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

come, as one sings of things which are past rehearsing.'"—Kirkham's Gram., p. 169. "A simple sentence has in it but one nominative, and one neuter verb."—Folker's Gram., p. 14. "An Irregular Verb is that which has its passed tense and perfect participle terminating differently; as, smite, smote, smitten."—Wright's Gram., p. 92. "But when the antecedent is used in a general sense, a comma is properly inserted before the relative; as, 'There is no charm in the female sex, which can supply the place of virtue.'"—Kirkham's Gram., p. 213. "Two capitals in this way denote the plural number; L. D. Legis Doctor; LL. D. Legum Doctor."—Gould's Lat. Gram., p. 274. "Was any person besides the mercer present? Yes, both he and his clerk."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 188. "Adnoun, or Adjective, comes from the Latin, ad and jicio, to add to."—Kirkham's Gram., p. 69. "Another figure of speech, proper only to animated and warm composition, is what some critical writers call vision; when, in place of relating some thing that is past, we use the present tense, and describe it as actually passing before our eyes. Thus Cicero, in his fourth oration against Cataline: 'I seem to myself to behold this city, the ornament of the earth, and the capital of all nations, suddenly involved in one conflagration. I see before me the slaughtered heaps of citizens lying unburied in the midst of their ruined country. The furious countenance of Cethegus rises to my view, while with a savage joy he is triumphing in your miseries.'"—Blair's Rhet., p. 171. "Vision is another figure of speech, which is proper only in animated and warm composition. It is produced when, instead of relating something that is past, we use the present tense," &c.— Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 352. "When several verbs follow one another, having the same nominative, the auxiliary is frequently omitted after the first through an ellipsis, and understood to the rest; as, 'He has gone and left me;' that is, 'He has gone, and has left me.' "—Comly's Gram., p. 94. "When I use the word pillar as supporting an edifice, I employ it literally."—Hiley's Gram., 3d Ed., p. 133. "The conjunction nor is often used for neither; as,

'Simois nor Xanthus shall be wanting there.'"—Ib., p. 129.

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE XII.—OF PERVERSIONS.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."—Murray's
Gram., 8vo, Vol. i, p. 330; Hallock's Gram., p. 179; Melmoth, on
Scripture, p. 16.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because this reading is false in relation to the word "heavens;" nor is it usual to put a comma after the word "beginning." But, according to Critical Note 12th, "Proof-tests in grammar, if not in all argument, should be quoted literally; and even that which needs to be corrected, must never be perverted." The authorized text is this: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."—Gen., i, 1.]

"Canst thou, by searching, find out the Lord?"—Murray's Gram., p. 335. "Great is the Lord, just and true are thy ways, thou king of saints."—Priestley's Gram., p. 171; L. Murray's, 168; Merchant's, 90; R. C. Smith's, 145; Ingersoll's, 194; Ensell's, 330; Fisk's, 104; et al. "Every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."—Alex. Murray's Gram., p. 137. "Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor."—L. Murray's Gram., p. 211; Bullions's, 111 and 113; Everest's, 230; Smith's, 177; et al. "Whose foundation was overflown with a flood."—FRIENDS' BIBLE: Job, xxii, 16. "Take my yoke upon ye, for my yoke is easy."—The Friend, Vol. iv, p. 150. "I will to prepare a place for you."—Weld's E. Gram., 2d Ed., p. 67. "Ye who are dead hath he quickened."—lb., p. 189; Imp. Ed., 195. "Go, flee thee away into the land of Judea."—Hart's Gram., p. 115. "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 222. "Thine is the day and night."—Brown's Concordance, p. 82. "Faith worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope."—O. B. Peirce's Gram., p. 282. "Soon shall the dust return to dust, and the soul, to God who gave it. BIBLE."—Ib., p. 166. "For, in the end, it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. It will lead thee into destruction, and cause thee to utter perverse things. Thou wilt be like him who lieth down in the midst of the sea. BIBLE."—Ib., p. 167. "The memory of the just shall be honored: but the name of the wicked shall rot. BIBLE."—Ib., p. 168. "He that is slow in anger, is better than the mighty. He that ruleth his spirit, is better than he that taketh a city. BIBLE."—Ib., p. 72. "The Lord loveth whomsoever he correcteth; as the father correcteth the son in whom he delighteth. BIBLE."—Ib., p. 72. "The first future tense represents what is to take place hereafter. G. B."—Ib., p. 366. "Teach me to feel another's wo; [and] To hide what faults I see."—Ib., p. 197. "Thy speech bewrayeth thee; for thou art a Gallilean."—Murray's Ex., ii, p. 118. "Thy speech betrays thee; for thou art a Gallilean."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 250. "Strait is the gate, and narrow the way, that leads to life eternal."—Ib., Key, p. 172. "Straight is the gate," &c.—Ib., Ex., p. 36. "'Thou buildest the wall, that thou mayst be their king.' Neh., vi, 6."—Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 210. "'There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayst be feared.' Psalms, cxxx, 4."—Ib., p. 210. "But yesterday, the word, Cesar, might Have stood against the world."—Kirkham's Elocution, p. 316. "The northeast spends its rage. THOMSON."—Joh. Dict., w. Effusive. "Tells how the drudging goblet swet. MILTON."—Churchill's Gram., p. 263. "And to his faithful servant hath in place Bore witness gloriously. SAM. AGON."—Ib., p. 266. "Then, if thou fallest, O Cromwell, Thou fallest a blessed martyr."—Kirkham's Elocution, p. 190. "I see the dagger-crest of Mar, I see the Morays' silver star, Waves o'er the cloud of Saxon war, That up the lake came winding far!—SCOTT."—Merchant's School Gram., p. 143. "Each bird, and each insect, is happy in its kind."—Ib., p. 85. "They who are learning to compose and arrange their sentences with accuracy and order, are learning, at the same time, to think with accuracy and order. BLAIR."—Ib., p. 176; L. Murray's Gram., Title-page, 8vo and 12mo. "We, then, as workers together with you, beseech you also, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."—James Brown's Eng. Syntax, p. 129. "And on the bounty of thy goodness calls."—O. B. Peirce's Gram., p. 246. "Knowledge dwells In heads replete with thoughts of other men; Wisdom, in minds retentive to their own. COWPER."—Merchant's School Gram., p. 172. "Oh! let me listen to the word of life. THOMSON."—Ib., p. 155. "Save that from yonder ivy-mantled bower, &c. GRAY'S ELEGY."—Tooke's Div. of Purley, Vol. i, p. 116. "Weigh the mens wits against the ladies hairs. POPE."—Dr. Johnson's Gram., p. 6. "Weigh the men's wits against the women's hairs. POPE."—Churchill's Gram., p. 214. "Prior to the publication of Lowth's excellent little grammar, the grammatical study of our own language, formed no part of the ordinary method of instruction. HILEY'S PREFACE."—Dr. Bullions's E. Gram., 1843, p. 189. "Let there be no strife betwixt me and thee."—Weld's Gram., p. 143.

   "What! canst thou not bear with me half an hour?—SHARP."
        —Ib., p. 185.

   "Till then who knew the force of those dire dreams.—MILTON."
        —Ib., p. 186.

   "In words, as fashions, the rule will hold,
    Alike fantastic, if too new or old:"
        —Murray's Gram., p. 136.

   "Be not the first, by whom the new is tried,
    Nor yet the last, to lay the old aside."
        —Bucke's Gram., p. 104.

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE XIII.—OF AWKWARDNESS.

"They slew Varus, who was he that I mentioned before."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 194.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the phrase, "who was he that," is here prolix and awkward. But, according to Critical Note 13th, "Awkwardness, or inelegance of expression, is a reprehensible defect in style, whether it violate any of the common rules of syntax or not." This example may be improved thus: "They slew Varus, whom I mentioned before."]

"Maria rejected Valerius, who was he that she had rejected before."—Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 174. "The English in its substantives has but two different terminations for cases."—Lowth's Gram., p. 18. "Socrates and Plato were wise; they were the most eminent philosophers of Greece."—Ib., p. 175; Murray's Gram., 149; et al. "Whether one person or more than one, were concerned in the business, does not yet appear."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 184. "And that, consequently, the verb and pronoun agreeing with it, cannot with propriety, be ever used in the plural number."—Murray's Gram., p. 153; Ingersoll's, 249; et al. "A second help may be the conversing frequently and freely with those of your own sex who are like minded."—John Wesley. "Four of the semi-vowels, namely, l, m, n, r, are also distinguished by the name of liquids, from their readily uniting with other consonants, and flowing as it were into their sounds."—Murray's Gram., p. 8; Churchill's, 5; Alger's, 11; et al. "Some conjunctions have their correspondent conjunctions belonging to them: so that, in the subsequent member of the sentence the latter answers to the former."—Lowth's Gram., p. 109: Adam's, 209; Gould's, 205; L. Murray's, 211; Ingersoll's, 268; Fisk's, 137; Churchill's, 153; Fowler's, 562; et al. "The mutes are those consonants, whose sounds cannot be protracted. The semi-vowels, such whose sounds can be continued at pleasure, partaking of the nature of vowels, from which they derive their name."—Murray's Gram., p 9; et al. "The pronoun of the third person, of the masculine and feminine gender, is sometimes used as a noun, and regularly declined: as, 'The hes in birds.' BACON. 'The shes of Italy.' SHAK."—Churchill's Gram., p. 73. "The following examples also of separation of a preposition from the word which it governs, is improper in common writings."—C. Adams's Gram., p. 103. "The word whose begins likewise to be restricted to persons, but it is not done so generally but that good writers, and even in prose, use it when speaking of things."—Priestley's Gram., p. 99; L. Murray's, 157; Fisk's, 115; et al. "There are new and surpassing wonders present themselves to our views."—Sherlock. "Inaccuracies are often found in the way wherein the degrees of comparison are applied and construed."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 202. "Inaccuracies are often found in the way in which the degrees of comparison are applied and construed."—Murray's Gram., p. 167; Smith's, 144; Ingersoll's, 193; et al. "The connecting circumstance is placed too remotely, to be either perspicuous or agreeable."—Murray's Gram., p. 177. "Those tenses are called simple tenses, which are formed of the principal without an auxiliary verb."—Ib., p. 91. "The nearer that men approach to each other, the more numerous are their points of contact and the greater will be their pleasures or their pains."—Murray's Key, 8vo, p. 275. "This is the machine that he is the inventor of."—Nixon's Parser, p. 124. "To give this sentence the interrogative form, it should be expressed thus."—Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 279. "Never employ those words which may be susceptible of a sense different from the sense you intend to be conveyed."—Hiley's Gram., p. 152. "Sixty pages are occupied in explaining what would not require more than ten or twelve to be explained according to the ordinary method."—Ib., Pref., p. ix. "The present participle in -ing always expresses an action, or the suffering of an action, or the being, state, or condition of a thing as continuing and progressive."—Bullions, E. Gram., p. 57. "The Present participle of all active verbs[457] has an active signification; as, James is building the house. In many of these, however, it has also a passive signification; as, the house was building when the wall fell."—Id., ib., 2d or 4th Ed., p. 57. "Previous to parsing this sentence, it may be analyzed to the young pupil by such questions as the following, viz."—Id., ib., p. 73. "Subsequent to that period, however, attention has been paid to this important subject."—Ib., New Ed., p. 189; Hiley's Preface, p. vi. "A definition of a word is an explanation in what sense the word is used, or what idea or object we mean by it, and which may be expressed by any one or more of the properties, effects, or circumstances of that object, so as sufficiently to distinguish it from other objects."—Hiley's Gram., p. 245.

UNDER CRITICAL NOTE XIV.—OF IGNORANCE.

"What is an Asserter? It is the part of speech which asserts."—O. B.
Peirce's Gram., p. 20.

[FORMULE.—Not proper, because the term "Asserter" which is here put for Verb, is both ignorantly misspelled, and whimsically misapplied. But, according to Critical Note 14th, "Any use of words that implies ignorance of their meaning, or of their proper orthography, is particularly unscholarlike; and, in proportion to the author's pretensions to learning, disgraceful." The errors here committed might have been avoided thus: "What is a verb? It is a word which signifies to be, to act, or to be acted upon." Or thus: "What is an assertor? Ans. 'One who affirms positively; an affirmer, supporter, or