UC-NRLF 895 Mwi $B bl7 7fiS 1 SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION By JOHN G. R. McELROY, A.M. PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA "De Minimis" PHILADELPHIA PORTER & COATES 822 CHEST^^UT STREET 1878 Entered according to the Act o£ Congress, in the year 1878, by JOHN G. R. Mcelroy, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress. All rights reserved. PHILADELPHIA: COLLINS, PRINTER, 705 Jayne Street. (^n;?T NOTE. The following pages contain substantially the notes of a lecture delivered to several classes in the Univer- sity. They are printed, both in order to save time in giving my own instruction, and in the hope that this method of presenting the subject may recommend itself to others. I have tried different plans of initiating students of composition into the mystery of Punctuation. The least successful has been that which rested on usage: the most successful, the one presented here. Even a compromise, which stated the general principles now contended for, and then sent the student to our litera- ture for models, was less productive of results than this effort to deduce a few rules from the fundamental truths of the subject. I have aimed at the utmost brevity consistent with 6C6 4 NOTE. clearness and success in teaching. The teacher can extend the discussion or multiply the examples, as the wants of his class may require. University of Pennsylvania, April 15, 1878. A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. Punctuation is the art of marking distinctly for the eye either the construction of the sentence or the kind of sentence with which it is used. To a certain extent, this work depends upon usage; but, on another side, it is ultimately controlled by principles of construction or thought, and de« pends upon usage only so far as usage truly repre- sents these laws of thought and construction. For example, the forms and meanings of the signs (employed are matters of convention^ or agreement, and have been adopted with but little regard to their reasonableness or their unreasonableness. But the art of using these stops correctly implies a knowledge of the nature and construction of the sentence and the paragraph, as well as of the character of the thought expressed. It ultimately depends, therefore, upon Grammar, the science of the sentence, and Logic, the science of thought. The practice of punctuation can rest upon usage, only w4ien usage is settled ; that is, when it has 1^ 6 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. SO completely justified itself at the bar of Good Sense, that all intelligent and cultivated people are agreed upon obeying its dictates. This, it is generally conceded, (though the concession is^ome- times forgotten,) is the true meaning of Horace's oft-quoted dictum, JJ^ws est etjus et norma loqueyidi:^ this must be what we mean when we say that usage controls our syntax or our vocabulary or any other department of Style.^ But it will hardly be claimed that usage in punctuation is settled. The popular verdict is that the whole matter is a question of taste, and that it is enough to say, in reply to any argument on the merits of a given case, '' I like the such-a- point in that place." Occasionally we are told that, since punctuation depends upon construc- tion, he who wM'ites clearly will punctuate clearly, —a doctrine far preferable to the other, though scarcely the whole truth, after all; but it is oftener held that ease and grace in writing are incompatible Avith a too careful use of the points, and that a judicious carelessness is as becoming as an intentional dishabille. Indeed, it is even hinted darkly that some over-particular persons, in their search for the form of discourse, have actually lost sight of its essence, and so have produced com- positions " all body and no soul." Accordingly, general practice grows decidedlj^ careless; commas ' Usage is the law and rule of speech. 2 See Appendix, I. A SYSTExM OF PUNCTUATION. 7 and dashes — the latter in tropical profusion — usurp the offices of all the other stops; the semi-colon remains but a distant acquaintance ; and the colon is all but unknown.^ Editors complain that MSS. and even letters reach them, that are unfitted for publication by their actual slovenliness in this re- spect ; and teachers confess that many an otherwise clever composition would serve as a capital exercise in False Punctuation. Even the best-printed edi- tions of our standard authors betray irregularities that stand in strange contrast with their general conformity to the laws of Rhetoric and Grammar. Not only do the several writers punctuate difter- ently, but each single writer uses different stops for the same purpose and the same stop in difterent offices.2 II. It follows, therefore, that a system of punctua- tion based wholly upon usage — commonly called an em.pmcal^ or a posteinoyi^ system — cannot, in the present state of the art, be entirely successful. Scientific generalization, (^. e.^ the inferring of a ^ See Appendix, II. 2 Proof of Uiis assertion may readily be found in our litera- ture : it is omitted here only for want of space, — a few exam- ples of such irregularities being of little value as evidence, and a large number properly displayed covering a great many pages. 8 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. rale from a num)3er of characteristic cases,) is clearly impossible from examples that flatly con- tradict each other. "If the trumpet give an un- certain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" Such systems serve only to bring into bolder relief the variations that are already too evident upon the face of the literature. Moreover, they lack that logical unity which so materially assists the mind in remembering and applying the rules; and must consist of so many and so minute directions, with exceptions more numerous even than the rules, that one is bewildered by this mul- tiplying of commandments. Yet, if it is worth while to punctuate at all, — if the marks of punc- tuation, ''trifles" though they be, are in any respect worthy of our attention, — it is surely desirable to have a simple, clear and compact body of rules.^ This we must seek by a method quite diflterent from that which is pursued by the empirical sys- tems. We turn, then, to the opposite method of devel- opment, the a priori^ or that which proceeds from the necessary conditions of the subject. These conditions are simple enough to be grasped by any mind properly trained in elementary Grammar, and lead to a few clear rules, which justify them- selves by demonstrating their own reasonableness, while they are bound together by a logical sequence that secures for them essential unity. Moreover, ' See Appendix, III. A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. ^ the rules are so broad, so entirely statements of general truths rather than arbitrary enactments, that they leave a writer all the liberty he can pos- sibly desire or claim for his punctuation as a part of the communication of his own thought. [See Sec. VI., below.] Besides, it is confidently believed that, by this system, the whole subject is brouglit within easy grasp, and that a greater degree of consistency and uniformity w-ill be promoted than is possible by any other plan. III. The following propositions may stand as postu- lates: — 1. The end in view in punctuation is to mark distinctly for the eye {not for the ear) either (A) the construction of the sentence or (B) the kind of sentence with which it is used. 2. Only so many marks will be needed as are required to distinguish the several kinds of sen- tences from each other and to separate the several parts of sentences. 10 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. 3. Absolute consistency and uniformity are im- possible: variations must occur, so long as men differ in judgment or in taste; and, provided they do not aftect the clearness of the sentence, are not to be regretted. Let us see whither these propositions will lead us. IV. 1. From the principle that punctuation is ad- dressed to the eye, not to the ear, comes Rule I. — Punctuate for meaning, not for elocution. L e., use only so many stops as are absolutely necessary to show the rela- tions of the several sentences or members of sentences. More or fewer always create ambiguity, and may lead to a misunder- standing of the writer. E, g,^ (1) But, at any rate, it is a town on a hill, wooded with two-and-thirty bushes, of very uniform size, and possessing about the same number of leaves each. (2) Purple, and crimson, and scarlet, like the curtains of God's tabernacle, the rejoicing trees sank into the valley in showers of light, every separate leaf quivering with buoyant and burning life ; each, as it turned to reflect or to transmit the sunbeam, first a torch and then an emerald. A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. 11 In Ex. (1) tlie commas after '•hill^^ 'bushes^^ and 'size^ seem to show the agreement of the following clauses with ' toion^^ and not (as is meant) with ' hiir or 'bushes.' In Ex. (2) not a single point could be omitted, perhaps, without endangering the sense. 2. Sentences are commonly divided by gram- marians in two ways: — (A.) With regard to their construction, into {a) Simple, (6) Complex, {c) Compound. (B.) With regard to the kind of thought ex- pressed, into {a) Declarative, including Imperative, (6) In- terrogative, (c) Exclamatory, {d) Interjected, (e) Broken, (/) Quoted. Upon the definitions of the simple and the com- pound sentence, all writers are agreed, as they are, also, in conceding that the elements of a sentence (its subject^ loredicate and copula^) may be either simple or modified or compound, without chang- ing the character of the sentence ; but upon the question what is meant by a complex sentence, they are divided. The sentence usually so named, {b') a principal and a dependent clause, — e. g.^ Ti- tinius, if thou lov'st me, mount thou my horse, — • is treated by some grammarians as a modified simple sentence; w^hile the term 'complex' is re- stricted to {¥') a simple or a compound sentence 12 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. ''combined with elements that are foreign to it;" e, g,^ "I have tried Prince George sober," said Charles the Second; "and I have tried him drunk; and, drunk or sober, there is nothing in him." For our purposes, luckily, this question need not be settled, the principles of punctuation that apply to either {a) or {b) controlling {b') equally well. 3. Beginning with class (B.), w^e see at once that each of the six kinds of sentences is indicated by its own peculiar mark standing at the end of the sentence or enclosing it. Hence, (a) the period, {b) the note of interroga- tion, or question-mark, (c) the note of exclamation, {d) the parenthesis or brackets or dashes, {e) the single dash, and (/) the marks of quotation. Points (tjunctive in meaning, the stops seem necessary. [See Rule I., Ex. (2).] 0-5f 18 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. (8) All who beheld it rcjmced, and praised the Lord, and took courage. (8) The babies were out in full force, looking as gay and delicate and sweet as the snow-drops, hyacinths, and daffodils. (8) Thou neither great at court, nor in the war, ISTor at the exchange shalt be, nor at the wrangling bar. (9) At that date he endeavored to gain admission into Par- liamisnt as burgess for Midhuist, and was defeated - - - - . (9) See Ex. (2), the comma after Triedricli.' Note. — Inversions (1) and important ellipses (2) require punctuation in contradiction of this rule. But, on this point, writers make very free use of both their judgment and their taste. Thiis^ (1) At nine o'clock, she bade him "good night." (2) J, to herd with narrow foreheads ! But, (1) In the twilight he had a good lounge on the sofa. (2) I the heir of all the ages ! (2) Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man. KuLE lY. — The complex sentence of the form (&') will require punctuation to separate its clauses from each other (1); of the form (&"), to distinguish "foreign elements'' from the rest of the sentence. Tlius^ (1) If your majesty, after all that has happened, has still any hope of safety in arms, we have done. (2) See Ex. (&'0 in paragraph 2, alom. A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. 19 Of course, the several clauses of a complex sen- tence must also be punctuated as independent sen- tences. Rule Y. — The compound sentence (c) will require double punctuation, (1) to sepa- rate its members, and (2) to show the con- struction of these members as independent sentences. Thus, (1) and (2) Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our liearts, tliongli stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. Sentences of the classes (h) and (c) may become quite intricate, but they can always be readily punctuated by the process here indicated, viz., Rule VI. — In all complex and compound sentences, treat each main division of the sentence as a sentence by itself. We can now see how many marks will be needed to indicate all these relations, external and internal. Firsts to indicate the kinds of sentences, the stops enumerated in Rule T. will be more than enough. For the brackets and the dashes are alternatives of the parenthesis, and tlie double quotation-marks 20 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. virtunll y the same as the single signs of quotation. These marks may, therefore, be counted as six. Second^ to show the construction of our sentences, only two marks will be required, — each, however, in two forms : — I. (1) The Period, to separate complete sen- tences; and II. (1) The Comma, to separate modifiers from the words wliich they modify, and the parts of a compound construction from each other. But the too constant use of the period gives rise (1) to a great many short sentences in pas- sages in which important considerations forbid our adopting a broken style, and (2) to the com- plete isolation of cUiuses that are closely connected in thought. Hence, I. (2) The Colon, or Short Period. Again, in long sentences, the too constant use of the comma creates obscurity ; and, even in short sentences, the degree of relation in thought between the members cannot always be accurately expressed with a single sign. Hence, II. (2) The Semi-colon, or Long Comma. From these principles we get EuLE YII. — The Period is used to sepa- rate complete declarative and imperative sentences. Rule YIII.— The Colon, or Short Period, separates complete declarative and impera- A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. 21 tive sentences which, though independent in grammatical construction, are closely con- nected in thought (1); or in which it is desired to preserve a flowing, as opposed to a broken, style (2). E.g.^ (1) I cannot tell thee, Harry, how lonely I felt in that place, amidst the scandal and squabbles : I regretted my prison almost. [Thackeray, Fir^t^2a?is, II. vii.] (2) They had, however, he assured them, nothing to fear from him : he would keep their secret : he could not help wishing them success ; but his conscience would not suffer him to take an active part in a rebellion. [Macaulay, History of England. ] Corollary. — The Colon is replaced by the period, even when the connection of thought is very close, if the writer intentionally adopts the broken style (1) and (2), or under the general rule of Sec. III. (8). Kg., (1) Look here, gentlemen! This is he. This is my brother, that w^as dead and is alive again ! [Thackeray, Virginians^ II. vii.] (2) Imagine a well meaning laborious mechanic fondly at- tached to his wife and children. Bad times come. He sees the wife whom he loves grow thinner and paler every (Jay. His little ones cry for bread ; and he has none to give them. Then come the professional agitators, the tempters, . [Macaulay, Speech on ^^The People's Gharter'\} (3) The historian tells either what is false or what is true. In the former case he is no historian. In the latter, he has no opportunity for displaying his abilities. 22 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. ]^OTE. — The Period and the Colon have certain conventional uses: — (a) The Period, to mark an abbreviation. (6) The Colon, (or Colon and Single Dash,) to introduce enumerations and direct quotations. [But see, also, Note 2 to Rule X.] EuLE IX. — The Comma separates from modified elements those modifiers which re- quire separation (1), [Rule III. (2) ;] marks the parts of compound modifiers and ele- ments (2); indicates inversions and im- portant ellipses (3); and may even divide the several clauses of complex and com- pound sentences (4). JE. g,, (1) Sentence (2), Rule III. (2) Sentences (3), (4), (5), (6) and (8), Rule III. (3) Examples under Rule III., Note. (4) Examples under Rules IV. and Y. Note. — The omission of connectives does not change the character of a true compound sentence ; as may be seen by supplying the omitted words. TIius^ Love is sunshine, liate is shadow. Life is checkered shade and sunshine. {Cf. Sentences (3) and (5) under Rule III.) But in the examples under Rule VIII. we have an entirely different con- struction. A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. 23 Rule X. — The Semi-colon, or Long Com- ma, separates the members of a compound sentence, when they are less closely con- nected in thonght but quite closely connect- ed in construction (1); and this especially, if the members are themselves divided by commas (2). When the compound sentence consists of more than two members, and the connecting word is omitted except between the last two, the case is exactly analogous to (4) and (6) under Rule III. (3). Thus, (1) Oxford was placed in the chair; and the King's over- tures were taken into consideration. (2) But Drayton's first publication, * Plarmony of the Church,' 1591, versified the highest poetry of the Old Testa- ment, and loftily disclaimed ; while the poetical name that he assumed was Rowland or Roland, the most heroic name in chivalry. (3) His "Nymphidia" is a pretty burlesque of love, jealousy, combat, and reconciliation - - - - ; his *'Polyolbion," a mira- cle , contains - - - ; one, at least, of his sonnets (that quoted in - - - - ) is ; and his poem on the Battle of Agincourt is vivid, stirring, . Corollary. — The Comma may sometimes be used instead of the Semi-colon, if the chxuses are very short. Jlius^ It looks to an end, and it is the proper province of Ethics - - . 1^^ This liberty, however, (if, indeed, it be not a license,) should be used most sparingly. 24 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. IToTE 1. — The connectives may all be omitted in this case also, without changing the compound character of the sentence; and the mark required be the semi-colon, not the colon. [Cf, Note to Rule IX.] The distinction between the serui- colon and the comma is the same in this case as in those already instanced. Thus^ Never touch what is not your own ; never take liberties with sacred things. [Sc. and.] Note 2. — The Comma and the Semi-colon have also certain conventional uses : — (a) The Comma, (or Comma and Single Dash,) to introduce a direct quotation. (6) The Semi-colon, to introduce enumerations, examples, etc., that are preceded by 'a^,' 'to ivit^' 'viz,^^ ^ e- g.^ '/. ^.,' 'A. ^./ etc., when these stand as continuous parts of sentences. Otherwise, the period precedes, ^-g-, ((2) And he said with a smile, "Our ship, I wis, Shall be of another form than this." (a) And he cried, with impulse strong, — ''Helmsman ! for the love of heaven, Teach me, too, that wondrous song!" (5) To this class belong - - - verbs signifying to quarrel with ; as jua^^^-^aj toTc ©n^aioic (5) The dative of possession, after et^/ and similar verbs. E. g. uoWoi f/,oi (pixot giVtv. In (6), most writers use a comma after the connective, on the principle of (a) of this Note. Kg., A SYSTEM OF PUXCTUATION. 25 Tlie inseparable preposition re or red is short; as, reniitto. But the difference of usage in this case is, of course, immaterial. [The *^ etymological" points,(the Hyphen, Apostrophe, etc.,) are purposely left unnoticed, as they seem to belong to orthog- raphy, rather than to punctuation.] VI. It would not be extravagant, perhaps, to expect from an analysis of this kind an absolute system of punctuation — a code of rules to which all point- ing must conform. Based upon the essential doc- trine of the sentence, and exemplified by actual cases from our best writers, these rules most cer- tainly seem to promise absolute consistency and uniformity, provided only that their application be always guided by a correct judgment. But further consideration will show us why this can- not be. "Punctuation is one of the means of com- munication between a writer and his readers;" and it would be arrant presumption to attempt to decide for a competent writer what he intended to say. Besides, it would be far too much to expect that upon such points as underlie these rules, dif- ferent minds should think alike. The relations of several thoughts to each other, and that of a single thought to its modifiers, may be conceived by several minds in as many ways; and punctua- tion wull vary accordingly. To look no deeper, 3 26 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. analysis by verbal parsing is essentially different from that by phrasal parsing, and must give dif- ferent results. Moreover, a question of punctua- tion is often a question of taste ; and the tastes of men (it need not be said) admit of many degrees of cultivation. Let us exemplify these positions in a few simple cases. (1) There is no one who can read the history of any of these heroes of the moral scene wliose life has been one continued deed of generosity to mankind, without feeling that if there be virtue on earth, there has been virtue in tliat bosom whicli has suffered much or dared much that the world might be free from any of the ills which disgraced it. Omitting details, we can see at once that the following variations are permissible. Indeed, it would, perhaps, be difficult to find a better example of allowable differences of punctuation. (1^) There scene, mankind, that, - — — earth, (2) much, it. (P) There scene, mankind, — feeling, that, (1) (2) earth, much, much, it. (2) Already the orange riband had the double signification which, after the lapse of one hundred and sixty years, it still retains. The commas are due to the inversion, (used in order to make 'retains' emphatic;) but, in so short a sentence, they might readily have been omitted. In (3) For when we w-ere yet without strength, in due time, Christ died - - - - . A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. 27 the punctuation is not amiss, if not absolutely necessary; but in (4) This is done, more or less, by all the old Masters, without an exception. the pointing would seem to be excessive. (5) The words 'perhaps,' 'indeed,' 'accordingly,' etc. are (generally commaed off, because they stand for 'it may be,' 'to state the fact,' 'in accordance with this ,' etc. [See Rule IV. (&")•] Questions of taste are much more delicate and much more difficult to decide. By his pointing of the following, the author presents to the eye, as his words do to the mind, the deep, overpower- ing emotions that were controlling his hero: — (ly Harry was greatly moved, too. He knelt down by her. He seized her cold hand, and kissed it. He told her, in his artless way, how very keenly he had felt her love for him. He bowed his comely head over her hand. She felt hot drops from his eyes raining on it. She had loved this boy. In ordinary narrative his punctuation is differ- ent. Kg., (2) She lost; she won ; she cheated; she pawned her jewels ; w^ho knows what else she was not ready to pawn, so as to find funds to supply her fury for play ! Again, compare with the last sentence of (2) the final clause of (3) Look here, gentlemen ! This is he. This is my brother, that was dead and is alive again ! Can any man in Christendom produce such a brother as this? Even as a question of taste, it seems doubtful 28 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. Avhetlier the ! should not huve been used in (3), and the ? in (2). VII. Such, then, is the a priori system of punctuation. That it is reasonable seems hardly to admit of doubt ; for its fandaraenta are essential truths of language. That it is practicable seems equally clear; for it finds ready exemplification in the usage of our best writers. The passages cited, however, are not given, as they are in the a poste- riori codes, in justijicaiion of the rules: they are intended simply as examples, to illustrate the working of the rules. The rules themselves de- pend, as we have seen, upon principles of thought and construction. Still, the fact that our standard authors show by their usage that these principles have influenced their minds as they wrote, is a further proof of the value and correctness of the rules deducible from these principles ; and this, too, although the same writers show quite as clearly by another and a widely dilferent usage that these principles were not invariably their guides. For it would seen unquestionable that between a usage based upon the necessary condi- tions of the subject and one that contradicts these necessary conditions, there can be no choice: the former must be given the preference. Further, a glance at the most prominent features A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATION. 29 of the a priori system will show us still other reasons for preferring it. (1) It relates the semi- colon, m value^ to the comma, not to the colon; and describes the colon as, in fact, a period, though shorter than the full stop. Contrast this view with the doctrine of tlie older systems: — Period = 1, Colon = |, Semi-colon = J, Comma = J^. Then grant, for tlie sake of the argument, that this wondrous calculus is an exact statement of the relations of these stops. Is it not a more dif- ficult conception of their relations? Does it not establish two relations each for the colon and the semi-colon, one up and one down ? And what are its results? Simply, that uniformity of usage for these two stops has hitherto been impossible. Tlie semi-colon first usurps the office of the colon, driv- ing it almost out of use; and then makes bold to be even a period, reminding one of Dr. Franklin's sarcasm on the people of England just before the American Revolution, — "they have jostled them- selves into the throne with the King." To speak quite moderately, it certainly seems unfortunate that a stop which is often but little stronger than the comma, the least of all the stops, should be allowed to replace the period, the sign of the com- pleted sentence. By the method here proposed 3-^ 30 A SYSTEM OF PUNCTUATIOX. the colon and tlie semi-colon are kept entirely distinct, an allowable interchange taking place between stops of the same order, (the period and the colon or the comma and the semi-colon,) but never betw^een stops of a different order. (2) The a ijriori system assigns as the leading principle in punctuation, not the degree of closeness of relation of the thoughts expressed, but the construction of the sentence. Both these princii)les, to be sure, are used in determining the rules given above ; but the former to only a trifling extent. The advan- tage in this lies in the fact that any pupil properly trained in English Grammar can grasp the dis- tinctions between the constructions of the English language ; while questions as to the degree of relationship between several thoughts are difficult even for cultivated and disciplined minds. The a 'priori system must,, therefore, excel in clearness and simplicity; and so can hardly suffer by comparison with codes that rest upon puzzling and abstract distinctions, and lack clear fundamental truths to serve as guiding threads. The hope may be ventured, therefore, that this essay has not been made in the wrong direction ; and that by the side of the way here pointed out, there may be erected, not the sign "]N"o Thorough- fare," but a finger-board inscribed " To Consistent AND Uniform Punctuation." APPENDIX. I. (Page G.) The following examples illustrate the relations of Usage to its underlying principle of Good Sense. (A) When usage is settled, a sufficient reason can always be given for it (1); although sometimes this reason only accounts for the usage, without convincing us of its propriety or its expediency (2). Thus^ (1) the rule that requires the objective case after a transitive verb, rests upon a necessary law of thought; but (2) the spelling of ' number' with a ' b' and of 'sound' with a 'd,' w^hile it can be accounted for, cannot be shown to be necessary.' (B) AVhen usage is unsettled, good sense becomes the arbiter, and would, in most cases, soon compel assent, if men were always able to be convinced by what is reasonable, and willing to be guided by it. E.g,^ in that curious case of attraction^ 'these kind of books,' Dean Altbrd appeals to usage. But, if usage were not divided, no person of education would ever be guilty of such a sole- * Latin numerus and sonus. Our present pronunciation lias followed upon the addition of the * b' and 'd'. ' Numb' and Mimb' (A. S. num and Urn) are correctly enunciated without the *b\ and 'clime' and 'climb' are distinguishable only by the eye. So, ' gown' hasjio ' d', except in provincial utterance. the e 32 APPENDIX. cism. When, however, we see that the construc- tion is due to a misconception of the agreement of the pronoun, and ^^eflect that our language has never adopted attraction as a general principle of Grammar, the vice of the construction is at once evident. (C) That usage is most easily unsettled which does not rest upon necessary truth. [A (2).] In this case, either of three results ma}^ follow: — (1) the usage may change; (2) it may become obso- lete; or (3) two forms may grow^ up side by side in the language. E. g.^ (1) the termination ' — or' has long contended with ' — our' in such words as ' honor,' Mabor,' g^r,\ Chaucer wrote ' — ure,' and Shakspere ' — our'; but before the middle of the eighteenth century, Latin influences had brought about a change. Dr. Johnson (1755) ''restored the ancient usage" by replacing the 'u': Web- ster (1828) professed to do the same thing by leav- ing it out. Tiie letter owed its place in the words only to the fact that they were all derived from a French form in ' — eur;' and it was certainly a fair question wliether English should follow its French or its Latin predecessor. In the United States, the change may be said to have been ac- complished, except for the one word ' Saviour': in England, usage is still unsettled. Oddly enough, we pronounce the 'u' (on-ur), while we write the 'o'. [Cy. 'neighbor', from ' neighbour', and this from A. S. 'nehgebur'.] (2) In Shakspere and other older writers we find the phrase 'a many.' APPENDIX. 33 Its strangeness wears off, wlien we reflect that English words change tlieir "si^eech-part-ship" almost at will, [Earle's Philology^ Chap, iv.,] and that this usage, resting upon no unalterahle law, has simply grown obsolete. (3) The oldest Eng- lish knew no such construction as 'It is I', but only 'It is me', in which 'me' is a dative case formed in imitation of the French '-c'est moi.^ But the extended use of Latin by men who knew that language far better than they knew their ver- nacular, led to the formation of the idiom with the nominative; and this, although such a phrase as 'JEs*^ <^^o' had never been heard in Latin. The older idiom, however, did not die out, but held its place (and may still be said to hold its place) by the side of the new construction. For 'It is I', it is contended that our language no longer recog- nizes a dative case, and that predicates after ' to be' all take the nominative: for 'It is me', it is said that in all the languages most closely related to English, we find either 'I am it', (German *- Ich bin es\) or the dative after 'It is', (Danish ' det er mig^ ;) while in Latin — w^hence our rule for the predicate-nominative — nien wrote only ^Ego sum\ (Greek Ey6 siui.) II. (Page?.) (1) An experienced compositor, appealed to on this subject, said that he could count on his fin- ger-ends the times he had " set u[)" the colon in twenty-five years. 84 APPENDIX. (2) On sixty-nine octavo-page lines I count eigh- teen periods, three question-marks, one parenthesis, one pair of dashes, one semi-colon, and one colon, with eighty-jive commas. Yet the sentences are sometimes long and involved. In over four hun- dred lines, the colon is used but seven times, and the semi-colon but ten times. III. (Page 8.) A few words may be added upon the nature and utility of punctuation-marks. The tests com- monly oflered, passages from which the points have been omitted, are sufficiently familiar, and need not be repeated here. A few considerations of a different character may, however, be presented. First, the existence of the points is a prima facie proof of tlie necessity for them. Ancient MSS., indeed, were unpunctuated, except with the period ; and the oldest printed books used no other point. But printing was not long invented, before the need of more points was felt, and the other stops followed : — the colon, about 1485 ; the comma, about 1521; the semi-colon, about 1570. In 1587, Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia was printed with these four marks and the ?, the ''^ and the ( ). The scarcity of books and the comparative fewness of readers of books among the ancients, together with the wide-spread ignorance of the later middle ages, explain how men '' got on" so well without the points. But it could have been only measurably well. The men of the old world must have read APPENDIX. 35 more slowly, and understood less readily tban we. To be sure, the only possible test of this, — the omis- sion of the points from a printed page, — is im- practicable ; for we are so accustomed to the pres- ent mode, that we cannot judge of the appearance an unpunctuated page preselited to the ancient eye. But, from a parallel case, the " unpointed" Hebrew Bible, we should infer the impossibility of as rapid reading as we now^ find possible. It is true that Hebrew scholars acquire great facility in reading Avithout the vowels; and it is confidently asserted that, while the language was spoken, the absence of the points made no difference; but it by no means necessarily follows that time was not (and is not) lost by the fashion. Secondly^ we may estimate the value of our points by another analogy. The railroad "block- station" is furnished with signals that may be read at a great distance by the engineer of an approaching train, in order that he may know in advance the state of the road. By their advice he stops, approaches cautiously, or shoots ahead at full speed without risk to life or property. The illustration would, perhaps, have been more pertinent, had it been taken from the permanent signs by the road-side which w^arn the "driver" of the curve or switch ahead, or bid him blow his whistle to give timely notice of his coming; but either figure will serve to make it clear that, just as travel was much less rapid in the days when the engineer had none of these helps, and 36 APPENDIX. never approached a station except at a slackened speed, so modern readers would be mucli less able to "conquer the land" of books which they are in- vited to "go up and possess," had they no points to catch the eye and indicate the sense as they read. Who would willingly go back to the days when the train ran "only in clear weather"? Thirdly^ if this be true, a modern reader, of the same capacity as an ancient, can accomplish a far greater amount of work. Consequently, a life-time is now just so much longer than in the days that are gone; — a blessing that, in this par- ticular, at least, we owe to the stops. Hence, if a man in ou4' century can read two books to every one that could be mastered by his intellect- ual equal in 1450, this tiling that our stops have done for us should be told for a memorial of them. We might almost as well propose to return from our shapely, well-printed books to the written parchments of the past, as to accept any view of tlie art of punctuation that treats it as unimport- ant or unnecessary. By corollary, that system of punctuation is the worthiest w^liich ensures to us the greatest consistency and uniformity in punc- tuating. For the best-punctuated books are the most easily read, and read in the largest numbers. THE END. \ ^iff pj^m^^^ii:^'ms-k ^v^itv^ . ^ 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. 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