The Grammar of English Grammars Part 129

"How is the gender and number of the relative known?"--_Bullions, Practical Lessons_, p. 32.

"High rides the sun, thick rolls the dust, And feebler speeds the blow and thrust."--_Sir W. Scott_.

UNDER NOTE I.--CHANGE THE CONNECTIVE.

"In every language there prevails a certain structure and a.n.a.logy of parts, which is understood to give foundation to the most reputable usage."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 90. "There runs through his whole manner, a stiffness and affectation, which renders him very unfit to be considered a general model."--_Ib._, p. 102. "But where declamation and improvement in speech is the sole aim"--_Ib._, p. 257. "For it is by these chiefly, that the train of thought, the course of reasoning, and the whole progress of the mind, in continued discourse of all kinds, is laid open."--_Lowth's Gram._, p. 103. "In all writing and discourse, the proper composition and structure of sentnences is of the highest importance."--_Blair's Rhet._, p.

101. "Here the wishful look and expectation of the beggar naturally leads to a vivid conception of that which was the object of his thoughts."--_Campbell's Rhet._, p. 386. "Who say, that the outward naming of Christ, and signing of the cross, puts away devils."--_Barclay's Works_, i, 146. "By which an oath and penalty was to be imposed upon the members."--_Junius_, p. 6. "Light and knowledge, in what manner soever afforded us, is equally from G.o.d."--_Butler's a.n.a.logy_, p. 264. "For instance, sickness and untimely death is the consequence of intemperance."--_Ib._, p. 78. "When grief, and blood ill-tempered vexeth him."--_Beauties of Shakspeare_, p. 256. "Does continuity and connexion create sympathy and relation in the parts of the body?"--_Collier's Antoninus_, p. 111. "His greatest concern, and highest enjoyment, was to be approved in the sight of his Creator."--_Murray's Key_, p. 224. "Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?"--_2 Sam_, iii, 38. "What is vice and wickedness? No rarity, you may depend on it."--_Collier's Antoninus_, p. 107. "There is also the fear and apprehension of it."--_Butler's a.n.a.logy_, p. 87. "The apostrophe and _s_, ('s,) is an abbreviation for _is_, the termination of the old English genitive."--_Bullions, E. Gram._, p. 17. "_Ti, ce_, and _ci_, when followed by a vowel, usually has the sound of _sh_; as in _partial, special, ocean_."--_Weld's Gram._, p. 15.

"Bitter constraint and sad occasion dear Compels me to disturb your season due."--_Milton's Lycidas_.

"Debauches and excess, though with less noise, As great a portion of mankind destroys."--_Waller_, p. 55.

UNDER NOTE II.--AFFIRMATION WITH NEGATION.

"Wisdom, and not wealth, procure esteem."--_Brown's Inst._, p. 156.

"Prudence, and not pomp, are the basis of his fame."--_Ib._ "Not fear, but labour have overcome him."--_Ib._ "The decency, and not the abstinence, make the difference."--_Ib._ "Not her beauty, but her talents attracts attention."--_Ib._ "It is her talents, and not her beauty, that attracts attention."--_Ib._ "It is her beauty, and not her talents that attract attention."--_Ib._

"His belly, not his brains, this impulse give: He'll grow immortal; for he cannot live."--_Young, to Pope_.

UNDER NOTE III.--AS WELL AS, BUT, OR SAVE.

"Common sense as well as piety tell us these are proper."--_Family Commentary_, p. 64. "For without it the critic, as well as the undertaker, ignorant of any rule, have nothing left but to abandon themselves to chance."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, i, 42. "And accordingly hatred as well as love are extinguished by long absence."--_Ib._, i, 113. "But at every turn the richest melody as well as the sublimest sentiments are conspicuous."--_Ib._, ii, 121. "But it, as well as the lines immediately subsequent, defy all translation."--_Coleridge's Introduction_, p. 96. "But their religion, as well as their customs, and manners, were strangely misrepresented."--BOLINGBROKE, ON HISTORY, p. 123; _Priestley's Gram._, p.

192; _Murray's Exercises_, p. 47. "But his jealous policy, as well as the fatal antipathy of Fonseca, were conspicuous."--_Robertson's America_, i, 191. "When their extent as well as their value were unknown."--_Ib._, ii, 138. "The Etymology, as well as the Syntax, of the more difficult parts of speech are reserved for his attention [at a later period]."--_Parker and Fox's E. Gram._, Part i, p. 3. "What I myself owe to him, no one but myself know."--See _Wright's Athens_, p. 96. "None, but thou, O mighty prince!

canst avert the blow."--_Inst._, p. 156. "Nothing, but frivolous amus.e.m.e.nts, please the indolent."--_Ib._

"Nought, save the gurglings of the rill, were heard."--_G. B._

"All songsters, save the hooting owl, was mute."--_G. B._

UNDER NOTE IV.--EACH, EVERY, OR NO.

"Give every word, and every member, their due weight and force."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 110. "And to one of these belong every noun, and every third person of every verb."--_Wilson's Essay on Gram._, p. 74. "No law, no restraint, no regulation, are required to keep him in bounds."--_Literary Convention_, p. 260. "By that time, every window and every door in the street were full of heads."--_N. Y. Observer_, No. 503. "Every system of religion, and every school of philosophy, stand back from this field, and leave Jesus Christ alone, the solitary example"--_The Corner Stone_, p. 17.

"Each day, and each hour, bring their portion of duty."--_Inst._, p. 156.

"And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him."--_1 Sam._, xxii, 2. "Every private Christian and member of the church ought to read and peruse the Scriptures, that they may know their faith and belief founded upon them."--_Barclay's Works_, i, 340. "And every mountain and island were moved out of their places."--_Rev._, vi, 14.

"No bandit fierce, no tyrant mad with pride, No cavern'd hermit rest self-satisfied."

UNDER NOTE V.--WITH, OR, &c. FOR AND.

"The side A, with the sides B and C, compose the triangle."--_Tobitt's Gram._, p. 48; _Felch's_, 69; _Ware's_, 12. "The stream, the rock, or the tree, must each of them stand forth, so as to make a figure in the imagination."--_Blair's Rhet._, p. 390. "While this, with euphony, const.i.tute, finally, the whole."--_O. B. Peirce's Gram._, p. 293. "The bag, with the guineas and dollars in it, were stolen."--_Cobbett's E. Gram._, --246. "Sobriety, with great industry and talent, enable a man to perform great deeds."--_Ib._, --245. "The _it_, together with the verb _to be_, express states of being."--_Ib._, --190. "Where Leonidas the Spartan king, with his chosen band, fighting for their country, were cut off to the last man."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, Vol. i, p. 203. "And Leah also, with her children, came near and bowed themselves."--_Gen._, x.x.xiii, 7. "The First or Second will, either of them, by themselves coalesce with the Third, but not with each other."--_Harris's Hermes_, p. 74. "The whole must centre in the query, whether Tragedy or Comedy are hurtful and dangerous representations?"--_Formey's Belles-Lettres_, p. 215. "Grief as well as joy are infectious: the emotions they raise in the spectator resemble them perfectly."--_Kames, El. of Crit._, i, 157. "But in all other words the _Qu_ are both sounded."--_Ensell's Gram._, p. 16. "_Qu_ (which are always together) have the sound of _ku_ or _k_, as in _queen, opaque_."-- _Goodenow's Gram._, p. 45. "In this selection the _ai_ form distinct syllables."--_Walker's Key_, p. 290. "And a considerable village, with gardens, fields, &c., extend around on each side of the square."-- _Liberator_, Vol. ix, p. 140. "Affection, or interest, guide our notions and behaviour in the affairs of life; imagination and pa.s.sion affect the sentiments that we entertain in matters of taste."--_Jamieson's Rhet._, p.

171. "She heard none of those intimations of her defects, which envy, petulance, or anger, produce among children."--_Rambler_, No. 189. "The King, with the Lords and Commons, const.i.tute an excellent form of government."--_Crombie's Treatise_, p. 242. "If we say, 'I am the man, who commands you,' the relative clause, with the antecedent _man_, form the predicate."--_Ib._, p. 266.

"The s.p.a.cious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, And spangled heav'ns, a s.h.i.+ning frame, Their great Original proclaim."

--ADDISON. _Murray's Key_, p. 174; _Day's Gram._, p. 92; _Farnum's_, 106.

UNDER NOTE VI.--ELLIPTICAL CONSTRUCTIONS.

"There is a reputable and a disreputable practice."--_Adams's Rhet._, Vol.

i, p. 350. "This and this man was born in her."--_Milton's Psalms_, lx.x.xvii. "This and that man was born in her."--_Psal._ lx.x.xvii, 5. "This and that man was born there."--_Hendrick's Gram._, p. 94. "Thus _le_ in _l~ego_ and _l~egi_ seem to be sounded equally long."--_Adam's Gram._, p.

253; _Gould's_, 243. "A distinct and an accurate articulation forms the groundwork of good delivery."--_Kirkham's Elocution_, p. 25. "How is vocal and written language understood?"--_C. W. Sanders, Spelling-Book_, p. 7.

"The good, the wise, and the learned man is an ornament to human society."--_Bartlett's Reader_. "On some points, the expression of song and speech is identical."--_Rush, on the Voice_, p. 425. "To every room there was an open and secret pa.s.sage."--_Johnson's Ra.s.selas_, p. 13. "There iz such a thing az tru and false taste, and the latter az often directs fas.h.i.+on, az the former."--_Webster's Essays_, p. 401. "There is such a thing as a prudent and imprudent inst.i.tution of life, with regard to our health and our affairs"--_Butler's a.n.a.logy_, p. 210. "The lot of the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah, however different in one respect, have in another corresponded with wonderful exactness."--_Hope of Israel_, p. 301. "On these final syllables the radical and vanis.h.i.+ng movement is performed."--_Rush, on the Voice_, p. 64. "To be young or old, good, just, or the contrary, are physical or moral events."--SPURZHEIM: _Felch's Comp. Gram._, p. 29. "The eloquence of George Whitfield and of John Wesley was of a very different character each from the other."--_Dr.

Sharp_. "The affinity of _m_ for the series _b_, and of _n_ for the series _t_, give occasion for other Euphonic changes."--_Fowler's E. Gram._, --77.

"Pylades' soul and mad Orestes', was In these, if we believe Pythagoras"--_Cowley's Poems_, p. 3.

UNDER NOTE VII.--DISTINCT SUBJECT PHRASES.

"To be moderate in our views, and to proceed temperately in the pursuit of them, is the best way to ensure success."--_Murray's Key_, 8vo, p. 206. "To be of any species, and to have a right to the name of that species, is all one."--_Locke's Essay_, p. 300. "With whom to will and to do is the same."--_Jamieson's Sacred History_, Vol. ii, p. 22. "To profess, and to possess, is very different things."--_Inst._, p. 156. "To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with G.o.d, is duties of universal obligation."--_Ib._ "To be round or square, to be solid or fluid, to be large or small, and to be moved swiftly or slowly, is all equally alien from the nature of thought."--_Ib._ "The resolving of a sentence into its elements or parts of speech and stating the Accidents which belong to these, is called PARSING."--_Bullion's Pract. Lessons_, p. 9. "To spin and to weave, to knit and to sew, was once a girl's employment; but now to dress and catch a beau, is all she calls enjoyment."--_Lynn News_, Vol. 8, No. 1.

RULE XVII.--FINITE VERBS.

When a Verb has two or more nominatives connected by _or_ or _nor_, it must agree with them singly, and not as if taken together: as, "Fear _or_ jealousy _affects_ him."--_W. Allen's Gram._, p. 133. "Nor eye, _nor_ listening ear, an object _finds_: creation sleeps."--_Young_. "Neither character _nor_ dialogue _was_ yet understood."--_L. Murray's Gram._, p.

151.

"The wife, where danger _or_ dishonour _lurks_, Safest and seemliest by her husband stays."--_Milton, P. L._, ix, 267.

OBSERVATIONS ON RULE XVII.

OBS. 1.--To this rule, so far as its application is practicable, there are properly no exceptions; for, _or_ and _nor_ being disjunctive conjunctions, the nominatives are of course to a.s.sume the verb separately, and as agreeing with each. Such agreement seems to be positively required by the alternativeness of the expression. Yet the ancient grammarians seldom, if at all, insisted on it. In Latin and Greek, a plural verb is often employed with singular nominatives thus connected; as,

"Tunc nec mens mini, nec color Certa sede _manent_."--HORACE. See _W. Allen's Gram._, p. 133.

[Greek: "Ean de adelphos ae adelphae lumnoi huparchosi, kai leipomenoi osi taes ephaemerou trophaes."]--_James_, ii. 15. And the best scholars have sometimes _improperly_ imitated this construction in English; as, "Neither Virgil nor Homer _were_ deficient in any of the former beauties."--DRYDEN'S PREFACE: _Brit. Poets_, Vol. iii, p. 168. "Neither Saxon nor Roman _have availed_ to add any idea to his [Plato's] categories."--R. W. EMERSON: _Liberator_, No. 996.

"He comes--nor want _nor_ cold his course _delay_: Hide, blus.h.i.+ng Glory! hide Pultowa's day."--_Dr. Johnson_.

"No monstrous height, _or_ breadth, _or_ length, _appear_; The whole at once is bold and regular."--_Pope, on Crit._, l. 250.

OBS. 2.--When two collective nouns of the singular form are connected by _or_ or _nor_, the verb may agree with them in the plural number, because such agreement is adapted to each of them, according to Rule 15th; as, "Why _mankind_, or such a _part_ of mankind, are placed in this condition."--_Butler's a.n.a.logy_, p. 213. "But neither the _Board_ of Control nor the _Court_ of Directors _have_ any scruples about sanctioning the abuses of which I have spoken."--_Glory and Shame of England_, Vol. ii, p. 70.

OBS. 3.--When a verb has nominatives of different persons or numbers, connected by _or_ or _nor_, an explicit concord with each is impossible; because the verb cannot be of different persons or numbers at the same time; nor is it so, even when its form is made the same in all the persons and numbers: thus, "I, thou, [or] he, _may affirm_; we, ye, or they, _may affirm_."--_Beattie's Moral Science_, p. 36. Respecting the proper management of the verb when its nominatives thus disagree, the views of our grammarians are not exactly coincident. Few however are ignorant enough, or rash enough, to deny that there may be an implicit or implied concord in such cases,--a _zeugma_ of the verb in English, as well as of the verb or of the adjective in Latin or Greek. Of this, the following is a brief example: "But _he nor I feel_ more."--_Dr. Young_, Night iii, p. 35. And I shall by-and-by add others--enough, I hope, to confute those false critics who condemn all such phraseology.

OBS. 4.--W. Allen's rule is this: "If the nominatives are of different numbers or persons, the verb agrees with _the last_; as, he _or_ his _brothers were_ there; neither _you nor I am_ concerned."--_English Gram._, p. 133. Lindley Murray, and others, say: (1.) "When singular p.r.o.nouns, or a noun and p.r.o.noun, of different _persons_, are disjunctively connected, the verb must agree with that person which is placed _nearest to it_: as, 'I or thou _art_ to blame;' 'Thou or I _am_ in fault;' 'I, or thou, or he, _is_ the author of it;' 'George or I _am_ the person.' But it would be better to say; 'Either I am to blame, or thou art,' &c. (2.) When a disjunctive occurs between a singular noun, _or_ p.r.o.noun, and a plural one, the verb is made to agree with the _plural_ noun _and_ p.r.o.noun: as, 'Neither poverty nor riches _were_ injurious to him;' 'I or they _were_ offended by it.' But in this case, the plural noun _or_ p.r.o.noun, when _it_ can conveniently be _done_, should be placed next to the verb."--_Murray's Gram._, 8vo, p. 151; _Smith's New Gram._, 128; _Alger's Gram._, 54; _Comly's_, 78 and 79; _Merchant's_, 86; _Picket's_, 175; and many more. There are other grammarians who teach, that the verb must agree with the nominative which is placed next to it, whether this be singular or plural; as, "Neither the servants nor the master _is_ respected;"--"Neither the master nor the servants _are_ respected."--_Alexander Murray's Gram._, p. 65. "But if neither the writings nor the author _is_ in existence, the Imperfect should be used."--_Sanborn's Gram._, p. 107.

OBS. 5.--On this point, a new author has just given us the following precept and criticism: "Never connect by _or_, or _nor_, two or more names or subst.i.tutes that have the same _a.s.serter_ [i.e. _verb_] depending on them for sense, if when taken separately, they require different forms of the _a.s.serters_. Examples. 'Neither you nor I _am concerned_. Either he _or_ thou _wast_ there. Either they _or_ he is faulty.' These examples are as erroneous as it would be to say, 'Neither _you am_ concerned, nor am I.'

'Either he _wast_ there, or thou wast.' 'Either _they is_ faulty, or he is.' The sentences should stand thus--'Neither of us _is_ concerned,' or, 'neither _are you_ concerned, nor _am I_.' 'Either _he was_ there, or _thou wast_.' 'Either _they are_ faulty, or _he is_. They are, however, in all their impropriety, writen [sic--KTH] according to the principles of Goold Brown's _grammar!_ and the theories of most of the former writers."--_Oliver B. Peirce's Gram._, p. 252. We shall see by-and-by who is right.

OBS. 6.--Cobbett also--while he approves of such English as, "_He, with them, are_ able to do much," for, "_He and they are_ able to do much"--condemns expressly every possible example in which the verb has not a full and explicit concord with each of its nominatives, if they are connected by _or_ or _nor_. His doctrine is this: "If nominatives of different _numbers_ present themselves, we must not give them a verb which _disagrees_ with either the one or the other. We must not say: 'Neither the halter _nor_ the bayonets _are_ sufficient to prevent us from obtaining our rights.' We must avoid this bad grammar by using a different form of words: as, 'We are to be prevented from obtaining our rights by neither the halter nor the bayonets.' And, why should we _wish_ to write bad grammar, if we can express our meaning in good grammar?"--_Cobbett's E. Gram._, -- 242.

This question would have more force, if the correction here offered did not convey a meaning _widely different_ from that of the sentence corrected.