12. Winter, in our temperate regions, exhibits very few phenomena in comparison with what is visible in the arctic circle.— Blair's Class-book.

13. The greater part of them [Britons] raised no corn; they subsisted on milk and flesh, and were clothed in the skins of the beasts whom they destroyed for food.-Mackintosh.

14. In their conduct towards the native race, the Spaniards have exhibited a model which other nations would do well to imitate who are louder than them in their professions of philanthropy.Alison.

15. Nor is the reason difficult to be discerned which has led to the establishment of this moral law.-Idem.

16. His reception by the Emperor Francis was not less flattering, who publicly thanked the conqueror of Hohenlinden for the moderation he had displayed.-Idem.

17.

And many a holy text around she strews

That teach the rustic moralist to die.

Gray.

18. Locke speaks of "the practice of talking Latin with a tutor who speaks it well," a phoenix whom he has not shown us where to find.-Hallam.

19. In general, we find in them neither imagery nor sentiment that yield us delight.-Idem.

20. He possessed in an eminent degree that intrepid spirit which delights in pursuing bold designs, and was no less master of that political art and dexterity which is necessary for carrying them on with success.-Robertson.

RULE V.-THE INFINITIVE.

"He

224. One verb governs another in the Infinitive : as, loves to study," where to study is the object of the verb loves.

225. This is the rule generally laid down for the use of the Infinitive. It might perhaps be better to express it more generally, in some such way as this: "The Infinitive comes after another verb for the most part, but sometimes after adjectives and nouns." "He was desirous to go," and "His desire to go was known," are expressions as well authorized as "He desired to go."

226. Before the verb denoting the object of the predicating verb, the preposition to is generally put; and it is in this case called the sign of the infinitive. But as we already

saw that the infinitive is nothing but a noun, the utility of this rule may well be questioned.

227. The sign to is omitted after the following verbs :— Bid, can, dare, feel, hear, let, make, may, must, need, shall, see, and will. We do not say, "He bade me to go," but, “He bade me go." The list we have given is not to be considered complete, for the sign to is beginning to be omitted after several other verbs. The ejection of the sign of the infinitive is a process we now see in operation. It is no business of the grammarian to say how far it should go, but simply to record how far it has gone.

EXAMPLES.

1. I wished, by compliance, to express my sympathy with this large portion of my race.-Channing.

2. I shall endeavour to illustrate a few of these advantages.Stewart.

3. It is pleasing to dwell on the contemplation.-Alison.

4. It is needless to dwell upon, and idle to cavil at, the physiological theories to which Malebranche has had recourse.-Hallam. 5. Literature is apt to form a dangerous occupation.-Carlyle. Fear to do base unworthy things is valour;

6.

If they be done to us, to suffer them

Is valour too.-Ben Jonson.

7. Let Truth and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?-Milton.

8. Let us not disparage that nature that is common to all men, for no thought can measure its grandeur.—Channing.

9.

If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus,

The rivals of my watch, bid them make haste.

Shakspeare.

10. Serious and thoughtful, Napoleon beheld the vast array defile before him.-Alison.

SENTENCES TO BE CORRECTED.-224-227.

1. We are now poor, and wisdom bids us to conform to our humble situation.-Goldsmith.

2. Sylla obliged them submit to such terms as the senate were pleased to impose.-History of Rome, Lardner's Cab. Cyclopædia. 3. It is of this I would especially bid you to drink.-M'Cullagh. 4. They entreated to read to me, and bade me not to cry, for I was now too old to weep.-Goldsmith.

66

RULE VI.-APPOSITION.

pro

: 228. Nouns and pronouns added to other nouns and nouns to explain them, are put in the same case: thus, Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is celebrated for its university." Here Edinburgh, being the subject of the sentence, is in the nominative; and the noun capital, with its adjunct of Scotland, being added to explain it, is in the nominative also. The two words, in cases of this kind, are said by grammarians to be in apposition.

229. "Brutus killed Cæsar in the Capitol; him who had been his friend." Here Cæsar is in the objective, governed by the verb killed; and as the succeeding pronoun refers to it, it must be in the objective too. If it were he, there would be no violation of any rule in grammar, but a misrepresentation of an historical fact, as it would lead us to believe that Brutus befriended Cæsar, whereas it was Cæsar that had befriended Brutus.

230. The construction of apposition is explained with great precision by Mr Latham in his " English Language," p. 358. "Cæsar, the Roman emperor, invades Britain. Here the words Roman emperor explain or define the word Cæsar; and the sentence filled up might stand, Cæsar, that is, the Roman emperor, &c. Again, the words Roman emperor might be wholly ejected; or, if not ejected, they might be thrown into a parenthesis. The practical bearing of this fact is exhibited by changing the sentence and inserting the conjunction and. In this case, instead of one person, two are spoken of, and the verb invades must be changed from the singular to the plural. Now the words Roman emperor are said to be in apposition to Cæsar. They constitute, not an additional idea, but an explanation of the original one. They are, as it were, laid alongside (appositi) of the word Cæsar."

231. There seems to be an exception to this rule in such expressions as "I called at Smith's the bookseller," where Smith's and bookseller are evidently marks of the same idea, but yet the one has the sign of the possessive ('s), which the other has not. Perhaps the expression is elliptical, who is being understood; but, at any rate, as far as the possessive case (so called) is concerned, it is in most instances awkward

to add any explanatory word to it; and the sentence runs much more smoothly if we use the preposition of; thus, "I called at the shop of Smith the bookseller," where both words are obviously in the objective.

EXAMPLES.

1. The most vital discipline of that church, the secret of the power of its priesthood, the source of most of the good and evil it can work, is found in the confessional.-Hallam.

2. Wisdom and truth, the offspring of the sky, are immortal; but cunning and deception, the meteors of the earth, after glittering for a moment, must pass away.-Robert Hall.

3. Tarquinius Priscus, a son of a citizen of Corinth, popular from his wealth and liberality, was elected to the vacant throne.-Tytler. Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot.

4.

5.

Shakspeare.

So spake the fiend, and with necessity,
The tyrant's plea, excused his dev'lish deeds.

Milton.

6. To get beautiful allegories, a perfect poetic symbol, was not the want of men.-Carlyle.

7. It is seldom that the father and the son, he who has borne the weight and he who has been brought up in the lustre of the diadem, exhibit equal capacity for the administration of affairs.-Gibbon.

8.

Oh! many are the poets that are sown

By nature; men endowed with highest gifts,
The vision and the faculty divine,

Yet wanting the accomplishment of verse.- Wordsworth. 330. I have not found the rule of apposition violated by any writer of sufficient reputation to justify my quoting him; and as I have discarded the plan of manufacturing errors, I must content myself with laying these examples before the student, and so far violate uniformity by omitting Sentences to be Corrected.

RULE VII.-THE VERB TO BE.

232. The verb To Be and all apposition verbs, that is, verbs used as copula, have the same case after them as they have before them thus, "Alfred was a good king." Here the word king, coming after the verb was, is in the nominative, because it is descriptive of Alfred, the subject of the sentence.

"She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him.” Here gardener is to be considered in the objective, because him, going before the verb to be, is in the objective, governed

by the verb supposing. "She walks a queen." Here queen

is in the nominative case, because walks, besides indicating a particular action, serves to connect the noun and pronoun together.

233. While the nouns and pronouns before and after the verb to be must be of the same case, they need not in all instances be in the same number or of the same person. "I believed it to be them," "It was he," "It was they," are all correct expressions. It must, however, be allowed that there is a natural congruity in having like numbers before and after the verb. It satisfies the ear always, and where it does not offend the judgment, it ought to be used.

234. Mr Latham* differs from most grammarians as to the rule for the verb to be. He lays it down thus, “Verbs substantive govern the nominative case." The idea of the nominative being governed is contrary to all received notions of grammar; and if I am right in giving "I believed it to be them," as correct, the rule does not express a fact in our language. I consider that the verb to be, in all its parts, acts merely as a connective, and can have no effect in governing any thing. Dr Lowth expressly excepts the infinitive mood, and with this exception Latham's rule, though the mode of stating it would still be objectionable, might be allowed to pass.

235. The subject, according to Rule I. (99), regulates the number of the verb. We should not say "Happiness are the reward and crown of virtue," but is, because the subject is singular. Murray gives the following as correct: -“A great cause of the low state of industry were the restraints put upon it;" but good use does not at all sanction this practice, and it clearly offends against logical accuracy. That the rule is often violated, and that there is a natural tendency to violate it, may be admitted; still it is a violation of a well established principle, and ought as much as possible to be checked. The very first rule of syntax is

* Elementary English Grammar, p. 155.