Page images
PDF
EPUB

Again the words when and where, and all others of the same nature, such as whence, whither, whenever, wherever, &c. may be properly called adverbial conjunctions, because they participate the nature both of adverbs and conjunctions: of conjunctions, as they conjoin sentences; of adverbs, as they denote the attributes either of time or of place.

Again these adverbial conjunctions, and perhaps most of the prepositions, (contrary to the character of accessory words, which have strictly no signification, but when associated with other words,) have a kind of obscure signification, when taken alone, by denoting those attributes of time and place. And hence it is, that they appear in grammar like Zoophytes in nature; a kind of middle beings, of amphibious character, which, by sharing the attributes of the higher and the lower, conduce to link the whole together.h

And so much for conjunctions, their genus, and their species.

CHAPTER III.

CONCERNING THOSE CONNECTIVES CALLED PREPOSITIONS.

PREPOSITIONS by their name express their place, but not their character. Their definition will distinguish them from the former connectives. A preposition is a part of speech, devoid itself of signification, but so formed as to unite two words that are significant, and that refuse to coalesce or unite of themselves. This connective power (which relates to words only, autem etiam in non contrariis, sed diversis tantum; ut, Alexander sive Paris. Caus. Ling. Lat. c. 170.

De

* Πολλαχοῦ γὰρ ἡ φύσις δήλη γίνεται κατὰ μικρὸν μεταβαίνουσα, ὥστε ἀμφισβητεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τίνων, πότερον ζῶον ἢ φυτόν : "Nature, in many instances, appears to make her transition by little and little, so that in some beings it may be doubted, whether they are animal or vegetable.” Themist. p. 74. edit. Ald. See also Arist. de Animal. Part. 1. x. p. 93. edit. Syll.

h It is somewhat surprising that the politest and most elegant of the Attic writers, and Plato above all the rest, should have their works filled with particles of all kinds, and with conjunctions in particular; while in the modern polite works, as well of ourselves as of our neighbours, scarce such a word as a particle or conjunction is to be found. Is it, that where there is connexion in the meaning, there must be words had to connect; but that where the connexion is little or none, such connectives are of little use? That houses of cards,

without cement, may well answer their end, but not those houses where one would choose to dwell? Is this the cause? or have we attained an elegance to the ancients unknown?

Venimus ad summam fortunæ, &c. The Stoic name for a preposition was роbeтIKÒS σúvdeoμos, præpositiva conjunctio, “a prepositive conjunction." s μὲν οὖν καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἄλλας παραθέσεις αἱ poléσeis ovvdeoμikĥs σvvτážews yivovTai παρεμφατικαί, λέλεκται ἡμῖν· ἐξ ὧν καὶ ἀφορμὴ εἴρηται παρὰ τοῖς Στωικοῖς τοῦ καλεῖσθαι αὐτὰς προθετικοὺς συνδέσμους: "Now in what manner, even in other applications, (besides the present,) prepositions give proof of their conjunctive syntax, we have mentioned already; whence, too, the Stoics took occasion to call them prepositive conjunctions." Apollon. 1. iv. e. 5. p. 313. Yet is this, in fact, rather a descriptive sketch, than a complete definition, since there are other conjunctions which are prepositive as well as these. See Gaz. 1. iv. de Præposit. Prisc. 1. xiv. p. 983.

HERMES.

193

and not sentences) will be better understood from the following speculations.

Some things coalesce and unite of themselves; others refuse to do so without help and, as it were, compulsion. Thus, in works of art, the mortar and the stone coalesce of themselves, but the wainscot and the wall not without nails and pins. In nature this is more conspicuous. For example; all quantities and qualities coalesce immediately with their substances. Thus it is we say, "a fierce lion," "a vast mountain ;" and from this natural concord of subject and accident, arises the grammatical concord of substantive and adjective. In like manner, actions coalesce with their agents, and passions with their patients. Thus it is we say, "Alexander conquers," "Darius is conquered." Nay, as every energy is a kind of medium between its agent and patient, the whole three, agent, energy, and patient, coalesce "Alexander conquers with the same facility; as when we say, Darius." And hence, that is, from these modes of natural coalescence, arises the grammatical regimen of the verb by its nominative, and of the accusative by its verb. Further than this, attributives themselves may be most of them characterized; as when we say of such attributives as ran, beautiful, learned, he ran swiftly, she was very beautiful, he was moderately learned, &c. And hence the coalescence of the adverb with verbs, participles, and adjectives.

The general conclusion appears to be this. "Those parts of speech unite of themselves in grammar, whose original archetypes unite of themselves in nature." To which we may add, as following from what has been said, that the great objects of natural union are substance and attribute. Now though substances naturally coincide with their attributes, yet they absolutely refuse doing so one with another. And hence those known maxims in physics, that body is impenetrable; that two bodies cannot possess the same place; that the same attribute cannot belong to different substances, &c.

From these principles it follows, that when we form a sentence, the substantive without difficulty coincides with the verb, from the natural coincidence of substance and energy-" the sun warmeth." So likewise the energy with the subject, on which it So likewise both substance operates "warmeth the earth." and energy with their proper attributes-"the splendid sun,genially warmeth-the fertile earth." But suppose we were desirous to add other substantives, as, for instance, air, or beams. How would these coincide, or under what character could they be introduced? Not as nominatives or accusatives, for both

Causa, propter quam duo substantiva accidens; itaque non dicas, Cæsar, Cato Scal. de Caus. Ling. Lat. c. non ponuntur sine copula, e philosophia pugnat. petenda est: neque enim duo substantiali- 177. ter unum esse potest, sicut substantia et

those places are already filled; the nominative by the substance sun; the accusative by the substance earth. Not as attributes to these last, or to any other thing; for attributes by nature they neither are, nor can be made. Here then we perceive the rise and use of prepositions. By these we connect those substantives to sentences, which at the time are unable to coalesce of themselves. Let us assume, for instance, a pair of these connectives, through and with, and mark their effect upon the substances here mentioned. "The splendid sun with his beams genially warmeth through the air the fertile earth." The sentence, as before, remains entire and one; the substantives required are both introduced; and not a word, which was there before, is detruded from its proper place.

It must here be observed, that most, if not all prepositions seem originally formed to denote the relations of place. The reason is, this is that grand relation which bodies or natural substances maintain at all times one to another, whether they are contiguous or remote, whether in motion or at rest.

It may be said, indeed, that in the continuity of place they form this universe, or visible whole, and are made as much one by that general comprehension, as is consistent with their several natures and specific distinctions. Thus it is we have prepositions to denote the contiguous relation of body, as when we say, "Caius walketh with a staff; the statue stood upon a pedestal; the river ran over a sand:" others for the detached relation, as when we say, "he is going to Italy; the sun is risen above the hills; these figs came from Turkey." So as to motion and rest, only with this difference, that here the preposition varies its character with the verb. Thus if we say, "that lamp hangs from the ceiling," the preposition from assumes a character of quiescence. But if we say, "that lamp is falling from the ceiling," the preposition in such case assumes a character of motion. So in Milton,

[blocks in formation]

But though the original use of prepositions was to denote the relations of place, they could not be confined to this office only. They, by degrees, extended themselves to subjects incorporeal, and came to denote relations, as well intellectual as local. Thus,

1 Omne corpus aut movetur aut quiescit: quare opus fuit aliqua nota, quæ Tò Toû significaret, sive esset inter duo extrema, inter quæ motus fit, sive esset in altero ex

tremorum, in quibus fit quies. Hinc eliciemus præpositionis essentialem definitioScal. de Caus. Ling. Lat, c. 152.

nem.

because, in place, he who is above, has commonly the advantage over him who is below, hence we transfer over and under to dominion and obedience; of a king we say, "he ruled over his people;" of a common soldier, "he served under such a general." So, too, we say, “with thought, without attention, thinking over a subject, under anxiety, from fear, out of love, through jealousy," &c. All which instances, with many others of like kind, shew that the first words of men, like their first ideas, had an immediate reference to sensible objects, and that in after-days, when they began to discern with their intellect, they took those words which they found already made, and transferred them by metaphor to intellectual conceptions. There is indeed no method to express new ideas, but either this of metaphor, or that of coining new words; both which have been practised by philosophers and wise men, according to the nature and exigence of the occasion."

In the foregoing use of prepositions, we have seen how they are applied, Kaтà Tаpáleσiv, "by way of juxta-position," that is to say, where they are prefixed to a word without becoming a part of it: but they may be used also, Kaтà σúvoεow, "by way of composition," that is, they may be prefixed to a word, so as to become a real part of it." Thus in Greek we have éπíoraσ0α, in Latin, intelligere, in English, "to understand;" so also, to foretell, to overact, to undervalue, to outgo, &c., and in Greek and Latin, other instances innumerable. In this case, the prepositions commonly transfuse something of their own meaning into the word with which they are compounded; and this imparted meaning, in most instances, will be found ultimately resolvable into some of the relations of place, as used either in its proper or metaphorical acceptation.

m

Among the words new coined we may ascribe to Anaxagoras, duoioμépeia: to Plato, Toorns: to Cicero, qualitas: to Aristotle, évreλéxela: to the Stoics, ours, KEPάTIS, and many others. Among the words transferred by metaphor from common to special meanings, to the Platonics we may ascribe idéa: to the Pythagoreans and Peripatetics, kaτηуopía and KaTeyope: to the Stoics, kaтáλŋpis, vóλnys, Kabhкov: to the Pyrrhonists, EσTi, ev δέχεται, ἐπέχω, &c.

And here I cannot but observe, that he who pretends to discuss the sentiments of any one of these philosophers, or even to cite and translate him, (except in trite and obvious sentences,) without accurately knowing the Greek tongue in general; the nice differences of many words apparently synonymous; the peculiar style of the author whom he presumes to handle; the new coined words, and new significations given to old words, used by such author

and his sect; the whole philosophy of such sect, together with the connections and dependencies of its several parts, whether logical, ethical, or physical; he, I say, that, without this previous preparation, attempts what I have said, will shoot in the dark; will be liable to perpetual blunders; will explain, and praise, and censure merely by chance; and though he may possibly to fools appear as a wise man, will certainly among the wise, ever pass for a fool. Such a man's intellect comprehends ancient philosophy, as his eye comprehends a distant prospect. He may see, perhaps, enough to know mountains from plains, and seas from woods; but from an accurate discernment of particulars, and their character, this, without further helps, it is impossible he should attain.

n See Gaz. Gram. 1. iv. cap. de Præposit. • For example, let us suppose some given space; e and ea signify "out of that space;" per, "through it," from beginning to end;

Lastly, there are times when prepositions totally lose their connective nature, being converted into adverbs, and used in syntax accordingly. Thus Homer:

Γέλασσε δὲ πᾶσα περὶ χθών.

"And earth smiled all around."

Iliad. T. 362.

But of this we have spoken in a preceding chapter." One thing we must, however, observe, before we finish this chapter, which is, that whatever we may be told of cases in modern languages, there are, in fact, no such things; but their force and power is expressed by two methods, either by situation, or by prepositions; the nominative and accusative cases, by situation; the rest, by prepositions. But this we shall make the subject of a chapter by itself, concluding here our inquiry concerning prepositions.

CHAPTER IV.

CONCERNING CASES.

As cases, or at least their various powers, depend on the knowledge, partly of nouns, partly of verbs, and partly of prepositions, they have been reserved till those parts of speech had been examined and discussed, and are for that reason made the subject of so late a chapter as the present.

There are no cases in the modern languages, except a few among the primitive pronouns, such as I and me, je and moy; and the English genitive, formed by the addition of s, as when from lion, we form lion's; from ship, ship's. From this defect,

in, "within it ;" sub, "under it." Hence, then, e and per, in composition, "augment;" enormis, "something, not simply big, but big in excess;" something got out of the rule, and beyond the measure; dico, “to speak;" edico, "to speak out ;" whence edictum, “an edict," something so effectually spoken, as all are supposed to hear, and all to obey. So Terence:

Eun. v. 5, 20.

66

Dico, edico vobis. which (as Donatus tells us in his Comment) is an anois. Fari, “to speak;" effari, "to speak out." Hence effutum, "an axiom," or self-evident proposition; some thing addressed, as it were, to all men, and calling for universal assent. Cic. Acad. ii. 29. Permagnus, perutilis, “great throughout, useful through every part."

On the contrary, in and sub diminish and lessen. Injustus, iniquus, “unjust, inequitable," that lies within justice and equity, that reaches not so far, that falls

short of them; subniger, “blackish ;” subrubicundus, "reddish;" tending to black, and tending to red, but yet under the standard, and below perfection.

Emo originally signified, "to take away;" hence it came to signify to buy, because he, who buys, takes away his purchase. Inter, "between," implies discontinuance; for in things continuous there can nothing lie between. From these two comes interimo, "to kill;" that is to say, to take a man away in the midst of life, by making a discontinuance of his vital energy. So also perimo, "to kill" a man; that is to say, to take him away thoroughly; for, indeed, what more thorough taking away can well be supposed? The Greek verb, avaipeîv, and the English verb, "to take off," seem both to carry the same allusion. And thus it is that prepositions become parts of other words.

P See before, p. 177.

« PreviousContinue »