Chapter II: Articles

In this chapter, and those which follow it, the Rules of Syntax are again exhibited, in the order of the parts of speech, with Examples, Exceptions, Observations, Notes, and False Syntax. The Notes are all of them, in form and character, subordinate rules of syntax, designed for the detection of errors. The correction of the False Syntax placed under the rules and notes, will form an _oral exercise_, similar to that of parsing, and perhaps more useful.[334]

RULE I.--ARTICLES.

Articles relate to the nouns which they limit:[335] as, "At _a_ little distance from _the_ ruins of _the_ abbey, stands _an_ aged elm."

"See _the_ blind beggar dance, _the_ cripple sing,
_The_ sot _a_ hero, lunatic _a_ king."--_Pope's Essay_, Ep. ii, l. 268.

EXCEPTION FIRST.

The definite article used _intensively_, may relate to an _adjective_ or _adverb_ of the comparative or the superlative degree; as, "A land which was _the mightiest_."--_Byron_. "_The farther_ they proceeded, _the greater_ appeared their alacrity."--_Dr. Johnson_. "He chooses it _the rather_"--_Cowper_. See Obs. 10th, below.

EXCEPTION SECOND.

The indefinite article is sometimes used to give a collective meaning to what seems a _plural adjective of number_; as, "Thou hast _a few_ names even in Sardis."--_Rev._, iii, 4. "There are _a thousand_ things which crowd into my memory."--_Spectator_, No. 468. "The centurion commanded _a hundred_ men."--_Webster_. See Etymology, Articles, Obs. 26.

OBSERVATIONS ON RULE I.

OBS. 1.--The article is a kind of _index_, usually pointing to some noun; and it is a general, if not a universal, principle, that no one noun admits of more than one article. Hence, two or more articles in a sentence are signs of two or more nouns; and hence too, by a very convenient ellipsis, an article before an adjective is often made to relate to a noun understood; as, "_The_ grave [_people_] rebuke _the_ gay [_people_], and _the_ gay [_people_] mock _the_ grave" [_people_].--_Maturin's Sermons_, p. 103. "_The_ wise [_persons_] shall inherit glory."--_Prov._, iii, 35. "_The_ vile [_person_] will talk villainy."--_Coleridge's Lay Sermons_, p. 105: see _Isaiah_, xxxii, 6. "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise _the_ simple" [_ones_].--_Psal._, xix, 7. "_The_ Old [_Testament_] and the New Testament are alike authentic."--"_The_ animal [_world_] and the vegetable world are adapted to each other."--"_An_ epic [_poem_] and a dramatic poem are the same in substance."--_Ld. Kames, El. of Crit._, ii, 274. "The neuter verb is conjugated like _the_ active" [_verb_].--_Murray's Gram._, p. 99. "Each section is supposed to contain _a_ heavy [_portion_] and a light portion; _the_ heavy [_portion_] being the accented syllable, and _the_ light [_portion_] _the_ unaccented" [_syllable_].--_Rush, on the Voice_, p. 364.

OBS. 2.--Our language does not, like the French, _require a repetition_ of the article before every noun in a series; because the same article may serve to limit the signification of several nouns, provided they all stand in the same construction. Hence the following sentence is bad English: "The understanding and language have a strict connexion."--_Murray's Gram._, i, p. 356. The sense of the former noun only was meant to be limited. The expression therefore should have been, "_Language and the understanding_ have a strict connexion," or, "The understanding _has_ a strict connexion _with language_." In some instances, one article _seems_ to limit the sense of several nouns that are not all in the same construction, thus: "As it proves a greater or smaller obstruction to _the speaker's_ or _writer's aim_."--_Campbell's Rhet._, p. 200. That is--"to _the_ aim of _the_ speaker or _the_ writer." It is, in fact, the possessive, that limits the other nouns; for, "_a man's foes_" means, "_the_ foes of _a_ man;" and, "_man's wisdom_," means, "_the_ wisdom of man." The governing noun cannot have an article immediately before it. Yet the omission of articles, when it occurs, is not properly _by ellipsis_, as some grammarians declare it to be; for there never can be a proper ellipsis of an article, when there is not also an ellipsis of its noun. Ellipsis supposes the omitted words to be necessary to the construction, when they are not so to the sense; and this, it would seem, cannot be the case with a mere article. If such a sign be in any wise necessary, it ought to be used; and if not needed in any respect, it cannot be said to be _understood_. The definite article being generally required before adjectives that are used by ellipsis as nouns, we in this case repeat it before every term in a series; as, "They are singled out from among their fellows, as _the_ kind, _the_ amiable, _the_ sweet-tempered, _the_ upright."--_Dr. Chalmers_.

"_The_ great, _the_ gay, shall they partake
The heav'n that thou alone canst make?"--_Cowper_.

OBS. 3.--The article precedes its noun, and is never, by itself, placed after it; as, "Passion is _the_ drunkenness of _the_ mind."--_Southey_. When an _adjective_ likewise precedes the noun, the article is usually placed before the adjective, that its power of limitation may extend over that also; as, "_A concise_ writer compresses his thoughts into _the fewest_ possible words."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 176.

"_The private_ path, _the secret_ acts of men,
If noble, far _the noblest_ of their lives."--_Young_.

OBS. 4.--The relative position of the article and the adjective is seldom a matter of indifference. Thus, it is good English to say, "_both the men_," or, "_the two men_;" but we can by no means say, "_the both men_" or, "_two the men_." Again, the two phrases, "_half a dollar_," and "_a half dollar_," though both good, are by no means equivalent. Of the pronominal adjectives, some exclude the article; some precede it; and some follow it, like other adjectives. The word _same_ is seldom, if ever used without the definite article or some stronger definitive before it; as, "On _the same_ day,"--"in _that same_ hour,"--"_These same_ gentlemen." After the adjective _both_, the definite article _may_ be used, but it is generally _unnecessary_, and this is a sufficient reason for omitting it: as, "The following sentences will fully exemplify, to the young grammarian, _both the parts_ of this rule."--_Murray's Gram._, i, p. 192. Say, "_both parts_." The adjective _few_ may be used either with or without an article, but not with the same import: as, "_The few_ who were present, were in the secret;" i. e., All then present knew the thing. "_Few_ that were present, were in the secret;" i.e., Not many then present knew the thing. "When I say, 'There were _few_ men with him,' I speak diminutively, and mean to represent them as inconsiderable; whereas, when I say, 'There were _a few_ men with him,' I evidently intend to make the most of them."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 171. See Etymology, Articles, Obs. 28.

OBS. 5.--The pronominal adjectives which exclude the article, are _any, each, either, every, much, neither, no_, or _none, some, this, that, these, those_. The pronominal adjectives which precede the article, are _all, both, many, such_, and _what_; as, "_All the_ world,"--"_Both the_ judges,"--"_Many a_[336] mile,"--"_Such a_ chasm,"--"_What a_ freak." In like manner, any adjective of quality, when its meaning is limited by the adverb _too, so, as_, or _how_, is put before the article; as, "_Too great a_ study of strength, is found to betray writers into a harsh manner."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 179. "Like _many an_ other poor wretch, I now suffer _all the_ ill consequences of _so foolish an_ indulgence." "_Such a_ gift is _too small a_ reward for _so great a_ labour."--_Brightland's Gram._, p. 95. "Here flows _as clear a_ stream as any in Greece. _How beautiful a_ prospect is here!"--_Bicknell's Gram._, Part ii, p. 52. The pronominal adjectives which follow the article, are _few, former, first, latter, last, little, one, other_, and _same_; as, "An author might lean either to _the one [style]_ or to _the other_, and yet be beautiful."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 179. _Many_, like _few_, sometimes follows the article; as, "_The many_ favours which we have received."--"In conversation, for _many a man_, they say, _a many men_."--_Johnson's Dict._ In this order of the words, _a_ seems awkward and needless; as,

"Told of _a many_ thousand warlike French."--_Shak._

OBS. 6.--When the adjective is preceded by any other adverb than _too, so, as_, or _how_, the article is almost always placed before the adverb: as, "One of _the_ most complete models;"--"_An_ equally important question;"--"_An_ exceedingly rough passage;"--"_A_ very important difference." The adverb _quite_, however, may be placed either before or after the article, though perhaps with a difference of construction: as, "This is _quite a_ different thing;"--or, "This is _a quite different_ thing." "Finding it _quite an_ other thing;"--or, "Finding it _a quite other_ thing."--_Locke, on Ed._, p. 153. Sometimes _two adverbs_ intervene between the article and the adjective; as, "We had a _rather more_ explicit account of the Novii."--_Philol. Museum_, i, 458. But when an other adverb follows _too, so, as_, or _how_, the three words should be placed either before the article or after the noun; as, "Who stands there in _so purely poetical_ a light."--_Ib._, i, 449. Better, perhaps: "_In a light so purely poetical_."

OBS. 7.--The definitives _this, that_, and some others, though they supersede the article _an_ or _a_, may be followed by the adjective _one_; for we say, "_this one thing_," but not, "_this a thing_." Yet, in the following sentence, _this_ and _a_ being separated by other words, appear to relate to the same noun: "For who is able to judge _this_ thy so great _a_ people?"--_1 Kings_, iii, 9. But we may suppose the noun _people_ to be understood after _this_. Again, the following example, if it is not wrong, has an ellipsis of the word _use_ after the first _a_:

"For highest cordials all their virtue lose,
By _a_ too frequent and too bold _a_ use."--_Pomfret_.

OBS. 8.--When the adjective is placed _after_ the noun, the article generally retains its place before the noun, and is not repeated before the adjective: as, "_A_ man _ignorant_ of astronomy;"--"_The_ primrose _pale_." In _Greek_, when an adjective is placed after its noun, if the article is applied to the noun, it is repeated before the adjective; as, "[Greek: Hæ polis hæ megalæ,]"--"_The_ city _the_ great;" i.e., "The great city." [337]

OBS. 9.--Articles, according to their own definition and nature, come _before_ their nouns; but the definite article and an adjective seem sometimes to be placed after the noun to which they both relate: as, "Section _the Fourth_;"--"Henry _the Eighth_." Such examples, however, may possibly be supposed elliptical; as, "Section, _the fourth division_ of the chapter;"--"Henry, _the eighth king_ of that name:" and, if they are so, the article, in _English_, can never be placed after its noun, nor can two articles ever properly relate to one noun, in any particular construction of it. Priestley observes, "Some writers affect to _transpose_ these words, and place the numeral adjective first; [as,] '_The first Henry_.' Hume's History, Vol. i, p. 497. This construction is common with this writer, but there seems to be a _want of dignity_ in it."--_Rudiments of E. Gram._, p. 150. Dr. Webster cites the word _Great_, in "_Alexander the Great_" as a _name_, or _part_ of a name; that is, he gives it as an instance of "_cognomination_." See his _American Dict._, 8vo. And if this is right, the article may be said to relate to the epithet only, as it appears to do. For, if the word is taken substantively, there is certainly no ellipsis; neither is there any transposition in putting it last, but rather, as Priestley suggests, in putting it first.

OBS. 10.--The definite article is often prefixed to _comparatives_ and _superlatives_; and its effect is, as Murray observes, (in the words of Lowth,) "to mark the degree _the more_ strongly, and to define it _the more_ precisely: as, '_The more_ I examine it, _the better_ I like it.' 'I like this _the least_ of any.'"--_Murray's Gram._, p. 33; _Lowth's_, 14. "For neither if we eat, are we _the better_; neither if we eat not, are we _the worse_."--_1 Cor._, viii, 8. "One is not _the more_ agreeable to me for loving beef, as I do; nor _the less_ agreeable for preferring mutton."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, Vol. ii, p. 365. "They are not the men in the nation, _the most_ difficult to be replaced."--_Priestley's Gram._, p. 148. In these instances, the article seems to be used _adverbially_, and to relate only to the _adjective_ or _adverb_ following it. (See observation fourth, on the Etymology of Adverbs.) Yet none of our grammarians have actually reckoned _the_ an adverb. After the _adjective_, the noun might perhaps be supplied; but when the word _the_ is added to an _adverb_, we must either call it an adverb, or make an exception to Rule 1st above: and if an exception is to be made, the brief form which I have given, cannot well be improved. For even if a noun be understood, it may not appear that the article relates to it, rather than to the degree of the quality. Thus: "_The_ deeper the well, _the_ clearer the water." This Dr. Ash supposes to mean, "The deeper _well_ the well _is_, the clearer _water_ the water _is_."--_Ash's Gram._, p. 107. But does the text specify a _particular_ "deeper well" or "clearer water?" I think not. To what then does _the_ refer, but to the proportionate degree of _deeper_ and _clearer_?

OBS. 11.--The article the is sometimes elegantly used, after an idiom common in the French language, in lieu of a possessive pronoun; as, "He looked him full in _the_ face; i. e. in _his_ face."--_Priestley's Gram._, p. 150. "Men who have not bowed _the knee_ to the image of Baal."--_Rom._, xi, 4. That is, _their knees_.

OBS. 12.--The article _an_ or _a_, because it implies unity, is applicable to nouns of the singular number only; yet a collective noun, being singular in form, is sometimes preceded by this article even when it conveys the idea of plurality and takes a plural verb: as, "There _are_ a very great _number_ [of adverbs] ending in _ly_."--_Buchanan's Syntax_, p. 63. "A _plurality_ of them _are_ sometimes felt at the same instant."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, Vol. i, p. 114. In support of this construction, it would be easy to adduce a great multitude of examples from the most reputable writers; but still, as it seems not very consistent, to take any word plurally after restricting it to the singular, we ought rather to avoid this if we can, and prefer words that literally agree in number: as, "Of adverbs there _are_ very _many_ ending in _ly_"--"_More than one_ of them _are_ sometimes felt at the same instant." The word _plurality_, like other collective nouns, is literally singular: as, "To produce the latter, a _plurality_ of objects _is_ necessary."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, Vol. i, p. 224.

OBS. 13.--Respecting the form of the indefinite article, present practice differs a little from that of our ancient writers. _An_ was formerly used before all words beginning with _h_, and before several other words which are now pronounced in such a manner as to require _a_: thus, we read in the Bible, "_An_ help,"--"_an_ house,"--"_an_ hundred,"--"_an_ one,"--"_an_ ewer,"--"_an_ usurer;" whereas we now say, "_A_ help,"--"_a_ house,"--"_a_ hundred,"--"_a_ one,"--"_a_ ewer,"--"_a_ usurer."

OBS. 14.--Before the word _humble_, with its compounds and derivatives, some use _an_, and others, _a_; according to their practice, in this instance, of sounding or suppressing the aspiration. Webster and Jameson sound the _h_, and consequently prefer _a_; as, "But _a humbling_ image is not always necessary to produce that effect."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, i, 205. "O what a blessing is _a humble_ mind!"--_Christian Experience_, p. 342. But Sheridan, Walker, Perry, Jones, and perhaps a majority of fashionable speakers, leave the _h_ silent, and would consequently say, "_An humbling_ image,"--"_an humble_ mind,"--&c.

OBS. 15.--An observance of the principles on which the article is to be repeated or not repeated in a sentence, is of very great moment in respect to accuracy of composition. These principles are briefly stated in the notes below, but it is proper that the learner should know the reasons of the distinctions which are there made. By a repetition of the article before several adjectives in the same construction, a repetition of the noun is implied; but without a repetition of the article, the adjectives, in all fairness of interpretation, are confined to one and the same noun: as, "No figures will render _a cold_ or _an empty_ composition interesting."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 134. Here the author speaks of a cold composition and an empty composition as different things. "_The_ metaphorical and _the_ literal meaning _are_ improperly mixed."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 339. Here the verb are has two nominatives, one of which is expressed, and the other understood. "But _the_ third and _the_ last of these [forms] are seldom used."--_Adam's Lat. Gram._, p. 186. Here the verb "_are used_" has two nominatives, both of which are understood; namely, "the third _form_," and "the last _form_." Again: "_The original and present_ signification _is_ always retained."--_Dr. Murray's Hist. of Lang._, Vol. ii, p. 149. Here _one signification_ is characterized as being both original and present. "_A loose and verbose manner_ never _fails_ to create disgust."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 261. That is, _one manner_, loose and verbose. "To give _a_ short and yet clear and plain answer to this proposition."--_Barclay's Works_, Vol. i, p. 533. That is, _one answer, short, clear, and plain_; for the conjunctions in the text connect nothing but the adjectives.

OBS. 16.--To avoid repetition, even of the little word _the_, we sometimes, with one article, join _inconsistent_ qualities to a _plural noun_;--that is, when the adjectives so differ as to individualize the things, we sometimes make the noun plural, in stead of repeating the article: as, "_The_ north and south _poles_;" in stead of, "_The_ north and _the_ south _pole_."--"_The_ indicative and potential _moods_;" in stead of "_The_ indicative and _the_ potential _mood_."--"_The_ Old and New _Testaments_;" in stead of, "_The_ Old and _the_ New _Testament_." But, in any such case, to repeat the article when the noun is made plural, is a huge blunder; because it implies a repetition of the plural noun. And again, not to repeat the article when the noun is singular, is also wrong; because it forces the adjectives to coalesce in describing one and the same thing. Thus, to say, "_The_ north and south _pole_" is certainly wrong, unless we mean by it, _one pole_, or _slender stick of wood_, pointing north and south; and again, to say, "_The_ north and _the_ south _poles_," is also wrong, unless we mean by it, _several poles at the north_ and _others at the south_. So the phrase, "_The_ Old and New _Testament_" is wrong, because we have not _one Testament that is both Old and New_; and again, "_The_ Old and _the_ New _Testaments_," is wrong, because we have not several _Old Testaments and several New ones_: at least we have them not in the Bible.

OBS. 17.--Sometimes a noun that _admits no article_, is preceded by adjectives that do not describe the same thing; as, "Never to jumble _metaphorical and plain language_ together."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 146. This means, "_metaphorical language_ and _plain language_;" and, for the sake of perfect clearness, it would perhaps be better to express it so. "For as _intrinsic and relative beauty_ must often be blended in the same building, it becomes a difficult task to attain _both_ in any perfection."--_Karnes, El. of Crit._, Vol. ii, p. 330. That is, "_intrinsic beauty_ and _relative beauty_" must often be blended; and this phraseology would be better. "In correspondence to that distinction of _male and female sex_."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 74. This may be expressed as well or better, in half a dozen other ways; for the article may be added, or the noun may be made plural, with or without the article, and before or after the adjectives. "They make no distinction between causes of civil and criminal jurisdiction."-- _Adams's Rhet._, Vol. i, p. 302. This means--"between causes of civil and _causes_ of criminal jurisdiction;" and, for the sake of perspicuity, it ought to have been so written,--or, still better, _thus_: "They make no distinction between civil causes and criminal."

NOTES TO RULE I.

NOTE I.--When the indefinite article is required, _a_ should always be used before the sound of a consonant, and _an_, before that of a vowel; as, "With the talents of _an_ angel, a man may be _a_ fool."--_Young_.

NOTE II.--The article _an_ or _a_ must never be so used as to relate, or even seem to relate, to a plural noun. The following sentence is therefore faulty: "I invited her to spend a day in viewing _a seat and gardens._"--_Rambler_, No. 34. Say, "a seat and _its_ gardens."

NOTE III.--When nouns are joined in construction, with different adjuncts, different dependence, or positive contrast, the article, if it belong at all to the latter, must be repeated. The following sentence is therefore inaccurate: "She never considered the quality, but merit of her visitors."--_Wm. Penn_. Say, "_the_ merit." So the article in brackets is absolutely necessary to the sense and propriety of the following phrase, though not inserted by the learned author: "The Latin introduced between the Conquest and [_the_] reign of Henry the Eighth."--_Fowler's E. Gram._, 8vo, 1850, p. 42.

NOTE IV.--When adjectives are connected, and the qualities belong to things individually different, though of the same name, the article should be repeated: as, "_A_ black and _a_ white horse;"--i. e., _two horses_, one black and the other white. "_The_ north and _the_ south line;"--i. e., _two lines_, running east and west.

NOTE V.--When adjectives are connected, and the qualities all belong to the same thing or things, the article should not be repeated: as, "_A_ black and white horse;"--i. e., _one_ horse, _piebald_. "_The_ north and south line;"--i. e., _one line_, running north and south, like a meridian. NOTE VI.--When two or more individual things of the same name are distinguished by adjectives that cannot unite to describe the same thing, the article must be added to each if the noun be singular, and to the first only if the noun follow them in the plural: as, "_The_ nominative and _the_ objective _case_;" or, "_The_ nominative and objective _cases_."--"_The_ third, _the_ fifth, _the_ seventh, and _the_ eighth _chapter_;" or, "_The_ third, fifth, seventh, and eighth _chapters_." [338]

NOTE VII.--When two phrases of the same sentence have any special correspondence with each other, the article, if used in the former, is in general required also in the latter: as, "For ye know neither _the_ day nor _the_ hour."--_Matt._, xxv, 13. "Neither _the_ cold nor _the_ fervid are formed for friendship."--_Murray's Key_, p. 209. "The vail of the temple was rent in twain, from _the_ top to _the_ bottom."--_Matt._, xxvii, 51.

NOTE VIII.--When a special correspondence is formed between individual epithets, the noun which follows must not be made plural; because the article, in such a case, cannot be repeated as the construction of correspondents requires. Thus, it is improper to say, "Both _the_ first and second _editions_" or, "Both _the_ first and _the_ second _editions_" for the accurate phrase, "Both _the_ first and _the_ second _edition_;" and still worse to say, "Neither _the_ Old nor New _Testaments_" or, "Neither _the_ Old nor _the_ New _Testaments_" for the just expression, "Neither _the_ Old nor _the_ New _Testament_." Yet we may say, "Neither _the old_ nor _the new statutes_" or, "Both _the early_ and _the late editions_;" for here the epithets severally apply to more than one thing.

NOTE IX.--In a series of three or more terms, if the article is used with any, it should in general be added either to every one, or else to the first only. The following phrase is therefore inaccurate: "Through their attention to the helm, the sails, or rigging."--_Brown's Estimate_, Vol. i, p. 11. Say, "_the_ rigging."

NOTE X.--As the article _an_ or _a_ denotes "_one thing of a kind_," it should not be used as we use _the_, to denote emphatically a _whole kind_; and again, when the species is said to be _of the genus_, no article should be used to limit the latter. Thus some will say, "_A jay_ is a sort of _a bird_;" whereas they ought to say, "_The jay_ is a sort _of bird_." Because it is absurd to suggest, that _one jay_ is _a sort_ of _one bird_. Yet we may say, "_The jay_ is _a bird_," or, "_A jay_ is _a bird_;" because, as every species is one under the genus, so every individual is one under both.

NOTE XI.--The article should not be used before the names of virtues, vices, passions, arts, or sciences, in their general sense; before terms that are strictly limited by other definitives; or before any noun whose signification is sufficiently definite without it: as, "_Falsehood_ is odious."--"_Iron_ is useful."--"_Beauty_ is vain."--"_Admiration_ is useless, when it is not supported by _domestic worth_"--_Webster's Essays_, p. 30.

NOTE XII.--When titles are mentioned merely as titles; or names of things, merely as names or words; the article should not be used before them: as, "He is styled _Marquis_;" not, "_the_ Marquis," or, "_a_ Marquis,"--"Ought a teacher to call his pupil _Master_?"--"_Thames_ is derived from the Latin name _Tam~esis_."

NOTE XIII.--When a comparison or an alternative is made with two nouns, if both of them refer to the same subject, the article should not be inserted before the latter; if to different subjects, it should not be omitted: thus, if we say, "He is a better teacher than poet," we compare different qualifications of the same man; but if we say, "He is a better teacher than _a_ poet," we speak of different men, in regard to the same qualification.

NOTE XIV.--The definite article, or some other definitive, (as _this, that, these, those_,) is generally required before the antecedent to the pronoun _who_ or _which_ in a restrictive clause; as, "All _the men who_ were present, agreed to it."--_W. Allen's Gram._, p. 145. "The _thoughts which_ passion suggests are always plain and obvious ones."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 468. "The _things which_ are impossible with men, are possible with God."--_Luke_, xviii, 27. See Etymology, Chap. V, Obs. 26th, &c., on Classes of Pronouns.

NOTE XV.--The article is generally required in that construction which converts a participle into a verbal or participial noun; as, "_The completing of_ this, by _the working-out of_ sin inherent, must be by the power and spirit of Christ in the heart."--_Wm. Penn_. "They shall be _an abhorring_ unto all flesh."--_Isaiah_, lxvi, 24. "For _the dedicating of_ the altar."--_Numb._, vii, 11.

NOTE XVI.--The article should not be added to any participle that is not taken in all other respects as a noun; as, "For _the_ dedicating the altar."--"He made a mistake in _the_ giving out the text." Expunge _the_, and let _dedicating_ and _giving_ here stand as participles only; for in the construction of nouns, they must have not only a definitive before them, but the preposition _of_ after them.

NOTE XVII.--The false syntax of articles properly includes every passage in which there is any faulty insertion, omission, choice, or position, of this part of speech. For example: "When the verb is _a_ passive, the agent and object change places."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 73. Better: "When the verb is _passive_, the agent and _the_ object change places." "Comparisons used by the sacred poets, are generally short."--_Russell's Gram._, p. 87. Better: "_The_ comparisons," &c. "Pronoun means _for noun_, and _is used_ to _avoid the_ too frequent repetition of _the_ noun."--_Infant School Gram._, p. 89. Say rather: "_The_ pronoun _is put_ for _a_ noun, and is used to _prevent_ too frequent a repetition of the noun." Or: "_The word_ PRONOUN means _for noun_; and _a pronoun_ is used to prevent too frequent a repetition of _some_ noun."

IMPROPRIETIES FOR CORRECTION. FALSE SYNTAX UNDER RULE I.

[Fist][The examples of False Syntax placed under the rules and notes, are to be corrected _orally_ by the pupil, according to the formules given, or according to others framed in like manner, and adapted to the several notes.]

EXAMPLES UNDER NOTE I.--AN OR A.

"I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel."--_Hosea_, vi, 10.

[FORMULE.--Not proper, because the article _an_ is used before _horrible_, which begins with the sound of the consonant _h_. But, according to Note 1st, under Rule 1st, "When the indefinite article is required, _a_ should always be used before the sound of a consonant, and _an_, before that of a vowel." Therefore, _an_ should be _a_; thus, "I have seen _a_ horrible thing in the house of Israel."]

"There is an harshness in the following sentences."--_Priestley's Gram._, p. 188. "Indeed, such an one is not to be looked for."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 27. "If each of you will be disposed to approve himself an useful citizen."--_Ib._, p. 263. "Land with them had acquired almost an European value."--_Webster's Essays_, p. 325. "He endeavoured to find out an wholesome remedy."--_Neef's Method of Ed._, p. 3. "At no time have we attended an Yearly Meeting more to our own satisfaction."--_The Friend_, v, 224. "Addison was not an humourist in character."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, i, 303. "Ah me! what an one was he?"--_Lily's Gram._, p. 49. "He was such an one as I never saw."--_Ib._ "No man can be a good preacher, who is not an useful one."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 283. "An usage which is too frequent with Mr. Addison."--_Ib._, p. 200. "Nobody joins the voice of a sheep with the shape of an horse."--_Locke's Essay_, p. 298. "An universality seems to be aimed at by the omission of the article."--_Priestley's Gram._, p. 154. "Architecture is an useful as well as a fine art."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, ii, 335. "Because the same individual conjunctions do not preserve an uniform signification."--_Nutting's Gram._, p. 78. "Such a work required the patience and assiduity of an hermit."--_Johnson's Life of Morin_. "Resentment is an union of sorrow with malignity."--_Rambler_, No. 185. "His bravery, we know, was an high courage of blasphemy."--_Pope_. "Hyssop; a herb of bitter taste."--_Pike's Heb. Lex._, p. 3.

"On each enervate string they taught the note
To pant, or tremble through an Eunuch's throat."--_Pope_.

UNDER NOTE II.--AN OR A WITH PLURALS.

"At a sessions of the court in March, it was moved," &c.--_Hutchinson's Hist. of Mass._, i, 61. "I shall relate my conversations, of which I kept a memoranda."--_Duchess D'Abrantes_, p. 26. "I took another dictionary, and with a scissors cut out, for instance, the word ABACUS."--_A. B. Johnson's Plan of a Dict._, p. 12. "A person very meet seemed he for the purpose, of a forty-five years old."--_Gardiner's Music of Nature_, p. 338. "And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings."--_Luke_, ix, 28." There were slain of them upon a three thousand men."--_1 Mac._, iv, 15." Until I had gained the top of these white mountains, which seemed another Alps of snow."--_Addison, Tat._, No. 161. "To make them a satisfactory amends for all the losses they had sustained."--_Goldsmith's Greece_, p. 187. "As a first fruits of many more that shall be gathered."--_Barclay's Works_, i, 506. "It makes indeed a little amends, by inciting us to oblige people."--_Sheffield's Works_, ii, 229. "A large and lightsome backstairs leads up to an entry above."--_Ib._, p. 260. "Peace of mind is an honourable amends for the sacrifices of interest."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 162; _Smith's_, 138. "With such a spirit and sentiments were hostilities carried on."--_Robertson's America_, i, 166. "In the midst of a thick woods, he had long lived a voluntary recluse."--_G. B_. "The flats look almost like a young woods."--_Morning Chronicle_. "As we went on, the country for a little ways improved, but scantily."--_Essex County Freeman_, Vol. ii, No. 11. "Whereby the Jews were permitted to return into their own country, after a seventy years captivity at Babylon."--_Rollin's An. Hist._, Vol. ii, p. 20. "He did riot go a great ways into the country."--_Gilbert's Gram._, p. 85.

"A large amends by fortune's hand is made,
And the lost Punic blood is well repay'd."--_Rowe's Lucan_, iv, 1241.

UNDER NOTE III.--NOUNS CONNECTED.

"As where a landscape is conjoined with the music of birds and odour of flowers."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, i, 117. "The last order resembles the second in the mildness of its accent, and softness of its pause."--_Ib._, ii, 113. "Before the use of the loadstone or knowledge of the compass."--_Dryden_. "The perfect participle and imperfect tense ought not to be confounded."--_Murray's Gram._, ii, 292. "In proportion as the taste of a poet, or orator, becomes more refined."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 27. "A situation can never be intricate, as long as there is an angel, devil, or musician, to lend a helping hand."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, ii, 285. "Avoid rude sports: an eye is soon lost, or bone broken."--"Not a word was uttered, nor sign given."--_Brown's Inst._, p. 125. "I despise not the doer, but deed."--_Ibid._ "For the sake of an easier pronunciation and more agreeable sound."--_Lowth_. "The levity as well as loquacity of the Greeks made them incapable of keeping up the true standard of history."-- _Bolingbroke, on Hist._, p. 115.

UNDER NOTE IV.--ADJECTIVES CONNECTED.

"It is proper that the vowels be a long and short one."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 327. "Whether the person mentioned was seen by the speaker a long or short time before."--_Ib._, p. 70; _Fisk's_, 72. "There are three genders, Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter."--_Adam's Lat. Gram._, p. 8. "The numbers are two; Singular and Plural."--_Ib._, p. 80; _Gould's_, 77. "The persons are three; First, Second, [and] Third."--_Adam, et al_. "Nouns and pronouns have three cases; the nominative, possessive, and objective."--_Comly's Gram._, p. 19; _Ingersoll's_, 21. "Verbs have five moods; namely, the Indicative, Potential, Subjunctive, Imperative, and Infinitive."-- _Bullions's E. Gram._, p. 35; _Lennie's_, 20. "How many numbers have pronouns? Two, the singular and plural."--_Bradley's Gram._, p. 82. "To distinguish between an interrogative and exclamatory sentence."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 280; _Comly's_, 163; _Ingersoll's_, 292. "The first and last of which are compounded members."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 123. "In the last lecture, I treated of the concise and diffuse, the nervous and feeble manner."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 183. "The passive and neuter verbs, I shall reserve for some future conversation."--_Ingersoll's Gram._, p. 69. "There are two voices; the Active and Passive."--_Adam's Gram._, p. 59; _Gould's_, 87. "Whose is rather the poetical than regular genitive of _which_."--_Dr. Johnson's Gram._, p. 7. "To feel the force of a compound, or derivative word."--_Town's Analysis_, p. 4. "To preserve the distinctive uses of the copulative and disjunctive conjunctions."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 150; _Ingersoll's_, 233. "E has a long and short sound in most languages."-- _Bicknell's Gram._, Part ii, p. 13. "When the figurative and literal sense are mixed and jumbled together."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 151. "The Hebrew, with which the Canaanitish and Phoenician stand in connection."--CONANT: _Fowler's E. Gram._, 8vo, 1850, p. 28. "The languages of Scandinavia proper, the Norwegian and Swedish."--_Fowler, ib._, p. 31.

UNDER NOTE V.--ADJECTIVES CONNECTED.

"The path of truth is a plain and a safe path"--_Murray's Key_, p. 236. "Directions for acquiring a just and a happy elocution."--_Kirkham's Elocution_, p. 144. "Its leading object is to adopt a correct and an easy method."--_Kirkham's Gram._, p. 9. "How can it choose but wither in a long and a sharp winter."--_Cowley's Pref._, p. vi. "Into a dark and a distant unknown."--_Chalmers, on Astronomy_, p. 230. "When the bold and the strong enslaved his fellow man."--_Chazotte's Essay_, p. 21. "We now proceed to consider the things most essential to an accurate and a perfect sentence." --_Murray's Gram._, p. 306. "And hence arises a second and a very considerable source of the improvement of taste."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 18. "Novelty produces in the mind a vivid and an agreeable emotion."--_Ib._, p. 50. "The deepest and the bitterest feeling still is, the separation."-- _Dr. M'Rie_. "A great and a good man looks beyond time."--_Brown's Institutes_, p. 125. "They made but a weak and an ineffectual resistance." --_Ib._ "The light and the worthless kernels will float."--_Ib._ "I rejoice that there is an other and a better world."--_Ib._ "For he is determined to _revise_ his work, and present to the publick another and a better edition."--_Kirkham's Gram._, p. 7. "He hoped that this title would secure him an ample and an independent authority."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 172: see _Priestley's_, 147. "There is however another and a more limited sense."--_Adams's Rhet._, Vol. ii, p. 232.

UNDER NOTE VI.--ARTICLES OR PLURALS.

"This distinction forms, what are called the diffuse and the concise styles."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 176. "Two different modes of speaking, distinguished at first by the denominations of the Attic and the Asiatic manners."--_Adams's Rhet._, Vol. i, p. 83. "But the great design of uniting the Spanish and the French monarchies under the former was laid."-- _Bolingbroke, on History_, p. 180. "In the solemn and the poetic styles, it [_do_ or _did_] is often rejected."--_W. Allen's Gram._, p. 68. "They cannot be at the same time in the objective and the nominative cases."--_Murray's Gram._, 8vo, p. 151; _Ingersoll's_, 239; _R. G. Smith's_, 127. "They are named the POSITIVE, the COMPARATIVE, and the SUPERLATIVE degrees."--_Smart's Accidence_, p. 27. "Certain Adverbs are capable of taking an Inflection, namely, that of the comparative and the superlative degrees."--_Fowler's E. Gram._, 8vo, 1850, §321. "In the subjunctive mood, the present and the imperfect tenses often carry with them a future sense."--_L. Murray's Gram._, p. 187; _Fisk's_, 131. "The imperfect, the perfect, the pluperfect, and the first future tenses of this mood, are conjugated like the same tenses of the indicative."--_Kirkham's Gram._, p. 145. "What rules apply in parsing personal pronouns of the second and third person?"--_Ib._, p. 116. "Nouns are sometimes in the nominative or objective case after the neuter verb to be, or after an active-intransitive or passive verb."--_Ib._, p. 55. "The verb varies its endings in the singular in order to agree in form with the first, second, and third person of its nominative."--_Ib._, p. 47. "They are identical in effect, with the radical and the vanishing stresses."--_Rush, on the Voice_, p. 339. "In a sonnet the first, fourth, fifth, and eighth line rhyme to each other: so do the second, third, sixth, and seventh line; the ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth line; and the tenth, twelfth, and fourteenth line."--_Churchill's Gram._, p. 311. "The iron and the golden ages are run; youth and manhood are departed."--_Wright's Athens_, p. 74. "If, as you say, the iron and the golden ages are past, the youth and the manhood of the world."--_Ib._ "An Exposition of the Old and New Testament."--_Matthew Henry's Title-page_. "The names and order of the books of the Old and New Testament."--_Friends' Bible_, p. 2; _Bruce's_, p. 2; et al. "In the second and third person of that tense."--_L. Murray's Gram._, p. 81. "And who still unites in himself the human and the divine natures."--_Gurney's Evidences_, p. 59. "Among whom arose the Italian, the Spanish, the French, and the English languages."--_L. Murray's Gram._, 8vo, p. 111. "Whence arise these two, the singular and the plural Numbers."--_Burn's Gram._, p. 32.

UNDER NOTE VII.--CORRESPONDENT TERMS.

"Neither the definitions, nor examples, are entirely the same with his."--_Ward's Pref. to Lily's Gram._, p. vi. "Because it makes a discordance between the thought and expression."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, ii, 24. "Between the adjective and following substantive."--_Ib._ ii, 104. "Thus, Athens became both the repository and nursery of learning."--_Chazotte's Essay_, p. 28. "But the French pilfered from both the Greek and Latin."--_Ib._, p. 102. "He shows that Christ is both the power and wisdom of God."--_The Friend_, x, 414. "That he might be Lord both of the dead and living."--_Rom._, xiv, 9. "This is neither the obvious nor grammatical meaning of his words."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 209. "Sometimes both the accusative and infinitive are understood."--_Adam's Gram._, p. 155; _Gould's_, 158. "In some cases we can use either the nominative or accusative promiscuously."--_Adam_, p. 156; _Gould_, 159. "Both the former and latter substantive are sometimes to be understood."--_Adam_, p. 157; _Gould_, 160. "Many whereof have escaped both the commentator and poet himself."--_Pope_. "The verbs must and ought have both a present and past signification."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 108. "How shall we distinguish between the friends and enemies of the government?"--_Webster's Essays_, p. 352. "Both the ecclesiastical and secular powers concurred in those measures."--_Campbell's Rhet._, p. 260. "As the period has a beginning and end within itself it implies an inflexion."--_Adams's Rhet._, ii, 245. "Such as ought to subsist between a principal and accessory."--_Kames, on Crit._, ii, 39.

UNDER NOTE VIII.--CORRESPONDENCE PECULIAR.

"When both the upward and the downward slides occur in pronouncing a syllable, they are called a _Circumflex_ or _Wave_."--_Kirkham's Elocution_, pp. 75 and 104. "The word _that_ is used both in the nominative and objective cases."--_Sanborn's Gram._, p. 69. "But all the other moods and tenses of the verbs, both in the active and passive voices, are conjugated at large."--_Murray's Gram._, 8vo, p. 81. "Some writers on Grammar object to the propriety of admitting the second future, in both the indicative and subjunctive moods."--_Ib._, p. 82. "The same conjunction governing both the indicative and the subjunctive moods, in the same sentence, and in the same circumstances, seems to be a great impropriety."--_Ib._, p. 207. "The true distinction between the subjunctive and the indicative moods in this tense."--_Ib._, p. 208. "I doubt of his capacity to teach either the French or English languages."--_Chazotte's Essay_, p. 7. "It is as necessary to make a distinction between the active transitive and the active intransitive forms of the verb, as between the active and passive forms."--_Nixon's Parser_, p. 13.

UNDER NOTE IX.--A SERIES OF TERMS.

"As comprehending the terms uttered by the artist, the mechanic, and husbandman."--_Chazotte's Essay_, p. 24. "They may be divided into four classes--the Humanists, Philanthropists, Pestalozzian and the Productive Schools."--_Smith's New Gram._, p. iii. "Verbs have six tenses, the Present, the Imperfect, the Perfect, the Pluperfect, and the First and Second Future tenses."--_Kirkham's Gram._, p. 138; _L. Murray's_, 68; _R. C. Smith's_, 27; _Alger's_, 28. "_Is_ is an irregular verb neuter, indicative mood, present tense, and the third person singular."--_Murray's Gram._, Vol. ii, p. 2. "_Should give_ is an irregular verb active, in the potential mood, the imperfect tense, and the first person plural."--_Ibid._ "_Us_ is a personal pronoun, first person plural, and in the objective case."--_Ibid._ "_Them_ is a personal pronoun, of the third person, the plural number, and in the objective case."--_Ibid._ "It is surprising that the Jewish critics, with all their skill in dots, points, and accents, never had the ingenuity to invent a point of interrogation, of admiration, or a parenthesis."--_Wilson's Hebrew Gram._, p. 47. "The fifth, sixth, seventh, and the eighth verse."--_O. B. Peirce's Gram._, p. 263. "Substitutes have three persons; the First, Second, and the Third."--_Ib._, p. 34. "_John's_ is a proper noun, of the masculine gender, the third person, singular number, possessive case, and governed by _wife_, by Rule I."--_Smith's New Gram._, p. 48. "Nouns in the English language have three cases; the nominative, the possessive, and objective."--_Barrett's Gram._, p. 13; _Alexander's_, 11. "The Potential [mood] has four [tenses], viz. the Present, the Imperfect, the Perfect, and Pluperfect."--_Ingersoll's Gram._, p. 96.

"Where Science, Law, and Liberty depend,
And own the patron, patriot, and the friend."--_Savage, to Walpole_.

UNDER NOTE X.--SPECIES AND GENUS.

"A pronoun is a part of speech put for a noun."--_Paul's Accidence_, p. 11. "A verb is a part of speech declined with mood and tense."--_Ib._, p. 15. "A participle is a part of speech derived of a verb."--_Ib._, p. 38. "An adverb is a part of speech joined to verbs to declare their signification."--_Ib._, p. 40. "A conjunction is a part of speech that joineth sentences together."--_Ib._, p. 41. "A preposition is a part of speech most commonly set before other parts."--_Ib._, p. 42. "An interjection is a part of speech which betokeneth a sudden motion or passion of the mind."--_Ib._, p. 44. "An enigma or riddle is also a species of allegory."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 151; _Murray's Gram._, 343. "We may take from the Scriptures a very fine example of an allegory."--_Ib._: _Blair_, 151; _Mur._, 341. "And thus have you exhibited a sort of a sketch of art."--HARRIS: _in Priestley's Gram._, p. 176. "We may 'imagine a subtle kind of a reasoning,' as Mr. Harris acutely observes."--_Churchill's Gram._, p. 71. "But, before entering on these, I shall give one instance of a very beautiful metaphor, that I may show the figure to full advantage."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 143. "Aristotle, in his Poetics, uses metaphor in this extended sense, for any figurative meaning imposed upon a word; as a whole put for the part, or a part for a whole; the species for the genus, or a genus for the species."--_Ib._, p. 142. "It shows what kind of an apple it is of which we are speaking."--_Kirkham's Gram._, p. 69. "Cleon was another sort of a man."--_Goldsmith's Greece_, Vol. i, p. 124. "To keep off his right wing, as a kind of a reserved body."--_Ib._, ii, 12. "This part of speech is called a verb."--_Mack's Gram._, p. 70. "What sort of a thing is it?"--_Hiley's Gram._, p. 20. "What sort of a charm do they possess?"--_Bullions's Principles of E. Gram._, p. 73.

"Dear Welsted, mark, in dirty hole,
That painful animal, a Mole."--_Note to Dunciad_, B. ii, l. 207.

UNDER NOTE XI.--ARTICLES NOT REQUISITE.

"Either thou or the boys were in the fault."--_Comly's Key, in Gram._, p. 174. "It may, at the first view, appear to be too general."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 222; _Ingersoll's_, 275. "When the verb has a reference to future time."--_Ib.: M._, p. 207; _Ing._, 264. "No; they are the language of imagination rather than of a passion."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 165. "The dislike of the English Grammar, which has so generally prevailed, can only be attributed to the intricacy of syntax."--_Russell's Gram._, p. iv. "Is that ornament in a good taste?"--_Kames, El. of Crit._, ii, 326. "There are not many fountains in a good taste."--_Ib._, ii, 329. "And I persecuted this way unto the death."--_Acts_, xxii, 4. "The sense of the feeling can, indeed, give us the idea of extension."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 196. "The distributive adjective pronouns, _each, every, either_, agree with the nouns, pronouns, and verbs, of the singular number only."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 165; _Lowth's_, 89. "Expressing by one word, what might, by a circumlocution, be resolved into two or more words belonging to the other parts of speech."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 84. "By the certain muscles which operate all at the same time."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 19. "It is sufficient here to have observed thus much in the general concerning them."--_Campbell's Rhet._, p. 112. "Nothing disgusts us sooner than the empty pomp of language."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 319.

UNDER NOTE XII.--TITLES AND NAMES.

"He is entitled to the appellation of a gentleman."--_Brown's Inst._, p. 126. "Cromwell assumed the title of a Protector."--_Ib._ "Her father is honoured with the title of an Earl."--_Ib._ "The chief magistrate is styled a President."--_Ib._ "The highest title in the state is that of the Governor."--_Ib._ "That boy is known by the name of the Idler."--_Murray's Key_, 8vo, p. 205. "The one styled the Mufti, is the head of the ministers of law and religion."--_Balbi's Geog._, p. 360. "Banging all that possessed them under one class, he called that whole class _a tree_."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 73. "For the oak, the pine, and the ash, were names of whole classes of objects."--_Ib._, p. 73. "It is of little importance whether we give to some particular mode of expression the name of a trope, or of a figure."--_Ib._, p. 133. "The collision of a vowel with itself is the most ungracious of all combinations, and has been doomed to peculiar reprobation under the name of an hiatus."--_J. Q. Adams's Rhet._, Vol. ii, p. 217. "We hesitate to determine, whether the _Tyrant_ alone, is the nominative, or whether the nominative includes the spy."--_Cobbett's E. Gram._, ¶ 246. "Hence originated the customary abbreviation of _twelve months_ into a _twelve-month_; _seven nights_ into _se'night_; _fourteen nights_ into a _fortnight_."--_Webster's Improved Gram._, p. 105.

UNDER NOTE XIII.--COMPARISONS AND ALTERNATIVES.

"He is a better writer than a reader."--_W. Allen's False Syntax, Gram._, p. 332. "He was an abler mathematician than a linguist."--_Ib._ "I should rather have an orange than apple."--_Brown's Inst._, p. 126. "He was no less able a negotiator, than a courageous warrior."--_Smollett's Voltaire_, Vol. i, p. 181. "In an epic poem we pardon many negligences that would not be permitted in a sonnet or epigram."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, Vol. i, p. 186. "That figure is a sphere, or a globe, or a ball."--_Harris's Hermes_, p. 258.

UNDER NOTE XIV.--ANTECEDENTS TO WHO OR WHICH.

"Carriages which were formerly in use, were very clumsy."--_Inst._, p. 126. "The place is not mentioned by geographers who wrote at that time."--_Ib._ "Questions which a person asks himself in contemplation, ought to be terminated by points of interrogation."--_Murray's Gram._, p. 279; _Comly's_, 162; _Ingersoll's_, 291. "The work is designed for the use of persons, who may think it merits a place in their Libraries."--_Murray's Gram._, 8vo., p. iii. "That persons who think confusedly, should express themselves obscurely, is not to be wondered at."--_Ib._, p. 298. "Grammarians who limit the number to two, or at most to three, do not reflect."--_Ib._, p. 75. "Substantives which end in _ian_, are those that signify profession."--_Ib._, p. 132. "To these may be added verbs, which chiefly among the poets govern the dative."--_Adam's Gram._, p. 170; _Gould's_, 171. "Consonants are letters, which cannot be sounded without the aid of a vowel."--_Bucke's Gram._, p. 9. "To employ the curiosity of persons who are skilled in grammar."--_Murray's Gram., Pref._, p. iii. "This rule refers only to nouns and pronouns, which have the same bearing or relation."--_Ib._, i, p. 204. "So that things which are seen, were not made of things which do appear."--_Heb._, xi, 3. "Man is an imitative creature; he may utter sounds, which he has heard."--_Wilson's Essay on Gram._, p. 21. "But men, whose business is wholly domestic, have little or no use for any language but their own."--_Webster's Essays_, p. 5.

UNDER NOTE XV.--PARTICIPIAL NOUNS.

"Great benefit may be reaped from reading of histories."--_Sewel's Hist._, p. iii. "And some attempts were made towards writing of history."--_Bolingbroke, on Hist._, p. 110. "It is Invading of the Priest's Office for any other to Offer it."--_Right of Tythes_, p. 200. "And thus far of forming of verbs."--_Walker's Art of Teaching_, p. 35. "And without shedding of blood is no remission."--_Heb._, ix, 22. "For making of measures we have the best method here in England."--_Printer's Gram._ "This is really both admitting and denying, at once."--_Butler's Analogy_, p. 72. "And hence the origin of making of parliaments."--_Brown's Estimate_, Vol. i, p. 71. "Next thou objectest, that having of saving light and grace presupposes conversion. But that I deny: for, on the contrary, conversion presupposeth having light and grace."--_Barclay's Works_, Vol. i, p. 143. "They cried down wearing of rings and other superfluities as we do."--_Ib._, i, 236. "Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel."--_1 Peter_, iii, 3. "In spelling of derivative Words, the Primitive must be kept whole."--_British Gram._, p. 50; _Buchanan's Syntax_, 9. "And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar."--_Numbers_, vii, 10. "Boasting is not only telling of lies, but also many unseemly truths."--_Sheffield's Works_, ii, 244. "We freely confess that forbearing of prayer in the wicked is sinful."--_Barclay_, i, 316. "For revealing of a secret, there is no remedy."--_Inst. E. Gram._, p. 126. "He turned all his thoughts to composing of laws for the good of the state."--_Rollin's Ancient Hist._, Vol. ii, p. 38.

UNDER NOTE XVI.--PARTICIPLES, NOT NOUNS. "It is salvation to be kept from falling into a pit, as truly as to be taken out of it after the falling in."--_Barclay_, i, 210. "For in the receiving and embracing the testimony of truth, they felt eased."--_Ib._, i, 469. "True regularity does not consist in the having but a single rule, and forcing every thing to conform to it."--_Philol. Museum_, i, 664. "To the man of the world, this sound of glad tidings appears only an idle tale, and not worth the attending to."--_Life of Tho. Say_, p. 144. "To be the deliverer of the captive Jews, by the ordering their temple to be re-built," &c.--_Rollin_, ii, 124. "And for the preserving them from being defiled."--_N. E. Discipline_, p. 133. "A wise man will avoid the showing any excellence in trifles."--_Art of Thinking_, p. 80. "Hirsutus had no other reason for the valuing a book."--_Rambler_, No. 177; _Wright's Gram._, p. 190. "To the being heard with satisfaction, it is necessary that the speaker should deliver himself with ease."--_Sheridan's Elocution_, p. 114. "And to the being well heard, and clearly understood, a good and distinct articulation contributes more, than power of voice."--_Ib._, p. 117.

"_Potential_ means the having power or will;
As, If you _would_ improve, you _should_ be still."
--_Tobitt's Gram._, p. 31.

UNDER NOTE XVII.--VARIOUS ERRORS.

"For the same reason, a neuter verb cannot become a passive."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 74. "The period is the whole sentence complete in itself."--_Ib._, p. 115. "The colon or member is a chief constructive part, or greater division of a sentence."--_Ib._ "The semicolon or half member, is a less constructive part or subdivision, of a sentence or member."--_Ib._ "A sentence or member is again subdivided into commas or segments."--_Ib._, p. 116. "The first error that I would mention, is, a too general attention to the dead languages, with a neglect of our own."--_Webster's Essays_, p. 3. "One third of the importations would supply the demands of people."--_Ib._, p. 119. "And especially in grave stile."--_Priestley's Gram._, p. 72. "By too eager pursuit, he ran a great risk of being disappointed."--_Murray's Key, Octavo Gram._, Vol. ii, p. 201. "Letters are divided into vowels and consonants."--_Murray's Gram._, i, p. 7; _and others_. "Consonants are divided into mutes and semi-vowels."--_Ib._, i, 8; _and others_. "The first of these forms is most agreeable to the English idiom."--_Ib._, i, 176. "If they gain, it is a too dear rate."--_Barclay's Works_, i, 504. "A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun, to prevent a too frequent repetition of it."--_Maunder's Gram._, p. 1. "This vulgar error might perhaps arise from a too partial fondness for the Latin."--_Dr. Ash's Gram., Pref._, p. iv. "The groans which a too heavy load extorts from her."--_Hitchcock, on Dyspepsy_, p. 50. "The numbers [of a verb] are, of course, singular and plural."--_Bucke's Gram._ p. 58. "To brook no meanness, and to stoop to no dissimulation, are the indications of a great mind."--_Murray's Key_, ii, 236. "This mode of expression rather suits familiar than grave style."--_Murray's Gram._, i, 198. "This use of the word rather suits familiar and low style."--_Priestley's Gram._, p. 134. "According to the nature of the composition the one or other may be predominant."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 102. "Yet the commonness of such sentences prevents in a great measure a too early expectation of the end."--_Campbell's Rhet._, p. 411. "An eulogy or a philippie may be pronounced by an individual of one nation upon the subject of another."--_Adams's Rhet._, i, 298. "A French sermon, is for most part, a warm animated exhortation."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 288. "I do not envy those who think slavery no very pitiable a lot."--_Channing, on Emancipation_, p. 52. "The auxiliary and principal united, constitute a tense."--_Murray's Gram._, i, 75. "There are some verbs which are defective with respect to persons."--_Ib._, i, 109. "In youth, the habits of industry are most easily acquired."--_Murray's Key_, ii, 235. "Apostrophe (') is used in place of a letter left out."--_Bullions's Eng. Gram._, p. 156.