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

late."—Ib., p. 81. "His being an expert dancer does not entitle him to our regard."—Ib., p. 82.[443] "Cæsar went back to Rome to take possession of the public treasure, which his opponent, by a most unaccountable oversight, had neglected taking with him."—Goldsmith's Rome, p. 116. "And Cæsar took out of the treasury, to the amount of three thousand pound weight of gold, besides an immense quantity of silver."—Ibid. "Rules and definitions, which should always be clear and intelligible as possible, are thus rendered obscure."—Greenleaf's Gram., p. 5. "So much both of ability and merit is seldom found."—Murray's Key, ii, 179. "If such maxims, and such practices prevail, what is become of decency and virtue?"—Bullions, E. Gram., p. 78. "Especially if the subject require not so much pomp."—Blair's Rhet., p. 117. "However, the proper mixture of light and shade, in such compositions; the exact adjustment of all the figurative circumstances with the literal sense; have ever been considered as points of great nicety."—Murray's Gram., i, 343. "And adding to that hissing in our language, which is taken so much notice of by foreigners."—ADDISON: DR. COOTE: ib., i, 90. "Speaking impatiently to servants, or any thing that betrays unkindness or ill-humour, is certainly criminal."—Murray's Key, ii, 183; Merchant's, 190. "There is here a fulness and grandeur of expression well suited to the subject."—Blair's Rhet., p. 218. "I single Strada out among the moderns, because he had the foolish presumption to censure Tacitus."—Murray's Key, ii, 262. "I single him out among the moderns, because," &c.—Bolingbroke, on Hist., p. 116. "This is a rule not always observed, even by good writers, as strictly as it ought to be."—Blair's Rhet., p. 103. "But this gravity and assurance, which is beyond boyhood, being neither wisdom nor knowledge, do never reach to manhood."—Notes to the Dunciad. "The regularity and polish even of a turnpike-road has some influence upon the low people in the neighbourhood."—Kames, El. of Crit., ii, 358. "They become fond of regularity and neatness; which is displayed, first upon their yards and little enclosures, and next within doors."—Ibid. "The phrase, it is impossible to exist, gives us the idea of it's being impossible for men, or any body to exist."—Priestley's Gram., p. 85. "I'll give a thousand pound to look upon him."—Beauties of Shak., p. 151. "The reader's knowledge, as Dr. Campbell observes, may prevent his mistaking it."—Murray's Gram., i, 172; Crombie's, 253. "When two words are set in contrast or in opposition to one another, they are both emphatic."—Murray's Gram., i, 243. "The number of persons, men, women, and children, who were lost in the sea, was very great."—Ib., ii, 20. "Nor is the resemblance between the primary and resembling object pointed out"—Jamieson's Rhet., p. 179. "I think it the best book of the kind which I have met with."—DR. MATHEWS: Greenleaf's Gram., p. 2.

   "Why should not we their ancient rites restore,
    And be what Rome or Athens were before."—Roscommon, p. 22.

LESSON XII.—TWO ERRORS.

"It is labour only which gives the relish to pleasure."—Murray's Key, ii, 234. "Groves are never as agreeable as in the opening of the spring."—Ib., p. 216. "His 'Philosophical Inquiry into the origin of our Ideas on the Sublime and Beautiful' soon made him known to the literati."—Biog. Rhet., n. Burke. "An awful precipice or tower whence we look down on the objects which lie below."—Blair's Rhet., p. 30. "This passage, though very poetical, is, however, harsh and obscure; owing to no other cause but this, that three distinct metaphors are crowded together."—Ib., p. 149. "I propose making some observations."—Ib., p. 280. "I shall follow the same method here which I have all along pursued."—Ib., p. 346. "Mankind never resemble each other so much as they do in the beginnings of society."—Ib., p. 380. "But no ear is sensible of the termination of each foot, in reading an hexameter line."—Ib., p. 383. "The first thing, says he, which either a writer of fables, or of heroic poems, does, is, to choose some maxim or point of morality."—Ib., p. 421. "The fourth book has been always most justly admired, and abounds with beauties of the highest kind."—Ib., p. 439. "There is no attempt towards painting characters in the poem."—Ib., p. 446. "But the artificial contrasting of characters, and the introducing them always in pairs, and by opposites, gives too theatrical and affected an air to the piece."—Ib., p. 479. "Neither of them are arbitrary nor local."—Kames, El. of Crit., p. xxi. "If crowding figures be bad, it is still worse to graft one figure upon another."—Ib., ii, 236. "The crowding withal so many objects together, lessens the pleasure."—Ib., ii, 324. "This therefore lies not in the putting off the Hat, nor making of Compliments."—Locke, on Ed., p. 149. "But the Samaritan Vau may have been used, as the Jews did the Chaldaic, both for a vowel and consonant."—Wilson's Essay, p. 19. "But if a solemn and familiar pronunciation really exists in our language, is it not the business of a grammarian to mark both?"—Walker's Dict., Pref., p. 4. "By making sounds follow each other agreeable to certain laws."—Music of Nature, p. 406. "If there was no drinking intoxicating draughts, there could be no drunkards."—O. B. Peirce's Gram., p. 178. "Socrates knew his own defects, and if he was proud of any thing, it was in the being thought to have none."—Goldsmith's Greece, i, 188. "Lysander having brought his army to Ephesus, erected an arsenal for building of gallies."—Ib., i, 161. "The use of these signs are worthy remark."—Brightland's Gram., p. 94. "He received me in the same manner that I would you."—Smith's New Gram., p. 113. "Consisting both of the direct and collateral evidence."—Butler's Analogy, p. 224. "If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged."—1 Tim., v, 16. "For mens sakes are beasts bred."—Walker's Particles, p. 131. "From three a clock there was drinking and gaming."—Ib., p. 141. "Is this he that I am seeking of, or no?"—Ib., p. 248. "And for the upholding every one his own opinion, there is so much ado."—Sewel's Hist., p. 809. "Some of them however will be necessarily taken notice of."—Sale's Koran, p. 71. "The boys conducted themselves exceedingly indiscreet."—Merchant's Key, p. 195. "Their example, their influence, their fortune, every talent they possess, dispense blessings on all around them."—Ib., p. 197; Murray's Key, ii, 219. "The two Reynolds reciprocally converted one another"—Johnson's Lives, p. 185. "The destroying the two last Tacitus calls an attack upon virtue itself."—Goldsmith's Rome, p. 194. "Monies is your suit."—Beauties of Shak., p. 38. "Ch, is commonly sounded like tch; as in church; but in words derived from the Greek, has the sound of k."—Murray's Gram., i, 11. "When one is obliged to make some utensil supply purposes to which they were not originally destined."—Campbell's Rhet., p. 222. "But that a being baptized with water, is a washing away of sin, thou canst not from hence prove."—Barclay's Works, i, 190. "Being but spoke to one, it infers no universal command."—Ibid. "For if the laying aside Copulatives gives Force and Liveliness, a Redundancy of them must render the Period languid."—Buchanan's Syntax, p. 134. "James used to compare him to a cat, who always fell upon her legs."—ADAM'S HIST. OF ENG.: Crombie, p. 384.

   "From the low earth aspiring genius springs,
    And sails triumphant born on eagles wings."—Lloyd, p. 162.

LESSON XIII.—TWO ERRORS.

"An ostentatious, a feeble, a harsh, or an obscure style, for instance, are always faults."—Blair's Rhet. p. 190. "Yet in this we find the English pronounce perfectly agreeable to rule."—Walker's Dict., p. 2. "But neither the perception of ideas, nor knowledge of any sort, are habits, though absolutely necessary to the forming of them."—Butler's Analogy, p. 111. "They were cast: and an heavy fine imposed upon them."—Goldsmiths Greece, ii, 30. "Without making this reflection, he cannot enter into the spirit, nor relish the composition of the author."—Blair's Rhet., p. 450. "The scholar should be instructed relative to finding his words."—Osborn's Key, p. 4. "And therefore they could neither have forged, or reversified them."—Knight, on the Greek Alph., p. 30. "A dispensary is the place where medicines are dispensed."—Murray's Key, ii, 172. "Both the connexion and number of words is determined by general laws."—Neef's Sketch, p. 73. "An Anapsest has the two first syllables unaccented, and the last accented: as, 'Contravene, acquiésce.'"—Murray's Gram., i, 254. "An explicative sentence is, when a thing is said to be or not to be, to do or not to do, to suffer or not to suffer, in a direct manner."—Ib., i, 141; Lowth's, 84. "BUT is a conjunction, in all cases when it is neither an adverb nor preposition."—Smith's New Gram., p. 109. "He wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring."—Esther, viii, 10. "Camm and Audland were departed the town before this time."—Sewel's Hist., p. 100. "Previous to their relinquishing the practice, they must be convinced."—Dr. Webster, on Slavery, p. 5. "Which he had thrown up previous to his setting out."—Grimshaw's Hist. U. S., p. 84. "He left him to the value of an hundred drachmas in Persian money."—Spect., No. 535. "All which the mind can ever contemplate concerning them, must be divided between the three."—Cardell's Philad. Gram., p. 80. "Tom Puzzle is one of the most eminent immethodical disputants of any that has fallen under my observation."—Spect., No. 476. "When you have once got him to think himself made amends for his suffering, by the praise is given him for his courage."—Locke, on Ed. §115. "In all matters where simple reason, and mere speculation is concerned."—Sheridan's Elocution, p. 136. "And therefore he should be spared the trouble of attending to any thing else, but his meaning."—Ib., p. 105. "It is this kind of phraseology which is distinguished by the epithet idiomatical, and hath been originally the spawn, partly of ignorance, and partly of affectation."—Campbell's Rhet. p. 185. Murray has it—"and which has been originally," &c.—Octavo Gram. i, 370. "That neither the letters nor inflection are such as could have been employed by the ancient inhabitants of Latium."—Knight, Gr. Alph. p. 13, "In cases where the verb is intended to be applied to any one of the terms."—Murray's Gram.,, 150. "But this people which know not the law, are accursed."—John, vii, 49. "And the magnitude of the chorusses have weight and sublimity."—Music of Nature, p. 428. "Dare he deny but there are some of his fraternity guilty?"—Barclays Works, i, 327. "Giving an account of most, if not all the papers had passed betwixt them."—Ib., i, 235. "In this manner, both as to parsing and correcting, all the rules of syntax should be treated, proceeding regularly according to their order."—Murray's Exercises, 12mo, p. x. "Ovando was allowed a brilliant retinue and a body guard."—Sketch of Columbus. "Is it I or he whom you requested to go?"—Kirkham's Gram., Key, p. 226. "Let thou and I go on."—Bunyan's P. P., p. 158. "This I no-where affirmed; and do wholly deny."—Barclay's Works, iii, 454. "But that I deny; and remains for him to prove."—Ibid. "Our country sinks beneath the yoke; It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash Is added to her wounds."—SHAKSPEARE: Joh. Dict., w. Beneath. "Thou art the Lord who didst choose Abraham, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees."—Murray's Key, ii, 189. "He is the exhaustless fountain, from which emanates all these attributes, that exists throughout this wide creation."—Wayland's Moral Science, 1st Ed., p. 155. "I am he who have communed with the son of Neocles; I am he who have entered the gardens of pleasure."—Wright's Athens, p. 66.

   "Such was in ancient times the tales received,
    Such by our good forefathers was believed."
        —Rowe's Lucan, B. ix, l. 605.

LESSON XIV.—TWO ERRORS.

"The noun or pronoun that stand before the active verb, may be called the agent."—Alex. Murray's Gram., p. 121. "Such seems to be the musings of our hero of the grammar-quill, when he penned the first part of his grammar."—Merchant's Criticisms. "Two dots, the one placed above the other [:], is called Sheva, and represents a very short e."—Wilson's Hebrew Gram., p. 43. "Great has been, and is, the obscurity and difficulty, in the nature and application of them."—Butler's Analogy, p. 184. "As two is to four, so is four to eight."—Everest's Gram., p. 231. "The invention and use of it [arithmetic] reaches back to a period so remote as is beyond the knowledge of history."—Robertson's America, i, 288. "What it presents as objects of contemplation or enjoyment, fills and satisfies his mind."—Ib., i, 377. "If he dare not say they are, as I know he dare not, how must I then distinguish?"—Barclay's Works, iii, 311. "He was now grown so fond of solitude that all company was become uneasy to him."—Life of Cicero, p. 32. "Violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds."—Jeremiah, vi, 7. "Bayle's Intelligence from the Republic of Letters, which make eleven volumes in duodecimo, are truly a model in this kind."—Formey's Belles-Lettres, p. 68. "To render pauses pleasing