Part 18

"Of such examples as I finde Upon this point of tyme _agone_ I thinke for to tellen one." _Gower_, lib. 5, p. 1.

"Which is no more than has been done By knights for ladies, long _agone_." _Hudibras._

"Twenty years _agone_." _Tillotson's sermon._

"Are all _the go_." _Knickerbocker._

=Astray.= "They went astray." _Astrayed_, wandered or were scattered, and of course soon became _estranged_ from each other. Farmers all know what it is for cattle to _stray_ from home; and many parents have felt the keen pangs of sorrow when their sons _strayed_ from the paths of virtue. In that condition they are _astray-ed_.

"This prest was drank and goth _astrayede_."

"Achab to the bottle went. When Benedad for all his shelde Him slough, so that upon the felde His people goth aboute _astraie_." _Gower._

=Awake.= "He is _awake_." "Samson _awaked_ out of his sleep." "That I may _awake_ him out of sleep." "It is high time to _awake_." "As a man that is _wakened_ out of sleep." The Irish hold _a wake_--they do not sleep the night after the loss of friends.

=Asleep.=

"When that pyte, which longe _on sleep_ doth tary Hath set the fyne of al my heuynesse." _Chaucer, La belle dame, p. 1. c. 1._

"Ful sound _on sleep_ did caucht thare rest be kind." _Douglas_, b. 9, p. 283.

"In these provynces the fayth of Chryste was all quenchyd and _in sleepe_."--_Fabian._

A numerous portion of these contractions are nouns, which, from their frequent recurrence, are used without their usual connexion with small words. The letter _a_ is compounded with many of these words, which may have been joined to them by habit, or as a preposition, meaning _on_, _to_, _at_, _in_, as it is used in the french and some other languages. You often hear expressions like these, "he is _a_-going; he is _a_-writing; he began _a_-new," etc. The old adverbs which take this letter, you can easily analyze; as, "The house is _a_-fire"--on fire; "He fell _a_-sleep"--he fell _on_ sleep. "When deep sleep falleth on men."--_Job._ "He stept _a_-side"--on one side. "He came _a_-board"--on board. "They put it _a_-foot"--on foot. "He went _a_-way"--a way, followed some _course_, to a distance. "Blue bonnets are all the _go_ now _a_-days," etc.

The following extracts will give you an idea of the etymology of these words:

"Turnus seyes the Troianis in grete yre, And al thare schyppis and navy set _in fire_." _Douglas_, b. 9, p. 274.

"Now hand in hand the dynt lichtis with _ane_ swak, Now bendis he up his bourdon with _ane_ mynt, _On side_ (a-side) he bradis for to eschew the dynt." _Idem._

"That easter fire and flame aboute Both at mouth and at nase So that thei setten all _on blaze_," (ablaze.) _Gower._

"And tyl a wicked deth him take _Him had_ leuer _asondre_ (a-sunder) shake And let al his lymmes _asondre_ ryue Thane leaue his richesse in his lyue." _Chaucer._

Examples of this kind might be multiplied to an indefinite length. But the above will suffice to give you an idea of the former use of these words, and also, by comparison with the present, of the changes which have taken place in the method of spelling within a few centuries.

A large portion of adverbs relate to _time_ and _place_, because many of our ideas, and much of our language, are employed in reference to them; as, _then_, _when_, _where_, _there_, _here_, _hence_, _whence_, _thence_, _while_, _till_, _whether_, etc. These are compound words considerably disguised in their meaning and formation. Let us briefly notice some of them.

_Per annum_ is a latin phrase, _for the year_, a _year_; and _the annum_ is _the year_, _round_ or _period_ of time, from which it was corrupted gradually into its present shape. _Thanne_, tha anne, _thane_, _thenne_, _then_, _than_, are different forms of the same word.

"We see nowe bi a mirror in darcnesse: thanne forsathe, face to face. Nowe I know of partye; _thanne_ forsathe schal know as I am knowen."--1. Cor. 13: 12. _Translation in 1350._

I have a translation of the same passage in 1586, which stands thus: "For nowe we see through a glasse darkley: but _thene_ face to face: now I know in part: but _then_ shal I know even as I am knowen." Here several words are spelled differently in the same verse.

=Then=, _the anne_, that time. =When=, _wha anne_, "_wha-icht-anne_," which, or what _anne_, period of time.

_Area_ means an open space, a plat of ground, a spot or place. Arena is from the same etymon, altered in application. =There=, _the area_, the _place_ or _spot_. "If we go _there_," to that place. =Where=, which, or what ("wha-icht area") place. =Here=, _his_ (latin word for _this_,) _area_, this place. These words refer to _place_, _state_, or _condition_.

_While_ is another spelling for _wheel_. "To while away our time," is to _pass_, spend, or _wheel_ it away. _While_ applies to the _period_, or space of time, in which something _wheels_, _whirls_, _turns_ round, or transpires; as, "You had better remain here _while_ (during the time) he examines whether it is prudent for you to go."

=Till= is _to while_, to the _period_ at which something is expected to follow. "If I will that he tarry _till_ (to the time) I come what is that to thee?"

The idea of _time_ and _place_ are often blended together. It is not uncommon to hear lads and professed scholars, in some parts of our country say "down _till_ the bottom, over _till_ the woods." etc. Altho we do not regard such expressions correct, yet they serve to explain the meaning of the word. The only mistake is in applying it to _place_ instead of _time_.

=Whether= is _which either_. "Shew _whether_ of these _two_ thou hast chosen."--_Acts 1: 24._ It is more frequently applied in modern times to circumstance and events _than to_ persons and things. "I will let you know _whether_ I _will_ or _will not_ adopt it," one or the other.

=Together= signifies two or more united. _Gethered_ is the past participle of _gather_.

"As Mailie, an' her lambs _thegither_, Were ae day nibbling on the tether." _Burns._

=Ever= means _time_, _age_, _period_. It originally and essentially signified _life_. _For ever_ is for the age or period. _For ever_ and _ever_, to the ages of ages. _Ever-lasting_ is _age-lasting_. Ever-lasting hills, snows, landmarks, etc.

=Never=, _ne-ever_, _not ever_, at no time, age or period.

=When-ever.=--At what point or space of _time_ or _age_.

=What-ever.=--What thing, fact, circumstance, or event.

=Where-ever.=--To, at, or in what place, period, age, or time.

=Whither-so-ever=, which-way-so-ever, where-so-ever, never-the-less, etc. need only be analyzed, and their meaning will appear obvious to all.

=Oft=, _often_, _oft-times_, often-_times_, can be understood by all, because the noun to which they belong is _oft-en_ retained in practice.

=Once=, twice, at one time, two times.

=Hence=, _thence_, _whence_, from _this_, _that_, or _what_, place, spot, circumstance, post, or starting place.

=Hence-for-ward=, _hence-forth_, in time _to come_, after this period.

=Here-after=, after this _era_, or present time.

=Hither=, to this spot or place. _Thither_, to that place. _Hither-to_, _hither-ward_, etc. the same as _to you ward_, or to God ward, still retained in our bibles.

=Per-haps=, it may hap. _Perchance_, _peradventure_, by chance, by adventure. The latin _per_ means _by_.

=Not=, no ought, not any, nothing. It is a compound of _ne_ and _ought_ or _a_ught.

=Or= is a contraction from other, and _nor_ from _ne-or_, no-or, no other.

=No-wise=, no ways. I will go, or, other-wise, in another way or manner, you must go.

=Than=, _the ane_, the one, that one, alluding to a particular object with which a comparison is made; as, This book is larger _than_ that bible. That _one_ bible, this book is larger. It is always used with the comparative degree, to define particularly the object with which the comparison is made. Talent is better than flattery. Than flattery, often bestowed regardless of merit, talent is better.

=As= is an adjective, in extensive use. It means the, this, that, these, the same, etc. It is a defining word of the first kind. You practice _as_ you have been taught--_the same duties_ or _principles_ understood. We use language _as_ we have learned it; in _the same_ way or manner. It is often associated with other words to particularly specify the way, manner, or degree, in which something is done or compared. I can go _as well as_ you. In _the same well_, easy, convenient way or manner you can go, I can go in _the same_ way. He was _as_ learned, _as_ pious, _as_ benevolent, _as_ brave, _as_ faithful, _as_ ardent. These are purely adjectives, used to denote the degree of the likeness or similarity between the things compared. Secondary words are often added to this, to aid the distinction or definition; as, (_the same_ illustrated,) He is _just as willing_. I am _quite as well_ pleased without it. _As_, like many other adjectives, often occurs without a noun expressed, in which case it was formerly parsed by Murray himself _as_ (like, or the same) a relative pronoun; as, "And indeed it seldom at any period extends to the tip, _as happens_ in acute diseases."--_Dr. Sweetster._ "The ground I have assumed is tenable, _as will appear_."--_Webster._ "Bonaparte had a special motive in decorating Paris, for 'Paris is France, _as has_ often been observed."--_Channing._ "The words are such _as seem_."--_Murray's Reader! p. 16, intro._

=So= has nearly the same signification as the word last noticed, and is frequently used along with it, to define the other member of the comparison. _As_ far _as_ I can understand, _so_ far I approve. _As_ he directed, _so_ I obeyed. It very often occurs as a secondary adjective; as, "In pious and benevolent offices _so_ simple, _so_ minute, _so_ steady, _so_ habitual, that they will carry," etc. "He pursued a course _so_ unvarying."--_Channing._

These words are the most important of any small ones in our vocabulary, because (_for this cause_, be this the cause, this is the cause) they are the most frequently used; and yet there are no words _so_ little understood, or _so_ much abused by grammarians, _as_ these are.

We have barely time to notice the remaining parts of speech. "Conjunctions" are defined to be a "part of speech void of signification, but so formed as to help signification, by making two or more significant sentences to be one significant sentence." Mr. Harris gives about forty "species." Murray admits of only the _dis_-junctive and copulative, and reduces the whole list of words to twenty-four. But what is meant by a _dis_-junctive _con_-junctive word, is left for you to determine. It must be in keeping with _in_definite _defining_ articles, and _post_-positive _pre_-positions. He says, "it joins words, but disjoins the sense."[22] And what is a _word_ with out _sense_," pray tell us? If "words are the signs of ideas," how, in the name of reason, can you give the sign and separate the sense? You can as well separate the shadow from the substance, or a quality from matter.

We have already noticed Rule 18, which teaches the use of conjunctions. Under that rule, you may examine these examples. "As it _was_ in the beginning, _is_ now, _and_ ever _shall be_."--_Common Prayer._ "What I _do_, _have done,_ or _may_ hereafter _do_, _has been_, and _will_ always _be_ matter of inclination, the gratifying of which _pays_ itself: and I _have_ no more merit in employing my time and money in the way I _am known_ to do, than another has in other occupations."--_Howard._

The following examples must suffice.

=If.= This word is derived from the saxon _gifan_, and was formerly written _giff_, _gyff_, _gif_, _geve_, _give_, _yiff_, _yef_, _yeve_. It signifies _give_, _grant_, _allow_, _suppose_, _admit_, and is always a verb in the imperative mood, having the following sentence or idea for its object. "_If_ a pound of sugar cost ten cents, what will ten pounds cost?" _Give_, grant, allow, suppose, (the fact,) _one pound cost_, etc. In this case the supposition which stands as a predicate--_one pound of sugar cost ten cents_, is the object of _if_--the thing to be allowed, supposed, or granted, and from which the conclusion as to the cost of _ten_ pounds is to be drawn.

"He will assist us if he has the means." Allow, admit, (the fact,) he has the means, he will assist us.

"_Gif_ luf be vertew, than is it leful thing; _Gif_ it be vice, it is your undoing." _Douglas_ p. 95.

"Ne I ne wol non reherce, _yef_ that I may." _Chaucer._

"She was so charitable and so pytous She wolde wepe _yf that_ she sawe a mous Caught in a trappe, _if_ it were deed or bledde." _Prioresse._

"O haste and come to my master dear."

"_Gin_ ye be Barbara Allen." _Burns._

=But.= This word has two opposite significations. It is derived from two different radicals. _But_, from the saxon _be_ and _utan_, _out_, means _be out_, _leave out_, _save_, _except_, _omit_, as, "all _but_ one are here." _Leave out_, _except_, _one_, all are here.

"Heaven from all creation hides the book of fate All _but_ (_save_, _except_) the page prescribed our present state."

"When nought _but_ (_leave out_) the _torrent_ is heard on the hill, And nought _but_ (_save_) the nightingale's _song_ in the grove."

"Nothing _but fear_ restrains him." In these cases the direct _objects_ of the verb, the things to be omitted are expressed.

_But_ is also derived from _botan_, which signifies _to add_, _superadd_, _join_ or _unite_; as, in the old form of a deed, "it is _butted_ and bounded as follows." Two animals _butt_ their heads together. The _butt_ of a log is that end which was _joined_ to the stump. A _butt_, _butment_ or _a-butment_ is the joined end, where there is a connexion with something else. A _butt_ of ridicule is an object to which ridicule is attached.

"Not only saw he all that was, _But (add) much_ that never came to pass." _M'Fingal._

_To button_, _butt-on_, is derived from the same word, to join one side to the other, to fasten together. It was formerly spelled _botan_, _boote_, _bote_, _bot_, _butte_, _bute_, _but_. It is still spelled _boot_ in certain cases as a verb; as,

"What _boots it_ thee to fly from pole to pole, Hang o'er the earth, and with the planets roll? What boots ( ) thro space's fartherest bourns to roam, _If_ thou, O man, a stranger art at home?" _Grainger._

"If love had _booted_ care or cost."

A man exchanged his house in the city for a farm, and received fifty dollars to _boot_; _to add_ to his property, and make the exchange equal.

_Let_ presents the same construction in form and meaning as _but_, for it is derived from two radicals of opposite significations. It means sometimes to _permit_ or _allow_; as, _let_ me go; _let_ me have it; and to _hinder_ or _prevent_; as, "I proposed to come unto you, _but_ (add this fact) I was _let_ hitherto."--_Rom. 1: 13._ "He who now _letteth_, will _let_ until he be taken out of the way."--_2 Thess. 2: 7._

=And= is a past participle signifying _added_, _one-ed_, _joined_. It was formerly placed after the words; as, "James, John, David, _and_, (_united to-_gether_-ed_,) go to school." We now place it _before_ the last word.

=Tho=, _altho_, _yet_. "Tho (_admit_, _allow_, _the fact_) he slay me, yet (_get_, _have_, _know_, _the fact_) I will trust in him." _Yes_ is from the same word as _yet_. It means _get_ or _have_ my consent to the question asked. _Nay_ is the opposite of _yes_, _ne_-aye, nay, no. The _ayes_ and _noes_ were called for.

I can pursue this matter no farther. The limits assigned me have been overrun already. What light may have been afforded you in relation to these words, will enable you to discover that they have _meaning_ which must be learned before they can be explained correctly; that done, all difficulty is removed.

Interjections deserve no attention. They form no part of language, but may be used by beasts and birds as well as by men. They are indistinct utterances of emotions, which come not within the range of human speech.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The reader is referred to "The Red Book," by William Bearcroft, revised by Daniel H. Barnes, late of the New-York High School, as a correct system of teaching practical orthography.

[2] Gall, Spurzheim, and Combe, have reflected a light upon the science of the mind, which cannot fail of beneficial results. Tho the doctrines of phrenology, as now taught, may prove false--which is quite doubtful--or receive extensive modifications, yet the consequences to the philosophy of the mind will be vastly useful. The very terms employed to express the faculties and affections of the mind, are so definite and clear, that phrenology will long deserve peculiar regard, if for no other reason than for the introduction of a vocabulary, from which may be selected words for the communication of ideas upon intellectual subjects.

[3] Metaphysics originally signified the science of the causes and principles of all things. Afterwards it was confined to the philosophy of the mind. In our times it has obtained still another meaning. Metaphysicians became so abstruse, bewildered, and lost, that nobody could understand them; and hence, _metaphysical_ is now applied to whatever is abstruse, doubtful, and unintelligible. If a speaker is not understood, it is because he is too metaphysical. "How did you like the sermon, yesterday?" "Tolerably well; but he was too metaphysical for common hearers." They could not understand him.

[4] In this respect, many foreign languages possess a great advantage over ours. They can augment or diminish the same word to increase or lessen the meaning. For instance; in the Spanish, we can say _Hombre_, a man; _Hombron_, a _large_ man; _Hombrecito_, a _young_ man, or youth; _Hombrecillo_, a _miserable little_ man; _Pagaro_, a bird; _Pagarito_, a _pretty little_ bird; _Perro_, a dog; _Perrillo_, an _ugly little_ dog; _Perrazo_, a _large_ dog.

The Indian languages admit of diminutives in a similar way. In the Delaware dialect, they are formed by the suffix _tit_, in the class of animate nouns; but by _es_, to the inanimate; as, _Senno_, a man; _Sennotit_, a _little_ man; _Wikwam_, a house; _Wikwames_, a _small_ house.--_Enc. Amer. Art. Indian Languages, vol. 6, p. 586._

[5] Mr. Harris, in his "Hermes," says, "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 themselves."

Mr. Murray says, "Prepositions serve to _connect_ words with one another, and show the relation between them."

[6] "Me thou shalt use in what thou wilt, and doe that with a slender _twist_, that none can doe with a tough _with_." _Euphues and his England, p. 136._

"They had arms under the straw in the boats, and had cut the _withes_ that held the oars of the town boats, to prevent any pursuit." _Ludlow's Memoirs, p. 435._

"The only furniture belonging to the houses, appears to be an oblong vessel made of bark, by tying up the ends with a _withe_." _Cooke's Description of Botany Bay._

[7] See Galatians, chap. 1, verse 15. "When it pleased God, who _separated_ me," &c.

[8] Acts, xvii, 28.

[9] St. Pierre's Studies of Nature.--Dr. Hunter's translation, pp. 172-176.

[10] It is reported on very good authority that the same olive trees are now standing in the garden of Gethsemane under which the Saviour wept and near which he was betrayed. This is rendered more probable from the fact, that a tax is laid, by the Ottoman Porte, on all olive trees planted since Palestine passed into the possession of the Turks, and that several trees standing in Gethsemane do not pay such tribute, while all others do.

[11] We do not assent to the notions of ancient philosophers and poets, who believed the doctrine that the world is animated by a soul, like the human body, which is the spirit of Deity himself; but that by the operation of wise and perfect laws, he exerts a supervision in the creation and preservation of all things animate and inanimate. Virgil stated the opinions of his times, in his Æneid, B. VI. l. 724.

"Principio coelum, ac terras, camposque liquentes, Lucentemque globum, Lunæ, Titaniaque astra Spiritus intus alit, totamque infusa per artus Mens agitat molem, et magno se corpore miscet."

"Know, first, that heaven, and earth's compacted frame, And flowing waters, and the starry flame, And both the radiant lights, _one common soul_ Inspires and feeds--and _animates the whole_. This active mind, infused thro all the space, Unites and mingles with the mighty mass." _Dryden_, b. VI. l. 980.

This sentiment, he probably borrowed from Pythagoras and Plato, who argue the same sentiment, and divide this spirit into "_intellectus_, _intelligentia_, et _natura_"--intellectual, intelligent, and natural. Whence, "_Ex hoc Deo, qui est mundi anima: quasi decerptæ particulæ sunt vitæ hominum et pecudum._" Or, "Omnia animalia ex quatuor elementis et _divino spiritu_ constare manifestum est. Trahunt enim a terra carnem, ab aqua humorem, ab ære anhelitum, ab igne fervorem, _a divino spiritu ingenium_."--_Timeus, chap. 24, and Virgil's Geor. b. 4, l. 220, Dryden's trans. l. 322._

Pope alludes to the same opinion in these lines:

"All are but parts of one stupendous whole. Whose body nature is, and God the soul."

[12] Page 41.

[13] Exodus, iii. 2, 3.

[14] Cardell's grammar.

[15] The Jews long preserved this name in Samaritan letters to keep it from being known to strangers. The modern Jews affirm that by this mysterious name, engraven on his rod, Moses performed the wonders recorded of him; that Jesus stole the name from the temple and put it into his thigh between the flesh and skin, and by its power accomplished the miracles attributed to him. They think if they could pronounce the word correctly, the very heavens and earth would tremble, and angels be filled with terror.

[16] Plutarch says, "This title is not only _proper_ but _peculiar to God_, because =He= alone is _being_; for mortals have no participation of _true being_, because that which _begins_ and _ends_, and is constantly _changing_, is never _one_ nor the _same_, nor in the same state. The deity on whose temple this word was inscribed was called =Apollo=, Apollon, from _a_ negative and _pollus_, _many_, because God is =one=, his nature simple, and _uncompounded_."--_Vide, Clark's Com._

[17] The same fact may be observed in other languages, for all people form language alike, in a way to correspond with their ideas. The following hasty examples will illustrate this point.