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

Grace, p. 28. Lastly, there is a near resemblance to apposition, when two equivalent nouns are connected by or; as, "The back of the hedgehog is covered with prickles, or spines."—Webster's Dict.

OBS. 5.—To the rule for apposition, as I have expressed it, there are properly no exceptions. But there are many puzzling examples of construction under it, some of which are but little short of exceptions; and upon such of these as are most likely to embarrass the learner, some further observations shall be made. The rule supposes the first word to be the principal term, with which the other word, or subsequent noun or pronoun, is in apposition; and it generally is so: but the explanatory word is sometimes placed first, especially among the poets; as,

"From bright'ning fields of ether fair disclos'd, Child of the sun, refulgent Summer comes."—Thomson.

OBS. 6.—The pronouns of the first and second persons are often placed before nouns merely to distinguish their person; as, "I John saw these things."—Bible. "But what is this to you receivers?"—Clarkson's Essay on Slavery, p. 108. "His praise, ye brooks, attune."—Thomson. In this case of apposition, the words are in general closely united, and either of them may be taken as the explanatory term. The learner will find it easier to parse the noun by rule third; or both nouns, if there be two: as, "I thy father-in-law Jethro am come unto thee."—Exod., xviii, 6. There are many other examples, in which it is of no moment, which of the terms we take for the principal; and to all such the rule may be applied literally: as, "Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee."—2 Kings, viii, 9.

OBS. 7.—When two or more nouns of the possessive case are put in apposition, the possessive termination added to one, denotes the case of both or all; as, "For Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife"—Matt., xiv, 3; Mark, vi, 17. Here wife is in apposition with Herodias', and brother with Philip's; consequently all these words are reckoned to be in the possessive case. The Greek text, which is better, stands essentially thus: "For the sake of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother." "For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect."—Isaiah, xlv, 4. Here, as Jacob and Israel are only different names for the same person or nation, the four nouns in Italics are, according to the rule, all made possessives by the one sign used; but the construction is not to be commended: it would be better to say, "For the sake of Jacob my servant, and Israel mine elect." "With Hyrcanus the high priest's consent."—Wood's Dict., w. Herod. "I called at Smith's, the bookseller; or, at Smith the bookseller's."— Bullions's E. Gram., p. 105. Two words, each having the possessive sign, can never be in apposition one with the other; because that sign has immediate reference to the governing noun expressed or understood after it; and if it be repeated, separate governing nouns will be implied, and the apposition will be destroyed.[344]

OBS. 8.—If the foregoing remark is just, the apposition of two nouns in the possessive case, requires the possessive sign to be added to that noun which immediately precedes the governing word, whether expressed or understood, and positively excludes it from the other. The sign of the case is added, sometimes to the former, and sometimes to the latter noun, but never to both: or, if added to both, the two words are no longer in apposition. Example: "And for that reason they ascribe to him a great part of his father Nimrod's, or Belus's actions."—Rollin's An. Hist., Vol. ii, p. 6. Here father and Nimrod's are in strict apposition; but if actions governs Belus's, the same word is implied to govern Nimrod's, and the two names are not in apposition, though they are in the same case and mean the same person.

OBS. 9.—Dr. Priestley says, "Some would say, 'I left the parcel at Mr. Smith's, the bookseller;' others, 'at Mr. Smith the bookseller's;' and perhaps others, at 'Mr. Smith's the bookseller's.' The last of these forms is most agreeable to the Latin idiom, but the first seems to be more natural in ours; and if the addition consist [consists, says Murray,] of two or more words, the case seems to be very clear; as, 'I left the parcel at Mr. Smith's the bookseller and stationer;' i. e. at Mr. Smith's, who is a bookseller and stationer."—Priestley's Gram., p. 70. Here the examples, if rightly pointed, would all be right; but the ellipsis supposed, not only destroys the apposition, but converts the explanatory noun into a nominative. And in the phrase, "at Mr. Smiths, the bookseller's," there is no apposition, except that of Mr. with Smith's; for the governing noun house or store is understood as clearly after the one possessive sign as after the other. Churchill imagines that in Murray's example, "I reside at Lord Stormont's, my old patron and benefactor," the last two nouns are in the nominative after "who was" understood; and also erroneously suggests, that their joint apposition with Stormont's might be secured, by saying, less elegantly, "I reside at Lord Stormont's, my old patron and benefactor's."— Churchill's New Gram., p. 285. Lindley Murray, who tacitly takes from Priestley all that is quoted above, except the term "Mr.," and the notion of an ellipsis of "who is," assumes each of the three forms as an instance of apposition, but pronounces the first only to be "correct and proper." If, then, the first is elliptical, as Priestley suggests, and the others are ungrammatical, as Murray pretends to prove, we cannot have in reality any such construction as the apposition of two possessives; for the sign of the case cannot possibly be added in more than these three ways. But Murray does not adhere at all to his own decision, as may be seen by his subsequent remarks and examples, on the same page; as, "The emperor Leopold's;"—"Dionysius the tyrant's;"—"For David my servant's sake;"—"Give me here John the Baptist's head;"—"Paul the apostle's advice." See Murray's Gram., 8vo, p. 176; Smith's New Gram., p. 150; and others.

OBS. 10.—An explanatory noun without the possessive sign, seems sometimes to be put in apposition with a pronoun of the possessive case; and, if introduced by the conjunction as, it may either precede or follow the pronoun: thus, "I rejoice in your success as an instructer."— Sanborn's Gram., p. 244. "As an author, his 'Adventurer' is his capital work."—Murray's Sequel, p. 329.

   "Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage,
    The promised father of a future age."—Pope.

But possibly such examples may be otherwise explained on the principle of ellipsis; as, [He being] "the promised father," &c. "As [he was] an author," &c. "As [you are] an instructer."

OBS. 11.—When a noun or pronoun is repeated for the sake of emphasis, or for the adding of an epithet, the word which is repeated may properly be said to be in apposition with that which is first introduced; or, if not, the repetition itself implies sameness of case: as, "They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."—Jer., ii, 13.

"I find the total of their hopes and fears Dreams, empty dreams."—Cowper's Task, p. 71.

OBS. 12.—A noun is sometimes put, as it were, in apposition to a sentence; being used (perhaps elliptically) to sum up the whole idea in one emphatic word, or short phrase. But, in such instances, the noun can seldom be said to have any positive relation that may determine its case; and, if alone, it will of course be in the nominative, by reason of its independence. Examples: "He permitted me to consult his library—a kindness which I shall not forget."—W. Allen's Gram., p. 148. "I have offended reputation—a most unnoble swerving."—Shakspeare. "I want a hero,—an uncommon want."—Byron. "Lopez took up the sonnet, and after reading it several times, frankly acknowledged that he did not understand it himself; a discovery which the poet probably never made before."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 280.

   "In Christian hearts O for a pagan zeal!
    A needful, but opprobrious prayer!"—Young, N. ix, l. 995.

    "Great standing miracle, that Heav'n assign'd
    Its only thinking thing this turn of mind."—Pope.

OBS. 13.—A distributive term in the singular number, is frequently construed in apposition with a comprehensive plural; as, "They reap vanity, every one with his neighbour."—Bible. "Go ye every man unto his city."—Ibid. So likewise with two or more singular nouns which are taken conjointly; as, "The Son and Spirit have each his proper office."—Butler's Analogy, p. 163. And sometimes a plural word is emphatically put after a series of particulars comprehended under it; as, "Ambition, interest, glory, all concurred."—Letters on Chivalry, p. 11. "Royalists, republicans, churchmen, sectaries, courtiers, patriots, all parties concurred in the illusion."—Hume's History, Vol. viii, p. 73. The foregoing examples are plain, but similar expressions sometimes require care, lest the distributive or collective term be so placed that its construction and meaning may be misapprehended. Examples: "We have turned every one to his own way."—Isaiah, liii, 6. Better: "We have every one turned to his own way." "For in many things we offend all."—James, iii, 2. Better: "For in many things we all offend." The latter readings doubtless convey the true sense of these texts. To the relation of apposition, it may be proper also to refer the construction of a singular noun taken in a distributive sense and repeated after by to denote order; as, "They went out one by one."—Bible. "Our whole company, man by man, ventured in."—Goldsmith. "To examine a book, page by page; to search a place, house by house."—Ward's Gram., p. 106. So too, perhaps, when the parts of a thing explain the whole; as,

   "But those that sleep, and think not on their sins,
    Pinch them, arms, legs, backs, shoulders, sides, and shins."
        —Shak.

OBS. 14.—To express a reciprocal action or relation, the pronominal adjectives each other and one an other are employed: as, "They love each other;"—"They love one an other." The words, separately considered, are singular; but, taken together, they imply plurality; and they can be properly construed only after plurals, or singulars taken conjointly. Each other is usually applied to two persons or things; and one an other, to more than two. The impropriety of applying them otherwise, is noticed elsewhere; (see, in Part II, Obs. 15th, on the Classes of Adjectives;) so that we have here to examine only their relations of case. The terms, though reciprocal and closely united, are seldom or never in the same construction. If such expressions be analyzed, each and one will generally appear to be in the nominative case, and other in the objective; as, "They love each other;" i. e. each loves the other. "They love one an other;" i. e. any or every one loves any or every other. Each and one (—if the words be taken as cases, and not adjectively—) are properly in agreement or apposition with they, and other is governed by the verb. The terms, however, admit of other constructions; as, "Be ye helpers one of an other."—Bible. Here one is in apposition with ye, and other is governed by of. "Ye are one an other's joy."—Ib. Here one is in apposition with ye, and other's is in the possessive case, being governed by joy. "Love will make you one an other's joy." Here one is in the objective case, being in apposition with you, and other's is governed as before. "Men's confidence in one an other;"—"Their dependence one upon an other." Here the word one appears to be in apposition with the possessive going before; for it has already been shown, that words standing in that relation never take the possessive sign. But if its location after the preposition must make it objective, the whole object is the complex term, "one an other." "Grudge not one against an other."—James, v, 9. "Ne vous plaignez point les uns des autres."—French Bible. "Ne suspirate alius adversus alium."—Beza. "Ne ingemiscite adversus alii alios."—Leusden. "[Greek: Mæ stenazete kat hallælon]."—Greek New Testament.

OBS. 15.—The construction of the Latin terms alius alium, alii alios, &c., with that of the French l'un l'autre, l'un de l'autre, &c., appears, at first view, sufficiently to confirm the doctrine of the preceding observation; but, besides the frequent use, in Latin and Greek, of a reciprocal adverb to express the meaning of one an other or each other, there are, from each of these languages, some analogical arguments for taking the English terms together as compounds. The most common term in Greek for one an other, ([Greek: Hallælon], dat. [Greek: hallælois, ais, ois], acc. [Greek: hallælous]: ab [Greek: hallos], alius,) is a single derivative word, the case of which is known by its termination; and each other is sometimes expressed in Latin by a compound: