English Grammar in Familiar Lectures Part 26

_That_ being the past part, of _thean_, to get, take, a.s.sume, by rendering it as a _participle_, instead of an adjective, we should come nearer to its primitive character. Thus, "I would not wilfully hurt a fly. I wish you to believe the _a.s.sumed [fact_ or _statement_;] or, the fact _a.s.sumed_ or _taken_."

_If_, (formerly written _gif, give, gin_,) as previously stated, is the imperative of the Anglo-Saxon verb _gifan_, to give. In imitation of Horne Tooke, some of our modern philosophical writers are inclined to teach pupils to render it as a verb. Thus, "I will go, _if_ he will accompany me:"--"He will accompany me.

_Grant_--_give_ that [fact] I will go." For the purpose of ascertaining the _primitive_ meaning of this word, I have no objection to such a resolution; but, by it, do we get the exact meaning and force of _if_ as it is applied in our modern, refined state of the language? I _trow_ not. But, admitting we do, does this prove that such a mode of resolving sentences can be advantageously adopted by learners in common schools? I presume it can not be denied, that instead of teaching the learner to express himself correctly in modern English, such a resolution is merely making him familiar with an ancient and barbarous construction which modern refinement has rejected. Our forefathers, I admit, who were governed by those laws of necessity which compel all nations in the early and rude state of their language, to express themselves in short, detached sentences, employed _if_ as a verb when they used the following circ.u.mlocution: "My son will reform. _Give that fact_. I will forgive him." But in the present, improved state of our language, by using _if_ as a _conjunction_, (for I maintain that it is one,) we express the same thought more briefly; and our modern mode of expression has, too, a decisive advantage over the ancient, not only in point of elegance, but also in perspicuity and force. In Scotland and the north of England, some people still make use of _gin_, a contraction of _given:_ thus, "I will pardon my son, _gin_ he reform." But who will contend, that they speak pure English?

But perhaps the advocates of what _they_ call a philosophical development of language, will say, that by their resolution of sentences, they merely supply an ellipsis. If, by an ellipsis, they mean such a one as is necessary, to the grammatical construction, I cannot accede to their a.s.sumption. In teaching grammar, as well as in other things, we ought to avoid extremes:--we ought neither to pa.s.s superficially over an ellipsis necessary to the sense of a phrase, nor to put modern English to the blush, by adopting a mode of resolving sentences that would entirely change the character of our language, and carry the learner back to the Vandalic age.

_But_ comes from the Saxon verb, _beon-utan_, to be-out. "All were well _but (be-out, leave-out)_ the stranger." "Man is _but_ a reed, floating on the current of time." Resolution: "Man is a reed, floating on the current of time; _but (be-out_ this fact) he is not a stable being."

_And--aned, an'd, and_, is the past part. of _ananad_, to add, join.

_A, an, ane_, or _one_, from the same verb, points out whatever is _aned, oned_, or made _one. And_ also refers to the thing that is _joined_ to, _added_ to, or _made one_ with, some other person or thing mentioned. "Julius _and_ Harriet will make a happy pair."

Resolution: "Julius, Harriet _joined, united_, or _aned_, will make a happy pair;" i.e. Harriet _made one_ with Julius; will make a happy pair.

_For_ means _cause_.

_Because_--_be-cause_, is a compound of the verb _be_, and the noun _cause_. It retains the meaning of both; as, "I believe the maxim, _for_ I know it to be true;"--"I believe the maxim, _be-cause_ I know it to be true;" i.e. the _cause_ of my belief, _be_, or _is_, I know it to be true.

_Nor_ is a contraction of _ne or. Ne_ is a contraction of _not_, and _or_, of _other. Nor_ is, _not other_-wise: _not_ in the _other_ way or manner.

_Else_ is the imperative of _alesan, unless_, of _onlesan_, and _lest_, the past part. of _lesan_, all signifying to dismiss, release, loosen, set free. "He will be punished, _unless_ he repent;"--"_Unless, release, give up_, (the fact) he repents he will be punished." _Though_ is the imperative of the Saxon verb _thafigan_, to allow, and _yet_ of _getan_, to get. _Yet_ is simply, _get_; ancient _g_ is the modern _y_. "_Though_ he slay me, _yet_ will I trust in him:--_Grant_ or _allow_ (the fact) he slay me, _get_, or _retain_ (the opposite fact) I will trust in him."

QUESTIONS ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.

From what parts of speech are prepositions and conjunctions derived?--What is Horne Tooke's opinion of that?--From what is each of the following words derived, _that, if, but, and, because, nor, else, unless, lest, though_, and _yet?_

LECTURE X.

OF INTERJECTIONS.--CASES OF NOUNS.

INTERJECTIONS are words which express the sudden emotions of the speaker; as, "_Alas!_ I fear for life;" "_O_ death! where is thy sting?"

Interjections are not so much the signs of thought, as of feeling.

Almost any word may be used as an interjection; but when so employed, it is not the representative of a _distinct_, idea. A word which denotes a distinct conception of the mind, must necessarily belong to some other part of speech. They who wish to speak often, or rather, to make _noises_, when they have no useful information to communicate, are apt to use words very freely in this way; such as the following expressions, _la, la me, my, O my, O dear, dear me, surprising, astonis.h.i.+ng_, and the like.

Interjections not included in the following list, are generally known by their taking an exclamation point after them.

A LIST OF THE PRINc.i.p.aL INTERJECTIONS.

1. Of _earnestness_ or _grief_; as, O! oh! ah! alas!

2. _Contempt;_ as, Pis.h.!.+ tus.h.!.+

3. _Wonder;_ as, Heigh! really! strange!

4. _Calling;_ as, Hem! ho! halloo!

5. _Disgust_ or _aversion;_ as, Foh! fy! fudge! away!

6. _Attention_; as, Lo! behold! hark!

7. _Requesting silence_; as, Hus.h.!.+ hist!

8. _Salutation_; as, Welcome! hail! all hail!

NOTE. We frequently meet with what some call an _interjective phrase_; such as, Ungrateful wretch! impudence of hope! folly in the extreme! what ingrat.i.tude! away with him!

As the interjection is the least important part of speech in the English language, it will require but little attention. You may, however, make yourself well acquainted with what has been said respecting it, and then commit the

SYSTEMATIC ORDER OF PARSING.

_The order of parsing an_ INTERJECTION, is--an interjection, and why?

"O virtue! how amiable thou art!"

_O_ is an interjection, a word used to express some pa.s.sion or emotion of the speaker.

The ten parts of speech have now been unfolded and elucidated, although some of them have not been fully explained. Before you proceed any farther, you will please to begin again at the first lecture, and read over, attentively, the whole, observing to pa.r.s.e every example in the exercises systematically. You will then be able to pa.r.s.e the following exercises, which contain all the parts of speech. If you study faithfully _six_ hours in a day, and pursue the directions given, you may become, if not a critical, at least, a good, practical grammarian, in _six weeks_; but if you study only _three_ hours in a day, it will take you nearly _three months_ to acquire the same knowledge.

EXERCISES IN PARSING.

True cheerfulness makes a man happy in himself, and promotes the happiness of all around him.

Modesty always appears graceful in youth: it doubles the l.u.s.tre of every virtue which it seems to hide.

He who, every morning, plans the transactions of the day, and follows out that plan, carries on a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.

The king gave me a generous reward for committing that barbarous act; but, alas! I fear the consequence.

E'en now, where Alpine solitudes ascend, I set me down a pensive hour to spend; And, placed on high, above the storm's career, Look downward where a hundred realms appear:-- Alas! the joys that fortune brings, Are trifling, and decay; And those who mind the paltry things, More trifling still than they.

NOTE. In the second sentence of the foregoing exercises, _which_ is governed by the verb _to hide_, according to RULE 16. _He_ is nom.

to _carries; who_ is nom. to _plans. Follows_ agrees with _who_ understood, and is connected to _plans_ by _and_; RULE 34. What did the king give? A _reward to_ me. Then _reward_ is in the _obj_.

case, gov. by _gave_; RULE 20. _Me_ is gov. by _to_ understood; NOTE 1, RULE 32. The phrase, _committing that barbarous act_, is gov. by _for_; NOTE 2, under RULE 28. _Hour_ is in the _obj_. case, gov. by _to spend_; RULE 20. _Look_ is connected to _set_ by _and_; RULE 34.

_Joys_ is nom. to _are. That_ is gov. by _brings_; RULE 16. _Those_ is nom. to _are_ understood. _They_ is nom. to _are_ understood; RULE 35.

CASES OF NOUNS.

In a former lecture, I promised to give you a more extensive explanation of the cases of nouns; and, as they are, in many situations, a little difficult to be ascertained, I will now offer some remarks on this subject. But before you proceed, I wish you to pa.r.s.e all the examples in the exercises just presented, observing to pay particular attention to the remarks in the subjoined NOTE. Those remarks will a.s.sist you much in a.n.a.lyzing.

A noun is sometimes nominative to a verb placed many lines after the noun. You must exercise your judgment in this matter. Look at the sentence in the preceding exercises beginning with, "He who, every morning," &c. and see if you can find the verb to which _he_ is nominative. What does _he_ do? He carries on a thread, &c. _He_, then, is nominative to the verb _carries_. What does _who_ do? Who _plans_, and who _follows_, &c. Then _who_ is nom. to _plans_, and _who_ understood, is nominative to _follows_.

"A soul without reflection, like a pile Without inhabitant, to ruin runs."

In order to find the verb to which the noun _soul_, in this sentence, is the nominative, put the question; What does a _soul_ without reflection do? Such, a soul _runs_ to ruin, like a pile without inhabitant. Thus you discover, that _soul_ is nominative to _runs_.

When the words of a sentence are arranged according to their natural order, the nominative case, you recollect, is placed before the verb, and the objective, after it; but when the words of a sentence are transposed; that is, not arranged according to their natural order, it frequently happens, that the nominative comes _after_, and the objective, _before_ the verb; especially in poetry, or when a question is asked: as, "Whence _arises_ the _misery_ of the present world?" "What good _thing shall_ I _do_ to inherit eternal life?" Put these expressions in the declarative form, and the nominative will _precede_, and the objective _follow_ its verb: thus, "The _misery_ of the present world _arises_ whence; I _shall do_ what good _thing_ to inherit eternal life."

"Now came still _evening_ on, and twilight gray Had, in her sober livery, all _things_ clad."

"Stern rugged nurse, thy rigid _lore_ With patience many a _year_ she bore."