5. Participles. § 274. Participles are Verbal Adjectives, and attach themselves to Nouns and Pronouns in the same manner as ordinary Adjectives: as "Overcome by remorse, Offa endeavoured to atone for his crime by liberality to the Church.' (Hume.) "He ended frowning, and his look denounced Desperate revenge." (P. L. ii.) "Thee I revisit now with bolder wing Escaped the Stygian pool." (Ib. iii.) Obs. 1. In the following examples, Milton, while retaining the proper grammatical construction of the Participle, has followed a Greek idiom: "[She] knew not eating death." (P. L. ix. 792.) Compare Gr. ἔλαβε φαγούσα. "Knowing as needs I must by thee betrayed." (Samps. 840.) Obs. 2. Sometimes a Participle refers to a Noun or Pronoun implied in a pronominal Adjective: as "Thus repulsed, our final hope Is flat despair." (P. L. ii.) (I. e. the hope of us thus repulsed.) § 275. A Participle sometimes refers to an entire sentence: as Owing to the numerous attempts which have been made to find a N.E. or N.W. passage to India, the Arctic Ocean has been much more thoroughly explored than the Antarctic." (Clyde, Geog. p. 20.) Obs. The phrase owing to might perhaps be regarded as a Preposition, like according to. If not actually a Preposition, it is at least in a fair way to become one. § 276. An Imperfect Participle is sometimes used adverbially, at the beginning of a sentence: as "Generally speaking, these peculiar orgies obtained their admission at periods of distress, disease, public calamity, and danger . . . . دو (Grote, i. 36.) [I.e. to one speaking generally the case appears so: comp. Gr. ås συνελόντι εἰπεῖν.] "No literature, not excepting even that of Athens, has ever presented such a ... theatre of life... " (De Quincey, v. 51.) VI. ADVERBS. § 277. An Adverb usually stands as near as possible to the word which it modifies. Its ordinary place is before an Adjective or other Adverb, and after a Verb: as, Exceedingly great. To prosper exceedingly. But the Adverb may precede the Verb whenever it is intended to be at all emphatic: as, "He fell through into the tide and immediately disappeared." (Addison, Vision of Mirzah.) "England has had many heroes, but never one who so entirely possessed the love of his fellow-countrymen as Nelson." (Southey.) "Imagination fondly stoops to trace The parlour splendours of that festive place." "Merrily, merrily, bounds the bark, (Goldsmith, Des. Vill.) Before the gale she bounds." (Scott, Lord of the Isles.) Obs. 1. A frequent position for the Adverb is between the Auxiliary and the Verb: as, "What mean those flights of birds that are perpetually hovering about the bridge" (Addison, 7. c.) "The sea was gradually gaining on the buildings, which at length almost entirely disappeared." (Mac. H. E. i. 346.) "The city had again risen with a celerity..." (Ib. p. 352.) Obs. 2. The Adverbs only, not, even, are particularly liable to be misplaced, and when this is the case, an ambiguity is caused: as,— "One wretched actor only deserted his sovereign." (Gifford in Breen, p. 50.) (It should be in each case," Only one. . .' ... .") 66 follies that are only to be killed by a constant and assiduous culture." (Addison, Spect. No. 10.) (Better" that are to be killed only by a constant and assiduous culture.") "The laws of this country. ... are not contained in fewer than fifty folio volumes." (Paley, Morals, i. 4.) Better" are contained in not fewer than .") Obs. 3. Such misplacements of the Adverb as the following are frequently to be met with in inaccurate writers : "The honour and dignity of Her Majesty reluctantly compel her to withdraw from the arbitration." (Daily Paper.) (It should be—" compel her reluctantly to withdraw . . .”) § 278. Sometimes an Adverb belongs to an entire sentence, and it then usually stands at the beginning: as,~ 66 Unfortunately, the old lines of the streets had been to a great extent preserved." (Mac. H. E. i. 352.) “Perhaps, cried he, there may be such monsters as you describe." (Vicar of W. ch. xv.) § 279. The Adverbs like, unlike, are followed by the Dative Case (see § 215). Also some other Adverbs have the same construction as the Adjectives from which they are derived: as, "Previously to the bill last passed in favour of the Catholics. the opinions of the most celebrated of foreign Universities were taken.” (S. Smith, P. Plym. iii.) "What sagacity can enable a man, previously to legal investigation, to guard against deception in such a case?" (Jer. Bentham, Fallacies.) "The position of London, relatively to the other towns of the empire, was far higher than at present." (Mac. H. E. i. 349.) They may look into the affairs of Judea and Jerusalem, agreeably to that which is in the law of the Lord." (1 Esdras, in Johnson.) § 280. Some Adverbs do not differ in form from the Adjectives to which they correspond: as, hard, fair, bright, pretty [with Adjectives or Adverbs], loud, etc.: see § 167, Obs. 2. § 281. Two negatives occasionally come together in poetry, when they neutralise each other: as, "Nor did they not perceive the evil plight In which they were, or the fierce pains not feel.” (Milt. P. L. i. 335.) [A Latinised expression: neque illi non sentiebant.] This is not the case in earlier writers. Chaucer constantly uses double negatives: as,- "There was also a Doctour of Physik, In all the world ne was there none him like." [Comp. French, n'était pas.] (Prol. Cant. Tales.) "Wyd was his parisch, and houses fer asondur, The ferrest in his parisch, moch and lite" [great and little]. (Ib.) So Shakspeare: "Give not me counsel Nor let no comforter delight mine ear." (Much Ado, v. 1.) Obs. In the age of Chaucer the negative Adverb ne often combines with parts of the Verb to be: as, nis is not; nas was not, etc. § 282. Some Adverbs of Time are occasionally used as Adjectives, for the sake of brevity: as, "Use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." (1 Tim. v. 23.) 66 wars, of which they hope for a soon and prosperous issue." (Sidney in Johnson.) "Good sometime queen. (Sh. Rich. II. v. 1.)} "In my then circumstances." (Thack. Paris Sk. Bk.) "In the then condition of my mind." (Dickens, D. C. ch. xix.) So often, "the then mayor," &c. Compare in Greek, oi Tóre Пépσal. But these usages are either obsolete in English, or inadmissible in writing which professes to be accurate. § 283. The Adverbs even, only, appear sometimes to modify a Noun or Pronoun, as in such sentences as the following: "Even Homer sometimes nods." "I, even I only [only, Adj.], am left." (1 Kings xix. 10.) "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace is counted wise." (Prov. xvii. 28.) "Only a fool would act so." But it is clear that the emphasis laid upon the Noun or Pronoun in each case depends for its significance entirely upon the Predicate; and the Adverbs even, only, must be regarded as belonging to the whole sentence, though serving at the same time to call special attention to the Subject. Obs. In the last of the above examples-" Only a fool,"-"only" should perhaps be parsed as an Adjective, which it frequently is in older writers: as, "Noah only remained alive and they that were with him in the ark." (Gen. vii. 23.) Modern English would prefer: Noah alone [Adj.]. § 284. Some Adverbs, as not, just, exactly, are used to modify entire phrases, especially phrases consisting of a Preposition and a Noun ["Prepositional Phrases"]: as,"Thus twice before and jump [i.e. just, exactly] at this dead hour." (Haml. i. 1.) "Immortal Amarant, a flower which once In Paradise, fast by the tree of Life, So often, not in vain, not without reason, &c. VII. PREPOSITIONS. § 285. Prepositions govern the Objective Case: as, with me; without thee; concerning us; from London to York. § 286. Save, except, but (= except), notwithstanding. It is sometimes difficult to decide whether these words are to be regarded as Prepositions or as Conjunctions. They may however be parsed as Prepositions when followed by a Noun or Pronoun which is not the Subject of a Verb; as in the following examples: all but the wakeful nightingale." (P. L. iv. 602.) "I swear that no one was to blame but me." (Thack. Esm. ch. xiv.) "Notwithstanding this they were all good friends in general." (Dickens in Mätzner.) Obs. 1. The use of the Objective Case of a Personal Pronoun after any of the above words is to be avoided. In Shakspeare, both save and but (= except) are ordinarily followed by the Nominative (Abbott, Sh. Gr. p. 81.): as, "All the conspirators, save only he." (J. C. s. fin.) "Save thou." (Sonn. 109.) "There is none but he Whose being I do fear." (Macb. iii. 1.) So Byron : "Where nothing save the waves and I Shall hear our mutual murmurs sweep." (Gk. Bard.) And Bulwer: "Who but I can seal the lips of those below." (Caxtons, pt. xvi. i.) (Compare Latin nisi: Greek ei μǹ.) Obs. 2. Notwithstanding this strictly = hoc non obstante, Ablative Absolute. See Johnson's Dict. s. v. § 287. In Interrogative and Relative sentences the Preposition, instead of coming before the Pronoun is very often placed at the end: as,— "What could it proceed from?" (Lamb, Ess. p. 188.) [instead of,From what could it proceed?"] "Was this the face which I had so often made merry with?" [instead of "with which I had so often," &c.] Two young ladies whom I have some knowledge of." [instead of "of whom I have," &c.] (Ib. p. 214.) (Vicar of W. ch. xv.) |