffi- 
 cult question if it were not well known that most English 
 grammars are derived from the Latin, and are founded on 
 the plan of Lowth's Introduction. Some writers, how- 
 ever, have questioned the propriety of this trite illustration, 
 and among these is Mr. Brenan, who, in his useful little 
 work on Composition, remarks, — " I cannot forbear saying 
 a word upon the subject of the verb, — ' to love,' of which 
 all grammar writers, except Mr. Cobbett, are so fond. As 
 it is of the greatest importance that things should as nearly 
 as possible have their right names and functions, especially 
 when we undertake instruction, this word is a most unfor- 
 tunate selection, and, I am certain, that it much retards the 
 improvement of the pupil. But grammarians too often work 
 mechanically, not intellectually ; would they but mentally 
 consider this word, through all its moods and tenses, its 
 inefficiency, nay, its absurdity, as an explicator, must be 
 manifest." 
 
 Regarding affirmation as the essential characteristic of the 
 verb, it will not be expected that we shall give what is called 
 a complete conjugation. The present tense, and the past, 
 are the only modifications admitted by grammarians to 
 
 * Love is u passion or emotion, and, therefore, to love is not an appro- 
 priate word to convey a distinct notion of an active transitive verb. 
 
124 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE, 
 
 possess the verbal character,* because these alone corres- 
 pond with the definition of a verb. 
 
 A verb is called regular when the past tense and the past 
 participle are formed by adding d, or ed, to the name of the 
 verb, as — move, moved, command, commanded. 
 
 The verb to Move. 
 INDICATIVE MOOD. 
 
 Present Tense. 
 
 Singular Number. Plural Number. 
 
 I move We move 
 
 Thou movest Ye or you move 
 
 He moves or moveth They move 
 
 Past Tense. 
 
 Singular Number. Plural Number. 
 
 I moved We moved 
 
 Thou movedst Ye or you moved 
 
 He moved They moved 
 
 Present Participle. Past Participle. 
 
 Moving Moved 
 
 Infinitive or Verbal Noun. 
 To Move. 
 
 The variation of the verb, on account of number and 
 person, obtains only in the second and third persons of the 
 two tenses of the indicative; but as the pronoun thou is 
 seldom used, and the formal modification of the third person 
 of the present tense is rarely attended to, this property of 
 the verb may be considered as pertaining exclusively to the 
 third person singular of the present tense ; an exception that 
 is scarcely worth the parade of the conjugation of persons. 
 
 The verb " to move/' like many other verbs in the English 
 language, is sometimes employed as an active and some- 
 times as a neuter verb. 
 
 * " As the verb essentially expresses affirmation, without which there could 
 be no communication of sentiment, it has been hence considered as the prin- 
 cipal part of speech, and was, therefore, called, by the ancient grammarians, 
 verb, or the word by way of eminence." — Crombie. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 125 
 
 Number, person, mood, and tense, are the principal 
 accidents of a verb. Number relates to the unity or to the 
 plurality of the subject to which the attribute is ascribed, 
 as — he moves; they move. The distinction of person indi- 
 cates that the attribute pertains either to the speaker, to 
 the person spoken to, or to the person or thing spoken of, 
 as — I move ; thou movest ; he, she, or it moves. But as the 
 accidents of number and person are not, strictly speaking, 
 properties of the verbal attribute, this brief notice of them 
 here will be sufficient. Mood and tense will require more 
 attentive consideration. 
 
 Moods. 
 
 Mood, or mode, is a particular form of a verbal attri- 
 bute, showing the manner in which the being, action, or 
 state of being is represented in reference to its subject. 
 
 The verbal attribute is that term of the predicate 
 which denotes some state or action pertaining to a noun ; 
 in fact, all those words which (when the existence of the attri- 
 bute they stand for is affirmed,) are capable of admitting the 
 force or sign of affirmation. 
 
 A verbal attribute may be variously predicated. It may 
 be spoken of indefinitely. It may be commanded or desired. 
 Its existence may be actual, or it may be predicated as 
 possible or contingent. These circumstances, when included 
 in the predicate, have given rise to the several moods, with 
 which grammarians have encumbered the English conjugation. 
 
 The modes of a verb are generally comprehended in the five 
 following: — the infinitive, the imperative, the indica- 
 tive, the potential, and the subjunctive. These, it will 
 be necessary to examine separately, in order to understand 
 in what respect the attribute differs in its several modifica- 
 tions, and how far it is entitled to retain its character as a 
 verb. 
 
 The Infinitive Mood. 
 
 " Of all the points," says Mr. Tooke, " which grammarians 
 endeavour to shuffle over, there is none in which they do it 
 
126 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 more grossly than in this of the infinitive." Having made 
 this charge, Mr. Tooke promised to explain the nature of the 
 verb, but he afterwards thought fit to decline the task, and 
 by this great omission in his theory has left the structure of 
 language, which ought to have been the principal object of 
 his investigations, incomplete. We must turn, therefore, to 
 a less popular writer for information concerning these attri- 
 butes. 
 
 "The Stoics," says Mr. Harris, "in their grammatical in- 
 quiries, had the infinitive in such esteem, that they held this 
 alone to be the genuine verb, a name which they denied to 
 all the other modes. Their reasoning was, they considered 
 the true verbal character to be contained simple and un- 
 mixed in the infinitive only. Thus, the infinitive ' to walk/ 
 means simply that energy, and nothing more." 
 
 If the essence of the verb consisted in "being" and 
 " doing," this opinion of the Stoics would be correct, for it 
 is evident that many substantive nouns are used to denote 
 the names of actions,* by the simple addition of the prepo- 
 sition "to," which, according to Mr. Tooke's derivation, 
 means act, and conveys that notion when connected with a 
 substantive noun. But the idea represented by the substan- 
 tive noun, and that represented by the verbal noun, are 
 altogether distinct ideas. Thus, " to breathe," denotes an 
 act; but "breath" denotes that portion of the air which is 
 breathed. "To plant" means to fix in the ground; "a 
 plant " means that which is fixed in the ground. 
 
 The infinitive, then, is the name of an action or state of 
 being. Its modifications denote that action or state of 
 being as conjoined with a noun, and when the modifications 
 of the attribute do not imply affirmation, they are called 
 participles, or participial adjectives. 
 
 Whenever the infinitive mood is employed in a sentence 
 it denotes an action or state of being indefinitely, or it 
 implies the existence of the attribute at some future period. 
 If the action or state of being be spoken of indefinitely, 
 
 * Mr. Tooke makes no other distinction between the verbal noun and 
 the substantive than what is implied in the preposition. " The word to," 
 says Mr. Tooke, " is merely added to distinguish the infinitive from the 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 127 
 
 without any distinct reference to its existence, the infinitive 
 represents the notion which we form of the verbal attribute, 
 apart from any subject, as — to walk is pleasant. 
 
 In this case it is evident that the verbal abstract noun 
 does not represent an act which has existed, or does exist, 
 but it refers merely to the abstract notion of an action or 
 state of being, which, from experience and recollection, is 
 affirmed to be pleasant. 
 
 But if the infinitive be connected with the primary attri- 
 bute as its object, the future existence of the attribute, 
 denoted by the infinitive, is predicated in connection with 
 the actual or past existence of the principal attribute. 
 
 Ex. — We are able to predict, with certainty, many of the 
 changes which are to happen in time to come. 
 
 The prediction here indefinitely referred to is not an act 
 of the mind that has taken place, but an act that we have 
 the power hereafter to exercise. The other infinitives in 
 the example clearly denote the future existence of the attri- 
 butes or states, which they are intended to represent. For 
 what is to happen has not taken place, and what is to come 
 has not yet arrived. 
 
 The Imperative Mood. 
 
 The view which has been taken of the infinitive will assist 
 to explain the nature of the imperative mood. The verb in 
 this mood is the attribute whose existence is desired, com- 
 manded, permitted, or intreated; but the verb which desires, 
 commands, permits, or intreats, is generally understood, as 
 — depart ye, i.e. I command ye to depart. Listen to me, i.e. 
 I request you to listen to me. 
 
 Those grammarians who have justly considered the impe- 
 rative as part only of a declaratory sentence, would have 
 experienced no difficulty in proving the truth of their 
 opinions, had they considered the verbal noun, when em- 
 ployed as the object of an assertion, as always implying the 
 future existence of the attribute denoted by the verbal noun. 
 It is not what is called the imperative mood of the verb 
 which commands or intreats, for that is what is commanded 
 
128 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 or intreated, but it is the tone or emphasis which supplies 
 the place of that verb which denotes the attribute pertaining 
 to the nominative. Hence, the imperative mood does not 
 always correspond with its name, for it sometimes petitions, 
 in the most suppliant tone, as— forgive us our sins ; have 
 mercy. 
 
 Yet the imperative is a form of the verb distinguishable 
 from the indicative. In the expressions — 'Love thy neigh- 
 bour as thyself," "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," 
 the same duty is inforced, but the manner of inforcing it 
 differs. The first form is imperative, the last contains an 
 assertion; the sentence is therefore declaratory, and pertains 
 to the indicative mood. 
 
 The Indicative Mood. 
 
 The indicative mood is that form of the verb, or verbal 
 attribute, which includes the sign of affirmation: — it declares 
 the attribute to belong to the subject, as — he is wise ; she 
 moves; they stand. 
 
 The affirmation is included in those forms only of the 
 verbal attribute which declare the present or the past exist- 
 ence of the attribute, as— she weeps ; they smiled. 
 
 When the future existence of an attribute is predicated, 
 the force of affirmation is transferred to the auxiliary. For 
 the will, power, or obligation, " to be," or " to do," may 
 exist, while the attribute (which, in fact, is the object of the 
 will, power, or obligation,) is necessarily contingent, and 
 consequently pertains to future existences. Still, the 
 auxiliary, and the object connected with it, are so closely 
 allied, and, in general, the meaning of the former is so far 
 obscured, that it and its object are usually considered as one 
 attribute, and are in many languages expressed by a single 
 term, as — Ibo, I will go, i.e. I will to go. In this declara- 
 tion, " to go" is the object of the existing will or determina- 
 tion, and the will to do that, denoted by the principal verb, 
 is the immediate attribute of the subject. 
 
 Mr. Harris, speaking of this property of auxiliary verbs, 
 remarks, " The infinitive naturally coalesces with all those 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 129 
 
 verbs that denote any tendency, desire, or volition of the 
 soul, but not readily with others. The reason is, that 
 though different actions may unite in the same subject, and 
 therefore be coupled together (as, when we say — he walked 
 and discoursed), yet the actions, notwithstanding, remain 
 separate and distinct. But it is not so with respect to 
 volitions and actions. Here the coalescence is often so 
 intimate that the volition is unintelligible, till the action be 
 expressed, — I desire; I am willing; I want. — What? The 
 sentences, we see, are defective and imperfect; we must 
 help them, then, by infinitives, which express the proper 
 actions to which they tend, — I desire to read; I am willing 
 to learn; I want to see. Thus, is the whole rendered com- 
 plete, as well in sentiment as in syntax/'* 
 
 The indicative mood, by laying aside assertion, quits the 
 name of indicative, and may, with propriety, be considered 
 a distinct mood of the verb. Though the form of the indi- 
 cative is not changed in asking a question, yet the place of 
 the verbal attribute denotes that the essential characteristic 
 of a verb is wanting, and the sentence is consequently 
 incomplete. It may be remarked that, in many cases, 
 position serves the purpose of modification: thus, a noun 
 in the objective case is known by its place; and a verb 
 derived from a substantive is distinguished from the latter 
 by its position, in reference to the noun or pronoun that 
 governs it. 
 
 The Potential Mood. 
 
 The potential mood is ascertained by the meaning of the 
 auxiliaries employed in connection with the principal attri- 
 bute. Thus, when any action or state of existence is con- 
 sidered as possible, and not contingent, the auxiliaries may, 
 can, might, and could, denote the power implied by those 
 words; but when the opportunity of doing or being is spoken 
 of as past, the auxiliaries to have and to he denote the past 
 existence of the power implied by the words might and could, 
 and the past participle of the principal verb is employed, as 
 
 * Hermes, book i, chap. 8. 
 K 
 
130 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 if the action or state of being had been completed, as — he 
 might have prevented the mischief; their lives might have 
 been saved. In no case, however, in this mood, is the actual 
 existence of the principal attribute predicated. 
 
 It has been already observed that the auxiliaries are 
 frequently employed to modify an assertion, and, losing the 
 force of their original signification, they become little else 
 than adverbs. ''Those verbs," says a modern writer, 
 " which, in course of time, are used as auxiliaries, though 
 originally as significant as any other verbs, lose something 
 of their distinctive character; so that if the fuller form 
 happen to disappear from a language, the corrupted auxiliary 
 presents anomalies which it is not easy for the philologist to 
 explain. This difficulty is increased by the circumstance 
 that verbs used as auxiliaries generally throw off much of the 
 distinctive meaning which they originally possessed." 
 
 The Subjunctive Mood. 
 
 The subjunctive mood implies that the existence of the 
 attribute is spoken of conditionally. 
 
 " When the thing expressed by the verb depends on 
 something else going before or coming after it, whether the 
 concessive conjunctions, if, though, unless, except, whether, 
 &c. be used or not, the st or s of the second or third person 
 singular is dropped at the end of the verb, that is, the verb 
 is used in the same form as in the infinitive mood; thus, 
 if any member absent himself he shall forfeit." 
 
 In this example, it will be observed, that something is 
 asserted to depend upon the act of any member absenting 
 himself ; therefore the verb is employed without the usual 
 termination, "and the reason of this is," says Mr. Lewis, 
 " that there is an auxiliary verb understood," — if any member 
 shall absent himself. 
 
 The reason here assigned, by this writer, for the change of 
 termination, to denote contingency, does not explain why 
 the verb or attribute spoken of contingently should be of 
 the same form as the infinitive mood; but if that mood 
 denotes a future action, the difficulty is at once explained, 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 131 
 
 for an action or state which exists cannot be spoken of as 
 contingent, in whatever way it may be modified by a con- 
 junction. 
 
 In general, it may be observed, that when the thing 
 spoken of is certain, whether the verb is preceded by a con- 
 junction or not, the indicative form of the verb should be 
 employed, — " though he were a son." Here there is no doubt 
 expressed, and consequently were ought to have been was. 
 I shall overtake him although he runs. Such assertions, 
 though put with a concessive term, are not intended to con- 
 vey doubt, the facts are considered as admitted. 
 
 Tenses. 
 
 In Mr. Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding, the 
 reader is informed, that a great man being asked what time 
 was, answered, Si non rogas intelligo. 
 
 If any attempt were here made to demonstrate that there 
 is such a thing as present time, it is probable that the proofs 
 and arguments would be about as well understood as are 
 the ingenious contrivances of those who have endeavoured 
 to prove the contrary ; but it is fortunate for the greater part 
 of mankind that such inquiries are as useless as they are 
 inexplicable. Man may as reasonably imagine that he has 
 the power to stay the planets in their course, as to presume 
 that he has a mind capable of forming an adequate concep- 
 tion of extension, or of the modes of duration. 
 
 But it is not with the duration of time, but with the 
 duration of transitory beings and their attributes, that the 
 grammarian has to do. 
 
 The tenses of verbs denote the actual or past existence of 
 attributes, in reference to the subjects to which such attri- 
 butes are said to belong. 
 
 In English there are three tenses of verbs. 
 
 The actual existence of an attribute is expressed by the 
 forms of the present tense, and present participle. 
 
 The past existence of the attribute is signified by the past 
 tense, and the past participle. 
 
 The future or contingent existence is implied by the 
 infinitive mood, used in connection with a finite verb. 
 
 k 2 
 
132 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 In order to define, more accurately, the modes of existence 
 in relation to the subject, or objects connected with it, the 
 compound tenses have been constructed. The auxiliaries 
 employed for this purpose modify the assertion, in reference 
 to the existence of the attribute, but time is as inseparable 
 from existence, as form is from substance ; hence, when the 
 existence of an attribute is predicated or affirmed, the notion 
 .of time is necessarily implied. 
 
 Of the different kinds of Verbs. 
 
 Verbs are of three kinds — active, passive, and neuter ; 
 and, as regards their modifications, they are further distin- 
 guished as either regular or irregular. Some few verbs are 
 also called impersonal or defective, because they are not em- 
 ployed in all the variations of moods, tenses, numbers, and 
 persons, incident to a regular verb. 
 
 A verb is called active transitive when the act of producing 
 the attribute or state is attributed to the subject, as — the 
 gunpowder splits the rock ; the master punishes the scholar. 
 
 A verb is called active intransitive when the attribute itself, 
 and not the act of producing it, is attributed to the subject, 
 as — the horse trots ; the man walks. 
 
 A verb is considered neuter when the attribute denotes an 
 inactive state of being, or when no agent is referred to, as 
 producing such state of being, as — he stands unmoved ; they 
 lie in wait. 
 
 These distinctions may be rendered more evident by a few 
 examples. 
 
 To build is an active transitive verb, and has properly 
 no corresponding neuter in our language, " The house was 
 building when the wall fell/' is much better expressed by 
 employing the French idiom, " The house was being built 
 when the wall fell." 
 
 To lay is an active transitive verb, and denotes that act 
 by which the attribute or state of being implied by the word 
 is produced in an object. 
 
 Ex. — The reader lays the book on the table, or laid the 
 book on the table. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 133 
 
 The passive form of the verb denotes that the subject or 
 nominative has been acted upon, as —the book is laid on the 
 table, or was laid on the table. 
 
 To lie is a verb neuter, and merely denotes the state of 
 the subject, without referring to an agent as the cause of 
 that state. 
 
 Ex. — The book lies on the table, or the book lay on the 
 table. 
 
 The past participle of "to lay," is laid; the past participle 
 of "to lie," is lain. 
 
 The verb " to move" has an active signification when the 
 cause of motion in an object is attributed to an agent, as the 
 producer of such motion, as — " the wind moves the vessel." 
 Here the word "moves" denotes the act of moving, and 
 not the motion produced, since it is not the existence of the 
 motion, but the existence of the act which is predicated. 
 But the verb has a neuter signification when motion itself is 
 attributed to the subject, as — " the vessel moves." In this 
 case the attribute or state of existence, signified by the verb, 
 pertains to the vessel, and the verb is called intransitive. 
 
 The verb is said to be passive when the object acted 
 upon, is made the nominative or subject of assertion, as — 
 "the vessel is moved." The attribute denoted by the past 
 participle " moved," represents that state of being which 
 results, or has resulted, from the agency of a power acting 
 upon the vessel. The vessel is therefore spoken of as a 
 passive subject, receiving its attribute from an external agent, 
 and the state of being (expressed by the participle " moved,") 
 is not regarded as simply pertaining to the vessel, and origi- 
 nating in itself, but as produced in the vessel by an efficient 
 agent, either expressed or implied. 
 
 Ex. — The vessel is moved by the wind. 
 
 The verbal noun " to move," therefore, may either denote 
 an act producing the attribute signified by the word, or it 
 may denote the attribute itself, without referring to the 
 agent which produced it. Lastly, the attribute resulting 
 from the act of moving, may also be predicated as pertaining 
 to a passive subject. Hence, the different kinds of verbs 
 have been denominated, by grammarians, active, passive, and 
 neuter. The passive, it is evident, cannot be said to belong 
 
134 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 to the English language, for the phrases which constitute 
 the passive verb differ from the neuter verb only in the 
 manner of signification of the past participle, used in con- 
 nection with the substantive verb. 
 
 Verbs are called irregular when the modifications of the 
 past tense and the past participle are not formed by adding 
 d, or ed to the infinitive, as — am, was, been; drink, drank, 
 drunk. 
 
 Lists of the irregular verbs may be found in almost every 
 grammar. 
 
 A verb is called defective when it is not employed through 
 all the forms of a complete conjugation. 
 
 In concluding our observations on the verb, we shall 
 briefly revert to the cause of the difficulty which many expe- 
 rience in comprehending the nature of this important part 
 of speech, and at the same time we shall offer a few remarks 
 on the origin of the three auxiliary verbs, — to be, to have, and 
 to do. 
 
 It has been already observed that the difficulty experienced 
 by the learner to comprehend the nature of a verb has arisen 
 from making, "being and doing," it essential characteristics; 
 and at the same time confining the character of the verb to 
 those modifications only of the verbal noun which predicate 
 "being or doing," thus contradicting in practice what had 
 been established in theory. Nor are those who make affir- 
 mation the essential property of a verb more consistent, for 
 they still regard the predicate as the verb, and make no dis- 
 tinction between the word which means " being and doing/ 5 
 and the sign which attributes " being and doing," to the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 If the essence of the verb consisted in " being and doing," 
 and not in the power of predicating these and other attri- 
 butes, then the words called verbs must, under every 
 modification, retain their essential characteristic ; but since 
 this is not allowed to be the case, even by those grammarians 
 who make " being and doing" the distinguishing properties 
 of a verb, it will be necessary to consider these words as 
 mere attributes, even in cases where affirmation is expressed 
 by the attribute. 
 
 The verb is said to have derived its importance from the 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 135 
 
 necessity of its presence in a proposition or sentence; but 
 whether we regard the verb as a mere sign, uniting the 
 predicate to its subject, or as combined with the predicate, 
 and implying ''being and doing," it is not in either case 
 more essential to the formation of a sentence, than is the 
 subject noun, or the term employed to denote " that which 
 is said of the noun." But admitting the verb to be the chief 
 word in every sentence, the repetition of that fact can in no 
 way conduce to the knowledge of the nature of the verb. 
 
 Existence is that attribute which claims precedence of all 
 others, since it is essential to the very being of every other 
 attribute, it is therefore either expressed or implied in every 
 proposition : — expressed, when we say, " God is ;" implied, 
 when we say, " the sun rises ;" which means, when resolved, 
 " the sun is rising." The verb to be is also used simply as 
 the sign of affirmation. In this case it does not suggest the 
 notion of existence, but merely affirms, and by this affirma- 
 tion unites the predicate to the subject, as — God is good. 
 
 Existence, considered as an attribute, gives rise to the 
 notion of pertaining to, hence, the verb to have appears to 
 be essentially connected with the primary attribute, and is 
 conveniently employed as an auxiliary to complete the com- 
 plex modes of existence, as — I have been, he had been. 
 
 Next in importance to the word that denotes possession 
 is that which implies acting or doing, and its modification 
 to, is employed to impart the signification, either of an act, 
 or of a state of being to those attributes hitherto called verbs, 
 as — to be, to do, and to suffer. 
 
 Syntax of Verbs. 
 
 Rule I. A verb personal must agree with its nominative 
 case in number and person, as — I dislike, thou condemnest, 
 he approves, they judge. 
 
 The nominative or subject of a verb may be a noun, pro- 
 noun, infinitive mood, or part of a sentence. 
 
 Rule II. When two or more subjects are connected by 
 a copulative conjunction, the verb refers to both, and is 
 therefore plural. 
 
136 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Ex, — " Honour and shame from no condition rise." 
 Ex. — " The useful arts improved by science, and 
 science itself improved by philosophy, confer power on 
 civilized and instructed man, and enable him at once to 
 triumph over his fellows, and over nature." 
 
 Rule III. When a disjunctive conjunction connects the 
 subjects of a sentence, the verb belongs to one of the sub- 
 jects only, and is either singular or plural, the verb being 
 governed by the noun or pronoun that is placed nearest to it. 
 
 Ex. — Either they or I am to blame ; — either I or they 
 are to blame. 
 
 Ex. — Neither poverty nor riches were injurious to him. 
 
 When two nominatives of different numbers are thus con- 
 nected by a disjunctive, the same verb cannot agree with both. 
 In this case the preference is commonly given to the plural, 
 and the verb belonging to the singular is " understood," as — 
 neither {was) poverty, nor were riches injurious to him ; — 
 either I (am,) or they are to blame. 
 
 Rule IV. A noun in the singular number, connected by 
 a preposition to another noun, whether singular or plural, 
 requires the verb to be in the singular. 
 
 Ex. — " The general with all his officers has applied for 
 redress." 
 
 In this, and similar examples, grammarians are of opinion 
 that the construction requires the plural form of the verb ; 
 but a noun in the objective case, governed by a preposition, 
 cannot, consistently with the principles of grammar, become 
 a part of the nominative, and govern the verb. If this prin- 
 ciple were once clearly understood, there would be no difficulty 
 in determining the construction of the following sentences : — 
 
 "The king, with the lords and commons, constitute, or 
 constitutes, an excellent form of government." 
 
 The side A, with the sides B and C, compose, or com- 
 poses, the triangle. 
 
 " My uncle, with his son, was, or were, in town yesterday." 
 
 In all these cases the verb should be singular, but when 
 the sense requires that the nouns should be joint subjects to 
 the verb, the copulative conjunction ought to be used instead 
 of the preposition, and the difficulty would be at once 
 removed. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 137 
 
 The sides A, B, and C, form the triangle. 
 
 The kins;, lords, and commons, constitute an excellent 
 form of government. 
 
 My uncle and his son were in town yesterday. 
 
 There does not appear to be any difficulty in determining 
 whether the verb, in the preceding examples, should be 
 singular or plural, nor is it necessary to refer to authority, 
 " especially as our most reputable authors use sometimes 
 the one and sometimes the other form of expression;" — a 
 proof of the insufficiency of referring to " authority," or 
 " reputable use," as the standard of propriety in language. 
 
 Rule V. The substantive verb " to be" requires the 
 same case after it as before it, as — it is I ; it was he ; you 
 believed it to be him. The neuter pronoun "it" means 
 "person," as — "you believed the person to be him;" "the 
 person was he ;" "the person is I." The pronoun in this 
 case may be transposed, and the noun person may be em- 
 ployed, instead of the neuter pronoun, as — I am the person; 
 but it will be seen that the form of the verb is changed, 
 because, although the cases are the same, the subjects differ 
 in their manner of signification : this deserves attention, 
 because the propriety of the following rule depends upon the 
 principle which regulates the construction in this instance. 
 
 Rule VI. A verb placed between two nominatives of 
 different numbers agrees with its subject, i.e. with the noun 
 that precedes the verb. 
 
 Ex. — His meat was locusts and wild honey. 
 
 Ex, — Death is the wages of sin. 
 
 Ex. — The chief burden is the taxes. 
 
 In these examples the nouns that come before the verbs 
 are the subjects, and those that follow the predicates, of the 
 sentences. 
 
 Many of the difficulties that occur in determining the 
 propriety of anomalous construction, would disappear, if the 
 meaning of the word, that gave rise to the exception, were 
 attentively examined. In the sentence, " The wages of sin 
 is death," the word wages is figuratively employed, but men 
 are not hired to commit sin, therefore the term wages is 
 inappropriate. " The punishment of sin is death," " the 
 
138 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 consequence of sin is death/' would be more consistent with 
 truth and the meaning of the sentence. 
 
 We cannot, with propriety, say, " the wages of sin are 
 death," because the misapplication of the term " wages," is 
 rendered conspicuous by the collocation, and the mind im- 
 mediately perceives the disagreement, between the subject 
 and the predicate; but we can say, " Locusts and wild 
 honey were his food," " the taxes were the evil," because 
 the terms " food," and " evil," are adequate expressions, and 
 may be made the subjects, instead of being the predicates of 
 the sentences. The verb, however, assumes the form singu- 
 lar, to agree with its nominatives in that number, as — his 
 food was locusts, — the evil was the taxes. 
 
 Rule VII. When a noun of multitude conveys unity of 
 idea, the verb and pronoun should be in the singular. 
 
 Ex. — The army is disbanded. 
 
 Ex. — The assembly is broken up. 
 
 Ex. — The parliament is disolved. 
 
 Rule VIII. When a noun of multitude conveys plu- 
 rality of idea, the verb and pronoun should be plural, 
 
 Ex. — Why do the heathen so furiously rage together, 
 and why do the people imagine a vain thing. 
 
 The verbs agree with the nouns heathen and people in the 
 plural, because those words refer to the individuals, and not 
 to the class under which the individuals are comprehended. 
 
 Some grammarians assert that it is optional whether we 
 say, " the people is mad," or " the people are mad ;" — they, 
 however, acknowledge that the latter construction is more 
 elegant. People is a noun, which is seldom, if ever, con- 
 strued in the singular. 
 
 Rule IX. Two or more nouns representing the same 
 person or thing require the verb to be in the singular. 
 
 Ex. — That able scholar and grammarian has been refuted. 
 
 Rule X. A verb active governs the noun that follows it, 
 and the noun or pronoun is said to be in the objective case. 
 
 Ex. — The master punishes the scholar; he corrects him 
 for obstinacy or negligence. 
 
 Rule XI. When two verbs come together, the latter is 
 in the infinitive mood; but the sign of the infinitive mood 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 139 
 
 is omitted after the verbs bid, dare, need, make, see, hear, 
 feel, and let, as — he bade me do it; I heard him say it. 
 
 A verb may be known by admitting the preposition to 
 before it, or by making sense with the personal pronouns, 
 as — to come, I come, thou comest, they come. 
 
 Illustration of Verbs. 
 
 " England is the worst country a proud man can exhibit 
 himself in. A man may strut in Spain, vapour in France, or 
 kick and cuff the vulgar, as he likes, in Russia ; he may sit 
 erect in his palanquin in India, without dropping his eyes 
 upon the earth he moves over ; but if he carries his head in 
 the air here, and expects the crowd to make way for him, he 
 will soon run foul of somebody that will make him repent of 
 his stateliness. Pride, then, it seems, not only exposes a 
 man to contempt, but puts him in danger ; it is also a very 
 expensive frolic, if he keeps it up, as it should be kept, for 
 what signifies his being proud if there is not somebody always 
 present to exercise his pride upon? He must, therefore, of 
 necessity have a set of humble cousins and toad-eaters about 
 him, and as such cattle cannot be had for nothing in this 
 country, he must pay them according to the value of their 
 services; common trash may be had at a common price, but 
 clever fellows know their own consequence, and will stand 
 out upon terms. If Nebuchadnezzar had not had "all 
 people, nations, and languages," at his command, he might 
 have called till he was hoarse before any one would have come 
 to worship his image in the plain of Dura. Let the proud 
 man take notice, withal, that Nebuchadnezzar's image was 
 made of gold, and if he expects to be worshipped by all 
 people, after this fashion, and casts himself in the same 
 mould, he must also cast himself in the same metal." — 
 Cumberland. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 ADVERBS. 
 
 " And here it is worth while to observe, how the same thing, participating 
 the same essence, assumes different grammatical forms, from its different 
 relations. For example, suppose it should be asked how differ honest, 
 honestly, and honesty. The answer is, they are in essence the same ; 
 but they differ, inasmuch as honest is the attributive of a substantive ; 
 honestly, of a verb ; and honesty, being divested of these its attri- 
 butive relations, assumes the power of a substantive, so as to stand by 
 itself." — Harris. 
 
 An adverb is a word or phrase added to verbs, adjectives, 
 or adverbs, to increase or diminish the signification of those 
 parts of speech, as— he rides well; a truly benevolent 
 mind; a very small quantity ; more virtuously inclined. 
 
 Mr. Tooke's observations on the nature of prepositions 
 may be strictly applied to adverbs : — 
 
 " As the necessity of the article (or of some equivalent 
 invention) follows from the impossibility of having in lan- 
 guage a distinct name or particular term for each particular 
 individual idea, so does the necessity of the preposition (or 
 some equivalent invention) follow from the impossibility of 
 having in language a distinct complex term for each different 
 collection of ideas which we may have occasion to put 
 together in discourse. The addition or subtraction of any 
 one idea to or from a collection makes it a different collec- 
 tion ; and (if there were degrees of impossibility) it is still 
 more impossible to use in language a different and distinct 
 complex term for each different and distinct collection of 
 ideas, than it is to use a distinct particular term for each 
 particular and individual idea. To supply, therefore, the 
 place of the complex terms, which are wanting in a language, 
 is the preposition employed ; by whose aid complex terms 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 141 
 
 are prevented from being infinite or too numerous, and are 
 used only for those collections of ideas which we have most 
 frequently occasion to mention in discourse ; and this end 
 is obtained in the most simple manner; for having occasion, 
 in communication, to mention a collection of ideas, for 
 which there is no one single complex term in the language, 
 we either take that complex term which includes the greatest 
 number, though not all, of the ideas we would communicate, 
 or else we take that complex term which includes all and the 
 fewest ideas more than those we would communicate, and 
 then by the help of the preposition we either make up the 
 deficiency in the one case, or retrench the superfluity in the 
 other." 
 
 The use of the adverb is here clearly pointed out by Mr. 
 Tooke. The following passage from Dr. Watts will show 
 how this part of speech originates, and in what respect it 
 differs from an adjective: — 
 
 " As modes belong to substances, so there are some also 
 that are but the modes of other modes ; for though they 
 subsist in and by the substance, as the original subject of 
 them, yet they are properly and directly attributed to some 
 mode of that substance. Motion is the mode of a body, but 
 the swiftness or slowness of it, or its direction to the north 
 or south, are but modes of motion. Walking is the mode 
 or manner of a man or beast, but walking gracefully implies 
 a manner or mode superadded to that action." 
 
 When modes, therefore, are predicated, as subsisting in 
 and by a substance, they are called adjectives, for they are 
 no longer distinct objects, presented to the mind, and they 
 thus lose their essential character as nouns, as — a good 
 action ; an angry man ; modest behaviour. 
 
 But when a mode or quality is attributed to the mode of a 
 noun, as — the horse runs swiftly, or to the mode of a mode, 
 as — he writes very correctly, the word is called an adverb. 
 
 The difference between an adverb and an adjective is this : 
 — the adjective modifies the noun, but the adverb modifies 
 the adjective, or other attribute. Thus, the adverb corres- 
 ponds exactly with Mr. Tooke's explanation of the use of 
 prepositions, for when an adjective or other attributive word 
 will not convey the exact notion of the quality or mode 
 
142 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 predicated of a noun, the deficiency of meaning is supplied 
 by an adverb, and if the word so employed be insufficient 
 for the purpose, it may itself be modified by another adverb, 
 to complete the signification. By this contrivance in lan- 
 guage the want of a complex term for every complex idea is 
 supplied. 
 
 Hence some adverbs will admit degrees of comparison, for 
 as certain qualities, which are attributed to nouns, may be 
 more or less, when compared with other nouns, possessing 
 the like quality, and thus require adverbs to denote the 
 degree, so adverbs may require other adverbs to express 
 more fully the degree of the quality or circumstance repre- 
 sented by the principal adverb, as — often, oftener, or more 
 often, oftenest or most often. 
 
 A preposition joined to a noun, and thus restricting its 
 signification, does, with the noun, often supply the place of 
 an adverb, as — in fine ; by degrees ; in part ; &c. These 
 phrases are equivalent in meaning to the adverbs — finally, 
 gradually, partly. 
 
 Ex. — " We see but in part, and we know but in part, and 
 therefore it is no wonder we conclude not right from our 
 partial views." — Locke. 
 
 The difference between the adverbial phrase, or extended 
 adverb, (if we may so call it,) and the adjective may be clearly 
 seen in the foregoing example : — The phrase " in part," qua- 
 lifies the verb; the adjective partial directly qualifies the noun. 
 
 Adverbs are signs of complex ideas, and may be resolved 
 into more simple terms ; but this method of explaining away 
 the parts of speech is totally inconsistent with the science of 
 grammar, which should teach us to understand the nature 
 and use of words as they exist, and not as they might exist, 
 if men thought fit to define more accurately by words their 
 complex ideas. Many words, besides adverbs, are so con- 
 trived as to express, compendiously, in one word, what 
 would, in a definition, have required two or more terms. 
 This is the consequence of the composition of ideas, and 
 very different from that kind of abbreviation, which is used 
 merely for the sake of dispatch, for by using an adverb, 
 instead of an equivalent phrase, ambiguity may often be 
 prevented. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 143 
 
 Ex. — " Somerville is the only one who has written on this 
 subject to be understood." 
 
 Who, we ask, would not prefer " written intelligibly on 
 this subject V 
 
 Again, the adverb bravely may he an abbreviation of brave - 
 like, and mean in a brave manner ; but the word is differently 
 attributed in its form, as an adverb, and becomes a distinct 
 part of speech, from its being joined to an attribute, (the 
 verb,) as — he fought bravely, instead of, to a noun, as — in a 
 brave or bravelike manner. 
 
 The termination ly, by which so many adverbs in English 
 are distinguished from their corresponding adjectives, is sup- 
 posed to be a corruption of like, but whatever might have 
 formerly been the meaning attached to this syllable, it is 
 now but little attended to. It seems to be used only to 
 direct the mind to the manner in which the word is to be 
 applied, and to show that the intention is to modify an attri- 
 bute, which, by itself, would not otherwise sufficiently express 
 the quality, action, or state, attributed to the noun, as — " a 
 truly good man;" "the horse ran swiftly;" "the patient 
 slept soundly " 
 
 The sentence in which Mr. Tooke contends for the signi- 
 fication of this syllable contains three adverbs, formed from 
 adjectives by the addition of ly, none of which appear to 
 have any reference to the meaning originally implied by this 
 abbreviation. 
 
 Ex. — "All adverbs ending in ly are sufficiently under- 
 stood, the termination being only the word like corrupted, 
 and the corruption so much the more easily and certainly 
 discovered, as the termination remains more pure and dis- 
 tinguishable in the other sister languages." 
 
 In addition to those adverbs already noticed by italics, the 
 word only occurs in the last example, and may be classed 
 among the rest; for though Mr. Tooke has derived only 
 from one-like, few persons now attach to the word that 
 signification. 
 
 Hitherto we have considered adverbs as qualifying only 
 adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs; but we have now to 
 submit to the reader a few examples, from which it may 
 
144 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 perhaps appear that adverbs qualify every part of speech but 
 the noun and pronoun. 
 
 Ex. — " Let us, my dear James, get well through this 
 letter." — Cobbett. 
 
 In this sentence the adverb well qualifies the preposition 
 through, and these words combined qualify the verb "to 
 get." 
 
 The expressions quite through, nearly through, completely 
 through, sufficiently prove that the relation denoted by the 
 word through will admit of various modifications ; but those 
 who still doubt the propriety of attributing an adverb to a 
 preposition need only compare the verbs '.' to get well/' " to 
 grow well," '.' to write well," and they cannot fail to perceive 
 that well, in these examples, qualifies the verb ; but not so 
 in the example from Mr. Cobbett, for to " get well through 
 this letter," would then imply that his own and his son's 
 recovery were to be accomplished by that means. 
 
 Ex. — " It treats merely of etymology and syntax." — 
 Grant. 
 
 The adverb, in this example, qualifiesthe preposition of, — 
 " It treats merely of or concerning etymology and syntax." 
 
 Ex. — " We too often charge that upon the wicked con- 
 trivance and premeditated malice of a neighbour, which 
 arose merely from ignorance." — Watts. 
 
 Here the verb is not qualified but the noun through a 
 preposition. If the position of the adverb be changed it 
 will assume the character of an adjective, and the termina- 
 tion ly will be unnecessary ; the sentence will have the same 
 meaning, though perhaps more clearly and forcibly expressed, 
 — " That which arose from mere ignorance." 
 
 Ex. — " He went over sea for none other errand but to 
 see Flanders, and to ride out one summer in those countries ; 
 and having one in his company that told, by the way, many 
 strange things of the pilgrimage, he thought we would go 
 somewhat out of his way," &c. 
 
 The first out, in this example, immediately qualifies the 
 verb; the second out qualifies the preposition of, and is itself 
 qualified by the adverb somewhat; these words joined to the 
 noun and its definitive qualify, as a phrase, the verb "to go," 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 145 
 
 i.e. he thought he would somewhat deviate to see these 
 strange sights, 
 
 Ex. — " The first may be easily obtained from almost any 
 of the common rudiments of that language, under the direc- 
 tion of a judicious master, but the latter can only be collected 
 from conversation/' — Dr. Ash. 
 
 The adverb easily qualifies the participle "obtained;" 
 almost qualifies the definitive "any;" but the adverb only 
 should stand before the preposition " from," and through 
 that word qualify the noun, — " can be collected only from 
 conversation," for the author did not intend to say that it 
 could be nothing more than collected, but that conversation 
 was the only source from which it could be collected. 
 
 Ex. — n I mean only such pleasures as arise originally from 
 sight." — Addison. 
 
 The adverb only qualifies the definitive such; the adverb 
 originally is perhaps redundant; as it stands it qualifies the 
 noun, and denotes that " sight" is the original source whence 
 such pleasures arise. 
 
 Ex. — " Some books are to be studied, others only to be 
 referred to occasionally, as dictionaries, cyclopaedias, &c, 
 and others to be read merely for amusement." — Jennings. 
 
 If the preposition for be admitted to be a substitute for 
 some more significant term, the adverb may qualify the term 
 referred to by the preposition, as — merely to obtain or derive 
 amusement, otherwise the noun is qualified through the pre- 
 position, as — other books are to be read for mere amusement; 
 though this may not seem to convey the precise meaning 
 of the author, it is no doubt what he intended to express, 
 i.e. "books to be read to obtain amusement, and nothing 
 else." 
 
 Ex. — Tn the present instance, merely for convenience, 
 reference will be continually made to the English transla- 
 tion of Telemachus. 
 
 In this example the adverb qualifies the preposition for, 
 and refers to the noun, •* convenience," as in the second 
 example. 
 
 Ex. — " Theism can only be opposed to polytheism." 
 
 This sentence has been corrected by Dr. Blair, who places 
 the adverb before the preposition to, " only to polytheism." 
 
146 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Ex. — "This latter sound is only tolerable in colloquial 
 pronunciation, and then only when used as a preposition." 
 : — Walker. 
 
 The first only should stand before the preposition " in," — 
 " only in colloquial pronunciation." In denotes the relation 
 of place by referring to the time when the sound may be used, 
 i.e. in or during colloquial pronunciation. The adverb then 
 also refers to the preposition, " and then only when used 
 as a preposition." This example, if attentively considered, 
 will convince any one that adverbs are sometimes used to 
 qualify or restrict the meaning of prepositions. 
 
 But it does not, however, follow that an adverb placed 
 before a preposition always belongs to it. In the following 
 example the adverb does not qualify the relation, but limits 
 the difference between common discourse and music. 
 
 Ex. — " Common discourse differs from music only in the 
 number of sounds," i.e. the number of sounds is the only 
 difference. The adverb obtains its place for the sake of em- 
 phasis, or to avoid ambiguity, for if the author had said 
 " only differs," it might mean " differs, and nothing more," 
 which is not the meaning of the writer. 
 
 Ex. — " I am only speaking of what they should do, who 
 would deal fairly with their own minds." — Locke. 
 
 Here the adverb should be placed before the preposition, 
 i.e. only of, or concerning, what they should do. 
 
 Ex. — Persons " who do not read merely with the intention 
 of killing time." — Campbell. — i.e. merely having that in- 
 tention, or with the mere intention of killing time. 
 
 Ex. — " Such roots as have been naturalized in the form of 
 entire or separate words, have been adopted into the lan- 
 guage without almost any change." — M'Culloch. 
 
 The adverb almost qualifies the definitive any. There are 
 few readers perhaps who would not prefer the position of 
 the adverb before the preposition; " almost without any 
 change ;" with scarcely any change, is the preferable phra- 
 seology. 
 
 Ex. — " Our inquiry is solely about what may be imitated 
 by articulate sounds." — Campbell.— i.e. solely concerning. 
 
 Ex.—" Though he fall, he shall not utterly be cast down/' 
 
 If the verb be considered a compound active verb, which 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 147 
 
 is usually the case when the preposition qualifies the verb, 
 then the adverb may be placed before the participle, as — he 
 shall not be utterly cast down. The adverb, however, does 
 not modify the verb "cast/' but the preposition "down;" 
 "he shall not be cast utterly down." 
 
 Ex. — " And this you may very consistently do, even though 
 you should consider them merely the avant couriers, to an- 
 nounce the approach or entrance of a noun." — Tooke. 
 
 The adverb even, in this example, qualifies the conjunc- 
 tion " though ;" the adverb merely appears to qualify the 
 article, but in fact it belongs to the noun, " the mere avant 
 couriers." 
 
 Ex. — " We do indeed see all the outward marks of respect 
 bestowed upon persons, merely because they are rich and 
 powerful." — Cobbett. 
 
 The adverb " merely " qualifies the conjunction because, 
 and the phrase, " merely because," is equivalent to " the 
 mere cause being" they are rich and powerful. 
 
 Ex. — " I conceived the notion, that Peter was in the no- 
 minative, only because no action was mentioned at all in the 
 sentence." — Cobbett, i.e. '* The only cause being." 
 
 But we shall give one more example, in which the reader 
 will clearly perceive the connection between the adverb and 
 this conjunction. 
 
 Ex.— We see daily, or rather weekly, that medical writers 
 
 denounce, as unprincipled, such men as and 
 
 because they held office in the central board, because, and 
 apparently, merely because they occupied stations which were 
 supposed to have attached to them valuable emoluments. 
 
 It may be observed, that Dr. Johnson* appears to favour 
 this opinion respecting the use of adverbs, before indeclinable 
 words, and if Mr. Tooke's theory be correct, there seems to 
 be no reason why any one should hesitate to admit the 
 propriety of extending the application of adverbs to pre- 
 positions, conjunctions, and definitives in general. 
 
 Should our view of this subject be consistent with the 
 principles of construction, and if the fact, that the adverb 
 qualifies every part of speech except the noun and pronoun 
 
 * " Out o/— prep. — of seems to be the preposition, and out only to modify 
 the sense of it." — Johnson. 
 
148 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 l*as been proved by the examples quoted, it may be presumed 
 that the difficulties so often experienced by writers in placing 
 adverbs in a sentence, will be in a great measure, if not alto- 
 gether, removed. 
 
 Besides those adverbs which are added to modify the attri- 
 butes of a noun, there are others which denote order, time, 
 place, distance, motion, relation, quantity, comparison, 
 doubt, affirmation, negation, demonstration, interrogation — 
 in fact, the diversity of words classed by grammarians as 
 adverbs, fully justifies the "free translation of Servius," given 
 by Mr. Tooke in his Diversions of Purley. 
 
 "Every word," says that sarcastic writer, " quando desinit 
 esse quod est, when a grammarian knows not what to make 
 of it, migrat in adverbium, he calls an adverb." 
 
 Syntax of Adverbs. 
 
 This part of speech has no government ; the chief thing to 
 be attended to is its position in a sentence, and it may be 
 remarked, that no word requires more care in this respect 
 than the adverb. Perspicuity of style, and force of expres- 
 sion, depend in a great measure on the use of this necessary 
 part of speech. 
 
 The adverb being in its nature, so nearly allied to the 
 adjective is in general subject to the same rule of position, 
 it being commonly placed before the word it qualifies, as — 
 " a very excellent discourse ;" " more viciously disposed." 
 
 Ex. — "The subject has been thoroughly investigated, and 
 the truth fully developed." 
 
 The place of the adverb may in general be ascertained by 
 considering what word it is intended to qualify. But not 
 unfrequently, for the sake of emphasis, from usage, or to 
 avoid ambiguity, the adverb follows the verb to which it 
 belongs, or is placed at a distance from it. 
 
 Ex. — " To express the degree of difference between things 
 precisely and forcibly we must employ distinct phrases," 
 
 In this example the adverbs qualify the infinitive mood 
 at the beginning of the sentence. 
 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 149 
 
 "We would recommend," says Dr. Crombie, "that when 
 the adverb refers not to a word, but to a sentence or clause, 
 it be placed at the beginning of a sentence or clause ; where 
 it refers to a predicate, it precede the predicating term, and 
 when it has reference to a subject, it follow its name or des- 
 cription." 
 
 Adverbs are often improperly used for adjectives, and 
 adjectives for adverbs. 
 
 Ex. — " He behaved himself conformable to that great ex- 
 ample." 
 
 Ex.— Their determination was conformably to the best 
 usage. 
 
 In the first of these examples the word conformable quali- 
 fies the preterite, and requires the adverbial form, " con- 
 formably." 
 
 In the next example the word conformably is the predi- 
 cate, and should be the adjective, " conformable." 
 
 " An adverb may be generally known by its answering to 
 the question how ? how much ? when ? or where ? as in 
 the phrase. He reads correctly, the answer to the question. 
 How does he read? is correctly." — Murray. 
 
 Illustration of Adverbs. 
 
 " Under the flattering prospects we adore 
 There often lurks a danger, not perceived ; 
 And were we never thwarted in our course 
 Salvation must miscarry. Mercy, then, 
 Is the foundation and effectual spring 
 Of all events, which seem the work of chance. 
 The man repulsed is but the child refused, 
 The dangerous weapon which may wound himself." 
 
 The above illustration, though containing but few adverbs, 
 is judged sufficient, since this is a part of speech of such fre- 
 quent occurrence, that examples may be found in the pages 
 of every writer. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 ' 'Tis easy for men to write, one after another, of cases and genders, moods 
 and tenses, gerunds and supines. In these, and the like, there has heen 
 great diligence used. But though Prepositions and Conjunctions 
 are names well known in grammar, and the particles contained under 
 them carefully ranked into their distinct subdivisions, yet he who would 
 shew the right use of particles, and what significancy and force they 
 have, must take a little more pains ; enter into his own thoughts ; 
 and observe, nicely, the several postures of his mind in discoursing." 
 Locke. 
 
 <•& 
 
 Convinced of the importance of fixing, as nearly as possi- 
 ble, a determinate signification to the indeclinable parts of 
 speech, we will not assert, in treating of prepositions, that 
 " it is not so much their* meaning with which the gram- 
 marian is concerned, as their syntactical character, their 
 capacity of affecting other words, or being affected by them." 
 This would be declining a point of the utmost importance, 
 and the neglect of investigating which has, hitherto, caused 
 the difficulty of ascertaining the use and just application of 
 these words. 
 
 Mr. Tooke was the first who attempted to expose the 
 method of explaining the origin and nature of these particles. 
 The celebrity his work on language has acquired is perhaps 
 the best proof of the success of his investigations. That 
 writer, with a spirit of inquiry, evincing at once the strength 
 and independence of his mind, and his zeal for the true 
 principles of science, disdained to adopt the opinions of 
 
 * "The grammarian says it is none of his business, but that it belongs 
 to the philosopher, and for that reason, only, he omits giving an account of 
 them. Whilst the philosopher avails himself of his dignity, and when he 
 meets with a stubborn difficulty which he cannot unravel, (and only then,) 
 disdains to be employed about words, although they are the necessary channel 
 through which his most precious liquors must flow". — Tooke. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 151 
 
 others, because they were established. He boldly ventured to 
 question the truth of those instructions which he did not 
 comprehend, and he has set before us an example which 
 may serve as some excuse for freely examining the opinions 
 of even so reputable a writer as himself. 
 
 Prepositions may be conveniently divided into two classes. 
 
 First. Those which denote the relations of place, and 
 which, when thus employed, have always a determinate and 
 uniform signification. These have been aptly called local 
 prepositions ; they are often used adverbially to modify the 
 signification of another word, as — to walk about ; to laugh 
 at ; to bear out ; to cast up ; to carry off. 
 
 The meanings of local prepositions are so evident, and 
 are, in general, so clearly understood, that examples to illus- 
 trate their several significations can scarcely be considered 
 requisite. To those, however, who are not accustomed to 
 inquiries of this kind, the following poetical list of English 
 prepositions may be of service ; and it is hoped, (with the 
 assistance of the spirited engraving, illustrating the relations 
 denoted by the greater part of these words,) that their 
 meaning will be readily imprinted on the mind of the 
 impractised reader. 
 
 List of Prepositions. 
 
 " Along, among, above, about, 
 Against, amongst, concerning, out, 
 After, at, behind, before, 
 Below, beneatb, beside, and for, 
 Besides, between, betwixt, and by, 
 Beyond, off, unto, over, nigh, 
 During, from, within, and through, 
 For, near, since, of, in, into, 
 Till, to, with, without, upon, 
 Until, under, toward, on." 
 
 Relations, it has been observed, are the most abstract and 
 metaphysical ideas of any which men have occasion to form, 
 when they are considered by themselves, and separated from 
 the related object. It would puzzle any man to give a dis- 
 tinct account of what is meant by such words as of or 
 
152 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 from, when it stands by itself, and to explain all that may be 
 included under it. But this difficulty does not extend in an 
 equal degree to all prepositions ; thus, in the local preposi- 
 tions before and near the relations of priority and proximity 
 are sufficiently evident, even when the prepositions are 
 unconnected with the objects to which they may be applied. 
 
 The second class of prepositions denote less obvious rela- 
 tions, and being less determinate in their signification are 
 commonly used with greater latitude. Among this class are 
 included many of the local prepositions employed in a figu- 
 rative sense. For example, the preposition m was originally 
 designed to express the circumstance of place, as — " the 
 man was killed in the wood." " In progress of time," says 
 the writer who furnishes this example, " words were wanted 
 to express men's being connected with certain conditions of 
 fortune, or certain situations of mind; and some resemblance 
 or analogy being fancied between these and the place of 
 bodies, the word in was employed to express men's being so 
 circumstanced ; as — one's being in health, or in sickness; in 
 prosperity, or in adversity ; in joy, or in grief; in doubt, or 
 in danger, or in safety. Here we see this preposition in 
 plainly assuming a tropical signification, or carried off from 
 its original meaning, to signify something else which relates 
 to or resembles it." 
 
 In sometimes denotes the relation of time, as — in the 
 mean time. 
 
 Ex. — In the beginning God created, i.e. during that period 
 called the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 
 
 The prepositions which we purpose more particularly to 
 examine are, by, with, without, from, to, on, off, near, at, 
 of, and for. 
 
 By. 
 
 By is a modification, or, according to Mr. Tooke's theory, 
 a corruption of the imperative of the verb beon, to be. It is 
 a substitute for the present participle " being," and in its 
 primary signification it connects the agent or doer to the 
 passive form of the verb. By has, however, less force of 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 1 53 
 
 signification than the verb, and simply unites the agent to 
 the object and its attribute, without suggesting the notions 
 of affirmation, time, or existence. 
 
 Ex. — England was invaded by Julius Ceesar, i.e. the 
 invader being Julius Csesar. And here it may be observed 
 that as the force of signification in the connective is increased, 
 the union becomes less perfect. Thus, if existence, time, 
 and affirmation be added, and the preposition be superseded 
 by the verb, a distinct sentence is formed, and the union is 
 destroyed. 
 
 England was invaded. The invader was Julius Caesar. 
 
 That the preposition has a separate manner of significa- 
 tion, distinct from the participle, is obvious, from the fact 
 that it is often used in connection with it. 
 
 Ex. — " How can a thing be said to rest or stop by being in 
 one place for one instant only". — Harris. 
 
 By is sometimes used for during, as— by day, and by 
 night, i.e. during day, and during night. 
 
 With and Without. 
 
 Mr. Tooke derives with from "withan" to join, as — a house 
 with a party wall, i.e. a house join a party wall. 
 
 We do not dispute the correctness of this derivation, we 
 merely question its utility. For no one now applies that 
 meaning to the preposition, neither does any one attribute 
 to it the imperative manner of signification which it formerly 
 possessed. With has generally the power of a present parti- 
 ciple, as — a house with, or having, a party wall ; a man with 
 a clear conscience, or having a clear conscience ; a soldier 
 with a musket, or having a musket ; I wrote these sentences 
 with a pen, or having a pen. 
 
 Without, when it does not denote the relation of place, 
 is equivalent to not having, as — a house without a party wall, 
 i.e. not having a party wall ; a picture without a frame, not 
 having a frame ; an assemblage of words without a verb, i.e. 
 not having a verb. 
 
 Much of the intricacy of composition is connected with 
 this indeclinable part of speech. When a writer or speaker 
 
154 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 wishes to include under one affirmation any object or cir- 
 cumstance not immediately connected with the principal 
 subject and its attribute, he in general has recourse to this 
 kind of abbreviation. 
 
 Ex. — " The sale of twelve very large impressions, within a 
 few years, of the Eton Latin Grammar, with notes, for the 
 use 0/ schools, is the best evidence of the continued appro- 
 bation o/'the public." — Mavor. 
 
 The connection of the foregoing sentence, in which several 
 nouns are introduced, is chiefly maintained by prepositions. 
 
 When we form a sentence, says Mr. Harris, the substan- 
 tive, without difficulty, coincides with the verb, from the 
 natural coincidence of substance and energy — the sun 
 warmeth. So likewise the energy with the subject on which 
 it operates — warmeth the earth. So likewise both substance 
 and energy with their proper attributes, — the splendid 
 sun genially warmeth the fertile earth. But suppose we 
 were desirous to add other substantives, as, for instance, 
 air and beams. How would these coincide, or under what 
 character could they be introduced ? Not as nominatives or 
 accusatives, for those places are already filled ; the nomina- 
 tive by the substance sun, the accusative by the substance 
 earth. Not as attributes to these last, or to any other thing, 
 for attributes, by nature, they neither are nor can be made. 
 Here, then, we perceive the rise and use of prepositions. 
 By these we connect those substantives to sentences which, 
 at the time, are unable to coalesce of themselves. Let us 
 assume, for instance, a pair of these connectives, through 
 and with, and mark their effect upon the substances here 
 mentioned. " The splendid sun, with his beams, genially 
 warmeth through the air the fertile earth. The sentence, 
 as before, remains intire and one ; the substantives required 
 are both introduced, and not a word which was there before 
 is detruded from its proper place." 
 
 With is often used for by to connect the means or instru- 
 ment by which a state of being or an effect is produced ; as 
 in the above example, the sun is the agent, and his beams 
 are the instrument by means of which the fertile earth is 
 warmed. Had by been used instead of with, the direct 
 agency of the sun would have been less forcibly expressed. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 155 
 
 This nice distinction between by and with has been noticed 
 by Blair in his Lectures on Rhetoric. "Both these particles 
 express the connection between some instrument, or means 
 of effecting an end, and the agent who employs it ; but with 
 expresses a more close and immediate connection ; by a more 
 remote one/' 
 
 Ex. — The criminal is bound with ropes by the executioner. 
 
 We have shown under the preposition by that the force 
 of signification is increased, and the connection diminished, 
 by employing the participle, or the verb, instead of the pre- 
 position. We will now endeavour to shew that when the 
 signification in the connecting parts of a sentence is dimi- 
 nished, the union is rendered more compact : — 
 
 A house that has not a chimney is incomplete. 
 
 A house not having a chimney is incomplete. 
 
 A house without a chimney is incomplete. 
 
 There is no difference in the meaning of these sentences, 
 but the first contains two assertions, and the connection is 
 maintained by the relative pronoun that ; in the last the 
 object is connected by the preposition, and included with 
 the subject and predicate under one assertion. The same 
 connection is effected by using the participles instead of 
 equivalent prepositions. 
 
 Ex. — The fears of my printer do not permit me to expose 
 the circumstances, producing, preceding, accompanying, and 
 following my strange trial of six days for high treason ; that 
 is, the circumstances of, and those which occurred before, 
 at, and after my strange trial of six days for high treason. 
 
 From and To. 
 
 From denotes the relation which a nominative bears 
 to an object, from which it has been separated, or has a 
 tendency to leave ; it also directs the mind to the object 
 with which the nominative was formerly associated, and 
 refers to it as the source whence the nominative originally 
 proceeded, as — rain comes from the clouds ; the bird flies 
 from the nest. 
 
156 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 " From relates to every thing to which beginning relates, 
 and therefore is referable to time as well as to motion, 
 without which, indeed, there can be no time." 
 
 Ex. — From morn till night th' eternal larum rang. 
 
 To denotes the relation which the nominative bears to an 
 object towards which it is directed, or has a tendency to 
 approach, as — the king is travelling to Brighton ; the bird 
 is flying to its nest. 
 
 Ex, — He went from London to York. 
 
 These prepositions are opposed to each other, and have 
 a general reference to past and future. From denotes that 
 the relation of possession or co-existence between the nomi- 
 native and its source is past. To denotes that the approach 
 of the nominative and its object is to come. 
 
 Since. 
 
 Since refers to an event or circumstance, and denotes 
 the lapse of an era as yet incomplete, and from which 
 period, to the present moment, the existence or non- 
 existence of some event or circumstance is affirmed, as — 
 corn has been cheaper since the peace. 
 
 On and Off. 
 
 On denotes contact and support, as — on the ceiling ; on 
 the ground. Off implies separation, as — off the shoulders. 
 
 These prepositions are opposed to each other. For 
 example, the statue is off the pedestal, and on the ground. 
 Are spirituous liquors to be drunk on the premises, or off the 
 premises ? 
 
 Off is more commonly used as an adverb than as a pre- 
 position ; but whether used alone, or in composition, it 
 means, either literally or figuratively, disjunction, absence, 
 privation, or distance. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 157 
 
 Near and At. 
 
 Near denotes the relation of proximity, and the propriety 
 of its use depends on the objects compared. Thus, the sun 
 is near the earth if its distance be compared with that of 
 some of the fixed stars. But the sun is not near the earth 
 if we compare the earth's distance from the sun with that 
 which separates terrestial objects. A person may, perhaps, 
 be said to be near home when within a hundred yards of his 
 habitation, but if he be terminating a long journey, he would 
 probably consider himself near home, though distant some 
 miles from the place of his abode. Hence, this preposition 
 admits degrees of comparison, as— near, nearer, nearest, 
 and is therefore considered by some grammarians to be an 
 adjective. 
 
 Ex. — Turnham Green is near London, Kensington is 
 nearer, but Knightsbridge is nearest. 
 
 Near is sometimes used for the adverb nearly. 
 
 At denotes the place which terminates the approach or 
 approximation of one body to another. It denotes the pre- 
 sence of the subject in the immediate vicinity of its object ; 
 thus, we arrive at a town before we enter. 
 
 Ex. — He arrived at the door, and entered the house. 
 
 At also denotes the boundaries which include a period of 
 time, as — he came at nine, and left at four. 
 
 At is frequently used instead of a more significant term, 
 as — he is at the play, i.e. seeing or hearing the play ; at 
 supper, i.e. eating his supper. 
 
 This preposition is likewise used adverbially to restrict the 
 signification of the verb, as — the plaintiff was struck at, but 
 not struck by the defendant ; the bird was shot at, but not 
 shot by the sportsman. 
 
 Ex. — " Colloquial pronunciation, which is perfect, is so 
 much the language of solemn speaking, that, perhaps, there 
 is no more difference than between the same picture painted 
 to be viewed near and at a distance." — Walker. 
 
 The prepositions near and at in this example, denote the 
 relation of place, and may, with propriety, be denominated 
 local prepositions. 
 
158 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Of. 
 
 Of, in its primary signification denotes the relation of 
 property or possession, as — the crown of the king of England ; 
 that is, the crown belonging to, or possessed by, the king. 
 
 When the names of two objects are used to designate one 
 individual, the noun, governed by the preposition, becomes, 
 a definitive to the principal term, and thus loses its inde- 
 pendent character as a noun, as — the letters of Cicero. The 
 preposition of is here equivalent to that sign by which the 
 English genitive is expressed ; for, instead of — the letters of 
 Cicero, we may, with equal propriety, say — Cicero's letters." 
 
 But if a property or quality be inherent, or supposed to 
 be inherent, in the noun, the noun itself is the possessor, 
 and the definitive cannot, with propriety, be put in the 
 possessive case, for the quality pertains to the noun. This 
 relation, therefore, is more correctly expressed by an adjec- 
 tive. Thus, instead of — a man of virtue, we say — a virtuous 
 man; a mind of activity — an active mind. That is, a man 
 possessing virtue, and not possessed by, or belonging to, virtue. 
 For we cannot say — virtue's man; activity's mind. This 
 figurative mode of expressing these qualities would now 
 scarcely be tolerated. 
 
 Of has a variety of less determinate significations than 
 that which implies property or possession, as — a glass of 
 wine ; a cup of coffee ; a hogshead of sugar. Here the 
 nouns containing denote the quantities of the substances 
 which they contain. The name of the substance is joined 
 by the preposition, to show to what class of substances the 
 quantity belongs. The wine-glass, the coffee-cup, and the 
 hogshead, are not the subjects spoken of, but the quantities 
 of wine, of coffee, and of sugar, which those vessels contain. 
 We cannot, therefore, say — the wine's glass, the coffee's cup, 
 the sugar's hogshead ; since wine, coffee, and sugar, are not 
 used as the definitives of the nouns to which they are united. 
 
 In the following example of is used strictly as a con- 
 nective, for in no instance can it, with propriety, be turned 
 into the English genitive. 
 
 Ex. — " Of some of the books of each of these classes of 
 literature, a catalogue will be given at the end o/*the work." 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 159 
 
 Of sometimes means producing, or which produced. 
 
 Ex. — "The causes of great events are often regarded with 
 more intense interest than the events themselves;" i.e. the 
 causes producing, or which produced, great events are 
 often, &c. 
 
 Of sometimes means concerning. 
 
 "Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit of that for- 
 bidden tree." The first of means concerning, the second 
 belonging to. 
 
 " Of is so vague in its signification that it may be used 
 for many of the other prepositions. Thus, we can say — a 
 descendant of or from ; a friend of or to ; hatred of or for ; 
 an associate of or with; beloved of or by, &c. But pos- 
 session is probably its original signification, in common with 
 that of the termination of the possessive case, to which it is 
 equivalent." — M'Culloch. 
 
 For. 
 
 Mr. Tooke has pointed out an error committed by some 
 grammarians who have attempted to explain the meaning of 
 prepositions. These writers either attribute to the preposi- 
 tion the signification expressed by the verb which accom- 
 panies it, or they transfer to the preposition the meaning of 
 some other word in the sentence. 
 
 " If," says Mr. Harris, " we say — that lamp hangs from 
 the ceiling, the preposition from assumes a character of 
 quiescence; but if we say that lamp is falling from the 
 ceiling, the preposition in such cases assumes a character of 
 motion. So in Milton. — 
 
 1 To support uneasy steps 
 Over the burning marie'. 
 
 Here over denotes motion. Again. — 
 
 ' He, with looks of cordial love, 
 Hung over her enamoured.' 
 
 Here over denotes rest." 
 
 The reader will perceive that over refers simply to the 
 relation of place, and that motion is suggested in the first 
 
160 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 example by the noun steps, and that, in the last instance, 
 rest is implied in the verb hung. But Mr. Tooke seems to 
 have committed as great an error respecting the true charac- 
 ter of these words, when he ascribed one and the same 
 meaning as invariably denoted by the same preposition. 
 
 The word for, says Mr. Tooke, means cause, and among 
 other examples, taken from Johnson and Greenwood, he 
 adduces the following : — 
 
 "Christ died for us (i.e. cause us or we being the cause of 
 his dying/') 
 
 "To fight for the public good, (i.e. cause the public, or the 
 public good being the cause of fighting.") 
 
 " I cannot for my life, (i.e. my life being the cause,) or to 
 save my life being the cause why I should do it, i.e. though 
 my life were at stake." 
 
 " Chelsea hospital was built for disabled soldiers, i.e. dis- 
 abled soldiers being the cause of its being built." 
 
 "The soldier fights for the king, i.e. the king being the 
 cause of his fighting." 
 
 " Ofor a muse of fire that would ascend, 
 The brightest heaven of invention." 
 
 "That is, O! I wish for a muse of fire &c, i.e. a muse of fire 
 being the cause of my wishing." 
 
 " Some of the philosophers have run so far back for argu- 
 ments of comfort against pain, as to doubt whether there 
 were any such thing, (i.e. arguments of comfort against 
 pain the cause of running so far back.") 
 
 " It were not for your quiet nor your good, 
 Nor/br my manhood, honesty, and widom, 
 To let you know my thoughts." 
 
 " That is, your quiet is a cause, your good is a cause, my 
 manhood, my honesty, my wisdom, each is a cause, why it 
 is not fit or proper to let you know my thoughts." 
 
 We shall content ourselves with the foregoing examples, 
 although Mr. Tooke has occupied newly fifty pages of his first 
 volume with extracts and remarks on this single preposition. 
 
 For is a preposition which has in itself no fixed meaning. 
 It resembles a pronoun, and is put in the place of another 
 word. It is generally employed to suggest an infinitive or 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 161 
 
 verbal noun, as — " Christ died for us," i.e. " to save," or 
 "to redeem" us. Here, the preposition for does not mean 
 cause, but refers to the object to be attained by the sacrifice 
 of Christ, viz., the salvation of mankind. 
 
 To fight for the public good, i.e. " to protect," " to pro- 
 mote," or " to preserve" the public good. The preservation of 
 the public good being the object which induces honourable 
 men to fight. 
 
 I cannot for my life, i.e. if it were " to save" my life ; but 
 "my life" is not the cause why I cannot ; nor does for in 
 this example indicate, in the remotest degree, the cause of the 
 impossibility. 
 
 Chelsea hospital was built for disabled soldiers, i.e. " to 
 contain" " to shelter," or " to succour" disabled soldiers. 
 
 The soldier fights for the king, i.e. "to protect," or "to 
 support'' the king. 
 
 " Ofor a muse of fire that would ascend 
 The brightest heaven of invention." 
 
 That is, O ! "to obtain" or " to possess" a muse of fire. 
 
 " Some of the philosophers have run so far back for argu- 
 ments of comfort against pain, as to doubt whether there were 
 any such thing," i. e. " to obtain," or " to procure" argu- 
 ments against pain. 
 
 " It were not for your quiet nor your good, 
 Nor^br my manhood, honesty, and wisdom, 
 To let you know my thoughts." 
 
 That is, "to secure," "to restore," or "to ensure" your 
 quiet nor your good; nor " to prove," or " to evince" my 
 manhood, honesty, and wisdom, to let you know my 
 thoughts. 
 
 In this example, the infinitive " to let," may be repre- 
 sented by the preposition for, as — "for you to know my 
 thoughts." The emphasis is now removed to the subsequent 
 verb, and the sign of the infinitive becomes necessary, — "for 
 you to know my thoughts." 
 
 We shall add a few more examples in disproof of what has 
 been advanced by Mr. Tooke, respecting the primary signifi- 
 cation of this preposition. 
 
 M 
 
162 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Ex. — "A motion was made for an order for a writ/or the 
 election of a burgess for to serve in parliament for the 
 borough of Old Sarum." 
 
 However plausibly the several objects might be assigned 
 in this example as causes, it is evident that the preposition 
 for is not intended to express that relation. The motion 
 was " to obtain " an order ; the order " to procure " a writ ; 
 the writ " to authorise" an election ; the election " to enable" 
 a burgess to serve in parliament, " to represent" the borough 
 of Old Sarum. 
 
 Ex. — " The prepositions were originally, and for a long 
 time, classed with the conjunctions." — Tooke. 
 
 Ex. — He has every thing he wishes for, and still he is 
 not satisfied. 
 
 For, in these sentences, cannot mean cause ; in the latter 
 it is used to avoid the repetition of the verb. He has every 
 thing he wishes to have, and still he is not satisfied. 
 
 For, when used as a conjunction, means because, and it 
 was this signification, probably, that induced Mr. Tooke to 
 attribute the meaning of cause to the preposition. 
 
 When we say that prepositions supply the place of more 
 significant terms, we do not intend to assert that the more 
 significant terms are present in the mind of the speaker, or 
 are suggested to the hearer by the use of prepositions. So 
 vivid a representation of the significant term would be in- 
 consistent with the character assigned to this part of speech. 
 It is the peculiar property of " words, used for other words/' 
 to express the idea less distinctly ; they are, therefore, 
 used with greater latitude, and have commonly a variety of 
 significations. 
 
 Syntax of Prepositions. 
 
 Rule I. Prepositions retain the power they originally 
 possessed as participles, and, like active verbs, require the 
 noun or pronoun to be in the objective case, as — " between 
 you and me ;" " before him or her ;" " after them." 
 
 Rule II. Prepositions should be placed as near as pos- 
 sible to the words they govern. By not attending to this 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 163 
 
 rule, the construction is often rendered obscure arid in- 
 elegant. 
 
 Ex. — The ignorance of the age, in mechanical arts, ren- 
 dered the progress very slow of this new invention. 
 
 It should be, "rendered the progress of this new invention 
 very slow." 
 
 In some cases, however, the preposition follows the word 
 it governs, and is placed at the end of the clause or sentence; 
 but this construction is commonly avoided by accurate 
 writers. 
 
 Ex. — This is the subject which they differed on, i e. on 
 which they differed. 
 
 Prepositions often serve to modify verbs, and when thus 
 employed, they may be classed among adverbs, as — to smile 
 on, to laugh at. 
 
 "Verbs," says Mr. Murray, "are often compounded of a 
 verb and a preposition, as —to uphold, to invest, to overlook ; 
 and this composition sometimes gives a new sense to the 
 verb, as — to understand, to withdraw, to forgive ;* but, in 
 English, the preposition is more frequently placed after the 
 verb, and separately from it, like an adverb, in which situa- 
 tion it is not less apt to affect the sense of it, and to give it 
 a new meaning, and may still be considered as belonging to 
 the verb, and as a part of it." 
 
 The obscure signification attached to the indeclinable 
 parts of speech, renders them very liable to misapplication ; 
 and the want of uniformity, among good writers, in the use 
 of some of these words, furnishes the grammarian with a 
 pretence to refer to authority in cases of doubtful construc- 
 tion, and to consider reputable use as the only standard of 
 propriety in language. 
 
 The utility of prepositions, and the inconvenience of omit- 
 ting them, has been humorously exemplified by Shakespeare, 
 and the passage may not be considered an inappropriate 
 
 ILLUSTRATION OF PREPOSITIONS — 
 
 * Compare this sentence with the example from Dr. Lowth, page 87. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 PETRUCHIO AND GRUMIO. 
 
 Pet Verona, for a while, I take my leave, 
 
 To see my friends in Padua ; but of all 
 
 My best beloved and approved friend 
 
 Hortensio ; and I trow, this is the house ; 
 
 Here, sirrah Grumio ; knock, I say. 
 Gru — Knock, sir? whom should I knock? is there any man has rebused 
 
 your worship ? 
 Pet. — Villian, I say, knock me here soundly. 
 Gru. — Knock you here, sir? why, sir, what am I, sir, I should knock you 
 
 here, sir 1 
 Pet. — Villian, I say, knock me at this gate, 
 
 And rap me well, or I'll knock your knave's pate. 
 
 ******** 
 
 A senseless villian! — Good Hortensio, 
 
 I bade the rascal knock upon your gate, 
 
 And could not get him from my heart to do it. 
 
 Gru Knock at the gate? O heavens! Spake you not these words 
 
 plain. — Sirrah, knock me here, rap me here, knock me well, and knock 
 me soundly ? 
 
 Taming of the Shrew, Act I. sc. 2. 
 
 In this illustration, the reader will perceive that the omis- 
 sion of the preposition for, causes the ambiguity complained 
 of by Grumio, — " Knock for me at the gate." 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XF. 
 
 CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 " The words, whereby the mind signifies what connection it gives to the 
 several affirmations and negations that it unites in one continued rea- 
 soning or narration, are generally called particles,* and it is in the right 
 use of these, that more particularly consists the clearness and beauty of 
 a good style." — Locke. 
 
 The character of conjunctions is taken from their power 
 to connect the phrases or members of a compound sentence. 
 Their primitive forms were the present and past participles, 
 and the infinitive and imperative moods of verbs. Some of 
 these parts of the verb are still employed in connecting 
 words and phrases to the affirmative clause of a sentence. 
 
 Ex. — I think myself happy, KingAgrippa, because I shall 
 answer for myself this day before thee, touching all the things 
 whereof I am accused of the Jews. 
 
 It has been shown that many of these participial conjunc- 
 tions, divested of their verbal character by modification, 
 have been retained in the language after the verb, in its 
 primitive form, ceased to be employed. These are the inde- 
 clinable conjunctions, and they, for the most part, admit a 
 variety of significations. 
 
 Mr. Tooke, however, denies that conjunctions are a sepa- 
 rate sort of words or part of speech, for, says he, " they have 
 not a separate manner of signification, although they are 
 not devoid of signification." 
 
 That conjunctions have a separate manner of signification 
 (however nearly they may be allied to their primitives in 
 
 * Most grammarians content themselves with calling the indeclinable 
 parts of speech particles, — " A good convenient name," says Mr. Tooke, 
 " for all words which we do not understand ; for, as the denomination means 
 nothing in particular, and contains no description, it will equally suit any 
 short word we may please to refer thither." 
 
163 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 meaning,) we think it will not be difficult to prove, and 
 though it be admitted they are not entirely devoid of sig- 
 nification, still we agree with Mr. Harris, that many of 
 these, and other indeclinable words, have, at best, but an 
 "obscure signification." Those who echo Mr. Tooke's 
 assertions, and contend that an obscure signification is no 
 signification at all, would do well, first, to show the precise 
 meanings of these words. If they are unable to do this, we 
 may conclude that Mr. Harris had at least some foundation 
 for his opinion respecting these particles. 
 
 Having briefly stated the opinions of Mr. Tooke and Mr. 
 Harris, we shall proceed to notice the greater part of those 
 words which have been classed by grammarians as inde- 
 clinable conjunctions. 
 
 And. 
 
 The use of the conjunction and corresponds more nearly 
 with the name given to this part of speech, than does any 
 other of its class. It serves to connect words and sentences, 
 and is equivalent to the verb add. The reader will, however, 
 observe that it has not the s&me force of signification. 
 
 Ex. — " A sentence is an assemblage of words expressed 
 in proper form, and ranged in proper order, and concurring 
 to make a complete sense." 
 
 By substituting the more significant term add, in the fore- 
 going example, the members or clauses will be rendered less 
 connected, and the repetition of the imperative conjunction 
 becomes displeasing, add ranged in proper order, add con- 
 curring &c. 
 
 Ex. — In the beginning God created the heaven add the 
 earth, add the earth was without form add void, add darkness 
 was upon the face of the deep. 
 
 The tautology in this example is not perceived in the 
 original, because the mind is not called upon to supply the 
 force of signification to the conjunction. The principal 
 ideas are also more readily united by the conjunction, than 
 they would have been, if the verb had been used. " And 
 the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 167 
 
 the face of the deep." But if the emphasis or meaning of 
 the conjunction were rendered more conspicuous, it would 
 necessarily detract from that rapid enunciation of ideas 
 which is so desirable in the communication of our thoughts. 
 One example more will, perhaps, sufficiently prove the in- 
 convenience of using a more significant term, in place of the 
 conjunction. 
 
 Ex. — Add we have greatly benefitted by those languages, 
 add have improved our own language by borrowing from 
 them a more abbreviated add compact method of speech ; 
 add had our earlier or later authors known the benefits we 
 were receiving, we might have benefitted much more. 
 
 This example will, perhaps, be sufficient to satisfy the 
 reader that conjunctions are almost, if not altogether, indis- 
 pensable in the communication of our thoughts. 
 
 The conjunction and joins words as well as sentences. 
 
 Ex. — Two and two are four. 
 
 Ex. — A B, and B C, and C D, form a triangle. 
 
 The power of and, as a conjunction, is, perhaps, more 
 clearly seen in the foregoing examples, (adduced by Mr. 
 Tooke, to disprove its separate manner of signification,) than 
 when the word is employed to connect sentences. 
 
 If and An. 
 
 " The conjunctions if and an, " says Dr. Darwin," are 
 shown by Mr. Tooke, to be derived from the imperative 
 mood of the verbs, "to give," and "to grant;" but both 
 these conjunctions, by long use, appear to have become the 
 name of a more abstract idea, than the words give and grant 
 suggest, as they do not now express any ideas of person, or 
 of number, or of time, all which are generally attendant 
 upon the meaning of a verb ; and, perhaps, all the words of 
 this class, are the names of ideas much abstracted, which has 
 caused the difficulty of explaining them." 
 
 These few remarks contain, perhaps, more of the philoso- 
 phy of language, than will be found in many of the best 
 attested derivations of the author, who has attempted to affix 
 to these indeclinable words determinate ideas. For, when 
 
168 
 
 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 the force of indeclinable words is increased, the application 
 of such terms becomes restricted, and it may well be doubted 
 whether it would be advantageous, or tend to promote the 
 freedom of discourse, if the primitive signification of these 
 indeclinable words were again more generally and clearly 
 understood. 
 
 The particle an being now obsolete, or nearly so,* we shall 
 confine our remarks to the conjunction if. 
 
 "lF,"says Mr. Tooke, "is merely the imperative of the Gothic 
 and Anglo-Saxon verb gifan, and accordingly our corrupted 
 if has always the signification of the English imperatives^, 
 and no other." Mr. Tooke quotes the following example, — 
 
 My largesse 
 Hath lotted her to he your brother's mistresse. 
 Gif she can be reclaimed; gif not his prey. 
 
 "And here," says Mr. Tooke, " as an additional proof, we 
 may observe, that whenever the datum upon which any 
 conclusion depends is a sentence, the article that, if not ex- 
 pressed, is always understood, and may be inserted after if, 
 as in the instance produced above ; the poet might have said 
 — gif that she can be reclaimed, &c." 
 
 " For the resolution is — she can be reclaimed, •' Give that 
 my largesse hath lotted her to be your brothers's mistresse, 
 she cannot be reclaimed.' — Give that my largesse hath lotted 
 her to be your brother's prey." 
 
 The reader will perceive that Mr. Tooke, by his method 
 of resolution, has taken away the manner of signification 
 from the conjunction ; and by giving it the force of an 
 imperative, he has altered the construction of the poet's 
 sentences. There is no one can doubt but the derivation of 
 if from gif en is correct, but the manner of signification is 
 not the same, for the conjunction ceases to be a verb when 
 it is no longer used imperatively. It has also received a 
 modification which so far obliterates its primitiye meaning as 
 to render it fit for the purpose it now serves. 
 
 If qualifies an assertion, and renders it conditional. It 
 also connects the condition on which the assertion depends. 
 
 * " An for if is still retained in our address to royalty — ' A n't please your 
 majesty.' and in Scotland is in general use." — GjROJiSIE. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 169 
 
 Ex. — I will go to-morrow, if it do not rain. 
 
 Ex. — If we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us. 
 
 In the last example the condition is first expressed, and 
 then followed by the assertion it modifies; but the first 
 member of the sentence is not affirmative, being modified by 
 the conjunction if, and the last is only conditionally nega- 
 tive, depending on the contingence, that " we say we have 
 no sin.." 
 
 The conjunction if is often used improperly for conjunc- 
 tions which qualify and connect the tenses of the indicative 
 mood, as — if it rains, I shall not go, instead of since it rains 
 I shall not go, or seeing it rains I shall not go. 
 
 In the following examples, from Mr. Harris and Blair, 
 the conjunction if seems incorrectly employed. 
 
 "If men are by nature social, it is their interest to be 
 just, though it were not so ordained by the laws of their 
 country;" it should be, — since men. are by nature social, &c. 
 
 Ex. — "And if this was the case, as they have shown." — 
 Blair. 
 
 The if should be as, or some other affirmative conjunc- 
 tion ; — "and as this was the case, &c." 
 
 Unless. — Lest. 
 
 Mr. Tooke attributes the same meaning to lest as he does 
 to unless, yet any one, with an ordinary knowledge of the 
 nature of prefixes, may perceive that unless has a negative 
 signification, which lest has not. 
 
 In two of the three examples quoted by Mr. Tooke from 
 G. Douglas, the word les is followed by the negative than; 
 and in the first example les has the affirmative signification 
 of still. If Mr. Tooke had perceived the force of the particle 
 than, and its connection with les, he would probably have 
 given a different interpretation to the verb lesan, which has 
 no prefix to entitle it to the same signification as oralesan or 
 dismiss. 
 
 Unless has nearly the same meaning as the conjunction if 
 with the adverb not. 
 
170 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Ex. — I will go unless I be ill, i.e. I will go if I be not ill. 
 
 Ex. — Ye shall die unless ye repent, i.e. ye shall die if ye 
 do not repent, or ye shall die, but not if ye repent. The con- 
 junction but is necessary when the adverb is put before the 
 conditional conjunction, for the negative then obtains its 
 full force as an adverb, and is rendered unfit to connect the 
 conditional clause of the compound sentence. " Ye shall die 
 not if ye repent" would be abrupt, though the meaning would 
 be precisely the same as " ye shall die unless ye repent." 
 
 Lest is affirmative, and connects the cause, or anticipated 
 contingency, with the prior member of a compound sentence, 
 but it does not, like unless, render the prior assertion con- 
 tingent or conditional. 
 
 Ex. — " There is danger lest it be new without novelty." — 
 Johnson. 
 
 Ex — Ye shall die lest ye be polluted. 
 
 Ex. — Yea speedily was he taken away lest that wickedness 
 should alter his understanding, or deceit beguile his soul. 
 
 The reader has only to vary the conjunctions in the fore- 
 going examples, and he will find that they have not an equiva- 
 lent signification. For " ye shall die unless ye be polluted," 
 would signify that ye shall not die, if that contingency exist; 
 whereas, in the example, the assertion is peremptory, not- 
 withstanding the cause itself is spoken of indefinitely, as a 
 probability, and not as a circumstance actually existing, but 
 as one that may exist, therefore "ye shall die lest ye be 
 polluted. 
 
 Less may formerly have been used as an abbreviation of 
 unless, in the same manner as till is now used for until, but 
 the signification of less, when thus employed, is not equiva- 
 lent to lest. 
 
 Ex. — " But will not bide there less yourself do bring him." 
 
 Unless is also said to be used sometimes as a preposition. 
 
 Ex. — The commendation of adversaries is the greatest 
 triumph of a writer, because it never comes unless extorted. 
 
 Than. 
 
 " Than," says Dr. Crombie, " which Mr. Tooke does not 
 seem to have noticed, is supposed to be a compound of the 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 171 
 
 definitive tha, and the additive termination en ; thus, tha en, 
 thce?ine, then, are now spelled than." And this is all we have 
 been able to learn respecting the character of this word. 
 
 The conjunction than generally denotes comparison, and 
 is put before the negative clause of a compound sentence. 
 When correctly used, it has the power of a negative, and is 
 equivalent to not, or and not. 
 
 Ex. — The latter marks the object more emphatically than 
 the former, i.e. the latter, and not the former, marks the 
 object more emphatically. 
 
 Ex. — I like, him better than you, i.e. not you better. 
 
 Ex. — It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employ- 
 ments of life to be rather driven by the fear of evil than 
 attracted by the prospect of good, i.e. and not attracted by 
 the prospect of good. 
 
 Ex. — " More men fall, generally, in a battle than (not) in 
 an engagement, because a greater number are opposed to 
 each other in the former than (not) in the latter." 
 
 As a proof that than has a negative signification, we may 
 quote an example in which another negative has been used 
 in the compound sentence ; here it will be seen that the two 
 negatives are equivalent to an affirmative : — 
 
 Ex. — " The positive has been thought by some writers to 
 be improperly termed a degree of comparison, as it seems to 
 be nothing more than the simple form of an adjective." 
 " As it seems to be only " would have expressed the writer's 
 meaning. The phrase " nothing more than " is adverbial 
 and affirmative, and equivalent in meaning to the adverb 
 merely. 
 
 The phrase "no sooner than" is equivalent to "as soon 
 as." 
 
 Ex. — " The play no sooner opens than every auditor 
 knows how it will conclude," i.e. as soon as the play opens, 
 &c. 
 
 The use of the double negative, however, often varies the 
 expression, and denotes a shade of difference when opposed 
 to the affirmative sign of comparison. 
 
 Ex. — John will arrive no sooner than Charles. 
 
 Ex. — John will arrive as soon as Charles. 
 
 The mind perceives a difference between these sentences, 
 
172 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 though they both express the simultaneous arrival of the 
 persons. 
 
 Than is often employed as a mere disjunctive, and does 
 not denote comparison ; in these cases it loses its negative 
 signification. 
 
 Ex. — "Who, under the pretence of reform, have really 
 no other object but the subversion of our happy constitution." 
 " Here," says Mr. Cobbett, " we have ' no other object but,' 
 instead of ' no other object than.' " 
 
 Now, as there is no comparison implied in the foregoing 
 sentence, (the word other being a definitive,) we see no 
 reason why the disjunctive but should not be employed. If 
 authority shall decide when usage is at variance, we may 
 safely affirm that many of our best and most correct writers 
 will be found to favour the phraseology which modern gram- 
 marians have thought proper to condemn. 
 
 Ex. — " If men do find a difficulty to see the agreement 
 or disagreement of two angles which lie before their eyes 
 unalterably in a diagram, how utterly impossible will it be to 
 perceive it in ideas that have no other sensible objects to 
 represent them to the mind but sounds," i.e. except sounds. 
 — Locke. 
 
 Ex. — "What now is the cure? — No other but this, — that 
 every man should let alone other's prejudices, and examine 
 his own." — Locke. 
 
 Ex. — " And that for no other reason but because it has 
 pleased our grammarians." — Horne Tooke. 
 
 The phrases, " no other but," " no other than," are syno- 
 nymous and equivalent to the adverb " merely." 
 
 Ex. — "The grammar of any language is no other than a 
 collection of general observations." — Campbell. 
 
 That is, merely a collection of general observations. 
 
 Nor. 
 
 Nor is a substitute for not, and serves as a conjunction 
 when placed between words or sentences. Like the demon- 
 strative that, it loses its force of signification from its position. 
 
 Ex. — There is not a word in any language which has not 
 a complete signification. It is not possible there should be. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 173 
 
 Here are two distinct sentences ; but, if it be desirable to 
 unite them, the position of the last sentence must be changed, 
 and the adverb, being modified, becomes a conjunction. 
 
 Ex. — There is not, nor is it possible there should be, a 
 word in any language which has not a complete signification. 
 
 The reader will observe that whenever nor is used to con- 
 nect the subsequent or second member of a compound 
 sentence, the nominative is placed after the verb, in order 
 that the verb may stand as near as possible to the conjunc- 
 tion which continues (though less forcibly) to modify it. 
 " It is not, nor is it possible." 
 
 The definitive no (not any) is sometimes changed into the 
 conjunction nor, and by that means sentences, otherwise 
 unconnected, become united. 
 
 Ex. — None could exceed him in candour. His benevo- 
 lence was equally remarkable. He had no affectation what- 
 ever. 
 
 In this example there are three distinct sentences ; but 
 by separating the adverb from the definitive, and by using in 
 its stead the conjunction nor, the last two sentences may be 
 united thus — 
 
 None could exceed him in candour ; his benevolence was 
 equally remarkable ; nor had he any affectation whatever. 
 
 Or. 
 
 Or is a substitute for either, (and supposed to be a con- 
 traction of other) having less force of signification, and 
 therefore better adapted to join either words or sentences. 
 
 Ex. A fleece 
 
 To match or those of Sicily or Greece. 
 
 Ex. — Manners must be reformed, or liberty will be lost. 
 
 " Here," says Mr. Harris, " the conjunction or, though it 
 join the sentences, yet, as to their respective meanings, is a 
 perfect disjunctive. And thus it appears, that though all 
 conjunctions conjoin sentences, yet, with respect to the 
 sense, some are conjunctive, and some disjunctive ; and 
 hence it is that we derive their different species." 
 
174 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 The disjunctive power of this conjunction may be traced 
 to its original signification as a definitive. It indefinitely 
 implies election or choice, and consequently denotes separa- 
 tion The attribute or verb, therefore, refers only to one 
 subject, and is required to be of the singular number,— as, 
 negligence or ignorance has caused this mischief. 
 
 Or denotes diversity either of name or subject, and some- 
 times connects the definition only, as may be seen in the 
 following examples, adduced by Mr. Harris : — 
 
 " It may be observed through all the species of disjunctives 
 that the same disjunctive appears to have greater or less force, 
 according as the subjects which it disjoins are more or less 
 disjoined by nature. For example, if we say — every number 
 is even or odd ; every proposition is true or false, — nothing 
 seems to disjoin more strongly than the disjunctive, because 
 no things are in nature more incompatible than the subjects. 
 But if we say — that object is a triangle, or figure contained 
 under three right lines, — the or in this case hardly seems to 
 disjoin, or indeed to do more than distinctly to express the 
 thing first by its name, and then by its definition. So if 
 we say — that figure is a sphere, or a globe, or a ball, — the 
 disjunctive in this case tends no farther to disjoin than as it 
 distinguishes the several names which belong to the same 
 thing:' 
 
 Neither. 
 
 The conjunction neither is a modification of not and 
 either ; by the union of which words the force of signification 
 is diminished, and the adverb and definitive, when united, 
 serve to connect the members of a sentence, which would 
 otherwise require a conjunction. 
 
 Ex. — He desires neither poverty nor affluence. 
 
 Without the conjunctive form of the negatives this sen- 
 tence would be abrupt ; and although the force of the words 
 would be increased, the sentence would not be equally per- 
 spicuous. — He desires not affluence, not poverty either. 
 
 The negatives are disjunctive, in as much as they separate 
 the predicate from the subject. This property of the adverb 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 175 
 
 has not been sufficiently attended to by those who dispute 
 the propriety of disjunctive conjunctions. The verb unites, 
 while the adverb disjoins, the parts of such sentences. 
 
 Ex. — " Neither you nor I are in fault." 
 
 This idiom is pronounced correct, because it corresponds 
 with the Latin — " id neque ego neque tu fecimus." But we, 
 who do not feel the necessity of referring to a dead language 
 in order to decide the propriety of modern phraseology, give 
 the preference to the following ; — 
 
 Neither are you nor am I in fault. 
 
 This is an English idiom, and not only better adapted to 
 our manner of expression, but it is more correct than the 
 Latinized construction. The negatives nor and neither qualify 
 the verb in different persons, and the conjunction, being 
 disjunctive, requires the verb to be expressed or understood 
 when the nominatives are of different persons. The con- 
 struction — neither you nor I am in fault— is preferable to 
 the one commonly recommended. 
 
 For. 
 
 For, used as a conjunction, signifies cause, or rather be- 
 cause, i.e. the cause being. 
 
 Ex. — " They are delighted with the stories that are told, 
 and perhaps can tell them again, for they make all they read 
 nothing but history to themselves." — Locke. 
 
 Ex. — "Perhaps man may be more properly distinguished as 
 an idle animal, for there is no man who is not sometimes 
 idle. It is, at least, a definition from which none that shall 
 find it in this paper can be excepted, for who can be more 
 idle than the reader of the Idler?"' — Johnson. 
 
 For is sometimes rendered emphatic by the addition of 
 the conjunction that, and it may be observed that the latter 
 conjunction is often employed for a similar purpose with 
 other conjunctions. 
 
 Ex. — "My Essays, of all my other works, have been most 
 current, for that, as it seems, they come home to men's 
 business and bosoms." — Bacon. 
 
 The difference of signification between for, used as a con- 
 
176 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 junction, and the preposition for, has already been shown. 
 Additional examples can, therefore, scarcely be considered 
 necessary to prove the uniform meaning of this word when 
 employed as a conjunction. 
 
 Because. 
 
 The meaning of this conjunction is evident from the 
 words of which it is compounded. Its power to connect 
 sentences may be seen in the following example ; — 
 
 Ex. — Rome was enslaved. Caesar was ambitious. 
 
 Here is no connection between the sentences : they are 
 both independent assertions ; but if the latter be attributed 
 to the former as the cause, then the sentences become 
 united, as — 
 
 Rome was enslaved because Ceesar was ambitious, i.e. the 
 cause beiny, Csesar was ambitious. The conjunction is, 
 however, preferable to the present participle, because it is 
 less emphatic, and does not suggest the notion of time. 
 
 Therefore. 
 
 Therefore, though classed by Dr. Johnson among 
 adverbs, is commonly used as a conjunction. It refers to 
 the premises, and at the same time connects the deduction 
 or inference. 
 
 Ex. — "Riches are for spending, and spending for honour 
 and good actions, therefore extraordinary expence must be 
 limited by the worth of the occasion." — Bacon. 
 
 " A nice distinction of the sense," says Mr. Murray, " is 
 sometimes made by the use or omission of the article a. If 
 I say — he behaved with a little reverence — my meaning is 
 positive ; if I say — he behaved with little reverence — my 
 meaning is negative ; and these two are by no means the 
 same, or to be used in the same cases ; by the former I 
 rather praise a person ; by the latter I dispraise him." 
 
 The copulative conjunction in this sentence should be 
 therefore. We have given this example at length, because 
 it contains a useful remark on the indefinite article. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 177 
 
 Though. 
 
 The signification attributed to this conjunction by Mr. 
 Tooke appears to coincide with its general meaning, viz. — 
 allow, grant, permit, yield, assent. 
 
 Ex. — Troy will be taken, although Hector defend it. 
 
 This conjunction does not necessarily require the subjunc- 
 tive mood after it. 
 
 Ex. — You still carry with you your old humour in politics, 
 though your subject is different. 
 
 Here the conjunction is followed by the indicative, but in 
 the preceding example the verb is conditional. 
 
 Save. 
 
 Save is generally classed among adverbs, though it may 
 perhaps more properly be considered a conjunction. Mr. 
 Tooke considers it the imperative of the verb "to save;" 
 but he is compelled to admit that it sometimes has a different 
 manner of signification : his illustration proves this, — " God 
 save you all, save this friar." 
 
 Since. 
 
 " Since, in modern English," says Mr. Tooke, "is used 
 four ways ; two as a preposition connecting, or rather affecting, 
 words ; and two as a conjunction affecting sentences." 
 
 " "When used as a preposition it has always the significa- 
 tion either of the past participle seen joined to thence (that 
 is, seen and thenceforward) , or else it has the signification of 
 the past participle seen only." 
 
 " When used as a conjunction it has sometimes the signi- 
 fication of the present participle seeing, or seeing that, and 
 sometimes the signification of the past participle seen, or seen 
 that." 
 
 Since, used as a conjunction, has generally, if not always, 
 
 N 
 
178 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 the same signification as" the present participle, whence it is 
 derived. 
 
 Ex. — " Since speech, then, is the joint energy of our best 
 and noblest faculties, being withal our peculiar ornament and 
 distinction as men, those inquiries may surely be deemed 
 interesting as well as liberal, which either search how speech 
 may be naturally resolved, or how, when resolved, it may be 
 again combined/' i.e. seeing speech is, &c. Seeing is here 
 used to denote a mental perception. 
 
 But the present participle seeing will not always admit of 
 being exchanged for the conjunction. 
 
 Ex. — Seeing an unclaimed spot, which is a thing not to 
 be found every day, I have taken possession. Here we 
 cannot say, since, &c, without altering the construction. 
 
 When since is used to denote an era from a given epoch 
 to the present or current time, it is usually called a preposi- 
 tion, and shows the relation there is between an event and 
 the action, state of being, or circumstance, connected with 
 that event. It serves to point out the time which has already 
 elapsed from a given period, as — since the creation ; since the 
 birth of Christ ; since yesterday. 
 
 Ex. — "The range of useful literature has been considerably 
 enlarged since that selection was made." — Mavor. 
 
 Ex. — " What follow are only such as have since presented 
 themselves to my recollection." — Brenan. 
 
 In these examples the preposition may, with propriety, be 
 called an adverb. It is significant of time, and does not 
 govern the subsequent noun. 
 
 When a definite era is expressed by referring to two 
 events as marking the commencement and termination of 
 the era, the prepositions from and to are used to shew the 
 relation, and denote the duration, of the period. 
 
 Ex. — " From morn to night th' eternal larum rung." 
 
 But. 
 
 But generally implies contrast or opposition in the clauses 
 or sentences which it connects. 
 
 Ex. — He is rich, but he is not generous. 
 
c^Aa& its&e&bvf- 0^7%^£/y&frv<ru tt^z^u ft let 0^- ff.'< . 
 J^tTW^e'&ea^eizeMsesMe/ett e'/te etc t/ee t ;-'t/i . 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 179 
 
 Ex, — And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 
 evil. 
 
 This conjunction has a variety of significations. The fol- 
 lowing have been noticed by Mr. Locke. 
 
 First. — " But, to say no more, — ." Here it intimates a 
 stop of the mind in the course it was going, before it came 
 to the end of it. 
 
 Secondly. — " I saw but two plants." Here it shews that 
 the mind limits the sense to what is expressed, with a nega- 
 tion of all other. 
 
 Thirdly. — " You pray, but it is not that God would bring 
 you to the true religion ; 
 
 Fourthly. — But that he would confirm you in your own." 
 The first of these huts intimates a supposition of the mind of 
 something otherwise than it should be ; the latter shows that 
 the mind makes a direct opposition between that and what 
 goes before. 
 
 Fifthly. — "All animals have sense, but a dog is an animal." 
 Here it signifies little more but that the latter proposition is 
 joined to the former as the minor of a syllogism. 
 
 Mr. Tooke controverts the opinion of Mr. Locke, and 
 would reduce the signification of but to the meaning of the 
 two verbs botan, "to boot," and beon-utan, "to be out." 
 The distinction between these verbs being lost, the same 
 particle now serves to denote both meanings. 
 
 Ex. — " But, as we are talking of Greek, I will tell you one 
 thing more." — Russell. 
 
 In some few phrases but may signify to boot ; yet, in the 
 majority of its uses, but has neither the signification " to 
 boot," nor the exceptive meaning of the verb beon-utan. 
 
 When but connects a clause qualified by " not only," it 
 will bear the interpretation of botan, " to boot. " 
 
 Ex. — " This word is constantly used not only at the begin- 
 ning and between but (to boot) at the end of sentences." 
 
 If we compare the signification of but in the following 
 examples with but in the foregoing, the conjunction will be 
 found to have a very different meaning. 
 
 Ex. — " It is not evidence of truth, but some lazy antici- 
 pation, some beloved presumption, that he desires to rest 
 undisturbed in." — Locke. 
 
 n2 
 
180 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 In this sentence " but " denotes opposition or contrariety, 
 and does not correspond to either of the significations given 
 by Mr. Tooke. 
 
 Ex. — " Of these two we shall consider the conjunction 
 first, because it connects not words, but sentences." — Harris. 
 Here but cannot mean " to boot/' for sentences are the only 
 things said to be connected. 
 
 But is used after a digression to denote the mind has 
 stopped from the course of argument it was pursuing, and is 
 about to resume the former subject ; — " but to proceed ;" 
 "but to go fairly through the matter;" "but not to stop." 
 This last example would be nonsense if there had not been 
 a stop or digression. 
 
 In common with other conjunctions but denotes that 
 something is to follow, and so far it implies more. It does 
 not, however, always indicate that what follows is either to 
 be added (to boot) to what went immediately before ; nor, 
 on the other hand, to be taken out from the preceding clause 
 which it connects. It has, as Mr. Locke observes, a great 
 variety of significations. 
 
 Ex. — " But to pursue our subject." — Harris. Here but 
 is used distinctly as a disjunctive conjunction. It denotes a 
 stop to one subject, and connects the sequel of another. 
 
 But is sometimes used as an adverb. 
 
 Ex. — " If it be in a dispute where every little straw is 
 laid hold on, and every thing that can but be drawn in any 
 way to give colour to the argument is advanced with osten- 
 tation." — Locke. 
 
 Ex. — " 'On the sixth day God made man of the dust of 
 the earth after his own image/ This is a simple sentence in 
 the sense of rhetoricians and critics, as it has but one verb, 
 but less simple than the former." — Campbell. 
 
 The first but in this example is an adverb, equivalent to 
 only ; the second but is a conjunction. 
 
 That the signification of many indeclinable words depends 
 upon the connection and association such terms have with 
 other words is perhaps already too apparent to require 
 further proof. A remarkable instance, however, of the lati- 
 tude in which even a single letter may be used is mentioned 
 by Mr. Locke. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 181 
 
 " In the Hebrew tongue there is a 'particle, consisting but 
 of one single letter, of which there are reckoned up, as T 
 remember, seventy, I am sure above fifty, several significa- 
 tions. " 
 
 Now, what but the position or association of this letter 
 can impart its various significations? and how can its mean- 
 ing be distinctly ascertained, except in connection with more 
 significant terms ? 
 
 Who, Which, and That. 
 
 These pronouns differ from the personal pronouns more 
 in their power to connect sentences than in the reference 
 which they bear to the antecedent noun ; for the personal 
 pronouns, in general, refer to some noun going before, and 
 are so far relative pronouns. 
 
 Ex. — Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dic- 
 tionaries : mankind have considered him not as the pupil, 
 but the slave, of science. 
 
 Ex. — Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dic- 
 tionaries, whom mankind have considered not as the pupil, 
 but the slave, of science. 
 
 Here the two simple sentences in the first example are 
 united in the second by changing the place and form of the 
 personal pronoun. 
 
 " It is in the united powers of a connective and another 
 pronoun," says Mr. Harris, " that we may see the force and 
 character of the pronouns here treated." 
 
 Ex. — Light is a body ; it moves with great celerity. 
 
 Ex. — Light is a body, and it moves with great celerity. 
 
 If in the place of and it we substitute that or which, 
 saying — light is a body which moves with great celerity — the 
 sentence still retains its unity and perfection, and becomes, 
 if possible, more compact than before. 
 
 Dr. Crombie, however, thinks that the relative pronoun is 
 not always thus resolvable, but only in those examples in 
 which the relative clause does not limit or modify the mean- 
 ing of the antecedent. " If I say — ' man who is born of a 
 woman is of few days, and full of trouble,' the relative clause 
 
182 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 is not restrictive ; I may therefore resolve the pronoun, and 
 say — man is of few days, and he is born of a woman." 
 " Light is a body which moves with great velocity" is resol- 
 vable into "light is a body, and it moves with great velocity." 
 But when the relative clause limits the meaning of the ante- 
 cedent, the relative is clearly not thus resolvable. " ' Virgil 
 was the only epic poet among the Romans who can be com- 
 pared to Homer/ The signification of the antecedent is 
 here restricted by the relative clause ; we cannot, therefore, 
 by resolution say— Virgil was the only epic poet among the 
 Romans, and he can be compared to Homer; — for the former 
 of these propositions is not true, nor is the sentiment which 
 it conveys accordant with the meaning of the author." 
 
 The exception by Dr. Crombie does not affect the con- 
 junctive power of the relative. If the pronoun who had not 
 the power of the copulative conjunction, the sentence would 
 be equally incorrect. May not the difficulty arise from the 
 construction ? The adverb "only" is equivocally employed, 
 and the word ■■ Romans" may be taken in its widest sense, 
 instead of being confined to the epic poets of that nation. 
 The meaning of the sentence is this, — Virgil was the or that 
 epic poet who only (among the Romans) can be compared 
 with Homer — i.e. and only he among the Roman epic poets 
 can be compared with Homer. The proper place of the 
 adverb is between the conjunction and the personal pronoun ; 
 but when the relative is used, it cannot always be so placed, 
 so as to avoid ambiguity. 
 
 That. 
 
 We do not think Mr. Tooke has proved this conjunction 
 " to have always merely the same force and manner of signi- 
 fication, which ' that* has when called an article or pronoun. " 
 Mr. Tooke's derivation, and his method of resolution, will, 
 perhaps, be sufficient to convince the reader, that when this 
 definitive is used as a conjunction, it loses its original force 
 and signification, and cannot, as long as it is thus situated, be 
 considered either an article or a pronoun. All that Mr. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 183 
 
 Tooke does in his method of analysis, is to remove the con- 
 junction, and place it where it can with propriety be construed 
 in its original signification. Our modern grammarians indeed 
 seem much captivated with this singular method of proving 
 a word to be no conjunction ; but the reader will judge from 
 the example, and its resolution, whether the word ' that' has 
 the same force and signification in both, or whether the 
 example be not a united sentence, and the resolution two 
 distinct unconnected assertions. 
 
 Ex. — Thieves riseby night, that they may cut men's throats. 
 
 Res. — Thieves may cut men's throats, (for) that (purpose) 
 they rise by night. 
 
 Mr. Tooke here attempts to supply the connection he has 
 destroyed, by inserting a preposition ; but the reader will 
 perceive that not only is a conjunction still wanting (" and 
 for that purpose"), but the meaning of the sentence is very 
 different. The assertion in the first clause is unqualified, — 
 "thieves may cut men's throats," instead of, that thieves 
 may cut men's throats, they rise by night, — " Ut jugulent 
 homines surgunt de nocte latrones." 
 
 Ex. — I wish you to believe, that I would not wilfully hurt 
 a fly. 
 
 Res. — I would not wilfully hurt a fly, I wish you to believe 
 that assertion. 
 
 Now Mr. Tooke derives the word that from the Anglo- 
 Saxon participle theat, taken or assumed, and grammarians 
 say the demonstrative or relative "that," should always 
 refer (if used as a definitive,) to some subject taken or as- 
 sumed, or spoken of before; but in the example, the subject 
 follows the supposed demonstrative, and if the force of an 
 article or definitive were necessary, the corresponding pro- 
 noun should have been employed thus : — 
 
 " I wish you to believe this (assertion;) I would not wil- 
 fully hurt a fly." 
 
 As all Mr. Tooke's examples of this word are selections of 
 similarly constructed sentences, those we have quoted will 
 be sufficient to show in what manner the writer has explained 
 the nature of this conjunction. 
 
 We shall now add a few examples, in which it would be 
 difficult to apply Mr Tooke's method of resolution. 
 
184 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Ex. — "The pleasures of the imagination have this advan- 
 tage above those of the understanding, that they are more 
 obvious and easy to be acquired." 
 
 Ex. — "It is true that this is a very great blessing." 
 
 Ex. — My lords, with humble submission, that that I say 
 is this, — that that that gentleman has offered, is not that, 
 that he should have proved to your lordships. 
 
 In this whimsical example, the word that is used in its 
 three distinct manners of signification — as a demonstrative, as 
 a conjunction, and as a relative pronoun. 
 
 Ex. — "Do you not think that what you now advance will 
 bear a dispute, and that some better arguments than your 
 bare assertion are necessary to make us adopt your opinion." 
 
 The first that in the last example is redundant, the rela- 
 tive what being equivalent to that which. " Do you not 
 think that which you now advance," — the second that is a 
 pronoun, and put to avoid the repetition of the phrase, " do 
 you not think." 
 
 Ex. — "Who that hath the spirit of a man, would suffer 
 himself to be thus disgraced." — Crombie. 
 
 This example, according to Mr. Tooke's infallible method 
 of resolution, would read thus; — 
 
 Who would suffer himself to be thus disgraced? that 
 (man) hath the spirit of a man. 
 
 We do not ask the reader if this conveys the sense of Dr. 
 Crombie's example. The conjunction that, with the verb 
 hath, is equivalent to the present participle having. 
 
 Who having the spirit of a man, would suffer himself to 
 be thus disgraced. 
 
 However useful an acquaintance with the literal derivation 
 of indeclinable words may be, there are other points which 
 we consider of much greater importance to those who would 
 acquire a practical knowledge of the theory of language. 
 Few writers on the subject of grammar attempt to explain 
 how indeclinable words originate, or why they are so neces- 
 sary to obviate the tediousness and prolixity of an unpolished 
 and barbarous phraseology. Dr. Campbell is the only 
 author we have read, who has attempted to show the true 
 character of these words ; for though Mr. Tooke has traced 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 185 
 
 the origin and proved that the indeclinable parts of speech 
 are in general reliques of words once significant in the lan- 
 guage ; he has, nevertheless, in his zeal to establish their 
 primitive meaning, overlooked the advantages which we 
 derive from their very obscurity. 
 
 " Connectives," says Dr. Campbell, " are of all parts of 
 speech the most unfriendly to vivacity, for in themselves they 
 are but the taches which serve to unite the constituent parts 
 of a sentence or a paragraph. Consequently the less con- 
 spicuous they are, the more perfect will the union of the parts 
 be, and the more easily will the hearer glide, as it were, from 
 one word, clause, or member of a period to another, the more 
 observable they are, the less perfect is the union." 
 
 It has been already shown that by merely changing the 
 position of a word in a sentence its force of signification may 
 be modified, or so far obscured, that it will serve to connect 
 the members of a sentence, without awakening those ideas 
 which would tend to destroy that connection. 
 
 The mind, like the eye, can view only one object distinctly 
 at a time, for if it endeavour to contemplate, with equal at- 
 tention, several impressions simultaneously, the whole will 
 become more or less obscure, in proportion to the number 
 of individuals it tries to particularise at one view. Hence, 
 the necessity of connecting relative ideas by terms less sig- 
 nificant than those which denote the principal objects of 
 discourse, and hence, too, we are able to understand Dr. 
 Campbell's apparent paradox, that — " The less time the 
 
 MIND BESTOWS ON THE INSIGNIFICANT PARTS OF A SEN- 
 TENCE, THE MORE SIGNIFICANT WILL THE WHOLE APPEAR." 
 
 We shall endeavour to illustrate this analogy, between the 
 power of vision, and that of mental perception, by a diagram. 
 
 The figure in the margin repre- 
 sents the eye at a common reading AAA A A. A AAA 
 distance, viewing a row of letters, but 
 fixed with the most attention to the 
 middle letter A. 
 
 Now, as we read, a ray may be 
 supposed to be drawn from the cen- 
 tre of the eye to that letter it looks 
 at first, and to move successively with it from letter to letter 
 
186 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 the whole length of the line ; but if the eye stops at any par- 
 ticular letter A, to observe it more than the rest, these other 
 letters will grow more and more imperfect to the sight, the 
 farther they are situated on either side of A, as is expressed 
 in the figure, and when we endeavour to see all the letters 
 in a line equally perfect at one view, as it were, this imagi- 
 nary ray must course it to and fro with great celerity. Thus, 
 though the eye strictly speaking can only pay due attention 
 to these letters in succession; yet the amazing ease and 
 swiftness with which it performs this task, enables us to see 
 considerable spaces with sufficient satisfaction at one sudden 
 view.* 
 
 And thus it is with the mind in viewing objects in connec- 
 tion with each other. It is rarely necessary that we should 
 recall the abstract ideas, that we may be able to form of 
 their several relations. A vague and imperfect notion is all 
 that is required. Now, language furnishes, in these inde- 
 clinable words, the means whereby we may be enabled to 
 express the connection of our thoughts with greater energy 
 and propriety than we could possibly do if the meaning of 
 all the words in a sentence were equally perspicuous. But 
 this great improvement in language Mr. Tooke would destroy, 
 by restoring to indeclinable words a force of signification 
 which it is not desirable they should at all times possess. 
 
 Syntax of Conjunctions. 
 
 The simplest method of connecting clauses to sentences is 
 to omit the verb or sign of affirmation, for by thus rendering 
 a clause dependent, it necessarily unites and forms a part of 
 the proposition. 
 
 Ex. — The comparative, while it retains its own distinctive 
 character denoting simple excess, partakes also of the nature 
 of the superlative ; the objects compared being referred. 
 
 This is the case absolute of the learned, concerning 
 which so much has been said, and of which, apparently, so 
 little is understood. The following is " the rule' given by 
 Dr. Crombie : — 
 
 * Hogarth. — Analysis of Beauty 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 187 
 
 Rule. — " A noun or pronoun joined to a participle, its 
 case being dependent on no word in the sentence, is put in 
 the nominative. " 
 
 " This rule/' says Dr. Crombie, " will be perfectly under- 
 stood by the classical scholar, when we say that the absolute 
 case in English is the nominative. Thus, ' we being exceed- 
 ingly tossed, the next day they lightened the ship ;' the 
 pronoun of the first person, joined to the participle 'being,' 
 is neither the nominative to any verb, nor is it connected with 
 any word of which it can be the regimen. It is therefore 
 put in the nominative case." 
 
 Now, if we understand this writer, the pronoun is put in 
 the nominative case because it is not the nominative of any 
 verb. This, it must be confessed, is a singular assertion, 
 and directly at variance with the character of the nominative, 
 whose office it is to denote the subject. The truth is, the 
 pronoun belongs to the verb suppressed, and denotes the 
 subject as distinguished from the rest of the clause. The 
 verb being absent, the present participle assumes the cha- 
 racter of a conjunction, and obviates the necessity of a 
 connecting particle: this may be seen by supplying the verb. 
 
 Ex. — We were exceedingly tossed the next day, (therefore) 
 they lightened the ship. 
 
 The incipient indeclinable conjunction may be perceived in 
 this use of the participles and infinitive mood, for they have 
 a different manner of signification when put absolutely than 
 when they are employed as attributes predicated of nouns. 
 They represent more abstract ideas, and are therefore more 
 indefinite, obscure, and difficult to be explained. 
 
 Ex. — To confess the truth, I have no interest in the 
 question. 
 
 Ex. — Shame being lost, all virtue is lost. 
 
 Ex. — Admired and applauded, he became vain. 
 
 It has been shewn that the imperative, whence Mr. 
 Tooke has derived so many of his conjunctions, is the 
 same mood, and denotes the same time as the infinitive, and 
 that the infinitive and present participle are often used to 
 denote the same idea, the notion of time and affirmation 
 being excluded. 
 
 Rule I. Two or more subjects in the singular, united by 
 
158 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 a copulative conjunction, are equivalent to a plural subject, 
 and require the verb to agree with them in the plural, as — 
 Socrates and Plato were wise. 
 
 The copulative conjunction is sometimes omitted, as — " the 
 sun that rolls over our heads, the food that we receive, the 
 rest that we enjoy, daily admonish us of a superior and super- 
 intending power." Here the three subjects are sufficiently 
 apparent, and do not require the connecting particle. 
 
 The conjunction and is sometimes used to join two or 
 more nouns to denote a compound, and the verb agrees with 
 the nouns in the singular, as — "wine and water is a pleasant 
 beverage;" but "wine and water are not often mingled." 
 In the first example the conjunction unites two nouns which 
 constitute an indivisible subject, but in theiast the conjunc- 
 tion connects the nouns as distinct subjects, and they are 
 referred to individually by the verb. Thus, we say, " why 
 is dust and ashes proud ;" for the nouns dust and ashes are 
 figuratively used for the general term man. 
 
 In like manner, two or more facts are sometimes united 
 by this conjunction, and, from their close alliance, are con- 
 sidered as one. 
 
 Ex. — That such a misfortune should befall your house, 
 and mar your prospects, grieves me exceedingly. 
 
 In this sentence, "misfortune" is considered the nomi- 
 native. 
 
 The example quoted by Mr. Murray and Mr. Lewis in 
 favour of this construction does not appear to be founded in 
 the principles of grammar, or within the limits of the excep- 
 tion to the general rule. 
 
 Ex. — That warm climates accelerate the growth of the 
 human body, and shorten its duration, is very reasonable to 
 believe." 
 
 Here are, evidently, two consequences ascribed to warm 
 climates, and the verb should be plural. 
 
 Mr. Murray, in his remarks on this exception, admits 
 that it is contrary to the first principles of grammar to con- 
 sider two distinct ideas as one, however nice may be their 
 difference ; and if there be no difference, one of them must 
 be superfluous, and ought to be rejected. 
 
 "To support the above construction, it is said that the 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 189 
 
 verb may be understood as applied to each of the preceding 
 terms, as in the following example — " sand, and salt, and a 
 mass of iron, is easier to bear than a man without under- 
 standing." But besides the confusion and the latitude of 
 application which such a construction would introduce, it 
 appears to be more proper and analogical, in cases where the 
 verb is intended to be applied to any one of the terms, to 
 make use of the disjunctive conjunction, which grammatically 
 refers the verb to one or other of the preceding terms in a 
 separate view. To preserve the distinctive uses of the copu- 
 lative and disjunctive conjunctions, would render the rules 
 precise, consistent, and intelligible. Dr. Blair very justly 
 observes that " two or more substantives, joined by a copu- 
 lative, must always require the verb or pronoun to which 
 they refer to be placed in the plural number." 
 
 Rule II. — If nouns and pronouns, of different persons, 
 are joined by a copulative conjunction, the pronoun plural 
 of the second person takes the place of the third person, and 
 the pronoun plural of the first person of both. 
 
 Ex. — Thou and he shared it between you. 
 
 Ex. — James, and thou, and I, are attached to our country, 
 i.e. we are attached to our country. 
 
 The propriety of this agreement has been already shewn. 
 It has its origin from the principles of construction, and is 
 not referable to "authority," or the capricious decision of 
 " reputable use." 
 
 Rule III. — The conjunction disjunctive has an effect 
 contrary to that of the conjunction copulative ; for, as the 
 verb, noun, or pronoun, is referred to separately, the verb 
 must be in the singular. 
 
 Ex. — Death, or some worse misfortune, soon divides 
 them. 
 
 Rule IV. When pronouns singular of different persons 
 are disjunctively connected, the verb must agree with that 
 person which is placed nearest to it. 
 
 Ex. — Thou or I am in fault. 
 
 Ex. — I or thou art to blame. 
 
 The verb cannot agree with both, it is therefore " under- 
 stood" before the first pronoun, as — thou art, or I am, in 
 fault ; I am, or thou art, to blame ; but, as Mr. Murray 
 
190 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 remarks, it would be more accurate to say, either I am in 
 fault, or thou art ; either thou art to blame, or I am. 
 
 Conjunctions may be distinguished from prepositions, by 
 their wanting the property to govern a noun in the objective 
 case. Dr. Crombie asserts that "conjunctions have no 
 government," and his opinion appears to be corroborated, 
 both by the practice of writers, and by the fundamental 
 principles of composition. 
 
 In giving this rule, says Dr. Crombie," I differ from all 
 other grammarians who have erroneously, as I concieve, 
 assigned them a regimen. Some conjunctions, says Lowth, 
 govern the indicative, and some the subjunctive mood. 
 This I affirm without hesitation to be a mistake; for not a 
 single example, I venture to assert, can be produced in which 
 the verb is divested of its indicative form, in consequence of 
 its being subjoined to any conjunction. — Etymology and 
 Syntax, p. 303. 
 
 Illustration of Conjunctions. 
 
 The use, or rather the abuse of conjunctions, is pretty 
 clearly exhibited in the following illustration taken from a 
 grammar of the Hebrew and English language. 
 
 " Being greatly desirous to promote the study of Hebrew 
 in America; I have drawn up this short English and Hebrew 
 grammar together, because those languages appear to me to 
 be the simplest and easiest; and (as to the grammatical 
 structure of them,) the most like one another of any that 
 I know, and also from a persuasion, that as soon as a 
 lad has learned to spell and read English well, it is much 
 best to begin a learned education with the Hebrew, both 
 because it is the first and easiest of all languages, and, indeed, 
 the mother of all language and eloquence ; but chiefly because 
 in it were written the most ancient original oracles of God, 
 and that the Holy Scriptures contain the most excellent the 
 most useful and important of all knowledge relating to things 
 both human and divine, and they are, most of them, older, 
 and the first of them near a thousand years older, than any 
 other writings that are now extant, and exhibit an admirable 
 picture of the ancient world." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 INTERJECTIONS. 
 
 " The dominion of speech is erected upon the downfall of interjections." — 
 
 Tooke. 
 " Those exclamations which by grammarians are called interjections, uttered 
 
 in a strong and impassioned manner, were beyond doubt the first 
 
 elements or beginnings of speech." — Blair. 
 
 An interjection is a word which expresses any sudden 
 emotion of the mind, as — oh! alas! heigh ho ! 
 
 " Interjections are employed only when the suddenness or 
 vehemence of some affection or passion returns men to their 
 natural state, and makes them for a moment forget the use 
 of speech ; or when from some circumstance the shortness 
 of time will not permit them to exercise it." 
 
 Interjections do not interfere with the construction nor 
 with the modification of words in a sentence ; they neither 
 agree with, nor do they govern other words; they are strictly 
 parenthetic, and may be omitted without breaking the con- 
 nection of ideas intended to be expressed. Interjections are 
 not therefore essentially necessary in written discourse, 
 although they may be sometimes advantageously employed 
 to give energy, pathos, or fervour, to certain compositions. 
 The poets would feel great inconvenience, if interjections 
 were altogether prohibited in artificial language. 
 
 Those who pretend to prove that interjections are merely 
 abbreviated sentences, have either confounded imperfect 
 sentences wherein affirmation was intended, or they have 
 mistaken the interpretation* of an interjection for the sign 
 
 * Mr. Cobbett, and his imitator, Mr. Lewis, in their interpretation of 
 " sir," i. e. " you who are a sir," seem to have fallen into a similar error 
 respecting the vocative case. A noun in the vocative case resembles an 
 interjection, and is neither connected with the concord nor the government 
 of words in a sentence. It names the object spoken to, either to arrest the 
 attention, or to denote respect. 
 
192 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 itself. Thus — welcome, adieu, hark! lo! are not interjec- 
 tions, but imperfect sentences. 
 
 The word heigh ho ! is an interjection, indicating langour, 
 and may be interpreted into, " I am weary ;" but the person 
 uttering the exclamation is perhaps scarcely conscious of 
 doing so, and certainly has no intention to affirm his state of 
 weariness. Such words are therefore properly denominated 
 interjections. 
 
 As long as interjections are tolerated in written language, 
 so long must they be classed among the distinct parts of 
 speech. They are signs of emotions, and when artificially 
 used, are designed to awaken corresponding sensations in the 
 person to whom they are addressed. 
 
 Illustration of Interjections. 
 
 Ah ! who can tell how hard it is to climb 
 
 The steep where Fame's proud temple shines afar! 
 Ah ! who can tell how many a soul sublime 
 
 Has felt the influence of malignant star, 
 And waged with Fortune an eternal war ; 
 
 Checked by the scoif of Pride, and Envy's frown, 
 In life's low vale, remote, has pined alone, 
 
 And dropt into the grave unpitied and unknown ! 
 
 The above stanza contains all the parts of speech ; and we 
 strongly recommend those who may be yet unacquainted 
 with the distinctions which have given rise to the classifica- 
 tion of words, to copy the whole into columns, either seriatim, 
 or under the several heads of articles, nouns, pronouns, &c, 
 and at the same time to observe the modifications that occur, 
 and the construction, government, and concord, of the several 
 members of the sentence. It is by such exercises, that 
 almost any one, even unassisted by an instructor, may make 
 himself master of the rules of grammar. 
 
 We shall conclude this part of our subject with Dr. Darwin's 
 account of the origin of language, and of the different parts 
 of speech. 
 
 Thus the first language, when we frowned or smiled, 
 Rose from the cradle Imitation's child; 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 193 
 
 Next to each thought, associate sound accords, 
 
 And forms the dulcet symphony of words : 
 
 The tongue the lips articulate,— the throat, 
 
 With soft vibration, modulates the note. 
 
 Love, pity, war, the shout, the song, the prayer, 
 Form quick concussions of elastic air. 
 
 Hence, the first accents bear in airy rings 
 The vocal symbols of ideal things ; 
 Name each nice change appulsive powers supply 
 To the quick sense of touch, or ear, or eye; 
 Or in fine traits, abstracted forms suggest, 
 Of beauty, wisdom, number, motion, rest ; 
 Or as within reflex ideas move, 
 Trace the light steps of reason, rage, and love ; 
 The next new sounds, adjunctive thoughts accite 
 As hard, odorous, tuneful, sweet, or white; 
 The next, the fleeting images select, 
 Of action, suffering, causes, and effect; 
 Or mark existence, with the march sublime, 
 O'er earth and ocean of recording time; 
 Last, steps abbreviation, bold and strong, 
 And leads the volant trains of words along; 
 With sweet loquacity, to Hermes springs, 
 And decks his forehead and bis feet with'wings. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 t/ 
 
 DERIVATION. 
 
 As in the woods the leaves change with each revolving year, and the most 
 early fall the first, so words perish as they grow old, and those of more 
 modern date succeed and flourish for a time, like men in their youth." 
 
 The history of a nation affords the best, if not the only, 
 means of tracing the origin of a particular tongue. The 
 elements of modern languages appear to have been borrowed 
 from other languages more remote, and in a great measure 
 extinct. To trace the progress of a particular tongue, if such 
 a task were practicable, could be considered as a labour of 
 only very limited utility. The present state of the English 
 language, and how far established modes of speech will admit 
 of improvement, are subjects most deserving the attention of 
 the scholar and grammarian. 
 
 The following concise account of the origin and formation 
 of the English language is taken from Rapin's History of 
 England, vol. ii. p. 209 :— 
 
 " The language of the Anglo-Saxons before the Conquest 
 was a mixture of the following dialects. 1. Of British or 
 Celtic, from whence, no doubt, the Saxons borrowed some 
 words and phrases. 2. Of Latin, which was common in 
 Great Britain when the Saxons arrived. 3. Of the ancient 
 English or Danish. 4. Of the modern Danish, 5. Of pure 
 Saxon. 6. Of Norman mixed with Danish and French." 
 
 " They who have carefully studied this matter distinguish 
 three principal dialects in the Anglo-Saxon language. The 
 first was compounded of British, Latin, and Saxon, but in 
 such a manner that the Saxon was predominant ; the 
 second dialect, which may be termed Dano- Saxon, was used 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 195 
 
 in the northern parts from the first invasions of the Danes 
 to the Norman Conquest ; the third dialect was made up of 
 the other two and the Norman. This dialect, which was 
 introduced chiefly in the reigns of Edward the Confessor 
 and William the Conqueror, has admitted of great alterations 
 by the addition of abundance of French words, particularly 
 after Henry the Second's accession to the crown of England. 
 They who are ignorant of the English tongue will not easily 
 be made to believe that a mixture of so many languages can 
 have any extraordinary beauties : but the English assert that 
 their tongue should for that very reason be the more beauti- 
 ful and expressive, since they have adopted only the more 
 refined part of other tongues, and rejected what is rude and 
 unpolished. Be this as it will, they have a great value for 
 their own language, and if a foreigner may be allowed to give 
 his opinion, I think very justly." 
 
 " If we should suppose," says Blair, in his lecture on the 
 rise and progress of language, " a period before any words 
 were invented or known, it is clear that men could have no 
 other method of communicating to others what they felt 
 than by the cries of passion, accompanied with such motions 
 and gestures as were further expressive of passion." 
 
 ** When more enlarged communication became necessary, 
 and names began to be assigned to objects, in what manner 
 can we suppose men to have proceeded in this assignation of 
 names or invention of words ? — undoubtedly by imitating as 
 much as they could the nature of the object which they 
 named by the sound of the name which they gave to it. As 
 a painter who would represent grass must employ a green 
 colour, so, in the beginnings of language, one giving name to 
 any thing harsh and boisterous would of course employ a 
 harsh and boisterous sound. He could not do otherwise if 
 he meant to excite in the hearer the idea of that thing which 
 he sought to name. To suppose words invented, or names 
 given to things, in a manner purely arbitrary, without any 
 ground or reason, is to suppose an effect without a cause. 
 There must have always been some motive which led to 
 the assignation of one name rather than another ; and we 
 can conceive no motive which would more generally operate 
 upon men in their first efforts towards language than a desire 
 
 o 2 
 
196 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 to paint by speech the objects which they named in a manner 
 more or less complete, according as the vocal organs had it 
 in their power to effect this imitation." 
 
 " Wherever objects were to be named in which sound, 
 noise, or motion, were concerned, the imitation by words 
 was abundantly obvious : nothing was more natural than to 
 imitate by the sound of the voice the quality of the sound or 
 noise which any external object made, and to form its name 
 accordingly. Thus, in all languages, we find a multitude of 
 words that are. evidently constructed upon this principle. A 
 certain bird is termed a cuckoo from the sound which it 
 emits. When one sort of wind is said to whistle, and another 
 to roar, when a serpent is said to hiss, a fly to buzz, and 
 falling timber to crash, when a stream is said to flow, and 
 hail to rattle, the analogy between the word and the thing 
 signified is plainly discernible." 
 
 "This principle, however, of a natural relation between 
 words and objects can only be applied to language in its 
 most simple and primitive state. Though in every tongue 
 some remains of it can be traced, it were utterly in vain to 
 search for it throughout the whole construction of any 
 modern language. As the multitude of terms increase in 
 every nation, and the immense field of language is filled up, 
 words, by a thousand fanciful and irregular methods of deri- 
 vation and composition, come to deviate widely from the 
 primitive character of their roots, and to lose all analogy or 
 resemblance in sound to the thing signified. In this state 
 we now find language. Words, as we now employ them, 
 taken in the general, may be considered as symbols, not as 
 imitations ; as arbitrary or instituted, not natural signs of 
 ideas : but there can be no doubt, I think, that language, the 
 nearer we remount to its rise among men, will be found to 
 partake more of a natural expression. As it could be origi- 
 nally formed on nothing but imitation, it would in its primi- 
 tive state be more picturesque, much more barren, indeed, 
 and narrow, in the circle of its terms, than now ; but, as far 
 as it went, more expressive by sound of the thing signified. 
 This, then, may be assumed as the character of the first 
 state or beginnings of language, among every savage tribe/' 
 Having given this brief outline of the origin of language, 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 197 
 
 we shall proceed to make a few remarks on the subject of 
 derivation. 
 
 The knowledge of the derivation of words can be only so 
 far useful as it may enable any one to understand and retain 
 the true and precise meaning of words. But when a lan- 
 guage has been so far changed, that words derived from 
 obsolete roots can no longer be recognised as belonging to 
 such roots, having assumed another form, or to which 
 another meaning has been attached, they, in fact, have 
 become new words, and it is an idle abuse of time to trace 
 their original construction or primitive signification. One 
 example will shew how far the meaning of a word may be 
 changed, though all the parts of such word continue to be 
 used. 
 
 To improve, according to the meaning now attached to it, 
 is " to advance any thing nearer to perfection," to raise from 
 good to better. Compare this with the word in its original 
 signification, and it will be found to have acquired a new 
 meaning. To improve formerly signified to censure, to im- 
 peach, to blame, to reprove. 
 
 " Whereas he hath spoken it by his own mouth, that it is 
 not good for man to be alone, they have improved that doc- 
 trine, and taught the contrary." 
 
 " There did they worship it in their scarlet gowns, with 
 cap in hand ; and here they improve it with scorns and with 
 mocks, grinning upon her like termagants in a play/' 
 
 Philologists imagine that they render an essential service 
 to the illiterate by publishing their speculations on the origin 
 of words ; but are we better acquainted with established 
 modes of speech from perusing works on derivation ? Do 
 we, for instance, acquire a more correct notion of the title 
 of " Lady " because it formerly signified a person who dis- 
 tributed bread to the poor; or do we understand the meaning 
 of the word " bread " because we are informed it originally 
 implied corn brayed in a mortar. 
 
 What should we think of the wisdom of a philosopher who 
 pretended to examine more accurately the quality of a tole- 
 rably clear spring by first stirring the mud which once floated 
 on its surface. Etymologists do little else when they bring 
 forward obsolete words to prove the meaning of terms used 
 
198 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 in modern discourse. Such analysis may please and amuse 
 the black-lettered antiquary or the pedant, but few will be 
 able to appreciate its practical utility.* 
 
 Let not, however, our views upon this point be misunder- 
 stood. We speak only of those terms which have either 
 changed their primitive significations, or have become obso- 
 lete. But as long as the meaning of any word can be traced 
 by comparing the derivative with its root, it is of the utmost 
 importance to acquire a knowledge of the circumstances upon 
 which such word depends for its signification : for, " whilst 
 on the one hand we recognise a derivative word by the iden- 
 tity of sound with the radical sound, we, on the other hand, 
 appreciate its meaning by comparing the derivative with the 
 radical notion." 
 
 Nouns may be considered the legitimate roots of all attri- 
 butes, for the modification of an idea necessarily requires a 
 change or distinction in the term which represents the radical 
 notion, but it does not follow that language must supply a 
 distinct term for every idea before a derivative notion can be 
 expressed, for there are many nouns which are said to be 
 derived from adjectives and verbs, as — goodness, from good ; 
 reader, from to read : yet we shall find that the signification 
 of these attributes depended at first on the notions the mind 
 had formed of " goodness " and " the act of reading/' and 
 that, in fact, " to read " is an abstract noun, from which the 
 noun "reader" derives its signification. It is the circum- 
 stance of reading which gives the meaning we apply to the 
 noun "reader" in the same manner as the circumstances 
 which accompany the perpetration of a murder induces us 
 to call one man an assassin, f and another a burker or 
 burkite. 
 
 In proportion, then, as the circumstances which gave rise 
 
 * " With, regard to etymology, about which grammarians make so much 
 useless bustle, if every one hath a privilege of altering words according to his 
 own opinion of their origin, the opinions of the learned being on this subject 
 so various, nothing but a general chaos can ensue." — Campbell. 
 
 t " The word assassin is said to be derived from a sect of Mahometans, 
 called Chassins, dwelling in six cities near Antaradus, in Syria, being about 
 forty thousand in number. They were ready to stab any prince whom the 
 old man of the mountains should appoint them, or to go upon any dangerous 
 attempt." — Rapin. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 199 
 
 to the names of things are remembered, we shall form our 
 notions of the modifications of the radical noun. But the 
 particular circumstances which gave to many words now in 
 use their form and origin, are no longer identified with the 
 subject, nor can those circumstances assist to impart a 
 meaning to the terms with which they were originally asso- 
 ciated. This is the case with the words we have already 
 quoted ; for bread is not made of corn brayed in a mortar, 
 nor is the idea any one forms of the title of Lady ever asso- 
 ciated with the duty of distributing bread to the poor. In 
 addition to these words, we may notice the following as still 
 more objectionable in their obsolete derivations ; — stern — 
 ster-er, ster'n, i.e. stirred. " It is the same word," says Mr. 
 Tooke, "and has the same meaning, whether we say — a stern 
 countenance, i.e. a moved countenance, moved by some 
 passion, or — the stern of a ship, i.e. the moved part of a ship, 
 or that part by which it is moved. It is the past participle 
 of the verb stiren movere, which we now in English write 
 differently, according to its different applications — to stir, to 
 steer." 
 
 The meaning here ascribed to stern is nearly in direct 
 opposition to the one usually applied to it, for a stern coun- 
 tenance is immoveable in its expression of severity. 
 
 Ex. " When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept ; 
 Ambition should be made of sterner stuff." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 That is, stuff not easily moved by the calamities of the poor. 
 
 Ex. " Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible, 
 
 Thou stern, obdurate, flinty, rough, remorseless." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 In this example, stern is opposed to flexible. 
 
 Ex. " The judge supreme soon cast a stedfast eye, 
 Stern, yet tempered with benignity." 
 
 Harte. 
 
 Ste?n, in this last example, means severe, and not moved 
 or moveable. 
 
200 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 Mr. Tooke's attempt to attribute the signification of 
 ordered, or commanded, to the word right, is another proof 
 of the futility of these derivations. For although a right 
 line may be defined a line that is well ordered in its direction 
 between two points, yet that direction cannot be said to be 
 commanded. The sense in which right is used as an abstract 
 noun, is the same in which it is applied to the Almighty 
 when we acknowledge he has a right to control his creatures, 
 it is his privilege as their Creator ; and his creatures have a 
 right to obey, for their obedience is a duty which they owe to 
 him, their Creator. 
 
 Right, then, according to its acceptation in this sense, is 
 that which ought to be, that which is owed, and a person 
 may be said to obtain his right when he gets his due — his 
 own. But what is ordered and commanded is not always 
 what is right ; for a villain may receive a reward for treason, 
 fraud, or treachery, but every honest man will allow that if 
 he got his right he ought to be hanged. 
 
 Ex. — " Persons of noble blood are less envied in their 
 rising, for it seemeth but right done to their birth." — Bacon. 
 That is, their due, what was owing to them. 
 
 Ex. — The Roman citizens were by the sword taught to 
 acknowledge the pope their lord, though they knew not by 
 what right. 
 
 Here the order or command was enforced, but it was not 
 admitted to be right. 
 
 The important word truth has, in a similar manner, been 
 misinterpreted, by tracing the noun to its verbal root. 
 
 " True,'* says Mr. Tooke, " is the past participle of the 
 verb to think, to believe firmly, to be thoroughly persuaded 
 of, to trow ; and 
 
 " Truth is what men think ; and if two persons speak what 
 they think, though they contradict each other, they may yet 
 both speak truth." 
 
 The fallacy of this opinion needs little more to refute it 
 than the usual definition of the word truth. 
 
 Truth is the contrary to falsehood ; the just conformity 
 of notions to things ; reality ; fact. For so far only as ideas, 
 represented by sounds, agree to their archetypes, so far only 
 is truth real. 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 201 
 
 The notion that the sun rises every day in the east is 
 false ; and the affirmation which asserts the phenomenon to 
 be true is a falsehood. On the other hand, the affirmation 
 that the earth revolving on its axis causes this phenomenon, 
 is true ; for the truth of this notion has been proved by well 
 known facts, ascertained from observation. Men think truly 
 when their thoughts are in conformity with the nature of the 
 subject which engages their attention ; they speak truly when 
 the fact is as they represent it ; but the fact itself is the 
 truth, and not the notions which men entertain concerning 
 the subject of their thoughts ; for however various and im- 
 perfect the opinions of men may be, truth is still immutable. 
 The principles upon which it rests can never change. From 
 truth nothing can really follow but what is true ; and many 
 may think that the author who could mistake the opinions of 
 men for truth was little qualified to be a critic, and altogether 
 undeserving the character of a philosopher. We shall con- 
 clude these remarks on truth by quoting a passage from Mr. 
 Locke's Essay on Association. 
 
 " Many men firmly embrace falsehood for truth, not only 
 because they never thought otherwise, but also because, thus 
 blinded as they have been from the beginning, they never 
 could think otherwise, at least without a vigour of mind able 
 to contest the empire of habit, and look into its own principles, 
 a freedom which few men have the notion of in themselves, 
 and fewer are allowed the practice of by others, it being the 
 great art and business of the teachers and guides in most 
 sects to suppress as much as they can this fundamental duty 
 which every man owes himself, and is the first ready step 
 towards right and truth in the whole train of his actions and 
 opinions ; this would give one reason to suspect that such 
 teachers are conscious to themselves of the falsehood or 
 weakness of the tenets they profess, since they will not 
 suffer the grounds whereon they are built to be examined, 
 when, as those who seek truth only, and desire to own and 
 propagate nothing else, freely expose their principles to 
 the test, and are pleased to have them examined ; give 
 men leave to reject them if they can, and if there be any 
 thing weak and unsound in them, are willing to have it 
 detected, that they themselves, as well as others, may not 
 
202 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 lay any stress upon any received proposition, beyond what 
 the evidence of its truth will warrant and allow." 
 
 Person is another instance of the original meaning of a 
 word being no assistance in ascertaining its precise significa- 
 tion. Person is now a general term applied to mankind, 
 without referring to the sex or character of the individual ; 
 and personage denotes an individual of higher rank than 
 persons in general. But person, we are informed, originally 
 signified the mask worn by actors on the Roman stage, and 
 through which the voice was sounded ; the word was after- 
 wards used to denote an individual represented on the stage. 
 If we were now to associate these circumstances, in using 
 the word person, and consider the individual thus designated 
 as representing a fictitious character, and speaking through a 
 mask, the term might be justly considered one of reproach, 
 and synonymous with hypocrite. Personage, also, which is 
 now an honourable distinction, would then signify that the 
 person so distinguished was a greater hypocrite than persons 
 in general. This derivation, therefore, may amuse, but it 
 cannot serve to determine the meaning of the word person. 
 
 " Some are of opinion that the word Sterling comes from 
 the town Striveling or Sterling in Scotland, where they pre- 
 tend, without any authority, that the best and purest money 
 was formerly coined. Others say, with much greater proba- 
 bility, that Sterling is derived from the Saxon word Steore, 
 which signifies rule or standard, that according to this 
 opinion, sterling money means no more than money made 
 according to a settled standard. Camden and some others 
 believed this word was of amuch more modern date, and taken 
 from certain Flemish workmen, who, in the reign of King 
 John, were called into England to reduce the money to its 
 due fineness, in which they were more expert than the 
 English. As the people of that country were termed 
 Easterlings, because they lived eastward of England, 'tis 
 pretended that the money they coined was called easterling 
 or sterling, that is, made by the Easterlings or Flemish, and 
 consequently purer than what had been coined before. 
 Others have imagined that sterling is derived from the Star or 
 Starling, supposed to have been formerly stamped on the coin." 
 
 Of these suppositions, the second is preferable, because it 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 203 
 
 attaches to sterling a circumstance that leads to the precise 
 meaning of the word, and by thus attributing to the term a 
 well defined signification, it tends to perpetuate its use. 
 
 Those who affirm that all roots are verbs, appear to have 
 but a very superficial knowledge of the origin and formation 
 of speech, for upon what principle can we trace the words 
 virtue, pride, man, sun, and a great number of substantive 
 nouns, to verbal roots, or how can the notions expressed by 
 those words, be derived from " notions of activity trans- 
 formed into notions of existence/' 
 
 " The first words," says Dr. Russell, " which Adam is 
 recorded to have spoken, are the names of animals ;" and if 
 Adam had never had occasion to communicate his thoughts, 
 he would not have experienced the want of other signs than 
 those which represented distinct ideas, and these could have 
 been only necessary to record his own thoughts. For this 
 purpose Mr. Locke observes, " any words will serve the turn. 
 For since sounds are voluntary and indifferent signs of any 
 ideas, a man may use what words he pleases to signify his 
 own ideas to himself, and there will be no imperfection in 
 them, if he constantly use the same sign for the same idea, 
 for then he cannot fail of having his meaning understood, 
 wherein consists the right use and perfection of language." 
 
 Every significant word, however modified or combined iu 
 its application, is referable to some noun as its root, and 
 from which it derives its primary signification ; but it does 
 not necessarily follow that the name of a thing is always the 
 most simple word of its class existing in the language. As 
 far as the formation of words is concerned, the noun good- 
 ness is derived from the adjective good ; but the restricted 
 meaning of the adjective is derived from the abstract notion 
 afterwards expressed by the term goodness. 
 
 " Adjectives seem originally to have been derived from 
 nouns substantive, of which they express a quality, as — a 
 musky rose ; a beautiful lady ; a stormy day. Some of them 
 are formed from the correspondent substantive, by adding the 
 syllable ly or like, as — & lovely child ; a warlike countenance; 
 and in our language it is frequently only necessary to put a 
 hyphen between two nouns substantive, for the purpose of 
 converting the former one into an adjective, as — an eagle-eye; 
 
204 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 a May-day. And many of our adjectives are substan- 
 tives unchanged, and only known by their situation in a 
 sentence, as — a German, or a German gentleman." 
 
 " We do not mean to assert that all verbs are literally 
 derived from nouns in any language ; because all languages 
 have in process of time undergone such great variation ; 
 many nouns having become obsolete or have perished, and 
 new words have been imported from foreign languages, 
 or transplanted from ancient ones ; but that this has originally 
 been the construction of all verbs." 
 
 "Thus there may appear some difficulty in analyzing from 
 what noun substantive were formed the verbs to stand or to 
 lie ; because we have not properly the name of the abstract 
 ideas from which these words arose, except we use the same 
 word for the participle and the noun substantive, as — 
 standing, lying. But the verbs to sit, and to walk, are less 
 difficult to trace their origin, as we have names for the nouns 
 substantive, a seat, and a walk." — Darwin. Theory of 
 Language. 
 
 The verbal noun, " to walk," derives its signification from 
 the abstract noun, a walk, and the names of both these nouns 
 are probably derived from the substantive noun, a walk or 
 path. 
 
 Mr. Cobbett, however, makes no distinction between the 
 abstract noun and the substantive noun, as the reader will 
 perceive from the following erroneous criticism. 
 
 " Mr. Murray, in an address to his students, tells them 
 that ' he is about to offer them some advice with regard to 
 their future walks in the paths of literature.' Now, says Mr. 
 Cobbett, though a man may take a walk along a path, a walk 
 means also the ground laid out in a certain shape, and such 
 a walk is wider than a path." 
 
 And this is all Mr Cobbett offers in proof that Mr. 
 Murray's language is inaccurate. Need we say that the 
 sentence, though figurative, is strictly correct, and that the 
 writer did not mean garden walks nor gravelled walks, nor 
 any walks of that kind, but such walks as the mind conceives 
 to have been performed by the act of walking. 
 
 It may appear presumptuous to offer any remarks on the 
 application and meaning of words from the learned languages ; 
 
 
PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 205 
 
 but, unfortunately, English grammar has been so confounded 
 with the rules of other languages, and its professors so often 
 illustrate the idioms of our tongue by comparing them with 
 foreign idioms, that we are constrained to learn the rudiments 
 of the Greek and Latin languages before we can pretend to 
 understand the established rules of our own. 
 
 The verbal noun, to read, is not a mood of the verb reading, 
 but the name of that action. To read and reading, when 
 used as nouns, have so far the same meaning," that they 
 represent the action without affirmation, and thus lose their 
 manner of signification as verbs or attributes. To read is 
 easy, and reading is easy, are equivalent expressions ; Dr. 
 Crombie has attempted to prove this fact : — 
 
 " When I say leg ere est facile, ' to read is easy/ it is 
 obvious there is only one sentence in each of these expres- 
 sions : but if legere (to read) were a verb as well as est (is), 
 then there would be two verbs, and also two affirmations, 
 for affirmation is inseparable from a verb. I remark, also, 
 that the verbal noun lectio reading, substituted for legere 
 (to read), would precisely express the same sentiment/' 
 
 Now, if lectio and legere have the same meaning as legens 
 and legere, Dr. Crombie's conclusion is correct ; but if lectio 
 means the lesson read, and legere the reading of it, then Dr. 
 Crombie has done mischief, because he has obscured the 
 truth of his former proposition. In Latin, perhaps, lectio 
 has no more claim to be classed with verbal nouns than liber 
 has ; but in English we know it has not, and that a lesson, a 
 reading, are nouns of very different signification from the 
 verbal nouns, to read, reading. 
 
 These observations lead us to notice, in conclusion, the 
 different kinds of nouns. First, names of real and permanent 
 existences, as — water, earth, house, book Second, abstract 
 nouns, which have only an ideal existence when abstractedly 
 considered, as — the clearness of water, the fertility of the 
 earth, the size of a house, the value of a book. Third, nouns 
 which have a real, but transitory existence, depending on 
 some agent for their being ; such nouns may be denominated 
 verbal nouns : they comprehend all those names of actions 
 or states of existence denoted by the infinitives and participles 
 of that class of attributives called verbs. 
 
206 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. 
 
 We shall conclude in the words of Mr. Tooke. " Though 
 etymology, like the microscope, is sometimes useful to 
 discover the minute parts of language, which would other- 
 wise escape our sight, yet it is not necessary to have it 
 always in our hands, nor proper to apply it to every 
 object." 
 
THE INDEX, 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 A DICTIONARY OF THE TECHNICAL WORDS 
 
 COMMONLY USED BY WRITERS OX 
 
 LANGUAGE AND ELOCUTION, 
 
 WITH 
 
 NOTES AND ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 RULES AND PRINCIPLES OF GRAMMAR. 
 
 " The terms of grammar, it is exceedingly lamented, appear, and indeed are 
 particularly to the young mind, difficult and often unintelligible." — Jennings. 
 
THE INDEX, 
 
 A. 
 
 A, the character that represents the 
 first sound of the human voice. It 
 has the precedence in most alphabets. 
 The indefinite article a is a modifi- 
 cation of the Saxon numeral ad- 
 jective ane or an, and is used before 
 nouns beginning with consonants, and, 
 in some cases, before a noun beginning 
 with a vowel or h aspirated, p. 34. 
 
 The French who have not learned 
 the English language grammatically 
 confound the article a with the nu- 
 meral adjective one, and say one man 
 where they should say a man. 
 
 Ab, a Latin prefix and preposition, as 
 abscond. It denotes from, separating, 
 departure, as absolve, abstract, absent. 
 
 Abbreviation, in grammar, is two-fold, 
 abbreviation of terms and abbrevia- 
 tion in the manner of signification ; 
 and " Upon these two points," says 
 Mr. Tooke, " the respective excel- 
 lence of every language depends. All 
 their other comparative advantages 
 are trifling." 
 
 " Caesar came, saw, and conquered," 
 is an abbreviation of tbe first kind, 
 and is employed for the sake of dis- 
 patch. 
 
 The sign of the possessive case, 
 and most of the indeclinable parts of 
 speech, are instances of abbreviation 
 in the manner of signification. It 
 may be remarked, that all subordinate 
 words possess this character and are 
 used instead of tbe more significant 
 terms to lessen the force of significa- 
 tion. This important property of 
 words, it is hoped, has been clearly 
 developed in the etymology of the 
 several parts of speech. 
 
 Abbreviature, a shortening; a letter 
 or letters put for a word, as R for Re- 
 cipe, "take;" MSS. for manuscripta. 
 manuscripts. Lists of abbreviations 
 of this kind, with their explanations, 
 
 may be found in most elementary 
 works on grammar. The reader 
 should be well acquainted with their 
 meaning, but sparing in the use of 
 them. The too frequent adoption of 
 abbreviations for the sake of dispatch 
 betrays a want of good taste, and is 
 an indication of vulgar pedantry in a 
 writer. 
 
 The apostrophe may be considered 
 an abbreviature when it is employed 
 to denote that a letter is omitted, as 
 o'er, ne'er, for over and never. 
 
 Abecedarian, a teacher of the ABC, 
 or alphabet. 
 
 Ablative, the sixth case of Latin 
 nouns. The declensions of nouns in 
 Latin have six cases, both in the sin- 
 gular and in the plural ; the nomina- 
 tive, genitive, dative, accusative, vo- 
 cative, and ablative. 
 
 Ablative Absolute, that construction 
 in which the participle is employed in- 
 stead of the finite verb. p. 186. 
 
 Abstract, to separate ideas. 
 
 Abstract Nouns. The idea formed by 
 abstracting any mode or quality from 
 its noun, and contemplating the mode 
 as having a distinct existence, is called 
 an abstract idea, and the words that 
 represent these abstract ideas are pro- 
 perly denominated abstract nouns, as 
 goodness, anger, modesty, temperance. 
 From abstract nouus are derived ad- 
 jectives, verbs, and adverbs. Mr. 
 Tooke denies the existence of abstract 
 ideas, and for no other apparent reason 
 but because " The words not referring 
 to any sensible objects are sometimes 
 very difficult to define or explain ;" 
 but it may be presumed that Mr. 
 Tooke would not have denied that 
 mankind imagine they have such ideas, 
 and (however erroneous the opinion 
 may be) the same ideas are generally 
 supposed to represent real existences. 
 " To convince people," says Mr. Locke, 
 " of what moment it is to their under- 
 p 
 
210 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 standings to be furnished with such 
 abstract id^as, steady and settled in it, 
 give me leave to ask, how any one 
 shall be able to know whether he be 
 obliged to be just if he has not esta- 
 blished ideas in his mind of obligation 
 and of justice, since knowledge con- 
 sists in nothing but the perceived 
 agreement or disagreement of those 
 
 Abuse of words. " It is in the double 
 or incomplete sense of words that we 
 must look for the origin of a very 
 large portion of the errors into which 
 we fall." Herschal 
 
 Abuse of words may originate 
 either from affectation or ignorance, 
 but the former is the more dangerous 
 source of innovation. Figurative 
 writers are not always satisfied with 
 using appropriate terms, but, in order 
 to give an appearance of novelty to 
 what would otherwise appear trite, they 
 too often pervert the original meaning 
 of words, and thus sacrifice propriety 
 to ornament. A writer of this kind, 
 not contented with saying that " a 
 word is no longer used by good 
 writers,'' will declare it to be " repudi- 
 ated by good writers;" another will 
 speak of the " meretricious allure- 
 ments of sophistry ;" and a third 
 startles the illiterate with " canons," 
 instead of rules, for deciding the pro- 
 priety of discordant phraseologies. 
 Acatalectic, a verse which has the 
 
 complete number of syllables. 
 Accent, as regards the English Lan- 
 guage, means a certain stress of the 
 voice upon a particular letter of a 
 syllable, which distinguishes the sylla- 
 ble from others of which the word 
 may be composed, and also the letter 
 from the rest. The great distinction 
 of our accent depends upon the seat, 
 which may be either upon a vowel or 
 a consonant. When the accent is on 
 the vowel the syllable is long, because 
 the accent is made by dwelling upon 
 the vowel, as vocal. When it is upon 
 the consonant the syllable is short, 
 because the accent is made by passing 
 rapidly over the vowel and giving a 
 smart stroke of the voice to the fol- 
 lowing consonant, as volume. Ac- 
 cent regulates the pronunciation of 
 the English language ; those persons, 
 therefore, who countenance unneces- 
 sary changes in the accentuation of 
 words are destroying the harmony of 
 our best writers. The dry and harsh 
 style of many authors may be owing, 
 in a great degree, to the affectation of 
 changing the accent of words that 
 
 have been long established in the 
 language. 
 
 A native of Ireland or Scotland is 
 distinguished from an Englishman 
 more by his utterance than by his 
 accent, but a well-educated English- 
 man is distinguished from ordinary 
 English speakers by the propriety of 
 his accentuation, and the absense of 
 provincialisms and a provincial tone. 
 Accidence, a little book containing the 
 
 first rudiments of grammar. 
 Accident, in grammar, the property of 
 a word. It is the property of a noun 
 and of a pronoun to assume different 
 forms to denote the relations they 
 bear to other words in a sentence, 
 and it is the property of a verb to 
 vary its form to denote the person to 
 whom the attribute expressed by the 
 verb is said to belong, as write, writest, 
 writes. 
 Accusative, the fourth case of a Latin 
 noun, corresponding with the objec- 
 tive case of English grammarians. 
 The accusative, which in Latin is 
 known any where from its variation, 
 is in English known only from its 
 position or place ; it follows the verb. 
 Acrostic, a poem in which the first 
 letter and sometimes the last letter 
 of every line is taken to form a 
 name. 
 Acroteleutic, words added to the end 
 
 of a psalm or hymn as a doxology. 
 Active voice of a verb, that form of 
 the verbal attribute in winch doing or 
 acting is implied, as I take, I carry, 
 they assist. Active transitive verbs ne- 
 cessarily require an object on which 
 the very existence of the act and the 
 attribute depend. The verb active, 
 " to turn," is the putting an object 
 into circular motion ; the verb neuter, 
 " to turn," implies the state of being 
 in circular motion, pp. 132 — 135. 
 Acute, a term applied to the accent 
 when it falls on a consonant, as 
 up 'roar. 
 Acyrology, careless or improper dic- 
 tion. 
 Adage, a proverb or trite saying. A 
 copious and judicious selection of 
 English proverbs has been published 
 by Mr. Maunder, in his Treasury of 
 Knowledge. 
 Addendum, (pi. Addenda,) an appendix 
 to a work. 
 
 Some nouns taken from the Greek 
 and other languages, instead of adding 
 s to the singular, retain the original 
 form of the plural. 
 Adjective. Etymolgy of, p. 65. Syn- 
 tax of, p. 72. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 211 
 
 There are two ways in which an 
 adjective can stand in a proposition ; 
 we can say " The horse is bad," or 
 " A bad horse." In the first ex- 
 ample horse is called the subject, is 
 the copula or connecting link, and 
 bad the predicate or qualifying term. 
 But we cannot (as the author of 
 the foregoing illustration supposes) 
 say with propriety, " The man walks 
 slow, he rides quick, he talks loud" for 
 the words slow, quick, and loud qualify 
 their respective verbs, and being used 
 as adverbs, require the termination ly 
 to denote their manner of significa- 
 tion. There are, it is true, some 
 words that are used both as adjectives 
 and adverbs, but this use of the ad- 
 jective is to be considered rather as a 
 defect in the language than as conso- 
 nant with the English idiom, or as 
 conformable to the true principles of 
 construction. It is because the mind 
 perceives the impropriety, and feels 
 the want of the necessary distinction, 
 that usage is now beginning to be 
 opposed to this mode of expression. 
 Instead of saying, " He speaks low," 
 it would be more correct to say, " He 
 speaks in a low voice. " The reason 
 that the adverbial phrase appears ne- 
 cessary here is, that the word lowly 
 is an adjective, and suggests the 
 meaning of meek, humble, mild. 
 Lowlily is an adverb derived from 
 the adjective lowly, and of the same 
 signification; therefore the adverb 
 lowly, as opposed to loudly, appears 
 inadmissible, and from some cause of 
 this kind the difiiculty of forming 
 some adverbs in ly may be traced. 
 
 Adjectively, a word used in the man- 
 ner of an adjective to denote some pro- 
 perty or quality of a noun. Many 
 substantive nouns are thus employed, 
 as house agent, land surveyor, p. 65. 
 
 Adnoun, a term synonymous with ad- 
 jective, p. 65. 
 
 Some grammarians have endea- 
 voured to introduce the term adnoun 
 instead of adjective, but it has been 
 justly observed, that though the word 
 adjective is not a very good name, ad- 
 noun is no better. 
 
 Adverb. Etymology of, p. 140. Syn- 
 tax of, p. 148. 
 
 JEclogue, a pastoral poem. 
 
 Agent, that which acts. The subject 
 of an active verb. 
 
 Agreement, see Concord, p. 55. 
 
 Alexandrine, a verse consisting of 
 twelve syllables. 
 
 Allegory, a figurative discourse, in 
 which something is intended that is 
 
 not contained in the words literally 
 taken. 
 
 Alliteration is the beginning two or 
 more w r ords with the same letter, " as 
 
 ^"soft sleep, profoundly pleasing power." 
 
 Allocution, the act of speaking to an- 
 other. 
 
 Alphabet, the characters representing 
 the elementary sounds of a language. 
 " It is much to be lamented," says 
 Dr. Darwin, " that tbe alphabet, 
 which has produced and preserved 
 almost all the improvements in other 
 arts and sciences, should have itself 
 received no improvement in modern 
 times, which have added so much 
 elucidation to almost every branch of 
 knowledge that can meliorate the con- 
 dition of humanity ; thus, in our pre- 
 sent alphabets, many letters are re- 
 dundant, others are wanting : some 
 simple articulate sounds have two 
 letters to suggest them, and in other 
 instances two articulate sounds are 
 suggested by one letter." 
 
 Altiloquence, pompous language. 
 
 Altisonant, high sounding; pompous 
 in sound. 
 
 Amanuensis, one who writes what an- 
 other dictates, or copies what has 
 been written. 
 
 Ambages, a circuit of words, a multi- 
 plicity of words. 
 
 Ambiguity, doubtfulness of meaning, 
 uncertainty of signification. 
 
 Ambilogy, talk of ambiguous significa- 
 tion. 
 
 Amphibology, discourse of uncertain 
 meaning. 
 
 Amphibrach, a foot of three syllables, 
 having the middle one long and the 
 others short, as habere. 
 
 Amplification, exaggerated represent- 
 ation. 
 
 An, the indefinite article put before 
 nouns beginning with a vowel or a 
 silent h, pp. 24—39. 
 
 An, conjunction, p. 167. 
 
 Anagram, a conceit arising from the 
 letters of a name transposed so as to 
 form some other word or sentence. 
 
 Anadiplosis, reduplication, a figure in 
 rhetoric. 
 
 Analogy is used by grammarians to 
 signify the agreement of several words 
 in one common mode. 
 
 " The English grammar lays down 
 a good rule with reBpect to its parti- 
 ciples of the past, that they all termi- 
 nate in d, t, or n. This analogy is 
 perhaps liable to as few exceptions as 
 any. Considering, therefore, how 
 little analogy of any kind we have in 
 our language, it seems wrong to an- 
 
212 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 niliilate the few traces that may be 
 found. It would be well, therefore, 
 if all writers who endeavour to be 
 accurate would be careful to avoid a 
 corruption at present so prevalent, of 
 saying it was wrote for it was written, 
 he was drove for he was driven, I 
 have went for / have gone, &c. ; in all 
 which instances a verb is absurdly 
 used to supply the proper participle 
 without any necessity from the want 
 of such a word." 
 
 Anamnesis, a figure in rhetoric ; it calls 
 to mind what has been omitted. 
 
 Anapest, a foot consisting of three 
 syllables, two short and one long, 
 the reverse of the dactyle. 
 
 A naphora, a figure when several clauses 
 of a sentence are begun with the same 
 word. 
 
 Anastrophe, a figure whereby words 
 which should have been precedent are 
 postponed. 
 
 And, conj. p. 166. 
 
 Anecdote, something yet unpublished. 
 
 Anglicise, to make English. 
 
 Anglicism, an English idiom ; a mode 
 of speech peculiar to the English. 
 
 Annals, history digested in the order 
 of years. 
 
 Annotation, a note, an explication. 
 
 Annotator, a writer of notes, a com- 
 mentator. 
 
 Anomaly, a deviation from common 
 rule. 
 
 Antanaclasis, a figure in rhetoric 
 when the same word is repeated in a 
 different but not in a contrary signifi- 
 tion. 
 
 Antanagoge, a figure which consists 
 in replying to an adversary by way of 
 recrimination, as when the accusation 
 of one party is unanswerable, the ac- 
 cused person charges him with the 
 same or another crime. 
 
 Ante, a Latin preposition, signifying 
 before, frequently used in composition, 
 as antemeridian. 
 
 Antecedent, in grammar, the noun to 
 which the relative refers. 
 
 Antepenult, the last syllable but two. 
 
 Anteposition, in grammar, the placing 
 of one word before another. 
 
 Anthorism, in rhetoric, a description 
 or definition contrary to that which 
 is given by the adverse party. 
 
 Anthypophora, a figure in rhetoric, 
 which signifies a contrary illation or 
 inference. 
 
 Anti, a particle much used in composi- 
 tion, and signifies contrary to. 
 
 Anticlimax, a sentence in which the 
 last part expresses something lower 
 than the first. See Climax. 
 
 Antihypophora, a figure which con- 
 sists in refuting an objection by the 
 opposition of a contrary sentence. 
 
 Antilogy, a contradiction between 
 words. 
 
 Antiloquy, a word denoting preface, / 
 proem, or peroration. 
 
 Antimetrical, contrary to the rules of 
 metre or verse. 
 
 Antiphrasis, the use of words in a 
 sense opposite to their proper meaning. 
 
 Antiptosis, a figure in grammar by 
 which one case is put for another. 
 
 Antistrophe. In an ode sung in parts 
 is the second stanza of every three 
 and sometimes every second stanza. 
 
 Antistrophon, a figure which repeats 
 a word often. 
 
 Antithesis, a figure in rhetoric which 
 illustrates by the introduction of con- 
 traries. 
 
 " By honour, and dishonour ; by evil 
 report, and good report ; as deceivers, 
 and yet true; as unknown, and yet 
 well known ; as dying, and behold we 
 live ; as chastened, and not killed ; 
 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; 
 as poor, yet making many rich; as 
 having nothing, yet possessing all 
 things." 
 
 Aorist, indefinite; a term applied to 
 certain tenses of the verb in Greek. 
 It is stated that an ancient Greek 
 verb, with its participles, consists of 
 eleven hundred terminations ; a mo- 
 dern Greek verb has no more than an 
 Italian one. 
 
 Aparlthmesis, a figure in rhetoric; 
 enumeration. 
 
 Aphc5resis, a figure in grammar that 
 takes away a letter or syllable from 
 the beginning of a word. 
 
 Aphorism, a short select sentence, a 
 general maxim or rule in any art or 
 science. 
 
 Apocope, a figure in grammar, whereby 
 the last syllable or letter is cut off, 
 as, as th' for the. 
 
 Apocryphal, of uncertain authority. 
 
 Apodioxis, a figure in rhetoric, whereby 
 an argument is with indignation re- 
 jected as absurd. 
 
 Apodixis, a plain proof or evident de- 
 monstration. 
 
 Apodosis, in rhetoric, is called reddi- 
 tion, which is the application or latter 
 part of a similitude. 
 
 Apologue, a fable or story inculcating J j 
 some moral truth. 
 
 Apopemptic, denoting a song or hymn 
 among the ancients, sung or addressed 
 to a stranger on his departure from a 
 place. 
 
 Apophasis, a figure by which the orator 
 
INDEX. 
 
 213 
 
 seems to wave what he would plainly 
 insinuate, as 
 
 " I might speak concerning your 
 youth, which you have spent in the 
 most abandoned profligacy, if I appre- 
 hended this to be a proper season, but 
 I now purposely wave it " 
 
 Apophthegm, a short instructive sen- 
 tence. 
 
 Aporia, a figure by which the speaker 
 doubts where to begin. 
 
 Aposiopesis, a form of speech by which 
 the speaker, through some affection or 
 vehemency, breaks off his speech, as 
 " she is — but I will forbear." 
 
 The aposiopesis gives that energy 
 which words cannot express, and hence 
 it is that silence in some cases will 
 have greater power than a diffusive 
 eloquence. 
 
 Apostrophe, in grammar, is a mark 
 expressed thus ' shewing that there is 
 a letter omitted, as ne'er for never, 
 lov'd for loved. It is also employed 
 as the sign of the possessive case. 
 
 Apostrophe, in rhetoric, is a figure in 
 which the speaker breaks off to ad- 
 dress some person or object, and is 
 judged most proper when applied to 
 absent persons or inanimate beings. 
 
 Apothegm, see Apophthegm. 
 
 Aporime, a figure in rhetoric, when one 
 is at a loss what to say. 
 
 Appellative, a name common to all of 
 the same species, as city, house, river, 
 flower. 
 
 Appendix, (pi. Appendixes,) a supple- 
 ment to a treatise by way of addition 
 or illustration. 
 
 Apposition, the putting of two nouns 
 in the same case. 
 
 Aptoton, a noun that is not declined 
 with cases. 
 ' Archaiology, a discourse of antiquity. 
 
 Archaism, an ancient phrase. 
 
 Archetype, the original of which any 
 resemblance is made. 
 
 Argument, the subject of any discourse 
 or writing ; the contents of any work 
 summed up by way of abstract 
 
 Article. Etymology of, p. 24. Syn- 
 tax of, p. 31. 
 
 Articulation, the act of forming words. 
 " What is called articulation is per- 
 formed, not by the lungs, windpipe, 
 or larynx, but by the action of the 
 throat, palate, teeth, tongue, lips, and 
 nostrils. Articulation begins not till 
 the breath or voice has passed through 
 the larynx." 
 
 Asperate, to roughen. 
 
 Aspirate, the mark to denote an aspi- 
 rated pronunciation. 
 
 Aspirated, uttered by the breath. The 
 
 
 letter h in most words is said to be 
 aspirated, as a horse, a high place, not 
 a norse, a nigh place. 
 Association, that faculty of the mind 
 on which memory chiefly depends. 
 
 " Lulled in the countless chambers of the 
 
 brain, 
 Our thoughts are linked by many a hidden 
 
 chain. 
 Awake but one, and lo ! what myriads rise ; 
 Each stamps its image as the other flies ; 
 Each thrills the seat of sense, that sacred 
 
 source, 
 Whence the fine nerves direct their mazy 
 
 course." 
 
 Asterisk, * a mark used in printing, 
 usually referring to a marginal note. 
 
 Asyndeton, a figure in grammar, when 
 a conjunction copulative is omitted. 
 The asyndeton leaves out the con- 
 necting particles to represent the ce- 
 lerity of an action, or the haste and 
 eagerness of the speaker. 
 
 Atticism, an imitation of the attic style, 
 a concise and elegant mode of ex- 
 pression. 
 
 Authority, in grammar, a passage 
 quoted from a classical writer to show 
 the propriety of a word or phrase, p. 9. 
 " No authority, however respect- 
 ble, can sanction inconsistency; and 
 great names, though they may be 
 honoured by ignorance and credulity 
 with the most obsequious homage, 
 will never pass with the intelligent 
 reader either for demonstration or 
 argument." — Crombie. 
 
 Autograph, one's own writing. Au- 
 tographs of eminent characters are 
 frequently collected by the curious ; 
 they are certainly more valuable than 
 specimens of moths and butterflies. *- 
 
 Auxesis, amplification; a rhetorical 
 figure, when any thing is magnified 
 too much. 
 
 Auxiliary Verbs, p. 112. Remarks 
 on, p. 115. 
 
 Axiom, a self-evident principle, which is 
 so clear in itself that it is not capable 
 of being made clearer by any kind of 
 proof. It is an old maxim, that no- 
 thing is more difficult than to PROVE 
 the truth of a self-evident axiom, or 
 that which is obvious to the sense of 
 all mankind. 
 
 B. 
 
 B, the second letter of the alphabet, 
 said to be " neither a perfect mute nor 
 a perfect consonant, but something 
 between both." See p. 8. 
 
 Bacchius, in ancient poetry, a foot com- 
 posed of a short syllable and two long 
 ones, as hdnestds. 
 
214 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ballad, a popular song, a ditty. 
 
 Barbara, a technical word, each of 
 whose syllables prefixed before the 
 propositions of a syllogism in the first 
 mood and first figure, denote the uni- 
 versal affirmation of the propositions. 
 
 Baralipton, in logic, an imperfect 
 syllogism of two universals and a par- 
 ticular affirmative. 
 
 Barbarism, " an impropriety of speech, 
 any term or expression totally unsup- 
 ported by the present usage of good 
 writers. Ex. ' I rode in a one horse 
 chat).' It ought to be ' a one horse 
 chaise :' there is no such word as chay. 
 " Ungrate is a barbarism. Ingrate 
 is to be found in some of our English 
 poets as an adjective, and synonymous 
 with ' ungrateful ;' but ungrate, as a 
 substantive, is truly barbarous." — 
 Crombie. 
 
 Baroco, a syllogistic mood in logic. 
 
 Barytone, a word with the grave ac- 
 cent on the last syllable. " If the in- 
 spector does not know what is meant by 
 the grave accent, it may be necessary to 
 inform him, that writers on the Greek 
 accent tell us that every syllable which 
 has not the acute accent has the grave, 
 and as there could be but one syllable 
 acuted in that language, the rest must 
 necessarily be grave. What these ac- 
 cents are has puzzled the learned so 
 much that they seem neither to un- 
 derstand each other nor themselves ; 
 but it were to be wished they had 
 kept this distinction into acute and 
 grave out of our own language, as it 
 is impossible to annex any clear ideas 
 to it, except we consider the grave 
 accent merely as the absence of the 
 acute, which renders it no accent at 
 all. If we divide the voice into its 
 two leading inflections, the rising and 
 falling, and call the former the acute 
 and the latter the grave, we can an- 
 nex distinct ideas to these words, and 
 perhaps it is an ignorance of this dis- 
 tinction of speaking sounds, and con- 
 founding them with high and low, or 
 loud and soft, that occasions the con- 
 fusion we meet with in writers on 
 this subject." — Walker. 
 
 Bathos, sinking in poetry. The au- 
 thor of the " Treatise of the Art of 
 Sinking in Poetry," observes, " That 
 to excel in the bathos, a genius is re- 
 requisite ; yet the rules of art must be 
 allowed to be so far useful as to add 
 weight, or, as I may say, hang on, 
 lead to facilitate and enforce our 
 descent ; to guide us to the most ad- 
 vantageous declivities, and habituate 
 our imagination to a depth of thinking." 
 
 Battologist, one who repeats the same 
 thing in speaking or writing. 
 
 Battology, vain repetition of the same 
 words, babbling 
 
 Be, the substantive verb, p. 1 12. 
 
 Because, conj. p. 176. 
 
 Being, existence, p. 134. 
 
 Belles Lettres, polite literature. 
 
 Bible, emphatically called the Book. 
 
 y It is gratifying to reflect, that while 
 the excellent translation of the Bible 
 remains unpoluted by the hand of the 
 fastidious critic, there will exist a 
 standard of propriety in the English 
 language, affording the best security 
 for the stability of our mother tongue. 
 There is one proof of the divine 
 origin of the Bible, which appears too 
 obvious to have escaped notice, that, 
 while the language of contemporary 
 authors has gradually lost its fresh- 
 ness, and partially become obsolete, 
 this Book has retained its vigour of 
 expression and its power of conviction 
 in every state of human society, and in 
 every condition of human life. 
 
 Bibliomania, the rage of possessing 
 scarce or curious books. 
 
 Bibliopolist, a bookseller. 
 
 Biographer, a writer of lives. 
 
 Biography, a writing the lives of men. 
 
 Blank verse, verses without rhymes, i^ 
 
 Blair, Dr., on the rise and progress of 
 the English language, p. 195. 
 
 Brachygraphy, the art of writing short 
 hand. 
 
 Brachylogy, in rhetoric, the express- 
 ing anything in the most concise 
 manner. 
 
 Breviloquence, a short and apt mode 
 of speaking. 
 
 Brevity, shortness, conciseness. 
 
 Brogue, corrupt accent and intonation. 
 
 Bucolics, pastoral songs or poems, in 
 which country swains are represented 
 as discoursing together. 
 
 Burlesque, that kind of writing which 
 tends to excite laughter. 
 
 But, conj. p. 178. 
 
 By, prep. p. 152. 
 
 C has two sounds, one like k, which is 
 called its hard sound, as in cat, the 
 other like s, called its soft sound, as 
 in city, celestial, cypress. C sounds 
 like k before a consonant, and before 
 the vowels a, o, u, and like s before the 
 vowels e, i, and y. 
 
 Cacography, incorrect spelling. 
 
 Cacology, corrupt pronunciation, as 
 Lunnun for London. 
 
 Cacophony, or a harsh sound of words. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 215 
 
 Cadence, the fall of the voice ; the flow 
 
 of verses or periods. 
 C^sura, a figure in poetry, by which a 
 
 short syllable after a complete foot is 
 
 made long ; a pause in verse. 
 Cant, to talk in the jargon of thieves 
 
 and blackguards. 
 Canto, a book or section of a poem. 
 Cardinal Numbers are such as express 
 
 the number of things, as one, two, 
 
 three, &c. 
 Caret, a mark placed between words 
 
 to show that something has been 
 am 
 
 omitted, as " I very sorry." This 
 
 A 
 
 sign has been named by Mr. Cobbett 
 the blunder mark. 
 
 Case, the variation of a noun or pro- 
 noun, p. 52. 
 
 Catachresis, the abuse of a trope, when 
 the words are too far wrested from 
 their original signification, as a beauti- 
 ful apple, a sweet girl, instead of a 
 sweet apple, a. beautiful girl. 
 
 Catalectic, wanting a syllable in ver- 
 sification. 
 
 Catastrophe, the final event of a dra- 
 matic piece. 
 
 Category, an order of ideas, a pre- 
 dicament. 
 
 Cause, that which produces any thing. 
 
 Cedilla, a mark placed under the c in 
 French to denote that it is to be 
 sounded like s. 
 
 Charade, a species of riddle. 
 
 Circumflex [a], a mark employed to 
 denote the union of the grave and 
 the acute accent. 
 
 " All our prosodiests tell us that the 
 circumflex accent is a composition of 
 the grave and the acute, or that it is 
 a raising aud falling of the voice upon 
 the same syllable. If they are de- 
 sired to exemplify this by actual pro- 
 nunciation, we find they cannot do it, 
 and only pay us with words. This 
 accent, therefore, in the ancient as 
 well as modern languages, with re- 
 spect to sound, has no specific utility." 
 Walker. 
 
 Circumlocution, the use of many 
 words, or of indirect expressions. 
 
 Classic, an author of the first rank. 
 
 Clause, a part of a compound sentence 
 or period. " The ox knoweth his 
 owner,— and the ass his master's crib ; 
 — but Israel doth not know, — my 
 people do not consider." This sen- 
 tence consists of two compounded 
 members, each of which is subdivided 
 into two simple members, which are 
 properly called clauses. 
 
 Climax, a figure in rhetoric, by which 
 the force of expression in a sentence 
 rises gradually in strength and dignity, 
 as " The boy despises the infant, the 
 man the boy, the philosopher both, 
 and the Christian all." 
 
 Mr. Cobbett, in his excellent intro- 
 ductory letter to his English Gram- 
 mar, furnishes an example of the 
 climax : " To ignorant pretenders to 
 surgery and medicine we award our 
 contempt and scorn; on time-serv- 
 ing and treacherous counsellors, and 
 on cruel judges, we inflict our detes- 
 tation and abhorrence ; while on 
 rapacious, corrupt, perfidious, or tyran- 
 ranical statesmen and legislators, the 
 voice of human nature cries aloud for 
 execration and vengeance." 
 
 The Anticlimax, as the term im- 
 plies, is opposed to the climax, as 
 
 " Not only London echoes with thy fame, 
 But also Islinglon has heard the same." 
 
 Collective nouns are such as denote 
 objects composed of a number of in- 
 dividuals, as an army, the parliament, 
 a mob. 
 
 Colloquial, relating to common con- 
 versation. 
 
 Colon, a point or stop in grammar 
 marked thus [:], distinguishing the 
 principal division of a compound sen- 
 tence. 
 
 Comma, a point denoting a less division 
 of a compound sentence than those 
 separated by a semicolon or colon. 
 
 Comment, an exposition, remark, or 
 observation. 
 
 Common nouns, those that represent a 
 class or species, p. 41 . 
 
 Comparative degree expresses the in- 
 crease of a quality as compared with 
 the same quality in another object, 
 p. 69. 
 
 Complex, not simple. 
 
 Compound sentence is that which has 
 more than one proposition expressed, 
 and in which the simple sentences are 
 joined by one or more connecting 
 words. 
 
 Composition, in grammar, is the act of 
 joining words or sentences. 
 
 Con, an inseparable preposition, which 
 at the beginning of words signifies 
 union or association. 
 
 Concord, the agreement of words in 
 construction, p. 55. 
 
 Concrete, in logic, is any quality con- 
 sidered with its subject; thus, when 
 we say, snow is white, we speak of 
 whiteness in the concrete, and in this 
 respect it is contra-distinguished from 
 
216 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 the abstract, when the quality is con- 
 sidered separately, as whiteness. 
 
 Conditional mood, see subjunctive 
 mood, p. 130. 
 
 Conjugate, to vary a verb according to 
 its several moods, tenses and persons. 
 
 Conjugation, the inflection of verbs, 
 p. 123. 
 
 Conjunction. Etymology of, p. 165. 
 Syntax of, p. 186. 
 
 Connectives, such words as serve to 
 unite the members or clauses of a 
 sentence. 
 
 Consonants are those letters of the 
 alphabet which cannot be fully sound- 
 ed without the aid of vowels. They 
 are divided into mutes ; b, d, k, p, t, 
 and c and g hard ; semivowels, l,f, m, n, 
 r, s, v, x, z, and c and g soft. Four of 
 the semivowels, /, m, n, r, are also 
 called liquids, from their readily unit- 
 ing with other consonants. 
 ., It has been remarked, " that the 
 V' consonants are the nerves and sinews 
 of a language. Nothing contributes 
 more to clearness, distinctness, and 
 force in the delivery of a public reader 
 or speaker than his perfecting the 
 articulation of every consonant which 
 custom will allow to be sounded in the 
 common pronunciation of every word 
 in the language." 
 
 Construction is the arrangement of 
 words in a sentence, so as to convey 
 the precise meaning of the speaker or 
 writer. 
 
 Under this term we select as an ex- 
 ample a phrase of very frequent occur- 
 rence, but the propriety of which still 
 appears undecided by grammarians: 
 Ex. " It was then that the two first 
 chapters of the first book were com- 
 posed." This construction is sanction- 
 ed by some grammarians solely be- 
 cause "usage is decidedly in favour 
 of the phraseology;'' nay, it has 
 been asserted that the first two is 
 equally objectionable. In defence of 
 the last phraseology, we remark, that 
 the mind at once perceives that there 
 cannot be two first chapters to one 
 book, and that the phrase, " the two 
 first," is evidently incorrect. It is 
 true, every one knows that the first 
 and second chapters are alluded to; 
 but since there is a choice of expres- 
 sion, and the phrase, " the first two," 
 is equally intelligible, why is not that 
 idiom which is irreconcilable with 
 truth superseded by one which may 
 be tolerated, and which, although 
 perhaps not in every case strictly 
 correct, is sufficiently so to define the 
 
 numbers of a series thus distributively 
 considered, for we may, and often do, 
 for convenience sake, suppose the in- 
 dividuals of a series arranged into 
 pairs, &c, though no such arrange- 
 ment actually exists ; and thus we are 
 enabled to compare the first two chap- 
 ters of a book with the second two, or 
 in any other combination which we 
 may think proper. But it is not true 
 that the " first two" and the " two 
 first" are equivalent expressions, and 
 this may be seen by comparing the 
 following example with the preceding. 
 " The three first tenses" says Mr. 
 Harris, in his Hermes, " we call the 
 inceptive present, the inceptive past, 
 and the inceptive future; the three 
 next, the middle present, the middle 
 past, and the middle future ; and the 
 three last, the completive present, the 
 completive past, and the completive 
 future." The author, in this ex- 
 ample, refers to three firsts as the lead- 
 ing individuals of three series. The 
 expression, " the first three," in this 
 instance, would have been incorrect, 
 and would have misled the reader, by 
 implying that the three individuals of 
 the first series had been referred to, 
 whereas, the author refers every time 
 to three individuals belonging to sepa- 
 rate series ; the three first, the three 
 next, the three last 
 
 " The order of the letters," says 
 Dr. Russell, "are called alphabet from 
 the first two Greek letters." 
 
 Will any one contend, that " the 
 two first" in this example would have 
 been equally proper ? Beta is not a 
 first letter, though alpha and beta are 
 the first two. 
 
 These remarks will, perhaps, appear 
 trifling ; but it should be remembered 
 that every disputed point in grammar 
 presents a difficulty to the learner, 
 and that no pains should be spared to 
 remove any doubt as to the propriety 
 of giving a preference to one con- 
 struction rather than to another. 
 
 Construe, to interpret, to explain. 
 
 " It is a scandal to seminaries of 
 learning that the pronunciation con- 
 stur for construe should prevail there. 
 Those who ought to be the guardians 
 of propriety are often the perverters 
 of it." — Walker. 
 
 Copula, the third person singular of 
 the verb to be ; the word that simply 
 affirms and unites the subject and 
 predicate of a proposition, p. 110. 
 
 Corrigenda, words to be altered or cor- 
 rected by the reader. 
 
D. 
 
 D, the sound of this letter in English 
 
 is uniform ; it is never mute. 
 Dactyle, a poetical foot, consisting of 
 
 one long syllable and two short. 
 Dactylogy, the art of conversing by 
 
 the hands. 
 Darwin, on the origin of language, 
 
 p. 192. 
 Dash ( — ), a mark used in writing. 
 Data, truths admitted. 
 Dative, in grammar the case that sig- 
 nifies the person to whom any thing 
 is given. 
 Datum, a truth granted and admitted. 
 Declamation, a discourse addressed to 
 
 the passions. 
 Declamatory, appealing to the pas- 
 sions. 
 Declaratory, affirmative. 
 Declension, the inflection of a noun. 
 The only variation that a noun admits 
 of in English, (except the modifica- 
 tion to denote the plural number) is 
 that which denotes possession, as my 
 father's house. The pronoun admits 
 of two variations, one denoting the 
 relation of property, as my, in the pre- 
 ceding example ; the other denoting 
 that the object is connected with the 
 the principal noun, and is governed by 
 a verb or preposition, as, " He accuses 
 me." 
 Defective nouns, such as are indecli- 
 nable. 
 Defective verbs, which want some of 
 
 their moods, persons, or tenses. 
 Define, to explain any thing by its 
 
 qualities, or otherwise. 
 Definite Article, p. 34. 
 Definitive, that which defines. 
 Degrees of comparison, p. 69. 
 Dele, blot out ; erase. 
 Demonstrative pronouns, p. 85. 
 Denominate, to name. 
 Deponent verbs are those that have no 
 
 active voice. 
 Derivation. The tracing a word from 
 its original, p. 1 94. Dr. 1 )arvvin ob- 
 serves " that the word sack is said to 
 mean a bag in all European countries, 
 as (tcikkov in Greek, saccus in Latin, 
 sacco in Italian, sac in French, and 
 sack in English and German." But 
 the author might have traced this 
 word still farther, for it originates 
 from the Hebrew. Yet, of what 
 utility is a knowledge of this fact ? 
 As far as language is concerned, the 
 result of the inquiry is of little im- 
 portance. The term sack is inde- 
 pendent of derivation, and cannot 
 well be misapplied. Nor would the 
 
 INDEX. 217 
 
 meaning of the word in this in- 
 stance be better understood, if it were 
 possible to ascertain under what 
 circumstances the thing called a sack 
 acquired its name. It would be only 
 going still farther beyond the point 
 that separates what is useful from 
 what is curious or amusing It has 
 been observed that as far as the 
 exact meaning of any word depends 
 on the circumstances that gave rise to 
 the term, it is of great importance to 
 trace the origin of the word, and to 
 refer to its original application in 
 order to determine its signification. 
 In proof of this, we quote one exam- 
 ple from the many that might be ad- 
 duced, shewing the necessity of attend- 
 ing to the origin of words, when the 
 meaning to be attached to them is to be 
 found only in the original application. 
 The term Laconic has its origin from 
 the people of Laconia, who were re- 
 markable for conciseness of expres- 
 sion; a person acquainted with this 
 circumstance would hardly misapply 
 the term ; but one not very well read ' 
 in ancient history observed, that a 
 certain celebrated orator had made a 
 very laconic speech, which lasted 
 nearly four hours. — Here the term 
 laconic was used instead of sarcastic. 
 Derivative, a word formed from ano- 
 ther word, and participating in the 
 signification expressed by its primi- 
 tive. 
 
 Most words, in every language, are 
 found to be derivatives. If those 
 who are learning a language were to 
 direct their attention to the primi- 
 tives, and endeavour- to ascertain the 
 precise signification attached by cor- 
 rect writers to those words, the labour 
 of acquiring the meaning of the deri- 
 vatives would be greatly abridged ; 
 besides it should be remembered that 
 any defect in our knowledge of the 
 meaning of the primitive must neces- 
 sarily obscure our conception of the 
 signification to be attached to the de- 
 rivative; hence the importance of 
 attending to the circumstances that 
 gave to words their primary meaning ; 
 but it is not always practicable, nor is 
 it absolutely necessary, to trace a word 
 to its origin ; thus a person having ac- 
 quired the meaning of the verb to deri- 
 vate or derive, would immediately 
 become acquainted with the several 
 parts of speech springing from that 
 verb ; it would be found that the word 
 derivative was formed to mark the 
 property of a word derivated or deri- 
 ved from another word, and thoiigh 
 Q 
 
218 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 used at first as an adjective, at length 
 became the name of that class of 
 words; that deriver was one who 
 draws from the source ; that deriva- 
 tion was the act of drawing from the 
 source, and, as applied to language, 
 means the tracing a word from its 
 original ; and that derivatively was a 
 term differing from its corresponding 
 adjective only in its manner of signifi- 
 cation. 
 Descant, a song or tune composed in 
 
 parts ; also to discourse at large. 
 Determinate, settled, fixed, definite, 
 
 conclusive. 
 Dleresis, a mark placed over a vowel 
 to shew that it is to be pronounced as 
 a distinct syllable, as aerial. 
 Dialogue, a conversation between two 
 
 persons. 
 Dialysis, a figure in rhetoric by which 
 
 syllables or words are divided. 
 Diaporesis, in rhetoric, wherein the 
 orator seems to doubt which subject 
 should have the preference. 
 Diasyrmus, a figure in ldietoric, by 
 which a person or thing is commended 
 by way of derision. 
 Diatribe, a continued discourse or dis- 
 putation. 
 Diatyposis, a desmption wherein things 
 are represented in so lively a manner 
 that they seem as it were before our 
 eyes. 
 Dicacious, talkative. 
 Dictamen, a thing written by another's 
 
 instruction. 
 Dictate, to direct another what to 
 
 write. 
 Diction, style, language, expression. 
 Dictionary, a collection of the words of 
 
 any language in alphabetical order. 
 Didactic, instructive. 
 Definitive, determinate. 
 Diminutive, a word formed to express 
 
 littleness, as — deviUirc, a little devil. 
 Diphthong, the union of two vowels 
 pronounced by a single impulse of the 
 voice, as pain, laugh, laudable. 
 
 Diphthongs are called proper when 
 both the vowel sounds are heard, as 
 in pain, laudable ; they are called im- 
 proper when only one of the vowel 
 sounds is uttered, as in laugh. " The 
 coalition oi" says Dr. Johnson, '' ap- 
 proaches more nearly than any com- 
 bination in our tongue to the notion 
 of a diphthong." In "the vulgar 
 pronunciation of this diphthong the 
 sound of i only is distinctly uttered, 
 as tile, bile, nisome, for toil, boil, 
 noisome." 
 
 The following are the diphthongs 
 in the English language, which, from 
 
 ,D 
 
 being thus arranged, may be easily 
 committed to memory. 
 
 aa se ai ao au aw ay 
 ea ee ei eo eu ew ey 
 oa ce oi oo ou ow oy 
 ie ue ui 
 
 Diptote, a noun consisting of two cases 
 only. 
 
 Disjunctive conjunctions are such as 
 denote an opposition in the meaning 
 of the clauses of a compound sen- 
 tence. 
 
 Dissylable, a word of two syllables. 
 
 Distich, two verses. 
 
 Distributive ; the pronouns each, every, 
 either, are called by some gramma- 
 rians distributives. 
 
 Dithyrambic, a song in honour of Bac- 
 chus, wild, enthusiastic. 
 
 Do, irr. verb, p. 117. 
 
 Doing, applicable to verbs active tran- 
 sitive. The distinction between " be- 
 ing " as implied by a neuter verb, and 
 " doing " as implied by an active tran- 
 sitive verb, may be perceived in the 
 following awkward attempt to form 
 a new verb. " The "originals "of the 
 Poem Watty and Meg were a worthy 
 couple of Wilson's acquaintance. 
 When the good dame read the poem 
 she exclaimed to her husband ' D'ye 
 ken what Sandy Wilson has done? 
 he has poemed us ! ' " 
 
 Doggerel, a term applicable to mean 
 contemptible poetry. 
 
 Drama, a poem accommodated to ac- 
 tion ; a poem in which the action is 
 not related but represented, and in 
 which, therefore, such rules are to be 
 observed as make the representation 
 probable. 
 
 Dunce, a person incapable of instruction. 
 
 Duration, remarks on, p. 131. 
 
 E. 
 
 E is the most frequent vowel in the 
 English language, for it not only is 
 used like the rest, but it has the pecu- 
 liar quality of lengthening the fore- 
 going vowel, as can, cane, pin, pine. 
 
 Edited, published, corrected, prepared 
 for publication. 
 
 Editor, one that revises any work for 
 publication. 
 
 Educate, to instruct youth ; to nurture 
 or bring up. 
 
 Egotism, the fault committed in writing, 
 or in conversation, by the too fre- 
 quent repetition of the personal pro- 
 noun /. 
 
 Elegy, a mournful poem, a funeral 
 song. 
 
 Elements, the letters of any language 
 
INDEX. 
 
 are called its elements, because they 
 are the constituent parts of artificial 
 speech. 
 Elenchus, a sophistical argument. 
 Ellipsis, a figure in rhetoric, in which 
 something is left out, and in grammar, 
 the omission of words for the sake of 
 dispatch, or to avoid prolixhy and use- 
 less repetitions. 
 
 Grammatical ellipsis is altogether 
 different from the figurative. In con- 
 versation and familiar writing the 
 former is to be found in almost every 
 sentence, and is no indication of emo- 
 tion. Its end is mere brevity. We 
 have a fine example of figurative el- 
 lipsis in the words of Isaac, on dis- 
 covering that he was deceived in con- 
 ferring the blessing. 
 
 Ex. " Who ? where is he that hath 
 
 taken venison and brought it me ? " 
 
 ( Gen. ch. xxvii. v. 33. ) 
 EloquEx^ce, the power of speaking with 
 
 fluency and elegance. 
 Emphasis, the peculiar stress of the voice 
 on the important words of a sentence. 
 If the reader, or speaker, attend to the 
 sense of what he is reading or saying, 
 rather than to the manner of exl 
 pressing himself, he will not err 
 greatly in the delivering of his own 
 sentiments or those of another. 
 Emphatic words are frequently printed 
 in a different type, lest the weight to 
 be attached to them should be over- 
 looked by the reader. 
 En, an inseparable particle borrowed 
 from the French, and by the French 
 formed from the Latin in. Many 
 words are written en or in, as entire, 
 intire. En is changed into em before 
 some letters for more easy pronun- 
 ciation. 
 Enallage, a figure of grammar whereby 
 some change is made of the common 
 modes of speech, as when one mood 
 or tense of a verb is put for another, 
 as " I go to town to-morrow." 
 Enclitic, a word added to the end of 
 another word, as que, ne, ve, in Latin. 
 Encyclopedia, the whole circle or com- 
 pass of learning which comprehends 
 all the liberal arts and sciences. 
 Endorsed, registered on the back of a 
 
 writing, superscribed. 
 
 Enigma, a riddle ; an obscure question. 
 
 Enthymeme, in logic, a syllogism where 
 
 the major proposition is wanting, and 
 
 only the minor and consequence is 
 
 expressed in words. 
 
 Enunciation, manner of utterance; 
 
 also a declaration. 
 Ep epi, in composition usually signifies 
 
 219 
 
 Epenthesis, the addition of a vowel or 
 
 consonant in the middle of a word. 
 Epicene, the common gender of Latin 
 
 nouns. 
 Epic, a poem not acted, but rehearsed 
 
 usually heroic. 
 Epigram, a short witty poem. 
 Epilogue, the poem or speech at the 
 
 end of a play. 
 Epiphonema, a figure in rhetoric; an 
 exclamation; a conclusive sentence 
 not closely connected with the words 
 foregoing. 
 Epiploce, a figure in rhetoric, by which 
 one aggravation or circumstance is 
 added to another. 
 Episode, a digression in a poem sepa- 
 rable from the main subject, yet 
 arising naturally from it. 
 Epistolary, relating to letters. 
 Epistrophe, a rhetorical figure which 
 concludes each member of a sentence 
 with the same word. 
 Epitaph, an inscription upon a tomb. 
 Lpitasis, the progress of a plot in a 
 
 drama. 
 Epithet, a word added to a noun to ex- 
 press some quality, as a noble person. 
 Epitome, an abridgment or summary 
 Epitrope, a rhetorical figure in which 
 a concession is made with a view to 
 obtain an advantage. 
 Equivocal, uncertain, doubtful. 
 
 " An equivocal expression is one 
 which has one sense open, and de- 
 signed to be understood, another 
 sense, concealed, and understood only 
 by the person who uses it. An am- 
 biguous expression is one which has 
 apparently two senses, and leaves us 
 at a loss which of them to give it. An 
 equivocal expression is used with an 
 intention to deceive; an ambiguous 
 one, when it is used with design, is 
 with intention not to give full in- 
 formation. An honest man will never 
 employ an equivocal expression, a 
 confused man may often utter ambi- 
 guous ones without any design." 
 
 Mr. Tooke complained that he had 
 been made the miserable victim of the 
 conjunction that, and the prepositions 
 of and concerning. » Mankind in ge- 
 neral," says that writer, " are not suf- 
 ficiently aware that words without 
 meaning, or of equivocal meauing, are 
 the everlasting engines of fraud and 
 injustice, and that the grimqribber 
 o Westminster Hall is a more fer- 
 tile and a much more formidable 
 source of imposture than the abraca- 
 dabra of magicians." 
 Errata, faults or omissions which have 
 escaped correction in printing. 
 
220 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 / 
 
 Etymology in its primitive acceptation 
 means the tracing of a word from its 
 original. The part of grammar which 
 treats of the inflections of the decli- 
 nable parts of speech, p. 12. 
 
 Etymon, the primitive word. 
 
 Euphemism, a figure whereby a harsh or 
 indelicate word is changed into one 
 that is inoffensive. 
 
 Euphony, agreeable sound. 
 
 Existence, remarks on, p. 114. 
 
 Exordium, the commencement of a dis- 
 course, by which the orator prepares 
 the minds of his auditors for that 
 which is to follow. 
 
 Expletive, filling up. 
 
 " Expletives are all those words 
 which pass for empty sounds, and are 
 of no other use than to fill a verse, 
 or to modulate a period." 
 
 Expletives are distinguishable from 
 emphatic words, for the expressions 
 " I do write," " he does work," 
 "they did run," are objectionable 
 only when the simple forms '• I write," 
 " he works," " they ran," would be 
 sufficient ; but when these simple pro- 
 positions are questioned, then the 
 auxiliaries may be properly employed, 
 since they give force to a declara- 
 tion, and affirm that which before was 
 only asserted. 
 
 Nearly allied to this kind of words 
 are those terms which seem intended 
 to express an idea, but are not under- 
 stood even by those who invent them, 
 such as the absolute case of a noun. 
 
 F. 
 
 F has, in English, an invariable sound, 
 produced by applying the middle of 
 the under lip to the teeth. 
 
 Fable, a story devised for the sake of 
 instruction ; also a feigned tale, or 
 mere falsehood. 
 
 Facetle, humourous compositions. 
 
 Fallacy, a deceitful argument. 
 
 Feminine, see gender, p. 42. 
 
 Figurative, not literal. 
 
 Figures in rhetoric are words wrested 
 from their literal meanings. 
 
 " Figures are the language of 
 nature, not an invention of art, and 
 however bold, or even apparently ab- 
 surd, they originate in the principles 
 of our constitutions. In the use of 
 them the vulgar are often more cor- 
 rect than the learned, the former 
 speaking as nature prompts, the latter, 
 attempting to forge them by study 
 from an affectation of ornament." 
 
 Finite verbs are those to which num- 
 ber and person belong. 
 
 Folio, a book of which the pages are 
 formed by a sheet of paper once 
 doubled. 
 
 Foot, a certain number of syllables 
 constituting a distinct part of a verse. 
 
 For, prep. p. 150; conj. p. 175. 
 
 Force of signification, clearness of 
 meaning. The force of a word is 
 said to depend upon the number of 
 ideas of which that word is the sign. 
 
 Frequentative, a grammatical term 
 applied to verbs, signifying the fre- 
 quent repetition of an action. 
 
 From, prep. p. 155. 
 
 G. 
 
 G has two sounds, one called hard, as in 
 gate, give; the other, soft, as in 
 gentle. 
 
 Gaelic, a dialect of the Celtic tongue. 
 
 Gallicism, a French idiom, or mode of 
 speech peculiar to the French. 
 
 Gender, the distinction of sex, p. 42. 
 
 General terms, comprehending many 
 species, or individuals. Words of 
 this kind are called by grammarians 
 appellative or common nouns. The 
 necessity of general terms is shewn by 
 Mr. Locke in his Essay, b. iii. ch. 3. 
 
 Genitive, that case of a noun by which 
 property or possession is chiefly im- 
 plied. The genitive corresponds with 
 the possessive case of English gram- 
 marians. 
 
 Georgics, rural poems relating to hus- 
 bandry. 
 
 Gerund, a Latin verbal noun. It go- 
 verns the case of its verb, and in 
 respect to signification supplies the 
 place of the infinitive mood. It ap- 
 pears to partake more of the nature 
 of a participle than of the infinitive. 
 In English its place is supplied by the 
 pi-esent and the past participles of 
 verbs preceded by a preposition. 
 
 Gif, conj. p. 167. 
 
 Glossary, a dictionary of obscure or 
 obsolete words in any language. 
 
 Gnomonology, a collection of maxims 
 and reflections. 
 
 Government, the power one word has 
 over another, p. 55. 
 
 Grammar, that science by which the 
 correct use of words is ascertained; 
 also the art of speaking and writing 
 correctly. 
 
 " Grammar is the last thing that 
 should be placed in the hands of chil- 
 dren, as containing the most abstract 
 and metaphysical propositions utterly 
 beyond their power of comprehension, 
 putting them to unnecessary torture, 
 giving them the habit of taking 
 
INDEX. 22l 
 
 words for things, and exercising their 
 memory at the expence of their judg- 
 ment." 
 
 The grammar of any language is 
 said to be no other than a collection 
 of general observations methodically 
 digested, and comprising all the modes 
 previously and independently esta- 
 blished, by which the significations 
 and combinations of words in that 
 language are ascertained. " A know- 
 ledge of grammar," Mr. Cobbett has 
 justly observed, " is the foundation of 
 all literature, because, without this 
 knowledge, opportunities for writing 
 and speaking are only occasions for 
 men to display their unfitness to 
 write and speak." 
 
 Grammarian, one that is skilled in or 
 teaches grammar. 
 
 Grandiloquence, high, lofty speaking. 
 
 Grecism, an idiom of the Greek lan- 
 guage. 
 
 H. 
 
 H, the letter that notes aspiration, as 
 hand, not to be pronounced " and," 
 as it too commonly is, but with a dis- 
 tinct aspiration before the vowel. 
 There are but few words in English in 
 which the h is not aspirated by cor- 
 rect speakers. 
 
 Harangue, a popular oration. 
 
 Harmony, just proportion of sound. 
 Metre is not confined to verse ; there 
 is a tune in all good prose. 
 
 Have, auxiliary verb, p. 117. 
 
 Hebraism, a Hebrew idiom. 
 
 Helenism, a Greek idiom. 
 
 Hemistich, half a verse. 
 
 Hermeneutics, the art of finding the 
 meaning of an author's words and 
 phrases, and explaining it to others. 
 
 Heroic verse in English poetry con- 
 sists often feet, 
 
 Heteroclites, such nouns as vary from 
 the common forms of declensiou. 
 
 Hexameter, a verse of six feet. 
 
 Hiatus, a difficulty of utterance occa- 
 sioned by the meeting of vowels at 
 the ending of one word and the be- 
 ginning of another. 
 
 Hibernicism, a phrase peculiar to the 
 natives of Ireland. 
 
 Hieroglypiiick, an emblem or figure by 
 which a word is implied ; used before 
 the alphabet was invented. 
 
 " To resort to supernatural causes 
 to account for the production of any 
 rare or striking event is repugnant to 
 the principles of true philosophy. 
 And how wonderful soever the art of 
 alphabetic writing may appear, there 
 
 can be no necessity for referring its 
 introduction to divine inspiration if 
 the inventive powers of man be not 
 demonstrably unequal to the task. 
 Picture-writing is generally believed 
 to have been the earliest mode of re- 
 cording events, or communicating in- 
 formation by permanent signs. This 
 was probably succeeded by hierogly- 
 phical characters. How these pic- 
 tures and hieroglyphical devices would, 
 either through negligence, or a desire 
 to abbreviate, gradually vary their 
 form and lose their resemblance to the 
 objects which they represented, may 
 be easily conceived. Hence that as- 
 sociation which existed between the 
 sign and the thing signified being 
 found in resemblance would in pro- 
 cess of time be entirely dissolved. 
 This having taken place, hierogly- 
 phical characters would naturally be 
 converted into mere verbal denota- 
 tion, representative of words and not 
 of things." — Crombie. 
 
 Him, the objective case of the pronoun 
 he. 
 
 Hyp all age, a figure by which words 
 change their cases with each other. 
 
 Hyperbaton, a figure in writing when 
 the words are transposed from the 
 plain grammatical order. 
 
 Hyperbole, a figure in rhetoric, by 
 which any thing is increased or di- 
 minished beyond the truth. 
 
 Hypebcritical, critical beyond use. — 
 " It is," says Campbell, " by attend- 
 ing to such reflections as to a super- 
 ficial observer would appear minute 
 and hypercritical, that language must 
 be improved and eloquence per- 
 fected." 
 
 Hyphen, a note of conjunction used to 
 connect syllables or compound words, 
 as sea- water, p. 19. 
 
 Hysteron-PbotePvON, is the putting 
 that first which should be last, as " to 
 write and read " instead of " to read 
 and write," " he was bred and born " 
 for " he was born and bred." 
 
 In this last example it may be 
 urged that " bred " does not in gene- 
 ral' mean "brought up," but that 
 which is anterior to being born, and 
 in that case the first construction is 
 con-ect. 
 
 I. 
 
 I, the personal pronoun representing 
 the speaker ; the subject of the verb 
 in the first person singular. 
 
 There are three words in English 
 consisting of only one letter, the in- 
 
222 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 definite article a, the pronoun I, and 
 the interjection O ; the last two are 
 always represented by capital letters, 
 as " O, I have alienated my friend," 
 not, o ! i have alienated my friend. 
 
 Iambick, a foot in metre having the 
 first syllable short and the other long, 
 as sdlus, also a kind of verse so called 
 consisfing usually of four feet or of 
 six. 
 
 This kind of verse is said to have 
 been first invented by Archilochus, a 
 Greek poet, and was applied by the 
 ancients to invectives. 
 
 Iconism, a true and lively description. 
 
 Idea, the image or representation of 
 any thing conceived in the mind. 
 
 " An idea is generally defined a 
 representation of a thing in the mind ; 
 it is a representation of something 
 that we have seen, felt, heard, &c, or 
 been conscious of. That notion or 
 form of a horse, a tree, or a man, 
 which is in the mind, is called the 
 idea of a horse, tree, or a man." — 
 Watts. 
 
 Idiom, a mode of speaking peculiar to a 
 language or dialect. " The idioms of 
 every language are in general the 
 most valuable part of it, because 
 they represent ideas which cannot so 
 well be expressed in any other way. 
 And the reason of this is, that they 
 are either abbreviated methods of ex- 
 pressing things of constant recur- 
 rence, or have been invented to sup- 
 ply the general defects of language. 
 To decide on the propriety of every 
 phrase, from a principle of abstract 
 reasoning, would be to restrict and 
 mutilate the language, and render it 
 unfit for the real purposes of life." — 
 Haslett. 
 
 How far a vague and inaccurate 
 phraseology may injure the mind and 
 retard its improvement, must be left 
 to others to determine, but the incon- 
 venience of being compelled to adopt 
 any form of expression that is con- 
 trary to the principles of grammar, is 
 too often felt by those who have to 
 express their thoughts in writing. 
 
 Idiotism, a form of speech used by the 
 vulgar ; it also means folly, natural 
 imbecility of mind. This word does 
 not appear to be derived from idiom, 
 nor to have the same signification. 
 
 Idyl, a short pastoral poem. 
 
 If, a conj. p. 167. 
 
 Illation, inference; conclusion drawn 
 from premises, hence some conjunc- 
 tions have been denominated illative 
 conjunctions, as therefore, wherefore, 
 then. 
 
 Illegible, what cannot be read. 
 
 Illiterate, unlearned. 
 
 Illogically, in manner contrary to the 
 laws of argument. 
 
 Illustrate, to explain, to clear, to elu- 
 cidate. 
 
 Illustration of the use of the Articles, 
 p. 38; of the Noun, p. 63 ; Adjective, 
 p. 75 ; Pronoun, p. 99 ; Verb, p. 139 ; 
 Adverb, p. 149 ; Preposition, p. 164; 
 Conjunction, p. 190 ; Interjection, p. 
 192. 
 
 Imagination, the power of forming 
 ideal pictures ; the power of repre- 
 senting things absent to one's self or 
 others. 
 
 Lmparasyllabic, not consisting of an 
 equal number of syllables. 
 
 Imperative Mood, p. 127. 
 
 Imperfect, that tense of the verb which 
 denotes past existence. 
 
 Impersonals, those verbs are strictly 
 called impersonal of which only the 
 third person singular is found, and 
 which do not admit a personal sub- 
 ject, (/, thou, he,) but a preposition, 
 or a neuter noun understood. 
 
 Impromptu, a short extemporaneous 
 composition. 
 
 Improve, derivation of, p. 197. 
 
 In, prep. p. 152. 
 
 Indeclinable word, not varied by 
 change of termination. 
 
 Indefinite, not limited, not deter- 
 mined. 
 
 Index, the table of contents to a book ; 
 also a mark of reference. 
 
 Indicative, a mood in grammar ex- 
 pressing affirmation, p. 128. 
 
 Individuality, separate existence. 
 
 Infinitive mood, p. .125. 
 
 Inflection is the name given to those 
 changes of termination which words 
 undergo to express their various rela- 
 tions. Thus s in boys, er in harder, 
 se in whose, ed in killed, are inflections 
 of boy, hard, who, and kill. 
 
 Inflections, though now so incorpo- 
 rated with words as not to be used 
 apart from them, were originally sepa- 
 rate words significant of the circum- 
 stances intended. 
 
 The parts of speech which admit 
 of inflection are the noun, the adjec- 
 tive, the pronoun, and the verb. 
 
 Mr. Cobbett, in his grammar, p. 
 1 6, has made no distinction between 
 inflection and derivation. The reader 
 is told that " walks, walked, and walk- 
 ing, are derivatives of walk." These 
 words are merely inflections of the 
 verb " to walk; " but walker is a deri- 
 vative, a distinct part of speech de- 
 rived from the verb to walk. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 223 
 
 Initials, letters at the beginning of 
 words or of names. 
 
 Interjection, p. 191. 
 
 It is a melancholy reflection that 
 mankind announce their entrance in- 
 to life by an interjection expressive of 
 grief, and it not unfrequently happens 
 that their last respiration is spent in 
 giving utterance to an exclamation 
 denoting pain and suffering. Thus 
 interjections may be considered the 
 .41pha and Omega of human speech. 
 
 Interrogative, a pronoun used in ask- 
 ing questions, as, who ? what? which? 
 
 Intransitive, a verb which signifies an 
 action not conceived, as having an 
 effect upon any object, as to run. 
 
 Irony, a figure of speech in which the 
 meaning is contrary to the words. 
 
 Irregular verbs, are those that do not 
 form the past tense and the past par- 
 ticiple by the addition of d or ed. 
 
 Irregularity of the verb to be, p. 1 13. 
 
 J. 
 
 J, a consonant, it has invariably the 
 same sound as g in giant. 
 
 Jabberer, one who talks unintelligibly. 
 
 Jaculatory, uttering in short sen- 
 tences. 
 
 Jargon, unintelligible talk. 
 
 Journal, a diary ; any paper published 
 daily. 
 
 Judgment, the power of discerning the 
 relations between one term or propo- 
 sition and another. 
 
 Juxta-position, the act of placing toge- 
 ther ; opposition. 
 
 K. 
 
 K, a letter borrowed from the Greek, 
 has before all the vowels one unvaried 
 sound, as kail, keep, kin. 
 
 Kicksywicksey, a word used in ridicule 
 and disdain of a wife. 
 
 In the absence of technical words 
 beginning with this letter, we have 
 given one of those terms that origi- 
 nate in caprice and are retained in the 
 language perhaps from a sxipposed fit- 
 ness to the object represented. 
 
 It must be confessed that there is 
 something in the very sound of the 
 words " kicksy wicksey " that would 
 deter most men from applying it to an 
 irritable wife, but words of this class 
 can scarcely be considered a part of 
 the English language, and might with 
 great propriety have a place assigned 
 to them in modern dictionaries, or be 
 discountenanced as vulgarisms by 
 omitting them altogether. 
 
 Kinds of Verbs, p. 132. 
 
 Knowledge, certain perception ; skill 
 in any thing. 
 
 " There is far more satisfaction in a 
 little sound knowledge than in a great 
 quantity of superficial. The distinc- 
 tion between information and know- 
 ledge is, that the first is only a mass 
 of facts unexamined, the second, a 
 system of truths understood. Now 
 any one who possesses memory may 
 possess information, but none can pos- 
 sess knowledge who do not possess 
 mind." 
 
 L. 
 
 L, a consonant classed among the semi- 
 vowels ; it is also called a liquid, from 
 readily uniting with other consonants. 
 
 Labdacism is when the letter I is pro- 
 nounced with too much force. 
 
 Labial, uttered by the lips, as b, m, p. 
 
 Labiodental, sounds formed by the 
 co-operation of the lips and teeth, as 
 fyV. 
 
 Laconism, a concise style, a short pithy 
 expression after the manner of the 
 Lacedemonians. 
 
 Lady, derivation of, p. 197. 
 
 Language, human speech. " Language 
 in general signifies the expression of 
 our ideas by certain articulate sounds 
 which are used as the signs of those 
 ideas. By articulate sounds, are 
 meant those modulations of simple 
 voice, or of sound, emitted from the 
 thorax, which are formed by means of 
 the mouth and its several organs, the 
 teeth, the tongue, the lips, and the 
 palate." 
 
 " The connection between words 
 and ideas may in general be consi- 
 dered as arbitrary and conventional, 
 owing to the agreement of men among 
 themselves, the clear proof of which is, 
 that different nations have different 
 languages, or a different set of articu- 
 late sounds, which they have chosen 
 for communicating their ideas." 
 
 That the voice is the natural means 
 for communicating ideas, is evident 
 from the general practice of every 
 nation, though some writers seem to 
 imply that mankind at first agreed to 
 make use of articulate sounds because 
 they appeared to be the readiest means 
 to express the thoughts and senti- 
 ments of the mind of man ; but it 
 would be just as rational to suppose 
 that men agreed to make use of their 
 legs in walking, because they dis- 
 covered them to be the most expe- 
 ditious means in a state of nature to 
 
224 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 escape from danger, or to seek for 
 their subsistence. 
 
 It is unquestionable that language 
 had its origin from our first parent. 
 Oral speech was suggested to Adam 
 by God himself, but it does not ap- 
 pear that any thing further was requi- 
 site towards the establishment of 
 human speech than the naming of the 
 objects of creation by Adam, as re- 
 corded in the ii. ch. Gen. v. 19. 
 
 Latinism, a Latin idiom. 
 
 Lay, a verb active, p. 133. 
 
 Learn, to receive instruction. To 
 teach is to impart knowledge. The 
 verb to learn is often improperly used 
 instead of the verb to teach. " In 
 the first and best prayer children are 
 taught," says a writer in the Spectator, 
 " they are learnt to misuse the rela- 
 tive pronoun." It should be, they 
 are taught, or, they learn to mis- 
 use. 
 
 Lecture, a discourse pronounced upon 
 any subject. 
 
 Lest, conj. p. 169. 
 
 Let, p. 122. 
 
 Letters, characters representing the 
 elementary sounds of a language. 
 
 Lexicographer, a writer of dictionaries. 
 
 Lexicon, a dictionary. 
 
 Lie, a verb neuter, p. 133. 
 
 Linguist, one skilful in languages. 
 
 It is reported that the Empei*or 
 Charles V. held the acquirement 
 of languages in so high estimation, 
 that when speaking of the beauties of 
 different tongues, he was accustomed 
 to declare (according to the opinion 
 of the Turks) that the more languages 
 a man knows, so much the more is he 
 a man. 
 
 Liquid. Those letters that flow rea- 
 dily with other consonants, I, m, n, r, 
 are, from this property, called by 
 grammarians, liquids. 
 
 Literal, according to the primitive 
 meaning, not figurative. 
 
 Literate, learned. 
 
 Literati, the learned. 
 
 Literature, learning. 
 
 Lithography, the art of engraving upon 
 stone. 
 
 Logic, the art of using reason well in 
 our inquiries after touth, and in the 
 communication of it to others. Logic 
 is (like rhetoric) an art, not a science. 
 1 1 relates to something which is to be 
 done, not to any thing which is merely 
 to be known, — to practice, not to 
 theory. 
 
 Logomachy, a contention about words. 
 
 Loquacity, too much talk. 
 
 Love, verb active, remarks on, p. 123. 
 
 Lucubration, any writing or work per- 
 formed by candlelight. 
 
 Lyric, an ode or song adapted to the 
 harp. 
 
 M. 
 
 M, one of the liquid consonants, it has 
 
 one unvaried sound. 
 Macrology, long talk without matter. 
 Magniloquence, a lofty manner of 
 
 Major, the first proposition of a 
 syllogism containing some generality. 
 
 Masculine, the gender of nouns de- 
 noting animals of the male kind. 
 
 May, auxiliary verb, preterite might. 
 
 Means, plural of mean, p. 49. 
 
 Member, as applied to a sentence, is 
 synonymous with clause. 
 
 Memoir, an account of transactions fa- 
 miliarly written. 
 
 Memorandum, a note of something to 
 be remembered. The plural may be 
 formed regularly by adding s. 
 
 Met agrammatism, a dissolution of a 
 name into its letters as its elements, 
 and a new connection of it by artificial 
 transposition, making some perfect 
 sense applicable to the person named. 
 
 Metalepsis, a continuation of a trope 
 in one word through a succession of 
 significations. 
 
 Metaphor, a simile comprised in a word, 
 as, I am the vine, ye are the branches. 
 It is a figure founded entirely on the 
 resemblance which one object bears to 
 another. Though the metaphor be 
 chosen on account of similitude, yet it 
 is not properly a comparison or simile. 
 A simile introduces a comparison or 
 likeness, but the metaphor stands for 
 the thing itself. When we say, The 
 man acted like a lion, we speak com- 
 paratively, but when we say, The 
 man is a lion, we speak metaphori- 
 cally. 
 
 Metaphorical, not literal, figurative. 
 
 Metaphrase, a mere verbal transla- 
 tion from one language to another. 
 
 Metaphysics, are said to comprise " the 
 doctrine of the general affections of 
 substances existing; " this definition is 
 about as intelligible as are the theories 
 of those who under, take to explain 
 the principles which the subjects of 
 metaphysics embrace. 
 
 Metaplasm, a figure in rhetoric 
 wherein words or letters are composed 
 contrary to their natural order. 
 
 Metastasis, a translation. 
 
 Metathesis, a transposition. 
 
 Method, that part of logic which 
 treats of the disposition of thoughts 
 
INDEX, 
 
 225 
 
 on any subject in such order as may 
 best serve to find out unknown truths ; 
 to explain and confirm truths that are 
 known, and to fix them in the me- 
 mory. 
 
 Metonymy, a rhetorical figure by which 
 one word is put for another, as, the 
 cause for the effect, the author for his 
 works, the subject for the adjunct, 
 the thing containing for the thing con- 
 tained, and the contrary, as — I read 
 Cicero. 
 
 Mis, used in composition, denoting 
 wrong or error, as misapply, to apply 
 to a wrong purpose ; mispel, to spell 
 incorrectly. 
 
 Monophthong, a simple vowel sound. 
 
 Monoptote, a noun used only in some 
 oblique case. 
 
 Monostrophic, written in unvaried 
 measure, free from the restraint of 
 any particular metre. 
 
 Monosyllable, a word of only one 
 syllable. The English language 
 abounds in monosyllables, more par- 
 ticularly that portion of it which is 
 derived from the Saxons. 
 
 " Monosyllables, properly speaking, 
 have no accent ; when they are com- 
 bined with other monosyllables and 
 form a phrase, the stress which is laid 
 upon one in preference to others is 
 called emphasis." 
 
 Monotone, want of proper cadence in 
 pronunciation. 
 
 Monotony, uniformity of sound. 
 
 Moods, p. 125. 
 
 Move, regular verb, p. 124. 
 
 Must, an auxiliary verb, p. 123. 
 
 Mutes. Letters are called mutes when 
 the sounds which they represent can- 
 not be uttered without the aid of a 
 vowel, as, b, d, k. 
 
 N. 
 
 N, has in English an invariable sound, 
 as in no, in, manner ; it is sometimes 
 silent after m, as in contemn. 
 
 Name. A name in grammar is either 
 proper, as the name of an individual, 
 or common, denoting a species, and 
 applicable to any of the species. 
 
 Proper Names, being used expressly 
 to distinguish individuals of a class or 
 genus from each other, might seem to 
 admit of no plural, yet sometimes in- 
 dividuals have plurality or number 
 from the causes following. In the 
 first place, the individuals of the hu- 
 man race are so large a multitude, 
 even in the smallest nation, that it 
 would be difficult to invent a new 
 name for every new born individual. 
 Hence, then, instead of one only being 
 
 called Marcus, and one only Anto- 
 nius, it happens that many are called 
 Marcus, and many called Antonius, 
 and thus it is, the Romans had their 
 plurals Marcii and Antonii, as we, in 
 in later days, have our Marks and 
 Anthonies. Now the plural of this 
 sort may well be called accidental, be- 
 cause it is merely by chance that the 
 names coincide. 
 
 There seems more reason for such 
 plurals as the Howards, the Pelhams, 
 and the Montagues, because a race or 
 family is like a smaller sort of species, 
 so that the family name extends to 
 the kindred, as the specific name ex- 
 tends to the individuals. 
 
 A third cause which contributed to 
 make proper names become plural, 
 was the high character or eminence of 
 some one individual, whose name be- 
 came afterwards a kind of common 
 appellative to denote all those who 
 had pretensions to merit in the same 
 way. Thus, every great critic was 
 called an Aristarchus— every great 
 warrior an Alexander — every great 
 beauty a Helen. — Harris. 
 
 Nasal, belonging to the nose. Those 
 elementary sounds are called nasal 
 that require the nose in uttering 
 them, as ng in singing. 
 
 Neither, conj. p. 174. 
 
 Negative. Two negatives in English 
 are equivalent to an affirmative, as, 
 " We not infrequently hear." 
 
 Neuter means neither. Names of in- 
 animate substances and objects in 
 which the distinction of sex is want- 
 ing are said to be of the neuter gen- 
 der. Modern grammarians question 
 the propriety of this term, yet it 
 would be difficult perhaps to find a 
 more appropriate word to denote the 
 absence of sex in a noun. 
 
 Nomenclature, a vocabulary, a dic- 
 tionary. 
 
 Nominative. The first case of nouns ; 
 that which is the subject of a sen- 
 tence. The nominative case requires 
 the verb to be in the same number 
 and person, as, " I the Lord thy God 
 am a jealous God," the verb agrees 
 with the pronoun, and not with the 
 nouns in apposition with it. The 
 pronoun represents the speaker as the 
 subject of the affirmation, and is 
 therefore shewn by the verb to be 
 the true nominative of the sentence ; 
 the nouns are little else than defini- 
 tives to the pronoun. 
 
 Nor, conj. p. 172. 
 
 Noun. In grammar the name of any 
 thing, p. 40. 
 
226 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 " Nouns are the names of the ideas 
 of things, first as they are received by 
 the stimulus of objects, or as they are 
 afterwards repeated; secondly, they 
 are names of more abstracted ideas 
 which do not suggest at the same time 
 the external objects by which they 
 were originally excited; or, thirdly, 
 of the operations of our minds, which 
 are termed reflex ideas by metaphysi- 
 cal writers ; or, lastly, they are names 
 of our ideas of parts or properties of 
 objects, and are termed by gramma- 
 rians nouns adjective." — Darwin. 
 
 Number, in grammar, is applicable to 
 nouns and verbs, p. 47. 
 
 Numeral Adjectives are those which 
 express number, as, one, two, &c, 
 first, second, third, &c. 
 
 O. 
 
 O has two sounds, a long sound, as in 
 stone, and a short one, as heard in not. 
 
 Obelisk, (t) a marginal note of refer- 
 ence. 
 
 Objective case in English grammar is 
 applicable to those nouns in a sen- 
 tence that are either governed by a 
 verb or by a preposition. 
 
 Oblique, aterm sometimes applied to any 
 case of a noun, except to the nomina- 
 tive, which is called the upright case. 
 
 Observanda, things to be observed. 
 
 Obsolete, disused; applied to any word 
 or form of expression that is not 
 within the limits of present use, as 
 enow, formerly used to express enough 
 in number. 
 
 In determining what may be con- 
 sidered present usage, Dr. Campbell 
 remarks that " regard must be had to 
 the species of composition and the na- 
 ture of the subject. Poetry is pro- 
 perly allowed a greater latitude than 
 prose, therefore a word which in prose 
 we should reject as a barbarism, may 
 with strict propriety be admitted in 
 verse. Here, also, there are limits 
 that must not be passed, and perhaps 
 any word which cannot plead the 
 authority of Milton, or of any con- 
 temporary, or later poet, may be 
 j ustly regarded as obsolete. In prose, 
 no word, unless the subject be art or 
 science, should be employed which 
 has been disused for a period greater 
 than the age of man. " 
 
 Of, prep. p. 158. 
 
 Off, prep. p. 156. 
 
 On, prep. p. 156. 
 
 Onomatopoeia, a term more remark- 
 able for the difficulty of its pronun- 
 ciation than for the propriety of its 
 
 signification. It is formed from the 
 two Greek words bvofia name and 
 iroiiu) I make or feign, but the Ety- 
 mons do not convey a notion of the 
 essential characteristic by which the 
 mind might be enabled to retain the 
 meaning of the word. Onomatopoeia, 
 in grammar or rhetoric, is a figure of 
 speech whereby names and words are 
 formed to the resemblance of the 
 sound made to the things signified, 
 " The surest etymologies " says Mr. 
 Walker, " are those derived from the 
 Onomatopoeia." 
 
 Optative is that mood of a verb which 
 expresses an earnest desire that such 
 a thing may be or happen. 
 
 Or, conj. p. 173. 
 
 Orator, a public speaker. 
 
 Oratory, declamation. The art of 
 making public speeches. 
 
 Ordinal numbers are such as express the 
 order of things, as, first, second, &c. 
 
 Orthoepist, one skilled in pronun- 
 ciation. 
 
 Orthoepy, the correct pronunciation of 
 words. 
 
 Orthography, p. 7. 
 
 Ought, irr. verb, p. 122. 
 
 Oxymoron, a rhetorical figure in which 
 an epithet of a quite contrary signifi- 
 cation is added to any word. 
 
 Oxytone, the acute accent placed on 
 the last syllable of a word. 
 
 P. 
 
 P is a labial consonant; its sound is 
 sometimes omitted before t, as ac- 
 compt, receipt. 
 
 Palatal, a letter pronounced by the 
 aid of the palate. 
 
 Paleography, the art of explaining 
 ancient writings. 
 
 Paleology, a discourse on antiquities. 
 
 Palindromes are those sentences or 
 words in which the syllables are the 
 same read backward or forward, as 
 Lewd did I live— evil I did dwel. 
 
 " A noble lady in the reign of 
 Queen Elizabeth, being for a time 
 forbidden the court for too much 
 familiarity with a great lord in favour, 
 gave this device, — the moon covered 
 with a cloud, and underneath this 
 palindrome for motto — 
 
 " Ablata at Alba." 
 
 Pamphlet, a small unbound book. 
 
 Pantologia, a work of general science. 
 
 Parable, a continued comparison, as, 
 Whereunto shall we liken the king- 
 dom of God ? or with what compari- 
 son shall we compare it ? 
 
INDEX. 
 
 227 
 
 It is like a grain of mustard seed, 
 which when it is sown in the earth is 
 less than all the seeds that he in the 
 earth ; hut when it is sown it groweth 
 up and hecometh greater than all 
 herhs, and shooteth out great hranches, 
 so that the fowls of the air may lodge 
 under the shadow of it. 
 
 And with many such parables 
 spake he the word unto them. 
 
 Paradigm, a synopsis, model, or ex- 
 ample. 
 
 Paradox, an assertion contrary to ap- 
 pearance, as 
 
 " All are not just because they do no wrong." 
 
 Paragoge, a figure wherehy a letter or 
 syllable is added to a word without 
 altering its signification. 
 
 Paragram, a kind of play upon words. 
 
 Paragraph. 
 
 " Every thing included in separate 
 divisions " says a modern writer, " is a 
 paragraph." This is certainly a wide 
 definition, and the learner would pro- 
 bably find some difficulty in compre- 
 hending the nature of a paragraph 
 from such description. Mr. Cobbett 
 is more clear upon this point, and 
 with his usual precision, directs the 
 reader at once to the subject. Thus, 
 he would say, " from ' Every ' to the 
 last word of this sentence is a para- 
 graph." 
 
 The subdivisions of chapters, sec- 
 tions, or treatises, into paragraphs, 
 cannot be reduced to the standard of 
 any fixed rules, but must be left 
 chiefly to the taste and judgment of 
 the writer. Mr. Brenan's observa- 
 tions on the paragraph are so much 
 to the purpose, that we may present 
 them to the reader as containing all 
 that is essential to be known respect- 
 ing the limits and use of these divi- 
 sions. 
 
 " Paragraphs should never be ex- 
 tended to a great length. If very 
 long they will run the risk of not be- 
 ing read attentively. They make us 
 impatient to go to the next, and if 
 there be a succession of such pro- 
 tracted stages, we get tired and begin 
 to think of repose. The eye must be 
 pleased as well as the mind. The end 
 of every paragraph is a certain relief 
 to thought or attention— the com- 
 mencement of the next is a new pros- 
 pect for the sight, and if each be not 
 somewhat gratified, desire will abate, 
 and we shall feel inclined to halt on 
 our journey. But it is not easy to 
 fix a standard for the size of para- 
 graphs. They must be diversified 
 
 into long and short, for a monotonous 
 sameness is displeasing here, as well 
 as in other matters. Were I to give 
 any thing like a general direction, I 
 would say, that they should seldom 
 contain less than sixty words, and not 
 exceed five hundred. In newspapers, 
 they often run to extraordinary length, 
 but where columns are above a foot 
 and a half long, and space an object, 
 we cannot expect attention to such 
 matters. 
 
 " Some authors are fond of the 
 shortest paragraphs possible, and will 
 continue them all through with only 
 from thirty to fifty words in each. Such 
 writing assumes too aphoristical an 
 appearance ; it is like a list of maxims 
 or apophthegms. Finding a difficulty 
 of connection, we read carelessly, and 
 seeing no necessity for this starched 
 furmality, we are offended by such an 
 uncalled for dictatorial pomposity. 
 There is an appearance of too much 
 self confidence and opinion, as if the 
 author thought that every line should 
 be got by heart, but he only forces us 
 to recollect that every writer is not a 
 Bacon." 
 
 The commencement of a para- 
 graph may be known by the first line 
 being indented, as at the beginning of 
 this sentence. 
 Paralepsis, a figure in rhetoric by 
 which a speaker pretends to pass by 
 what at the same time he really men- 
 tions. 
 Paralogy, a fallacious way of arguing ; 
 
 false reasoning. 
 Pareph, any mark or flourish added at 
 the termination of a person's signa- 
 ture. 
 Paraphrase, an explanation of the 
 writings of another, by the use of 
 many words, and a style better adap- 
 ted to the capacity of the general 
 reader. 
 Parathesis, a figure in grammar where 
 two or more substantives are put in 
 the same case, as " She went to the 
 country where he was born (France) 
 and died there." In rhetoric, a short 
 hint, with a promise of future enlarge- 
 ment. In printing, the matter con- 
 tained within two crotchets, marked 
 thus [ ]. 
 Parelcon, the addition of a word or 
 
 syllable to the end of another. 
 Parembole, the insertion of something 
 relating to the subject in the middle 
 of a period ; it differs from the paren- 
 thesis only in this, — the parembole re- 
 lates to the subject, the parenthesis is 
 foreign to it. 
 
228 
 
 NDEX. 
 
 Parenthesis, a sentence so inclosed in 
 another sentence as that it may he 
 taken out without injuring the sense 
 of that which encloses it. 
 
 Mr. Brenan, in his volume on 
 Composition, has censured the use of 
 the parenthesis, and consigns it to the 
 lowest class of writers. There are, 
 however, occasions where the use of 
 the parenthesis appears almost indis- 
 pensable, and an instance may he 
 given in the very example condemned 
 by Mr. Brenan. 
 
 " I give all I have (except my 
 watch) to Alexander." 
 
 It would he difficult, by using any 
 other form of words, to express so 
 concisely and so clearly the meaning 
 contained in this example. 
 
 The chief rules to be observed in 
 respect to parenthesis are — to see that 
 they are pertinent— that they do not 
 obscure the meaning of the principal 
 member of the sentence — and to avoid 
 their too frequent use. A few ex- 
 amples will best shew the abuse of 
 this useful auxiliary. Our first is a 
 specimen of style which probably as- 
 sisted greatly to bring parentheses 
 into disrepute, the remarks thrown in 
 are unconnected with the subject, and 
 may therefore be justly called im- 
 pertinent. 
 
 " These three following sermons 
 (though conceived elsewhere) were 
 first brought forth in your ancient and 
 honourable city. The subject matter 
 of them is seasonable for these sickly 
 times. Though you, in your city, (as 
 I am informed by those who have 
 best reason to know) have been this 
 last year as healthful as at other times 
 (a mercy which you can never be too 
 thankful for), yet the towns and vil- 
 lages about you, yea the most part of 
 the nation (I hope you are sensible of 
 it) have been sorely visited with sick- 
 ness." 
 
 The use of commas instead of the 
 marks denoting parentheses does not 
 always serve the purpose. The fol- 
 lowing (even with the assistance of the 
 signs) is rather a startling assertion. 
 
 " The sum of .£200 has been or- 
 dered for Lucy Cully (the widow of 
 the unfortunate police constable who 
 was murdered at Coldbath-fields) by 
 the Commissioners of .his Majesty's 
 Treasury." 
 
 The sentence would have been less 
 
 ambiguous if the writer had put the 
 
 last member into a parenthesis thus — 
 
 The sum of ,£200 has been ordered 
 
 (by the Commissioners of his Ma- 
 
 jesty's Treasury) for Lucy Cully, the 
 widow of the unfortunate police con- 
 stable, who was murdered at Cold- 
 bath-fields. 
 
 The parenthesis, whether short or 
 extended, marked or understood, is 
 plainly a digression in a sentence, and 
 it should always, unless very concise, 
 be transferred to the next, or be so 
 placed as to read smoothly, and to 
 glide at once into our conception. 
 Parody, a writing in which the words 
 of an author are taken and by a slight 
 change adapted to some new sense. 
 
 This kind of composition is con- 
 fined to scribblers of the lowest de- 
 scription, who, having neither wit nor 
 invention of their own, resort to this 
 contemptible means of exhibiting their 
 mimic powers. 
 
 Some pieces of composition seem to 
 be in a peculiar manner open to the 
 attacks of these writers — the soliloquy 
 of Cato, for example, offers an easy 
 means for the development of this 
 talent, and has been the constant 
 theme on which witlings have exer- 
 cised their ingenuity. It is much to 
 be regretted that such miserable at- 
 tempts at authorship should ever find 
 a place in respectable publications. 
 Paronomasia, a rhetorical figure, in 
 which, by the change of a letter or 
 syllable several things are alluded to. 
 It is properly that figure which the 
 French cnWjeu de mots, as — they are 
 fiends not friends. 
 Parse, to resolve a sentence into its 
 
 parts of speech. 
 Participle, a word partaking at once 
 the nature of an adjective and a verb. 
 When a verbal attribute is sepa- 
 rated from the verb or sign of affirma- 
 tion, but at the same time is affirmed 
 to belong to some noun, it is called a 
 participle. Thus, the words " sepa- 
 rated," " affirmed," " called," are par- 
 ticiples. They are said to be so 
 named because they participate in the 
 nature of an adjective, and may in 
 many cases be used before a noun to 
 denote its quality. 
 
 The present participle ends in ing, 
 and the past participle of a regular 
 verb, in d or ed. 
 Particle, a term formerly applied to 
 
 the indeclinable parts of speech. 
 Partitive, distributive. 
 Parts of speech, p. 12. 
 
 It is said there are ninety thousand 
 different words in the English lan- 
 guage, yet these may all be arranged 
 under the nine parts of speech. 
 Passive Verb, p. 133. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 229 
 
 Pauses. A pause or rest in speaking 
 is a total cessation of the voice during 
 a perceptible, and, in many cases, a 
 measurable, space of time. 
 
 The characters used in writing to 
 denote the several pauses, are the 
 comma , the semicolon ; the colon : 
 the period or full stop . the note of 
 interrogation ? and the note of ad- 
 miration ! and to these may be added 
 the dash — 
 
 Pedantry, a needless ostentation of 
 learning. 
 
 Pentameter, a Latin verse consisting 
 of five feet. 
 
 Penult, the last syllable of a word but 
 one. 
 
 Periphrasis, use of many words to ex- 
 press the sense of one. 
 
 Peroration, the conclusion of an ora- 
 tion. 
 
 Person, derivation of, p. 202. 
 
 Personification is that figure by which 
 we attribute life and action to inani- 
 mate objects. The technical term is 
 Prosopopoeia, but as personification is 
 of the same import and more allied to 
 our own language, the use of this word 
 is to be preferred. 
 
 The abuse of this figure has been 
 already noticed under the gender of 
 nouns. Another example or two 
 may, however, be here quoted. The 
 following vigorous description of the 
 progress of science is from a modern 
 writer. 
 
 " An immense impulse was now 
 given to Science, and it seemed as if 
 the Genius of Mankind, being long 
 pent up, had at length rushed eagerly 
 upon Nature, and commenced with 
 one accord the great work of turning 
 up her hitherto unbroken soil, and 
 exposing the treasures so long con- 
 cealed." 
 
 It may be said of this specimen of 
 figurative language what Dr. John- 
 son said of one of Prior's Poems, " It 
 is not over decent." 
 
 " Use " says Dr. Campbell, " is the 
 sole mistress of language — Grammar 
 and Criticism are her ministers, but 
 though servants, they sometimes, like 
 other ministers, impose the dic- 
 tates of their own humour upon the 
 people as the commands of their 
 sovereign." 
 
 The Goddess, Use, is by this au- 
 thor first styled the mistress of Lan- 
 guage ; in the next sentence she rises 
 to the dignity of sovereign ; and the 
 goddesses Grammar and Criticism are 
 her ministers, next these ministers are 
 the servants of their mistress, then 
 
 these servants, like other ministers, 
 execute the commands of their sove- 
 reign. 
 
 The accuracy of this language may 
 indeed be justified, since ministers are 
 the servants of their sovereign, but 
 is the use of such language in a work 
 on science to be sanctioned or ap- 
 proved ? In a treatise on Rhetoric, 
 in particular, these exhibitions of the 
 art should be carefully avoided. An 
 author who professes to instruct can- 
 not be too simple in his style, nor in 
 the choice of his expressions. 
 Perspecuity, clearness of expression. 
 
 " Perspecuity is a quality so essen- 
 tial in every kind of writing, that for the 
 want of it nothing can atone. Without 
 this the richest ornaments merely glim- 
 mer, and, instead of pleasing, tend only 
 to puzzle the reader." 
 
 Some critics have doubted whether 
 there may not be an excess of perspe- 
 cuity. This singular notion has been 
 traced by Dr, Campbell to a want of 
 discrimination in those who enter- 
 tained it. 
 
 " The objection ariseth manifestly 
 from the confounding of two objects, 
 the common and the clear, and thence 
 very naturally their contraries, the 
 new and the dark, that are widely dif- 
 ferent." 
 
 " If you entertain your reader 
 solely or chiefly with thoughts that 
 are either trite or obvious, you can- 
 not fail soon to tire him. All trifling 
 minuteness in narration, description, 
 or instruction, which an ordinary ap- 
 prehension would render superfluous, 
 is apt to disgust us." 
 
 Perspecuity may with truth be said 
 to be the test of grammatical accuracy. 
 Philtppick, any invective declamation. 
 The following is said to have been 
 uttered by Dr. Parr against Sir James 
 Mackintosh : " Mackintosh, as the 
 story goes, had described O'Connor 
 as the worst of men, which Parr de- 
 nied, saying, No, Sir — He was an 
 Irishman, he might have been a 
 Scotsman — he was a priest, he might 
 have been a lawyer — he was a rebel, 
 he might have been a renegado." 
 Philology, criticism, grammatical 
 
 learning. 
 Phrase, an expression. A phrase dif- 
 fers from a sentence in that it has no 
 finite verb. 
 
 " To fear the Lord," and " depart 
 from evil," are phrases which scrip- 
 ture useth to express the sum of 
 religion. 
 
 Sentences consist chiefly of esta- 
 
230 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Wished phrases, which, like current 
 coin, have received the stamp of au- 
 thority, and have thus become the 
 legal tender for the communication of 
 ideas. The superiority of a language 
 depends chiefly on the purity and per- 
 specuity of its established phrases. 
 
 Phraseology, style, diction. 
 
 Pleonasm, a figure by which more 
 words are used than are necessary. 
 Pleonasm is opposed to precision, and 
 may truly be considered a defect, and 
 not an ornament in composition. 
 
 Ex. " Viewing these sacred books 
 in no higher light than as they pre- 
 sent to us the most ancient monu- 
 ments of poetry extant at this day in 
 the world, they afford a curious ob- 
 ject of criticism." 
 
 " Extant " means now in being, 
 therefore the phrases " at this time " 
 " in the world " are redundant. 
 
 Plural, implying more than one. 
 
 Poem, a metrical composition. 
 
 Poesy, a short device engraved on aring. 
 
 Poetry, metrical composition. 
 
 Polyglot, embracing many languages. 
 
 Polysyllable, a word of many sylla- 
 bles, as, Honourificabilitudinity, An- 
 thropomorphitamanismicaliation. 
 
 Polysyndeton, a figure of rhetoric by 
 which the copulative is often re- 
 peated, as, " The man who is doing 
 well, who is in good health, who has a 
 blooming and dutiful and cheerful and 
 happy family about him, is not to be 
 made to believe that he was born to 
 be miserable." 
 
 Positive, applied to the adjective in its 
 simple form, the first degree of com- 
 parison, p. 69. 
 
 Possessive case. Much difficulty is 
 often felt by inexperienced writers in 
 determining when and where it is pro- 
 per to use the sign of the possessive 
 case. For example, " This is my 
 brother's letter." " These are my 
 sisters' companions." In the first 
 instance some writers doubt whether 
 the apostrophe ought to be inserted 
 or not. In the last, they hesitate 
 about adding another s, and if they 
 happen to know that the second s is 
 inadmissible, they still doubt the pro- 
 priety of leaving the apostrophe in its 
 proper place. To obviate the first 
 difficulty, it is necessary that they be 
 able to distinguish the different parts 
 of speech. The general rule will 
 then determine when a noun is in 
 the possessive case. " Two nouns 
 coming together signifying different 
 things, the former is put in the pos- 
 sessive case, as, brother's letter. 
 
 The latter difficulty is overcome by 
 recollecting that a noun plural ending 
 in s in the possessive, requires only 
 the sign of the possessive case, as — my 
 sisters' companions. The s is also 
 omitted in the singular of nouns end- 
 ing in ss, as, for righteousness' sake. 
 
 Posthumous writings are those pub- 
 lished after the author's death. 
 
 Postscript, the paragraph at the end of 
 a letter. 
 
 Postulate, a position assumed without 
 proof. 
 
 Potential, a mood expressing the 
 power of doing any thing, p. 129. 
 
 Power of a letter, is the capability of 
 utterance which the sound it repre- 
 sents posseses, thus a vowel has more 
 power than a consonant, liquids have 
 more power than other semivowels, 
 and the semivowels have greater power 
 than the mutes. 
 
 Precision, conciseness of expression; 
 exact limitation. 
 
 " The exact import of precision 
 may be drawn from the etymology of 
 the word. It comes from prcecidere, 
 to cut off. It imports retrenching all 
 superfluities, and pruning the expres- 
 sion so as to exhibit neither more nor 
 less than an exact copy of his idea 
 who uses it. In order to write or 
 speak with precision, two things are 
 especially requisite, one, that an 
 author's own ideas be clear and dis- 
 tinct, and the other, that he have an 
 exact and full comprehension of the 
 force of those words which he em- 
 ploys." 
 
 " The use and importance of pre- 
 cision may be deduced from the nature 
 of the human mind. It never can 
 view clearly and distinctly above one 
 object at a time. If it must look at 
 two or three together, especially ob- 
 jects among which there is resem- 
 blance or connection, it finds itself 
 confused and embarrassed. It cannot 
 clearly perceive in what they agree or 
 in what they differ. If, when you 
 would inform me of your meaning, 
 you also tell me more than what con- 
 veys it; if you join foreign circum- 
 stances to the principal object ; if by 
 unnecessarily varying the expi'ession 
 you shift the point of view and make 
 me see sometimes the object itself and 
 sometimes another thing that is con- 
 nected with it — you thereby oblige me 
 to look on several objects at once, 
 and I lose sight of the principal." — 
 Blair. 
 
 Predicate, that which is affirmed or 
 denied by the subject, p. 109. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 231 
 
 Preface, introduction to a book. 
 
 Prefix, a particle put before a word to 
 vary or alter its signification. 
 
 Prenomen, among the Romans, a name 
 prefixed to the family name, answer- 
 ing to our christian name, as Caius, 
 Lucius, Marcus. 
 
 Prepositions. Etymology of, p. 1 50 ; 
 Syntax of, p. 162. Plutarch conjec- 
 tured that prepositions were little 
 fragments of words used in haste and 
 for dispatch instead of the whole 
 words. 
 
 Present tense, denoting the actual 
 existence of an attribute affirmed of 
 some subject. 
 
 Preterimperfect, applied to the past 
 tense of a verb. 
 
 Preterite, the past tense of a verb. 
 
 Preterperfect, applied to the tense 
 which denotes that the existence of 
 the attribute is absolutely past. 
 
 PrEterpluperfect, past before the 
 existence of some other attribute which 
 is also spoken of as past. 
 
 Primer, an elementary book in which 
 children are taught to read. 
 
 Primitive. A primitive word is that 
 which can be traced no further to any 
 English root ; thus, circumspect, cir- 
 cumstance, delude, concave, and com- 
 plicate, though compounds in Latin, 
 are primitives in English. 
 
 A derivative word is one that may 
 be referred to a word in English of 
 greater simplicity, as — authority, au- 
 thorize ; usage, useful, usefulness. 
 
 Proem, preface, introduction. 
 
 Prolegomena, introductory observa- 
 tions. 
 
 Prolepsis, a figure in grammar whereby 
 we prevent or avoid what another 
 intended to allege against us. 
 
 Prolixity, tediousness 
 
 Prologue, that which is spoken by an 
 actor before the commencement of a 
 play. 
 
 Pronoun, Etymology of, p. 77 ; Syntax 
 of, p. 86. 
 
 That ambiguity or doubt would 
 often arise if the noun were used in- 
 stead of the pronoun may be seen in 
 the following passage from Shakes- 
 peare : — 
 
 Pros. 'Tis twelve years since, Miranda, 
 twelve years since 
 Thy father was the Duke of Milan, 
 
 and 
 A prince of power. 
 Miran. Sir, are you not my father? 
 Pros. Thy mother was a piece of virtue and 
 She said thou wast my daughter. 
 
 It is probable that the writer in 
 this instance purposely employed the 
 
 noun, that by provoking inquiry he 
 might introduce with greater effect 
 the compliment he pays to the charac- 
 ter of Miranda's mother. 
 
 Pronunciation, the act of utterance. 
 For pronunciation, the best general 
 rule is to consider those as the most 
 elegant speakers who deviate least 
 from written words. It was observed 
 by Dr. Darwin, " that gl is dl, as 
 glove is pronounced by polite people 
 dlove, and that cl is tl, as Cloe is 
 pronounced Tloe by polite speakers." 
 Immediately after this he remarks 
 that " The spelling of our language 
 in respect of pronunciation is won- 
 derfully defective." It would be 
 wonderful indeed if it were not de- 
 fective, when our best writers thus 
 countenance the lisping peculiarities 
 of the polite and effeminate. 
 
 Proposition, a sentence in which any 
 thing is affirmed, p. 109. 
 
 Prosody, the part of grammar which 
 teaches the sound and quantity of 
 syllables, and the measure of verse. 
 
 Prosopopoeia, personification, a figure 
 by which things are made persons. 
 
 Protasis, a maxim. In the ancient 
 drama the first part of a comedy or 
 tragedy that explains the argument of 
 the piece. 
 
 Proverb, an adage, a bye word. 
 
 Provincialism, manner of speaking pe- 
 culiar to a certain district of a country. 
 
 Puerile. Among the number of styles 
 of writing there is one which may be 
 denominated the puerile. The reader 
 is presented with the following ex- 
 tract as a specimen of this style, taken 
 from the notes of a commentator on 
 the Greek authors. 
 
 " The impression was probably 
 written in their eyes, the windows of 
 the soul, windows of all kinds being 
 notorious, tell tales of the loves of 
 the inner soul, particularly when the 
 impression is made with a brilliant of 
 the first water." 
 
 Pun, an equivocation, a quibble. Words 
 that agree in the sound, but differ in 
 the sense. 
 
 Punster, a quibbler. 
 
 Punctuation is the art of marking in 
 writing the several pauses or rests be- 
 tween sentences according to their 
 proper quantity or proportion, as they 
 are expressed in a just and accurate 
 pronunciation. 
 
 Purity is the use of such words and 
 such constructions as belong to the 
 idiom of the language which we speak 
 in opposition to words and phrases that 
 are imported from other languages, or 
 
232 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 that are obsolete or new coined, or 
 used without proper authority. 
 Pyrrhic, in poetry a foot consisting of 
 two short syllables. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Q is always followed by u, as, quick, ques- 
 tion, quote; it is sometimes sounded 
 like k, quoit, conquer, pique, quay. 
 
 Quadrisyllable, a word of four sylla- 
 bles, as, con-tempt-i-ble. Words of 
 more than three syllables are gene- 
 rally called polysyllables. 
 
 QiLasRE, a Latin word meaning inquire 
 or seek. This word is seldom pro- 
 perly employed by English speakers. 
 
 Quality, a term sometimes employed 
 by grammarians instead of adjective, to 
 denote the properties or accidents of 
 a noun. 
 
 Quantity, the measure of time in pro- 
 nouncing a syllable. 
 
 A vowel or syllable is long when 
 the accent is on the vowel, which oc- 
 casions it to be slowly joined in pro- 
 nunciation with the following letters, 
 as, fate, fatal. 
 
 A syllable is short when the accent 
 is on the consonant, which occasions 
 the vowel to be quickly joined to the 
 succeeding letter, as, fat, fatten. 
 
 A long syllable requires double the 
 time of a short one in pronouncing it. 
 
 Quarto, a book in which every sheet 
 makes four leaves. 
 
 Query, an inquiry, a question. 
 
 Quibble, a low conceit depending on 
 the construction of a sentence, or the 
 sound of a word. 
 
 Quotation, an extract taken from the 
 writings of another — a quotation is 
 marked by inverted commas. 
 
 R. 
 
 R, a semivowel, called the canine letter, 
 because it is uttered with some slight 
 resemblance to the growl or snarl of 
 a cur. 
 
 Rapin, on the dialects of the English 
 language, p. 194. 
 
 Raillery, inoffensive satire ; jesting. 
 
 Re, in composition means again, as re- 
 admit, re-affirm. 
 
 Recitative, a kind of tuneful pronun- 
 ciation, more musical than common 
 speech, and less so than song. 
 
 Redundancy, superfluous w r ords in a 
 sentence. Redundancy differs but 
 little from Pleonasm — both imply a 
 waste of words. 
 
 Ex. " It has been observed that the 
 essence of the verb consists in affirma- 
 
 tion. This theory / have remarked 
 is eon tro verted by Mr. Tooke. It 
 must be obvious, however, from the 
 preceding observations, that the differ- 
 ence between the opinion of this emi- 
 nent philologist and that which is here 
 delivered, is more apparent than 
 real." — Crombie. 
 
 The phrases denoted by Italics in 
 this example might be omitted, and 
 the sentences would contain all 
 that the writer had occasion to ex- 
 press, thus, 
 
 The essence of the verb consists in 
 affirmation. This theory is contro- 
 verted by Mr. Tooke, but the differ- 
 ence between the opinion of this emi- 
 nent philologist and that which is here 
 delivered, is more apparent than real. 
 
 Regimen, the cases of a noun governed 
 by a verb or participle. 
 
 Regular verbs are such as have the 
 past tense and past participle ending 
 in d or ed, p. 124. 
 
 Relative, a pronoun referring to an 
 antecedent noun which it represents, 
 p. 82. 
 
 Remarks on the indefinite article, p. 32 ; 
 on the definite article, p. 34. 
 
 Revise, to review, to overlook ; also a 
 proof sheet of a book that has been 
 previously corrected. 
 
 Rhetoric, the art of speaking well and 
 eloquently. 
 
 Rhyme, the correspondence of the last 
 sound of one verse to the last sound 
 or syllable of another. 
 
 Rhyming Prose, or what by some 
 authors is termed jingling, is a defect 
 in composition that may be avoided 
 either by altering the construction of 
 the sentence, or by employing a syno- 
 nymous term. 
 
 Ex. Homerwiththe Greek vivacity 
 had also some portion of the Greek 
 loquacity. — Blair. 
 
 A writer, speaking of Belisarius, 
 says, " The popular tale, that he was 
 obliged to beg for a penny, has been 
 believed by many." The jingling be- 
 tween " penny " and " many " might 
 have been avoided by saying " has 
 been generally believed." 
 
 Rhythm, metre, verse, numbers. 
 
 Riddle, an enigma, a puzzle. 
 
 Right, derivation of; p. 200. 
 
 Rudiments, the elements or first prin- 
 ciples of a science. 
 
 S has in English the same hissing sound 
 as in other languages. In Dr. John- 
 son's Dictionary the reader will find 
 
INDEX. 
 
 233 
 
 the following comment on the power 
 of the letter S. 
 
 " It is the peculiar quality of S 
 that it may be sounded before all con- 
 sonants, except x and z, in which s is 
 comprised, x being only ks, and z a 
 hard or gross s ; this is therefore termed 
 by grammarians sum potestads litera. 
 The reason of which the learned Dr. 
 Clarke erroneously supposed to be 
 that in some words it might be doubled 
 at pleasure." 
 
 The phrase here explained by Dr. 
 Johnson forms part of the Eton and 
 other grammars for children, but can 
 a child be expected to understand what 
 the learned Dr. Clarke misunderstood? 
 " It should be a point," says a popu- 
 lar and elegant writer, " never to 
 teach children to speak about what 
 they do not understand." We fear 
 grammarians pay very little regard to 
 the excellent principle this writer in- 
 culcates. 
 
 Sarcasm, a taunting observation. 
 
 Satire, a poem in which folly or vice is 
 censured. 
 
 Save, conj. p. 177. 
 
 Saxonism, an idiom of the Saxon lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Scan, to examine a verse by counting 
 the feet. 
 
 Scoliast, a writer of explanatory notes. 
 
 Scholium, a note, an explanatory ob- 
 servation. 
 
 Scotticism, an idiom peculiar to the 
 Scotch people. 
 
 Semicolon, a stop, or point, marked 
 thus ; 
 
 Semivowel, a consonant that can be 
 partially sounded without the help of 
 a vowel, as,y, /, m, n, r. 
 
 Sentence, any number of words so ar- 
 ranged as to express distinctly any 
 opinion or sentiment which we wish 
 to communicate to the hearer. The 
 words so combined are said to make 
 complete sense, because the end of 
 speech is then answered. 
 
 Sentences are either simple or com- 
 pound. 
 
 A simple sentence contains the 
 enunciation of but one affirmation, 
 and consequently includes but one 
 finite verb. 
 
 A compound sentence contains two 
 or more affirmations, which are united 
 by means of relatives or conjunctions. 
 " There is a distinction of con- 
 siderable importance to be attended 
 to [with respect to compound sen- 
 tences, and that is, whether the con- 
 nection is merely made arbitrarily for 
 convenience, or to save time in speak- 
 
 ing. Where several propositions, in- 
 dependent in themselves, are thrown 
 by the lump, as it were, into the same 
 sentence, as, ' Caesar came, saw, and 
 conquered,' or whether the connec- 
 tion is necessarily made in order to 
 complete the sense, or to explain what 
 has gone before, as, ' I will stay at 
 home if you will.' Here the latter 
 sentence is necessary to explain the 
 meaning of the foregoing one, and 
 cannot therefore be separated from 
 it." — Lewis. 
 
 In prose compositions very little 
 variety is admitted in the collocation 
 of words ; they are mostly fixed to 
 one order, and that order is what may 
 be called the order of the understand- 
 ing. The person who speaks or 
 acts is placed first in the sentence, 
 next the action, and lastly the object 
 of the action : so that the ideas are 
 made to succeed to one another, not 
 t according to the degree of importance 
 which the several objects carry in the 
 imagination, but according to the 
 order of nature and of time. 
 
 Protracted sentences often originate 
 from the want of a competent know- 
 ledge of the principles of language, 
 but there is another cause which fre- 
 quently produces this fault. Many 
 writers begin a compound sentence 
 before they have determined upon the 
 extent and number of its members, or 
 what relation they shall bear to each 
 other. They link the thoughts as 
 they arise by relatives and conjunc- 
 tions, until the principal subject lies 
 buried amidst a confused mass of half 
 formed propositions. 
 
 Ex. " That the primary causes of 
 the long-existing distressed state of 
 our agricultural community were war 
 prices having caused high rents to be 
 both demanded and offered for land, 
 and consequently high compositions 
 to take place for tithes, the enlarge- 
 ment of farms, and the enclosure of 
 common lands ; and that the deriva- 
 tive causes have been loss of business 
 by little farmers, on account of their 
 farms having been taken from them 
 and thrown iuto great ones ; the en . 
 closure of the commons having de- 
 prived these and many labourers of a 
 common-right for their cow or a few 
 sheep, as well as the enlargement of 
 of farms throwing many of the latter 
 out of, and preventing the former — 
 who became labourers by being turned 
 out of their little farm — from obtain- 
 ing employ ; and the rents being kept 
 up partly by the continued rage for 
 s 
 
234 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 becoming farmers of those who have 
 bxit little if any knowledge of hus- 
 bandry, and partially by farmers being 
 unwilling to leave farms, in the soil 
 of which they have buried nearly the 
 whole of their property in hopes of 
 better times ; no one at all acquainted 
 with rural affairs will deny i but the 
 effects of these causes would have long 
 since cured themselves, had not agri- 
 culture been kept in a very unsettled 
 state by a political hubbub that in- 
 duced farmers and their landlords to 
 anticipate legislative advantages that 
 neither have realized." 
 
 It is reported of Sophocles that he 
 expired for want of power to recover 
 his breath after a violent endeavour 
 to pronounce a long period to the 
 end. 
 
 As a contrast to the foregoing ex- 
 ample, we shall quote a well con- 
 structed long sentence from a classical 
 author, but at the same time we may 
 be allowed to recommend the young 
 and inexperienced writer to be con- 
 tent to admire rather than to imitate 
 this kind of composition. A long 
 sentence seldom pleases the reader, 
 and is a hazardous task even from the 
 pen of a skilful and practised writer. 
 
 Ex. " To suppose that two or three 
 hundred years ago, when we well 
 know the Highlands to have been in 
 a state of gross ignorance and bar- 
 barity, there should have arisen in 
 that country a poet of such exquisite 
 genius and of such deep knowledge of 
 mankind and of history as to divest 
 himself of the ideas and manners of 
 his own age, and to give us a just and 
 natural picture of a state of society 
 ancienter by a thousand years ; one 
 who could support this counterfeited 
 antiquity through such a large col- 
 lection of poems without the least in- 
 consistency ; and who, possessed of all 
 this genius and art, had at the same 
 time the self-denial of concealing him- 
 self and of ascribing his own works to 
 an antiquated bard without the im- 
 posture being detected— is — a suppo- 
 sition that transcends all bounds of 
 credibility. " — Blair. 
 
 In this long sentence the infinitive 
 " to suppose " is the nominative to the 
 verb " is" at the close of the sentence. 
 What comes between the .nominative 
 and the verb is merely an enumera- 
 tion of those particulars connected 
 with supposition. 
 Seriatim, in regular succession. 
 Shall and Will, remarks on, p. 118. 
 Short-hand, an abbreviated method of 
 
 writing, said to have been invented 
 and practised almost exclusively by 
 the English. 
 Sibilant, those letters that produce a 
 hissing sound, as the soft c, the s, and 
 z. Foreigners complain of the too 
 frequent recurrence of these letters in 
 English, but a Frenchman, at least, 
 ought not to be too fastidious, when 
 his own language furnishes an exam- 
 ple like this — 
 
 Combien ces six saucisses ici ? 
 Six sous ces six saucisses ici, 
 Six sous ces six saucisses ici ! ! ! 
 C'est trop ces six saucisses ici. 
 
 Simile. The comparison and the simile 
 are so much alike that rhetoricians 
 have found some difficulty to mark the 
 distinction. Dr. Campbell says " the 
 difference is this — simile is no more 
 than a comparison suggested in a 
 word or two, as, He fought like a lion, 
 his face shone as the sua — comparison 
 is a simile circumstantiated and in- 
 cluded in one or more separate sen- 
 tences." 
 
 The following has been given as an 
 example of a comparison. 
 
 " The actions of princes are like 
 those great rivers, the course of which 
 every one beholds, but their springs 
 have been seen by few." 
 
 " Similies appear with most beauty 
 and propriety in works of imagination ; 
 they are frequently found most useful 
 to the authors of philosophical trea- 
 tises, and have often helped them out 
 at many a dead lift by giving them an 
 appearance of saying something when 
 indeed they had nothing to say, for 
 similies are in truth the bladders upon 
 which they float, and the grammarian 
 sinks at once if he attempts to swim 
 without them." 
 
 " In the eyes of cats," says M. 
 Buffon, " the contraction and dilata- 
 tion of the pupil is so considerable, 
 that the pupil which by daylight ap- 
 pears narrow and small, like the black 
 of one's nail, by night expands over 
 the whole surface of the eye-ball." 
 
 In this example the writer presumes 
 that his reader's hands are as dirty as 
 his own. 
 Since, prep. p. 156 ; conj. p. 177. 
 Solecism, a breach of the rules of syntax, 
 as, " between you and I they was to 
 blame." 
 
 A solecism is considered by gram- 
 marians as a much greater offence 
 than either the barbarism or the im- 
 propriety, because it betrays a greater 
 ignorance of the principles of language. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 235 
 
 Soliliouy, a discourse to one's self. 
 
 Sonnet, a short poem consisting of 
 fourteen lines. 
 
 Sophism, a fallacious argument. 
 
 Sorites, an argument, or imperfect 
 syllogism, consisting of accumulated 
 propositions, in which the predicate of 
 the former is still made the subject of 
 the latter, till, in conclusion, the last 
 predicate is attributed to the first 
 subject, as — a horse is an animal, an 
 animal is a body, a body is a sub- 
 stance ; therefore a horse is a sub- 
 stance. 
 
 Speech, parts of, p. 12. 
 
 Spelling, the act of expressing words 
 by their proper letters, p. 8. 
 
 Splutter, to speak hastily. 
 
 Spondee, a foot of two long syllables. 
 
 Stammer, to speak imperfectly with 
 hesitation. To stutter. 
 
 The following remarks on stutter- 
 ing are taken from Dr. Arnotfs 
 Natural Philosophy. They are too 
 valuable and too closely connected 
 with the subject of language to require 
 any apology to the reader for their 
 insertion here. 
 
 " The most common case of stut- 
 tering is not, as has been almost uni- 
 versally believed, where the individual 
 has a difficulty in respect to some par- 
 ticular letter or articulation, by the 
 disobedience to the will or power of 
 association of parts of the mouth 
 which should form it, but where the 
 spasmodic interruption occurs alto- 
 gether behind or beyond the mouth, 
 viz. in the glottis, so as to affect all 
 the articulations equally. To a per- 
 son ignorant of anatomy, and there- 
 fore knowing not what or where the 
 glottis is, it may be sufficient explana- 
 tion to say, that it is the slit or nar- 
 row opening at the top of the wind- 
 pipe, by which the air passes to and 
 fro from the lungs — being situated 
 just behind the root of the tongue. 
 It is that which is felt to close sud- 
 denly in hiccough, arresting the ingress 
 of air, and that which closes to pre- 
 vent the egress of air from the chest 
 of a person lifting a heavy weight, or 
 in making any straining exertion ; it 
 is that also, by the repeated shutting 
 of which, a person divides the sound 
 in pronouncing several times, in dis- 
 tinct and rapid succession, any vowel, 
 as o, o, o, o. Now the glottis during 
 common speech need never be closed, 
 and a stutterer is cured if, by having 
 his attention properly directed to it, 
 he can keep it open. Had the edges 
 or thin lips of the glottis been visible, 
 
 like the external lips of the mouth, 
 the nature of stuttering would not so 
 long have remained a mystery, and 
 the effort necessary to the cure would 
 have forced itself upon the attention 
 of the most careless observer; but 
 because hidden, and professional men 
 had not detected in how far they were 
 concerned, and the patient himself 
 had only a vague feeling of some diffi- 
 culty, which, after straining, grimace, 
 gesticulation, and sometimes almost 
 general convulsion of the body, gave 
 way, and the uncertainty with respect 
 to the object has remained. Even 
 many, who by attention and much 
 labour had overcome the defect in 
 themselves, as Demosthenes did, have 
 not been able to describe to others the 
 nature of their efforts so as to ensure 
 imitation; and the author doubts much 
 whether the quacks who have suc- 
 ceeded in relieving many cases, but in 
 many also have failed, or have given 
 only temporary relief, really under- 
 stood what precise ends in the action 
 of the organs their imperfect direc- 
 tions were accomplishing. 
 
 " Now a stutterer, understanding of 
 anatomy only what is stated above, 
 will comprehend what he is to aim at, 
 by being further told, that when any 
 sound is continuing, as when be is 
 humming a single note or tune, the 
 glottis is necessarily open, and, there- 
 fore, that when he chooses to begin 
 pi'onouucing, or droning any simple 
 sound, as the E of the English word 
 berry (to do which at once no stut- 
 terer has any difficulty), he thereby 
 opens the glottis, and renders the pro- 
 nunciation of any other sound easy. 
 If then, in speaking or reading, he 
 joins his words together, as if each 
 phrase formed but one long word, or 
 nearly as a person joins them in sing- 
 ing (and this may be done without 
 being at all noted as a peculiarity of 
 speech, for all persons do it more or 
 less in their ordinary conversation), 
 the voice never stops, the glottis never 
 closes, and thei'e is of course no stut- 
 ter. The author has given this 
 explanation, or lesson, wdth an ex- 
 ample to a person, who before would 
 have required half an hour to read a 
 page, but who immediately afterwards 
 read it almost as smoothly as was pos- 
 sible for any one to do ; and who then, 
 on transferring the lesson and the 
 speech by continued practice and at- 
 tention, obtained the same facility with 
 respect to it. There are many per- 
 sons not accounted peculiar in their 
 
236 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 speech, who, in seeking words to express 
 themselves, often rest long between 
 them on the simple sound of E men- 
 tioned above, saying, for instance, hesi- 
 tatingly — " e.I.e thinke . . . you 
 
 may " — the sound never ceasing until 
 the end of the phrase, however long 
 the person may require to pronounce 
 it. Now a stutterer, who, to open 
 his glottis at the beginning of a phrase, 
 or to open it in the middle of any in- 
 terruption, uses such a sound, would 
 not even at first be more remarkable 
 than a drawling speaker, and he would 
 only require to drawl for a little while 
 until practice facilitated his command 
 of the other sounds. Although pro- 
 ducing the simple sound which we 
 call the E of berry, or of the French 
 v/ords de or que, is a means of opening 
 the glottis, which by stutterers is 
 found very generally to answer, there 
 are many cases in which other means 
 are more suitable, as the intelligent 
 preceptor soon discovers. Were it 
 possible to divide the nerves of the 
 muscles of the glottis, without at the 
 same time destroying the faculty of 
 producing voice, such an operation 
 would be a most immediate and cer- 
 tain cure of stuttering : and the loss 
 of the faculty of closing the glottis 
 would be of no moment. 
 
 " The view given also of the nature 
 of stuttering and its cure explains the 
 following facts, which to many per- 
 sons have hitherto appeared extra- 
 ordinary. Stutterers often can sing 
 well, and without the least interrup- 
 tion, for the tune being continued, the 
 glottis does not close. Many stut- 
 terers also can read poetry well, or 
 any declamatory composition in which 
 the uninterrupted tone is almost as 
 remarkable as in singing. The cause 
 of stuttering being so simple as above 
 described, one rule given and explained 
 may in certain cases cure the defect, 
 however aggravated, as has been ob- 
 served in not a few instances ; and 
 this explains also why an ignorant 
 pretender may occasionally succeed in 
 curing by giving a rule of which he 
 knows not the reason, and which he 
 cannot modify to the peculiarities of 
 other cases. The same view of the 
 subject explains why the speech of a 
 stutterer has been correctly compared 
 to the escape of a liquid from a bottle 
 with a long narrow neck, coming 
 either as a hurried gush or not at all, 
 for when the glottis is once opened, 
 and the stutterer feels that he has the 
 power of utterance, he is glad to hurry 
 
 out as many words as he can before 
 the interruption again occurs." 
 
 Stanza, a subdivision of a poem. 
 
 Stenography, the art of writing in 
 short-hand. 
 
 Stereotype, a type metal plate to print 
 from at the letter press. 
 
 Sterling, derivation of, p. 202. 
 
 Stern, derivation of, p. 199. 
 
 Strophe, a stanza. 
 
 Style is the peculiar manner in which 
 a writer expresses his thoughts, and 
 is said to have always some reference 
 to an author's disposition and man- 
 ner of thinking. 
 
 Subject, the noun to which the attri- 
 bute expressed by the verb is said to 
 belong. 
 
 Subjunctive mood, p. 130 ; remarks 
 on, p. 113. 
 
 Substantive, p. 40. 
 
 Suffix, a letter or syllable added to the 
 end of a word. 
 
 Superlative, the highest degree of 
 quality, p. 69. 
 
 Supine, a verbal Latin noun. 
 
 Syllable, so much of a word as is 
 uttered by one impulse of the voice. 
 
 Syllogism, a sentence or argument 
 made up of three propositions so dis- 
 posed as that the last is necessarily 
 inferred from those which go before. 
 The use of the syllogism has been 
 thus whimsically exemplified — 
 
 Nothing hath no property, 
 
 But it is the property of nothing to 
 
 have no property, 
 Therefore nothing hath a property. 
 
 Synalepha, the contraction of two vow- 
 els into one in a Latin verse 
 
 Synaresis, the shortening of a word by 
 the omission of a letter, as o'er for 
 over. 
 
 Synchysis, a confusion of words in a 
 sentence. 
 
 Syncope, a figure in grammar, whereby 
 one or more letters are taken out of 
 a word. 
 
 Synecdoche, a trope, whereby a part 
 is put for the whole, or the whole is 
 put for a part. 
 
 Synonymes, words of the same signifi- 
 cation. Synonymous words are those 
 which, strictly speaking, have pre- 
 cisely the same meaning; there are 
 very few such terms in any language. 
 Words are called synonymous when 
 they agree in expressing one jirineipal 
 idea; but for the most part, if not 
 always, they express it with some di- 
 versity of circumstances ; they are 
 varied by some accessory idea which 
 every word introduces, and which 
 
INDEX. 
 
 237 
 
 forms the distinction between them ; 
 they are like different shades of the 
 same colour, and an accurate writer 
 can employ them to great advantage. 
 Ex. Species and sort have no 
 other difference than that of a Latin 
 and English idiom. 
 
 Ex. A right line and a straight line 
 
 are in geometry synonymous terms. 
 
 Synopsis, an outline or general view. 
 
 Syntax, that part of grammar which 
 
 teaches the construction of words in 
 
 a sentence. 
 
 Syntax of articles, p. 31 ; nouns, p. 
 55; adjectives, p. 72; pronouns, p. 
 86; verbs, p. 135; adverbs, p 148; 
 prepositions, p. 16*2; conjunctions, p. 
 186. 
 Synthesis, a joining together. 
 
 T is a mute consonant, it has sometimes 
 the sound of sh, as petition. 
 
 Tache, a catch, a loop, a button. Dr. 
 Campbell calls the conjunctions 
 " taches " by which the more signifi- 
 cant words of a sentence are held 
 together. 
 
 '• The greater part of grammarians" 
 Mr. Tooke observes, " content them- 
 selves by repeating that conjunctions 
 are not themselves any parts of lan- 
 guage, but only such accessaries as salt 
 is to meat, or water to bread; or that 
 they are the mere edging or sauce of 
 language, or that they are like the 
 handles to cups, or plumes to helmets, 
 or binding to books, or harness for 
 horses, or that they are pegs, and 
 nails, and nerves, and joints, and liga- 
 ments, and glue, and pitch, and lime, 
 and mortar, and so forth. In which 
 kind of pretty similies philosophers 
 and grammarians seem to have vied 
 with one another, and have often en- 
 deavoured to amuse their readers and 
 cover their own ignorance by very 
 learnedly disputing the propriety of 
 the simile, instead of explaining the 
 nature of the conjunction." 
 
 Tachygraphy, the art of quick writing. 
 
 Tautology is the needless repetition of 
 the same word, or of the same idea in 
 different words, as " This change of 
 pronunciation is very common and 
 frequent in our language." 
 
 "It is not the repeating of the 
 same sound that offends so much as 
 the repetition of the same idea. If 
 the same word displeases when used a 
 second time, it is not because it hath 
 already struck the ear, but because it 
 
 hath before affected the mind, which 
 grows weary and is disgusted, without 
 the graces of novelty. Hence came 
 the establishment of certain words 
 we call pronouns, the repetition of 
 which custom hath made familiar, 
 having given them no other office 
 than simply to recal the matter in 
 question, without any redundancy of 
 words. For the same reason what 
 we call articles and prepositions are 
 equally repeated without disgust, 
 nothing being expected from them 
 but a bare nomination or indication ; 
 for having nothing to determine of 
 themselves, they always appear new 
 when the subject they indicate is new. 
 This is an undeniable proof that the 
 beauty of words is more owing to 
 their variety of meanings than to 
 their different articulations, and that 
 it is a multiplicity of ideas that pro- 
 duces in effect a multiplicity of terms." 
 
 Tautophony, a successive repetition of 
 the same sound as, mama, murmur. 
 
 Technical, belonging to arts not in 
 common or popular use. 
 
 Tense, a variation of the verb to sig- 
 nify time, pp. 115, 131. 
 
 Term, the word by which a thing is 
 expressed. 
 
 Termination, end of words as varied 
 by their signification. 
 
 Terminology, a definition of the terms 
 used in any of the sciences. 
 
 Terse, smooth, cleanly written, neat. 
 
 Teutonic, belonging to the Teutones 
 or ancient Germans. 
 
 Text, that on which a comment is writ- 
 ten ; a sentence of scripture. 
 
 Than, conj. p. ] 70. 
 
 That, p. 181. 
 
 " The word that, by being some- 
 times a demonstrative pronoun, some- 
 times a relative, and sometimes a 
 conjunction, may produce a quadruple 
 repetition of the same word, which, 
 though not elegant, is strictly gram- 
 matical ; a repetition which is, per- 
 haps, peculiar to the English tongue." 
 " When this word is used as a pro- 
 noun demonstrative it has always an 
 accent on it, and is heard distinctly 
 rhyming with hat.'" — Walker. 
 
 The, the definite article used before a 
 general term to restrict its significa- 
 tion, p. 24. 
 
 There is something particularly ab- 
 surd in Mr. Tooke's illustration 
 of the etymology of this word — 
 
 " The (our article as it is called) is 
 the imperative of the verb thean, 
 which may very well supply the place 
 of the correspondent article se, which 
 
238 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 is the imperative of seon (videre), 
 for it answers the same purpose in 
 discourse, to say see man or take man. 
 For example — 
 
 The man that hath not music in himself 
 Is fit for treasons, &c. 
 
 That man is fit for treasons. 
 Take man (see man). Taken man 
 hath not music, &c. 
 
 Said man or taken man is fit for 
 treason. 
 
 Theme, a subject on which one speaks 
 or writes ; the original word whence 
 others are derived. 
 
 A theme is only the miniature of a 
 declamation, essay, .oration, or ser- 
 mon. 
 
 Theoretical, speculative, depending 
 on theory or speculation. 
 
 Theory, speculation, not practice ; 
 scheme, plan, or system ; yet subsist- 
 ing only in the mind. 
 
 Therefore, conj. p. 176. 
 
 Thesis, a position, something laid down 
 affirmatively or negatively. 
 
 Though, conj. p. 177. 
 
 To, prep. p. 155. 
 
 Tooke, Mr. on the necessity of the ar- 
 ticle, p. 15 ; on the composition of 
 ideas, p. 16. 
 
 The following event in the early 
 life of Mr. Tooke is characteristic, 
 and evinces the same spirit which 
 prevails in his work on language. 
 
 Home Tooke, when at Eton, was 
 one day asked by the master why a 
 certain verb governed a particular 
 case ? He answered, " I don't know. " 
 " That is impossible," said the master, 
 " I know you are not ignorant, but 
 obstinate." Home, however, per- 
 sisted, and the master flogged. After 
 the punishment, the master quoted 
 the rule of grammar which bore on 
 the subject, and Home instantly 
 replied, " I know that very well, but 
 you did not ask me for the rule, you 
 demanded the reason." 
 
 Tone is the inflexion of voice in utter- 
 ing words or sentences. The mean- 
 ing of the speaker is often known by 
 the tone in which a sentence is ex- 
 
 " A word that's but unkindly spoken " 
 
 may wound the feelings of a person, 
 while the same word spoken with a 
 different modulation might have 
 conciliated his enmity or secured his 
 friendship. 
 
 " To some nations it has appeared 
 easier to express different ideas by 
 varying the tone with which they 
 
 pronounce the same word, than to 
 contrive words for all their ideas. 
 This is the practice of the Chinese in 
 particular ; the number of words in 
 their language is said not to be great, 
 but in speaking they vary each of 
 their words no less than five different 
 times, by which they make the same 
 word signify five different things. 
 This must give a great appearance of 
 music or singing to their speech. For 
 those inflexions of voice, which in the 
 infancy of language were no more 
 than harsh and dissonant cries, must, 
 as language gradually polishes, pass 
 iuto more smooth and musical sounds, 
 and hence is formed what we call the 
 Prosody of a language." — Blair. 
 
 Tragedy, a dramatic representation of 
 a serious action. 
 
 Tralation, the using of a word meta- 
 phorically, in a less proper but more 
 significant sense. 
 
 Transitive. 
 
 In grammar a verb is called tran- 
 sitive when the action implies an 
 object acted upon by the agent, or 
 when the action necessarily requires 
 one or more objects for its develop- 
 ment, as " Richard gave the book to 
 Charles." " Charles opened the 
 book." 
 
 Transposition. When the order of 
 the words or clauses of a sentence 
 differs from the usual collocation, the 
 words or clauses are said to be trans- 
 posed, as, 
 
 " This to me, 
 In dreadful secrecy, impart they did." 
 
 Travesty, to turn into burlesque. 
 
 Tribrach, a poetical foot consisting of 
 three short syllables. 
 
 Triphthong, a coalition of three vowels 
 to form one sound, as, eau in beauty, 
 iew in view. 
 
 Triptote, a noun used but in three 
 cases. 
 
 Trisyllable, a word of three syllables, 
 as, con-tent-ment. 
 
 Trite, worn out, stale, common, not 
 new. 
 
 Trochee, a poetical foot, consisting of a 
 long and a short syllable. In Eng- 
 lish the first syllable of a Trochee is 
 accented, the last unaccented. Tro- 
 chaic verse is of several kinds the 
 longest Trochaic verse that our lan- 
 guage admits consists of six trochees. 
 
 " On a mountain stretch'd beneath a 
 hoary willow." 
 
 Trope, a figure in speech ; the changing 
 of a word from its original signifi- 
 cation. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 239 
 
 " Writers on rhetoric," says Dr. 
 Ash, " have generally made a dis- 
 tinction between tropes and figures. 
 Quintilian, indeed, acknowledges that 
 some authors have confounded them ; 
 yea, that some have gone so far as to 
 call all tropes figures, but he is still for 
 keeping up the distinction, and says 
 ' They resemble one another so 
 nearly that the difference is not in- 
 stantly perceivable, there is therefore 
 the more reason why we should care- 
 fully distinguish them.' 
 
 " ' A trope is a transition from the 
 natural and original signification of a 
 word to that which is foreign and un- 
 common.' 
 
 " * A figure is a certain form of style 
 different from the common and ob- 
 vious way of speaking.' 
 
 " We will not say this is a distinc- 
 tion without a difference, but we may 
 venture to say the definition of the 
 figure is equally applicable to the 
 trope. Quintilian shall be judge 
 himself. ' There is a particular me- 
 thod of forming tropes, and they alter 
 the plain course of style, both which 
 are the properties of figures.' The 
 truth is, a trope is a species of figure, 
 for though every figure be not a trope, 
 yet every trope is a figure." 
 
 Truism, an identical proposition. 
 
 Truth, the contrary to falsehood, 
 p. 200. 
 
 Tyro, one yet not master of his art ; 
 one in his rudiments. 
 
 U. 
 
 U. This vowel is said to have three 
 sounds, as heard in — tube, tub, full. 
 
 Un, a Saxon negative particle, placed 
 commonly before adjectives and ad- 
 verbs ; it is often conveniently em- 
 ployed with another negative to render 
 an assertion less positive, as " He is 
 not unmindful of the favours you con- 
 fer." 
 
 Unaccented, not accented. 
 
 Undeclined, words not varied by ter- 
 mination. 
 
 Ungrammatical, not according to the 
 rules of grammar. 
 
 Uniliteral, consisting of one letter 
 only, as the pronoun I, and the inter- 
 jection O. 
 
 Unintelligible, not to be understood. 
 Ex. " Every name that is put for 
 a quality degenerates into a quality 
 which we may call a respective qua- 
 lity." 
 
 Ex. " Thus much," says Dr. 
 Campbell in his Rhetoric, " shall suf- 
 
 fice for explaining the spirit, the 
 intent, and the distinguishing qualities 
 of each sort of address, all which agree 
 in this, an accommodation to affairs of 
 a serious and important nature." 
 
 It would not be a difficult task to 
 compile from works on languages 
 alone a volume of remarks and in- 
 structions as totally unintelligible to 
 ordinary minds as the instances here 
 given. 
 
 Univocal, having one meaning. 
 
 Unless, conj. p. 169. 
 
 Usage. Those words which are most 
 generally received among the learned 
 and polite, as well as the bulk of 
 speakers, are the most legitimate ; we 
 may therefore conclude that a majo- 
 rity of the three classes (the learned, 
 the polite, and the common speakers), 
 ought always to concur in order to 
 constitute what is called good usage. 
 
 Use is that which is said to give law to 
 language. 
 
 " The source of that preference 
 which distinguisheth good use from 
 bad in language is a natural propen- 
 sion of the human mind to believe 
 that those are the best judges of the 
 proper signs, and of the proper appli- 
 cation of them, who understand best 
 the things which they represent." 
 
 The sentence here quoted may 
 furnish a point for discussion whether 
 the author has not opposed " reputa- 
 ble use " by employing the term pro- 
 pension instead of propensity. 
 
 " In what concerns words them- 
 selves, their construction and applica- 
 cation, it is of importance to have 
 some certain, steady, and well known 
 standard to recur to, a standard which 
 every one hath access to canvass and 
 examine. And this can be no other 
 than authors of reputation. Accord- 
 ingly, we find that these are by uni- 
 versal consent in actual possession of 
 this authority as to this tribunal when 
 any doubt arises the appeal is always 
 made." 
 
 Utterance. The French have charac- 
 teristically distinguished this property 
 of pronunciation by saying that the 
 English for the most part bite their 
 words, that is, they do not give them 
 a full utterance. 
 
 A word is properly pronounced 
 when the accent is placed on the right 
 syllable, and the letters are distinctly 
 uttered with a proper tone. 
 
 V. 
 
 V is a consonant classed among the 
 
240 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 serai-vowels. It has one uniform 
 sound, that of flat/, as vat, have, move. 
 
 Vade-mecum, a book that is carried by 
 a person as a manuel for memoran- 
 dums, or for constant reference. 
 
 Vague, unsettled, indefinite. 
 
 Verb, that part of speech which affirms, 
 p. 101. 
 
 The verb implies being or doing in 
 that person or thing to which it is 
 joined by the affirmation ; it also ex- 
 presses the attribute that is said to 
 belong to the nominative. 
 
 The irregular verbs offer an easy 
 means of improvement in the English 
 language, since many of this class are 
 not so far corrupted by usage as to 
 render unattainable the re-establish- 
 ment of the regular form of the past 
 tense and past participle ; thus the 
 words lighted, choosed, catched, and 
 many others, require only the sanction 
 of good writers to obtain for them the 
 preference. 
 
 Verbal Nouns, nouns derived from 
 verbs. 
 
 Verbatim, word for word. 
 
 Verbiage, empty writing or discourse. 
 
 Verbose, exuberant in words. 
 
 Vernacular, peculiar to the country 
 one lives in or was born in, native. 
 
 Vernacularly, agreeable to the native 
 idiom or manner. 
 
 Verse, metrical language. 
 
 Versefier, a maker of verses. A 
 versefier and a poet are two different 
 things ; the first is contemptible, the 
 latter honorable, in the opinion of all 
 men of sense and learning in all ages 
 and nations. 
 
 Versification, the art of making verses. 
 
 Videlicet, written viz., but not to be 
 read according to the abbreviation. 
 It is usually rendered into English by 
 its equivalent term " namely," or 
 " that is." 
 
 Vocabulary, a collection of words. 
 
 Vocal, belonging to the voice. 
 
 Vocative case, a noun representing a 
 person spoken to or addressed, p. 54. 
 
 Vowels, those letters of the alphabet 
 that have or represent a perfect sound, 
 as a e i o u, and in some cases w and y. 
 In the words, abstemiously and 
 facetiously, the vowels appear in their 
 alphabetical order, and are propounded 
 in their usual manner. 
 
 Vulgarism, an expression or form of 
 speech cm-rent among the illiterate. 
 
 " The genuine source of the vul- 
 garism seems to be the affectation of 
 an easy, familiar, and careless manner; 
 it is conquered by discipline and the 
 study of good authors. ' An itch for 
 
 novelty? continues this writer, is sure 
 to corrupt the style of young persons." 
 The vulgarism here employed by 
 Dr. Campbell is rendered more glaring 
 and reprehensible because he is at the 
 time admonishing others to avoid the 
 fault which he himself commits. 
 
 W. 
 
 W i3 reckoned a consonant at the ber 
 ginning of words or syllables, but in 
 every other case it is considered a 
 vowel. Mr. Knowles agrees with 
 Webster and Sheridan, that W always 
 marks a vowel sound. Its name, like 
 those of other consonants, has little or 
 no connection with its sound. 
 
 " This distinction between the 
 nature and name of a consonant," says 
 Mr. Murray, " is of great importance, 
 and should be well explained to the 
 pupil. They are frequently con- 
 founded by writers on grammar. 
 Observations and reasonings on the 
 name are often applied to explain 
 the nature of a consonant, and by 
 this means the student is led into 
 error and perplexity respecting these 
 elements of language. It should be 
 impressed on his mind that the name 
 of every consonant is a complex sound, 
 but that the consonant itself is always 
 a simple sound." 
 
 Wage, the singular of wages. Pay 
 given for service. Gage, pledge. 
 
 Wages of sin, p. 137. 
 
 Was, the past tense of the irr. verb to 
 be, p. 112. 
 
 What, a relative pronoun. 
 
 Which, a pronoun relative, p. 84. 
 
 Who, a pronoun relative applied to per- 
 sons, p. 84. 
 
 With, prep. p. 153. 
 
 Without, prep. p. 153. 
 
 Words, the arbitrary signs of ideas, 
 p. 203. 
 
 The number of words in the Eng- 
 lish, or indeed in any modern lan- 
 guage, cannot be accurately ascer- 
 tained. 
 
 It is stated that the French Revo- 
 lution added nearly five thousand 
 words to the French language. 
 
 X. 
 
 X, though found in Saxon words, begins 
 no word in the English language. 
 This letter is always sounded like z 
 in words from the Greek begin- 
 ning with x, as Xenophon, xerotes, 
 xyster, pronounced zenophon, serotes, 
 zister. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 241 
 
 Y. 
 
 Y is a consonant when it begins a word 
 or syllable; in other situations it is 
 considered a vowel. This letter in 
 old English is sometimes prefixed as 
 an increasing syllable to the past tense 
 and past participle of a verb, as yclad, 
 clothed or clad. 
 
 Ye, the formal nominative plural oUhou. 
 
 You, personal pronoun, p. 80. 
 
 Yourself, pronoun, p. 82. 
 
 Z. 
 
 Z has uniformly the sound of hard s. It 
 
 is said that no word of English original 
 begins with this letter. 
 
 Zeugma, in grammar, when a word 
 agreeing with divers nouns, or an ad- 
 jective with divers substantives, is 
 referred to one expressly and to the 
 others by supplement, as " Lust over- 
 came shame ; boldness, fear ; and 
 madness, reason." 
 
 Zoilus, a backbiting poet who wrote 
 against Homer's works ; hence all en- 
 vious persons, or such as maliciously 
 carp at other men's works, are called 
 Zoilists. 
 
 Printed by J. Urrwin, St. Peter'* Alle), Cornliiil, London. 
 
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