Obs. 2. (a.) The words however, indeed, surely, perfectly, doubtless, formerly, lastly, hence, in fact, in fine, and all other words and phrases of the same kind, must be separated from the context by a comma, when they are of importance, and particularly at the beginning of a sentence; as, " In general, he is attentive to his business;" “They did not, however, understand the subject."

(b.) But when these phrases are not considered important, and particularly in short sentences, the comma is not inserted; as, “He is in general attentive to his business;" "There is surely a pleasure in doing good."

367. RULE X-When a noun accompanied by an adjunct, is placed in apposition to another noun, it must be separated from it by a comma; as, "Victoria, the Queen of England, is beloved by her subjects."

Exception.(b.) But when nouns in apposition form only one compound name, a comma is not inserted between them; as, "Queen Victoria ;" “The Emperor Napoleon."

368. RULE XI.-Words placed in contrast with each other, and simple members of a sentence, connected by comparatives, (than, as, etc.,) are stopped off by commas; a; "Though deep, yet clear;" "though gentle, yet not dull;" "As virtue is its own reward, so vice is its own punishment."

Exceptions.-But the comma is omitted; (1.) When only one word foliows the last preposition; as, "Many states were in alliance with, and under the protection of Rome." (2.) When the members of comparative sentences are short; as, "As he promises so he will perform."

369. RULE XII.-The infinitive takes a comma before it when it can, by transposition, be made the subject of a preceding verb; as. "His pride was, to assist the distressed," that is, "To assist the distressed was his pride."

Obs. When the infinitive expresses a cause or purpose, it is generally preceded by a comma; as,

"Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,

To silence envious tongues."-SHAKESPEARE.

But the comma is omitted if there are no intervening words or if the sense is clear; as, "He came to save;" "It is better to get wisdom than gold."

370. RULE XIII.-A comma must be inserted before the relative, when the clause immediately following it is explanatory of the antecedent clause, and is capable of transposition; as, "He, who perseveres steadily, deserves success.'

Exception. -But a comma must not be inserted before the relative when it is so closely connected with its antecedent, that it cannot be transposed; as, "Hypocrisy is the homage which vice renders to virtue."

Obs. 1.-A comma is sometimes inserted between the relative and its antecedent, when several words come between them; as, "There is no charm in the female sex, which can supply the place of virtue." Obs. 2.-The relative that does not admit a comma before it; a3 "Here is the book that you lent me."

371. RULE XIV. The conjunction that is generally preceded by a comma; as, "Study your lessons, that you may improve your mind."

II. THE SEMICOLON.

372. The semicolon separates those parts of a sen. tence, which are not so closely connected as those which are separated by a comma.

373. RULE I-A semicolon is placed between two clauses, one of which expresses an inference, or is expla natory of the other; as, "Make a proper use of time; for its loss can never be recovered."

your

Additional Examples." Green is generally considered as the most refreshing colour to the eye; therefore, Providence has made it the common dress of nature." "Straws swim upon the surface; but pearls lie at the bottom."

374. RULE II.-Short sentences slightly connected are separated by semicolons; as, " Birds fly; fishes swim; men walk." (see canon I. p. 224.)

375. RULE III.-Members containing an enumeration of several particulars, and members subdivided into smaller portions, are separated by semicolons; as,

66

Philosophers assert that Nature is unlimited in her operations; that she has inexhaustible treasures in reserve; that knowledge will always be progressive; and that all future generations will continue to make discoveries, of which we have not the slightest idea."

376. RULE IV.-When the word as or thus introduces an example, it must be preceded by a semicolon, and followed by a comma; as,

"A verb agrees with its nominative, in number and person; as, John studies his lessons."

III. THE COLON.

377. The colon divides a sentence into two or more parts, less connected than those which are separated by a semicolon, but not so independent as to require a period or full stop.

378 RULE. I.—The colon is used when the preceding part of the sentence is complete in sense and construction; and the following part is some remark, naturally arising from it, and depending on it in sense, though not in construction; as, "Study to acquire the habit of thinking; no study is more important

Obs.-A colon is generally used when the sense is complete in the first clause, and the next begins with a conjunction understood; as, "Do not flatter yourselves with the hope of perfect happiness: there is no such thing in the world." Had the conjunction for been expressed, a semicolon would have been used; thus, "Do not flatter yourselves with the hope of perfect happiness; for there is no such thing in the world." The colon is generally used when the conjunction is understood; and the semicolon when the conjunction is expressed.

379. RULE II.—When a sentence consisting of several members separated by semicolons, has its sense suspended until the last clause, that clause should be separated from the others by a colon; as,

"A divine legislator, uttering his voice from heaven; an almighty governor, stretching forth his arm to punish or reward; informing us of perpetual rest prepared hereafter for the righteous, and of indignation and wrath awaiting the wicked: these are the considerations which overawe the world, which support integrity, and check guilt."

380. RULE. III.—When an example, a quotation, or a speech is formally introduced, a colon is usually inserted before it; as, "The Scriptures give us an amiable representation of the Deity, in these words: God is love." Obs. 1.-In addition to the colon, some writers employ a dash; "The sentence runs thus :- Virtue is its own reward."

as,

6

Obs. 2.--A comma is inserted before a short quotation closely connected with the context; as,“ God said, ‘Let there be light.'" (See 363.)

Obs. 3.-The verses of the Te Deum, the Psalms, &c., in our Liturgy, are divided by the colon; merely to distinguish the cadences of the chanting service; as, "Thine honorable: true and only son."

IV. THE PERIOD.

381. RULE I.—When a sentence is complete both in sense and construction, a period must be used; as, "By patience and perseverance, the greatest difficulties may be surmounted."

"An

Obs. A period may sometimes be admitted between sentences which are connected by conjunctions, since the sense and structure of sentences, and not the conjunction, should generally determine, whether the period should be employed or not; as, English naval force, commanded by Nelson, arrived too late to prevent Napoleon's army from landing, but his fleet was destroyed at the battle of the Nile, 1798. And when he besieged Acre, Sir Sydney Smith, with a body of seamen and marines, enabled the Turks to repel his most desperate efforts."

382. RULE II.-The period must be used after all abbreviated words; as, "A.D." "V.R." "Fol." "Co."

Obs. It is not in all cases proper to place a period after each letter; thus, when MSS. stands for Manuscripts, a period should be placed, not after the M and first S, but only after the second S; as the three letters, MSS., stand, not for three words, but for the plural of one word, Manuscript. imilarly, in punctuating the letters LL.D., (representing the Latin words, Legum Doctor, Doctor of Laws,) the period should be placed after the second L, and not after the first; since LL. represent not two distinct words, but the plural of one word, (Legum,). So also, vv., for verses; pp., for pages.

V. THE NOTE OF INTERROGATION.

383. RULE.-The note of interrogation is used at the end of a sentence in which a question is asked; as, "Where are the books?"

Obs. The note of interrogation should not be used when it is only said that a question has been asked, and when the words are not used as a question; as, "They asked me why I complained." To give this sentence an interrogative form, it should be expressed thus, "They said to me, ' Why do you complain?'"

VI. THE NOTE OF EXCLAMATION.

384. RULE.-The note of exclamation is used after expressions of sudden emotion, surprise, joy, grief, etc., and also with invocations or addresses; as, "How are the mighty fallen!"

Obs. When the interjection oh! is used, the point is generally placed immediately after it, or after the next word; as, "Oh! how cruel they were!" When O is employed, the point is placed after one or more intervening words; as, "O glorious England! how the nations honor thee!"

VII. THE DASH.

385. RULE. The dash (-) marks a break in the sentence, an abrupt transition, or an emphatic pause; as, "Behold the picture !-Is it like?-Like whom?"

386. The following characters also are used in Composition: Apostrophe (') is used in place of a letter or letters omitted; as, lov'd for loved; tho' for though. It is also the sign of the possessive singular, being used instead of a letter which was formerly inserted; as, king's for kinges. In modern English it also marks plural possessives; as, "Mens' minds," and the plurals of letters or signs; as, p's and q's; if's and and's.

Parenthesis () includes a clause containing some necessary information or useful remark, but which may be omitted without injuring the grammatical construction; as,

"Know then this truth (enough for man to know)

Virtue alone is happiness below."-Pope.

Each

Obs. 1.-Those clauses only, which would break the unity of sentence too much, if incorporated with the sentence, should be enclosed in parentheses. Hence the following is wrong; mood has its peculiar tense, tenses (or times)." A parenthesis should be used as seldom as possible; when employed, the sentence must be grammatically complete without it.

Obs. 2.-When the parenthetical clause is short, or coincides with the rest of the sentence, the parenthetical characters may be omitted, and commas inserted in their place; as, "Every star, if we may judge by analogy, is a sun to a system of planets."

Brackets or Crotchets [] are used to enclose a word or phrase which is designed to supply some deficiency, or to rectify some mistake. When both brackets and curves () are used in one parenthesis, the brackets enclose the longer sentence, and the curves the shorter one.