The Grammar of English Grammars Part 182

A Figure of Orthography is an intentional deviation from the ordinary or true spelling of a word. The princ.i.p.al figures of Orthography are two; namely, _Mi-me'-sis_ and _Ar'-cha-ism_.

EXPLANATIONS.

I. _Mimesis_ is a ludicrous imitation of some mistake or misp.r.o.nunciation of a word, in which the error is mimicked by a false spelling, or the taking of one word for another; as, "_Maister_, says he, have you any _wery_ good _weal_ in you _vallet?_"--_Columbian Orator_, p. 292. "Ay, he was _p.o.r.n_ at Monmouth, captain Gower."--_Shak._ "I will _description_ the matter to you, if you be _capacity_ of it."--_Id._

"_Perdigious!_ I can hardly stand."

--LLOYD: _Brit. Poets_, Vol. viii, p. 184.

II. An _Archaism_ is a word or phrase expressed according to ancient usage, and not according to our modern orthography; as, "_Newe grene chese of smalle clammynes comfortethe a hotte stomake._"--T. PAYNEL: _Tooke's Diversions_, ii, 132. "He _hath holpen_ his servant Israel."--_Luke_, i, 54.

"With him was rev'rend Contemplation _pight_, Bow-bent with _eld_, his beard of snowy hue."--_Beattie_.

OBS.--Among the figures of this section, perhaps we might include the foreign words or phrases which individual authors now and then adopt in writing English; namely, the _Scotticisms_, the _Gallicisms_, the _Latinisms_, the _Grecisms_, and the like, with which they too often garnish their English style. But these, except they stand as foreign quotations, in which case they are exempt from our rules, are in general offences against the _purity_ of our language; and it may therefore be sufficient, just to mention them here, without expressly putting any of them into the category of grammatical figures.

SECTION II.--FIGURES OF ETYMOLOGY.

A Figure of Etymology is an intentional deviation from the ordinary formation of a word. The princ.i.p.al figures of Etymology are eight; namely, _A-ph.o.e.r'-e-sis, Pros'-the-sis, Syn'-co-pe, A-poc'-o-pe, Par-a-go'-ge, Di-oer'-e-sis, Syn-oer'-e-sis_, and _Tme'-sis_.

EXPLANATIONS.

I. _Aphaeresis_ is the elision of some of the initial letters of a word: as, _'gainst_, for _against_; _'gan_, for _began_; _'neath_, for _beneath_; _'thout_, for _without_.

II. _Prosthesis_ is the prefixing of an expletive syllable to a word: as, _a_down, for _down_; _ap_paid, for _paid_; _be_strown, for _strown_; _ev_anished, for _vanished_; _y_clad, for _clad_.

III. _Syn'cope_ is the elision of some of the middle letters of a word: as, _med'cine_, for _medicine_; _e'en_, for _even_; _o'er_, for _over_; _conq'ring_, for _conquering_; _se'nnight_, for _sevennight_.

IV. _Apoc'ope_ is the elision of some of the final letters of a word: as, _tho'_ for _though_; _th'_, for _the_; _t'other_, for _the other_; _thro'_, for _through_.

V. _Parago'ge_ is the annexing of an expletive syllable to a word: as, _Johnny_, for _John_; _deary_, for _dear_; _withouten_, for _without_.

VI. _Diaeresis_ is the separating of two vowels that might be supposed to form a diphthong: as, _cooperate_, not _cooperate_; _aeronaut_, not _aeronaut_; _or'thoepy_, not _orthoepy_.

VII. _Synaeresis_ is the sinking of two syllables into one: as, _seest_, for _seest_; _tacked_, for _tack-ed_; _drowned_, for _drown-ed_; _spoks't_, for _spok-est_; _show'dst_, for _show-edst_; _'tis_, for _it is_; _I'll_, for _I will_.

VIII. _Tmesis_ is the inserting of a word between the parts of a compound, or between two words which should be united if they stood together: as, "On _which_ side _soever_."--_Rolla_. "_To_ us _ward_;" "_To_ G.o.d _ward_."--_Bible_. "The _a.s.sembling_ of ourselves _together_."--_Id._ "With _what_ charms _soe'er_ she will."--_Cowper_. "So _new_ a _fas.h.i.+on'd_ robe."--_Shak._ "Lament the _live_ day _long_."--_Burns_.

OBS.--In all our p.r.o.nunciation, except that of the solemn style, such verbal or participial terminations as can be so uttered, are usually sunk by _synaeresis_ into mere modifications of preceding syllables. The terminational consonants, if not uttered with one vowel, must be uttered with an other. When, therefore, a vowel is entirely suppressed in p.r.o.nunciation, (whether retained in writing or not,) the consonants connected with it, necessarily fall into an other syllable: thus, _tried, triest, sued, suest, loved, lovest, mov'd, mov'st_, are monosyllables; and _studied, studiest, studi'dst, argued, arguest, argu'dst_, are dissyllables; except in solemn discourse, in which the _e_ is generally retained and made vocal.

SECTION III.--FIGURES OF SYNTAX.

A Figure of Syntax is an intentional deviation from the ordinary construction of words. The princ.i.p.al figures of Syntax are five; namely, _El-lip'-sis, Ple'-o-nasm, Syl-lep'-sis, En-al'-la-ge_, and _Hy-per'-ba-ton._ EXPLANATIONS.

I. _Ellipsis_ is the omission of some word or words which are necessary to complete the construction, but not necessary to convey the meaning. Such words are said, in technical phrase, to be _understood_;[477] because they are received as belonging to the sentence, though they are not uttered.

Of compound sentences, a vast many are more or less elliptical; and sometimes, for brevity's sake, even the most essential parts of a simple sentence, are suppressed;[478] as, "But more of this hereafter."--_Harris's Hermes_, p. 77. This means, "But _I shall say_ more of this hereafter."

"Prythee, peace."--_Shak._ That is, "_I pray_ thee, _hold thou thy_ peace."

There may be an omission of any of the parts of speech, or even of a whole clause, when this repeats what precedes; but the omission of mere articles or interjections can scarcely const.i.tute a proper ellipsis, because these parts of speech, wherever they are really necessary to be recognized, ought to be expressed.

EXAMPLES OF ELLIPSIS SUPPLIED.

1. Of the ARTICLE:--"A man and [_a_] woman."--"The day, [_the_] month, and [_the_] year."--"She gave me an apple and [_a_] pear, for a fig and [_an_]

orange."--_Jaudon's Gram._, p. 170.

2. Of the NOUN:--"The common [_law_] and the statute law."--"The twelve [_apostles_]."--"The same [_man_] is he."--"One [_book_] of my books."--"A dozen [_bottles_] of wine."--"Conscience, I say; not thine own [_conscience_], but [_the conscience_] of the other."--_1 Cor._, x, 29.

"Every moment subtracts _from_ [_our lives_] what it adds _to_ our lives."--_Dillwyn's Ref._, p. 8. "Bad actions mostly lead to worse"

[_actions_].--_Ib._, p. 5.

3. Of the ADJECTIVE:--"There are subjects proper for the one, and not [_proper_] for the other."--_Kames._ "A just weight and [_a just_] balance are the Lord's."--_Prov._, xvi, 11. True ellipses of the adjective alone, are but seldom met with.

4. Of the p.r.o.nOUN:--"Leave [_thou_] there thy gift before the altar, and go [_thou_] thy way; first be [_thou_] reconciled to thy brother, and then come [_thou_] and offer [_thou_] thy gift,"--_Matt._, v, 24. "Love [_ye_]

your enemies, bless [_ye_] them that curse you, do [_ye_] good to them that hate you."--_Ib._, v. 44. "Chastis.e.m.e.nt does not always immediately follow error, but [_it_] sometimes comes when [_it is_] least expected."-- _Dillwyn, Ref._, p. 31. "Men generally put a greater value upon the favours [_which_] they bestow, than upon those [_which_] they receive."--_Art of Thinking_, p. 48. "Wisdom and worth were all [_that_] he had."--_Allen's Gram._, p. 294.

5. Of the VERB:--"The world is crucified unto me, and I [_am crucified_]

unto the world."--_Gal._, vi, 14. "Hearts should not [_differ_], though heads may, differ."--_Dillwyn_, p. 11. "Are ye not much better than they"

[_are_]?--_Matt._, vi, 26. "Tribulation worketh patience; and patience [_worketh_] experience; and experience [_worketh_] hope."--_Romans_, v, 4.

"Wrongs are engraved on marble; benefits [_are engraved_] on sand."--_Art of Thinking_, p. 41. "To whom thus Eve, yet sinless" [_spoke_].--_Milton_.

6. Of the PARTICIPLE:--"That [_being_] o'er, they part."--"Animals of various natures, some adapted to the wood, and some [_adapted_] to the wave."--_Melmoth, on Scripture_, p. 13.

"His knowledge [_being_] measured to his state and place, His time [_being_] a moment, and a point [_being_] his s.p.a.ce."--_Pope_.

7. Of the ADVERB:--"He can do this independently of me, if not [_independently_] of you."

"She shows a body rather than a life; A statue, [_rather_] than a breather."

--_Shak., Ant. and Cleo._, iii, 3.

8. Of the CONJUNCTION:--"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, [_and_] joy, [_and_] peace, [_and_] long suffering, [_and_] gentleness, [_and_]

goodness, [_and_] faith, [_and_] meekness, [_and_] temperance."--_Gal._, v, 22. The repet.i.tion of the conjunction is called _Polysyndeton_; and the omission of it, _Asyndeton_.

9. Of the PREPOSITION:--"It shall be done [_on_] this very day."--"We shall set off [_at_] some time [_in_] next month."--"He departed [_from_] this life."--"He gave [_to_] me a book."--"We walked [_through_] a mile."--"He was banished [_from_] the kingdom."--_W. Allen_. "He lived like [_to_] a prince."--_Wells_.

10. Of the INTERJECTION:--"Oh! the frailty, [_oh!_] the wickedness of men."--"Alas for Mexico! and [_alas_] for many of her invaders!"

11. Of PHRASES or CLAUSES:--"The active commonly do more than they are bound to do; the indolent [_commonly do_] less" [_than they are bound to do_].--"Young men, angry, mean less than they say; old men, [_angry, mean_]

more" [_than they say_].--"It is the duty of justice, not to injure men; [_it is the duty_] of modesty, not to offend them."--_W. Allen_.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.--Grammarians in general treat of ellipsis without _defining_ it; and exhibit such rules and examples as suppose our language to be a hundred-fold more elliptical than it really is.[479] This is a great error, and only paralleled by that of a certain writer elsewhere noticed, who denies the existence of all ellipsis whatever. (See Syntax, Obs. 24th on Rule 22d.) Some have defined this figure in a way that betrays a very inaccurate notion of what it is: as, "ELLIPSIS is _when_ one or more words are wanting _to complete the sense_."--_Adam's Lat. and Eng. Gram._, p.

235; _Gould's_, 229. "ELLIPSIS is the omission of one or more words necessary _to complete the sense_."--_Bullions, Lat. Gram._, p. 265. These definitions are decidedly worse than none; because, if they have any effect, they can only mislead. They absurdly suggest that every elliptical sentence lacks a part of its own meaning! Ellipsis is, in fact, the mere omission or absence of certain _suggested words_; or of words that may be spared from utterance, _without defect in the sense_. There never can be an ellipsis of any thing which is either unnecessary to the construction or necessary to the sense; for to say what we mean and nothing more, never can const.i.tute a deviation from the ordinary grammatical construction of words.

As a figure of Syntax, therefore, the _ellipsis_ can only be of such words as are so evidently suggested to the reader, that the writer is as fully answerable for them as if he had written them.

OBS. 2.--To suppose an ellipsis where there is none, or to overlook one where it really occurs, is to pervert or mutilate the text, in order to accommodate it to the pa.r.s.er's or reader's ignorance of the principles of syntax. There never can be either a general uniformity or a self-consistency in our methods of parsing, or in our notions of grammar, till the true nature of an ellipsis is clearly ascertained; so that the writer shall distinguish it from a _blundering omission_ that impairs the sense, and the reader or pa.r.s.er be barred from an _arbitrary insertion_ of what would be c.u.mbrous and useless. By adopting loose and extravagant ideas of the nature of this figure, some pretenders to learning and philosophy have been led into the most whimsical and opposite notions concerning the grammatical construction of language. Thus, with equal absurdity, _Cardell_ and _Sherman_, in their _Philosophic Grammars_, attempt to confute the doctrines of their predecessors, by supposing _ellipses_ at pleasure. And while the former teaches, that prepositions do not govern the objective case, but that every verb is transitive, and governs at least two objects, expressed or _understood_, its own and that of a preposition: the latter, with just as good an argument, contends that no verb is transitive, but that every objective case is governed by a preposition expressed or _understood_. A world of nonsense for lack of a _definition!_