The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown (free ebook reader .txt) 📕

"In every language there prevails a certain structure and analogy 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 God."—Butler's Analogy, 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 Analogy, 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.

"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.

"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 amusements, 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.

"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, constitute, 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., xxxiii, 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 passion 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, constitute 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 spacious firmament on high,
    With all the blue ethereal sky,
    And spangled heav'ns, a shining frame,
    Their great Original proclaim."
        —ADDISON. Murray's Key, p. 174; Day's Gram., p. 92;
           Farnum's, 106.

"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, lxxxvii. "This and that man was born in her."—Psal. lxxxvii, 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 passage."—Johnson's Rasselas, p. 13. "There iz such a thing az tru and false taste, and the latter az often directs fashion, az the former."—Webster's Essays, p. 401. "There is such a thing as a prudent and imprudent institution of life, with regard to our health and our affairs"—Butler's Analogy, 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 vanishing 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.

"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 God, 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.

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.

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 assume 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 æ adelphæ lumnoi huparchosi, kai leipomenoi osi tæs ephæmerou trophæs."]—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, blushing 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 Analogy, 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.